Learning in harmony

Learning in Harmony: a narrative case study to explore ethos creation and subsequent lessons for leadership Schools shape future generations and play an enormous role in the support and learning of our young people. The vision of a school and how it determines an ethos or school climate, is often seen as a central part of the drive and development of the learning community. As educators, we must consider how and by whom, a vision is established, articulated and communicated, and what makes it become a shared belief, seen in both policy and practice. This research is an ethnographic case study considering a specific learning environment, The Music House, over a period of 15 years from 1990 to 2005, through the retrospective adult narratives of students, staff and trainee teachers involved during this time. Questionnaires, interviews and group discussions involving a sample drawn from respondents, were analysed and evaluated in a consideration of how the climate of the Music House was introduced and developed, looking at the nature of participants involvement, their understanding of the vision, how it was shaped, understood and absorbed, and occasions when values were demonstrated and challenged. With three central themes of relationships, safety and opportunities growing from the research, the narratives give a unique student viewpoint, through adult eyes over a substantial research period. The writing reflects experiences, feelings and ideas of the participants, treating them both as individuals, and identifying links and similarities in their thinking across the sample. There is a consideration of the legacy impact of the community on individuals. Findings are reviewed to highlight possible lessons to learn, particularly for leaders within the current educational climate, indicating elements of school life for priority, applicable in any school settin

‘It's a bit of a grey area’: challenges faced by stop smoking practitioners when advising on e-cigarettes

INTRODUCTION: According to UK guidelines, stop smoking practitioners are expected to be open and supportive towards e-cigarette users. As adequate support from practitioners can be instrumental for smokers to successfully quit smoking, it is crucial to explore the challenges that stop smoking practitioners face when advising on e-cigarette use. AIM: This qualitative study explores the challenges that stop smoking practitioners face when advising patients on e-cigarettes. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted with semi-structured interviews with 10 stop smoking practitioners from four stop smoking services in London. Face to face interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to explore practitioners' experiences when advising on e-cigarettes. FINDINGS: Two themes were noted: practitioners' concerns and practitioner–patient interactions. Practitioners were particularly concerned regarding the lack of information, safety issues and the maintenance of addiction linked with e-cigarettes. They emphasised the difficulty of advising on a product that they cannot prescribe. Overall, practitioners expressed the lack of confidence when advising on e-cigarettes since they were often unprepared and not able to answer patients' questions on e-cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS: Stop smoking practitioners' lack of confidence and limited knowledge regarding e-cigarettes emphasises the necessity for training and guidance on e-cigarettes to improve their interactions with patients on this subject. In particular, practitioners need to be provided with clear guidance on how to counsel patients about how and where to buy e-cigarettes

Computer-Aided Chemistry at Surrey — the way ahead

This article describes the objectives and rationale of the degree course in Computer-Aided Chemistry at the University of Surrey. The course, which is the first of its kind, represents a sharp break with the past in that industry was intimately involved in the early stages of the planning as well as providing subsequent support; furthermore, much of the teaching is done via a workshop approach. The course aims to produce high-calibre chemists, particularly of the analytical kind, with a firm foundation in computing and having benefited from the close collaboration and cooperation of industry

The application of ultrasonic NDT techniques in tribology

The use of ultrasonic reflection is emerging as a technique for studying tribological contacts. Ultrasonic waves can be transmitted non-destructively through machine components and their behaviour at an interface describes the characteristics of that contact. This paper is a review of the current state of understanding of the mechanisms of ultrasonic reflection at interfaces, and how this has been used to investigate the processes of dry rough surface contact and lubricated contact. The review extends to cover how ultrasound has been used to study the tribological function of certain engineering machine elements

Variants within TSC2 exons 25 and 31 are very unlikely to cause clinically diagnosable tuberous sclerosis

Inactivating mutations in TSC1 and TSC2 cause tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The 2012 international consensus meeting on TSC diagnosis and management agreed that the identification of a pathogenic TSC1 or TSC2 variant establishes a diagnosis of TSC, even in the absence of clinical signs. However, exons 25 and 31 of TSC2 are subject to alternative splicing. No variants causing clinically diagnosed TSC have been reported in these exons raising the possibility that such variants would not cause TSC. We present truncating and in-frame variants in exons 25 and 31 in three individuals unlikely to fulfil TSC diagnostic criteria and examine the importance of these exons in TSC using different approaches. Amino acid conservation analysis suggests significantly less conservation in these exons compared to the majority of TSC2 exons, and TSC2 expression data demonstrates that the majority of TSC2 transcripts lack exons 25 and/or 31 in many human adult tissues. In vitro assay of both exons shows that neither exon is essential for TSC complex function. Our evidence suggests that variants in TSC2 exons 25 or 31 are very unlikely to cause classical TSC, although a role for these exons in tissue/stage specific development cannot be excluded