Amino acids in a Fischer Tropsch type synthesis

One postulation is described for the presence of organic compounds in meteorites which states that they were formed during the condensation of the solar nebula. A viable laboratory simulation of these conditions can be modeled after the industrial Fischer Tropsch reaction, which is known to produce organic compounds called hydrocarbons. In this simulation, a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and ammonia is heated in the presence of iron meteorite. The reaction products for amino acids, a class of organic compounds important to life, were examined. A large number of these compounds is found in meteorites and other chemical evolution experiments, but only small quantities of a few amino acids were found in the present simulation work. These results are at odds with the existing literature in which many amino acids were reported

How do teachers’ articulate ‘effective’ with regard to leadership? An exploration of how contextual factors function and shape leadership within a primary school

This paper centres on exploring how do contextual factors function and shape leadership of Primary Schools. Methodologically the research is best described as ‘involved’ research and is informed by interpretavist principles, seeking to gain a deeper professional understanding. Social reality for the author is meaningfully understood by perceiving individuals as social actors, actors who are not always fully aware of the impact of the social stage on their actions. The social stage consists of the often implicit expectations of ‘communities of practice’. This research is interested in how individual actors’ interpretations of their actions are situated in such communities and where is their understanding about processes at play in the leadership they are experiencing

Discourses of leadership: the changing context of primary education and the implications for the public sector

This paper explores how contextual factors function and shape leadership within a Primary School. The development of leaders and managers continues to be of interest to Human Resource Development (HRD) academics and practitioners. In recent years leadership has been viewed as a practice which can sustain growth. Within the field of education, government policies of school improvement use leadership and management to explain differing outcomes and measures of success. Since 1988 it has been regularly debated by both academics and policy-makers what the priorities of school leaders should be. Mainly over the last three decades owing to Educational reforms the role of headteachers and principals has changed dramatically. How a school is led and managed is regarded by both policy-makers and practitioners as a key factor in ensuring a school’s success. According to a systematic review conducted by Bell et al (2003:1), “there is a widespread, strongly held belief that school leadership makes a difference and that headteachers should be supported and trained to raise educational standards.” In addition, “the school as an organisational context for the work of leaders is complex” (Southworth 2004). Leaders in a school have to deal with multiple variables that change constantly in a variety of ways and as a result have to be conscious of the contextual factors impinging on their behaviour

Discussions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111979/1/j.1751-5823.2011.00145.x.pd

Landscape-Level Impacts of Shoreline Development on Chesapeake Bay Benthos and Their Predators

Within the coastal zone, waterfront development has caused severe loss of shallow-water habitats such as salt marshes and seagrass beds. Little is known about the impact of habitat degradation and ecological value of subtidal shallow-water habitats, despite their prevalence. In coastal habitats, bivalves are dominant benthic organisms that can comprise over 50% of benthic prey biomass and are indicative of benthic production. We examined the effects of shoreline alteration in shallow habitats by contrasting the benthos of the subtidal areas adjacent to natural marsh, riprap, and bulkhead shorelines in three Chesapeake Bay subestuaries that differ in the level of shoreline development. In all cases, benthic abundance and diversity were higher in subtidal habitats near natural marsh than those near bulkhead shorelines; however, abundance and diversity were intermediate near riprap shorelines, and appeared to depend on landscape features. In heavily impacted systems such as the Elizabeth-Lafayette system, benthos adjacent to riprap was depauperate, whereas in less-developed tributaries (York River and Broad Bay), benthos near riprap was abundant and was similar to that near natural marsh shorelines. Furthermore, predator density and diversity were highest adjacent to natural marsh, intermediate near riprap, and low near bulkhead shorelines. There is thus a crucial link between natural marshes, benthic infaunal prey in subtidal habitats, and predator abundance. Restoration of living shoreline habitats is likely to have benefits for adjacent benthos and their predators. Protection and restoration of marsh habitats may be essential to the maintenance of high benthic production and consumer biomass in Chesapeake Bay. Moreover, the collective impacts of the system-wide, landscape-level features are felt from the benthos through higher trophic levels.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1124/thumbnail.jp

Tales From Academia: The MAD Set

This chapter is co-produced to share the lived experience of ‘becoming’ an experienced academic and to share our passion for action learning and insider-research. We have each been employed as Higher Education (HE) lecturers for approximately 15 years and remain passionate about the potential of insider-research to positively impact on individuals and their lives. It is this passion and interest which brought us together as colleagues and co-researchers. We are Michelle (health), Aileen (business) and Deborah (education), co-founders of MAD, an action learning set with a stated aim to raise the profile of insider-research through Mutual Action and Development. Insider-research is a common feature of many postgraduate and doctoral programmes and is undertaken by members of organizational systems and communities in and on their own organizations. This form of research can also be undertaken as collaboration between insiders and outsiders. A key challenge for insider-researchers is to undertake academic research in their own organizations while retaining the choice of remaining employed and employable. It is not unusual for insider-researchers to uncover the darker aspects of organizational life, surfacing ideological dilemmas. We argue that it is the surfacing of ideological dilemmas which opens a discursive space and provides the foundations for emancipatory learning. In co-producing this chapter, we have provided three autoethnography tales of ‘becoming’ experienced academics and analyse our ‘tales’ from a discursive and community of practice perspective. In doing so, we illuminate how the surfacing of ideological dilemmas, within the relatively safe space of our MAD set, has enabled us to cope with the barriers and constraints faced by experienced academics within the current HE system

Gender equality in climate policy and practice hindered by assumptions

Gender has a powerful influence on people’s experience of, and resilience to, climate change. Global climate change policy is committed to tackling gender inequalities in mitigation and adaptation. However, progress is hindered by numerous challenges, including an enduring set of gender assumptions: women are caring and connected to the environment, women are a homogenous and vulnerable group, gender equality is a women’s issue and gender equality is a numbers game. We provide an overview of how these assumptions essentialize women’s and men’s characteristics, narrowly diagnose the causes of gender inequality, and thereby propel strategies that have unintended and even counterproductive consequences. We offer four suggestions for a more informed pursuit of gender equality in climate change policy and practice