Implementing Continuing Professional Education Micro-Credentials in a University Context

Responding to unrelenting change and disruption of global macro factors, universities are rethinking the roles they play in the education landscape. The longevity of life, the complexity of the workplace, and the increasing need for workforce upskilling provide opportunities for universities to engage with lifelong learning and develop a strategic approach towards participating in the 60-year curriculum. This chapter describes the efforts of one Australian university as it commences to diversify from a dominant focus of preparing professionals to enter the professions to building a stronger program portfolio that supports ongoing professional learning. The global technological innovation of digital micro-credentials enables the university's strategic response to fulfil the need for continuing professional education. Using the university as a case study, the chapter discusses key issues and challenges in the early establishment and implementation of the strategic vision for engaging in digital micro-credentialing within the continuing professional education.

Expansion of a localized population of the introduced Stratiotes aloides (Hydrocharitaceae) in Lough Derg, Ireland

An expansion of an introduced female clone of Stratiotes aloides L. (Water-soldier) was located in a delta region on the western side of Lough Derg, Co Galway (v.c.H15), Ireland in 2007. This population was followed over a thirteen-year period. It was initially located at three adjacent sheltered localities, within sweepback bays on either side of an emerging river and within an adjacent canal. The study involved surface observations later supplemented with aerial images. The shallow water conditions, shelter and the presence of Phragmites australis appear to have supported the early establishment by retaining small S. aloides clusters amongst its stems. These clusters later merged to produce a mainly surface expanding monoculture. This enlarged from less than 1 ha to approximately 3.3 ha to occupy much of the sheltered Rossmore Bay area during this study. Flowers were first noticed in 2008, and during subsequent visits, producing infertile seed-pods. Expansion took place with the production of daughter plants. A small nearby population, 1 km to the east, within an unused harbour, did not produce an emergent phase. A small group in a shallow cut, between the two locations, disappeared during the study. Aerial images from different sources were useful to identify the expansion of the emergent stage due to the distinctive bright green coloration of surface leaves. It is unclear how this plant arrived in Lough Derg, but might have been a garden plant release. Small drifting plants, seen during wintertime, may yet colonize other regions within this lake.

Idea Pembentukan Pemerintahan Ibn Khaldun dan Asas Pembinaan Kesultanan Melaka dari Kurun Ke-15 hingga 16

This study focuses on the idea of Ibn Khaldun’s governance by focusing on the Sultanate of Melaka in the 16th century. The primary goal of this research is to demonstrate the development of the Melaka Sultanate through the lens of cycle theory, the spirit of asabiyyah, and the concept of ‘umran as defined by Ibn Khaldun. The timeline discusses the early establishment of the Sultanate of Melaka until its fall at the start of Portuguese colonisation in 1511. The study used Muqaddimah and Sulalat us-Salatin (Sejarah Melayu) as the main source for discussion of various ideas to explain Ibn Khaldun's ideas about the reign of the Melaka sultanate from the 15th century to 16 AD. The qualitative method-guided analysis concluded that the Melaka Sultanate was built in accordance with Ibn Khaldun's theory of one-time rule. Thus, the intertextual differences employed are expected to yield an authoritative and informative argument on the relationship between Ibn Khaldun's ideas and the construction of the Melaka sultanate in the 15th to 16th centuries AD.

Gut microbiome and telomere length in gull hatchlings

In many animals, recent evidence indicates that the gut microbiome may be acquired during early development, with possible consequences on newborns' health. Thus, it has been hypothesized that a healthy microbiome protects telomeres and genomic integrity against cellular stress. However, the link between the early acquired microbiome and telomere dynamics has not hitherto been investigated. In birds, this link may also be potentially modulated by the transfer of maternal glucocorticoids, since these substances dysregulate microbiome composition during postnatal development. Here, we examined the effect of the interplay between the microbiome and stress hormones on the telomere length of yellow-legged gull hatchlings by using a field experiment in which we manipulated the corticosterone content in eggs. We found that the hatchling telomere length was related to microbiome composition, but this relationship was not affected by the corticosterone treatment. Hatchlings with a microbiome dominated by potential commensal bacteria (i.e. Catellicoccus and Cetobacterium ) had larger telomeres, suggesting that an early establishment of the species-specific microbiome during development may have important consequences on offspring health and survival.

