"I don't know what you are trying to establish": The socio-environmental 'problems' of visual impaired children

This paper uses the social model of disability to examine visually impaired children's experiences of their housing and neighbourhoods and finds that they did not experience any significant problems with the design of them. The source of their problems was within these environments, and was caused by factors such as the intensity of movement, for example, from flows of traffic. We conclude by discussing the social policy implications of these findings.

Don't we care?: the ethics and emotional labour of early years professionalism

This paper argues that early childhood education and care (ECEC) has a legitimate aspiration to be a 'caring profession' like others such as nursing or social work, defined by a moral purpose. For example, practitioners often draw on an ethic of care as evidence of their professionalism. However, the discourse of professionalism in England completely excludes the ethical vocabulary of care. Nevertheless, it necessarily depends on gendered dispositions towards emotional labour, often promoted by training programmes as 'professional' demeanours. Taking control of the professionalisation agenda therefore requires practitioners to demonstrate a critical understanding of their practice as 'emotion work'. At the same time, reconceptualising practice within a political ethic of care may allow the workforce, and new trainees in particular, to champion 'caring' as a sustainable element of professional work, expressed not only in maternal, dyadic key-working but in advocacy for care as a social principle.

Fighting undernutrition: don't forget the bugs

Severe acute malnutrition is a major cause of child death in developing countries. In a recent study, Smith et al.(2013) monitored a large twin cohort in Malawi to unveil a causal relationship between gut microbiota and weight loss in undernutrition .

Piriformospora indica reduces Fusarium head blight disease severity and mycotoxin DON contamination in wheat under UK weather conditions

Piriformospora indica (Sebacinaceae) is a cultivable root endophytic fungus. It colonises the roots of a wide range of host plants. In many settings colonisation promotes host growth, increases yield and protects the host from fungal diseases. We evaluated the effect of P. indica on Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease of winter (cv. Battalion) and spring (cv. Paragon, Mulika, Zircon, Granary, KWS Willow and KWS Kilburn) wheat and consequent contamination by the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) under UK weather conditions. Interactions of P. indica with an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Funneliformis mosseae), fungicide application (Aviator Xpro) and low and high fertiliser levels were considered. P. indica application reduced FHB disease severity and incidence by 70%. It decreased mycotoxin DON concentration of winter and spring wheat samples by 70% and 80% respectively. P. indica also increased above ground biomass, 1000 grain weight and total grain weight. P. indica reduced disease severity and increased yield in both high and low fertiliser levels. The effect of P. indica was compatible with F. mosseae and foliar fungicide application. P. indica did not have any effects on plant tissue nutrients. These results suggest that P. indica might be useful in biological control of Fusarium diseases of wheat.

Don't call me a Kaffir : Genreanalys och klassificering av kwaito

Genom en strukturerad genreanalys, enkätundersökning samt intervju med en DJ aktiv inom kwaito så tacklar denna uppsats uppgiften att klassificera kwaito som genre. Genom analysen så erhålls de strukturella särdrag som kan ses inom genren och detta testas mot enkätundersökningen som behandlar den allmänna uppfattningen om genren. Enkätundersökningen är i sig uppdelad i två segment vars indelning baseras på kulturella skillnader och den här uppsatsen vill belysa de båda antropologiska perspektiven etic och emic i form av en Sydafrikansk- och en icke-Sydafrikansk undersökningsgrupp. Syftet med undersökningen i den här uppsatsen är att öka förståelsen för kwaito som genre och på så vis öka förståelsen för klassificeringen av genrer. Men även huruvida detta återspeglas i enkätundersökningen. Särdragen presenteras i analysen och har anknytning till nutida forskningen. Det visar sig att perspektiven etic och emic har relevans på grund av de kulturellt bundna skillnaderna av uppfattning om genren. Den Sydafrikanska undersökningsgruppen ser tydligare kopplingar till de sociala och ideologiska aspekterna, och även house-musiken, av genren än vad den icke-Sydafrikanska.