Impacts of legacy mining on stream structural and functional processes in an urban stream

This doctoral dissertation aims to improve the understanding of mine drainage in urban watersheds, specifically how neutral mine drainage (NMD) influences urban streams. Past research on both urban streams and mine impacted streams has largely focused on characterizing streams using structural approaches although there has been an increase in literature on functional processes over the past decade. As urban streams experience multiple co-stressors such as land-use changes combined with heavy metal contamination it is important that we study them using more robust, complementary approaches. This dissertation characterizes the stream from a structural approach looking at physicochemical characteristics and species diversity and abundance of primary producers (i.e., periphyton and macrophytes), biofilm diatoms, macroinvertebrates and the sediment microbial community in addition to investigating the stream from a functional approach, focusing on surface water and sediment nutrient cycling and whole reach stream metabolism. From the structural and functional assessments, the stream was characterized to have an abundance of pollutant and metal tolerant organisms that contribute to high biological activity, specifically periphyton biofilm assemblages and macrophytes that drive nutrient uptake and stream metabolism.Includes bibliographical references

Dental students develop program addressing geriatric oral health at local nursing home

Background: The elderly, especially those who reside in institutions and have a minority or low-income background, often have unmet oral health needs. As life expectancy increases, so will the need for oral health providers skilled in addressing the unique challenges presented by geriatric patients. Methods: Dentists for Della is a student organization at the Dental College of Georgia that aims to improve the oral health status of residents at the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home (GWVNH) in Augusta, Georgia. The students conduct fundraising activities so that third and fourth year students can provide needed dental treatment at no cost to the residents. Students also regularly rotate at GWVNH in order to provide tooth brushing help, denture cleanings, and head and neck examinations, including oral cancer screenings. Results: Dentists for Della has funded approximately $40,000 worth of dental work since 2013. The program also provides an educational experience valued by students: the ability to interact with patients as early as their first semester of dental school. Conclusions: Dentists for Della is a vital program which not only provides educational opportunities in institutional public health dentistry and geriatrics for dental students, it also provides a much needed safety net for Georgia veterans with no ability to access other means of dental care

Arts participation, mental well-being and social inclusion: Mixed methods evaluation of an Open Arts studio for people with mental health needs

Participatory arts projects are thought to increase mental well-being and social inclusion for people with mental health difficulties. This article presents a one-year evaluation of the Open Arts studio at Hadleigh Old Fire Station (HOFS) in Essex, England, established to provide opportunities for mental health service users to carry out art-making independently with professional support. The evaluation was a mixed-methods design, with qualitative and quantitative strands. A total of 23 studio members completed measures of mental well-being and social inclusion at baseline and follow-up, and scores increased significantly over time. Members’ comments indicated increased social support, confidence, motivation and mental well-being, in addition to decreased social isolation. Despite small sample sizes, this evaluation provides promising evidence of gains in mental well-being and social inclusion. The question of longer-term benefits beyond the studio placement remains to be addressed, but results add further support to the use of participatory arts in promoting mental health and well-being

Arts participation, mental well-being and social inclusion: Mixed methods evaluation of an Open Arts studio for people with mental health needs

Participatory arts projects are thought to increase mental well-being and social inclusion for people with mental health difficulties. This article presents a one-year evaluation of the Open Arts studio at Hadleigh Old Fire Station (HOFS) in Essex, England, established to provide opportunities for mental health service users to carry out art-making independently with professional support. The evaluation was a mixed-methods design, with qualitative and quantitative strands. A total of 23 studio members completed measures of mental well-being and social inclusion at baseline and follow-up, and scores increased significantly over time. Members’ comments indicated increased social support, confidence, motivation and mental well-being, in addition to decreased social isolation. Despite small sample sizes, this evaluation provides promising evidence of gains in mental well-being and social inclusion. The question of longer-term benefits beyond the studio placement remains to be addressed, but results add further support to the use of participatory arts in promoting mental health and well-being

A qualitative study of 2Create: A mental health service user-led art group

Background: 2Create is a mental health service user-led art group in the UK established by graduates of Open Arts, a community arts and mental health project. The study aimed to explore group members’ experiences over its first year. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five current and one former member of 2Create. Results: Key themes related to organisation (evolving; flexibility; finance; leadership challenges), the studio environment, personal gains (social inclusion; self-esteem; well-being) and future plans (increasing membership; exhibitions; funding applications; social events). Conclusion: The gains reported indicate that 2Create is beneficial to its members. Although a number of challenges were identified, all participants identified personal and group-wide gains and emphasised that challenges are to be expected when setting up a new group. The key implication for independent mental health user-led arts groups is that support is needed in the early stages and that independence can then be achieved with time

Investigating Teachers' Assessment Practices: Exploratory, Non-Foundationalist, Mixed-Method Research

Audiences for educational research are rarely invited to review the decision-making processes that permeate systematic inquiry. This account of three researchers' efforts to make sense of preservice teachers' assessment practices reveals how methodologically diverse investigations emanated from the context of a single study. The developments, findings, and warrants that characterize this inquiry are presented, as well as arguments why in retrospect this study can be described as exploratory, mixed-method, non-foundationalist research. Consistent with the general themes of pragmatism, the reader is invited to subject the account of novice teachers' assessment practices to intense scrutiny and to judge the success of the researchers' efforts to build at least temporary certainty and primacy for claims about novice teachers' thinking and behavior. The same process can also be used with the suggested consequences for classroom assessment practice, which conclude both this article and the series.Il est rare que Von invite les publics de la recherche pédagogique à revoir le processus de prise de décisions qui imprègne les enquête systématiques. Cet article, qui explique les démarches qu'ont entreprises trois chercheurs pour comprendre les pratiques d'évaluation de stagiaires, révèle comment des enquêtes à méthodologies diverses sont sorties du contexte d'une seule étude. On présente les démarches, les résultats et les vérifications qui caractérisent cette enquête ainsi que des arguments qui affirment pourquoi, a postiori, cette étude peut se définir comme une recherche exploratoire, à méthodes mixtes et non-fondationaliste. Conformément aux thèmes généraux du pragmatisme, on invite le lecteur à examiner minutieusement le compte-rendu des pratiques d'évaluation des enseignants débutants et à juger si les chercheurs ont réussi à établir une certitude et une primauté - même temporaires - quant à leurs conclusions sur le comportement et les réflexions des enseignants débutants. La même approche peut servir pour la pratique d'évaluation en salles de classes. Cet article, ainsi que la série dont elle fait partie, termine par des suggestions quant aux implications des résultats