Which qualities did aspiring teachers value in their ‘best’ mathematics teachers?

When aspiring mathematics teachers were asked to describe one of their own mathematics teachers who had made an impact on them it was found that personal attributes such as empathy, caring and commitment to their students were mentioned most often. This study uses Gossman’s categories of ‘teacher as teacher’ and ‘teacher as person’ to analyse the descriptions of best teachers given by people who were being interviewed for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Secondary Mathematics at our Institution. The aim of this study is to add to the growing body of literature which indicates the value of teachers’ personal attributes and how important these can be for student motivation and confidence in mathematics. These attributes are hardly mentioned in lists of teacher competencies compiled as part of Government standards for teachers. We expected that aspiring mathematics teachers, since they are most likely to have been successful at mathematics themselves, would feel positively about mathematics and their mathematics teachers. However a surprising finding from the data was that even successful students occasionally experienced disaffection

Low Wage Jobs and Pathways to Better Outcomes

Many people find their first employment in a low wage job. Others accept low wage jobs after a period out of the workforce or unemployed. An issue of vital social interest is the speed with which low wage workers move on to better jobs. This review of the international literature finds that the extent of mobility depends on the definition of low wage, and that the least upwardly mobile are older, less educated workers, including middle aged women, sole mothers and men who have been retrenched. Young, educated, urban workers quickly move to better paid jobs. Everywhere, women are more likely to be low paid than men, and have lower mobility. Higher education reduces the risk of low pay, but not to zero. The paper goes on to examine the extent and sources of wage mobility, and looks carefully at the question of whether a low wage job can be assumed to be preferable to no job (and finds that it cannot). It finds that countries with high levels of wage inequality have lower levels of wage mobility. It concludes with a discussion of possible policy steps that could reduce the risk of people being stuck in low wage jobs for long periods. These should be targeted at both the demand side (the structure of jobs) and the supply side (the capacity of workers).Low wages; mobility; work and welfare; low wage workers.

The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849

Review of: "The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849," written by Edmund F. Ely, edited by Theresa M. Schenck

Declining popularity increases lack of diversity: extending the discourse of the discipline

The number of young people selecting a university Information Technology (IT) course is low and has been declining alarmingly in the last few years. While young women appear to be rejecting the discipline at a greater rate than young men, the declining popularity of IT university courses is a worrying trend that is affecting the culture of the discipline and the industry nationally and internationally. The discourse of the discipline is often focused on curriculum content and industry applications with little or no attention to the type of student who is taking our courses. This paper presents senior secondary school and university enrolment statistics that emphasise a steady decline in popularity of IT courses since 2000. Results of a quantitative survey of over 700 undergraduates are presented to provide a lens into the current student experiences in IT in secondary school, the home and at university. Factors underpinning the declining popularity of the discipline as a course and career option are explored and some thoughts on the future of the discipline are offered

Doctoral‐Level Counseling Students’ Experiences of Social Class Microaggressions

The authors recruited 11 doctoral‐level counseling students to participate in a study exploring the lived experiences of people who have encountered social class microaggressions (SCMs). Findings (consisting of 6 themes) suggest that SCMs are a distinct phenomenon arising from interpersonal and environmental exchanges that damage recipients. The authors present implications for counselor education and future research trajectories

Changes in the rate of nicotine metabolism across pregnancy: a longitudinal study

Aims: Increased nicotine metabolism during pregnancy could explain why nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) appears to be less effective on smoking cessation in pregnancy than in non-pregnant smokers, but little is known about nicotine metabolism across pregnancy. This study was conducted to determine when changes in nicotine metabolism occur during pregnancy and to describe the magnitude of these changes. Design: Longitudinal cohort study of pregnant smokers' nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR). Setting and Participants: 101 pregnant smokers recruited from hospital antenatal clinics in Nottingham, UK were asked to provide saliva samples at 8–14 weeks (n = 98), 18–22 weeks (n = 65), 32–36 weeks gestation (n = 47), 4 weeks postpartum (n = 44) and 12 weeks postpartum (n = 47). Measurements: Nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) was measured using the ratio of cotinine to its primary metabolite trans-3'-hydroxycotinine. Multi-level modelling was used to detect any overall difference in NMR between time points. The 12 week postpartum NMR was compared with the NMRs collected antenatally and 4 weeks postpartum. Findings: NMR changed over time (p = 0.0006). Compared with NMR at 12 weeks postpartum, NMR was significantly higher at 18–22 weeks (26% higher, 95% CI 12% to 38%) and 32–36 weeks (23% higher, 95% CI 9% to 35%). There was no significant difference between the 8-14 weeks gestation or 4 weeks postpartum NMR and 12 weeks postpartum. Conclusions: Nicotine metabolism appears to be faster during pregnancy; this faster metabolism is apparent from 18 to 22 weeks of pregnancy and appears to fall by 4 weeks after childbirth

Density-dependent foraging and colony growth in a pelagic seabird species under varying environmental conditions

Intra-specific competition for food resources affects both foraging behaviour and population growth rates in many species, highlighting a need to better understand how changing environmental conditions affect individuals in populations of different sizes. Using chick-rearing northern gannets as a model, we examined the influence of colony size on per capita population growth rates over 2 time periods (1994-2000 and 2000-2009) and on foraging trip durations in each of 2 years (2000 and 2009) at 10 colonies in 2 separate regions of the UK and Ireland (the North Sea and the Celtic/Irish Sea). The slope of the relationship between population size and foraging trip duration in 2009 was less than one quarter of that in 2000, suggesting a much weaker influence of population size in 2009, presumably due to less intense intra-specific competition for prey resources at sea. There was also regional variation, with colonies in the Celtic/Irish Sea growing substantially slower for their size over the period between 2000 and 2009 than did colonies bordering the North Sea, whilst observed trip durations in 2009 were on average 13% shorter than predicted from population size at colonies bordering the North Sea, but 32% longer than predicted at colonies in the Celtic and Irish Seas. These data suggest less favourable conditions for gannets in the latter region in recent years, and that annual variation in trip durations will be particularly marked at large colonies, making them especially vulnerable to adverse effects of low prey availability at sea