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Future Island-Island Impact Cards:Imaginarium Youth Engagement
Get PDFChallengeYoung people today face many global environmental crises, but their experiences vary widely based on context. Young people in contexts of ‘islandness’ feel both more removed from and more connected to these challenges, shaped by their unique relationship with nature, isolation, and dependence on local ecosystems.ApproachTo explore sustainability challenges and solutions in this context, the programme involves young people experiencing different forms of geographical ‘islandness’. Place-based educational approaches not only deepen learning by connecting it to lived experience but also help shape meaningful pathways toward a more sustainable and locally grounded future. OutcomesDeveloped through transdisciplinary collaboration with Youth Leaders in the Causeway Coast and Glens area, the programme supported four Youth Groups and six school classes in exploring local impacts of global challenges. They developed hopeful perspectives and designed potential responses, culminating in an interactive digital exhibition at Belfast’s W5 museum.LearningsA diverse, transdisciplinary team of researchers, designers, educators and young people enabled the creation of a rich, multifaceted programme. Design thinking proved extremely valuable for educators, fostering creativity and helping young people develop hopeful, practical approaches to sustainability.ImpactOver 200 young people in remote areas of Northern Ireland participated in reflecting and responding to sustainability issues. Youth leaders gained skills in creative design thinking, and participants developed meaningful, community-rooted responses. The Imaginarium brings all of these components together and further elevates hopeful imaginings of a future shaped by islandness
Decoding semantic news ecosystem: Macro centrality analysis in Twitter news entity graphs and global influences
Get PDFThis research holds significance in unraveling the intricate interplay between global events and the semantic space of the news ecosystem. This investigation is motivated by the need for a comprehensive understanding of the structural dynamics and information flow within the Twitter news ecosystem. This research uniquely contributes to the existing literature by providing a longitudinal analysis of the macro-scale features of Twitter news entity graphs, specifically exploring their nuanced relationship with global events and the evolution of the news ecosystem. Over a span of 12 years and across 55 prominent news channels, this study employs a robust methodology, utilizing natural language processing techniques to extract named entities. These entities form the basis for constructing daily graphs which represent the semantic space, facilitating the analysis of co-occurrence patterns and macro centrality measures. The computed macro centrality measures undergo trend analysis, revealing temporal patterns and evolution. Subsequently, extremum analysis is applied to discern the impact of global events, while Fourier and wavelet techniques in frequency content analysis enrich the understanding of macro feature characteristics. Situated within pertinent theoretical frameworks, these findings offer insights into the profound influence of global events on news semantic space and inform practical applications, including event detection, prediction, and combating misinformation. Such insights into news entity graph dynamics can further assist news organizations in strategic planning and adapting to the ever-evolving digital landscape
Mapping Learning and Game Mechanics to Pedagogical Patterns for Serious Games Analysis and Design in Engineering Education
Get PDFSerious Games (SG) have demonstrated significant potential for instructional design (Klopfer and Osterweil, 2013), supported by methodologies and approaches including the Learning Mechanics – Game Mechanics (LM-GM) framework which maps learning outcomes to game mechanics for systematic and balanced design, assessment and analysis (Arnab et al., 2014).This paper investigates the use of SG to enhance student engagement and retention. It documents the development of “Circuit Warz Revenge”, an educational video game that reimagines electronic engineering education by embedding complex circuit theory into immersive, fast-paced gameplay, to facilitate problem-centred, pedagogically sound learning experiences (Callaghan et al., 2017). The iterative design process integrates cascading information, simulations, and feedback loops to scaffold learning effectively. Players apply electronic engineering principles through tasks and activities requiring experimentation, strategic planning, and critical analysis, reinforcing analytical skills through mechanics like feedback and momentum to solve circuit problems. Using the LM-GM framework as a foundation for design and analysis, the study maps game mechanics to pedagogical patterns, aligning elements such as competition and role-playing with active learning and feedback strategies (Ferguson et al., 2023). This alignment demonstrates the practical integration of expert teaching techniques into game design offering scalable solutions for (Bergin, 2000).The methodology taken includes documenting gameplay loops, identifying LM-GM relationships and mapping these relationships to pedagogical patterns (Guardiola, 2016). This work contributes to serious game design by offering a structured methodology to align mechanics with pedagogical frameworks, demonstrating how this approach can enhance both educational impact and player engagement. The findings provide a case study with a game for educational game designers aiming to balance learning and entertainment and to facilitate interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary co-creation
