Plants growing on contaminated and brownfield sites appropriate for use in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development terrestrial plant growth test

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Terrestrial plant test is often used for the ecological risk assessment of contaminated land. However, its origins in plant protection product testing mean that the species recommended in the OECD guidelines are unlikely to occur on contaminated land. Six alternative species were tested on contaminated soils from a former Zn smelter and a metal fragmentizer with elevated concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The response of the alternative species was compared to two species recommended by the OECD; Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass) and Trifolium pratense (red clover). Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) and Poa annua (annual meadow-grass) had low emergence rates in the control soil so may be considered unsuitable. Festuca rubra (chewings fescue), Holcus lanatus (Yorkshire fog), Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel), and Verbascum thapsus (great mullein) offer good alternatives to the OECD species. In particular, H. lanatus and S. vulgaris were more sensitive to the soils with moderate concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn than the OECD species.

Degree projects improving co-operation between the teacher education program and schools : - Swedish experiences

In 1977, when teacher education inSwedenwas incorporated into the university system, the main reason was to transform it into an academic tradition. Now, nearly 30 years later, there is still tension between the academic and the vocational tradition; they show up as different and separated elements in a program that is meant to prepare students for a career as a teacher and for a possible future career as a researcher in this field. This tension gives rise to a risk of allowing parallel “tracks” to develop and of isolating the degree thesis work from other courses. On the teacher-training program in which we are involved, close co-operation with partner-schools, where the practical part of the program takes place, has been established. Here, the students´ degree theses are an important factor in making this co-operation work on a concrete level. Accordingly, the purpose of the degree thesis is both to reflect problems in schools and contribute to better teaching in the individual school, but also to offer relevant educational subject matter to the students, which may be adapted as an element in the university’s research environments. From these points of view, the degree thesis is an important part of teacher education and rather more than just a single course. The degree thesis should be an element that gives the students an opportunity to show that they have reached central goals in the teacher education program. It should also be an integral part in the development of critical and scholarly thinking, deepening pedagogical and didactic knowledge and giving the students an opportunity to apply research methods. We will here use two minor case studies: one that compares teacher education programs in five Swedish universities and one minor study at one of those universities, in order to elaborate on the questions: - What purpose has a degree thesis and what role does it play in teacher education? - What criteria are relevant to assessing a degree thesis and what qualities do the degree theses have? - Is it possible to assess a degree thesis fairly and what happens to students who do not pass? - How could the degree thesis be used to improve the contact between the teacher education program and its partner schools in order to contribute to the development of the individual school?

Trade and co-operation in the EU-MERCOSUL free trade agreement

Rio de Janeiro

Horizontal co-operation on environmental issues in Latin America and the Caribbean: the challenges of an idea in time of crisis

Includes bibliography

Coordinación de decisiones en economías mixtas: un desafío para la cooperación del PNUD con América Latina y el Caribe = Decisions co-ordination in mixed economies: a challenge for UNDP co-operation with Latin America and the Caribbean

Exposicion del Jefe de la Division del Programa Regional y del Caribe de Habla Inglesa del PNUD en la inauguracion del Coloquio, en la cual se refiere a la tarea encomendada a este organismo acerca de la coordinacion de la cooperacion en las nuevas tecnicas de planificacion del desarrollo y de la insercion de America Latina y el Caribe en la economia internacional, que la problematica actual requiere.

European co-operation can and must help the development of the region

Discurso pronunciado por el Director para las Relaciones con América Latina, en representación de la Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas, el 11 de mayo.

Latin America: crisis, co-operation and development

Includes bibliography

Cooperación entre los países y regiones en desarrollo en el sistema de la CEPAL = Co-operation among developing countries and regions within the ECLA system

Incluye Bibliografía