Impact of Advocacy Initiatives on Nurses' Motivation to Sustain Momentum in Public Policy Advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Melissa R S

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to elicit insight from the public policy leaders of 2 regional professional nursing organizations on key qualities of their current advocacy initiatives that motivate nurses to sustain momentum in public policy advocacy beyond a single episode. The goal is to inform quality improvement in the development of future advocacy initiatives to increase sustained engagement of nurses. Social cognitive theory was used as the rationale for this qualitative, descriptive study. A purposive convenience sample of executive leadership and board committee members from 2 regional professional nursing organizations were recruited to complete an initial Web-based electronic survey, followed by separate semistructured interview focus groups. One organization was composed primarily of advanced practice registered nurses, and the other group composed of diverse, multispecialty nursing members with varied educational levels. Nine themes emerged, categorized as facilitators or challenges to the positive impact of advocacy initiatives on nurses' motivation. Highlighting and marketing facilitators to the positive impact of advocacy initiatives on nurses' motivation to sustain momentum in public policy advocacy, while designing and testing new initiatives that address the challenges, may increase the number of nurses who sustain engagement in the policy advocacy process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Impact of Land Use Policy on Urban-Rural Sustainability Using the FoPIA Approach in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junun Sartohadi

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a sustainability impact assessment (SIA of policy induced land use changes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The regional problems include rapid expansions of urban areas, due to high population pressure, and the conversion of paddy fields and forests into settlements. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of two land use policies on social, economic, and environmental Land Use Functions (LUFs in Yogyakarta. The following scenarios were developed for the SIA: a forest protection scenario (S1, a paddy field conservation scenario (S2, and a counterfactual (no policy scenario of ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU. The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA was applied to conduct an expert-based impact assessment. For the specification of the regional sustainability context, a set of nine key LUFs and associated indicators were developed, including three social, three economic, and three environmental sustainability criteria. The resulting scenario impacts of the assessment differed considerably, with positive impacts of the S1 and S2 scenarios on seven of nine LUFs, and negative impacts of the BAU scenario on six LUFs. The perception of the FoPIA method by the regional stakeholders was positive. We conclude that this method contributes toward an enhanced regional understanding of policy effects and sustainability, particularly in data-poor environments.

The Impact of Management Control on Sustainability Reports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aliona Birca

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays sustainable development is no longer seen only as a way to reduce costs or increase efficiency, but also as a tool for competitiveness and development through product placement, services related to the preferences of the entity’s stakeholders. Sustainability reports are designed to justify and present public policy actions of each entity. The holistic approach to the structure and content of sustainability reports lead us to notice their various features. Examining the content of sustainability reports of various national and international entities was based on the theory of corporate governance, agency theory and the theory of positive stakeholders. In order to ensure a full study we have examined various international bodies and position with respect to sustainable development.

Impact of Sustainability Balanced Scorecard Types on Environmental Investment Decision-Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suaad Jassem

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Investment decision-making based on aspects of sustainability is gaining importance among organizations around the globe. In this context, there is a need for quality investment decisions, which require sufficient knowledge among organizational managers about managing sustainability information to achieve environmental objectives that meet stakeholder expectations. This has led to the emergence of organizational performance measuring tools such as the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard, which integrates the environmental perspective into the traditional Balanced Scorecard. Using experimental research method, the objective of this study is to investigate the indirect effect of Eco-efficiency knowledge and Sustainability Balanced Scorecard knowledge as mediators influencing the relationship between Sustainability Balanced Scorecard types and their impact on environmental investment decision-making. Findings of the current research are based on 60 respondents who were randomly assigned to one of the following two types of Sustainability Balanced Scorecard architecture: (1 environmental data embedded within the traditional Balanced Scorecard perspectives; and (2 standalone environmental data as an additional fifth perspective along with the traditional Balanced Scorecard architecture. The traditional Balanced Scorecard without any information on environmental perspective is included in the experiment as the control condition. The findings indicate that the combined effect of eco-efficiency knowledge and Sustainability Balanced Scorecard knowledge has a significant positive influence on the relationship between the Balanced Scorecard type versus Sustainability Balanced Scorecard type and environmental investment decision-making.

A Review of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems Considering the Climate Change and Urbanization Impacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qianqian Zhou

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change and urbanization are converging to challenge city drainage infrastructure due to their adverse impacts on precipitation extremes and the environment of urban areas. Sustainable drainage systems have gained growing public interest in recent years, as a result of its positive effects on water quality and quantity issues and additional recreational amenities perceived in the urban landscape. This paper reviews recent progress in sustainable drainage development based on literature across different disciplinary fields. After presenting the key elements and criteria of sustainable drainage design, various devices and examples of sustainable drainage systems are introduced. The state-of-the-art model approaches and decision-aid tools for assessing the sustainable alternatives are discussed and compared. The paper further explores some limitations and difficulties in the application of the innovative solutions and suggests an integrated and trans-disciplinary approach for sustainable drainage design.

Characterization and management trends of negative and positive impacts of tourism in show caves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heros Augusto Santos Lobo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Caves are one of the most fragile environments on Earth ’s surface, in function of physical, atmospheric and biological specificities. The natural characteristics associated with cultural aspects of local people are the reasons to tourist potential of caves. However, the tourist use of caves can generate negative impacts on the environment. This consequence happens when inappropriate procedures of planning and management of tourism are used. Negative impacts are described in this review, as also indications of management techniques to avoid, decrease or eliminate the negative consequences of tourism in caves. Positive impacts are also presented, in order to achieve a sustainable tourism in show caves. The conclusion argues that the negative impacts should not be considered as impediments to tourism in caves. It is important to know these impacts and use it as a key to get previous answers which allow to raise the sustainability of show caves.

Minimum impact house prototype for sustainable building

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Götz, E.; Klenner, K.; Lantelme, M.; Mohn, A.; Sauter, S.; Thöne, J.; Zellmann, E.; Drexler, H.; Jauslin, D.

2010-01-01

The Minihouse is a prototupe for a sustainable townhouse. On a site of only 29 sqm it offers 154 sqm of urban life. The project 'Minimum Impact House' adresses two important questions: How do we provide living space in the cities without distroying the landscape? How to improve sustainably the

Managing cumulative impacts: A key to sustainability?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunsaker, C.T.

1994-12-31

This paper addresses how science can be more effectively used in creating policy to manage cumulative effects on ecosystems. The paper focuses on the scientific techniques that we have to identify and to assess cumulative impacts on ecosystems. The term ``sustainable development`` was brought into common use by the World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission) in 1987. The Brundtland Commission report highlighted the need to simultaneously address developmental and environmental imperatives simultaneously by calling for development that ``meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations.`` We cannot claim to be working toward sustainable development until we can quantitatively assess cumulative impacts on the environment: The two concepts are inextricibally linked in that the elusiveness of cumulative effects likely has the greatest potential of keeping us from achieving sustainability. In this paper, assessment and management frameworks relevant to cumulative impacts are discussed along with recent literature on how to improve such assessments. When possible, examples are given for marine ecosystems.

Sustained Professional Development on Cooperative Learning: Impact on Six Teachers' Practices and Students' Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodyear, Victoria A

2017-03-01

It has been argued, extensively and internationally, that sustained school-based continuous professional development (CPD) has the potential to overcome some of the shortcomings of traditional one-off CPD programs. Yet, the evidence base on more effective or less effective forms of CPD is contradictory. The mechanisms by which sustained support should be offered are unclear, and the impacts on teachers' and students' learning are complex and difficult to track. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a sustained school-based, tailored, and supported CPD program on teachers' practices and students' learning. Data are reported from 6 case studies of individual teachers engaged in a yearlong CPD program focused on cooperative learning. The CPD program involved participatory action research and frequent interaction/support from a boundary spanner (researcher/facilitator). Data were gathered from 29 video-recorded lessons, 108 interviews, and 35 field journal entries. (a) Individualized (external) support, (b) departmental (internal) support, and (c) sustained support impacted teachers' practices of cooperative learning. The teachers adapted their practices of cooperative learning in response to their students' learning needs. Teachers began to develop a level of pedagogical fluency, and in doing so, teachers advanced students' learning. Because this study demonstrates impact, it contributes to international literature on effective CPD. The key contribution is the detailed evidence about how and why CPD supported 6 individual teachers to learn-differently-and the complexity of the learning support required to engage in ongoing curriculum development to positively impact student learning.

Biofuel Supply Chains: Impacts, Indicators and Sustainability Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development has introduced a program to study the environmental impacts and sustainability of biofuel supply chains. Analyses will provide indicators and metrics for valuating sustainability. In this context, indicators are supply chain rat...

Project IMPACT: a report on barriers and facilitators to sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Blasinsky, Margaret; Goldman, Howard H; Unützer, Jürgen

2006-11-01

Project IMPACT is a collaborative care intervention to assist older adults suffering from major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Qualitative research methods were used to determine the barriers and facilitators to sustaining IMPACT in a primary care setting. Strong evidence supports the program's sustainability, but considerable variation exists in continuation strategies and operationalization across sites. Sustainability depended on the organizations' support of collaborative care models, the availability of staff trained in the intervention, and funding. The intervention's success was the most important sustainability factor, as documented by outcome data and through the "real world" experience of treating patients with this intervention.

A Framework for Assessing the Social and Economic Impact of Sustainable Investments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Räikkönen Minna

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Investments towards sustainable development are vital for the future and they must be carefully planned to deliver immediate and long-term benefits. Hence, the ability to communicate the forms of impact of sustainable investments to local societies, people, investors and other stakeholders can provide a competitive advantage. However, the assessments are often under pressure to demonstrate short-term effects rather than emphasise the long-term impact. In addition, indirect and intangible forms of impacts should not be measured solely in economic terms. This paper proposes an assessment framework to support the integrated economic and social impact assessment of sustainable investments aimed at improving physical and socio-economic wellbeing. The framework is demonstrated in two case studies: new construction and renovation investments in affordable housing and social impact investment in sustainable development. The investments in the case studies are evaluated, selected and prioritized not only in terms of money but also with regard to sustainability, social acceptability and their overall impact on society, as a whole. The results indicate that a systematic integrated assessment of monetary and non-monetary factors can be successfully combined with the sustainable development decisions.

The future impact of ICT on environmental sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wunnik, C. van; Rodriguez, C.; Delgado, L.; Burgelman, J.C.; Desruelle, P. [Inst. for Prospective Technological Studies, European Commission, DG-JRC (Spain)

2004-07-01

The Institute for Prospective Technology Studies commissioned a project to research the possible effects of ICT on a set of environmental indicators in 2020. The project adopted an innovative methodology combining qualitative scenario-building and quantitative modelling. The general conclusion was that the impact of ICT is roughly between -20 and +30%. It should therefore be taken into account by environmental policies in order to ensure that ICT applications make a positive contribution to environmental outcomes, and, at the same time, to suppress rebound effects. There are significant opportunities for improving environmental sustainability through ICTs, which can rationalise energy management in housing (or facilities), make passenger and freight transport more efficient, and enable a product-to-service shift across the economy. (orig.)

The Impact of Sustainability Information on Consumer Decision Making

OpenAIRE

O'Rourke, D; Ringer, A

2016-01-01

© 2015 by Yale University This article presents an empirical analysis of the impact of sustainability information on consumer purchase intentions and how this influence varies by issue (health, environment, and social responsibility), product category, type of consumer, and type of information. We assess over 40,000 online purchase interactions on the website GoodGuide.com and find a significant impact of certain types of sustainability information on purchase intentions, varying across diffe...

Techno-Economic, Sustainability & Environmental Impact Diagnosis (TESED) Framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loureiro da Costa Lira Gargalo, Carina; Carvalho, Ana; Matos, Henrique A.

2014-01-01

that truly sustainable design alternatives can befound.This work proposes a framework,called ‘Techno-Economic Sustainability Environmental Impact Diagnosis’ (TESED) that allows users to assess chemical/biochemical processes in a product oriented analysis.TESED is asystematic and generic approach that can......Nowadays, companies are looking for new sustainable design alternatives that improve their original processes.To assesst he best designalternative, economic aspects have been the preferred indicators. However, environmental and social concerns should also be included in the decision process so...

Sustainable purchase. Impact on the Dutch real estate market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kok, N.

2009-08-01

The effect of the sustainable procurement policy of the Dutch government is starting to become visible in the market. There is a distinct movement towards making the existing stock more sustainable. Investors are responding to the changing demand. This is the outcome of a study commissioned by SenterNovem with respect to the impact of sustainable procurement on the office building market. The Dutch government envisages 100% sustainable procurement in 2010. This also includes renting and purchasing office buildings. [nl

Transition management and the sustainable nutrients economy in the Netherlands: positioning paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoppe, Thomas; Arentsen, Maarten J.; Mikkila, M.; Linnanen, L.

2012-01-01

In this positioning paper transition management (TM) and the sustainable nutrient economy are addressed. We discuss TM from its scholarly origins in the 1990’s to its implementation as a comprehensive sector-wide policy program on sustainability in The Netherlands during the first decade of the

Seeking sustainability in the construction sector: opportunities within impact assessment and sustainable public procurement

OpenAIRE

Uttam, Kedar

2014-01-01

Growing concerns regarding sustainability have led the construction sector to adopt various policy instruments for reducing the impacts caused by construction activities. One such policy instrument includes impact assessment, which enables the construction sector to evaluate the environmental consequences of proposed developments at project (environmental impact assessment) and strategic (strategic environmental assessment) level. In recent years, the construction sector has also adopted gree...

The Impact of Sustainability Practices on Corporate Financial Performance: Literature Trends and Future Research Potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Alshehhi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the literature concerning the impact of corporate sustainability on corporate financial performance. The relationship between corporate sustainable practices and financial performance has received growing attention in research, yet a consensus remains elusive. This paper identifies developing trends and the issues that hinder conclusive consensus on that relationship. We used content analysis to examine the literature and establish the current state of research. A total of 132 papers from top-tier journals are shortlisted. We find that 78% of publications report a positive relationship between corporate sustainability and financial performance. Variations in research methodology and measurement of variables lead to the divergent views on the relationship. Furthermore, literature is slowly replacing total sustainability with narrower corporate social responsibility (CSR, which is dominated by the social dimension of sustainability, while encompassing little to nothing of environmental and economic dimensions. Studies from developing countries remain scarce. More research is needed to facilitate convergence in the understanding of the relationship between corporate sustainable practices and financial performance.

Minimizing the Impact of Mining Activities for Sustainable Mined-Out ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Minimizing the Impact of Mining Activities for Sustainable Mined-Out Area ... sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) in assessing environmental impact of ... Keywords: Solid mineral, Impact assessment, Mined-out area utilization, ...

Sustainable Impact of Landfill Siting towards Urban Planning in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Sin Tey, Jia; Goh, Kai Chen; Ern Ang, Peniel Soon

2017-10-01

Landfill is one of the most common, widely used waste management technique in Malaysia. The ever increasing of solid waste has made the role of landfill become prominent despite the negative impacts that caused by the landfill is unavoidable. The public and government regulations are getting more aware with the negative impacts that could be brought by the landfill towards the community. It led to the cultural shift to integrate the concept of sustainability into the planning of siting a landfill in an urban area. However, current urban planning tends to emphasize more on the environmental aspect instead of social and economic aspects. This is due to the existing planning guidelines and stakeholder’s understandings are more on the environmental aspect. This led to the needs of incorporating the concept of sustainability into the urban planning. Thus, this paper focuses on the industry stakeholders view on the negative impacts that will cause by the landfill towards the urban planning. The industry stakeholders are those who are related to the decision-making in the selection of a landfill site in the government department. The scope of the study is within the country of Malaysia. This study was conducted through the semi-structured interviews with a total of fifteen industry stakeholders to obtain their perspective on the issues of impacts of siting a landfill in the urban area. The data obtained was analysed using the software, QSR NVivo version 10. Results indicate that landfill bought significant sustainability-related impacts towards landfill siting in urban planning. The negative impacts stated by the respondents are categorized under all three sustainable aspects such as environmental, social and economic. Among the results are such as the pollution, such as the generation of leachate, the objection in siting a landfill site against by the public, and the negotiating and getting money contribution from local authorities. The results produced can be served

Frequency of head-impact-related outcomes by position in NCAA division I collegiate football players.

Science.gov (United States)

Baugh, Christine M; Kiernan, Patrick T; Kroshus, Emily; Daneshvar, Daniel H; Montenigro, Philip H; McKee, Ann C; Stern, Robert A

2015-03-01

Concussions and subconcussive impacts sustained in American football have been associated with short- and long-term neurological impairment, but differences in head impact outcomes across playing positions are not well understood. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine has identified playing position as a key risk factor for concussion in football and one for which additional research is needed. This study examined variation in head impact outcomes across primary football playing positions in a group of 730 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Series athletes, using a self-report questionnaire. Although there were no significant differences between position groups in the number of diagnosed concussions during the 2012 football season, there were significant differences between groups in undiagnosed concussions (p=0.008) and "dings" (pfootball season, with offensive linemen reporting significantly more symptoms compared to most other groups. There were also positional differences in frequency of returning to play while symptomatic (p<0.001) and frequency of participating in full-contact practice (p<0.001). Offensive linemen reported having returned to play while experiencing symptoms more frequently and participating in more full-contact practices than other groups. These findings suggest that offensive linemen, a position group that experiences frequent, but low-magnitude, head impacts, develop more postimpact symptoms than other playing positions, but do not report these symptoms as a concussion.

Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Onozuka, Minoru

2015-01-01

Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64%) showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5%) showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23%) showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9%) showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function. PMID:26075234

Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiyuki Hirano

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64% showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5% showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23% showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9% showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function.

Chewing and attention: a positive effect on sustained attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Yoshiyuki; Onozuka, Minoru

2015-01-01

Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64%) showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5%) showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23%) showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9%) showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function.

The new United Nations approach to sustainable development post-2015: Findings from four overviews of systematic reviews on interventions for sustainable development and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvão, Luiz A C; Haby, Michelle M; Chapman, Evelina; Clark, Rachel; Câmara, Volney Magalhães; Luiz, Ronir Raggio; Becerra-Posada, Francisco

2016-03-01

Objective To identify reported interventions that facilitate sustainable development and have had a positive impact on health in four areas: sustainable food production; sustainable energy use; sustainable jobs ("decent work"); and prevention of toxic exposure to chemicals. Methods Systematic review methods were used to synthesize evidence from multiple systematic reviews and economic evaluations. A comprehensive search was conducted of at least 14 databases and 8 websites for each of the four overviews, using pre-defined protocols, including clear inclusion criteria. To qualify as "sustainable," interventions needed to aim (explicitly or implicitly) to positively impact at least two dimensions of the integrated framework for sustainable development and had to include measures of health impact. Results In total, 47 systematic reviews and 10 economic evaluations met the inclusion criteria. The most promising interventions, such as agricultural policies, were identified for each of the four topics. While the evidence for the interventions is not strong because of the limited number of studies, there is no evidence of a definite negative impact on health. The only possible exception is that of taxes and subsidies-though this intervention also has the potential to be pro-equity with higher relative impacts for lower income groups. Conclusions The evidence found for effective interventions is useful for guiding countries toward the best options for non-health sector interventions that can positively impact health. This overviews shows that intersectoral work benefits every sector involved.

Sustainable Refugee Migration: A Rethink towards a Positive Capability Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Al-Husban

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A major challenge facing many countries around the world is how to sustainably address the issues of increased numbers of refugee migrants. The refugee migrant “issue” is often heavily political as a high density of migrants in local areas impacts communities (e.g., disrupting local employment, service and culture. Different migrants come with different “baggage” and needs which can be a significant draw on the hosting communities’ resources. This paper argues that sustainable long-term solutions to refugee migrants will require a rethink to the existing dominant models of containment and charity. The paper draws upon insights from a study of a large refugee camp in Jordan over a three-and-a-half-year period, and historical cases of refugee migration. The paper presents a sustainable model that develops long-term capability for the various stakeholder groups.

Evaluating the environmental sustainability of biomass-based energy strategy: Using an impact matrix framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weldu, Yemane W., E-mail: ywweldem@ucalgary.ca [Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta 2500, University Drive NW, T2N 1N4 (Canada); Assefa, Getachew [Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta 2500, University Drive NW, T2N 1N4 (Canada); Athena Chair in Life Cycle Assessment in Design (Canada)

2016-09-15

A roadmap for a more sustainable energy strategy is complex, as its development interacts critically with the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This paper applied an impact matrix method to evaluate the environmental sustainability and to identify the desirable policy objectives of biomass-based energy strategy for the case of Alberta. A matrix with the sustainability domains on one axis and areas of environmental impact on the other was presented to evaluate the nexus effect of policy objectives and bioenergy production. As per to our analysis, economic diversification, technological innovation, and resource conservation came up as the desirable policy objectives of sustainable development for Alberta because they demonstrated environmental benefits in all environmental impact categories, namely climate change, human health, and ecosystem. On the other hand, human health and ecosystem impacts were identified as trade-offs when the policy objectives for sustainability were energy security, job creation, and climate change. Thus, bioenergy can mitigate climate change but may impact human health and ecosystem which then in turn can become issues of concern. Energy strategies may result in shifting of risks from one environmental impact category to another, and from one sustainable domain to another if the technical and policy-related issues are not identified.

Evaluating the environmental sustainability of biomass-based energy strategy: Using an impact matrix framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weldu, Yemane W.; Assefa, Getachew

2016-01-01

A roadmap for a more sustainable energy strategy is complex, as its development interacts critically with the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This paper applied an impact matrix method to evaluate the environmental sustainability and to identify the desirable policy objectives of biomass-based energy strategy for the case of Alberta. A matrix with the sustainability domains on one axis and areas of environmental impact on the other was presented to evaluate the nexus effect of policy objectives and bioenergy production. As per to our analysis, economic diversification, technological innovation, and resource conservation came up as the desirable policy objectives of sustainable development for Alberta because they demonstrated environmental benefits in all environmental impact categories, namely climate change, human health, and ecosystem. On the other hand, human health and ecosystem impacts were identified as trade-offs when the policy objectives for sustainability were energy security, job creation, and climate change. Thus, bioenergy can mitigate climate change but may impact human health and ecosystem which then in turn can become issues of concern. Energy strategies may result in shifting of risks from one environmental impact category to another, and from one sustainable domain to another if the technical and policy-related issues are not identified.

The Challenge of Sustaining Preschool Impacts: Introducing ExCEL P-3, a Study from the Expanding Children's Early Learning Network

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Meghan; Hsueh, JoAnn; Weiland, Christina; Bangser, Michael

2017-01-01

Early childhood interventions can be highly cost effective when positive impacts are sustained into adulthood. Yet while many recent preschool interventions have been found to have short-term effects on young children's language, literacy, mathematics, executive function, and social-emotional development, studies show that impacts on cognitive and…

Where's the impairment: an examination of factors that impact sustained attention following a stressor.

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Jonathan B; Tartar, Jaime L; Welhaf, Matthew S

2014-01-01

The impact of stress on cognitive functioning has been examined across multiple domains. However, few studies investigate both physical and psychological factors that impact cognitive performance. The current study examined the impact of a physical and psychosocial stressor on sustained attention and identified factors related to sustained attention, including cortisol, salivary alpha amylase (sAA) and mind wandering. A total of 53 participants completed either the socially evaluated cold pressor task or a control task followed by the sustained attention to response task with mind wandering measures. Participants also provided saliva samples following the attention task. Results indicate the stressor task did not impact mind wandering or sustained attention but increased cortisol and sAA. Mind wandering was negatively related to sustained attention and mediated the relationship between cortisol and sustained attention. The findings highlight the importance of examining multiple sources of stress-related cognitive impairments.

Communicating Sustainable Shoes to Mainstream Consumers: The Impact of Advertisement Design on Buying Intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirjam Visser

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Traditionally, marketing of sustainable products addresses green buyers, thus missing out on the mainstream consumers and volume necessary to cover the potentially higher cost of more sustainable materials. However, how to effectively communicate more sustainable products to mainstream consumers and to increase their buying intention is still underexplored. Combining personal and environmental benefits, called double benefit theory, is promoted as an effective green marketing strategy but so far not supported by quantitative research as being effective to reach mainstream consumers. We studied the effect of advertisement elements (layout color, benefit type, and heritage on the products’ perceived sustainability, quality and fashion image, and buying intentions of mainstream consumers. Two hundred adults participated in a study that was based on a 2 (red vs. green layout × 2 (personal vs. environmental benefit × 2 (local vs. global heritage between-subjects factorial design of a sustainable shoe advertisement. The impact of these independent variables on product image as well as on buying intention was analyzed by means of three-way ANOVAs. In line with the double benefit theory, combining a personal benefit with a green layout led to the highest buying intention. Moreover, a mediation analysis revealed the effect of emphasizing a personal benefit on buying intention was mediated by fashion image but not by sustainability. Sustainability, however, did have a positive effect on buying intentions independent of benefit type.

Impact of previously disadvantaged land-users on sustainable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of previously disadvantaged land-users on sustainable agricultural ... about previously disadvantaged land users involved in communal farming systems ... of input, capital, marketing, information and land use planning, with effect on ...

Impact of promoting sustainable agriculture project on livelihood ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study on impact assessment of Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Project ... the Fisher Index, Focused Group Discussion and descriptive statistical analysis. ... The qualitative analysis showed that 30%, 45% and 10% of men, women and ...

Investigation of Sustainable Housing Criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

roshanfekr Somayeh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, much attention has been paid to sustainable development in cities. The quality of human life is directly related to environmental quality. Because many people live in cities as a place of social, economic and cultural relationships, certain issues such as environmental crises, energy, air and noise pollution and traffic jams are some of the factors that can alter the quality of human life. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of human life, attention to sustainable development (or sustainability in cities is proposed. Sustainable building has a comprehensive significance that begins with the conception of negative and positive impacts on the environment. Several descriptions of sustainable or green buildings have been created; however, they all pursue one goal, which is to create sustainable urban developments and protection of the environment. The quality of indoor environments, materials, and energy consumption, water usage, the impact of building construction processes and building maintenance are some of the factors that affect the environment and sustainability. Sustainable building is an attempt to relieve the minus impacts on the environment that occur during a building’s lifetime. This research investigates the important factors that have relevance to green buildings and introduces several criteria of sustainable housing.

Sustaining impactful multidisciplinary contributions over five decades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kulbhushan Balooni

2017-06-01

By tracing the trajectory of Singh's vast and varied experience, attitude and approach to research, and scholarly output in international publications that have advanced knowledge and found applications from management to biological and social sciences, this interview offer pathways to research scholars for sustained multidisciplinary and impactful research in their careers.

Impact of supply chain management practices on sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Govindan, Kannan; Azevedo, Susana G.; Carvalho, Helena

2014-01-01

elimination," "supply chain risk management" and "cleaner production." The following lean, resilient and green supply chain management practices do not have a significant impact on supply chain sustainability: "flexible transportation," "flexible sourcing," "ISO 14001 certification," and "reverse logistics...

Positive Healthy Organizations: Promoting Well-Being, Meaningfulness, and Sustainability in Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Fabio, Annamaria

2017-01-01

This contribution deals with the concept of healthy organizations and starts with a definition of healthy organizations and healthy business. In healthy organizations, culture, climate, and practices create an environment conducive to employee health and safety as well as organizational effectiveness (Lowe, 2010). A healthy organization thus leads to a healthy and successful business (De Smet et al., 2007; Grawitch and Ballard, 2016), underlining the strong link between organizational profitability and workers' well-being. Starting from a positive perspective focused on success and excellence, the contribution describes how positive organizational health psychology evolved from occupational health psychology to positive occupational health psychology stressing the importance of a primary preventive approach. The focus is not on deficiency and failure but on a positive organizational attitude that proposes interventions at different levels: individual, group, organization, and inter-organization. Healthy organizations need to find the right balance between their particular situation, sector, and culture, highlighting the importance of well-being and sustainability. This contribution discusses also the sustainability of work-life projects and the meaning of work in healthy organizations, stressing the importance of recognizing, respecting, and using the meaning of work as a key for growth and success. Finally, the contribution discusses new research and intervention opportunities for healthy organizations.

Factors Predicting Sustainability of the Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Support Model

Science.gov (United States)

Chitiyo, Jonathan; May, Michael E.

2018-01-01

The Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Support model (SWPBIS) continues to gain widespread use across schools in the United States and abroad. Despite its widespread implementation, little research has examined factors that influence its sustainability. Informed by Rogers's diffusion theory, this study examined school personnel's…

[Sustainability of food choices: the position of the Italian experts in nutrition].

Science.gov (United States)

Fatati, Giuseppe; Poli, Andrea

2013-12-01

The development of a global food system able to guarantee everyone a balanced food intake requires health professionals an awareness and a commitment to education increasingly complex. FAO strongly recommends the development of a code of conduct for sustainable diets. Sustainable diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. We wanted to examine, through a specific questionnaire, the opinions of scientific italian opinion leaders on this topic. The comments received confirm the variability of the concept of sustainability among those who participated in our survey. In relation to the consumption of certain foods we detect the potential conflict between "healthy" and "sustainable". The nutritional need of increasing the consumption of healthy foods is widely shared, but more than a doubt emerges about the sustainability of these solution. Our survey shows the absolute necessity of shared documents in this regard (recommendations and/or guidelines) and of a thorough implementation of such documents among opinion makers.

Local Sustainability and Gender Ratio: Evaluating the Impacts of Mining and Tourism on Sustainable Development in Yunnan, China

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ganlin; Ali, Saleem

2015-01-01

This study employed rapid evaluation methods to investigate how the leading industries of mining and tourism impact sustainability as manifest through social, economic and environmental dimensions in Yunnan, China. Within the social context, we also consider the differentiated impact on gender ratio—which is a salient feature of sustained development trajectories. Our results indicate that mining areas performed better than tourism areas in economic aspects but fell behind in social development, especially regarding the issue of gender balance. Conclusions on environmental status cannot be drawn due to a lack of data.  The results from the environmental indicators are mixed. Our study demonstrates that rapid evaluation using currently available data can provide a means of greater understanding regarding local sustainability and highlights areas that need attention from policy makers, agencies and academia. PMID:25607602

Local Sustainability and Gender Ratio: Evaluating the Impacts of Mining and Tourism on Sustainable Development in Yunnan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ganlin Huang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study employed rapid evaluation methods to investigate how the leading industries of mining and tourism impact sustainability as manifest through social, economic and environmental dimensions in Yunnan, China. Within the social context, we also consider the differentiated impact on gender ratio—which is a salient feature of sustained development trajectories. Our results indicate that mining areas performed better than tourism areas in economic aspects but fell behind in social development, especially regarding the issue of gender balance. Conclusions on environmental status cannot be drawn due to a lack of data.  The results from the environmental indicators are mixed. Our study demonstrates that rapid evaluation using currently available data can provide a means of greater understanding regarding local sustainability and highlights areas that need attention from policy makers, agencies and academia.

Local sustainability and gender ratio: evaluating the impacts of mining and tourism on sustainable development in Yunnan, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ganlin; Ali, Saleem

2015-01-19

This study employed rapid evaluation methods to investigate how the leading industries of mining and tourism impact sustainability as manifest through social, economic and environmental dimensions in Yunnan, China. Within the social context, we also consider the differentiated impact on gender ratio-which is a salient feature of sustained development trajectories. Our results indicate that mining areas performed better than tourism areas in economic aspects but fell behind in social development, especially regarding the issue of gender balance. Conclusions on environmental status cannot be drawn due to a lack of data.  The results from the environmental indicators are mixed. Our study demonstrates that rapid evaluation using currently available data can provide a means of greater understanding regarding local sustainability and highlights areas that need attention from policy makers, agencies and academia.

