Expansion of Agriculture in Northern Cold-Climate Regions: A Cross-Sectoral Perspective on Opportunities and Challenges

Agriculture in the boreal and Arctic regions is perceived as marginal, low intensity and inadequate to satisfy the needs of local communities, but another perspective is that northern agriculture has untapped potential to increase the local supply of food and even contribute to the global food system. Policies across northern jurisdictions target the expansion and intensification of agriculture, contextualized for the diverse social settings and market foci in the north. However, the rapid pace of climate change means that traditional methods of adapting cropping systems and developing infrastructure and regulations for this region cannot keep up with climate change impacts. Moreover, the anticipated conversion of northern cold-climate natural lands to agriculture risks a loss of up to 76% of the carbon stored in vegetation and soils, leading to further environmental impacts. The sustainable development of northern agriculture requires local solutions supported by locally relevant policies. There is an obvious need for the rapid development of a transdisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional, long-term knowledge development, and dissemination program to best serve food needs and an agricultural economy in the boreal and Arctic regions while minimizing the risks to global climate, northern ecosystems and communities

Innovative teacher education through personalised learning: designing teaching and learning scenarios

The growing diversity of the student population twinned with a shift towards more learner-centred education provides the impetus to develop innovative teaching approaches. Imagined as personalised learning (PL), this approach argues for greater flexibility for the learner and more opportunities to include students' voice in the design and enactment of learning. This paper distils the learning from the members of the INTERPEARL project consortium including Lithuanian Universities Siauliai University (SU), Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), and Vilnius University (VU) together with their international partners University of Iceland (UI), and University College Cork, Ireland (UCC). The paper is based on the theoretical assumptions of social construction and takes mixed method approach to uncover the learning from implementing a personalised learning process to encourage greater learner agency and co-creation of learning. This paper will introduce the PL framework developed by the INTERPEARL consortium and two related concepts, namely Learning Scenarios and Learning Design. The learning from the implementation of the PL Framework in Iceland, Ireland, and Lithuanian is uncovered, with a methodology of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (S-STEP), and student-teachers surveys providing a strong rationale for more PL approach

Self-Study Methodology: An Emerging Approach for Practitioner Research in Europe

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.This chapter highlights the European contribution to the growing knowledge about self-study methodology. Europe is a patchwork of countries, cultures and languages. Looking at teacher educators in Europe, we see a broad variation in background, tasks and opportunities for professional development and self-study research.In this chapter we firstly map the development of self-study research in Europe which has mainly been the work of individuals and small groups. Then we focus on four countries that are in the forefront: England, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands. In all four countries self-study has proved to be a useful and stimulating way to aid the transition from being a teacher - or researcher - to becoming a teacher educator. Self-study methodology not only supported the understanding and development of the teacher education practice, but also led to identity development. Most helpful proved to be working together and mentoring, and sharing results publicly. In this context the role of the biannual S-STEP Castle Conference in England, which offers European self-study researchers to connect with colleagues from North America and Australia, plays an important role

Valgarður: a database of the petrophysical, mineralogical, and chemical properties of Icelandic rocks

The Valgarður database is a compilation of data describing the physical and geochemical properties of Icelandic rocks. The dataset comprises 1166 samples obtained from fossil and active geothermal systems as well as from relatively fresh volcanic rocks erupted in subaerial or subaqueous environments. The database includes petrophysical properties (connected and total porosity, grain density, permeability, electrical resistivity, acoustic velocities, rock strength, and thermal conductivity) as well as mineralogical and geochemical data obtained by point counting, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD), and cation exchange capacity (CEC) analyses. The database may be accessed at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6980231 (Scott et al., 2022a). We present the database and use it to characterize the relationship between lithology, alteration, and petrophysical properties. The motivation behind this database is to (i) aid in the interpretation of geophysical data, including uncertainty estimations; (ii) facilitate the parameterization of numerical reservoir models; and (iii) improve the understanding of the relationship between rock type, hydrothermal alteration, and petrophysical properties.</p

Heterogene Lerngruppen in Europa inklusionsorientiert unterrichten: Inspirierende Praktiken und Erkenntnisse aus Deutschland, Island, Litauen, Luxemburg, Schweden und Spanien

Edukologijos tyrimų institutasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Towards a Dynamic Third Age. Guidelines and Recommendations of the Erasmus+ BALL Project

It is crucial to prepare actively for the latter part of life and for retirement, so as to make the most and best use of the possibilities that may lie ahead. The BALL-project (Be Active through Lifelong Learning), supported by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, was defined and carried out to investigate how best to plan and implement such preparations. The ideas included in this book or guidelines are results of extensive research, survey and development work carried out within the three participating countries, Iceland, Poland, and Spain, with a view to Europe as a whole.Funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Unio