Showing papers by "University of Stirling published in 2011"

Current trends in microsatellite genotyping.

Abstract: Microsatellites have been popular molecular markers ever since their advent in the late eighties. Despite growing competition from new genotyping and sequencing techniques, the use of these versatile and cost-effective markers continues to increase, boosted by successive technical advances. First, methods for multiplexing PCR have considerably improved over the last years, thereby decreasing genotyping costs and increasing throughput. Second, next-generation sequencing technologies allow the identification of large numbers of microsatellite loci at reduced cost in non-model species. As a consequence, more stringent selection of loci is possible, thereby further enhancing multiplex quality and efficiency. However, current practices are lagging behind. By surveying recently published population genetic studies relying on simple sequence repeats, we show that more than half of the studies lack appropriate quality controls and do not make use of multiplex PCR. To make the most of the latest technical developments, we outline the need for a well-established strategy including standardized high-throughput bench protocols and specific bioinformatic tools, from primer design to allele calling.

Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research.

Abstract: Face preferences affect a diverse range of critical social outcomes, from mate choices and decisions about platonic relationships to hiring decisions and decisions about social exchange. Firstly, we review the facial characteristics that influence attractiveness judgements of faces (e.g. symmetry, sexually dimorphic shape cues, averageness, skin colour/texture and cues to personality) and then review several important sources of individual differences in face preferences (e.g. hormone levels and fertility, own attractiveness and personality, visual experience, familiarity and imprinting, social learning). The research relating to these issues highlights flexible, sophisticated systems that support and promote adaptive responses to faces that appear to function to maximize the benefits of both our mate choices and more general decisions about other types of social partners.

Young people and the Great Recession

Abstract: This article reviews the effects of the Great Recession on youth labour markets. We argue that young people aged 16-24 have suffered disproportionately during the recession. Using the USA and UK as case studies, we analyse youth unemployment using micro-data. We find that there is convincing evidence that the effects of unemployment when young impose costs on individuals and society well into the future. Although the effects of current policies on youth unemployment are uncertain, there is still a strong case for policy intervention to address the difficulties that the young are having in accessing employment.

Root exudation of sugars, amino acids, and organic acids by maize as affected by nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and iron deficiency

Abstract: Root exudates play a major role in the mobilization of sparingly soluble nutrients in the rhizosphere. Since the amount and composition of major metabolites in root exudates from one plant species have not yet been systematically compared under different nutrient deficiencies, relations between exudation patterns and the type of nutrient being deficient remain poorly understood. Comparing root exudates from axenically grown maize plants exposed to N, K, P, or Fe deficiency showed a higher release of glutamate, glucose, ribitol, and citrate from Fe-deficient plants, while P deficiency stimulated the release of c-aminobutyric acid and carbohydrates. Potassium-starved plants released less sugars, in particular glycerol, ribitol, fructose, and maltose, while under N deficiency lower amounts of amino acids were found in root exudates. Principal-component analysis revealed a clear separation in the variation of the root-exudate composition between Fe or P deficiency versus N or K deficiency in the first principal component, which explained 46% of the variation in the data. In addition, a negative correlation was found between the amounts of sugars, organic and amino acids released under deficiency of a certain nutrient and the diffusion coefficient of the respective nutrient in soils. We thus hypothesize that the release of dominant root exudates such as sugars, amino acids, and organic acids by roots may reflect an ancient strategy to cope with limiting nutrient supply.

Public health in community pharmacy: A systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views

Abstract: The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years previously. In order to improve the public health services provided in community pharmacy, training must aim to increase pharmacists' confidence in providing these services. Confident, well trained pharmacists should be able to offer public health service more proactively which is likely to have a positive impact on customer attitudes and health.

