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Developing An E-Learning Training Package For Academic Staff In One University In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Mulhem Jan 2014

Developing An E-Learning Training Package For Academic Staff In One University In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Mulhem

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The focus of this study is the development of an e-learning training package for the academic staff in King Faisal University (KFU) in Saudi Arabia. Evidence suggests that there is a lack of training for academic staff in Saudi Higher Education on how to integrate e-learning in their teaching. Despite this, very little attention is paid in the research literature to the design and evaluation of e-learning training. There is no clarity therefore about what constitutes effective e-learning training in higher education. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate a training package for the academic staff. The study was …

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Sustainability In Secondary Education In England: An Ethnographic Study, Ciaran Francis O'Sullivan Jan 2014

Sustainability In Secondary Education In England: An Ethnographic Study, Ciaran Francis O'Sullivan

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

This research sets out to establish both the extent to which and the ways in which English Secondary schools have a school culture focusing upon sustainability. I visited three case study schools for six weeks each: these were carefully selected to represent a range of progress towards becoming sustainable schools. I visited two other ‘benchmark’ schools for two days each: these were chosen on the recommendations of school sustainability experts, and visiting them helped me judge the progress my case-study schools had made. I took an ethnographic approach to the research, conducting about 80 interviews with various members of my …

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Designing, Piloting And Evaluating An Ict Training Programme For Novice Female Primary Teachers In Saudi, Ensaf Al Muljim Jan 2014

Designing, Piloting And Evaluating An Ict Training Programme For Novice Female Primary Teachers In Saudi, Ensaf Al Muljim

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The focus of this study is the development of an ICT training package for novice female primary teachers in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia has placed a lot of importance on increasing the use of ICT within schools. Evidence suggests however that little attention has been paid to the provision of ICT training, particularly in primary education. Furthermore, in the general research literature; whilst there is much talk about the need for training, very little evidence is provided regarding what kind of training is effective. The purpose of this study therefore was to …

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An Assessment Of The Input Approach To Estimate Household Childcare The Case Of Plymouth, Uk, Hoayda Darkal Jan 2014

An Assessment Of The Input Approach To Estimate Household Childcare The Case Of Plymouth, Uk, Hoayda Darkal

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

One of the major limitations of the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) is its failure to record non-market transactions. Household childcare constitutes one of such transactions which are omitted in the GDP measure. Since 2003, an attempt has been made to account for this in the UK, on an experimental basis, in the Household Satellite Accounts (HHSA), using an output valuation approach. This study tests the application of the input replacement cost approach to estimate household childcare and its unreported contribution to GDP in the UK. A multi-method approach was used consisting of primary time-use diaries completion and in-depth interviews conducted …

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Communities, Institutions And Flood Risk: Mobilising Social Capital To Enhance Community Resilience, Andrew Fox Jan 2014

Communities, Institutions And Flood Risk: Mobilising Social Capital To Enhance Community Resilience, Andrew Fox

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Over recent years, community resilience has been increasing in popularity as a topic for detailed study. During that time, academic researchers have been working to untangle the complex network of social relationships that define the concept. In parallel, some institutions have set the achievement of enhanced community resilience as a policy goal. This research has sought to assist in both areas: first, by contributing to the academic debate and second, to build a clearer understanding of how institutions can tailor policies to ensure success in their goal of enhancing community resilience. A case study approach was adopted for the research, …

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Biodiversity Crisis And Recovery During The Triassic-Jurassic Greenhouse Interval: Testing Ocean Acidification Hypotheses, Nikita Danielle Jacobsen Jan 2014

Biodiversity Crisis And Recovery During The Triassic-Jurassic Greenhouse Interval: Testing Ocean Acidification Hypotheses, Nikita Danielle Jacobsen

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The Late Rhaetian (Late Triassic) extinction event is characterised by shelled species showing a reduction in size, and thickness, which together with changed mineralogy is thought to be as a result of increased atmospheric pCO2 levels. Similar morphological changes have been demonstrated for extant species exposed experimentally to high CO2 leading to the hypothesis that Late Triassic extinctions were linked with global ocean acidification and increased oceanic palaeotemperatures. Consequently, the aim of this present work was to test this ocean acidification hypothesis by investigating morphological changes in selected shelled fossil species across this extinction event, and attempt to correlate them …

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Socio-Economic Drivers Of Agricultural Production In A Transition Economy: A Case Study Of Hu Village, Sichuan Province, China, Zhanping Hu Jan 2014

