A phenomenological-enactive theory of the minimal self

The purpose of this project is to argue that we possess a minimal self. It will demonstrate that minimal selfhood arrives early in our development and continues to remain and influence us throughout our entire life. There are two areas of research which shape my understanding of the minimal self: phenomenology and enactivism. Phenomenology emphasizes the sense of givenness, ownership, or mineness that accompanies all of our experiences. Enactivism says there is a sensorimotor coupling that occurs between us and the environment in a way which modulates the dynamic patterns of our self development; the laying down of these basic patterns helps make us who we are and gives rise to the phenomenological, experiential mineness. Drawing on these two core ideas, I will be arguing for a Phenomenological-Enactive Minimal Self (abbreviated PEMS). I will be emphasizing the role of the body and the role of affects (moods, feelings, and emotions) as the most important components relevant to understanding minimal selfhood. Put more concretely, the set of conditions which constitute the PEMS view are: (i) The minimal self is the experiential subject; the minimal sense of self is present whenever there is awareness. It is the subjectivity of experience, the sense of mineness, or givenness which our experiences contain. (ii) The phenomenological part of the PEMS view turns on the idea of a bodily and dynamic integration of sensorimotor coupling and affective experience. It is, ontologically speaking, the lived body in enactive engagement with the environment. It is this embodied subject which anchors and forms the foundation for the later ‘narrative’ self, which emerges from it and which is continually influenced by it. It is the subject enactively engaged with others, dependent on sensorimotor processes and affects. We have an identity, but it emerges from relational and dynamic processes

A Quantitative Investigation of Language Policy in International Schools in East Asia

Many international schools develop a formal written language policy to address language learning and use.  Additionally, schools often develop a language policy as part of an authorization and or accreditation process.  Although a school may have a formal written language policy, sometimes teachers are unaware the policy exists.  The purpose of this study was to examine teacher knowledge of language policy in English-medium international schools in East Asia. Additionally, the researchers explored whether there were differences in teacher knowledge of language policy between schools that have an affiliation with CIS, IB, and ACS WASC and schools with no affiliation. Further, the researchers examined how often teachers followed the language policy and if the policy defined the roles of teachers. This quantitative survey-based study had 544 participants, of whom 387 were teachers. The main finding revealed that a sizeable percentage of teachers reported that their school does not have a formal written language policy or were unsure if one exists.  Additional findings revealed similarities in language policy knowledge between CIS and IB schools and schools with no affiliation.  Further, less than half of the teachers follow the language policy consistently, and many policies do not specify teacher roles

A Comparative Analysis of the Impact of University Field Supervision on Administrative Mindsets: Considerations for Redesign

The purpose of this study was to evaluate perceptions of principal preparation program candidates regarding the impact professional coaching and field supervision had on the development of their administrative mindsets. A secondary purpose was to determine if there was a significant difference in perceptions regarding the impact that professional coaching and field supervision had on administrative mindsets when comparing students who received face-to-face field supervision and coaching activities to those involved in online field supervision and coaching activities. Forty percent of the 150 principal candidates contacted in this study responded to a survey regarding their practicum field experiences. Candidates noted that both the online medium and face-to-face medium were positive in contributing to their professional growth and learning within the program. Inferential tests revealed little if any significant difference regarding the perceived impact online field supervision activities had on developing administrative mindsets as compared to those participating in face-to-face field supervision activities

Site-Based Transdisciplinary Educational Partnerships: Development, Implementation, and Outcomes of a Collaborative Professional Preparation Program

In this article, we describe the conceptual framework, development, implementation, and outcomes of an experimental professional preparation program. University students from preparation programs in general education, educational administration, school psychology, and special education formed transdisciplinary cohorts that were placed in school settings to complete a variety of activities designed to foster greater collaboration among disciplines in serving children and youth at risk. We describe what was learned throughout the project as well as its operational structure, outcomes, and future directions for transdisciplinary professional development

A Cross-Sectional Study Investigating Canadian and Australian Adolescents' Perceived Experiences of COVID-19: Gender Differences and Mental Health Implications

