Being a mobile international postgraduate research student with family in the United Kingdom: conflict, contestation, and contradictions

The internationalisation of higher education has influenced the dramatic rise in the mobility of students, academics and knowledge across borders. There has been growing research interest focusing on international students studying abroad. While the student experience is an area of education that is often researched, most research focuses on experiences of undergraduate students. Also in the context of international students, greater research emphasis has been placed on the academic experiences and support available for undergraduates. While such research is important, less attention has been paid to the non-academic experiences of International Post-Graduate Research Students with Families (IPGRSF). This article seeks to fill this gap by focusing on the social worlds of IPGRSF in the UK, examining students’ nuclear family contexts that are often marginalised in discourse. The article legitimises the IPGRSF subaltern world by focusing on how students negotiate its demands; how they negotiate their roles as research students with their other roles as spouses and parents, and the interrelationships among these roles; and how the university as an institution interacts with the students’ subaltern world. The findings show that language plays a significant role in shaping the process of mobility as well as influencing the students’ and their families’ integration and networking in the host country. Also, the findings suggest that students often had positive experiences at departmental level, but felt let down by the wider university support

21 tapaa tehostaa korkeakouluopintoja

Tämä julkaisu avaa 21 tapaa tehostaa korkeakouluopintoja. Kymmenen ammattikorkeakoulun pedagogia ja kehittäjää tuovat näkyviin konkreettisia toimintatapoja ja pedagogisia ratkaisuja, joilla tutkinto-opiskelua voidaan ketteröittää. Kantavina teemoina ovat työn ja opintojen kietoutuminen toisiinsa sekä rikastuttava keskinäinen vuorovaikutus. Toimivia ratkaisuja tunnistetaan oppimisympäristöistä, osaamisperustaisesta ohjauksesta ja arvioinnista sekä autenttisen työn ja opintojen reaaliaikaisesta yhdistämisestä. Kirjassa pohditaan myös, millä tavalla osaamisen kehittäminen voi edistää tuottavuutta korkeakoulussa. Kirja on tarkoitettu korkeakoulussa toimiville pedagogeille ja tutkijakehittäjille sekä korkeakoulun johdolle. Toivomme kirjan löytävän myös kaikki ne muut tahot ja henkilöt, jotka kehittävät maamme korkeakoulutoiminnan ja työn välistä integraatiota. Olemme osaamisen ajassa ja korkeakoulujen on löydettävä siinä luonteva paikkansa kehittävänä toimijana

Breeding in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.): strategic considerations

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) has a large number of landraces throughout Africa where small-scale farmers have preserved its genetic diversity on-farm. To date, the full genetic diversity of the crop remains largely unexploited. Until recently bambara groundnut never received any appreciable research effort, especially for its genetic improvement. Until then, only selection breeding was practised in which existing landraces were evaluated and their seeds multiplied. However, no new combinations resulting from hybridisation had ever been produced. Recently, collaborative research efforts involving partners from Africa and Europe have produced the first crosses of bambara groundnut. The creation of these crosses is a significant scientific and practical achievement and opens up the possibility of breeding true varieties of this crop. This paper shows how different strategies have been combined to establish the basis of a strategic breeding programme in bambara groundnut. The paper also illustrates the use of landraces in the bambara groundnut breeding programme, as an example of the contribution that landraces can make to increasing productivity in marginal environments and the conservation of a crop's genetic resources on-farm.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (6), pp. 463-471, 200

Learning and livelihoods: The experience of the FSIPM project in southern Malawi

Do resource-poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa face severe crop losses from pests and diseases? What are the different ways that rural households earn a living, and who are the poor? How does social organization shape the way that new technology is used and shared? How can we encourage farmers to participate in the design and evaluation of field experiments, yet still obtain results that are statistically valid? How can we create 'learning projects' that can change direction in response to the needs of their clients and what they find on the ground? These were some of the questions that challenged the Farming Systems Integrated Pest Management Project during four years of intensive fieldwork with resource-poor farmers in the Blantyre Shire Highlands, southern Malawi. In searching for answers, the project drew on expertise from pest management, agronomy, economics and anthropology. Learning and Livelihoods: The Experience of the FSIPM Project in Southern Malawi reflects on the project's experience, reviews the major lessons learned, and outlines an agenda for a follow-up project that addresses smallholders' needs for food security, cash income and information about new technology. The book will appeal not only to those interested in Malawi but also to those concerned with the wider issues raised by developing technology with resource poor farmers

Effect of a Type II Collagen Fragment on the Expression of Genes of the Extracellular Matrix in Cells of the Intervertebral Disc

