62880 research outputs found
Sort by
Digital empowerment in language teaching
No full textPrimary languages can make an important contribution to the aims of the
Curriculum and Assessment Review Group. Drawing on our Digital
Empowerment in Language Teaching (DELTEA) research project, we
show how digital technology can enhance teacher competence and
confidence while developing children’s linguistic skills alongside crucial
twenty-first-century competencies such as creativity and empathy. We
argue that primary languages education can play a vital role in the
Review’s vision for developing in all learners essential skills for modern
life, when supported by appropriate digital tools and investment
Using total abundance as a proxy for wild bee species richness: a practical tool for non‐experts
No full textAs there is growing interest among non‐specialists in participating in pollinator conservation initiatives, developing proxies for wild bee species richness that could be potentially used by non‐experts can aid conservation, decision support systems for managers and policymakers, and create entry points for future taxonomists.
We used data from 63 independent studies in which wild bees were sampled, covering all main European habitats and climates. We tested two proxies for wild bee species richness: abundance of all wild bees (excluding the honeybee) and abundance of bumblebees. These proxies require basic taxonomic training and have the potential for routine implementation by non‐experts.
Within‐region, the abundance of wild bees was a strong predictor of wild bee species richness at the local scale, with an average correlation exceeding 0.80. Bumblebee abundance was a poorer proxy for total wild bee species richness (correlation coefficient of ~0.55) and was unsuitable for warm‐temperate and Mediterranean climates. Observed abundance‐richness correlations were consistent across climates, habitats and sampling methods, suggesting that, after a simple training, counting all bee individuals in transect walks provides a non‐lethal, robust estimate of wild bee species richness. We observed a weak negative relationship between sample coverage and the strength of the abundance‐richness correlation.
Synthesis and applications. The use of a simple but effective proxy could be an important starting point for the expansion of wild bee monitoring initiatives at the regional scale, particularly given the growing involvement of non‐specialists. We provided here a simple implementation framework to use this proxy in rapid biodiversity assessments, such as the evaluation of payment‐by‐result schemes by farmers and measuring the efficacy of conservation actions in urban green areas or protected areas by citizens and site managers, respectively. It is important to stress that we are not advocating for the replacement of the urgently needed long‐term monitoring of pollinator status and trends. Instead, we propose that employing an effective proxy for non‐experts could enhance the evaluation of many local and regional conservation initiatives that currently lack any basic assessment schemes
How does perceived heat stress differ between urban forms and human vulnerability profiles? Case study Berlin
No full textUrban areas in all world regions are experiencing increasing heat stress and heat-related risks. While in-depth knowledge exists in terms of the urban heat island effect and increased heat stress in cities in the context of climate change, less is known about how individual heat perceptions and experiences differ between urban forms or with different vulnerability profiles of exposed people. It is crucial to identify and assess differences within cities relating to urban form and social structure, as both need to be considered when designing adaptation plans for heat-related risks. Here, we explore linkages between urban structure types (USTs), heat stress perception and different socio-economic groups' experiences in Berlin using a household survey, statistical and earth observation data. Our approach (1) quantifies perceived heat stress across USTs, considering characteristics such as, age, income, vegetation cover and shade, (2) characterises social dimensions of USTs to enhance their application in climate adaptation and (3) benefits from the synergistic disciplinary approach of the urbisphere project with rich social and physical datasets. Although heat stress exposure is higher in the inner-city ring, we find that a higher percentage of vulnerable groups in the outer city (6 to 18 km from the city centre), where 78 % of Berlin's elderly live. We underscore the need for attention in future adaptation plans based on the USTs, human vulnerability profile and adaptive capacities. For example, in densely spaced building blocks 67 % of respondents perceived high heat stress and fractions of vegetation and shade are comparatively very low. The method and findings can inform future adaptation strategies of other cities to consider different profiles of vulnerability and adaptive capacities within and between USTs
Recognizing problems in publications concerned with microwave absorption film and providing corrections: a focused review
No full textErrors common in publications concerned with microwave absorption were analyzed in detail. These include the development of the wrong impedance matching theory and wrong absorption mechanism, which have led to serious consequences, since these errors have not been corrected over many years. Indeed, material scientists have become accustomed to use these wrong theories and continued to adopt them even though the correct new wave mechanics theory for the microwave absorption film has been developed
Climate change in Europe between 90 and 50kyr BP and Neanderthal territorial habitability
Get PDFAfter having lived as the dominant human species in Europe for over 200 kyr, Homo neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals) disappeared around 40 kyr BP (Before Present). Competition with Homo sapiens, who arrived in Europe around the same time, is often invoked to explain this extinction. Others have argued that climate change may have reduced the living space of this population making its disappearance more rapid. In order to test the climate change hypothesis we modelled the Neanderthals’ ecological niches in Europe between 90 and 50 kyr BP through paleoenvironmental reconstructions and EcoCultural Niche Modelling. We selected five environmental variables (orographic height, mean annual precipitation, mean temperature of the coldest month, carrying capacity and friction, see below) from climate model simulations of 5 periods between 90 and 50 kyr BP in Europe. We used Structural Similarity (SSIM) index to compare the probability maps of suitable niches to Neanderthals performed by Maxent. After a strong initial environmental change between the first (P1 = 90 to 83 kyr BP) and second (P2 = 83 to 69 kyr BP) periods, our results show that large areas highly suitable for Neanderthal occupation persisted across Europe. As our results show an increase/stability of the areas suitable to Neanderthals, the question of the cause of the decrease or displacement of the Neanderthal population towards southern Europe after this climatic change remains open
