Literature and Architecture in Early Modern England

Our built environment inspires writers to reflect on the human experience, discover its history, or make it up.Buildings tell stories. Castles, country homes, churches, and monasteries are “documents” of the people who built them, owned them, lived and died in them, inherited and saved or destroyed them, and recorded their histories. Literature and Architecture in Early Modern England examines the relationship between sixteenth- and seventeenth-century architectural and literary works. By becoming more sensitive to the narrative functions of architecture, Anne M. Myers argues, we begin to understand how a range of writers viewed and made use of the material built environment that surrounded the production of early modern texts in England. Scholars have long found themselves in the position of excusing or explaining England’s failure to achieve the equivalent of the Italian Renaissance in the visual arts. Myers proposes that architecture inspired an unusual amount of historiographic and literary production, including poetry, drama, architectural treatises, and diaries. Works by William Camden, Henry Wotton, Ben Jonson, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Anne Clifford, and John Evelyn, when considered as a group, are texts that overturn the engrained critical notion that a Protestant fear of idolatry sentenced the visual arts and architecture in England to a state of suspicion and neglect

Multilevel governance challenges in transitioning towards a national approach for REDD+:Evidence from 23 subnational REDD+ initiatives

Although REDD+ was conceived as a national approach to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, many of the early advances have been at the subnational level. It is critical to link these subnational efforts to emerging national REDD+ frameworks, including with respect to finance and benefit distribution, setting reference levels, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), land policy and safeguards. We use evidence from interviews with proponents from 23 subnational REDD+ initiatives in six countries to characterize the multilevel governance challenges for REDD+. We analyse the differences in perceived challenges between subnational jurisdictional programs and project-based initiatives, and then analyse proponents’ perceptions of the relationship between government policies at multiple levels and these REDD+ initiatives. We find important multilevel governance challenges related to vertical coordination and information sharing and horizontal and inter-sectoral tensions, as well as concerns over accountability, equity and justice. Though the shift to a nested, jurisdictional or national REDD+ is sometimes approached as a technical design issue, this must be accompanied by an understanding of the interests and power relations among actors at different levels. We outline challenges and suggest priority areas for future research and policy, as countries move towards a national REDD+ system

Use of the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment Program in Indiana Nursing Homes

OBJECTIVES: To assess the use of the Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form to record nursing home (NH) resident treatment preferences and associated practices. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Indiana NHs. PARTICIPANTS: Staff responsible for advance care planning in 535 NHs. MEASUREMENTS: Survey about use of the Indiana POST, related policies, and educational activities. METHODS: NHs were contacted by telephone or email. Nonresponders were sent a brief postcard survey. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent (n=486) of Indiana NHs participated, and 79% had experience with POST. Of the 65% of NHs that complete POST with residents, 46% reported that half or more residents had a POST form. POST was most often completed at the time of admission (68%). Only 52% of participants were aware of an existing facility policy regarding use of POST; 80% reported general staff education on POST. In the 172 NHs not using POST, reasons for not using it included unfamiliarity with the tool (23%) and lack of facility policies (21%). CONCLUSION: Almost 3 years after a grassroots campaign to introduce the voluntary Indiana POST program, a majority of NHs were using POST to support resident care. Areas for improvement include creating policies on POST for all NHs, training staff on POST conversations, and considering processes that may enhance the POST conversation, such as finding an optimal time to engage in conversations about treatment preferences other than a potentially rushed admission process

Life-History Divergence In Chinook Salmon: Historic Contingency And Parallel Evolution

By jointly considering patterns of genetic and life-history diversity in over 100 populations of Chinook salmon from California to British Columbia, we demonstrate the importance of two different mechanisms for life history evolution. Mapping adult run timing (the life-history trait most commonly used to characterize salmon populations) onto a tree based on the genetic data shows that the same run-time phenotypes exist in many different genetic lineages. In a hierarchical gene diversity analysis, differences among major geographic and ecological provinces explained the majority (62%) of the overall GST, whereas run-time differences explained only 10%. Collectively, these results indicate that run-timing diversity has developed independently by a process of parallel evolution in many different coastal areas. However, genetic differences between coastal populations with different run timing from the same basin are very modest (GST \u3c 0.02), indicating that evolutionary divergence of this trait linked to reproductive isolation has not led to parallel speciation, probably because of ongoing gene flow. A strikingly different pattern is seen in the interior Columbia River Basin, where run timing and other correlated life-history traits map cleanly onto two divergent genetic lineages (GST ~ 0.15), indicating that some patterns of life-history diversity have a much older origin. Indeed, genetic data indicate that in the interior Columbia Basin, the two divergent lineages behave essentially as separate biological species, showing little evidence of genetic contact in spite of the fact that they co-migrate through large areas of the river and ocean and in some locations spawn in nearly adjacent areas

A Survey of Women in Academia and the role of a Multidisciplinary Professional Society

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a global professional society of over 30,000 members with a mission to “Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity”1. SWE is an organization that is deeply rooted in industry. The founding members were employed by firms that are a result of the industrial revolution, and thus the focus of its membership is on those that work for industry, consultants, and often themselves. This focus has unintentionally left a large population of its membership, the academic population, underrepresented and misunderstood. Early discussion at the board level in the mid 2000’s indicated a willingness for a paradigm shift. However, the representation of academics on the board and other leadership roles has been lacking. This can be attributed to the lower numbers of this group relative to the whole, as well as the requirements of tenure that do not support the time and dedication to such an endeavor. A small but influential group of members, including a former board member, and a few involved at various levels of the society have been working toward increasing opportunities for women in academia (WIA). Some of the initiatives have been the societal support of the WIA committee, the addition of professional development opportunities targeting women in academic careers, providing recognition and awards, and aiding in networking opportunities. These all lead toward career advancement, making SWE more attractive to women engineers in the academe. To further our understanding of available opportunities and those opportunities that will make membership and active participation more attractive to members in academia, a survey was developed. Information gathered by the survey include demographics, perceived needs, and potential contributions the individual could make in furthering the creation of professional development opportunities for this population. This work is intended to share the results of this survey, using descriptive statistics, further developing our understanding of this underserved population within SWE

Significant reductions in human visual gamma frequency by the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine revealed by robust peak frequency estimation

The frequency of visual gamma oscillations is determined by both the neuronal excitation–inhibition balance and the time constants of GABAergic processes. The gamma peak frequency has been linked to sensory processing, cognitive function, cortical structure, and may have a genetic contribution. To disentangle the intricate relationship among these factors, accurate and reliable estimates of peak frequency are required. Here, a bootstrapping approach that provides estimates of peak frequency reliability, thereby increasing the robustness of the inferences made on this parameter was developed. The method using both simulated data and real data from two previous pharmacological MEG studies of visual gamma with alcohol and tiagabine was validated. In particular, the study by Muthukumaraswamy et al. [2013a] (Neuropsychopharmacology 38(6):1105–1112), in which GABAergic enhancement by tiagabine had previously demonstrated a null effect on visual gamma oscillations, contrasting with strong evidence from both animal models and very recent human studies was re-evaluated. After improved peak frequency estimation and additional exclusion of unreliably measured data, it was found that the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine did produce, as predicted, a marked decrease in visual gamma oscillation frequency. This result demonstrates the potential impact of objective approaches to data quality control, and provides additional translational evidence for the mechanisms of GABAergic transmission generating gamma oscillations in humans

Bullying at University: The Social and Legal Contexts of Cyberbullying Among University Students

Students within the university sector are ‘digital natives’. Technology is not ‘new’ or ‘alien’ to them, but rather it is an accepted and normalised part of everyday life (Simmons et al., 2016). With this level of expertise and competence, we could assume that university students are relatively happy with their online relationships. However, in recent years there has been a growing realisation that, for some students at least, the online world is a very dangerous place.The age of the students is of key importance here too, as those in higher and further education are young adults, rather than children in need of parental support. From this perspective, the university as an institution has a duty of care to its students in their learning environment regardless of their age. In this article, we consider the social and cultural contexts which either promote or discourage cyberbullying among university students. Finally, the implications for policies, training and awareness-raising are discussed along with ideas for possible future research in this under researched area

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers in a large teaching hospital in the North West of England: a period prevalence survey

Objectives: Since its emergence in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic that has significantly challenged healthcare systems. Healthcare workers have previously been shown to have experienced higher rates of infection than the general population. We aimed to assess the extent of infection in staff working in our healthcare setting. Design: A retrospective analysis of antibody results, compared with staff demographic data, and exposure to patients with COVID-19 infection. Setting: A large teaching hospital in the North West of England. Participants: 4474 staff in diverse clinical and non-patient facing roles who volunteered for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing by the Roche Elecsys assay between 29 May and 4 July 2020. Results: Seroprevalence was 17.4%. Higher rates were seen in Asian/Asian British (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.04) and Black/Black British (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.45) staff. Staff working in any clinical location were more likely to be seropositive (OR 2.68, 95% 2.27 to 3.15). Staff were at an increased risk of seropositivity as the ‘per 100 COVID-19 bed-days change’ increased in the clinical area in which they worked (OR 1.12, 95% 1.10 to 1.14). Staff working in critical care were no more likely to have detectable antibodies than staff working in non-clinical areas. Symptoms compatible with COVID-19 were reported in 41.8% and antibodies were detected in 30.7% of these individuals. In staff who reported no symptoms, antibodies were detected in 7.7%. In all staff who had detectable antibodies, 25.2% reported no symptoms. Conclusions: Staff working in clinical areas where patients with COVID-19 were nursed were more likely to have detectable antibodies. The relationship between seropositivity in healthcare workers and the increase in ‘per 100 COVID-19 bed-days’ of the area in which they worked, although statistically significant, was weak, suggesting other contributing factors to the risk profile. Of staff with detectable antibodies and therefore evidence of prior infection, a quarter self-reported that they had experienced no compatible symptoms. This has implications for potential unrecorded transmission in both staff and patients