Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-25T19:30:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luana Duda.pdf: 960098 bytes, checksum: ff9228de8e87ea8e51a385c5577160a2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-27 / Researches has been carried out focusing to improve nutrients use efficiency, avoid degradation of environmental resources, increase crop yields and maximize profitability of the agricultural production system. In this sense, integrated crop-livestock systems have been characterized by different dynamics compared to conventional crops systems, mainly because of the more efficient use of inputs due to high nutrient stored in the soil. The no-tillage (NT) associated with integrated crop-livestock (ICL) has been an alternative for intensification of soil use in Southern Brazil. In this issue, there are a lot of farmers have been cropped maize for silage production in the summer and annual ryegrass for various purposes (cover crop and animal feed). The maize due its yield potential, chemical composition and nutritional value, among other factors, constitutes one of the most important cropped and consumed cereal in the world and, moreover, this crop can be used for market manufacturing animal feed and human food. In this work were (i) evaluate the effects of liming on soil management systems (conventional tillage – CT, minimum tillage – MT, no-tillage – NT, and chiseled no-tillage – CNT) about the accumulated nutrients in maize aerial part; (ii) evaluated the dry matter (DM) and silage yields taking into consideration the previous crop annual ryegrass for different uses (cover crop – C, grazing – G, and silage – S) during the winter. The experiment was carried out Field Demonstration and Experimental (CDE) of the ABC Foundation, in the municipality of Castro-PR, in a clayey Haplohumox. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with split plots and four replications. In main plots (10 x 30 m), four systems of soil management (CT, MT, NT and CNT) was studied. In subplots (10 x 10 m), the annual ryegrass was cropped for different purposes (C, G and S). The intensification of soil use due pasture or silage production during the winter cannot change macronutrient inputs in systems of soil tillage under high concentration of organic matter and acidity controlled. This can be state if the winter pasture to be adequately managed. The high DM and macronutrients accumulated in aerial part of maize show the ability of annual ryegrass for nutrient recycling on the systems of production with different tillage and conditions of lime reactivity. / Pesquisas vêm sendo direcionadas no sentido de aprimorar a eficiência de utilização de nutrientes pelas plantas, evitar a degradação dos recursos ambientais, aumentar o rendimento das culturas e maximizar a lucratividade no sistema de produção agrícola. Nesse sentido, os sistemas integrados de produção têm sido caracterizados por dinâmica diferenciada em relação aos cultivos isolados, principalmente por apresentarem maior eficiência na utilização dos insumos. O sistema plantio direto (SPD), aliado à integração lavoura-pecuária (ILP) tem se destacado como uma das alternativas para a produção mais intensiva e sustentável de alimentos no Sul do Brasil. Nesse caso, o milho tem sido cultivado em sucessão ao azevém anual que pode ser destinado na forma de pastejo e/ou silagem pré-secada consumida pelos animais e também como cobertura do solo. O milho por seu potencial produtivo, sua composição química e seu valor nutritivo, entre outros fatores, constituí em um dos mais importantes cereais cultivados e consumidos no mundo, assumindo grande importância em âmbito mundial devido a suas inúmeras finalidades, como atender ao mercado de fabricação de ração animal e alimentação humana. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: (i) avaliar os efeitos da calagem em sistemas de manejo do solo (sistema convencional – SC, cultivo mínimo – CM, sistema plantio direto – SPD, e SPD com subsolagem – SPD+S) sobre o acúmulo de macronutrientes na parte aérea do milho; (ii) avaliar o rendimento de massa seca/silagem, decorrente de diferentes formas de uso (planta de cobertura do solo, pastejo animal e produção de silagem) do azevém anual durante o inverno. O experimento foi instalado no Campo Demonstrativo e Experimental (CDE) da Fundação ABC, no município de Castro, PR, em um solo Latossolo Bruno argiloso. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados, com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. Nas parcelas (10 x 30 m) foram estudados quatro sistemas de manejo do solo (SC, CM, SPD e SPD+S). Nas subparcelas (10 x 10 m) foram estudadas três formas de uso do azevém anual (cobertura, pastejo e silagem). A intensificação de uso do azevém anual mediante pastejo ou silagem pré-secada, desde que leve em consideração os critérios de altura (para pastejo/corte e resíduo) e nutricionais (com base na exportação e rendimento de massa seca) não alteram os aportes dos macronutrientes em sistemas de preparo de solo com alto teor de MO e acidez corrigida. Os altos rendimentos de MS e acúmulos de macronutrientes na parte aérea do milho evidenciam a capacidade do azevém anual proporcionar a reciclagem de nutrientes no sistema de produção, independentemente do manejo de solo adotado e condições de reatividade do calcário.

