Genes, the fundamental building blocks of life, act together (often through their derived proteins) in modules such as protein complexes and molecular pathways to achieve a cellular function such as DNA repair and cellular transport. A current emphasis in genomics research is to identify gene modules from gene profiles, which are measurements (such as a mutant phenotype or an expression level), associated with the individual genes under conditions of interest; genes in modules often have similar gene profiles. Clustering groups of genes with similar profiles can hence deliver candidate gene modules. Pairwise similarity measures derived from these profiles are used as input to the popular hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithms; however, these algorithms offer little guidance on how to choose candidate modules and how to improve a clustering as new data becomes available. As an alternative, there are methods based on thresholding the similarity values to obtain a graph; such a graph can be analyzed through (probabilistic) methods developed in the social sciences. However, thresholding the data discards valuable information and choosing the threshold is difficult. Extending binary relational analysis, we exploit ranked relational data as the basis for two distinct approaches for identifying modules from genomic data, both based on the theory of random graph processes. We propose probabilistic models for ranked relational data that allow candidate modules to be accompanied by objective confidence scores and that permit an elegant integration of external information on gene-gene relationships. We first followed theoretical work by Ling to objectively select exceptionally isolated groups as candidate gene modules. Secondly, inspired by stochastic block models used in the social sciences, we construct a novel model for ranked relational data, where all genes have hidden module parameters which govern the strength of all gene-gene relationships. Adapting a classical likelihood often used for the analysis of horse races, clustering is performed by estimating the module parameters using standard Bayesian methods. The method allows the incorporation of prior information on gene-gene relationships; the utility of using prior information in the form of protein-protein interaction data in clustering of yeast mutant phenotype profiles is demonstrated.

<p> This project proposes a program designed to reduce the likelihood of abuse to children with developmental disabilities by teaching and training their parents. It begins with the evidence of abuse of children with developmental disabilities. The causes behind higher than average abuse rates are enumerated. The correlation between parental stress and abuse is covered. Violence prevention programs for schools, inmates and children are reviewed for viability. Components of these programs may be useful for a program focused on children with developmental disabilities. Violence prevention programs that serve children with developmental disabilities are reviewed. Possible solutions for reducing stress in general and in relation to raising a child with developmental disabilities are addressed. </p>

<p> In recent years the video game community has undergone a drastic transformation. What began as a communal pastime for programmers in federally-funded research laboratories during the late 1950s and 1960s has erupted into a multi-billion dollar industry enjoyed by millions of Americans. Reflecting this transformation, social scientists from a wide variety of fields have begun to explore video games' social significance. Sadly, so far very little work has examined video games from a sociological viewpoint. In this work I attempt to remedy this serious omission by adopting a cultural sociology framework to study video games' social meanings in three different mediated spaces, including <i>The New York Times,</i> the popular video game media outlet <i>Kotaku,</i> and the internet discussion forum NeoGAF. Consistent with recent work on entertainment commentary's capacity to function as an aesthetic public sphere, my analysis demonstrates that discussions occurring in all three spaces address broader sociopolitical concerns. However, the frequency in which these spaces engage in sociopolitical discussions, the type of topics they address, and the manner in which they do so vary. Consequently, my work adds new insight to the literature by highlighting how aesthetic public spheres are not isomorphic, but instead assume a variety of forms. Moreover, my work demonstrates how the particular type of aesthetic public sphere that an entertainment public facilitates is influenced by that entertainment public's position in civil society, the specific meaning the space attaches to the entertainment form under discussion, and civil society's overarching cultural structure. In this sense, my work strengthens the literature's understanding of entertainment's role in civil society by revealing the multiple forms entertainment commentary can assume and the sociological factors that influence the shape of these discourses.</p>

Ce travail en sciences sociales presente la theorie generale du sujet proposee par le Professeur Goux. Il s'agit de la theorie de l'equivalent general des echanges, c'est-a-dire de la fonction symbolique universelle et alienante---theorie que Goux a recemment completee grace a une interpretation nouvelle du mythe d'OEdipe. Selon cette theorie, il y aurait toujours dans l'histoire une forme de conscience dominante a un moment donne du proces logico-historique de la meditation universelle. L'histoire de la symbolisation presenterait ainsi trois grands types de sujet: (1) le sujet symboliste "aspectiviste" archaique; (2) le sujet realiste "perspectiviste" moderne; (3) le sujet operatif "transpectiviste" contemporain (ou "signe").

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.