The marketisation of the English higher education sector and its impact on academic staff and the nature of their work

Purpose The purpose of the empirical study is to investigate whether, the impact of the marketisation of the English HE sector on academic staff and the nature of their professional work, are felt to the same degree in different English universities. The study was conducted between November 2015-April 2017. Design/methodology/approach Using the interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative, inductive approach is adopted. Twelve semi-structured interviews of 60-90 minutes each conducted with academics of six English university types (ancient, old and new civics, plate-glass, technological and Post 1992). Participants, who were identified by non-probability sampling, included professors, principal, senior and lecturers, and associate lecturers. Findings Six key themes emerged regarding the impact on academic staff and their work. The themes include: 1. Efficiency and quantity over effectiveness, 2. Autocratic, managerialist ideology over academic democracy and debate, 3. Instrumentalism over intellectualism 4. De-professionalisation and fragmentation of the academy 5. Increased incidence of performativity, bullying and workplace aggression 6. Work intensification The ancient university is least impacted by marketisation in terms of academic staff and the nature of their work. Next are the old and new civic universities, then the technological, plate-glass. The most impact is felt by academics (and the nature of their work) in the Post 1992 universities. Research limitations/implications There is a relatively small number of interviews in this study, therefore it is difficult to categorically correlate an academic biography with their opinion in the context of their university type. More male than female participants were interviewed. International staff were not interviewed, these could bring a varying perspective to the narrative found in this study. A mixed approach in further research would aid this objective. Some of the questioning in the pilot study was not as focused as any further primary research would have to be. Originality/value A further area of study, which could have practical implications, add originality and value would be to investigate how good practice in ‘employee engagement’ in the university context might pave the way forward. This has the potential to benefit academic staff directly and the institution, a win-win solution for all stakeholders

Manejo integrado de Bromus diandrus. Resultados de tres años de ensayos

En el presente trabajo se aportan los resultados obtenidos tras tres años de ensayos sobre estrategias de control de Bromus diandrus en una zona en la que se cultivan principalmente cereales en siembra directa. Se han rotado, durante los tres años, tres cultivos diferentes con diversos herbicidas para cada uno, lo cual ha permitido diversificar tanto las fechas de siembra, de octubre a enero, como los herbicidas utilizados. El guisante y la cebada, por la siembra tardía, han permitido disminuir las infestaciones de bromo. Además, la eficacia de los herbicidas selectivos del guisante es significativamente superior a la de los autorizados en trigo. El rendimiento del trigo en “rotación” ha sido muy superior al del trigo en “monocultivo” considerado como estándar. El rendimiento del guisante ha sido aproximadamente del 55% del trigo en rotación, lo que garantiza su rentabilidad económica. También el rendimiento de la cebada, sembrada tras guisante, ha sido muy superior al del trigo.In this paper the results of a three year experiment for Bromus diandrus management strategies, carried out in a winter cereal area under no-tillage, are provided. The managements combine three different crops during three years with various herbicides for each crop. Sowing dates have been diversified from October to January, as well as the herbicides. Field pea and barley, by the fact that are sown late in the season, have reduced Brome infestations. Moreover, the efficacy of selective herbicides for field pea is significantly higher than those authorized in wheat. Wheat yield in “rotation” has been much higher than in “monocrop”. Field pea yield was about 55% of wheat in rotation, ensuring its profitability. Yield for barley sown after pea, was also much higher than for wheat

Rehabilitació del Medi Aquàtic de S'Albufera de Mallorca

En el segle passat S'Albufera va arribar a esser totalment transformada en terres de cultiu per motius de salubritat i econòmics. En l'actualitat les funcions de l'àrea són les pròpies d'un parc natural, però els seus biòtops estan fortament influïts per l'antiga transformació. S'ha de considerar un sistema artificial on predominen les comunitats de macròfits emergents i els canals de dessecació sobre les superfícies d'alques lliures. S'analitzen estratègies diferents de gestió i es proposa la rehabilitació d'algues lliures incidint en tres aspectes. a.- Analisi i eliminació de pertorbacions actuals sobre el medi lòtic i el medi lenitic. b.- Utilitzacio de pastures per incrementar la superfície d'àrees d'inundació semipermanent. C.- Apertura de nous estanys amb diferents comunitats vegetals submergides, les quals ens donaran una producció primària diversificada. El disseny d'apertura d'estanys es fa en funció de la predicció de la composició més probable d'espècies macrofítiques de qualsevol àrea que es rehabiliti com a sistema aquàtic obert i permanent. Aquesta predicció pot esser utilitzada com un factor més per a determinar la localització d'àrees aquàtiques no repetitives.The concern for health and food needs in the last century have prompted the drainage of the Albufera. Now the appropiate functions of the area are as a natural park but its biotope is highly changed. Must be considered an artificial system where emergent macrophyte communities are dominant and where the drainage canals are most important than the surfaces of free waters. Are analyzed some management strategies and the rehabilitation of open waters is proposed by means three steps. a.- The removal of factors disturbing the present status of the lotic and lentic environments. b.- The use of grazing as a method for increasing the surface of intermittent waters. C.- The drainage to make new lagoons as a funtion of prediction of the most probable submersed macrophyte species composition for different area of the Albufera. This prediction may be used like a factor determinin location of the aquatic non repetitive areas for rehabilitation into the natural parc

