Music and drama in primary schools in the Madeira Island - Narratives of ownership and leadership

Este artigo foi uma das publicações resultantes do projeto financiado pela FCT "Música e Drama no 1º ciclo do Ensino básico – o caso da Região Autónoma da Madeira" (PTDC/CED/72112/2006).A three-year-case study funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education was designed to study a 30-year project of music and drama in primary schools in Madeira. This article reports on the narratives of the three main figures in the project as they elaborate on its construction according to the following themes: innovation, philosophies of music education and teacher education. Through the lens of a narrative inquiry, the discourses produced are analysed, taking into account the emerging concepts of ownership and leadership.

Learners reconceptualising education: Widening participation through creative engagement?

This paper argues that engaging imaginatively with ways in which statutory and further education is provided and expanding the repertoire of possible transitions into higher education, is necessary for providers both in higher education and in the contexts and phases which precede study at this level. Fostering dispositions for creativity in dynamic engagement with educational technology together with the consideration of pedagogy, learning objects, inclusion, policy and the management of change, requires innovative provision to span the spaces between school, home, work and higher education learning. Reporting on The Aspire Pilot, a NESTA-funded initiative at The Open University, the paper offers the beginning of a theoretical frame for considering learning, learners and learning systems in the information age prioritizing learner agency. It will report emergent empirical findings from this inter-disciplinary project, with a significant e-dimension, which seeks to foster the creativity of 13-19 year olds in considering future learning systems, developing provocations for others to explore creative but grounded possibilities. It explores implications arising from this project for approaches that may facilitate widening participation in higher education

Dynamic evolution of the source volumes of gradual and impulsive solar flare emissions

This study compares flare source volumes inferred from impulsive hard X-rays and microwaves with those derived from density sensitive soft X-ray line ratios in the O VII spectrum. The data for this study were obtained with the SMM Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer, Earth-based radio observatories, and the SOLEX-B spectrometer on the P78-1 satellite. Data were available for the flares of 1980 April 8, 1980 May 9, and 1981 February 26. The hard X-ray/microwave source volume is determined under the assumption that the same electron temperature or power law index characterizes both the source of hard X-rays and the source of microwaves. The O VII line ratios yield the density and volume of the 2 X 10 to the 6th K plasma. For all three flares, the O VII source volume is found to be smallest at the beginning of the flare, near the time when the impulsive hard X-ray/microwave volume reaches its first maximum. At this time, the O VII volume is three to four orders of magnitude smaller than that inferred from the hard X-ray/microwave analysis. Subsequently, the O VII source volume increases by one or two orders of magnitude then remains almost constant until the end of the flare when it apparently increases again

The language parallel Pascal and other aspects of the massively parallel processor

A high level language for the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) was designed. This language, called Parallel Pascal, is described in detail. A description of the language design, a description of the intermediate language, Parallel P-Code, and details for the MPP implementation are included. Formal descriptions of Parallel Pascal and Parallel P-Code are given. A compiler was developed which converts programs in Parallel Pascal into the intermediate Parallel P-Code language. The code generator to complete the compiler for the MPP is being developed independently. A Parallel Pascal to Pascal translator was also developed. The architecture design for a VLSI version of the MPP was completed with a description of fault tolerant interconnection networks. The memory arrangement aspects of the MPP are discussed and a survey of other high level languages is given

The Japanese Electricity System 15 months After March 11th 2011

The Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami on March 11th 2011 caused mass destruction, significant loss-of-life and a large displacement of people. It also placed significant strain of Japan's electricity-generating infrastructure. There was a significant reduction in capacity due to the damage in thermal generation and gradual closure of Japan's nuclear power plants; the ability for load-balancing across the Japanese grid was compromised due to limited interconnections between the different utilities that comprise the Japanese electricity system. This paper looks at the first fifteen months following the earthquake and tsunami: outlining the supply reduction and consequent attempts to manage the demand. In turn it highlights the foibles of Japan's vertically-integrated monopolistic structures and the evolution of governmental and utilities response that went from decisions made 'on-the-fly' to a more developed policy for peak-demand electricity savings. The findings from this paper should serve as a useful set of examples to aid decision makers in contingency planning for disruptive large-scale reduction in electricity-generating capacity

Salvage chemotherapy for recurrent primary brain tumors in children.

