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What of the future of composites? Dr. L. J. Hart‐Smith of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, in a Paper entitled “Designing with Fibrous Composites”, delivered in Brisbane in 1988, commented on the widespread belief that destiny required composites to replace all metal structures because the material is newer, so, ipso facto, aluminium lithium must replace both aluminium and composites because it is even newer.

The aim of this cross-disciplinary, year-long, longitudinal qualitative study was to gain useful insights into the experiences of undergraduates undertaking work placements, focussing particularly upon their emotional responses to the challenges facing them. The research involved a small group of students from an HEI in northwest Ireland, drawn from four very different programmes. They were interviewed at length both before and after their placement, and also made available their reflective learning journals, kept over the course of their placements. A critical examination of the data looks to the psychological and emotional demands of undergraduate work placement and argues the need for rigorous preparation pre-placement and good pastoral support before, during and after the exercise. Although based in Ireland, the findings pose generic dilemmas: the issues encountered (and the solutions suggested) are by no means exclusive to Irish HE, as the literature review indicates.

As a means to capturing the thoughts, feelings, fears, and hopes of the participants’ pre and post-placement, the core research questions were: “How effectively do work placements bridge the gap between HE institutions and the workplace?” and “Do placements prepare students emotionally for the workplace and /or lead to improved academic performance?” By answering from the perspective of their own experiences, several key themes emerged, namely: Expectations and preparation pre-placement; Contexts, remits and roles during placement; Learning gain (as enhanced employability and/or improved academic ability).

The findings suggest that a wide range of employer-valued transferable key skills (together with improved self-confidence, psychological resilience, and emotional maturity) may be gained via informal modes of workplace learning, but that some of the activities carried out by worker-learners during placement may vary widely. It is, therefore, important to prepare students thoroughly pre-placement, support them throughout the process, and act promptly upon their feedback. A draft checklist aimed at placement mentors, academic tutors and course leaders is offered here based upon the study’s findings: its generic nature means that it looks beyond HE in Ireland, and could be of use in crafting meaningful work-based learning opportunities and tangible employability outcomes irrespective of jurisdiction or discipline.

Although small in scale (eight participants) and based in Ireland this two-year study is cross-disciplinary and deals with generic issues of interest to those involved in Higher Education, namely, under-graduate employability, emotional maturity, learning gain, reflective learning, and the pastoral care of placement students (as learner-workers).

Having undergraduate students complete some form of bespoke, enhanced pre-placement training (modular or extra-mural) could also potentially avoid: Misperceptions or misunderstandings over placement terms (structure, content, duration) between placement provider, student and college Concerns on the part of placement providers that they might not be taking on high-calibre undergraduate students, thereby risking their own practice or reputation

Such “pre-employability” training could increase the likelihood of placement students being willing or able to take on extra-mural voluntary roles in profession-relevant organisations, e.g. charities, NGOs, with the associated benefits in terms of CV-building, maturity, personal development and reputation. Pre-placement preparation could include role-play, to help accustom students to the likely (or indeed unlikely) events and scenarios often associated with their future careers, and to thus embed a greater sense of self-confidence, and limit or prevent anxiety. Ensuring that students have had a good grounding in both the norms and potential demands of their chosen profession is key: this, in turn, would ensure that they are also keenly aware, pre-placement, of their own abilities, limitations and any knowledge gaps.

The work offers “front-row” insights into the student experience across four very different disciplines: it provides a useful platform for “the student voice” in terms of a pre and post-placement “snap shot” of their hopes, expectations, and not least, their emotional responses to the challenges of placement. It highlights the importance of robust preparation and comprehensive pastoral care.

Appropriate self‐regulation of exposure to driving in view of age‐related declines in driving ability is a significant problem for older individuals in the UK, as programmes designed to encourage and support self‐regulation are sorely lacking. This paper outlines the development of a CD‐based Mixed Media and Virtual Reality (MMVR) programme, consisting of: information and reference material; cognitive tests; and virtual reality (VR) driving simulator components, all of which are orientated to address the older driver. The research on the self‐regulation of driving that informs the rationale and development of the ‘shell’ of the MMVR programme is overviewed, followed by a description of state of development of the cognitive tests and VR driving simulation components of the CD. It is argued that the development of programmes such as that proposed in this paper are necessary to reconcile the mobility needs of the expanding UK elderly population and public safety concerns.

MAINTENANCE of military aircraft presents a different set of parameters, for example, the aircraft flying rate is much lower with only a few hundred hours per annum compared to airliners which are expected tofly up to 4,000 hours per aircraft per annum. The peacetime military requirement is to meet training objectives whilst maintaining the aircraft ready for war. Civil airlines need to make as much profit as possible — this is not achieved when the aeroplane is on the ground.

Scotland's Teacher Induction Scheme, which covers new teachers in the state sector, was introduced in 2002, before which there was a 2-year probation period. This chapter covers teacher probation prior to 2002; the components of the Teacher Induction Scheme; allocation of induction year teachers; the Standard for Full Registration; support and professional learning and tensions in the scheme, namely mentors' dual support and assessment roles, the vulnerable position of induction year teachers and the role of universities in teacher induction. While there have been some minor changes to the Teacher Induction Scheme and the Flexible Route (originally called the Alternative Route) to Registration, there has not been an official review or overhaul since their introduction in 2002. Therefore, this chapter concludes with suggestions on possible future developments.

THE world slump which has opened this decade has had a serious effect upon aviation generally, de‐regulation in USA and the end of much of the tension with the former USSR has also had its effect, particularly in the military sphere.

It is noted that the probability of dual engine failure from all independent causes in cruise must not exceed 0.3 x 10−8 per hour.

THE first tentative steps in the use of composite materials for primary structures were taken in 1940 when, a Blenheim main spar was built of Gordon Aerolite, a material developed by Dr. Norman de Bruyne's firm, Aero Research Ltd. of Duxford (now part of the Ciba‐Geigy Group). It comprised unbleached flax thread skein formed with phenolic resin in a heated press to form what was probably the world's first advanced composite material.

Space limitations preclude more than a brief reference to other important developments in composites but several must be mentioned, the Bell‐Boeing V‐22 Osprey tilt‐rotor aircraft (Fig. 34), the Westland Agusta EH 101 Merlin helicopter (Fig. 35) and the MBB BO108 light twin helicopter (Fig. 36) share the need for the lowest possible structural weight and the maximum fatigue life of blades, consequently composites are widely used in these aircraft. Westland have, of course, achieved a high reputation with their advanced BERP rotor blades with an aerodynamic form said to be incapable of economic production in metal. Fitted with the new blades a Lynx helicopter established a world speed record for helicopters of over 216 knots in 1986.

There is considerable variety in the use and citation of Wenger’s framework of communities of practice in educational research. In some cases, citations and references to Wenger’s work are superficial and lack meaningful theoretical application. In others, citations and use of Wenger’s work are critical and insightful, thoughtfully applying Wenger’s framework to a range of educational settings. The effect of these variable uses is a conceptual slippage that leads to the framework being misapplied, misunderstood and over-simplified. In this chapter I foreground the under-used idea of learning architectures. A learning architecture consists of an assemblage of components that may allow learning to take place. Such an assemblage might consist of a place (rooms, workshops, facilities), tools and equipment (textbooks, materials, handbooks, reading lists) and activities that require and encourage mutual engagement (seminars, tutorials, group presentations). In this chapter, drawing on previously published ethnographic research, one teacher-training course is used to model a learning architecture approach. At the same time, the chapter introduces and resolves one of the more contested aspects of Wenger’s framework, namely the position of pedagogy and assessment within a community of practice.