bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of livestock breed and grazing intensity on biodiversity and production in grazing systems. 2. Diet selection
Authors: Dumont B. , Rook A. J. , Coran Ch. , Röver K.‐U. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryReduction in grazing intensity and the use of traditional instead of commercial breeds have frequently been recommended to meet biodiversity and production goals in sustainable grazing systems. The impact of such practices within a range of contrasting grassland vegetation types was studied. This paper describes the effects on foraging behaviour in a study conducted over three years on mesotrophic or semi‐natural grasslands in UK (steers), Germany (steers), France (heifers) and Italy (sheep). Three treatments were performed: (i) a moderate grazing intensity using a commercial breed, (ii) a more lenient grazing intensity with a commercial breed and (iii) a more lenient intensity with a traditional breed. Livestock at all sites preferentially selected bites containing legumes and forbs, and also short rather than tall vegetative patches. Grazing intensity affected not only diet consumed, largely reflecting the different availabilities of dietary components, but also some differences in diet selection. Livestock grazing the more productive mesotrophic grasslands more frequently exploited short patches of higher nutritive value, which is expected to reinforce the spatial heterogeneity of the pastures. Studies in the UK and Germany also revealed that steers showed a more pronounced selection for short patches at the lenient grazing intensity. More homogeneous grazing by livestock on the semi‐natural grasslands with fine‐scale heterogeneity is likely to decrease their spatial heterogeneity. There were few differences in the choices made by commercial and traditional breed livestock. North Devon steers in the UK expressed a greater selection for tall grass‐forb bites than Charolais × Holstein crossbreds, whereas traditional breeds appeared slightly less selective than commercial breeds at the other three sites.
Seasonal patterns of diet composition, herbage intake and digestibility limit the performance of cattle grazing native pasture in the Falkland Islands
Authors: Miller S. M. , Thompson R. P. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe botanical composition, intake and digestibility of the diet consumed by mature lactating and non‐lactating cows grazing a native white grass (Cortaderia pilosa) plant community in the Falkland Islands was measured in four periods between September 1998 and June 1999. Five lactating and five non‐lactating cows were used in the summer, autumn and winter; five non‐lactating cows were used in the spring. Different cows were used in each period. Plant cuticle patterns in the faeces of cattle were used, in conjunction with the patterns of concentrations of n‐alkanes in the faeces, to estimate the botanical composition of the diet and predicted concentrations of C32‐ and C33‐alkanes in the herbage allowed herbage intake and digestibility to be estimated using the n‐alkane technique. White grass, sedges and rushes comprised 0·78, 0·64 and 0·63 of the diet in autumn, winter and spring respectively. Fine grasses, smooth‐stalked meadow grass (Poa pratensis L.), annual meadow grass (Poa annua L.), bent grass (Agrostis capillaris L.), native fescue (Festuca magellanica Lam.), Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus L.), wavy hair grass [Deschampsia flexuosa (L) Trin.] and early hair grass (Aira praecox L.), were consumed at the expense of sedges and rushes in summer and this coincided with the period of greatest estimated metabolizable energy and crude protein intakes by cows. Lactating cows suffered substantial liveweight loss during autumn and winter and this reflected the low quality of the diet consumed. Phosphorus intakes were insufficient and there was an estimated deficiency of vitamin D in the winter and early spring in cattle that were grazed with the experimental cows. The nutrient restrictions imposed on cattle by the low quality of native pasture during autumn and winter are likely to impair the reproductive potential of breeding females and methods should be investigated to improve the diet consumed by cows during these critical periods if cattle systems are to become sustainable in the Falkland Islands.
Implications of climate change for grassland in Europe: impacts, adaptations and mitigation options: a review
Authors: Hopkins A. , Del Prado A. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryClimate change associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may have important implications for Europe's grasslands. Projected scenarios indicate that increased temperatures and CO2 concentrations have the potential to increase herbage growth and to favour legumes more than grasses, but changes in seasonal precipitation would reduce these benefits particularly in areas with low summer rainfall. Further implications for grasslands may arise from increased frequency of droughts, storms and other extreme events. Potential farm‐scale adaptive responses to climate change are identified. Grassland agriculture also contributes to GHG emissions, particularly methane and nitrous oxide, and management of grassland affects net carbon balances and carbon sequestration. Management options are identified for mitigating grassland's contribution to GHG emissions which need to be developed in a holistic way that also considers other pressures.
The choice of a fitting model for in sacco degradation curves of some temperate and tropical grasses
Authors: Nivyobizi A. , Deswysen A. G. , Moreau B. , Dehareng D. , Larondelle Y. , Peeters A. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryThe objective was to compare alternative models for fitting to data on degradation of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) in the rumen of two harvests of four temperate grasses, made into hay in Belgium, and one harvest of three tropical grasses commonly used in Burundi. Fifteen non‐linear models were used and these included generalized Mitscherlich, simple Mitscherlich (or exponential), generalized Michaelis–Menten, Gompertz, logistic, simple Michaelis–Menten, segmented Van Milgen and von Bertalanffy models. Degradation profiles of DM, OM and CP obtained in sacco from the rumen of three mature sheep were fitted to all the models. The convergence success rate along with acceptable parameters was used as a first tool to eliminate models. Comparisons between the remaining twelve models were then made using the run test of sign, the root mean square prediction error, the root mean square error, the lack of fit test and the variance ratio test criteria. On the basis of an overall assessment using these tests, the Gompertz lagged model was the best suited to fit the degradation data of both temperate and tropical grasses. This study confirmed the superiority of sigmoid type functions over diminishing return‐type models.
Computer Aided Design in Industrial Design Education
Authors: CHAPMAN GILL 
Published: June 2007

In general, Industrial Design BA courses have been slow to formulate a coherent strategy for the inclusion, implementation and integration of computers into their teaching. CAD hardware and software has appeared in many institutions as a result of the enthusiasm of one or two individuals who have used a particular CAD system themselves or been bowled over by an impressive demonstration. The possession of the equipment then to a large extent determines what kind of use can be made of it, and this is also subject to the vagaries of staff time and expertise, both of which are often in short supply.Basic questions, such as ‘What is the purpose of CAD education in this course?’ or ‘What kind of computing do the students really need?’ are often by‐passed until it is too late. Over the last three years at Sheffield Hallam University a conscious attempt has been made to evolve an approach which begins with questions such as these and results in a coherent teaching and learning strategy for our students.
Controlling the Masses: the Reinvention of a ‘National’ Curriculum
Authors: SWIFT JOHN 
Published: June 2007

AbstractEducational policies and their curricula are inevitably political in their intent and design. The reintroduction of a supposed ‘national’ curriculum for British education reveals a strange notion of nationhood which retains privilege, and indeed accelerates it through the lure of (mainly) spurious competition to meet predetermined and externally defined standards. Art education does not escape this: it reflects the larger picture. Through comparing the educational policies and practices of Victorian education and art education with our own, this paper hopes to reveal commonalities and differences, and what these disclose about current values concerning the individual and the ‘nation’.
Beyond Local Cultures: Towards a Cosmopolitan Art Education
Authors: BURTONWOOD NEIL 
Published: June 2007

