Wider benefits of education: skills, higher education and civic engagement

In this paper we do the following: First we describe the remit and programme of the University of London’s Wider Benefits of Learning Research Centre, which studies the noneconomic effects of learning, at individual but also collective level. We set out a theoretical framework for our programme, organised around three ‘capitals’: human capital, social capital, and identity capital. After that we report results drawn from two large-scale longitudinal datasets. We use the data collected in the 1958 cohort study at ages 33 and 42 to assess the wider benefits of participating in any form of education over the period 33 to 42. This focusses on four clusters of outcomes: health; wellbeing; social attitudes; and political involvement. Additionally, we trace a variety of relationships, and discuss the issues involved in establishing causality. Our conclusion is that education is not so much an option for government but an absolute pre-requisite for the promotion of personal well-being and a cohesive society. (DIPF/Orig.)Zu Beginn wird das Wider Benefits of Learning Research Centre der Universität London vorgestellt, das sich mit den nicht-ökonomischen Effekten des Lernens und der Bildung auf individueller und kollektiver Ebene beschäftigt. Nach einer Erläuterung des theoretischen Rahmens der Studien, der auf den drei Konzepten Humankapital, Soziales Kapital und Identitätskapital beruht, werden die Ergebnisse zweier britischer Longitudinalstudien (Beginn: 1958 bzw. 1970) vorgestellt. Insbesondere werden die Folgen der Teilhabe an Bildung in den Bereichen Gesundheit, Wohlbefinden, soziale Einstellungen und politisches Involvement differenziert aufgezeigt. Die Schlussfolgerung lautet: Regierungen sollten wissen, dass Bildung nicht einfach eine Möglichkeit, sondern eine unabdingbare Voraussetzung für die Förderung von persönlichem Wohlbefinden und einer kohäsiven Gesellschaft ist. (DIPF/Orig.

Aortic Coarctation: Recent Developments in Experimental and Computational Methods to Assess Treatments for this Simple Condition

Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is often considered a relatively simple disease, but long-term outcomes suggest otherwise as life expectancies are decades less than in the average population and substantial morbidity often exists. What follows is an expanded version of collective work conducted by the authors\u27 and numerous collaborators that was presented at the 1st International Conference on Computational Simulation in Congenital Heart Disease pertaining to recent advances for CoA. The work begins by focusing on what is known about blood flow, pressure and indices of wall shear stress (WSS) in patients with normal vascular anatomy from both clinical imaging and the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. Hemodynamic alterations observed in CFD studies from untreated CoA patients and those undergoing surgical or interventional treatment are subsequently discussed. The impact of surgical approach, stent design and valve morphology are also presented for these patient populations. Finally, recent work from a representative experimental animal model of CoA that may offer insight into proposed mechanisms of long-term morbidity in CoA is presented

Quantification of Local Hemodynamic Alterations Caused by Virtual Implantation of Three Commercially Available Stents for the Treatment of Aortic Coarctation

Patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA) are prone to morbidity including atherosclerotic plaque that has been shown to correlate with altered wall shear stress (WSS) in the descending thoracic aorta (dAo). We created the first patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a CoA patient treated by Palmaz stenting to date, and compared resulting WSS distributions to those from virtual implantation of Genesis XD and modified NuMED CP stents, also commonly used for CoA. CFD models were created from magnetic resonance imaging, fluoroscopy and blood pressure data. Simulations incorporated vessel deformation, downstream vascular resistance and compliance to match measured data and generate blood flow velocity and time-averaged WSS (TAWSS) results. TAWSS was quantified longitudinally and circumferentially in the stented region and dAo. While modest differences were seen in the distal portion of the stented region, marked differences were observed downstream along the posterior dAo and depended on stent type. The Genesis XD model had the least area of TAWSS values exceeding the threshold for platelet aggregation in vitro, followed by the Palmaz and NuMED CP stents. Alterations in local blood flow patterns and WSS imparted on the dAo appear to depend on the type of stent implanted for CoA. Following confirmation in larger studies, these findings may aid pediatric interventional cardiologists in selecting the most appropriate stent for each patient, and ultimately reduce long-term morbidity following treatment for CoA by stenting

