Understanding the failure of education for sustainable development:an analysis of the content and pedagogy of education for sustainable development

Abstract. Widespread changes to the social, economic, and natural environments caused by human activities threaten the increase in life quality achieved in the 21st century. This has led to the acknowledgement that a sustainable transition of our societies is required so that the basic human needs of current and future societies are met. The recognition of education as one of the main tools to achieve this transition has led to the creation of education for sustainable development (ESD), which aims at transmitting skills, values, and ethics of sustainability. Although there have been numerous declarations of intention from states and global governing bodies, evidences show a gap between the expressed ambitions and the effectiveness of ESD implementation. One of the main challenges is to switch from an environmental studies-centered approach to ESD, where sustainability competences are merely seen as a collection of learned knowledge and skills, to a holistic educational approach where the entire educational and social structure is devoted to transmitting sustainability skills and values and give opportunities to act sustainably. The aim of this thesis is to 1) understand what is ESD, its relation to sustainable development and to the educational process; 2) identify the obstacles to an efficient implementation of ESD; and 3) define the content and pedagogy of ESD. The intention is to build a content and pedagogical framework that can be used for the implementation of ESD in educational contexts

Gene expression in a paleopolyploid: a transcriptome resource for the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia

International audienceBACKGROUND: The genome of Paramecium tetraurelia, a unicellular model that belongs to the ciliate phylum, has been shaped by at least 3 successive whole genome duplications (WGD). These dramatic events, which have also been documented in plants, animals and fungi, are resolved over evolutionary time by the loss of one duplicate for the majority of genes. Thanks to a low rate of large scale genome rearrangement in Paramecium, an unprecedented large number of gene duplicates of different ages have been identified, making this organism an outstanding model to investigate the evolutionary consequences of polyploidization. The most recent WGD, with 51% of pre-duplication genes still in 2 copies, provides a snapshot of a phase of rapid gene loss that is not accessible in more ancient polyploids such as yeast. RESULTS: We designed a custom oligonucleotide microarray platform for P. tetraurelia genome-wide expression profiling and used the platform to measure gene expression during 1) the sexual cycle of autogamy, 2) growth of new cilia in response to deciliation and 3) biogenesis of secretory granules after massive exocytosis. Genes that are differentially expressed during these time course experiments have expression patterns consistent with a very low rate of subfunctionalization (partition of ancestral functions between duplicated genes) in particular since the most recent polyploidization event. CONCLUSIONS: A public transcriptome resource is now available for Paramecium tetraurelia. The resource has been integrated into the ParameciumDB model organism database, providing searchable access to the data. The microarray platform, freely available through NimbleGen Systems, provides a robust, cost-effective approach for genome-wide expression profiling in P. tetraurelia. The expression data support previous studies showing that at short evolutionary times after a whole genome duplication, gene dosage balance constraints and not functional change are the major determinants of gene retention

Chemical PARP Inhibition Enhances Growth of Arabidopsis and Reduces Anthocyanin Accumulation and the Activation of Stress Protective Mechanisms

Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) post-translationally modifies proteins through the addition of ADP-ribose polymers, yet its role in modulating plant development and stress responses is only poorly understood. The experiments presented here address some of the gaps in our understanding of its role in stress tolerance and thereby provide new insights into tolerance mechanisms and growth. Using a combination of chemical and genetic approaches, this study characterized phenotypes associated with PARP inhibition at the physiological level. Molecular analyses including gene expression analysis, measurement of primary metabolites and redox metabolites were used to understand the underlying processes. The analysis revealed that PARP inhibition represses anthocyanin and ascorbate accumulation under stress conditions. The reduction in defense is correlated with enhanced biomass production. Even in unstressed conditions protective genes and molecules are repressed by PARP inhibition. The reduced anthocyanin production was shown to be based on the repression of transcription of key regulatory and biosynthesis genes. PARP is a key factor for understanding growth and stress responses of plants. PARP inhibition allows plants to reduce protection such as anthocyanin, ascorbate or Non-Photochemical-Quenching whilst maintaining high energy levels likely enabling the observed enhancement of biomass production under stress, opening interesting perspectives for increasing crop productivity

Amplitude variables of circle on the pedagogic pommel horse in gymnastics

The movement amplitude is a key component of numerous elements in gymnastics. The purpose of the present study is to highlight the most pertinent amplitude variable of the circle performed on the pedagogic pommel horse. Twelve gymnasts (6 expert gymnasts vs. 6 nonexpert gymnasts) performed 10 circles on this event. A Vicon 512 system was used to record the 3-dimensional position of 11 markers fixed on the gymnasts. Our results revealed than 4 amplitude variables permitted us to significantly discriminate the levels of performance of the gymnasts (p < 0.05): shoulder extension in front phase, body alignment, shoulder diameter, and ankle diameter. In a training perspective, this result could help coaches focus their advice and pedagogic situations on the pertinent technical criteria. Then, a stepwise discriminant analysis performed on the 4 previously selected variables showed that 2 variables allowed us to accurately discriminate the circle amplitude: ankle diameter and body alignment. These 2 variables can be used by coaches as a specific index to objectively determine the performance levels of gymnasts and to measure improvement in movements after specific training

Pale by comparison:competitive interactions between signaling female glow-worms

Abstract When individuals differ in their abilities to compete for a mate, weaker competitors may evolve tactics to increase their mating success. Exploiting attractiveness of others to get mates is a common tactic in many taxa, although examples of this behavior in females are scarce. In glow-worms (Lampyris noctiluca L., Coleoptera: Lampyridae), females attract males by glowing and males prefer the brightest female. How unattractive females succeed in competition for mates is largely understudied. We hypothesize that less attractive female glow-worms may succeed in competition over mates by parasitizing glow of more attractive competitors. We tested our hypothesis with a combination of field and laboratory experiments. Contrary to our expectations, we found that females move away from brighter competitors. This behavior may explain our field observation that females are often more than 1 m apart from each other. Increasing distance to a brighter female may make comparison on brightness difficult for males and increase attractiveness of dimmer females. Our study provides evidence of behavior by which less attractive competitors may actively avoid competition and therefore affect female distribution in nature. This behavior may explain maintenance of variation in attractiveness of sexual signals, even in species where mates are selected by ornaments. We conclude that sexual competition may play a crucial role in spatial distribution. Spatial distribution of competing sex affects choosing individuals’ ability to compare mates and thus affects mate choice

Female sexual signaling in a capital breeder, the European glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca

Abstract Theory predicts that because costs constrain female sexual signaling, females are expected to have a low signaling effort that is increased with passing time until mating is secured. This pattern of signaling is expected to result from females balancing the costs associated with a higher than optimal signaling effort and those costs associated with a low signaling effort that increase the likelihood of delayed mating. We tested whether this prediction applies in the common glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca (Coleoptera, Lampyridae), a capital breeding species in which females glow at night to attract males. Contrary to predictions, we found that the duration of female sexual signaling significantly decreased with time. Moreover, when females experienced multiple light/dark cycles within 24 h, both signaling duration and intensity significantly decreased. These results imply that females attempt to signal as much as possible at first, with the decrease in signaling duration and intensity likely being due to female resource depletion. Because in capital breeding females the costs of a delayed mating are likely greater than the costs of sexual signaling, females should mate as soon as possible and thus always invest into signaling as much as possible

The behaviour of producer prices: evidence from French PPI micro data

Price stickiness, Price duration, Producer price index, Frequency of price change, E31, D43, L11, L16,