Theory, evaluation, and practice in widening participation: a framework approach to assessing impact

The English higher education (HE) system is deeply stratified, with younger students from more privileged backgrounds comprising the majority of the student population. Over the last 15 years considerable investment has been made to widen participation but attempts to evaluate these initiatives and demonstrate impact have presented a major challenge for the HE sector. This paper explores the development and application of a framework for evaluating and researching university-led interventions. Drawing largely on the theoretical work of Bourdieu it provides a basis for designing and evaluating programmes and activities to develop student cultural capital and habitus, and foster agency and a sense of belonging in HE settings

Anisotropic Assembly of Colloidal Nanoparticles: Exploiting Substrate Crystallinity

We show that the crystal structure of a substrate can be exploited to drive the anisotropic assembly of colloidal nanoparticles. Pentanethiol-passivated Au particles of approximately 2 nm diameter deposited from toluene onto hydrogen-passivated Si(111) surfaces form linear assemblies (rods) with a narrow width distribution. The rod orientations mirror the substrate symmetry, with a high degree of alignment along principal crystallographic axes of the Si(111) surface. There is a strong preference for anisotropic growth with rod widths substantially more tightly distributed than lengths. Entropic trapping of nanoparticles provides a plausible explanation for the formation of the anisotropic assemblies we observe

Investigation of MOSkin detectors for use in dosimetry of a HDR brachytherapy source

Dose verification is an important part of all radiotherapy. Dose measurements in high dose rate brachytherapy can be challenging for a number of reasons. The steep dose gradient around HDR sources necessitates a dosimeter with a very small detection volume. Also, the logistics of placing a dosimeter in a clinically meaningful position requires they have a small physical size. In this thesis we explore the use of two detectors for measurement of the backscatter factor for an application involving the treatment of colorectal cancer. These treatments involve excising the tumour then delivering a radiation dose directly to the tumour bed during surgery using an Intra-Operative Brachytherapy applicator. In these cases the radiation dose is sometimes delivered in the absence of backscatter material which can lead to a lower dose being delivered than predicted by the treatment planning computer. Two dosimeters currently in use in brachytherapy are TLDs and MOSFETs. The use of TLDs in medical dosimetry is well established, they have a small physical size and an approximately tissue equivalent atomic number. MOSFETs have a less extensive history in medical dosimetry but their use is gaining popularity. MOSFETs have a small detection volume and are capable of giving readings in real time, making them ideal candidates for measurements around HDR brachytherapy sources. A number of MOSkin detectors were provided for this project. The MOSkin is a variation on the MOSFET detector, the main difference being a lack of epoxy bubble covering the MOSFET chip. The uncertainty in a single measurement with a MOSkin detector was estimated by examining the following dosimetric characteristics – stability, accumulated dose response, linearity, angular response, energy response, dose rate response and temperature response. Similar characteristics were also examined for TLD rods in order to make a comparison. Measurements were made using a HDR Ir-192 source, a kilovoltage treatment unit and a high energy linac. Measurements were then made, using both TLD rods and MOSkins, to calculate the reduction in dose that results from a lack of backscatter material when using an IOBT applicator. The largest variation in the response of the MOSkins was from accumulated dose, change in radial angle and radiation energy. For each of these characteristics the response was repeatable and therefore predicted by determining a correction factor from measurements. The largest variation in the response of the TLD rods was from changes in radiation energy which again was repeatable allowing the calculation of a correction factor. Using the IOBT applicator without adequate scatter material resulted in a reduction in delivered dose as measured with both the TLD rods and MOSkins and confirmed with previously published data calculated using Monte Carlo methods. MOSkin devices provide a useful measurement tool in the presence of high dose gradients, however, the dosimetric characteristics of the detector must be accounted for when estimating the uncertainty

'Sinking and swimming in disability coaching': an autoethnographic account of coaching in a new context

In terms of achieving wider health and social outcomes, sport coaching promises much for young people with disabilities. Despite this promise, the experiences and practices of those coaches who enter the disability sport arena are underexplored. This is particularly so for coaches who operate in community participation rather than competitive elite environments. Accordingly, this paper uses an autoethnographic approach to explore the experiences of a basketball coach (Colum), who enters a youth club for disabled participants for the first time. Utilising observational data, reflective field notes, and interviews, five relativist vignettes are collaboratively constructed to represent Colum’s (a pseudonym) experiences across 12 basketball sessions. The vignettes reveal that the disability and community context disrupted Colum’s normative coaching behaviours. An emotional laborious journey is recounted that includes significant lessons, which may impact coaching practitioners, researchers and sport development officers. In addition, the post-sport context (Atkinson, 2010a) is introduced to differentiate the youth club context from Colum’s normative sport context. Furthermore, the concepts of liminality and ludic, which are novel to extant coaching literature, are introduced to explain how and why Colum struggled to find structure within the context of a youth club for disabled participants

Synthesis, structure and bonding of hexaphenyl thorium(IV): observation of a non-octahedral structure

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.We report herein the synthesis of the first structurally characterized homoleptic actinide aryl complexes, [Li(DME)(3)](2)[Th(C6H5)(6)] (1) and [Li(THF)(12-crown-4)](2)[Th(C6H5)(6)] (2), which feature an anion possessing a regular octahedral (1) or a severely distorted octahedral (2) geometry. The solid-state structure of 2 suggests the presence of pseudo-agostic ortho C-H center dot center dot center dot Th interactions, which arise from sigma(C-H) -> Th(5f) donation. The non-octahedral structure is also favoured in solution at low temperatures.DFG, EXC 314, Unifying Concepts in Catalysi

