92 research outputs found

    Citizenship education policy in England : a post-structuralist critique.

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    The aim of this study is to present a critique of recent citizenship education policy in England and the discourse that it has prompted. It considers the important philosophical and political principles by which both of these are justified, and which often incorporate a commitment to the pursuit of social justice, democratic participation, inclusion and equality. In developing this critique the thesis draws on philosophical ideas which may be referred to as poststructuralism, particularly Foucault's concept of governmentality, and Derrida's concept of deconstruction to examine and expose the universalist principles of enlightenment philosophy upon which recent citizenship policy and discourse are based. In order to achieve this aim the thesis is divided into three parts. Part One provides a narrative account of citizenship education policy in England and considers the enlightenment philosophy on which it has been erected. Part Two develops a post-structuralist critique of enlightenment philosophy and uses this as a basis for reconsidering the project of mass education and schooling in general and citizenship education policy in particular. Part Three of the thesis criticises the discourse that citizenship education has prompted and develops a detailed critique of the particular approach to citizenship education emanating from the position of cosmopolitanism. Put briefly, the main conclusion to be drawn from the inquiry undertaken in the thesis is that recent citizenship education policy can best be understood as an exercise in liberal governmentality, with the aim of shaping "the conduct of conduct" within a normative, disciplinary rationality. However, although this conclusion renders problematic the ambitions of progressive-radical critique, including cosmopolitanism, to prescribe a citizenship education for democracy and social justice, it is suggested that these ambitions can be usefully reformulated through a deconstructive analysis of policy and discourse

    Diurnal, seasonal, and annual trends in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> at southwest London during 2000-2012:Wind sector analysis and comparison with Mace Head, Ireland

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    In-situ measurements of atmospheric CO have been made at Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL) in Egham (EGH), Surrey, UK from 2000 to 2012. The data were linked to the global scale using NOAA-calibrated gases. Measured CO varies on time scales that range from minutes to inter-annual and annual cycles. Seasonality and pollution episodes occur each year. Diurnal cycles vary with daylight and temperature, which influence the biological cycle of CO and the degree of vertical mixing. Anthropogenic emissions of CO dominate the variability during weekdays when transport cycles are greater than at weekends. Seasonal cycles are driven by temporal variations in biological activity and changes in combustion emissions. Maximum mole fractions (μmol/mol) (henceforth referred to by parts per million, ppm) occur in winter, with minima in late summer. The smallest seasonal amplitude observed, peak to trough, was 17.0ppm CO in 2003, whereas the largest amplitude observed was 27.1ppm CO in 2008.Meteorology can strongly modify the CO mole fractions at different time scales. Analysis of eight 45° wind sectors shows that the highest CO mole fractions were recorded from the E and SE sectors. Lowest mole fractions were observed for air masses from the S and SW. Back-trajectory and meteorological analyses of the data confirm that the dominant sources of CO are anthropogenic emissions from London and SE England. The largest annual rate of increase in the annual average of CO, 3.26ppmyr (

    The multi-seasonal NO<sub>y</sub> budget in coastal Antarctica and its link with surface snow and ice core nitrate: results from the CHABLIS campaign

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    International audienceMeasurements of individual NOy components were carried out at Halley station in coastal Antarctica. The measurements were made as part of the CHABLIS campaign (Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow) and cover over half a year, from austral winter 2004 through to austral summer 2005. They are the longest duration and most extensive NOy budget study carried out to date in polar regions. Results show clear dominance of organic NOy compounds (PAN and MeONO2) during the winter months, with low concentrations of inorganic NOy, but a reversal of this situation towards summer when the balance shifts in favour of inorganic NOy. Multi-seasonal measurements of surface snow nitrate correlate strongly with inorganic NOy species. One case study in August suggested that particulate nitrate was the dominant source of nitrate to the snowpack, but this was not the consistent picture throughout the measurement period. An analysis of NOx production rates showed that emissions of NOx from the snowpack dominate over gas-phase sources of "new NOx", suggesting that, for certain periods in the past, the flux of NOx into the boundary layer can be calculated from ice core nitrate data

    Methods, fluxes and sources of gas phase alkyl nitrates in the coastal air

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    The daily and seasonal atmospheric concentrations, deposition fluxes and emission sources of a few C3-C9 gaseous alkyl nitrates (ANs) at the Belgian coast (De Haan) on the Southern North Sea were determined. An adapted sampler design for low- and high-volume air-sampling, optimized sample extraction and clean-up, as well as identification and quantification of ANs in air samples by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry, are reported. The total concentrations of ANs ranged from 0.03 to 85 pptv and consisted primarily of the nitro-butane and nitro-pentane isomers. Air mass backward trajectories were calculated by the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to determine the influence of main air masses on AN levels in the air. The shorter chain ANs have been the most abundant in the Atlantic/Channel/UK air masses, while longer chain ANs prevailed in continental air. The overall mean N fluxes of the ANs were slightly higher for summer than those for winter-spring, although their contributions to the total nitrogen flux were low. High correlations between AN and HNO2 levels were observed during winter/spring. During summer, the shorter chain ANs correlated well with precipitation. Source apportionment by means of principal component analysis indicated that most of the gas phase ANs could be attributed to traffic/combustion, secondary photochemical formation and biomass burning, although marine sources may also have been present and a contributing factor. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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