Wide Awake at 4 AM: A Study of Late Night User Behavior,Perceptions and Performance at an Academic Library

The expectation for extended library hours including 24 h access presents many questions about late night library users and the value of this service to the library and their corresponding institutions. Using data gathered about patrons who use the library after 11 pm and before 7 am, a study was conducted to discover who the library users were, what services and facilities they made use of, and what, if any, concerns they have regarding the late night library. The usage patterns provide evidence that that while more usage occurs during traditional hours, users who prefer late night do so consistently. The researchers found the late night library was serving patrons who were cross sections of university community with higher than average grade point averages and retention rates when compared to university averages. These figures can have a significant effect on institutional recruitment and retention presenting the library as an indispensable resource to the community.     

Dynamic in situ chromosome immobilisation and DNA extraction using localized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) phase transition

A method of in situ chromosome immobilisation and DNA extraction in a microfluidic polymer chip was presented. Light-induced local heating was used to induce poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) phase transition in order to create a hydrogel and embed a single chromosome such that it was immobilised. This was achieved with the use of a near-infrared laser focused on an absorption layer integrated in the polymer chip in close proximity to the microchannel. It was possible to proceed to DNA extraction while holding on the chromosome at an arbitrary location by introducing protease K into the microchannel.     

Give me a place to stand and I will move the world! Life-long learning in the digital age / Dadme un punto de apoyo y moveré el mundo: el aprendizaje permanente en la era digital

Research on ‘digital natives’ indicates that today’s youngsters interact with one another, and the world, in ways that are different from the ways we did growing up. At the same time, ‘millennials’ are not unique in their attempts to cope with so-called twenty-first century skill requirements. Adults too are on a treadmill. They too qualify as life-long learners. This paper stresses the ways today’s learners — and those in charge of their upbringing — navigate, position, p[l]ace themselves in the settings they inhabit, however shortly or permanently. Learning everywhere all the time is not a new idea, especially among progressive educators. Yet its unexamined promotion calls for a pause. To be viable, our schools will be ‘edgeless’ but they cannot be place-less! Students will be connected (online) yet in touch (grounded, centred, sentient). Tools-at-hand may be smart but shouldn’t take over. Lastly, educational institutions will need to rethink their raison d’être within a broader range of initiatives, platforms and programs, all brought to the attention of masses of [lifelong] learners in search of [short-term] options in a sea of fleeting opportunities.     

Social Justice in Teacher Education

This reflective essay explores the relationship between wonder and learning. Building on the belief that child-like wonder is a precursor to growth, the author discusses four ways to encourage wonder in her college students: getting straight on “who we are” as learners, providing opportunities for discovery and surprise, asking and inviting questions, and creating memorable classroom experiences.     

Role Models and the Psychological Characteristics That Buffer Low‐Socioeconomic‐Status Youth From Cardiovascular Risk

Little is understood about why some youth from low‐socioeconomic‐status (SES) environments exhibit good health despite adversity. This study tested whether role models and “shift‐and‐persist” approaches (reframing stressors more benignly while persisting with future optimism) protect low‐SES youth from cardiovascular risk. A total of 163 youth, ages 13–16, completed role model interviews and shift‐and‐persist measures while cholesterol and inflammatory markers, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and C‐reactive protein were assessed. Low‐SES youth with supportive role models had lower IL‐6. Low‐SES youth high in shift‐and‐persist also had lower IL‐6. Shift‐and‐persist partially mediated the interaction of SES and role models on IL‐6. Benefits were not found among high‐SES youth. Identifying psychological buffers in low‐SES youth has implications for health disparities.