Misanthropy Without Borders: The International Children's Rights Regime

The issue of children's rights has become key to human rights-based international security strategies. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is being operationalised in complex political emergencies. Children's rights now inform humanitarian principles. Universal concern for children is viewed as transcending political and social divides and able to mobilise societies to confront social problems and prevent war. The operationalisation of child rights is accompanied by the development of psycho-social programmes to rehabilitate the child victim. Critically analysing the implications of the children's rights regime for the right to self-determination, the paper unpacks the assumptions underlying children's rights and psycho-social intervention. The paper begins by examining the conceptualisation of the rights-holding subject universalised under the UN Convention and then goes on to consider Article 39 on the right to psycho-social intervention. Equally important as the novel conceptualisation of childhood and children's rights under the international children's rights regime is the (unspoken) mistrust of adulthood and political rights that informs the imperative to institutionalise children's rights as higher law. Moreover while the rights-based approach consciously sought to move away from the earlier moralising child-salvation model, psycho-social rehabilitation reveals a similar preoccupation with deviancy, but conducted through the paradigm of psychological functionalism. Rather than representing a trend towards more humane international relations, the paper suggests that the elevation of children's rights is premised on a profound disenchantment with humanity. The logical implication of the international children's rights regime is to challenge both the moral and political capacity of individuals and their right to self-determination and to institutionalise a more unequal international system.     

The benefits of Q + PPGIS for coupled human-natural systems research: A systematic review

Managing complex problems in socio-ecological systems (SES) requires innovative approaches, which account for multiple scales, large datasets, and diverse lived experiences. By combining two commonly utilized mixed-methods, public participation GIS (PPGIS) and Q-method (Q), Q + PPGIS has the potential to reveal competing agendas and reduce conflict, but its benefits and weaknesses are comparatively understudied. Using a systematic review, we evaluated how different studies have employed and implemented the Q + PPGIS method. We found 16 studies, comprising 30 publications, with considerable variation in their geographic foci, research disciplines, and addressed SES challenges. These studies exhibit a lack of cohesion between methodological design and implementation and the absence of a consistent application of the method. Nonetheless, Q + PPGIS offers a tool that can guide policy, better inform stakeholders, and reduce conflict based on misconceptions. Resolving the shortcomings identified here will broaden Q + PPGIS utility in geographically situating and representing multiple realities within complex socio-ecological systems challenges.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-022-01709-z.     

Coal mining and the resource community cycle: A longitudinal assessment of the social impacts of the Coppabella coal mine

Two social impact assessment (SIA) studies of Central Queensland's Coppabella coal mine were undertaken in 2002–2003 and 2006–2007. As ex post studies of actual change, these provide a reference point for predictive assessments of proposed resource extraction projects at other sites, while the longitudinal element added by the second study illustrates how impacts associated with one mine may vary over time due to changing economic and social conditions. It was found that the traditional coupling of local economic vitality and community development to the life cycle of resource projects—the resource community cycle—was mediated by labour recruitment and social infrastructure policies that reduced the emphasis on localised employment and investment strategies, and by the cumulative impacts of multiple mining projects within relative proximity to each other. The resource community cycle was accelerated and local communities forced to consider ways of attracting secondary investment and/or alternative industries early in the operational life of the Coppabella mine in order to secure significant economic benefits and to guard against the erosion of social capital and the ability to cope with future downturns in the mining sector.     

