Beginning Scottish geography teachers' perceptions of education for sustainable development

At the start of the 21st century the global pace of change and challenge continues unabated (Cullingford and Gunn, 2005). Increasingly individuals need to be equipped with the skills to manage and navigate uncertain futures (Irving, 1999). The Scottish Government's [SG] ambitions are high: Our aim is that by 2014 people in Scotland will have developed the knowledge, understanding, skills and values to live more sustainable lives (Scottish Executive [SE], 2006). Cobb, Darling-Hammond and Murangi (1995) cited in Cobb (1999) refer to the pivotal role that education plays in relation to national development. Renewed government support for Education for Sustainable Development [ESD] has been evident in recent curriculum reform - The Executive will ensure that the new Curriculum for Excellence [CfE] integrates education for sustainable development across subject areas (Sustainable Development Education Liaison Group, 22-23rd August 2006). Few would query the importance and relevance of ESD, however, school approaches remain piece-meal and unco-ordinated (Sustainable Development Education Liaison Group [SDLG], 2006)

Parallel fluid dynamics for the film and animation industries

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-149).The creation of automated fluid effects for film and media using computer simulations is popular, as artist time is reduced and greater realism can be achieved through the use of numerical simulation of physical equations. The fluid effects in today’s films and animations have large scenes with high detail requirements. With these requirements, the time taken by such automated approaches is large. To solve this, cluster environments making use of hundreds or more CPUs have been used. This overcomes the processing power and memory limitations of a single computer and allows very large scenes to be created. One of the newer methods for fluid simulation is the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). This is a cellular automata type of algorithm, which parallelizes easily. An important part of the process of parallelization is load balancing; the distribution of computation amongst the available computing resources in the cluster. To date, the parallelization of the Lattice Boltzmann method only makes use of static load balancing. Instead, it is possible to make use of dynamic load balancing, which adjusts the computation distribution as the simulation progresses. Here, we investigate the use of the LBM in conjunction with a Volume of Fluid (VOF) surface representation in a parallel environment with the aim of producing large scale scenes for the film and animation industries. The VOF method tracks mass exchange between cells of the LBM. In particular, we implement the new dynamic load balancing algorithm to improve the efficiency of the fluid simulation using this method. Fluid scenes from films and animations have two important requirements: the amount of detail and the spatial resolution of the fluid. These aspects of the VOF LBM are explored by considering the time for scene creation using a single and multi-CPU implementation of the method. The scalability of the method is studied by plotting the run time, speedup and efficiency of scene creation against the number of CPUs. From such plots, an estimate is obtained of the feasibility of creating scenes of a giving level of detail. Such estimates enable the recommendation of architectures for creation of specific scenes. Using a parallel implementation of the VOF LBM method we successfully create large scenes with great detail. In general, considering the significant amounts of communication required for the parallel method, it is shown to scale well, favouring scenes with greater detail. The scalability studies show that the new dynamic load balancing algorithm improves the efficiency of the parallel implementation, but only when using lower number of CPUs. In fact, for larger number of CPUs, the dynamic algorithm reduces the efficiency. We hypothesise the latter effect can be removed by making using of centralized load balancing decision instead of the current decentralized approach. The use of a cluster comprising of 200 CPUs is recommended for the production of large scenes of a grid size 6003 in a reasonable time frame

Men in Nursing Academia: Recruitment and Retention Factors

Currently there is a shortage of males holding faculty positions in schools of nursing. Minimal research has been conducted to address the shortage of male faculty. The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to recruitment and retention of men in the faculty role. In this multisite descriptive design, 242 male faculty completed the electronic Nurse Educator Recruitment and Retention Survey. Top strategies reported regarding attraction to the role were opportunity to work with students , help shape the nursing profession, and nurse faculty role modeling. Top recruitment strategies were increased salaries , employee benefits , having discussions with students, and flexibility in working hours. Retention strategies reported were positive work environment and support from administration. The factors identified from this study are essential for the recruitment and retention of men in faculty roles

Increasing Knowledge of Postpartum Depression Screening Amongst Healthcare Providers: A Quality Improvement Project

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that affects women after childbirth. Affected women typically experience symptoms such as feelings of severe sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that make it difficult for them to complete daily activities and to care for their baby. PPD is significantly undertreated, and it may become an important issue that affects the health of a mother, her interaction with the newborn, infant growth, and the mother’s marital relationship. Undertreatment of PPD could stem from lack of knowledge regarding the screening process for PPD. While diagnosing PPD is key to treating the ailment, PPD remains highly underdiagnosed in the United States. This situation may be due to health care professionals’ lack of understanding of the condition and/or of the screening procedures to detect it. A quality improvement project was developed with the aim to increase knowledge on postpartum depression screening amongst healthcare providers in the hospital setting. The project was conducted at a major urban women’s and children’s hospital. A total of 10 participants were included in the study which consisted of nurses, nurse practitioners, obstetric residents, and family medicine residents. The quality improvement project demonstrated that the implementation of a targeted population education intervention for the care of postpartum women positively increased the knowledge of healthcare providers using the postpartum depression screening tools. Pre-test scores ranged from 6 to 13 with an average of 9.8 out of 15. At post-intervention, scores ranged from 10 to 14 with an average of 12.4 out of 15. The change in knowledge was found to be statistically different by 11%, post educational intervention. Education for healthcare providers regarding PPD screening is critical and should be readily available to ensure that adequate treatment is provided to this patient population. This project may inspire future efforts to establish innovative ways and strategies to enhance the quality of postpartum depression screening procedures by healthcare providers, with the goal of benefiting women who are afflicted

