Ethical Deception by Prosecutors

This Comment discusses the Colorado Supreme Court\u27s suspension of Assistant District Attorney Mark Pautler for deceitful conduct in securing the surrender of an axe murderer on a killing spree. Although many thought Pautler\u27s conduct was morally acceptable, disciplinary authorities found that he violated ethical rules governing attorney conduct. Using People v. Pautler as a case study, this Comment sorts through relevant, current interpretations of the ethnics rule and proposes an approach for future analysis

The use, role and reception of open badges as a method for formative and summative reward in two Massive Open Online Courses

Open online learning courses such as cMOOCs and xMOOCs differ from conventional courses yet it remains uncertain how, and if, existing common yet costly practices associated with teacher-driven formative and summative assessment strategies can be made to work in this new context. For courses that carry no charge for registration or participation, authors of open online courses have to consider alternative approaches to engaging, motivating and sustaining study and for helping participants manage, plan and demonstrate their own learning. One such approach is that of open badges or similar such visual public symbols that communicate to others a particular quality, achievement or affiliation possessed by the owner. This paper reports the role, reception and use of open badges in two ‘massive’ open online courses delivered in 2013 with attention to varied functions of badges and the a distinction between formative and summative applications. The paper will then draw upon data from end of course surveys, which specifically asked about badges, pre-course surveys, and user comments made during the course on platforms such as Twitter to examine what value participants ascribed to the open badges. Although there was found to be a broadly positive response to badges in both MOOCs, the reasons for this were often very different, and approximately a quarter of respondents remained sceptical or concerned about their role. The paper concludes by reflecting on the open badge as a formative instrument for providing the learner with an indication of progress and achievement

What We Tell The Police when they Come To Our Camp

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Morning in the Bird Room

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Characterisation of novel lung cancer cell lines for immuno-inhibitory markers

The present study investigates the expression of immune biomarkers, PD-L1 and HLA-1 on novel lung cancer cell lines (H838, H838-EGFR, A549, A549-ALK, HCC 827, NCI 1650, TWIT, Jacket). PD-L1 and HLA-1 characterisation were initially performed and analysed via flow cytometry. These results showed that the expression of PD-L1 and HLA-1 varies across the cell lines from high percent to low. The effect of IFNy on biomarkers expression was also investigated following a 48 hour incubation period. of the cell lines analysed the expression of PD-L1 increases with IFNy stimulation whilst HLA-1 remains relatively unchanged. Trypan blue assays for cell viability were performed, showing that when stimulated, cells were 100% viable whereas viability decreases upon IFNy exposure

OULDI-JISC Project Evaluation Report: the impact of new curriculum design tools and approaches on institutional process and design cultures

This report presents research and evaluation undertaken by the OULDI-JISC Project (Open University Learning Design Initiative JISC Project) between 2008 and 2012. In particular, it considers the impact of new curriculum design tools and approaches piloted by the project on institutional processes and design cultures. These tools and approaches include tools for sharing learning design expertise (Cloudworks), visualising designs (CompendiumLD, Module Map, Activity Profile) and for supporting design and reflection in workshops (Facilitation Cards, workshop activities, etc.). The project has adopted a learning design approach so as to help foreground pedagogy and learner experience. Nine pilots have been completed across six UK universities

MOOC Badging and the Learning Arc

The first part of the post expands on some of our thinking behind the digital badging strategy used in the 2012 OLDS MOOC by using a pictorial representation to explain the place of the badges in the course. This is predicated on (a) the idea that a course, just like a novel, a movie or a video game, contains a broad central 'story arc' - a 'learning arc' or journey with a start (beginning of course) and an end, and (b) the idea that there are different types of badge that have different relationships with this learning arc. The second part reflects some of our initial critical consideration of what the roles and benefits of badges may be. As the post is intended as a discussion piece, we welcome your thoughts and responses

Athletes\u27 Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Concussions

Concussions are a serious injury with significant short and long-term consequences. With the increasing awareness of the dangers of concussions, research has been directed toward educating coaches, athletes, and clinicians about this condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate DII football athletes’ knowledge and attitudes toward concussion, so we can determine what education is necessary to better inform them, in order to be able to conduct a more efficient evaluation. A total of 55 male football athletes from NCAA DII institutions agreed to take part in the survey on a voluntary basis. Subjects completed a survey assessing athletes’ knowledge and attitudes toward concussions. Survey questions included those on concussion symptoms, return to play guidelines, and education they received about concussions prior to taking this survey. The results of the study indicated that the majority of subjects had received some type of education on concussions. There were no statistically significant changes observed among any of the survey questions regarding knowledge and attitudes toward concussions, except for one which addressed the long-term effects of returning to play too soon following a concussion. Other significant findings were related to return to play protocol. Based on the results of the study, we determined that DII football athletes are well-informed about concussions, but that this general knowledge does not necessarily facilitate an attitude change in how they perceive concussions. Future efforts should be directed toward evaluating the effectiveness of concussion education for specific changes in overall perception, causing athletes to report concussions on a more consistent basis, regardless of the severity of the symptoms or the situation in which the concussion is sustained

Flow cytometric phenotyping of diverse human cancer cell lines for immunological biomarkers expression

The tumour microenvironment contains a variety of distinct factors that inhibit the immune system and can cause drug resistance. Some of these factors include the expression of cell surface markers which interact directly with immune cells. Cancer cells express programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and reduce the expression of major-histocompatibility complex class I, death-receptors 4/5 and Fas, limiting immune-mediated cancer cell killing. Targeting these immune markers alone or in combination could potentially increase cancer cell death and improve drug efficacy. Utilising flow cytometric analysis on breast, prostate and colorectal cancer cell lines, we have found differential expression of these markers depending on the cancer type. These findings provide a platform for future work that will entail siRNA knockdown of PD-L1 to determine the tumour-intrinsic role of this ligand, in addition to combination therapies in 2D and 3D cell culture