LIKE MOTHS TO A FLAME

Americans flocking to fire: national migration study

People are trading hurricane zones for wildfire areas, says national study of natural disasters, climate change, and migration

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT

 

IMAGE: WHERE DID AMERICANS MOVE OVER THE LAST DECADE? RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE TOP MIGRATION DESTINATIONS (SHOWN IN RED) ALL FACE SIGNIFICANT CLIMATE RISKS, INCLUDING CITIES AND SUBURBS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, PARTS OF THE SOUTHWEST (IN ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEVADA, UTAH), TEXAS, FLORIDA, AND A LARGE SWATH OF THE SOUTHEAST (FROM NASHVILLE TO ATLANTA TO WASHINGTON, D.C.). IN CONTRAST, PEOPLE TENDED TO MOVE AWAY FROM PLACES (SHOWN IN BLUE) IN THE MIDWEST, THE GREAT PLAINS, AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, INCLUDING MANY COUNTIES HIT HARDEST BY HURRICANES OR FREQUENT HEATWAVES, THE STUDY SHOWS. view more 

CREDIT: M. CLARK, G. GALFORD, E. NKONA

Americans are leaving many of the U.S. counties hit hardest by hurricanes and heatwaves—and moving towards dangerous wildfires and warmer temperatures, finds one of the largest studies of U.S. migration and natural disasters. 

The ten-year national study reveals troubling public health patterns, with Americans flocking to regions with the greatest risk of wildfires and significant summer heat. These environmental hazards are already causing significant damage to people and property each year—and projected to worsen with climate change.

“These findings are concerning, because people are moving into harm’s way—into regions with wildfires and rising temperatures, which are expected to become more extreme due to climate change,” said the University of Vermont (UVM) study lead author Mahalia Clark, noting that the study was inspired by the increasing number of headlines of record-breaking natural disasters.

Published by the journal Frontiers in Human Dynamics on December 8, the study—titled “Flocking to Fire”—is the largest investigation yet of how natural disasters, climate change and other factors impacted U.S. migration over the last decade (2010-2020). “Our goal was to understand how extreme weather is influencing migration as it becomes more severe with climate change,” Clark said.

The top U.S. migration destinations over the last decade were cities and suburbs in the Pacific Northwest, parts of the Southwest (in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah), Texas, Florida, and a large swath of the Southeast (from Nashville to Atlanta to Washington, D.C.)—locations that already face significant wildfire risks and relatively warm annual temperatures, the study shows. In contrast, people tended to move away from places in the Midwest, the Great Plains, and along the Mississippi River, including many counties hit hardest by hurricanes or frequent heatwaves, the researchers say. (See maps for migration hotspots.)

“These findings suggest that, for many Americans, the risks and dangers of living in hurricane zones may be starting to outweigh the benefits of life in those areas,” said UVM co-author Gillian Galford. “That same type of tipping point has yet to happen for wildfires and rising summer heat, our results suggest, probably because they’ve only become problems at the national level more recently.”

One implication of the study—given how development can exacerbate risks in fire-prone areas—is that city planners may need to consider discouraging new development where fires are most likely or difficult to fight, researchers say. At a minimum, policymakers must consider fire prevention in areas of high risk with large growth in human populations, and work to increase public awareness and preparedness.

“We hope this study will increase people’s awareness of wildfire risk,” said Clark, noting the study includes several maps highlighting the severity of national hazards across the country. “When you’re looking for a place to live on Zillow or through real-estate agents, most don’t highlight that you’re looking at a fire-prone region, or a place where summer heat is expected to become extreme. You have to do your research,” said Clark, noting the website Redfin recently added risk scores to listings.

Despite climate change’s underlying role in extreme weather events, the team was surprised by how little the obvious climate impacts of wildfire and heat seemed to impact migration. “If you look where people are going, these are some of the country’s warmest places—which are only expected to get hotter.”

“Most people still think of wildfires as just a problem in the West, but wildfire now impacts large swaths of the country—the Northwest down to the Southwest, but also parts of the Midwest and the Southeast like Appalachia and Florida,” said Clark, a researcher at UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. 

Beyond the aversion to hurricanes and heatwaves, the study identified several other clear preferences—a mix of environmental, social, and economic factors—that also contributed to U.S. migration decisions over the last decade.

The team’s analysis revealed a set of common qualities shared among the top migration destinations: warmer winters, proximity to water, moderate tree cover, moderate population density, better human development index (HDI) scores—plus wildfire risks. In contrast, for the counties people left, common traits included low employment, higher income inequality, and more summer humidity, heatwaves, and hurricanes.

Researchers note that Florida remained a top migration destination, despite a history of hurricanes—and increasing wildfire. While nationally, people were less attracted to counties hit by hurricanes, many people—particularly retirees—still moved to Florida, attracted by the warm climate, beaches, and other qualities shared by top migration destinations. Although hurricanes likely factor into people’s choices, the study suggests that, overall, the benefits of Florida’s desirable amenities still outweigh the perceived risks of life there, researchers say.

