The EU and Climate Change in the lead up to Cancún: Impacts, Policies and Positions

This paper analyses the main consequences of climate change for the EU, the mitigation and adaptation policies it has undertaken and the negotiating stance it will adopt in the international climate-change negotiations. On 29 November the world comes together at Cancún in Mexico to discuss the development of global frameworks to, together, deal with climate change. Looking towards that meeting, in this paper we look at what a changing climate means for the EU in terms of its environmental and security impacts, we look at what the EU is currently doing or proposes to do to mitigate or adapt to climate change and, lastly, we look at what position the EU is likely to take in the negotiations at Cancún. The article considers that the EU’s strong stance on climate change in international negotiations is fundamentally driven by the significant environmental, social and security implications of climate change for Europe and that even in the face of difficult economic circumstances the EU is unlikely to alter its strong stance at the upcoming Cancún round of negotiations

High-frequency accelerometer recording of key predatory behaviors in vipers: validation and case study with Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus)

High-frequency accelerometer recording of key predatory behaviors in vipers: validation and case study with Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) Morgan Thompson, Richard H. Adams, Anna F. Tipton, and Dominic L. DeSantis Tri-axial accelerometers (ACTs) are becoming increasingly common in studies of animal behavior wherein direct observation of subjects in nature is constrained or impossible. ACTs are small (\u3c 1 g) piezo-electric (spring-like) sensors that measure three-dimensional acceleration (upward, downward, and side-to-side) derived from subject motion. When leveraged with advanced machine learning techniques, these data can enable precise automated classification of a wide range of movement-mediated behaviors. Until recently, ACTs were largely reserved for larger-bodied organisms or those most amenable to the temporary external attachment of devices. Ongoing ACT miniaturization has now expanded the breadth of organisms amenable to these methods. This project aims to expand on a recently developed framework for ACT monitoring in wild-ranging snakes, a group that has been mostly overlooked in biologging applications. We are currently conducting extensive captive validation trials for robust model training and testing to enable classification of predatory behaviors, including striking and ingestion of prey items, in Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus). Following captive validation, we will translate this method to the field with a population of C. horridus in the lower Piedmont of middle Georgia to evaluate the efficacy of externally attached ACTs for remote and continuous monitoring of predatory behaviors by wild-ranging vipers. We envision validation of this technique carrying significant conservation and management implications; real-time monitoring of foraging efficiency in the field opens the door to improved interpretation of the causes and consequences of variation in individual behavior and performance, and its ultimate effects on population trajectories

Supporting engagement in research through a game design competition

Digital games are an engaging medium that have previously been used for communicating research to different audiences. However, there is an opportunity for engaging people more deeply by involving them in creating games. This article reports on a game design competition, based on participatory design principles and game jam practices, which challenged university students to design games within the context of a research project. Based on their interpretations of research on human error in healthcare, teams created four games to be disseminated online to a wider public audience. We outline the competition format and reflect on the extent to which it was successful

Experiences of Education, Health and Care plans: A survey of parents and young people

An Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) sets out the education, health and care support that is to be provided to a child or young person aged 0-25 years who has Special Educational Needs (SEN) or a disability (SEND). It is drawn up by the local authority after an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment of the child or young person has determined that an EHC plan is necessary, and after consultation with relevant partner agencies and with children, young people and parents. EHC plans, and the needs assessment process through which these are made, were introduced as part of the Children and Families Act 2014. The Act, and an accompanying SEND Code of Practice1, sets out how local authorities must deliver these, including:• Developing and maintaining these collaboratively with children, young people and parents; • Supporting children, young people and parents to participate fully; • Focusing on securing the best possible outcomes for the child/young person; • Enabling participation by relevant partner agencies, to enable joined-up provision.The SEND accountability framework established in 20152 sets out an approach for assessing SEND provision in conjunction with the Act and SEND Code of Practice. The framework provides structure for improving outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families and, when applied, seeks to show how the system is performing, hold partners to account and support self-improvement. The framework applies at the local and national levels and to independent assessments of the EHC plan process – such as those carried out by Ofsted. In this context, the Department for Education commissioned a survey of parents and young people with an EHC plan, in order to build a representative national (and, where the data allows, local) picture of how parents and young people in England were experiencing the EHC needs assessment and planning process and the resultant EHC plans. The aim was to assess whether delivery of the EHC needs assessments and planning process and the resultant EHC plans reflected the intentions set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the accompanying SEND Code of Practice. The findings would help inform the SEND accountability framework.To achieve these aims the survey sought to answer the following questions: • To what extent do children, young people and families experience the EHC needs assessment and planning process as they are intended to be experienced; • How satisfied are children, young people and families with the EHC needs assessment and planning process and the resultant EHC plan; and • To what extent does this vary by local authority and by groups with different characteristics? The findings presented here and throughout the main report explore parents’ and young people’s responses to the survey questions. The report also explores where experiences of the EHC needs assessment and planning process varied for groups with different characteristics, applying a bivariate analysis approach3. The report only highlights such differences where these are statistically significant4.Department for Educatio

