A new conceptual framework for the evaluation of L&D programmes

The evaluation of learning and development programmes is one of the most important processes for the L&D function as it determines functional credibility by the creation of value from the L&D budget. The Kirkpatrick (1954) framework has primacy in the world of evaluation along with a small number of other frameworks, e.g. Phillips (1999), Holton (2000) Brinkerhoff (2003). However, despite its acknowledged ineffectiveness, efforts to replace the framework have been unsuccessful, becoming the prevailing paradigm for evaluation which could be an increasing risk for L&D itself in proving legitimacy and credibility. A review of wider literature reveals new opportunities to synthesise different theoretical positions to build a new framework that could add value to practice, particularly by using Decision Theory, Hubbard (2007), Forecasting, Armstrong (2001) and ‘Intention’ Anscombe (1959). This study adds to the literature by highlighting opportunities from that synthesis for further research and for practice. The researcher is a specialist and experienced evaluator of L&D programmes and functions with access to a wide range of practitioners and organisations willing to help with research. This research investigates attitudes and current practice in evaluation and, using new technologies and the synthesis of ideas and methods, to posit a new evaluation framework. This framework builds an evaluation strategy using forecasting methods with the Central Limit Theorum as the key drivers in its evaluation ‘mix’ to generate highly accurate outputs. The framework has a subset of Quadrants that generate the evaluation outcomes and one specific Quadrant is the subject of this research, assessed using a Case Study approach to be shown to have potential impact for L&D. The findings from the research show that this new framework can deliver evaluation outputs with targeted levels of accuracy for a fraction of the cost, time and resource required by the traditional summative methods, currently used as part of the existing evaluation paradigm. Whether this approach can rival the prevailing paradigm will be for practitioners to decide and is outside the scope of this research but it is suggested that it could offer a real choice for L&D evaluators

Utah Women in STEM Education: A 2019 Update

According to a recent article in Utah Business Magazine, Utah had the strongest job growth in the nation in 2018, with no signs of slowing down. Forbes ranked Utah second in their 2018 Best States for Business scorecard, moving it up from third the previous year. Given the increase in the number of high-tech firms in Utah, it should come as no surprise that many jobs are based in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. In fact, Utah contains three of the top 100 best cities for STEM jobs in the United States, including Salt Lake City (#8), Provo (#26), and Ogden (#41). These rankings are based on a combined score that includes professional opportunities, STEM-friendliness, and quality of life. Provo ranked first in the nation for the single category of “Highest STEM Employment Growth.

The Status of Women Leaders in Utah Nonprofits: A 2018 Update

In 2014, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) published a research and policy brief titled “The Status of Women Leaders in Utah Nonprofits.” The document was the second of four Utah studies published that year; the others focused on the status of women’s leadership in politics, education, and business. This brief gives a four-year update to decide what, if any, progress has been made in women’s leadership within Utah’s nonprofit sector. The brief compares Utah data with national data, reviews the applicable literature, and compares these results to the data in the 2014 brief

Sexual Harassment: What Utahns Need to Know

Although workplace sexual harassment has likely been around since the conception of workplaces, and sexual harassment has been illegal in the U.S. for decades, it is safe to say that the issue has never received as much attention as it has since the autumn of 2017. High-profile instances of sexual harassment in visible industries such as entertainment, politics, the media, and the nation’s largest businesses have put this issue at the forefront of our national conversations surrounding gender and the workplace. The #metoo stories, shared by millions of women worldwide indicating that they had also experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault, have greatly increased the dialogue surrounding this issue. Eventually, women who reported sexual harassment, the “silence breakers,” were chosen by Time magazine as the person of the year for 2017. As Utahns work to understand and reduce instances of sexual harassment, it will benefit individuals, institutions, and the state as a whole

Pourbaix-like phase diagram for lithium manganese spinels in acid

Calculations are performed on the free energies for proton-promoted reactions of the lithium-ion-battery electrode material LiMn_(2)O_4 spinel in acid, as a function of lithium excess and lithium deficiency relative to stoichiometry. In particular, we consider the dissolution reaction proposed by Hunter (J. Solid State Chem., 1981, 39, 142), in which protons react with lithium manganate spinel to form λ-MnO2, Li^+, and Mn^(2+) products. The calculations employ a hybrid method developed in previous work in which first principles total energy calculations are applied for the solid phases and free atom energies, and tabulated ionization and hydration energies for the aqueous species. A correction to the atomic energies, derived from analysis of binary oxide dissolution reactions, improves the accuracy of the results. A Pourbaix-like dissolution/stability phase diagram is constructed from the resultant reaction free energies

The [O III] Veil: Astropause of Eta Carinae's Wind?

