Creating a Global Citizen and Assessing Outcomes

This article examines development of the field of global citizenship education in postsecondary education in Canada. Analysis centers on the forces of globalization and internationalization as a catalyst for innovation. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is invoked to explain the nature of transformative education and reflective practice. A signature pedagogy is identified for global citizenship education based on an emerging model. The model consists of five components: theory, content, experiences, methodology, and assessment. Student outcomes are defined in terms of a demonstrated ability to act with a global mindset based on an application of values, ethics, identity, social justice perspective, intercultural skills, and sense of responsibility

Age Differences In Cognitive Monitoring

Metacognitive knowledge regulates and directs cognitive activity. Thus, if metacognitive knowledge deteriorates with age cognitive performance as a whole will suffer. The focus of the present research was on assessing age differences in metacognitive knowledge. The cognitive tasks used were: vocabulary learning with two differentially effective learning strategies, prose recall, vocabulary defining and digit span.;On each task subjects were asked to predict their performance either before study, after study (in the case of the prose task only) or after testing. Following the model of Pressley and associates (e.g., Pressley, Ross, Levin and Ghatala, 1984) the ability to monitor ongoing cognitive activity was assessed by comparing the accuracy of performance predictions made at different points in the study-test cycle. Additional monitoring measures included strategy selection and selection rationale data with the vocabulary learning task and prediction range data with the prose, vocabulary defining and digit span tasks. It was expected that both younger and older adults would provide more accurate performance judgments after testing.;Three groups of subjects were included in this research: older adults (60 years and older), non-student younger adults (20 to 40 years of age) and first year university students. The two groups of younger adults performed similarly throughout. This finding argues against the hypothesis that age differences are exaggerated when university students form the young adult comparison sample.;Both younger and older adults improved the accuracy of their performance predictions and reduced the size of their prediction ranges from before study to after test. Few age differences in monitoring accuracy were obtained within conditions. There were some age differences in the strategy selection and selection rationale data on the vocabulary learning task which indicated that task familiarity was an important consideration. Older adults were reluctant to select the more potent strategy because it was less familiar. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of ecological validity in age difference research and the appropriateness of a youth-oriented decrement model of aging

Staying Connected – Interactive Student Learning during the COVID Transition to Remote Learning

Background. How can we transition courses in one week, while maintaining a similar experience for students? This was probably the initial response by faculty across universities as they transitioned to remote learning, mid-semester, in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Our approach is supported by the ICAP framework which posits that “as activities move from passive to active to constructive to interactive, students undergo different knowledge-change processes and, as a result, learning will increase.” (Chi and Wylie, 2014) Purpose/Hypothesis. How we could foster students’ interactions with course material, instructors, and their peers using collaborative technology and course activities? It was hypothesized that a collaborative environment, coupled with appropriately designed activities, would promote the interactive learning described by the ICAP framework. Design/Method. Faculty members used Microsoft Teams (Teams) and Marquette University’s Learning Management System Desire2Learn (D2L) for their courses. Each instructor developed student groups to promote peer and instructor engagement via the Teams channel function. Results. Initial results from Likert 5-point scale responses support three positive findings to this approach: Finding 1 (Instructor Engagement and Student Confidence): Students had a positive reaction to the instructor engagement (4.67 ± 0.6) and student confidence (4.07 ± 1.1). Finding 2 (Consistent Coursework): Students reported the amount of work in courses with the interactive tools was consistent (3.90 ± 1.2) with the in-class experience. Finding 3 (Collaborative Technology): Using collaborative technology (3.84 ± 1.2) enabled the students to successfully interact with their peers. The survey also provided data on opportunities for improvement for future on-line courses: Opportunity 1 (Communication): Student communication (2.57 ± 1.5) is still a barrier with collaborative technology. Opportunity 2 (On-line Format): Students also reported an overall dislike (2.44 ± 1.4) of the on-line learning format. Conclusions. The use of Teams shows that instructor engagement contributes the most to the positive experiences for confidence, consistency, and use of collaborative technology. We believe there are opportunities to develop more advantages than traditional approaches and will provide students an easier transition to industry, which already use these remote communication tools

The Iowa Homemaker vol.7, no.8

Memorial Hall by Ruth E. Morrison, Antescript Dawn’s Awakening by Irma D. Garner, Antescript The Evolution of Women’s Clubs by Margaret Looft, page 1 Farm and Home Week by Sylvia Pedersen, page 2 How Much Shall I Buy? by Margaret L. Marnette, page 4 Marketing in Egypt by Frances Thomas, page 5 Girls’ 4-H Page by Corline Morrell, page 6 Iowa State Home Economics Association by Marcia E. Turner, page 8 Home Economics Research at Iowa State by Harriett C. Brigham, page 10 Who’s There and Where by Vera Caulum, page 12 Better Homes Week by Kathryn Davis, page 13 Foreign Students Will Occupy “The Gables” by Ruth E. Morrison, page 14 Home Economics Vod-Vil by Gladys Parker, page 1

