Workers researching the workplace using a work based learning framework: Developing a research agenda for the development of improved supervisory practice

This is a preprint of an article which later appeared in Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning.The article is case study of academic practice in respect of the supervision of research in the workplace by distance learners using a Work Based Learning (WBL) framework. Key aspects of the WBL are described including the role of technology in delivery. Drawing upon tutor experience at one institution and knowledge of practice elsewhere several conceptual and practical issues are raised as the basis for a planned research exercise to identify commonalities and differences in approach among practitioners. Ultimately, the purpose is to improve the relevance and application of workplace research by practitioners

Talking about the 'rotten fruits' of Rio 2016:framing mega-event legacies

Legacy has become a watchword of hosting mega-events in recent years, used to justify massive spending and far-reaching urban transformations. However, academic studies of legacy outcomes suggest there is only limited evidence for the efficacy of using mega-events to deliver broader policy goals. The discourse of legacy promulgated by the International Olympic Committee promotes a fantastical vision of the possibilities created by mega-events while obfuscating critical analyses of legacy. This paper explores legacy talk among a wholly different group – activists who have protested against the Olympic Games, specifically in Rio de Janeiro – based on interviews conducted two years after the Games as part of a broader ethnographic study. The positive connotations of legacy, even among these Olympic critics, places a straitjacket on conversation, leading activists to discuss specific legacy projects, at the expense of highlighting the very real harms of mega-event development, such as evictions, gentrification and militarization. As such, there is a need to deepen understanding that legacy encompasses all that is left behind after mega-events, not only the positive impacts.</p

The erotic and contemporary art

Lou Andreas Salomé wrote The Erotic (1911) before she met Freud. The recent English translation of her ground-breaking book encourages us to consider how a century of social change has affected erotic behaviour, and what this may mean for psychoanalysis. In a world of online porn, internet dating and ‘digital emotions’, what are the contours of ‘the erotic’ in the world today? This interdisciplinary conference explores the significance of contemporary erotic life for human relationships and the questions it poses for psychoanalytic theory and practice. Speakers were asked to consider a variety of themes: The erotic at different stages of life Differences and similarities between male and female eroticism The difference between ‘erotic’ and ‘sexual’ The new female erotica – what is its appeal? Sexualisation of childhood and 'childhood sexuality' 'Cultural hypocrisy’ and double standards - do they still exist? Pornography – how is it used and what are its effects on individuals and relationships? Internet dating and online affairs – a modern form of infidelity? New technology and the erotic Eroticism and violence Erotic fantasies Erotic transference and counter-transference in psychoanalysis Heterosexual and homosexual erotic – is there a difference? Cross-cultural and inter-cultural perspectives on the erotic Is there such a thing as a ‘post-modern’ erotic? Emma Talbot's presentation focused on representations of the erotic in contemporary art, and was followed by a roundtable discussion

Delivering distance education for modern government: The F4Gov programme at the University of Chester

The Foundation for Govenment (F4Gov) programme developed for the British Civil Service is an innovative low-cost accredited programme of distance learning using a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment designed to improve individual and hence organisational performance. It is flexible in terms of design and delivery and enables individuals and organisations to devise learning which meets their needs. The emphasis upon theory and practice is designed to reflect practice as well as embed deeper learning associated with higher education. The content of the programme is designed to equip participants with the skills necessary to deliver modern government

Changing power relations in work based learning: Collaborative and contested relations between tutors, learners and employers

This is the author's pdf pre-print of a book chapter due to be published in 2011.This book chapter discusses some of the implications for the role of university tutors and the centrality of educational objectives in circumstances where there is a 'cultural shift' towards meeting the needs of learners and employers. The work based and integrative studies (WBIS) programme at the University of Chester is used as a case study to examine the changing power relations between university tutors, learners, employers and the university, compared to relations on traditional programmes

The uniform approximation of polynomials by polynomials of lower degree

approximation, in a given interval,of a polynomial of degree in by a polynomial of degree n &lt; m has been solved analytically in only two cases: (i) by Chebyshev, when m = n + 1, (ii) by Zolotarev, when m = n + 2. In case (i) the solution is expressible in term

Delivering distance education for the Civil Service in the UK: The University of Chester’s Foundation for Government programme

This is the author's version of the book chapter.This book chapter discusses a distance delivered work based learning programme using a dedicated virtual learning environment for the British Civil Service called 'Foundation for Government'. There are currently about 350 students on the programme and at time of writing, the first learners are completing. The programme is designed to equip the broad mass of Civil Servants with the essential skills for modern government. While the programme has undoubtedly been successful, it has also raised a number of issues requiring further research. These are: the involvement of employers; technological versus educational imperatives; learner experience and progression and the assumption of knowledge transfer

Measurement of adenosine triphosphate and some other metabolites in blood cells by isotachophoresis. I. Preparative technique and enzymatic confirmation.

This study investigated the optimal conditions for detection of nucleotides in blood using an IP-1B capillary isotachophoretic apparatus. The system used 10 mM HCl-beta-alanine (pH 4.2) as the leading electrolyte and n-caproic acid as the terminal electrolyte. Direct application of lysed red blood cells was shown to be inaccurate, and a method of deproteinization based on heat in a microwave oven was developed. The zones for 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, ATP, inorganic phosphate, and lactate were identified enzymatically by withdrawal of pure samples of each zone via a special withdrawal cell. The quantitative values obtained by isotachophoresis were also confirmed enzymatically. The technique is now available for convenient and accurate identification of these metabolites simultaneously.</p

On the Meaning of the Preponderance Test in Judicial Regulation of Chemical Hazard

As usually defined, the preponderance test is a standard of proof which directs the jury to accept the plaintiff's version of the disputed facts if they are more probably true than not. But what happens when the most important disputed "facts" are judgments about probability? This paper offers an interpretation of the preponderance test which can be applied to this situation. In the example of the paper, B is the benefit of a drug, C is the health cost if it is a teratogen, and p is the probability of teratogenicity. The contested "fact" is the magnitude of p, the probability of harm. In the interpretation considered by the paper, the jury finds in favor of the plaintiff if the jury decides that it is more likely than not that p is greater than B/C. This definition of the preponderance test does not quite minimize expected costs, and compared with expected cost minimization it is likely to be biased toward under-protection when the health costs are high compared with the benefits. But when the mean and median of the second order probability of p are the same, the definition coincides with expected cost minimization. It is also shown that under a criterion of expected cost minimization, contrary to Posner, judicial error costs are not in general the same and the number of erroneous judgments favoring undeserving plaintiffs is not likely to be the same as the number of erroneous judgments favoring undeserving defendants