Environmental Policy Beliefs of Stakeholders in Protected Area Management

Although the importance of understanding stakeholder beliefs regarding environmental policy has been noted by many authors, research focusing on the heterogeneity of stakeholder views is still very scarce and concentrated on a product-oriented definition of stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to address this gap by examining environmental policy beliefs of stakeholder groups engaged in protected area management. Questionnaires containing 73 five-point Likert scale items were administered to eight different stakeholder groups involved in the management of Greek protected areas. Items referred to core beliefs on environmental policy, namely, the value framework and sustainable development, and secondary beliefs, that is, beliefs on social consensus and ecotourism development. Our study used as a starting point respondent recruitment on the basis of a traditional product-centered approach. We investigated whether environmental policy beliefs can be used to effectively segregate stakeholders in well-defined segments, which override the product-oriented definition of stakeholders. Indeed, K-means clustering revealed an innovation-introduction and an implementation-charged sample segment. The instrument utilized in this research proved quite reliable and valid in measuring stakeholder environmental policy beliefs. Furthermore, the methodology implied that stakeholder groups differ in a significant number of belief-system elements. On the other hand, stakeholder groups were effectively distinguished on a small set of both core and secondary beliefs. Therefore, the instrument used can be an effective tool for determining and monitoring environmental policy beliefs of stakeholders in protected area management. This is of considerable importance in the Greek case, given the recent establishment of 27 administrative bodies of protected areas, all of which are required to incorporate public consultation into management practices.     

Ambivalence and conservation behaviour: An exploratory study on the recycling of metal cans

As resource conservation is an imperative for sustainable development, it is crucial to achieve a deeper understanding of the factors involved in people's decisions to recycle. This is even more so because the level of environmental concern is usually higher than the level of ecological behaviours. In this paper we take this fact as indicating that decision-making regarding conservation behaviours happens in the context of an internal debate where contradictory ideas are weighed up and the possibility of ambivalence arises. The main aim of this paper is therefore to explore how contradiction and ambivalence impact upon the attitudes, intentions and pro-ecological behaviours of the private sphere. The paper focuses specifically on the separation and deposition of metal cans, and compares the predictive capacity of beliefs, attitudes and intentions for two groups of respondents – one with a high and another with a low level of ambivalence, as assessed with a direct measure. The role of personal identity and the influence of structural constraints are also explored. Results demonstrate a clear moderating effect of experienced ambivalence, and show how beliefs, particularly negative ones, present a higher predictive capacity of the attitude in the high-ambivalence group, and personal identity plays a relevant role in predicting behaviour in both groups. We discuss the importance of pursuing the study of ambivalence when analysing decision-making in the conservation area.     

The idea of sustainable development

In this lecture, I demonstrate how very different macroeconomic history begins to look if Nature is included as a capital asset in production activities. The tentative conclusions I draw from the evidence are: (1) high population growth in the world’s poorest regions (South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa) has been an obstacle to the achievement of sustainable economic development there; relatedly, (2) when population growth is taken into account, the accumulation of manufactured capital, knowledge, and human capital (health and education) has not compensated for the degradation of natural capital in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and, in all probability, even in the UK and the US; (3) China is possibly an exception to (1) and (2). This article is based on the Keynote Lecture delivered at the international symposium on “Sustainability in an Unequal World”, held in Tokyo on November 24, 2006. The exposition relies on my book, Economics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007. The author is the Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge.     

Ecophysiological constraints associated with aggression,and evolution toward pacifism in Spalax ehrenbergi

Evolution from a solitary way of life to sociality involves changes in the modalities of within-population aggression. This paper is concerned with environmental causes of variation in aggression within the complex of mole-rat species Spalax ehrenbergi. We focus on physiological constraints associated with aggressive behaviour, i.e. those resulting from emotional arousal and thus stress. Aggression, social stress sensitivity and urine osmolarity were studied in males of two chromosomal species of Spalax ehrenbergi, 2n = 52 (occurring in cool humid areas) and 2n = 60 (occurring in warm arid zones). Males with 2n = 52 reached a higher level of within-population aggression during a 3-round tournament (an average, 488 ± 140 acts) than males with 2n = 60 (163 ± 54 acts). The species with 2n = 52 displayed a higher corticosterone response after a social encounter (in average, 5.15 ± 0.54 μg/100 ml) than that with 2n = 60 (3.0 ± 0.3 μg/100 ml) whereas resting levels of this hormone were low and not different between the two species. Urine osmolarity was significantly higher in males with 2n = 60 (331.9 ± 18.6 mmol/kg) than males with 2n = 52 (267.3 ± 10.9 mmol/kg). Considering the overall general trend urine osmolarity tended to be negatively related to the level of aggression, while corticosterone levels tended to vary positively with aggressiveness (Fig. 3). Our results allow further discussion of the hypothesis that high levels of aggression could be selected against in arid habitats due to their physiological correlates (decrease in water economy, increased corticosterone leading to potential energy mobilisation and loss). We propose that behavioural ecophysiology could have contributed to the radiation of the S. ehrenbergi superspecies into increasingly arid environments, and may favour evolution toward social tolerance. Received: 10 June 1995/Accepted after revision: 25 October 1995     

