What are the major factors behind the apparent policy failure in relation to the employer role in 14-19 education and training?

From its origins as an unplanned and haphazard entity, the education and training (ET) system in England has become one of the core policy areas of any government. The role of employers within this, and in particular in relation to full-time 14-19 ET, has proved problematic. This research moves beyond the more usual factors of history, culture, policy and structures to investigate the relatively rarely discussed relationship between employer identity and behaviour and their influence on policy assumptions and outcomes, and system structures. It involved interviewing a number of employers, and a range of individuals and organisations, all of which to some extent represent ‘the employer voice’, about the employer role in full-time 14-19 ET. Findings include that the multiple identities of individual employers have different, often contradictory and surprising influences on policy, shaping in turn their interaction with system structures in ways that cannot easily be controlled in a voluntarist system. This research proposes practical measures to counter some of these influences. It calls for a greater understanding of how employer identity affects their interractions with the system and for this to be applied to future ET initiatives

Predictors of health decline in older adults with pneumonia: findings from the Community Acquired Pneumonia Impact Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of health decline among older adults with clinically diagnosed community acquired pneumonia (CAP). It was hypothesized that older adults with CAP who had lower levels of social support would be more likely to report a decline in health.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A telephone survey was used to collect detailed information from older adults about their experiences with CAP. A broader determinants of health framework was used to guide data collection. This was a community wide study with participants being recruited from all radiology clinics in one Ontario community.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The most important predictors of a health decline included: two symptoms (no energy; diaphoresis), two lifestyle variables (being very active; allowing people to smoke in their home), one quality of life variable (little difficulty in doing usual daily activities) and one social support variable (having siblings).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A multiplicity of factors was found to be associated with a decline in health among older adults with clinically diagnosed CAP. These findings may be useful to physicians, family caregivers and others for screening older adults and providing interventions to help ensure positive health outcomes.</p

Wallerian degeneration of injured axons and synapses is delayed by a Ube4b/Nmnat chimeric gene

Axons and their synapses distal to an injury undergo rapid Wallerian degeneration, but axons in the C57BL/WldS mouse are protected. The degenerative and protective mechanisms are unknown. We identified the protective gene, which encodes an N-terminal fragment of ubiquitination factor E4B (Ube4b) fused to nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (Nmnat), and showed that it confers a dose-dependent block of Wallerian degeneration. Transected distal axons survived for two weeks, and neuromuscular junctions were also protected. Surprisingly, the Wld protein was located predominantly in the nucleus, indicating an indirect protective mechanism. Nmnat enzyme activity, but not NAD+ content, was increased fourfold in WldS tissues. Thus, axon protection is likely to be mediated by altered ubiquitination or pyridine nucleotide metabolism