An investigation into how grade 10 learners make meaning during the teaching and learning of the topic on nutrition in Life Science: a case study

The integration of learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experiences during teaching and learning is a pre-requisite in the Namibian curriculum. The curriculum states that if learners are taught in a way which builds on what they already know and they relate new knowledge to the reality around them, their learning in school can be made more meaningful. Thus, learners’ meaning making in the topic on nutrition was researched to find out whether elicitation and integration of learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experience in the nutrition topic enhanced or constrained their learning. This study was conducted with my grade10 learners at the school where I am currently teaching. The school is located in a rural area in Oshana region in Northern Namibia. This study is situated within an interpretive paradigm. Within the interpretive paradigm a qualitative case study approach was adopted. I considered this methodological orientation appropriate in this study as it allowed me to use the following methods: document analysis, brainstorming and discussion, semi-structured interviews and a focus group interview, practical activities with worksheets and observation and reflection. Multiple methods to gather data were used for triangulation and validation purposes. For data analysis purposes, the data sets were colour coded to derive themes and analytical statements. Ethical consideration was also taken seriously in this study. The findings from this study revealed that integration of learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experience enabled learners to understand science better particularly in the topic of nutrition. The study also revealed that learners possess a lot of prior everyday knowledge and experience about food they eat in their homes. However, data from the community members revealed that there are some contradictions between learners’ prior everyday knowledge and the science content of the topic. Nonetheless, engaging learners in practical activities in the testing of food (local and conventional western type foods) helped them to make meaning of the content learned. I therefore, recommend that learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experiences should be incorporated during teaching and learning of the topic on nutrition. The study also recommends that the Department of Education should ensure that teachers get the necessary support and training on how to integrate learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experiences

Social media mining as an opportunistic citizen science model in ecological monitoring: a case study using invasive alien species in forest ecosystems.

