School-community collaborations: bringing authentic science into schools

There is increasing interest in collaborative arrangements between schools and community scientists to enhance student engagement with learning. We describe research in which we identify a wide range of such collaborations in Australia, and investigate through interviews with community participants their perspectives on the purposes of collaborations, on the outcomes, and the factors affecting success. We identify challenges with communication, with curriculum and with organisational arrangements that need to be considered in setting up collaborative partnerships, and argue the importance of having a teacher acting as a broker to bridge between the school and scientific communities of practice, if these challenges are to be met.

Expanding a successful community-based obesity prevention approach into new communities : challenges and achievements

OBJECTIVE: A previously successful community-based obesity prevention intervention with a focus on school settings was expanded into new communities with varying contexts. In order to understand the complexities involved in implementing health promotion activities in schools, this study examined experiences of school staff and project officers including barriers, contextual factors and achievements. METHODS: School environment assessments were conducted in schools across four Victorian communities with school staff (n=1-5 staff plus a trained researcher per group in 9 primary and 8 secondary schools) 12-18 months post-intervention. Process reports from project officers were also reviewed and analysed (n=4). RESULTS: School staff commonly reported time pressures as a barrier to implementation and project officers working within schools reported competing priorities and limited health promotion experience of staff; lack of stakeholder engagement; low participation in some activities and insufficient implementation time. Contextual factors included community socioeconomic status, student ethnicity and living rurally. Achievements included student and staff enjoyment from programme activities, staff capacity building, partnerships, embedding activities into existing infrastructure and programmes, and having consistent health-related messages repeated through a variety of strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based interventions with a focus on school settings need to consider system level, organisational and contextual (i.e. socioeconomic, ethnicity, family and town characteristics) factors when expanding previously effective strategies into new communities. Implementation benefits may have added whole of school benefits in addition to child health. Focussing on overcoming the challenges experienced in this complex initiative is required for future interventions.

Selecting, training and assessing new general practice community teachers in UK medical schools

Background: Standards for undergraduate medical education in the UK, published in Tomorrow’s Doctors, include the criterion ‘everyone involved in educating medical students will be appropriately selected, trained, supported and appraised’. Aims: To establish how new general practice (GP) community teachers of medical students are selected, initially trained and assessed by UK medical schools and establish the extent to which Tomorrow’s Doctors standards are being met. Method: A mixed-methods study with questionnaire data collected from 24 lead GPs at UK medical schools, 23 new GP teachers from two medical schools plus a semi-structured telephone interview with two GP leads. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and qualitative data were analysed informed by framework analysis. Results: GP teachers’ selection is non-standardised. One hundred per cent of GP leads provide initial training courses for new GP teachers; 50% are mandatory. The content and length of courses varies. All GP leads use student feedback to assess teaching, but other required methods (peer review and patient feedback) are not universally used. Conclusions: To meet General Medical Council standards, medical schools need to include equality and diversity in initial training and use more than one method to assess new GP teachers. Wider debate about the selection, training and assessment of new GP teachers is needed to agree minimum standards.

Interprofessional collaborative practice across Australasia: an emergent and effective community of practice

Individuals involved in fostering interprofessional collaborative practice in health are employed in the education, practice and political arenas. While the need to innovate and develop optimal training and practice is not new, the uniqueness of interprofessional collaborative practice is that it exists across professional backgrounds and transcends traditional hierarchies (entry-level to senior practitioners). As such, alternate models of support are required to assist champions to progress learning and innovation. One such model is a group of educators and practitioners networking across Australasia, resulting in the Australasian Community of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (ACoIPCP). ACoIPCP is a lively community of practice (CoP) group across Australia and New Zealand, which is abreast of current activity in the relevant arenas and provides members with an avenue to share information and, therefore, respond appropriately to changes in the environment. Membership includes likeminded individuals who work in the area of interprofessional collaboration from a broad range of perspectives in both health education and practice. This paper describes the development of ACoIPCP and its aims, activities and achievements. By developing a community of practice framework in a cross-organisational environment, ACoIPCP members have been able to support one another, share resources, seek feedback and learn with and from one another to foster interprofessional collaborative practice within educational, clinical and political settings. Information about the processes and outcomes of ACoIPCP may provide guidance to others interested in facilitating learning and innovation through a community of practice model.

Is there scope for community health nurses to address lifestyle risk factors? The community nursing SNAP trial

Background
This paper examines the opportunity and need for lifestyle interventions for patients attending generalist community nursing services in Australia. This will help determine the scope for risk factor management within community health care by generalist community nurses (GCNs).

