Resilience in the rangelands? Responses to change in the Amboseli social-ecological system of Kenya.

Over the past century arid and semi-arid systems have been undergoing an accelerating process of change. Rapidly shifting land-use is leading to fragmentation of rangelands, driven by socio-economic factors including population growth, globalisation, competition for land, tourism, intensification of production and political pressures. Increased climate variability and frequency of extreme weather events adds a further layer of complexity. The Amboseli system exemplifies the multiple stressors facing communities in these semi-arid contexts. In 2009, the area suffered the most severe drought in 50 years, during which an estimated 85% of livestock was lost to the Maasai pastoralists that inhabit the area. This interdisciplinary research used mixed methods and modelling approaches to investigate the impacts of and responses to this shock, as well as implications for longer-term processes of land-use change and climate change. The key findings of this research show first that the psychological impacts of the 2009 drought have implications for place-identity and cultural norms, both critical aspects of resilience in social-ecological systems. Second, this shock has thrown institutions into tension. In the context of multiple stressors, new power dynamics and shifting worldviews in Amboseli are giving rise to actions that may prove maladaptive in the longer term. Third, the decision-making processes leading to shifts in livelihoods and land use are determined by this multiple stressor context as well as access to resources and access to sources of power and authority. These are important components of resilience in Amboseli. Fourth, climate change and land-use change are likely to interact over the long-term to impact on vegetation structure and function in complex ways that will interplay with the local-scale dynamics described in the previous points to influence the resilience of Amboseli

Ambitwistor strings in ambitwistor space

This thesis is a recount of the research I undertook in the academic year 2016-2017 and the background work I learned from reading and attending lecture courses. Sections 2 and 3 are background sections providing an introduction to the concepts and methods that will be encountered in the research sections later on in the thesis. The research covered in this thesis is the process of producing the BRST charge for a String theory in Ambitwistor space. The string theory being investigated originates from [1] theory which is a particle theory and [2] which is a string theory in Ambitwistor space. Whilst the link between these two papers may not seem obvious at first but the particle actions these papers are based from are the same. However for the sake of simplicity supersymmetry, which appears in both [1] and [2], is not covered.The reason for the investigation of Ambitwistor string theory stems from Witten's initial paper on the subject [3] which showed led to a formula for tree-level 4 dimensional Yang-Mills amplitudes. And more recently Ambitwistor string theories of the form in [2] provide a way of producing amplitudes for Yang-Mills and gravitational amplitudes, known as the CHY Amplitudes,which were first shown in[4], [5] [6] and [7] which are a compact formulae for tree-level scattering amplitudes. It has been shown that the Ambitwistor String theory in [2] is able to produce expressions for higher order loop amplitudes [8], [9], [10], [11] and [12] to name just a few examples. From this point we seek to expand upon a theory that should be physically identical to the Ambitwistor string in [2] but representing it in Ambitwistor variables as has been done for the superparticle in [1].The difficulty with representing the string theory in this way comes from the gauge symmetry being reducible. This means that the gauge constraint is not independent and there are additional constraints that affect the degrees of freedom of the theory as ignoring the reducibility would lead to over fixing of the degrees of freedom of the theory. So the standard process of gauge fixing and introducing ghosts to reduce the degrees of freedom is followed, but we have to introduce another ghost system. The statistics of these ghosts are the same as those of the matter fields (in this case bosonic) and can be thought of as the reintroduction of those degrees of freedom that have been over fixed. However, in the case of this theory, it doesn't stop there. There is another reducibility constraint that shows that all of the degrees of freedom in the previous reducibility constraint aren't independent either necessitating the introduction of another system of ghosts. The goal of this thesis is to produce the BRST charge for the Bosonic Ambitwistor string represented in the Ambitwistor variables shown in [1] for future study. The procedure for doing this is outlined in [13] and is followed through the insertion of the constraints of the string theory. Once this has been done the nilpotency of the BRST charge is tested on several fields and constraints are obtained that fix the BRST charge to be nilpotent. After that following a similar procedure to Ohmori [11] A simple gauge fixed action for a free topological theory is produced

How Can Local Governance Systems Strengthen Community Resilience? A Social-Ecological Systems Approach

"At their core, donor-funded climate and disaster resilience programmes provide goods and services to help build assets and minimise the impact of shocks and stresses on people's lives and livelihoods. Little is known, however, about the way local risk governance systems and the broader institutional arrangements, in which they are embedded, mediate people’s access to these services and therefore lead to improved resilience. Drawing on Social-Ecological Systems theory, we explore those characteristics of risk governance systems believed to be more favourable for building resilience at the community level in different developing country contexts. These include: diversity; polycentricism and connectivity; decentralisation and flexibility; participation and community engagement; and, learning and innovation. This review paper proposes a conceptual framework and assesses the evidence linking risk governance and access to the services needed to build resilient outcomes, drawing particularly on evidence from the Sahel and Horn of Africa. In doing so, we can start to understand where the entry points might be for strengthening resilience and the conditions needed for community-level initiatives to be brought to scale from the bottom up." (author's abstract

To what extent does UK Government policy discourse shape the professional identity of teachers in England?

A strong sense of professional identity is vital for a teacher’s understanding, engagement and commitment to their role and helps them make sense of their work and wider relationships. It is also a key element in the development of agency and career stability. Understanding teacher professional identity helps policymakers make sense of how teachers commit to, and engage with, policy making formulation and enhances implementation. This research study ascertains the main characteristics of teacher professional identity through a review of the existing literature. Guided by Michel Foucault’s theory of power, it uses critical discourse analysis of 32 policy texts to uncover the way that government policy discourse may shape this identity. Through semistructured interviews with 12 practising teachers, the study evaluates the extent to which policy discourse shapes teacher identity of secondary school teachers in England. Findings suggest four characteristics of teacher professional identity: the self; knowledge of the subject discipline and how to engage pupils in this; the impact of experience; and the centrality of emotions, both in seeing teaching as a vocation and engaging student emotions. The critical discourse analysis indicates government policy discourse presents teachers in a negative light in a consistent and sustained manner. Far from being afforded professional status, teaching is presented as a technical skill with teachers charged with inadequacy and failing pupils through an unthinking enthralment to progressive pedagogies and an unwillingness to reform. Greater accountability within a reformed autonomous corporate structure with teachers taking more responsibility for social and economic policy are central planks of this reform agenda. Interviews with teachers suggest that teacher professional identity is indeed shaped by government policy discourse, but not in the way policymakers may hope. Teachers consistently push back on claims of inadequacy and embrace their professional status. Policymakers’ claims of the dominance of progressive ideologies is dismissed by a pragmatic approach to classroom practice. Far from shaping the teaching profession, policy discourse highlights deep misunderstandings between the profession and policymakers entrenching teacher identity further away from policy objectives

'Selling it as a holistic health provision and not just about condoms ?' Sexual health services in school settings: current models and their relationship with sex and relationships education policy and provision

In this article we discuss the findings from a recent study of UK policy and practice in relation to sexual health services for young people, based in - or closely linked with - schools. This study formed part of a larger project, completed in 2009, which also included a systematic review of international research. The findings discussed in this paper are based on analyses of interviews with 51 service managers and questionnaire returns from 205 school nurses. Four themes are discussed. First, we found three main service permutations, in a context of very diverse and uneven implementation. Second, we identified factors within the school context that shaped and often constrained service provision; some of these also have implications for sex and relationships education (SRE). Third, we found contrasting approaches to the relationship between SRE input and sexual health provision. Fourth, we identified some specific barriers that need to be addressed in order to develop 'young people friendly' services in the school context. The relative autonomy available to school head teachers and governors can represent an obstacle to service provision - and inter-professional collaboration - in a climate where, in many schools, there is still considerable ambivalence about discussing 'sex' openly. In conclusion, we identify areas worthy of further research and development, in order to address some obstacles to sexual health service and SRE provision in schools

Lesbian and bisexual women's human rights, sexual rights and sexual citizenship: negotiating sexual health in England.

Lesbian and bisexual women's sexual health is neglected in much Government policy and practice in England and Wales. This paper examines lesbian and bisexual women's negotiation of sexual health, drawing on findings from a small research project. Themes explored include invisibility and lack of information, influences on decision-making and sexual activities and experiences of services and barriers to sexual healthcare. Key issues of importance in this respect are homophobic and heterosexist social contexts. Drawing on understandings of lesbian, gay and bisexual human rights, sexual rights and sexual citizenship, it is argued that these are useful lenses through which to examine and address lesbian and bisexual women's sexual health and related inequalities

The shape of equality: discourses around the Section 28 repeal in Scotland

This article focuses on conceptualizations of equality in the discourses deployed in the campaign to repeal Section 28 in Scotland. I use the parliamentary debates and two newspapers: the Daily Record, which supported the campaign to Keep the Clause, and The Guardian, which supported repeal, to exemplify the different discursive articulations around equality and citizenship. I suggest that the Scottish example provides further evidence of the ways in which liberalism naturalizes heterosexuality as the standard for citizenship and thus bequeaths a hierarchy of 'equality' and citizenship in the realm of sexuality, wherein lesbian and gay citizenship is either rendered invalid or characterized as 'special rights'. However, within the narrow confines of the parliamentary debates, more expansive and differentiated notions of citizenship and equality are evident. Whilst I conclude that the 'shape' of equality achieved through the repeal has been moulded to support institutionalized heterosexuality - with Section 28 replaced by statutory guidelines on sex education which advocate marriage - I also suggest equality is contested, both through the recognition of transformations in heterosexual family forms and the appeal to non-discrimination as a democratic principle. It is possible, therefore, that current destabilizations of the heterosexual social order simultaneously destabilize the precepts of liberal democracy

Promoting the use of climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in sub-Saharan Africa: Results from the Future Climate For Africa scoping phase

While the impacts of climate change are being felt by people and communities now, many of the most severe impacts will be felt in the decades to come. This presents significant barriers to achieving long-term development objectives – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with low capacity to adapt to the future impacts of climate change. Factoring medium- to long-term climate information into investments and planning decisions is therefore an important component of climate-resilient development. We know little about how climate information is used in Africa to make decisions with long-term consequences, or how effective it is. We know even less about the barriers to – and opportunities for – using climate information in decision-making. How, then, should governments, businesses and donors strive for climate information to achieve Africa’s long-term development objectives? The Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) programme explores these questions and seeks to challenge many of the assumptions that underlie them. To guide the programme, six case studies investigated how climate information was being used in decisionmaking in sub-Saharan Africa. These comprised four country case studies: Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and a combined study of Accra, Ghana and Maputo, Mozambique; and two desk-based studies focused on long-lived infrastructure in the ports sector and the large hydropower sector. This report presents the results of the scoping phase