Reflections on the Role of the Educational Psychologist Within a Multi-Academy Trust

This study details the reflections of three EPs working within a MAT (BFET) regarding their role and day-to-day practice. Reflections were ascertained during a focus group which was audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Reflection themes indicated that the EPs’ role within BFET closely mirrors the role of the EP outlined in existing literature in terms of functions and levels of working across the school age range. The EPs reflections indicate that there are a range of facilitating factors that enable them to provide a bespoke model of service delivery to schools; the EPs also undertake joint working with a SALT also employed by BFET and share knowledge and expertise both across and beyond BFET. Reflections are discussed in relation to existing literature regarding the role of the EP and the current socio-political context in which EPs work

Implementations of Multi-Antenna Systems in a USRP Based SDR using Simulink

Software Radio systems are one of the most versatile and cost effective systems for pro- totyping communications techniques in use today. Through the use of minimal hardware, typically only an RF front end, an SDR allows for as much of the signal processing as possible to be done via software. The benefits of utilizing software for signal processing in place of hardware are numerous. In some cases, like this work, parameters of operation may need to be dynamic or the objective of the work is academic research of new techniques. In some cases like these, swapping out costly signal processing hardware for signal processing software makes more sense. Additionally, the use of multi-antenna systems is becoming more and more common. In mid-2011, Mathworks released support for standard SISO (single input, single output) communications with the NI USRP (National Instruments Universal Software Radio Peripheral) but has yet to release support for any SIMO, MISO, or MIMO applications. In this work, we produce a testbed for proof of SIMO concepts and performance improvements in MATLAB and Simulink along with outlining preliminary work in implementing the MISO method of Alamouti STBC. The processes used to implement the discussed techniques will be outlined and discussed including results from testing with the USRPs in Simulink

Perceptions and Attitudes: Analyzing Opinion Leaders in Relation to Genetically Modified Foods

Controversial issues in agriculture arise, and it falls on opinion leaders to disseminate information to their networks and the public. Agriculturalists are often blamed for not taken consumers’ concerns into consideration. This study sought to add to previous research by identifying the current perceptions of Florida agricultural leaders toward GM food, what percentage of them identify as opinion leaders with respect to GM food, and what they identify as sources of information regarding GM food. Through an online survey, the trust and attitudes towards GM foods and science, of agricultural leaders who participated in the Wedgworth Leadership Institute, were measured as well as their sources and channels of information. By identifying opinion leaders and helping them understand how to create and disseminate effective agricultural messages, agricultural educators and communicators can reach consumers and reduce the current knowledge gap more successfully. The results of this study confirm previous literature which states that both “what one knows” and “who one knows” impacts the level of influence an opinion leader may have with their peers. Agricultural educators should work with both agricultural opinion leaders and communicators to identify current consumer perceptions and how to address any differences or concerns that arise in interactions

Measuring the Effects of Narrative and Analytical Messages in Video Production

Communication practitioners in the agriculture industry have the challenge of identifying the best way to educate consumers, and they have experienced challenges in consumer engagement. Additionally, food safety issues have continued to rise with a trend of recalls and foodborne illnesses. While the rhetoric in the agriculture industry is pointing to the need for agricultural issues to be addressed from an agriculturist sharing their stories and perspectives, there is limited research on the impact of personal narratives on attitude change and message elaboration. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of narrative and analytical practices on elaboration, attitude, and transportation in order to better communicate about food safety practices. The researcher used Elaboration Likelihood Model, cognitive theory of multimedia learning, and narrative transportation as the theoretical framework. To test the objectives, a two (type of media: narrative and analytical) x three (length of media: short, medium and long) between-subjects factorial design was implemented. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the experimental treatments. The respondents in this study were comprised of a non-probability sample of 712 [State] residents over the age of 18 years. Usable responses were received from 507 (71%) respondents. This study found that all videos resulted in positive attitudes toward the information and practices on the farm. Further research into narrative transportation, length of videos, and type of videos may provide an efficient approach to developing communication that narrows the educational disconnect between consumers, producers, and the production practices on the farm

When prosocials act like proselfs in a commons dilemma

important that previous research has also shown that the motivation to preserve a common pool is not equally strong for everybody. Although people who seek to maximize collective outcomes (i.e., prosocials) carefully adapt their behavior to an imminent resource shortage by cutting down their consumption, people who seek to maximize own outcomes or differences in outcomes (i.e., proselfs) keep up their high consumption as if resources were still abundant (see Kramer, McClintock, & Messick, 1986). The Kramer et al. (1986) findings illuminate that motivations are relevant to solving the social dilemma at its most important moment—when the common pool is close to being depleted. That is, differences between prosocial and proself motives seem most important when the dilemma is most pronounced and the collec-tive consequences most severe. At the same time, exper-iments examining the effects of personality differences on individual resource consumption have always been conducted in a “perfect world. ” Participants were usu-ally able to realize their intended consumption without any limitations; that is, they could fully translate thei

