Picturing Teacher Agency: Developing Upstanding Heuristics in a Middle Grades Social Studies Methods Course

This paper presents a multi-case study of teacher candidates in a pre-service middle grades social studies methods course. The research aimed to understand how the middle grades teacher candidates viewed their future as upstanders with agency in middle grades settings. The focus of the research was on heuristic representations that the teacher candidates created to illustrate how they understood their role in supporting the democratic aims of middle grades social studies. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed through chordal triad of agency theory (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). The findings indicate that preservice teachers best understand their future as change agents through their role of curriculum and instruction and their impact on students, additionally their conceptualizations of their intended agency were influenced by their past and present experiences as well as their projected goals for the future. This research also suggests that heuristics may be a powerful tool in the preparation of teacher candidates, helping them to think through their role in supporting the democratic aims of social studies, middle grades education and social justice education. Important constraints about teacher candidates’ perceptions (or lack thereof) of oppressive structures within middle schools settings are considered

They did explain everything, but I can't remember : the search for relevant information following a heart attack : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Nursing at Massey University

This qualitative descriptive study was undertaken to find out what information patients and their partners wanted following a heart attack. There were 17 participants, of whom 11 were patients and six were partners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and then thematic content analysis was used to identify the four main themes. The first two themes relate to the experience of having a heart attack and question the widely held belief that it is a dramatic experience and that patients deny what is happening. It seems more likely that the non-specific and insidious onset leaves patients genuinely not knowing what is happening. Women have an additional problem in that once they seek professional help, the medical staff often fail to correctly diagnose that they are having a heart attack. The third and fourth themes relate to the recovery period and show that in spite of a plethora of information provided during cardiac rehabilitation, there is strong evidence that patients and partners fail to receive information that meets their own needs in relation to social, physical and psychological issues. This has an impact on the major adjustments to be made after a heart attack and the coping strategies that are a part of this. An additional problem following discharge is poor communication between health professionals, resulting in anxiety for patient and partners. The role of the cardiac educator emerged as extremely useful and valuable to patients and partners as a support and source of relevant information after discharge. Further support and training for these nurses and expansion of the service would increase their availability to patients and partners. It would also be in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) (1997) recommendations to provide an environment, which supports and motivates people to make lifestyle changes. An additional recommendation is increased flexibility in cardiac rehabilitation with a shift into the primary care setting, thus offering wider opportunities for patients and partners to obtain support and hopefully facilitate the process of adjustment following a heart attack

Obesity and Asthma: Adiponectin Receptor 1 (Adipo R1) and Adiponectin Receptor 2 (Adipo R2) are expressed by normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells at air-liquid interface (ALI) and expression changes with IL-13 stimulation

Obesity is recognized as an important risk factor for the development of many chronic diseases such as hypertension, Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cardiovascular disease, cancer, renal disease, neurologic dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and asthma (3, 4). Circulating serum adiponectin levels in obese asthmatics have been reported to be low. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of adiponectin in a mucus hypersecretion model and hypothesized that adiponectin would decrease IL-13 induced MUC5AC expression from differentiated NHBE cells and that increasing concentrations of IL-13 would cause a decrease in Adipo R1 and Adipo R2 expression. MUC5AC expression with exposure to adiponectin was not significant. However, mRNA expression of Adipo R1 and Adipo R2 was significantly decreased by stimulation of IL-13 for acute (24 hours) and chronic (14 days) exposure. Therefore, the obese state and specifically IL-13 concentration could play a role in Adipo R1 and Adipo R2 expression within NHBE cells

Distribution of Terrestrial Isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda) Throughout Michigan: Early Results

Results are reported from the first two years of a multi-year study on the distribution of terrestrial isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda) in Michigan. During the first year of the study (1997), intensive investigations were carried out us­ing pitfall traps in a small area of Midland, MI. The study was resumed in 2001 with opportunistic collection and hand-sorting of litter samples for terrestrial isopods throughout 30 Michigan counties. As a result of this data collection, the species Haplophthalmus danicus, previously unrecorded in the state, has been located in seven counties, and 83 new county records have been established for eight other terrestrial isopod species in Michigan. In particular, this study adds extensively to distributional knowledge for four species so far: Hyloniscus riparius, Trichoniscus pusillus, Oniscus asellus, and Armadillidium vulgare. Another species, Armadillidium nasatum, previously reported only inside greenhouses in three somewhat southern locations in the state, was found as clearly well-established outdoor populations in two additional counties further north. Habitat/microhabitat information is presented for all species