Reflections on eportfolio professional learning: harnessing an unconference approach

This practitioner-led article documents the journey of a cross-institutional multidisciplinary team to support the development of practitioners’ ePortfolio professional competencies through an “Unconference.” We describe the approach used to support an ePortfolio unconference hosted in January 2018 at Dublin City University. According to Budd et al. (2015), the most meaningful professional learning at conferences tends to occur at the cofee breaks when delegates are free to engage in open dialogue. An unconference is a dynamic participant-driven conference which features discussion and collaboration at its core to support professional learning. This approach was chosen to capture, develop and document current ePortfolio practice in Ireland and the United Kingdom. This article outlines key facets of professional learning generated as a result of the unconference including the promotion of ePortfolio competencies and the generation of collaborative research outputs. At the unconference, attendees participated in experiential learning opportunities which enhanced and extended their personal and professional ePortfolio competencies as well as developed practice-focused research outputs collaboratively in real time using a range of technological tools. Participant feedback highlights the impact of the unconference on their professional ePortfolio learning and practice, and the critical refections of unconference organizers inform future ePortfolio professional development

A case of bovine raw milk contamination with Listeria monocytogenes

peer-reviewedDuring routine sampling of bulk raw milk on a dairy farm, the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes was found to be a contaminant, at numbers < 100 cfu/ml. A strain with an indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern was isolated from the bulk milk two months later. Environmental swabs taken at the dairy environment were negative for the presence of L. monocytogenes, indicating a possible case of excretion of the L. monocytogenes directly into the milk. Milk samples were collected from the individual cows and analysed, resulting in the identification of L. monocytogenes excretion (at 280 cfu/ml) from one of the 4 mammary quarters of one dairy cow out of 180. When the infected cow was isolated from the herd, no L. monocytogenes was detected from the remaining herd. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern of the strain from the individual cow was indistinguishable from that originally isolated from the bulk milk. The infected cow did not show any clinical signs of disease, nor did the appearance of the milk have any physical abnormalities. Antibiotic treatment of the infected mammary quarter was found to be ineffective. This study shows that there can be risks associated with direct contamination of raw milk with L. monocytogenes.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship; Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Food Institutional Research Measure (Irish Microbial Risk Assessment Network project); European Union (EU), 6th Framework Programme (BIOTRACER project)

FDIONIC18 Interactions and stabilisation of acetone, sulfur dioxide and water with 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate at low temperatures

The interactions between three small molecules, water (H2O) , sulfur dioxide (SO2) and acetone ( (CH3)2CO ) with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [OMIM][BF4], have been determined using line of sight temperature programmed desorption (LOSTPD) from a gold surface. Multilayers of the IL were deposited by physical vapour deposition with multilayers of the small molecular species (adsorbed from the gas phase) at 90 K. LOSTPD was then carried out with the small molecular species desorbing first from the mixed multilayer, followed at higher temperatures by desorption of the IL from the gold surface. The IL had a high activation energy for desorption of 126(6) kJ mol-1 . Pure acetone showed a desorption activation energy of 38(2) kJ mol-1, which increased to 45 - 61 kJ mol-1 when it was pre-adsorbed below an overlying porous layer of the ionic liquid at 90 K. The stabilised acetone is thought to be associated with pores containing ionic moieties. Destabilised acetone was also observed and thought to originate from pores containing octyl chains. The quantity of stabilised acetone scaled with the amount of IL, being ≈ 1.1 molecules per IL ion pair. SO2 and H2O were co-adsorbed with the IL at 90 K leading to an intimate mixture of the two. For pure SO2 the desorption energy was 32(2) kJ mol-1, which increased to 40 - 50 kJ mol-1 for relative concentrations up to 6 SO2 molecules per IL ion pair. For pure water the activation energies were 49(5) kJ mol-1 and 43(1) kJ mol-1 for amorphous and crystalline ice respectively. When co-adsorbed with the IL the stabilisation energies were 42 - 49 kJ mol-1, but up to 505 water molecules per IL ion pair could be stabilised to some degree. The desorption mechanisms and the reasons for these interactions are discussed

