"Too many systems, too little time": integrating an eprint repository into a University publications system

This paper discusses the analysis, design and implementation of an integrator system to share data between an institutional eprint repository (IR) and a University publications management system. The process of building IR functionality into the University system is described in the context of user demands to reduce data input to multiple systems, and the Library's desire to increase the uptake and usability of its own eprint system

Knowing the patient well: learning disability nurses’ experiences of caring for terminally ill people with profound learning disabilities in residential care settings

This thesis reports on a research project guided by the principles of grounded theory. It examines how learning disability nurses care for terminally ill people with profound learning disabilities in two National Health Service residential homes. The aim of the study is to explore the perceived knowledge and skills of this group of nurses. It concerns how they assess, recognise and discover patients’ illnesses and how they provide end of life care needs. A total of 36 learning disability nurses participated in in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis is achieved through analysis of interview transcripts and reflexive journaling (field notes). The analysis of data suggests that the main theme “longitudinal knowing” leads to the production of “knowing the patient well”. “Longitudinal knowing” is the principal process through which the “normal” and the “pathological” continuum is constructed. The observed changes help learning disability nurses to establish a clear demarcation between learning disability-related behaviour and disease-related behaviour. The strategy of “longitudinal knowing” the patient well helps learning disability nurses to understand what their patients are like before the illness, and after the onset of illness. In addition, this thesis reveals that learning disability nurses draw on different types of knowledge. This knowledge includes “intuition”, “commonsense” knowledge and “formal” knowledge. The analysis of data shows that the four types of knowledge derive from “longitudinal knowing”. They help learning disability nurses to understand and assess patient’s changing health conditions. These types of knowledge serve as tools to help learning disability nurses make appropriate nursing decisions about a patient’s health status. In this study, participants sometimes used a mixture of lay and technical language to describe their observed signs and symptoms. The analysis of data shows an area of “uncertainty of knowing”. It concerns an ambiguity about whether the specific signs and symptoms are attributed to the learning disability or to an illness. “Uncertainty of knowing” may be a potential barrier to the delivery of appropriate comfort care. The thesis also reveals an area of “certainty of not knowing”. This refers to moments when participants know for sure where the gaps in knowledge are. The analysis of data shows that participants seek to address this gap by searching for relevant internet resources. They also know that they need educational input in pathophysiology of advance diseases. This helps to reduce the tension created by “uncertainty of knowing” and comfort care. The thesis shows that for all participants, “longitudinal knowing” is fundamental for learning disability nurses in the delivery of appropriate and timely “comfort” end-of-life care

Student Philanthropy: Plant It Nurture It Harvest It: A Handbook for College And University Faculty

This handbook for college and university faculty was produced by the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) as an effort to share what the University has learned about student philanthropy. NKU hopes this handbook leads to the growth of student philanthropy on campuses and in classrooms everywhere

Mobilizing curriculum studies in a (virtual) world: Open Access, edupunks, and the public good

Despite societal imperatives for equity—whether espoused by nation states or transnational agencies like UNESCO—current models of higher education are unequivocally failing to provide universal access.  This paper seeks to explore the (cyber)spaces (un)occupied by higher education, specifically in the area of curriculum studies, arguing that the World Wide Web can be used to effect the democratization of education.  Further, it argues for the benefits of Open Access research by means of a small-scale empirical study, the results of which indicate that making research openly accessible does not diminish the impact of research, but rather may actually increase it.Keywords: Open Access, Open Education, curriculum studies, higher education, Web 2.0Malgré les impératifs sociétaux d’équité, partagés par les États-nations ou par les agences transnationales telle que l’UNESCO, les modèles actuels de l’éducation supérieure échouent de manière non-équivoque à fournir un accès universel. Cet article vise à explorer les espaces (cybernétiques) occupés ou non par l’éducation supérieure, particulièrement dans le domaine des études de cursus, défendant l’idée que le Web peut être utilisé pour mettre en oeuvre la démocratisation de l’éducation. De plus, il défend les bénéfices de la recherche à libre accès par le biais d’une étude empirique à petite échelle, dont les résultats suggèrent qu’ouvrir l’accès aux recherches ne diminue pas l’impact de la recherche, mais pourrait plutôt l’augmenter.Mots clés: libre accès, apprentissage ouvert, études de cursus, éducation supérieure, Web 2.

