Placement and displacement : the fallen woman in discourse : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University

This thesis is an invitation to reconsider the process of reading and representing the fallen woman. It combines an eclectic theoretical approach, drawing on works by Foucault, Derrida and Kristeva, with the metaphor of colonisation and the palimpsest. Using this construction, the thesis examines the placement of the fallen woman in discourse. The first section discusses how she falls in discourse, and uses textual and visual examples (predominantly Esther Barton from Gaskell's Mary Barton, Monica Widdowson and Rhoda Nunn from Gissing's The Odd Women). The reading of these figures uncovers three characteristic issues in the fallen woman's representation: her construction as murderer, the 'justice' of her death, and her pornographic interaction with the reader. This examination of the placement of the fallen woman continues in the second section. Here, the thesis explores how representations of her placement in discourse also suggest a displacement--that is, how her fall in discourse is a fall from discourse. Reading her site as a palimpsest of colonising representations uncovers the placement and displacement of the fallen woman in discourse

Are the General Medical Council's Tests of Competence fair to long standing doctors? A retrospective cohort study.

The General Medical Council's Fitness to Practise investigations may involve a test of competence for doctors with performance concerns. Concern has been raised about the suitability of the test format for doctors who qualified before the introduction of Single Best Answer and Objective Structured Clinical Examination assessments, both of which form the test of competence. This study explored whether the examination formats used in the tests of competence are fair to long standing doctors who have undergone fitness to practise investigation

The role of secondary cyclones and cyclone families for the North Atlantic storm track and clustering over western Europe

Secondary cyclones are those that form in association with a pre‐existing primary cyclone, typically along a trailing cold front. In previously studied cases they have been shown to cause extreme damage across Europe, particularly when multiple cyclones track over the same location in rapid succession (known as cyclone clustering). To determine the dynamical relationship between primary and secondary cyclones over the North Atlantic, a frontal identification algorithm is partnered with a cyclone identification method to objectively identify secondary cyclones in 35 extended winter periods using reanalysis data. Cyclones are grouped into “cyclone families” consisting of a single primary cyclone and one or more secondary cyclones. This paper aims to quantify the differences between secondary and primary cyclones over the North Atlantic, and how cyclone families contribute to episodes of cyclone clustering across western Europe. Secondary cyclones are shown to occur most frequently in the central and eastern North Atlantic, whereas primary cyclones are commonly found over the western North Atlantic. Cyclone families have their strongest presence over the North Atlantic Ocean and contribute more than 50% of cyclones over the main North Atlantic storm track. A final category, solo cyclones, which are not associated with cyclogenesis on any connected fronts, are most commonly identified over continental regions as well as the Mediterranean Sea. Primary cyclones are associated with the development of an environment that is favourable for secondary cyclone growth. Enhanced Rossby wave breaking following primary cyclone development leads to an increase in the upper‐level jet speed and a decrease in low‐level stability. Secondary cyclogenesis commonly occurs in this region of anomalously low stability, close to the European continent. During periods of cyclone clustering, secondary cyclones are responsible for approximately 50% of the total number of cyclones. The increase in jet speed and decrease in static stability initiated by the primary cyclones acts to concentrate the genesis region of secondary cyclones and direct the cyclones that form along a similar track. While there is an increase in the secondary cyclogenesis rate near western Europe during periods of European clustering, the basin‐wide secondary cyclogenesis rate decreases during these periods. Thus the large‐scale environment redistributes secondary cyclones during periods of clustering rather than increasing the total number of secondary cyclones

Moving from conceptual ambiguity to operational clarity: Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the terms “employability”, “enterprise” and “entrepreneurship” are currently being used, often interchangeably, within higher education, and to propose how to clarify this issue with the terminology. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is to discuss the three terms and some of their current conceptualisations and suggest ways to clarify the terminology. Possible methods of operationalising the three concepts within higher education are also suggested. Findings – Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship are high on the agendas of many higher education institutions. There is a crucial need for agreement on definitions particularly when strategies are being implemented. It is suggested that currently the terminology is often used carelessly and interchangeably, resulting in confusion for HE staff, students and employers. Originality/value – The paper offers a clear way of defining the concepts and will be of value to anybody with an interest in employability, enterprise or entrepreneurship within higher education

Performance in the MRCP(UK) Examination 2003-4: analysis of pass rates of UK graduates in relation to self-declared ethnicity and gender

Background: Male students and students from ethnic minorities have been reported to underperform in undergraduate medical examinations. We examined the effects of ethnicity and gender on pass rates in UK medical graduates sitting the Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in the United Kingdom [MRCP( UK)] Examination in 2003-4. Methods: Pass rates for each part of the examination were analysed for differences between graduate groupings based on self- declared ethnicity and gender.Results: All candidates declared their gender, and 84 - 90% declared their ethnicity. In all three parts of the examination, white candidates performed better than other ethnic groups (P < 0.001). In the MRCP(UK) Part 1 and Part 2 Written Examinations, there was no significant difference in pass rate between male and female graduates, nor was there any interaction between gender and ethnicity. In the Part 2 Clinical Examination (Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills, PACES), women performed better than did men (P < 0.001). Non-white men performed more poorly than expected, relative to white men or non-white women. Analysis of individual station marks showed significant interaction between candidate and examiner ethnicity for performance on communication skills (P = 0.011), but not on clinical skills (P = 0.176). Analysis of overall average marks showed no interaction between candidate gender and the number of assessments made by female examiners (P = 0.151).Conclusion: The cause of these differences is most likely to be multifactorial, but cannot be readily explained in terms of previous educational experience or differential performance on particular parts of the examination. Potential examiner prejudice, significant only in the cases where there were two non- white examiners and the candidate was non- white, might indicate different cultural interpretations of the judgements being made

