From Homer to Homer Simpson: How Might KS2 Children's Story-writing Skills Be Supported and Developed Through The Use Of Contemporary Physical and Digital Resources?

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale practitioner-research project which worked with reluctant writers in a primary school in the North of England to explore the role of oracy in the development of literacy. Carter (2000) and Duncan (2009) point out that literacy in the form of the written word has only existed for 3% of the time humans have used language. The other 97% comprises of oral storytelling and the spoken word. Clearly we have been storytellers for much longer that we have been writers For example the storytelling of Homer in The Iliad and The Odyssey, which literary critics readily accept as great works of literature, is now widely considered by many historians and other scholars to have actually been composed through talking (or more accurately through singing) rather than through writing (Carter, 2000, Corbett,2010). Often such stories were improvisations (similar to contemporary jazz, jamming, rap or traditional music and folk-songs) where one performance is seldom the same as another. In today’s literate society it is difficult to imagine how magnificent works of art, great stories and legends came to be composed in the absence of any form of reading or writing. On the contrary, it now seems that these shared worlds of meaning came into being through the interplay of a range and combination of storytelling ‘technologies’ and resources. These include orally shared mental pictures, familiar sounds and words, remembered rhymes or rhythmic phrases, individual and collective accounts of day to day human experience, and the heroic tales and legends which have carried human imagination and transmitted the hopes and fears of our ancestors across the ages

Patent Foramen Ovale, Ischemic Stroke and Migraine: Systematic Review and Stratified Meta-Analysis of Association Studies

BACKGROUND: Observational data have reported associations between patent foramen ovale (PFO), cryptogenic stroke and migraine. However, randomized trials of PFO closure do not demonstrate a clear benefit either because the underlying association is weaker than previously suggested or because the trials were underpowered. In order to resolve the apparent discrepancy between observational data and randomized trials, we investigated associations between (1) migraine and ischemic stroke, (2) PFO and ischemic stroke, and (3) PFO and migraine. METHODS: Eligibility criteria were consistent; including all studies with specifically defined exposures and outcomes unrestricted by language. We focused on studies at lowest risk of bias by stratifying analyses based on methodological design and quantified associations using fixed-effects meta-analysis models. RESULTS: We included 37 studies of 7,686 identified. Compared to reports in the literature as a whole, studies with population-based comparators showed weaker associations between migraine with aura and cryptogenic ischemic stroke in younger women (OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.9–2.0; 1 study), PFO and ischemic stroke (HR 1.6; 95 CI 1.0–2.5; 2 studies; OR 1.3; 95% CI 0.9–1.9; 3 studies), or PFO and migraine (OR 1.0; 95% CI 0.6–1.6; 1 study). It was not possible to look for interactions or effect modifiers. These results are limited by sources of bias within individual studies. CONCLUSIONS: The overall pairwise associations between PFO, cryptogenic ischemic stroke and migraine do not strongly suggest a causal role for PFO. Ongoing randomized trials of PFO closure may need larger numbers of participants to detect an overall beneficial effect

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infections due to AmpC β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae: an active surveillance cohort in a large centralized Canadian region

Background: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to AmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae (AE) in a large centralized Canadian region over a 9-year period. Methods: An active surveillance cohort design in Calgary, Canada. Results: A cohort of 458 episodes of BSIs caused by AE was assembled for analysis. The majority of infections were of nosocomial origin with unknown sources. Enterobacter spp. was the most common species while BSIs due to Serratia spp. had a significant higher mortality when compared to other AE. Delays in empiric or definitive antibiotic therapy were not associated with a difference in outcome. However, patients that did not receive any empiric antimicrobial therapy had increased mortality (3/5; 60% vs. 57/453; 13%; p = 0.018) as did those that did not receive definitive therapy (6/17; 35% vs. 54/441; 12%; p = 0.015). Conclusions: Delays in therapy were not associated with adverse outcomes although lack of active therapy was associated with increased mortality. A strategy for BSIs due to AE where β-lactam antibiotics (including oxyiminocephalosporins) are used initially followed by a switch to non-β-lactam antibiotics once susceptibility results are available is effective.</p

