Changing student behaviour in schools located in areas of socioeconomic deprivation: findings from the 'coastal academies' research

No embargo can be found for this publication; there is no DO

Evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination

This report presents findings of an independent evaluation into the effectiveness and impact of the National Award for SEN Coordination. Questionnaire data were collected from 1,109 school staff, 532 parents/carers and 9 pupils; we also interviewed 20 SENCOs and 15 parents/carers of children with SEND. Key findings included: • Statistically-significant evidence that a majority of NASENCO Award-holders and trainees felt that the Award increased their confidence in some aspects of all three Award domains of Professional Knowledge and Understanding; Leading and Coordinating Provision; Personal and Professional Qualities. • Award-holding survey respondents commented on aspects of course delivery that allowed them to reflect on their SENCO role. These included discussion and sharing practice with other SENCOs, academic study and tasks, and the taught sessions. Some commented on the challenges of completing Master’s level study with their employment in school. • Issues that SENCOs thought should be addressed in the Award in future included practical advice that was applicable to the SENCO role; budget management and funding training; working with outside agencies; supporting pupils; training, supporting and managing staff; and understanding/implementing current legislation. • School staff who were not SENCOs were asked for their views of the support provided to them by their SENCO. The majority of respondents knew if their school SENCO had achieved the Award or not. A large majority reported that their SENCO supported them in almost all aspects of the three Award domains. The SENCO’s role in working with parents/carers was the aspect most often highly rated by school staff respondents; other highly-rated aspects were concerned with working strategically to develop support systems, both within and beyond the school, followed by supporting pupils’ learning and progress. • The majority of parents/carers who responded to the survey did not know if their child’s school SENCO held the Award. Most parent interviewees reported that they had not heard of the Award before completing the survey. • Around half of the pupils in our sample felt that they were able to get help at least some of the time at school, and that this help came mainly from staff at school or from family. The Report concludes with recommendations to government, Award providers, schools and individuals

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Hunger Artists: Yeast Adapted to Carbon Limitation Show Trade-Offs under Carbon Sufficiency

As organisms adaptively evolve to a new environment, selection results in the improvement of certain traits, bringing about an increase in fitness. Trade-offs may result from this process if function in other traits is reduced in alternative environments either by the adaptive mutations themselves or by the accumulation of neutral mutations elsewhere in the genome. Though the cost of adaptation has long been a fundamental premise in evolutionary biology, the existence of and molecular basis for trade-offs in alternative environments are not well-established. Here, we show that yeast evolved under aerobic glucose limitation show surprisingly few trade-offs when cultured in other carbon-limited environments, under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. However, while adaptive clones consistently outperform their common ancestor under carbon limiting conditions, in some cases they perform less well than their ancestor in aerobic, carbon-rich environments, indicating that trade-offs can appear when resources are non-limiting. To more deeply understand how adaptation to one condition affects performance in others, we determined steady-state transcript abundance of adaptive clones grown under diverse conditions and performed whole-genome sequencing to identify mutations that distinguish them from one another and from their common ancestor. We identified mutations in genes involved in glucose sensing, signaling, and transport, which, when considered in the context of the expression data, help explain their adaptation to carbon poor environments. However, different sets of mutations in each independently evolved clone indicate that multiple mutational paths lead to the adaptive phenotype. We conclude that yeasts that evolve high fitness under one resource-limiting condition also become more fit under other resource-limiting conditions, but may pay a fitness cost when those same resources are abundant

The effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ on freshwater periphyton in a temperate stream

This study examines the effects of elevated CO 2 on the benthic biology of a temperate freshwater stream. We tested the hypotheses that elevated CO 2 would increase periphyton biomass, alter elemental composition, and change community composition by increasing the frequency of algal taxa most limited by CO 2 availability. Carbon dioxide was bubbled into reservoirs of stream water, increasing the ambient pCO 2 by approximately 1100 ppm. The CO 2 -enriched water then flowed into artificial stream channels. Ceramic tiles were placed into the channels to allow for periphyton colonization. Dissolved inorganic carbon increased and pH decreased with added CO 2 . Measurements of biological parameters including periphyton biomass, algal C:N:P ratios, and community composition suggest that the periphyton were unaffected by the changes in stream water chemistry. We infer that rising atmospheric CO 2 will impact stream water chemistry but that periphyton may not be the first to respond to these changes. Impacts to alkaline freshwater streams from elevated CO 2 initially may be due to changes to terrestrial inputs that affect microbial decomposition and grazer activity, rather than through increases in periphyton carbon fixation. However, environmental characteristics of freshwater systems vary considerably, and additional studies are needed for accurate predictive modeling and monitoring of the effects of increasing atmospheric CO 2 on freshwater streams