Climate Relicts: Past, Present, Future

Abstract: Populations left behind during climate-driven range shifts can persist in enclaves of benign environmental conditions within an inhospitable regional climate. Such climate relicts exist in numerous plant and animal species worldwide, yet our knowledge of them is fragmented and lacks a general framework. Here we synthesize the empirical evidence considering (a) relict habitats, (b) abiotic and biotic constraints on population dynamics, (c) mechanisms promoting population persistence, and (d ) uncertainties concerning their future prospects. We identify three major types of climate relicts: (a) those constrained primarily by climate-driven abiotic factors, (b )t hose restricted to areas that are inaccessible to antagonistic species for climatic reasons, and (c) those requiring a host or mutualistic species that is itself limited by climate. Understanding the formation and functioning of climate relicts is essential for their conservation and for our understanding of the response of species and populations to climate change.

The Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior

Abstract: Suicide is a major public health concern accounting for 800 000 deaths globally each year. Although there have been many advances in understanding suicide risk in recent decades, our ability to predict suicide is no better now than it was 50 years ago. There are many potential explanations for this lack of progress, but the absence, until recently, of comprehensive theoretical models that predict the emergence of suicidal ideation distinct from the transition between suicidal ideation and suicide attempts/suicide is key to this lack of progress. The current article presents the integrated motivational–volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behaviour, one such theoretical model. We propose that defeat and entrapment drive the emergence of suicidal ideation and that a group of factors, entitled volitional moderators (VMs), govern the transition from suicidal ideation to suicidal behaviour. According to the IMV model, VMs include access to the means of suicide, exposure to suicidal behaviour, capability for suicide (fearlessness about death and increased physical pain tolerance), planning, impulsivity, mental imagery and past suicidal behaviour. In this article, we describe the theoretical origins of the IMV model, the key premises underpinning the model, empirical tests of the model and future research directions.

Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): Validated for teenage school students in England and Scotland. A mixed methods assessment

Abstract: Understanding and measuring mental health and wellbeing amongst teenagers has recently become a priority. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is validated for measuring mental wellbeing in populations aged 16 years and over in the UK. We report here a study designed to establish the validity and reliability of WEMWBS in teenagers in the UK. WEMWBS and comparator scales, together with socio-demographic information and self-reported health, were incorporated into a self-administered questionnaire given to pupils aged 13 to 16 years in six schools in Scotland and England. Psychometric properties including internal consistency, correlations with comparator scales, test-retest stability and unidimensionality were investigated for WEMWBS. Twelve focus groups were undertaken to assess acceptability and comprehensibility of WEMWBS and were taped, transcribed and analysed thematically. A total of 1,650 teenagers completed the questionnaire (response rate 80.8%). Mean WEMWBS score was 48.8 (SD 6.8; median 49). Response scores covered the full range (from 14 to 70). WEMWBS demonstrated strong internal consistency and a high Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 (95% CI (0.85-0.88), n = 1517). Measures of construct validity gave values as predicted. The correlation coefficient for WEMWBS total score and psychological wellbeing domain of the Kidscreen-27 was 0.59 (95% CI [0.55; 0.62]); for the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) was 0.65, 95% CI [0.62; 0.69]; and for the WHO (WHO-5) Well-being Index 0.57 (95% CI [0.53; 0.61]). The correlation coefficient for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was -0.44 (95% CI [-0.49; -0.40]) and for the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) -0.45 (95% CI [-0.49; -0.40]). Test-retest reliability was acceptable (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.66 (95% CI [0.59; 0.72] n = 212)). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated one underlying factor. WEMWBS was significantly associated with the Family Affluence Score (WEMWBS increased with increasing household socio-economic status) and had a positive association with the physical health dimension of the Kidscreen-27, but was unrelated to age, gender or location/school. Eighty students took part in focus groups. In general, although some students considered some items open to misunderstanding or misinterpretation, WEMWBS was received positively and was considered comprehensible, and acceptable. WEMWBS is a psychometrically strong population measure of mental wellbeing, and can be used for this purpose in teenagers aged 13 and over.

