‘”I hadn’t realised that whilst the babies and toddlers are sleeping, the other children can’t get to the books!” The complexities of ‘access’ to early reading resources for under-threes’.

This paper outlines the findings of an empirical research study exploring how Early Years Educators (EYEs) support under-threes with their early reading development in England. The data were collected through a mixed methodological approach of an initial survey, five semi-structured interviews and four reflective Zines to explore the experiences of EYEs working with under-threes. The findings highlight that there are significant implications for babies and toddlers, linked to a distinct lack of agency and access to pictures, books and other early reading resources, instigated by the conventional daily routines provided in these early years settings. This paper argues for some fundamental ‘reconsidering’ of the value of early reading for under-threes, given that access, or indeed the lack of access is a key finding of this study

‘It Was Worth Every Minute, I’m Proud of the Way It Turned Out!’ Defining Reading and Writing in the Digital Age

Drawing on research conducted in a Maltese government school, this paper presents a definition for the terms ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ in a digital age, given that definitions tend to be dominated by traditional concepts of reading and writing that ignore the role of digital technology (Lankshear and Knobel, 2008; Levy, 2011).  Data were mainly collected through classroom observations with two different groups of children. One of these classes was participating in the One Tablet per Child Pilot Project, a project part-financed by the European Union Social Fund under the Ministry of Education and Employment. Children’s drawings, focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews were analysed in order to explore what it means to read and write today and understand how these terms are defined by teachers and students.  This paper answers the two research questions: ‘How do students and teachers define reading and writing in the 21st Century?’ and ‘How are children reading and writing in the digital age?’  The definitions provided by teachers and students focused on conveying, presenting and comprehending texts through the use of paper-based resources, however this contrasted with the observations.  Reading and writing on-screen involved a complex array of skills that differed from reading and writing on paper. Reading was seen as a collaborative activity which often involved physical interaction as well as a need to follow multidirectional pathways and interact with various modes.  Similarly writing on-screen involved a high element of ‘design’, physicality, touch and collaboration with others. Keywords: digital literacy, definition, reading, writing, digital age, digital technology DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-26-02 Publication date:September 30th 202

Examining the Links between Parents’ Relationships with Reading and Shared Reading with their Pre-School Children

While much is known about the benefits of shared reading activity for children, and the role of the home in cultivating shared reading practices far less is known about the factors that can influence parents’ shared reading practices with their children. Given that many young people leave school with poor relationships with reading, this study explores the links between parents’ own relationships with reading and the shared reading they practice with their own children in the home. Drawing on deep-level interview data, this paper presents data from six parents of pre-school children, who reported that they have had a poor personal relationship with reading. These parents all developed positive shared reading relationships with their children, however the importance of this study lies in understanding the interplay between these reading relationships.  The data strongly suggested that the construct of ‘reading’ was very different from the ways in which reading had previously been defined for these participants. Reading, within a shared reading context, was seen as a very flexible construct which included activities such as talking and telling stories. In some cases, parents’ own relationships with reading seemed to improve. Implications for intervention with other families are discussed

Sugar Intake In The United States: An “Inescapable” Trap

This thesis examines the role of sugar in the American diet, the population’s health, and the economic and political spheres. The thesis aims to answer three overarching questions: (1) How has U.S. sugar consumption changed over time, and how has this change impacted the nation’s health? (2) Why does the U.S. food system allow for sugar’s continued prominence in the population’s diet if it negatively impacts the nation’s health–which this thesis argues it likely does? and (3) How can the nation improve and decrease its sugar consumption in the future? To answer these questions, information from both primary and secondary sources has been accumulated and analyzed to generate new insight on the topic of sugar in the American diet. The goals of this thesis are to reveal the truth about sugar and the organizations that foster its consumption, to recognize the modern health movement and the headway it has made in moderating sugar intake, and to present a realistic take on what is necessary to escape this sugar trap the country is caught within

Learning from Learning Disruption: A Resource for Schools

When the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020 schools across the globe were forced to close. Since then, on a stop-start basis, schools have reopened. Many schools, however, are still experiencing the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on pupil and teacher absence as well as the social, emotional, physical and academic impact on the entire school community. While the world has experienced global pandemics like Spanish flu before, the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. In May 2020 United Kingdom Research Innovation(UKRI) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) awarded a team of researchers at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society with funding to explore the challenges the COVID-19 crisis set primary school teachers. One part of this research was to conduct a review of research on previous learning disruptions to see if we could learn anything from these events that might match with the COVID-19 pandemic. This booklet summarises: What we did and why we did it What we found and educators’ reflections on how it aligned with the COVID-19 learning disruption What we recommended based on our findings and educators’ recommendations for schools and policy makers We have shared these findings with educators to combine their reflections on our findings with their experiences

Research evidence to support primary school inspection post-COVID

This policy briefing is intended to inform discussion on how Ofsted inspections might best resume at an appropriate time, given the extensive disruption COVID has brought and continues to bring to English primary schools. The briefing draws on findings from a series of research projects based at the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society and conducted between May 2020 and September 2021, using surveys, systematic literature reviews and case study methods. The research projects have highlighted just how much schools’ experiences have varied. They also show just how resourceful and resilient schools and their communities have been in navigating a way through the many difficult dilemmas the pandemic has raised, even when there have been no obvious roadmaps to follow. The research evidence we present and the recommendations that follow are intended to inform conversations in the field about the best ways forward in education. They build on the knowledge and experience that primary schools have acquired from dealing with the pandemic first hand

Decrease in Population and Increase in Welfare of Community Cats in a Twenty-Three Year Trap-Neuter-Return Program in Key Largo, FL: The ORCAT Program

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a long-term (23-year) trap-neuter-return program on the population size of community cats in the Ocean Reef Community and to describe the demographic composition and outcome of enrolled cats. A retrospective study was performed using both cat census data collected between 1999 and 2013 as well as individual medical records for cats whose first visit occurred between 3/31/1995 and 12/31/2017. Medical record entries were reviewed to determine program inputs, cat outcomes, retroviral disease prevalence, and average age of first visit, sterilization, and death through 6/11/2018. Change over time was analyzed via linear regression. The free-roaming population decreased from 455 cats recorded in 1999 to 206 recorded in 2013 (55% decrease, P < 0.0001). There were 3,487 visits recorded for 2,529 community cats, with 869 ovariohysterectomies and 822 orchiectomies performed. At last recorded visit, there were 1,111 cats returned back to their original location, and 1,419 cats removed via adoption (510), transfer to the adoption center (201), euthanasia of unhealthy or retrovirus positive cats (441), died in care (58), or outcome of dead on arrival (209). The number of first visits per year decreased 80% from 348 in 1995 to 68 in 2017. The estimated average age of the active cat population increased by 0.003 months each year (P = 0.031) from 16.6 months in 1995 to 43.8 months in 2017. The mean age of cats at removal increased 1.9 months per year over time (P < 0.0001) from 6.4 months in 1995 to 77.3 months in 2017. The mean age of cats at return to the original location was 20.8 months, which did not change over time. The overall retrovirus prevalence over the entire duration was 6.5%, with FIV identified in 3.3% of cats and FeLV identified in 3.6%. Retrovirus prevalence decreased by 0.32% per year (P = 0.001), with FIV decreasing by 0.16% per year (P = 0.013) and FeLV decreasing 0.18% per year (P = 0.033). In conclusion, a trap-neuter-return program operating for over two decades achieved a decrease in population and an increase in population welfare as measured by increased average age of population and decreased retrovirus prevalence

Corrigendum: Decrease in Population and Increase in Welfare of Community Cats in a Twenty-Three Year Trap-Neuter-Return Program in Key Largo, FL: The ORCAT Program

