1,639 research outputs found

    The Prince and the railwaymen: the origins of the 1920 Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants' strike

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    This paper provides an account of the events which culmininated in the 1920 railways strike. Focusing on the period 1913-1920. it exa1nines the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants' (ASRS) executive's attempts to provide for the members needs in the face of ever increasing difficulties. It also provides some insight into the history of other labour groups and illustrates how workers in New Zealand united once rheir problems became too big to handle alone. Nevertheless the policies followed by the ASRS execurive were always those which were expected to yield the most benefits to ASRS numbers despite the feelings of orher labour groups

    Sustainable urban biophilia: The case of greenskins for urban density

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    Green infrastructure ameliorates the urban heat island effect, contributes positively to liveability and enables sustainability in higher density urban environments. Greenskins (living architectures) are a more specific form of green infrastructure, including green walls and green roofs, for dense urban areas. These offer a new approach for sustainable urban biophilia and some forms can be built using the ecological design principles of constructed wetlands. The paper compares findings from two urban centres in warm Mediterranean climates. In general from Adelaide, South Australia and more specifically from university collaborative projects on particular technical and social parameters necessary to sustain Greenskins in dense urban conditions in Fremantle, Western Australia. Results from trials of a prototype greywater Greenskin using vertical constructed wetland cells are reported. Through an experimental investigation of designing living green walls in urban Fremantle, this paper challenges the conventional "triple-bottom-line" approach to sustainable dense urban systems by addressing the greater aesthetic needs of sustainability and its thinking. Here landscape aesthetics looks to the collaborative fields of urban design, environmental engineering and landscape architecture to design new urban biophilic experiences and restorative landscapes for regenerative cultural pleasure, ecological responsibility, environmental stewardship and intellectual gain

    A Physics-Inspired Mechanistic Model of Migratory Movement Patterns in Birds

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    In this paper, we introduce a mechanistic model of migratory movement patterns in birds, inspired by ideas and methods from physics. Previous studies have shed light on the factors influencing bird migration but have mainly relied on statistical correlative analysis of tracking data. Our novel method offers a bottom up explanation of population-level migratory movement patterns. It differs from previous mechanistic models of animal migration and enables predictions of pathways and destinations from a given starting location. We define an environmental potential landscape from environmental data and simulate bird movement within this landscape based on simple decision rules drawn from statistical mechanics. We explore the capacity of the model by qualitatively comparing simulation results to the non-breeding migration patterns of a seabird species, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris\textit{Thalassarche melanophris}). This minimal, two-parameter model was able to capture remarkably well the previously documented migration patterns of the Black-browed Albatross, with the best combination of parameter values conserved across multiple geographically separate populations. Our physics-inspired mechanistic model could be applied to other bird and highly-mobile species, improving our understanding of the relative importance of various factors driving migration and making predictions that could be useful for conservation.This work was performed using the Darwin Supercomputer of the University of Cambridge High Performance Computing Service (http://www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/), provided by Dell Inc. using Strategic Research Infrastructure Funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council

    New Zealand labour force participation: the ninety years to 1981

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    This paper emanines labour force participation in New Zealand from l891 to 1981. It commences with a brief review of previous work in the area and then draws upon data from the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings to investigate participation races. Age-specific data for Maoris, non-Maoris and Pacific Island Polynesians are analysed and male rates are compared with female rates. The paper concludes by identifying unresolved questions requiring further research

    Exploring the anthelmintic properties of Australian native shrubs with respect to their potential role in livestock grazing systems

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    We measured in vitro anthelmintic activity in extracts from 85 species of Australian native shrub, with a view to identifying species able to provide a degree of worm control in grazing systems. Approximately 40% of the species showed significant activity in inhibiting development of Haemonchus contortus larvae. The most active extracts showed IC50 values of 60–300 mg/ml. Pre-incubation with polyvinylpolypyrrolidine removed the activity from some extracts, implicating tannins as the bioactive agent, while in other cases the pre-incubation had no effect, indicating the presence of other anthelmintic compounds. Plant reproductive maturity (onset of flowering or fruiting) was associated with increasing anthelmintic activity in some species. Variability was observed between plants of the same species growing in different environments, while variation between individual plants of the same species within a single field suggests the existence of distinct chemotypes. Significant activity against adult H. contortus worms in vitro was also demonstrated in a limited number of extracts tested against this life stage. Our study indicates that there is potential for Australian native shrubs to play an anthelmintic role in grazing systems, and highlights some plant biology factors which will need to be considered in order to maximize any anthelmintic effects.A. C. Kotze, J. O’Grady, J. Emms, A. F. Toovey, S. Hughes, P. Jessop, M. Bennell P. E. Vercoe and D. K. Revel

    Individual Values and SME Environmental Engagement

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    We study the values on which managers of small and medium-sized enterprises draw when constructing their personal and organizational-level engagement with environmental issues, particularly climate change. Values play an important mediating role in business environmental engagement but relatively little research has been conducted on individual values in smaller organizations. Using the Schwartz Value System (SVS) as a framework for a qualitative analysis, we identify four ‘ideal-types’ of SME managers and provide rich descriptions of the ways in which values shape their constructions of environmental engagement. In contrast to previous research, which is framed around a binary divide between self-enhancing and self-transcending values, our typology distinguishes between individuals drawing primarily on Power or on Achievement values, and indicates how a combination of Achievement and Benevolence values is particularly significant in shaping environmental engagement. This demonstrates the theoretical usefulness of focusing on a complete range of values. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

    Sensory profile & consumer acceptability of sweet cherries

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    The main objective of this study was to identify key drivers underlying consumer preference and acceptability of sweet cherries. This was achieved using a Flash Profile to identify the sensory diversity perceived providing sensory descriptions of a range of cherry varieties. Various preliminary experiments were performed to optimise the Flash Profile technique prior to the final experiment. In order to perform the final Flash Profile, six varieties of cherry were selected by Norton Folgate Ltd. and assessed by a panel of 12 assessors who all had sensory experience, but not with sweet cherry products. The Flash Profile results showed discrimination between the sweet cherries which was dominated by appearance, but texture and flavour appeared to have an influence. The same sweet cherry varieties were then put through a consumer preference test using a rank-rating method, where products were ranked in order of preference first, followed by a rating exercise to determine liking or disliking using the LAM scale. An internal preference map was generated using this data and this was extended by adding the Flash Profile and some analytical data to the map as supplementary data. The outcome was that flavour intensity and juiciness appeared to be key factors behind preference and acceptability of sweet cherries

    Using video and multimodal classroom interaction analysis to investigate how information, misinformation, and disinformation influence pedagogy

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    Misinformation is accidentally wrong and disinformation is deliberately incorrect (i.e., deception). This paper uses the Pedagogy Analysis Framework (PAF) to investigate how information, misinformation, and disinformation influence classroom pedagogy. 95 people participated (i.e., one lesson with 7-year-olds, another with 10-year-olds, and three with a class of 13-year-olds). We used four video-based methods (lesson video analysis, teacher verbal protocols, pupil group verbal protocols, and teacher interviews). 35 hours of video data (recorded 2013-2020) were analysed using Grounded Theory Methods by the researchers, the class teachers, and groups of pupils (three girls and three boys). The methodology was Straussian Grounded Theory. We present how often participants used information, misinformation, and disinformation. We illustrate how the PAF helps understand and explain information, misinformation, and disinformation in the classroom by analysing video data transcripts. In addition, we discuss participant perceptions of the status of information; overlapping information, misinformation, and disinformation; and information communication difficulties

    Multimodal classroom interaction analysis using video-based methods of the pedagogical tactic of (un)grouping

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    Grouping of people and/or things in school can involve challenging pedagogical problems and is a recurrent issue in research literature. Grouping of pupils sometimes aids learning, but detailed video-based analysis of how teachers (and pupils) group or ungroup (termed ‘(un)grouping’) in classrooms is rare. This multimodal classroom interaction analysis study builds on previous work by exploring how the Pedagogy Analysis Framework can help untangle complicated classroom interactions involving (un)grouping and identifies sixteen types of (un)grouping. The sample size is one class of thirty pupils (10-year-olds), their class teacher, and teaching assistant. Four research methods were used (lesson video analysis, teacher verbal protocols, pupil group verbal protocols, and individual teacher interviews). Six hours of data were video recorded (managed using NVivo). Data were analysed by two educational researchers, the class teacher, and two groups of pupils (three girls and three boys). The methodology is Straussian Grounded Theory. Data were recorded in 2019. We present how often participants (un)grouped during a lesson. We propose and use a grounded theory for (un)grouping which we call the ‘Exclusion, Segregation, Integration, and Inclusion (ESII) model’. Additionally, we discuss how misinformation and disinformation can complicate analysis of (un)grouping and examine different perspectives on (un)grouping

    Teachers' perspectives on the relationship between secondary school departments of science and religious education: Independence or mutual enrichment?

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    There is a gap in the research on the relationship between secondary school subject departments, particularly where, as in the case of science and religious education (RE), there is not the traditional relationship that may be seen in science and maths or across humanities subjects. More awareness of content taught in other departments is important for pupils' coherent experience of curriculum and schooling. This article reports on data from 10 focus groups with 50 participants from six universities, where student teachers of science and RE revealed a complex picture of relationships between the two departments in their placement schools. Furthermore, this article reports findings from a survey where 244 teachers and student teachers of science and RE shared their perspectives on the relationship between the two school departments. The measure was adapted from Barbour's typology, a classification describing the nature of the relationship between science and religion in a range of literature. The terms ‘conflict’, ‘independence’, ‘dialogue’, ‘collaboration’ and ‘integration’ were presented to teachers of both subjects. Little evidence was found of conflict between science and RE departments, but more ‘independence’ than ‘dialogue’ between the two departments was reported. In the light of these findings, the benefits of boundary crossing are explored alongside the role teachers should play in boundary crossing
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