Mapping the emotional journey of teaching

This paper will explore the use of Novakian concept mapping as a means of visualising and tracing the range of emotions inherent within any teaching experience. It will focus in particular on its use within higher education, where the presence of emotion has traditionally been disregarded or seemingly suppressed. The example of undergraduate teaching of the law degree will be used as an area where the role of emotion is particularly under-theorised. This paper will assess the effectiveness of concept mapping as a tool to enable academics to explicitly acknowledge, and reflect upon, the existence of emotion, both in terms of their individual teaching experiences, their collective teaching journey through a course or qualification and their students’ learning journey. It will also consider how use of this technique at a collective level could identify areas of pedagogic frailty, which may arise due to the misinterpreting, mishandling or suppression of emotion. The various opportunities and challenges arising from this application of concept mapping techniques will be discussed, drawing on a small, empirical pilot study, and leading to the conclusion that it has a useful and significant role to play within an emerging field of enquiry

Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’?

In a climate where the work of the legal profession is changing and evolving rapidly, this article considers the potential for empathy to be incorporated as an essential element of legal practice. This challenges the conceptions of legal practice held by many legal professionals and law students but draws on increasing scientific evidence demonstrating the interaction between cognition and affect and reflects the emotional realities of life in practice. This article will consider the different definitions of empathy and argue that it is necessary for it to be conceptualised in a way which draws upon both cognitive and affective elements. When empathy is interpreted in this way it can provide both a more effective form of practice and a deeper appreciation of ethics and values. This article will argue that to incorporate empathy in this way requires a richer, more nuanced consideration of the benefits and challenges involved in its use. However, embedding it throughout legal education, training and legal practice would more than reward such a careful evaluation of its role

A study’s got to know its limitations

Background: All research has room for improvement, but authors do not always clearly acknowledge the limitations of their work. In this brief report, we sought to identify the prevalence of limitations statements in the medRxiv COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 dataset. Methods: We combined automated methods with manual review to analyse manuscripts for the presence, or absence, either of a defined limitations section in the text, or as part of the general discussion. Results: We identified a structured limitations statement in 28% of the manuscripts, and overall 52% contained at least one mention of a study limitation. Over one-third of manuscripts contained none of the terms that might typically be associated with reporting of limitations. Overall our method performed with precision of 0.97 and recall of 0.91. Conclusion: The presence or absence of limitations statements can be identified with reasonable confidence using automated tools. We suggest that it might be beneficial to require a defined, structured statement about study limitations, either as part of the submission process, or clearly delineated within the manuscript

Connectivity, confidentiality and confidence: Key issues in the provision of online pro bono activities

The provision of pro bono activities for law students has become an established feature of the undergraduate legal education landscape in Law Schools in the United Kingdom (“UK”) and beyond, providing the experiential elements of clinical legal education programmes. Pro bono activities conducted online, or utilising and enhanced by technologies in other ways (for example, through the development of a mobile phone application providing legal guidance), are increasingly becoming a part of this offering, reflecting wider shifts within legal practice and society and an increasing recognition of the importance of digital literacy skills. This paper will situate these forms of online and technologically-enhanced pro bono activities both within the wider context of contemporary clinical legal education and also as a part of broader professional and societal shifts. It will explore a variety of innovative approaches being taken internationally, including work done by The Open University’s Open Justice Centre in the UK, before moving on to focus on a number of key challenges and opportunities which may arise through the increasing provision of these new forms of pro bono activities by Law Schools. These include the potential and pitfalls of the technology involved, issues with confidentiality (particularly in the context of online legal advice) and the issue of how to foster trust in the online environment. The paper will conclude with a number of suggestions for areas requiring further research and discussion to enable contemporary clinicians to fully utilise the potential of online and technologically-enhanced pro bono activities

Demonstration of earlier detection of Salmonella species from stool samples by using chromogenic media

Background: Salmonellosis is a worldwide public health issue and non-typhoid species are one of the most common causative agents of gastroenteritis in the western world.1 Typhoidal and Paratyphoidal salmonellae cause systemic syndromes characterised by sustained bacteraemia.2 Although the number of cases is under reported and therefore the incidence rates are underestimated,3 worldwide up to 1.3 billion non-typhoidal and an estimated 20 million typhoidal cases of Salmonella infection are reported annually.4,

A mixed-method exploration of the impact of PTSD in UK military veterans and their families

It is well recognised that military-related trauma can have significant effects on military personnel and veterans. There has been considerable research interest in the burden of mental health, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in military personnel. However, whilst living in close proximity to individuals with PTSD can contribute to a phenomenon known as ‘secondary traumatisation’ in the offspring, the effects of military fathers’ mental health on their children and family has largely been overlooked. In this conceptual introduction, we aim to better understand the effects of PTSD on the wellbeing of military offspring and review previous literature relevant to understanding the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of trauma. The impact of PTSD on veterans’ offspring are varied, manifesting in behavioural, social, psychological and emotional difficulties. Research regarding the intergenerational transmission of war-related PTSD is mixed and remains in its infancy. Outside of military populations, various mechanisms and theories have been proposed to explain the direct and indirect pathway of transmission. Given that research suggests that PTSD does not solely affect the individual, but has implications for the family unit and offspring, further research is necessary to understanding this complex interplay between the psychopathology of the veteran father, the child and their characteristics and mechanisms underlying secondary traumatisation. This has important implications if the mechanisms are amenable to early intervention and remediation

The effects of prescribed fire on ant community composition in a temperate deciduous forest

Prescribed fire is a tool commonly used in land management to decrease wildfire frequency and promote plant diversity. However, the effects of prescribed fire on invertebrate communities, especially those within temperate deciduous forest, are poorly understood. We measured the response of epigeic ant communities in mixed mesophytic forest in Berea, Kentucky following prescribed burning. We used pitfall traps to repeatedly sample epigeic ants in replicate burned and unburned plots for up to 21 months postburn following two separate (2021 and 2022) prescribed fires. Ant species richness was similar between treatments (burn vs. control) and by burn year. Ant community composition generally differed between treatments and across years but was similar between the paired 2022 burned and unburned plots, probably due to the low intensity of that burn. The results of this study indicate that epigeic ant communities in an eastern deciduous forest are altered by prescribed burning, and do not return to normal activity levels after 1-year post-burn. Additional experimental studies are needed to determine the effects of fire intensity and frequency on ant assemblages in this setting

#INFLUENCED Festival Website

In the Advanced Content Management course, students were prompted to design, code, and develop an original concept for a festival and website. #INFLUENCED was developed as an exclusive festival website marketed towards aspiring influencers who want to meet social media stars. The event would be held in Manhattan, New York, a trendy location relevant to influencers and the festival concept. Nine different influencers were chosen to feature at the event and on the website Design choices were made to appeal to the target audience, women in the women in the 17-24 demographic who are interested in content creation and the stars appearing at the festival. This included the use of a feminine color palette and implementing a hashtag element to associate with social media. The goal of this project was to make the site appropriate and relevant for not only the target audience but also the festival concept