The informal learning of new teachers in school

The purpose of this paper is to present what the study of the experiences of beginning teachers and their informal learning says about the process of learning to teach, and to discuss the main emerging themes in relation to a wider literature. The design of the paper is essentially ethnographic and building of grounded theory, based on an accumulation of data derived from interviews with beginning teachers and connecting to extant theory. The findings are that a focus on the informal learning of beginners in teaching leads to the notion of learning as becoming that is predominantly emotional and relational in nature with the emergence of teacher identity. The research is limited in its exploration of the cognitive dimension of professional learning, a dimension which may be elicited using a more tightly focused and structured method. The implications are that learning to teach is not determined by a professional standard and that a revised standard would need to take account of these findings. The value of the paper lies in the pursuit of informal learning as a research area in teaching to reveal a greater complexity of learning in that specific professional context; and showing how the understanding of learning to teach can be enriched through a wider appreciation of the school as workplace, workplace learning and connections to a wider philosophical literature

An update on the use of pantoprazole as a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic, recurrent disease that affects nearly 19 million people in the US. The mainstay of therapy for GERD is acid suppression. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most effective medication for both initial treatment and maintenance therapy of GERD. Pantoprazole, a first-generation PPI, was approved by the FDA in 2000 for the treatment of erosive esophagitis associated with GERD. It has been used in more than 100 different countries worldwide. It is one of the few PPIs available in multiple forms: a delayed-release oral capsule, oral suspension, and intravenous. Pantoprazole been shown to improve acid reflux-related symptoms, heal esophagitis, and improve health-related quality of life more effectively than histamine-2 receptor antagonists. Evaluated in over 100 clinical trials, pantoprazole has an excellent safety profile, is as efficacious as other PPIs, and has a low incidence of drug interactions. It has also been shown to be safe and effective in special patient populations, such as the elderly and those with renal or moderate liver disease

Raising a Bottle-Fed Calf on a Cow/Calf Operation

Having bottle-fed calves on the ranch is common for beef producers. The most likely scenarios are a cow has died, a cow isn’t giving enough milk, or a twin has been rejected. All these scenarios are likely to happen, which results in an orphan calf. Bottle-feeding a calf is straightforward; however, there are limited resources, specifically for beef producers, looking for bottle-fed calf management strategies. When bottle-feeding a beef calf, there are some things to consider, such as feeding colostrum, selecting and using milk replacers, and weaning the calf. Many of the resources on bottle-calf management come from the dairy industry; however, beef producers can tailor dairy industry strategies to fit their own operation

The Association Between Discrimination and Sleep is Exacerbated in Individuals with Comorbid Chronic Health Conditions

Introduction: The consequences of recurrent, stressful daily experiences for sleep health appear intensified in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Although discrimination has been associated with sleep outcomes, the role of comorbid chronic health conditions (CCHCs), and impact of perceived discrimination, remains unclear. The present study investigated (1) the associations between daily discrimination and sleep and (2) moderating roles of CCHCs and daily life interference and hardship. Methods: The current study utilized archival data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study II. Participants, 174 adults (51% female, Mage=57 yrs., SD=11.5 yrs.), completed 7 days of actigraphy, sleep diary, PSQI, and CCHC-reporting measures. Models examined the moderating effects of CCHCs, daily interference, and hardship on the association between discrimination and sleep. Results: Daily discriminatory experiences predicted numerous poor sleep outcomes, exacerbated for persons with higher CCHCs. Higher comorbidity (95% CI=5.40, 68.75) exacerbated the association between discrimination and TSTactigraphy, further strengthened by perceived hardship (95% CI=-3.75, -.40) and interference (95% CI=-3.65, -.30). Number of CCHCs, qualified by perceived hardship (95% CI=.00, .04) and interference (95% CI=.01, .05), predicted diary sleep quality above discrimination. The interaction between CCHCs and hardship predicted global PSQI scores (95% CI=-.91, -.12) beyond discrimination. Conclusion: Daily experiences of discrimination are associated with decreased sleep duration and quality. These associations were stronger for individuals with multiple CCHCs. Exacerbating CCHC effects were perpetuated by perceived interference and hardships, suggesting individual emotion regulation (ER) differences. Future research should attend to sleep-related consequences of differential discrimination-informed ER by persons with CCHCs.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1042/thumbnail.jp