Leisure contexts in adolescence and their effects on adult outcomes [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 15]

This research has been undertaken by WBL for the government's Strategy Unit as part of the development of an evidence-base to inform government thinking on provision for young people. It examines the kinds of background and personal characteristics that predict participation. We look at which children are taking part in different types of age 16 leisure contexts and then consider the apparent implications of these contexts on later outcomes, measured in the same cohort at age 30. The research is based on a preliminary analysis of the relevant data, so conclusions from the study are tentative. However, a clear finding is that the contexts in which adolescents spend their out-of-school time are important aspects of their pathways into adulthood and carry strong signals about future life chances. We conclude that the provision offered in these contexts is an important and hitherto under-valued and under-resourced component of the infrastructure for young people. Structured activities at around age 16 can make a big difference to the life paths of adolescents. Yet the contexts in which young people congregate bring risks as well as opportunities. The expansion of funding for out-of-school contexts cannot be made without assessment of the quality of that provision. Peer group effects mean that there are unlikely to be positive long-term effects for children if no structure is provided but successful mediation of these risks can bring lasting benefits. However, it is the young people who need targeted provision and support that are most likely to be found in unstructured settings. These are precisely the settings where adult facilitation and investment is needed. From a perspective of equality of opportunity, the big policy challenge is to develop leisure settings in which young people who are most at risk of adult social exclusion will engage, while at the same time building in the elements of curriculum and structure that this analysis has identified as supportive of subsequent social inclusion

Proposed Information Systems Accreditation Criteria

The time for accreditation of programs in Information Systems seems appropriate because of the demands of industry and academe. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation and has representatives appointed by the leading societies in computing, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS), Association for Information Systems (AIS), Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) and the computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB)

The Contribution of Adult Learning to Health and Social Capital [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 8]

The research described in this report assesses the effects of adult learning on twelve health and social capital outcomes. Data from a national British cohort are used to track changes in people's lives between 33 and 42, and the links between these changes and adult learning are estimated. The findings suggest that adult learning has effects on a wide range of outcomes and plays an important role in contributing to the small shifts in attitudes and behaviours that take place during mid adulthood. More detailed findings relating to specific outcomes, types of courses taken, and groups of learners provide further interesting evidence about why and when adult learning matters

A Rapid and Computationally Inexpensive Method to Virtually Implant Current and Next-Generation Stents into Subject-Specific Computational Fluid Dynamics Models

Computational modeling is often used to quantify hemodynamic alterations induced by stenting, but frequently uses simplified device or vascular representations. Based on a series of Boolean operations, we developed an efficient and robust method for assessing the influence of current and next-generation stents on local hemodynamics and vascular biomechanics quantified by computational fluid dynamics. Stent designs were parameterized to allow easy control over design features including the number, width and circumferential or longitudinal spacing of struts, as well as the implantation diameter and overall length. The approach allowed stents to be automatically regenerated for rapid analysis of the contribution of design features to resulting hemodynamic alterations. The applicability of the method was demonstrated with patient-specific models of a stented coronary artery bifurcation and basilar trunk aneurysm constructed from medical imaging data. In the coronary bifurcation, we analyzed the hemodynamic difference between closed-cell and open-cell stent geometries. We investigated the impact of decreased strut size in stents with a constant porosity for increasing flow stasis within the stented basilar aneurysm model. These examples demonstrate the current method can be used to investigate differences in stent performance in complex vascular beds for a variety of stenting procedures and clinical scenarios

IS\u272000 Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems: Update Progress from IS\u2797

IS’97 represents the culmination of a four year effort by the CoChairs, task forces and reviewers (Davis 1997). The work now represents the official model curriculum for the ACM, AIS and AITP. Preliminary reports were presented in 1994 (Gorgone 1994) and in 1995 (Longenecker et al 1995). Presentations of IS’95 draft, and the finished IS’97 have been made subsequently at AIS, ICIS, ISECON, IAIM, IACIS, SIGCSE, DSI, and IRMA conferences by one or more of the CoChairs