Is anyone listening? The Impact of children's participation on policy making

This thesis examines the impact of children and young people’s participation on policy making in four settings, a youth forum and school council in Wales, UK and two examples of established participation structures in the international development context. The drive to include children as ‘policy actors’, as a legitimate group in the policy making process, has led in Wales, and in much of the UK, to the burgeoning of youth forums and school councils. But evidence of the impact of children’s public participation remains difficult to capture and little previous work has been done to evaluate the influence of children’s forums on the design, delivery and evaluation of public services. This thesis draws on theories of governance and power as well as the social construction of childhood to examine the policy influence that each of the forums had from the perspectives of the key stakeholders involved. The research makes a contribution to understanding the factors that enable or inhibit children’s ‘voice’ being turned into policy ‘influence’. Children’s forums are more likely to affect changes in public services where there is clarity about objectives; where efforts are focused on well-understood policy or practice opportunities; and where there is close integration between child participation structures and similar structures targeting other civil society groups at a local level. The importance of policy networks and the linking of the children’s resources with other influencing factors emphasises the important role of supporting adults in reflexively navigating the tensions in children’s public participation. The thesis calls into question whether anyone is really listening to children’s views and opinions in the new governance spaces of a devolved Wales and argues that more needs to be done to insist on change and support children’s claims to express their views and to have those views taken into account, in line with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Power of “Can Do” statements: Teachers’ Perceptions of CEFR- informed Instruction in French as a Second Language Classrooms in Ontario

This article reports on French as a second language (FSL) teachers’ perceptions of using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)-informed instruction (action-oriented instruction focusing on language use) in FSL classrooms in Ontario. In particular, this paper focuses on teachers’ perspectives of the strengths and challenges of providing CEFR- informed practice in FSL classrooms. FSL teachers (n=93) as well as elementary and secondary school students (n=943) participated in this province-wide study. Participating teachers were introduced to the CEFR and CEFR-informed activities and resources. Teachers then used the resources in their classrooms for approximately three months. At the end of this period, teachers participated in interviews and focus group sessions which focused on their perceptions’ of CEFR’s action-oriented approach. Teachers reported that CEFR-informed instruction increased student motivation, built self-confidence in their learners, promoted authentic language use in the classroom and encouraged learner autonomy. These findings have implications for FSL programs in Canada and possibly other second language education programs worldwide

Residual Force Enhancement Is Present in Consecutive Post-Stretch Isometric Contractions of the Hamstrings during a Training Simulation

Residual force enhancement (rFE) is observed when isometric force following an active stretch is elevated compared to an isometric contraction at corresponding muscle lengths. Acute rFE has been confirmed in vivo in upper and lower limb muscles. However, it is uncertain whether rFE persists using multiple, consecutive contractions as per a training simulation. Using the knee flexors, 10 recreationally active participants (seven males, three females; age 31.00 years ± 8.43 years) performed baseline isometric contractions at 150° knee flexion (180° representing terminal knee extension) of 50% maximal voluntary activation of semitendinosus. Participants performed post-stretch isometric (PS-ISO) contractions (three sets of 10 repetitions) starting at 90° knee extension with a joint rotation of 60° at 60°·s−1 at 50% maximal voluntary activation of semitendinosus. Baseline isometric torque and muscle activation were compared to PS-ISO torque and muscle activation across all 30 repetitions. Significant rFE was noted in all repetitions (37.8–77.74%), with no difference in torque between repetitions or sets. There was no difference in activation of semitendinosus or biceps femoris long-head between baseline and PS-ISO contractions in all repetitions (ST; baseline ISO = 0.095–1.000 ± 0.036–0.039 Mv, PS-ISO = 0.094–0.098 ± 0.033–0.038 and BFlh; baseline ISO = 0.068–0.075 ± 0.031–0.038 Mv). This is the first investigation to observe rFE during multiple, consecutive submaximal PS-ISO contractions. PS-ISO contractions have the potential to be used as a training stimulus

International BEAT-PCD consensus statement for infection prevention and control for primary ciliary dyskinesia in collaboration with ERN-LUNG PCD Core Network and patient representatives

Discinesia ciliar primaria; Consenso; Prevención de infeccionesDiscinèsia ciliar primària; Consens; Prevenció d'infeccionsPrimary ciliary dyskinesia; Consensus; Infection preventionIntroduction In primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) impaired mucociliary clearance leads to recurrent airway infections and progressive lung destruction, and concern over chronic airway infection and patient-to-patient transmission is considerable. So far, there has been no defined consensus on how to control infection across centres caring for patients with PCD. Within the BEAT-PCD network, COST Action and ERS CRC together with the ERN-Lung PCD core a first initiative has now been taken towards creating such a consensus statement. Methods A multidisciplinary international PCD expert panel was set up to create a consensus statement for infection prevention and control (IP&C) for PCD, covering diagnostic microbiology, infection prevention for specific pathogens considered indicated for treatment and segregation aspects. Using a modified Delphi process, consensus to a statement demanded at least 80% agreement within the PCD expert panel group. Patient organisation representatives were involved throughout the process. Results We present a consensus statement on 20 IP&C statements for PCD including suggested actions for microbiological identification, indications for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia and nontuberculous mycobacteria and suggested segregation aspects aimed to minimise patient-to-patient transmission of infections whether in-hospital, in PCD clinics or wards, or out of hospital at meetings between people with PCD. The statement also includes segregation aspects adapted to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Conclusion The first ever international consensus statement on IP&C intended specifically for PCD is presented and is targeted at clinicians managing paediatric and adult patients with PCD, microbiologists, patient organisations and not least the patients and their families.Ministerstvo Zdravotnictví Ceské Republiky (grant nr. NV-19-07-00210.) European Reference Network for Rare Respiratory Diseases (Project ID No 739546.) Børnelungefonden European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Action BM 1407) Danmarks Lungeforening European Respiratory Society (CRC

Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering

Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering (CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers, and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science, engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie

Results from the Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) Experiment

The Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) is an experiment designed to measure cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization at large angular scales ($\ell>40$). It operated from the ACT site at 5190~m elevation in northern Chile at 145 GHz with a net sensitivity (NEQ) of 41 $\mu$K$\sqrt{\rm s}$. It employed an ambient-temperature sapphire half-wave plate rotating at 2.55 Hz to modulate the incident polarization signal and reduce systematic effects. We report here on the analysis of data from a 2400 deg$^2$ patch of sky centered at declination $-42^\circ$ and right ascension $25^\circ$. We perform a blind analysis. After unblinding, we find agreement with the Planck TE and EE measurements on the same region of sky. We marginally detect polarized dust emission and give an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r<2.3$ (95% cl) with the equivalent of 100 on-sky days of observation. We also present a new measurement of the polarization of Tau A and introduce new methods associated with HWP-based observations.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figure