Rigorous and relevant? The challenge of managing and assessing learning on a work placement

This paper is based upon the experiences of a group of employers and students on a work placement module. It forms part of the evaluation of an accredited module within a programme leading to the award of a pre-vocational competence-based degree at a post-1992 university. Although this particular course focuses on health and social care, the work placement element involves principles which are applicable to a wide range of programmes; evidence-based assessment through the use of a learning portfolio is a feature of this degree

Marginal cost-based pricing of distribution: a case study

This paper presents results of a software development project carried out by the “Electricity North West” (ENW) and “TNEI” to find economic use-of-system charges for the extra high-voltage (EHV) network. Several cost-based charging models which satisfy principles set by the Regulator, such as cost reflectivity, predictability, stability and transparency were developed. In this paper, the emphasis is put on the developed software and the comparison of nodal marginal charges obtained from the proposed pricing models

Probing the Locally Generated Even and Odd Order Nonlinearity in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O (2212) Microwave Resonators around TC

Spatial scanning of the synchronously generated 2nd and 3rd order intermodulation distortion in superconducting resonators uncovers local nonlinearity hot spots, and possible time reversal symmetry breaking, using a simple probe fashioned from coaxial cable. It is clear that even and odd order nonlinearity in these samples do not share the same physical origins, as their temperature and static magnetic field dependences are quite different. 2nd order intermodulation distortion (IMD) remains strong in these measurements as the temperature continues to drop below TC to 77K even though the 3rd order peaks near TC and becomes smaller at lower temperature as predicted by the nonlinear Meissner effect. Both YBa2Cu3O7 and Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 resonators of the same structure exhibit similar temperature dependence in the 2nd order with 2nd order remaining high at lower temperature. The YBa2Cu3O7 sample has lower 3rd order IMD with a pronounced peak at TC

Line lists for the A2PI-X2Sigma+ (red) and {B2Sigma+-X2Sigma} (violet) Systems of CN, 13C14N, and 12C15N, and Application to Astronomical Spectra

New red and violet system line lists for the CN isotopologues 13C14N and 12C15N have been generated. These new transition data are combined with those previously derived for 12C14N, and applied to the determination of CNO abundances in the solar photosphere and in four red giant stars: Arcturus, the bright very low-metallicity star HD 122563, and carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars HD 196944 and HD 201626. When lines of both red and violet system lines are detectable in a star, their derived N abundances are in good agreement. The mean N abundances determined in this work generally are also in accord with published values.Comment: ApJS, in press, 37 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Lead Poisoning in Maine\u27s Common Loons: Examining Biological and Social Dimensions

Lead poisoning from ingested fishing tackle is a well-documented conservation concern for adult common loons in the Northeastern United States. To mitigate this issue, the state of Maine began implementing restrictions on lead tackle use in 2002, with new legislation added in 2016 and 2017. In addition to legislative action there have been various non-regulatory strategies employed in Maine to help raise awareness, such as the Fish Lead Free campaign. Human behavior is the root cause of lead fishing tackle in aquatic environments, and also can determine the success of legislative and educational efforts. Measuring underlying factors that influence behaviors, such as values and trust, can help predict the efficacy of these efforts. We developed the following interdisciplinary study with two overarching goals: (1) to document the number of common loon adult mortalities resulting from lead poisoning; and (2) to measure factors that influence the risk perceptions of Maine residents regarding lead fishing tackle toxicity. We conducted necropsies on 480 adult common loons recovered in Maine between 1990 and 2016. Direct, anthropogenic causes of death accounted for 53% of all adult common loons necropsied. Overall, the main known cause of death in these loons was lead poisoning (25.2%) followed by trauma (20.6%), but analyses of causes of death over time determined that lead-related deaths decreased and trauma-related deaths increased over time. In addition, we surveyed 280 Maine residents in order to determine the psychological determinants of risk perceptions regarding lead fishing tackle toxicity. We found that risk perceptions were positively influenced by biospheric values and negatively influenced by social trust. Biospheric values, social trust, and risk perceptions were significantly different between Maine Consumptive and Non-Consumptive recreationists responding to our survey. The thesis concludes with a convergence of our findings from both biological and social science components. We found that lead mortality in adult common loons is decreasing, and anglers reported using lead fishing tackle less frequently over the last 5 years. The majority (75%) reported they never or almost never used lead fishing tackle in 2016, with the primary reason indicated for reducing lead tackle use was common loon conservation. Our work highlights the need for transdisciplinary studies to fully understand complex conservation issues

Critical Alliances

Critical Alliances argues that late-Victorian and modernist feminist authors saw in literary representations of female collaboration an opportunity to produce new gender and economic roles for women. It is not often that one thinks of female allegiances – such as kinship networks, cultural inheritance, or lesbian marriage – as influencing the marketplace; nor does one often think of economic models when theorizing feminist cooperation. S. Brooke Cameron suggest that, through their representations of female partnership, feminist authors such as Virginia Woolf, Olive Schreiner, George Egerton, Amy Levy, and Michael Field redefined the gendered marketplace and, with it, women’s professional opportunities. Interdisciplinary at its core and using a contextual approach, Critical Alliances selects cultural texts and theories relevant to each writer’s particular intervention in the marketplace. Chapters look at how different forms of feminist collaboration enabled women to stake their claim to one of the many, emergent professions at the turn of the century