Search

Times Education Supplement- "This is an intriguing, highly informative book....Detailed case studies of how 10 Local Authorities "broke out" from selection make the book especially valuable. The cases are well chosen." British Journal of Educational Studies-"This well-produced and richly-documented work is the outcome of a research project entitiled "When a Society Changes its School System: the Introduction of Comprehensive Schools in Great Britain." History of Education Review -" This book has a number of strengths. It provides readers with some interesting and new sources of data, explores the machinations of LEAs, re-examines the nature and function of comprehensive seconday schools, and draws implications for current policy directions...In all, the book will prove a valuable read for those interested in the past and future of comprehensive schooling

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate optical and visual functional performance of the osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP).\ud \ud Methods: Optical design and analysis was performed with customized optical design software. Nine patients with implanted OOKP devices and 9 age-matched control patients were assessed. Contrast sensitivity was assessed and glare effect was measured with a brightness acuity test. All OOKP patients underwent kinetic Goldmann perimetry and wavefront aberrometry and completed the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25).\ud \ud Results: Optical analysis showed that the optical cylinder is near diffraction-limited. A reduction in median visual acuity (VA) with increasing glare settings was observed from 0.04 logMAR (without glare) to 0.20 logMAR (with glare at “high” setting) and significantly reduced statistically when compared with the control group at all levels of glare (P < 0.05). Contrast sensitivity was significantly reduced when compared with age-matched controls at medium and high spatial frequencies (P < 0.05). Median Goldmann perimetry was 65 degrees (interquartile range, 64–74 degrees; V-4e isopters) and 69 degrees excluding 2 glaucomatous subjects. Several vision-related NEI VFQ-25 subscales correlated significantly with VA at various brightness acuity test levels and contrast sensitivity at medium spatial frequencies, including dependency, general vision, near activities and distance activities.\ud \ud Conclusions: The OOKP optical cylinder provides patients with a good level of VA that is significantly reduced by glare. We have shown in vivo that updates to the optical cylinder design have improved the patient's field of view. Reduction of glare and refinement of cylinder alignment methods may further improve visual function and patient satisfaction.

Despite clear implications for human capital accumulation, there has been little research on the postsecondary educational experiences of students living in public housing. While there is significant and growing research exploring outcomes for public housing tenants, even in the education sphere, little of this work focuses on postsecondary outcomes and what role, if any, public housing plays in human capital accumulation. Our case study, New York City, is home to both the nation's largest urban public university system and the largest public housing authority. In this work, we use matching techniques to identify and describe the residential characteristics of students at the City University of New York. We explore how students who live in public housing developments differ from their peers in terms of characteristics associated with success in college, including demographics, neighborhood poverty, and high school preparation. We use regression techniques to test the relation between public housing reside...

These handsome volumes of over 900 pages in all give a full transcription and translation of the ‘Rex’ roll of crown pleas in the very last judicial eyre for common pleas held in Lancashire, which ...

Very few English secondary schools now include ‘Comprehensive’ in their titles, and political enthusiasm for comprehensive schools is hard to detect. According to David Skelton of Policy Exchange, politicians, like anthropologists, have often ‘investigated them, read thoroughly about them and even visited them, but they don’t really understand them’. Drawing on a variety of source materials, this article discusses the early comprehensive schools movement, the period of intensive circulars and legislation in the 1960s and 1970s and the subsequent waning of interest in comprehensive schools as a policy topic. At the heart of the discussion is a focus on politics and politicians at both the national and local levels, with close reference to some key personalities of the post-war period. It is argued that the story of comprehensive schooling in England needs more balance and that we should look to the present generation of politicians and historians to provide this.

A murder of a man who was probably a local freeholder, committed near the Nottinghamshire village of Staythorpe near Newark in 1295, has left a remarkably detailed record in a plea roll of the Court of King’s Bench, resulting from the persistent attempts made by the victim’s widow to convict the perpetrators through the use of a judicial procedure known as an appeal. It includes details of the alleged culprits, the location and date of the crime, and even the weapons used by the individual killers. The killing was allegedly carried out at the instigation of three knights of the county, one of whom was probably the victim’s lord, but the social significance of the crime can only be the subject of speculation because, despite all the circumstantial detail, as usual no motive is recorded.

SummaryObjective To undertake a comprehensive evaluation of apolipoprotein risk markers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) according to gender, age and menopausal status. Design Cross-sectional analysis of independent associations of gender, age and menopause with serum apolipoproteins. Participants Apparently healthy Caucasian premenopausal (n = 109) and postmenopausal (n = 252) women not taking oral contraceptives or hormone replacement, and Caucasian men (n = 307). Measurements Serum apolipoprotein (apo) B, A-I and A-II concentrations were measured, plus serum total cholesterol, low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C, respectively), triglycerides, cholesterol in HDL subfractions and the apoB/apoA-I, LDL-C/apoB, HDL-C/apoA-I and HDL-C/apoA-II ratios. Analyses were undertaken with and without standardization for confounding characteristics and in 5-year age ranges. Results Overall, apoB concentrations were highest in men but in women rose with age and menopause to converge, in the age range of 50–55 years, with concentrations in men. The LDL-C/apoB ratio was generally higher in women than in men. ApoA-I concentrations were highest in postmenopausal women and lowest in men (standardized median (IQR) 144 (130, 158) vs 119 (108, 132) g/l, respectively, P < 0·001). ApoA-II concentrations were also highest in postmenopausal women but were lowest in premenopausal women (40·3 (37·5, 44·5) vs 32·9 (30·5, 35·7) g/l, respectively, P < 0·001). Nevertheless, postmenopausal women had HDL-C/apoA-I and HDL-C/apoA-II ratios approaching the lowest ratios, which were seen in men. Conclusions Consistent with adverse effects on CVD risk, male gender, ageing in women and menopause were associated with increased apoB concentrations, and menopause and male gender were associated with a decreased cholesterol content of HDL particles.

Seed potato degeneration, the reduction in yield or quality caused by an accumulation of pathogens and pests in planting material due to successive cycles of vegetative propagation, has been a long-standing production challenge for potato growers around the world. In developed countries this problem has been overcome by general access to and frequent use of seed, produced by specialized growers, that has been certified to have pathogen and pest incidence below established thresholds, often referred to as certified seed. The success of certified seed in developed countries has concentrated the research and development agenda on the establishment of similar systems in developing countries. Despite these efforts, certified seed has had little penetration into the informal seed systems currently in place in most developing countries. Small-scale farmers in these countries continue to plant seed tubers acquired through the informal seed system, i.e. produced on-farm or acquired from neighbours or local markets. Informal seed tubers frequently have poor health status, leading to significant reductions in yield and/or market value. This review emphasizes the need to refocus management efforts in developing countries on improving the health status of seed tubers in the informal system by integrating disease resistance and on-farm management tools with strategic seed replacement. This ‘integrated seed health strategy’ can also prolong the good health status of plants derived from certified seed, which would otherwise be diminished due to potential rapid infection from neighbouring fields. Knowledge gaps, development challenges and impacts of this integrated seed health strategy are discussed.

Aim: The authors of this review present the current evidence of the physiology, indications and use of adrenaline in neonates, with particular focus on the treatment of hypotension. Method: A structured literature search was performed across selected electronic databases, reference lists and related articles. Abstracts arising from the search were screened for relevance according to predefined inclusion criteria. Full articles for the selected abstracts were obtained and then reviewed. Articles were analysed through a two stage process until agreement was reached between the research team on the studies for inclusion. Results: We identified 187 animal and human studies (published between 1924-2011) using various methodologies but with two main themes: the physiology of endogenous adrenaline in neonates and the therapeutic uses of this hormone in neonatal medicine. The physiological studies measured catecholamine levels in cord blood, neonatal urine and blood, some in response to interventions such as suctioning, skin massage or morphine infusion. Within the therapeutic studies there was only one randomised controlled trial (RCT): a comparison of dopamine versus adrenaline involving 60 infants of < 32 weeks gestational age. Conclusion: Despite the number of studies identified, we found few adequately-controlled studies on the therapeutic use of adrenaline in neonates. Future research should focus on RCTs comparing adrenaline to other commonly used inotropes.

UK-based teacher educators formed the core membership of the History of Education Society when it was founded in 1967, and they were frequent early contributors to the Society’s journals. Given these origins, one might imagine that the history of teacher education would have featured more prominently in the pages of the first 40 volumes of the journal than it has. This article identifies and discusses examples of research into teacher education that have featured in History of Education since 1972, making connections with the contexts of political, social and educational change. The influence of feminist scholarship is particularly noted and it is argued that work relating to teacher education, which peaked in the 1990s, has both reflected and shaped new methodological approaches to studying the history of education. Notwithstanding the journal’s publication of some important work, it is argued that the theme remains under-researched and, in the period ahead, it is to be hoped that interest can be re-invi...

The articles in this special issue of History of Education are based on papers given at the 2010 annual conference of the History of Education Society, held at the Garden Halls, London, on 26-28 No...

OBJECTIVE To compare two strategies to enhance placento-fetal blood transfusion in preterm neonates before 33 weeks of gestation. METHODS We recruited women at risk for singleton preterm deliveries. All delivered before 33 completed weeks of gestation. In this single-center trial, women were randomized to either standard treatment (clamping the cord for 30 seconds after delivery) or repeated (four times) milking of the cord toward the neonate. Exclusion criteria included inadequate time to obtain consent before delivery, known congenital abnormalities of the fetus, Rhesus sensitization, or fetal hydrops. RESULTS Of 58 neonates included the trial, 31 were randomized to cord clamping and 27 were randomized to repeated milking of the cord. Mean birth weight was 1,263±428 g in the clamping group and 1,235±468 g in the milking group, with mean gestational age of 29.2±2.3 weeks and 29.5±2.7 weeks, respectively. Mean hemoglobin values for each group at 1 hour after birth were 17.3 g/L for clamping and 17.5 g/L for milking (P=.71). There was no significant difference in number of neonates undergoing transfusion (clamping group, 15; milking group, 17; P=.40) or the median number of transfusions within the first 42 days of life (median [range]: clamping group 0 [0-7]; milking group 0 [0-20]; P=.76). CONCLUSION Milking the cord four times achieved a similar amount of placento-fetal blood transfusion compared with delaying clamping the cord for 30 seconds. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION National Research Register UK, www.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx, N0051177741. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I.

Sherwood forest in Nottinghamshire was one of several English royal forests named after particular woods, in this case a ‘shire-wood’. During the twelfth century what later became known as Sherwood forest was called ‘the forest of Nottingham’, and the change to its subsequent name resulted from a complex process that took place between the 1160s and the 1230s. The location and extent of the original ‘shire-wood’ is problematic. The significance of an isolated reference, in an Anglo-Saxon royal charter of 958, to a ‘shire-wood’ in north Nottinghamshire is uncertain. The recent identification, in a mid-thirteenthcentury charter, of a reference to a ‘wood called Sherwood’, lying east of Kirkby in Ashfield, indicates that the core of the by then established forest of Sherwood lay in the woodland in which the Augustinian priory of Newstead had been founded by Henry II.

Forced-air warming is a commonly used warming modality, which has been shown to reduce the incidence of inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (36°C). The reusable resistive heating mattresses offer a potentially cheaper alternative, however, and one of the research recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence was to evaluate such devices formally. We conducted a randomized single-blinded study comparing perioperative hypothermia in patients receiving resistive heating or forced-air warming.A total of 160 patients undergoing non-emergency surgery were recruited and randomly allocated to receive either forced-air warming (n=78) or resistive heating (n=82) in the perioperative period. Patient core temperatures were monitored after induction of anaesthesia until the end of surgery and in the recovery room. Our primary outcome measures included the final intraoperative temperature and incidence of hypothermia at the end of surgery.There was a significantly higher rate of hypothermia at the end of surgery in the resistive heating group compared with the forced-air warming group (P=0.017). Final intraoperative temperatures were also significantly lower in the resistive heating group (35.9 compared with 36.1°C, P=0.029). Hypothermia at the end of surgery in both warming groups was common (36% forced air warming, 54% resistive heating).Our results suggest that forced-air warming is more effective than resistive heating in preventing postoperative hypothermia.NCT01056991.

Background Many United Kingdom patients with asthma and rhinitis are allergic, but in primary care few diagnostic and management decisions are made with formal allergy assessment. Arguably, knowing a patient's atopic status might be helpful in distinguishing the cause of disease and in selecting appropriate treatments. Objectives Our objective was to estimate the extent to which a formal allergy assessment (a structured allergy history and skin prick tests to 5 common aeroallergens) would improve the precision of allergy diagnosis compared with a patient's self-report or the structured allergy history alone. Methods One hundred twenty-seven patients with asthma, rhinitis, or both were recruited from 4 general practices in Wessex, United Kingdom. Allergy status based on the patient's opinion and on structured allergy history alone was compared with formal allergy assessment. Assessments were validated by an independent allergy specialist reviewing the files. Patients were given written advice specific to their allergies and followed up 3 months later to assess satisfaction, recall, and effect on health and behavior. Results Self-reporting misclassified allergic status in many patients. A structured allergy history alone was little better and resulted in false-positive rates for cat allergy of 32%, grass pollen of 48%, house dust mite of 75%, tree pollen of 54%, and dog of 27% compared with formal allergy assessment. Skin prick testing combined with a structured history was essential to reach a correct causative diagnosis. Three months later, 41% patients had made changes to lifestyle, medications, or both, and 18% reported clinical improvement. Conclusions Skin prick testing improves the accuracy of an assessment of allergic status based on patient opinion or a structured allergy history alone.

In 1575 the Jesuit general in Rome issued an ordinance governing the use of music in the order's rapidly expanding network of colleges. Motets, masses, hymns, "and other pious compositions" were to be retained; indecent and "vain" music was to be burned. Sixteen years later the Jesuits' provincial administrator in Bavaria drew up a set of supplemental instructions, to which was appended a catalog of prohibited music as well as a complementary list of approved compositions (D-Mbs Clm 9237). Verbal texts treating drunkenness and erotic love account for the majority of banned pieces, but in some cases—a setting of the first verse of Psalm 137 by Orlando di Lasso, for example—the sound and style of the music led to its prohibition. Although intended for all colleges within the Jesuits' Upper German province, this catalog apparently derives solely from a review of the music collection of Munich's college on the occasion of its move in 1591 to a magnificent new building financed by the duke of Bavaria. Like the architecture and curriculum of the college, the music catalog reflected Bavaria's new understanding of its role as principal post-Tridentine defender of the true faith. And, like the formal confessions of faith, catechisms, and service books promulgated by Europe's Churches during the late sixteenth century, Bavaria's catalog of prohibited music gave expression to an ideology of difference and exclusion that lies at the very heart of post-Reformation Christianity.

This article identifies Alec Clegg as the leading figure behind the English middle-school movement from the late 1960s. It is argued that the rise of middle schools was sustained by Clegg's astute understanding, which he transmitted to other local education authorities, that the political imperative of comprehensive reorganisation need not necessarily be at odds with the educational interests of ‘middle years’ children. The article supports the view of Gosden and Sharp in The Development of an Education Service in the West Riding, 1889–1974 that the middle-school model ‘was probably the West Riding's single greatest contribution to national education in the post-war period'.

