Catherine Raisin, a role-model professional geologist

This is a PDF version of an article published in Geology Today© 2003. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com. The illustrations have been removed.This article discusses the life and career of British geologist Catherine Raisin (1855-1945), especially her time teaching at Bedford College (where she was Head of Geography, Head of Botany, and Head of Geology, and became the first woman appointed as Vice-Principal of a college in 1898)

Emily Dix, palaeobotanist - a promising career cut short

This is a PDF version of an article published in Geology today© 2005. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com. The illustrations have been removed.This article discusses the life and career of British palaeobotanist Emily Dix (1904-1972)

The contribution of women to Welsh geological research and education during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century up to 1920 and the importance of a sustainable archive.

The importance of Welsh geology to the development of the science of geology and the stratigraphic column is underestimated and indeed the contribution of women to this process is largely overlooked. This paper explores the scientific contribution and the role that women played to the investigation of Welsh stratigraphy. The work of Gertrude Elles, Ethel Skeat, Ethel Wood and Margaret Crosfield, the socalled Newnham quartet of palaeontologists, and the educational contribution of Dilys Davies, the first female to study geology at Newnham College, Cambridge and of Annie Greenly to the work of her husband Edward Greenly on Anglesey is discussed. Catherine Raisin also contributed work on the metamorphic rocks of Wales and her work is examined. Without their contributions, Welsh stratigraphy would not be as advanced as it is today especially in the use of graptolite identification for correlation. However, scientific research was not the only contribution and other roles such as illustrators, proof readers, field assistants and teachers will also be examined against the background of the time. The fact that there were few higher education institutions in Wales at the time admitting women to geology is a significant factor for geological research. The contribution of female researchers to this research development is largely forgotten by both researchers, educators and the general public. This paper hopes to rectify these omissions

The first lady geologist, or collector par excellence?

This is a PDF version of an article published in Geology Today© 2001. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com. The illustrations have been removed.This article discusses the life and career of the British geologist Etheldred Benett (1776-1845), one of the first female geologists and and expert on the early history of Wiltshire geology

Celebration of the Centenary of the first female Fellows: Introduction

Abstract The Geological Society of London was founded in 1807. In May 1919, the first female Fellows were elected to the Society, 112 years after its foundation. This Special Publication celebrates this centenary Eighteen papers have been gathered to highlight recent research, carried out by 24 authors. The publication also builds on stories introduced in a previous Special Publication of the Geological Society, The Role of Women in the History of Geology edited by Burek & Higgs in 2007, the first book to deal solely with this topic, and Burek (2009). It fills in some of the gaps in knowledge with detail that has only recently been uncovered, leading to more in-depth analysis and reporting. The current publication includes more examples from the 20th century, and a small number into the present century, allowing some trends to be identified. The collective work is finding connections previously undocumented and in danger of being lost forever due to the age of the interviewees. The same work also identifies several common challenges that female geoscientists faced, which are still evident in the current investigations. By building on what went before, filling gaps in knowledge and enriching the histories, interesting nuanced insights have emerged

Raising awareness of anaerobic digestion in the UK - Views of key stakeholders

This is the open access PDF version of an article published in Journal of Environmental and Ecology© 2014.Meeting rising energy demand and sustainable development goals at the same time is a major challenge for policy makers in the 21st century. The situation is further stressed by a rising world population, climate change, natural disasters and food security concerns. Renewable energy technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) proffer one solution for policy makers to overcome some of the challenges to sustainable development. The technology has been widely adopted in some parts of Europe (e.g. Germany, Denmark, Austria and Sweden), the United States and also parts of Asia and Africa. However in the United Kingdom (UK), the technology is under-developed, as was recognised in its anaerobic digestion strategy and action plan of 2011. This study focused on identifying options for raising awareness of AD technology in the UK. 21 key stakeholders divided into groups according to their expertise, were interviewed to explore their views on the areas of focus in the UK strategy and action plan regarding raising awareness of the technology. The results revealed that aligning AD with sustainable development goals, community AD and localism, small AD plants, provision of an available market for AD products, building UK skills and diversifying biogas use from AD are positive options for raising awareness of AD in the UK. Challenges to these options and possible solutions to the challenges were also identified and discussed

The role of anaerobic digestion in achieving soil conservation and sustainable agricultural development in the UK.

