‘Advancing Professionalism in Teaching’? An exploration of the mobilisation of the concept of professionalism in the McCormac Report on the Review of Teacher Employment in Scotland

The report of the recent review of teacher employment in Scotland, commonly known as ‘the McCormac Report’ was published in 2011.This article explores the conceptualisation of professionalism inherent in the Report. Using a critical discourse analysis approach we interrogate the text in relation to three key issues: professionalism; the notion of teacher ‘flexibility’; and the extent to which economic pressures have driven the direction of the Report. The analysis suggests that the dominant form of professionalism being employed in the Report is managerial, and that there is little evidence of alternative conceptions. We conclude that while there is no explicit definition of professionalism in the text of the Report, there is some evidence of the concept being mobilised as a form of control over teacher behaviour

Techniques for designing rotorcraft control systems

This report summarizes the work that was done on the project from 1 Apr. 1992 to 31 Mar. 1993. The main goal of this research is to develop a practical tool for rotorcraft control system design based on interactive optimization tools (CONSOL-OPTCAD) and classical rotorcraft design considerations (ADOCS). This approach enables the designer to combine engineering intuition and experience with parametric optimization. The combination should make it possible to produce a better design faster than would be possible using either pure optimization or pure intuition and experience. We emphasize that the goal of this project is not to develop an algorithm. It is to develop a tool. We want to keep the human designer in the design process to take advantage of his or her experience and creativity. The role of the computer is to perform the calculation necessary to improve and to display the performance of the nominal design. Briefly, during the first year we have connected CONSOL-OPTCAD, an existing software package for optimizing parameters with respect to multiple performance criteria, to a simplified nonlinear simulation of the UH-60 rotorcraft. We have also created mathematical approximations to the Mil-specs for rotorcraft handling qualities and input them into CONSOL-OPTCAD. Finally, we have developed the additional software necessary to use CONSOL-OPTCAD for the design of rotorcraft controllers

Making the leap

Publisher PD

Primary-secondary transition – building hopes and diminishing fears through drama

Data Availability Statement The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

‘We ur al aff tae th’ big schuil’ : pupils' and teachers’ views and experiences on using Drama Conventions to support primary-secondary transition

Peer reviewedPostprin

CHARACTERISTICS OF \u3ci\u3eCERCOSPORA NICOTIANAE\u3c/i\u3e WITH REDUCED SENSITVITY TO AZOXYSTROBIN

Burley and dark tobacco production are important to agriculture in Kentucky, worth $145.1 and$94.4 million in 2020, respectively. The price received for a tobacco crop is influenced by leaf quality, determined by multiple characteristics including leaf damage. Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by Cercospora nicotianae, has historically been a minor disease of tobacco. However, when FLS infections reach the upper canopy of tobacco, lesions are seen as damage that negatively influence leaf quality. Fungicides are regularly used to manage foliar diseases of tobacco, and the only systemic fungicide active ingredient labeled for tobacco is azoxystrobin. Azoxystrobin belongs to the quinol outside inhibitor (QoI) class of fungicides, named for the outer quinol binding site of the cytochrome bc1 complex of the inner mitochondrial matrix. When azoxystrobin binds to the Qo site of cytochrome b (cytb), it stops the flow of electrons and halts the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Azoxystrobin was first released for use in 1996, and in 1998 resistance was detected in Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici in Europe. Resistance to QoI fungicides has now been reported in over 50 phytopathogens. Resistance to QoI fungicides occurs as the result of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytb that result in the substitution of phenylalanine for leucin at codon 129 (F129L), glycine for arginine at position 137 (G137R), and glycine for alanine at position 143 (G143A). The F129L and G137R mutations confer partial resistance, while G143A confers complete resistance to QoI fungicides. In 2017, QoI-resistant C. nicotianae was reported in Kentucky, with both F129L and G143A mutations detected in the population. This research looks at the selectivity of azoxystrobin in C. nicotianae populations with mixed azoxystrobin sensitivity. By sampling FLS infected leaves we were able to identify cytochrome b mutations from recovered C. nicotianae isolates. In inoculation mixtures containing wild type, F129L and G143A cytochrome b, there was significant selection for the G143A mutation in one season. This strong selection could result in C. nicotianae populations that do not respond to azoxystrobin treatment. We also compared the biological fitness of C. nicotianae with wild type, F129L or G143A cytb mutations to determine if there is any fitness cost associated with QoI resistance. In vitro fitness was determined as the conidial viability or mycelial growth rate. We also looked at the survival of azoxystrobin-resistant C. nicotianae over winter. We found that there were no in vitro fitness penalties associated with azoxystrobin resistance and no difference in the survival of mutated individuals. Conventional FLS fungicide programs alternate azoxystrobin with mancozeb to manage QoI resistance development. We explored biological or organic fungicides, already labeled in tobacco, for efficacy against FLS. The biological fungicide programs were not as effective against FLS compared to the conventional regimen, but treatments using only biological products did not shift the populations toward QoI resistance. An integrated pest management approach is the best way to control FLS and manage resistance development. Crop rotation and sanitation will minimize the introduction of C. nicotianae in field production. Identification of QoI resistance mutations in C. nicotianae populations will allow producers to make informed fungicide applications and minimize resistance development. Further, there is a need to label new or existing chemicals for use in tobacco to rotate modes of action and slow QoI resistance development

Evaluation of Seal Integrity of Flexible Food Polytrays by Destructive and Non-Destructive Techniques

