Local level sustainability planning for livelihoods: A Cambodian experience

How do Cambodian villagers perceive sustainability and what do they do 'on the ground'? Looking at sustainability issues through the lens of two local resource management committees, and using a triangulation of social science research methods, this paper examines the roles and responsibilities of these groups and how they grapple with resource degradation and related activities. The committees have experimented with a range of resource management strategies, from creating fishing sanctuaries to resolving fishing gear theft. The results indicate that one reason villagers are willing to engage in community-based management is when they believe that they can improve livelihoods within their community. Community-based management is being carried out in the absence of formal legislation; it is recognized through government policy and administrative approvals. In this regard, local-level support and leadership has been key, and the current arrangement has created the political space for experimentation and learning.     

“They’re lunatics on the road”: Exploring the normative influences of parents,friends, and police on young novices’ risky driving decisions

PurposeYoung novice drivers experience significantly greater risk of being injured or killed in car crashes than older more experienced drivers. This research utilised a qualitative approach guided by the framework of Akers’ social learning theory. It explored young novice drivers’ perspectives on risky driving including rewards and punishments expected from and administered by parents, friends, and police, imitation of parents’ and friends’ driving, and advantages and disadvantages of risky driving.MethodsTwenty-one young drivers (12 females, 9 males) aged 16–25 years (M = 17.71 years, SD = 2.15) with a Learner (n = 11) or Provisional (n = 10) driver licence participated in individual or small group interviews.Findings and conclusionsContent analysis supported four themes: (1) rewards and (2) punishments for risky driving, and the influence of (3) parents and (4) friends. The young novice drivers differed in their vulnerability to the negative influences of friends and parents, with some novices advising they were able to resist risky normative influences whilst others felt they could not. The authority of the police as enforcers of road rules was either accepted and respected or seen as being used to persecute young novices. These findings suggest that road safety interventions should consider the normative influence of parents and friends on the risky and safe behaviour of young novices. Police were also seen as influential upon behaviour. Future research should explore the complicated relationship between parents, friends, the police, young novices, and their risky driving behaviour.     

Denitrification as a nitrogen removal mechanism in a Vermont peatland

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogenous compounds to ombrotrophic peatlands (i.e., those that have peat layers higher than their surroundings and receive nutrients and minerals exclusively by precipitation) has the potential to significantly alter ecosystem functioning. This study utilized the acetylene inhibition technique to estimate the relative importance of denitrification in nitrogen removal from a primarily ombrotrophic peatland, in an attempt to estimate the threat of increased nitrogen loadings to these areas. Estimates of mean rates of denitrification ranged from -2.76 to 84.0 ng N(2)O-N cm(-3) h(-1) (equivalent to -150 to 4800 microg N(2)O-N m(-2) h(-1)) using an ex situ core technique and from -8.30 to 5.98 microg N(2)O-N m(-2) h(-1) using an in situ chamber technique. Core rates may have been elevated over natural field levels due to effects of disturbance on substrate availability, and chamber rates may have been low due to diffusional constraints on acetylene and N(2)O. Net nitrification was also measured in an attempt to evaluate this process as a source of nitrate for denitrifiers. The low rates of net nitrification measured, in combination with the low rates of in situ denitrification and the very low amounts of free nitrate measured in this peatland, suggests that inorganic N turnover in this wetland is low. Results showed that nitrate was a limiting factor for denitrification in this peatland, with mean rates from nitrate-amended cores ranging from 13.1 to 260 ng N(2)O-N cm(-3) h(-1), and it is expected that increases in nitrogen loadings will increase denitrification rates in this ecosystem.     

Size of sexual swellings reflects ovarian function in chimpanzees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan troglodytes</Emphasis>)

While many theories exist on the evolution of the sexual swelling signal in female primates, the significance of the very large and variable swellings found in some catarrhine primates is still debated. As suggested by Pagel [(1994) Anim Behav 47:1333–1341], these exaggerated and costly signals have the potential to provide information about differential female reproductive quality to males. While Domb [(2000) Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge] and Domb and Pagel [(2001) Nature 410:204–206] propose that swellings serve to reliably indicate between-female fitness differences, we hypothesize that they may indicate current reproductive cycle quality, within or between females. This study examines the between-cycle relationship between ovarian function, gauged via fecal steroid analysis, and absolute size of sexual swellings, yielded through photogrammetric methods. Fourteen cycles from eight captive, group-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) exhibited considerable variability both in ovarian steroid levels and maximum sexual swelling size. Nearly all measures of a female's maximal swelling in a cycle correlated with early follicular and early luteal estradiol averages and the duration of luteal progesterone elevation. Swelling area was also correlated with late follicular estradiol. Given past evidence that such measures of ovarian function predict conceptive success, these data strongly suggest that swellings could convey information to competing males about the fecundability of a potential mate.Communicated by C. Nunn     

