Understanding the Impact of Technology: Learner and School Level Factors

The first part of this report focuses on the factors impacting on learner performance in national tests at primary and secondary level. This was the central research question of this research. The second section focuses on teacher and learner perceptions of their own responses to learning and the learning environment. This was centred on, but not confined to, their school. The institutional structures record the level of development of the schools sampled here and investigate the use of two key technologies – interactive whiteboards and learning platform

"Roll Up and Spend Your Last Dime". The Merry-go-round of Children`s Extra-curricular Activities in Modern Society.

&quot;Step up and play&quot; begins the famous hit song \u27Penny Arcade\u27. And so itwas for thousands of Australian families, as their eldest child began schoolthis year, and the associated endless merry-go-round of extra-curricularactivities also began. But how many of those families realise that the song ends &quot;Roll up and spend your last dime!&quot;? While the perceived benefits ofchildren\u27s involvement in extracurricular activities are many and are widely accepted, there are also costs, not only in terms of money but also in termsof time. Evidence from a study conducted in Melbourne highlights the fact that, for many families such as those on low incomes and those headed by a single parent, both the time and the money costs may be prohibitive. This article highlights parents\u27 perceptions of the benefits&middot;and costs of children\u27s extra-curricular activities, and explores the implications of changing family and household structures for families\u27 capacity to sustain such activities.<br /

CAMPAÑAS DE EXCAVACIÓN DE LA CUEVA PINTADA DE GÁLDAR [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 201

Dynamic Status Signal Reflects Outcome of Social Interactions, but Not Energetic Stress

Social defeat induces stress-responses in a wide array of vertebrates and can generate winner-loser effects. Dynamic condition-dependent signaling systems that reflect preparation for subsequent agonistic interactions, and thereby mediate winner-loser effects, should be more sensitive to competitive history than to non-social sources of stress. Bill color of female American goldfinches (Spinus tristus) is a dynamic condition-dependent ornament that functions as a signal of competitive status and mediates intrasexual agonistic social interactions. We tested the “social experience signaling hypothesis” in female goldfinches by (1) manipulating a non-social energetic stressor by experimentally elevating flight costs via wing-clipping in free-ranging birds, and (2) manipulating social experience by staging competitive interactions among captive birds. Bill color change did not differ between wing clipped and non-clipped females, even though stress-response, as measured by the heterophil to lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, increased significantly in clipped females relative to unclipped females. In contrast, winners and losers in the social experience experiment differed significantly in the degree and direction of bill color change following social contests, with bill color increasing in winners and decreasing in losers. These results suggest that dynamic bill color of female American goldfinches signals recent social history, but is less sensitive to some stressors stemming from non-social sources, and thereby suggest that signals can evolve sensitivity to specific types of processes relevant to the context in which they are used

Personalising Learning

This report presents the findings of the Personalising Learning project, which was commissioned by Becta. The core aim of the project is to develop a robust model of the effective use of digital technologies for the personalising of learning. Personalising learning in this context involves the tailoring of pedagogy, curriculum and learning support to meet the needs and aspirations of individual learners irrespective of ability, culture or social status in order to nurture the unique talents of every pupil. Section 2 of this report outlines the background and aims of this research project. Section 3 traces the development of the model and the accompanying learning equation. The key concept encapsulated in this model is that of overlapping action spaces, school, teaching, personal and living spaces, in which learning occurs. These spaces are populated by the key educational stakeholders: learners, their teachers, their family and peers. In each of these spaces a range of digital technologies is available to support the learner. Section 4 is a validation of the model using evidence from field research

Tuberculosis in cattle: the results of the four-area project

<p/> <p>The four-area project was undertaken to further assess the impact of badger removal on the control of tuberculosis in cattle herds in Ireland. It was conducted between 1997 and 2002 in matched removal and reference areas in four counties, namely Cork, Donegal, Kilkenny and Monaghan, representing a wide range of Irish farming environments. In the removal areas, a proactive programme of badger removal was conducted, on two or three occasions each year, whereas in the reference areas, badger removal was entirely reactive following severe outbreaks of tuberculosis amongst cattle. A detailed statistical analysis of this study has already been presented by Griffin <it>et al. </it><abbrgrp><abbr bid="B13">13</abbr></abbrgrp>; this paper presents further, mainly descriptive, findings from the study. In total, 2,360 badgers were captured in the removal areas of which 450 (19.5%) were considered positive for tuberculosis and 258 badgers were captured in the reference areas, with 57 (26.1%) positive for tuberculosis. The annual incidence of confirmed herd restrictions was lower in the removal area compared to the reference area in every year of the study period in each of the four counties. These empirical findings were consistent with the hazard ratios found by Griffin <it>et al. </it><abbrgrp><abbr bid="B13">13</abbr></abbrgrp>. Further, the effect of proactive badger removal on cattle tuberculosis in the four-area project and in the earlier east-Offaly project, as measured using the number of reactors per 1,000 cattle tested, were very similar, providing compelling evidence of the role of badgers in the epidemiology of tuberculosis in Irish cattle herds. The validity of the four-area project was discussed in detail. Efforts to minimise badger-to-cattle transmission in Ireland must be undertaken in association with the current comprehensive control programme, which has effectively minimised opportunities for cattle-to-cattle transmission.</p

The Grizzly, February 3, 1989

Hoc\u27sters Hammer Out Honesty Hazards • Middleton Mitts Mega-Bucks to Make Meta-Blood • Absentees Abound: Apathy Apparent • Letter: Bussers and Shirts Ream Reed • Pinsker\u27s Pace Paralyzes Prof. Pack • Grim Groans at Rock Ignorants • Plan B Plants U.C. in Place • Lady Bears Breeze by Lehigh • Hoopsters Haul Ball • AquaBears Swim On • Seniors Snarf Steak • Cinders Casting • Durst Demonstrates Decking Deftness • U.C. Supposedly Safe and Sound • Fruit Fantasy Makes Maxi Delight • U.C. Mourns Losshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1227/thumbnail.jp

Response to the editorial by Dr Geraghty

This article is written in response to the linked editorial by Dr Geraghty about the adaptive Pacing, graded Activity and Cognitive behaviour therapy; a randomised Evaluation (PACE) trial, which we led, implemented and published. The PACE trial compared four treatments for people diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. All participants in the trial received specialist medical care. The trial found that adding cognitive behaviour therapy or graded exercise therapy to specialist medical care was as safe as, and more effective than, adding adaptive pacing therapy or specialist medical care alone. Dr Geraghty has challenged these findings. In this article, we suggest that Dr Geraghty’s views are based on misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the PACE trial; these are corrected

Using Real-World Data to Guide Ustekinumab Dosing Strategies for Psoriasis: A Prospective Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Study.

Variation in response to biologic therapy for inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis, is partly driven by variation in drug exposure. Real-world psoriasis data were used to develop a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model for the first-line therapeutic antibody ustekinumab. The impact of differing dosing strategies on response was explored. Data were collected from a UK prospective multicenter observational cohort (491 patients on ustekinumab monotherapy, drug levels, and anti-drug antibody measurements on 797 serum samples, 1,590 measurements of Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI)). Ustekinumab PKs were described with a linear one-compartment model. A maximum effect (Emax ) model inhibited progression of psoriatic skin lesions in the turnover PD mechanism describing PASI evolution while on treatment. A mixture model on half-maximal effective concentration identified a potential nonresponder group, with simulations suggesting that, in future, the model could be incorporated into a Bayesian therapeutic drug monitoring "dashboard" to individualize dosing and improve treatment outcomes