Measuring the effectiveness of landscape approaches to conservation and development

Landscape approaches attempt to achieve balance amongst multiple goals over long time periods and to adapt to changing conditions. We review project reports and the literature on integrated landscape approaches, and found a lack of documented studies of their long-term effectiveness. The combination of multiple and potentially changing goals presents problems for the conventional measures of impact. We propose more critical use of theories of change and measures of process and progress to complement the conventional impact assessments. Theories of change make the links between project deliverables, outputs, outcomes, and impacts explicit, and allow a full exploration of the landscape context. Landscape approaches are long-term engagements, but short-term process metrics are needed to confirm that progress is being made in negotiation of goals, meaningful stakeholder engagement, existence of connections to policy processes, and effectiveness of governance. Long-term impact metrics are needed to assess progress on achieving landscapes that deliver multiple societal benefits, including conservation, production, and livelihood benefits. Generic criteria for process are proposed, but impact metrics will be highly situation specific and must be derived from an effective process and a credible theory of change.     

A spectral power analysis of driving behavior changes during the transition from nondistraction to distraction

Objective: This article investigated and compared frequency domain and time domain characteristics of drivers' behaviors before and after the start of distracted driving.

Method: Data from an existing naturalistic driving study were used. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) was applied for the frequency domain analysis to explore drivers' behavior pattern changes between nondistracted (prestarting of visual–manual task) and distracted (poststarting of visual–manual task) driving periods. Average relative spectral power in a low frequency range (0–0.5 Hz) and the standard deviation in a 10-s time window of vehicle control variables (i.e., lane offset, yaw rate, and acceleration) were calculated and further compared. Sensitivity analyses were also applied to examine the reliability of the time and frequency domain analyses.

Results: Results of the mixed model analyses from the time and frequency domain analyses all showed significant degradation in lateral control performance after engaging in visual–manual tasks while driving. Results of the sensitivity analyses suggested that the frequency domain analysis was less sensitive to the frequency bandwidth, whereas the time domain analysis was more sensitive to the time intervals selected for variation calculations. Different time interval selections can result in significantly different standard deviation values, whereas average spectral power analysis on yaw rate in both low and high frequency bandwidths showed consistent results, that higher variation values were observed during distracted driving when compared to nondistracted driving.

Conclusions: This study suggests that driver state detection needs to consider the behavior changes during the prestarting periods, instead of only focusing on periods with physical presence of distraction, such as cell phone use. Lateral control measures can be a better indicator of distraction detection than longitudinal controls. In addition, frequency domain analyses proved to be a more robust and consistent method in assessing driving performance compared to time domain analyses.     

The roles of garment design and scene complexity in the daytime conspicuity of high-visibility safety apparel

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the effects of high-visibility garment design on daytime pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. Factors assessed were garment color, amount of background material, pedestrian arm motion, scene complexity, and driver age. METHOD: The study was conducted in naturalistic conditions on public roads in real traffic. Drivers drove two passes on a 31-km route and indicated when they detected pedestrians outfitted in the fluorescent garments. The locations of the vehicle and the pedestrian were recorded. RESULTS: Detection distances between fluorescent yellow-green and fluorescent red-orange garments were not significantly different, nor were there any significant two-way interactions involving garment color. Pedestrians were detected at longer distances in lower complexity scenes. Arm motion significantly increased detection distances for pedestrians wearing a Class 2 vest, but had little added benefit on detection distances for pedestrians wearing a Class 2 jacket. DISCUSSION: Daytime detection distances for pedestrians wearing Class 2 or Class 3 garments are longest when the complexity of the surround is low. The more background information a driver has to search through, the longer it is likely to take the driver to locate a pedestrian--even when wearing a high-visibility garment. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These findings will provide information to safety garment manufacturers about characteristics of high-visibility safety garments which make them effective for daytime use.     

Quantifying Fine-Sediment Sources in Primary and Selectively Logged Rainforest Catchments Using Geochemical Tracers

Detailed information on post-logging sediment dynamics in tropical catchments is required for modelling downstream impacts on communities and ecosystems. Sediment tracing methods, which are potentially useful in extending to the large catchment scale and longer time scales, are tested in primary and selectively logged rainforest catchments of Sabah, Borneo. Selected nutrient (P and N) and trace metal (Ni and Zn) concentrations are shown to discriminate surface, shallow subsurface and deep subsurface sediment sources. Analysis of channel-stored fine-sediment samples and use of an unmixing model allow the relative importance of these vertical sediment sources to be estimated and erosion processes to be inferred for catchments of contrasting size.     

High visibility safety apparel and nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians in work zones

PROBLEM: Every year numerous occupational fatalities result from pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles intruding into work zones. METHOD: Attributes of retroreflective personal safety garments on pedestrian conspicuity at night were assessed in a field study. Using instrumented vehicles on a closed track, participants drove through simulated work zones attempting to detect pedestrians located in the work zones. RESULTS: Configuration of the retroreflective trim, trim color, placement in the work zone, and driver age significantly affected pedestrian conspicuity. Intensity and the amount of retroreflective trim did not. DISCUSSION: Personal safety garments incorporating retroreflective trim significantly improve pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. SUMMARY: The results emphasize the importance of retroreflective trim on personal safety garments, particularly if the trim is located on garment sleeves. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: We examine the design attributes that contribute to making a personal safety garment conspicuous. The results have implications regarding preferred garment designs, industry standards, and service life of personal safety garments.     

People and biodiversity in the 21st century: This article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Biodiversity conservation

Fifty years have elapsed since the first publication of Ambio. Throughout this period, fundamental changes have occurred in societal attitudes to biodiversity conservation. Ambio has published numerous papers that have aligned with these new approaches. High citations numbers suggest that Ambio papers have had a significant impact on conservation strategies. We review these publications and find that they align well with changed societal perspectives on biodiversity. Ambio papers have called for greater contributions of local and indigenous peoples and for conservation in multi-functional landscapes. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity built on these principles. Negotiations are now underway for a post-2020 framework for biodiversity. Ambio papers have argued for a stronger scientific basis for conservation and for the need to adapt to changing conditions and to the rich diversity of societal preferences for conservation. International processes favor simple, generalizable approaches to conservation but we call for recognition of the diversity of ecological and human conditions in which conservation occurs. There is a need to build capacity to support a diversity of conservation approaches that are adapted to changing local conditions and to the priorities of diverse human societies.     

Technological advance and the conservation of resources

SUMMARY

This paper reviews the nature of technological changes in forestry and the forest industries and their impacts on forest conservation and deforestation. While noting that technological changes have made available substantially more forest products to consumers, with higher quality and/or at lower prices than would otherwise have been possible, not all impacts have been positive.

The authors take a long-term perspective of how changes in technologies, markets and transportation are likely to affect the management and conservation of tropical forests. The paper defines a research challenge to direct and harness science and innovation towards increasing the productivity of forests and reducing the environmental costs associated with forest industries and products.     

In Vitro Degradation and Cytotoxicity Response of Biobased Nanoparticles Prepared by Thiol-ene Polymerization in Miniemulsion

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Biodegradability is a key feature for the application of polymeric devices in medicine. This study reports an experimental and theoretical study of the...