Pedagogical Education Practices in Communication Sciences and Disorders PhD Programs: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to ascertain how research doctoral programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) characterize their own efforts to educate research doctoral students about teaching at the college/university level; and (2) whether and how programs introduce the “scholarship of teaching and learning” (SoTL) to PhD students. PhD program directors (N=69) were emailed a survey for descriptions of university teaching instruction and SoTL activities, with a 27.5% return rate (n=19). Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. Identified themes included, “course or seminar”, “experiential” and “required”. One hundred per cent of respondents offer teaching experiences and 58% require student participation. Sixty-three per cent offer a teaching course while 42% require the course. It is unclear from the current data whether CSD PhD students are exposed to SoTL. Given the robust, cross-disciplinary literature on teaching and learning, the time may be right for a discussion on including teaching education and SoTL in CSD PhD programs

Evaluation of multiplex tandem PCR (MT-PCR) assays for the detection of bacterial resistance genes among Enterobacteriaceae in clinical urines

Background: Increasing resistance drives empirical use of less potent and previously reserved antibiotics, including for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Molecular profiling, without culture, might better guide early therapy.  Objectives: To explore the potential of AusDiagnostics multiplex tandem (MT) PCR UTI assays.  Methods: Two MT-PCR assays were developed successively, seeking 8 or 16 resistance genes. Amplification was tracked in real time, with melting temperatures used to confirm product identity. Assays were variously performed on: (i) extracted DNA; (ii) cultured bacteria; (iii) urine spiked with reference strains; and (iv) bacteria harvested from clinical urines. Results were compared with those from sequencing, real-time SybrGreen PCR or phenotypic susceptibility.  Results: Performance was similar irrespective of whether DNA, cultures or urines were used, with >90% sensitivity and specificity with respect to common β-lactamases, dfr genes and aminoglycoside resistance determinants except aadA1/A2/A3, for which carriage correlated poorly with streptomycin resistance. Fluoroquinolone-susceptible and -resistant Escherichia coli (but not other species) were distinguished by the melting temperatures of their gyrA PCR products. The time from urine to results was <3 h.  Conclusions: The MT-PCR assays rapidly identified resistance genes from Gram-negative bacteria in urines as well as from cultivated bacteria. Used directly on urines, this assay has the potential to guide early therapy

Phase transitions and volunteering in spatial public goods games

Cooperative behavior among unrelated individuals in human and animal societies represents a most intriguing puzzle to scientists in various disciplines. Here we present a simple yet effective mechanism promoting cooperation under full anonymity by allowing for voluntary participation in public goods games. This natural extension leads to rock--scissors--paper type cyclic dominance of the three strategies cooperate, defect and loner i.e. those unwilling to participate in the public enterprise. In spatial settings with players arranged on a regular lattice this results in interesting dynamical properties and intriguing spatio-temporal patterns. In particular, variations of the value of the public good leads to transitions between one-, two- and three-strategy states which are either in the class of directed percolation or show interesting analogies to Ising-type models. Although volunteering is incapable of stabilizing cooperation, it efficiently prevents successful spreading of selfish behavior and enables cooperators to persist at substantial levels.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Changing Hearts and Minds: The Impact of Choose Life Project Events in Higher Education - Final Report

This research is part of an inter-related three-fold research project, details of which can be found later in the report. It entailed a qualitative, online, open-ended question survey with 31 students in five universities in England. The students were studying criminal justice and/or criminal justice-related programmes. It aimed to evaluate the personal, academic, and professional impact of a Choose Life Project event on students. The research also entailed an ethnographic element in which the researchers observed and interacted with the study’s participants and volunteers at the Choose Life Project events. The findings of which are conveyed in a preliminary report published in March 2023 (Corteen and Hughes-Stanley, 2023) and in this final report

Changing Hearts and Minds: The Impact of Choose Life Project Events in Higher Education - Summary Report

The Universities evaluation entailed a qualitative, online, open-ended question survey with 31 students in five universities in England. The students were studying criminal justice and/or criminal justice-related programmes. As well as the open-ended survey, the research also entailed an ethnographic element in which the researchers observed and interacted with the study’s participants and volunteers at the CLP events. This research began at the request of practitioner Steve Duffy, the Choose Life Project Founder and Manager. Steve asked for an evidence-based evaluation of the Choose Life Project (hereafter CLP) in order to explore its impacts and the extent to which it makes a difference to the students who experience it. The CLP provides substance use and addiction education for young people, students and 7 professionals and it has done so in the community for over 15 years (Choose Life Project, 2020)

Time correlations and 1/f behavior in backscattering radar reflectivity measurements from cirrus cloud ice fluctuations

The state of the atmosphere is governed by the classical laws of fluid motion and exhibits correlations in various spatial and temporal scales. These correlations are crucial to understand the short and long term trends in climate. Cirrus clouds are important ingredients of the atmospheric boundary layer. To improve future parameterization of cirrus clouds in climate models, it is important to understand the cloud properties and how they change within the cloud. We study correlations in the fluctuations of radar signals obtained at isodepths of winter and fall cirrus clouds. In particular we focus on three quantities: (i) the backscattering cross-section, (ii) the Doppler velocity and (iii) the Doppler spectral width. They correspond to the physical coefficients used in Navier Stokes equations to describe flows, i.e. bulk modulus, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. In all cases we find that power-law time correlations exist with a crossover between regimes at about 3 to 5 min. We also find that different type of correlations, including 1/f behavior, characterize the top and the bottom layers and the bulk of the clouds. The underlying mechanisms for such correlations are suggested to originate in ice nucleation and crystal growth processes.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures; to appear in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmosphere

SAFETEL randomised controlled feasibility trial of a safety planning intervention with follow-up telephone contact to reduce suicidal behaviour: study protocol

Introduction: There are no evidence-based interventions that can be administered in hospital settings following a general hospital admission after a suicide attempt. Aim: To determine whether a safety planning intervention (SPI) with follow-up telephone support (SAFETEL) is feasible and acceptable to patients admitted to UK hospitals following a suicide attempt. Methods and Analysis: Three-phase development and feasibility study with embedded process evaluation. Phase I comprises tailoring an SPI with telephone follow-up originally designed for veterans in the USA, for use in the UK. Phase II involves piloting the intervention with patients (n=30) who have been hospitalised following a suicide attempt. Phase III is a feasibility randomised controlled trial of 120 patients who have been hospitalised following a suicide attempt with a 6-month follow-up. Phase III participants will be recruited from across four National Health Service hospitals in Scotland and randomised to receive either the SPI with telephone follow-up and treatment as usual (n=80) or treatment as usual only (n=40). The primary outcomes are feasibility outcomes and include the acceptability of the intervention to participants and intervention staff, the feasibility of delivery in this setting, recruitment, retention and intervention adherence as well as the feasibility of collecting the self-harm readmission to hospital outcome data. Statistical analyses will include description of recruitment rates, intervention adherence/use, response rates and estimates of the primary outcome event rates, and intervention effect size (Phase III). Thematic analyses will be conducted on interview and focus group data. Ethics and Dissemination: The East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (EoSRES) approved this study in March 2017 (GN17MH101 Ref: 17/ES/0036). The study results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations. A participant summary paper will also be disseminated to patients, service providers and policy makers alongside the main publication. Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN62181241