Socio-Economic Drivers Of Agricultural Production In A Transition Economy: A Case Study Of Hu Village, Sichuan Province, China, Zhanping Hu

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Contemporary global agriculture has been undergoing transition towards different pathways. In developed countries, a shift from productivist agriculture to multifunctional agriculture has begun since the 1980s (Wilson, 2007). In the developing world, agricultural modernisation is still the primary strategy for agricultural development, and driven by urbanisation and industrialisation, deagrarianisation of rural society has been widely identified (Bryceson, 1996; Rigg, 2006a). As the largest developing country in the world, China embarked on market reform three decades ago and has ever since experienced dramatic socio-economic transition towards modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation. Significant levels of academic attention have focused on empirically identifying economic …

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Working Towards Productive Seas: A Comparative Analysis Of The Marine Management Regimes Under Uk And Scottish Law, Danielle Lowther Jan 2014

Working Towards Productive Seas: A Comparative Analysis Of The Marine Management Regimes Under Uk And Scottish Law, Danielle Lowther

The Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review

This research presents a comparative analysis of the marine management regimes under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. In light of the vision shared by both administrations to achieve 'clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas', the research focuses upon the tension between achieving 'productivity' in the marine area and ensuring the sustainable use of marine resources. In particular, it examines the differences in the way in which productivity is defined and measured under each regime, and provides a consideration of the extent to which an appropriate balance is struck …

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A Multi-Proxy Study Of The Palaeocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum In Northern Spain, Hayley Manners Jan 2014

A Multi-Proxy Study Of The Palaeocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum In Northern Spain, Hayley Manners

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

At the boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs (ca. 56 Ma) a significant global warming event, termed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), occurred. Records of this event are characterised by a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) which has been associated with the release of thousands of petagrams of isotopically light carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system, initiating changes in the carbon cycle, the climate system, ocean chemistry and the marine and continental ecosystems. The amount of isotopically light carbon that was required to cause the event, its source and the rapidity of its release are, however, are still debated. This …

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Exploring The Potential Of Cassava For Agricultural Growth And Economic Development In Nigeria, Brodrick Awerije Jan 2014

Exploring The Potential Of Cassava For Agricultural Growth And Economic Development In Nigeria, Brodrick Awerije

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The decline in agricultural productivity in Nigeria is linked to a host of factors ranging from unsustainable growth policies, inadequate funding and infrastructures, low levels of value added through processing, low commodity prices, unstable markets, poor extension services and low rates of literacy. It is now well recognised that there is a need to diversify Nigerian agriculture as well as improving production performances. This study investigates the potential of cassava root tuber (CRT), as a means to promote agricultural growth. It assesses cassava production, profitability, efficiency, marketing structures and channels, constraints in production, the potential to add value by processing …

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Reconstruction Of Recent And Palaeo Sea Ice Conditions In The Barents Sea, Alba Navarro-Rodríguez Jan 2014

Reconstruction Of Recent And Palaeo Sea Ice Conditions In The Barents Sea, Alba Navarro-Rodríguez

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

IP25 is a highly branched isoprenoid alkene derived from certain Arctic sea ice diatoms that, when detected in marine sediments, has been used as a proxy for past Arctic sea ice over the last decade. In the current study, the structure of this biomarker was determined following large-scale extraction from sediment material collected from the Canadian Arctic. After purification, the structure of IP25 was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy as being the same as that of a laboratory standard. The purified IP25 was subsequently used to obtain a quantitative (GC-MS) instrumental response factor that could be used to improve the future …

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Effectiveness Of A Closed System Device In Reducing Occupational Exposure And Environmental Concentrations Of Anticancer Drugs, Nitin Vyas Jan 2014

Effectiveness Of A Closed System Device In Reducing Occupational Exposure And Environmental Concentrations Of Anticancer Drugs, Nitin Vyas

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Owing to their non-selective nature, anti-cancer drugs affect both cancerous and non-cancerous cells and present a major health risk to healthcare staff working with them. This project was conducted at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, to investigate the extent of contamination with anti-cancer drugs on work surfaces and the environmental emissions of these drugs. In the Isolator study, surface contamination arising from the preparation of five anticancer drug infusions (epirubicin, fluorouracil, cisplatin, oxaliplatin and carboplatin) in a pharmaceutical isolator and external surfaces of infusion bags and syringes using a conventional syringe and needle technique was investigated and compared with that obtained using …

