Book reviews

Traffic Mix Model

(TRRU Research Report No. 30).

A Methodology for Estimating Recreation Traffic Flows.

August 1977, University of Edinburgh. 144 pps.

“Recreation in the Highlands and Islands”

Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, December 1976.

Research Report No. 22, 411pp with tables and diagrame; Research Report No. 31, 145 with tables and diagrams.

Tourism and Recreation in the Chichester Area: a basis for planning

Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, Research Report No. 35, University of Edinburgh.

The Real Wealth of Nations

S. R. Eyre

Arnold, London, 1978. £7.95.

Landscape Construction

M. F. Downing

E. & F. N. Spon, London, 1977

Planning and Organizing for Social Change. Action Principles from Social Science Research.

Jack Rothman

Columbia University Press. 628 p.p.

Models and Cities and Regions

A. G. Wilson, P. H. Rees, C. M. Leigh (editors) 1977

Wiley, £12.75.

Ecology and Ekistics

C. A. Doxiadis Edited by Gerald Dix

Paul Elek, London 1977. Environmental Studies Series. 91 p.p. Paperback. £3.75.

Tackling Urban Deprivation : The Contribution of Area‐Based Management

T. Mason, K. Spencer, C. Vielba and B. Webster

Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Dec. 1977. 93p.p. No price stated.

Marketing Geography : with special reference to retailing

R. L. Davies

Methuen, 1976. £3.45.

“Public Participation in Planning”

Edited by W. R. D. Sewell and J. T. Coppock

J. Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, 1977. 208 p.p. £9.00.

“The Individual Citizen and Public Participation”

William Hampton and Raymond Walker

Linked Research Project into Structure Planning, Interim Research Paper. 13, 1978. 24 p.p. £1.00.

A Future for Planning Science Fiction Cities

Town Planning discussion paper No. 27. Stephen Wood

U.C.L. 1977.

“The Bicycle Planning Book “

Mike Hudson (editor)

Open Books Publishing Ltd. and Friends of the Earth, 1978. Paperback, £1.95.

Residential Location and Urban Housing Markets

G. K. Ingram (1977) (ed.)

Cambridge, Mass : Ballinger Publishing Co., for the National Bureau of Economic Research.     

Relative contributions of food and water in the accumulation of zinc by two species of marine fish

A model food chain, utilizing ⁶⁵Zn-labeled and nonlabeled food organisms, was used to measure the relative contributions of food and water to Zn accumulation by Gambusia affinis and Leiostomus xanthurus. Chlamydomonas sp. was fed to Artemia sp. which in turn was fed to G. affinis and L. xanthurus. A trace metal-chelate buffer system was used to maintain a stable free Zn ion activity (10^-8.5 mol l^-1) in the experimental seawater. Food represented 78 to 82% of total accumulation of ⁶⁵Zn by the fish. Thus, food cannot be ignored in assessing the accumulation and toxicity of trace metals.     

Benefits and Costs of the Wildlife Enhancement Scheme: A Case Study of the Pevensey Levels

The paper describes a contingent valuation study of the benefits and costs of the Wildlife Enhancement Scheme (WES) (English Nature) on the Pevensey Levels Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex, England. Using a conventional mean WTP value as the appropriate measure of benefits gave a benefit/cost (B/C) ratio of 0.497 for user value and 1.994 for user plus non-user values (households within 60 km of the site) for expenditure under WES. If a more rigorous and conservative truncated mean value was employed, then B/C ratios fell to 0.117 for user values and 0.758 for user plus non-user values. However, assuming the same level of passive use values are held by a similar proportion of all non-visiting households in the UK as observed in the sample survey, this would produce a B/C ratio for truncated mean user plus non-user benefits of 18.26. Even if the addition of further WES sites across the country led to a steep decline in mean marginal non-user WTP for the scheme in the Levels, the B/C ratio would still greatly exceed 1.0.     

Book reviews

What Time is This Place?

Kevin Lynch

The MIT Press, Cambridge and London, England 1972, VIII and 277 pp, $5.95.

Planning and Profit in the Urban Economy

T. A. Broadbent (1977)

London: Methuen & Co.

