Around conjectures of N. Kuhn

We discuss two extensions of results conjectured by Nick Kuhn about the non-realization of unstable algebras as the mod $p$ singular cohomology of a space, for $p$ a prime. The first extends and refines earlier work of the second and fourth authors, using Lannes' mapping space theorem. The second (for the prime $2$) is based on an analysis of the $-1$ and $-2$ columns of the Eilenberg-Moore spectral sequence, and of the associated extension. In both cases, the statements and proofs use the relationship between the categories of unstable modules and functors between \Fp-vector spaces. The second result in particular exhibits the power of the functorial approach

Crafting knowledge exchange in the social science agenda

To any social science researcher the term “Knowledge Exchange” is a key buzzword in the academic community and wider society. In an article by Contandriopoulos, Lemire, Denis, and Tremblay (2010, p. 456) it was pointed out that knowledge exchange “rests on an implicit commonsense notion that this ‘knowledge’ must be evidence based”. This evidence, based within a social science context, relies upon two strands: theoretical data and empirical data. When examining the notion of Knowledge Exchange it becomes apparent that the concept has deep and meaningful connotations. These connotations have been driven by the involvements of the public and private sectors. Moreover, work carried out by Benneworth and Cunha (2015, p. 509) concludes that higher education institutions’ involvement in knowledge exchange “remains dynamic and influenced by universities” own strategic choices and relationships’. Traditionally, universities have had two key missions: to teach undergraduate/postgraduate students and to undertake research. Striukova and Rayna (2015, p. 488) have recently observed that universities now have a third mission, “knowledge exchange”, and that knowledge exchange plays a vital “integral part of the mix, without which the other two missions cannot run successfully.” Knowledge exchange is also a fundamental feature of “sustainable communities” (Powell, 2013) through the partnerships between HEIs and communities by which they serve. This is a point we will return to

A Bright Start : The experience of an Aberdeen primary school introducing the Bright Start cognitive curriculum

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Planet, 1999, Fall

https://cedar.wwu.edu/planet/1025/thumbnail.jp

The Planet, 2000, Spring/Summer

https://cedar.wwu.edu/planet/1029/thumbnail.jp

The Planet, 2000, Winter

https://cedar.wwu.edu/planet/1088/thumbnail.jp

A framework for the design and analysis of socially pervasive games

Pervasive games have the potential to create large social impacts on players and non-players alike. However, this can only happen when the game becomes integrated and accepted within a social community - or in other words, is socially adopted in its target environment. A socially pervasive game must also adapt to allow people to play at their own convenience. In my research I describe Powell’s Pervasive Play Lens (3PL), a framework for the design and analysis of socially pervasive games. 3PL is a powerful model that elaborates the magic circle to illustrate the concentric boundaries of play that surround socially pervasive games, helping designers understand when and how a person and a community might adopt a new pervasive game. This 3PL framework and theory have been applied to develop and refine Snag’em, a human scavenger hunt that has been applied to help students learn professional networking skills in several conferences over three years. I present my findings in a design research narrative that details the complex and rich social environments for Snag’em and the evolution of it’s design over several iterations. This narrative illustrates the application of 3PL and how designers can predict and measure how particular game elements create affordances that increase the acceptance, adoption, and adaptability of socially pervasive games

Deconstructing liberated subjects

This dissertation offers a critique of liberatory practices and projects that locate "voice" as the means to and sign of liberation. This work contributes to queer and trans* scholarship on emancipatory practices and offers insights for critical pedagogy. My project situates "voice," and the liberatory projects dependent on it, within a political "economy of vulnerability" that circulates and produces vulnerable bodies. I foreground the transgender student and the quiet student as two types of queer bodies and subjects that are mutually constituted within this economy. Though the pairing of quiet and trans* may seem irregular, considering them together serves as a wedge to get at the larger regime within which the privileging of voice, specific understandings of the body, and contemporary politics of liberation and empowerment operate. I focus in particular on visual and other cultural texts to examine the complex workings of the "economy of vulnerability." This analysis reveals the abstract surveillance machine that produces, for example, both conflicts about trans* access to bathrooms and the politics of school shootings

Value of risk scores in the decision to palliate patients withruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

Background: The aim of this study was to develop a 48‐h mortality risk score, which included morphology data, for patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm presenting to an emergency department, and to assess its predictive accuracy and clinical effectiveness in triaging patients to immediate aneurysm repair, transfer or palliative care. Methods: Data from patients in the IMPROVE (Immediate Management of the Patient With Ruptured Aneurysm: Open Versus Endovascular Repair) randomized trial were used to develop the risk score. Variables considered included age, sex, haemodynamic markers and aortic morphology. Backwards selection was used to identify relevant predictors. Predictive performance was assessed using calibration plots and the C‐statistic. Validation of the newly developed and other previously published scores was conducted in four external populations. The net benefit of treating patients based on a risk threshold compared with treating none was quantified. Results: Data from 536 patients in the IMPROVE trial were included. The final variables retained were age, sex, haemoglobin level, serum creatinine level, systolic BP, aortic neck length and angle, and acute myocardial ischaemia. The discrimination of the score for 48‐h mortality in the IMPROVE data was reasonable (C‐statistic 0·710, 95 per cent c.i. 0·659 to 0·760), but varied in external populations (from 0·652 to 0·761). The new score outperformed other published risk scores in some, but not all, populations. An 8 (95 per cent c.i. 5 to 11) per cent improvement in the C‐statistic was estimated compared with using age alone. Conclusion: The assessed risk scores did not have sufficient accuracy to enable potentially life‐saving decisions to be made regarding intervention. Focus should therefore shift to offering repair to more patients and reducing non‐intervention rates, while respecting the wishes of the patient and family

The effects of a physical activity program on mood states in college students

College students are at risk for adverse mental and physical health. Physical activity (PA) can reduce risks and promote positive mental health; however, less than half (49.9%) of college students meet the American College of Sports Medicine (2017) recommendations for PA. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate an evidence-based PA program (#ubwell) designed in collaboration with university counseling services to enhance mood states and promote continued PA in college students. The program was held for 5 weeks. Students (n = 21) completed pre and post measures of perceived health, PA participation, intrinsic motivation, and mood states, and a post program evaluation. Additionally, participants recorded Feeling Scale and Felt Arousal Scale ratings before, during (mid-way) and after each weekly PA session. Results showed intrinsic motivation significantly increased from pre to post (p = .02). Participants experienced increases in positive feelings and energy levels across all PA sessions. However, pre and post measures of perceived health, PA participation, and mood states did not differ. Confounding factors such as participant illness, campus mourning (i.e., deaths of two students the week before), and mid-term/final exams may have influenced results. Possibly, PA provided a coping strategy during those stressful times that maintained mood and PA participation levels. Additional research with larger samples and longer programs may provide greater insight into the benefits of PA programs for mental health and wellness