Geochemical characteristics of Cambrian bitumen and Cambrian-Ordovician source rocks in the Keping area, NW Tarim Basin

The Cambrian Yuertus Formation and Ordovician Saergan and Yingan formation source rocks, which TOC contents of 0.38%–4.30%, are well developed in the Keping area of the Tarim Basin. Reservoir bitumen had been found in the Cambrian Wusongger Formation and Shayilike Formation. In this study, the geochemical characteristics of the bitumen and source rocks were analyzed through biomarkers for oil-source correlation. The results show that the characteristics of the bitumen and Yuertus Formation source rocks are similar. Comparatively, the Yuertus Formation source rocks and bitumen have lower Pr/Ph values and higher C28/C29 regular steranes values. The maturity characteristics and depositional environment of the Cambrian source rocks in the Keping area and the platform basin areas are similar. Plots of Ph/n-C18versus Pr/n-C17, Ts/(Ts+Tm) versus 4-/1-MDBT (methyl dibenzothiophene), and DBT/P (dibenzothiophene/phenanthrene) versus Pr/Ph distinguish the bitumen and source rocks well. As an original plot, we found that the Fla/Py (fluoranthene/pyrene) versus MP/P (methyl-phenanthrene/phenanthrene) intersection plot can be used to identify the possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to a certain extent and can distinguish between the Cambrian and Ordovician source rocks in this study. Comprehensive analysis revealed that the bitumen samples most likely originated from the Yuertus Formation source rocks. It was also found that the biomarker characteristics such as the shape type of the C27-C28-C29 regular steranes, triarylosteranes, and triarylosteroids are not applicable to distinguishing the Cambrian and Ordovician source rocks in the Keping area. These research findings provide references for studying the Lower Paleozoic oil-source correlation in the platform in the Tarim Basin

Global assessment of spatiotemporal changes of frequency of terrestrial wind speed

Wind energy, an important component of clean energy, is highly dictated by the disposable wind speed within the working regime of wind turbines (typically between 3 and 25 m s−1 at the hub height). Following a continuous reduction ('stilling') of global annual mean surface wind speed (SWS) since the 1960s, recently, researchers have reported a 'reversal' since 2011. However, little attention has been paid to the evolution of the effective wind speed for wind turbines. Since wind speed at hub height increases with SWS through power law, we focus on the wind speed frequency variations at various ranges of SWS through hourly in-situ observations and quantify their contributions to the average SWS changes over 1981–2021. We found that during the stilling period (here 1981–2010), the strong SWS (⩾ 5.0 m s−1, the 80th of global SWS) with decreasing frequency contributed 220.37% to the continuous weakening of mean SWS. During the reversal period of SWS (here 2011–2021), slight wind (0 m s−1 < SWS < 2.9 m s−1) contributed 64.07% to a strengthening of SWS. The strengthened strong wind (⩾ 5.0 m s−1) contributed 73.38% to the trend change of SWS from decrease to increase in 2010. Based on the synthetic capacity factor series calculated by considering commercial wind turbines (General Electric GE 2.5-120 model with rated power 2.5 MW) at the locations of the meteorological stations, the frequency changes resulted in a reduction of wind power energy (−10.02 TWh yr−1, p < 0.001) from 1981 to 2010 and relatively weak recovery (2.67 TWh yr−1, p < 0.05) during 2011–2021.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42071022), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund (2022A1515240070) and the start-up fund provided by Southern University of Science and Technology (no. 29/Y01296122). C A-M was supported by the IBER-STILLING (RTI2018-095749-A-I00, MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE); VENTS (GVA-AICO/2021/023); the CSIC Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform (PTI) Clima (PTI-CLIMA); and the 2021 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation. RJHD was supported by the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme funded by BEIS and by the UK-China Research & Innovation Partnership Fund through the Met Office Climate Science for Service Partnership (CSSP) China as part of the Newton Fund. SJ was supported by the Ramon y Cajal program and the OPEN project (RYC2020-029993-I and TED2021-131074B-I00, MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE)

Introduction -- Broadening Teacher Candidates’ Horizons: An Introduction to the Teacher Education Reciprocal Learning Program

The Teacher Education Reciprocal Learning Program (RLP) is a collaborative initiative between the University of Windsor (UW), Canada, Southwest University (SWU), China, in partnership with Greater Essex County District School Board and Chinese schools associated with SWU.&nbsp; The program, founded in 2010 through SWU Teacher Education fund and UW Strategic Priority Fund with in-kind contributions from Greater Essex County District School Board, is designed to provide an exceptional experience with international engagement, to broaden teacher candidates’ horizons for a society of increasing diversity, to foster international collaboration among faculty members who are interested in cross-cultural studies and multicultural education, and to enhance the international reputation of the University of Windsor (Xu, 2011a). The RLP is one of the foundational programs which provide research contexts and settings for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant Project entitled “Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education between Canada and China” (Xu &amp; Connelly, 2013-2020)

Connelly, F. Michael, and Shijing Xu, The Landscape of Curriculum and Instruction: Diversity and Continuity, pp 514-533 in F. Michael Connelly, Ming Fang He, and JoAnn Phillion, eds., The SAGE Handbook of Curriculum and Instruction. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008.

Reflects on the content and significance of all the chapters in the Handbook; summarizes the current state-of-the-field of curriculum studies in its historical context and in relation to the 1992 Handbook; highlights global and comparative curriculum work

Connelly, F. Michael, and Shijing Xu, Curriculum and Curriculum Studies, pp 115-124 in J. Arthur Peterson and Andrew Peterson, eds., The Routledge Companion to Education. New York: Routledge, 2011.

Defines both terms in the title of this article; gives definitions of the structured elements found in curriculum and in curriculum studies; discusses curriculum theory and future developments

Connelly, F. Michael, with Shijing Xu, On the State of Curriculum Studies: A Personal Practical Inquiry, Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 9(Nos. 1 & 2, 2007). 3-19.

Traces the author\u27s entry into and contributions to the field of Curriculum Studies; highlights the study of teacher\u27s practical knowledge; two related articles follow

Connelly, F. Michael, and Shijing Xu, An Overview of Research in Curriculum Inquiry, pp. 324-334 in Penelope Peterson, Eva Baker, and Barry McGaw, eds., International Encyclopedia of Education, 3rd ed. (8 volumes) Oxford: Elsevier, 2010.

Summarizes the state of research in Curriculum Inquiry as of the date of publication of the third edition of this encyclopedia; identifies background and issues related to this field of research; discusses two ways of thinking about the structure of the field and of curriculum inquiry--the practice-context-theory organization and that which is organized around subject matter, topics, preoccupations, and curriculum theory; makes note of five ongoing trends that have continued to develop over recent years; and lists five questions deserving future attention in Curriculum Inquiry

Chinese Pre-Service Students’ Cross-Cultural Perceptions on Canadian Generalist Teachers Contextualized in Reciprocal Learning Program: A Narrative Inquiry

In Canadian elementary schools, teachers are under increasing pressure to be generalist practitioners in all subjects which are becoming more and more specialized and complex based on elementary curriculum (Pollock & Minszak, 2015) and at same time they are under pressure to be specialist teachers in certain subject areas such as math(Stokke, 2015). According to Ontario College of Teachers, “Ontario applicants who complete their application for a certificate of qualification and registration on or after March 31, 2020 must pass a Mathematics Proficiency Test in order to become certified, whether or not the application was started before that date”. How Chinese pre-service teachers from a different teaching tradition view a totally different teaching tradition can provide valuable insights to Canadian policy makers and educators, especially when high-risk test and accountability are highly stressed in Canada. This study is to explore Chinese pre-service teachers’ cross-cultural perceptions on generalist teachers in Canadian elementary schools when they did their cross-cultural placement through Reciprocal Learning Program with narrative inquiry as its methodology. Reciprocal Learning as Partnership (Xu & Connelly, 2017) shapes the theoretical framework. Chinese students’ weekly reflection, weekly debriefing and casual talks are the data of this study and thematic data analysis is the method of data analysis. The results show that from Chinese pre-service teachers’ cross-cultural understanding, generalist and specialist teachers have both advantages and disadvantages. Chinese teachers need to be cautioned to borrow this type of teaching method, and Canadian teachers need to be more specialized in some subjects such as math and science