Pupil participation in Scottish schools: how far have we come?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989), which applies to all children under the age of 18, established the overarching principles guiding pupil participation. In most European states, signatories to the Convention have enacted policies to promote the voice of the child or young person in decisions that affect them. In education systems strategies to enhance the pupil participation are an increasing feature of deliberation on education for citizenship, curriculum flexibility, pedagogical approaches and assessment for learning. Despite the positive policy context and professional commitment to principles of inclusion, translating policy intentions so that the spirit of the legislation is played out in the day-to-day experiences of pupils is a constant challenge. This article reports on research that examines how pupil participation is understood and enacted in Scottish schools. It considers how the over-laying of diverse policies presents mixed messages to practitioners

National Transonic Facility status

The National Transonic Facility (NTF) was operational in a combined checkout and test mode for about 3 years. During this time there were many challenges associated with movement of mechanical components, operation of instrumentation systems, and drying of insulation in the cryogenic environment. Most of these challenges were met to date along with completion of a basic flow calibration and aerodynamic tests of a number of configurations. Some of the major challenges resulting from cryogenic environment are reviewed with regard to hardware systems and data quality. Reynolds number effects on several configurations are also discussed

Low-Value &(and) Predictably Small: When Should Class-Arbitration Waivers be Invalidated as Unconscionable

In Muhammad v. County Bank of Rehoboth Beach, the New Jersey Supreme Court chose the interests of consumers over liberally construed Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) policies in deciding that a no class-arbitration provision contained within a payday loan contract was unconscionable. The court used state law contract principles to invalidate the clause, finding that the clause violated several state public policies. Particularly important to the court was the fact that individual claims for damages would be nominal, and thus individual vindication of statutory rights would prove too costly to be practical. In making this distinction, the court suggested a preference for protecting individuals who have entered into contracts of adhesion with little or no chance of protecting themselves outside of the availability of the class mechanism. The court\u27s decision may serve as a guidepost for other jurisdictions attempting to shape the law in the undefined arena of class-arbitration waivers. The court signals that freedom to contract under the FAA is important, but not at the expense of protecting individual claimants and the statutory rights of consumers

Mountaineers in Gray:The Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.

Rebels of east Tennessee Confederates were a minority in the region Professor John D. Fowler of Kennesaw State University has written an exemplary regimental history. Fowler has provided the broader context that is absolutely essential to the understanding of this military group,...

Never Surrender: Confederate Memory and Conservatism in the South Carolina Upcountry

Preserving values The Southern Highlands and the organic society Professor Scott Poole of the University of Charleston has written an important study of the changes in political perspective that took place among white men in upper South Carolina after the Civil War. While schola...

Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War

Division in Tennessee Unionists and Confederates in Civil War Era Knoxville Abraham Lincoln and many later scholars were convinced that East Tennessee was a center of Union support during the Civil War. Robert Tracy McKenzie challenges this received wisdom in his nuanced study o...

Environmental measurements in swine confinement housing

In this study, air quality measurements were made in swine production confinement facilities to monitor the internal environment. Two buildings were monitored throughout most of this study. The two buildings were identical except for the use of a pit ventilation system in one of the buildings (Bam B). The main focus of the monitoring system used in this study consisted of electrochemical gas sensors to continuously measure gas concentration levels (ppm) at human level (2 m). The gases measured were Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide, and Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide, which are the major gases of concern. Other measurements included that of environmental conditions, such as temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation, and other key factors affecting gas levels, including monitoring the building\u27s ventilation system. Data were averaged over each 30-minute period and recorded by a data logger. These data were then transmitted by the use of a cellular communication/modem system to the department at the university, which was located more than 300 miles away from the research site. Results obtained from this study found the major manure gases, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, to be consistently lower in the pit ventilated building (Bam B) when compared to the non-pit ventilated building (Bam A). Gas levels were monitored over two successive winters, when ventilation levels were at their lowest due to environmental conditions. Significant differences (p \u3c 0.05) were found between gas levels taken in the two buildings and levels were found to change, most of the time, inversely proportional to that of temperature. Gas levels were found to be directly affected by ventilation levels during cold weather, as found when monitoring the ventilation operating frequency. As ventilation levels were decreased in response to cold weather, gas levels increased due to accumulations of levels within the closed unit and vice/versa. Measurements were also taken at the pit exhaust and inside the pit ventilated Bam B. As expected, levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were found to be significantly higher (p \u3c 0.05) at the pit exhaust area when compared to levels taken inside. These measurements were taken during the warm summer months, when ventilation rates were high; and gas levels were found to be directly proportional to temperature. Measurements were also taken at animal level to see if there were differences in gas concentrations between animal and human (2 m) level. Slight differences were found between the two areas of measurement, but reliable conclusions cannot be made about why differences occurred between high and low measurements because of the inconsistent data collected. Overall, the environments within the swine confinement units were found to be very cyclical and dependent upon environmental conditions and changes in ventilation. The use of a pit ventilation system was found to be beneficial in the control of manure gases, especially during periods of cold weather, when ventilation rates were low

Pupil participation in Scottish schools: final report

This research was commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) to evaluate the nature of pupil participation in primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The specific objectives of the research were: <p>· To describe what school staff and pupils understand by the term ‘pupil participation’.</p> <p>· To describe the range and usage of pupil participation mechanisms employed in schools.</p> <p>· To describe how school staff respect and respond to pupils’ views and ideas, and those of the wider community.</p> <p>· To identify the characteristics of schools and classrooms that facilitate effective pupil participation.</p> <p>· To identify possible barriers to the development of pupil participation in schools and to make suggestions about how these can be overcome.</p> <p>· To capture examples of effective practice of pupil participation.</p> <p>· To make suggestions about how pupil participation can help support the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence.</p&gt

Coleman\u27s Male Choir

Coleman\u27s Male Choir, edited by Robert H. Coleman and B. B. McKinney, published by Robert H. Coleman. Shape-note hymnal in 7 shape notation published as a male chior book for unaccompanied male voices. Includes index. Collection contains two copies, both missing title page. Copy 2 is also missing songs 1-12. Both copies signed by J.D. Huggins, Jr.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/shape-note-collection/1015/thumbnail.jp