Elena Camino

T-shaped cells of dorsal ganglia can influence the pattern of afferent discharge.

SummaryWhen the sensory fibres in “Rana Esculenta” are stimulated with trains of square pulses, having a duration of 100 μsec, with frequencies between 20 and 100 Hz, the T-shaped cells of spinal ganglia (which are electrically excitable and respond to low frequency stimulation producing an action potential) are progressively affected by fatigue. For this reason the cellular spike (S spike) is generated with an increasing delay after the non-myelinated (NM spike) and myelinated (M spike) component of the action potential.In the fibre very often a new spike becomes evident, under such stimulation modes, in addition to the action potential generated by the external stimulus. This one follows the former with a varying delay, depending on the position of the microelectrode in respect to the ganglion.The second impulse, when it appears, shows similar characteristics to those of the retarded cellular spike, under conditions of fatigue, both as regards the frequency values at which it appears and the intermittance of the response.Assuming that the second spike could be attributed to an influence of the soma, we have developed a series of experiments in order to verify this assumption.

Unveiling biophilia in children using active silence training: an experimental approach

Biophilia - the innate tendency of human beings to focus on and to affiliate with natural life emotionally - occurs spontaneously in school children. In this study we hypothesized that the development of biophilia is facilitated by an active silence training (AST). In AST silent observation is used as a means to achieve self-knowledge, while games are used as a way of evoking fascination, i.e. to help directed attention to rest and to be restored. Therefore an experimental protocol was set up with aim of assessing how effective the AST would be in restoring the attention of 120 children of a primary school in Aosta (Italy). The results show that the experimental groups performance on the attention test improved as a result of the AST, without affecting either systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Hence, AST seems to be

From Knowledge to Action? Re-embedding Science Learning Within the Planet’s Web

Global environmental problems are on the rise. If on the one hand a great deal of knowledge is available about the natural systems and their physiological processes; on the other hand, our actions are accompanied by an increasing disorder of the global, ecological patterns regulating the existence of life on the Earth. To deal with such issues, a change of both culture and epistemology is required. The framework of sustainability science calls for a dialogical approach to knowledge production. It values epistemic and reflexive knowledge that is produced in the course of exchanges between disciplines, people and groups, across different sets of experiences, values and methodological frameworks. It is argued that this approach to knowledge production is ethically relevant – bringing forth the values of co-existence and legitimization of the other- and sits at the core of peaceful and sustainable relationships between humanity and the Earth. Hence dealing with complex socio-environmental problems – such as climate change – in education is not simply and solely a matter of content but it involves the redefinition of the process of ‘knowing’, which is both and at the same time cognitive and relational, emotional and ethical. In this view, learning in science will involve a multiplicity of knowledge competences – linguistic, social, logical, practical and creative – to value reflexivity and collective engagements in a global context.

Language and science: products and processes of signification in the educational dialogue

As of 2007, for the first time in the history of humanity, more people live in cities than in rural areas [1]. At the same time, new means of communication permit access to an unprecedented quantity and variety of words and images, modifying in ways not yet understood representations and interpretations of reality. What are the implications of this profound transformation of perspectives for the ways in which children and young people perceive and express themselves, think and build a view of the world? And to what extent and how do science teachers take account of this global change in their thinking and practice? The relational nature of knowledge Our direct experience with a real, natural world, in which the complexity of the person (the body which acts, the input perceived, the thoughts progressively elaborated) enters into relationship with the complexity of the context (a meadow, a path alongside a stream, the seashore) has undergone a process of rapid change over the last fifty years. The pattern which connects, the dance of interacting parts [3], a meshwork of interwoven parts [17], has given way to objects that are artefacts, persistent in form (walls, roads, trains), with well-defined contours. The variety of characteristics, novelties, surprises and actions that accompanies the relationships between different forms of life has in part been substituted by a static world, from which it is easy to feel separate. Also ways of travelling have changed. Often it is no longer our bodies that move, describing a trajectory in space, coming to know a territory with eyes, muscles and proprioceptors, but rather means of transport that move us from one node to another within a network, while we remain passive [17]. While a web of threads and traces (the complexity of nature) is being fragmented into nodes and connectors in our physical experience, an analogous fragmentation is taking place at the cognitive level. In fact, one of the most powerful conceptual tools of modern science ‐ the ability to circumscribe times, spaces, problems, and render discrete processes and phenomena in order to analyse and measure them ‐ has revealed critical aspects too. The prevailing analytical approach, based on a disciplinary view and an increasing specialization of scientific research, offers a fragmented view of natural systems, that is not sufficiently balanced by an integrative vision: according to some Authors [11] there is a need to assume a holistic approach (looking at wholes rather than merely at their component parts), and an interdisciplinary research style. Looking at the whole from a scientific viewpoint implies investigating

