Exploring the role of ICT-enabled social innovation for the active inclusion of young people

This Report presents the final results of the study ‘ICT-enabled social innovation services for active inclusion of young people’ (IESI-Youth) which has been commissioned by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) and implemented by Arcola Research in 2014. The overall objective of the study was to review the state of the art in the domain of active inclusion services for young people, with a specific focus on how ICTs can support active inclusion of disadvantaged youth to strengthen their skills and capacities and support them to participate fully in employment and social life. The study was conducted as preparatory activity contributing to the development of the broader research project on 'ICT enabled Social Innovation in support of the Implementation of the Social Investment Package (IESI) being implemented by JRC-IPTS in collaboration with DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL).JRC.J.3-Information Societ

A Systematic Review of the Provision of Sexuality Education to Student Teachers in Initial Teacher Education

Teachers, and their professional learning and development, have been identified as playing an integral role in enabling children and young people’s right to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). The provision of sexuality education (SE) during initial teacher education (ITE) is upheld internationally, as playing a crucial role in relation to the implementation and quality of school-based SE. This systematic review reports on empirical studies published in English from 1990 to 2019. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, five databases were searched: ERIC, Education Research Complete, PsycINFO, Web of Science and MEDLINE. From a possible 1,153 titles and abstracts identified, 15 papers were selected for review. Results revealed that research on SE during ITE is limited and minimal research has focused on student teachers’ attitudes on SE. Findings indicate that SE provision received is varied and not reflective of comprehensive SE. Recommendations highlight the need for robust research to inform quality teacher professional development practices to support teachers to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to teach comprehensive SE

The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and the malleability of ageist attitudes

The current study examined the malleability of implicit attitudes using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). In Experiment 1, “similar” and “opposite” were presented as response options with the sample terms “old people” and “young people” and various positive and negative target stimuli. Results showed significantly faster response latencies for consistent (e.g., Similar- Positive-Young People) compared to inconsistent tasks (e.g., Similar-Positive-Old People). Explicit measures did not correlate with this IRAP effect. Experiment 2 determined whether prior exposure to pictures of admired and disliked old and young individuals had an impact on IRAP performance. Results revealed that pro-old exemplars reduced the pro-young IRAP effect, but reversed the anti-old effect, and this held for 24 h; explicit measures were largely unaffected. The findings suggest that the IRAP provides an informative measure of attitudechange following pro- versus anti-exemplar training

Cooperative research: an example from the Wet Tropics of Queensland

In recent years there has been wider recognition of the important role that Indigenous knowledge can play in developing and implementing natural resource management (NRM) strategies. The biophysical surroundings of many Indigenous peoples are of symbolic significance to them, hence their perception and values of natural resources may be vastly different to those of scientists or managers. We discuss a research approach that explicitly embraces the co-production of knowledge to facilitate NRM in Australia. We demonstrate that if particular methodologies are used and specific criteria met, cooperative research can represent one pathway for the integration of Indigenous and scientific knowledge. We suggest an important step for genuine knowledge and systems integration is in research direction-setting. Our approach practices multi-directional learning and mutual benefit, promoting cross transfer of skills by the cooperative generation and documentation of information. Indigenous knowledge and associated systems are strengthened and the value of Indigenous knowledge and systems is recognised alongside accepted scientific knowledge and methods. Essential to the methodology used is the creation of partnerships based on trust between co-researchers and the generation of genuine action research outcomes

Discrimination of immune cell activation using Ramanmicro-spectroscopy in anin-vitro & ex-vivo model

