Garnet–monazite rare earth element relationships in sub-solidus metapelites: a case study from Bhutan

A key aim of modern metamorphic geochronology is to constrain precise and accurate rates and timescales of tectonic processes. One promising approach in amphibolite and granulite-facies rocks links the geochronological information recorded in zoned accessory phases such as monazite to the pressure–temperature information recorded in zoned major rock-forming minerals such as garnet. Both phases incorporate rare earth elements (REE) as they crystallize and their equilibrium partitioning behaviour potentially provides a useful way of linking time to temperature. We report REE data from sub-solidus amphibolite-facies metapelites from Bhutan, where overlapping ages, inclusion relationships and Gd/Lu ratios suggest that garnet and monazite co-crystallized. The garnet–monazite REE relationships in these samples show a steeper pattern across the heavy (H)REE than previously reported. The difference between our dataset and the previously reported data may be due to a temperature-dependence on the partition coefficients, disequilibrium in either dataset, differences in monazite chemistry or the presence or absence of a third phase that competed for the available REE during growth. We urge caution against using empirically-derived partition coefficients from natural samples as evidence for, or against, equilibrium of REE-bearing phases until monazite–garnet partitioning behaviour is better constrained

Internal migration in Spain: A complementary approach

This study examines the determinants of internal migration of working-age population among provinces in Spain in the aftermath of the economic crisis. It pays special attention to two features of migration that have not been su ciently studied so far: (a) Distance, namely the di erences between the determinants that are behind short-distance and long-distance movements; (b) Age, that is to say, whether young and adult migrants hold di erent motivations. To accomplish this aim, an extended model is used in which, apart from a variable capturing distance, both economic and non-economic (amenities) variables are included. Findings reveal that both economic factors (mainly unemployment and income) and amenities (measured by a climate condition variable) are more important for adult population and long-distance movements than for young population and movements between neighbouring provinces. Additional findings seem to convey the message that, as far as housing prices are concerned, they play a significant role when migration takes place between neighbouring provinces, but lose importance when all migrations are studied together. Moreover, the paper?s results do not cast, as expected, any doubt on the importance of distance regardless of the type of migration or age of the migrant

RamStart

According to the 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationally, students with disabilities are less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and more likely to be unemployed.1 At VCU, these students are served by the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity Office (SAEO), which currently has only two case managers for 1500 registered students while the Association for Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) recommends an individual case load of 350 or fewer students. While these students attend New Student Orientation, there are currently no programs or sessions specifically designed to address their needs. RamStart is a model for presemester transition workshops for new students who have been granted accommodations through SAEO for disabilities and their families which is designed to provide them with tools for self-advocacy and independence. The goal of these workshops is to help ease the students’ transition to VCU by educating them and their parents about SAEO’s services, their rights and responsibilities, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), campus resources, and University policies and procedures to improve their chances of success

The Power of the Forecaster: An Exploration into the Value of Trend Forecasting for the Survival of SME’s in the Creative Industries

Trend-forecasting is a growing resource utilised throughout a diverse range of businesses in the creative industry. Not only is it important to understand the significance of trend research, but also to recognise the latest mechanisms applied to support emerging innovations in Small to Medium Enterprises (SME). This research aims to question the value of trend-forecasting contributing to the enrichment of SMEs in the surface design sector for interiors. Qualitative research will be explored and critically analysed in the form of mini-case studies, workshops, exhibitions and a series of short interviews. The selected sample suggests SMEs are reluctant to engage with forecasters due to limited knowledge of trend influence, organisational culture or profit driven businesses. The research highlights although forecasters cannot guarantee profit, they do support creative design, market orientation, retailing and social media. This may have a positive impact on increased levels of customer, brand awareness and industry leadership. Eventually this could improve revenue; ultimately benefitting the UK economy in supporting future SMEs

Boosting the petrochronology arsenal: REE partitioning between garnet and monazite in Bhutanese pelitic metasediments

