How do I create my living theory of accountability as a lecturer in teacher education?

In this paper I outline my thinking to date as I pursue my doctoral studies. I describe the context within which I work and the reasons for my research and I offer an account of my reflections on how and why I have come to the position where I feel the need to and the rightness of theorising and conceptualising my practice as a Senior Lecturer in Education. I describe how I have, through an MA dissertation (Renowden, 2006), and will, through a PhD thesis, offer an account of my living theories of practice as I explain how and why I hold myself accountable for my working life. I will show how, through these acts of accountability, and others, I am coming to create my living educational theories of practice and work towards the development of an epistemology of accountability. (Author's abstract

Erdheim Chester disease – 25 year history with early CNS involvement

We report a case of Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) with a 25-year history following initial presentation with diabetes insipidus and brainstem involvement. The exceptionally long history is particularly notable, given that ECD is a life-threatening disorder and there is a recognised association between central nervous system involvement and poor outcome. The case is a timely reminder of the presenting features of the condition, given the emergence of potential new treatment options

A living theory of educational accountability : how can I create opportunities for student teachers and myself to learn?

PhD ThesisThis thesis is an account of research that sets out to address the concerns which developed as a result of the transition I made from being a primary school teacher to being a teacher educator. It draws on my narrative to provide a context for the difficulties I experienced, which led me to ask 'How do I improve what I am doing?' (Whitehead 1989).These concerns were: I had stopped using the values, that are part of my understanding about what makes education of value, as criteria and standards of judgement to help me determine how to understand and improve what I do; I had become a compliant and non-engaged practitioner who considered herself to be effective because I was meeting the criteria and standards set by others regardless of whether they aligned with my values; I had allowed myself to become disconnected from myself as a learner; I had developed a learned helplessness about what was going on in the field of education therefore becoming part of a normative discourse that implies that teachers are unable to determine, articulate and validate their own standards of practice and that education is a commodity and an end product rather than a means in itself. I draw on my own experiences to show what can happen when a teacher becomes complacent, disengaged from the processes of change and removed from the locus of power through an over reliance on the standards set by others. This understanding, which has developed through reflection on my practice, is both the catalyst for the research and underpins why it is significant. As I show how the development of a form of accountability which I call educational, can contribute to my learning and the students' learning, I provide an antidote to the managerial, top-down models of accountability that teachers are subjected to in schools and universities. Throughout the thesis I document my emerging understanding of the need to re-connect with myself as a learner and to be able to account for what I do using my own values based standards of judgement. I explain how I do this through the use of a self study approach within an action research framework, which has enabled me to focus on my practice and my learning. As I have begun to take responsibility for my actions I re-conceptualise my ontological and epistemological values thereby transforming them into standards of judgement. I articulate the value I put on a form of emancipatory and democratic education that is grounded in relational, critically reflective and dialogical practices that can create spaces which enable myself and the teaching students I work alongside to value our own personal knowledge (Polanyi 1958) and understanding as we give an account of what we are doing. I make an original claim to knowledge that I have generated my living theory of educational accountability through research that contributes to new forms of practice and theory in the field of education. In doing so I claim to have influenced my learning, the learning of others and the learning of the social formations in which I work (McNiff and Whitehead 2006)

Delayed Herniation of Coil Loop and Spontaneous Reposition in a Superior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm

Herniation of coil loops into the parent artery is one of the complications of endovascular embolization with detachable coils. In this clinical setting, we cannot predict the consequence of the herniated coil loop. We report an unusual case of a superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm with delayed coil herniation into the basilar artery and spontaneous reposition into the SCA

A Meta-Analysis of Observational Evidence for the Use of Endovascular Thrombectomy in Proximal Occlusive Stroke Beyond 6 Hours in Patients with Limited Core Infarct

PurposeThe safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for patients with proximal occlusive stroke presenting beyond 6 hours and selected on the basis of favorable neuroimaging remains unclear.Materials and MethodsA systematic search was performed from four electronic databases from their inception to Jan 2017. A meta-analysis of outcomes from studies with patients treated beyond 6 hours was compared to those treated within the established 6 hour therapeutic window in randomized trials, selected using conventional imaging methods with CT/CT angiography.ResultsA total of 8 articles met inclusion criteria for the study population (a prospective single-center study, 5 retrospective single-center studies and 2 retrospective multicenter studies). These were compared to the results of three prospective trials of patients treated within 6 hours selected using CT/CT angiography. For patients treated >6 hours and 6 hours and 12.5% for <6 hours, P<0.0001. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was not significantly different (10.0% vs. 7.7%, P=0.33).ConclusionWhen compared to established methods of patient selection, EVT employed beyond 6 hours in those selected with imaging to exclude large core infarcts achieves similar rates of recanalization, and functional outcome but there is a significant increase in mortality despite no increase in symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage