International Undergraduates are Not a Resource for Neocolonial Exploitation

Policies developed to internationalize academic institutions in the U.S. that include admission strategies to increase international student populations must consider potential negative and ethical outcomes. Such policies may inadvertently exploit international students to generate revenue, increase rankings, meet diversity targets, and conduct unrecognized and uncompensated campus labor. However, policies based on mutually beneficial outcomes will diversify U.S. institutions, while also incentivizing the return of benefits derived from this education back to the students’ home communities

A novel instrument for the community-centered assessment of outcomes resulting from visits by foreign student groups

Academic institutions in the United States have increasingly emphasised Community-Based Global Learning (CBGL) programs within international contexts. These programs are assumed to have positive outcomes, but often lack substantive assessment data to support their claims. Although meaningful program evaluation has increasingly become a priority, these investigations frequently overlook the views, opinions and goals of community organisations and community members. At present, few brief quantitative instruments are available to assess higher education CBGL project outcomes from the perspective of community partners. Here we detail the initial use of the Community Benefit Survey (CBS), a novel 17-item instrument designed to help fill this gap, within the context of a unique CBGL program in rural Sri Lanka. The CBS demonstrated value in facilitating equitable community assessment and centring the voices of community members. The CBS possesses significant utility in describing the benefits of student group/community partnerships and can be generalised for use across a wide variety of domestic and international contexts

Iowa State University Fashion Show: Why do they Attend?

The popularity of the Peabody award-winning television show Project Runway has sparked public interest in and awareness of the fashion industry ( Project runway, 2009). Coupled with increasing enrollment in textiles and clothing programs (Arthur, O\u27Neal, Jordan, Kadolph, & Johnson, 2003) and sold out events, man colleges and universities have witnessed enhanced interest in student fashion shows

PNU-120596, a positive allosteric modulator of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, reverses a sub-chronic phencyclidineinduced cognitive deficit in the attentional set-shifting task in female rats

yThe α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been highlighted as a target for cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia. Adult female hooded Lister rats received sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) (2mg/kg) or vehicle i.p. twice daily for 7 days, followed by 7 days’ washout. PCP-treated rats then received PNU-120596 (10mg/kg; s.c.) or saline and were tested in the attentional set-shifting task. Sub-chronic PCP produced a significant cognitive deficit in the extra-dimensional shift (EDS) phase of the task (p < 0.001, compared with vehicle). PNU-120596 significantly improved performance of PCP-treated rats in the EDS phase of the attentional set-shifting task (p < 0.001). In conclusion, these data demonstrate that PNU-120596 improves cognitive dysfunction in our animal model of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, most likely via modulation of α7 nACh receptors.This work was partially funded by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development

Molecular Phylogeny of Edge Hill Virus Supports its Position in the Yellow Fever Virus Group and Identifies a New Genetic Variant

Edge Hill virus (EHV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus isolated throughout Australia during mosquito surveillance programs. While not posing an immediate threat to the human population, EHV is a taxonomically interesting flavivirus since it remains the only member of the yellow fever virus (YFV) sub-group to be detected within Australia. Here we present both an antigenic and genetic investigation of collected isolates, and confirm taxonomic classification of the virus within the YFV-group. Isolates were not clustered based on geographical origin or time of isolation, suggesting that minimal genetic evolution of EHV has occurred over geographic distance or time within the EHV cluster. However, two isolates showed significant differences in antigenic reactivity patterns, and had a much larger divergence from the EHV prototype (19% nucleotide and 6% amino acid divergence), indicating a distinct subtype or variant within the EHV subgroup

Tanning addiction: conceptualisation, assessment, and correlates

Background: Research into problematic tanning (or 'tanning addiction') has markedly increased over the past few years. Although several excessive tanning instruments exist, most of these are psychometrically poor, not theoretically anchored, and have mainly been used on small samples. Objective: Against this background, a new tanning addiction scale was developed based on a specific theoretical approach utilising core addiction criteria. Methods: A scale comprising seven items (i.e. salience/craving, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, relapse/loss of control, and problems) was administered online to a cross-sectional convenience sample of 23,537 adults (M age=35.8 years, SD=13.3), together with an assessment of demographic factors, the five-factor model of personality, and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis showed that a one-factor model showed an optimal fit with the data collected (RMSEA=.050 [90% CI=.047–.053], CFI=.99, TLI=.99). High factor loadings (.781–.905, all p<.001) and coefficient omega indicator of reliability (ω=.941 [95% CI=.939–.944]) were also found using the new scale. In a multiple linear regression analysis, tanning addiction was positively associated with being female, not being in a relationship, extroversion, neuroticism, anxiety and obsessive-compulsiveness. It was also found that educational level, intellect/openness and depression were inversely associated with tanning addiction. Conclusions: The new scale, Bergen Tanning Addiction Scale (BTAS), showed good psychometric properties, and is the first scale to fully conceptualise tanning addiction within a contemporary addiction framework. Given this, the BTAS may potentially assist future clinical practice in providing appropriate patient care, prevention and disease management