Learning from Langland: theo-poetic resources for the post-Hind landscape

In the last ten years the Church of England has tried, by means of two reports leading to what I term the ‘Hind settlement’, to re-configure its provision of theological education. The tensions generated by the attempt to hold together different discourses and to impose regional re-organisation in the context of complex developments both in higher education and in patterns of lay and ordained ministry form the basis of my critique of Hind. I argue that Hind’s recourse to the image of the ‘body of Christ’ in the service of an instrumentalist model of ministry exposes inadequacies of a theological anthropological, Christological and ecclesiological nature. I identify a medieval text, Piers Plowman, as a conversation partner which offers a different way of negotiating an analogously difficult set of issues around learning, discipleship and power. My hermeneutical approach to the poem sees its primary impetus as arising from the constant interplay between the experiences of daily life and the attempt to work out a personal and social understanding of salvation. By comparing the ways in which Hind and Langland explore learning as measurable progress, and lay and clerical models of learning, I propose that Piers Plowman offers some valuable resources to the next stage of the Hind process. Not only does the poem foreground the chaotic co-existence of multiple voices in a marketplace of competing definitions of learning, and acknowledge the recalcitrance of communities when presented with opportunities to change, but it also, in the figure of Piers, hints at the possibility of going beyond the lay/clerical impasse. The poem’s recognition of sin and the need for repentance, in contrast to Hind language of management and effectiveness, and its requirement of the reader to participate in the making of new meaning, present an ongoing challenge to a culture of ‘learning outcomes’

The Calculus Curriculum in the National Study of Calculus in the U.S.A.

We describe findings of an analysis of curricular aspects related to the teaching of first-year of university calculus in the US, based on data collected as part of the Mathematical Association of America’s Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus study. The study was conducted in two phases, first via surveys and questionnaires on programs, teaching and learning of calculus, and student motivation and performance; and second via qualitative case studies of 18 institutions identified as “successful” in terms of student performance and motivation. Our analysis using Rico’s (1997) conceptualization of curriculum illustrates the stability of the calculus curriculum in spite of the reform efforts of the 90s. It also gives departments tools to propose possible more viable interventions.National Science Foundation grant DRL REESE #0910240.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113669/1/Mesa_Burn_Calculus Curriculum_National Study of Calculus.pd

A qualitative study exploring the factors influencing admission to hospital from the emergency department

Objective: The number of emergency admissions to hospital in England and Wales has risen sharply in recent years and is a matter of concern to clinicians, policy makers and patients alike. However, the factors that influence this decision are poorly understood. We aimed to ascertain how non-clinical factors can affect hospital admission rates. Method: We conducted semistructured interviews with 21 participants from three acute hospital trusts. Participants included 11 emergency department (ED) doctors, 3 ED nurses, 3 managers and 4 inpatient doctors. A range of seniority was represented among these roles. Interview questions were developed from key themes identified in a theoretical framework developed by the authors to explain admission decision-making. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed by two independent researchers using framework analysis. Findings: Departmental factors such as busyness, time of day and levels of senior support were identified as non-clinical influences on a decision to admit rather than discharge patients. The 4-hour waiting time target, while overall seen as positive, was described as influencing decisions around patient admission, independent of clinical need. Factors external to the hospital such as a patient’s social support and community follow-up were universally considered powerful influences on admission. Lastly, the culture within the ED was described as having a strong influence (either negatively or positively) on the decision to admit patients. Conclusion: Multiple factors were identified which go some way to explaining marked variation in admission rates observed between different EDs. Many of these factors require further inquiry through quantitative research in order to understand their influence further

Primary Eye Care in Eastern Nepal.