Agent-based computing from multi-agent systems to agent-based models: a visual survey

Abstract: Agent-based computing is a diverse research domain concerned with the building of intelligent software based on the concept of "agents". In this paper, we use Scientometric analysis to analyze all sub-domains of agent-based computing. Our data consists of 1,064 journal articles indexed in the ISI web of knowledge published during a 20 year period: 1990---2010. These were retrieved using a topic search with various keywords commonly used in sub-domains of agent-based computing. In our proposed approach, we have employed a combination of two applications for analysis, namely Network Workbench and CiteSpace--wherein Network Workbench allowed for the analysis of complex network aspects of the domain, detailed visualization-based analysis of the bibliographic data was performed using CiteSpace. Our results include the identification of the largest cluster based on keywords, the timeline of publication of index terms, the core journals and key subject categories. We also identify the core authors, top countries of origin of the manuscripts along with core research institutes. Finally, our results have interestingly revealed the strong presence of agent-based computing in a number of non-computing related scientific domains including Life Sciences, Ecological Sciences and Social Sciences.

The hourglass of emotions

Abstract: Human emotions and their modelling are increasingly understood to be a crucial aspect in the development of intelligent systems. Over the past years, in fact, the adoption of psychological models of emotions has become a common trend among researchers and engineers working in the sphere of affective computing. Because of the elusive nature of emotions and the ambiguity of natural language, however, psychologists have developed many different affect models, which often are not suitable for the design of applications in fields such as affective HCI, social data mining, and sentiment analysis. To this end, we propose a novel biologically-inspired and psychologically-motivated emotion categorisation model that goes beyond mere categorical and dimensional approaches. Such model represents affective states both through labels and through four independent but concomitant affective dimensions, which can potentially describe the full range of emotional experiences that are rooted in any of us.

Best practice elements of multilevel suicide prevention strategies: a review of systematic reviews

Abstract: Background: Evidence-based best practices for incorporation into an optimal multilevel intervention for suicide prevention should be identifiable in the literature. Aims: To identify effective interventions for the prevention of suicidal behavior. Methods: Review of systematic reviews found in the Pubmed, Cochrane, and DARE databases. Steps include risk-of-bias assessment, data extraction, summarization of best practices, and identification of synergistic potentials of such practices in multilevel approaches. Results: Six relevant systematic reviews were found. Best practices identified as effective were as follows: training general practitioners (GPs) to recognize and treat depression and suicidality, improving accessibility of care for at-risk people, and restricting access to means of suicide. Although no outcomes were reported for multilevel interventions or for synergistic effects of multiple interventions applied together, indirect support was found for possible synergies in particular combinations of interventions within multilevel strategies. Conclusions: A number of evidence-based best practices for the prevention of suicide and suicide attempts were identified. Research is needed on the nature and extent of potential synergistic effects of various preventive activities within multilevel interventions.

Set points, settling points and some alternative models: theoretical options to understand how genes and environments combine to regulate body adiposity.

Abstract: The close correspondence between energy intake and expenditure over prolonged time periods, coupled with an apparent protection of the level of body adiposity in the face of perturbations of energy balance, has led to the idea that body fatness is regulated via mechanisms that control intake and energy expenditure. Two models have dominated the discussion of how this regulation might take place. The set point model is rooted in physiology, genetics and molecular biology, and suggests that there is an active feedback mechanism linking adipose tissue (stored energy) to intake and expenditure via a set point, presumably encoded in the brain. This model is consistent with many of the biological aspects of energy balance, but struggles to explain the many significant environmental and social influences on obesity, food intake and physical activity. More importantly, the set point model does not effectively explain the ‘obesity epidemic’ – the large increase in body weight and adiposity of a large proportion of individuals in many countries since the 1980s. An alternative model, called the settling point model, is based on the idea that there is passive feedback between the size of the body stores and aspects of expenditure. This model accommodates many of the social and environmental characteristics of energy balance, but struggles to explain some of the biological and genetic aspects. The shortcomings of these two models reflect their failure to address the gene-by-environment interactions that dominate the regulation of body weight. We discuss two additional models – the general intake model and the dual intervention point model – that address this issue and might offer better ways to understand how body fatness is controlled.

