How experienced SoTL researchers develop the credibility of their work

Teaching and learning research in higher education, often referred to as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), is still relatively novel in many academic contexts compared to the mainstay of disciplinary research. One indication of this is the challenges those who engage in SoTL report in terms of how this work is valued or considered credible amongst disciplinary colleagues and in the face of institutional policies and practices. This paper moves beyond the literature that describes these specific challenges to investigate how 23 experienced SoTL researchers from five different countries understood the notion of credibility in relationship to their SoTL research and how they went about developing credibility for their work. Semi-structured interviews were facilitated and analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate that notions of credibility encompassed putting SoTL research into action and building capacity and community around research findings, as well as gaining external validation through traditional indicators such as publishing. SoTL researchers reported a variety of strategies and approaches they were using, both formal and informal, to develop credibility for their work. The direct focus of this paper on credibility of SoTL work as perceived by experienced SoTL researchers, and how they go about developing credibility, is a distinct contribution to the discussions about the valuing of SoTL work

Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition: A Curriculum for Extension Professionals Responding to Disasters and Terrorism

We describe Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition: A Community Response to Managing Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism, a curriculum designed to assist Extension professionals and other community stakeholders in helping their communities prepare for, and respond to, trauma associated with natural and human-made disasters. In the post-September 11, 2001 environment, it is imperative that community professionals become involved in planning for the psychological impact of these events

Core competencies in clinical neuropsychology training across the world

Objective: This work aimed to review main competency requirements from training models in countries with well-established specialties in clinical neuropsychology and to extract core competencies that likely will apply to clinical neuropsychologists regardless of regional and cultural context. Method: We reviewed standards for post-graduate training in clinical neuropsychology from countries in Europe, Australia, and North America based on existing literature, presentations at international conferences, and from description of the training models from national psychological or neuropsychological associations. Results: Despite differences, the reviewed models share similar core competencies considered necessary for a specialty in clinical neuropsychology: (1) In-depth knowledge of general psychology including clinical psychology (post-graduate level), ethical, and legal standards. (2) Expert knowledge about clinically relevant brain-behavioral relationships. (3) Comprehensive knowledge about, and skills in, related clinical disciplines. (4) In-depth knowledge about and skills in neuropsychological assessment, including decision-making and diagnostic competency according to current classification of diseases. (5) Competencies in the area of diversity and culture in relation to clinical neuropsychology. (6) Communication competency of neuropsychological findings and test results to relevant and diverse audiences. (7) Knowledge about and skills in psychological and neuropsychological intervention, including treatment and rehabilitation. Conclusions: All the models have undergone years of development in accordance with requirements of national health care systems in different parts of the world. Despite differences, the common core competency requirements across different regions of the world suggest generalizability of these competencies. We hope this summary can be useful as countries with less established neuropsychology training programs develop their models.Peer reviewe

"Now I see a brighter day": expectations and perceived benefits of an Iyengar yoga intervention for young patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of joints and associated fatigue, deteriorated range of motion, and impaired psychosocial functioning. Young adults with RA are at a particular risk for compromised health-related quality of life, and there is a need for safe, effective complementary treatment in addition to traditional medical approaches. The aim of the present study was to use face-to-face participant interviews, conducted before and after an Iyengar yoga (IY) program, to examine mechanisms through which yoga may be beneficial to young adults with RA.This pilot study utilized a single-arm design where all participants received the intervention. Classes were taught twice per week (1.5 hours each) for 6 weeks by an IY teacher qualified in therapeutics. Interview themes included participants\u27 baseline expectations about yoga and viewpoints as to how their functioning had been impacted by the IY intervention were examined. Five young adults with RA aged 24-31 years (mean = 28; 80% female) completed the yoga intervention. Participants consistently reported that yoga helped with energy, relaxation and mood and they discussed perceived mechanisms for how yoga impacted well-being. Mechanisms included physical changes such as range of motion and physiological awareness, and psychospiritual developments such as acceptance, coping, self-efficacy and mindfulness. Though the study is limited, participants\u27 responses provide compelling evidence that IY for RA patients is an intervention worthy of further exploration. The mechanisms and outcomes reported by participants support a biopsychosocial model, which proposes that yoga benefits patients through both physiological and psychospiritual changes

