63 research outputs found
Achievement Goal
Achievement goals are self-regulatory commitments that provide direction to individuals as they interpret and respond to competence-relevant situations. Four types of achievement goals have been the primary focus of the literature: Masteryapproach goals (master a task; improve over time), performance-approach goals (outperform others), mastery-avoidance goals (not fall short of mastering a task; not decline over time), and performance-avoidance goals (not be outperformed by others)
The effect of organic retarders on grout thickening and setting during deep borehole disposal of high-level radioactive waste
Deep borehole disposal (DBD) is being increasingly seen as a viable and potentially superior alternative to
comparatively shallow mined repository concepts for disposal of some high-level radioactive wastes. We
report here details of proof-of-concept investigations into the use of cementitious grouts as sealing/
support matrices for use in low temperature DBD scenarios. Using the cementitious grout to fill annular
space within the disposal zone will not only support waste packages during placement, but will also
provide a low permeability layer around them which will ultimately enhance the safety case for DBD.
Grouts based on Class G oil well cement are being developed. The use of retarders to delay the accelerated
onset of thickening and setting (caused by the high temperature and pressure in the borehole) is
being investigated experimentally. Sodium gluconate and a polycarboxylate additive each provide suf-
ficient retardation over the range 90e140 °C in order to be considered for this application. Phosphonate
and sulphonate additives provide desirable retardation at 90 °C. The additives did not affect grout
composition at 14 days curing and the phases formed are durable at elevated temperature and pressure
Hiding Relations
The present vogue of âmanaging for development resultsâ is an expression of a historically dominant mode of thought in international aid â âsubstantialismâ â which sees the world primarily in terms of âentitiesâ such as âpovertyâ, âbasic needsâ, ârightsâ, âwomenâ, or âresultsâ. Another important mode of thought, ârelationalismâ â in association more generally with ideas of process and complexity â appears to be absent in the thinking of aid institutions. Drawing on my own experiences of working with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), I illustrate how despite formally subscribing to the institutionâs substantialist view of the world, some staff are âcloset relationistsâ, behaving according to one mode of thought while officially framing their action in terms of the other, more orthodox mode. In so doing, they may be unwittingly keeping international aid sufficiently viable - by the apparent proof of the efficacy of results-based management - to enable the institution as a whole to maintain its substantialist imaginary
Applying critical systems thinking to social prescribing: a relational model of stakeholder âbuy-inâ
Background
Social prescribing (SP) allows health professionals to refer primary care patients toward health and wellbeing interventions and activities in the local community. Now widely implemented across the UK and adopted in other nations, questions arise concerning the modelling of present and future schemes, including challenges to full engagement encountered by stakeholders, which lie beyond the scope of traditional evaluations. Critical Systems Thinking (CST) allows for holistic analysis of fields where multiple stakeholders hold diverse interests and unequal power.
Methods
We use CST to (a) critically examine a developing rural social prescribing scheme from multiple stakeholder perspectives and (b) present a relational model for local social prescribing schemes. Our fieldwork included 24 in-depth interviews, regular planning meetings with key stakeholders, and discussions with those involved with national and international SP landscaping. A modified grounded theory approach was used for the analysis, and to consider the core elements of social prescribing sustainability.
Results
Our study confirms that local social prescribing schemes must operate with numerous stakeholder interests in mind, seeking to address real life social complexity and offer integrated solutions to multifaceted issues. Three main areas are discussed: holistic vision and boundary judgments; barriers and facilitators; relational issues and âemotional buy inâ. Problems for staff include selecting suitable clients, feedback and technological issues and funding and evaluation pressures. Barriers for clients include health, transport and expense issues, also lack of prior information and GP involvement. Emotional âbuy-inâ emerged as essential for all stakeholders, but hard to sustain. Based on our findings we propose a positive relational model comprising shared vision, confidence and commitment; motivation and encouragement, support and wellbeing focus, collaborative relationships, communication and feedback, access to information /resources, learning in and from action, with emotional âbuy-inâ at its heart.
Conclusion
Those implementing social prescribing in different localities inevitably face hard choices about what and whom to include. Research on the sustainability of social prescribing remains limited, studies are required to ascertain which âholisticâ models of social prescribing work best for which communities, who are the main beneficiaries of these approaches and how âbuy-inâ is best sustained
Cultural geographies of extinction: animal culture amongst Scottish ospreys
This paper explores cultural geographies of extinction. I trace the decline of the Scottish osprey during the nineteenth century, and its enduring, haunting presence in the landscape today. Taking inspiration from the environmental humanities, extinction is framed as an event affecting losses that exceed comprehension in terms merely of biological species numbers and survival rates. Disavowing the âspecies thinkingâ of contemporary conservation biopolitics, the ospreyâs extinction story pays attention to the worth of âanimal culturesâ. Drawing a hybrid conceptual framework from research in the environmental humanities, âspeculativeâ ethology and more-than-human geographies, I champion an experimental attention to the cultural geographies of animals in terms of historically contingent, communally shared, spatial practices and attachments. In doing so, I propose nonhuman cultural geographies as assemblages that matter, and which are fundamentally at stake in the face of extinction
Engagement Across Developmental Periods
The goal of this chapter is to provide a cohesive developmental framework and foundation for which to understand student engagement across early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Guided by the bioecological theory of human development and the person-environment fit perspective, this chapter extends Finn\u27s participation-identification model of engagement by mapping student engagement within a larger developmental sequence. This chapter discusses student engagement within specific developmental periods that are tied to the developmental tasks, opportunities, and challenges unique to early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Student engagement is found to be a nuanced developmental outcome, and the differences may be a result of the maturation of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional developmental tasks and the changing contextual landscape for the children and adolescents. Recommendations for future research as well as policy implications are also discussed
Women anti-slavery campaigners in Britian, 1787-1868
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX89605 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
- âŠ