Overview of the proceedings of the 2021 Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction, Conference on Disability (ISLAND)

The 13th annual Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction, Conference on Disability was hosted by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), and Princeton University on September 16-17, 2022 at Bowen Hall. This annual conference included presentations that featured innovative research done by science educators in formal and informal education contexts, ranging from pre-K-12 to higher education, and science education researchers, access technology developers, and others interested in the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. The 2022 ISLAND conference featured seventeen different presentations over the two-day period. The following is intended to give the reader an overview of the presentations that were delivered. This is not intended to be a complete summary of all aspects of the presentations that were discussed

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO EMPOWER STUDENTS WHO ARE BLIND OR LOW VISION AS INDEPENDENT LEARNERS IN THE CHEMISTRY LABORATORY

In June 1994, representatives of governments and international organisations around the globe ratified the ‘Salamanca Statement on Principles Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education’ (UNESCO, 1994). This rights-based focus on inclusive learning furthered the goals of Education for All (World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, 1990) of providing quality basic education for all children, youths and adults. Today, the importance of inclusion of people with disabilities within education continues to be recognised in the international community and is explicitly mentioned in the targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations). While emerging evidence indicates an increase in the number of students with disabilities enrolling into science, technology, engineering and mathematics, this population is still underrepresented as a result of technological and attitudinal barriers. At the School of Chemistry, at The University of Sydney, we are aiming to build an inclusive learning environment for all. This paper will discuss the advanced technological developments over the last ten years which have helped students who are blind or low vision (BLV) to work independently in the Chemistry laboratory (Devi et al., 2021). This paper will also highlight our future endeavours to further enhance the laboratory learning experience of BLV students. REFERENCES Devi, P., Motion, A., Bhattacharya, J., Supalo, A. C & Schmid, S. (2021) Unpublished results, The University of Sydney. United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals and Disability. Retrieved June 6, 2021 from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/about-us/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-and-disability.html. UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality, Salamanca, Spain, 7- 10 June. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000098427. World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, (1990). World declaration on education for all and framework for action to meet basic learning needs adopted by the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990. https://bangkok.unesco.org/sites/default/files/assets/ECCE/JomtienDeclaration.pd

“Descripción de la comunidad moral de la iglesia Wicca de la ciudad de Quito desde la sociología de la religión de Émile Durkheim y exploración de la trayectoria espiritual de los integrantes”

El presente trabajo consiste en una investigación sociológica de la iglesia wicca de la ciudad de Quito, utilizando a Émile Durkheim como principal enfoque analítico. Además se complementó el análisis utilizando posturas sociológicas contemporáneas acerca de los nuevos movimientos religiosos. Para este propósito se realizaron entre-vistas a wiccanas iniciadas de la ciudad. En la investigación se constató la función cohesionadora de los rituales y de otros espacios de interacción alrededor de lo sa-grado, además de la directa relación entre los lazos creados entre la sacerdotisa y demás miembros de la comunidad moral para efectivizar dicha cohesión. No obstante, la sociología de la religión durkhemiana coloca excesivo énfasis en el aspecto comunitario de la religión. Así, fue necesario complementar el análisis con posturas que atiendan el aspecto individualista de las nuevas espiritualidades, esto es, la atención de los miembros a sus necesidades espirituales personales, y la promulga-ción de la libertad de culto, creencias, y prácticas religiosas

