The Adaptive Capacity Wheel: a method to assess the inherent characteristics of institutions to enable the adaptive capacity of society

Climate change potentially brings continuous and unpredictable changes in weather patterns. Consequently, it calls for institutions that promote the adaptive capacity of society and allow society to modify its institutions at a rate commensurate with the rate of environmental change. Institutions, traditionally conservative and reactive, will now have to support social actors to proactively respond through planned processes and deliberate steps, but also through cherishing and encouraging spontaneous and autonomous change, as well as allowing for institutional redesign. This paper addresses the question: How can the inherent characteristics of institutions to stimulate the capacity of society to adapt to climate change from local through to national level be assessed? On the basis of a literature review and several brainstorm sessions, this paper presents six dimensions: Variety, learning capacity, room for autonomous change, leadership, availability of resources and fair governance. These dimensions and their 22 criteria form the Adaptive Capacity Wheel. This wheel can help academics and social actors to assess if institutions stimulate the adaptive capacity of society to respond to climate change; and to focus on whether and how institutions need to be redesigned. This paper also briefly demonstrates the application of this Adaptive Capacity Wheel to different institutions.     

The adaptive capacity of institutions in the spatial planning,water, agriculture and nature sectors in the Netherlands

The climate change problem calls for a continuously responding society. This raises the question: Do our institutions allow and encourage society to continuously adapt to climate change? This paper uses the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) to assess the adaptive capacity of formal and informal institutions in four sectors in the Netherlands: spatial planning, water, agriculture and nature. Formal institutions are examined through an assessment of 11 key policy documents and informal institutions are analysed through four case studies covering each sector. Based on these ACW analyses, both sector-specific and more general strengths and weaknesses of the adaptive capacity of institutions in the Netherlands are identified. The paper concludes that the most important challenge for increasing institutional adaptive capacity lies in combining decentralized, participatory approaches with more top-down methods that generate leadership (visions, goals) standards, instruments, resources and monitoring.     

Collective fit perceptions: A multilevel investigation of person–group fit with individual‐level and team‐level outcomes

This study describes a multilevel examination of person–group (PG) fit perceptions in a sample of 1023 individuals working in 92 teams at a private sector R&D firm. Using confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel random coefficient modeling, we provide evidence that perceptions of team‐level collective fit are unique from aggregated individual‐level PG fit perceptions at the individual and team levels. We demonstrate that collective values‐based and abilities‐based fit perceptions showed unique and positive relationships with team cohesion, team efficacy, and team performance, after accounting for aggregated individual perceptions of PG fit. Results also demonstrate that cohesion partially mediates the relationship between collective fit and team performance. Cross‐level effects were also supported, indicating that collective fit explains additional variance in individual‐level outcomes, beyond individual‐level PG fit perceptions. The usefulness of employing a multilevel approach to studying PG fit is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Standard purity and response factors of perfluorinated compounds

It has been reported that the relative response factors of isotopically labeled standards and unlabeled standards of the same perfluorinated compounds could be different. Individual (100 ng mL^?1) solutions of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry under negative-ion electrospray to detect any impurities present down to 0.5%–0.1% relative to the major component. Purity of the standards ranged from approximately 86% to ≥ 97%. Standard solutions of unlabeled and isotopically labeled materials were analyzed to compare the response factors of isotopically labeled analytes versus their nonlabeled counterparts in three different matrices at equivalent concentrations: organic solvent (methanol), serum extract, and water present individually and concurrently. Not all labeled analytes have the same response factor as their nonlabeled complement, and in at least one case the matrix in which the standard is present may cause significant suppression of response. Standard solutions of electrochemical fluorination produced PFOA and PFOS were quantified under multiple reaction monitoring mode, using calibration curves prepared from standards consisting primarily of linear standards only. The use of linear only standards may cause under-prediction of concentrations, and that the working range of these standards may be limited.     

The effect of preparation conditions of Pt/Al2O3 on its catalytic performance for the H2-SCR in the presence of oxygen

Selective catalytic reduction of NO _x by H₂ in the presence of oxygen has been investigated over Pt/ Al₂O₃ catalysts pre-treated under different conditions. Catalyst preparation conditions exert significant influence on the catalytic performance, and the catalyst pre-treated by H₂ or H₂ then followed by O₂ is much more active than that pre-treated by air. The higher surface area and the presence of metallic Pt over Pt/Al₂O₃ pre-treated by H₂ or pretreated by H₂ then followed by O₂ can contribute to the formation of NO₂, which then promotes the reaction to proceed at low temperatures.     

Suppressing antagonistic bioengineering feedbacks doubles restoration success

In a seagrass restoration project, we explored the potential for enhancing the restoration process by excluding antagonistic engineering interactions (i.e., biomechanical warfare) between two ecosystem engineers: the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina and the sediment-stabilizing seagrass Zostera noltii Hornem. Applying a shell layer underneath half of our seagrass transplants successfully reduced adult lugworm density by over 80% and reduced lugworm-induced microtopography (a proxy for lugworm disturbance) at the wave-sheltered site. At the wave-exposed site adult lugworm densities and microtopography were already lower than at the sheltered site but were further reduced in the shell-treated units. Excluding lugworms and their bioengineering effects corresponded well with a strongly enhanced seagrass growth at the wave-sheltered site, which was absent at the exposed site. Enhanced seagrass growth in the present study was fully assigned to the removal of lugworms' negative engineering effects and not to any (indirect) evolving effects such as an altered biogeochemistry or sediment-stabilizing effects by the shell layer. The context-dependency implies that seagrass establishment at the exposed site is not constrained by negative ecosystem-engineering interactions only, but also by overriding physical stresses causing poor growth conditions. Present findings underline that, in addition to recent emphasis on considering positive (facilitating) interactions in ecological theory and practice, it is equally important to consider negative engineering interactions between ecosystem-engineering species. Removal of such negative interactions between ecosystem-engineering species can give a head start to the target species at the initial establishment phase, when positive engineering feedbacks by the target species on itself are still lacking. Though our study was carried out in a marine environment with variable levels of wave disturbance, similar principles may be expected to apply to other ecosystems that are inhabited by ecosystem engineers.     

