Embedding EfS in teacher education : an introductory guide to using the systems change model

Welcome to this introductory guide on using a systems change model to embed Education for Sustainability (EfS) into teacher education. Pressing sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and depletion of non-renewable resources pose new challenges for education. The importance of education in preparing future citizens to engage in sustainable living practices and help create a more sustainable world is widely acknowledged. As a result many universities around the world are beginning to recognize the need to integrate EfS into their teacher education programs. However, evidence indicates that there is little or no core EfS knowledge or pedagogy in pre-service teacher courses available to student teachers in a thorough and systematic fashion. Instead efforts are fragmented and individually or, at best, institutionally-based and lacking a systems approach to change, an approach that is seen as essential to achieving a sustainable society (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004). The result is new teachers are graduating without the necessary knowledge or skills to teach in ways that enable them to prepare their students to cope well with the new and emerging challenges their communities face. This guide has been prepared as part of a teaching and learning research project that applied a systems change approach to embedding the learning and teaching of sustainability into pre-service teacher education. The processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from this project are presented here as a guide for navigating pathways to systemic change in the journey of re-orienting teacher education towards sustainability. The guide also highlights how a systems change approach can be used to successfully enact change within a teacher education system. If you are curious about how to introduce and embed EfS into teacher education – or have tried other models and are looking for a more encompassing, transformative approach – this guide is designed to help you. The material presented in this guide is designed to be flexible and adaptive. However you choose to use the content, our aim is to help you and your students develop new perspectives, promote discussion and to engage with a system-wide approach to change.

Affective events theory as a framework for understanding third-party consumer complaints

Poor complaint management may result in organizations losing customers and revenue. Consumers exhibit negative emotional responses when dissatisfied and this may lead to a complaint to a third-party organization. Since little information is available on the role of emotion in the consumer complaint process or how to manage complaints effectively, we offer an emotions perspective by applying Affective Events Theory (AET) to complaint behavior. This study presents the first application of AET in a consumption context and advances a theoretical framework supported by qualitative research for emotional responses to complaints. In contrast to commonly held views on gender and emotion, men as well as women use emotion-focused coping to complain.

Psychological stress and employee engagement

“The challenge today is not just retaining talented people, but fully engaging them, capturing their minds and hearts at each stage of their work lives” (Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2003, p. 11). Engaged employees produce positive work outcomes such as increased productivity satisfaction, and reduced turnover (Kahn, 1990, 1992; Saks, 2006). Engaged employees also impact on customers and co-workers’ positive experiences such as increased customer satisfaction (Wagner & Harter, 2006). Further, engaged employees demonstrate higher levels of trust in management and share more positive experiences with co-workers than disengage employees (Payne, Cangemi, Fuqua, & Muhleakamp, 1998). Past studies show that having a high proportion of engaged employees increases organizational performance, such as profitability and reputation (Wagner & Harter, 2006; Fleming & Asplund, 2007; Ketter, 2008). Having experienced the benefits of having engaged employees, organizations have become more aware of this issue and have been focusing on facilitating engagement climate within workplaces. Recently, an interest in positive psychology, instead of negative aspects of human behaviours, has become a focus for both scholars and practitioners. The trend towards positive psychology has led to the emergence of the concept of work engagement(Chughtai & Buckley, 2008). This article reviews literatures in the area of positive psychology and psychological stress, and discusses how organizations can increase work engagement among their organizational members. The remainder of this article is organised in four sections. First, we define work engagement as used in this article and psychological outcomes of work engagement. Second, we identify ways to increase work engagement among employees. Following this, we further discuss how gender roles influence individuals’ engagement at work. The final sections conclude the paper with a discussion of the practical implications.

Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonism suppresses both operant alcohol self-administration and high alcohol consumption in rats

The mechanisms involved in alcohol use disorders are complex. It has been shown that ghrelin is an important signal for the control of body weight homeostasis, preferably by interacting with hypothalamic circuits, as well as for drug reward by activating the mesolimbic dopamine system. The ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) has been shown to be required for alcohol-induced reward. Additionally, ghrelin increases and GHR-R1A antagonists reduce moderate alcohol consumption in mice, and a single nucleotide polymorphism in the GHS-R1A gene has been associated with high alcohol consumption in humans. However, the role of central ghrelin signaling in high alcohol consumption is not known. Therefore, the role of GHS-R1A in operant self-administration of alcohol in rats as well as for high alcohol consumption in Long-Evans rats and in alcohol preferring [Alko alcohol (AA)] rats was studied here. In the present study, the GHS-R1A antagonist, JMV2959, was found to reduce the operant self-administration of alcohol in rats and to decrease high alcohol intake in Long-Evans rats as well as in AA rats. These results suggest that the ghrelin receptor signaling system, specifically GHS-R1A, is required for operant self-administration of alcohol and for high alcohol intake in rats. Therefore, the GHS-R1A may be a therapeutic target for treatment of addictive behaviors, such as alcohol dependence.