The military has recently suffered a reduction in production capacity due to the rejection of their flexible food packaging. The rejection of these polytrays was due to sealing defects and the high standards set forth for the sealing quality. These standards set by the military were likely too conservative and until a test could be developed and optimized to quantitatively measure seal integrity, the standards will remain very high. The optimized test, whether destructive or non-destructive, must show that a particular defect, which might currently cause rejection, will not affect the quality of the items contained if passed as a good package. The unavailability of such a test was the basis for the project. Common tests, both destructive and non-destructive, were performed on the polymeric packaging to develop a basis for an optimized test. Destructive tests such as peel testing and tensile testing were performed to gain a perspective on the strength and rigidity of the seal in the packaging. Tensile testing provided materials properties, such as the elastic modulus. An average elastic modulus value of 1.4 x109 Pa and 1.8 x 109 Pa was used for the lid-stock and tray respectively and were used for the material properties input of finite element analysis. Peel testing was also performed to gain a perspective on the strength of the both good seals and defective seals. Polytrays with no defects from Wornick Food Company proved to have the highest peel strength of all samples with a maximum and minimum peak load of 43.83 lbf and 18.27 lbf respectively. A large variation in peak load among all of the samples tested, suggested some uneven thermal sealing of the polytray during production. The first set of defective polytrays used in peel testing was from the Center for Advanced Food Technology at Rutgers University, where a good representation of “short seal” defects on the polytrays was obtained. These seals proved to have one of the lowest maximum and minimum peak loads of 24.01 lbf and 8.42 lbf respectively. Peel tests involving polytrays with artificial defects such as entrapped matter made at Stegner Food Company Trial 2 were tested as well. It was found that solid entrapped matter in the seals, such as noodles, performed poorly in peel compared to the control samples. The entrapped noodle samples proved to be the worst performing of all peel test sets with an average peak value of 15.31 lbf and the lowest recorded peak force value at 7.17 lbf. Burst tests were performed to detect leaks in polytrays with both naturally occurring and artificial defects in the sealing area. These results were the basis for improving and implementing a PC integrated burst test system and for predicting whether or not a seal is good based on defect present. Defective seals were tested and compared to the values of good seals. Leaks were detected in channel defects as small as 50.8 mm. Leaks were also detected in seals with solid entrapped matter; the polytrays with noodles entrapped in the seal, just as in the peel test, proved to be the weakest seals. The defective seals were classified, and a basis for the rejection of certain defects in the sealing area was specified. Although these destructive tests were effective in the determination of seal quality, 100% of production packages can not be inspected by these methods. These tests only provide visual basis for which a polytray can be rejected. The results will hopefully be used increase production without affecting the design or materials selection of the polytrays currently in use. Finite element analysis, using programs such as FEMLAB®, was used to simulate different loading conditions that the polytrays might endure while in service. These simulations provided vital information as to the way the polytrays behaved under different conditions, especially in the seal area. Pressurizations (2.9 psi through 29 psi) and corner load (10 N through 200 N) simulations on the polytrays were examined in this project. It was found that Mode I and Mode II of fracture dominate in the pressurization simulations and Mode I and Mode III of fracture dominate in the corner force loading simulations. The results, stresses produced in Mode I, II, and III of fracture at the seal, were examined within cross-sectional plots and were reported. A linear increase in maximum stresses was also observed, which was expected. Non-destructive testing techniques, such as ultrasonic C-scan inspection, were examined as a way to provide an economic means of reducing the incidence of defective packages reaching the consumer. The ultrasonic techniques did not result in the permanent change in the medium; maintained the integrity of the food package and did not alter the mechanical properties of the polytray. The pulse-echo technique was used for this project. Polytrays were sealed specifically for ultrasonic inspection which included all four channel defects on one side of the polytray. Although the wires were detected in both ultrasonic B and C-scans, this technique was ultimately not useful. The clarity and resolution of the images captured were not of high quality even with the largest of channel defects present. Smaller defects, such as the 50.8 micron channel defect, could not be captured in the images. Post failure characterization was carried out using FTIR/ATR spectroscopy techniques. Failed burst test specimens, lid-stock side, were utilized in an attempt to correlate the failed lid-stock layer to a particular defect. The FTIR/ATR spectroscopy provided information as to what material(s) was present on the surface of the failed burst test specimen. Through visual inspection, it was concluded that the failed burst test samples delaminated in two places; at the actual seal between the polypropylene of the lid stock and the polypropylene of the tray and between the aluminum and the polypropylene of the lid stock. ATR/FTIR spectroscopy was used to examine 119 failed sample surfaces surrounding various defects. 72 of the failed samples displayed the polypropylene spectrum; 60.5% of the total samples examined. The remaining failed samples, 47, displayed a polyester spectrum which is equivalent to 39.5%. It was determined that the defects present in the seal, whether artificial or naturally occurring, had no adverse effect on the particular failure surface of the samples from the burst test experiments

Forging New Realities : Using Drama Conventions and Poetry to Explore the Issue of Terrorism

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Bennachie and me : a site-specific, promenade, interactive community drama project, devised and performed in the North-East of Scotland

This work was supported by the AHRC (grants AH/P009654 and AH/K007750/1) and Heritage Lottery Fund (grant SH-16-04399, awarded to the Bailies of Bennachie).Peer reviewe

Relationship of program to group cohesiveness among a group of four emotionally disturbed boys

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit