| 1. |
- Lozano, Francisco J., et al.
(författare)
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Reducing energy poverty in small rural communities through in situ electricity generation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Discover Sustainability. - : Springer. - 2662-9984. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy is key in achieving sustainable societies. There have been great efforts towards improving energy access worldwide. Despite the advances in energy access, energy poverty remains a major problem in many parts of the world, particularly in rural communities. Modern energy, in particular electricity, can help rural communities develop through improving education and health. During the last two decades, there have been improvements on bioenergy technological innovations, e.g. electricity generation from bioenergy from residual biomass from several agricultural crops in biorefineries. Most research has focussed on large biorefineries, with limited research on small-scale gasifiers' location and contribution to energy poverty. This paper is aimed at assessing technological options to generate electricity in situ from biomass to reduce energy poverty of rural communities. This is done using four analysis methods: (1) crops availability data; (2) poverty and marginalisation data; (3) electricity provision/distribution; and, (4) GIS/Geographical latitude and longitude to locate municipalities in Mexico. The results shows that the generating potential for electricity using residual biomass with gasifiers could improve the welfare of almost 10 million people communities using residual biomass from crops harvested in such communities. This research provides location solutions on the best places to locate small-scale biorefineries. The research also provides systemic analysis to reduce energy poverty through in situ electricity generation using cheap accessible small plant technologies and biomass as raw material, as well as their location. Generating electricity in a decentralised way through agricultural residual biomass can help lift rural communities from poverty and improve their well-being, and, thus, make societies more sustainable
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Lozano, Rodrigo, et al.
(författare)
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Teaching Sustainability in European Higher Education Institutions : Assessing the Connections between Competences and Pedagogical Approaches
- 2019
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 11:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There has been considerable progress in the incorporation of sustainable development (SD) into higher education institutions’ curricula. This has included research on competences for SD and pedagogical approaches used; however, there has been limited research on the connection between how pedagogical approaches are used and how they may develop sustainability competences. A survey was developed, based on the ‘connecting sustainable development pedagogical approaches to competences’ framework, to investigate sustainability being taught, sustainability competences developed, and pedagogical approaches used in European higher education institutions. The survey was sent to a database of more than 4000 contacts from which 390 complete responses (9.80%) were obtained. The results show that the social dimension was the least addressed at 18% of responses, while the economic, environmental, and cross-cutting dimensions were addressed almost equally. The correlation analyses showed a relation between the contribution to sustainability and the strength of competences, and between the strength of competences and the strength of pedagogical approaches. The results from the survey helped to update the theoretical framework, which provides a more precise perspective on how sustainability competences can be better developed in class, and how to better develop all the sustainability competences
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| 4. |
- Lozano, Rodrigo, et al.
(författare)
-
Teaching Sustainability in European Higher Education Institutions: Assessing the Connections between Competences and Pedagogical Approaches
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There has been considerable progress in the incorporation of SD into the curricula of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), where European HEIs have been leaders. This has included research on competences for sustainable development, and how to deliver such competences through pedagogical approaches; however, there has been limited research on the connection between how courses are delivered (pedagogical approaches) and how they may affect sustainability competences. A survey was developed to investigate sustainability being taught, sustainability competences delivered, and pedagogical approaches used in European Higher Education Institutions. The survey was sent to a database of more than 4,000 contacts of teachers and professors in Europe from which 390 complete responses (9.80%) were obtained. The social dimension of sustainability was the least addressed at 18%, while the other dimensions (economic, environmental, and cross-cutting) were addressed almost equally at between 27% and 28%. A correlation analysis was done between a) the Contribution to sustainability, b) Strength of competences, and c) Strength of pedagogical approaches, which show a stronger correlation between Strength of competences to Contribution and Strength of pedagogical approaches to Strength of competences than between the Strength of pedagogical approaches and Contribution was lower. A correlation analysis was then carried out between the sustainability STAUNCH® dimensions (economic, environmental, social, and cross-cutting themes) and the competences. The analysis showed that the correlations are stronger in the cross-cutting themes, followed by the social, the environmental, and the economic ones. Finally, a correlation analysis was carried out between the competences and the pedagogical approaches. The results obtained were between 0.0426 and 0.5555. A comparison of the survey results and the theoretical framework (see Lozano et al., 2017) was carried out to detect the differences. Three pedagogical approaches deliver the most competences (Eco-justice and community, Project and/or problem-based learning, and Community service learning). The updated framework shows that there is a general perception that the pedagogical approaches may deliver the sustainability competences, with some particular exceptions, such as Case studies, Supply chain/Life cycle analysis, and Lecturing. The updated framework provides a more precise perspective on how sustainability competences can be better delivered in class, and how to better deliver the ‘Full Monty’ of sustainability competences.
