Gaining entry, gaining confidence: a study of the Glasgow access to Primary Education project

In spite of strenuous efforts to improve the take-up rate of higher education places by students from non-traditional backgrounds, some communities remain relatively isolated from the national trend to increased participation. Located in discourses of access and community, this paper describes a two year project run in partnership between Glasgow City Council Department of Education and the University of Glasgow, which concentrated not on changing entry tariffs, but on increasing the motivation of students, and upon working with them within their own communities and schools in order to enable them to achieve the entry standard demanded for courses of initial teacher education. The methodologies used are described, and the success of the project relative to its objectives is recorded. Further, the conceptualisation of the project within current debates is discussed

Teacher education in the UK in an era of performance management

In common with all education systems world wide, those of the United Kingdom have been subject to rapid change and development in recent years. Much of the management of this change has been supported by methods, including performance management of individuals, borrowed from industrial or commercial spheres of activity (Peters et al, 1999). This has led to a redefinition of concepts of teacher professionalism. In the two principal UK systems - those of England (often itself referred to as the UK system) and Scotland - there have been different emphases in terms of managing and developing the profession, although concerns of staff development and professional accountability are encapsulated in both. In this paper we argue, firstly, that staff development - of whatever variety - has to result in better learning for young people within schools. Secondly, we assert that the construction of teacher professionalism is a contested area in the UK, both in terms of initial teacher education and in terms of continuing professional development and that there has to be a recognition of this debate. Ultimately, however, both sides need to come together to create systems which support and develop pupil learning

Linearized dynamical model for the NASA/IEEE SCOLE configuration

The linearized equation of motion for the NASA/IEEE SCOLE configuration are developed. The derivation is based on the method of Lagrange and the equations are assembled into matrix second order form

Why older adults spend time sedentary and break their sedentary behavior: a mixed methods approach using life-logging equipment

Older adults are recommended to reduce their sedentary time to promote healthy ageing. To develop effective interventions identifying when, why, and how older adults are able to change their sitting habits is important. The aim of this mixed-method study was to improve our understanding of reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior in older adults. Thirty older adults (74.0 [+/- 5.3] years old, 73% women) were asked about their believed reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior, and about their actual reasons when looking at a personal storyboard with objective records of activPAL monitor data and time-lapse camera pictures showing all their periods of sedentary time in a day. The most often mentioned believed reason for remaining sedentary was television/radio (mentioned by 48.3%), while eating/drinking was most often mentioned as actual reason (96.6%). Only 17.2% believed that food/tea preparation was a reason to break up sitting, while this was an actual reason for 82.8% of the study sample. Results of this study show that there is a discrepancy between believed and actual reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior. These findings suggest developing interventions utilizing the actual reasons for breaking sedentary behavior to reduce sedentary time in older adults

Modifying older adults’ daily sedentary behaviour using an asset-based solution: views from older adults

Objective: There is a growing public health focus on the promotion of successful and active ageing. Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour (SB) in older adults are feasible and are improved by tailoring to individuals' context and circumstances. SB is ubiquitous; therefore part of the tailoring process is to ensure individuals' daily sedentary routine can be modified. The aim of this study was to understand the views of older adults and identify important considerations when creating a solution to modify daily sedentary patterns. Method: This was a qualitative research study. Fifteen older adult volunteers (mean age = 78 years) participated in 1 of 4 focus groups to identify solutions to modify daily sedentary routine. Two researchers conducted the focus groups whilst a third took detailed fieldnotes on a flipchart to member check the findings. Data were recorded and analysed thematically. Results: Participants wanted a solution with a range of options which could be tailored to individual needs and circumstances. The strategy suggested was to use the activities of daily routine and reasons why individuals already naturally interrupting their SB, collectively framed as assets. These assets were categorised into 5 sub-themes: physical assets (eg. standing up to reduce stiffness); psychological assets (eg. standing up to reduce feelings of guilt); interpersonal assets (eg. standing up to answer the phone); knowledge assets (eg. standing up due to knowing the benefits of breaking SB) and activities of daily living assets (eg. standing up to get a drink). Conclusion: This study provides important considerations from older adults' perspectives to modify their daily sedentary patterns. The assets identified by participants could be used to co-create a tailored intervention with older adults to reduce SB, which may increase effectiveness and adherence

Mastitis in Dairy Cattle

Summary1. Mastitis is usually caused by a specific organism, Streptococus agalactiae.2. Mastitis occurs in one or more of the milking cows in nearly all herds of any size. It is more prevalent in old than in young cows.3. The most common symptoms of mastitis are: Swollen, in flamed quarters, flakes or lumps of curd in the milk and on the milk strainer pad.4. Mastitis producing bacteria enter the udder through the streak canal.5. There are several tests for detecting mastitis in milking cows. The microscopic inspection of milk in which the long chain streptococci organisms are found is the most dependable.6. Mastitis can be controlled by testing, observing sanitary practices in the barn, use of medicaments, and slaughter of the chronic cases that will not yield to treatment.The control and prevention of diseases and ailments in dairy herds mean more to the success of a well-bred dairy herd than any other single factor. As the herd increases in number and the individuals in the herd improve in production, diseases occur more frequently. This is only natural. With larger numbers more animals contact each other, increasing the possibilities of infection.High-producing animals are highly developed and therefore hard working. They cannot withstand the hardships and contagion of disease as can the boarder cow, which is largely on a maintenance basis

Multiscale tunability of solitary wave dynamics in tensegrity metamaterials

A new class of strongly nonlinear metamaterials based on tensegrity concepts is proposed and the solitary wave dynamics under impact loading is investigated. Such systems can be tuned into elastic hardening or elastic softening regimes by adjusting local and global prestress. In the softening regime these metamaterials are able to transform initially compression pulse into a solitary rarefaction wave followed by oscillatory tail with progressively decreasing amplitude. Interaction of a compression solitary pulse with an interface between elastically hardening and softening materials having correspondingly low-high acoustic impedances demonstrates anomalous behavior: a train of reflected compression solitary waves in the low impedance material; and a transmitted solitary rarefaction wave with oscillatory tail in high impedance material. The interaction of a rarefaction solitary wave with an interface between elastically softening and elastically hardening materials with high-low impedances also demonstrates anomalous behavior: a reflected solitary rarefaction wave with oscillatory tail in the high impedance branch; and a delayed train of transmitted compression solitary pulses in the low impedance branch. These anomalous impact transformation properties may allow for the design of ultimate impact mitigation devices without relying on energy dissipation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure