The Relationship Of Extracurricular Activity On Leadership Development: Comparing International And Domestic Students

This study explores how extracurricular activities experiences affect students’ leadership development outcomes. The current status of students’ experiences of extracurricular activities and leadership development outcomes identified. Also, it analyzed the correlation, as well as how they contribute to the college students’ leadership. Lastly, the result was compared between international students and domestic students. This study focused on the individual, group, and community/society values of the Social Change Model of Leadership Development. Data was collected from 708 college students and analyzed using quantitative methodology. The results showed that college students’ participation in extracurricular organizations were relatively lower than high school students. Gender and class level, student type were positively associated with student leadership development. Specifically, higher involvement in extracurricular activity produces higher leadership development outcomes. Students’ self-perception of leadership skills were the most significant predictors of all values of leadership development outcomes. Participation in extracurricular activities exerted a direct positive effect on leadership development outcomes. Educators should be challenged explicitly to enhance student’s participation in leadership development and provide bridge programs that give domestic students more opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities with international students. This study can guide leaders in higher education to structure student participation opportunities that positively affect a student’s leadership development outside the classroom

New Zealand meets South Korea: Strategies for film co-productions between two countries

This study investigates the state of international film co-productions between New Zealand and South Korea and whether such co-productions are possible, and if so, which modes or types of film co-productions are likely to succeed. The study is framed in the context of the two countries as well as the rapidly changing global marketplace. Increasingly, international film co-productions have gained importance in the film industry paralleling a growing tendency towards cross-border filmmaking. However, the phenomenon of international film co-productions, specifically between New Zealand and South Korea, has not been fully investigated to date. A review of existing approaches to international film co-productions did not provide a sufficiently comprehensive theoretical framework for this study. It therefore draws on four different approaches: political economy, social exchange theory (the reciprocal exchange model), Cultural Studies (focusing on cultural proximity and discount), and transnational approaches. Post-positivism provides a theoretical research perspective and the research method employed was a mixed-methods. The secondary data was analysed and discussed for the two governments’ film policies and their impact on the co-productions of these two countries. Extensive in-depth interviews with key respondents point five influential factors (political, economic, personal, cultural and industrial) for New Zealand-South Korean film co-productions. A case study of The Warrior’s Way (2010) was undertaken in order to examine how these five factors have practically impacted on one example of international film co-production. This study proposes a conceptual framework drawing upon four approaches to explore multi-layered and multifaceted international film co-productions, and each approach in the framework has made its own contributions to film studies in the academic literature. The findings of this thesis show that it has been difficult for official productions between these countries to happen despite the film agreement between them. Consequently, it is suggested that the option of undertaking unofficial film co-productions is a better one. Three modes for unofficial productions, particularly addressed to those South Korean filmmakers who desire to make New Zealand-South Korean co-productions are suggested

Mobile, Financial Inclusion and Development: A Critical Review of Academic Literature

With the flagship success of m-Pesa, mobile devices have become an important tool to facilitate financial inclusion of the previously unbanked population in developing countries. Attempts to provide a landscape of academic research findings from a critical perspective has been rather scant. To fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic review of 54 academic research papers vis-à-vis the nexus of mobile, financial inclusion and development. The result shows that the extant literature addresses three major clusters of topics including delivery, environmental factors, and impact of mobile financial services. Still in the nascent stage of research, the topics covered in the literature indicate a skewed balance towards delivery-related issues in a technology-oriented perspective rather than their linkages to financial inclusion and broader socioeconomic development. The choice of research methods also shows a limited variety and depth. This research contributes to understanding the current research on mobile financial services for financial inclusion in developing countries, and finding out research gaps for future study

