Fall-related injuries for three ages groups – Analysis of Swedish registry data 1999–2013

Introduction: The objective of this study was to analyze which factors (including factors pertaining to the individual, the household, and the local area) increase the risk of fall injuries for the three age groups with the highest risk for fall injuries in Sweden. Method: The study combined longitudinal data covering the period 1999–2013 from several different official registries from Statistics Sweden as well as from the Swedish health care system and fitted the models to data using mixed model regressions. Results: Three age groups had a markedly heightened risk for fall injuries: 1–3-year olds, 12–14 year olds, and the elderly (65+). The home was the most common location for fall injuries, as about 40% of all fall injuries occur in the home. Only for the elderly strong predictors for fall injuries were found, and these were: age, single household, and special housing. Conclusions: There is preventive potential in the special residences for the elderly and disabled. People living in these special residences make up a strongly selected group that needs extra safe environments. Our findings indicate that their needs are currently not meet. Practical applications: Design of special residences for the elderly and disabled should aim at reducing the consequences of falling.     

The impact of tidal flooding on a coastal community in Semarang, Indonesia

The article presents household vulnerability, local community adaptive capacity, and government’s response to tidal flood hazard in the Semarang coastal area, Central Java Province, Indonesia. Using data gathered from a survey of households, the study revealed a number of important factors about the interaction between people and flood. The coastal community has been experiencing problems related to tidal floods. They have adapted to tidal flooding with structural measures, such as increasing the floor level, making small dams in front of houses, increasing yard and street levels in the neighborhood area, and creating dykes around residential areas. Tidal flood mitigation in the Semarang coastal area should incorporate governmental action and local community capacities for proper protection of the population.     

Determinants of coverage in Community‐based Therapeutic Care programmes: towards a joint quantitative and qualitative analysis

One of the most important elements behind the success of Community‐based Therapeutic Care (CTC) programmes for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition has been their ability to achieve high levels of coverage. In CTC, coverage is measured using the Centric System Area Sampling (CSAS) method, which provides accurate and reliable estimates of programme coverage as well as information on the primary reasons for non‐attendance. Another important feature of CTC programmes is their use of socio‐cultural assessments to determine potential barriers to access and to develop context‐specific responses. By analysing data on non‐attendance provided by CSAS surveys, in conjunction with data from socio‐cultural assessments, it is possible to identify common factors responsible for failures in programme coverage. This paper focuses on an analysis of data from 12 CTC programmes across five African countries. It pinpoints three common factors (distance to sites, community awareness of the programme, and the way in which rejections are handled at the sites) that, together, account for approximately 75 per cent of non‐attendance.     

Use of residence time distribution for evaluation of gaseous pollutant volatilization from stored swine manure

Abstract

A quantification analysis for evaluation of gaseous pollutant volatilization as a result of mass transfer from stored swine manure is presented from the viewpoint of residence time distribution. The method is based on evaluating the moments of concentration vs. time curves of both air and gaseous pollutants. The concept of moments of concentration histories is applicable to characterize the dispersal of the supplied air or gaseous pollutant in a ventilated system. The mean age or residence time of airflow can be calculated from an inverse system state matrix [B]‐1 of a linear dynamic equation describing the dynamics of gaseous pollutant in a ventilated airspace. The sum elements in an arbitrary row i in matrix [B]‐1 is equal to the mean age of airflow in airspace i. The mean age of gaseous pollutant in airspace i can be obtained from the area under the concentration profile divided by the equilibrium concentration reading in that space caused by gaseous pollutant sources. Matrix [B]‐1 can also be represented in terms of the inverse local airflow rate matrix ([W]‐1), transition probability matrix ([P]), and air volume matrix ([V]) as, [B]‐1 =[W]‐1[P][V]. Finally the mean age of airflow in a ventilated airspace can be interpreted by the physical characteristics of matrices [W] and [P]. The practical use of the concepts is also applied in a typical pig unit.     

Visualizing Agrarian Myth and Place-Based Resistance in South Central Los Angeles

The Garden, a drama documentary, visualizes a cultural trend toward the resistive re-articulation of mythic assumptions about the morality of farming within a nation of predominantly urban citizens. The tale unfolds as the virtuous main character (the South Central Farmers) struggles against villains threatening the mythology of agrarianism. By invoking the myth of a new agrarianism, the film is able to expose the ethnic, raced, classed, and gendered basis of land-use rhetoric, and how it perpetuates unequal access to dominant myths as empowerment resources.     

Simplification of Pine Forests Due to Utilization by Tibetan Villages in Southwest China

In China, many rural communities depend upon forests to provide wood, fuel, fertilizer, animal bedding, and valuable non-timber forest products (NTFP). However, the degree to which forest resource extraction is compatible with new conservation aims is unclear because there is little information on the specific ecological effects of traditional forest collecting practices. Therefore, we compared the structure and floristics of Pinus densata forests exposed to three levels of resource extraction by Tibetan villages in northwest Yunnan: (1) a forest site protected from wood and timber removal, (2) moderately utilized forest sites exposed to traditional collecting practices, and (3) patches of highly utilized forest from which timber extraction is high in response to recent development pressures. The results show that understorey and cryptogamic species are reduced in all the utilized forest sites by comparison with the protected forest. However, the moderately utilized pine forests still provide good NTFP habitats by maintaining relatively high canopy covers, litter covers, and understorey structural complexity; this suggests that traditional forest resource use, while simplifying the forest, does not pose an increasing threat to pine forest integrity. By comparison, the highly utilized forests are transformed into open, herb-rich environments in which canopy covers and understorey complexity are depleted, and NTFP habitats are degraded. In the future it may be practical to enhance biodiversity by proscribing forest resource collection, but the immediate priority is to monitor the sustainability of forest utilization using indicators such as understorey development, litter cover, and cryptogamic richness.     

Operationalizing urban resilience through a framework for adaptive co-management and design: Five experiments in urban planning practice and policy

The emergent discourse on social-ecological resilience can be understood as a response to the rapid pace of change and severe challenges facing urban areas. This paper reports on one strand of research being carried out as part of the EU FP7 TURAS project (Transitioning to Urban Resilience and Sustainability) that aims to gain insight into the implications of social-ecological resilience thinking on urban planning practice and policy by presenting a unique, trans-disciplinary perspective that has been developed collaboratively between academic, local government and SME partners. A framework for adaptive co-management and design is introduced as a basis for the operationalisation of urban resilience, highlighting the need to actively solve problems collaboratively by exercising imagination and creativity, and presenting a new and potentially fertile source for innovation. Five experiments exploring urban planning practices relating to the framework are put forward as examples of urban resilience in practice: an online crowd-sourcing application for mapping underused spaces; an interactive timeline tool for identifying drivers of change over time; a guidance and signposting tool to help community projects overcome resource barriers; an epistemic network of citizens that exchanges knowledge and resources relating to underused spaces; and an online portal that provides visibility for community groups or projects, and facilitates horizontal networking. The paper describes each experiment, sets out the aims and theoretical contexts, records any initial findings, and reflects on the potential and limitations. Initial findings are discussed relating to the challenges of crowd-sourcing spatial or historical data, and the resource commitment required for the emerging practices. It is observed that the experiments attempt to address fundamental issues in urban planning practice and policy, and involve established and familiar activities. The paper concludes that the research provides insight into what urban resilience might mean in practice and that each experiment has the potential to make a tangible contribution to the transition to urban resilience and sustainability.     

Constructing collaborative communities of researchers in the environmental domain. A case study of interdisciplinary research between legal scholars and policy analysts

The article offers an analysis of the interactions between legal and policy science researchers within a European project on flood risk management using a “Policy Arrangement Approach” (PAA). While interdisciplinary research is increasingly becoming a ‘must’ in environmental governance, under what conditions is cooperation possible and desirable? Our analysis shows that the PAA is not mobilized as an interdisciplinary method, but offers a framework for researchers from different disciplines to learn to work together on a subject such as flooding, requiring interdisciplinary insights. The paper shows the steps that are progressively put in place to reach a common language and reformulate issues by benefitting from each other’s view and approaches. The article concludes by drawing attention to new means of knowledge production relating to so-called “messy” or “wicked” problems, such as environmental issues. Within this framework, interdisciplinary work is not considered to be a pre-condition for the study, but rather the result of the research process itself. The analysis draws attention to the actual (working) conditions established to create an interdisciplinary community of flooding practices by challenging disciplinary borders.     

溶藻细菌L7对富营养化水体藻类群落的影响

将水华鱼腥藻和溶藻细菌L7按不同比例接入优势种为拟柱胞藻的富营养化供试原水,观测藻类群落结构和拟柱孢藻藻丝长度,研究溶藻细菌L7对富营养化水体藻类群落的影响。结果表明:溶藻细菌L7初始密度为9.45X10 7CFU/mL时,处理的拟柱孢藻细胞密度显著低于对照,实验开始8 d后,Shannon-Wiener指数分别由0.53和0.69升高至3.18和3.74,Pielou均匀度指数分别由0.09和0.12升高至0.73和0.82。在本研究条件下,高密度的溶藻细菌L7能够抑制优势种的生长,增加生物多样性和均匀度,具有调节藻类群落结构的作用。额外的水华鱼腥藻的加入,会对溶藻细菌L7调节藻类群落结构的作用强度产生干扰。     

Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: case studies from the Brazilian Amazon

Community forestry initiatives have been shown to reduce rural poverty while promoting the conservation and sustainable use of forests. However, a number of challenges face communities wanting to initiate or maintain formal, community-based forest management. Through a grounded theory approach, this paper uses three case studies of community forest management models in the eastern Amazon to create a framework showing challenges faced by communities at different phases of formal management. The framework shows that, in the development phase, four root problems (land ownership, knowledge acquisition, community organization, and adequate capital) need to be addressed to obtain legal management permission. With this permission in hand, further challenges to operationalization are presented (deterring illegal loggers, maintaining infrastructure, obtaining necessary managerial skills and accessing markets). The interrelatedness of these challenges emphasizes that all challenges need to be addressed in a holistic manner for communities to maintain a profitable and self-sufficient operation. This contradicts current development approaches that only address part of this framework. The framework proposed here can be used as a starting point for community forestry initiatives in other regions.