7,739 research outputs found
Beyond the beanbag? Towards new ways of thinking about learning spaces
This article looks critically at some of the assumptions in our current ideas about learning spaces, especially the arguments in favour of a shift from formal to informal learning spaces. It suggests that the formal/informal divide hides more than it reveals about the complex relationships between learning and the spaces in which it takes place; and that learning spaces in post-compulsory education remains an under-theorised and under-researched area. Instead we need to develop better conceptual frameworks and richer research methodologies so as to enable a more informed, constructive and creative debate. The article ends by exploring the implications of unpicking the âgranularityâ of different scales and types of learning space, so as to outline some alternative concepts for analysing what already happens and for enabling creative improvements to the socio-spatial encounters, relationships and processes of teaching and learning in post-compulsory education
Alternating quiver Hecke algebras
For simply-laced quivers, we consider the fixed-point subalgebra of the
quiver Hecke algebra under the homogeneous sign map. This leads to a new family
of algebras we call alternating quiver Hecke algebras. We give a basis theorem
and a presentation by generators and relations which is strikingly similar to
the KLR presentation for quiver Hecke algebras.Comment: 15 page
Biogeography of Endemic Dragonflies of the Ozark-Ouachita Interior Highlands
A common pattern across many taxonomic groups is that relatively few species are widespread while the majority are restricted in their geographic ranges. Such species distributions are used to inform conservation status, which poses unique challenges for rare or cryptic species. Further, priority status is often designated within geopolitical boundaries, which may include only a portion of a species range. This, coupled with lack of distributional data, has resulted in species being designated as apparently rare throughout some portions of their range, which may not accurately reflect their overall conservation need. The Interior Highlands region of the central United States harbors a rich diversity of flora and fauna, many of which are regional endemics. Among these are four dragonfly species considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need: Ouachita spiketail (Cordulegaster talaria), Ozark Emerald (Somatochlora ozarkensis), Westfallâs snaketail (Ophiogomphus westfalli), and Ozark clubtail (Gomphurus ozarkensis). I combined species distribution modeling with field surveys to better understand the current biogeography for the two species with ample presence data (S. ozarkensis and G. ozarkensis). Additionally, models were used to project speciesâ distributions under two climate change scenarios of differing severity. To assess reliability of model predictions, I used two machine learning algorithms commonly used with limited, presence-only data. Current areas of suitability predicted by both algorithms largely overlapped for each species. An analysis of variable contribution showed congruence in important environmental predictors between models. Field validation of these models resulted in new detections for both species showing their utility in guiding future surveys. Future projections across two climate change scenarios showed the importance of maintaining current suitable areas as these will continue to be strongholds for these species under climate change
Between unsafe spaces and the comfort zone? Exploring the impact of learning environments on âdoingâ learning
This paper explores how learning can be understood as a liminal space or transitional journey from one way of knowing to another; and where âdoingâ learning is as much about being inculcated into the un-noticed rules and conventions of education itself as it is about developing understanding of the content of a subject discipline.
By starting from Meyer and Landâs notion of threshold concepts and from ethnomethodological approaches which explore the âproblematic accomplishmentâ of everyday social and spatial practices, this paper considers how both new e-learning environments and more traditional face-to-face settings intersect with, and impact on, our conventional routines for producing and recognizing learning. Through a case study of a design project with interior architecture students, it explores what happened when attempts were made to inculcate a complex threshold concept - offering an alternative understanding of the relationship between disability and architecture to âstandardâ conventions of accessibility â in both the ânormalâ studio environment and online, via a blog.
The paper concludes by suggesting we need to understand much more about what kinds of unspoken social and spatial practices frame the learning process in different disciplines in order to explore how we can create effective liminal spaces for both teachers and learners
The e-revolution and post-compulsory education: using e-business models to deliver quality education
The best practices of e-business are revolutionising not just technology itself but the whole process through which services are provided; and from which important lessons can be learnt by post-compulsory educational institutions. This book aims to move debates about ICT and higher education beyond a simple focus on e-learning by considering the provision of post-compulsory education as a whole. It considers what we mean by e-business, why e-business approaches are relevant to universities and colleges and the key issues this raises for post-secondary education
Occupying (dis)ordinary space
This paper starts by outlining some key work in ethnomethodology, which understands everyday, unnoticed social and spatial practices as âproblematic accomplishments â(Ryave and Schenkein:1974 65-274). Such practices involve a considerable amount of detailed â usually seen but un-noticed â work in order to maintain the commonplace world where people know what âanyoneâ knows and does. We are interested to show how doing ânothing muchâ is a socially achieved activity; how such ordinariness has consequence for those who specifically 'cannot be ordinary'; and in the implications for the everyday occupation(s) of built space.
We do this by investigating occupation through the narratives and strategies of diverse disabled people using a tactic that Garfinkel calls breaching. He argues that the underlying practices in commonplace situations are best made visible through their disruption, through âmaking troubleâ (1967, 37-8). Disabled people are often not perceived as âanyoneâ â not because of any particular impairment but because they do not fit the unspoken conventions of what constitutes doing âbeing ordinaryâ (Sacks: 1984 413-429). Here we outline how a disabled-led perspective on occupation can reveal both the amount of work involved in negotiating physical space and how it goes unnoticed as ânothing muchâ.
Finally, we look briefly at Milton Keynes Shopping Centre to explore what kinds of descriptions of buildings such an approach might offer. We suggest that rather than simply mirroring what âanyoneâ knows or does, the design of a particular built space intersects in complex ways with occupation and doing being ordinary
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