Personality and religious maturity

A sample of 226 students attending seminaries, theological colleges, and bible schools completed Newton Malony’s Religious Status Inventory (as a measure of religious maturity) alongside the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrated some ways in which stable toughminded extraverts projected higher levels of religious maturity according to some of Malony’s criteria

Export strategy and pricing policies in medium-sized manufacturing firms in the north of England with particular reference to the effect of sterling floatation

The objectives of this study are to contribute to the understanding of the export process in smaller firms and to provide a benchmark against which export strategy and pricing policies can be assessed, particularly in the context of the impact of floating currencies on exporters. The study consists, firstly, of a literature survey in the fields of pricing and export management, drawing on some 600 sources. Primary data were collected through a small number of depth interviews with export executives and a postal questionnaire survey of 250 medium-sized exporting manufacturers in the North of England, drawn from the Clothing. Furniture, Chemicals and Scientific Instrumentation industries. The theory of export strategy is reviewed, particularly in the context of key market concentration, as the foundation for export policies, including export pricing on which attention is focussed here. Challenges are offered to the arguments and empirical evidence on which the key market philosophy is founded and an alternative strategy proposed: market spreading. Empirical evidence is produced to show the existence of both concentration and spreading strategies in practical exporting, and to assess the underlying logic of market spreading as an alternative to market concentration, together with the situational cues associated with each. From general pricing theory and methods, attention is directed to the more specialised problems of export pricing. Consideration is given to the relationship between domestic market and export prices and pricing methods, and the existence and form of discriminatory pricing in exporting. The emphasis placed on price in the export marketing programme is analysed in the context of the debate on price versus non-price aspects of competition in international markets. Lastly, arising out of export pricing policy is the key issue of pricing currency, particularly as the mediator of the impact of floatation on the exporter. Attention is given to the export invoice currency decision, and the underlying reasons for currency choices as a challenge to the normative theory offered to exporters by the literature, together with the consequent implications of currency movements at the company level

Acrylamide formation in potato products

End of Project ReportAcrylamide, a substance classified as a potential carcinogen, occurs in heated starchy foods at concentrations many times in excess of levels permitted in drinking water. Early surveys indicated that levels of acrylamide in potato products such as French fries and potato crisps were the highest of the foodstuffs investigated. The present project addressed this issue by determining levels of acrylamide precursors (asparagine and reducing sugars) in raw potatoes and levels of acrylamide in (i) potato products from different storage regimes, (ii) spot-sampled potatoes purchased from a local supermarket, (iii) samples that received pre-treatments and were fried at different temperatures and (iv) French fries reheated in different ovens.A risk assessment of the estimated acrylamide intake from potato products for various cohorts of the Irish population was also conducted

Processes and Rates of Bacterial Evolution

A long-standing question in evolutionary biology is whether adaptation will typically proceed through a few mutations with large selective effects or many mutations with small effects. Many studies have implicated few loci of major effect, but it has been predicted that small-effect mutations should exist and contribute to adaptation. However, such mutations have not been found in many studies, either because they do not exist or because the experimental design limited their detection. To determine the effects and types of mutations contributing to adaptation, I studied laboratory and wild populations of bacteria. I characterized the distribution of the effect sizes in laboratory populations of an aerobic bacterium, Methylobacterium extorquens, and studied the types of genetic changes associated with adaptation to a novel host in wild populations of Mycoplasma gallisepticum

FREQ-Seq: A Rapid, Cost-Effective, Sequencing-Based Method to Determine Allele Frequencies Directly from Mixed Populations

Understanding evolutionary dynamics within microbial populations requires the ability to accurately follow allele frequencies through time. Here we present a rapid, cost-effective method (FREQ-Seq) that leverages Illumina next-generation sequencing for localized, quantitative allele frequency detection. Analogous to RNA-Seq, FREQ-Seq relies upon counts from the >105 reads generated per locus per time-point to determine allele frequencies. Loci of interest are directly amplified from a mixed population via two rounds of PCR using inexpensive, user-designed oligonucleotides and a bar-coded bridging primer system that can be regenerated in-house. The resulting bar-coded PCR products contain the adapters needed for Illumina sequencing, eliminating further library preparation. We demonstrate the utility of FREQ-Seq by determining the order and dynamics of beneficial alleles that arose as a microbial population, founded with an engineered strain of Methylobacterium, evolved to grow on methanol. Quantifying allele frequencies with minimal bias down to 1% abundance allowed effective analysis of SNPs, small in-dels and insertions of transposable elements. Our data reveal large-scale clonal interference during the early stages of adaptation and illustrate the utility of FREQ-Seq as a cost-effective tool for tracking allele frequencies in populations.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Engagement with video content in the blended classroom

Blended learning is becoming the expected norm for core content delivery in many institutions. Pre-recorded videos in the form of screencasts are the primary delivery method, with students being asked to engage with the content in this medium. Usage is only likely to increase into the future as delivery moves away from traditional lectures and seminars. In this perspective, we look at the use of video material as a means of content delivery and how to help students engage with it. Theoretical literature around cognitive loading and active learning, alongside personal experience of delivery, is drawn on to give a framework for creating engaging recordings and learning activities