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Students in East Asian locations often obtain high academic results in international high-stakes testing, but lower results on affective aspects of their schooling, such as sense of belonging. These findings indicate the need for more holistic research into children's lifeworlds, including their experiences of school. In this article, we draw on a survey with 627 Year 4 students in three global cities in the Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Melbourne), exploring dimensions of their perceptions of school. Responses from students were generally positive in terms of sense of school belonging and student identity. Students who responded positively in terms of belonging and student identity were more likely to want academic activities to occur more often. The article adds to the existing literature by offering an exploratory consideration of the relationships between sense of belonging, student identity, and school activity preferences of Year 4 students in Hong Kong, Singapore and Melbourne. It is argued that all of these are essential factors that need to be considered and incorporated in policy planning and curriculum development.

Children’s everyday lives beyond school need to be considered holistically, in a way which moves beyond time use. In this article we draw on our adaptation of Sarah Pink’s (e.g. 2012) video re-enactment methodology for considering children’s out-of-school lifeworlds with Year 4 children (9 and 10 years old) in the global cities of Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Singapore. The data presented and discussed here was part of a larger Global Childhoods Project with children in the three global cities of Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Singapore. We use video re-enactment methodology to ‘think with’, to open up lines of inquiry and create conversations about children’s lives in and between the cities. Through these we consider the specifics of each city context, as well as socioeconomic and sociocultural contexts and factors that may impact differently on children’s everyday lifeworlds out-of-school within the same city. In order to focus the scope of the article, we consider family routines, enrichment activities and local communities, as aspects that we find useful to reflect on when exploring what children’s lives look like, in and across locations. We focus on these as we are interested in how they might add to the complexities of thinking about children in each location. We move between thinking about the re-enactments themselves and broader literature to explore children’s out-of-school lifeworlds in the three cities, painting a picture of children’s lives and considering the contexts which make particular activities and practices possible and desirable.

Introduction Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a complex lipid–protein structure in mammalian milk and human milk that is largely absent from breastmilk substitutes. The objective of this trial is to investigate whether providing infant formula enriched with MFGM versus standard infant formula improves cognitive development at 12 months of age in exclusively formula-fed full-term infants.Methods and analysis This is a randomised, controlled, clinician-blinded, researcher-blinded and participant-blinded trial of two parallel formula-fed groups and a breastfed reference group that were recruited in the suburban Adelaide (Australia) community by a single study centre (a medical research institute). Healthy, exclusively formula-fed, singleton, term-born infants under 8 weeks of age were randomised to either an MFGM-supplemented formula (intervention) or standard infant formula (control) from enrolment until 12 months of age. The reference group was not provided with formula. The primary outcome is the Cognitive Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Fourth Edition (Bayley-IV) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes are the Bayley-IV Cognitive Scale at 24 months, other Bayley-IV domains (language, motor, emotional and behavioural development) at 12 and 24 months of age, infant attention at 4 and 9 months of age, parent-rated language at 12 and 24 months of age, parent-rated development at 6 and 18 months of age as well as growth, tolerance and safety of the study formula. To ensure at least 80% power to detect a 5-point difference in the mean Bayley-IV cognitive score, >200 infants were recruited in each group.Ethics and dissemination The Women’s and Children Health Network Human Research Ethics Committee reviewed and approved the study (HREC/19/WCHN/140). Caregivers gave written informed consent prior to enrolling in the trial. Findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Trial registration number ACTRN12620000552987; Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry: anzctr.org.au.

Purpose: This article reflects on the adaption of Sarah Pink's video re-enactment methodology for exploring children's out-of-school lifeworlds. Design/methodology/approach: Video re-enactments originate in the work of Sarah Pink who developed the methodology to study everyday routines, including activities associated with people's energy consumption at home. This article discusses the adaption of this methodology for exploring 9-10-year-old children's out-of-school lifeworlds in their homes in the global cities of Hong Kong, Melbourne and Singapore. Findings: The article reflects on the practical ways in which the video re-enactment methodology was adapted to explore children's out-of-school activities in the three different locations. In terms of activities, the findings highlight that children's out-of-school lifeworlds included regular routines across a week that contribute to and constitute their everyday activities, with varying time spent on leisure, homework and scheduled activities. Originality/value: The authors discuss and reflect on the implications of adapting a methodology in order to make it relevant and innovative in a new research context. The use of video re-enactments with children to explore their out-of-school activities gives greater insights into their lifeworlds and their engagement in various activities and the opportunity for children to reflect on their everyday lives.

