The Extraordinary in the Ordinary.

I began my degree in Contemporary Art and Design in my early 40s with two young children, who were both still quite small and needed more ‘hands-on’ care than they do now that they are teenagers, which inevitably had an effect on my work. The ‘everyday’ is what I came home to at night; - the cooking, the laundry, homework, school trips, packed lunches and all the other countless things that provide security and certainty for those in my particular family unit. These ‘everyday’ things began to appear more and more regularly in my work, bringing a kind of comfort in the ‘normalness’, the ordinariness of their very existence. I began to realise that although these objects are almost invisible to us as they are such a familiar presence in our lives, they nevertheless have a value that we may not immediately recognise and perhaps they only have meaning for me. Chairs, cups and cutlery feature quite often in my work and it could be surmised that these are indeed everyday objects that make up family life.But, I began to realise that for me, these items also convey a much deeper importance. For me, they represent the importance of ‘people’ in my life, whether that be my core family or the much larger one of extended family and friends. This goes back to my childhood when my grandparents would expect all their children, their wives, husbands and grandchildren home on a Sunday afternoon for tea. No excuse for not being there was accepted. Both my Aunts carried this tradition on when they became mothers and grandmothers so I grew up with Sunday teas that were in turn full of mayhem, noise, laughter, drinks being spilt, children crying because they were overwhelmed and overtired. With hindsight, I am sure that some of the time, some of those present were filled with resentment, annoyance and frustration but I much prefer to recall those days with rose-tinted glasses. These ‘teas’ became an important part of my life as a wife and mother. My husband and I, with our children, moved away from our home town many years ago, opportunities have taken us to different parts of the country, so our ‘family’ has become that of our own making. Friday nights in our home became an ‘open house’ evening and anyone who was passing was welcome to join us for dinner and a glass of wine. Friends new and old and now our children are older, their friends have become part of the evening, as well as our family when they visit, gather at our house to connect or reconnect with each other. In this way my memory and the tradition of these ‘family’ gatherings has been carried on in my own life with a modern twist. These evenings are a way for different generations to socialise together, swapping stories and creating new memories, we discover untold histories and shared experiences that create bonds and strengthen ties amongst our man-made family. Over the course of my degree I realised that I place great importance on the objects around me, not because I am materialistic but because they remind me of my past, they are a method of remembering. I find it difficult to throw things away because I am throwing memories away in a very real way for me. Postcards, books, an absolutely hideous statue we received as a wedding present from a wonderful Aunt, that was so awful it became a much loved object and we were genuinely sad when it got broken in a house move. As Wittgenstein says: ‘The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. (One is unable to notice something because it is always before one’s eyes.) (Sachs, 2011:47). These items help define my life and what has happened in it, these constant reminders of what has gone before and what I would like to pass on to my children as a way for them to remember the family and home life they shared growing up. ‘Telling stories about the past, our past, is a key moment in the making of ourselves. To the extent that memory provides their raw material, such narratives of identity are shaped as much by what is left out of the account – whether forgotten or repressed – as by what is actually told’ (Kuhn, 2002: 2)

Is the level of sustainability reporting an indicator of future value of a company?

Thesis (M.Com. (Accountancy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accounting, 2016.The mode of reporting performance by firms has shifted radically in recent years from a set of audited annual financial statements, to the inclusion of integrated and sustainability reports. This move has been particularly important for South African listed firms, which are required to prepare integrated reports (and therefore sustainability reports) due to the revision of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements. Although there are no specific accounting standards at present particularly for sustainability reports, certain reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, have influenced and become leaders in such reporting. The value relevance of the quality of sustainability reports is the focus of this study. This research report tests whether report quality as measured by the GRI reporting categories is value relevant for JSE listed companies, whether better reporting companies achieve better long term performance over the period 2007 to 2015. Value relevance is measured using a 4 tiered portfolio construction technique, which uses the GRI reporting categories to define comparative investment portfolios. The results indicate that GRI firms with the highest report qualities underperformed significantly when compared to the market, with the exception of the C report firms, which showed some level of outperformance in the later portfolio years. Interestingly, the portfolio of firms using frameworks other than the GRI outperformed all of the categories of GRI framework firms, as well as the market. The results for the GRI category firms therefore contradict some of the previous research on the value relevance of sustainability reporting which used different measurement proxies for quality, while the non GRI reporting firm results find similar conclusions. This research report therefore concludes that the GRI framework implementation is relatively low in a South African context, and that the GRI report categories do not provide a measure of report quality for the purpose of measuring value relevance, and rather measure the breadth of reporting. This is partly due to the early stage of development of sustainability reporting within South Africa, as well as the lack of a mandatory assured reporting framework such as the GRI, resulting in many firms preferring not to use the globally favoured GRI framework. It appears that most firms are tailoring the various frameworks available to their needs rather than using a consistent framework, which results in reports not being based on the same framework, and therefore not being comparable, even on a high level indicator basis. This highlights the need for revisions to be introduced in the King IV report which will hopefully assist in formalising the leading sustainability framework, and therefore standardising sustainability reporting, together with providing a linkage to the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa, which requires investors to integrate their investment decisions with sustainability considerations.MT201

