A mediational model of sense of coherence in the work context: a one‐year follow‐up study

The aim of this study was to test a mediational model appropriate for explaining the effects of psychosocial work characteristics (influence at work, job insecurity, organizational climate and leadership relations) on general well‐being, (psychosomatic symptoms) and on occupational well‐being (emotional exhaustion at work) via sense of coherence (SOC) in a one‐year follow‐up study. The questionnaire data were gathered in four Finnish organizations in February 1995 and 1996. Altogether 219 employees participated in the study in both years. The results, based on structural equation modelling, showed that a good organizational climate and low job insecurity were related to strong SOC, which was, in turn, linked to a high level of general as well as occupational well‐being. In addition, those employees who experienced changes in organizational climate and leadership relations during the follow‐up period, showed changes in SOC which was, in turn, related to changes in the well‐being indicators. The results thus highlight the major role of a good organizational climate for enhancing SOC and, consequently, well‐being. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating environmental policies into local practices: The politics of agri-environmental and energy policies in Rural Finland

The paper focuses on the interplay between policy implementation and heterogeneous everyday social practices that, we argue, finally determine the success of environmental policies. We compare two empirical case studies to show how the targets of international climate policy and the agri-environmental policy of the EU have been achieved in energy production and agriculture in rural Finland. The focus of our analysis is on the power effects of these policies at the level of local natural resource management practices. Our analysis revealed tensions that arose during the implementation of the policies and showed that the policies modified the local actors' capacities to act. Therefore, we claim that policy practices should be analysed and appreciated as sites for the articulation of conflict and difference, as places of social and cultural contestation.     

Warming autumns at high latitudes of Europe: an opportunity to lose or gain in cereal production?

Regional Environmental Change - Climate change is projected to prolong Finland’s short growing season at both ends though warming autumns are not expected to benefit arable crops such as...     

Bioremediation trial on aged PCB-polluted soils—a bench study in Iceland

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pose a threat to the environment due to their high adsorption capacity to soil organic matter, stability and low reactivity, low water solubility, toxicity and ability to bioaccumulate. With Icelandic soils, research on contamination issues has been very limited and no data has been reported either on PCB degradation potential or rate. The goals of this research were to assess the bioavailability of aged PCBs in the soils of the old North Atlantic Treaty Organization facility in Keflavík, Iceland and to find the best biostimulation method to decrease the pollution. The effectiveness of different biostimulation additives (N fertiliser, white clover and pine needles) at different temperatures (10 and 30 °C) and oxygen levels (aerobic and anaerobic) were tested. PCB bioavailability to soil fauna was assessed with earthworms (Eisenia foetida). PCBs were bioavailable to earthworms (bioaccumulation factor 0.89 and 0.82 for earthworms in 12.5 ppm PCB soil and in 25 ppm PCB soil, respectively), with less chlorinated congeners showing higher bioaccumulation factors than highly chlorinated congeners. Biostimulation with pine needles at 10 °C under aerobic conditions resulted in nearly 38 % degradation of total PCBs after 2 months of incubation. Detection of the aerobic PCB degrading bphA gene supports the indigenous capability of the soils to aerobically degrade PCBs. Further research on field scale biostimulation trials with pine needles in cold environments is recommended in order to optimise the method for onsite remediation.     

Ambiental dust speciation and metal content variation in TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 in urban atmospheric air of Harare (Zimbabwe)

The effects of timber harvesting on stream water quality and efficiency of alternate streamside management zones were evaluated in Pockwock Lake and Five Mile Lake watersheds in central Nova Scotia, Canada. The streamside management zone (SMZ) included a 20 m no cut, 20 m select cut and a 30 m select cut buffer strips along the stream. Water quality of eight streams, six in harvested and two in not-harvested watersheds were monitored for two years before and two years after the harvesting of timber. Nonparametric statistical tests on stream water quality showed that there was significant change in the concentration of potassium in six streams, manganese in five streams, zinc in two streams and total nitrogen in one stream after timber harvesting. There was no significant change in the quality of water in two streams used as control sites in the neighboring watersheds of similar size and hydrological characteristics. The results show that forest management practices were most favorable in streams maintained with 30 m select cut followed by 20 m no cut and 20 m select cut SMZ. The streamside zone width and treatment of select cut or no cut in the zone played an important role in filtering or retaining the minerals in surface water runoff. In buffer zones of similar width, the buffer zone with no cut or forested buffer was relatively more effective at protecting stream water quality than select cut SMZ. The vegetation in the zone may have decreased the flow velocity and increased residence time and thus increased filtration and retention of minerals in the riparian soil.     

Rural households’ livelihoods diversification through termite utilization in depressed region of Zimbabwe

This study sought to examine the utility of termites to rural households in depressed regions of Bikita, Zimbabwe. Colonialism and its spread of European culture had viewed entomophagy with contempt resulting in reduced utilization and consumption of termites in most colonies. In our quest to understand how people in depressed regions utilized termites, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were employed. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to gather data during field work. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used in recruiting respondents. Excel and content analysis were used in data presentation and analysis. Results revealed that dampwood and drywood termites are climatic indicators for the rural communal farmers, a low-cost technology in weather forecasting. Subterrain and mold builders provide manure, relish, and are medicinal in nature. They are traded for income generation, and as for the poor, harvesting, processing, storage, and marketing is cost effective. Though considered nostalgic foods, most respondents highlighted that selling termites complimented other off-farm livelihood activities. Termite consumption and utilization provide a sustainable way for livelihood diversification in depressed regions and has partly addressed problems of food insecurity.     

Learning and the transformative potential of citizen science

The number of collaborative initiatives between scientists and volunteers (i.e., citizen science) is increasing across many research fields. The promise of societal transformation together with scientific breakthroughs contributes to the current popularity of citizen science (CS) in the policy domain. We examined the transformative capacity of citizen science in particular learning through environmental CS as conservation tool. We reviewed the CS and social‐learning literature and examined 14 conservation projects across Europe that involved collaborative CS. We also developed a template that can be used to explore learning arrangements (i.e., learning events and materials) in CS projects and to explain how the desired outcomes can be achieved through CS learning. We found that recent studies aiming to define CS for analytical purposes often fail to improve the conceptual clarity of CS; CS programs may have transformative potential, especially for the development of individual skills, but such transformation is not necessarily occurring at the organizational and institutional levels; empirical evidence on simple learning outcomes, but the assertion of transformative effects of CS learning is often based on assumptions rather than empirical observation; and it is unanimous that learning in CS is considered important, but in practice it often goes unreported or unevaluated. In conclusion, we point to the need for reliable and transparent measurement of transformative effects for democratization of knowledge production.     

Greenhouse Impact Due to the Use of Combustible Fuels: Life Cycle Viewpoint and Relative Radiative Forcing Commitment

Extensive information on the greenhouse impacts of various human actions is important in developing effective climate change mitigation strategies. The greenhouse impacts of combustible fuels consist not only of combustion emissions but also of emissions from the fuel production chain and possible effects on the ecosystem carbon storages. It is important to be able to assess the combined, total effect of these different emissions and to express the results in a comprehensive way. In this study, a new concept called relative radiative forcing commitment (RRFC) is presented and applied to depict the greenhouse impact of some combustible fuels currently used in Finland. RRFC is a ratio that accounts for the energy absorbed in the Earth system due to changes in greenhouse gas concentrations (production and combustion of fuel) compared to the energy released in the combustion of fuel. RRFC can also be expressed as a function of time in order to give a dynamic cumulative picture on the caused effect. Varying time horizons can be studied separately, as is the case when studying the effects of different climate policies on varying time scales. The RRFC for coal for 100 years is about 170, which means that in 100 years 170 times more energy is absorbed in the atmosphere due to the emissions of coal combustion activity than is released in combustion itself. RRFC values of the other studied fuel production chains varied from about 30 (forest residues fuel) to 190 (peat fuel) for the 100-year study period. The length of the studied time horizon had an impact on the RRFC values and, to some extent, on the relative positions of various fuels.     

Accumulation of Endosulfan in Wild Rat, Rattus norvegious as a Result of Application to Soya Bean in Mazoe (Zimbabwe)

An assessment of levels of endosulfan and endosulfan sulphate in rats collected from a plot sprayed with endosulfan was carried out for a period of four months. The analysis was carried out in the livers, muscles and fatty tissues of the rats using Gas Chromatography. Samples were ground with sodium sulphate and aluminium oxide and the analyte soxhlet extracted with hexane. The extract was then cleaned by florisil column chromatography. Levels of endosulfan in rats were found to range in livers from 0.356 to 5.807 ppb, in muscles from 0.089 to 5.167 ppb and in fatty tissues from 0.083 to 4.785 ppb. Levels of endosulfan sulphate correlated well with those of endosulfan and ranged in livers from 0.00 to 3.96 ppb, in muscles from 0.00 to 3.37 ppb and in fatty tissue from 0.00 to 2.93 ppb. In the control rats samples, collected from an unsprayed area in the city of Harare (University of Zimbabwe), no endosulfan could be detected.     

Assigning results of the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) to products of a forest-wood-chain

A Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) has been developed for assessing sustainability impacts of forest-wood-chains (FWCs). Sustainability is determined by analysing environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators for all the production processes along the FWC. Results of the tool can be analysed at an aggregated level for complete FWCs, but for some applications it is useful to assign the indicator results to products of the chain.This paper presents a procedure in ToSIA to assign sustainability impacts to multiple output products of FWC. The procedure was tested and demonstrated with an example FWC from Scandinavia that included furniture and bio-energy production. Two different allocation criteria, carbon-based and economic value-based, were applied with different options for assigning the impacts on the sub-products of the chain. Three indicators representing the three pillars of the sustainability were chosen to demonstrate the procedure: production costs (economic), employment (social) and transport intensity (environmental).The results indicated that the allocation criteria greatly affect the indicator results assigned to the different products of FWCs. The selection of the allocation criterion depends on the question approached and on the availability of the needed process related data. The data availability is assured for the carbon-based allocation within ToSIA, as following the carbon flows within the chain is mandatory for any ToSIA application. Economic values of products, on the other hand, are more closely linked to the aims of the production processes of the value chains and are thereby meaningful allocation criteria in many cases. The allocation procedure of ToSIA was proved to be flexible allowing different criteria and still consistent in allocation of the various sustainability impacts of the FWCs.