15 research outputs found
Why is it difficult for schools to establish equitable practices in allocating students to attainment 'sets'?
Research has consistently shown ‘ability’ grouping (tracking) to be prey to poor
practice, and to perpetuate inequity. A feature of these problems is inequitable and
inaccurate practice in allocation to groups or ‘tracks’. Yet little research has examined
whether such practices might be improved. Here, we examine survey and interview
findings from a large-scale intervention study of grouping practices in 126 English
secondary schools. We find that when schools are encouraged to allocate students and
move them between groups according to equitable principles by participation in a ‘best
practice’ intervention, there is some increased equity of practice, i.e. a reduction in
non-attainment factors used in allocation. However, the majority of schools continue to
use subjective and potentially biased information to group students. Furthermore, some
schools that claim to be using attainment setting appear to be using the inequitable
practice of streaming. Our findings show that improvements in equity are constrained
by operational and strategic factors, including timetabling, finance and teachers’ values
and beliefs relating to student ability and progression. We suggest strategies for
encouraging schools to change their grouping practices, drawing on approaches for
working with complex organisations
Effects of postmortem calcium chloride injection on meat palatability traits of strip loin steaks from cattle supplemented with or without zilpaterol hydrochloride
An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride mM supplementation (ZH; 8.3 mg/kg on a DM basis for 20 d) and calcium chloride injection [CaCl2, 200 at 5% (wt/wt) at 72 h postmortem] on palatability traits of beef (Bos taurus) strip loin steaks. Select (USDA) strip loins were obtained from control (no ZH = 19) and ZH-supplemented carcasses (n = 20). Right and left sides were selected alternatively to serve as a control (no INJ) or CaCl2-injected (INJ) and stored at 4 degrees C Before injecting the subprimals (72 h postmortem), 2 steaks were cut for proximate, sarcomere length, and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI) analyses. At 7 d postmortem each strip loin was portioned into steaks, vacuum packaged, and aged for the appropriate period for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF; 7, 14, 21, and 28 d postmortem), trained sensory analysis (14 and 21 d postmortem), purge loss (7 d), and MFI (3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 d postmortem). Results indicated steaks from both ZH supplementation and INJ had reduced WBSF values as days of postmortem aging increased. The WBSF values of ZH steaks were greater (P 0.05) due to ZH at 14, 21, or 28 d or due to INJ at any aging period. Trained panelists rated tenderness less in ZH steaks than steaks with no ZH at 14 d and 21 d. However, INJ improved (P < 0.05) the tenderness ratings and flavor intensity of the trained panelists, compared with their non-injected cohorts at 21 d. Zilpaterol hydrochloride supplementation reduced (P < 0.05) MFI values, but INJ resulted in greater (P < 0.05) MFI values compared with no INJ. Subprimals from ZH and INJ showed greater purge loss (P < 0.05). Although no interactions were found with ZH and CaCl2, injecting USDA Select strip loins from ZH-fed cattle can help reduce the normal WBSF variation as it does in steaks from non-ZH-fed cattle.90103584359
Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke
Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease