Risk of low birth weight near EUROHAZCON hazardous waste landfill sites in England.

Few studies have investigated the occurrence of both low birth weight (LBW) and congenital anomalies in populations living near hazardous waste landfill sites. The authors investigated the risk of LBW near 10 English hazardous waste landfill sites included in a previous European study, which reported an increased risk of congenital anomalies. Odds ratios, adjusted for sex, deprivation, year of birth, and study area (pooled ORs), were estimated for LBW (< 2500 gm) within 0-3 km compared with 3-7 km zones around the landfill sites. The authors found a small and not statistically significant increase in risk of LBW (OR = 1.03, 95% confidence interval = 0.98-1.08) within 3 km of hazardous waste landfill sites. Their findings suggest that previously reported results for congenital anomalies should not be extrapolated to a wider range of pregnancy outcomes but should be evaluated separately for each

The Automagic Box of Beauty - A Prototypical Smart Device as Use Case Example for User-centered Decision Support via the Hub-of-all-Things

In this position paper we present the Automagic Box of Beauty, a prototype smart cabinet which enables the user to track their rate of consumption of toiletries. By transmitting product consumption data from the box to the Hub-of-all-Things (HAT), a platform for personal data that is fully owned and controlled by the individual, we open the potential for decision support for the user that hitherto has only been available at the enterprise level. By returning ownership of personal data to the individual, the HAT enables horizontal integration of information that has until now been held in vertical silos. We show how, by contextualizing the product consumption data with data from a variety of other sensors and sources, the system will support individual users in making decisions – in this use case example, decisions about replenishment and selection of the products in the box.The HAT project is funded by the RCUK Digital Economy Programme.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Link.aspx?doi=10.5220/000533000091009

Design Fiction for Real-World Connected Wearables

Wearable IoT technology has too much potential to be limited to a wristband. How can we design wearables with more variety while still providing value to the user? We describe a work in progress to develop a novel method of Participatory Design Fiction to inspire a real-world, everyday wearable IoT system. We show how this has led to a greater understanding of our users’ needs, resulting in a technology probe for an everyday wearable IoT system that works towards meeting those needs.Doctoral studentship funded by The Alan Turing Institute. Research activity funded by the University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology

In the wake of structural adjustment programs : exploring the relationship between domestic policies and health in Argentina and Uruguay

Background: The implementation of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in low to middle income (LMICs) has been followed by a marked reduction in their progress on economic growth, social indicators and health outcomes. Comprehensive and contextualized explorations of the effects of SAPs are needed to assist health and social policy-makers in better determining responses to such programs that continue to dominate global trade, aid and debt cancellation negotiations.Methods: A comparative case study of Argentina and Uruguay was developed exploring the effects of SAPs on health. Drawing from a population health perspective and using a framework developed to analyze the relationship between globalization and health, changes in domestic policies resulting from SAPs and the corresponding population health outcomes of the countries were explored. Results: In general, SAPs were implemented with greater severity and speed in Argentina than in Uruguay, with the greatest differences occurring over the 1980s. The more gradual and modest reforms implemented in Uruguay over the 1980s were associated with better population health outcomes. As Uruguay’s reforms began to accelerate and more closely resemble Argentina’s over the 1990s, differences in population health of the countries were diminished.Conclusions: Findings support those of previous studies demonstrating that countries that have maintained more protectionist policies have been better able to protect the health of the most vulnerable sectors of society

Obstacles to wearable computing

In the year 2021, wearable technology could look beautiful and feel magical, but instead is exemplified by a plain wristband that looks suspiciously like a prison monitor. How can we make wearable technology that respects our privacy, enhances our daily lives, integrates with our other connected devices without leashing us to a smartphone, and visually expresses who we are? This study uses a novel method of participatory design fiction (PDFi) to understand potential users of everyday wearable technology through storytelling. I recruited participants from the general public and gave them a five-point prompt to create a design fiction (DF), which inspired the user-centred design of an everyday connected wearable device. The participants each received a technology probe to wear in the wild for a year. They then updated their DFs as a way to reflect on the implications of the technology. For the purposes of privacy, augmenting device functionality through interoperability, and integration into an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, I used the Hub-of-All-Things personal data store to provide the software infrastructure. By listening to their stories, we can elicit design concepts directly from the users, to help us create wearable IoT devices that put the wearer at the centre of the design process, and are satisfying both functionally and emotionally.The Alan Turing Institute Doctoral Scheme, University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology, The Kenneth Hayter Memorial Fun

