A Method Off the Beaten Track: Refining Creative Writing Process through Practice-led Research

How can you improve your writing processes and your creative projects by examining your own working conditions? In this article, we address this question and the possibilities and challenges of the method called ‘practice-led research’, which is a method off the beaten track in media production studies. We examine assignments by students from the educational program of ‘Screenplay Development’ at the University of Southern Den-mark. Our purpose is to clarify how the students have used practice-led research to enhance their screenwriting, and whether this method has contributed to their talent development. The theoretical framework in the article is constituted by Donald Schön’s (2013) practice epistemology. As our analytical lens we use Robin Nelson’s (2013) modes of thinking, as well as talent development theories by Anders Ericsson (Ericsson & Pool, 2016) and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1996). Based on our findings, we suggest how to get started you’re your creative writing and improve your writing processes

A simple model to estimate exchange rates of nitrogen dioxide between the atmosphere and forests

International audienceA simple model (2layer) was constructed that describes the exchange of the reactive gases NO, NO2 and O3 between forest and the atmosphere. The model uses standard equations to describe exchange processes and uptake of gases. It also takes into account reactions taking place in the trunk space between NO and O3 and photolysis of NO2. All equations are solved analytically leading to a scheme efficient enough to allow implementation in a large scale dispersion model such as the EMEP model. The model is tested on two comprehensive datasets obtained in a coniferous forest and a deciduous forest. The model calculations of NO2 and O3 fluxes to the forest were compared with observations of these fluxes. Although the comparison is often not perfect some of the striking features of the observed fluxes i.e. upward fluxes of NO2 were simulated quite well. The impact of chemical reactions between O3, NO and NO2 in the trunk space appear to have a significant effect on the deposition rate of O2. This is especially true during the night and more so for forests emitting large amounts of NO

Pure stands of temperate forest tree species modify soil respiration and N turnover

International audienceThe effects of five different tree species common in the temperate zone, i.e. beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst), Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis [Sichold and Zucc.] Gordon) and mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra), on soil respiration, gross N mineralization and gross nitrification rates were investigated. Soils were sampled in spring and summer 2002 at a forest trial in Western Jutland, Denmark, where pure stands of the five tree species of the same age were growing on the same soil. Soil respiration, gross rates of N mineralization and nitrification were significantly higher in the organic layers than in the Ah horizons for all tree species and both sampling dates. In summer (July), the highest rates of soil respiration, gross N mineralization and gross nitrification were found in the organic layer under spruce, followed by beech > larch > oak > pine. In spring (April), these rates were also higher under spruce compared to the other tree species, but were significantly lower than in summer. For the Ah horizons no clear seasonal trend was observed for any of the processes examined. A linear relationship between soil respiration and gross N mineralization (r2=0.77), gross N mineralization and gross nitrification rates (r2=0.72), and between soil respiration and gross nitrification (r2=0.81) was found. The results obtained underline the importance of considering the effect of forest type on soil C and N transformations

Ammonium chloride ingestion attenuates exercise-induced mRNA levels in human muscle

Minimizing the decrease in intracellular pH during high-intensity exercise training promotes greater improvements in mitochondrial respiration. This raises the intriguing hypothesis that pH may affect the exercise-induced transcription of genes that regulate mitochondrial biogenesis. Eight males performed 10x2-min cycle intervals at 80% VO2speak intensity on two occasions separated by ~2 weeks. Participants ingested either ammonium chloride (ACID) or calcium carbonate (PLA) the day before and on the day of the exercise trial in a randomized, counterbalanced order, using a crossover design. Biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after exercise. The mRNA level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), citrate synthase, cytochome c and FOXO1 was elevated at rest following ACID (P<0.05). During the PLA condition, the mRNA content of mitochondrial- and glucose-regulating proteins was elevated immediately following exercise (P<0.05). In the early phase (0-2 h) of post-exercise recovery during ACID, PGC-1α, citrate synthase, cytochome C, FOXO1, GLUT4, and HKII mRNA levels were not different from resting levels (P>0.05); the difference in PGC-1α mRNA content 2 h post-exercise between ACID and PLA was not significant (P = 0.08). Thus, metabolic acidosis abolished the early post-exercise increase of PGC-1α mRNA and the mRNA of downstream mitochondrial and glucose-regulating proteins. These findings indicate that metabolic acidosis may affect mitochondrial biogenesis, with divergent responses in resting and post-exercise skeletal muscle