Methods
This was a quasi-experimental study conducted in four generalist community nursing services in NSW, Australia. Prior to service contacts, clients were offered a computer-assisted telephone interview to collect baseline data on socio-demographics, health conditions, smoking status, physical activity levels, alcohol consumption, height and weight, fruit and vegetable intake and 'readiness-to-change' for lifestyle risk factors.

Results
804 clients participated (a response rate of 34.1%). Participants had higher rates of obesity (40.5% vs 32.1%) and higher prevalence of multiple risk factors (40.4% vs 29.5%) than in the general population. Few with a SNAPW (S moking-N utrition-A lcohol-P hysical-Activity-Weight) risk factor had received advice or referral in the previous 3 months. The proportion of clients identified as at risk and who were open to change (i.e. contemplative, in preparation or in action phase) were 65.0% for obese/overweight; 73.8% for smokers; 48.2% for individuals with high alcohol intake; 83.5% for the physically inactive and 59.0% for those with poor nutrition.

Conclusions
There was high prevalence of lifestyle risk factors. Although most were ready to change, few clients recalled having received any recent lifestyle advice. This suggests that there is considerable scope for intervention by GCNs. The results of this trial will shed light on how best to implement the lifestyle risk factor management in routine practice.

Uncorking the Mommy Market: Phenomenal Facebook following has Marilé Borden contemplating the future of Moms Who Need Wine

Marilé Borden ’94 has hundreds of thousands of people watching her Facebook page Moms Who Need Wine. Now what to do with them?

Assessing Merit Aid and Need-Based Aid At Private Institutions

Institutions provide students with full tuition merit awards through formal scholarship programs for outstanding performance in academics, leadership, community service, and athletics. This brief outlines how institutions fund and utilize merit to increase retention rates, particularly for minority and first generation students.

Influence of management on plankton community of fishponds during the dry and rainy seasons

Aim: The present investigation aims at evaluating attention to the occurrence and abundance of planktonic communities in fishponds and their relationships to the management employed; Methods: Seven fishponds (V1-V7) fertilized with different treatments were analyzed by monthly sampling, taken between July and December/07, during both dry and rainy seasons; Results: Euglenophyceae and Chlorophyceae were most representative during the studied period. In the fishpond with organic fertilizer Cyanobacteria was more than 65 and 90% of total phytoplankton abundance in September and August, mainly represented by Microcystis sp. (14,595 and 22,500 ind.L-1, respectively). An inverse relationship occurred between Copepoda and Cladocera, and Copepoda and Rotifera were present in all fishponds during the both seasons. Diversity (H') and species richness was low and equitability indices generally showed the highest values for zooplankton. The lowest values were observed for phytoplankton during the rainy season; Conclusions: The use of organic fertilizer and the random emptying of the fishponds affected directly and species diversity and richness, with dominance of Cyanobacteria emphasizing the need to adopt a management technique to increase fishponds productivity and consequently, fish production.

Trauma and envenoming caused by stingrays and other fish in a fishing community in Pontal do Paranapanema, state of São Paulo, Brazil: epidemiology, clinical aspects, and therapeutic and preventive measures

INTRODUÇÃO: Os acidentes causados por peixes são comuns em comunidades de pescadores fluviais no Brasil, sendo acidentes ocupacionais na maioria das vezes. Estas populações não têm informações dos mecanismos de trauma e envenenamento. MÉTODOS: Através de um questionário aplicado aos pescadores, foram obtidos dados clínicos e epidemiológicos sobre acidentes em Rosana, Pontal do Paranapanema, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Estes dados foram analisados e convertidos em um programa de prevenção e tratamento de acidentes através de um folheto de fácil assimilação RESULTADOS: Trinta e nove pescadores responderam o questionário. Todos os pacientes apresentaram ferimentos causados por algum peixe. Dos peixes mencionados, mandijubas (Pimelodus maculatus) foram os mais associados aos ferimentos, mas outros também causaram traumas. em relação às arraias, seis pescadores tinham sido envenenados. Dor intensa e úlceras foram os principais sintomas. Aproximadamente metade dos acidentados usou apenas medidas de tratamentos populares. CONCLUSÕES: Os pescadores apresentaram acidentes múltiplos por mandis, que são peçonhentos e causam dor intensa, assim como traumas por outros peixes, como surubins, traíras, corvinas de água doce e piranhas. Cerca de 16% dos entrevistados apresentaram envenenamento por arraias. Nossos dados e experiência prévia permitiram a criação de um folheto de fácil assimilação pelas populações locais que pode ajudar os pescadores de forma efetiva, em uma área extremamente carente de serviços de saúde e prevenção de doenças. Esta iniciativa é aplicável a toda a bacia do Rio da Prata, área extensa e de fauna similar.

