Procuring a sustainable future: an action learning approach to the development and modelling of ethical and sustainable procurement practices

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThis paper contributes to an understanding of the processes by which organisational actors learn how to affect positive and sustainable social change in their local region through action learning, action research and appreciative inquiry. The paper is based on a critically reflective account of key findings from an ongoing action research project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project is an attempt to alleviate poverty in the Leeds City Region through the identification and spread of ‘good practice’ in large local organisations. The paper is based on insights into the tensions involved in accomplishing such modes of action research and action learning in this particular context, and how these findings can relate to similar research in other domains of inquiry, action and cross-organisational learning. Through this, the paper discusses the inherent challenges faced when attempting to use action research and action learning approaches to help large organisations to learn and develop as ethical and sustainable agents

The Cretaceous-Tertiary transition at Beloc, Haiti: micropaleontologic record and blostratigraphic Implications

The section studied is located immediately south of the village of Beloc, in the Southern Peninsula of Haiti. Rock sequences of that locality have the distinctive stratigrapbic characteristic of yielding a series that spans the transition from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary (K/T boundary), which is distinguished by a conspicuous marker bed composed of spherulites. The micropaleontologic data based on foraminifers indicate the presence of several important biozones charateristies of the boundary zone, namely the uppermost part of ihe Abathomphalus mayaroensis Zone, part ? of the Guembelitria cretacea Zone, and the Parvularugoglobigerina eugublna Zone, respectively. The calcareous nannoplanktons also yield transitional taxa that concur with the foramihiferal data, as they are indicative of the Micula prinsii Zone (uppermost Maastrichtian), as well as the lower part of NP1 or basal Danian. The absolute frequency of the different groups greatly diminish at the level that is assigned to the lowest Danian, which is coincident with the biotic crisis of the K/T boundary event. The dramatic decrease is particularly evident in the nannofos.sils, which are reduced by 7/7 00 to 1/400 of the assemblages recorded toward the end of the Maastrichtian. The relatively high frequency ofThoracosphaera spp.(up to 8 percent total), the predominance of heterohelicids, and the remarkable abundance of juvenile globotruncanids (about 50 percent) in the Cretaceous materials seem to also indicate a very unstable planktonic ecosystem toward the end of the Maastrichtia

International Cultural Immersion: Assessing the Influence of a Group Intervention on Intercultural Sensitivity for Counselor Trainees

Scholars (e.g., Bemak & Chung, 2004) underscore the need for group workers to be culturally sensitive. One group training strategy, cultural immersion, is often employed to develop cultural sensitivity. However, no studies have utilized quasi-experimental methodologies to assess differences in cultural sensitivity between trainees that immerse compared to those that do not immerse. To this end, this article provides an overview of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, description of an international cultural immersion experience and quasi-experimental research design, analysis of data, discussion of results, implications for group facilitators and counselor educators, and suggestions for future research