Appraising biocultural approaches to sustainability in the scientific literature in Spanish

Biocultural approaches that acknowledge the multiple and dynamic relationships between the diversity of cultures and nature are growing in popularity in sustainability research. Scientific contributions to biocultural approaches written in Spanish are numerous, including influential work on biocultural memory, biocultural heritage and biocultural ethics. However, despite linguistic diversity being considered essential in knowledge production for assuring broad and balanced evidence to successfully cope with sustainability challenges, non-English literature is rarely reviewed and taken into account in English-language scientific knowledge production and publications. This review assesses how the scientific literature in Spanish conceptualizes and applies biocultural approaches, showing their richness beyond the Anglophone predominance in academic knowledge production and communication. The results suggest that insights from Spanish-language scientific literature could contribute alternative methodological and theoretical pathways for biocultural approaches that might foster transformations for more sustainable human-nature relationships. We conclude by highlighting avenues that could bring more plural biocultural studies.

Daily breath-based mindfulness exercises in a randomized controlled trial improve primary school children's performance in arithmetic

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to improve children's academic achievements. Because MBIs include different exercises (possibly with differential effects), the teacher-led Breathing Break Intervention (BBI) was developed which focuses exclusively on breathing exercises and body awareness. The short daily breathing practices of BBI were evaluated in terms of their effects on children's performance in mathematics. In a randomized controlled trial, N = 140 third and fourth graders (49% female) either received BBI (IG, n = 81) or participated in an active control group (ACG, n = 59). Students took a standardized arithmetic test and teachers rated their mathematics performance before (T1) and after (T2) the nine weeks of BBI, and in a follow-up five months later (T3). A mixed multilevel model with a quadratic term of time indicated a significant interaction effect between group and time on the arithmetic test after controlling for working memory updating and parental educational attainment. IG children did not show a steeper linear increase but differed significantly from ACG children in their trajectory of arithmetic performance. At T3, IG children outperformed ACG children. A multilevel ordinal logistic regression of teachers' ratings of students' mathematics performance revealed no significant differences between IG and ACG. Results suggest that daily breathing exercises in primary school classrooms contribute to enhancing children's performance in arithmetic.Preregistration: The study was preregistered at aspredicted.org (#44925).

Finding the Best Match - a Case Study on the (Text-)Feature and Model Choice in Digital Mental Health Interventions

With the need for psychological help long exceeding the supply, finding ways of scaling, and better allocating mental health support is a necessity. This paper contributes by investigating how to best predict intervention dropout and failure to allow for a need-based adaptation of treatment. We systematically compare the predictive power of different text representation methods (metadata, TF-IDF, sentiment and topic analysis, and word embeddings) in combination with supplementary numerical inputs (socio-demographic, evaluation, and closed-question data). Additionally, we address the research gap of which ML model types - ranging from linear to sophisticated deep learning models - are best suited for different features and outcome variables. To this end, we analyze nearly 16.000 open-text answers from 849 German-speaking users in a Digital Mental Health Intervention (DMHI) for stress. Our research proves that - contrary to previous findings - there is great promise in using neural network approaches on DMHI text data. We propose a task-specific LSTM-based model architecture to tackle the challenge of long input sequences and thereby demonstrate the potential of word embeddings (AUC scores of up to 0.7) for predictions in DMHIs. Despite the relatively small data set, sequential deep learning models, on average, outperform simpler features such as metadata and bag-of-words approaches when predicting dropout. The conclusion is that user-generated text of the first two sessions carries predictive power regarding patients' dropout and intervention failure risk. Furthermore, the match between the sophistication of features and models needs to be closely considered to optimize results, and additional non-text features increase prediction results.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41666-023-00148-z.

Comparison of the effects of long-lasting static stretching and hypertrophy training on maximal strength, muscle thickness and flexibility in the plantar flexors