Photolysis of atrazine in aqueous solution: role of process variables and reactive oxygen species

Photochemical advanced oxidation processes have been considered for the treatment of water and wastewater containing the herbicide atrazine (ATZ), a possible human carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. In this study, we investigated the effects of the photon emission rate and initial concentration on ATZ photolysis at 254 nm, an issue not usually detailed in literature. Moreover, the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is discussed. Photon emission rates in the range 0.87?×?10¹⁸–3.6?×?10¹⁸ photons L^?1 s^?1 and [ATZ]₀?=?5 and 20 mg L^?1 were used. The results showed more than 65 % of ATZ removal after 30 min. ATZ photolysis followed apparent first-order kinetics with k values and percent removals decreasing with increasing herbicide initial concentration. A fivefold linear increase in specific degradation rate constants with photon emission rate was observed. Also, regardless the presence of persistent degradation products, toxicity was efficiently removed after 60-min exposure to UV radiation. Experiments confirmed a noticeable contribution of singlet oxygen and radical species to atrazine degradation during photolysis. These results may help understand the behavior of atrazine in different UV-driven photochemical degradation treatment processes.     

Relationship between geographical origin and contents of Pb,Cd, and Cr in honey samples from the state of Paraná (Brazil) with chemometric approach

The aim of this study was to determine the trace elements, Pb, Cd, and Cr in honey samples from eight different regions from the state of Paraná (Brazil), using slurry sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Chemometric analysis (principal component analysis (PCA)) was applied to classify honey samples according to their levels of the trace elements Pb, Cd, and Cr, which is also related to the geographical origin of honey samples. The mean concentration for the elements followed the order Pb?>?Cr >?>?Cd. The mean values were 200?±?76, 88?±?14, and 4.1?±?4 ng g^?1 for Pb, Cr, and Cd, respectively. It could be verified that honey samples are geographically separated, especially with regard to Pb and Cd contents. Thus, honey can be considered a bioindicator of environmental contamination, suggesting possible contamination in soil, water, and air. This contamination can be related to natural or anthropogenic sources present in the study regions.     

Indirect land use change from ethanol production: the case of sugarcane expansion at the farm level on the Brazilian Cerrado

The expansion of sugarcane production in the Brazilian Cerrado has resulted in indirect land use change (ILUC), occurring when displaced land uses in one location are reallocated to another. Studies, however, usually identify ILUC at the regional or national level far from the original area of a displaced land use. This study examines the occurrence of ILUC due to sugarcane expansion for ethanol production at the farm level in the Brazilian Cerrado. It fills a gap in the literature by examining socioeconomic, policy and farm-level factors that influence ILUC at the farm level in the Brazilian Cerrado using face-to-face enumerated surveys. Results indicate that ILUC did occur at the farm (producer) scale and farmers who undertook ILUC intensified agricultural production on their farms. Results inform policymakers on how the intensification of agricultural practices may make it potentially difficult to keep protected lands out of production, reducing the environmental benefits from sugarcane-based biofuel production.     

Characterization of a fatty acid-binding protein from the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas): pharmaceutical and toxicological implications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites constitute a class of xenobiotics commonly found in aquatic environments which may cause toxic effects in...     

A habitat‐based approach to predict impacts of marine protected areas on fishers

Although marine protected areas can simultaneously contribute to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, the global network is biased toward particular ecosystem types because they have been established primarily in an ad hoc fashion. The optimization of trade‐offs between biodiversity benefits and socioeconomic values increases success of protected areas and minimizes enforcement costs in the long run, but it is often neglected in marine spatial planning (MSP). Although the acquisition of spatially explicit socioeconomic data is perceived as a costly or secondary step in MSP, it is critical to account for lost opportunities by people whose activities will be restricted, especially fishers. We developed an easily reproduced habitat‐based approach to estimate the spatial distribution of opportunity cost to fishers in data‐poor regions. We assumed the most accessible areas have higher economic and conservation values than less accessible areas and their designation as no‐take zones represents a loss of fishing opportunities. We estimated potential distribution of fishing resources from bathymetric ranges and benthic habitat distribution and the relative importance of the different resources for each port of total catches, revenues, and stakeholder perception. In our model, we combined different cost layers to produce a comprehensive cost layer so that we could evaluate of trade‐offs. Our approach directly supports conservation planning, can be applied generally, and is expected to facilitate stakeholder input and community acceptance of conservation.