Inclusion of students who are blind or low vision in chemistry

In the School of Chemistry of The University of Sydney we aim to build an inclusive culture for all our staff and students. We have embraced changes in the undergraduate curriculum that offer diverse pathways for science students. In first-year chemistry, approximately half of all contact hours are spent in the chemistry laboratory. Laboratory work is particularly challenging for students who are blind or low vision. Historically, these students have worked with laboratory assistants that performed the experiments and informed them of the results and observations. While this allows students to adequately meet the requirements of the degree, it is not a satisfactory arrangement for them and restricts their learning potential in the laboratory. While the number of students with disabilities enrolling into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) continues to increase, they are still underrepresented as a result of technological and attitudinal barriers. This project aims to empower blind and low vision students to be in command of their own learning, with wide-ranging beneficial effects of improving their self-efficacy, self-confidence, and laboratory skills, and building a highly inclusive learning culture. According to the World Blind Union, there are more than 285,000,000 blind and visionally impaired persons around the world today. In this presentation we will discuss advanced technological developments (Supalo et al., 2016) that will help blind or low vision students to work independently in the Chemistry laboratory (Devi et al., 2023), including the use of commercially available talking scientific data loggers and braille embosser technologies to assist with data collection and analysis tasks. We aim to create a blueprint for other Schools in our own institution and beyond, and lead strategies in inclusive higher education for Australia. We have already mapped out a complete set of experiments that can be adapted, so that students who are blind or have low vision can carry them out independently. This presentation will discuss those experiments and our strategies towards implementing the whole laboratory program. REFERENCES Devi, P., Motion, A.,  Bhattacharya, J., Supalo, A. C., & Schmid, S. (2023) Unpublished results, The University of Sydney. Supalo, C. A., Humphrey, J. R., Mallouk, T. E., Wohlers, H. D., & Carlsen, W. S. (2016). Examining the use of adaptive technologies to increase the hands-on participation of students with blindness or low vision in secondary-school chemistry and physics. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 17(4), 1174-1189

Overview of the proceedings of the 2019 Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction Conference on Disability (ISLAND)

The 10th annual Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction Conference on Disability (ISLAND) was hosted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), with support from the UAH College of Education, UAH Office of Academic Affairs, and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, as well as the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and the UAH Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE). On October 4-5, 2019, the conference was held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center facility and at the new Student Services Building on the UAH campus. This year’s presentations included innovative research by science educators in formal and informal educational settings, from pre-K-12 to higher education, as well as from science education researchers, access technology developers, and other persons interested in the promotion of the full inclusion of people with disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professions. The 2019 ISLAND conference featured seventeen presentations over the two-day period. The following is intended to give the reader an overview of these presentations. This is not intended to be a comprehensive synopsis of all aspects of the discussions that were presented. Rather, readers are encouraged to review full papers authored by the presenters highlighted herein. All presenters were invited to contribute papers to this special section of JSESD

An analytical longitudinal observational study on the association of Vitamin D insufficiency in subjects with primary (idiopathic) demyelinating optic neuritis using visual evoked potential and optical coherence tomography

Background: Optic neuritis (ON) is an acute and often immune-mediated inflammatory condition of the optic nerve. Vitamin D acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and may confer neuroprotection. Visual evoked potential (VEP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are emerging tools for demyelinating diseases. Aims and Objectives: We tried to correlate between Vitamin D insufficiency and acute demyelinating ON using different parameters such as VEP, ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Materials and Methods: This observational longitudinal analytical study included thirty non-consecutive patients with primary ON and 30 healthy controls. All patients with ON underwent detailed clinical and ophthalmological examination, and detailed blood workup, including serum 25 (OH) Vitamin D. VEP P100 latency, amplitude, OCT, RNFL thickness, and GCL thickness at presentation and after 3 months from May 2019 to November 2020. Results: Vitamin D insufficiency (below 30 ng/mL) was present in 60% of cases of ON. The baseline VEP showed significantly prolonged P100 latency in affected eyes in the Vitamin D insufficient group (mean 129.78±7.97 ms vs. 121.0±4.99 ms) whereas the P100 amplitude was not significantly altered between the two groups (5.5±3.13 μV vs. 7.08±3.01 μV). The baseline RNFL thickness (132.21±10.69 μm vs. 118.01±10.4 μm) and GCL thickness (76.82±2.04 μm vs. 73.06±3.2 μm) were greater in affected eyes of vitamin D insufficiency ON. There was greater RNFL thinning (79.93±3.42 μm vs. 74.80±3.5 μm) and GCL thinning (64.78±1.9μm vs. 69.02±2.22 μm) in affected eyes of ON with Vitamin D insufficiency at 3 months. Conclusion: Vitamin D insufficiency was found in most cases of ON. Insufficient Vitamin D positively correlated with optic nerve affection severity as evidenced by significantly increased baseline thickness of RNFL and GCL and more thinning of RNFL and GCL at the end of 3 months of follow-up