Maximal strength measured via maximal voluntary contraction is known as a key factor in competitive sports performance as well as injury risk reduction and rehabilitation. Maximal strength and hypertrophy are commonly trained by performing resistance training programs. However, literature shows that long-term, long-lasting static stretching interventions can also produce significant improvements in maximal voluntary contraction. The aim of this study is to compare increases in maximal voluntary contraction, muscle thickness and flexibility after 6 weeks of stretch training and conventional hypertrophy training. Sixty-nine (69) active participants (f = 30, m = 39; age 27.4 ± 4.4 years, height 175.8 ± 2.1 cm, and weight 79.5 ± 5.9 kg) were divided into three groups: IG1 stretched the plantar flexors continuously for one hour per day, IG2 performed hypertrophy training for the plantar flexors (5 × 10-12 reps, three days per week), while CG did not undergo any intervention. Maximal voluntary contraction, muscle thickness, pennation angle and flexibility were the dependent variables. The results of a series of two-way ANOVAs show significant interaction effects (p < 0.05) for maximal voluntary contraction (ƞ2 = 0.143-0.32, p < 0.006), muscle thickness (ƞ2 = 0.11-0.14, p < 0.021), pennation angle (ƞ2 = 0.002-0.08, p = 0.077-0.625) and flexibility (ƞ2 = 0.089-0.21, p < 0.046) for both the stretch and hypertrophy training group without significant differences (p = 0.37-0.99, d = 0.03-0.4) between both intervention groups. Thus, it can be hypothesized that mechanical tension plays a crucial role in improving maximal voluntary contraction and muscle thickness irrespective whether long-lasting stretching or hypertrophy training is used. Results show that for the calf muscle, the use of long-lasting stretching interventions can be deemed an alternative to conventional resistance training if the aim is to increase maximal voluntary contraction, muscle thickness and flexibility. However, the practical application seems to be strongly limited as a weekly stretching duration of up to 7 h a week is opposed by 3 × 15 min of common resistance training.

Are Si-C bonds formed in the environment and/or in technical microbiological systems?

Organosiloxanes are industrially produced worldwide in millions of tons per annum and are widely used by industry, professionals, and consumers. Some of these compounds are PBT (persistent, biaccumulative and toxic) or vPvB (very persistent and very bioaccumulative). If organosiloxanes react at all in the environment, Si-O bonds are hydrolyzed or Si-C bonds are oxidatively cleaved, to result finally in silica and carbon dioxide. In strong contrast and very unexpectedly, recently formation of new Si-CH3 bonds from siloxanes and methane by the action of microorganisms under mild ambient conditions was proposed (in landfills or digesters) and even reported (in a biotrickling filter, 30 °C). This is very surprising in view of the harsh conditions required in industrial Si-CH3 synthesis. Here, we scrutinized the pertinent papers, with the result that evidence put forward for Si-C bond formation from siloxanes and methane in technical microbiological systems is invalid, suggesting such reactions will not occur in the environment where they are even less favored by conditions. The claim of such reactions followed from erroneous calculations and misinterpretation of experimental results. We propose an alternative explanation of the experimental observations, i.e., the putative observation of such reactions was presumably due to confusion of two compounds, hexamethyldisiloxane and dimethylsilanediol, that elute at similar retention times from standard GC columns.

A Daily Breathing Practice Bolsters Girls' Prosocial Behavior and Third and Fourth Graders' Supportive Peer Relationships: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives

In order to promote mindfulness in primary school, the Breathing Break Intervention was developed. This collection of short daily breath-based mindfulness practices was introduced to 15 teachers who delivered them up to 3 times a day to their students.

Method

In a randomized controlled trial, 146 third and fourth graders (49% female) either received the intervention (n = 81) or participated in the active wait list control group (n = 65). Students were asked to nominate prosocial peers and to report on supportive peer relationships in their classrooms before (pretest) and after (posttest) the 9 weeks of the Breathing Break Intervention, and in a follow-up 5 months later.

Results

Mixed multilevel models indicated a group × sex × posttest interaction (t(211) = 2.64, p < 0.01) suggesting that girls in the intervention group were rated to be more prosocial by their peers at posttest than at pretest and than girls in the active control group when children's age and parents' education were accounted for. Supportive peer relationships in the active control group deteriorated between pretest and posttest, which occurred immediately before the second school lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas they remained the same in the intervention group (t(223) = 2.56, p < 0.05). Both effects were not maintained at follow-up, probably due to children's irregular school attendance during the lockdown.

Conclusions

Introducing a short daily breathing practice in primary school classrooms seems to be effective in maintaining supportive peer relationships and in stimulating girls' prosocial behavior.

Preregistration

The study was preregistered at aspredicted.org (#44925).

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-023-02158-9.

Tourists' valuation of nature in protected areas: A systematic review

In the face of biodiversity loss, it is crucial to broaden the arguments for conservation of protected areas by acknowledging diverse values of nature. We systematically reviewed empirical studies to investigate tourists' values of nature in protected areas over time and across regions. To do so, we explored (1) the main ecological and social characteristics of the case studies; (2) methodological approaches; and (3) value types. Based on the review of 152 articles, we found that economic valuation has received the most scientific attention, while socio-cultural valuation approaches have recently increased. Values were primarily elicited and analyzed quantitatively and in monetary metrics, although valuation methods and frameworks have diversified over the past two decades. However, considering the role of valuation methods and frameworks as value-articulating institutions, we suggest that future research on nature valuation also applies qualitative and non-monetary methods, elicits diverse values, and conducts plural valuation.

