Creative writing for life design : reflexivity, metaphor and change processes through narrative

To survive and thrive on the labor market of the 21st century, individuals must construct their identities in a process of meaning making, where identity is co-constructed in the form of a narrative. In order to better understand the nature and elements involved in this career-identity change process the Interpersonal Process Recall interview (IPR) method was used to examine the results of a two-day Career Writing (Lengelle, 2014) intervention. The exploration regarding what prompted changes and how reflexivity was developed, was done by having each of two participants bring in pieces written during the course and having the interviewer ask what thoughts and feelings were remembered at the time of writing. The IPR process revealed that Career Writing enables participants to first enter into feelings, then make sense of those by finding the ‘right’ words to describe them, and experience (by thinking and feeling) that their ‘new story’ makes sense on a gut level and provides meaning. This process is made possible by an internal and an external dialogue where various I-positions (voices within the self) speak and where metaphors and analogies concretely facilitate meaning making

Testing times: careers market policies and practices in England and the Netherlands

Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has expanded, with a growing assumption that market-based goods and services ensure greater responsiveness to consumer choice and offer better and/or more innovative services for lower prices. In this article, we do not intend to give a comparison of trends in England and the Netherlands. We only examine the impact of market principles applied to career guidance provision in both countries. Findings indicate such provision for young people is on a steady decline. Lessons learned from these two nations indicate that a market for quality career services does not exist in schools and colleges. As a result, marketisation and privatisation of career services have led to an impoverished and fragmented supply of services. Greater attention by governments in career guidance policies for young people (and adults) is necessary to reduce the widening gap between ‘the haves and have nots’ in society. Failure to reduce labour market mismatch through new forms of careers dialogue is not only damaging and costly for individuals, families and employers, but for the taxpayer too

Adult education : too important to be left to chance : adult learner survey

The APPG for Adult Education commissioned the Warwick Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick (April – June 2016) to conduct research into the needs of adult learners.1 This work was managed by nine Specialist Designated Institutions (SDIs) including: City Lit, Morley College, Hillcroft College, Northern College, Ruskin College, Working Men’s College, Mary Ward Centre, Fircroft College and the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA). Each has its own identity, mission and distinctive approach, which adds to the rich diversity of adult education. Our primary focus is on adult education, and on adults returning to learn. Learning can occur in education or training institutions (offline or online), the workplace (on or off the job), the family, or cultural and especially, community settings. We use ‘learning’ to refer to all kinds of formal education and training (organised/accredited). We also include non-formal (organised unaccredited) and informal approaches (not organised, e.g. learning from colleagues or friends) provided these have a degree of adult education focus

Beyond conventional antibiotics for the future treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: two novel alternatives.

The majority of antibiotics currently used to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA) infections target bacterial cell wall synthesis or protein synthesis. Only daptomycin has a novel mode of action. Reliance on limited targets for MRSA chemotherapy, has contributed to antimicrobial resistance. Two alternative approaches to the treatment of S. aureus infection, particularly those caused by MRSA, that have alternative mechanisms of action and that address the challenge of antimicrobial resistance are cationic host defence peptides and agents that target S. aureus virulence. Cationic host defence peptides have multiple mechanisms of action and are less likely than conventional agents to select resistant mutants. They are amenable to modifications that improve their stability, effectiveness and selectivity. Some cationic defence peptides such as bactenecin, mucroporin and imcroporin have potent in vitro bactericidal activity against MRSA. Antipathogenic agents also have potential to limit the pathogenesis of S aureus. These are generally small molecules that inhibit virulence targets in S. aureus without killing the bacterium and therefore have limited capacity to promote resistance development. Potential antipathogenic targets include the sortase enzyme system, the accessory gene regulator (agr) and the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. Inhibitors of these targets have been identified and these may have potential for further development

The revolving door between hospital and community: extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in Dublin.

BACKGROUND: Escherichia coli that produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are an increasing cause of healthcare-associated infection, and community healthcare facilities may be a reservoir for important epidemic clones. AIM: To characterize retrospectively and investigate the epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli collected in a Dublin hospital, during 2009 and 2010, and to investigate the dissemination of specific clones within hospital and community healthcare facilities. METHODS: Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to determine the genetic relatedness of 100 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates. Phylogenetic groups were determined and the O25b-ST131 clone identified in the collection. The genetic data were correlated with antimicrobial susceptibility, clinical and demographic data to explore the epidemiology of specific clones. FINDINGS: Phylogenetic groups B2 (62%) and D (18%) were the most common and were associated with non-urinary isolates (P CONCLUSIONS: E. coli O25b-ST131 is largely responsible for ESBL-producing E. coli in LTCFs in Dublin. The distribution of ESBL-producing E. coli in our hospital and community highlights a \u27revolving door\u27 through which these resistant bacteria spread and disseminate

Adult education : too important to be left to chance : research report for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education (APPG) – Inquiry into Adult Education

Our primary focus is on adult education, and on adults returning to learn. Learning can occur in education or training institutions (offline or online), the workplace (on or off the job), the family, or cultural and especially, community settings. We use ‘learning’ to refer to all kinds of formal education and training (organised/accredited). We also include non-formal (organised unaccredited) and informal approaches (not organised, e.g. learning from colleagues or friends) provided these have a degree of adult education focus. The aim of the study was to scope the need, reach and areas for policy and practice development for adult education concerning disadvantaged adults. Four key research questions emerged: How can a greater priority be given to adults’ views to support a demand-led approach? What practices and models of learning best motivate non-traditional students to keep on going with their studies while others from a similar background drop-out? What do we know already about the added value, cost-effectiveness and impact of adult education? What policy development is needed to secure the future of adult education