Creativity and Enquiry in Action: a case study of cross-curricular approaches in teacher education

The current Key Stage 3 National Curriculum for England orders that our education foster determination, adaptability, confidence, risk-taking, enterprise, creativity and enjoyment in a cross-curricular context in pupils. To appreciate these dimensions student teachers need to have multiple opportunities to experience such a curriculum for themselves. However, initial teacher education is an intense and demanding experience; student teachers veer between phases of basic survival and personal innovation as they develop their individual pedagogy and personal philosophy. For new secondary teachers their own subject specialism forms a core feature of their emerging professional identity and can act as a barrier to collaborative practice beyond that specialism. This paper discusses one example of a cross-curricular approach in which Art and Geography PGCE students reflect on their experiences of a collaborative event designed to break down subject barriers while exploiting the potential of subject specialism. Data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of students during the two-day event is discussed. Data revealed that critical outcomes of the event included the practice and development of genuine collaboration, negotiation, teamwork, and leadership

Reestablishing stability and avoiding a credit crunch: Comparing different bad bank schemes

This paper develops a model to analyze two different bad bank schemes, an outright sale of toxic assets to a state-owned bad bank and a repurchase agreement between the bad bank and the initial bank. For both schemes, we derive a critical transfer payment that induces a bank manager to participate. Participation improves the bank's solvency and enables the bank to grant new loans. Therefore, both schemes can reestablish stability and avoid a credit crunch. However, an outright sale will be less costly to taxpayers than a repurchase agreement only if the transfer payment is sufficiently low. --bad banks,financial crisis,financial stability,credit crunch

Single-photon generation and simultaneous observation of wave and particle properties

We describe an experiment that generates single photons on demand and measures properties accounted to both particle- and wave-like features of light. The measurement is performed by exploiting data that are sampled simultaneously in a single experimental run.Comment: The following article has been submitted to Proceedings of "Foundations of probability and physics-3", Vaxjo, Sweden 2004. After it is published, it will be found at http://proceedings.aip.org/ . 1 Reference was added in version

Hospital volume and mortality for 25 types of inpatient treatment in German hospitals : observational study using complete national data from 2009 to 2014

Objectives To explore the existence and strength of a relationship between hospital volume and mortality, to estimate minimum volume thresholds and to assess the potential benefit of centralisation of services. Design Observational population-based study using complete German hospital discharge data (Diagnosis-Related Group Statistics (DRG Statistics)). Setting All acute care hospitals in Germany. Participants All adult patients hospitalised for 1 out of 25 common or medically important types of inpatient treatment from 2009 to 2014. Main outcome measure Risk-adjusted inhospital mortality. Results Lower inhospital mortality in association with higher hospital volume was observed in 20 out of the 25 studied types of treatment when volume was categorised in quintiles and persisted in 17 types of treatment when volume was analysed as a continuous variable. Such a relationship was found in some of the studied emergency conditions and low-risk procedures. It was more consistently present regarding complex surgical procedures. For example, about 22 000 patients receiving open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm were analysed. In very high-volume hospitals, risk-adjusted mortality was 4.7% (95% CI 4.1 to 5.4) compared with 7.8% (7.1 to 8.7) in very low volume hospitals. The minimum volume above which risk of death would fall below the average mortality was estimated as 18 cases per year. If all hospitals providing this service would perform at least 18 cases per year, one death among 104 (76 to 166) patients could potentially be prevented. Conclusions Based on complete national hospital discharge data, the results confirmed volume–outcome relationships for many complex surgical procedures, as well as for some emergency conditions and low-risk procedures. Following these findings, the study identified areas where centralisation would provide a benefit for patients undergoing the specific type of treatment in German hospitals and quantified the possible impact of centralisation efforts.DFG, 325093850, Open Access Publizieren 2017 - 2018 / Technische Universität Berli

Pictures are necessary but not sufficient: Using a range of visual methods to engage users about school design

It has been argued by both educationalists and social researchers that visual methods are particularly appropriate for the investigation of people's experiences of the school environment. The current and expected building work taking place in British schools provides an opportunity for exploration of methods, as well as a need to establish ways to achieve this involvement of a range of school users, including students. This article describes a consultation that was undertaken in a UK secondary school as part of a participatory design process centred on the rebuilding of the school. A range of visual methods, based on photographs and maps, was used to investigate the views of a diverse sample of school users, including students, teachers, technical and support staff and the wider community. Reported here is the experience of using these tools, considering the success of different visually-based methods in engaging a broad cross section of the school community and revealing useful information. Using a range of visual methods allows a complex, but coherent, understanding of the particular school environment to be constructed and developed. It is further argued that such a range of visual and spatial methods is needed to develop appropriate understanding. The study, therefore, contributes to knowledge about specific visual research methods, appreciation of the relationship between tools, and a general methodological understanding of visual methods' utility for developing understanding of the learning environment