The Antarctic Peninsula Under a 1.5 degrees C Global Warming Scenario

Warming of the Antarctic Peninsula in the latter half of the twentieth century was greater than any other terrestrial environment in the Southern Hemisphere, and clear cryospheric and biological consequences have been observed. Under a global 1.5°C scenario, warming in the Antarctic Peninsula is likely to increase the number of days above 0°C, with up to 130 of such days each year in the northern Peninsula. Ocean turbulence will increase, making the circumpolar deep water (CDW) both warmer and shallower, delivering heat to the sea surface and to coastal margins. Thinning and recession of marine margins of glaciers and ice caps is expected to accelerate to terrestrial limits, increasing iceberg production, after which glacier retreat may slow on land. Ice shelves will experience continued increase in meltwater production and consequent structural change, but not imminent regional collapses. Marine biota can respond in multiple ways to climatic changes, with effects complicated by past resource extraction activities. Southward distribution shifts have been observed in multiple taxa during the last century and these are likely to continue. Exposed (ice free) terrestrial areas will expand, providing new habitats for native and non-native organisms, but with a potential loss of genetic diversity. While native terrestrial biota are likely to benefit from modest warming, the greatest threat to native biodiversity is from non-native terrestrial species

An anemia of Alzheimer\u27s disease

Lower hemoglobin is associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Since brain iron homeostasis is perturbed in AD, we investigated whether this is peripherally reflected in the hematological and related blood chemistry values from the Australian Imaging Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) study (a community-based, cross-sectional cohort comprising 768 healthy controls (HC), 133 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 211 participants with AD). We found that individuals with AD had significantly lower hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentrations, packed cell volume and higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates (adjusted for age, gender, APOE-ε4 and site). In AD, plasma iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation and red cell folate levels exhibited a significant distortion of their customary relationship to hemoglobin levels. There was a strong association between anemia and AD (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=2.43, confidence interval (CI) (1.31, 4.54)). Moreover, AD emerged as a strong risk factor for anemia on step-down regression, even when controlling for all other available explanations for anemia (adjusted OR=3.41, 95% CI (1.68, 6.92)). These data indicated that AD is complicated by anemia, which may itself contribute to cognitive decline

The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: Evidence for radiative heating in Serpens MWC 297 and its influence on local star formation

We present SCUBA-2 450micron and 850micron observations of the Serpens MWC 297 region, part of the JCMT Gould Belt Survey of nearby star-forming regions. Simulations suggest that radiative feedback influences the star-formation process and we investigate observational evidence for this by constructing temperature maps. Maps are derived from the ratio of SCUBA-2 fluxes and a two component model of the JCMT beam for a fixed dust opacity spectral index of beta = 1.8. Within 40 of the B1.5Ve Herbig star MWC 297, the submillimetre fluxes are contaminated by free-free emission with a spectral index of 1.03+-0.02, consistent with an ultra-compact HII region and polar winds/jets. Contamination accounts for 73+-5 per cent and 82+-4 per cent of peak flux at 450micron and 850micron respectively. The residual thermal disk of the star is almost undetectable at these wavelengths. Young Stellar Objects are confirmed where SCUBA-2 850micron clumps identified by the fellwalker algorithm coincide with Spitzer Gould Belt Survey detections. We identify 23 objects and use Tbol to classify nine YSOs with masses 0.09 to 5.1 Msun. We find two Class 0, one Class 0/I, three Class I and three Class II sources. The mean temperature is 15+-2K for the nine YSOs and 32+-4K for the 14 starless clumps. We observe a starless clump with an abnormally high mean temperature of 46+-2K and conclude that it is radiatively heated by the star MWC 297. Jeans stability provides evidence that radiative heating by the star MWC 297 may be suppressing clump collapse.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 7 table

Chemical data evaluation: General considerations and approaches for IUPAC projects and the chemistry community (IUPAC Technical Report)

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has a long tradition of supporting the compilation of chemical data and their evaluation through direct projects, nomenclature and terminology work, and partnerships with international scientific bodies, government agencies, and other organizations. The IUPAC Interdivisional Subcommittee on Critical Evaluation of Data has been established to provide guidance on issues related to the evaluation of chemical data. In this first report, we define the general principles of the evaluation of scientific data and describe best practices and approaches to data evaluation in chemistryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio