The digital age project: strategies that enable older social housing residents to use the internet

Provides insights into the factors affecting technology adoption for older and disadvantaged people, and provides training and interface guidelines and a potential model for other public housing communities to become more digitally aware. Research Aims The experience of social housing communities in countries like the United Kingdom suggests that while access to digital infrastructure and equipment is important, access alone does not equate to digital inclusion. The aim of this research was two-fold, namely to: Understand the impact of access to and use of the internet, within a community of potentially vulnerable consumers; and, Determine the strategies that may assist people living in public housing communities to become more digitally aware and enable them to take advantage of online services such as health, government, news, shopping and methods of online communication. The research also sought to determine what benefits may flow from information technology skills to perceptions of social connectedness, self-efficacy, resilience, health and well-being. Given that people with low levels of computer literacy typically face greater risk of cognitive overload in attempting to learn new technologies, the principles and guidelines from Cognitive Load Theory were applied to training materials and activities to minimise cognitive load and thereby facilitate learning. The research was designed with a view to providing important insights into the factors affecting technology adoption for older and disadvantaged people, as well as providing training and interface guidelines and a potential model for other public housing communities to become more digitally aware

Lower mantle structure from paleogeographically constrained dynamic Earth models

Seismic tomography reveals two large, low-shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean. These structures may have existed for several 100 Myr and are likely compositionally distinct based on observed seismic characteristics interpreted in light of geodynamic models and mineral physics constraints. We investigate the dynamics of the LLSVPs through the use of evolutionary models of thermochemical convection from 250 Ma to present day. We use a spherical convection model in which the anomalous structures have a high bulk modulus, consistent with seismic interpretation. A new progressive assimilation method incorporates constraints from paleogeography using a refined plate history model (with 1 Myr time spacing) to guide the thermal structure of the lithosphere and steer the thermal evolution of slabs in the uppermost mantle. The thermochemical structures deform and migrate along the core-mantle boundary (CMB) through coupling to plate motions and in response to slab stresses. The models produce a ridge-like anomaly beneath Africa and a rounded pile beneath the Pacific Ocean, which at present day agrees with tomography, waveform modeling, and other geodynamic studies. Plumes emanate from the margins of the domes and ridges of thickened boundary layer between the domes. Dense and viscous slabs can undermine the stability of high bulk modulus structures at the CMB. High bulk modulus structures are not necessarily required to satisfy dynamic constraints on the LLSVPs

Insights on the kinematics of the India-Eurasia collision from global geodynamic models

The Eocene India-Eurasia collision is a first order tectonic event whose nature and chronology remains controversial. We test two end-member collision scenarios using coupled global plate motion-subduction models. The first, conventional model, invokes a continental collision soon after ∼60 Ma between a maximum extent Greater India and an Andean-style Eurasian margin. The alternative scenario involves a collision between a minimum extent Greater India and a NeoTethyan back-arc at ∼60 Ma that is subsequently subducted along southern Lhasa at an Andean-style margin, culminating with continent-continent contact at ∼40 Ma. Our numerical models suggest the conventional scenario does not adequately reproduce mantle structure related to Tethyan convergence. The alternative scenario better reproduces the discrete slab volumes and their lateral and vertical distribution in the mantle, and is also supported by the distribution of ophiolites indicative of Tethyan intraoceanic subduction, magmatic gaps along southern Lhasa and a two-stage slowdown of India. Our models show a strong component of southward mantle return flow for the Tethyan region, suggesting that the common assumption of near-vertical slab sinking is an oversimplification with significant consequences for interpretations of seismic tomography in the context of subduction reference frames

Multi-competence and first language attrition

Introduction The multi-competence approach views bilingual development as a wholistic process that impacts not only on the linguistic system which is being acquired but on other languages that are already established in the mind/brain (Cook 2012). This perspective implies that the process commonly referred to as first language attrition - the changes to linguistic skills or language proficiency under conditions of reduced use - should be seen as an essential component of this wider picture. The assumption that bilingual development ‘involves the whole mind of the speaker, not simply their first language (L1) or their second’ (Cook 2012, p. 3768) puts developments and changes which occur in the first language while another is being learned or used on an equal footing with the development of the language that is being acquired. This status of processes of change in the first language, however, is not reflected in present-day linguistic research, with investigations of and insights into L1 attrition still lagging far behind the multitude of studies of second language (L2) development. The present contribution will give an overview of research in the field of first language attrition in a migration setting, and try to integrate those findings into the overall multi-competence framework. We would like to point out that, despite the fact that the term attrition is often perceived to imply negative connotations or collocations (cf. war of attrition), we do not use it here with any evaluative implication. On the contrary, in the same way that multi-competence approaches aim to consider L2 users in their own right and deny a special status to the native speaker on the assumption that ‘it is the users’ own language that matters’ (Cook 2012, p. 1), the variety used by the attriter is not to be seen as inferior, reduced or deteriorated: it is simply a system which coexists in the mind/brain, and thus within a larger ‘language supersystem’ with another (possibly dominant) language. We thus feel that, while the original label attrition may have been somewhat unfortunately and inappropriately chosen, it has become such an established term in the intervening years (with more than 5,000 hits on Google Scholar) that it would be counterproductive to change the nomenclature at this point

Growing Environmental Activists: Developing Environmental Agency and Engagement Through Children’s Fiction.

