Developing specialist leaders of education: a research engagement approach

There has been little research to date on the continuing professional development needs of the several thousand Specialist Leaders of Education (SLE) now designated by the National College for Teaching and Leadership in England to work across schools as consultants on school-to-school support. This case study reports on the second and third stages of a four-stage research process designed to address these needs. The fi rst stage reported on the creation of a professional devel- opment framework for SLE ’ s using consultancy research. These middle stages test out this framework with a stakeholder group of SLEs, head- teachers and broker in a Teaching Schools Alliance. The fourth stage will track the implementation of professional development activities arising from these fi ndings. Apart from the speci fi c needs of SLE, this study will have wider relevance for all practitioners and researchers working in and with schools on leadership development using Research Engagement strategies and Joint Practice Development approaches in a so-called ‘ self- improving ’ school system

Environmental change: prospects for conservation and agriculture in a southwest Australia biodiversity hotspot

Accelerating environmental change is perhaps the greatest challenge for natural resource management; successful strategies need to be effective for decades to come. Our objective is to identify opportunities that new environmental conditions may provide for conservation, restoration, and resource use in a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot in southwestern Australia. We describe a variety of changes to key taxonomic groups and system-scale characteristics as a consequence of environmental change (climate and land use), and outline strategies for conserving and restoring important ecological and agricultural characteristics. Opportunities for conservation and economic adaptation are substantial because of gradients in rainfall, temperature, and land use, extensive areas of remnant native vegetation, the ability to reduce and ameliorate areas affected by secondary salinization, and the existence of large national parks and an extensive network of nature reserves. Opportunities presented by the predicted environmental changes encompass agricultural as well as natural ecosystems. These may include expansion of aquaculture, transformation of agricultural systems to adapt to drier autumns and winters, and potential increases in spring and summer rain, carbon-offset plantings, and improving the network of conservation reserves. A central management dilemma is whether restoration/preservation efforts should have a commercial or biodiversity focus, and how they could be integrated. Although the grand challenge is conserving, protecting, restoring, and managing for a future environment, one that balances economic, social, and environmental values, the ultimate goal is to establish a regional culture that values the unique regional environment and balances the utilization of natural resources against protecting remaining natural ecosystems

Taking It to the Extreme:The Effect of Coalition Cabinets on Foreign Policy

Institutional constraints have been offered by some scholars as an explanation for why multiparty coalitions should be more peaceful than single-party cabinets. Yet others see the same institutional setting as a prescription for more aggressive behavior. Recent research has investigated these conflicting expectations, but with mixed results. We examine the theoretical bases for these alternative expectations about the effects of coalition politics on foreign policy. We find that previous research is limited theoretically by confounding institutional effects with policy positions, and empirically by analyzing only international conflict data. We address these limitations by examining cases of foreign policy behavior using the World Event/Interaction Survey (WEIS) dataset. Consistent with our observation that institutional constraints have been confounded with policy positions, we find that coalitions are neither more aggressive nor more peaceful, but do engage in more extreme foreign policy behaviors. These findings are discussed with regard to various perspectives on the role of institutions in shaping foreign policy behavior.</p

A genome-wide screening uncovers the role of CCAR2 as an antagonist of DNA end resection

There are two major and alternative pathways to repair DNA double-strand breaks: non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination. Here we identify and characterize novel factors involved in choosing between these pathways; in this study we took advantage of the SeeSaw Reporter, in which the repair of double-strand breaks by homology-independent or -dependent mechanisms is distinguished by the accumulation of green or red fluorescence, respectively. Using a genome-wide human esiRNA (endoribonuclease- prepared siRNA) library, we isolate genes that control the recombination/endjoining ratio. Here we report that two distinct sets of genes are involved in the control of the balance between NHEJ and HR: those that are required to facilitate recombination and those that favour NHEJ. This last category includes CCAR2/DBC1, which we show inhibits recombination by limiting the initiation and the extent of DNA end resection, thereby acting as an antagonist of CtIP

MagAO Imaging of Long-period Objects (MILO). II. A Puzzling White Dwarf around the Sun-like Star HD 11112

The version of record, Rodigas, T. J. et al, 'MagAO Imaging of long-period objects (MILO). II. A puzzling white dwarf around the sun-like star HD 11112', The Astrophysical Journal, 831:177, November 2016, is available online via doi: 10.3847/0004-637X/831/2/177 © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.HD 11112 is an old, Sun-like star that has a long-term radial velocity (RV) trend indicative of a massive companion on a wide orbit. Here we present direct images of the source responsible for the trend using the Magellan Adaptive Optics system. We detect the object (HD 11112B) at a separation of 2\fasec 2 (100 AU) at multiple wavelengths spanning 0.6-4 \microns ~and show that it is most likely a gravitationally-bound cool white dwarf. Modeling its spectral energy distribution (SED) suggests that its mass is 0.9-1.1 \msun, which corresponds to very high-eccentricity, near edge-on orbits from Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of the RV and imaging data together. The total age of the white dwarf is $>2\sigma$ discrepant with that of the primary star under most assumptions. The problem can be resolved if the white dwarf progenitor was initially a double white dwarf binary that then merged into the observed high-mass white dwarf. HD 11112B is a unique and intriguing benchmark object that can be used to calibrate atmospheric and evolutionary models of cool white dwarfs and should thus continue to be monitored by RV and direct imaging over the coming years.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

ω−ρ\omega-\rho Mixing and the ω→ππγ\omega\to\pi\pi\gamma Decay

We reexamine the $\omega \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0} \gamma$ decay, adding the effect of $\omega-\rho$ mixing to the amplitude calculated with the aid of chiral perturbation theory and vector meson dominance. We predict the neutral decay to occur with a width of $\Gamma($\omega \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0} \gamma $) =(390\pm96) {\rm eV}$ and also analyze the effect of the $\omega-\rho$ mixing on the $\Gamma($\omega \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0} \gamma $)/ \Gamma($\omega \to \pi^{+} \pi^{-} \gamma $)$ ratio. Several remarks on the effect of $\omega-\rho$ mixing on certain radiative decays of vector mesons are presented.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 1 ps-figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Strange Hadronic Loops of the Proton: A Quark Model Calculation

Nontrivial $q \bar q$ sea effects have their origin in the low-$Q^2$ dynamics of strong QCD. We present here a quark model calculation of the contribution of $s \bar s$ pairs arising from a {\it complete} set of OZI-allowed strong $Y^*K^*$ hadronic loops to the net spin of the proton, to its charge radius, and to its magnetic moment. The calculation is performed in an ``unquenched quark model" which has been shown to preserve the spectroscopic successes of the naive quark model and to respect the OZI rule. We speculate that an extension of the calculation to the nonstrange sea will show that most of the ``missing spin" of the proton is in orbital angular momenta.Comment: revtex, 34 pages, 4 figure

Evaluation of a web-based intervention to reduce antibiotic prescribing for LRTI in six European countries: quantitative process analysis of the GRACE/INTRO randomised controlled trial.

To reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance, there is a pressing need for worldwide implementation of effective interventions to promote more prudent prescribing of antibiotics for acute LRTI. This study is a process analysis of the GRACE/INTRO trial of a multifactorial intervention that reduced antibiotic prescribing for acute LRTI in six European countries. The aim was to understand how the interventions were implemented and to examine effects of the interventions on general practitioners' (GPs') and patients' attitudes

[Cost]effectiveness of withdrawal of fall-risk increasing drugs versus conservative treatment in older fallers: design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial (IMPROveFALL-study)

Background: Fall incidents represent an increasing public health problem in aging societies worldwide. A major risk factor for falls is the use of fall-risk increasing drugs. The primary aim of the study is to compare the effect of a structured medication assessment including the withdrawal of fall-risk increasing drugs on the number of new falls versus 'care as usual' in older adults presenting at the Emergency Department after a fall. Methods/Design. A prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled trial will be conducted in hospitals in the Netherlands. Persons aged 65 years who visit the Emergency Department due to a fall are invited to participate in this trial. All patients receive a full geriatric assessment at the research outpatient clinic. Patients are randomized between a structured medication assessment including withdrawal of fall-risk increasing drugs and 'care as usual'. A 3-monthly falls calendar is used for assessing the number of falls, fallers and associated injuries over a one-year follow-up period. Measurements will be at three, six, nine, and twelve months and include functional outcome, healthcare consumption, socio-demographic characteristics, and clinical information. After twelve months a second visit to the research outpatient clinic will be performed, and adherence to the new medication regimen in the intervention group will be measured. The primary outcome will be the incidence of new falls. Secondary outcome measurements are possible health effects of medication withdrawal, health-related quality of life (Short Form-12 and EuroQol-5D), costs, and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Data will be analyzed using an intention-to-treat analysis. Discussion. The successful completion of this trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness of withdrawal of fall-risk increasing drugs in older patients as a method for falls reduction. Trial Registration. The trial is registered in the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR1593)