Conjoint analysis for environmental evaluation

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Conjoint analysis and the related choice-modelling methods have been used for many years in marketing research to evaluate consumer behaviour and preferences for different kinds of product attributes. Recently, the number of applications in environmental science and management has started to grow. Conjoint analysis is found in many different forms, and the environmental studies evaluated in this review display the same range of methods as in other fields. The key characteristic of all these methods is that trade-offs are evaluated by jointly considering a number of important attributes. MAIN FEATURES: This paper is a review of the literature on environmental applications of conjoint analysis and assesses in which environmental area conjoint analysis has been most successful. The method and the design of the studies are reviewed as well. RESULTS: A total of 84 studies were found, dealing with environmental issues that were evaluated by conjoint analysis. The studies concern agriculture, ecosystem management, energy, environmental evaluation, forestry, land management, pollution, products, recreation, environmental risk analysis and waste management. DISCUSSION: Choice experiments seem to have a comparatively stronger position in environmental studies than elsewhere. Most of the environmental applications are related to natural resource management. This is somewhat surprising, but a number of reports have appeared also on product evaluation, which could be a key application area in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to marketing and transportation, the number of environmental conjoint studies is rather small but increasing, and the method has proven to work effectively in eliciting preferences on environmental issues. In environmental issues, experimenters often use choice experiments, especially concerning ecosystem management and environmental evaluations. When it comes to evaluating preferences concerning agriculture, forestry, energy and products, a more traditional approach of conjoint analysis is favoured. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Two new areas of application are identified in this review--environmental communication and expert elicitation. Conjoint analysis can thus be developed into a useful instrument for environmental risk analysis and communication, both of which are necessary for an efficient approach to risk governance.     

The 2004 Madrid train bombings: an analysis of pre-hospital management

The terrorist train bombings in Madrid, Spain, on 11 March 2004 triggered a swift and massive medical response. This paper analyses the pre-hospital response to the attacks to gain insight into current trends in disaster management among Madrid's Emergency Medical Services (EMSs). To this end, the existing emergency planning framework is described, the basic structures of the different EMSs are presented, and the attacks are briefly depicted before consideration is given to pre-hospital management. Finally, an explanation of the main underlying misconceptions in emergency planning and management in Madrid is provided to aid understanding of the origins of some of the problems detected during the response. These are attributable mainly to inappropriate planning rather than to mistakes in field-level decision-making. By contrast, many of the successes are attributable to individual initiatives by frontline medics who compensated for the lack of clear command by senior managers by making adaptive and flexible decisions.     

Collaborative emergency management: better community organising, better public preparedness and response

Community coordination requires communication and planning of precautions to take when faced with a severe threat of disaster. The unique case of the four Florida hurricanes of 2004--Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne--is used here to assess community responses to repeated threats of hurricanes. The paper examines how effectiveness in coordinating community disaster response efforts affects future public preparedness. The findings suggest that pre-season planning, open communication between emergency managers and elected officials, and the use of technology all had a significant impact on community responses. The repeated threat scenario indicates that emergency managers must work vigilantly to keep residents informed of the seriousness of a situation. The study describes how emergency managers in Florida countered public complacency during four hurricanes in six weeks. The strategies identified as useful by public managers in the context of hurricanes are applicable to other natural and man-made disasters.     

Images of war: using satellite images for human rights monitoring in Turkish Kurdistan

In areas of war and armed conflict it is difficult to get trustworthy and coherent information. Civil society and human rights groups often face problems of dealing with fragmented witness reports, disinformation of war propaganda, and difficult direct access to these areas. Turkish Kurdistan was used as a case study of armed conflict to evaluate the potential use of satellite images for verification of witness reports collected by human rights groups. The Turkish army was reported to be burning forests, fields and villages as a strategy in the conflict against guerrilla uprising. This paper concludes that satellite images are useful to validate witness reports of forest fires. Even though the use of this technology for human rights groups will depend on some feasibility factors such as prices, access and expertise, the images proved to be key for analysis of spatial aspects of conflict and valuable for reconstructing a more trustworthy picture.     

基于现代信息技术的城市灾害应急管理系统

城市灾害应急管理系统是一项复杂的大系统工程。本文着重从应急管理过程中的应急资源调配、应急预案制定等方面阐述了现代信息技术在城市灾害应急管理中的应用与优势。认为应急管理信息系统的建立目的不是为了预测和估算,而应是当灾害发生时,对已造成的灾情局面做出快速的辅助决策支持。基于此,利用SuperMapObject5.0,Visual Basic6.0,SQL Server2000等现代信息技术软件,以辅助决策、资源快速查询以及生命线管网易损处调查为目的,本文建立了一个局部地区灾害应急管理信息系统。系统的数据库建立更突出了为应急管理服务所需的基础信息、空间数据、应急预案和应急资源等信息划分方式;结合已有的震害预测理论和方法,开发了供水系统和交通系统的震害预测模块,事先为灾害应急决策提供可能的震害信息。系统的开发过程进一步证明了GIS在城市灾害应急管理中有着直观显示、容易操作、辅助准确决策等优势。     

