Walking Propositions: Coming to Know A/r/tographically

This article explores walking as a form of inquiry within a study group at The University of British Columbia committed to a/r/tography. Three propositions are explored and as a result we think more deeply about being present, truly present, to that which we never anticipated. The first proposition, ‘Go for a walk outside, find an object and do something with it’, leads us to think more deeply about being present to possibility: kicking the rock. The second proposition, ‘Walk around your neighbourhood with another. When you find unfamiliar ground, pause, and ground yourself’, leads us to appreciating being present in‐between place and relationality. The third proposition, ‘Follow one another in a line without stopping or speaking’, invites us to explore being present to interiority. Walking in response to these propositions and coming to think deeply about the impact of being present to presence, became important to us as a community of a/r/tographers.     

Extending understanding of service-learning projects: Implementing place-based branding for capstone courses

Numerous institutions encourage service-learning, but few have extended beyond nonprofit realms to include (1) larger budgets, (2) multi-faceted volunteer/staff/leadership constraints, and (3) elevated expectations with immediate impact on full towns. This study explores how strategic communication students construct knowledge in branding and relationship building while solving real-world problems. To do so, this research examines service-learning, place-branding projects for senior capstone students. Specifically, students in two courses developed and partially implemented strategic place-branding plans for two struggling towns. This work details the approach and, through quantitative and qualitative methods, extends understanding of service-learning outcomes for students, faculty, the university, and communities.     

A Preschool Pilot Study of Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching Social and Emotional Competence

Social-emotional learning in early childhood sets the stage for students’ future behaviors in schools. The current study examined the effects of a social-emotional skills curriculum on the behavior of students in an early childhood program. The children received instruction in social and emotional skills using the Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching Social and Emotional Competence program. Pre-test and post-test scores for the BASC-2 Rating Scale and the Connecting with Others Rating Scale were used to determine if the children demonstrated progress in their behaviors by the end of the intervention. The results indicated that the social skills curriculum Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching Social and Emotional Competence was associated with positive changes in the children’s behaviors.     

French nursery schools and German kindergartens: effects of individual and contextual variables on early learning

The present article investigates the effects of individual and contextual variables on children’s early learning in French nursery schools and German kindergartens. Our study of 552 children at preschools in France (299 children from French nursery schools) and Germany (253 children from German kindergartens) measured skills that facilitate the learning of reading, writing and arithmetic at primary school. We also evaluated educational family practices and parents’ expectations of their children’s pre-school education. In order to take into account the hierarchical structure of our data, multilevel models were used in the analysis, which was carried out using MLwiN software version 2.02 (Rasbash et al. 2005). Although French nursery schools emphasise academic learning, we did not find any significant differences in overall performances between the French and German samples. However, significant differences were obtained for some subscale results. In addition, our results indicate that individual and contextual variables have an impact on the differences observed between children from the two countries.     

Serum arylsulfatase A assay in metachromatic leukodystrophy: An experience in a neuropsychiatric set-up

Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a lysosomal disease caused mainly by a deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase A. The assay of arylsulfatase A in the serum provides a fast and easy method for the confirmatory diagnosis of this disorder. Serum arylsulfatase A was estimated in 52 normal healthy control subjects and 269 patients with symptoms of cerebral white matter disease in order to diagnose and confirm metachromatic leukodystrophy. A total of eight cases of metachromatic leukodystrophy with a low serum arylsulfatase A was detected, of which three cases were of the late-infantile type, four cases the juvenile type and only one case the adult type.     

Learning at the boundaries in an “Open Regional Innovation System”: A focus on firms’ innovation strategies in the Emilia Romagna life science industry

The paper investigates the existence of an Open Regional Innovation System (ORIS model). This model is characterised by the firms’ adoption of an open innovation strategy, which overcomes not only the boundaries of the firms but also the boundaries of the region.Using data collected in a sample of life science firms, our research provides the evidence that the Emilia Romagna RIS has evolved towards an ORIS model, where firms’ innovation search strategy, despite being still embedded in local nets (involving several regional public research organisations - PROs), is open to external-to-the-region research networks and knowledge sources. It also shows that innovation openness influences significantly the firms’ innovative performance.