Antibiotic treatment schemes for very severe community-acquired pneumonia in children: a randomized clinical study

Objective. To compare clinical response to initial empiric treatment with oxacillin plus ceftriaxone and amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid in hospitalized children diagnosed with very severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).Methods. A prospective randomized clinical study was conducted among children 2 months to 5 years old with a diagnosis of very severe CAP in the pediatric ward of São Paulo State University Hospital in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, from April 2007 to May 2008. Patients were randomly divided into two groups by type of treatment: an oxacillin/ceftriaxone group (OCG, n = 48) and an amoxicillin/clavulanic acid group (ACG, n = 56). Analyzed outcomes were: time to clinical improvement (fever and tachypnea), time on oxygen therapy, length of stay in hospital, need to widen antimicrobial spectrum, and complications (including pleural effusion).Results. The two groups did not differ statistically for age, sex, symptom duration before admission, or previous antibiotic treatment. Time to improve tachypnea was less among ACG patients than OCG patients (4.8 +/- 2.2 versus 5.8 +/- 2.4 days respectively; P = 0.028), as was length of hospital stay (11.0 +/- 6.2 versus 14.4 +/- 4.5 days respectively; P = 0.002). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups for fever improvement time, time on oxygen therapy, need to widen antimicrobial spectrum, or frequency of pleural effusion.Conclusions. Both treatment plans are effective in treating very severe CAP in 2-monthto 5-year-old hospitalized children. The only analyzed outcome that favored amoxicillin/clavulanic acid treatment was time required to improve tachypnea.

The WIPO development agenda and the contribution of the international library community

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the international strengthening of copyright law in developing countries and the active involvement of the international library community in the movement against it.Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes the overprotection of intellectual property rights through international and bilateral treaties, the reaction against such through the proposal of a WIPO development agenda, and the contribution of the international library organizations to the debates and discussions in the WIPO arena.Findings - The initiative for a development agenda for WIPO has proven much more successful than many had imagined, even its promoters. The most relevant proposals made by the international library community were included in the final list of approved recommendations.Originality/value - The paper raises awareness of the relationship between copyright and access to knowledge and, in consequence, the need for library organizations to exert influence in such legislation.

Relation between green spaces and bird community structure in an urban area in Southeast Brazil

Increased urbanization typically leads to an increase in abundance of a few species and a reduction in bird species richness. Understanding the structure of biotic communities in urban areas will allow us to propose management techniques and to decrease conflicts between wild species and human beings. The objective of this study was to describe the structure of the bird community in an urban ecosystem. The study was carried out in the city of Taubaté in southeastern Brazil. Point-counts were established in areas with different levels of tree density ranging from urban green spaces to predominantly built-up areas. We looked for a correlation between the richness/abundance of birds and the size of the area surveyed, the number of houses, the number of tree species and the number of individual trees. The results of multiple regression showed that bird richness had a direct relationship with vegetation complexity. The abundance and diversity of tree species were better predictors of bird species than the number of houses and size of the area surveyed. We discuss implications of this study for conservation and management of bird diversity in urban areas, such as the need to increase green areas containing a large diversity of native plant species. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

The State, the community and society in social development

President Cardoso delivered this address at the First Regional Conference in Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development, held in Sao Paulo from 6 to 9 April 1997. On that occasion President Cardoso reviewed the issues examined at the World Summit, with special emphasis on poverty and the search for an environmentally sound, democratic form of development that will lead to a greater degree of social equity. Within this context, he discussed the relationship between economic and social factors, devoting particular attention to State reform, education, competitiveness and job creation. He also outlined the situation in Brazil with regard to economic development, education and health services, the neeed for agrarian reform based on the principle of equity, and respect for human rights. In concluding his statement, he stressed the need to overcome the traditional division between community and society and between the public and private spheres. To that end, he called for a re-examination of ethical considerations, not as an empty discussion of morality but rather as an effective means of motivating action for change.

The need of subsidy for the implementation of photovoltaic solar energy as supporting of decentralized electrical power generation in Brazil

The growing demand for electrical power and the limited capital invested to provide this power is forcing countries like Brazil to search for new alternatives for electrical power generation. The purpose of this paper is to present a technical and economic study on a 15 kW solar plant installed in an isolated community, highlighting the importance of the need for financial subsidy from the government. It evaluates the importance of parameters such as the annual interest rate, specific investment, the marginal cost of expanding the electrical power supply and the government subsidy on amortization time of capital invested. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Cerrado vegetation and global change: the role of functional types, resource availability and disturbance in regulating plant community responses to rising CO2 levels and climate warming

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)