Open educational resources (OER) in higher education courses in aquaculture and fisheries: opportunities, barriers, and future perspectives

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether educators and students in the aquaculture and fisheries sector might use and benefit from Open Educational Resources (OERs). The use of OERs has the potential to increase teaching efficiency, increase quality of teaching, and reduce economic and geographic barriers to education. The main barriers to use are academic competition between institutions and educators, low awareness and availability of OERs and copyright policies, mistrust in OER quality, and technological limitations around adaptation and sharing. This study used online questionnaires of students and educators in aquaculture and fisheries subjects to examine perspectives and opinions on OERs and other online educational resources. Questionnaire data showed that a demand for OERs exists from both educators and students, who already utilize online materials for learning and teaching. Furthermore, students were more likely to enroll and respect institutions that offered OERs but were not willing to pay higher tuition fees. Despite the demand, little OER material exists for higher education in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, mainly due to lack of awareness, institutional support, and technological structure, which are common barriers found in other sectors. This paper concludes that OER initiatives associated with higher education institutions in aquaculture and fisheries subjects have the potential, in theory, to support the enhancement of a skilled workforce that will meet the increasing global demand for seafood production

Suitable economic models for Open Educational Resources initiative in aquaculture higher education

Many initiatives are developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) in a variety of sectors because they have the potential to increase access to education and knowledge. Investment is a limiting factor for many of these initiatives. Future OER initiatives in the aquaculture community, such as the development of the AquaCase 3.0 website, will need to address this limitation by establishing a sustainable financial model. One way to do this is by relying on volunteer content creation. This study examined whether educators and students in the aquaculture community already contribute their materials, and if they would be willing to voluntarily contribute their materials in the future. Responses to online questionnaires of students and educators in the aquaculture community suggested that, although respondents currently have low creation to usage ratios, respondents would be willing to contribute their materials voluntarily for altruistic and promotional reasons, which would reduce the costs of such an initiative. In order for this to happen, institutions must support Open Resource Practices (ORPs) among their educator and student base through revised copyright policies. Governments may wish to incentivize institutions to encourage OER contribution by providing funding based on OER development

Regional Review on Status and Trends in Aquaculture Development in Europe - 2015

This update considers the wider European region comprising the 43 countries that were the object of the more detailed 2010 review of aquaculture in Europe (Váradi et al., 2011) and in particular notes significant changes related to aquaculture in that region since 2010. Aquaculture production data have been obtained from FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit. The most notable development in the period has been the continuing increase in the production of Atlantic salmon (by 43 percent for the period 2009–2014), mainly in the Kingdom of Norway but with significant increases also in the Faroe Islands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Russian Federation. Production technologies have undergone significant changes in this period with increasing use of very large scale Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) for the production of large smolts and in some cases for ongrowing fish to up to 1 kg in fresh water before transfer to sea cages. Despite the continuing increase in production, technical challenges remain, in particular the problem of sea lice infestation; the last five years have seen substantial commercial investment in the production and use of “cleaner fish” as biological controllers of lice numbers and in technology for other non-chemical treatment methods. The next five years are likely to see pilot trials of radical new production systems which are designed to minimise environmental impacts. The production of European seabass and gilthead seabream in cages in the Mediterranean Sea has increased, but the ongoing consequences of the global financial crisis of 2007–2009; and the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis from the end of 2009 have to some extent limited growth in these sectors, particularly in the Hellenic Republic. However the Republic of Turkey, with its relatively fast-growing economy and non-EU status has been less constrained by the economic factors and has seen substantial increases in the production of both species. Throughout Europe there has been continued interest, innovation and investment in small-scale RAS for a variety of species for which strong local markets are perceived to exist (examples include sturgeon, shrimp, barramundi, zander, European sea bass, perch and tilapia). Detailed information is difficult to obtain but the scale of this activity may best be described as “pilot”. There has been a high failure rate in such projects, making short-term significant production growth from this sector unlikely. The prescribed length and remit for this update do not allow for a complete summary of the status of all aquaculture sectors throughout Europe; the terms of reference require a focus on areas of significant change in the last 5 years. So, whilst sectors such as the extensive and semi-extensive production of carp represents the finfish species with the third highest production in the region (238 thousand tonnes in 2014, mainly in the Russian Federation), on the basis of information available to the authors there do not appear to have been significant developments in that sector in the last five years. Consequently, the culture of these species does not feature prominently in this review

Investing in the human capital of the aquatic food sector: AQUA-TNET and the road ahead

