Report of the Advisory Group on Post Primary Teacher Education

The occasion of this report on Teacher Education is timely. The teaching profession is now confronted with major challenges. Schooling has changed very radically in the recent past. Other review exercises of the education system have taken place and it is a time when a new legislative framework, better accommodated to the diversity of the range of duties and responsibilities of the teacher and school, is emerging. It is anticipated that the Report will stimulate debate, secure a new platform for development and provide for a framework for teacher education models which is better disposed towards the well being of the profession and the service to society it wishes to provide.

Information for parents on the work of NICORE

This leaflet describes the work of NICORE (Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research and Evaluations), highlighting the importance of the data collected on each baby admitted to neonatal intensive care and how NICORE contributes to improved standards of care.

Preventing infection caused by Pseudomonas - work on water supplies

Information for parents on preventing infections caused by Pseudomonas

Health and wellbeing at work: a resource guide

This resource guide aims to support employers and employees to access information on improving health and wellbeing at work.Putting in place an effective workplace health programme that meets the needs of each business requires access to effective tools and information, which will help assess the needs of employees and assist with developing and implementing plans.This guide uses the World Health Organization (WHO) model as the basis for developing a workplace health programme. The WHO model involves eight stages and four aspects of the working environment.Included in the guide are information and contact details for organisations in Northern Ireland that can provide information and support to businesses on each of these aspects.The guide also includes case studies on local businesses that implemented a workplace health programme and a sample health and wellbeing action plan.�

Promoting positive mental health at work: a guide for employers

This booklet is one in a series aimed at promoting health in the workplace. It outlines to employers the importance of employees' mental health, good practice to support positive mental health at work, the legal requirements with regard to working environments and mental health, and key steps for action.�

Promoting breastfeeding for mothers returning to work: a guide for employers

This booklet is the third in a series of�Work�Well guides aimed at promoting health in the workplace. It outlines to employers the business benefits of encouraging mothers to continue breastfeeding on return to�work, the health benefits of breastfeeding for mums, the legislation affecting mothers at�work, and some easy steps that employers can take to support breastfeeding mothers.

Does the mechanical work in running change during the VO2 slow component?

PURPOSE: The origin of the slow component is not fully understood. The mechanical hypothesis is one of the potential factors, because an increase in external mechanical work with fatigue was previously reported for a constant velocity run. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a change in mechanical work could occur during the development of the VO2 slow component under the effect of fatigue. METHODS: Twelve regional-level competitive runners performed a square-wave transition, corresponding to 95% of the speed associated with peak VO2 obtained during an incremental test. The VO2 response was fit with a classical model including two exponential functions. A specific treadmill with three-dimensional force transducers was used to measure the ground reaction force. Kinetic work (W(kin)), potential work (W(pot)), external work (W(ext)), and an index of internal work (W(int)) per unit of distance were quantified continuously. RESULTS: During the slow component of VO2, a significant increase in W (P< 0.01), no change in W, and a significant decrease in W and W index (P< 0.05, P< 0.001, respectively) were observed. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the slow component of VO2 did not result partly from a change in mechanical work under the effect of fatigue. Nevertheless, the decrease in stride frequency (P< 0.001) and contact time (P< 0.001) suggested an alternative mechanical explanation. The slow component during running may be due to the cost of generating force or to alterations in the storage and recoil of elastic energy, and not to the external mechanical work.

(.)VO(2) and EMG activity kinetics during moderate and severe constant work rate exercise in trained cyclists.

The purpose of this study was to compare O(2) uptake ((.)VO(2)) and muscle electromyography activity kinetics during moderate and severe exercise to test the hypothesis of progressive recruitment of fast-twitch fibers in the explanation of the VO(2) slow component. After an incremental test to exhaustion, 7 trained cyclists (mean +/- SD, 61.4 +/- 4.2 ml x min(-1) x kg(- 1)) performed several square-wave transitions for 6 min at moderate and severe intensities on a bicycle ergometer. The (.)VO(2) response and the electrical activity (i.e., median power frequency, MDF) of the quadriceps vastus lateralis and vastus medialis of both lower limbs were measured continuously during exercise. After 2 to 3 min of exercise onset, MDF values increased similarly during moderate and severe exercise for almost all muscles whereas a (.)VO(2) slow component occurred during severe exercise. There was no relationship between the increase of MDF values and the magnitude of the (.)VO(2) slow component during the severe exercise. These results suggest that the origin of the slow component may not be due to the progressive recruitment of fast-twitch fibers.

Work Meaningfulness as a Key Enhancer of Ethical Values in Business

Despite abundant research on work meaningfulness, the link between work meaningfulness and general ethical attitude at work has not been discussed so far. In this article, we propose a theoretical framework to explain how work meaningfulness contributes to enhanced ethical behavior. We argue that by providing a way for individuals to relate work to one's personal core values and identity, work meaningfulness leads to affective commitment - the involvement of one's cognitive, emotional, and physical resources. This, in turn, leads to engagement and so facilitates the integration of one's personal values in the daily work routines, and so reduces the risk of unethical behavior. On the contrary, anomie, that is, the absence of meaning and consequently of personal involvement, will lead to lower rational commitment rather than affective commitment, and consequently to disengagement and a-morality. We conclude with implications for the management of ethical attitudes.

A teaching/learning support tool for introductory programming courses

In This work we present a Web-based tool developed with the aim of reinforcing teaching and learning of introductory programming courses. This tool provides support for teaching and learning. From the teacher's perspective the system introduces important gains with respect to the classical teaching methodology. It reinforces lecture and laboratory sessions, makes it possible to give personalized attention to the student, assesses the degree of participation of the students and most importantly, performs a continuous assessment of the student's progress. From the student's perspective it provides a learning framework, consisting in a help environment and a correction environment, which facilitates their personal work. With this tool students are more motivated to do programming