Study on the removal of NOx from simulated flue gas using acidic NaClO2 solution

The study on the removal of NOx from simulated flue gas has been carded out in a lab-scale bubbling reactor using acidic solutions of sodium chlorite. Experiments were performed at various pH values and inlet NO concentrations in the absence or presence of SO2 gas at 45℃. The effect of SO2 on NO oxidation and NO2 absorption was critically examined. The oxidative ability of sodium chlorite was investigated at different pH values and it was found to be a better oxidant at a pH less than 4. In acidic medium, sodium chlorite decomposed into C102 gas, which is believed to participate in NO oxidation as well as in NO2 absorption. A plausible NOx removal mechanism using acidic sodium chlorite solution has been postulated. A maximum NOx removal efficiency of about 81% has been achieved.     

Development of a Local-Scale Spatially Refined Multimedia Fate Model (LSRMFM) for Urban-Scale Risk Assessment: Model Formulation, GIS-Based Preprocessing, and Case Study

A local-scale spatially refined multimedia fate model (LSRMFM) was developed to evaluate in detail the multimedia transport of organic compounds at a spatial level. The model was derived using a combination of an advection?Cdispersion?Creaction partial differential equation, a steady-state multimedia fugacity model, and a geographical information system. The model was applied to predicting four major volatile organic compounds that are produced as emissions (benzene, toluene, xylene, and styrene) in an urban and industrial area (the 50?×?50-km area was divided into 0.5?×?0.5-km segments) in Korea. To test the accuracy of the model, the LSRMFM was used to predict the extent of dispersion and the data compared with actual measured concentrations and the results of a generic multimedia fate model (GMFM). The results indicated that the method developed herein is appropriate for predicting long-term multimedia pollution. However, the comparison study also illustrated that the developed model has some limitations (e.g., steady-state assumption) in terms of explaining all the observed concentrations, and additional verification and study (e.g., validation using a large observed data set, integration with a more accurate runoff model) would be desirable. In comparing LSRMFM and GMFM, discrepancies between the LSRMFM and GMFM outputs were found, as the result of geographical effects, even though the environmental parameters were identical. The geographical variation for LSRMFM output indicated the existence of considerable local human and ecological risks, whereas the GMFM output indicated less average risk. These results demonstrate that the model has the potential for improving the management of pollutant levels under these refined spatial conditions.     

Distribution features of biological hazardous pollutants in residential environments in Korea

This research has been conducted continuously since 2009 as part of a cohort of studies examining relationships between asthma and genetic factors, dietary habits, and environmental factors. Based on data from environmental research on house dust mites and endotoxins, which are widely known as pollutants in bedding that cause asthma in pregnant women and children, this work was conducted to obtain basic data that can be used in future cohort studies that analyze links between distribution of biological hazards and physical features of residential environments. The detection rates of house dust mite allergens, Der p1 and Der f1, were 52.7 and 86.5 %, respectively, indicating that Der f1 is a dominant species in domestic indoor environments. According to comparisons between concentrations of house dust mites and endotoxins in bedding of pregnant women and children, Der p1 and endotoxins showed significantly lower concentrations in bedding of pregnant women compared with those in bedding of children, whereas Der f1 showed no significant difference in concentration according to bedding.     

Emission factors for high-emitting vehicles based on on-road measurements of individual vehicle exhaust with a mobile measurement platform

Fuel-based emission factors for 143 light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) and 93 heavy-duty diesel trucks (HDDTs) were measured in Wilmington, CA using a zero-emission mobile measurement platform (MMP). The frequency distributions of emission factors of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO(x)), and particle mass with aerodynamic diameter below 2.5 microm (PM2.5) varied widely, whereas the average of the individual vehicle emission factors were comparable to those reported in previous tunnel and remote sensing studies as well as the predictions by Emission Factors (EMFAC) 2007 mobile source emission model for Los Angeles County. Variation in emissions due to different driving modes (idle, low- and high-speed acceleration, low- and high-speed cruise) was found to be relatively small in comparison to intervehicle variability and did not appear to interfere with the identification of high emitters, defined as the vehicles whose emissions were more than 5 times the fleet-average values. Using this definition, approximately 5% of the LDGVs and HDDTs measured were high emitters. Among the 143 LDGVs, the average emission factors of NO(x), black carbon (BC), PM2.5, and ultrafine particle (UFP) would be reduced by 34%, 39%, 44%, and 31%, respectively, by removing the highest 5% of emitting vehicles, whereas CO emission factor would be reduced by 50%. The emission distributions of the 93 HDDTs measured were even more skewed: approximately half of the NO(x) and CO fleet-average emission factors and more than 60% of PM2.5, UFP, and BC fleet-average emission factors would be reduced by eliminating the highest-emitting 5% HDDTs. Furthermore, high emissions of BC, PM2.5, and NO(x) tended to cluster among the same vehicles.