A policy, a ‘priority’, an unfinished project: The Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework

In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education released the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework. The policy set forth a vision to significantly improve the levels of achievement for Indigenous students attending Ontario’s public schools, and to increase awareness and knowledge of Indigenous cultures and perspectives for all students by the year 2016. Drawing upon critical pedagogy, theories of decolonizing education, and policy enactment, we engaged with the Framework and a set of related documents to a critical discourse analysis. Four discourses were revealed: achievement; increasing capacities; incorporating “cultures, histories, and perspectives”; and absence. In tracing the presence of these discourses across the documents we found that, while well-intentioned, the policy has yielded problematic outcomes. In turn, this undermines the ability of Ontario’s education system to not only reach the aforementioned goals but also to take an active role in reconciliation and efforts towards the decolonization of education

The actin binding proteins cortactin and HS1 are dispensable for platelet actin nodule and megakaryocyte podosome formation

A dynamic, properly organised actin cytoskeleton is critical for the production and haemostatic function of platelets. The Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp) and Actin-Related Proteins 2 & 3 Complex (Arp2/3 complex) are critical mediators of actin polymerisation and organisation in many cell types. In platelets and megakaryocytes, these proteins have been shown to be important for proper platelet production and function. The cortactin family of proteins (Cttn & HS1) are known to regulate WASp-Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerisation in other cell types and so here we address the role of these proteins in platelets using knockout mouse models. We generated mice lacking Cttn and HS1 in the megakaryocyte/platelet lineage. These mice had normal platelet production, with platelet number, size and surface receptor profile comparable to controls. Platelet function was also unaffected by loss of Cttn/HS1 with no differences observed in a range of platelet function assays including aggregation, secretion, spreading, clot retraction or tyrosine phosphorylation. No effect on tail bleeding time or in thrombosis models was observed. In addition, platelet actin nodules, and megakaryocyte podosomes, actin-based structures known to be dependent on WASp and the Arp2/3 complex, formed normally. We conclude that despite the importance of WASp and the Arp2/3 complex in regulating F-actin dynamics in many cells types, the role of cortactin in their regulation appears to be fulfilled by other proteins in platelets

Teacher Needs for Educating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the General Education Classroom

The purpose of this study was to gather information on experiences of general education teachers concerning inclusion practices for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In this case study third, fourth, and fifth grade general education teachers in a rural Southwest Missouri school district provided the data source to keep a narrowed focus on the needs of education teachers for inclusion. The sample accounted for 16 elementary education teachers. Surveys were sent to all third, fourth, and fifth grade general education teachers in the district. Perceptions of general education teachers on proper inclusion training were identified as necessary for the study; comprehensive sampling was utilized as all third, fourth, and fifth grade general education teachers had the opportunity to participate. The surveyed group of teachers had the opportunity to participate in focus groups with their same grade level peers to further elaborate on their experiences. The focus group questions were open-ended and conducted by the researcher. The study found the participants had minimal experience in preservice preparation with minor background knowledge on ASD. Limited knowledge of teaching strategies and experiences in collaboration were also noted. Finally, teacher efficacy was measured through the perceptions of preparedness, confidence, and effectiveness in educating children with ASD. Participants felt low efficacy levels in these areas. An eagerness to increase training for educating children with ASD was widespread