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 5

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

A case study of crisis, leadership, and change in the community college

This research addressed a need for better understanding of the relationship between crisis, leadership, and organizational change in American higher education. The first objective was to discover the meaning of a governance crisis and whether it was a factor in setting the organization's long-term direction; and secondly, to gain insight into the relationship between leadership created to resolve a crisis and leadership established to lead change. Results from an extensive survey of the literature on crisis and change were presented, as well as a typology showing the role of a crisis in ten types of organizational change. The case concerned an urban community college confronted by a crisis of major proportions. The situation involved the firing of the CEO, the forced resignations of the governing board, threats to withhold state funding, and the imposition of probationary accreditation status by the college's regulatory agency. The study centered on an analysis of key institutional documents, interviews with board members, CEOs, and faculty and staff, as well as the personal observations and insights of the investigator. The time frame for the study spanned over thirty years, beginning in 1966 with the founding of the institution and ending in 1998 almost a decade beyond the actual crisis. A time series analysis was performed that compared dominant trends in the college's history against the patterns of evolution predicted by the life cycle theories of Greiner (1972) and Schein (1997). On a macro level, the first set of findings related to the meaning of the governance crisis for the organization. One finding was that the college had evolved through one complete life cycle and had embarked on a new cycle of development. A second finding was that the governance crisis was a turning point for growth or decline, but more importantly, it served as the catalyst that launched the organization's second life cycle. A third finding was that the governance crisis was a factor of major significance in the organization's long-term development. On a micro level, the second set of findings concerned the leadership transition from crisis to change. One finding was that the governance crisis was not a "normal" crisis associated with lack of fit between the needs of the organization and CEO leadership style. A second finding was that the crisis served as the stimulant that provoked the formation of new leadership for the institution, consisting of the new board and CEO. A third finding was that the role of the new leadership was not limited to resolving the crisis. Rather it made a leadership transition from crisis management, to a turnaround, to change management, which represented significant organizational change in college governance. Five conclusions were offered. First, the crisis was not associated with a mismatch between the needs of the organization and CEO leadership style. Second, the crisis had meaning as a turning point for the organization, specifically as the corrective mechanism for reengaging the community, for halting faculty involvement in the governance process, and for correcting conditions such as the misuse of power throughout the organization, and neutralization of the administration. Third, the crisis had meaning as a catalyst that prompted pervasive change in the institution's approach to governance by rearranging the power relationships among the board, the CEO, and the faculty. Fourth, the crisis had meaning as a stimulant and was a significant factor in the organization's long-term direction. Fifth, this case study confirmed a proposition that leadership dynamics are a function of not only of decision making but also the sources that empower the decision makers. Further research was recommended in three areas. One area for future research was investigation into the organizational behaviour of subgroups at a level below such concepts as "climate, values, or community college philosophy". A second area for future research was periodic analysis of the organizational life cycle for comparison against this case study. The third area recommended for future research was analysis of faculty staffing and loading patterns which could yield important insights into the distinct nature of community college culture. The final recommendation was to establish standards for individuals seeking a position on the governing board and for the undertaking of efforts designed to inform the county electorate as to the relative contribution that each candidate might bring to the board as part of a civic duty

