Implementing NMC standards for learning, and assessing in practice(2006): a demonstration of effective partnership between a higher education institution and NHS Trust placement partners

This paper provides an account of the collaborative approach taken to implement professional standards in teaching, learning and assessing in practice for nursing and midwifery. How challenges for effective partnership working between university and placement/practice education provider were overcome are presented. Processes and issues which arose when new national regulatory professional standards of practice education were introduced are highlighted. The partnership work ensured a robust process to locally interpreting and implementing the NMC Standards for Supporting Learning and Assessing in Practice (2006). This was achieved and resulted in a county wide agreed implementation of the Standards across NHS Oxfordshire and beyond. The key requirements of the Standards and the challenges identified are presented together with how issues were addressed. The approach taken by an established partnership working group is described and the products of the process are detailed, including listing 'top tips' for successful partnership working

Infideles Et Philosophi: Assent, Untruth, and Natural Knowledge of the Simple God

Victor Preller’s “reformulation” of St. Thomas has impacted many contemporary theologians and philosophers, among them, George Lindbeck, Stanley Hauerwas, Bruce Marshall, D. Stephen Long, Fergus Kerr, to name only a few. According to Kerr, Preller is responsible for bringing to the fore St. Thomas’s denial that unbelievers can be truly said to believe “God exists.” In particular, Preller draws our attention to ST II-II, q. 2, a. 2, ad 3. Seemingly, in light of this passage, all non-believers have a defect in cognition with respect to the simple God. As such, they cannot be said to believe “God exists” at all (totaliter). According to Preller, it suggests that pre-Christian pagan philosophers not only failed to know the existence of God, but that they could not in principle have known apart from the graces of special revelation and faith. By virtue of the Aristotelian axiom used by St. Thomas, which states, “to know simple things defectively is not to know them at all,” they were not merely wrong about God, but entirely ignorant of him. Given the impact of this interpretation, it is important that Preller has interpreted ST II-II, q. 2, a. 2, ad 3 rightly. I argue, however, that he has not. Preller’s inattentiveness to the context, as well as the specific meaning of certain terms, contributes to a misunderstanding. If we properly identify the infideles and determine the defectus cognitionis at issue, we see that St. Thomas is not claiming that the philosophers (philosophi) qua pagan per se suffer from the relevant defect. This would contradict the numerous affirmations of pagan philosophical knowledge of God found elsewhere in the corpus. Not suffering from this defect, they are not qua pagan ignorant of the existence of God. The philosophi are neither on St. Thomas’s radar in ST II-II, q. 2, a. 2, ad 3 nor necessarily (though potentially) guilty of the sort of defect in cognition that St. Thomas has in mind. Ultimately, this passage does not mean what Preller and others have taken it to mean. Consequently, it does not ground any denial of the possibility of pre-Christian pagan philosophical knowledge of God

Variable hydrology and salinity of salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands

Caribbean salt ponds are unique wetlands that have received little scientific attention. They are common features of dry Caribbean coastlines, but they are threatened by rapid coastal development. We compared hydrology and salinity of 17 salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands. Ponds were mostly hypersaline (>50 ppt), and they exhibited dramatic salinity fluctuations in response to rainfall and evaporation. Individual ponds varied in their mean salinities and thus experienced different ranges of salinity. Differences in mean salinity appeared to be linked with hydrological characteristics. Hydrological variation ranged from permanently inundated ponds with direct sea connection to those fully isolated from the sea and retaining water only after rainfall. We characterized groups of ponds by their major hydrological characteristics, particularly their period of inundation and their degree of connection with the sea. The resulting classification appeared to reflect a continuum of increasing isolation from the sea, concurring with published geological records from salt pond sediments elsewhere. The patterns of variability and succession described here are applicable to salt pond management interests throughout the Caribbean

