Teachers’ perceptions of Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) and the implications for gender equality in science education

This paper explores the perceived effectiveness of teacher training covering inquiry­based science learning for primary school children in England. Teachers who initially took part in teacher training between 2011 and 2013 as part of the FP7 project Pri­Sci­Net were interviewed during spring and summer term 2014; teachers were asked to reflect on their students’ reactions and engagement. Teachers’ responses were thematically analysed, and the implications are discussed within the context of longer­term implications of primary science education on girls’ attitudes and aspirations in science across their subsequent educatio

Understanding causality and uncertainty in volcanic observations: an example of forecasting eruptive activity on Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat

Following a cessation in eruptive activity it is important to understand how a volcano will behave in the future and when it may next erupt. Such an assessment can be based on the volcano's long-term pattern of behaviour and insights into its current state via monitoring observations. We present a Bayesian network that integrates these two strands of evidence to forecast future eruptive scenarios using expert elicitation. The Bayesian approach provides a framework to quantify the magmatic causes in terms of volcanic effects (i.e., eruption and unrest). In October 2013, an expert elicitation was performed to populate a Bayesian network designed to help forecast future eruptive (in-)activity at Soufrière Hills Volcano. The Bayesian network was devised to assess the state of the shallow magmatic system, as a means to forecast the future eruptive activity in the context of the long-term behaviour at similar dome-building volcanoes. The findings highlight coherence amongst experts when interpreting the current behaviour of the volcano, but reveal considerable ambiguity when relating this to longer patterns of volcanism at dome-building volcanoes, as a class. By asking questions in terms of magmatic causes, the Bayesian approach highlights the importance of using short-term unrest indicators from monitoring data as evidence in long-term forecasts at volcanoes. Furthermore, it highlights potential biases in the judgements of volcanologists and identifies sources of uncertainty in terms of magmatic causes rather than scenario-based outcomes

Factors affecting growth and yield of short-duration pigeonpea and its potential for multiple harvests

Environmental and cultural factors that may limit the yield of short-duration pigeonpea were investigated over three seasons. Plants in the peninsular Indian environment at Patancheru grew less and produced less dry matter by first-flush maturity than at Hisar, a location in northern India where the environment is considered favourable for the growth of short-duration pigeonpea. However, with a similar sowing date in June, the mean seed yields of three genotypes, ICPL 4, ICPL 81 and ICPL 87, were very similar, at about 2·3 t/ha, in both environments. This was mainly due to the higher ratio of grain to above-ground dry matter at Patancheru. In addition to the first harvest, all genotypes showed a potential for two more harvests owing to the warm winters at Patancheru. The potential for multiple harvests was particularly high in ICPL 87, which yielded 5·2 t/ha from three harvests in 1982–3, 3·6 t/ha from two harvests in 1983–4, and 4·l t/ha from three harvests in 1984–5. The optimum plant population density at Patancheru was 25–35 plants/m2 for ICPL 87, but was higher for the other two genotypes. At Patancheru, the total dry-matter and seed yield of first and subsequent harvests were significantly reduced by delaying sowing beyond June. Generally, the second- and the third-harvest yields were lower on vertisol than on alfisol under both irrigated and unirrigated conditions. The total yield of ICPL 87 from two harvests was far higher than that of a well-adapted medium-duration genotype BDN 1, grown over a similar period. The yield advantage was greater on the alfisol because of the better multiple harvest potential of this soil. The results of this study demonstrate that properly managed short-duration genotypes of pigeonpea may have considerable potential for increased yield from multiple harvests in environments where winters are warm enough to permit continued growth

Effect of harvest methods on the second flush yield of short-duration pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)

Short-duration pigeonpea can give up to three harvests in environments with mild winters (e.g. minimum temperature above 10 °C) such as those prevailing in peninsular India (Sharma, Saxena & Green. 1978; Chauhan, Venkataratnam & Sheldrake, 1984). This is mainly due to the short time (about 120 days) taken to produce the first flush, and the strong perennial character of pigeonpea. The seed yield of short-duration pigeonpea in this multiple-harvest system may reach 5·2 t/ha (Chauhan et al. 198

