13 research outputs found
One Word Sawalmem
No full textOne Word Sawalmem is a project that uses film and media content co-created by young native people, strategic partnerships and education initiatives to empower the youth climate movement with ancestral insight and inspiration. Natasha Deganello Giraudi and Michael Pom Preston, of the Winnmem Wintu tribe, co-direct the film in which he shares his story of personal transformation related to a single untranslatable word from his language — a word offered to humanity as medicine to heal our relationship with the Earth. Sawalmem, sacred water, is how the Winnemem Wintu tribe has always been in relationship with water. Coming from Northern California, where water is abundant, the tribe decided it was time to share the meaning of Sawalmem to help change the misconception of water as resource to water as sacred life giver
Connecting to Sacred Lands
No full textOne Word Sawalmem is a project that uses film and media content co-created by young native people, strategic partnerships and education initiatives to empower the youth climate movement with ancestral insight and inspiration. Natasha Deganello Giraudi and Michael Pom Preston, of the Winnmem Wintu tribe, co-direct the film in which he shares his story of personal transformation related to a single untranslatable word from his language — a word offered to humanity as medicine to heal our relationship with the Earth. Sawalmem, sacred water, is how the Winnemem Wintu tribe has always been in relationship with water. Coming from Northern California, where water is abundant, the tribe decided it was time to share the meaning of Sawalmem to help change the misconception of water as resource to water as sacred life giver.
Join us for an online screening of One Word Sawalmem and Q&A on Thursday, March 18
Healing the Land and the People: Responding to Contemporary Challenges via Food Sovereignty, Coalition Building, and Indigenous Knowledge Q&A
No full textCarbon stable isotopes reveal complex trophic interactions in lake plankton
No full textThe lower trophic linkages in lake plankton food webs are generally described as relatively simple, even accounting for the additional complexity of potential microbial looping. Crustacean zooplankton are frequently amalgamated into one trophic functional group as grazers of autotrophic production. The carbon stable isotope ratios for separated zooplankton species, particulate organic matter (POM) and phytoplankton from a number of lakes in Finland and the UK were analysed. These revealed greater complexity in trophic interactions than would otherwise be observed if the zooplankton had been represented by a mixed sample. Grazing zooplankton were usually depleted in 13C relative to the bulk POM on which they might feed, with 13C deviating by up to 17 There were no consistent differences between 13C values for copepods and cladocerans. Predatory cladocerans were generally enriched by greater than 1 compared to their putative prey. We suggest that care in separating the zooplankton species for stable isotope analysis may expose otherwise undetected sources of carbon and facilitate unravelling trophic links further up the food web
Characterizing energy flow in kelp forest food webs: a geochemical review and call for additional research
No full text© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Elliott Smith, E. A., & Fox, M. D. Characterizing energy flow in kelp forest food webs: a geochemical review and call for additional research. Ecography. 2021,https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05566.Kelp forests are highly productive coastal habitats that serve as biodiversity hotspots and provide valuable ecosystem services. Despite being one the largest marine biomes, kelp forests have been drastically understudied relative to other marine systems. Notably, while the role of kelp as habitat-forming, or ‘foundation species', is well-documented, a comprehensive understanding of kelp forest food web structure is lacking, particularly regarding the importance of kelp-derived energy/nutrients to consumers. Here, we provide a biogeographic perspective on the energetic underpinning of kelp forests based on published literature. We targeted studies which used geochemical proxies – stable isotope analysis – to examine the transfer of carbon from kelp to local consumers. These studies (n = 94) were geographically skewed, with > 40% from Northern European Seas and Temperate Northeast Pacific. Quantitative estimates for the percentage of kelp energy (or kelp + macroalgae if sources were pooled) incorporated by local consumers came from 43 publications, which studied 141 species and 35 broader taxonomic groups. We examined these data for trends among functional groups and across upwelling regimes. No patterns are evident at present, perhaps due to the paucity or variability of available data. However, energetic subsides from kelps clearly support a wide range of diverse taxa around the globe. We also characterized biogeographic patterns in δ13C values of kelps and particulate organic matter (POM, a phytoplankton proxy), to evaluate potential limitations of stable isotope analysis in disentangling the relative contributions of pelagic versus benthic resources to coastal food webs. Globally, kelps and POM differed by > 4.5‰, but there was substantial variation among regions and kelp species. Accordingly, we discuss advances in stable isotope techniques which are facilitating more precise analysis of these complex energetic pathways. We end by proposing four main avenues of critical future research that will shed light on the resilience of these communities to global change.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant no. (NSF 1907163) issued to EES. MF was supported by a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Postdoctoral Scholarship
“It does not go as well as it could”: The Views of Melanesian Migrant Farm Workers of the Cultural, Economic and Social Benefits and Costs of Seasonal Work in New Zealand
No full textNew Zealand‟s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSES), launched in 2007, is an example of international short-term labour migration schemes that have been developed to solve labour shortages in the destination countries, especially in the agricultural sector, and to contribute to the economic development of the labourers‟ home countries. A review of the literature identifies four main issues that have been investigated: the strengthening of the economic base of the labourers‟ home countries, how schemes contribute to adult farmer education and the transfer of technology and skills, links between migrant workers and other development strategies, and the economic and social costs of workers‟ participation in schemes. Much of this literature highlights benefits to both countries from such schemes but there are a small number of critics who question the costs of schemes to the labourers and their home countries. Little information is available on the workers‟ own views of the costs and benefits of schemes for them. This thesis focuses on the experiences of a group of labourers from Vanuatu who came to work in New Zealand under the RSES in 2009. It asks: What are the views of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) Melanesian seasonal migrant farm workers on the cultural, economic, and social benefits and costs of working in New Zealand under the RSES? Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted in Bislama with 12 Vanuatu RSES workers in Northland in August 2009. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified four benefits recognised by the interviewees: earning monetary income for family and community back home, gaining useful knowledge and skills that could be applied back home, personal satisfaction from the work, and personal experiences of a new country and society. Four costs recognised by the interviewees were also identified: difficult working conditions, earning less money than expected, lack of freedom and choice with respect to aspects of their time in New Zealand, and the emotional difficulties of missing home and family along with implications for gender roles of being away from home. The interviewees lacked information and understanding about a number of important aspects of the RSES, and there were no effective mechanisms for them to raise and solve the problems they were encountering. This thesis offers a number of policy recommendations that not only support the effective operation of such a scheme from the host country‟s perspective but also seeks to ensure that such schemes are of genuine value to the participating workers, their families and their home countries
