Editors' introduction

In approaching this Special Issue on Foresight, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FI&E) we considered that globalisation and rapid modernisation were increasingly creating the need for social reflexivity. We thought that in respect to the production and diffusion of innovations, both social and technical, that the landscape for new enterprise was characterised by widening change horizons and deeper ethical concerns. As a consequence of the greater demand for innovation to achieve economic prosperity, it was conceived that 'unforesightful' innovation may have irreparable affects on social and ecological systems and uncertain implications for our futures. Therefore, we considered a new intellectual alliance between FI&E was potentially a matter of human survival. New approaches to thinking about how and what we innovate, the choices we face for new enterprise creation and the influence of infrastructure for generating entrepreneurship, we considered, would need to emerge if we are to positively impact human and planetary sustainability in the 21st century. Hence this special issue was designed to bring together cross-disciplinary research aimed at exploring the synergies between foresight, innovation and entrepreneurship and the way in which these connections may be taking place in both the practical and theoretical sense.

Positive energy homes : impacts on, and implications for, ecologically sustainable design

A zero-energy home (ZEH) is a residential dwelling that generates as much energy annually from onsite renewable sources, as it consumes in its operation. A positive energy home (PEH) generates more energy than it consumes. The key design and construction elements, and costs and benefits of such buildings, are the subject of increasing research globally. Approaching this topic from the perspective of the role of such homes in the planning and development ‘supply chain’, this paper presents the measured outcomes of a PEH and discusses urban design implications. Using twelve months of detailed performance data of an occupied sub-tropical home, the paper analyses the design approach and performance outcomes that enable it to be classified as ‘positive energy’. Second, it analyses both the urban design strategies that assisted the house in achieving its positive energy status, and the impacts of such housing on urban design and infrastructure. Third, the triple bottom line implications are discussed from the viewpoint of both the individual household and the broader community. The paper concludes with recommendations for research areas required to further underpin and quantify the role of ZEHs and PEHs in enabling and supporting the economic, social and ecological sustainability of urban developments.

Sustainable housing: family experiences with supply chain ethics

Climate change, resource depletion and increasing urbanization are converging global issues that are challenging the way we design, construct and operate buildings. The housing sector is a significant contributor to these global issues through consumption of limited resources, waste generation and disposal (solid, liquid and atmospheric waste) and negative human health impacts (Senick 2006). Although the design and construction of ‘sustainable housing’ would appear to be an obvious and technically feasible solution, there remains multi-faceted issues affecting the delivery of sustainable housing (Holloway and Bunker 2006). Two fundamental issues - what makes a house sustainable, and to what extent regulation should be used to deliver sustainability - have been, and continue to be, debated at multiple levels in society. Despite personal, professional and political views on these issues, three key characteristics of the whole housing supply chain require fundamental change if we are to successfully address sustainability challenges (Birkeland 2008). These include: fragmentation; established methods, practices and processes, and the relationships between players. A more in-depth understanding of the role of ethics (values, beliefs and standards) and potential ethical conflicts within the supply chain will assist in better defining the nature of the fundamental changes required...

Evaluation of an Australian solar community : implications for education and training

1.1 Background What is renewable energy education and training? A cursory exploration of the International Solar Energy Society website (www.ises.org) reveals numerous references to education and training, referring collectively to concepts of the transfer and exchange of information and good practices, awareness raising and skills development. The purposes of such education and training relate to changing policy, stimulating industry, improving quality control and promoting the wider use of renewable energy sources. The primary objective appears to be to accelerate a transition to a better world for everyone (ISEE), as the greater use of renewable energy is seen as key to climate recovery; world poverty alleviation; advances in energy security, access and equality; improved human and environmental health; and a stabilized society. The Solar Cities project – Habitats of Tomorrow – aims at promoting the greater use of renewable energy within the context of long term planning for sustainable urban development. The focus is on cities or communities as complete systems; each one a unique laboratory allowing for the study of urban sustainability within the context of a low carbon lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation of a Solar Community in Australia, focusing specifically on the implications (i) for our understandings and practices in renewable energy education and training and (ii) for sustainability outcomes. 1.2 Methodology The physical context is a residential Ecovillage (a Solar Community) in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia (latitude 28o south). An extensive Architectural and Landscape Code (A&LC) ‘premised on the interconnectedness of all things’ and embracing ‘both local and global concerns’ governs the design and construction of housing in the estate: all houses are constructed off-ground (i.e. on stumps or stilts) and incorporate a hybrid approach to the building envelope (mixed use of thermal mass and light-weight materials). Passive solar design, gas boosted solar water heaters and a minimum 1kWp photovoltaic system (grid connected) are all mandatory, whilst high energy use appliances such as air conditioners and clothes driers are not permitted. Eight families participated in an extended case study that encompassed both quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand sustainable housing (perceived as a single complex technology) through its phases of design, construction and occupation. 1.3 Results The results revealed that the level of sustainability (i.e. the performance outcomes in terms of a low-carbon lifestyle) was impacted on by numerous ‘players’ in the supply chain, such as architects, engineers and subcontractors, the housing market, the developer, product manufacturers / suppliers / installers and regulators. Three key factors were complicit in the level of success: (i) systems thinking; (ii) informed decision making; and (iii) environmental ethics and business practices. 1.4 Discussion The experiences of these families bring into question our understandings and practices with regard to education and training. Whilst increasing and transferring knowledge and skills is essential, the results appear to indicate that there is a strong need for expanding our education efforts to incorporate foundational skills in complex systems and decision making processes, combined with an understanding of how our individual and collective values and beliefs impact on these systems and processes.

Infrastructure transitions toward sustainability : a complex adaptive systems perspective

To ensure infrastructure assets are procured and maintained by government on behalf of citizens, appropriate policy and institutional architecture is needed, particularly if a fundamental shift to more sustainable infrastructure is the goal. The shift in recent years from competitive and resource-intensive procurement to more collaborative and sustainable approaches to infrastructure governance is considered a major transition in infrastructure procurement systems. In order to better understand this transition in infrastructure procurement arrangements, the concept of emergence from Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory is offered as a key construct. Emergence holds that micro interactions can result in emergent macro order. Applying the concept of emergence to infrastructure procurement, this research examines how interaction of agents in individual projects can result in different industry structural characteristics. The paper concludes that CAS theory, and particularly the concept of ‘emergence’, provides a useful construct to understand infrastructure procurement dynamics and progress towards sustainability.

Cultural studies and the urgency of interdisciplinarity : sooner, not later, we're going to need a cultural science (Os Estudos Culturais e a urgência por interdisciplinaridade: cedo, e não tarde, vamos precisar de uma Ciência da Cultura)

Most of creativity in the digital world passes unnoticed by the industry practices and policies, and it isn't taken into account in the cultural and economic strategies of the creative industries. We should find ways to catalyze this creative production, showing how the user's contribution may contribute to social learning, cultural and economic advancement. To that effect, we must know what is an open creative system and how it works. Based on this diagnosis, the author that interdisciplinarity is urgent and there is also a need for a science of culture. What is at stake is a strategy of integrated development, as regards the upcoming innovation in its complex, productive and learning aspects.

Specifying peripheral aberrations in visual science

Purpose: Investigations of foveal aberrations assume circular pupils. However, the pupil becomes increasingly elliptical with increase in visual field eccentricity. We address this and other issues concerning peripheral aberration specification. Methods: One approach uses an elliptical pupil similar to the actual pupil shape, stretched along its minor axis to become a circle so that Zernike circular aberration polynomials may be used. Another approach uses a circular pupil whose diameter matches either the larger or smaller dimension of the elliptical pupil. Pictorial presentation of aberrations, influence of wavelength on aberrations, sign differences between aberrations for fellow eyes, and referencing position to either the visual field or the retina are considered. Results: Examples show differences between the two approaches. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but there are ways to compensate for most disadvantages. Two representations of data are pupil aberration maps at each position in the visual field and maps showing the variation in individual aberration coefficients across the field. Conclusions: Based on simplicity of use, adequacy of approximation, possible departures of off-axis pupils from ellipticity, and ease of understanding by clinicians, the circular pupil approach is preferable to the stretched elliptical approach for studies involving field angles up to 30 deg.

Utilizing argumentation to teach nature of science

The quest for the achievement of informed nature of science (NOS) views for all learners continues to inspire science educators to seek out effective instructional interventions to aid in the development of learners’ NOS views. Despite the extensive amount of research conducted in the field, the development of informed NOS views has been difficult to achieve, with many studies reporting difficulties in changing learners’ NOS views. Can engaging learners in argumentation lead to improvements in their NOS views? This review answers this question by examining studies which have explored NOS and argumentation in science education. The review also outlines a rationale for incorporating argumentation in science education, together with a brief overview of important recent studies in the field. Implications drawn from this review suggest that the incorporation of explicit NOS and argumentation instruction, together with consideration of various contextual, task-specific and personal factors which could mediate learners’ NOS views and engagement in argumentation, could lead to improvements in learners’ views of NOS.

Learning science through real-world contexts

Curriculum developers and researchers have promoted context based programmes to arrest waning student interest and participation in the enabling sciences at high school and university. Context-based programmes aim for connections between scientific discourse and real-world contexts to elevate curricular relevance without diminishing conceptual understanding. Literature relating to context-based approaches to learning will be reviewed in this chapter. In particular, international trends in curricular development and results from evaluations of major projects (e.g. PLON, Salters Advanced Chemistry, ChemCom) will be highlighted. Research projects that explore context-based interventions focusing on such outcomes as student interest, perceived relevance and conceptual understanding also will feature in the review. The chapter culminates with a discussion of current context-based research that interprets classroom actions from a dialectical socio-cultural framework, and identifies possible new directions for research.

Leading the transformation of learning and praxis in science classrooms

Individual science teachers who have inspired colleagues to transform their classroom praxis have been labelled transformational leaders. As the notion of distributed leadership became more accepted in the educational literature, the focus on the individual teacher-leader shifted to the study of leadership praxis both by individuals (whoever they might be) and by collectives within schools and science classrooms. This review traces the trajectory of leadership research, in the context of learning and teaching science, from an individual focus to a dialectical relationship between individual and collective praxis. The implications of applying an individual-collective perspective to praxis for teachers, students and their designated leaders are discussed.

Risk, uncertainty and complexity in science education

Increasingly societies and their governments are facing important social issues that have science and technology as key features. A number of these socio-scientific issues have two features that distinguish them from the restricted contexts in which school science has traditionally been presented. Some of their science is uncertain and scientific knowledge is not the only knowledge involved. As a result, the concepts of uncertainty, risk and complexity become essential aspects of the science underlying these issues. In this chapter we discuss the nature and role of these concepts in the public understanding of science and consider their links with school science. We argue that these same concepts and their role in contemporary scientific knowledge need to be addressed in school science curricula. The new features for content, pedagogy and assessment of this urgent challenge for science educators are outlined. These will be essential if the goal of science education for citizenship is to be achieved with our students, who will increasingly be required to make personal and collective decisions on issues involving science and technology.

Three-dimensional geological modelling and multivariate statistical analysis of water chemistry data to analyse and visualise aquifer structure and groundwater composition in the Wairau Plain, Marlborough District, New Zealand

Concerns regarding groundwater contamination with nitrate and the long-term sustainability of groundwater resources have prompted the development of a multi-layered three dimensional (3D) geological model to characterise the aquifer geometry of the Wairau Plain, Marlborough District, New Zealand. The 3D geological model which consists of eight litho-stratigraphic units has been subsequently used to synthesise hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical data for different aquifers in an approach that aims to demonstrate how integration of water chemistry data within the physical framework of a 3D geological model can help to better understand and conceptualise groundwater systems in complex geological settings. Multivariate statistical techniques(e.g. Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) were applied to groundwater chemistry data to identify hydrochemical facies which are characteristic of distinct evolutionary pathways and a common hydrologic history of groundwaters. Principal Component Analysis on hydrochemical data demonstrated that natural water-rock interactions, redox potential and human agricultural impact are the key controls of groundwater quality in the Wairau Plain. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis revealed distinct hydrochemical water quality groups in the Wairau Plain groundwater system. Visualisation of the results of the multivariate statistical analyses and distribution of groundwater nitrate concentrations in the context of aquifer lithology highlighted the link between groundwater chemistry and the lithology of host aquifers. The methodology followed in this study can be applied in a variety of hydrogeological settings to synthesise geological, hydrogeological and hydrochemical data and present them in a format readily understood by a wide range of stakeholders. This enables a more efficient communication of the results of scientific studies to the wider community.

The adoption of residential sustainability programs : lessons from the commercial sector

The article explains and compares sustainability programs available for use by residential and commercial premises; as well as the respective legal tenure frameworks of commercial and residential tenancies. It identifies that while the desire of commercial tenants drive the participation by landlords in these programs, residential tenants appear to be ignorant of sustainable measures. The article contends that the reason for this difference is rooted in the legal and social status of residential tenants. It explores the impact that secure tenure may have in promoting residential sustainability programs and concludes by observing that the lack of involvement of residential tenants in programs stems from the absence of tenure security, which prevents any long term cooperation between the parties.

Aligning sustainability and the Torrens register : challenges and recommendations for reform

‘Sustainability’ is a policy mantra of modern governments particularly in relation to natural resources. The traditional connection between land ownership and access to natural resources, such as forestry, flora, fauna, minerals, water and energy, has given rise to an unprecedented number of restrictions and obligations on land owners in their use of the land and resources. The growing numbers of statutory exceptions and restrictions on rights of ownership and use of a fee simple holder presents serious challenges for the utility of the Torrens register, which was originally designed to record private interests in land or affecting title to land. Advocates proposing uniform Torrens legislation should give consideration to an alignment of government policies emphasising sustainability as a core requirement of effective land use and management, and the core Torrens concepts of indefeasibility and security of title. This article examines the challenges for a uniform Torrens system created by increases statutory regulation of land ownership and makes recommendations about how an effective alignment of sustainability objectives and Torrens principles may be achieved.

Extreme science and engineering : a higher education widening participation initiative at QUT

The QUT Extreme Science and Engineering program provides free hands-on workshops to schools, presented by scientists and engineers to students from prep to year 12 in their own classrooms. The workshops are tied to the school curriculum and give students access to professional quality instruments, helping to stimulate their interest in science and engineering, with the aim of generating a greater take up of STEM related subjects in the senior high school years. In addition to engaging students in activities, workshop presenters provide role models of both genders, helping to breakdown preconceived ideas of the type of person who becomes a scientist or engineer and demystifying the university experience. The Extreme Science and Engineering vans have been running for 10 years and as such demonstrate a sustainable and reproducible model for schools engagement. With funding provided through QUT’s Widening Participation Equity initiative (HEPPP funded) the vans which averaged 120 school visits each year has increased to 150+ visits in 2010. Additionally 100+ workshops (hands-on and career focused) have been presented to students from low socio-economic status schools, on the three QUT campuses in 2011. While this is designed as a long-term initiative the short term results have been very promising, with 3000 students attending the workshops in the first six months and teacher and students feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.