Synchronous or Asynchronous? That is the Question: Are Online Classrooms the Answer?

As distance and blended learning becomes more popular with both students and Higher Education Institutes (HEI), methods of developing student engagement and experience are becoming increasingly more important. This investigation examines a case study of three programmes delivered at one HEI. The programmes were part of a pilot project employing an online classroom to develop synchronous communication. This study examined the development of a Networked Learning Community using both synchronous and asynchronous communication. The findings highlighted a variety of issues such as the importance of tutor experience of online teaching, positive experiences using the online classroom which develops social capital, enhances students’ self motivation and the importance of preparing students to engage with online programmes before they begin. Distance learning is growing rapidly, increasing the need for effective communication strategies (Allen & Seaman, 2011; Durrington et al 2006). As there is little or no face-to-face interaction, it is important for online instructors to establish their presence in the course to ensure students feel there is a familiar presence with whom they can relate to. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this, through communicating with students on a regular basis, sharing course content, and building a sense of community within the class (Palloff & Pratt, 2003). Using web 2.0 tools can enhance instructor presence through a wide array of collaborative learning experiences (Solomon & Schrum,  2010), one way of addressing this issue is to use an online classroom.  There are a many on line classrooms available to Higher Education Institutes (HEI) and there is a lot of evidence to support their use in blended/distance programmes (MacDonald, 2008). Studying the current module has developed my interest in methods of communication and student engagement in order to develop a Networked Learning Community (NLC). Improving student engagement in an online programme is an on-going issue that many researchers are trying to find the answer to.  This paper investigates the findings from a project using an online classroom involving fifteen programmes which have used synchronous communication to support the online students' experience.  The findings highlight the importance of tutors understanding the different needs of online students and how traditional pedagogy must be adapted to meet these needs in an online environment. Use of a combination of synchronous and asynchronous approaches was found to have the most success, however tutor presence was the essential element in ensuring student satisfaction and achievement

Interpersonal sources of conflict in young people with and without mild to moderate intellectual disabilities at transition from adolescence to adulthood

<p><b>Background:</b> Interpersonal conflict is a source of stress and contributes to poor mental health in people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. Understanding the contexts in which conflict typically occurs can better equip services to help people with such difficulties. However, existing studies into the contexts of conflict have included participants with wide-ranging ages and may not reflect the experiences of young adults in particular.</p> <p><b>Materials and Methods:</b> Twenty-six young adults (16-20 years) with intellectual disabilities and 20 non-disabled young adults completed a semi-structured interview about a recent experience of interpersonal conflict. Participants were asked to describe their beliefs and feelings about the event and their subsequent response.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Participants with intellectual disabilities were more likely to encounter conflict with strangers or peers outside their friendship group and to describe incidents of aggression than non-disabled participants. They were also more likely to characterize the other person globally as 'bad' and to perceive the other's actions as being personally directed at them. Young women with intellectual disabilities were less likely to describe responding aggressively to incidents.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Findings suggest that young adults with intellectual disabilities are often the target of overt aggression from those outside their inner social sphere, while their non-disabled peers are more likely to experience conflict with people close to them. Young adults with intellectual disabilities may also be more likely to feel victimized by interpersonal conflict. Implications of these findings and limitations of the study are discussed.</p&gt

“A tool not a substitute”:a multiple case study investigation of technology use in the early years foundation stage

The increasing availability of digital resources accessible to young children and their engagement with technology is often portrayed in a negative manner. Early years teachers are in an ideal position to address this by introducing technology to young children as a tool for learning. This study investigates the use of digital resources in a cross-case analysis of four early years settings. This multiple case study utilised the Technological Pedagogical And Content Framework (TPACK) (Mishra and Koehler, 2009) to shape the metrics for the study. Qualitative data in the form of interviews, observations and documentary evidence was collected to gain an overview of current practice. Consequently, the TPACK domains and intersections were deconstructed and associated to early years practice. Criteria for each domain and intersection were derived from this and provided the themes for Direct Content Analysis. The findings of the study revealed that personal experience and views of technology use, impact on the equity of children’s experience of technology across the settings. The availability of support and training was noted to impact the use of technology as well as the influence of external pressures such as fabrication and social desirability. Thus, it was revealed that teacher confidence and understanding of the capabilities of digital resources available is an important factor in the pedagogical use of technology with young children. The data highlights the need for staff development through bespoke training programmes that consider the pedagogy of early years technology. The need to adapt the TPACK framework to ensure it supports early years practice was also raised. The TPACK-EY offers a framework that promotes self-assessment and highlights areas for development. TPACK-EY enabled identification and analysis of activities in which participants combined their knowledge of technology, content and pedagogy to provide effective, play-based activities which enhanced the children’s learning experiences