Global aquaculture production now provides around 50 % of human seafood consumption and with expected population growth and increased per capita seafood consumption, production is expected to rise from the current 63 million tonnes to almost 100 million tonnes by 2030. In contrast, aquaculture production in the European Union isrelatively low, having more or less stagnated since 2000, despite the EU being the largest global importer of seafood. However, a new strategy for aquaculture development is in place with every EU Member State committed to preparing a national plan. This will involve greater focus on current constraints and issues that need to be overcome through innovation and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will require the input of research, knowledge exchange and human capacity building. The AQUA-TNET thematic network for lifelong learning in aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic resource management has brought together European organisations engaged in these activities since it first started in 1996. This paper aims to present some of the analyses and thinking of that network in relation to the role of education and training in strengthening the human capital of the European aquaculture sector as a contribution to overall sector development. The approach is therefore that of a review article, drawing on a diverse range of previous work to identify themes and trends to help inform future research and activities. Further and higher education institutions play a partial but nonetheless significant role in aquaculture sector development. When considering future contributions to the sector, account needs to be taken of the changes taking place within the tertiary education sector as new technologies, global competition and government policies challenge the status quo of currentorganisation and practice. Though these present risks, they also offer considerable opportunities to build new collaborations, adopt new patterns of teaching and learning and perhaps apply new frameworks for accrediting learning and skills that could benefit the aquaculture sector. With funding from the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme for AQUA-TNET having come to an end in 2014, future work of the network in promoting and enabling innovation will need to be reconfigured around other types of sector organisations. It may also be the right time to look towards a more global platform for aquaculture education and knowledge exchange

Review of established methods in event research

In reviewing 165 of the most prominent event articles this paper provides a timely evaluation of prevalent research methods that have shaped event research in the past 16 years. We adopt critical case sampling and citation analysis approaches to identify 21 journals and the 165 articles. We subsequently analysed the content of each article to reveal the method(s) used and classified these by journal and by year. To facilitate discussion about the findings, the paper initially appraises the character of the event phenomenon and the implications of this for methods selection. This discussion portrays a largely social and contingent character to events that presents specific requirements to researchers seeking to interrogate it. The discussion pinpoints key considerations that should shape event researchers decisions about their selection of methods. The findings reveal a preponderance of survey based approaches and also very limited adoption of multiple methods. The findings also indicate a less prominent, but growing, application of subjectivist oriented approaches such as interviews, indicating a progressive trend that is discussed as being more favourable to the character of the subject matter. Ultimately we provide six precepts that emerge from this study, to signpost key considerations for event researchers as our discipline moves beyond the early stages of its development toward a more mature phase. Keywords: Event research, Research methods, Survey, Interviews, Focus groups, Observatio

Research in Geology and Geomorphology in the North American Arctic and Subarctic

Reviews (for Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska) accomplishment in geological mapping; also needed research in such geologic processes as sediment transport by glacial streams, frost action, mass wasting, soil formation, and icings; in permafrost investigations; glaciology; stratigraphic and structural investigations; geomorphology; ground water and engineering geology

Technical Considerations of closed containment sea pen production for some life stages of salmonids

We have investigated the technical and economic use of a closed containment sea pen nursery system for production of larger (circa 1 kg) fish for stocking in conventional cage systems with a view to reducing the duration of the marine on-growing phase in conventional open cages. This modified production strategy would reduce the time of exposure to sea lice, allow the capture of some of the solid waste from the culture operation and potentially allow more efficient use of ongrowing sites as the rate of throughput in those sites could be substantially increasedhttp://www.sarf.org.uk/projects

Promoting sustainable aquaculture: Building the capacity of local institutions and online teaching (elearning)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review a number of recent initiatives to promote sustainable aquaculture development through improvements to education and training capacity, and innovations in the use of eLearning. Design/methodology/approach - The authors share their experience in these initiatives and demonstrate how e-learning has been developed in specific cases to better serve the needs of the aquaculture sector, while addressing the pedagogical issues of distance learning and finding the best use of new internet-based technologies. Findings - These examples show how to respond to the needs of adult learners who may have a substantially different learner profile to typical campus students and have a more diverse range of needs and background knowledge. Greater focus is needed on defining, enhancing and accrediting knowledge and skills acquired informally and "on the job", so as to develop more effective formal education interventions. Practical implications - Adults engaging with job-related education are not empty vessels requiring to be filled with the correct mix of knowledge and skills by teachers who know all the answers. They are active learners seeking a supportive and enabling structure involving access to appropriate resources, engagement with fellow learners and more expert practitioners, and appropriate challenges and rewards to maximise effort and achievement. Originality/value - The paper shows that there is substantial social benefit in promoting an innovative and sustainable aquaculture industry that contributes positively to food security and human health. Continued Professional Development involving eLearning and other innovative approaches can make an important contribution throughout the sector

Evaluation of the Impact of "A strategy for the Sustainable Development of European Aquaculture" COM (2002) 511 Final

The 2002 strategy COM(2002) 511 FINAL was a landmark for European aquaculture and looked to build on the excellent growth seen in the sector during the 1990s. This study compares the impact of the 2002 Communication as perceived by various stakeholders across Europe, measured against recent statistics, facts, outcomes of economic, legislative and research processes. While the core objectives of consumer health and safety and environmental issues were perceived to have been partially successful, the growth and development objective was not. In the period examined, Community aquaculture production has stagnated and even declined in some species sectors. Aquaculture development since 2002 was perceived to have been held back by access to coastal and rural space, including competition from other resource users. The administrative burdens placed on (new) aquaculture operations was also considered to be important.Reasons for the gap between the perceived impact and "documented" implementation success of the 2002 strategy are suggested. Some of the less successful actions have also been recognised by the Commission in its COM(2009) 162 aquaculture strategy