Monitoring regional crustal deformation with horizontal geodetic data

The National Ocean Survey is developing an automated system to derive parameters of horizontal crustal motion from existing geodetic data by the process of least squares estimation. The estimated parameter will describe crustal motion as a function of geographic position. The system will first be tested in the Imperial Valley region of southern California, using data from 8 individual field projects spanning four decades of time

Psychological Science In Cultural Context

When one understands psychological science To be a by-product of the Western tradition, fashioned by particular cultural and historical conditions, the door is opened to a fresh consideration of the practice of psychology in the global context. By using examples from experiences in Turkey, New Zealand, and India, the reader is sensitized first to the problems inherent in the unreflective exportation of Western psychology. To presume Western concepts of the mind, along with its methods of study, not only lends itself to research of little relevance to other cultures, bur disregards and undermines alternate cultural traditions. Against these tendencies toward a univocal science, the authors argue for a multicultural psychology-one that celebrates the rich multiplicity of indigenous conceptualizations of the person along with varying means of acquiring knowledge. To realize such a psychology, new forms of dialogue must be sought and the sharing made relevant to ongoing challenges of practical cultural significance

Repositioning of special schools within a specialist, personalised educational marketplace - the need for a representative principle

This paper considers how notions of inclusive education as defined in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Salamanca Agreement (1994) have become dissipated, and can be developed and reframed to encourage their progress. It analyses the discourse within a range of academic, legal and media texts, exploring how this dissipation has taken place within the UK. Using data from 78 specialist school websites it contextualises this change in the use of the terms and ideas of inclusion with the rise of two other constructs, the 'specialist school' and 'personalisation'. It identifies the need for a precisely defined representative principle to theorise the type of school which inclusion aims to achieve, which cannot be subsumed by segregated providers. It suggests that this principle should not focus on the individual, but draw upon a liberal/democratic view of social justice, underlining inclusive education's role in removing social barriers that prevent equity, access and participation for all

Language, Media and Community in the Information Age

This article argues that the electronically mediated communication contributes to the construction of new, mediated forms of communities which are based on the synthesis of virtual and physical communities. The appearance of these new forms of communities leads to a new conceptualization of the relation between self and community. The aim of this article, on the one hand, is to show that with the mediatization of communities, our concept of community becomes more complex. On the other hand, in this essay I consider the assump - tion that the medium of the mediatization and new conceptualization of community is a specific, pictorial language of electronically mediated communication

Sharing a different voice: Attending to stories in collaborative writing

Through three stories, we hope to reveal how sometimes contradictory or unrecognizable aspects of our lives, selves, and stories can create tensions in the collaborative writing endeavor. We begin with a story that illuminates some of the narrative tensions that surface during a decade of writing collaboratively. In an effort to navigate these tensions, we explore two further stories in dialogue as a way to reveal how dominant narratives shape our lives and the stories we might tell. One aim of sharing these stories is to reveal how problematic ways of being are often inseparable from one’s cultural legacy. Making previously obscured narratives visible paves the way for imaginary leaps that are necessary for change. We hope these insights are useful for other writers and collaborators and those who seek caring, responsive, and nurturing writing relationships yet realize this journey can be problematic

To Act and Learn: A Bakhtinian Exploration of Action Learning

This paper considers the work of the Russian social philosopher and cultural theorist, Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin as a source of understanding for those involved in action learning. Drawing upon data gathered over two years during the evaluation of 20 action learning sets in the north of England, we will seek to work with the ideas of Bakhtin to consider their value for those involved in action learning. We consider key Bakhtin features such as Making Meaning, Participative Thinking, Theoreticism and Presence, Others and Outsideness, Voices and Carnival to highlight how Bakhtin's can enhance our understanding of the nature of action and learning

Q methodology and a Delphi poll: a useful approach to researching a narrative approach to therapy

Q methodology and a Delphi poll combined qualitative and quantitative methods to explore definitions of White and Epston's (1990) narrative approach to therapy among a group of UK practitioners. A Delphi poll was used to generate statements about narrative therapy. The piloting of statements by the Delphi panel identified agreement about theoretical ideas underpinning narrative therapy and certain key practices. A wider group of practitioners ranked the statements in a Q sort and made qualitative comments about their sorting. Quantitative methods (principal components analysis) were used to extract eight accounts of narrative therapy, five of which are qualitatively analysed in this paper. Agreement and differences were identified across a range of issues, including the social construction of narratives, privileging a political stance or narrative techniques and the relationship with other therapies, specifically systemic psychotherapy. Q methodology, combined with the Delphi poll, was a unique and innovative feature of this study

Invasive cutaneous rhizopus infections in an immunocompromised patient population associated with hospital laundry carts

Mucormycosis is an invasive fungal infection with high morbidity and mortality that most commonly occurs in immunocompromised hosts.1–5 Cutaneous mucormycosis is rare and can be acquired through direct contact of the fungi with non-intact skin or mucous membranes.3,4,7–9 Outbreaks of mucormycosis associated with contaminated adhesive bandages, ostomy supplies, wooden tongue depressors, and linen have been published.1,6–9 This is a report of a cluster of cutaneous mucormycosis with Rhizopus that occurred in 4 immunocompromised inpatients housed primarily in the same intensive care unit (ICU) prior to infection