High Sequestration, Low Emission, Food Secure Farming. Organic Agriculture - a Guide to Climate Change & Food Security

- affordable high sequestration practices based on local resources - enables continuous farmer-based adaptation to climate change - ideal for the improvement of the world’s 400 million smallholder farms - locally adapted, affordable and people centered - empowers local communities - established practices, systems and markets - experience, practices and expertise to shar

The Supporting Effective Teaching Project: 1. Factors Influencing Student Success in Inclusive Elementary Classrooms

The Supporting Effective Teaching project commenced in the early 1990s with studies of how classroom teachers work with students with special educational needs included in their elementary classrooms. Over the ensuing 20 years, the project team prepared and tested a model of the factors that influence student outcomes in inclusive classrooms, with emphasis on the beliefs and practices of regular elementary classroom teachers and on their sense of responsibility for meeting the diverse learning needs of their students. This article provides an overview of the SET project to show how the model evolved and to bring together the findings that were published previously. It takes a different tack from previous papers in that it begins at the most surprising outcome, the importance of teaching practices. Arguably the most significant empirical finding from the project is that teachers who believe it is their responsibility to include students with special education needs are more effective practitioners for all their students. The article then traces the factors that contribute to this finding: quality of instruction, teacher beliefs about ability and disability, teacher beliefs about learning and instruction, and school context. The purpose is to present a comprehensive review of the project findings in the context of recently published research on inclusion

The Supporting Effective Teaching Project: 2. The Measures

This article presents the development and the technical and conceptual characteristics of two of the three measures used in the SET project, to discuss how they relate to each other, and to present evidence of their concurrent validity. The Pathognomonic-Interventionist (P-I) Interview yields rich descriptions of teachers’ experiences with one or more students with special education needs included in their classes. The scoring system infers teachers’ beliefs about disabilities, and the teachers’ self-described instructional practices in working in inclusive elementary classrooms. The Classroom Observation Scale (COS) is a detailed observation by two third-party observers of teacher–student interactions during instruction in core subjects in the regular classroom when students with SEN are present. Based on criteria for effective instruction, the COS yields a quantitative score of teaching practices in four categories, as well as Predominant Teaching Style, a measure of the quality of instructional interactions with individual students during the lesson. In this article the relationships between the P-I and COS measures are explored, asking, for example, whether the COS validates teachers’ self-reports about their inclusive practice, and whether the P-I scale reflects differences observed in teachers’ practices. A research agenda to extend this inquiry is proposed

Teacher Beliefs and Practices: Introduction to the Special Issue

Teacher Beliefs and Practices: Introduction to the Special Issu

CALIBRATION AND APPLICATION OF A SILICA-WATER SINGLE MINERAL THERMOMETER TO GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS IN ICELAND AND CHILE

Triple oxygen isotope values of silica samples and formation water with tight temperature constraints from the Hellisheiði power plant in southwest Iceland and the natural Puchuldiza siliceous hot springs in northern Chile were used to evaluate potential fractionation effects of biogenic vs. abiogenic samples and silica samples of different crystallinity. Temperature estimates from the Hellisheiði power plant based on silica-water oxygen isotope thermometry are in excellent agreement with samples with measured temperatures, and lower for samples from within the heat exchanger where temperatures can only be estimated. The calculated θ values from this study are in close agreement with the calculated θ values from other studies and indicate a 0.00001 change in θ per degree Celsius at ~100°C. In a real-time silica precipitation experiment at the hot springs in Puchuldiza of northern Chile, silica only precipitated at the air-water interface. Amorphous silica and coexisting waters were collected in active hot springs ranging in temperatures from 63-84°C. In all cases, the calculated temperatures were less than the measured temperatures, ranging from 38-48°C. Recrystallized paleosinter record higher temperatures, 69.5°C and 89°C. All samples appear to be in equilibrium in the triple oxygen isotope system. We interpret all samples as recording the temperatures of their formation. The poorly crystalline modern samples likely precipitated at the air-water interface while the water was cooling, reaching saturation with respect to silica and preserving temperatures that are less than the measured geothermal water temperatures. In contrast, the more crystalline paleosinter samples record the temperature of hydrothermal recrystallization below the air-water interface. Silica re-precipitating from dissolved paleosinter in the presence of acidic fumarolic steam was not in equilibrium with the condensed steam water on the basis of the D\u2717O values, which was not indicated by the d18O values alone. Triple oxygen isotope measurements are robust and can be used to estimate the temperature of formation, the isotopic composition of the formation water, and discern between equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes. Silica of different crystallinities and that were formed by abiogenic and biogenic processes all plot on the same silica-water fractionation line from the literature

