An Evaluative Case Study of a Career Coaching Approach to Improving Student Placement Success in a UK Business School

Describes the innovative approach adopted in a UK business school to improve the number of student placements. A module was designed to provide students with the skills to search, apply for and gain a year-long placement as part of a degree ‘sandwich’ course. A blend of workshops, recorded lectures, online formative feedback exercises and one-to-one career coaching created a tailored, practical approach to skill enhancement. This session provides the presentation of the adopted methodology the results of the evaluative research, a live demonstration of the coaching approach and a discussion with the audience of ideas for development of the approach.

Discovery and fine mapping of serum protein loci through transethnic meta-analysis.

Many disorders are associated with altered serum protein concentrations, including malnutrition, cancer, and cardiovascular, kidney, and inflammatory diseases. Although these protein concentrations are highly heritable, relatively little is known about their underlying genetic determinants. Through transethnic meta-analysis of European-ancestry and Japanese genome-wide association studies, we identified six loci at genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10(-8)) for serum albumin (HPN-SCN1B, GCKR-FNDC4, SERPINF2-WDR81, TNFRSF11A-ZCCHC2, FRMD5-WDR76, and RPS11-FCGRT, in up to 53,190 European-ancestry and 9,380 Japanese individuals) and three loci for total protein (TNFRS13B, 6q21.3, and ELL2, in up to 25,539 European-ancestry and 10,168 Japanese individuals). We observed little evidence of heterogeneity in allelic effects at these loci between groups of European and Japanese ancestry but obtained substantial improvements in the resolution of fine mapping of potential causal variants by leveraging transethnic differences in the distribution of linkage disequilibrium. We demonstrated a functional role for the most strongly associated serum albumin locus, HPN, for which Hpn knockout mice manifest low plasma albumin concentrations. Other loci associated with serum albumin harbor genes related to ribosome function, protein translation, and proteasomal degradation, whereas those associated with serum total protein include genes related to immune function. Our results highlight the advantages of transethnic meta-analysis for the discovery and fine mapping of complex trait loci and have provided initial insights into the underlying genetic architecture of serum protein concentrations and their association with human disease.

A genome-wide approach accounting for body mass index identifies genetic variants influencing fasting glycemic traits and insulin resistance.

Recent genome-wide association studies have described many loci implicated in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathophysiology and β-cell dysfunction but have contributed little to the understanding of the genetic basis of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that genes implicated in insulin resistance pathways might be uncovered by accounting for differences in body mass index (BMI) and potential interactions between BMI and genetic variants. We applied a joint meta-analysis approach to test associations with fasting insulin and glucose on a genome-wide scale. We present six previously unknown loci associated with fasting insulin at P < 5 × 10(-8) in combined discovery and follow-up analyses of 52 studies comprising up to 96,496 non-diabetic individuals. Risk variants were associated with higher triglyceride and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, suggesting a role for these loci in insulin resistance pathways. The discovery of these loci will aid further characterization of the role of insulin resistance in T2D pathophysiology.

Ontological constructivism : Negri and the philosophical foundations of a future communism

As we find in Empire and Multitude, Antonio Negri's political project IS a thoroughly Marxist analysis and critique of global or late capitalism. By modifying and updating Marx's conceptual tools, he is able to provide a clear account of capitalism's processes, its expanding reach, and the revolutionary potential that functions as its motor. By turning to Negri's philosophical works, however, we find that this political analysis is founded on a series of concepts and theoretical positions. This paper attempts to clarify this theoretical foundation, highlighting in particular what I term "ontological constructivism" - Negri's radical reworking of traditional ontology. Opposing the long history of transcendence in epistemology and metaphysics (one that stretches from Plato to Kant), this reworked ontological perspective positions individuals - not god or some other transcendent source - as the primary agents responsible for molding the ontological landscape. Combined with his understanding of kairos (subjective, immeasurable time), ontological constructivism lays the groundwork for opposing transcendence and rethinking contemporary politics.

Kevin McCabe Collection, 1966-1979, 1981, 1991-1996,

Kevin McCabe received his PhD in Roman Studies from McMaster University. He has taught at The University of Regina, Nipissing University and Brock University. He was the editor of Gracefully Speaking: newsletter of the Grace Mennonite Church and The Poetry of Old Niagara. He is also the co- editor of The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery and The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album.

