This book provides authentic accounts of the effects of the revolutionary political reform experienced in the past half century on education in Europe's considerable rural hinterland. These reforms include the liberation of the Baltic and Eastern European states from Soviet communist domination, the 'eurozone' economic crises, and the current and future migration of people fleeing war and poverty from the Middle East and Africa. Overshadowing these events are so-called global forces which champion economies of scale and pressurize academic performance as keys to economic success. Trapped in this distal whirlwind of change are 1000s of small and/or rural elementary schools and the life chances of more 1000s of young children. The research presented here unveils the unseen and under-reported consequences of top-down, urban-oriented educational policies on children's and communities' experience of place and space. Exposure of these conditions in rural Europe is long overdue, but obscured for decades by political extremes of left and right. Yet, the lived reality of peremptory and swathing school closure programmes, and poverty inflicted on rural populations in parts of Eastern Europe is relatively unreported in the western educational literature - a situation exacerbated by the virtual invisibility of rural educational research generally. The chapters in this book reveal the insights of social science scholars from 11 European countries including those from low GDP, formerly soviet bloc countries, recently enabled to present their research at western European conferences such as the European Educational Research Association. Their research will inform and alert education academics, researchers and professionals to these rural European educational contexts. The research methodologies reported are diverse and innovative. The national context chapters are complemented by overview chapters which survey and synthesise (i)definitions and conceptualisations of rural, (ii) pan-European appraisal of educational, structural and geospatial statistics on small and rural schools, and (iii) identify key messages for better understanding of the rural situation in European research, policy and practice. Crucially, despite the gloom, the authors report positive strategies for rural school survival at governmental and/or school andcommunity levels, that include community involvement, rural educational tourism, and deliberative inter-community school network planning.

In this book, 37 international academics illustrate how authentic assessment is an effective measure of intellectual achievement as it requires the demonstration of deep understanding and complex problem solving through the performance of exemplary tasks. By exploring the concept of authentic assessment in both tertiary and school education, the authors in these chapters argue that authentic assessment is not only the measurement of significant intellectual accomplishments but also an important pedagogical structure. Authentic assessment is a concept more closely defined as an umbrella term that seeks to immerse learners in environments where they can gain highly practical and lifelong learning skills. Authentic assessment has been on the educational agenda for a number of years and keeps being a powerful tool for assessing students' 21st century competencies in the context of global educational reforms. Contributors are: Pinar Akyildiz, Fatma Nur Aktas, Chrysoula Arcoudis, Tasos Barkatsas, Michael Belcher, Antonios Bouras, Athina Chalkiadaki, Jere Confrey, Rebecca Cooper, Yuksel Dede, Paul Denny, Zara Ersozlu, Ivan Fortunato, Linda Hobbs, Marj Horne, Fragkiskos Kalavasis, Katerina Kasimatis, Belinda Kennedy, Gillian Kidman, Huk Yuen Law, Susan Ledger, Kathy Littlewood, Jiabo Liu, Michelle Ludecke, Tricia McLaughlin, Juanjo Mena, Andreas Moutsios-Rentzos, Greg Oates, Anastasia Papadopoulou, Fabiano Pereira dos Santos, Angela Rogers, Grainne Ryan, Rebecca Seah, Meetal Shah, Hazel Tan, Naomi Wilks-Smith, Dallas Wingrove, Qiaoping Zhang and Xiaolei Zhang.

Bushings for Power Transformers, A Guide for Power Engineers There are number of good books on power transformers available in the marketplace and they go into much detail on the theories, designs, construction, components and testing of power transformers. However, they only devote one short chapter to bushings. Bushings are the most important component on your power transformer and one that is maybe least understood. This book will provide the Utility Power Engineer as well as the Utility Technician with a Handbook that will fast become the main reference tool when a bushing issue arises. For the Power Engineer who specifies new power transformers, it will become the go to handbook that will help them to avoid costly mistakes when specifying the bushings in their power transformer specification. This book will review the history of bushings for power transformers and will review the industry standards that apply to bushings. The book covers the different technologies used in bushing construction and will examine the techniques used in the selection of bushings for power transformers. It provides the basic information on bushing tests and how they relate to the power transformers. There is a chapter on maintenance and a guide for replacing bushings. The last chapter deals with a topic that occurs all too often, power transformer failures. This book provides a guide for investigating a power transformer failure when the bushing is suspect. The first hours after a failure is the most critical time help understand what caused the failure. This chapter will help the Utility reach the root cause of the event and hopefully prevent future failures. Every Power Engineer and Power Technician needs Bushings for Power Transformers in their bag of tools as they deal with their power transformers.

Point of Departure offers a practical metacognitive and transformational learning strategy for human surviving and thriving. Using five foundational and interactive Indigenous worldview beliefs that contrast sharply with our dominant worldview ones, everyone can reclaim the original instructions for living on Earth. Without the resulting change in consciousness that can emerge from this learning approach, no modern technologies can save us. The five foundational Indigenous precepts relate to a radically different understanding about: (1) Trance?based learning (2) Courage and Fearlessness (3) Community Oriented Self?Authorship (4) Sacred Communications (5) Nature as Ultimate Teacher.

The world is in an environmental crisis dominated by environmental issues and risks such as loss of biodiversity, pollution, deforestation, urbanisation and many others. For many commentators, the solution lies in the provision of adequate education, including environmental education. Environmental education and education for sustainability - some South African perspectives perceptively addresses topics such as a number of environmental issues and risks of which learners need to be made aware; the history of environmental education, both internationally and in South Africa; the ways in which our deeply held value assumptions and even our religious convictions affect our attitudes towards environmental issues and environmental education; the meaning of "education for sustainability"; curriculum development and the teaching and learning of environmental education; environmental education in the non-formal sector; environmental education and training in industry; an introduction to research in environmental education.

The effective application of knowledge management principles has proven to be beneficial for modern organizations. When utilized in the academic community, these frameworks can enhance the value and quality of research initiatives. Enhancing Academic Research With Knowledge Management Principles is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on implementing theoretical frameworks of information management in the context of academia and universities. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as data mining, organizational and academic culture, this publication is an ideal resource for researchers, academics, practitioners, professionals, and students.