"Everyone learns and everyone teaches everyone else" : family learning and teaching : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Adult Education), Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This thesis explores family learning and teaching by constructing a picture of families as learning communities. Making visible family learning and teaching is necessary as the everyday practices of families are seldom recognized, acknowledged and valued for their role in developing people's ability as learners and teachers. Families and parents are named the 'first educators' of children without significant attention being paid to the nature of family learning and teaching. How family learning and teaching contributes to the growth and development of the adults in the family also receives little attention, possibly because of a focus for adult learning on the gaining of qualifications and credentials for employment. Within Aotearoa/New Zealand the growth and development of citizens is divided into the public domain of institutions, and the private domain of families. Learning and teaching development is assigned to educational institutions and the role of families is considered to be mainly about care and socialization. Study and research of family learning and teaching can compliment the body of work on learning and teaching within Aotearoa/New Zealand which is dominated by interest in formal institutional education. There is a growing emphasis on the need for collaboration between school, family and community to ensure educational achievement. A greater understanding of family learning and teaching capability and potential can enhance the quality of the relationship with families as they come to be seen as more than assistants to schools. Recognizing the uniqueness of families as a place of learning can enable a shift towards a strengths based view of families and valuing their contribution to building our societies ability to progress in a world focused on knowledge and information. Initial information gifted and gathered for the first phase of the research project, Learning and teaching within families with children: conversations with some Playcentre families, is used to make visible family learning and teaching. This information provides evidence of how families describe their engagement in learning and teaching. Identification of families as learning communities is made using Etienne Wenger's work on communities of practice. I show how these families are groups of people who share a passion for learning and teaching. Relationships, interactions and experiences within their families intentionally support their growth as learners and teachers

Child and young person development: biological, environmental and interpersonal influences

Chapter from book 'Contemporary issues in childhood: a bio-ecological approach', Eds. Stephen Ward and Zeta Brown

Characterizing university students’ self-regulated learning behavior using dispositional learning analytics

[EN] Learning analytics can be used in conjunction with learner dispositions to identify at-risk students and provide personalized guidance on how to improve. Participants in the current study were students (n=192) studying a first year anatomy and physiology course. A two-step cluster analysis was performed using learning analytics data from the learning management system and self-regulated learning behavior from meta-learning assessment tasks. Three clusters of students were identified – high, medium and low self-regulated learners. High self-regulated learners were engaged with the meta-learning tasks, reported the most self-regulated learning strategies and used new strategies during semester. They also had the highest academic achievement. Compared to low self-regulated leaners, medium self-regulated learners were more engaged in the meta-learning tasks and used more learning strategies during semester, including new strategies; however, both medium and low self-regulated learners had similar levels of academic achievement. It is possible that the medium self-regulated learners represent students who were attempting to improve their learning, but had not yet found strategies that were right for them. Future evaluation of academic performance may determine whether the attempts to improve learning by medium self-regulated learners distinguishes them from low self-regulated learners in the later years of their study.Ainscough, L.; Leung, R.; Colthorpe, K.; Langfield, T. (2019). Characterizing university students’ self-regulated learning behavior using dispositional learning analytics. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 233-241. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9153OCS23324

What do children think of their own bilingualism? Exploring bilingual children’s attitudes and perceptions

Aims and objectives: This paper explores children’s experiences and perceptions of their own bilingualism in two contexts in Scotland, UK: a primary school with a high proportion of children using a language other than English at home; and a primary school where the language of instruction is an indigenous, minority language, Gaelic. Methodology: The paper draws upon data gathered from multiple qualitative methods, including interviews, group activities and discussion, with both children and their parents. The data in this paper draw upon a broader interdisciplinary project exploring children’s experiences of bilingualism. Ethics were duly considered. Data and analysis: Data were gathered from 27 children and 11 parents. Data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Comparison between contexts was of particular interest for this article. Findings: This paper highlights the importance of research with children in order to gain an insight into their experiences and perceptions of their own bilingualism. In particular, our findings illustrate how children’s language learning is encouraged and supported by children’s connections with others and the fundamental role of family (particularly parents/carers) and diverse community-based support systems (which encompass a wide range of individuals and community groups) in order to develop active bilingualism. Originality: This paper addresses a research gap in a largely quantitative field, by adopting a qualitative approach to explore children’s experiences and perceptions of their own bilingualism. A qualitative approach facilitates attention to complexity and the participants’ own meanings and understandings. Significance: The paper highlights the value of research with children in order to explore their views and perspectives. In particular, qualitative research methodologies, where children’s experiences are central to understanding the research phenomenon, and to facilitating the exploration of the range of complex issues that interact with a child’s bilingualism.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

How the nursing associate role is viewed by different stakeholders: a qualitative research study

Background: The nursing associate role was created following a review by Health Education England in 2015 that examined nurse education and training so that capacity and improvements could be made to the provision of care in England. Objective: To explore different stakeholder perspectives of how the nursing associate role has been embedded within local healthcare practice. Design: The study was designed to explore and evaluate the role of the nursing associate in practice from the perspectives of those stakeholders who have experience of working with the nursing associate. Setting(s): Online semi-structured interviews. Participants: 9 stakeholder participants who had direct contact with the nursing associate or trainee nursing associate in the practice setting. Methods: A mixed-methods qualitative approach was used, which included a creative methodological approach in the form of photo-elicitation and semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experience of participants. Results: Analysis revealed 2 superordinate themes: (1) the contribution of the nursing associate; (2) real-work perspectives of the role. Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that the role was important to the provision of care, but that there were challenges related to communication, support and education provision throughout the organisations

Bostonia: v. 64, no. 1

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Development of transdiagnostic clinical risk prediction models for 12-month onset and course of eating disorders among adolescents in the community

Objective: To develop and internally validate risk prediction models for adolescent onset and persistence of eating disorders. Methods: N = 963 Australian adolescents (11–19 years) in the EveryBODY Study cohort completed online surveys in 2018 and 2019. Models were built to predict 12-month risk of (1) onset, and (2) persistence of a DSM-5 eating disorder. Results: Onset Model. Of the n = 687 adolescents without an eating disorder at baseline, 16.9% were identified with an eating disorder after 12 months. The prediction model was based on evidence-based risk factors for eating disorder onset available within the dataset (sex, body mass index percentile, strict weight loss dieting, history of bullying, psychological distress, weight/shape concerns). This model showed fair discriminative performance (mean AUC =.75). The most important factors were psychological distress, weight and shape concerns, and female sex. Diagnostic Persistence Model. Of the n = 276 adolescents with an eating disorder at baseline, 74.6% were identified as continuing to meet criteria for an eating disorder after 12 months. The prediction model for diagnostic persistence was based on available evidence-based risk factors for eating disorder persistence (purging, distress, social impairment). This model showed poor discriminative performance (mean AUC =.65). The most important factors were psychological distress and self-induced vomiting for weight control. Discussion: We found preliminary evidence for the utility of a parsimonious model for 12-month onset of an eating disorder among adolescents in the community. Future research should include additional evidence-based risk factors and validate models beyond the original sample. Public Significance: This study demonstrated the feasibility of developing parsimonious and accurate models for the prediction of future onset of an eating disorder among adolescents. The most important predictors in this model included psychological distress and weight and shape concerns. This study has laid the ground work for future research to build and test more accurate prediction models in diverse samples, prior to translation into a clinical tool for use in real world settings to aid decisions about referral to early intervention

LC3B globular structures correlate with survival in esophageal adenocarcinoma

Background: Esophageal adenocarcinoma has the fastest growing incidence of any solid tumor in the Western world. Prognosis remains poor with overall five-year survival rates under 25 %. Only a limited number of patients benefit from chemotherapy and there are no biomarkers that can predict outcome. Previous studies have indicated that induction of autophagy can influence various aspects of tumor cell biology, including chemosensitivity. The objective of this study was to assess whether expression of the autophagy marker (LC3B) correlated with patient outcome. Methods: Esophageal adenocarcinoma tumor tissue from two independent sites, was examined retrospectively. Tumors from 104 neoadjuvant naïve patients and 48 patients post neoadjuvant therapy were assembled into tissue microarrays prior to immunohistochemical analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank tests were used to assess impact of LC3B expression on survival. Cox regression was used to examine association with clinical risk factors. Results: A distinct globular pattern of LC3B expression was found to be predictive of outcome in both patient groups, irrespective of treatment (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis found that this was a strong independent predictor of poor prognosis (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This distinctive staining pattern of LC3B represents a novel prognostic marker for resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma

Probing the Solution Structure of IκB Kinase (IKK) Subunit γ and Its Interaction with Kaposi Sarcoma-associated Herpes Virus Flice-interacting Protein and IKK Subunit β by EPR Spectroscopy.

Viral flice-interacting protein (vFLIP), encoded by the oncogenic Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV), constitutively activates the canonical nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathway. This is achieved through subversion of the IκB kinase (IKK) complex (or signalosome), which involves a physical interaction between vFLIP and the modulatory subunit IKKγ. Although this interaction has been examined both in vivo and in vitro, the mechanism by which vFLIP activates the kinase remains to be determined. Because IKKγ functions as a scaffold, recruiting both vFLIP and the IKKα/β subunits, it has been proposed that binding of vFLIP could trigger a structural rearrangement in IKKγ conducive to activation. To investigate this hypothesis we engineered a series of mutants along the length of the IKKγ molecule that could be individually modified with nitroxide spin labels. Subsequent distance measurements using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that IKKγ is a parallel coiled-coil whose response to binding of vFLIP or IKKβ is localized twisting/stiffening and not large-scale rearrangements. The coiled-coil comprises N- and C-terminal regions with distinct registers accommodated by a twist: this structural motif is exploited by vFLIP, allowing it to bind and subsequently activate the NF-κB pathway. In vivo assays confirm that NF-κB activation by vFLIP only requires the N-terminal region up to the transition between the registers, which is located directly C-terminal of the vFLIP binding site