4208 research outputs found
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Non-Formal Education and Learning in Europe: The Role of the Council of Europe
Full text linkThis chapter explores the contribution made by the Council of Europe to the Europeanization of learning through its commitment to promoting “non-formal education and learning”, within which “youth work” plays a pivotal role. Celebrating 50 years in 2022, the Council of Europe Youth Department has developed and diversified a range of projects and programs for its 46 member states, anchored within its distinctive participative and inclusive methodologies. The chapter draws on four illustrations of this practice: the international reviews of national youth policy 1997–2016; the Advanced Training the Trainers (ATTE) course that ran from 2001 to 2003; the “Madzinga” long-term training course (2002–2003) delivering experiential learning through outdoor education; and the pilot Master in European Youth Studies (2011). The increasing depth and diversity of the Youth Department’s activities have helped to produce a generation of young people with a European identity, an understanding of alternative ways of learning and teaching, and a belief in the transformative impact of transnational and intercultural learning
Advancing a geopolitical Europe: the new EU leadership and the Iranian conundrum
Full text linkSince 2019 European leaders have emphasized the necessity for the EU to proactively project power and embrace its geopolitical responsibilities. Although leaders have developed the concept of a 'geopolitical EU' as a new discourse, it remains largely unimplemented. Following the June 2024 elections to the European Parliament, a new EU leadership has taken shape amid escalating geopolitical risks that go beyond Russia's war in Ukraine. This development underscores the urgency of advancing a more robust geopolitical EU. The growing strategic power of Iran, which defines itself as a determined revisionist actor, is perceived as a critical challenge to Europe. This policy paper argues that the EU's current Iran policy is misaligned with its geopolitical ambitions, depicting Iran-EU relations as a geopolitical contestation between a defender and a challenger of the existing international order. In this context, the perspective of a geopolitical EU would create a foundation for the new EU leadership to formulate its foreign policy towards Iran. The EU should enhance institutional and policy coordination to elevate Iran's significance on its geopolitical agenda, and the bloc's new leadership needs to develop a cohesive geopolitical mindset within the EU's decision-making framework. The President of the European Commission should lead efforts to foster a unified approach, while the High Representative should build consensus among member states, aligning with the established geopolitical mindset to engage with Iran. Eventually, the new EU leadership needs to define clear geopolitical objectives and establish effective enforcement mechanisms through its diplomatic, political and economic assets.</p
New Approaches for Digital Literary Mapping: Chronotopic Cartography
Full text linkThis book, co-authored by Sally Bushell (Lancaster University) and Rebecca Hutcheon (University of South Wales), an expert in nineteenth-century literature, literary geography and the digital humanities, reconsiders what the focus of digital literary mapping should be for English Literature, what digital tools should be employed, and to what interpretative ends. It asks: how can we harness the digital to find new ways of understanding spatial meaning in the Humanities? The book elucidates the relationship between literature, geography, and cartography and the emergence of literary mapping, providing a critique of current digital methods and making the case for new approaches. It explores the potential of Mikhail Bakhtin’s ‘chronotope’ as a way of structuring digital literary maps that provides a solution to the complexities of mapping time and space. It exemplifies the method by applying it first as one of two approaches to mapping the realist novel by way of Dickens, and then to the multiple states of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core
Design and optimization of a grating-free external cavity diode laser with over 6 THz phase-continuous tunability
Full text linkA novel grating-free tunable external cavity diode laser has been designed and optimized, featuring an impressive phase-continuous tuning range exceeding 6 THz. The laser cavity is constructed from two sets of right-angled mirrors arranged in a rectangular configuration. These mirrors are symmetrically positioned relative to the central axis and are parallel in pairs, effectively forming two periscopic assemblies. Wavelength adjustment is achieved by rotating a double-sided mirror positioned centrally within the mirror sets, and an etalon is utilized as the wavelength selector. This pivot-point-free rotation simultaneously tunes both the cavity length and the etalon mode wavelength, ensuring high synchronization between the two. With a low refractive index material used for the etalon, the tuning range can theoretically extend up to 6.022 THz
Does language experience and bilingualism shape empathy and emotional intelligence?
