Language, relationships and skills in mixed-nationality Active Learning classrooms

Based on a phenomenological exploration of Chinese students at a UK university business school, this article supports a growing body of research questioning the assumptions underpinning the putative Socratic/Confucian dichotomy of academic cultures. Beginning with a review of research literature on the experiences of Chinese students on Active Learning courses, the main part of the study is based on an analysis of qualitative interviews conducted in English and Mandarin. Findings suggest that, whilst Active Learning pedagogies are perceived as supporting their learning on these modules, for some students the ‘double-learning agenda’ entailed by these pedagogies can make their classrooms an uncomfortable space. The conclusion makes a strong case for reconceptualising the ‘language problems’ reported by many international students as ‘conversational problems’, and for recognising the nexus of language, relationships and meta-cognitive skills as legitimate areas for intervention by teachers in their role as facilitators of Active Learning

Language, relationships and skills in mixed-nationality Active Learning classrooms

Based on a phenomenological exploration of Chinese students at a UK university business school, this article supports a growing body of research questioning the assumptions underpinning the putative Socratic/Confucian dichotomy of academic cultures. Beginning with a review of research literature on the experiences of Chinese students on Active Learning courses, the main part of the study is based on an analysis of qualitative interviews conducted in English and Mandarin. Findings suggest that, whilst Active Learning pedagogies are perceived as supporting their learning on these modules, for some students the ‘double-learning agenda’ entailed by these pedagogies can make their classrooms an uncomfortable space. The conclusion makes a strong case for reconceptualising the ‘language problems’ reported by many international students as ‘conversational problems’, and for recognising the nexus of language, relationships and meta-cognitive skills as legitimate areas for intervention by teachers in their role as facilitators of Active Learning

Inquiry Into Graduate Attributes: Reviewing the Formal and Informal Management Curricula

This article is aimed at any departmental faculty or head of school in charge of conducting curriculum review and presents a holistic approach based on Appreciative Inquiry and recently used by a University Business School in the Southwest of England. As a future-facing or strength-based approach, our Inquiry into Graduate Attributes brought together students, academics, employers, and employment consultants to agree on the most desirable generic attributes of business management graduates 5 years into the future, and to propose changes to course content, assessment, and cocurricular activities in line with these. The Inquiry into Graduate Attributes approach provides a methodological model for integrating the expectations of different stakeholder groups while acknowledging the various ways in which understandings of knowledge and outcomes are related to disciplinary epistemology. For researchers interested in the use of Action Research in the process of curriculum review, this article presents a relatively novel use of an applied Appreciative Inquiry technique, which we hope will initiate a broader conversation around the dynamics and reflective practices of curriculum design

The Practice of Professional Doctorates: The Case of a UK-Based Distance DBA

In light of the prominent role of socio-materiality in contemporary social scientific (Nicolini, 2012), and particularly educational (Fenwick, Edwards & Sawchuck, 2011) research, this paper uses two practice-based theories to investigate the experiences of German business management professionals on a UK based DBA delivered in Germany. We specifically take concepts from Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT; Engeström, 2001) and Actor Network Theory (ANT; Latour, 2005; Law, 2009) to explore the evolving relationships between professional and academic identities as revealed in qualitative interviews with individual students and supervising faculty. The discussion underlines the potential of these theories to produce rich understandings of the identity formation of researching professionals. We conclude that professional doctorates should be seen not just as specific forms of advanced professional training, but as complex and indeterminate processes. Findings suggest that earning a professional doctorate often feels like a journey leading to some form of metacognitive shift from a problem-solving mindset to a more critical appreciation of different ways of knowing

A unified resource and configurable model of the synapse proteome and its role in disease

Genes encoding synaptic proteins are highly associated with neuronal disorders many of which show clinical co-morbidity. We integrated 58 published synaptic proteomic datasets that describe over 8000 proteins and combined them with direct protein–protein interactions and functional metadata to build a network resource that reveals the shared and unique protein components that underpin multiple disorders. All the data are provided in a flexible and accessible format to encourage custom use

Are different groups of patients with stroke more likely to be excluded from the new UK general medical services contract? A cross-sectional retrospective analysis of a large primary care population

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Map of the late Quaternary active Kern Canyon and Breckenridge faults, southern Sierra Nevada, California

Surface traces of the Quaternary active Kern Canyon and Breckenridge faults were mapped via aerial reconnaissance, analysis of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) elevation data, review and interpretation of aerial photography, field reconnaissance, and detailed field mapping. This effort specifically targeted evidence of late Quaternary surface deformation and, combined with separate paleoseismic investigations, identified and characterized the North Kern Canyon, South Kern Canyon, and Lake Isabella sections of the Kern Canyon fault and the Breckenridge fault. The mapping presented here provides definitive evidence for previously unrecognized Holocene and late Pleistocene east-down displacement along the Kern Canyon and Breckenridge faults. Our results indicate that much of the Kern Canyon fault has undergone Quaternary reactivation to accommodate internal deformation of the otherwise rigid Sierra Nevada block. This deformation reflects ongoing, seismogenic crustal thinning in the southern Sierra Nevada, and highlights the effects of localized tectonic forces operating in this part of the Sierra Nevada

In the dedicated pursuit of dedicated capital: restoring an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism

Tony Blair’s landslide electoral victory on May 1 (New Labour Day?) presents the party in power with a rare, perhaps even unprecedented, opportunity to revitalise and modernise Britain’s ailing and antiquated manufacturing economy.* If it is to do so, it must remain true to its long-standing (indeed, historic) commitment to restore an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism. In this paper we argue that this in turn requires that the party reject the very neo-liberal orthodoxies which it offered to the electorate as evidence of its competence, moderation and ‘modernisation’, which is has internalised, and which it apparently now views as circumscribing the parameters of the politically and economically possible

Squirrelpox virus: assessing prevalence, transmission and environmental degradation

Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) declined in Great Britain and Ireland during the last century, due to habitat loss and the introduction of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), which competitively exclude the red squirrel and act as a reservoir for squirrelpox virus (SQPV). The disease is generally fatal to red squirrels and their ecological replacement by grey squirrels is up to 25 times faster where the virus is present. We aimed to determine: (1) the seropositivity and prevalence of SQPV DNA in the invasive and native species at a regional scale; (2) possible SQPV transmission routes; and, (3) virus degradation rates under differing environmental conditions. Grey (n = 208) and red (n = 40) squirrel blood and tissues were sampled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques established seropositivity and viral DNA presence, respectively. Overall 8% of squirrels sampled (both species combined) had evidence of SQPV DNA in their tissues and 22% were in possession of antibodies. SQPV prevalence in sampled red squirrels was 2.5%. Viral loads were typically low in grey squirrels by comparison to red squirrels. There was a trend for a greater number of positive samples in spring and summer than in winter. Possible transmission routes were identified through the presence of viral DNA in faeces (red squirrels only), urine and ectoparasites (both species). Virus degradation analyses suggested that, after 30 days of exposure to six combinations of environments, there were more intact virus particles in scabs kept in warm (25°C) and dry conditions than in cooler (5 and 15°C) or wet conditions. We conclude that SQPV is present at low prevalence in invasive grey squirrel populations with a lower prevalence in native red squirrels. Virus transmission could occur through urine especially during warm dry summer conditions but, more notably, via ectoparasites, which are shared by both species