Participatory policy making by dairy producers to reduce anti-microbial use on farms

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Blackwell Publishing via the DOI in this record.Pressures for more responsible use of anti‐microbial (AM) medicines in food animals are likely to increase from policymakers and the food industry, including retailers. To address this challenge, participatory approaches to welfare interventions and disease prevention may also be necessary alongside more conventional regulatory measures. This article describes the process of enabling groups of dairy producers to use a participatory policy making approach to develop an AM stewardship policy. The policy includes measures agreed to by all producers for more responsible use of AMs, whilst maintaining or improving dairy herd health and welfare. This process provided a unique opportunity for collaboration and dialogue between producers, veterinarians, industry and researchers. Its participatory nature encouraged comprehensive learning for all involved. This integration of science with producers’ knowledge and experience led to credible and practical recommendations designed to deliver real and lasting change in AM use. The multidisciplinary nature of this research marks a significant contribution to embedding social science skills and approaches into the veterinary sphere. As an initial step in creating better understanding of how participatory approaches with farmers can be applied in a UK context and more widely, this work serves as a pilot for promoting more responsible use of veterinary medicines in other livestock species

Midkine-A functions upstream of Id2a to regulate cell cycle kinetics in the developing vertebrate retina

BACKGROUND: Midkine is a small heparin binding growth factor expressed in numerous tissues during development. The unique midkine gene in mammals has two paralogs in zebrafish: midkine-a (mdka) and midkine-b (mdkb). In the zebrafish retina, during both larval development and adult photoreceptor regeneration, mdka is expressed in retinal stem and progenitor cells and functions as a molecular component of the retina’s stem cell niche. In this study, loss-of-function and conditional overexpression were used to investigate the function of Mdka in the retina of the embryonic zebrafish. RESULTS: The results show that during early retinal development Mdka functions to regulate cell cycle kinetics. Following targeted knockdown of Mdka synthesis, retinal progenitors cycle more slowly, and this results in microphthalmia, a diminished rate of cell cycle exit and a temporal delay of cell cycle exit and neuronal differentiation. In contrast, Mdka overexpression results in acceleration of the cell cycle and retinal overgrowth. Mdka gain-of-function, however, does not temporally advance cell cycle exit. Experiments to identify a potential Mdka signaling pathway show that Mdka functions upstream of the HLH regulatory protein, Id2a. Gene expression analysis shows Mdka regulates id2a expression, and co-injection of Mdka morpholinos and id2a mRNA rescues the Mdka loss-of-function phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that in zebrafish, Mdka resides in a shared Id2a pathway to regulate cell cycle kinetics in retinal progenitors. This is the first study to demonstrate the function of Midkine during retinal development and adds Midkine to the list of growth factors that transcriptionally regulate Id proteins

Hybrid context, management practices and organizational performance: a configurational approach.

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordEmploying a configurational approach we explore how “hybrid context” shapes organizations’ adoption, and performance implications, of management practice. We do because hybrid contexts have been a policy aim of many governments seeking to blurr the distinction between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. To conceptualize hybrid contexts we employ the dimensions of market authority and (the multiple) political authority. Employing data from UK care homes, our findings suggest that: (i) the adoption, and performance effects, of management practices are conditioned by dimensions of hybrid context; (ii) there is significant variation across the configurations in terms of the mix of management practices that lead to high and low performance; and (iii) there is a high degree of symmetry between high and low performance, with good management practices being a necessary condition for high performing as compared to low performing organizations.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

National Culture and Entrepreneurship: A Review of Behavioral Research

Conceptual arguments for the association between cultural characteristics and entrepreneurship have existed for decades but only in the last 10 years has this relationship been the focus of empirical scrutiny. In this article, we review and synthesize the findings of 21 empirical studies that examine the association between national cultural characteristics and aggregate measures of entrepreneurship, individual characteristics of entrepreneurs, and aspects of corporate entrepreneurship. The study concedes that a predominant number of empirical studies have used Hofstede's conceptualization of national culture and that other domains have been underdeveloped. A preliminary model that integrates past findings is extended. The review highlights fruitful avenues for future research. </jats:p

What do we know about knowledge integration : fusing micro- and macro-organizational perspectives

Knowledge integration is the raison d’etre for the existence of the firm (Grant, 1996a; Kogut & Zander, 1992) and has been widely studied across many subfields in management and organizational studies. However, few constructs have received as much scholarly attention as knowledge integration while remaining so equivocally defined and measured, leading to a confusing array of conceptualizations, undermining its theoretical, empirical, and practical usefulness. As a theoretical construct, knowledge integration also cuts across the macro- and microlevels, gaining attention from scholars interested in explaining the microfoundations of strategy and capabilities (e.g., Felin & Hesterly, 2007; Lewin, Massini, & Peeters, 2011). However, the interplay among these micro and macro factors is often overlooked, and its implications for theory building are ignored. To address these issues, we examine and integrate micro- and macro-organizational perspectives on knowledge integration. We provide a review of its definitions and offer our definition based on key dimensions identified. We discuss and analyze the micro and macro perspectives, presenting key assertions, propositions, limitations, and conclusions from representative studies. Finally, we integrate the diverse perspectives we discuss, showing how their interplay can enrich future scholarship and our understanding of knowledge integration as a key organizational construct