Purpose: Vision 2020 and the Global Action Plan 2013-2019 prioritise primary eye care (PEC) as an important component of reducing avoidable blindness. Studies in sub-Saharan Africa have demonstrated that current PEC provision is poor. There has been no evaluation of the current practice of PEC among primary health care workers (PHCWs) in Nepal.Methods: A mixed methods descriptive cross-sectional study with semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) was carried out in Eastern Nepal. Government employed PHCWs working at health posts in three districts were invited to take part in a PEC knowledge and skills assessment. Each health post was assessed for ophthalmic equipment and medications. Three focus group discussions and eight semi-structured interviews were carried out with community ophthalmic assistants, PHCWs and a district health manager.Results: 107 PHCWs in 35 health posts took part in the quantitative study. Only 8.4% had received eye care training. 27.1% PHCWs could diagnose a corneal ulcer, 83.2% conjunctivitis, 75.7% cataract and 54.2% ophthalmia neonatorum. Only 14.0% could measure visual acuity, and 5.7% of HPs had a vision chart. Ophthalmic assistants described their concern for the low level of PEC at health posts. PHCWs were keen to receive training and highlighted the need for greater government support in the provision of eye care services.Conclusion: PEC knowledge and skills among PHCWs in eastern Nepal is inadequate to provide quality PEC services. There is a pressing need for PEC training in the region, provision of ophthalmic equipment and greater government support for eye care

Good Teaching of Calculus I

the analysis of student survey data in the Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus revealed that student responses to questions about instructor characteristics factored into three clusters: Good Teaching, Technology, and Ambitious Pedagogy. Of these three, only Good Teaching had a positive effect on the change in students’ attitudes towards mathematics (a composite of three outcomes: mathematics confidence, enjoyment, and persistence). In this chapter, we further analyze the data collected in the study to understand better what the construct Good Teaching mean.National Science FoundationMathematical Association of Americahttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136219/1/CSPCC-Chapter7_GoodTeaching_MesaBurnWhite_2015.pd

Realizing the potential of routinely collected data for monitoring eye health services to help achieve universal health coverage

In the recent World Report on Vision, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the need to strengthen health information systems (HIS) for eye health, including data from population-based surveys and facility-based sources such as service and resource data. The report also outlined the importance of strengthening eye health to enable Universal Health Coverage. In high-income countries, facility-based data are increasingly used to monitor eye services and answer research questions, including under the banner of big data. While there are some examples of comprehensive and robust information systems for eye care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the potential of facility-based data is yet to be realized in many LMICs. Here, we discuss the potential of strengthening the collection and use of facility-based data for eye health in LMICs to monitor Universal Health Coverage relevant aspects of service access, quality, and equity

A two-year participatory intervention project with owners to reduce lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in Jaipur, India

Participatory methods are increasingly used in international human development, but scientific evaluation of their efficacy versus a control group is rare. Working horses support families in impoverished communities. Lameness and limb abnormalities are highly prevalent in these animals and a cause for welfare concern. We aimed to stimulate and evaluate improvements in lameness and limb abnormalities in horses whose owners took part in a 2-year participatory intervention project to reduce lameness (PI) versus a control group (C) in Jaipur, India.In total, 439 owners of 862 horses participated in the study. PI group owners from 21 communities were encouraged to meet regularly to discuss management and work practices influencing lameness and poor welfare and to track their own progress in improving these. Lameness examinations (41 parameters) were conducted at the start of the study (Baseline), and after 1 year and 2 years. Results were compared with control horses from a further 21 communities outside the intervention. Of the 149 horses assessed on all three occasions, PI horses showed significantly (P<0.05) greater improvement than C horses in 20 parameters, most notably overall lameness score, measures of sole pain and range of movement on limb flexion. Control horses showed slight but significantly greater improvements in four parameters, including frog quality in fore and hindlimbs.This participatory intervention succeeded in improving lameness and some limb abnormalities in working horses, by encouraging changes in management and work practices which were feasible within owners’ socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Demonstration of the potentially sustainable improvements achieved here should encourage further development of participatory intervention approaches to benefit humans and animals in other contexts