Letter from Audrey Wood to Hubert Creekmore

Wood writes from New York City on Liebling-Wood Authors\u27 and Actors\u27 Representatives letterhead She writes to Creekmore in Jackson, Mississippi, to say that she does not believe that The Welcome is an easy novel to turn into a play. Includes envelope.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/creekmore/1051/thumbnail.jp

Letter from Audrey Wood to Hubert Creekmore

Wood writes from New York City on Liebling-Wood Authors\u27 and Actors\u27 Representatives letterhead. She writes to Creekmore in Jackson, Mississippi, about Mr. Stoller working with Creekmore to adapt one of Creekmore\u27s stories for the theatre, perhaps Cotton Country. Includes envelope.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/creekmore/1054/thumbnail.jp

Effects of composting manures and other organic wastes on soil processes and pest and disease interactions

Introduction Composts and manures are of major importance in providing fertility in organic farming systems, since synthetic fertilisers are prohibited. It is understood that composts have radically different nutrient release characteristics to those of uncomposted materials and manures, and it is believed that composting increases the beneficial effects of organic materials on soil health, soil quality, soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency. It has also been shown that some plant pests and diseases are suppressed through the application of composts and compost extracts to soils. There is considerable potential to use a wider range of feedstocks from on and off-farm sources and to improve the composting process and compost/manure application techniques. This review of scientific work to date was urgently required to help determine key research priorities to achieve this potential (Defra project OF0313). Project aims 1.To document the current standards, regulations and legislation relevant to recycling, compost/manure preparation and application and to review common UK practices relating to the preparation and application of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts. 2. To review current scientific knowledge (from the literature) of the effects of different composting processes on chemical and biological parameters in the finished compost or compost extract. 3. To review (from the literature) the effects of uncomposted materials, manures and composts on soil health and quality, soil fertility and crop development and nutrition. 4. To review (from the literature) the effects of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts on pest and disease incidence and severity in agricultural and horticultural crops. 5. To outline a proposed strategy for research which seeks to develop composting systems and compost/manure application protocols with a view to optimising soil fertility management and pest and disease control in organic agriculture and horticulture. Objective 1 - The current standards, regulations and legislation relevant to recycling, compost/manure preparation and application are documented in detail in the full report on Objective 1 (Appendix 2). Manures and uncomposted plant materials (e.g. green manures) are commonly used on UK organic farms. True composts (defined in the glossary, Appendix 1) are rarely prepared on UK organic farms, although there is increasing interest in their use, particularly on farms producing high value horticultural crops. An increasing number of companies are producing (or are interested in producing) composts suitable for use on organic farms as soil amendments or growing media. Objective 2 - The effects of different composting processes on chemical and biological parameters in the finished compost or compost extract are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 2 (Appendix 3). A short version of this review appears on pages 7-10 of this report. Objective 3 - The effects of uncomposted materials, manures and composts on soil health and quality, soil fertility and crop development and nutrition are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 3 (Appendix 4). A short version of this review appears on pages 10-13 of this report. Objective 4 - The effects of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts on pest and disease incidence and severity in agricultural and horticultural crops are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 4 (Appendix 5). A short version of this review appears on pages 13-17 of this report. Objective 5 - A proposed strategy for research was outlined which seeks to develop composting systems and compost/manure application protocols with a view to optimising soil fertility management and pest/disease control in organic agriculture/horticulture Organic farming systems are by nature holistic. In other words, they function as a whole and all aspects of the system are interdependent on many other aspects of the system. It is essential therefore that research which is carried out to optimise the use of uncomposted plant residues, composts, manures and compost extracts is interdisciplinary; that is it must be carried out with reference to the organic farming system as a whole and not just a single aspect of it. Technology transfer and knowledge transfer are key elements to the proposed strategy for research. Seminars and conferences, farm walks, demonstration farms and a wide range of publishing formats must be used to ensure that end users have full access to the results of research carried out in the UK and abroad. The amount of information which is available for dissemination to those who wish to make or use composts will naturally depend on the amount of relevant research and development work which is going on in the UK, Europe and worldwide

Improving the instructional leadership of heads of department in under-resourced schools: A collaborative action-learning approach