Dividend policy and share price volatility: UK evidence

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between dividend policy and share price changes in the UK stock market.Design/methodology/approach – Multiple regression analyses are used to explore the association between share price changes and both dividend yield and dividend payout ratio.Findings – A positive relation is found between dividend yield and stock price changes, and a negative relation between dividend payout ratio and stock price changes. In addition, it is shown that a firm's growth rate, debt level, size and earnings explain stock price changes.Practical implications – The paper supports the fact that dividend policy is relevant in determining share price changes for a sample of firms listed in the London Stock Exchange.Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to show that corporate dividend policy is a key driver of stock price changes in the UK.

25 Years On: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future in Gender and Management Research

Abstract: This paper celebrates the progress that has been made in gender and management research over the last 25 years and outlines some current challenges faced. The British Journal of Management has disseminated many of the key debates, from empirical and theoretical work, that have helped to both frame and reflect developments in the field – and this paper charts some of this diverse terrain. Challenges include current conceptualizations that gender issues have been ‘solved’ with a tendency towards ‘gender denial’ in understandings of work based disadvantage. Future areas of research are identified including the need to continue to monitor and publicize gender difference; to clarify and conceptualize emerging gendered hierarchies and new forms of gendered power; and to reveal hidden, gendered practices and processes currently concealed within norms, customs and values.

A framework for sustainable marketing

Abstract: This article examines how sustainable marketing could be achieved through the contribution of three existing marketing sub-disciplines; green marketing, social marketing and critical marketing. Green marketing facilitates the development and marketing of more sustainable products and services while introducing sustainability efforts into the core of the marketing process and business practice. Social marketing involves using the power of marketing to encourage sustainable behaviour among individuals, businesses and decision makers while also assessing the impact of current commercial marketing on sustainability. This links into the critical marketing paradigm which entails analyses of marketing theory, principles and techniques using a critical theory based approach. This analysis can help to guide regulation and control, development of marketing theory and practice, and to challenge the dominant institutions associated with marketing and the capitalist system, encouraging a marketing system in which sust...

Imprisoned by the past: unhappy moods lead to a retrospective bias to mind wandering.

Abstract: Evidence suggests that mind wandering is a frequent accompaniment to an unhappy mood. Building on such work, two laboratory experiments used mood induction to assess whether the greater frequency of mind wandering in a low mood is also accompanied by a shift towards a focus on events from the past. Experiment 1 induced moods via video and induction of an unhappy mood was associated with a greater tendency for past-related mind wandering as measured by a post-task questionnaire. In Experiment 2, negative and positive moods were induced in a group of participants using the Velten mood-induction procedure and the temporal focus of mind wandering was measured using experience sampling probes. Analyses indicated that induction of an unhappy mood led to an increase in past-related mind wandering and the magnitude of this change increased with scores on a measure of depressive symptoms. Together these experiments suggest that when the mind wanders in an unhappy mood it is drawn to events from its past.

Analysis of inbreeding depression in mixed-mating plants provides evidence for selective interference and stable mixed mating

Abstract: Hermaphroditic individuals can produce both selfed and outcrossed progeny, termed mixed mating. General theory predicts that mixed-mating populations should evolve quickly toward high rates of selfing, driven by rapid purging of genetic load and loss of inbreeding depression (ID), but the substantial number of mixed-mating species observed in nature calls this prediction into question. Lower average ID reported for selfing than for outcrossing populations is consistent with purging and suggests that mixed-mating taxa in evolutionary transition will have intermediate ID. We compared the magnitude of ID from published estimates for highly selfing (r > 0.8), mixed-mating (0.2 ≤r≥ 0.8), and highly outcrossing (r < 0.2) plant populations across 58 species. We found that mixed-mating and outcrossing taxa have equally high average lifetime ID (δ= 0.58 and 0.54, respectively) and similar ID at each of four life-cycle stages. These results are not consistent with evolution toward selfing in most mixed-mating taxa. We suggest that prevention of purging by selective interference could explain stable mixed mating in many natural populations. We identify critical gaps in the empirical data on ID and outline key approaches to filling them.

