Social Gender Norms and Depression in College Students

The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a relationship between the conformity to social gender norms (masculine and feminine) and depression among male and female college students at a mid-sized, four-year public institution in the Midwest. A secondary purpose was to investigate if there was a difference in depression between males and females, and if a there was a difference in conformity to social gender norms (masculine and feminine) between males and females. Understanding the trends in social norm conformity and depression can lead to changes in how faculty and staff in higher education view and decide on the engagement activities provided to students. Participants were 289 college students from a four-year public institution in the Midwest, who responded to a survey in the Spring 2021 semester. Instruments included the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory – 46 (CMNI-46), Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory – 45 (CMFI-45), and the Beck Depression Inventory – II (BDI-II). Results suggest that the Self-Reliance, Emotional Control, Thinness, Modesty, and Invest in Appearance subscales, have a direct correlation with depression, and the Heterosexual Self-Presentation, Relational, and Domestic subscales, have an indirect correlation with depression

Bioethical Considerations of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for Sex Selection

Since ancient times, people have tried to control the sex of their offspring. Today, technology allows individuals to choose the sex of a child with near-perfect accuracy. The combined technologies of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation embryo genetic testing enable prospective parents to choose the sex of the embryos that will be implanted for gestation and develop into children. Currently, no United States law governs the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the use of sex selection. This Note explores the consequences of this unregulated technology and why natural law calls for regulation of PGD for sex selection. This Note considers the ethical and moral considerations of this practice and whether natural law would require legislation regulating or limiting the use of PGD for sex selection. This Note examines not only the technology involved but also the ethical considerations of this practice

Teachers\u27 and Students\u27 Views of Reading Fluency: Issues of Consequential Validity in Adopting One-minute Reading Fluency Assessments

In this study, we investigate assertions that use of one-minute oral reading fluency measures, such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment and the aimsweb Reading CBM (R-CBM), may generate negative educational consequences, specifically teaching to ORF tests, increased pressure and anxiety for teachers and students, and misuse of ORF measures and results. We present results of a survey designed to gain perspective on teachers’ and students’ views related to these potential negative consequences. Data gained from 77 teachers and 875 students in two districts generally do not support assertions of teaching to the test, but do support some caution with respect to use of ORF measurements and data, and issues of anxiety, particularly from more vulnerable students. This paper provides detailed results across teachers and students, and implications for practice. Since the publication of the National Reading Panel report (2000), increased attention has been paid to assessing oral reading fluency (ORF). Many districts use one-minute ORF measures, such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency assessment (Good & Kaminski, 2002) and aimsweb Reading CBM (R-CBM) (NCS Pearson, 2014). However, one-minute ORF measures have garnered intense scrutiny, with critics warning unintended negative effects of their use, such as teaching to the test (Tierney & Thome, 2006), increased pressure and anxiety for teachers and students (Goodman, 2006), and misuse of measures and results (Valencia, Smith, Reece, Li, Wixon, & Newman, 2010). In our search of the literature (Education Full Text, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Science Direct, ProQuest), we found few empirical studies investigating or confirming negative consequences of using one-minute measures. Our study begins to address this void by surveying teachers and students in two districts that mandate one-minute ORF measures to understand their perceptions of the measures, how measures are used in schools, and how teachers engage students in instructional practices related to ORF

