Schooling elsewhere: Rurality, inclusion and education

Over its history, the International Journal of Inclusive Education has had a strong record of naming, critiquing and redressing the ways in which particular social locations shape experiences of inclusion and exclusion in education. In this special issue, we continue this tradition taking as our focus those who live outside the metropolitan mainstream. To date, rural schools and the communities of which they are part have often been overlooked by researchers of inclusive education. This is not to suggest that the rural has been ignored entirely in research on inclusivity and schooling. For example, a number of studies have included rural case studies as part of broader research on subjects such as educational disadvantage and experiences of poverty (Horgan 2009), inclusivity and early childhood services (Penn 1997), constraints to inclusive educational practice (Shevlin, Winter, and Flynn 2013) and the efficacy of inclusivity training programmes for teachers (Strieker, Logan, and Kuhel 2012). Such work provides a critical reference point for this special issue as it has demon- strated that the educational landscape may be very differently experienced in the rural compared to the urban. Illustrative is Wikeley et al.’s (2009, 381) assertion that working class Irish youth living outside the urban sphere are ‘doubly disadvantaged’ in terms of accessing out-of-school activities and Milovanovic et al.’s (2014, 47) claim that for young children in the Western Balkans, there is a ‘dearth of pre-school provision in rural areas’. As well as highlighting cleavages of disadvantage as they exist between urban and rural schools, work in this journal has also revealed disadvantage that exists within rural schools. This scholarship has explored how particular social locations, such as disability, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and class intersect with rurality to produce very different educational biographies. For example, it may be class, as Holt (2012) found in her study of young rural women’s transition to a city university, or it may be gender, as Tuwor and Sossou (2008) posited in their work on the schooling of girls in West Africa.

Estimating the burden of disease attributable to urban outdoor air pollution in South Africa in 2000

Objectives To quantify the mortality burden attributed to urban outdoor air pollution in South Africa in 2000. Design The study followed comparative risk assessment (CRA) methodology developed by the World Heath Organization (WHO). In most urban areas, annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with diameters less than 10 μum (PM10) from monitoring network data and PM with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) derived using a ratio method were weighted according to population size. PM10 and PM2.5 data from air-quality assessment studies in areas not covered by the network were also included. Population-attributable fractions calculated using risk coefficients presented in the WHO study were weighted by the proportion of the total population (33%) in urban environments, and applied to revised estimates of deaths and years of life lost (YLLs) for South Africa in 2000. Setting South Africa. Subjects Children under 5 years and adults 30 years and older. Outcome measures Mortality and YLLs from lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease in adults (30 years and older), and from acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in children aged 0 - 4 years. Results Outdoor air pollution in urban areas in South Africa was estimated to cause 3.7% of the national mortality from cardiopulmonary disease and 5.1% of mortality attributable to cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung in adults aged 30 years and older, and 1.1% of mortality from ARIs in children under 5 years of age. This amounts to 4 637 or 0.9% (95% uncertainty interval 0.3 - 1.5%) of all deaths and about 42 000 YLLs, or 0.4% (95% uncertainty interval 0.1 - 0.7%) of all YLLs in persons in South Africa in 2000. Conclusion Urban air pollution has under-recognised public health impacts in South Africa. Fossil fuel combustion emissions and traffic-related air pollution remain key targets for public health in South Africa.

Sport development programmes for Indigenous Australians : innovation, inclusion and development, or a product of ‘white guilt’?

Under the legacy of neoliberalism, it is important to consider how the indigenous people, in this case of Australia, are to advance, develop and achieve some approximation of parity with broader societies in terms of health, educational outcomes and economic participation. In this paper, we explore the relationships between welfare dependency, individualism, responsibility, rights, liberty and the role of the state in the provision of Government-funded programmes of sport to Indigenous communities. We consider whether such programmes are a product of ‘white guilt’ and therefore encourage dependency and weaken the capacity for independence within communities and individuals, or whether programmes to increase rates of participation in sport are better viewed as good investments to bring about changes in physical activity as (albeit a small) part of a broader social policy aimed at reducing the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in health, education and employment.

