The shift to outcomes based frameworks. Key problems from a critical perspective

This paper takes a step back from the discussions and debates about qualifications frameworks per se, to think more broadly about the role of "qualifications" in educational reform. The aims of the paper are to locate the reform of qualifications in its broader social and institutional context, to propose a way of conceptualizing the change from qualification systems as they have emerged historically to qualifications frameworks and outcomes-based qualifications and to explore the tensions involved in the different goals that the introduction of a (National) Qualfications Framework - (N)QF will achieve. We argue that what is at stake in current reforms is the role of educational institutions in the education and training of the next generation, the balance between institution-based education and informal (in some cases work-based) learning, and the ways in which trust in qualifications is established and maintained. Our two-model analysis explores the balance between an emphasis on institutions and outcomes. This paper was written to provoke debate, and help all involved in researching qualifications frameworks to think more clearly about the issues. (DIPF/Orig.)Dieser Beitrag versucht, einen Schritt hinter die Diskussionen und Debatten über Qualifikationsrahmen zu treten und in einem breiteren Zusammenhang über die Rolle von „Qualifikationen“ in der Bildungsreform nachzudenken. Der Beitrag hat folgende Punkte zum Ziel: die Qualifikationsreform in ihrem breiteren sozialen und institutionellen Kontext einzugrenzen, einen Weg zur Konzeptionalisierung des Wandels von historisch gewachsenen Qualifikationssystemen hin zu Qualifikationsrahmen und ergebnisorientierten Qualifikationen vorzuschlagen und die Spannungsfelder auszuloten, die die unterschiedlichen Zielsetzungen bei Einführung eines (Nationalen) Qualifikationsrahmens mit sich bringen würden. Die AutorInnen behaupten, dass in den aktuellen Reformen Folgendes auf dem Spiel steht: die Rolle der Bildungsinstitutionen in der Bildung und Ausbildung der nächsten Generation, die Balance zwischen institutionsbasierter Bildung und informellem (in einigen Fällen arbeitsbasiertem) Lernen sowie die Art und Weise, wie Vertrauen in Qualifikationen aufgebaut und erhalten wird. Ihre Zwei-Modell-Analyse untersucht die Balance zwischen Schwerpunktsetzungen auf Institutionen und Ergebnisse. Der vorliegende Beitrag wurde verfasst, um eine Diskussion in Gang zu setzen, die allen an der Forschung über Qualifikationsrahmen Beteiligten helfen soll, die Problemstellung mit mehr Klarheit zu reflektieren. (DIPF/Orig.

Learning our way towards a sustainable agri-food system Three cases from Sweden: Stockholm Farmers market, Ramsjö Community Supported Agriculture and Järna Initiative for Local Production

This research is based on case studies of the Stockholm Farmers Market, Ramsjö Community Supported Agriculture, and Järna Initiative for Local Production. These cases are examples of alternative consumerproducer links in the Swedish agri-food system. An adapted SWOT analysis highlights key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and constraints in each case from the multiple perspectives of producers, consumers, the organization, as well as the environment and society. Diagrams show where learning opportunities exist in the three systems, and how the structure of the consumer-producer link influences learning processes. Implication assessments consider how each link may affect surrounding ecosystems and social aspects of the agri-food system. A framework for assessing a process of development identifies six components that contribute to agri-food system development. Four key issues are discussed in terms of their potential to significantly affect the development of the agri-food system: the length of the food chain linking producers and consumers, the definition of “local”, learning in the system, and what is really being sold – is it food, or values? Critical research questions are highlighted and recommended for future research

Emotions Affect Every Decision You Make (But That's a Good Thing)

In Western societies, adjudication has long been said to involve the crucial task of putting one’s emotions aside. This so-called dispassionate approach is assumed to result in impartial decision-making vis-à-vis the provision of natural justice and procedural fairness. However, recent research findings on emotions and decision-making do not accord with this assumption. Overall, this body of research, which has grown exponentially over the past 30 years, suggests that emotions cannot be sifted out from decision-making processes. Thankfully, this research also supports the argument that human emotion is a precondition for enacting justice. There are multiple ways that specific emotions can ultimately influence judgment and cognitive strategies can be used to ensure that emotions are leveraged for good (i.e., outcomes in the students’ best interest). Post-secondary institutions have an ethical obligation to support adjudicators in carrying out this emotional work, and the first step is ensuring that adjudicators have comprehensive training on the findings of decision-making research. This professional development session will foster a discussion around this research and, more specifically, focus on strategies for guiding the effects of one’s emotions within the adjudication context

An examination of leadership styles among virtual school administrators

In this study, the researcher examined self-perceived school leadership styles of school administrators within the virtual school setting. Through this study, the researcher identified virtual school leaders and the leadership styles associated with their work. Participants in this study were employed at K12, Inc. representing virtual schools that were operating with a full-time state sponsored staff at that time. The 26 participants in this study represented a 35% response rate, which was the main limitation in this study. The research instrument used in the study was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) with an added demographic survey. The dependent variable was the administrators’ leadership style identified on the MLQ. The independent variables were the demographic factors including years of experience, school type, size of school, administrator gender, administrator age, race, highest degree obtained, years in education, grade level, number of teachers in school, and previous role in brick and mortar setting. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi square to address the two main research questions. The second research question consisted of six sub-questions. The results showed a significant relationship between administrators’ leadership style and the school type. District school administrators were more transformational, and state charter school administrators were more transactional. The results also showed a significant relationship between administrators’ leadership style and gender. Male administrators perceived themselves as more transformational, and female administrators perceived themselves as more transactional. The remaining variables did not have enough data to determine a relationship between those variables and leadership style. The findings of the study may have implications on leadership practice and development. Professional development could be provided for current virtual school leaders on topics of transformational and transactional leadership. Identifying the leadership styles of virtual school leaders as they relate to demographic factors could ultimately impact both teaching and learning outcomes

Psychological care for type 1 diabetic adolescents: designing a new model of integrated care

Diabetes mellitus is among the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents, affecting approximately 1 in 400 children. Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) requires a complex and arduous daily management regimen. The disease can present dramatic changes in daily life, placing a significant psychological burden on the child. Behavioral and psychological factors can significantly influence the course and progression of T1DM. These interactions are bidirectional--metabolic and biological fluctuations produce alterations in emotions and behaviors, and psychological functioning predicts glycemic control and other medical outcomes. A particularly high-risk group within the T1DM patient population is adolescents. Given the critical biological, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that occur during adolescence, glycemic control typically diminishes. T1DM can also increase the adolescent\u27s risk for psychiatric illness and can contribute to decreased self-esteem, conflict with family, peer difficulties, and poor coping with illness demands. To address this need, the dissertation sought to design a program that appropriately addresses the psychological care of T1DM adolescents, to format the program for integration into the tertiary medical clinic setting, and to design an evaluation tool that can be used to evaluate the program for clinical utility in future studies. Although prior studies have identified specific components of interventions (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy, coping skills training, stress management, motivational interviewing) that have been shown to be generally effective in improving psychological outcomes, never before have each of the tested individual interventions been integrated to create a comprehensive, multi-level program for this population. In addition, no comprehensive program to the investigator\u27s knowledge has been specifically designed for implementation in an integrated care context, where patients are treated by an interdisciplinary team of professionals. Empirical findings in the literature were systematically evaluated to identify the most efficacious programmatic elements. Then, applying the recommendations discussed in the health services delivery literature, the program content was designed for delivery of services within the medical clinic in the most feasible and effective way. Finally, program evaluation was discussed, and an evaluation measure was developed for use in future pilot studies investigating the efficacy and utility of this program

RNA in Forensic Science: Novel Techniques for Biological Evidence

The techniques currently utilized for collecting biological evidence at the scenes of violent crimes such as murder, rape, and kidnapping are employed simply to preserve evidence for future DNA analysis. Although DNA is extremely useful in forensic casework, biological samples possess yet another valuable molecule, RNA. The use of RNA in forensic analysis of samples is currently on the rise. In the past, RNA was thought to degrade much too quickly to be of any benefit to the forensic community. The work presented in this dissertation seeks to demonstrate otherwise. While true that RNA is not as stable as DNA, its rate of degradation in ex vivo specimens has been found to be a function of the size and species of the molecule, as well as predictable in certain biological fluids and tissues. The first objective of this research was to determine if the size-dependent, predictable decay of RNAs could be utilized as an indicator of postmortem interval (PMI), or time since death. A method to efficiently isolate and correctly quantify RNA from tooth pulp was established. By quantifying the remaining molecules of a large versus a small section of beta-actin mRNA from aging tooth pulp from deceased pigs, and the postmortem alterations in pulp color, a relationship between these factors and PMI was established. Previous studies had indicated that rate of RNA decay may be a temperature-dependent process. It was determined that the degradation rate of RNA could be better described by the accumulation of temperature to which pigs were exposed, rather than time in days. This analysis led to a simple mathematical equation into which measurable variables can be placed to find the number of accumulated degree days (ADD) that have passed since death with 95% confidence. The resulting method can provide reliable estimates of PMI that surpass the amount of time following death in which current estimators, primarily forensic entomology, can reliably produce an estimate of time since death. We have also developed a novel technique to determine the body fluid type of biological stains found at the scene of violent crimes. This technique makes use of fluorescently labeled probes known as molecular beacons (MBs) to identify tissue-specific RNAs in a confirmatory assay. Importantly, it has the potential to be made portable to a crime scene and does not involve the use of PCR. It was successfully demonstrated that the MBs designed for experimentation release a signal only in the presence of RNA extracted from one of three tissues: blood, saliva, or semen. By determining if a potential piece of evidence should be collected or left behind at the scene as not pertinent to the crime at hand, this technique has the potential to reduce DNA backlog among crime laboratories