Public / Private BIM: An Irish Perspective

The current economic difficulties have affected most practitioners within the industry and, as a result, many firms and contractors are bidding for fewer projects, resulting in below-cost tenders. It is clear that, many firms and contractors are now operating on thin margins; which makes it increasingly difficult for them to commit to the introduction of new software applications and system upgrades. The transition to Building Information Modelling (BIM) from traditional 2D CAD by Irish firms and contractors has been a relatively slow process compared with our international colleagues. There are many reasons for this, including lack of resources, lack of awareness, ignorance, misunderstanding and adversity. The lack of BIM promotion and BIM training opportunities within the industry has meant that very few people possess the basic requirement to successfully embrace BIM at a level which would be considered efficient. BIM is the new way of operating and it is gaining momentum; the industry simply cannot turn a blind eye to the technology or it will be left behind. The industry must therefore adapt and change current working practices in order to compete with other established and recognized BIM nations. This paper will evaluate BIM in the international context and, investigate if these methodologies can be transferred to the Irish construction industry. This paper will also aim to identify obstacles and drivers for Irish firms, contractors and Government Departments with regard to BIM adoption, as well as the behavioural and cultural elements which are preventing BIM adoption in Ireland. It is hoped that the research findings will demonstrate a business case for the implementation of BIM, for both public and private sector organization

Sentiment effects in professionally traded markets: evidence from oil and emissions futures

This thesis shows that sentiment has influence in professionally traded oil and emissions markets. The sentiment index of Baker and Wurgler (2006) is adapted for the oil markets and is used to show that sentiment has a positive effect on WTI and Brent crude oil prices. Having established the value of this index in the oil markets it is extended to include the wider energy markets and used to show that sentiment also has an effect in the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS). It is found that there is some evidence that decisions of the European Parliament (EP) are associated with a drop in emission allowance (EUA) prices particularly when these decisions occur at times of low sentiment, low news exposure and when they come from non-party political sources. It is found that an increase in volatility of EUA returns is associated with EP decisions made at these times. In order to investigate further the effect of sentiment in the EU ETS, sentiment measured from tweets concerning the emissions market is shown to predict price level and volatility using intra-day data. Bi-directional Granger causality is found between changes in emissions market sentiment and EUA returns, this is especially true for negative sentiment. There is only very weak evidence of an association between climate change sentiment and the EUA returns showing that the EU ETS is not very high in the consciousness of people posting tweets about climate change. Finally, there is some evidence that energy commodity prices and stock market returns can explain, but not predict, EUA prices. This suggests that the EU ETS is efficient with regard to this fundamental information but that in general the Efficient Market Hypothesis does not provide a complete description of the market dynamics. This thesis therefore shows not only that the Efficient Market Hypothesis does not provide a complete description of market dynamics but that sentiment does not rely on uninformed traders to have a real and substantial effect in the emissions and oil markets

Deletion of the trpc4 gene and its role in simple and complex strategic learning

The TRPC4 ion channel is expressed extensively in corticolimbic and a subpopulation of midbrain dopamine neurons. While TRPC4 knockout (KO) rats exhibit reduced sociability and social exploration, little is known about the role of TRPC4 in motivation and learning. To identify a function for TRPC4 channels in learning processes  we tested TRPC4 KO and normal wild type (WT) rats. TRPC4 KO and WT rats exhibited no differences in Y-­maze learning or simple discrimination learning. Furthermore, on a more complex serial reversal shift task designed  to assess strategic learning where the reward and non-­reward cues were repeatedly reversed between training sessions both TRPC4 KO and WT rats   performed equally well. Finally, we found no   performance differences when using a conditional reversal shift task where a tone signals the reversal of reward and non-reward cues within sessions. These data suggest that although TRPC4 channels may play a role in social interaction/anxiety  they exert a minimal role in simple and complex strategic learning

Fostering citizenship in marginalised children through participation in Community of Philosophical Inquiry

Given the key drivers around citizenship education, children’s rights, voice, and participation it is essential that all children are supported to engage in the society in which they live. This article explores how Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CoPI) might offer that support to children who are potentially marginalised due to their specific needs. The article presents three case studies of children at risk of being marginalised in school settings who participated in CoPI over a period of ten weeks. CoPI has features that may be conducive to the achievement of broad goals associated with children’s voice and citizenship education. The article explores the ways in which these particular children engaged with CoPI and the impact of participation on their behaviour. The analysis of the accounts of their teachers supports the hypothesis that potentially marginalised children appear to benefit from the structure that is inherent in this form of practical philosophy