Second Welland Canal - Book 1, Survey Map 2 - Lock 1 and Port Dalhousie

Survey map of the Second Welland Canal created by the Welland Canal Company showing the areas in and around Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township. Identified structures associated with the Canal include Lock 1, East and West Piers, Collector's Office, Lock Tender's House and the new towing path. The surveyors' measurements and notes can be seen in red and black ink and pencil. Local area landmarks and businesses are also identified and include streets and roads (ex. Road to St. Catharines, Side Line, Old Road to Port Dalhousie, Road to Niagara), the Welland Railway and its structures (ex. freight sheds, wood shed, raised platform, elevator, cranes, water tank, turn table, and passenger station), G. A. Clark's Wood Yard, Clark's Wood Office, Alex Muir's Dry Dock, Donald, Andrews and Ross' Dry Dock, RandJ Laurie Flouring Mill, R. Laurie and Company Grist Mill and A. Morrison Saw Mill. A New Road to St. Catharines is featured in red ink. Properties and property owners of note are: Concession 1 Lots 19, 20 and 21, John Christie, and John Clark.

Sykes Welland Canal Collection

Alexander J. Grant was born in Banffshire Scotland. He joined the Federal Department of Railways and Canals in 1886 and began the job of chief engineer of the Welland Canal in 1919. At one time he was the president of the Engineering Institute of Canada. - Information taken from The Civil Engineer Location: Brock University Archives Source Information:

Wakeman Burritt fonds, 1807-1814

Wakeman Burritt (1785-1847) was a merchant and ship owner who conducted his business in New York, New Orleans, LA, Charleston, SC, and the West Indies. Despite the difficulties that the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812 posed to trade and commerce, Burritt managed to run a successful business, dealing in commodities such as foodstuffs, cloth, cotton, and soap. He owned three ships, the Brig Cannon, Brig Eunice and Brig Sampson. In 1809, he married Grace Burr (1787-1874). Together they had at least one child, Francis Burritt (1811-1861).

Photograph - Boys Brigade

A photograph of young boys in military dress standing at attention. The handwritten back reads: Boys Brigade In connection with St. Andrews Church, Copper Cliff. The photographers are W. Coulter, Vankleek Hill.

Wakeman Burritt Fonds

Fonds consists of correspondence between Wakeman Burritt and his business associates, as well as receipts and documents concerning the shipping vessels Brig Cannon, Brig Eunice, Brig Sampson, and several other vessels. Reference is made in some documents to the effects of politics on commerce, most notably the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. The correspondence consists of 53 letters, 40 of the letters being addressed to Wakeman Burritt, with the remaining 13 letters being retained copies of letters written by Burritt to Samuel Cannon. There are also 17 letters written to Burritt by LeGrand Cannon of Norwalk, CT. The remaining letters to Burritt consist of two letters from his wife Grace Burritt, and other business associates, including Thomas Andrews, Stephen Arnold, Ezra Burr, Talcott Burr, Talmon Burr, Wm. M. Betty & Co., Samuel Cannon, Edward Jessup, Hugh Knox, Jonathan Meigs, Samuel Morehouse, Stephen Morehouse, W & B St. John, Oliver Sherman, Anthony Stow, and Ogden Richards Weldon. The shipping vessel material includes 52 documents concerning Brig Eunice, 27 documents for Brig Sampson, 14 documents for Brig Cannon, and 18 miscellaneous documents for vessels such as the Schooners Maria, Hope, Nassau, and Henry, Sloops Fox and Sally, and the Brig Diana and Emeline. The documents include receipts for piloting into port, for wharfage, and for supplies and repairs, as well as lists of disbursements, freight lists, and payments made to men working on the ships.

Le Modèle des vies saines (Good lives model) appliqué dans le traitement de délinquants sexuels suivis dans la communauté

Rapport de stage présenté à la Faculté des arts et sciences en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise ès sciences (M. Sc.) en criminologie

Le programme cognitif-comportemental au CJM-IU : l'effet du degré d'exposition au programme sur l'ampleur des troubles de comportement des adolescentes six mois après leur admission au CJM-IU

