Exploring the Retention of Students Studying Higher Education at Partner Colleges

The study considers the retention of 708 students studying for higher education awards at further education colleges in 2008-2009. The study challenges the relevance of literature on retention at higher education institutions, to students studying at partner colleges. Using data provided on registration and end of year status, the study considers individual factors identified by Yorke & Longden (2008) that relate to withdrawal in the first year of study. The findings of the study suggest that the diversity of students and high degree of variability between courses, means that the institutional habitus (Thomas 2002) of partner colleges is highly contextual. Consequently, the relationship between individual factors and withdrawal is seen as both complex and contextual

Physiological Responses to Acute Silver Exposure in the Freshwater Crayfish (\u3cem\u3eCambarus diogenes diogenes\u3c/em\u3e)—A Model Invertebrate?

Adult crayfish (Cambarus diogenes diogenes) exposed to 8.41 ± 0.17 μg silver/L (19.4% as Ag+) in moderately hard freshwater under flow-through conditions for 96 h exhibited ionoregulatory disturbance, elevated metabolic ammonia (Tamm) production and substantial silver accumulation in the gills, hemolymph, and hepatopancreas. The ionoregulatory disturbance included both a generally reduced unidirectional Na1 influx and an increased unidirectional Na+ efflux, leading to a substantial net loss of Na+ from the silver-exposed crayfish. The Na+ uptake in silver-exposed crayfish differed overall from controls, while the increased Na+ efflux recovered to control values 48 h into the 96 h of exposure. The general inhibition of Na+ uptake could be explained by a reduced sodium/potassium-adenosine triphosphatase (Na/K-ATPase) activity in terminally obtained gill samples from the silver exposed crayfish. The silver-induced effect on Na+ uptake and loss translated to reduced hemolymph Na+ concentrations but not significantly reduced hemolymph Cl- concentrations. Hemolymph Tamm and Tamm efflux both increased in silver-exposed crayfish, indicating an increased metabolic Tamm production. The present study demonstrates that the toxic mechanism of waterborne silver exposure in freshwater crayfish resembles that of freshwater teleost fish. The crayfish might therefore be a useful model system for extending current environmental regulatory strategies, currently based on teleost fish, to invertebrates

The Motivations and Outcomes of Studying for Part-time Mature Students Completing Higher Education Programmes at Further Education Colleges

Part-time students account for 31% of higher education students in the UK and 56% of part-time undergraduate students are over the age of 30 on entry (UniversityUK 2013). Whilst the motivations and successes of part-time mature students have been previously considered (Swain and Hammond 2011, Jamieson et al 2009, Feinstein et al. 2007) these studies have focussed on students who are either studying at university or by distance learning, and did not consider students on higher education courses at further education colleges. Parry et al (2012) identify that 7% of UK undergraduates study at a further education college and that 283 colleges offer courses at this level. However the literature relating to higher education students at further education colleges is very limited (Wood 2012), and there are no studies on the experiences and successes of part-time mature students in higher education at further education colleges. This research addresses the gap in the literature by considering the motivations and successes of part-time mature students at a sample of further education colleges in the West Midlands. It adapts approaches from Jackson and Jamieson (2009) relating data on age, gender and qualifications on entry to student achievement and retention, and uses interviews to explore the reasons for studying, barriers to study and the experience of part-time studying. Thus the research seeks to develop understanding of the experience of part-time study for mature students in a format that allows some comparison with existing studies of part-time mature students at university and by distance learning

Forecasting Player Behavioral Data and Simulating in-Game Events

Understanding player behavior is fundamental in game data science. Video games evolve as players interact with the game, so being able to foresee player experience would help to ensure a successful game development. In particular, game developers need to evaluate beforehand the impact of in-game events. Simulation optimization of these events is crucial to increase player engagement and maximize monetization. We present an experimental analysis of several methods to forecast game-related variables, with two main aims: to obtain accurate predictions of in-app purchases and playtime in an operational production environment, and to perform simulations of in-game events in order to maximize sales and playtime. Our ultimate purpose is to take a step towards the data-driven development of games. The results suggest that, even though the performance of traditional approaches such as ARIMA is still better, the outcomes of state-of-the-art techniques like deep learning are promising. Deep learning comes up as a well-suited general model that could be used to forecast a variety of time series with different dynamic behaviors

Optical Breath Gas Extravehicular Activity Sensor for the Advanced Portable Life Support System

The infrared gas transducer used during extravehicular activity (EVA) in the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) measures and reports the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ventilation loop. It is nearing its end of life and there are a limited number remaining. Meanwhile, the next generation advanced portable life support system (PLSS) now being developed requires CO2 sensing technology with performance beyond that presently in use. A laser diode (LD) spectrometer based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is being developed to address both applications by Vista Photonics, Inc. Accommodation within space suits demands that optical sensors meet stringent size, weight, and power requirements. Version 1.0 devices were delivered to NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 2011. The sensors incorporate a laser diode based CO2 channel that also includes an incidental water vapor (humidity) measurement. The prototypes are controlled digitally with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)/microcontroller architecture. Version 2.0 devices with improved electronics and significantly reduced wetted volumes were delivered to JSC in 2012. A version 2.5 upgrade recently implemented wavelength stabilized operation, better humidity measurement, and much faster data analysis/reporting. A wholly reconfigured version 3.0 will maintain the demonstrated performance of earlier versions while being backwards compatible with the EMU and offering a radiation tolerant architecture

Changing Professional Identity in the Transition from Practitioner to Lecturer in Higher Education: an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

This research explores the experiences of five professional practitioners from disciplines including teaching, youth work, sport and health who had become lecturers in Higher Education. Their experiences are considered using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and tentative conclusions are reached on the meaning of such experiences for the individuals. The work extends previous studies (Shreeve 2010, 2011; Gourlay 2011a, 2011b; Boyd & Harris 2010) to consider the relationship between knowledge and influence and how institutional preference for knowledge gained from research impacts on the validity of knowledge derived from professional experience. The research finds shared feelings associated with inauthenticity and loss arising from concerns that the contribution of the professional in Higher Education is undervalued. The research challenges the assumption that professional practitioners adopt the professional identity of a lecturer in Higher Education instead finding that they create their own professional identities in the liminal space between the professional and academic domains, but points to difficulties associated with constructed nature of such professional identities within the institutional structure of a Higher Education institution

Evaluating the effects of nacre on human skin and scar cells in culture

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.Pearl nacre, a biomineralisation product of molluscs, has growing applications in cosmetics, as well as dental and bone restoration, yet a systematic evaluation of its biosafety is lacking. Here, we assessed the biocompatibility of nacre with two human primary dermal fibroblast cell cultures and an immortalised epidermal cell line and found no adverse effects