Dramatische ökologische, ökonomische und soziale Veränderungen bedrohen die Stabilität von Ökosystemen weltweit und stellen zusammen mit neuen Ansprüchen an die vielfältigen Ökosystemdienstleistungen von Wäldern neue Herausforderungen für das forstliche Management und Monitoring dar. Neue Risiken und Gefahren, wie zum Beispiel eingebürgerte invasive Arten (Neobiota), werfen grundsätzliche Fragen hinsichtlich etablierter forstlicher Managementstrategien auf, da diese Strategien auf der Annahme stabiler Ökosysteme basieren. Anpassungsfähige Management- und Monitoringstrategien sind deshalb notwendig, um diese neuen Bedrohungen und Veränderungen frühzeitig zu erkennen. Dies erfordert jedoch ein großflächiges und umfassendes Monitoring, was unter Maßgabe begrenzter Ressourcen nur bedingt möglich ist. Angesichts dieser Herausforderungen haben Forstpraktiker und Wissenschaftler begonnen auch auf die Unterstützung von Freiwilligen in Form sogenannter „Citizen Science“-Projekte (Bürgerwissenschaft) zurückzugreifen, um zusätzliche Informationen zu sammeln und flexibel auf spezifische Fragestellungen reagieren zu können. Mit der allgemeinen Verfügbarkeit des Internets und mobiler Geräte ist in Form sogenannter sozialer Medien zudem eine neue digitale Informationsquelle entstanden. Mittels dieser Technologien übernehmen Nutzer prinzipiell die Funktion von Umweltsensoren und erzeugen indirekt ein ungeheures Volumen allgemein zugänglicher Umgebungs- und Umweltinformationen. Die automatische Analyse von sozialen Medien wie Facebook, Twitter, Wikis oder Blogs, leistet inzwischen wichtige Beiträge zu Bereichen wie dem Monitoring von Infektionskrankheiten, Katastrophenschutz oder der Erkennung von Erdbeben. Anwendungen mit einem ökologischen Bezug existieren jedoch nur vereinzelt, und eine methodische Bearbeitung dieses Anwendungsbereichs fand bisher nicht statt. Unter Anwendung des Mikroblogging-Dienstes Twitter und des Beispiels eingebürgerter invasiver Arten in Waldökosystemen, verfolgt die vorliegende Arbeit eine solche methodische Bearbeitung und Bewertung sozialer Medien im Monitoring von Wäldern. Die automatische Analyse sozialer Medien wird dabei als opportunistisches „Citizen Science“-Modell betrachtet und die verfügbaren Daten, Aktivitäten und Teilnehmer einer vergleichenden Analyse mit existierenden bewusst geplanten „Citizen Science“-Projekten im Umweltmonitoring unterzogen. Die vorliegenden Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Twitter eine wertvolle Informationsquelle über invasive Arten darstellt und dass soziale Medien im Allgemeinen traditionelle Umweltinformationen ergänzen könnten. Twitter ist eine reichhaltige Quelle von primären Biodiversitätsbeobachtungen, einschließlich solcher zu eingebürgerten invasiven Arten. Zusätzlich kann gezeigt werden, dass die analysierten Twitterinhalte für die untersuchten Arten markante Themen- und Informationsprofile aufweisen, die wichtige Beiträge im Management invasiver Arten leisten können. Allgemein zeigt die Studie, dass einerseits das Potential von „Citizen Science“ im forstlichen Monitoring derzeit nicht ausgeschöpft wird, aber andererseits mit denjenigen Nutzern, die Biodiversitätsbeobachtungen auf Twitter teilen, eine große Zahl von Individuen mit einem Interesse an Umweltbeobachtungen zur Verfügung steht, die auf der Basis ihres dokumentierten Interesses unter Umständen für bewusst geplante „Citizen Science“-Projekte mobilisiert werden könnten. Zusammenfassend dokumentiert diese Studie, dass soziale Medien eine wertvolle Quelle für Umweltinformationen allgemein sind und eine verstärkte Untersuchung verdienen, letztlich mit dem Ziel, operative Systeme zur Unterstützung von Risikobewertungen in Echtzeit zu entwickeln.Major environmental, social and economic changes threatening the resilience of ecosystems world-wide and new demands on a broad range of forest ecosystem services present new challenges for forest management and monitoring. New risks and threats such as invasive alien species imply fundamental challenges for traditional forest management strategies, which have been based on assumptions of permanent ecosystem stability. Adaptive management and monitoring is called for to detect new threats and changes as early as possible, but this requires large-scale monitoring and monitoring resources remain a limiting factor. Accordingly, forest practitioners and scientists have begun to turn to public support in the form of “citizen science” to react flexibly to specific challenges and gather critical information. The emergence of ubiquitous mobile and internet technologies provides a new digital source of information in the form of so-called social media that essentially turns users of these media into environmental sensors and provides an immense volume of publicly accessible, ambient environmental information. Mining social media content, such as Facebook, Twitter, Wikis or Blogs, has been shown to make critical contributions to epidemic disease monitoring, emergency management or earthquake detection. Applications in the ecological domain remain anecdotal and a methodical exploration for this domain is lacking. Using the example of the micro-blogging service Twitter and invasive alien species in forest ecosystems, this study provides a methodical exploration and assessment of social media for forest monitoring. Social media mining is approached as an opportunistic citizen science model and the data, activities and contributors are analyzed in comparison to deliberate ecological citizen science monitoring. The results show that Twitter is a valuable source of information on invasive alien species and that social media in general could be a supplement to traditional monitoring data. Twitter proves to be a rich source of primary biodiversity observations including those of the selected invasive species. In addition, it is shown that Twitter content provides distinctive thematic profiles that relate closely to key characteristics of the explored invasive alien species and provide valuable insights for invasive species management. Furthermore, the study shows that while there are underutilized opportunities for citizen science in forest monitoring, the contributors of biodiversity observations on Twitter show a more than casual interest in this subject and represent a large pool of potential contributors to deliberate citizen science monitoring efforts. In summary, social online media are a valuable source for ecological monitoring information in general and deserve intensified exploration to arrive at operational systems supporting real-time risk assessments

