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The SmartBay NIAP fund was made available in 2012 through Dublin City University over a two year period to enable researchers to access the SmartBay Ireland National Test and Demonstration Facility in Galway Bay. Research proposals were invited for funding under a number of activity types that are in line with the objectives of the SmartBay PRTLI Cycle 5 programme. This fund provided small awards (typically €2-25K) to research teams through a national competitive process, which was open to all higher education institutions on the island of Ireland. There were both open and biannual calls. The SmartBay NIAP fund was established to enable researchers in academia and industry to access the SmartBay Ireland national test and demonstration infrastructure. Proposals to access the infrastructure were brief and required information on the researcher(s), a description of the proposed research and its potential impact to the research team arising from the access to SmartBay Ireland. Marine Institute

The SNSF performed an exploratory analysis to determine the extent to which the projects it funds are related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis found evidence of links to the Goals in all research areas.

Pathogens represent a significant threat to human health leading to the emergence of strategies designed to help manage their negative impact. We examined how spiritual beliefs developed to explain and predict the devastating effects of pathogens and spread of infectious disease. Analysis of existing data in studies 1 and 2 suggests that moral vitalism (beliefs about spiritual forces of evil) is higher in geographical regions characterized by historical higher levels of pathogens. Furthermore, drawing on a sample of 3140 participants from 28 countries in study 3, we found that historical higher levels of pathogens were associated with stronger endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs. Furthermore, endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs statistically mediated the previously reported relationship between pathogen prevalence and conservative ideologies, suggesting these beliefs reinforce behavioural strategies which function to prevent infection. We conclude that moral vitalism may be adaptive: by emphasizing concerns over contagion, it provided an explanatory model that enabled human groups to reduce rates of contagious disease.

This paper is devoted to how a team of experts scientifically supported redesigning the curriculum of an elective study program that promotes competences for sustainable development. In contrast to other case studies of higher education for sustainable development (HESD), the paper does not present the outcome of the curricular-redesign process but focuses on its scientific support. It shows how this process was initiated and facilitated. It understands curricular redesign as a social process. The premises are, first, that supporting curricular processes means guiding the decision-making of those in charge but not making decisions in their place, and second, that the redesign of a curriculum has to consider the existing institutional situation as well as empirical and theoretical expectations. The article discusses how scientific support can help a curricular redesign draw on both experience-based knowledge and sound HESD theories and findings. Furthermore, it reflects on the role of those supporting such a process and on how they can help the actors find a realistic compromise between the existing situation and the perceived ideal. This requires competences in mining, aggregating, and reprocessing knowledge in the field of HESD, as well as in designing and supporting an interdisciplinary process.

The burning of fossil fuels that release carbon into the earth’s atmosphere is a major contributor to climate change in the United States (U.S.). Cleaner methods of energy generation, such as solar technology, were discovered decades ago, but significant changes have yet to be made in the utilities industry in the U.S., which still relies heavily on coal and natural gas. Net-zero house technology aims to reduce the large carbon footprint of residential energy generation by sustainably generating enough energy to offset what the owner consumes in a year. The goal of our project was to improve this technology so that the average consumer in the United States would easily be able to adopt net-zero elements into their home. Making the switch to cleaner energy involves more than creating better technology that works. The energy consumers have to decide to switch from their current comfortable practices to these new methods that may involve some sacrifice. Overlooking the social implications of cleaner energy could alienate anyone who does not decide to immediately adopt new technologies. In order to analyze how human decision-making is related to the adoption of cleaner energy practices in the U.S., I focused my research on adopting solar panels in Kindergarten to 12th grade (K-12) schools in the Charlottesville, Virginia area. Because climate change and politics are closely linked in the U.S., the theory of techno-politics was an important lens for analyzing human relations with clean energy technology. Technology viewed through the lens of techno-politics could be viewed either as embedded with political motives or created in order to achieve a social or political outcome. A case study of solar energy use in K-12 schools in Albemarle County was conducted through this lens of techno-politics. Through this research, I found four social and political factors that are preventing schools from adopting sustainable technology. These factors were power dynamics with the local and state government, lack of funding from the state, alternate priorities in school funding, and lack of community involvement. Implementing net-zero house technology in the U.S. could have a significant positive impact on carbon emissions, but it will require individual consumer effort as well as affordable and reliable technologies. In order to truly make the switch to renewable technology, the average person must believe that the current system needs to change and that the new sustainable options are better for them.

AbstractInternational partnerships are a mechanism for supporting the academic development of occupational therapy and promoting cultural competence. This case study describes the factors that have helped to sustain a post‐qualifying programme implemented by five higher education institutions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK since 1999. Data collection methods were documentary analysis and the reflections of a purposive sample of six key informants. Cohort and outcome data, from 193 students from 31 countries who enrolled between 1999 and 2011, are reported. Each cohort comprises students from an average of eight countries to optimize inter‐cultural dialogue. Four factors support sustainability. These are 1) supportive professional European networks; 2) timeliness and alignment with European higher education policy; 3) partnership structures and processes that emphasize joint decision making and accountability; and 4) the stimulus and satisfaction associated with internationalization. The main limitations are considering the OT‐EuroMaster as an intrinsic case study and using opportunistic data collection that undermines the rigor and transferability of the findings. Future opportunities include doctoral networks, transnational research and sharing our curricula design with other Regions to spread the collaborative, capacity building endeavours more widely. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Learner-centered sustainability education has been advocated to be used in higher education, but the pedagogy is blurry. In the discussions, also an idea of a learner-driven approach has been promoted. The aim of this study is to study how these pedagogies have been described and suggested to be used by a group of higher education students responsible for planning a teacher education course on sustainability education. This case study uses grounded theory to analyze the higher education students’ beliefs about learner-centered and learner-driven sustainability education. The data was obtained from audio-recordings of the planning process and two semi-structured interviews of five students acting as course designers. The course designers showed to have beliefs about the nature of learner-centered/learner-driven pedagogy, freedom, meaningfulness, acting and making an influence in the learning environment, the nature and ownership of sustainable development knowledge, the diversity of the learners, and pedagogical support. The results indicate that the learner-centered and learner-driven approach are fundamentally different in terms of all of the categories. In conclusion, it is suggested that the terminology concerning learner-centered and learner-driven approaches should be more precise, and sustainability education should be developed towards a more transformative, learner-driven education.