Max Weber and the complexity of parliamentary democracy: applying formal and substantive rationality to the English and Welsh education policy-making process

Der Beitrag illustriert die theoretische wie auch empirische Fruchtbarkeit von Max Webers Auffassung über die Funktionen der Bürokratie und der Politik. Die Unterscheidung von formaler und substantieller (inhaltlicher, materialer) Rationalität wird genutzt, um das Handeln der Ministerialbürokratie und das der Politiker bei bildungspolitischen Entscheidungsprozessen näher zu bestimmen. Die empirische Gültigkeit der Unterscheidung wird am Fallbeispiel der Entscheidungsprozesse in den englischen und walisischen Parlamentsausschüssen in den 70er Jahren und bei den gegenwärtigen Debatten demonstriert. Webers Gedanken liefern hier den Bezugsrahmen, um die Ausdifferenzierung der verschiedenen Rollen und Aufgaben im politisch-administrativen System zu verdeutlichen. Die Ausführungen rekonstruieren an Hand der empirischen Entscheidungsprozesse in den Ausschüssen das jeweilige Pendeln zwischen formalen und inhaltlichen Entscheidungskriterien. Die formale Verfahrensrationalität findet sich jedoch - ganz im Sinne der Weberschen Ausdifferenzierung der Handlungssphären - eher auf Seiten der Beamtenschaft als bei den Politikern. (ICA2)'This article illustrates the importance of Max Weber's attitude to both bureaucratic and political functions. Formal and substantive rational concepts are applied to distinguish the actions of education civil servants and politicians in relation to education policy-making. Evidence is taken from English and Welsh Educational and Public Administration Parliamentary Select Committees of the 1970s and the present day. We gain from Weber's ideas a relevant framework to critique the relationship and significantly the historical and contemporary roles of education civil servants and politicians. The article demonstrates that a change has occurred with more substantive inputs visible within both the education relationship and general policymaking processes. The article further argues that Parliamentary Select Committees are crucial in questioning both formal and substantive influences within parliamentary democracy.' (author's abstract

Analysing the historical evolution of ethnic education policy-making in England, 1965-2005

'Diese Untersuchung betrachtet die historische Entwicklung englischer Bildungspolitik und ihrer Gestaltung im Hinblick auf ethnische Gruppierungen. Untersucht man die Auswirkungen sozialer Bildungsversorgung auf ethnische Mehrheiten und Minderheiten, werden viele wichtige Themen und die folgenden Fragen aufgeworfen: Schließt das Bildungssystem Teile der Bevölkerung wie zum Beispiel ethnische Minderheiten aus? Kann kulturelle Vielfalt gelehrt und gefördert werden? Der Beitrag untersucht, was diese Fragen für afro-karibische, asiatische und muslimische Gemeinschaften impliziert. Assimilations-, Integrations- und multikulturelle Bildungspolitik werden analysiert. Indem Dokumente und Berichte der Bildungs- und Sozialpolitik untersucht werden, soll die Zielsetzung dieser Untersuchung den Leser anregen, darüber nachzudenken, wie Bildungspolitik Gesellschaft formt und welche Konsequenzen dies auf die Lehrtätigkeit von ethnischen Bildungsthemen in Bezug auf kulturelle Vielfalt und institutionalisierten Rassismus haben kann.' (Autorenreferat)'This research reviews the historical evolution of English ethnic education policy-making. The social provision of education when examining the implications on ethnic majorities and minorities raises many important issues and poses the following questions: Does the education system exclude sections of the population i.e. ethnic minorities? Can cultural diversity be taught and promoted? The research explores the implications these questions raise for Afro-Caribbean, Asian and Muslim communities. Assimilationist, integrationist and multicultural education policies are analysed. By examining education and social policy documents and reports, the objective of this research is to make the reader think about how education policy shapes society and what consequences this can have on teaching ethnic educational issues concerning cultural diversity and institutionalised racism.' (author's abstract

Levels of Abnormal Prion Protein in Deer and Elk with Chronic Wasting Disease

Infected deer may pose a higher risk than elk for disease transmission

Decolonising curriculum in education: continuing proclamations and provocations

There is no denying the importance and increased significance of interest in decolonisation in education and the wider social sciences. This article aims to bring a continuing contribution to an evolving and important discussion. The methodology of this work allows a range of academics from different cultural contexts to voice their decolonising proclamations. The authors of the article are a combination of White, Black, Asian and mixed-race academic researchers in higher education who have come together to proclaim their viewpoints. They draw upon their research and apply professional practice in relation to differing aspects of generally decolonising education and specifically decolonising curricula. As a group, we believe that the notion of decolonising applies to all sections of education – not only to primary schools, but also to nurseries, secondary schools, colleges and universities. We hope this article will encourage more research, advocacy and action within education and interdisciplinary contexts into the complexity of decolonising the curriculum

