1,730 research outputs found

    An Evaluation of the Teaching and Learning of Reflective Practice at the Centre for Textile Conservation, University of Glasgow

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    The value of reflective practice in both professional education and lifelong learning is well established. In conservation the concept is fundamental to our ability to make informed decisions: to develop the cognitive and affective skills necessary to implement appropriate conservation strategies confidently, competently and ethically in wide ranging and dynamic contexts. Beyond the broad understanding of reflective practice as a process of learning through and from experience in order to gain new insights, it can have a considerable diversity of meanings. Its complexity can make it intimidating and, for conservation students, it has been found to be a challenging task. Through an evaluation of the learning, teaching and assessment of reflective practice at the Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History (CTCTAH), University of Glasgow (UoG), this paper aims to peel back the layers of complexity to consider why it is challenging for students and how learning can be developed and assessed effectively

    The influence of the school on the decision to participate in learning post 16

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    The paper reports on work in progress for a Department for Education and Skills (DfES) funded research project on “The Influence of the School in the Decision to Participate in Learning Post-16”. The primary aim of the project is to identify the nature and influence of school-based factors in the choices of young people about their post-16 education, training and career pathways. Twenty-four schools were selected to represent schools with rising attainment. The sampling frame included schools both with and without sixth forms, in nine Metropolitan, Urban Unitary, and Shire County Local Education Authorities (LEAs)in Engaland. A profile of schools whose ‘catchment’ areas represented different social and economic status was created using data on the number of pupils receiving free schools meals. Schools with and schools without rising levels of participation post-16 were also included in the sample. Pupils from Year 11 and Year 10 were interviewed in single sex focus groups providing a total of 48 pupils in each school. Each pupil interviewed completed a questionnaire. Year 11 pupils will also take part in follow up interviews planned for Autumn 2003 when they have left compulsory education. Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with head teachers, senior careers teachers and Year 11 tutors, LEA and local Connexions service representatives. The study also analysed secondary data relating to each school to build a profile for the schools in terms of its social and economic context, ethos and organisation. The secondary data included; inspection reports, DfeS and LEA published data for each school as well as school produced promotional material. The study identified the attitudes and preferences of the pupils, their teachers and advisors towards post-16 education and training. The factors that influenced the pupils’, the teachers’ and advisors’ attitudes and preferences were identified and compared to those factors considered in previous research. The DfES commissioned the study to look specifically at the influence of the school rather than factors beyond the school, and aimed at contributing an understanding of the impact of schooling, thereby informing the policy development for widening participation post-16. In addition to the investigation of school based factors that influence the choices young people make about post- 16 learning the study had two other aims: To identify implications for the development of careers education and guidance and decision making awareness amongst pupils in schools. To enhance further the modelling of pupil decision-making in education and training markets, and in the labour markets. This paper considers some of the preliminary findings of the research, carried out in 2003

    Vajra Sky Over Tibet

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    This is a review of Vajra Sky Over Tibet (2006)

    "Working With Friends While Cavorting With The Enemy": The Paradox of Partnership.

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    We all know what makes a good partnership, don’t we? Well, do we? Partnership and collaborative working is common in universities and is encouraged by governments and funding agencies seeking to gain the greatest impact from investment. Universities are powerful agents of change and synergistic partnerships for research and course development are seen as a way of increasing the competitiveness of economies. However, as the quotation in the title of this lecture suggests, partnership work often brings difficulties as well as benefits (Weaver et al, 1987). The seeds of the view, in countries such as the UK, the USA and Australia, that universities should increasingly work in partnership, can be traced back to 1980s political ideas that private sector businesses should show public sector organisations the way to run things. This was a centralised and controlling definition of partnership, in which one partner has the right answers which the other must adopt. The approach to partnerships involving universities has developed over time into one which is more democratic and participatory, and which embeds a social-ethical inflection. It is, therefore, much more common today to see partnerships of interested and skilled people from a range of organisations which are working together to tackle major societal problems. Not all partners will contribute equally, but they will all participate, and the decision-making process will be changing constantly to allow the partners to take account of each other. I will use two case studies from my research to illustrate the process of partnership, the benefits that can accrue and how problems can be anticipated and overcome. The first case study will examine partnerships between universities, further education colleges and businesses developed to design and deliver undergraduate programmes to encourage widening participation and address labour market needs in the UK. The second is an international research partnership developed to address the skills shortages in demography and population science in the Southern African Development Community and to improve the capacity of the region to tackle major societal problems such as population growth, poverty and food insecurity. My research has shown that, to be successful, partnerships must bring increased benefits to all participants. However, when people work together they will also encounter problems which can be disempowering unless addressed. This is the paradox of partnership

    Site-directed mutagenesis studies of the GnRH and TRH receptors of the pituitary gland

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    Mammalian reproduction is driven by gonadotrophin -releasing hormone (GnRH) - a decapeptide released from hypothalamic neurones into the pituitary portal blood vessels. The aim of this thesis was to study structure- function relationships of the Gprotein coupled GnRH receptor (GnRH -R), and has focused on the identification of key amino acids involved in GnRH ligand- receptor interactions as well as the role of putative disulphide bridge formation within the receptor itself. In addition, the role of disulphide bridge formation has also been explored in another G- protein coupled receptor (GPCR), the thyrotrophin- releasing hormone receptor (TRH -R). Comparative sequence analysis and computer molecular modelling approaches were used to target potentially important amino acids for site -directed mutagenesis study. Wild -type and receptor mutants were then expressed in mammalian cells, and receptor binding, expression, and activational properties compared between constructs.The majority of GPCRs contain two conserved extracellular Cys residues which have been postulated to form a covalently linked disulphide bridge structure. In the GnRH -R, these Cys residues are positioned at Cys 114 and Cys 195 in the first and second extracellular loops respectively. In addition, the GnRH -R contains two non - conserved Cys residues at Cys 14 in the amino terminus and Cys 199 in the second extracellular loop. Substitution of these Cys residues to serine resulted in a loss of ligand binding. A comparative study in the TRH -R, substituting the conserved extracellular Cys residues, Cys98 and Cys 179, to either serine or alanine, confirmed these findings. This data suggests that extracellular Cys residues, through putative disulphide bridge formation, may maintain the tertiary extracellular structure of the receptor and therefore facilitate ligand- receptor binding. Further studies, using chemical modifying reagents, have indicated that Cys residues with free sulfhydryl groups may also be important in TRH-R binding.The GnRH -R despite its structural homology to other GPCRs exhibits some unique features. These differences include the interchange of a highly conserved Asp and Asn residue in the transmembrane (TM) domains. Individual substitutions of Asn87 (in TM II) to Asp87 and Asp318 (in TM VII) to Asn318, revealed that Asn87 is important for GnRH agonist and antagonist binding whereas Asp318 is important for receptor activation. To investigate if the function as well as the position of these amino acids were transposed, a double mutation substituting both residues simultaneously was generated. However, this mutant receptor showed only a small degree of GnRH agonist binding, indicating that the functional role of these specific residues is not interchangeable.Amongst GPCRs, the GnRH -R is particularly suitable for three dimensional molecular modelling and computer aided simulations because of its short extracellular and intracellular domains. Using this approach, it has been possible to predict putative amino acids involved in ligand- receptor interactions. During this study, GnRH molecular models have evolved from a template predicted by the Baldwin model to a series of energy minimised computer generated three dimensional structures. To simulate GnRH ligand- receptor interactions, a model of the native GnRH peptide has also been constructed. The initial Baldwin model highlighted a series of TM located polar amino acids in TM II, TM III, TM IV and TM VII of the GnRH -R. Both the position and nature of these amino acids rendered them capable of interacting with the GnRH ligand. Mutations at these sites identified two residues, His305 located at the TM VII/extracellular interface and Asn314 in TM VII, that were potentially important for GnRH -R binding.Further modelling studies, using GnRH ligand- receptor computer simulations, predicted that amino acids Phe312 in TM VII and Leu83 in TM II may interact with Trp3 and Leu7 in the GnRH ligand respectively. Substituting these amino acids to residues of either similar, different or neutral hydropathicity, showed that a hydrophobic amino acid was essential for GnRH -R binding at position 312 and for receptor activation at residue 83. Altogether, 15 sites within the GnRH -R have been experimentally modified and the information derived from site -directed mutagenesis studies has been utilised to redefine the structure of the molecular models.In conclusion, the formation of a putative disulphide bond between extracellular cysteine residues in both the GnRH -R and TRH -R is important in maintaining tertiary protein structure. In addition, amino acids located in TM II and TM VII are essential for binding interactions between GnRH and its receptor. Analysis of structure -function relationships, particularly using this dual biochemical and molecular modelling approach, will greatly facilitate rational drug design. In the light of the enormous clinical applications of GnRH and its analogues, information regarding the mechanisms of hormone -receptor interactions will be of benefit in the development of new and novel drugs for clinical use in reproductive medicine

