Intuition and Curriculum: From Precognition to Agency

The dissertation is a speculative essay using the framework of Joseph Schwab’s (1969) commonplaces of: subject matter, student, teacher and milieu to examine how intuition can and should form part of curriculum. The overarching theme is that intuition and intuitive teaching and learning is an iterative path which leads to self-knowledge, reflection, cognition and acceptance of ‘other’ -- the Freirian (2010) notion of tolérance-- resulting in critical thinking and agency to ameliorate lives -- particularly of the oppressed. It embraces the clichéd notion of education leading to informed citizens who will make the right choices for society as a whole from the perspective of allowing teaching and learning to evolve from a less data-driven, teacher and standard imposed process to a more interest-driven evolution with an eye to critical thinking and authenticity. Intuition exists whether we choose to acknowledge or ignore it. It cannot be forced, but is rather something teachers and students can make room for – pay attention to – honor and consider in a framework of bounded anarchy (Macdonald, 1995). It is a framework that recognizes chaos as a part of life, and anarchy as a means to avoid autocratic control. Subject matter is explored via boredom, improvisation, currere, phenomenological and aesthetic inquiry. The role and relationships of the teacher are tied to self-discovery, co-creation, authenticity and love. Students within this framework are encouraged to explore, listen to, and use their voice to connect with the Joy (Liston, 2001) of learning. And, place is the physical and psychological world of the individual within which subject matter, teachers and students interreact

Higher Education for Smart Specialisation: The Case of Lithuania

This technical report presents the findings of the case study carried out in Lithuania on the role of Lithuanian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the design and implementation of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3). It is one of the case studies undertaken in the project Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS), an initiative of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. The research shows that the Smart Specialisation Strategy in Lithuania has constituted an important framework to coordinate research and innovation policies and investments with a significant improvement from past experiences, creating a space for a participatory process of innovation stakeholders. The higher education institutions are actively participating in the S3 process, with a good correlation of the S3 selected priority areas and the higher education research capacities, but with no significant changes in the internal decision-making. The higher education system presents an unbalanced funding model, with most incomes devoted to education activities rather than research and innovation. The research and innovation system of Lithuania is highly dependent on European Structural and Investment Funds, as national funding is comparatively very small, creating specific challenges in the implementation of the Smart Specialisation concept. Too narrowly defined priority areas can create a lock down effect in terms of broad support to innovation with limited funding sources to counterbalance. There is a growing demand of the productive sector of skilled students in engineering/STEM fields. This has increased demands of discussion spaces between public authorities, business and higher education to re-balance the attraction of students from social sciences to STEM studies, as well as a stronger policy to attract international talent. A long-term agreement between the Government and HEIs regarding the future HE educational offer, research priorities and resources could strengthen the contribution of higher education to S3, building on the experience of this case study and bringing forward its recommendations.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Search for optimal solution of public building renovation in terms of life cycle

Climate change became a priority issue on the agenda of the energy and environmental policy of the European Union. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are the main pillars to cope with climate change. Buildings consuming 40% of final energy in the European Union play a vital role here. This is the reason for changing attitude towards evaluation of the benefits of the renovation of existing buildings. Previously before making a decision on building renovation solutions the main factor was cost‐efficiency. Today life‐cycle approach taking into account energy consumption and abatement of greenhouse gases is more relevant. The goal of the paper is to compare different alternatives for the renovation of buildings taking into account energy, economic and environmental criteria while evaluating impact of renovation measures during their life cycle. The first alternative is renovation of a building up to the requirements of existing building codes. The second alternative is renovation of a building making its thermal characteristics of the envelopes by 25% better. The third alternative is renovation of a building making its thermal characteristics of the envelopes by 50% better. Possibility to use renewable energy in all the three alternatives is also investigated. The results of analysis show that in the case under consideration replacement of district heating, mostly based on fossil fuel, with a biomass boiler has an advantage in terms of environment and energy. However, economic attractiveness of these alternatives is rather moderate. Final choice of the alternatives depends on the priorities of a decision‐maker. Santrauka Klimato kaita tapo prioritetiniu punktu Europos Sajungos energetikos ir aplinkosaugos politikos darbotvarkeje. Energijos vartojimo efektyvumas ir atsinaujinantys energijos ištekliai ‐ pagrindines nuostatos siekiant iveikti klimato kaitos keliamas problemas. Pastatams, kuriuose suvartojama 40 % Europos Sajungos galutines energijos, čia tenka pagrindinis vaidmuo. Tai yra priežastis keisti požiūri, vertinant esamu pastatu renovavimo nauda. Anksčiau prieš priimant sprendima del pastatu renovacijos pagrindinis faktorius buvo ekonominis efektyvumas. Šiandien tikslingiau yra atsižvelgti i gyvavimo cikla, ivertinant energijos suvartojimo mastus ir šiltnamio duju išmetius. Šio darbo tikslas ‐ palyginti skirtingas pastatu renovavimo alternatyvas, atsižvelgiant i energetinius, ekonominius ir aplinkos apsaugos kriterijus, vertinant renovacijos priemoniu itaka per ju gyvavimo laika. Pirmoji renovacijos alternatyva ‐ pastatas renovuojamas, kad atitiktu reikalavimus, keliamus pastatu atitvaru šiluminems charakteristikoms. Antroji renovacijos alternatyva ‐ pastato atitvaru šilumines charakteristikos, palyginti su galiojančiais reikalavimais, gerinamos 25 %. Trečioji alternatyva ‐ pastato atitvaru šilumines charakteristikos, palyginti su galiojančiais reikalavimais, gerinamos 50 %. Papildomai ivertinama galimybe visais trim atvejais naudoti atsinaujinančius energijos išteklius. Analizes rezultatai parode, kad nagrinejamu atveju gaunama energetine ir aplinkosaugine nauda, kai vietoje esamos centralizuotai tiekiamos šilumos sistemos, kurioje šilumai gaminti pagrindinai naudojamas iškastinis kuras, irengiamas biomases katilas. Ekonomiškai šios alternatyvos yra mažiau patrauklios. Galutinis alternatyvu pasirinkimas priklauso nuo sprendimu priemejo prioritetu. Резюме Изменение климата стало приоритетным вопросом на повестке дня энергетической и экологической политики Европейского Cоюза. Энергетическая эффективность и возобновляемые источники энергии являются основными мерами для уменьшения изменений климата. С этой точки зрения большое значение имеют здания, так как они в Европейском Союзе потребляют 40% энергии. Это является причиной изменения отношения к оценке выгод от реновации существующих зданий. Ранее для принятия решения о реновации здания основным фактором являлась экономическая эффективность. Сегодня более актуальным является учет потребления энергии и сокращения выбросов парниковых газов. Целью настоящей работы было сравнить различные варианты реконструкции здания с учетом энергетических, экономических и экологических критериев при оценке воздействия мер по реконструкции во время их жизненного цикла. Первый вариант – это реновация здания с целью улучшения его тепловых характеристик, доводя их до требований существующих строительных норм. Второй вариант – реновация здания с целью улучшения его тепловых характеристик на 25% по сравнению с требованиями существующих строительных норм. Третий вариант – реновация здания с целью улучшения его тепловых характеристик на 50% по сравнению с требованиями существующих строительных норм. Кроме этого, во всех трех вариантах исследована возможность использования возобновляемых источников энергии. Результаты анализа показали, что замена централизованного теплоснабжения, основaнного главным образом на использовании ископаемых видов топлива, на котел с биомассой имеет преимущество с точки зрения окружающей среды и энергетики, однако экономическая привлекательность такой альтернативы довольно умеренна. Окончательный выбор вариантов зависит от приоритетов субъекта, принимающего решение. First Publish Online: 27 Jun 2011 Reikšminiai žodžiai: visuomeninis pastatas, renovacija, energijos vartojimo efektyvumas, įkūnytoji energija, gyvavimo ciklo analizė, gyvavimo ciklo kaštai, CO2 emisijos. Ключевые слова: общественное здание, реновация, эффективность применения энергии, воплощенная энергия, анализ жизненного цикла, стоимость жизненного цикла, эмиссия CO2

