bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pig Feeding and Management
Authors: Baskett R. G.
Published: July 2016

Pigs and poultry have this in common in their place on the farm, they can both exist as separate and distinct units, more or less divorced from the general economy of the farm as a whole. Except in special circumstances, pigs cannot exist solely on farm grown foods and must rely on purchased foods, which in most cases have to be imported into this country. Egg production can, however, be maintained at a reasonably high level on home produced feeding stuffs. This is well illustrated by what has happened in Northern Ireland during the war years. During the seven years prior to the war, there was a remarkable increase in pig population, and in 1939 the number of pigs was approximately two and a half times what it was in 1932. This expansion was due to more or less stable prices brought about by the operation of the Northern Ireland Pigs Marketing Board, and was based on imported cereal foods, maize from the Argentine and wheat offals from Australia. A poultry population of some ten million also consumed large quantities of imported feeding stuffs. In the autumn of 1939, the rapid decrease in supplies of feeding stuffs operated immediately against the pigs, and by June 1940 there was a reduction of 41 per cent, in the pigs under two months old and an overall reduction in pigs of 24 per cent, as compared with June 1939. This reduction continued until 1944, but there are signs of some improvement this year with promises of better supplies of feeding stuffs.
Problems of Pig Breeding
Authors: Hammond John
Published: July 2016

The problems of pig breeding in this country can be treated under two headings : those affecting (1) the commercial producer and (2) the pedigree breeder. It is only by proper organization and co-operation between the two that the best results can be obtained for the pig industry as a whole. As it should be the object of the pedigree breeder to produce animals suitable for commercial production, the commercial breeding of pigs will be dealt with first and the special problems of the pedigree breeder later.
The Organisation and Administration of Artificial Insemination Centres
Authors: Stewart D. L.
Published: July 2016

The scope of this subject is so wide that no attempt will be made to deal with it in detail, but I will treat it in a general way. drawing largely from my experience at the Reading Centre.

The technical aspect of artificial insemination has now reached a stage of development where good results are almost a certainty, but more than good results must be achieved if an Artificial Insemination Centre is to be run satisfactorily. It is of great importance that a service be provided at an economic figure, and this can only be done if the administration and organisation of the Centre are on a sound business footing.

I intend to confine my remarks to the organisation of the individual Centre, and in case any of the audience are unaware of it, the national development of artificial insemination is controlled by the Minister of Agriculture under the Artificial Insemination (Cattle) (England and Wales) Regulations, 1943, and he has for his guidance the Central Advisory Committee.
The Pig Industry of the South-West
Authors: Morris S. T.
Published: July 2016

In the decade up to the outbreak of World War II. in 1939, the counties of Devon and Cornwall accounted for nearly 10% of the pig population of England and Wales. It is an exporting area for all classes of livestock, but the preponderance of exports over home consumption is indicated in pigs more than any other class of livestock as the figures in Table I., based on information obtained in a survey into the movements and slaughtering of livestock in 1930, show.*
The Behaviour of Bulls at Artificial Insemination Centres
Authors: Geoffrey Smith
Published: July 2016

The very wide field of animal behaviour has no more fascinating application than in the bull stud of any artificial insemination centre where the male is subjected to close observation over a long period of time. After a year or two's experience one becomes aware of the qualifications expected of a bull if he is to become a successful A.I. sire. His general temperament must be good, he must be placid and easy to handle, be free from all vices, and be able to produce high quality semen as and when required, and at the same time he must possess superior genetical material so that there is hope of improved production from his progeny.
Beef Production in Eastern Scotland
Authors: Fowlie D.
Published: July 2016

I propose to assume that the lowland farmer either breeds, rears and feeds his own stock, or brings them in as stores to finish off. His supply of store cattle will come from higher lying farms which are not so suitable for feeding, from small holdings in the lowlands, from marginal hill land farms, or from Ireland.

Breeds of Cattle for Beef.—The ideal animal for beef production must definitely be of the approved beef type. There are quite a few breeds of cattle in Britain of this type. Of course, in Scotland we depend chiefly on the Aberdeen-Angus and the Shorthorn, and in my opinion the best feeding animal is a cross between the two; or if a good bull of either breed is used on a strong dual purpose type of cow. the calf should make a useful carcase.
Bull Progeny Testing in Denmark
Authors: Mason I. L.
Published: July 2016

During the last decade or more we have heard a great deal about progeny testing. Discussion has centred round three chief points. Under what conditions can selection by progeny testing lead to an increase in the rate of genetic improvement ? What method of testing and interpretation of results is most efficient and most practical ? How should the results be applied—that is in what way should the tested animals be used ?

In their paper reprinted herein (page 79) Johansson and Robertson have shown to what extent modern genetical theory can answer the second of these questions. It now remains for the executive agencies of livestock improvement to demonstrate the practical utility of the schemes they outline. We must wait some time, especially for slow-breeding animals like cattle, before the results of such a demonstration are available.
The Use of Partial Records in Poultry Selection
Authors: Maddison A. E.
Published: July 2016

Selection work with the Rhode Island Red breed, involving the extensive collection of records, was first started at Wye College in 1948. Since that time the methods of selection employed have changed substantially in the light of the experience gained and the scheme, as it is operated at present, is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1.

Sixty full-sister groups are recorded from first egg to the end of November. At least three full brothers of each of these sister groups.
The use of oestrogens in fat lamb production
Authors: Averill R. L. W.
Published: July 2016

Recent work, mainly American, has indicated the possibility of using implanted synthetic oestrogens to induce faster and more economical weight gains in fattening lambs. Little has yet been done in this country to repeat or to extend these observations, and a possible reason for this may lie in the difference between the organisation of the fat lamb industries of the United Kingdom and the United States. Here, as in New Zealand and in other countries rearing sheep principally on pastures, many lambs are sold fat at light weights, while those not so well finished at weaning may either be fattened on grass or other green crops, or be overwintered and fattened as hoggets on grass in the following spring. In the U.K. fat lambs are thus seldom fed dry feeds as they are under U.S. ‘feed-lot’ conditions, and are slaughtered at rather lighter weights than their U.S. counterparts.
The control of parasites by grazing management
Authors: Spedding C. R. W.
Published: July 2016

Among the most important of the parasites of grazing animals are the nematodes inhabiting the alimentary tract of the sheep. The losses due to the presence of these worms are difficult to estimate but are certainly not confined to the results of disease outbreaks. In fact, recent research (Tayler, 1953; Spedding, 1953) has emphasised the losses which occur at sub-clinical levels of infestation, that is, at levels sustained by normal sheep.

Control of these parasites may be either ameliorative or preventive in character. Supplementary feeding and the use of anthelmintic drugs are of the former type; grazing management is essentially preventive. For the most part, anthelmintic drugs are now capable of preventing the outbreak of clinical disease, but they allow the presence of sub-clinical levels of infestation, as do most types of grazing management.
The relation of weaning weight to birth weight of lambs
Authors: Thomson W. , McDonald I.
Published: July 2016

It is now a well established fact that high-level nutrition of the in-lamb ewe during the later stages of pregnancy results in heavy lambs of high vitality at birth and in good milking ewes. On the other hand, when ewes are poorly fed during the same period, or suffer a check, they produce underweight lambs of low vitality and have poor milk yields. While it is agreed that underweight lambs are undesirable, one is often asked whether the larger and sturdier lambs at birth maintain their superiority in later life, a problem on which relatively few results have been published. A study has therefore been made of a large number of birth and weaning weights collected as a normal routine at the Rowett Institute during the past few years.
The Hormonal Augmentation of Fertility in Sheep
Authors: Gordon I.
Published: July 2016

It has been shown (Robinson, 1951) that in the ewe the number of ova shed can be increased by the injection of a single dose of mare serum gonadotrophin (P.M.S.) if this is given during the follicular phase of the oestrous cycle. The investigations described here were made to examine the usefulness of this treatment for increasing the lamb crop in commercial flocks.

Observations were made on 594 ewes of 3 breeds in 11 flocks (Romneys, 9; Cheviot, 1; Southdown, 1). Most ewes were purebred from old-established flocks. The Romneys were running on the marshlands and mixed farms of Kent and East Sussex, the South-downs were near Glynde, in Sussex, and the Cheviots were on a farm near Brampton in Cumberland. Management within the flocks followed the practice normal for the different breeds. Most ewes were 2½ to 4½ years old at the start of treatment; a few younger ewes (1½ years) and some aged ewes were also involved.
The progeny assessment of dairy sires for milk: the use of contemporary comparisons
Authors: Robertson Alan , Stewart A. , Ashton E. D.
Published: July 2016

In the Proceedings of this Society two years ago, A. T. G. Macarthur (1954) presented a method for the evaluation of dairy sires under farm conditions. Since that time, considerable use has been made of this technique in the Bureau of Records of the Milk Marketing Board and in this paper we propose to discuss the method critically, in the light of the results obtained on over 1,500 bulls.