Contribution of the cold sector of extratropical cyclones to mean state features in winter

Recent studies have shown that midlatitude air-sea interactions are strongly modulated by synoptic variability. The present study investigates how air-sea interactions over the Gulf-Stream sea surface temperature (SST) front vary in different synoptic regimes. We focus more particularly on the variation of three atmospheric mean state features which are colocated with the SST front in winter : enhanced ascent and precipitation on the warm side of the SST front and enhanced low-level baroclinicity at the entrance of the storm track. These three fields are partitioned depending on whether they occur in the cold sector of extratropical cyclones or in any other synoptic features. The analysis is based on ERA Interim winter data covering the period 1979–2012. Results are twofold. (i) Cold sector precipitation is confined within a 5° of latitude band south of the SST front and reaches 2 mm day-1, whereas precipitation occurring outside the cold sector forms a broader spatial pattern. The same partitioning applied to vertical wind shows that the ascent on the warm side of the Gulf Stream is not a feature of the cold sector. These results mean that a significant part of the anchoring effect of the SST front on precipitation occurs via the cold sector and that the observed colocation of ascent and precipitation is not causal, in contrast to what was suggested by previous studies, but is rather the result of two different mechanisms. (ii) The surface heat fluxes and convection occurring in the cold sector restore low-level atmospheric temperature gradients within 2 days after a time maximum of meridional eddy heat flux, such that low-level baroclinicity remains largely unchanged after the passage of an extratropical cyclone. This "cold path mechanism" opens new avenues to understand how SST forces climate variability in the midlatitudes

Evaluation of boundary-layer type in a weather forecast model utilising long-term Doppler lidar observations

Many studies evaluating model boundary-layer schemes focus either on near-surface parameters or on short-term observational campaigns. This reflects the observational datasets that are widely available for use in model evaluation. In this paper we show how surface and long-term Doppler lidar observations, combined in a way to match model representation of the boundary layer as closely as possible, can be used to evaluate the skill of boundary-layer forecasts. We use a 2-year observational dataset from a rural site in the UK to evaluate a climatology of boundary layer type forecast by the UK Met Office Unified Model. In addition, we demonstrate the use of a binary skill score (Symmetric Extremal Dependence Index) to investigate the dependence of forecast skill on season, horizontal resolution and forecast leadtime. A clear diurnal and seasonal cycle can be seen in the climatology of both the model and observations, with the main discrepancies being the model overpredicting cumulus capped and decoupled stratocumulus capped boundary-layers and underpredicting well mixed boundary-layers. Using the SEDI skill score the model is most skillful at predicting the surface stability. The skill of the model in predicting cumulus capped and stratocumulus capped stable boundary layer forecasts is low but greater than a 24 hr persistence forecast. In contrast, the prediction of decoupled boundary-layers and boundary-layers with multiple cloud layers is lower than persistence. This process based evaluation approach has the potential to be applied to other boundary-layer parameterisation schemes with similar decision structures

Doctors who pilot the GMC's Tests of Competence: who volunteers and why?

Background: Doctors who are investigated by the General Medical Council (GMC) for performance concerns may be required to take a Test of Competence (ToC). The tests are piloted on volunteer doctors before they are used in Fitness to Practise (FtP) investigations. Objectives: To find out who volunteers to take a pilot ToC and why. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Between February 2011 and October 2012 we asked doctors who volunteered for a test to complete a questionnaire about their reasons for volunteering and recruitment. We analysed the data using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test. Results: 301 doctors completed the questionnaire. Doctors who took a ToC voluntarily were mostly women, of white ethnicity, of junior grades, working in general practice and who held a Primary Medical Qualification from the UK. This was a different population to doctors under investigation and all registered doctors in the UK. Most volunteers heard about the GMC’s pilot events through email from a colleague and used the experience to gain exam practice for forthcoming postgraduate exams. Conclusions: The reference group of volunteers are not representative of doctors under FtP investigation. Our findings will be used to inform future recruitment strategies with the aim to encourage better matching of groups who voluntarily pilot a ToC with those under FtP investigation

Cross-comparison of MRCGP & MRCP(UK) in a database linkage study of 2,284 candidates taking both examinations: assessment of validity and differential performance by ethnicity.

MRCGP and MRCP(UK) are the main entry qualifications for UK doctors entering general [family] practice or hospital [internal] medicine. The performance of MRCP(UK) candidates who subsequently take MRCGP allows validation of each assessment. In the UK, underperformance of ethnic minority doctors taking MRCGP has had a high political profile, with a Judicial Review in the High Court in April 2014 for alleged racial discrimination. Although the legal challenge was dismissed, substantial performance differences between white and BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) doctors undoubtedly exist. Understanding ethnic differences can be helped by comparing the performance of doctors who take both MRCGP and MRCP(UK)

Spatial evaluation of volcanic ash forecasts using satellite observations

The decision to close airspace in the event of a volcanic eruption is based on hazard maps of predicted ash extent. These are produced using output from volcanic ash transport and dispersion (VATD)models. In this paper an objectivemetric to evaluate the spatial accuracy of VATD simulations relative to satellite retrievals of volcanic ash is presented. The 5 metric is based on the fractions skill score (FSS). Thismeasure of skill provides more information than traditional point-bypoint metrics, such as success index and Pearson correlation coefficient, as it takes into the account spatial scale overwhich skill is being assessed. The FSS determines the scale overwhich a simulation has skill and can differentiate between a "near miss" and a forecast that is badly misplaced. The 10 idealised scenarios presented show that even simulations with considerable displacement errors have useful skill when evaluated over neighbourhood scales of 200–700km2. This method could be used to compare forecasts produced by different VATDs or using different model parameters, assess the impact of assimilating satellite retrieved ash data and evaluate VATD forecasts over a long time period