Promoting the concept of competency maps and interprofessional assessments linked to e-portfolios to enhance the student learning experience in preparation for work based learning, employability and life long learning.

Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings (ALPS) is a collaborative Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) comprising five Higher Education Institutions (HEI) with proven reputations for excellence in learning and teaching in Health and Social Care (H&SC): the University of Bradford, the University of Huddersfield, the University of Leeds (lead site); Leeds Metropolitan University, and York St John University. There are 16 professions across the partnership from Audiology to Social Work, and a wide range of partners including NHS Yorkshire and the Humber and commercial partners who are working towards a framework of interprofessional assessment of common competences in the H&SC professions. The focus of this paper is the development of the common competency maps for communication, teamwork, and ethical practice along with a set of standardised tools to assess these across the sixteen professional groups. The aim of the ALPS CETL is to ensure that students graduating from courses in H&SC are fully equipped to perform confidently and competently at the start of their professional careers. Fundamental to the care of service users within modern Health and Social Care are key skills commonly utilised by the range of professionals involved in ALPS. Key skills and learning outcomes vary across the 16 pre-registration H&SC courses but central to the practice of all of the professional groups represented by ALPS is a high level of professional competence in communication, teamwork and ethical practice. In order to make explicit this pretext it was decided that mapping these common skills would enable students to navigate their way through the professional competencies allowing them to gain confidence and competence in practice settings. ALPS worked with a commercial partner, MyKnowledgeMap Ltd. (MKM), to facilitate this process which resulted in interactive and creative competency maps from which multiprofessional assessment tools were derived for students to validate their skills in their practice placements. ALPS has developed a shared services platform that enables these common assessment tools to be delivered onto mobile devices used by the students in their practice placements. Central to the ALPS process was the development of an e-portfolio tool to which the student could publish their completed tools and any relevent supporting documents and gain feedback from their tutor back at their University, further perpetuating the learning process and enabling the tutor to evaluate the students progress. This paper discusses how these processes championed by ALPS can be transferred and shared across professions and describes the challenges, benefits and future potential of this approach aimed at enhancing the students ability to learn and produce effective assessments in practice settings

Structure theory for the realization of finite state automata Progress report, 1 Nov. 1966 - 30 Apr. 1967

Structure theory for realization of finite state automat

The changing perception in the artefacts used in the design practice through BIM adoption

When CAD (Computer Aided Design) was generally adopted in the early 1990’s, the hand drawn process was replaced with the CAD drawing but the nature of the artefacts / deliverables and the exchanges of information between disciplines remained fundamentally the same. The deliverables remained 2D representations of 3D forms and Specifications and Bill of Quantities. However, the building industry is under great pressure to provide value for money, sustainable design and construction. This has propelled the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM is a foundational tool for a team based lean design approach. It can enable the intelligent interrogation of design; provide a quicker and cheaper design production; better co-ordination of documentation; more effective change control; less repetition of processes; a better quality constructed product; and improved communication both for the architectural practice and across the supply chain. As BIM enables a new of working methodology, it entails the change in perceiving artefacts used and deliverables produced in the design and construction stages. In other words, defining what the informational issues are, who does what and who is responsible for what and the level of detail required at each stage in design and construction is critically important to adopt and implement BIM in the construction sector. This paper presents the key findings through the action research methodology about the change in the nature of artefacts and deliverables resulting from the BIM adoption in the KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) project undertaken by the University of Salford and John McCall Architects

Transposon and deletion mutagenesis of genes involved in perchlorate reduction in Azospira suillum PS.

UnlabelledAlthough much work on the biochemistry of the key enzymes of bacterial perchlorate reduction, chlorite dismutase, and perchlorate reductase has been published, understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this metabolism has been somewhat hampered by the lack of a clear model system amenable to genetic manipulation. Using transposon mutagenesis and clean deletions, genes important for perchlorate reduction in Azospira suillum PS have been identified both inside and outside the previously described perchlorate reduction genomic island (PRI). Transposon mutagenesis identified 18 insertions in 11 genes that completely abrogate growth via reduction of perchlorate but have no phenotype during denitrification. Of the mutants deficient in perchlorate reduction, 14 had insertions that were mapped to eight different genes within the PRI, highlighting its importance in this metabolism. To further explore the role of these genes, we also developed systems for constructing unmarked deletions and for complementing these deletions. Using these tools, every core gene in the PRI was systematically deleted; 8 of the 17 genes conserved in the PRI are essential for perchlorate respiration, including 3 genes that comprise a unique histidine kinase system. Interestingly, the other 9 genes in the PRI are not essential for perchlorate reduction and may thus have unknown functions during this metabolism. We present a model detailing our current understanding of perchlorate reduction that incorporates new concepts about this metabolism.ImportanceAlthough perchlorate is generated naturally in the environment, groundwater contamination is largely a result of industrial activity. Bacteria capable of respiring perchlorate and remediating contaminated water have been isolated, but relatively little is known about the biochemistry and genetics of this process. Here we used two complementary approaches to identify genes involved in perchlorate reduction. Most of these genes are located on a genomic island, which is potentially capable of moving between organisms. Some of the genes identified are known to be directly involved in the metabolism of perchlorate, but other new genes likely regulate the metabolism in response to environmental signals. This work has uncovered new questions about the regulation, energetics, and evolution of perchlorate reduction but also presents the tools to address them

