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Does Topic Matter? Investigating Students’ Interest, Emotions and Learning when Writing Stories About Socioscientific Issues
No full textThis case study of a Year 8 science class in South-East Queensland investigated the affective and cognitive experiences of engaging students in a science-writing project. Building on the work of Tomas, Rigano and Ritchie (2016), students wrote a series of short stories across two school terms about the socio-scientific issues (SSIs) of coal seam gas (CSG) mining and skin grafting. Data were collected using an emotion diary (in which students self-reported their interest and emotions at the end of each lesson), written thinking prompts (designed to elicit students’ evolving understanding of each SSI) and semi-structured, end-of-project student interviews. Three main assertions emerged from analysis of these data. First, students’ self-reported interest was statistically higher in relation to skin grafting compared to CSG. Second, interest and positive emotions reported by students in the skin grafting unit were associated mostly with the topic, while in the CSG mining unit, they were related mostly to pedagogical approaches. Thirdly, students could explain the scientific, social, moral and ethical dimensions of each SSI and an evidence-informed position at the end of both units. These assertions support our thesis that topic does matter when engaging students in writing stories about SSIs. At the same time, while the results of this study support the learning affordances of SSIs, they suggest that the teacher’s pedagogical decisions also matter in keeping students cognitively and affectively engaged when learning about a less interesting or relatable topic
A Scoping Review of Intervention Outcomes for School Students With Communication Difficulties
No full textPurpose: For speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in schools, outcome measurement is an important element of practice, enabling us to evaluate the efficacy of our service provision and guiding future decision making, funding, and resource allocation. When selecting outcomes to measure, it is helpful to consider both the level at which change may be occurring and the extent or impact of that change. The primary aim of this review was to identify the outcomes measured in intervention studies for school-aged children with speech, language, and communication difficulties (SLCD) using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to classify the outcomes. A second aim was to identify tools used in research studies to measure the outcomes.
Method: A systematic search of five databases was undertaken to identify papers reporting outcomes for school students who had received intervention targeting SLCD. Articles written in English and published between January 2000 and August 2021 were included. The Taxonomy for Categorizing Outcome Measures for SLCD was created to enable a review of outcomes and measurement tools.
Results: There were 125 papers included in the final review. Most papers (n = 109, 87.2%) reported on studies that included outcome measures that captured changes at Body Function level, while approximately half captured Activity-level change. Only 24 (19.2%) explored changes at Participation level.
Conclusions: Change at the Body Function or Activity levels does not always reflect change at the Participation level. Measuring outcomes at the Participation level enables SLPs to determine the real-world impact of the adjustments they have recommended or the intervention they have provided. However, in order to measure outcomes at the Participation level, we need the tools for capturing those changes for school-aged students with SLCD
Ecotypic Variation in Leaf Thermoregulation and Heat Tolerance but Not Thermal Safety Margins in Tropical Trees
No full textTo avoid reaching lethal temperatures during periods of heat stress, plants may acclimate either their biochemical thermal tolerance or leaf morphological and physiological characteristics to reduce leaf temperature (Tleaf). While plants from warmer environments may have a greater capacity to regulate Tleaf, the extent of intraspecific variation and contribution of provenance is relatively unexplored. We tested whether upland and lowland provenances of four tropical tree species grown in a common garden differed in their thermal safety margins by measuring leaf thermal traits, midday leaf-to-air temperature differences (∆Tleaf) and critical leaf temperatures defined by chlorophyll fluorescence (Tcrit). Provenance variation was species- and trait-specific. Higher ∆Tleaf and Tcrit were observed in the lowland provenance for Terminalia microcarpa, and in the upland provenance for Castanospermum australe, with no provenance effects in the other two species. Within-species covariation of Tcrit and ∆Tleaf led to a convergence of thermal safety margins across provenances. While future studies should expand the number of provenances and species investigated, our findings suggest that lowland and upland provenances may not differ substantially in their vulnerability to heat stress, as determined by thermal safety margins, despite differences in operating temperatures and Tcrit
Distinct population-wide differences in contaminants and blood parameters in foraging green sea turtles
No full textThe rising diversity and concentration of contaminants have surpassed ecological thresholds, threatening marine ecosystems. The effects of pollutants on marine animals, particularly sea turtles, are receiving increased attention due to their role as indicators of human impacts. This study examined the health implications of contaminant exposure in three green turtle (Chelonia mydas) foraging sites in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Assessments were performed on 45 immature turtles from offshore (Heron, Lady Elliot Island) and inshore (Hervey Bay) foraging sites, hypothesising greater anthropogenic exposure inshore. A cytotoxicity assay tested blood toxicity, while trace element concentrations were compared with baseline reference intervals. Interestingly, this analysis revealed elevated cobalt and manganese levels in Hervey Bay turtles, and offshore turtles showed higher cytotoxicity despite appearing healthier, contrasting with low cytotoxicity and low body condition in Hervey Bay. These findings highlight the complexities of ecotoxicology and the need for comprehensive data on contaminant impacts
Downscaling global reference points to assess the sustainability of local fisheries
