Work in progress: a novel method of creating an academic content repository

This paper outlines a project aimed at addressing the issue of the scalability of online academic support. This project is being run during the Autumn semester at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Toowoomba Australia, in conjunction with the Australian Digital Futures Institute. The study attached to the project will use Design-Based Research to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple, but innovative academic content and metadata creation tool referred to as Academic Assist. Academic Assist has been recently developed at USQ as a plug-in block for the moodle-based Learning Management System employed at USQ for its several hundred online subjects. The pilot project and associated study now extends over nine subjects, including three consecutive subjects in computer engineering; and covers faculties of Engineering, Education, Business, Science and Arts. Some preliminary results are presented here. Complete results of the study including acceptance surveys, expert reviews and usage statistics will be presented at FIE 2009

Radonove kćeri u okolišu kao pokazatelji biokemijskih promjena u mozgu bolesnika s Alzheimerovom i Parkinsonovom bolesti i u pušača

This paper presents an investigation of the retention of environmental radon daughters, 210Po (alpha particle emitting radio-nuclide) and 210Bi (beta particle emitting radio-nuclide), in lipid and protein fractions of the cortical grey and subcortical white matter from the frontal and temporal brain lobes of patients who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, of cigarette smokers, and of control subjects. 210Po and 210Bi radioactivity increased tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white protein fraction in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and smokers, and tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white lipid fraction in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Free radicals generated by radon daughters may add to the severity of the radio-chemical injury to the brain astrocytes. The pathognomonic distribution of radon daughters to lipids in patients with Parkinson’s disease and to proteins in patients with Alzheimer’s disease was attributed to high chlorine affinity of radon daughters. The changes in the membrane protein pores, channels, and gates in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the lipid bilayer in patients with Parkinson’s disease are at the core of what the authors think are two systemic brain diseases.Odredili smo radioaktivnost radonovih kćeri, 210Po (alfa čestice) i 210Bi (beta-čestice) u lipidima i proteinima iz sive mase korteksa i bijele supkortikalne supstancije iz frontalnog i temporalnog režnja mozga osoba oboljelih od Alzheimerove ili Parkinsonove bolesti, pušača i nepušača bez kliničkih znakova neurološke bolesti. Ustanovili smo da je radioaktivnost 210Pb i 210Bi bila deset puta veća selektivno u proteinima sive i bijele moždane supstancije osoba oboljelih od Alzheimerove bolesti i u pušača. Za razliku od toga, radioaktivnost radonovih kćeri bila je selektivno deset puta veća u lipidima sive i bijele supstancije mozga osoba oboljelih od Parkinsonove bolesti. Alfa čestice visoke energije predstavile su se kao neizbježni čimbenik rizika iz prirodnog okoliša za čovjekov mozak koji zajedno s popratnim stvaranjem slobodnih radikala mogu dovesti do minimalne lokalne udružene radiokemijske ozljede moždanih stanica, najvjerojatnije astrocita. Rezultati pokazuju da patognomonična distribucija afiniteta radonovih kćeri za lipide u bolesnika s Parkinsonovom bolesti i za proteine u bolesnika s Alzheimerovom bolesti odražava povećanu prisutnost lokalno raspoloživih klornih iona za koje se radonove kćeri selektivno vežu. Mislimo da promjene u sastavu proteinskih pora, kanala i vrata ugrađenih u staničnu membranu u bolesnika s Alzheimerovom bolesti, kao i promjene propusnosti dvoslojnoga lipidnog sloja te iste membrane leže u biti tih dviju teških sistemskih bolesti čovjekova mozga

Determinants of intraregional migration in Sub-Saharan Africa 1980-2000

Despite great accomplishments in the migration literature, the determinants of South-South migration remain poorly understood. In an attempt to fill this gap, this paper formulates and tests an empirical model for intraregional migration in sub-Saharan Africa within an extended human capital framework, taking into account spatial interaction. Using bilateral panel data between 1980 and 2000, we find that intraregional migration on the subcontinent is predominantly driven by economic opportunities and sociopolitics in the host country, facilitated by geographical proximity. The role played by network effects and environmental conditions is also apparent. Finally, origin and destination spatial dependence should definitely not be ignored

The Experiences of Counselors-in-Training in a School-based Counseling Practicum

Counselor education programs often must choose between providing in vivo faculty supervision or a community-based setting. Programs that combine both elements have shown positive preliminary findings related to counselor development; however, the in-depth experiences of students in such programs have not been explored. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of counselors-in-training who participated in a school-based counseling practicum with in vivo faculty supervision. Researchers identified six themes, including continuum of support within relationships, operational challenges and concerns, needs and challenges of the community, working with children, expectations and realities, and counselor identity development. Implications for counselor education and research are provided

The Experiences of Counselors-in-Training in a School-based Counseling Practicum

Counselor education programs often must choose between providing in vivo faculty supervision or a community-based setting. Programs that combine both elements have shown positive preliminary findings related to counselor development; however, the in-depth experiences of students in such programs have not been explored. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of counselors-in-training who participated in a school-based counseling practicum with in vivo faculty supervision. Researchers identified six themes, including continuum of support within relationships, operational challenges and concerns, needs and challenges of the community, working with children, expectations and realities, and counselor identity development. Implications for counselor education and research are provided

