Paying for Overhead: A Study of the Impact of Foundations' Overhead Payment Policies on Educational and Human Service Organizations

Examines the impact of foundations' overhead funding policies on educational and human services organizations, using data from two original surveys and six case studies

Application of NASAP to the design of communication circuits

Modifications to CDC 3600 NASAP for design of linear communication circuit

Experiencing visual impairment in a lifetime home: an interpretative phenomenological inquiry

Lifetime home standards (LTHS) are a set of standards aimed at making homes more accessible. Previous research, however, indicates that LTHS do not adequately meet the needs of those with sensory impairments. Now, with visual impairment set to increase globally and acknowledging the recognised link between quality of dwelling and wellbeing, this article aims to examine the experiences of visually impaired people living in lifetime homes. The objectives are to investigate existing lifetime homes and to identify whether LTHS meet occupants’ needs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with six visually impaired people living in homes designed to LTHS in Northern Ireland. Collected data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis identifying three super-ordinate themes: (1) living with visual impairment; (2) design considerations and (3) coping strategies. A core theme of balance between psychological and physical needs emerged through interconnection of super-ordinate themes. Although there are benefits to living in lifetime homes, negative aspects are also apparent with occupants employing several coping strategies to overcome difficulties. Whilst residents experience negative emotions following visual impairment diagnoses, results suggest that occupants still regard their homes as key places of security and comfort in addition to then highlighting the need for greater consideration of specific individual needs within general guidelines

Everyday learning at work: communities of practice in TAFE.

Ongoing restructuring, new types of students, changes in systems and the movement of staff within sections and institutes are only some of the daily challenges facing practitioners in many areas of TAFE as they grapple with the notion of organisational flexibility and customer responsiveness. This paper looks at how members of four workgroups based in two metropolitan institutes are dealing with challenges through informal learning. This paper draws from preliminary findings of an Australian Research Council collaborative research project concerned with determining the significance of informal learning and its contribution to organisational performance. The project is currently midway through and has completed interviews and held feedback sessions with members of four workgroups undertaking quite different types of work. While the project is based in an educational organisation, the major focus of the research project is on TAFE as a workplace. Wenger has written extensively on communities of practice and his work provides a new perspective for viewing learning occurring in workplaces (Wenger, 1998). This paper draws from Wenger’s theoretical work and views the four workgroups from the point of view of communities of practice. In doing so, it enables many of the everyday work practices of the workgroups to be articulated as ‘learning’. This offers potential for learning and development because it begins to foreground practices within TAFE that may foster informal learning environments and strengthen what is already occurring in these communities

The role of the microbiome in driving RA-related autoimmunity

Once referred to as “normal commensal flora” the human microbiome plays an integral role between health and disease. The host mucosal surface replete with a multitude of immune cells is a vast arena constantly sensing and responding to antigen presentation and microbial by-products. It is this key role that may allow the microbiome to prime or protect the host from autoimmune disease. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, disabling inflammatory condition characterized by a complex multifactorial etiology. The presence of certain genetic markers has been proven to increase susceptibility to RA however it does not guarantee disease development. Given low concordance rates demonstrated in monozygotic twin studies there is a clear implication for the involvement of external players in RA pathogenesis. Since the historical description of rheumatoid factor, numerous additional autoantibodies have been described in the sera of RA patients. The presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated protein antibody is now a standard test, and is associated with a more severe disease course. Interestingly these antibodies are detectable in patient’s sera long before the clinical signs of RA occur. The production of autoantibodies is driven by the lack of tolerance of the immune system, and how tolerance is broken is a crucial question for understanding RA development. Here we review current literature on the role of the microbiome in RA development including periodontal, gut and lung mucosa, with particular focus on proposed mechanisms of host microbiome interactions. We discuss the use of Mendelian randomization to assign causality to the microbiome and present considerations for future studies