Evaluating the influence of nature connection and values on conservation attitudes at a tropical deforestation frontier

Inner phenomena, such as personal motivations for pursuing sustainability, may be critical levers for improving conservation outcomes. Most conservation research and policies, however, focus on external phenomena (e.g., ecological change or economic processes). We explored the factors shaping 9 conservation attitudes toward forest and wildlife protection among colonist farmers around an Amazonian deforestation frontier. Our data comprised 241 face-to-face quantitative surveys, complemented with qualitative insights from open-ended questionnaire responses and opportunistic semistructured interviews. To account for the full spectrum of possible inner motivations, we employed measures of nature connection (indicating biospheric motivation) and personal values organized around the traditionalism (traditionalist through to high openness to change) and universalism dimensions (egoistic through to altruistic motivations). We used averaged beta-binomial generalized linear models to assess the role of external factors (socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and environmental) and personal (inner) motivations on the variation in attitudes. Each attitude was modeled separately. The relative importance of each predictor was judged by the proportion of models where it appeared as significant. Proconservation views were expressed by the majority (at least 65%) of the respondents in 7 out of the 9 attitude models. The most consistent predictors were emotional nature connection and personal values (significant in 4–6 out of 9 models), rather than external phenomena (significant in 0–5 models). However, the poorest farmers had lower scores on the agreement with prioritizing nature over development (𝛽 = –0.52, 95% CI: –0.96 to –0.07). Qualitative data also indicated that economic barriers hinder forest conservation on farms. These results suggest that biospheric, traditionalistic, and altruistic motivations promote people's proconservation attitudes, but nurturing these latent motivations is unlikely to improve conservation outcomes if material poverty remains unaddressed. Integrating the inner–outer perspective into conservation thinking and practical interventions could foster environmental stewardship and increase human well-being.     

Evaluation of Noise Pollution in Urban Parks

The present study provides an evaluation of noise pollution in six Urban Parks located in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Equivalent noise levels (L _eq) were measured in 303 points (each point measured during 3 min) spread throughout the Parks. Measured values were confronted with local legislation (Law 10625) allowed limits, and the Parks were thus classified as “acoustically polluted or unpolluted”. Measured values were also evaluated according to international legislation: Decree no. 12 of the City Council of Rome, DIN 18005 for German cities, the World Health Organization, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Urban parks in the downtown area of Curitiba, surrounded by roads of heavy traffic and in the midst of intense commercial activities, do not satisfy any of the standards used. The most noise-polluted parks in Curitiba were the Public Walk Park and the Botanical Garden Park, with measured L _eq of 64.8 dB(A) and 67 dB(A).     

Natural concentrations and reference values of heavy metals in sedimentary soils in the Brazilian Amazon

The soils of the Brazilian Amazon exhibit large geochemical diversity reflecting the different soil formation processes in an area covering 49% of the Brazilian territory. Soil contamination by heavy metals is one of the threats to the sustainability of this Biome but establishing quality reference values (QRVs) for the region is a challenging owing to the immense territorial area of the Amazon. This study aimed to determine the natural background of heavy metals in soils from the southwestern Brazilian Amazon in order to propose QRVs for Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn for alluvial sedimentary soils. One hundred and twenty-eight soil samples were collected at a depth of 0.0–0.2 m in sites with minimal anthropogenic interference. Soil sample digestion was based on the EPA 3051A method and metal concentrations were determined by ICP-OES. QRVs calculated for the southwestern Brazilian Amazon are among the lowest recorded in Brazil (mg kg^?1): Ba (16.5), Cd (0.1), Cr (6.9), Cu (2.8), Fe (15.4), Mn (13.4), Ni (1.7), Pb (4.4), Sb (0.9), and Zn (5.7). The low metal concentration is likely a result of the sedimentary origin of the soils. The results of this study can serve as a basis for defining public policies to investigate the environmental impacts resulting from changes in land use in areas of the Brazilian Amazon.     

Mediation of area and edge effects in forest fragments by adjacent land use

Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation have pervasive detrimental effects on tropical forest biodiversity, but the role of the surrounding land use (i.e., matrix) in determining the severity of these impacts remains poorly understood. We surveyed bird species across an interior-edge-matrix gradient to assess the effects of matrix type on biodiversity at 49 different sites with varying levels of landscape fragmentation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest—a highly threatened biodiversity hotspot. Both area and edge effects were more pronounced in forest patches bordering pasture matrix, whereas patches bordering Eucalyptus plantation maintained compositionally similar bird communities between the edge and the interior and exhibited reduced effects of patch size. These results suggest the type of matrix in which forest fragments are situated can explain a substantial amount of the widely reported variability in biodiversity responses to forest loss and fragmentation.     