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| 5. |
- Rosalino, Luís M., et al.
(författare)
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Three decades of research on Iberian wild Carnivora : trends, highlights, and future directions
- 2023
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Ingår i: Mammal Review. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0305-1838 .- 1365-2907. ; 53:4, s. 254-270
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mammalian carnivores (Carnivora) are crucial components of landscapes, because of both their top-down effects on lower trophic level species and their sensitivity to bottom-up processes, such as limited food resources (e.g. due to climate instability). To understand their functional role in Iberian ecosystems more clearly, and to define effective plans for their management and conservation, it is crucial to sum up the available regional knowledge that can inform decision-making processes.We review bio-ecological research on wild Iberian carnivores over 30 years (1990–2020) and identify key knowledge gaps and priority avenues for future research. Based on a systematic review of the scientific literature, we aimed to: 1) summarise current knowledge; 2) assess species and ecoregion representativeness; 3) identify key research topics addressed and those lacking investment and 4) suggest key future research priorities.We examined 920 peer-reviewed articles involving wild Iberian mammalian carnivores, focusing on different bio-ecological issues. We found considerable heterogeneity in the topics and species investigated, as well as in the study areas (ecoregions) explored, with a mismatch between the research priorities identified by researchers and the knowledge gaps.We suggest that future research should prioritise: 1) rear-edge populations that are at the southwestern limits of the species' Eurasian range, thus being particularly sensitive to the increasing fragmentation and aridity of Iberian ecosystems, and that were less studied (e.g. brown bear Ursus arctos, stoat Mustela erminea, European mink Mustela lutreola and pine marten Martes martes); 2) less-studied topics, such as morphometry and body condition, ecophysiology, and reproductive biology, all of which provide essential information for species' management and conservation and 3) specific ecoregions for which studies on species' adaptations to environmental and anthropic contexts are lacking (e.g. northern ecoregions of Iberia, Iberian conifer forests and Northwest Iberian montane forests). Our review provides the necessary background to support future research on carnivore populations in Iberia.
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| 6. |
- Barreiro-Gen, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in Sustainability Priorities in Organisations due to the COVID-19 Outbreak: Averting Environmental Rebound Effects on Society
- 2020
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 outbreak has affected societies and organisations in an unprecedented way. This has resulted in negative impacts to economic and social issues, but it is a “blessing in disguise” for environmental issues. This paper analyses how the outbreak has affected organisations’ sustainability priorities. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, such priorities were on the economic dimension followed by the environmental and social dimensions. A survey was sent to 11,657 organisations to analyse such changes, with a 5.60% response rate. The results show that for organisations, the main priority is now on the social dimension, followed by the economic one; however, the environmental dimension has suffered a negative impact in prioritisation, regardless of organisation type, country where they are based, organisation size, or the time they have been working on sustainability. We are currently facing an environmental conundrum, where air quality has improved and pollution has decreased in societies, but organisations are starting to neglect such environmental issues. The COVID-19 outbreak is an opportunity for organisations to better contribute to sustainability by ensuring that the efforts that have been undertaken in the last three decades are not forgotten, and that societies and organisations are better coupled to face such crises and avert rebound effects.
