Hull of a home: Vessel as refuge and experience

A sailboat is a place for escape and refuge. When at sea, the hull relies only on buoyancy, the sails on catching wind and the sailor is left in silence, besides the rippling water. Any route is possible amidst coastline and on board there are minimal necessities. My research begins by asking: How can we learn from sailors by creating opportunities for environmental meditation, a shared intimate environment, and preservation of material? I search in my thesis to encapsulate this feeling of freedom of movement, simplicity of experience, and comfort of a personal enclosure to create an experimental spatial structure with possibilities for solitude or social engagement. Collaborative mobile space, like a sailboat, allows one to have agency to control one’s atmosphere and to utilize potential space. The constraints set for the project are motivated by my research of how aspects of sailing experience and culture can be emulated—a stand-alone structure that is easy to carry and assemble, creates an enclosure via translucent textile, and is large enough to accommodate company. Through several spatial iterations, the final prototype structure is comprised of bamboo segments and a spinnaker sail. The structure can be folded to travel and the sail can return intact to its original use. This space-making practice offers a new perspective on material reuse and encourages a proactive approach to infiltrate initially designed and accepted spaces and products. In an age of ecological catastrophe and comfortable standards of living, pragmatic ingenuity needs to be activated and inspired by examples of designerly methods. I explore methods of crafting value in everyday material with a focus on retaining imbedded meaning. I consider how this awareness of material history and potential can effect the quality of daily lived experience. Surrounded by consumerist excess, I feel an obligation to evaluate my real needs and what I can do to extend the lifespan of material possessions as an investment in precious materials. How can I influence the mindset of users to empower their amateur designerly skills to think of future potential of reuse, reinvention, or rebirth to create solutions rather than buying them? This work represents a process of searching for relevant insights into the sailing phenomenon, the effect of space, and feelings of comfort as associated with identity and home. My personal narrative is included in this research as autoethnographic research, including my fascinations, experiences, and motivations, which influence and lead the design process

Dendrimer-RNA nanoparticles generate protective immunity against lethal Ebola, H1N1 influenza, and

Vaccines have had broad medical impact, but existing vaccine technologies and production methods are limited in their ability to respond rapidly to evolving and emerging pathogens, or sudden outbreaks. Here, we develop a rapid-response, fully synthetic, singledose, adjuvant-free dendrimer nanoparticle vaccine platform wherein antigens are encoded by encapsulated mRNA replicons. To our knowledge, this system is the first capable of generating protective immunity against a broad spectrum of lethal pathogen challenges, including H1N1 influenza, Toxoplasma gondii, and Ebola virus. The vaccine can be formed with multiple antigenexpressing replicons, and is capable of eliciting both CD8⁺ T-cell and antibody responses. The ability to generate viable, contaminant-free vaccines within days, to single or multiple antigens, may have broad utility for a range of diseases

Co-producing better mental health research with young researchers in educational establishments

This chapter explores the learning experience of a teacher who returned to his previous school to conduct research. The research aim was to investigate the efficacy of a recently introduced mental health school strategy from the students’ viewpoint. Initial research concepts were to collect student data and draw conclusions. However, due to issues of power and trust, the study evolved into a collaborative exercise, which saw the researcher work with young people as partners. The research became a voyage of discovery as the working partnership between the researcher and young people matured into a transformational process for both parties. Young people's lived experience became a central tenant of the research methodology and process. What transpired was a better community research project that demonstrated benefits for both the individuals involved and the community. Whilst the focus of this work was school-based, there are lessons to learn for studies aiming for collaboration within communities

Young people as co-researchers in schools: a collaborative research methodology which benefits young people and school culture

The voice of young people in schools is often tokenistic. They are asked to contribute to surveys for OFSTED or are part of an adult-led school council. Rarely are they asked to work with adults to create new knowledge for school improvement. Returning to my previous school to conduct research resulted in developing an inclusive and collaborative methodology. Whilst initially intending to use a participative action research (PAR) process, I synthesised this with Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) to create Youth Participative Dialogic Action Research (YPDAR). This approach created a research power dynamic where responsibility was shared more equally between the young people and the researcher. The results of this approach were unexpected. As the process developed, the young people’s confidence grew, their trust in the school developed, and they felt empowered to act. This paper explores the processes involved and how YPDAR could be used as a school improvement model with the potential not only to transform young people’s lives, but also the culture of the school

Multi-Digit Coordination in Absence of Cutaneous Sensory Feedback During Grasping Tasks

Motor learning and adaptation to object properties and task requirements requires integration of cutaneous sensory feedback with motor commands. Joint mechanics constantly change, with individual joints or muscles compensation so performance output is the same per task. Effects of mixed cutaneous sensory feedback on multi-digit coordination is not well understood. Investigators sought to determine the influence absent cutaneous sensory feedback has on motor learning and adaptation, and how the CNS coordinates multi-digit mechanical output to adapt to manual tasks, with partially intact digital sensory feedback. 19 participants were randomly assigned for three-digit anesthesia administration (TIM- thumb, index, middle; TRL- thumb, ring, little). Experimental tasks were repeated on two visits (control and anesthesia): grasping and lifting an object, and a functional task. Under partial digital anesthesia, total maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was lower, and decreased force production was seen in all five digits (

Genes influencing milk production traits predominantly affect one of four biological pathways