Knowledge of factors regulating the turnover, repair, and degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is lacking. Although type II collagen (CII) fragments accumulate in the degenerative IVD, little is known of how they affect the degenerative process. A better understanding of the cellular interactions with fragments of matrix molecules are a key factor in promoting therapies for degenerative disc diseases. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of the CII (245-270) peptide on the expression of matrix molecules, proteinases, and interleukin genes in cells of the IVD. Cells isolated from the nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) of adult bovine tails were cultured up to 8 days in the absence (control) or presence of the CII (245-270) peptide. RT-PCR was used to analyze the expression of the different genes. Exposure of these cells to the CII (245-270) peptide led to a transient up-regulation of the aggrecan gene in AF cells while this up-regulation was maintained for a longer time in NP cells. The fragment also enhanced a transient up-regulation of the type II collagen gene in AF cells but had no effect in NP cells. The peptide enhanced transiently the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and cathepsin K genes in both AF and NP cells whereas it increased MMP-13 expression only in NP cells. The peptide up-regulated tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, TIMP-2, and TIMP-3 gene expression on day 1 in AF cells but had very little effect on their expression in NP cells. Finally, the CII (245-270) peptide had no effect on IL-6 expression while IL-1α was not expressed in these cells. In conclusion, our results showed that the CII (245-270) peptide differentially alter the expression of genes in bovine AF and NP cells and suggest that degradation products of collagen may be involved in the regulation of IVD homeostasis

The Potential of N-Rich Plasma-Polymerized Ethylene (PPE:N) Films for Regulating the Phenotype of the Nucleus Pulposus

We recently developed a nitrogen-rich plasma-polymerized biomaterial, designated “PPE:N” (N-doped plasma-polymerized ethylene) that is capable of suppressing cellular hypertrophy while promoting type I collagen and aggrecan expression in mesenchymal stem cells from osteoarthritis patients. We then hypothesized that these surfaces would form an ideal substrate on which the nucleus pulposus (NP) phenotype would be maintained. Recent evidence using microarrays showed that in young rats, the relative mRNA levels of glypican-3 (GPC3) and pleiotrophin binding factor (PTN) were significantly higher in nucleus pulposus (NP) compared to annulus fibrosus (AF) and articular cartilage. Furthermore, vimentin (VIM) mRNA levels were higher in NP versus articular cartilage. In contrast, the levels of expression of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and matrix gla protein precursor (MGP) were lower in NP compared to articular cartilage. The objective of this study was to compare the expression profiles of these genes in NP cells from fetal bovine lumbar discs when cultured on either commercial polystyrene (PS) tissue culture dishes or on PPE:N with time. We found that the expression of these genes varies with the concentration of N ([N]). More specifically, the expression of several genes of NP was sensitive to [N], with a decrease of GPC3, VIM, PTN, and MGP in function of decreasing [N]. The expression of aggrecan, collagen type I, and collagen type II was also studied: no significant differences were observed in the cells on different surfaces with different culture time. The results support the concept that PPE:N may be a suitable scaffold for the culture of NP cells. Further studies are however necessary to better understand their effects on cellular phenotypes

People with dementia as peer workers, challenges, and benefits: a thematic analysis and nominal groups study

BACKGROUND: There are national initiatives to involve service users in service delivery. However, programs employing people with dementia as peer support workers (PSWs) in memory services are in their infancy. This study is the first to explore the challenges and benefits to staff and peers involved in such a program. METHODS: Focus groups, structured based on nominal groups (NG) methodology were run with PSWs and clinical staff from two memory services. In total, there were 12 participants, with three focus groups: PSWs alone (n = 3); staff members alone (n = 6); and PSWs and staff members combined (n = 6). Data were analyzed through thematic analysis of recorded session content and the ranking of themes inherent in an NG approach. RESULTS: Perceived benefits of the PSW program were similar for staff and PSWs and included personal benefits for PSWS and stereotype reduction for staff. More challenges were reported by staff than PSWs, but both groups agreed that role definition and dealing with the cognitive deterioration inherent in dementia were key issues. CONCLUSIONS: The PSW program does have benefits for involved staff and PSWs. However, the challenges identified highlight the need for careful and consensual setup and consideration of power dynamics, with agreed roles and clear guidelines to deal with cognitive deterioration

Effect of HIV self-testing on the number of sexual partners among female sex workers in Zambia: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: To assess the effect of two health system approaches to distribute HIV selftests on the number of female sex workers’ client and nonclient sexual partners. Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial. Methods: Peer educators recruited 965 participants. Peer educator–participant groups were randomized 1 : 1 : 1 to one of three arms: delivery of HIV self-tests directly from a peer educator, free facility-based delivery of HIV self-tests in exchange for coupons, or referral to standard-of-care HIV testing. Participants in all three arms completed four peer educator intervention sessions, which included counseling and condom distribution. Participants were asked the average number of client partners they had per night at baseline, 1 and 4 months, and the number of nonclient partners they had in the past 12 months (at baseline) and in the past month (at 1 month and 4 months). Results: At 4 months, participants reported significantly fewer clients per night in the direct delivery arm (mean difference 0.78 clients, 95% CI 1.28 to 0.28, P ¼ 0.002) and the coupon arm (0.71, 95% CI 1.21 to 0.21, P ¼ 0.005) compared with standard of care. Similarly, they reported fewer nonclient partners in the direct delivery arm (3.19, 95% CI 5.18 to 1.21, P ¼ 0.002) and in the coupon arm (1.84, 95% CI 3.81 to 0.14, P ¼ 0.07) arm compared with standard of care. Conclusion: Expansion of HIV self-testing may have positive behavioral effects enhancing other HIV prevention efforts among female sex workers in Zambia. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02827240. Copyrigh