Formality and informality in the summative assessment of motor vehicle apprentices: a case study

This article explores the interaction of formal and informal attributes of competence‐based assessment. Specifically, it presents evidence from a small qualitative case study of summative assessment practices for competence‐based qualifications within apprenticeships in the motor industry in England. The data are analysed through applying an adaptation of a framework for exploring the interplay of formality and informality in learning. This analysis reveals informal mentoring as a significant element which influences not only the process of assessment, but also its outcomes. We offer different possible interpretations of the data and their analysis, and conclude that, whichever interpretation is adopted, there appears to be a need for greater capacity‐building for assessors at a local level. This could acknowledge a more holistic role for assessors; recognise the importance of assessors’ informal practices in the formal retention and achievement of apprentices; and enhance awareness of inequalities that may be reinforced by both informal and formal attributes of assessment practices

Antiferromagnetic Phases of One-Dimensional Quarter-Filled Organic Conductors

The magnetic structure of antiferromagnetically ordered phases of quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors is studied theoretically at absolute zero based on the mean field approximation to the quarter-filled band with on-site and nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction. The differences in magnetic properties between the antiferromagnetic phase of (TMTTF)$_2$X and the spin density wave phase in (TMTSF)$_2$X are seen to be due to a varying degrees of roles played by the on-site Coulomb interaction. The nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction introduces charge disproportionation, which has the same spatial periodicity as the Wigner crystal, accompanied by a modified antiferromagnetic phase. This is in accordance with the results of experiments on (TMTTF)$_2$Br and (TMTTF)$_2$SCN. Moreover, the antiferromagnetic phase of (DI-DCNQI)$_2$Ag is predicted to have a similar antiferromagnetic spin structure.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures, uses jpsj.sty, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 66 No. 5 (1997

T-helper cell polarisation following severe polytrauma

Introduction Severe polytrauma induces an immunosuppressive response and is associated with a very high incidence of nosocomial infections. Previous studies have inferred that this detrimental immune response results from polarisation of the T helper (Th) response towards an anti-inflammatory, TH2 dominated, response at the expense of a bactericidal, Th1 response [1]. Objectives 1) To define alterations in TH cell subsets following severe blunt polytrauma. Methods Patients presenting to the emergency department within 2 hours of severe polytrauma were eligible if intubated either at the scene or in ED. Isolated head injuries and those not expected to survive 24 hours were excluded. EDTA anti-coagulated blood was drawn at 0hr (within 2 hours of injury), at 24 and 72hrs. Samples were immediately lysed, washed, stained and analysed using a standardised human 8-colour TH 1, 2 & 17 panel [2] on an LSR II flow cytometer. A paired white cell count differential was obtained at each sampling point. Patients were followed until discharge or death. Data were analysed using non-parametric statistics, with results presented as median and IQR. Results 15 consecutive severe polytrauma patients requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission were recruited. Demographic and clinical data are outlined in Figure 1. Twelve (80%) lymphocytosis (3.3x109/L, 2.5 - 4.4x109/L) (Figyre 2A). At 72 hours leukocytes had fallen (P < 0.01, figure 2A) such that 6 (54%) of those surviving were lymphopenic (0.9x109/L, 0.6 - 1.2x109/L). Circulating CD4+ (P = 0.01; Figure 2B) and CD4+CD25+ (P < 0.05) lymphocytes increased over 72 hours. When expressed as a percentage of total circulating lymphocytes no significant change in the proportions of the TH 1, 2 & 17 subpopulations was detected (Figure 2C-E). Conclusions Severe polytrauma patients swiftly become lymphopenic. Although a failure to normalise this during the ICU stay correlates with higher mortality [3] our study of TH cell subtypes demonstrates no evidence of a switch to a detrimental anti-inflammatory TH2 subtype at the expense of the potentially protective bactericidal TH1 subtype

The barocaloric effect: A Spin-off of the Discovery of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Some key results obtained in joint research projects with Alex M\"uller are summarized, concentrating on the invention of the barocaloric effect and its application for cooling as well as on important findings in the field of high-temperature superconductivity resulting from neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Post-operative immune suppression is reversible with interferon gamma and independent of IL-6 pathways

