Shaping Metrics for HEI Cultural Engagement - Knowledge Transfer

An application was submitted to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for support for a project that would identify and define activities deemed relevant to Knowledge Transfer (KT) - Cultural Engagement (CE), and propose appropriate means to evaluate them. It was acknowledged from the outset that efforts at agreeing “metrics” for the impact of such activities had been attempted before, albeit with limited success. (One such notable example has been lately provided by the Higher Education and Business Community Interaction Survey (HEBCIS) which has collected some data on social, community, and cultural engagement for some years; however, the robustness and consistency of the data for these purposes have often been questioned.

Meditation in legal education: The value added toward the well-being of law students

This chapter considers the value that meditation potentially adds to legal education. It begins by defining what meditation consists of as a contemplative practice. It then explores the introduction of meditation in law schools and reviews the rationale for its use in this context, including the potential for supporting law student professional identity formation. Next, the chapter focuses on the potential for meditation to develop student resilience. In light of the beneficial effects for resilience and the enhancement of well-being more generally. Broader institutional responsibility for issues of well-being are examined followed by the possibilities for further research on the efficacy of meditation. The chapter surveys the literature in the field, provides insight into the practice of meditation and reflects on the potential value added to student well-being

Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards: a London perspective

The virtues of international arbitration are well known. However, without the ability to enforce foreign arbitral awards, in the event of a party to arbitration failing, refusing or otherwise not honouring the award, international arbitration becomes a paper tiger. This is why the possibility of enforcement pursuant to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards is of cardinal importance. Mindful of the UK’s treaty obligations under the New York Convention, this paper focuses on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards from a London perspective. It will do so for two reasons: London has long standing and hard won reputation as one of the truly global centres of international arbitration. It is also recognised as a bellwether for international finance. In light of such recognition, this paper will examine the approach adopted by the English Judiciary to international arbitration awards and ultimately their enforcement or otherwise in the courts of England and Wales

Long-term Care in Turmoil

The reformulation of the regulation of long-term care seen in the recent White Paper and Royal Commission in the UK has led to topical debates on long-term care for older people. Given that there are over 500,000 people in residential nursing and dual registered homes across the country, there has, until now, been remarkably little research on the role of managers in the long-term care sector, the various tasks they undertake in the day-to-day operation of a care home, and the qualities and qualifications they bring to their work. This study investigates the range of tasks which managers of long-term care homes perform, and the skills they should possess to do their work. The opening chapter reproduced here provides a critical analysis of the current confusion which besets UK policy on long term care.long-term care; aging

A MARKETING GUIDE FOR FARM RETAIL MARKETS

Marketing,

Energy’s Role in the Extraversion (Dis)advantage: How Energy Ties and Task Conflict Help Clarify the Relationship Between Extraversion and Proactive Performance

While academic and practitioner literatures have proposed that extraverts are at an advantage in team-based work, it remains unclear exactly what that advantage might be, how extraverts attain such an advantage, and under which conditions. Theory highlighting the importance of energy in the coordination of team efforts helps to answer these questions. We propose that extraverted individuals are able to develop more energizing relationships with their teammates and as a result are seen as proactively contributing to their team. However, problems in coordination (i.e., team task conflict) can reverse this extraversion advantage. We studied 27 project-based teams at their formation, peak performance, and after disbandment. Results suggest that when team task conflict is low, extraverts energize their teammates and are viewed by others as proactively contributing to the team. However, when team task conflict is high, extraverts develop energizing relationships with fewer of their teammates and are not viewed as proactively contributing to the team. Our findings regarding energizing relationships and team task conflict clarify why extraversion is related to proactive performance and in what way, how, and when extraverts may be at a (dis)advantage in team-based work

Parent support advisor pilot : first interim report from the evaluation

The Parent Support Adviser (PSA) pilot is a government funded initiative to support 20 Local Authorities (LAs) to introduce PSAs into their workforce. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) commissioned the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) to evaluate the PSA pilot programme from September 2006 – August 2008. A government grant (£40 million) has been made available to fund employment of PSAs over this period. To date, 717 PSAs are in place, supporting parents in 1167 schools. This first Interim Report is based on semi-structured interviews with 97 PSAs, 85 line managers and 23 other professionals in 12 case study LAs during Phase 1 of the evaluation, which was carried out between April and June 2007. Phase 2 of the study will take place during the period October to December 2007; phase 3 will take place during March to June 2008. In addition to these interview-based studies with the 12 case study LAs, an analysis will be made of the data collected by all 20 LAs over the period of the pilot using a standard database devised by CEDAR. Data are being collected on the PSAs’ work with parents and, where this occurs, with children. Finally, a cost effectiveness study will be undertaken. The findings from these phases of the project will be reported in the final report

Technical limits for energy conversion efficiency

To reach climate targets, unprecedented levels of energy efficiency improvements are required. To prioritise investments, it is necessary to know the energy saving potential associated with each action. Understanding the potential of technical improvements, requires knowledge on the highest technically achievable efficiency of a technology – the technical efficiency limit. When focusing on technical efficiency improvements, two distinct types of technical systems are recognised: conversion devices and passive systems. Previous research has analysed the technical efficiency limits of passive systems, in this study, the technical efficiency limits of major conversion devices are quantified using physical models. The resulting limits are used to calculate stochastically the energy saving potential of each device and design parameter for the United Kingdom. The UK's final energy demand could be reduced by 25% if conversion devices were operated at their technical limit and two thirds of these savings are in transport. The analysis suggests that a) improvements in conversion efficiencies are insufficient to reach energy reduction targets, except in transport and b) that for most technologies it is more important to focus on converging towards the efficiency level of the best available technologies rather than on research pushing the boundaries of conversion efficiency

The Indiana University School of Nursing Clinical Faculty Mentoring Initiative: One-Year Outcomes and Lessons Learned

This poster describes the progress and lessons learned as a result of newly implemented Faculty Mentoring Program in the Indiana University School of Nursing