Which Potential Linguistic Challenges do Pre-Service Teachers Identify in a Mathematical Expository Text?

Language is a crucial aspect of mathematical thinking and learning, and it is therefore essential for teachers to be equipped with the skills required for linguistically responsive teaching. This includes the ability to identify potential linguistic challenges in expository texts. In the present study, we investigated the ability of pre-service teachers (N = 115) to identify potential linguistic challenges in a mathematical expository text for ninth graders. Participants identified about 12% of the potential linguistic challenges that were previously identified by a reference expert group. They identified challenges more frequently that were on the word level and considered to be mathematics-specific by the experts. Subjective judgements of disciplinarity of the challenges differed between participants, and between participants and experts. No differences in the ability to identify potential linguistic challenges were found between participants who studied language arts (German or English) or mathematics as a subject. Our results indicate that pre-service teachers may not be adequately prepared to identify and respond to linguistic challenges in mathematical expository texts.

An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services

Mainstreaming of ecosystem service approaches has been proposed as one path toward sustainable development. Meanwhile, critics of ecosystem services question if the approach can account for the multiple values of ecosystems to diverse groups of people, or for aspects of inter- and intra-generational justice. In particular, an ecosystem service approach often overlooks power dimensions and capabilities that are core to environmental justice. This article addresses the need for greater guidance on incorporating justice into ecosystem services research and practice. We point to the importance of deep engagement with stakeholders and rights holders to disentangle contextual factors that moderate justice outcomes on ecosystem service attribution and appropriation in socio-political interventions. Such a holistic perspective enables the integration of values and knowledge plurality for enhancing justice in ecosystem services research. This broadened perspective paves a way for transformative ecosystem service assessments, management, and research, which can help inform and design governance structures that nourish human agency to sustainably identify, manage, and enjoy ecosystem services for human wellbeing.

Discovering cooperation: Endogenous change in international organizations

Why do some international organizations (IO) accrete delegated authority over time while in others delegation is static or declines? We hypothesize that the dynamics of delegation are shaped by an IO's founding contract. IOs rooted in an open-ended contract have the capacity to discover cooperation over time: as new problems arise these IOs can adopt new policies or strengthen collaboration in existing areas. This, in turn, triggers a demand for delegation. However, this logic is mediated by the political regime of the IO. In predominantly democratic IOs, delegation is constrained by politicization which intensifies as an IO's policy portfolio broadens. These claims are tested using an updated version of the Measure of International Authority dataset covering 41 regional IOs between 1950 and 2019. Controlling for alternative explanations and addressing potential endogeneity across a range of model specifications, we find robust support for our argument.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11558-022-09482-0.

Tipping points ahead? How laypeople respond to linear versus nonlinear climate change predictions

We investigate whether communication strategies that portray climate change as a nonlinear phenomenon provoke increases in laypeople's climate change risk perceptions. In a high-powered, preregistered online experiment, participants were exposed to linear or nonlinear predictions of future temperature increases that would be expected if global greenhouse gas emissions were not reduced. We hypothesized that the type of climate change portrayal would impact perceptions of qualitative risk characteristics (catastrophic potential, controllability of consequences) which would, in turn, affect laypeople's holistic risk perceptions. The results of the study indicate that the type of climate change portrayal did not affect perceptions of risk or other social-cognitive variables such as efficacy beliefs. While participants who were exposed to a nonlinear portrayal of climate change perceived abrupt changes in the climate system as more likely, they did not perceive the consequences of climate change as less controllable or more catastrophic. Notably, however, participants who had been exposed to a linear or nonlinear portrayal of climate change were willing to donate more money to environmental organizations than participants who had not been presented with a climate-related message. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are discussed.

Robustness and disturbances in public transport

Network-based systems are at the core of our everyday life. Whether it is electronic networking, electricity grids or transportation, users expect the networks to function properly and provide a feeling of safety and security. However, there may be disturbances. In this paper, we consider disturbances in the context of public transportation. The focus in this respect is on public transport planning and operations. To classify and cope with disturbances, one can find many ideas, including robustness, resilience, vulnerability, disruption mitigation or delay management. We survey related streams of literature and put them into perspective. As a major insight we show that different strands of literature exist that may benefit from becoming better connected and intertwined. Together with recent advances in information technology and solution methods, more integrated problem settings incorporating robustness and disturbances can play a major role in future planning and operations.

