Type 2 diabetes mellitus and online learning : a patient-centred approach

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most pressing global health problems. It is often considered to be a ‘lifestyle condition’ associated with distinct patterns of nutritional and physical activity. Treatment options can be biomedical or a combination of educational and biomedical approaches. Treatment strategies that focus on educational interventions in a health context tend to focus on psychological constructs (self-efficacy, for example) but are often under-theorised in terms of learning theory. Technology-based interventions are also similarly lacking in their employment of learning theory as they often tend to focus on the transactional nature of information flow between the user and adopted technology platform. This project, on the other hand, places learning theory at the core of the design of an online-based, patient-centred learning community for people with type 2 diabetes. The project adopted a design-based research approach and the objective was to provide an environment conducive to the development of a community of practice and learning for participants with type 2 diabetes and to explore if the characteristics of transformative learning could be identified. Interviews, self-efficacy surveys and focus groups were conducted during various stages of the design. The analytical approach included activity theory and the community of inquiry framework. The results demonstrate that a design-based research process can be effectively utilised for the development of an online patient-centred learning environment in the context of type 2 diabetes. It was shown that the adoption of the theory of transformative learning can help to frame the various types of learning that take place during the process associated with self-management of a chronic disease such as diabetes. Analysis of the engagement with the learning community Type 2 diabetes mellitus and online learning: a patient-centred approach indicates that the characteristics of transformative learning were partially realised although a community of practice was not established. The study illustrates the role that a theory-rich patient-centred learning environment can play in the ongoing process of patient care in the context of type 2 diabetes. Interventions in other chronic disease contexts may also benefit from the results of this study

“The best place we can learn from is ourselves”the Development, Implementation and Use of an Online Patient-based Community of Practice for People with Type 2 Diabetes

This paper reports on the development, implementation and use of a patient-centred online community of practice for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this qualitative study, the theoretical framework of activity theory is adopted to describe the complexity of the use of the system and to frame the evaluation of the use of the learning environment

Stochastic Acceleration of 3^3He and 4^4He in Solar Flares by Parallel Propagating Plasma Waves: General Results

We study the acceleration in solar flares of $^3$He and $^4$He from a thermal background by parallel propagating plasma waves with a general broken power-law spectrum that takes into account the turbulence generation processes at large scales and the thermal damping effects at small scales. The exact dispersion relation for a cold plasma is used to describe the relevant wave modes. Because low-energy $\alpha$-particles only interact with small scale waves in the $^4$He-cyclotron branch, where the wave frequencies are below the $\alpha$-particle gyro-frequency, their pitch angle averaged acceleration time is at least one order of magnitude longer than that of $^3$He ions, which mostly resonate with relatively higher frequency waves in the proton-cyclotron (PC) branch. The $\alpha$-particle acceleration rate starts to approach that of $^3$He beyond a few tens of keV nucleon$^{-1}$, where $\alpha$-particles can also interact with long wavelength waves in the PC branch. However, the $^4$He acceleration rate is always smaller than that of $^3$He. Consequently, the acceleration of $^4$He is suppressed significantly at low energies, and the spectrum of the accelerated $\alpha$-particles is always softer than that of $^3$He. The model gives reasonable account of the observed low-energy $^3$He and $^4$He fluxes and spectra in the impulsive solar energetic particle events observed with the {\it Advanced Composition Explorer}. We explore the model parameter space to show how observations may be used to constrain the model.Comment: 29 pages, 11 Figures, Submitted to Ap

Suggestibility of Placebo Reactors and Non-Reactors in the Autokinetic Situation

The phenomenon of not relying solely up on one\u27s own judgment and of distorting one\u27s perception toward a perceived social norm has been observed to take place with a rather large percentage of subjects participating in a number of research projects. Both Asch and Sherif have done extensive work showing this distortion of perception when an individual is placed in a group setting and finds himself in a contradictory position between his own perception and that of the other group members. The question arises as to whether or not acceptance of suggestion is a personality trait characteristic of the individual. To what extent, if any, will the trait of suggestibility manifest in one situation transfer to a second setting when suggestion is applied? Specifically, in this research project, individuals will be chosen according to their reactions to a placebo pill experiment. Placebo reactors will be those individuals who have manifest the internalization of suggestion in the experiment. Non-reactors will be chosen for their lack of placebo pill reaction which will be considered as rejection of the applied suggestion. Both the placebo reactors and non-reactors will be placed in an unstable experimental situation that has the possibilities of being structured according to the individual\u27s perception or perceived social norm. Since the autokinetic illusion is almost universal, this phenomenon will be employed in the experimental procedure. Suggestion as to the amount of movement present in the autokinetic effect will then be given. The amount of movement will be recorded and tested for significance for the reactor and non-reactor groups