Differences in Beliefs Across a Series of Four Mathematics Content Courses

College students often ask questions such as, “Why do I have to take this class? Is there a point to it?” For Early Childhood Education (ECE) majors these questions may often take on a slightly different form, wondering, “How can I incorporate this information into my classroom?” or “Do I understand this well enough to teach this to my students?” It is especially important for pre- service teachers to feel confident working with the mathematical content that they are learning and for them to believe that they can successfully teach that same information to a group of students. Swackhamer, Koellner, Basile, and Kimbrough (2009) have called for additional research concerning “how content knowledge can support teacher efficacy along with increasing the knowledge of students” (page 75). The number of mathematics content courses provided to support the development of early childhood education majors understanding of mathematics varies across universities. Some wonder whether it is necessary to have a series of four mathematics content courses or if a fewer number of courses would suffice. This study is intended to determine if there is a significant difference in how pre-service teachers think about teaching mathematics at each stage of a progression of four-course content courses, as well as to determine if there seems to be a ceiling effect when students no longer feel these courses are continuing to improve their content knowledge and subsequent teaching ability. Cohen and Hill (2001) describe teacher beliefs as, “Teachers’ ideas about mathematics teaching and learning” and note that these beliefs may shape their teaching. One aspect of a teacher’s beliefs includes her sense of self-efficacy. Researchers have recognized teacher’s sense of self-efficacy as an important attribute of effective teaching which is related to positive teacher and student outcomes (Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, & Hoy; 1998). In this study we explore the effects of a series of four mathematics content courses on pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching mathematics and their own self efficacy beliefs. These classes were designed to improve understanding and self-efficacy in a subject that many students have the most difficulty with. Our study provides a snapshot of students from each of the four content courses in the series by exploring their beliefs about teaching mathematics and their own self-efficacy and beliefs they hold at the end of each course. References: Cohen, D. & Hill, H. (2001). Learning policy: When state education reform works. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Swackhamer, L.E., Koellner, K., Basile, C., & Kimbrough, D. (2009). Increasing the self- efficacy of inservice teachers through content knowledge. Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring, 63-78. Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfok-Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 202-248

Paper 3: Differences in Beliefs Across a Series of Four Mathematics Content Courses

College students often ask questions such as, “Why do I have to take this class? Is there a point to it?” For Early Childhood Education (ECE) majors these questions may often take on a slightly different form, wondering, “How can I incorporate this information into my classroom?” or “Do I understand this well enough to teach this to my students?” It is especially important for pre- service teachers to feel confident working with the mathematical content that they are learning and for them to believe that they can successfully teach that same information to a group of students. Swackhamer, Koellner, Basile, and Kimbrough (2009) have called for additional research concerning “how content knowledge can support teacher efficacy along with increasing the knowledge of students” (page 75). The number of mathematics content courses provided to support the development of early childhood education majors understanding of mathematics varies across universities. Some wonder whether it is necessary to have a series of four mathematics content courses or if a fewer number of courses would suffice. This study is intended to determine if there is a significant difference in how pre-service teachers think about teaching mathematics at each stage of a progression of four-course content courses, as well as to determine if there seems to be a ceiling effect when students no longer feel these courses are continuing to improve their content knowledge and subsequent teaching ability. Cohen and Hill (2001) describe teacher beliefs as, “Teachers’ ideas about mathematics teaching and learning” and note that these beliefs may shape their teaching. One aspect of a teacher’s beliefs includes her sense of self-efficacy. Researchers have recognized teacher’s sense of self-efficacy as an important attribute of effective teaching which is related to positive teacher and student outcomes (Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, & Hoy; 1998). In this study we explore the effects of a series of four mathematics content courses on pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching mathematics and their own self efficacy beliefs. These classes were designed to improve understanding and self-efficacy in a subject that many students have the most difficulty with. Our study provides a snapshot of students from each of the four content courses in the series by exploring their beliefs about teaching mathematics and their own self-efficacy and beliefs they hold at the end of each course. References: Cohen, D. & Hill, H. (2001). Learning policy: When state education reform works. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Swackhamer, L.E., Koellner, K., Basile, C., & Kimbrough, D. (2009). Increasing the self- efficacy of inservice teachers through content knowledge. Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring, 63-78. Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfok-Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 202-248

