Scaling up as catachresis

The metaphor of scaling up is the wrong one to use for describing and prescribing educational change. Many of the strategies being employed to achieve scaling up are counter-productive: they conceive of practitioners as delivery agents or consumers, rather than as co-constructors of change. An approach to educational innovation based on the concept of taking local innovations to scale carries the danger of turning schools into franchises and of reducing the global diversity of educational ideas. Sound educational ideas get scaled up not only (or primarily) through a linear, topdown model that begins with a laboratory test and ends with a road show of workshops and training sessions. They also get scaled up-in the sense of disseminated and then adapted in ways that change practice-through researchers sharing with practitioners thickly described, contextualized examples of innovative practices and then inviting practitioners to decide how best to adapt these innovative practices for their local settings

The new American school: Preparation for post-industrial discipline

In this article we consider how broad shifts in social relations over the past 30 years have given rise to new social control regimes in US public schools. We argue that the contemporary mechanisms of control engendered by mass incarceration and post-industrialization have re-shaped school discipline. To illustrate contemporary discipline in the 'New American School,' we discuss the emergence of police officers and technological surveillance in schools. These two strategies of school social control facilitate the link between courts and schools, and expose students to both the salience of crime control in everyday life and to the demands of workers in a post-industrial world. By incorporating police officers and technological surveillance into the school safety regime, schools shape the experiences of students in ways that reflect modern relationships of dependency, inequality, and instability vis-à-vis the contemporary power dynamics of the post-industrialist labor market and the neoliberal state. Introduction In this article we consider how broad shifts in social relations over the past 30 years have given rise to new social control regimes in contemporary public schools. We focus on two developments that have risen concurrently in the United States-mass incarceration and post-industrialization-and theorize how these developments permeate public schools' disciplinary practices. Specifically, we argue that police officers and technological surveillance in schools articulate larger mechanisms of social control in post-industrial societies. By increasingly relying on police officers and surveillance technologies, schools socialize youth into relationships of dependency, inequality and instability vis-à-vis the contemporary power dynamics of the post-industrialist labor market and the neoliberal state. Our analysis of contemporary trends in school discipline draws upon prior research on the socializing function of schools. Almost a century ago, Joh

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches to stock assessment when data are questionable

This study examines the use of age-structured maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches for stock assessment of the Namibian monkfish, Lophius vomerinus, resource with questionable data, in which time series are short, abundance indices are variable, and research data conflict with commercial data. Bayesian approaches with both noninformative and informative priors are investigated to determine if they enhance estimation stability. Three data scenarios are assessed: commercial and research survey data, research survey data only, and commercial data only. Both statistical approaches show that resource abundance has decreased with exploitable biomass estimated at approximately 44% of pristine levels. The maximum likelihood and the Bayesian approach with noninformative priors result in similar estimates. As the abundance data contained little information pertaining to possible density dependence within the stock–recruit relationship, only a Bayesian approach with informative priors reduces uncertainty in the steepness parameter h. Estimated management quantities are sensitive both to the set of data sources and whether prior information was informative or not. The strengths of the Bayesian approach include the integration of prior information with uncertain data, the exploration of data conflicts, and the ability to show the uncertainty in estimates of management parameters. Its weakness is that estimation stability is dependent on the choice of priors, which alters some posterior distributions of management quantities

