Making connections with nature : bridging the theory-practice gap in outdoor and environmental education

In this paper I describe my experience in attempting to assist tertiary students connect with the natural environment through outdoor and environmental education experiences. The paper addresses research conducted with students undertaking an outdoor and environmental education degree and focuses on the pedagogical methods employed in this context. I argue that outdoor and environmental education practitioners may benefit from moving away from a mode of teaching based upon 'generic' methods and look instead to a more local, specific and contextual form of education. By describing an outdoor and environmental education journey in a local, 'ordinary' place and students' experiences in unearthing the stories embedded in this place, I aim to provide some practical strategies to engage young people in a direct and meaningful way. The intention is to broaden the pedagogical possibilities related to facilitating experiences in natural environments and thus contribute to bridging the rhetoric/reality gap in outdoor education.

Baltic winter (under 1 minute haunting female vocals and ethereal)

Baltic Winter Shorts 02 - a Slavic mermaid rests upon a rock on the edge of the Baltic Sea. It is night time during the depths of winter. She risks not being able to return to the sea as it could freeze in the time that she drapes the snow crested pine trees with her ethereal calls. Her voice travels through the Medieval forest in search of her nymph . . . will he hear her? Or will her calls only serve to sing her loneliness?

OK . . . now for the technical . . . I wrote this with a documentary in mind. I have used a sampled Finnish/Estonian Kantele, a touch of an acoustic guitar, female vocals, percussion, and a couple of synths.

Corporate social reporting preferences in a developing country : evidence from Iran

This paper provides new empirical evidence regarding corporate social responsibility information needs, perceptions and preferences in a developing country, Iran. While there is substantial research which has examined CSR practice, little reference has been made to the needs of major ‘users’ in developing countries. Results show that users of CSR information favor the corporate annual report as the primary disclosure source. They identified information about environment as the most important CSR information. While respondents believe that the level of CSR information provided is insufficient, the overall levels of understandability and credibility are acceptable. Users also indicated that they would prefer to have government as opposed to professional regulations governing CSR disclosure. This is a significant examination specifically directed at major users of CSR information in Iran; the findings presented in this paper contribute as a platform for the evolution of CSR disclosure guidelines in developing countries.

The experiences and needs of family carers of people with diabetes at the end of life

ABSTRACT
Diabetes is a common, increasingly prevalent chronic disease. Many people requiring palliative care have diabetes. Diabetes requires lifelong self-care tasks. Family carers frequently perform these tasks when the person with diabetes is no longer able to perform them, but there is a lack of information about carers’ needs to enable them to undertake their new care tasks. The study aimed to collect information from family carers of people with diabetes requiring palliative care about their views and experiences of managing a family member’s diabetes at the end of life and identify their needs to enable them to undertake diabetes care tasks. Data were collected during individual, semistructured interviews with 10 family members caring for a person with diabetes receiving palliative care. The 4 key themes identified were as follows: I didn’t know what to do: it’s a big responsibility; I need education; and it’s important to manage diabetes. Family members/carers feel anxious about their increasing responsibility when caring for their family member’s diabetes and need information and education to help them monitor and interpret blood glucose levels, mange high or low blood glucose levels, and administer glucose-lowering medicines safely and confidently.