Quids In: The Impact Of Financial Skills Training For Social Housing Tenants.

Over the period June 2011 to March 2012, Bedworth, Rugby and Nuneaton CAB (BRANCAB) delivered a financial skills training programme free-of-charge to tenants of Orbit Heart of England Housing Association (OHE). The aim of the training was to improve the money management skills and general financial awareness of OHE tenants. The training was available to tenants living in two locations in dispersed housing stock. It was not targeted specifically at tenants in rent arrears or at a particular group of tentants (such as lone parents). Participation in the training was voluntary. The aim of this evaluation was to measure the impact for OHE's social housing tenants of BRANCAB's financial skills training. The evaluation had a number of important features to achieve this. First, the evaluation was designed around the materials used in the financial skills training. This meant that the outcome measures assessed in the evaluation matched the outcomes that the training aimed to achieve. Second, baseline surveys were carried out with OHE tenants who took part in BRANCAB's financial skills training, but crucially also witha comparison group of OHE tenants who lived in areas where the training was not offered. Third, follow-up surveys of tenant learners and the comparison group of tenants were conducted between six and eight weeks after the baseline survey. This approach helps us to say with reasonable certainty whether or not any changes observed among the tenant learners were caused by the training

Learning about Diversity Issues: Examining the Relationship between University Initiatives and Faculty Practices in Preparing Global-Ready Students

The general public, as well as scholars, employers, and college students themselves, expect universities to provide students with an education that prepares them to work in a diverse and international society. In response, many institutions have created mandatory diversity-related curriculum and/or courses. However, little to no research has been undertaken to empirically investigate the effect of these courses or the experiences of faculty whose responsibility it is to provide diverse learning experiences. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the pedagogy faculty employ in teaching about diversity issues at an institution that has a course requirement embedded in the undergraduate curriculum as a way of promoting cultural competency. Data revealed that methods faculty use to teach about inclusivity and/or diversity issues included a) Discussion, (b) course materials, (c) incorporating different points-of-view/perspectives, (d) role modeling, (e) personal experiences/humor, (f) application and “formal” learning activities, and (g) none. Faculty also indicated a variety of answers regarding whose responsibility it is to teach students about these issues, what the goal of diversity-related courses in the undergraduate curriculum are, and how these goals are articulated and assessed in the classroom. Further, data from this study provided insight into the perceived challenges instructors face in discussing diversity-related issues—specifically, the student interpersonal and behavioral, teacher, and institutional factors. Finally, the data from this study indicate that the connection between what the university claims as their diversity goal and how faculty are instructionally implementing that goal is broken. Thus, this data provides evidence that institutions of higher learning cannot assume that saying diversity is valued is enough; more must be done to ensure that the goals of the university are clearly articulated and translate into the classroom

Mesoscale Simulations Reveal How Salt Influences Clay Particles Agglomeration in Aqueous Dispersions

The aggregation of clay particles is an everyday phenomenon of scientific and industrial relevance. However, it is a complex multiscale process that depends delicately on the nature of the particle-particle and particle-solvent interactions. Toward understanding how to control such phenomena, a multiscale computational approach is developed, building from molecular simulations conducted at atomic resolution to calculate the potential of mean force (PMF) profiles in both pure and saline water environments. We document how it is possible to use such a model to develop a fundamental understanding concerning the mechanism of particle aggregation. For example, using molecular dynamics simulations conducted at the mesoscale in implicit solvents, it is possible to quantify the size and shape of clay aggregates as a function of system conditions. The approach is used to emphasize the role of salt concentration, which directly affects the potentials of the mean forces between kaolinite particles. While particle agglomeration in pure water yields large aggregates, the presence of sodium chloride in the aqueous brine leads instead to a large number of small aggregates. These results are consistent with macroscopic experimental observations, suggesting that the simulation protocol developed could be relevant for preventing pore blocking in heterogeneous porous matrixes