Impact assessment procedures for sustainable development: A complexity theory perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nooteboom, Sibout

2007-01-01

The author assumes that effective Impact Assessment procedures should somehow contribute to sustainable development. There is no widely agreed framework for evaluating such effectiveness. The author suggests that complexity theories may offer criteria. The relevant question is 'do Impact Assessment Procedures contribute to the 'requisite variety' of a social system for it to deal with changing circumstances?' Requisite variety theoretically relates to the capability of a system to deal with changes in its environment. The author reconstructs how thinking about achieving sustainable development has developed in a sequence of discourses in The Netherlands since the 1970s. Each new discourse built on the previous ones, and is supposed to have added to 'requisite variety'. The author asserts that Impact Assessment procedures may be a necessary component in such sequences and derives possible criteria for effectiveness

The Impact of Integrated Practices of Lean, Green, and Social Management Systems on Firm Sustainability Performance—Evidence from Chinese Fashion Auto-Parts Suppliers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Wu

2015-03-01

Full Text Available To better satisfy various stakeholders, firms are seeking integrated practices that can enhance their sustainability performance, also well known as the Triple Bottom Line (3BL. The fashion industry exhibits potential conflicts with the spirit of sustainability because of the waste created by high levels of demand uncertainty and the extant usage of resources in production. Literature suggests that selected stand-alone practices of lean, green, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR management systems have a positive impact on firm sustainability performance. However, how the combination of selected practices from these three management systems impacts the 3BL remains unclear. Based on case studies, we build an integrated sustainable practices model incorporating the most popular lean, green, and social practices and develop propositions for future tests. Our framework suggests the implementation of integrated practices would have a stronger influence on 3BL performance than individual practice implementation.

Sustaining Air Force Space Systems: A Model for the Global Positioning System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Snyder, Don; Mills, Patrick; Comanor, Katherine; Roll, Jr, Charles R

2007-01-01

... and sustainment affect the performance of space systems. In this monograph, we develop a pilot framework for analyzing these and related questions in the ground segment of the Global Positioning System and recommend steps for implementing this framework...

Sustainable regional development and natural hazard impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Petrova, Elena; Svetlosanov, Vladimir; Kudin, Valery

2016-04-01

During the last decades, natural hazard impacts on social and economic development in many countries were increasing due to the expansion of human activities into the areas prone to natural risks as well as to increasing in number and severity of natural hazardous events caused by climate changes and other natural phenomena. The escalation of severe disasters (such as Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan 2011) triggered by natural hazards and related natural-technological and environmental events is increasingly threatening sustainable development at different levels from regional to global scale. In our study, we develop a model of ecological, economic and social sustainable development for the European part of Russia and the Republic of Belarus. The model consists of six blocks including 1) population, 2) environment, 3) mineral resources, 4) geographic space, 5) investments, and 6) food production and import. These blocks were created based on the analysis of the main processes at the regional level; all the blocks are closely interrelated between each other. Reaching the limit values of block parameters corresponds to a sharp deterioration of the system; as a result, the system can lose its stability. Aggravation of natural and natural-technological risk impacts on each block and should be taken into account in the model of regional development. Natural hazards can cause both strong influences and small but permanent perturbations. In both cases, a system can become unstable. The criterion for sustainable development is proposed. The Russian Foundation for Humanities and Belorussian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research supported the study (project 15-22-01008).

Attitudes of Local Population of Tourism Impacts on Destination Sustainability – Case of Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izidora Marković

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Space as a resource is intensively used both by the tourism and the local community. Therefore the state of the tourism development must be measured trough time, along with attitudes of local population, to determine the impacts and the pressure that can continues tourism development cause. In the 1990s, tourism becomes the motor of the development of Croatia, which has resulted in continues increase of the number of tourist beds. On the other hand population of the Croatia is experiencing the demographic extinction. To explain pressures of the tourism development on the decreasing community, tourism function index was used in comparison with the research of the attitudes of local population considering tourism impacts. The main objective of this paper is to determine the correlation between the increase in the number of tourists and changes in the life of local population, which arises from the tourism activities in destinations, as well as from the ratio of the number of residents and tourists. The attitudes analysis has shown high level of the negative impacts of tourism in seven Adriatic counties, while in continental parts of Croatia tourism is seen as an activity with mostly positive effects. Still tourism has generally positive impact on the destination and is seen as desirable activity, even in areas with relatively high tourism function index. Accordingly, to enhance the positive impacts it is essential to diminish extremely big differences in tourism development between too developed coastal areas and mainly neglected continental part of the country and to reduce seasonality of tourism, trough sustainable management and diversification of tourism offer in accordance with spatial disparities.

Impacts of sustainable consumption choices on quality of life: the Slow Food example

OpenAIRE

Nevison, James Holm

2008-01-01

Though increasingly understood that sustainable consumption is a key component for sustainable development, establishing its viability remains a crucial task. Moving towards sustainable consumption will realistically require significant changes in consumptio n patterns, as well as rethinking the connection between increased consumption and well-being. However, an identified knowledge gap exists in understanding how sustainable consumption choices impact lifestyle and quality of life. As a sta...

AMPLITION IN THE WORKPLACE: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE THROUGH INDIVIDUAL POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascale M. Le Blanc

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Workforce sustainability is of vital utmost importance for the viability and competitive advantage of contemporary organizations. Therefore, and in parallel with the rise of positive organizational psychology, organizations have become increasingly interested in how to enhance their employees’ positive psychological well being. In this paper, amplition interventions – i.e. interventions aimed at enhancing positive work-related well being - are presented as a valuable tool to increase workforce sustainability. In the past decade, some work-related interventions focused on amplition have been developed and tested for their effectiveness. In this paper, we will first outline some important preconditions for successful interventions and briefly discuss the intervention process itself. Next, we will give an overview of empirical work on amplition interventions, focusing on interventions that are aimed at enhancing employee work engagement. Future research should focus on testing the effects of these type of interventions on outcomes at the team and organizational level.

ICT innovations for sustainability

CERN Document Server

Aebischer, Bernard

2015-01-01

ICT Innovations for Sustainability is an investigation of how information and communication technology can contribute to sustainable development. It presents clear definitions of sustainability, suggesting conceptual frameworks for the positive and negative effects of ICT on sustainable development. It reviews methods of assessing the direct and indirect impact of ICT systems on energy and materials demand, and examines the results of such assessments. In addition, it investigates ICT-based approaches to supporting sustainable patterns of production and consumption, analyzing them at various levels of abstraction – from end-user devices, Internet infrastructure, user behavior, and social practices to macro-economic indicators.   Combining approaches from Computer Science, Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, Economics, and Environmental Sciences, the book presents a new, holistic perspective on ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S). It is an indispensable resource for anyone working in the area of ICT...

The Impact of a Values-Based Supply Chain (VBSC on Farm-Level Viability, Sustainability and Resilience: Case Study Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa Hooks

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The ‘Agriculture of the Middle’ (AotM development paradigm emphasises that in order to survive, family farms must transition from a supply chain approach to a values-based supply chain (VBSC approach, involving amendments to both product type and actor dynamics within the chain. This paper presents a qualitative case study of a beef co-operative integrated to a VBSC. We use an analytical framework of viability, sustainability and resilience to analyse impacts at farm-level. Our analysis highlights a number of positive effects on farm-level viability, sustainability and resilience. These benefits stemmed largely from improvements to market orientation, price stability, and members’ capacities in responding to problems. However, the autonomy of the co-operative was challenged by VBSC chain members, which impacted negatively on the stability of the co-operative.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES AND FDI IMPACT IN HOST COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaman Gheorghe

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This survey analyses aspects of the relationship between FDI and sustainable development within the Romanian economy, focusing in particular on volume, dynamics and structure of FDI companies in Romania, impact on imports and exports as well as ratio between repatriated profit and profit reinvested in the host country. A series of proposals have been made for increasing the contribution of FDI in the sustainable development of Romania by attracting FDI in particular to the tradable sector and for increasing the favourable propagation effects to Romanian companies.

Sustainability and integration of radioecology-position paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Muikku, M; Beresford, N A; Garnier-Laplace, J; Real, A; Sirkka, L; Thorne, M; Vandenhove, H; Willrodt, C

2018-03-01

This position paper gives an overview of how the COMET project (COordination and iMplementation of a pan-European instrumenT for radioecology, a combined Collaborative Project and Coordination and Support Action under the EC/Euratom 7th Framework Programme) contributed to the integration and sustainability of radioecology in Europe via its support to and interaction with the European Radioecology ALLIANCE. COMET built upon the foundations laid by the FP7 project STAR (Strategic Network for Integrating Radioecology) Network of Excellence in radioecology. In close association with the ALLIANCE, and based on the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), COMET developed innovative mechanisms for joint programming and implementation of radioecological research. To facilitate and foster future integration under a common federating structure, research activities developed within COMET were targeted at radioecological research needs identified in the SRA. Furthermore, COMET maintained and developed strong mechanisms for knowledge exchange, dissemination and training to enhance and maintain European capacity, competence and skills in radioecology. In the short term the work to promote radioecology will continue under the H2020 project EJP-CONCERT (European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research). The EJP-CONCERT project (2015-2020) aims to develop a sustainable structure for promoting and administering joint programming and open research calls in the field of radiation protection research for Europe. In the longer term, radioecological research will be facilitated by the ALLIANCE. External funding is, however, required in order to be able to answer emerging research needs.

Investigating Sustainability Impacts of Bioenergy Usage Within the Eisenwurzen Region in Austria

Science.gov (United States)

Putzhuber, F.; Hasenauer, H.

2009-04-01

Within the past few years sustainability and bioenergy usage become a key term in emphasizing the relationship between economic progress and the protection of the environment. One key difficulty is the definition of criteria and indicators for assessing sustainability issues and their change over time. This work introduces methods to create linear parametric models of the sustainable impact issues relevant in the establishment of new bio-energetic heating systems. Our application example is the Eisenwurzen region in Austria. The total area covers 5743 km km² and includes 99 municipalities. A total of 11 impact issues covering the economic, social and environmental areas are proposed for developing the linear parametric models. The indicator selection for deriving the impact issues is based on public official data from 68 indicators, as well as stakeholder interviews and the impact assessment framework. In total we obtained 415 variables from the 99 municipalities to create the 68 indicators for the Local Administration Unit 2 (LAU2) over the last (if available) 25 years. The 68 indicators are on a relative scale to address the size differences of the municipalities. The idea of the analysis is to create linear models which derive 11 defined impact issues related to the establishment of new bio-energetic heating systems. Each analysis follows a strict statistical procedure based on (i) independent indicator selection, (ii) remove indicators with higher VIF value grater then 6, (iii) remove indicators with α higher than 0,05, (iv) possible linear transformation, (v) remove the non-significant indicators (p-value >0,05), (vi) model valuation, (vii) remove the out-lines plots and (viii) test of the normality distribution of the residual with a Kolmogorov- Smirnov test. The results suggest that for the 11 sustainable impact issues 21 of the 68 indicators are significant drives. The models revealed that it is possible to create tools for assessing impact issues in a

A case study of lean, sustainable manufacturing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geoff Miller

2010-06-01

Full Text Available A small furniture production company has integrated lean tools and sustainability concepts with discrete event simulation modeling and analysis as well as mathematical optimization to make a positive impact on the environment, society and its own financial success. The principles of lean manufacturing that aid in the elimination of waste have helped the company meet ever increasing customer demands while preserving valuable resources for future generations. The implementation of lean and sustainable manufacturing was aided by the use of discrete event simulation and optimization to overcome deficits in lean’s traditional implementation strategies. Lean and green manufacturing can have a more significant, positive impact on multiple measures of operational performance when implemented concurrently rather than separately. These ideas are demonstrated by three applications.

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Richard; Garnett, Stephen

2010-01-01

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

Red and processed meat consumption and purchasing behaviours and attitudes: impacts for human health, animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Clonan, Angie; Wilson, Paul; Swift, Judy A; Leibovici, Didier G; Holdsworth, Michelle

2015-09-01

Higher intakes of red and processed meat are associated with poorer health outcomes and negative environmental impacts. Drawing upon a population survey the present paper investigates meat consumption behaviours, exploring perceived impacts for human health, animal welfare and the environment. Structured self-completion postal survey relating to red and processed meat, capturing data on attitudes, sustainable meat purchasing behaviour, red and processed meat intake, plus sociodemographic characteristics of respondents. Urban and rural districts of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, UK, drawn from the electoral register. UK adults (n 842) aged 18-91 years, 497 females and 345 males, representing a 35·6 % response rate from 2500 randomly selected residents. Women were significantly more likely (P60 years) were more likely to hold positive attitudes towards animal welfare (Psustainability. Policy makers, nutritionists and health professionals need to increase the public's awareness of the environmental impact of eating red and processed meat. A first step could be to ensure that dietary guidelines integrate the nutritional, animal welfare and environmental components of sustainable diets.

Amplition in the workplace: building a sustainable workforce through individual positive psychological interventions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Le Blanc, P.M.; Oerlemans, W.G.M.

2016-01-01

Workforce sustainability is of vital utmost importance for the viability and competitive advantage of contemporary organizations. Therefore, and in parallel with the rise of positive organizational psychology, organizations have become increasingly interested in how to enhance their employees’

Be Sustainable to Be Innovative: An Analysis of Their Mutual Reinforcement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Behnam

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development has attracted the increasing attention of both researchers and practitioners. While academicians and practitioners’ focus towards sustainability has shifted to innovation, there is a need to understand how sustainability and innovation are interlinked. Thus, this paper attempts to analyze, first, the bidirectional impact of the firms’ pursuit of sustainability and innovation as the priority, second, the bidirectional impact of the adoption of sustainability innovation action programs and, third, to discern the bidirectional influence of sustainability and innovation performances. The evidence is drawn from a sample of 860 manufacturing plants in 22 countries from the sixth edition of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey 2013. The survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modelling has been employed to test the model. The results show that sustainability and innovation positively and significantly impact each other in terms of the adoption of their relevant action programs and performance. However, the pursuit of sustainability priority acts as an antecedent of innovation priority.

Assessment of the Impact of Business Activity in Sustainability Terms. Empirical Confirmation of Its Determination in Spanish Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Because the issue of sustainability presents urgent problems crucial to the future of mankind, there has been serious discussion of the role accounting should play. In this context, a new line of research, still at a relatively unexplored, embryonic stage, has arisen, which tries to establish measurement of business sustainability and so compensate for the lack of information currently existing about the net impact of the company’s activity. Full Cost Accounting could allow sustainability to be translated into the language of business, together with analysis and comparison of its progress, so it might be the most appropriate vehicle for more participatory, democratic accounting, with greater dialogue, giving the accountant a much more active role, this being necessary in order to generalize the research, development and use. To analyze the current situation, a survey of 192 Spanish companies was carried out to obtain at first hand the perception of strategic positioning adopted with regard to Sustainable Development, measurement of the contribution of business activity to its achievement and the rendering of accounts carried out.

RESEARCH ALGORITHM FOR BUSINESS ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Kouznetsov

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. It is recommended that organizational sustainability of a business enterprise be assessed on the basis of a system of indices brought down in the article to characterize to what extent an option of the company organizational structure contributes to gaining higher final activity results. The indices may be used as efficiency criteria for options of the company organizational structure and management system. It is reasonable to assess each index from the viewpoint of its impact on the business company organizational and economic sustainability and to try either to eliminate the negative impact or to strengthen the positive role with respect of this sustainability.

The impact of Green Information Systems on sustainable supply chain and organizational performance

OpenAIRE

Ogunyemi, T; Aktas, E

2013-01-01

This paper reports about a research in progress focusing on the impact of green information systems on sustainable supply chain performance. Green information systems, supply chains and their relation to sustainability and performance measurement are explained. The preliminary literature review resulted in a draft conceptual framework where sustainable supply chain measures focusing on economic, environmental and social aspects are combined with traditional supply chain performance measures o...

An econometric investigation of impacts of sustainable land management practices on soil carbon and yield risk: A potential for climate change mitigation

OpenAIRE

Kato, Edward; Nkonya, Ephraim; Place, Frank; Mwanjalolo, Majaliwa

2010-01-01

We investigate the impacts of sustainable land management practices on soil carbon stocks and also impacts of soil carbon on the mean and variance of crop production using econometric tools. Using a cross-sectional plot-level dataset collected from three agroecological zones of Uganda with soil carbon measured at a depth of 0 to 15 centimeters, our results have robustly shown that irrigation, fertilizers, improved fallow, crop residues, mulching, and trash lines are positively and significant...

