Educational initiative of Osaka University in sustainability science: mobilizing science and technology towards sustainability

One of the most important and yet difficult challenges that modern societies face is how to mobilize science and technology (S&T) to minimize the impact of human activities on the Earth’s life support systems. As the establishment of inter-disciplinary education programs is necessary to design a unified vision towards understanding the complexity of human nature, the Research Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS) launched a new program on sustainability science in April 2008. The program expects to address the issue of how to use knowledge more effectively to understand the dynamic interactions between nature and human society. This paper first offers an overview of international and Japanese initiatives on sustainability education in which we highlight the uniqueness of the attempt by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S). The paper then introduces the RISS program for sustainability science, addressing the principles and curriculum design of the program. The paper discusses the main problems and constraints faced when developing the program, such as institutional barriers in building a curriculum and obtaining cooperation from faculty. To challenge these barriers and limitations, the RISS uses the program as a platform to disseminate the idea of sustainability science across the university. This attempt helps us to obtain the continuing cooperation necessary to improve and maintain the program.

小学环境教育的探索实践

环境保护是中国的一项基本国策,在中小学开展环境教育,是贯彻这一基本国策的一项战略任务。文中介绍了小学环境教育的目的,阐述了如何构建小学环境教育体系,对小学环境教育的实施方法和手段提出了观点。     

高职食品工艺学实验室建设和教学方法的探讨

实验教学是高职教育中不可缺少的环节,多媒体课件的制作与演示性实验教学作为重要的教学方法可以应用于高职食品工艺学的辅助教学.本文介绍了食品工艺实验室设计及教学方法的要求和特点,为使食品工艺实验室实现可持续发展,该实验教学必须与其他学科结合,实验项目必须反映加工新技术,培养学生自发动手动脑能力.     

对加强和改进高校德育教育工作的刍议——基于大学生道德修养状况调查结果的几点思考

本文通过对部分大学生道德修养状况调查资料的分析,说明当前大学生的道德修养状况整体上良好,但也存在一些问题,如在部分学生中出现了个人利己主义和享乐主义倾向,对于一些道德问题的看法,存在着认识上的误区。针对这些问题,本文初步探讨了如何加强和改进高校德育教育工作,包括坚持以人为本理念,增强德育教育工作主动性;着眼学生思想特点,增强德育教育工作针对性;抓好德育方法创新,增强德育教育工作科学性。     

高等职业教育在建设生态文明中的任务与对策

党的十七大提出的"建设生态文明",充分体现了我党对生态建设的高度重视和对全球生态问题高度负责的精神;同时,"建设生态文明"也为高等职业教育的发展指出了新的努力方向.在建设生态文明的宏伟事业中,高等职业教育必须以科学发展观为指导,进一步转变办学思路,走产学研结合的道路,努力建设适应形势要求的师资队伍,尽快为国家培养出建设生态文明所需的实用型、技能型人才.     

Vehicular air pollution and asthma: implications for education for health and environmental sustainability

Studies show a direct relationship between occurrence of asthma and increases of particulate matter in the air. Private transportation is found to be a significant contributor to this problem. The objective of this article is to explore this link between air pollution, asthma and vehicular dependency in order to provide recommendations for health and transport policy. This article focuses on the survey of literature on the relationship between vehicular air pollution and asthma; combining it with the literature on vehicular dependency or ‘car culture’ in the global context and in The Netherlands. This article exposes the imbalance of power between patient groups and polluting industries, and the government failure to protect the weaker party can be explained by corporate pressures. It will be argued that since air pollution is tied to the corporate support for the car industry and vested interests in promoting a ‘car culture’, strategic policy that claims to be concerned with public health should explicitly link the present pattern of mobility to public health. This article concludes with a recommendation for raising environmental health awareness by explicitly linking vehicular dependency to respiratory health through a combination of holistic and citizenship education.     

Fossil fuel divestment in US higher education: student-led organising for climate justice

Based on over one year of participant observation within the student-led fossil fuel divestment (FFD) movement, this article contextualises the origins, successes, challenges, and inner workings of the FFD movement in US higher education. We analyse several college divestment campaigns to illuminate key factors that have contributed to wins and rejections, and explore why students continue to organise for FFD. It is our contention that such widespread mobilisation for FFD signals a sea change, from individualised sustainability efforts to youth-led collective political action, and recognition of climate change as a social justice issue. In addition to participant observation, we gathered data from 23 survey responses of organisers involved in divestment campaigns within higher education, and 40 interviews with individuals including student and professional organisers within the FFD movement, institutional decision-makers at campuses with FFD campaigns, and other experts in the area. Our analysis also reveals that relatively smaller endowments and, more importantly, institutional values of environmental sustainability and social justice played key roles in colleges’ decision to divest. Our examination of divestment “losses” illuminates common arguments administrators deploy in their rejection statements, including the perceived costs of divestment, the need to maintain fiduciary responsibility, and scepticism that divestment will have any impact on the fossil fuel industry. Finally, in spite of increasing resistance from college and university administrations, student divestment campaigns continue to escalate, and are committed to organising over the long term.     

从供应链模式看校企合作的功能与约束条件

将企业供应链管理理论引入到职业教育研究,指出供应链能够降低校企合作的交易成本、机会成本和管理成本,而实现上述功能必须以树立集成化供应链管理观念、构建校企合作的激励与利益协调机制、搭建校企合作的网络信息平台、重组高职院校组织结构与流程为条件。     

《防灾减灾工程学报》的被引分析

利用我国优秀博硕论文全文数据库,探讨了《防灾减灾工程学报》(以下简称《学报》)的被引与共被引。结果表明,《学报》的载文具有较高的学科前沿性、理论性、实用性与综合性;《学报》的博硕论文被引与共被引次数多、层次高,学术影响的学科范围广;防灾减灾工程与土木工程、岩土工程、地震工程、地质工程等多种工程相关性强;《学报》对我国博硕研究生教育情报贡献力大。     

Learning outcomes measured in zoo and aquarium conservation education

Communicating the topic of conservation to the public and encouraging proenvironmental behaviors can mitigate loss of biodiversity. Thus, the evaluation of educational efforts is important to ascertain the educational effects and provide high-quality conservation education. The learning outcomes of conservation education are diverse (e.g., attitudes, knowledge, and behavior). Considering the specific characteristics of these different outcomes and the factors that influence them is crucial to delivering successful conservation education. We reviewed 29 peer-reviewed articles published in English from January 2011 to April 2020 on empirical studies of learning outcomes of on-site conservation education in zoos and aquaria, institutions that seek to educate the public about conservation. We examined the range of learning outcomes, their definitions, and factors that influenced them. Cognitive outcomes were most frequently investigated (37%) in comparison with other outcomes (e.g., affective outcomes, 31%). The articles did not use explicit definitions for learning outcomes, and implicit or explorative definitions provided were inconsistent. Outcomes were influenced by various factors (e.g., prior experiences, staff interaction, animal behavior). Our results suggest the agenda of conservation education research should be broadened by examining all learning outcomes relevant to behavior change. Educational and behavior change theories should be used as a background for conservation education research to ensure clear and consistent definitions, derive appropriate instruments to measure learning outcomes, and relate learning outcomes to influencing factors. We recommend conservation education researchers and practitioners to treat conservation education holistically and acknowledge its learning outcomes’ full complexity.