Access and Local Government Research: Methodological Reflections

Abstract

This methodological paper draws on research from Australia to examine the question of gaining access to local governments in undertaking work on natural resource management. It is argued that a range of macro-level changes have impacted on the local government sector in Australia, and these changes have rendered access problematic for researchers. These changes include an expansion of local government roles, an increase in financial pressure within the sector, a proliferation of audit measures across local governments and a low level of respect amongst local government personnel for academics and academic work. The paper concludes by identifying the reasons why understanding access in qualitative research on local government and environmental sustainability is important.     

Policy formulation for the management of hazardous pollutants

Hazardous pollutants pose a number of distinct problems for the public policy maker, most notably because of the uncertainty surrounding the effects of such pollutants and the potentially serious or irreversible outcomes of hazardous pollution damage. Policy approaches to the problem have generally used some kind of balancing approach—between costs and benefits, or between risks and benefits. Direct controls such as standards or bans are the most commonly used policy instruments in dealing with hazardous pollutants due to the certainty of outcome which they provide. However, many more regulatory options are available to the public policy maker, for example, economic incentives and legal procedures.     

Biotic and abiotic degradation of CL-20 and RDX in soils

The caged cyclic nitramine 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is a new explosive that has the potential to replace existing military explosives, but little is known about its environmental toxicity, transport, and fate. We quantified and compared the aerobic environmental fate of CL-20 to the widely used cyclic nitramine explosive hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in surface and subsurface soil microcosms. Soil-free controls and biologically attenuated soil controls were used to separate abiotic processes from biologically mediated processes. Both abiotic and biological processes significantly degraded CL-20 in all soils examined. Apparent abiotic, first-order degradation rates (k) for CL-20 were not significantly different between soil-free controls (0.018 < k < 0.030 d(-1)) and biologically attenuated soil controls (0.003 < k < 0.277 d(-1)). The addition of glucose to biologically active soil microcosms significantly increased CL-20 degradation rates (0.068 < k < 1.22 d(-1)). Extents of mineralization of (14)C-CL-20 to (14)CO(2) in biologically active soil microcosms were 41.1 to 55.7%, indicating that the CL-20 cage was broken, since all carbons are part of the heterocyclic cage. Under aerobic conditions, abiotic degradation rates of RDX were generally slower (0 < k < 0.032 d(-1)) than abiotic CL-20 degradation rates. In biologically active soil microcosms amended with glucose aerobic RDX degradation rates varied between 0.010 and 0.474 d(-1). Biodegradation was a key factor in determining the environmental fate of RDX, while a combination of biotic and abiotic processes was important with CL-20. Our data suggest that CL-20 should be less recalcitrant than RDX in aerobic soils.     

Isolation of Atlantic cod (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gadus morhua</Emphasis>) nursery areas

This study examines the degree of isolation among 0-group Atlantic cod in a region where a number of resident adult congregations have been found. The location of key nursery areas in Scottish coastal waters was identified from trawl surveys of settled 0-group cod around the Scottish coast. Segregation among four of these key areas; within the Clyde, Shetland Isles, Moray Firth and Buchan was investigated using otolith elemental composition. Isotope concentrations in the otoliths of cod were analysed by solution-based inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry of the whole otolith. Discriminant analyses showed a clear separation between nursery areas based on the concentrations of three elements (manganese, barium and magnesium). The concentration of these elements was not affected by the age or size of individuals. Classification accuracy exceeded 90% for all four sites. Evidence of temporal persistence in the relative spatial differences in elemental concentrations between two sites for 2 year-classes was found. The results suggest limited exchange between sites during some period of the early life history. The significance of this limited exchange is discussed in relation to recent evidence for adult fidelity and the utility of closed areas for protecting nursery grounds.     

Compensating for the costs of polygyny in hen harriers Circus cyaneus

In polygynous species, the adults are faced with a dilemma during chick rearing. Males must decide how to distribute food between their females and food allocation patterns are often highly unequal. In turn, the females that receive less food from males have to decide how much time to invest in additional hunting. If they spend more time hunting, then they leave their young exposed to weather and predators. However, if they stay at the nest, they increase the risk of their chicks starving. One way that birds may compensate for reduced provisioning is by increasing the size of prey caught. We tested this hypothesis by comparing prey deliveries to nests of hen harriers, Circus cyaneus, with females of different breeding status. As expected, male harriers delivered less food items to the nests of polygynous females, and especially their secondary, or β females. However, both sexes were able to compensate by delivering larger items and there was no difference in the overall mass of food delivered to nests. Moreover, females spent a similar amount of time at the nest, irrespective of status, and there were no overall differences in breeding success. Our results show that polygynous female harriers can compensate for the costs of polygyny, but we suggest that their ability to do so will vary according to the abundance of both large prey and predators.     

A refutation of Karasek's demand – discretion model of occupational stress with a range of dependent measures

Karasek's (1979) demand–discretion model of occupational stress has been highly influential but has been criticized as confounding social class variables (Payne and Fletcher, 1983), ignoring the curvilinearity of relationships (Warr, 1991), and because it has inconsistently predicted heart disease (Ganster and Fusilier, 1989). The present study examines the ability of the model to predict raised blood pressure (a risk factor in the development of CHD), anxiety, depression, job and life satisfaction, in a large heterogeneous sample of over 3000 people. It examines the predictability of the model for men and women, taking occupational classification (manual and non-manual workers) into account, to allow some control over social class confounding. It also examines nonlinear relationships in the data. The study showed that demands and discretion do separately predict psychological strain, job and life satisfaction, though they account for a very small percentage of the variance. There was no evidence of interactive effects which are central to the model. Where the model was able to predict blood pressure, relationships were consistently in the opposite direction to that hypothesized. There was also little evidence of curvilinear relationships. Interpersonal support was found to add significantly to the predictability of the dependent variables. The findings cast doubt on Karasek's model and suggest that emphasis should be shifted to those models which are more encompassing of support factors.