Education in Cross-Cultural Settings: Psychological Underpinnings of Achievement in Papua New Guinea

Education and achievement in Papua New Guinea has received minimal attention in the psychological and educational literature. Although student motivation and achievement have been investigated in a large variety of cultures throughout the world, this has not been substantially extended to the developing world. The current study investigated a selection of psychological processes that contribute to student achievement in the context of a majority, indigenous and developing culture. Motivational goal orientations, learning and self-regulatory processes of 359 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) were investigated. Structural equation modeling investigated the relations between the psychological variables. Results are discussed in the context of McInerney’s (2007) model of student achievement in cross-cultural settings

Innovative package for frontline maternal, newborn and child health workers in South Sudan

Improving maternal, newborn, and child health is a leading priority worldwide. It is a particularly urgent issue in South Sudan, which suffers from the world’s worst maternal mortality and among the worst newborn and child mortalities. A leading barrier to improving these health indices is limited frontline health worker capacity. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Division of Global Health and Human Rights (Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA) has developed and is currently implementing its novel Maternal, Newborn, and Child Survival (MNCS) Initiative throughout much of South Sudan. The purpose of MNCS is to build frontline health worker capacity through a training package that includes:1. A participatory training course2. Pictorial checklists to guide prevention, care, and referral3. Re-useable medical equipment and commodities.Program implementation began in November 2010 utilizing a training-of-trainers model. To date, 72 local trainers and 632 frontline health workers have completed the training and received their MNCS checklists and commodities. Initial monitoring and evaluation results are encouraging as further evaluation continues. This innovative training package may also serve as a model for building capacity for maternal, newborn, and child health in other resource limited settings beyond South Sudan

Combined HIV-1 Envelope Systemic and Mucosal Immunization of Lactating Rhesus Monkeys Induces a Robust Immunoglobulin A Isotype B Cell Response in Breast Milk

ABSTRACT Maternal vaccination to induce anti-HIV immune factors in breast milk is a potential intervention to prevent postnatal HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). We previously demonstrated that immunization of lactating rhesus monkeys with a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) prime/intramuscular (i.m.) protein boost regimen induced functional IgG responses in milk, while MVA prime/intranasal (i.n.) boost induced robust milk Env-specific IgA responses. Yet, recent studies have suggested that prevention of postnatal MTCT may require both Env-specific IgA and functional IgG responses in milk. Thus, to investigate whether both responses could be elicited by a combined systemic/mucosal immunization strategy, animals previously immunized with the MVA prime/i.n. boost regimen received an i.n./i.m. combined C.1086 gp120 boost. Remarkably, high-magnitude Env-specific IgA responses were observed in milk, surpassing those in plasma. Furthermore, 29% of vaccine-elicited Env-specific B cells isolated from breast milk were IgA isotype, in stark contrast to the overwhelming predominance of IgG isotype Env-specific B cells in breast milk of chronically HIV-infected women. A clonal relationship was identified between Env-specific blood and breast milk B cells, suggesting trafficking of that cell population between the two compartments. Furthermore, IgA and IgG monoclonal antibodies isolated from Env-specific breast milk B cells demonstrated diverse Env epitope specificities and multiple effector functions, including tier 1 neutralization, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), infected cell binding, and inhibition of viral attachment to epithelial cells. Thus, maternal i.n./i.m. combined immunization is a novel strategy to enhance protective Env-specific IgA in milk, which is subsequently transferred to the infant via breastfeeding. IMPORTANCE Efforts to increase the availability of antiretroviral therapy to pregnant and breastfeeding women in resource-limited areas have proven remarkably successful at reducing HIV vertical transmission rates. However, more than 200,000 children are infected annually due to failures in therapy implementation, monitoring, and adherence, nearly half by postnatal HIV exposure via maternal breast milk. Intriguingly, in the absence of antiretroviral therapy, only 10% of breastfed infants born to HIV-infected mothers acquire the virus, suggesting the existence of naturally protective immune factors in milk. Enhancement of these protective immune factors through maternal vaccination will be a critical strategy to reduce the global pediatric AIDS epidemic. We have previously demonstrated that a high magnitude of HIV Env-specific IgA in milk correlates with reduced risk of infant HIV acquisition. In this study, we describe a novel HIV vaccine regimen that induces potent IgA responses in milk and therefore could potentially protect against breast milk HIV MTCT

UBVRI Light Curves of 44 Type Ia Supernovae

We present UBVRI photometry of 44 type-Ia supernovae (SN Ia) observed from 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is the largest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SN Ia to date, nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SN Ia with published multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of U-band photometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SN Ia observed at high redshift. The decline rate of SN Ia U-band light curves correlates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U-B color at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show an increased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting for extinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ~40% intrinsic scatter compared to B-band.Comment: 84 authors, 71 pages, 51 tables, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Version with high-res figures and electronic data at http://astron.berkeley.edu/~saurabh/cfa2snIa

Living Well with Diabetes: a randomized controlled trial of a telephone-delivered intervention for maintenance of weight loss, physical activity and glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes

Background By 2025, it is estimated that approximately 1.8 million Australian adults (approximately 8.4% of the adult population) will have diabetes, with the majority having type 2 diabetes. Weight management via improved physical activity and diet is the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes management. However, the majority of weight loss trials in diabetes have evaluated short-term, intensive clinic-based interventions that, while producing short-term outcomes, have failed to address issues of maintenance and broad population reach. Telephone-delivered interventions have the potential to address these gaps. Methods/Design Using a two-arm randomised controlled design, this study will evaluate an 18-month, telephone-delivered, behavioural weight loss intervention focussing on physical activity, diet and behavioural therapy, versus usual care, with follow-up at 24 months. Three-hundred adult participants, aged 20-75 years, with type 2 diabetes, will be recruited from 10 general practices via electronic medical records search. The Social-Cognitive Theory driven intervention involves a six-month intensive phase (4 weekly calls and 11 fortnightly calls) and a 12-month maintenance phase (one call per month). Primary outcomes, assessed at 6, 18 and 24 months, are: weight loss, physical activity, and glycaemic control (HbA1c), with weight loss and physical activity also measured at 12 months. Incremental cost-effectiveness will also be examined. Study recruitment began in February 2009, with final data collection expected by February 2013. Discussion This is the first study to evaluate the telephone as the primary method of delivering a behavioural weight loss intervention in type 2 diabetes. The evaluation of maintenance outcomes (6 months following the end of intervention), the use of accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity, and the inclusion of a cost-effectiveness analysis will advance the science of broad reach approaches to weight control and health behaviour change, and will build the evidence base needed to advocate for the translation of this work into population health practice

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The socio-economic and psychological determinants of student academic outcomes in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country characterised by tremendous linguistic, environmental, and cultural diversity, has experienced a history of educational reform and political and social turbulence. Attempts to inform educational interventions and successful policy change in PNG have been erratic. In addition, there is a paucity of sound methodological research which has impeded effective change. As such, little is known about the key determinants of academic outcomes for PNG students. The purpose of the current study was to test a comprehensive cross-cultural model of the relation of a suite of psycho-social constructs to academic outcomes for PNG students from urban, rural, and village educational settings. This model examined the influence of socio-economic status, parent education, future goal orientation, perceived instrumental value, motivation, self-concept, and self-regulation upon PNG students’ academic outcomes. In order to test this model in PNG, three main studies were conducted. The first study (n=917) aimed to examine the psychometric properties of relevant instrumentation, and the differences in students’ endorsement of future goals, perceived instrumentality, motivation, self-concept, and self-regulation, across different groups in PNG. This study found the instrumentation to be valid and reliable for use in PNG, as well as structurally invariant across gender, grade, and region groups. Gender, grade, and region profile differences were also found for each of the five psychological variables. The second study (n=917) aimed to examine the relations between key socio-economic and psychological factors, and the impact that these variables had upon achievement and effort outcomes. The results firstly highlighted students’ socio-economic status and parent education as being positive predictors of student outcomes. Next, village-oriented future goals and perceived instrumentality, mastery and social motivation, and domain specific academic self-concept, were all found to be significant, positive predictors of students’ achievement and effort scores. Furthermore, authority future goals and perceived instrumentality and performance motivation were found to be negative predictors of student outcomes. Finally, the third study (n=52) aimed to illuminate and extend the results of the quantitative studies with qualitative data from students, teachers, and parents. This study found that these groups emphasised the importance of future goals, perceived instrumentality, motivation, and self-regulation as predictors of students’ educational experiences, and they highlighted the underlying relations between these variables and student outcomes. Results also highlighted a number of additional psychological, linguistic, and socio-cultural factors, as serving important roles in students’ educational experiences. Findings of the current investigation were interpreted within the cross-cultural framework of the student model that was utilised. The findings have important implications for our understanding of the key determinants of student achievement and effort within PNG, but also for future cross-cultural research examining related determinants within other Indigenous, developing, and Indigenous majority countries. Furthermore, the findings have implications for future research, practice, and policy interventions within PNG, and provide guidance for the development of culturally sensitive and appropriate interventions to aid the achievement and effort of students living in PNG

School self-evaluation : a psychometric test case

Most schools espouse and ascribe to some sort of vision or mission statement. Very few schools, however, test whether their vision or mission statements are actually translated into practice. The present study provides a robust methodology for schools that may wish to determine the extent to which their vision and mission statements are perceived by their student bodies to be enacted in practice. In particular, the study provides a case study illustrating how one school evaluated the extent to which students at the school perceived the vision and mission of their school to be implemented. All 850 (approx.) students at the school were surveyed concerning various aspects of the school’s vision and mission: including the perceived quality of the school’s curriculum, its focus on excellence, its contribution to students’ preparation for life, its values, etc. Using this case study, the paper demonstrates how a survey can be designed to measure specific aspects of a school’s vision/mission, how the data gathered through such a survey may be analysed to determine its validity and reliability, and finally how the survey results may be interpreted to determine the extent to which the school is perceived to be fulfilling its mission statement by its key “clients” – the student body. Implications for school administration and assessment are highlighted throughout the paper