The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic has been associated with adverse psychological outcomes. This cross-cultural study (N = 1326, 71% female) aimed to investigate Canadian and Australian adolescents’ subjective experiences of COVID-19, gender differences, and psychological implications. Mixed-methods analyses were used to examine differences in COVID-19 experiences and mental health outcomes between country and gender in a Canadian (N = 913, 78% fe-male) and an Australian sample (N = 413, 57% female) of adolescents. Canadian adolescents reported increased COVID-19 discussions and more concerns related to their COVID-19 experiences compared to Australian adolescents. Girls consistently reported more concerns related to COVID-19 and poorer psychological outcomes compared to boys. School lockdown for the Canadian sample may have played a role in these country differences. Further, girls might be at significantly more risk for mental health concerns during COVID-19, which should be considered in adolescent mental health initiatives during the pandemic. Although school disruption and separation of peers due to the pandemic likely have a role in adolescent perceived stressors and mental health, the differences between Canadian and Australian adolescents were less clear and future investigations comparing more objective pre-COVID-19 data to current data are needed

Steric Accessibility of the HIV-1 gp41 N-trimer Region

During human immunodeficiency virus entry, gp41 undergoes a series of conformational changes that induce membrane fusion. Immediately prior to fusion, gp41 exists in a prehairpin intermediate in which the N- and C-peptide regions of gp41 are exposed. Rearrangement of this intermediate into a six-helix bundle composed of a trimeric coiled coil from the N-peptide region (N-trimer) surrounded by three peptides from the C-peptide region provides the driving force for membrane fusion, whereas prevention of six-helix bundle formation inhibits viral entry. Because of its central role in mediating viral entry, the N-trimer region of gp41 is a key vaccine target. Extensive efforts to discover potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies (Abs) against the N-trimer region have, thus far, been unsuccessful. In this study, we attached a potent C-peptide inhibitor that binds to the N-trimer region to cargo proteins of various sizes to examine the steric accessibility of the N-trimer during fusion. These inhibitors show a progressive loss of potency with increasing cargo size. Extension of the cargo/C-peptide linker partially restores inhibitory potency. These results demonstrate that the human immunodeficiency virus defends its critical hairpin-forming machinery by steric exclusion of large proteins and may explain the current dearth of neutralizing Abs against the N-trimer. In contrast, previous results suggest the C-peptide region is freely accessible during fusion, demonstrating that the N- and C-peptide regions are in structurally distinct environments. Based on these results, we also propose new strategies for the generation of neutralizing Abs that overcome this steric block

Patient and public involvement in health literacy interventions: a mapping review

Background: Health literacy is a critical mediating factor that impacts on the health of older adults. Patient and public involvement in health and social care research, policy and design of care delivery is one mechanism that can promote production of better health literacy. This mapping review looks for and describes practices, concepts and methods that have been reported involving patients, public and (non-researcher) professionals in the development and design of health literacy interventions for older people. Methods: Studies that aimed to improve health literacy were identified within a previously created compatible inventory of health behaviour studies for older people. Articles were screened for whether they addressed health literacy and featured involvement of stakeholders other than investigators and patients. Two reviewers independently read each study to identify any patient, public and professional involvement in the research process. We also noted some aspects of outcomes. Results: Twenty-two studies included patient, public and/or professional involvement in at least one research domain: design, management or evaluation. Involvement included volunteers, older people, professionals, patients, and community representatives. All studies were driven by an organisational or biomedical agenda. Conclusions: Patient, public and professional involvement wasrarely reported in studies on health literacy interventions for older people. This could help explain why some interventions fail to improve health literacy in older people. Key words – health literacy intervention research, older people, patient and public involvement, mapping revie

Email adaptation for conflict handling:A case study of cross‐border inter‐organisational partnership in East Asia

This paper explores the context of email-based communication in an established but fragile, inter-organisational partnership, which was often overlain with conflict. Drawing upon adaptation theory, this study explores how participants adapt to the use of email to handle conflict. Extensive data were obtained during a 6-month field study of a case of cross-border inter-organisational collaboration in East Asia. We observed that the individuals involved in the cross-border partnership used email as a lean form of communication to stop covert conflict from explicitly emerging. In contrast to prior research on the leanness of email in managing conflict, we found that under the described conflict situation the very leanness of email was appreciated and thus, exploited by those concerned to manage the conflict situation. Specifically, we identified 4 key conflict-triggered adaptation strategies, namely, interaction avoidance, disempowering, blame-protection, and image-sheltering that drove the ways in which email was adapted to maintain organisational partnerships under conflict