Social presence – connecting pre-service teachers as learners using a blended learning model

The national reform agenda for early childhood education and care across Australia has led to an increased demand for qualified early childhood teachers. In response, universities have developed innovative approaches in delivering early childhood teacher educa tion courses designed to support existing diploma qualified educators to gain their teaching qualifications. One such course at a major Australian University incorporated a flexible multi-modal option of study which included community -based, on line e-learning and face -to- face intensive tutorials. This paper reports on a study examining the outcomes for students undertaking their studies using this course delivery mode. The study sought to examine the students’ perceptions of the efficacy of the teaching and learning approach in meeting their learning needs, and the factors that were most influential in informing these perceptions. The findings indicated that it was the inclusion of contact and a social presence in the online learning environment which was most influential

COOPERATIVE SOLUTIONS TO OPEN ACCESS COMPETITION FOR LAND AMONG MUNICIPALITIES

Land Economics/Use,

Contracting with General Dental Services: a mixed-methods study on factors influencing responses to contracts in English general dental practice

Background: Independent contractor status of NHS general dental practitioners (GDPs) and general medical practitioners (GMPs) has meant that both groups have commercial as well as professional identities. Their relationship with the state is governed by a NHS contract, the terms of which have been the focus of much negotiation and struggle in recent years. Previous study of dental contracting has taken a classical economics perspective, viewing practitioners’ behaviour as a fully rational search for contract loopholes. We apply institutional theory to this context for the first time, where individuals’ behaviour is understood as being influenced by wider institutional forces such as growing consumer demands, commercial pressures and challenges to medical professionalism. Practitioners hold values and beliefs, and carry out routines and practices which are consistent with the field’s institutional logics. By identifying institutional logics in the dental practice organisational field, we expose where tensions exist, helping to explain why contracting appears as a continual cycle of reform and resistance. Aims: To identify the factors which facilitate and hinder the use of contractual processes to manage and strategically develop General Dental Services, using a comparison with medical practice to highlight factors which are particular to NHS dental practice. Methods: Following a systematic review of health-care contracting theory and interviews with stakeholders, we undertook case studies of 16 dental and six medical practices. Case study data collection involved interviews, observation and documentary evidence; 120 interviews were undertaken in all. We tested and refined our findings using a questionnaire to GDPs and further interviews with commissioners. Results: We found that, for all three sets of actors (GDPs, GMPs, commissioners), multiple logics exist. These were interacting and sometimes in competition. We found an emergent logic of population health managerialism in dental practice, which is less compatible than the other dental practice logics of ownership responsibility, professional clinical values and entrepreneurialism. This was in contrast to medical practice, where we found a more ready acceptance of external accountability and notions of the delivery of ‘cost-effective’ care. Our quantitative work enabled us to refine and test our conceptualisations of dental practice logics. We identified that population health managerialism comprised both a logic of managerialism and a public goods logic, and that practitioners might be resistant to one and not the other. We also linked individual practitioners’ behaviour to wider institutional forces by showing that logics were predictive of responses to NHS dental contracts at the dental chair-side (the micro level), as well as predictive of approaches to wider contractual relationships with commissioners (the macro level) . Conclusions: Responses to contracts can be shaped by environmental forces and not just determined at the level of the individual. In NHS medical practice, goals are more closely aligned with commissioning goals than in general dental practice. The optimal contractual agreement between GDPs and commissioners, therefore, will be one which aims at the ‘satisfactory’ rather than the ‘ideal’; and a ‘successful’ NHS dental contract is likely to be one where neither party promotes its self-interest above the other. Future work on opportunism in health care should widen its focus beyond the self-interest of providers and look at the contribution of contextual factors such as the relationship between the government and professional bodies, the role of the media, and providers’ social and professional networks. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme

Residential mobility in the local authority housing sector in Edinburgh 1963-1973

This thesis examines the pattern and process of mobility as found in the Local Authority housing sector in Edinburgh between 1963 and 1973. The data for the study were extracted by a 10% sample of the 'records of let' held by Edinburgh City Housing Department. A profile of facts about each household was extracted every time a change of residence occurred. This provided details of the movement of new tenants into the public sector and of movement between and within estates.New tenants were found to be a combination of two distinct groups. This had consequences for the spatial pattern of moves into the public sector and influenced both the distance and direction of movement. Sectoral biases were, however, not evident for either group.The nature of estates in terms of their physical and social composition, was seen to be highly dependent on their legislative background, while these differences were reinforced by institutional constraints and biases in the allocation system. The popularity of estates was measured in terms of the number of points required for entry and only those applicants who could command high levels of points or special priorities had a chance of obtaining places in the best areas.The movement of tenants between these estates was, in general terms, one of movement towards the most popular areas, although such estates were relatively small and ii therefore unable to absorb the total demand. Spatial patterns of movement between estates were very parochial with ten sub-systems being identified. This pattern of local movement suggested that distance was an important element constraining transfers and such an influence was later confirmed.Movement at the within estate level was to more popular parts and to newer areas. Transfer tenants moving at these different levels varied in their demographic characteristics as well as in their motivations for moving.Differences in motivation were evident for all groups. Family Life Cycle influences were shown to be the most important in promoting mobility, while Involuntary reasons formed the second most important category. The reasons given for moving determined the category of need into which tenants were placed and the number of points awarded to them. This, together with the ability to wait, effectively determined their chances of obtaining rehousing in any estate. Young household heads with young families there¬ fore tended to be concentrated in the less popular estates while older household heads were more often allocated to the more, popular areas.Throughout the study the patterns and processes of mobility were shown to be highly complex, even for such a seemingly uniform group as local authority tenants

Effects of increasing the affinity of CarD for RNA polymerase on Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth, rRNA transcription, and virulence

CarD is an essential RNA polymerase (RNAP) interacting protein in Mycobacterium tuberculosis that stimulates formation of RNAP-promoter open complexes. CarD plays a complex role in M. tuberculosis growth and virulence that is not fully understood. Therefore, to gain further insight into the role of CarD in M. tuberculosis growth and virulence, we determined the effect of increasing the affinity of CarD for RNAP. Using site-directed mutagenesis guided by crystal structures of CarD bound to RNAP, we identified amino acid substitutions that increase the affinity of CarD for RNAP. Using these substitutions, we show that increasing the affinity of CarD for RNAP increases the stability of the CarD protein in M. tuberculosis. In addition, we show that increasing the affinity of CarD for RNAP increases the growth rate in M. tuberculosis without affecting 16S rRNA levels. We further show that increasing the affinity of CarD for RNAP reduces M. tuberculosis virulence in a mouse model of infection despite the improved growth rate in vitro. Our findings suggest that the CarD-RNAP interaction protects CarD from proteolytic degradation in M. tuberculosis, establish that growth rate and rRNA levels can be uncoupled in M. tuberculosis and demonstrate that the strength of the CarD-RNAP interaction has been finely tuned to optimize virulence. IMPORTANCE Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, remains a major global health problem. In order to develop new strategies to battle this pathogen, we must gain a better understanding of the molecular processes involved in its survival and pathogenesis. We have previously identified CarD as an essential transcriptional regulator in mycobacteria. In this study, we detail the effects of increasing the affinity of CarD for RNAP on transcriptional regulation, CarD protein stability, and virulence. These studies expand our understanding of the global transcription regulator CarD, provide insight into how CarD activity is regulated, and broaden our understanding of prokaryotic transcription

Elizabeth Garner in a Sophomore Recital

This is the program for the sophomore voice recital of Elizabeth Garner, accompanied by Leslie Srygley on the piano. The recital was held on March 3, 1995, in the Recital Hall of the Mabee Fine Arts Center

THE ROLE OF JUROR ATTITUDES TOWARD SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON DAMAGE AWARDS FOR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES

Research suggests that the prevalence of sexual harassment is high in both educational and employment contexts (Foulis & McCabe, 1997). Despite the number of sexual harassment claims, there is a paucity of research examining juror decision making with regards to compensatory damage awards in this context (Cass, Levett, & Kovera, 2010). Research on juror damage assignment in cases of preexisting psychological injury (e.g., “eggshell psyche”) is also sparse. Additionally, little research has been conducted to evaluate the effect that juror attitudes towards sexual harassment have on juror damage awards and the impact of closing arguments on juror decision making. Against this background, the aims of the present study are to (a) expand on previous research by further examining how juror attitudes towards sexual harassment, as measured by the Sexual Harassment Attitude Scale (SHAS; Mazer & Percival, 1989), affect determinations of non-economic, emotional injury claims in a sexual harassment scenario where a plaintiff has preexisting emotional issues (b) test the impact of closing arguments on juror decision making and (c) examine the interaction between closing arguments and juror attitudes on juror decision making, specifically whether juror attitudes towards sexual harassment, as measured by the Sexual Harassment Attitude Scale, will differentially impact juror’s damage awards in response to plaintiff’s or defendant’s closing arguments. The main effect of juror attitude was found to be significant, with mock jurors with intolerant attitudes toward sexual harassment awarding greater amounts in damages than mock jurors with tolerant attitudes toward sexual harassment. The implications of these results are discussed.Psychology, Department o

