Adaptation to climate change and freshwater resources in Vusama village,Viti Levu,Fiji

Regional Environmental Change - Changing precipitation patterns including more intense and prolonged dry periods have become a growing concern for people living in the Pacific Island region. People...     

Mapping the public first-aid training landscape: a scoping review

While the public can play a vital role in saving lives during emergencies, intervention is only effective if people have the skills, confidence, and willingness to help. This review employs a five-stage framework to systematically analyse first aid and emergency helping literature from 22 countries (predominately in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States). The review covers 54 articles that investigate public first-aid knowledge and uptake of first-aid training (40); public confidence in first-aid skills and willingness to help during an emergency (21); and barriers to or enablers of learning first aid and delivering first aid in an emergency (25). The findings identify high levels of perceived knowledge, confidence, and willingness to help, supporting the contention that the public can play a vital role during an emergency. However, the findings also point to low uptake levels, low tested skill-specific knowledge, and barriers to learning first aid and helping, indicating that the first-aid training landscape is in need of improvement.     

Innovation through collaboration: scaling up solutions for sustainable development

The open collaborative philosophy employed in the success of open source (OS) software can be applied to hardware design. Specifically, the development of OS appropriate technologies (OSAT) can improve sustainable development efforts worldwide. Yet, widespread OSAT use is far from ubiquitous. Given that lack of communication, access to information and poor collaboration are among the largest barriers to a more effective OSAT dissemination, this paper explores opportunities to overcome such obstacles using four techniques: (1) collaborative online platforms, (2) crowd-sourcing, (3) the concept of knowledge commons, and (4) enabled educational institutions through service learning and applied research. The results are analyzed, and conclusions are drawn that outline paths to higher multiuser collaboration for OSAT deployment.     

Serving one another: Are shared and self‐leadership the keys to service sustainability?

Service has received increasing attention in the management literature, yet sustainability of service is often overlooked. In this Incubator we examine the potential for client involvement through shared and self‐leadership to foster empathy enhanced service and reduced costs, both of which may support a more sustainable service delivery process. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An improved method to study the impact of pesticide sprays on small song birds

Abstract

Four test groups of small songbirds (Zebra Finch, Poephila guttata) were sprayed in a chamber with varying concentrations of fenitrothion. Exposure levels were assessed by monitoring air concentrations, deposits of the active ingredient (AI) on glass plates and droplets/cm² on Kromekote® cards. All indices of exposure were linearly correlated and the mean AI deposit on glass plates for the four groups tested were equivalent to 38, 51, 139 and 255 g/ha or 14%, 18%, 50% and 91% of the highest permissible emitted rate for broadscale forest spraying in Canada. Significant depression in body weights and brain acetylcholinesterase levels were noted only for the highest exposure group. Fenitrothion residues in blood were detectable only at the highest exposure level, and in liver at the two higher levels. Carcass and feather residues were much higher than those in blood and liver, and were detectable at all exposure levels but the residues did not increase linearly with exposure. For one of the spray groups, we were able to compute an equivalent acute oral dose based on matching acetylcholinesterase inhibition.     

Predicting black smoke levels from deposit gauge and SO2 data to estimate long-term exposure in the United Kingdom, 1956–1961

BackgroundIn the UK air quality has been monitored systematically since 1914, providing valuable data for studies of the long-term trends in air pollution and potentially for studies of health effects of air pollutants. There are, however, challenges in interpreting these data due to changes over time in the number and location of monitored sites, and in monitoring techniques. Particulate matter was measured as deposited matter (DM) using deposit gauge monitors until the 1950s when black smoke (BS) filters were introduced. Estimating long-term exposure to particulates using data from both deposit gauge and BS monitors requires an understanding of the relationships between DM, SO₂ and BS.AimsTo explore whether DM and/or SO₂, along with seasonal and location specific variables can be used to predict BS levels.MethodsAir quality data were abstracted from hard copies of the monthly Atmospheric Pollution Bulletins for the period April 1956–March 1961 for any sites with co-located DM, SO₂ and BS data for three or more consecutive years. The relationships between DM, SO₂, and BS were assessed using mixed models.ResultsThere were 34 eligible sites giving 1521 triplets of data. There was a consistent correlation between SO₂ and BS at all sites, but the association between DM and BS was less clear and varied by location. Mixed modelling allowing for repeat measurements at each site revealed that SO₂, year, rainfall and season of measurement explained 72% of the variability in BS levels.ConclusionsSO₂ can be used as a surrogate measure for BS in all monitoring locations. This surrogate can be improved upon by consideration of site specific characteristics, seasonal effects, rainfall and year of measurement. These findings will help in estimating historic, long-term exposure to particulates where BS or other measures are not available.     

Monitoring Australian Rangeland Sites Using Landscape Function Indicators and Ground- and Remote-Based Techniques

If the goal for managing rangelands is to achieve a balance between production and conservation, then monitoring is essential to detect change and apply corrective action. In some range-land areas of northern Australia, monitoring has detected a tilt in the production-conservation balance towards excessive production. How big is this imbalance? Can it shift back? Robust monitoring is needed to answer these questions. The aim is to know what to monitor, and where. For example, to detect changes caused by livestock on rangeland forage production and soil erosion, indicators linking grazing disturbances to landscape function are needed, that is, indicators that signal how well landscapes are capturing, concentrating, and utilizing scarce water, nutrient, and organic resources. Studies in Australia and the USA document that simple vegetation and soil patch attributes can be measured as indicators of the 'state of health' of landscape function. For example, field and remote sensing-based grazing studies in Australia document that landscapes with a high cover of perennial plant patches function effectively to capture runoff water and nutrients in sediments, whereas landscapes with a low cover of these patches do not — they are dysfunctional — as indicated by large patches of bare soil. Aerial videography is proving to be a robust technique for measuring indicators of landscape function such as small patches of vegetation and the extent of bare soil. These indicators typically have a sigmoidal response to grazing impacts. We illustrate that if these indicators are measured on monitoring sites established near the sigmoidal 'point of inflection’ then small changes in these indicators can be detected.     

The response of sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) veligers to a weak thermocline in 9-m deep mesocosms

We examined the vertical distributions of scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) veligers in deep (0.6 m diameter, 9.5 m deep) polyethylene mesocosms from December 1991 to January 1992. In the mesocosms temperature stratification varied from 0 to 1.5 °C. Profiles of vertical distribution revealed several repeated patterns. Peaks in veliger numbers often appeared at the water surface and just above the thermocline. Higher density patches were seen below the surface peaks, and revealed the presence of bio-convective cells. Distribution away from these discontinuities was usually even. Distribution of veligers was affected by thermoclines above 1.0 °C. Responses to thermoclines varied with larval age and time of day, and 28 to 30 d veligers passed in both directions through a 1.5 °C thermocline. We conclude that larval behaviour is a major determinant of whether veligers pass through a thermocline. Kinematic viscosity may play a role in perception of temperature changes. Two potential consequences of such behaviour are (1) remaining in more productive upper water layers, where feeding opportunities are enhanced, and (2) increased horizontal transport in the region of the thermocline, which may enhance recruitment. Received: 15 May 1996 / Accepted: 11 May 2000