Innovating teaching and instruction in turbulent times: The dynamics of principals’ exploration and exploitation activities

In turbulent environments, schools have to adapt to constantly changing conditions. According to ambidexterity theory, whether they are successful in this primarily depends on their leaders and how they manage the tension between the use of current knowledge (exploitation) and the search for new knowledge (exploration). Through unique top-down and bottom-up pathways, they thus influence the innovation outcome of a school. However, it is so far unclear whether these assumptions are correct. Using data from a panel of principals who are representative of Germany and were surveyed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we therefore investigate if and how school leaders adapted to the turbulent environment caused by the pandemic and evaluate the extent to which this had an impact on their schools’ innovations in teaching and instruction. The results demonstrate that principals’ exploration activities increased markedly during the pandemic, while their exploitation activities decreased noticeably. Further, a focus on the use and refinement of existing knowledge in comparatively predictable (pre-COVID-19) environments harmed principals’ readiness to explore new knowledge in increasingly uncertain environments. Nevertheless, exploitation had positive consequences for the innovativeness of schools, and exploration goes along with more radical innovations in teaching and instruction. Our research suggests that schools that innovatively addressed the COVID-19 pandemic had school leaders who were able to quickly shift between the two modes of exploitation and exploration. A capacity to transition seamlessly between these modes of thinking and working thus appears to be vital for the longevity of schools.

[What role does social background and school type play in perceptions of digital feedback and academic self-concept during the COVID-19 pandemic?]

How students perceive feedback shapes the impact of feedback on academic achievement and the development of academic self-concepts. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the framework of school learning and thus the opportunities for feedback in the classroom. In the present study, a sample of 668 students from different types of schools was used to investigate how often they received digital feedback from teachers and how they perceived the feedback. We analysed the role of school type and social background (socioeconomic status and migration background) in the perception of feedback and whether social background, school type, and perceived feedback can predict academic self-concept. In terms of school type, students in the higher academic track (Gymnasium) perceived their teachers' feedback as less fair, accepted it less, and saw less benefit in the feedback. The social background of students with and without a migration background did not play a significant role in their perception of the feedback. The results of a multiple regression model showed that socioeconomic status, perceived fairness, and usefulness of the feedback were positive predictors of academic self-concept in distance education. Thus, the present study provides preliminary evidence on the perception of digital feedback and its relationship to academic self-concept. The results imply that teachers should more strongly incorporate students' perceptions of feedback to especially enhance academic self-concept.

Digitale Hochschullehre im ersten COVID-19-Semester. Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Lehrenden in Public Health, Medizin und Pflege

Hintergrund

Die COVID-19(„coronavirus disease 2019“)-Pandemie hat die Ad-hoc-Digitalisierung an Hochschulen vorangetrieben. Zugleich stand die digitale Hochschullehre vor der Herausforderung der Ausgestaltung der Lehre im Zusammenhang mit den vorbestehenden Ressourcen, der digitalen und didaktischen Kompetenzen sowie der zur Verfügung stehenden technischen Infrastruktur.

Ziel der Arbeit/Fragestellung

Das Ziel der Umfrage war die Einschätzung der digitalen Lehre, die die Präsenzlehre infolge der COVID-19-Pandemie zum großen Teil bzw. gänzlich ersetzt hat, aus der Perspektive der Lehrenden in Public Health, Medizin und Pflege.

Material und Methode

Die Querschnitterhebung fand online von Juni bis August 2020 statt und die Daten wurden über www.soscisurvey.de erhoben. Die schriftliche Befragung wurde unter Mitgliedern der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Public Health (DGPH) und des Ausschusses Digitalisierung der Gesellschaft für medizinische Ausbildung (GMA) und der Sektionen Bildung und Beratung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pflegewissenschaft (DGP) sowie der Arbeitsgruppe Lehre der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Soziologie (DGMS) durchgeführt (n = 100).

Ergebnisse

Bei der Nutzung der digitalen Technologien in den Veranstaltungen rangieren auf der obersten Stelle Präsentationstools, gefolgt von Lernmanagementsystemen, Videoangeboten sowie digitalen Texten. Die Teilnehmenden geben hinsichtlich der Nutzung unterschiedliche (Konferenz‑)Tools an. Das Erstellen von Lehrvideos bejahen 53 % der Befragten, Abstimmungstools) werden bis > 50 % als unbekannt genannt. Als Herausforderungen werden digitale Infrastruktur der Hochschulen, fehlende didaktische Beratung/Unterstützung sowie rechtliche Fragen (Nutzungsrechte, Datenschutz) angegeben.

