Formality and informality in the summative assessment of motor vehicle apprentices: a case study

This article explores the interaction of formal and informal attributes of competence‐based assessment. Specifically, it presents evidence from a small qualitative case study of summative assessment practices for competence‐based qualifications within apprenticeships in the motor industry in England. The data are analysed through applying an adaptation of a framework for exploring the interplay of formality and informality in learning. This analysis reveals informal mentoring as a significant element which influences not only the process of assessment, but also its outcomes. We offer different possible interpretations of the data and their analysis, and conclude that, whichever interpretation is adopted, there appears to be a need for greater capacity‐building for assessors at a local level. This could acknowledge a more holistic role for assessors; recognise the importance of assessors’ informal practices in the formal retention and achievement of apprentices; and enhance awareness of inequalities that may be reinforced by both informal and formal attributes of assessment practices

Study and implementation of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba islands) using an integrated multidisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic infection that continues to be a major public health problem in many developing countries being responsible for an estimated burden of at least 1.4 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Africa alone. However, morbidity due to schistosomiasis has been greatly reduced in some parts of the world, including Zanzibar. The Zanzibar government is now committed to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis. Over the next 3--5 years, the whole at-risk population will be administered praziquantel (40 mg/kg) biannually. Additionally, snail control and behaviour change interventions will be implemented in selected communities and the impact measured in a randomized intervention trial. METHODS: In this 5-year research study, on both Unguja and Pemba islands, urogenital schistosomiasis will be assessed in 45 communities with urine filtration and reagent strips in 4,500 schoolchildren aged 9--12 years annually, and in 4,500 first-year schoolchildren and 2,250 adults in years 1 and 5. Additionally, from first-year schoolchildren, a finger-prick blood sample will be collected and examined for Schistosoma haematobium infection biomarkers. Changes in prevalence and infection intensity will be assessed annually. Among the 45 communities, 15 were randomized for biannual snail control with niclosamide, in concordance with preventive chemotherapy campaigns. The reduction of Bulinus globosus snail populations and S. haematobium-infected snails will be investigated. In 15 other communities, interventions triggering behaviour change have been designed and will be implemented in collaboration with the community. A change in knowledge, attitudes and practices will be assessed annually through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with schoolchildren, teachers, parents and community leaders. In all 45 communities, changes in the health system, water and sanitation infrastructure will be annually tracked by standardized questionnaire-interviews with community leaders. Additional issues potentially impacting on study outcomes and all incurring costs will be monitored and recorded. DISCUSSION: Elimination of schistosomiasis has become a priority on the agenda of the Zanzibar government and the international community. Our study will contribute to identifying what, in addition to preventive chemotherapy, needs to be done to prevent, control, and ultimately eliminate schistosomiasis, and to draw lessons for current and future schistosomiasis elimination programmes in Africa and elsewhere.Trial registrationISRCTN4883768

Interpreting ambiguous ‘trace’ results in Schistosoma mansoni CCA Tests: Estimating sensitivity and specificity of ambiguous results with no gold standard

Background The development of new diagnostics is an important tool in the fight against disease. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of tests in the absence of a gold standard. The main field diagnostic for Schistosoma mansoni infection, Kato-Katz (KK), is not very sensitive at low infection intensities. A point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) test has been shown to be more sensitive than KK. However, CCA can return an ambiguous ‘trace’ result between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’, and much debate has focused on interpretation of traces results. Methodology/Principle findings We show how LCA can be extended to include ambiguous trace results and analyse S. mansoni studies from both Côte d’Ivoire (CdI) and Uganda. We compare the diagnostic performance of KK and CCA and the observed results by each test to the estimated infection prevalence in the population. Prevalence by KK was higher in CdI (13.4%) than in Uganda (6.1%), but prevalence by CCA was similar between countries, both when trace was assumed to be negative (CCAtn: 11.7% in CdI and 9.7% in Uganda) and positive (CCAtp: 20.1% in CdI and 22.5% in Uganda). The estimated sensitivity of CCA was more consistent between countries than the estimated sensitivity of KK, and estimated infection prevalence did not significantly differ between CdI (20.5%) and Uganda (19.1%). The prevalence by CCA with trace as positive did not differ significantly from estimates of infection prevalence in either country, whereas both KK and CCA with trace as negative significantly underestimated infection prevalence in both countries. Conclusions Incorporation of ambiguous results into an LCA enables the effect of different treatment thresholds to be directly assessed and is applicable in many fields. Our results showed that CCA with trace as positive most accurately estimated infection prevalence

Statistical Power, the Bispectrum and the Search for Non-Gaussianity in the CMB Anisotropy

We use simulated maps of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy to quantify the ability of different statistical tests to discriminate between Gaussian and non-Gaussian models. Despite the central limit theorem on large angular scales, both the genus and extrema correlation are able to discriminate between Gaussian models and a semi-analytic texture model selected as a physically motivated non-Gaussian model. When run on the COBE 4-year CMB maps, both tests prefer the Gaussian model. Although the bispectrum has comparable statistical power when computed on the full sky, once a Galactic cut is imposed on the data the bispectrum loses the ability to discriminate between models. Off-diagonal elements of the bispectrum are comparable to the diagonal elements for the non-Gaussian texture model and must be included to obtain maximum statistical power.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 20 pages, 6 figures, uses AASTeX v5.

