Chapter 7- Innovative Pedagogies for Promoting University Global Engagement in Times of Crisis

Even as universities, institutes, and professional associations are renewing their commitment to global engagement and the internationalization of higher-education campuses, there are significant geopolitical and social challenges that are pushing back (van der Wende, 2017). The immediate crisis posed by the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has further hampered progress by bringing a number of critical global engagement activities to a sudden halt (Brimmer, 2020). In the midst of these challenges there is an opportunity to consider theory-driven pedagogical innovations that can move the global engagement agenda forward even in times of complexity and crisis

Performance Metrics for the Objective Assessment of Capacitive Deionization Systems

In the growing field of capacitive deionization (CDI), a number of performance metrics have emerged to describe the desalination process. Unfortunately, the separation conditions under which these metrics are measured are often not specified, resulting in optimal performance at minimal removal. Here we outline a system of performance metrics and reporting conditions that resolves this issue. Our proposed system is based on volumetric energy consumption (Wh/m$^3$) and throughput productivity (L/h/m$^2$) reported for a specific average concentration reduction, water recovery, and feed salinity. To facilitate and rationalize comparisons between devices, materials, and operation modes, we propose a nominal standard testing condition of removing 5 mM from a 20 mM NaCl feed solution at 50% water recovery for CDI research. Using this separation, we compare the desalination performance of a flow-through electrode (fte-CDI) cell and a flow between membrane (fb-MCDI) device, showing how significantly different systems can be compared in terms of generally desirable desalination characteristics. In general, we find that performance analysis must be considered carefully so to not allow for ambiguous separation conditions or the maximization of one metric at the expense of another. Additionally, for context we discuss a number of important underlying performance indicators and cell characteristics that are not performance measures in and of themselves but can be examined to better understand differences in performance

Design and Development of an MPH Program for Online Delivery

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is growing in popularity and is now delivered fully online by a large number of highly respected, fully accredited universities. This paper offers an overview of program design and development strategies that promote successful online delivery of MPH programs. Design and development challenges are discussed in terms of new accreditation standards, student demand, faculty development, user needs, course content, and plan of study. The development of an online MPH program at Utah State University with a concentration in health education and promotion is used to highlight and consider various aspects of this important but challenging process

Brain function distinguishes female carriers and non-carriers of familial risk for autism

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by high population-level heritability and a three-to-one male-to-female ratio that occurs independent of sex linkage. Prior research in a mixed-sex pediatric sample identified neural signatures of familial risk elicited by passive viewing of point light motion displays, suggesting the possibility that both resilience and risk of autism might be associated with brain responses to biological motion. To confirm a relationship between these signatures and inherited risk of autism, we tested them in families enriched for genetic loading through undiagnosed ( carrier ) females. METHODS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined brain responses to passive viewing of point light displays-depicting biological versus non-biological motion-in a sample of undiagnosed adult females enriched for inherited susceptibility to ASD on the basis of affectation in their respective family pedigrees. Brain responses in carrier females were compared to responses in age-, SRS-, and IQ-matched non-carrier-females-i.e., females unrelated to individuals with ASD. We conducted a hypothesis-driven analysis focused on previously published regions of interest as well as exploratory, brain-wide analyses designed to characterize more fully the rich responses to this paradigm. RESULTS: We observed robust responses to biological motion. Notwithstanding, the 12 regions implicated by prior research did not exhibit the hypothesized interaction between group (carriers vs. controls) and point light displays (biological vs. non-biological motion). Exploratory, brain-wide analyses identified this interaction in three novel regions. Post hoc analyses additionally revealed significant variations in the time course of brain activation in 20 regions spanning occipital and temporal cortex, indicating group differences in response to point light displays (irrespective of the nature of motion) for exploration in future studies. LIMITATIONS: We were unable to successfully eye-track all participants, which prevented us from being able to control for potential differences in eye gaze position. CONCLUSIONS: These methods confirmed pronounced neural signatures that differentiate brain responses to biological and scrambled motion. Our sample of undiagnosed females enriched for family genetic loading enabled discovery of numerous contrasts between carriers and non-carriers of risk of ASD that may index variations in visual attention and motion processing related to genetic susceptibility and inform our understanding of mechanisms incurred by inherited liability for ASD

Intuitive eating and the nutrition transition in Asia

Current models of the nutrition transition focus on demographic changes and economic development. A further influence may be the adoption of western-based perceptions of beauty that lead to potentially harmful eating behaviours which contribute to overweight, obesity, and eating disorders. This paper proposes a comprehensive model of the nutrition transition that includes western influences on perceived attractiveness and subsequent eating styles. An exploratory test of this model for Asian countries explores differences in intuitive eating as a function of economic development and the adoption of western standards of beauty. The intuitive eating scale (IES), a measure of food consumption that is primarily characterized by the satisfaction of physical hunger, was used to evaluate agreement with intuitive eating principles in the US and four Asian countries (Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and China). Although intuitive eating scores in the US and Thailand failed to follow predicted patterns on two of the four IES subscales, scores for the other two IES subscales and the total IES score followed predicted patterns for Asian countries. Intuitive eating appears to be a valid, measurable concept that is correlated with economic development and levels of western influence in Asian countries. The tentative findings of this exploratory study support further evaluation of cultural influences as an important component of the nutrition transition

New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa

The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to Homo naledi. Further exploration led to the discovery of hominin material, now comprising 131 hominin specimens, within a second chamber, the Lesedi Chamber. The Lesedi Chamber is far separated from the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave system, and represents a second depositional context for hominin remains. In each of three collection areas within the Lesedi Chamber, diagnostic skeletal material allows a clear attribution to H. naledi. Both adult and immature material is present. The hominin remains represent at least three individuals based upon duplication of elements, but more individuals are likely present based upon the spatial context. The most significant specimen is the near-complete cranium of a large individual, designated LES1, with an endocranial volume of approximately 610 ml and associated postcranial remains. The Lesedi Chamber skeletal sample extends our knowledge of the morphology and variation of H. naledi, and evidence of H. naledi from both recovery localities shows a consistent pattern of differentiation from other hominin species

Addressing the growing fossil record of subadult hominins by reaching across disciplines

The field of paleoanthropology lacks a coherent methodology to study ontogeny in extinct hominins. During the past two decades in this field, several factors have served as an impetus to better define this subfield of study within human evolution. First is the increased recovery of immature hominin remains that span multiple genera—Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo

Small-Bodied Humans from Palau, Micronesia

UNLABELLED: Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo. BACKGROUND: Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo. SIGNIFICANCE: These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if so, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo

Resilient Pedagogy: Practical Teaching Strategies to Overcome Distance, Disruption, and Distraction

Resilient Pedagogy offers a comprehensive collection on the topics and issues surrounding resilient pedagogy framed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social justice movements that have swept the globe. As a collection, Resilient Pedagogy is a multi-disciplinary and multi-perspective response to actions taken in different classrooms, across different institution types, and from individuals in different institutional roles with the purpose of allowing readers to explore the topics to improve their own teaching practice and support their own students through distance, disruption, and distraction