Investigating early childhood teachers’ understandings of and practices in education for sustainability in Queensland: A Japan-Australia research collaboration

In a study undertaken in Queensland, Australia, analysis of a survey that included both qualitative and quantitative questions revealed that, like their Japanese counterparts, early childhood teachers do not have well-developed ideas and practices in education for sustainability (EfS). Instead, they mainly practise traditional nature-based activities, such as gardening or playing outdoors, and teaching about resource conservation through books, posters or fact sheets. Teachers’ understandings of nature education, environmental education, and education for sustainability seem to influence their educational practices. Deeper understandings about sustainability are necessary to extend beyond such traditional practices. Even though national curriculum frameworks and guidelines point to the importance of sustainability within early childhood curriculum, these appear to be insufficient in strengthening early childhood teachers’ ideas of sustainability and how to practise it effectively. We suggest that it would be beneficial for early childhood teachers, both preservice and inservice, to have professional development opportunities that build deeper understandings of sustainability and its implementation in their settings.

Aging, retirement, and changes in physical activity : prospective cohort findings from the globe study

There is increased recognition that determinants of health should be investigated in a life-course perspective. Retirement is a major transition in the life course and offers opportunities for changes in physical activity that may improve health in the aging population. The authors examined the effect of retirement on changes in physical activity in the GLOBE Study, a prospective cohort study known by the Dutch acronym for "Health and Living Conditions of the Population of Eindhoven and surroundings," 1991–2004. They followed respondents (n = 971) by postal questionnaire who were employed and aged 40–65 years in 1991 for 13 years, after which they were still employed (n = 287) or had retired (n = 684). Physical activity included 1) work-related transportation, 2) sports participation, and 3) nonsports leisure-time physical activity. Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that retirement was associated with a significantly higher odds for a decline in physical activity from work-related transportation (odds ratio (OR) = 3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.97, 4.65), adjusted for sex, age, marital status, chronic diseases, and education, compared with remaining employed. Retirement was not associated with an increase in sports participation (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.75) or nonsports leisure-time physical activity (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.54, 1.19). In conclusion, retirement introduces a reduction in physical activity from work-related transportation that is not compensated for by an increase in sports participation or an increase in nonsports leisure-time physical activity.

Hypercapitalism: language, new media and social perceptions of value

Using examples from contemporary policy and business discourses, and exemplary historical texts dealing with the notion of value, I put forward an argument as to why a critical scholarship that draws on media history, language analysis, philosophy and political economy is necessary to understand the dynamics of what is being called 'the global knowledge economy'. I argue that the social changes associated with new modes of value determination are closely associated with new media forms.

Entrepreneurship and family firms : a case study in growth and survival

Entrepreneurial marketing has gained popularity in both the entrepreneurship and marketing disciplines in recent times. The success of ventures that have pursued what are considered non-traditional marketing approaches has been attributed to entrepreneurial marketing practices. Despite the multitude of marketing concepts and models, there are prominent venture successes that do not conform to these and have thus been put in the ''entrepreneurial'' box. One only has to look to the ''Virgin'' model to put this in context. Branson has proven for example that not ''sticking to the knitting'' can work with the ways the Virgin portfolio has been diversified. Consequently, an entrepreneurial orientation is considered a desirable philosophy and has become prominent in such industries as airlines and information technology. Miles and Arnold (1991) found that entrepreneurial orientation is positively correlated to marketing orientation. They propose that entrepreneurial orientation is a strategic response by firms to turbulence in the environment. While many marketing successes are analysed in hindsight using traditional marketing concepts and strategies, there are those that challenge standard marketing textbook recommendations. Marketing strategy is often viewed as a process of targeting, segmenting and positioning (STP). Academics and consultants advocate this approach along with the marketing and business plans. The reality however is that a number of businesses do not practice these and pursue alternative approaches. Other schools of thought and business models have been developing to explain differences in orientation such as branding (Keller 2001), the service-dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch 2004) and effectuation logic (Sarasvathy 2001). This indicates that scholars are now looking to cognate fields to explain a given phenomenon beyond their own disciplines. Bucking this trend is a growing number of researchers working at the interface between entrepreneurship and marketing. There is now an emerging body of work dedicated to this interface, hence the development of entrepreneurial marketing as an alternative to the traditional approaches. Hills and Hultman (2008:3) define entrepreneurial marketing as ''a spirit, an orientation as well as a process of passionately pursuing opportunities and launching and growing ventures that create perceived customer value through relationships by employing innovativeness, creativity, selling, market immersion, networking and flexibility.'' Although it started as a special interest group, entrepreneurial marketing is now gaining recognition in mainstream entrepreneurship and marketing literature. For example new marketing textbooks now incorporate an entrepreneurial marketing focus (Grewal and Levy 2008). The purpose of this paper is to explore what entrepreneurial approaches are used by entrepreneurs and their impact on the success of marketing activities. Methodology/Key Propositions In order to investigate this, we employ two cases: 42Below, vodka producers from New Zealand and Penderyn Distillery, whisky distillers from Wales. The cases were chosen based on the following criteria. Firstly, both companies originate from small economies. Secondly, both make products (spirits) from locations that are not traditionally regarded as producers of their flagship products and thirdly, the two companies are different from each other in terms of their age. Penderyn is an old company established in 1882, whereas 42Below was founded only in 1999. Vodka has never been associated with New Zealand. By the same token, whisky has always been associated with Scotland and Ireland but never been with Wales. Both companies defied traditional stereotypes in marketing their flagship products and found international success. Using a comparative a case study approach, we use Covin and Slevin's (1989) set of items that purport to measure entrepreneurial orientation and apply a qualitative lens on the approaches of both companies. These are: 1. cultural emphases on innovation and R&D 2. high rate of new product introduction 3. bold, innovative product development 4. initiator proactive posture 5. first to introduce new technologies and products 6. competitive posture toward competitor 7. strong prolictivity for high risk, high return projects 8. environment requires boldness to achieve objectives 9. when faced with risk, adopts aggressive, bold posture. Results and Implications We find that both companies have employed entrepreneurial marketing approaches but with different intensities. While acknowledging that they are different from the norm, the specifics of their individual approaches are dissimilar. Both companies have positioned their products at the premium end of their product categories and have emphasised quality and awards in their communication strategies. 42Below has carved an image of irreverence and being non-conformist. They have unashamedly utilised viral marketing and entered international markets by training bartenders and hosting unconventional events. They use edgy language such as vodka university, vodka professors and vodka ambassadors. Penderyn Distillery has taken a more traditional approach to marketing its products and portraying romantic images of age-old tradition of distilling as key to their positioning. Both companies enjoy success as evidenced by industry awards and international acclaim.

