101 research outputs found
Using Enviromnetal Science Education to Empower Urban Youth to Overcome Environmental Injustices and Become Engaged Eco-Citizens
Science education, especially the discipline of environmental science, carries the unique opportunity to engage and empower urban youth of diverse backgrounds. Environmental science education helps establish a connection between youth and the natural world and helps youth engage in community-based stewardship activities while fostering ecological citizenry. When educators adopt innovative pedagogical approaches, students are better positioned to participate and develop a sustained interest in science. Field-based education transforms science learning and improves youthâs sense of place, self-confidence, and motivation. National and local case-studies of field-based learning programs demonstrate the powerful and transformative impact of using the Environment as a Integrated Context (EIC) as an educational framework. Connecting urban youth to nature has a profound effect on attitudes and behaviors, especially for âat-riskâ children. This body of research argues that environmental science education offers the best opportunity for educators to: (1.) engage urban youth to a science discipline, with the goal of decreasing inequalities in science education, (2.) discover and connect students with the outside world through field-oriented projects, (3.) encourage students to support their communities through âeco-citizenryâ projects, and (4.) provide a pathway of hope and healing for âat-riskâ or troubled youth
"Best Run Club in the World'': Manchester City Fans and the Legitimation of Sportswashing?
The term sportswashing has been discussed and analysed within academic circles, as well as the mainstream media. However, the majority of existing research has focused on one-off event-based sportswashing strategies (such as autocratic states hosting major international sports events) rather than longer term investment-based strategies (such as state actors purchasing sports clubs and teams). Furthermore, little has been written about the impact of this latter strategy on the existing fanbase of the purchased team and on their relationship with sportswashing and the discourses surrounding it. This paper addresses this lacuna through analysis of a popular Manchester City online fan forum, which illustrates the manner in which this community of dedicated City fans have legitimated the actions of the clubâs ownership regime, the Abu Dhabi United Group â a private equity group operated by Abu Dhabi royalty and UAE politicians. The discursive strategies of the City fans are discussed, in addition to the wider significance of these strategies on the issue of sportswashing and its coverage by the media
Next nearest neighbour Ising models on random graphs
This paper develops results for the next nearest neighbour Ising model on
random graphs. Besides being an essential ingredient in classic models for
frustrated systems, second neighbour interactions interactions arise naturally
in several applications such as the colour diversity problem and graphical
games. We demonstrate ensembles of random graphs, including regular
connectivity graphs, that have a periodic variation of free energy, with either
the ratio of nearest to next nearest couplings, or the mean number of nearest
neighbours. When the coupling ratio is integer paramagnetic phases can be found
at zero temperature. This is shown to be related to the locked or unlocked
nature of the interactions. For anti-ferromagnetic couplings, spin glass phases
are demonstrated at low temperature. The interaction structure is formulated as
a factor graph, the solution on a tree is developed. The replica symmetric and
energetic one-step replica symmetry breaking solution is developed using the
cavity method. We calculate within these frameworks the phase diagram and
demonstrate the existence of dynamical transitions at zero temperature for
cases of anti-ferromagnetic coupling on regular and inhomogeneous random
graphs.Comment: 55 pages, 15 figures, version 2 with minor revisions, to be published
J. Stat. Mec
Leading Change: Reproductive Rights, Empowerment and Feminist Solidarity in the Dublin Bay North Repeal the 8th Campaign
This article examines how the Dublin Bay North (DBN) Repeal the 8th activist group, an independent women-led, grassroots movement in the largest constituency in Ireland, practiced a collectivist approach to forms of âpower-withâ and âpower-toâ (Allen, 2018) that enabled the group to create an activist community based upon a feminist ethics of âcaring-withâ (Tronto, 1993). In 2018 in Dublin, what had been a narrow majority in 1983 against abortion rights became a decisive 3:1 margin in favour. While this remarkable change can be attributed to the efforts of numerous feminist and reproductive rights activists working for many years, including those tied to the national Together for Yes campaign, less attention has been paid to new activist leaders participating at the grassroots level. This article focuses on the leadership roles adopted by first-time grassroots activists who became âteam leadersâ and ran decentralised campaigns in their neighbourhoods. Using qualitative analyses of a survey of 125 members (June 2018), 16 semi-structured interviews with DBN team leaders and other key people within the campaign (October 2018 and March 2019), and the authorsâ own experiences, we consider how new activists recruited and empowered others to tell their stories, canvass, and lead their own actions
'Let the tournament for the Woke begin!': Euro 2020 and the Reproduction of Cultural Marxist Conspiracies in Online Criticisms of the 'Take the Knee' Protest
Exploring online criticisms of the âtake the kneeâ protest during âEuro 2020â, this article examines how alt- and far-right conspiracies were both constructed and communicated via the social media platform, Twitter. By providing a novel exploration of alt-right conspiracies during an international football tournament, a qualitative thematic analysis of 1,388 original tweets relating to Euro 2020 was undertaken. The findings reveal how, in criticisms levelled at both âwokeismâ and the Black Lives Matter movement, antiwhite criticisms of the âtake the kneeâ protest were embroiled in alt-right conspiracies that exposed an assumed Cultural Marxist, âwoke agendaâ in the tournamentâs organization and mainstream media coverage. In conclusion, it is argued that conspiratorial discourses, associated with the alt-right, provided a framework through which the protest could be understood. This emphasises how the significance of conspiracy functions to promote the wider dissemination of alt-right ideology across popular cultural contexts, such as sport
How sport became a vehicle for far-right conspiracy theories
Narratives concerning âCultural Marxismâ â portrayed as a threat to Western society and its values â have been gaining ground largely thanks to their ability to circulate rapidly through online platforms. In recent years, sport has also become a vehicle for spreading such conspiracy theories â with far-reaching consequences for society
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
Cross-sectional interactions between quality of the physical and social environment and self-reported physical activity in adults living in income-deprived communities
Background: Understanding the environmental determinants of physical activity in populations at high risk of inactivity could contribute to the development of effective interventions. Socioecological models of activity propose that environmental factors have independent and interactive effects of physical activity but there is a lack of research into interactive effects.
Objectives:
This study aimed to explore independent and interactive effects of social and physical environmental factors on self-reported physical activity in income-deprived communities.
Methods:
Participants were 5,923 adults in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Features of the social environment were self-reported. Quality of the physical environment was objectively-measured. Neighbourhood walking and participation in moderate physical activity [MPA] on â„5 days/week was self-reported. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression models tested independent and interactive effects of environmental factors on activity.
Results:
âSocial supportâ (walking: OR:1.22,95%CI=1.06-1.41,p<0.01; MPA: OR:0.79,95%CI=0.67-0.94,p<0.01), âsocial interactionâ (walking: OR:1.25,95%CI=1.10-1.42,p<0.01; MPA: OR:6.16,95%CI=5.14-7.37,p<0.001) and âcohesion and safetyâ (walking: OR:1.78,95%CI=1.56-2.03,p<0.001; MPA: OR:1.93,95%CI=1.65-2.27,p<0.001), but not âtrust and empowermentâ, had independent effects on physical activity. âAesthetics of built formâ (OR:1.47,95%CI=1.22-1.77,p<0.001) and âaesthetics and maintenance of open spaceâ (OR:1.32, 95%CI=1.13-1.54,p<0.01) were related to walking. âPhysical disorderâ (OR:1.63,95%CI=1.31-2.03,p<0.001) had an independent effect on MPA. Interactive effects of social and physical factors on walking and MPA were revealed.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that intervening to create activity-supportive environments in deprived communities may be most effective when simultaneously targeting the social and physical neighbourhood environment
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