Procurement Reform and MIS Project Success

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98292/1/j.1745-493X.1997.tb00019.x.pd

Reading Disorders

There are two major types of reading disorder; developmental dyslexia and reading comprehension impairment. The primary difficulty in dyslexia is with the accurate and fluent reading of single words, whilst in reading comprehension impairment words can be read accurately but there is no or little understanding of what is read. Using the causal modelling framework, the underlying causes of the two disorders are reviewed together with the co-occurrence of reading and language disorders. The rationale for viewing reading as a dimensional disorder, where the difficulties experienced are on a continuum rather than using cut-off points to identify disorders is also reviewed

How to link people, government, and science in effective large-scale management of invasive trees

A common limitation for the effective management of widespread non-native species is translating and implementing the latest scientific knowledge for practitioners. Non-native tree invasions are no exception to this problem. We illustrate how the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme in New Zealand has worked to overcome these limitations through a partnership approach, ensuring affected communities are connected to on-the-ground responses, and facilitating the transfer of new scientific knowledge to practitioners. By ensuring the overarching management strategy was developed collaboratively with clear, mutually-agreed goals, the programme has helped to unite diverse stakeholders with a common purpose. Although coordinated by a central government body, the governance structure is sufficiently flexible to address the specific management needs of each affected community. The programme takes an adaptive management approach that enables multiple lines of research and management to be developed together; this is essential to improve management across different regions and stages of invasion. A co-developed strategy, partnership structure, and adaptive management were each critical components of the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme. However, there are ongoing challenges to overcome, such as securing long-term funding and reducing risks of re-invasion, to meet the ultimate goal of containing conifer invasions nationally. We suggest that lessons from this programme provide general insights into how linking people, government, and science could be used to improve the effectiveness of large-scale invasive non-native species management elsewhere

A social constructivist approach to introducing skills for employment to Foundation Degree students

Expectations for higher education providers to produce graduates ready for the workplace have shaped provision, with the introduction of the Foundation Degree, and expectations of an employability component within higher education programmes. This paper reports on an intervention for three groups of foundation degree students, which introduces them to ideas of skills for employability. An initial evaluation was followed up two months later exploring the longer-term impact and connections within students' programmes of study and data were captured from employers and tutors supporting this intervention. In agreement with similar studies, benefits for students were identified. However, this research reinforces the challenging nature of the employability agenda, particularly within the context of Foundation Degrees and their dual vocational-academic remit. This paper suggests there is a case to be made for a social constructivist approach within programmes and institutions for promoting awareness and consistency in developing student employability skills. © 2013 © 2013 Further Education Research Association

Calcium-Dependent But Action Potential-Independent BCM-Like Metaplasticity in the Hippocampus

The Bienenstock, Cooper and Munro (BCM) computational model, which incorporates a metaplastic sliding threshold for LTP induction, accounts well for experience-dependent changes in synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex. BCM-like metaplasticity over a shorter timescale has also been observed in the hippocampus, thus providing a tractable experimental preparation for testing specific predictions of the model. Here, using extracellular and intracellular electrophysiological recordings from acute rat hippocampal slices, we tested the critical BCM predictions (1) that high levels of synaptic activation will induce a metaplastic state that spreads across dendritic compartments, and (2) that postsynaptic cell-firing is the critical trigger for inducing that state. In support of the first premise, high-frequency priming stimulation inhibited subsequent long-term potentiation and facilitated subsequent long-term depression at synapses quiescent during priming, including those located in a dendritic compartment different to that of the primed pathway. These effects were not dependent on changes in synaptic inhibition or NMDA/ metabotropic glutamate receptor function. However, in contrast to the BCM prediction, somatic action potentials during priming were neither necessary nor sufficient to induce the metaplasticity effect. Instead, in broad agreement with derivatives of the BCM model, calcium as released from intracellular stores and triggered byM1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor activation was critical for altering subsequent synapticplasticity. These results indicate that synaptic plasticity in stratum radiatum of CA1 can be homeostatically regulated by the cell-wide history of synaptic activity through a calcium-dependent but action potential-independent mechanis

Smart devices or people? A mobile learning quandary

Mobile learning is an emerging paradigm in an unpredictable and shifting landscape of technological change. A technocentric focus is anathema to educators who prefer to believe that innovative pedagogy is the driving force behind educational developments. However, the proliferation of mobile devices may have an almost irresistible impact on teaching and learning. The focus of this article is on the concept of “smartness” in relation to mobile devices and people. As devices become smarter, their users are in danger of becoming less smart, or their agency may be at risk. Yet the key value of smart devices may be in how they can help develop essential skills and competencies in 21st-century learners—in particular, their self-direction—although this will not happen of its own accord

The positive soundscape project : a synthesis of results from many disciplines

This paper takes an overall view of ongoing findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study which is nearing completion. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) and lab-based listening tests have revealed that two key dimensions of the emotional response are calmness and vibrancy. In the lab these factors explain nearly 80% of the variance in listener response. Physiological validation is being sought using fMRI measurements, and these have so far shown significant differences in the response of the brain to affective and neutral soundscapes. A conceptual framework which links the key soundscape components and which could be used for future design is outlined. Metrics are suggested for some perceptual scales and possibilities for soundscape synthesis for design and user engagement are discussed, as are the applications of the results to future research and environmental noise policy

Reaction time variability in children with ADHD symptoms and/or dyslexia.

Reaction time (RT) variability on a Stop Signal task was examined among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and/or dyslexia in comparison to typically developing (TD) controls. Children's go-trial RTs were analyzed using a novel ex-Gaussian method. Children with ADHD symptoms had increased variability in the fast but not the slow portions of their RT distributions compared to those without ADHD symptoms. The RT distributions of children with dyslexia were similar to those of TD-controls. It is argued that variability in responding may be underpinned by impairments in response preparation or timing during Stop Signal tasks