Beyond the happy sheets! Evaluating learning in information skills teaching

This paper reviews three years of data measuring students' immediate reactions to a computer-assisted learning package in information skills and reports on work in progress to establish a more comprehensive programme of evaluation which will assess the longer term impact on learning of both the courseware itself and the way the courseware is delivered to students. The GAELS courseware was developed in the late 1990s as part of a collaborative project between the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, with funding from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. The courseware was designed to teach higher level information skills and was initially developed for use with postgraduate engineering students; it has subsequently been adapted for use with students in other subject areas, including biological and physical sciences, and has been embedded for several years now in workshop sessions undertaken with postgraduate and undergraduate students across the Faculties of Science and Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. The courseware is introduced at the start of the academic session and made available on the Web so that students can use it as needed during their course and project work. During the first year, the courseware was used in isolation from other teaching methods (although a librarian was present to support students), whilst in the second and third years it was integrated into more traditional workshop-style teaching sessions (led by a librarian). Following work described in Joint (2003), library staff now wish to assess the longer term impact on learning of both the courseware itself and the way the courseware is delivered to students. However, the existing evaluation data does not adequately support this type of assessment. Teaching sessions are routinely evaluated by means of simple feedback forms, with four questions answered using a five-point Likert scale, collected at the conclusion of each session. According to Fitzpatrick (1998), such feedback forms measure students' reactions and represent but the first level of evaluation. Learning, which can be defined as the extent to which a student changes attitudes, improves knowledge and/or increases skill as a result of exposure to the training, is the second level and is not being measured with these forms. A more comprehensive programme of evaluation, including logging usage of the courseware outside teaching sessions and follow-up of students several months after their introduction to the courseware, is now being established to support a more meaningful assessment of impact of the courseware on student learning

Renormalization group analysis of the Reynolds stress transport equation

The pressure velocity correlation and return to isotropy term in the Reynolds stress transport equation are analyzed using the Yakhot-Orszag renormalization group. The perturbation series for the relevant correlations, evaluated to lowest order in the epsilon-expansion of the Yakhot-Orszag theory, are infinite series in tensor product powers of the mean velocity gradient and its transpose. Formal lowest order Pade approximations to the sums of these series produce a fast pressure strain model of the form proposed by Launder, Reece, and Rodi, and a return to isotropy model of the form proposed by Rotta. In both cases, the model constant are computed theoretically. The predicted Reynolds stress ratios in simple shear flows are evaluated and compared with experimental data. The possibility is discussed of driving higher order nonlinear models by approximating the sums more accurately

Bolam with the benefit of hindsight

The aim of this article is to consider the effects of hindsight bias on findings of negligence in medico-legal litigation and of the potential of the original Bolam direction to eliminate bias from the decision making process. The Bolam test may have been expanded beyond its appropriate scope in the past but these excesses have now largely been undone. It will be shown that Bolam still has an important role to play in tort cases. By considering breach of duty cases in which the Bolitho “gloss” has been applied attention is drawn to the potential dangers of disregarding practices within the medical profession

Future mobile satellite communication concepts at 20/30 GHz

The outline of a design of a system using ultra small earth stations (picoterminals) for data traffic at 20/30 GHz is discussed. The picoterminals would be battery powered, have an RF transmitter power of 0.5 W, use a 10 cm square patch antenna, and have a receiver G/T of about -8 dB/K. Spread spectrum modulation would be required (due to interference consideration) to allow a telex type data link (less than 200 bit/s data rate) from the picoterminal to the hub station of the network and about 40 kbit/s on the outbound patch. An Olympus type transponder at 20/30 GHz could maintain several thousand simultaneous picoterminal circuits. The possibility of demonstrating a picoterminal network with voice traffic using Olympus is discussed together with fully mobile systems based on this concept

