Despite remarkable progress, a cure for HIV-1 infection remains elusive. Rebound competent latent and transcriptionally active reservoir cells persevere despite antiretroviral therapy and rekindle infection due to inefficient proviral silencing. We propose a novel “block-lock-stop” approach, entailing long term durable silencing of viral expression towards an irreversible transcriptionally inactive latent provirus to achieve long term antiretroviral free control of the virus. A graded transformation of remnant HIV-1 in PLWH from persistent into silent to permanently defective proviruses is proposed, emulating and accelerating the natural path that human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) take over millions of years. This hypothesis was based on research into delineating the mechanisms of HIV-1 latency, lessons from latency reversing agents and advances of Tat inhibitors, as well as expertise in the biology of HERVs. Insights from elite controllers and the availability of advanced genome engineering technologies for the direct excision of remnant virus set the stage for a rapid path to an HIV-1 cure.
In an arts integrated interdisciplinary study set to investigate ways to improve social accountability (SA) in medical education, our research team has established a renewed understanding of compas...
This paper presents an arts-integrated process for teacher educators to engage their students in critical thinking, meaning-making, and knowledge construction in order to enable pre-service teachers to analyze metanarratives that inform their teacher identities. The research team used the Parallaxic Praxis research model to frame its art-making investigations in a practice-based research process. The three researchers each created an artefact as part of their individual inquiry of the data set, comprising 90 material cloaks created by pre-service teachers, to enter into dialogue addressing the prevailing metanarratives expressed by the pre-service teacher participants.
18 July 2022 in Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching
The “discussion post” has been a staple in higher education online classrooms for decades. While educators of online learning widely rely on asynchronous discussion posting to engage students using institutional learning management systems (LMS), discussion posting requires mediation and motivation to sustain participation, is considered task-oriented by students, and has been frequently criticized for inauthentic dialogue. The Slides Strategy, which utilizes a collaborative Google Slide deck in concert with Parallaxic Praxis, a knowledge-generating framework, creates an effective environment for meaningful engagement – demonstrating student understanding of material, creating classroom community, and provoking rich, critical dialogue. Collaborative slides used as a pedagogical tool in this way encourage value of all perspectives, diverse modality and thought, and inclusivity through a platform that allows different literacies to cohabitate, working toward decolonizing academia. This paper contextualizes reflections from five asynchronous online courses taught by different instructors, and provides evidence assessing the effectiveness of this strategy through instructor and student perspectives. As educational institutions continue to grapple with an increasing reliance on, and need for, innovative, dynamic, and supportive online learning environments in a post-pandemic landscape, the Slides Strategy moves the online discussion post to a more authentic and critically reflexive academic conversation.
This study examines the utility of an arts integrated multiliteracies approach called Parallaxic Praxis (PP) in English language learning among English language learners in a Canadian university. It focuses on how this approach influences learning and the insights gained from its application. The research focused on two participants' experiences in the Learning English Through the Arts program. Data was gathered through participant observation and interviews. Findings reveal that the PP model enables social justice by serving both as a research tool that values and encourages the diverse perspectives of participants and researchers, and a pedagogical tool that fosters self-identity formation and knowledge-sharing. This approach shifts the landscape of English language education beyond a deficit thinking model. Furthermore, integrating arts with multiliteracies is highlighted as a vital disposition for addressing the learning needs of English language learners. The study offers productive implications for English language teaching policies and pedagogical strategies for ESL teachers.
Metaphors to describe and understand dementia have been used in Western culture for many years. However, the ways in which people living with dementia and care partners use metaphors and symbols to illustrate and give meaning to their own experiences has been less understood. In this paper we explore the use of metaphor as methodology-- a way to support people living with dementia and their care partners in reflecting on and sharing their experiences of dementia. More specifically, drawing on our experiences using metaphor and symbols to map out the dementia journey from the perspectives of people living with dementia, care partners, and health and social care providers in Ontario, Canada, we describe our process of employing metaphor as methodology. We reflect on the use of metaphor as methodology through framing the dementia experience, exploring complexity, and representing multidimensionality. The use of metaphors has the potential to open space for new understandings of dementia.