The role of actor associations in understanding the implementation of lean thinking in healthcare
No full textPurpose: The importance of networks in effecting the outcomes of change processes is well-established in the literature. Whilst extant literature focuses predominantly on the structural properties of networks, our purpose is to explore the dynamics of network emergence that give rise to the outcomes of process interventions. We show how Actor Network Theory (ANT) may be used as a lens for interrogating the way in which management interventions play out in the complex organisational setting of a UK National Health Service Trust, providing insights for management of process change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: This is a rich qualitative study in the Pathology Unit of a UK National Health Service Trust, using ANT as the theoretical lens for tracking the emergence and transformation of networks of individuals over the course of a management intervention to promote “lean thinking” for performance improvements.Findings: ANT is useful for explicitly tracking how organisational players shift their positions and network allegiances over time, and identifying objects and actions that are effective in engaging individuals in networks enabling transition to a lean process. It is important to attend to the dynamics of the process of change and devise appropriate timely interventions enabling actors to shift their own positions towards a desired outcome.Research limitations/implications: We make the case for using of theoretical frameworks developed outside the operations management to develop insights for designing process interventions.Originality/value: By understanding the role of shifting networks managers can use timely interventions during the process implementation to facilitate the transition to lean processes: e.g. using demonstrable senior leadership commitment and visual communication.<br/
Language and culture in Chinese as a foreign language: the development of textbooks and their cultural content
No full textThis thesis focuses on the issue of cultural content in foreign language learning materials. In it I first surveyed the studies on the issues concerning cultural and language learning: the relationship of language and culture, language use and language learning, the influence of culture on language learning and intercultural competence, and the implications of cultural learning for the general aims of foreign language education. These studies form a theoretic framework for the issue of language and cultural learning. On the basis of this framework I carried out an examination on the two sets of learning materials for Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language, which I have used for teaching for a few years, from the point of view of intercultural competence development. The survey shows that the process of language learning involves both cognitive development and affective development, therefore in the learning both of the aspects have to be addressed adequately if the aims of language learning shall include producing an intercultural competence rather than merely acquiring language skills, which is far from enough for cross-cultural communication and for real understanding of the target language. The analysis of the learning materials is developed after a survey of criteria for evaluating the cultural dimension of textbooks. The analysis indicates that although the importance of culture to understanding meanings and, to some degree, for the understanding of the perspectives of the native has been recognized in both of the coursebooks, yet the role of culture in the affective development of the learner does not seem to have been fully appreciated, particularly in one of the coursebooks, without which it is not conceivable that learners would observe the world from the native's perspectives and appreciate the differences between their own culture and the target culture. The analysis also suggests that more efforts are needed, particularly in one of the courses, to create better chance for learners to understand the relationship between social behaviours and social roles and social environment
The essence of marketing: a cross-cultural inquiry into prevailing beliefs and practices
No full textThis doctoral research constituted a cross-cultural inquiry into the contribution of professional marketing education to marketing practice. The essence of marketing, as a collective term, contains the essential ingredients to enable marketing to become a viable system for business; namely, marketing orientation, marketing planning and marketing training connected by the management of change. The Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma programme was selected as the educational vehicle through which sample surveys were conducted at pre-course, pre-examination and post- qualified stages of respondents' career development. Cross-cultural distinctions and symmetries were examined and accounted for by national culture, experience base and by size of employing organisation in the countries of the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, so that an insightful understanding could be achieved between belief and practice. Perceptual gaps were discovered and proposals through the research surveys made to help to bridge the gap between the ambitions of the individual for change and the adoption of integrated marketing by the respective employing organisations. The research is distinguished by the use of innovative techniques for perceptual mapping to enable cross-cultural positions to be visualised and thereby to be more fully appreciated
The politics of fashion: perceptions of power in female clothing and ornamentation as reflected in the sixteenth-century Chinese novel Jin Ping Mei
No full textThis thesis examines issues of female power and influence in sixteenth-century China focusing on how women and their roles were perceived in the changing social environment of the mid-late Ming dynasty. Using aspects of a New Historicist approach, information from contemporary literary and historical sources are analysed alongside each other. With its emphasis on the lives of women and preoccupation with the description of material objects, the late Ming novel Jin Ping Mei forms an important element in the thesis. China in the sixteenth century saw expanding urbanisation, the emergence of a new wealthy merchant class, increasing visibility of women and a questioning of traditional morality. Fashion consciousness, as one of the most conspicuous aspects of the new material culture, is a possible indicator of these trends. Traditional Western theories contend that fashion began in the particular context of Renaissance Europe. However, this study argues that a similar fashion awareness existed in China too, and was manifested in a competitive striving for social status, in this case specifically among women. In contrast to previous studies which downplayed the impact women had on defining traditional Chinese culture, this thesis demonstrates how women and their sartorial choices began to redefine the boundaries of material culture, influencing literati discourse which, in turn, re- influenced female behaviour
