Perceptions of social mobility in Britain are characterised by a strange paradox

How meritocratic do Britons think their country is? The question of perceptions has been relatively understudied but is nonetheless important. Declan Gaffney and Ben Baumberg find that while people overwhelmingly agree that children from richer families have more opportunities, they also believe that family wealth is a relatively minor factor in determining outcomes. Factors like hard work and ambition are seen as much more important

Emotion recognition abilities in adults with Anorexia Nervosa are associated with autistic traits

Difficulties in socio-emotional functioning are proposed to contribute to the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study aimed to examine emotion recognition abilities in individuals in the acute and recovered stages of AN compared to healthy controls (HCs). A second aim was to examine whether attention to faces and comorbid psychopathology predicted emotion recognition abilities. The films expressions task was administered to 148 participants (46 AN, 51 recovered AN, 51 HC) to assess emotion recognition, during which attention to faces was recorded using eye-tracking. Comorbid psychopathology was assessed using self-report questionnaires and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule–2nd edition (ADOS-2). No significant differences in emotion recognition abilities or attention to faces were found between groups. However, individuals with a lifetime history of AN who scored above the clinical cut-off on the ADOS-2 displayed poorer emotion recognition performance than those scoring below cut-off and HCs. ADOS-2 scores significantly predicted emotion recognition abilities while controlling for group membership and intelligence. Difficulties in emotion recognition appear to be associated with high autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, rather than a feature of AN. Whether individuals with AN and high ASD traits may require different treatment strategies or adaptations is a question for future research

While benefits stigma is undoubtedly pervasive across society, its nature and origins tend to be profoundly misconstrued

Ben Baumberg, Kate Bell and Declan Gaffney argue that there is widespread misunderstanding of public opinion on the welfare system. While benefits stigma is undoubtedly pervasive across society, its nature and origins tend to be profoundly misconstrued

Authoring and Delivering Personalised Simulations an Innovative Approach to Adaptive eLearning for Soft Skills

This paper examines the personalization of online training simulations which are a key modern approach in computer aided education. More specifically it focuses on the difficulties involved in authoring personalized training simulations. The composition of such systems is very difficult which has hampered their wide spread adoption [Joolingen, 03]. Presently adaptive training simulations can only be authored by programmers working closely with subject matter experts. One of the key ways for adaptive simulations to increase their popularity in online eLearning [Wade, 09] is to reduce the effort and technical skills required by authors in their development. We argue that personalized online simulations need to be composed by subject matter experts, inexpensively and quickly. This paper details the twin challenges in composing content for both educational simulations and personalization. It also describes ACTSim, a new and unique composition tool that supports the rapid development of personalized training simulations. In particular ACTSim focuses on situational simulations for inter personal dialogue, so called soft skills. This paper concludes with a series of evaluations of the composition tool and of courses developed using the composition tool

Benefits stigma in Britain

This report set out to investigate the stigma attached to claiming benefits in Britain today, using an original MORI survey conducted in May 2012, focus groups with claimants and non-claimants, re-analysis of existing survey data, and an analysis of articles about benefits in national newspapers from 1995 to 2011. We use ‘stigma’ throughout this report as a term to describe the idea that a characteristic – in this case claiming benefits – is seen to be embarrassing or shameful and to lead to a lower social status. We argue that benefits are primarily stigmatised when they are seen as an undeserved and unreciprocated gift

Experiential Learning at Scale with Computer-Based Roleplay Simulations

Experiential learning is an effective method for changing behavior and teaching new material at work.  Unfortunately, experiential learning is difficult to deliver at scale as it requires hands-on participation and interactivity.EmpowerTheUser (ETU)’s computer-based roleplay simulations enable experiential learning at scale.  In a simulation, learners take on a role and have to react to various situations and make choices that have downsteam consequences.  ETU Simulations engage the learner in cycles of assessment and practice, with summative scoring in the assessment mode and real time coaching and feedback in the practice mode.   ETU partnered with one of the oldest custodian banks headquartered in New York to deliver a series of three simulations on risk management to nearly 6,000 managers on five continents.  User feedback shows that learners are highly satisfied with the program.  Performance improved from simulation I to simulation II, indicating transfer of learning.  Underperforming learners were remediated using the assess/practice/assess learning loop, resulting in a 227% improvement in performance.EmpowerTheUser Simulations provided fast, consistent training in risk management.  Feedback was overwhelmingly favorable and decision tracking within the simulations demonstrated effective learning

The politics of the private finance initiative and the new NHS

The private finance initiative does not provide new money for public services as the government claims. The high costs of capital under the private finance initiative translates into service and workforce cuts. The reduction in public provision of long term care, NHS dentistry, optical services, and elective surgical care shows the trajectory for the NHS under the private finance initiative. In the NHS, shrinkage in service provision combined with budget constraints could force primary care trusts to redefine entitlement to NHS care and to seek privately funded solutions for those who can afford to pay, leaving a rump service. The private finance initiative is a regressive instrument and is likely to increase inequalities in health and in wealth