How “Inclusive” Has the Inclusive Education Been?

The main intent of inclusive education is to include diversity in terms of access to education. Hence, inclusive education is of tremendous significance to a country like Nepal, which has so much diversity. However, the strategies formulated by the inclusive education policies in Nepal still follow a narrow definition of inclusive education, though the policies are progressive. Does inclusive education mean only a scheme for disabled learners? Through a desk review of the policies after 2000 related to inclusive education, this paper argues that the smooth transition to inclusion in education has been challenging. The paper argues that despite policy provisions, Nepal has not been able to actualize inclusion in education because its strategies and actions are not directed toward inclusion. This situation is there mainly because of the lack of uniform understanding of inclusive education, and its present practice will lead towards segregation but not towards integration

Loss and Damage from Climate Change: Building Knowledge and Capacity in the Most Vulnerable Countries

Mitigation and adaptation are at the center of global climate negotiations. However, as climate change impacts become more frequent and more severe, these two well-accepted pillars of climate policy are not sufficient. Burgeoning damage and loss from climate change is inevitable, and it has become urgent to expedite international policy work on Loss and Damage (L&D) response. L&D has been identified as a policy action area within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) system; however, progress has been extremely slow. By undertaking a review of the current situation, including country-level examples from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Vanuatu, we consider the immediate needs of the most vulnerable countries and suggest high-priority actions to move forward. These actions include: 1. Clarifying conceptual dilemmas around loss and damage vis-à-vis adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction, demonstrating how L&D policy concepts can be implemented. 2. Assisting developing and vulnerable countries in undertaking diagnostic assessments with respect to loss and damage and identifying policy and institutional options to advance L&D at national and sub-national levels. 3. Facilitating knowledge-sharing among developing and most vulnerable countries with regard to policy, risk governance, response to Loss and Damage, and ensuring socially inclusive responses. 4. Helping create learning opportunities for key policy and research champions in vulnerable countries. 5. Helping develop a dedicated L&D financing system at national and sub-national levels. 6. Providing technical assistance to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) to formulate a coherent approach to L&D negotiation within the UNFCCC system as well as enhanced representation of Loss and Damage situations for the Global Stocktake 2023 international conventions. 7. Building the Research and Development (R&D) capacity of national research and training groups in most vulnerable countries vis-à-vis comprehensive risk management, including how national institutions can deliver with respect to multiple outcomes including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), adaptation at large and L&D. 8. Developing and strengthening national database systems to facilitate loss and damage accounting and financial delivery

Characterization of Ceramic Membranes Using Electrochemical Techniques

Electrochemical reactions involve an exchange of electric charge which may accompany a coupled chemical reaction. Corrosion, electroplating, and power from batteries or fuel cells are examples of processes driven by electrochemical reactions. Electrochemical tests can be used to monitor and/or control the current and potential of an electrode typically immersed in a liquid or other ionic conducting environment. The work presented here is focused on the characterization of ceramic membranes synthesized at BSU. Synthesis of the ceramic membranes included powder mixing, pressing, and sintering. Ceramics are inorganic, nonmetallic materials and most frequently consist of nitrides, oxides or carbides. Typically, ceramics are very hard, stiff and strong but also extremely brittle and susceptible to fracture. Although usually insulators, some ceramics have excellent ionic conduction properties that make them ideal for use as ion-selective or ion-exchange membranes in chemical filtering or solid electrolytes in fuel cells. In the current research a Na+ ceramic filter (synthesized at BSU) was sectioned, mounted, polished and characterized prior to electrochemical testing. During testing two different electrochemical cell configurations were used, depending on the type of experiment being conducted: •A standard three-electrode cell to measure surface properties of the ceramic. •A four electrode membrane cell to monitor sodium ion filtering rate and efficiency. The rate of ion-exchange, stability in water, and conductivity of these membranes was evaluated by electrochemical (impedance and potentiometric) analysis on a PAR 263A Potentiostat/Galvanostat, assisted by a PE 5210 amplifier circuit. A Gamry Reference 600 Potentiostat was also used for certain ranges of voltage. The focus of the work performed to date has been characterization of ceramic membranes to generate data for optimization of the membrane properties. This poster is an overview of the process and equipment capabilities for materials characterization using standard and novel electrochemical techniques