Sagebrush ecosystems have endured fragmentation and degradation from multiple disturbances. Climate change poses an additional threat that can exacerbate current stresses. Web-based climate applications can provide information to help land managers prepare for challenges. To develop useful and usable tools for land managers’ needs, the collaboration of scientist, web tool developer, and user is needed. Climate scientists and web tool developers at Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) worked with Oregon and Idaho Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sagebrush land managers assessing managers’ needs and defining criteria for useful and usable web-based climate applications. During phone interviews, land managers evaluated a series of climate-related web applications and provided insight on how future applications can best meet their needs. They identified climate variables associated with their management activities, such as the seasonality of precipitation and temperature. They provided feedback about website accessibility, terminology, climate model description, spatial and temporal scale appropriateness, graphics effectiveness, and general content credibility and consistency. Managers are interested in changes in climate, but also in climate change impacts, such as vegetation shifts. Managers need seasonal and multiannual weather forecasts for routine activities and 10–20-yr climate projections for planning exercises, but currently an information gap exists between available weather forecasts (≤12 months) and climate projections (30-yr averages). It was also found that scientific jargon contributes to misunderstandings and misinterpretation of climate information, and this study confirmed the need for better climate science education, through enhanced explanation and collaborative efforts that promote understanding and use of existing web applications.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to overview an institution wide accessibility project undertaken at the Vietnam locations of a transnational Australian university, and the significance of this initiative in symbolising the organisation’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. The project implemented universal accessibility standards for learning materials across all courses delivered at the university. This facilitated an easier in-class and online learning experience for students with a broad range of print disabilities, visual or hearing impairments, and a range of other learning differences or disabilities. Design/methodology/approach The implementation of this project entailed three concurrent streams of activity which the authors describe in this paper. These included development of accessibility standards and processes for conversion of the existing learning materials, a sustained awareness raising campaign for staff and students, and integration of the accessibility standards into induction, support and development activities. Findings The process of establishing the technical foundations for inclusion through a focus on accessibility prompted rich dialogue with staff and students around inclusive practices. Many staff working in professional and non-teaching roles voluntarily adopted the standards to promote an inclusive workplace. Capability building activities for high school teachers were also conducted for the Vietnamese Department of Education & Training. Originality/value The approach outlined in this case is highly transferable, and provides a practical roadmap for achieving accessibility and promoting an inclusive environment. The strategies described through the lens of Kotter’s (1996) process for leading change in this paper can be applied by higher education institutions internationally.
PurposeThis article addresses the experience of academic developers and academic staff during the transition of assessment practices in an English-speaking international university campus in South East Asia. The project examined in the study was born out of the institutional strategy focused on producing graduates ready for employment.Design/methodology/approachA case study from a Business discipline highlights key factors in curricula change from the academic perspective.FindingsThis study focuses on what it meant for the academic teaching and academic development teams to work together to bridge the broadly strategic with the local practical implementation. Potential implications for others embarking on academic development within large-scale strategic projects are also provided.Originality/valueThis paper offers a discussion of the symbiotic relationship between management, academic staff and academic developers (Roxå and Mårtensson, 2008) generated by the transition to authentic assessment as a key element in the development of student employability.
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