Schlussfolgerung

Neue Technologie werden vorwiegend für Wissenserwerb, Wissensvermittlung genutzt, selten zur Aktivierung von Studierenden und zur Gestaltung kollaborativer Lehr- und Lernarrangements sowie Neugestaltung von Lernaufgaben und Lernprozessen (individualisiertes Lernen). Welche der aktuell erprobten digitalen Lehr- und Lernformate zukünftig in der Hochschullehre zunehmend eingesetzt werden, hängt von vielen Faktoren ab, u. a. von digitaler Kompetenz sowie der Bereitschaft der Lehrenden und Lernenden die digitale Lernkultur mitzugestalten.

Zusatzmaterial online

Zusätzliche Informationen sind in der Online-Version dieses Artikels (10.1007/s11553-022-00937-1) enthalten.

Structuring and advancing solution-oriented research for sustainability : This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Solutions-oriented research

The sustainability challenges the world faces today call for concerted and immediate action. Complementing problem-oriented, descriptive-analytical research with solution-oriented research could strengthen sustainability science's contribution to address these challenges. We introduce different types of solution-oriented sustainability research to structure the discourse, outline opportunities to advance this research trajectory, and close with recommendations on how to support particularly students and early career researchers in getting involved with solution-oriented sustainability research.

A feminist ethos for caring knowledge production in transdisciplinary sustainability science

Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science has emerged as a viable answer to current sustainability crises with the aim to strengthen collaborative knowledge production. To expand its transformative potential, we argue that Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science needs to thoroughly engage with questions of unequal power relations and hierarchical scientific constructs. Drawing on the work of the feminist philosopher María Puig de la Bellacasa, we examine a feminist ethos of care which might provide useful guidance for sustainability researchers who are interested in generating critical-emancipatory knowledge. A feminist ethos of care is constituted by three interrelated modes of knowledge production: (1) thinking-with, (2) dissenting-within and (3) thinking-for. These modes of thinking and knowing enrich knowledge co-production in Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science by (i) embracing relational ontologies, (ii) relating to the 'other than human', (iii) cultivating caring academic cultures, (iv) taking care of non-academic research partners, (v) engaging with conflict and difference, (vi) interrogating positionalities and power relations through reflexivity, (vii) building upon marginalised knowledges via feminist standpoints and (viii) countering epistemic violence within and beyond academia. With our paper, we aim to make a specific feminist contribution to the field of Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science and emphasise its potentials to advance this field.

Introduction: Perspectives on Democracy

This article explores diverse views on both the current challenges and limits as well as the reforms and innovations of existing democracies at the beginning of the twenty-first century. First, it argues that socioeconomic inequality, new populism, new forms of communication, and globalization have stimulated a renewal of interest in analyzing the "frontiers of democracy." Democracies have reacted with different innovations and reforms in order to meet these challenges. The authors trace the phases of respective research from studies on singular, standalone instances to normative as well as empirical work on participatory (direct democratic and deliberative) systems. Finally, they advocate for combining the conceptual approach of defining democracy by the fulfillment of democratic values with rigorous empirical evaluation of the contributions (old and new) that institutions and procedures provide in order to fulfill these values and meet the mentioned challenges.

German Teachers’ Digital Habitus and Their Pandemic Pedagogy

After closing public schools in early 2020 to slow the spread of Covid-19, attempts to provide continuity of education in Germany by means of digital tools faltered in variety of ways, with insufficient competence and inadequate technology leading to inequitable access and uneven implementation. Understanding how German teachers were caught unprepared in this time of crisis, especially in comparison with their European neighbors, requires an examination of their habitus as discussed by Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) that accounts for their behaviors beyond existing models regarding technology acceptance. Drawing on existing sociological and media-related studies, this contribution will describe the attitudes of German teachers and educational decision-makers in light of their digital, cultural, and educational habitus to provide a partial explanatory account for the current state of affairs. It will show how traditional skepticism for innovation among teachers in general, and German teachers in particular, is reinforced by demographic and sociological characteristics of the German teacher population and the nature of German schooling. After describing extant conditions regarding digitally mediated educational experiences during the initial Covid-19 phase in Germany based on emerging data, this article will subsequently identify prospective issues in this area in the near future. While the transition to digital teaching and learning has the potential to bring about a number of challenges, early data suggests that a possibility of significant positive development may occur as well. Based on these indications, the article will conclude with implications for teacher professionalization going forward.