2,302 research outputs found
âSafe spacesâ â Electronic media, the internet and the representation of disability.
This paper details the findings from a research into educational âsafe spacesâ. In this research, the electronic media emplaced within four English schoolsâ intranet sites were examined to evidence the image of disability and impairment constructed in this âsafe spaceâ. The research, through the employment of proto text analysis, revealed that the image of disability and impairment within schoolsâ electronic media represented and unbalanced and negative image of disability that was grounded in the ideology of child deficit. Based upon these findings it is argued that âsafe spaceâ in relation to these intranet sites was more a metaphor of dominance and power than one located within the principles of equality and social justice. The paper argues that as educators we must move beyond safe spaces as a shallow paradigm of meaning and ask when creating such places - what does space mean, how do the electronic media employed in such spaces create meaning and what might specific safe spaces do
In-service Initial Teacher Education in the Learning and Skills Sector in England: Integrating Course and Workplace Learning
The aim of the paper is to advance understanding of in-service learning and skills sector trainee teachersâ learning and propose ways of improving their learning. A conceptual framework is developed by extending Billettâs (International Journal of Educational Research 47:232â240, 2008) conceptualisation of workplace learning, as a relationally interdependent process between the opportunities workplaces afford for activities and interactions and how individuals engage with these, to a third base of participation, the affordances of the initial teacher education course. Hager and Hodkinsonâs (British Educational Research Journal 35:619â638, 2009) metaphor of âlearning as becomingâ is used to conceptualise the ways trainees reconstruct learning in a continuous transactional process of boundary crossing between course and workplace. The findings of six longitudinal case studies of traineesâ development, and evidence from other studies, illustrate the complex interrelationships between LSS workplace affordances, course affordances and trainee characteristics and the ways in which trainees reconstruct learning in each setting. The experience of teaching and interacting with learners, interactions with colleagues, and access to workplace resources and training are important workplace affordances for learning. However, some trainees have limited access to these affordances. Teaching observations, course activities and experiences as a learner are significant course affordances. Traineesâ beliefs, prior experiences and dispositions vary and significantly influence their engagement with course and workplace affordances. It is proposed that better integration of course and workplace learning through guided participation in an intentional workplace curriculum and attention to the ways trainees choose to engage with this, together with the use of practical theorising has the potential to improve trainee learning
Preâservice teacher training and special educational needs in England 1970â2008: is government learning the lessons of the past or is it experiencing a groundhog day?
The paper outlines the findings from a literature review of the English governmentâs response to the issue of training preâservice teachers in the delivery of effective special educational needs support. The reviewâs findings detail that although educational practice in mainstream classrooms has changed considerably since the 1970s the training of preâservice teachers with regards to special educational needs has seemingly changed very little. The paper argues that the government needs to reâthink radically its policy of inclusion to ensure that a coherent plan is formulated which enables higher education institutionsâ initial teacher training programmes to train students who are competent and confident in their abilities to work with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Exploring Digital Transformations of Community, Culture and Welfare in Austere Times: the Case of Leeds. Interim Report
Emergency Centre-based paediatric procedural sedation: current practice and challenges in Cape Town
Background: The aims and objectives of this survey of the current practice of doctors working in Emergency Centres (ECs) in the Cape Town metropole was to assess clinical practice and attempt to identify obstacles to the practice of paediatric procedural sedation and analgesia (PPSA). This was considered essential to establish a baseline for quality assurance purposes and improvement.Methods: After institutional ethics approval, a cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 25 ECs in both private and government sectors in Cape Town. Specific aspects of PPSA practice were analysed after the anonymous completion of a specifically designed questionnaire, by full-time doctors working at each EC. The doctorsâ grade and training, practice preferences, medication and use of monitoring, and any perceived challenges to performing PPSA were assessed.Results: Sixteen ECs agreed to be part of the study and 62 questionnaires were completed (a 64% response rate). Procedural sedation and analgesia was performed at all the participating ECs, by medical practitioners of varying experience. Doctorsâ awareness of unit protocols was inconsistent. Common indications were orthopaedic interventions, radiological investigations and surgical procedures. Medications used were similar in the responding units, but dosages varied. Monitoring was poor compared with local and international standards. The obstacles reported predominantly related to a lack of training and formal protocols.Conclusions: This study was the first to evaluate the practice of Emergency Centre paediatric procedural sedation and analgesia practice in a South African setting. The lack of a formal system of training and accreditation, for both doctors and facilities, and the need for institutional and nationwide PPSA guidelines were highlighted.Keywords: Cape Town, paediatric, procedural sedation analgesi
Searching for Invariants using Temporal Resolution
Abstract. In this paper, we show how the clausal temporal resolution technique developed for temporal logic provides an effective method for searching for invariants, and so is suitable for mechanising a wide class of temporal problems. We demonstrate that this scheme of searching for invariants can be also applied to a class of multi-predicate induction problems represented by mutually recursive definitions. Completeness of the approach, examples of the application of the scheme, and overview of the implementation are described.
The Juncaceae-Cyperaceae Interface: A Combined Plastid Sequence Analysis
Phylogenetic relationships of Juncaceae and related families of Cyperales were investigated using DNA sequence data from the plastid rps16 intron, trnL intron, and trnLâF intergenic spacer. Results using parsimony analysis of the aligned matrices ďŹnd Juncaceae and Cyperaceae to be monophyletic families, which form a clade sister to a monophyletic Thurniaceae that includes Prionium (Prioniaceae), all three clades with 100% bootstrap support. Within Juncaceae, the genus Luzula is monophyletic with 100% bootstrap support and sister to the rest of Juncaceae. Further groupings within the family indicate that the genus Juncus may be monophyletic only with the inclusion of the single-ďŹowered genera of Juncaceae (Distichia, Oxychloe, Marsippospermum, and Rostkovia; sequences of Patosia were not included). Major groupings within Juncus are supported by the morphological characters of septate or non-septate leaves and the presence or absence of bracts subtending the ďŹowers, which have been used to deďŹne subgenera and sections within Juncus
Mediation, translation and local ecologies: understanding the impact of policy levers on FE colleges
This article reports the views of managers and tutors on the role of policy âleversâ on teaching, learning, and inclusion in colleges of Further Education (FE) in our research project, âThe impact of policy on learning and inclusion in the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS)â.i Using data from five research visits conducted over two years in eight FE learning sites, we explore the processes by which colleges âmediateâ and âtranslateâ national policy levers and how this affects their ability to respond to local need. The paper tentatively develops three related concepts/metaphors to explain the complexity of the policy/college interface â âthe process of mediationâ, âacts of translationâ and âlocal ecologiesâ. We found that policy levers interacted with a complex set of national, local and institutional factors as colleges responded to pressures from the external environment and turned these into internal plans, systems and practices. We conclude by suggesting that national policy-makers, who design national policy levers, may not be fully aware of these complexities and we make the case for the benefits of greater local control over policy levers, where these interactions are better understood
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