Search

Improving mathematics education is an issue that arises periodically in the media and is the object of frequent, and sometimes contradictory, policy efforts and academic endeavours. Strategies used to tackle this issue range from raising requirements for tertiary entry to focussing on innovative pedagogies. One strategy with the potential to enhance pre-service teacher education is to improve collaboration between the stakeholders charged with providing this education: mathematicians and teacher educators. However, finding ways to enhance collaboration across discipline boundaries remains largely unexplored in this context. This paper studies the development of a multidisciplinary team of university academics collaborating to improve mathematics pre-service teacher education. To facilitate this collaboration and shared learning, a narrative inquiry process was utilised. The process enabled members to explore, deepen and sustain their connections with one another and their understanding of the shared focus underpinning their work as teacher educators. Our thematic analysis of the narratives obtained, highlights factors that enhance or potentially hinder multidisciplinary interactions and learning. Multidisciplinary teams may use their increased knowledge of these factors, and the process of narrative inquiry itself, to reflect upon their current and future collaborations. This allows such teams to preclude, manage, and respond to challenges in ways that can ultimately enhance pre-service teacher education.

This paper is one in a series of papers interrogating some of the fundamental bases of what is seen as good professional experience in initial teacher education (ITE). This paper uses the case study of Health/Physical Education (HPE) students' perceptions of their professional experience, compared to other teaching disciplines, in one regional university to examine the seemingly taken-for-granted view that professional experience in all teaching disciplines can be assessed according to generic professional standards. In this case when HPE students were surveyed on their views of their ability to satisfy the NSW Institute of Teachers' Professional Teaching Standards during practical experience their perceptions differed from students in other disciplines. A number of reasons were posited for this including the notion that each discipline has its own particular pedagogy as suggested by Schulman (1986, 1987). Suggestions as to future research are provided.

This paper describes a national statistics-oriented project-based learning activity, which has been delivered annually for five years in Australia and the outcomes of a particular collaboration of this initiative with the discipline of environmental sustainability. The national initiative engages primary- and secondary-school students from varied backgrounds and education levels in quantitative-based investigations. It develops key future workplace skills aligned with national school-curriculum outcomes and motivates students by enabling them to take the lead, determine the context, collaborate, investigate, and create. An underlying delivery model connects primary- and secondary-school students with tertiary educators, industry, and the practice of statistics. A pre-post cross-sectional study revealed significant improvements in students' and teachers' confidence with, and awareness of, the field of statistics. Australian school teachers are saying, "21st Century learning at its best" and "motivates and engages students." Industry mentors are saying, "provides students a unique opportunity." Students are saying, "engaging, educational and enjoyable." The activity has engaged some eighty schools, and annually several hundred students participate.

The purpose of the study reported in this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of an implementation of teaching rounds as a practice-based approach to pre-service teacher education in mathematics. The teaching rounds implemented in the study utilised the NSW Quality Teaching model pedagogical framework as a tool for learning about and reflecting on teaching practices. The evaluation was conducted through a mixed methods approach using a combination of surveys and analysis of student assessment tasks. The major findings of the study are that pre-service teachers found practice-based experience and the subsequent reflections using teaching rounds very valuable compared to other learning experiences. We also found that pre-service teachers undertaking a Masters teaching degree were significantly more insightful about planning for and reflecting about teaching practice than those undertaking an undergraduate degree. We believe these two facts have implications not only at our institution but also at a global level for policy makers in other institutions providing pre-service education.

This study compared pre-service teachers' perceptions of their professional competencies at two campuses of a large regional teacher education university, where one campus provided students 22% more hours of professional placement in schools and related educational settings. Students who had experienced more hours in schools and such settings were more positive about their, ability to apply their knowledge of students and how they learn, classroom management, professional knowledge and practice, and community engagement; however, when students felt well supported during professional experience, such differences diminished. Additional hours were not associated with pre-service teachers' perceptions of their ability to apply subject content and teaching; plan, assess and report; and effective student communication. Researchers argued that this pointed to the crucial role of good classroom mentors in teacher professional experience but also the value of students' tertiary teacher education in preparing them for classroom teaching.

