Research Conference 2023: Becoming lifelong learners. Proceedings and Program

We know learning in the early years sets the foundations for people’s ongoing academic, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Education across those formative first 12 years is currently segmented, with children often starting fresh in new systems. How can each of us make learning in the early childhood and primary years more effective? Research Conference 2023 will examine research around how we can improve the continuity of learning from birth to 12 years. It will bring together leading international and Australian researchers to provide insights into the best ways to identify, conceptualise, develop and assess these new linkages for learning

Research Conference 2022: Reimagining assessment: Proceedings and program

The focus of this year’s Research Conference is on the use of assessment to support improved teaching and learning. The conference is titled ‘reimagining assessment’ because we believe there is a need to transform the essential purposes of educational assessment to provide better information about the deep conceptual learning, skills, competencies, and personal attributes that teachers and schools now have as objectives for student learning and development. Reimagined assessments must now be focused on monitoring learning across this broader range of intended outcomes and provide quality information about the points individuals have reached in their long-term development

An evaluation of the nursing care of renal transplant recipients: A qualitative study

Due to the complexity of their medical management, renal transplant recipients are actively encouraged to self-manage their own medication regimens, diet and lifestyle modifications after transplant. Motivation for this study arose from comments made by hospitalised renal transplant recipients regarding aspects of their clinical care that were not given high priority by the ward nurses. The aim of this study was to investigate renal transplant recipients\u27 experience of the care they received while they were inpatients on the renal ward. In this qualitative study the stories of 12 renal transplant recipients were used to evaluate how they felt about their experiences as an inpatient. Patients felt that ward nurses did not understand the importance of immunosuppressive medication and did not value the patient\u27s opinion. They also expressed a fear of contracting an infection. Renal transplant recipients have high expectations about the care they receive when admitted to hospital. As a well-informed group of patients, who would normally be managing their own care at home, renal transplant recipients should be treated with respect and included in decisions about their care

Building resilience in young people through meaningful participation

Building resilience in young people is an important goal if we are to strengthen capacity and promote skills that help to reduce mental health problems. One way to foster resilience in young people is through meaningful youth participation; that is, decision-making by young people that involves meaning, control, and connectedness. Whilst youth participation may occur in recognition of young people’s rights to be involved in all decisions that affect them, meaningful participation can itself enhance a young person’s sense of connectedness, belonging and valued participation, and thereby impact on mental health and well being. Based on its extensive experience working collaboratively with young people, the Inspire Foundation, in partnership with young people, has developed a flexible and diverse approach to youth participation. This paper outlines the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the model, and discusses the operationalisation of program goals, atmosphere and activities that seek to build resilience through meaningful youth participation

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies (third edition)

The third edition of Flow Cytometry Guidelines provides the key aspects to consider when performing flow cytometry experiments and includes comprehensive sections describing phenotypes and functional assays of all major human and murine immune cell subsets. Notably, the Guidelines contain helpful tables highlighting phenotypes and key differences between human and murine cells. Another useful feature of this edition is the flow cytometry analysis of clinical samples with examples of flow cytometry applications in the context of autoimmune diseases, cancers as well as acute and chronic infectious diseases. Furthermore, there are sections detailing tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid. All sections are written and peer‐reviewed by leading flow cytometry experts and immunologists, making this edition an essential and state‐of‐the‐art handbook for basic and clinical researchers.DFG, 389687267, Kompartimentalisierung, Aufrechterhaltung und Reaktivierung humaner Gedächtnis-T-Lymphozyten aus Knochenmark und peripherem BlutDFG, 80750187, SFB 841: Leberentzündungen: Infektion, Immunregulation und KonsequenzenEC/H2020/800924/EU/International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2/iCARE-2DFG, 252623821, Die Rolle von follikulären T-Helferzellen in T-Helferzell-Differenzierung, Funktion und PlastizitätDFG, 390873048, EXC 2151: ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory syste

The impact of 'empirical facts' on legal scholarship and legal research training

Lawyers have traditionally viewed law as a closed system, and doctrinal research has been the research methodology used most widely in the profession. This reflects traditional concepts of legal reasoning. There is a wealth of reliable and valid social science data available to lawyers and judges. Judges in fact often refer to general facts about the world, society, institutions and human behaviour (‘empirical facts’). Legal education needs to prepare our students for this broader legal context. This paper examines how ‘empirical facts’ are used in Australian and other common law courts. Specifically, the paper argues that there is a need for enhanced training in non-doctrinal research methodologies across the law school curriculum. This should encompass a broad introduction to social science methods, with more attention being paid to a cross-section of methodologies such as content analysis, comparative law and surveys that are best applied to law

How Can Volunteers Best Be Utilized During Disaster Relief Efforts?