“The decision to move is a complicated and personal decision that involves weighing dozens of factors,” said Clark. “Weighing all these factors, we see a general aversion to hurricane risk, but ultimately—as we see in Florida—it’s one factor in a person’s list of pros and cons, which can be outweighed by other preferences.”

For the study, researchers combined census data with data on natural disasters, weather, temperature, land cover, and demographic and socioeconomic factors. While the study includes data from the first year of the COVID pandemic, the researchers plan to delve deeper into the impacts of remote work, house prices, and the cost of living.

The study, “Flocking to Fire: How Climate and Natural Hazards Shape Human Migration Across the United States” is the largest investigation yet of how natural disasters and climate change impacted U.S. migration over the last decade.

As global climate change progresses, the U.S. is expected to experience warmer temperatures, as well as more frequent and severe extreme weather events, including heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires and floods. Each year, these events cost dozens of lives and do billions of dollars worth of damage.

Americans are leaving many of the U.S. counties hit hardest by hurricanes and heatwaves—and moving towards dangerous wildfires and warmer temperatures, finds one of the largest studies of U.S. migration and natural disasters. The ten-year national study reveals troubling public health patterns, with Americans flocking to regions with the greatest risk of wildfires and significant summer heat. These environmental hazards are already causing significant damage to people and property each year—and projected to worsen with climate change.

CREDIT

M. Clark, G. Galford, E. Nkonya

JOURNAL

Frontiers in Human Dynamics

DOI

10.3389/fhumd.2022.886545 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Flocking to Fire: How Climate and Natural Hazards Shape Human Migration Across the United States

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Dec-2022

Flocking to fire: wildfires don’t deter Americans from moving to at-risk regions

Scientists studying natural hazards and human migration found that wildfires do not out people off moving to regions at risk

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FRONTIERS

The climate crisis has caused humans to move both within their countries of origin and across borders. Although climate migration is often treated as a phenomenon of the ‘global south’, a team of scientists led by Mahalia Clark at the University of Vermont (UVM) turned the spotlight on the US. The US has experienced numerous destructive weather events recently, which have killed and injured many people and done billions of dollars of damage. But the team found that despite the death toll, more people are moving to areas in the United States that are at serious risk of wildfires. 

“Our original motivation was the increasing number of headlines each year about record breaking heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires,” said Clark, a researcher at UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment. “I had been studying natural amenities — features of the climate and environment that are attractive to movers — but I began to wonder if the threat of these hazards might have a deterring effect on migration.”

Homes in danger

Clark and her team created a dataset that combined census data from 2010-2020 with data on temperature, weather, landscape, demographic variables, and socioeconomic factors. They focused particularly on the availability of natural amenities, although they suspected that in metropolitan areas, these would be less influential. The data agreed: economic factors played a larger role in migration decisions around built-up areas than natural amenities.

Natural hazards affect different regions differently. This is particularly true for heatwaves, because dangerous temperatures depend on how acclimatized the population is and the availability of mitigations like air conditioning. However, the effects of natural hazards can be underestimated outside key areas. The authors found that people in the US moved away from areas with frequent hurricanes but towards areas with higher year-round temperatures and a higher wildfire risk. 

“This suggests that people may be drawn to the very landscapes that are most prone to wildfires, which is concerning given that wildfires are expected to increase in frequency and intensity with climate change,” said Clark. “We also found increased migration into metropolitan areas with relatively hot summers, where heat will grow deadlier with climate change.”

Fireproofing for the future

Some risk is dependent on preparation and planning. Long-term residents may have acclimatized to local hazards, while newcomers may not be aware of or may have discounted the dangers. They may also have decided that the risk of wildfire is worth it to live somewhere desirable – or they may not be able to leave.

Clark and her team point out that their analysis is necessarily incomplete. The team could not include data on family ties, professional networks, housing values and the cost of living, which also play a part in migration. There is also no data yet on how the rise of remote work will affect people’s choices about where they live. 

“I hope our work will increase people’s awareness of their exposure to wildfires,” said Clark. “Americans tend to think of wildfires as something affecting the west, but they are also a threat across large swaths of the south and even midwest. Our findings highlight the need for policymakers in affected areas to prioritize sufficient firefighting and fire prevention resources for a growing population, to increase public awareness and preparedness, and perhaps even to discourage new development in areas where fires are most likely or most difficult to fight.”

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Human Dynamics

DOI

10.3389/fhumd.2022.886545 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Flocking to Fire: How Climate and Natural Hazards Shape Human Migration Across the United States

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Dec-2022

COI STATEMENT

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest

People with disabilities who mis-use opioid drugs 73% more likely to attempt suicide, national US study finds

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP

People who take medical opioid drugs without a doctor’s prescription are 37% more likely than non-users to plan suicide – and the risk is even greater for those with disabilities, who have 73% higher odds of attempting to take their own life.

