Lessons learnt for developing meaningful study abroad programs : a case study of a Montreal CEGEP's 2009 study trip

This thesis is based on a case study of a Montreal CEGEP's 2009 Study Trip abroad. The focus of the study reported here was on examining the specific elements of a study abroad program that may result in meaningful and educational impacts on participants. The case study attempts to uncover the best practices for each phase of a short-term study abroad program's life cycle: pre-departure, in the host country and upon returning home. All seven participating students and the person responsible for the program were interviewed. These interviews, along with student journals and curriculum materials, were examined. The thesis also presents a review of the burgeoning literature examining the educationally positive impacts attributed to study abroad programs and arguing for their inclusion in post-secondary curricula. The findings illustrate the important learning moments of a formal and informal curriculum plan which help enhance the study abroad experience from the point of view of the participants. These lessons can be used by study abroad stakeholders (participants, educational institutions, administrators, coordinators, and funding agencies) to increase the educational impacts of these programs. More broadly, this study also provides insight into ways of teaching and learning (not necessarily abroad) that are more meaningful and which bring about more profound change and growth in learning for students as well as teacher practice. This broader emphasis may help to understand the processes and mechanisms underlying quality experiential education program

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Centre internship / Stagiaire au CRDI

The study uncovers the ways in which research activities interact with and support activities central to Canadian civil service organizations (CSO) missions. It identifies the wide range of actors from whom CCSOs access information, and with whom they conduct research to inform their actions, as well as strategic provisions taken by CCSOs to increase the odds of using research effectively. This paper is authored by the recipient of an IDRC Research Award and has been developed in the context of Canadian Partnerships (CP), which advances research cooperation