Enquiring to learn or learning to enquire? : an exploration of the role of the community of enquiry in facillitating the development of critical literacy and in demonstating the fluid nature of identity amongst a group of adult learners

PhD ThesisThis thesis explores the role of dialogue in the process of learning. Specifically it examines the impact of a series of Communities of Enquiry (enquiry) on a group of mature undergraduate students through tracing their development of critical literacy and in demonstrating the fluid nature of identity. The research participants are tutors or trainers in the lifelong learning sector. The research methods are qualitative and data collection includes written learner reflections, transcripts of a recorded discussion and the series of enquiries. Data analysis uses a rhizomatic framework developed from Deleuze and Guattari’s (1980) image of the rhizome, combined with Holquists description of Bahktins theoretical framework as ‘dialogism.’ (Holquist 1990) I refer to the analysis as ‘rhizodialogism’. The approach had enabled me to detect the dynamic movement of ideas within effective enquiry and the fluid nature of identity formation. Findings suggest that the process of enquiry is influential in developing critical literacy amongst participants and this extends outside of the learning context and becomes ‘lifewide’ influencing aspects of self identity and resulting in increasing levels of self confidence in interactions with others. The rhizomatic format indicates that whilst there evidence of ‘long conversations’ (Mercer 2000) the process of development is not linear but illustrates a rhizomatic emergence and re-emergence of themes

Creating Learning Communities: Three Open Source Tools

‘I have always imagined the information space as something to which everyone has immediate and intuitive access, and not just to browse, but to create ’ (Berners-Lee, 1999, p. 169) Use of the web today, particularly amongst young people, is now more social and participative. Facebook, YouTube and even ebay are witness to the ‘power of the crowd’ (Anderson, 2007, p.15). Such tools become better as more people contribute. In a bid to harness that creativity, energy and sociability the Academic Skills Tutors at the University of Huddersfield have been exploring open source technologies and how they might enhance teaching and learning. The workshop aims to introduce practical examples of social software tools; how these are currently used to foster learning communities and promote academic development. Three distinct social software tools are demonstrated, illustrating our current use of these with students, how these can be integrated into a Virtual Learning Environment and their initial evaluation. It then will provide a ‘how to’ element, allowing participants to actively engage with the technology. Finally, participants will be invited to share their own experiences and consider how these tools might be used in their own teaching and research contexts via a social network discussion forum. Following the workshop the participants will be able to: • Create a delicious account, a wiki and a social network for use in teaching or research • Identify ways in which social networking tools could be used in their own teaching and research context Participate in an online social network discussio

The Discrepancy between As-Built and As-Designed in Energy Efficient Buildings: A Rapid Review

Energy efficient buildings are viewed as one of the solutions to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment. However, studies worldwide indicate that there is a significant gap between building energy targets (as-designed) and the actual measured building energy consumption (as-built). Several underlying causes for the energy performance gap have been identified at all stages of the building life cycle. Focus is generally on the post-occupancy stage of the building life cycle. However, issues relating to the construction and commissioning stages of the building are a major concern, though not usually researched. There is uncertainty on how to address the as-designed versus as-built gap. The objective of this review article is to identify causes for the energy performance gap in buildings in relation to the post-design and pre-occupancy stages and review proposed solutions. The methodology applied in this research is the rapid review, which is a variant of the systematic literature review method. Findings suggest that causes for discrepancies between as-designed and as-built energy performance during the construction and commissioning stages relate to a lack of knowledge and skills, lack of communication between stakeholders and a lack of accountability for building performance post-occupancy. Recommendations to close this gap during this period include better training, improved communication standards, collaboration, energy evaluations based on post-occupancy performance, transparency of building performance, improved testing and verification and reviewed building standards

Supports for Parents of Children with an Intellectual Disability: The Social Care Worker’s View

The aim of this research was to explore how social care workers view their role in providing support to parents of children or adults with an Intellectual Disability. The data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews with two practising Social Care Workers with experience working in Intellectual Disability Services, who were part of the research team. It was found that Social Care Workers view themselves as having a role in supporting parents with a child or adult with ID, even where the primary service user engaged with their organisation, was the child or adult with ID. However, while this was identified by the interviewees as being a crucial element of their role it was not always defined as being part of their role or job description within their organisation

Limits of Detection of Mycotoxins by Laminar Flow Strips: A Review

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolic products of fungi. They are poisonous, carcinogenic, and mutagenic in nature and pose a serious health threat to both humans and animals, causing severe illnesses and even death. Rapid, simple and low-cost methods of detection of mycotoxins are of immense importance and in great demand in the food and beverage industry, as well as in agriculture and environmental monitoring, and, for this purpose, lateral flow immunochromatographic strips (ICSTs) have been widely used in food safety and environmental monitoring. The literature to date describing the development of ICSTs for the detection of different types of mycotoxins using different nanomaterials, nanoparticle size, and replicates was reviewed in an attempt to identify the most important determinants of the limit of detection (LOD). It is found that the particle size and type of materials contribute significantly to determining the LOD. The nanoparticle sizes used in most studies have been in the range 15–45 nm and gold nanoparticle-based ICSTs have been shown to exhibit the lowest LOD. Perspectives for potential future development to reduce the LODs of ICSTs are also discussed

Quantitative trait loci associated with different polar metabolites in perennial ryegrass - providing scope for breeding towards increasing certain polar metabolites

peer-reviewedBackground Recent advances in the mapping of biochemical traits have been reported in Lolium perenne. Although the mapped traits, including individual sugars and fatty acids, contribute greatly towards ruminant productivity, organic acids and amino acids have been largely understudied despite their influence on the ruminal microbiome. Results In this study, we used a targeted gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) approach to profile the levels of 25 polar metabolites from different classes (sugars, amino acids, phenolic acids, organic acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds) present in a L. perenne F2 population consisting of 325 individuals. A quantitative trait (QTL) mapping approach was applied and successfully identified QTLs regulating seven of those polar metabolites (L-serine, L-leucine, glucose, fructose, myo-inositol, citric acid and 2, 3-hydroxypropanoic acid).Two QTL mapping approaches were carried out using SNP markers on about half of the population only and an imputation approach using SNP and DArT markers on the entire population. The imputation approach confirmed the four QTLs found in the SNP-only analysis and identified a further seven QTLs. Conclusions These results highlight the potential of utilising molecular assisted breeding in perennial ryegrass to modulate a range of biochemical quality traits with downstream effects in livestock productivity and ruminal digestion.This study was financed through a Research Stimulus Fund Grant by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine (RSF 06–346). AF, CH and DS acknowledge support from The Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division