We present narrowband images of eta Carinae in the light of [O III] 5007 obtained with HST/WFPC2, as well as a ground-based image in the same emission line with a larger field of view. These images show a thin veil of [O III] emission around eta Car and its ejecta, confirming the existence of an oxygen-bearing ``cocoon'' inferred from spectra. This [O III] veil may be the remnant of the pre-outburst wind of eta Car, and its outer edge probably marks the interface where eta Car's ejecta meet the stellar wind of the nearby O4 V((f)) star HD303308 or other ambient material -- i.e., it marks the ``astropause'' in eta Car's wind. This veil is part of a more extensive [O III] shell that appears to be shaped and ionized by HD303308. A pair of HST images with a 10 yr baseline shows no proper motion, limiting the expansion speed away from eta Car to 12pm13 km/s, or an expansion age of a few times 10^4 yr. Thus, this is probably the decelerated pre-outburst LBV wind of eta Car. The [O III] morphology is very different from that seen in [N II], which traces young knots of CNO-processed material; this represents a dramatic shift in the chemical makeup of material recently ejected by eta Car. This change in the chemical abundances may have resulted from the sudden removal of the star's outer envelope during eta Car's 19th century outburst or an earlier but similar event.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figs. Figs 1 and 3 in color. Accepted to AJ, October 200

Spectroscopy and Time Variability of Absorption Lines in the Direction of the Vela Supernova Remnant

We present high resolution (R~75,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N~100) Ca II $\lambda$3933.663 and Na I $\lambda\lambda$5889.951, 5895.924 spectra of 68 stars in the direction of the Vela supernova remnant. The spectra comprise the most complete high resolution, high S/N, optical survey of early type stars in this region of the sky. A subset of the sight lines has been observed at multiple epochs, 1993/1994 and 1996. Of the thirteen stars observed twice, seven have spectra revealing changes in the equivalent width and/or velocity structure of lines, most of which arise from remnant gas. Such time variability has been reported previously for the sight lines towards HD 72089 and HD 72997 by Danks & Sembach (1995) and for HD 72127 by Hobbs et al. (1991). We have confirmed the ongoing time variability of these spectra and present new evidence of variability in the spectra of HD 73658, HD 74455, HD 75309 and HD 75821. We have tabulated Na I and Ca II absorption line information for the sight lines in our sample to serve as a benchmark for further investigations of the dynamics and evolution of the Vela SNR.Comment: 8 pages of text, 4 tables, 16 pages of figures Accepted and to be published in ApJ

Fe VII lines in the spectrum of RR Telescopii

Thirteen transitions within the ground 3d^2 configuration of Fe VII are identified in ultraviolet and optical spectra of the symbiotic star RR Telescopii obtained with the STIS instrument of the Hubble Space Telescope. The line fluxes are compared with theoretical data computed with the recent atomic data of K.A. Berrington et al., and high resolution optical spectra from VLT/UVES are used to identify blends. Seven branching ratios are measured, with three in good agreement with theory and one affected by blending. The lambda5277/lambda4943 branching ratio is discrepant by > 3 sigma, indicating errors in the atomic data for the lambda5277 line. A least-squares minimization scheme is used to simultaneously derive the temperature, T, and density, N_e, of the RR Tel nebula, and the interstellar extinction, E(B-V), towards RR Tel from the complete set of emission lines. The derived values are: log T/K = 4.50 +/- 0.23, log N_e/cm^-3=7.25 +/- 0.05, and E(B-V)<0.27. The extinction is not well-constrained by the Fe VII lines, but is consistent with the more accurate value E(B-V)=0.109^{+0.052}_{-0.059} derived here from the Ne V lambda2974/lambda1574 ratio in the STIS spectrum. Large differences between the K.A. Berrington et al. electron excitation data and the earlier F.P. Keenan & P.H. Norrington data-set are demonstrated, and the latter is shown to give worse agreement with observations.Comment: To be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics; 7 pages, 4 figure

First results on bathymetry, stratification and physicochemical limnology of a small tropical African reservoir (Malilangwe, Zimbabwe)

The study provides a 9-month record of Malilangwe Reservoir water chemistry periodicity, for the period between February and October 2011. Malilangwe Reservoir is a small (211 ha), shallow (mean depth 4.54 m) reservoir situated in the south-eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe. The reservoir has not spilled in nearly 11 years, which makes it a unique system as most reservoirs of comparable size spill annually. This is the first bathymetric and limnological study of the reservoir where the morphology and physicochemical quality of the water body were examined. The reservoir was not strongly stratified during the hot-wet and hot-dry season with oxygen depletion of < 2 mg·ℓ-1 DO being observed in the bottom layers (<6 m depth). Nutrient concentrations varied throughout the seasons. The reservoir exhibited marked seasonal fluctuations in water level, which decreased by over 149 cm between February and October. The N:P ratio rose to as high as 10.9 and generally reflected high levels of phosphorus in the reservoir. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in Secchi depth transparency between the study sites. Differences observed in water quality were due to water level fluctuations, with poor water quality conditions being experienced during the hot-dry season and the cool-dry season when water levels were low. The reservoir was classified as being mesotrophic. Therefore, there is a risk of eutrophication, especially since the reservoir is currently merely a sink for nutrients