In this study we introduce a method that accounts for false positive and false negative results in attempting to estimate the true proportion of quantitative trait loci that affect two different traits. This method was applied to data from a genome scan that was used to detect QTL for three independent milk production traits, Australian Selection Index (ASI), protein percentage (P%) and fat percentage corrected for protein percentage (F% – P%). These four different scenarios are attributed to four biological pathways: QTL that (1) increase or decrease total mammary gland production (affecting ASI only); (2) increase or decrease lactose synthesis resulting in the volume of milk being changed but without a change in protein or fat yield (affecting P% only); (3) increase or decrease protein synthesis while milk volume remains relatively constant (affecting ASI and P% in the same direction); (4) increase or decrease fat synthesis while the volume of milk remains relatively constant (affecting F% – P% only). The results indicate that of the positions that detected a gene, most affected one trait and not the others, though a small proportion (2.8%) affected ASI and P% in the same direction

Young researchers in schools: a participative action research study into the efficacy of a whole school mental health strategy

In England between April and June of 2021, 190,271 young people were referred to mental health services, an increase of 134% since June 2020 (Local Government Association, 2022). Since 2014, schools have been expected to support young people’s mental health needs (Department for Education, 2014). This qualitative work critically explores the efficacy of a whole school mental health strategy, in a comprehensive academy in England. As participative action research (PAR), this approach involved self-selecting young people aged 16-18 years old to collaborate with me as a young research team (YRT). They worked closely with the study participants, aged 12-15 years, who volunteered from the pupil premium cohort (The Department for Education, 2022). A weekly cycle of meetings between myself, the YRT and participants took place, providing qualitative data. This research focuses on a school mental health strategy and new approaches to young people’s participation in school decision-making. My findings and contributions to knowledge are divided into two sections. Firstly, I present findings that indicate a school mental health strategy requires trusting staff / young people relationships to be successful. As a further contribution, I suggest relationships are viewed through a nanosystems lens (Rudasill et al., 2018), so schools can start to address this issue. My second area contributing to new knowledge is how this unique methodology has enabled the development of youth participative dialogic action research (YPDAR). I have discovered how using YPDAR can positively impact young people and school character. YPDAR benefits young people as attachment-like relationships may develop between young researchers and participants. In addition to improving young people’s socio-emotional skills, this research can boost their confidence, empowerment, agency and trust in the school. School character also benefits, as YPDAR requires a power shift from school to young people, strengthening relationships and the development of trust between them

Motivation for and within Online College Courses

Online courses have been heralded as efficient and cost-effective higher education solutions, but have negative associations with student learning and retention. In light of online learning’s increasing prevalence, yet disappointing outcomes, it is imperative to investigate which features of online courses may be contributing to disparities in student performance. In this dissertation, I focus on a critical, yet understudied predictor of performance in online courses: motivation. I use Expectancy-Value Theory to investigate how motivation impacts who decides to take online courses, how motivation is affected by online courses, and how motivation can be improved within online courses. In my first study, I find that students select into online courses largely due to the need for flexibility, and that motivational, behavioral, and performance differences between OL and F2F students become more apparent once students are grouped by their reasons for selecting into an OL course. In my second study, I identify that by increasing the transactional distance between students, asynchronous online courses degrade belonging, increasing social uncertainty around classmates and a perceived lack of access to the instructor. Furthermore, interview data suggest that students conceptualize belonging differently across contexts, and that quantitative measures designed to measure school belonging may produce misleading results when adapted to the classroom level. In my final study, I address a gap in the theory behind the popular utility value intervention (UVI): the behavioral mechanisms linking greater motivation to greater performance. I was able to utilize click data to discover behaviors that are associated with both motivation and course performance, finding that motivated click behavior (i.e., interest) is best identified by the patterns of spacing one’s engagement with the course across many days, especially days not surrounding course deadlines. I identify lingering questions about the directionality in the strengthening association between motivation and engaged behavior over time, discussing their implications for future intervention work. Overall, this study uses motivational theory to improve performance in online courses, and online course performance to inform motivational theory, demonstrating the potential for a symbiotic relationship between the fields of online learning and motivation

Components of engagement in saying-is-believing exercises

The saying-is-believing effect is an important step for changing students' attitudes and beliefs in a wise intervention. However, most studies have not closely examined the process of the saying-is-believing effect when individuals are engaged in the activity. Using a qualitative approach, the present study uses an engagement framework to investigate (a) components of engagement in the saying-is-believing effect; and (b) how differently students may engage in a saying-is-believing exercise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 undergraduates in a scholarship program for low-income transfer students from community college. Analysis using inductive and deductive approaches found that students varied on the extent to which they experienced the effectiveness of the saying-is-believing effect through affective, cognitive, and behavioral experiences. The study offers examples of how people can indeed differ in the extent to which they experience the saying-is-believing effect, and the implications for designing more effective interventions. Specifically, students' positive affective experiences from seeing the larger goal of creating videos may be important components for the saying-is-believing effect to work. Behavioral experiences, such as learning soft skills, academic skills learned indirectly from the intervention, and academic skills learned directly from the intervention were accompanied by both positive affective and cognitive experiences. Findings show the importance of students' differential engagement in saying-is-believing exercises both for building more effective wise interventions and interpreting heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness