bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LIGAND BASED PHARMACOPHORE MODELING, VIRTUAL SCREENING AND MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES TO DESIGN NOVEL PANCREATIC LIPASE INHIBITORS
Authors: Engels Maida , B Se Balaji , S. Divakar , G. Geetha
Published: April 2017

Objective: To understand the essential structural features required for pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory activity and to design novel chemical entities, ligand-based pharmacophore modeling, virtual screening and docking studies were carried out.Methods: The pharmacophore model was generated based on 133 compounds with PL inhibitory activity using PHASE. An external test set and decoy dataset methods were applied to validate the hypothesis and to retrieve potential PL inhibitors. The generated hypothesis model was further subjected to virtual screening and molecular docking studies.Results: A five point pharmacophoric hypothesis model which consists of three hydrogen bond acceptor sites and two hydrophobic sites was developed. The generated pharmacophore gave significant 3D QSAR (three-dimensional Quantitative Structural Activity Relationship) model with r2 of 0.9389 and Q2 value of 0.4016. After database screening, five molecules were found to have better glide scores and binding interactions with the active site amino acid residues.Conclusion: As an outcome of this study, five hit molecules were suggested as potent PL inhibitors as they showed good glide scores as well as binding interactions with required active site amino acids. The five molecules obtained from this study may serve as potential leads for the development of promising anti-obesity agents.
DDA LOADED PCL NANOPARTICLES ENHANCES THE ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY OF DDA IN DIABETES INDUCED EXPERIMENTAL RATS
Authors: Kamaraj Nagalakshmi , S Sujatha , D Alwin
Published: April 2017

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the bioavailability of nano encapsulated DDA (nano-DDA) in experimental diabetic rats.Methods: Polycaprolactone was used as a polymer to encapsulate 14-deoxy-11, 12-didehydroandrographolide (DDA) using solvent evaporation technique in order to improvise the bioavailability of the drug. Male albino wistar rats were induced with single intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide (110 mg/kg) followed by streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) to induce experimental diabetes. Free DDA and nano-DDA were orally administered to the experimental diabetic rats for 45d and blood glucose level was monitored periodically. After one week washout period, free DDA and nano-DDA were orally administered to the rats and blood samples were collected at predetermined intervals. Plasma concentration of DDA was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Pharmacokinetic analysis was carried out to determine the oral bioavailability.Results: 50 mg of nanoparticle-containing 9.4 mg of DDA exhibited a significant decrease in blood glucose level (105.6±2.99 mg/dL), on par with the free drug administered (50 mg/kg). The nano-DDA accomplished a significant increase in Cmax (961.7±8.78ng) and area under the curve (AUC) (2631±6.98 h X ng/ml) than free DDA. A significant increase in the oral bioavailability was witnessed for nano-DDA (absolute bioavailability% = 34.94±0.231%), which was 10.8 times higher than the free DDA (3.234±0.062 %) and substantiated a slow and sustained drug release from the polymer matrix.Conclusion: Our results substantiated that nanoencapsulation of DDA, enhanced the oral bioavailability of DDA than the free drug in vivo. Nano-DDA can thus serve as a bioactive molecule in the quest for new antidiabetic nano drug discovery.
PHYTOCHEMICALS, ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND PHENOLIC PROFILING OF DIPLOCYCLOS PALMATUS (L.) C. JEFFERY
Authors: Attar Usmangani A. , Ghane Savaliram G.
Published: April 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze phytochemicals, antioxidant potential and phenolic profiling of leaf and fruit extracts of Diplocyclos palmatus.Methods: The leaves and fruits were subjected for sequential extraction with hexane, chloroform, methanol and water. All extracts were subjected to biochemical studies such as phenols, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids and antioxidant assays such as 1,1-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’ Azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant property (FRAP), metal chelating and phospho- molybdenum reduction assay. Further methanolic extract was used for phenolics characterization by reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).Results: It was observed that methanol fruit extract showed significantly higher phenolics (9.29±0.01 mg tannic acid equivalent (TAE)/g extract), flavonoids (15.02±0.96 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g extract) and terpenoids (276.73±0.76 mg ursolic acid equivalent (UAE)/g extract). However, chloroform extracts of leaf and fruit exhibited a high amount of tannins (22.07±0.06, 6.99±0.10 mg CE/g extract) respectively. The extracts were subjected to assess their antioxidant potential using various in vitro systems such as DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, metal chelating and phospho- molybdenum reduction. Among the various extracts, methanol fruit extract had highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (26.73±0.14 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/g extract), metal chelating activity (0.80±0.01 mg EDTA equivalent (EE)/g extract) and phospho- molybdenum activity (291.24±2.19 mg AAE/g extract). In ABTS radical scavenging assay, aqueous leaf extract (12.11±0.07 mg trolox equivalent (TE)/g extract) showed the best response. The effective ferric reducing antioxidant property (141.54±10.12 mg Fe (II)/g extract) was exhibited by aqueous fruit extract. Overall, methanol and water were found to be the best solvents for the extraction of antioxidant compounds from fruit and leaf. In the RP-HPLC analysis, the major bioactive phenolic compounds such as catechin (CA) and hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) were recorded in leaf as compared to fruit. In leaf, CA and chlorogenic acid (CLA) were principal compounds in leaf and fruit respectively. However, gallic acid (GA), HBA, CLA and vanillic acid (VA) were widespread in leaf and fruit. Conclusion: On the basis of the results, it was found that D. palmatus may serve as a novel and rich source of natural antioxidants and it can be further explored for pharmaceutical purposes.
DOSE-DEPENDENT AMELIORATION OF EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE AGAINST SODIUM VALPROATE INDUCED AUTISTIC RATS
Authors: Kumaravel Palanisamy , Melchias Gabriel , Vasanth Nayagam , Manivasagam Tamilarasan
Published: April 2017

Objective: Autism is a neurodevelopment related disorder with a range of clinical presentations attending serious behavioral and neurological disorders among young children that now occur at epidemic rates in developing countries, India included. The objective of this research was to study the effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on sodium valproate-induced autism rats.Methods: On the 12th day of gestation wistar rats were administered with a single intraperitoneal injection of sodium valproate (VPA) (600 mg/kg body weight), which induced autism. The rats were treated with EGCG in varying doses 1, 2 and 5 mg/kg body weight via oral administration. The neuroprotectivity effect of the EGCG was followed by assessing the neurotransmitters and neurobiochemical activities such as serotonin, glutamate and nitrite levels in hippocampus and cerebellum region of the brain. Results: Early prenatal exposure to VPA provokes autistic symptoms. Induction of autism significantly impinged the neurotransmitters and neurochemicals such as serotonin, glutamate and nitrite levels in the brain (hippocampus and cerebellum) increased significantly in the rats exposed to VPA. After treatment with an effective dose of EGCG 2 mg/kg body weight the neurotransmitters and neurochemicals levels were decreased when compared with control and VPA-exposed rats. Conclusion: EGCG ameliorates and reverses autistic attributes possibly due to its neuroprotective activity which could pave the way for future investigation for the possible therapeutic approach.
Are High-Performance Human Resource Practices In Organizations Creative or Noncreative?
Authors: Hou Yu , Hu Bei , Butt Mattiullah
Published: April 2017

Researchers have found that high-performance human resource practices (HPHRP) are positively related to good firm performance and sustainable competitive advantage; however, there is not substantial evidence about their effect on individual creativity. We examined the relationship between
HPHRP and individual creativity with a sample of 466 employees of high-tech industries in China. Findings showed that HPHRP had an inverse U-shaped relationship with individual creativity, which was positively moderated by proactive personality. When the employee had a very proactive personality,
the positive relationship between human resource practices that were not high performance and individual creativity, and the negative relationship between HPHRP and individual creativity escalated. Evidence also supported a mediation effect of intrinsic motivation on the interaction effect
of HPHRP, proactive personality, and individual creativity.
Fidelity in Mental Health Services: Clinical Strategies for Implementing Resource Groups
Authors: Nordén Tommy , Andersson Jonny , Norlander Torsten
Published: April 2017

We investigated whether or not people working in the fields of psychiatry and social work who do not have experience in assessing the fidelity of resource group assertive community treatment could use a new manual for the Clinical Strategies Implementation Scale–Revised (CSI–R)
in a reliable and valid fashion. Participants were 4 men and 17 women who were caregivers recruited from psychiatric and social-work clinics in Middle Sweden. The study was conducted using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. The caregivers were asked to rate 2 fictional
cases individually and thereafter discuss their assessments in focus groups. Results indicated acceptable values for homogeneity, criterion validity, and divergent validity. We concluded that people working in the fields of psychiatry and social work who are inexperienced in using the CSI-R
can use it in a reliable and valid way with the help of the new manual, and that the procedure used to conduct the study can be used as a model for a brief educational program or seminar.
Establishing Chinese Middle-school Students' Mental-health Norms with the Symptom Check List-90-R
Authors: Yu Yulan , Zhao Xudong , Wan Chonghua , Xu Chuanzhi , Shang Lei , Yao Yuhong , Miao Shaojiang , Liu Ying
Published: April 2017

Despite the widespread application of the Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R) with Chinese middle-school students, there are currently no widely accepted national norms for mental health specifically for this group. In this study our aim was to establish mental-health norms for Chinese
middle-school students using the Chinese version of the SCL-90-R. A large sample (N = 20,862) of Chinese middle-school students completed the SCL-90-R. Their mean scores for the 9 subscales of the SCL-90-R ranged from 1.45 to 1.85. The mean General Symptomatic Index score was 1.61 ±
0.57. There were significant differences between these norms and the norms reported in a Chinese study conducted in 1986. The scores we recorded in this study can be used as new mental-health norms for this age group because the data were acquired directly through a survey using a large sample
representative of middle-school students in China.
Impact of Sexual Stimuli on Men's Purchase Intentions Toward Discounted Conspicuous Goods
Authors: Huo Chunhui , Yuan Shaofeng
Published: April 2017

In this research we examined whether or not when men are exposed to sexual stimuli (e.g., images of sexually attractive women) this negatively affects their purchase intention for conspicuous goods being offered at a discounted price. We conducted 3 experiments, with Chinese men (282
in total), and found that sexual stimuli can activate male mating goals, prompting the men in our study to care more about the presentation of their mating value; thus, they preferred nondiscounted conspicuous goods to discounted ones. The negative effect of sexual stimuli on men's purchase
intentions toward discounted conspicuous goods was greater for men who tended to associate discounts with low status, cheapness, and stinginess (i.e., strong negative impression association) than for those with a weak negative impression association. These findings identify the boundary conditions
of a trade-off for men between economic benefits and signaling values for discounted conspicuous goods.
Stability of Implicit Self-Esteem Among Internet-addicted College Students in China
Authors: Zhao Lingbo , Yu Xianglian , Zhang Lixian , Ren Zhihong
Published: April 2017

We explored the stability of, and between-group differences in, the implicit self-esteem of Internet-addicted and Internet-nonaddicted college students in China. Internet addiction was assessed using Young's Internet Addiction Scale and the participants comprised 52 Internet addicts
(26 men, 26 women) and 52 Internet nonaddicts (26 men, 26 women). We then used the Implicit Association Test to assess levels of implicit self-esteem, employing a 2 (addiction, nonaddiction) × 2 (positive feedback, negative feedback) between-subjects factorial design. The pretest implicit
self-esteem level of the Internet-addicted group was significantly higher than that of the control group; however, the implicit self-esteem levels of both groups were unstable. Positive feedback did not change the level of implicit self-esteem of the Internet addiction group. In future studies
researchers need to pay more attention to the measurement of implicit self-esteem, long-term stability, and addiction to online games.
20. Professionalism Marks vs. Participation Marks: Transforming the University Experience
Authors: Wells Elizabeth A.
Published: April 2017

As well as content, what are we teaching our students and what opportunities can we take to influence their current and future success as graduate students, professionals, and contributors to a wider society? One thing we can teach them is a sense of professionalism; however, that is defined in different disciplines and varying career paths. By substituting for the often vaguely-defined “participation” component of a grade a “professionalism” mark, a place is created for students to learn and exercise mature approaches to their work and their roles within the university. Presented as a proactive and positive element within the student’s control, instead of a punitive grade component, the professionalism mark can result in dramatic changes in class behaviour, participation, attitudes, accountability, and self-motivation. The following scenarios outline different situations, which may ring true to a number of instructors and which professionalism marks might address.
25. E-Portfolios in Teacher Education: The UNBC Experience
Authors: Kitchenham Andrew
Published: April 2017

This paper presents the preliminary findings from the University of Northern British Columbia’s e-portfolio project, entitled the Digital Record of Student Success (DRSS). The e-portfolio requires that the Education Program students provide artifacts of their learning related to the British Columbia College of Teachers’ 13 standards for professional educators. The project will be outlined and sample in-progress e-portfolios will be described. The paper will conclude with a description of the successes and challenges of the DRSS.
10. The Thin Line Between Civility and Incivility: Fostering Reflection and Self-Awareness to Create a Civil Learning Community
Authors: Marini Zopito
Published: April 2017

Incivility is a critical, but under-examined aspect of teaching and learning. It has important implications for the academic success of students and the university as a whole. Bullying research offers a unique lens through which this type of anti-social behaviour can be understood with a view of developing intervention strategies. The exercises outlined in this paper will help professors gain valuable information about their students’ understanding of the continuum between civility and incivility. The potential results from this reflective exercise can be an exciting example of the benefits of classroom engagement, where the knowledge gained from participating students is reinvested into their classrooms, thus contributing to their own creation of a civil learning community.
14. Using Interteaching to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning
Authors: Scoboria Alan , Sirois Fuschia M. , Pascual-Leone Antonio
Published: April 2017

In this paper, we describe our experience with a recently devised teaching method termed interteaching (Boyce & Hineline, 2002). This educational approach provides a rich rehearsal of material, and emphasizes student engagement, peer discussion, and student/instructor interaction. We describe the method, provide pragmatic tips for implementation in the classroom, review empirical evidence, and discuss advantages and disadvantages.
18. The “Third Ear” Decolonizes: Integrating Deaf Students into Post-Secondary Classes
Authors: McHeimech Zeinab
Published: April 2017

Can we effectively integrate Deaf students into our post-secondary classes before recognizing and listening to them? Studies indicate that Deaf students continue to struggle, be silenced, and experience isolation when mainstreamed. Deaf students, or second-language students, inevitably develop new identities once included; however, we cannot justly ask that they abandon their own cultural identities, nor ignore that they have their own cultural and individual identities. This paper draws on the literary theorist Homi Bhabha, specifically his notion of the “third space.” I propose that as educators we enter and create this space for our students and begin listening to them using a “third ear” so as to enable the surfacing of their cultural identities in hopes of countering their struggles, perpetual silencing, and isolation. The essay focuses largely on the implementation of the third ear and third space by programs found in the humanities.
19. Encouraging Undergraduate Class Participation: A Student Perspective
Authors: Wright Nichole S. , Gragg Marcia N. , Cramer Kenneth M.
Published: April 2017

Undergraduate classes typically involve a professor lecturing to 100 or more students. Too often, this results in minimal opportunities for student participation. Positive reinforcement was used to promote student participation (i.e., defined as relevant comments or questions) in a second-year psychology class (N = 97). Class participation was measured for five weeks in two 80-minute lectures per week. Baseline was collected in two lectures. In the unaware phase for two lectures, paper tickets were given without explanation to students who participated. Students were then informed that tickets were given for class participation, and would be entered into a draw for gift certificates. Data were collected for four lectures in this informed condition. Final baseline consisted of two lectures with no tickets distributed. Student attendance was recorded. Frequency of instructor questions remained relatively consistent. Class participation rose from 38 relevant comments and questions per week during initial baseline, to 47 during the unaware phase, 52.5 during the informed phase, and 60 for final baseline. Positive reinforcement was associated with increased class participation overall, but with little change for students with high initial participation. Students said they enjoyed and benefited from the class participation activity.
24. Global Views, Personal Perspectives: Connecting to Self as Scholar
Authors: Simmons Nicola
Published: April 2017

A global view requires not only a broader perspective, but also greater depth to anchor it firmly. In increasingly changing contexts, are we connected to ourselves in a way that feeds our spirits and nourishes our work? A professional sphere based only on research and practice risks being unbalanced and may jeopardize our well-being as academics. The activities outlined in this paper encourage you to add a third support: integration of self as scholar towards a more balanced perspective.Balance in Scholarship
2. Clickers 201: Exploring the Next Levels of Using Classroom Response Systems in Science Courses
Authors: Noel Tanya
Published: April 2017

While there is a wealth of information and resources for new users of classroom response systems, much is yet to be explored, particularly for experienced instructors hoping to leverage this technology further in support of effective learning. In this paper, I highlight recent literature findings, and suggest some areas for future exploration and discussion.
8. Creativity and Writing: The Postcard Project
Authors: Rowinsky-Geurts Mercedes
Published: April 2017

The purpose of the conference presentation upon which this paper is inspired was to present an innovative approach to motivate students to write in a second language during a first-year Spanish class. Usually, students comply with writing exercises that convey basic thoughts, due to constrained vocabulary and limited knowledge of grammatical concepts. The pieces they create are often simple repetitions of material already present in the textbook. In this case, the idea was to create a project that would be developed during the whole academic year. It consisted of creating a story of 100 words or less that would provoke the reader to think beyond the text and also motivate him/her to make connections between the title, the content, and the hidden message of the story. The format was a postcard, and the students had to add a creative piece of art on one side of the postcard and a story on the opposite side. The artwork was intended to add to the story. The objective of the project was for students to use their higher order cognitive abilities and subsequently realize higher levels of achievement (Burrowes, 2003; Railsback, 2002).The activity also aimed to encourage deeper student learning and self-regulated learning behaviours (Herington, 2008). The challenge was obvious: would students feel intimidated when presented with the project? How would they respond to the strict demands of the assignment? How would they deal with the creative aspect? How would they respond to formative feedback? How would they react to the public exhibition of their work? Throughout this article, responses to these queries are presented along with a discussion on how the activity could be applied across disciplines with similar end results. I hope this is the beginning of a productive dialogue.
23. No Dilemma at all: The Importance of Liberal Education in Developing Skills for Employability
Authors: MacKay D. Bruce
Published: April 2017

Some suggest there is a dilemma in post-secondary education between the tidal pulls of career- or disciplinary-oriented education and liberal education. A survey of University of Lethbridge alumni indicated that they found their liberal education important for developing skills that are valuable in life and work after graduation. Specific skills the Conference Board of Canada (2000) identified as important for employment success were indeed skills which alumni say they developed during their liberal education experience. I argue there is no dilemma at all and that liberal education does provide skills for employment success.
32. Teaching Writing Skills That Enhance Student Success in Future Employment
Authors: Coyle James P.
Published: April 2017

The ability to write well is often critical for effective work performance. Although basic writing courses provide a foundation for college and university students, discipline-specific writing tasks and methods are frequently learned indirectly. Incorporating occupational writing skills in course curriculum better prepares students for future employment. This paper suggests a three-step process for teaching pertinent writing skills in college and university courses: identify writing skills relevant to post-graduation occupations, include writing in course learning modules, and assess writing skills with assignments that mirror workplace writing tasks. Balancing curricular learning with these workplace needs is an ongoing challenge for instructors.
2. All in the Same Direction, All at the Same Time An Approach to Enhancing Creativity
Authors: Grove-White Annie
Published: April 2017

This paper proposes that given today’s “wicked” problems (Malhotra, 1997), where there are complex issues with no clear answers, where boundaries are fuzzy and the outcome is usually never known and unexpected, creativity can be enhanced, at appropriate moments, by making modes of thinking explicit. Using a particular heuristic approach known as the Six Thinking Hats (de Bono, 1990), in group critiques and tutorials, students are empowered to suspend judgement at critical moments in a project, and thus, enhance their creativity. Furthermore this approach promotes confidence, openness, and trust such that students speak up more and participate fully, contributing to their peers as well as developing their own ability for self-reflection.
13. Linking Academic Integrity and Classroom Civility: Student Attitudes and Institutional Response
Authors: Brooks Troy , Marini Zopito , Radue Jon
Published: April 2017

This paper explores the notion that student behaviour regarding academic integrity and classroom civility are linked, and that intervention methods used to resolve classroom incivility may be used as a response to academic dishonesty. We advance the view that academic integrity and classroom civility refer to a student’s willingness to respect the rules and regulations of the institution; and that, acts of academic dishonesty and incivility refer to student behaviour in breach of institutional policy and/or not consistent with the social norms of the institutional culture (e.g., inappropriate human interactions). The perceptions and attitudes of first-year students toward academic integrity as they transition from high school to university are examined. Two hundred and thirty-nine first-year students volunteered to participate in this study. The preliminary findings of the open ended response regarding their observations and experiences with cheating and plagiarism in high school and in university are reported with a view to offer suggestions regarding institutional intervention strategies.
16. Thinking Outside the Blocks: Lego Day in a Pedagogy of Play
Authors: Krug Kate
Published: April 2017

Engaging students while providing them with the necessary linguistic and critical skills as a foundation for further exploration are the principle challenges for those of us who teach disciplinary introductory courses. My own response to this challenge has been to develop and implement what I refer to as the ‘pedagogy of play.’ Informed by the work of bell hooks, G.H. Mead, and J. Huizinga, the pedagogy of play is grounded in the notion that an orientation toward ‘play’ and ‘playfulness’ provides the framework for developing curricula and teaching practices that emphasize learning as process rather than outcome. This paper outlines the principles of a pedagogy of play and describes one of the quintessential examples of this approach:“Lego Day(s),” a strategy I developed to provide students with a concrete context in which the abstract concepts ‘culture’ and ‘society’ could come to life.
2. Curriculum Alignment: Establishing Coherence
Authors: Gagné Philippe , Dumont Laurence , Brunet Sabine , Boucher Geneviève
Published: April 2017

In this paper we present a step-by-step guide to implement a curricular alignment project, directed at professional development and student support, and developed in a higher education French as a second language department. We outline best practices and preliminary results from our experience and provide ways to adapt our experience to other domains so instructors and students may fully benefit from such a project.
Teaching Critical Reflection to Graduate Students
Authors: Watson Gavan Peter Longley , Kenny Natasha
Published: April 2017

Critical reflection is a highly valued and widely applied learning approach in higher education. There are many benefits associated with engaging in critical reflection, and it is often integrated into the design of graduate-level courses on university teaching, as a life-long learning strategy to help ensure that learners build their capacity as critical reflective teaching practitioners. Despite its broad application and learning benefits, students often find the process of engaging in critical reflection inherently challenging. This paper explores the challenge associated with incorporating critical reflection into a graduate course on University Teaching at the University of Guelph. Strategies for effectively incorporating critical reflection are presented, based largely on Arsonson’s (2011) framework for teaching critical reflection and the outcomes of a workshop offered at the 2013 STLHE Conference. The strategies discussed have multi-disciplinary relevance, and can be broadly applied to improve how critical reflection is incorporated into post-secondary courses.
Learning Task Inventories (LTIs). Exploration of Optimal Conditions to Help Students Develop, Improve and Sustain Good Study and Learning Practices
Authors: MacNeil Stephen , Wood Eileen , Zivcakova Lucia , Glover Robyn , Smith Patrick
Published: April 2017

To support students in an introductory organic chemistry course, scaffolding in the form of weekly Learning Task Inventories (LTIs) were introduced. LTIs are chapter-by-chapter lists of detailed learning tasks students are expected to master during the course. This paper describes efforts to effectively implement LTIs, the effect of differing implementations of LTIs on students’ final exam grades and students’ reactions to the use of LTIs.
“He just told me to get on with it”: Insights into Transforming Doctoral Writing Development
Authors: Johnson E Marcia
Published: April 2017

This paper reports on the results of a two-year study into threshold concepts (TCs) in doctoral writing. The findings informed the development of a thinking to write strategy (the 4x4) that has been implemented as part of a pan-university doctoral writing programme at a New Zealand university.
Peer Review of Teaching: Sharing Best Practices
Authors: Golparian Shaya , Chan Judy , Cassidy Alice
Published: April 2017

In this paper, we share examples of best peer review of teaching practices, drawing on our involvement in the design and implementation of the Peer Review of Teaching program at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. We review the history of the Peer Review of Teaching Initiative at the University of British Columbia and explain key aspects of the interactive peer review of teaching session we facilitated at STLHE 2014. We provide examples generated by participants of that session, as well as participants of Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology workshops on peer review of teaching. We share future steps for the Peer Review of Teaching Program at UBC.
MySci Advisors: Establishing a Peer-Mentoring Program for First Year Science Student Support
Authors: Poling Kirsten
Published: April 2017

Would you like to help your students adjust to university life? Perhaps you are simply interested in allowing them to feel more integrated into a department right from the start of their first year? These were the types of issues that we were hoping to address when we founded the MySci Advisors Program, a peer-mentoring group for first year students in the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor. This program is run entirely on a volunteer basis with no working budget, so if you were considering starting a mentoring program but have been concerned about the cost of doing so, this essay may be of particular interest to you. MySci Advisors is only in its third year currently, so this essay is meant to focus on the lessons we have learned in the early establishment of the program. I outline some of the practices we have adopted for the program, some of the changes we have had to make along the way and provide some early evidence of success. It is my hope that others may be motivated to also form such a program or use this information to assist in their own early endeavours.
Teaching Assistant Competencies in Canada: Building a Framework for Practice Together
Authors: Korpan Cynthia , Le-May Sheffield Suzanne , Verwoord Roselynn
Published: April 2017

This paper examines the stages of development for a framework of teaching assistant (TA) competencies initiated by the Teaching Assistant and Graduate Student Advancement (TAGSA) special interest group (SIG) of the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). TAGSA initiated an iterative consultative process to inform the creation of the competencies that sought input from the STLHE community on four occasions. At each stage of the consultations, the competencies were formed and re-formed, their purpose and value debated, and the challenges of creating a development framework recognized. This process, described in this paper, resulted in a clear, succinct and flexible framework that can be used across institutions in multiple contexts.
Curricular and Co-curricular Leadership Learning for Engineering Students
Authors: Reeve Doug , Evans Greg , Simpson Annie , Sacks Robin , Oliva-Fisher Estelle , Rottmann Cindy , Sheridan Patricia
Published: April 2017

In recent years engineering educators have been encouraged to blend technical and professional learning in their curricular and co-curricular programing (EC, 2009; NAE, 2004). Our paper describes a multifaceted leadership learning program developed to achieve this goal by infusing reflective, experiential learning into an otherwise technically oriented discipline. The program was designed by a collaborative team of educators and researchers with backgrounds in engineering, education, psychology, and industry and offers a range of learning experiences using diverse pedagogical strategies. The content covers four realms of leadership corresponding to four levels of analysis: self, team, organization, and society. Learning experiences include elective academic courses, co-curricular workshop programs, guest lectures in core courses, seminars, department based leadership groups, and panel discussions. In this paper, we describe the program goals, curricular and co-curricular initiatives and early research findings in order to scaffold an emerging discussion about engineering leadership education in Canada.  Informal feedback from students who have participated in our program provide us with preliminary evidence that students are learning, that they value the learning opportunities afforded by our program and that our initiative is enabling significant personal growth.
Breathing Life into the Syllabus: The Collaborative Development of a First-Year Writing Course for Nursing Students
Authors: Feltham Mark , Krahn Mary Anne
Published: April 2017

In this essay, we tell the story of how a team of English and nursing professors came together to develop curriculum for a mandatory first-semester writing course in the collaborative Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BScN) at Fanshawe College and Western University, both in London, Ontario. The discussion focuses on the implementation of the course at the Fanshawe site. Following a review of literature that has informed our thinking about writing in nursing, we discuss how the team, consisting of both English/writing and nursing faculty, solved curriculum problems to develop an effective course. We also look forward to areas for future development.
The Utility of a Prescription Monitoring Program in Death Investigation: The Virginia Experience
Authors: Tharp-Myers Amy M. , Hobron Kathrin , Orr Ralph
Published: April 2017

The Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program (VPMP) has been in effect since 2002, providing reports for prescribers, pharmacists, and other stakeholders in the growing opioid epidemic. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is one such stakeholder and has found great efficacy in the program in investigating suspected drug-related deaths. This review examines the origins of the VPMP, its benefits, and limitations for use during death investigation.
Common Findings and Predictive Measures of Opioid Overdoses
Authors: Pelletier Danielle E. , Andrew Thomas A.
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This research examines autopsy findings from fatal opiate/opioid intoxications in New Hampshire for cerebral edema, pulmonary edema, and urinary bladder distension in the interest of finding predictability of such cases.

