The relationship of childhood upbringing and university degree program to environmental identity: experience in nature matters

Education has been proposed as an important way to increase environmental concern. Beyond providing information, education could also encourage a stable sense of oneself as connected to the natural world, or environmental identity (EID), which is a predictor of environmental concern and behavior. This study explored the relative roles of environmental education at university and previous personal characteristics on the level of individual EID. Results from a questionnaire distributed to 919 French students in different academic curricula (ecology, other sciences and political sciences) showed significant difference in levels of EID for students in ecology compared to others, but also that EID was strongly influenced by personal experiences of nature and social context regarding conservation. These results suggest that academic curriculum is more a result than a cause for high environmental identity. We discuss the results in terms of education and access to nature for children and young people.     

Thinking like researchers: action research and its impact on novice teachers’ thinking

This project investigated the effects of novice teachers’ responses to an action research project conducting during the student-teaching semester. This study drew on a framework that considered the participants’ process of research, practice of teaching, and identity as a researcher and utilized a qualitative, multiple case-study approach with an initial survey phase followed by interviews and document analysis of completed action research projects. Findings showed that the participants’ pre-existing identities as researchers informed their process of conducting the action research, which then had a positive impact on teaching practice if the overall research experience was positive.     

Modes of organizing biomedical innovation in the UK and US and the role of integrative and relational capabilities

Given that biomedical innovation involves intense collaboration across disciplines, occupations and organizations, a nation's integrative capabilities (the ability to move between basic science and clinical development) and relational capabilities (the ability to collaborate with diverse organizations) have been identified as crucial. This paper deploys qualitative analysis of biomedical innovation in the UK and US to identify mechanisms influencing innovation at the project level through which these macro level capabilities may have effects. From this a propositional framework is developed that helps explain the likely impact of such capabilities for characteristically different kinds of innovation projects at the micro level.     

The Reality of Sustaining Community-Based Sport and Physical Activity Programs to Enhance the Development of Underserved Youth: Challenges and Potential Strategies

Many community-based sport and physical activity programs take a positive youth development approach when operating in underserved communities around the world (Forneris, Whitley, & Barker, 2013). However, one of the biggest challenges for these programs is sustainability (Lindsey, 2008). The purpose of this article is to present the 3 authors’ experiences related to program sustainability when working with community-based sport and physical activity programs using a positive youth development approach in underserved communities. The authors describe the challenges faced with program sustainability, including ineffective development approaches, building strong relationships with community partners, knowledge translation, and securing funding. Also described are the strategies used to overcome these challenges, such as planning, capacity building, recruitment, and evaluation. This article is intended to stimulate more open and honest discussions about the realities of positive youth development program sustainability around the world.     

Knowledge management in a decentralized global financial services provider: a case study with Allianz Group

We first introduce the overall approach to knowledge management taken by Allianz Group. We then present two specific solution approaches within Allianz Group. The first approach is focused on knowledge sharing across different lines of businesses and various organizational entities within Allianz. The approach is implemented through the new organizational role of centers of competence. The second approach is focused on improvements of knowledge-workers day-to-day tasks involving document and expert search from various information sources. Here, we report the setup and the results from a pilot study. The aim was to evaluate the implications of different search and retrieval tools on workflow within a representative everyday business environment. Different available information resources with their corresponding security infrastructure were taken into account. The pilot implementation was accompanied by an empirical survey on usage characteristics and usability experiences by the participating knowledge workers.     

Practical inquiry: Collaboration and reflection in teacher education reform

If teachers are to use collaboration and reflection in their own classrooms, it is important for them to experience it in university teacher education courses. To explore implications of recommendations in national reports on teacher education reform, a course was designed using practical inquiry to structure use of craft knowledge, collaboration and reflection. Forty one teachers of varied backgrounds participated. Teachers reported that their perspectives broadened and that they gained confidence in their teaching choices through this experience. I found it challenging to manage disagreements for their maximum learning potential.     

Physical activity and acculturation among adult Hispanics in the United States

Understanding the prevalence and demographic correlates of physical activity is important for public health and epidemiological research. This analysis examines the association between acculturation and physical activity in a large (approximately 5,000) sample of Hispanic adults from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey. Scores for eight questions concerning language use were summed to produce an acculturation index. Factor analysis indicated that these questions assessed a single underlying construct. Self-reported adherence to recommendations concerning leisure time physical activity increased from 22. 6% in the least acculturated tertile to 47% in the most acculturated tertile. In contrast, prevalence of walking or bicycling for errands decreased from 25.2 to 18.2%, and prevalence of standing or walking during most of the day decreased from 82.8 to 65.6% as acculturation increased. Thus, patterns of physical activity associated with leisure versus nonleisure time differed among Hispanics with varying acculturation levels. Alternatively, cultural factors may have differential effects on responses to questions concerning leisure and nonleisure time physical activity. In either case, assessing both types of activity is important for monitoring and understanding Hispanic health behaviors and interpreting epidemiological studies that involve physical activity in Hispanics.