Researching creatively with pupils in Assessment for Learning (AfL) classrooms on experiences of participation and consultation

This paper reports on an ESRC TLRP project, Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL). The CPAL project provides an additional theoretical perspective to the ‘educational benefits’ perspective of engaging pupil voice in learning and teaching (Rudduck et al., 2003) through its exploration of pupil rights specifically in relation to assessment issues presently on the policy agenda in the Northern Ireland context – notably Assessment for Learning (AfL). An emergent framework for assessing pupil rights, based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Lundy, 2007), is being used to explore the ways in which AfL classroom practice creates the conditions for increased pupil participation and consultation. Pupil views on their AfL classroom experiences and participation are explored by means of a variety of pupil-centred, creative research methods that engage and stimulate pupils to observe, communicate and analyse their learning and assessment experiences and give meaning to them. This presentation highlights preliminary data based on a sample of 11-14 years pupils' experiences of participation and consultation in classrooms adopting AfL pedagogical principles, and identifies characteristics that support or inhibit pupil participation in their learning and the expression of their views about such matters

In vivo Detection of Hyperoxia-induced Pulmonary Endothelial Cell Death Using \u3csup\u3e99m\u3c/sup\u3eTc-Duramycin

Introduction 99mTc-duramycin, DU, is a SPECT biomarker of tissue injury identifying cell death. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of DU imaging to quantify capillary endothelial cell death in rat lung injury resulting from hyperoxia exposure as a model of acute lung injury. Methods Rats were exposed to room air (normoxic) or \u3e 98% O2 for 48 or 60 hours. DU was injected i.v. in anesthetized rats, scintigraphy images were acquired at steady-state, and lung DU uptake was quantified from the images. Post-mortem, the lungs were removed for histological studies. Sequential lung sections were immunostained for caspase activation and endothelial and epithelial cells. Results Lung DU uptake increased significantly (p \u3c 0.001) by 39% and 146% in 48-hr and 60-hr exposed rats, respectively, compared to normoxic rats. There was strong correlation (r2 = 0.82, p = 0.005) between lung DU uptake and the number of cleaved caspase 3 (CC3) positive cells, and endothelial cells accounted for more than 50% of CC3 positive cells in the hyperoxic lungs. Histology revealed preserved lung morphology through 48 hours. By 60 hours there was evidence of edema, and modest neutrophilic infiltrate. Conclusions Rat lung DU uptake in vivo increased after just 48 hours of \u3e 98% O2 exposure, prior to the onset of any substantial evidence of lung injury. These results suggest that apoptotic endothelial cells are the primary contributors to the enhanced DU lung uptake, and support the utility of DU imaging for detecting early endothelial cell death in vivo

Experimental X-ray Stress Analysis Procedures for Ultra High Strength Materials

X-ray stress analysis procedures for accurate measurement of elastic strain in high strength steel

What Works for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men? A Systematic Review of the Literature

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men experience significantly higher rates of suicide, trauma, alcohol related deaths and unemployment than other Australian men. Despite significant levels of government intervention, rates of family violence, unemployment and incarceration continue to increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. As a subset of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, there has been a lesser focus on how to meaningfully improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. This systematic review seeks to understand what interventions, programs and activities are successful in improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and thereby the wellbeing of their communities. A thorough search of the literature was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Analysis of the programs, activities and interventions evaluated in these studies indicated two prominent themes that were successful in improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men: strengthening identity and increasing social connection. The mechanisms contributing to these outcomes are discussed, as are implications for policy and future research

The relationship between mental toughness and cognitive control: evidence from the item-method directed forgetting task

Previous research by the authors found that mental toughness, as measured by the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ48; Clough, P.J., Earle, K., & Sewell, D. [2002]. Mental toughness: the concept and its measurement. In I. Cockerill (Ed.), Solutions in sport psychology [pp. 32–43]. London: Thomson Publishing), was significantly associated with performance on the list-method directed forgetting task. The current study extends this finding to the item-method directed forgetting task in which the instruction to Remember or Forget is given after each item in the study list. A significant positive association was found between the correct recognition of Remember words and the emotional control subscale of the MTQ48. No significant associations were observed with other measures of mental toughness or personality. The findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between mental toughness and cognitive control

Which Way From Here? An Exploration of Local Perspectives on Strengths, Needs and Goals in the Aurukun Community

Aurukun is a small Aboriginal community located in remote Cape York, Far North Queensland. This study explores local perspectives on the goals, strengths and areas of need in the community, and perceptions of the role of a man in Aurukun. Seventeen individuals from the Aurukun community were informally interviewed. The sample comprised eight community elders (four female, four male) and nine community members (six male, three female). A reference group comprising local community members and elders guided the research project. Results indicated that the communities’ main strength was their connection to culture, the areas most needing improvement were violence, alcohol use, over incarceration, poor support for mental health and a lack of employment opportunities. Participants saw the best way forward as being through more employment and better communication. The interconnectedness of these themes as well as their implications for successful program development and evaluation are discussed

Synthesising, using, and correcting for telluric features in high-resolution astronomical spectra