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Richard [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia); Industrial Ecology Program, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Integrated Sustainability Analysis, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Garnett, Stephen [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia)

2010-07-15

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

Environmental impacts and sustainability of degraded water reuse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corwin, D.L.; Bradford, S.A. [USDA ARS, Riverside, CA (United States). US Salin Laboratory

2008-09-15

Greater urban demand for finite water resources to meet domestic, agricultural, industrial, and recreational needs; increased frequency of drought resulting from erratic weather; and continued degradation of available water resources from point and nonpoint sources of pollution have focused attention on the reuse of degraded waters as a potential water source. However, short- and long-term detrimental environmental impacts and sustainability of degraded water reuse are not well known or understood. These concerns led to the organization of the 2007 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Symposium entitled Environmental Impacts and Sustainability of Degraded Water Reuse. Out of this symposium came a special collection of 4 review papers and 12 technical research papers focusing on various issues associated with the reuse of agricultural drainage water, well water generated in the production of natural gas from coalbeds, municipal wastewater and biosolids, wastewater from confined animal operations, urban runoff, and food-processing wastewater. Overviews of the papers, gaps in knowledge, and future research directions are presented. The future prognosis of degraded water reuse is promising, provided close attention is paid to managing constituents that pose short- and long-term threats to the environment and the health of humankind.

Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Biodiesel Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Hauschild, Michael Michael Zwicky; Birkved, Morten

Due to their generally positive carbon dioxide balance, biofuels are seen as one of the energy carriers in a more sustainable future transportation energy system, but how good is their environmental sustainability, and where lie the main potentials for improvement of their sustainability? Questions...... like these require a life cycle perspective on the biofuel - from the cradle (production of the agricultural feedstock) to the grave (use as fuel). An environmental life cycle assessment is performed on biodiesel to compare different production schemes including chemical and enzymatic esterification...... with the use of methanol or ethanol. The life cycle assessment includes all processes needed for the production, distribution and use of the biodiesel (the product system), and it includes all relevant environmental impacts from the product system, ranging from global impacts like climate change and loss...

The impact of a sustainability constraint on the mean-tracking error efficient frontier

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boudt, K.M.R.; Cornelissen, J.; Croux, C.

2013-01-01

Most socially responsible investment funds combine a sustainability objective with a tracking error constraint. We characterize the impact of a sustainability constraint on the mean-tracking error efficient frontier and illustrate this on a universe of US stocks for the period 2003-2010. © 2013

Sustainable value chains for bamboo working communities : Integrating the tenets of sustainability through the Rhizome Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reubens, R.R.R.; Brezet, J.C.; Christiaans, H.H.C.M.

2010-01-01

There is a growing demand globally for products which impact sustainability positively. Bamboo fulfills these criteria, since it is a highly renewable timber replacement material which does not cause deforestation. It simultaneously has the potential to create livelihood opportunities for both the

THE IMPACT OF ICT SECTOR ON THE SOCIAL PILLAR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TEODORESCU ANA-MARIA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The human being is the main axis in setting sustainable development goals. Sustainable development, through its components - economic and environmental, has only one beneficiary - the human factor who benefits of income, education, good quality environmental factors, and enjoy inter and intra-generational equity. Information technology and communications contributes to fulffiling the goals of sustainable development through access to information society services (e-health, e-government, e-learning, access to education. This article presents the sustainable development objectives and the impact of ICT sector on the social pillar of sustainable development. I used a theoretical research and qualitative analysis of the data. I presented values indicators at the european level, the lowest and highest value, and recorded values for Romania.

SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONSUMPTION: EXPLORING THE CONSUMER ATTITUDE – BEHAVIOUR GAP

OpenAIRE

I. VERMEIR; W. VERBEKE

2004-01-01

Although public interest in sustainability increases and consumer attitudes are mainly positive, behavioural patterns are not univocally consistent with attitudes. The presumed gap between favourable attitude towards sustainable behaviour and behavioural intention to purchase sustainable food products is investigated in this study. The impact of involvement, perceived availability, certainty, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), values, and social norms on consumers’ attitudes and intentio...

Beyond Public Particpation: The disjuncture between South Africa's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA Law and Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Murombo

2008-10-01

Full Text Available One of the key strategies for achieving sustainable development is the use of the process of evaluating the potential environmental impacts of development activities. The procedure of environmental impact assessment (EIA implements the principle of integration which lies at the core of the concept of sustainable development by providing a process through which potential social, economic and environmental impacts of activities are scrutinised and planned for. Sustainable development may not be achieved without sustained and legally mandated efforts to ensure that development planning is participatory. The processes of public participation play a crucial role in ensuring the integration of the socio-economic impacts of a project into the environmental decision-making processes. Public participation is not the only process, nor does the process always ensure the achievement of sustainable development. Nevertheless, decisions that engage the public have the propensity to lead to sustainable development. The public participation provisions in South Africa’s EIA regulations promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 show a disjuncture between the idea of public participation and the notion of sustainable development. The provisions do not create a framework for informed participation and leave a wide discretion to environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs regarding the form which participation should assume. In order for environmental law, specifically EIA laws, to be effective as tools to promote sustainable development the laws must, among other things, provide for effective public participation. The judiciary must also aid in the process by giving content to the legal provisions on public participation in the EIA process.

How Does Scale of Implementation Impact the Environmental Sustainability of Wastewater Treatment Integrated with Resource Recovery?

Science.gov (United States)

Cornejo, Pablo K; Zhang, Qiong; Mihelcic, James R

2016-07-05

Energy and resource consumptions required to treat and transport wastewater have led to efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Resource recovery can reduce the environmental impact of these systems; however, limited research has considered how the scale of implementation impacts the sustainability of WWTPs integrated with resource recovery. Accordingly, this research uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate how the scale of implementation impacts the environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment integrated with water reuse, energy recovery, and nutrient recycling. Three systems were selected: a septic tank with aerobic treatment at the household scale, an advanced water reclamation facility at the community scale, and an advanced water reclamation facility at the city scale. Three sustainability indicators were considered: embodied energy, carbon footprint, and eutrophication potential. This study determined that as with economies of scale, there are benefits to centralization of WWTPs with resource recovery in terms of embodied energy and carbon footprint; however, the community scale was shown to have the lowest eutrophication potential. Additionally, technology selection, nutrient control practices, system layout, and topographical conditions may have a larger impact on environmental sustainability than the implementation scale in some cases.

INPRO Methodology for Sustainability Assessment of Nuclear Energy Systems: Environmental Impact of Stressors. INPRO Manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

This publication provides guidance on assessing of sustainability of a nuclear energy system (NES) in the area of environmental impact of stressors. The INPRO methodology is a comprehensive tool for the assessment of sustainability of an NES. Basic principles, user requirements and criteria have been defined in different areas of INPRO methodology. These include economics, infrastructure, waste management, proliferation resistance, environmental impact of stressors, environmental impact from depletion of resources, and safety of nuclear reactors and fuel cycle facilities. The ultimate goal of the application of the INPRO methodology is to check whether the assessed NES fulfils all the criteria, and hence the user requirements and basic principles, and therefore presents a system for a Member State that is sustainable in the long term

Fourth Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE4)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katz, Daniel S; Niemeyer, Kyle E; Gesing, Sandra; Hwang, Lorraine; Bangerth, Wolfgang; Hettrick, Simon; Idaszak, Ray; Salac, Jean; Chue Hong, Neil; Núñez-Corrales, Santiago; Allen, Alice; Geiger, R Stuart; Miller, Jonah; Chen, Emily; Dubey, Anshu; Lago, Patricia

2018-01-01

This article summarizes motivations, organization, and activities of the Fourth Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE4). The WSSSPE series promotes sustainable research software by positively impacting principles and best practices, careers, learning, and

Economic impact of the world summit on sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JH Martins

2004-04-01

Full Text Available South Africa hosted the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD in 2002.  This event is regarded as the single biggest conference to be held anywhere in the world. The aim of this paper is to set out the estimated economic impact of the WSSD and its parallel events on South Africa.  This impact can be expressed in monetary terms as well as employment figures.  The impact is calculated by using an input-output model and employment spin-offs determined from the IO table by using partial multipliers.  The input data were derived from a survey amongst WSSD delegates as well as information on government and private investments made.

Considerations on Gastronomic Tourism as a Component of Sustainable Local Development

OpenAIRE

Dan Mihnea Diaconescu; Remus Moraru; Gabriela Stănciulescu

2016-01-01

Tourism is a multi-faced activity that links the economic, social and environmental components of sustainability. Firstly, this research analyses residents’ perceptions of the impact of tourism development and examines the factors that influence the support for sustainable tourism development. Secondly, the research discusses Community Based Tourism (CBT) and its positive impact of tourism development; CBT is connected to community’s capacity to protect itself from outside threats by negotiat...

How and When Retailers’ Sustainability Efforts Translate into Positive Consumer Responses: The Interplay Between Personal and Social Factors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofenk, D.; Birgelen, M.J.H. van; Bloemer, J.M.M.; Semeijn, J.

2017-01-01

This study aims to address how (through which mechanisms) and when (under which conditions) retailers’ sustainability efforts translate into positive consumer responses. Hypotheses are developed and tested through a scenario-based experiment among 672 consumers. Retailers’ assortment sustainability

Can Companies Induce Sustainable Consumption? The Impact of Knowledge and Social Embeddedness on Airline Sustainability Programs in the U.S.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yohan Kim

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates how consumers’ level of knowledge and social embeddedness can influence sustainable consumption. An extended model of goal-directed behavior (MGB is tested by U.S. airline consumers who have participated in UNICEF’s Change for Good (CFG and voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO programs. Results show that consumers’ knowledge positively influenced their subjective norms and attitudes towards participation of VCO and CFG. Increasing consumers’ sense of social embeddedness is also found to be crucial in forming their subjective norms for both CFG and VCO. Moreover, positive anticipated emotion is found to influence consumers’ desire to participate in VCO, while negative anticipated emotion influences desire towards CFG participation. The findings of this research provide a practical implication on strategies for the airline industry to induce sustainable consumption behavior, as well as demonstrate the need for different emotional elicitation strategies for different sustainability programs.

Schools That Sustain: Lessening the Environmental Impact of New Construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Peele, Katherine N.; Malone, Sara

2002-01-01

Discusses sustainable school design and its benefits to the environment, offering examples of illustrative schools. Provides suggestions on site selection (such as using smaller sites and recycling existing buildings), sharing facilities with the community, and construction elements that improve environmental impact (such as flexibility,…

Empirical Study on Sustainable Opportunities Recognition. A Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC Joinery Industry Analysis Using Augmented Sustainable Development Process Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes factors influencing recognition of sustainable opportunities by using an augmented sustainability process model. The conceptual model used two main factors, Knowledge and Motivation, and one moderating variable, Social embeddedness. We investigated entrepreneurs from PVC joinery industry and concluded that while market orientation and sustainable entrepreneurial orientation definitely and positively influence sustainable opportunity recognition, others variables like knowledge of the natural/communal environment, awareness of sustainable development or focus on success have less support. Among all variables analyzed, perception of the threat of the natural/communal environment and altruism toward others have the poorest impact on opportunity recognition. Finally, we concluded that social embeddedness has a moderating effect on sustainable opportunity recognition, even though the results were mixed.

Sustained attention to objects' motion sharpens position representations: Attention to changing position and attention to motion are distinct.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Christina J; Rollings, Victoria; Hardie, Amy

2017-06-01

In tasks where people monitor moving objects, such the multiple object tracking task (MOT), observers attempt to keep track of targets as they move amongst distracters. The literature is mixed as to whether observers make use of motion information to facilitate performance. We sought to address this by two means: first by superimposing arrows on objects which varied in their informativeness about motion direction and second by asking observers to attend to motion direction. Using a position monitoring task, we calculated mean error magnitudes as a measure of the precision with which target positions are represented. We also calculated perceptual lags versus extrapolated reports, which are the times at which positions of targets best match position reports. We find that the presence of motion information in the form of superimposed arrows made no difference to position report precision nor perceptual lag. However, when we explicitly instructed observers to attend to motion, we saw facilitatory effects on position reports and in some cases reports that best matched extrapolated rather than lagging positions for small set sizes. The results indicate that attention to changing positions does not automatically recruit attention to motion, showing a dissociation between sustained attention to changing positions and attention to motion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society : Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoppen, Hendrik Sietze

2017-01-01

The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership Authorized translation of the chapter ‘Impact of brands on people, markets and society’ (prepublication Build Bridge Bond, method for sustainable leadership and building future-proof trust)

Implementing Environmental Practices for Accomplishing Sustainable Green Supply Chain Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minkyun Kim

2017-07-01

Full Text Available With the emergence of environmental protection as a global issue, implementing environmental practices for sustaining green supply chain management (GSCM has received a lot of attention. This study investigates the impact of integration with suppliers and supply disruption risk on environmental practices. It also examines the role of supplier integration and supply disruption risk on performance. Finally, it investigates the relationship between environmental practices and performance in order to sustain green supply chains. Based on 272 survey responses from supply and purchase managers, our research results support the positive impact of integration with suppliers and the negative impact of supply disruption risk on the adoption of environmental practices. Furthermore, they provide empirical evidence that environmental practices and integration with suppliers are positively associated with performance, while supply disruption risk is negatively associated with performance. This study identifies antecedents and establishes a research framework of GSCM. More importantly, it provides meaningful insights to managers regarding the implementation of environmental practices related to other supply chain practices for sustaining green supply chains.

Moderating the Role of Firm Size in Sustainable Performance Improvement through Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In the context of the Chinese government’s strategy for sustainable development, the study of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM for enterprises has important practical significance. Drawing data from 172 Chinese firms, the model studied the moderating role of firm size on the SSCM practices and the sustainable performance of the firms (economic, environmental, and social, using hierarchical regression analysis on SPSS 22.0. The results suggest that SSCM practices and firm size are positively related to the firm’s environmental and social performance. Firm size moderates the effect of SSCM practices on economic performance. Additionally, SSCM internal practices have a significant positive impact on the economic performance of large enterprises, but not so much on the economic performance of the Small and medium enterprises(SMEs. This paper proposes a comprehensive SSCM practice performance model that identifies firm size as a moderating role. Through research on the moderating effect of firm size, the implementation and recommendation of SSCM for different firm size are given.

Biomass-derived carbonaceous positive electrodes for sustainable lithium-ion storage

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tianyuan; Kavian, Reza; Chen, Zhongming; Cruz, Samuel S.; Noda, Suguru; Lee, Seung Woo

2016-02-01

Biomass derived carbon materials have been widely used as electrode materials; however, in most cases, only electrical double layer capacitance (EDLC) is utilized and therefore, only low energy density can be achieved. Herein, we report on redox-active carbon spheres that can be simply synthesized from earth-abundant glucose via a hydrothermal process. These carbon spheres exhibit a specific capacity of ~210 mA h gCS-1, with high redox potentials in the voltage range of 2.2-3.7 V vs. Li, when used as positive electrode in lithium cells. Free-standing, flexible composite films consisting of the carbon spheres and few-walled carbon nanotubes deliver high specific capacities up to ~155 mA h gelectrode-1 with no obvious capacity fading up to 10 000 cycles, proposing to be promising positive electrodes for lithium-ion batteries or capacitors. Furthermore, considering that the carbon spheres were obtained in an aqueous glucose solution and no toxic or hazardous reagents were used, this process opens up a green and sustainable method for designing high performance, environmentally-friendly energy storage devices.Biomass derived carbon materials have been widely used as electrode materials; however, in most cases, only electrical double layer capacitance (EDLC) is utilized and therefore, only low energy density can be achieved. Herein, we report on redox-active carbon spheres that can be simply synthesized from earth-abundant glucose via a hydrothermal process. These carbon spheres exhibit a specific capacity of ~210 mA h gCS-1, with high redox potentials in the voltage range of 2.2-3.7 V vs. Li, when used as positive electrode in lithium cells. Free-standing, flexible composite films consisting of the carbon spheres and few-walled carbon nanotubes deliver high specific capacities up to ~155 mA h gelectrode-1 with no obvious capacity fading up to 10 000 cycles, proposing to be promising positive electrodes for lithium-ion batteries or capacitors. Furthermore, considering

Sustainable solutions for Dutch housing. Reducing the Environmental Impacts of New and Existing Houses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klunder, G.