Education, Health and Care plans: A qualitative investigation into service user experiences of the planning process

An Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan sets out the education, health and care support that is to be provided to a child or young person aged 0-25 years who has Special Educational Needs or a Disability (SEND). It is drawn up by the local authority after an EHC needs assessment of the child or young person, in consultation with relevant partner agencies, parents and the child or young person themselves. EHC plans, and the needs assessment process through which they are created, were introduced as part of the Children and Families Act 2014. The Act, and an accompanying SEND Code of Practice, sets out how local authorities must deliver EHC plans. In 2016, a national survey commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) found variations in how EHC plan recipients experienced the EHC planning process across different local authorities.1 Based on these results, DfE commissioned two further research projects: a multivariate analysis of factors affecting satisfaction with the EHC planning process, and this qualitative investigation of user experiences of the EHC planning process. The qualitative investigation consisted of two distinct exercises: • Twenty-five face-to-face in-depth interviews with parents involved in the 2016 survey, with the aim of better understanding factors that lead to satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the EHC plan process. Thirteen interviews were conducted in local authorities with above average satisfaction, and 12 were conducted in local authority areas with below average satisfaction. • An evaluation of EHC plan quality focussing on plans provided by 18 of the 25 parents interviewed. The evaluation was conducted by a panel of 10 SEND experts with wide experience as SEND policy advisors, strategic leaders in LAs, specialist advisory teachers, officers in SEN statutory services, Special Needs Co-ordinators, teachers in special and mainstream schools and lecturers. There was little evidence of a link between families’ satisfaction with the process of getting the EHC plan and experts’ evaluations of the quality of the plan: this report therefore discusses these two strands of research separately.Department for Educatio

LEND ME YOUR EAAR: ENHANCING THE AFTER ACTION REVIEW TO INCREASE TACTICAL LEARNING

Leaders need more opportunities to train with their units to hone their skills. Leaders use After Action Reviews to improve themselves and their units. The After Action Review has existed since the 1970s and has not substantially changed in that time. New technological advancements in the last several years offer the opportunity to enhance the efficacy of the After Action Review for future leaders and units. One of these new technologies is virtual reality. Virtual reality presents trainers the ability to control all aspects of the training environment. It also enables thorough data collection and the ability to rapidly run through a scenario again. This project sought to identify the information gaps in live training and determine whether virtual reality enables tactical learning at the individual level. Using surveys and experimentation, the team concluded that virtual reality scenarios in concert with After Action Reviews can be used for tactical learning at the individual level. Through the course of the experiment, the team also discovered that servicemembers take advantage of opportunities to improve themselves regardless of their performance.Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

On the calibration of rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers modified by particle attachment and lamination

A simple but effective method for estimating the spring constant of commercially available atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers is presented, based on estimating the cantilever thickness from knowledge of its length, width, resonant frequency and the presence or absence of an added mass, such as a colloid probe at the cantilever apex, or a thin film of deposited material. The spring constant of the cantilever can then be estimated using standard equations for cantilever beams. The results are compared to spring constant calibration measurements performed using reference cantilevers. Additionally, the effect of the deposition of Cr and Ti thin films onto rectangular Si cantilevers is investigated