Determination of Impact of Urbanization on Agricultural Land and Wetland Land Use in Balçovas’ Delta by Remote Sensing and GIS Technique

Because of their intense vegetation and the fact that they include areas of coastline, deltas situated in the vicinity of big cities are areas of greet attraction for people who wish to get away from in a crowded city. However, deltas, with their fertile soil and unique flora and fauna, need to be protected. In order for the use of such areas to be planned in a sustainable way by local authorities, there is a need for detailed data about these regions. In this study, the changes in land use of the Balçova Delta, which is to the immediate west of Turkey’s third largest city Izmir, from 1957 up to the present day, were investigated. In the study, using aerial photographs taken in 1957, 1976 and 1995 and an IKONOS satellite image from the year 2005, the natural and cultural characteristics of the region and changes in the coastline were determined spatially. Through this study, which aimed to reveal the characteristics of the areas of land already lost as well as the types of land use in the Balçova delta and to determine geographically the remaining areas in need of protection, local authorities were provided with the required data support. Balçova consists of flat and fertile wetland with mainly citrus-fruit orchards and flower-producing green houses. The marsh and lagoon system situated in the coastal areas of the delta provides a habitat for wild life, in particular birds. In the Balçova Delta, which provides feeding and resting for migratory birds, freshwater sources are of vital importance for fauna and flora. The settlement area, which in 1957 was 182 ha, increased 11-fold up to the year 2005 when it reached 2,141 ha. On the other hand, great losses were determined in farming land, olive groves, forest and in the marsh and lagoon system. This unsystematic and rapid urbanization occurring in the study region is not only causing the loss of important agricultural land and wetland, but also lasting water and soil pollution.     

Types of Ectomycorrhiza of Mature Beech and Spruce at Ozone-Fumigated and Control Forest Plots

In the Kranzberg forest near Freising (Germany) a novel “Free-Air Canopy O₃ Exposure” system has been employed for analysing O₃-induced responses from sub-cellular to ecosystem levels that are relevant for carbon balance and CO₂ demand of 60-year-old beech trees. The below-ground ectomycorrhizal community was studied in two-fold ambient O₃ concentrations (five cores per sampling) and in a control plot with an ambient O₃ concentration (four cores per sampling). Five samplings were taken throughout two vegetation seasons (2003 and 2004). Types of ectomycorrhiza were determined by their morphological, anatomical and molecular characteristics and quantified by counting. The total number of mycorrhizal fine roots was higher at the fumigated plot as compared with the control site. The numbers of ectomycorrhizal types at the fumigated and control plots were 28 and 26, respectively. Cenococcum geophilum was present in all soil cores at all sampling times with a significant increase in abundance under ozone-fumigated trees. Other mycorrhizal types present at higher abundance at the fumigated than at the control plot were identified as Russula densiflora, R. fellea, R. illota, Tuber puberulum, Lactarius sp. 2 and Russula sp. 2. Some mycorrhizal types were present exclusively at the fumigated plot (Fagirhiza fusca, F. setifera, Lactarius acris, Piceirhiza nigra and Russula sp. 1). A possible ecological role for the abundant types of ectomycorrhiza and their putative application in bio-indication is discussed.     

Information technologies and the sharing of disaster knowledge: the critical role of professional culture

A comparative survey of a diverse sample of 96 US and Italian emergency management agencies shows that the diffusion of new information technologies (IT) has transformed disaster communications. Although these technologies permit access to and the dissemination of massive amounts of disaster information with unprecedented speed and efficiency, barriers rooted in the various professional cultures still hinder the sharing of disaster knowledge. To be effective the available IT must be attuned to the unique settings and professional cultures of the local emergency management communities. Findings show that available technology, context, professional culture and interaction are key factors that affect the knowledge transfer process. Cultural filters appear to influence emergency managers' perceptions of their own professional roles, their vision of the applicability of technology to social issues, and their perspective on the transferability of disaster knowledge. Four cultural approaches to the application of IT to disaster communications are defined: technocentric; geographic,; anthropocentric; and ecocentric.     

Relation of waste generation and composition to socio-economic factors: a case study

To develop an effective waste management strategy for a given region, it is important to know the amount of waste generated and the composition of the waste stream. Past research has shown that the amount of waste generated is proportional to the population and the average mean living standards or the average income of the people. In addition, other factors may affect the amount and composition of waste. These are climate, living habits, level of education, religious and cultural beliefs, and social and public attitudes. This paper presents the findings of a study carried out in a suburban municipal area in Sri Lanka to determine the solid waste generation rate and waste composition based on field surveys and to determine the related socio-economic factors. A database was developed that included information on the quantity and composition of waste generated in a sample of households in the study area over a time period. The collected data was analysed to relate waste generation and composition data to various socio-economic factors. Over 400 sample households were selected for the study using a stratified random sampling methodology based on municipal wards and property values. A technique that considers both the number of households in a particular income group (property value range) and the standard deviation of property values within a given income group was used to determine the appropriate sample size for each municipal ward. Through category and regression analyses, the quantities of waste and waste composition were related to several socio-economic factors. The paper describes the basis for the sample selection, the methodology adopted for data collection, the socio-economic parameters used for the analysis, and the relationships developed from the analysis.