Practical preparation for a life of good citizenship or just a waste of time? A study of student engagement with the American liberal arts curriculum at an international university in London

The American liberal arts tradition offers students the opportunity to take a broad range of course modules, learn about diverse cultures and take part in programmes and services that expand their ways of thinking and learning. (Carnegie, 2018) A liberal arts education claims its ultimate goal is to develop the individual to play an active role in his/her local and global community by teaching global citizenship and motivating graduates to continue a life of learning (AACU, 2019). This study considers a first-year cohort of international students entering university for the first time in London. It considers their motivations, expectations and ideas of what a liberal arts education will do for them and how these motivations and expectations develop and change in the first year. This study also focuses on engagement strategies that the institution has developed to promote skill-building and the development of global citizenship and analyses how effective these are in retaining students from year one to year two. Ultimately, the study seeks to discover if a liberal arts education at its early stages does indeed do what its students perceive it to do and whether or not the practicalities of training for good citizenship hold value and meaning to the students taking part on the course. Liberal arts education has weathered a number of trends in higher education over the years. From a focus on technical training and skills-based learning in the 1980s, to a shift back to personal development in the 1990s, the offer of general education courses has always occupied a place in universities around the world.(Menard, 2010) But as tuition fees increase and demands for student employment also rise, liberal arts programmes seem threatened. Supporters wonder if there is a place for them anymore in preparing young people for life beyond university. (Knight, 2008) The outcomes of this study are mixed. Based on the students’ expectations, feedback, engagement and final evaluations of their first-year programme at Richmond the American International University in London there appear to be two conflicting results. Students who engaged actively and persistently with the programme saw value and use in developing skills and personal qualities that they believed would be useful in helping them achieve their academic and personal goals. Those who did not engage with the programme or engaged only peripherally, saw little value in the first-year experience and struggled to relate to its intended outcomes

Spatially-Resolved Integrated Precipitation-Surface-Groundwater Water Isotope Mapping From Crowd Sourcing: Toward Understanding Water Cycling Across a Post-glacial Landscape

Isotopic analyses of delta O-18 and delta H-2 of water in the context of the hydrologic cycle have allowed hydrologists to better understand the portioning of water between the different water domains. Isoscapes on a large spatial scale have been created to show isotopic variation in waters as a function of elevation, temperature, distance to coast, and water vapor source. We present the spatial and temporal isotopic results of precipitation, surface water, and groundwater of an ongoing study across Massachusetts, USA in order to establish an isotopic baseline for the region. This represents one of the most comprehensive and detailed isotopic studies of water across a 10,000 sq mi area that has exhaustively sampled important components of the terrestrial hydrologic cycle (precipitation, groundwater, and surface waters). We leverage the support of volunteers and citizen scientists to crowd source samples for isotopic analysis. The database consists of water samples from 14 precipitation sites, 409 ground water sites and 516 surface water sites across the state of Massachusetts, USA. The results indicate that groundwater isotopic composition ranges from delta O-18 -11 to -4 parts per thousand surface water ranges from delta O-18 -13 to -3.84 parts per thousand and precipitation ranges from delta O-18 -17.88 to -2.89 parts per thousand. On a first order, the small bias of mean groundwater (-8.7 parts per thousand) and surface water (-8.0 parts per thousand) isotopes compared to precipitation delta O-18 (-7.6 parts per thousand) supports that groundwater recharge and surface water storage effects through the hydrologic year impact the isotopic composition of surface and groundwater. While differences are distinct, they are larger than previously reported values, but still suggest more importance of summer precipitation than previously acknowledged. On average seasonal amplitudes of precipitation (2.7 parts per thousand), surface water (1.13 parts per thousand), and groundwater (similar to 0 parts per thousand) of the region demonstrate young water fractions of surface water to be 40% with groundwater similar to 0%. Results demonstrate that mean delta O-18 in precipitation, surface water and groundwaters are more enriched in heavy isotopes in areas near the coast, than the interior and western portion of Massachusetts. The hope is for this dataset to become an important tool for water management and water resource assessment across the region

Population screening for colorectal cancer means getting FIT:the past, present, and future of colorectal cancer screening using the fecal immunochemical test for hemoglobin (FIT)

Fecal immunochemical tests for hemoglobin (FIT) are changing the manner in which colorectal cancer (CRC) is screened. Although these tests are being performed worldwide, why is this test different from its predecessors? What evidence supports its adoption? How can this evidence best be used? This review addresses these questions and provides an understanding of FIT theory and practices to expedite international efforts to implement the use of FIT in CRC screening

Effects of seawater pCO2 and temperature on calcification and productivity in the coral genus Porites spp. : an exploration of potential interaction mechanisms

This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (Award NE/I022973/1) to AAF and NA.Understanding how rising seawater pCO2 and temperatures impact coral aragonite accretion is essential for predicting the future of reef ecosystems. Here we report 2 long term (10-11 month) studies assessing the effects of temperature (25 and 28°C) and both high and low seawater pCO2 (180-750 μatm) on the calcification, photosynthesis and respiration of individual massive Porites spp. genotypes. Calcification rates were highly variable between genotypes but high seawater pCO2 reduced calcification significantly in 4 of 7 genotypes cultured at 25°C but in only 1 of 4 genotypes cultured at 28°C. Increasing seawater temperature enhanced calcification in almost all corals but the magnitude of this effect was seawater pCO2 dependent. The 3°C temperature increase enhanced calcification rate on average by 3% at 180 μatm, by 35% at 260 μatm and by >300% at 750 μatm. The rate increase at high seawater pCO2 exceeds that observed in inorganic aragonites. Responses of gross/net photosynthesis and respiration to temperature and seawater pCO2 varied between genotypes but rates of all these processes were reduced at the higher seawater temperature. Increases in seawater temperature, below the thermal stress threshold, may mitigate against ocean acidification in this coral genus but this moderation is not mediated by an increase in net photosynthesis. The response of coral calcification to temperature cannot be explained by symbiont productivity or by thermodynamic and kinetic influences on aragonite formation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Understanding cold bias : variable response of skeletal Sr/Ca to seawater pCO2 in acclimated massive Porites corals

This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (award NE/I022973/1).Coral skeletal Sr/Ca is a palaeothermometer commonly used to produce high resolution seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) records and to investigate the amplitude and frequency of ENSO and interdecadal climate events. The proxy relationship is typically calibrated by matching seasonal SST and skeletal Sr/Ca maxima and minima in modern corals. Applying these calibrations to fossil corals assumes that the temperature sensitivity of skeletal Sr/Ca is conserved, despite substantial changes in seawater carbonate chemistry between the modern and glacial ocean. We present Sr/Ca analyses of 3 genotypes of massive Porites spp. corals (the genus most commonly used for palaeoclimate reconstruction), cultured under seawater pCO2 reflecting modern, future (year 2100) and last glacial maximum (LGM) conditions. Skeletal Sr/Ca is indistinguishable between duplicate colonies of the same genotype cultured under the same conditions, but varies significantly in response to seawater pCO2 in two genotypes of Porites lutea, whilst Porites murrayensis is unaffected. Within P. lutea, the response is not systematic: skeletal Sr/Ca increases significantly (by 2-4%) at high seawater pCO2 relative to modern in both genotypes, and also increases significantly (by 4%) at low seawater pCO2 in one genotype. This magnitude of variation equates to errors in reconstructed SST of up to -5°C.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe