Two steps forward, one step back: developing the curriculum for training teachers for technical and further education England 1945-1956

This paper discusses the development of provision for the training of teachers in English further and technical education from 1945 to 1956. While these years saw little growth in this provision, they were formative in that the institutional and curricular patterns of teacher training for the diverse fields of technical and further education were developed at this time. The work of the three national centres in Bolton, London and Huddersfield, during the period of the Emergency Training Scheme (ETS) is summarised with particular reference to the influence of the Ministry of Education‟s conditions for ETS colleges and courses. With the ending of the ETS in 1951 the three centres were given permanent status as teacher training colleges which in turn brought them into association with their local universities as constituent colleges of their Area Training Organisations. The consequences of this transfer to the universities for the curriculum and assessment of technical teacher training and the 'policy dichotomy' of teacher training for secondary and technical education are examined

Case studies: A security science research methodology

As a relatively new discipline Security Science is searching for academic acceptance very often combining established hard science approaches with those of Social Science and Humanities. Methodologies need to be developed to equip the discipline to conduct more varied research. One such method is the use of the case study approach, as it allows multiple inputs from a variety of sources to build up the research into a central review, allowing conclusions and recommendations to be drawn from the data. Though relatively common in the business world for conducting reports, this has not hitherto been the position in academia The objective of this speculative paper develops a process used for research and seeks to open a debate as to the importance of case studies in the security field; the paper argues that it is an underutilised research paradigm. The merits of using the case study structure will be discussed, including the debate over positivism and constructivism, which will then lead on to a potential analytical method called Interpretative Phenomological Analysis (IPA); used predominately in ethnographical studies. The importance of using a pilot study before proceeding to the full study is also suggested to avoid costly mistakes later in the research

Case studies: A security science research methodology

As a relatively new discipline Security Science is searching for academic acceptance very often combining established hard science approaches with those of Social Science and Humanities. Methodologies need to be developed to equip the discipline to conduct more varied research. One such method is the use of the case study approach, as it allows multiple inputs from a variety of sources to build up the research into a central review, allowing conclusions and recommendations to be drawn from the data. Though relatively common in the business world for conducting reports, this has not hitherto been the position in academia. The objective of this speculative paper develops a process used for research and seeks to open a debate as to the importance of case studies in the security field; the paper argues that it is an underutilised research paradigm. The merits of using the case study structure will be discussed, including the debate over positivism and constructivism, which will then lead on to a potential analytical method called Interpretative Phenomological Analysis (IPA); used predominately in ethnographical studies. The importance of using a pilot study before proceeding to the full study is also suggested to avoid costly mistakes later in the research

Hearts and Minds, Psuedo Gangs and Counter Insurgency: Based upon Experiences from Previous Campaigns in Kenya (1952-60), Malaya (1948-60) & Rhodesia (1964-1979)

Pseudo gangs form the steely side of Hearts and Minds and were used with great effect in counter-insurgency campaigns in Kenya (1952-60) Malaya (1948-60) and Rhodesia (1964-1979). Although the use of pseudo gangs was not new to counter-insurgency tactics, with the British using a similar tactic in the Boer war (1899-1902), the use of such gangs was certainly perfected during these later campaigns producing good results. The Kenya Police Special Branch re-instigated this concept, developing its use during the ‘Emergency’. The principal concept was to ‘turn’ or co-opt insurgents through a series of inducements to change sides and join the counter insurgency as part of the Government forces but not as regular forces. Rather the co-opted kept their actual identities or their ‘assumed’ identities and return to the conflict areas as part of a ‘gang’, which would be made to appear as if it is still fighting for the insurgents. This ‘pseudo’ gang would then rejoin or flush out the opposition and either capture, gain further intelligence or eliminate them. Based on my ongoing PhD research into these three campaigns, this paper will briefly outline an alternative model that could be developed for current conflicts against insurgents

A microtonal wind controller building on Yamaha’s technology to facilitate the performance of music based on the “19-EDO” scale

