1,721,185 research outputs found
Creating a consistent web presence: The dilemma of the College of Liberal Arts' departmental websites
Get PDFHoward, Sarah B.. (2013). Creating a consistent web presence: The dilemma of the College of Liberal Arts' departmental websites. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/167450
The Effect of Systemic Inflammation on the Accumulation and Spread of Tau Pathology.
No full textAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a secondary tauopathy categorised by the presence of insoluble amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Neurofibrillary tangles consist of hyperphosphorylated and misfolded tau protein. The pathological form of tau spreads through the limbic circuit and to the wider neocortex as the disease progresses. The spreading of aggregated tau throughout the brain in AD has long been associated with cognitive decline. These observations in AD patients have prompted further investigation behind this mechanism. It is hypothesised that the primary immune cell within the brain, microglia may be facilitating the spread of tau. In AD patients, systemic inflammatory episodes have been shown to correlate with an increase in cognitive decline. Therefore, peripheral inflammation may induce an inflammatory response within the brain and in turn promote the spread of tau pathology. This thesis aims to mimic the spreading of tau and observe the effect of systemic infection in vivo. In this thesis, a tau spreading model was generated using C57BL/6 mice and H1Mapt-/- mice, a mouse which expresses all six isoforms of human tau with no disease-associated mutation. Mice received a unilateral injection of lysate enriched for Sarkosyl-insoluble tau derived from AD post-mortem tissue. Two months post-injection, mice received an intraperitoneal injection of either saline or Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. S. typhimurium is a gram-negative bacterial strain which induces prolonged upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, changes in microglial markers and splenomegaly, all of which are observed up to four weeks post-infection. Extensive histology was carried out in C57BL/6 and H1Mapt-/- mice to observe AT8-positive tau in distinct brain regions and examine the effect of systemic infection on tau burden. This infection was first established in the C57BL/6 and H1Mapt-/- mice without the spreading model to assess the baseline response to infection. This thesis demonstrates propagation of tau pathology to regions within the limbic circuit connected synaptically. It was observed that systemic infection increases the rate of spread of AT8-positive tau through the brain. In regions within the limbic circuit, such as the mammillary nuclei, a significant increase in AT8-positive tau was observed after systemic infection. Markers of cellular and microglial activation MHCII and FcγRI, demonstrate a potential effect of ‘priming’ whereby the presence of tau pathology induces an exaggerated microglial response following systemic infection. MHCII also highlights a potential role of the vasculature. Differences were observed between the C57BL/6 and H1Mapt-/- mice both in tau burden and microglial response, supporting the role of systemic infection in the spatiotemporal spread of tau. The work described in this thesis demonstrates that systemic infection increases the spreading of tau pathology and prompts further study to investigate this mechanism further
Drawing on imagination : primary students' ideal learning environments
No full textResearch has established a close relationship between learning environments and learning outcomes (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria, 2008; Woolner, Hall, Higgins, McCaughey & Wall, 2007) yet little is known about how students in Australian schools imagine the ways that their learning environments could be improved to enhance their engagement with the processes and content of education and children are rarely consulted on the issue of school design (Rudduck & Flutter, 2004). \ud
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Currently, school and classroom designers give attention to operational matters of efficiency and economy, so that architecture for children’s education is largely conceived in terms of adult and professional needs (Halpin, 2007). This results in the construction of educational spaces that impose traditional teaching and learning methods, reducing the possibilities of imaginative pedagogical relationships. Education authorities may encourage new, student-centred pedagogical styles, such as collaborative learning, team-teaching and peer tutoring, but the spaces where such innovations are occurring do not always provide the features necessary to implement these styles. Heeding the views of children could result in the creation of spaces where more imaginative pedagogical relationships and student-centred pedagogical styles can be implemented.\ud
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In this article, a research project conducted with children in nine Queensland primary schools to investigate their ideas of the ideal ‘school’ is discussed. Overwhelmingly, the students’ work emphasised that learning should be fun and that learning environments should be eco-friendly places where their imaginations can be engaged and where they learn from and in touch with reality. The children’s imagined schools echo ideas that have been promoted over many decades by progressive educators such as John Dewey (1897, in Provenzo, 2006) (“experiential learning”), AS Neill (in Cassebaum, 2003) (Summerhill school) and Ivan Illich (1970) (“deschooling”), with a vast majority of students suggesting that, wherever possible, learning should take place away from classrooms and in environments that support direct, hands-on learning.\ud
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The Australian story : catalysts and inhibitors in the achievement of new women professors
No full textWomen are substantially under-represented in the professoriate in Australia with a ratio of one female professor to every three male professors. This gender\ud
imbalance has been an ongoing concern with various affirmative action programs implemented in universities but to limited effect. Hence, there is a need to investigate the catalysts for and inhibitors to women’s ascent to the professoriate. This investigation focussed on women appointed to the professoriate between 2005, when a research quality assessment was first proposed, and 2008.\ud
Henceforth, these women are referred to as “New Women Professors”. The catalysts and inhibitors in these women’s careers were investigated through an electronic survey and focus group interviews. The survey was administered to\ud
new women professors (n=255) and new men professors (n=240) to enable a comparison of responses. However, only women participated in focus group discussions (n=21). An analysis of the survey and interview data revealed that the most critical catalysts for women’s advancement to the professoriate were equal employment opportunities and mentoring. Equal opportunity initiatives provided women with access to traditionally male-dominated forums. Mentoring gave women an insider perspective on the complexity of academia and the politics of the academy. The key inhibitors to women’s career advancement were negative discrimination, the culture of the boys’ club, the tension between personal and professional life, and isolation. Negative discrimination and the boys’ club are problematic because they favour men and marginalise women. The tension between personal and professional life is a particular concern for women who bear children and typically assume the major role in a family for child rearing. Isolation was a concern for both women and men with isolation appearing to increase after ascent to the professoriate. Knowledge of the significant catalysts and inhibitors provides a pragmatic way to orient universities towards redressing the gender balance in the professoriate
What is new in the updated SQD? Novel Strategies for Developing Preservice Teachers' Digital Competencies
No full textThis study addresses the imperative need for developing digital competencies among preservice teachers in an ever-evolving educational landscape. Despite increased demands and reliance on digital tools, preservice teachers often feel underprepared to effectively integrate technology into their teaching practices. This replication study considers the Synthesis of Qualitative Data (SQD) model, providing an updated examination of effective strategies for developing digital competencies. Employing the PRISMA methodology, the study critically evaluates the qualitative evidence from the last 10 year and identifies persisting and new themes for effective teacher preparation in the digital era. Two new categories are proposed, from initial analysis of the updated study identified two new categories of digital strategies to prepare preservice teachers: Pervasive and Technology-specific These two categories are complementary to the existing SQD framework, in that they address possible experiences with technology and technology-specific approaches. Implications and applications will be explored
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Teachers’ and parents’ perspectives of digital technology in the lives of young children
No full textThe pervasiveness of technology in the 21st Century has meant that adults and children live in a society where digital devices are integral to their everyday lives and participation in society. How we communicate, learn, work, entertain ourselves, and even shop is influenced by technology. Therefore, before children begin school they are potentially exposed to a range of learning opportunities mediated by digital devices. These devices include microwaves, mobile phones, computers, and console games such as Playstations® and iPods®. In Queensland preparatory classrooms and in the homes of these children, teachers and parents support and scaffold young children’s experiences, providing them with access to a range of tools that promote learning and provide entertainment. This paper examines teachers’ and parents’ perspectives and considers whether they are techno-optimists who advocate for and promote the inclusion of digital technology, or whether they are they techno-pessimists, who prefer to exclude digital devices from young children’s everyday experiences. An exploratory, single case study design was utilised to gather data from three teachers and ten parents of children in the preparatory year. Teacher data was collected through interviews and email correspondence. Parent data was collected from questionnaires and focus groups. All parents who responded to the research invitation were mothers. The results of data analysis identified a misalignment among adults’ perspectives. Teachers were identified as techno-optimists and parents were identified as techno-pessimists with further emergent themes particular to each category being established. This is concerning because both teachers and mothers influence young children’s experiences and numeracy knowledge, thus, a shared understanding and a common commitment to supporting young children’s use of technology would be beneficial. Further research must investigate fathers’ perspectives of digital devices and the beneficial and detrimental roles that a range of digital devices, tools, and entertainment gadgets play in 21st Century children’s lives
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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