Media Convergence: Networked Digital Media in Everyday Life

Abstract: This book focuses on how everyday media such as Facebook, iTunes andGoogle can be understood in new ways for the21st centurythrough ideas of convergence.Key chapters explore the development of the internet, the rise of social media and the new opportunities for audiences to create, collaborate upon and share their own media.

The Ignorant Citizen: Mouffe, Ranciere, and the Subject of Democratic Education

Abstract: Much work in the field of education for democratic citizenship is based on the idea that it is possible to know what a good citizen is, so that the task of citizenship education becomes that of the production of the good citizen. In this paper I ask whether and to what extent we can and should understand democratic citizenship as a positive identity. I approach this question by means of an exploration of four dimensions of democratic politics—the political community, the borders of the political order, the dynamics of democratic processes and practices, and the status of the democratic subject—in order to explore whether and to what extent the ‘essence’ of democratic politics can and should be understood as a particular order. For this I engage with ideas from Chantal Mouffe and Jacques Ranciere who both have raised fundamental questions about the extent to which the ‘essence’ of democratic politics can be captured as a particular order. In the paper I introduce the figure of the ignorant citizen in order to hint at a conception of citizenship that is not based on particular knowledge about what the good citizen is. I introduce a distinction between a socialisation conception of citizenship education and civic learning and a subjectification conception of citizenship education and civic learning in order to articulate what the educational implications of such an ‘anarchic’ understanding of democratic politics are. While the socialisation conception focuses on the question how ‘newcomers’ can be inserted into an existing political order, the subjectification conception focuses on the question how democratic subjectivity is engendered through engagement in always undetermined political processes. This is no longer a process driven by knowledge about what the citizen is or should become but one that depends on a desire for a particular mode of human togetherness or, in short, a desire for democracy.

Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience

Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction 2. The basis of electrical activity in the neuron 3. The Hodgkin Huxley model of the action potential 4. Compartmental models 5. Models of active ion channels 6. Intracellular mechanisms 7. The synapse 8. Simplified models of neurons 9. Networks 10. The development of the nervous system Appendix A. Resources Appendix B. Mathematical methods References.

Genotype-specific responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) subject to dietary fish oil replacement by vegetable oil: a liver transcriptomic analysis

Abstract: Expansion of aquaculture is seriously limited by reductions in fish oil (FO) supply for aquafeeds Terrestrial alternatives such as vegetable oils (VO) have been investigated and recently a strategy combining genetic selection with changes in diet formulations has been proposed to meet growing demands for aquaculture products This study investigates the influence of genotype on transcriptomic responses to sustainable feeds in Atlantic salmon A microarray analysis was performed to investigate the liver transcriptome of two family groups selected according to their estimated breeding values (EBVs) for flesh lipid content, 'Lean' or 'Fat', fed diets containing either FO or a VO blend Diet principally affected metabolism genes, mainly of lipid and carbohydrate, followed by immune response genes Genotype had a much lower impact on metabolism-related genes and affected mostly signalling pathways Replacement of dietary FO by VO caused an up-regulation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, but there was a clear genotype effect as fatty acyl elongase (elovl2) was only up-regulated and desaturases (Δ5 fad and Δ6 fad) showed a higher magnitude of response in Lean fish, which was reflected in liver fatty acid composition Fatty acid synthase (FAS) was also up-regulated by VO and the effect was independent of genotype Genetic background of the fish clearly affected regulation of lipid metabolism, as PPARα and PPARβ were down-regulated by the VO diet only in Lean fish, while in Fat salmon SREBP-1 expression was up-regulated by VO In addition, all three genes had a lower expression in the Lean family group than in the Fat, when fed VO Differences in muscle adiposity between family groups may have been caused by higher levels of hepatic fatty acid and glycerophospholipid synthesis in the Fat fish, as indicated by the expression of FAS, 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase and lipid phosphate phosphohydrolase 2 This study has identified metabolic pathways and key regulators that may respond differently to alternative plant-based feeds depending on genotype Further studies are required but data suggest that it will be possible to identify families better adapted to alternative diet formulations that might be appropriate for future genetic selection programmes