Activation and proliferation of immune cells such as lymphocytes and monocytes are appropriate inflammatory responses to invading pathogens and are key to overcoming an infection. In contrast, uncontrolled and prolonged activation of these cellular signalling pathways can be deleterious to the body and result in the development of autoimmune conditions. The understanding of cellular activatory status therefore plays a significant role in disease diagnosis and progression. Conventional automated approaches such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immune-labelling techniques are time-consuming and expensive, relying on a commercially available and specific antibody to identify cell activation. Developing a label-free method for assessing molecular changes would therefore offer a quick and cost-efficient alternative in biomedical research. Here Raman spectroscopy is presented as an effective spectroscopic method for the identification of activated immune cells using both cell lines and primary cells (including purified monocyte and lymphocyte subgroups and mixed peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) populations) obtained from healthy donors. All cell lines and primary cells were exposed to different stimulants and cellular responses confirmed by flow cytometry or ELISA. Machine learning models of cell discrimination using Raman spectra were developed and compared to reference flow-cytometry, with spectral discrimination levels comparing favourably with the reference method. Spectral signatures of molecular expression after activation were also extracted with results demonstrating alignment with expected profiles. High performance classification models constructed in these in-vitro and ex-vivo studies enabled identification of the spectroscopic discrimination of immune cell subtypes in their resting and activated state. Further spectral fitting analysis identified a number of potential spectral biomarkers that elucidate the spectral classification

Recent results in the decoding of Algebraic geometry codes

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support versus control and students’ life skills development in PE, and whether students’ basic need satisfaction and frustration mediated these relationships. Design: Cross-sectional study. Method: English and Irish students (N = 407, Mage = 13.71, SD = 1.23) completed measures assessing perceived autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching, basic need satisfaction and frustration (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and life skills development in PE (teamwork, goal setting, social skills, problem solving and decision making, emotional skills, leadership, time management, and interpersonal communication). Results: On the bright side of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), correlations revealed that perceived teacher autonomy support was positively associated with students’ basic need satisfaction and life skills development in PE. On the dark side of SDT, perceived controlling teaching was positively related to students’ basic need frustration, but not significantly related to their life skills development. Mediational analyses revealed that autonomy and relatedness satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and students’ development of all eight life skills. Competence satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and students’ development of teamwork, goal setting, and leadership skills. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are important mechanisms that in part explain the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and life skills development in PE. Therefore, teachers may look to promote students’ perceptions of an autonomy-supportive climate that satisfies their three basic needs and helps to develop their life skills

Social-ecological drivers and dynamics of seagrass gleaning fisheries

Invertebrate gleaning (walking) fisheries are common within intertidal seagrass meadows globally, contributing to the food supply of hundreds of millions of people, but understanding of these fisheries and their ecological drivers are extremely limited. The present study provides a unique analysis of these fisheries using a combined social and ecological approach. Catches contained 34 species and were dominated by Bivalves, Urchins and Gastropods. CPUE in all sites varied from 0.05 to 3 kg gleaner−1 hr−1, respectively, with the majority of fishers being women and children. Landings were of major significance for local food supply and livelihoods at all sites. Local ecological knowledge suggests seagrass meadows are declining in line with other regional trends. Increasing seagrass density significantly and positively correlated with CPUE of the invertebrate gleaning (r = 0.830) highlighting the importance of conserving these threatened habitats. Understanding the complexities of these fisheries, their supporting habitats and their sustainability is important for the support of sustainable coastal livelihoods

A framework for the resilience of seagrass ecosystems

Seagrass ecosystems represent a global marine resource that is declining across its range. To halt degradation and promote recovery over large scales, management requires a radical change in emphasis and application that seeks to enhance seagrass ecosystem resilience. In this review we examine how the resilience of seagrass ecosystems is becoming compromised by a range of local to global stressors, resulting in ecological regime shifts that undermine the long-term viability of these productive ecosystems. To examine regime shifts and the management actions that can influence this phenomenon we present a conceptual model of resilience in seagrass ecosystems. The model is founded on a series of features and modifiers that act as interacting influences upon seagrass ecosystem resilience. Improved understanding and appreciation of the factors and modifiers that govern resilience in seagrass ecosystems can be utilised to support much needed evidence based management of a vital natural resource