Principles under pressure : Student teachers' perspectives on final teaching practice in early childhood classrooms

Global concerns about what constitutes an appropriate curriculum and pedagogy for young children inevitably raises questions for teacher educators and the content of teacher education programmes. These concerns have been particularly visible in England following recent policy initiatives and the resultant ‘academic shovedown’ and ‘high stakes’ performativity culture in schools. Against this background, this article reports on a qualitative study of student teachers’ experiences of their final teaching practice, identifying pressure from a range of sources to deliver a more formalised curriculum than they were prepared for in their university-based courses. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner among others, we consider the socio-political and -cultural sources of pressure linked through human agency, and the implications of these for teacher educators. The study argues that student teachers of young children may be faced with cognitive and emotional dissonance between the content of university-based training on the one hand, which promotes a developmentally appropriate, play-based approach in keeping with the Early Years Foundation Stage (the statutory curricular framework in England), and the reality of pedagogical practice in early years settings on the other

To buzz or not to buzz: improving awareness of posture through vibrotactile feedback

The iPosture' is a commercially available device which claims to improve posture. It is designed to deliver a vibrotactile buzz if the wearer slouches. We present the finding of a preliminary study evaluating the user experience of wearing it. Contrary to company claims, users found that it did not show them how to improve their posture but the buzzing did improve their body awareness

The Impact of Action Research on Practitioners' Thinking: A Supporting Case for Action Research as a Method of Professional Development

This thesis considers the role of action research in the development of practitioners' thinking. An empirical and theoretical evaluation is made of the way in which the conduct of action research affected the reflexive thought processes of twenty-five early years practitioners who undertook this form of professional development as part of the Principles into Practice Research Project based at Goldsmiths' College. In particular, this study aims to provide a clearer indication of action research's acclaimed capacity for extending practitioners' critical analysis of their practice and to help narrow the empirical gap between the idealistic assumptions of action research and the reality of its transformatory power. The importance of practitioners' thinking in determining quality of practice is highlighted and the potential for action research to influence and develop this thinking is considered. The thesis establishes a theoretical rationale of the thinking process and critical reflection within action research. Key characteristics are traced and grounded within various conceptual models of cognition and critical thinking drawn from a variety of sources within the fields of cognitive science and adult development. The theoretical framework is also utilised as an exploratory and explanatory mechanism with which to interrogate the research data. The major themes that emerged from the codification process of the data analysis are demonstrated with supporting evidence. These are linked to major theoretical constructs in the broader literature so that the full significance of action research's impact is ascertained and any critical facets determined. The findings reveal action research's capacity to influence practitioners' thinking by providing a coherent structure with which to organise their thinking and by sharpening and deepening their levels of consciousness. It provides a means of affirming good practice, but more importantly, of challenging misguided practice so that more valid interpretations of reality emerge. It stimulates a more critical and questioning frame of mind which helps to unearth ingrained assumptions about practice and generate more worthwhile educational provision. It also gives rise to an emotionally empowering process which imbues practitioners with a more critical disposition. The emancipatory potential of action research is also highlighted, as is its role in contributing to social justice. The thesis is premised upon the belief that the key to educational quality centres around the individual practitioner. The research presented here offers a compelling case for action research as a favourable strategy for professional development. It bolsters the assertions made by advocates of action research's potential to bring about improved quality of educational practice by improving the quality of practitioners' thinking and generating a more critical orientation towards practice

The Health Habits and Physical Activity of Student Truck Drivers

This study examined health habits and physical activity levels of student truck drivers to determine if they are already at risk of developing health conditions that are shown in the truck driving industry. Student truck drivers from a technical college (N=52) participated in this study. They completed a modified version of a truck driver survey from the Transport Engineering Research Limited in New Zealand (2008). Questions regarding the students’ health habits, physical activity (PA), and wellness in the workplace were included in the anonymous questionnaire. The mean age was 35 +/- 11.03 years. Mean body mass index was 29.4 +/- 6.38 with 44% feeling they are overweight. Current smokers are 38%. Over 72% reported at least moderate PA \u3e 3 times/week with 37% work-related PA. Sleep was reported 7 hours or greater by 71%. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes were reported for breakfast by 31%, 29% consume cereal, while 31% do not eat breakfast. Concern about health habits changing was expressed by 41% while 37% were unsure. Student truck drivers are in need of improving health behaviors. They are concerned how their health habits would change and prefer to work for a company which provides wellness programs and incentives for health. This preliminary data could possibly lead to implementing wellness education into truck driving training courses. More data will be to be collected throughout the academic year

