Marcher sur cette terre, trouver son appartenance : les ruminations d'un colon instable

In this paper, I contemplate my positionality as a non-Indigenous settler of Scottish, English and German descent. I (re)visit places that have shaped my life-journey and engages in a thoughtful participation between language, land and my positionality as an emerging researcher within an Indigenist paradigm. I consider Regan’s (2010) concept of the unsettled settler, defined as non-Indigenous people learning to embrace the struggle to face truths of colonialism and the consequences of the Indian Residential School system. Through photovoice and poetic inquiry, I reflect on my own encounters with the land and more-than-human relatives as a way to disrupt colonial assumptions. Ruminations, pictures and a collection of poems invite an exploration of the curricular implications of land-based teachings and reconciling ways of knowing with the land. By delving into and sharing my own personal experiences on the land, I hope to invite non-Indigenous educators to consider their own positionality and relationship with the land as part of their response to the Truth and Reconciliation (2015) calls to action.Dans cet article, je contemple ma positionnalité en tant que colon non autochtone d'origine écossaise, anglaise et allemande. Je (re) visite des lieux qui ont façonné mon parcours de vie et m'engage dans une participation réfléchie entre la langue, la terre et ma positionnalité en tant que chercheuse émergente au sein d'un paradigme indigéniste. Je considère le concept de Regan (2010) du colon instable, défini comme un peuple non autochtone apprenant à se battre pour affronter les vérités du colonialisme et les conséquences du système des Écoles résidentielles indiens. À travers la photographie et l'enquête poétique, je réfléchis à mes propres rencontres avec la terre et des parents plus qu'humains comme moyen de perturber les hypothèses coloniales. Des ruminations, des images et une collection de poèmes invitent à explorer les implications curriculaires des enseignements basés sur la terre et à réconcilier les manières de savoir avec la terre. En explorant et en partageant mes propres expériences personnelles sur la terre, j'espère inviter les éducatrices/teurs non autochtones à considérer leur propre positionnalité et leur relation avec la terre dans le cadre de leur réponse aux appels à l'action du conseil «Truth and Reconciliation» (La Vérité et la réconciliation) du Canada (2015)

The Heartbeat of Na’a: Documenting One School’s Blackfoot Cultural Learning Journey

In June 2019, students at an elementary school presented a Blackfoot/English opera and also wrote, illustrated and published Blackfoot/English books to showcase their 18-month-long Blackfoot learning journey. This collaborative story cannot be told in isolation by the researcher/designer alone. Together with the Elder who guided the work and the school principal, we will share the heart of this journey and the impact that this has had on pedagogy, school culture and relationships. Findings from this ethnographic study (Lassiter, 2005; Rappaport, 2008) within an Indigenous research paradigm (Chilisa, 2012; Donald, 2016; Wilson, 2008) highlight how wisdom and stories that are part of the land and how intentional and nurtured relationships with an Elder, with each other and with the animals led to a deeper appreciation of local place. It also created a stronger sense of engagement and belonging within the school for teachers and students. Within the conventional, privileged space of an opera, we created an open, ethical space that invited all students to thrive and participate (Ermine, 2007). Findings point to increased engagement by marginalized students in the land-based experiences, in the preparations for the opera and the book writing, and also in the opera performance itself. With video clips of the opera and samples of the books to lift our stories, this presentation aims to inspire action in the collective work of education for reconciliation. We see this journey as a gift to share with the world so that educators and leaders can create their own meaningful action across different contexts

Ahksinakii, They Made Their Mark: Presencing a Kinship Worldview for All Beings

This inquiry is an ecological, pedagogical act of creation-research that shares two interconnected journeys: 1) the arts-based, land-based journey of children learning with na’a, Blackfoot for Mother Earth, alongside a Blackfoot Elder and 2) the journey of my own becoming as I walked a transformative pathway of learning to be a good ancestor as I learned with na’a, an Elder, and children. These journeys evolved over four years through local sites of inquiry and seek to respond to the question: What possibilities does a kinship worldview between humans, land, and more-than-humans offer for (re)imagining educational experiences for children, teachers, and others? This research inquires into a kinship worldview, Indigenously understood, and centres art and artmaking in various forms that includes artistic representations of children as well as my own making as a research process. Emerging from this creation-research are understandings about learning, an ancient kincentric wayfinding methodology, and a pedagogy of kinship. The presence of anthropology deepened my perspective on kinship, colonialism, nationalism, and cultures in Western schools. Eight years past the Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC (2015a) calls to action, during the ongoing effects of colonialism in Canada, and with an urgency to respond to the climate crisis, this research contributes to (re)storying a transformative learning ethic that centres Indigeneity and kinship between all beings. This dissertation offers a pedagogical space where I began to understand how to notice and cultivate the presence of kinship and determine how a kinship worldview could evoke care for each other and Earth. The purpose of presencing kinship is also to extend and come to appreciate the notion of kin, human and more-than-human, in new ways so that we can extend our kin networks and work collectively to care for Earth and future generations. This research journey tracks the happenings and the practices within this kincentric space that offers possibilities to (re)imagine what kind of ancestors we want to be. The teachings of children, an Elder, more-than-human kin, and my own personal learning journey circle around throughout this piece, offering perspectives as an invitation to embody kincentric wayfinding

