The wicked and complex in education: developing a transdisciplinary perspective for policy formulation, implementation and professional practice

The concept of 'wicked issues', originally developed in the field of urban planning, has been taken up by design educators, architects and public health academics where the means for handling 'wicked issues' has been developed through 'reflective practice'. In the education of teachers, whilst reflective practice has been a significant feature of professional education, the problems to which this has been applied are principally 'tame' ones. In this paper, the authors argue that there has been a lack of crossover between two parallel literatures. The literature on 'wicked issues' does not fully recognise the difficulties with reflective practice and that in education which extols reflective practice, is not aware of the 'wicked' nature of the problems which confront teachers and schools. The paper argues for a fresh understanding of the underlying nature of problems in education so that more appropriate approaches can be devised for their resolution. This is particularly important at a time when the government in England is planning to make teaching a masters level profession, briefly defined by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) benchmark statement as 'Decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations'. The paper begins by locating the argument and analysis of 'wicked problems' within the nature of social complexity and chaos. The second part of the paper explores implications for those involved in policy formation, implementation and service provision. Given the range of stakeholders in education, the paper argues for a trans-disciplinary approach recognising the multiple perspectives and methodologies leading to the acquisition of reticulist skills and knowledge necessary to boundary cross. © 2009 Taylor & Francis

Dramatics in the church school

This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Thesis (M.A)--Boston Universityhttps://archive.org/details/dramaticsinchurc00wri

An Application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as It Relates to Children

This paper expounds upon a modem therapy which has emerged as an effective, albeit less conventional, mode for the treatment of people with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, is a therapy based on the premise that an effective way of coping with unwanted cognitions, such as those present in OCD, is for one to focus on life ideals and values. This approach contrasts with the conventional method of remedying the symptoms of a mental disorder such as OCD before pursuing life goals. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has several dimensions which will be discussed

Biogeographical Analysis of Picoplankton Populations Across the Patagonian Shelf Break During Austral Summer

The distribution and abundance of marine picoplankton populations in the Patagonia Large Marine Ecosystem (PLME) were quantified from samples collected during the COPAS08 (Coccolithophores of the Patagonian Atlantic Shelf Cruise) that took place in Austral summer from December 2008 to January 2009. Twenty seven stations were sampled at 5 depths for picophytoplankton and heterotrophic bacterial abundance using flow cytometric analysis and DNA nucleic acid staining. Additional samples were taken from a carboy incubation experiment to quantify the effect of increased CO2 concentrations on the picoplankton community. Results showed that cyanobacteria dominated the picoplankton biomass throughout the PLME, particularly at lower latitudes closer to the influence of subtropical waters, (between 38 and 48S latitude) which included stations 7- 10 corresponding to the Brazil current region of warmer, sub-tropical, oligotrophic waters, and at stations 20, 28,30,32 and 54 in deeper waters off the shelf-break; whereas picoeukaryotic abundance was greater at station 5 and across the shelf-break stations 15 - 18; 44, 48 and 50, at higher latitudes south of 45S. Cyanobacteria showed a positive correlation with temperature and a negative correlation with total dissolved inorganic nitrogen, whereas there was little relationship between picoeukaryotic abundance and temperature or nutrients. Heterotrophic bacteria showed a slight positive correlation with both temperature and cyanobacteria abundance. The results of two carboy incubation experiments to measure the response of marine phytoplankton assemblages to different pCO2 levels indicated that some members of the picoeukaryotic populations exhibited significant increases in abundance during the experiment. Cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacterial populations exhibited an increase in abundance over 72hrs, during the first experiment with water obtained from outside the coccolithophore bloom (at station 5), however this response showed no clear relationship with elevated CO2. Picoeukaryotes obtained significantly higher populations at 24 and 72hrs during the second experiment conducted with water from within a coccolithophore bloom at station 24 but similarly, the response did not arise from the increasing levels of CO2. The measured populations within each carboy experiment reflected different phytoplankton communities with unique taxonomic composition. Our analyses of the picoplankton within the hydrographic regions and during carboy experiments provide a baseline indication of picoplankton population distribution and abundance and present an important contribution to understanding the biological community within the PLME, a region of significance to understanding global biogeochemical processes

Long-Term Variability of Plankton Phenology in a Coastal Mediterranean Time Series (LTER-MC)

Long-term patterns of phenology were identified for 104 phytoplankton and 88 zooplankton taxa at a coastal, Mediterranean time-series station (LTER-MC) in a 23 year period (1984-2010). 25 phytoplankton taxa and 41 zooplankton taxa showed a significant long-term change in at least one phenological event, including only a few taxa among the numerically dominant ones. The most frequent changes in phytoplankton taxa (28%) were recorded in the onset of phenology, while most zooplankton (30%) taxa changed the month of seasonal peak. The changes in phenology recorded in phytoplankton were significantly correlated with salinity anomalies for 10 taxa and with temperature anomalies for 8 taxa. Among zooplankton, 12 taxa had changes in phenology that were significantly correlated with chl a anomalies and 9 taxa with temperature anomalies. An overall comparison of changes in plankton taxa belonging to 7 functional groups revealed a long-term earlier trend between the end (2010) and the start (1984) of the time series. The strong trend was driven by a significantly earlier trend in the second part of the time series (1995-2010). The observed changes in phenology and their relationships with anomalies of the environmental parameters indicate that most variability and changes occurred in spring and in autumn. Very few taxa changed phenology in summer

Seismic Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of Palaeocene Volcanic Rocks, Faroe-Shetland Basin

2D and 3D seismic reflection data in the Faroe-Shetland Basin have been used to remotely study buried, large-scale Palaeocene volcanic structures emplaced during continental flood basalt volcanism in the Faroe-Shetland Basin. The flood basalts were emplaced as thick and extensive pāhoehoe lava flows from multiple sources, including fissure systems close to the Faroese shelf and from volcanic centres within the basin. This thesis has investigated the distribution and internal structure of the flood basalts based on the hypothesis that volcanic eruptions produce volcanic depositional successions that record the temporal and spatial variations of the basin into which they are emplaced. Multiple eruptions will produce cycles of volcanic deposition that are delineated by hiatal surfaces. These successions can be recognised in seismic reflection data by applying seismic stratigraphic concepts in order to gain insights into the evolution of volcanic basin-fill. The Faroe-Shetland Basin contains a variety of depositional environments, including a deepening marine basin where continental flood basalts reached a palaeo-shoreline and constructed an extensive lava-fed delta system >1000 m thick. The delta is composed of 13 seismic reflection units whose stacking architecture primarily records variations in lava supply and accommodation. Modification of the delta front was by erosion and debris avalanches. The second environment is subaerial to shallow marine where the continental flood basalts emplaced multiple lava flows 10 - 60 m thick which coalesced to form extensive and overlapping lava flow fields. Four seismic reflection units have been recognised and record variations in source and supply of the lava flows. During reoccurring periods of volcanic quiescence, fluvial channels 350 – 500 m wide incised across the lava flow fields, constrained by flow field topography. The volcanic depositional successions used to reconstruct the volcanic basin-fill history of the Faroe-Shetland Basin indicate that eruptive styles and volcanic structures varying significantly over relatively small areas (tens of km2). Many of the seismic observations have been compared to outcrop analogues, are scale-independent and are indicative of emplacement environment. Analysis has also led to the development of a volcanic seismic stratigraphic model as depositional patterns produced during volcanic activity are primarily driven by volcanic supply. The results presented in this thesis have many important implications for stratigraphy, hydrocarbon exploration and basin modelling in the Faroe-Shetland Basin and therefore can be applied beyond the fields of volcanology or seismic interpretation