Vascular plant success in a warming Antarctic may be due to efficient nitrogen acquisition

Abstract: Nitrogen availability is frequently a key factor limiting plant growth, even when other conditions are favourable. Research demonstrates that via a short circuit in the terrestrial nitrogen cycle, Antarctic hair grass acquires soil nitrogen more efficiently than competing mosses, which may explain its success in a warming maritime Antarctic.

Disciplines and theory in the academic study of education: a comparative analysis of the Anglo-American and Continental construction of the field

Abstract: In the English-speaking world educational research is often conceived as the interdisciplinary study of educational processes and practices. Hence research in education strongly relies on theoretical input from a range of different academic disciplines. What is virtually absent in this construction of the field is the idea of education as an academic discipline in its own right. The latter idea does however play a prominent role in the way in which the field of educational studies has developed on the Continent, particularly in the German-speaking world. In this paper I compare these two constructions of the field in order to understand why the field has developed so differently in different contexts. Comparing the different traditions raises some important questions about the theoretical resources available for the study of education; questions that are still important for the study of education today.

Observed soil temperature trends associated with climate change in Canada

Abstract: [1] Trends in soil temperature are important, but rarely reported, indicators of climate change. On the basis of the soil temperature data from 30 climate stations across Canada during 1958–2008, trends in soil temperatures at 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 150 cm depths were analyzed, together with atmospheric variables, such as air temperature, precipitation, and depth of snow on the ground, observed at the same locations. There was a significant positive trend with soil temperatures in spring and summer means, but not for the winter and annual means. A positive trend with time in soil temperature was detected at about two-thirds of the stations at all depths below 5 cm. A warming trend of 0.26–0.30°C/decade was consistently detected in spring (March–April–May) at all depths between 1958 and 2008. The warming trend in soil temperatures was associated with trends in air temperatures and snow cover depth over the same period. A significant decreasing trend in snow cover depth in winter and spring was associated with increasing air temperatures. The combined effects of the higher air temperature and reduced snow depth probably resulted in an enhanced increasing trend in spring soil temperatures, but no significant trends in winter soil temperatures. The thermal insulation by snow cover appeared to play an important role in the response of soil temperatures to climate change and must be accounted for in projecting future soil-related impacts of climate change.

An ‘endless struggle’: a qualitative study of general practitioners’ and practice nurses’ experiences of managing multimorbidity in socio-economically deprived areas of Scotland

Abstract: Objectives: To understand general practitioners’ (GPs) and practice nurses’ (PNs) experiences of managing multimorbidity in deprived areas and elicit views on what might help.Methods: Qualitative i...

Schools, teachers, and curriculum change: A balancing act?

Abstract: Educational change is a fact of life for teachers across the world, as schools are subjected to constant and ubiquitous pressures to innovate. And, yet, many school practices remain remarkably persistent in the face of such innovation. This paradox of innovation without change is perplexing for policymakers and practitioners alike. This paper investigates the gap between policy and practice, between innovation and the changes in social practices that occur in response to such innovation. It draws upon empirical data from two case studies in Scotland—schools responding to new curriculum policy—exploring contrasting approaches to the management of innovation. One is a laissez faire approach, and the other a more directive managerial strategy. Through an analytical separation of culture, structure, and agency, derived from the social theory of Margaret Archer, the paper sheds light on the social processes that accompanied innovation in these two settings demonstrating how teacher culture and differing management styles impact upon externally initiated policy.