Evaluation of arts across the curriculum

This is the final report on the evaluation of the Arts Across the Curriculum (AAC) project, prepared bythe evaluation team in the Quality in Education Centre (QIE) at the University of Strathclyde, who were commissioned by the Scottish Government (formerly Scottish Executive) Education Department.Arts Across the Curriculum is a three-year pilot project sponsored by the former Scottish Executive'sFuture Learning and Teaching (FLaT) programme1, the Scottish Arts Council, and seven localauthorities in which the initiative is being piloted. In order to be eligible to participate in AAC, localauthorities had to have a Creative Links Officer in post. The seven Creative Links Officers were responsible for the management of the AAC project in their local authority

Evaluation of North Lanarkshire's cooperative learning programme

This is the final report by the Quality in Education Centre (QIE) at the University of Strathclyde of anevaluation of the North Lanarkshire cooperative learning project. The project and the evaluation arefunded as part of the Scottish Executive's Future Learning and Teaching (FLaT) Programme(http://www.flatprojects.org.uk/). Cooperative learning was introduced in North Lanarkshire in 2002 as part of a wider programme toraise aspirations and achievement and attainment (Raising Achievement for All,North Lanarkshire Education Department, 1998). The authority have made the commitment that all teachers and supportstaff will be trained in cooperative learning, if they wish, over a period of at least 5 years. Since theintroduction of A Curriculum for Excellence, the authority has been emphasising the strengths ofcooperative learning in supporting the development of the four capacities (successful learners,confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society). They also believe that it provides a suitable medium for taking forward other national initiatives such asAssessment is for Learning and Enterprise in Education

Towards inclusion? Models of behaviour support in secondary schools in one education authority in Scotland

This article draws on data emerging from an evaluation of behaviour support strategies in secondary schools in an education authority in Scotland. The authors all work at the University of Glasgow. Jean Kane has research and teaching interests in the area of special educational needs; she offers consultancy to local authorities in the development of inclusive policies and practices in schools. Dr George Head has research and teaching interests in the area of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and social inclusion; he is also an experienced teacher. Both Jean Kane and George Head are lecturers in the Faculty of Education. Nicola Cogan is a researcher at the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research and has a background as a research psychologist in the health sector. In Scotland, the growth of behaviour support provision is closely related to broader policy on social inclusion. It is argued in this article that new models of behaviour support can be developed in the light of previous and related experience in the development of inclusive support systems in schools. The authors present a typology of behaviour support, drawing upon their evaluation of provision, and discuss the characteristics of the types of support that emerge. Using data from exclusion statistics, pupil case studies and interviews with teachers, managers, pupils and parents, Jean Kane, George Head and Nicola Cogan explore the implications of their work for future developments in support for pupils who present difficult behaviours

Getting the inactive active : implications for public health policy

Epidemiological data have established that a sedentary lifestyle increases the incidence of at least 17 medical conditions. The evidence is strongest for coronary heart disease. A sedentary lifestyle is now the normal lifestyle for the majority of the populations in developed countries and relapse from regular physical activity is also high. Thus there is clear need for public policy aimed at increasing the physical activity levels in the population. Policy makers have begun to respond to this need and recently Scottish and English plans for increasing physical activity levels in the populations have been published

Reducing avoidable inequalities in health: a new criterion for setting health care capitation payments

Traditionally, most health care systems which pretend to any sort of rationality and cost control have sought to allocate their limited funds in order to secure equal opportunity of access for equal need. The UK government is implementing a fundamental change of resource allocation philosophy towards contributing to the reduction of avoidable health inequalities. The purpose of this essay is to explore some of the economic issues that arise when seeking to allocate health care resources according to the new criterion. It indicates that health inequalities might arise because of variations in the quality of health services, variations in access to those services, or variations in the way people produce health, and that the resource allocation consequences differ depending on which source is being addressed. The paper shows that an objective of reducing health inequalities is not necessarily compatible with an objective of equity of access, nor with the objective of maximising health gain. The results have profound consequences for approaches towards economic evaluation, the role of clinical guidelines and performance management, as well as for resource allocation methods

An availability study for a SME

A case study of an availability analysis for a small commercial company is presented. The analysis was carried out to meet a customer requirement for the availability of an electronic ground-based system in a benign environment. Availability calculations were based on failure data provided and an explanation of the methodology and problems encountered and dealt with are discussed. The methodology includes failure classification according to MIL-HDBK-781A and how it may be used to promote and develop internal processes. A commentary on the background to reliability/availability specification is provided and a number of recommendations for monitoring reliability and availability are given

Social capital theory: a cross-cutting analytic for teacher/therapist work in integrating children's services?

Reviewing relevant policy, this article argues that the current 'integration interlude' is concerned with reformation of work relations to create new forms of 'social capital'. The conceptual framework of social capital has been used by government policy-makers and academic researchers to examine different types, configurations and qualities of relationships, including professional relations, and how these may function as resources. Focusing on the co-work of teachers and speech and language therapists, this analysis introduces social capital as a means of understanding the impact of integrating children's services on professional practitioner groups and across agencies. Social capital theory is compared to alternative theoretical perspectives such as systems and discourse theories and explored as an analytic offering a multi-level typology and conceptual framework for understanding the effects of policy and governance on interprofessional working and relationships. A previous application of social capital theory in a literature review is introduced and analysed, and instances of the additionality provided by a social capital analysis is offered. The article concludes that amongst the effects of current policy to re-design children's services are the reconstruction of professionals' knowledge/s and practices, so it is essential that such policy processes that have complex and far-reaching effects are transparent and coherent. It is also important that new social capital relations in children's services are produced by groups representative of all involved, importantly including those practitioner groups charged in policy to work differently together in future integrated services

Mediating punitiveness: understanding public attitudes towards work-related fatality cases

This paper concerns an empirical investigation into public attitudes towards work-related fatality cases, where organizational offenders cause the death of workers or members of the public. This issue is particularly relevant following the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 into UK law. Here, as elsewhere, the use of criminal law against companies reflects governmental concerns over public confidence in the law’s ability to regulate risk. The empirical findings demonstrate that high levels of public concern over these cases do not translate into punitive attitudes. Such cases are viewed rationally and constructively, and lead to instrumental rather than purely expressive enforcement preferences

The Risk of Unexploded Ordnance on Construction Sites in London

Greater London, among many large cities, was subject to bombing by the German military in both the World Wars and was the target of many air raids during the Second World War (WW2). This was particularly the case during the Blitz, September 1940 – May 1941, when over 28,000 high explosive bombs and parachute mines were dropped on London. Post war research conducted in 1949 estimated that approximately 12,750 t of bombs, including V1 and V2 rockets, were dropped on London. The night of 16th – 17th April 1941 was one of the worst bombing raids, when 446 t of bombs were dropped on London and over 58 t did not detonate. Unexploded bombs remain buried underground today, as they were unidentified at the time or abandoned owing to difficulties in recovering them. Uncharted bombs continue to pose a potentially significant hazard for developments around London. This paper considers the probability of discovering unexploded ordnance (UXO), particularly WW2 ordnance, during intrusive groundworks in London. The prevalence of unexploded ordnance has been assessed using data obtained from governmental organisations to estimate the likelihood of discovery in London