A frontline service? Nursery Schools as local community hubs in an era of austerity

Nursery Schools in the UK have been described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of early years provision because of the quality of education and a wide range of other support services that they provide, particularly for children from socio-economically disadvantaged families and those with complex special educational needs (SEN). In this paper, we explore the role of Nursery Schools in the local community, arguing that they have been re/constructed as a frontline service in the context of austerity policies enacted in England over the past decade. The data presented in support of this argument arise from detailed interviews with 17 staff based in four Nursery Schools. Our data lead us to argue that, in the current context of austerity and cuts to a range of local services, Nursery Schools are filling welfare gaps for families by providing clothing, trips and food voucher advice to families. They are also supporting increasing numbers of SEN children and are described as a first point of contact with state-run services by many, especially minority ethnic and working-class families. We conclude by arguing that Nursery Schools’ funding must be protected so that they can continue to provide support to some of the most vulnerable children and their families in England

The association of TB with HIV infection in Oromia Regional National State, Ethiopia in 2006/7

Background: Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an established risk factor for tuberculosis infection. Population-based data on associations between HIV and tuberculosis (TB) can provide an epidemiological assessment of the impact of HIV infection on TB in environments where individual based data are difficult to collect.Method: We used an ecological study to assess the association between infection with HIV and tuberculosis in Oromia Region National State, Ethiopia in 2006/7.Result: The prevalence of HIV infection was significantly associated with the incidence of TB across the areas in Oromia region (r=0.69,

Providing Access for Students with Moderate Disabilities: An Evaluation of a Professional Development Program at a Catholic Elementary School

After a significant policy change led to the admittance of students with moderate disabilities, St. Agnes School (SAS; pseudonym)—a Catholic PK-8 school in Southern California—implemented an 18-month professional development (PD) program to improve teachers’ inclusive classroom practices. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Center for Applied Special Technology, 2015b), the PD program included cyclical, one-on-one instructional coaching sessions that were led by trained UDL coaches and consisted of lesson demonstrations and personalized feedback. While SAS teachers held state credentials, most had very little training to work with students with special needs prior to this PD; the purpose of this study was to evaluate the UDL PD program at SAS in terms of its impact on teachers’ instructional practices and students’ engagement in the classroom. Data from one-on-one interviews and classroom observations were analyzed using evaluation coding (Patton, 2002, 2008; Rallis & Rossman, 2003; Saldana, 2013) and findings revealed improvements in classroom instruction and student engagement for teachers who embraced the framework. Administrative and programmatic challenges that emerged over the course of the program and teachers’ hope for a long term shift toward professional learning communities among faculty and staff are discussed. Acceso a estudiantes con discapacidades moderadas: evaluación de un programa de desarrollo profesional en una escuela elemental católica Después de que un cambio normativo significativo permitiera la admisión de estudiantes con discapacidades moderadas, St. Agnes School (SAS), una escuela católica de pre-kínder a 8o del sur de California, implementó un programa de desarrollo profesional (DP) de 18 meses para mejorar las prácticas inclusivas en el aula de los profesores. Basados en el marco teórico del Diseño Universal de Aprendizaje (UDL, Universal Design for Learning, Center for Applied Special Technology, 2015b), el programa DP incluyó sesiones cíclicas de instrucción personal, lideradas por especialistas en formación UDL que consistían en demostraciones de lecciones y comentarios personalizados. Aunque los profesores de SAS tenían credenciales estatales, la mayoría no había recibido formación para trabajar con estudiantes con necesidades especiales antes de este DP. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el programa de DP de UDL en SAS en cuanto a su impacto en las prácticas de instrucción del profesorado y la participación de los estudiantes en el aula. Se analizó la información de las entrevistas personalizadas y las observaciones de clase utilizando la codificación de la evaluación (Patton, 2002, 2008, Rallis & Rossman, 2003, Salana, 2013). Los resultados revelaron mejoras en la instrucción en el aula y en la participación de los estudiantes para aquellos profesores que adoptaron el marco. Se discuten los retos administrativos y programáticos que emergieron en el transcurso del programa, así como el deseo de los profesores de un cambio a largo plazo hacia comunidades de aprendizaje profesionales entre profesores y personal administrativo. Palabras clave: desarrollo profesional, inclusión, diseño universal del aprendizaje, educación católica Donner accès aux élèves moyennement handicapés : une évaluation d\u27un programme de développement professionnel dans une école catholique primaire Après l\u27admission d\u27élèves moyennement handicapés à la suite d\u27un important changement de politique, l\u27école Sainte Agnès (dont le pseudonyme est SAS), une école catholique de la maternelle à la 3e dans le sud de la Californie, a mis en œuvre un programme de développement professionnel de 18 mois pour que les enseignants améliorent leurs pratiques d\u27inclusion en classe. Ce programme, ancré dans le cadre théorique de l\u27Universal Design for Learning (concept universel d\u27apprentissage), (UDL ; Centre de technologies appliquée, 2015b), comprenait des séances de formation pédagogique en tête à tête, dirigées par des animateurs formés à l\u27UDL, constituées de démonstrations de cours et d\u27un feedback personnalisé. Alors que les enseignants de SAS étaient titulaires de diplômes d\u27État, la plupart étaient peu formés à travailler avec des élèves présentant des besoins particuliers avant ce programme. Cette étude visait à évaluer le programme de développement professionnel de l\u27UDL à SAS par rapport à son impact sur les pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et la participation des élèves en classe. Des données tirées des entretiens en tête à tête et des observations en classe ont été analysées à l\u27aide d\u27un codage d\u27évaluation (Patton, 2002, 2008; Rallis & Rossman, 2003 ; Saldana, 2013) et les conclusions ont montré des améliorations dans l\u27enseignement dispensé en classe et la participation des élèves pour les enseignants qui ont appliqué le cadre. Les difficultés administratives et programmatiques qui sont apparues pendant le programme et l\u27espoir des enseignants de voir s’opérer un changement à long terme parmi le corps enseignant et le personnel y sont exposés. Mots-clés : développement professionnel, Universal Design for Learning, éducation catholiqu

