Human development

This article draws attention to commonalities in the use of the term development in relation to global development as practised by the United Nations Development Programme, and human development as taught in foundation courses for teacher education, nursing, and other social sciences. It argues, following Sen (2009), that the common direction and purpose of these two development projects is towards social justice. Theories of lifespan development affect the lives of persons both through national policy and self-management. Human development cannot and ought not to be sustained as a project for spreading euro-western values. Using the example of youth unemployment, it is argued that popular theories of career development, based on the twentieth century contexts of their authors, promote outdated assumptions, which create real personal turmoil for young adults who are trying to fit themselves into this changing world. The focus of the study of human development is optimal directions; thus for individuals, as for countries, development is both a global and a moral project. Placing emphasis on the global context of human development has far-reaching implications for scholars of lifespan development. These considerations also foreshadow the need to examine the role of lifespan developmental theory in Education, which is an acknowledged tool of global development

Restorative Practices in Schools: Far-Reaching Implications

In 1999, the New Zealand Ministry of Education contracted a team from the University of Waikato to develop a process for conferencing in schools. The brief was to utilise restorative justice principles to develop a conferencing process for use in schools. The purpose was to test whether such an approach to wrongdoing could reduce the exponential increase of suspensions, particularly of Maori boys, who were, and still are, disproportionately represented in reported numbers of suspensions, stand-downs and exclusions

Restorative practice and behaviour management in schools: discipline meets care.

The history of restorative practices in New Zealand schools is directly related to projects such as the Suspension Reduction Initiative (SRI) and the more recent Student Engagement Initiative (SEI); thus the origins of restorative practices in schools are linked with behaviour management and school discipline. During the same period, teachers' work has become more complex: They are working with an increasingly diverse range of students, which in turn requires epistemologically diverse teaching and relationship-building approaches to ensure maximum participation for all. Teachers are looking for new and better ways to interact with students in their classrooms, and those responsible for disciplinary systems are looking to restorative practice for new ways to resolve the increasing range and number of difficulties between teachers and students, students and other students, and between the school and parents. Restorative practices (RP) are currently seen as a way of achieving all this, so they carry a huge burden of hope. Relationship skills are a key competency in the new curriculum, and the philosophy of restoration offers both a basis for understanding and a process for putting this agenda into practice. In effect, it means educating for citizenship in a diverse world, including teaching the skills of conflict resolution. If we accept this philosophy, the curriculum for teacher education will require significant changes in what students are taught about behaviour and classroom management

Resurrection of the sea pen genus Ptilella Gray, 1870 and description of Ptilella grayi n. sp. from the NE Atlantic (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea)

The order Pennatulacea covers a group of specialized and morphologically distinct octocorals found in all oceans from intertidal areas to more than 6000 m in depth. Sea pens constitute an important structural component in marine soft-bottom communities by increasing the complexity of these environments. Despite being both morphologically distinctive and ecologically important, the taxonomy and systematics of sea pens is still poorly understood. Recent molecular studies have shown the existence of convergent morphological features, making the current familial distribution of genera unstable. The genus Pennatula Linnaeus, 1758 was one of the first described octocoral genera. It is the type genus of its family, Pennatulidae. Colonies of this genus have a characteristic morphology. Recent sampling efforts in the northeastern Atlantic have provided a number of colonies initially attributable to the genus Pennatula. Both morphological and molecular (mtMutS, Cox1 and 28S genes) study of this material supports the polyphyletic nature of this genus and the need to resurrect the genus Ptilella Gray, 1870 to accommodate these and other species. A new species, Ptilella grayi n. sp., is described and illustrated. The species Pennatula bayeri is proposed to be a junior synonym of Pennatula bellissima (here also considered in the genus Ptilella)

Maternal fatty acid and inflammatory status during pregnancy are related to infant heart rate and heart rate variability

