A Case Study on Online Learning and Digital Assessment in Times of Crisis

To minimise the adverse impact on student learning due to escalating social unrest started locally in June 2019 and the current COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong Baptist University has emphatically strengthened its strategic resolve in e-Learning deployment. With various measures and e-Learning initiatives rolled out, HKBU teachers gained more momentum in launching online classes and conducting e-Assessments with different e-Tools. Peer-sharing from teachers who have successfully implemented online classes and digital assessment was conducive to creating a culture to fast-track e-Learning adoption. This case study sheds light on how virtual teaching and learning have assisted HKBU teachers and students circumvent the recent crises. The study also identifies determining factors and challenges of adopting e-Learning strategies at the University

Helping Students to Build Multicultural and Multidisciplinary Competences: A Pilot of Challenge-Based Collaborative Learning on a Digital Gamified Platform

Global issues such as poverty, hunger, and environmental problems are inextricable and cannot be solved comprehensively by homogeneous groups. With the advance of technology, collaborations with peoples at different geographical locations can be achieved effectively. Higher education in the 21st Century must therefore facilitate students to learn how to eclectically connect their creativity and problem-solving skills with technology, and most importantly to work with heterogeneous groups to solve complex global issues.This paper will elaborate on a pilot study of a project in Hong Kong, titled the CCGame Project, which aims to heighten students’ multicultural and multidisciplinary competences by deploying gamified learning and challenge-based learning. Team-based, self-guided learning is the core of the challenge-based learning approach. To preserve students’ interest in learning and accomplishing the tasks for the team, cloud-based learning platforms have been deployed. In the pilot, the online learning platform collected data for analysis of individual and team behaviour. The pilot demonstrated that students could work in a diverse team to complete a challenge. Evidence-based results supported with data analytics will be presented and the project’s plan of work will also be elucidated in this paper

What is the available evidence that artificial light at night affects animal behaviour? A systematic map protocol

Background: Artificial light at night (ALAN), has increased dramatically over the past two centuries and is linked to demonstrable shifts in a range of behaviours across diverse animal taxa. This systematic map will collate and synthesise the documented effects of ALAN on animal behaviour and fitness, identify gaps in the literature, inform future research and provide the basis for a decision-making tool for informing policy makers. Methods: This systematic map will summarise and examine all available evidence on the effects of ALAN on animal behaviour and ensuing fitness effects. All documented changes to behaviour in animals (excluding humans), will be included and both peer reviewed primary and grey literature will be searched. Searches will be conducted in academic journal databases, online search engines, and specialist websites. Articles will be screened for inclusion in the systematic map at title, abstract and full-text levels and will then be critically appraised for study robustness and validity. Data from studies included in the review will then be extracted and coded according to categories informed by consultation with Stakeholders. Data will be summarised, where possible, in a quantitative manner, accompanied with a descriptive overview. Future avenues for research and specific questions suitable for a systematic literature review will be formulated.Peer reviewe

Gamification for Teamwork Skills: Can a Challenge-based Online Tournament Help Students Learn New Knowledge Collaboratively in Teams?

The interest in deploying innovative technologies with gamification to engage student learning in enjoyable style has been growing. This study aimed to investigate whether a purposely designed eTournament with the integration of concepts of gamification and team development could help the participating tertiary education students (N=416) from a variety of backgrounds in terms of culture and discipline to learn to work in teams collaboratively in a challenge-based online game. The qualitative data collected from the top 10 teams’ online discussions supported that the thoughtful design of the eTournament did facilitate their development of teamwork skills. In addition, quantitative data collected from two of the Post-game Questionnaire questions indicated that over 79% of the respondents strongly agree or agree that they enjoyed the eTournamentin general, and over 84% of respondents strongly agree or agree that they become more aware of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals because of the eTournament. Notwithstanding, findings in this study show little evidence in supporting team-playing in PaGamO due to the design of the game regardless of the teamwork skills developed in the early stage of the eTournament. Suggestions to address the limitations of this study are also presented for future improvement

Reflections on the Arts, Environment, and Culture After Ten Years of The Goose

To mark the tenth anniversary of The Goose, we asked prominent ecologically-minded scholars, writers, artists, and educators from across Canada to reflect on the relationship between the arts, culture, and the environment. Their comments illuminate a wide range of triumphs and tensions, from the politics and practices of environmentalist writing and art, to the connections between the environment and matters of diversity and justice, to the past and future of ALECC (Association for Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada), to the world of a single poem

Frataxin deficiency increases cyclooxygenase 2 and prostaglandins in cell and animal models of Friedreich's ataxia

© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.An inherited deficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin causes Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA); the mechanism by which this deficiency triggers neuro- and cardio-degeneration is unclear. Microarrays of neural tissue of animal models of the disease showed decreases in antioxidant genes, and increases in inflammatory genes. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived oxylipins are important mediators of inflammation. We measured oxylipin levels using tandem mass spectrometry and ELISAs in multiple cell and animal models of FRDA. Mass spectrometry revealed increases in concentrations of prostaglandins, thromboxane B2, 15-HETE and 11-HETE in cerebellar samples of knockin knockout mice. One possible explanation for the elevated oxylipins is that frataxin deficiency results in increased COX activity. While constitutive COX1 was unchanged, inducible COX2 expression was elevated over 1.35-fold (P < 0.05) in two Friedreich's mouse models and Friedreich's lymphocytes. Consistent with higher COX2 expression, its activity was also increased by 58% over controls. COX2 expression is driven by multiple transcription factors, including activator protein 1 and cAMP response element-binding protein, both of which were elevated over 1.52-fold in cerebella. Taken together, the results support the hypothesis that reduced expression of frataxin leads to elevation of COX2-mediated oxylipin synthesis stimulated by increases in transcription factors that respond to increased reactive oxygen species. These findings support a neuroinflammatory mechanism in FRDA, which has both pathomechanistic and therapeutic implications.The study was supported by NIH grants NS077777, EY012245 and AG025532 to G.A.C., and USDA-ARS Intramural Projects 5306-51530-019-00D and 1 U24 DK097154-01 to J.W.N. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the NIH