AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PRIOR ECONOMIC EXPERIENCE OF PRIMARY EDUCATION STUDENTS

This paper summarises the findings of an analysis of primary education students’ backgrounds and economic experiences, relating this to their economic and industrial understanding. The research was conducted in the 1990‐91 period by the Primary Schools and Industry Centre of the Polytechnic of North London, under the sponsorship and aegis of E ATE. The project team consisted of the present writer with Merryn Hutchings (PNL) and John Ahier (Homerton College). The full research report is published by EATE as The Economic and Industrial background, understanding and attitudes of Student Primary Teachers: EATE Research Report No. 1.     

Evaluating e‐book platforms: Lessons from the e‐book accessibility audit

E‐books are a potential assistive technology, offering significant advantages over print books, and accessible materials are now a financial and legal necessity within UK academia. It is often difficult to find supplier information on accessibility, for example, whether files have been tagged for reading order or whether the interface has been tested with assistive technologies. Equally, library staff may lack confidence in identifying accessibility features, making it hard to promote them to students or demand them from suppliers. This article reports on a crowdsourced e‐book audit of 44 e‐book platforms that was undertaken by 33 UK universities during 2016. The research scored different platforms for a range of accessibility issues, and the resulting open data set is presented in a manner that can be interrogated by libraries looking for specific features. A key finding was that the platform can dramatically affect the accessibility of a publisher's content, making it important for publishers to work with suitable vendors to disseminate their publications.     

Does access work? The relative performance of access students at a Scottish university

Since the mid-1980s there have been very considerable changes inparticipation rates of all age cohorts in higher education courses withinhigher education institutions and further education colleges in Scotland. Inparticular there have been disproportionate increases in the number ofentrants aged 21 and over to full time undergraduate and sub-degreecourses.The increasing heterogeneity of the undergraduate population raisesquestions of performance of the different populations of students. Whilstsome research has previously been carried out on the performance of mature,'non-standard' and 'non-traditional' students, existing data is constrainedby the restricted data sets of national admissions systems, and thelimitations of institutional record-keeping. In particular, littleinformation exists on students whose entry route is the Access Course despiteits designation as the 'third' route into higher education (DES 1987) and itsincreasing popularity as a mode of entry from the late 1980s to the presentday.In this study the performance of students admitted to the University ofStirling with a variety of traditional and non-traditional qualifications iscompared. Using detailed student records, fine distinctions by type of Accessprogramme or other mature entry qualifications and by points scores in GCE'A' levels and SCE 'Highers' are compared. We show that performance of formerAccess students bears a relationship to the extent of control that theuniversity exerts on the particular type of Access programme. We confirm thatnon-Access students who didn't enter the university direct from school, butwho came in with a variety of qualifications perform at least as well as'standard' entrants. Our studies of entrants with 'standard' qualificationsconfirms previous research that points scores are important indications ofsuccess or failure. Finally study of a discrete sub-set of former Accessstudents studying Mathematics and Science courses at the university showsthat their performance is slightly poorer than all Access students.     

Opportunity costs associated with the provision of student services: a case study of web-based lecture technology

Universities aim to provide services that are not only beneficial to students but also efficient relative to possible alternative services. Using opportunity cost, this study considers staff and student perceptions of the usefulness and valuation of web-based lecture technology (WBLT). It reveals that a quarter of students did not use WBLT while many staff members thought WBLT had a negative impact on their face-to-face teaching. Further, over a third of students sampled said they would not be affected if WBLT were not made available and many staff members felt constrained by WBLT technology. Some staff members spent a lot of time preparing WBLT while others eschewed the technology altogether. Nevertheless, a relatively small number of students place enormous value on WBLT, as do some staff, even if only simple audio of lectures are provided. The academic policy implications of this study suggest that university provision of WBLT could take into account the opportunity cost of WBLT use as a valuation-basis, possibly recovering costs through extra fees. This would allow for improved decision-making by university administrators and facilitate a move towards a useful measurement basis of WBLT. A wider academic policy implication is to consider whether all universities should produce and deliver WBLT at all and to what extent it should encourage staff to develop enhanced WBLT. Provision of sophisticated WBLT or any other service for students bears an opportunity cost in terms of less preparation by staff for face-to-face lessons or other effective teaching or research.     

Textured insoles reduce vertical loading rate and increase subjective plantar sensation in overground running

The effect of textured insoles on kinetics and kinematics of overground running was assessed. 16 male injury-free-recreational runners attended a single visit (age 23?±?5 yrs; stature 1.78?±?0.06 m; mass 72.6?±?9.2?kg). Overground 15-m runs were completed in flat, canvas plimsolls both with and without textured insoles at self-selected velocity on an indoor track in an order that was balanced among participants. Average vertical loading rate and peak vertical force (F_peak) were captured by force platforms. Video footage was digitised for sagittal plane hip, knee and ankle angles at foot strike and mid stance. Velocity, stride rate and length and contact and flight time were determined. Subjectively rated plantar sensation was recorded by visual scale. 95% confidence intervals estimated mean differences. Smallest worthwhile change in loading rate was defined as standardised reduction of 0.54 from a previous comparison of injured versus non-injured runners. Loading rate decreased (?25 to ?9.3?BW?s^?1; 60% likely beneficial reduction) and plantar sensation was increased (46–58?mm) with the insole. F_peak (?0.1 to 0.14?BW) and velocity (?0.02 to 0.06?m?s^?1) were similar. Stride length, flight and contact time were lower (?0.13 to ?0.01 m; ?0.02 to?0.01?s; ?0.016 to ?0.006?s) and stride rate was higher (0.01–0.07 steps?s^?1) with insoles. Textured insoles elicited an acute, meaningful decrease in vertical loading rate in short distance, overground running and were associated with subjectively increased plantar sensation. Reduced vertical loading rate could be explained by altered stride characteristics.