Pupil participation in Scottish schools: how far have we come?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989), which applies to all children under the age of 18, established the overarching principles guiding pupil participation. In most European states, signatories to the Convention have enacted policies to promote the voice of the child or young person in decisions that affect them. In education systems strategies to enhance the pupil participation are an increasing feature of deliberation on education for citizenship, curriculum flexibility, pedagogical approaches and assessment for learning. Despite the positive policy context and professional commitment to principles of inclusion, translating policy intentions so that the spirit of the legislation is played out in the day-to-day experiences of pupils is a constant challenge. This article reports on research that examines how pupil participation is understood and enacted in Scottish schools. It considers how the over-laying of diverse policies presents mixed messages to practitioners

The School Improvement Partnership Programme: Using Collaboration and Enquiry to tackle Educational Inequity

No abstract available

Pupil participation in Scottish schools: final report

This research was commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) to evaluate the nature of pupil participation in primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The specific objectives of the research were: <p>· To describe what school staff and pupils understand by the term ‘pupil participation’.</p> <p>· To describe the range and usage of pupil participation mechanisms employed in schools.</p> <p>· To describe how school staff respect and respond to pupils’ views and ideas, and those of the wider community.</p> <p>· To identify the characteristics of schools and classrooms that facilitate effective pupil participation.</p> <p>· To identify possible barriers to the development of pupil participation in schools and to make suggestions about how these can be overcome.</p> <p>· To capture examples of effective practice of pupil participation.</p> <p>· To make suggestions about how pupil participation can help support the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence.</p&gt

2-Butyl-11-phenyl-5,10-dihydro-1H-benzo[e]imidazo[1,5-a][1,4]diazepine-1,3(2H)-dione

The title compound, C21H21N3O2, was obtained following a five-step synthetic procedure yielding weakly diffracting rod and needle-shaped crystals which crystallized concomitantly. Structural analysis of a rod-shaped crystal showed that the central seven-membered heterocyclic ring adopts a conformation that is perhaps best described as a distorted boat, with the H-bearing (CH2 and NH) atoms lying well out of the least-squares mean plane fitted through the other five atoms in the ring (r.m.s. deviation 0.075 Å). In the crystal, the compound packs as a twisted chain, which propagates along the b axis by means of an R 1 2(6) motif formed by one of the carbonyl O atoms acting as a bifurcated acceptor in an N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O inter­action. No diffraction was observed from the needle-shaped crystals

Chemistry and the Worm: Caenorhabditis elegans as a Platform for Integrating Chemical and Biological Research

This Review discusses the potential usefulness of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for chemists interested in studying living systems. C. elegans, a 1 mm long roundworm, is a popular model organism in almost all areas of modern biology. The worm has several features that make it attractive for biology: it is small (<1000 cells), transparent, and genetically tractable. Despite its simplicity, the worm exhibits complex phenotypes associated with multicellularity: the worm has differentiated cells and organs, it ages and has a well-defined lifespan, and it is capable of learning and remembering. This Review argues that the balance between simplicity and complexity in the worm will make it a useful tool in determining the relationship between molecular-scale phenomena and organism-level phenomena, such as aging, behavior, cognition, and disease. Following an introduction to worm biology, the Review provides examples of current research with C. elegans that is chemically relevant. It also describes tools—biological, chemical, and physical—that are available to researchers studying the worm.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Differences in endplate deformation of the adjacent and augmented vertebra following cement augmentation

Vertebral cement augmentation can restore the stiffness and strength of a fractured vertebra and relieve chronic pain. Previous finite element analysis, biomechanical tests and clinical studies have indirectly associated new adjacent vertebral fractures following augmentation to altered loading. The aim of this repeated measures in situ biomechanical study was to determine the changes in the adjacent and augmented endplate deformation following cement augmentation of human cadaveric functional spine units (FSU) using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The surrounding soft tissue and posterior elements of 22 cadaveric human FSU were removed. FSU were assigned to two groups, control (n=8) (loaded on day 1 and day 2) and augmented (n=14) (loaded on day 1, augmented 20% cement fill, and loaded on day 2). The augmented group was further subdivided into a prophylactic augmentation group (n=9), and vertebrae which spontaneously fractured during loading on day 1 (n=5). The FSU were axially loaded (200, 1,000, 1,500-2,000N) within a custom made radiolucent, saline filled loading device. At each loading step, FSUs were scanned using the micro-CT. Endplate heights were determined using custom software. No significant increase in endplate deformation following cement augmentation was noted for the adjacent endplate (P>0.05). The deformation of the augmented endplate was significantly reduced following cement augmentation for both the prophylactic and fracture group (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively). Endplate deformation of the controls showed no statistically significant differences between loading on day 1 and day 2. A linear relationship was noted between the applied compressive load and endplate deflection (R 2=0.58). Evidence of significant endplate deformation differences between unaugmented and augmented FSU, while evident for the augmented endplate, was not present for the adjacent endplate. This non-invasive micro-CT method may also be useful to investigate endplate failure, and parameters that predict vertebral failur

4-(Piperidin-1-yl)-4H-benzo[b]tetra­zolo[1,5-d][1,4]diazepin-5(6H)-one

There are two crystallographically unique mol­ecules present in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C14H16N6O; in both mol­ecules, the seven-membered diazepinone ring adopts a boat-like conformation and the chair conformation piperidine ring is an axial substituent on the diazepinone ring. In the crystal, each mol­ecule forms hydrogen bonds with its respective symmetry equivalents. Hydrogen bonding between mol­ecule A and symmetry equivalents forms two ring motifs, the first formed by inversion-related N—H⋯O inter­actions and the second formed by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N inter­actions. The combination of both ring motifs results in the formation of an infinite double tape, which propagates in the a-axis direction. Hydrogen bonding between mol­ecule B and symmetry equivalents forms one ring motif by inversion-related N—H⋯O inter­actions and a second ring motif by C—H⋯O inter­actions, which propagate as a single tape parallel with the c axis

Ecophysiological traits of grasses: resolving the effects of photosynthetic pathway and phylogeny

C4 photosynthesis is an important example of convergent evolution in plants, having arisen in eudicots, monocots and diatoms. Comparisons between such diverse groups are confounded by phylogenetic and ecological differences, so that only broad generalisations can be made about the role of C4 photosynthesis in&#xd;&#xa;determining ecophysiological traits. However, 60% of C4 species occur in the grasses (Poaceae) and molecular phylogenetic techniques confirm that there are between 8 and 17 independent origins of C4 photosynthesis in the Poaceae. In a screening experiment, we compared leaf physiology and growth traits across several major&#xd;&#xa;independent C3 &#x26; C4 groups within the Poaceae, asking 1) which traits differ consistently between photosynthetic&#xd;&#xa;types and 2) which traits differ consistently between clades within each photosynthetic type