The ongoing development of the creative communities: past, present and future

Pedagogic research‘Contemporary art encompasses many different kinds of approaches embracing the conceptual and the digital. It involves many kinds of media and skills and is increasingly co-created, transdisciplinary and working with multiple stakeholders. Art is no longer a practice for the solitary artist working in a garret with paint and easel.’ (Orr and Shreeve, 2019: 4) This paper will consider how the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in the UK, demonstrated the importance of considering how supportive artistic and creative networks and communities are created. Lockdown brought into focus the many ways that artists rely on other people and outside stimuli to create. These communities were taken for granted pre- lockdown. In previous research papers, we have considered how, at De Montfort University School of Fashion and Textiles, a creative community was actively created online to support students and staff during lockdown. This paper will first set out and then analyse the steps taken that led to successful creative communities online and on the return to the studio. The activities included academics joining in with the students in creative processes. It will then consider the findings from a workshop attended by multi disciplines from across the university faculties including Health and Life Sciences, Computer, Engineering, Media, Humanities and creative practical subjects. The workshop asked academics to consider key questions to consider how they remained grounded in their practice. The paper will consider how these practical solutions and research and theories on how learning communities are created online, including the principles of scaffolding for learning (Salmon, 2022), constructivism pedagogy (Hamer and Van Rossum, 2010) and a long-time approach (Krznaric, 2020) can be actively applied to build on lessons learnt on the importance of creative community approach to learning post pandemic. Finally, as the creative curriculum needs to respond to the necessity for designers to be digitally literate, this paper will conclude by looking forward to consider how to combine the online and studio communities within a digital world and as students and tutors design on screen. The importance of creative communities is key not only to art and design but to all disciplines and is foremost for De Montfort University as it undergoes a pedagogic transformation to block teaching across all faculties

Evaluation Of Sensitivity To Chemotherapeutants In Successive Generations Of Lepeoptheirus Salmonis From A Resistant Population

There are currently reports of reduced sensitivity to certain lice treatments in different parts of Scotland and world-wide, and research is on-going into the extent and mechanisms of resistance to different treatments (Denholm et al., 2002; Sevatdal & Horsberg, 2003; Sevatdal et al., 2005). In particular, increasing evidence of resistance of Lepeophtheirus salmonis to the chemotherapeutant emamectin benzoate (Lees et al., 2008; Espedal et al., 2010) poses a serious problem to commercial farms because there are few licensed and effective treatments available

Communication skills in children aged 6-8 years, without cerebral palsy cooled for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

We assessed communication skills of 48 children without cerebral palsy (CP) treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (cases) compared to 42 controls at early school-age and examined their association with white matter diffusion properties in both groups and 18-month Bayley-III developmental assessments in cases. Parents completed a Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC-2) yielding a General Communication Composite (GCC), structural and pragmatic language scores and autistic-type behavior score. GCC ≤ 54 and thresholds of structural and pragmatic language score differences defined language impairment. Using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), fractional anisotropy (FA) was compared between 31 cases and 35 controls. Compared to controls, cases had lower GCC (p = 0.02), structural (p = 0.03) and pragmatic language score (p = 0.04) and higher language impairments (p = 0.03). GCC correlated with FA in the mid-body of the corpus callosum, the cingulum and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (p < 0.05) in cases. Bayley-III Language Composite correlated with GCC (r = 0.34, p = 0.017), structural (r = 0.34, p = 0.02) and pragmatic (r = 0.32, p = 0.03) language scores and autistic-type behaviors (r = 0.36, p = 0.01)

Development of the corpus callosum and cognition after neonatal encephalopathy

Objective: Neonatal imaging studies report corpus callosum abnormalities after neonatal hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), but corpus callosum development and relation to cognition in childhood are unknown. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we examined the relationship between corpus callosum size, microstructure and cognitive and motor outcomes at early school-age children cooled for HIE (cases) without cerebral palsy compared to healthy, matched controls. A secondary aim was to examine the impact of HIE-related neonatal brain injury on corpus callosum size, microstructure and growth. Methods: Participants aged 6–8 years underwent MRI, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children Second Edition and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition. Cross-sectional area, volume, fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity of the corpus callosum and five subdivisions were measured. Multivariable regression was used to assess associations between total motor score, full-scale IQ (FSIQ) and imaging metrics. Results: Adjusting for age, sex and intracranial volume, cases (N = 40) compared to controls (N = 39) demonstrated reduced whole corpus callosum area (β = −26.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −53.17, −0.58), volume (β = −138.5, 95% CI = −267.54, −9.56), fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity (P < 0.05) within segments II–V. In cases, segment V area (β = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.004, 0.35), volume (β = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.079), whole corpus callosum fractional anisotropy (β = 13.8 95% CI = 0.6, 27.1) and radial diffusivity (β = −11.3, 95% CI = −22.22, −0.42) were associated with FSIQ. Growth of the corpus callosum was restricted in cases with a FSIQ ≤85, and volume was reduced in cases with mild neonatal multifocal injury compared to white matter injury alone. Interpretation: Following neonatal HIE, morphological and microstructural changes in the corpus callosum are associated with reduced cognitive function at early school age

How to understand and teach upcycling in the context of the circular economy: Literature review and first phase of Delphi

Transitioning from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE) requires changes in education at all levels, especially in higher education. The changes in education for the transformation towards CE in both formal and informal settings will eventually inform, inspire, and affect professional practices in industries in a positive way. Aligned with CE, a promising umbrella concept and practice called ‘upcycling’ is emerging. The concepts and practices of CE and upcycling overlap depending on the diverse definitions of the terms provided by academics and practitioners in various disciplines and sectors in different parts of the world. This has caused some confusions and misunderstanding by some academics and professionals. For teachers and training providers that aim to teach students and professionals about sustainable production and consumption including upcycling and CE, it is beneficial to distinguish between these two concepts. Understanding the interrelationships between them in theory and practice is important to provide researchers and practitioners with a clear guidance and recommendations. This study aimed to explore how we should understand and teach upcycling in the context of CE utilising a Delphi method. This short paper presents the literature review and preliminary analysis results based on the first phase of Delphi: definitions of upcycling and CE, comparisons between upcycling and CE, upcycling as part of CE (or interrelationships between them), and effective ways to communicate the aforementioned contents