Professional experience in teacher education is explored through the conceptual lens of the wicked problem. Wicked problems are socially constructed and complex. This paper outlines what is at stake in the framing of the problem of professional experience and how constructions of the problem make it difficult to find enduring solutions. The tactical and strategic implications for finding solutions to professional experience are discussed. It is argued that teacher educators must simultaneously work on tactically resolving issues whilst also engaging in a more strategic, evidence-based dialogue on the purpose of professional experience, its models of delivery, and evidence of outcomes.

As part of many universities' Business degrees, students will undertake an introductory statistics course. Lecturers need to help these students appreciate and recognise the value of possessing quantitative skills and to learn and apply such skills. Three components to teaching that address these aims as well as the interdependence of these components as part of a process which enhances the teaching environment and student outcomes are described. Methods and examples to perform the techniques and ideas are provided along with a discussion of their implementation and effectiveness after delivery in a large first year course. (Contains 10 footnotes, 2 tables and 7 figures.)

Aims: To identify foods that cause problematic postprandial blood glucose levels (BGLs) in children and young people with type 1 diabetes, the strategies families use to manage these foods and the impact of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) on nutritional management. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional survey of 100 families attending a paediatric diabetes centre in Australia. Results: Participants (n = 100) had a mean age of 13.0 ± 3.6 years; diabetes duration 5.2 ± 4.0 years; HbA1c 53 ± 0.9 mmol/mol (7.0 ± 0.8%); 52% used multiple daily injections (MDI, ≥4 injections/day); 48% used insulin pump therapy; and overall, 60% used CGM. Ninety‐one participants (91%) identified problematic foods, including pizza (60%), pasta (55%) and rice (31%). Of these, 96% used one or more strategies to manage BGLs, including correcting BGLs more often (51%), use of a combination bolus (39%) and increasing the meal insulin dose (32%). Participants who gave additional meal insulin (n = 28) increased the dose by 10% to 25%. All MDI users (n = 15) gave additional insulin pre‐prandially. Of those using CGM, 88% (n = 53) reported an increased awareness of the glycaemic impact of foods, and 27% (n = 16) had subsequently made changes to their management including avoiding and/or restricting new foods (n = 7). Conclusions: Families with type 1 diabetes reported foods such as pizza, pasta and rice as problematic and used strategies such as increasing the insulin dose to minimise their glycaemic impact. CGM contributed to the awareness of problematic foods. Clinicians should discuss these foods and, if challenging, provide targeted strategies including adjusting the insulin dose and delivery pattern to improve postprandial glycaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on semi-structured interviews with 54 distinct actors in the UK and Canada, we identify a range of internal psychological orientations that are common (albeit to varying degrees) in both case study regions that, when taken together, provide a lens through which on-farm decisions relating to pro-environmental behaviours are internally analysed and subsequently operationalised. We label these orientations as Production, Business, Environmental, Lifestyle , and Farm Health. Through these orientations, we find farmers are often becoming 'accidental environmentalists' by undertaking many pro-environmental activities for non-environmental reasons. Prominent examples include adopting environmentally beneficial on-farm decisions to support field sports (i.e. shooting), pursuing production improvements with environmental spin-offs (e.g. cover crops, beneficial pollinators), or seeking improvements to personal or family health and well-being (e.g. reduced use of chemicals). This analysis therefore highlights the importance of not oversimplifying farmer motivations along a dualistic profit-seeking v stewardship divide when it comes to understanding environmental behaviour. • We explore farmers' pro-environmental decision-making in England and Ontario, Canada. • We identify a range of internal orientations that are common in both case study regions. • These orientations are Production, Business, Environmental, Lifestyle, and Farm Health. • These interests form a frame through which options are internally analysed and decisions derived. • Farmers are undertaking many pro-environmental activities for non-environmental reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society’s increasing demands for a multitude of products and services are putting pressure on a finite land base, resulting in potential competition between agricultural and environmental interests. Stakeholder organisations wield considerable power in determining land allocation and the pursuit of different land-use objectives. Through the use of an inductive, qualitative methodology this study analyses the agri-environmental land-use preferences of organisational level actors operating in two comparable cases: England, UK and Ontario, Canada. The use of a comparative approach allowed for the illumination of differences and similarities within the preferences of stakeholders from like jurisdictions, which may not be evident from the analysis of a single case. In each case, semi-structured interviews, coupled with a photo-elicitation exercise, were used to explore preferences relating to agri-environmental integration (land-sharing) or separation (land-sparing). We found that the preferences of stakeholder organisations are more similar than might be expected with actors from both cases generally preferring a land-sharing approach in principle. However, a deeper look at stakeholder preferences provides a series of obstacles for achieving such a landscape model including differing views on: (1) the interpretation of integration and separation in practice, (2) conversion of land into agricultural production, (3) environmental restoration of arable land, (4) ownership of farmland, and (5) public access to nature on private farmland. The research uncovers what representatives from key organisational stakeholders see as their preferred solution for reconciling competing land-use objectives and thereby sheds light on the contextual suitability of land sparing/sharing expanding beyond production/biodiversity optimisation into social considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to balance agricultural production and environmental conservation in the face of increasing demand for food, fuel and fibre poses a major challenge for governments around the world. This challenge is explored in two areas of comparison: Ontario, Canada and England, UK in order to understand how each has balanced agriculture and environment in its land use policies. England and Ontario share similarities that suggest lessons and instruments may be transferrable to achieve similar land use objectives. Through the use of a thematic analysis of policy documentation, from each case study area, themes are identified demonstrating differences in approaches, and underlying policy preferences, associated with balancing agriculture and the environment. Specifically, results suggest that policymakers in Ontario hold a preference for land-sparing and leanings towards the productivist paradigm, whereas the land-sharing approach coupled with evidence of post-productivism is more common in England. The structural similarities of these cases provides insights into less tangible aspects of either context, such as policymaker preferences, where different approaches have emerged from a similar foundation. Moreover, as England transitions out of the EU, it may draw on the experiences of other jurisdictions in the design of a new suite of agri-environmental policies, with Ontario's approach providing one alternative. Overall, this paper contributes to our understanding of the manifestation of land-sparing/sharing and productivism/post-productivism in real world policy contexts and the relationship between both sets of concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Water Framework Directive mandates EU Member States to achieve good status across all surface waters. Derogations from this have to be proven based on infeasibility or disproportionate cost. This study explores public preference for water quality objectives and assesses willingness to pay (WTP) for achieving good status across all rivers in the Republic of Ireland using contingent valuation. Mean WTP for achieving full good status across rivers was estimated at €19 per respondent per annum. WTP was influenced by social class, subjective perceptions relating to household financial status, education, recreational use, environmental values and river basin district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some commentators have put forward the idea of paying farmers a one-off lump sum (commonly referred to as a CAP bond), in lieu of annual single farm payments. This would bring about real reform of the CAP, but at the same time compensate farmers for the elimination of support and give them the capacity to adjust to an unsupported world. Through the development of a contingent valuation scenario, we ascertained the types of farmers who would be most likely to voluntarily switch to this reform measure at specified payment levels. We found that older farmers and those more motivated by business related objectives are relatively more attracted to a CAP bond. Those with greater household financial security and those characterised as being more risk-averse were less likely to prefer a one-off lump sum. Overall our analysis suggests there would be a general reluctance among farm operators to take up a CAP bond even at very high payment levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Study compared the views of farmers with the general public. [•] Both farmers and the general public had similarly high levels of concern for the environment. [•] There were important differences in attitudes for some environmental issues. [•] Factors such as age, income, place of residence and presence of children have a significant influence in individual attitudes towards environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An elementary System Oriented Event Analysis (SOEA) model was developed as an innovative method addressing serious limitations of the traditional root cause analysis (RCA) in healthcare. The SOEA has three distinctive capabilities beyond RCA: multiple events analysis, systems thinking, risk control formulation and alignment. It was applicable to events arising within strict sequential processes. However, for wider application to nonsequential, network system flows, the model needed to be redesigned. The engineering concepts of verification and validation were adopted as guides for the redesign. Patient falls in three differently sized hospitals were used to verify the applicability of the redesigned model. The resulting enriched SOEA model (enSOEA) was later applied in a scabies outbreak case as a validation test of success. This paper aims to describe how the elementary SOEA model was redesigned to achieve the enriched SOEA that is applicable beyond the sequential process, and provides key lessons learned from the tests for promoting its application. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 16 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major transformation activity of the high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) is associated with the E7 oncoprotein. The interaction of HPV E7 with retinoblastoma family proteins is important for several E7 activities; however, this interaction does not fully account for the high-risk E7-specific cellular immortalization and transformation activities. We have determined that the cellular non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPN14 interacts with HPV E7 from many genus alpha and beta HPV types. We find that high-risk genus alpha HPV E7, but not low-risk genus alpha or beta HPV E7, is necessary and sufficient to reduce the steady-state level of PTPN14 in cells. High-risk E7 proteins target PTPN14 for proteasome-mediated degradation, which requires the ubiquitin ligase UBR4, and PTPN14 is degraded by the proteasome in HPV-positive cervical cancer cell lines. Residues in the C terminus of E7 interact with the C-terminal phosphatase domain of PTPN14, and interference with the E7-PTPN14 interaction restores PTPN14 levels in cells. Finally, PTPN14 degradation correlates with the retinoblastoma-independent transforming activity of high-risk HPV E7.

