Provision of a Student Ambulance Paramedic Diploma course

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust are currently advertising for someone to provide a Student Ambulance Paramedic Diploma course.

But what is that? It seems like it should be a course to train paramedics who staff a student ambulance. Presumably a student ambulance is one that follows students around on a pub crawl, rescuing those who are worse for wear. The East of England Ambulance Service covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, which presumably includes Cambridge University. So they're looking for people to pick up drunk Cambridge students and make sure they are OK.

Of course that's not what it's about, but intriguingly someone had to place a Freedom Of Information request to find out more.

Extractives

Evidence Synthesis on the impact of extractives on political settlements and conflict in East Africa

is a new research opportunity with the Department for International Development. As usual, I had no idea what extractives are. Turns out an extractive is (logically enough) something that can be extracted. In the case of this research this means primarily oil or gas, and the research is looking into the extent to which the discovery of oil and gas in East Africa has resulted in a resource curse, otherwise known as the Dutch disease.

Leery

Principals Leery of New Teacher-Effectiveness Data, Says Study

So says a headline in an email I received. To me, "leery" means to look at something in a slightly seedy, perhaps slightly drunk way. Similar to "lairy", but a bit more suggestive. Turns out that in the US it means doubtful or suspicious. Yet another difference between British and US English.

Phatic

This is a terrific word. According to the OED 

Of, designating, or relating to speech, utterances, etc., that serve to establish or maintain social relationships rather than to impart information, communicate ideas, etc

In other words, when you say "Hi, how are you?" "Fine, you?" "Great, thanks". It doesn't really mean anything; nobody wants to hear how you really are., but that's phatic communion (I thought it would be phatic communication, but that's another story).