EXAMINING A MODEL OF EVOLUTIONARY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMIC CHANGE WITHIN EXISTING SOCIETAL SYSTEMS

Within today's emerging global society, educational systemic change is a dynamic, complex process that must seek to engage active participation of all stakeholders. This article examines alternative models of this process, providing different perspectives of the recursive and comprehensive nature of change when viewed from the vantage points of those stakeholders within the process. An envisioned school or educational system that addresses preparation of a citizenry dedicated to democratic principles and issues of social justice must consciously examine the relationships, that form and reform interconnecting and unifying diverse subsystems within the school's constructed meaning and purpose.     

Simulating Benevolence: Obstructing Systemic Problem Solving

Traditional methods of evaluating and solving world problems are insufficient to deal with today's issues, which are complex and interconnected, and therefore cannot be understood, or solved, in isolation. The author's study aimed to better understand behaviors that impact systemic problems in the capacity-building community. The resultant theory of simulating benevolence conceptualizes a collection of behaviors where change agents undertake activities that are not in the best interest of community members. Instead, activities satisfy the need for activity, involvement, and excitement. This theory has real-world implications in the pursuit of systemic social change. In any social context, a change agent cannot merely go through the motions of change, seemingly behaving active and engaged, at the expense of those that he or she claims to help.     

One size does not fit all: Exploring how the five-factor model facets predict disordered eating behaviours among adolescent and young adult males and females

There is a wealth of research that has highlighted the relationship between personality and eating disorders. It has been suggested that understanding how subclinical disordered eating behaviours are uniquely associated with personality can help to improve the conceptualization of individuals with eating disorders. This study aimed to explore how the facets of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) predicted restrictive eating, binge eating, purging, chewing and spitting, excessive exercising and muscle building among males and females. An online survey assessing disordered eating behaviours, FFM and general psychopathology was completed by 394 females and 167 males aged between 16 and 30 years. Simultaneous equations path models were systematically generated for each disordered eating behaviour to identify how the FFM facets, body dissatisfaction and age predicted behaviour. The results indicated that each of the six disordered behaviours were predicted by a unique pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving. Considerable differences between males and females were found for each path model, suggesting differences between males and females in the personality traits that drive disordered eating behaviours. It was concluded that it is important to take personality into account when treating males and females who engage in disordered eating behaviours.     

血管平滑肌细胞——祸首还是福星

长期以来血管平滑肌细胞（ＶＳＭＣ）增殖被认为是动脉粥样硬化（ＡＳ）发生的绝对必要条件和介入性治疗后血管再狭窄（ＲＳ）的主要原因。许多搞ＲＳ的策略始终盯住抑制ＶＳＭＣ这一环节。然而这些方法在临床试验中很少邮到或基本没有益处。近来的临床和实验研究提示抑制ＶＳＭＣ可以导和脆弱的ＡＳ斑块不稳定而发生裂缝,破裂、血栓形成,引起心肌 死等急性冠状动脉症候群,因为ＶＳＭＣ合成释放的胶原等可以增加斑块的生物力学强     

MODIFICATION OF COMBINED MIGRAINE-MUSCLE CONTRACTION HEADACHES USING BVP AND EMG FEEDBACK

The effect of blood volume pulse (BVP) and frontalis muscle action potential (EMG) feedback on control of vasoconstriction of the temporal artery and frontalis muscle activity in combined migraine-muscle tension subjects was investigated in a multiple baseline design (across subjects and responses). The data indicated: (a) both subjects obtained an ability to control BVP during BVP feedback and EMG during EMG feedback; (b) there were decreases in frequency of migraine headaches during BVP feedback and decreases in muscle contraction headaches during EMG feedback. The results of this study supported the theoretical explanation of two pain mechanisms involved in combined muscle contraction-migraine headaches as well as the effectiveness of biofeedback procedures that target directly the specific pain mechanism in the elimination of the two types of head pain.     

How Nation Building Backfires: Beliefs about Group Malleability and Anti-Chinese Attitudes in Hong Kong

An intriguing phenomenon documented within political science research is the association between nation-building programs and increased subnational intergroup conflicts. Based on data collected in Hong Kong, an epicenter of subnational conflicts in China, this article suggests that nation building may intensify the tension between subnational groups because it helps to spread the belief that groups have fixed inherent characteristics. Specifically, in the face of deep intergroup cultural and political differences, people who see their nation as a historically unified entity are more likely to believe that those differences are unchangeable and, in turn, develop negative attitudes toward other subnational groups. We support these arguments with a representative survey of the population and two laboratory experiments. In the first experiment, respondents who are exposed to narratives that emphasize the homogeneity of the Chinese nation report a higher level of fixed group perceptions than those who receive the opposite message. In the second experiment, respondents who are primed to believe that group characteristics are fixed report significantly more negative attitudes toward migrants from other parts of China. Our findings contribute conceptually to the study of nation building and shed new light on the formation of immigration attitudes.     

Rapid stimulatory effects of testosterone upon myotubule metabolism and sugar transport,as assessed by silicon microphysiometry

A considerable number of studies have revealed behavioral circumstances that give rise to small or transient differences in circulating testosterone concentrations; however, careful consideration of androgen physiology leads to the disquieting conclusion that these differences are often unlikely to have much physiologic or behavioral significance. In the present report, we observe that small transients of testosterone secretion could have very rapid anabolic effects on a cultured muscle-derived cell line. Specifically, we have examined the effects of testosterone on metabolism in cultured C2C12 myotubules, using a silicon microphysiometer. The instrument monitors cellular extrusion of protons and acidic metabolites, and such extrusion is directly linked to ATP hydrolysis, thus providing a real-time measure of cellular metabolism. Testosterone caused a small but significant increase in metabolism. The most striking feature of this effect was its rapidity, in that it occurred within 3 hr. This rapid enhancement of metabolism suggested that testosterone might be enhancing substrate uptake even more rapidly. Indeed, we found that testosterone increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake within 1 min. The rapidity of this effect seemed to preclude mediation by classical intracellular steroid receptors. In support of this, we were unable to detect specific intracellular binding of testosterone. These findings show that testosterone can exert rapid anabolic effects on substrate transport and metabolism in myotubules. Should this finding general to muscle in vivo, it suggests that relatively small individual differences in testosterone profiles, in response to various social interactions, may have very real consequence for subsequent muscle physiology. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Model Building With Prospect Theory: A Cognitive Approach to International Relations

Despite the growing call for new models of politics grounded in the capacities of real–world decision–makers, much international relations theory still incorporates rationalist assumptions. Scholars defend such assumptions as the best way to produce parsimonious theoretical structures. Recent attempts to deploy prospect theory in the study of international politics are consistent with the call for empirically grounded models of political behavior. However, past attempts have often emphasized individualized comparisons of prospect theory with rational choice at the expense of building deductive theory. The analysis here demonstrates that prospect theory can produce deductive models for empirical comparison with those already manufactured under rational choice. The result is a new set of propositions concerning international politics securely anchored to the actual capacities of human actors.