Trainee teachers' use of blogs as private reflections for professional development

A collaborative research project between Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham Trent University in the UK investigated the use of blogs with trainee teachers as an alternative to reflective paper-based diaries. An action research case study, involving focus groups of post-graduate (secondary) trainee teachers (one group from each University) was undertaken to determine attitudes and perceptions of blogging as an appropriate tool to support reflective professional development. The findings indicate that the use of blogs by the trainee teachers had a positive impact overall, and provide concrete evidence of their development as emerging professional teachers. Unlike traditional paper-based systems, blogs provided ongoing opportunities for the tutor to assist the trainees in their development as reflective practitioners. This paper seeks to share the findings of this research which the authors believe could be applicable to other areas of Higher Education.</p

Multispecies leisure: Human-animal interactions in leisure landscapes

The emerging multidisciplinary field of human-animal studies encourages researchers to move beyond human-centric practices and to recognise that human and nonhuman beings are positioned within shared ecological, social, cultural and political spaces whereby nonhumans have become key actors worthy of moral consideration and play a fundamental role in humans’ lives. With some exceptions (e.g. Carr, 2014; Dashper, 2018; Danby, 2018; Danby & Finkel, 2018; Young & Carr, 2018), leisure studies has been slow to embrace this ‘animal turn’ and consider how leisure actions, experiences and landscapes are shaped through multispecies encounters between humans, other animals, reptiles, fish and the natural environment. This special issue begins to address this gap by considering leisure as more-than-human experiences. We consider leisure with nonhuman others, both domestic and wild, by exploring the ‘contact zones’ between humans and other species and, in doing so, we create an interspecies lens through which to explore these encounters. The research presented in this special issue takes into consideration the affective and ethical dimensions of human-nonhuman animal entanglements in leisure spaces and the need to strive for reciprocal, mutual welfare and wellbeing. Through the use of innovative methodological approaches, the authors explore a range of issues and perspectives to capture shared experiences of interspecies leisure pursuits. This special issue provides direction for future ways in which research on multispecies leisure, and its associated mutual benefits, can be done to advance understanding and practice in the field. The special issue seeks to ‘bring the animal in’ to the leisure studies domain and contribute to greater understanding of leisure as a complex, interwoven multispecies phenomenon

Protecting Vulnerable Research Subjects in Critical Care Trials: Enhancing the Informed Consent Process and Recommendations for Safeguards

Although critically ill patients represent a vulnerable group of individuals, guidelines in research ethics assert that ethically acceptable research may proceed with such vulnerable subjects if additional safeguards are in place to minimize the risk of harm and exploitation. Such safeguards include the proper obtainment of informed consent that avoids the presence of the therapeutic misconception and the assessment of decisional capacity in critically ill patients recruited for research. Also discussed in this review are additional safeguards for such vulnerable subjects, as well as the issues involved with proxy consent. Heightened awareness to principles of ethics and provision of additional safeguards to enhance protections of vulnerable subjects would help to maintain the public trust in the research endeavor

Observation of crack initiation during hot tearing

While the general mechanisms of hot tearing are understood, i.e. the inability of liquid to feed imposed strain on the mushy material, work continues on improving the understanding of the mechanisms at play. A hot tear test rig that measures the temperature and load imposed on the mushy zone during solidification has been successfully used to study hot tearing. The mould has now been modified to incorporate a window above the hot spot region to allow observation of hot tear formation and growth. Combining information from visual observation with load and temperature data has led to a better understanding of the mechanism of hot tearing. Tests were carried out on an Al-0.5 wt-% Cu alloy. It was found that load development began at about 90% solid and a hot tear formed a short time later, at between 93% and 96% solid. Hot tearing started at a very low load

The synthesis and electronic absorption spectra of 3-phenyl-3(4-pyrrolidino-2-substituted phenyl)-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans: further exploration of the ortho substituent effect

Introduction of a substituent into a sterically demanding 2-position of a 3-(4-pyrrolidinophenyl) ring of a 3,3-diaryl-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran results in the generation of an additional short wavelength absorption band leading to organic photochromes that appear as dull shades of orange and red

Control of the fading properties of photochromic 3,3-diaryl-3H-naphtho[2,1-b] pryans

The synthesis and spectroscopic properties of some novel photochromic 3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans are reported. Varying the size of an ortho-substituent on one of the geminal aryl rings allows the rate of fade of the photogenerated color to be controlled