Finding Humanity in Design

The Calgary Board of Education’s Design the Shift was a radical step away from typical professional development opportunities. It was a year-long collaboration designed for educators to provoke a shift in practice by redefining curriculum through design. Our definition of design evolved from a linear business model to a much more generous movement. As designers of learning, the participants took up “what really [mattered] to them”, with design becoming an intersection of creativity, place, and community (Chambers, 1998, p. 17). We created opportunities for participants to charge up against an experience, causing them to make, unmake, and remake the curriculum of their classrooms. All experiences inspired the participants to stop, notice, listen and awaken, drawing on Maxine Greene’s (1977) wide-awakeness philosophy

Development of muscle mass : How much is optimum for performance?

Training for muscle hypertrophy can be expected to induce some increase in total body mass, and this can have positive or negative consequences for athletic performance. Positive effects may be increased strength, increased resistance to being pushed aside, and greater momentum when running, whereas possible negative effects may be reduced capacity to accelerate, decelerate, change direction, and jump. These possible effects of gaining muscle and total body mass suggest that strength and conditioning coaches should give thoughtful consideration to the amount of hypertrophy training prescribed throughout an athletes's development and should be determined by the specific needs of the athlete

Creating a Professional Development Plan for a Simulation Consortium

As the United States struggles with health care reform and a nursing education system that inadequately prepares students for practice, dramatic advances in educational technology signal opportunities for both academic and practicing nurses to affect our profession as never before. Simulation technologies provide large and small institutions with the means to educate health care students and novice professionals effectively and efficiently through hands-on experience, but the costs of such a venture can be prohibitive. A simulation consortium offers a venue for different health care and educational institutions with shared goals to pool knowledge, monies, and labor toward health care education throughout a geographic area. This article details one Midwestern U.S. region's work in creating a professional development plan for a new simulation consortium

Supporting people with type 2 diabetes diabetes in effective use of their medicine through mobile health technology integrated with clinical care (SuMMiT-D pilot): results of a feasibility randomised trial

Background:The purpose of this 6-month intervention pilot feasibility randomised trial was to test sending brief messages using mobile phones to promote self-management through taking medication as prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes. This was to inform the design and conduct of a future large-scale United Kingdom based clinical trial and establish feasibility of recruitment, the technology used, follow up, and data collection. Methods: A multicentre individually randomised, controlled parallel group trial in primary care, recruiting adults (≥35 years) with type 2 diabetes in England. Consenting participants were randomly allocated to receive short message system text-messages up to four times a week, or usual care, for a period of six months; messages contained behavioural change techniques targeting medication use. The primary outcome was the rate of recruitment to randomisation of participants to the trial with a planned rate of 22 participants randomised per month. The study also aimed to establish feasibility of follow up at 6-months, with an aim of retaining more than 80% of participants. Data, including patient reported measures, were collected at baseline and the end of the 6-month follow-up period, and a notes review was completed at 24 months. Results: The trial took place between 26 November 2018 and 30 September 2019. In total 209 participants were randomly allocated to intervention (n=103) or usual care (n=106). The maximum rate of monthly recruitment to the trial was 60-80 participants per month. In total, 12,734 messages were sent to participants. Of these messages, 47 were identified as having failed to be sent by the service provider. Participants sent 2,864 messages to the automated messaging system. Baseline data from medical records were available for >90% of participants with the exception of cholesterol (78.9%). At six months, a further HbA1c measurement was reported for 67% of participants. In total medical record data were available at six-months for 207 (99.0%) of participants and completed self-report data were available for 177 (84.7%) of participants. Conclusion: The feasibility of a large-scale randomised evaluation of brief message intervention for people with type 2 diabetes appears to be high using this efficient design. Failure rate of sending messages is low, rapid recruitment was achieved among people with type 2 diabetes, clinical data is available on participants from routine medical records and self-report of economic measures was acceptable

Presenting a multi-level Thermal Comfort Assessment (TCA) to identify and mitigate heat stress risks in urban areas