The National Student Survey (NSS) reveals that in the UK Higher Education students are generally dissatisfied with course assessment and feedback processes. This thesis investigates and evaluates a range of assessment and feedback strategies used during Initial Teacher Training (ITT) teaching practice. The views of trainee teachers, school based tutors and university based tutors with regard to the effectiveness of these strategies are also evaluated. A cross sectional research design employing questionnaires, interviews and a focus group interview was used to obtain and analyse data. The findings show that overall, the stakeholders in this study are satisfied with the assessment processes used to assess trainee teachers on teaching practice. These research findings are contrary to the NSS data. Insights gained contribute to the knowedge of the assessment of ITT trainees. This thesis indicates why the assessment strategies used on teaching practice are effective. The lesson observation and subsequent discursive feedback and action point setting is regarded as the most effective assessment strategy. Analysis of the research data suggests that lesson observation and feedback is effective because it provides an authentic assessment experience. The thesis argues that authentic assessment strategies have a positive impact on student experience.

There is an increasing awareness of the impact of domestic violence (DV) on children’s psychological well-being. A cross-government strategy, Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) has recently been launched (HM Government 2009). Although, the role that education can play has previously been neglected, there is now a growing interest in the role of schools in combating DV. However, the contribution educational psychologists (EPs) can make to this debate has been neglected. A small scale study was conducted to explore how EPs conceptualised DV and the role EPs could have in working with schools and children and families. Five EPs from educational psychology services (EPS) in two local authorities were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. A thematic analysis was conducted and 4 main themes highlighted; knowledge of DV, experience of DV in work, facilitators and barriers to practice. The research concludes that EPs face challenges in working with DV. Issues of safe working practices and confidentiality, professional sensitivities and lack of clarity of the EP role are identified. It is argued that some of the inherent difficulties to EP practice occur due to the hidden nature of children within DV as children exposed to DV have been marginalised and minimised within the dominant DV discourse.

The purpose of this research is to explore CSCL as an instructional model for developing the skills and competencies required in the „knowledge society‟ and to suggest under what conditions CSCL might be effective. To this end, an in-depth investigation of students‟ collaborative interaction patterns, their perceptions of their learning and the variables impacting on their interaction was conducted. The four contexts of study looked at alternative communication tools, collaborative task types and distance versus campus modes in South Korea and the UK. Data collection from these diverse contexts adopted a mixed methodology. Data analysis initially focused on the first two case studies and was then extended across the remaining contexts which explored alternative tasks and media. Students‟ collaboration patterns indicated that students input more effort on doing the work for which they were individually accountable rather than toward a group effort. The process of negotiating meaning was found to be weak in asynchronous online discussion and the most difficult aspect of group project tasks for students. Students‟ socio-emotional aspects also influenced collaboration patterns. Nevertheless, students‟ perceptual data indicated that they believed CSCL had diverse learning merits. In conclusion, some conditions for effective CSCL design were suggested.

This thesis is concerned with the question as to how to present the study of religion to students in religious education (RE) in schools that reflects a distinctively religious character but not a confessional one. It recognises that how religion is conceptualised in RE and the search for a distinctive rationale that reflects the subject’s nature and purpose, has been a contested question over the history of the subject in state maintained schools since the Education Act of 1870. More recently, criticism of what has been termed ‘modern liberal RE’ has focused on the claim that, in many instances, the subject has misrepresented religion, by being guilty of essentialism and in denying students opportunities to engage with the ‘truth claims’ of religions. It is within this context that this thesis argues that a nuanced understanding of John Hick’s religious interpretation of religion can positively illuminate these debates by providing a second order explanatory framework for the study of religion in RE.

Cultivating language learners’ willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) has been seen as the ultimate goal of L2 education and empirical inquiry into students’ intention to engage in L2 communication given the opportunity has gained momentum in applied linguistics research over the past decade or so. This strand of inquiry has seen a major shift from treating WTC as a relatively stable and fixed personality trait to taking a more context-sensitive perspective. In line with this shift, the present study set out to investigate the situated and emerging nature of L2 learners’ WTC in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in the Greek higher education setting. Adopting a ‘person-in context relational’ view of L2 motivation (Ushioda, 2009) as a theoretical and methodological lens for researching WTC, this qualitative multiple case study conducted over the period of one academic semester investigated L2 WTC of a diverse group of five first-year undergraduate students studying at a specific private higher education institution in Greece. Data came from ethnographic classroom observations, stimulated recall interviews, life story narratives, and follow-up interviews. While the findings have confirmed L2 WTC as a dynamic and complex construct, they have also added crucial new insights. The key amongst these is the notion that WTC must be understood as part of people’s larger meaning making practices. These unravel across lifespans and lifeworlds, occur in relationships with others, and, while not necessarily visible in the WTC moment, are always present in it. Thus, the present study has laid bare the consequences of adopting a person-in-context relational view of WTC in terms of what can be learned and what should be done about it in both research and practice.

