Trends and tradition: Negotiating different cultural models in relation to sustainable craft and artisan production

If the identity of ‘design’ as a practice is contested then the relationship of design and designers to craft and craft practices can be hugely confused. This lack of clarity can encourage non-design based organisations to promote the use of ‘trend forecasting’ as a panacea to the design dilemma associated with craft production for non-traditional markets. Consequently fashion sensitive trends become perceived as the driving force of design-led consumption. In this context how do we understand what ‘trend forecasting’ is and becomes when used in this manner? How does it contribute or not to the sustainability of local design cultures? This paper examines how these challenges have been interrogated and experienced through practice at Masters Level at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. It seeks sustainable strategies for design and craft drawing on a diverse range of examples to illustrate contemporary artefacts realised from a diverse range of projects, sources and geographical locations

The role of expected protein levels in determining the impact of protein premiums and discounts: a note

Fraser (1997) considered the impact of protein premiums and discounts on a grower’s income stream and willingness‐to‐pay for a forward contract where the protein premium and discount system is centred on a grower’s existing expected protein level. This article extends these results to consider the impact of a protein premium and discount system which is not centred on a grower’s existing expected protein level. The article suggests that the grower’s existing expected protein level plays a crucial role in determining the impact of the system.Crop Production/Industries,

Population Ecology of Thelymitra matthewsii Cheeseman Orchidaceae, in Northern New Zealand

The terrestrial orchid Thelymitra matthewsii Cheeseman, uncommon in New Zealand, was studied to increase knowledge of the species life cycle, morphology and ecology. Results will enhance future conservation management for the species. New information related to the morphology of T. matthewsii was obtained. The species was found to emerge in one of four discrete life stages of distinctive morphology and height range that remained constant for the season, not developing into a more advanced life stage. The leaf of the three pre adult life stages designated a hook, a spiral, and a non flowering stage, did not inflate at the base, but rose smoothly from the tuber. Apparent morphological differences in the column between descriptions of the Australian taxon and the small New Zealand sample examined suggested further study was needed. Comprehensive monthly monitoring was carried out at five study sites in three locations in the Te Paki area of the Far North, from 2002 to 2004. No patterns emerged in plant life stage succession, flowering, and presence or absence at labels reinforcing the concept that variability was a common component of the population census. Seasonal and partial absence was a major component of the populations. An average of 32.8% of plants, over five study sites, were present throughout three seasons, while 66.9% were recorded as absent (not visible) at monitoring. New plants appearing in 2003 and 2004 showed a high percentage of subsequent absence (mean 85.7%). To determine population stability, recruitment and absence were compared. Plant absence exceeded recruitment by 7% (mean plant absence 30.5%; mean recruitment 23.4%). Plants continued to appear during the monitoring period, and labeled plants increased two-fold over commencement numbers. Adults recorded as 28% of labeled plants over three seasons, were out numbered by pre-flowering stages. Only 5% of population numbers exhibited succession from a smaller to a flowering plant. Life stage modeling indicated a life stage was more likely to be followed by the same stage than an expected successive stage. Thelymitra matthewsii was found to be present in four substrates in the Far North. The survey of vegetation found the indigenous species Kunzea ericoides and the exotic Hakea gibbosa dominant for both height, and cover. Litter and bare ground dominated ground cover. Differences in vegetation and ground cover, of sites supporting T. matthewsii and comparison sites that did not, were minor and suggested that another factor, for example a suitable fungal partner, influenced the species presence or absence. The results of the study indicated the present threat classification of Thelymitra matthewsii is inadequate in the light of the species relatively circumscribed, widely separated habitats, the small number of reproducing individuals and vulnerability to habitat modification

Conservation versus survival: a cultural ecological study of changing settlement patterns, cultures, and land use in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve of northeast Honduras

Conserving ecologically valuable areas is proclaimed a priority by governments, institutions, and citizens throughout the world. Preventing the erosion of the remaining indigenous cultures also receives widespread support. In response to these desires, numerous protected areas now exist; spaces that theoretically should attain both ecological and cultural preservation. However, many of these areas are found within a larger setting plagued by ongoing struggles to meet basic needs. Often these larger problems create a challenge to, if not work in opposition to, the original aims of protected areas. This study of nine communities looks at these and related issues in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve of northeast Honduras. It focuses on frontier settlement, within a broader context of changing settlement patterns; on culture change and adaptation by the indigenous Miskito; on the new land use systems introduced by the new Ladino settlers; and on the overall implications for the integrity of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

Teacher Efficacy Beliefs: How General Teachers feel towards English Language Learners

The purpose of this study was to examine general teacher efficacy beliefs towards English Language Learners by school-level in a college-town in West Virginia. A modified version of Gibson and Dembo’s Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) and an author-developed demographic questionnaire were used. This scale has been well-researched, but not in the area of ELL, and so this study was the first to modify the scale to reflect that population. Participants included 40 teachers. Factor analysis revealed appropriate loadings by dimension for the modified TES (22-items), with the exclusion of 2 items. Next, a Pearson correlation showed significant relationships for living abroad and additional certifications on total teacher efficacy. Similarly, there were significant relationships between total years teaching and number of additional certifications on personal efficacy. Finally, an ANOVA revealed significant differences by level for overall and personal efficacy, with teachers in lower levels indicating higher levels of efficacy

Kh Domains on Brain Polyribosomes: FMRP and Nova in Translational Regulation

The regulation of protein synthesis is an important aspect of the control of gene expression in neurons and is thought to contribute to neurologic diseases such as Fragile X mental retardation syndrome. We demonstrate that several neuronal RNA-binding proteins implicated in human disease are associated with brain polyribosomes, namely the Nova and Hu paraneoplastic antigens and the Fragile X mental retardation protein. We use microarray analysis of polyribosomal mRNAs in knockout mouse models of these diseases to identify target mRNAs and analyze the translational profiles of mice lacking Nova-1 or FMRP. The KH2 and RGG box RNA-binding domains of FMRP bind specific RNA motifs that form kissing complex and G-quartet structures, respectively. We find that the association of FMRP with polyribosomes in both mouse brain and human neuroblastoma cells is abrogated by competition with kissing complex RNA, but not by high-affinity G-quartet RNA. In addition, the polyribosome associations of FMRP-interacting proteins FXR1 and FXR2, are specifically abrogated by competition with this kissing complex RNA. FXR1 and FXR2 also bind kissing complex RNA via KH2, and they are competed off polyribosomes by kissing complex RNA even in the absence of FMRP. Kissing complex RNA does not disrupt heterodimerization between FMRP and FXR1 or FXR2. We conclude that the mental retardation associated with the I304N mutation, and likely the Fragile-X syndrome more generally, may relate to a crucial role for RNAs harbouring the kissing complex motif as targets for FMRP translational regulation

Report and Trace Ring Signatures

We introduce report and trace ring signature schemes, balancing the desire for signer anonymity with the ability to report malicious behaviour and subsequently revoke anonymity. We contribute a formal security model for report and trace ring signatures that incorporates established properties of anonymity, unforgeability and traceability, and captures a new notion of reporter anonymity. We present a construction of a report and trace ring signature scheme, proving its security and analysing its efficiency, comparing with the state of the art in the accountable ring signatures literature. Our analysis demonstrates that our report and trace scheme is efficient, particularly for the choice of cryptographic primitives that we use to instantiate our construction. We contextualise our new primitive with respect to related work, and highlight, in particular, that report and trace ring signature schemes protect the identity of the reporter even after tracing is complete