Association of 3He-Rich Solar Energetic Particles with Large-Scale Coronal Waves

Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events have been commonly associated with extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets and narrow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which are believed to be the signatures of magnetic reconnection involving field lines open to interplanetary space. The elemental and isotopic fractionation in these events are thought to be caused by processes confined to the flare sites. In this study we identify 32 3He-rich SEP events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer near the Earth during the solar minimum period 2007-2010 and examine their solar sources with the high resolution Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) EUV images. Leading the Earth, STEREO-A provided for the first time a direct view on 3He-rich flares, which are generally located on the Sun's western hemisphere. Surprisingly, we find that about half of the 3He-rich SEP events in this survey are associated with large-scale EUV coronal waves. An examination of the wave front propagation, the source-flare distribution and the coronal magnetic field connections suggests that the EUV waves may affect the injection of 3He-rich SEPs into interplanetary space.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Case studies of multi-day 3He-rich solar energetic particle periods

Context. Impulsive solar energetic particle events in the inner heliosphere show the long-lasting enrichment of 3He. Aims. We study the source regions of long-lasting 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events Methods. We located the responsible open magnetic field regions, we combined potential field source surface extrapolations (PFSS) with the Parker spiral, and compared the magnetic field of the identified source regions with in situ magnetic fields. The candidate open field regions are active region plages. The activity was examined by using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and STEREO together with radio observations from STEREO and WIND. Results. Multi-day periods of 3He-rich SEP events are associated with ion production in single active region. Small flares or coronal jets are their responsible solar sources. We also find that the 3He enrichment may depend on the occurrence rate of coronal jets.Comment: 7page, 4 figure

Patents on Psychedelics: The Next Legal Battlefront of Drug Development

In the past two decades, pioneering research has rekindled interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, ibogaine, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Indigenous communities have used them for centuries, and researchers studied them in the i9gos and \u276cs. However, most psychedelics were banned in the \u277os, when President Nixon launched the U.S. war on drugs. Fifty years later, rising rates of mental illness, substance use, and suicide are prompting researchers to revisit psychedelics, and some have gained permission to study them in limited quantities. Clinical trials are producing promising results, creating enthusiasm for commercializing and patenting psychedelics. This Essay analyzes the ethical, legal, and social implications of patenting these controversial substances. Patents on psychedelics raise unique concerns associated with their unusual qualities, history, and regulation. Because they were criminalized for decades, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) lacks personnel with expertise in the field, rendering more questionable the quality of its evaluation of psychedelic patents. Moreover, because Indigenous communities pioneered many aspects of modern psychedelic therapies, their patenting by Western corporations may promote biopiracy, the exploitation of Indigenous knowledge without compensation. Importantly, control of psychedelics by a small number of companies may stifle innovation and reduce access to these therapies. The Essay presents proposals to reduce the risk of biopiracy and the issuance of unwarranted psychedelic patents. Potential solutions include the implementation of psychedelic patent pledges, the creation of psychedelic prior art repositories, and the tightening of patentability requirements for novel drug therapies. The Essay concludes that ultimately, due to their importance to the advancement of science and public health, it may be appropriate to view psychedelics as tools of scientific discovery, eligible only for limited patent protection

The Youth Justice Portal and transformative digital education in criminology

The ideas in this paper explore how learning design intentions developed by academics, practitioners and learning designers, intersect with students’ development of pre-professional identities (PPI) in the field of youth justice. We propose a theoretical framework built on Activity Theory that situates the learning environment as a set of two activity systems – teachers and students – that come together through a boundary object called the ‘Youth Justice Portal’. The portal is the main avenue through which teaching, and learning takes place, and we examine how the technical and theoretical framework that we have adopted can be applied in open-ended domains that require the development of students’ PPI. The practical implications related to the adoption of the model in disciplines which require placement-based learning opportunities are discussed