An Analysis of the Vascular Flora of Annapolis Heathlands, Nova Scotia

A description and analysis of the vascular plant composition of heathlands in the Annapolis valley were undertaken to provide a basis for biodiversity preservation within a system of protected sites. Species presence and abundance were recorded at 23 remnant sites identified using topographic maps, air photos, and Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources records. A total of 126 species was recorded, of which 94 were native and 31 introduced. The Annapolis heathland remnants are strongly dominated by Corema conradii with Comptonia peregrina, Vaccinium angustifolium and Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum. A number of species, including Solidago bicolor, Carex tonsa var. rugosperma, Dichanthelium depauperatum, Lechea intermedia, Melampyrum lineare, and Rubus hispidus, were characteristic of heathland remnants, although they usually contributed little to the total cover. The most frequent alien species were Hieracium pilosella and Festuca filiformis, but Pinus sylvestris, present at 7 of 18 sites, appeared to have the greatest impact in displacing native species. Species listed as at risk and sensitive in Nova Scotia, including Helianthemun canadense, Hudsonia ericoides and Viola sagittata var. ovata, occur in open disturbed sand in the Corema heathlands. Distinctive patterns of variation occur in several species and variation in crop relatives is noted with particular reference to the genera Rubus (blackberries), Amelanchier (Juneberries, Saskatoon) and Vaccinium (Blueberries). The available evidence suggests that the heathlands and sandy barrens in the Annapolis valley differ from those further west in Canada and from anthropogenic and coastal heathlands of Nova Scotia in their species composition including particularly the presence of Corema conradii, Hudsonia ericoides and Amelanchier lucida. The need to protect representative examples is supported

Estimating the Prevalence and Awareness Rates of Hypertension in Africa: A Systematic Analysis

Background: The burden of hypertension is high in Africa, and due to rapid population growth and ageing, the exact burden on the continent is still far from being known. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and awareness rates of hypertension in Africa based on the cut off ‘‘$140/90 mm Hg’’. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Medline, EMBASE and Global Health. Search date was set from January 1980 to December 2013. We included population-based studies on hypertension, conducted among people aged$15 years and providing numerical estimates on the prevalence of hypertension in Africa. Overall pooled prevalence of hypertension in mixed, rural and urban settings in Africa were estimated from reported crude prevalence rates. A meta-regression epidemiological modelling, using United Nations population demographics for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2030, was applied to determine the prevalence rates and number of cases of hypertension in Africa separately for these four years. Results: Our search returned 7680 publications, 92 of which met the selection criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of hypertension in Africa was 19.7% in 1990, 27.4% in 2000 and 30.8% in 2010, each with a pooled awareness rate (expressed as percentage of hypertensive cases) of 16.9%, 29.2% and 33.7%, respectively. From the modelling, over 54.6 million cases of hypertension were estimated in 1990, 92.3 million cases in 2000, 130.2 million cases in 2010, and a projected increase to 216.8 million cases of hypertension by 2030; each with an age-adjusted prevalence of 19.1% (13.9, 25.5), 24.3% (23.3, 31.6), 25.9% (23.5, 34.0), and 25.3% (24.3, 39.7), respectively. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the prevalence of hypertension is increasing in Africa, and many hypertensive individuals are not aware of their condition. We hope this research will prompt appropriate policy response towards improving the awareness, control and overall management of hypertension in Afric

