Human spaceflight in the UK: the cost of non-participation

Human space exploration is not considered a strategic priority in the United Kingdom at present. However the UK would benefit from participating in human spaceflight, for both scientific and social reasons. From the point of view of medical science there are many parallels between the physiology of spaceflight and terrestrial disease processes, and studies of the response of astronauts to long-duration spaceflight can therefore help in the development of therapeutic strategies on Earth. On the social side, human spaceflight is an attractive vehicle for stimulating the interest of young people in science and engineering, something that must be of value for an aspiring ‘knowledge-based’ economy.     

The RGS, exploration and Empire and the contested nature of surveying

In 1879, the RGS started courses in practical surveying based on the methods used by navigators. Subsequently, RGS courses, increasingly under the influence of former members of the Survey of India, changed in character. At the same time as the nature of appropriate surveying was being negotiated within the RGS, the debate over the academic nature of geography also took shape. The development of the 'new' geography reflected the conflicts within the RGS Council over the meaning of scientific geography.     

Web Use in Geographical and Environmental Education: An International Survey at the Primary and Secondary Level

This article aims to study Web use and Web-based co-operation and collaboration in geographical and environmental education at the primary and secondary level around the world. Recent trends and future opportunities and challenges are taken into account. The theoretical part of the study considers Web use and different forms of Web-based co-operation. Web use and co-operation in education are classified as co-operative learning, collaborative learning or communal learning. Web use in geographical and environmental education is noted to be growing in significance. Web-based co-operation at any level of intensity is associated with many opportunities and challenges. The empirical part of this study involves a survey of geographical and environmental education researchers in various countries about their views of Web use in education. The results of this survey indicate that the Web in general finds minimal use in geographical and environmental education. As access to the Web is limited and only some pupils can use it, co-operation, particularly collaborative learning on the Web, is still rare in geographical and environmental education. The most often used application is e-mail. Researchers recognise the potential of the Web to enhance local, national and international co-operation, and to facilitate a better understanding of geographical and environmental issues at the grass-root level. Web-based learning can also help to increase and deepen the pupils' cultural understanding. Before that, however, problems in access, costs and teacher training must be solved. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Integrating Environmental Education Into Business Schools' Educational Plans in Finland

Environmental education in business school context has a significant effect on the way companies view environmental problems. Business schools train the future decision makers who can, with their own attitudes and practical actions, influence the contribution of business to the process of ecologically sustainable development. However, several studies show that no systematic thinking has been undertaken within business education as to what the educational prerequisites of the process of ecologically sustainable development are. In this article, I will firstly analyze by means of environmental education how business polytechnics in Finland have taken into consideration ecologically sustainable development. Secondly, I will raise the starting points for the development of the implementation of environmental education as part of the business schools▪ educational plans. Integrating environmental education into the vocational courses is identified as being one of the most effective ways of increasing the effectiveness of environmental education. Thirdly, the emphasis is on identification of barriers of integrating environmental education into the educational plans of business polytechnics. Theoretically, the article is attached to the objectives and learning concepts of environmental education and to educational planning theory in general. The empirical data are based on interviews I conducted 1999–2000 in all Finnish polytechnics offering business education. My article increases theoretical and practical understanding of how environmental education should be implemented in business education and how the current situation could be developed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The changing nature of, and approaches to, UK coastal management at the start of the twenty-first century

As we enter the twenty-first century, effective coastal management will become more of a central issue for coastal users and governors alike. The new century sees the review of many of the UK's existing management plans, and the subsequent publication of revised versions. Some of these new editions will have to show changes from their predecessors because of natural processes of erosion and accretion, yet other changes will be because of human interference. In this, we mean the continued ignoring of previous management plan recommendations regarding new development and coastal usage. Coastal management needs to adapt and develop, yet along with this, increased education and awareness is also necessary to allow users to understand and appreciate what is being recommended in management plans.     

Geography Education: The Glass Is Half Full and It's Getting Fuller

This article examines the recent progress of geography education as an academic subfield of geography and as an area of activity in K–12 education. Challenges to both endeavors are described. A restructuring of geography education's research program that focuses on spatial thinking and reasoning and merges applied and theoretical research is proposed.     

Traces of the secondary Geography curriculum

Abstract: Expressions of dissatisfaction about the post‐compulsory Geography curriculum in the early 1970s were unusually concerted, leading to the creation of a National Geography Curriculum Committee. This essay reviews this history and the resulting Syllabus for Schools: Geography Forms 5–7 as a prelude to a discussion of contemporary curriculum development. The essay argues that curriculum development from 1975 and the ‘education reforms’ of the late 1980s failed to produce conditions in which satisfactory outcomes for a Geography curriculum can be assured in 2005, and that a new and concerted period of participation in curriculum discussion is required. Some goals for this process are outlined in the final section of the paper.     

中国珠宝教育三十年

以中国珠宝教育三十年的发展历史为研究对象,以珠宝教育的发展时序为研究线索,以标志性的发展事件为研究依据,采用多方聆听亲历者讲述,结合文献与事件的考证,力求真实地还原中国珠宝教育过往的三十年历史。并在此基础上,提出了中国珠宝教育经历的三个主要发展阶段,即：社会通力共建的开创期,机构承担教育功能的成型期,构建专业学科的成熟期,并详细地论述了各个阶段的文化背景、发生环境、组织参与和重要成就。与此同时,就每个阶段人才需求、培养方式、教学内容、组织形式等的变化动因进行了具体分析。最后对进入发展期的中国珠宝教育所面临的五个方面的挑战做出了具体的阐述。     

浅谈自然科学博物馆的科普教育功能和发展对策

阐述了自然科学博物馆的现状、存在的问题、面临的困境及应有的功能，并以湖南省地质博物馆为例，剖析了博物馆生存危机的深层次原因。自然科学博物馆的发展，一方面应立足于自然科学博物馆的科普教育功能，充分发掘其科学文化内涵，另一方面应通过引进联展、提高人员素质、改变管理模式等方式来促进博物馆的可持续发展。     

新时期防震减灾宣传教育工作的新思想

对当前防震减灾宣传教育工作的现状进行了分析,针对其存在的问题,提出了防震减灾宣教工作的新思想：把防震减灾宣传教育工作纳入到国家国民教育体系,针对不同的施教对象,有计划、有目的的制定教育计划、编写系列教学读本,通过系统教育,提高国民的防震减灾意识和防灾避险能力,达到最大限度减轻地震灾害的目的。