International perspectives on the theory - practice divide in secondary initial teacher education

This paper is centred on one of the main issues that underpins the move towards more school based initial teacher training in England - who is developing the theoretical aspects of a teacher’s professional knowledge? Traditionally this has been one of the functions of the University. For the purposes of this paper we have focussed on the trainees' perspectives of what theoretical aspects of their training have been developed in schools , which teaching staff were involved and how well was this done

Evaluation of valued youth: a national peer-tutoring programme to increase self confidence and motivation

Established first in the USA, Valued Youth has operated in the UK since 1996, and is currently implemented in about 50 schools in 8 regions. The programme is intended to help secondary school students who are at risk of disengaging with school or underperforming for a variety of reasons. These students are selected as tutors, given training on how to work with younger children and placed in a local primary school where they support pupils' learning. Valued Youth can be seen as one of many initiatives in secondary schools on re-engagement in learning and contributes to the UK government strategy of extending opportunities and providing flexible learning experiences to meet individual learners' needs and aptitudes. Evidence from the USA has shown the value of the programme in reducing drop-out, strengthening youngsters' perceptions of self and school, and reducing disciplinary referrals and absenteeism. The evaluation discussed in this paper considers the effect of the programme in a UK context, not only in terms of young people's attendance, attainment and confidence, but also in terms of what sort of youngsters seem to benefit and the effects of financial rewards, if any, on the outcomes. The paper reports on the first year of a two-year evaluation. Data were obtained from a pre- and post-questionnaire survey among tutors, a workshop with coordinators and visits to selected case study schools in several regions. Almost all tutors enjoyed the programme and would recommend the experience to others. There was a relatively low dropout and the programme was warmly appreciated by participating primary schools. We have evidence that Valued Youth markedly raises confidence, improves communication skills and keeps some at risk youngsters on track in school. Many types of youngsters benefit from the experience; those who lack confidence and have poor communication skills seem to make the most progress. Successful tutors tend to be those who are committed to the programme, willing to learn, are flexible and cooperative, and have some ability to interact with others, particularly children and primary teachers.</p

Weak convergence to extremal processes and record events for non-uniformly hyperbolic dynamical systems

This research was partially supported by the London Mathematics Society (Scheme 4, no. 41126), and both authors thank the Erwin Schroedigner Institute (ESI) in Vienna were part of this work was carried out. MH wishes to thank the Department of Mathematics, University of Houston for hospitality and financial support, and MT thanks Exeter University for their hospitality and support.For a measure-preserving dynamical system (X, ƒ, μ), we consider the time series of maxima Mn = max{X1,…,Xn} associated to the process Xn = φ (ƒn-1(x)) generated by the dynamical system for some observable φ : Χ → R . Using a point-process approach we establish weak convergence of the process Yn(t) = an(M[nt] - bn) to an extremal Y(t) process for suitable scaling constants an, bn ∈ R . Convergence here takes place in the Skorokhod space D(0, ∞) with the J1 topology. We also establish distributional results for the record times and record values of the corresponding maxima process.PostprintPeer reviewe

mNCEA policy brief - PELCAP: Natural Capital in Plankton & Pelagic Habitats

This policy brief fact sheet descries ecosystem services provided by pelagic habitats and a natural capital accounting of the the economic contribution pelagic habitats provide to the UK, as estimated by the Office of National Statistics. Plankton is vital for the functioning of marine ecosystems but is hard to value monetarily. According to the Office of National Statistics, plankton in UK waters provides services valued at up to 3.4 £ billion per year. PHEG members think that this is an underestimate. This project was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of the marine arm of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme. The marine NCEA programme is leading the way in supporting Government ambition to integrate natural capital approaches into decision making for the marine environment. Find out more at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-capital-and-ecosystem-assessment-programm

HOw patients view extended half‐life products: impressions from real‐world experience (The HOPE study)

Introduction Extended half‐life (EHL) clotting factors have been shown to offer people with haemophilia (PwH) protection from bleeding with fewer infusions, which might reduce treatment burden. Aim The HOw Patients view Extended half‐life products (HOPE) study aimed to explore, understand and describe patient expectations around the prophylactic use of EHL products and to establish whether these expectations were met through individual follow‐up analysis. Methods The HOPE study was a prospective, qualitative cohort study conducted among PwH who had switched to Fc fusion protein EHL products in routine clinical care and who had not been recruited to clinical trials of these products. Semi‐structured audio‐recorded interviews were undertaken over two time points; transcripts were analysed to systematically generate theory from data that contains both inductive and deductive thinking. Results Forty‐three interviews were conducted with 25 participants. Most participants were positive about EHL treatment and intended to continue using them. Reduced frequency of infusions meant lives were less disrupted or dominated by haemophilia, and there was less perceived stress on overused veins. For those PwH who did not reduce infusion frequency, there were other perceived benefits from EHLs with respect to greater protection with higher trough levels and fewer bleeds. Conclusion Patients switching to EHL treatments believe these products will result in fewer infusions and less disruption of everyday life, leaving them feeling more protected with fewer bleeds and increased activity levels, as well as enhanced well‐being and mental health. Understanding patient expectation and experience around using products adds real‐world data to clinical trial experience

Focal point pricing : a challenge to the successful implementation of section 10A (introduced by the Competition Amendment Act)