Metamorphic studies are increasingly striving to integrate timing information with petrographic analysis and thermobarometry – the developing field of petrochronology. Recent advances in analytical techniques, in particular a variety of in situ methods that can potentially extract the information preserved in disequilibrium features, have reinvigorated metamorphic studies. The strength of petrochronology lies in linking the isotopic age directly to the metamorphic stage, in contrast to earlier studies where accessory phase ages existed in isolation from the thermobaromatric data with which they were tentatively linked. Garnet has proved itself an invaluable tool in metamorphic studies, yielding microstructural, thermobarometric, geochemical and even geochronological information. Although common in amphibolite-facies pelitic metasediments, garnet does not easily yield its chronological data, so the common accessory phase monazite has been used more routinely. Typically, monazite isotopic ages cannot be linked to the development of different metamorphic assemblages because their textural relationships, especially with fabric-forming phases, are commonly obscure. However, their distribution as matrix grains versus inclusions in porphyroblast minerals such as garnet, or in retrograde textures, can yield useful information. In situ investigations of chemical zoning in both monazite and garnet offer the potential to link crystallisation of the two minerals more closely. Since both monazite and garnet incorporate rare earth elements (REE), their equilibrium partitioning behaviour provides not only a useful test of equilibration, but also a way of linking time to temperature. Previously reported garnetmonazite partitioning data record the behaviour expected under granulite-facies (>750°C) conditions. We document REE concentration data from sub-solidus amphibolite-facies (~650-700°C) rocks from the eastern Himalaya (Bhutan), where age and inclusion relationships suggest that garnet and monazite grew simultaneously. The garnet/monazite ratios show steeper heavy REE patterns than those reported from the higher-temperature experimental data. These data suggest either that the partitioning relationships vary with temperature, or that different relationships hold in sub-solidus vs. supra-solidus rocks. Bhutan is an excellent location to test these relationships; abundant pelitic metasediments within a single tectonic unit span metamorphic grades ranging from sub-solidus to supra-solidus. Moreover, these metamorphic rocks (and their counterparts along the strike of the orogen) have been extensively studied in recent years both in terms of their metamorphism and their monazite geochronology, providing an ideal framework for petrochronological research with applications to all major orogens

How Should We Foster the Professional Integrity of Engineers in Japan? A Pride-Based Approach

I discuss the predicament that engineering-ethics education in Japan now faces and propose a solution to this. The predicament is professional motivation, i.e., the problem of how to motivate engineering students to maintain their professional integrity. The special professional responsibilities of engineers are often explained either as an implicit social contract between the profession and society (the “social-contract” view), or as requirements for membership in the profession (the “membership-requirement” view). However, there are empirical data that suggest that such views will not do in Japan, and this is the predicament that confronts us. In this country, the profession of engineering did not exist 10 years ago and is still quite underdeveloped. Engineers in this country do not have privileges, high income, or high social status. Under such conditions, neither the social-contract view nor the membership-requirement view is convincing. As an alternative approach that might work in Japan, I propose a pride-based view. The notion of pride has been analyzed in the virtue-ethics literature, but the full potential of this notion has not been explored. Unlike other kinds of pride, professional pride can directly benefit the general public by motivating engineers to do excellent work even without social rewards, since being proud of themselves is already a reward. My proposal is to foster a particular kind of professional pride associated with the importance of professional services in society, as the motivational basis for professional integrity. There is evidence to suggest that this model works

The experiences of people with young-onset dementia : a meta-ethnographic review of the qualitative literature

Dementia is usually diagnosed in later life but can occur in younger people. The experiences of those with older-onset dementia are relatively well understood but little is known about the experiences of those with young-onset dementia (aged less than 65 years). This meta-ethnography therefore synthesised qualitative literature investigating the experiences of people with young-onset dementia (YOD). Six electronic databases were searched and 1155 studies were identified, of which eight fitted the inclusion criteria. These studies were all from Western countries, were mostly recent (2004-2015) and included the experiences of 87 people with YOD. Participants were generally in their fifties or early sixties and were living at home with others. Many reported difficulties both in the process of receiving a diagnosis and afterwards. Diagnosis felt unexpected, 'out of time' and led to changes in self-identity, powerlessness and changes in relationships. Social exclusion was common. Loss of meaningful activity exacerbated a difficult situation. However, the diagnosis did not mean people's lives were over and many with YOD try to regain control by seeking connections with others with the same condition - sometimes a very important source of support. Overall, people living with YOD face unique social challenges which go beyond those of older people living with dementia and which result in an even greater negative impact on their lives. Interventions that facilitate peer support and allow people with YOD to engage in meaningful activity should be developed and could perhaps be provided by the voluntary sector

Conserving socio-ecological landscapes: An analysis of traditional and responsive management practices for floodplain meadows in England

Contemporary practice in the conservation of socio-ecological landscapes draws on both a model of responsive management, and also on ideas about historic management. This study considered what evidence might exist for the exercise of these approaches to management in the conservation of floodplain meadows in England, in order to inform understanding and knowledge of conservation management and assessment practice. Evidence for a model of responsive management was limited, with managing stakeholders often alternating between this model and an alternative approach, called here the ‘traditional management approach’, based on ideas, narratives and prescriptions of long-established land management practices. Limited monitoring and assessment appeared to undermine the former model, whilst uncertainty over past long-standing management practices undermined the latter. As a result of the relative power of conservation actors over farmers delivering site management, and their framings of meadows as ‘natural’ spaces, management tended to oscillate between aspects of these two approaches in a sometimes inconsistent manner. Conservation managers should consider the past motivating drivers and management practices that created the landscapes they wish to conserve, and bear in mind that these are necessarily implicated in aspects of the contemporary landscape value that they wish to maintain. They should ensure that assessment activity captures a broad range of indicators of site value and condition, not only biological composition, and also record data on site management operations in order to ensure management effectiveness