In the United Kingdom, television for schools is 50 years old in 2007. The anniversary provides a reason to undertake an exploratory history of school broadcasting, an area that has received very little attention from historians of British education. The first part of this article examines the origins of school radio broadcasting, focusing especially upon the pioneering work of Mary Somerville, who served as the BBC’s first Director of School Broadcasting from 1929 to 1947. It is then argued that school broadcasting had a ‘good war’, enhancing its international reputation and sense of public value between 1939 and 1945. Following the conclusion of hostilities, there were high expectations that television for schools would become quickly established, but financial, technical and other practical impediments delayed the launch of services until 1957. By that time, commercial television had emerged as a rival to the BBC and it was an ITV company, Associated-Rediffusion, rather than the BBC, which won the race to broadcast the first television programmes for schools. Some significant technological and marketled changes since the 1980s are noted, but the conclusion states that the reputation of British school broadcasting remains high at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

If at the end of an average term of office it were found that a Liberal Parliament had done nothing to cope seriously with the social condition of the people, to remove the national degradation of ...

To distinguish the effects of menopause, gender and age on serum lipid risk markers for vascular disease, including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) subfractions 2 and 3 (HDL2-C and HDL3-C).We undertook a cross-sectional database analysis of apparently healthy Caucasian pre- and postmenopausal women and men (n=515, 518 and 800, respectively) not taking drugs affecting lipid metabolism (including contraceptive or post-menopausal steroids). Measurements of serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, HDL2-C, HDL3-C and non-HDL-C concentrations and the TC/HDL-C concentration ratio were considered.Men had lower TC than postmenopausal women (p0.001) and similar LDL-C. Compared with premenopausal women, postmenopausal women had a more atherogenic lipid profile with lower HDL2-C (median 0.67 vs 0.60 mmol/L, p0.001) but no difference in HDL3-C (0.96 vs 0.96 mmol/L, p=0.8). Compared with either pre or postmenopausal women, men had a more atherogenic profile with lower HDL2-C (0.36 mmol/L) and HDL3-C (0.91 mmol/L, all p0.001). With standardization for confounding variables, including standardization to age of menopause (50 years), differences apparent in the non-standardized comparisons were generally sustained, although HDL3-C levels were lower at menopause, HDL2-C ceased to differ and LDL-C was lower in postmenopausal women than men.Male gender is associated with a more atherogenic profile than female gender, with appreciably lower levels of the HDL2-C subfraction. Among women, menopause is associated with a more atherogenic lipid profile, but has less effect than male gender.

The incentivization of UK primary care through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) has released an unprecedented supply of data that in theory could aid health equity audit and reduce health inequalities. The current system allows for 'exception reporting' whereby patients can be excluded from calculation of payment for reasons such as failure to attend review. We speculated that such exclusions could be linked to socioeconomic deprivation.We assessed 'exception reporting' rates for 15 diabetes indicators using 2004/05 QOF data for 49 general practitioner (GP) practices in Brighton and Hove and related it to a deprivation ranking for each practice.The standardized diabetes prevalence was 26% higher (P0.001) in the highest compared to the lowest quintile of deprivation. Correlations between 'exception reporting' and deprivation were seen for 10 of the 15 diabetes indicators (r = 0.20-0.41, P0.05). Practices with a more deprived patient population were more likely to report 'exceptions' for QOF indicators, although there was no such relationship with the achievement of QOF targets.Strategies to reduce health inequalities need to take into account that high levels of exception reporting, particularly in practices with deprived populations, may be disguising unmet need in those populations.

This article highlights a violent incident in the history of British student protests and outlines the judicial process that resulted. A wider consideration of student protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s, both in the UK and overseas is offered, together with some consideration of the significance of this particular case. At the time of the incident, and during the crown court and appeal hearings, the names of the defendants, of other prominent student protesters, the University proctors and witnesses who provided evidence were published in the press. It is not thought appropriate to name these persons in this article.

