A critical examination of the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support

This thesis presents an investigation into the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support and comprises three volumes. Volume 1 provides an overview of the background literature, research methodology, ethical and reliability considerations linked to two projects whose overarching theme is the support and improvement of the student experience. The overview begins with an outline of the aim of this thesis, followed by a synopsis of the literature concerning student support in higher education and the use of technology to support learners. The methodological framework is then discussed and a brief introduction to the projects is provided. The overview concludes with an exploration of the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support and the presentation of a new blended approach to the organisation, delivery and typology of advising. This seeks to demonstrate the strength of a blended approach and thus makes a contribution to the practice, theory and method of supporting student learning. Volume 2 discusses the Advice Shop project and considers the processes, methods and ethics of this student learning support. A summary of eight interventions is presented together with details of how the project was subsequently rolled out across the University. A consideration of the organisational model and personnel involved in student advising is also offered. The volume concludes with student and staff feedback and a discussion of how the project aims have been achieved. Evidence of the research output and components of practice relating to Project 1 can be found in Volume2 Part 2. Volume 3 presents a discussion of Project 2 - the use of technology to support learners. The project presents two technology-enhanced interventions - an electronic student attendance monitoring scheme, and the development of two online learner support tools using QuestionMark Perception as the delivery software. The methods and ethical considerations used to establish and implement these interventions are present together with feedback from students and staff. The volume concludes with a discussion of how the aims of the project have been achieved. Evidence of the research output and components of practice relating to Project 2 can be found in Volume 3 Part 2

A Direct Comparison of Lyman-Alpha and Neutral Hydrogen Morphologies

The Lyman-Alpha Reference Sample (LARS) and its extension (eLARS) represent an exhaustive campaign to reverse-engineer galaxies. The main goal is to understand how \lya radiation is transported within galaxies: what fraction of it escapes, and what physical properties affect the \lya morphology and radiative transport (e.g., dust and gas content, metallicity, kinematics, properties of the producing and underlying stellar populations). Two galaxies from the sample, LARS02 and LARS09, were observed using the B and C configurations of the Very Large Array to examine the neutral hydrogen emission, which can be used to determine a galaxy\u27s neutral hydrogen (HI) structure and kinematics. Images of the \HI mass surface density and of the intensity weighted \HI velocity field were created at angular scales of $\sim$8 arcseconds, which corresponds to $\sim$5 kpc for LARS02 and $\sim$8 kpc for LARS09. Extended \HI gas is detected at high significance up to $\sim$30 kpc from the optical body of LARS02. LARS09 has a severely disturbed optical morphology; our new \HI observations reveal that LARS09 is interacting with the nearby field galaxy SDSS J082353.65+280622.2. By combining these moment maps with direct imaging of the \lya morphology from the Hubble Space Telescope, this program has produced the first direct comparison of \lya and \HI morphologies. These observations demonstrate concept for a significant observational campaign to produce similar comparisons in the remaining 40 LARS and eLARS galaxies

Ireland’s decision to retain the Seanad is not the end of the country’s political reform process

On 4 October the Irish electorate voted against the abolition of Ireland’s upper house of parliament, the Seanad, in a referendum. John Fitzgibbon assesses the outcome of the referendum, noting that the campaign was largely framed around the idea of ensuring the political class received its fair share of cutbacks in the context of austerity policies. The fact that voters rejected the proposal, however, does not mean an end for Ireland’s political reform process. Almost all of those arguing in favour of retaining the Seanad advocated future reforms to strengthen its role as a check on executive power

‘That Man is You!’ The Juristic Person and Faithful Love

“The science of law,” it has been said, “must be drawn from man’s inmost nature.” The science of obligation – the dimension of jurisprudence that concerns duties – must be founded upon the experiences of humanity. It should draw upon insight into human flourishing, and it should base its conclusion upon the basic goods involved in human life. Similar recommendations might be suggested for the “science,” if it is one, of love. This paper aims to pursue those projects. The story of David, Bathsheba, and Nathan sheds much light on man’s inmost nature, and on obligation, love, and law. Nathan’s comments must have given David much food for thought. Nathan reminded David of his duty. Of course the Torah forbids adultery, and David had committed it. Nathan’s comments surely led David to reflect about obligation and to ponder the Law. Nathan’s comments likely led David also to reflect upon himself: to consider where he stood in relation to the Law, and to consider where anyone governed by law must stand. Nathan’s observations further invite the hearer to deliberate about himself, and perhaps about people in general. Such is the force of his statement: “That man is you!” Part II of this article considers duty. It proposes that thought, belief, and character develop along certain lines in a person who accepts obligation. It commends what it terms the “juristic person.” It discusses what might be called the “anthropology of the juristic person”: the relationship between obligation and character. It describes several goods involved in being a juristic person and in acting upon obligation. It proposes that the juristic person is best suited to governance by the law. David’s situation also involved love. Nathan, describing the poor man and his lamb, referred to Uriah’s love for Bathsheba. David also loved Bathsheba, at least erotically. Torah has much to say about love. When Nathan states, “That man is you!” he may invite consideration of the meaning and value of various kinds of love. Part III of this paper explores love and its relation to obligation. Some kinds of erotic love lead to the repudiation of obligation, Part III observes, but other forms of love support it. Devoted, faithful love displays a strong affinity for obligation, and in many ways even resembles it. This paper proposes that the juristic person is best suited to love, and that the person who loves, in the higher sense of that term, participates especially well in the goods of obligation. It proposes that the obligation-bearing, obligation-accepting man or woman resembles a lover. Part IV of this paper sketches some implications for the law. David’s anger at the rich man, and his hasty demand for capital punishment, display his shortcomings as a judge

View-based modelling of human visual navigation errors

View-based and Cartesian representations provide rival accounts of visual navigation in humans, and here we explore possible models for the view-based case. A visual “homing” experiment was undertaken by human participants in immersive virtual reality. The distributions of end-point errors on the ground plane differed significantly in shape and extent depending on visual landmark configuration and relative goal location. A model based on simple visual cues captures important characteristics of these distributions. Augmenting visual features to include 3D elements such as stereo and motion parallax result in a set of models that describe the data accurately, demonstrating the effectiveness of a view-based approach