The Objectivity of Ordinary Life

Metaethics tends to take for granted a bare Democritean world of atoms and the void, and then worry about how the human world that we all know can possibly be related to it or justified in its terms. I draw on Wittgenstein to show how completely upside-down this picture is, and make some moves towards turning it the right way up again. There may be a use for something like the bare-Democritean model in some of the sciences, but the picture has no standing as the basic objective truth about the world; if anything has that standing, it is ordinary life. I conclude with some thoughts about how the notion of bare, “thin” perception of non-evaluative reality feeds a number of philosophical pathologies, such as behaviourism, and show how a “thicker”, more value-laden, understanding of our perceptions of the world can be therapeutic against them

Active control with dielectric barrier discharge actuators applied to high-lift devices

An experimental investigation examined the capability of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuators to control a high-lift device system. Aerodynamic tests investigated the potential of utilising the actuator to control the flap side-edge vortex flow field. Acoustic tests examined the attenuation of slat noise with a DBD actuator. The sparse knowledge related to the control of a vortex flow field with a DBD actuator necessitated a more fundamental study that used a NACA 0015 wing. From this study, it was shown that the application of control resulted in a more diffused tip vortex. The actuator's ability to control the evolving vortex flow field was weakly dependent on the Reynolds number but strongly dependent on the angle of attack. Consequently, a DBD actuator was applied to a flap side edge. However, it was concluded that the actuator had no discernible effect on the flow field due to its addition of momentum being too low to destabilise the formation of the flap side-edge vortex. The slat research concerned the attenuation of the leading-edge component of high-lift device noise. At an angle of attack of two degrees, several tonal noise components with broadband content appeared in the slat noise spectrum. These noise features were successfully suppressed with a DBD actuator operating in open-loop control. For closedloop control, a quasi-static feedback controller was implemented. Comparable levels of performance were obtained for both control methods with more than a 20 dB reduction achieved in the dominant tonal noise feature. The research conducted shed new light on the application of DBD actuators to control the high-lift device system. However, further research is needed if the device is to be utilised to control flap side-edge flow field. The attenuation of slat tonal noise with broadband content was achieved with the actuator

Black and minority ethnic trainees’ experiences of physical education initial teacher training

The official published version can be accessed at the link below.This report draws together the findings of research that aimed to explore black and minority ethnic (BME) trainees’ experiences of Physical Education (PE) initial teacher training (ITT). Although the numbers of BME trainees opting to enter teaching have improved considerably over the last few years, PE remains one of three specific subject areas where they remain significantly under-represented. Current figures suggest that PE attracts approximately 3% of trainees from BME backgrounds, compared with 11% for new entrants into teaching overall. The relative lack of success in attracting BME trainees into PE teaching compared to other subject areas suggests that the subculture of the subject may be a compounding factor. Over the last decade or so, a number of studies have explored the impact of ethnicity on teachers’ professional socialisation and their experiences as teachers in school, but none have focused on experiences within specific subject cultures. The centrality of the body in PE, and the link between this and the perceived low status of the subject, are influencing factors highlighted in the broader literature, including sports studies. For example, research exploring racism and the under-representation of BME participants in sport has highlighted the prevalence of stereotypical attitudes about their physicality and abilities held by coaches, administrators and spectators. Other research has suggested that some minority ethnic groups favour higher status, better paid, careers in areas such as law or medicine rather than teaching. As yet, there has been little attention to ‘race’ and ethnicity within PEITT, although studies have shown the impact of gender on trainees’ developing professional identities, and how teachers’ gendered bodies are important ‘tools’ of their work. In addition, there has been little research that has acknowledged trainees’ multiple identities, or the complex ways in which ‘race’, ethnicity, class and gender and other identity markers intersect to impact on the professional socialisation process. The research on which this report is based sought to fill some of these gaps in our understandings of BME trainees’ experiences of PEITT, and to identify strategies that might help in their recruitment and retention in the longer term. The research was funded through a small Recruitment and Retention Challenge Grant from the Teacher Development Agency (TDA). These grants form part of the TDA’s wider policy agenda to widen the diversity of new intakes opting into teaching. Higher education institutions have been encouraged, through targets and financial support and incentives, to develop specific strategies aimed at widening the diversity of their cohorts. Examples of such strategies include the provision of specialist admission help for BME prospective trainees; opportunities to gain experience in schools; open days and ‘taster’ events; advertising in the ethnic minority media, and the development of good practice guides and staff training to help ITT providers address issues of ‘race’ and ethnicity. 5 The impetus for this research resulted, in part, from presentations and discussions at a one day PEITT Network1 staff seminar on diversity held in October, 2007. The quantitative research conducted by the Association for Physical Education (AfPE) and the Ethnic Minority Foundation (EMF) presented here, showed the extent of the national under-representation of BME students in PEITT. Although the day focused on addressing reasons for BME under representation and strategies that might be used for improving recruitment, we felt it was also important to learn about the qualitative experiences of trainees that have been attracted into PEITT. Understanding the experiences of our current BME trainees might offer useful insights into how we might recruit and retain future such trainees. Our choice of qualitative research was supported by a national study published shortly after the network day, investigating the links between gender, ethnicity and degree attainment (Higher Education Academy, HEA, 2008), which specifically calls for further qualitative studies of students’ experiences of different subject areas.Funding from the Training and Development Agency (TDA

Problem-Based Learning and Competency Development.

Problem-based learning is an approach to professional education which has been used by a number of educational institutions involved in professional education both here and overseas. The most famous example in Australia is probably the medical course at the University of Newcastle. This paper argues that this initiative in professional education has within it characteristics which are sympathetic to many of the current moves in Australia to describe, and in some cases redefine, professional work. This process is part of a wider move in Australia to upgrade and improve the skills and abilities of the Australian workforce in the context of economic refor

Perforation of Bowel Associated with Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children

Motor vehicle accidents remain the commonest cause of abdominal trauma in children, but there are many situations that expose the child more particularly to blunt abdominal trauma. In order to avoid unnecessary delay in diagnosis, a plan of management is proposed, based on our experience with 4 cases of abdominal trauma. The need for early diagnosis is emphasised