Microbial respiration, the engine of ocean deoxygenation

Microbial plankton respiration is the key determinant in the balance between the storage of organic carbon in the oceans or its conversion to carbon dioxide with accompanying consumption of dissolved oxygen. Over the past 50 years, dissolved oxygen concentrations have decreased in many parts of the world’s oceans, and this trend of ocean deoxygenation is predicted to continue. Yet despite its pivotal role in ocean deoxygenation, microbial respiration remains one of the least constrained microbial metabolic processes. Improved understanding of the magnitude and variability of respiration, including attribution to component plankton groups, and quantification of the respiratory quotient, would enable better predictions, and projections of the intensity and extent of ocean deoxygenation and of the integrative impact of ocean deoxygenation, ocean acidification, warming, and changes in nutrient concentration and stoichiometry on marine carbon storage. This study will synthesize current knowledge of respiration in relation to deoxygenation, including the drivers of its variability, identify key unknowns in our ability to project future scenarios and suggest an approach to move the field forward

The landscape of professional doctorate provision in english higher education institutions:Inconsistencies, tensions and unsustainability

This article reports findings from a recent research project, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which explored the current landscape of professional doctorate (PD) provision in English Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) (Mellors-Bourne et al., 2016). Given the absence of a clear definition by the Quality Assurance Agency in England, of the characteristics which distinguish PDs from practice-based doctorates and the Doctor of Philosophy, this paper makes a timely contribution through considering the inherent characteristics of PD programmes. The paper presents an overview of the state of play of PD programmes currently available in HEIs in England, highlighting how the proliferation of PD titles and programmes, and inconsistencies between the various programmes, has resulted in confusion around what PDs are, the contribution they make, and the value they add to professional practice. Consideration is given to the tensions created through the expansion in the number and types of PDs available and the implications of these tensions with regard to the future sustainability of PD programmes in general and, in particular, in relation to the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD)

Mentor Education and Development in the Further Education sector in England

Previous research has established that the mentoring of teachers and lecturers in schools and colleges tends to be more effective where mentors are able to take advantage of appropriate opportunities for initial mentor preparation and ongoing development (Bullough, 2005; Hobson et al., 2009; Hobson et al., 2015; Lejonberg et al., 2015). While some studies (e.g. Fransson, 2016) identify positive impacts of mentors undertaking or gaining formal mentoring qualifications or accreditation, the evidence base is inconclusive on the added value of formal mentoring qualifications and accreditation, over and above effective non-accredited mentor preparation, training and development. This report summarises the main outcomes of a small-scale research project designed to investigate the education and development of mentors of teachers and lecturers in the Further Education (FE) sector in England. Within this broad aim we sought to examine: 1) The nature, take-up and perceived impact of mentor training, education and CPD; 2) The availability of general and teacher-specific mentoring qualifications and accreditation to mentors in the English FE sector; 3) The extent to which mentoring qualifications or accreditation are provided or recommended by university or college providers of FE ITE; 4) The potential added value of mentors undertaking formal mentoring qualifications or accreditation, over and above non-accredited forms of mentor training and development; 5) Barriers to the provision and take-up of training, education and CPD for mentors of teachers/lecturers in the FE sector in England. For the purposes of the research we defined mentoring broadly as a one to one relationship designed (partly or wholly) to support the mentee’s learning and development as a teacher/ lecturer. We were thus also interested in coaching insofar as it also seeks to support teachers’/lecturers’ professional learning and development.[1] We were interested in the training, education and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of mentors (and coaches) of: teacher trainees undertaking programmes of (pre- or in-service) initial teacher training or education (ITT/ITE); and of any other teachers/lecturers (of varying degrees of experience) in the FE sector.[1] Nonetheless, we normally use the term mentor(ing), in this report, as the broader or more general term to refer to both mentor(ing) and/or coach(ing). While there is a lack of consensus regarding the meaning and use of the terms mentoring and coaching, we take coaching to be one of a number of specific roles that may be undertaken by a mentor in supporting a mentee’s learning and development, and one which relates to attempts to support an individual’s development of one or more job-specific skills or capabilities (Malderez and Bodoczky, 1999; Hopkins-Thompson, 2000)

Workload challenge research projects:overall summary

Three reports from the Independent Teacher Review Groups (DfE, 2016a; DfE, 2016b; and DfE, 2016c) included findings from the Department for Education (DfE) Workload Challenge Survey in which 56% of respondents indicated that data management caused unnecessary workload (DfE, 2016a, 6), 38% identified detailed lesson and weekly planning as adding an unnecessary burden to their workload (DfE, 2016b, 6), and 53% thought that the excessive nature, depth and frequency of marking was burdensome (DfE, 2016c, 6). The National College for Teaching and Leadership commissioned 11 school-based research projects to investigate practical and sustainable solutions for tackling teacher workload and provide evidence of impact of successful workload reduction strategies related to data management, planning and marking. The majority of the research projects were conducted in existing networks of schools, comprising between three and 25 schools; primary, secondary and, in a small number of cases, middle schools and special schools were involved in these projects. In all cases, the schools and networks of schools involved in the projects identified aspects of policy and practice relating to either data management, planning or marking as a focus for their research. This summary report details findings from the analysis of the 11 commissioned research projects, and a further independent research report. The analysis aimed to determine the methods trialled to reduce teacher workload around data management, planning and marking, and resulting outcomes on teacher workload and pupil outcomes. The overall conclusions drawn from the review of the research reports suggest studies that trialled interventions also reported successful reductions in teacher workload without impacting negatively on pupil outcomes. Additionally, studies that developed recommendations for, but did not trial, interventions reported that teachers were confident that once implemented, the interventions would lead to a reduction in their workload. Specific organisational and cultural factors were found to be significant in both facilitating and impeding the implementation of new initiative

Oxygen photolysis in the Mauritanian upwelling: Implications for net community production

We carried out 16 photochemical experiments of filtered surface water in a custom-built solar simulator and concomitant measurements of in vitro gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) in the Mauritanian upwelling during a Lagrangian study following three sulfur hexafluoride–labeled patches of upwelled water (P1 to P3). Oxygen photolysis rates were correlated with the absorbance of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) at 300 nm, suggesting first-order kinetics with respect to CDOM. An exponential fit was used to calculate the apparent quantum yield (AQY) for oxygen photolysis, giving an average AQY of 0.00053 mmol O2 (mole photons m22 s21)21 at 280 nm and slope of 0.0012 nm21. Modeled photochemical oxygen demand (POD) at the surface (3–16 mmol m23 d21) occasionally exceeded R and was dominated by ultraviolet radiation (71– 79%). Euphotic-layer integrated GPP decreased with time during both P-1 and P-3, whereas R remained relatively constant and POD increased during P-1 and decreased during P-3. On Day 4 of P-3, GPP and POD maxima coincided with high CDOM absorbance, suggesting ‘‘new’’ CDOM production. Omitting POD may lead to an underestimation of net community production (NCP), both through in vitro and geochemical methods (here by 2–22%). We propose that oxygen-based NCP estimates should be revised upward. For the Mauritanian upwelling, the POD-corrected NCP was strongly correlated with standard NCP with a slope of 1.0066 6 0.0244 and intercept of 46.51 6 13.15 mmol m22 d21

Terms of Engagement: Consensus or Control in Remote Australian Resource Management?

Community based natural resource management (NRM) has seen a shift in the discourse from participation to engagement, reflecting a focus on increasingly active citizen involvement in management and action. This paper considers this shift in relation to two contrasting theoretical perspectives. The first is deliberative democracy, drawing on Habermas, which emphasises the importance of discussing and rationalising values and actions. The second is governmentality, or ‘governing through community’ which draws on Foucault, emphasising neo-liberal management styles and ‘self-help’. In considering the empirical relevance of these theoretical perspectives, this paper draws on a case study of public engagement in NRM in the Lake Eyre Basin, a remote, inland region of Australia. This research yielded a practical set of “factors for success” for public engagement in remote areas. The findings support the view that, especially in remote regions, public engagement in NRM reflects contrasting goals. We make two conclusions. First, that these contrasting objectives emphasise the tension between deliberative and neo-liberal conceptualisations of engagement; and second, the evidence for neo-liberal interpretations of engagement are stronger than for deliberative interpretations of engagement in the case study region.participation, decentralisation, governmentality, deliberation