2005-04-12

Sustainable housing construction and management has, to date, been primarily based on an intuitive approach. Numerous measures have been formulated to promote sustainable construction and to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment. However, little is yet known about the extent of the environmental benefits thereof. Moreover, methods and tools are mainly directed to new construction. This thesis makes clear that short-term environmental benefits in sustainable housing construction are rather limited. Renewal of the post-war housing stock offers excellent changes for improvement of the environmental performance of housing. With a newly developed method it is proven that renovation causes less environmental impacts than demolition followed by new construction. However, at the same time the usefulness of Life Cycle Assessment for buildings is doubted.

Ex-Ante Impact Assessment of Sustainability Information–The Directive 2014/95

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Carini

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Directive 2014/95, in force since 2017, is the first European step that requires undertakings to provide mandatory non-financial information. The regulation concerns sustainability information, such as environmental, social, and employee information, human rights, and anti-corruption and bribery matters, and the disclosure of diversity policies for board members. According to the theoretical framework of Integrated Assessment (IA, the study aims to examine the expected impact of the Directive within the analysis of empirical evidence before the mandatory approach. This allows, on the regulatory side, evaluation of the quality of the regulation, therefore, whether the law achieves its policy objectives (i.e., if it fills the gap in the sustainability disclosure and, on the firms’ side, to identify where companies have to invest to meet the legal requirements. The oil and gas sector is chosen as a sample for the study, because it is one of the most advanced sectors in sustainability disclosure, and if the regulation could impact on this sector, it would be the same for less-informed ones. The findings reveal a fair level of completeness of non-financial information, however, there are some areas that have to be improved to achieve the requirements of the Directive. The results also show the presence of overlap between financial and sustainability reports. In conclusion, the quality of regulation is good because it will also increase sustainability disclosure in an advanced sector, such as oil and gas, even if there is an open point on the location of information; companies in this sector will have to invest more in environmental and employee information in future years to comply with the Directive.

The EU sustainable energy policy indicators framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Streimikiene, Dalia; Sivickas, Gintautas

2008-11-01

The article deals with indicators framework to monitor implementation of the main EU (European Union) directives and other policy documents targeting sustainable energy development. The main EU directives which have impact on sustainable energy development are directives promoting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, directives implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and atmospheric pollution reduction policies and other policy documents and strategies targeting energy sector. Promotion of use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements are among priorities of EU energy policy because the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements has positive impact on energy security and climate change mitigation. The framework of indicators can be developed to establish the main targets set by EU energy and environmental policies allowing to connect indicators via chain of mutual impacts and to define policies and measures necessary to achieve established targets based on assessment of their impact on the targeted indicators representing sustainable energy development aims. The article discusses the application of indicators framework for EU sustainable energy policy analysis and presents the case study of this policy tool application for Baltic States. The article also discusses the use of biomass in Baltic States and future considerations in this field.

Beyond the Certification Badge—How Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Tools Impact on Individual, Organizational, and Industry Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerry Griffiths

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainability consideration in designing, constructing, and operating civil infrastructure requires substantive action and yet progress is slow. This research examines the impact third-party infrastructure sustainability rating tools—specifically CEEQUAL, Envision, Greenroads, and Infrastructure Sustainability—have beyond individual project certification and considers their role in driving wider industry change. In this empirical study, engineering and sustainability professionals (n = 63 assess and describe their experience in using rating tools outside of formal certification and also the impact of tool use on their own practice and the practices of their home organizations. The study found that 77% of experienced users and 59% of infrastructure owners used the tools for purposes other than formal project certification. The research attests that rating tool use and indeed their very existence has a strong influence on sustainability awareness and practice within the infrastructure industry, providing interpretation of sustainability matters in ways that resonate with industry norms. The rating tools impact on individuals and their professional and personal practice, on the policies and practices of infrastructure-related organizations, and more widely on other industry stakeholders. The findings can be used to increase the value gained from sustainability rating tool use and to better understand the role such tools play in creating cultural change within the industry.

Proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance: The mediating effect of sustainability control systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijethilake, Chaminda

2017-07-01

This study examines to what extent corporations use sustainability control systems (SCS) to translate proactive sustainability strategy into corporate sustainability performance. The study investigates the mediating effect of SCS on the relationship between proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance. Survey data were collected from top managers in 175 multinational and local corporations operating in Sri Lanka and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). SCS were observed to only partially mediate the relationship between proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance. The mediating effect of SCS is further examined under three sustainability strategies; environmental and social strategies reveal a partial mediation, while the economic strategy exhibits no mediation. The study also finds that (i) a proactive sustainability strategy is positively associated with SCS and corporate sustainability performance and (ii) SCS are positively associated with corporate sustainability performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of a Sustained Cooperative Learning Intervention on Student Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Rio, Javier; Sanz, Naira; Fernandez-Cando, Judith; Santos, Luis

2017-01-01

Background: Cooperative Learning has been recently defined as a true pedagogical model. Moreover, in a recent review Casey and Goodyear reported that it can help physical education promote the four basic learning outcomes: physical, cognitive, social and affective. Purpose: The main goal was to investigate the impact of a sustained Cooperative…

Bioenergy production and sustainable development: science base for policymaking remains limited.

Science.gov (United States)

Robledo-Abad, Carmenza; Althaus, Hans-Jörg; Berndes, Göran; Bolwig, Simon; Corbera, Esteve; Creutzig, Felix; Garcia-Ulloa, John; Geddes, Anna; Gregg, Jay S; Haberl, Helmut; Hanger, Susanne; Harper, Richard J; Hunsberger, Carol; Larsen, Rasmus K; Lauk, Christian; Leitner, Stefan; Lilliestam, Johan; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Muys, Bart; Nordborg, Maria; Ölund, Maria; Orlowsky, Boris; Popp, Alexander; Portugal-Pereira, Joana; Reinhard, Jürgen; Scheiffle, Lena; Smith, Pete

2017-03-01

The possibility of using bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure has sparked a discussion of whether and how bioenergy production contributes to sustainable development. We undertook a systematic review of the scientific literature to illuminate this relationship and found a limited scientific basis for policymaking. Our results indicate that knowledge on the sustainable development impacts of bioenergy production is concentrated in a few well-studied countries, focuses on environmental and economic impacts, and mostly relates to dedicated agricultural biomass plantations. The scope and methodological approaches in studies differ widely and only a small share of the studies sufficiently reports on context and/or baseline conditions, which makes it difficult to get a general understanding of the attribution of impacts. Nevertheless, we identified regional patterns of positive or negative impacts for all categories - environmental, economic, institutional, social and technological. In general, economic and technological impacts were more frequently reported as positive, while social and environmental impacts were more frequently reported as negative (with the exception of impacts on direct substitution of GHG emission from fossil fuel). More focused and transparent research is needed to validate these patterns and develop a strong science underpinning for establishing policies and governance agreements that prevent/mitigate negative and promote positive impacts from bioenergy production.

Understanding Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The Role of Positioning, Resources and Organisational Capabilities

OpenAIRE

David J. Collis

1998-01-01

This paper applies the value-based framework (Brandenburger and Stuart 1994) to the strategic management concepts of positioning, resources and organisational capabilities. It observes that each is a discrete level in the analysis of sustainable competitive advantage which can rigorously be interpreted as the determinants of location and speed of movement in value space. It concludes that strategic management will never find the ultimate explanation of competitive advantage because all orders...

The impact of farm size on sustainability of dutch dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulen, van der H.A.B.; Dolman, M.A.; Jager, J.H.; Venema, G.S.

2014-01-01

Sustainable milk production systems require economically viable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable practices. This study compared the economic, environmental and societal impact of large-scale farms with other dairy farms in the Dutch Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Moreover the

Consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainable wine claims

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mueller, Simone; Remaud, Hervé; Chabin, Yann

attributes (price, brand, region of origin and appellation system, grape variety, alcohol level, medal, sensory style, bottling, and sustainable claim), considering the majority of attributes, which are known to be important to consumers and preventing an overestimation of the effect of sustainable claims......-choice reference alternative. Findings: Of all sustainable claims, organic had the highest impact on consumer choice, followed by a privately used claim ‘protect the planet’. Carbon zero wines were only significantly positively valued in the UK, where consumers were made aware of its meaning through national...

Uncertainty-embedded dynamic life cycle sustainability assessment framework: An ex-ante perspective on the impacts of alternative vehicle options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onat, Nuri Cihat; Kucukvar, Murat; Tatari, Omer

2016-01-01

Alternative vehicle technologies have a great potential to minimize the transportation-related environmental impacts, reduce the reliance of the U.S. on imported petroleum, and increase energy security. However, they introduce new uncertainties related to their environmental, economic, and social impacts and certain challenges for widespread adoption. In this study, a novel method, uncertainty-embedded dynamic life cycle sustainability assessment framework, is developed to address both methodological challenges and uncertainties in transportation sustainability research. The proposed approach provides a more comprehensive, system-based sustainability assessment framework by capturing the dynamic relations among the parameters within the U.S. transportation system as a whole with respect to its environmental, social, and economic impacts. Using multivariate uncertainty analysis, likelihood of the impact reduction potentials of different vehicle types, as well as the behavioral limits of the sustainability potentials of each vehicle type are analyzed. Seven sustainability impact categories are dynamically quantified for four different vehicle types (internal combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles) from 2015 to 2050. Although impacts of electric vehicles have the largest uncertainty, they are expected (90% confidence) to be the best alternative in long-term for reducing human health impacts and air pollution from transportation. While results based on deterministic (average) values indicate that electric vehicles have greater potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, plug-in hybrid vehicles have the largest potential according to the results with 90% confidence interval. - Highlights: • Uncertainty-embedded dynamic sustainability assessment framework, is developed. • Methodological challenges and uncertainties are addressed. • Seven impact categories are quantified for four different vehicle types.

Hunger neurons drive feeding through a sustained, positive reinforcement signal.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yiming; Lin, Yen-Chu; Zimmerman, Christopher A; Essner, Rachel A; Knight, Zachary A

2016-08-24

The neural mechanisms underlying hunger are poorly understood. AgRP neurons are activated by energy deficit and promote voracious food consumption, suggesting these cells may supply the fundamental hunger drive that motivates feeding. However recent in vivo recording experiments revealed that AgRP neurons are inhibited within seconds by the sensory detection of food, raising the question of how these cells can promote feeding at all. Here we resolve this paradox by showing that brief optogenetic stimulation of AgRP neurons before food availability promotes intense appetitive and consummatory behaviors that persist for tens of minutes in the absence of continued AgRP neuron activation. We show that these sustained behavioral responses are mediated by a long-lasting potentiation of the rewarding properties of food and that AgRP neuron activity is positively reinforcing. These findings reveal that hunger neurons drive feeding by transmitting a positive valence signal that triggers a stable transition between behavioral states.

Fairly sustainable forestry: seven key concepts for defining local sustainability in a global ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen R. Shifley

2008-01-01

In the U.S. we increasingly restrict wood production in the name of sustainability while going abroad for a growing share of the wood we consume, even though our own forest resources per capita are far greater than the global average. The unintended consequence is that we transfer impacts (positive and negative) of our timber harvesting and wood consumption to other...

Standards of socially responsible management – Impact on sustainable development of the organization, the social and natural environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Peršič

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to outline the results of a study on the importance of the introduction/implementation of standards of socially responsible management and their impact on the business performance of organizations as well as to confirm the correlations with the sustainable development of the broader social and natural environment. The research included a population of medium-sized and large organizations (over 50 employees in the fields of marketing services in the Republic of Slovenia. Research results confirmed a direct link of understanding the management standards in organizations with a larger number of employees and the achieved higher income from operations. Research participants are familiar with the requirements of the Quality Management System Standard ISO 9001 and the Environmental Management System Standard ISO 14001, which is particularly significant for older business executives with many years of work experience in the company they run. The hypothesis that the implementation of the principles of social responsibility has a positive impact on sustainable development and the financial indicators of the organization – higher profits, business growth, productivity and cost-effectiveness in operations – has been confirmed.

Sustenance and sustainability: maximizing the impact of school gardens on health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Jaimie N; Spaniol, Mackenzie R; Somerset, Shawn

2015-09-01

School garden programmes have become popular action-oriented learning environments in many countries, often driven by converging priorities of environmental sustainability and healthful diets. Many of these programmes have assessed the impact on dietary intake, specifically fruit and vegetable intake, and related dietary behaviours, such as knowledge, preference, motivation, intention and self-efficacy to eat and prepare fruit and vegetables. The objective of the present study was twofold: (i) to review published garden-based programmes conducted in schools targeting dietary intake and/or determinants of dietary behaviour in children; and (ii) to identify similar strategies and components employed by these garden-based programmes. The review included thirteen studies that have examined the impact of garden-based programmes conducted in school, either during school hours or in after-school settings, on dietary behaviours in children (kindergarten through 8th grade students). Three of the reviewed studies did not have a comparison or control group and simply evaluated within-group changes after a garden intervention. None of the reviewed studies were randomized, but were assigned based on school's interest and timing of new school gardens being built. Out of the eleven programmes that examined dietary intake, six found that the programme resulted in increased vegetable intake, whereas four showed no effect. Seven of the eight studies that measured preference found that the programmes resulted in increased preference for vegetables. Gardening programmes also resulted in improved attitudes towards, willingness to taste, identification of and self-efficacy to prepare/cook fruit and vegetables. Similar strategies/components employed by the majority of the programmes included: 'hands on' curriculum, incorporation of a cooking component, providing the instructors, parental and stakeholder support, food provision and using the garden as the focal point for media promotion

Sustainability, Transformational Leadership, and Social Entrepreneurship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etayankara Muralidharan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This article examines the extent to which culturally endorsed transformational leadership theories (CLTs and the sustainability of society, both considered societal level institutional indicators, impact the emergence of social entrepreneurship. Using 107,738 individual-level responses from 27 countries for the year 2009 obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM survey, and supplementing with country-level data obtained from Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE and Sustainability Society Foundation (SSF, our findings from multilevel analysis show that transformational CLTs and sustainability conditions of society positively influence the likelihood of individuals becoming social entrepreneurs. Further, the effectiveness of transformational CLTs matters more for social entrepreneurship when the sustainability of society is low, which suggests the interaction between cultural leadership styles and societal sustainability. This article contributes to comparative entrepreneurship research by introducing strong cultural antecedents of social entrepreneurship in transformational CLTs and societal sustainability. We discuss various implications and limitations of our study, and we suggest directions for future research.

Thermal Treatment of Hydrocarbon-Impacted Soils: A Review of Technology Innovation for Sustainable Remediation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia E. Vidonish

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Thermal treatment technologies hold an important niche in the remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils and sediments due to their ability to quickly and reliably meet cleanup standards. However, sustained high temperature can be energy intensive and can damage soil properties. Despite the broad applicability and prevalence of thermal remediation, little work has been done to improve the environmental compatibility and sustainability of these technologies. We review several common thermal treatment technologies for hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, assess their potential environmental impacts, and propose frameworks for sustainable and low-impact deployment based on a holistic consideration of energy and water requirements, ecosystem ecology, and soil science. There is no universally appropriate thermal treatment technology. Rather, the appropriate choice depends on the contamination scenario (including the type of hydrocarbons present and on site-specific considerations such as soil properties, water availability, and the heat sensitivity of contaminated soils. Overall, the convergence of treatment process engineering with soil science, ecosystem ecology, and plant biology research is essential to fill critical knowledge gaps and improve both the removal efficiency and sustainability of thermal technologies.

Radiation environment assessment, measurement and its impact on health and sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Pradeep; Panwar, Brijandra Singh

2012-01-01

Present paper deals with Radiation Environment Assessment, Measurement and its Impact on Health, its meaning and in particular with sustainable development perspective. Health and Environment appears to be different subjects and concepts, but in reality they are interrelated and interdependent. One cannot exist without the other. For good health hygienic environment is a sine qua non. Article 3 of Universal Declaration of Human Right 1948 incorporates the right to life. It has been interpreted by the international court that the word life does not means simply to live but it means to live with dignity and in well and pollution and radiation free environment which is a gift of nature on this universe. There is no doubt about the nuclear revolution that has taken place and has made life of human beings worth living on this earth with comfort. It is growing development of the nation. But in the process the development that has been done at the cost of human life, public health and environment which will prove fatal in the long run. So there is a need for Sustainable Development of the human and environment of the world. Precisely and concisely, the sustainable development is a process that meets the needs of the present without compromising ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A hygienic and redaction free environment will ensure the better Health of the people. Environment and nuclear power plant can coexist. The harmonization of the two needs has led to the concept of Radiation Environment Assessment and sustainable development, so much so that it has become the most significant and focal point of environmental legislation relating to the same. Sustainable development, simply put, is a process in which development can be sustained over generations effects of radiation on humans and on the environment. Finally, this paper deals with the impact of radiation on environment and the need of sustainable development for achieving a better human. (author)

Sustainability in Organizations: The Application of the Gaia Method for Managing Environmental Impact on a Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celso Giancarlo Duarte de Mazo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article demonstrates a method of managing environmental impacts, thus assessing the degree of sustainability of an organization.As an object of study, the GAIA (Gerenciamento de Aspectos e Impactos Ambientais = Management of Environmental Aspects and Impacts method for management of environmental aspects and impacts was used, based on the development of three fundamental stages: awareness, knowledge and training, having been applied to a small company in the baking business. A bibliographical research on business sustainability was carried out so theoretical basis could support field research. By way of a questionnaire and interviews, it was identified that the company has sustainability indicators at a good level, as the GAIA method states. The research presented data that confirm the efficiency of the GAIA method, with the identification of data that make it possible to determine strategies to develop actions that improve the company’s social and environmental sustainability. For future studies, we suggest that the focus of this method be expanded, thus deepening the issue of socioeconomic indicators.

The impact of luminance on tonic and phasic pupillary responses to sustained cognitive load.

Science.gov (United States)

Peysakhovich, Vsevolod; Vachon, François; Dehais, Frédéric

2017-02-01

Pupillary reactions independent of light conditions have been linked to cognition for a long time. However, the light conditions can impact the cognitive pupillary reaction. Previous studies underlined the impact of luminance on pupillary reaction, but it is still unclear how luminance modulates the sustained and transient components of pupillary reaction - tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response. In the present study, we investigated the impact of the luminance on these two components under sustained cognitive load. Fourteen participants performed a novel working memory task combining mathematical computations with a classic n-back task. We studied both tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response under low (1-back) and high (2-back) working memory load and two luminance levels (gray and white). We found that the impact of working memory load on the tonic pupil diameter was modulated by the level of luminance, the increase in tonic pupil diameter with the load being larger under lower luminance. In contrast, the smaller phasic pupil response found under high load remained unaffected by luminance. These results showed that luminance impacts the cognitive pupillary reaction - tonic pupil diameter (phasic pupil response) being modulated under sustained (respectively, transient) cognitive load. These findings also support the relationship between the locus-coeruleus system, presumably functioning in two firing modes - tonic and phasic - and the pupil diameter. We suggest that the tonic pupil diameter tracks the tonic activity of the locus-coeruleus while phasic pupil response reflects its phasic activity. Besides, the designed novel cognitive paradigm allows the simultaneous manipulation of sustained and transient components of the cognitive load and is useful for dissociating the effects on the tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrating Social Aspect into Sustainability Assessment of Bio-Based Industries: Towards a Systemic Approach

OpenAIRE

Rafiaani, P.; Van Passel, S.; Lebailly, Philippe; Kuppens, T.; Azadi, Hossein; Van Dael, M.

2016-01-01

Biobased industries require to be assessed on their positive and negative impacts on sustainable development. However, social factors are usually neglected in the majority of impact assessments of biobased industries: they are mainly focused on environmental performance and (techno)- economic assessments. This review proposes a new systemic approach for assessing and integrating the social dimension into sustainability assessments of biobased industries. First the main methodologies for as...

How to position ‘mildly sustainable’ products: The joint impact of assortment display and price setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herpen, van H.W.I.; Fischer, A.R.H.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

2015-01-01

To tempt consumers towards more sustainable food choices, ‘intermediately’ sustainable products (i.e., in between conventional and organic) have been introduced. This poses the managerial question how to best position this range of products. In an experiment with intermediately sustainable meat

Reinventing Strategic Philanthropy: the sustainable organization of voluntary action for impact

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L.C.P.M. Meijs (Lucas)

2010-01-01

textabstractPhilanthropic organizations have recently started to focus on how to invest their resources in a way that will really make a difference to society. Strategic philanthropy is the new concept for voluntary action for the public good to create a valuable sustainable impact! This inaugural

Residents’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Tourism Development in a Historical-Cultural Village: Influence of Perceived Impacts, Sense of Place and Tourism Development Potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Zhu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to assess the residents’ support for sustainable tourism development in a destination that is in the initial tourism development stage. Residents’ perception of sustainable tourism development potential, sense of place, perceived tourism impacts, and tourism development support were involved in this study. A total of 331 completed questionnaire surveys were collected in Luozhou, a historical-cultural village in China. The empirical data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling (SEM technique, and the results revealed that perceived collective benefits had a significant positive effect on tourism development support, whereas the other three perceived impacts’ influence were not significant. The relationship between residents’ sense of place and perceived collective and personal benefits, perceived personal costs and tourism development support, were significant. Additionally, residents’ perceptions of tourism development potential had a significant influence on perceived impact and tourism development support except for perceived personal benefits. Some practical implications of those findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed.

Researchers' Positions and Construction of Curricula of Education for Sustainable Development in France

Science.gov (United States)

Barthes, Angela; Lange, Jean-Marc

2018-01-01

The article sets the international context for the development of a curriculum of education for sustainable development and shows the directions being taken in the Francophone community. Building on a significant number of studies carried out in France, we constitute a typology of the positions of French-speaking researchers involved in those…

Walking the sustainability assessment talk - Progressing the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus, E-mail: a.morrison-saunders@murdoch.edu.au [School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North West University (South Africa); School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University (Australia); Retief, Francois [School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North West University (South Africa)

2012-09-15

Internationally there is a growing demand for environmental impact assessment (EIA) to move away from its traditional focus towards delivering more sustainable outcomes. South Africa is an example of a country where the EIA system seems to have embraced the concept of sustainability. In this paper we test the existing objectives for EIA in South Africa against sustainability principles and then critique the effectiveness of EIA practice in delivering these objectives. The outcome of the research suggests that notwithstanding a strong and explicit sustainability mandate through policy and legislation, the effectiveness of EIA practice falls far short of what is mandated. This shows that further legislative reform is not required to improve effectiveness but rather a focus on changing the behaviour of individual professionals. We conclude by inviting further debate on what exactly practitioners can do to give effect to sustainability in EIA practice.

Sustainable collaboration : The impact of governance and institutions on sustainable performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niesten, Eva; Jolink, Albert; Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz; Chappin, Maryse; Lozano, Rodrigo

2017-01-01

Collaboration between firms is important to stimulate the transition to a more sustainable society. This special volume shows that collaboration is indeed one of the preferred forms of governance to manage relations between firms in a sustainability context. Collaboration enhances sustainable

Multifaceted Impacts of Sustainable Land Management in Drylands: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Jose Marques

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Biophysical restoration or rehabilitation measures of land have demonstrated to be effective in many scientific projects and small-scale environmental experiments. However circumstances such as poverty, weak policies, or inefficient scientific knowledge transmission can hinder the effective upscaling of land restoration and the long term maintenance of proven sustainable use of soil and water. This may be especially worrisome in lands with harsh environmental conditions. This review covers recent efforts in landscape restoration and rehabilitation with a functional perspective aiming to simultaneously achieve ecosystem sustainability, economic efficiency, and social wellbeing. Water management and rehabilitation of ecosystem services in croplands, rangelands, forests, and coastlands are reviewed. The joint analysis of such diverse ecosystems provides a wide perspective to determine: (i multifaceted impacts on biophysical and socio-economic factors; and (ii elements influencing effective upscaling of sustainable land management practices. One conclusion can be highlighted: voluntary adoption is based on different pillars, i.e. external material and economic support, and spread of success information at the local scale to demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of sustainable land management. For the successful upscaling of land management, more attention must be paid to the social system from the first involvement stage, up to the long term maintenance.

The impact of sustainability criteria on the costs and potentials of bioenergy production. An exploration of the impact of the implementation of sustainability criteria on the costs and potential of bioenergy production, applied for case studies in Brazil and Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smeets, E.; Faaij, A.; Lewandowski, I.

2005-02-01

The goal of this study is to make a first attempt to analyse the impact on the potential (quantity) and the costs (per unit) of bioenergy that the compliance with various sustainability criteria brings along. The nature of this work is exploratory. Because of the broad set of issues covered very little work has been published on which we could build. Ukraine and Brazil are used as case studies, because both regions are identified as promising bioenergy producers. This study is part of the FAIR Biotrade project, which is aimed to identify and quantify the impact of sustainability criteria on the potential of bioenergy. Previous work includes an identification of sustainability criteria relevant for bioenergy, an assessment of the environmental and economic costs of long distance biotrade and an assessment of bioenergy production potentials in 2050 in various world regions. In section 2 the approach is presented which is used to select and quantify the impact of sustainability criteria on bioenergy production. In section 3 the selection of the various sustainability criteria is described in detail, followed by a detailed description of how the various socials, ecological and economical sustainability criteria are operationalised. In section 4 (intermediate) results are presented for each sustainability criterium. In section 5 final results are presented, followed by a discussion and by conclusions (section 6)

Sustainable Sourcing of Global Agricultural Raw Materials: Assessing Gaps in Key Impact and Vulnerability Issues and Indicators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathaniel P Springer

Full Text Available Understanding how to source agricultural raw materials sustainably is challenging in today's globalized food system given the variety of issues to be considered and the multitude of suggested indicators for representing these issues. Furthermore, stakeholders in the global food system both impact these issues and are themselves vulnerable to these issues, an important duality that is often implied but not explicitly described. The attention given to these issues and conceptual frameworks varies greatly--depending largely on the stakeholder perspective--as does the set of indicators developed to measure them. To better structure these complex relationships and assess any gaps, we collate a comprehensive list of sustainability issues and a database of sustainability indicators to represent them. To assure a breadth of inclusion, the issues are pulled from the following three perspectives: major global sustainability assessments, sustainability communications from global food companies, and conceptual frameworks of sustainable livelihoods from academic publications. These terms are integrated across perspectives using a common vocabulary, classified by their relevance to impacts and vulnerabilities, and categorized into groups by economic, environmental, physical, human, social, and political characteristics. These issues are then associated with over 2,000 sustainability indicators gathered from existing sources. A gap analysis is then performed to determine if particular issues and issue groups are over or underrepresented. This process results in 44 "integrated" issues--24 impact issues and 36 vulnerability issues--that are composed of 318 "component" issues. The gap analysis shows that although every integrated issue is mentioned at least 40% of the time across perspectives, no issue is mentioned more than 70% of the time. A few issues infrequently mentioned across perspectives also have relatively few indicators available to fully represent

Sustainable Sourcing of Global Agricultural Raw Materials: Assessing Gaps in Key Impact and Vulnerability Issues and Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Nathaniel P; Garbach, Kelly; Guillozet, Kathleen; Haden, Van R; Hedao, Prashant; Hollander, Allan D; Huber, Patrick R; Ingersoll, Christina; Langner, Megan; Lipari, Genevieve; Mohammadi, Yaser; Musker, Ruthie; Piatto, Marina; Riggle, Courtney; Schweisguth, Melissa; Sin, Emily; Snider, Sara; Vidic, Nataša; White, Aubrey; Brodt, Sonja; Quinn, James F; Tomich, Thomas P

2015-01-01

Understanding how to source agricultural raw materials sustainably is challenging in today's globalized food system given the variety of issues to be considered and the multitude of suggested indicators for representing these issues. Furthermore, stakeholders in the global food system both impact these issues and are themselves vulnerable to these issues, an important duality that is often implied but not explicitly described. The attention given to these issues and conceptual frameworks varies greatly--depending largely on the stakeholder perspective--as does the set of indicators developed to measure them. To better structure these complex relationships and assess any gaps, we collate a comprehensive list of sustainability issues and a database of sustainability indicators to represent them. To assure a breadth of inclusion, the issues are pulled from the following three perspectives: major global sustainability assessments, sustainability communications from global food companies, and conceptual frameworks of sustainable livelihoods from academic publications. These terms are integrated across perspectives using a common vocabulary, classified by their relevance to impacts and vulnerabilities, and categorized into groups by economic, environmental, physical, human, social, and political characteristics. These issues are then associated with over 2,000 sustainability indicators gathered from existing sources. A gap analysis is then performed to determine if particular issues and issue groups are over or underrepresented. This process results in 44 "integrated" issues--24 impact issues and 36 vulnerability issues--that are composed of 318 "component" issues. The gap analysis shows that although every integrated issue is mentioned at least 40% of the time across perspectives, no issue is mentioned more than 70% of the time. A few issues infrequently mentioned across perspectives also have relatively few indicators available to fully represent them. Issues in the

Possible ecosystem impacts of applying maximum sustainable yield policy in food chain models.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Bapan; Kar, T K

2013-07-21

This paper describes the possible impacts of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) policy in ecosystems. In general it is observed that exploitation at MSY (of single species) or MSTY (of multispecies) level may cause the extinction of several species. In particular, for traditional prey-predator system, fishing under combined harvesting effort at MSTY (if it exists) level may be a sustainable policy, but if MSTY does not exist then it is due to the extinction of the predator species only. In generalist prey-predator system, harvesting of any one of the species at MSY level is always a sustainable policy, but harvesting of both the species at MSTY level may or may not be a sustainable policy. In addition, we have also investigated the MSY and MSTY policy in a traditional tri-trophic and four trophic food chain models. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Sustainability Risk Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Bakhtina

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Africa is a rising star - one of the most desirable investment destinations in the world. Nonetheless, economic growth is uneven among African countries, and many obstacles must be overcome in order to realize the full potential of opportunity. To achieve long-term sustainable investment results, and ultimately progress towards Sustainable Development goals, many risks must be isolated, analyzed, and mitigated. This paper introduces the concept of Sustainability Risk, identifying a set of major risk components for Sub-Saharan Africa and building an integral measure to quantify the degree of remoteness of the forty-six Sub-Saharan Africa countries from the total set of threats considered. The countries are separated into distinct groups with similar characteristics in terms of Sustainability Risk, and an analysis for potential decision-making, based on the visualization of the countries' position in relation to the major sustainability threats, is performed for each group. The research identifies risks with maximum impacts.

Climate Change Impacts on the Built Environment in the United States and Implications for Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2012-01-01

As an integral part of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), technical assessment reports for 13 regions in the U.S. that describe the scientific rationale to support climate change impacts within the purview of these regions, and provide adaptation or mitigation measures in response to these impacts. These technical assessments focus on climate change impacts on sectors that are important environmental, biophysical, and social and economic aspects of sustainability within the U.S.: Climate change science, Ecosystems and biodiversity, Water resources, Human health, Energy supply and use, Water/energy/land use, Transportation, Urban/infrastructure/vulnerability, Agriculture, Impacts of climate change on tribal/indigenous and native lands and resources, Forestry, Land use/land cover change, Rural communities development, and Impacts on biogeochemical cycles, with implications for ecosystems and biodiversity. There is a critical and timely need for the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change by the policy and decision making communities, to insure resiliency and sustainability of the built environment in the future.

The storm that rocks the boat: the systemic impact of gated communities on urban sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Landman

2007-09-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the impact and implications of gated communities on urban sustainability. This is investigated making use of an overarching methodological framework based on the internationally accepted Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR model, developed by the OECD. Additional to the simple causal flow from drivers to responses are the dynamic relationships between these five aspects. The paper discusses each of these issues and the relationships between them as they pertain to gated communities in South Africa. Gated communities, as complex systems, necessitate the consideration of a multiplicity of feedback loops with internal rates of flow that are determined by non-linear relationships. Only in this way can the full extent of their impact and implications on urban sustainability be assessed.

Long term impacts of international outsourcing of manufacturing on sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moosavirad, Seyed Hamed; Kara, Sami; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2014-01-01

International outsourcing seems to be a cost efficient way of production. However, there are serious concerns about its long term impacts on the environmental, social and economic sustainability. This paper aims to quantify these impacts by using input output analysis, linear programming and system......% international outsourcing scenario and the baseline scenario due to their differences in production technologies. © 2014 CIRP....... dynamics in a case study including European electrical industry (outsourcer), Chinese electrical industry (outsourcee) and their main suppliers. Results depict the differences related to the total CO2 emissions, the number of employees and the gross value added of these two regions between a 10...