Meteorin regulates mesendoderm development by enhancing nodal expression

During gastrulation, distinct lineage specification into three germ layers, the mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm, occurs through an elaborate harmony between signaling molecules along the embryonic proximo-distal and anterior-posterior axes, and Nodal signaling plays a key role in the early embryonic development governing embryonic axis formation, mesoderm and endoderm specification, and left-right asymmetry determination. However, the mechanism by which Nodal expression is regulated is largely unknown. Here, we show that Meteorin regulates Nodal expression and is required for mesendoderm development. It is highly expressed in the inner cell mass of blastocysts and further in the epiblast and extra-embryonic ectoderm during gastrulation. Genetic ablation of the Meteorin gene resulted in early embryonic lethality, presumably due to impaired lineage allocation and subsequent cell accumulation. Embryoid body culture using Meteorin-null embryonic stem (ES) cells showed reduced Nodal expression and concomitant impairment of mesendoderm specification. Meteorin-null embryos displayed reduced levels of Nodal transcripts before the gastrulation stage, and impaired expression of Goosecoid, a definitive endoderm marker, during gastrulation, while the proximo-distal and anterior-posterior axes and primitive streak formation were preserved. Our results show that Meteorin is a novel regulator of Nodal transcription and is required to maintain sufficient Nodal levels for endoderm formation, thereby providing new insights in the regulation of mesendoderm allocation.open1113sciescopu

A lab-on-a-disc platform enables serial monitoring of individual CTCs associated with tumor progression during EGFR-targeted therapy for patients with NSCLC

Rationale: Unlike traditional biopsy, liquid biopsy, which is a largely non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool, can be performed more frequently to better track tumors and mutations over time and to validate the efficiency of a cancer treatment. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are considered promising liquid biopsy biomarkers; however, their use in clinical settings is limited by high costs and a low throughput of standard platforms for CTC enumeration and analysis. In this study, we used a label-free, high-throughput method for CTC isolation directly from whole blood of patients using a standalone, clinical setting-friendly platform. Methods: A CTC-based liquid biopsy approach was used to examine the efficacy of therapy and emergent drug resistance via longitudinal monitoring of CTC counts, DNA mutations, and single-cell-level gene expression in a prospective cohort of 40 patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Results: The change ratio of the CTC counts was associated with tumor response, detected by CT scan, while the baseline CTC counts did not show association with progression-free survival or overall survival. We achieved a 100% concordance rate for the detection of EGFR mutation, including emergence of T790M, between tumor tissue and CTCs. More importantly, our data revealed the importance of the analysis of the epithelial/mesenchymal signature of individual pretreatment CTCs to predict drug responsiveness in patients. Conclusion: The fluid-assisted separation technology disc platform enables serial monitoring of CTC counts, DNA mutations, as well as unbiased molecular characterization of individual CTCs associated with tumor progression during targeted therapy

Diversity and assembly of planktonic protist communities in the Jeju Strait, Korea

This study examined planktonic protists—microbial eukaryotes with cell sizes between 2 and 200 µm—to understand their diversity, assembly processes, and co-existence patterns in surface waters of the Jeju Strait (JS), Korea. Using small organelle-enriched metagenomics, the study identified 252 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across three distinct oceanographic regions of the JS during multiple seasons. Interestingly, there were no significant variations in the diversity or phylogenetic structures of these planktonic protist communities (PPCs), indicating a uniform distribution of PPCs across the strait. However, a higher clustering of their phylogenetic structure was observed in November, implying that seasonal environmental factors influenced their assembly. The study also discovered that seasonal shifts had a major impact on the composition of these communities. For example, Myzozoa was more prevalent in March, while Ochrophyta dominated in November. Protist size also varied seasonally, with larger protists increasing from June to November and then decreasing by March. Neutral community model analysis provided insights into the role of stochastic processes in shaping community assembly. The majority of OTUs fell into the neutral category, while a smaller proportion displayed non-neutral patterns. For instance, certain species like Pseudo-nitzschia and Chaetoceros were frequently found but had lower abundance, while other species like Alexandrium and Protoceratium were less frequent but more abundant. The feeding patterns, or trophic modes, of these protists also showed variations. Additionally, the study unveiled a complex network of species interactions within the strait, including positive mutualistic relationships and negative competitive interactions. The intricate interaction network consisted of 61 distinct modules, suggesting the presence of specialized subgroups within the PPCs that fulfill unique ecological roles. These subgroups contribute significantly to the overall stability and resilience of the ecosystem