Mifepristone in the central nucleus of the amygdala reduces yohimbine stress-induced reinstatement of ethanol-seeking

Chronic ethanol exposure leads to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to changes in glucocorticoid release and function that have been proposed to maintain pathological alcohol consumption and increase vulnerability to relapse during abstinence. The objective of this study was to determine whether mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, plays a role in ethanol self-administration and reinstatement. Male, Long-Evans rats were trained to self-administer either ethanol or sucrose in daily 30 min operant self-administration sessions using a fixed ratio 3 schedule of reinforcement. Following establishment of stable baseline responding, we examined the effects of mifepristone on maintained responding and yohimbine-induced increases in responding for ethanol and sucrose. Lever responding was extinguished in separate groups of rats and animals were tested for yohimbine-induced reinstatement and corticosterone release. We also investigated the effects of local mifepristone infusions into the central amygdala (CeA) on yohimbine-induced reinstatement of ethanol- and sucrose-seeking. In addition, we infused mifepristone into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in ethanol-seeking animals as an anatomical control. We show that both systemic and intra-CeA (but not BLA) mifepristone administration suppressed yohimbine-induced reinstatement of ethanol-seeking, while only systemic injections attenuated sucrose-seeking. In contrast, baseline consumption, yohimbine-induced increases in responding, and circulating CORT levels were unaffected. The data indicate that the CeA plays an important role in the effects of mifepristone on yohimbine-induced reinstatement of ethanol-seeking. Mifepristone may be a valuable pharmacotherapeutic strategy for preventing relapse to alcohol use disorders and, as it is FDA approved, may be a candidate for clinical trials in the near future.

Setting water quality objectives for the health of freshwater fish

An important responsibility of the Environment Protection Authority, Victoria, is to set objectives for levels of environmental contaminants. To support the development of environmental objectives for water quality, a need has been identified to understand the dual impacts of concentration and duration of a contaminant on biota in freshwater streams. For suspended solids contamination, information reported by Newcombe and Jensen [ North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 16(4):693--727, 1996] study of freshwater fish and the daily suspended solids data from the United States Geological Survey stream monitoring network is utilised. The study group was requested to examine both the utility of the Newcombe and Jensen and the USA data, as well as the formulation of a procedure for use by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria that takes concentration and duration of harmful episodes into account when assessing water quality. The extent to which the impact of a toxic event on fish health could be modelled deterministically was also considered. It was found that concentration and exposure duration were the main compounding factors on the severity of effects of suspended solids on freshwater fish. A protocol for assessing the cumulative effect on fish health and a simple deterministic model, based on the biology of gill harm and recovery, was proposed. References D. W. T. Au, C. A. Pollino, R. S. S Wu, P. K. S. Shin, S. T. F. Lau, and J. Y. M. Tang. Chronic effects of suspended solids on gill structure, osmoregulation, growth, and triiodothyronine in juvenile green grouper epinephelus coioides . Marine Ecology Press Series , 266:255--264, 2004. J.C. Bezdek, S.K. Chuah, and D. Leep. Generalized k-nearest neighbor rules. Fuzzy Sets and Systems , 18:237--26, 1986. E. T. Champagne, K. L. Bett-Garber, A. M. McClung, and C. Bergman. {Sensory characteristics of diverse rice cultivars as influenced by genetic and environmental factors}. Cereal Chem. , {81}:{237--243}, {2004}. S. G. Cheung and P. K. S. Shin. Size effects of suspended particles on gill damage in green-lipped mussel perna viridis. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 51(8--12):801--810, 2005. D. H. Evans. The fish gill: site of action and model for toxic effects of environmental pollutants. Environmental Health Perspectives , 71:44--58, 1987. G. C. Grigg. The failure of oxygen transport in a fish at low levels of ambient oxygen. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. , 29:1253--1257, 1969. G. Holmes, A. Donkin, and I.H. Witten. {Weka: A machine learning workbench}. In Proceedings of the Second Australia and New Zealand Conference on Intelligent Information Systems , volume {24}, pages {357--361}, {Brisbane, Australia}, {1994}. {IEEE Computer Society}. D. D. Macdonald and C. P. Newcombe. Utility of the stress index for predicting suspended sediment effects: response to comments. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 13:873--876, 1993. C. P. Newcombe. Suspended sediment in aquatic ecosystems: ill effects as a function of concentration and duration of exposure. Technical report, British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Habitat Protection branch, Victoria, 1994. C. P. Newcombe and J. O. T. Jensen. Channel suspended sediment and fisheries: A synthesis for quantitative assessment of risk and impact. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 16(4):693--727, 1996. C. P. Newcombe and D. D. Macdonald. Effects of suspended sediments on aquatic ecosystems. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 11(1):72--82, 1991. K. Schmidt-Nielsen. Scaling. Why is animal size so important? Cambridge University Press, NY, 1984. J. S. Schwartz, A. Simon, and L. Klimetz. Use of fish functional traits to associate in-stream suspended sediment transport metrics with biological impairment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment , 179(1--4):347--369, 2011. E. Al Shaw and J. S. Richardson. Direct and indirect effects of sediment pulse duration on stream invertebrate assemb ages and rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) growth and survival. Canadian Journal of Fish and Aquatic Science , 58:2213--2221, 2001. P. Tiwari and H. Hasegawa. {Demand for housing in Tokyo: A discrete choice analysis}. Regional Studies , {38}:{27--42}, {2004}. Y. Tramblay, A. Saint-Hilaire, T. B. M. J. Ouarda, F. Moatar, and B Hecht. Estimation of local extreme suspended sediment concentrations in california rivers. Science of the Total Environment , 408:4221--

Enhancement of 1,2-dehydration of alcohols by alkali cations and protons : a model for dehydration of carbohydrates

We have used electronic structure calculations to investigate the 1,2-dehydration of alcohols as a model for water loss during the pyrolysis of carbohydrates found in biomass. Reaction enthalpies and energy barriers have been calculated for neat alcohols, protonated alcohols and alcohols complexed to alkali metal ions (Li + and Na +). We have estimated pre-exponential A factors in order to obtain gas phase rate constants. For neat alcohols, the barrier to 1,2-dehydration is about 67 kcal mol -1, which is consistent with the limited experimental data. Protonation and metal complexation significantly reduce this activation barrier and thus, facilitate more rapid reaction. With the addition of alkali metals, the rate of dehydration can increase by a factor of 10 8 while addition of a proton can lead to an increase of a factor of 10 23.

Reflections on tomorrow’s menu : evidence for inpatient meal preferences at a large tertiary public hospital

There are limited studies that describe patient meal preferences in hospital; however this data is critical to develop menus that address satisfaction and nutrition whilst balancing resources. This quality study aimed to determine preferences for meals and snacks to inform a comprehensive menu revision in a large (929 bed) tertiary public hospital. The method was based on Vivanti et al. (2008) with data collected by two final year dietetic students. The first survey comprised 72 questions, achieved a response rate of 68% (n = 192), with the second more focused at 47 questions achieving a higher response rate of 93% (n = 212). Findings showed over half the patients reporting poor or less than normal appetite, 20% describing taste issues, over a third with a LOS >7 days, a third with a MST _ 2 and less than half eating only from the general menu. Soup then toast was most frequently reported as eaten at home when unwell, and whilst most reported not missing any foods when in hospital (25%), steak was most commonly missed. Hot breakfasts were desired by the majority (63%), with over half preferring toast (even if cold). In relation to snacks, nearly half (48%) wanted something more substantial than tea/coffee/biscuits, with sandwiches (54%) and soup (33%) being suggested. Sandwiches at the evening meal were not popular (6%). Difficulties with using cutlery and meal size selection were identified as issues. Findings from this study had high utility and supported a collaborative and evidenced based approach to a successful major menu change for the hospital.

