Enabling youth to advocate for workplace safety

Work-related injury rates for Canadian youth (ages 15–24) are alarmingly high compared to adult workers even though youth are less likely to be performing hazardous jobs. This paper reports on a document analysis of youth workplace safety education initiatives sponsored by national and provincial/territorial governmental and non-governmental agencies. Web-based documents were analyzed through the theoretical lens of self-advocacy. The self-advocacy framework highlights how youth can be agentic in altering high-risk workplaces by publicly articulating their own interests, needs, and rights (Test et al., 2005); thus, self-advocacy is a critical component in studying educational programs for youth safety. The analysis revealed that instruction on workplace safety identifies safety issues to workers and tells youth to work safely but does little to promote self-advocacy in young workers.     

Ecosystem Health as a Moral Requirement

Some writers have suggested that it would be desirable to assess the state of the Earth'senvironments by making use of a concept of ecosystem health. We subject this suggestion toscrutiny first by calling attention to obscurities inthe notion of an ecosystem and then by callingattention to obscurities in and objections to someviews about ecosystem health. Finally, we note, thateven if ecosystem health can be adequately clarified, there are reasons for saying that whetherwe are morally obligated to protect the health ofsome ecosystem depends on other circumstances. In many possible circumstances we would not beobligated to protect the health of a particularecosystem.     

A model for a species with two life history stages and added mortality

A differential equation model of a species with two life stages is constructed, and the behavior of the equilibria investigated when density-independent mortality is continuously imposed. With density dependence largely in recruitment, an increase in either life stage is possible even though mortality is being imposed on both life stages. The equilibrium of a given life stage can increase if density dependence is mainly in that stage.The most effective stage to attack is that which is numerically dominant. With species having a high reproductive potential the most effective way of reducing either stage is to attack the stage with the lesser natural density-independent mortality.Certain parameter values allow multiple positive steady states. Data from Lucilia cuprina appear to conform to some of the predictions of the model.     

Recovery of the Kakerori: An Endangered Forest Bird of the Cook Islands

The Kakerori, or Rarotonga Flycatcher (Pomarea dimidiata) , is an endangered monarch flycatcher endemic to the island of Rarotonga, Cook Islands. This bird was reported to be common until the middle of the nineteenth century, but it declined before 1885 and was thought to be extinct early this century. A small population persisted in the rugged interior of Rarotonga; in 1987 the population stood at 38 birds but was in decline. We determined that introduced predators, especially ship rats (Rattus rattus) , were affecting breeding success. Through a program of experimental management, aimed mainly at rodent control, the population increased from a low of 29 birds in Spring 1989 to 60 birds in Spring 1993. The recovery can be attributed to both improved breeding success and increased adult survivorship.     

Perceptions of Species Abundance,Distribution, and Diversity: Lessons from Four Decades of Sampling on a Government-Managed Reserve

/ We examined data relative to species abundance, distribution, anddiversity patterns of reptiles and amphibians to determine how perceptionschange over time and with level of sampling effort. Location data werecompiled on more than one million individual captures or observations of 98species during a 44-year study period on the US Department of Energy's(DOE) Savannah River Site National Environmental Research Park (SRS-NERP) inSouth Carolina. We suggest that perceptions of herpetofaunal speciesdiversity are strongly dependent on level of effort and that land managementdecisions based on short-term data bases for some faunal groups could resultin serious errors in environmental management. We provide evidence thatacquiring information on biodiversity distribution patterns is compatiblewith multiyear spatially extensive research programs and also provide aperspective of what might be achieved if long-term, coordinated researchefforts were instituted nationwide.To conduct biotic surveys on government-managed lands, we recommend revisionsin the methods used by government agencies to acquire and report biodiversitydata. We suggest that government and industry employees engaged inbiodiversity survey efforts develop proficiency in field identification forone or more major taxonomic groups and be encouraged to measure the status ofpopulations quantitatively with consistent and reliable methodologies. Wealso suggest that widespread academic cooperation in the dissemination ofinformation on regional patterns of biodiversity could result byestablishment of a peer-reviewed, scientifically rigorous journal concernedwith status and trends of the biota of the United States. KEY WORDS: Abundance; Amphibian; Biodiversity; Distribution; Landmanagement; Reptile     

Mathematical Methods for Spatially Cohesive Reserve Design

The problem of designing spatially cohesive nature reserve systems that meet biodiversity objectives is formulated as a nonlinear integer programming problem. The multiobjective function minimises a combination of boundary length, area and failed representation of the biological attributes we are trying to conserve. The task is to reserve a subset of sites that best meet this objective. We use data on the distribution of habitats in the Northern Territory, Australia, to show how simulated annealing and a greedy heuristic algorithm can be used to generate good solutions to such large reserve design problems, and to compare the effectiveness of these methods.     

Eco-neighbourhoods: A review of projects

The recent literature on sustainable urban form has stressed the need to move away from a system of land-use segregation and towards one which intersperses land uses and facilitates localisation. The strategy of dispersed concentration gives shape to this mixed-use principle, and has been equated with the need to plan more self-sufficient neighbourhoods. There are several problematic issues raised by such a strategy, particularly in relation to the propensity of local people to use local facilities when the friction of distance is low. The image of sustainable neighbourhoods purveyed by advocates is at odds with the reality of suburban development. A review of current eco-neighbourhood projects around the world points to the varying degrees to which they have successfully overcome the implementational and behavioural difficulties. Market-led projects — particularly in semi-rural areas — have achieved rather limited success across the range of sustainability criteria. Some large-scale municipally led plans have faired better. Projects led by community non-profit trusts have been able to be most radical and demonstrate the practicability of eco-neighbourhoods in specific situations. Overall, however, the paucity of successful projects highlights the need for a more proactive central and local government stance.