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| 7. |
- Bautista-Puig, Núria, Postdoc Researcher, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Developing a sustainability implementation framework: insights from academic research on tools, initiatives and approaches
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environment, Development and Sustainability. - : Springer. - 1387-585X .- 1573-2975. ; , s. 11011-11031
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustainability has been proposed to address societal challenges. A number of efforts have been undertaken to implement sustainability, particularly through frameworks such as tools, initiatives and approaches (TIAs). Most of the research on the implementation efforts has been in the corporate context. This paper is aimed at analysing the implementation of TIAs in academic research. A bibliometric analysis of twenty TIAs during the period 1961–2020 was carried out to analyse their implementation in academic research. The results highlight that there has been research published on all the TIAs analysed. The TIAs have a better balance and interrelations between the sustainability dimensions in their implementation than in the theory. The results show that for a better implementation of TIAs in academic research it is necessary to address sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental, social, and time) in a holistic and balanced way considering alignment of general and specific efforts, i.e. TIAs, and congruence (linking ‘theory’ and ‘implementation’). The results were integrated to propose a ‘Sustainability Implementation Framework’ (SIF), which is divided into three levels (i.e., Initiatives, Approaches, and Tools). The TIAs implementation should follow more strictly the definitions, or, perhaps, the TIAs definitions should be redefined to encompass the insights from their implementation.
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| 8. |
- Blanco-Portela, Norka, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainability Leaders’ Perceptions on the Drivers for and the Barriers to the Integration of Sustainability in Latin American Higher Education Institutions
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 10:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been steadily progressing towards the integrationof sustainable practices in their structures and operations. Several studies have reported the varietyof drivers of change and the barriers to change that universities have found in the integrationprocess. The present investigation is aimed at further characterizing and ranking the drivers for,and barriers of, sustainability integration in HEIs within their structures and operating functions.Open-ended expert opinion interviews of key sustainability leaders appointed at 45 HEIs from10 Latin-American countries were conducted in order to learn lessons from their diverse experiencesof the process. Additionally, a thematic workshop on HEI sustainability was organized to facilitatefurther discussions between 23 sustainability scholars and/or national coordinators of universitynetworks from 11 Latin American countries. As a result, 15 barriers were identified as hinderingthe institutionalization of sustainability in HEIs. This study also examined the relationship betweenthese reported barriers with 13 main drivers that were identified to be facilitating the integration ofsustainable practices within the organizational and academic structures at the universities. The strongcorrespondence between the several observed drivers for, and barriers to, change highlights theimportance of strategic planning that offers integrated actions. The findings of this paper can serveas a reference to assist HEIs in identifying drivers of, and barriers to, sustainability, so that the formercan be fostered and the latter addressed effectively. This can help identify and plan targeted actionsto make the transition towards sustainability in HEIs more natural and effective.
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| 9. |
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Developing Sustainability Competences Through Pedagogical Approaches
- 2021
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- This book is aimed at developing sustainability competences through pedagogical approaches by comparing 15 case studies from 12 countries in 4 continents (Africa, America, Australia, and Europe) analysing how Sustainable Development (SD) is being taught in their courses, which competences are being developed, and which pedagogical approaches are being used to develop the competences. The book brings together practice-based original research on the connection between developing sustainability competences and the pedagogical approaches used, utilizing a framework aimed at helping educators in creating and updating their courses to provide a more complete, holistic, and systemic sustainability education to future leaders, decision makers, educators, and change agents. Compared to previous works addressing SD in education, which often mostly cover tools for improving the sustainability of campus operations, this approach uses assessment tools to uniquely focus on how courses and programmes (i.e. curricula) incorporate SD. Through the case studies, readers will learn about how the 3 major groups of pedagogical approaches have been used: (1) Universal, meaning broadly applicable pedagogies that have been used in many disciplines and contexts; (2) Community and social justice, which are pedagogies developed specifically for use in addressing social justice and community-building; and (3) Environmental education, which are pedagogies emerging from environmental sciences and environmental education practices.
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| 10. |
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