Milk Man: Investigating the Effectiveness of a Socially Connected Breastfeeding App Targeting Fathers

Breastfeeding is the ideal first food for infants and fathers are important in influencing breastfeeding initiation and duration. Mobile technology offers opportunity to reach and engage people in interventions. This study investigated the impact Milk Man, a father-focused socially connected, gamified app about breastfeeding, had on exclusive breastfeeding duration. The findings provide valuable insight into the acceptability of the engagement strategies, and demonstrate a father-focused app is an acceptable approach that impacts positively on breastfeeding

The effect of supplemental iodine on vitamin A in rats and on thyroxine and vitamin A in parturient dairy cows and their calves

Parturient Holstein cows were administered daily doses of supple-mental iodine as EDDI at 1.25, 2.50, and 5.0 mg. I/kg. of body weight and compared with contemporary controls in order to determine the effects iodine supplementation might have on vitamin A and thyroxine levels in the cow and her calf. Iodine was given from early stages of gestation until the cows were about 120 days into the following lactation. Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein of control and iodine-supplemented cows approximately 30 days prior to, on day of, and 30 days following calving. Plasma samples from calves were taken on day of calving. All plasma was analyzed for vitamin A, thyroxine, and total iodine content. Results of iodine administration on plasma vitamin A or thyroxine concentration of cattle gave no differences between diet groups, while plasma iodine increased with increased iodine administration. The high levels of iodine had no noticeable effects on plasma vitamin A levels in the calves. Higher thyroxine levels were found in calves from control cows, as they were almost twice the levels of the group supplemented with the highest level of iodine. Stage of gestation was found to affect vitamin A, thyroxine, and iodine levels in the cow. Plasma vitamin A and thyroxine values dropped to minimums on day of calving and then increased to almost normal (the value obtained 30 days prior to calving) by 30 days after calving. The plasma iodine level rose to a high on day of calving and then declined to a value close to the pre-calving level in the days following. Rats on a low vitamin A diet were supplemented with 0 and 250, 500, or 1000 ppm of iodine for 9 weeks and then killed. Heavier livers were found in the high iodine group than in controls. Differences in the concentration of liver vitamin A or plasma vitamin A due to the iodine feedings were not statistically significant. Differences in liver vitamin A per gram of tissue approached significance with the control group storing slightly less than the iodine groups. Rat plasma iodine, as in the cow, increased with the increasing levels of iodine fed. It was concluded from these studies that the feeding of excess iodine does not significantly affect vitamin A concentration in the plasmas or livers of rats or in the plasma of cows and their neonatal calves. Also iodine supplementation does not affect plasma thyroxine concentration in mature cattle. Iodine supplementation did significantly lower plasma thyroxine in calves, but it was not much lower than average thyroxine values reported in the literature for the normal calf. The study also confirmed the trends in plasma vitamin A, thyroxine, and iodine levels observed by other researchers during the peri parturient period of bovin

Crafting a rich and personal blending learning environment: an institutional case study from a STEM perspective

Institutional pressures to make optimal use of lecture halls and classrooms can be powerful motivators to identify resources to develop technology enhanced learning approaches to traditional curricula. From the academic’s perspective, engaging students in active learning and reducing the academic workload are important and complementary drivers. This paper presents a case study of a curriculum development exercise undertaken in a STEM subject area at a research-intensive UK university. A multi-skilled team of academics and learning designers have worked collaboratively to build this module which will be realised as a mix of online and face to face activities. Since the module addresses professional issues, a strong emphasis is being placed on establishing authentic learning activities and realistic use of prominent social tools.The learning designers are working for a cross-institutional initiative to support educational innovations; therefore it is important to carefully document the development process and to identify reusable design patterns which can be easily explained to other academics.<br/

Generation, gender, and leadership : Metaphors and images

This article explores the metaphors and images used by different generations of women to describe women's leadership in higher education (HE) and the impact these perceptions have on their careers and career ambitions. It also explores how such metaphors and images can position them as “other,” silence their voices in the dominant masculinist discourse, and marginalize them. The emphasis in the gender and higher education literature has been on identifying the barriers that impede women's progress in academic organizations, including images of continuing hegemonic masculine leadership, and their promotion to leadership positions. These models position women leaders who are assertive as troublemakers, and women as “the problem” either because of their attitudes or perceived domestic and family responsibilities. And while women leaders are often not gender conscious, they are frequently doing gender in their senior roles. The metaphors and images that portray women's leadership are often of hidden work, supporting more senior males, or “ivory basement” leadership. Combined, they suggest a deficit model that positions women as lacking for top jobs, and institutions therefore needing to “fix the women” generally through leadership development programmes, sponsorship and mentoring. The article examines the metaphors and images used to describe women's leadership across two generations. Older women often saw their leadership as conforming to male leadership models, as fitting in, and not challenging or unsettling their male colleagues. However, a younger generation of leaders or prospective leaders had a very different set of metaphors for their leadership. They saw themselves as unsupported by what they described as the current mediocre, institutional leaders, weighed down by inexorable organizational restructure, and merely in survival mode. Hence, they refused to accept the masculinist leadership model which they perceived as ineffectual, outdated and not meeting their needs. The article suggests that the prevailing culture in higher education leadership and the metaphors and images used to describe successful leadership narrows the options for women leaders. While older women were prepared to accept current masculinist leadership, younger women had contempt for the way it marginalized them while at the same time encouraging them to lift their game and had a different set of metaphors and images to portray what successful leadership should look like. © Copyright © 2020 Burkinshaw and White

