Family learning: "What's the score?"

Family Learning through Football and Coaching (FLTFC) was developed with Sunderland Association Football Club (SAFC) Foundation, an adult basic skills provider, a primary school and the Open College Network. Ten years on this programme has high participation rates and is recognised for its capacity to engage the ‘hard-to-reach’ in learning. This paper provides a focused historical analysis and attempts to locate family learning in relation to policy, local authority structures and educational discourse. As cuts to public services continue, there is an expectation that the third sector, including social enterprises such as SAFC Foundation, will step in to fill the gap. The success of FLTFC could be presented as evidence of the effectiveness of the Big Society agenda however taking the long view it is evident that partnership with the public sector is an essential element in the development and continuity of successful provision. The theoretical framework which informs the paper incorporates brief consideration of the concept of lifelong learning and an examination of informal learning in the context of the family. The emerging localism agenda and issues relating to the current Coalition government's Big Society concept also inform the discussion. The paper will contribute to understanding of support for learning within families by providing a historical analysis of the endurance and success of a specific family learning programme. The findings of this study have the potential to contribute to the implementation of policy arising from the current review of adult informal community learning (BIS, 2011)

Learning in Single Parent Families: a narrative investigation of single mothers' and single fathers' engagement with their children’s learning.

One in four children live in single parent families yet single parents receive a bad press. They were initially vilified as the cause of the 2011 riots before an independent report implicated ‘rampant materialism’. Though children from single parent families are twice as likely to live in poverty as those in couple families policies aimed at addressing poverty by incentivising work penalise single parent families to a greater extent than other families. Parents are children’s first educators with 85% of children’s time between the ages of 0-16 spent in the home and only 15% at school. Parental involvement in children’s learning is known to be the biggest factor open to educational influence however most research on single parents tends to be within social policy literature. While a substantial body of literature links single parenthood to issues such as welfare reform and poverty there is little evidence connecting the experiences of single parents to engagement in learning. This presentation will provide an account of a new researcher’s navigation through methodological ‘mess’ traversing hermeneutic phenomenology, Critical Discourse Analysis and participatory research to arrive fittingly at collaborative narrative inquiry. Dilemmas of the expediency or even possibility of ‘reflexive bracketing’ were met along the way in efforts to combine personal experience of single parenthood with professional interests while developing an appropriate methodology. The resulting Professional Doctorate proposal addresses the gap in our understanding of this under researched area by linking family, learning and relationship experience

Determining the Extent of Pioneer Mangrove Acidification on Intertidal Oyster Reefs

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) stretches 251 kilometers along Florida’s east coast and is one of the most biodiverse estuaries in North America. Mosquito Lagoon, the northernmost portion of the IRL, is home to mangroves and intertidal oyster reefs that provide numerous ecosystem services. These two habitats are overlapping as climate change drives mangroves poleward. Scientists have documented mangrove expansion and the transition of oyster reef habitat to mangrove islands. Past studies have shown large, adult mangrove stands drive soil acidification. The goal of this study was to understand if stand-alone, or pioneer, Rhizophora mangle (red mangroves) and Avicennia germinans (black mangroves) acidify intertidal Crassostrea virginica (eastern oyster) reef sediment. We collected porewater (i.e., water within sediment) and measured pH with a portable pH meter. Porewater pH was sampled from 0 to 1 meter away from pioneer mangroves in 20 cm increments. Closest to the mangrove trunk, reef sediment pH was significantly more acidic (mean pH of 7.18 for R. mangle and 7.02 for A. germinans) compared to oyster reef-only control areas with a mean pH of 7.44 (p-value \u3c 0.001 for both mangrove species). By 1 meter away from the mangrove trunk, the pH for both mangrove species was no longer significantly different from the control areas (p-value = 1.0), indicating mangrove-driven acidification has a localized effect on oyster reef sediments. Acidification weakens oyster shells, and by understanding the extent of mangroves’ acidic effects on oyster reefs, resource managers can use this information to protect declining oyster reef habitat

Emotional stress induces structural plasticity in Bergmann glial cells via an AC5–CPEB3–GluA1 pathway

Stress alters brain function by modifying the structure and function of neurons and astrocytes. The fine processes of astrocytes are critical for the clearance of neurotransmitters during synaptic transmission. Thus, experience-dependent remodeling of glial processes is anticipated to alter the output of neural circuits. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie glial structural plasticity are not known. Here we show that a single exposure of male and female mice to an acute stress produced a long-lasting retraction of the lateral processes of cerebellar Bergmann glial cells. These cells express the GluA1 subunit of AMPA-type glutamate receptors, and GluA1 knockdown is known to shorten the length of glial processes. We found that stress reduced the level of GluA1 protein and AMPA receptor-mediated currents in Bergmann glial cells, and these effects were absent in mice devoid of CPEB3, a protein that binds to GluA1 mRNA and regulates GluA1 protein synthesis. Administration of a b-adrenergic receptor blocker attenuated the reduction in GluA1, and deletion of adenylate cyclase 5 prevented GluA1 suppression. Therefore, stress suppresses GluA1 protein synthesis via an adrenergic/adenylyl cyclase/CPEB3 pathway, and reduces the length of astrocyte lateral processes. Our results identify a novel mechanism for GluA1 subunit plasticity in non-neuronal cells and suggest a previously unappreciated role for AMPA receptors in stress-induced astrocytic remodeling.Fil: Bender, Crhistian Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba; Argentina. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Sun, Xingxing. Huazhong University of Science & Technology; República de China. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Farooq, Muhammad. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Yang, Qian. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Davison, Caroline. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Maroteaux, Matthieu. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Huang, Yi Shuian. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Ishikawa, Yoshihiro. State University of Louisiana; Estados Unidos. Yokohama City University. Graduate School of Medicine; JapónFil: Liu, Siqiong June. State University of Louisiana; Estados Unido