The habitat saturation hypothesis and sociality in an allodapine bee: cooperative nesting is not “making the best of a bad situation”

Several factors thought to be important for the evolution of cooperative breeding in vertebrates have received little attention in facultatively social insects. One of these, the “habitat saturation hypothesis” of Selander (1964), predicts that colony sizes will be greater in breeding units where dispersal opportunities are limited, suggesting that group living is a secondary option to independent reproduction. The Australian allodapine bee Exoneura bicolor exhibits a number of traits that occur in cooperatively breeding bird species, including long life-span, repeated opportunities for reproduction, and vulnerability to brood predation and parasitism. We experimentally examined the effect of a potentially limiting environmental factor, nesting substrate availability, as an agent influencing sociality in E. bicolor. We manipulated nesting substrate availability in two separate locations during a time when foundress dispersal is common. No significant difference was found between colony sizes in cases where dispersal options were abundant and cases where dispersal options were limited. An increase in opportunities for dispersal did not lead to higher rates of independent nesting, suggesting that cooperative nesting is a preferred strategy regardless of distance-related costs of dispersal. Reproductivity per female and brood survival were examined as factors selecting for group living. Low survival of brood in single-female nests has the potential to select for cooperative nesting in this bee. Received: 29 September 1995/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996     

Participation for understanding: an interactive method

INTRODUCTION: There are many available models that help evaluate the effectiveness of safety and health measures, but many are complex and require input from many departments within an organization. There is a need to develop a more user-friendly model. METHOD: A participative model was developed that involves face-to-face interviewers with workers, maintenance department, purchasing department and health and safety experts. They were asked about costs, efforts, benefits, and effects of gauging the effects of prevention efforts. RESULTS: Cost effectiveness analyses are essential in all cases and can include whatever the end-user requires, whether it is a small or lasting improvement. Having management participate helps validate the data. CONCLUSIONS: Organizations who collaborate with someone with at least some skill in cost-benefit evaluations will find that they will be able to establish policies and procedures from the data. The end result is a calculation that is understood by all involved.     

The potential-method--an economic evaluation tool

INTRODUCTION: Measuring the effect of safety and health on production is a difficult value to gauge. METHOD: This article introduces the Potential, which is an instrument for economic analysis that incorporates different changes in conditions. RESULTS: While there are a number of problems associated with methods to determine these calculations, this method is a good indicator of the effects of safety and health and produces more than 300 variables with much less input. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Organizations can use this method effectively to determine how safety and health measure can improve their bottom line. A positive business case is highlighted.     

The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety

INTRODUCTION: Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. METHOD: The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. RESULTS: Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.     

Realistic evaluation as a new way to design and evaluate occupational safety interventions

Recent debates regarding the criteria for evaluating occupational health and safety interventions have focused on the need for incorporating qualitative elements and process evaluation, in addition to attempting to live up to the Cochrane criteria. Reflecting fundamental epistemological conflicts and shortcomings of the Cochrane criteria in evaluating intervention studies, the debate challenges the traditional (quasi-) experimental design and methodology, which are often used within safety research. This article discusses a revised ‘realistic evaluation’ approach as a way to meet these challenges.Evidence from the literature as well as examples from an integrated (leader-based/worker-based) safety intervention study (2008-2010) in a large wood manufacturing company are presented, with focus on the pros and cons of using randomised-controlled-trials and a revised realistic evaluation model.A revised realistic evaluation model is provided which includes factors such as role behaviour, leader and worker motivation, underreporting of accidents/injuries, production pressure, unplanned organisational change and accounting for multilayer effects. These can be attained through qualitative and/or quantitative methods, allowing for the use of realistic evaluation in both large and small scale studies, as well as in systematic reviews. The revised realistic evaluation model offers a promising new way of designing and evaluating occupational safety research. This model can help safety science move forward in setting qualitative and/or quantitative criteria regarding context, mechanisms and processes for single studies and for reviews. Focus is not limited to whether the expected results appear or not, but include suggestions for what works for whom, under what circumstances, in what respects and how.     

Cumulative carbon emissions and economic policy: In search of general principles

We exploit recent advances in climate science to develop a physically consistent, yet surprisingly simple, model of climate policy. It seems that key economic models have greatly overestimated the delay between carbon emissions and warming, and ignored the saturation of carbon sinks that takes place when the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide rises. This has important implications for climate policy. If carbon emissions are abated, damages are avoided almost immediately. Therefore it is optimal to reduce emissions significantly in the near term and bring about a slow transition to optimal peak warming, even if optimal steady-state/peak warming is high. The optimal carbon price should start relatively high and grow relatively fast.