High-Resolution Continuum Imaging at 1.3 and 0.7 cm of the W3 IRS 5 Region

High-resolution images of the hypercompact HII regions (HCHII) in W3 IRS 5 taken with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.3 and 0.7 cm are presented. Four HCHII regions were detected with sufficient signal-to-noise ratios to allow the determination of relevant parameters such as source position, size and flux density. The sources are slightly extended in our ~0.2 arcsecond beams; the deconvolved radii are less than 240 AU. A comparison of our data with VLA images taken at epoch 1989.1 shows proper motions for sources IRS 5a and IRS 5f. Between 1989.1 and 2002.5, we find a proper motion of 210 mas at a position angle of 12 deg for IRS 5f and a proper motion of 190 mas at a position angle of 50 deg for IRS 5a. At the assumed distance to W3 IRS 5, 1.83 +/- 0.14 kpc, these offsets translate to proper motions of ~135 km/s and ~122 km/s$ respectively. These sources are either shock ionized gas in an outflow or ionized gas ejected from high mass stars. We find no change in the positions of IRS 5d1/d2 and IRS 5b; and we show through a comparison with archival NICMOS 2.2 micron images that these two radio sources coincide with the infrared double constituting W3 IRS 5. These sources contain B or perhaps O stars. The flux densities of the four sources have changed compared to the epoch 1989.1 results. In our epoch 2002.5 data, none of the spectral indicies obtained from flux densities at 1.3 and 0.7 cm are consistent with optically thin free-free emission; IRS 5d1/d2 shows the largest increase in flux density from 1.3 cm to 0.7 cm. This may be an indication of free-free optical depth within an ionized wind, a photoevaporating disk, or an accretion flow. It is less likely that this increase is caused by dust emission at 0.7 cm.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures To be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Fantasies of subjugation: a discourse theoretical account of British policy on the European Union

The decision by the UK government to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU) marks an important development in policy towards the EU. Policy changes of this kind must be understood in the historical and political context in which they occur. This includes the framing of the policy issues within public discourse. In the UK, policies are formed in a discursive environment which is overwhelmingly hostile towards the EU. Debates are structured by a predominantly Euroskeptic discourse which emphasizes the UK’s separation and heterogeneity from the rest of the EU. Drawing on the logics of critical explanation, this article examines the structure and affective power of Euroskeptic discourses which dictate the terms of the EU debate. It presents a case study of the recent EU treaty revision process, culminating in the Treaty of Lisbon. In so doing, it enables a deeper understanding of recent policy developments

Why do we need (another) special issue on gender and VET?

The Journal of Vocational Education and Training last had a special issue on gender and vocational education and training (VET) in 2006. In the intervening 8 years, the journal has published 264 research papers, of which just 10 - that is, less than 4% - addressed the issue of gender in any substantive way. This is something of a disappointment, as editors always hope that a special issue will provoke increased discussion and debate in the journal about its theme as well as providing a focused resource. Is the problem that, compared to the effects of global labour migration flows, constantly rising youth unemployment figures or emerging skills gaps in an aging society, gender issues have lost their relevance as just one category of social inequalities among many others? This can hardly be the case, since it is obviously a most thorough-going and persistent one. Despite over 30 years of gender studies, and numerous policy initiatives to address gender inequalities, gender segregation persists in VET as well as in the labour market. Women still earn less, hold the majority of part-time contracts, tend to be stereotyped into caring and personal service work, and are largely under-represented in leadership positions. Is the problem then that there is nothing new to be said about gender and VET? We do not agree that that is the case either: gender injustice remains a central issue in VET and the labour market; and as the social, political and economic landscape changes rapidly in today's world, it is inevitable that gender inequalities are produced and reproduced in new and different ways. So we felt the need to call once again for a collection of papers dedicated specifically to this topic, and one that would reflect this evolution

Multiscale modelling of drug transport and metabolism in liver spheroids

In early preclinical drug development, potential candidates are tested in the laboratory using isolated cells. These in vitro experiments traditionally involve cells cultured in a two-dimensional monolayer environment. However, cells cultured in three-dimensional spheroid systems have been shown to more closely resemble the functionality and morphology of cells in vivo. While the increasing usage of hepatic spheroid cultures allows for more relevant experimentation in a more realistic biological environment, the underlying physical processes of drug transport, uptake and metabolism contributing to the spatial distribution of drugs in these spheroids remain poorly understood. The development of a multiscale mathematical modelling framework describing the spatio-temporal dynamics of drugs in multicellular environments enables mechanistic insight into the behaviour of these systems. Here, our analysis of cell membrane permeation and porosity throughout the spheroid reveals the impact of these properties on drug penetration, with maximal disparity between zonal metabolism rates occurring for drugs of intermediate lipophilicity. Our research shows how mathematical models can be used to simulate the activity and transport of drugs in hepatic spheroids and in principle any organoid, with the ultimate aim of better informing experimentalists on how to regulate dosing and culture conditions to more effectively optimize drug delivery