Quantifying the effects of climate change on aircraft take-off performance at European airports
Get PDFThis work uses state-of-the-art climate model data at 30 European airport locations to examine how climate change may affect summer take-off distance required—TODR—and maximum take-off mass—MTOM—for a 30-year period centred on 2050 compared to a historical baseline (1985–2014). The data presented here are for the Airbus A320; however, the methodology is generic and few changes are required in order to apply this methodology to a wide range of different fixed-wing aircraft. The climate models used are taken from the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) and span a range of climate sensitivity values; that is, the amount of warming they exhibit for a given increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Using a Newtonian force-balance model, we show that 30-year average values of TODR may increase by around 50–100 m, albeit with significant day-to-day variability. The changing probability distributions are quantified using kernel density estimation and an illustration is provided showing how changes to future daily maximum temperature extremes may affect the distributions of TODR going forward. Furthermore, it is projected that the 99th percentile of the historical distributions of TODR may by exceeded up to half the time in the summer months for some airports. Some of the sites studied have runways that are shorter than the distance required for a fully laden take-off, which means they must reduce their payloads as temperatures and air pressures change. We find that, relative to historical mean values, take-off payloads may need to be reduced by the equivalent of approximately 10 passengers per flight, as these significant increases (as high as approximately 60%) show a probability of exceeding historical extreme values
Schools without walls
No full textThis paper draws upon feminist and educational theorists to reflect on a week-long, architectural archive-driven, live construction and performance project. Schools Without Walls involved 30 eleven-year-old students and their teachers at Orchard Primary, London designed in the 1920s as an ‘open air’ school, now a voluntary-aided Muslim faith school. The project introduced students to their school’s radical architectural and pedagogical history and invited them to creatively interpret, build and perform their own versions of this history in a series of site-specific learning pavilions
Linguistic and musical syntax processing in autistic and non-autistic individuals: an event-related potential (ERP) study
Get PDFSyntactic processing in both language and music involves combining elements—such as words or chords—into coherent structures. The Shared Syntactic Integration Resource Hypothesis (SSIRH) was introduced based on observations of similar neural responses to syntactic violations across both domains. This hypothesis suggests that difficulties in syntactic processing in one domain may result in similar challenges in the other. The current study tested the SSIRH in autism, a neurodevelopmental condition often associated with language difficulties but relatively preserved musical abilities. Thirty-one autistic and thirty-one non-autistic participants judged the acceptability of syntactically congruent and incongruent sentences and musical sequences while their neural responses were recorded using electroencephalography. Autistic participants exhibited a reduced and delayed P600 effect—a marker of syntactic integration—across both domains, despite achieving similar behavioural accuracy to the non-autistic group. These findings suggest parallel difficulties in syntactic processing in autism for both language and music, providing support for the SSIRH. This is the first study to directly examine real-time syntactic integration in both domains in autistic individuals, offering novel insights into cross-domain syntactic processing in autism and contributing to a deeper understanding of language and music processing more broadly
Exploring pre- and in-employment experiences of refugees in Germany: a Bourdieusian approach
Get PDFEmployment is crucial to the integration of refugees in host countries. Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice and data from interviews with refugees, employment agency representatives and managers we examine these issues through two complementary studies conducted in Germany. Study I explores how refugees experience the recognition of their academic and professional credentials while seeking employment, Study II examines the question of how various actors, including employment agencies, employers, and colleagues, contribute to the development of relevant cultural capital. Our finding show that refugees’ pre- and in employment experiences are largely shaped by their foreignness and by national institutions’ protectionism. Even where foreign qualifications are formally recognized, employers invoke criteria such as the lack of local professional experience While this research echoes the theory of practice by showing the limited capacity of refugees to access and accumulate capital, our analysis shows that while the collaborative efforts of different actors can provide information and guidance related benefits, they offer limited support to refugees to access or utilize forms of capital to advance employment effectively
On methods for assessment of the value of observations in convection-permitting data assimilation and numerical weather forecasting
Get PDFIn numerical weather prediction (NWP), a large number of observations are used to create initial conditions for weather forecasting through a process known as data assimilation. An assessment of the value of these observations for NWP can guide us in the design of future observation networks, help us to identify problems with the assimilation system, and allow us to assess changes to the assimilation system. However, assessment can be challenging in convection-permitting NWP. This is because verification of convection-permitting forecasts is not easy, the forecast model is strongly nonlinear, a limited-area model is used, and the observations used often contain complex error statistics and are often associated with nonlinear observation operators. We compare methods that can be used to assess the value of observations in convection-permitting NWP and discuss operational considerations when using these methods. We focus on their applicability to ensemble forecasting systems, as these systems are becoming increasingly dominant for convection-permitting NWP. We also identify several future research directions, which include comparing results from different methods, comparing forecast validation using analyses versus using observations, applying flow-dependent covariance localization, investigating the effect of ensemble size on the assessment, and generating and validating the nature run in observing-system simulation experiments