Bad science concerning NHS competition is being used to support the controversial Health and Social Care Bill

A recent report by LSE academics extolling the benefits of competition between NHS hospitals claims causality where there is none. Allyson Pollock, Alison Macfarlane and Ian Greener argue that the authors engage in data dredging and faulty empirical analysis. In so doing, they sweep aside decades of evidence showing why markets do not work in health services and lend support to an HSC Bill that is inherently dangerous

Conversion of a mathematics course to CAL: A case study of a large‐scale rapid change of resources and organization

During 1994–95, first‐year maths for the BTechEd degree at the University of Glasgow was student‐centred, teacher‐supported A modular online maths course replaced a traditional, lecture‐based course. Students worked at their own pace, with timetabled and open access computer classes and/or paper handbooks. The course was evaluated by open‐ended measures, and study of examination outcomes, providing us with some pedagogical questions and some recommendations for change. With some adaptation, and with important questions still open, the new course will continue to run

Substituent Interactions in Ortho-Substituted Nitrobenzenes

A review is given of relevant interactions published in the literature between 1964 and 1967. Degradative studies show that the product obtained by treatment of 2,3-epoxy-3-(o-nitrophenyl)propiophenone with ethereal hydrogen chloride is 6-chloro-1,4-dihydro-1,3-dihydroxy-2-phenyl-4-oxoquinoline, and that the corresponding unhalogenated heterocycle is the product when quinol is present in the reaction mixture. 3-Carbamoylanthranil is the sole crystalline product from the reaction of o-nitrobenzyl cyanide with concentrated sulphuric acid, and evidence is presented that o-nitrophenylacetamide is not an intermediate in the cyclisation. Whereas 5-hydroxy-2-nitrobenzaldehyde and phenol are shown to react in ethereal hydrogen chloride to give the expected halogenated. product, namely 7-chloro-5-hydroxy-3-(p-hydroxyphenyl)anthranil, 5-methoxy-2-nitro-benzaldehyde gives, abnormally, the corresponding unhalogenated anthranil. The latter reaction is discussed in the light of a working hypothesis regarding possible mechanisms involved. The scope of the reaction of o-nitrobenzylidene derivatives with aqueous ethanolic potassium cyanide is explored and extended. The plethora of products so obtained are shown by degradative, synthetic and spectroscopic studies to be derivatives of quinoline N-oxide and of 1-hydroxyindole. Unexpectedly, in some instances a 4-cyano substituent in the quinoline-type products fails to survive the reaction without hydrolysis. This is discussed with reference to the isolation of 4-acetyl-5-methyl-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-2-aminofuran from reaction of p-nitrobenzylideneacetylacetone with aqueous ethanolic potassium cyanide. The Michael addition product from o-nitrobenzyl cyanide and 1,2-di-benzoylethylene is synthesised; its reactions with sodium ethoxide and sodium carbonate are investigated and shown to give products comparable with those from the reactions of o-nitrobenzylidene derivatives described above

"Rich as a Running Stream:" The Flow of Value in Ngadhaland, Indonesia

This is an ethnographic study of economic and social life in a mountainous region of Flores, Indonesia, inhabited by people known in anthropological literature as the Ngadha. The basic structures of affiliation in Ngadha social life are not static, but are dynamic processes. They change in form, grow and subdivide, and are filled with opportunities for advancement and risks of demotion, and ultimately disintegration. People pursue these opportunities, and counter these risks, through the skillful management of circulations or flows. These include circulations of material objects, which cross and recross the boundary between goods and commodities; circulations of people, who flow in and out of various affiliations at different moments; and circulations of energies, linked to dispositions of labor and food. These circulations connect humans, animals, and spiritual beings joining the living to the dead. With their variable currents and innumerable eddies, these flows form the substance of Ngadha forms of affiliation. As described by Fox et al (1980) the metaphor of the "flow of life" describes circulations of goods and essences that are seen as necessary for the reproduction of human life in eastern Indonesian societies. These cannot be stockpiled and still remain vital, but undergo continual processes of depletion and replenishment. I argue that this concept of flow can help illuminate aspects of Ngadha life beyond strategies of marriage exchange. Circulations--repeated, ongoing, expanding, and endless--can be seen at every point of life, from loans between friends, to the construction of houses, to the most spectacular feasts and rituals. These movements are essential to the repeated reconstitution of social groups, which decay if they are not continually renewed. They also bring attention to a central tension between sets of values that are coeval in the Ngadha community: sedentarism, continuity, and accumulation on the one hand, and mobility, agency, and apparent dispersal on the other. Ngadha society is best seen as an assemblage of moving parts, where ritual and communal acts of renewal do not so much re-establish set structures but produce coherence out of constant flow, sowing a little to harvest a lot. This process is epitomized most dramatically in distributions of food called meghe--literally, "food" or "to eat," especially food that fortifies a person before traveling or dying, or food used to host guests (Arndt 1961: 323)--which produce social outcomes even when much of the food is given to pigs

