The plot thickens

Fiction based on real people and events poses particular challenges for the writer. While the outline of the story has already been sketched by reality, sometimes the plethora of facts can be overwhelming, making it difficult for the writer to find the shape of the story. In this paper I will discuss my approach to turning a real historical event - a court case in late 17th century Edinburgh - into a piece of fiction. I will examine how I have used primary and secondary source material to create plot and character motivation

Improving the performance of concrete using 3D fibres

This paper examines whether 3D fibre reinforcement can improve the toughness and flexural strength of concrete, when compared to equal dosage of straight steel fibres. This work was carried out to determine structural qualities that may lead to potential enhanced performance when concrete is subjected to a bomb blast and in addition the same structural qualities may act as a safety measure in earthquake situations. The majority of injuries caused from bomb attacks are a result of fragmented building components energised by the blast wave, therefore it is vital to reduce fragmentation of concrete. It is known that fibre reinforcement can reduce fragmentation of concrete by increasing energy absorption. A three point beam test was conducted on two batches of beams reinforced with straight steel and 3D fibres respectively, so that flexural strength and post crack toughness could be calculated and compared. A paired comparison test was carried out between the straight steel fibres and the 3D fibres. 3D and straight steel fibres were also embedded in cubes, so that pull out testing could be conducted and compared for the two fibre types. 3D fibre reinforced samples proved to have a higher flexural strength and post crack toughness than straight steel samples. 3D fibres also had a much higher pull out value. After testing, 3D fibres continued to span the rupture plane after initial crack formation during 3 point bend testing, which held together the concrete matrix. These findings suggest 3D fibre reinforced concrete would perform better as a blast protection material when compared to straight steel fibre reinforced concrete, as the results show 3D fibres produce tougher concrete that hold together fragments after loading

Building Cross Cultural Competencies

The Building Cross Cultural Competencies project was developed with the aim of equipping undergraduate students at the University of York with skills to work in the globalised world, while at the same time assisting with the induction and orientation of international students, new to the institution and to study in the UK. The inspiration for the programme dates back to 2006, when one of the authors visited three Universities in New Zealand and Australia. These Universities were perceived to be further down the route to internationalisation (as defined by Knight 2003) than was the norm in the UK at the time. Innovations observed at Massey and Waikato Universities in New Zealand and the University of Sydney, Australia, were redesigned and redeveloped for use at the University of York, with the agreement of the staff involved at those institutions. In particular, a cross cultural communication module and two distinctive peer mentor schemes provided the nucleus of the idea for a new initiative at York that would span the employability and internationalisation agendas This paper identifies how the project redesigned and developed ideas taken from Australian and New Zealand Universities for use in a UK context. It makes links to the literature on student adjustment and institutional adaptation; peer teaching and cross cultural communication skills. It will also consider the problems and difficulties experienced as the project progressed.

School Budgets and Student Achievement in California: The Principal's Perspective

Presents the results of workshops conducted with 45 elementary, middle, and high school principals from California public schools. Documents the variety of resource allocation strategies used by principals to maximize student academic performance

Decoding U.S. media through framing theory: examining the coverage of Hugo Chavez in the New York Times and the Washington Times

2013 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The U.S. media frame news stories with certain keywords, sources, themes, tones, and concepts that influence what media consumers think about and how they think about certain issues or public figures, particularly international issues and leaders. In order to examine media framing of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, this qualitative content analysis compares media coverage in the liberal The New York Times and the conservative The Washington Times during the last year of the Bush administration and the first year of the Obama administration. By utilizing framing theory and Robert Entman's definition of political framing, this study explores how article themes, tones, and sources may differ among newspapers and may differ during different U.S. presidential administrations. This study suggests that U.S media often reflect the views of the American president and government, that a change in presidential administrations did affect how Chavez is portrayed in the U.S. newspapers, and that different newspapers framed the Venezuelan president differently

Collaboration in Cambodia: Are anti-trafficking agencies working together?

This study examined the presence and effectiveness of partnerships among anti trafficking agencies in Cambodia. Local NGOs and government ministries were questioned on a variety of topics including the scope of their agencies strategic goals as well as the number of partnerships they hold. I applied a biology based theory, Systems Theory, to my research in order to highlight the importance of collaboration. Based on a lack of respondents to my questionnaire, the information gathered from participating agencies, and literary research, I conclude that partnerships among stakeholders in the anti trafficking field in Cambodia are deficient, but that is not to say they are all together non-existent. While my sample size was limited, I was able to create a foundation for further research. Two examples of highly functioning NGOs are used to make specific recommendations to other NGOs in the field. In addition, recommendations are made to the RGC emphasizing the need for a more organized authority

Waving at soldiers

For most writers the first experience of narrative comes from within the family. Facts, opinions, distortions and – very occasionally – truth, are shaped into family stories. A first-time memoirist such as myself has to acknowledge her own unreliability as a narrator, and must unpick real from false memory, the accidently misremembered from the downright lie. In this piece I chart the uncomfortable experience of remembering and writing about growing up during the Northern Irish ‘Troubles’, focusing on the life and death of my Aunt’s husband. He was a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland during the worst years of the Troubles in the early 70s and latterly a constable in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). From their peculiar wedding in my parents’ front room to his death in a car crash five years later, exploring his story has confronted me with the long-denied impact of the Northern Irish conflict on my practice as a writer and teacher of creative writing

Interaction Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Emerging Literacy and Literacy Skills among Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Children: A Comparison Study

Socioeconomic differences in children’s reading and educational outcomes have been thoroughly documented throughout literature. Bobalik, Scarber, and Toon (2017) examined the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and classroom instruction on emerging literacy skills in pre-kindergarten children. The results supported the theory that children identified as belonging to a low socioeconomic status enter school with lower emerging literacy skills and benefit most from academic instruction; these children’s literacy skills substantially increased throughout the academic year, growing closer to those of their peers who were identified with a high socioeconomic status. The aim of the present study was to expand our understanding of the interaction effects of socioeconomic status and curriculum on emerging literacy and literacy skills by continuing the research into kindergarten. This study examined whether 1) differences in groups continued to grow closer to the mean or 2) the differences in groups became greater with the introduction of reading skills in kindergarten. Children (N=33) were recruited from a private school and a public school. The children from the public school who qualified for the Federal Poverty Guidelines for free/reduced lunch were assigned as having a low socioeconomic status, and children from the private school were assigned as having a high socioeconomic status. The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening – K (PALS-K) was used to measure the literacy skills in the kindergarten children. Results of the study indicated that literacy scores between the socioeconomic groups were not significantly different at the kindergarten level, however differences between the mean scores of the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten groups were found to be significant