As the experience we have gained has considerable bearing on the validity of this method, it would perhaps be valuable at the beginning to view the general problem of testing dairy bulls under British conditions. What evidence have we that the use of contemporary comparisons is the best tool that we have available for the assessment of dairy bulls? We must bear in mind here that we have two distinct problems. The first is the assessment of bulls used in A.I. whose daughters have been bred and milked in many herds. The second is the assessment of bulls used in natural service.
On the effect of breed and nutritional plane on dentition in the cow
Authors: Joubert D. M.
Published: July 2016

A Number of authors (Bonsma and Neser, 1951; Bisschop, 1954; Wiener and Donald, 1955) have recently provided experimental evidence on the age at which the eruption of permanent incisors occurs in cattle and, in view of the wide ranges generally encountered, criticised the practice of estimating age from dental development. Though factors such as individuality, breed, plane of nutrition and type of grazing are frequently quoted as being responsible for deviations from the ‘accepted’ means (Miller and Robertson, 1952; Zorn, 1953), apparently little support is to be found in the scientific literature on the subject.
Oestrogens in lamb and mutton production
Authors: Preston T. R. , Gee Isoline
Published: July 2016

Subcutaneous implantation of the synthetic oestrogens, hexoestrol and stilboestrol is known to increase the daily rate of live-weight gain and to improve the efficiency of food utilisation in lambs (see review by Averill, 1955; Wilkinson et al., 1955; Gill et al.,1956; Jordan & Croom, 1956).

A critical review of these reports shows that despite the numerous experiments testifying to increased and more efficient weight gains as a result of implantation it is not known how much of this extra gain is represented by products saleable for human consumption. Further there is only limited information relating to the chemical composition of the increased live-weight and none concerning the precise nature of the increased efficiency of food conversion in units other than live-weight.
Milk from pasture in New Zealand
Authors: McG.Cooper M.
Published: July 2016

It is difficult for the visitor to New Zealand to realise that practically all of the five million acres of pasture land now devoted to dairying was, a matter of seventy years ago, dense rain-forest, scrubland or undrained swamp. Practically the whole of the Manawatu and Taranaki and large portions of the Waikato and North Auckland, which are the principal dairying districts today, were in forest when the introduction of refrigerated ocean transport in 1882 made possible the development of New Zealand’s dairy industry.

The first step in bringing in forest was the felling of giant trees such as rimu, matai and totara and the undergrowth of smaller trees and vines. Sometimes the bigger timber trees were milled, but too often they were merely felled and the fire-stick was applied to leave an indescribable mess of partially burned trunks and stumps.
Sheep farming in New Zealand
Authors: Wannop A. R.
Published: July 2016

New Zealand is primarily an agricultural country. Sixty per cent of all its production, including nearly 100% of its exports, comes from farms and is produced by only 17% of the total labour force. Within the agricultural industry sheep farming is dominant. Wool provides between one-third and one-half of the total exports and lamb and mutton about one-sixth. Over 90% of the wool and lamb produced and about 50% of the mutton is exported.

The prominent place that wool occupies in New Zealand’s farming strikes any visitor from Britain. The wool cheque naturally exceeds the income from other sources on the sheep stations of the Southern Alps where Merino sheep are grazed, but on lower hill farms selling cast-for-age or surplus two-tooth ewes to fat-lamb breeding farms and store lambs to hogget fatteners the wool cheque is still usually more than half the income.
Mrs Blue Gum, Some Puppets and a Remnant Forest: Towards Sustainability Education through Drama Pedagogy
Authors: Appleby Ellen
Published: July 2016

This paper focuses on a case study of the collaborative development of an environmental education unit involving the use of puppetry and drama. The collaboration was between an experienced classroom teacher beginning to use drama, and a drama/environmental educator and researcher. The critical lens for the analysis was sustainability education, including how this aligns with some recent theory on multiplist and evaluativist meaning-making. It is argued that these modes of meaning-making are necessary pedagogical goals of an eco-connected pedagogy. This case study showed that collaborative planning, implementation and reflection of drama pedagogy was not only a catalyst for more complex and deeper levels of meaning-making for the classroom teacher, but also prompted discussion about other important issues such as the quality of student engagement, classroom power dynamics and authentic assessment. In addition the teacher observed a range of outcomes achieved by her students that align with sustainability education as they became immersed in a dramatic world. In particular she observed that the students, through role-playing and writing about points of view not necessarily their own, developed deeper understandings demonstrating multiplist and evaluativist meaning creation.
Critical Contextual Reviews and Development of Interpretive Materials with Teachers in Kenya
Authors: Atiti Abel Barasa
Published: July 2016

