Service Learning: A National Strategy

This position paper discusses Policy Recommendations (National, State, and Local Levels; and School Level) and Rationale (What is the Need and Why Service Learning?; What is Service Learning?; Examples of Service Learning; What Does Service Learning Accomplish?; Voluntary or Required?; National Campaign to Promote Service Learning; and Conclusion)

Wellbeing in educational contexts

Wellbeing has been identified as a serious issue for principals, teachers and students within educational contexts. The problem of principal health and wellbeing has also been recognised at both national and state levels in Australia for the at least a decade and has been acknowledged as an issue of concern by the state, private, and independent school sectors. The first full scale independent study into the occupational health, safety and wellbeing of Australia’s school principals paints a pretty grim picture about the current work conditions for Australia’s school leadership (Riley, 2014). The survey of 2,049 principals found that along with threats and acts of violence, school principals are also more likely to be bullied, and are dealing with ever-increasing volumes of work and health problems due to stress (Riley, 2014). Phillips and Sen (2011, cited in Riley, 2014) reported that, 'work related stress was higher in education than across all other industries…with work-related mental ill-health…almost double the rate for all industry' (p. 177-8). This trend appears to be continuing, with another report suggesting that that in Queensland over $10 million has been paid in five years to stressed teachers and that teachers are making more mental stress claims than in any other industry (Worksafe Queensland, 2013, as cited in Acton & Glasgow, 2015). Reducing these impacts of work stress in the teaching profession has been the focus of much research in education. Although historically resilience to stress has been the main focus of studies, research in the area has recently shifted towards the school wide promotion of wellbeing (Powell & Graham, 2017). Within the wellbeing literature, there is a shared view that educational contexts are best positioned to reach out to everyone and explicitly teach and promote wellbeing, potentially arresting trends of reported declining student and teacher wellbeing (Acton & Glasgow, 2015; Hogan, Thompson, Sellar, & Lingard, 2018), principal wellbeing (Riley, 2014), or of feeling of not belonging (Allen, Kern, Vella-Brodrick, Hattie, & Waters, 2018; Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivch & Linkins, 2009). There is, however, a lack of consensus as to the application and delivery of wellbeing programs within educational systems and educational contexts (Powell & Graham, 2017) and it is in this space that we hope to make worthwhile contribution

Accounting Profession in the United Kingdom; Professional Accounting in Foreign Country Series

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1697/thumbnail.jp

Juvenile methylphenidate reduces prefrontal cortex plasticity via D3 receptor and BDNF in adulthood

Background:: Early drug intervention in childhood disorders aims to maximize individual potential in the short- and long-term. Consistently, juvenile exposure to psychostimulants, such as methylphenidate (MPH), reduces risk for substance use in animals and sub-populations of individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated the effects of MPH on brain plasticity via dopamine receptor D3 (D3R) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in developing rats. Methods:: Between postnatal days 20–35, rat pups were administered saline vehicle (Veh) or MPH (2 mg/kg), the D3R-preferring agonist ±7-OHDPAT, or the antagonist nafadotride (0.05 mg/kg) alone, or in combination with MPH twice a day. In adulthood, subjects were challenged to Veh or cocaine (10 mg/kg for two days). The prefrontal cortex was analyzed for protein and mRNA levels of total BDNF, its splice variants I, IIc, III/IV, and IV/VI, and D3 receptors. A separate group of subjects was assessed for splice variants at 20, 35, 40, and 60 days of age. Results:: Across age strong correlations were evident between Drd3 and Bdnf mRNA levels (r = 0.65) and a negative relationship between Drd3 and exon IIc after MPH treatment (r = −0.73). BDNF protein levels did not differ between Veh- and MPH subjects at baseline, but were significantly lower in MPH-treated and cocaine challenged subjects (30.3 ± 9.7%). Bdnf mRNA was significantly higher in MPH-treated subjects, and reversed upon exposure to cocaine. This effect was blocked by nafadotride. Furthermore, Bdnftotal and Bdnf splice variants I, IIc, III/IV, and IV/VI changed across the transitions between juvenility and late adolescence. Conclusions:: These data suggest a sensitive window of vulnerability to modulation of BDNF expression around adolescence, and that compared to normal animals, juvenile exposure to MPH permanently reduces prefrontal BDNF transcription and translation upon cocaine exposure in adulthood by a D3R-mediated mechanism

Early Life Adversity Alters the Developmental Profiles of Addiction-Related Prefrontal Cortex Circuitry

brain science

Benefits and Success of an Interdisciplinary Wellness Interest Group (iWIG) at a Modern Jesuit University

Aim: To highlight the early achievements and discuss the benefits of forming an Interdisciplinary Wellness Interest Group (iWIG) on a modern Jesuit University campus. Background: While wellness programs have a place in academic communities, universal perspectives on the best way to lead Wellness initiatives is lacking. An iWIG gives a common platform to share ideas, communicate across audiences, and provide important information to the campus community about health promotion and health patterns of the campus community. Methods: After assembling the iWIG team, on-campus meetings were held with members of the interdisciplinary group. These meetings include faculty, staff, and students from various departments. The iWIG continues to meet regularly to expand and develop wellness initiatives, research opportunities and to ensure a presence on campus. Results: The iWIG has impacted many initiatives on campus, a select few which are profiled in this manuscript. The group is involved in funded research studies, has received a Healthy Workplace designation, and continues to expand health and wellness into various departments on campus. Conclusions: The interdisciplinary group has provided those with an interest in health and wellness with a formal platform to express ideas and implement initiatives for all individuals to better the overall well-being of the university community

Factors Associated With Physical Activity Among Survivors Of Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer: The National Health Interview Survey

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp21/1006/thumbnail.jp

Stimulating an interest in mental health nursing

A team of researchers at the University of Wollongong are currently examining the experiences of Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students as they engage in a stimulating learning experience in mental health

GH62 arabinofuranosidases: Structure, function and applications

Motivated by industrial demands and ongoing scientific discoveries continuous efforts are made to identify andcreate improved biocatalysts dedicated to plant biomass conversion.α-1,2 and α-1,3 arabinofuranosyl specific α-L-arabinofuranosidases (EC 3.2.1.55) are debranching enzymes catalyzing hydrolytic release of α-L-arabinofur-anosyl residues, which decorate xylan or arabinan backbones in lignocellulosic and pectin constituents of plantcell walls. The CAZy database classifies α-L-arabinofuranosidases in Glycoside Hydrolase (GH) families GH2,GH3, GH43, GH51, GH54 and GH62. Only GH62 contains exclusively α-L-arabinofuranosidases and these are offungal and bacterial origin. Twenty-two GH62 enzymes out of 223 entries in the CAZy database have beencharacterized and very recently new knowledge was acquired with regard to crystal structures, substrate spe-cificities, and phylogenetics, which overall provides novel insights into structure/function relationships of GH62.Overall GH62 α-L-arabinofuranosidases are believed to play important roles in nature by acting in synergy withseveral cell wall degrading enzymes and members of GH62 represent promising candidates for biotechnologicalimprovements of biofuel production and in various biorefinery application