Erklärungsmodell zur Beurteilung der betriebswirtschaftlichen Vorteilhaftigkeit von E-Business-Transaktionen im BTOC-Bereich unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Gestaltung des Frontend-Bereiches

Mängel in der Ergonomie können Online-Angebote hinsichtlich der Intensität ihrer Inanspruchnahme durch Bankkunden erheblich negativ beeinflussen und das selbst dann, wenn die Grundvoraussetzung – das Offerieren eines Nutzens - erfüllt ist. Damit werden wichtige Potenziale zur Kundenbindung sowie zur Automatisierung banktechnischer Prozesse verschenkt. Die durchgeführte Untersuchung deckte häufig auftretende Gestaltungsmängel auf, welche die Benutzerfreundlichkeit und Gebrauchstauglichkeit von Websites beeinträchtigen. Die vorgenommene Auswahl aus der Gesamtheit aufgedeckter Normverletzungen sollte die Vielschichtigkeit von Aspekten veranschaulichen, die bei der Entwicklung kundenfreundlicher Online-Angebote im Finanzdienstleistungsbereich zu berücksichtigen sind. Sie sind jedoch bei weitem nicht erschöpfend. Die häufigsten Verstöße gegen die Normen zur Gestaltung ergonomischer Benutzerschnittstellen wurden bei der Informationsdarstellung, in der Benutzerführung sowie bei der Dialogführung mittels Menü registriert. Wie gezeigt werden konnte, bot das ErgoNorm-Prüfverfahren eine praktikable Vorgehensweise, um Nutzungsprobleme festzustellen, deren Ursachen zu untersuchen und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Nutzungsqualität zu beurteilen. Die software-ergonomischen Normen lieferten eine geeignete Basis zur Ableitung von Gestaltungsempfehlungen, um vorliegende Mängel zu beseitigen. Die konsequente Einhaltung von Normen hilft, schwere Usability-Fehler und teure Redesign-Zyklen zu vermeiden. --

A folded-sandwich polarization-entangled two-color photon pair source with large tuning capability for applications in hybrid quantum architectures

We demonstrate a two-color entangled pho ton pair source which can be adapted easily to a wide range of wavelengths combinations. A Fresnel rhomb as a geometrical quarter-wave plate and a versatile combination of compensation crystals are key components of the source. Entanglement of two photons at the Cs D1 line (894.3 nm) and at the telecom O-band (1313.1 nm) with a fidelity of $F = 0.753 \pm 0.021$ is demonstrated and improvements of the setup are discussed

SUPERMAN, a regulator of floral homeotic genes in Arabidopsis

We describe a locus, SUPERMAN, mutations in which result in extra stamens developing at the expense of the central carpels in the Arabidopsis thaliana flower. The development of superman flowers, from initial primordium to mature flower, is described by scanning electron microscopy. The development of doubly and triply mutant strains, constructed with superman alleles and previously identified homeotic mutations that cause alterations in floral organ identity, is also described. Essentially additive phenotypes are observed in superman agamous and superman apetala2 double mutants. The epistatic relationships observed between either apetala3 or pistillata and superman alleles suggest that the SUPERMAN gene product could be a regulator of these floral homeotic genes. To test this, the expression patterns of AGAMOUS and APETALA3 were examined in superman flowers. In wild-type flowers, APETALA3 expression is restricted to the second and third whorls where it is required for the specification of petals and stamens. In contrast, in superman flowers, APETALA3 expression expands to include most of the cells that would normally constitute the fourth whorl. This ectopic APETALA3 expression is proposed to be one of the causes of the development of the extra stamens in superman flowers. The spatial pattern of AGAMOUS expression remains unaltered in superman flowers as compared to wild-type flowers. Taken together these data indicate that one of the functions of the wild-type SUPERMAN gene product is to negatively regulate APETALA3 in the fourth whorl of the flower. In addition, superman mutants exhibit a loss of determinacy of the floral meristem, an effect that appears to be mediated by the APETALA3 and PISTILLATA gene products