We explore how story has the potential to encourage environmental engagement and a sense of agency provided that critical discussion takes place. We illuminate this with reference to the philosophies of John Macmurray on personal agency and social relations; of John Dewey on the primacy of experience for philosophy; and of Paul Ricoeur on hermeneutics, dialogue, dialectics and narrative. We view the use of fiction for environmental understanding as hermeneutic, a form of conceptualising place which interprets experience and perception. The four writers for young people discussed are Ernest Thompson Seton, Kenneth Grahame, Michelle Paver and Philip Pullman. We develop the concept of critical dialogue, and link this to Crick's demand for active democratic citizenship. We illustrate the educational potential for environmental discussions based on literature leading to deeper understanding of place and environment, encouraging the belief in young people that they can be and become agents for change. We develop from Zimbardo the key concept of heroic resister to encourage young people to overcome peer pressure. We conclude with a call to develop a greater awareness of the potential of fiction for learning, and for writers to produce more focused stories engaging with environmental responsibility and activism

Research Focus: Nurturing socio-economically challenged learners' curiosity in chemistry

It is understood that ‘active learning’, in which students participate in their own learning, is effective in developing understanding (Michael & Modell, 2003). Students are likely to engage well in lessons that require participation and that challenge them to develop their understanding through hands-on experience (Koballa & Glynn, 2007). Learning outcomes are enhanced when enjoyment is high. This has been a cornerstone of Liverpool John Moores University’s programme of interventions delivered for the Royal Society of Chemistry project, Chemistry for All (CfA)

Detection of NMR signals with a radio-frequency atomic magnetometer

We demonstrate detection of proton NMR signals with a radio frequency atomic magnetometer tuned to the NMR frequency of 62 kHz. High-frequency operation of the atomic magnetometer makes it relatively insensitive to ambient magnetic field noise. We obtain magnetic field sensitivity of 7 fT/Hz$^{1/2}$ using only a thin aluminum shield. We also derive an expression for the fundamental sensitivity limit of a surface inductive pick-up coil as a function of frequency and find that an atomic rf magnetometer is intrinsically more sensitive than a coil of comparable size for frequencies below about 50 MHz.Comment: 7 page

A Global Plate Model Including Lithospheric Deformation Along Major Rifts and Orogens Since the Triassic

Global deep‐time plate motion models have traditionally followed a classical rigid plate approach, even though plate deformation is known to be significant. Here we present a global Mesozoic–Cenozoic deforming plate motion model that captures the progressive extension of all continental margins since the initiation of rifting within Pangea at ~240 Ma. The model also includes major failed continental rifts and compressional deformation along collision zones. The outlines and timing of regional deformation episodes are reconstructed from a wealth of published regional tectonic models and associated geological and geophysical data. We reconstruct absolute plate motions in a mantle reference frame with a joint global inversion using hot spot tracks for the last 80 million years and minimizing global trench migration velocities and net lithospheric rotation. In our optimized model, net rotation is consistently below 0.2°/Myr, and trench migration scatter is substantially reduced. Distributed plate deformation reaches a Mesozoic peak of 30 × 106 km2 in the Late Jurassic (~160–155 Ma), driven by a vast network of rift systems. After a mid‐Cretaceous drop in deformation, it reaches a high of 48 x 106 km2 in the Late Eocene (~35 Ma), driven by the progressive growth of plate collisions and the formation of new rift systems. About a third of the continental crustal area has been deformed since 240 Ma, partitioned roughly into 65% extension and 35% compression. This community plate model provides a framework for building detailed regional deforming plate networks and form a constraint for models of basin evolution and the plate‐mantle system

Teachers’ perception of chemistry outreach work, especially in the context of children’s social demography

The aim of this current research is to investigate teachers’ perceptions of the purpose and impact of chemistry/science outreach work. Considering views of educators, both in training and practice, is an important area to explore as teachers are the gatekeepers to these experiences and consciously or subconsciously have their own views about the value of these programmes. In addition, the teacher can influence a child’s view of their scientific ability which can potentially inform an individual’s decisions and perceptions regarding science as a career. It is necessary for a teacher to be aware of their pivotal role within the classroom and how their own ‘habitus’ may have an impact on those whom they teach. This pilot study was an illustrative exercise to analyse a small sample of data and provide a focus for a subsequent main data collection where the level of response will be much higher. The study sought to answer the following question; what do teachers in the North-West of England think about chemistry based outreach programmes, especially in the context of children’s social demography? However, no ‘conclusions’ or generalisations are derived from this small sample itself, only emerging themes are discussed. These themes highlight how teachers may perceive chemistry/science outreach to be of greater importance the higher the educational level and how these programmes may provide experiences and opportunities for students from a lower socio-economic background