Models for Learning (Mod4L) Final Report: Representing Learning Designs

The Mod4L Models of Practice project is part of the JISC-funded Design for Learning Programme. It ran from 1 May – 31 December 2006. The philosophy underlying the project was that a general split is evident in the e-learning community between development of e-learning tools, services and standards, and research into how teachers can use these most effectively, and is impeding uptake of new tools and methods by teachers. To help overcome this barrier and bridge the gap, a need is felt for practitioner-focused resources which describe a range of learning designs and offer guidance on how these may be chosen and applied, how they can support effective practice in design for learning, and how they can support the development of effective tools, standards and systems with a learning design capability (see, for example, Griffiths and Blat 2005, JISC 2006). Practice models, it was suggested, were such a resource. The aim of the project was to: develop a range of practice models that could be used by practitioners in real life contexts and have a high impact on improving teaching and learning practice. We worked with two definitions of practice models. Practice models are: 1. generic approaches to the structuring and orchestration of learning activities. They express elements of pedagogic principle and allow practitioners to make informed choices (JISC 2006) However, however effective a learning design may be, it can only be shared with others through a representation. The issue of representation of learning designs is, then, central to the concept of sharing and reuse at the heart of JISC’s Design for Learning programme. Thus practice models should be both representations of effective practice, and effective representations of practice. Hence we arrived at the project working definition of practice models as: 2. Common, but decontextualised, learning designs that are represented in a way that is usable by practitioners (teachers, managers, etc).(Mod4L working definition, Falconer & Littlejohn 2006). A learning design is defined as the outcome of the process of designing, planning and orchestrating learning activities as part of a learning session or programme (JISC 2006). Practice models have many potential uses: they describe a range of learning designs that are found to be effective, and offer guidance on their use; they support sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning designs by teachers, and also the development of tools, standards and systems for planning, editing and running the designs. The project took a practitioner-centred approach, working in close collaboration with a focus group of 12 teachers recruited across a range of disciplines and from both FE and HE. Focus group members are listed in Appendix 1. Information was gathered from the focus group through two face to face workshops, and through their contributions to discussions on the project wiki. This was supplemented by an activity at a JISC pedagogy experts meeting in October 2006, and a part workshop at ALT-C in September 2006. The project interim report of August 2006 contained the outcomes of the first workshop (Falconer and Littlejohn, 2006). The current report refines the discussion of issues of representing learning designs for sharing and reuse evidenced in the interim report and highlights problems with the concept of practice models (section 2), characterises the requirements teachers have of effective representations (section 3), evaluates a number of types of representation against these requirements (section 4), explores the more technically focused role of sequencing representations and controlled vocabularies (sections 5 & 6), documents some generic learning designs (section 8.2) and suggests ways forward for bridging the gap between teachers and developers (section 2.6). All quotations are taken from the Mod4L wiki unless otherwise stated

An Investigation Of Traditional Professional Development Versus Reform Professional Development And The Implementation Of Strategies, Curriculum And Classroom Environment By Prekindergarten Teachers

ABSTRACT AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT VERSUS REFORM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIES, CURRICULUM AND CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT BY PRE- KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS by HELEN OLIVER-BROOKS May 2013 Advisor: Dr. Marc Rosa Major: Curriculum and Instruction Degree: Doctor of Philosophy The purpose of this study is to investigate differences between traditional conventional professional development and high quality reflective professional development and curriculum implementation of classroom practices. This study examined the extent to which professional development activities were associated with increased levels of curriculum implementation. Differences in curriculum implementation, teacher knowledge, and changes to teaching practice based upon the type of professional development that teachers have experienced were a focus of this study. A sample of 132 prekindergarten teachers engaged in implementation of a newly adopted curriculum, High Scope, participated in the study. Professional development was provided for two consecutive academic years (2010-2011 and 2011-2012). Traditional professional development (lecture, large group, lower frequency, and no active participation) was provided during the first year. The second year, teachers participated in reform professional development programs (smaller groups, one location, consistent presenter, immediate on-going feedback/support, cohort/team approach, interaction, and a higher frequency of training sessions). Teachers completed a survey of the final day of the reform professional development session at the end of the 2012 school year. The findings were consistent with studies of significant professional development and the teachers\u27 conclusions about how effective specific types of training influenced their understanding and implementing of the curriculum. The findings further supported the significance of immediate feedback and consequently the on-going classroom, phone, text, email, and other means of support for promoting the High Scope curriculum implementation in the prekindergarten classroom

\u27It shouldn\u27t become the new normal to make music alone\u27. Teaching and learning music in the COVID-19 crisis

The authors from Germany present the results of a series of surveys of lecturers and students on teaching and learning music online at German music universities owing to COVID-19 restrictions and temporary university closures. The surveys were conducted in the summer and winter terms 2020 and the results also confirm differences between artistic teachers and academic teachers – especially with regard to the attitudes towards online and face-to-face teaching formats. This article is part of the anthology European Perspectives on Music Education, Volume 11, which focusses on music practices in the classroom, diversity in music making, learning and teaching and praxeological perspectives on music education. (DIPF/Orig.

A win-win for legume mixtures

The inter-relationship between food production and biodiversity is now well established. The ecosystem services provided by the organisms within the environment include, for example, nutrient cycling, pest regulation and pollination, to name but a few. However, perhaps the greatest challenge now facing agricultural production is to find ways of enhancing these ecosystem services, while at the same time increasing food production – particularly in light of food security issues. A range of farm and landscape management options include ‘setting aside’ land for wildlife. However, some proponents argue that such land should be used for food production. While the debate continues, there is no doubt that a large body of scientific evidence from the last three decades highlights the wildlife benefits of organic farming. This article will describe how the Legume LINK project has identified a win-win system for biodiversity conservation and increased productivity through legume-base fertility building. Although this project has focused on organic farming systems, it is of direct relevance to non-organic production, particularly with the increasing interest in legumes across the industry