The Hepplemeyer Phenomenon: Subtly Demonstrating the Co-opting of Science into Unscientific Contexts

In this article I propose that a short story, in this case Howard Fast’s “The Hoop” (1975), can be used for educational purposes to demonstrate (in a quick and undivisive manner) how science can be co-opted into unscientific contexts. I also show how the story paves the way for brief explorations of three philosophical topic areas relevant in the context of science education, namely Horkheimer’s (2004) operationalism and instrumentalism, Kuhn’s (1977) take on theory choice, and Heidegger’s (1977) technological Enframing. The foregrounding of a short story for the purpose of education within the sustainability sciences is offered as an interim step towards transgressive learning and disruptive capacity-building processes called for elsewhere. &nbsp

Where do graduates Develop their Enterprise Skills? The Value of the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions’ Context

This study investigates the value of the contribution of HEIs’ context in developing graduates enterprise skills. HEIs are under pressure to develop more enterprising graduates, particularly with the increasing numbers of graduates seeking employment and the growing dissatisfaction of employers. This study explores where graduates develop enterprise skills through investigating the impact of HE and employment contexts on their development. The paper draws on a qualitative study in the social constructionist paradigm within the pharmacy context, where interviews were conducted with pharmacy academics and employers. Results show that ability to demonstrate skills in one context does not necessarily mean ability to demonstrate them in another since the development and demonstration of enterprise skills is impacted by the contexts in which they are developed and demonstrated. The study adds value by highlighting the significant role of both HE and employment contexts in developing enterprise skills, while emphasising that these skills become more transferable through exposure to more contexts

Social networks and labour productivity in Europe: An empirical investigation

This paper uses firm-level data recorded in the AMADEUS database to investigate the distribution of labour productivity in different European countries. We find that the upper tail of the empirical productivity distributions follows a decaying power-law, whose exponent $\alpha$ is obtained by a semi-parametric estimation technique recently developed by Clementi et al. (2006). The emergence of "fat tails" in productivity distribution has already been detected in Di Matteo et al. (2005) and explained by means of a model of social network. Here we show that this model is tested on a broader sample of countries having different patterns of social network structure. These different social attitudes, measured using a social capital indicator, reflect in the power-law exponent estimates, verifying in this way the existence of linkages among firms' productivity performance and social network.Comment: LaTeX2e; 18 pages with 3 figures; Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, in pres

Enterprise Education Competitions: A Theoretically Flawed Intervention?

The demand for including enterprise in the education system, at all levels and for all pupils is now a global phenomenon. Within this context, the use of competitions and competitive learning activities is presented as a popular and effective vehicle for learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how a realist method of enquiry – which utilises theory as the unit of analysis – can shed new light on the assumed and unintended outcomes of enterprise education competitions. The case developed here is that there are inherent flaws in assuming that competitions will ‘work’ in the ways set out in policy and guidance. Some of the most prevalent stated outcomes – that competitions will motivate and reward young people, that they will enable the development of entrepreneurial skills, and that learners will be inspired by their peers – are challenged by theory from psychology and education. The issue at stake is that the expansion of enterprise education policy into primary and secondary education increases the likelihood that more learners will be sheep dipped in competitions, and competitive activities, without a clear recognition of the potential unintended effects. In this chapter, we employ a realist-informed approach to critically evaluate the theoretical basis that underpins the use of competitions and competitive learning activities in school-based enterprise education. We believe that our findings and subsequent recommendations will provide those who promote and practice the use of competitions with a richer, more sophisticated picture of the potential flaws within such activities.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

An RFLP-based genetic map of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)

Analysis of a sample of diverse pearl millet genotypes with 200 genomic DNA probes revealed this crop species to be extremely polymorphic. Among these genotypes, 85% of probes detected polymorphism using only two restriction enzymes, with an average pair-wise polymorphism between all of the probe-enzyme combinations of 56%. Two crosses were employed to construct an RFLP-based genetic map. In an intervarietal F2 population, derived from a single F1 plant, 181 loci were placed on a linkage map. The total length of this map, which comprised seven linkage groups, was 303 cM and the average map distance between loci was about 2 cM, although a few intervals in excess of 10 cM were present at the ends of a few linkage groups. Very few clones, including those which hybridized to more than one copy, detected more than one locus in the pearl millet genome. The analysis was complicated initially because 83 of the 181 loci mapped to a single linkage group. Analysis of a second cross identified a probable translocation breakpoint in the middle of this large linkage group

Processes, procedures and journal development: past, present and future [editorial]

This paper is written as an overview of developments relating to the Journal. The authors explain the background to their editorship and the plans and structures they implemented. They provide a progress report and also discuss the process of running the Journal so as to explain to potential authors how the systems operate and the philosophy of the Journal.

Information exchange networks for chronic illness care in primary care practices: an observational study

Contains fulltext : 88018.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Information exchange networks for chronic illness care may influence the uptake of innovations in patient care. Valid and feasible methods are needed to document and analyse information exchange networks in healthcare settings. This observational study aimed to examine the usefulness of methods to study information exchange networks in primary care practices, related to chronic heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: The study was linked to a quality improvement project in the Netherlands. All health professionals in the practices were asked to complete a short questionnaire that documented their information exchange relations. Feasibility was determined in terms of response rates and reliability in terms of reciprocity of reports of receiving and providing information. For each practice, a number of network characteristics were derived for each of the chronic conditions. RESULTS: Ten of the 21 practices in the quality improvement project agreed to participate in this network study. The response rates were high in all but one of the participating practices. For the analysis, we used data from 67 health professionals from eight practices. The agreement between receiving and providing information was, on average, 65.6%. The values for density, centralization, hierarchy, and overlap of the information exchange networks showed substantial variation between the practices as well as between the chronic conditions. The most central individual in the information exchange network could be a nurse or a physician. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to refine the measure of information networks and to test the impact of network characteristics on the uptake of innovations

An integrated genetic map and a new set of simple sequence repeat markers for pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum

Over the past 10 years, resources have been established for the genetic analysis of pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., an important staple crop of the semi-arid regions of India and Africa. Among these resources are detailed genetic maps containing both homologous and heterologous restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers, and simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Genetic maps produced in four different crosses have been integrated to develop a consensus map of 353 RFLP and 65 SSR markers. Some 85% of the markers are clustered and occupy less than a third of the total map length. This phenomenon is independent of the cross. Our data suggest that extreme localization of recombination toward the chromosome ends, resulting in gaps on the genetic map of 30 cM or more in the distal regions, is typical for pearl millet. The unequal distribution of recombination has consequences for the transfer of genes controlling important agronomic traits from donor to elite pearl millet germplasm. The paper also describes the generation of 44 SSR markers from a (CA)n-enriched small-insert genomic library. Previously, pearl millet SSRs had been generated from BAC clones, and the relative merits of both methodologies are discusse

New molecular marker technologies for pearl millet improvement

At a time when most of the world still viewed molecular technology as a luxury, for use only with major staple crops, a DFID-JIC-ICRISAT project anticipated as early as 1991 the application of molecular diagnostics in the breeding of orphan crops for developing countries