Are neoliberalist behaviours reflective of bullying? New perspectives on influences on sustainability and global citizenship

The global sustainability crisis facing humanity is a cultural crisis with neoliberal culture, the primary driver. The necessity for global change away from neoliberal systems is well established with cultural systems pursued through sustainability seen as the most viable options to alleviate this global crisis. Whilst the goals of neoliberalism and sustainability are systemic and universal, those implementing them work at a specific level with individuals, groups and/or collectives. The literature fails, however, to provide specific examples of why, on a practical level, social change agents often struggle to implement sustainability goals. One of the primary reasons for these struggles can be found in an examination of human behaviour, for instance personality types, group dynamics and/or interpersonal or group communication skills (or lack thereof). This exploratory paper will investigate the existence of a nexus between neoliberalist and adult bullying behaviours to initiate discussion on the barriers this combination may have on social change for sustainability and global citizenship. This examination is warranted as the propensity in the neoliberalist system to support the use of bullying behaviours by its advocates is a complex, nuanced and underresearched topic. There are implications here for policy development, social and urban planning, education and governance for sustainability and global citizenship.     

Source apportionment of fine carbonaceous particles by positive matrix factorization at Gosan background site in East Asia

Fine particle (aerodynamic diameter <2.5 microm) samples were collected during six intensive measurement periods from November 2001 to August 2003 at Gosan, Jeju Island, Korea, which is one of the representative background sites in East Asia. Chemical composition of these aerosol samples including major ion components, trace elements, organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed to study the impact of long-range transport of anthropogenic aerosol. Aerosol chemical composition data were then analyzed using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) technique in order to identify the possible sources and estimate their contribution to particulate matter mass. Fourteen sources were then resolved including soil dust, fresh sea salt, transformed natural source, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, secondary organic carbon, diesel vehicle, gasoline vehicle, fuel oil combustion, biomass burning, coal combustion, municipal incineration, metallurgical emission source, and volcanic emission. The PMF analysis results of source contributions showed that the natural sources including soil dust, fresh and aged sea salt, and volcanic emission contributed to about 20% of the measured PM(2.5) mass. Other primary anthropogenic sources such as diesel and gasoline vehicle, coal and fuel oil combustion, biomass burning, municipal incineration, metallurgical source contributed about 34% of PM(2.5) mass. Especially, the secondary aerosol mainly involved with sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and organic carbon contributed to about 39% of the PM(2.5) mass.     

Contamination of drinking water resources in the Mekong delta floodplains: arsenic and other trace metals pose serious health risks to population

This study presents a transnational groundwater survey of the 62,000 km(2) Mekong delta floodplain (Southern Vietnam and bordering Cambodia) and assesses human health risks associated with elevated concentrations of dissolved toxic elements. The lower Mekong delta generally features saline groundwater. However, where groundwater salinity is <1 g L(-)(1) Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), the rural population started exploiting shallow groundwater as drinking water in replacement of microbially contaminated surface water. In groundwater used as drinking water, arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.1-1340 microg L(-)(1), with 37% of the studied wells exceeding the WHO guidelines of 10 microg L(-)(1) arsenic. In addition, 50% exceeded the manganese WHO guideline of 0.4 mg L(-)(1), with concentrations being particularly high in Vietnam (range 1.0-34 mg L(-)(1)). Other elements of (minor) concern are Ba, Cd, Ni, Se, Pb and U. Our measurements imply that groundwater contamination is of geogenic origin and caused by natural anoxic conditions in the aquifers. Chronic arsenic poisoning is the most serious health risk for the ~2 million people drinking this groundwater without treatment, followed by malfunction in children's development through excessive manganese uptake. Government agencies, water specialists and scientists must get aware of the serious situation. Mitigation measures are urgently needed to protect the unaware people from such health problems.     

Daily intakes of naturally occurring radioisotopes in typical Korean foods

The concentrations of naturally occurring radioisotopes ((232)Th, (228)Th, (230)Th, (228)Ra, (226)Ra, and (40)K) in typical Korean foods were evaluated. The daily intakes of these radioisotopes were calculated by comparing concentrations in typical Korean foods and the daily consumption rates of these foods. Daily intakes were as follows: (232)Th, 0.00-0.23; (228)Th, 0.00-2.04; (230)Th, 0.00-0.26; (228)Ra, 0.02-2.73; (226)Ra, 0.01-4.37 mBq/day; and (40)K, 0.01-5.71 Bq/day. The total daily intake of the naturally occurring radioisotopes measured in this study from food was 39.46 Bq/day. The total annual internal dose resulting from ingestion of radioisotopes in food was 109.83 muSv/y, and the radioisotope with the highest daily intake was (40)K. These values were same level compiled in other countries.     

Food security and seasonal climate information: Kenyan challenges

This article examines challenges to food security in areas especially vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change, and the potential contribution of seasonal climate forecasting. Drawing on long-term study of the way environmental information is developed and circulates, and on recent fieldwork in Western Kenya, the article describes how climate variability exacerbates food insecurity; the kinds of climate information that are now being developed; and the kinds of technologies, organizations, and expertise that will be needed if new forms of climate information are to benefit vulnerable populations. Findings indicate that new forms of expertise need to be developed at all scales, and that linkage among stakeholders and between organizations functioning at different scales will be a considerable challenge.     