Casimir-Polder forces, boundary conditions and fluctuations

We review different aspects of the atom-atom and atom-wall Casimir-Polder forces. We first discuss the role of a boundary condition on the interatomic Casimir-Polder potential between two ground-state atoms, and give a physically transparent interpretation of the results in terms of vacuum fluctuations and image atomic dipoles. We then discuss the known atom-wall Casimir-Polder force for ground- and excited-state atoms, using a different method which is also suited for extension to time-dependent situations. Finally, we consider the fluctuation of the Casimir-Polder force between a ground-state atom and a conducting wall, and discuss possible observation of this force fluctuation.Comment: 5 page

RCM Conference poster: law and the midwife: collaborative working

Maternity claims account for the second most numerous but most costly negligence claims (NHSLA 2012). Existing research has identified links between the fear of litigation and defensive medicine (Symons 2006; 1998; Hood et al 2010). Prompted by Government calls for more collaborative working practices, lecturers from the Law and Midwifery departments united to explore and implement collaborative teaching and learning. The initial aim was to dispel fears of litigation by creating a teaching event involving final year law and midwifery undergraduate students. Interprofessional education (IPE) is when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care (CAIPE). IPE has been found to enhance collaborative practice (WHO 2010). Hammick et al suggest that adapting Interprofessional education to show “reality of practice” and “authenticity” for specific groups of learners leads to beneficial results (Hammick et al 2007). Gilligan’s study noted that students found most valuable those sessions where they were able to work alongside other professional students on an actual problem thereby learning from each other. Interaction with other professional student groups was valued over a simple lecture by a lecturer from another professional group, for instance. (Gilligan et al 2014). We applied these examples of good practice to a law and midwifery setting in a combined workshop. The teaching event fostered an exchange of ideas through problem based learning, case study review and debate surrounding high profile cases. The debate was lively, analytical and reflective. This interprofessional learning was well received by both sets of students and they requested further sessions scheduled earlier in the academic year. These workshops are being planned using the same model of teaching both groups together working on solving problems ensuring interaction between the two professional groups. To encourage further communication between the professional cohorts, a series of evening seminars “Health and the Law: Round table discussions” are planned during 2014/15 to tackle complex topics medico-legal issues such as forced caesarean, mental health and vulnerable families. Speakers from multiple disciplines will discuss issues related to and seen from their professional perspective. The aim is to initiate contact and debate between the professions to enhance good practice in NHS trusts, give students further opportunities for interprofessional learning and to also provide a platform to assist staff in their Continuing Professional Development. The collaborative model has also led to a qualitative research project we are planning on assessing midwives’ fear of litigation matched against the actual incidence of litigation due to be completed by September 2015

Midwives fear of litigation: justified or not?

Existing research has identified links between the fear of litigation and defensive practice (Symons 2006; 1998; Hood et al 2010; Charles et al 1985). Although there have been studies of doctors perceptions of litigation little has been written about the position on midwives (Vincent et al 1994). Specifically there is a lack of research in England on measuring the actual likelihood of litigation set against midwives’ perceptions of the threat. This project explores midwives' fear of legal action, and if present, what they fear and their perceived assessment on how this may affect their practice. The project will assess whether fears match the reality as measured by the number and types of clinical negligence claims brought against midwives nationally in a specified period. The research strategy will use: (1) qualitative assessment of midwives’ perceptions in a focus group of a sample of midwives working in an NHS Trust (2) quantitative assessment of the extent of the identified fears (3) evaluation of the extent of fears against the actual incidences of litigation. The project challenges the perceptions, myths and misunderstandings midwives may have by reference to the likelihood of legal action and therefore its consequent impact on professional practice. The anticipated benefits of the research include additions to the body of knowledge which informs the training of midwives in respect of their perceptions of the threat of litigation as well as identifying any myths or misunderstandings

