Discussing difference, discovering similarities: A toolkit of learning activities to improve cross-cultural exchange between students of different cultural backgrounds

This document is the output from a project commissioned under the Prime Minister's Initiative on international student mobility and undertaken by ThinkingPeople, the University of the West of England and the University of Bath and published by UKCISA (UK Council on International Student Affairs)

Equine nutrition: a survey of perceptions and practices of horse owners undertaking a massive open online course in equine nutrition

An online survey was designed to ascertain the following information: demographics, current feeding practices, and perceptions and knowledge of equine nutrition, including nutrition-related disorders. Response rate was 34% (6,538 respondents). More than 80% of respondents were horse owners or caretakers, with the majority owning between one and five horses (75%) aged 5 years and older (74%). Most kept their horses for pleasure (54%), with 33% using them mostly for competition and 13% using them for an equal mix of both pleasure and competition. Concentrates were fed by the majority (87%), and more than 70% stated that their horses had some access to pasture. Over half of respondents (60%) regularly monitored their horses' weight, with most doing this monthly. Weight tapes were most commonly used (62%), although many reported to guess the weight of their horse(s) with very few (5%) using weight scales. Under half (46%) stated that they regularly used body condition scoring (BCS), many did not use BCS at all (24%), and some did not know what BCS was (10%). Of those that did use BCS, most (36%) did this monthly, with others weekly (25%), daily (14%), and when they remembered (15%). Overall knowledge of nutrition was reported by most as average (median, 3 on Likert scale—average); however, respondents were less knowledgeable on the management of nutrition-related disorders

Beyond national narratives? : centenary histories, the First World War and the Armenian Genocide

In April 2015 the centenary of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated. Just like the First World War centenary, this anniversary has provoked a flurry of academic and public interest in what remains a highly contested history. This article assesses the state of the current historiography on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. It focuses on the possibilities for moving beyond the national narratives which continue to dominate the field, in particular through connecting the case of the Armenian Genocide to what has been termed a ‘transnational turn’ in the writing of the history of the First World War

Under that cloud

News that Europe was at a standstill due to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano in April 2010 barely caused a ripple in Mexico City, a land accustomed to living under the threat of its own local Popocatépetl. Momentarily, all that is a given was put on hold under a cloud of surreal paralysis. The enforced, extended stay of some delegates caused by Eyjafjallajökull allowed time to reflect and so to crystallise impressions and perceptions such as the one written by Sam Grainger who reported for the Gray Area symposium. The full text picks out some salient rich threads from the Mexican culture that create a vivid image of the scale and impossible colour of this extraordinary country, the chaos of traffic, the mystery of ancient heritage, the hot-sour flavours of food on the street, the undertones of disquiet from those with less, reminders of a Spain long gone