    Holonomy and vortex structures in quantum hydrodynamics

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    In this paper we consider a new geometric approach to Madelung's quantum hydrodynamics (QHD) based on the theory of gauge connections. Unlike previous approaches, our treatment comprises a constant curvature thereby endowing QHD with intrinsic non-zero holonomy. In the hydrodynamic context, this leads to a fluid velocity which no longer is constrained to be irrotational and allows instead for vortex filaments solutions. After exploiting the Rasetti-Regge method to couple the Schr\"odinger equation to vortex filament dynamics, the latter is then considered as a source of geometric phase in the context of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics. Similarly, we consider the Pauli equation for the motion of spin particles in electromagnetic fields and we exploit its underlying hydrodynamic picture to include vortex dynamics.Comment: 34 pages, no figures. To appear in Math. Sci. Res. Inst. Pub

    Patch-Clamp Study of Single Ryanodine Receptor Channels in the Outer Nuclear Membrane

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    Poster presentationModulation of cytoplasmic free calcium (Ca2+) concentration is a universal signaling pathway that regulates numerous cellular processes. Ubiquitous intracellular Ca2+ release channels – inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R) and ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels – localized in the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) play a central role in this pathway in all animal cells. Electrophysiological study of the single-channel conductance and gating properties of these Ca2+ release channels with conventional patch-clamp approach has been hindered by their intracellular localization. To overcome this limitation, patch-clamp electrophysiology has been applied on isolated nuclei where these Ca2+ release channels are found abundantly in the outer nuclear envelope. We have successfully uterlized this nuclear membrane electrophysiology to study the gating properties of single InsP3R channels in several cellular systems. Whereas, all the current single channel data, including channel conductance, permeation properties, and ligand regulation, of the RyR channels were done exclusively by reconstituting the channels into artificial planar lipid bilayers. To gain insights into the single channel properties of the RyR in its native membrane milieu, we applied nuclear membrane electrophysiological study on isolated nuclei from stable-inducible mouse RyR2 HEK-293 cells. Using potassium as charge carrier, caffeine activated single channel current with conductance of 750 pS in isolated nuclei. This caffeine activated current showed a linear current/voltage relationship under symmetrical ionic conditions and was sensitive to non-specific RyR inhibitor, ruthenium red. Furthermore, the single RyR channels recorded from the outer nuclear membrane exhibited bi-phasic Ca2+ regulation. In conclusion, we demonstrated, for the first time, that single RyR channels recordings from isolated nuclei and our results suggested that the nuclear membrane electrophysiology could be a sensitive and robust technique to study the gating properties of intracellular channels, including the InsP3R and RyR.published_or_final_versio
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