Low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy and SPECT brain imaging in the treatment of blast-induced chronic traumatic brain injury (post-concussion syndrome) and post traumatic stress disorder: a case report

A 25-year-old male military veteran presented with diagnoses of post concussion syndrome and post traumatic stress disorder three years after loss of consciousness from an explosion in combat. The patient underwent single photon emission computed tomography brain blood flow imaging before and after a block of thirty-nine 1.5 atmospheres absolute hyperbaric oxygen treatments. The patient experienced a permanent marked improvement in his post-concussive symptoms, physical exam findings, and brain blood flow. In addition, he experienced a complete resolution of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. After treatment he became and has remained employed for eight consecutive months. This case suggests a novel treatment for the combined diagnoses of blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder

Complex diffuse radio emission in the merging PLANCK ESZ cluster Abell 3411

We present VLA radio and Chandra X-ray observations of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 3411. For the cluster, we find an overall temperature of 6.4 keV and an X-ray luminosity of 2.8 x 10^{44} erg s^{-1} between 0.5 and 2.0 keV. The Chandra observation reveals the cluster to be undergoing a merger event. The VLA observations show the presence of large-scale diffuse emission in the central region of the cluster, which we classify as a 0.9 Mpc size radio halo. In addition, a complex region of diffuse, polarized emission is found in the southeastern outskirts of the cluster, along the projected merger axis of the system. We classify this region of diffuse emission as a radio relic. The total extent of this radio relic is 1.9 Mpc. For the combined emission in the cluster region, we find a radio spectral index of -1.0 \pm 0.1 between 74 MHz and 1.4 GHz. The morphology of the radio relic is peculiar, as the relic is broken up into five fragments. This suggests that the shock responsible for the relic has been broken up due to interaction with a large-scale galaxy filament connected to the cluster or other substructures in the ICM. Alternatively, the complex morphology reflects the presence of electrons in fossil radio bubbles that are re-accelerated by a shock.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 8 pages, 5 figure