An organization overview of pedagogical practice in work-integrated education

Tertiary curriculum design has increasingly emphasized work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities. This qualitative study provides an overview of a variety of WIL activities at Massey University, New Zealand. Descriptive comments, provided through interviews with fifteen academic supervisors from disciplines ranging from the applied sciences through social sciences to business, education and creative arts, highlight the following six factors to be considered in the resourcing of WIL programs. Themes related to set-up include placement requirements, support, selection, location, and risk management issues. Student preparation involves pre-requisite theoretical knowledge, general career preparation (CV & interview skills) and readiness for practice. With respect to supervision, an on-campus academic mentor and a work-place supervisor are both important to the student. Competencies linked to team work and professional standards include self-confidence, communication and people skills. The teaching pedagogies used include lectures and labs, oral presentations, scenario-based-learning and project work. Assessment involved a learning contract, reflective journal, oral presentation, and final report

Work placement reports: Student perceptions

Engineering students complete work placement reports after being on placement in industry, the aim is to increase work place learning and to increase students understanding about the placement, themselves, career direction and skills obtained. Third and fourth year engineering students perceptions on their report writing experience, academic feedback quality, and the effect of completing work placement reports on their learning and report writing ability, were surveyed. Third year students enjoyed the experience more than fourth year students and perceived greater benefits. Fourth year student opinion was mixed, reflecting greater experience and cynicism. Fourth year students rated feedback from academics higher than the third years, perhaps because their reports were more interesting for the academics. The fourth year students were more cynical on the benefits of reflecting and reviewing what they had learned, and many considered this was not important for being an engineer

An exploration of the pedagogies employed to integrate knowledge in work-integrated learning

This article describes a three‐sector, national research project that investigated the integration aspect of work‐integrated learning (WIL). The context for this study is three sectors of New Zealand higher education: business and management, sport, and science and engineering, and a cohort of higher educational institutions that offer WIL/cooperative education in variety of ways. The aims of this study were to investigate the pedagogical approaches in WIL programs that are currently used by WIL practitioners in terms of learning, and the integration of academic‐workplace learning. The research constituted a series of collective case studies, and there were two main data sources — interviews with three stakeholder groups (namely employers, students, and co‐op practitioners), and analyses of relevant documentation (e.g., course/paper outlines, assignments on reflective practice, portfolio of learning, etc.). The research findings suggest that there is no consistent mechanism by which placement coordinators, off‐campus supervisors, or mentors seek to employ or develop pedagogies to foster learning and the integration of knowledge. Learning, it seems, occurs by means of legitimate peripheral participation with off‐campus learning occurring as a result of students working alongside professionals in their area via an apprenticeship model of learning. There is no evidence of explicit attempts to integrate on‐ and off‐campus learning, although all parties felt this would and should occur. However, integration is implicitly or indirectly fostered by a variety of means such as the use of reflective journals

ABCC6 is a basolateral plasma membrane protein

RATIONALE:: ABCC6 plays a crucial role in ectopic calcification; mutations of the gene cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum and general arterial calcification of infancy. To elucidate the role of ABCC6 in cellular physiology and disease, it is crucial to establish the exact subcellular localization of the native ABCC6 protein. OBJECTIVE:: In a recent article in Circulation Research, ABCC6 was reported to localize to the mitochondria-associated membrane and not the plasma membrane. As the suggested mitochondrial localization is inconsistent with published data and the presumed role of ABCC6, we performed experiments to determine the cellular localization of ABCC6 in its physiological environment. METHODS AND RESULTS:: We performed immunofluorescent labeling of frozen mouse and human liver sections, as well as primary hepatocytes. We used several different antibodies recognizing human and mouse ABCC6. Our results unequivocally show that ABCC6 is in the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes and is not associated with the mitochondria, mitochondria-associated membrane, or the endoplasmic reticulum. CONCLUSIONS:: Our findings support the model that ABCC6 is in the basolateral membrane, mediating the sinusoidal efflux of a metabolite from the hepatocytes to systemic circulation. © 2013 American Heart Association, Inc

An Estimate of the Energy Gap of InN from Measurements of the Fundamental Absorption Edge

Optical absorption between 0.4 and 4.5 eV of an InN layer grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy on sapphire was measured at 296 and 12 K. The layer was also characterized by measurements of the Hall effect and of infrared reflectivity in the region of the plasma edge, which determined the concentration, mobility, and effective mass of electrons in the conduction band. The energy gap of InN was estimated to be equal to 0.9 ± 0.2 eV. It was obtained from the spectral position of the fundamental absorption edge. Corrections to the energy gap resulting from the broadening of the fundamental absorption edge, from the Burstein-Moss shift, and from a band-gap shrinkage due to the impurity potential were included

Exploring the pedagogies used in work integrated learning

This paper focuses on the pedagogical approaches used in New Zealand WIL programs in terms of integration of student knowledge, and what impact these have on student learning. A collective case study methodology was used involving three areas of tertiary education science and engineering; business and management; and sport studies. The study involved researchers working collaboratively conducting focus group interviews with a selection of WIL students, academic supervisors, and employers from the relevant discipline about their teaching and learning experiences at both the academic institution and in the workplace. Relevant documentation (e.g., course/paper outlines, graduate profiles, etc.) was analyzed to afford data triangulation. The findings indicated that the WIL experience is a point of difference that students and employers value. Student learning (soft and hard skills, personal and professional development) occurs from a variety of sources (self-directed, supervisors, and peers) and a variety of modes (on campus, on placement). The findings reinforce what can be achieved through WIL programs, and through dissemination of the findings raise awareness amongst tertiary education institutions (TEIs) of the future possibilities availablevia this pedagogy.<br /

Putting the \u27integrated\u27 in work-integrated learning

A key aspect of work-integrated learning (WIL) is the notion that it entails the integration of knowledge and skills gained in the educational institution and in the workplace. WIL educators are interested in what way students take what they learn on campus into the workplace; and conversely how what they learn in the workplace becomes related to, or incorporated into, the next phase of learning when the student returns to the campus after completing a work placement Here we report on a major national study of the pedagogical approaches used in New Zealand WIL programs in terms of integration of student knowledge, and consider what impact these might have on student learning.<br /

Limited Tumor Tissue Drug Penetration Contributes to Primary Resistance against Angiogenesis Inhibitors

Resistance mechanisms against antiangiogenic drugs are unclear. Here, we correlated the antitumor and antivascular properties of five different antiangiogenic receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) (motesanib, pazopanib, sorafenib, sunitinib, vatalanib) with their intratumoral distribution data obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI). In the first mouse model, only sunitinib exhibited broad-spectrum antivascular and antitumor activities by simultaneously suppressing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) and desmin expression, and by increasing intratumoral hypoxia and inhibiting both tumor growth and vascularisation significantly. Importantly, the highest and most homogeneous intratumoral drug concentrations have been found in sunitinib-treated animals. In another animal model, where - in contrast to the first model - vatalanib was detectable at homogeneously high intratumoral concentrations, the drug significantly reduced tumor growth and angiogenesis. In conclusion, the tumor tissue penetration and thus the antiangiogenic and antitumor potential of antiangiogenic RTKIs vary among the tumor models and our study demonstrates the potential of MALDI-MSI to predict the efficacy of unlabelled small molecule antiangiogenic drugs in malignant tissue. Our approach is thus a major technical and preclinical advance demonstrating that primary resistance to angiogenesis inhibitors involves limited tumor tissue drug penetration. We also conclude that MALDI-MSI may significantly contribute to the improvement of antivascular cancer therapies

Vascular network remodeling via vessel cooption, regression and growth in tumors

The transformation of the regular vasculature in normal tissue into a highly inhomogeneous tumor specific capillary network is described by a theoretical model incorporating tumor growth, vessel cooption, neo-vascularization, vessel collapse and cell death. Compartmentalization of the tumor into several regions differing in vessel density, diameter and in necrosis is observed for a wide range of parameters in agreement with the vessel morphology found in human melanoma. In accord with data for human melanoma the model predicts, that microvascular density (MVD, regarded as an important diagnostic tool in cancer treatment, does not necessarily determine the tempo of tumor progression. Instead it is suggested, that the MVD of the original tissue as well as the metabolic demand of the individual tumor cell plays the major role in the initial stages of tumor growth.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures (higher resolution at http://www.uni-saarland.de/fak7/rieger/HOMEPAGE/BJ0.pdf

Direct In Vivo Cell Lineage Analysis in the Retrorsine and 2AAF Models of Liver Injury after Genetic Labeling in Adult and Newborn Rats

BACKGROUNDS AND AIMS:When hepatocyte proliferation is impaired, liver regeneration proceeds from the division of non parenchymal hepatocyte progenitors. Oval cells and Small Hepatocyte-like Progenitor Cells (SHPCs) represent the two most studied examples of such epithelial cells with putative stem cell capacity. In the present study we wished to compare the origin of SHPCs proliferating after retrorsine administration to the one of oval cells observed after 2-Acetyl-Amino fluorene (2-AAF) treatment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We used retroviral-mediated nlslacZ genetic labeling of dividing cells to study the fate of cells in the liver. Labeling was performed either in adult rats before treatment or in newborn animals. Labeled cells were identified and characterised by immunohistochemistry. In adult-labeled animals, labeling was restricted to mature hepatocytes. Retrorsine treatment did not modify the overall number of labeled cells in the liver whereas after 2-AAF administration unlabeled oval cells were recorded and the total number of labeled cells decreased significantly. When labeling was performed in newborn rats, results after retrorsine administration were identical to those obtained in adult-labeled rats. In contrast, in the 2-AAF regimen numerous labeled oval cells were present and were able to generate new labeled hepatocytes. Furthermore, we also observed labeled biliary tracts in 2-AAF treated rats. CONCLUSIONS:Our results strongly suggest that SHPCs are derived from hepatocytes and we confirm that SHPCs and oval cells do not share the same origin. We also show that hepatic progenitors are labeled in newborn rats suggesting future directions for in vivo lineage studies