No full textMultispecies coral reef fisheries are typically managed by local communities who often lack research and monitoring capacity, which prevents estimation of well-defined sustainable reference points to perform locally relevant fishery assessments. Recent research modeling coral reef fisheries globally has estimated multispecies sustainable reference points (i.e., the maximum reef fish yields that can be harvested sustainably and the corresponding reef fish standing biomass at which those are expected to be achieved) based on environmental indicators. These global reference points are a promising tool for assessing data-poor reef fisheries but need to be downscaled to be relevant to resource practitioners. Using a small-scale multispecies reef fishery in Papua New Guinea, we estimated sustainable reference points and assessed the sustainability of the fishery by integrating global-scale analyses with local-scale environmental conditions (i.e., coral cover, sea surface temperature, ocean productivity, and whether the reef is an atoll), reef area, fish catch and standing biomass estimates, and fishers’ perceptions. Local-scale relevant data were obtained from a combination of remote sensing products, underwater visual censuses, catch surveys, and household structured social surveys. Our sustainability assessment based on downscaled estimated sustainable reference points was consistent with local fishers’ perceptions. Specifically, our downscaled results suggested that the fishing community was overfishing their reef fish stocks and stocks were below biomass levels that maximize production, making the overall reef fishery unsustainable. These results were consistent with fisher perceptions that reef fish stocks were declining in abundance and mean fish length and that fishers had to spend more time finding fish. Our downscaled site-level assessment revealed severe local resource exploitation, the dynamics of which were masked in national-scale assessments, emphasizing the importance of matching assessments to the scale of management. Overall, we show how global reference points can be applied locally when long-term data are not available, providing baseline assessments for sustainably managing previously unassessed multispecies reef fisheries around the globe
co-operation, training and leadership are key factors for successful management of postpartum haemorrhage
No full text[Extract] Births complicated with postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) are considered traumatic for the woman and the obstetric team, but in most cases are preventable emergencies. In this study, Elforse et al1 did a qualitative online survey to explore midwives’ experiences of postpartum haemorrhage of more than 1000 mL at birth. According to the authors, in Sweden, PPH treatment will initiate at >500 mL of blood loss as per the obstetric guidelines; however, it is not considered pathological when the blood loss is <1000 mL
New development: 'Auditor opinions for sale' — when privatization meets the cultural ecology of corruption
No full textThis article considers the failure of the Indonesian government to eradicate corruption by reflecting on reports from media, anti-corruption agencies, scholarly work and government institutions. Despite significant attention focusing on reducing public sector corruption, there has been a marked increase in reports of corruption. The article illustrates the rise of a new form of public sector corruption through the manipulation of audit opinions. This study contributes to the international debate around the ineffectiveness of large-scale auditing reforms in the public sector
Pathology of Silver Rasbora (Rasbora argyrotaenia) after experimental infection with Edwardsiella tarda
No full textThe high demand for silver rasbora (Rasbora argyrotaenia) from the wild has led to declining resources, making fish cultivation necessary. One of the challenges in fish farming is diseases caused by bacteria, such as Edwardsiella tarda, which can lead to Edwardsiellosis and result in mass mortality among fish. This study aimed to analyze the pathology of silver rasbora after experimental infection with E. tarda. Four hundred silver rasbora (5.4±7 cm and 0.47±2.63 g) were reared in twenty aquariums. The treatments consisted of four groups with five replicates, including immersion in E. tarda 1011 CFU/ml (P1), 1012 CFU/ml (P2), 1013 CFU/ml (P3), and a negative control (without E. tarda) (P0) for a 14-day rearing period. Parameters observed included survival rate, stress responses (plasma cortisol, blood glucose, and ventilation rate); hematology profile (total erythrocytes, total leukocytes, differential leukocytes, and hemoglobin levels), histopathological alterations in organs, survival rate, and clinical symptoms. The results showed that immersion in E. tarda did not affect fish mortality. However, other parameters, including hematological profile, stress responses, and histopathological alterations, showed increased values and several pathological changes, yet remained within normal limits
Insidious Institutional Challenges of Mature MNE Subsidiaries Operating in Weak Institutional Markets: Corporate Governance to the Rescue
No full textInsidious institutional challenges are unknown versions of known challenges that exist and persist even in mature multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host markets. Although the international business literature offers valuable insights into the significance of corporate governance mechanisms, institutions, and institutional environment relationships, a practical understanding of what insidious institutional challenges are and how they can be addressed using corporate governance mechanisms, especially in weak institutional environments, is less researched. Therefore, relying on institutional theorising and qualitative evidence from 34 interviews with executives of mature MNE subsidiaries in Nigeria, this paper documents three insidious institutional challenges encountered by mature MNE subsidiaries: the organisational identity conundrum (‘us vs them’), limited attention to social capital discordance (‘bonding capital vs trust capital’), and persistent intention contradictions (‘elaborate politically correct rhetoric vs limited believable action’). The study also identifies three corporate governance-related themes that mature MNE subsidiaries can utilize to manage institutional challanges: enhanced local stakeholder engagement, elevated accountability drivers, and digital technology and innovation deployment. The study advances international business literature as it sheds theoretical as well as practical insights into how mature MNE subsidiaries operating in a weak institutional context can overcome insidious institutional challenges
Green credit policy and environmental outcomes in China: The critical role of local banks in pollution reduction and innovation
No full textThis research assesses the role of local banks in the environmental consequences of the Green Credit Policy (GCP) implementation in China. Utilizing a sample of 297 cities from 2010 to 2017 and employing a difference-in-difference model, the study examines whether cities with local banks experience a significant reduction in environmental pollution post-GCP implementation. The 2012 introduction of GCP serves as an exogenous shock, revealing that cities with local banks show a substantial decrease in pollution levels, thereby supporting Porter’s hypothesis and relationship banking theory. Mechanism analysis indicates that local banks contribute to pollution mitigation by promoting innovation. Besides, the role of local banks in pollution reduction is more pronounced in cities with higher levels of foreign direct investment and economic development. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of supporting local banks in their green credit initiatives to achieve significant environmental benefits