Structure and origin of the J Anomaly Ridge, western North Atlantic Ocean

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 1982. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 87, no. B11 (1982): 9389–9407, doi:10.1029/JB087iB11p09389.The J Anomaly Ridge is a structural ridge or step in oceanic basement that extends southwest from the eastern end of the Grand Banks. It lies beneath the J magnetic anomaly at the young end (M-4 to M-0) of the M series magnetic anomalies. Its structural counterpart beneath the J anomaly in the eastern Atlantic is the Madeira-Tore Rise, but this feature has been overprinted by post-middle Cretaceous deformation and volcanism. In order to study the origin and evolution of the J Anomaly Ridge-Madeira-Tore Rise system, we obtained seismic refraction and multichannel reflection profiles across the J Anomaly Ridge near 39°N latitude. The western ridge flank consists of a series of crustal blocks downdropped along west-dipping normal faults, but the eastern slope to younger crust is gentle and relatively unfaulted. The western flank also is subparallel to seafloor isochrons, becoming younger to the south. Anomalously smooth basement caps the ridge crest, and it locally exhibits internal, eastward-dipping reflectors similar in configuration to those within subaerially emplaced basalt flows on Iceland. When isostatically corrected for sediment load, the northern part of the J Anomaly Ridge has basement depths about 1400 m shallower than in our study area, and deep sea drilling has shown that the northern ridge was subaerially exposed during the middle Cretaceous. We suggest that most of the system originated under subaerial conditions at the time of late-stage rifting between the adjacent Grand Banks and Iberia. The excess magma required to form the ridge may have been vented from a mantle plume beneath the Grand Banks-Iberia rift zone and channelled southward beneath the rift axis of the abutting Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Resulting edifice-building volcanism constructed the ridge system between anomalies M-4 and M-0, moving southward along the ridge axis at about 50 mm/yr. About M-0 time, when true drift began between Iberia and the Grand Banks, this southward venting rapidly declined. The results were rapid return of the spreading axis to normal elevations, division of the ridge system into the separate J Anomaly Ridge and Madeira-Tore Rise, and unusually fast subsidence of at least parts of these ridges to depths that presently are near normal. This proposed origin and evolutionary sequence for the J Anomaly Ridge-Madeira-Tore Rise system closely matches events of uplift and unconformity development on the adjacent Grand Banks.This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research, contracts N00014-75-C-0210 and N00014-80-C-0098 to Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and contract N00014-79-C-0071 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Practice nursing in Australia: A review of education and career pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nurses in Australia are often not educated in their pre registration years to meet the needs of primary care. Careers in primary care may not be as attractive to nursing graduates as high-tech settings such as intensive or acute care. Yet, it is in primary care that increasingly complex health problems are managed. The Australian government has invested in incentives for general practices to employ practice nurses. However, no policy framework has been developed for practice nursing to support career development and post-registration education and training programs are developed in an ad hoc manner and are not underpinned by core professional competencies. This paper reports on a systematic review undertaken to establish the available evidence on education models and career pathways with a view to enhancing recruitment and retention of practice nurses in primary care in Australia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Search terms describing education models, career pathways and policy associated with primary care (practice) nursing were established. These search terms were used to search electronic databases. The search strategy identified 1394 citations of which 408 addressed one or more of the key search terms on policy, education and career pathways. Grey literature from the UK and New Zealand internet sites were sourced and examined. The UK and New Zealand Internet sites were selected because they have well established and advanced developments in education and career pathways for practice nurses.</p> <p>Two reviewers examined titles, abstracts and studies, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Disagreement between the reviewers was resolved by consensus or by a third reviewer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant advances have been made in New Zealand and the UK towards strengthening frameworks for primary care nursing education and career pathways. However, in Australia there is no policy at national level prepare nurses to work in primary care sector and no framework for education or career pathways for nurses working in that sector.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is a need for national training standards and a process of accreditation for practice nursing in Australia to support the development of a responsive and sustainable nursing workforce in primary care and to provide quality education and career pathways.</p

Community engagement to enhance trust between Gypsy/Travellers, and maternity, early years’ and child dental health services: protocol for a multimethod exploratory study

Gypsy/Travellers have poor health and experience discrimination alongside structural and cultural barriers when accessing health services and consequently may mistrust those services. Our study aims to investigate which approaches to community engagement are most likely to be effective at enhancing trust between Gypsy/Travellers and mainstream health services. Methods This multi-method 30-month study, commenced in June 2015, and comprises four stages. 1. Three related reviews: a) systematic review of Gypsy/Travellers’ access to health services; b) systematic review of reviews of how trust has been conceptualised within healthcare; c) realist synthesis of community engagement approaches to enhance trust and increase Gypsy/Travellers’ participation in health services. The reviews will consider any economic literature; 2. Online consultation with health and social care practitioners, and civil society organisations on existing engagement activities, including perceptions of barriers and good practice; 3. Four in-depth case studies of different Gypsy/Traveller communities, focusing on maternity, early years and child dental health services. The case studies include the views of 32–48 mothers of pre-school children, 32–40 healthcare providers and 8–12 informants from third sector organisations. 4. Two stakeholder workshops exploring whether policy options are realistic, sustainable and replicable. Case study data will be analysed thematically informed by the evaluative framework derived from the realist synthesis in stage one. The main outputs will be: a) an evaluative framework of Gypsy/Travellers’ engagement with health services; b) recommendations for policy and practice; c) evidence on which to base future implementation strategies including estimation of costs. Discussion Our novel multi-method study seeks to provide recommendations for policy and practice that have potential to improve uptake and delivery of health services, and to reduce lifetime health inequalities for Gypsy/Travellers. The findings may have wider resonance for other marginalised populations. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed

Barriers and enablers to delivery of the Healthy Kids Check: An analysis informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework and COM-B model

Background: More than a fifth of Australian children arrive at school developmentally vulnerable. To counteract this, the Healthy Kids Check (HKC), a one-off health assessment aimed at preschool children, was introduced in 2008 into Australian general practice. Delivery of services has, however, remained low. The Theoretical Domains Framework, which provides a method to understand behaviours theoretically, can be condensed into three core components: capability, opportunity and motivation, and the COM-B model. Utilising this system, this study aimed to determine the barriers and enablers to delivery of the HKC, to inform the design of an intervention to promote provision of HKC services in Australian general practice. Methods: Data from 6 focus group discussions with 40 practitioners from general practices in socio-culturally diverse areas of Melbourne, Victoria, were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Many practitioners expressed uncertainty regarding their capabilities and the practicalities of delivering HKCs, but in some cases HKCs had acted as a catalyst for professional development. Key connections between immunisation services and delivery of HKCs prompted practices to have systems of recall and reminder in place. Standardisation of methods for developmental assessment and streamlined referral pathways affected practitioners' confidence and motivation to perform HKCs. Conclusion: Application of a systematic framework effectively demonstrated how a number of behaviours could be targeted to increase delivery of HKCs. Interventions need to target practice systems, the support of office staff and referral options, as well as practitioners' training. Many behavioural changes could be applied through a single intervention programme delivered by the primary healthcare organisations charged with local healthcare needs (Medicare Locals) providing vital links between general practice, community and the health of young children. © 2014 Alexander et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

The NOURISH randomised control trial: Positive feeding practices and food preferences in early childhood - a primary prevention program for childhood obesity

Background Primary prevention of childhood overweight is an international priority. In Australia 20-25% of 2-8 year olds are already overweight. These children are at substantially increased the risk of becoming overweight adults, with attendant increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Early feeding practices determine infant exposure to food (type, amount, frequency) and include responses (eg coercion) to infant feeding behaviour (eg. food refusal). There is correlational evidence linking parenting style and early feeding practices to child eating behaviour and weight status. A focus on early feeding is consistent with the national focus on early childhood as the foundation for life-long health and well being. The NOURISH trial aims to implement and evaluate a community-based intervention to promote early feeding practices that will foster healthy food preferences and intake and preserve the innate capacity to self-regulate food intake in young children. Methods/Design This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to recruit 820 first-time mothers and their healthy term infants. A consecutive sample of eligible mothers will be approached postnatally at major maternity hospitals in Brisbane and Adelaide. Initial consent will be for re-contact for full enrolment when the infants are 4-7 months old. Individual mother- infant dyads will be randomised to usual care or the intervention. The intervention will provide anticipatory guidance via two modules of six fortnightly parent education and peer support group sessions, each followed by six months of regular maintenance contact. The modules will commence when the infants are aged 4-7 and 13-16 months to coincide with establishment of solid feeding, and autonomy and independence, respectively. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, with follow up at nine and 18 months. These will include infant intake (type and amount of foods), food preferences, feeding behaviour and growth and self-reported maternal feeding practices and parenting practices and efficacy. Covariates will include sociodemographics, infant feeding mode and temperament, maternal weight status and weight concern and child care exposure. Discussion Despite the strong rationale to focus on parents’ early feeding practices as a key determinant of child food preferences, intake and self-regulatory capacity, prospective longitudinal and intervention studies are rare. This trial will be amongst to provide Level II evidence regarding the impact of an intervention (commencing prior to age 12 months) on children’s eating patterns and behaviours. Trial Registration: ACTRN1260800005639