Factors associated with statutory consortium effectiveness : a case study of one Virginia consortium for continuing higher education

The purpose of this study was to determine if a statutory higher education consortium possesses the attributes generally associated with effective voluntary higher education consortia. Also, the research attempted to discover if there are other attributes which would contribute to the effectiveness of statutory higher education consortia.;A review of the literature on voluntary consortia revealed that voluntary higher education consortia regarded as effective generally (1) have clear, concise goals; (2) have an open, two-way communication system; (3) are supported by the presidents of the member institutions; (4) engage in incremental planning; (5) have an effective administrator/director; and (6) are perceived as useful by the members.;Using case study methodology, one Virginia Consortium for Continuing Higher Education was examined to determine if the effectiveness attributes of voluntary consortia were present in this statutory higher education consortium and to determine if other attributes might also be essential for statutory consortium effectiveness. Interviews were held with the key people associated with the consortium under study. Consortium documents located at each interview site were examined. The data were evaluated through triangulation techniques.;This statutory consortium did have a clear, concise mission and did have an open, two-way communication system. Presidential support was found to be limited and the consortium\u27s usefulness to its members are restricted to secondary factors. The consortium leadership was viewed as effective although within a more narrow conception of leadership than that generally found in an effective voluntary consortium. Finally, evidence indicated that the consortium had no incremental planning process.;This research suggests that, to encourage the effectiveness of a statutory higher education consortium, the establishing agency should insure that several criteria are satisfied: (1) institutions must want to cooperate, (2) the reasons for cooperation must be clear, (3) incentives for cooperation must be provided, (4) all members must share equitably in the cooperative endeavor, (5) communication must be open and two-way, (6) the member institution presidents must support the consortium, (7) a planning process must be put in place, (8) the consortium administrator must be an effective leader, and (9) the external population the consortium plans to serve must be encouraged to use the consortium\u27s services

Sustainability at University College Cork

Abstract. UCC has been a leading institution for sustainability in Ireland and beyond for a number of decades. The approach at UCC has been to integrate sustainability within the operations, teaching, research and engagment activities of the University. Operationally UCC implements best practice in managing water consumption and disposal. Through our Green Campus programme, students, academic and professional services staff are actively engaged in environmental management on campus. Our water conservation efforts have followed the approach taken with energy management through our Saver Saves scheme. This scheme established Green Teams within Buildings and a revolving fund mechanism whereby teams were incentivised to reduce consumption and supported to implement projects specific to their individual setting. A major exercise to baseline water consumption was undertaken a number of years ago and drawing on these findings, specific projects have been implemented to improve efficiency. This paper will explore sustainability at UCC across operations, teaching, research and engagement with a specific focus on water. Keyword: Sustainability, energy consumption, single-use plastics, universit

Healthy cities and the transition movement: converging towards ecological well-being?

This commentary identifies similarities, differences and opportunities for synergy and mutual learning between the Healthy Cities and the Transition movements. We outline what we consider to be the 'pressing issues' facing humanity and the planet in the early 21(st) century; consider the extent to which health promotion has engaged with and addressed these issues; compare Healthy Cities and the Transition movement; and conclude by suggesting possibilities for moving forward

Innovative approaches for research led education: UCC’s Green Campus Living Laboratory Programme

Ireland’s National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (2014-2020), highlights the need to equip students with “the relevant knowledge (the ‘what’), the key dispositions and skills (the ‘how’) and the values (the ‘why’)” to contribute to a more sustainable future (Department of Education and Skills, 2014). Delivering on this challenge requires embedding sustainability within both the formal and informal learning that occurs on campus (Hopkinson et al. 2008), while also integrating sustainability both within and across disciplines (Byrne et al., 2018). UCC is a global leader in sustainability in higher education, being the first University in the world to be awarded a Green Flag from the Foundation for Environmental Education (Reidy et al, 2015). Sustainability at UCC is “student-led, research-informed, and practice-focused” that is, the programme takes an integrated approach and aims to utilise the collective student agency and research capability to deliver real and lasting change on the ground (Pelenc et al. 2015). UCC’s Academic Strategy, with sustainability and interdisciplinarity as key components of the new “Connected Curriculum”, aims to “facilitate students to develop values, skills and aptitudes that promote civic participation, social inclusion, sustainability, digital fluency and impactful, global citizenship” (UCC, 2018). A key aim of delivering its Sustainability Strategy is that UCC would become a “Living Laboratory”, where students, academics and practitioners work together, using the campus itself as a testbed for solutions to today’s major societal challenges (UCC, 2016). A Living Laboratory project should aim to: • Solve a real-life problem • Be based on a partnership among key stakeholders, often crossing disciplinary and/or sectoral boundaries • Trial and test ideas in real life settings • Share data and findings generated openly (EAUC, 2017)