Section 10A, introduced by the Competition Amendment Act, will provide the Competition Commission with powers to investigate complex monopoly conduct in a market and, allow the Competition Tribunal under certain conditions, to prohibit such behaviour. The aim of section 10A is to discourage or prohibit coordinated or consciously parallel conduct by firms that occurs without communication or agreement but which leads to a prevention or substantial lessening of competition. Examples of horizontal tacit coordination practices include price leadership, and facilitating practices such as information exchanges and price signaling. The successful implementation of the amendment poses problems for the competition authorities in assessing the competitive effects of complex monopoly conduct and in providing effective remedies. A key reason is in oligopoly markets there is mutual interdependent decision-making by firms. Consequently, independent action by firms can lead to market outcomes similar to explicit collusion. In implementing section 10A, competition authorities can reduce the ability of firms to reach cooperative outcomes in a market by making facilitating practices difficult to achieve and curbing the ability of firms to exchange information. However, a further and little noticed issue is in oligopolistic markets there are opportunities for firms to use focal points to determine coordinated strategies. In this paper we explore the nature and role of focal point pricing that can lead to prices above competitive levels, with specific reference to the South African banking industry. We find that focal point pricing is extremely hard to control, making successful implementation of section 10A even more difficult.http://www.sajems.org/am2016Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Focal point pricing : a challenge to the successful implementation of section 10A (introduced by the Competition Amendment Act)

Section 10A, introduced by the Competition Amendment Act, will provide the Competition Commission with powers to investigate complex monopoly conduct in a market and, allow the Competition Tribunal under certain conditions, to prohibit such behaviour. The aim of section 10A is to discourage or prohibit coordinated or consciously parallel conduct by firms that occurs without communication or agreement but which leads to a prevention or substantial lessening of competition. Examples of horizontal tacit coordination practices include price leadership, and facilitating practices such as information exchanges and price signaling. The successful implementation of the amendment poses problems for the competition authorities in assessing the competitive effects of complex monopoly conduct and in providing effective remedies. A key reason is in oligopoly markets there is mutual interdependent decision-making by firms. Consequently, independent action by firms can lead to market outcomes similar to explicit collusion. In implementing section 10A, competition authorities can reduce the ability of firms to reach cooperative outcomes in a market by making facilitating practices difficult to achieve and curbing the ability of firms to exchange information. However, a further and little noticed issue is in oligopolistic markets there are opportunities for firms to use focal points to determine coordinated strategies. In this paper we explore the nature and role of focal point pricing that can lead to prices above competitive levels, with specific reference to the South African banking industry. We find that focal point pricing is extremely hard to control, making successful implementation of section 10A even more difficult.http://www.sajems.org/am2016Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Global Energy and Climate Outlook 2017: How climate policies improve air quality

This study shows that achieving the climate change mitigation target of staying below 2°C temperature rise is possible technically – thanks to an acceleration of decarbonisation trends, an increased electrification of final demand and large changes in the primary energy mix that include a phase out of coal and a reduction of oil and gas – and is consistent with economic growth. It yields co-benefits via improved air quality – including avoided deaths, reduction of respiratory diseases and agricultural productivity improvement – that largely offset the cost of climate change mitigation. These co-benefits arise without extra investment costs and are additional to the benefits of avoiding global warming and its impact on the economy.JRC.C.6-Economics of Climate Change, Energy and Transpor

The Gothenburg Protocol: Projections, Expectations and Realities: Lessons from a National Review

The Gothenburg Protocol entered into force on the 17th of May 2005, with 24 Parties ratifying the proposed emission ceilings for a range of transboundary pollutants. These ceilings were themselves formulated in 1999 using the RAINS integrated assessment model and a broad base of relevant forecasts and calibration data. In the intervening nine years, with the 2010 ceiling deadline approaching and a potential review for a new round of future emission ceilings, there is an opportunity to review the earlier work and consider the lessons for future processes. This paper considers the original projections and expectations associated with the Gothenburg Protocol emission ceilings for six countries and contrasts these against the current realities and contemporary short-term forecasts out to 2010. In this process, the paper derives a number of considerations and lessons to be considered for future agreements of this nature

Cognitive Anti-Jamming Satellite-To-Ground Communications on NASA's SCaN Testbed

Machine learning aided cognitive anti-jamming communications is designed, developed and demonstrated on a live satellite-to-ground link. A wideband autonomous cognitive radio (WACR) is designed and implemented as a hardware-in-the- loop (HITL) prototype. The cognitive engine (CE) of the WACR is implemented on a PC while the software-defined radio (SDR) platform utilized two different radios for spectrum sensing and actual communications. The cognitive engine performs spectrum knowledge acquisition over the complete spectrum range available for the SATCOM system operation and learns an anti-jamming communications protocol to avoid both intentional jammers and inadvertent interferers using reinforcement learning. When the current satellite-to-ground link is jammed, the cognitive engine of the ground receiver directs the satellite transmitter to switch to a new channel that is predicted to be jammer-free for the longest possible duration. The end-to-end, closed-loop system was tested on the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed on the International Space Station (ISS). The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of satellite-to-ground cognitive anti-jamming communications along with excellent anti-jamming capability of machine learning aided cognitive protocols against several different types of jammers