Family systems, object relations, and identity formation in late adolescent college women

The purpose of this study was to determine whether characteristics of family system and object relations are associated with identity formation in late adolescent women. Identity status, features of family system function and structure, and two dimensions of object relations were assessed in a sample of 204 18- to 21-year-old college women. It was hypothesized that different combinations of family system functioning and object relations dimensions would be found for each of the four identity statuses. Univariate analyses and discriminant function analyses revealed that distinct patterns characterized the family system and object relations of the Diffusion and Foreclosure statuses. The pattern for the Diffusion status combined family adaptability with relatively low family cohesion, and object relations were moderate in complexity and relatively low emotional investment. The pattern associated with the Foreclosure status combined low family adaptability with high family cohesion, and object relations were low in complexity and capacity for emotional Investment. A third pattern was characteristic of both Moratorium and Achievement statuses. These two statuses were associated with a combination of family adaptability and cohesion and moderate-to-high levels of the object relations variables of complexity and emotional investment. Family adaptability, closeness, and complexity of object relations were most important for predicting identity status

The Emergence Of Irish Access Policy And Practice In The 1990s

The focus of this study is the provision of Access courses for Irish adults. This interest arose from the researcher's involvement with Access initiatives in one Irish higher education institution. The principal research questions investigate the development of the policies and practices associated with the Access movement in Ireland. The research begins from the theoretical, and narrows down to an examination of policies and perceptions, then to initiatives, and fmally to the experiences and voices of a small number of Access students. Action research methodology, selected as an appropriate approach for a practitioner working in the field, is used to investigate these questions. In attempting to answer the principal research questions, the study examines the defmitions and rationales for Access. This leads to a categorisation of such rationales in terms of equity, economic and social factors, and those connected with personal development. A comparative analysis of world-wide trends and EU educational policy and provision in a number of selected countries is next undertaken, prior to an examination of recent Irish Access policy. The comparative research report commissioned by the Irish government from Professor Skilbeck was not foreseen when this study began, but it is such an important recent influence on Irish policy that it is given serious consideration. The study moves from an examination of policy to that of practice. A national survey of Access course providers is carried out to show the extent and nature of Access provision. At a more local level, the outcomes for a selected group of Access students are examined, including the experiences of a small number of students from this group. From these a number of key issues arise and are considered. The answer to the research questions posed is that a conflation of economic investment in education; social cohesion strategies; membership of the EU; equity awareness, the 'Celtic Tiger' and an increased demand by adults for education are the forces driving Access in Ireland. Analysis of representations by one group, and reinforced by the survey of Access students show that students represent the least source of influence on Access policy and practice. The study demonstrates that education is now conceived as an 'absolute good', capable of tackling many ills in society. The research concludes with a SWOT analysis showing the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that arise in relation to the expansion of Access opportunities in Ireland. This is followed by a number of key points for practice and suggestions for further research

A Diversity Doctor's Best Lessons from the Campus

Review of the book: "Taking on Diversity: How We Can Move from Anxiety to Respect: A Diversity Doctor's Best Lessons from the Campus." By Rupert W. Nacoste. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-63388026-9