The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure as a Measure of Sexual Orientation in Heterosexual, Bisexual and Lesbian/Gay Men and Women
Get PDFPrevious research has suggested that scores generated using a sexual orientation Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) correlate with self-reported sexual orientation in gay and heterosexual men and have a strong ability to differentiate the two groups (Timmins et al., 2016). The present study sought to replicate this work and to determine how a range of groups that differ in terms of self-reported sexual orientation perform on the measure. Lesbian/gay, heterosexual, and bisexual women (n = 99) and men (n = 96) completed a sexual orientation IRAP and self-report measures of sexual attraction and behavior. The IRAP involved responding “True” or “False” to pictures of nude males and females paired with words meaning attractive or unattractive. Participants were required to respond as if all men were attractive and all women were unattractive for half of the IRAP’s test blocks, and vice versa for the other half. Response latencies were recorded, and D-IRAP scores were calculated for overall responses, female responses, and male responses. Significant correlations were found between all D-IRAP scores and all corresponding self-report measures for men (rs = .38–.64). This was also true for women (rs = .24–.53) with a single exception: the D-IRAP score for responses to men with self-reported sexual attraction to men. Similarly, almost all D-IRAP scores significantly differentiated sexual orientation groups (areas under the curve = .64–.92), apart from bisexual and lesbian/gay women. These findings suggest the IRAP is a useful ex situ measure of sexual orientation
Topical mutant allele-specific siRNA delivery for treatment of Meesmann epithelial corneal dystrophy and elucidation of disease biomarkers
Get PDFProven in vivo efficacy is a key requirement for novel gene therapies proceeding to clinical trial. No gene therapies for corneal dystrophies have been able to progress into patient-led studies due to a lack of suitable animal models expressing a disease phenotype comparable to that which develops in humans. Herein, we show an allele-specific siRNA targeting the L132P KRT12 mutation, causative of a severe form of Meesmann Epithelial Corneal Dystrophy (MECD), when complexed with silicon-stabilized hybrid lipid nanoparticles (sshLNP), and applied topically twice daily for seven days, results in restoration of corneal thickness in a humanized mouse model (Krt12 +/hL132P) for MECD. Furthermore, expression of disease biomarkers elevated in the MECD mouse model and verified in corneal epithelial cells of MECD family members, was reduced to that observed in unaffected wild-type (Krt12 +/+) mice. This represents the first successful use of topical mutant allele-specific siRNA in the treatment of an autosomal genetic corneal dystrophy. The successful silencing of disease biomarkers after topical siRNA treatment indicates expected clinical benefit. Furthermore, we demonstrated that siRNA-sshLNPs can be successfully formulated in sodium hyaluronate-containing eye-drops without impairing efficacy of the siRNA
Stronger together or going it alone: A juxtaposition of entrepreneurial individuality and collaborative practice for sustainable development
Get PDFResearch on entrepreneurship in addressing grand sustainability challenges is scarce. It is a role that is notably assigned to social entrepreneurs (Muftugil-Yalcin and Mooijman 2024, Teasdale et al. 2023). A recent conceptualisation into activist entrepreneurship (Monteverde et al. 2025) identifies integration, collaboration and social movement building as key cornerstone to entrepreneurship for sustainable development; which in turn raises questions around identity in relation to activist-entrepreneur-mindset (Simms and Robinson 2009). Notably, Gras et al. (2020) purport that entrepreneurs possess a “reductive tendency” and “oversimplify” sustainability challenges and are thus not best suited as change agents. This negates the activist-entrepreneur-mindset. More common is the view that the gap between entrepreneurship and sustainable development may be narrowed through improved entrepreneurship education (Brook and Smith 2014, Grimm and Bock 2022, Krueger 2007, Morselli and Orzes 2023). Only few researchers give credence to the possibility of entrepreneurship in addressing sustainability grand challenges, such as Steidle et al. (2024) identifying entrepreneurial leadership as a conduit for post-Covid recovery or Townsend and Axelsson (2024) promoting the potential impact of entrepreneurial companies for positive climate change innovation. Most notably, Johnson and Schaltegger’s (2019) review of entrepreneurship for sustainable development recognises the transformative power of entrepreneurship in tackling society’s grand challenges and calls for more research in this field. Individual entrepreneurial agency and mindset intersect with, and are pertinent to, the macro and meso-perspectives of sustainable development. However, such levels are often viewed in isolation. Indeed, in the entrepreneurship and sustainable development literatures there are calls for more research into entrepreneurship for sustainable development as a multilevel phenomenon in order to effectively examine grand challenges (Johnson and Schaltegger, 2019). Our research responds to this call and scarcity of entrepreneurship studies that address sustainable grand challenges
