From HORSA huts to ROSLA blocks : the school leaving age and the school building programme in England, 1943–1972

This paper examines the connections between the school building programme in England and the raising of the school leaving age (ROSLA) from 14 to 15 in 1947 and then to 16 in 1972. These two major developments were intended to help to ensure the realisation of ‘secondary education for all’ in the postwar period. The combination led in practice to severe strains in the education system as a whole, with lasting consequences for educational planning and central control. ROSLA was a key issue for the school building programme in terms of both finance and design. School building was also a significant constraint for ROSLA, which was marred by temporary expedients in building accommodation both in the 1940s with ‘HORSA huts’ and in the 1970s with ‘ROSLA blocks’, as well as by the cheap construction of new schools that soon became unfit for purpose. Together, school building needs and ROSLA helped to stimulate pressures towards centralisation of planning that were ultimately to undermine postwar partnerships in education, from the establishment of the Ministry of Education’s Architects and Building (A&B) Branch in 1948, through the Crowther Report of 1959 and the Newsom Report of 1963, to the assertion of central state control by the 1970s. The pressures arising from such investment and growth in education again became a key issue in the early twenty-first century with the Labour Government’s support for raising the participation age to 18 combined with an ambitious ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme. The historical and contemporary significance of these developments has tended to be neglected but is pivotal to an understanding of medium-term educational change in its broader policy and political contexts

Let's Play GOLF!

A central feature of the “free will defense” as developed by Alvin Plantinga is his response to the claim that God can create a world containing creatures with libertarian freedom that contains no moral evil. Plantinga’s response appeals to the notion of “morally significant freedom” according to which free creatures, in order to do moral good, must be capable of moral evil. In this paper, I argue, first, that morally significant freedom is not required for free creatures to do moral good and, second, that other recent attempts to necessitate a creaturely capability for evil likewise fail. The upshot of my paper is that the free will defense simply won’t work because it is possible and feasible for God to create a world containing libertarianly free creatures capable of moral good and yet containing no moral evil

The growth of public literacy in eighteenth-century England

This thesis investigates the extent to which the acquisition of literacy during the eighteenth century arose independently of and thus separately from formal schooling. It further examines what counted as 'literacy' during the eighteenth century and how it was connected to orate forms of communication and expression. The thesis uses a wide variety of sources in order to demonstrate that there is scope for extending the historiography of literacy and communicative practice during the eighteenth century. It is argued that recent developments in digitized data-bases have opened up new opportunities for further research. The thesis argues that literacy was spread more broadly both geographically and socially in eighteenth century England than is often recognized. The thesis begins by setting public literacy in its broader social and historical contexts. The term 'public' is used because throughout the thesis literacy is viewed as a social act of communication and as a set of social practices. This view is rooted in two distinct critical traditions. One derives from the American historians Bailyn and Cremin who argued that understanding education required relocating learning into wider social setting. The other derives from the new literacies movement which seeks to understand literacies as complex social phenomena rather than as simple acquired basic skills. There is a focus throughout upon the social and cultural settings that gave rise to a distinctively educated public during the eighteenth century which, by the close of the century, had started to spread into and across all social classes. The three empirically based chapters develop this theme and show how certain public and social contexts offered opportunities for both individuals and groups to engage in a range of literacy practices. Through a study of the way that communications were structured in coffee houses the thesis reveals the profoundly educative impact that these institutions had particularly in the earlier decades but also, continuously across the century. Following this, and through a study of interlinking biographies of self-taught men who made their mark upon the society, it is shown that many commoners managed to acquire degrees of learning other than through formal instruction. Finally, there is a focus upon the emergence of an independent and authentic set of literacy practices among common readers during the later part of the century, a movement that helped to shape future of broad working class organizations in the following century and one which at times was perceived by the state to be tantamount to treasonable practice

Developing an integrated technology roadmapping process to meet regional technology planning needs: the e-bike pilot study

Smart grid is a promising class of new technologies offering many potential benefits for electric utility systems, including possibilities for smart appliances which can communicate with power systems and help to better match supply and demand. Additional services include the ability to\ud better integrate growing supplies of renewable energy and perform a variety of value-added services on the grid. However, a number of challenges exist in order to achieving these benefits.\ud Many utility systems have substantial regulatory structures that make business processes and technology innovation substantially different than in other industries. Due to complex histories regarding regulatory and deregulatory efforts, and due to what some economists consider natural monopoly characteristics in the industry, such regulatory structures are unlikely to change in the immediate future. Therefore, innovation within these industries, including the development of\ud smart grid, will require an understanding of such regulatory and policy frameworks, development of appropriate business models, and adaptation of technologies to fit these emerging requirements. Technology Roadmapping may be a useful method of planning this type of future development within the smart grid sector, but such technology roadmaps would require a high level of integrated thinking regarding technology, business, and regulatory and policy considerations. This research provides an initial examination of the process for creating such a type of integrated technology roadmapping and assessment process. This research proposes to build upon previous research in the Pacific Northwest and create a more robust technology planning process that will allow key variables to be tested and different pathways to be explored

Barriers and Facilitators to the Uptake and Maintenance of Healthy Behaviours by People at Mid-Life: A Rapid Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: With an ageing population, there is an increasing societal impact of ill health in later life. People who adopt healthy behaviours are more likely to age successfully. To engage people in health promotion initiatives in mid-life, a good understanding is needed of why people do not undertake healthy behaviours or engage in unhealthy ones. METHODS: Searches were conducted to identify systematic reviews and qualitative or longitudinal cohort studies that reported mid-life barriers and facilitators to healthy behaviours. Mid-life ranged from 40 to 64 years, but younger adults in disadvantaged or minority groups were also eligible to reflect potential earlier disease onset. Two reviewers independently conducted reference screening and study inclusion. Included studies were assessed for quality. Barriers and facilitators were identified and synthesised into broader themes to allow comparisons across behavioural risks. FINDINGS: From 16,426 titles reviewed, 28 qualitative studies, 11 longitudinal cohort studies and 46 systematic reviews were included. Evidence was found relating to uptake and maintenance of physical activity, diet and eating behaviours, smoking, alcohol, eye care, and other health promoting behaviours and grouped into six themes: health and quality of life, sociocultural factors, the physical environment, access, psychological factors, evidence relating to health inequalities. Most of the available evidence was from developed countries. Barriers that recur across different health behaviours include lack of time (due to family, household and occupational responsibilities), access issues (to transport, facilities and resources), financial costs, entrenched attitudes and behaviours, restrictions in the physical environment, low socioeconomic status, lack of knowledge. Facilitators include a focus on enjoyment, health benefits including healthy ageing, social support, clear messages, and integration of behaviours into lifestyle. Specific issues relating to population and culture were identified relating to health inequalities. CONCLUSIONS: The barriers and facilitators identified can inform the design of tailored interventions for people in mid-life.This work was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), invitation to tender reference DDER 42013, and supported by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research. The scope of the work was defined by NICE and the protocol was agreed with NICE prior to the start of work.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.014507

New Discoveries in Planetary Systems and Star Formation through Advances in Laboratory Astrophysics

As the panel on Planetary Systems and Star Formation (PSF) is fully aware, the next decade will see major advances in our understanding of these areas of research. To quote from their charge, these advances will occur in studies of solar system bodies (other than the Sun) and extrasolar planets, debris disks, exobiology, the formation of individual stars, protostellar and protoplanetary disks, molecular clouds and the cold ISM, dust, and astrochemistry. Central to the progress in these areas are the corresponding advances in laboratory astro- physics which are required for fully realizing the PSF scientific opportunities in the decade 2010-2020. Laboratory astrophysics comprises both theoretical and experimental studies of the underlying physics and chemistry which produce the observed spectra and describe the astrophysical processes. We discuss four areas of laboratory astrophysics relevant to the PSF panel: atomic, molecular, solid matter, and plasma physics. Section 2 describes some of the new opportunities and compelling themes which will be enabled by advances in laboratory astrophysics. Section 3 provides the scientific context for these opportunities. Section 4 discusses some experimental and theoretical advances in laboratory astrophysics required to realize the PSF scientific opportunities of the next decade. As requested in the Call for White Papers, we present in Section 5 four central questions and one area with unusual discovery potential. We give a short postlude in Section 6.Comment: White paper submitted by the AAS Working Group on Laboratory Astrophysics (WGLA) to the PSF SFP of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2010

The Fading Radio Emission from SN 1961V: Evidence for a Type II Peculiar Supernova?

Using the Very Large Array (VLA), we have detected radio emission from the site of SN 1961V in the Sc galaxy NGC 1058. With a peak flux density of 0.063 +/- 0.008 mJy/beam at 6 cm and 0.147 +/- 0.026 mJy/beam at 18 cm, the source is non-thermal, with a spectral index of -0.79 +/- 0.23. Within errors, this spectral index is the same value reported for previous VLA observations taken in 1984 and 1986. The radio emission at both wavelengths has decayed since the mid 1980's observations with power-law indices of beta(20cm) = -0.69 +/- 0.23 and beta(6cm) = -1.75 +/- 0.16. We discuss the radio properties of this source and compare them with those of Type II radio supernovae and luminous blue variables.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures; To appear in the Astronomical Journa

Laboratory Astrophysics and the State of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Laboratory astrophysics and complementary theoretical calculations are the foundations of astronomy and astrophysics and will remain so into the foreseeable future. The impact of laboratory astrophysics ranges from the scientific conception stage for ground-based, airborne, and space-based observatories, all the way through to the scientific return of these projects and missions. It is our understanding of the under-lying physical processes and the measurements of critical physical parameters that allows us to address fundamental questions in astronomy and astrophysics. In this regard, laboratory astrophysics is much like detector and instrument development at NASA, NSF, and DOE. These efforts are necessary for the success of astronomical research being funded by the agencies. Without concomitant efforts in all three directions (observational facilities, detector/instrument development, and laboratory astrophysics) the future progress of astronomy and astrophysics is imperiled. In addition, new developments in experimental technologies have allowed laboratory studies to take on a new role as some questions which previously could only be studied theoretically can now be addressed directly in the lab. With this in mind we, the members of the AAS Working Group on Laboratory Astrophysics, have prepared this State of the Profession Position Paper on the laboratory astrophysics infrastructure needed to ensure the advancement of astronomy and astrophysics in the next decade.Comment: Position paper submitted by the AAS Working Group on Laboratory Astrophysics (WGLA) to the State of the Profession (Facilities, Funding and Programs Study Group) of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2010