'The Work of Teacher Education' : Final Research Report

Partnership teacher education – in which schools work with universities and colleges to train teachers – works and there is abundant existing evidence in support of this fact. But our small-scale study across England and Scotland shows that it is the higher education tutor who seems to make it work, often at the cost of research-informed teaching and research. The most time-intensive activity for the higher education tutors in our sample was maintaining relationships with schools and between schools and individual trainee teachers. The need to maintain relationships to such a degree is caused in part by the creation of a marketplace of ‘providers’ of teacher education who compete for funding on the basis of inspection and quality assurance data and also by the very early school placements that characterise the English model of initial teacher education in comparison to other European models such as that of Finland

An evaluation of shelter projects and policies for refugees and displaced persons within the Republic of Croatia

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Design and Technology, University ofLuton, in partial fulfilment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophyThe subject of this thesis is the provision of shelter for refugees and displaced persons in a war-tom, developed nation with a cold climate. It aims to develop a set of working recommendations that can be utilised by implementing agencies in the field to provide improved shelter response. The reconunendations are not provided to be universally applicable or as a definitive document, but as a 'stepping stone' on the path towards improved shelter response in similar situations, such as the current crisis in the Caucasus countries. The rcconm1cndations are a practical application of the academic evaluation of shelter contained within this thesis. This research was carried out using literature reviews, periods of field study and constant peer review. It was driven by the following question: How can emergency shelter be provided in a way that supports the innate coping mechanisms of refugees from, and persons displaced by intrastate war in a developed nation, whilst addressing the social, political and economic constraints and concerns of the humanitarian community, the host community and the host government? This research question directed the evaluation and analysis of a complete range of shelter solutions in use in the Republic of Croatia. A framework of issues surrounding shelter provision in war was developed from the review of the literature covering firstly, humanitarian action in natural disasters and refugee situations and secondly, wars. The framework is divided into two central discourses which were identified from the literature: Vulnerability and capacity Integration The framework of issues was used to conduct a comprehensive and critical evaluation of a range of shelter types from camps to private accommodations within Croatia. Through evaluating the shelter in an holistic manner, from the perspectives of the user, the provider and the facilitator, enabling and disabling policies and practices were identified. Through the subsequent agglomeration of good practice and enabling interventions, a set of working recommendations have been developed that advocate the concept of shelter as a mechanism for supporting innate capacity and promoting long term recovery and development

The Washington State Parenting Act in the Courts: Reconciling Discretion and Justice in Parenting Plan Disputes

On July 8, 1993, the Washington Supreme Court handed down a decision construing the residential provision section of the Washington State Parenting Act. The case is significant for the children of divorcing parents in the State of Washington, and its importance extends beyond Washington because the supreme court\u27s opinion is the first to interpret a key section of a law that has attracted national and international attention The case, In re Marriage ofKovacs, is an example of the sort of egregious injustice that can occur when a trial court fails to exercise its discretion in an appropriate manner and an appellate court fails to demand that the trial court conscientiously follow the law

A Review of Relationship Education in Worcestershire Schools

Report commissioned by Worcestershire County Council including research with schools across Worcestershire. The overall aim of the research was to establish the extent and nature of school-based work on respectful or healthy relationships in Worcestershire schools encompassing work on: friendship; keeping safe; bullying; sexual exploitation; domestic abuse; and other forms of gender based violence. A mixed methods approach, consisting of an online survey and semi-structured interviews was adopted.Inquiry was made with PSHE teaching staff regarding whether they delivered respectful or healthy relationship education, what and how they delivered and what the barriers were for delivering such education to pupils

A layered approach to horizon scanning: identifying future issues in military and veterans’ health

The Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health, Australia undertook a horizon scanning process to identify issues in military and veterans’ health services delivery for a series of future scenario workshops. Application of a critical futures framework, Causal Layered Analysis and the futures triangle, produced a novel matrix which enabled a deeper and more critical review of factors across all content areas

Preventing Domestic Abuse for Children and Young People (PEACH): A Mixed Knowledge Scoping Review

Background: A range of interventions that aim to prevent domestic abuse has been developed for children and young people in the general population. While these have been widely implemented, few have been rigorously evaluated. This study aimed to discover what was known about these interventions for children and what worked for whom in which settings. Review methods: This mixed knowledge review was informed by realist principles and comprised four overlapping phases: an online mapping survey to identify current provision; a systematic review of the existing literature; a review of the UK ‘grey’ literature; and consultation with young people and experts. Information from these four sources of evidence informed analysis of costs and benefits. Results: The evidence for interventions achieving changes in knowledge and attitudes was stronger than that for behavioural change. Shifting social norms in the peer group emerged as a key mechanism of change. Media campaigns act to influence the wider social climate within which more targeted interventions are received, and they are also a source for programme materials. While most interventions are delivered in secondary schools, they are increasingly targeted at younger children. The review emphasised the importance of a school’s ‘readiness’ to introduce preventative interventions which need to be supported across all aspects of school life. Involving young people in the design and delivery of programmes increases authenticity and this emerged as a key ingredient in achieving impact. Longer interventions delivered by appropriately trained staff appeared likely to be more effective. Teachers emerged as well placed to embed interventions in schools but they require training and support from those with specialist knowledge in domestic abuse. There was evidence that small groups of students who were at higher risk might have accounted for some results regarding effectiveness and that programme effectiveness may vary for certain subgroups. Increasingly, boys are being identified as a target for change. The study identified a need for interventions for disabled children and children and young people from black, Asian, minority ethnic and refugee groups and a particular lack of materials designed for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. Limitations: Very little evidence was identified on costs and cost-effectiveness. Few studies showed an effect at the level of significance set for the review. Where it did exist, the effect size was small, except in respect of improved knowledge. The inability to calculate a response rate for the mapping survey, which used a snowballing approach, limits the ability to generalise from it. Conclusions: While it is appropriate to continue to deliver interventions to whole populations of children and young people, effectiveness appeared to be influenced by high-risk children and young people, who should be directed to additional support. Programmes also need to make provision to manage any resulting disclosures. Interventions appear to be context specific, and so those already being widely delivered in the UK and which are likely to be acceptable should be robustly tested. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme

Thermal photon to dilepton ratio in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions

The ratio of transverse momentum distribution of thermal photons to dilepton has been evaluated. It is observed that this ratio reaches a plateau beyond a certain value of transverse momentum. We argue that this ratio can be used to estimate the initial temperature of the system by selecting the transverse momentum and invariance mass windows judiciously. It is demonstrated that if the radial flow is large then the plateau disappear and hence a deviation from the plateau can be used as an indicator of large radial flow. The sensitivity of the results on various input parameters has been studied.Comment: 9 pages with 11 eps figure