Teamwork and regional universities : the benefits for women of a third space (AUR 63 02)

This article reports on the findings of a study that explored the benefits and challenges for women of working at an Australian regional university in early 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines whether living and working at a regional university with dispersed campuses presented particular challenges for women and whether it had an impact on their career progression. Twenty-one women supplied written responses to a list of questions provided by the researchers. The main finding was that women enjoyed working in teams and preferred flexibility, autonomy and positive teamwork environments. To address challenges identified in the study about working across dispersed campuses and the limitations of virtual communication, particularly in the current pandemic, the article investigates the feasibility of a blended approach to teamwork using the concept of a third space. © 2021 National Tertiary Education Union. All Rights Reserved

Womens’ career progression in an Australian Regional University

This article examines the link between terms of employment (full time, part time and casual) at an Australian regional university and women’s career progression. The literature identifies lack of transparency in recruitment, promotion and retention; mobility and location; and management perceptions of women’s choice to work flexibly as factors impacting on career progression. However, the voices of women working in regional universities and particularly those of professional staff are often not present in current research. This study moves towards addressing this research deficit. Feminist institutionalism is used to analyse the relationship between national legislation, university policies and informal institutional practices in relation to women’s career progression In early 2020, twenty-one women provided written responses to questions on the link between terms of employment and career progression. The main findings tend to support other research about women working in universities; that is, carers need flexible work arrangements. But there are particular differences for women in regional universities who have to travel between dispersed campuses, which brings an added dimension of complexity to career progression. Their choices about terms of employment and fulfilling carer responsibilities resulted in insecure employment for some participants which had an impact on wellbeing and confidence. In addition, care/household responsibilities and the choice to work flexibly had a negative effect on career progression, and managers did not necessarily support flexible work options (despite national legislation that enables employees with child care responsibilities to negotiate flexible work arrangements with managers, and institutional gender equality policies). © Copyright © 2021 White and Goriss-Hunter

The radial forearm free flap versus the nasolabial flap in adults having reconstructive surgery for oral cancer : a comparison of quality of life outcomes

Background : Surgical resection is the preferred treatment for tongue cancer. The Radial Forearm Free Flap (RFFF) has classically been used in oral reconstructions, however, there has been research into an alternative option in the form of the Nasolabial Flap (NLF). Surgical research is becoming more and more focussed on Quality of Life (QOL) outcomes as a way to measure a successful recovery. As a result, this review has focused on QOL as well as functional outcomes. Objective : The aim of this review is to determine if there are better QOL outcomes between patients undergoing tongue reconstruction with the NLF or the RFFF. The quality and limitations of the included papers will be discussed. Methods : Four databases were searched using set search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. These searches yielded fourteen final papers which were assessed using a CASP checklist and a bias tool for quality. Results : A variety of outcome measures were featured; despite this, all the papers found good functional and QOL results at follow-up. There were problems with bias throughout all the papers and several reoccurring limitations such as small sample size and the retrospective nature of all but one study. Conclusion : Due to the significant amount of bias found, the overall low quality of literature available, and discrepancies between outcome measures, further research is needed in the form of a long-term prospective study with a larger cohort that includes objective outcome measures.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Hydrodynamic Modeling of Lake Champlain: Current Resources, Major Gaps

Hydrodynamic models are computer-based programs designed to simulate processes and movements in water bodies. Scientists and policymakers use the robust information produced by hydrodynamic models to improve our understanding and develop policies for the protection and future management of water bodies. Current environmental issues in Lake Champlain that are or could be informed by hydrodynamic models include excess nutrients, changing temperature dynamics, flooding, harmful algae blooms, pathogens, contaminants, and invasive species. Existing hydrodynamic models are currently used to forecast flood risk and to determine how seasonal water current and nutrient dynamics affect the occurrence of harmful algae blooms, among other applications. In Lake Champlain, hydrodynamic models have been developed and utilized for a variety of purposes. This document summarizes early modeling efforts focused on Lake Champlain and describes five hydrodynamic models used to describe the hydrodynamics of the lake

Right-Sizing the Supreme Court: A History of Congressional Changes

Since the Republican Senate refused to consider President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016--coupled with the Trump Administration’s success in filling that seat with Neil Gorsuch, followed by the appointments of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett--there has been widespread interest in how to balance a suddenly solidly conservative Court majority, one likely to remain so for decades. One way to do so is to expand the size of the Court, an issue the Constitution left to Congress, which exercised that authority repeatedly during the Constitution’s first 80 years. This article examines those mostly forgotten congressional changes to the Court’s size as well as Congress’ more notorious failure during the New Deal. The article reveals that the successful expansions were often due to population growth but always the product of political calculations. Since the U.S. population is now nearly ten times larger than it was when Congress last changed the Court’s size, reconsidering the Court’s size may be an issue ripe for congressional consideration, should the political winds suggest that is possible