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Integrated Geophysical, Geochemical And Structural Analysis Of The Mersin Ophiolite, Southern Turkey, Ahmed Fatih Omer Jan 2014

Integrated Geophysical, Geochemical And Structural Analysis Of The Mersin Ophiolite, Southern Turkey, Ahmed Fatih Omer

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This study examines the tectonic evolution of the Mersin ophiolite of the central Tauride of Turkey, using palaeomagnetic, structural and geochemical analyses. This ophiolite represents one of the best examples of Tethyan-type ophiolites formed by supra-subduction zone spreading within the northern Neotethyan Ocean basin during the Late Cretaceous. It exposes a 3.0 km section of lower crustal, cumulate rocks, and tectonically separated exposures of the underlying mantle sequence and metamorphic sole, both of which are cut by basaltic dykes. Stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetization of ultramafic and gabbroic cumulates from 18 sites mostly identified single components of remanent magnetization …

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The Biogeochemistry Of Iron, Zinc And Cobalt In The Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic Meridional Transect And Uk Geotraces Sections, Neil Wyatt Jan 2014

The Biogeochemistry Of Iron, Zinc And Cobalt In The Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic Meridional Transect And Uk Geotraces Sections, Neil Wyatt

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Between 40 % and 50 % of the Earth’s primary production occurs in marine environments, primarily by phytoplankton. The trace metal micronutrients iron, zinc and cobalt are known to exert a significant biological control on phytoplankton productivity by serving as essential active centres in enzymatic processes such as inorganic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition. The distributions and biogeochemistries of iron, zinc and cobalt therefore, have the potential to impact upon the global carbon cycle and hence climate. This research involves investigations into the biogeochemical cycling of iron, zinc and cobalt in the Atlantic Ocean. Iron measurements were conducted during October …

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Cosmogenic Dating Of Fluvial Terraces In The Sorbas Basin, Se Spain, Samantha Ilott Jan 2014

Cosmogenic Dating Of Fluvial Terraces In The Sorbas Basin, Se Spain, Samantha Ilott

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Long term fluvial incision spanning the Late Cenozoic is recorded in many fluvial systems around the world by terrace landform sequences. The incision manifests itself as inset sequences of river terraces which form terrace staircases. The timing of the onset of incision and the rate incision then proceeds at is poorly constrained due to the difficulties in dating river terraces. This study applies the technique of cosmogenic exposure dating to a fluvial staircase, for the first time, in the Sorbas Basin, SE Spain. Cosmogenic exposure dating allows the timing of abandonment of the fluvial terraces to be calculated therefore recording …

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The Integration Of Coastal Flooding Into An Arcflood Data Model, Alison Heidi Nock Jan 2014

The Integration Of Coastal Flooding Into An Arcflood Data Model, Alison Heidi Nock

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

With the impact of global climate change, the speedy, intelligent and accessible dissemination of coastal flood predictions from a number of modelling tools at a range of temporal and spatial scales becomes increasingly important for policy decision makers. This thesis provides a novel approach to integrate the coastal flood data into an ArcFLOOD data model to improve the analysis, assessment and mitigation of the potential flood risk in coastal zones. This novel methodology has improved the accessibility, dissemination and visualisation of coastal flood risk. The results were condensed into spatial information flows, data model schematic diagrams and XML schema for …

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A History Of The Cornish Male Voice Choir: The Relationship Between Music, Place And Culture, Susan Margaret Skinner Jan 2014

A History Of The Cornish Male Voice Choir: The Relationship Between Music, Place And Culture, Susan Margaret Skinner

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis documents and examines the history of Cornish male voice choirs from their origins in the late nineteenth century through to the present day. The evolution of the choirs has hitherto been charted largely through scattered oral testimonies, whereas this work traces the rise, decline and resurgence of the male choral tradition by drawing from a range of primary sources, including newspapers and repertoire in addition to oral history. The thesis is organised chronologically and the main chapters chart the development of Cornish male voice choirs from the Methodist point of origin, to the subsequent expansion of the male …

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Mi9'S Escape And Evasion Mapping Programme 1939-1945, Barbara A. Bond Jan 2014

Mi9'S Escape And Evasion Mapping Programme 1939-1945, Barbara A. Bond

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis examines the programme of mapping produced on silk, and other fabric, by MI9 to facilitate the escape and evasion of British military personnel during World War II. It considers the creation of MI9 in December 1939, the rationale for the new military intelligence branch and the context of the history of military mapping on silk. The map production programme is described, together with its progress and the challenges faced. The various groups of maps are identified and described, together with the source maps on which they were based. This description is developed in nine appendices produced as an …