Chaos is inevitable when disaster strikes. Entire communities are ravaged by the turmoil created following catastrophic events. To combat this chaos, strangers and community members alike will organically band together to help ease the strain on each other and attempt to create stability. When disaster hits, the skills of those who respond are put to the test, whether they are qualified experts or random spectators. A more pragmatic approach to organizing and utilizing volunteers must be offered to those in need to effectively support disaster victims. The components of more efficient volunteer utilization are examined in this study. Better-equipped volunteers with adequate support and guidance are more successful in helping than volunteers with no guide or instruction. The overall purpose of this qualitative research is to 1) Analyze prior studies around volunteer management and 2) Identify and consolidate successful concepts to better utilize volunteerism in disaster scenarios. Data will be collected and evaluated from twenty-six scholarly sources (from volunteer efforts globally) considering cultural and age-related differences. Conclusions will include specific issues, trends, and affiliations such as current management practices, conceptual frameworks, retention challenges, and volunteer health. These results will be presented at the Symposium for Student Scholars to better inform the development of a more complete agenda for volunteer utilization for disaster relief. Keywords: disaster relief, volunteer, framework, volunteer utilizatio

E-Professionalism: The Global Reach of the Lawyer's Duty to Use Social Media Ethically

We live in an age where technology is revolutionizing the practice of law. The recent American Bar Association Commission on the Future of Legal Services' Report on the Future of Legal Services in the United States ("ABA Future of Legal Services Report") published in August 2016, noted that "technology, globalization, and other forces continue to transform how, why, and by whom legal services are accessed and delivered." To meet the public's legal needs for access to justice "the profession must leverage technology and other innovations. Despite resistance to change, the legal profession is adopting technology, including social media, at a "staggering rate" as part of legal services delivery. Apart from physical interactions, lawyers now communicate electronically on social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, with other lawyers, clients, and the public more generally in relation to their practice. They also use social media for private communication in their private spaces. The 2015 ABA Legal Survey Technology Report found that 76 percent of respondents' firms participated in social media or online communities. The Report found even higher use of social media by lawyers for personal reasons, with 84.5 percent of respondents having a presence on Facebook. Law students, too, are heavy users of technology including social media. Courts across the world use social media to communicate with the legal profession and the general public. In this article we particularly address the use of social media by the legal profession. Social media "includes an Internet-based service allowing people to share content and respond to postings by others." Social media "may be viewed via websites, mobile or desktop applications, text messaging or other electronic means." Examples of popular forms of social media include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media sites

Safe as houses? Lump sum dissipation and housing

Lump sum damages payments for personal injury claimants who suffer serious and catastrophic injury are common across Australia. One of the benefits of lump sum compensation for personal injury is argued to be the ability of claimants to purchase housing with their lump sum. In this chapter, we focus on whether the expenditure of significant amount of lump sum compensation payment on the purchase or payment for housing is desirable for personal injury compensation recipients, particularly considering the complex interaction between Australian compensation systems, the Australian social security support system And lifetime care and support schemes such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the National Injury Insurance (NIIS) schemes. We discuss out content analysis of the Australian Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT) social security preclusion appeals between 2013 and 2017 to illuminate the potential consequences of compensation recipients expending compensation lump sums on housing. We argue that purchase of housing can contribute to compensation recipients prematurely dissipating lump sum funds meant to provide economic support for loss of earnings and lifetime care and support costs. This may result in preclusion from income and other support from the social security system for lengthy periods of time, with injured people then left in a precarious financial position. It may also result in poor health outcomes for compensation recipients, who may also be unable to access enough lifetime care and support through the NDIS or through a state or territory NIIS scheme. The use of lump sum compensation funds on purchase of property may not, in fact, be ‘safe as houses’