Gender and the Outdoors: An International Conversation

Over the past two to three decades in outdoor education circles, there has been a gradual swell of interest in bringing a gender lens to the examination of issues, theory and practice within the field. Although feminist theory has been subjected to lively debate and undergone sophisticated shifts in the ways of conceptualizing and analyzing gender, much of the literature coming out of the outdoor field and much of our practice is still centered on women and difference. As Bell (1997) so clearly asked, “Has the dialogue on the nature of gender and associated social issues not changed in the past decade?” A group of international researchers, educators and practitioners discussed gender theory and practice in their “neck of the woods” and challenged attendees to ask that question again today

Professional development online : showcasing good practice to support open, distance and flexible learning

Designing Electronic Learning and Teaching Approaches (DELTA) is an online professional development initiative to support pedagogically-appropriate teaching with technology by showcasing examples of good practice in e-learning. The site aims to increase appreciation of e-learning possibilities for teaching staff through an easy-to-access, just-in-time resource. This paper describes the site and introduces the modular evaluation approach which is being implemented to examine it from different stakeholder perspectives. It then focuses on the first evaluation module which investigates how users perceive and engage with DELTA. The paper provides the initial evaluation findings which will contribute to the ongoing improvement of DELTA as a professional development resource that supports open, distance and flexible learning.<br /

Evaluating records for free text content

The PREP team is interested in electronic health records. This project aims to make data in records more usable for researchers. We work on electronic health records with a particular focus on free text (unstructured data) that is not directly amenable to statistical analysis. Our aim is to develop strategies for making available, for research and audit purpose, medical information that is “concealed” from researchers in the free text notes, using primary care electronic patient record (EPR) as an example

The synthesis, characterization and reactivity of metallacycloalkanes and their precursors

Includes bibliographical references.The synthesis and characterization of a series of new osmium(ll)dibromido complexes of the type [(116-Ar)OsLBr2] (Ar = p-cymene and C6Me6, L = phosphines, phosphites and CO) have been carried out successfully. The complexes were obtained in good yields and characterized by 1 Hand 31 P NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The dibromido complexes were then used in the preparation of osmium bis(alkenyl) and osmacycloalkane complexes

Revolution and Really Being Alive

A short account of how poetry can arouse premonitions of "revolutionary subjective universality", with comments on Rosa Luxemburg and Marx

Navigation-by-music for pedestrians: an initial prototype and evaluation

Digital mobile music devices are phenomenally popular. The devices are becoming increasingly powerful with sophisticated interaction controls, powerful processors, vast onboard storage and network connectivity. While there are ‘obvious’ ways to exploit these advanced capabilities (such as wireless music download), here we consider a rather different application—pedestrian navigation. We report on a system (ONTRACK) that aims to guide listeners to their destinations by continuously adapting the spatial qualities of the music they are enjoying. Our field-trials indicate that even with a low-fidelity realisation of the concept, users can quite effectively navigate complicated routes