Characteristics of 263K Scrapie Agent in Multiple Hamster Species

Characteristics correlated better with host factors than with agent strain

The Streptococcus gordonii adhesin CshA protein binds host fibronectin via a catch-clamp mechanism

Adherence of bacteria to biotic or abiotic surfaces is a prerequisite for host colonization and represents an important step in microbial pathogenicity. This attachment is facilitated by bacterial adhesins at the cell surface. Because of their size and often elaborate multidomain architectures, these polypeptides represent challenging targets for detailed structural and functional characterization. The multifunctional fibrillar adhesin CshA, which mediates binding to both host molecules and other microorganisms, is an important determinant of colonization by Streptococcus gordonii, an oral commensal and opportunistic pathogen of animals and humans. CshA binds the high-molecular-weight glycoprotein fibronectin (Fn) via an N-terminal non-repetitive region, and this protein-protein interaction has been proposed to promote S. gordonii colonization at multiple sites within the host. However, the molecular details of how these two proteins interact have yet to be established. Here we present a structural description of the Fn binding N-terminal region of CshA, derived from a combination of X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, and complementary biophysical methods. In vitro binding studies support a previously unreported two-state “catch-clamp” mechanism of Fn binding by CshA, in which the disordered N-terminal domain of CshA acts to “catch” Fn, via formation of a rapidly assembled but also readily dissociable pre-complex, enabling its neighboring ligand binding domain to tightly clamp the two polypeptides together. This study presents a new paradigm for target binding by a bacterial adhesin, the identification of which will inform future efforts toward the development of anti-adhesive agents that target S. gordonii and related streptococci

Prion disease induced alterations in gene expression in spleen and brain prior to clinical symptoms

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders that affect animals and humans. There is a need to gain understanding of prion disease pathogenesis and to develop diagnostic assays to detect prion diseases prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. The goal of this study was to identify genes that show altered expression early in the disease process in the spleen and brain of prion disease-infected mice. Using Affymetrix microarrays, we identified 67 genes that showed increased expression in the brains of prion disease-infected mice prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. These genes function in many cellular processes including immunity, the endosome/lysosome system, hormone activity, and the cytoskeleton. We confirmed a subset of these gene expression alterations using other methods and determined the time course in which these changes occur. We also identified 14 genes showing altered expression prior to the onset of clinical symptoms in spleens of prion disease infected mice. Interestingly, four genes, Atp1b1, Gh, Anp32a, and Grn, were altered at the very early time of 46 days post-infection. These gene expression alterations provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying prion disease pathogenesis and may serve as surrogate markers for the early detection and diagnosis of prion disease

Structural and Functional Analysis of Cell Wall-Anchored PolypeptideAdhesin BspA in <i>Streptococcus agalactiae</i>

Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus, GBS) is the predominant cause of early-onset infectious disease in neonates and is responsible for life-threatening infections in elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Clinical manifestations of GBS infection include sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Here, we describe BspA, a deviant antigen I/II family polypeptide that confers adhesive properties linked to pathogenesis in GBS. Heterologous expression of BspA on the surface of the non-adherent bacterium Lactococcus lactis confers adherence to scavenger receptor gp340, human vaginal epithelium, and to the fungus Candida albicans. Complementary crystallographic and biophysical characterization of BspA reveal a novel β-sandwich adhesion domain and unique asparagine-dependent super-helical stalk. Collectively, these findings establish a new bacterial adhesin structure that has in effect been hijacked by a pathogenic Streptococcus species to provide competitive advantage in human mucosal infections

Susceptibilities of Nonhuman Primates to Chronic Wasting Disease

A species barrier may protect humans from this disease

Sustainable and economical alternatives to fragment capture materials in explosive and ballistic trials

Strawboard has been utilised as a fragmentation capture material since the 1960s, mainly employed to capture fragments from explosives and explosive devices from arena trials of munitions. As this material has historically been calibrated to a known standard, it has a proven record of allowing research establishments to ascertain the velocity of a fragment based on the depth of penetration of the strawboard. During the time of calibration, strawboard was used as a common building material which was both widely available and relatively affordable; however, due to the recent economic crisis and geopolitical supply issues, this is no longer the case. Building on initial testing, this paper investigates alternatives to strawboard to determine if a cheaper, more readily available material can be used instead. The alternatives are compared and judged based on the NATO ARSP-03 guideline for capture material which includes metrics such as price and attainability, as well as assessing environmental impact and its ability to be used as a viable alternative to strawboard in an explosive environment. Based on these NATO guidelines, explosive fragmentation and ballistic experiments were conducted, and ten materials were tested based on the following criteria: Handling, Density, Flammability, Calibration, Cost and Availability. Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) was found to be a suitable alternative to strawboard. The data demonstrates that it provides the same capture performance as strawboard at approximately a quarter of the cost and is far more readily available. Other materials also showed potential and further testing should be undertaken to validate these materials as alternatives to MDF.This research was supported by Cranfield University