Community development, higher education institutions and the Big Society: opportunities or opportunism?

In his Prison Notebooks, written between 1929-35, Gramsci claimed that 'all men are intellectuals: but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals.' He used this term 'organic intellectuals' to illustrate that those working at grassroots level who have significant knowledge(s) about the way communities of all types work, are as important to the development of society as academic intellectuals. This article explores the current idea of a 'Big Society' as a hegemonic idea. This exploration is undertaken in relation to the current economic, social and political situation and with reference to the practice of community development, lifelong learning and the role of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in supporting this field of activity. In this article we use the term 'community development' as Tett defines in Morgan-Klein and Osborne (2007:104). She claims it means to 'increase the capacity of particular communities through targeted resources for particular areas'. We specifically explore the following areas: <p> • challenging the hegemonic ideas and policies • practising within the restrictions of cuts and limited resources • setting up supportive networks which will sustain workers • making meaningful international links abroad and using international examples of good practice • turning the ideology of the Big Society into an opportunity</p> We will pose the critical questions that we think need to be addressed and which we hope will help us to find direction and an understanding of the way forward at a deeper level. We hope to create both useful and innovative knowledge which will be a valid contribution to the field of community development

Why Wrestle with Being and Time? A Justification of Heidegger’s Methodology of Obscurantism and Obfuscation

It seems that complaints about Heidegger’s style of writing are common fare in secondary literature and the classroom. This paper argues that both Heidegger’s obtuseness and obscurantism work as methodological devices for effectively communicating and demonstrating his thought. By obfuscating, he forces breakdowns, which pulls the reader out of her ready-to-hand mode of reading/revealing, which otherwise threatens to fall into comprehending via reference from one’s average everydayness. By being obscure in some passages where taking the meaning in multiple ways will not interfere with the main points being made, Heidegger enables his students to form personal (existentiell) interpretations, allowing for the possibility of authenticity. Therefore, one of the most hated aspects of B&T is actually the demonstrative reification of its key concepts. Whether purposeful or not on the part of Heidegger, this methodology proves essential for understanding his thought

Towards a Curriculum of Rhythm: Learning at the Speed of Sound

This paper examines rhythm and repetition as possibilities for curricular wide-awakeness. When a rhythm is established, an expectation is established with it: patterned beats create momentum, so that subsequent beats arrive to a place that has been prepared by anticipation. But what happens when the rhythm stops? Grounded in the repetition of footsteps that constitute walking, this paper explores how rhythm offers pedagogical possibilities for curricular reconstruction, looking to the way that expectations for the future are informed by habits of listening to the present. It begins by framing the experience of monotony that can cloud sensitivity to daily life. Suggesting that “biographic situations” can be understood as beats in a historical phrase, the paper discusses poly-rhythms as invitations to observe, reflect and participate in the making of (rhythmic) history. Drawing on Deleuze, Pinar and Butler, it emphasizes the productive precarity of rhythm that is imminently falling away into the past, clearing spaces for new possibilities for imagining how circumstances and reactions could be otherwise. It concludes with a call to recognize the complexity of breaking with pre-established patterns of expectation, using sonic experience as practice for the cultivation of historical agency and ontological self-awareness

Intermixing of InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and quantum dots using sputter-deposited silicon oxynitride capping layers

Various approaches can be used to selectively control the amount of intermixing in III-Vquantum well and quantum dotstructures. Impurity-free vacancy disordering is one technique that is favored for its simplicity, however this mechanism is sensitive to many experimental parameters. In this study, a series of silicon oxynitride capping layers have been used in the intermixing of InGaAs/GaAs quantum well and quantum dotstructures. These thin films were deposited by sputter deposition in order to minimize the incorporation of hydrogen, which has been reported to influence impurity-free vacancy disordering. The degree of intermixing was probed by photoluminescence spectroscopy and this is discussed with respect to the properties of the SiOxNyfilms. This work was also designed to monitor any additional intermixing that might be attributed to the sputtering process. In addition, the high-temperature stress is known to affect the group-III vacancy concentration, which is central to the intermixing process. This stress was directly measured and the experimental values are compared with an elastic-deformation model.This work has been made possible with access to the ACT Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility and through the financial support of the Australian Research Council

Optimal distribution and utilization of donated human breast milk: a novel approach

Background: The nutritional content of donated expressed breast milk (DEBM) is variable. Using DEBM to provide for the energy requirements of neonates is challenging. Objective: The authors hypothesized that a system of DEBM energy content categorization and distribution would improve energy intake from DEBM. Methods: We compared infants’ actual cumulative energy intake with projected energy intake, had they been fed using our proposed system. Eighty-five milk samples were ranked by energy content. The bottom, middle, and top tertiles were classified as red, amber, and green energy content categories, respectively. Data on 378 feeding days from 20 babies who received this milk were analyzed. Total daily intake of DEBM was calculated in mL/kg/day and similarly ranked. Infants received red energy content milk, with DEBM intake in the bottom daily volume intake tertile; amber energy content milk, with intake in the middle daily volume intake tertile; and green energy content milk when intake reached the top daily volume intake tertile. Results: Actual median cumulative energy intake from DEBM was 1612 (range, 15-11 182) kcal. Using DEBM with the minimum energy content from the 3 DEBM energy content categories, median projected cumulative intake was 1670 (range 13-11 077) kcal, which was not statistically significant (P = .418). Statistical significance was achieved using DEBM with the median and maximum energy content from each energy content category, giving median projected cumulative intakes of 1859 kcal (P = .0006) and 2280 kcal (P = .0001), respectively. Conclusion: Cumulative energy intake from DEBM can be improved by categorizing and distributing milk according to energy content

Database Applications in Science Data Systems for Low-Cost Satellite Missions

As in financial and business applications. satellite systems accumulate data sets over some time period. Certain portions of this data lend themselves to storage within a commercial database system. The advantages and disadvantages of using commercial database systems for storage of data related to satellite systems are discussed. The types of data stored in satellite science data systems are outlined. Case studies from MSX. NEAR and TIMED. three satellite missions developed at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. are reviewed. An example of database logical architecture to support science data queries is presented. Implementation lessons in INGRES and ORACLE are noted. Issues related to the user community in each case are discussed. In conclusion. a summary of the lessons learned from all case studies is presented

Towards a narrative pedagogy : how stories humanize representations of poverty

I examine and defend stories as learning opportunities and explore their impact on representations of poverty. First, I outline the territory of aesthetic education as demarcated by Maxine Greene and John Dewey. I explore the functions of two essential components of aesthetic experience, metaphor and imagination, arguing that stories have the capacity to link differences of circumstance and character by sharing common experience. Second, I direct the learning potential implicit in stories to education about poverty. I focus on the ways in which poverty is represented and how it is addressed by the international development efforts of wealthy countries. I explore the ubiquity of quantitative descriptions that probe solutions for poverty as if it were a problem of numbers. In this discussion, I contrast economic descriptions with narrative ones in an effort to understand how poverty can be re-envisioned to better represent the poor as people. Third, I combine the strengths of a narrative pedagogy with the need for re-representing poverty by viewing them through the lens of Paolo Freire's critical pedagogy. I examine the extent to which stories constitute opportunities for radical transformative education, opportunities which may contribute to a critical awareness of one's circumstances and one's agency to affect them. I conclude by arguing that stories should be a fundamental part of education about poverty because of their capacity to humanize representations of the poor through empathy. An original work of fiction is included and examined for the learning opportunities defended in the main argumen

A Therapeutic Vaccine Approach to Stimulate Axon Regeneration in the Adult Mammalian Spinal Cord

AbstractAxon growth inhibitors associated with myelin play an important role in the failure of axon regeneration in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Several inhibitors are present in the mature CNS. We now present a novel therapeutic vaccine approach in which the animals' own immune system is stimulated to produce polyclonal antibodies that block myelin-associated inhibitors without producing any detrimental cellular inflammatory responses. Adult mice immunized in this manner showed extensive regeneration of large numbers of axons of the corticospinal tracts after dorsal hemisection of the spinal cord. The anatomical regeneration led to recovery of certain hind limb motor functions. Furthermore, antisera from immunized mice were able to block myelin-derived inhibitors and promote neurite growth on myelin in vitro