Tales of a three-year journey to integrating academic and information literacy skills in an education course

This session explored the journey to integrating academic and information literacy skills into CCCU’s BA in primary education. The session began by presenting a rationale for the project and the principles underpinning it, in particular, by referring to the Academic Literacies approach. The presentation subsequently introduced the staged approach taken to fully integrate learning development work into the curriculum, including concrete examples of what that integration looked like for a range of modules. The presenter also introduced staff and student feedback from the ongoing project, and a range of future steps which will be taken to continue the process of integration. A key aspect of the session included reference to: (a) how this process has allowed students to navigate academic expectations at different points in the course; (b) staff’s perceptions on the value of the collaboration needed to realise this project

Alien Registration- Bishopp, Mabel E. (Lincolnville, Waldo County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/5176/thumbnail.jp

Protective and Enabling Factors That Facilitate Undercover Police Work:A Qualitative Study

Inadequate coping strategies in dealing with occupational stress have been linked to negative outcomes such as burnout. Research in police forces has somewhat overlooked protective factors that sustain this type of work. This study aimed to explore coping and detection avoidance strategies that enable police officers to be effective undercover operatives. This qualitative study was part of a wider mixed methods project. Participants were recruited from a Portuguese Police Force. Twenty-five police officers with undercover/plainclothes experience were interviewed using non-probability purposive sampling. Results of the study identified seven themes which addressed the research aims: ‘Secrecy’, ‘Work Satisfaction’, ‘Undercover Tactics’, ‘Stress’, ‘Deception’, ‘Support’ and ‘Things to Improve’. Overall, the findings of this study provide some support to the scarce literature available on this topic. The study indicates that participants generally seem able to cope well with detection avoidance strategies (e.g. secrecy, adaptation to the environment, use of cover stories/improvisation, deception and submersion to fictitious identities). Having an appropriate selection of undercover operatives is crucial to determine their psychological health and safety. The need for more research in this area is highlighted and discussed in reference to alternative study designs. In addition, an overview of implications for practice is provided

Exploring the Psychometric Properties of the Resilience Scale

The aim of this paper was to critically evaluate the Resilience Scale (RS). The RS is a standardized 25-item self-report assessment tool that measures the degree of individual resilience focusing on positive psychological characteristics instead of deficits. Participants are required to rate, using a 7-point Likert item, how much they agree or disagree with the statements and how much they identify with them; higher scores reflect higher levels of resilience. The test authors suggest that five dimensions underpin the RS: equanimity, perseverance, meaningfulness, self-reliance, and existential aloneness, and the scale loads onto two factors described as personal competence and acceptance of self and life. However, there is little empirical support for the conceptual framework. The tool has been translated and validated in several languages as well as administered to over 3 million people around the world in 150 countries, making it the most widely used resilience measure. Nevertheless, there are questions with regards to the underlying construct and content validity, since the proposed theoretical constructs underpinning the scale are open to debate. Despite its popularity and apparent reliability, there are potential difficulties with the measure which are presented here. Finally, it is suggested that the scale would benefit from further examination of the underlying constructs which contribute to resilience

Biphasic Epoxidation Reaction in the Absence of Surfactants - Integration of Reaction and Separation Steps in Microtubular Reactors

This paper presents a paradigm shift with respect to the current direction of biphasic reactions in surfactant-free emulsions. Herein, the contact area between both phases is simply sustained by the reactor design (i.e., diameter of the tubular reactor) compared to the current trend of using reversible/switchable emulsions where the addition of an external agent (e.g., bistable surfactant, magnetic particles, etc.) is required. In this way, temporally stable phase dispersions using microtubular reactors facilitate the integration of reaction and separation steps in biphasic systems without the need for energy-intensive downstream separation steps. In this study, we demonstrate this innovative tool in the epoxidation reaction of sunflower oil with hydrogen peroxide. Using a combination of mechanistic and kinetic studies, we demonstrate that the poor solubility of the catalytic species in the oil phase may be used advantageously, allowing ready recyclability of catalyst (and oxidant) in consecutive runs.The authors thank the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding via the EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Sustainable Chemical Technologies, University of Bath (Grant No. EP/G03768X/1) and a L.T.-M.’s Fellowship award (Grant No. EP/L020432/2).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Chemical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b0028

