“One More for Luck”: The Destruction of U971 by HMCS Haida and HMS Eskimo, 24 June 1944

On the evening of 23 June 1944, HMCS Haida and HMS Eskimo set out from Plymouth, operational base of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla (10th DF), to conduct a sweep of the Western Approaches to the English Channel. Their role was to assist in securing these waters for the ongoing delivery of supplies and reinforcements to the Normandy bridgehead. Across the Channel to the southest, American, British and Canadian forces were now in their third week of fighting across the fields and hedgerows of Normandy. Operation OVERLORD had been the largest amphibious invasion in history and, dependent as it was on the unimpeded use of the sea, required an intensive concentration of air and naval forces to protect Allied supply convoys. This naval counterpart of OVERLORD was Operation NEPTUNE, and it was as part of this massive undertaken that Haida and Eskimo now steamed out of Plymouth

Qualitative research and its place in psychological science

In discussing the place of diverse qualitative research within psychological science, the authors highlight the potential permeability of the quantitative-qualitative boundary and identify different ways of increasing communication between researchers specializing in different methods. Explicating diversity within qualitative research is facilitated, initially, through documenting the range of qualitative data collection and analytic methods available. The authors then consider the notion of paradigmatic frame and review debates on the current and future positioning of qualitative research within psychological science. In so doing, the authors argue that the different ways in which the concept of paradigm can be interpreted allow them to challenge the idea that diverse research paradigms are prima facie incommensurate. Further, reviewing the ways in which proponents of qualitative research are seeking to reconfigure the links between paradigms helps the authors to envisage how communication between research communities can be enhanced. This critical review allows the authors to systematize possible configurations for research practice in psychology on a continuum of paradigm integration and to specify associated criteria for judging intermethod coherence

Subjectivity in psychological science: from problem to prospect

The problem of subjectivity within psychological research has long been recognized. The practices of scientific psychology, however, continue to assume that objectivity is desirable, even if not completely possible, and that subjectivity is a source of bias that must be minimized or eliminated. Such a dispassionate stance has offered and continues to offer a range of benefits, not least a tight focus on participants' relevant responses. Nonetheless, in this article, we question the wisdom of always or automatically working to minimize participant and researcher subjectivity, and we invite psychological researchers to consider the benefits of a more, what we term, reflexive scientific attitude. We turn in particular to recent theoretical and methodological innovations within qualitative research in order to help us progress toward a more reflexive psychological science where subjectivity is re-viewed as a resource that can be tapped in order to contextualize and enrich the psychological research process and its products

STEM policy and science education: Scientistic curriculum and sociopolitical silences

This essay responds to the contribution of Volny Fages and Virginia Albe, in this volume, to the field of research in science education, and places it in the context of the plethora of government and industry policy documents calling for more Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools and universities and the tension between these and students' declining interest in studying STEM subjects. It also draws attention to the parallels between the silences around sociopolitical issues in government policies and curriculum related to STEM, including nanoscience, and those found with respect to environmental education two decades ago, and relates these to the resurgence of a scientific rationalist approach to curriculum

Optimal Masks for Low-Degree Solar Acoustic Modes

We suggest a solution to an important problem of observational helioseismology of the separation of lines of solar acoustic (p) modes of low angular degree in oscillation power spectra by constructing optimal masks for Doppler images of the Sun. Accurate measurements of oscillation frequencies of low-degree modes are essential for the determination of the structure and rotation of the solar core. However, these measurements for a particular mode are often affected by leakage of other p modes arising when the Doppler images are projected on to spherical-harmonics masks. The leakage results in overlaping peaks corresponding to different oscillation modes in the power spectra. In this paper we present a method for calculating optimal masks for a given (target) mode by minimizing the signals of other modes appearing in its vicinity. We apply this method to time series of 2 years obtained from Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on board SOHO space mission and demonstrate its ability to reduce efficiently the mode leakage.Comment: to be published in Astrophys.J. Letter

A transformação pessoal e política: dois estudos de caso de um estágio universitário do aprendizagem-serviço internacional

This article presents the results of two related studies that were interested in exploring the impact of international service learning (ISL) experiences on university student interns in terms of personal and political transformation. We report on the findings related to the question: “How do university students envision social change, and experience personal and political transformation following a long-term international service learning internship?” We begin by providing a background context for the studies, followed by a review of the theoretical framework, transformational learning theory, within which the studies were situated. This is followed by an overview of the research methods used to carry out this study, the findings and our analysis of the data. These were mixed methods studies using three data sources: survey questionnaires, interviews, and student blogs. Our studies demonstrate that while there is clear evidence of envisioning, personal and political transformation amongst the students who participated in this ISL internships, their experiences and the degrees of transformation varied. Our research points to the need for structured activities related to critical reflection to be built into all stages of ISL program planning, from pre-departure throughout and after the internship.En este artículo se presentan los resultados de dos estudios relacionados que estuvieron orientados a explorar el impacto de las experiencias del Aprendizaje-Servicio Internacional (ASI), en términos de transformación personal y política, en estudiantes universitarios que hicieron la pasantía. Este reporte es acerca de los hallazgos encontrados en relación a la siguiente pregunta: “Cómo conciben los estudiantes universitarios el cambio social, y cómo experiencian su transformación personal y política durante una pasantía de largo plazo del aprendizaje-servicio internacional?” Comenzamos ofreciendo un contexto de fondo para los estudios de caso, seguido de una revisión del marco teórico, la teoría de aprendizaje transformacional, en los cuales estaban situado los estudios. Esto es seguido por una revisión general de los métodos de investigación usados para llevar a cabo este estudio, los hallazgos, y nuestro análisis de los datos. Estos fueron estudios de métodos mixtos con tres fuentes de datos: cuestionarios de encuestas, entrevistas y blogs de los estudiantes. Nuestros estudios demuestran que si bien existe una clara evidencia de la conceptualización, y de la transformación personal y política de los estudiantes que participaron en esta pasantía del ASI, sus experiencias y sus grados de transformación variaron. Nuestra investigación señala la necesidad de actividades estructuradas relacionadas con una reflexión crítica para ser construida en todas las etapas de la planificación del programa del ASI antes de salir, durante, y después de la pasantía.Neste artigo apresentam-se os resultados de dois estudos relacionados que estiveram orientados a explorar o impacto das experiências do Aprendizagem-Serviço Internacional (ASI) em termos de transformação pessoal e política em estudantes universitários que realizaram o estágio. Este escrito é acerca das descobertas encontradas em relação à seguinte pregunta: “Como concebem os estudantes universitários a transformação social, e como experenciam sua transformação pessoal e política durante um estágio de larga duração do aprendizagem-serviço internacional?” Começamos oferecendo um contexto de fundo para os estudos de caso, seguido de uma revisão do marco teórico, a teoria de aprendizagem transformacional, na qual estavam situados os estudos. Isto é seguido por uma revisão geral dos métodos de investigação usados para realizar este estudo, os achados e nossas análises dos dados. Estes estudos foram de métodos mistos com três fontes de dados: questionários de opinião, entrevistas, e blogs dos estudantes. Nossos estudos demonstram que ainda que exista una clara evidência da conceptualização e da transformação pessoal e política dos estudantes que participaram neste estágio do ASI, suas experiências e seus graus de transformação variaram. Nossa investigação assinala a necessidade de atividades estruturadas relacionadas com uma reflexão crítica para ser construída em todas as etapas de planificação do programa do ASI antes de sair, durante, e depois do estágio