Supporting professional development using the VLE in the PGCE/Certificate in Education

This case study is based in Coleg Glan Hafren and focuses on the Post-Compulsory Education and Training Programme franchised from the University of Wales, Newport (UWN). This is a case study into E-Learning Practice in the area of HE in FE. Funding was provided by DeL (JISCs Distributed e-Learning Programme). These case studies are intended to illustrate good/innovative practice in the delivery of HE in FE using e-learning. It concludes that e-learning, coupled with close professional relationships between all parties, can provide an innovative experience for various learners. The fact that the material is online is not paramount to success, and technology itself can cause problems, but with good liaison and support it can offer any time anywhere access for students, and empower them with skills immediately transferable in their own classrooms as teachers. It is presented as a final project report of some 10 page

Long Term Stability and Implications for Performance of High Strength Fibers Used in Body Armor

The objective of this work is to examine the relationship between structure (both molecular and morphological structure) and properties of high strength fibers. The superior performance of the high strength fibers is predicated on the development of a highly aligned molecular structure that allows the polymer to exhibit a superior strength in the axial direction of the fiber. Armor manufacturers have exploited the inherent strength of these materials to develop body armor that continues to defeat ever-increasing threats. However, even an ideal molecular structure will be subjected to a potentially hydrolytic or oxidative environment during use, which can reduce the high strength of these fibers, and impact their ability to protect the wearer. The effect of the wear environment on the molecular structure, which is responsible for the high strength of these fibers, has not been well understood by the scientific community. In this work, the chemical mechanisms of degradation were investigated at the molecular level to understand the effect of the environmental conditions on crystallinity, orientation, and molecular weight. The chemical mechanism and kinetics elucidated from these measurements are used to understand the reduction in strength of these materials after degradation. Hydrolysis was found to be the predominant mechanism of degradation for polybenzobisoxazole and goes to irreversible chain scission. Hydrolysis is also the primary mechanism of degradation for aramid fibers. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers undergo an oxidative mechanism of degradation, and the activation energy for this mechanism was calculated. Additionally, the release of acids from aramid copolymer fibers, and the performance of these fibers in hydrolytic and thermooxidative environments were studied to determine that hydrolytic degradation is the predominant degradation mechanism for these fibers. Exploratory research was also performed in an effort to improve the stability of UHMWPE fibers by using radiation to crosslink the UHMWPE fibers and increase the temperature of their alpha relaxation. However, this radiation treatment was still found to reduce the overall tensile strength of these fibers. In summary, the wear environment and vulnerabilities of a material to degradation are essential when selecting materials or developing new materials for use in body armor

The effects of paid labor force participation on voluntary participation among women

Although still not present at an equal proportion to men, women are becoming increasingly present in the labor force in the United States. It may be important to consider the possible effect that women\u27s increased labor force participation has for the community. More specifically, this research aims to examine the effects of women\u27s increased labor force participation on voluntary participation in rural communities. Data from a survey completed in 2004 was used to explore the present topic of women volunteers in rural communities. Questionnaires were sent by mail to 15,000 residents of Iowa. Theories relating to this area of research were examined and tested to gain a better understanding of the roles of women in small communities. Limited evidence was found in favor of both human capital and role overload perspectives

Effectiveness of an Intervention Regarding Weight Status of Selected New Mexico Kindergarten Children and their Parent’s Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to analyze pre-existing data of selected kindergarten children in New Mexico regarding the relationship between measured body mass index (BMI) and parents/guardians selfreported perceptions of their child’s weight status. The study is unique because it gives the opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of an intervention that is tailored to a child’s BMI. A total of six districts and 35 schools agreed to participate during this 2004-05 study. A total of 1,480 kindergarten children had their BMI measured by the school nurses. Two instruments were used to conduct the study, a bilingual pre- and post-intervention survey, and the CDC’s gender-specific body mass index for age percentile charts. The intervention materials included only literature for the parent/guardian to read. The largest variation in changes of perception occurred in the borderline categories of at risk of overweight and underweight. On the pre-intervention survey, 10% of the survey respondents accurately described their child as at risk of overweight and increased to 47% on the post- intervention survey. A total of 11% of survey respondents accurately described their child’s weight status as underweight on the pre- intervention survey and this increased to 23% on the post-intervention survey. This study was a seminal attempt to obtain information regarding childhood obesity in the state of New Mexico, particularly among kindergarten children. Interventions regarding childhood obesity should be tailored to the parent/guardian as well as the child. Different interventions are needed for parents/guardians of children in the definitive categories of overweight and normal weight than for those parents/guardians of children who are at risk of overweight and underweight

Probabilistic Riemannian submanifold learning with wrapped Gaussian process latent variable models