The findings are from a study of over 38,000 adults who took part in the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2019, published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Use and Misuse.

“Suicide can be understood as a severe expression of psychological distress, and people with disabilities are likely under-identified and under-treated for mental health issues which may result in increased risks for suicidality, especially in the context of the opioid epidemic,” says lead author Keith Chan an Assistant Professor, from Hunter College, New York.

Since the 1990s, the US has been in the grip of an opioid crisis; widespread over-use and mis-use of medical opioid drugs which are intended to be prescribed as painkillers.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, in 2019 alone 10.1 million people misused opioid drugs and there were 48,000 deaths from overdosing on medical opioids (for example Methadone, OxyContin and Vicodin).

The research, co-authored by Dr. Christina Marsack-Topolewski from Eastern Michigan University, looked at the link between non-medical prescription opioid use and suicide among people with and without disabilities.

While this study is not the first to look at how opioid misuse affects suicide risk, few have looked at the problem in people with disabilities.

Of the 38,000 people who responded to the national survey, 1,621 (3.6%) reported that they had mis-used medical prescription opioids over the past year, defined as any use of prescription opioid pain relievers which was not directed by a doctor. Twice as many people with disabilities taking part in the study (nearly 6%) reported that they mis-used opioids, compared to 3.0% of people without disabilities.

Consistent with past research, those mis-using drugs were more likely to have serious thoughts of suicide, a plan for suicide and to have made an attempt on their own life over the past year. They were also more likely to be young, male, unmarried and living on a low income, and less likely to be a college graduate, the research showed.

What is more, those with a disability were around three times more likely than non-disabled drug mis-users to report suicidal thoughts (12.6% compared to 4.2%), to have made a suicide plan (5.5% compared to 1.3%) or to have made a suicide attempt (3.9% compared to 0.8%) over the past year. That remained true even when other factors such as using other substances, self-rated health, mental health and health access were taken into account.

Previous research has shown that people with disabilities are both prescribed more opiates and are more likely to mis-use them. Medicare beneficiaries with a disability are one of the fastest growing groups of people to be hospitalized for opioid or heroin poisoning, and 23% are chronic users of the drugs. Mis-using opioids to help deal with difficult feelings or emotions is also more common among those with disabilities.

“Many people with disabilities have real and ongoing needs to manage pain, and more research is needed to identify alternatives that can be effective while addressing mental health for this population,” adds Chan, from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter.

“We recommend that healthcare professionals who work with people with disabilities take into account the risks of suicide for those with a history of prescription opioid misuse. There is a need for effective mental health services tailored for people with disabilities to address the impact of the opioid epidemic.“

The findings highlight that critical investments in mental health infrastructure may be what is necessary to address the impact of the opioid epidemic for vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities.

“Health workers can serve as a nexus point in effectively engaging at-risk people with disabilities in substance use and mental health prevention and recovery services,” says Marsack-Topolewski from the School of Social Work at East Michigan.

Future research could expand on this analysis by examining trends across years and across a range of ages and disability types and looking at how these groups get access to treatment, add the authors.

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JOURNAL

Substance Use & Misuse

DOI

10.1080/10826084.2022.2125271 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The Association of Opioid Misuse and Suicidality among People with Disabilities

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Dec-2022

Adding yoga to regular exercise improves cardiovascular health and wellbeing

A pilot study in patients with hypertension concludes that adding yoga to regular exercise is better than stretch exercises alone, report investigators in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ELSEVIER

Philadelphia, December 8, 2022 – A three-month pilot study of patients with hypertension appearing in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, demonstrates that adding yoga to a regular exercise training regimen supports cardiovascular health and wellbeing and is more effective than stretching exercises. Incorporation of yoga reduced systolic blood pressure and resting heart rate and improved 10-year cardiovascular risk.

Yoga is part of spiritual and exercise practices for millions of people worldwide. With yoga practice becoming a widely accepted form of exercise, the body of yoga research is growing. It is a multifaceted lifestyle activity that can positively enhance cardiovascular health and wellbeing. Physical exercises such as stretching exercises and the physical components of yoga practices have several similarities, but also important differences.

“The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether the addition of yoga to a regular exercise training regimen reduces cardiovascular risk,” explained lead investigator Paul Poirier, MD, PhD, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute – Laval University, and Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. “While there is some evidence that yoga interventions and exercise have equal and/or superior cardiovascular outcomes, there is considerable variability in yoga types, components, frequency, session length, duration, and intensity. We sought to apply a rigorous scientific approach to identify cardiovascular risk factors for which yoga is beneficial for at-risk patients and ways it could be applied in a healthcare setting such as a primary prevention program.”

Investigators recruited 60 individuals with previously diagnosed high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome for an exercise training program. Over the 3-month intervention regimen, participants were divided into 2 groups, which performed 15 minutes of either structured yoga or stretching in addition to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise training 5 times weekly. Blood pressure, anthropometry, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), glucose and lipids levels as well as the Framingham and Reynolds Risk Scores were measured. At baseline, there was no difference between groups in age, sex, smoking rates, body mass index (BMI), resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate and pulse pressure.

After 3 months, there was a decrease in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in both groups. However, systolic blood pressure was reduced by 10 mmHg with yoga vs 4 mmHg with stretching. The yoga approach also reduced resting heart rate and 10-year cardiovascular risk assessed using Reynold's Risk score.

While yoga has been shown to benefit hypertensive patients, the exact mechanism underlying this positive effect is not fully understood. This pilot randomized study shows that its benefits cannot be simply attributed to stretching alone.

“This study provides evidence for an additional non-pharmacologic therapy option for cardiovascular risk reduction and blood pressure control in patients with high blood pressure, in the setting of a primary prevention exercise program,” noted Dr. Poirier. “As observed in several studies, we recommend that patients try to find exercise and stress relief for the management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in whatever form they find most appealing. Our study shows that structured yoga practices can be a healthier addition to aerobic exercise than simply muscle stretching.”

 

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JOURNAL

Canadian Journal of Cardiology

DOI

10.1016/j.cjca.2022.09.019 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Impact of Yoga on Global Cardiovascular Risk as an Add-on to a Regular Exercise Regimen in Patients with Hypertension

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Dec-2022

Digital healthcare, location optimization and road improvements are recommended to improve healthcare in Ho Chi Minh City

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

 

IMAGE: THE BEST AND POOREST QUALITY HOSPITALS AND CLINICS IN HO CHI MINH CITY. THE BEST HOSPITALS AND CLINICS ARE MARKED RED AND THE POOREST ARE MARKED BLUE. (HEALTHCARE QUALITY SCORE). view more 

CREDIT: THE AUTHORS.

The quality and accessibility of healthcare plays a crucial role in preventing and mitigating health problems. A study conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city of 9 million residents, showed that people living in the city’s established and new urban areas have access to better-quality and better-accessible healthcare than people living in the suburban areas. According to the researchers, digital healthcare, road improvements and better urban planning could be used to promote more equal healthcare in a cost-effective manner.

Conducted by the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, the study showed that nearly 1.2 million people in Ho Chi Minh City live in deficiently served areas in terms of healthcare. Their travel time to the nearest hospital is more than 30 minutes, and more than 15 minutes to the nearest clinic.

Published in BMC Health Services Research, the study utilised data from public registers on hospitals, health clinics, streets, roads, population, and healthcare quality. The researchers analysed the quality and accessibility of healthcare and, relying on international studies, they also examined the opportunities of digital healthcare to improve the provision of services.

In Ho Chi Minh City, healthcare services are provided by public and private hospitals and clinics. Some hospitals are focused on specialised medical care, while clinics typically provide primary and emergency care. In the city’s new developing urban areas, healthcare facilities have been built in cooperation with private sector developers, thus aiming to improve their accessibility. In suburban areas in the outskirts of the city, however, sporadic demand and small market for healthcare have led to its poor quality and poor accessibility.

“This is a shortcoming that requires action and new solutions. Our study links digital healthcare solutions to the planning of healthcare and urban development, while also providing an example and tools for planning a more equal system of digital and physical healthcare also elsewhere,” says Researcher Khanh Hung Le of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.

The researchers recommended prompt adoption and development of digital healthcare services by hospitals and clinics capable of doing so, while also setting an example for others.

“Ho Chi Minh City has set the digitalisation of healthcare as a goal in its digital transformation programme for 2030,” Researcher Thi Xuan Phuong La of HCMC Institute for Development Studies notes.

“Remote clinics, self-monitoring, remote monitoring and healthcare applications should be developed in order to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare services, for example in situations where the demand for healthcare services is sporadic and the supply does not adequately meet the demand. The development of remote healthcare services would also reduce the need for travel,” says Professor Markku Tykkyläinen of the University of Eastern Finland.

The map shows how patients in the urban areas of the city are most likely to receive the best-quality healthcare, and where the best-quality healthcare facilities are concentrated.

Hospital Service Areas. Maximum patient travel time 10, 20 and 30 minutes and respective distances along the street and road network to the nearest hospital at the average speed of 20 km/h. (Service Area).

Clinic service areas. Maximum patient travel time 5, 10 and 15 minutes and respective distances along the street and road network to the nearest clinic at the average speed of 20 km/h. (Service Area).

CREDIT

The Authors.

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JOURNAL

BMC Health Services Research

DOI

10.1186/s12913-022-08758-w 

ARTICLE TITLE

Service quality and accessibility of healthcare facilities: digital healthcare potential in Ho Chi Minh City.

ECNU Review of Education Special Issue: Ethical codes for kindergarten teachers from different countries

Researchers discuss the significance of ethical codes for kindergarten teachers to improve children's everyday lives and strengthen their learning abilities

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS

 

VIDEO: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE TO PLAY IN THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD. THEREFORE, IT IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT BY KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS TOWARDS THEIR STUDENTS. HOWEVER, CURRENT DISCUSSIONS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS OVERLOOK ETHICS. THEREFORE, THIS SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE ECNU REVIEW OF EDUCATION DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICAL CODES IN EARLY EDUCATION, WHILE EXAMINING THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND THEORETICAL BASES. view more 

CREDIT: ECNU REVIEW OF EDUCATION

Early childhood education is a critical stage in a child’s intellectual and overall development. Similarly, early childhood education is an ethical task pivoted on the values, motivation, and responsibility of teachers. Therefore, it is important that the professional standards for early education also include ethical codes. These act as an often unsaid contract between society and teachers. They guide the professional conduct of teachers and prevent misconduct, while strengthening the teachers’ professional identity.

However, despite the need for such ethical codes in early childhood education, their development and implementation still have a long way to go. With the aim of advancing the discussions and research surrounding ethical codes for teachers, this special issue of the ECNU Review of Education expounds on the key characteristics of such codes, their underlying values, and the challenges of putting these codes into practice. “This special issue focusses on ethical codes and values used by early childhood teachers across different countries in the hope that it contributes to the widespread awareness and application of such codes,” said Prof. Ruth Ingrid Skoglund, the leading Guest Editor of this issue.

Several countries have designed and adopted their own ethical codes for teachers. While these codes, embedded in their national culture, are unique in their own way, they also share many similarities. Most of these ethical codes are built on the values of trust, honesty, justice, fairness, human rights, protection, and respect of and care for children. This is reflected in the comparative study of the ethical guidelines in 13 countries conducted by Drs. Arve Gunnestad, Sissel Mørreaunet, Sobh Chahboun, and Jolene Pearson. They found that most teaching codes are founded on children’s rights and personal freedom. Likewise, in their study of the Finnish early childhood education curriculum documents, Drs. Anitta Melasalmi, Tarja-Riitta Hurme, and Inkeri Ruokonen found that ethical codes also align with democracy and autonomy. Early childhood teachers have the duty to inculcate democratic agency in their students, while protecting and caring for them. But at the same time, they also have the freedom in deciding their pedagogy for doing so.

Subsequently, Dr. Jan Jaap Rothuizen’s article explores the relationship between ethics and pedagogy in early childhood education in Denmark. Based on narratives collected from 200 early childhood teachers, Dr. Rothuizen found that if early childhood learning is rooted in teachers’ understanding and practice of value-based human science pedagogy, then separate ethical codes become unnecessary. Just by engaging children in meaningful activities, teachers can actually promote and support their students’ agency and development.

In addition to support, another important aspect of these ethical codes is love and care. According to Dr. Gunnar Magnus Eidsvåg, collective support and care between teachers is the basic premise for their ability to care for students. At the same time, caring for students also requires collective judgement and action from teachers.

Due to the longstanding neglect of codes of ethics in teaching during the early learning stages of children, there is now an international consensus on the importance of guidelines in this crucial profession.

CREDIT

"Dr Seuss Literacy Night" by Wesley Fryer from Creative Commons.

Additionally, this care should be tailored differently to be relevant to each child rather than being uniform. Adding another perspective to the ethics of love, researchers Jie Zhang, Mollie R. Clark, and Yeh Hsueh explore how free play for children is important in the evolution of care ethics. Observing children in free play, teachers in China found that children are highly receptive and have their own unique personalities. Instead of trying to mold children a certain way, teachers should nurture their individual uniqueness and guide them according to their personalities for their wellbeing and development.

These studies highlight that despite cultural differences, the main ethical values for early education remain common across countries. And while teachers are expected to follow these codes, they should also have the autonomy in developing them. Only then can we ensure the acceptance of such codes, for improving children’s holistic development while strengthening the teaching profession.

This soon-to-be published special issue of the ECNU Review of Education brings new intercultural insights for the enhancement of early childhood education and to push the conversation forward for the worldwide adoption of professional ethical standards in teaching.

For more information on this special issue, watch this video.

Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311221127322

Authors:

1. Ruth Ingrid Skoglund

2. Juyan Ye

3. Yong Jiang

Affiliations:

1. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

2. Beijing Normal University

3. East China Normal University

 

About ECNU Review of Education 

The ECNU Review of Education (ROE) is peer-reviewed journal, established by the East China Normal University (ECNU), which prioritizes the publishing of research in education in China and abroad. It is an open-access journal that provides primacy to interdisciplinary perspectives and contextual sensitivity in approaching research in education. It seeks to provide a platform where the pedagogical community, both scholars and practitioners, can network towards advancing knowledge, synthesizing ideas, and contributing to meaningful change.

 

About Professor Ruth Ingrid Skoglund

Professor Skoglund is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy, Religion, and Social Studies in the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. She is a core researcher at KINDknow-Kindergarten Knowledge Centre for Systemic Research on Diversity and Sustainable Futures. She is also a co-leader of the research group Kindergarten as formative educational arena. Her research areas include children’s play and exploration, professional ethics for kindergarten teachers, and collaboration with parents to prevent bullying in kindergarten. She has several publications to her name in these fields.

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JOURNAL

ECNU Review of Education

DOI

10.1177/20965311221127322 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Ethical Codes for Early Childhood Teachers: How and Why Should We Use Them

An important step towards strong and durable biobased plastics

Overcoming the low reactivity of biobased secondary diols in polyester synthesis

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM

 

IMAGE: TENSILE TESTING OF THE DEVELOPED BIO-BASED POLYMER (LEFT) AND A SAMPLE OF POLYMER FILM (RIGHT) view more 

CREDIT: UVA, HIMS

In a recent paper in Nature Communications, researchers at the Industrial Sustainable Chemistry group led by Prof. Gert-Jan Gruter take an important step towards the production of fully biobased, rigid polyesters. They present a simple, yet innovative, synthesis strategy to overcome the inherently low reactivity of biobased secondary diols and arrive at polyesters that have very good mechanical- and thermal properties, and at the same time high molecular weights. It enables the production of very strong and durable biobased plastics from building blocks that are already commercially available.

The research described in the Nature Communications paper was carried out within the RIBIPOL project funded by the Dutch Research Council NWO with contributions from industry, notably LEGO and Avantium. The toy company supported the project as part of the search for non-fossil alternatives for its plastic bricks. Avantium is interested in bottle- and film applications. First author of the paper is PhD student Daniel Weinland, who graduated on 27 October. In total, 5 PhD students are involved in the RIBIPOL project, of which 2 have defended their thesis recently.

In general, polyester plastics are synthesized from small dialcohol and diacid molecules. These monomers are coupled in a condensation reaction, resulting in a long polymer chain of molecular building blocks in an alternating fashion. The macroscopic material properties result both from the number of building blocks that make up the polymer chain, and from the inherent properties of the monomers. In particular their rigidity is key to a firm, strong and durable plastic. In this regard, the glucose-derived dialcohol isosorbide is unique among potential biobased monomers. It has a very rigid molecular structure and is already industrially available.

However, isosorbide is rather unreactive, and in the past two decades it has proven quite challenging to obtain useful isosorbide-based polyesters. It was nearly impossible to arrive at sufficiently long polymer chains (to achieve a certain ductility) while incorporating sufficiently high amounts of isosorbide (to arrive at a strong and durable material).

Incorporating an aryl alcohol

Weinland and his RIBIPOL colleagues have overcome this impasse by incorporating an aryl alcohol in the polymerization process. This leads to in situ formation of reactive aryl esters and a significant enhancement of the end group reactivity during polycondensation, the last stage of polyester synthesis when isosorbides low reactivity inhibits chain growth in traditional melt polyesterification. As a result, high molecular weight materials could be produced with incorporation of high fractions of the biobased, rigid secondary diol, even up to 100 mol%. For the first time high molecular weight poly(isosorbide succinate) could be produced, the polyester obtained from isosorbide and succinic acid. The resulting strong plastics outperform existing plastics like PET in terms of heat resistance, which is for instance relevant for re-use - think of washing bottles that takes place at 85 °C. The isosorbide-based polymers also show promising barrier and mechanical properties that can outperform common fossil-based materials.

The novel polymerisation approach described in the paper is characterized by operational simplicity and the use of standard polyester synthesis equipment. It suits both existing and novel polyester compositions; the researchers foresee exploration of previously inaccessible polyester compositions based on monomers with a low reactivity but also the application of similar methods in other classes of polymers such as polyamides and polycarbonates.

Synthesis of high molecular weight poly(isosorbide succinate) with an aryl alcohol. a: Monomer synthesis from glucose, obtainable from either first or second generation biomass. b: Synthesis of poly(isosorbide succinate) from succinic acid, isosorbide and p-cresol. c: Poly(isosorbide succinate) molecular weights obtained with a reactive solvent (p-cresol), no solvent and an unreactive solvent (1,4-dimethoxybenzene) under comparable reaction conditions

JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-022-34840-2 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Overcoming the low reactivity of biobased, secondary diols in polyester synthesis

Biopolymers Towards Green and Sustainable Development

Book Announcement

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

Recently natural biodegradable excipients gained significant attention due to their sustainability and engineered applications. Innovative technologies to transform these materials into value-added chemicals via novel graft-polymerization or co-processing techniques for the production of high-performance multifunctional and low-cost polymers with tunable structures are key parts of its sustainable development.

                In the book “Biopolymers Towards Green and Sustainable Development“ we have elaborated various important issues that relates with topic such as overview of bio-based polymers, impact of non-biodegradable polymers on the environment and health, emerging new sources of biodegradable polymers, structural and morphological characterization techniques, thermomechanical properties, biodegradable plastics from biopolymers, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and textile applications, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics with a brief on bibliometric meta-analysis on bio-based pharmaceutical excipients. The chapters are beneficial for the graduate and researcher who are working in the similar field. Moreover, the bibliometric analysis provides an update to researcher about potential scientist involve in the exploitation of polymeric research. In addition, meta-analysis provides details on active country, organization, and funding agencies embroil in research based on development and assessment of multifarious biodegradable polymers.

                The key features of books “Biopolymers Towards Green and Sustainable Development” are as up-dated summary on recently discovered natural polymeric materials, a thorough breakdown of the vast range of application areas including fabrication of conventional and novel drug delivery, polymeric scaffolds, composites, microneedles, and green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, summary of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics on the inactive pharmaceutical ingredient, and bibliometric meta-analysis indicating potential collaboration between country, organization, institution, and authors with a view on recent ongoing trends with biopolymers.

About the editor:

Dr. Sudarshan Singh presently working as a University Reinventing Postdoctoral research scholar at Chiang Mai University, Thailand.  He has authored several technical books and books chapters for pharmacy graduate students of Savitribai Phule Pune University, India. He has published more than hundreds of research papers in reputed peer-reviewed journals. He has presented many papers and participated as a resource person in International and National conferences. He is ratified and approved by Pacific University, Rajasthan, India as a Ph.D. guide. He has registered three patents on his credit. He is an editorial member of Science Domain International (India, UK, and the USA). He is a reviewer of various international journals. He has ten years of teaching experience in undergraduate and postgraduate courses of pharmacy with more than five years of research experience. He has guided several undergraduate and postgraduate students in their project work. Moreover, during his postdoctoral research at Prince of Songkhla University and Walailak University, Thailand, he co-supervised doctorate students. He is a life member of professional bodies such as the Society of Pharmacovigilance India and a registered pharmacist at the State Pharmacy Council of Chhattisgarh, India. He has received several grants from the government of Gujarat and Savitribai Phule Pune University Maharashtra, India. He has received travel grants from the Indian Council of Medical Research, Delhi, India, and the Centre for International Co-operation in Science, Tamil Nadu, India.

Dr. Warangkana Chunglok presently working as Associate Professor at the School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Thailand. She received Royal Golden Jubilee Scholarship from Thailand Research Fund, Thailand, and Deutscher Academischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), Germany for perusing her Ph.D. Furthermore, she has received several awards from Walailak University, Thailand. She has sixteen years of teaching and research experience. She is one of the expert scientists in molecular biology of cancer, natural product-based drug discovery for cancers and inflammatory-related diseases, and therapeutic agents from medicinal plants for muscle wasting following stroke. Her research works are conducted both in national collaboration with other universities in Thailand and international collaboration with European Union research institutes. Her background experience includes experiments in molecular biology, in vitro and in vivo study, natural products drug discovery, evaluation of natural compounds and their synthetic analogues from medicinal plants as potential drug leads for the treatment of various types of cancers, inflammatory diseases, and stroke.

Keywords:

Biopolymer, Thermoplastic, Bio-based polymer, Fibers, Biodegradable polymers, Cellulose, Natural polymer, Polymer pharmacokinetics, Polymer structural characterization, Plant mucilage, Polymer thermomechanical characterization, Bibliometric analysis, Additive manufacturing, Drug delivery,  Electrospinning, Modified drug delivery, Marine polymers, Novel drug delivery,  Bioplastic, Sustained or controlled release drug delivery.

 

For more information please visit: https://bit.ly/3rusN2O

 Therapeutic Use of Plant Secondary Metabolites

Book Announcement

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

Indeed, medicinal plants, unlike conventional drugs, commonly have bioactive constituents working together catalytically and synergistically to produce a combined effect that may surpass the total activity of the individual constituents.

The combined actions of these metabolites tend to increase the activity of the main constituent by speeding up or slowing down its metabolism in the body. Also, the secondary metabolites might minimize the rate of undesired adverse effects, and have an additive, potentiating, or antagonistic effect.

The book “Therapeutic Use of Plant Secondary Metabolites” offers evidence-based mechanistic views on complementary and alternative medicine with a focus on biological mechanisms of action of plant secondary metabolites in degenerative and microbial diseases such as diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, antimicrobial resistance, etc., while reporting health benefits.

The chapters are written by enviable scholars, lecturers, and experts in indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), industrial and medicinal plants, phytotherapeutics, and phytoinformatics. Therapeutic Uses of Plant Secondary Metabolites is timely and highly valuable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers and professionals in IKS, phytomedicine, ethno pharmacology, phytopharmacology, plant biotechnology, drug discovery and development, and phytotherapeutics.

