Implementing TRIPS in Egypt : a postcolonial analysis : the continuing relevance of Egypt's juridical history to understanding developments in Egyptian intellectual property law

PhD Thesi

Methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide fluxes from a temperate salt marsh: grazing management does not alter global warming potential

Soil greenhouse gas emissions from cattle grazed and un-grazed temperate upper salt marsh were measured using dark static chambers, monthly for one year. Below-ground gas sampling tubes were also used to measure soil methane (CH4) concentrations. CH4 efflux from grazed and un-grazed salt marsh did not differ significantly although grazing did lead to ‘hotspots’ of underground CH4 (up to 6% of total air volume) and CH4 efflux (peak of 9 mg m−2 h−1) significantly linked to high soil moisture content, low soil temperatures and the presence of Juncus gerardii. Carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux was greater from the un-grazed marsh (mean of 420 mg m−2 h−1) than the grazed marsh (mean of 333 mg m−2 h−1) throughout most of the year and was positively correlated with the deeper water table and greater soil temperatures. Grazing was not a significant predictor of nitrous oxide (N2O) soil emissions. Global Warming Potential (GWP; over 100 years), calculated from mean yearly chamber fluxes for CH4 and CO2, did not differ significantly with grazing treatment. Seasonal variation in the key drivers of soil greenhouse gas efflux; soil temperature, moisture and water table, plus the presence or absence of aerenchymatous plants such as J. gerardii were more important to the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions than grazing management per se

The Individual Budgets Pilot Projects: Impact and Outcomes for Carers

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Nitrogen and phosphorus co-limitation and grazing moderate nitrogen impacts on plant growth and nutrient cycling in sand dune grassland

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition alters plant biodiversity and ecosystem function in grasslands worldwide. This study examines the impact of 6 years of nutrient addition and grazing management on a sand dune grassland. Results indicate that co-limitation of N and phosphorus (P) moderates the impact of realistic rates of N addition (7.5, 15 kg N ha−1 year−1). Combined NP addition (15 kg N + 10 kg P ha−1 year−1) was the only nutrient treatment to differ significantly from the control, with greater above-ground biomass (mainly moss), and enhanced N and P mineralisation rates. Grazing management altered plant functional group composition, reduced above-ground biomass and meso-faunal feeding rates, and decoupled N and P mineralisation. There were no synergistic effects of grazing and N treatment. Although NP co-limitation apparently prevents adverse impacts of N deposition above the critical load, excess N is likely to be stored in moss biomass and soil, with unknown future consequences

Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients

Dune slacks are seasonal wetlands, high in biodiversity, which experience considerable within-year and between-year variations in water-table. They are subject to many pressures including climate change, land use change and eutrophication. Despite their biological importance and the threats facing them, the hydrological and nutrient parameters that influence their soil properties and biodiversity are poorly understood and there have been no empirical studies to date testing for biological effects in dune systems resulting from groundwater nutrients at low concentrations. In this study we examined the impact of groundwater nutrients on water chemistry, soil chemistry and vegetation composition of dune slacks at three distance classes (0-150 m, 150–300 m, 300–450 m) away from known (off-site) nutrient sources at Aberffraw dunes in North Wales, whilst controlling for differences in water-table regime. Groundwater nitrate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and soil nitrate and nitrite all had significantly higher concentrations closest to the nutrient source. Multivariate analysis showed that although plant species composition within this site was primarily controlled by water table depth and water table fluctuation, nitrogen from groundwater also influenced species composition, independently of water table and soil development. A model containing all hydrological parameters explained 17% of the total species variance; an additional 7% was explained following the addition of NO3 to this model. Areas exposed to elevated, but still relatively low, groundwater nutrient concentrations (mean 0.204 mg/L +/- 0.091 of DIN) had greater abundance of nitrophilous species and fewer basipholous species. This shows clear biological impact below previously suggested DIN thresholds of 0.20 – 0.40 (mg/L)

Extracurricular Enterprise Activities as a Vehicle for Entrepreneurial Learning: Examining Experiential, Social and Self-directed Learning Outcomes

This paper critically examines the value of extracurricular enterprise activity from a student and educator perspective at United Kingdom (UK) universities. Extracurricular activities are a popular facet of enterprise education and studies note an increase in recent years of provision of extracurricular enterprise activities across European universities (Rae et al., 2012; Lilischkis et al., 2015). The research aims to examine the benefits of participation in extracurricular enterprise activities and in particular the benefits to students’ entrepreneurial learning processes. Thus, this research addresses the following research questions: 1. What benefits, learning or otherwise, may be attainable from Higher Education (HE) student engagement in extracurricular enterprise activities? 2. How may engagement in extracurricular enterprise activities enhance students’ entrepreneurial learning processes? This paper addresses the conference theme – ‘Research, policy and practice: Collaboration in a disparate world’ by examining the advancement of individuals’ entrepreneurial learning processes through engagement in collaborative activities. This study adopted an inductive methodological approach to explore themes emergent from the data rather than to predict or explain through hypotheses (Berger and Luckmann, 1967; Booth et al., 2009). A semi-structured survey (n=55), administered to students at a national conference themed on extracurricular enterprise activity, contained qualitative questions regarding what types of extracurricular enterprise activities respondents had participated in and what they felt they had gained from participation. A total of 26 in-depth interviews were also conducted, 23 with student participants and three with enterprise educators, to ascertain the perceived value of participation in extracurricular enterprise activities to students’ entrepreneurial learning processes. In relation to research question one, it was found that each participant was unique in the combination of benefits they gained from engaging in extracurricular enterprise activities but there were commonalities identified under the six themes of: skills development, knowledge acquisition, personal growth, development of social capital, venture creation/growth and enhanced employability. These benefits ranged from intrinsic, such as a growth in self-belief, to extrinsic such as an enhanced CV. They also ranged across the spectrum of the venture creation process from ideation to business registration. In relation to research question two, the data was reviewed in accordance with established theoretical framing for the examination of entrepreneurial learning processes; experiential and social learning theory (Taylor and Thorpe, 2004; Politis, 2005; Cope et al., 2007; Pittaway et al., 2015). It was found that prior links posited in the literature between entrepreneurial learning and experiential learning were supported in the data but the role of reflection was found to be diminished as limited opportunities to reflect upon learning may hinder abstract conceptualization processes. Links already posited in the literature between 2 social learning theories and entrepreneurial learning were also confirmed; entrepreneurial learning was seen to be enacted alone but also in groups whereby participants observed others to enhance their entrepreneurial learning, modelling behaviours, and collaborating in a ‘community of practice’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991). For policy and practice, findings contribute to ongoing debate regarding the value of enterprise education and in particular extracurricular activities (Lilischkis et al., 2015; Johannisson, 2016; Arranz et al., 2017; Nabi et al., 2017). This research contributes significant empirical knowledge to the limited understanding of how extracurricular enterprise activities may positively enhance students’ entrepreneurial learning processes. Prior studies have focused upon mapping the extracurricular enterprise activities available at universities and gathering an educator perspective of potential benefits (Rae et al., 2012; Lilschkis et al., 2015; Vanevenhoven and Drago, 2015). This research moves beyond mapping activities to contribute empirical evidence of how HE students’ entrepreneurial learning processes may be enhanced by engagement in extracurricular enterprise activities and also offers valuable insight into the student perspective of these activities. This research also has value in enhancing the theoretical conceptualisation of entrepreneurial learning within a HE setting. A conceptual framework confirms the importance of the experiential and social learning activities afforded by participation in extracurricular enterprise activities but also provides a novel contribution in positioning the self-directed nature of these activities as key to developing students’ autonomous learning capabilities. Such findings have important implications for enterprise educators in their design and delivery of extracurricular enterprise activities

Examining the perceived value of extracurricular enterprise activities in relation to entrepreneurial learning processes

This study contributes towards increased understanding of the perceived value of extracurricular enterprise activities from an entrepreneurial learning perspective. Past decades have witnessed a global increase in the provision of enterprise and entrepreneurship education alongside a growing suite of extracurricular enterprise activities. However, there is a paucity of research examining how entrepreneurial learning might be understood in the context of these activities. The study draws on an empirical study of student and educator participants across 24 United Kingdom (UK) universities using semi-structured surveys and in-depth interviews. Three main learning theories drawn from the entrepreneurial learning literature; experiential, social and self-directed learning provided a conceptual framework to frame the research phenomenon. Findings posit that extracurricular enterprise activities provide perceived value in the experiential and social learning opportunities afforded for students. However, these activities are restricted in enabling the experiential learning cycle to be completed due to limited reflection opportunities. Positioning these extracurricular activities outside the main curriculum also empowers participants to self-direct aspects of their learning and develop their autonomous learning capabilities.The existing literature focuses upon the entrepreneurial learning processes of established entrepreneurs rather than latent and nascent entrepreneurs within a Higher Education (HE) setting. The limited literature examining HE entrepreneurial learning does so by concentrating upon entrepreneurial learning resulting from in-curricular activities. This study offers novel insights into students entrepreneurial learning processes, highlighting the importance of experiential, social and self-directed learning opportunities to the entrepreneurial learning process and the perceived value of extracurricular activities as a platform for these types of learning