Why Systemic, Credible and Trustworthy Research Matters in Vocational Education: the importance of beginning with practice and being present in the conduct of educational research

Context: Set in the context of vocational education and training (VET) in England, this paper draws upon data generated from a large national Practitioner Research Programme (PRP) funded by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) from 2018-2024. Supervised and taught by the University of Sunderland, the PRP provides research training and support for VET practitioners in conducting systematic research into their educational practice in the contexts in which they work. The aim of each PRP project is to identify how aspects of educational practice might be improved and to investigate how such improvements might be realised in practice in the context of each sector-practitioner’s work. Shortcomings and superficialities in contemporary framings of concepts theory and practice in the VET system in England are critically examined. The neglect of other forms of knowledge are discussed with reference to concepts of savoir faire - knowing how make something or do a job well for its own sake and savoir être - knowing how to conduct yourself in a good way in a particular field of vocational practice as well as in wider social and political settings. Overarching Research Question: Examples from research conducted in the PRP including contributions from literature, are drawn upon to invite critical consideration of the overarching research question of why, the hypothesis of the empiricist-positivist approach underpinning current models of educational change and improvement continues to be so widely supported and promoted by policy professionals, when the evidence to justify its usefulness in improving educational practice is so weak? Data are drawn from a sample of 12 PRP practitioner-researchers working in continuing vocational education and training (CVET) and teaching across a range of subjects and disciplines the sector in England including, Construction; Aerospace Engineering; Iron Trades; ICT; English Language; the National Health Service (NHS), Fine Art and Photography. This, small-scale, qualitative research study employs reflexive, systematic, thematic analysis to interrogate data derived from several sources in the study including, semi-structured interviews; critical incidents; case studies; extracts from MPhil/PhD theses as well as VET practitioners’ and their students’ accounts of experiences of engaging in the PRP. Findings and Conclusion A finding of this study is that encouraging and supporting VET practitioners to give themselves permission to be authentic and present in conducting research into their own practice in ways which take context and lived experience seriously, is highly impactful in improving educational practice in context. A second Loosening the strength of the grip of empiricist-positivist methodologies and methods upon models of educational change and improvement, including the anonymous authority of the “sciences” is we argue, difficult but not impossible and in the end well worth the effort. Word Count: 438 Key Words: Forms of Knowledge; Models of Educational Change and Improvement; Practitioner-Researc

DEEPER THAN REASON: WHY PRACTICAL AND PRODUCTIVE FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE NEED TO BE RESTORED TO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

This article chronicles factors contributingto the neglect of the assessment of practical forms of knowledge in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in England. It illustrates how older, more coherent concepts of forms of knowledge, skills and competence have been pushed to the margins of educational discourse, replaced by restricted, fragmented and much less credible conceptual imposters. The consequences of these restricted conceptions and how they have subsequently become organised, taught and assessed in VET are discussed. Particular attention is given to the ways in which such restricted conceptions can lead to vocational assessment regimes which require little more than ‘one-off’ demonstrations of successful performance, expressed in behaviourist outcomes; the superficial recall of cognitive concepts; and the regurgitation of factual information in pen and paper examinations. Comparisons are drawn between the strongly centralist system of control regulating VET in England and alternative more collaborative state partnership systems of VET currently operating in Continental Europe. This small-scale, qualitative study, conducted with 12 tutors of VET in Further Education (FE) colleges and Industry Training Providers (ITPs) brings to light the impact of these restricted concepts in VET in England today. Research methods include, iterature review, transcripts of semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers and education leaders and focus group discussions. Reflexive Thematic Anlaysis (RTA) is employed to identify subthemes and themes in the data in order to identify, refine and discuss findings. Results reveal that sector practitioners require further professional development in addressing current issues in incoherent curriculum design and inauthentic approaches to assessment. Key words: Vocational Education and Training (VET); Forms of Knowledge; Joint Curriculum Planning; Problem and Project-based Learning; Multimodal Assessment

Arts-based Educational Research in Action in Vocational Education

This paper argues that there are different ways of understanding and representing the human condition and that all forms of understanding have a frame of reference that enables or constrains the way we think, how we express what we think and what we have learned from experience. Arts Based Educational Research (ABER) is rooted in the potential of the evocative power of aesthetic experience to heighten human vitality (Dewey, 1934, 2005) in ways which have the capacity to enhance not only the practice of education but also the conduct and representation of educational research. This paper presents findings from a qualitative, empirical study which explores teachers’ experiences of engaging in University-supported, practitioner-research programme of continuous professional development for teachers of vocational education informed by key ideas and concepts in the theoretical framework underpinning ABER. Barone and Eisner (2012) draw attention to how ABER is essentially evocative. They argue that utlising the evocative expressive properties of an artistic, aesthetic medium is one of the primary ways in which arts-based research contributes to human understanding. Through the presentation of extracts from a series of 10 case studies accompanied by evaluative commentaries and critical discussion, this paper offers an thematic analysis of accounts of teachers as they attempt to improve educational practice in vocational education contexts through their direct engagement in ABER. Emerging evidence from a preliminary analysis of the narrative accounts of the experiences of teachers of vocational education as they learn how to be (savoir être), systematic, credible and trustworthy practitioner-researchers, suggests that, using the expressive properties of an artistic medium is one of the primary ways in which ABER can contribute to the improvement of educational practice and the conduct and representation of educational research

Population-based Laboratory Surveillance for AmpC β-Lactamase–producing Escherichia coli, Calgary

AmpC β-lactamase–producing E. coli are commonly isolated from the urinary tract of older women

Data Resource Profile: Network for Analysing Longitudinal Population-based HIV/AIDS data on Africa (ALPHA Network).

No abstract available

Intensive care unit-acquired urinary tract infections in a regional critical care system

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have evaluated urinary tract infections (UTIs) specifically acquired within intensive care units (ICUs), and the effect of such infections on patient outcome is unclear. The objectives of this study were to describe the occurrence, microbiology, and risk factors for acquiring UTIs in the ICU and to determine whether these infections independently increase mortality. METHODS: A surveillance cohort study was conducted among all adults admitted to multi-system and cardiovascular surgery ICUs in the Calgary Health Region (CHR, population about 1 million) between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2002. RESULTS: During the 3 years, 4465 patients were admitted 4915 times to a CHR ICU for 48 hours or more. A total of 356 ICU-acquired UTIs (defined as at least 10(5 )colony-forming units/ml of one or two organisms 48 hours or more after ICU admission) occurred among 290 (6.5%) patients, yielding an overall incidence density of ICU-acquired UTIs of 9.6 per 1000 ICU days. Four bacteremic/fungemic ICU-acquired UTIs occurred (0.1 per 1000 ICU days). Development of an ICU-acquired UTI was more common in women (relative risk [RR] 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43–1.75; P < 0.0001) and in medical (9%) compared with non-cardiac surgical (6%), and cardiac surgical patients (2%). The most common organisms isolated were Escherichia coli (23%), Candida albicans (20%), and Enterococcus species (15%). Antibiotic-resistant organisms were identified among 14% isolates. Although development of an ICU-acquired UTI was associated with significantly higher crude in-hospital mortality (86/290 [30%] vs. 862/4167 [21%]; RR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.19–1.73; P < 0.001); an ICU-acquired UTI was not an independent predictor for death. CONCLUSIONS: Development of an ICU-acquired UTI is common in critically ill patients. Although a marker of increased morbidity associated with critical illness, it is not a significant attributable cause of mortality