This paper considers the pedagogical collaborations between early childhood teachers in kindergarten (4 years) and the first year of school (5 years) in one Australian State. We report on a year-long project that brought these early childhood teachers together as we asked them to design STEM learning ecologies that would not only support new learning, but also provide a context for a meaningful transition from kindergarten to the first year of school. A transition that went beyond familiarisation with the new school environment to creating reciprocal pedagogical collaborations. In their collective discussions the teachers indicated that they wanted to encourage children's agency. This provoked them to think creatively about their pedagogical designs. Being part of the project encouraged collaborative pedagogical conversations between all participants around children's voice and advocacy, the practices of noticing and generating questions as the basis of investigations and extending play-based inquiries from the kindergarten into the school context. This paper explores the ways in which these pedagogical encounters occurred. In the process, the teachers reflected on the shift from a traditional view of transition as being 'school ready' to one in which pedagogical conversations and documentation were elevated to focus on innovative designs for learning.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming ubiquitous and gradually impacting on young children's play, learning and growth worldwide. It is vital for educators and parents to understand how the IoT devices have been used and with what consequences. Attempts have been made by researchers to explore varied IoT device usage in ECE, but there lacks a consolidated review on this topic. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review on the IoT device deployment in ECE using four major databases over the past 20 years. A qualitative synthesis was performed to analyse the data extracted. The results revealed that for young children from birth to 8 years of age, the IoT devices were normally used as IoT playthings. Additionally, the IoT devices could provide the young children with opportunities to connect digital and physical worlds for their playful explorations, help them to build their knowledge base, arouse their interest and enthusiasm, and encourage them to be autonomous learners. No negative influence associated with the children's IoT device use was identified in the selected articles. However, high prices and data security were two concerns raised as influencing the educators' and parents' IoT device adoption. The findings may serve as a rationale for practitioners' and parents' decision making. Implications for future research are also suggested.

Abstract Background Patients with cognitive impairment are at greater risk of hospital acquired complications, longer hospital stays, and poor health outcomes compared to patients without cognitive impairment. The Cognitive Impairment Support Program is a multi-disciplinary approach to improve screening rates and awareness of patients with cognitive impairment and guide clinician response and communication during their hospitalisation to improve health outcomes. Objective This study evaluated the impact of implementing the Cognitive Impairment Support Program on patient hospital acquired complications, patient reported quality of life and staff satisfaction in an outer metropolitan hospital. Design A pre-test post-test design was used to collect data in two 6-month time periods between March 2020 and November 2021. Participants Patients aged ≥ 65 years, admitted to a participating ward for > 24 h. Intervention The Cognitive Impairment Support Program consisted of four components: cognitive impairment screening, initiation of a Cognitive Impairment Care Plan, use of a Cognitive Impairment Identifier and associated staff education. Measures The primary outcome was hospital acquired complications experienced by patients with cognitive impairment identified using clinical coding data. Secondary outcomes were patient quality of life and a staff confidence and perceived organisational support to care for patients with cognitive impairment. Results Hospital acquired complication rates did not vary significantly between the two data collection periods for patients experiencing cognitive impairment with a 0.2% (95% confidence interval: -5.7–6.1%) reduction in admissions with at least one hospital acquired complication. Patients in the post intervention period demonstrated statistically significant improvements in many items in two of the Dementia Quality of Life Measure domains: memory and everyday life. The staff survey indicated statistically significant improvement in clinical staff confidence to care for patients with cognitive impairment (p = 0.003), satisfaction with organisational support for patients (p = 0.004) and job satisfaction (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion This study provides evidence that a multicomponent Cognitive Impairment Support Program had a positive impact on staff confidence and satisfaction and patient quality of life. Broader implementation with further evaluation of the multicomponent cognitive impairment intervention across a range of settings using varied patient outcomes is recommended.

BackgroundInfantile beriberi-related mortality is still common in South and Southeast Asia. Interventions to increase maternal thiamine intakes, and thus human milk thiamine, are warranted; however, the required dose remains unknown.ObjectivesWe sought to estimate the dose at which additional maternal intake of oral thiamine no longer meaningfully increased milk thiamine concentrations in infants at 24 wk postpartum, and to investigate the impact of 4 thiamine supplementation doses on milk and blood thiamine status biomarkers.MethodsIn this double-blind, 4-parallel arm randomized controlled dose-response trial, healthy mothers were recruited in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. At 2 wk postpartum, women were randomly assigned to consume 1 capsule, containing 0, 1.2 (estimated average requirement), 2.4, or 10 mg of thiamine daily from 2 through 24 weeks postpartum. Human milk total thiamine concentrations were measured using HPLC. An Emax curve was plotted, which was estimated using a nonlinear least squares model in an intention-to-treat analysis. Linear mixed-effects models were used to test for differences between treatment groups. Maternal and infant blood thiamine biomarkers were also assessed.ResultsIn total, each of 335 women was randomly assigned to1 of the following thiamine-dose groups: placebo (n = 83), 1.2 mg (n = 86), 2.4 mg (n = 81), and 10 mg (n = 85). The estimated dose required to reach 90% of the maximum average total thiamine concentration in human milk (191 µg/L) is 2.35 (95% CI: 0.58, 7.01) mg/d. The mean ± SD milk thiamine concentrations were significantly higher in all intervention groups (183 ± 91, 190 ± 105, and 206 ± 89 µg/L for 1.2, 2.4, and 10 mg, respectively) compared with the placebo group (153 ± 85 µg/L; P

