Characterization of the Structure of Saudi Crude Asphaltenes by X-ray Diffraction

Structural characterization studies have been carried out on four commercial Saudi Arabian crude oils. The aromaticity and crystallite parameters of the asphaltenes were studied by X-ray diffraction methods and compared to the average structural parameters calculated from nuclear magnetic resonance spectra

Which school interventions are beneficial for the development of non-cognitive skills of primary school students? A review of existing evidence

The impact of school interventions on attainment –and particularly on Reading and Mathematics - is the focus of educational policies and educational research. However, it can be questioned whether this type of knowledge is indeed important for the later life of the students. This knowledge provides students with the opportunity to pass the exams and enter the labour market, but it is possible that the students are still unqualified and unprepared for the true challenges. Schools offer both cognitive and non-cognitive gains to the students and our knowledge about the non-cognitive domains is quite limited compared to the cognitive. Non-cognitive skills are referring to the character and this term is preferred instead of traits to show our stance that these characteristics are not inborn, but they can be learnt (Heckman & Kautz, 2013). This social emotional learning that takes place in school is crucial and to a greater extent more required in real life circumstances than academic performance. However, mostly due to the accountability of the schools where effectiveness is commonly measured by attainment, the reinforcement of non-cognitive skills in schools is undermined. Non-cognitive skills can result also in the cognitive skills’ development (Heckman &Kautz, 2013; Tierney, Grossman, & Resch, 1995). There are interventions when the non-cognitive skills have been used as a moderator factor to increase attainment. An intervention targeting self-regulation found enhancement not only in the attainment, but also general cognitive traits, such as reasoning and attention (Blair &Rever, 2014). Non-cognitive skills have been associated with the labour market (Acosta, Muller &Sarzosa, 2015).A follow-up of the Seattle Social Development Programme has used social behaviour in childhood as a predictor of positive adult functioning and preventing mental health problems and substance use (Hawkins et al., 2005). Furthermore, non-cognitive skills can be a predictor for adult criminality (Agan, 2011), health (McCord, 1978) or admission into higher education (Torres-Gonzalez et al., 2014; West et al., 2014).The non-cognitive skills can be also observed as factors which play role towards the gap in the attainment between different social groups and thus can berelated with social inequalities since earlier academic stages (Noden&West ,2009). Therefore, non-cognitive skills have been shown as meaningful to be fostered by schools. In this research we appreciate the significance of non-cognitive skills and we are looking for evidence in the existing bibliography regarding successful techniques and interventions in primary schools which could lead to the increase of non-cognitive skills. We did not choose to include specific types of non-cognitive gains and exclude others, because we support that non-cognitive skills are interrelated and we cannot have clear distinctions between them. Except for a purpose of categorisation, there are no clear boundaries between them and a combination of all constructs a complex system

Comparing government and private schools in Pakistan: the way forward for universal education

This paper presents an analysis of children’s proficiency in English, reading and maths on the basis of a citizen-led household survey run by the Annual Statistics of Education Report (ASER) in Pakistan in 2014. Our main analysis involves a sub-group of 26,070 children who were reported to be 8 years-old at the time of the survey. It was important for our purposes that this survey collected equivalent data on children in public, private and religious schools, as well as those not attending school at all. Unsurprisingly, the main difference in outcomes is between those children who attend school, and those who do not. Those missing out on school are more likely to be girls, and from poorer families in rural areas. For those who attend school, there are differences between state-funded and private school intakes, in terms of family background and test results. A binary logistic regression analysis is used to help assess the relationship between attending different types of schools and children’s attainment of a specific proficiency level. Once their different student intakes are taken into account, the difference in test outcomes between government and private schools largely disappears. The worst outcomes are associated with the small proportion of children educated only in Madrasahs. The paper ends by proposing that policy-makers press for enforcement of schooling for all, aiming for a universal state-funded system with equivalent opportunities for all, meaning that the stop gap of cheap private schools in poorer areas is no longer necessary

A visualization study of secondary flows in planar nozzles

The purpose behind the experimentation was to obtain a better understanding of the secondary flows associated with the flows from convergent planar nozzles preceded by a circular duct

Dynamic Behaviour of Tension Leg Platform under Impulsive Loading

In the literature on dynamics of tension leg platforms (TLPs), the effect offrequently occurring environmental forces, such as those arising due to wave, wind, current, tide, etc. has given the due consideration. However, less probable forces, such as that arising due to collision ofship with iceberg or any huge sea creature, etc., have not been considered in the study. Such small duration impact forces, usually termed as impulsive forces, may take four possible shapes: (i) rectangular, (ii) sinusoidal, (iii) triangular, and (iv) half-triangular. In the present study, response ofTLP has been obtained for all these four shaped impulsive forces. The result ofthe analyses shows that there is a dramatic change in surge, heave, and yaw responses of TLP due to such forces. In addition, a comparative study to find the most influencing impulsive force out of these four has also been conducted

Assessing the impact of Pupil Premium funding on primary school segregation and attainment

Using funding to improve educational outcomes is a common policy approach, usually assumed to be effective; but it is less commonly agreed how the money should be routed, and what it should be used for. This paper examines the possible impact of one approach wherein extra funding is provided by the state to schools, rather than teachers, families, or students. Pupil Premium funding has been provided to schools in England since 2011, to help overcome socio-economic segregation between schools, and reduce the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Yet there is little international evidence that such a funding system can raise attainment directly. Some important stakeholders are now considering whether Pupil Premium should cease, be used for more general school financing, or have a new objective such as social mobility or hiring more teachers. It is therefore essential to know whether the policy has had a beneficial impact in the nine years since its inception. Evaluating the impact of such a funding policy is not easy because it is national and so there is no simple comparator group, and the relevant outcomes are also sensitive to demographic, economic and other concurrent policy changes. These issues are addressed using the National Pupil Database and Annual Schools Census, and by comparing the poverty gap in primary schools from 2006 to 2019, focusing on pupils who would have attracted Pupil Premium funding, if it existed, in any year and under any economic conditions. After 2010, the gap in segregation between these long-term disadvantaged pupils and their peers became substantially lower in Year 1 and Year 6, and their attainment improved relative to their peers at age 7. At age 11 there was also an improvement after 2010, but the assessment changed after 2014 and this complicated the pattern. A regression model also suggests that relative attainment for poor pupils improved markedly in the Pupil Premium era. Improvement was marked in regions like the North of England which have faced criticism for apparently “failing” their poor pupils. On this evidence, we argue for retaining the Pupil Premium policy