Knowledge development for organic systems: An example of weed management

Despite the large amount information on weed biology and specific weed control measures produced by researchers, organic farmers still prioritise weeds as an important area for further research. A recent project investigating weed management in organic farming systems has established that knowledge and learning are key requirements for this to be effective. Development of relevant, practically useful knowledge depends on access to information generated ‘scientifically’ by researchers and also to knowledge generated as a result of farmer experience with weeds. This requires that farmers, advisors and researchers take a participatory approach to collecting and processing information on weed management, using it to develop new and relevant knowledge. The appropriate framework for knowledge development is thus a collegiate one in which all stakeholders’ value and learn from the observations and experience of others. These findings have implications for the way in which research is conducted and funded

Alessi 95 and the short period Cepheid SU Cassiopeiae

The parameters for the newly-discovered open cluster Alessi 95 are established on the basis of available photometric and spectroscopic data, in conjunction with new observations. Colour excesses for spectroscopically-observed B and A-type stars near SU Cas follow a reddening relation described by E(U-B)/E(B-V)=0.83+0.02*E(B-V), implying a value of R=Av/E(B-V)~2.8 for the associated dust. Alessi 95 has a mean reddening of E(B-V)_(B0)=0.35+-0.02 s.e., an intrinsic distance modulus of Vo-Mv=8.16+-0.04 s.e. (+-0.21 s.d.), d=429+-8 pc, and an estimated age of 10^8.2 yr from ZAMS fitting of available UBV, CCD BV, NOMAD, and 2MASS JHKs observations of cluster stars. SU Cas is a likely cluster member, with an inferred space reddening of E(B-V)=0.33+-0.02 and a luminosity of =-3.15+-0.07 s.e., consistent with overtone pulsation (P_FM=2.75 d), as also implied by the Cepheid's light curve parameters, rate of period increase, and Hipparcos parallaxes for cluster stars. There is excellent agreement of the distance estimates for SU Cas inferred from cluster ZAMS fitting, its pulsation parallax derived from the infrared surface brightness technique, and Hipparcos parallaxes, which all agree to within a few percent.Comment: Accepted for Publication (MNRAS

Xenon isotopes in nanodiamonds and other presolar grains

pdf freely available cb 18/07/0

Vibrational excitation of diatomic molecular ions in strong-field ionization of diatomic molecules

A model based on the strong-field and Born-Oppenheimer approximations qualitatively describes the distribution over vibrational states formed in a diatomic molecular ion following ionization of the neutral molecule by intense laser pulses. Good agreement is found with a recent experiment [X. Urbain et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 163004 (2004)]. In particular, the observed deviation from a Franck-Condon-like distribution is reproduced. Additionally, we demonstrate control of the vibrational distribution by a variation of the peak intensity or a change of frequency of the laser pulse.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Examining Social Emotional Learning for Gifted Students

The purpose of this intrinsic qualitative study was to investigate the use of universal social emotional learning (SEL) curricula as a primary means for supporting the social and emotional developmental needs of gifted students in a large school district in the western U.S. The District, or case for this study, was not using any specific systemic social and emotional programming for their identified gifted learners. Through a constructivist social cognitive theoretical lens, the efficacy of universal curricula for gifted learners was explored. The increasing use of SEL in school reform efforts to improve academic success has provided much research on SEL curricula (Durlak et al., 2011; Elias et al., 1997; Zins et al., 2007). The goal of this study was to provide educational leaders a way to examine universal SEL programs’ efficacy for the affective programming needs of gifted learners. The large school district setting yielded participants purposively chosen to include one class in each of three elementary schools (n = 3) where gifted learners were included in regular education classrooms using three different universal SEL curricula – Well-Managed Schools, Second Step, and Conscious Discipline. A multi-step process was used to create an evaluation tool, the Social Emotional Learning for Exceptional Children’s Thinking and Emotional Development (SELECTED) Rubric™ (2017) with categories and sub-categories based on analysis of research-based best practices for supporting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners. Resources and references came from the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) standards, the state’s Department of Education, and others (e.g., Eckert & Robins, 2017; Neihart et al., 2016a; Robinson et al., 2007; Rogers, 2002; VanTassel-Baska et al., 2009). Data were collected via document analysis, 30-minute semi-structured interviews of the teachers and two district administrators, and the evaluation of the three universal curricula via the Rubric. The results of this study indicate that although teachers had various levels of knowledge about the affective needs of gifted students, they all saw weaknesses in their SEL interventions for meeting their gifted students’ needs. The findings of the study are based on a small sample size, yet the use of universal SEL curricula was not substantiated by these findings as an effective way to meet the unique affective needs of gifted students