Investigating the process of teaching and learning principles through practice : a case study on collegiate action by media practitioners and teachers, designing a skills-based learning program

This paper in the journalism education field reports on the construction of a new subject as part of a postgraduate coursework degree. The subject, or unit1 will offer both Journalism students and other students an introductory experience of creating media, using common ‘new media’ tools, with exercises that will model the learning of communication principles through practice. It has been named ‘Fundamental Media Skills for the Workplace’. The conceptualisation and teaching of it will be characteristic of the Journalism academic discipline that uses the ‘inside perspective’—understanding mass media by observing from within. Proposers for the unit within the Journalism discipline have sought to extend the common teaching approach, based on training to produce start-ready recruits for media jobs, backed by a study of contexts, e.g. journalistic ethics, or media audiences. In this proposal, students would then examine the process to elicit additional knowledge about their learning. The paper draws on literature of journalism and its pedagogy, and on communication generally. It also documents a ‘community of practice’ exercise conducted among practitioners as teachers for the subject, developing exercises and models of media work. A preliminary conclusion from that exercise is that it has taken a step towards enhancing skills-based learning for media work, as a portal to more generalised knowledge.

Monitoring and benchmarking population diet quality globally : a step-wise approach

INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support) aims to monitor and benchmark the healthiness of food environments globally. In order to assess the impact of food environments on population diets, it is necessary to monitor population diet quality between countries and over time. This paper reviews existing data sources suitable for monitoring population diet quality, and assesses their strengths and limitations. A step-wise framework is then proposed for monitoring population diet quality. Food balance sheets (FBaS), household budget and expenditure surveys (HBES) and food intake surveys are all suitable methods for assessing population diet quality. In the proposed ‘minimal’ approach, national trends of food and energy availability can be explored using FBaS. In the ‘expanded’ and ‘optimal’ approaches, the dietary share of ultra-processed products is measured as an indicator of energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets using HBES and food intake surveys, respectively. In addition, it is proposed that pre-defined diet quality indices are used to score diets, and some of those have been designed for application within all three monitoring approaches. However, in order to enhance the value of global efforts to monitor diet quality, data collection methods and diet quality indicators need further development work.

Climbing the design ladder : step by step

This research presents findings of a research project where the first author worked with a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing company in order to integrate design at a strategic level within the company. This study aims to identify the changes experienced in the participating company while shifting the perspective of design from a product focus towards a strategic focus. Staff interviews at two points in time and a reflective journal were used as data sources within an action research methodology. A shift in the perspective of design was noted in three cultural changes within the firm over time: a focus on long term as well as short term outcomes, on indirect as well as direct value and on intangible as well as tangible benefits. These three components are proposed as ‘cultural stepping stones’ that describe how a company transitions from an exclusively product- focused utilisation of design, to a process-level application of design. Implications of this research are provided as considerations for businesses that are attempting to facilitate a similar transformation in the future.

Deconstructing antiobesity compound action : requirement of serotonin 5-HT2B receptors for dexfenfluramine anorectic effects

The now-banned anorectic molecule, dexfenfluramine, promotes serotonin release through a serotonin transporter-dependent mechanism, and it has been widely prescribed for the treatment of obesity. Previous studies have identified that 5-HT(2B) receptors have important roles in dexfenfluramine side effects, that is, pulmonary hypertension, plasma serotonin level regulation, and valvulopathy. We thus investigated a putative contribution of 5-HT(2B) receptors in dexfenfluramine-dependent feeding behavior in mice. Interestingly, the hypophagic response to dexfenfluramine (3-10 mg/kg) observed in wild-type mice (1-4 h) was eliminated in mice lacking 5-HT(2B) receptors (5-HT(2B)(-/-)). These findings were further validated by the lack of hypophagic response to dexfenfluramine in wild-type mice treated with RS127445, a highly selective and potent antagonist (pKi=8.22 ± 0.24). Using microdialysis, we observed that in 5-HT(2B)(-/-) awake mice, the dexfenfluramine-induced hypothalamic peak of serotonin release (1 h) was strongly reduced (fourfold) compared with wild type. Moreover, using hypothalamic synaptosomes, we established the serotonergic neuron autonomous properties of this effect: a strong serotonin release was observed upon dexfenfluramine stimulation of synaptosome preparation from wild type but not from mice lacking active 5-HT(2B) receptors. These findings strongly suggest that activation of presynaptic 5-HT(2B) receptors is a limiting step in the serotonin transporter dependent-releasing effect of dexfenfluramine, whereas other serotonin receptors act downstream with respect to feeding behavior.

