Building instructional leadership capacity of school leaders through technology integration

Research suggested that the acquisition of technology instructional leadership skills develops principals\u27 abilities to become agents of change. A firm foundation in technology knowledge, skills relative to the instructional process, and leadership and managerial skills in technology are required (Geer, 2002, p. 57). It was critical for principals to enhance their technological communication skills, managerial applications, knowledge on information processing, and promote technology instruction methods in order to increase student learning (Daresh, 2006). The purpose of this action research project was to provide six school district principals with technology professional development, which enabled them to become effective instructional leaders for technology integration into the curriculum. My action research design utilized qualitative and quantitative data collection strategies, which were appropriate to effectively answer the research questions. The collection of qualitative research allowed me to triangulate participant observations, interviews, focus groups, and artifact collection to explore the research problem (Yin, 1994). Quantitative data collection employed formative and summative surveys. I examined my espoused authentic leadership theory within each cycle of my action research. The influence of my leadership practices was realized through the analysis of the Learning Practices Inventory (LPI) (Kouze & Posner, 2002), participants\u27 comments during focus groups, and their reflections within interviews and surveys. The triangulated analysis of the focus groups, interviews, surveys, and field notes revealed that the principals perceived that their technology training provided them with the competencies, focus, and confidence to implement technology integration leadership through effective planning, evaluation, and enrollment of all stakeholders in the change process. (Fullan, 2007; Kotter 1997; Schwahn & Spady, 1998; Senge, 1990)

Diverse business models support urban farming and food marketing in Bristol

The City of Bristol has a long history and well-established practices in urban farming and city food system planning. Farms apply different urban business models that take advantage of the proximity to the city by providing food to city dwellers. Dedicated retailers and restaurants specialize in local food, and a variety of organisations facilitate and promote a resilient and sustainable urban food system.Diverse business models support urban farming and food marketing in BristolpublishedVersio

Building the Bristol city region food system

Bristol is located in the southwest of England. It has a population of about 435,000, with an economy historically founded on global colonial trade. Today its commercial importance lies in aerospace technology, finance and creative industries and it is well known for its vibrant, bohemian culture, thriving arts scene and diverse population. The West of England – which comprises the following local authorities: Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire – is generally seen as Bristol’s city region. It has a population of about 910,000. Since May 2017, the Bristol city region is among the first of seven city regions in England with an elected ‘metro-mayor’, responsible for economic development, housing and transport. The city of Bristol sits at the gateway to the rural southwest, the English region most economically reliant on agriculture. Food and agriculture are, however, largely outside of the control of local politics. The regulation of food is principally influenced by the multiple retailers that supply about 80 % of UK groceries. Spatially the food system has a profound impact on the urban landscape, defining not only the built edges of the city but also the streetscape. Local authorities have limited powers to control the development or location of individual stores

Tools for the assessment of short food supply chains’ sustainability

The following represents a summary of tools applied in a working group (WP5) of the EU‐project SUPURBFOOD (“Towards sustainable modes of urban and peri‐urban food provisioning”, www.supurbfood.eu). Within WP5, three research partners, three SME’s of short food supply chains and one food consultancy from Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK commonly explored logistical strategies that aim to make regional food delivery systems more sustainable while remaining economically viable, including addressing issues of scale. For more detailed information on the tools applied and also practical examples, this summary might be used alongside the SUPURBFOOD Report (WP5) ‘Short chain delivery of food in urban and peri‐urban areas’ that is available for download at the SUPURBFOOD project website [www.supurbfood.eu]

Writing in Britain and Ireland, c. 400 to c. 800

No abstract available

Sodium Chloride Inhibits the Growth and Infective Capacity of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus and Increases Host Survival Rates

The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a recently emerged pathogen that causes the infectious disease chytridiomycosis and has been implicated as a contributing factor in the global amphibian decline. Since its discovery, research has been focused on developing various methods of mitigating the impact of chytridiomycosis on amphibian hosts but little attention has been given to the role of antifungal agents that could be added to the host's environment. Sodium chloride is a known antifungal agent used routinely in the aquaculture industry and this study investigates its potential for use as a disease management tool in amphibian conservation. The effect of 0–5 ppt NaCl on the growth, motility and survival of the chytrid fungus when grown in culture media and its effect on the growth, infection load and survivorship of infected Peron's tree frogs (Litoria peronii) in captivity, was investigated. The results reveal that these concentrations do not negatively affect the survival of the host or the pathogen. However, concentrations greater than 3 ppt significantly reduced the growth and motility of the chytrid fungus compared to 0 ppt. Concentrations of 1–4 ppt NaCl were also associated with significantly lower host infection loads while infected hosts exposed to 3 and 4 ppt NaCl were found to have significantly higher survival rates. These results support the potential for NaCl to be used as an environmentally distributed antifungal agent for the prevention of chytridiomycosis in susceptible amphibian hosts. However, further research is required to identify any negative effects of salt exposure on both target and non-target organisms prior to implementation

The Milky Way Project First Data Release: A Bubblier Galactic Disk

We present a new catalogue of 5,106 infrared bubbles created through visual classification via the online citizen science website 'The Milky Way Project'. Bubbles in the new catalogue have been independently measured by at least 5 individuals, producing consensus parameters for their position, radius, thickness, eccentricity and position angle. Citizen scientists - volunteers recruited online and taking part in this research - have independently rediscovered the locations of at least 86% of three widely-used catalogues of bubbles and H ii regions whilst finding an order of magnitude more objects. 29% of the Milky Way Project catalogue bubbles lie on the rim of a larger bubble, or have smaller bubbles located within them, opening up the possibility of better statistical studies of triggered star formation. Also outlined is the creation of a 'heat map' of star-formation activity in the Galactic plane. This online resource provides a crowd-sourced map of bubbles and arcs in the Milky Way, and will enable better statistical analysis of Galactic star-formation sites.Comment: 19 pages, 20 figures, submitted to MNRA