How Did We Get Here? One District’s Approach to Device Assisted Learning Technology Implementation

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the importance of online and device-assisted learning. What was demonstrated at this time was how prepared districts were to make this transition. Lincoln Public Schools, in Lincoln, Nebraska, was one district that successfully planned and implemented device-assisted learning technology into their school system ahead of the pandemic. This study sought to better understand the process that district leadership enacted to inform practice on developing a technology plan and its implementation. The study's findings show that five key elements are required for successful replication: (a) shared goals, (b) right people and right-fit, (c) cross-communication, (d) implementation, and (e) growth and support. This article serves as a practitioner's guide to implementation as many districts across the country are still trying to figure out how best to serve their students and families.

Towards a Just Energy Transition, Barriers and Opportunities for Positive Energy District Creation in Spain

To mitigate the effects of climate change, the European Commission created a Strategic Energy Technology Plan committing to forming 100 Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) by 2025. These are considered to potentially be major instruments for decarbonization in a just transition. This plan has led to some districts being defined as PEDs, although none have fully met the criteria to be a PED yet. Research shows that new forms of energy ownership and production, as could potentially be found in PEDs, could help reduce energy poverty, which affects a significant segment of the population, as households can reduce their energy expenditure as well as improve their energy behavior. This paper set out to shed light on the PED landscape, investigating the barriers and opportunities to PED creation in Spain and its potential to mitigate energy poverty. We conducted a literature review on community-owned energy in Spain, followed with expert interviews (energy researchers, stakeholders, and NGOs) who focus on sustainability issues in Spain. Results show a number of barriers (lack of knowledge and awareness, and lack of trust from consumers) and opportunities connected with the creation of PEDs. In conclusion, policymaker engagement and support play a key role in successfully implementing PEDs.

Introduction

The future energy system in Europe needs to be decarbonized and thus be based almost exclusively on renewable energy sources. Therefore it is challenged by the intermittent nature of renewables and requires several flexibility options. The interaction between different options and the impact on environment and society are in the focus of this contribution. It is the core objective of this book to analyze and evaluate the development toward a low-carbon energy system with focus on flexibility options in the EU to support the implementation of the Strategy Energy Technology Plan. The analyses are based on a bottom-up modeling environment that considers current and future energy technologies, policy measures and their impact on environment and society while considering technological learning of low-carbon and flexibility technologies.

Correction: MicroRNA-377-3p released by mesenchymal stem cell exosomes ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by targeting RPTOR to induce autophagy

This work was supported by National 13th Five-Year Science and Technology Plan Major Projects of China (2017ZX10203205-006-001); National Key R&D Plan (2017YFA0104304); National Natural Science Foundation of China (81770648 81972286); Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (2015A030312013, 2018A0303130305); Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province (2017B020209004, 20169013, 2017B030314027). This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Revising workers participation in regional innovation systems: a study of workplace innovation programmes in the Basque Country

The article analyses two workplace innovation programmes from the perspective of regional innovation systems and the design of public policies. In this sense, the programmes are described as political tools that are part of the Science, Innovation and Technology Plan 2020 of the Basque Autonomous Community. The regional perspective and the participation of workers are key matters that acquire relevance within the framework of European smart specialisation policies, as well as for regional development and cohesion.