What effects do profit, performativity, and competition have on the day to day experiences of teachers in an international school in Taiwan?

The for-profit educational model, which originated out of neoliberal market ideologies, has had steady growth within the international educational landscape for the past twenty years. Imbedded within this system is a competitive ethos that aims to prove itself through performative, audit based initiatives. It is the purpose of this paper to analyze how performativity, competition, and standardization have impacted the individual realities of teachers working within a for-profit international school in Taiwan. The data was generated out of five in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews that were conducted at the end of the final semester of school. The interviews were recorded digitally and then transcribed for analysis. Key themes that arose out of the data pointed to a lack of trust given to the teachers to be self-determining educators able to have an active involvement in the direction of the school. This left a number of participants feeling disenfranchised to the point that, in some instances, they felt forced to fabricate practices to meet the perceived needs of parents and administration. They also suggested a lack of structure directed by a leadership that was not educationally focused but rather made decisions based on profit maximization. Resultantly, the participants were increasingly antagonistic towards administrators and also other teachers within the school. Arguably, the for-profit education model, with is over emphasis on individual entrepreneurialism, competition, and accountability is not conducive to creating a community focused educational environment. What is crucial is a supportive leadership that acknowledges the efforts of its teaching staff. Though the study is small in scale, and would benefit from a deepening of breadth and context, it does support and strengthen similar research in the field

Variable temperature stress in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Maupas) and its implications for sensitivity to an additional chemical stressor

A wealth of studies has investigated how chemical sensitivity is affected by temperature, however, almost always under different constant rather than more realistic fluctuating regimes. Here we compared how the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans responds to copper at constant temperatures (8–24°C) and under fluctuation conditions of low (±4°C) and high (±8°C) amplitude (averages of 12, 16, 20°C and 16°C respectively). The DEBkiss model was used to interpret effects on energy budgets. Increasing constant temperature from 12–24°C reduced time to first egg, life-span and population growth rates consistent with temperature driven metabolic rate change. Responses at 8°C did not, however, accord with this pattern (including a deviation from the Temperature Size Rule), identifying a cold stress effect. High amplitude variation and low amplitude variation around a mean temperature of 12°C impacted reproduction and body size compared to nematodes kept at the matching average constant temperatures. Copper exposure affected reproduction, body size and life-span and consequently population growth. Sensitivity to copper (EC50 values), was similar at intermediate temperatures (12, 16, 20°C) and higher at 24°C and especially the innately stressful 8°C condition. Temperature variation did not increase copper sensitivity. Indeed under variable conditions including time at the stressful 8°C condition, sensitivity was reduced. DEBkiss identified increased maintenance costs and increased assimilation as possible mechanisms for cold and higher copper concentration effects. Model analysis of combined variable temperature effects, however, demonstrated no additional joint stressor response. Hence, concerns that exposure to temperature fluctuations may sensitise species to co-stressor effects seem unfounded in this case

Uncovering cryptic asexuality in Daphnia magna by RAD sequencing

The breeding systems of many organisms are cryptic and difficult to investigate with observational data, yet they have profound effects on a species’ ecology, evolution, and genome organization. Genomic approaches offer a novel, indirect way to investigate breeding systems, specifically by studying the transmission of genetic information from parents to offspring. Here we exemplify this method through an assessment of self-fertilization vs. automictic parthenogenesis in Daphnia magna. Self-fertilization reduces heterozygosity by 50% compared to the parents, but under automixis, whereby two haploid products from a single meiosis fuse, the expected heterozygosity reduction depends on whether the two meiotic products are separated during meiosis I or II (i.e., central vs. terminal fusion). Reviewing the existing literature and incorporating recombination interference, we derive an interchromosomal and an intrachromosomal prediction of how to distinguish various forms of automixis from self-fertilization using offspring heterozygosity data. We then test these predictions using RAD-sequencing data on presumed automictic diapause offspring of so-called nonmale producing strains and compare them with “self-fertilized” offspring produced by within-clone mating. The results unequivocally show that these offspring were produced by automixis, mostly, but not exclusively, through terminal fusion. However, the results also show that this conclusion was only possible owing to genome-wide heterozygosity data, with phenotypic data as well as data from microsatellite markers yielding inconclusive or even misleading results. Our study thus demonstrates how to use the power of genomic approaches for elucidating breeding systems, and it provides the first demonstration of automictic parthenogenesis in Daphnia

Alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonists for the prevention of delirium and cognitive decline after open heart surgery (ALPHA2PREVENT): protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative delirium is common in older cardiac surgery patients and associated with negative short-term and long-term outcomes. The alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist dexmedetomidine shows promise as prophylaxis and treatment for delirium in intensive care units (ICU) and postoperative settings. Clonidine has similar pharmacological properties and can be administered both parenterally and orally. We aim to study whether repurposing of clonidine can represent a novel treatment option for delirium, and the possible effects of dexmedetomidine and clonidine on long-term cognitive trajectories, motor activity patterns and biomarkers of neuronal injury, and whether these effects are associated with frailty status. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This five-centre, double-blind randomised controlled trial will include 900 cardiac surgery patients aged 70+ years. Participants will be randomised 1:1:1 to dexmedetomidine or clonidine or placebo. The study drug will be given as a continuous intravenous infusion from the start of cardiopulmonary bypass, at a rate of 0.4 µg/kg/hour. The infusion rate will be decreased to 0.2 µg/kg/hour postoperatively and be continued until discharge from the ICU or 24 hours postoperatively, whichever happens first.Primary end point is the 7-day cumulative incidence of postoperative delirium (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition). Secondary end points include the composite end point of coma, delirium or death, in addition to delirium severity and motor activity patterns, levels of circulating biomarkers of neuronal injury, cognitive function and frailty status 1 and 6 months after surgery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This trial is approved by the Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research in Norway (South-East Norway) and by the Norwegian Medicines Agency. Dissemination plans include publication in peer-reviewed medical journals and presentation at scientific meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05029050

What effects do profit, performativity, and competition have on the day to day experiences of teachers in an international school in Taiwan?

The for-profit educational model, which originated out of neoliberal market ideologies, has had steady growth within the international educational landscape for the past twenty years. Imbedded within this system is a competitive ethos that aims to prove itself through performative, audit based initiatives. It is the purpose of this paper to analyze how performativity, competition, and standardization have impacted the individual realities of teachers working within a for-profit international school in Taiwan. The data was generated out of five in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews that were conducted at the end of the final semester of school. The interviews were recorded digitally and then transcribed for analysis. Key themes that arose out of the data pointed to a lack of trust given to the teachers to be self-determining educators able to have an active involvement in the direction of the school. This left a number of participants feeling disenfranchised to the point that, in some instances, they felt forced to fabricate practices to meet the perceived needs of parents and administration. They also suggested a lack of structure directed by a leadership that was not educationally focused but rather made decisions based on profit maximization. Resultantly, the participants were increasingly antagonistic towards administrators and also other teachers within the school. Arguably, the for-profit education model, with is over emphasis on individual entrepreneurialism, competition, and accountability is not conducive to creating a community focused educational environment. What is crucial is a supportive leadership that acknowledges the efforts of its teaching staff. Though the study is small in scale, and would benefit from a deepening of breadth and context, it does support and strengthen similar research in the field