Introduction The post-operative period is characterised by increased IL-6 production and clinical features of immune suppression. In vitro anti-inflammatory actions of IL-6 are mediated through suppression of interferon gamma (IFNγ) [1]. The clinical significance of IL-6 in mediating post-operative immune suppression remains unclear. Objectives To evaluate the role of IL-6 pathways in post-operative immune suppression and the reversibility of this phenomenon. Methods Patients over 45 years old undergoing elective surgery involving the gastrointestinal tract and requiring at least an overnight hospital stay were recruited. The primary outcome was hospital-acquired infection. IL-6 and IFNγ levels were assayed using ELISA preoperatively and at 24 and 48 hours. Pooled healthy control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured in perioperative serum and CD14+HLA-DR (mHLA-DR) geometric mean florescent intensity (MFI) measured in the presence and absence of interferon gamma (IFNγ) and IL-6 neutralising antibody. Data were analysed with non-parametric statistics. Results 119 patients were recruited and 44 (37%) developed a post-operative infection a median of 9 (IQR 5-11) days postoperatively (Figure 1). IL-6 levels increased from baseline to 24 hours postoperatively (P < 0.0001, Figure 1A) but were then unchanged between 24 and 48 hours (P = 0.06, Figure 1B). Postoperative IL-6 levels correlated with the duration of the procedure (P = 0.009). Higher preoperative IL-6 levels were observed in patients with cancer (P = 0.02). IL-6 levels at 24 (P = 0.0002) and 48 hours (P = 0.003) were associated with the later occurrence of infectious complications. This pattern remained similar after adjustment for baseline characteristics. Healthy donor PBMCs incubated with postoperative serum downregulated mHLA-DR MFI when compared with serum from baseline (n = 8, p = 0.008). Culturing in the presence of IFNγ 250IU (n = 4) prevented this decrease whereas culturing in the presence of IL-6 neutralising antibody 15ng/ml (n = 8) did not. Conclusions IL-6 levels increase following major surgery and are associated with an increased susceptibility to post-operative infections. Serum obtained from post-operative patients induces an immunosuppressive response through an IL-6 independent pathways which is reversible with IFNγ treatment

Ordering phenomena in quasi one-dimensional organic conductors

Low-dimensional organic conductors could establish themselves as model systems for the investigation of the physics in reduced dimensions. In the metallic state of a one-dimensional solid, Fermi-liquid theory breaks down and spin and charge degrees of freedom become separated. But the metallic phase is not stable in one dimension: as the temperature is reduced, the electronic charge and spin tend to arrange themselves in an ordered fashion due to strong correlations. The competition of the different interactions is responsible for which broken-symmetry ground state is eventually realized in a specific compound and which drives the system towards an insulating state. Here we review the various ordering phenomena and how they can be identified by optic and magnetic measurements. While the final results might look very similar in the case of a charge density wave and a charge-ordered metal, for instance, the physical cause is completely different. When density waves form, a gap opens in the density of states at the Fermi energy due to nesting of the one-dimension Fermi surface sheets. When a one-dimensional metal becomes a charge-ordered Mott insulator, on the other hand, the short-range Coulomb repulsion localizes the charge on the lattice sites and even causes certain charge patterns. We try to point out the similarities and conceptional differences of these phenomena and give an example for each of them. Particular emphasis will be put on collective phenomena which are inherently present as soon as ordering breaks the symmetry of the system.Comment: Review article Naturwissenschaften 200

The role of micrornas in the development of hospital acquired infection in polytrauma patients

