A Case Study of Rock-Fluid Interaction in the Enhanced Geothermal System in Cooper Basin, South Australia

This study was undertaken to observe mineral dissolution with replacing circulating fluid with fresh water every 24 hours. This was an attempt to accelerate the dissolution rate and to mimic the condition of a geothermal site when fresh water or treated water from a precipitation tank is reinjected to the fracture. The experiments were carried out in a titanium flow through cell for 1, 7, and 28 days at 250°C and 40 bars. Water analysis was performed using ICP-MS, and rock analyses were conducted using SEM, XRD and XRF. The experimental results revealed a linear correlation of mineral (element) dissolution at the early stages of the experiment. However at later stages, the mineral dissolution proceeds at a slower rate. This may have been caused by the exhaustion of a more soluble mineral phase in the sample. Therefore, this may cause the pore size in the fracture path size to enlarge. SEM observations showed evidence of etching of the mineral surfaces consistent with partial dissolution. SEM backscattered images reveals that mostly quartz phase (SiO₂) remains after 28 days of circulation. XRD results complement these finding, that quartz was stable throughout the experiment, and that the albite-feldspar (NaAlSi₃O₈) and microcline (KALSi₃O₈) in the rock had partially dissolved. As well, ICP-MS analysis of water samples confirmed that some mineral dissolution occurred. XRF study was used to generate an elemental mass balance. Determination of the dissolution kinetics of the various minerals phase is being undertaken.Gideon Kuncoro, Yung Ngothai, Brian O'Neill, Allan Pring, Joël Bruggerhttp://www.chemeca2010.com/abstract/270.as

‘Dead people don’t claim’: A psychopolitical autopsy of UK austerity suicides

One of the symptoms of post financial crisis austerity in the UK has been an increase in the numbers of suicides, especially by people who have experienced welfare reform. This article develops and utilises an analytic framework of psychopolitical autopsy to explore media coverage of ‘austerity suicide’ and to take seriously the psychic life of austerity (internalisation, shame, anxiety), embedding it in a context of social dis-ease. Drawing on three distinct yet interrelated areas of literature (the politics of affect and psychosocial dynamics of welfare, post and anti-colonial psychopolitics, and critical suicidology), the article aims to better understand how austerity ‘kills’. Key findings include understanding austerity suicides as embedded within an affective economy of the anxiety caused by punitive welfare retrenchment, the stigmatisation of being a recipient of benefits, and the internalisation of market logic that assigns value through ‘productivity’ and conceptualises welfare entitlement as economic ‘burden’. The significance of this approach lies in its ability to widen analytic framing of suicide from an individual and psychocentric focus, to illuminate culpability of government reforms while still retaining the complexity of suicide, and thus to provide relevant policy insights about welfare reform

The changing UK careers landscape : tidal waves, turbulence and transformation

This article explores how the UK careers landscape in each of the four home nations is changing in response to neo-liberal policies. In this context, careers services are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate their added value, impact and returns on investment. As fiscal arrangements tighten and governments state their preferences and priorities for national careers services, differing strategic responses are beginning to emerge. A quasi-market, experimental approach is now the dominant discourse in England, in contrast to differing and complementary arrangements in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The article suggests that insofar as these developments are transforming national careers services, they are also creating significant challenges which require new forms of policy imagery and imagination for high-impact, all-age careers services

Melody and pitch processing in five musical savants with congenital blindness

Abstract. We examined absolute-pitch (AP) and short-term musical memory abilities of five musical savants with congenital blindness, seven musicians, and seven non-musicians with good vision and normal intelligence in two experiments. In the first, short-term memory for musical phrases was tested and the savants and musicians performed statistically indistinguishably, both signifi- cantly outperforming the non-musicians and remembering more material from the C major scale sequences than random trials. In the second experiment, participants learnt associations between four pitches and four objects using a non-verbal paradigm. This experiment approximates to testing AP ability. Low statistical power meant the savants were not statistically better than the musicians, although only the savants scored statistically higher than the non-musicians. The results are evidence for a musical module, separate from general intelligence; they also support the anecdotal reporting of AP in musical savants, which is thought to be necessary for the development of musical-savant skill