COST VEIKLA „DABARTINIŲ VIEŠOJO SEKTORIAUS ORGANIZAVIMO TENDENCIJŲ LYGINAMIEJI TYRIMAI“: TYRIMAI IR TINKLAVEIKA ES VIEŠOJO ADMINISTRAVIMO KOMPETENCIJOS TINKLE

.....

A quantitative evaluation of theoretical renewable energy potential of the building site

Modern building design process is becoming more complex. Local conditions and future constructions are computer-simulated. The aim of this simulation is to evaluate theoretical RE potential for the successful and efficient exploitation of the new building. As usual, in the simulation process of local conditions, the assessment of the renewable energy potential is one of the key elements. This article presents and analyses the idea of the quantitative evaluation of renewable energy (RE) theoretical potential of the building site and the approach on how to prepare initial data file for further process of site energy development concept creation. The study describes a building site that is undergoing the RE evaluation in terms of thermodynamic and descriptive statistics characteristics. The applicability of the offered approach was verified in the case study. The specified evaluation of the combined energy fluctuation throughout the year provides new and potentially crucial information about the issues of the RE hybrid energy transformation systems’ modelling and about the efficient use of resources to ensure the same level of energy services

Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: An Analysis of Practices

This report presents a discussion on how innovative professional development practices in higher education can help improve the teaching and the career progression of academics. It explores successful models and provides policy recommendations for higher education institutions and EU Member States. It accompanies the technical report ‘Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: Case Studies’, JRC 2019.  JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: Case Studies

This report contains a literature review and in-depth analyses of eleven case studies involving innovative practices for the professional development of academics. The goal is to highlight not only what is new in current practices but also the future prospects for higher education institutions in Europe and the challenges they face. It accompanies the Science for Policy report ‘Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: An Analysis of Practices’, JRC 2019.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

The FLASH project: improving the tools for flash flood monitoring and prediction across the United States

This study introduces the Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs (FLASH) project. FLASH is the first system to generate a suite of hydrometeorological products at flash flood scale in real-time across the conterminous United States, including rainfall average recurrence intervals, ratios of rainfall to flash flood guidance, and distributed hydrologic model–based discharge forecasts. The key aspects of the system are 1) precipitation forcing from the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)’s Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system, 2) a computationally efficient distributed hydrologic modeling framework with sufficient representation of physical processes for flood prediction, 3) capability to provide forecasts at all grid points covered by radars without the requirement of model calibration, and 4) an open-access development platform, product display, and verification system for testing new ideas in a real-time demonstration environment and for fostering collaborations. This study assesses the FLASH system’s ability to accurately simulate unit peak discharges over a 7-yr period in 1,643 unregulated gauged basins. The evaluation indicates that FLASH’s unit peak discharges had a linear and rank correlation of 0.64 and 0.79, respectively, and that the timing of the peak discharges has errors less than 2 h. The critical success index with FLASH was 0.38 for flood events that exceeded action stage. FLASH performance is demonstrated and evaluated for case studies, including the 2013 deadly flash flood case in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the 2015 event in Houston, Texas—both of which occurred on Memorial Day weekends