Developing Reflective Practice in Police Firearms Instruction.

This paper reports collaboration between University College Worcester and the Firearms School of West Mercia Constabulary to design, develop, implement and evaluate a national course for authorised firearms officers to become firearms instructors. The report charts its development from the time of involvement by University College Worcester and the way it has been changed to meet the needs of students. The course is based on the principles of reflective practice, encouraging firearms instructors to engage in lifelong learning as part of their continuing professional development. This central principle of reflective practice is explored in the context of the aims, delivery and outcomes of the course. Those officers who successfully complete the course are awarded the Instructors Certificate of the ACPO Firearms Committee. In addition, it is planned to award a credit accumulated transfer rated Certificate in Education to those officers who also pass the assessment set by University College Worcester. Note

Impact Assessment of agricultural research and development to reduce virus problems in tomato production in Mali: Farmers perceptions

Pests and diseases caused by bacteria, nematodes, fungi and viruses cause significant losses to tomato in West Africa. This study, carried-out within the framework of the IPM-CRSP implemented jointly by IITA, IER and Virginia Tech. and State University, assesses farmers’ perceptions on tomato pests and analyzes factors affecting pest management decision-making. Surveys were carried out in three tomato production areas where pests and diseases are major agricultural problems encountered by farmers. Data were collected a sample of from 343 farmers through a set of questionnaires on tomato production systems. Farmer’s decision-making in pest management was modeled using an econometrics Logit probability model. Results show that the main disease reported by most farmers is tomato leaf curl viruses transmitted by whitefly (Bemissia tabaci). The spray of chemicals was not effective on whitefly-transmitted viruses, but the observance of host free period could significantly reduce the population of whiteflies. Key factors affecting farmers’ pest management decision-making are gender; share of tomato income from household income and the level of farm income. Men are more involved in tomato production due to access to pesticide and effective demand for pesticides because of incomes (purchasing power). This paper concludes that tomato production can increase significantly if improved varieties tolerant to whitefly viruses are developed and disseminated, and farmers trained on the appropriate use of chemicals using a participatory approach to raise their level of awareness and information on effective pesticide use and pest-management decision-making.Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Designing, developing and implementing a software tool for scenario based learning

The pedagogical value of problem-based and inquiry-based learning activities has led to increased use of this approach in many courses. While scenarios or case studies were initially presented to learners as text-based material, the development of modern software technology provides the opportunity to deliver scenarios as e-learning modules, providing learners with a more accessible and engaging learning experience. Scenario Based Learning - interactive (SBLi) has been specifically developed to provide teachers and trainers with a generic tool that enables them to easily build interactive, multimedia scenarios without requiring programming skills. The software consists of a builder and player application, for constructing and playing scenarios from hard drives or from a CD/DVD, and a server-based player and manager, for deploying scenarios on the web, either for public use or for restricted and managed use in specific courses. This paper describes the history of SBLi, its design and operational features, how SBLi is being used to achieve innovative and effective learning experiences, and the practical issues that need to be addressed in supporting and sustaining e-learning software such as SBLi

LucID: A Multimedia Educational Tool for Identification and Diagnostics

LucID is a multimedia expert system designed specifically to help users make a correct identification of a biological specimen or to correctly diagnose a particular problem. The program comes in two parts, a builder used in the creation of keys, and a player that enables the user to identify specimens or to diagnose a problem using the key. A major feature of LucID is its ease of use. This and other features of LucID are described and a number of examples are provided of how LucID is being used for identification and diagnosis, and to access information relevant to the item that is keyed-out. The role LucID is playing in recent decision support and training systems is outlined. Future possibilities for LucID are explored, including the role it can play in distance education, in training users to make accurate observations, and in teaching the logical processes involved in creating keys

Polarized QPOs from the INTEGRAL polar IGRJ14536-5522 (=Swift J1453.4-5524)

We report optical spectroscopy and high speed photometry and polarimetry of the INTEGRAL source IGRJ14536-5522 (=Swift J1453.4-5524). The photometry, polarimetry and spectroscopy are modulated on an orbital period of 3.1564(1) hours. Orbital circularly polarized modulations are seen from 0 to -18 per cent, unambiguously identifying IGRJ14536-5522 as a polar. Some of the high speed photometric data show modulations that are consistent with quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) on the order of 5-6 minutes. Furthermore, for the first time, we detect the (5-6) minute QPOs in the circular polarimetry. We discuss the possible origins of these QPOs. We also include details of HIPPO, a new high-speed photo-polarimeter used for some of our observations.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. The paper contains 7 figures and 1 tabl

Australian clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Barrett's esophagus and early esophageal adenocarcinoma

Author version made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication according to publisher copyright policy.Barrett's esophagus (BE), a common condition, is the only known precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). There is uncertainty about the best way to manage BE as most people with BE never develop EAC and most patients diagnosed with EAC have no preceding diagnosis of BE. Moreover, there have been recent advances in knowledge and practice about the management of BE and early EAC. To aid clinical decision making in this rapidly moving field, Cancer Council Australia convened an expert working party to identify pertinent clinical questions. The questions covered a wide range of topics including endoscopic and histological definitions of BE and early EAC; prevalence, incidence, natural history, and risk factors for BE; and methods for managing BE and early EAC. The latter considered modification of lifestyle factors; screening and surveillance strategies; and medical, endoscopic, and surgical interventions. To answer each question, the working party systematically reviewed the literature and developed a set of recommendations through consensus. Evidence underpinning each recommendation was rated according to quality and applicability

An Association of Cancer Physicians' strategy for improving services and outcomes for cancer patients.

The Association of Cancer Physicians in the United Kingdom has developed a strategy to improve outcomes for cancer patients and identified the goals and commitments of the Association and its members.The ACP is very grateful to all of its members who have expressed views on the development of the strategy and to the sponsors of our workshops and publications, especially Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer SupportThis is the final version of the article. It was first available from Cancer Intelligence via http://dx.doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2016.60

HIV Testing and Treatment with the Use of a Community Health Approach in Rural Africa.

BACKGROUND: Universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) with annual population testing and a multidisease, patient-centered strategy could reduce new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and improve community health. METHODS: We randomly assigned 32 rural communities in Uganda and Kenya to baseline HIV and multidisease testing and national guideline-restricted ART (control group) or to baseline testing plus annual testing, eligibility for universal ART, and patient-centered care (intervention group). The primary end point was the cumulative incidence of HIV infection at 3 years. Secondary end points included viral suppression, death, tuberculosis, hypertension control, and the change in the annual incidence of HIV infection (which was evaluated in the intervention group only). RESULTS: A total of 150,395 persons were included in the analyses. Population-level viral suppression among 15,399 HIV-infected persons was 42% at baseline and was higher in the intervention group than in the control group at 3 years (79% vs. 68%; relative prevalence, 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 1.20). The annual incidence of HIV infection in the intervention group decreased by 32% over 3 years (from 0.43 to 0.31 cases per 100 person-years; relative rate, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.84). However, the 3-year cumulative incidence (704 incident HIV infections) did not differ significantly between the intervention group and the control group (0.77% and 0.81%, respectively; relative risk, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.17). Among HIV-infected persons, the risk of death by year 3 was 3% in the intervention group and 4% in the control group (0.99 vs. 1.29 deaths per 100 person-years; relative risk, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.93). The risk of HIV-associated tuberculosis or death by year 3 among HIV-infected persons was 4% in the intervention group and 5% in the control group (1.19 vs. 1.50 events per 100 person-years; relative risk, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.94). At 3 years, 47% of adults with hypertension in the intervention group and 37% in the control group had hypertension control (relative prevalence, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.39). CONCLUSIONS: Universal HIV treatment did not result in a significantly lower incidence of HIV infection than standard care, probably owing to the availability of comprehensive baseline HIV testing and the rapid expansion of ART eligibility in the control group. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others; SEARCH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01864603.)

A hybrid mobile approach for population-wide HIV testing in rural east Africa: an observational study

Despite large investments in HIV testing, only 45% of HIV-infected persons in sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to know their status. Optimal methods for maximizing population-level testing remain unknown. We sought to demonstrate the effectiveness at achieving population-wide testing coverage of a hybrid mobile HIV testing approach