This paper shares findings from a recent study that engaged a group of Kenyan teachers in a review and development of interpretive materials through a participatory action research framework. It focuses on critical contextual reviews of interpretive materials in non-formal organisations and development of similar materials in schools with teachers. Social interactions between teachers and non-formal educators enabled the sharing of ideas, skills and techniques on materials development processes. This provided a basis for developing interpretive materials to support environmental learning within school grounds. A teacher-centred approach to materials development as argued in this paper seeks to respect the needs of schools within their social and historical contexts. It further challenges the conventional top-down approaches in which non-formal educators are creators of materials and teachers are viewed as “technicians” who implement the materials in schools. The paper offers some tentative guidelines on the development of interpretive materials in schools.
If they Treated the Whole World like a National Park: Environmental Education by Teachers and Rangers
Authors: Slattery Deirdre , Lugg Alison
Published: July 2016

This paper considers the role of rangers and education officers who present and represent their park on school trips to national parks, and their interactions with teachers who organise those trips. These shared encounters are commonplace events. They have an important potential and actual role in environmental education, but have not been the subject of much research. Both the teachers' environmental education objectives and the possibilities offered by parks are wide: nature study, ecology, parks as natural and cultural heritage, land management and community issues, recreational activities and their consequences. However this breadth of potential activity possibly exacerbates a gap between the two cultures that meet on such encounters, a gap that needs to be addressed if the participants are to be able to maximise their shared and separate concerns.

Using semi-structured interviews, our research looked at the strengths and limitations of several school visits for both teachers and ranger. In this paper we report particularly on the importance of the ranger in the process. We suggest that the role of the ranger is an undervalued and under-supported link in effective environmental education.
Developing a Partnership between the Riverina Environmental Education Centre and Charles Sturt University
Authors: Boylan Colin , Collins Keith
Published: July 2016

A collaborative partnership has evolved between the Riverina Environmental Education Centre (REEC) and Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. The Riverina Environmental Education Centre (REEC) is one of 24 Department of Education and Training environmental education centres in New South Wales (see www.reec.nsw.edu.au). As part of this partnership relationship, final year BTeach(Sec)/BSc students have worked with REEC and CSU staff on developing learning materials that support and enrich the programs offered through the REEC. In particular, these students have developed materials focussing on exploring student understanding about biodiversity and salinity. Additionally, the development of web based learning activities that use regional scientists as exemplars of current scientific research and possible career options (called Real Science) has occurred. Through this partnership arrangement, it has been a ‘win-win’ outcome for REEC staff, CSU staff and the CSU final year secondary science students with all participants gaining valuable insights and pedagogical understandings from the partnership.
Education for Sustainability in Australian Universities: Where is the Action?
Authors: Lang Josephine , Thomas Ian , Wilson Andrew
Published: July 2016

As institutions of education and learning, the higher education sector has a significant role to play in implementing the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014). Some institutions have already acknowledged, and are shaping, their roles in working towards sustainability through appropriate development and implementation of institutional policy and practices, including the signing of international agreements related to sustainability. Such institutions are specifically linking learning to sustainable development. This study was initiated as a result of our interests to i) identify the current commitment to education for sustainability and ii) learn from the institutional lived experiences about how education for sustainability may be realised, within the Australian university context. This is a preliminary investigation to provide baseline insights into how education for sustainability with a focus on curriculum innovation is being implemented within the Australian university landscape. This investigation is informing our further research to understand institutional change of education for sustainability in universities.
The State of Environmental Education in the Australian School Curriculum
Authors: Heck Debbie
Published: July 2016

The first review of environmental education in Australia was undertaken by Linke (1980) in 1973/4. The Curriculum Corporation on behalf of the Government Department of the Environment and Heritage undertook a second national review in 2002. The purpose of the review was to provide evidence for the development of future national initiatives in environmental education and as advice for environmental education practioners. Curriculum documents were reviewed to identify the existence of 147 indicators of environmental education within outcomes and objectives of curriculum documents in the compulsory years of schooling through to senior secondary. The similarities between the two reviews are evident in the identification of Science and Social Science in the compulsory years of schooling as having. direct references to environmental education. Geography at the senior secondary level also had significant explicit reference to environmental education. However, there were differences. The 2003 review identified environmental studies as a new secondary level subject that has environmental education objectives. It also identified a broader range of learning areas including Arts, Health and Physical Education, English and Technology which provided opportunities for the development of environmental education.
Challenging the Pedagogical Basis of Contemporary Environmental Interpretation
Authors: Markwell Kevin
Published: July 2016

Environmental interpretation can be defined as a kind of non-formal environmental education carried out in predominantly recreational settings within which visitors are provided with opportunities to become more aware of particular concepts and phenomena through first hand experiences. The fundamental objective of environmental interpretation programs is commonly given as increasing visitors' empathy for environmental conservation: the visit becomes a transformatory experience as a result of which it is intended that visitors become more committed to ensuring the continued integrity and sustainability of the environment. This paper argues that, as presently practised, environmental interpretation is informed largely by a somewhat conservative, traditional pedagogy, and as such tends to be didactic, knowledge-driven, and shaped more by technique than by philosophy. An attempt is made to outline, at least conceptually, an interpretive process influenced more by the principles of an alternative educational framework called andragogy, one which acknowledges the (earning characteristics of adults, accentuates the affective domain of learning, and which might ultimately lead to greater levels of visitor involvement in learning processes.
The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: A Useful Platform? Or an Annoying Distraction? A Canadian Perspective
Authors: Jickling Bob
Published: July 2016

In Canada education for sustainable development is not flourishing. This may seem curious as The Decade of Education For Sustainable Development is now well underway. But this isn't a bad news story. There are interesting dynamics at play and many great initiatives are emerging. This assessment is a story too. There are many ways of interpreting events and the analysis presented here is one; there will be others. In telling this story, especially for a brief article, I've made no attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of Canadian activities. Rather, I have taken a closer look at some key events and trends and discussed ways that they might be understood.
Narrative and Nature: Unsustainable Fictions in Environmental Education
Authors: Gough Noel
Published: July 2016

We live… lives based on selected fictions. Our view of reality is conditioned by our position in space and time — not by our personalities as we like to think. Thus every interpretation of reality is based on a unique position. Two paces east or west and the whole picture is changed. (Durrell 1963)

Environmental education owes its very existence to a particular interpretation of reality. My purpose here is to examine critically the “selected fictions” on which that view of reality is based — to examine the ways in which our perceptions of environmental problems and issues are “conditioned by our position in space and time”. I will argue that some of these perceptions constitute unsustainable fictions and will consider some ways in which we might work towards living lives based on more sustainable constructions of human interrelationships with their environments. I will begin with an illustration of how an interpretation of reality can be changed by taking (to coin Durrell's metaphor) two paces east or west — by glimpsing something familiar from an unusual vantage point.
How Organisational Change is Contributing to a Sustainable Bushfire Program
Authors: Baker Angela , Stanton Andrew
Published: July 2016

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC)'s Bushfire Program is unique amongst conservation organisations. The Program has been running for over ten years, focusing its campaign work mainly on government policy, legislation and commissions of inquiry. However, the Program was originally initiated to provide support to over 70 conservation representatives on bushfire management committees (from state to regional levels)

In 2003, the Community Bushfire Education Project (CBEP), which is funded by the Environment Trust (ET), was developed as an extension of the Bushfire Program. The CBEP's main focuses have included coordinating community and professional workshops, field trips and school visits.

The design and advocacy principles of the Bushfire Program have been significantly influenced by the CBEP. Principles associated with Education for Sustainability, including capacity building, partnerships and critical thinking, have been key drivers in this.

Traditionally, the NCC Bushfire Program has been a strong advocate of enforcing environmental assessment and controls through regulation. However, to date, bushfire regulations have only had limited success in changing unsustainable practices. We have learnt that a complimentary approach to regulation is voluntary action. This entails a participatory approach to bushfire management planning. We feel this change in philosophy can apply to all land management and environmental issues and may parallel a larger shift within the environment movement.

Through this paper we will show how the Bushfire Program has developed to incorporate community education as a central pillar of, rather than in addition to, its core campaign; the difficulties this presents and the strengths it provides. The NCC now sees community participation and empowerment as a key component of any natural resource management campaign.
Sustainability and Small to Medium Sized Enterprises - How to Engage Them
Authors: Condon Linda
Published: July 2016

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a major advantage over larger organisations in regard to addressing sustainability issues – their size means they are able to react very quickly to changes in the business environment. They are disadvantaged, however, by lack of information on marketplace changes that make sustainability an opportunity to innovate, and to inspire employees. While some SMEs are leaders in sustainable practices, others lack the sort of strategic mindset which views changes in the business environment as opportunities – seeing the tasks which require more change as an additional burden, rather than a source of potential advantage.

The National Centre for Sustainability has worked with a group of SMEs (with sponsorship through a Research Agreement with Sensis) in a series of workshop environments. Through this work a set of indicators was developed to measure their progress towards more sustainable practices. Key members of industry associations and government agencies were engaged in an advisory capacity to ensure that the work undertaken was relevant and innovative.

In addition, a comprehensive industry research study was undertaken to determine the key priorities for business and government relating to sustainability. This work provided insight into the needs and trends in sustainable practices in various sectors including manufacturing, service industry, education and government. The outcomes of the research have determined the need to develop flexible, adult centric and work-based learning models to educate for sustainability and create organisational change.

This paper explores the value of innovative and engaging educational practices to create an environment which is most conducive to facilitating the implementation of economic, environmental and social aspects ofwork practices.
Community Gardens as a Platform for Education for Sustainability
Authors: Corkery Linda
Published: July 2016

Community gardens fulfil many roles, including the reclamation of public space, community building, and the facilitation of social and cultural expression. This paper discusses a nexus between research and education for sustainability that evolved out of an examination of the role of community gardens in fostering community development and neighbourhood improvement in Sydney's Waterloo Public Housing Estate. It argues that they are also an educational resource providing a valuable platform for learning about multiple dimensions of sustainability.

The paperis based on interdisciplinary research undertaken by a team from UNSW's Faculty of the Built Environment and the School of Social Work. The findings of this research affirm the importance of community gardens for public housing tenants, and present the gardens and their associated activities as an effective platform for education for sustainability.
Enjoying Our Backyard Buddies – Social Research Informing the Practice of Mainstream Community Education for the Conservation of Urban Wildlife
Authors: Davies Richard , Webber Lynn
Published: July 2016

Supporting urban communities to make changes that contribute to sustainable living is a challenge that many environment and conservation organisations embrace. However, many community education and involvement initiatives to date have tended to appeal mostly to those with knowledge and enthusiasm for protection and conservation of the environment, leaving the majority of the community relatively unengaged. In a NSW Environmental Trust supported initiative seeking to enhance the protection and conservation of wildlife in urban environments, a major social research project was undertaken to investigate community understandings of wildlife conservation, for application to urban community education programs. The research incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to gain insights that practitioners can use to develop, monitor and evaluate urban environment and conservation initiatives that engage and involve the WIder community. This paper presents some key findings of the research and provides case examples of environmental education initiatives bringing this research into practice. The research indicates that community understandings of conservation are broad ranging. The research reveals that prominent conservation language and concepts, well understood by keen and knowledgable environmental educators, have little relevance to mainstream audiences. Other findings identify how conservation can have high relevance and meaning for the broader community as an integral part of their everyday life.
On Ecospirituality: True, Indigenous, Western
Authors: Beringer Almut
Published: July 2016

This article is critical of the Infusion of pseudo-spiritualities in the form of non-legitimised indigenous wisdom and activities in environmental education. Drawing on a definition of true ecospirituality, the doctrine of the world soul, a teaching from western traditions, is presented as a viable alternative in the search for re-enchantment. Implications for environmental educators are addressed.
Introducing Environmental Literacy in the Tertiary Curriculum
Authors: Thomas Ian , Kyle Louise , Alvarez Amaya
Published: July 2016

There are many examples of environmental courses in tertiary institutions, but the integration of environmental education across the range of courses has generally not occurred. The paper describes a process and strategy to establish environmental literacy in tertiary courses. This strategy was developed from a project to introduce waste minimisation education into four disciplinary based courses. Since waste minimisation was introduced in the context of ecological sustainability, the project provided a framework for the broad principles of environmental literacy. The project began with the assumption that adequate materials were already available, but what was needed was a process that would guide academics in the revision of their course content, and would support them in making changes. The paper reports on the conduct of the project and, based on our experiences, presents a strategy for developing curriculum change. This strategy has been developed to recognise the contexts associated with environmental understanding and tertiary institutions, and the processes needed to facilitate the change.
Environmental Progressivism: A Framework for a Sustainable Higher Education
Authors: Thomas Matthew
Published: July 2016

The underlying ideologies which support higher education have received only limited attention in relation to our desired goals of social and ecological sustainability. This paper examines the current ideologies which drive higher education, and proposes a different ideological framework which can be used to support a sustainable higher education. Firstly, a criticism of the current convergence of utilitarian and neo-liberal ideologies is presented from the perspective of sustainability. Secondly, building upon the educational theory of John Dewey, an alternative perspective termed “environmental progressivism” is outlined as a possible ideological framework for a sustainable higher education. The paper concludes with some preliminary remarks as to the practical implications of environmental progressivism.
Living Lightly on the Earth: a Fieldweek at the Centre for Alternative Technology
Authors: Hicks David , Bord Andy , Ward Richard
Published: July 2016

Having ascended the water-powered cliff railway that takes us from the carpark up to the main site we stand on the cantilevered deck of the upper station looking out across the hills and autumn colours of the wooded Dulas valley below us. The branches on the silver birches are whipped by a cold wind blowing in from the Dovey estuary as we turn to walk across the old slate workings that are now the site of one of the best known eco-centres in Europe. Later, having been given a guided tour of the site, we retire to our self-catering cabins where we split and stack the wood that will later keep us warm. The annual Gobal Futures fieldweek at the Centre for Alternative Technology has come round again.
Are Educational Outcomes Relevant to Environmental Education Addressed by Primary School Teachers?
Authors: Clark Julie , Harrison Terry
Published: July 2016

Concern exists over the extent to which environmental education is being addressed in Australian primary school curricula. This is especially so since the release of the nationally developed Statements and Profiles in eight key areas of learning because no documents specifically relating to environmental education were produced. This paper reports the results of a study in which a survey based on outcomes relevant to environmental education, as drawn from curriculum documents in use in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, was completed by a sample of primary teachers from both states. Results indicated that, in most schools, outcomes relevant to environmental education were being given significant attention. However, the extent to which different outcomes were addressed varied widely, as did the extent to which individual schools addressed outcomes over the years kindergarten/preparatory to year 6 (K/P-6). Implications for teacher education drawn from the findings are discussed.
University Students' Attitude to the Environment: An Australian/USA Comparison and the Effects of An Educational Program
Authors: Ridener Larry R.
Published: July 2016

Significant differences were found between a pretest measurement of environmental attitudes of a sample of tertiary students from the USA and that of a similar sample of Australian students; the latter scored higher on the total scale used to measure attitudes, and on all but one of the subscales. After an educational program USA students showed significant increases in scores for the total scale and for all the subscales so that they scored significantly higher on two subscales than Australian students. Discussion of these changes in measured attitudes refers to the institutional processes of education, to changes in environmentalism and to notions of dependence on science and technology for the resolution of environmental issues.
The Teaching and Learning of Environmental Education in N.S.W. Primary Schools: A Case Study
Authors: Walker Kim
Published: July 2016

The aim of the doctoral study outlined in this paper is to contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning of environmental education. The significance of environmental education as a strategy to address environmental problems has been documented widely in Australia and overseas. This study shows that as a strategy to solve such problems its success so far has been questionable.

The study assumes that there is a problem in the teaching and learning of environmental education and that the policy document, Environmental Education Curriculum Statement K-12 (New South Wales Department of Education, 1989) has not been adequately implemented.
Social Transformation in Response to the Environment Crisis: The Role of Education and Research
Authors: van Rensburg Eureta Janse
Published: July 2016

In this paper I examine two activities which are often attributed with a role to play in social transformation, namely environmental education and research, for their potential to contribute to collective change. I do so by drawing on the results of a recent empirical study in southern Africa, in which I distinguished four orientations to research in/and environmental education. In exploring the transformatory roles of research and environmental education, as conceptualised in these four orientations, I conclude that the most prevalent orientations reveal modernistic assumptions which limit their potential to contribute to social transformation.

