Training needs of traditional marine fishermen in Kerala

Training needs of 80 fishermen in 25 subject areas revealed a mean training need score of 23.0l; 95% wanted to get trained. The training needs were fairly strong in all subject areas, with the highest demand being for fishery engineering. Training need was also high for areas related to fishery technology. Most of the fishermen preferred to have the training at their own village, and in the months of June or July for an average period of 20.85 days. Education and income were positively related to intensity of training needs whereas age, number of family members, number of employed family members and experience in fishing were negatively correlated with it. These six variables explained 27 of the variance in training need intensity.

Systematic assessment of the training needs of health library staff

Urquhart, C., Spink, S., Thomas, R. & Durbin, J. (2005). Systematic assessment of the training needs of health library staff. Library and Information Research, 29(93), 35-42. Sponsorship: National Library for Health (NLH)

The impact of learning context on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns in non-native speaker teachers of English

The study is a cross-linguistic, cross-sectional investigation of the impact of learning contexts on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns and the subsequent enactment of compound identities. The informants are 20 non-native speaker teachers of English from a range of 10 European countries. They are all primarily mono-contextual foreign language learners/users of English: however, they differ with respect to the length of time accumulated in a target language environment. This allows for three groups to be established – those who have accumulated 60 days or less; those with between 90 days and one year and the final group, all of whom have accumulated in excess of one year. In order to foster the dismantling of the monolith of learning context, both learning contexts under consideration – i.e. the foreign language context and submersion context are broken down into micro-contexts which I refer to as loci of learning. For the purpose of this study, two loci are considered: the institutional and the conversational locus. In order to make a correlation between the impact of learning contexts and loci of learning on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns, a two-fold study is conducted. The first stage is the completion of a highly detailed language contact profile (LCP) questionnaire. This provides extensive biographical information regarding language learning history and is a powerful tool in illuminating the intensity of contact with the L2 that learners experience in both contexts as well as shedding light on the loci of learning to which learners are exposed in both contexts. Following the completion of the LCP, the informants take part in two role plays which require the enactment of differential identities when engaged in a speech event of asking for advice. The enactment of identities then undergoes a strategic and linguistic analysis in order to investigate if and how differences in the enactment of compound identities are indexed in language. Results indicate that learning context has a considerable impact not only on how identity is indexed in language, but also on the nature of identities enacted. Informants with very low levels of crosscontextuality index identity through strategic means – i.e. levels of directness and conventionality; however greater degrees of cross-contextuality give rise to the indexing of differential identities linguistically by means of speaker/hearer orientation and (non-) solidary moves. When it comes to the nature of identity enacted, it seems that more time spent in intense contact with native speakers in a range of loci of learning allows learners to enact their core identity; whereas low levels of contact with over-exposure to the institutional locus of learning fosters the enactment of generic identities.

The honest broker; making sense of science in policy and politics

p.81-82

The honest broker; making sense of science in policy and politics

p.81-82

South East London Palliative and End of Life Care Education and Training Strategy: Meeting the Education and Training Needs of the Health & Social Care Workforce Involved in the Care of Patients and Carers at the End of Life.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Aims 1. The aims of this strategy are • to ensure that a full range of education and training related to the adult end of life care pathway is available across South East London to meet the needs of our health and social care workforce • to enable those responsible for end of life care education and training commissioning to procure comprehensively from a full range of education providers in a systematic and strategic manner. Background 2. The work that underpins this strategy was begun by the South East London Cancer Network via its Palliative and End of Life Care Coordinating Group and then developed by way of the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme’s Education and Training work stream.