Worldwide, preschool is recognized as an important arena for the implementation ofeducation for sustainability (EfS). In Swedish preschools EfS has been a part of thenational curriculum since 2019, ...but little is known about what this means in practice.Therefore, the purpose of this study is to increase our understanding about preschoolteachers’ perspectives on teaching for sustainability. Using individual semi-structuredinterviews with 16 randomly selected preschool teachers in Sweden, the results ofwhich were analyzed thematically and then quantitatively, this study examines howteachers put EfS into practice. Four teaching practices were identified: actively presentteachers, children’s experiences as a basis for learning, children’s opportunity for agency –a democratic approach, and communication between children and teachers. Takentogether, these four teaching practices demonstrate a pluralistic teaching tradition.The analysis also demonstrates a holistic perspective on subject content where environmental,social and economic issues are addressed. A third result is that EfS is carriedout using three teaching strategies planned, spontaneous and semi-spontaneous. Theidentification of semi-spontaneous teaching is an important finding which is madepossible in created learning environments aiming to stimulate children’s agency, whichis of central importance in EfS and an important contribution from this study.
Bean and tuber extracts of Tylosema esculentum (marama) - an African creeping plant - were obtained using ethanol, methanol and water. Based on information that T. esculentum is used traditionally ...for the treatment of various diseases, the antibacterial and anticandidal effects of tuber and bean extracts were investigated. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was tested on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, ATCC 6538), Mycobacterium terrae (ATCC 15755), Corynebacterium diphtheriae (clinical) and Candida albicans (ATCC 2091). We performed the broth microdilution test for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a method to determine survival of microorganisms after in vitro co-incubation with the highest concentrations of T. esculentum extracts, followed by assessment of colony counts. Ethanol and methanol (phenolic) bean extracts exhibited higher potency against bacteria and yeast than aqueous extracts. Marama bean seed coat crude ethanolic extract (MSCE) and seed coat polyphenolic fractions, especially soluble-bound fraction (MSCIB), were highly antimicrobial against M. terrae, C. diphtheriae and C. albicans. All marama bean polyphenolic fractions, namely cotyledon acidified methanol fraction (MCAM), seed coat acidified methanol fraction (MSCAM), cotyledon insoluble-bound fraction (MCIB), seed coat insoluble-bound fraction (MSCIB), cotyledon-free polyphenolic fraction (MCFP) and seed coat free polyphenolic fraction (MSCFP) had high antimicrobial effects as shown by low respective MIC values between 0.1 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL. These MIC values were comparable to those of control antimicrobials used: amphotericin B (0.5 mg/mL) and cesfulodin (0.1 mg/mL) against C. diphtheriae, streptomycin (1.0 mg/mL) and gentamicin (0.4 mg/mL) against M. terrae, and amphotericin B (0.05 mg/mL) against C. albicans. Marama seed coat soluble-esterified fraction (MSCS) had closer activity to that of cefsulodin against M. terrae. High amounts of phenolic substances, such as gallic acid, especially in the seed coats, as well as high amounts of phytosterols, lignans, certain fatty acids and peptides (specifically protease inhibitors) in the cotyledons contributed to the observed antibacterial and anticandidal activities. Marama extracts, especially phenolic and crude seed coat extracts, had high multi-species antibacterial and anticandidal activities at concentrations comparable to that of some conventional drugs; these extracts have potential use as microbicides.
This article presents our findings about the factors influencing educational institution's image. Based on the literature review we composed a web questionnaire which was send to all current students ...at University of Maribor's Faculty of Organizational Studies. Based on our research results we found out that eight factors influence educational institution's image which have various amounts of influence on the educational institutions image. The factor with the most influence is the quality of professors and of their lectures and the second most important factor is the learning content. These two factors come before all of the others in the matter of influencing the educational institutions image. Our basic recommendation is to build on these factors starting with the most important ones first.
Razvojne inicijative generiraju se u lokalnoj okolini. Ideje se mreže i taj proces uključuje politike različitih gospodarskih sektora na multi-institucionalnoj razini. Svijest i prepoznavanje ...lokalnih vrijednosti, ekoloških, kulturnih i društvenih, je glavni motivacijski faktor u lokalnim zajednicama prilikom postavljanja razvojnih projekata. Znanje je postalo presudno za regionalne, inovacijske i razvojne procese. Teorije endogenog rasta, kao i koncept četverostruke spirale naglašavaju ulogu institucija znanja, ne samo u stvaranju znanja i ideja, ali i u njihovom prijenosu u praktičnu primjenu. Znanstveno-istraživačke institucije, kao i obrazovne institucije imaju nezamjenjivu ulogu u doprinosu gospodarskom razvoju i tehnološkom napretku regija. U slučaju prijenosa znanja i znanstvenih spoznaja u praksu, potrebno je krenuti od cijelog kompleksa gospodarskih, socijalnih i ekoloških uvjeta za razvoj. Institucije znanja sudjeluju u rješavanju globalnih izazova i doprinosu ekonomskom i tehnološkom razvoju i društvenom napretku lokalnih zajednica i regija. Cilj Sveučilišta u Mariboru je razviti inovativni ekosustav, koji će stvoriti simbiozu između Sveučilišta, gospodarstva i lokalne zajednice kroz otvorene inovacije i tehnologije, te kroz stvaranje znanja za nova zanimanja. Kapacitet regija za potporu procesa učenja i inovacija ključni je izvor konkurentske prednosti. Ljudski kapital je osnovni pokretač regionalnih inovacija. Inovacije nisu samo o tehnologiji - riječ je o promjeni u ljudskom ponašanju.
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