Computer delivery of gesture therapy for people with severe aphasia

Background: Using gesture as a compensatory communication strategy may be challenging for people with severe aphasia. Therapy can improve skills with gesture, at least in elicitation tasks, but gains ar often modest. Raising the treatment dose with technology might improve outcomes. Aims: This feasibility study developed a computer gesture therapy tool (GeST), and piloted it with nine people who have severe aphasia. It aimed to determine whether practice with GeST would improve gesture production and/or spoken naming. It also explored whether GeST encouraged independent practice and was easy to use. Methods & Procedures: Pilot participants had 6 weeks practice with GeST, flanked by pre- and post-therapy tests of gesture and word production. Usability was explored through interviews and structured observations, and the amount of time spent in the programme was monitored. Outcomes & Results: Scores on the gesture test were evaluated by 36 independent raters. Recognition scores for gestures practised with the tool improved significantly after therapy and the gain was maintained. However, gains were small and only occurred on items that were practised with regular therapist support. There was no generalisation to unpractised gestures and no effect on spoken naming. Usability results were positive. Participants undertook an average of 64.4 practice sessions with GeST, and the average session length was just under 14 minutes. Conclusions: GeST was proved to be easy and enjoyable to use and had some effect on participants’ gesturing skills. Increasing the magnitude of gains would be desirable. The effect on everyday communication needs to be explored

Dewey and the democratic curriculum

This paper uses Dewey’s seminal Democracy and Education (1916) as a key text to investigate the concept of the democratic curriculum. I argue that a democratic curriculum is one where a series of educational innovations or procedures are followed. These are: a removal of the exisiting division between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ education; pedagogy in the form of discussion and dialogue; negotiation of curriculum aims and objectives with students and other local stakeholders. The focus of attention will be on the English school curriculum (both primary and secondary), especially concerning the National Curriculum, and the debate over ‘standards’ and testing . A tentative link between the democratic curriculum and increased student motivation and participation is made

Towards a framework for critical citizenship education

Increasingly countries around the world are promoting forms of "critical" citizenship in the planned curricula of schools. However, the intended meaning behind this term varies markedly and can range from a set of creative and technical skills under the label "critical thinking" to a desire to encourage engagement, action and political emancipation, often labelled "critical pedagogy". This paper distinguishes these manifestations of the "critical" and, based on an analysis of the prevailing models of critical pedagogy and citizenship education, develops a conceptual framework for analysing and comparing the nature of critical citizenship

Local and global processing in savant artists with autism

Abstract. We explored the hypothesis that an enhanced local processing style is characteristic of both art and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by examining local and global processing in savant artists with ASD. Specifically, savant artists were compared against non-talented individuals with ASD or mild/moderate learning difficulties (MLD), as well as artistically talented or non- talented students, on the block-design task and meaningful and abstract versions of the embedded figures test (EFT). Results demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the meaningful and abstract versions of the EFT, in any of the groups. This suggests that the primary process governing performance on this task was perceptual (local), rather than conceptual (global). More interestingly, the savant artists performed above the level of the ASD and MLD groups on the block-design test, but not the EFT. Despite both the block-design task and the EFT measuring local processing abilities, we suggest that this result is due to the block-design task being an active construction task (requiring the conversion of a visual input into a motor output), whereas the EFT is a passive recognition task. Therefore, although an enhanced local processing style is an important aspect of savant artistic talent, motor control also appears to be a necessary skill

Raising the participation age in historical perspective : Policy learning from the past?

The raising of the participation age (RPA) to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 marks a historic expansion of compulsory education. Despite the tendency of New Labour governments to eschew historical understanding and explanation, RPA was conceived with the benefit of an analysis of previous attempts to extend compulsion in schooling. This paper assesses the value of a historical understanding of education policy. The period from inception to the projected implementation of RPA is an extended one which has crossed over the change of government, from Labour to Coalition, in 2010. The shifting emphases and meanings of RPA are not simply technical issues but connect to profound historical and social changes. An analysis of the history of the raising of the school leaving age reveals many points of comparison with the contemporary situation. In a number of key areas it is possible to gain insights into the ways in which the study of the past can help to comprehend the present: the role of human capital, the structures of education, in curriculum development and in terms of preparations for change

Creative Research Science Experiences for High School Students

A French research institute raises the bar for public outreach with an educational laboratory that engages 1,000 high school students per year in mini research projects