Moths & Legends The contribution of chitoumou, the edible caterpillar Cirina butyrospermi, to food security, agriculture and biodiversity in a low-intensity agroforestry system

The global food system is essential for sustaining human life, yet in its current form it does so at a great cost to both human and environmental health. Food insecurity and diet-related disease are responsible for 70% of deaths worldwide, and the global extinction rate is ~1000 times estimated background rates due to the widespread destruction of wild habitat for agriculture. The production of livestock for animal protein is a key driver of both trends. This thesis considers the potential of edible insects in existing agricultural systems to mitigate these problems, with a focus on the role of chitoumou (Cirina butyrospermi), the commonly consumed shea caterpillar harvested from agroforestry systems in Burkina Faso, West Africa. I begin this thesis with a review of the role of edible insects in agricultural systems worldwide. Though certain insects are currently touted for commercial scale production, many popular edible insects are already harvested from existing systems, in which they prey on plant crops. These insects often cause damage to crop yields, but also provide vital provisioning, regulating, maintaining and cultural ecosystem services. Yet, few data are available to enable farmers and policymakers to weigh up the costs and benefits of edible insects in agricultural systems. Therefore, I examine the contributions of chitoumou – a popular edible insect in a region with acute food insecurity and environmental degradation – to food security, crop yields and biodiversity. Firstly, I evaluate the contribution of shea caterpillars to food security. I show that animal protein consumption and food security are higher during caterpillar season, and that higher food security is associated with caterpillar collection, sale and consumption. Shea caterpillars contribute positively to food security, but this effect is seasonal. Secondly, I investigate the relationship between defoliation by shea caterpillars and crop yields. Observational data show that defoliation does not have a negative association with yields of either shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) or maize (Zea mays). This challenges assumptions held by some stakeholders that it is necessary to take measures to eradicate these insects. Thirdly, I look at the relationship of caterpillars to biodiversity, using defoliation as a proxy for caterpillar abundance and bird abundance as a proxy for biodiversity. I find no significant relationship, suggesting that defoliation by caterpillars is not a significant threat to biodiversity in this region. Consequently, policymakers and smallholder farmers alike should recognize that shea caterpillars are not pests, and that the retention of shea trees will promote food security. However, policymakers in particular should be aware that the contribution of shea caterpillars to food security is seasonally limited. For this reason, assessments of food insecurity and strategies to mitigate food insecurity in this region are best conducted out of caterpillar season. Future research that aims to tackle acute global problems of human and environmental health using edible insects should consider the role of insects in existing agricultural systems, and quantify how such insects affect regions where these problems are most severe.I received funding for this work from: the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK (NERC); the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN); crowdfunding campaign on Experiment.com; the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science; King’s College, Cambridge; the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge

Synthesis of zinc sulfide multi-scale agglomerates by homogeneous precipitation–parametric study and mechanism

International audienceWhen zinc sulfide is prepared by homogeneous precipitation from an acid solution of zinc sulfate and thioacetamide in a stirred reactor, it is generally obtained in the form of four-scale agglomerates. This paper is intended to progress in the understanding of the nature of the construction stages of these agglomerates. For this, successive size scales are studied as a function of several operating parameters: pH, concentration in reactants, temperature and stirring rate. Microscopic characterization is performed at different times of the precipitation process. The successive steps of construction of the multi-scale structure aggregates are discussed in the context of the model of Eshuis and Koning, Coll. Polymer Sci. 272 (1994) 1240 and Eshuis et al. Colloid and Surfaces, Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 151 (1999) 505

Managing tree pests and diseases in urban settings: the case of Oak Processionary Moth in London, 2006-2012

