Micro-CT-assisted determination of the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of charred rice spikelet bases from archaeological sites: a new methodological approach

The selection of a non-shattering phenotype is a pivotal change in the process of rice domestication. However, current research is heavily restricted by the preservation conditions of macro-plant remains in early and middle Neolithic sites, as very limited well-preserved rice spikelet bases could be retrieved. We present a non-destructive method based on micro-computed tomographic (CT) scanning, which could provide detailed visualization of the internal structures of charred spikelet bases and efficiently discriminate the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of rice spikelet bases according to the abundance of fusiform echinate phytoliths. It could be widely applied in different contexts, especially those poorly preserved specimens and tempers in pottery sherds, greatly improving our knowledge of rice domestication.     

Rural youth and urban-based vocational training: gender,space and aspiring to ‘become someone’

ABSTRACT

The policy phrase Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is rapidly gaining ground across Southeast Asia (and beyond). Despite numerous policy reports, little is known about how vocational training and education work as sites of practice. This is especially true for informal household-based apprenticeships and privately organized, commercial classroom-based training. Yet, these latter arrangements are numerous, an integral part of the widespread informal economy, and reflecting the fact that homes have retained their productive character in much of the Global South. Combining a village-based perspective (Laos) with an urban-based perspective (Cambodia), we analyse how these informal and privately organized training spaces are situated in rural youth’s gendered lives and shaped by, but also generative of, aspirations of ‘becoming someone’. In addition, comparing informal apprenticeships with classroom-based training leads us to raise some important questions about the implications of the (global) policy emphasis on the standardization and formalization of TVET.     

Geopolitics of the Kaliningrad Exclave and Enclave: Russian and EU Perspectives

Two U.S. political geographers examine a range of geopolitical issues associated with the shifting sovereignty of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast (a part of the former German province of East Prussia) during the 20th century, as well as the region's evolving geopolitical status as a consequence of the European Union's enlargement to embrace Poland and Lithuania. They argue that Kaliningrad today can be considered a "double" borderland, situated simultaneously on the European Union's border with Russia as well as physically separated from Russia, its home country, by the surrounding land boundaries of EU states. Although technically neither an exclave nor an enclave, they posit that in many ways it resembles both, and as such presents a unique set of problems for economic development and interstate relations.     

干部培训中党性教育的经验及其创新

干部培训的地位和性质决定了党性教育是其永恒的主题。加强现阶段的干部培训工作,必须针对新的形势和任务,必须针对干部培训对象的变化,必须注重教育内容和方式的创新,以增强干部党性教育的时代感、针对性和有效性。     

文物保护重点科研基地的遴选评估初探

文化遗产保护是我国可持续发展战略的一项重要组成部分,为做好这方面的工作,发挥科学技术对这一领域的支撑和带动作用,国家文物局通过对科研机构的遴选,建立起一批文物保护重点科研基地,搭建开放、共享的创新平台。笔者认为首要的是建立一套科学合理的评估指标体系,通过科学选取评估指标、确定指标权重、采用适当的计算方法,遴选出合适的科研机构,进入到文物保护重点科研基地。     

Advanced Research Training in Human Geography: the Scottish Experience

Formal research training is integral to research degrees in human geography completed in UK higher education institutions today. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has been the driving force behind the formalization of research training. Arguably less well known among the ESRC research training recommendations is the stipulation that postgraduate research students complete advanced research training. This paper will draw upon the authors' experiences of the collaborative ESRC/Royal Scottish Geographical Society Advanced Research Training for Scottish Postgraduate Human Geographers. A detailed account of the advanced research training provision will be given, followed by staff and student reflections on the training. The paper concludes by considering what advanced research training offers to the PhD process and future developments in advanced research training.     

Performing Academic Practice: Using the Master Class to Build Postgraduate Discursive Competences

How can we find ways of training PhD students in academic practices, while reflexively analysing how academic practices are performed? The paper's answer to this question is based on evaluations from a British–Nordic master class. The paper discusses how master classes can be used to train the discursive skills required for academic discussion, commenting and reporting. Methods used in the master class are: performing and creative arts pedagogical exercises, the use of written provocations to elicit short papers, discussion group exercises, and training in reporting and in panel discussion facilitated by a meta-panel discussion. The authors argue that master classes have the potential to further develop advanced-level PhD training, especially through their emphasis on reflexive engagement in the performance of key academic skills.     

Knowledge Transfer at the Research–Policy Interface: The Geography Postgraduates' Experiences of Collaborative Studentships

The need for effective knowledge transfer has been well documented; however, few narratives reflect on postgraduates as brokers of knowledge when participating in collaborative studentships. This paper reports on the authors' experiences of undertaking Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Scottish Government (SG) collaborative PhD studentships in geography, a new studentship which trains doctoral students to be employable in both academe and government. Particular focus is given to the experiences related to an annual month-long SG placement, which increases opportunities for knowledge transfer by engendering a deeper awareness of the needs of all partners. It concludes by considering what the experiences offer to the PhD process, authors' future prospects, and the issue of knowledge transfer more broadly.     

Are South African Geography education students ready for problem-based learning?

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the possible training strategies that could be more fully implemented in the South African formal education system. The intention to migrate from teacher-centred to learner-centred instructions in higher education institutions and schools makes PBL a plausible option. Geography education students might be exposed to PBL because their training implies the acquisition of abilities to solve real-world situations at various geographical scales. This paper explores the perception of second- and third-year students in a BEd programme in Potchefstroom, South Africa. The study uses a mixed-method research approach based on questionnaire application, students' learning journal entries and field notes. Findings from the study indicate that students show very positive perceptions of PBL as a training strategy for teaching and learning. A gender difference regarding general aspects of PBL, independent learning, workload, assessment rubrics and the different role-players in PBL indicates that female students hold more positive perceptions of the PBL experience. Overall, the results indicate that students with higher academic performances in most instances hold more positive perceptions of the PBL experience.