Sonic microgeographies and histories: life listening and home

Tom Ottway firstly provides a broad overview of how home has been conceptualised in terms of space and place by academics in fields as varied as cultural studies, urban studies, sound studies, sonic art, geography, history, law, criminology and migration studies. He then demonstrates that by actively engaging in ‘doing’ a critical geography of home, by creating and analysing audio ethnographies, including an auto-audio ethnography of those working together to produce this intervention on home, the gap between academic and participant; academic and artist; analysis and performance is removed, and powerful sonic micro-geographies and micro-histories emerge that constitute ‘life listening’, which inform the writing on home

The Foraminifera.eu Project: A paleoinformatics bridge between science and community

Foraminifera.eu is a non-commercial international project to foster the interest in foraminifera. A freely accessible image database with an online multi-criteria search facility based on high quality SEM and optical images and drawings has been developed. The website has become a popular resource with more than 5000 monthly unique visitors viewing more than 50000 pages. About 120 scientists and amateurs are contributing samples, images, drawings, ideas and working on projects, publications, exhibitions, talks and collection. Foraminifera from the Oporto Seamount, from the Luz Formation and from the Mem Moniz spongolithic limestone are the first Portuguese contributions to this project.publishersversionpublishe

Industry Supplied CAD Curriculum Case Study on Passing Certification Exams

Students who successfully pass professional certification exams while in school are often targeted first by industry for internships and entry level positions. Over the last decade, leading industry suppliers of computer-aided design (CAD) software have developed and launched certification exams for many of their product offerings. Some have also created educational curriculum and resources for educators, such as sample exams and training guides. This case study investigates students’ passing rates of two SOLIDWORKS certification exams after utilizing free and openly available educator instructional material in the classroom. The engineering technology students were from Mechanical Engineering Technology and Electrical Engineering Technology degree programs. The Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) exam was administered at the end of a freshman level introduction to graphics course. The Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional Academic (CSWP-Academic) exam was administered at the end of a junior level advanced CAD course. This paper presents a brief description of the curriculum for both courses, including the instructional material and exams. Quantitative and observational outcomes from both courses will also be presented.Keywords: CAD, SOLIDWORKS, certification, engineering technolog

African States and Agriculture: Issues for Research

SUMMARY This article assesses the relative merits of two styles in food marketing from the perspective of small?scale producer?sellers in rural Zambia. Of the alternatives — state?controlled maize cropping; free?market bean sales — the latter has been viewed as ‘obviously’ preferable. The author challenges this view, arguing that the seemingly inferior alternative (hybrid maize) cannot be dropped from the local food system where it has become a substitute for the very labour?intensive ‘traditional’ millet. This production function explains why maize is locally perceived as a valuable crop in spite of the poor infrastructure for providing inputs and for collection. SOMMAIRE Cet article évalue les mérites relatifs aux deux styles de mise en marché d'aliments dans la perspective des producteurs?vendeurs à petite échelle en Zambie rurale. Des deux alternatives — culture de mais contrôlée par l'état: vente libre d'haricots — on a retenu la dernière étant ‘évidemment’ préférable L'auteur conteste ce choix argumentant que l'alternative semblant inférieur (le maïs hybride) ne peut être abandonnée du système local d'alimentation, puisque cela constitue un substitut au travail intensif du millet ‘traditionnel’. Cette fonction de production explique pourquoi la culture du mais est perçue localement comme étant valable en dépit de la pauvreté de l'infrastructure fournissant les apports et facilitant la vente. RESUMEN Este artículo destaca los méritos relativos de dos estilos de comercialización alimenticia desde la perspectiva de los productores?vendedores en la Zambia rural. El autor desafía la creencia de que la venta de frejoles en el libre mercado es ‘obviamente’ preferible al cultivo del maíz controlado por el estado. Argumenta, por el contrario, que el maíz híbrido — alternativa aparentemente inferior — no puede eliminarse del sistema alimentario local, donde se ha convertido en un substituto del ‘tradicional’ mijo, muy intensivo en mano de obra Esta función de producción explica por qué el maíz es percibido localmente como un valioso cultivo, pese a la pobre infraestructura existente para proveer insumos y para la recolección

Effect of a shelf-furnished screen on space utilisation and social behaviour of indoor group-housed cats (Felis silvestris catus)

The environment of the laboratory cat can be restrictive and may impact their welfare. Enrichment is often provided to alleviate welfare impacts but is seldom assessed or validated for efficacy. This study investigated the effect of novel room furniture (a screen) on the expression of agonistic and affiliative behaviours and space utilisation amongst colony-housed laboratory cats. Video footage of cats (N = 29) housed in social rooms (N = 4) was collected for 2 days before (baseline phase), 4 days during (test phase) and 2 days following (removal phase) introduction of the novel furniture. Space utilisation data were collected using scan sampling every 10 min and analysed using a generalised linear mixed effects model and Tukey’s HSD test. Behavioural data were collected using continuous sampling for 3 h a day in 6 × 30 min episodes and analysed using a Poisson generalised mixed effects model. Significantly more agonistic events occurred before the morning feed compared to after feeding within all phases (pre-feed mean = 0.227; post-feed mean = 0.026; P < 0.0001). However no significant differences were observed before the morning feed compared to after feeding between phases indicating that the screen had no effect on reducing pre-feed aggression at the morning feed. Agonistic behaviours occurred significantly less following the morning feed during the test phase when compared to the baseline phase (test post-feed mean = 0.011; baseline post-feed mean = 0.029; P = 0.0342). Significant differences were also observed on removal of the screen with agonistic behaviour increasing above baseline at the afternoon pre-feed time point, possibly indicative of aggression due to frustration or a rebound effect (removal pre-feed mean = 0.151; baseline pre-feed mean 0.048; P < 0.0001). Affiliative interactions between phases were not significantly affected by screen presence. Given the ratio of the screen to existing shelving (0.58:0.42) a statistical significant proportion of cats were found to be on the screen in the test phase of the study (P < 0.0001). This study suggests that exploiting the unused vertical space by the addition of stand-alone shelving should be considered a valuable resource for the cat by increasing useable space and reducing agonistic interactions