Justice and Equality in Education: A capability perspective on disability and special educational needs

Student engagement, a student’s emotional, behavioural and cognitive connection to their study, is widely recognized as important for student achievement. Influenced by a wide range of personal, structural and sociocultural factors, engagement is both unique and subjective. One important structural factor shown in past research to be a barrier for distance students is access to quality space and time. This qualitative study followed 19 mature-aged distance students and their families, exploring how they learned to manage their space and time throughout their first semester at university. Institutions often claim that distance study and the increased use of technology overcomes barriers of space and time; however, the findings from this study suggest it merely changes the nature of those barriers. The ideal space and time for these students was individual and lay at the intersection of three, sometimes competing, demands: study, self and family. A critical influence on success is family support, as is access to financial resources. Learning what constitutes ideal space and time for engagement is an important part of the transition to university. The institution has a vital role to play in aiding this process by ensuring flexibility of course design is maintained, providing more flexible advice and targeting support at this important issue.     

From vision to reality—Managing changein the provision of library and information services to nurses,midwives, health visitors and PAMs:a case study of the North Thames experience with the Inner London Consortium

One ofthe North Thames’ pioneering consortia, the Inner London Consortium (ILC) is a complexbody which includes NHS Trusts with teaching hospital university connections, community-basedTrusts and general hospital acute Trusts. Within the consortium there are 12000 trained nurses,midwives, health visitors and other professional staff working in the professions allied to medicine(PAMs), all of whom require access to and provision of appropriate library information services. In 1994, taking into account experiences elsewhere in the Region and nationally, itbecame clear that library issues were complex and would become acute with the move of nursinglibraries from ILC Trust sites over a very short timescale. A report on the issues commissioned bythe Consortium recommended that a library project, which built on existing NHS Trust PGMDEfunded library resources and moved these to a multidisciplinary base to serve the consortiummembership, be implemented. The objective of providing access to library informationservices for nurses and PAMs was achieved. Successes that emerged from the implementationincluded: The registration in Trust libraries of almost 12000 new members within theinitial 6-month monitoring period. The development of service level agreements andstandards for the delivery of services to these new user groups. This paper describes theprocesses behind these significant and complex changes.     

Partnering for Anti-Poverty Praxis in Circles® USA: Applications of Critical Dialogic Reflexivity

The value of critical dialogic reflexivity is demonstrated through analysis of interview conversations between academic and practitioner partners in Circles® USA, a national nonprofit organization working to ameliorate poverty. The partnerships include the academic/practitioner author with six others: Circles founder and CEO, a lead trainer and codeveloper of training curriculum, and four individuals working to move out of poverty. The analysis features examples of critical dialogic reflexivity related to negotiating macro-, meso- and microcontextual structures, cultural identifications, status locations, privilege, and ideologies that impact their relationships and work to end poverty. Caveats and implications for critical community engagement, intercultural alliances and engaged scholarship are discussed.     

A combined insulin reduction and carbohydrate feeding strategy 30 min before running best preserves blood glucose concentration after exercise through improved fuel oxidation in type 1 diabetes mellitus

In this study, we examined the glycaemic and fuel oxidation responses to alterations in the timing of a low glycaemic index carbohydrate and 75% reduced insulin dose, prior to running, in type 1 diabetes individuals. After carbohydrate (75 g isomaltulose) and insulin administration, the seven participants rested for 30 min, 60 min, 90 min or 120 min (conditions 30MIN, 60MIN, 90MIN, and 120MIN, respectively) before completing 45 min of running at 70% peak oxygen uptake. Carbohydrate and lipid oxidation rates were monitored during exercise and blood glucose and insulin were measured before and for 3 h after exercise. Data were analysed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Pre-exercise blood glucose concentrations were lower for 30MIN compared with 120MIN (P < 0.05), but insulin concentrations were similar. Exercising carbohydrate and lipid oxidation rates were lower and greater, respectively, for 30MIN compared with 120MIN (P < 0.05). The drop in blood glucose during exercise was less for 30MIN (3.7 mmol · l(-1), s(x) = 0.4) compared with 120MIN (6.4 mmol · l(-1), s(x) = 0.3) (P = 0.02). For 60 min post-exercise, blood glucose concentrations were higher for 30MIN compared with 120MIN (P < 0.05). There were no cases of hypoglycaemia in the 30MIN condition, one case in the 60MIN condition, two in the 90MIN condition, and five in the 120MIN condition. In conclusion, a low glycaemic index carbohydrate and reduced insulin dose administered 30 min before running improves pre- and post-exercise blood glucose responses in type 1 diabetes.