Lydia Kavanagh

Sustainability Indicators for Tourism Destinations: A Complex Adaptive Systems Approach Using Systemic Indicator Systems

This article discusses the necessity for complementing linear sustainability assessment tools, which disregard the complex and dynamic nature of tourism, with complex adaptive systems (CASs) approaches. A methodological framework for the selection and evaluation of sustainability indicators for tourism destinations, the systemic indicator system (SIS), is proposed; this framework takes the interrelatedness of sociocultural, economic and environmental issues into account. The SIS methodology is tested using a case study of a holiday eco-village project near Lamington National Park in Queensland, Australia. The results show that tourism destinations need to be viewed and studied as CASs, and that sustainability indicator systems need to be applied in the context of an adaptive management approach. Special attention is given to the capability of the SIS methodology as a decision aid for resort developers and planners to improve the effectiveness of measures for pollution prevention and mitigation.

Concepts and tools for comprehensive sustainability assessments for tourism destinations: a comparative review

This paper reviews a wide range of tools for comprehensive sustainability assessments at whole tourism destinations, covering sociocultural, economic and environmental issues. It considers their strengths, weaknesses and site-specific applicability. It is intended to facilitate their selection (and combination where necessary). Tools covered include Sustainability Indicators, Environmental Impact Assessment, Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Audits, Ecological Footprints, Multi-Criteria Analysis and Adaptive Environmental Assessment. Guidelines for evaluating their suitability for specific sites and situations are given as well as examples of their use.

The degradation of dissolved organic nitrogen associated with melanoidin using a UV/H2O2 AOP

The aim of this study was to examine the simultaneous degradation of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and associated colour from wastewater containing melanoidins by an advanced oxidation process (AOP). UV irradiation of H2O2 was used as the mechanism to create the hydroxyl radical for oxidation. Melanoidins are large nitrogenous organic compounds that are refractory during biological wastewater treatment processes. The simultaneous degradation of DON and colour, present as a result of these compounds, was investigated using an AOP. The oxidation process was much more capable of removing colour (99% degradation), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (50% degradation) and DON (25% degradation) at the optimal applied dose of hydrogen peroxide for the system (3300 mg l(-1)). This indicated that colour and DON removal were decoupled problems for the purpose of treating melanoidin by an AOP and thus colour removal can not be used as an indication of DON removal Colour was caused by organic molecules with molecular weight greater than 10 kDa. Oxidation caused a partial reduction of the DON (41-15% of the total dissolved nitrogen) and DOC (29-14% of the DOC) associated with the large molecular weight fraction (>10 kDa) and almost complete colour removal (87-3% of the total colour). The degraded DON was mostly accounted for by the formation of ammonia (31% of the nitrogen removed from the large fraction) and small molecular weight compounds (66% of the nitrogen removed from the large fraction). The degraded DOC appeared to be mostly mineralised (to CO2) with only 20% of the degraded compounds appearing as small molecular weight DOC.

Technology in the Flipped Classroom

Digital technologies can play an integral role in the success of the flipped classroom: from the capacity to support and engage students, to understanding how students learn through learning and assessment analytics. The increasing ubiquity of enabling technologies allows for an array of opportunities for educators to augment teaching and learning strategies for the flipped classroom (Chap. 1). However, technology continues to be an ongoing challenge for educators. Bergman (2013) identifies technology as the “second hurdle” to implementing a flipped classroom. Part of this challenge is that while technology can be integral to the flipped classroom, the specific technologies and how they are used need to be deeply connected to the context in which the classroom is offered. This chapter focuses on the function and role of technology in supporting effective flipped classroom design. While we do not wish to dismiss or diminish the role of technology, this chapter looks at why design takes precedence over technology, as well as the challenges and benefits of using technology in the classroom. We propose frameworks for using technology within your design context, and the types of questions to be considered to guide the design process as well as providing some examples of technology to help you.

Designing an Active Learning Environment Architecture Within a Flipped Classroom for Developing First Year Student Engineers

This case study presents the flipped classroom (FC) as a framework for a large first-year fundamental engineering practice course (ENGG1200). The aim was to develop student engineers who would leave the course with both the required academic knowledge of materials engineering and the practitioner skills required to apply this knowledge to real-world practices including design, problem-solving, modelling, and professional skills. Using a design approach and drawing on relevant research, a learning environment was constructed whose architecture comprised an integrated set of learning components that would develop within our students the internal mechanisms required for demonstrating these skills. A central component of the learning environment was an authentic open-ended design project that was completed by multidisciplinary teams. Implementation of the course using a FC framework allowed contact time with students to be used for hands-on workshops that developed and scaffolded many of the practitioner skills necessary for the design project. Out-of-class hours were used by students for acquiring the necessary academic knowledge required for the projects, supported by the online learning environment that included modules and quizzes, an organisational tool (the Learning Pathway), reflections, and extensive additional resources. The course design process, the design solution, and the evaluation of the course architecture are described in this chapter along with the characteristics that enabled the learning goals to be achieved. Evaluation revealed two main clusters of associated activities: one around the online learning activities and the other around the hands-on teamwork activities. These clusters were consistent with the design aim of using the course activities to develop a set of internal mechanisms within students such as materials knowledge, self-management, teamwork, and hands-on skills. Furthermore, evaluation of student reflections indicates that students did indeed develop knowledge and skills in these areas as well as modelling, problem-solving, and communication and that they linked concepts with practice. Many aspects of the course design process described here are transferrable to other disciplines aiming to facilitate authentic learning activities using FC approaches.

