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Hyaline Cartilage versus Fibrocartilage Formation within Mechanically Loaded Cartilage Constructs: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies
No full textThe abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo
Come Hail or High Water : Exchanging insurance and drought knowledge to advance research and its application
Get PDFCanada First Research Excellence FundNon-Peer ReviewedPersonal account of a climate scientist's interactions with knowledge users looking at extreme weather in the Canadian West
INVESTIGATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS OF ACADEMIC MIDDLE MANAGERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) AT A SAUDI ARABIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY A
Get PDFWith growing educational institutes’ organizational complexities, the role of academic middle managers has attracted academicians’ and researchers’ attention. Despite the pivotal role of academic middle managers (AMMs), there is insufficient evidence in the literature to consider the nature of academic middle managers’ professional development. As compared to other geographical locations, research on academic middle managers’ learning and development in the Arabian Gulf is almost non-existence due to the newness of the idea in the higher educational institutes in the region. This study sought to explore the professional development pathways of middle managers in English Language Teaching (ELT) at an English Language Institute (ELI) of a Saudi Arabian public university. In this study, the professional development of academic middle managers in ELT was characterized by the development of their professional identity, cultural intelligence, and transformative learning. Employing a convergent parallel design of mixed method, a survey, and semi-structured interviews were used. Qualitative data was collected from thirty academic middle managers at male and female campuses, whereas five academic middle managers from male campus were interviewed for quantitative data. Both data were collected concurrently but analyzed separately. Data from the quantitative and qualitative strands were combined to answer the research questions. The findings indicate that all three dimensions of AMMs' professional development: professional identity, cultural intelligence, and transformative learning were developed during their management tenure at the ELI. AMMs’ professional identity development has been complex and intriguing, as on one hand, they have performed similar roles to their counterparts in other contexts worldwide and acted as intermediaries between faculty members and top administration. On the other hand, AMMs have faced significant obstacles to their autonomy due to organizational policies, the bureaucratic
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culture within the institute, and a top-down leadership style. Similarly, AMMs’ cultural intelligence development has been influenced by the conservative socio-cultural environment of the institute and the broader context in which it operates. As for AMMs’ transformative learning experiences, while their initial motivations for entering management were personal and professional growth, collaborative work, social interaction, and influencing organizational structure, once in management roles, AMMs have tended to conform their practices to the existing management norms within the workplace. Hence, the findings of the study provide further insights and directions for understanding academic middle managers in ELT in the Arabian Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The study also contributes to the field by suggesting ways to improve the quality of academic middle management by exploring the factors that impact middle managers’ professional lives
MAPPING THE GENETIC LANDSCAPE OF THE EPH RECEPTORS AND THEIR LIGANDS IN HUMAN CANCERS
No full textThe abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo
“You Can Do It” : Drone pilot mentoring on Rocky Mountain glaciers
No full textCanada First Research Excellence FundNon-Peer ReviewedPersonal account by a research technician about interactions leading to acquisition of new data collection skills
TEACHER WELLNESS INITIATIVE: VIABILITY OF INCORPORATING EXERCISE INTO TEACHERS’ WORKDAY
No full textAbstract
Teaching is a caring profession that can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining, causing burnout and other stress-related ailments. The incorporation of physical exercise into the daily routine of teachers may promote overall wellness in the profession. This thesis explores the feasibility of incorporating several short bursts of exercise into schoolteachers’ workdays. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) principles inspired these short bursts of activity and was spread across the workday to achieve recommended weekly exercise levels. A qualitative case study investigated a particular instance of deliberate incorporation of HIIT-inspired exercise among participating teachers. We were particularly interested in understanding the extent to which the participants believed they derived benefits (e.g., agency and self-efficacy to cope with the complexities of working in contemporary schools) from this approach by spreading out HIIT-inspired exercises throughout the day that were like those accrued from the traditional HIIT workouts in other settings.
