Engagement with virtual learning environments : a case study across faculties

Original article can be found at: www.herts.ac.uk/blip Copyright University of HertfordshireThe Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) not only supports institutional and national strategies in learning and teaching, but represents a significant investment in capital. Studies show that VLEs offer a variety of pedagogical benefits and usage of such systems can be effectively measured through the analysis of a system’s log files. However, although the increase in engagement with the VLE at UH as a whole has been considerable over recent years, there appears to be a wide variation in engagement across faculties, suggesting that tutors of some faculties could benefit from increased support to improve engagement. For example, during each of the academic years under study, the range of student engagement between two particular faculties dif-fered by at least 290%. Having identified faculties that show consistently low VLE engage-ment, we need to ask why this is, and ask whether there needs to be further investigation into the reasons behind this disparity.Peer reviewe

Revisiting 'What works for whom?' A qualitative framework for evaluating clinical effectiveness in child psychotherapy

This paper describes a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of child psychotherapy used by child psychotherapists in an inner city Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). The Hopes and Expectations for Treatment Approach (HETA) involves using the assessment for psychotherapy that normally precedes treatment to derive a baseline from which to generate a set of hopes/expectations as regards the effects of the treatment on the part of parents and the psychotherapist, to be revisited one year after the start of the psychotherapy and/or at its completion. The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, for parents and schools, was also administered before and after the treatment. The characteristics of the first 30 children referred for psychotherapy over a particular time period are described. Of the first 15 children in this group to complete one year of individual psychotherapy, all showed change or significant change in the areas concerning parents' and therapists' hopes at the end-of-year review, as rated by parents and psychotherapists. A case of a child with conduct disorder is used to describe how the assessment generated a psychoanalytic formulation, how the therapist's understanding was fed back to the parents, and how the parents' and therapist's hopes and expectations were derived and recorded. This case illustrates powerfully the impact of trauma in the parents' backgrounds on the internal world of the child, and how the method provides a useful bridge between parent and child work. Feedback from the psychotherapists, the parents and the referrers using the framework is reviewed, and in conclusion the paper argues for the framework's value in promoting good practice in the treatment and management of complex cases and in enhancing awareness of the nature and scope of the psychotherapy process

Are there changes in characteristics of UK higher education around the time of the 2006 Reforms (BIS research paper no. 14)

Analysis of Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data, 2002/3 to 2007/8 in response to the research question 'Are there any changes in the Characteristics of UK Higher Education around the time of the 2006 Reforms?' In analysing trends in student characteristics over the period between 2002 and 2007 the researchers identify areas where the 2006 reforms may have had an effect. It should be noted that the tables and charts presented in the report are descriptive

The GLA’s London Workforce Employment Series

This article describes the construction of the workforce employment data used by the Greater London Authority. It reproduces, in citable form and, for scholarly purposes, the report of the same name produced by the author for the Greater London Authority. This article describes the sources of this data and explains where they can be found. Workforce employment data is a vital resource for many cities, underpinning many city planning decisions Other important data about cities , such as estimates of its economic output, often depend on it. To build a reliable picture of London’s economy, it is essential to understand where its estimates of workforce employment come from, what information they provide and how reliable they are. The report explains what the term ‘workforce employment’ actually means, looks at the data sources that are used to obtain it, and discusses some of their limitations. Appendix A, compiled by Peter Urwin of the University of Westminster, contains a study the GLA commissioned from Westminster University which analyses discrepancies between the UK’s two main primary sources of employment data – the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Finally, it explains how GLA Economics selects and compiles its workforce employment series. Appendix B, compiled by Experian Business Studies, explains the statistical methods used to construct the data from the primary sources.Keywords: Labour Market; Minimum Wage; Living Wage

Education and Skills Mismatch in the Italian Graduate Labour Market

This paper focuses on education and skills mismatch amongst Italian graduates. Indicators for over and under-utilisation of education and under-utilisation of skills are included in a grouped data lognormal wage equation, allowing us to test a number of theories which could explain the effect of over-schooling on wages. We find little evidence to support assignment theory and also identify a relatively weak wage effect arising from educational mismatch associated with the formal requirements of a job, when compared to that associated with an employeeÕs perception of the job requirements. Our interpretation is that employers may be mis-specifying jobs as ÔgraduateÕ jobs in order to take advantage of an excess supply of graduates.over-education, skill under-utilisation, wages, on-the-job search

Identifying Variation in Learner Outcomes by Further Education Provider

This report presents results of a project to investigate how the labour market outcomes secured by individual learners vary across Further Education (FE) Providers. The research is the latest in a series of studies previously commissioned by BIS (now BEIS) of ILR-WPLS1 administrative data that estimate the value added of Further Education, as reflected in the Earnings, Employment and Benefit premiums secured by FE learners. This programme of investigation identifies good labour market returns to FE learning, and compelling evidence that previous less favourable findings (relating to vocationally- oriented learning at Level 2 and below) were a result of data limitations, rather than insignificant value added

A Return to Rawls: Applying Social Justice to Mental Health Provision in the Youth Offending Service

Mental health services provided through the Youth Offending Service (YOS) are inadequate to meet the needs of young offenders. The differing viewpoints of mental health and criminal justice are not incompatible, but require consideration in terms of how to work together. This has not occurred within youth justice, and there are tensions between the YOS and CAMHS. If the YOS structure better allowed for social justice approaches to occur within practice, these tensions could be avoided and the needs of young people better met. This research looked at the ways in which provision of mental health services impacts upon social justice within the YOS. A case study was constructed looking in detail at mental health provision, the challenges faced by mental health workers and their ability to overcome these problems. Mental health workers and managers within the YOS were interviewed to construct the case study. From this a number of issues were identified within practice that impact upon social justice, and how some youth offending teams had overcome them. From this both long and short-term suggestions and strategies for practice have been created to improve levels of social justice within youth justice practice.Economic and Social Research Counci

The evidence-base for generational differences: where do we go from here?

Interest in generational diversity has exploded since the turn of the 21st century. While many researchers are supportive of the concept of generations, a growing number have questioned the validity of the idea that people are different according to when they were born. In this paper we review recent work in the area and build on our own previous studies; which have been highly critical of extant empirical work. Many studies utilize cross-sectional data that do not allow investigation of generational difference; and even when appropriate data are used, the a-priori assumption of four or five generational categories invalidates research findings. We present selected results from analyses we have undertaken to overcome these issues, and identify a more robust direction for the research. Essentially, the theoretical foundation for generational research has some validity, but the existence of generational differences has not been validly tested. We suggest that researchers must investigate whether any cohort-specific differences in attitudes are apparent, and where, if at all, these can be ‘cut’ to identify distinct ‘structural breaks’ between generations. Only by building a body of knowledge, across different social and economic phenomena will we obtain a true picture of where generational differences lie