Indoor radon distribution of subway stations in a Korean major city

The overall survey on indoor radon concentration was conducted at all subway stations in a major city, Daejeon in the central part of Korea. It was quarterly performed from September 2007 to August 2008. The annual arithmetic mean of indoor radon concentration of all the stations was 34.1 ± 14.7 Bq m⁻³, and the range of values was from 9.4 to 98.2 Bq m⁻³. The radon concentrations in groundwater (average 31.0 ± 0.8 Bq m⁻³) were not significantly high in most stations, but the concentration (177.9 ± 2.3 Bq L⁻¹) of one station was over the level of 148 Bq L⁻¹ in drinking water proposed by U.S. EPA. Based on indoor survey results, the approximate average of the annual effective dose by radon inhalation to the employees and passengers were 0.24 mSv y⁻¹, and 0.02 mSv y⁻¹, respectively. Although the effective dose based on the UNSCEAR report was potentially estimated, for more accurate assessment, the additional survey on the influence by indoor radon will be necessary.     

Mercury contamination in agricultural soils from abandoned metal mines classified by geology and mineralization

This survey aimed to compare mercury concentrations in soils related to geology and mineralization types of mines. A total of 16,386 surface soils (0~15 cm in depth) were taken from agricultural lands near 343 abandoned mines (within 2 km from each mine) and analyzed for Hg by AAS with a hydride-generation device. To meaningfully compare mercury levels in soils with geology and mineralization types, three subclassification criteria were adapted: (1) five mineralization types, (2) four valuable ore mineral types, and (3) four parent rock types. The average concentration of Hg in all soils was 0.204 mg kg(-1) with a range of 0.002-24.07 mg kg(-1). Based on the mineralization types, average Hg concentrations (mg kg(-1)) in the soils decreased in the order of pegmatite (0.250) > hydrothermal vein (0.208) > hydrothermal replacement (0.166) > skarn (0.121) > sedimentary deposits (0.045). In terms of the valuable ore mineral types, the concentrations decreased in the order of Au-Ag-base metal mines ≈ base metal mines > Au-Ag mines > Sn-W-Mo-Fe-Mn mines. For parent rock types, similar concentrations were found in the soils derived from sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks followed by heterogeneous rocks with igneous and metamorphic processes. Furthermore, farmland soils contained relatively higher Hg levels than paddy soils. Therefore, it can be concluded that soils in Au, Ag, and base metal mines derived from a hydrothermal vein type of metamorphic rocks and pegmatite deposits contained relatively higher concentrations of mercury in the surface environment.     

Formation of dimethyldithioarsinic acid in a simulated landfill leachate in relation to hydrosulfide concentration

Dimethyldithioarsinic acid (DMDTA^V), present in such intense sources as municipal landfill leachate, has drawn a great deal of attention due to its abundant occurrence and different aspect of toxicity. The hydrosulfide (HS⁻) concentration in leachate was studied as a major variable affecting the formation of DMDTA^V. To this end, the HPLC–ICPMS system equipped with the reversed-phase C18 column was used to determine DMDTA^V. Simulated landfill leachates (SLLs) were prepared to cover a mature landfill condition with the addition of sodium sulfate and sulfide at varying concentrations in the presence of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA^V). The concentration of sodium sulfide added in the SLLs generally exhibited a strong positive correlation with the concentration of DMDTA^V. As such, the formation of DMDTA^V in the SLLs is demonstrated to be controlled by the interactive relationship between DMA^V and the HS⁻.

     

Fate of HTO following its acute soil deposition at different growth stages of Chinese cabbage

Lysimeter experiments were carried out in a greenhouse to study the fate of HTO following its soil deposition at different growth stages of Chinese cabbage. An HTO solution was applied to the surface of an acidic sandy soil at a time before, and four different times after, sowing. The transfer of HTO to the plants was quantified with the areal transfer factor (TFa, m2 kg(-1)-fresh) defined as the ratio of the plant concentration at harvest to the areal activity deposition. In the four post-sowing applications, the TFa values were in the ranges of 1.6 x 10(-5)-4.9 x 10(-3) for TFWT and 4.5 x 10(-6) -4.3 x 10(-5) for OBT, increasing with a decrease in the time interval between application and harvest. In the pre-sowing application, which was followed by a soil mixing, the TFa values for TFWT and OBT were 1.3 x 10(-4) and 8.6 x 10(-6), respectively. One week after harvest, soil samplings were made for the applications at 26 (A(26)) and 63d (A(63)) after sowing. Peaks of the depth profiles of the soil HTO appeared in the 10-15 cm layer for A(26) and the 5-10 cm layer for A(63). The top 30 cm of soil contained 0.5% and 20% of the applied activity for A(26) and A(63), respectively. Negligible fractions seemed to be in the deeper zone. It was estimated that almost all or most of the applied HTO had escaped to the air before plants' harvest.