The Uses of Argument in Mathematics

Stephen Toulmin once observed that `it has never been customary for philosophers to pay much attention to the rhetoric of mathematical debate'. Might the application of Toulmin's layout of arguments to mathematics remedy this oversight? Toulmin's critics fault the layout as requiring so much abstraction as to permit incompatible reconstructions. Mathematical proofs may indeed be represented by fundamentally distinct layouts. However, cases of genuine conflict characteristically reflect an underlying disagreement about the nature of the proof in question.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. To be presented at the Ontario Society for the Study of Argumentation Conference, McMaster University, May 2005 and LOGICA 2005, Hejnice, Czech Republic, June 200

Testing methods to mitigate Caribbean yellow-band disease on Orbicella faveolata

Outbreaks of coral diseases continue to reduce global coral populations. In the Caribbean, yellow band is a severe and wide-spread disease that commonly affects corals of the Orbicella spp. complex, significantly impeding coral reproduction, and hindering the natural recovery of Orbicella spp. populations. Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) lesions may be severe, and often result in the complete loss of coral tissue. The slow spread of CYBD, however, provides an opportunity to test methods to mitigate the disease. Here we report the results of in situ experiments, conducted within Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI, to test the effectiveness of three techniques to minimize disease impact on Orbicella faveolata: (1) shading, (2) aspirating, and (3) chiseling a “firebreak” to isolate the lesion. Neither shading nor aspirating the diseased tissue significantly reduced CYBD tissue loss. However, chiseling reduced the rate and amount of tissue lost by 31%. While 30–40% of the chiseled lesions appeared to be free of disease signs 12–16 months after treatment, success significantly and steadily declined over 23 months, indicating a possible lack of long-term viability of the technique. The results of this study demonstrate that creating a “firebreak” between diseased and healthy- appearing tissue slows the spread of the disease and may prolong the life of O. faveolata colonies. The firebreak method yielded the best results of all the techniques tested, and also required the least amount of effort and resources. However, we do not recommend that this treatment alone be used for long-term disease mitigation. Rather, we propose that modifications of this and other treatment options be sought. The results also highlight the need for extended monitoring of CYBD after any treatment, due to the slow but variable rate and pattern of tissue loss in this disease

Testing methods to mitigate Caribbean yellow-band disease on Orbicella faveolata

Outbreaks of coral diseases continue to reduce global coral populations. In the Caribbean, yellow band is a severe and wide-spread disease that commonly affects corals of the Orbicella spp. complex, significantly impeding coral reproduction, and hindering the natural recovery of Orbicella spp. populations. Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) lesions may be severe, and often result in the complete loss of coral tissue. The slow spread of CYBD, however, provides an opportunity to test methods to mitigate the disease. Here we report the results of in situ experiments, conducted within Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI, to test the effectiveness of three techniques to minimize disease impact on Orbicella faveolata: (1) shading, (2) aspirating, and (3) chiseling a “firebreak” to isolate the lesion. Neither shading nor aspirating the diseased tissue significantly reduced CYBD tissue loss. However, chiseling reduced the rate and amount of tissue lost by 31%. While 30–40% of the chiseled lesions appeared to be free of disease signs 12–16 months after treatment, success significantly and steadily declined over 23 months, indicating a possible lack of long-term viability of the technique. The results of this study demonstrate that creating a “firebreak” between diseased and healthy-appearing tissue slows the spread of the disease and may prolong the life of O. faveolata colonies. The firebreak method yielded the best results of all the techniques tested, and also required the least amount of effort and resources. However, we do not recommend that this treatment alone be used for long-term disease mitigation. Rather, we propose that modifications of this and other treatment options be sought. The results also highlight the need for extended monitoring of CYBD after any treatment, due to the slow but variable rate and pattern of tissue loss in this disease

Game Development for Computer Science Education (Extended Abstract)

Educators have long used digital games as platforms for teaching. Games tend to have several qualities that aren’t typically found in homework: they situate problems within a compelling alternate reality that unfolds through intriguing narrative, they draw more upon a player’s intrinsic motivations than extrinsic ones, they facilitate deliberate low intensity practice, and they emphasize a spirit of play instead of work. At ITiCSE 2016, this working group convened to survey the landscape of existing digital games that have been used to teach and learn computer science concepts. Our group discovered that these games lacked explicitly defined learning goals and even less evaluation of whether or not the games achieved these goals. As part of this process, we identified and played over 120 games that have been released or described in literature as means for learning computer science concepts. In our report, we classified how these games support the learning objectives outlined in the ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013. While we found more games than we expected, few games explicitly stated their learning goals and even fewer were evaluated for their capacity to meet these goals. Most of the games we surveyed fell into two categories: short-lived proof-of-concept projects built by academics or closed-source games built by professional developers. Gathering adequate learning data is challenging in either situation. Our original intent for the second year of our working group was to prepare a comprehensive framework for collecting and analyzing learning data from computer science learning games. Upon further discussion, however, we decided that a better next step is to validate the design and development guidelines that we put forth in our final report for ITiCSE 2016. We extend this working group to a second year—with a mission to collaboratively develop a game with clearly defined learning objectives and define a methodology for evaluating its capacity to meet its goals