This study was carried out to examine how innovation can support sustainability and why these two concepts are important for agriculture. To do this, it was necessary to explore the meaning of sustainability and innovation for sustainability, the barriers and opportunities in building a local innovation system by identifying learning interactions, and the role of higher education institutions in achieving sustainability. Since there has been no empirical study of innovation and sustainability in agriculture from a bottom-up perspective, a qualitative case study with multi-methods approach was conducted. The field study took place in Yucatán, México, in the Conkal community over a period of three months in 2013. This research was comprised of in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in habanero chile farming to identify their perceptions, challenges, and the nature of their willingness and practice of innovation and sustainability. Both Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) and document analysis were used to complement the interview evidence. The results highlight the interpretations of sustainability principles (economic, ecological, and social) and the flow of knowledge and learning interactions that are occurring in the habanero chile product system. To increase innovation capacity, the integration of multiple local players is important to create local innovation systems that can also achieve sustainability principles. The study suggests that learning interactions and knowledge networks at the local level can be used to develop and disseminate technological and non-technological innovation for social, economic, and ecological improvement in farming. Such improvements should be supported by higher education institutions by generating, transferring, and applying ideas, resources, and programs to local communities. Higher education institutions should work towards the integration of various types of knowledge and increase engagement with local farming needs. However, the willingness and trust of individuals as well as the lack of leveraging opportunities to innovate for sustainability were perceived as barriers. The key contribution of this study is to highlight and promote how innovation systems at small scales can support sustainability that may lead to a quintuple helix model (one that integrates the following five components: university, government, industry, civil society, and natural environment). The most important aspect of this study is the suggestion that the integration of social, ecological, and economic goals in innovation systems can help shape an approach that can reorganize innovation for sustainability. Such suggestions are described in the results and discussion sections.

The introduction of technology and the widespread use of ICT in the wealthier nations have led teacher-educators to integrate technological applications in their teaching environment. The research investigated the new teaching modes created by teacher-educators in teacher-training colleges in Israel, due to their transition from traditional teaching to distance-teaching through the Internet. This was a qualitative research using case study within an interpretative paradigm that enabled the researcher to consider the viewpoints of the informants together with her own viewpoint. The research tools included: 14 open interviews, a non-participatory observation, documentation reading and the writing of a personal log. The rich variety of research tools enabled triangulation of data. The conceptual framework of the research was based on theories of teacher-training, distance-teaching, academic disciplines, and several teaching dimensions: organisation and representation of data, organisation and management of teaching and different types of interaction. The research findings indicated intrinsic and extrinsic motives for the teacher-educators transition to distance-teaching. The transition created a pedagogy characterised by four teaching modes that corresponded to different academic disciplines. Each discipline harnessed the technology for intensive use in one or more of the teaching dimensions. The Representation mode used by teacher-educators in the natural sciences and statistics used a large variety of data representations and Internet writing characterised by multiple links. The Interactive mode employed by teacher-educators in the field of literacy principally dealt with formative assessment of the students' writing and used virtual communication tools to tighten the teacher-learner inter-personal interaction. The Organisational mode used in education disciplines focused on organisation and management of teaching and learning through the use of computer applications. The Holistic mode employed by teacher-educators in the fields of education and literature, in substance constituted a combination of all the characteristics of the above-mentioned modes with an emphasis given to social presence of both learners and the teacher. Analysis of the teaching modes led to the creation of a typology of four modes positioned at different points along the following scales: organisation of teaching, flexible – fixed, types of interaction few – multiple; data representation, creative – conservative; computer literate – computer users. There was a clear contrast between teacher-educators teaching education disciplines as a continuation of traditional frontal teaching and those who had previously taught in workshops. At the crossroads of pedagogy with technology, the changes in location, time and lesson character have meant that the implementation of the teaching paradigm of Zeichner and the teaching orientations of Feiman-Nemser have taken on fresh dimensions. The new teaching modes necessitate appropriate training for all teacher-educators working in distance-teaching in accordance with their academic disciplines. The research findings contribute to the reduction of a gap in knowledge concerning the new teaching modes of teacher-educators teaching distance-learning in a teacher-training college in Israel.

Majoriteten av alla gymnasieelever med språkstörning går i ordinarie verksamheter i gymnasieskolan. Trots det beskrivs ofta språkstörning som en relativt okänd funktionsnedsättning. Syftet med denna studie var att bidra med kunskap om vilka typer av anpassningar och stöd som erbjuds elever med språkstörning inom ramen för den ordinarie undervisningen. Studien syftade vidare till att bidra med kunskap om relationen mellan lärares utbildning och erfarenhet inom området och olika anpassningar och stöd i verksamheten. Studien är kvantitativ med en deduktiv ansats. Studiens teoretiska ramverk lyfter framför allt fram kommunikationsstödjande lärmiljöer utifrån dimensionerna språkinlärningsmiljö, språkinlärningsmöjligheter och språkinlärningsinteraktioner. Populationen utgjordes av gymnasielärare. Ett stratifierat icke-proportionellt slumpmässigt urval av kommuner gjordes. Urvalsramen var ett utdrag ur skolenhetsregistret. Datainsamlingsmetoden var en digital enkät. Enkäten skickades till rektorer i valda kommuner för vidarebefordran till gymnasielärare. I studien deltog 186 personer. Insamlad empiri analyserades med hjälp av deskriptiv statistik och variansanalyser. Resultatet visade att de svarande instämde helt eller delvis i majoriteten av de undersökta anpassningarna. Inom språkinlärningsmiljö återfanns de anpassningar som flest av de svarande helt eller delvis tog avstånd ifrån. Sammantaget visar resultatet att det är lärare som har haft möjlighet att kompetensutveckla/fortbilda sig som har störst medvetenhet och vilja att göra vissa anpassnignar som de tror kan gynna elever med olika former av språkstörning. Formell utbildning, år i yrket och typ av lärarexamen tycks däremot ha en marginell eller liten betydelse för hur lärare anpassar, prioriterar och riktar sin undervisning till elever med språkstörning. / The majority of all the upper secondary pupils with developmental language disorder (DLD) participate in regular education. Still, DLD is often described as a relatively unknown disability. The aim of this study was to broaden the knowledge of (1) what type of adjustments and support are offered to pupils with DLD in regular education, and (2) the relation between teachers' education, experience within the area, and adjustments and support in the education. It was a quantative study with a deductive approach. The theoretical framework was a theory about communication supporting classrooms based on the dimensions, language learning environment, language learning opportunities and language learning interactions. The population was upper secondary school teachers. A stratified random disproportionate sample of municipalities was conducted where the sample space was an extract from the school unit register. A survey was sent to heads of schools for forwarding to teachers. 186 individuals participated in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and variance analysis. The results showed that the respondents fully or partially agreed with most of the adjustments proposed in the questionnaire. However, the fewest number of adjustments were made within the language learning environment. Overall, the results show that teachers who have had the opportunity to participate in professional development showed the greatest awareness and willingness to make certain adjustments that they believe can benefit pupils with various forms of DLD. Whereas formal training, years in the profession and type of teaching degree, seem to have a marginal influence on how teachers adapt, prioritize and direct their teaching to pupils with DLD.