Methods

Autopsy reports of 150 decedents, between 20 and 40 years old, were reviewed. Subjects were divided into three groups as follows: 50 whose cause of death was opioid intoxication excluding fentanyl, 50 who died from fentanyl, and 50 who, lacking intoxication, died from cardiac issues, seizure disorders, or positional asphyxia as the control group. Autopsy reports were reviewed for cerebral edema, pulmonary edema, and urinary bladder distension.

Results

Pulmonary edema was present in 96% of those who died of fentanyl alone and in 94% of those who died of opioids excluding fentanyl. Cerebral edema occurred in 54% of decedents who died of opiates/opioids excluding fentanyl and 8% in those who died solely of fentanyl. Thirty-four percent of the fatal intoxications excluding fentanyl had bladder distension while only 16% of those who died of fentanyl intoxication. The control group found 30% had pulmonary edema, 2% had cerebral edema, and none had bladder distension. The triad occurred in 8% of intoxications and never in the control group.

Conclusion

The results validated correlation between opioid intoxication and pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, and bladder distension. Cerebral edema and bladder distension suggest opioid intoxication, but arise less frequently in fentanyl intoxication. We hypothesize that fentanyl causes death more rapidly than other opioids leading to these results. Given the variations, we do not recommend reliance on postmortem computed tomography in lieu of autopsy to evaluate potential fatal intoxications.
Primary Cardiac Tumors in Infancy: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Dominguez Carolina , Perkins Ashley , Duque Alexandra , Bravo Viagnney
Published: April 2017

Sudden death in infants due to primary cardiac tumors is extremely rare. Herein we describe a case of an 8-month-old male infant, without any previous medical history, who died in a hospital in the city of Medellín-Antioquia, Colombia. The family stated that approximately 15 minutes after he received a bottle, the baby became cyanotic and subsequently lost consciousness. He was taken to the hospital immediately; however, he arrived lifeless. As this was a sudden death case, the child was referred to the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in the city of Medellín to clarify the cause, manner, and mechanism of death.

The forensic autopsy revealed a eutrophic infant with central and peripheral cyanosis, without signs of trauma, and the internal examination found a single cardiac tumor in the anterior wall of the left ventricle. The mass was white and whorled; histological evaluation diagnosed a fibroma.

The manner of death was natural due to a cardiogenic shock caused by a primary tumor.
The history of transaction cost economics and its recent developments
Authors: Hardt Lukasz
Published: April 2017

The emergence of transaction cost economics (TCE) in the early 1970s with Oliver Williamson's successful reconciliation of the so-called neoclassical approach with Herbert Simon's organizational theory can be considered an important part of the first cognitive turn in economics. The development of TCE until the late 1980s was particularly marked by treating the firm as an avoider of negative frictions, i.e., of transaction costs. However, since the 1990s TCE has been enriched by various approaches stressing the role of the firm in creating positive value, e.g., the literature on modularity. Hence, a second cognitive turn has taken place: the firm is no longer only seen as an avoider of negative costs but also as a creator of positive knowledge.
Uncertainty and identity: a post Keynesian approach
Authors: Davis John B.
Published: April 2017

Marshall's asset equilibrium model provides a way of explaining the identity of entrepreneurs. Keynes adopted this model but transformed it when he emphasized the short-period and volatile character of long-term expectations. This entails a view of entrepreneur identity in which radical uncertainty plays a central role. This in turn deepens the post Keynesian view of uncertainty as ontological in that entrepreneurs' survival plays into their behavior. This paper explores this role-based view of individual identity and uses the analysis to comment on Keynes’s ideas for the socialization of investment and euthanasia of the rentier in the last chapter of The general theory.
Adam Smith and the contemporary world
Authors: Sen Amartya
Published: April 2017

This paper argues that many of Adam Smith's insights, particularly those in his Theory of moral sentiments, have a relevance to contemporary thought about economics and ethics that is currently underappreciated. In economics, for example, Smith was concerned not only with the sufficiency of self-interest at the moment of exchange but also with the wider moral motivations and institutions required to support economic activity in general. In ethics, Smith's concept of an impartial spectator who is able to view our situation from a critical distance has much to contribute to a fuller understanding of the requirements of justice, particularly through an understanding of impartiality as going beyond the interests and concerns of a local contracting group. Smith's open, realization-focussed and comparative approach to evaluation contrasts with what I call the "transcendental institutionalism" popular in contemporary political philosophy and associated particularly with the work of John Rawls.
Extensionalism and intensionalism in the realist-SSK 'debate'
Authors: Mariyani-Squire Edward
Published: April 2017

