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Macro-Challenges of Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education Research: A Philosophical Approach To Mature The Field [CSSE-CATE]
Get PDFOur slideshow was presented at CSSE 2024 for CATE-ACFE - "Environment" as a "Multi-Paper" presentation. Included is our slideshow, our submission, reviewer's comments [to articulate process], and author's final reflectionCurrent teacher education (TE) practices at higher educational institutes are moving toward inclusion of climate change considerations. Most notable is the call for Climate Change Education (CCE) to be part and parcel of TE programs across Canada. CCE is new nomenclature to an already diversified field of monikers. Nomenclature is complex as geopolitical and sociocultural nuances guide specific meaning to a name. For instance, alongside Australia, Canada has followed the moniker of ESE-TE to promote “Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education.” The UN chose to forego subtle differences by adopting a standardised and uniforming nomenclature of “Environment and Sustainable Development”12 (ESD). Ultimately, the issue of nomenclature is at the heart of rhetoric and academic tensions in the subfield of ESE-TE, including how we represent research. Casting a comprehensive net, paying due diligence to what is in a name, and utilising new technology for visualising data as trends, we are able to reveal exciting trends-as-patterns in ESE-TE research. Our conceptual approach discerns subtle distinctions of shallow and deep challenges to the maturity of the field—challenges we term “micro-” and “macro-” respectively. Our research suggests new research potentialities concerning macro-challenges can utilise “abstractions of abstractions” as a philosophical basis for ESE-TE
An Anxiety Toolkit for Educators: A Guide for Working with Students at Risk for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Get PDFGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders and is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not, about several events or activities. For children and youth, anxiety disorders, including GAD, are the most frequent mental health problem experienced, which can seriously impair their ability to be successful at school and in their relationships with peers. Additionally, educators have reported having limited access to mental health supports and professional development opportunities tailored at effectively supporting students with mental health issues, such as increased anxiety. Therefore, the purpose of the current research project was to develop a handbook that provided useful and practical information, a set of educational sessions, activities, as well as strategies, and other resources aimed at assisting educators and practitioners with the means to support school-aged children at risk for GAD. With the voluntarily contributions of five educators who have experience supporting children with anxiety, along with the influence of Bandura’s (1986a) social cognitive theory, An Anxiety Toolkit for Educators: A Guide for Working with Students at Risk for Generalized Anxiety Disorder was developed. Once this handbook was complete, the same five educators used an evaluative questionnaire, which further assisted in determining the handbook’s level of effectiveness, practicality, and usefulness in educational settings. Lastly, implications of the present research for both theory and practice, as well as the current project’s limitations and suggestions for further research, were discussed
Tracking nuclear generating station emissions and fossil fuel contributions using tree rings in southern Ontario, Canada
Get PDFChanging atmospheric concentrations of stable (12C, 13C) and radioactive (14C) isotopes of carbon are an important indicator of the Anthropocene. Carbon from anthropogenic sources can be released to the atmosphere as radiocarbon (14C) from nuclear power and above-ground nuclear weapons testing. Carbon-12 and carbon-13 (12,13C) are derived from fossil fuel combustion in the urban, industrial, and transportation sectors. In Ontario (Canada), ~half of the province’s power generation is derived from three nuclear generating stations (NGS), including Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (BNGS), one of the world’s largest NGS. Thus, understanding the contributions of NGS emissions and fossil fuel use in urban, industrial, and transportation sectors is essential for developing accurate atmospheric carbon inventories in southern Ontario. This study analyzes tree-ring Δ14C (the amount of 14C in a particular sample) as a proxy for atmospheric Δ14C by isolating tree-ring alpha cellulose and using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Results indicate that Δ14C tree-ring signatures from white spruce (Picea glauca) and blue spruce (Picea pungens) can track 14C-enrichment from NGS 14C emissions when comparing peaks in tree-ring Δ14C offset data and 14C emissions during the trees’ growing season. Tree-ring Δ14C signatures are also observed in Canada’s largest urban centre the City of Toronto, which is nearby to Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS). Conversely, Toronto also experiences fossil fuel contributions and thus is susceptible to the Suess Effect. We observe fossil fuel-derived 12,13C from urban activities via tree-ring Δ14C-depletion. Peaks were also observed in the tree-ring Δ14C offset and PNGS 14C emissions. To determine 14C-enrichment or -depletion, sites are compared to a regional clean-air site (Egbert, Ontario, Canada) and northern hemisphere atmospheric background sites (Northern Hemisphere Zone 1; Jungfraujoch, Switzerland). Tree growing season and meteorology analyses strengthen the validity of this study’s results. Similar Δ14C levels from white spruce tree rings and an Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) air sampler (ρ = 0.9273) were also observed. Thus, tree-ring Δ14C signatures can be used to measure local influences from anthropogenic sources of NGS 14C emissions and fossil fuel contributions to help build an atmospheric carbon inventory
Environmental and sustainability education in teacher education research: an international scoping review of the literature
Get PDFPurpose – As we reach halfway into the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs)
timeline, we deemed fruitful an injunction into current teacher education (TE) practices at higher
educational institutes (HEIs). Our scoping literature review utilised all known English nomenclature
interrelating to environment, sustainability, development, and education as regards TE. We explicated
and modelled the data through timelines favourable to UN initiatives within a spatiotemporal metric.
Thematic research topics and research methodologies strictly pertaining to TE were rigorously
researched and delineated. Our aim was to elucidate a grander picture of the trends-as-patterns of ESE-
TE research in HEI and potential contributions to come.
Design/methodology/approach – Our spatiotemporal study adopts a scoping review as an
investigative tool to probe current research trends on ESE-TE in the academic literature with respect to
thematic research topics and research methodologies midway through the SDGs.
Findings – 2,142 research articles spanning five decades, 152 journals, and 96 countries were screened
equally by 2 researchers. Of the 788 articles deemed eligible (i.e., English-language, peer-reviewed,
pre-service/in-service teacher education that explicitly mentioned ESE-TE research), data from 638
studies have been included in the Authors’ study.
Originality/value – Comprehensive trends in the international literature of all known environmental
and sustainable education nomenclature specific to international ESE-TE research throughout the time
period (1974 – 2021) were identified. Value is accrued by illuminating international trends in research
topics and methodologies, exposing gaps in the history of the subfield, and predicting future trends for
Agenda 2030 (e.g., SDG 4–Education) to mature the field
Investigating the effects of the polyphenol, carnosic acid, in prostate cancer
Get PDFProstate cancer (PCa), accounting for 375,304 deaths in 2020, is the second most prevalent cancer in men worldwide. While many treatments exist for PCa, novel therapeutic agents with higher efficacy are needed to target aggressive and hormone-resistant forms of PCa, while sparing healthy cells. Plant-derived chemotherapy drugs such as docetaxel (DTX) and paclitaxel (PTX) have been established to treat cancers including PCa. Carnosic acid (CA), a phenolic diterpene found in the herb rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) has been shown to have anticancer properties but its effects in PCa and its mechanisms of action have not been examined. CA dose-dependently inhibited PC- 3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cell survival and proliferation (IC50: 64, 21 μM, respectively) and stimulated a dose-dependent decrease in cell migration. CA decreased phosphorylation and activation of Akt, mTOR, and p70 S6K. A notable increase in phosphorylation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), phosphorylation of its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and increased levels of the upstream regulator of AMPK, sestrin-2 was seen with CA treatment. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the phosphorylation of apoptosis-signal-regulating kinase-1 (ASK1), and p38 MAPK and in cleaved PARP suggesting an increase in apoptosis. Our data indicate that CA inhibits AKT-mTORC1-p70S6K and activates Sestrin-2-AMPK-ASK1 signaling in PCa cells leading to a decrease in survival, proliferation and induction of apoptosis. The use of inhibitors and small RNA interference (siRNA) approaches should be employed in future studies to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these inhibitory effects of CA on PCa
Topic Modeling-based Logging Suggestions for Java Software Systems
Get PDFLog statements help software developers and end users get informed about different valuable run-time information while log levels categorize the severity of that information. Researchers have been working extensively on log-related problems for the last two decades. As a result, a good amount of research has been conducted on logging and its practices. However, determining which topics can be logged from a system has a potential to work on. To implement our study, first, we examined the code snippets from some renowned open-source Java language-based projects. We collected the logged methods from nine applications and after preprocessing the methods and extracting our required data, we applied some renowned topic models: Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). In the first part of the results, we showed how the topics are related to logging to investigate the alignment between topic modeling and logging. Our dataset, enriched with meaningful words related to method functionality, is subjected to LDA analysis. Results indicate that topics with the highest sum of word probabilities are more likely to be logged. In the second section, we listed the popular topics with their associated words from different systems generated by LDA. In the last part of the results, a comprehensive result was shown by evaluating the performance of the models using coherence scores. We believe that our research will not only be useful for its result and evaluation but also be helpful for future researchers by providing a unique dataset
The Impact of Exchange Rate Data on Canadian Inflation: An FPCA and Group LASSO Approach
Get PDFThis study investigates the temporal dynamics of exchange rates between various international currencies and the Canadian dollar, with a focus on understanding how these rates influence Canadian inflation. The Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) is applied to effectively reduce the dimensionality of exchange rate data and capture important modes of variation. The extracted functional principal components (FPCs) were then used in a Group LASSO regression model to identify which currencies most significantly impact inflation rates in Canada. Our analysis includes exchange rates from nine countries. The results show that the U.S. Dollar (USD), Mexican Peso (MXN), and Swedish Krona (SEK) are the most influential currencies in predicting Canadian inflation rates. By employing these advanced statistical techniques, this study provides a comprehensive assessment of how fluctuations in global currencies can affect the domestic economic environment, offering valuable insights for policymakers and financial analysts. This study contributes to the broader understanding of currency exchange impacts on inflation and highlights the importance of specific international currencies in economic forecasting
Sentinel behaviour and urban environments: A corvid’s perspective
Get PDFAmerican crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are the black-clad rulers of a city’s skies and can be spotted in most North American cities. The abundance of corvids has increased with increasing urbanization, suggesting they benefit from living near humans. Recent literature shows that urbanized species such as the American crow can behaviourally adapt to exploit anthropogenic resources resulting in positive urbanization effects on corvids. While individual-level behavioural adaptations are an active area of research, social behaviour adaptations and their contribution to the success of urbanized species are underexplored. Sentinel behaviour is a social behaviour that could increase a species' survival of group members. Using a scoping review approach, several intrinsic (or internal, e.g. sex or body mass) and extrinsic (or external, e.g. predation risk or anthropogenic noise) factors that can alter the sentinel behaviour of mammal and avian species were identified. Factors that alter an individual’s energetic resources can greatly affect an individual’s ability to perform sentinel behaviour, and factors that increase risk to the individual will increase an individual’s propensity to perform the behaviour. During the summer of 2022, I observed the foraging behaviour of American crows in the presence and absence of a sentinel and in the green and commercial areas of St. Catharines. I found that American crows altered their social foraging behaviour in different urban microenvironments but had fewer significant changes in response to the presence of a sentinel. I found a significant interaction between sentinel presence and generalized environment on the behaviour of foragers, suggesting increased reliance on the sentinel when sentinel behaviour is most effective: in green spaces. My findings highlight the need to consider both intrinsic and extrinsic factors and their interaction when studying social behaviours. My findings highlight the need to continue studying the effects of urbanization on social behaviours. By doing so, future studies could unearth the complex mechanisms behind the evolution of social behaviours and help predict how they could change in an ever-urbanizing future
What Would it Take for You to Stop Driving to Work? Employer-Based Transportation Demand Management at Brock University
Get PDFThe prevalence of automobile dependency is a long-standing barrier to achieving a more sustainable future. To overcome it, cooperation between the private, public, and individual sectors is needed. The public sector has historically been the main agent of change in this capacity, and the role of the private sector is underrepresented even though employers have the potential to implement policies that can effect change. One sway is through the implementation of employer-based transportation demand management (TDM), which is a set of policies that can be used to influence the commute behaviors of employees. From the employees at Brock University, in St. Catharines, Ontario, we wanted to know: What would it take for you to stop driving to work? To this end, our research questions include: ‘How do Brock employees currently travel to and from work?’; ‘Which TDM policies would most and least likely encourage employees to consider using sustainable modes of transportation for their commute, if they do not do so already?’; and ‘What are the implications of this research for employer-based TDM strategies at Brock University and beyond?’ To answer these questions, we employed the use of an online stated preference survey, distributed over email and through campus-wide posters. Our results show that most of Brock's employees rely on their automobiles, and they may not yet be willing to give them up. However, they could be convinced to carpool and participate in mode-switch days, or to adopt more sustainable transportation habits with the help of shift flexibility. Most of all, we have shown that there is a possibility to enact policies that could effect change, even in an automobile dependent landscape
Supporting Mental Health Education in Ontario Secondary Schools: A Cross-Curricular Handbook for Ontario Secondary Teachers
Get PDFIt has been almost two full years since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019), the effects of which are currently being seen in Ontario today within the education system, with a profound escalation in mental health challenges among children and youth. Educators are noticing an increase in mental health issues brought forward by students, and the increase in mental health issues continues to be at the forefront of conversations held by secondary school teachers because of the pressures they face as role models and caring adults. Teachers, however, have identified they are not comfortable helping students who come forward with mental health issues because they, too, lack mental health literacy; they do not feel equipped with the knowledge and understanding of mental health, and feel ill-prepared because they have not received adequate education, training, or professional development on the topic. Some teachers are also avoiding conversations in classes related to mental health because they are unaware of the available and accessible resources, services, strategies, and tools. To address this gap, the researcher developed a mental health handbook in alignment with the Aligned and Integrated Model (AIM) framework from School Mental Health Ontario (2023) that offers a solution to improve secondary teachers’ readiness in supporting students’ mental health and well-being. Focusing on Tier 1 of AIM, the handbook is designed to improve educators’ mental health literacy through understanding early identification, prevention, and early intervention, ensuring a holistic approach to address the varying mental health needs within the school setting. The handbook is also intended to help educators recognize, respond to, and support students who might be experiencing mental health challenges. Implementing the handbook within secondary schools throughout Ontario might hold the potential to enhance teachers’ confidence and comfortability in assisting students who come forward with mental health concerns and, ultimately, foster an environment where students feel supported and empowered to navigate their mental health challenges with both efficacy and dignity