Oak Processionary Moth (OPM: Thaumetopoea processionea) is long established in mainland Europe, where it is known to cause defoliation of oaks which can significantly weaken affected trees, leaving them vulnerable to other stressors. OPM also poses a threat to public health through skin and respiratory irritation caused by the poisonous hairs on the caterpillars. Official confirmation that OPM had been found in the UK for the first time in London in 2006 marked the beginning of a long and difficult campaign to eradicate this pest from a largely urban setting. Following its continued spread, however, the outbreak was eventually judged impossible to eradicate. In 2010 a policy of containment was adopted to minimise the population, spread and impacts as much as possible. Despite this, OPM continues to pose a threat to tree and human health in London. This paper examines how OPM was managed in London and asks why eradication proved so difficult. It explores the governance and management challenges faced by those involved in the attempted eradication campaign and assesses the extent to which the specifically urban setting of the outbreak intensified these difficulties. This paper draws on documentary sources and a series of 20 semi-structured interviews conducted by the authors with experts and stakeholders involved in managing the London OPM outbreaks between 2006 and 2012. Three key challenges were identified; assigning statutory responsibility for urban trees; co-ordinating the stakeholder and landowner response in a complex urban setting; and assessing and managing combined risks to trees and people

MASTER’S PROJECT: EXPLORING AND SUPPORTING SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF POLLINATOR HABITAT ENHANCEMENT IN BURLINGTON, VT

Urbanization and other manmade impacts threaten critical pollinator species like the bumblebee, whose populations are significantly affected by habitat loss. In response, activists in the City of Burlington are enhancing habitat to increase biodiversity through collaborative partnerships in urban green spaces. In an effort to explore and support pollinator habitat enhancement in Burlington, I examined social interactions involved in a group highly motivated to enhance habitat at Lakeview Cemetery and Champlain Elementary School, with an emphasis on power dynamics and place meanings of these sites. In conjunction with this exploration, I created landscape designs, planted a native habitat garden, and developed curriculum for elementary education. I used a combination of semi-structured interviews and participant observation to gather and analyze data. Common themes that emerged in the data included values related to education, biodiversity, and aesthetics. These values and the power dynamics between local individuals are influencing the expansion of place meanings people attribute to project sites. Based on these results, I make recommendations to activists as they evolve in their collaborative efforts and work to uphold values related to education and environmental stewardship

Real-time tracking and mining of users’ actions over social media

© 2020, ComSIS Consortium. All rights reserved. With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and social media, companies are actively looking for ways to know and understand what users think and say about their products and services. Indeed, it has become the practice that users go online using social media like Facebook to raise concerns, make comments, and share recommendations. All these actions can be tracked in real-time and then mined using advanced techniques like data analytics and sentiment analysis. This paper discusses such tracking and mining through a system called Social Miner that allows companies to make decisions about what, when, and how to respond to users’ actions over social media. Questions that Social Miner allows to answer include what actions were frequently executed and why certain actions were executed more than others

Learning Organization: Strategy Dealing with the Complexity Changes in the State Islamic Higher Education (Ihe) Case Study at Iain Tulungagung and Stain Kediri, East Java-Indonesia

Changing status, both the changing institutional status of a college into the institute and the institute into a university, happening in the state Islamic Higher Education (PTAIN) in Indonesia now is being a new hope for the education quality improvement. Its implication requires the changes both in terms of mindset, paradigm, human resources, infrastructure and facilities, costs, as well as culture which needs a relatively long time if nothing is done to speed up the organization learning process. One of the ways how to speed up the organization learning process is through what so-called Learning Organization (LO). LO is characterized by a movement performed by all individuals in the organization to develop their personal capacity in order to improve their best performance. However, the efforts of developing the organization are often not supported by a manager who is able to translate the vision of the leadership. That is why, the idea of idealism is still becoming a lip service. It means that it has not become a structured and systematic action which actually can accelerate the development for the better organization if it is ultimately done. The biggest problem in conducting the LO is in term of mindset change and quality culture. The strength of the organization lies in the capability of the organization to learn fast. This research found out that the organization can learn because of the encouragement of the leaders and individual that are very critical to determine its success