Personalised learning for the student-consumer

This paper seeks to contribute to the development of personal tutoring, as a key aspect of learner-centric pedagogy, in response to the changing profile of HE students, (especially in terms of the social and cultural capital which they bring with them, which shapes what and how they want to learn), and the marketisation of HE. It will challenge some of the prevailing views about student engagement, in order to contribute to the development of learning cultures which are relevant to the 21st century (McWilliam, 2010), and to enable personal tutoring to add value to the experience of all students, by explicitly recognising the diverse range of competencies and literacies which students bring to their studies, and enabling students to use these resources to shape their own learning experience. Personal tutoring is commonly understood as a means of helping to ensure ‘student engagement’, and in debates about student engagement, the concept of ‘student as partner’ (SaP) is commonly used in opposition (and in preference) to the concept of ‘student as consumer’ (SaC), but it will be argued that this is a spurious distinction which privileges some ways of learning above others, fails to value the cultural competencies and literacies which all students bring with them, and to appreciate the wide range of learning styles which different students might prefer, or might adopt in different situations, and therefore marginalizes and alienates learners who do not conform to acceptable forms of student behavior which are recognized as evidence of ‘active’ engagement. To develop effective personal tutoring which reflects the diversity of C21st students, we need to transcend the binary opposition between SaP and SaC, by recognizing and embracing that students are active consumers, engaged in the development of their own identities, and that their co-creation of their learning experience is one of the ways they do this

MRX87 family with Aristaless X dup24bp mutation and implication for polyAlanine expansions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cognitive impairments are heterogeneous conditions, and it is estimated that 10% may be caused by a defect of mental function genes on the X chromosome. One of those genes is <it>Aristaless related homeobox </it>(<it>ARX</it>) encoding a polyA-rich homeobox transcription factor essential for cerebral patterning and its mutations cause different neurologic disorders. We reported on the clinical and genetic analysis of an Italian family with X-linked mental retardation (XLMR) and intra-familial heterogeneity, and provided insight into its molecular defect.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We carried out on linkage-candidate gene studies in a new MRX family (MRX87). All coding regions and exon-intron boundaries of ARX gene were analysed by direct sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MRX87 patients had moderate to profound cognition impairment and a combination of minor congenital anomalies. The disease locus, MRX87, was mapped between DXS7104 and DXS1214, placing it in Xp22-p21 interval, a hot spot region for mental handicap. An in frame duplication of 24 bp (ARXdup24) in the second polyAlanine tract (polyA_II) in ARX was identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study underlines the role of ARXdup24 as a critical mutational site causing mental retardation linked to Xp22. Phenotypic heterogeneity of MRX87 patients represents a new observation relevant to the functional consequences of polyAlanine expansions enriching the puzzling complexity of ARXdup24-linked diseases.</p

Reconceptualizing power and gendered subjectivities in domestic cooking spaces

Drawing on evidence from the Global North and South, this paper explores the power dynamics of domestic kitchens in different geographical contexts. Noting the gendered nature of domesticity, it contrasts those perspectives which regard women’s primary responsibility for foodwork as inherently oppressive, with others which see kitchens and associated domestic spaces as sites of potential empowerment for women. The paper explores the complex, spatially-distributed, character of power surrounding domestic foodwork, decentring Anglo-American understandings of the relationship between gender, power and domestic space by foregrounding the experiences of a range of women from across the globe. The paper also examines the increasing role of men in domestic settings, particularly in the Global North, assessing the extent to which their engagement in cooking and other domestic practices may be challenging conventional understandings of the relationship between gender, power and space. Focusing on the spatial dynamics of the domestic kitchen, this paper advances a more nuanced understanding of the co-constitutive nature of the relationship between gender and power, including the instabilities and slippages that occur in the performance of various domestic foodwork tasks. The paper advocates future research on the boundaries of home, work and leisure, focusing on their significance in the constitution and transformation of male and female subjectivities