Improved healing of large segmental defects in the rat femur by reverse dynamization in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein-2

Background Large segmental defects in bone do not heal well and present clinical challenges. This study investigated modulation of the mechanical environment as a means of improving bone healing in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2. Although the influence of mechanical forces on the healing of fractures is well established, no previous studies, to our knowledge, have described their influence on the healing of large segmental defects. We hypothesized that bone-healing would be improved by initial, low-stiffness fixation of the defect, followed by high-stiffness fixation during the healing process. We call this reverse dynamization. Methods A rat model of a critical-sized femoral defect was used. External fixators were constructed to provide different degrees of stiffness and, importantly, the ability to change stiffness during the healing process in vivo. Healing of the critical-sized defects was initiated by the implantation of 11 mg of recombinant human BMP (rhBMP)-2 on a collagen sponge. Groups of rats receiving BMP-2 were allowed to heal with low, medium, and high-stiffness fixators, as well as under conditions of reverse dynamization, in which the stiffness was changed from low to high at two weeks. Healing was assessed at eight weeks with use of radiographs, histological analysis, microcomputed tomography, dual x-ray absorptiometry, and mechanical testing. Results Under constant stiffness, the low-stiffness fixator produced the best healing after eight weeks. However, reverse dynamization provided considerable improvement, resulting in a marked acceleration of the healing process by all of the criteria of this study. The histological data suggest that this was the result of intramembranous, rather than endochondral, ossification. Conclusions Reverse dynamization accelerated healing in the presence of BMP-2 in the rat femur and is worthy of further investigation as a means of improving the healing of large segmental bone defects. Clinical Relevance These data provide the basis of a novel, simple, and inexpensive way to improve the healing of critical-sized defects in long bones. Reverse dynamization may also be applicable to other circumstances in which bonehealing is problematic.

Design, characterisation and in vivo testing of a new, adjustable stiffness, external fixator for the rat femur

Very little is known about the infl uence of the mechanical environment on the healing of large segmental defects. This partly reflects the lack of standardised, well characterised technologies to enable such studies. Here we report the design, construction and characterisation of a novel external fixator for use in conjunction with rat femoral defects. This device not only imposes a predetermined axial stiffness on the lesion, but also enables the stiffness to be changed during the healing process. The main frame of the fi xator consists of polyethylethylketone with titanium alloy mounting pins. The stiffness of the fi xator is determined by interchangeable connection elements of different thicknesses. Fixators were shown to stabilise 5 mm femoral defects in rats in vivo for at least 8 weeks during unrestricted cage activity. No distortion or infections, including pin infections, were noted. The healing process was simulated in vitro by inserting into a 5 mm femoral defect, materials whose Young’s moduli approximated those of the different tissues present in regenerating bone. These studies confirmed that, although the external fixator is the major determinant of axial stiffness during the early phase of healing, the regenerate within the lesion subsequently dominates this property. There is much clinical interest in altering the mechanics of the defect to enhance bone healing. Our data suggest that, if alteration of the mechanical environment is to be used to modulate the healing of large segmental defects, this needs to be performed before the tissue properties become dominant.

Evaluation of BMP-2 gene-activated muscle grafts for cranial defect repair

Large, osseous, segmental defects heal poorly. Muscle has a propensity to form bone when exposed to an osteogenic stimulus such as that provided by transfer and expression of cDNA encoding bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). The present study evaluated the ability of genetically modified, autologous muscle to heal large cranial defects in rats. Autologous grafts (8 mm � 2 mm) were punched from the biceps femoris muscle and transduced intraoperatively with recombinant adenovirus vector containing human BMP-2 or green fluorescent protein cDNA. While the muscle biopsies were incubating with the vector, a central parietal 8 mm defect was surgically created in the calvarium of the same animal. The gene-activated muscle graft was then implanted into the cranial defect. After 8 weeks, crania were examined radiographically, histologically, and by micro-computed tomography and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Although none of the defects were completely healed in this time, muscle grafts expressing BMP-2 deposited more than twice as much new bone as controls. Histology confirmed the anatomical integrity of the newly formed bone, which was comparable in thickness and mineral density to the original cranial bone. This study confirms the in vivo osteogenic properties of genetically modified muscle and suggests novel strategies for healing bone. � 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:1095–1102, 2012

Use of genetically modified muscle and fat grafts to repair defects in bone and cartilage