Development and characterization of a novel, antimicrobial, sterile hydrogel dressing for burn wounds : single-step production with gamma irradiation creates silver nanoparticles and radical polymerization

Patients with burn wounds are susceptible to wound infection and sepsis. This research introduces a novel burn wound dressing that contains silver nanoparticles (SNPs) to treat infection in a 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid sodium salt (AMPS-Na(+) ) hydrogel. Silver nitrate was dissolved in AMPS-Na(+) solution and then exposed to gamma irradiation to form SNP-infused hydrogels. The gamma irradiation results in a cross-linked polymeric network of sterile hydrogel dressing and a reduction of silver ions to form SNPs infused in the hydrogel in a one-step process. About 80% of the total silver was released from the hydrogels after 72 h immersion in simulated body fluid solution; therefore, they could be used on wounds for up to 3 days. All the hydrogels were found to be nontoxic to normal human dermal fibroblast cells. The silver-loaded hydrogels had good inhibitory action against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Results from a pilot study on a porcine burn model showed that the 5-mM silver hydrogel was efficient at preventing bacterial colonization of wounds, and the results were comparable to the commercially available silver dressings (Acticoat(TM) , PolyMem Silver(®) ). These results support its use as a potential burn wound dressing.

Learning about and taking action for the environment : child and teacher experiences in a preschool water education program

Water education and conservation programs have grown exponentially in Australian primary and secondary schools and, although early childhood services have been slower to respond to the challenges of sustainability, they are catching up fast. One early program targeted at preschools was the Water Aware Centre Program in northern New South Wales developed by the local water supply authority. This paper reports on a qualitative study of children’s and teachers’ experiences of the program in three preschools. The study’s aim was to identify program attributes and pedagogies that supported learning and action taking for water conservation, and to investigate if and how the program influenced children’s and teachers’practices. Data were collected through an interview with the program designer, conversations with child participants of the program, and a qualitative survey with early childhood staff. A three-step thematic analysis was conducted on the children’s and teachers’ data. Findings revealed that the program expanded children and teachers’ ideas about water conservation and increased their water conservation practices. The children were found to influence the water conservation practices of the adults around them, thus changing practices at school and at home.

Population of computational rabbit-specific ventricular action potential models for investigating sources of variability in cellular repolarisation

Variability is observed at all levels of cardiac electrophysiology. Yet, the underlying causes and importance of this variability are generally unknown, and difficult to investigate with current experimental techniques. The aim of the present study was to generate populations of computational ventricular action potential models that reproduce experimentally observed intercellular variability of repolarisation (represented by action potential duration) and to identify its potential causes. A systematic exploration of the effects of simultaneously varying the magnitude of six transmembrane current conductances (transient outward, rapid and slow delayed rectifier K(+), inward rectifying K(+), L-type Ca(2+), and Na(+)/K(+) pump currents) in two rabbit-specific ventricular action potential models (Shannon et al. and Mahajan et al.) at multiple cycle lengths (400, 600, 1,000 ms) was performed. This was accomplished with distributed computing software specialised for multi-dimensional parameter sweeps and grid execution. An initial population of 15,625 parameter sets was generated for both models at each cycle length. Action potential durations of these populations were compared to experimentally derived ranges for rabbit ventricular myocytes. 1,352 parameter sets for the Shannon model and 779 parameter sets for the Mahajan model yielded action potential duration within the experimental range, demonstrating that a wide array of ionic conductance values can be used to simulate a physiological rabbit ventricular action potential. Furthermore, by using clutter-based dimension reordering, a technique that allows visualisation of multi-dimensional spaces in two dimensions, the interaction of current conductances and their relative importance to the ventricular action potential at different cycle lengths were revealed. Overall, this work represents an important step towards a better understanding of the role that variability in current conductances may play in experimentally observed intercellular variability of rabbit ventricular action potential repolarisation.

Climbing the design ladder: Step by step

This research presents findings of a research project where the first author worked with a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing company in order to integrate design at a strategic level within the company. This study aims to identify the changes experienced in the participating company while shifting the perspective of design from a product focus towards a strategic focus. Staff interviews at two points in time and a reflective journal were used as data sources within an action research methodology. A shift in the perspective of design was noted in three cultural changes within the firm over time: a focus on long term as well as short term outcomes, on indirect as well as direct value and on intangible as well as tangible benefits. These three components are proposed as ‘cultural stepping stones’ that describe how a company transitions from an exclusively product- focused utilisation of design, to a process-level application of design. Implications of this research are provided as considerations for businesses that are attempting to facilitate a similar transformation in the future.

In step

In Step was a wearable artwork consisting of a pair of embroidered foot bandages and an actuator ‘cushion’ embedded with 15 electromechanical actuator pistons. The bandage was embedded with woven, soft and flexible fabric sensors - interconnected with metallic connecting threads, fasteners and a wireless interface (in a final form). When wrapped around a foot and lower leg the sensors sat on the ball of the toes and heel. This ‘wearable interface’ was then connected wirelessly to a soft sculptural form, which employed actuators to tap gently in response to the qualities of the walk detected by the soft sensors. In this way the ‘tread qualities’ of the walker could then be felt by someone else holding this device against their stomach – thereby allowing pairs of participants to ‘feel’ the tactile qualities of the other's walk. The work was presented both as a working object and via a short videorecorded performance.----- In Step generated innovative new approaches to interface and sensor embedded clothing/footware whilst also creating an evocative vehicle to comment upon contemporary Post Colonial theories of weight and groundedness – particularly the psycho-geographical ‘separation’ from the landscape that inspired Paul Carter’s “environmentally grounded poetics”. The work’s final form also suggested critical new directions for responsive clothing and footwear for the emerging genre of smart textiles.