Preliminary results of a silver carp breeding program in Vietnam

The article describes the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys harmandi and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) breeding program in Vietnam

Preliminary results of a silver carp breeding program in Vietnam

Selective breeding, Aquaculture techniques, Vietnam, Hypophthalmichthys harmandi, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery in promoting psychological and physiological states of relaxation

Research suggests that multiple forms of relaxation training (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises, visualization, and autogenics) can help individuals reduce stress, enhance relaxation states, and improve overall well-being. We examined three different, commonly used approaches to stress relaxation—progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery—and evaluated them in a head-to-head comparison against each other and a control condition. Sixty healthy undergraduate participants were randomized to one of the four conditions and completed 20 minutes of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, or guided imagery training that was delivered by recorded audio instruction. Baseline and follow-up assessment of psychological relaxation states were completed. Physiological relaxation was also assessed continuously using measures of electrodermal activity and heart rate. Results showed that progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery all increased the state of relaxation for participants in those groups, compared to participants in the control group. In each case, the increase was statistically significant and although the groups did not differ on relaxation before training, all groups were significantly higher on relaxation after training, as compared to the control group. Progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery showed an immediate linear trend toward physiological relaxation, compared to the control group, and the deep breathing group showed an immediate increase in physiological arousal followed quickly by a return to initial levels. Our results lend support to the body of research showing that stress relaxation training can be effective in improving relaxation states at both the psychological and physiological level. Future research could examine stress relaxation techniques in a similar manner using designs where multiple techniques can be compared in the same samples

Giving up and Getting Lost in Hanoi: playing with creative research methods in transnational contexts

In this paper we share our experiences of working with creative research methods to explore HE teacher ‘becomings’ across a transnational education partnership between four universities, three in Vietnam and one in the UK. The work forms the qualitative phase of a two-year British Council Vietnam funded project. This phase of our research was concerned with HE teachers’ stories about their career trajectories, their concept making about professional learning and the value of post qualitative research methods to collaborative research across substantially contrasting social, cultural and economic settings. Drawing on ideas from post-qualitative research practices we read, talked, walked and made together in a range of face to face and digitally mediated events that opened up conversations about methodology and generated a common body of shared empirical material about HE teachers ‘becomings’. We “followed the contours” (after Mazzei 2017) of Brinkman’s (2014) concept of “abduction” and Maclure’s (2014) notion of “hot spots” to interact with our materials in ways that challenge more orthodox approaches to qualitative research that centre on the primacy of data and coding. This approach encouraged us to relinquish the certainties, the ‘giving up’ in our title, of orthodox qualitative research traditions and disorientate ourselves, getting purposefully lost (after Lather 2007), in ways that foregrounded the socio-cultural and linguistic diversity of our research partnership. We share the outcomes, on-goings and provocations of our work and the significance for both HE workforce development and international teaching and research partnerships