Data were collected from eight teachers who participated in an eight-week program where they exercised at least thirty minutes daily, in small chunks, three times per week. The study was a collective explanatory case study. Data collection included two group interviews, an anonymous survey at the project's midpoint, and observation field notes. Results showed that incorporating regular, short bursts of exercise into teachers' workday effectively promoted wellness, including reduced stress, better mood, and improved teacher self-efficacy. Results also suggested that teacher exercise initiatives should be implemented at the organizational level with support from school leaders. They should include strategies such as providing realistic exercise programs that are maintainable for the average person, promoting active living, as well as supporting and monitoring progress, and removing barriers by providing on-site workout spaces and showers. Since school organizations that implement exercise and wellness programs save money on less employee absenteeism, more creative solutions, such as encouraging flexible work schedules to facilitate participation in physical exercise to help teachers reach exercise targets could be implemented. Overall, this thesis provides more insight into the discussion on teacher wellness and how regular exercise can positively impact teachers’ overall health and performance at work
EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL SANITATION AND DISINFECTION MEASURES APPLICABLE FOR ANTIBIOTIC-FREE PIG PRODUCTION
No full textImplementation of antibiotic-free production practices in pig barns to mitigate the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has led to reported increase in the occurrence of certain pathogens in the barn environment. One potential solution to address this issue is to develop improved sanitization and disinfection procedures to prevent the occurrence of increased pathogen prevalence and to eliminate or significantly reduce the exposure of pigs to potential antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Hence, this study aimed to investigate alternative sanitization and disinfection procedures to reduce the prevalence of pathogens in pig production. Based on screening using developed assessment criteria (i.e., applicability, intrinsic property, cost and safety) and laboratory-scale tests, the application of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) and peracetic acid (PAA) were selected for further evaluation under in-barn conditions. In the barn tests, the surviving microbial population on different types of surfaces such as concrete (flooring), metal (drinkers), plastic (pens), and wood (partitions) in grow-finish, nursery, and farrowing rooms were assessed at various time points to compare the effectiveness of the selected treatments relative to a control treatment (conventional disinfectant). Based on the evaluation, the performance of PAA and SAEW was comparable to conventional disinfectants (Virkon) in grow-finish and farrowing rooms. Results also showed longer effectivity of PAA and SAEW compared to Virkon, up to 24 h after application, while the difference in the performance of the disinfectants tested in nursery rooms was largely influenced by the reduced efficacy of all treatments on rough surfaces like concrete. This study indicated that SAEW and PAA solutions could be a better alternative to conventional disinfectants. Economic analysis showed that PAA and SAEW increase the overall cost of disinfectant used per market pig by about 17 to 19%, resulting in 0.84 per market pig per cycle compared to Virkon with $0.675; this can be compensated by its better effectiveness against a broad spectrum of disease-causing microorganisms and prolonged reactivity over time. The present research will augment the biosecurity tools available to pig producers, particularly those who adopted antibiotic-free production practices, to mitigate the impact of restrictions on the use of antibiotics
Assessment Plan
No full textNon-Peer ReviewedThis handout guides those designing a course through the process of creating an assessment plan
Frazil ice events: Assessing what to expect in the future
No full textThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits copying and redistribution for non-commercial purposes with no derivatives, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Infrastructure Canada through NRC’s Climate Resilient Built Environment initiativePeer ReviewedThis article addresses the question: What is expected from frazil ice activity in rivers, taking into account the changing climate? It begins with an overview of what frazil ice is and what is required for the occurrence of frazil ice events, namely a supercooled water column. Methodologies to anticipate frazil ice events in the short term are based on air temperature and water discharge, underlining the significance of these two parameters for any predictive methods. Longer-term approaches, calibrated against past events (hindcasting), are used to anticipate frazil ice activity into the future, with indicators such as frazil ice risk, water temperature and frazil volume. Any of these approaches could conceivably be applied to frazil-prone river stretches. To assess climate impact, each location should be treated separately. River ice dynamics can lead to the formation of a hanging dam, a frequent outcome of frazil ice generation in the early winter, causing flow restriction. Flood modeling and forecasting capabilities have been developed and implemented for operational use. More frequent mid-winter breakups are expected to extend the occurrence of frazil ice events into the winter months – the prediction of these will require climate model output to adequately capture month-to-month variability
Surface Water Quality Modelling
Get PDF© 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).Peer ReviewedSurface water quality modelling has become an important means of better understanding aquatic and riparian ecosystem processes at all scales, from the micro-scale (e.g., bottom sediment dynamics), to the meso-scale (e.g., algal bloom growth) and the macro-scale (e.g., the role of cascading reservoirs in sediment transport). Increasingly, surface water quality models are being coupled to other models (e.g., hydrological models) to determine catchment area impacts on water quality. These impacts include future climate change and land-use developments. Coupling with water resource dynamics models also provides insight into changes in water supply and demand and flow regulation as they relate to surface water quality. Modelling the quality of surface waters under ice-covered conditions has also gained special attention due to the increased realization that a holistic all-year perspective is required to deepen our understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning (e.g., the impact of lake ice phenology on spring succession of phytoplankton) (excerpts and adaptations from my Global Water Futures https://gwf.usask.ca/ (accessed on 16 February 2023) reporting and https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/surface_water (accessed on 16 February 2023) announcement)