The Superinfection of a Dermoid Cyst

Mature cystic teratoma may be complicated by torsion, rupture, and malignant change, but is rarely complicated by infection. Here we report the case of a patient who presented with a tubo-ovarian abscess following a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure in the setting of an ovarian dermoid cyst

Clinical progression and outcome of dysphagia following thermal burn injury: A prospective cohort study

The objectives of this study were 1) to establish clinical profiles of dysphagic and nondysphagic individuals following thermal burn injury and 2) to provide a clinical profile of the progression and outcome of dysphagia resolution by hospital discharge for a dysphagic cohort. A total of 438 consecutively admitted patients with thermal burns were included. All patients underwent a clinical swallowing examination. Medical parameters regarding burn presentation and its treatment and speech-language pathology specific variables from admission to discharge were collected for each participant. Dysphagia was identified in 49 patients via clinical assessment, and their course of recovery was followed up until the point of dysphagia resolution or discharge. No significant difference was observed between the dysphagic and nondysphagic groups in age, gender, and injury etiology. However, the dysphagic cohort was significantly different from the nondysphagic group in all variables pertaining to injury presentation and medical management. Individuals with dysphagia took significantly longer to start, and maintain, oral intake and required nonoral supplementation for three and a half times longer than those who were nondysphagic. Length of speech-language pathology intervention averaged 1 month for the dysphagics and increased with dysphagia severity. Return to normal fluid consistencies occurred in >75% of dysphagic individuals by week 7 after injury, although resumption of normal diet textures was more protracted, with 75% resuming normal oral intake by week 9. Dysphagia had resolved in 50% of the cohort by week 6, and by hospital discharge, 85% of the dysphagic individuals had resumed normal oral intake of thin fluids and a general diet. This is the first large prospective cohort study to establish clinical profiles of dysphagic and nondysphagic cohorts and document the nature of dysphagia and patterns of recovery within the thermal burn population. These current data will assist the allocation and planning of speech-language pathology services and provide baseline data on the course of dysphagia resolution in the adult thermal burn population

A scoping review of competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals

Background Biomedical journals are the main route for disseminating the results of health-related research. Despite this, their editors operate largely without formal training or certification. To our knowledge, no body of literature systematically identifying core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals exists. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a scoping review to determine what is known on the competency requirements for scientific editors of biomedical journals. Methods We searched the MEDLINE®, Cochrane Library, Embase®, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases (from inception to November 2014) and conducted a grey literature search for research and non-research articles with competency-related statements (i.e. competencies, knowledge, skills, behaviors, and tasks) pertaining to the role of scientific editors of peer-reviewed health-related journals. We also conducted an environmental scan, searched the results of a previous environmental scan, and searched the websites of existing networks, major biomedical journal publishers, and organizations that offer resources for editors. Results A total of 225 full-text publications were included, 25 of which were research articles. We extracted a total of 1,566 statements possibly related to core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals from these publications. We then collated overlapping or duplicate statements which produced a list of 203 unique statements. Finally, we grouped these statements into seven emergent themes: (1) dealing with authors, (2) dealing with peer reviewers, (3) journal publishing, (4) journal promotion, (5) editing, (6) ethics and integrity, and (7) qualities and characteristics of editors. Discussion To our knowledge, this scoping review is the first attempt to systematically identify possible competencies of editors. Limitations are that (1) we may not have captured all aspects of a biomedical editor’s work in our searches, (2) removing redundant and overlapping items may have led to the elimination of some nuances between items, (3) restricting to certain databases, and only French and English publications, may have excluded relevant publications, and (4) some statements may not necessarily be competencies. Conclusion This scoping review is the first step of a program to develop a minimum set of core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals which will be followed by a training needs assessment, a Delphi exercise, and a consensus meeting