Abstract: Given that an increasing share of budgetary resources are now being spent on measures aimed at protecting the visual quality of agricultural landscapes it will be important to better understand individuals’ landscape preferences and the factors that influence those preferences. Within this context, using a nationally representive survey of Irish residents, the central aim of this study was to gain more insight into people''s preferences regarding traditional farming landscapes. Individuals rated agricultural landscapes in terms of beauty quite highly but given a choice prefer traditional more extensive farming landscapes over more modern intensive farming landscapes. Moreover, the results suggest that there are systematic differences in preferences for traditional farm landscapes between different demographic groupings and also depending on individuals’ environmental value orientations. Accordingly, in studying preferences for agricultural landscapes in particular areas it will be necessary to consider the social and demographic characteristics of the population as well as the physical aspects of the landscape. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the potential benefits accruing from use of the rural landscape, access to farmland is a contentious issue with many landowners restricting public access. Within this context, this paper first explores general public preferences and willingness to pay for farmland walking trails in the Irish countryside. Second this paper examines farmers’ willingness to participate in a hypothetical walking scheme whereby the general public will be allowed access to specific trails. Results suggest that individuals are not a homogeneous group with regard to their preferences for farmland walking trails. From a supply perspective, this paper identified significant regional variations in farmers’ attitudes relating to public access. More generally, the analysis presented here would suggest that there is significant scope for policy intervention to improve public access to the countryside. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Policy prescription in most Western societies has increasingly favoured urban intensification policies in order to ensure a more sustainable development pattern. In particular, it is now widely felt that residential decisions concerning where to live profoundly affect, among other things, environmental pollution, resource use and land and habitat loss. Using the central area of Dublin city as a case study, this paper focuses specifically on garnering a better understanding of the residential behaviour of residents who have moved into new relatively high-density residential environments. This is a group who have made the choice to move into a relatively high-density urban area and hence it will be revealing to assess the motives, preferences and future intentions of this residential population. Findings suggest that the ultimate residential preference of the majority of residents in these areas is for lower density locations which call into question the long term success of urban intensification efforts. Results from a logit model of residential mobility indicate that stage in their life cycle, satisfaction with both the dwelling and the neighbourhood emerge as significant predictors of respondents intended future mobility patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]