Asylum in Ireland - a public health perspective

This report has two elements, first a review of the literature on refugees and asylum seekrs, with particular to the legal and practical situation in Ireland, and secondly a report of a survey of refugees and asylum seekers carried out in part fulfillment of the requirments for the MPH. The survey had two elements, one a quantitaitve stuy carried out in Dublin and Ennis, and the second a series of focus groups

‘Head’ and ‘Heart’ Work:Re-Appraising the Place of Theory in the ‘Academic Dimension’ of Pre-Service Teacher Education in England

This paper reflects on the needs of early career, pre-service and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in the English education system, specifically the contested place of what we term the academic dimension within their pre-service professional formation. This largely theoretical paper begins with a philosophical review of an established debate concerning the relationship between theory, research, and professional knowledge in teaching, arguing that the discussion is irreducibly normative. Hogan's notion of teaching as "heart work" is extended to include "head work" and the case made for teachers developing a conceptual map as part of their professional formation to guide them in making good judgements in classrooms. From this, a pedagogical problem follows, in developing new approaches to engage teachers with theory given this is relatively absent in the English context. Four themes are identified from a brief review of existing studies concerned with engaging teachers in the academic dimension of pre-service teacher education which we relate to illustrative comments we have gathered informally from our own students which suggest they may appreciate the value of critical reflection on practice promoted by universities more than some policy makers in this context recognise. We conclude by suggesting ways in which one innovation in ITE in England with which we have been involved, Philosophy for Teachers (P4T), integrates the academic dimension and developing practice which relate to the four themes found in the review of existing literature, while focused on educational theory specifically. P4T fosters, we maintain, characteristically humanistic and relational reflection that is otherwise under-represented in professional formation for pre-and in-service teachers in England

Watershed Outreach Professionals' Behavior Change Practices, Challenges, and Needs: Insights and Recommendations for the Chesapeake Bay Trust

This project was conducted in collaboration with a Maryland non-profit grant-making organization, the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT). The goal of the project was to determine how to assist local organizations in implementing environmental outreach programs (EOPs) that foster environmentally responsible behaviors (ERB) within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Based on findings from a review of conservation psychology literature, interviews with outreach program leaders, and observations of EOPs, the team designed and administered a survey to the CBT grant applicants (n=108, r=55%). The survey determined the EOP practices, challenges, and needs of these organizations. Survey results demonstrated that the majority of respondents’ organizations seek to motivate individuals to protect the Bay (97%) and that their EOPs have behavioral objectives (62%). Respondents reported that they motivate people in variety of ways, such as raising awareness (91 %). Their EOPs, however, also demonstrated misperceptions about how to achieve behavior change, for example suggesting that raising awareness will lead to ERB. Responses further revealed that many organizations are incorporating behavior change strategies and outreach best practices, such as targeting audiences (76%) and conducting internal evaluations (78%). Respondents, however, face challenges in implementing EOPs including: recruiting audiences not already environmentally motivated (53%); intentionally using behavior change strategies (52%); and developing EOPs with limited resources (48%). Finally, respondents felt their EOPs would most benefit from increased collaboration with other organizations (73%), opportunities to learn more about evaluation (63%), and training in how to incorporate academic research on ERB (53%). These survey results, as well as interview, observation, grant review, and presentation findings, led to the development of recommendations for the CBT and other funders interested in supporting EOPs to motivate ERB. Recommendations focused on facilitating effective program design include, addressing behavior change misconceptions, offering opportunities to learn more about behavior change, and developing outreach best practices skills, such as audience targeting and assessment. The recommendations also focus on ways to ensure that the needs of under-resourced grantees are met by encouraging collaboration and providing user-friendly, Bay-specific resources, such as the Rapid Assessment tool and guide to Strategies for Motivating Watershed Behavior created by the team.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90869/1/Watershed Outreach Professionals' Behavior Change Practices, Challenges, and Needs[1].pd

Student Development and Service-Learning: A Three-Phased Model for Course Design

Many key resources in service-learning literature offer tools and advice to faculty members for designing effective service-learning courses; these materials typically focus on integrating service-learning effectively into a syllabus, fostering reciprocal partnerships, and using reflection to analyze experience.  In addition, a number of research studies have explored the impact of participation in service-learning on student development outcomes.  However, very few resources “flip” this equation—that is, there is less information in the literature on how student development theory can inform the effective design of service-learning courses and curricula.  This article utilizes an extensive review of student/adult development and learning theory to propose a three-phased model for service-learning course design.  Informed by the authors’ experiences working with faculty members and departments, the article provides examples illustrating the potential impact of this approach for individual courses or sequential curricula

Electronic feedback on second language writing: A retrospective and prospective essay on multimodality

[[notice]]補正完

Snow Water Equivalent Retrieval Over Idaho – Part 2: Using L-Band UAVSAR Repeat-Pass Interferometry

This study evaluates using interferometry on low-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to monitor snow water equivalent (SWE) over seasonal and synoptic scales. We retrieved SWE changes from nine pairs of SAR images, mean 8 d temporal baseline, captured by an L-band aerial platform, NASA\u27s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), over central Idaho as part of the NASA SnowEx 2020 and 2021 campaigns. The retrieved SWE changes were compared against coincident in situ measurements (SNOTEL and snow pits from the SnowEx field campaign) and to 100 m gridded SnowModel modeled SWE changes. The comparison of in situ to retrieved measurements shows a strong Pearson correlation (R = 0.80) and low RMSE (0.1 m, n = 64) for snow depth change and similar results for SWE change (RMSE = 0.04 m, R = 0.52, n = 57). The comparison between retrieved SWE changes to SnowModel SWE change also showed good correlation (R = 0.60, RMSD = 0.023 m, n = 3.2 × 106) and especially high correlation for a subset of pixels with no modeled melt and low tree coverage (R = 0.72, RMSD = 0.013 m, n = 6.5 × 104). Finally, we bin the retrievals for a variety of factors and show decreasing correlation between the modeled and retrieved values for lower elevations, higher incidence angles, higher tree percentages and heights, and greater cumulative melt. This study builds on previous interferometry work by using a full winter season time series of L-band SAR images over a large spatial extent to evaluate the accuracy of SWE change retrievals against both in situ and modeled results and the controlling factors of the retrieval accuracy

Reproductive History and Chronic Hepatic Steatosis in the Michigan Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

Background: Reproductive history, particularly maternal age at most recent birth, may reflect lower risk for chronic disease and mortality due to socioeconomic factors, lifestyle behaviors, or genetics. Reproductive history has not been examined with respect to hepatic steatosis, the most common liver disease in the United States. Our objective was to examine the association between reproductive history and hepatic steatosis. Methods: We examined the association between reproductive history characteristics?specifically age at most recent birth?and the odds of moderate to severe hepatic steatosis using a population-based retrospective cohort study of women who underwent hepatic ultrasound at the Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (n=331). Results: Women who gave birth at ≥35 years of age comprised 19% of the study population and were similar to other women regarding sociodemographic history and health behaviors. In multivariable analyses adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, chronic disease, and medications associated with hepatic steatosis, age at birth ≥35 years was associated with significantly decreased odds of hepatic steatosis (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20?0.87), which was attenuated after adjustment for waist circumference (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.24?1.10). Other reproductive factors including gravidity, parity, miscarriages and abortions, recall of gestational weight gain, breastfeeding, age at first birth, and age at final menstrual period were not associated with hepatic steatosis. Conclusions: Women who were older at their most recent birth had a reduced odds of hepatic steatosis, possibly associated with their lower waist circumference.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140129/1/jwh.2014.4839.pd