Period and Cohort Changes in Americans’ Support for Marijuana Legalization: Convergence and Divergence across Social Groups

We cast fresh light on how and why Americans’ views on marijuana legalization shifted between 1973 and 2014. Results from age-period-cohort models show a strong negative effect of age and relatively high levels of support for legalization among baby boom cohorts. Despite the baby boom effect, the large increase in support for marijuana legalization is predominantly a broad, period-based change in the population. Additional analyses demonstrate that differences in support for legalization by education, region, and religion decline, that differences by political party increase, and that differences between whites and African Americans reverse direction. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings and by identifying promising directions for future research on this topic

Integrating a family-focused approach into child obesity prevention: Rationale and design for the My Parenting SOS study randomized control trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>More than 20% of US children ages 2-5 yrs are classified as overweight or obese. Parents greatly influence the behaviors their children adopt, including those which impact weight (e.g., diet and physical activity). Unfortunately, parents often fail to recognize the risk for excess weight gain in young children, and may not be motivated to modify behavior. Research is needed to explore intervention strategies that engage families with young children and motivate parents to adopt behaviors that will foster healthy weight development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study tests the efficacy of the 35-week My Parenting SOS intervention. The intervention consists of 12 sessions: initial sessions focus on general parenting skills (stress management, effective parenting styles, child behavior management, coparenting, and time management) and later sessions apply these skills to promote healthier eating and physical activity habits. The primary outcome is change in child percent body fat. Secondary measures assess parent and child dietary intake (three 24-hr recalls) and physical activity (accelerometry), general parenting style and practices, nutrition- and activity-related parenting practices, and parent motivation to adopt healthier practices.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Testing of these new approaches contributes to our understanding of how general and weight-specific parenting practices influence child weight, and whether or not they can be changed to promote healthy weight trajectories.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00998348">NCT00998348</a></p

Exhaustive exercise training enhances aerobic capacity in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

The oxygen transport system in mammals is extensively remodelled in response to repeated bouts of activity, but many reptiles appear to be ‘metabolically inflexible’ in response to exercise training. A recent report showed that estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) increase their maximum metabolic rate in response to exhaustive treadmill training, and in the present study, we confirm this response in another crocodilian, American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). We further specify the nature of the crocodilian training response by analysing effects of training on aerobic [citrate synthase (CS)] and anaerobic [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] enzyme activities in selected skeletal muscles, ventricular and skeletal muscle masses and haematocrit. Compared to sedentary control animals, alligators regularly trained for 15 months on a treadmill (run group) or in a flume (swim group) exhibited peak oxygen consumption rates higher by 27 and 16%, respectively. Run and swim exercise training significantly increased ventricular mass (~11%) and haematocrit (~11%), but not the mass of skeletal muscles. However, exercise training did not alter CS or LDH activities of skeletal muscles. Similar to mammals, alligators respond to exercise training by increasing convective oxygen transport mechanisms, specifically heart size (potentially greater stroke volume) and haematocrit (increased oxygen carrying-capacity of the blood). Unlike mammals, but similar to squamate reptiles, alligators do not also increase citrate synthase activity of the skeletal muscles in response to exercise

Determining crystal structures through crowdsourcing and coursework

We show here that computer game players can build high-quality crystal structures. Introduction of a new feature into the computer game Foldit allows players to build and real-space refine structures into electron density maps. To assess the usefulness of this feature, we held a crystallographic model-building competition between trained crystallographers, undergraduate students, Foldit players and automatic model-building algorithms. After removal of disordered residues, a team of Foldit players achieved the most accurate structure. Analysing the target protein of the competition, YPL067C, uncovered a new family of histidine triad proteins apparently involved in the prevention of amyloid toxicity. From this study, we conclude that crystallographers can utilize crowdsourcing to interpret electron density information and to produce structure solutions of the highest quality

Factors contributing to compatibility in marriage for a sample of 465 Canadian wives.

This thesis analyses the 465 completed questionnaires of a 1958 newspaper mail survey or Canadian women living with their husbands. Of the 12 items on the questionnaire, the first 8 enlisted information relevant to the respondent's age, husband's age, duration of the marriage, previous marriage if any, number of children, length of acquaintance prior to the marriage, husband's occupation, and wife's occupation if she was working outside the home. The remaining 4 items requested the respondent to state the qualities she liked most in her husband, those she disliked most, whether she would marry him again, and, finally, to state reasons why she would or would not