Costs of reproduction and carry-over effects in breeding albatrosses

We investigated the physiology of two closely related albatross species relative to their breeding strategy: black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) breed annually, while grey-headed albatrosses (T. chrysostoma) breed biennially. From observations of breeding fate and blood samples collected at the end of breeding in one season and feather corticosterone levels (fCort) sampled at the beginning of the next breeding season, we found that in both species some post-breeding physiological parameters differed according to breeding outcome (successful, failed, deferred). Correlations between post-breeding physiology and fCort, and links to future breeding decisions, were examined. In black-browed albatrosses, post-breeding physiology and fCort were not significantly correlated, but fCort independently predicted breeding decision the next year, which we interpret as a possible migratory carry-over effect. In grey-headed albatrosses, post-breeding triglyceride levels were negatively correlated with fCort, but only in females, which we interpret as a potential cost of reproduction. However, this potential cost did not carry-over to future breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses. None of the variables predicted future breeding decisions. We suggest that biennial breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses may have evolved as a strategy to buffer against the apparent susceptibility of females to negative physiological costs of reproduction. Future studies are needed to confirm this

Changes in the movement and calling behavior of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in response to navy training

This research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research under grant number N000141612859. The passive acoustic data were recorded under support by COMPACFLT for the Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program. The call association tracking algorithm was developed under a separate U.S. Office of Naval Research project (2011–2015 Advanced Detection, Classification and Localization, grant number: N0001414IP20037).Many marine mammals rely on sound for foraging, maintaining group cohesion, navigation, finding mates, and avoiding predators. These behaviors are potentially disrupted by anthropogenic noise. Behavioral responses to sonar have been observed in a number of baleen whale species but relatively little is known about the responses of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Previous analyses demonstrated a spatial redistribution of localizations derived from passive acoustic detections in response to sonar activity, but the lack of a mechanism for associating localizations prevented discriminating between movement and cessation of calling as possible explanations for this redistribution. Here we extend previous analyses by including an association mechanism, allowing us to differentiate between movement responses and calling responses, and to provide direct evidence of horizontal avoidance responses by individual minke whales to sonar during U.S. Navy training activities. We fitted hidden Markov models to 627 tracks that were reconstructed from 3 years of minke whale (B. acutorostrata) vocalizations recorded before, during, and after naval training events at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. The fitted models were used to identify different movement behaviors and to investigate the effect of sonar activity on these behaviors. Movement was faster and more directed during sonar exposure than in baseline phases. The mean direction of movement differed during sonar exposure, and was consistent with movement away from sonar-producing ships. Animals were also more likely to cease calling during sonar. There was substantial individual variation in response. Our findings add large-sample support to previous demonstrations of horizontal avoidance responses by individual minke whales to sonar in controlled exposure experiments, and demonstrate the complex nature of behavioral responses to sonar activity: some, but not all, whales exhibited behavioral changes, which took the form of horizontal avoidance or ceasing to call.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Sport and British Jewish identity

This article examines the relationship between sport and Jewish identity. The experiences of Jewish people have rarely been considered in previous sport-related research which has typically focused on ‘Black’ and South Asian individuals, sports clubs, and organisations. Drawing on data generated from interviews ( n = 20) and focus groups ( n = 2) with individuals based in one British city, this article explores how their Jewish identity was informed, and shaped by, different sports activities and spaces. This study’s participants were quick to correct the idea that sport was alien to Jewish culture and did not accept the stereotype that ‘Jews don’t play sport’. The limited historical research on sport and Jewish people and the ongoing debates around Jewish identity are noted before exploring the role of religion and the suggestion that Jewish participation in sport is affected by the Shabbat (sabbath). Participants discussed how sports clubs acted as spaces for the expression and re/affirmation of their Jewish identity, before they reflected on the threats posed to the wider Jewish community by secularism, assimilation, and antisemitism. The article concludes by discussing how the sporting experiences of the study’s British Jewish participants compare with the experiences of individuals from other ethnic minority communities

A Policy-Ready Public Health Guidebook of Strategies and Indicators to Promote Financial Well-Being and Address Financial Strain in Response to COVID-19

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the financial well-being of populations globally, escalating concerns about links with health care and overall well-being. Governments and organizations need to act quickly to protect population health relative to exacerbated financial strain. However, limited practice and policy-relevant resources are available to guide action, particularly from a public health perspective, that is, targeting equity, social determinants of health, and health-in-all policies. Our study aimed to create a public health guidebook of strategies and indicators for multisectoral action on financial well-being and financial strain by decision makers in high-income contexts. Methods We used a multimethod approach to create the guidebook. We conducted a targeted review of existing theoretical and conceptual work on financial well-being and strain. By using rapid review methodology informed by principles of realist review, we collected data from academic and practice-based sources evaluating financial well-being or financial strain initiatives. We performed a critical review of these sources. We engaged our research–practice team and government and nongovernment partners and participants in Canada and Australia for guidance to strengthen the tool for policy and practice. Results The guidebook presents 62 targets, 140 evidence-informed strategies, and a sample of process and outcome indicators. Conclusion The guidebook supports action on the root causes of poor financial well-being and financial strain. It addresses a gap in the academic literature around relevant public health strategies to promote financial well-being and reduce financial strain. Community organizations, nonprofit organizations, and governments in highincome countries can use the guidebook to direct initiative design, implementation, and assessmen