Developing through mentoring or being mentored: ALDinHE’s new mentoring scheme and certified mentor recognition

ALDinHE is launching its new mentoring scheme and mentorship recognition to acknowledge, promote and recognise the importance of mentoring for learning development as a field that does not offer an official route into the profession. This Professional Development session introduced the mentoring scheme, explaining how to get involved, what support mentors and mentees can receive from ALDinHE and what benefits both sides can get from mentoring or being mentored. If you’re new to learning development or keen to develop more experience in a specific area with the help of a mentor, the mentoring scheme will offer you a brilliant framework to broaden your expertise. If you’re an experienced learning developer or have specific expertise you could share, find out how you could become recognised as a Certified Mentor (CeM) in learning development by ALDinHE

Molecular locks and keys: the role of small molecules in phytohormone research

Plant adaptation, growth and development rely on the integration of many environmental and endogenous signals that collectively determine the overall plant phenotypic plasticity. Plant signaling molecules, also known as phytohormones, are fundamental to this process. These molecules act at low concentrations and regulate multiple aspects of plant fitness and development via complex signaling networks. By its nature, phytohormone research lies at the interface between chemistry and biology. Classically, the scientific community has always used synthetic phytohormones and analogs to study hormone functions and responses. However, recent advances in synthetic and combinational chemistry, have allowed a new field, plant chemical biology, to emerge and this has provided a powerful tool with which to study phytohormone function. Plant chemical biology is helping to address some of the most enduring questions in phytohormone research such as: Are there still undiscovered plant hormones? How can we identify novel signaling molecules? How can plants activate specific hormone responses in a tissue-specific manner? How can we modulate hormone responses in one developmental context without inducing detrimental effects on other processes? The chemical genomics approaches rely on the identification of small molecules modulating different biological processes and have recently identified active forms of plant hormones and molecules regulating many aspects of hormone synthesis, transport and response. We envision that the field of chemical genomics will continue to provide novel molecules able to elucidate specific aspects of hormone-mediated mechanisms. In addition, compounds blocking specific responses could uncover how complex biological responses are regulated. As we gain information about such compounds we can design small alterations to the chemical structure to further alter specificity, enhance affinity or modulate the activity of these compounds.This work was partially funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant RGPIN-2014-06468 to Abel Rosado and funding from the Canada Research Chairs program. John Vaughan-Hirsch is funded through the BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme. Anthony Bishopp is supported by the Royal Society through a University Research Fellowship. Andrea Chini is supported by a “Ramon y Cajal” fellowship (RYC-2010-05680) and this work was partially funded the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad project BIO2013-44407-R, the AECID AP/040886/11 and the CSIC i-COOP060. This project was supported by NSTIP strategic technologies programs, number (11-BIO-2119-02) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Andrea Chini.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Mentoring in learning development

Learning Development is still a relatively young field (Syska and Buckley, 2022), and despite a growing body of research, it remains strongly practice-oriented. This means that experience, in this case of individual Learning Developers, takes an even more central place than it does in more established fields, and sharing this experience through mentoring takes on a central role. This is why the mentoring working group has developed a Learning Development focused ALDinHE Mentoring Scheme, together with a Certified Mentor recognition that helps experienced mentors be recognised for their contribution to growing and sharing LD knowledge. This mini keynote briefly introduced the Mentoring Scheme and the CeM recognition before exploring the role mentoring can play in the professional development of Learning Developers with the audience. The questions we asked were: What benefits would you expect for mentees? What benefits would you expect for mentors? What kind of experience can be best shared through mentoring