AbstractWhat kind of art education best takes up the educational opportunity of cultural diversity? This article draws on Merton's distinction between local and cosmopolitan perspectives on culture to contrast different models of art education in a multicultural society. An example is given to illustrate a local perspective on education which seeks to affirm pupils in their own culture. This model is underpinned by a particular view of culture, pluralism, art and education. Alternative views on each of these constituent elements are explored in order to make a case for an alternative model of art education ‐ one which goes beyond culture and which can more properly be described as cosmopolitan.
Primary Children's Understanding of Early Modern Artists' Concepts
Authors: GILBERT JEAN 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper reports on the first three weeks of a piece of classroom action research that took place over a period of eight weeks. It involved three primary classes: 5 year olds, 7/8 year olds and 11 year olds. The research was carried out in two contrasting settings: inner city Toxteth, Liverpool, with two classes of 5 and 11 year olds, and a leafy suburban setting in Cheshire, with one class of 7/8 year olds. The research sought answers to the following questions: Can young children understand some aspects of the concepts that inform modern art? Could that understanding be used to bring about cognitive development in their artwork? How are the developmental differences between 5, 7/8, and 11 year olds demonstrated? Do inner‐city children perform less well than suburban children in art? Could each child's learning be assessed in art? For reasons of brevity this paper gives evidence of the 5 and 11 year old children's work and reports on the 7/8 year olds response in the conclusion.
Discourse and Practice in the Art Curriculum and the Production of the Pupil as a Subject
Authors: ATKINSON DENNIS 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe development of enquiry into language this century has implications for pedagogy. This development concerns the transition from viewing language as a transparent medium, identifying an external objective reality, to a view in which language constitutes reality as we understand it. The paper begins by outlining some contemporary theoretical developments concerning the ‘productive’ or material nature of discourse. The paper shows how particular curriculum practices in art can be viewed as discursive sites which perpetuate particular discourses in which the pupil as art practitioner is produced. By focusing upon drawing practices the paper shows that the notion of ‘ability’ does not refer to some absolute skill possessed by pupils, but to particular ideological interpretations through which ability is conferred. However, such interpretations do provide us with stable forms which allow us to act as if they were absolute. Such interpretational states reveal the circular structure of interpretational practices such as evaluation and assessment. The paper shows how the reflexive nature of hermeneutic analysis can be helpful in providing a suitable space for reflection when such interpretational states break down during the practice of teaching art. By analysing a series of pupil's drawings the paper discusses how our interpretational discourses identify the pupil's ability and constitute the pupil as a subject in the ait curriculum. The paper forms part of a larger body of work in which the author is exploring how different practices in the art curriculum constitute discursive fields within which pupils as subjects are produced.
The Changing Culture of Five English Art Schools 1989–1994
Authors: HOLDER BRIAN 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA lot of people would say that life in our art schools has changed in the last few years. But what has changed, and how might it be measured? This paper describes an investigation into changes perceived by academic staff in the organisational culture of five art schools in the south‐east of England over the last five years. The research method reflects the primarily visual interests of the respondents, in that a series of metaphorical images of the art school were presented for rating. To minimise the effects of nostalgia and other personal variables, the sample was divided into two groups: staff with more than five years' service in the institution; and staff who had joined since that time. To facilitate interpretation of the results, a further instrument was applied, asking each respondent to indicate the meanings they associated with the metaphors offered. The findings show a substantial concurrence between the two sample groups in terms of the meanings they attributed to the metaphors, and this is viewed as giving authority to evidence of a range of perceived changes, notably perceptions of reduced order, harmony, co‐operation, autonomy, growth, reward and of increases in perceived competition and conservatism. Set against these effects is evidence of unchanged perceptions of a sense of community, of the art school's basic function, of people's roles within it, and a sense of productivity with humane relationships remaining in place.
Crits—An Examination
Authors: JONES SU HALL 
Published: June 2007

AbstractArchitectural design education relies upon a practice known in Britain as the ‘crit’ through which to discuss student's work. The author, who studied as an architect and now teaches design to architecture students, describes the history of this institution and the ways in which its use has changed in the last 150 years. She uses the context of a British school of architecture and both contemporary and earlier research examples to support the hypothesis that these changes have contributed to the current atmosphere of doubt in which the crit is held. Central to her argument is the unresolved connection between formative and summative assessment occasions brought about by an apparently unavoidable association between the work of students and the students themselves. The paper supports the call for a review of architectural education methods, whilst stressing that the nature and flaws of the existing process must first be recognised.
Assessment: Do Males and Females make Judgements in a Self‐selecting Fashion?
Authors: MOSS GLORIA 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe article considers the reasons why females perform systematically better at school examinations than males, and why this pattern is reversed at tertiary level examinations. The possibility is considered that this is due to the exercise of an unconscious preference on the part of teachers for work done by students of their own sex. In this way, the predominance of female teachers at school level and male teachers at tertiary level is likely to favour the work of females and males respectively.
Responding to Bilingual Pupils in the Art Classroom
Authors: MOORE ALEX 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe issue of assessing early‐phase bilingual pupils in the secondary‐school art classroom is approached through a close description of the experiences of one pupil. Against the background of a pluralistic whole‐school policy for the Arts, this pupil's early work is subjected to an apparently non‐pluralistic, ‘universal’ model of development and assessment, which results, it is argued, in the pursuit of an unhelpful pedagogy.This essentially ethnocentric approach is contrasted with other approaches, which locate pupil performance in the cultural rather than the psychological domain and which suggest the value of teachers' pursuing a ‘repertoire extension’ model of development.It is argued that in order to do this, teachers need not merely to validate ‘alternative’ forms of cultural representation, but to distance themselves sufficiently from their own cultural norms in order not to ‘misrecognise’ such alternatives as simply failed versions of the dominant cultural forms of the institution.
The Modular Condition: Technocracy, Art and Cultural Politics
Authors: COLLINS JEFFREY 
Published: June 2007

AbstractModularisation can be examined as a process of organisational change informed by particular discursive structures and conceptual problematics, both of which are related to questions of cultural politics and of power. Drawing on the work of Habermas and other critical social theorists, the paper argues that modularisation is dominantly informed by a ‘technocratic rationalist’ mode of thought, derived from the logics of science, technology and industry rather than contemporary art or other cultural practices. This is especially evident in the way modularisation prioritises a quantitative systems logic, relegates and de‐realises educational content, and. contrary to its own rhetoric of diversity and choice, exercises a universalising drive through strategies of assimilation and extension.Crucially for art education, this identification suggests an intensified contradiction between the prevalent discourses and values of contemporary art, and those of educational organisation. The paper explores some of the implications of this contradiction for art education in the 1990s.
Religious Faith in Mexican‐American Families Dealing with Chronic Childhood Illness
Authors: Rehm Roberta S. 
Published: June 2007

Purpose: To explore Mexican‐American family experiences with chronic childhood illness, from the perspective of parents, and report findings about the influence of religious faith on families' spiritual and secular responses to illness. Mexican‐Americans are often characterized as religious, fatalistic, and passive, but families' perceptions of the consequences of their daily faith and its meaning in the face of chronic childhood illness is not well understood.Design: Descriptive. The sample included 25 parents from 19 families living with children with a variety of chronic conditions. Data were collected in 1995–1996.Methods: Interpretive, using symbolic interaction as the framework, and in‐depth interviewing for data collection.Findings: Parents professed a variety of beliefs and devotional practices. Six unifying dimensions of religious faith were related to parental caretaking and decision making for the family: (a) God determined the outcome of the child's illness, (b) God and health care for the child were closely linked, (c) parents took an active role in facilitating God's will, (d) families had obligations to God, (e) intercession with God by others was often sought by or offered to the family, and (f) faith encouraged optimism.Conclusions: Families were not fatalistic in the sense of feeling outcomes were predetermined and unalterable. Family members took spiritual and secular actions to assure the best possible familial and professional care for their child and sought to influence God's good will on behalf of the child and family.
Stories of Growing Up Amid Violence by Refugee Children of War and Children of Battered Women Living in Canada
Authors: Berman Helene 
Published: June 2007

Purpose:To explore how two groups of children who grew up amid violence “make sense” of their experience. As violence has become a common element of some societies, growing numbers of children have been forced to live in dangerous environments. Although considerable research has been conducted with children who are abused or neglected, the needs of those who witness violence have been largely overlooked.Design:Critical narrative and descriptive. Data were collected. 1995–1996, in Canada from a convenience sample of 16 refugee children of war and 16 children of battered women.Methods:Participants were asked open‐ended questions about the violence in their lives, their feelings about what occurred, their thoughts about the reasons for violence, and their ways of surviving and growing. Common themes were identified and validated.Findings:Despite differences in the children's stories, many parallels were evident. Both groups of youngsters endured pain, suffering, and feelings of betrayal. Both used creative strategies to survive. The way the children endured growing up amid violence was mediated by social, political, and cultural constructions of violence. Because these meanings were unique, violence was experienced in several ways.Conclusions:Although the children showed remarkable strength and insight, they face many challenges. Despite a common perception that children are unable to talk about deeply troubling experiences, this research demonstrated that children not only want to discuss their experience, but also welcome the opportunity to do so.
Comfort in Labor and Midwifery Art
Authors: Schuiling Kerri Durnell , Sampselle Carolyn M. 
Published: June 2007

Purpose: To examine the phenomenon of comfort in the context of childbirth. Enhancement of comfort for laboring women is a valued outcome of nursing and midwifery care. Interventions that increase comfort during labor support a woman's effort to participate more fully in the birth thereby keeping her more aware of her body, emotions, and experience.Organizing construct: The concept of comfort is analyzed and defined in the context of laboring women. Comfort studied from a feminist perspective is suggested.Sources: A literature review of nursing, midwifery, and medical texts from the 1920s to 1998 provides information about labor, pain in labor, and goals of providers caring for laboring women. Research articles focusing on comfort are identified as they relate to the concept of comfort in labor. Writings of contemporary feminist authors provided the ideas for designing the study of comfort from a feminist perspective.Methods: To develop a theory of comfort during labor, early nursing and midwifery texts were searched to identify goals of care. The meaning of comfort was analyzed from the early 1920s to the present by concept analysis. Validation of findings was sought from publications on comfort research.Findings: Comfort can exist in spite of great pain and nurses and midwives may be able to assist laboring women to achieve a level of comfort during labor. Intervening to promote the comfort of laboring women can empower these women during birthing.Conclusions: For clinicians caring for birthing women, particularly midwives, promotion of comfort is a high priority. Increasing comfort can redefine the meaning of pain in childbirth. Increasing comfort may create a decreased need for medical interventions and lower costs.