A perennial cropping system from pigeonpea grown in post-rainy season

The feasibility of growing pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (Linn.) Millsp.] as a perennial crop was investigated during 1980-82. The medium-duration pigeonpea genotype 'ICP 1-6', sown in the post-rainy season at a population of 30 plants/m2, was allowed to perennate for 18 months, during which it produced 3 flushes of pods at 5,15 and 18 months after sowing. There was a substantial plant mortality after the first-flush harvest, but due to the high-sowing rate many plants survived and regenerated to form a closed canopy in the following rainy season. The mean yield of 2 seasons was 0.5 tonne/ha in the first flush, 1 tonne/ha in the second and 0.05 tonne/ha in the third. The yield from the second flush was obtained without weeding or insecticide spray and was comparable to that of the rainfed crop of medium-duration genotypes. Considerable leaf fall also occurred, which contributed 40kg N/ha to the soil. The yield from the third flush was very low to warrant continuation of the crop for another 3-4 months after the second-flush crop. At this harvest the mean firewood (air-dried stem) yield was 3.5 tonnes/ha. The system has good potential in the wet rainy season fallows in peninsular India, as it enables pigeonpea after the rainy season with little efforts and few inputs

Pulse Physiology Progress Report 1982-83:Part 1 Pigeon Physiology

In this report we present rpsults from work carried out between June 1982 and May 1983. The meteorological data for 1982-83 collected at ICRISAT agroclimatological observatory are shown in Fig.l and Table 1. This years rainfall of 741.6 mm was close to long terTII (1901-70) average of 800 rom and distribution conformed to a somewhat bimodal pattern during the rainy season. In Table 2 the monthly rainfall is shown togethpr with the deviation from the long term average. The meteorological data from June 1982 to December 1982, collected at Hisar agroclimatological observatory are shown in Table 3

From social contract to 'social contrick' : the depoliticisation of economic policy-making under Harold Wilson, 1974–75

The 1974-79 Labour Governments were elected on the basis of an agreement with the TUC promising a redistribution of income and wealth known as the Social Contract. However, the Government immediately began to marginalise these commitments in favour of preferences for incomes policy and public expenditure cuts, which has led the Social Contract to be described as the 'Social Contrick'. These changes were legitimised through a process of depoliticisation, and using an Open Marxist framework and evidence from the National Archives, the paper will show that the Treasury's exchange rate strategy and the need to secure external finance placed issues of confidence at the centre of political debate, allowing the Government to argue there was no alternative to the introduction of incomes policy and the reduction of public expenditure

Plant responses to fertilization experiments in lowland, species-rich, tropical forests.

We present a meta-analysis of plant responses to fertilization experiments conducted in lowland, species-rich, tropical forests. We also update a key result and present the first species-level analyses of tree growth rates for a 15-yr factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) experiment conducted in central Panama. The update concerns community-level tree growth rates, which responded significantly to the addition of N and K together after 10 yr of fertilization but not after 15 yr. Our experimental soils are infertile for the region, and species whose regional distributions are strongly associated with low soil P availability dominate the local tree flora. Under these circumstances, we expect muted responses to fertilization, and we predicted species associated with low-P soils would respond most slowly. The data did not support this prediction, species-level tree growth responses to P addition were unrelated to species-level soil P associations. The meta-analysis demonstrated that nutrient limitation is widespread in lowland tropical forests and evaluated two directional hypotheses concerning plant responses to N addition and to P addition. The meta-analysis supported the hypothesis that tree (or biomass) growth rate responses to fertilization are weaker in old growth forests and stronger in secondary forests, where rapid biomass accumulation provides a nutrient sink. The meta-analysis found no support for the long-standing hypothesis that plant responses are stronger for P addition and weaker for N addition. We do not advocate discarding the latter hypothesis. There are only 14 fertilization experiments from lowland, species-rich, tropical forests, 13 of the 14 experiments added nutrients for five or fewer years, and responses vary widely among experiments. Potential fertilization responses should be muted when the species present are well adapted to nutrient-poor soils, as is the case in our experiment, and when pest pressure increases with fertilization, as it does in our experiment. The statistical power and especially the duration of fertilization experiments conducted in old growth, tropical forests might be insufficient to detect the slow, modest growth responses that are to be expected