Improving the efficiency of aerosolized insecticide testing against mosquitoes

Developing robust and standardised approaches for testing mosquito populations against insecticides is vital for understanding the effectiveness of new active ingredients or formulations. Methods for testing mosquito susceptibility against contact insecticides or products, such as those delivered through public health programmes, are well-established and standardised. Nevertheless, approaches for testing volatile or aerosolized insecticides used in household products can be challenging to implement efficiently. We adapted WHO guidelines for household insecticides to develop a standardised and higher-throughput methodology for testing aerosolized products in a Peet Grady test chamber (PG-chamber) using caged mosquitoes and an efficient decontamination method. The new approach was validated using insecticide resistant and susceptible Aedes and Anopheles mosquito colonies. An added feature is the inclusion of cage-facing cameras to allow real-time quantification of knockdown following insecticide exposure. The wipe-based decontamination method was highly effective for removing pyrethroids' aerosolized oil-based residues from chamber surfaces, with < 2% mortality recorded for susceptible mosquitoes tested directly on the surfaces. There was no spatial heterogeneity for knockdown or mortality of caged mosquitoes within the PG chamber. The dual-cage approach we implement yields eight-times the throughput compared to a free-flight protocol, allows simultaneous testing of different mosquito strains and effectively discriminates susceptible and resistant mosquito colonies tested side-by-side

Heart rate variability as a biomarker for autonomic nervous system response differences between children with chronic pain and healthy control children

Studies in adults have demonstrated a relationship between lowered heart rate variability (HRV) and poor health. However, less is known about the role of autonomic arousal in children\u27s well-being. The aim of the current study was to examine resting HRV in children with chronic pain compared to healthy control children and, further, to examine children\u27s HRV following a series of acute experimental pain tasks in both groups. Participants included 104 healthy control children and 48 children with chronic pain aged 8-17 years. The laboratory session involved a 5-minute baseline electrocardiogram followed by four pain induction tasks: evoked pressure, cold pressor, focal pressure, and a conditioned pain modulation task. After the tasks were complete, a 5-minute post-task electrocardiogram recording was taken. Spectral analysis was used to capture high-frequency normalized power and the ratio of low-to-high frequency band power, signifying cardiac vagal tone and sympathetic balance, respectively. Results revealed that children with chronic pain had significantly lower resting HRV (signified by low high-frequency normalized power and high ratio of low-to-high frequency band power) compared to healthy children; moreover, a significant interaction between groups and time revealed that children with chronic pain displayed a static HRV response to the pain session compared to healthy children, whose HRV was reduced concomitant with the pain session. These findings suggest that children with chronic pain may have a sustained stress response with minimal variability in response to new acute pain stressors

The effect of hypnosis on pain and peripheral blood flow in sickle-cell disease: a pilot study

Background: Vaso-occlusive pain crises (VOCs) are the &ldquo;hallmark&rdquo; of sickle-cell disease (SCD) and can lead to sympathetic nervous system dysfunction. Increased sympathetic nervous system activation during VOCs and/or pain can result in vasoconstriction, which may increase the risk for subsequent VOCs and pain. Hypnosis is a neuromodulatory intervention that may attenuate vascular and pain responsiveness. Due to the lack of laboratory-controlled pain studies in patients with SCD and healthy controls, the specific effects of hypnosis on acute pain-associated vascular responses are unknown. The current study assessed the effects of hypnosis on peripheral blood flow, pain threshold, tolerance, and intensity in adults with and without SCD.Subjects and methods: Fourteen patients with SCD and 14 healthy controls were included. Participants underwent three laboratory pain tasks before and during a 30-minute hypnosis session. Peripheral blood flow, pain threshold, tolerance, and intensity before and during hypnosis were examined.Results: A single 30-minute hypnosis session decreased pain intensity by a moderate amount in patients with SCD. Pain threshold and tolerance increased following hypnosis in the control group, but not in patients with SCD. Patients with SCD exhibited lower baseline peripheral blood flow and a greater increase in blood flow following hypnosis than controls.Conclusion: Given that peripheral vasoconstriction plays a role in the development of VOC, current findings provide support for further laboratory and clinical investigations of the effects of cognitive&ndash;behavioral neuromodulatory interventions on pain responses and peripheral vascular flow in patients with SCD. Current results suggest that hypnosis may increase peripheral vasodilation during both the anticipation and experience of pain in patients with SCD. These findings indicate a need for further examination of the effects of hypnosis on pain and vascular responses utilizing a randomized controlled trial design. Further evidence may help determine unique effects of hypnosis and potential benefits of integrating cognitive&ndash;behavioral neuromodulatory interventions into SCD treatment