From the beginning: negotiation in community evaluation

This article focuses on negotiation and discusses its relevance for evaluators. Given the impetus for participatory evaluation, evaluators would benefit from improving skills that enable them to make collaborative decisions and work alongside stakeholders, in particular in community evaluations. Negotiation skills are explored through post hoc reflection of a Sure Start programme evaluation in a UK setting. Literature on stakeholder involvement and negotiation is discussed together with the UK evaluation. Recommendations are made on how to utilize elements of negotiation in community programme evaluation. Key skills are highlighted, including attention to: working with emotional situations, face-giving, rapport and creativity, timing, perceptions and improvisation

The impact on work-related stress of mental health teams following team-based learning on clinical risk management

Risk management is viewed as a systematic process based on multiprofessional and multi-agency decision-making. A learning pack was developed as part of a team-based learning project aiming to encourage and develop collaborative working practice. This brought different professionals and agencies working in mental health together to learn. There is little doubt that mental health practice is a source of stress for practitioners. Apart from the stress associated with managing 'risky' situations, risk management is also a relatively new concept. This can increase stress around ability to cope, both on an individual practitioner level and in teams. This article reports the impact that the learning pack had on team members' stress, specifically work-related stress. A range of scales were used to measure change in stress and results demonstrated reduced work-related pressure in a number of areas following the learning. The implications for team learning in relation to clinical risk management are discussed in light of the findings

Careering Past the Doctorate: supporting the career progression of doctoral students

This paper will focus on women’s self-understanding and its relation to the body. While for both men and women self-awareness includes body-awareness, for women, the relationship is more fundamental and the body is a significant aspect of the self. This is well exemplified by the way in which self-control, or more accurately control of the self, is routinely applied to the body. Bodies are perceived as being subject to control through diet and exercise, and obese women are described as being out of control or lacking in self-control. Clothes clearly have an influence on body image, but the relationship is more intimate than this would suggest. Because they sit next to the body, clothes have an inward aspect that is closely related to body awareness, especially when there is a discrepancy between the two, as happens when clothes do not fit, thus highlighting the body’s shortcomings. In terms of awareness, the two become intertwined, and attitudes and beliefs associated with the body/self extend to feelings about the clothes. This is apparent in attitudes to various aspects of control. Clothes are often discussed in terms of what cannot be worn because of age, size, acceptance and fashion. This attitude to control includes the perceived controlling attitudes of others, for example, what a husband might not like, or what friends or colleagues might not approve. Clothing then has an important role to play in self-awareness, and fashion assumes a significance belied by its apparent superficiality. This paper will explore these issues, making reference to my own research with women, exploring their relationship with their bodies and their attitude to clothing

Innovating Pedagogy 2015: Open University Innovation Report 4

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This fourth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. We proposed a long list of new educational terms, theories, and practices. We then pared these down to ten that have the potential to provoke major shifts in educational practice, particularly in post-school education. Lastly, we drew on published and unpublished writings to compile the ten sketches of new pedagogies that might transform education. These are summarised below in an approximate order of immediacy and timescale to widespread implementation

1.21 Improving pesticide regulation by use of impact analyses: A case study for bees

When changes to regulatory guidance for risk assessment are proposed it is necessary to undertake an impact analysis to assess whether they bring the desired improvement to a risk assessment and reliability of the outcomes to inform decision making. In particular impact analyses should estimate the chances of getting both false negative (concluding low risk where more research is needed) and false positive outcomes (concluding high risks where the product is of low risk). Such analyses are also used to inform on future product development costs and workload for regulatory authorities. In this paper, we present the findings from an impact analysis conducted on the proposed EFSA bee guidance document (2013) and discuss whether the proposed guidance would provide for a cost effective and tiered approach toward the protection of bees due to the potential risks posed by the use of plant protection products. Following on from this a second impact assessment is presented based on new data generated by ECPA member companies regarding the assessment of chronic risk to bees. Critical areas are discussed and suggestions for the improvement of assess the risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP) to bees are presented.When changes to regulatory guidance for risk assessment are proposed it is necessary to undertake an impact analysis to assess whether they bring the desired improvement to a risk assessment and reliability of the outcomes to inform decision making. In particular impact analyses should estimate the chances of getting both false negative (concluding low risk where more research is needed) and false positive outcomes (concluding high risks where the product is of low risk). Such analyses are also used to inform on future product development costs and workload for regulatory authorities. In this paper, we present the findings from an impact analysis conducted on the proposed EFSA bee guidance document (2013) and discuss whether the proposed guidance would provide for a cost effective and tiered approach toward the protection of bees due to the potential risks posed by the use of plant protection products. Following on from this a second impact assessment is presented based on new data generated by ECPA member companies regarding the assessment of chronic risk to bees. Critical areas are discussed and suggestions for the improvement of assess the risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP) to bees are presented

4.11 Non-Apis (Bombus terrestris) versus honeybee (Apis mellifera) acute oral and contact sensitivity – Preliminary results of ECPA company data evaluation

A preliminary data evaluation was conducted by ECPA companies to compare the sensitivity of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with the sensitivity of honeybees (Apis mellifera). For the evaluation about 70 data sets were available for contact exposure and about 50 data sets for oral exposure. The data sets comprised insecticides, fungicides, herbicides in about equal numbers plus a few other substances. The preliminary ECPA company data evaluation of LD 50 values indicates lower or similar contact sensitivity of bumblebees vs. honeybees. Similarly, lower or similar oral sensitivity of bumblebees vs. honeybees was determined with one exception for an insecticide that indicated higher acute oral bumblebee sensitivity compared to honeybees. For this insecticide, higher tier data indicates no negative impact on bumblebees at the maximum intended use rate. Overall, the ECPA company data evaluation indicates that bumblebees are not more sensitive than honeybees based on acute toxicity assessment.A preliminary data evaluation was conducted by ECPA companies to compare the sensitivity of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with the sensitivity of honeybees (Apis mellifera). For the evaluation about 70 data sets were available for contact exposure and about 50 data sets for oral exposure. The data sets comprised insecticides, fungicides, herbicides in about equal numbers plus a few other substances. The preliminary ECPA company data evaluation of LD 50 values indicates lower or similar contact sensitivity of bumblebees vs. honeybees. Similarly, lower or similar oral sensitivity of bumblebees vs. honeybees was determined with one exception for an insecticide that indicated higher acute oral bumblebee sensitivity compared to honeybees. For this insecticide, higher tier data indicates no negative impact on bumblebees at the maximum intended use rate. Overall, the ECPA company data evaluation indicates that bumblebees are not more sensitive than honeybees based on acute toxicity assessment