Towards inclusion: Provision for diversity in the transition to school

Policies of inclusion challenge the construct of readiness and require schools to prepare for the diversity of children as they transition to school. However, there is limited empirical evidence concerning how this challenge is met. This paper presents two Australian studies that investigate inclusive practices in the transition to school. Study 1 examined the predictors of child outcomes across a sample of 1831 children in 39 schools. The results indicate that both quantity and quality of programme provision influenced outcomes and that programme effects were particularly potent for children with diverse abilities and backgrounds. Study 2 focuses on pedagogy in three of the schools to highlight how this provision can be achieved. Results show that provisions were reactive, that saliency of children’s needs directed school practices and that professional knowledge impacted on measures of quality. Inclusive processes accounting for both child progress and broader family and teaching influences are necessary for improved transition to school.

Development of a climate assessment tool for hybrid air conditioner

Australian climate is highly suitable for using outdoor air for free building cooling. In order to evaluate the suitability of hybrid cooler for specific applications, a pre-design climate assessment tool is developed and presented in this paper. In addition to the consideration of the local climate, comfort zone proposed by ASHRAE handbook and specific design of building and operation of hybrid cooler, possible influence from environmental factors (e.g. air humidity and air velocity), as well as personal factors (e.g. activity level and clothing insulation) on occupant’s thermal comfort are also considered in this tool. It is demonstrated that with the input of climatic data for a particular location and the associated design data for a specific application, the developed climate assessment tool is able to not only sort outdoor air conditions into the different process regions but also project them onto the psychrometric chart. It can also be used to estimate the hours for an individual operational mode under various climate conditions and summarize them in a table “Results”.

The influence of internal load density on the energy and thermal performance of air-conditioned office buildings in the face of global warming

Internal heat sources may not only consume energy directly through their operation (e.g. lighting), but also contribute to building cooling or heating loads, which indirectly change building cooling and heating energy. Through the use of building simulation technique, this paper investigates the influence of building internal load densities on the energy and thermal performance of air conditioned office buildings in Australia. Case studies for air conditioned office buildings in major Australian capital cities are presented. It is found that with a decrease of internal load density in lighting and/or plug load, both the building cooling load and total energy use can be significantly reduced. Their effect on overheating hour reduction would be dependent on the local climate. In particular, it is found that if the building total internal load density is reduced from the base case of “medium” to “extra–low, the building total energy use under the future 2070 high scenario can be reduced by up to 89 to 120 kWh/m² per annum and the overheating problem could be completely avoided. It is suggested that the reduction in building internal load densities could be adopted as one of adaptation strategies for buildings in face of the future global warming.

Challenges in field monitoring of energy performance of air conditioners

Experimental work could be conducted in either laboratory or at field site. Generally, the laboratory experiments are carried out in an artificial setting and with a highly controlled environment. By contrast, the field experiments often take place in a natural setting, subject to the influences of many uncontrolled factors. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully assess the possible limitations and appropriateness of an experiment before embarking on it. In this paper, a case study of field monitoring of the energy performance of air conditioners is presented. Significant challenges facing the experimental work are described. Lessons learnt from this case study are also discussed. In particular, it was found that on-going analysis of the monitoring data and the correction of abnormal issues are two of the keys for a successful field test program. It was also shown that the installation of monitoring systems could have a significant impact on the accuracy of the data being collected. Before monitoring system was set up to collect monitoring data, it is recommended that an initial analysis of sample monitored data should be conducted to make sure that the monitoring data can achieve the expected precision. In the case where inevitable inherent errors were induced from the installation of field monitoring systems, appropriate remediation may need to be developed and implemented for the improved accuracy of the estimation of results. On-going analysis of monitoring data and correction of any abnormal issues would be the key to a successful field test program.

The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities

Ever growing populations in cities are associated with a major increase in road vehicles and air pollution. The overall high levels of urban air pollution have been shown to be of a significant risk to city dwellers. However, the impacts of very high but temporally and spatially restricted pollution, and thus exposure, are still poorly understood. Conventional approaches to air quality monitoring are based on networks of static and sparse measurement stations. However, these are prohibitively expensive to capture tempo-spatial heterogeneity and identify pollution hotspots, which is required for the development of robust real-time strategies for exposure control. Current progress in developing low-cost micro-scale sensing technology is radically changing the conventional approach to allow real-time information in a capillary form. But the question remains whether there is value in the less accurate data they generate. This article illustrates the drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities, whilst addressing the major challenges for their effective implementation.

