Evaluation of curriculum online: Report of the third survey of schools

This report, based on interviews with a range of teachers and pupils in a sample of primary and secondary schools in England, examined, in depth, how schools responded to the third year of the curriculum online programme. Report on the industry impact of curriculum onlin

Evaluation of the Adult Learning Grant cohort 2 (wave 1)

"The Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) are evaluating ALG on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills and the National Office of the Learning and Skills Council... The Adult Learning Grant (ALG) aims to support adults who have not yet obtained their first Level 2 or first Level 3 qualification. The ALG is intended to help adults with the additional costs of learning (for example, books, travel) through the provision of a means-tested monetary grant." - pp. i-ii

Evaluation of the Adult Learning Grant cohort 1 (waves 1 and 2)

"The Adult Learning Grant (ALG) was announced as part of the Government’s Skills Strategy in 2003. The ALG pilot began in September 2003 in ten areas across England. The ALG aims to support adults in learning through the offer of a meanstested monetary allowance... Throughout the report (except for ALG experiences), [this] analysis focuses on comparisons between ALG applicants (or sub-groups: awardees or recipients) and qualification-eligible non-applicants." -- pp. i & iii

Evaluating The Use Of The Tachistoscope As An Aid In Teaching Reading In Grades Four Through Eight

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of the tachistoscope as an aid in teaching reading in the upper five elementary grades. In making this appraisal, an attempt was made to determine reading progress made by each of the ten participating classes and to compare the progress of those students instructed with the tachistoscope with those students who were taught reading without the aid of this device

Grassland vegetation from three conservation measures

accepted for publicationSemi-natural grassland habitats have declined significantly throughout Europe. To halt the decline, grassland conservation measures have been included in most European agri-environment schemes. This is the first study to compare the botanical composition of grassland habitats managed under the Irish Agri Environment Options Scheme (AEOS). Sixty fields on dry stock pastoral farms in receipt of agri-environment payments for grassland conservation were surveyed, with twenty fields being enrolled in each of the following AEOS options: Traditional Hay Meadow (THM), Species Rich Grassland (SRG) and Natura 2000 species rich grassland (Natura). The vegetation quality of sites enrolled in the Natura measure was higher than those enrolled in the THM and SRG measures. Natura sites had the greatest species richness with a mean > 40 species per site, which included approximately 17 species indicative of high botanical quality. Traditional Hay Meadow sites had the lowest species richness (mean 29 species per site) and were dominated by species associated with improved grassland. Some THM sites had good levels of botanical richness and were similar in composition to Natura sites, with some Natura sites having a lower vegetation quality, more similar to that of THM sites. Species Rich Grassland had a botanical richness that was intermediate between THM and Natura sites. A thorough assessment of the effectiveness of these measures was confounded by a lack of quantitative objectives for the target community composition to be attained. We discuss limitations and potential opportunities regarding the design, targeting, implementation and cost-effectiveness of these agri-environment measures.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

Spectral binning as an approach to post-acquisition processing of high resolution FIE-MS metabolome fingerprinting data

INTRODUCTION: Flow infusion electrospray high resolution mass spectrometry (FIE-HRMS) fingerprinting produces complex, high dimensional data sets which require specialist in-silico software tools to process the data prior to analysis. OBJECTIVES: Present spectral binning as a pragmatic approach to post-acquisition procession of FIE-HRMS metabolome fingerprinting data. METHODS: A spectral binning approach was developed that included the elimination of single scan m/z events, the binning of spectra and the averaging of spectra across the infusion profile. The modal accurate m/z was then extracted for each bin. This approach was assessed using four different biological matrices and a mix of 31 known chemical standards analysed by FIE-HRMS using an Exactive Orbitrap. Bin purity and centrality metrics were developed to objectively assess the distribution and position of accurate m/z within an individual bin respectively. RESULTS: The optimal spectral binning width was found to be 0.01 amu. 80.8% of the extracted accurate m/z matched to predicted ionisation products of the chemical standards mix were found to have an error of below 3 ppm. The open-source R package binneR was developed as a user friendly implementation of the approach. This was able to process 100 data files using 4 Central Processing Units (CPU) workers in only 55 seconds with a maximum memory usage of 1.36 GB. CONCLUSION: Spectral binning is a fast and robust method for the post-acquisition processing of FIE-HRMS data. The open-source R package binneR allows users to efficiently process data from FIE-HRMS experiments with the resources available on a standard desktop computer. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11306-022-01923-6

Australia's frontline: Remembering the 1939-45 war

No abstract availabl

Co-design of an NHS Primary Care Health Check for Autistic Adults

Autistic people experience more health conditions and earlier mortality. This study investigated views about a primary care health check for autistic adults to inform its design. Fifty-one people participated in consultation groups and interviews, comprising autistic adults (some with co-occurring intellectual disabilities), adults with intellectual disabilities, supporters and health professionals. Participants wanted the health check to cover physical and mental health and social functioning. They emphasised the importance of sharing information about individual needs and associated adjustments before the health check. They highlighted the need to change the way healthcare services communicate with autistic people, such as reducing phone contact and booking appointments online. They wanted individual choice in how the health check was completed, with video call or email offered alongside face-to-face. Participants raised the need for further training of primary care staff on autism, to highlight the diversity of experiences of autistic people and ways in which difficulties, such as pain, may present differently. Clinicians raised questions about the capacity of mental health and social care services to meet the additional needs potentially identified through the health check. This study represents a key step in the development and co-design of a UK primary care health check for autistic people