Structure and evolution of chlorate reduction composite transposons.

UnlabelledThe genes for chlorate reduction in six bacterial strains were analyzed in order to gain insight into the metabolism. A newly isolated chlorate-reducing bacterium (Shewanella algae ACDC) and three previously isolated strains (Ideonella dechloratans, Pseudomonas sp. strain PK, and Dechloromarinus chlorophilus NSS) were genome sequenced and compared to published sequences (Alicycliphilus denitrificans BC plasmid pALIDE01 and Pseudomonas chloritidismutans AW-1). De novo assembly of genomes failed to join regions adjacent to genes involved in chlorate reduction, suggesting the presence of repeat regions. Using a bioinformatics approach and finishing PCRs to connect fragmented contigs, we discovered that chlorate reduction genes are flanked by insertion sequences, forming composite transposons in all four newly sequenced strains. These insertion sequences delineate regions with the potential to move horizontally and define a set of genes that may be important for chlorate reduction. In addition to core metabolic components, we have highlighted several such genes through comparative analysis and visualization. Phylogenetic analysis places chlorate reductase within a functionally diverse clade of type II dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reductases, part of a larger family of enzymes with reactivity toward chlorate. Nucleotide-level forensics of regions surrounding chlorite dismutase (cld), as well as its phylogenetic clustering in a betaproteobacterial Cld clade, indicate that cld has been mobilized at least once from a perchlorate reducer to build chlorate respiration.ImportanceGenome sequencing has identified, for the first time, chlorate reduction composite transposons. These transposons are constructed with flanking insertion sequences that differ in type and orientation between organisms, indicating that this mobile element has formed multiple times and is important for dissemination. Apart from core metabolic enzymes, very little is known about the genetic factors involved in chlorate reduction. Comparative analysis has identified several genes that may also be important, but the relative absence of accessory genes suggests that this mobile metabolism relies on host systems for electron transport, regulation, and cofactor synthesis. Phylogenetic analysis of Cld and ClrA provides support for the hypothesis that chlorate reduction was built multiple times from type II dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reductases and cld. In at least one case, cld has been coopted from a perchlorate reduction island for this purpose. This work is a significant step toward understanding the genetics and evolution of chlorate reduction

The Powerful Antitakeover Force of Staggered Boards: Theory, Evidence and Policy

Staggered boards, which a majority of public companies now have, provide a powerful antitakeover defense, stronger than is commonly recognized. They provide antitakeover protection both by (i) forcing any hostile bidder, no matter when it emerges, to wait at least one year to gain control of the board and (ii) requiring such a bidder to win two elections far apart in time rather than a one-time referendum on its offer. Using a new data set of hostile bids in the five-year period 1996-2000, we find that not a single hostile bid won a ballot box victory against an 'effective' staggered board (ESB). We also find that an ESB nearly doubled the odds of remaining independent for an average target in our data set, from 34% to 61%, halved the odds that a first bidder would be successful, from 34% to 14%, and reduced the odds of a sale to a white knight, from 32% to 25%. Furthermore, we find that the shareholders of targets that remained independent were made worse off compared with accepting the bid and that ESBs did not provide sufficient countervailing benefits in terms of increased premiums to offset the costs of remaining independent. Overall, we estimate that, in the period studied, ESBs reduced the returns of shareholders of hostile bid targets on the order of 8-10%. Finally, we show that most staggered boards were adopted before the developments in takeover doctrine that made ESBs such a potent defense.

The early history of Tuolumne County, California

The youth of America should be acquainted with the history, the development and the ideals of our nation. They should know under what conditions our nation had its birth; what problems have beset it; and how they have been solved. The should know something of our present problems, and such knowledge can be built only upon an understanding of the past. They should know the facts of our nation\u27s history, of which they should be proud. Not only is this true of our nation, but it is as true of our state and our immediate locality. It has been my purpose to gather together some of the interesting facts of Tuolumne County\u27s history and present then in a form suitable for the use of high school pupils. I trust that all who read these pages will be inspired with an appreciation of and a greater reverence for the forefathers of Tuolumne County