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a long-term (23-year) trap-neuter-return program on the population size of community cats in the Ocean Reef Community and to describe the demographic composition and outcome of enrolled cats. A retrospective study was performed using both cat census data collected between 1999 and 2013 as well as individual medical records for cats whose first visit occurred between 3/31/1995 and 12/31/2017. Medical record entries were reviewed to determine program inputs, cat outcomes, retroviral disease prevalence, and average age of first visit, sterilization, and death through 6/11/2018. Change over time was analyzed via linear regression. The free-roaming population decreased from 455 cats recorded in 1999 to 206 recorded in 2013 (55% decrease, P < 0.0001). There were 3,487 visits recorded for 2,529 community cats, with 869 ovariohysterectomies and 822 orchiectomies performed. At last recorded visit, there were 1,111 cats returned back to their original location, and 1,419 cats removed via adoption (510), transfer to the adoption center (201), euthanasia of unhealthy or retrovirus positive cats (441), died in care (58), or outcome of dead on arrival (209). The number of first visits per year decreased 80% from 348 in 1995 to 68 in 2017. The estimated average age of the active cat population increased by 0.003 months each year (P = 0.031) from 16.6 months in 1995 to 43.8 months in 2017. The mean age of cats at removal increased 1.9 months per year over time (P < 0.0001) from 6.4 months in 1995 to 77.3 months in 2017. The mean age of cats at return to the original location was 20.8 months, which did not change over time. The overall retrovirus prevalence over the entire duration was 6.5%, with FIV identified in 3.3% of cats and FeLV identified in 3.6%. Retrovirus prevalence decreased by 0.32% per year (P = 0.001), with FIV decreasing by 0.16% per year (P = 0.013) and FeLV decreasing 0.18% per year (P = 0.033). In conclusion, a trap-neuter-return program operating for over two decades achieved a decrease in population and an increase in population welfare as measured by increased average age of population and decreased retrovirus prevalence

A randomized trial to determine the impact on compliance of a psychophysical peripheral cue based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model

Objective: Non-compliance in clinical studies is a significant issue, but causes remain unclear. Utilizing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, this study assessed the psychophysical peripheral cue ‘Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) call frequency’ on compliance. Methods: 71 participants were randomized to once daily (OD), twice daily (BID) or three times daily (TID) call schedules over two weeks. Participants completed 30-item cognitive function tests at each call. Compliance was defined as proportion of expected calls within a narrow window (± 30 min around scheduled time), and within a relaxed window (− 30 min to + 4 h). Data were analyzed by ANOVA and pairwise comparisons adjusted by the Bonferroni correction. Results: There was a relationship between call frequency and compliance. Bonferroni adjusted pairwise comparisons showed significantly higher compliance (p = 0.03) for the BID (51.0%) than TID (30.3%) for the narrow window; for the extended window, compliance was higher (p = 0.04) with OD (59.5%), than TID (38.4%). Conclusion: The IVRS psychophysical peripheral cue call frequency supported the ELM as a route to persuasion. The results also support OD strategy for optimal compliance. Models suggest specific indicators to enhance compliance with medication dosing and electronic patient diaries to improve health outcomes and data integrity respectively

Why asthma still kills: The national review of asthma deaths (NRAD)

Advancements in drug treatments, applied research and the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines have contributed to the reduction of deaths from asthma over the past 50 years.Previous confidential enquiries have suggested that avoidable factors play a part in as many as threequarters of cases of asthma death. These studies have often been small, conducted locally and undertaken at a considerable time after death. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD), reported here, is the first national investigation of asthma deaths in the UK and the largest study worldwide to date. Work on the NRAD was undertaken over a 3-year period and was one element of the Department of Health inEngland’s Respiratory Programme. The primary aim of the NRAD was to understand the circumstances surrounding asthma deaths in the UK in order to identify avoidable factors and make recommendations to improve care and reduce the number of deaths.Asthma deaths occurring between February 2012 and January 2013 were identified through the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency(NISRA) and the National Records of Scotland (NRS). Extensive information about each death was sought from multiple sources, including primary, secondary and tertiary care, as well as ambulance, paramedic and out-of-hours care providers. 374 local coordinators were appointed in 297 hospitals across the NHS to collect and submit information to the project team, and 174 expert clinical assessors were recruited from primary, secondary and tertiary care throughout the UK to join expert panels that reviewed data. Each assessor participated in one or more expert panels, during which all information gathered on each death, including post-mortem reports, was reviewed by two assessors in detail, and this was followed by discussion and a consensus agreement of avoidable factors and recommendations by the whole panel.Data were available for analysis on 195 people who were thought to have died from asthma during the review period and the key findings relate to this group. Denominators vary according to where data were missing