Awor nan ta yama nos criminal! (and now they can call us criminals!)

In this article, the author will question the seemingly obvious boundary between civil disobedience, as conceptualised by Rawls and Arendt, and several examples of criminal, or simply annoying, activities which don't meet their criteria, such as the case of the ‘Top 50'. The ‘Top 50' are multi-problem Dutch-Caribbean men, who refuse to adapt to predominant norms in Dutch society. IThe author argues that political aspects of their behaviour should be acknowledged, even if they engage in criminal behaviour and don't present explicit political goals. Firstly, she questions the way in which Rawls based his definition on a centralistic conception of governmental power and contrast it with Foucault's conception of normalising power, in which power is diffuse and cannot be restricted to the enactment of formal laws. Secondly, she discusses what the minimum requirements are to be able to classifyacts as civil disobedience. Rawls and Arendt draw a clear line between criminal behaviour and civil disobedience, but their requirements may be too strict. We might miss signals of injustice if actions that do not meet these criteria are excluded from the political discourse. The conclusion is that comparing Arendt's and Rawls' conception of civil disobedience with the behaviour of a marginal migrant group may be useful in questioning the boundaries of this concept and in making it more inclusive. A wider conception of civil disobedience may help to explain the meaning of deviant behaviour in terms of social critique and to challenge the traditional understanding of civil disobedience

Creating Authentic Literacy Tasks Influences Children\u27s Engagement and Motivation

The academic task assigned to students often dictates what the student will learn, and it plays a vital role of student’s motivation and engagement of learning (Turner & Paris, 1995). Thus, the creation and usage of authentic literacy tasks is critical for students’ learning (Parsons, Malloy, Parsons, & Burrowbridge, 2015). There are three types of motivation to consider: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and autonomous motivation. The use of authenticity, student choice, collaboration, and challenge are all components within a task that can promote student engagement and motivation. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is another way to bring in authenticity. Project-based instruction allows students participate in assignments that are challenging, provide voice and choice, and produce a product that has a purpose beyond school (Parsons, Metzger, Askew, & Carswell, 2010). Several examples and lessons are given to provide insight on how to incorporate different components of authentic tasks

Potensia:Denkgereedschappen voor het werk met marginale groepen

Potensia. Thinking tools for the reflection on professional work with marginal groups. In modern society, much is done to allow marginalised groups to participate in the ‘normal’ order. This PhD thesis focuses on power and counterforce within the network around marginalised groups. Starting point is a particular, local situation, which may be exemplary for other cases: a multi-problem group, which has been constructed by social care providers, the so-called Top50 of Caribbean Dutch men and the network around this group. This dissertation searches for thinking tools that may be useful in reflecting on how policy makers and professionals work with such marginal groups. Foucault’s analysis of the practices of power provides a starting point for describing professional interventions and policies as normalising power strategies. De Certeau’s distinction between strategies and tactics offers a useful supplement. Using this distinction, the manner in which the various actors relate to normalising power strategies can be made visible. Finally, the concept of ‘logics’, as defined by Mol, may be used to construct different patterns of thinking and acting of the actors. In this case five logics have been constructed: individual care, community care, security, ‘Change the Mindset’ and political logic. Conclusion The concepts 'normalising power, ‘strategies and tactics' and 'logics' can be used as thinking tools, which aid the reflection on work with marginalised groups. These concepts should not be used separately, but the toolbox of social work professionals an policy makers should contain all of them, in order to reflect effectively

The General Public’s Weather Information-Seeking and Decision-Making Behavior During Tornado Outbreaks in the Oklahoma City Metroplex In May 2013

Severe weather impacts the lives of many people. Today\u27s technology allows weather information to be distributed to the general public in many ways. However, it is not clear how people obtain information regarding severe weather, and how they make decisions based on the information. This study surveyed people in the Oklahoma City metroplex about their weather information–seeking and decision-making behaviors during the May 2013 tornado outbreaks. The preliminary results based on 124 survey responses show that people used and trusted television news most to obtain the severe weather information, followed by siren, weather radio, radio, looking at the sky, and smart device. Behavior during the May 31 storm was different than that reported for the May 20 event. On the positive side, more people sought shelter during the May 31 storm. However, the number of people attempting to leave the area in a vehicle also increased. These behavior patterns demonstrate the strong influence of the weather information broadcasted via television news on general public\u27s behavior

Heat warnings in Switzerland: reassessing the choice of the current heat stress index

High temperatures lead to heat-related human stress and an increased mortality risk. To quantify heat discomfort and the relevant dangers, heat stress indices combine different meteorological variables such as temperature, relative humidity, radiation and wind speed. In this paper, a set of widely-used heat stress indices is analyzed and compared to the heat index currently used to issue official heat warnings in Switzerland, considering 28 Swiss weather stations for the years 1981?2017. We investigate how well warnings based on the heat index match warning days and warning periods that are calculated from alternative heat stress indices. The latter might allow for more flexibility in terms of specific warning demands and impact-based warnings. It is shown that the percentage of alternative warnings that match the official warnings varies among indices. Considering the heat index as reference, the simplified wet bulb globe temperature performs well and has some further advantages such as no lower bound and allowing for the calculation of climatological values. Yet, other indices (e.g., with higher dependencies on humidity) can have some added value, too. Thus, regardless of the performance in terms of matches, the optimal index to use strongly depends on the purpose of the warningAna Casanueva was funded by the HEAT-SHIELD Project (HORIZON 2020, research and innovation program under the grant agreement 668786)

Overview of existing heat-health warning systems in Europe

The frequency of extreme heat events, such as the summer of 2003 in Europe, and their corresponding consequences for human beings are expected to increase under a warmer climate. The joint collaboration of institutional agencies and multidisciplinary approaches is essential for a successful development of heat-health warning systems and action plans which can reduce the impacts of extreme heat on the population. The present work constitutes a state-of-the-art review of 16 European heat-health warning systems and heat-health action plans, based on the existing literature, web search (over the National Meteorological Services websites) and questionnaires. The aim of this study is to pave the way for future heat-health warning systems, such as the one currently under development in the framework of the Horizon 2020 HEAT-SHIELD project. Some aspects are highlighted among the variety of examined European warning systems. The meteorological variables that trigger the warnings should present a clear link with the impact under consideration and should be chosen depending on the purpose and target of the warnings. Setting long-term planning actions as well as pre-alert levels might prevent and reduce damages due to heat. Finally, education and communication are key elements of the success of a warning systemFinancial support for this work is provided by the HEAT-SHIELD Project (HORIZON 2020, research and innovation programme under the grant agreement 668786)