Secondary school pupils and English Literature

This research is centred on the school subject of GCSE English Literature and the experiences of current secondary-school pupils following the recent changes to the discipline. It is an exploration of their views towards GCSE English Literature as taught and assessed at their school in 2015. Successive government policies have presented differing views towards the subject of English Literature and its role and purpose within secondary-school education. My interest is in the current experience of pupils within this curriculum area following the changes made by Michael Gove (the Secretary of State for Education from 2010 to 2014) and how this has impacted on the identity of the subject. This research investigated the debates surrounding GCSE English Literature in secondary education and contributes to such ongoing discussions by drawing on the voices of pupils. The methodological approach to this investigation into a contemporary phenomenon is a case study employing qualitative interpretivist methods. The research centred on one school in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Research took place in the spring of 2015 within the school environment through the distribution of questionnaires and small-scale group interviews. The findings are considered through a constructivist framework and indicate some contradictions with prior beliefs of what the discipline is said to offer pupils. Conclusions are draw in relation to what we can learn about the subject from the experiences of pupils and the impact of Gove’s changes to the taught curriculum. The voices of pupils are used widely throughout the findings chapters to illuminate the discussion and give a true sense of what these pupils really think about the subject as they experienced it. The data presents a clear insight into the views of pupils engaged in the learning of GCSE English Literature and is telling of how they perceive the subject in education today

Embodying Social Interactions: Integrating Physiology into the Study of Connections and Relationships at Work

We review how positive social interactions at work affect the physiological functioning of employees' cardiovascular, immune and neuroendocrine systems. We illustrate how consideration of the physiological effects of positive connections and relationships invites new research questions for leader-member exchange, mentoring, and interpersonal helping perspectives. We then raise research questions generated by gaps in the existing literature. Finally, we address the practical implications of pursuing a research agenda that integrates physiological mechanisms and measures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39172/1/1013.pd

Explaining Compassion Organizing Competence

In this article we develop a theory to explain how individual compassion becomes socially organized and how the organizing process gains collective competence in its ability to alleviate suffering. The theory is built from an in-depth case study of one organization’s response to members who lost their belongings in a fire. The compassion organizing response was highly competent as reflected in the scale, scope, speed, and customization of resources extended in response to the members’ suffering. The model theorizes five mechanisms as central to the competence in compassion organizing: 1) contextual enabling of attention, 2) contextual enabling of emotion, and 3) contextual enabling of legitimacy and trust, 4) agents improvising structures, and 5) symbolic enrichment. Together, these mechanisms elaborate a view of how the social architecture, agency, and emergent features of an organizing process create the extraction, generation and coordination of a variety of resources that contribute to compassion organizing competence. We discuss how our model adds to general theories of collective organizing competence.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41217/1/993.pd

The roles of interferon biomarkers in monitoring patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and other connective tissue diseases

Background: Type I interferon (IFN-I) is thought to have a central role in the pathogenesis and activity of autoimmune connective tissue disease (CTD). As a heterogeneous condition, CTD is often a challenge to manage, which is further made difficult by the lack and imprecision in diagnostic tools. IFN has shown promise as biomarkers in correlation studies on disease activity in CTD. Real world challenges in CTD management could be addressed with a validated IFN biomarker. Objectives: (i) to examine the role of IFN biomarkers in the prediction of flares and glucocorticoid requirements in SLE; (ii) to examine the use IFN assays in distinguishing patients who meet definite CTD classification criteria from a cohort of patients labelled as UCTD; and (iii) to examine the relationship between IFN biomarkers and patient-reported outcomes in patients At-Risk, with UCTD and with established CTD. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in a (i) SLE cohort and a (ii) UCTD cohort attending routine clinics. Comprehensive clinical assessment focussing on (i) disease activity and glucocorticoid requirements, and (ii) classification criteria for SLE, SS, IM and SSc, was conducted in conjunction with IFN biomarker sampling. (iii) A cross-sectional study of patient-reported outcomes was administered together with IFN biomarker sampling in At-Risk, UCTD and established CTD patients attending routine clinic. Results: (i) High IFN Score A, IFN Score B and Memory B cell tetherin were associated with flares and increased glucocorticoid requirements in a cohort of SLE patients; (ii) IFN Score A was higher in those who were re-classified into CTD than those remained undifferentiated, thus could be used to distinguish between these two groups, and patient’s initially labelled as UCTD; (iii) correlation between IFN Scores and PROMs varied widely among diagnoses of CTDs, with the strongest correlation found in patients with UCTD. Conclusion: In this thesis, I have demonstrated several potential uses of IFN assays in the monitoring of patients with CTD with respect to prediction of flares and glucocorticoid requirements in SLE; the distinguishment of classifiable CTD from UCTD; and understanding the relationships between IFN and patient-reported outcomes. These findings need validation in a longitudinal cohort to inform their applicability in clinical practice

Giving Commitment: Employee Support Programs and The Prosocial Sensemaking Process

Researchers have assumed that employee support programs cultivate affective organizational commitment by enabling employees to receive support. Using multimethod data from a Fortune 500 retail company, we propose that these programs also strengthen commitment by enabling employees to give support. We find that giving strengthens affective organizational commitment through a “prosocial sensemaking” process in which employees interpret personal and company actions and identities as caring. We discuss theoretical implications for organizational programs, commitment, sensemaking and identity, and citizenship behaviors

Longitudinal Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence, Risk, Well-Being, and Employment: Preliminary Findings

Over 7 months (June 1999 to January 2000), researchers recruited 406 women from 1 of 3 sites in a northeastern city at the point they were seeking help for violence against them by a current or former male partner. Intimate partner violence was measured with a modified version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Some form of serious violence during the previous year was reported by 88 percent of the participants. By the first 3-month follow-up period, nearly one-third of the participants reported the recurrence of some form of physical violence; 20.4 percent reported an injury; and 18.1 percent reported sexual abuse. Stalking between time 1 and time 2 was reported by 46.9 percent of participants. By the 1-year follow-up, 38.8 percent of participants reported at least some recurrence of physical violence within the past year. At time 1, a significant number of participants indicated their level of risk for future violence as high. Overall, results suggest different trajectories for violence and abuse following participants\u27 involvement with community and legal system interventions. Mean scores on each of the measures of well-being showed an overall improvement in reported quality of life at time 2 compared to time 1. An overall mean decrease in reported depressive symptoms was observed; however, this progress was not uniform. There was a slight increase in employment among the women over the 1-year period. In showing different patterns of revictimization across different types of intimate partner violence acts (physical violence, sexual abuse, and stalking), this suggests to researchers the importance of including all these categories of intimate partner violence in their protocols. Implications of the findings are also drawn for practitioners. 2 exhibits and 15 references

Longitudinal Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence, Risk, Well-Being, and Employment: Preliminary Findings

Over 7 months (June 1999 to January 2000), researchers recruited 406 women from 1 of 3 sites in a northeastern city at the point they were seeking help for violence against them by a current or former male partner. Intimate partner violence was measured with a modified version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Some form of serious violence during the previous year was reported by 88 percent of the participants. By the first 3-month follow-up period, nearly one-third of the participants reported the recurrence of some form of physical violence; 20.4 percent reported an injury; and 18.1 percent reported sexual abuse. Stalking between time 1 and time 2 was reported by 46.9 percent of participants. By the 1-year follow-up, 38.8 percent of participants reported at least some recurrence of physical violence within the past year. At time 1, a significant number of participants indicated their level of risk for future violence as high. Overall, results suggest different trajectories for violence and abuse following participants\u27 involvement with community and legal system interventions. Mean scores on each of the measures of well-being showed an overall improvement in reported quality of life at time 2 compared to time 1. An overall mean decrease in reported depressive symptoms was observed; however, this progress was not uniform. There was a slight increase in employment among the women over the 1-year period. In showing different patterns of revictimization across different types of intimate partner violence acts (physical violence, sexual abuse, and stalking), this suggests to researchers the importance of including all these categories of intimate partner violence in their protocols. Implications of the findings are also drawn for practitioners. 2 exhibits and 15 references

Design for Transtibial Modifiable Socket for Immediate Postoperative Prosthesis

Amputations are long-standing surgical procedures that have been performed for centuries; however, very little attention and urgency have been given to immediate restoration of movement and return to a normal lifestyle. In many cases, the time between amputation and prosthetic fitting can pause recovery and development of new routines. To increase recovery, immediate postoperative prostheses (IPOPs) have been developed yet these are under-utilized because of concerns for wound healing and complications with vascular diseases. Subsequently, we designed a transtibial IPOP that utilizes an ergonomic modifiable socket that allows for examination, wound care, and in situ edema control. Additionally, the IPOP facilitates early weight bearing and protects the amputated limb from external trauma postoperatively. Our purpose is to introduce this technology and describe how its unique design will serve to provide potential benefits and positive effects on patients who have undergone amputations

EnROL: A multicentre randomised trial of conventional versus laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer within an enhanced recovery programme

BACKGROUND: During the last two decades the use of laparoscopic resection and a multimodal approach known as an enhanced recovery programme, have been major changes in colorectal perioperative care. Clinical outcome improves using laparoscopic surgery to resect colorectal cancer but until recently no multicentre trial evidence had been reported regarding whether the benefits of laparoscopy still exist when open surgery is optimized within an enhanced recovery programme. The EnROL trial (Enhanced Recovery Open versus Laparoscopic) examines the hypothesis that laparoscopic surgery within an enhanced recovery programme will provide superior postoperative outcomes when compared to conventional open resection of colorectal cancer within the same programme. METHODS/DESIGN: EnROL is a phase III, multicentre, randomised trial of laparoscopic versus open resection of colon and rectal cancer with blinding of patients and outcome observers to the treatment allocation for the first 7 days post-operatively, or until discharge if earlier. 202 patients will be recruited at approximately 12 UK hospitals and randomised using minimization at a central computer system in a 1:1 ratio. Recruiting surgeons will previously have performed >100 laparoscopic colorectal resections and >50 open total mesorectal excisions to minimize conversion. Eligible patients are those suitable for elective resection using either technique. Excluded patients include: those with acute intestinal obstruction and patients in whom conversion from laparoscopic to open procedure is likely. The primary outcome is physical fatigue as measured by the physical fatigue domain of the multidimensional fatigue inventory 20 (MFI-20) with secondary outcomes including postoperative hospital stay; complications; reoperation and readmission; quality of life indicators; cosmetic assessments; standardized performance indicators; health economic analysis; the other four domains of the MFI-20. Pathological assessment of surgical quality will also be undertaken and compliance with the enhanced recovery programme will be recorded for all patients. DISCUSSION: Should this trial demonstrate that laparoscopic surgery confers a significant clinical and/or health economic benefit this will further support the transition to this type of surgery, with implications for the training of surgeons and resource allocation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN48516968