Second career teachers (SCT) are key role models in vocational education (VE) because they prepare students for the vocational practice they were part of, and they bring up-to-date vocational knowledge and skills into VE schools. Therefore, the early leaving of SCTs in VE is a problem, adding to the worldwide teacher shortages. Induction programs have been developed to support starting teachers to grow into their new profession and to diminish high attrition rates. However, it is argued that current induction programs fail to support SCTs adequately. For instance, induction programs rarely adapt to SCTs’ various needs, such as recognizing and integrating previously developed competencies and specific backgrounds. Further-more, SCTs’ induction programs in the specific context of VE are largely under-studied. This study explores the experiences of SCTs in VE during their induction programs regarding four themes identified in research on SCTs in other education sectors: 1) professional identity development, 2) learning processes, 3) tailor-made coaching, and 4) co-creation of induction programs. Eleven SCTs from eight Dutch VE schools were interviewed. The data show a rich variation of SCTs’ experiences. For example, they experienced the opportunity to develop their professional identity as teachers while preserving and including their former identity as practitioners of the vocation they teach for. Yet, only a few SCTs experienced co-creation of the induction program, which seems to have a positive impact. The insights of this study offer an understanding of what SCTs in VE go through and what might support them during their induction.
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Literature reveals that beginning teacher educators are dealing with organisational and professional difficulties in their induction period. At the Teacher Education Institute of Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg, The Netherlands, a special induction programme was developed for the induction period. The programme was designed using recommendations from literature and focused on both organisational induction as well as professional induction. This programme was evaluated through an inquiry. Experiences of participants and as non-participants in the programme were taken into account. The evaluation reveals that all beginning teacher educators (participants as well as non-participants) have learned a lot from their colleagues, for example through conversations or while preparing lessons together. The majority of the participants hold the opinion that the goals of the programme have been reached and they appreciate the programme for the possibility to exchange experiences with other beginning teacher educators.
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Background: Post-term pregnancy, a pregnancy exceeding 294 days or 42 completed weeks, is associated with increased perinatal morbidity and mortality and is considered a high-risk condition which requires specialist surveillance and induction of labour. However, there is uncertainty on the policy concerning the timing of induction for post-term pregnancy or impending post-term pregnancy, leading to practice variation between caregivers. Previous studies on induction at or beyond 41 weeks versus expectant management showed different results on perinatal outcome though conclusions in meta-analyses show a preference for induction at 41 weeks. However, interpretation of the results is hampered by the limited sample size of most trials and the heterogeneity in design. Most control groups had a policy of awaiting spontaneous onset of labour that went far beyond 42 weeks, which does not reflect usual care in The Netherlands where induction of labour at 42 weeks is the regular policy. Thus leaving the question unanswered if induction at 41 weeks results in better perinatal outcomes than expectant management until 42 weeks. Methods/design: In this study we compare a policy of labour induction at 41 + 0/+1 weeks with a policy of expectant management until 42 weeks in obstetrical low risk women without contra-indications for expectant management until 42 weeks and a singleton pregnancy in cephalic position. We will perform a multicenter randomised controlled clinical trial. Our primary outcome will be a composite outcome of perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity. Secondary outcomes will be maternal outcomes as mode of delivery (operative vaginal delivery and Caesarean section), need for analgesia and postpartum haemorrhage (≥1000 ml). Maternal preferences, satisfaction, wellbeing, pain and anxiety will be assessed alongside the trial. Discussion: his study will provide evidence for the management of pregnant women reaching a gestational age of 41 weeks.
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In this report, the details of an investigation into the e ect of the low induction wind turbines on the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCoE) in a 1GW o shore wind farm is outlined. The 10 MW INNWIND.EU conventional wind turbine and its low induction variant, the 10 MW AVATAR wind turbine, are considered in a variety of 10x10 layout configurations. The Annual Energy Production (AEP) and cost of electrical infrastructure were determined using two in-house ECN software tools, namely FarmFlow and EEFarm II. Combining this information with a generalised cost model, the LCoE from these layouts were determined. The optimum LCoE for the AVATAR wind farm was determined to be 92.15 e/MWh while for the INNWIND.EU wind farm it was 93.85 e/MWh. Although the low induction wind farm o ered a marginally lower LCoE, it should not be considered as definitive due to simple nature of the cost model used. The results do indicate that the AVATAR wind farms require less space to achieve this similar cost performace, with a higher optimal wind farm power density (WFPD) of 3.7 MW/km2 compared to 3 MW/km2 for the INNWIND.EU based wind farm.
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Chronic itching is a serious and uncomfortable condition. The scratch response might result in a vicious cycle of alternating itching and scratching. To develop psychological interventions for people suffering from chronic itching and to break the vicious itch-scratching-itch cycle, it is important to elucidate which environmental factors trigger itch sensations. Virtual reality (VR) techniques provide a useful tool to examine specific content characteristics in a three-dimensional (3D VR) environment and their influences on itch sensations and scratching behaviour. This article describes two experiments in which we focused on the effects of environmental information on itching and scratching behaviour. Additionally, in the second experiment, we examined the influence of having a chronic skin condition on sensitivity to itch induction. We found evidence for the importance of the content of audio–visual materials for the effectiveness in inducing feelings of itch in the observers. In both experiments, we observed significantly higher levels of perceived itch in the itch-inducing conditions than in the control condition. Moreover, the results showed that elevated levels of perceived itch were associated with an increase in scratching behaviours, which was especially salient in the contagious itch condition, in which perceived itch was accompanied by a significant increase in the number of scratches. Experiment 2 additionally showed increased perceived itch levels in participants who reported having a chronic skin condition, reflecting higher sensitivity to itch-inducing audio–visual stimuli in this group than in participants without a chronic skin condition. Based on the results we concluded that directing attention towards itch- or scratch aspects of related information in the environment and to the consequences for one’s own skin are effective tools to induce itch sensations and scratching behaviour. This knowledge provides tools for developing novel strategies in advising and treating people suffering from chronic itching and breaking the vicious itch-scratching-itch cycle.
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Introduction and theoretical background In the past few years, there has been a growing interest in the specific position of beginning teacher educators. In the book 'Becoming a teacher Educator' (Swennen & Van der Klink, 2009) several chapters deal with this subject. In conclusion, teacher educators have to deal with stress and uncertainty during their first years in the profession. They have to find a place within the university (organisational induction) as well as to grow into the role of teacher educator (professional induction). Swennen, Shagrir & Cooper (2009) give some examples of organizational induction which beginning teacher educators encounter, such as workload (a combination of new tasks and the wish to perform these tasks well) or a sense of isolation (being the only one with this problem, being thrown into the deep, no 'peers' in the same situation). Murray (2008) also describes professional induction. Beginning teacher educators have to get used to several things: being confronted with teaching students (young adults), uncertainty about the sufficiency of their subject knowledge, and uncertainty about their role as teacher educator being a 'second order teacher' (Murray and Male, 2005). Design of an induction program At Fontys Teacher College Tilburg, the Netherlands each year, new teacher educators get started. According to a quick scan amongst beginning teacher educators in their first year, many of them would like some kind of support. Supportive aspects which are mentioned are partially organisational related (getting to know the institute and its rules), partially related to the organisation of the work (planning, workload) and partially related to the content of the work (how to deal with young adult learners, theory about teaching methods). At Fontys University of Applied Science, we would like to support beginning teacher educators in order to retain them for the organisation and for the profession. To support the new colleagues, a special induction period was designed to support their grow within the organisation and the profession. The induction period consisted of two components: (1) personal support from a 'buddy' e.g a colleague, 2) weekly meetings in which an experienced colleague supports a small group of beginning teacher educators. Evaluation of the induction program This induction program was offered to all new colleagues during academic year 2010-2011. What is gained out of the program by new colleagues was investigated through an evaluative inquiry. In this inquiry, a questionnaire was used and some interviews were held. At the conference in April 2012, the results of the evaluation will be presented. Aditionally, we will also discuss some recommendations for the induction of beginning teacher educators. References Murray, J. and T. Male (2005). Becoming a teacher educator: evidence from the field. Teaching and teacher Education 21 (2005), 125-142. Elsevier Ltd. Murray, J. (2008) Teacher educators' induction into Higher Education: work-based learning in the micro communities of teacher Education. European Journal of teacher Education, Vol 31, no 2, 117-133 Swennen, Anja & Marcel van der Klink (eds) (2009). Becoming a teacher educator. Theory and practice for Teacher Educators. Springer Science+business Media B.V. Swennen, Shagrir & Cooper (2009) Becoming a teacher educator: Voices of beginning teacher educators, 91-102 in: Swennen, Anja & Marcel van der Klink (eds) (2009). Becoming a teacher educator. Theory and practice for Teacher Educators. Springer Science+business Media B.V.
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This paper discusses an Induction Generator (IG) system that provides regulated voltage at any load condition. It utilizes the classical self-excitation principle but, in addition to that, it makes use of a current regulated PWM inverter to control the output voltage magnitude. It is primarily intended for micro hydro plants to be used in rural areas, where the cost of conventional distribution system is high, and the water resources are available to drive an unregulated low hear turbine. The proposed topology is presented, followed by an analysis of the control structure. The methodology is validated via simulation studies.
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The quality of mentoring in teacher education is an essential component of a powerful learning environment for teachers. There is no single approach to mentoring that will work in the same way for every teacher in each context. Nevertheless, most mentor teachers hardly vary their supervisory behaviour in response to varying mentoring situations. Developing versatility in mentor teachers' use of supervisory skills, then, is an important challenge. In this chapter, we discuss the need for mentor teacher preparation and explain the focus, content, and pedagogy underlying a particular training programme for mentor teachers, entitled Supervision Skills for Mentor teachers to Activate Reflection in Teachers (SMART). Also, findings from several studies assessing mentor teachers' supervisory roles and use of supervisory skills in mentoring dialogues, before and after the SMART programme, are presented. In addition, implications and perspectives for mentor teacher development and preparation are discussed.
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