'No research is insignificant': implementing a Students-as-Researchers Festival

There are increasing demands for Higher Education (HE) students to play a role in research-active communities and, similarly, for College Based Higher Education (CBHE) lecturers to develop their research practices. A cross-consortium Student Research Festival was designed to create a collaborative 'community of discovery' (Coffield and Williamson, 2011) and enable final year students to disseminate their research studies to a wider audience. The Festival drew on current HE pedagogies to build an open communicative space in which the three dimensions of practice architecture (Kemmis et.al., 2014) were embodied. The Festival was evaluated through a Collaborative Action Research project in order to establish how the sharing of research contributed to the participants' identity as researchers. Data were analysed using the a priori categories afforded by the practice architecture framework. Valuable insights emerged into the students' conception of research, as detached from the 'real' world and belonging to the privileged few. These views were challenged by the experience of the Festival, which narrowed the gap between student and researcher and unsettled existing roles. Recommendations include widening the scope of the Festival to include other stakeholders and embedding further research building opportunities in the undergraduate curriculum

A Review of Disciplinary Interventions in K12 Public Education

As a part of the Achieving Racial Equity in School Disciplinary Policies and Practices study from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, this literature brief offers an overview of school discipline interventions in K12 public education. This includes more punitive models that have been used in the past that have contributed to racial disparities in discipline outcomes, including corporal punishment and zero-tolerance policies. Additionally, this brief offers an overview of four prominent alternative approaches to school discipline: Trauma Informed Care, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and Restorative Practices. The literature brief offers the history, theory of action, and evidence of effectiveness for each alternative discipline approach and offers a discussion of how to effectively implement them in schools. Implications for the Commonwealth of Virginia are discussed throughout the brief

A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Literature on Personal Recovery and Voice Hearing.

Personal recovery literature has been influential in the conceptualisation of emotional distress and service provision. While personal recovery in psychosis has been well-studied, voice hearing literature has not been reviewed to elucidate recovery processes. Five databases were systematically searched to identify relevant qualitative recovery literature. 12 eligible studies were included in this review and an appraisal tool was applied to assess quality. Thematic synthesis was used to examine results. Three superordinate themes were found relating to 'Recovery Phases', 'Recovery Facilitators' and 'Barriers to Recovery'. Papers included descriptions of finding voices distressing initially yet moving toward integrating and accepting voices. Searching for meaning versus seeking distance from voices were pivotal processes to recovery pathways. Enabling and disrupting recovery experiences are discussed within a proposed model. Recovery in voice hearing is an individual and potentially ongoing process. Future research should seek to examine recovery factors in voice hearing longitudinally and add further evidence to the supportive role services can play in recovery and voice hearing. [Abstract copyright: This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Glycerol extends lifespan of Brachionus manjavacas (Rotifera) and protects against stressors

AbstractDiet has profound effects on animal longevity and manipulation of nutrient sensing pathways is one of the primary interventions capable of lifespan extension. This often is done through caloric restriction (CR) and a variety of CR mimics have been identified that produce life extending effects without adhering to the rigorous CR dietary regimen. Glycerol is a dietary supplement capable mimicking CR by shifting metabolism away from glycolysis and towards oxidative phosphorylation. Glycerol supplementation has a number of beneficial effects, including lifespan extension, improved stress resistance, and enhanced locomotory and mitochondria activity in older age classes. Using rotifers as a model, we show that supplements of 150–300mM glycerol produced 40–50% extension of mean lifespan. This effect was produced by raising glycerol concentration only three times higher than its baseline concentration in rotifer tissues. Glycerol supplementation decreased rotifer reliance on glycolysis and reduced the pro-aging effects of glucose. Glycerol also acted as a chemical chaperone, mitigating damage by protein aggregation. Glycerol treatment improved rotifer swimming performance in older age classes and maintained more mitochondrial activity. Glycerol treatment provided increased resistance to starvation, heat, oxidation, and osmotic stress, but not UV stress. When glycerol was co-administered with the hexokinase inhibitor 2-deoxyglucose, the lifespan extending effect of glycerol was enhanced. Co-administration of glycerol with inhibitors like 2-deoxyglucose can lower their efficacious doses, thereby reducing their toxic side effects

Community Partnerships: Collaboration for Youth Service Learning

On behalf of the Alaska State Community Service Commission, I would like to welcome you to a series of training, forums, and workshops on Learn & Serve America programs. These programs have great potential to impact the youth and adults of our community. We are pleased to have Terry Pickeral and Rachael Vaughn with us for the week and hope to learn from them additional ways that the people of Alaska can help to create collaborative relationships for youth service, volunteerism, educational reform, and community involvement. The Alaska State Community Service Commission has been developing a State Pan that proposes strategies by which all generations of Alaskans in communities across the State can become more directly involved in meeting the social, educational, environmental, and public safety needs unique to their own areas. By building community support with parents, schools, youth, agencies, and schools, our youth in Alaska can become increasingly better citizens who are actively improving life in our communities while also preparing themselves for future careers. Thank you for attending this session on the National and Community Service Act. We are confident that the good things which come through this session will help us to continue to build successful community service opportunities

Fashion and Sustainability: Increasing Knowledge About Slow Fashion Through an Educational Module

The purpose of this study was to understand whether exposure to education about slow fashion regarding its environmental benefits would influence consumers\u27 knowledge, attitudes, and purchase intentions toward slow fashion apparel. College-aged students were recruited for this study as they were the target market of fast fashion retailers. A mixed-method approach with three phases of data collection was implemented. A total of 163 participants participated in the study. Findings have suggested that a 30 minute educational module consisting of mostly text-based information with supplementary images made a significant, positive impact on young adult consumers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward slow fashion. Unexpectedly, purchase intentions toward slow fashion among the participants did not increase. Financial restrictions experienced by university students could have minimized their purchase intentions toward slow fashion apparel which tends to be more expensive than fast fashion. Discussion and Implications are included