We describe a project in which several collaborators adapted an existing instrument to make it capable of playing expressively in music based on the microtonal scale characterised by equal divsion of the octave into 19 tones (“19-EDO”). Our objective was not just to build this instrument, however, but also to produce a well-formed piece of music which would exploit it idiomatically, in a performance which would provide listeners with a pleasurable and satisfying musical experience. Hence, consideration of the extent and limits of the playing-techniques of the resulting instrument (a “Wind-Controller”) and of appropriate approaches to the composition of music for it were an integral part of the project from the start. Moreover, the intention was also that the piece, though grounded in the musical characteristics of the 19-EDO scale, would nevertheless have a recognisable relationship with what Dimitri Tymoczko (2010) has called the “Extended Common Practice” of the last millennium. So the article goes on to consider these matters, and to present a score of the resulting new piece, annotated with comments documenting some of the performance issues which it raises. Thus, bringing the project to fruition involved elements of composition, performance, engineering and computing, and the article describes how such an inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary collaboration was co-ordinated in a unified manner to achieve the envisaged outcome. Finally, we consider why the building of microtonal instruments is such a problematic issue in a contemporary (“high-tech”) society like ours

Object linking in repositories

This topic is covered in three sections. The first section explores some of the architectural ramifications of extending the Eichmann/Atkins lattice-based classification scheme to encompass the assets of the full life cycle of software development. A model is considered that provides explicit links between objects in addition to the edges connecting classification vertices in the standard lattice. The second section gives a description of the efforts to implement the repository architecture using a commercially available object-oriented database management system. Some of the features of this implementation are described, and some of the next steps to be taken to produce a working prototype of the repository are pointed out. In the final section, it is argued that design and instantiation of reusable components have competing criteria (design-for-reuse strives for generality, design-with-reuse strives for specificity) and that providing mechanisms for each can be complementary rather than antagonistic. In particular, it is demonstrated how program slicing techniques can be applied to customization of reusable components

Using specialist nurse mentors to boost placement capacity.

Mentors play a pivotal role in assessing and supporting nursing students. This can be rewarding but stressful. With increasing numbers of students requiring clinical placements, ward mentors are becoming overloaded. This article examines a new method of supporting senior nursing students in placement while alleviating the pressures on overworked mentors. It recommends the use of specialist nurses to support pre-registration students through a structured learning pathway. The scheme also opens up new areas for clinical allocations. This is a summary: the full paper can be accessed at nursingtimes.net

Effect of Tray Type and Tray Covering on Wicking Speed, Germination, and Spiral Rooting of Tobacco

Poor tray wicking and spiral rooting continue to be recurring concerns in tobacco float systems. Poor wicking of trays can usually be attributed to old media or media that was improperly stored for extended periods of time. Tray design may also influence speed of wicking. The clay-based pelleting materials used to coat tobacco seeds are thought to cause damage to the emerging root radical under certain conditions, leading to an increased incidence of spiral root. Practices that change the microenvironment at the top of the cell area surrounding the seed may reduce spiral rooting by altering the breakdown of the pellet. Several transplant growers in Tennessee routinely cover trays with a thin fabric such as Reemay® or Continental® fabric as they are floated and remove the fabric 14 to 21 days later in an effort to reduce spiral rooting

Protecting Critical Infrastructure with Games Technology

It is widely recognised that there is a considerable gap in the protection of the national infrastructure. Trying to identify what is in fact ‘critical’ is proving to be very difficult as threats constantly evolve. An interactive prototyping tool is useful in playing out scenarios and simulating the effect of change, however existing simulators in the critical infrastructure area are typically limited in the visual representation and interactivity. To remedy this we propose the use of games technology. Through its use, critical infrastructure scenarios can be rapidly constructed, tested, and refined. In this paper, we highlight the features of games technology and associated tools to creating immersive simulations of critical infrastructure and present our implementation