Phenomenology of Practice

Cathy Adams introduced the 2021 workshop on YouTube https://youtu.be/WTMUhULWyh4 In this video she explains something of the breadth of PoP's applications to research our students or colleagues everyday lived experiences. The workshop's method relies heavily on ideas from phenomenology's originary contributors but the emphasis is not on philosophy, rather learning by doing phenomenology. The workshop begins with a didactic session to cover some of the core phenomenological understandings, taking in questions such as, 'what exactly is lived experience?', 'why pre-reflective?', 'how does phenomenology go about studying the pre-reflective?', 'what is the reduction?', 'what is meant by "wonder in the face of the world"?'. We will explore what a phenomenological research question looks like

Children’s perspectives and experiences of health, diet, physical activity and weight in an urban, multi-ethnic UK population: a qualitative study

Background: Children from Black and South Asian ethnic groups are at risk for childhood obesity in the UK. To inform local action for childhood obesity prevention, it is crucial to explore the basis of ethnic disparities and consider the perspectives of children. This study aimed to understand cultural and contextual factors influencing childhood obesity in an ethnically diverse population using child‐centred methodology. Methods: ‘Draw, write and tell’ interviews were held with children aged 9‐10 years in Coventry, an urban, multi‐ethnic city in the UK. Data were analysed thematically using framework analysis. Results: Twenty‐six children participated (85% from Black or Minority Ethnic Groups). Children’s perspectives revealed universal themes around health, diet, physical activity and weight and highlighted issues specific to ethnic groups and those living in deprived areas. An underlying feature was weight‐based stigmatisation and group stereotyping, and an emphasis on internal factors as the cause of obesity. Children described some experiences of social disadvantage, but did not regard these as a barrier to being physically active. Children identified cultural or religious practices or experiences of migration that influenced diet and physical activity. Conclusions: These findings allow a broad range of children’s perspectives to inform future intervention design. In addition, the study was able to identify the many similarities and small amount of diversity in children’s perspectives across ethnic groups

NsrR from Streptomyces coelicolor is a nitric oxide-sensing [4Fe-4S] cluster protein with a specialized regulatory function

The Rrf2 family transcription factor NsrR controls expression of genes in a wide range of bacteria in response to nitric oxide (NO). The precise form of the NO-sensing module of NsrR is the subject of controversy because NsrR proteins containing either [2Fe-2S] or [4Fe-4S] clusters have been observed previously. Optical, Mössbauer, resonance Raman spectroscopies and native mass spectrometry demonstrate that Streptomyces coelicolor NsrR (ScNsrR), previously reported to contain a [2Fe-2S] cluster, can be isolated containing a [4Fe-4S] cluster. ChIP-seq experiments indicated that the ScNsrR regulon is small, consisting of only hmpA1, hmpA2, and nsrR itself. The hmpA genes encode NO-detoxifying flavohemoglobins, indicating that ScNsrR has a specialized regulatory function focused on NO detoxification and is not a global regulator like some NsrR orthologues. EMSAs and DNase I footprinting showed that the [4Fe-4S] form of ScNsrR binds specifically and tightly to an 11-bp inverted repeat sequence in the promoter regions of the identified target genes and that DNA binding is abolished following reaction with NO. Resonance Raman data were consistent with cluster coordination by three Cys residues and one oxygen-containing residue, and analysis of ScNsrR variants suggested that highly conserved Glu-85 may be the fourth ligand. Finally, we demonstrate that some low molecular weight thiols, but importantly not physiologically relevant thiols, such as cysteine and an analogue of mycothiol, bind weakly to the [4Fe-4S] cluster, and exposure of this bound form to O2 results in cluster conversion to the [2Fe-2S] form, which does not bind to DNA. These data help to account for the observation of [2Fe-2S] forms of NsrR

Phenomenology of Practice Workshop

Delegates interested in exploring phenomenology and applying it to networked learning. Hanfod.NL organised a phenomenology of practice 'node' event in 2021, sponsored by the Networked Learning Conference Consortium. This event, due to be held in Cardiff, UK, had to pivot online due to the pandemic and attracted pleasing levels of interest. We would like to take the opportunity to run the workshop in-person at the conference while people are together, building on the momentum from 2021 and projecting it into the future with hopes of enlisting more collaborators, possibly for a Networked Learning and Phenomenology edited book in the Springer NL series, but certainly for opening up avenues of related work being presented at future Networked Learning conference

