What determines the return to education: An extra year or hurdle cleared?

The 1973 Raising of the School Leaving Age in England and Wales has been used to identify returns to years’ schooling. However, the reform affected the proportion with qualifications, as well as schooling length. To shed light on whether the returns reflect extra schooling or qualifications, we exploit another institutional rule – the Easter Leaving Rule – to obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of qualifications. We find sizeable returns to academic qualifications – increasing the probability of employment by 40 percentage points. This is more than 70% of the estimated return based on RoSLA, suggesting that qualifications drive most – but not all – of the returns to education.Returns to education; RoSLA; qualifications

Pitch Circles – From Music Theory To Computer-Based Learning Tool

This paper describes how a music theory with explanatory power for expression of relationships between pitch classes, chords and tonal regions can be exploited as the foundations for a computer-based tool, called ‘Pitch Circles’, to support musical novices learn about and manipulate such musical concepts and relationships . The paper introduces this research with a brief review of the ‘direct manipulation’ principles for computer interaction design on which the computer-based learning tool has been based, and of the features of tonal theories which led to our choice of a particular theory, ‘Pitch Spaces’, as the basis for this work

Senior Women Golfers: A Pilot Study of Their Fitness Characteristics and Mood Disturbance After Exercise

Senior golfers (\u3e50 yrs of age) constitute more than 25% of the approximately 20 million Americans who are “committed” golfers (NGF, 2016). Golf is an excellent way to stay physically active and to participate in a “lifetime” sport. PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate how senior golfers performed both functional and golf-specific fitness tests, and a 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) (aerobic fitness test). Possible changes in mood also were monitored before and after the 6-MWT to determine if walking influenced their total mood disturbance score (TMD). METHOD: Twelve female senior golfers (mean age of 62.9 ± 6.9 yrs) completed the Titleist Performance Institute® (TPI®) golf fitness screen and the 6-MWT. They also completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after the 6-MWT. The POMS subscales were combined as a Total Mood Disturbance score (TMD). Heart rates (HR) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured during and after the 6-MWT. Paired t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for all dependent variables (pilot study: p ≤ 0.10). RESULTS: Physiological variables were TPI® Score, HR, RPE, and %HRmax. Following a series of golf-specific exercises, TPI® golf fitness screen mean scores were 17.5 ± 4.2. The three TPI® tests that these golfers scored lowest on were the deep squat, and the single leg balance tests with their eyes open and again with eyes closed. The remaining variables included the following means and standard deviations at 3 and 6 minutes: HR = 123 ± 16, 130 ± 20 (beats/min); RPE = 12.0 ± 2.0, 13.0 ± 1.0 (“somewhat hard”); %HRmax = 79 ± 12; 83 ± 15% (“vigorous”) (ACSM, 2014). The distance for the 6-MWT was used to measure aerobic endurance and a percentile rating was determined from their age group: 69.2 ± 18.8% (Rikli & Jones, 2013). After the 6-MWT, significant correlations were found for RPE and HR at 3 minutes (p = 0.025). However, RPE at 6 minutes was not correlated with any dependent variable. As hypothesized, %HRmax was correlated with HR at 3 and 6 minutes (p = 0.0001). No correlations were found between exercise intensity and the change in TMD. The TMD scores on the POMS before and after walking were not correlated with the 6-MWT distances (p’s = 0.698, 0.896). The mean TMD score was significantly lower after the 6-MWT, 98.4 ± 12.7, 89.3 ± 15.4 (p = 0.026). There were significant differences between RPE, HR, and %HRmax at 3 and 6 minutes (p ≤ .05). CONCLUSION: Senior women golfers were able to complete the golf fitness tests. Fitness characteristics were identified that could be improved with future golf-specific exercises. Senior women golfers were rated at the 69th percentile for aerobic fitness for their age group and had desirable decreases in TMD after the 6-MWT. Participating in golf provides senior women with an opportunity to maintain functional movement, to exercise aerobically, and to have desirable changes in total mood disturbance

Impurities in a non-axisymmetric plasma: transport and effect on bootstrap current

Impurities cause radiation losses and plasma dilution, and in stellarator plasmas the neoclassical ambipolar radial electric field is often unfavorable for avoiding strong impurity peaking. In this work we use a new continuum drift-kinetic solver, the SFINCS code (the Stellarator Fokker-Planck Iterative Neoclassical Conservative Solver) [M. Landreman et al., Phys. Plasmas 21 (2014) 042503] which employs the full linearized Fokker-Planck-Landau operator, to calculate neoclassical impurity transport coefficients for a Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) magnetic configuration. We compare SFINCS calculations with theoretical asymptotes in the high collisionality limit. We observe and explain a 1/nu-scaling of the inter-species radial transport coefficient at low collisionality, arising due to the field term in the inter-species collision operator, and which is not found with simplified collision models even when momentum correction is applied. However, this type of scaling disappears if a radial electric field is present. We also use SFINCS to analyze how the impurity content affects the neoclassical impurity dynamics and the bootstrap current. We show that a change in plasma effective charge Zeff of order unity can affect the bootstrap current enough to cause a deviation in the divertor strike point locations.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figure

Pet owner and vet interactions: exploring the drivers of AMR

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health problem across the world. As the negative consequences of AMR become apparent at local, national and international levels, more attention is being focussed on the variety of mechanisms by which AMR is potentiated. We explore how interactions between pet owners and veterinarians represent a key arena in which AMR-related behaviours can be shaped. Methods: In depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with pet owners (n = 23) and vets (n = 16) across the UK in 2017. A thematic analysis approach was taken, with inductively gathered data analysed deductively using a behavioural framework to identified key behaviours emerging from participant accounts which were amenable to change. Results: Interactions between vets and pet owners were characterised by misunderstandings and misconceptions around antibiotics by pet owners, and a lack of clarity about the positions and intentions of the other party. Vets and pet owners had differing perceptions of where pressure to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately originated. Vets perceived it was mostly pet owners who pushed for inappropriate antibiotics, whereas pet owners reported they felt it was vets that overprescribed. Low levels of understanding of AMR in general were apparent amongst pet owners and understandings with regard to AMR in pets specifically were almost non-existent in the sample. Conclusions: Improved use of antibiotics could be assisted by educating the pet owning public and by guideline development for companion animal vets, concurrent development of mandatory legislation, increased consultation time to facilitate better communication, development of vet training on antimicrobial therapy and stewardship led interactions with pet owners, and increased levels of knowledge of pet-related AMR amongst pet owners

Measuring presence: Hypothetical quantitative framework

Virtual Reality Head - Mounted Display (HMD) manufacturers claim that consumer electronics can finally deliver a high degree of presence in virtual and remote environments. Certainly, current consumer-grade HMD systems offer rich and coherent mediated experiences of such environments. However, the very concept of presence is still a subject of debate, and researchers\u27 investigation of the phenomenon of `presence\u27 is based primarily on qualitative (i.e. questionnaire-based) assessments. Some researchers attempted to develop real-time, quantitative methods to facilitate more objective investigation of presence in mediated environments. Most such methodologies are derived from attempts to correlate presence with cardiovascular and electrodermal activity in response to stressful stimuli [1]. Such methodologies often don\u27t comply with the underlying logic, fundamental to this approach: a high degree of presence manifests itself through similar responses to the stimulus observed in a physical and Virtual Environment (VE). Therefore, the lack of deviation from baseline measurement observed in a physical environment should be a manifestation of a high level of presence. We have argued theoretical grounds for the development of quantitative methodologies for measuring presence in VE. However, our hypothesis can be applicable to other contexts, such as presence in physical but remote location, augmented reality, and even a physical environment. We argue that the concept of presence requires further research and development and that the definition of presence should be addressed first. Presence is discussed in the context of brain function theory [2]. Three hypothetical experiments are proposed and described. The first experiment is designed to evaluate capacity of the medium for inducing presence. The second experiment evaluates factors loading on presence, through physiological deviations from baseline observed during controlled regression in quality of the VE properties. The third experiment is designed to evaluate brain function theory hypothesis in relation to Virtual Environments. Possible experiment results and their interpretation is discussed along benefits of adopting Open Science methodology in our research community