Student-Produced Podcasts as an Assessment Tool: An Example from Geomorphology

The emergence of user-friendly technologies has made podcasting an accessible learning tool in undergraduate teaching. In a geomorphology course, student-produced podcasts were used as part of the assessment in 2008-2010. Student groups constructed radio shows aimed at a general audience to interpret and communicate geomorphological data within the context of relevant social and environmental issues. Questionnaire results suggest that the novel format engaged students, and promoted group working, IT, language and oral communication skills, and a deeper understanding of the context of geomorphic data. For teachers, podcasting technology offers efficient teaching of oral communication, with opportunities for distance and self-directed learning

Cardiometabolic and behavioural risk factors in young overweight women identified with simple anthropometric measures

International audienceObjectives: This study aimed to (1) investigate cardiometabolic risk markers in young women (18–30 years) with overweight/obesity, and (2) establish whether the measures of waist circumference and body mass index possess similar associations of cardiometabolic risk. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Cardiometabolic risk factors including, anthropometric, metabolic syndrome markers, biochemical , and other health/fitness indicators were assessed in women when classified as overweight/obese by waist circumference [waist circumference 91.9 ± 10.1 cm, age 22.3 ± 3.5 years, n = 38] versus control [n = 30, waist circumference 71.4 ± 3.5 cm, age 20.1 ± 0.9 years], and when classified by body mass index [n = 35, body mass index 32.2 ± 5.2 kg m 2 , age 22.5 ± 3.6 years] versus control [body mass index 21.7 ± 1.9 kg m 2 , age 20.1 ± 0.9 years, n = 33]. Results: Compared with controls, women with overweight/obesity (classified by waist circumference or body mass index) displayed elevated body mass, systolic blood pressure and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and reduced estimated VO 2max and weekly physical activity, with no differences in self-reported energy intake. The unadjusted odds ratio of being classified with overweight/obesity and an elevated homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and/or less than recommended physical activity ranged between 5.1 and 10.0. Receiver operator characteristic curves indicated waist circumference , body mass index and waist-to-height ratio cutoff points of ≥84.2 cm, ≥30.6 kg m −2 and ≥0.5, respectively, for homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and ≥80.6 cm, ≥25.2 kg m −2 and ≥0.46, respectively, for less than recommended physical activity. Conclusions: Waist circumference and body mass index have similar associations with cardiometabolic risk, with greater homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and lower physical activity, rather than differences in traditional metabolic syndrome markers, observed in young women with over-weight/obesity

Science Through Time: Understanding the Archive at Rennix Gap Bog, a Sub-alpine Peatland in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Rennix Gap Bog is a sub-alpine topogenic peatland that contains up to 2 m of organic-rich sediments that have built up over the last approximately 12,000 years. This paper summarises the research and teaching activities that have been undertaken at the site, which has included consideration of the sediment stratigraphy, radiometric dating, palynology, charcoal analyses, dendrochronology and recently, the testate amoebae community composition has been documented. Much of this work is unpublished but has relevance for any future research and provides a long-term context for many contemporary environmental issues, including for issues of relevance to the management of fire in this landscape and vegetation more broadly. In the contemporary environment, the surface of the bog is vegetated with a complex mosaic of Carex fen, sub-alpine Sphagnum shrub bog and Poa costiniana tussock grassland. Pollen analysis suggests that this vegetation has been relatively stable for 10,000 years and prior to that the site was surrounded by sparse vegetation, similar to the alpine herb-grass community of contemporary higher altitude ecosystems. Charcoal analyses suggest that fire activity has varied through time but increased significantly in the historic period. Rennix Gap Bog has not only attracted considerable research but has also been an invaluable, accessible, site for field-based teaching and learning

Integrating objective gene-brain-behavior markers of psychiatric disorders

There is little consensus about which objective markers should be used to assess major psychiatric disorders, and predict/evaluate treatment response for these disorders. Clinical practice relies instead on subjective signs and symptoms, such that there is a "translational gap" between research findings and clinical practice. This gap arises from: a) a lack of integrative theoretical models which provide a basis for understanding links between gene-brain-behavior mechanisms and clinical entities; b) the reliance on studying one measure at a time so that linkages between markers are their specificity are not established; and c) the lack of a definitive understanding of what constitutes normative function. Here, we draw on a standardized methodology for acquiring multiple sources of genomic, brain and behavioral data in the same subjects, to propose candidate markers of selected psychiatric disorders: depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dementia disorders. This methodology has been used to establish a standardized international database which provides a comprehensive framework and the basis for testing hypotheses derived from an integrative theoretical model of the brain. Using this normative base, we present preliminary findings for a number of disorders in relation to the proposed markers. Establishing these objective markers will be the first step towards determining their sensitivity, specificity and treatment prediction in individual patients. © 2007 Imperial College Press

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions-a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue "Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome", we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomenacan be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomenacollectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research