Many postmenopausal women are reluctant to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and those who do are likely to discontinue within 1 year. Setting aside the beliefs and prejudices of the prescriber, women's own perceptions of risks and benefits may influence their willingness to accept and then persevere with HRT. We conducted a systematic literature review relating women's beliefs about HRT to acceptance and adherence.Using standard guidelines for systematic search procedures, we identified 112 papers (published during 1980-2002) from databases such as Medline, PsycINFO and the NHS and Cochrane libraries.Women hold both positive and negative beliefs about HRT. Their perceptions of benefits are often countered by concerns over potential adverse effects, beliefs that are sometimes at odds with the clinical evidence. The use and discontinuation of HRT are influenced more by short-term symptom relief than by considerations of long-term benefits. Many women who refuse HRT believe that the menopause is a natural event that does not warrant 'chemical' intervention. Doctors and nurses are not used to their full capacity as an education and information resource to counter the possibility of unbalanced stories in the media.Addressing women's preconceptions about HRT should be an important part of the process of prescribing and review. Such an approach will help ensure that a woman's decision to start or continue HRT is informed by an understanding of the known risks and benefits, rather than by myths or mistaken beliefs about the menopause or HRT.

Dietarytransfatty acids are associated with increased risk of CHD. We hypothesized that the changes in plasma lipids associated with a high intake oftransfatty acids would cause adverse effects on procoagulant and fibrinolytic activities. A randomized crossover controlled feeding study was conducted in twenty-nine men. Atrans-rich diet supplying 10 % energy astrans-18:1 was compared with diets in which thetransfatty acids were replaced either with carbohydrate or oleate; each diet was taken for 2 weeks in random order. Fasting fibrinogen and D-dimer concentrations and factor VII coagulant, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 and tissue plasminogen activator did not differ between diets. Postprandially, tissue plasminogen activator activity increased and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 activity decreased on all diets. Factor VIIc increased postprandially by 15 and 17 % on thetransand oleate diets respectively, compared with an 11 % increase on the carbohydrate diet; the mean difference between oleate and carbohydrate diets was 6 (95 % CI 0·2, 11·9) %. The LDL-cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B: apolipoprotein A-I ratios increased by 13 (95 % CI 5·7, 21·8) and 10 (95 % CI 3·1, 17·2) % respectively on thetransdiet compared with the oleate diet and by 6 (95 % CI 0·1,12·7) and 7 (95 % CI 0, 13·5) % respectively compared with the carbohydrate diet. Plasma HDL2-cholesterol concentration was 18 (95 % CI 0·7, 35·9) % lower on thetransdiet compared with the oleate diet. The results confirm adverse effects oftransfatty acids on HDL-cholesterol concentrations, but suggest thattransfatty acids do not have any specific effects on known haemostatic risk markers for cardiovascular disease in healthy young men in the short-term.

We studied a four-generation family (17 subjects) with familial lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency. A 30-year-old Caucasian male with corneal clouding and HDL cholesterol Val), a previously reported mutation (Thr321-->Met) and a common variant (Thr208-->Ser) of the gene. Immunoreactive LCAT concentration (1.2 microg/ml), alpha-LCAT activity (13 nmol/ml per h) and cholesterol esterification rate (CER) (14 nmol/ml per h) in his plasma were, respectively, 14, 8 and 14% of the mean values in healthy subjects. The proband and 13 of his relatives also had familial defective apo B (FDB, Arg3500-->Gln). Six subjects had LCAT Phe382-->Val in combination with FDB. Plasma lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) was 24 nmol/l in the proband and 46-211 nmol/l in his father and siblings, consistent with expression of the 16 kringle 4 isoform. The proband had no signs of coronary heart disease (CHD), but his father, a paternal uncle and a female cousin had CHD before age 38 years