Case Study Framework

The case studies in Part 2 of this book are intended to showcase different contexts and highlight the diversity of flipped classroom approaches in practice. They are included to provide you with ideas to develop your own flip classroom practice, serve as a source of encouragement, and foreground the challenges that you may face.

Introduction to the Flipped Classroom

It is Monday morning, bright and early, as Laura rushes from the bus stop to the massive event centre, where her first-year engineering workshop is being held. It is the second week of the course and she knows that she is falling behind a bit because she did not watch the recommended pre-learning podcast for this workshop that, she seems to recall, is something to do with setting your learning goals. She is still a bit puzzled because this course is not like any of her other courses in first-year engineering. The professor called it a flipped classroom and although she is not exactly sure what that means, she knows that there are not any lectures, which kind of irritates her a bit. The purpose of beginning our book “Flipped Classroom Practice and Practices” with this example is that it provides us with one of the most audacious, yet promising implementation of the flipped classroom approach that we are aware of. Successfully integrating fundamental disciplinary knowledge with active, authentic practice at such large scales challenges some of our most dearly held beliefs about learning in higher education (i.e. the lower the student/staff ratio the better) and also shines a light on a range of issues that are systematic to the culture and organisational structure of today’s universities. These issues must be resolved if we are to successfully adapt to the social and technological changes we currently face. And this is why we flipped our classroom.

Simulating work: can simulators help develop a workforce?

The aviation model of simulator training emphasises realistic physical conditions and practice of emergency responses. Its apparent success has led to the adoption of simulators in other industries such as rail. Relatively light levels of use of the simulators in that industry indicate that simulators may not fit well in all industries, no matter how similar their operations may seem. This leads us to ask what needs to be simulated in workplace development settings and whether better-targeted simulation might expand the ways in which simulators can be used. Much of the existing technical discussion of simulators comes from a human factors perspective which focuses on micro-processes in performance. We argue for a more socio-cultural and socio-technical position that simulators can develop workforce competency only when jobs are understood in their socio-cultural settings and the role of technology is understood as relative to and determined by that setting. We also present ways in which industry can approach the identification of targets for simulator use and implementation strategies. These suggestions have the potential not only to save money but also contribute to a more professional and engaged workforce.

Educational Technologies and the Training Curriculum

Technologies such as online tools, simulations and remote labs are often used in learning and training environments, both academic and vocational, to deliver content in an accessible manner. They promise efficiencies of scale, flexibility of delivery and face validity for a generation brought up on electronic devices. However, learning outcomes are not the same in all circumstances and contextual and cultural factors can lead to the failure of technology that has been successful elsewhere. This chapter draws on the team’s studies of the use of simulators and simulations within the vocational environment of the Australian rail industry to consider how the broader context of the training/educational curriculum affects what works for whom under what circumstances.

The Developmental Role of Competence Assurance

Competence assurance (CA) is a process of ensuring that the workforce is able to carry out its work in a safe and competent manner. It can entail disruptive and expensive regular assessments of workers’ performance, require employers to ‘backfill’ positions during the process, and provide little obvious direct benefit for the business. It may not provide accurate assessment if workers are withdrawn from duties for assessment as their performance obviously cannot be the same as under working conditions. If workers are assessed in media res there are issues around the potential observer effect on assessment outcomes. Employers and workplace assessors need ways of assessing performance that accurately target what is of interest with minimum disruption and risk. However, we will argue that the CA process represents an opportunity lost in terms of workforce development, if what is of interest is narrowly defined as present job skills with little attention paid to workers’ competencies as a whole. The key theoretical issues to be addressed here relate to authenticity in assessment in workplace training and include consideration of how competence/competency is defined. We consider how to achieve authentic assessment in safety-critical workplace settings in a way that will allow for targeted workforce development in the future. A change away from current practices to portfolio-based and 360-degree assessment has the potential to describe more accurately where skills and deficits lie, help companies identify personnel with needed competencies and provide relevant support for their development within a chosen career path, and to help workers identify their skills and goals and how they may be pursued within the industry/company.