The 'strong programme' in the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) is based upon finitism and extensionalism. This article examines a critique of these bases. It is argued that David Tyfield's (2008; 2009) realist critique and his alternative intensionalist account of meaning face problems at least as serious as those he identifies in the strong programme’s finitism. This is not to say that the strong programme is problem-free: it fails to give sufficient acknowledgement to non-conventional constraints on meaning formation and change. It is also suggested that, as they are currently conceived, realism's intensionalism and the strong programme's extensionalism are irreconcilably incompatible at such a basic level that the 'debate' between them reduces to an exchange of 'assurances'.
Science and social control: the institutionalist movement in American economics, 1918-1947
Authors: Rutherford Malcolm
Published: April 2017

This paper deals with the concepts of science and social control to be found within interwar institutional economics. It is argued that these were central parts of the institutionalist approach to economics as the key participants in the movement defined it. For institutionalists, science was defined as empirical, investigational, experimental, and instrumental. Social control was defined in terms of the development of new instruments for the control of business to supplement the market mechanism. The concepts of science and social control were joined via John Dewey's pragmatic and instrumental philosophy. These ideas provided important links to the ideals of foundations, such as Rockefeller, and thus to access to research funding. Institutionalist concepts of science and social control were, however, displaced after World War II by Keynesian policy and positivist ideas of scientific methodology.
Adam Smith and cultural relativism
Authors: Fleischacker Samuel
Published: April 2017

This paper explores the presence of both relativistic and universalistic elements in Adam Smith’s moral philosophy. It argues that Smith is more sympathetic to the concerns of anthropologists than most philosophers have been, but still tries to uphold the possibility of moral judgments that transcend cultural contexts. It also argues that the tensions between these aspects of his thought are not easy to resolve, but that Smith’s sensitivity to the issues that give rise to them makes him a useful figure with whom to think through the relationship between anthropology and moral philosophy to this day.
Valuing environmental costs and benefits in an uncertain future: risk aversion and discounting
Authors: Medvecky Fabien
Published: April 2017

A central point of debate over environmental policies concerns how future costs and benefits should be assessed. The most commonly used method for assessing the value of future costs and benefits is economic discounting. One often-cited justification for discounting is uncertainty. More specifically, it is risk aversion coupled with the expectation that future prospects are more risky. In this paper I argue that there are at least two reasons for disputing the use of risk aversion as a justification for discounting when dealing with long- term decisions, one technical and one ethical. Firstly, I argue that technically, it implies an inconsistency between theory and practice. And secondly, I argue that discounting for uncertainty relies on a form of individualism which, while reasonable in standard microeconomic theory where an agent chooses how to spread her own consumption over her own lifetime, is inappropriate in the context of inter-generational social decisions.
A failure to communicate: the fact-value divide and the Putnam-Dasgupta debate
Authors: Su Huei-chun , Colander David
Published: April 2017

This paper considers the debate between economists and philosophers about the role of values in economic analysis by examining the recent debate between Hilary Putnam and Sir Partha Dasgupta. It argues that although there has been a failure to communicate there is much more agreement than it seems. If Dasgupta's work is seen as part of the methodological tradition expounded by John Stuart Mill and John Neville Keynes, economists and philosophers will have a better basis for understanding each other. Unlike the logical-positivist tradition, which treats facts and values as two mutually exclusive concepts, the Mill- Keynes tradition recognizes that facts and values are intertwined. Unlike the Smithian tradition, which blends the study of facts and normative rules, it divides economics into a science that studies "what is" and an art which considers "what ought to be done".
Formalism, rationality, and evidence: the case of behavioural economics
Authors: Dow Sheila C.
Published: April 2017

Mark Blaug played a central role in the development of the field of the methodology of economics, alongside his theoretical work and contributions to the history of economic thought. The purpose, in this article, is to focus on his contributions to the topic of 'formalism in economics', in relation to his methodological commentaries on the Popperian and Lakatosian approaches to the philosophy of science. In Blaugian spirit, the discussion is related to economic theory and draws on the history of economic thought. The argument focuses on the troublesome interface between theoretical and applied economics in mainstream economics. The article includes, as a case study, an assessment of new behavioural economics in Popperian and Lakatosian terms. The conclusion is that such an appraisal exercise—i.e., whether the research programme is progressive or degenerative—is clouded by the interface between the form of empiricism promoted by Popper and Lakatos and the methodological framework of mainstream economics. No conclusion is feasible independent of methodological approach.