Sixty consecutive evaluable children with recurrent primary tumors of the central nervous system were treated with a regimen of vincristine, nitrogen mustard, procarbazine, and prednisone over a 12-year period. Tumor types included medulloblastoma (19), brain-stem glioma (16), astrocytoma (13), and a miscellaneous glioma (12). Responses and sustained survivals were achieved. Responses were highly dependent on tumor type. Disease progression was halted in 73% of the children with medulloblastoma, and three have survived in complete remission for more than 10 years from the start of therapy with vincristine, nitrogen mustard, procarbazine, and prednisone. Two of four patients with anaplastic glioma, are long-term survivors. In contrast, less than one third of children with brain-stem gliomas responded. Toxicity consisted mainly of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, infections, and rarely a procarbazine rash

Parent-child interaction in Nigerian families: conversation analysis, context and culture

This paper uses a conversation analysis (CA) approach to explore parent child interaction (PCI) within Nigerian families. We illustrate how speech and language therapists (SLTs), by using CA, can tailor recommendations according to the interactional style of each individual family that are consonant with the family’s cultural beliefs. Three parent-child dyads were videoed playing and talking together in their home environments. The analysis uncovered a preference for instructional talk similar to that used in the classroom. Closer examination revealed that this was not inappropriate when considering the context of the activities and their perceived discourse role. Furthermore, this was not necessarily at the expense of responsivity or semantic contingency. The preference for instructional talk appeared to reflect deeply held cultural beliefs about the role of adults and children within the family and it is argued that the cultural paradigm is vitally important to consider when evaluating PCI. Given a potential risk that such young children may be vulnerable in terms of language difficulties, we offer an example of how PCI can be enhanced to encourage language development without disrupting the naturally occurring talk or the underlying purpose of the interaction

Stretching and Bending the Frame – Green Possibilities in Popular Romantic Narratives

This article examines frame theory, popular culture, and environmental values. Reviewing frame theory across journalism, communication studies, linguistics, and fine art, it will examine in particular ‘cultural framing’. Radical thought is invariably associated with the avant-garde, yet narrative or genre innovations in popular culture can also trigger ‘deeper’ cognitive shifts, potentially transforming ‘common culture’. Citing comics, films, and animation, the main example is popular music and how Björk and British Sea Power have subverted generic and acoustic conventions (e.g. melody), and music’s habitual romantic narratives, to re-frame human–nonhuman relationships ecologically. By stretching and manipulating frames, popular culture can adapt and engender environmental narratives for mass consumption

Soft X-ray emission lines of Fe XV in solar flare observations and the Chandra spectrum of Capella

Recent calculations of atomic data for Fe XV have been used to generate theoretical line ratios involving n = 3-4 transitions in the soft X-ray spectral region (52-83 A), for a wide range of electron temperatures and densities applicable to solar and stellar coronal plasmas. A comparison of these with solar flare observations from a rocket-borne spectrograph (XSST) reveals generally good agreement between theory and experiment. In particular, the 82.76 A emission line in the XSST spectrum is identified, for the first time to our knowledge in an astrophysical source. Most of the Fe XV transitions which are blended have had the species responsible clearly identified, although there remain a few instances where this has not been possible. The line ratio calculations are also compared with a co-added spectrum of Capella obtained with the Chandra satellite, which is probably the highest signal-to-noise observation achieved for a stellar source in the 25-175 A soft X-ray region. Good agreement is found between theory and experiment, indicating that the Fe XV lines are reliably detected in Chandra spectra, and hence may be employed as diagnostics to determine the temperature and/or density of the emitting plasma. However the line blending in the Chandra data is such that individual emission lines are difficult to measure accurately, and fluxes may only be reliably determined via detailed profile fitting of the observations. The co-added Capella spectrum is made available to hopefully encourage further exploration of the soft X-ray region in astronomical sources.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, Astrophysical Journal, in pres

Narrative, identity, and recovery from serious mental illness: A life history of a runner

In recent years, researchers have investigated the psychological effects of exercise for people with mental health problems, often by focusing on how exercise may alleviate symptoms of mental illness. In this article I take a different tack to explore the ways in which exercise contributed a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity to the life of one individual named Ben, a runner diagnosed with schizophrenia. Drawing on life history data, I conducted an analysis of narrative to explore the narrative types that underlie Ben's stories of mental illness and exercise. For Ben, serious mental illness profoundly disrupted a pre-existing athletic identity removing agency, continuity, and coherence from his life story. By returning to exercise several years later, Ben reclaimed his athletic identity and reinstated some degree of narrative agency, continuity, and coherence. While the relationships between narrative, identity, and mental health are undoubtedly complex, Ben's story suggests that exercise can contribute to recovery by being a personally meaningful activity which reinforces identity and sense of self