Comparative analysis of homology models of the Ah receptor ligand binding domain: Verification of structure-function predictions by site-directed mutagenesis of a nonfunctional receptor

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that mediates the biological and toxic effects of a wide variety of structurally diverse chemicals, including the toxic environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). While significant interspecies differences in AHR ligand binding specificity, selectivity, and response have been observed, the structural determinants responsible for those differences have not been determined, and homology models of the AHR ligand-binding domain (LBD) are available for only a few species. Here we describe the development and comparative analysis of homology models of the LBD of 16 AHRs from 12 mammalian and nonmammalian species and identify the specific residues contained within their ligand binding cavities. The ligand-binding cavity of the fish AHR exhibits differences from those of mammalian and avian AHRs, suggesting a slightly different TCDD binding mode. Comparison of the internal cavity in the LBD model of zebrafish (zf) AHR2, which binds TCDD with high affinity, to that of zfAHR1a, which does not bind TCDD, revealed that the latter has a dramatically shortened binding cavity due to the side chains of three residues (Tyr296, Thr386, and His388) that reduce the amount of internal space available to TCDD. Mutagenesis of two of these residues in zfAHR1a to those present in zfAHR2 (Y296H and T386A) restored the ability of zfAHR1a to bind TCDD and to exhibit TCDD-dependent binding to DNA. These results demonstrate the importance of these two amino acids and highlight the predictive potential of comparative analysis of homology models from diverse species. The availability of these AHR LBD homology models will facilitate in-depth comparative studies of AHR ligand binding and ligand-dependent AHR activation and provide a novel avenue for examining species-specific differences in AHR responsiveness. © 2013 American Chemical Society

Taking account of context in population health intervention research: guidance for producers, users and funders of research

Population health intervention research (PHIR) seeks to develop and evaluate policies, programmes and other types of interventions that may affect population health and health equity. Such interventions are strongly influenced by context – taken to refer to any feature of the circumstances in which an intervention is conceived, developed, implemented and evaluated. Understanding how interventions relate to context is critical to understanding how they work; why they sometimes fail; whether they can be successfully adapted, scaled up or translated from one context to another; why their impacts vary; and how far effects observed in one context can be generalised to others. Concerns that context has been neglected in research to develop and evaluate population health interventions have been expressed for at least 20 years. Over this period, an increasingly comprehensive body of guidance has been developed to help with the design, conduct, reporting and appraisal of PHIR. References to context have become more frequent in recent years, as interest has grown in complex and upstream interventions, systems thinking and realist approaches to evaluation, but there remains a lack of systematic guidance for producers, users and funders of PHIR on how context should be taken into account. This document draws together recent thinking and practical experience of addressing context within PHIR. It provides a broad, working definition of context and explains why and how context is important to PHIR. It identifies the dimensions of context that are likely to shape how interventions are conceptualised, the impacts that they have and how they can be implemented, translated and scaled up. It suggests how context should be taken into account throughout the PHIR process, from priority setting and intervention development to the design and conduct of evaluations and reporting, synthesis and knowledge exchange. It concludes by summarising the key messages for producers, users and funders of PHIR and suggesting priorities for future research. The document is meant to be used alongside existing guidance for the development, evaluation and reporting of population health interventions. We expect the guidance to evolve over time, as practice changes in the light of the guidance and experience accumulates on useful approaches. The work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca) – Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH) and the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)

Preparedness for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Pandemic in Africa

Africa’s strategies for pandemic influenza must also strengthen overall public health capacity

Immunopotentiation of Trivalent Influenza Vaccine When Given with VAX102, a Recombinant Influenza M2e Vaccine Fused to the TLR5 Ligand Flagellin

BACKGROUND: Currently controversy exists about the immunogenicity of seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine in certain populations, especially the elderly. STF2.4×M2e (VAX102) is a recombinant fusion protein that links four copies of the ectodomain of influenza virus matrix protein 2 (M2e) antigen to Salmonella typhimurium flagellin, a TLR5 ligand. The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility of giving VAX102 and TIV in combination in an effort to achieve greater immunogenicity and to provide cross-protection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eighty healthy subjects, 18-49 years old, were enrolled in May and June 2009 in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial at two clinical sites. Subjects were randomized to receive either TIV + VAX102 or TIV + placebo. Both arms tolerated the vaccines. Pain at the injection site was more severe with TIV + VAX102. Two weeks after immunization the HAI responses to the H1 and H3 antigens of TIV were higher in those that received TIV + VAX102 than in TIV + placebo (309 vs 200 and 269 vs 185, respectively), although statistically non-significant. There was no difference in the HAI of the B antigen. In the TIV + VAX102 arm, the geometric mean M2e antibody concentration was 0.5 µg/ml and 73% seroconverted. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The combination of TIV + VAX102 has the potential to increase the immune response to the influenza A components of TIV and to provide M2e immunity which may protect against influenza A strains not contained in seasonal TIV. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00921973