L’implantation de programmes probants dans les milieux d’intervention peut comporter son lot de difficultés pour les gestionnaires ainsi que les intervenants en contexte de réadaptation pour adolescents. En effet, les contraintes auxquelles peuvent être confrontés les milieux de pratique mènent parfois à la modification des programmes, ceci en vue de faciliter leur implantation. Il devient alors important de documenter ainsi qu’identifier l’effet des éléments associés à la fidélité d’implantation lorsque les programmes d’intervention sont évalués. En plus d’évaluer l’effet du degré d’exposition au programme cognitif-comportemental implanté dans les unités d’hébergement du Centre jeunesse de Montréal – Institut universitaire (CJM-IU) sur l’ampleur des troubles de comportement des adolescentes, ce mémoire propose une nouvelle piste de recherche. Puisque la recherche empirique ne permet pas encore d’identifier les conditions selon lesquelles il serait possible de modifier les programmes d’intervention qui sont adoptés dans le contexte de la pratique, cette étude propose d’élaborer une logique d’exposition au programme qui s’inspire des principes d’intervention efficace élaborés par Andrews et ses collègues (1990). Cette approche permettrait d’adapter le niveau d’intervention aux caractéristiques de la clientèle, et ce, tout en s’assurant de l’efficacité du programme cognitif-comportemental. L’échantillon de cette étude est donc constitué de 74 adolescentes hébergées au CJM-IU pour une durée de six mois. Les résultats indiquent d’abord que les activités du programme cognitif-comportemental ont été appliquées de façon plutôt irrégulière et bien en deçà de la fréquence initialement prévue, ce qui rend bien compte des difficultés à implanter des programmes en contexte de pratique. Les résultats suggèrent aussi une diminution de l’ampleur des troubles de comportement six mois après l’admission au CJM-IU pour les adolescentes qui étaient caractérisées par une ampleur des troubles de comportement plus marquée au moment de leur admission et qui ont complété un plus grand nombre d’auto-observations durant leur placement.

Chemical Evaluation of Selected Organics and Trace Metals in the Mangrove Macroflora Of Cochin

Mangroves are considered to play a significant role in global carbon cycling. Themangrove forests would fix CO2 by photosynthesis into mangrove lumber and thus decrease the possibility of a catastrophic series of events - global warming by atmospheric CO2, melting of the polar ice caps, and inundation of the great coastal cities of the world. The leaf litter and roots are the main contributors to mangrove sediments, though algal production and allochthonous detritus can also be trapped (Kristensen et al, 2008) by mangroves due to their high organic matter content and reducing nature are excellent metal retainers. Environmental pollution due to metals is of major concern. This is due to the basic fact that metals are not biodegradable or perishable the way most organic pollutants are. While most organic toxicants can be destroyed by combustion and converted into compounds such as C0, C02, SOX, NOX, metals can't be destroyed. At the most the valance and physical form of metals may change. Concentration of metals present naturally in air, water and soil is very low. Metals released into the environment through anthropogenic activities such as burning of fossils fuels, discharge of industrial effluents, mining, dumping of sewage etc leads to the development of higher than tolerable or toxic levels of metals in the environment leading to metal pollution. Of course, a large number of heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, Cr, Mo, and V are essential to plants and animals and deficiency of these metals may lead to diseases, but at higher levels, it would lead to metal toxicity. Almost all industrial processes and urban activities involve release of at least trace quantities of half a dozen metals in different forms. Heavy metal pollution in the environment can remain dormant for a long time and surface with a vengeance. Once an area gets toxified with metals, it is almost impossible to detoxify it. The symptoms of metal toxicity are often quite similar to the symptoms of other common diseases such as respiratory problems, digestive disorders, skin diseases, hypertension, diabetes, jaundice etc making it all the more difficult to diagnose metal poisoning. For example the Minamata disease caused by mercury pollution in addition to affecting the nervous system can disturb liver function and cause diabetes and hypertension. The damage caused by heavy metals does not end up with the affected person. The harmful effects can be transferred to the person's progenies. Ironically heavy metal pollution is a direct offshoot of our increasing ability to mass produce metals and use them in all spheres of existence. Along with conventional physico- chemical methods, biosystem approachment is also being constantly used for combating metal pollution

Multilevel multitrait-multimethod model: application to the measurement of egocentered social networks

Our goal in this paper is to assess reliability and validity of egocentered network data using multilevel analysis (Muthen, 1989, Hox, 1993) under the multitrait-multimethod approach. The confirmatory factor analysis model for multitrait-multimethod data (Werts & Linn, 1970; Andrews, 1984) is used for our analyses. In this study we reanalyse a part of data of another study (Kogovšek et al., 2002) done on a representative sample of the inhabitants of Ljubljana. The traits used in our article are the name interpreters. We consider egocentered network data as hierarchical; therefore a multilevel analysis is required. We use Muthen's partial maximum likelihood approach, called pseudobalanced solution (Muthen, 1989, 1990, 1994) which produces estimations close to maximum likelihood for large ego sample sizes (Hox & Mass, 2001). Several analyses will be done in order to compare this multilevel analysis to classic methods of analysis such as the ones made in Kogovšek et al. (2002), who analysed the data only at group (ego) level considering averages of all alters within the ego. We show that some of the results obtained by classic methods are biased and that multilevel analysis provides more detailed information that much enriches the interpretation of reliability and validity of hierarchical data. Within and between-ego reliabilities and validities and other related quality measures are defined, computed and interpreted

Climate change: a contemporary and geological perspective: introduction

This file describes the resouces to be made available through the Open Educational Resources 'C-change in GEES' project exploring the open licensing of climate change and sustainability resources in the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.