Latent variable models (LVMs) learn probabilistic models of data manifolds lying in an \emph{ambient} Euclidean space. In a number of applications, a priori known spatial constraints can shrink the ambient space into a considerably smaller manifold. Additionally, in these applications the Euclidean geometry might induce a suboptimal similarity measure, which could be improved by choosing a different metric. Euclidean models ignore such information and assign probability mass to data points that can never appear as data, and vastly different likelihoods to points that are similar under the desired metric. We propose the wrapped Gaussian process latent variable model (WGPLVM), that extends Gaussian process latent variable models to take values strictly on a given ambient Riemannian manifold, making the model blind to impossible data points. This allows non-linear, probabilistic inference of low-dimensional Riemannian submanifolds from data. Our evaluation on diverse datasets show that we improve performance on several tasks, including encoding, visualization and uncertainty quantification

Supporting Professional Development Using the VLE in the PGCE/Certificate in Education

A case study of e-learning in practice on a Post-Compulsory Education and Training Programme franchised from the University of Wales, Newport (UWN)

Low carbon retrofit: Solutions for a Holistic Optimal Retrofit (SHOR) - 1980s urban semi-detached house

The brief was that each of the low carbon refits of existing low-rise social housing would meet the UK government’s target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of 80% by 2050, while also cutting energy use dramatically. Programme applicants were asked to develop whole house retrofit solutions that would result in major cuts to CO₂emissions whilst also significantly improving energy performance. Applicants were required to take a ‘whole house’ approach, i.e. to consider a household’s energy needs and carbon dioxide impacts as a whole, and establish a comprehensive package of measures to reduce them. The team set out to achieve a successful retrofit scheme which was innovative through an integrative, technologically robust, holistic, people focused approach to achieve carbon savings rather than being seduced into a technological short term quick 'quick fix'. The building used in the project was a 1980s urban semi-detached (end terrace) two bedroom, three person house in Newport, South Wales

Somatosensory attentional modulations during pain-related movement execution

Pain serves to protect against bodily threat, and therefore initiates protective responses such as attending toward threat-relevant information. Since pain is often exacerbated by executing movements, these motor actions may serve as cues for pain. Up to date, however, pain-related attention during movement remains largely unexplored. While it has been shown that the preparation of a pain-related movement leads to enhanced processing of somatosensory information, it is unclear how the actual execution of a movement interacts with somatosensory attention. In the current study, we examined whether somatosensory processing is enhanced at a moving body part when the movement is expected to be associated with pain. Participants were asked to execute hand movements which were occasionally followed by a pain stimulus. To measure somatosensory attention, a task-irrelevant, innocuous tactile probe was presented on either hand to evoke a somatosensory evoked potential (SEP). The results showed an elevation of the N120 SEP at the hand performing a potentially painful movement, indicating heightened attention toward tactile information at the threatened moving hand compared to the non-threatened hand. Additionally, the P200 SEP also showed enlarged responses when performing a pain-related movement compared to a no-pain-related movement. These results show that not only the anticipation, but also the execution of pain-related movements, may modulate the processing of somatosensory input, driven by attentional processes

Identifying sources of patient dissatisfaction when seeking care for a chronic and complex disease

Patients’ evaluations of healthcare often rely on patient satisfaction and encounter-specific approaches. Instead, valuable information can be gained by focusing on patient dissatisfaction with healthcare over time. This study examined patients’ sources of care dissatisfaction when seeking healthcare for a long-term chronic and complex disease (CCD). Participants with a CCD called polycystic kidney disease (N=387) completed an online questionnaire with an open-ended question about dissatisfying experiences. Content analysis was used to analyze responses. The coded data resulted in conceptual codes related to dissatisfaction with information, support, and care management. Analysis revealed the type of healthcare provider is often mentioned, and that more than one type of dissatisfaction can occur at the same time. Patients with CCDs are experiencing a variety of types of dissatisfaction when seeking healthcare, which may point to ongoing communication gaps between patients and the healthcare providers they see over time for their disease. Providers who see patients with CCDs should remember these patients may see multiple providers over time and have unique support needs. Providers can potentially improve care experiences by helping patients manage their care across both providers and experiences, as well as encourage patients to ask questions and express their concerns. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://theberylinstitute.org/experience-framework/). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

An empirical study of assurance in the UK government major projects portfolio: from data to recommendations, to action or inaction

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Effective and robust governance of major projects and programmes in the public sector is crucial to the accountability of the state and the transparency of state spending. The theoretical discourse on governance, in the context of projects and programmes, is not fully mature, although is now sufficiently well developed to warrant an increased scholarly focus on practice. This paper aims to contribute to the empirical literature through a study of assurance routines in the UK Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). Design/methodology/approach: A framework analysis approach to the evaluation of a subset of GMPP database generates original insights into (1) the framing of assurance review recommendations, (2) the treatment of assurance review data and (3) the subsequent tracking of the implementation of actions arising from the assurance review process. Findings: The analysis reveals that the “delivery confidence” of the major projects and programmes included in this study improves during the time that they are assured on the GMPP. This would suggest that “enhanced” governance routines are desirable in programmes and projects that exhibit high degrees of complexity and scale. Originality/value: The research findings contribute to the wider conversations in this journal and elsewhere on project governance routines and governance-as-practice in the context of government and public services