Youth Voting Legislation

Although youth voter participation is on the rise, young people are still underrepresented in the electorate. In 2006, voters between the ages of 18 and 29 comprised about 20 percent of the eligible voting population, but only half actually voted. Among young minority citizens, voter registration and turnout is even lower, lagging behind White rates by ten and five percent, respectively.The stratification in the youth electorate is reinforced by current methods of voter mobilization efforts, which concentrate on college campuses where the student body is overwhelmingly White. This legislative session saw multiple approaches toward increasing youth participation in the electoral process, including voter registration and voter education measures and more ambitious efforts to extend voting rights to citizens younger than 18. The majority of these measures failed to pass, resulting in few improvements in the ways in which American youths interact in the election system.In this memorandum, we provide information on the status of youth voting state legislation in 2008, related current election law, and issues involved in youth voter mobilization and participation

An analysis of design reuse benefits

Although the concept of design reuse is accepted as a valid approach to design, little attempt has been made to formalise the elements that constitutes design reuse. The few approaches formalising design reuse, e.g. 'Concept Reuse Approach for Engineering Design Problem Solving', tend to be prescriptive, detailing procedures and functions that have to be carried out in order to reuse designs. Such procedural methods fail to identify the underlying processes and knowledge resources of design reuse and tend to relate to an approach or method of tackling reuse rather than reuse itself. It would seem that the only current model encompassing design reuse is 'The Design Reuse Process Model'. The elements of this reuse process model have been used as a basis upon which to identify and analyse the benefits of design reuse when considering key metrics relating to competitive product development,that is time, cost, quality and performance

Agrin-induced acetylcholine receptor clustering in mammalian muscle requires tyrosine phosphorylation.

Agrin is thought to be the nerve-derived factor that initiates acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering at the developing neuromuscularjunction. We have investigated the signaling pathway in mouse C2 myotubes and report that agrin induces a rapid but transient tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR beta subunit. As the beta-subunit tyrosine phosphorylation occurs before the formation of AChR clusters, it may serve as a precursor step in the clustering mechanism. Consistent with this, we observed that tyrosine phosphorylation of the beta subunit correlated precisely with the presence or absence of clustering under several experimental conditions. Moreover, two tyrosine kinase inhibitors, herbimycin and staurosporine, that blocked beta-subunit phosphorylation also blocked agrin-induced clustering. Surprisingly, the inhibitors also dispersed preformed AChR clusters, suggesting that the tyrosine phosphorylation of other proteins may be required for the maintenance of receptor clusters. These findings indicate that in mammalian muscle, agrin-induced AChR clustering occurs through a mechanism that requires tyrosine phosphorylation and may involve tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR itself

Convenience Voting Legislation

The popularity of "convenience voting" measures -- vote-by-mail (VBM), liberal absentee voting and Early Vote -- has grown in recent years. A majority of states now permit voting by mail upon request, early voting, or both. This trend towards convenience voting has been propelled by its popularity among voters and a perception among policymakers and advocates that such measures decrease costs, increase turnout, and are generally more advantageous than casting a ballot in person on the second Tuesday in November.While legislation introduced in 2008 by state lawmakers indicates that this trends continues, few states saw passage of significant laws that alter the traditional way America votes. Furthermore, research suggests convenience voting may do little to expand the electorate, let alone increase voter turnout. In this memorandum, we provide information on the status of convenience voting legislation in states for 2008, the current parameters of convenience voting laws in the states, and note some of the limitations of convenience voting measures

Registration and Voting Among Americans Ages 18-29

Young Americans ages 18-29 appear to be registering and voting at significantly higher rates than in recent elections. If further research bears this it out, it will be a welcome development given that young Americans are underrepresented in the electorate compared to their voting eligible population. This research memorandum provides registration and voting information on voting-eligible Americans ages 18-24 and 25-29 by age and college experience.The data raises one cautionary note: to the extent programs to engage young Americans in the democratic process focus primarily on college campuses, they will not only miss half of voting-eligible Americans ages 18-24 but also overlook a majority of Blacks and Latinos in this age group

