ACEN 2018 National Conference Proceedings

This paper investigates how connectedness in graduate employability is discussed in the current topography of Australian international education (IE) policies. Tensions are explored in contemporary media articles (Powell, 2018) where high levels of particularly Chinese students in business courses are questioning continuing to study in Australia, as many peers are also Chinese. In the Art and Design context of a large research-intensive university in Sydney, the Masters of Design postgraduate program attracts high numbers of international students (IS). Participating in real-world learning and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in the Australian context is both an institutional and individual student aim, yet lack of curriculum articulation and opportunities for ‘connectedness’ with Australian creative industries can impede engagement. A selection of Australian IE policies, strategies and frameworks are reviewed to identify gaps in contextualising graduate connectedness capabilities from a government policy perspective. Four key themes emerge that support employability outcomes by higher education (HE) institutions engaging with quality teaching and learning, demonstrating careful management of IE experience, while supporting the development of partnerships and social networks. We argue that for many IS seeking a creative industry WIL experience, these connections can be difficult to achieve without greater institutional and policy support

Beyond Community Engagement: Transforming dialogues in art, education and the cultural sphere

This book reconsiders fundamental questions about relationships between community engagement, art and education within cultural spheres. Transdisciplinary chapters bring together researchers as “insider-practitioners” to challenge assumptions and offer new insights about practice, engagement and possibilities for transformation. The chapters reflect both localised projects and international perspectives on ecologies of practice as a key marker of the mobility of ideas as well as social mobility. Addressing socially engaged, informal pedagogy re-examines the aesthetic possibilities of social capital in the public domain. Re-considering contributions of education and research through transfer of knowledge and expertise across small social collectives, partnerships and larger institutional agencies is a growing practice. Examining equity and types of participation alongside issues of local and global significance is emergent in new, pop-up and continuing communities. Gauging social impact through case studies is an important project within the tertiary sector to ensure that critically reflexive visual research methodologies gain currency within contemporary neo-liberal funding and educational agendas. In the current milieux we ask, is all engagement transformative, educative, sustainable and linked to democratizing principles that address civic agendas? Re-imagining sites/situations of learning, culture and place as “practice encounters” utilises practices relevant for educators and practitioners. Applications of ecology, practice architectures and site ontologies inform broader social challenges. Conceiving arts-based research as a network, prioritises transitions and becomings to re-conceptualise the significance of relationships within local/global connectivity. Linking professional networks and agencies to adaptive communities, creates an expanded field of real world creative partnerships to enable changing pedagogies

Preserved muscle oxidative metabolic phenotype in newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer cachexia

BACKGROUND: Cachexia augments cancer-related mortality and has devastating effects on quality of life. Pre-clinical studies indicate that systemic inflammation-induced loss of muscle oxidative phenotype (OXPHEN) stimulates cancer-induced muscle wasting. The aim of the current proof of concept study is to validate the presence of muscle OXPHEN loss in newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer, especially in those with cachexia. METHODS: Quadriceps muscle biopsies of comprehensively phenotyped pre-cachectic (n = 10) and cachectic (n = 16) patients with non-small cell lung cancer prior to treatment were compared with healthy age-matched controls (n = 22). OXPHEN was determined by assessing muscle fibre type distribution (immunohistochemistry), enzyme activity (spectrophotometry), and protein expression levels of mitochondrial complexes (western blot) as well as transcript levels of (regulatory) oxidative genes (quantitative real-time PCR). Additionally, muscle fibre cross-sectional area (immunohistochemistry) and systemic inflammation (multiplex analysis) were assessed. RESULTS: Muscle fibre cross-sectional area was smaller, and plasma levels of interleukin 6 were significantly higher in cachectic patients compared with non-cachectic patients and healthy controls. No differences in muscle fibre type distribution or oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activities were observed between the groups. Mitochondrial protein expression and gene expression levels of their regulators were also not different. CONCLUSION: Muscle OXPHEN is preserved in newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer and therefore not a primary trigger of cachexia in these patients

Oscillatory respiratory mechanics on the first day of life improves prediction of respiratory outcomes in extremely preterm newborns

We aimed to evaluate if lung mechanics measured by forced oscillatory technique (FOT) during the first day of life help identify extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs) at risk of prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) and oxygen dependency