Sustainability Commitment, New Competitors’ Presence, and Hotel Performance: The Hotel Industry in Barcelona

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Pedro Aznar

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The hospitality industry is facing major challenges, among them the new competition from novel forms of supply in the sharing economy. Airbnb, Homeaway, and Niumba, among other websites offering accommodations, are having an important impact in the sector, changing existing conditions and the market for the traditional hospitality industry. In this context, a strategy based in differentiation can help to prevent drops in revenues and profitability. The main objective of this paper is analyse if commitment towards sustainability has a positive impact on financial performance and can be considered a positive strategy in this new environment. The empirical data refer to a sample of hotels in Barcelona, one of the most important tourist cities in Europe. Our results suggest that there is no clear relationship between sustainability and better financial performance; however, sustainability commitment is associated with a minimum size, which can also have positive effects in terms of economies of scale and finally affect profitability. Hotels more committed to environmental issues are located in areas with a lower density of Airbnb apartments, and this geographical distribution can be more positive than a situation of massive tourist concentration in specific areas with negative externalities for neighbours.

Stakeholders willingness to apply sustainable adventure tourism indicators: a case of Waterval Boven in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NN Tshipala

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In South Africa and across the globe, the development of adventure tourism industry has resulted in a multitude of different types of activities, destinations, risks, impacts and unsustainable practices. The development of adventure tourism in many destinations has boosted many economies across rural communities and countries. The added benefits of developing adventure tourism in a sustainable manner include the promotion of responsible investment, infrastructure development and a host of other positive economic, social and environmental impacts. This study investigates the stakeholders will to utilise sustainable adventure tourism indicators from residents, tourists, business owners and government employees at Waterval Boven if made available. Descriptive statistics were presented; Cronbach Alpha and Chi-square tests were also applied. In general, the respondents perceived the indicators positively and felt they could assist in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. The study contributes towards the development of sustainable adventure tourism destinations that can make a significant contribution towards poverty alleviation by maximising social and economic benefits for locals, enhancing cultural heritage and reducing any negative impacts on the environment.

Consumer preferences for sustainable aquaculture products: Evidence from in-depth interviews, think aloud protocols and choice experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Risius, Antje; Janssen, Meike; Hamm, Ulrich

2017-06-01

Fish from aquaculture is becoming more important for human consumption. Sustainable aquaculture procedures were developed as an alternative to overcome the negative environmental impacts of conventional aquaculture procedures and wild fisheries. The objective of this contribution is to determine what consumers expect from sustainable aquaculture and whether they prefer sustainable aquaculture products. A combination of qualitative research methods, with think aloud protocols and in-depth interviews, as well as quantitative methods, using choice experiments and face-to-face interviews, was applied. Data was collected in three different cities of Germany. Results revealed that sustainable aquaculture was associated with natural, traditional, local, and small scale production systems with high animal welfare standards. Overall, participants paid a lot of attention to the declaration of origin; in particular fish products from Germany and Denmark were preferred along with local products. Frequently used sustainability claims for aquaculture products were mostly criticized as being imprecise by the participants of the qualitative study; even though two claims tested in the choice experiments had a significant positive impact on the choice of purchase. Similarly, existing aquaculture-specific labels for certified sustainable aquaculture had an impact on the buying decision, but were not well recognized and even less trusted. Overall, consumers had a positive attitude towards sustainable aquaculture. However, communication measures and labelling schemes should be improved to increase consumer acceptance and make a decisive impact on consumers' buying behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An agenda for assessing and improving conservation impacts of sustainability standards in tropical agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Milder, Jeffrey C; Arbuthnot, Margaret; Blackman, Allen; Brooks, Sharon E; Giovannucci, Daniele; Gross, Lee; Kennedy, Elizabeth T; Komives, Kristin; Lambin, Eric F; Lee, Audrey; Meyer, Daniel; Newton, Peter; Phalan, Ben; Schroth, Götz; Semroc, Bambi; Van Rikxoort, Henk; Zrust, Michal

2015-04-01

Sustainability standards and certification serve to differentiate and provide market recognition to goods produced in accordance with social and environmental good practices, typically including practices to protect biodiversity. Such standards have seen rapid growth, including in tropical agricultural commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, and tea. Given the role of sustainability standards in influencing land use in hotspots of biodiversity, deforestation, and agricultural intensification, much could be gained from efforts to evaluate and increase the conservation payoff of these schemes. To this end, we devised a systematic approach for monitoring and evaluating the conservation impacts of agricultural sustainability standards and for using the resulting evidence to improve the effectiveness of such standards over time. The approach is oriented around a set of hypotheses and corresponding research questions about how sustainability standards are predicted to deliver conservation benefits. These questions are addressed through data from multiple sources, including basic common information from certification audits; field monitoring of environmental outcomes at a sample of certified sites; and rigorous impact assessment research based on experimental or quasi-experimental methods. Integration of these sources can generate time-series data that are comparable across sites and regions and provide detailed portraits of the effects of sustainability standards. To implement this approach, we propose new collaborations between the conservation research community and the sustainability standards community to develop common indicators and monitoring protocols, foster data sharing and synthesis, and link research and practice more effectively. As the role of sustainability standards in tropical land-use governance continues to evolve, robust evidence on the factors contributing to effectiveness can help to ensure that such standards are designed and

Malaysian Mega Science Framework: The Need for Social Impact and Sustainability Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Zainal A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This review focuses on issues surrounding wastewater management as part of the National Sustainable Development (2013-2050 under the Malaysian Mega Science Framework. In line with the national priority area of water security, this review will highlight the technical reports compiled by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM on the challenges of water resource development and wastewater management and treatment. The discussion will dwell on the social impact of pollution in water and wastewater and mitigation plans that need to be put in place to ensure sustainable national development and making water as a National Key Economic Area (NKEA.

The Role of Leadership Capacity in Sustaining the School Improvement Initiative of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

Science.gov (United States)

Combs, Christine; Martin, Barbara N.

2011-01-01

This article examines what occurred within schools successfully implementing and sustaining Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports through the lens of leadership capacity. Leadership capacity, a broad-based, skillful participation in leadership, promotes the capabilities of many organizational members to lead. Researchers used quantitative analysis…

Building and Sustaining Successful School Leadership in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Notman, Ross; Henry, D. Annie

2011-01-01

This article outlines success factors of six New Zealand primary and secondary school principals. These factors are grouped under principals' personal characteristics, leadership skills that connect with their teachers, leadership strategies that impact positively on school stakeholder needs, and factors that sustain leadership success. Emerging…

Walking the sustainability assessment talk — Progressing the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus; Retief, Francois

2012-01-01

Internationally there is a growing demand for environmental impact assessment (EIA) to move away from its traditional focus towards delivering more sustainable outcomes. South Africa is an example of a country where the EIA system seems to have embraced the concept of sustainability. In this paper we test the existing objectives for EIA in South Africa against sustainability principles and then critique the effectiveness of EIA practice in delivering these objectives. The outcome of the research suggests that notwithstanding a strong and explicit sustainability mandate through policy and legislation, the effectiveness of EIA practice falls far short of what is mandated. This shows that further legislative reform is not required to improve effectiveness but rather a focus on changing the behaviour of individual professionals. We conclude by inviting further debate on what exactly practitioners can do to give effect to sustainability in EIA practice.

Sustainability and the facilities management in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asbollah Asra Zaliza

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Facilities Management (FM in the industry of environment involves numerous expertise, especially from the management side. Other than that, technology and finance are the other factors involved as well. One essential aspect of FM, other than the emphasis on technical operation, is its performance. In parallel, the performance does impact occupant behaviour and, at the same time, this performance does affect the environment. In short, this indicates that FM is in a key position to participate in delivering a sustainable environment for the industry of built environment. Sustainable facilities Management (SFM is crucial because buildings consume more resources which will, in consequence, negatively impact the environment and generate large amounts of waste. This justifies the importance of sustainability under the umbrella of facilities management. However, FM is quite new in Malaysia’s environment. Government agencies, such as JKR, have adopted and are practicing FM at the moment. Fortunately, there has been an increasing trend and awareness of SFM adoption. Therefore, this paper aims to understand and identify the contribution and practices of Sustainable Facilities Management (SFM in Malaysia; focusing on the development taken in regards to SFM.

Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pretty, Jules; Bharucha, Zareen Pervez

2014-12-01

Agricultural systems are amended ecosystems with a variety of properties. Modern agroecosystems have tended towards high through-flow systems, with energy supplied by fossil fuels directed out of the system (either deliberately for harvests or accidentally through side effects). In the coming decades, resource constraints over water, soil, biodiversity and land will affect agricultural systems. Sustainable agroecosystems are those tending to have a positive impact on natural, social and human capital, while unsustainable systems feed back to deplete these assets, leaving fewer for the future. Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as a process or system where agricultural yields are increased without adverse environmental impact and without the conversion of additional non-agricultural land. The concept does not articulate or privilege any particular vision or method of agricultural production. Rather, it emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not pre-determine technologies, species mix or particular design components. The combination of the terms 'sustainable' and 'intensification' is an attempt to indicate that desirable outcomes around both more food and improved environmental goods and services could be achieved by a variety of means. Nonetheless, it remains controversial to some. This review analyses recent evidence of the impacts of SI in both developing and industrialized countries, and demonstrates that both yield and natural capital dividends can occur. The review begins with analysis of the emergence of combined agricultural-environmental systems, the environmental and social outcomes of recent agricultural revolutions, and analyses the challenges for food production this century as populations grow and consumption patterns change. Emergent criticisms are highlighted, and the positive impacts of SI on food outputs and renewable capital assets detailed. It concludes with observations on policies and incentives necessary for the wider adoption of

The Impact of Greening Tax Systems on Sustainable Energy Development in the Baltic States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalia Streimikiene

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the greening of tax systems in the European Union (EU, and reviews the achievements of the Baltic States in relation to greening their tax systems and implementing the sustainable energy development goals set by the EU’s energy policies. Environmental taxes promote sustainable energy development, as they allow internalizing the external costs of atmospheric pollution in the energy sector. Energy production and consumption are a major source classical pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. Almost of the all EU member states (MS apply pollution taxes as the most important economic tool for mitigating the environmental impacts of various economic activities. Considering the importance of the energy sector in terms of its contributions to total atmospheric emissions in the EU, it is supposed that environmental taxes are important drivers of sustainable energy development. Environmental taxes, as the main tool for the integration of negative externalities that are related to atmospheric pollution, are imposed to create incentives for reducing fossil fuel consumption and switching to renewable energy sources or fuels that have a lower carbon content and thus cause less pollution. The paper presents a comparative assessment of the impact of environmental taxes on sustainable energy development indicators in three selected countries from the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia during the period 2005–2015, and reveals the role that the greening of tax systems has had on implementing sustainable energy development targets in the Baltic States.

Geothermal energy from the earth: Its potential impact as an environmentally sustainable resource

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mock, J.E.; Tester, J.W.; Wright, P.M.

1997-01-01

Geothermal energy technology is reviewed in terms of its current impact and future potential as an energy source. In general, the geothermal energy resource base is large and well distributed globally. Geothermal systems have a number of positive social characteristics (they are simple, safe, and adaptable systems with modular 1--50 MW [thermal (t) or electric (e)] plants capable of providing continuous baseload, load following, or peaking capacity) and benign environmental attributes (negligible emissions of CO 2 , SO x , NO x , and particulates, and modest land and water use). Because these features are compatible with sustainable growth of global energy supplies in both developed and developing countries, geothermal energy is an attractive option to replace fossil and fissile fuels. In 1997, about 7,000 MWe of base-load generating capacity and over 15,000 MWt of heating capacity from high-grade geothermal resources are in commercial use worldwide. 114 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs

Forest-related partnerships in Brazilian Amazonia: There is more to sustainable forest management than reduced impact logging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ros-Tonen, M.A.F.; van Andel, T.; Morsello, C.; Otsuki, K.; Rosendo, S.; Scholz, I.

2008-01-01

There is more to sustainable forest management than reduced impact logging. Partnerships between multiple actors are needed in order to create the institutional context for good forest governance and sustainable forest management and stimulate the necessary local community involvement. The idea

Social dimensions and the impact of sustainable transport and mobility on social development.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Chakwizira, J

2009-11-01

Full Text Available This chapter describes the relationship between transport, mobility and society. This is achieved by means of linking the social dimensions and impact of sustainable transport and mobility with approaches, principles and values of social development...

Considerations on Gastronomic Tourism as a Component of Sustainable Local Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Mihnea Diaconescu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Tourism is a multi-faced activity that links the economic, social and environmental components of sustainability. Firstly, this research analyses residents’ perceptions of the impact of tourism development and examines the factors that influence the support for sustainable tourism development. Secondly, the research discusses Community Based Tourism (CBT and its positive impact of tourism development; CBT is connected to community’s capacity to protect itself from outside threats by negotiating the quality of tourism development. Thirdly, Gastronomic Tourism development is depicted as an interaction between outside developers and local residents that ultimately builds a sustainable dialogue for growth of tourism. Usually, the partnerships established between local community residents and outside tourism developers began with initial resistance from residents and led to the following sequence of behaviour: town meetings, formal organization of residents, petitioning, public demonstration, and legal action. By examining collective action narratives in the study communities, a framework for sustainable rural tourism development is built to understand relationships between tourism impacts, sustainable development and community identity. Findings indicate that residents see tourism as a development factor. The natural, economic, and social-cultural environment as well as infrastructure, age, gender and education are factors that influence the sustainable development of tourism and gastronomic tourism.

The sustainability of ethanol production from sugarcane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldemberg, Jose; Coelho, Suani Teixeira; Guardabassi, Patricia

2008-01-01

The rapid expansion of ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil has raised a number of questions regarding its negative consequences and sustainability. Positive impacts are the elimination of lead compounds from gasoline and the reduction of noxious emissions. There is also the reduction of CO 2 emissions, since sugarcane ethanol requires only a small amount of fossil fuels for its production, being thus a renewable fuel. These positive impacts are particularly noticeable in the air quality improvement of metropolitan areas but also in rural areas where mechanized harvesting of green cane is being introduced, eliminating the burning of sugarcane. Negative impacts such as future large-scale ethanol production from sugarcane might lead to the destruction or damage of high-biodiversity areas, deforestation, degradation or damaging of soils through the use of chemicals and soil decarbonization, water resources contamination or depletion, competition between food and fuel production decreasing food security and a worsening of labor conditions on the fields. These questions are discussed here, with the purpose of clarifying the sustainability aspects of ethanol production from sugarcane mainly in Sao Paulo State, where more than 60% of Brazil's sugarcane plantations are located and are responsible for 62% of ethanol production. (author)

EVOLUTIVE AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES OF MOUNTAIN TOURISM WITH IMPACT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RODICA-MANUELA GOGONEA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Following the global economic crisis, sustainable development of tourism in Romania, is still one of the main drivers of economic recovery mechanism. Treated in an integrating vision, sustainable tourism includes a wide range of matters affecting mountain tourism a basic shape of this area of activity. The study highlights the level of development and place of mountain tourism, among other forms of Romanian tourism through evolutionary and structural analysis of the number of structures for tourist arrivals and overnight stays within them. Purposes of determining aspects of mountain tourism development are aiming to detect its impact on sustainable development. However, the overall image of the development of mountain tourism has created the premises for the adoption of strategies for sustainable development of tourism in Romania

Thinking back about a positive event: The impact of processing style on positive affect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabine eNelis

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The manner in which individuals recall an autobiographical positive life event has affective consequences. Two studies addressed the processing styles during positive memory recall in a non-clinical sample. Participants retrieved a positive memory which was self-generated (Study 1, n = 70 or experimenter-chosen (i.e., academic achievement, Study 2, n = 159, followed by the induction of one of three processing styles (between-subjects: In Study 1, a ‘concrete/imagery’ vs. ‘abstract/verbal’ processing style was compared. In Study 2, a ‘concrete/imagery’, ‘abstract/verbal’, and ‘comparative/verbal’ processing style were compared. The processing of a personal memory in a concrete/imagery-based way led to a larger increase in positive affect compared to abstract/verbal processing in Study 1, as well as compared to comparative/verbal thinking in Study 2. Results of Study 2 further suggest that it is making unfavourable verbal comparisons that may hinder affective benefits to positive memories (rather then general abstract/verbal processing per se. The comparative/verbal thinking style failed to lead to improvements in positive affect, and with increasing levels of depressive symptoms it had a more negative impact on change in positive affect. We found no evidence that participant’s tendency to have dampening thoughts in response to positive affect in daily life contributed to the affective impact of positive memory recall. The results support the potential for current trainings in boosting positive memories and mental imagery, and underline the search for parameters that determine at times deleterious outcomes of abstract/verbal memory processing in the face of positive information.

