The classification and management of limestone pavements - an endangered habitat

This thesis describes an in-depth study of limestone pavements across North West England and North Wales. The aim was to combine elements of geodiversity and biodiversity in order to create a holistic limestone pavement classification to inform future management. A field-based research protocol was used to assess a stratified random sample (46 pavements), accounting for approximately 10% of the limestone pavements in the geographical area. Detailed analyses of key elements are presented, along with important issues that continue to pose threats to this Annex One Priority Habitat. This research resulted in a comprehensive classification, using TWINSPAN analysis and Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling, identifying six distinct holistic functional groups. The prime factors driving limestone pavement morphology, and hence the classification, were established to be lithology, proximity to structural fault, altitude and human intervention, particularly in terms of grazing intensity. Three upland, open limestone pavement classes were formed. Of these, the richest in terms of geodiversity and biodiversity was the group with the thickest bedding planes and hence the deepest grikes, typically greater than 1m. The class that was most species-poor was "at the highest altitude (above 450m), formed on the thin limestones of the Yoredales. These were characterised by shallow, wide grikes. The third upland limestone pavement group had mid-range grikes, generally 0.5-1m in depth, and small clints. Two wooded classes were identified. One was a lowland 'classic' wooded limestone pavement group with deep, narrow grikes and shallow soils. Indicator species included Juniperus communis and Taxus baccata. The second wooded group was situated proximal to a major structural fault. In this group the pavement dip ranged between 10°-40° with well-runnelled clints that were heavily moss-covered. The sixth group was low altitude, proximal to the coast, characterised by low moss growth, un-vegetated clints and the presence of Ulex europaeus. Conservation management was identified as key to the quality of the limestone pavement habitat and this thesis identifies best management practises and links these to the holistic limestone pavement classification. Finally, as a sample case study, this thesis presents mollusc species and diversity from eleven of the Yorkshire limestone pavements. Analysis establishes significant links between geodiversity and mollusc populations, with key drivers for mollusc communities echoing those of plant species on limestone pavement.Funded by the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the University of Chester

Staying healthy: industry organisations’ influence on behaviours and services used by fishers

This study emerged in response to a previous report that used a strength-based approach to identify best-practice good-health behaviours in a number of farming and fishing communities, titled Staying Healthy: Behaviours and services used by farmers and fishers. This earlier report found there was a need for specific attention to the physical and particularly the mental health of those in the Australian commercial fishing industry. This included a better understanding of the issues, logistical and social barriers to good-health practices, and avenues of health communication and treatment. The 2013 Staying Healthy study echoed the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) research and development Plan for 2008-2012, Collaborative Partnership for Farming and Fishing Health and Safety, which advocated research into health, well-being and resilience in rural primary industries. These reports are coupled with widespread anecdotal accounts describing very poor physical and mental health within the fishing industry, including accounts of suicide and attempted suicide. As a contributor to a body of scholarly research, this study is supported by other literature, which is addressed, below. In this short section we introduce research that is most relevant to appreciating the findings of this study on fisher health and well-being

"United essential harmony" : the Puritan perception of Edward Taylor

Contrary to much modern opinion, the American Puritans, in the words of Edward Taylor, expected their doctrine to yield "United Essential harmony." This study is an attempt to find the harmony of which Taylor spoke in terms of some of his more prominent metaphors. An exploration into Taylor's figures appears appropriate, since he himself claimed the "Metaphoricall" mode of Scripture as his own "truth Speaking form." The five chief figures to be examined here are called in this study the hygienic, the erotic, the organic, the domestic and the forensic. The first four can be found more definitely in Taylor's Preparatory Meditations and Taylor's occasional poetry, and the last in Taylor's long poem, Gods Determinations. Taylor's "hygienic" figures are an exposition of New England preparationism, which required man to admit his sinful condition in terms of disease and degradation. The purposes of such description, however, were not ultimately to denigrate man but to set forth God's grace as correspondingly great and to show how, by his confession, man could assist the Lord in the preparation of the grounds of his own salvation

Prospectus, October 21, 1992

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1992/1019/thumbnail.jp

Gender, foundation degrees and the knowledge economy

This article questions the concept of ‘education for employment’, which constructs a discourse of individual and societal benefit in a knowledge‐driven economy. Recent policy emphasis in the European Union promotes the expansion of higher education and short‐cycle vocational awards such as the intermediate two‐year Foundation Degree recently introduced into England and Wales. Studies of vocational education and training (VET) and the knowledge economy have focused largely on the governance of education and on the development and drift of policy. Many VET programmes have also been considered for their classed, raced and gendered take‐up and subsequent effect on employment. This article builds on both fields of study to engage with the finer cross‐analyses of gender, social class, poverty, race and citizenship. In its analysis of policy texts the article argues that in spite of a discourse of inclusivity, an expanded higher education system has generated new inequalities, deepening social stratification. Drawing on early analyses of national quantitative data sets, it identifies emerging gendered, classed and raced patterns and considers these in relation to occupationally and hierarchically stratified labour markets, both within and without the knowledge economy

Detection and metabolic investigations of a novel designer steroid: 3-chloro-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-17β-ol

In 2012, seized capsules containing white powder were analyzed to show the presence of unknown steroid-related compounds. Subsequent gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) investigations identified a mixture of 3α- and 3β- isomers of the novel compound; 3-chloro-17α-methyl-α-androstan-17β-ol. Synthesis of authentic reference materials followed by comparison of NMR, GC-MS and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) data confirmed the finding of a new ‘designer’ steroid. Furthermore, in vitro androgen bioassays showed potent activity highlighting the potential for doping using this steroid. Due to the potential toxicity of the halogenated steroid, in vitro metabolic investigations of 3α-chloro-17α-methyl-α-androstan-17β-ol using equine and human S9 liver fractions were performed. For equine, GC-MS/MS analysis identified the diagnostic 3α-chloro-17α-methyl-5α-androstane-16α,17β-diol metabolite. For human, the 17α-methyl-α-androstane-3α,17β-diol metabolite was found. Results from these studies were used to verify the ability of GC-MS/MS precursor-ion scanning techniques to support untargeted detection strategies for designer steroids in anti-doping analyses.Synthesis and in vitro metabolic investigations of 3α/β-chloro-17α-methyl-5α-androstan -17β-ol was suppo rted by the Austr a-lian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP120200444) Strat egies for the detection of designer ster oids in ra cehorses

Coastal transformations and connections: revealing values through the community voice method

1. A wealth of evidence suggests an important relationship between nature and human health and well-being and this appears to hold particular resonance for coastal environments. Notably, this relationship has been explored in assessments of ecosystem services, or the benefits that people derive from nature. 2. In this paper, we extend the debate to encompass ideas around relational values which considers that human well-being is derived from relationships with nature rather than being solely delivered as the benefits commonly suggested in the ecosystem services literature. 3. The paper draws on conceptual ideas around relational values, sense of place, and environmental justice to understand the values and importance of coastal environments for people. 4. These value concepts are explored through detailed narratives revealed by participants in two case study UK coastal locations, using a form of civic dialogue and videography approach called Community Voice Method (CVM). 5. We find that despite levels of relative deprivation in our case study locations, interviewees express values which are striking in terms of the depth of care felt; values which are ‘time-deepened’ and shaped not only by what people do and are able to do but also by personal histories and memories which remain strong despite material changes and transformations in people’s lives and the places they live. 6. The CVM method in addition provides a practical approach for creating deliberative spaces to explore those deeply embodied and shared connections to the coast which are important and should have greater prominence in coastal management policy and practice

Learning through social spaces: migrant women and lifelong learning in post-colonial London

This article shows how migrant women engage in learning through social spaces. It argues that such spaces are little recognised, and that there are multiple ways in which migrant women construct and negotiate their informal learning through socialising with other women in different informal modes. Additionally, the article shows how learning is shaped by the socio-political, geographical and multicultural context of living in London, outlining ways in which gendered and racialised identities shape, construct and constrain participation in lifelong learning. The article shows that one way in which migrant women resist (post)colonial constructions of difference is by engaging in informal and non-formal lifelong learning, arguing that the benefits are (at least) two-fold. The women develop skills (including language skills) but also use their informal learning to develop what is referred to in this article as 'relational capital'. The article concludes that informal lifelong learning developed through social spaces can enhance a sense of belonging for migrant women