Introduction [International handbook of outdoor studies]

This international compilation brings together current leading scholars in outdoor studies from a variety of disciplines to bring to readers principal ideas and leading-edge developments. We also draw together the strands of outdoor studies into one volume, making the important connections among key threads including education, leisure, physical culture, sport, the outdoor environment and practice

Metacognitive Awareness of Facial Affect in Higher-Functioning Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Higher-functioning participants with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) viewed a series of face stimuli, made decisions regarding the affect of each face, and indicated their confidence in each decision. Confidence significantly predicted accuracy across all participants, but this relation was stronger for participants with typical development than participants with ASD. In the hierarchical linear modeling analysis, there were no differences in face processing accuracy between participants with and without ASD, but participants with ASD were more confident in their decisions. These results suggest that individuals with ASD have metacognitive impairments and are overconfident in face processing. Additionally, greater metacognitive awareness was predictive of better face processing accuracy, suggesting that metacognition may be a pivotal skill to teach in interventions

Editorial: From Pedagogic Research to Embedded E-Learning

This Special Issue of Reflecting Education arises from the work of the PREEL project (From Pedagogic Research to Embedded e-Learning) at the Institute of Education from 2006-2008. This project was one of nine HEA/JISC (Higher Education Academy and Joint Information Systems Committee) Pilot Pathfinder Projects and followed on from our involvement in the Pilot Benchmarking of e-Learning Programme. In the benchmarking exercise we identified a lack of coordination between research and practice in e-learning at the IoE as one of our crucial weaknesses, and so our Pilot Pathfinder project concentrated on this theme of building links between e-learning research and practice

Promoting inclusive engineering identities in first-year engineering courses: poster

Includes bibliographical references.Presented at the ASEE's 123rd Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, June 26-28, 2016.Project goal: Change engineering culture to support robust learning in degree programs, more effective professional practice, and efforts to retain diverse students and professionals.National Science Foundation, Grant # 1432601

What is the relationship between mindset and engineering identity for first year male and female students? An exploratory longitudinal study

Includes bibliographical references.Paper given at the ASEE's 124th Annual Conference & Exposition in Columbus Ohio, USA, June 25-28, 2017.Paper ID #19498.Undergraduate students who leave engineering are most likely to do so during the first two years of coursework (Litzer & Young, 2012). During these first two years, students often encounter difficult coursework that may be not be overtly related to engineering (e.g., advanced calculus, physics; Suresh, 2006) while simultaneously developing their initial engineering identities. Students possessing a fixed mindset (e.g., intelligence based on genetics) versus a growth mindset (e.g., intelligence based on effort and hard work) are more likely to disengage when confronted with highly challenging coursework (Rattan, Savani, Chugh, & Dweck, 2015; Robins & Pals, 2002), which may be related to lower engineering identity. Implicit person theory argues that persons are more likely to persist with challenging tasks if they believe that intelligence is malleable (Robins & Pals, 2002). Additionally, it is well established that women are underrepresented in the field of engineering (Singh, Fouad, Fitzpatrick, & Chang, 2014). While a plethora of research exists to examine what factors contribute to the persistence of women in engineering, such as institutional factors and student characteristics, we focus on the relationship between mindset and engineering identity in this paper. The purpose of this study is to explore whether mindsets influence a student's engineering identity over time and to see if this relationship differs by gender.National Science Foundation, Grant # 1432601

Traumatic brain injury causes selective, CD74-dependent peripheral lymphocyte activation that exacerbates neurodegeneration

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a significant cause of death and disability, causes, as in any injury, an acute, innate immune response. A key component in the transition between innate and adaptive immunity is the processing and presentation of antigen by professional antigen presenting cells (APCs). Whether an adaptive immune response to brain injury is beneficial or detrimental is not known. Current efforts to understand the contribution of the immune system after TBI have focused on neuroinflammation and brain-infiltrating immune cells. Here, we characterize and target TBI-induced expansion of peripheral immune cells that may act as potential APCs. Because MHC Class II-associated invariant peptide (CLIP) is important for antigen processing and presentation, we engineered a competitive antagonist (CAP) for CLIP, and tested the hypothesis that peptide competition could reverse or prevent neurodegeneration after TBI. RESULTS: We show that after fluid percussion injury (FPI), peripheral splenic lymphocytes, including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and γδ T cells, are increased in number within 24 hours after FPI. These increases were reversed by CAP treatment and this antagonism of CLIP also reduced neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration after TBI. Using a mouse deficient for the precursor of CLIP, CD74, we observed decreased peripheral lymphocyte activation, decreased neurodegeneration, and a significantly smaller lesion size following TBI. CONCLUSION: Taken together, the data support the hypothesis that neurodegeneration following TBI is dependent upon antigen processing and presentation that requires CD74. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-014-0143-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Is the Closest Facility the One Actually Used? An Assessment of Travel Time Estimation Based on Mammography Facilities

Characterizing geographic access depends on a broad range of methods available to researchers and the healthcare context to which the method is applied. Globally, travel time is one frequently used measure of geographic access with known limitations associated with data availability. Specifically, due to lack of available utilization data, many travel time studies assume that patients use the closest facility. To examine this assumption, an example using mammography screening data, which is considered a geographically abundant health care service in the United States, is explored. This work makes an important methodological contribution to measuring access--which is a critical component of health care planning and equity almost everywhere. We analyzed one mammogram from each of 646,553 women participating in the US based Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium for years 2005-2012. We geocoded each record to street level address data in order to calculate travel time to the closest and to the actually used mammography facility. Travel time between the closest and the actual facility used was explored by woman-level and facility characteristics

Using Genetic Technologies To Reduce, Rather Than Widen, Health Disparities

Evidence shows that both biological and nonbiological factors contribute to health disparities. Genetics, in particular, plays a part in how common diseases manifest themselves. Today, unprecedented advances in genetically based diagnoses and treatments provide opportunities for personalized medicine. However, disadvantaged groups may lack access to these advances, and treatments based on research on non-Hispanic whites might not be generalizable to members of minority groups. Unless genetic technologies become universally accessible, existing disparities could be widened. Addressing this issue will require integrated strategies, including expanding genetic research, improving genetic literacy, and enhancing access to genetic technologies among minority populations in a way that avoids harms such as stigmatization