"Sociology in Planning: a redefinition"

G. McDougall, J. Foulsham and J. Porter.

S.I.P. Paper No. 3, 1977, 27pp. Price 50p. Published by the organisation of Sociologists in Polytechnics and Cognate Institutions.

"Urban Freight Transport: problems and some possible solutions"

Alan R. Boyland

Working Papjer No. 26, Oxford Polytechnic Department of Town Planning.

A Critique of Urban Modelling

R. A. Sayer

Progress in Planning Series, edited by D. Diamond and J. B. McLoughlin, Volume 6, Part 3.

The Communications Factor in Office Decentralisation

J. B. Goddard and D. Morris

Progress in Planning Series edited by D. Diamond and J. M. McLoughlin, Vol. 6, Part 1.

Spatial Population Analysis

P. H. Rees and A. G. Wilson

Arnold, London, 1977. £27.50.

The Design Guidance Survey

Llewelyn‐Davies, Weeks, Forestier‐Walker and Bor. London 1976.     

COVID-19 drugs in aquatic systems: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The outbreak of the human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has induced an unprecedented increase in the use of several old and repurposed therapeutic...     

Deep, prolonged torpor by pregnant, free-ranging bats

Many mammals save energy during food shortage or harsh weather using controlled reductions in body temperature and metabolism called torpor. However, torpor slows offspring growth, and reproductive individuals are thought to avoid using it because of reduced fitness resulting from delayed offspring development. We tested this hypothesis by investigating torpor during reproduction in hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus, Vespertilionidae) in southern Canada. We recorded deep, prolonged torpor bouts, which meet the definition for hibernation, by pregnant females. Prolonged torpor occurred during spring storms. When conditions improved females aroused and gave birth within several days. Our observations imply a fitness advantage of torpor in addition to energy conservation because reduced foetal growth rate could delay parturition until conditions are more favourable for lactation and neonatal survival.     

Understanding Conceptual Climate Change Meanings and Preferences of Multi-Actor Professional Leadership in New York

This article sets out to evaluate the range of meanings and preferences for the concepts of adaptation, resilience, mitigation and coping of a variety of professionals in New York who are undertaking leadership positions in developing climate change policies and practices. This article positions a normative set of simplified meanings for each of the aforementioned concepts based on a review of existing literature. Utilizing a survey, these normative meanings are evaluated by and between the: (a) concepts and meanings; (b) concepts and applications and (c) applications and preferences, as applied to various risk-based scenarios ranging from sea-level rise to heat waves. This survey tests the hypotheses that the respondents: (i) are unable to consistently match the concept of resiliency with the normative meanings or applications: and (ii) will not consistently show a preference for resilience applications or outcomes ahead of other concepts. The results of the survey confirm both hypotheses, which is demonstrative of the inadequacy of the current framework dominated by a narrowly defined framework for resilience. It is anticipated that the results of this article will advance an argument for the necessity to develop consistent meanings for concepts which bridge the scientific, policy and popular domains.     

Consumer willingness to pay for organic and locally grown produce on Dominica: insights into the potential for an “Organic Island”

With the intent of improving agricultural revenues and solidifying her place as an ecotourism destination, it has been proposed that the island nation of The Commonwealth of Dominica convert all agriculture to organic production. This study explores Dominica’s current and potential domestic demand for organic and/or “locally grown” produce. Surveys were conducted with Dominican consumers to assess their opinions and willingness to pay for these products, and evaluated using a maximum likelihood estimation procedure. On average, Dominican consumers are willing to pay 17.5 % more for organic, and 12 % more for locally grown, produce. These results were varied significantly across demographic segments of the sampled population, respondent tastes and preferences, the health status of their family, and the extent to which they were early adopters of new products. Despite several expected challenges of a successful transition to organic, implementation of this policy may offer a net positive welfare increase for Dominica’s permanent residents. Results from this analysis suggest that, from the perspective of domestic consumers, Dominica should continue to pursue the possibility of becoming an “Organic Island.”     

Growth responses of Avicennia germinans and Batis maritima seedlings to weathered light sweet crude oil applied to soil and aboveground tissues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Oil spills are a significant stressor to coastal and maritime environments worldwide. The growth responses of Batis maritima and Avicennia germinans...