Bicycle commuting and exposure to air pollution: A questionnaire-based investigation of perceptions, symptoms and risk management strategies

Background An increase in bicycle commuting participation may improve public health and traffic congestion in cities. Information on air pollution exposure (such as perception, symptoms and risk management) contributes to the responsible promotion of bicycle commuting participation. Methods To determine perceptions, symptoms and willingness for specific exposure risk management strategies of exposure to air pollution, a questionnaire-based cross-sectional investigation was conducted with adult bicycle commuters (n = 153; age = 41 ± 11 yr; 28% female). Results Frequency of acute respiratory signs and symptoms are positively-associated with in- and post-commute compared to pre-commute time periods (p < 0.05); greater positive-association is with respiratory disorder compared to healthy, and female compared to male, participants. The perception (although not signs or symptoms) of in-commute exposure to air pollution is positive-associated with the estimated level of in-commute proximity to motorised traffic. The majority of participants indicated a willingness (which varied with health status and gender) to adopt risk management strategies (with certain practical features) if shown to be appropriate and effective. Conclusions While acute signs and symptoms of air pollution exposure are indicated with bicycle commuting, and more so in susceptible individuals, there is willingness to manage exposure risk by adopting effective strategies with desirable features.

The influence of abrasive pretreatment on hot air drying of grape

The drying of grapes is a more complex process compared to the dehydration of other agricultural materials due to the necessity of a pretreatment operation prior to drying. Grape drying to produce raisins is a very slow process, due to the peculiar structure of grape peel, that is covered by a waxy layer.Its removal has benn so far carried out by using several chemical pre-treatments. However, they cause heterogeneity in the waxes removal and create microscopic cracks. In this paper an abrasive pretreatment for enhancing the drying rate and preserving the grape samples is proposed. Two cultivars of grape were investigated: Regina white grape and Red Globe red grape. The drying kinetics of untreated and treated samples were studied using a convective oven at 50 C. Fruit quality parameters such as sugar and organic acid contents, shrinkage, texture, peel damage (i.e. by SEM analysis) and rehydration capacity were studied to evaluate the effectiveness of abrasive pretreatment on raisins. Abrasive pretreatment contributed to reduce drying time and rehydration time. The treated and untreated dried grapes were significantly different (p<0.05) in sugar and in tartaric acid content. On the contrary, no significant differences (p<0.05) in malic and citric acids in texture peoperties between untreated and treated samples were observed.

Air analysis

There are three distinct categories of air environment to be considered in this chapter. These are as follows: (1) The “ambient” or general outdoors atmosphere to which the members of the population are exposed when they venture out of their homes or offices in industrial, urban or rural environments. (2) Indoor air environments, which occur in buildings such as homes, schools, restaurants, public hospitals and office buildings. This category does not cover factories or workplaces which are otherwise subjected to the provisions of various occupational health standards. (3) Workplace atmospheres, which occur in a variety of industries or factories and for which there are numerous atmospheric concentration limits (or exposure standards) promulgated by appropriate bodies or organisations. Since 2009 setting concentration limits for atmospheric contaminants has been administered by Safe Work Australia. A fourth category of air environment which falls outside this chapter is that which is related to upper atmospheric research, global atmospheric effects and concomitant areas of inquiry and/or debate. Such areas include “greenhouse” gas emissions, ozone depletion, and related matters of atmospheric chemistry and physics. This category is not referred to again in this chapter.

More than just audiences : Developing communitas and social inclusion through theatre participation for young people

In a Facebook conversation about theatre going by young people in Brisbane playwright Valerie Foley noted, “theatre in and of itself may not have the cultural value it once had”. This chapter explores how three Australian live theatre/performance events – World Theatre Festival (Brisbane 2011 and 2012), Backbone’s annual 2High Festival (Brisbane 2012) and Next Wave Festival (Melbourne 2012) - repositioned the value of live performing arts to develop social cohesion and wellbeing for young people. The chapter draws out how these performance events developed communitas (Turner 2012) for young audiences.