Early life heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) reflect autonomic maturation. Intervention with n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) during pregnancy favorably affects fetal HR and HRV; similar observations have been reported with infant n-3 LCPUFA intake. Infant HR and HRV have not been assessed in relation to maternal fatty acid status during pregnancy. Further, exposure to intrauterine inflammation may underlie these observations, although this hypothesis has not been tested. The aim of this observational study was to explore associations between maternal fatty acid and inflammatory status during pregnancy and infant HR and HRV. Simple linear and multiple regression were used to describe relationships for infant HR and HRV at 2 weeks, 4 months, and 6 months of age and: 1) maternal erythrocyte n-6 and n-3 fatty acids, 2) maternal plasma n-6 and n-3 endocannabinoids, and 3) maternal serum cytokines (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α), adipokine (adiponectin), and acute phase reactant (C-reactive protein) at 20, 24, 32, and 36 gestational weeks. Higher maternal n-3 fatty acid status, especially DHA, during pregnancy was inversely related to infant HR and positively related to HRV; the inverse was observed for n-6 fatty acids. Maternal n-3 endocannabinoids during pregnancy were inversely related with infant HR and positively related to infant HRV. Conversely, when the n-6:n-3 endocannabinoid ratio more heavily favored the n-6 endocannabinoid series, there was a positive and inverse association with infant HR and HRV, respectively. Limited associations between the other inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, adiponectin, C-reactive protein) and infant HR/HRV were observed. As such, we cannot definitively conclude there is a link between intrauterine exposure to these biomarkers and infant autonomic development. These data build on existing literature evidencing a role for n-3 fatty acids in accelerating fetal and infant autonomic development and may indicate an anti-inflammatory role for n-3 endocannabinoids. This study is the first to examine potential relationships between maternal fatty acid status, maternal inflammation, and infant autonomic development. Further, this study is the first to examine endocannabinoids in relation to HR and HRV in any population

Compositional Optimization of Amyloid-Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids for Biomaterials

Amyloid nanofibrils are natural materials capable of self-assembling into precise structures with tunable functionalities, while exhibiting excellent mechanical properties. In combination with highly conductive graphene oxide (GO), the 1-D amyloid nanofibrils and 2-D nanosheets of GO can produce a robust and bio-functional nanohybrid, hypothesized to exhibit multi-domain functional properties useful for enzyme sensing, water purification, drug delivery, and tissue scaffolding applications. Here, we examine the properties of an amyloid-graphene oxide nanohybrid film made with amyloids derived from hen egg white lysozymes in an attempt to explore the diverse toolbox of amyloid derivatives and establish ideal fabrication methods and formulations of maximization of biofunctionality. Ideal methods for producing a stable and robust nanohybrid material will result in exfoliation of graphene oxide with the adherence of dispersed amyloid fibril structures between planes. In this study XRD is utilized to determine if exfoliation is achieved across varied film compositions. AFM, POM, FTIR and DSC were utilized to confirm successful formation of amyloids and graphene oxide and examine thermal property effects across varied compositions. Results from XRD tests suggested intercalation rather than exfoliation was achieved, and that increasing the weight percentage of amyloids correlated to an increase in the inter-sheet spacing between graphene oxide planes. From DSC tests, an irreversible stress relaxation effect was observed due to residual stress from film casting

Impact of Commercial Hip Hop/Rap Music Videos on Women of Color

poster abstractThe purpose of this research project is to examine hip hop and rap’s portrayal of minority women and how that adversely affects the development of female identities. Young females of biracial or multiracial backgrounds are the targeted demographic of this research. The types of images as well as the cultural tolerance of these images presented in hip hop and rap music videos have changed significantly over the decades. The television channel MTV had created a platform for a visual component of music that had never existed before in the industry. Since demeaning lyrics have been a hot topic in the past, music videos are the main focus of this research. Women of color in videos are being objectified through their clothing, what they are saying, and their actions. The methodology for conducting this research is an examination of literature reviews of scholarly articles as well as an analysis of a sample size of popular videos from each decade since the creation of MTV in 1981