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Incumbency Effects In English Local Elections 1974-2010: Assessing The Advantage Of Electoral Defence, Michael Thomas Eugeniusz Turner Jan 2014

Incumbency Effects In English Local Elections 1974-2010: Assessing The Advantage Of Electoral Defence, Michael Thomas Eugeniusz Turner

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The study of electoral defence and its stated advantages are an integral part of American political science. Post-war, much academic literature has emerged in an attempt to identify and explain rising re-election rates of congressional incumbents and the political consequences of such a phenomenon (Mayhew 1974; Fiorina 1977; Cain, Ferejohn & Fiorina 1987; Gelman & King 1990; King 1991). Conversely, the study of political incumbency in Britain can be attributed to a handful of scholars who tend to consider the repercussions at parliamentary level (Williams 1967, King 1981, Cain, Ferejohn and Fiorina 1984, Norton 1990 & 1994, Norris, Valance & …

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The Impact Of Terrain On British Operations And Doctrine In North Africa 1940-1943., Neal Dando Jan 2014

The Impact Of Terrain On British Operations And Doctrine In North Africa 1940-1943., Neal Dando

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis focuses on the extent to which the physical terrain features across Egypt, Libya and Tunisia affected British operations throughout the campaign in North Africa during the Second World War. The study analyses the terrain from the operational and tactical perspectives and argues that the landscape features heavily influenced British planning and operations. These should now be considered alongside other standard military factors when studying military operations. This thesis differs from previous studies as it considers these additional factors from June 1940 until the Axis surrender in May 1943. Until now it has been widely assumed that much of …

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Towards An Articulation Of Architecture As A Verb; Learning From Participatory Development, Subaltern Identities And Textual Values., Richard Bower Jan 2014

Towards An Articulation Of Architecture As A Verb; Learning From Participatory Development, Subaltern Identities And Textual Values., Richard Bower

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

Originating from a disenfranchisement with the contemporary definition and realisation of Westernised architecture as a commodity and product, this thesis seeks to explore alternative examples of positive socio-spatial practice and agency. These alternative spatial practices and methodologies are drawn from participatory and grass-roots development agency in informal settlements and contexts of economic absence, most notably in the global South. This thesis explores whether such examples can be interpreted as practical realisations of key theoretical advocacies for positive social space that have emerged in the context of post-Second World-War capitalism. The principal methodological framework utilises two differing trajectories of spatial discourse. …

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Cultural Icons': Media Representations Of Second Homes In New Zealand, Trudie Walters Jan 2014

Cultural Icons': Media Representations Of Second Homes In New Zealand, Trudie Walters

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

New Zealanders have a long history of second home ownership, and the second home landscape is an important part of the New Zealand culture. Traditional second homes are known colloquially as the ‘bach’ or ‘crib’, and it is part of the New Zealand psyche to ‘escape to the bach’ for the weekend, especially over the summer months. However, since the 1960s these traditional second homes have been replaced in many areas by second homes that are indistinguishable from urban homes. They have become much larger, are often architecturally designed and with more modern conveniences and technology than the traditional bach. …

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Walking The Ancient Tea Horse Road: The Rise Of The Outdoors And China's First Long Distance Branded Hiking Trail, Edmund Jocelyn, Gary Sigley Jan 2014

Walking The Ancient Tea Horse Road: The Rise Of The Outdoors And China's First Long Distance Branded Hiking Trail, Edmund Jocelyn, Gary Sigley

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

Having made the transition from a life-time acquired skill to something acquired by the casual tourist through a professional operator, outdoor ‘adventure’ tourism is now one of the fastest growing sectors. After having experienced the initial stages of the development of mass tourism, the tourism market in China is undergoing a period of significant diversification in which outdoor adventure tourism in the form of hiking is also a key growth area. In China the hikers, known as ‘donkey friends’, are growing in numbers and exploring new destinations to engage in short and long distance treks. As a result, whilst outdoor …

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Re-Evaluating Rural Environments: Rural Tourism Development In Japan, Megumi Doshita Jan 2014

Re-Evaluating Rural Environments: Rural Tourism Development In Japan, Megumi Doshita

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

The beautiful scenery of rural environments has been created by the agricultural and forestry industries but nowadays, in various rural areas, tourism has become lucrative and has developed as a leading industry. When the utilisation of rural environments is evaluated by focusing on the term ‘resources,’ several key aspects in which rural environments are recognised as tourism resources are revealed. In addition, concerning the nature of resources, rural environments utilised for tourism practices are symbolic rather than ecological resources. In Japan, there are three catalysts for transforming rural elements into tourism resources. These transformations are actualised by the expansion of …

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Book Reviews: Journal Of Tourism Consumption And Practice Volume 6 No.1 2014, Graham Busby, Charlie Mansfield, Maximiliano E. Korstanje Jan 2014

Book Reviews: Journal Of Tourism Consumption And Practice Volume 6 No.1 2014, Graham Busby, Charlie Mansfield, Maximiliano E. Korstanje

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

Re-imagining Heritage Interpretation – Enchanting the Past-Future Staiff, R. (2014) Ashgate 194 pp. ISBN 9781409455509 Tourists, Signs and the City – The Semiotics of Culture in an Urban Landscape Michelle Metro-Roland, M. (2011), Ashgate. 171 pp. ISBN : 978-0-7546-7809-0. Philosophical issues in tourism. Tribe, J. (ed) (2009) Channel View Publications 272 pp. ISBN 978-1845410964.

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Host Perspectives On Ethnic Minority Tourism In Northern Thailand, Alexander Trupp Jan 2014

Host Perspectives On Ethnic Minority Tourism In Northern Thailand, Alexander Trupp

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

In recent years tourism scholarship has increasingly recognized the role and importance of host perspectives in ethnic minority tourism. The main aim of this paper is to explicate the opinions and perceptions of ethnic minority communities in Northern Thailand. By drawing on emerging concepts of the host gaze I aim to further the understanding of how local residents in the field of ethnic tourism perceive and gaze upon the various actors and dimensions of ethnic tourism. Based on a qualitative research study employing semi-structured interviews and participant observation in two minority villages with different touristic intensity, this paper uncovers local …

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Teaching And Learning In Crime And Criminal Justice History: An Overview, Henry Yeomans Jan 2014

Teaching And Learning In Crime And Criminal Justice History: An Overview, Henry Yeomans

SOLON Law, Crime and History (previously SOLON Crimes and Misdemeanours: Deviance and the Law in Historical Perspective)

No abstract provided.

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Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill Jan 2014

Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The damaging effects of human activities on marine health suggest that a major shift is required in the way marine systems are used by individuals. Identifying how to engage society in this shift is an ongoing debate. This includes strengthening the positive connections between society and the sea. This study uses a survey (n¼1047) to investigate UK public perceptions of subtidal species and marine health to assess whether it is possible to build more positive connections between society and the sea. Respondents showed considerable interest in traditionally charismatic species (puffins, seals and seahorses) although many respondents thought these species did …

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Looking Forward Through The Past. Identification Of Fifty Priority Research Questions In Palaeoecology., A Seddon, A Mackay, A Baker, Et Al Jan 2014

Looking Forward Through The Past. Identification Of Fifty Priority Research Questions In Palaeoecology., A Seddon, A Mackay, A Baker, Et Al

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Priority question exercises are becoming an increasingly common tool to frame future agendas in conservation and ecological science. They are an effective way to identify research foci that advance the field and that also have high policy and conservation relevance. To date, there has been no coherent synthesis of key questions and priority research areas for palaeoecology, which combines biological, geochemical and molecular techniques in order to reconstruct past ecological and environmental systems on time-scales from decades to millions of years. We adapted a well-established methodology to identify 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. Using a set of criteria designed …

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Community Resilience, Transitional Corridors And Macro‐Scalar Lock‐In Effects, Ga Wilson Jan 2014

Community Resilience, Transitional Corridors And Macro‐Scalar Lock‐In Effects, Ga Wilson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This article analyses interlinkages between community resilience, transitional corridors and macro-scalar lock-in effects, with specific emphasis on exogenous drivers. Transition theory is used as an approach to analyse resilience pathways. The article suggests that transitional corridors shape decision-making opportunities, which are ultimately mediated by the individual/household within a community and turned into action with tangible effects on resilience/vulnerability ‘on the ground’. The importance of macro-structural ‘lock-ins’ for understanding constraints and opportunities for raising community resilience is highlighted, including in particular political and policy-based decision-making pathways, macro-structural lock-ins, ideological lock-in effects and macro-economic lock-ins. The article concludes by arguing that transitional …

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