The Culture of Capital: Theses on Discipline & Embodiment

Background I am a cultural theorist focused primarily on capitalisms as cognitive, behavioral, and productive conditions. I have self-published two books on this topic, titled ‘Distruments’, and ‘Assemblies & Other Essays’. I am currently working on my third, titled, ‘Everything A Waiting Midnight’. Methods Interdisciplinary inquiry into political, poetic, and philosophical texts by Ana Tsing, Sylvia Wynter, Yannis Ritsos, Sylvia Wynter, and Christina Sharpe. Results A book length series of essays and theses, which bridge the gap between my second and third major texts, ‘Assemblies’ and ‘Everything A Waiting Midnight’. Conclusions This work attempts to create a constellation of the works before it, while declaring an additional sphere of nuanced critique into the works on and against capital which came before it: that is, that the culture of capital is a culture of discipline-of-life, entirely, and develops, first and foremost (even before that which is the ‘commodity’) a cinema of discipline, which sets the scene for the reproduction of a world where everything has a price. This price is nothing less than life, itself.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1054/thumbnail.jp

Whose Medium? Whose Message?: A Critical Media Literacy Approach to "Information Has Value"

This chapter presents a lesson that uses critical media literacy theory to introduce students to "Information Has Value" in the context of news media. Originating in cultural studies, critical media literacy is an educational theory that posits that media sources reflect and perpetuate the socioeconomic power imbalances in the society in which they are produced, and that students should learn to critically analyze and question representations in media they encounter. It is thus a powerful lens through which to help students learn about the concept "Information Has Value." The lesson discussed in this chapter combines rhetorical analysis, hands-on searching, and discussion to help students 1) begin to identify the socioeconomic conditions through which a news media source is produced, 2) understand how these conditions can shape its production and dissemination, 3) reflect on how this contributes to the marginalization and underrepresentation of certain groups within news media.Publisher does not allow open access until after publicatio

From Training to Learning: Developing Student Employees Through Experiential Learning Design

Published version available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008100775400011XIn this chapter, the authors argue for moving student employee training programs beyond a sole focus on training students for effective service, to training based on experiential learning (EL) principles. The authors describe the development of an experiential approach for two student positions in the Ohio University Libraries’ social media and video production work. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges in this approach, and addresses issues of scaling the model to larger student employment programs.No embarg

Fluoride levels in UK infant milks.

Aim To provide a comprehensive report of fluoride concentration in UK infant milks and estimate their contribution to daily fluoride intake. Methods A total of 60 formula milk products available commercially or within a hospital environment were analysed, along with eight pasteurised cow’s milk samples. Formula milk products requiring preparation were reconstituted with fresh Leeds tap water (0.02 ppmF). Fluoride concentration was measured for all products directly using an ion selective electrode after addition of low-level total ionic strength adjustment buffer. Results The overall median fluoride concentration for the 68 infant milks was 0.025 ppmF, with a wide range of 0.002–0.282 ppmF. Analysis revealed variation between composition and manufacturer, in addition to differences between measured and labeled fluoride concentration. Although all products contained low fluoride concentration, the fluoride concentrations for formula milks used within the hospital setting (0.029 ppmF) were statistically higher in comparison to the commercial formula milk (0.016 ppmF) and cow’s milk (0.017 ppmF) products. The daily fluoride contribution from infant milks was low; 0.0034 mgF/kg body weight per day was estimated between birth and 6 months of age, further decreasing as intake of infant milk decreased with age. Conclusions Fluoride concentration of the analysed infant milks is low, providing minimal contribution towards total daily F intake and alone are unlikely to pose a threat for the development of dental fluorosis

Arabidopsis peroxisome proteomics

The analytical depth of investigation of the peroxisomal proteome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has not yet reached that of other major cellular organelles such as chloroplasts or mitochondria. This is primarily due to the difficulties associated with isolating and obtaining purified samples of peroxisomes from Arabidopsis. So far only a handful of research groups have been successful in obtaining such fractions. To make things worse, enriched peroxisome fractions frequently suffer from significant organellar contamination, lowering confidence in localization assignment of the identified proteins. As with other cellular compartments, identification of peroxisomal proteins forms the basis for investigations of the dynamics of the peroxisomal proteome. It is therefore not surprising that, in terms of functional analyses by proteomic means, peroxisomes are lagging considerably behind chloroplasts or mitochondria. Alternative strategies are needed to overcome the obstacle of hard-to-obtain organellar fractions. This will help to close the knowledge gap between peroxisomes and other organelles and provide a full picture of the physiological pathways shared between organelles. In this review, we briefly summarize the status quo and discuss some of the methodological alternatives to classic organelle proteomic approaches.Australian ResearchCouncil/CE0561495DF

Spatial encoding in primate hippocampus during free navigation.

