Mathematical modelling of grass growth and production

Imperial Users onl

Are celebrities good for charities? Some new research (guest blog)

When Sharon Stone says she will kiss just about anybody for peace in the Middle East then a hostile reaction to the idea of celebrity activism is understandable. The juxtaposition of serious suffering and a glib actress can jar. But charities are getting better at matching their cause with a famous face who also thinks about the issues. POLIS and the Department of Media and Communications at LSE do a lot of work on humanitarian communications, so were interested in some new research by Manchester-based analyst Dan Brockington. This is his report

Rāmāyaṇa Notes I

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Charities and celebrities: a media myth?

If you want to get noticed, get a celebrity. That’s been the maxim for charities desperately seeking column inches to promote their causes. However, recent research has questioned whether journalists are always so easily attracted by actors and pop singers claiming ot have a conscience

MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS LEADING TO EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION AS A CAREER CHOICE

Districts nationwide continue to face the challenge of recruiting and retaining quality teachers for the classroom. The teacher shortage issue is bleaker when seeking teachers to fill some of the most critical subject areas needed such as math, science, and exceptional student education. The purpose of this study was to understand the motivational factors that contribute to an ESE teacher’s decision to remain in the teaching field. Over 600 ESE teachers were surveyed and asked to rate their satisfaction level over a range of multiple factors, and 247 teachers responded to the survey. Using quantitative methodology, a one-sample t test was used to determine the statistical significance of perceived teacher satisfaction. The study’s survey items were reduced to dimensions using exploratory factor analysis. Conclusions indicated that the majority of surveyed ESE teachers were satisfied with their ESE teaching assignments and planned to return to their classroom. ESE teachers indicated that administrative support and parent support were key factors in maintaining motivation to remain in the teaching field

Land loss and livelihoods: The effects of eviction on pastoralists moved from Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania

The recent history of East African pastoralism is dominated by land loss. Much is written about it, but the attention focuses on the injustices and politics of loss; this risks obscuring the mechanisms people use to overcome adversity. Little research has explored the detail of change to livelihoods consequent upon eviction from land. Pastoralism has long proven precarious, but pastoralists had strategies to cope with difficult circumstances. Catalogues of loss may overshadow the resilience that characterizes pastoralists' livelihoods. In 1988, the government of Tanzania evicted the inhabitants of the Mkomazi Game Reserve. This thesis examines the effects of eviction on the pastoralists who had lived inside the Reserve. It shows that Mkomazi's pastures were becoming increasingly important to pastoralists from several ethnic groups before the Reserve was established. Afterwards residence by some pastoralists continued, but government officials were unable to control illegal use by others. Stock populations grew, and the Reserve became important for the livestock economy. The evictions displaced thousands of people whose distribution was mapped from a survey of siblings. Evicted pastoralists dominate the populations of pastoralists who still live near the Reserve. A household survey conducted among the evictees shows that where herds have declined some families have become more dependent on farming and women's income. There is little to suggest that those evicted have gone to the towns. The effects of eviction are also visible in local livestock markets records, and its consequences are apparent in records of local opposition to the moves. At Mkomazi the changes to livelihoods, and the long record of resistance to conservation policies, demonstrate considerable tenacity. By documenting the losses, and the responses to them, this thesis describes how impoverishment is challenged by the resolve of those dealing with unwelcome change