Enhancing Education to Mitigate Workplace Violence to Increase Staff Safety In a High Acuity Setting: A Quality Improvement Project

Background: The current microsystem is a critical access 8 bed Emergency Department with 3 hallway beds. On average it can see anywhere from 30-50 patients in a 24 hour period. Due to the nature of the microsystem, staff are at high risk for experiencing workplace violence (WPV). Within this microsystem staff do not have a readily available communication device on their person in case of an adverse event leaving them susceptible to patient to staff WPV. Staff within this microsystem are Management of Aggressive Behavior (MOAB) 1 and 2 trained, however this does not provide education on risk factors for WPV or the lasting effects. Methods: Continuous data was collected via Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) likert scale (1-5), and median SAQ scores pre- and post- interventions were compared via SAQ pre/post survey. Nominal categorical data was collected via staff self-reporting on two-way radio device use. Free text open ended questions provided qualitative themes to microsystem specific topics. Intervention: Passive WPV education was provided at optimal times to ensure all staff were covered. Staff were encouraged to use a two-way radio system and self-report meaningful use. Staff were encouraged to complete a SAQ before and after the said intervention. Results: The data did not provide a statistical significance in device utilization and/or perceived feelings of safety and security. Due to limited post-intervention participation and overall negative survey response. SAQ score of .933 pre-intervention indicated an overall strong sense of current perceived safety and security within this microsystem. SAQ median domain score indicated a high staff perceived safety and security at 0.783; however SAQ domain scores did highlight the two areas of opportunity within the microsystem to enhance perception safety and security. Device utilization frequency during the intervention .009% as compared to 0% pre-intervention, which is not statistically significant. Conclusions: Quality improvement (QI) interventions within this microsystem should focus on real time feedback and open forum communication. Communication devices should be updated and tailored for ease of use. Yearly SAQ should be performed by management to identify gaps in perceived safety and security

Impact of social complexity on outcomes in cystic fibrosis after transfer to adult care

Objective This study evaluates the roles of medical and social complexity in health care use outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF) after transfer from pediatric to adult care. Methods Retrospective cohort design included patients with CF who were transitioned into adult care at Indiana University from 2005 to 2015. Predictor variables included demographic and comorbidity data, age at transition, treatment complexity score (TCS), and an objective scoring measure of their social complexity (Bob's Level of Social Support, BLSS). Outcome variables included outpatient visit rates and hospitalization rates. Pearson's correlations and linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results The median age of the patients (N = 133) at the time of transition was 20 (IQR 19‐23) years. The mean FEV1 % predicted at transition was 69 ± 24%. TCS correlated with outpatient visit rates (r = 0.3, P = 0.003), as well as hospitalization rates (r = 0.4, P < 0.001); while the BLSS only correlated with hospitalization rates (r = 0.7, P < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, the strongest predictors of post‐transfer hospitalizations are BLSS (P < 0.0001) and pre‐transfer hospitalization rate (P < 0.0001). Conclusion Greater treatment complexity is associated with greater healthcare utilization overall, while greater social complexity is associated with increased hospitalizations (but not outpatient visits). Screening young adults for social complexity may identify high‐risk subpopulations and allow for patient centered interventions to support them and prevent avoidable health care use

Discovering the meaning of stress: a qualitative approach

The aim of the study was to understand the meaning of stress, and towards this end eleven individuals who claimed to have experienced the phenomenon during the six months prior to data collection were asked to describe their experience. These transcribed protocols were explicated in terms of a phenomenological praxis, and the emotional content of descriptions subjected to taxonomic analysis. In addition, a literature review for the purposes of tracing the development of contemporary stress models and related constructs was conducted. The latter critiqued current conceptualisations of stress, and attempted to highlight some important contributions. Explication in terms of phenomenological praxis identified seven central features associated with lived stress, namely, lived stress as : the perception of personal cost; a sense of entrapment; persistent coping efforts; learned helplessness; embodiment; and, poor social relations. In addition, the unfolding nature of the experience suggested stress as a continuous process of adjustment to worldly demands, and furthermore, highliJhted several variations of structure. The latter themes were used to develop a more inclusive model of lived stress as a dynamic and unfolding process. Dialogue with existing literature was able to confirm the self-world split proposed by the transactional approach to stress as legitimate, and furthermore, confirmed the primacy of cognition for the stress phenomenon. In addition, the link between stress and personality factors, psychopathological conditions and related fields of enquiry (such as anxiety and burnout) as well as more positive modes of being (such as creativity) were discussed. Furthermore, lived stress was shown to involve a threat to the individual's continued existence, both with respect to his/her the desired self and its unfolding and his/her physicality, while the presence of mutual hostility between self and world was also noted. The study concludes with reflection concerning the methodologies employed, and suggests that while qualitative and interpretive methods are both cumbersome and time consuming if rigorously applied, they do enrich the understanding of complex experiential phenomena. Finally, several suggestions are made for further research and refinement in the stress field, the most pertinent of which appears to be that of establishing the relationship between lived stress and the development of more debilitating psychopathological conditions