We present a technique to synthesise telluric absorption and emission features both for in-situ wavelength calibration and for their removal from astronomical spectra. While the presented technique is applicable for a wide variety of optical and infrared spectra, we concentrate in this paper on selected high-resolution near-infrared spectra obtained with the CRIRES spectrograph to demonstrate its performance and limitation. We find that synthetic spectra reproduce telluric absorption features to about 2%, even close to saturated line cores. Thus, synthetic telluric spectra could be used to replace the observation of telluric standard stars, saving valuable observing time. This technique also provides a precise in-situ wavelength calibration, especially useful for high-resolution near-infrared spectra in the absence of other calibration sources.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (updated version

Biomarkers for Radiation Pneumonitis Using Noninvasive Molecular Imaging

Our goal is to develop minimally invasive biomarkers for predicting radiation-induced lung injury before symptoms develop. Currently, there are no biomarkers that can predict radiation pneumonitis. Radiation damage to the whole lung is a serious risk in nuclear accidents or in radiologic terrorism. Our previous studies have shown that a single dose of 15 Gy of x-rays to the thorax causes severe pneumonitis in rats by 6–8 wk. We have also developed a mitigator for radiation pneumonitis and fibrosis that can be started as late as 5 wk after radiation. Methods: We used 2 functional SPECT probes in vivo in irradiated rat lungs. Regional pulmonary perfusion was measured by injection of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin. Perfused volume was determined by comparing the volume of distribution of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin to the anatomic lung volume obtained by small-animal CT. A second probe, 99mTc-labeled Duramycin, which binds to apoptotic cells, was used to measure pulmonary cell death in the same rat model. Results: The perfused volume of lung was decreased by about 25% at 1, 2, and 3 wk after receipt of 15 Gy, and 99mTc-Duramycin uptake was more than doubled at 2 and 3 wk. There was no change in body weight, breathing rate, or lung histology between irradiated and nonirradiated rats at these times. Pulmonary vascular resistance and vascular permeability measured in isolated perfused lungs ex vivo increased at 2 wk after 15 Gy of irradiation. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SPECT biomarkers have the potential to predict radiation injury to the lungs before substantial functional or histologic damage is observed. Early prediction of radiation pneumonitis in time to initiate mitigation will benefit those exposed to radiation in the context of therapy, accidents, or terrorism

Radiation effects on organic scintillators: Studies of color center annealing

The interaction of ionizing radiation with organic, polymer-based scintillators results in the discoloration of the material, which reduces the scintillation efficiency. This phenomenon can be described in terms of two types of color centers: annealable and nonannealable. For many common materials, at doses of a few Mrad, the annealable color centers account for a large fraction of the observed radiation-induced absorption. We are conducting studies to understand the mechanisms and kinetics of the annealing process. By conducting experiments on polystyrene in which polymerization of the monomer, {gamma}-irradiation, and post-irradiation annealing were all carried out in a sealed, degassed tube, we have been able to resolve the question of whether annealing can occur in the absence of oxygen. We find that annealing does indeed occur under inert conditions. The rate of inert annealing at room temperature is drastically slower than oxygen-mediated annealing, whereas the rates for the two processes is only slightly different at 80{degree}C. We have measured the annealing rate of color centers in {gamma}-irradiated polystyrene in air over the temperature range of 30 to 90{degree}C, and find a large increase in annealing rate with increasing temperature. Arrhenius plots of the annealing data show strong non-linearity, which can be ascribed to two different annealing mechanisms of very different activation energy: presumably oxidative and nonoxidative. Ongoing work involves deconvolution of the two annealing processes, and construction of a model for long-term annealing kinetics in these materials. 6 refs., 4 figs

Confirmation of co-denitrification in grazed grassland

peer-reviewedPasture-based livestock systems are often associated with losses of reactive forms of nitrogen (N) to the environment. Research has focused on losses to air and water due to the health, economic and environmental impacts of reactive N. Di-nitrogen (N2) emissions are still poorly characterized, both in terms of the processes involved and their magnitude, due to financial and methodological constraints. Relatively few studies have focused on quantifying N2 losses in vivo and fewer still have examined the relative contribution of the different N2 emission processes, particularly in grazed pastures. We used a combination of a high 15N isotopic enrichment of applied N with a high precision of determination of 15N isotopic enrichment by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry to measure N2 emissions in the field. We report that 55.8 g N m−2 (95%, CI 38 to 77 g m−2) was emitted as N2 by the process of co-denitrification in pastoral soils over 123 days following urine deposition (100 g N m−2), compared to only 1.1 g N m−2 (0.4 to 2.8 g m−2) from denitrification. This study provides strong evidence for co-denitrification as a major N2 production pathway, which has significant implications for understanding the N budgets of pastoral ecosystems.The authors are grateful for the funding that was provided through the Research Stimulus Fund Program administered by the Department of Agriculture & Food under the National Development Plan 2007–2013 RSF 07536. The first author is grateful for the funding provided by Teagasc through the Walsh Fellowship Scheme