Signature of attochemical quantum interference upon ionization and excitation of an electronic wavepacket in fluoro-benzene

Ultrashort pulses can excite or ionize molecules and populate coherent electronic wavepackets, inducing complex dynamics. In this work, we simulate the coupled electron-nuclear dynamics upon ionization to different electronic wavepackets of (deuterated) benzene and fluoro-benzene molecules, quantum mechanically and in full dimensionality. In fluoro-benzene, the calculations unravel both inter-state and intra-state quantum interferences that leave clear signatures of attochemistry and charge-directed reactivity in the shape of the autocorrelation function. The latter are in agreement with experimental high harmonic spectroscopy measurements of benzenes and fluoro-benzene

What is it like for a learner to participate in a Zoom Breakout Room session?

Though virtual classrooms are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic sent many teachers and students online for the first time. This paper examines the use of a web-based video conferencing tool, Zoom, and in particular, the use of breakout rooms as part of a student’s learning experience. We ask: what is it like for a learner to participate in a Zoom Breakout Room session? Using Max van Manen’s (2016) phenomenology of practice, we collected learners’ lived experience descriptions of participating in a Zoom breakout room, then reflected on them phenomenologically as a way to generate new insights into this recently common online learning experience. Four moments are portrayed: a learner’s arrest at the announcement of breakout rooms; a learner’s transition into a breakout room as existential suspension; surveilling self and others in a breakout room; and exiting the breakout room as a moment of foreclosure and re-disorientation. The paper compares Zoom breakout rooms with aspects of video-gaming and notices a detriment to Freirean problem-posing education if students can avoid standing, unmediated, behind just their words, even in the relative safety of a small group of peers

The hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum: an emerging public health risk in Australian tropical rainforests and Indigenous communities

Ancylostoma ceylanicum is the common hookworm of domestic dogs and cats throughout Asia, and is an emerging but little understood public health risk in tropical northern Australia. We investigated the prevalence of A. ceylanicum in soil and free-ranging domestic dogs at six rainforest locations in Far North Queensland that are Indigenous Australian communities and popular tourist attractions within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. By combining PCR-based techniques with traditional methods of hookworm species identification, we found the prevalence of hookworm in Indigenous community dogs was high (96.3% and 91.9% from necropsy and faecal samples, respectively). The majority of these infections were A. caninum. We also observed, for the first time, the presence of A. ceylanicum infection in domestic dogs (21.7%) and soil (55.6%) in an Indigenous community. A. ceylanicum was present in soil samples from two out of the three popular tourist locations sampled. Our results contribute to the understanding of dogs as a public health risk to Indigenous communities and tourists in the Wet Tropics. Dog health needs to be more fully addressed as part of the Australian Government's commitments to "closing the gap" in chronic disease between Indigenous and other Australians, and encouraging tourism in similar locations

What is it like for a learner to participate in a Zoom breakout room session?

Though virtual classrooms are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic sent many teachers and students online for the first time. This paper examines the use of a web-based video conferencing tool, Zoom, and in particular, the use of breakout rooms as part of a student’s learning experience. We ask: what is it like for a learner to participate in a Zoom Breakout Room session? Using Max van Manen’s (2016) phenomenology of practice, we collected learners’ lived experience descriptions of participating in a Zoom breakout room, then reflected on them phenomenologically as a way to generate new insights into this recently common online learning experience. Four moments are portrayed: a learner’s arrest at the announcement of breakout rooms; a learner’s transition into a breakout room as existential suspension; surveilling self and others in a breakout room; and exiting the breakout room as a moment of foreclosure and re-disorientation. The paper compares Zoom breakout rooms with aspects of videogaming and notices a detriment to Freirean problem-posing education if students can avoid standing, unmediated, behind just their words, even in the relative safety of a small group of peers

Fire and Explosives Investigation 2015: Challenges and Opportunities

The Forensic Science Special Interest Group (SIG) has produced this report to provide a resource to the forensic community; identifying the challenges and opportunities within the field of fire and explosives investigation. To produce this report we brought together the fire and explosives community in a day-long workshop, comprising of presentations from a range of speakers, followed by discussion sessions directed by the challenges identified by the speakers and taken from the SIG’s “Forensic Science UK Innovation Database”. The results of these discussions have been compiled into this report