Sapphic experience: lesbian gender identity development and diversity

This dissertation explores lesbian experience, or the psychological meaning of being lesbian from the point of view of women who call themselves lesbian. The researcher suspended the binary paradigm of sex and gender, and argued that lesbians' identity development must be understood against the background of how patriarchy understands the category 'woman' through history. Towards this purpose the pOSition of women in the West, as well as contemporary images and literature about lesbians, was reviewed. On the basis of this review questions about lesbian gender construction, lesbian identity development and lesbian individuation were identified. In order to access the psychological meaning of being lesbian, or lesbian experience from the inside out, the dream-series of three lesbians constituted an empirical basis for further exploration. These dream-series were amplified with intensive face-to-face interviews, transcribed, and subjected to a hermeneutic-phenomenological inductive method. Common inter-case concerns were identified and synthesized. In dialogue with the literature reviewed, twenty-two statements of meaning about being lesbian were distilled. These revealed two possible constructions of gender for primary lesbians. In addition, primary lesbians involved in the research demonstrated remarkable flexibility with respect to their gender orientations and gender identifications, were in the process of integrating with and differentiating from different aspects of their masculine and feminine potentials, and developed and negotiated their gender identities in relationship to both their lovers and friends. The explication also revealed that participants identified with archetypal aspects of the father that their fathers' did not express, and desired archetypal aspects of the mother that their mother's did not express. Finally, in so much as the method distinguished ~ sex, sexual identity and sexual orientation from gender, gender identity, gender identification and gender orientation, it may prove useful for exploring gender in heterosexual relating

International Collaboration on a Sustainable Forestry Management OER Online Program – A Case Study

[EN] Over time, forest education has had to adapt to keep up with global changes and to accomodate the needs of students and society. While facing pressing global issues like climate change, deforestation, illegal logging and food security, the role of higher forest education has shifted away from traditional teaching approaches and practices to methods that emphasize sustainable development, community-based management and environmental conservation in forestry. In doing so, forest education has cultivated human expertise that understands the complexity of ever-changing environments, masters state of the art technologies to manage fores and natural resources, and is capable of creating, communicating and implementing related policies in global communities and societies. In this context, educational technology and online lerning enable flexible, accessible, effective, and high-quality forest education. A case study of a Sustainable Forest Management Online program led by the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia (UBC) shows that appropriately integrating educational technologies into an interntionally developed and recognized high quality curriculum is an effective way to create accessible and affordable forest education in meeting the demand of evolving societal and environmental conditions.Keywords: forest education; educational technology; international collaboration, open educational resourcesThis paper is based on studies conducted along with the delivery of a series of online courses in sustainable forest management supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management (APFNet) and the Asia Pacific Forestry Education Coordination Mechanism (AP-FECM).Zeng, MQ(.; Chen, H.; Shrestha, A.; Crowley, C.; Ng, E.; Wang, G. (2020). International Collaboration on a Sustainable Forestry Management OER Online Program – A Case Study. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):1253-1260. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.112421253126030-05-202

Isolation and detection of microRNA from the egg of chickens

BACKGROUND: The egg is a vital part of the chicken developmental process and an important protein source for humans. Despite the chicken egg being a subject of intense research little attention has been given to the role of microRNAs within the egg. FINDINGS: We report a method for the reproducible and reliable isolation of miRNA from the albumen and yolk of chicken eggs. We also report the detection via real-time PCR of a number of miRNAs from both of these biological fluids. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide an interesting look into the chicken egg and raise questions as to the role that miRNAs maybe playing in the chicken egg. This method of detecting miRNAs in chicken eggs will allow researchers to investigate the presence of an additional level of epigenetic programming in chick development previously unknown and also how this impacts the nutritional value of eggs for human consumption

19F NMR spectroscopy monitors ligand binding to recombinantly fluorine-labelled b'x from human protein disulphide isomerase (hPDI)

We report a protein-observe (19)F NMR-based ligand titration binding study of human PDI b'x with ?-somatostatin that also emphasises the need to optimise recombinant protein fluorination when using 5- or 6-fluoroindole. This study highlights a recombinant preference for 5-fluoroindole over 6-fluoroindole; most likely due to the influence of fluorine atomic packing within the folded protein structure. Fluorination affords a single (19)F resonance probe to follow displacement of the protein x-linker as ligand is titrated and provides a dissociation constant of 23 ± 4 ?M