Lifelong learning and lifelong education: a critique

It is suddenly fashionable in political circles in the United Kingdom (and elsewhere) to talk about lifelong learning and lifelong education. This seems to be the direct result of the present economic climate which has called into question many previous assumptions: job security has become an effective myth for most of those who can actually get work; long-term unemployment seems to have become structural and permanent. Consequently, the notions of lifelong learning and lifelong education have taken on dimensions far removed from the almost Utopian ideals of their supporters in the years following the publication of the report Learning to Be. Given the current economic gloom, the popularity of the terms with politicians and the fact of being in the European Year of Lifelong Learning, it is perhaps appropriate to take stock of the whole notion of lifelong learning and lifelong education and to see just what meaning (if any) lies behind these words and where they might take us in the future. This essay lays its foundations in the historical background to the ideas of lifelong learning and lifelong education before moving onto a critique of the post-Faure advocates of the principles. It discusses various problems inherent in the concepts (such as lifelong inadequacy) before concluding that, although many of the difficulties in the concepts are due to the confused nature of adult education itself (e.g. is it education or leisure?), there is a greater need than ever for sustained efforts in favour of lifelong education to help to restore the hope which seems to have become a rare commodity among an all too large section of society

Narrowing the Gap: Random Forests In Theory and In Practice

Despite widespread interest and practical use, the theoretical properties of random forests are still not well understood. In this paper we contribute to this understanding in two ways. We present a new theoretically tractable variant of random regression forests and prove that our algorithm is consistent. We also provide an empirical evaluation, comparing our algorithm and other theoretically tractable random forest models to the random forest algorithm used in practice. Our experiments provide insight into the relative importance of different simplifications that theoreticians have made to obtain tractable models for analysis.Comment: Under review by the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) 201

Experiences with designing and managing organic rotation trials

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Practical problems encountered in two long-term organic rotation trials at Aberdeen and Elgin are discussed. Compromises have had to be made in designing and managing the trials: how to include livestock and measure output, plot size, marking and fencing, discards and paths, replication, rotation length, randomisation of crop sequence, site uniformity, manoeuvrability of machines, soil compaction and exposure to pest damage

Effect of organic crop rotations on long-term development of the weed seedbank

Changes in the weed seedbank were monitored between 1991 and 1998 in two experiments that were established to compare organic crop rotations at two sites in NE Scotland. Two rotations, replicated twice at each site, were compared and all courses of both rotations were present every year. There were relatively minor changes in weed species diversity over time, but major changes in seedbank abundance. Weed seed numbers were relatively low in rotations with a high proportion of grass/clover ley. Differences in level of seedbank across the rotation were relatively predictable at Tulloch but much less so at Woodside where factors such as the effect of the grass/clover ley seemed to play a lesser role. Other factors, such as weather and its influence on the effectiveness of weed control operations, and higher populations of ground-living arthropods, may be affecting the Woodside seedbanks

Challenges of maternal and prenatal care in Nigeria

Background and aim: Evidence in the literature indicates that maternal health care by a skilled birth attendant is one of the key strategies for maternal survival. However, the rate of maternity care utilization and reduction of maternal death is very low in Nigeria. This study was designed to explored factors influencing women utilization of maternal and prenatal care in Nigeria. Hence, the need to understand factors that serves as barriers to accessing maternal and prenatal care in Nigeria using the Socio-ecological Model (SEM). Methods: A mixed method was employed for this study. Data collection used questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Questionnaires were distributed to 330 respondents of which 318 of them were retrieved and qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted for 6 participants. The study was conducted in one of the tertiary health facilities in Nigeria, amongst mothers aged 15-45 years. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in analyzing the quantitative data whilst a qualitative content analysis was done for the qualitative data. Results: The study established that education, income level, costs associated with seeking care, distance and time taken to travel were significantly associated with maternity health care services utilization. The study concludes that; costs of treatment, distance and time, income level, staff attitude and women’s autonomy were critical in determining women utilization of maternity care services

A Direct Measurement of the Dust Extinction Curve in an Intermediate-Redshift Galaxy

We present a proof-of-concept study that dust extinction curves can be extracted from the infrared (IR), optical, ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray afterglow observations of GRBs without assuming known extinction laws. We focus on GRB 050525A (z = 0.606), for which we also present IR observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope at about 2.3 days post-burst. We construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the afterglow and use it to derive the dust extinction curve of the host galaxy in 7 optical/UV wavebands. By comparing our derived extinction curve to known templates, we see that the Galactic or Milky Way extinction laws are disfavored versus the Small and Large Magellanic Cloud (SMC and LMC) ones, but that we cannot rule out the presence of a LMC-like 2175 angstrom bump in our extinction curve. The dust-to-gas ratio present within the host galaxy of GRB 050525A is similar to that found in the LMC, while about 10 to 40% more dust is required if the SMC template is assumed. Our method is useful to observatories that are capable of simultaneously observing GRB afterglows in multiple wavebands from the IR to the X-ray.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJ. Minor changes to 2nd Paragraph of Introductio

Diurnal Fish Density in Relation to Seagrass and Drift Algae Cover in Tampa Bay, Florida

To assess the relationship between fish density and seagrass and drift algae cover on a small geographic scale, we collected quantitative data on fish and vegetation communities during daylight hours near the mouth of the Little Manatee River, Tampa Bay, Florida. In 1991, fish were collected with two types of sampling gear, a 120-m long-haul seine and 1-m2 roving dropnets. Seagrass and drift algae cover in each sampled area was categorized as none, sparse, moderate, or dense. Despite evident gear bias, sampling with both types of gear produced similar overall fish densities. Anchoa mitchilli, Lagodon rhomboides, and Syngnathus scovelli were the most abundant or frequently collected species, regardless of gear type. Densities of 12 of the 20 most abundant species were significantly related to either seagrass or drift algae cover or both. When fish density-vegetation cover relationships were significant, the greatest fish densities always occurred in either dense or moderate covers of seagrass or drift algae. Densities of L. rhomboides and Orthopristis chrysoptera were positively related to the level of seagrass and drift algae cover in samples collected with both types of gear, but significant relationships between the densities of other species and the level of vegetation cover generally varied by vegetation or gear type (or both). Density of Eucinostomus gula peaked in moderate seagrass and declined at higher and lower levels of cover. Total fish density was similar at sites dominated by either drift algae or seagrass but was significantly reduced at sites with little cover from either vegetation type. We conclude that both seagrass and drift algae are essential habitats for juvenile and small adult fish in Tampa Bay and that fish density on a small geographic scale is strongly related to vegetation cover. Drift algae may form an important alternate habitat for fish during winter months, when levels of seagrass cover are lowest and those of drift algae are highest