The liveability of cities worldwide is under threat by the predicted increase in intensity and frequency of heatwaves and the absence of a clear spatial overview of where action to address this. Heat stress impairs vital urban functions (Böcker and Thorsson 2014), hits the local economy (Evers et al. 2020), and brings risks for citizens’ health (Ebi et al. 2021). The ongoing densification of cities may escalate the negative consequences of heat, while rising climate adaptation ambitions require new pathways to (re)design public places for a warmer climate. Currently, policy makers and urban planners rely on remote sensing and modelling to identify potential heat stress locations, but thermal comfort models alone fail to consider socio-environmental vulnerabilities and are often not applicable in different countries (Elnabawi and Hamza 2020). In the Cool Towns Interreg project, researchers collaborated with municipalities and regions to model urban heat stress in nine North-Western European cities, to find vulnerabilities and to measure on the ground (see Spanjar et al. 2020 for methodology) the thermal comfort of residents and the effectiveness of implemented nature-based solutions. Using the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index, several meteorological scenarios were developed to show the urban areas under threat. The PET maps are complemented by heat vulnerability maps showing key social and environmental indicators. Coupled with local urban planning agendas, the maps allowed partner cities to prioritize neighbourhoods for further investigation. To this end, community amenities and slow traffic routes were mapped on top of the PET maps to identify potential focus areas. A comparative analysis of the collated maps indicates certain spatial typologies, where vital urban activities are often influenced by heat stress, such as shopping areas, mobility hubs, principal bicycle and pedestrian routes. This project has resulted in the development of a multi-level Thermal Comfort Assessment (TCA), highlighting locations where vulnerable user groups are exposed to high temperatures. Standardized for European cities, it is a powerful tool for policy makers and urban planners to strategically identify heat stress risks and prioritize locations for adapting to a changing climate using the appropriate nature-based solutions. Keywords (max 6): Heat Stress, Climate Change Adaptation, Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), Heat Vulnerabilities, Nature-Based Solutions References Böcker, L. and Thorsson, S. (2014). Integrated Weather Effects on Cycling Shares, Frequencies, and Durations in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 6, (4), 468-481. doi: 10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00066.1 Ebi, K.L. et al. (2021). Hot Weather and Heat Extremes: Health risks. The Lancet, 398, (10301), 698-708. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)-1208-3. Elnabawi, M. H., & Hamza, N. (2020). Behavioural Perspectives of Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Urban Areas: A Critical Review. Atmosphere, 11(1), 51. doi: 10.3390/atmos11010051 Evers, D., Slob, G., Content, J. and Dongen, F. (2020). Veerkracht Op De Proef Gesteld: Een verkenning van de impact van corona op binnensteden. Den Haag: Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving. Spanjar, G., van Zandbrink, L., Bartlett D. and Kluck, J. (2020). Cool Towns Heat Stress Measurement Protocol: Thermal comfort assessment at street-level scale. Amsterdam: Hogeschool van Amsterdam https://www.cooltowns.e

Design of small molecule-responsive microRNAs based on structural requirements for Drosha processing

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are prevalent regulatory RNAs that mediate gene silencing and play key roles in diverse cellular processes. While synthetic RNA-based regulatory systems that integrate regulatory and sensing functions have been demonstrated, the lack of detail on miRNA structure–function relationships has limited the development of integrated control systems based on miRNA silencing. Using an elucidated relationship between Drosha processing and the single-stranded nature of the miRNA basal segments, we developed a strategy for designing ligand-responsive miRNAs. We demonstrate that ligand binding to an aptamer integrated into the miRNA basal segments inhibits Drosha processing, resulting in titratable control over gene silencing. The generality of this control strategy was shown for three aptamer–small molecule ligand pairs. The platform can be extended to the design of synthetic miRNAs clusters, cis-acting miRNAs and self-targeting miRNAs that act both in cis and trans, enabling fine-tuning of the regulatory strength and dynamics. The ability of our ligand-responsive miRNA platform to respond to user-defined inputs, undergo regulatory performance tuning and display scalable combinatorial control schemes will help advance applications in biological research and applied medicine

Medical decision making about long-term artificial nutrition after severe stroke: a case report

Choosing to use a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG tube) for long term artificial nutrition in the setting of inadequate oral intake after stroke is complex because the decision must be made in a relatively short amount of time and prognosis is often uncertain. This case study utilized interviews with attending and resident neurologists, and surrogate medical decision makers in order to examine how neurologists and surrogate medical decision makers approached the decision to either receive a PEG tube or pursue comfort measures after severe stroke in two patients. Although these two patients presented with similar clinical characteristics and faced similar medical decisions, different decisions regarding PEG tube placement were made. Major challenges included physicians who did not agree on prognosis and surrogates who did not agree on whether to place a PEG tube. These cases demonstrate the importance of the role of the surrogate medical decision maker and the necessity of physicians and surrogate medical decision makers approaching the complex decision of PEG tube placement after stroke together. Additionally, these cases highlight the differing views on what defines a good quality of life and show the vital importance of high-quality goals of care conversations about prognosis and quality of life when deciding whether to place a PEG tube after severe stroke