Bean common mosaic virus and related viruses in Africa

This bulletin reviews the current status of research knowledge on bean common mosaic potyvirus (BCMV) and reports the results of a survey of the occurrence of BCMV in the main bean-growing areas of Africa. The strain of each BCMV isolate collected has been identified by its reactions on a standard set of differential bean cultivars and distribution maps of strain occurrence have been prepared for each country surveyed. BCMV isolates were collected from Phaseolus vulgaris bean crops and from wild species of legumes and other non-Phaseolus legume crops

An examination of the ethical reasoning of future New Zealand accounting professionals

A high level of ethical reasoning and behaviour is integral to the professional status of accounting. The credibility of accounting professionals has been challenged with recent media exposure of fraud and misconduct cases, both overseas and within New Zealand. A concern that the accounting profession could lose its professional status has led to research in the area of moral psychology to gain information on appropriate methods for ensuring high ethical standards. This thesis examines the level of ethical reasoning of a sample of 201 accounting students, and the variables that affect their ethical reasoning. The accounting students within this study exhibited a significantly lower level of moral reasoning than in previous research concerning university students and non- university educated adults. Minority ethnic subjects exhibited lower levels of moral reasoning than New Zealand European subjects. The results suggested that cumulative ethics education can have a positive effect on the moral reasoning of students, however, some individual courses that contain ethics education may not be effective by themselves. Subjects classified as educational/career orientated, that is, individuals who work hard, enjoy learning, and have well defined goals, exhibited high levels of moral reasoning. Few subjects perceived the learning environment of the accounting programme to be intellectually stimulating and those who did exhibited low levels of moral reasoning. Female subjects exhibited higher levels of moral reasoning than males. The implications of the results with regard to the development of the accounting curriculum, codes of ethics and counselling services are discussed

Visual performance in the mesopic range

The aims of this work were to assess the effects of different stimulus parameters on chromatic sensitivity, with particular emphasis on the effect of retinal illumination, and to investigate aspects of suprathreshold visual performance under mesopic conditions. All investigations were performed using visual psychophysical techniques. Chromatic thresholds were obtained using dynamic luminance contrast noise to isolate responses to colour signals. The effects of stimulus size and spatial distribution were examined in normal trichromats, dichromats and subjects with acquired colour vision deficiency. The chromatic sensitivity of normal trichromats was investigated with reduction in light level. Measurements were also performed to assess the possible involvement of rods in chromatic processing at threshold. Suprathreshold performance in the mesopic range was assessed in terms of the relative contributions of colour and luminance contrast to a measure of stimulus conspicuity and to visual search time. The conspicuity of a stimulus defined by colour and luminance contrast was defined as the value of achromatic contrast of a similar stimulus with an equal perceived conspicuity. An empirical model was developed from an extensive data set of conspicuity matches, to enable prediction of conspicuity for a wide range of coloured stimuli. Visual search performance for both achromatic and coloured stimuli was investigated under mesopic conditions, and results for the coloured stimuli were compared to the measure of stimulus conspiculty combined with an achromatic search time calibration. The results revealed that chromatic sensitivity is dependent on stimulus size, spatial distribution, eccentricity of presentation and level of illumination. These factors are suggested to reflect changes in cone performance and the relative cone contributions to the postreceptoral chromatic channels. Chromatic sensitivity was found to be independent of rod activity in the mesopic range, suggesting separate processing of rod signals and threshold colour signals under mesopic conditions. Measurements of stimulus conspicuity under mesopic conditions revealed individual variations in response to both luminance contrast and chromatic signals indicative of individual differences in gain control of postreceptoral mechanisms. Conspicuity was successfully modelled as a function of photopic contrast, scotopic contrast, chromatic difference to the background and the level of illumination. The nonlinear relationship between search time and luminance contrast was found to change with reduction in light level, reflecting increased contrast thresholds and diminishing effectiveness of unit physical contrast. Mesopic visual search was also found to depend on the photopic contrast, scotopic contrast and chromatic content of the stimulus, but with an apparent greater emphasis on scotopic contrast and reduced emphasis on colour compared to the measure of stimulus conspicuity. Conspicuity was successfully used to predict visual search times, and was found to be an improved indicator of search performance than either photopic or scotopic contrast