We report a novel technology for the rapid healing of large osseous and chondral defects, based upon the genetic modification of autologous skeletal muscle and fat grafts. These tissues were selected because they not only possess mesenchymal progenitor cells and scaffolding properties, but also can be biopsied, genetically modified and returned to the patient in a single operative session. First generation adenovirus vector carrying cDNA encoding human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (Ad.BMP-2) was used for gene transfer to biopsies of muscle and fat. To assess bone healing, the genetically modified (“gene activated”) tissues were implanted into 5mm-long critical size, mid-diaphyseal, stabilized defects in the femora of Fischer rats. Unlike control defects, those receiving gene-activated muscle underwent rapid healing, with evidence of radiologic bridging as early as 10 days after implantation and restoration of full mechanical strength by 8 weeks. Histologic analysis suggests that the grafts rapidly differentiated into cartilage, followed by efficient endochondral ossification. Fluorescence in situ hybridization detection of Y-chromosomes following the transfer of male donor muscle into female rats demonstrated that at least some of the osteoblasts of the healed bone were derived from donor muscle. Gene activated fat also healed critical sized defects, but less quickly than muscle and with more variability. Anti-adenovirus antibodies were not detected. Pilot studies in a rabbit osteochondral defect model demonstrated the promise of this technology for healing cartilage defects. Further development of these methods should provide ways to heal bone and cartilage more expeditiously, and at lower cost, than is presently possible.

Ability of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 to enhance bone healing in the presence of tobramycin : evaluation in a rat segmental defect model

Objective To determine whether locally applied tobramycin influences the ability of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) to heal a segmental defect in the rat femur. Methods The influence of tobramycin on the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was first evaluated in vitro. For the subsequent, in vivo experiments, a 5-mm segmental defect was created in the right femur of each of 25 Sprague-Dawley rats and stabilized with an external fixator and four Kirschner wires. Rats were divided in four groups: empty control, tobramycin (11 mg)/absorbable collagen sponge, rhBMP-2 (11 μg)/absorbable collagen sponge, and rhBMP-2/absorbable collagen sponge with tobramycin. Bone healing was monitored by radiography at 3 and 8 weeks. Animals were euthanized at 8 weeks and the properties of the defect were compared with the intact contralateral femur. Bone formation in the defect region was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, histology, and mechanical testing. Results Tobramycin exerted a dose-dependent inhibition of alkaline phosphatase induction and calcium deposition by mesenchymal stem cells cultured under osteogenic conditions. The inhibition was reversed in the presence of 500 ng/mL of rhBMP-2. Segmental defects in the rat femora failed to heal in the absence of rhBMP-2. Tobramycin exerted no inhibitory effects on the ability of rhBMP-2 to heal these defects and increased the bone area of the defects treated with rhBMP-2. Data obtained from all other parameters of healing, including dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, histology, and mechanical testing, were unaffected by tobramycin. Conclusions Although our in vitro results suggested that tobramycin inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, this could be overcome by rhBMP-2. Tobramycin did not impair the ability of rhBMP-2 to heal critical-sized femoral defects in rats. Indeed, bone area was increased by nearly 20% in the rhBMP-2 group treated with tobramycin. This study shows that locally applied tobramycin can be used in conjunction with rhBMP-2 to enhance bone formation at fracture sites.

The genome of woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

The woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca (2n = 2x = 14), is a versatile experimental plant system. This diminutive herbaceous perennial has a small genome (240 Mb), is amenable to genetic transformation and shares substantial sequence identity with the cultivated strawberry (Fragaria Ã- ananassa) and other economically important rosaceous plants. Here we report the draft F. vesca genome, which was sequenced to ×-39 coverage using second-generation technology, assembled de novo and then anchored to the genetic linkage map into seven pseudochromosomes. This diploid strawberry sequence lacks the large genome duplications seen in other rosids. Gene prediction modeling identified 34,809 genes, with most being supported by transcriptome mapping. Genes critical to valuable horticultural traits including flavor, nutritional value and flowering time were identified. Macrosyntenic relationships between Fragaria and Prunus predict a hypothetical ancestral Rosaceae genome that had nine chromosomes. New phylogenetic analysis of 154 protein-coding genes suggests that assignment of Populus to Malvidae, rather than Fabidae, is warranted.

Developing a multidimensional scale of customer-oriented deviance (COD)

Although frontline employees' bending of organizational rules and norms for customers is an important phenomenon, marketing scholars to date only broadly describe over-servicing behaviors and provide little distinction among deviant behavioral concepts. Drawing on research on pro-social and pro-customer behaviors and on studies of positive deviance, this paper develops and validates a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional construct term customer-oriented deviance. Results from two samples totaling 616 frontline employees (FLEs) in the retail and hospitality industries demonstrate that customer-oriented deviance is a four-dimensional construct with sound psychometric properties. Evidence from a test of a theoretical model of key antecedents establishes nomological validity with empathy/perspective-taking, risk-taking propensity, role conflict, and job autonomy as key predictors. Results show that the dimensions of customer-oriented deviance are distinct and have significant implications for theory and practice.