Modal Analysis of the Orion Capsule Two Parachute System

As discussed in Ref [1], it is apparent from flight tests that the system made up of two main parachutes and a capsule can undergo several distinct dynamical behaviors. The most significant and problematic of these is the pendulum mode in which the system develops a pronounced swinging motion with an amplitude of up to 24 deg. Large excursions away from vertical by the capsule could cause it to strike the ground at a large horizontal or vertical speed and jeopardize the safety of the astronauts during a crewed mission. In reference [1], Ali et al. summarized a series of efforts taken by the Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) Program to understand and mitigate the pendulum issue. The period of oscillation and location of the system's pivot point are determined from post-flight analysis. Other noticeable but benign modes include: 1) flyout (scissors) mode, where the parachutes move back and forth symmetrically with respect to the vertical axis similar to the motion of a pair of scissors; 2) maypole mode, where the two parachutes circle around the vertical axis at a nearly constant radius and period; and 3) breathing mode, in which deformation of the non-rigid canopies affects the axial acceleration of the system in an oscillatory manner. Because these modes are relatively harm- less, little effort has been devoted to analyzing them in comparison with the pendulum motion. Motions of the actual system made up of two parachutes and a capsule are extremely complicated due to nonlinearities and flexibility effects. Often it is difficult to obtain insight into the fundamental dynamics of the system by examining results from a multi-body simulation based on nonlinear equations of motion (EOMs). As a part of this study, the dynamics of each mode observed during flight is derived from first principles on an individual basis by making numerous simplifications along the way. The intent is to gain a better understanding into the behavior of the complex multi-body system by studying the reduced set of differential equations associated with each mode. This approach is analogous to the traditional modal analysis technique used to study airplane flight dynamics, in which the full nonlinear behavior of the airframe is decomposed into the phugoid and short period modes for the longitudinal dynamics and the spiral, roll-subsidence, and dutch-roll modes for the lateral dynamics. It is important to note that the study does not address the mechanisms that cause the system to transition from one mode to another, nor does it discuss motions during which two or more modes occur simultaneously

Large Pseudo-Counts and L2L_2-Norm Penalties Are Necessary for the Mean-Field Inference of Ising and Potts Models

Mean field (MF) approximation offers a simple, fast way to infer direct interactions between elements in a network of correlated variables, a common, computationally challenging problem with practical applications in fields ranging from physics and biology to the social sciences. However, MF methods achieve their best performance with strong regularization, well beyond Bayesian expectations, an empirical fact that is poorly understood. In this work, we study the influence of pseudo-count and $L_2$-norm regularization schemes on the quality of inferred Ising or Potts interaction networks from correlation data within the MF approximation. We argue, based on the analysis of small systems, that the optimal value of the regularization strength remains finite even if the sampling noise tends to zero, in order to correct for systematic biases introduced by the MF approximation. Our claim is corroborated by extensive numerical studies of diverse model systems and by the analytical study of the $m$-component spin model, for large but finite $m$. Additionally we find that pseudo-count regularization is robust against sampling noise, and often outperforms $L_2$-norm regularization, particularly when the underlying network of interactions is strongly heterogeneous. Much better performances are generally obtained for the Ising model than for the Potts model, for which only couplings incoming onto medium-frequency symbols are reliably inferred.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure

Possibilities for pedagogy in Further Education: Harnessing the abundance of literacy

In this report, it is argued that the most salient factor in the contemporary communicative landscape is the sheer abundance and diversity of possibilities for literacy, and that the extent and nature of students' communicative resources is a central issue in education. The text outlines the conceptual underpinnings of the Literacies for Learning in Further Education project in a social view of literacy, and the associated research design, methodology and analytical framework. It elaborates on the notion of the abundance of literacies in students' everyday lives, and on the potential for harnessing these as resources for the enhancement of learning. It provides case studies of changes in practice that have been undertaken by further education staff in order to draw upon students' everyday literacy practices on Travel and Tourism and Multimedia courses. It ends with some of the broad implications for conceptualising learning that arise from researching through the lens of literacy practices