An unacceptable number of learners in under-resourced schools in South Africa are failing to perform adequately in national and international benchmark tests. Poor learner performance has been linked to poor-quality teaching, which, in turn, can be attributed in part to a lack of instructional leadership at schools. According to policy, heads of department (HODs) are best placed to offer such leadership, but in many schools this is not happening. We explain how we engaged HODs in one such school in a participatory action research process, to help them construct a framework for improving their instructional leadership. Qualitative data was generated through open-ended questionnaires, transcripts of recorded action learning set meetings, photovoice narratives, and reflective journals, and these were thematically analysed. The action learning framework developed by the participating HODs, while not being a definitive answer to improving the quality of teaching and learning, may provide guidelines for other HODs to improve their own instructional leadership practices. Since it is a process-based model, application of the model as an approach to improve instructional leadership could prove beneficial in both well-resourced and under-resourced contexts.Keywords: action learning; action research; distributed leadership practice; instructional leadership; participatory action research; school improvement; teacher professional developmen

Mojave Winds

Program listing performers and works performe

Classroom based action research with secondary school students of English Literature: a teacher-researcher's reflection.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on some of the professional and practical challenges which emerged during the process of carrying out a small scale action research project into different approaches to teaching English Literature in a Year 9 secondary classroom, completed in part fulfilment of the requirements for a higher degree. Design/methodology/approach – The author narrates an account of some of the difficulties faced by one emergent researcher whilst carrying out educational research in a comprehensive school in England. Findings – The author suggests that even within a research supportive environment where ‘research’ is encouraged or expected, there is often limited effort from management to articulate the practicalities or evaluate its effectiveness. Despite this, the author emphasises the benefits to teachers and students of undertaking small scale action research projects into issues of contemporary professional concern in the classroom. The author argues for the involvement of school administrators and universities in supporting teacher-researchers. Originality/value – The value of this research lies in acknowledging some of the challenges that emergent researchers might face in conducting research in the context of the classroom, which might enable other teacher researchers to anticipate and avoid similar problems in their own research and circumvent criticism from those who believe that educational research should not be carried out by teachers

Studying commuting behaviours using collaborative visual analytics

Mining a large origin–destination dataset of journeys made through London’s Cycle Hire Scheme (LCHS), we develop a technique for automatically classifying commuting behaviour that involves a spatial analysis of cyclists’ journeys. We identify a subset of potential commuting cyclists, and for each individual define a plausible geographic area representing their workplace. All peak-time journeys terminating within the vicinity of this derived workplace in the morning, and originating from this derived workplace in the evening, we label commutes. Three techniques for creating these workplace areas are compared using visual analytics: a weighted mean-centres calculation, spatial k-means clustering and a kernel density-estimation method. Evaluating these techniques at the individual cyclist level, we find that commuters’ peak-time journeys are more spatially diverse than might be expected, and that for a significant portion of commuters there appears to be more than one plausible spatial workplace area. Evaluating the three techniques visually, we select the density-estimation as our preferred method. Two distinct types of commuting activity are identified: those taken by LCHS customers living outside of London, who make highly regular commuting journeys at London’s major rail hubs; and more varied commuting behaviours by those living very close to a bike-share docking station. We find evidence of many interpeak journeys around London’s universities apparently being taken as part of cyclists’ working day. Imbalances in the number of morning commutes to, and evening commutes from, derived workplaces are also found, which might relate to local availability of bikes. Significant decisions around our workplace analysis, and particularly these broader insights into commuting behaviours, are discovered through exploring this analysis visually. The visual analysis approach described in the paper is effective in enabling a research team with varying levels of analysis experience to participate in this research. We suggest that such an approach is of relevance to many applied research contexts

Along theWriteLines: a case study exploring activities to enable creative writing in a secondary English classroom.

This article arises from a four week study of a class of 14-15 year old students. The study explored students’ perception of themselves as writers and the effects of a variety of teaching and learning strategies on their creative writing responses. The aim of the project was to enhance the students’ creative writing, whilst ascertaining whether there were particular activities or types of writing that would lead to students perceiving more satisfactory outcomes in their writing. It answers the research question: What do I observe, and what do my students say, about the experience of different classroom based creative writing tasks

Senior Recital

List of performers and performances