Introduction Traumatic injury is associated with immunosuppression and an increased risk of developing nosocomial infections. However, the immune regulatory mechanisms involved remain unclear. Objectives 1) To describe genome-wide alterations in micro RNA (miRNA) expression following severe trauma. 2) To explore the potential role of miRNAs in mediating the post-traumatic immunosuppressive phenotype and their potential role in enhancing the risk of nosocomial infections. Methods Patients requiring ICU care following traumatic injury were recruited. Whole blood was collected within 2 hours of injury and 24 hours later. Total RNA (containing miRNAs) was isolated utilising PAX Gene and RNA extraction kits (Qiagen). miRNA-sequencing was performed with the Illumina HiSeq2500, and sequences were aligned to the human GRCh37 reference genome. Data analysis was carried out using the DESEQ2 package in R, and miRNAs were considered significantly altered with an adjusted p value of < 0.05. Functional enrichment analysis was performed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) on all miRNAs reaching an adjusted p value of < 0.1. mRNA targets of interest were identified using miRBase and TargetScan (http://www.mirbase.org, http://www.targetscan.org). Results 49 patients were recruited and 25 patients developed nosocomial infections. Expression of 139 miRNAs was significantly altered between 2 hours and 24 hours following injury, with miR-146b, a key inhibitor of pro-inflammatory pathways[1], upregulated to the greatest degree. Figure 1 presents miRNAs that differ between those patients who developed nosocomial infections and those who did not. miR-144-5p was significantly different between the two groups at both time points. a large percentage of mRNA targets for miR-144 are involved the Cell-mediated Immune Response (Figure 2), including the B-cell receptor complex, p38MAPK, GATA3, IgG, BCL6 and the T-cell receptor. in addition, we have previously shown that the miR-374 family of miRNAs is linked to increased IL-10 expression in trauma patients[2]. IPA highlights Cancer, Haematological Disease, Immunological and Inflammatory Disease and Organismal Injury and Abnormalities as important pathways altered between infected and non-infected patients. Conclusions These data provide a miRNA signature of severely injured trauma patients who develop hospital acquired infection compared to those who do not, and identify the miR-144 and miR-374b families as being of particular interest for future studies of trauma-induced immune dysfunction

Rigor and Ethics in the World of Big-team Qualitative Data: Experiences From Research in International Development

In the large international projects where many qualitative researchers work, generating qualitative Big Data, data sharing represents the status quo. This is rarely acknowledged, even though the ethical implications are considerable and span both process and product. I argue that big-team qualitative researchers can strengthen claims to rigor in analysis (the product) by drawing on a growing body of knowledge about how to do credible secondary analysis. Since this necessitates a full account of how the research and the analysis are done (the process), I consider the structural disincentives for providing these. Debates around credibility and rigor are not new to qualitative research in international development, but they intensify when new actors such as program evaluators and quantitative researchers use qualitative methods on a large scale. In this context, I look at the utility of guidelines used by these actors to ensure the quality of qualitative research. I ask whether these offer pragmatic suggestions to improve its quality, recognizing the common and hierarchized separation between the generation and interpretation of data, or conversely, whether they set impossible standards and fail to recognize the differences between and respective strengths of qualitative and quantitative research

Nature of the insulating phases in the half-filled ionic Hubbard model

We investigate the ground-state phase diagram of the one-dimensional "ionic" Hubbard model with an alternating periodic potential at half-filling by numerical diagonalization of finite systems with the Lanczos and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) methods. We identify an insulator-insulator phase transition from a band to a correlated insulator with simultaneous charge and bond-charge order. The transition point is characterized by the vanishing of the optical excitation gap while simultaneously the charge and spin gaps remain finite and equal. Indications for a possible second transition into a Mott-insulator phase are discussed.Comment: final for

'It's the other assessment that is the key': three Norwegian physical education teachers' engagement (or not) with assessment for learning

peer-reviewedThe international agenda for assessment continues to convey a growing interest in assessment for learning (AfL) as a tool to support learning and enhance teaching. Complementing this, the recent literature on assessment in physical education acknowledges the need for physical educators to integrate AfL into their teaching and assessment practice as an important part of the future development of the subject. Appreciating that physical education must be recognized as part of the larger movement culture in society and is a place to learn about movement culture, this study explores how AfL is understood and enacted by physical education teachers and the extent to which such enactment complements or challenges learning movement cultures within physical education. This study shares how three Norwegian physical education teachers used AfL to term what they were practicing with respect to assessment in physical education. We follow the interactions of the selected teachers throughout focus groups, using the empirical data as our 'dialogue partner' in reconstructing and discussing their assessment stories. We conclude that the need of embedding AfL in learning theory may well be one of the strongest challenges to enacting AfL in physical education. We acknowledge that not only are most existing theories of learning defined cognitively, but also that learning connected to physical education and activity is, to a large extent, practical and embodied, and also linked to the powerful discourses of sport and related areas such as health.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe