| 1. |
- Svanström, Magdalena, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Improving engineering education for sustainable development using concept maps and multivariate data analysis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 198, s. 530-540
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In education for sustainable development (ESD), the inclusion and handling of a multitude of perspectives and the interconnectivity of different dimensions of the world are often targeted. Based on the assumption that concept maps can capture notions of this learning, concept maps generated by students were used to complement a large number of other empirical data from several years of a master level course module in engineering education with a specific focus on ESD. Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) was used to find correlations between the many different variables. Empirical data included data on the background of students, on their participation in different teaching and learning activities (TLAs), and on their performance in different types of assessment, including concept maps generated before and after the course. According to the concept map results, the students seem to develop, in general, a more balanced and systemic view during the course. The use of MVDA was helpful in revealing both expected and unexpected co-variations. Results show that previous experiences (student background) is an important factor behind high performance and that TLAs in the course are providing complementary knowledge. The main focus of this paper is on how the innovative approach of combining the use of concept maps and MVDA can provide useful understanding of possible correlations between student characteristics, their participation in TLAs and their performance in assessments in an ESD course. The use of concept maps was seen as useful in capturing important notions of ESD while the MVDA enabled quick analysis of the large data set.
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| 2. |
- Fröling, Morgan, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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From environmental problems to sustainable development and towards resilience : Development over time of a university program inenvironmental science aiming for action competences
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction:During the latest decades society has developed from an environmental awareness, with reactive thinking, of the “preBrundtland age” into having sustainability as the goal for human development after the Rio declaration. Lately, within the environmentalscientific sphere, the concept of resilience is increasingly superimposed on the sustainability paradigm. It is seen as important both forunderstanding of the present situation as well as a necessity for societies to survive in times of rapid change. During this period from “preBrundtland” until today when resilience is in focus, the environmental science program of Ecotechnology started, developed and changed inresponse to changes in society. A goal, from the very beginning of the educational program, has been to empower students to take action.The types of action and how action competence has been perceived, has changed over the three decades the program has been running.Objectives: Environmental science and sustainability is often difficult to teach since it demands an interdisciplinary approach stretching overthe traditional faculty division of natural, social, and engineering sciences. At Mid Sweden University these three branches have beenintegrated in Ecotechnology education for 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to describe the interdisciplinary teaching with special focuson the development of the student’s action competence for sustainable development, in the light of how the environmental issues havedeveloped.Methods: The paper has a descriptive approach exploring the experiences from the 30 years of interdisciplinary teaching.Results: Different teaching methods and strategies have been employed over time, partly in sync with changing overarching societal goals.Conclusion: Some observations are 1) a key element to develop action competence is to push students to a self-propelled learning behaviorrather than traditional teaching of facts, 2) to not too easily provide the students with answers will develop problem solving skills, 3) “doingbefore-reading” teaching is more time consuming but seem to give deeper knowledge.
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| 3. |
- Clancy, Gunilla, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Actionable knowledge to develop more sustainable products
- 2013
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Ingår i: 6th International Conference on Life Cycle Management, Göteborg, 25-28 August.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Companies need to develop more sustainable products to fit into more sustainable future markets, and there is need for ways to guide towards and compare sustainability already early in material or product development. How this can be handled has been studied through action research in a material development project aiming to develop wood-based materials to replace petroleum-based materials while ensuring a more sustainable product. A specific focus was put on creating actionable knowledge to facilitate innovation towards more sustainable products by translating and integrating significant product sustainability characteristics into each team member’s specific area of expertise and everyday work. The insights are now used in different other on-going projects in a textile industry setting and in relation to companies’ management systems.
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| 4. |
- Clancy, Gunilla, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Insights from guiding material development towards more sustainable products
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Sustainable Design. - 1743-8284. ; 2:2, s. 149-166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Faced with current challenges in society, many companies will needto develop more sustainable products in order to continue operations in the longterm. Therefore, ways of identifying important sustainability considerationsalready in the early stages of material or product development are ofimportance. The article is based on action research in a material developmentproject. The article provides a description of activities that were performed inthe project in order to guide the material development process to enable moresustainable final products, reflections on the lessons learned from this project,and suggestions to similar projects in the form of an overall process based onteam learning with the aim of guiding material development towards moresustainable products. The suggested process emphasises the material orproduct development team’s need to understand which surrounding world andfuture-oriented considerations will have significant impacts on the specificproduct’s sustainability performance.
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| 5. |
- Skytt, Torbjörn, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Involvement of Advanced Level Students Using Ecological Modelling in Research About Regional Sustainability
- 2016. - 1
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Ingår i: Engaging Stakeholders in Education for Sustainable Development at University Level. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319267326 - 9783319267340 ; , s. 145-162
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to present a pilot educational project where ecological modelling has been used to integrate advanced level students into the research about regional sustainability. Addressing regional sustainability with an ecological systems model based on carbon and energy balances is a way to understand the basics of sustainability integrating detail and holistic views. Such model has been developed in a case study on the Danish island Samsø, and currently a similar model is now being developed for the Jämtland county. Even though Jämtland, located in mid Sweden, is a sparsely populated area with large forests, a lot of hydro power, and only one major city, it is still not obvious how to reach long term sustainability. For educational purposes ecological models are excellent tools, since complex interactions can be studied, analysed and discussed in a structured way. It can be expected future sustainable society development presupposes integration between research and education, thus building a long term strategy for the possibilities to change negative cultural patters of whatever kind these might be. To strengthen the authorisation of the education for sustainability, clarification of the university’s integrative role in society may well be used, to give students self-confidence for continuous development within the field.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Svanström, Magdalena, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Trade-offs in the district heat distribution system
- 2011
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Ingår i: What is Sustainable Technology?. - Sheffield, UK : Greenleaf Publishing Ltd. - 9781906093501 ; , s. 87-107
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- District heating has the potential to provide consumers with heat using resources that would otherwise be wasted (e.g. surplus heat from industry) or increase overall efficiency by generating both heat and electricity. However, the introduction and utilisation of district heating has to be performed in a responsible way in order to benefit all the different stakeholders involved. A positive outcome depends on local preconditions and the identification of trade-offs involving different environmental, social and economic considerations. In the history of district heating, several illustrative articulations of sustainability can be found, and situations in which different trade-offs have become clear. This chapter will discuss some articulations of sustainability and the environmental, social and economic trade-offs that can be identified for district heat distribution systems, to help achieve a deeper understanding of sustainability considerations and trade-offs for technical systems in general. Examples from research on district heating, carried out at Chalmers University of Technology from 1991 until today, will be used to illustrate real-world dilemmas.
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