This study is concerned with school-children’s communication, behavioural, and emotional development, in which the first concern has been to focus on their laughter. Although commonly thought of as an integral component of childhood, children’s laughter seldom receives the attention it deserves. The significance of laughter’s correlation with children’s social connectivity remains largely undiscovered. Little account has been taken of laughter’s exclusive orientation, and the strain this may create in schools with an avowedly inclusive ethos. Teachers and pupils who agreed to take part in this study were recruited from two primary schools. Together, they formed the substantive part of a pair of ethnographic case-studies. Data obtained from a series of playground/classroom observations and informal interviews were framed around Robert Putnam’s theory of social capital, and its own inclusive-exclusive (bridging and bonding) dynamic. Findings indicate that our diminishing stocks of social capital may be directly correlated with our decline in laughter production. They also confirm the view that it is unhelpful to consider inclusive and exclusive entities in isolation. Exclusive laughter appears to be a fundamental condition of inclusive schooling, with pupils and their teachers apparently natural exponents of a form of behaviour that may be described as inclusive-exclusive.

Attachment theory has become widely regarded as the most important and supported framework for understanding social and emotional development (Goldberg, 2000). Evidence suggests that attachment based interventions in early year’s settings will allow for a greater understanding, sensitive response and more effective use of practitioner’s skills when working with children (Kennedy and Kennedy, 2004). This thesis was produced as part of the written requirements for the new full-time Doctoral training in Educational Psychology. Volume one contains four chapters: Chapter one introduces the research study and literature review, providing information on the brokering and relevance of the research area. Chapter two discusses and presents existing attachment based interventions with parents, schools and early year’s settings. Chapter three reports findings from an evaluation an early year’s intervention, based on attachment principles - ‘Building Strong Foundations’. A multiple case study design was adopted. Three settings, where the intervention had been received, were evaluated to provide literal replication, and an additional setting, which had not received the intervention, acted as a comparison, and provided theoretical replication (Yin, 2009). Key positive outcomes and rival explanations are discussed, along with implications and future directions. Chapter four provides some final reflections and conclusions, including limitations in design and methods of the study. The impact which this study makes to the profession of educational psychology is also discussed.

This study explored the perspectives and practices of Educational Psychologists (EPs) who had encountered the apparent overlapping phenomenology of autism spectrum disorders and the enduring effects of early attachment experiences in their casework. Six EPs from two EP Services took part in interviews, which were audio recorded. Inductive and deductive analyses were mediated through the active constructionist role of the interviewer during the interview process and the thematic analysis of the resultant interview transcripts. The study intended to explore EPs’ differential conceptualisations of autism and attachment and how they conceptualise and attempt to differentiate the overlapping phenomenology. Analysis identified two other dimensions, which complemented the planned foci in a cogent way and were also examined: how EPs conceptualised the value of differentiating between autism and the effects of early attachment experiences; and how the discipline of educational psychology offers a distinct contribution to problem analysis in this area. The talk of EPs captured in this study contributes to existing practice-based evidence about overlapping phenomenology, and by describing a process of psychological problem analysis which could support more reliable differentiation between autism and effects of early attachment experiences. A distinctive contribution of the discipline of educational psychology is proposed and suggested as worthy of closer consideration as ethics and efficiencies are both of legitimate concern in contemporary multi-disciplinary, public service contexts. Other implications identified from this study pertain to the way in which EPs articulate their relationship with theory, their use of practice frameworks, and the distinct nature of their identities.

This study explores the dynamics of leadership of Asian, Black and Minority Ethnic (ABME) principals in England’s Further Education colleges. It identifies and describes the motivations and characteristics of their leadership which propel and sustain it. The research outcomes suggest that their leadership is learner and community focused. It is aimed at improving fairness, equality and social justice. The principals are driven by their deeply rooted principles, passions and values flowing from their direct experiences of disadvantage, disparities and racial discrimination. Their personal up-bringing, socialisation and heritage have not only inspired and encouraged them to come into education, but have also energised them in their journeys as leaders. The ABME principals’ trajectories, however, have been mediated by a persistent tendency within the establishment to marginalise and underestimate their capabilities, compounded by FE bureaucracies and organisational impediments. They have taken these obstacles as challenges and seized opportunities for further formalising their passions and principles into leadership strategies for transforming their colleges and influencing the FE environment. This thesis is based on empirical evidence, collected from interviews with the first generation ABME principals: the class of 1998/9 – 2008/9, offering an historic snapshot of their experiences, within the conceptual framework provided by the review of literature on educational leadership, FE management, race and ethnicity.