The importance of collegiality and reciprocal learning in the professional development of beginning teachers

This paper discusses factors which enhance induction experiences for beginning teachers. It reports the findings from case studies which explore the impact of new entrants to the teaching profession in Scotland. The data suggest that the most supportive induction processes mix both formal and informal elements, but that the informal elements such as collegiality, good communication and a welcoming workplace environment should not be underestimated. The study also highlights the potential benefits of a more collegiate environment for teachers across the career phases. Experienced teachers and new entrants had a range of experience to offer each other, thus creating more cohesive professional working which was supportive of early career teachers while encouraging reflection on practice among the more experienced professionals

Research and Teacher Education: The BERA-RSA inquiry. Policy and Practice within the United Kingdom.

Across the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) initial teacher education (ITE) is under active development, with its content, location, control and quality often the focuses of sustained debate. Statutory and professional requirements for the sector inevitably reflect differing assumptions about teaching, teacher knowledge and governance. In exploring ITE across the four jurisdictions, this paper reviews policies and practices through two major focuses: first, the relationships between the declared teacher standards (competencies/competences) and research-informed teacher education provision; second, the ‘turn or (re)turn to the practical’ in teacher education, including policy declarations, changes in practices, and emphases and effects of the discourse(s) of relevance

Pupil participation in Scottish schools: how far have we come?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989), which applies to all children under the age of 18, established the overarching principles guiding pupil participation. In most European states, signatories to the Convention have enacted policies to promote the voice of the child or young person in decisions that affect them. In education systems strategies to enhance the pupil participation are an increasing feature of deliberation on education for citizenship, curriculum flexibility, pedagogical approaches and assessment for learning. Despite the positive policy context and professional commitment to principles of inclusion, translating policy intentions so that the spirit of the legislation is played out in the day-to-day experiences of pupils is a constant challenge. This article reports on research that examines how pupil participation is understood and enacted in Scottish schools. It considers how the over-laying of diverse policies presents mixed messages to practitioners

Representing climate and extreme weather events in integrated assessment models: A review of existing methods and options for development

The lack of information about future changes in extreme weather is a major constraint of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) of climate change. The generation of descriptions of future climate in current IAMs is assessed.We also review recent work on scenario development methods for weather extremes, focusing on those issues which are most relevant to the needs of IAMs. Finally, some options for implementing scenarios of weather extremes in IAMs are considered

Calculating the Incalculable: Is SAI the Lesser of Two Evils?

Christopher J. Preston’s use of the doctrine of double effect to claim that hypothetical climate engineers might very well be less culpable for climate harms than those who continue to emit greenhouse gases is unpersuasive. His argument rests shakily on the ability to determine and quantify climate harms and to distinguish forensically between their causes. He is also largely silent about the distributional effects of these harms and their ethical and political ramifications

Historical review of sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia: 1788–2013

Abstract: The report provides an overview of the socio-political factors and events that have influenced the development of Australia’s child sexual abuse legislation from 1788-2013. Key developments in relevant legislation during this period which are discussed in detail in the report include: the decriminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting males the removal of gendered language from legislation to enable the law to deal with matters involving male victims, female offenders and same sex offences broadening the definition of sexual intercourse introduction of specific legislation relating to child pornography introduction of mandatory reporting laws

Is it too late (to stop dangerous climate change)? An editorial

This editorial introduces a WIREs Climate Change Special Collection of nine Opinion Articles, each answering the question, ‘Is it too late (to stop dangerous climate change)?’ Given the rising sense of urgency--and for some despair—to arrest climate change, these invited authors were asked to develop their own answer to this question, or indeed to challenge it’s framing. What might ‘too late’ mean? Too late for what exactly, or for whom? What effect might the language of ‘too late’ have on the public imagination, on political discourse and on academic research? This collection of essays reveals a diversity of ways of thinking about the relationship between climate and humanity, different modes of analysis and different prognoses for the future, ranging from qualified pessimism through pragmatic realism to qualified hope

Diversity and abundance of plankton in an artificial wetland, Tottino Ponds

Tottino Ponds is an artificial wetland created in the middle of agricultural fields, near Monterey Bay, and filled with recycled waste water. The site consists of four 25-meter square ponds. A study was conducted between October 2000 and April 2001 on the planktonic organisms living in the ponds. A series of one-liter samples were taken on four different dates. The samples were preserved and sorted. The samples contained a total of 121,526 organisms ranging in size from rotifers to a tadpole (Pseudacris). A measure of chlorophyll concentration was taken at the beginning and end of the study. The results showed that copepod, rotifer, and cladoceran abundance varied with time and remained constant from pond to pond. There was a negative correlation between cladoceran and chlorophyll abundance. The diversity of Tottino ponds throughout the survey, using Simpson\u27s diversity index (1-I), was 0.51

Geoengineering at the “Edge of the World”: Exploring perceptions of ocean fertilisation through the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation

The Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation’s (HSRC) 2012 ocean fertilization experiment introduced a controversial geoengineering technology to the First Nations village of Old Massett on the islands of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia. Local debate centred on conflicting interpretations of the potential environmental impacts of the project and on the Corporation’s attempts to align its public brand with the Haida name and proud identity of environmental stewardship. More broadly, the controversy illustrated long-standing arguments about the desirability and feasibility of ocean fertilization as a geoengineering response to the threat of anthropogenic climate change. Using the HSRC case, this paper reports a novel situated study of public perceptions of geoengineering that combines ethnographic engagement with Q-methodology. Three distinct viewpoints on ocean fertilization are revealed, shaped by the unique confluence of social, political, cultural and environmental circumstances of Haida Gwaii. These viewpoints on ocean fertilization reflect different ideas held by local residents about planetary limits, about the way humans attain knowledge of natural systems and about the human values of, and responsibilities toward, nature. Although the revealed viewpoints are constructed through contextually specific local meanings, they engage with debates that emerge across a range of other geoengineering technologies and which reflect contested philosophical positions visible in wider environmental management and restoration discourses. The case of ocean fertilization off the islands of Haida Gwaii may therefore provide a useful benchmark for reflexivity in geoengineering governance. Our case study shows that engaging with the situated beliefs and values that underpin human attitudes and responses towards novel geoengineering technologies is a sine qua non for good governance. Even so, our results suggest such technologies will likely always be contested given the diverse ways in which people understand human relations with the non-human world