A Multi-Method Examination of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model Among Adolescents: Testing the Unique Role of Online (Dis)Connection

The purpose of the current bi-phasic, multi-method study was to provide a comprehensive and rigorous test of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM) among adolescents, with a focus on the role of online connection. According to the PSDM, perfectionism is thought to be linked with a lack of social connection which, in turn, predicts higher levels of psychopathology. In Phase One, adolescent self- identified perfectionists were compared to non-perfectionist adolescents with respect to themes relating to social media use and social connection, coded from semi-structured interviews. The findings provided valuable insight into adolescent perfectionists’ experiences of connection and disconnection, both online and in-person. Importantly, these findings offered support for the PSDM whereby most perfectionists felt disconnected in online spaces – mirroring the pattern of their in-person relationships. To extend the findings of Phase One, a longitudinal quantitative test of the PSDM, including indicators of both online and in-person social connection, was conducted among a community sample of Ontario adolescents in Phase Two. The findings from the second phase of the current work supported the predictions of the PSDM, by demonstrating that each form of perfectionism was indirectly linked to depression via in-person social connection. Altogether, the findings of the present work provided support for the theoretical tenets put forth by the PSDM among a sample of community adolescents. More specifically, the results of the current work highlight the central role of perfectionistic self-presentation in the experiences of social disconnection among adolescents. Implications for theory as well as intervention and prevention efforts were discussed

Chemoprevention with the metabolism modifying drugs dichloroacetate and metformin in the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome model, Trp53+/- mice

BACKGROUND: While genetic testing for familial cancer has excelled, the prevention options for those carrying high risk alleles have not. Altered bioenergetics is now acknowledged as a hallmark of cancer, and several very safe drugs are available that can target this phentoype. Dichloroacetate (DCA) inactivates pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, resulting in activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase, reduced lactic acid production and increased mitochondrial activity. Metformin, a type 2 diabetes treatment which activates AMPK, thereby inhibiting mTOR, has unambiguously been demonstrated to reduce the risk of many cancer types in diabetics. We have tested these drugs as chemopreventive agents against the mammary tumours that occur in the BALB/c-Trp53+/- mouse spontaneous tumour model. MATERIALS and METHODS Breast cancer cell lines were examined for cell viability after DCA and/or metformin treatment in vitro (neutral red uptake assay). Four groups of female BALB/c-Trp53+/- mice were given distilled water (n=75), DCA (1.5 g/L in drinking water, ~180 mg/ kg/day, n=53), metformin (0.25 g/L in drinking water, ~30 mg/kg/day, n=61) or DCA +metformin (n=51) from 8 weeks of age, and monitored for tumour development over 78 weeks, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. RESULTS In vitro, DCA (1-5 mM) and metformin (30-300 uM), alone or combined, significantly inhibited breast cancer cell growth. In vivo, the overall tumour-free survival curves for BALB/c-Trp53+/- mice were not significantly different between treatment groups, suggesting that metformin does not reduce cancer risk in non-diabetics. However, analysis of mammary tumours alone found that DCA reduced the number and increased their latency (28.0% vs 20.8% of mice with mean latency of 55.0 vs 63.8 weeks, untreated vs DCA respectively), whereas metformin had no effect (26.2% of mice, mean latency 54.7 weeks). DCA appeared to eliminate the early onset mammary tumours (latency <52 weeks, p=0.02), while not affecting the occurrence of longer latency tumours. In contrast, the two drug combination had worse outcomes for tumour development, (35.3% of mice, latency 48.8 weeks, p<0.02 compared to DCA alone). Preliminary western blotting results in MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells found that DCA could block the activation of AMPK by metformin, indicating the potential for drug interactions.Supported by NHMRC Career Development Award, National Breast Cancer Foundation Novel Concept Award, and Cancer Australia

Explaining Agriculture Faculty Members’ Involvement in Study Abroad: Structural Relationships Among Personal - Dimension Variables

Agriculture faculty members’ involvement in study abroad programs can influence students’ participation in such. However, faculty members’ involvement may be limited by institutional, professional, and personal factors. This study was conducted to explain agriculture teaching faculty members’ involvement in study abroad programs by examining the structural relationships between their study abroad involvement and personal dimension variables. Results indicated the personal factors influencing faculty members’ involvement in study abroad include their perceptions of the knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) outcomes of study abroad, awareness of study abroad programs and procedures, and prior international experience (PIE). The effect of faculty members’ perceptions of the KSA outcomes of study abroad programs on their involvement was mediated by their perceptions of the importance of those KSA outcomes for professionals in their field. Further, faculty members’ perceived importance of KSA outcomes was moderated by PIE. Recommendations for future practice include providing professional development and training to increase faculty members’ awareness of study abroad and increase opportunities for faculty members to gain international experiences. Future research should include replication of this study with agriculture faculty members at other institutions and the examination of relationships among professional and institutional dimension factor

Combining Citizen Science with Traditional Biotic Surveys to Enhance Knowledge Regarding the Natural History of Secretive Species: Notes on the Geographic Distribution and Status of the Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) in the Cumberland Mountains of Virginia, USA

The Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) is a secretive, arboreal cliff specialist distributed discontinuously across the southern and central Appalachian Mountains, USA. While intensively studied in some parts of its range in the Appalachian Plateau&nbsp; and Blue Ridge Provinces, the distribution of A. aeneus is still poorly understood, particularly in the Cumberland Mountains physiographic province of the Appalachian region. This data deficiency is partly the result of a lack of formal historic surveys across this region, coupled with a high amount of privately owned land that is inaccessible to traditional biotic surveys. We used a combination of citizen science efforts and traditional field surveys to investigate the distribution and status of A. aeneus across the Cumberland Mountains of southwestern Virginia, USA. Local landowners and outdoor recreation enthusiasts reported a relatively high rate of encounters with A. aeneus, verifying the species’ persistence at four historic localities and leading to the discovery of 36 previously unknown populations. Although we are cautious about making inferences about the true conservation status of A. aeneus across this region given the scarcity of current data, these findings suggest that the distribution of A. aeneus in Virginia has been vastly underestimated and that expanded monitoring programs are needed to further ascertain this species’ status. More broadly, our results illustrate the utility of coupling public initiatives with more traditional field surveys to expand the biogeographic knowledge of secretive, difficult-to-study amphibian species. &nbsp

South West Creative Technology Network - Final report

This report highlights the research and development conducted during the 3-year South West Creative Technology Network. It outlines the creative knowledge exchange methodology developed through the programme and provides case studies of our Immersion, Automation and Data R&D themes

Grounding Technologies: The creative use of mundane and emerging technologies for place-based, just climate action

Putting people and place at the heart of our work, Grounding Technologies explores how everyday, emergent and mundane technologies can support community-centred climate action.Such ambitions were achieved through a programme of public calls that brought together activists, artists, designers, researchers, programmers, creative makers, hackers, social enterprises, commercial businesses and creative producers in the West of England region. Across 10 months, over 100 people engaged in the programme, with 6 groups each receiving £15K to develop pilot projects.In establishing a new network in the West of England that focuses on the role of creative practice and climate action, we’ve discovered a hunger across the region for working with emerging and commonplace technologies for bottom-up, social and environmentally engaged work. The region’s deep history in environmental work, engineering expertise and technological know-how also highlights the value of bridging communities of practice. Our findings show that there is a wealth of potential in supporting interdisciplinary, cross-sector and intergenerational knowledge transfer.Findings from our cohort have shown that inviting creative approaches to a just transition can be done in a responsible, careful manner that moves away from business-as-usual, but that still allows us all to thrive. To deepen the impact of this work, we propose a re-focus on three key areas to address regional disparities of opportunity and identity: place-based, longer-term support and more flexible funding mechanisms are necessary for building meaningful collaborations across sectors and scales to energise a just transition

Assessing changes to adolescent health-promoting behaviors following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-methods exploration of the role of within-person combinations of trait perfectionism.

The current work provides a multi-methods exploration of how within-person subtypes of self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) were related to shifts in health-promoting behaviors among adolescents following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Study One tested the 2 × 2 and tripartite models of perfectionism through a quantitative test of how such subtypes predicted changes in health behaviors pre-pandemic to intra-pandemic among 202 adolescents (M = 17.86, SD = 1.421). Results indicated that the combination of high SOP/high SPP was linked to the most maladaptive changes to health-promoting behaviors, supporting the tripartite model. Study Two aimed to contextualize these findings by analyzing semi-structured interviews with 31 adolescent self-identified perfectionists (M = 15.97, SD = 1.991) during the initial lockdown mandate. Results indicated that participants experienced a welcome break and found more time to engage in health-promoting behaviors. However, those high in SOP - regardless of their level of SPP - had more difficulty relaxing due to a resistance to relenting their perfectionistic standards. Altogether, these findings support the exacerbating role of SOP when combined with SPP posited by the tripartite model of perfectionism with respect to adolescents' health-promoting behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.This work was supported by an Ontario Government Early Researcher Award awarded to Danielle S. Molnar (Ministry of Research and Innovation, Government of Ontario)

Perceptions and Educational Strategies of Louisiana Agricultural Education Teachers When Working with Students with Special Needs

A teacher’s willingness to accept inclusion has been identified as an indicator of the quality of experience that a student with special needs will have in the classroom The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold: (1) to describe the overall perceptions of working with students with special needs and (2) to determine how teachers in Louisiana are currently working with students with special needs.  A total of 152 teachers attended the Louisiana agricultural education teacher’s summer conference with 43% completing a three part survey instrument.  Data analysis indicated that teachers are confident in their ability to work with students with special needs and they agree that they can incorporate various areas of inclusion within their programs. However, they disagreed that they have received adequate in-service opportunities related to special education.  Regarding educational strategies, teachers in this study identified all of the given inclusion strategies as being used regularly in their programs with the exception of tutoring after school.  They also identified these educational practices as being highly effective within their programs. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, additional research is recommended to further investigate the in-service and training needs of teachers in Louisiana