More Photographs from the Symposium

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Contexts of Cultural Diversity Professional Development in Schools

This report is part of a larger MERC study on Professional Development for Success in Culturally Diverse Schools.The goals of the larger study are (1) to understand the landscape of diversity within the schools in the MERC region, (2) to consider the implications for school policy and professional practice, (3) to review the current models of professional development that support teachers and other school professionals in regards to issues of cultural diversity, and (4) to develop and test models of professional development that have positive impacts on teacher practice, student outcomes and overall school success. With these goals in mind, this report contains three parts. Part 1 discusses demographic changes in the MERC region and provides historical, political, social, and economic contexts for understanding these changes. Part 2 describes the federal, state, and local policy contexts relevant to cultural diversity within schools, and professional development (PD) related to this topic. This section also reviews research on how policy contexts shape teachers’ decisions to participate in PD. Part 3 reviews existing studies of cultural diversity PD and describes the types of PD programs currently available in the MERC region. In the conclusion to the report, we present a list of recommendations for policy and and for future development and implementation of PD related to cultural diversity. The final section of the report also describes gaps in the existing body of knowledge and the research needed to better understand PD related to cultural diversity

COVID-19 governance, legitimacy, and sustainability: Lessons from the Australian experience

During 2020, Australia managed the global and systemic COVID-19 crisis successfully as measured by health and economic indicators. It marshalled the government’s delivery capacity to control the health crisis and put in place measures to offset the induced economic and social costs. At the same time, the crisis revealed long-standing structural weaknesses in a small, democratic, wealthy, and economically successful country that raised questions about post COVID resilience and sustainability. This paper examines that experience by applying a “co-production” governance model that sees success in “crisis management” as the striking of a balance between government capacity and its legitimacy in the eyes of its people. Lessons are drawn in terms of Australia’s ability to tackle the ongoing transition out of COVID and future crises, by building systemic resilience and sustainability

Banner News

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Banner News

https://openspace.dmacc.edu/banner_news/1019/thumbnail.jp

Cholinergic Modulation of Locomotion and Striatal Dopamine Release Is Mediated by α6α4* Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Dopamine (DA) release in striatum is governed by firing rates of midbrain DA neurons, striatal cholinergic tone, and nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs) on DA presynaptic terminals. DA neurons selectively express α6* nAChRs, which show high ACh and nicotine sensitivity. To help identify nAChR subtypes that control DA transmission, we studied transgenic mice expressing hypersensitive α6^(L9’S*) receptors. α6^(L9’S) mice are hyperactive, travel greater distance, exhibit increased ambulatory behaviors such as walking, turning, and rearing, and show decreased pausing, hanging, drinking, and grooming. These effects were mediated by α6 α4* pentamers, as α6^(L9’S) mice lacking α4 subunits displayed essentially normal behavior. In α6^(L9’S) mice, receptor numbers are normal, but loss of α4 subunits leads to fewer and less sensitive α6* receptors. Gain-of-function nicotine-stimulated DA release from striatal synaptosomes requires α4 subunits, implicating α6α4β2* nAChRs in α6^(L9’S) mouse behaviors. In brain slices, we applied electrochemical measurements to study control of DA release by α6^(L9’S) nAChRs. Burst stimulation of DA fibers elicited increased DA release relative to single action potentials selectively in α6^(L9’S), but not WT or α4KO/ α6^(L9’S), mice. Thus, increased nAChR activity, like decreased activity, leads to enhanced extracellular DA release during phasic firing. Bursts may directly enhance DA release from α6^(L9’S) presynaptic terminals, as there was no difference in striatal DA receptor numbers or DA transporter levels or function in vitro. These results implicate α6α4β2* nAChRs in cholinergic control of DA transmission, and strongly suggest that these receptors are candidate drug targets for disorders involving the DA system