Are we there yet? The journey of ICT integration

[Abstract]: “Are we there yet, are we there yet, how much longer?” This plea can be heard from teachers throughout the world. The ICT integration pioneers beam at the thought of what’s next, however the middle and late adopters shudder at the thought of what is coming next and wonder if and when they are going to get there, wherever there is? This differentiating attitude in ICT integration can be attributed to the teachers’ personal confidence in using ICTs. This paper explores the ICT integration journey of teacher’s from 10 provincial primary schools in Queensland, Australia. It will examine the teachers’ past and present attitudes toward the integration of ICTs in their classrooms and attempt to predict their future attitudes. Participants will also be invited to discuss attitudes towards ICT integration from their perspective

The moderating effect of stress on the relationship between air pollution and self-rated health in minorities

Minorities have long been discriminated against in the United States, and redlining policies pursued in the 1920s-60s prevented African-Americans from moving outside polluted inner city neighborhoods. This policy resulted in the siting of many environmentally hazardous facilities in these neighborhoods, exposing racial minorities to increased levels of air pollution that persist to this day. Exposure to air pollution is associated with low birth weight, asthma, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and obesity. In addition to increased exposure to air pollution, minorities also experience higher levels of perceived discrimination, which is a reliable predictor of chronic stress. Chronic stress leads to constant output of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure, insulin resistance, cholesterol, and weight, as well as decreases immune function, memory, and sleep quality. The effects of a lifetime of increased stress are hypothesized to compound the effects of disproportionate exposure to air pollution to impact all age groups, from infants to senior citizens, and make African-Americans more susceptible to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and asthma than whites. These disparate health outcomes culminate in a 10% decrease in life expectancy for African-Americans compared to their white counterparts. This study aims to explore the effects of stress on the well-established relationship between air pollution exposure and health outcomes by analyzing self-reported health and stress data collected throughout Ohio. It is the researcher’s hope that controlling for stress in data analysis will increase the predictability of health outcomes when looking at populations with various levels of exposure to air pollutants. Establishing the effect of stress on this relationship could help explain variation in health outcomes among Ohioans, especially along racial and geographic lines. The findings could be used to target high risk populations, such as children and pregnant women, for public health interventions geared towards stress management and exposure reduction.School of the Environment and Natural ResourcesAcademic Major: Environmental Scienc

‘There Can Be No Revolution without Culture’:Reading and Writing in the Bolivarian Revolution

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordUnder Hugo Chávez's ‘Bolivarian Revolution’, the government made itself present in all stages of literary production, applying the official idea of reading and writing as ‘socialist practices’. The Bolivarian government envisaged a popular counter‐hegemony, courting popular support while delegitimising cultural elites and reinforcing class tensions. Bolivarian cultural policy is anachronistic in an age of global literary markets, while the emphasis on a national collective of writers over internationally promoted representative writers of the revolution is particularly radical

The Lived Experiences of Dyspraxic Young Adults in Higher Education

Dyspraxia, also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), affects an estimated ten per cent of the population in the United Kingdom (Colley, 2006; Meachon, 2017). However, little is known about dyspraxic young adults’ experiences. Much of the existing literature focuses on children and adolescents, primarily based on the perceptions of medical professionals, education practitioners, and parents of dyspraxic individuals. As a result, understanding dyspraxia/DCD from the perspective of the dyspraxic individual is essential, as this imbalance risks prioritising these perceptions over those of individuals with the condition. As such, this study aimed to explore the lived experiences of dyspraxic young adults, specifically focusing on the overall experience of higher education. In order to meet this aim, the study adopted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). Following a pilot study to gain a deeper understanding of IPA, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted, three with each of the four participants over nine months. Participants’ narratives were analysed through a systematic and interpretative analysis in which five superordinate themes were identified. These were: 1) Trust and Judgement, 2) Socialisation, 3) Managing Emotions, 4) Being a Higher Education Student, and 5) Support. The findings were considered through the lens of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework (WHO, 2001), the conceptual framework adopted for this study. This thesis demonstrates that dyspraxic young adults can experience various physical, cognitive, social and emotional challenges that present barriers to participation in HE and social settings. While academic support can help remove barriers in HE, a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate due to the condition’s heterogeneity. Furthermore, findings show that anxiety is a secondary consequence rather than a core manifestation of dyspraxia/DCD, lending support to the Environmental Stress Hypothesis (Cairney, Rigoli and Piek, 2013). Finally, due to the interrelational nature of the condition, these findings demonstrate that the ICF framework (WHO, 2001) is valuable for considering dyspraxia/DCD. This study acknowledged, however, that there is a deeper level of interaction happening within the components of the framework. As such, this thesis offers a reconfigured illustration of the ICF Framework. By focusing on the experiences of dyspraxic young adults, we may begin to address the barriers they experience to participation in HE and how these affect their overall well-being through changes to practice