Epidemiology and outcomes associated with cognitive frailty and reserve in a stroke population: systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Cognitive frailty and the related concepts of cognitive reserve and imaging-based brain frailty are of increasing interest in older adult care. However, there is uncertainty regarding their importance within a stroke population. We aimed to establish the prevalence of cognitive frailty and reserve in stroke and determine impact on outcomes. Methods: We conducted a systematic review across multidisciplinary electronic databases using validated search syntax. The protocol for this review has been published (PROSPERO, CRD42023433385). We identified studies on cognitive frailty and cognitive reserve, including studies that used related concepts. We extracted data to inform estimates of prevalence and associations with outcomes of physical function, cognition and quality of life, performing meta-analyses where possible. Risk of bias was assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa tools appropriate to study design. Results: Our search returned 12,095 studies, from which 14 papers met our criteria. No studies described cognitive frailty, and rather studies described cognitive reserve and brain frailty. Cognitive reserve was assessed using proxy measures of education, employment, and leisure time. Four studies used the Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire (CRIq) with pooled estimate score of 103.25, 95% CI: 96.87–109.65 (indicating moderate cognitive reserve). Cognitive reserve had varying associations with post-stroke outcomes, three studies (n = 7,759 participants) reporting significant negative association with cognitive measures. Brain frailty was assessed using imaging markers. Across four studies (n = 3,086 participants), pooled prevalence of brain frailty was 73.8%, 95% CI: 72.2–75.3. Higher brain frailty was associated with poorer post-stroke outcomes for majority of studies assessed. Seven studies (50%) were scored as low risk of bias. Conclusion: Attempts to synthesise these data were complicated by inconsistency in terminology and heterogeneity in methods. However, our findings suggest that brain frailty is common in stroke and associated with poorer outcomes. The epidemiology of cognitive frailty and reserve is less well described. All these measures may be useful for prognostication in stroke, but there are multiple areas where more research is needed

Computation of scattering from rough surfaces using successive symmetric over relaxation and eigenvalue deflation

The problem of computing 2D EM wave scattering from rough surfaces is addressed using an integral equation formulation discretised using the method of moments. Successive Symmetric Over-Relaxation (SSOR) is applied to the governing matrix equations along with eigenvalue deflation which is de- signed to separately account for the effect of those eigenvectors of the iteration matrix that have eigenvalues greater than 1. Numerical results are presented applying the method to a variety of scattering profiles and examining the resultant convergence performance

Multiscale habitat characterization of herbaceous Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora on lakeshores in Nova Scotia

Accepted VersionAtlantic Coastal Plain Flora (ACPF) are a group of plants mostly inhabiting lakeshores along the Atlantic coast of the United States, with disjunct populations in Nova Scotia and Ontario. To better define their ecological requirements, the main objective of this study was to determine the factors (biotic and abiotic habitat components) influencing ACPF communities (distribution, species abundance, and richness) at both the landscape and local scales. On 16 lakeshores in southwestern Nova Scotia, we characterized ACPF communities and habitat within 20 cm square contiguous quadrats distributed along 20 m transects (landscape scale) and in 5 m × 5 m grids (local scale). Performing redundancy analysis (n = 16 transects), we found that at the landscape scale, shoreline slope and shrub species distribution influenced the quantity of suitable habitat available for ACPF, with mineral shorelines supporting higher ACPF richness. Using spatial generalized linear mixed models (n = 3125 quadrats in five grids), we found that elevation, vegetation elements (shrubs, sundews, graminoids), and substrate type mostly influenced ACPF presence and abundance. ACPF also showed inter-specific differences in habitat preferences. Defining ACPF ecological requirements at both the landscape and local scales is important to guide conservation and management actions in Nova Scotia and throughout their North American range

Boldness Predicts Social Status in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

This study explored if boldness could be used to predict social status. First, boldness was assessed by monitoring individual zebrafish behaviour in (1) an unfamiliar barren environment with no shelter (open field), (2) the same environment when a roof was introduced as a shelter, and (3) when the roof was removed and an unfamiliar object (Lego® brick) was introduced. Next, after a resting period of minimum one week, social status of the fish was determined in a dyadic contest and dominant/subordinate individuals were determined as the winner/loser of two consecutive contests. Multivariate data analyses showed that males were bolder than females and that the behaviours expressed by the fish during the boldness tests could be used to predict which fish would later become dominant and subordinate in the ensuing dyadic contest. We conclude that bold behaviour is positively correlated to dominance in zebrafish and that boldness is not solely a consequence of social dominance