The Perquisites of Teaching

Although most research investigating diversity courses focuses on attitudes toward racial minorities and women, these courses may also influence student attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. The current study assessed student awareness of heterosexual privilege, prejudice against lesbians and gay men, and support for same-sex marriage. Students (N = 143) in a general diversity course completed identical surveys during the first and last weeks of the semester. Participants in diversity courses exhibited increased heterosexual privilege awareness and support for same-sex marriage, as well as less prejudice against lesbians and gay men, during the last week of the semester compared to pretest levels.     

Auf dem Weg zur Kulturschule – Schulentwicklung und Ästhetisches Lernen

The introduction of all-day schooling was one of the political consequences arising from Germany’s poor performance in the PISA study. One of the key ideas here was to boost cooperation between all-day schools and partners offering extra-curricular activities. To this end, the concept of the Culture School was developed. These are schools devoted not only to academic subjects, but also to cultural and artistic pursuits. Special tools and methods have been devised to help schools develop in the direction of a “culture school”, a process known as “cultural school development”. Such development processes are currently under way in many individual schools and above all within the scope of the large-scale project “Cultural agents for creative schools” (with around 150 schools in 5 German states participating).     

The Theory of Planned Behavior Within the Stages of the Transtheoretical Model: Latent Structural Modeling of Stage-Specific Prediction Patterns in Physical Activity

This is the first study to test whether the stages of change of the transtheoretical model are qualitatively different through exploring discontinuity patterns in theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables using latent multigroup structural equation modeling (MSEM) with AMOS. Discontinuity patterns in terms of latent means and prediction patterns for the different stage groups were examined. Adults (n = 3,462) were assessed on their physical activity stages of change and TPB variables. The TPB was separately examined within the five stage groups. The TPB measurement model fit was acceptable. Latent mean analyses with post-hoc contrast and MSEM indicated discontinuity patterns. Results underscore the qualitative differences between the stages that may guide further research and the design of interventions integrating the approaches.     

Field tested milliliter-scale blood filtration device for point-of-care applications

In this paper, we present a low cost and equipment-free blood filtration device capable of producing plasma from blood samples with mL-scale capacity and demonstrate its clinical application for hepatitis B diagnosis. We report the results of in-field testing of the device with 0.8–1 ml of undiluted, anticoagulated human whole blood samples from patients at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam. Blood cell counts demonstrate that the device is capable of filtering out 99.9% of red and 96.9% of white blood cells, and the plasma collected from the device contains lower red blood cell counts than plasma obtained from a centrifuge. Biochemistry and immunology testing establish the suitability of the device as a sample preparation unit for testing alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), urea, hepatitis B “e” antigen (HBeAg), hepatitis B “e” antibody (HBe Ab), and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBs Ab). The device provides a simple and practical front-end sample processing method for point-of-care microfluidic diagnostics, enabling sufficient volumes for multiplexed downstream tests.     

A randomised controlled trial of movement quality-focused exercise versus traditional resistance exercise for improving movement quality and physical performance in trained adults

ABSTRACT

The aim of this trial was to compare an eight-week individual movement quality versus traditional resistance training intervention on movement quality and physical performance. Forty-six trained adults were randomised to a movement quality-focused training (MQ) or a traditional resistance training (TRAD) group, and performed two individualised training sessions per week, for 8 weeks. Session-RPE (sRPE) was obtained from each session. Measures of movement quality (MovementSCREEN and Functional Movement Screen (FMS)) and physical performance were performed pre- and post-intervention. All measures improved significantly in both groups (3–14.5%, p = <0.005). The between-group difference in MovementSCREEN composite score was not statistically significant (0.3, 95% CI ?3.4, 4.1, p = 0.852). However, change in FMS composite was significantly greater in MQ (1.3, 95% CI 0.8, 1.8, p < 0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in physical performance (p = 0.060–0.960). The mean sRPE was significantly lower in MQ (5.25, SD 1.2) compared to TRAD (6.6 SD 1.0, p = <0.001). Thus, although movement quality scores were not distinctly greater in the MQ group, a movement quality specific intervention caused comparable improvements in physical performance compared to traditional resistance training but at lower perceived training intensity.     

Building community capacity and social infrastructure through landcare: a case study of land grant engagement

In the struggle to remain true to their technical assistance and civic engagement missions in an era of shrinking budgets and increasingly complex accountability claims, land grant universities have developed different engagement strategies to contribute to the development of surrounding communities. Drawing on Flora and Flora’s (in Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci, 48, 1993) assertion that a strong and “entrepreneurial” social infrastructure is critical for facilitating lasting change and development in communities (particularly rural communities), this article presents a case study of a land grant university’s engagement with a community landcare group from the perspective of building social capacity in surrounding communities. This case explores Virginia Tech’s involvement in facilitating and supporting Catawba Landcare using three theoretical frames—Ronald Heifetz’s concept of “holding environments” as a safe and facilitated space where social learning can occur; ecological and social entrepreneurship and the roles and functions required to support these forms of entrepreneurship; and the concept of learning action networks in which otherwise disparate partners are linked under common goals and collectively learn how to manage the situation at hand. Using these three theoretical frames, this paper posits landcare as a model of engagement for land grant universities thus contributing to the construction of social infrastructure.