Influence of extensin cross-linking on biomass recalcitrance, The

Includes bibliographical references.2015 Fall.Plant cell walls are under investigation as a source for biofuel production, yet conversion of cell walls (biomass) into biofuel is currently too expensive to be competitive with gasoline. Biomass is recalcitrant; that is, it resists enzymatic degradation by cellulases into monosaccharides such as glucose. One source of recalcitrance may be the presence of extensins, covalently bound cell wall proteins that are extremely insoluble. To determine what influence, if any, extensins have on biomass recalcitrance, I performed several experiments. I first turned to poplar biomass, which is a model source for biofuels. I found that protease treatment of poplar biomass after liquid hot water pretreatment reduced the hydroxyproline content (a proxy for extensins). The reduction in hydroxyproline content correlated with reduced recalcitrance, seen as an increase in glucose release after cellulase digestion of poplar biomass. I also tested whether Arabidopsis T-DNA insertional mutations in the genes encoding enzymes that perform extensin post-translational modifications could reduce extensin content or cross-linking, and whether this reduction was associated with reduced biomass recalcitrance. I found that although these mutants were hypothesized to have reduced incorporation of extensin in cell walls, no significant effects on extensin content in inflorescence stem cell walls (an analog for woody biomass), nor on glucose release from biomass, were found in any mutant line. Finally, I looked at the effects of extensin overexpression on glucose release in transgenic Arabidopsis lines containing synthetic genes encoding the complete extensin domain from SlLRX1 or a short C-terminal region of 20 amino acids of SlLRX1, fused to the red fluorescent reporter protein tdTomato. Observation of the tdTomato fluorescence in transgenic biomass after various chemical and enzymatic treatments indicated that the C-terminal 20 amino acids of SlLRX1 are sufficient to allow a strong association with the cell wall, while the complete SlLRX1 extensin domain leads to an even stronger, perhaps covalent linkage. Lines transformed with the complete SlLRX1 extensin domain had more than twice the hydroxyproline content in their stems than wild-type, but this increase in hydroxyproline did not affect the amount of glucose released from stems upon cellulase digestion. Since protease treatment reduced both hydroxyproline content and recalcitrance in poplar biomass, further experiments to assess the nature of the association between extensins and cell walls are warranted to attempt to further reduce recalcitrance. In the experiments I performed, the stems of extensin modification mutant Arabidopsis lines showed no change in extensin modification, and therefore no effect on recalcitrance was observed; stems of transgenic overexpression Arabidopsis lines showed increased extensin content, but again, no effect on recalcitrance was observed. My investigations in Arabidopsis focused on stem tissue, as this is analogous to material used in biofuel production. However, extensins are most abundantly expressed in roots in many plants, particularly in Arabidopsis. Examination of roots of both mutant and transgenic Arabidopsis may be more revealing of the interactions between extensins, cell walls, and recalcitrance

The influence of extensin cross-linking on biomass recalcitrance

Plant cell walls are under investigation as a source for biofuel production, yet conversion of cell walls (biomass) into biofuel is currently too expensive to be competitive with gasoline. Biomass is recalcitrant; that is, it resists enzymatic degradation by cellulases into monosaccharides such as glucose. One source of recalcitrance may be the presence of extensins, covalently bound cell wall proteins that are extremely insoluble. To determine what influence, if any, extensins have on biomass recalcitrance, I performed several experiments. I first turned to poplar biomass, which is a model source for biofuels. I found that protease treatment of poplar biomass after liquid hot water pretreatment reduced the hydroxyproline content (a proxy for extensins). The reduction in hydroxyproline content correlated with reduced recalcitrance, seen as an increase in glucose release after cellulase digestion of poplar biomass. I also tested whether Arabidopsis T-DNA insertional mutations in the genes encoding enzymes that perform extensin post-translational modifications could reduce extensin content or cross-linking, and whether this reduction was associated with reduced biomass recalcitrance. I found that although these mutants were hypothesized to have reduced incorporation of extensin in cell walls, no significant effects on extensin content in inflorescence stem cell walls (an analog for woody biomass), nor on glucose release from biomass, were found in any mutant line. Finally, I looked at the effects of extensin overexpression on glucose release in transgenic Arabidopsis lines containing synthetic genes encoding the complete extensin domain from SlLRX1 or a short C-terminal region of 20 amino acids of SlLRX1, fused to the red fluorescent reporter protein tdTomato. Observation of the tdTomato fluorescence in transgenic biomass after various chemical and enzymatic treatments indicated that the C-terminal 20 amino acids of SlLRX1 are sufficient to allow a strong association with the cell wall, while the complete SlLRX1 extensin domain leads to an even stronger, perhaps covalent linkage. Lines transformed with the complete SlLRX1 extensin domain had more than twice the hydroxyproline content in their stems than wild-type, but this increase in hydroxyproline did not affect the amount of glucose released from stems upon cellulase digestion. Since protease treatment reduced both hydroxyproline content and recalcitrance in poplar biomass, further experiments to assess the nature of the association between extensins and cell walls are warranted to attempt to further reduce recalcitrance. In the experiments I performed, the stems of extensin modification mutant Arabidopsis lines showed no change in extensin modification, and therefore no effect on recalcitrance was observed; stems of transgenic overexpression Arabidopsis lines showed increased extensin content, but again, no effect on recalcitrance was observed. My investigations in Arabidopsis focused on stem tissue, as this is analogous to material used in biofuel production. However, extensins are most abundantly expressed in roots in many plants, particularly in Arabidopsis. Examination of roots of both mutant and transgenic Arabidopsis may be more revealing of the interactions between extensins, cell walls, and recalcitrance