Background Intention-to-treat analyses of the Omega‐3 to Reduce the Incidence of Prematurity (ORIP) trial found that omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid supplementation reduces the risk of prematurity in the subgroup of women with a singleton pregnancy and low n-3 status early in pregnancy, but not overall. However, results may have been influenced by less-than-optimal compliance.Objectives To identify predictors of compliance with n-3 supplementation and determine treatment effects among compliers.Design Exploratory analyses of a multicentre-blinded randomised trial.Setting 6 tertiary care centres in Australia.Participants 5328 singleton pregnancies.Interventions Daily capsules containing 900 mg n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids or vegetable oil, consumed from before 20 weeks gestation until 34 weeks gestation.Outcome measures Early preterm (

Oxidized lipids derived from omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, collectively known as oxylipins, are bioactive signaling molecules that play diverse roles in human health and disease. Supplementation with n-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during pregnancy has been reported to decrease the risk of preterm birth in singleton pregnancies, which may be due to effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins or their precursor n-6 and n-3 fatty acids. There is only limited understanding of the levels and trajectory of changes in plasma oxylipins during pregnancy, effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins and unesterified fatty acids, and whether and how oxylipins and their unesterified precursor fatty acids influence preterm birth. In the present study we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to profile oxylipins and their precursor fatty acids in the unesterified pool using plasma samples collected from a subset of pregnant Australian women who participated in the ORIP (Omega-3 fats to Reduce the Incidence of Prematurity) study. ORIP is a large randomized controlled trial testing whether daily supplementation with n-3 DHA can reduce the incidence of early preterm birth compared to control. Plasma was collected at study entry (≈pregnancy week 14) and again at ≈week 24, in a subgroup of 48 ORIP participants-12 cases with spontaneous preterm (

Oxidized lipids derived from omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, collectively known as oxylipins, are bioactive signaling molecules that play diverse roles in human health and disease. Supplementation with n-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during pregnancy has been reported to decrease the risk of preterm birth in singleton pregnancies, which may be due to effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins or their precursor n-6 and n-3 fatty acids. There is only limited understanding of the levels and trajectory of changes in plasma oxylipins during pregnancy, effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins and unesterified fatty acids, and whether and how oxylipins and their unesterified precursor fatty acids influence preterm birth. In the present study we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to profile oxylipins and their precursor fatty acids in the unesterified pool using plasma samples collected from a subset of pregnant Australian women who participated in the ORIP (Omega-3 fats to Reduce the Incidence of Prematurity) study. ORIP is a large randomized controlled trial testing whether daily supplementation with n-3 DHA can reduce the incidence of early preterm birth compared to control. Plasma was collected at study entry (≈pregnancy week 14) and again at ≈week 24, in a subgroup of 48 ORIP participants-12 cases with spontaneous preterm (

In this colloquium we share stories from two schools located in Western Australia that were inspired from the Reggio Emilia education project. The focus is on a view of children as capable citizens of the now. The examples in practice describe learning scenarios in which educators work as researchers using the ordinary moments of daily classroom life. It is in these ordinary moments where a pedagogy of listening is enacted.

The Internet of Things is reshaping many households' digital landscape and influencing children's play and learning, especially in the form of toys that are named the Internet of Toys (IoToys). IoToys may generate a significant influence on children's growth. While increasing attention is drawn to the IoToys, confusion around their conceptualization and use is evident. Without a thorough understanding of what the IoToys are, the progress of meaningful research on this topic will be greatly hindered. We, thus, conducted a systematic review to determine existing definitions of the IoToys using seven major databases over the past 20 years. After analyzing the definitions identified, we found that the previous definitions neglected the significance of defining "toys" in their work. The review led to a discussion around how to understand "toys" and then a more precise conceptualization of the IoToys, based on which implications for future research are offered.