The Influence of Spirituality on Caregiver Burden and Quality of Life in Older Adult Informal Caregivers

Background: Caregiver burden reduces quality of life (QOL) and is associated with poorer health outcomes. Older adults may be more susceptible to caregiver burden due to advancing age and declining health. Spirituality has been shown to reduce caregiver burden and improve QOL. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the direct or indirect influence of spirituality on caregiver burden and caregiver QOL in older adult caregivers. The specific aims were 1) to determine the prevalence of caregiver burden in a nationally representative sample of older adult informal caregivers of other adults and 2) to investigate the relationships among caregiver burden, spirituality, and quality of life in a nationally representative sample of older adult informal caregivers of other adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive secondary data analysis of data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The HRS collects data every other year from a large nationally representative sample of adults aged 55 or older and their spouses. Participants who identified as regularly providing care to another adult were included (n = 591). General linear models and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to explore relationships among caregiver burden, spirituality, QOL, and demographic data. Results: Caregivers had a mean age of 66.32 (7.84). Most caregivers were female (n = 368, 53.1%), White (n = 399, 81.5%), married (n = 378, 68.7%) and had a high school education or general education diploma (n = 290, 47.1%). More than half of the caregivers scored as having moderate (n = 289, 48%) or high (n = 18, 3.5%) levels of caregiver burden. Among all caregivers, 22.5% (n = 126) provided care for more than a year and found caregiving to be somewhat upsetting while 9.6% (n = 51) provided care for more than a year and found it to be very upsetting. GLM showed caregivers who were highly spiritual had lower caregiver burden (p = .023). Lower caregiver burden was correlated with higher QOL (p = \u3c .001). Spirituality did not moderate the effect of caregiver burden on QOL, but an SEM depicting an influencing effect of spirituality revealed a good model fit (NFI = .902; IFI = .928; TLI = .862; CFI = .927; PCFI = .494, RMSEA = .065; χ2= 27.902, p = .000, DF = 8, PCMIN/DF = 3.488) Conclusions: Spirituality influenced QOL through caregiver burden in this population. Spirituality should be fostered in older adult informal caregivers to help reduce caregiver burden and improve QOL. Nurses can foster spirituality by providing spiritual care and making appropriate referrals. Further research is needed to explore other factors affecting spirituality in this population and to test spiritual interventions for effectiveness in improving QOL

Chena Geothermal Area: A Low Temperature Case Study

Traditional choices for geothermal power plant implementation are areas that have a high temperature and flowing water below the surface. Wells can be drilled down into the rock to harness the steam produced by the hot water and spin a turbine to produce electricity. The problem is that only about 10 percent of Earth’s land area has water circulating under the surface. Only a portion of those areas are hot enough to produce the necessary amount of steam. There are three different types of geothermal power plants that can be used depending on the situation. Chena Geothermal Area, located in Alaska, is an example of a low temperature geothermal resource that utilizes a binary system to produce energy. One way to assess specifics about a geothermal resource is by using GeoRePORT. This is a new methodology created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office that is striving to make a consistent and comprehensive standard for reporting geothermal data. GeoRePORT is a spreadsheet that asks experts to input specific information about their geothermal site and it assigns a grade based on what they choose. The grades are on an A through E scale, but those do not necessarily determine the success of the resource, meaning a resource with mostly A’s is not better than a resource with mostly E’s. Different projects need different grades to be successful depending on their goals. This case study proves that high resource grades are not necessary for the success of a geothermal resource