Full text linkAims and objectives: Previous research has reported that varied language experiences and language use can play a role in the development of empathy and emotional intelligence (EI). The present study aimed to investigate the association between language experience, bilingualism and personality. Methodology: One hundred and forty-two participants completed a language background questionnaire along with a series of measures to assess empathy and both trait and ability EI. Data and analysis: Measures included the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire short form (TEIQue), the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), and the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding Brief (STEU-B). Hierarchical regression models, analyses of variance (ANOVAs), and Structural Equation Modelling were used to examine the relationships between language experience, bilingualism, and measures of empathy and EI. Findings: Findings reveal that bilingualism and language experiences did not contribute to empathy and EI. These results question the role that linguistic experience has in shaping empathy and EI. However, a significant difference in empathy and EI scores emerged when comparing participants who processed information in their first (or native) language to those who did not, suggesting that empathy and EI are stronger when processed in the first language. Originality: This study provides a new understanding of the influence of language background on empathy and EI as well as the impact of processing information in a first language. Significance: This study highlights the importance of considering the role that language has in future cross-cultural and cross-linguistic studies. Implications for the use of culturally appropriate measures and future research are discussed
Incorporating Higher Education into Initial Police Training: An international comparison of practices and challenges
Full text linkThe need for well-trained and educated police officers is key to the delivery of effective and professional policing services. How “well trained and educated” is defined and accomplished is regularly debated and varies. There are long standing visions of effectively linking training and education for police recruits, but these have yet to be completely achieved. This paper describes the training and education of police recruits in four locations worldwide (California, USA, England and Wales, UK, Ontario, Canada, and Tasmania, Australia), providing an instructive overview of how practical training and higher education are combined and formally recognized. However delivered, there seems to be a consensus on the need for a relatively standardized learning curriculum for recruits. Approaches are tempered with political intervention, available funding, recruitment, retention, and realities of requiring recruits to quickly become operationally competent policing resources.</p
Modelling & Development of Novel Sustainable Thermo-fluids to Maximise the Efficiency of Solar Thermal Applications
Full text linkThis research introduces an innovative numerical optimisation framework to improve the thermal efficiency of heat transfer fluids (HTFs) used in solar thermal applications, while also minimising energy consumption required for pumping. The model evaluates the performance of various HTFs and aids in selecting the most suitable fluid based on its properties. Unlike previous approaches, the novelty of this model lies in the combined assessment of corrosion behavior and heat transfer properties of fluids, recognising that system performance depends on both. By optimising key parameters such as thermophysical properties, corrosion effects, Reynolds number, and channel dimensions, the model provides a governing principle for enhancing concentrated solar power systems. Effective optimisation significantly reduces pumping energy and improves fluid efficiency. To validate the model, selected HTFs were simulated, demonstrating its accuracy and applicability for various fluid types
Navigating coexistence: perspectives of host community and Syrian refugees in Al-Mafraq, Jordan
Full text linkThe influx of Syrian refugees into Al Mafraq, Jordan poses complex challenges for the host community. This study, supported by the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries (FBCI) at the University of South Wales, explores how perspectives and experiences of the host community and refugees can help to understand the enablers and challenges of their coexistence. Using a mixed-method approach, it combined qualitative focus group discussions with a quantitative online survey to assess the perspectives and experiences of these groups. The findings are presented around five key issues perceived by the host community and refugees. These include safety, security, community relations, economic conditions, and the role of international organizations. It is argued that the evidence and analysis presented in this paper can help inform policy and practice by emphasizing the importance of understanding both the host and refugee experiences. This underscores the need for inclusive national planning to promote integration, social security, and protection of all individuals in Jordan. This research highlights how recognizing and addressing host community perspectives can enhance refugee integration and foster sustainable development amidst growing tension. By challenging misconceptions and valuing the needs of both Jordanians and refugees, this study advocates a cohesive and resilient society
Nuclear imperialism
Full text linkThe phrase ‘nuclear imperialism’ was first popularised by the Ghanaian leader, Kwame Nkrumah, during protests against French nuclear weapons tests in the Algerian Sahara (1960-1966). Alongside ‘nuclear colonialism’, the term has since been widely adopted by anti-nuclear campaigners, from First Nations against uranium mining to anti-colonial champions of a nuclear-free Pacific. Despite its widespread usage, the conceptual merit of ‘nuclear imperialism’ remains unclear, its significance having been drawn from its power as a campaign slogan. Building on recent research into nuclear imperialism, this entry suggests that the term possesses immense conceptual value. Unlocking that value requires rooting ‘nuclear’ more deeply in discrete histories and theories of imperial power
An Efficient and Robust Framework for IoT Security using Machine Learning Techniques
Full text linkSpotting and approximation of malicious node(s) in sensor based network is an open challenge. The proposed research work presented here primarily focuses on identification and estimation of malicious nodes within IoT networks following a machine learning-based models. The SensorNetGuard dataset was employed for the development and testing of the machine learning models such as Decision Tree (DT), Support Vector Machines (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Random Forest (RF) etc. The presented model here has been developed and evaluated using Python libraries like Scikit-learn, Seaborn, Matplotlib, and Pandas. In this work, Random Forest model has been emerged as a most effective model in detecting malicious nodes and shows an accuracy, recall, ROC AUC, precision, and F1-score of 99.99% and Cohen’s Kappa of 0.99. This depicts the capability of machine learning performance toward real-time IoT security. The SensorNetGuard dataset will be publicly available on platforms like IEEE DataPort and Kaggle to enable further research