Small Changes - Big Difference: Bournemouth University Library and its learning community

The design of The Sir Michael Cobham Library at Bournemouth University (BU) represents an holistic approach to meeting student expectations. This paper will consider how the latest innovations in Library design are shaped by technology and learning. Parallels will be drawn with the libraries of the ancient world, printing revolution of the fifteenth century and their impact on learning. Best practice was used in the design of BU Library and continues to inform enhancements to the learning space. The big differences made by small changes are discussed; especially the changes in the boundary between group social and silent study space to ensure that library buildings are still seen as relevant in an increasingly digital world. The student experience at BU is enhanced by innovative pedagogical frameworks that bring together learning activities and academically- led quality e-resources within the unit of study. In this environment the JISC (2007) description of ICT “fading into the foreground” becomes a reality as students embrace new technologies and own the library space in which they are available

Collaboration between Librarians and Learning Technologists to enhance the learning of health sciences students.

Collaboration between Librarians and Learning Technologists at Bournemouth University (BU) has been stimulated and cemented by Pathfinder funding from the Higher Education Academy. This paper will consider four case studies collected as part of the eRes Project that describe the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the School of Health and Social Care at BU. The project aimed to enhance the student learning experience in an increasingly electronic environment. This was achieved by developing and disseminating innovative pedagogical frameworks, bringing together learning activities and academically led quality e-resources within the unit of study. An e-reading strategy which encompasses models for resource discovery and e-literacy was developed, drawing on the experiences and findings of the case studies. Issues considered in this paper will include accessing academic electronic reading materials and using a social bookmarking tool integrated within BU’s virtual learning environment with students studying away from the main campus. Additionally the paper will consider how technology can be used to motivate students, especially in large groups and how it can be used to engage students with a subject perceived as “dry” or “difficult”. The rich possibilities of health science materials can be exploited more fully using new technologies embedded within the curriculum

Get Talking Hardship Report

Get Talking Hardship was a community research project commissioned by the Hardship Commission in Stoke-on-Trent and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund through VOICES. The research was led by Staffordshire University. The lead researchers recruited a team of 43 community researchers who were trained and supported to conduct research with over 250 across Stoke-on-Trent between February and June 2019. The findings from the research informed the Hardship Commission’s five-year priorities. The project aimed to find out: • what people think about hardship and poverty in Stoke-on-Trent. • people’s ideas for what can be done to make life fairer and easier for people. The report outlines the Get Talking methodology and participants, the research findings and suggested actions for change. It concludes with a list of recommendations made to the Hardship Commission

Which aspects of socio-economic status are related to health in mid-aged and older women?

A population-based study was conducted to validate gender- and age-specific indexes of socio-economic status (SES) and to investigate the associations between these indexes and a range of health outcomes in 2 age cohorts of women. Data from 11,637 women aged 45 to 50 and 9,510 women aged 70 to 75 were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis produced four domains of SES among the mid-aged cohort (employment, family unit, education, and migration) and four domains among the older cohort (family unit, income, education, and migration). Overall, the results supported the factor structures derived from another population-based study (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1995), reinforcing the argument that SES domains differ across age groups. In general, the findings also supported the hypotheses that women with low SES would have poorer health outcomes than higher SES women, and that the magnitude of these effects would differ according to the specific SES domain and by age group, with fewer and smaller differences observed among older women. The main exception was that in the older cohort, the education domain was significantly associated with specific health conditions. Results suggest that relations between SES and health are highly complex and vary by age, SES domain, and the health outcome under study.<br /

Correction to: Identification of novel Y chromosome encoded transcripts by testis transcriptome analysis of mice with deletions of the Y chromosome long arm.

Following publication of the original article [1], the following error was reported: The actin control panel in Fig. 3 of this paper is reproduced from Fig. 7 of Touré et al, 2004 [2] by kind permission of the Genetics Society of America. Touré et al, 2004 used Northern blotting to show that the Y-linked genes Ssty1 and Ssty2 have reduced expression in a range of mouse genotypes with deletions on the Y chromosome long arm. This paper shows that two novel genes, Sly and Asty are also present on mouse Yq and have reduced expression in these deleted genotypes. A further companion paper was published in Human Molecular Genetics (Ellis et al, 2005 [3]) showing that X-linked genes are upregulated in the various deleted genotypes. Since two of the genotypes concerned are sterile and very hard to generate, all the Northern blot experiments in these papers were performed on a single membrane that was stripped and re-probed with a range of different X- and Y-linked genes. The same beta-actin loading control image thus necessarily applies to all the data presented, and was shown in all three papers. We regret that this was not mentioned appropriately in the Methods and figure legends at the time of publication

Identification of the first ATRIP-deficient patient and novel mutations in ATR define a clinical spectrum for ATR-ATRIP Seckel Syndrome

A homozygous mutational change in the Ataxia-Telangiectasia and RAD3 related (ATR) gene was previously reported in two related families displaying Seckel Syndrome (SS). Here, we provide the first identification of a Seckel Syndrome patient with mutations in ATRIP, the gene encoding ATR-Interacting Protein (ATRIP), the partner protein of ATR required for ATR stability and recruitment to the site of DNA damage. The patient has compound heterozygous mutations in ATRIP resulting in reduced ATRIP and ATR expression. A nonsense mutational change in one ATRIP allele results in a C-terminal truncated protein, which impairs ATR-ATRIP interaction; the other allele is abnormally spliced. We additionally describe two further unrelated patients native to the UK with the same novel, heterozygous mutations in ATR, which cause dramatically reduced ATR expression. All patient-derived cells showed defective DNA damage responses that can be attributed to impaired ATR-ATRIP function. Seckel Syndrome is characterised by microcephaly and growth delay, features also displayed by several related disorders including Majewski (microcephalic) osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism (MOPD) type II and Meier-Gorlin Syndrome (MGS). The identification of an ATRIP-deficient patient provides a novel genetic defect for Seckel Syndrome. Coupled with the identification of further ATR-deficient patients, our findings allow a spectrum of clinical features that can be ascribed to the ATR-ATRIP deficient sub-class of Seckel Syndrome. ATR-ATRIP patients are characterised by extremely severe microcephaly and growth delay, microtia (small ears), micrognathia (small and receding chin), and dental crowding. While aberrant bone development was mild in the original ATR-SS patient, some of the patients described here display skeletal abnormalities including, in one patient, small patellae, a feature characteristically observed in Meier-Gorlin Syndrome. Collectively, our analysis exposes an overlapping clinical manifestation between the disorders but allows an expanded spectrum of clinical features for ATR-ATRIP Seckel Syndrome to be define

Tele-branding in TVIII: the network as brand and the programme as brand

In the era of TVIII, characterized by deregulation, multimedia conglomeration, expansion and increased competition, branding has emerged as a central industrial practice. Focusing on the case of HBO, a particularly successful brand in TVIII, this article argues that branding can be understood not simply as a feature of television networks, but also as a characteristic of television programmes. It begins by examining how the network as brand is constructed and conveyed to the consumer through the use of logos, slogans and programmes. The role of programmes in the construction of brand identity is then complicated by examining the sale of programmes abroad, where programmes can be seen to contribute to the brand identity of more than one network. The article then goes on to examine programme merchandising, an increasingly central strategy in TVIII. Through an analysis of different merchandising strategies the article argues that programmes have come to act as brands in their own right, and demonstrates that the academic study of branding not only reveals the development of new industrial practices, but also offers a way of understanding the television programme and its consumption by viewers in a period when the texts of television are increasingly extended across a range of media platforms