Global sustainability: Toward definition

Sustainability is increasingly viewed as a desired goal of development and environmental management. This term has been used in numerous disciplines and in a variety of contexts, ranging from the concept of maximum sustainable yield in forestry and fisheries management to the vision of a sustainable society with a steady-state economy. The meaning of the term is strongly dependent on the context in which it is applied and on whether its use is based on a social, economic, or ecological perspective, Sustainability may be defined broadly or narrowly, but a useful definition must specify explicitly the context as well as the temporal and spatial scales being considered. Although societies differ in their conceptualizations of sustainability, indefinite human survival on a global scale requires certain basic support systems, which can be maintained only with a healthy environment and a stable human population. A clearer understanding of global sustainability and the development of appropriate indicators of the status of basic support systems would provide a useful framework for policy making.     

An examination of shared leadership configurations and their effectiveness in teams

A key challenge in the shared leadership literature has been a limited understanding of how multiple leadership activities are shared across team members and roles. We address this issue by conceptualizing and operationalizing shared leadership using both its content (i.e., what leadership roles are shared) and distribution (i.e., how leadership is shared across members and roles). In an exploratory study comprised of 129 work teams, we use latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify multiple shared leadership configurations that vary in the extent of sharing. Our second study of 103 MBA teams supports these findings and further (a) considers what shared leadership configurations have the greatest influence on team effectiveness, (b) examines the mediating role of teamwork processes, and (c) investigates the moderating role of temporal dispersion. We advance current research by demonstrating that shared leadership typically manifests in collective (i.e., members share all leadership roles) and distributed configurations (i.e., members hold one leadership role while other members hold other leadership roles), which has implications for team processes and effectiveness. Specifically, we show that collective configurations have higher team effectiveness (compared to distributed configurations) owing to improved teamwork processes and observe that these effects are more pronounced when temporal dispersion is high.     

Nanogreen is the new future: the conversion of lignin and lignocellulosic wastes into nanomaterials

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The lignocellulose biorefinery industry has assumed an important role within the current scenario. Lignin is an abundant and available biopolymer and...     

Hunting with lead ammunition is not sustainable: European perspectives

Much evidence demonstrates the adverse effects of lead ammunition on wildlife, their habitats and human health, and confirms that the use of such ammunition has no place within sustainable hunting. We identify the provisions that define sustainable hunting according to European law and international treaties, together with their guidance documents. We accept the substantial evidence for lead’s actual and potential effects on wildlife, habitats and health as persuasive and assess how these effects relate to stated provisions for sustainability and hunting. We evaluate how continued use of lead ammunition negatively affects international efforts to halt loss of biodiversity, sustain wildlife populations and conserve their habitats. We highlight the indiscriminate and avoidable health and welfare impacts for large numbers of exposed wild animals as ethically unsustainable. In societal terms, continued use of lead ammunition undermines public perceptions of hunting. Given the existence of acceptable, non-toxic alternatives for lead ammunition, we conclude that hunting with lead ammunition cannot be justified under established principles of public/international policy and is not sustainable. Changing from lead ammunition to non-toxic alternatives will bring significant nature conservation and human health gains, and from the hunter’s perspective will enhance societal acceptance of hunting. Change will create opportunities for improved constructive dialogue between hunting stakeholders and others engaged with enhancing biodiversity and nature conservation objectives.     

An awareness campaign decreases distracted driving among hospital employees at a rural trauma center

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether an educational campaign on distracted driving will have an impact in a given community.

Methods: Investigators were stationed in an employee parking lot of a 256-bed hospital to determine baseline distracted driving followed by a 4-week hospital-wide distracted-driving awareness campaign. The campaign included signs/posters in the hospital, a booth outside of the cafeteria with flyers, a large banner in the employee lot and an opportunity for people to sign a pledge form to drive distraction free. The same employee lot was observed at the same time of the day to re-assess distracted driving immediately following the campaign. The observations were repeated again one year later to evaluate the short and long-term impact of the campaign.

Results: A total of 485 vehicles were observed pre-campaign, identifying 170 (35%) distracted drivers at baseline. The awareness campaign resulted in 525 people pledging to drive distraction free. Following the campaign, 495 vehicles were observed and the number of distracted drivers was 64 (12.9%), showing a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers by 22.1% (p?<?0.01). One year later, 530 drivers were observed with 150 (28%) displaying one form of distraction.

Conclusions: A local distracted driving educational campaign resulted in a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers immediately following the campaign. However, one year after the campaign, there was an increase in distracted driving. The proportion of distracted drivers was still significantly lower than the initial rate of distracted-drivers.