Education as Re-Embedding: Stroud Communiversity, Walking the Land and the Enduring Spell of the Sensuous

How we know, is at least as important as what we know: Before educationalists can begin to teach sustainability, we need to explore our own views of the world and how these are formed. The paper explores the ontological assumptions that underpin, usually implicitly, the pedagogical relationship and opens up the question of how people know each other and the world they share. Using understandings based in a phenomenological approach and guided by social constructionism, it suggests that the most appropriate pedagogical method for teaching sustainability is one based on situated learning and reflexive practice. To support its ontological questioning, the paper highlights two alternative culture’s ways of understanding and recording the world: Those of the Inca who inhabited pre-Columbian Peru, which was based on the quipu system of knotted strings, and the complex social and religious system of the songlines of the original people of Australia. As an indication of the sorts of teaching experiences that an emancipatory and relational pedagogy might give rise to, the paper offers examples of two community learning experiences in the exemplar sustainable community of Stroud, Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom where the authors live

Spatial and temporal variation in movement patterns and behaviour of a large, coral reef mesopredator, Plectropomus leopardus, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Rising ocean temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change are expected to have significant negative impacts on the biodiversity and productivity of shallow tropical oceans, with concomitant effects on fisheries production. Tropical ectotherms are predicted to be particularly vulnerable to ocean warming due to the pervasive effects of temperature on their performance and physiology, combined with adaptation to relatively stable thermal environments. For many coral reef fishes, moderate increases in temperature lead to increases in individual performance and fitness. However, extreme temperatures (outside of those normally or previously experienced) often have marked adverse effects. During initial and short-term exposure to elevated temperatures, fishes may alter their foraging behaviour and increase food intake to compensate for increasing metabolic demands. Alternatively, fishes may conserve energy as temperatures increase. Or, they may move to more optimal habitats. To date, most of the studies on thermal sensitivities of coral reef fishes, have been conducted under controlled laboratory settings. As such, these studies may have overestimated the vulnerability of fishes to temperature because they do not take account of the ability of individuals to mediate the effects of increasing temperature through modification of their behaviour (i.e. moving to more optimal habitats). This is particularly true for large-bodied tropical fisheries species that are typically understudied in the wild. To address this problem, I used in situ observations and high-resolution passive acoustic telemetry to explore temporal and spatial variation in behaviour and movement of coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Plectropomus leopardus are an important coral reef mesopredator and are one of the primary species targeted by both commercial and artisanal fishers throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Previous experimental studies have shown that P. leopardus are sensitive to increasing temperature and ocean acidification (Chapter 2) though there have yet to be any field tests to establish their vulnerability to environmental change under natural conditions. To address this knowledge gap, I investigated spatial and temporal variation in foraging behaviour and activity patterns (i.e. amount of time spent resting) of P. leopardus from latitudinally distinct locations. From > 500 hrs of in situ observation, I found that P. leopardus exhibited increased foraging frequency in summer versus winter time, irrespective of latitude, however, foraging frequency substantially declined at water temperatures > 30 °C. In addition, the amount of time spent resting was greatest for P. leopardus during the summer time at both locations, however, the effect was most pronounced at the low-latitude location where individuals spent up to 62% of their time inactive, compared with 43% for the high-latitude population (Chapter 3). These results provided the first indication that P. leopardus moderate their foraging behaviour and activity according to changes in ambient temperature. Using fine-scale acoustic telemetry ( 27 °C (Chapter 4). Further, average acceleration for P. leopardus was 0.69 m.s⁻² and acceleration increased with increasing temperature up to 30 °C. However, the impact of ambient water temperature strongly influenced resting patterns for P. leopardus from the low-latitude location, where individuals were twice as likely to be detected at low-activity (i.e. resting) than individuals from the high-latitude location. In contrast, individuals from the high-latitude location were more active and detected more often undertaking routine activity indicating higher rates of activity for P. leopardus from the high-latitude location (Chapter 5). Finally, although P. leopardus altered their depth use on a daily basis, and in response to monthly temperature variation, it was notably small ( 50%) 3-D activity space than individuals from the low-latitude location (Chapter 6). These results indicate that P. leopardus are more likely to alter their horizontal rather than vertical space use in response to higher ambient temperature. Taken together, the results of this thesis suggest that ever-increasing ocean temperatures may impose significant constraints on the capacity of P. leopardus to meet increasing metabolic costs associated with higher temperatures (Chapters 2 & 3). Given projected increases in ocean temperature, P. leopardus may be increasingly constrained in their ability to obtain sufficient prey resources while forced to conserve energy (Chapters 3 & 4). Reductions in movement and space use will also have ramifications for individual fitness, population viability, and ecological function (Chapters 4, 5 & 6). This will likely have negative demographic consequences for P. leopardus potentially undermining the viability and sustainability of coral reef fisheries, particularly in low-latitude locations

The government won't release its analyses of Brexit's impact. We have a right to see them

The government has refused to publish its sector-by-sector analyses of the impact of Brexit, arguing that releasing them they would undermine its negotiating position. Molly Scott Cato (MEP for the South West) says businesspeople trying to plan for the future have a right to know what the likely effects of leaving the EU will be. It was, I thought, a fairly ..

Energy, security, and climate: rethinking the UK’s place within Europe

Molly Scott Cato discusses the link between post-Brexit energy and security policy, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine

Pseudodeterminants and perfect square spanning tree counts

The pseudodeterminant $\textrm{pdet}(M)$ of a square matrix is the last nonzero coefficient in its characteristic polynomial; for a nonsingular matrix, this is just the determinant. If $\partial$ is a symmetric or skew-symmetric matrix then $\textrm{pdet}(\partial\partial^t)=\textrm{pdet}(\partial)^2$. Whenever $\partial$ is the $k^{th}$ boundary map of a self-dual CW-complex $X$, this linear-algebraic identity implies that the torsion-weighted generating function for cellular $k$-trees in $X$ is a perfect square. In the case that $X$ is an \emph{antipodally} self-dual CW-sphere of odd dimension, the pseudodeterminant of its $k$th cellular boundary map can be interpreted directly as a torsion-weighted generating function both for $k$-trees and for $(k-1)$-trees, complementing the analogous result for even-dimensional spheres given by the second author. The argument relies on the topological fact that any self-dual even-dimensional CW-ball can be oriented so that its middle boundary map is skew-symmetric.Comment: Final version; minor revisions. To appear in Journal of Combinatoric

Understanding and Advancing the Preservation Trades (Appendix)

Showing a collective interest in the preservation and restoration trades workforce, four statewide preservation nonprofits (representing NY, VT, NH, and ME) joined forces in 2021 to create the Northeast Regional Initiative for the Preservation Trades. The initiative’s aim is to better understand this issue and develop courses of action to foster a more robust and sustainable preservation trades workforce. In 2022, specialists from UNH Cooperative Extension’s Community and Economic Development team partnered with this initiative to lead a multi-methods research project consisting of a survey, interviews, and focus groups with trades professionals, preservation specialists, workforce development professionals, educators, and other stakeholders

Understanding and Advancing the Preservation Trades (2-page view))

Showing a collective interest in the preservation and restoration trades workforce, four statewide preservation nonprofits (representing NY, VT, NH, and ME) joined forces in 2021 to create the Northeast Regional Initiative for the Preservation Trades. The initiative’s aim is to better understand this issue and develop courses of action to foster a more robust and sustainable preservation trades workforce. In 2022, specialists from UNH Cooperative Extension’s Community and Economic Development team partnered with this initiative to lead a multi-methods research project consisting of a survey, interviews, and focus groups with trades professionals, preservation specialists, workforce development professionals, educators, and other stakeholders

Understanding and Advancing the Preservation Trades

Showing a collective interest in the preservation and restoration trades workforce, four statewide preservation nonprofits (representing NY, VT, NH, and ME) joined forces in 2021 to create the Northeast Regional Initiative for the Preservation Trades. The initiative’s aim is to better understand this issue and develop courses of action to foster a more robust and sustainable preservation trades workforce. In 2022, specialists from UNH Cooperative Extension’s Community and Economic Development team partnered with this initiative to lead a multi-methods research project consisting of a survey, interviews, and focus groups with trades professionals, preservation specialists, workforce development professionals, educators, and other stakeholders

Pandemic-Related Business Assistance, July 2021

The CARES Act is the largest stimulus package passed in the United States to date. On 12/27/2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was passed, providing $900 billion in stimulus relief for the pandemic. Another 1.4 trillion in spending helped plan the 2021 federal fiscal year. On 3/11/2021, the American Rescue Plan was passed providing an additional$1.9 trillion in economic stimulus to further aid the country through the ongoing pandemic. The pandemic has caused an unprecedented increase in unemployment, the closing or suspension of operations for many businesses, a drastic reduction in the capacity to produce many goods and services, and a significant reduction of disposable household income. To assist with these economic emergencies, federal, state, and local governments have passed legislation to aid households and businesses, including some programs for nonprofits. The timeline illustrates various programs developed on the federal, state, and local levels (Cuyahoga County and Cleveland) initiated after the pandemic started. This brief groups the actions of all levels of government into four categories: general business support, small business support, industry-specific support, and unemployment benefits for individuals. The subsequent sections offer a summary of each program and a link to their full description. The timeline covers a period of time from March 2020 to June 2021 and shows which programs continue beyond September 2021