100 years on: a century of genetics

In 2006 we celebrated the centenary of a remarkable year that saw the birth of genetics as a scientific discipline. This birth had its origins in horticulture and was supervised by a remarkable Cambridge academic, accompanied by a loyal group of female colleagues who worked together in underfunded conditions with little institutional support. Despite this deprivation, they established the foundations of an ongoing revolution, with huge academic and commercial consequences that we can recognize today in the shape of genomics and its application to biomedicine.

Diverging from the dominant discourse- some implications of conflicting subject understandings in the education of teachers

This paper addresses beginning teachers thinking about the nature and purposes of their subject and the impact of this on their practice. Individual qualitative interviews were undertaken with 11 history teachers at the beginning of their teaching careers. Data was analysed using writing as the method of analysis and revealed that teachers whose thinking was at odds with dominant discourses, for example in the form of a national curriculum, encountered difficulties embracing pedagogies and aspects of the curriculum that do not accord with their own deep-seated beliefs, demonstrating a need for the initial training and professional development of teachers to forefront consideration of subject understandings.

Diverging from the dominant discourse – some implications of conflicting subject understandings in the education of teachers

This paper addresses beginning teachers thinking about the nature and purposes of their subject and the impact of this on their practice. Individual qualitative interviews were undertaken with 11 history teachers at the beginning of their teaching careers. Data was analysed using writing as the method of analysis and revealed that teachers whose thinking was at odds with dominant discourses, for example in the form of a national curriculum, encountered difficulties embracing pedagogies and aspects of the curriculum that do not accord with their own deep-seated beliefs, demonstrating a need for the initial training and professional development of teachers to forefront consideration of subject understandings.

Social capital and the role of trust in aspirations for higher education

This paper considers the role of social capital and trust in the aspirations for higher education of a group of socially disadvantaged girls. Drawing on data from a longitudinal, ethnographic case study of an underperforming secondary school, the paper considers current conceptualisations of social capital and its role in educational ambitions. The paper concludes by tentatively suggesting that whilst social capital is extremely helpful in explaining differences within groups, trust appears to be a pre-requisite for the investment and generation of social capital, as opposed to the other way around. The paper also suggests that young people are not necessarily dependent on their families for their social capital but are able to generate capital in their own right.

Impact of Bt cotton on farmer livelihoods in South Africa

The economic benefits of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in developing countries have been well documented, but little research has been undertaken to date on the impacts of GM adoption on household livelihoods. The research reported here aimed to assess the livelihood impacts of the adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa., and involved 100 interviews of resource-poor farmers growing Bt cotton in Makhathini Flats, South Africa. Some 88% of respondents reported a higher income from Bt compared to non-Bt varieties previously grown by them, and this higher income was used primarily for greater education of their children (76%), more investment in growing cotton (46%), repaying debt (28%), investment in other crops (20%) and spending money on themselves. Some 89% had increased their asset base due to Bt cotton, primarily by increasing their cultivable land. These benefits of Bt adoption appeared widespread regardless of gender or farm size.

Impact of Bt cotton on farmer livelihoods in South Africa

The economic benefits of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in developing countries have been well documented, but little research has been undertaken to date on the impacts of GM adoption on household livelihoods. The research reported here aimed to assess the livelihood impacts of the adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa., and involved 100 interviews of resource-poor farmers growing Bt cotton in Makhathini Flats, South Africa. Some 88% of respondents reported a higher income from Bt compared to non-Bt varieties previously grown by them, and this higher income was used primarily for greater education of their children (76%), more investment in growing cotton (46%), repaying debt (28%), investment in other crops (20%) and spending money on themselves. Some 89% had increased their asset base due to Bt cotton, primarily by increasing their cultivable land. These benefits of Bt adoption appeared widespread regardless of gender or farm size.

Annual CREMRU-JCI survey of corporate estate management practices in Europe and North America: 1993-1997

This paper summarizes the results of the 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 surveys of chief real estate officers (CREO) from major organizations in Europe and North America. Since 1997 the annual survey is being undertaken jointly by the Corporate Real Estate Management Research Unit (CREMRU) and Johnson Controls Incorporate (JCI). The annual survey has been supported by the International Development Research Council (IDRC) and the International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives (NACORE International), two leading professional associations concerned with this field of professional activity. The emphasis of this summary is on two aspects of the survey: the incidence of corporate real estate management (CREM) policies, functions and activities; and the assessment of knowledge or skills relevant to the CREM function in the future. Both are of paramount interest to the educational institutions concerned with CREM on both sides of the Atlantic. This includes the educational organs of international organizations concerned with corporate real estate, such as IDRC and NACORE, which play increasingly important roles in the education of their members. The CREMRUJCI annual survey will hopefully offer a useful tool in the international educational effort in this field