Looking back and moving sideways : following the Gandhian approach as the underlying thread for a sustainable science and education

In his ‘Constructive Program’, Gandhi proposed a re-thinking of structures, systems, processes, and resources to promote self-sufficiency and unity in a community, for the ‘Sarvodaya’ (benefit for all). In this contribution, we draw upon the encounters we had with some of the people who embraced the ideals of Gandhi to re-view aims and pedagogical practice in science education. The key dimensions of community learning, dialogue, multiplicity of perspectives and creativity in practical work set the basis for an education which sustains the cognitive as well as the social, emotional and spiritual development of all students. Examples of activities conducted in a variety of teaching contexts are described with a view to extending Gandhis insights to current discussions about science education for sustainability and socio-environmental justice.

Svelare la biofilia nei bambini attraverso l’active silence training: un approccio sperimentale

Biophilia - the innate tendency of human beings to focus on and to affiliate with natural life emotionally occurs spontaneously in school children. In this study we hypothesized that the development of biophilia is fa168 cilitated by an active silence training (AST). In AST silent observation is used as a means to achieve self-knowledge, while games are used as away of evoking fascination, i.e. to help directed attention to rest and to be restored. Therefore an experimental protocol was set up with aim to assess how effective the AST would be in restoring the attention of 120 children of a primary school in Aosta (Italy). The results show that the experimental group’s performance on the attention test improved as a result of the AST, without affecting neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressure. Hence, AST seems to be a good way to restore children’s attentional capacity.

Visions for Sustainability

This paper argues that there is a crucial link between language and sustainability and explores in particular how the evolution of certain characteristics and functions of human language are related to it. The emphasis is on how the principal technologies of language speech and writing are related to our ways of being and doing, reflecting on and acting in the world and the consequences of this relationship in terms of the sustainability of our existence. The emergence of writing and its correlation with nominal language are seen as particularly significant developments in how we represent reality and thereby risk following unsustainable

Opening Visions for Science Education Futures

ISSN 2384-8677 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/2766 Published online: June 08, 2018 Citation: Colucci-Gray, L., Camino, E., Dodman, M., (2018). Science Education Futures. Visions for Sustainability, 9: 03-09. Copyright: ©2018 Camino, E., Colucci-Gray, L., Dodman, M. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Corresponding Author: Laura Colucci-Gray, United Kingdom.
 E.mail: l.t.gray@abdn.ac.uk

Visions for Sustainability N. 4: Beyond analytical perspectives

ISSN 2384-8677 DOI: 10.7401/visions.04.01 Published: December, 21 st , 2015 Citation: Camino, E., Ferrara, E., Colucci-Gray L., Dodman, M., (2015) A third series of visions, perspectives and experiences. Visions for Sustainability 4: 2-4. Copyright: ©2015 Camino, Ferrara, Colucci-Gray, Dodman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Corresponding Author: Enzo Ferrara, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Strada delle Caccie 91, 10135, Torino, Italy. E.mail: e.ferrara@inrim.it

Comunicare la scienza : chi? come? in che modo? : per un'educazione scientifica consapevole dei risvolti epistemologici

Comunicare la scienza: chi? come? in che modo? Per un’educazione scientifica consapevole dei risvolti epistemologici - In the last twenty years, we have witnessed a rapid transformation of the practices of science: the availability of tools of increasing power, the presence of private investments and financial support, the increasing and sometimes unforeseen transformations of natural systems following technological applications of scientific knowledge, have produced new situations that are of great relevance for society. The complexity of the interactions between humans and nature becomes manifest through the appearance of unexpected phenomena and processes: in order to cope with this situation precautionary attitudes have to be taken, and control procedures of scientific activity have to be implemented. This implies a process of democratization of science, and an increasing involvement of citizens in the production of new knowledge. Education has a role of primary importance and responsibility in promoting, in young people, an idea of science that is more commensurate with our times and the problems that humanity is facing. It is no longer suitable and viable to present science as a neutral and objective activity, and to leave scientists with the responsibility to make crucial choices. Teachers are charged with the task of presenting science as a human, fallible endeavour, loaded with interests and values. This new scenario of science calls more and more for the contribution of a multiplicity of perspectives as a precondition for democratic governance.