Teachers’ Accounts of Developing Mathematical Resilience in the Classroom

This paper reports on a professional development programme in mathematical resilience, and the experiences of the teachers taking part. The programme introduced the teachers to the construct of mathematical resilience, and explained how it was relevant and valuable to the teaching and learning of mathematics. The participating teachers were encouraged to apply the principles of mathematical resilience, and to reflect on their actions through conducting a small-scale action research project in their own school environment. What follows in this paper are examples of how mathematical resilience was deployed in these schools, alongside some examples of the changes reported by the teachers in their own practice and that of their students

Applying the Extended Mathews stability graph to stress relaxation, site specific effects and narrow vein stoping

The original Mathews method for predicting stope stability has been extended and now contains 483 open stoping and caving case histories over a wide range of geotechnical conditions and stope dimensions. The mathematical framework upon which the Extended Mathews stability graph is based and the large database has facilitated examination of a number of outstanding issues surrounding the application of empirical stability graphs. This paper summarises how the framework of the Extended Mathews stability graph framework has been applied to quantify the effect of stress relaxation upon excavation stability, examine site-specifi c effects and highlight the poor correlation between stability graph parameters for narrow stope stability. Back-analysis of case studies where stope surfaces were relaxed has enabled the effect of stress relaxation upon excavation stability to be quantified and bounded. Detailed statistical analyses have demonstrated that a reliable stable-failure boundary requires at least 150 case histories, of which a minimum of 10% should be unstable stope surfaces. Marginal site-specifi c effects were observed for the operating conditions captured within the database. Apparent site-specifi c effects noted in previous literature were found to be attributable to operating conditions inadequately represented in the database. Statistical analysis of overbreak from 115 narrow-vein case studies has demonstrated that operating conditions in narrow-vein mines differ suffi ciently to warrant changes in the model framework to account for undercutting of stope walls and drill and blast parameters. Backfi ll abutments were found to behave the same as solid rock abutments

Navigating mathematics : making sense of purpose and activity in contemporary English mathematics education

Mathematics education serves a number of purposes within contemporary English society. Many of these concern the learning of knowledge and skills which an individual may need in their everyday life or in a future occupation. Other purposes are predicated instead on the merit afforded to mathematics by society, such that mathematics is used as a benchmark of intelligence or as a gatekeeper to future opportunities in education or employment. This thesis describes a research project which explores how a variety of learners recognise, navigate and make sense of this range of intents, and how the learners’ subsequent understanding informs both their decisions and their personal sense of mathematical purpose. It uses a critical grounded theory methodology to research and report the experiences of four groups of learners: adults returning to the formal study of mathematics after leaving school; undergraduates choosing to leave mathematics behind after completing their degrees; and GCSE students on and beneath the borderline of a watershed C grade. The results first support specific observations concerning each group then go on to reveal a number of resonances and commonalities which establish how purpose is inferred by, and how purpose influences, learners within contemporary mathematics education. Together the findings demonstrate that the place of mathematics as cultural capital plays a dominant role in steering mathematical trajectories. They go on to illustrate how this role and others impact on mathematical identities, and describe how many learners respond defensively to the current layering of discourses surrounding the purposes of mathematics education. In particular this thesis observes the deployment of minimisation and ego defence strategies, including partitioning mathematical learning, deferring its import and critiquing systems within mathematics education, each of which is advantaged by certain aspects of prevailing practice. In conclusion this thesis considers critically how these findings might inform both contemporary debates in mathematics education and current trends in pedagogy. It argues in turn for renewed attention regarding how the purposes of mathematics education are considered, balanced and communicated

Improving the Quality and Efficiency of the Medicare Program Through Coverage Policy

Outlines Medicare coverage and payment policy on new technologies and recommends changes that could help achieve the Triple Aim goals of enhancing the individual experience of care, improving population health, and reducing per capita costs of care

The morphology and exine ornamentation of fresh pollen from four dipterocarp species in Sabah

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Medical morbidities in people following hip and knee arthroplasty: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Background: Total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty are common orthopaedic procedures most frequently for older people. Whilst it is known that this older population frequently present with medical morbidities, no studies have previously documented the prevalence of such morbidities in people who have undergone THA or TKA. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and what factors are in association with the presentation of medical morbidities in these populations. Methods: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a population-based observational study, was assessed. In total 419 people who had undergone a THA or TKA were assessed to determine the prevalence of recorded morbidities within 12 months post-arthroplasty. All medical morbidities were then assessed using univariate and then multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify factors influencing the presentation of specific morbidities at 12 months following THA or TKA. Results: The most common medical morbidities included: osteoporosis (16%), mild to moderate depression (8%), cancer (8%), diabetes (6%), history of stroke or TIA (6%) and asthma (5%). The medical morbidities demonstrated are similar between those who undergo THA and TKA. Only gender and ethnic origin were identified as statistically significant predictors of medical morbidities in these populations. Gender was a predictor of history of heart failure, whilst ethnic origin significantly predicted depression. Conclusions: People who undergo THA or TKA may present with a variety of medical morbidities. Accordingly consideration should be made on how to encourage the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices for this population

A Local Ecosystem Assessment of the Potential for Net Negative Heavy-Duty Truck Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Biomethane Upcycling

Decarbonising heavy-duty trucks is challenging due to high journey power and energy requirements. With a growing fleet of commercial vehicles in the UK, biomethane can provide significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil diesel. Methane is a potent GHG with a global warming potential (GWP) of 23–36, therefore reducing levels in the atmosphere can have a significant impact on climate change. There are a range of anthropogenic sources of methane that could be collected and processed to provide sustainable energy (upcycled), e.g., agricultural waste and the waste water system. This paper explores the impact of using upcycled methane in transport in South East England, evaluating local sources of anthropogenic methane and the environmental and economic impact of its use for a heavy-duty truck compared to fossil and battery electric alternatives. Analysis concludes that the use of upcycled methane in transport can provide significant reductions in lifecycle GHG emissions compared to diesel, fossil natural gas or battery electric trucks, and give net negative GHG emissions where avoided environmental methane emissions are considered. Furthermore, upcycling solutions can offer a lower cost route to GHG reduction compared to electrification

Working memory replay prioritizes weakly attended events

One view of working memory posits that maintaining a series of events requires their sequential and equal mnemonic replay. Another view is that the content of working memory maintenance is prioritized by attention. We decoded the dynamics for retaining a sequence of items using magnetoencephalography, wherein participants encoded sequences of three stimuli depicting a face, a manufactured object, or a natural item and maintained them in working memory for 5000 ms. Memory for sequence position and stimulus details were probed at the end of the maintenance period. Decoding of brain activity revealed that one of the three stimuli dominated maintenance independent of its sequence position or category; and memory was enhanced for the selectively replayed stimulus. Analysis of event-related responses during the encoding of the sequence showed that the selectively replayed stimuli were determined by the degree of attention at encoding. The selectively replayed stimuli had the weakest initial encoding indexed by weaker visual attention signals at encoding. These findings do not rule out sequential mnemonic replay but reveal that attention influences the content of working memory maintenance by prioritizing replay of weakly encoded events. We propose that the prioritization of weakly encoded stimuli protects them from interference during the maintenance period, whereas the more strongly encoded stimuli can be retrieved from long-term memory at the end of the delay period