Teaching and Learning Los Angeles through Engagement with UCLA Library Special Collections

This article presents a case study of how library services and special collections, in particular, can be integrated into undergraduate education by engaging strategically with a high-impact area of the curriculum and concentrating on courses related thematically to collection strengths. The goals of such engagement include enhancing student academic success and increasing the visibility and use of library services and collections. During the academic year 2012-2013, the UCLA Library\u27s Teaching and Learning Services and Library Special Collections partnered with the Division of Undergraduate Education\u27s Freshman Cluster Program to experiment with embedding librarians into instructional teams in order to improve students\u27 research skills. In “Los Angeles: The Cluster,” a year-long, interdisciplinary course focused on the history, architecture, and culture of Los Angeles, librarians collaborated with faculty and graduate student teaching assistants to incorporate primary sources, especially rare and unique cultural heritage materials, into the undergraduate curriculum. In this article, Kelly Miller provides an overview of the library’s partnership with the Freshman Cluster Program, and Robert Montoya describes his experience as an embedded librarian in the LA Cluster

Fostering Community Health and Well-Being through the Development of a Mindfulness Program and Meditation Space at the University of Miami Libraries

This paper offers a case study in the development of a mindfulness program and meditation space within the context of a university research library in the United States. In 2016, thanks to a collaboration with the University of Miami Mindfulness-in-Law Program, the University of Miami (UM) Libraries began offering weekly mindfulness sessions for the benefit of the University community and with the goal of supporting community health and well-being. Appropriate for novice meditators and led by mindfulness researchers and certified teachers, these sessions offer guided meditations and talks that cultivate awareness and compassion. Attendees also have the opportunity to ask questions and learn from other participants. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, the mindfulness sessions shifted from in-person to online. As a result, the sessions attracted an increased number of participants, and these sessions continue online to the present day

Breaking Through the Noise: Literacy Teachers in the Face of Accountability, Evaluation, and Reform

In an era of increased accountability, it is important to understand how exemplary teachers navigate the demands placed on them by their schools, districts, and states in order to support student learning aligned with their beliefs of effective instruction. To understand these negotiations, tensions facing exemplary literacy teachers were examined through a qualitative interview study. Participants included nineteen experienced PK-6th grade teachers from across the U.S. Results of the study indicate that teachers experience discrepancies between their beliefs and state and local mandates, and they discuss a variety of strategies for negotiating these discrepancies. Findings suggest that schools can support effective literacy instruction by cultivating cultures of autonomy for teachers and strengthening teachers’ sense of agency

Physical Activity Levels Predict Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia in Older Adults

Prior research indicates that older adults exhibit a deficient capacity to activate multiple pain inhibitory mechanisms, including pain inhibition after acute exercise termed exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH). The influence of physical activity levels and psychological processes on EIH in older adults remains unclear. PURPOSE This study examined potential psychological and physical activity predictors of the magnitude of EIH following submaximal isometric exercise in healthy older adult men and women. METHODS Fifty-two healthy older adults completed a test of EIH, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, and wore an accelerometer on the hip for one week to assess physical activity levels. For the test of EIH, participants complete a 3-minute isometric handgrip at 25% of maximum voluntary contraction. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) and a 30-sec continuous heat pain test were completed before and immediately after the exercise. RESULTS Mixed model ANOVAs revealed that older adults demonstrated significantly decreased PPTs following isometric exercise (p=.030), and no changes on the heat pain trials from pre to post test (p>.05). A multiple regression revealed that accumulated moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week significantly predicted the change in PPT following exercise (β=0.35, p=.012). Participants who averaged greater MVPA experienced a greater increase in PPTs after exercise. No relationships were found with EIH and the psychological variables. CONCLUSIONS Older adults did not exhibit EIH following submaximal isometric exercise. However, those who did more MVPA per week experienced a greater magnitude of pain inhibition following acute exercise

First Year Occupational Therapy Students’ Clinical Reasoning Approach to Addressing Challenging Behaviors Related to Sensory Processing Using a Simulated Case Study

Occupational therapy students must be prepared to use clinical reasoning to select appropriate interventions for children with sensory processing disorders (SPDs). Although these interventions are typically taught in entry-level occupational therapy programs, there is little information regarding the method by which occupational therapy students are taught a clinical reasoning process to determine which sensory processing intervention to use with pediatric clients. A problem-solving framework called A SECRET was used to teach students clinical reasoning for children with SPDs, via an online, module-based course. Following the module, the students were tested with an online assessment tool regarding their ability to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate intervention strategies, and to articulate their rationale to demonstrate how they clinically reasoned through a complex client case. Eight students participated in a focus group to provide their perceptions of the online delivery of the content and the A SECRET reasoning process. Five descriptive representations emerged from the qualitative data analysis: the A SECRET Process, Self-Regulation, the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, Participation, and Safety/Security. The findings suggest an inherent value for online learning to assist occupational therapy students in their program’s first year to learn the A SECRET process and then clinically reason through a simulated case study

Feral goats in south-western Queensland: a permanent component of the grazing lands

Feral goats were harvested in south-western Queensland at four sites under two regimes (opportunistic harvesting and sustained control). We assessed how this impacted on their contribution to total grazing pressure, on soil and pasture conditions and on the economics of goat management. The population impact was not consistent across sites with the same treatment, with 62% and 84% reductions in numbers in the two northern sites (one opportunistic harvesting site and one sustained control site) while numbers in the southern sites essentially remained the same. The contribution of goats to grazing pressure ranged from 3 to 30%; kangaroos contributed 16–36%; and livestock contributed 37–72%. Harvest rates of feral goats calculated for each of the sites ranged from 17 to 41%. There was no consistent relationship between population changes and the harvest rates. Seasonal conditions had greater influence on pasture and soil conditions than did changes in feral goat populations. The average cost of mustering goats (based on 34 operations) was $1.93 per head. Mustering costs increased markedly when goat density was lower than 10/km2. Average trapping costs (based on 7 trapping programs) were$2.08 per head. This compared with on-farm prices of $16–$25 per head in 1997. Personal circumstances and preferences of individual landholders were the key determinant of the level of control undertaken. Variability in price contributed to landholders being apprehensive about the viability of the goat industry. There are few simple tools available for landholders to estimate feral goat numbers and this makes effective management of total grazing pressure difficult

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF MEPROBAMATE ON NORMAL SUBJECTS

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72318/1/j.1749-6632.1957.tb46007.x.pd

Swift monitoring of Cygnus X-2: investigating the NUV-X-ray connection

The neutron star X-ray binary (NSXRB) Cygnus X-2 was observed by the Swift satellite 51 times over a 4 month period in 2008 with the XRT, UVOT, and BAT instruments. During this campaign, we observed Cyg X-2 in all three branches of the Z track (horizontal, normal, and flaring branches). We find that the NUV emission is uncorrelated with the soft X-ray flux detected with the XRT, and is anticorrelated with the BAT X-ray flux and the hard X-ray color. The observed anticorrelation is inconsistent with simple models of reprocessing as the source of the NUV emission. The anticorrelation may be a consequence of the high inclination angle of Cyg X-2, where NUV emission is preferentially scattered by a corona that expands as the disk is radiatively heated. Alternatively, if the accretion disk thickens as Cyg X-2 goes down the normal branch toward the flaring branch, this may be able to explain the observed anticorrelation. In these models the NUV emission may not be a good proxy for $\dot m$ in the system. We also discuss the implications of using Swift/XRT to perform spectral modeling of the continuum emission of NSXRBs.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. ApJ Accepte

Statistical Analysis of Twin Populations using Dissimilarity Measurements in Hippocampus Shape Space

By analyzing interpoint comparisons, we obtain significant results describing the relationship in “hippocampus shape space” of clinically depressed, high-risk, and control populations. In particular, our analysis demonstrates that the high-risk population is closer in shape space to the control population than to the clinically depressed population