Representing Us All? Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Orange Is the New Black

Orange Is the New Black is a Netflix television series that began in 2013. The series focuses on the lives of inmates in a fictional women\u27s prison. Television series about prison have focused primarily on men in prison. This thesis will expand upon previous research on representation of minorities in television using a feminist media analysis to examine the first season of the series. I will explore how race, gender, and sexuality are represented within the series. I examine the representations of four characters during the first season. I chose these four characters because they represented different racial groups, sexualities, and gender expressions. I argue that while the series gives visibility to many minority women, the show continues to use harmful stereotypes that perpetuate negative cultural ideologies about minorities

Multimodal Frontostriatal Connectivity Underlies Individual Differences in Self-Esteem

A heightened sense of self-esteem is associated with a reduced risk for several types of affective and psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and eating disorders. However, little is known about how brain systems integrate self-referential processing and positive evaluation to give rise to these feelings. To address this, we combined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test how frontostriatal connectivity reflects long-term trait and short-term state aspects of self-esteem. Using DTI, we found individual variability in white matter structural integrity between the medial prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum was related to trait measures of self-esteem, reflecting long-term stability of self-esteem maintenance. Using fMRI, we found that functional connectivity of these regions during positive self-evaluation was related to current feelings of self-esteem, reflecting short-term state self-esteem. These results provide convergent anatomical and functional evidence that self-esteem is related to the connectivity of frontostriatal circuits and suggest that feelings of self-worth may emerge from neural systems integrating information about the self with positive affect and reward. This information could potentially inform the etiology of diminished self-esteem underlying multiple psychiatric conditions and inform future studies of evaluative self-referential processing

Hybrid Manufacturing: Integrating Direct Write and Stereolithography

A commercial stereolithography (SL) machine was modified to integrate fluid dispensing or direct-write (DW) technology with SL in an integrated manufacturing environment for automated and efficient hybrid manufacturing of complex electrical devices, combining threedimensional (3D) electrical circuitry with SL-manufactured parts. The modified SL system operates similarly to a commercially available machine, although build interrupts were used to stop and start the SL build while depositing fluid using the DW system. An additional linear encoder was attached to the SL platform z-stage and used to maintain accurate part registration during the SL and DW build processes. Individual STL files were required as part of the manufacturing process plan. The DW system employed a three-axis translation mechanism that was integrated with the commercial SL machine. Registration between the SL part, SL laser and the DW nozzle was maintained through the use of 0.025-inch diameter cylindrical reference holes manufactured in the part during SL. After depositing conductive ink using DW, the SL laser was commanded to trace the profile until the ink was cured. The current system allows for easy exchange between SL and DW in order to manufacture fully functional 3D electrical circuits and structures in a semi-automated environment. To demonstrate the manufacturing capabilities, the hybrid SL/DW setup was used to make a simple multi-layer SL part with embedded circuitry. This hybrid system is not intended to function as a commercial system, it is intended for experimental demonstration only. This hybrid SL/DW system has the potential for manufacturing fully functional electromechanical devices that are more compact, less expensive, and more reliable than their conventional predecessors, and work is ongoing in order to fully automate the current system.Mechanical Engineerin

The GirlStars Program: Challenges to Recruitment and Retention in a Physical Activity and Health Education Program for Adolescent Girls Living in Public Housing

BACKGROUND. Although physical inactivity is a concern for all adolescents, physical activity levels are especially low among minority adolescents and minimal among girls from low-income families. After-school programs can reduce high-risk behaviors and strengthen schools, families, and communities. CONTEXT. We conducted an operational research project that provided free access to a program of regular, organized physical activity combined with health education sessions for adolescent girls in 2 public housing developments in Boston, Massachusetts. METHODS. From July 2002 through October 2005, at each of 2 public housing sites, the GirlStars program participants met each week for two 2-hour sessions, 1 dedicated to physical activity and 1 dedicated to health education. Sessions were led by the project coordinator and a resident assistant at each development. OUTCOME. Participants in the GirlStars program increased their health knowledge, self-confidence, and decision-making skills, but rates of participation were low. Factors that affected participation included safety concerns, lack of community support for the program, interpersonal conflicts, attrition in staff, and conflicts with other activities. INTERPRETATION. Programs in public housing developments that address these barriers to recruitment and retention may be more successful and reach more girls

Modulation of Telomeres in Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres Type I Like Human Cells by the Expression of Werner Protein and Telomerase

The alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a recombination-based mechanism of telomere maintenance activated in 5–20% of human cancers. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, survivors that arise after inactivation of telomerase can be classified as type I or type II ALT. In type I, telomeres have a tandem array structure, with each subunit consisting of a subtelomeric Y′ element and short telomere sequence. Telomeres in type II have only long telomere repeats and require Sgs1, the S. cerevisiae RecQ family helicase. We previously described the first human ALT cell line, AG11395, that has a telomere structure similar to type I ALT yeast cells. This cell line lacks the activity of the Werner syndrome protein, a human RecQ helicase. The telomeres in this cell line consist of tandem repeats containing SV40 DNA, including the origin of replication, and telomere sequence. We investigated the role of the SV40 origin of replication and the effects of Werner protein and telomerase on telomere structure and maintenance in AG11395 cells. We report that the expression of Werner protein facilitates the transition in human cells of ALT type I like telomeres to type II like telomeres in some aspects. These findings have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer

Planeamiento estratégico de la empresa Campo Fe 2015-2017

El trabajo de investigación desarrolla un plan estratégico para la empresa Campo Fe para el período 2015 - 2017, si bien el trabajo considera información interna de la empresa, así como información del sector y del entorno del país, el trabajo de investigación se enfoca principalmente en un trabajo académico del cual Campo Fe podría considerar acciones implementar en sus operaciones con el fin de mejorar su productividad y competitividad en el sector