Fathoming the fathers in environmental education : a feminist poststructuralist analysis

The purpose of this study is to provide a feminist poststructuralist analysis of the dominant international discourses in environmental education, and how these have been realised in Australian national statements and in state policies over the past two decades, in terms of their implicit views about science, the environment, epistemology and education. The methodology of the study presents an argument for a 'politics of method' in the form of a research approach which reflects the ideology and intent of the study, i.e. an argument toward feminist poststructuralism as a methodology, but with elements of critical feminist research. Part of this methodology involves consideration of the gendered nature of language and discourses, particularly in the sciences. The argument is for the reconstituting of knowledge through feminist standpoint theory and the adoption of standards of 'strong objectivity'. In the spirit of its poststructuralist methodology the study presents three different stories (archaeologies) about environmental education: one told in terms of people, events and their outcomes; one told in terms of the changing views of education and how these were interpreted in environmental education; and the third told in terms of the emergence of ecofeminism as a parallel movement to environmental education and the emerging relationship between these two movements. These stories serve two purposes: to review the relevant literature in these three areas, and to provide the 'data' for later chapters. The discourses of environmental education, particularly those of the 'founders' and UNESCO documents, are then analysed from a poststructuralist perspective, followed by a feminist reconstruction of environmental education which argues for thinking from women's and other marginalized lives as a preferred strategy for environmental education, and develops research principles to explore this possibility. The conclusion reflects on the philosophical and theoretical issues engaged, and the methodological issues addressed, in the study.

Taking environmental water requirements and climate change into account in the designation and management of protected areas for floodplain ecosystems

In 2005, the Victorian government asked the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC) to 1) identify and evaluate the extent, condition, values, management, resources and uses of riverine red gum forests and associated fauna, wetlands, floodplain ecosystems and vegetation communities in northern Victoria; and 2) make recommendations relating to the conservation, protection and ecological sustainable use of public land. The design of a comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system was a key part of the recommendations made by VEAC. In order to assist in the decision-making for environmental water allocation for protected areas and other public land, a process for identifying flood-dependent natural values on the Victorian floodplains of the River Murray and its tributaries was developed.

Although some areas such as the Barmah forest are very well known, there have been few comprehensive inventories of important natural values along the Murray floodplains. For this project, VEAC sought out and compiled data on flood requirements (natural flood frequency, critical interval between floods, minimum duration of floods) for all flood-dependent ecological vegetation classes (EVCs) and threatened species along the Goulburn, Ovens, King and Murray Rivers in Victoria. The project did not include the Kerang Lakes and floodplains of the Avoca, Loddon and Campaspe Rivers. 186 threatened species and 110 EVCs (covering 224,247 ha) were identified as flood-dependent and therefore at risk from insufficient flooding.

Past environmental water allocations have targeted a variety of different natural assets (e.g. stressed red gum trees, colonial nesting waterbirds, various fish species), but consideration of the water requirements of the full suite of floodplain ecosystems and significant species has been limited. By considering the water requirements of the full range of natural assets, the effectiveness of water delivery for biodiversity can be maximised. This approach highlights the species and ecosystems most in need of water and builds on the icon sites approach to view the Murray floodplains as an interconnected system. This project also identified for the first time the flood-frequency and duration requirements for the full suite of floodplain ecosystems and significant species.

This project is the most comprehensive identification of water requirements for natural values on the floodplain to date, and is able to be used immediately to guide prioritisation of environmental watering. As more information on floodplain EVCs and species becomes available, the water requirements and distribution of values can be refined by ecologists and land and water managers. That is, the project is intended as the start of an adaptive process allowing for the incorporation of monitoring and feedback over time. The project makes it possible to transparently and easily communicate the extent to which manipulated or natural flows benefit various natural values. Quantitative and visual outputs such as maps will enable environmental managers and the public to easily see which values do and do not receive water (see http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/riverredgumfinal.htm for further details).

Balancing environmental impacts and benefits of wastewater reuse

Wastewater reuse is being widely promulgated to help address the global freshwater resource crisis. It can assist in reducing extraction of freshwater from the environment, and reuse of wastewater lessens the need for environmental discharge, which is clearly beneficial to receiving waters. But the practice itself also has the potential to be detrimental to natural and human environments: soil structure can become degraded, aquifers may be polluted, and human health may be threatened. The challenge facing natural resource managers is to identify the potential benefits and risks, and to achieve an appropriate balance. This paper describes environmental benefits and threats concomitant with the reuse of wastewater. We frequently draw upon examples from China and Australia-two countries that face particularly daunting water resource
challenges-but the principles can be.extended far beyond these geographical bounds and are applicable to
many parts of the world.

Treaties as tools of foreign policy : a psychopolitical inquiry via Keatings's vision for Australia

Paul Keating will be remembered by some Australians as a visionary. As Prime Minister he outlined the structure of external and domestic reform that he believed would guarantee global security for all Australians. Driving these reforms, more often than not, were interstate agreements, often in the form of multilateral treaties, sometimes in the guise of bilateral compromise, rarely as unilateral declarations. In areas as diverse as collaborative scientific research or the protection of children in the workplace, the Keating Executive set out, through codification, to transform Australia’s political landscape. The fields of trade, military, environmental and human rights were all included in the attempts by Keating to forge a new image of and for Australia in the Asia Pacific region. Treaties were vital agents of change in this milieu in the bid to reformulate regional perceptions of Australia. The path of inquiry in this thesis stemmed from a quest to examine the origin, role, purpose and efficacy of treaties in the Keating Government’s foreign policy aimed at regional military security. In order to make this examination it develops a polyphonic1 analytical model whose purpose is to explore the psychopolitical underpinnings of these agreements. Thus the thesis has a two fold task. To develop an analytical model of how treaties work as tools of foreign policy and to outline and assess the Keating treaty strategy. Its principal contribution is on the theoretical side.

The politics of 'sustainability': a critical discourse analysis of Victorian Government policy discourse, 1999-2006

Since its emergence during the 1980s the idea of sustainability has come to provide the dominant frame within which environmental policy is debated. Thus, for many ‘sustainability’ represents the best way to address the economic, social and environmental effects of the myriad of environmental issues facing human societies, including biodiversity loss, soil erosion, pollution of waterways, ozone depletion and climate change. There are however, widely divergent views advocated as to what sustainability means, which has important implications for how serious environmental issues are understood to be, why they are important, what has caused them, and what needs to be done to address them. Given the diversity of such views, the consequences for policy making, and the likelihood of effective responses being developed, are self evident. Within this context, this thesis investigates the politics of sustainability, focussing particularly on the way in which it is defined, because of the implications this has for the way in which environmental issues are understood and addressed. Following a review of various approaches to analysing environmental policy (traditional, mainstream, ecopolitical and discursive), Norman Fairclough’s approach to discourse analysis (Critical Discourse Analysis) was identified as having particular merit. Fairclough’s approach avoids the assumption that policy issues exist independently of the way they are framed and offers a perspective on discourse that links the social theoretical concerns of Foucault with the micro level concerns of linguistics. It also provides a means for taking environmental policy analysis in directions that that have attracted relatively limited attraction, namely the detailed analysis of the ideological effects of language on environmental policy. In this thesis Fairclough’s approach is used to explore how three storylines of sustainability (sustainable development, environmentally sustainable growth and transforming society) and their associated discourses shaped environmental policy making in Victoria, Australia, between 1999 and 2006. In undertaking this analysis, I examined the political and institutional context informing policy making (social practice); the contested process of text production (discourse practice), and; the detailed wording of a policy text (textual analysis). A major policy statement on environmental sustainability released by the Victorian Government in 2005 is subjected to detailed analysis. Based on the analysis undertaken, the substantive finding from this research is that rather than moving beyond neoliberalism, the Victorian Government embraced an approach to sustainability that was informed by neoliberalism and (weak) ecological modernisation, which constructs sustainability in ways that limit its importance and constrain the types of responses that could be advocated. In doing so, it drew heavily on notions of natural assets and ecosystems services as ways to make sense of the environment and why it is important. The Victorian Government also highlighted that environmental issues are caused by the cumulative effects of individual choices, and emphasized the importance of individual choice and behavioural change as central features of sustainability, while restricting opportunities for more transformative ideas to be heard. The broader conclusion arising from this research is that approaches to environmental policy that rely on neoliberal and (weak) ecological modern discourses are flawed, because, in commodifying nature, limiting the nature and magnitude of change required, and placing responsibility onto individuals they offer a constrained understanding of the challenge of sustainability and what needs to be done about it. The overall contribution made by this research is an improved understanding of the discursive nature of the politics of sustainability and the influence of neoliberalism and ecological modernisation, the use of a methodology that has attracted relatively limited attention within environmental policy (despite its widespread use in other areas of policy) and the documentation of a period of significant environmental policy reform in Victoria.

Evaluating the travel, physical activity and carbon impacts of a 'natural experiment' in the provision of new walking and cycling infrastructure : methods for the core module of the iConnect study

Introduction Improving infrastructure to support walking and cycling is often regarded as fundamental to encouraging their widespread uptake. However, there is little evidence that specific provision of this kind has led to a significant increase in walking or cycling in practice, let alone wider impacts such as changes in overall physical activity or carbon emissions. Connect2 is a major new project that aims to promote walking and cycling in the UK by improving local pedestrian and cycle routes. It therefore provides a useful opportunity to contribute new evidence in this field by means of a natural experimental study.

Methods and analysis</b> iConnect is an independent study that aims to integrate the perspectives of public health and transport research on the measurement and evaluation of the travel, physical activity and carbon impacts of the Connect2 programme. In this paper, the authors report the study design and methods for the iConnect core module. This comprised a cohort study of residents living within 5 km of three case study Connect2 projects in Cardiff, Kenilworth and Southampton, supported by a programme of qualitative interviews with key informants about the projects. Participants were asked to complete postal questionnaires, repeated before and after the opening of the new infrastructure, which collected data on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, travel, car fuel purchasing and physical activity, and potential psychosocial and environmental correlates and mediators of those behaviours. In the absence of suitable no-intervention control groups, the study design drew on heterogeneity in exposure both within and between case study samples to provide for a counterfactual.

Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the University of Southampton Research Ethics Committee. The findings will be disseminated through academic presentations, peer-reviewed publications and the study website (http://www.iconnect.ac.uk) and by means of a national seminar at the end of the study.

Comparative analyses of cadmium and zinc uptake correlated with changes in natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) expression in Solanum nigrum L. and Brassica rapa

Environmental context Soils contaminated with metals can pose both environmental and human health risks. This study showed that a common crop vegetable grown in the presence of cadmium and zinc readily accumulated these metals, and thus could be a source of toxicity when eaten. The work highlights potential health risks from consuming crops grown on contaminated soils. Abstract Ingestion of plants grown in heavy metal contaminated soils can cause toxicity because of metal accumulation. We compared Cd and Zn levels in Brassica rapa, a widely grown crop vegetable, with that of the hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. Solanum nigrum contained 4 times more Zn and 12 times more Cd than B. rapa, relative to dry mass. In S. nigrum Cd and Zn preferentially accumulated in the roots whereas in B. rapa Cd and Zn were concentrated more in the shoots than in the roots. The different distribution of Cd and Zn in B. rapa and S. nigrum suggests the presence of distinct metal uptake mechanisms. We correlated plant metal content with the expression of a conserved putative natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) metal transporter in both plants. Treatment of both plants with either Cd or Zn increased expression of the NRAMP, with expression levels being higher in the roots than in the shoots. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of heavy metal processing by S. nigrum L. and the crop vegetable B. rapa that could assist in application of these plants for phytoremediation. These investigations also highlight potential health risks associated with the consumption of crops grown on contaminated soils.

The effects of an invasive seaweed on native communities vary along a gradient of land-based human impacts

The difficulty in teasing apart the effects of biological invasions from those of otheranthropogenic perturbations has hampered our understanding of the mechanismsunderpinning the global biodiversity crisis. The recent elaboration of global-scalemaps of cumulative human impacts provides a unique opportunity to assess howthe impact of invaders varies among areas exposed to different anthropogenicactivities. A recent meta-analysis has shown that the effects of invasive seaweeds onnative biota tend to be more negative in relatively pristine than in human-impactedenvironments. Here, we tested this hypothesis through the experimental removalof the invasive green seaweed, Caulerpa cylindracea, from rocky reefs across theMediterranean Sea. More specifically, we assessed which out of land-based andsea-based cumulative impact scores was a better predictor of the direction andmagnitude of the effects of this seaweed on extant and recovering native assemblages.Approximately 15 months after the start of the experiment, the removal ofC. cylindracea from extant assemblages enhanced the cover of canopy-formingmacroalgae at relatively pristine sites. This did not, however, result in major changesin total cover or species richness of native assemblages. Preventing C. cylindraceare-invasion of cleared plots at pristine sites promoted the recovery of canopyformingand encrusting macroalgae and hampered that of algal turfs, ultimatelyresulting in increased species richness. These effects weakened progressively withincreasing levels of land-based human impacts and, indeed, shifted in sign at theupper end of the gradient investigated. Thus, at sites exposed to intense disturbancefrom land-based human activities, the removal of C. cylindracea fostered the coverof algal turfs and decreased that of encrusting algae, with no net effect on speciesrichness. Our results suggests that competition from C. cylindracea is an importantdeterminant of benthic assemblage diversity in pristine environments, but less so inspecies-poor assemblages found at sites exposed to intense disturbance from landbasedhuman activities, where either adverse physical factors or lack of propagulesmay constrain the number of potential native colonizers. Implementing measures toreduce the establishment and spread of C. cylindracea in areas little impacted byland-based human activities should be considered a priority for preserving thebiodiversity of Mediterranean shallow rocky reefs.

Alteration of copper physiology in mice overexpressing the human menkes protein ATP7A

The Menkes protein (ATP7A) is defective in the Cu deficiency disorder Menkes disease and is an important contributor to the maintenance of physiological Cu homeostasis. To investigate more fully the role of ATP7A, transgenic mice expressing the human Menkes gene ATP7A from chicken beta-actin composite promoter (CAG) were produced. The transgenic mice expressed ATP7A in lung, heart, liver, kidney, small intestine, and brain but displayed no overt phenotype resulting from expression of the human protein. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ATP7A was found primarily in the cardiac muscle, smooth muscle of the lung, distal tubules of the kidney, intestinal enterocytes, and patches of hepatocytes, as well as in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and choroid plexus of the brain. In 60-day- and 300-day-old mice, Cu concentrations were reduced in most tissues, consistent with ATP7A playing a role in Cu efflux. The reduction in Cu was most pronounced in the hearts of older T22#2 females (24%), T22#2 males (18%), and T25#5 females (23%), as well as in the brains of 60-day-old T22#2 females and males (23% and 30%, respectively).

Associations of neighbourhood greenness with physical and mental health : do walking, social coherence and local social interaction explain the relationships?

Background: Studies have shown associations between health indices and access to “green” environments but the underlying mechanisms of this association are not clear.

Objectives: To examine associations of perceived neighbourhood “greenness” with perceived physical and mental health and to investigate whether walking and social factors account for the relationships.

Methods: A mailed survey collected the following data from adults (n  =  1895) in Adelaide, Australia: physical and mental health scores (12-item short-form health survey); perceived neighbourhood greenness; walking for recreation and for transport; social coherence; local social interaction and sociodemographic variables.

Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, those who perceived their neighbourhood as highly green had 1.37 and 1.60 times higher odds of better physical and mental health, respectively, compared with those who perceived the lowest greenness. Perceived greenness was also correlated with recreational walking and social factors. When walking for recreation and social factors were added to the regression models, recreational walking was a significant predictor of physical health; however, the association between greenness and physical health became non-significant. Recreational walking and social coherence were associated with mental health and the relationship between greenness and mental health remained significant.

Conclusions: Perceived neighbourhood greenness was more strongly associated with mental health than it was with physical health. Recreational walking seemed to explain the link between greenness and physical health, whereas the relationship between greenness and mental health was only partly accounted for by recreational walking and social coherence. The restorative effects of natural environments may be involved in the residual association of this latter relationship.

Assessing health risk of reclaimed water using human cell culture.

For risk analysis of reclaimed water, current animal and toxicity testing may not detect subtle effects such as interactions that could contribute to complex diseases such as cancers that develop over a long period of time. There is a need for assays that can be validated against known human physiological processes. We have previously validated sensitive human cell culture assays for their responsiveness to agents that induce carcinogenesis in vivo. In this initial study we analysed the effects of three batches of reclaimed water on human colonic cells. At concentrations of up to 10-fold, they had no significant effect on the cellular markers, indicating an overall lack of biological activity. The assay has potential but needs to be refined to maximise its sensitivity.

Proposal of a tiered conceptual framework for sustainable design and planning of large-scale development projects in the metropolitan context

The overwhelming threat posed by climate change means that increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the need to integrate sustainability considerations into all areas of policy making, planning and development. Actors in the built environment are progressively considering environmental and social issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. However, to date in Australia and internationally, there have been few practical examples of integrated applications of sustainability principles in the built environment across design, planning, construction, operation and de-construction phases. Notable initiatives have tended to be narrow in scope, focusing on either mitigation or adaptation strategies. Integrated considerations of impacts from component and building scales to city and regional scales and across physical and socio-economic dimensions are urgently needed, particularly for long-life major infrastructure projects. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) approach is forwarded as an umbrella analytical framework, assembled from analytical methods which are strategically ‘tiered’ to inform different stages of the planning and decision-making process. Techniques such as Ecological footprint, Life cycle costing and Risk analysis may be applied to integrate sustainable design, construction and planning considerations which address both mitigation and adaptation dimensions, results of each analysis ultimately being collated into the overall SEA. This integrated conceptual framework for sustainable, resilient and cost-effective infrastructure development will in practice be applied to assess selected case-studies of major development projects in Australia, focusing on the area of stadium development. Practically applied and timed accordingly, the framework would allow assessments to be targeted towards appropriate decision making levels and enable better decision-making and more efficient resource allocation for major infrastructure development projects.

Problematizing 'risk' and the principalship : the risky business of managing risk in schools

Over the past two decades, risk in education has stimulated increasing attention and prominence, with principals bearing responsibility and liability for ‘managing’ risk in schools. As a consequence, compulsory risk compliance régimes have become increasingly complex, technical and time-consuming. This article focuses on the responses of principals to issues surrounding ‘risk’ and suggests that some risk processes themselves may be inherently risky. Principals fear that risk management régimes can incur professional and personal danger while ignoring some commonly known, politically sensitive, ‘risky’ areas. The article considers the scope of risk in schools before turning to ‘undiscussables’: how risk management puts principals at risk, and issues surrounding leaders as risk. Principals’ concerns about marginalization from systemic risk decision-making, the individuation of risk management responsibility and suggestions for action are discussed, along with areas for future research.

Factories of the future : a system of systems engineering perspective

Factories of the Future will be distinguished by intelligent machines, automation, human factors integration and knowledge management. Modelling and simulation is recognised as a key enabling technology essential to economic, social and environmental sustainability of future manufacturing systems. This talk will explore the history, recent achievements and directions in modelling and simulation for 21st century factories and supply chains. A systems science approach is employed, from stakeholder engagement through participative modelling to self-tuning and self-assembling simulations. Our contributions lower the cost of the application of modelling and simulation to manufacturing processes, enabling real time planning, dynamic risk analysis, dashboards and 3D visualisation. This realisation of the virtual factory integrates human factors and decisions into the core technology platform. The implications to future manufacturing enterprises are explored through a series of case studies from aerospace, mining and small and medium manufacturing enterprises.

Female entrepreneurship in rural Vietnam: an exploratory study