Measuring the ethnic diversity of the museum workforce and the impact and cost of positive-action training,with particular reference to the Diversify scheme

This paper attempts to determine the ethnic profile (sometimes called “cultural diversity”) of the museum sector workforce. It sets the museum sector workforce in the context of the population as a whole and makes some comparisons to the diversity of the wider cultural sector workforce. It looks also at positive action training schemes, targeted at under-represented minority groups, in particular the Museums Association's Diversify scheme, looking at their cost and effectiveness in securing employment. It also describes other positive action schemes such as Arts Council England's Inspire programme and Diversify management-level traineeships and traineeships for deaf and disabled people. It tentatively considers the impact and value for money of positive-action training. It also sets out the legal and policy context for workforce diversification, in particular the implications for data collection of section 37 of the Race Relations Act 1976.

The headline finding is that the proportion of people from minority-ethnic backgrounds in the UK museum sector increased from 2.5% in 1993 to about 7% in 2006–2008. This varies between 1.3% and 10.4% depending on the type of museum and the type of job and compares to an overall minority-ethnic working age population of 12.6% in England in 2008.

There is a significant under-representation of most (but probably not all) minority-ethnic groups in most areas of museum work. The paper concludes by making brief suggestions about how policy makers and researchers might respond.     

Private practice of school psychology: Implications from the APA specialty guidelines

A model of school psychology private practice is developed that is appropriate to the unique training and experience of school psychologists and is consistent with the professional functions outlined in the Specialty Guidelines for rhe Delivery of Services by School Psychologists developed by the American Psychological Association. Each of the six functions is examined to see how it could be conducted effectively within the parameters of private practice. Client populations and recruitment efforts are addressed briefly. A cautionary note is sounded about several potential ethical conflicts that have particular relevance to the private practice of school psychology; i.e., competence, communication of services to the public, and conflicts of interest.     

Modifying landing mat material properties may decrease peak contact forces but increase forefoot forces in gymnastics landings

This study investigated how changes in the material properties of a landing mat could minimise ground reaction forces (GRF) and internal loading on a gymnast during landing. A multi-layer model of a gymnastics competition landing mat and a subject-specific seven-link wobbling mass model of a gymnast were developed to address this aim. Landing mat properties (stiffness and damping) were optimised using a Simplex algorithm to minimise GRF and internal loading. The optimisation of the landing mat parameters was characterised by minimal changes to the mat's stiffness (<0.5%) but increased damping (272%) compared to the competition landing mat. Changes to the landing mat resulted in reduced peak vertical and horizontal GRF and reduced bone bending moments in the shank and thigh compared to a matching simulation. Peak bone bending moments within the thigh and shank were reduced by 6% from 321.5 Nm to 302.5Nm and GRF by 12% from 8626 N to 7552 N when compared to a matching simulation. The reduction in these forces may help to reduce the risk of bone fracture injury associated with a single landing and reduce the risk of a chronic injury such as a stress fracture.     

Gay-Lussac (1778–1850): A view of chemistry,industry and society in post-revolutionary France

This year marks the bicentenary of the births of two distinguished chemists, Joseph Gay-Lussac and Humphry Davy. This study of the life of Gay-Lussac shows how his work was related to that of Davy as well as to that of his French contemporaries. His keen interest in the application of chemistry earned him some criticism in his lifetime, but in retrospect can be seen to have contributed to his professional stature.     

Optimising the front foot contact phase of the cricket fast bowling action

ABSTRACT

Cricket fast bowling is a dynamic activity in which a bowler runs up and repeatedly delivers the ball at high speeds. Experimental studies have previously linked ball release speed and several technique parameters with conflicting results. As a result, computer simulation models are increasingly being used to understand the effects of technique on performance. This study evaluates a planar 16-segment whole-body torque-driven simulation model of the front foot contact phase of fast bowling by comparing simulation output with the actual performance of an elite fast bowler. The model was customised to the bowler by determining subject-specific inertia and torque parameters. Good agreement was found between actual and simulated performances with a 4.0% RMS difference. Varying the activation timings of the torque generators resulted in an optimised simulation with a ball release speed 3.5 m/s faster than the evaluation simulation. The optimised technique used more extended front ankle and knee joint angles, increased trunk flexion and a longer delay in the onset of arm circumduction. These simulations suggest the model provides a realistic representation of the front foot contact phase of fast bowling and is suitable to investigate the limitations of kinematic or kinetic variables on fast bowling performance.     

CASE Tools: Constructivism and its Application to Learning and Usability of Software Engineering Tools

Software Engineering is a new discipline aimed at the improvement of the production of large, quality software systems. Interest in CASE tools has grown because of the important role they play in supporting the software development process. Studies show these complex and sophisticated tools have a positive impact on quality and productivity but they have been slow to be adopted by industry; this is partially explained by the difficulty of learning to use the tool.     

Do we need norms of fitness for children with autistic spectrum condition?

The increasingly sedentary habits of children, and rising obesity levels, are prompting concern for children's future health. Children with autistic spectrum condition (ASC) show a clear trend in this regard. Within school, an understanding of how an individual's fitness compares to age norms is important in order to design appropriate exercise programmes. This study, by Maurice Place, Kathleen Dickinson and Joanna Reynolds, all based at Northumbria University, assessed 100 children with ASC and learning difficulty, and found a wide variation in fitness levels as measured by the Eurofit tests. In addition the measure of cardio‐pulmonary fitness (VO_{2 max}) was generally poor. In boys, body mass index (BMI) showed only a modest correlation with this measure of cardio‐pulmonary fitness, with the results for the girls not being significant. Using a variant of the established BMI calculation did not improve the correlation. To our knowledge this article offers the first set of published Eurofit test results for children with ASC and highlights the generally poor level of cardio‐pulmonary fitness in this group of children.