The hippocampus comprises two neural signals-place cells and θ oscillations-that contribute to facets of spatial navigation. Although their complementary relationship has been well established in rodents, their respective contributions in the primate brain during free navigation remains unclear. Here, we recorded neural activity in the hippocampus of freely moving marmosets as they naturally explored a spatial environment to more explicitly investigate this issue. We report place cells in marmoset hippocampus during free navigation that exhibit remarkable parallels to analogous neurons in other mammalian species. Although θ oscillations were prevalent in the marmoset hippocampus, the patterns of activity were notably different than in other taxa. This local field potential oscillation occurred in short bouts (approximately .4 s)-rather than continuously-and was neither significantly modulated by locomotion nor consistently coupled to place-cell activity. These findings suggest that the relationship between place-cell activity and θ oscillations in primate hippocampus during free navigation differs substantially from rodents and paint an intriguing comparative picture regarding the neural basis of spatial navigation across mammals

Research Needs and Learning Format Preferences of Graduate Students at a Large Public University: An Exploratory Study

This article reports on a study of research needs and learning preferences of graduate students at a public research university. A sequential exploratory mixed-method design was used, with a survey instrument developed from an initial qualitative stage. Significant differences were found between master’s and doctoral students’ and on-campus and online students’ confidence with several research skills. Graduate students overall prefer asynchronous online options and in-person workshops over synchronous online instruction and in-class presentations for learning research skills. The article concludes with a discussion of the value of the sequential exploratory mixed-method design for informing practice at an individual institution.Publisher allows immediate open acces

A pilot study evaluating the effects of a 12 week exergaming programme on body mass, size and composition in postpartum females

Introduction: Pregnancy is associated with weight gain, the retention of which contributes to the prevalence of obesity and overweight in adult females. Many new mothers do not achieve the recommendations for physical activity (PA), citing factors such as a lack of time and access to childcare. Exergaming may address some of the barriers to PA and offer an alternative to traditional exercise, thus aiding in weight management. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of an exergaming intervention on body composition in postpartum females. Methods: Eight females who had given birth within 1 year completed a 12 week exergaming intervention, which required them to exercise at home for 45 minutes on alternate days, using the Wii Fit. Participants self-reported their pre-pregnancy body weight, and visited the laboratory prior to and following the intervention for evaluation of body weight, size (height, regional circumferences, body mass index [BMI]) and composition (fat mass [FM], lean mass [LM] and bone mineral content [BMC]). Body composition was evaluated via full body full-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan. Participants completed a three-day weighed food intake at three time-points. Results: Baseline body mass was 8.2 kg greater than self-reported pre-pregnancy values (56.8 ± 5.1 kg). Following the intervention, body mass was significantly lower than baseline values and was similar to pre-pregnancy levels (59.9 ± 7.9 kg). Reductions in BMI (~2 kg·m2 ), waist, hip and bust circumference (3-6%) accompanied the loss of body mass. Food diaries confirmed participants had not altered their energy intake. Discussion: The results of this pilot study indicate that exergaming may offer an alternative to traditional exercise for preventing the retention of gestational weight gain and reducing associated health risks, whilst also maintaining lean mass and bone mineral content

Evaluating and Optimizing Fish Health and Welfare During Experimental Procedures.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. via http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/zeb.2015.1165Many facilities house fish in separate static containers post-procedure, for example, while awaiting genotyping results. This ensures fish can be easily identified, but it does not allow for provision of continuous filtered water or diet. At the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, concern over the housing conditions led to the development of an individual housing system (GeneS) enabling feeding and water filtration. Trials to compare the water quality measures between the various systems found that fish housed in static containers experienced rapid deterioration in water quality. By day 1, measures of ammonia were outside the Institute's prescribed values and continued to rise until it was 25-fold higher than recommended levels. Nitrite levels were also outside recommended levels for all fish by day 9 and were twofold higher by the end of the trial. The water quality measures for tanks held on the recirculating system were stable even though food was provided. These results indicate that for housing zebrafish, running water or appropriately timed water changes are a critical component to ensure that the ethical obligations are met.We thank the staff from the Sanger Institute's Research Support Facility, Zebrafish Mutation Project, and Jacqui White for their support. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust grant number 098051