‘On a mission’: Christian Youth Workers in Australia in the 1960s–1970s

The historical intertwining of youth work and Christianity is well-recognised, especially in the United Kingdom and in the early establishment of youth work in Australia. However, Australian youth work underwent significant changes from the 1960s to late 1970s. This article uses a representative case study approach to illuminate how Christian youth workers were active in this transitional time. It finds that Christian youth work efforts in this time (1) both entrenched youth ministry as a serious pursuit in Australia, and created space for Christian work in secular settings, thus (2) contributing to a divide between church-based youth ministry and secular youth work. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for contemporary youth ministry, and concludes by proposing areas for further research.

Early growth of Cotton is affected by increasing concentration of fresh leaves extract of Calotropis procera

An experiment was conducted to explore the effects of C. procera fresh leaves extract on cotton growth and vigor during seedling and early establishment stage. The trial was carried out in randomized complete block designed (RCBD) with 3 replications and 4 treatments viz., distilled water, 15%, 30% and 45% solution of Calotropis procera fresh leaves extracts. Data regarding the cotton seedling vigor and growth was collected and mean value of each trait were statistically compared through HSD Tukey’s test (P ≤ 0.05). The highest shoot length seedling-1 (252.25 mm), root length seedling-1 (98.33 mm), stem diameter seedling-1 (0.35 mm) and dry weight of the shoot seedling-1 (0.85 g) was noticed in distilled water treatment. Leaf extract treatments caused significant reduction in seedling vigor and growth. The highest reduction was noticed when treated with 45% aqueous extract of C. procera. The above-mentioned treatment caused significant reduction in various seedling traits, which may hinder early establishment of cotton crop. Therefore, the farmers should remove the dense population of C. procera around cotton fields to avoid allelopathic effects of weed and to reduce damaging effects on early growing cotton plants.

Seed Priming and Priming Duration Influence on Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Rainfed Condition of Hilly Uttarakhand

Insufficient stand establishment of winter wheat is a major problem in the rainfed region of the Uttarakhand hills. In order to increase germination and early establishment in the field under rainfed condition of hilly tracts this study was conducted at college of forestry VCSG University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India. The ten treatments were laid out in randomized block design with three replications in field. The treatments were VL 892 primed for 12 hrs with normal water, VL 892 primed for 24 hrs with normal water, VL 892 primed for 12 hrs with lemon water, VL 892 primed for 24 hrs with lemon water, VL 829 primed for 12 hrs with normal water, VL 829 primed for 24 hrs with normal water, VL 829 primed for 12 hrs with lemon water, VL 829 primed for 24 hrs with lemon water, VL 892 with no priming, and VL 829 with no priming. Significantly higher grain Yield of wheat was recorded in VL 829 primed with normal water for 24 hours which was statistically on par with VL 829 primed for 12 hrs with normal water, VL 892 primed for 24 hrs with normal water and VL 892 primed for 12 hrs with normal water. Significantly higher grain yield was recorded in case of priming with normal water than the priming with lime water.

Managing COVID-19 Pandemic in Teaching Hospitals: An Early Preparedness Setting

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019-20 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic on 11th of March 2020. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia has made preparations for the involvement of all government hospitals, including some teaching hospitals. This report elaborates and discusses the early establishment of the Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (HCTM CPRC), highlighting how teaching hospitals function in handling the clinical and epidemiological management of COVID-19 among hospital staff. The setting comprises of four critical functions of the HCTM CPRC, namely case investigation, close contact tracing, surveillance for data reporting and risk communication. This report highlighted that a CPRC in teaching hospitals benefits not only the patients and the hospital administration but also all hospital staff, especially in managing COVID-19 pandemic emergency crisis.