Openness: Student perceptions

This short paper describes a research project which aims at investigating how students conceive and use open educational practices (OEP). A recent definition by Cronin (2017) emphasizes collaboration, participation and learner empowerment to encompass “collaborative practices that include the creation, use, and reuse of OER, as well as pedagogical practices employing participatory technologies and social networks for interaction, peer-learning, knowledge creation, and empowerment of learners” (2017, p. 4). Researchers and educators alike have considered the role of OEP in more effectively engaging learners in the co-creation of knowledge, critically considering how digital practices and open platforms can be used in practice. Early research on OEP focused on adoption and development of OER (Cronin & MacLaren, 2018), but has recently shifted student perceptions of impact (Jhangiani, Dastur, Le Grand, & Penner, 2018, Lin, 2019) and improved student learning and empowerment (Hodgkinson-Williams & Trotter, 2018). However, there are gaps in our understanding of learner experiences in other dimensions of openness, such as negotiating identity, privacy, visibility, literacy and the co-construction of knowledge. As educators we need to consider how the structures of these spaces will influence the open teaching practices we are using, both in how they may make our spaces permeable, and in how they might make them more impenetrable. If we want our learners to be able to explore what we as educators see as the benefits of open practices, such as co-creation and sharing of knowledge, then we need to explore both their perceptions and direct learning experiences. The focus of this project will be on students' perceptions of openness in education, exploring their identities as open educational practitioners and how they negotiate their open educational spaces. Participants will be situated in an online graduate program (including multiple courses) designed around open educational practices, including open platforms and open educational resources, and endeavouring to include learners in critical digital pedagogical practices. To explore learner practices, the following research questions will be explored using a virtual ethnographic case (Hine, 2008): What are learners’ understanding of open educational practice? How do they see themselves navigating open platforms, open digital pedagogies and practices and critical digital perspectives? What practices, values and/or strategies are shared by learners who are working within an open educational practice framework

Increasing Phonemic Awareness in Kindergarten Students: Using iPads in Language Arts Centers

Language arts teachers find that students at any elementary grade show a wide range of abilities, specifically in the area of phonemic awareness. Student abilities are not evaluated accurately using paper pencil tests. A review of the literature addresses teaching approaches and effective use of technology in an elementary classroom. Implications of the research suggest that student engagement with technology have an impact on their learning (Kearsley & Shneiderman 1998). The research indicates that, if teachers do not monitor progress,students often view the use of iPad apps as games, not educational opportunities. Research findings emphasize that in order for students to become motivated in their learning, they must be engaged. This is a teacher action research study in which students in a kindergarten class participated in small group instruction using selected iPad Apps that promote phonemic awareness development. After instruction, three days a week for ten minutes each day, with different phonemic awareness applications, the students were reassessed to check for growth in phonemic awareness abilities using school district created benchmarks. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of select iPad apps that address phonemic awareness in Kindergarten. This study measured the growth of student abilities in reference to their phonemic awareness with the use of iPad technology. Results indicated that student performance increased following instruction in phonemic awareness using select iPad apps

Associations Between Postpartum Depression and Child Overweight and Obesity: Mediating Effect of Maternal Feeding Behaviors and Beliefs

Purpose. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mental condition that significantly affects 10% to 25% of women within the first year after the birth of their child. The mother-infant relationship is key to child growth. Previous studies have shown that PPD has a detrimental effect on children’s physical and psychological well-being as it affects the child through the mother’s parenting behavior. Depressed mothers show a lack of engagement with their children, which could extend to feeding practices influencing weight gain. The prevalence and severity of childhood overweight and obesity is a global public health problem. An increase in weight gain in infancy can be the initiation of childhood and adult overweight and obesity. We investigated the association between postpartum depression and child overweight and obesity, evaluating maternal feeding practices and beliefs as mediating factors in this relationship. Methods. We performed a secondary analysis on data from 1,425 mother/child dyads from the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study that enrolled healthy pregnant women in Shelby County, Tennessee, from 2006 through 2011. We performed logistic regression analysis to investigate the relationship between PPD and child BMI trajectories from birth to 4-6 years, and child overweight and obesity at years 1, 2, 3, 4 – 6; multiple linear regression to investigate the relationship between PPD measured at 4 weeks and maternal feeding behaviors and beliefs as measured by the Infant Feeding Questionnaire (IFQ); and causal mediation analysis to investigate the association between PPD, maternal feeding behaviors and beliefs, and child overweight and obesity

Executive Function, Parenting Style, and Theory of Mind

27 p.This research investigated the individual differences in theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) in preschool-age children. The relationship between parenting styles and ToM was also investigated, and specifically examined EF as a possible mediator between parenting styles and ToM. A sample of 3.5- to 5.5-year-old children (N = 25) were run through a series of EF and ToM tasks while parents filled out a Parenting Style Questionnaire. It was hypothesized that positive relationships would be found between parenting and ToM, parenting and EF, and EF and ToM. After running a correlational analysis, a significant relationship was found between ToM and Authoritative parenting styles, r = .43, p=.05. However, no significant relations were found between EF and parenting or EF and ToM. Future studies should use broader, more diverse populations to capture a more representative sample, as well as include supplementary tasks to further investigate EF skills. Limitations are also discussed

Depressive Symptoms and Academic Achievement in Fourth Grade Students

The relationships among depressive symptoms, peer acceptance, and academic competence were examined in 43 fourth-grade students using a self-report measure of depression (Children\u27s Depression Inventory); a teacher-rated measure of depression (Behavior Assessment System for Children — Teacher Rating Scale); peer acceptance and peer rejection; and grade point average. Results indicated higher levels of self-reported depression than previously found in children of this age. Correlations between self-reports of depression and peer rejection and self-reports of depression and grade point average were significant. The current study also found a significant positive correlation between the two depression scales (Children\u27s Depression Inventory and Behavior Assessment System for Children — Teacher Rating Scale — Depression Scale). Implications for future research and limitations of the current study are discussed

Depressive Symptoms and Academic Achievement in Fourth Grade Students

The relationships among depressive symptoms, peer acceptance, and academic competence were examined in 43 fourth-grade students using a self-report measure of depression (Children\u27s Depression Inventory); a teacher-rated measure of depression (Behavior Assessment System for Children — Teacher Rating Scale); peer acceptance and peer rejection; and grade point average. Results indicated higher levels of self-reported depression than previously found in children of this age. Correlations between self-reports of depression and peer rejection and self-reports of depression and grade point average were significant. The current study also found a significant positive correlation between the two depression scales (Children\u27s Depression Inventory and Behavior Assessment System for Children — Teacher Rating Scale — Depression Scale). Implications for future research and limitations of the current study are discussed

Cutaneous and cerebral microvascular response to the ingestion of flavanols in young and older humans : role of nitric oxide

textThese studies explored interactions between flavanols and nitric oxide in order to investigate implications for vascular health. Study 1 investigated acute effects of flavanol consumption on cutaneous microvascular endothelial function in young and older individuals along with chronic exposure in older individuals. This was accomplished by assessing skin blood flow response to local heating (thermal reactivity, TR); skin was clamped at 34°C and 40°C and values were normalized to those attained at 43°C. Older individuals demonstrated an attenuated TR at baseline during the entire local heating phase (58.4 ± 2.5% versus 49.3 ± 2.6%, p<0.05). Acutely following flavanol ingestion there was a significant increase in TR (52.4 ± 2.1% versus 56.1 ± 2.0%, p=0.05) that was not different with age. There was no effect of chronic flavanol exposure on TR in older individuals; however, there was a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure (95 ± 3 mmHg versus 91 ± 3 mmHg, p<0.001). These results contribute to research regarding flavanols increasing NO bioavailability; acutely via an improvement in cutaneous microvascular endothelial function and chronically via a reduction in blood pressure. Study 2 investigated the acute effects of flavanol consumption on cerebrovascular endothelial function in young and older individuals along with chronic flavanol exposure in older individuals. This was accomplished by assessing basal cerebral blood flow indices (cerebral vascular conductance index, CVCi) and CBF response to hypercapnia (cerebral vasomotor reactivity; CVMR). At baseline older individuals demonstrated a reduced CVCi (0.85 ± 0.04 cm/s*mmHg versus 0.55 ± 0.04 cm/s*mmHg p=0.001) and CVMR (8.6 ± 0.6 versus 6.9 ± 0.4, p=0.05). An unexpected finding was that flavanol ingestion led to an acute decrease in CVCi (0.71 ± 0.04 cm/s*mmHg versus 0.62 ± 0.04 cm/s*mmHg p<0.05) and CVMR (8.6 ± 0.6 versus 6.1 ± 0.5, p=0.001) that was not different with age. In older individuals, chronic exposure led to a significant increase in CVCi (0.60 ± 0.05 cm/s*mmHg versus 0.72 ± 0.06 cm/s*mmHg, p<0.05) but had no effect on CVMR. These data provide evidence for an improvement in cerebral hemodynamics following chronic exposure in older individuals.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

Legal Risk and Accountability in Development Finance: Lessons from Jam v. International Finance Corporation

In a landmark decision in 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Jam v. International Finance Corporation that international organizations like the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group, can be sued in U.S. courts, ending the “absolute immunity” from suit that they had long claimed. The Jam lawsuit arose out of IFC’s gross mishandling of the Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant project in Gujarat, India, which has destroyed the livelihoods, environment, and way of life of local communities living in its shadow. The lawsuit, and especially the clash between IFC’s sweeping assertions of jurisdictional immunity on the one hand, and its role in harming communities and the need for remedy to the communities on the other, brought substantial international attention and public scrutiny to the broader accountability crisis at IFC. In particular, the suit revealed that too often IFC-funded projects result in harm to the poorest and most vulnerable – the very people IFC is meant to help – and when this happens, neither IFC nor its borrowers take meaningful action to remedy that harm

Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Interleukin-6 is Upregulated in Early Stage Type 1 Diabetic Rats

Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammation. T1DM patients are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammation, and this is reflected by increased levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. However, the time point at which these pro-inflammatory cytokines become elevated is not known. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the early stage of T1DM. METHODS: We injected (i.p) 50mg/kg of Streptozotocin (STZ) or the vehicle (CTL) into male and female Sprague Dawley rats and waited one to three weeks before drawing blood. Blood was drawn from the carotid artery into a serum separator vacutainer, centrifuged, and then the serum was aliquoted into tubes and frozen at -80°C for subsequent batch analyses. A rat cytokine multiplex kit (RADPKMAG, EMD Millipore) was used to determine cytokine concentrations in the aliquoted samples. Samples were analyzed using a Luminex 200 instrument (Luminex Corp) according to manufacturer’s instructions. RESULTS: STZ rats had significantly higher blood glucose (CTL=200±15 mg/dl, n=14; STZ=523±14 mg/dl; n=14; p0.05) and TNF-α (STZ: 15.6±12 pg/ml, n=14; CTL: 14.3±9 pg/ml, n=13, p\u3e0.05) were not significantly different between STZ and CTL. CONCLUSION: We conclude that serum IL-6 concentrations are trending toward being greater in the early stage of T1DM. However, serum levels of IL-1β and TNF-α do not appear to be elevated at this stage of the disease. Further studies are needed to determine if concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines fluctuate during the progression of the disease