Learning by Design Workshop 2010

The Learning by Design Workshop Program 2010, a part of the Queensland Government Unlimited: Designing for the Asia Pacific Event Program, was a one-day professional development design thinking workshop run on October 9, 2011 at The Edge, State Library of Queensland for self-selected public and private secondary school teachers from the subject areas of Visual Art, Graphics and Industrial Technology and Design. Participants were drawn from a database of Brisbane and regional Queensland schools from the goDesign and Living City Workshop Programs. It aimed to generate leadership within schools for design-led education and creative thinking and give teachers a rare opportunity to work with professional designers to generate future strategies for design-based learning. Teachers were introduced to the concept of design thinking in education by international keynote speakers CJ Lim (Studio 8 Architects) and Jeb Brugmann (The Next Practice), national speaker Oliver Freeman (NevilleFreeman Agency) and three Queensland speakers, Alexander Loterztain, David Williams and Keith Holledge. Inspired by the Unlimited showcase exhibition Make Change: Design Thinking in Action and ‘Idea Starters’/teaching resources provided, teachers worked with a professional designer (from a discipline of architecture, interior design, industrial design, urban design, graphic design or landscape architecture) in ten random teams, to generate optimistic ideas for the Ideal City of tomorrow, each considering a theme – Food, Water, Transport, Ageing, Growth, Employment, Shelter, Health, Education and Energy. They then discussed how this process could be best activated and expanded on to build interest and knowledge in design thinking in the classroom. Assisted by illustrators, the teams prepared a visual presentation of their ideas and process from art materials provided. The workshop culminated in a video-taped interactive design charette to the larger group, which is intended to be utilised as a toolkit and praxis for teachers as part of the State Library of Queensland Design Minds Website Project

Navigating the Online Tutorial Frontier: From Design to Deployment & Beyond

As we all have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching is a vital part of creating an open future of learning environments in higher education. Asynchronous online information literacy tutorials can engage and support online and face-to-face library users, and the planning and design process can take many forms. Librarians do not have to be instructional designers, have funding, or be accessibility experts to create engaging, online research tutorials. In this session, a panel of academic and online learning librarians from across the country will discuss creating tutorials with a variety of tools, budgets, and timelines. H5P, LibWizard, Articulate, and homegrown systems will be among the tools discussed. Speakers will present on the planning and implementation process of the tutorials, as well as accessibility considerations. Specific accessibility frameworks will be discussed, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and WCAG 2.0, as well as free tools and checklists librarians can use to test accessibility. Panelists will share a variety of assessment strategies, including using student workers for usability testing, linking to form assessments, web analytics, and user surveys. In an increasingly digital world, it is essential for academic librarians to be able to create effective and engaging asynchronous learning materials to connect patrons with information literacy concepts. Participants will leave this session ready to jump into their online learning future and make quality content without overthinking it

Emotional benefits and barriers of professional psychological services scale: initial construction and validation among African American women

The current study used the Health Belief Model to develop a measure that assesses the emotional benefits and barriers of professional psychological services for African American women. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of the Emotional Benefits and Barriers of Professional Psychological Services (EBBPPS) Scale: Life Enhancement and Concerns about Distress, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this two-factor solution and demonstrated superior fit compared to a general, unidimensional model as well as a three factor model. Both factors exhibited excellent internal consistency, and test-retest reliability coefficients support the temporal stability. Construct validity was supported given that EBBPPS factors were correlated with theoretically related constructs, like psychological help-seeking attitudes and cultural identity, as well as uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated constructs, like psychological distress. Life Enhancement exhibited unique predictive validity for intentions to seek counseling. These findings support the utility and cultural relevance of the EBBPPS with African American women

Random walks and market efficiency in Chinese and Indian equity markets

Hypothesis of Market Efficiency is an important concept for the investors across the globe holding diversified portfolios. With the world economy getting more integrated day by day, more people are investing in global emerging markets. This means that it is pertinent to understand the efficiency of these markets. This paper tests for market efficiency by studying the impact of global financial crisis of 2008 and the recent Chinese crisis of 2015 on stock market efficiency in emerging stock markets of China and India. The data for last 20 years was collected from both Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE200) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index and divided into four sub-periods, i.e. before financial crisis period (period-I), during recession (period-II), after recession and before Chinese Crisis (periodIII) and from the start of Chinese crisis till date (period- IV). Daily returns for the SSE and BSE were examined and tested for randomness using a combination of auto correlation tests, runs tests and unit root tests (Augmented Dickey-Fuller) for the entire sample period and the four sub-periods. The evidence from all these tests supports that both the Indian and Chinese stock markets do not exhibit weak form of market efficiency. They do not follow random walk overall and in the first three periods (1996 till the 2015) implying that recession did not impact the markets to a great extent, although the efficiency in percentage terms seems to be increasing after the global financial crisis of 2008