 

About the editor:

• Saheed Sabiu

 

Keywords:

Phyto-omics, Phenolic compounds, Essential oils in health promotion, Antibiotic resistance, Nanoparticles in cancer therapy, Nanoparticles, Nanoparticles in diabetes therapy, Ethnopharmacology, Antimicrobials from plants, Plant biotechnology, Oxidative stress and antimicrobial therapy, Computational drug discovery, Medicinal plants, Computer-aided drug design, Phytomedicine, Drug discovery and development, Phytochemicals, Complementary and alternative medicine 10 Diabetes mellitus, Indigenous knowledge systems.

 

For more information please visit: https://bit.ly/3DEhSef

Terpenoids: Recent Advances in Extraction, Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Book Announcement

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

The knowledge of the production of countless chemical compounds by plants generates great expectations and concrete possibilities so that in the not too distant future, science can make available new technological processes compatible with current needs. Among the numerous chemically diverse compounds, there are the apolar ones, including hydrocarbons, and those of high polarity represented by polyphenols. Terpenoids are of great importance in this context, especially those found in essential oils, which represent an auspicious expectation for use in combating different endemic diseases that affect agricultural production.

The present book is entitled “TERPENOIDS: RECENT ADVANCES IN EXTRACTION, BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY”, and it will approach the most varied possibilities of using terpenoids in the control of pests such as insects, diseases caused by microorganisms, ticks, and weeds. Priority will be given to terpenoids produced by plants, endophytic fungi, propolis, and geopropolis. It will also focus on the functions of terpenoids in plants, as well as their biosynthetic pathways of production.

In general, the book will provide its readers with a broad and diverse mirror of the importance that terpenoids have for plant safety, and the possibilities for innovative biotechnological approaches that will make all the difference to agricultural production, resulting in more functional areas and higher-value products.

 

About the editors:

Mozaniel Santana de Oliveira, Ph.D.

Mozaniel Santana de Oliveira graduated in Chemistry from the Federal University of Pará, Brazil. He obtained both a master’s and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the same university. He has 12 years of professional experience. From 2010 to 2014, he worked on the chemistry of natural products at the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), and from 2014 to 2018, he worked in the Postgraduate Program in Food Science and Technology at the Federal University of Pará, specifically with essential oils. Since 2020, he has been a researcher for the Institutional Training Program - PCI, at the institution Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, linked to the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações of Brazil (MCTI), with studies focused on extraction, characterization chemistry, and applications of essential oils in several industrial segments, among them the food industry. Specifically, Dr. Oliveira has experience in engineering, food science and technology, pharmacology and drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany, phytochemistry, methods of extraction of bioactive compounds, biotechnology of natural products, and allelopathy to find new natural herbicides to control invasive plants. He also has experience in the area of essential oil extraction using supercritical technology and conventional methods. Since 2020, he has supervised and co-supervised master’s and Ph.D. students in several graduate programs. Dr. Oliveira serves as a reviewer for thirty-one international scientific journals and is the academic editor of the journals Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Journal of Food Quality, Molecules, and Open Chemistry.

 

Antônio Pedro da Silva Souza Filho, Ph.D.

Antonio Pedro da Silva Souza Filho is a Brazilian, graduated in Agronomic Engineering from the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA-1977), with a Ph.D. in Animal Science from the Universidade do Estado de São Paulo (Unesp-1995) and Post-doctoral internship at the Institute of Chemistry of the Universidade de São Paulo (2001). He began his professional activities in 1978, at Embrapa, having worked over the years on several research projects, both as a research coordinator and project member, in the area of natural products, specifically in the line of prospecting chemical molecules with potential for use. in weed management, focusing on the bioactivity of essential oils. He also worked as a collaborating professor in the postgraduate courses in Chemistry of Natural Products and Animal Science, at the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), having supervised several Master and Doctoral students. He also participated as co-advisor of masters and doctoral students from the Universidade do Estado de Paraná and Federal de Viçosa. He contributed to the development of doctoral thesis works at the Universidade Federal do Amazonas and the Universidade Federal do Maranhão. Currently, he is linked to Embrapa and throughout his scientific career, he has published numerous scientific articles in different specialized journals and has published several books and book chapters in the area of natural products with an emphasis on the chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oils. He was the President of the Brazilian Society for the Science of Weeds (SBCPD).

He has several article publications to his name as well as books.

 

Keywords:

Natural products, Allelopathy, Essential oils, Antimicrobials, Extraction, Bees, Supercritical Fluid,  Bioactive compounds, Isolation, Terpenes, Biochemistry,  Terpenoids, Biotechnology, Pharmacology, Entophytic fungi, Agriculture, Allelochemicals

For more information please visit: https://bit.ly/3STsGtm