The decision to interpret the results by focusing on social transformation grew out of what I regarded as the most significant dimensions of the context of the study. These are the global and regional calls for social transformation in response to the environment crisis, the dramatic political changes in parts of southern Africa, the need to improve education in the region, and finally, less obvious global epistemological shifts in the conceptualisation of science, education and social research.
Education and Environmentalism: Ecological World Views and Environmentally Responsible Behaviour
Authors: Blaikie Norman
Published: July 2016

Concern for the environment has traditionally been associated with youth. Studies in the USA over the past twenty-five years have consistently shown that environmental concern declines with age (Buttel, 1979; Van Liere and Dunlap, 1980; Lowe, Pinhey and Grimes, 1980; Lowe and Pinhey, 1982; Honnold, 1981, 1984; Mohai and Twight, 1987; Arcury and Christianson, 1990). Just why this is so has been a matter of some dispute; the ‘aging’ hypothesis suggests that it is due to the socio-biological aging process; the ‘cohort’ hypothesis points to the differential influence of important historical events on birth cohorts, particularly in their formative years; and the “period” hypothesis proposes that both of these processes can be over-ridden as all age cohorts adapt to changing social, cultural and economic circumstances. Both the ‘cohort’ hypothesis (Mohai and Twight, 1987; Samdahl and Robertson, 1989) and the ‘period’ hypothesis (Honnald, 1984) have received some support.

A recent study in Australia (Blaikie, 1992) has offered some support for the ‘cohort’ hypothesis but has shown that the relationship between age and Ecological World View (environmental attitudes) is curvi-linear rather than linear. The strongest commitment to an Ecological World View (EWV) is to be found in a middle-aged cohort; younger cohorts hold a middle position and older cohorts have the lowest level of commitment. It would appear that this middle-aged cohort was influenced in its youth by the earlier wave of environmental concern in the 1970s, and it has either maintained this level of concern, or had it revived in the more recent wave. Today's younger generation has not reached this same level of concern, perhaps because of the differences in socio-economic climate between the 1970s and the present, and their greater susceptibility to the effects of the current recession.
Imbibing Wisdom of Environmental Impact Assessment
Authors: Thomas Ian
Published: July 2016

The background to the development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the resulting techniques and procedures, or legislation, have been presented by many authors; for example, Canter (1977), Munn (1975), Porter (1985) and Thomas (1987). During the past decade many people have become involved in the practice of EIA, but how they have been trained for this involvement is not well documented. To contribute to the documentation, I will explain the development of a module which can be adapted to suit the time available for the coverage of EIA, and the varying capabilities of undergraduate and post graduate students enrolled in environmental engineering/ management/ planning/ policy/ science/ studies courses.

Following sections examine, firstly the relationship between the objectives of EIA and those of the module, which I will refer to as Environmental Assessment. Next the constraints which influence the form of the subject, and the range of possible training techniques are discussed. Finally, the details of Environmental Assessment's structure are presented along with some comments on its approach.
Social Ecology as Innovative Tertiary Environmental Education
Authors: White Lesley
Published: July 2016

Social ecology as expressed by the Social Ecology Centre, (Faculty of Agriculture & Rural Development, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury), is an emerging field of learning concerned with improving the quality of the interrelationships between people and between people and the environment. The essence of this improvement is powerfully depicted by Albert Einstein, with this plea for people to widen their sense of compassion and concern to all life:

A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.

Social ecology then is concerned with recognising and transcending this ‘optical delusion’ of which Einstein speaks.

In 1992 the Social Ecology Centre will be offering, through the introduction of the Bachelor of Applied Science (Social Ecology) [B. App. Sc. (Soc. Ecol.)] program, a substantively new and different approach to environmental education at a tertiary level. The establishment of the B.App.Sc. (Soc. Ecol.) will provide for the first time learning opportunities in social ecology at undergraduate level.
Understanding the Macro-context of Teaching Environmental Education: A Case Study from Queensland, 1989-1991
Authors: Fien John
Published: July 2016

Any discussion of curriculum should consider the social setting, especially the relationship between schools and society and its influence on curriculum decisions…. Curriculum decisions take place in a complex social setting, through demands that are imposed by society and filter down to schools (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1988: 114).

Context is an important element in understanding the nature of the curriculum in any field and its goals. Thus, Cornbleth (1988: 89) describes curriculum as “an ongoing social activity shaped by various contextual influences within and beyond the classroom”. She argues that curriculum is a “contextualized social process” which:

… cannot be understood adequately … without attention to its setting or context. Curriculum is contextually shaped…. (C)urriculum emerges from the dynamic interaction of action, reflection and setting (Cornbleth, 1990: 6-7)

Similarly, Berlak and Berlak (1981: 24) write of the need to investigate teachers' decision making in terms of “the social, cultural and political forces and structures that are omnipresent in all social situations”. Sharp and Green (1975) argue that comprehensive explanations of teaching require an investigation of the “sociology of situations, their underlying structure and interconnections and the constraints and contingencies they impose” (p. 25).