Sport in the Waikato c.1897-1974: Narratives of Play, Identity and Belonging

Regional identities and allegiances in New Zealand have most often been revealed at sporting events. From the colours worn, the slogans chanted, and even the ringing of cowbells, players, teams and supporters have presented facets of their collective character. This thesis engages with narratives of sport in the Waikato region over a period of eighty years to examine these representations as they produced meanings of sporting activities for local people. Informed by competing ideas about historical truth, the thesis interprets printed media as reconstructions of both recurring events, and belonging and membership, to investigate the place of sport in the region, and to decode the ways these stories of drama and contest contribute to the development of some components of a local identity. Historically, the area now known as the ‘Waikato’ was part of the Auckland Province. The thesis argues that sport is at the centre of a notion of separation from the urban metropolis, and provided opportunities to demonstrate a growing independence. By examining examples of recurring sporting events such as the annual Ngāruawāhia Regatta, regular Auckland/Waikato rugby matches, Empire and Commonwealth Games participation, and regular lawn bowls tournaments, the place and function of sport in a regional space is able to be, in part, exposed. Uneven, often subtle, changes both in aspects of these events and in the representations of them, reveal underlying tensions and power relationships. Local, if not exclusive, understandings of the place and role of Māori, and depictions of normative gender roles, are central to the analysis of these relationships. Sport is most often a social activity, and dissection of the newspaper texts has enabled the formation of ideas about the ways sports-men, and sometimes women, are collectively presented and organised. In much of the material used, these men and women are also the most recognisable and celebrated ‘heroes’. Consideration of the role of heroes in the formation of culturally constructed group identities informs the thesis, and the relationships between local sporting participants and groups are also important. Divisions, dissension, and competition for resources are all revealed in the reported activities of sports organisations, and changes in the importance afforded these endeavours are also apparent. The focussed critical use of a local media source provides a consistent, if sometimes homogenous, group of historical narratives. The inclusion of local club and association histories, often produced with extensive use of newspaper archives, changes the perspective and enables a more nuanced examination of the place of different types of heroes, of gender norms and, most importantly, of the ways sporting organisations see and project themselves as part of the region. The stories they collectively choose to remember and tell are central to this narrative of the place of sport in the Waikato

A Group Motivational Interviewing Intervention Reduces Drinking and Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences in Adjudicated College Women

College students who violate campus alcohol policies (adjudicated students) are at high risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences and for undermining campus life. Further, college women may be especially at risk due to differential intoxication effects and sexual consequences experienced mainly by female students. Research on interventions for adjudicated students, especially adjudicated females, has been limited. One hundred and fifteen college women who received a sanction for violating campus alcohol policies participated in the study. The two hour group intervention focused on female-specific reasons for drinking and included decisional balance, goal setting and other exercises. Participants completed follow-up surveys for 12 weeks following the intervention and answered questions regarding alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences. Findings support the use of an MI-based intervention to reduce both alcohol consumption and consequences among adjudicated females. Specifically, alcohol use was reduced by 29.9% and negative consequences were reduced by 35.87% from pre-intervention to 3-month follow up. Further, the intervention appeared to successfully initiate change in the heaviest drinkers, as women who drank at risky levels reduced alcohol consumption to a greater extent than women who drank at moderate levels

Suddenly moving large classes online: Illuminating the experience of the teaching staff in one university

[EN] In early 2020, the transition of large classes from the face-to-face to the online context occurred overnight and at scale at a time when the crisis was being faced at all levels of society, nationally and internationally. This paper is based on research which examined the impact of this sudden transition on large classes in Dublin City University with a view to illuminating the experience to inform future practice (Authors., in press). A rapid, systemised review of literature was carried out with the aim of contextualising data gathered through surveys with staff and students in relation to our experience of moving large classes online in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the study examined the impact from the perspectives of teaching staff and students, this paper reports on the perspectives of teaching staff only. Large class teachers found this experience challenging, reporting a sense of isolation and worry. However it would seem that opportunity was seen in the face of adversity, whereby staff have identified potential for better ways of doing things going forward as a result of their experiences between March and May 2020.Glynn, M.; Farrell, AM.; Buckley, K.; Lowney, R.; Smyth, S.; Stone, S. (2021). Suddenly moving large classes online: Illuminating the experience of the teaching staff in one university. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 171-178. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13032OCS17117