Event Resources: e-Learning 2009: A Hands-on Workshop

ESCalate workshop to help HE and FE practitioners to use a range of e-learning applications

Japan and the East Asian financial crisis: patterns, motivations and instrumentalisation of Japanese regional economic diplomacy

At first sight, the East Asian financial crisis represents an instance of Japan failing the test of regional leadership - as evidenced by its abandonment of initial proposals for an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) in the face of US and Chinese opposition in 1997. However, if a second look is taken, and one which is sensitised to the fundamental characteristics of its diplomacy, then Japan can be seen as far more effective in augmenting its regional leadership role than previously imagined. Indeed, this article demonstrates that Japanese policy-makers have resurrected, over the longer term and in different guises, AMF-like frameworks which provide a potential springboard for further regional cooperation. Hence, the aims of this article are twofold. The first is to demonstrate the overall efficacy of Japanese regional economic diplomacy, and its ability to control outcomes through steering East Asia towards enhanced monetary cooperation. The second is to explain the reasons behind Japan's distinctive policy approach towards the financial crisis and general lessons for understanding its foreign policy. The article seeks to do so by asking three fundamental questions about the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of Japan's regional role: 'what' in terms of the dominant behavioural patterns of Japan's economic diplomacy; 'why' in terms of the motivations for this behaviour; and 'how' in terms of Japan's instrumentalisation of its regional policy

An Oral History of Alice Walters

A transcript of an interview with Alice Walters regarding her time as a one-room schoolhouse teacher.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/ors/1306/thumbnail.jp

FDTL voices : drawing from learning and teaching projects

This publication draws on insights and experiences from individuals and teams within learning and teaching development projects in higher education. It considers lessons learnt from the processes, outcomes and tangible outputs of the projects across the spectrum of the FDTL initiative, with the intention that colleagues can draw on and benefit from this experience. The overriding theme at the heart of every FDTL project has been the desire to achieve some form of positive and meaningful change at the level of the individual, institution or discipline. The continuing legacy of the programme has been to create wider community involvement as projects have engaged with the higher education sector on multiple levels - personal, institutional, practice, and policy. This publication has remained throughout a collaborative endeavour, supported by Academy colleagues. It is based around the four themes emerging from the initiative as a whole: • Sectoral/Organisational Change • Conceptual Change • Professional and Personal Development Partnership and • Project Managemen

Development of robust methods of assessment of clinical competency in ophthalmic dispensing – results of a pilot trial

Purpose: We evaluated whether the use of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) combined with established standard setting procedures, could be used to define standards for the achievement of clinical competencies in ophthalmic dispensing. Methods: Ten OSCE stations were created to assess a range of professional competencies for dispensing opticians. For each station, examiners made a global judgment about student performance using a rating scale (bad fail, fail, borderline, pass, good pass). Examiners were instructed not to base their rating on the checklist marks. We also introduced performance based standard setting using a linear regression method. The rating of the student was plotted against marks obtained for the station and a line of best fit was derived from the data. The pass mark for each station was set at the mark for the borderline rating. Results: The average pass mark across stations was 57%. Students with higher marks also tended to be rated more highly by examiners; however, this was not universal. The slopes of the regression lines were significantly greater than zero across stations suggesting that the checklists were appropriate. Feedback from students and examiners was positive. Conclusions: Our study has demonstrated that the OSCE format and use of standard setting procedures is a viable approach to assess clinical competencies in ophthalmic dispensing. More data are required to confirm the reliability of the stations over repeated use

Is a reading addition necessary for clinical contrast sensitivity measurements?

Purpose: Clinical tests of contrast sensitivity are performed at near with letters large enough to be above the acuity threshold of presbyopes with normal vision. Is a reading addition necessary to obtain accurate thresholds? Method: Contrast sensitivity was assessed using Pelli-Robson and Mars charts. Participants were presbyopes with normal or corrected-to-normal distance and near acuity. Contrast sensitivity was assessed with participants wearing distance refractive correction, and also wearing an appropriate addition for the working distance (+0.75DS for the Pelli-Robson at 1m; +2.00DS for the Mars at 50cm). Results: The difference between contrast sensitivity measurements made with and without the reading addition was not signifi cant for either chart (repeated measures t-test, p>0.05 for Pelli-Robson and Mars). Conclusion: Contrast sensitivity can be assessed in presbyopic visual normals with patients wearing either distance or near correction without affecting thresholds

Prevalence of mental health conditions and relationship with general health in a whole-country population of people with intellectual disabilities compared with the general population

Background: There are no previous whole-country studies on mental health and relationships with general health in intellectual disability populations; study results vary. Aims: To determine the prevalence of mental health conditions and relationships with general health in a total population with and without intellectual disabilities. Method: Ninety-four per cent completed Scotland’s Census 2011. Data on intellectual disabilities, mental health and general health were extracted, and the association between them was investigated. Results: A total of 26 349/5 295 403 (0.5%) had intellectual disabilities. In total, 12.8% children, 23.4% adults and 27.2% older adults had mental health conditions compared with 0.3, 5.3 and 4.5% of the general population. Intellectual disabilities predicted mental health conditions; odds ratio (OR)=7.1 (95% CI 6.8–7.3). General health was substantially poorer and associated with mental health conditions; fair health OR=1.8 (95% CI 1.7–1.9), bad/very bad health OR=4.2 (95% CI 3.9–4.6). Conclusions: These large-scale, whole-country study findings are important, given the previously stated lack of confidence in comparative prevalence results, and the need to plan services accordingly

‘I'll play the game, but I cannot stay’ : The role of third space professionals in encouraging the retention, success and sense of belonging of undergraduate students

In 2019, a diverse, post-92, Midlands university implemented a new, hybrid third space role called the ‘academic coach’ (AC) to support its mission to make its educational provision fully accessible to all its students, to retain them and to ensure their success. Since a sense of belonging to their institution is such a powerful influence on students’ sense of wellbeing, their development of an academic identity and their resilience in the higher education context, with consequent positive impact upon their retention and success, this role is devoted to the pastoral care and personal tutoring of levels three and four students. This case study considers the journey of the AC in defining and shaping this new role and offers the ACs’ perceptions of their influence on the experience of students at levels three and four by enhancing collaborative and learning relationships within the wider university