Anaerobic digestion represents one form of renewable energy technology but has many wider benefits. This paper reviews the processes involved in anaerobic digestion, the type of systems in place and the use of digestate to improve soil quality. A case is made for the technology in the UK in the context of soil conservation and sustainable agricultural production. Its broader contribution to sustainable development in the United Kingdom is also considered. Low levels of awareness of the benefits of anaerobic digestion, poor access to funds, inadequate incentives, an unfavourable legislative and policy framework for the technology, limited application of digestate for agricultural purposes and the need for further research on digestate use are identified as key factors hindering uptake of the technology. Anaerobic digestion is presented as a technology that can support soil conservation and sustainable agricultural development while also generating both energy and income, enhancing waste and nutrient recycling and promoting environmental protection

Fractally-organized Connectionist Networks: Conjectures and Preliminary Results

A strict interpretation of connectionism mandates complex networks of simple components. The question here is, is this simplicity to be interpreted in absolute terms? I conjecture that absolute simplicity might not be an essential attribute of connectionism, and that it may be effectively exchanged with a requirement for relative simplicity, namely simplicity with respect to the current organizational level. In this paper I provide some elements to the analysis of the above question. In particular I conjecture that fractally organized connectionist networks may provide a convenient means to achive what Leibniz calls an "art of complication", namely an effective way to encapsulate complexity and practically extend the applicability of connectionism to domains such as sociotechnical system modeling and design. Preliminary evidence to my claim is brought by considering the design of the software architecture designed for the telemonitoring service of Flemish project "Little Sister".Comment: Draft of an invited paper for PEWET (1st Workshop on PErvasive WEb Technologies, trends and challenges), http://www.irpps.cnr.it/en/events/call-for-papers-pewet-pervasive-web-technologies-trends-and-challenge

Farmers’ perception of soil: Implications for soil conservation and sustainable agriculture in the UK

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Global Journal of Agricultural Research. To access the final edited and published work see http://www.eajournals.org/journals/global-journal-of-agricultural-research-gjar/We identify UK farmers' perception of soil, awareness of soil in terms of how they describe it, their awareness of its benefits other than for crop production,their familiarity with soil conservation and their opinions on soil protection and the value of organic fertilizers. Data were collected with the aid of social media using both Twitter and electronic mail to deistribute a survey link to farmers,UK yellow pages, Natural England directory and Twitter were used to search for farms. Data were analysed using SPSS and Wordle. Results showed that farmers' describe soils in abstract, scientific, physical attribute and functional terms. Awareness of soil benefits other than crop production was significantly related to age, and farm ownership. Educational level was significantly related to familiarity with soil conservation and opinion on whether soil should be protected like other natural resources. The implications of these results for soil conservation and sustainable agriculture are discussed and used as the basis for policy recommendations

Farmers’ Interest in Agricultural Technology and Organic Farming: Implications for AD Adoption and Sustainable Agriculture in the UK

We identify the factors that attract UK farmers towards a given technology, their interest in agricultural technology and their practice of organic farming. The implications of this on the adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) in the UK and sustainable agriculture are also discussed. Farmers were contacted by means of online survey, aided by yellow pages directory, Natural England directory, Twitter and electronic mail. A total of 283 farmers participated in the survey. The Chi square test was used to check for relationships between the variables measured at 95% confidence level (p<.05). Relationship strength was measured by means of Cramer’s V and Phi values. The results showed several significant relationships among variables, including relationship between interests in agricultural technology and gender, level of education, and farm size; between knowledge of what AD is and gender, level of education and farm size; between interest in AD and age; between willingness to invest in AD if it improved soil properties and farm ownership; and between organic farming practice and age, farm type and farm size. Results also showed a significant presence of female farmers, young farmers (< 30 years old), high level of education among UK farmers, and low level of organic farming practice. Areas for future research and recommendations based on the results are presented in the conclusion