Effectiveness of mycorrhizae and vermicompost seed inoculation for germination, vegetative growth, cannabinoid content, and cured flower weight of CBD-rich hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

Effective germination and vigorous growth of hemp cultivars is paramount to cultivators’ ability to produce high-quality hemp products. Beneficial bacteria and fungi are known symbionts to plants and are used in regenerative agriculture to increase plant health and crop yield. This pilot study investigated the effect of microbial seed inoculation on germination rate, plant height, cured flower weight, and cannabinoid content of cannabidiol (CBD)-rich hemp (Cannabis sativa L). The experiment included a control and the following treatments: 1) seed inoculation of Great White â Premium Mycorrhizae (GW), 2) seed inoculation of vermicompost (V), and 3) seed inoculation of Great White â Premium Mycorrhizae and vermicompost (GW+V). There were no significant differences for germination rate or plant height across treatments. For cured flower weight, the GW+V and V groups had increased cured flower weight by 29.0% and 43.0%, respectively, while the GW treatment had 4.4% more weight than the control group. Preliminary results indicate that the GW+V and V treatments had higher total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD content than the control at 17.6% and 19.0%, and 17.6% and 12.1%, respectively. These results suggest further investigation is needed to determine if seed inoculation is advantageous for hemp cultivators

Perceived Emotional Synchrony in Virtual Watch Parties

The appeal of many leisure activities emerges from “shared experience,” wherein participants feel an emotional synchrony with fellow participants. Essentially, participants’ emotions are enhanced by their awareness of and agreement with others’ emotional state. The physical presence of others has always been considered a necessary condition for such synchrony. Yet, recent anecdotal evidence suggests this may not be the case. Specifically, virtual settings (e.g., online gaming, live-streaming concerts) in which others’ physical presence is absent may also have the capacity to generate perceived emotional synchrony. Drawing primarily from shared attention theory, this dissertation explores conditions for perceived emotional synchrony in the context of virtual watch parties. It focuses on how such synchrony relates to positive emotional responses to the experience. Findings from a survey of participants’ experiences within virtual watch parties suggest that such experiences represent opportunities to connect with others, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from an experiment involving those same participants suggest that, as expected, perceived emotional synchrony was positively associated with positive emotional responses: positive emotional state, overall enjoyment, and willingness to share the video with friends. Emotional synchrony rendered the experience more worthwhile. This relationship held while controlling for trait-like tendency to experience emotional synchrony and self-reported shared attention. Importantly, we were able to create this synchrony among participants who were physically alone as they watched an online event. Results suggest that shared attention, the perception that “we” are attending together, encourages perceived emotional synchrony in virtual experiences. Mentalization, thinking about co-attendees’ experiences, helped to explain the relationship between shared attention and perceived emotional synchrony. Findings from the experiment further suggest that the social context of shared attention further influenced perceived emotional synchrony. Perceived emotional synchrony was highest when backchannel communication, the exchange of text-based messages with other participants during the experience, was present. This was the case regardless of the level of shared identity between participants. These findings offer new insights regarding conditions for creating shared experiences. They demonstrate that others’ physical presence is not necessary for perceptions of emotional synchrony. Rather, a sense that others who are located elsewhere are co-attending to a shared event can contribute to such synchrony. Sharing attention encourages participants to think about others’ experiences and compare those to their own emotional states, resulting in a sense of connection. Further, these findings demonstrate the importance of backchannel communication in the creation of shared experiences. Whether participants identified with co-viewers, text-based exchanges provided a window to others’ emotions, adding to perceived emotional synchrony. Ultimately, the dynamics of emotional connection resulted in more positive emotional responses to a shared event. This insight has profound implications for leisure providers. Physical proximity is less critical if providers offer tools that enable the exchange of emotional information. In doing so they can render virtual spaces capable of supporting shared experiences. Such experiences have important implications for the development interpersonal relationships, individual and community well-being, and client repatronage outcomes. This exploration of perceived emotional synchrony is essential to our evolving understanding of leisure service delivery