The protective effect of job satisfaction in health,happiness, well-being and self-esteem

The purpose of this article is to analyze the possible effects of job satisfaction on mental and physical health, happiness, subjective well-being and self-esteem. A total of 971 Portuguese-speaking adults participated in this study. Most participants reported high rates of satisfaction with their colleagues, the nature of their work and leadership, while reporting dissatisfaction with regard to salaries and promotions. Results indicated the existence of the protector effect of job satisfaction for health, happiness, subjective well-being and self-esteem, in addition to reinforcing the importance of maintaining a positive evaluation of one’s work. As a practical implication, the results may suggest that the effects of personnel management policies which emphasize job satisfaction could potentially lead to improvements in levels of health, happiness, subjective well-being and workers’ self-esteem, all of which are factors that can potentially improve organizational performance. The study also considered its limitations and the possibility for future investigation.     

Material and Symbolic Forces in the Evolution of Regulatory Institutions of Agrobiotechnology: A Case Study About Brazil

The wide and complex range of technologies produced and used in the contemporary societies has challenged the analysis from the different fields of social sciences. In this sense, in order to elaborate a study that aim at understanding the relationship between technological progress and the ongoing institutional changes that mark the capitalist societies, we believe it is necessary to adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining methodologies from Economics and Sociology fields. Therefore, this study proposes the development of an interdisciplinary dialogue between the economic sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the evolutionary economics developed by authors such as Giovanni Dosi, Sidney Winter, Richard Nelson and Bhaven Sampat. In doing so, we intend to demonstrate that a theory guided by Marx’s historical materialism, as it is the case of evolutionary economics, can be enriched by a materialist theory of symbolic, such as that of Pierre Bourdieu. In searching the comprehension of the complementarity between material and symbolic forces, this study addresses the conflictual process surrounding the formulation of the regulatory institutions to the biotechnology sector in Brazil over the last two decades. More precisely, through a case study, we seek to demonstrate that the convergence of discourses and interests between prestigious scientific organizations and the multinational companies that control the agrobiotechnology industry has been relevant to allow this new technological paradigm to make progress. Finally, we raise some questions concerning this alliance between business and science and the conflicts that revolve around the rapid expansion of the genetically modified crops worldwide.     

Environmental impacts caused by cemeteries and crematoria,new funeral technologies,and preferences of the Northeastern and Southern Brazilian population as for the funeral process

Cemeteries and crematoria are the main funeral ways used in the world nowadays. It is a little-studied segment in the present days, mainly as for the possible environmental impacts in the environment, such as those derived from dental amalgam, prostheses, and dioxins, among other. This article aimed to identify the environmental impacts caused by cemeteries and crematoria and to point out new trends in funeral processes such as freeze-drying and alkaline hydrolysis. The study is justified due to the large part of the Brazilian population that do not know the environmental impacts caused by cemeteries and crematoria, as well as to bring information about the new processes. For that, a research was carried out with 400 people. The main results show that among all the funeral processes, the new freeze-drying process was opted by 33% of the sample. We also identified that the main reasons for choosing the funeral process were less environmental impact (28%), no after-death expenses (grave payment) (16.1%), and the possibility of putting away or throwing away the remains wherever you want (14.9%). Finally, new funeral processes were well accepted by the Brazilian population—those who were interviewed—due to their benefits.     

Inter-individual and within-brood variability in the fatty acid profiles of Norway lobster, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nephrops norvegicus</Emphasis> (L.) embryos

The present study investigated the existence of inter-individual and within-brood variability in the fatty acid (FA) profile of developing embryos of Nephrops norvegicus. In all surveyed females (n = 5), the quantitatively most important FAs were as follows: 22:6n-3 (20.8 ± 3.9% average of total FA ± standard error), 18:1n-9 (19.5 ± 2.0%), 16:0 (15.2 ± 3.4%), 20:5n-3 (10.2 ± 1.4%), 16:1n-7 (8.9 ± 1.6%), and 18:1n-7 (5.7 ± 1.3%). Differences in FA profiles of embryos in the same clutch were assessed using brooding chamber side (left and right) and pleopod (1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and 5th) as predictive factors. There were no significant differences in the FA composition of embryos sampled from both sides of the brooding chamber in 4 of the 5 surveyed females. However, all females exhibited significant differences in the FA profiles of embryos sampled from different pleopods. Both saturated FA (SFA) and highly unsaturated FA (HUFA) present in developing embryos exhibited marked differences along the breeding chamber. Overall, FA reserves appeared to vary significantly within broods, which can ultimately be reflected on early larval survival. A potential cause for the within-brood variation recorded in the FA profile of developing embryos include (1) differential female investment during ovarian maturation, mainly due to variation in food quality/availability; (2) differential lipid catabolism during the incubation period of developing embryos, as a consequence of embryos position within the female’s brooding chamber; or (3) differential female investment during ovarian maturation amplified by differential lipid catabolism during the incubation period.     

Bibliometric analysis of studies involving e-waste: a critical review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The correct destination of waste is an essential factor for sustainable development. Electronic waste, which is very toxic, is the type of waste with...