Enriching student experience and inter-professional learning of inclusive design with Second Life

This position paper reflects rapid advances in immersive 2D and 3D eLearning technologies and the expanding pool of ideas and applications in higher education across two professions. Inspiration has been drawn from examples in design learning, and various multidisciplinary collaborative projects through developmental research in Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs). Linden Lab\u27s Second Life (SL) is the most mature and popular of the &lsquo;persistent&rsquo; virtual worlds. The study described in this paper aims to increase the authenticity of student learning through a range of SL simulated &lsquo;life experiences&rsquo; relating to accessibility and mobility in the built environment. Significantly, the successes of such initiatives lie in several elements: teaching champions with vision and courage; detailed scripting of precise role-play encounters for first-time users to provide supportive &lsquo;blended learning&rsquo; contexts; careful and vigilant strategic management of facilities and resources, and a robust design program. This paper focuses on the crucial alignment of these elements to the specific challenges of designing and navigating conception and development processes, to enable the execution and delivery of a tightly defined script for meaningful and memorable learning outcomes. This innovative pedagogical approach lacks time-tested outcomes, but is recognised equally as opportunity and challenge; risk and reward.<br /

Clustering Properties of restframe UV selected galaxies II: Migration of Star Formation sites with cosmic time from GALEX and CFHTLS

We analyze the clustering properties of ultraviolet selected galaxies by using GALEX-SDSS data at z<0.6 and CFHTLS deep u' imaging at z=1. These datasets provide a unique basis at z< 1 which can be directly compared with high redshift samples built with similar selection criteria. We discuss the dependence of the correlation function parameters (r0, delta) on the ultraviolet luminosity as well as the linear bias evolution. We find that the bias parameter shows a gradual decline from high (b > 2) to low redshift (b ~ 0.79^{+0.1}_{-0.08}). When accounting for the fraction of the star formation activity enclosed in the different samples, our results suggest that the bulk of star formation migrated from high mass dark matter halos at z>2 (10^12 < M_min < 10^13 M_sun, located in high density regions), to less massive halos at low redshift (M_min < 10^12 M_sun, located in low density regions). This result extends the ``downsizing'' picture (shift of the star formation activity from high stellar mass systems at high z to low stellar mass at low z) to the dark matter distribution.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Special GALEX Ap. J. Supplement, December 2007 Version with full resolution fig1 available at http://taltos.pha.jhu.edu/~sebastien/papers/Galex_p2.ps.g

The Human Disease Ontology 2022 update.

The Human Disease Ontology (DO) (www.disease-ontology.org) database, has significantly expanded the disease content and enhanced our userbase and website since the DO\u27s 2018 Nucleic Acids Research DATABASE issue paper. Conservatively, based on available resource statistics, terms from the DO have been annotated to over 1.5 million biomedical data elements and citations, a 10× increase in the past 5 years. The DO, funded as a NHGRI Genomic Resource, plays a key role in disease knowledge organization, representation, and standardization, serving as a reference framework for multiscale biomedical data integration and analysis across thousands of clinical, biomedical and computational research projects and genomic resources around the world. This update reports on the addition of 1,793 new disease terms, a 14% increase of textual definitions and the integration of 22 137 new SubClassOf axioms defining disease to disease connections representing the DO\u27s complex disease classification. The DO\u27s updated website provides multifaceted etiology searching, enhanced documentation and educational resources

Experiences of adults providing care to a partner or relative with depression: A meta-ethnographic synthesis

Background International interest in the informal carer role has grown in part because of the relationship between caring and caregiver burden. It has been suggested that living with someone with depression is comparable to that of other serious mental health problems, such as schizophrenia or dementia. Methods This meta-ethnography included 15 studies exploring experiences of living with a relative or partner with depression. Studies were heterogeneous regarding types of relationship with the depressed individual. Results The synthesis revealed a cyclical, psychosocial process that family caregivers undergo whilst providing care to a person with depression. The process consists of four phases: making sense of depression; changes in family dynamics; overcoming challenges; and moving forward. The findings illustrate that care giving is not a static process and that the needs of the depressed person are constantly changing. Limitations Some of the studies presented in the review represent caregivers recruited via support groups and so the person cared for may not have had professional diagnoses of depression. Conclusions This synthesis indicated the need for professional support to be available to caregivers for their own mental health needs. The model put forward suggests that different types of support may be useful for caregivers at different stages of the process including couples or systemic therapy at the initial stages of management, addressing stigma to help those overcoming challenges of caring for their partner or relative and self-compassionate approaches for caregivers who may need support to look after themselves, avoid feelings of guilt and move forward towards acceptance