Orthopaedics and Trauma Queensland Annual Report 2008

Orthopaedics and Trauma Queensland is an internationally recognised research group that is developing into an international leader in research and education. It provides a stimulus for research, education and clinical application within the international orthopaedic and trauma communities. Orthopaedics and Trauma Queensland develops and promotes the innovative use of engineering and technology, in collaboration with surgeons, to provide new techniques, materials, procedures and medical devices. Its integration with clinical practice and strong links with hospitals ensure that the research will be translated into practical outcomes for patients. The group undertakes clinical practice in orthopaedics and trauma and applies core engineering, modelling and clinical skills to challenges in medicine. The research is built on a strong foundation of knowledge in biomedical engineering and incorporates expertise in cell biology, mathematical modelling, human anatomy and physiology and clinical medicine in orthopaedics and trauma. New knowledge is being developed and applied to the full range of orthopaedic diseases and injuries, such as knee and hip replacements, fractures and spinal deformities.

Understanding preservice teachers’ predispositions for teaching engineering education in Australian schools.

Engineering education is underrepresented in Australia at the primary, middle school and high school levels. Understanding preservice teachers’ preparedness to be involved in engineering will be important for developing an engineering curriculum. This study administered a literature-based survey to 36 preservice teachers, which gathered data about their perceptions of engineering and their predispositions for teaching engineering. Findings indicated that the four constructs associated with the survey had acceptable Cronbach alpha scores (i.e., personal professional attributes .88, student motivation .91, pedagogical knowledge .91, and fused curricula .89). However, there was no “disagree” or “strongly disagree” response greater than 22% for any of the 25 survey items. Generally, these preservice teachers indicated predispositions for teaching engineering in the middle school. Extensive scaffolding and support with education programs will assist preservice teachers to develop confidence in this field. Governments and education departments need to recognise the importance of engineering education, and universities must take a stronger role in developing engineering education curricula.

A participative education program to reduce speeding in a group of work-related drivers

A number of intervention approaches have been developed to improve work-related driving safety. However, past interventions have been limited in that they have been data-driven, and have not been developed within a theoretical framework. The aim of this study is to present a theory-driven intervention. Based on the methodology developed by Ludwig and Geller (1991), this study evaluates the effectiveness of a participative education intervention on a group of work-related drivers (n = 28; experimental group n = 19, control n = 9). The results support the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing speeding over a six month period, while a non significant increase was found in the control group. The results of this study have important implications for organisations developing theory-driven interventions designed to improve work-related driving behaviour.

How to progress forward in improving safety outcomes in the work-related driving field : a review of work-related driving research and development of an intervention framework [Extended abstract]

Road crashes are now the most common cause of work-related injury, death and absence in a number of countries. Given the impact of workrelated driving crashes on social and economic aspects of business and the community, workrelated road safety and risk management has received increasing attention in recent years. However, limited academic research has progressed on improving safety within the work-related driving sector. The aim of this paper is to present a review of work-related driving safety research to date, and provide an intervention framework for the future development and implementation of workrelated driving safety intervention strategies.

Humanity's retreat to Antarctica

James Lovelock has been one of the most influential and controversial environmentalists of the modern era, and his lastest book, The Revenge of Gaia, is perhaps his most controversial. Lovelock foreshadows a bleak future of drastic temperature increases, due to global warming, with the prospect that only a remnant of humanity might survive in Antarctica. The work also entails an interesting commentary on environmental philosophy and politics. Lovelock (like Lord Taverne)is scathing about the shortcomings of eco-fundamentalism, notably evident with the Greens, and argues that instead what we need is a pragmatic environmentalism to deal with our global challenges.

Introducing Engineering Education in the Middle School

This paper first describes a new three-year, longitudinal project that is implementing engineering education in three middle schools in Australia (grade levels 7-9). This important domain is untapped in Australia. Hence, as a starting point, we conducted a context analysis to help situate engineering education in a school system. We report on this analysis with respect to findings from one of two literature-based surveys that gathered middle-school student responses in mathematics (n=172) and science (n=166) towards understanding their dispositions for engineering education. ANOVA indicated gender differences for 3 out of 23 items in both mathematics and science. In addition, the majority of students agreed or strongly agreed with 17 of the 23 survey items, however, there were some differences between mathematics and science. We conclude the paper with some recommendations for establishing engineering education in schools, including the development of partnerships among engineering and education faculties, school systems, and industry to develop contemporary engineering resources to support school-level mathematics, science, and technology.