The influence of cultural similarity and individual factors on visitation

This paper examined how Chinese, German and American individuals’ perceptions of cultural similarity/difference influence intentions to travel to New Zealand, a novel long-haul destination. The relationship was examined along with a set of potentially influential individual difference variables, including international travel experience, uncertainty avoidance, novelty seeking and ethnocentrism. Cultural similarity was a common positive predictor of travel intentions toward New Zealand across all three countries. Respondent’s travel experience and novelty seeking were also important positive influences for this long-haul destination, at least for Americans and Germans. Respondent’s level of uncertainty avoidance was only significant for Germany, where those with higher uncertainty were less likely to intend to visit New Zealand. Ethnocentrism was not a significant predictor in any country. These findings suggest that the perception of cultural similarity, which can be influenced by marketing campaigns, has a positive influence on travel intentions. Tourism marketers should stress elements of cultural similarity in their campaigns, especially for those markets where there may be lower levels of knowledge about the destination

Lifespan-increasing drug nordihydroguaiaretic acid inhibits p300 and activates autophagy.

Aging is characterized by the progressive loss of physiological function in all organisms. Remarkably, the aging process can be modulated by environmental modifications, including diet and small molecules. The natural compound nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) robustly increases lifespan in flies and mice, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we report that NDGA is an inhibitor of the epigenetic regulator p300. We find that NDGA inhibits p300 acetyltransferase activity in vitro and suppresses acetylation of a key p300 target in histones (i.e., H3K27) in cells. We use the cellular thermal shift assay to uniquely demonstrate NDGA binding to p300 in cells. Finally, in agreement with recent findings indicating that p300 is a potent blocker of autophagy, we show that NDGA treatment induces autophagy. These findings identify p300 as a target of NDGA and provide mechanistic insight into its role in longevity

Challenges in passenger use of mixed reality headsets in cars and other transportation

This paper examines key challenges in supporting passenger use of augmented and virtual reality headsets in transit. These headsets will allow passengers to break free from the restraints of physical displays placed in constrained environments such as cars, trains and planes. Moreover, they have the potential to allow passengers to make better use of their time by making travel more productive and enjoyable, supporting both privacy and immersion. However, there are significant barriers to headset usage by passengers in transit contexts. These barriers range from impediments that would entirely prevent safe usage and function (e.g. motion sickness) to those that might impair their adoption (e.g. social acceptability). We identify the key challenges that need to be overcome and discuss the necessary resolutions and research required to facilitate adoption and realize the potential advantages of using mixed reality headsets in transit

Looking to the future to understand the past: a survey of pre-service history teachers' experiences with digital technology and content knowledge

Digital technologies have the potential to enable history teachers to engage student learning, meet diverse learning styles, present a diversity of perspectives, and foster historical inquiry. Pre-service teachers entering today’s Canadian faculties of education are surrounded by more technology than their predecessors. But are they equipped with requisite knowledge and strategies to integrate these technologies effectively into their classrooms? This exploratory study used a cross-sectional survey to investigate pre-service teachers’ experiences with digital technologies in relation to teaching history. By doing so it provides a context for further research into the pedagogical impacts of integrating digital technologies into history classrooms

Assessing Distributions of Causal Beliefs in the Illusory Causation Task

The illusory causation effect describes the tendency to judge an unrelated cue and outcome to be causally related. The standard procedure for assessing the illusion is based on the implicit assumptions that participants start as naïve observers with no prior beliefs about the likely relationship between the cue and outcome, and that learning can be adequately captured as a point-estimate causal rating after null contingency training. Here, we use a novel distributional measure to assess participants’ beliefs over a range of causal relationships prior to, as well as after, exposure to non-contingent cues and outcomes. Across two experiments with different causal scenarios and 50% cue and outcome density, we show that participants have an initial bias towards expecting a causal relationship between the cue and outcome, and that this bias is mostly corrected after exposure to the null contingency. We conclude that distributional measures of causal beliefs can offer novel insights in understanding the illusory causation effect