Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review

Early non-invasive fetal sexing is widely available over the Internet, leading to concerns about its possible use for sex selection. The aim of this review is to summarise the results of surveys describing lay attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons to help address or inform such concerns. A search of electronic databases and key journals was supplemented by an Internet search and citation-tracking. Twenty-one quantitative studies were identified. Most were conducted in the US, with five recent studies in the UK and Germany. Most studies found that, overall, people were not in favour of sex selection. However, this varied from 94 to 18%. People may hold more negative attitudes when the method of sex selection is specified, particularly if this involves termination of pregnancy (TOP). Attitudes towards the general availability of sex selection are less negative than those towards personal use. Attitudes were consistently negative in German surveys. Little is known of such attitudes outside the US, the UK and Germany, and how such attitudes may change as new sex selection technologies become available. Studies of use of early non-invasive fetal sexing for sex selection for non-medical reasons are needed to assess the extent to which concerns about usage are justified and to assist in debates on how these might be most appropriately addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Comparison of Campfire Impacts and Policies in Seven Protected Areas

Using resource-monitoring data from seven protected areas, the effectiveness of three campfire policies—campfire ban, designated campfires, and unregulated campfires—were assessed based on the number of fire sites and the amount of tree damage. Results indicate that unregulated campfire policies permitted substantial numbers of fire sites and tree damage in campsites, although fire bans did not eliminate or even substantially decrease these problems. A designated campfire policy was effective in decreasing number of fire sites, but little difference was found among policies regarding tree damage. Given the importance of campfires to visitor experiences, campfire prohibitions could be viewed as unnecessarily restrictive based on their limited success in preventing resource damage. Conclusions encourage protected-area managers to consider designated campfire policies and prohibitions on axes, hatchets, and saws to better meet resource protection and visitor experience mandates.     

Integrating fisheries into the national development plans of Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Ten years on from Barbados

The development and effective introduction of strategies designed to ensure the ecologically and economically sustainable utilization of coastal and marine resources is perhaps the major challenge for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In response, the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) called upon the SIDS to implement appropriate coastal and marine strategies and, crucially, ensure that such strategies were integrated into sustainable national development plans (NDPs). This article examines the extent to which contemporary NDPs and donor support programmes have incorporated the fisheries sector — arguably the most important coastal/marine resource for many SIDS — into such documents. Applying an assessment methodology, originally developed to identify levels of environmental mainstreaming within World Bank country assistance strategies to NDPs and donor support programmes, we are able to identify those SIDS who have most effectively integrated the fisheries sector into such documents. Comparison with data indicating the importance of the sector to the national economy (in terms of generating foreign exchange, employment generation and/or supporting domestic protein consumption levels) enables us to pinpoint those countries with substantial fisheries sectors, but a correspondingly lower than expected degree of sectoral mainstreaming. We suggest that the January 2005 review of the BPoA offers an opportune moment for such countries to redress these omissions.     

An exploration of place as a process: The case of Jackson Hole, WY

A variety of theoretical positions and frameworks have been advanced to account for how places become “places”—in other words, how places become meaningful. Most existing frameworks share the idea that a place is a complex concept, given life by people attaching meaning to a physical setting in a variety of ways. This paper explores how places evolve as ever-shifting points of meaning that mark changes in people's lives in response to a variety of influences. Data collected from in-depth personal interviews in and around Jackson, Wyoming, are used to explore the conceptualization of place as a process, rather than a static entity. Three key themes or dimensions that were frequently described by interviewees are examined: (1) life stage/course, (2) searching for a feeling, and (3) commitment to a place. Not only did some respondents describe what made places important to them (the components, such as social ties, or favorite activities), they also described how these attributes worked together to create and maintain place meanings over the course of their lives. During the interviews, it was noted that these dimensions and processes were expressed explicitly as well as implicitly.     

The acetochlor registration partnership surface water monitoring program for four corn herbicides

A surface drinking water monitoring program for four corn (Zea mays L.) herbicides was conducted during 1995-2001. Stratified random sampling was used to select 175 community water systems (CWSs) within a 12-state area, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable sites, based on corn intensity and watershed size. Finished drinking water was monitored at all sites, and raw water was monitored at many sites using activated carbon, which was shown capable of removing herbicides and their degradates from drinking water. Samples were collected biweekly from mid-March through the end of August, and twice during the off-season. The analytical method had a detection limit of 0.05 microg L(-1) for alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)-acetamide] and 0.03 microg L(-1) for acetochlor [2-chloro-N-(ethoxymethyl)-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-acetamide], atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], and metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)-acetamide]. Of the 16528 drinking water samples analyzed, acetochlor, alachlor, atrazine, and metolachlor were detected in 19, 7, 87, and 53% of the samples, respectively. During 1999-2001, samples were also analyzed for the presence of six major degradates of the chloroacetanilide herbicides, which were detected more frequently than their parent compounds, despite having higher detection limits of 0.1 to 0.2 microg L(-1). Overall detection frequencies were correlated with product use and environmental fate characteristics. Reservoirs were particularly vulnerable to atrazine, which exceeded its 3 microg L(-1) maximum contaminant level at 25 such sites during 1995-1999. Acetochlor annualized mean concentrations (AMCs) did not exceed its mitigation trigger (2 microg L(-1)) at any site, and comparisons of observed levels with standard measures of human and ecological hazards indicate that it poses no significant risk to human health or the environment.     

Influence of humic acid on the sorption of uranium(IV) to kaolin

Safety assessments for radioactive waste disposal require estimations of the migration of radionuclides in soils. The influence of humic acid (HA) on the sorption of uranium in its +4 oxidation state to kaolin has been examined from pH 4 to 8, with HA concentrations of 15–200 ppm. In the absence of HA, 20–40% of the U(IV) was in solution, with more sorption occurring at higher pH. The presence of HA solubilised up to 90% of the uranium with higher solubilities at higher HA concentrations and higher pH values. Uranium sorption was mapped against HA sorption, and it was found that there was a lower level of U(IV) sorption than can be accounted for by just measuring HA sorption. However, this effect got less marked as the pH rose. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the fraction of surface-bound HA is the controlling parameter for modelling in these systems.     

Post-license education for novice drivers: evaluation of a training programme implemented in Spain

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated the implementation of a second phase training program for novice drivers in Spain, which puts the primary focus of the training on the higher hierarchical levels of driver behavior. METHOD: Two hundred and sixty-three participants took part throughout the study, which was implemented as an experimental design with the test and control groups assessed before and after the one day safety training. Measurement of the impact of the training program focused on the participants' self-evaluation and self-reporting of some driving behavior indicators related to accident risk. RESULTS: Data analysis showed a change in the expected direction in the scale related to the skills for careful driving, but not for the other four scales considered. A feedback survey about the training course offered some important input for evaluating the organization, contents, tuition, and results of the three parts of the training program (discussion group, on-road and track training) as reported by the participants in the test group. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: The results of the experiment show that using a one day driver safety course, it is possible to change some of the drivers' evaluations connected to safe driving style into safe direction. The follow-up period was exceptionally long (9 months) and the design (randomly divided experimental and control groups with before and after measurements) was reliable. More effort should be devoted to improving the on-road part of the training, which was often perceived as a typical driving lesson rather than a feedback drive. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The findings suggest consideration of a mandatory 2nd phase driver training programme as a means to raise awareness of the full range of risks encountered by novice drivers, and as already introduced in 5 EU countries: Austria, Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg and Switzerland.