SimLab: an intervention to promote expansive learning and organisational change in team-based emergency care simulation
Get PDFResearch highlights the potential of interprofessional in-situ simulation (ISS); however it is often limited by individualistic outcome measures. Using an activity theoretical design, this research aimed to develop, implement and analyse an ISS programme intended to promote expansive learning and organisational change for paediatric emergencies in general practice. An interprofessional team participated in an adapted Change Laboratory intervention ‘SimLab’, which consisted of four sessions comprising two ISS and four facilitated group discussions. Audio recorded group discussions were transcribed and analysed using activity-theoretical analytical tools, the cycle of expansive learning, and the concept of contradictions. Participants mapped a learning process, from questioning their current practice to consolidation and generalisation of collaboratively designed new practices. This enabled the team to develop their collective expansive learning and adopt a systemic perspective during discussions, enhancing paediatric emergency care preparedness and facilitating organisational change. This research provides new knowledge on theory guided design and instruction applied to paediatric emergency care ISS training in general practice. The study provides tools to improve our understanding of how to pedagogically facilitate and enhance delivery of interprofessional ISS training to enable expansive learning. The SimLab design, is potentially transferrable providing exciting learning opportunities for other clinical settings and contexts
Nanocrystal-loaded dissolving microneedles: A novel transdermal strategy for long-acting tizanidine administration
No full textSpasticity is commonly managed with tizanidine (TZN), a centrally acting α 2-adrenergic agonist. However, its clinical application is limited by poor oral bioavailability and a short elimination half-life, necessitating frequent dosing and thereby reducing patient adherence. In this study, a trilayer dissolving microneedle array patch (MAP) incorporating TZN was developed as an alternative minimally invasive platform for long-acting transdermal delivery. TZN nanocrystals (NCs) with a mean particle size of 243 ± 21 nm and a polydispersity index (PDI) < 0.2 were successfully prepared, resulting in supersaturated solubility and an increased dissolution rate. Ex vivo permeation studies demonstrated that MAP-mediated skin penetration is essential for transdermal delivery and that NC-loaded formulations provide markedly enhanced delivery efficiency. Importantly, the in vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation in Sprague-Dawley® rats demonstrated that MAPs incorporated with NCs (C max = 229.23 ± 72.34 ng/mL, mean retention time (MRT) (52.46 ± 13.72 h)) achieved markedly improved systemic exposure (7682.36 ± 1784.77 ng/mL∗h) compared with coarse drug-loaded MAPs (AUC 0–28 days = 4936.06 ± 882.51 ng/mL∗h, p < 0.05) and intramuscular (IM) injection (AUC 0–28 days = 795.99 ± 146.94 ng/mL∗h, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the integration of TZN NCs into dissolving MAPs represents a novel and effective transdermal strategy for the sustained systemic delivery of TZN. In addition to improving patient adherence and therapeutic outcomes in spasticity management, this platform offers a generalisable approach for enhancing the transdermal delivery of poorly soluble drugs and may inform the future design of long-acting delivery for other compounds.</p
Metabolic and appetitive regulation of adipocyte mass during treatment of obesity
Get PDFAdipose mass is homeostatically maintained within a narrow range despite fluctuations in daily calorie intake and activity levels. Constituting an adipose mass “set point,” this homeostatic regulation includes sensing mechanisms in the form of hormones reflecting caloric intake that serve as mediators of appetitive behaviors and adipose mass amount; integrating centers in the brain and brainstem; and response or effector systems. During adipose mass fluctuations beyond daily short‐term changes, typically during low‐calorie dieting, these effector systems include adaptive responses in metabolism (energetics), hormone production, and appetitive behaviors that resist further loss and restore adipose mass to baseline. Although our understanding of the disease of obesity is still evolving, within the context of this paper we consider the disease a manifestation of the pathophysiological processes when the expression of leptin resistance leads to the establishment of a new, higher adipose mass set point. Effective obesity therapies lower the adipose mass set point by improving appetite control and preventing the normal adaptive responses that lead to weight regain, effectively establishing a new adipose mass set point at a lower, healthier level. Conveying this biology to patients with obesity provides them with an understanding of their disease state, why drug and surgical treatments in combination with lifestyle are necessary for most people, and the mediators of the changes in appetitive behaviors expected from effective obesity therapies. Future research will need to advance the evidence base that supports this theoretical framework and generate even deeper insights into the disease of obesity