Work integrated learning

In the coming decades, environmental, cultural, economic and social changes will have a profound global impact (Hajkowicz, Cook & Littleboy, 2012). The higher education sector is under pressure to transform the way it operates in response to these forces (Ernst & Young, 2012). The emerging knowledge economy, progressing technological capabilities, increasing global mobility, and growing demands for economic productivity, require a proficient, innovative and competitive work force. Education is perceived as a key mechanism for preparing the population to meet the global demands of the 21st century. Work integrated learning (WIL) is internationally recognized and nationally endorsed as a strategy for ensuring students are exposed to authentic learning experiences with the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts to practice-based tasks, ultimately enhancing graduate employability (Knight & Yorke, 2004; Peach & Matthews, 2011)

Hypoxia enhances the tissue protective effect of erythropoietin and its analogues in an endothelial cell injury model

PO has tissue protective activities in ischemic disease but also has prothrombotic, erythropoietic effects. Carbamylated EPO (CEPO) retains the protective actions without the erythropoietic effects. To assess the potential of these molecules in atherosclerosis (an ischemic heart disease), we investigated EPO and CEPO in an in vitro model of injury using bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) in hypoxia and normoxia.. BAECs were grown to confluence in 10% FBS in 12 well culture plates. They were then cultured under normoxia (21% oxygen) or hypoxia (5% oxygen) 24 h prior to their use in an injury model using the ‘scratch assay.’ The effects of EPO and CEPO on endothelial closure were assessed using a range of concentrations (0-10 ng/mL). In separate experiments, the effects of EPO and CEPO on BAEC proliferation and chemotaxis were also assessed under similar hypoxic conditions. Gene expression of the receptors that may be involved in their protective pathway [EPOR and the β common chain receptor (βCR)] were assessed using quantitative PCR. The effects of both EPO and CEPO were enhanced under hypoxic conditions (13 ± 2.6 %, and 10 ± 1.69 %, p0.05). Whilst, the expression of EPOR gene increased by 2.1 ± 0.8 folds (p<0.05) In hypoxia, βCR expression was not affected by the change in oxygen tension. The effects of EPO and CEPO in the scratch assay appeared to be mediated by enhancing cell proliferation and migration of BAECs (p<0.05). In conclusion, the enhanced effects of EPO and CEPO on endothelial cells under hypoxia requires further investigation in processes in which hypoxia may play a role, e.gfor example. in atherogenesis and re-stensosis following angioplasty

Cause, consequence or coincidence: the relationship between psychiatric disease and metabolic syndrome

It is now well established that severe mental illness (SMI) is associated with a reduced lifespan and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Individuals with SMI often have abnormalities of lipid metabolism, glucose homeostasis, an increased prevalence of obesity and hypertension. They also have an increased prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but are likely to be multifactorial. Whilst there have been numerous studies investigating the prevalence of MetS in patients with SMI, many have been in small, mixed population samples, that have not been adequately controlled for the background population from which they have been drawn. This is important because of the wide range of prevalence estimates that have been reported, and variations of MetS prevalence with ethnicity. The negative impact of treatment with second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) drugs on the risk of MetS also appears clear in most populations, although the mechanisms accounting for this increased risk are yet to be clarified. Despite this high prevalence of CVD risk factors in patients with SMI, most studies report a poor implementation of screening for CVD risk factors at baseline, and following initiation of treatment with SGAs. Not all patients with SMI are susceptible to the adverse effects of SGAs, but in those that are, switching to an anti-psychotic that is less likely to cause metabolic disturbance, starting statin therapy and a reduction in CVD risk factors through changes in lifestyle may all be important strategies

Critical assessment issues in work-integrated learning

Assessment has long been a contentious issue in work-integrated learning (WIL) and cooperative education. Despite assessment being central to the integrity and accountability of a university and long-standing theories around best practice in assessment, enacting quality assessment practices has proven to be more difficult. Authors in this special issue on assessment highlight the need for balanced assessment approaches that reflect the highly variable experiences students encounter, and the need to keep validity and reliability paramount when constructing assessment structures. Increasingly quality and standards policies driven by more regulatory university environments are impacting on the design of assessment profiles. The value of workplace supervisors’ feedback in WIL contexts is discussed and the challenges of measuring the nuances of unpredictable, context-dependent WIL outcomes are explored. The benefits of ePorftolios are advocated and the use of these platforms as assessment tools that enable a creative way for students to provide evidence of employability capabilities highlighted