Student performance standards and Queensland teacher education

This paper considers the implementation of Student Performance Standards (SPS) in Queensland, Australia, and their implications for teacher education. Student testing procedures in various Australian states and territories are described. A theoretical framework, grounded in Australian educational history, is elaborated for understanding the political ramifications of SPS. S. J. Ball's explication of market, management and, particularly, curriculum controls over public education is applied to show how explicit emphasis on student performance is linked to wider forces promoting an instrumentalist and managerialist view of schooling. The emergence of statewide testing is seen as: a quality control measure designed to ensure that schools are producing human resources tailored to the needs of a post-fordist economy; an attempt to shape the quality, character, and content of classroom practice; and a potential step toward monitoring the performance of teachers and schools, making comparisons among them, and linking these comparisons to performance-related pay awards. The paper concludes that SPS constitutes a not entirely desirable response to a series of complex educational and political changes within and outside Australia. SPS represents in microcosm what is a broader challenge to the celebration of diversity and the recognition of heterogeneity that ought to underpin any teacher education program. (Contains 16 references.

Widening and increasing post-16 mathematics participation: pathways, pedagogies and politics

This paper explores the potential impact of a national pilot initiative in England aimed at increasing and widening participation in advanced mathematical study through the creation of a new qualification for 16 to 18 year-olds. This proposed qualification pathway - Use of Mathematics - sits in parallel with long-established, traditional advanced level qualifications; what we call ‘traditional Mathematics’ herein. Traditional Mathematics is typically required for entry to mathematically demanding undergraduate programmes. The structure, pedagogy and assessment of Use of Mathematics is designed to better prepare students in the application of mathematics and its development has surfaced some of the tensions between academic/pure and vocational/applied mathematics. Here we explore what Use of Mathematics offers but we also consider some of the objections to its introduction in order to explore aspects of the knowledge-politics of mathematics education. Our evaluation of this curriculum innovation raises important issues for the mathematics education community as countries seek to increase the numbers of people that are well-prepared to apply mathematics in science and technology-based higher education courses and work places

The Spatial Variation of Asian Dust and Marine Aerosol Contributions to Glaciochemical Signals in Central Asia

Short-term (6 months to 17 years) glaciochemical records have been collected from several glacier basins in the mountains of central Asia. The spatial distribution of snow chemistry in central Asia is controlled by the influx of dust from the large expanse of arid and semiarid regions in central Asia. Glaciers in the Northern and Western Tibetan Plateau show elevated concentrations and elevated annual fluxes of calcium, sodium, chloride, sulphate and nitrate due to the influx of desert dust from nearby arid and semi-arid regions. Glaciers in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau show lower concentrations and lower annual fluxes of major ions due to longer transport distances of dust from the arid and semi-arid regions of Western China. Snow from the Karakoram and Western Himalaya show ion concentrations similar to those in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, but much higher annual fluxes suggesting that much of the aerosol and moisture transported with the westerly jet stream is removed as it ascends the Southwest margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Snow from the Southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas shows very low concentrations and very low annual fluxes of major ions, indicating that this region is relatively free from the chemical influence of Asian dust. The glaciochemical data suggest that glaciers which are removed from large source areas of mineral aerosol, such as those in the Himalaya, the Karakoram, and the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, are the ones most likely to contain longer-term glaciochemical records which detail annual to decadal variation in the strength of the Asian monsoon and long-range transport of Asian dust

A Review of Central Asian Glaciochemical Data

The glaciers of central Asia provide suitable locations from which to recover continuous, high-resolution glaciochemical records on a continental scale. Although the glaciochemical investigations undertaken to date in central Asia are few in number and limited in terms of spatial coverage and length of record, some preliminary observations can be made concerning regional and seasonal trends in snow chemistry in this region. The sodium chloride ratio for most snow samples collected in central Asia approaches the ratio found in sea water (0.86 in μeq kg-1), reflecting a marine source for these constituents. Sodium and chloride concentrations are, on average, 3-10 times higher in the Himalayas than in the Karakoram, demonstrating the greater influence of monsoonal sources of moisture in the Himalayas. Very high sodium concentrations from Khel Khod Glacier probably reflect a local crustal source from surrounding ice-free areas. Low nitrate concentrations were found in snow collected from the southern margin of the Himalayas and high concentrations in snow deposited on the north margin of the Himalayas. This strong regional trend in the spatial distribution of nitrate suggests the influx of continental aerosols, rich in nitrate, originating from the arid regions of central Asia. High calcium concentrations measured in snow from Mount Everest and the north-west corner of China are also indicative of dust derived from the arid regions of central Asia. Very high sulfate concentrations found in snow from the Tien Shan and the Bogda Shan most likely reflect local anthropogenic sources. The altitude effect on isotopic composition is not apparent from snow samples collected in central Asia. Understanding the processes which control the chemical content of snow, the local-to-regional scale complexities, and the seasonal variability are fundamental steps necessary to assess the potential for recovering representative long-term glaciochemical records from central Asia

Maximum Temperature Trends in the Himalaya and Its Vicinity: An Analysis Based on Temperature Records from Nepal for the Period 1971-94

Analyses of maximum temperature data from 49 stations in Nepal for the period 1971-94 reveal warming trends after 1977 ranging from 0.06° to 0.12°C yr1 in most of the Middle Mountain and Himalayan regions, while the Siwalik and Terai (southern plains) regions show warming trends less than 0.03°C yr1. The subset of records (14 stations) extending back to the early 1960s suggests that the recent warming trends were preceded by similar widespread cooling trends. Distributions of seasonal and annual temperature trends show high rates of warming in the high-elevation regions of the country (Middle Mountains and Himalaya), while low warming or even cooling trends were found in the southern regions. This is attributed to the sensitivity of mountainous regions to climate changes. The seasonal temperature trends and spatial distribution of temperature trends also highlight the influence of monsoon circulation.The Kathmandu record, the longest in Nepal (1921-94), shows features similar to temperature trends in the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting links between regional trends and global scale phenomena. However, the magnitudes of trends are much enhanced in the Kathmandu as well as in the all-Nepal records. The authors\u27 analyses suggest that contributions of urbanization and local land use/cover changes to the all-Nepal record are minimal and that the all-Nepal record provides an accurate record of temperature variations across the entire region

Regional Distribution of Monsoon and Desert Dust Signals Recorded in Asian Glaciers

Short‐term (6 months to 17 years) glaciochemical records have been collected from glacier basins throughout the mountains of central Asia. The spatial distribution of snow chemistry in central Asia is controlled predominantly by the influx of dust from the arid and semi‐arid regions in central Asia. The glaciochemical data suggests that glaciers which are removed from large source areas of mineral aerosol, such as those in the Himalaya, the Karakoram, and the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, are the ones most likely to contain longer‐term glaciochemical records which detail annual to decadal variation in the strength of the Asian monsoon and long‐range transport of Asian dust

Monsoon and Dust Signals Recorded in Dasuopu Glacier, Tibetan Plateau

During summer 1997, a 15m firn core was recovered from Dasuopu glacier (28°23\u27N, 85° 44\u27 E; 7000 m a.s.l.) on the northwest margin of Xixabangma Feng in the central Himalaya. Oxygen isotope values and concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+, SO42- and NO3- were measured over the 10 years of snow accumulation captured in the firn core. The seasonal variations of δ18O values and major-ion concentrations in the Dasuopu core indicated that summer monsoon and dust signals are clearly recorded in Dasuopu glacier. Annual variations in the δ18O values are controlled by the amount effect, with more negative (i.e. lighter) δ18O values representing summer monsoon precipitation characteristic of tropical regions. Higher concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO42- reflect the influx of mineral aerosols from the vast arid and semi-arid desert regions to the north and west during the spring dust-storm period. High spring concentrations of NH4+ and NO3- appear to reflect changes in regional biogenic-source strength

A Longitudinal Perspective on User Uptake of an Electronic Personal Health Record for Diabetes, With Respect To Patient Demographics

INTRODUCTION: The growing prevalence of diabetes has increased the need for scalable technologies to improve outcomes. My Diabetes My Way (MDMW) is an electronic personal health record (ePHR) available to all people with diabetes in Scotland since 2010, associated with improved clinical outcomes among users. MDMW pulls data from a national clinician-facing informatics platform and provides self-management and educational information. This study aims to describe MDMW user demographics through time with respect to the national diabetes population, with a view to addressing potential health inequalities. METHODS: Aggregate data were obtained retrospectively from the MDMW database and annual Scottish Diabetes Survey (SDS) from 2010 to 2020. Variables included diabetes type, sex, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and glycemic control. Prevalence of MDMW uptake was calculated using corresponding SDS data as denominators. Comparisons between years and demographic sub-groups were made using Chi- Squared tests. RESULTS: Overall uptake of MDMW has steadily increased since implementation. By 2020, of all people with T1D or T2D in Scotland, 13% were fully enrolled to MDMW (39,881/312,326). There was proportionately greater numbers of users in younger, more affluent demographic groups (with a clear social gradient) with better glycemic control. As uptake has increased through time, so too has the observed gaps between different demographic sub-groups. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of MDMW users is encouraging, but remains a minority of people with diabetes in Scotland. There is a risk that innovations like MDMW can widen health inequalities and it is incumbent upon healthcare providers to identify strategies to prevent this