Validación durante cuatro años de un sistema experto para optimizar el uso de herbicidas en cereales de invierno en condiciones agronómicas españolas

CPOWeeds is a version of Danish Crop Protection online adjusted to conditions in North-eastern Spain. The predicted efficacies and the yield obtained with CPOWeeds were validated in winter cereal field trials from 2010 to 2013. The predictions from CPOWeeds were compared to the actually achieved efficacies in the field trials for the nine weed species at different developmental stages and for 84.2% of the comparisons the obtained efficacies were equal to or higher than predicted. It was concluded that the use of CPOWeeds allowed optimisation of the herbicide application with a very high robustness. The recommendations were satisfactorily for the conditions of the Northeast of Spain and have the potential to decrease the amount of applied herbicides by at least 30%. Therefore, it can be an important tool in Integrated Weed Management.El CPOWeeds es una versión del Crop Protection Online danés puesto a punto para las condiciones del noroeste (NE) de España. Las eficacias predichas por el programa se han validado en ensayos en cereal de invierno desde 2010 a 2013. Las predicciones dadas por el CPOWeeds se han comprobado para nueve especies de malas hierbas en diferentes estadios fenológicos y en el 84,2% de los casos las eficacias han sido iguales o superiores a las predichas. Se concluye que el uso del CPOWeeds permite optimizar la aplicación de herbicidas con una gran robustez. Las recomendaciones son satisfactorias para el NE de España y se puede disminuir la cantidad de herbicidas aplicados hasta en un 30%. Por tanto, se trata de una herramienta muy importante en el Manejo Integrado de Malas Hierbas

Bromoxynil sensitivity study of a "Papaver rhoeas" L. biotype

“Papaver rhoeas” es la única mala hierba dicotiledónea que presenta resistencia múltiple en España. Se han detectado biotipos resistentes a tribenuron-metil (inhibidor de la acetolactato sintasa) y 2,4-D (auxina sintética). En la zona cerealista del norte de España ha habido problemas en el control de esta mala hierba con mezclas que contenían bromoxinil. En el presente trabajo se ha ensayado, con curvas dosis-respuesta, el efecto de este producto en dos lotes de semillas de un biotipo que no fue controlado en campo por mezclas con bromoxinil en dos años consecutivos. Los lotes B-0313 y B-0314 fueron controlados cuando el bromoxinil se aplicó a la fenología recomendada. Se observó cierto desplazamiento de la curva cuando las plantas de amapola se aplicaron a fenologías más avanzadas.“Papaver rhoeas” is the unique dicot weed that has multiple resistance in Spain. Resistant biotypes have been detected to tribenuron- methyl (acetolactate synthase inhibitor) and 2,4-D (synthetic auxin). In the cereal area of northern Spain there have been problems to control this weed with mixtures containing bromoxynil. In the present work we have tested the effect of this product in one biotype that was not controlled in the field by herbicide mixtures with bromoxynil. The lots B-0313 and B-0314 were controlled with bromoxynil applied at the recommended phenology. A shift in the curve was observed when corn poppy plants were applied in more advanced phenologies

Using knockout mice to study the molecular mechanisms that shape auditory nerve responses

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97).The ease of targeted genetic modification makes the mouse a valuable model to study hearing and deafness. A powerful window into cochlear function can be obtained by recording from single auditory (AN) fibers, primary afferents connecting cochlear inner hair cells to the brain. This thesis provides the first systematic analysis of fundamental response properties of the mouse AN, including rate and timing of spontaneous and sound-evoked discharge, frequency selectivity, dynamic range, and the relations between spontaneous rate and these other response properties. Three wildtype strains were compared: CBA/CaJ (because it retains normal cochlear sensitivity as it ages); and C57BL/6 and 129/SvJ (because they are used in "knockout" generation). Two lines with targeted deletion of inner ear genes were also studied. The cochlea in mouse responds to frequencies octaves higher than in humans or most other mammals; nevertheless, most other AN characteristics were fundamentally similar to those in well-studied mammals. The only significant differences were 1) smaller dynamic ranges in all three strains; and 2) high-frequency threshold elevation and tuning degradation in C57BL/6 and 129/SvJ, consistent with early-onset degeneration of basal-turn sensory cells in these strains. The mutant lines studied included deletion of 1) Calcitonin-Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), a neurotransmitter expressed by cochlear efferent fibers, or 2) the a subunit of BK channels, a large-conductance K+ channel, expressed in hair cells and AN fibers, and implicated in cochlear tuning in lower vertebrates.(cont.) Loss of CGRP had no detectable effect on AN responses, suggesting a minimal role in cochlear processing. Loss of BK channels led to dramatic decreases in sound- evoked discharge rates and spike synchronization, without changes in frequency selectivity. The degraded spike synchronization likely arises from slowing rise-times of inner hair cell receptor potentials observed in vitro; the decreased steady-state rates likely arise from depolarization block in the AN fibers themselves.by Annette M. Taberner.Ph.D

The lived experience of academic staff in a marketised post-1992 university-a case study

Concerns have been long expressed in the literature regarding the consequences of the marketisation of universities. Reflecting its positioning within the field of Critical University Studies (CUS), the literature is primarily negative and assumes that the impacts on university academic staff are universally experienced in a particular institution. Based on a case study of a post-1992 university, the purpose of this research is to determine whether the lived experience of all academics is indeed universal or not. Specifically, it sets out to establish whether commonalities and /or variations exist in the experience of academics according to age, gender, length of service, role and contract type. It also seeks to identify how academics believe their experience could be enhanced and, consequently, to propose a targeted applied research response at the local level. The research adopts a pluralist version of social practice theory. A practice approach enables the interrogation of agency within a particular configuration of practices, facilitating an understanding of what is going on and why and, in particular, addressing the issue of power and the potential for agency within a specific particular assemblage of practices. In this thesis, an adapted model of institutional praxis, academic practitioners and their work practices is utilised to structure the research within the paradigm of pragmatism. Following a sequential mixed and multi-method approach, the research comprised three phases. First, a focus group was employed to identify key themes related to academics’ perceptions of their lived work experiences in a post-1992 university. This informed the design of a subsequent online survey that sought to generate more specific quantitative (descriptive and inferential) data across a wider sample of academics followed, thirdly, by 30 one-hour semi-structured interviews that built on the survey outcomes to elicit in-depth, rich qualitative (thematic) data. Participants, who were identified by non-probability sampling (purposive for the focus group and interviews and self-selection for the online survey), included a wide variety of academics from across the case study institution. The key empirical findings reveal both commonalities and variations in the lived experience of respondents. Five shared-experience themes emerged: (i) rationalisation of staff and mounting workloads; (ii) standardisation, centralisation and monitoring of all work processes and depersonalised internal communication and work relationships; (iii) poor campus space management; (iv) poor communication between senior management and staff; and (v) lack of investment in a good academic staff experience. Key variations in experience related to length of service (often age related), gender, academic role and contract type. These variables influenced respondents’ perceptions of their daily working lives and practices and of their work-life balance. Generally, the research reveals that institutional structural praxis (systems, processes, resources, manager practices) drives and influences academic agents and their work practices. Owing to the corporatisation and managerialisation of universities within the macro-environment of neoliberalism, there is a management focus on the neoliberal practices of the rationalisation of resources to maximise institutional profitability via standardisation, staff performativity and surveillance. This was found to conflict and cause tension with academic agents, resulting in their loss of influence locally as professionals and the impoverishment of their core work practices in teaching and research; academics and their practices currently have limited agency and influence on institutional praxis. Nevertheless, the research also suggests that the common concerns of all academics and some of the negatively experienced variations for certain staff categories are fixable, reasonable and relatively cheap to address, requiring first and foremost the enhancement of the academic lived experience at the university by mutually respectful cooperation between staff and managers to achieve competitive advantage for all stakeholders. In this way, the lives of academics at the case study university could be transformed for the better to pave the way to a more humane and democratic place to work where staff can thrive rather than just survive

Multidirectional In Vivo Characterization of Skin Using Wiener Nonlinear Stochastic System Identification Techniques

A triaxial force-sensitive microrobot was developed to dynamically perturb skin in multiple deformation modes, in vivo. Wiener static nonlinear identification was used to extract the linear dynamics and static nonlinearity of the force–displacement behavior of skin. Stochastic input forces were applied to the volar forearm and thenar eminence of the hand, producing probe tip perturbations in indentation and tangential extension. Wiener static nonlinear approaches reproduced the resulting displacements with variances accounted for (VAF) ranging 94–97%, indicating a good fit to the data. These approaches provided VAF improvements of 0.1–3.4% over linear models. Thenar eminence stiffness measures were approximately twice those measured on the forearm. Damping was shown to be significantly higher on the palm, whereas the perturbed mass typically was lower. Coefficients of variation (CVs) for nonlinear parameters were assessed within and across individuals. Individual CVs ranged from 2% to 11% for indentation and from 2% to 19% for extension. Stochastic perturbations with incrementally increasing mean amplitudes were applied to the same test areas. Differences between full-scale and incremental reduced-scale perturbations were investigated. Different incremental preloading schemes were investigated. However, no significant difference in parameters was found between different incremental preloading schemes. Incremental schemes provided depth-dependent estimates of stiffness and damping, ranging from 300 N/m and 2 Ns/m, respectively, at the surface to 5 kN/m and 50 Ns/m at greater depths. The device and techniques used in this research have potential applications in areas, such as evaluating skincare products, assessing skin hydration, or analyzing wound healing.Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (N.Z.) (Grants UOA21647.001 and NERF 9077/3608892)Tertiary Education Commission of New Zealand (Medical Technologies Centre of Research Excellence (MedTech CoRE)