How important are local inventive milieus: The role of birthplace,high school and university education

Using data on the entire population in combination with data on almost all individuals in Sweden listed as inventors, we study how the probability of being listed on a patent as inventor is influenced by the density of other future inventors residing in the same region. In this process, we control for demographic and sector effects along with the educational characteristics of parents. This approach allows us to trace how location history influences individuals’ inventive capacity. We focus on three types of influences: (a) future inventors in the municipality around the time of birth, (b) future inventors around the time of graduation from high school and (c) future inventors at graduation from higher education. We find suggestive evidence that co-locating with future inventors may impact the probability of becoming an inventor. The most consistent effect is found for place of higher education; some positive effects are also evident from birthplace, whereas no consistent positive effect can be derived from individuals’ high school location. Therefore, the formative influences mainly deriving from family upbringing, birth region and from local milieu effects arising from a conscious choice to attend a higher education affect the choice of becoming an inventor.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

Geography in Schools

In Australia, geography, studied as a discipline, is generally non-existent in Grades K-6 (approximately ages 5-11 years) and, in some states, this state of affairs extends to Grades 7-10 (12-15 years). In New South Wales (NSW), the geography component has been strengthened in the Grades K-6 curriculum; there are mandatory and optional geography courses in Grades 7-10, and optional geography courses in Grades 11 and 12 (16-17 + years). In this paper, the place of geography in NSW, in the learning area of Studies of Society and Environment, is compared with geography curricula in five countries. In England and Wales, and in Finland, geography is regarded as an essential subject in the school curriculum. In the USA and Japan, attempts are being made to replace generalist social studies courses with disciplines, such as geography, from the humanities and social sciences. And, finally, Hong Kong has been influenced by curriculum developments in England and Wales, as well as in Australia.     

加强教材建设,培养测绘工程专业创新人才

教材质量的好坏,关系到人才培养质量。介绍学院在培养测绘工程专业创新人才过程中,针对教材的建设所采取的措施和做法,对培养测绘工程专业创新人才有一定的参考作用。     

Preservice Geography Students’ Exposure to Systems Thinking and Cooperative Learning in Environmental Education

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a cross-curricular approach that needs to be accommodated in all subjects in the training of students as recommended by UNESCO. This South African case study of preservice geography students is presented for the purpose of understanding how they experienced systems thinking and a cooperative teaching strategy. A qualitative research approach was applied as the research design. Interpretation of the data was done through thematic analysis, which indicated that exposure to the pedagogic approach bore positive results. Teaching and learning strategies promoting the integration of ESD should form part of the training of geography students.     

Green schools in Taiwan – Effects on student sustainability consciousness

In recent decades, the Taiwanese government has worked actively to implement the concept of a sustainable Taiwan. As an important step in their strategy, the Ministry of Education has decided to promote the Green School Partnership Project in Taiwan (GPPT). However, academic research and critical reflection on the effects of this environmental and sustainability education initiative are lacking. Therefore, this study focuses on filling this gap by means of a nationwide generalizable effect study. The sampling allowed comparisons between the sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades in GPPT and non-GPPT schools and considered the geographic location (north, center, and south of Taiwan) as well as socio-economic area of the schools. A total of 1741 students participated, answering a questionnaire that focused on student sustainability consciousness (SC) and its components (i.e., knowingness, attitudes, and behaviors in relation to sustainability). Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Our findings make an important empirical contribution, indicating that GPPT schools and non-GPPT schools have a similar effect on the SC of students, i.e. schools engaged in the GPPT do not enhance student SC. In addition, the gender gap regarding SC increased consistently with each increasing grade level, yielding higher mean values for the girls than for the boys. Furthermore, an adolescent dip occurred in the student SC, especially with regard to student sustainability behavior. Given these findings, implications for developing GPPT are discussed; this research could provide valuable information about the educational transformation process to enhance environmental and sustainability behavior among students in Taiwan.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

Outcome indicator development: Defining education for sustainable development outcomes for the individual level and connecting them to the SDGs

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become a key concept to achieve global sustainable development. ESD aims at enabling people to think and act in a sustainable, future-oriented manner. For this purpose, ESD should not only equip learners with knowledge but is supposed to promote and advance the acquisition of sustainability competencies to address the challenges of the 21st century at a social, environmental, and economic level. Regarding the systematic implementation of ESD and its evidence-based management, an assessment of its outcomes is crucial. So far, however, ESD outcomes have only been partially assessed systematically. We developed a domain-specific ESD outcome indicator test (OIT) which strives to fill this gap. The test is intended to contribute towards the monitoring and further development of ESD in the school system. This article presents the procedure and the central findings of developing a model using an inductive research design. The model comprises the possible outcomes of ESD and thus functions as the basis of the OIT. It considers six thematic action domains for students as well as cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioural outcome components. The six action domains have been defined based on 15 interviews with experts from the arrays of ESD research, practice, and policy and a review of N = 195 sustainability related psychological scales. These were linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so that connectivity between outcomes at the individual level and political respectively societal goals is ensured.     

The shifting sand of geography in South Africa

South African geography, like other subjects, has to undergo the arduous process of curriculum change in order to meet the demands of the new education system and to contribute to a broader agenda of national reconstruction. Changes within geography can shed light on the impact and implications of the new national curriculum on teaching subjects. The paper suggests that the introduction of environmental education into Curriculum 2005 offers geography educators the opportunity and the challenge to advance geographic knowledge.     

基于Flex的广州大学城交通服务WebGIS设计

根据Flex技术体系与特点,分析了构建基于Flex的WebGIS软件的系统结构,并阐述了Flex在WebGIS设计中的优势所在。利用ESRI公司的ArcGIS API for Flex开发包采用ASP.NET后台技术,设计并实现了广州大学城交通服务WebGIS系统。结果表明,使用Flex能够有效提高WebGIS客户端的交互能力,极大地提升了交通服务管理水平与效率,但是ArcGIS API for Flex开发包仍然存在一些不足,例如前后端通讯表现不足以及查询功能较弱等。