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The emotions from memories and the passing of time can be an intriguing thing. The more time that passes the more difficult it can be to remember details thus changing the memory. The more people who share a specific memory,the more memories may exist,yet each person’s recognition of the event may vary. When family members recall a childhood event, they can have a plethora of viewpoints and interpretations all depending on the time passed and roles played along with previous life experiences. For centuries,history was recorded orally through ceremony and storytelling, and some cultures also involved the sharing of food. Family traditions and life lessons were kept alive by teaching them to the next generation. When a memory is lost, a part of history is lost or obscured forever, interrupting the flow of tradition and evoking change. The memories of my family and the emotions I have when I think of them are the inspiration for most of my artwork

East Germany in from the Cold: The Economic Aftermath of Currency Union

macroeconomics, East Germany, currency union

Assessing feasibility of using Oral Fluid assay as Alternative method in the Detection of Rubella Virus-Specific IgM Antibodies in routine disease surveillance Programme in Kenya

Background: The WHO recommends the inclusion of rubella testing in the measles surveillance system. Laboratory diagnosis of measles and rubella virus infection is achieved by serological assay for specific IgM from a sample of blood drawn by vein puncture. This conventional method of sample collection is invasive and less acceptable. Aim: To assess feasibility of using oral fluid as an alternative method in the detection of rubella-virus specific IgM in routine surveillance of rubella Settings and Design: A prospective laboratory-based cross-sectional study using matched oral fluid and serum collected from emerging outbreaks of rash-like illnesses across Kenya. Methods and Material: Matching samples of 176 patients were investigated for IgM specific antibodies using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Statistical analysis used: The kappa (k) statistic was used to measure inter-observer variations. Results: The prevalence of rubella using serum and oral methods was 26.7% and 23.3% respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for rubella IgM in oral fluid when tested against the gold standard was 86% and 93% respectively.  Kappa statistic value was 0.80 suggesting substantial agreement between the two methods. Conclusion: The study showed that oral fluid method is a promising simple alternative, non-invasive and more acceptable specimen of choice for rubella diagnosis. The alternative method will be more applicable to disease surveillance programmes where clinical settings are varied. The advantage of this method of sample collection is ease and safety with minimum requirement for shipment to laboratory. These findings will support the entire disease surveillance system in Kenya and also can have extended use in conducting epidemiological studies. Key words: Oral fluid, serum, diagnosis, surveillance, prevalence, diseases, measles and rubell

Correlation between Pest Abundance and Prevalence of Honeybee Pathogens at Selected Apiaries in Kenya, 2013/2014

Routine screening for pathogens plays an invaluable role in the detection of diseases in pre-clinical stages and prevention of losses. The present study was part of a larger surveillance effort to identify the determinants of African honeybee health, and particularly, to quantify honeybee pest abundance and to determine the prevalence of pathogens across Kenya, where 161 colonies from 32 apiaries were examined. From each colony, 20 individuals of foragers, nurse bees, worker pupae and drone pupae were sampled separately. These were organized as 30 foragers, 32 nurse bees, 28 worker pupae and 10 drone pupae pools. The pest abundance was determined by counting the number per colony and their occurrence in each apiary was computed by calculating the arithmetic mean values. Honeybee diseases were detected by PCR and the prevalence per apiary was computed. Varroa destructor mites and Aethina tumida were the most abundant pests. There was near universal presence of Varroa and to a smaller extent A. tumida in majority of the locations visited. Overall, Varroa destructor virus 1, deformed wing virus and black queen cell virus were detected with the highest prevalence in the apiaries at 66%, 69% and 69% respectively. Other pathogens detected were Sacbrood virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus, Acute bee paralysis virus and Nosema ceranae at 28%, 22%, 19% and 13% respectively. Spearman Ranked Correlation between the mean pest count and the specific pathogen prevalence revealed an overall positive though non-significant correlation between the pests and most pathogens. The exceptional finding of this study was the identification of a key association between the abundance of A. tumida and Nosema infection, with a statistically significant positive correlation (R = 0.89803; P = 0.01507). Further studies will be required to understand the nature of this association with the aim of unravelling if the A. tumida has a biological role in Nosema transmission. Keywords: Aethina tumida, Nosema, DWV, VDV 1, BQC

MPLP Ten Years Later: the Adventure of Being among the First

The Northwest Archival Processing Initiative (NWAPI) was the first consortium to implement Greene and Meissner’s “More Product, Less Process,” and its member institutions were among the earliest to adopt MPLP methods. Now, ten years after the close of this NHPRC-funded initiative, MPLP is a widely-recognized methodology that has been applied to many collections, but MPLP has also influenced archival functions other than processing. This article revisits the original eight NWAPI consortium participants to explore how successfully archivists that were trained in MPLP were able to institutionalize its processing methods over the last ten years, and how MPLP affected other areas of their archival practice. This article details the history of the NWAPI grant, reviews the MPLP literature to show its development over time, and analyzes survey results from the NWAPI institutions. It concludes with a recommendation to guide the future of MPLP