La Habana: A History of Society, Livelihood, Movement, and Land Use on the Iquitos-Nauta Highway

With increasing infrastructural projects and land titling in the Peruvian Amazon, many changes are occurring within small roadside communities. In this case study, we investigate how these changes impact livelihoods, land use, travel patterns, and social relations within the broader concepts of development, privatization of land, and commodification of nature. Specifically we focus on the caserío La Habana situated on the Iquitos-Nauta highway in the Loreto region of Peru. Semi-formal interviews and ethnographic methods were conducted to gather information on social organization, history of the community, land use practices, migration patterns, opinions on the road, and livelihood strategies. After data was collected it was analyzed and coded using excel and ArcGIS technology. We found that people moved to La Habana to connect with previously established family relations, job opportunities, and education services. The road was viewed as beneficial by all interviewed residents, but it was not recognized as the main draw to La Habana. Since the construction of the road, La Habana has undergone a series of adjustments including changes in livelihood strategies, including alterations in the balance between subsidence and income practices, and perceptions of land titles and land privatization. We conclude that increased infrastructural projects and privatization processes have large impacts on small caseríos both in physical changes and within the perceptions of their inhabitants

"Blue Label / Etiqueta Azul" de Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles: una historia que cruza fronteras

This paper analyses the various border-crossings in Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles’ 2010 novel Blue Label/Etiqueta Azul in the context of contemporary Venezuelan politics and society, as well as the wider framework of globalization. It places Sánchez Rugeles’ text in opposition to the “socialist ethics and aesthetics” promoted by Bolivarian cultural policy, elucidating how the novel refutes both Venezuelan nationalism and socialism¸ thereby also rejecting the literary tradition of “foundational fiction”.El presente trabajo analiza los varios cruces de fronteras en Blue Label/Etiqueta Azul, (Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles, 2010) en el contexto de la política y la sociedad contemporáneas venezolanas, así como dentro del marco más amplio de la globalización. Contrapone el texto de Sánchez Rugeles a “la ética y la estética socialistas” promovidas por las políticas culturales bolivarianas para elucidar cómo la novela refuta tanto el nacionalismo como el socialismo venezolanos, y cómo, de esa manera, rechaza la tradición literaria de “ficciones fundacionales”

Parallel Adaptation of CD4 in SIV-Endemic Gorilla and Pan Lineages

The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is homologous to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and naturally infects chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild. Some African primate species appear to have evolved resistance to SIV, in that the virus no longer is found in the species or, if infected, individuals within the species show no serious symptoms of simian AIDS (SAIDS). In contrast, Asian primate species do not appear to naturally harbor SIV and, like humans, often progress to AIDS following infection. CD4 is the primary T cell receptor that SIV/HIV interacts with to infect host T cells. Domain 1 (D1) of CD4 holds the main interaction with the viral envelope protein, gp120. During my course in Dr. Stewart’s lab, I analyzed 77 primate CD4 gene sequences in comparison to each other and to the Homo lineage in search of fixed changes on lineages, as well as sequence variation within species. I found that D1 in the known SIV resistant species, chimpanzee and gorilla, had several notable amino acid replacements on ancestral lineages, as well as variation within the species. These amino acid replacements likely have the potential to prevent SIV gp120 from binding to CD4. In contrast, the Homo sequence had no amino acid replacements and little variation within humans. Perhaps these results shed light on why humans suffer with HIV/AIDS today, with little to no resistance to infection

The Effect of Napping on Sleep Quality and Quantity in Healthy and Concussed Collegiate Athletes

Clinicians are increasingly prescribing a regulated sleep schedule to athletes post injury; however, baseline sleep habits of collegiate athletes are unknown. Moreover, the connection between napping and sleep quality and quantity has not been studied in collegiate athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate napping behaviors and their effects on sleep quantity and quality in concussed and non-concussed collegiate athletes. In a sample of 233 non-concussed collegiate athletes, 74% (172/233) of participants reported napping. Napping was not significantly associated with sleep quantity (χ 2 (2) = .23, p = .64) or quality (χ 2 (1) = .42, p =.52). Due to a small sample size (n = 6) in the concussed group, the results are inconclusive. The majority of non-concussed collegiate athletes reported napping; however, it did not affect their nighttime sleep quality or quantity. Athletes are advised to regulate their sleep after injury; however, the current study provides evidence that athletes are not regulated prior to their injury. Future research should investigate if these results are congruent with those post-concussion