Key factors of low carbon development strategy for sustainable transport

Science.gov (United States)

Thaveewatanaseth, K.; Limjirakan, S.

2018-02-01

Cities become more vulnerable to climate change impacts causing by urbanization, economic growth, increasing of energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. People who live in the cities have already been affected from the impacts in terms of socioeconomic and environmental aspects. Sustainable transport plays the key role in CO2 mitigation and contributes positive impacts on sustainable development for the cities. Several studies in megacities both in developed and developing countries support that mass transit system is an important transportation mode in CO2 mitigation and sustainable transport development. This paper aims to study key factors of low carbon development strategy for sustainable transport. The Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT) located in Bangkok was the study area. Data collection was using semi-structured in-depth interview protocol with thirty respondents consisting of six groups i.e. governmental agencies, the MRT operators, consulting companies, international organizations, non-profit organizations, and experts. The research findings highlighted the major factors and supplemental elements composing of institution and technical capacity, institutional framework, policy setting and process, and plan of implementation that would support more effective strategic process for low carbon development strategy (LCDS) for sustainable transport. The study would highly recommend on readiness of institution and technical capacities, stakeholder mapping, high-level decision- makers participation, and a clear direction of the governmental policies that are strongly needed in achieving the sustainable transport.

Allied health research positions: a qualitative evaluation of their impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Wenke, Rachel J; Ward, Elizabeth C; Hickman, Ingrid; Hulcombe, Julie; Phillips, Rachel; Mickan, Sharon

2017-02-06

Research positions embedded within healthcare settings have been identified as an enabler to allied health professional (AHP) research capacity; however, there is currently limited research formally evaluating their impact. In 2008, a Health Practitioner industrial agreement funded a research capacity building initiative within Queensland Health, Australia, which included 15 new allied health research positions. The present project used a qualitative and realist approach to explore the impact of these research positions, as well as the mechanisms which facilitated or hindered their success within their respective organisations. Forty-four AHP employees from six governmental health services in Queensland, Australia, participated in the study. Individual interviews were undertaken, with individuals in research positions (n = 8) and their reporting line managers (n = 8). Four stakeholder focus groups were also conducted with clinicians, team leaders and professional heads who had engaged with the research positions. Nine key outcomes of the research positions were identified across individual, team/service and organisational/community levels. These outcomes included clinician skill development, increased research activity, clinical and service changes, increased research outputs and collaborations, enhanced research and workplace culture, improved profile of allied health, development of research infrastructure, and professional development of individuals in the research positions. Different mechanisms that influenced these outcomes were identified. These mechanisms were grouped by those related to the (1) research position itself, (2) organisational factors and (3) implementation factors. The present findings highlight the potential value of the research positions for individuals, teams and clinical services across different governmental healthcare services, and demonstrate the impact of the roles on building the internal and external profile of allied health

Sustainable Soil Water Management Systems

OpenAIRE

Basch, G.; Kassam, A.; Friedrich, T.; Santos, F.L.; Gubiani, P.I.; Calegari, A.; Reichert, J.M.; dos Santos, D.R.

2012-01-01

Soil quality and its management must be considered as key elements for an effective management of water resources, given that the hydrological cycle and land management are intimately linked (Bossio et al. 2007). Soil degradation has been described by Bossio et al. (2010) as the starting point of a negative cycle of soil-water relationships, creating a positive, self-accelerating feedback loop with important negative impacts on water cycling and water productivity. Therefore, sustainable soil...

The Economic and Clinical Impact of Sustained Use of a Progressive Mobility Program in a Neuro-ICU.

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, Jeannette M; Guin, Peggy R; Danek, Gale D; Thomas, Jaime R; Titsworth, William L; Reed, Richard K; Vasilopoulos, Terrie; Fahy, Brenda G

2017-06-01

To investigate a progressive mobility program in a neurocritical care population with the hypothesis that the benefits and outcomes of the program (e.g., decreased length of stay) would have a significant positive economic impact. Retrospective analysis of economic and clinical outcome data before, immediately following, and 2 years after implementation of the Progressive Upright Mobility Protocol Plus program (UF Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville, FL) involving a series of planned movements in a sequential manner with an additional six levels of rehabilitation in the neuro-ICU at UF Health Shands Hospital. Thirty-bed neuro-ICU in an academic medical center. Adult neurologic and neurosurgical patients: 1,118 patients in the pre period, 731 patients in the post period, and 796 patients in the sustained period. Implementation of Progressive Upright Mobility Protocol Plus. ICU length of stay decreased from 6.5 to 5.8 days in the immediate post period and 5.9 days in the sustained period (F(2,2641) = 3.1; p = 0.045). Hospital length of stay was reduced from 11.3 ± 14.1 days to 8.6 ± 8.8 post days and 8.8 ± 9.3 days sustained (F(2,2641) = 13.0; p mobility program in the neurocritical care population has clinical and financial benefits associated with its implementation and should be considered.

Evaluating the level and nature of sustainable development for a geothermal power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, Jason

2010-01-01

The paper provides for an evaluation of the potential level and nature of sustainable development of the Sabalan geothermal power plant in NW Iran, to be operational in 2011. The paper achieves this by applying a mathematical model of sustainable development developed by the author (re: Phillips), in respect to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by Yousefi et al. using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) methodology (re: Pastakia; Pastakia and Jensen). Using a model application methodology developed for the RIAM, the results indicated that the nature of sustainable development for Sabalan was considered to be very weak (S = 0.063). This was due to the imbalance between negative environmental impacts and positive socio-economic impacts deriving from the project. Further, when placed into context with a similar set of results obtained from the EIA of the Tuzla geothermal power plant by Baba also using the RIAM methodology, then the similarities between the results obtained raises some legimate questions as to the sustainable development credentials of geothermal power production. (author)

A system approach for reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing and sustainability improvement of nano-scale manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Yingchun

This dissertation develops an effective and economical system approach to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing. The system approach is developed by using a process-based holistic method for upstream analysis and source reduction of the environmental impact of manufacturing. The system approach developed consists of three components of a manufacturing system: technology, energy and material, and is useful for sustainable manufacturing as it establishes a clear link between manufacturing system components and its overall sustainability performance, and provides a framework for environmental impact reductions. In this dissertation, the system approach developed is applied for environmental impact reduction of a semiconductor nano-scale manufacturing system, with three case scenarios analyzed in depth on manufacturing process improvement, clean energy supply, and toxic chemical material selection. The analysis on manufacturing process improvement is conducted on Atomic Layer Deposition of Al2O3 dielectric gate on semiconductor microelectronics devices. Sustainability performance and scale-up impact of the ALD technology in terms of environmental emissions, energy consumption, nano-waste generation and manufacturing productivity are systematically investigated and the ways to improve the sustainability of the ALD technology are successfully developed. The clean energy supply is studied using solar photovoltaic, wind, and fuel cells systems for electricity generation. Environmental savings from each clean energy supply over grid power are quantitatively analyzed, and costs for greenhouse gas reductions on each clean energy supply are comparatively studied. For toxic chemical material selection, an innovative schematic method is developed as a visual decision tool for characterizing and benchmarking the human health impact of toxic chemicals, with a case study conducted on six chemicals commonly used as solvents in semiconductor manufacturing. Reliability of

The role of sustained observations in tracking impacts of environmental change on marine biodiversity and ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mieszkowska, N; Sugden, H; Firth, L B; Hawkins, S J

2014-09-28

Marine biodiversity currently faces unprecedented threats from multiple pressures arising from human activities. Global drivers such as climate change and ocean acidification interact with regional eutrophication, exploitation of commercial fish stocks and localized pressures including pollution, coastal development and the extraction of aggregates and fuel, causing alteration and degradation of habitats and communities. Segregating natural from anthropogenically induced change in marine ecosystems requires long-term, sustained observations of marine biota. In this review, we outline the history of biological recording in the coastal and shelf seas of the UK and Ireland and highlight where sustained observations have contributed new understanding of how anthropogenic activities have impacted on marine biodiversity. The contributions of sustained observations, from those collected at observatories, single station platforms and multiple-site programmes to the emergent field of multiple stressor impacts research, are discussed, along with implications for management and sustainable governance of marine resources in an era of unprecedented use of the marine environment. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

The sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robreau, Y.; Porcher, P.

2002-11-01

This document aims to define the sustainable development concept with a special attention for France and Israel position. The first part recalls the history of the sustainable development from the ''Man and Biosphere'' program of the UNESCO to Rio protocol. Then are described the principles of the sustainable development, the France plans and the France position at Johannesburg conference. The last part is devoted to the Israel position and a short presentation of the consequences of the greenhouse gases on the human health and the environment. (A.L.B.)

Sustainable Design and Renewable Energy Concepts in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Maxwell, Lawrence

2009-07-01

The energy use of residential and non-residential buildings in the US makes up a full 50% of the total energy use in the country. The Architects role in positively altering this equation has become more and more apparent. A change in the paradigm of how buildings are designed and the integration of renewable energy sources to meet their energy requirements can have tremendous impacts on sustainability, energy consumption, environment impacts, and the potential for climate change.

Sustainable management in crop monocultures: the impact of retaining forest on oil palm yield.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Felicity A; Edwards, David P; Sloan, Sean; Hamer, Keith C

2014-01-01

Tropical agriculture is expanding rapidly at the expense of forest, driving a global extinction crisis. How to create agricultural landscapes that minimise the clearance of forest and maximise sustainability is thus a key issue. One possibility is protecting natural forest within or adjacent to crop monocultures to harness important ecosystem services provided by biodiversity spill-over that may facilitate production. Yet this contrasts with the conflicting potential that the retention of forest exports dis-services, such as agricultural pests. We focus on oil palm and obtained yields from 499 plantation parcels spanning a total of ≈23,000 ha of oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We investigate the relationship between the extent and proximity of both contiguous and fragmented dipterocarp forest cover and oil palm yield, controlling for variation in oil palm age and for environmental heterogeneity by incorporating proximity to non-native forestry plantations, other oil palm plantations, and large rivers, elevation and soil type in our models. The extent of forest cover and proximity to dipterocarp forest were not significant predictors of oil palm yield. Similarly, proximity to large rivers and other oil palm plantations, as well as soil type had no significant effect. Instead, lower elevation and closer proximity to forestry plantations had significant positive impacts on oil palm yield. These findings suggest that if dipterocarp forests are exporting ecosystem service benefits or ecosystem dis-services, that the net effect on yield is neutral. There is thus no evidence to support arguments that forest should be retained within or adjacent to oil palm monocultures for the provision of ecosystem services that benefit yield. We urge for more nuanced assessments of the impacts of forest and biodiversity on yields in crop monocultures to better understand their role in sustainable agriculture.

The sustainable management and protection of forests: analysis of the current position globally.

Science.gov (United States)

Freer-Smith, Peter; Carnus, Jean-Michel

2008-06-01

The loss of forest area globally due to change of land use, the importance of forests in the conservation of biodiversity and in carbon and other biogeochemical cycles, together with the threat to forests from pollution and from the impacts of climate change, place forestry policy and practice at the center of global environmental and sustainability strategy. Forests provide important economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefits, so that in forestry, as in other areas of environmental policy and management, there are tensions between economic development and environmental protection. In this article we review the current information on global forest cover and condition, examine the international processes that relate to forest protection and to sustainable forest management, and look at the main forest certification schemes. We consider the link between the international processes and certification schemes and also their combined effectiveness. We conclude that in some regions of the world neither mechanism is achieving forest protection, while in others local or regional implementation is occurring and is having a significant impact. Choice of certification scheme and implementation of management standards are often influenced by a consideration of the associated costs, and there are some major issues over the monitoring of agreed actions and of the criteria and indicators of sustainability. There are currently a number of initiatives seeking to improve the operation of the international forestry framework (e.g., The Montreal Process, the Ministerial Convention of the Protection of Forests in Europe and European Union actions in Europe, the African Timber Organisation and International Tropical Timber Organisation initiative for African tropical forest, and the development of a worldwide voluntary agreement on forestry in the United Nations Forum on Forests). We suggest that there is a need to improve the connections between scientific understanding

Beyond (eco)design : Current approaches to sustainable packaging design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wever, R.

2014-01-01

Packaging has always received a lot of attention within the field of design for sustainability. The classical approach has been to mainly focus on reducing the impact of the packaging. This approach stems from the ill-informed position that packaging is superfluous, or at best there only for

The Impacts of Social Responsibility and Ownership Structure on Sustainable Financial Development of China’s Energy Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Feng

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the analysis, we integrated stakeholder and agency theories to explore the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR and sustainable financial development by considering the moderating effect of ownership structure. After empirical analysis, we found the following conclusions. First, the short-term and long-term economic performance is positively affected by CSR, which leads to sustainable financial development. Second, ownership circulation has a positive relationship with economic performance in the short run, which short-term profit increases as ownership circulation strengthens. Third, the effect of CSR on short-term economic performance is moderated by ownership structure. Excessive concentrated ownership may lead to decisions that do not satisfy all key stakeholders and may reduce the positive effect of CSR on economic performance. Finally, we suggest that Chinese energy companies should pay more attention to improving corporate social responsibility to maintain good economic performance and develop sustainable competitive advantage. Meanwhile, companies should optimize ownership concentration to avoid weakening the positive effects of social responsibility on short-term economic performance.

Tourism Cluster Competitiveness and Sustainability: Proposal for a Systemic Model to Measure the Impact of Tourism on Local Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sieglinde Kindl da Cunha

2005-07-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a model to measure tourism cluster impact on local development with a view to assessing tourism cluster interaction, competitiveness and sustainability impacts on the economy, society and the environment. The theoretical basis for this model is founded on cluster concept and typology adapting and integrating the systemic competitiveness and sustainability concepts within economic, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions. The proposed model shows a holistic, multidisciplinary and multi-sector view of local development brought back through a systemic approach to the concepts of competitiveness, social equity and sustainability. Its results make possible strategic guidance to agents responsible for public sector tourism policies, as well as the strategies for competitiveness, competition, cooperation and sustainability in private companies and institutions.

Strategic Leadership of Corporate Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strand, Robert

2014-01-01

Strategic leadership and corporate sustainability have recently come together in conspicuously explicit fashion through the emergence of top management team (TMT) positions with dedicated corporate sustainability responsibilities. These TMT positions, commonly referred to as 'Chief Sustainability......? What effects do corporate sustainability TMT positions have at their organizations? We consider these questions through strategic leadership and neoinstitutional theoretical frameworks. Through the latter, we also engage with Weberian considerations of bureaucracy. We find that the reasons why...

Consequences of climate change, eutrophication, and other anthropogenic impacts to coastal salt marshes: multiple stressors reduce resiliency and sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, E. B.; Wigand, C.; Nelson, J.; Davey, E.; Van Dyke, E.; Wasson, K.

2011-12-01

various stressors leading to salt marsh loss. Without this understanding, costly remediation may unintentionally lead to continued marsh deterioration. More research is needed to carefully document the positive and negative aspects of nutrient loading to coastal marsh sustainability in order to ensure that coastal watersheds are managed in a way that minimizes detrimental impacts to adjacent coastal habitats, while not interfering unnecessarily with important and needed public interest activities such as agriculture and wastewater discharge.

Y-12 Site Sustainability Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sherry, T D; Kohlhorst, D P; Little, S K

2011-12-01

The accomplishments to date and the long-range planning of the Y-12 Energy Management and Sustainability and Stewardship programs support the DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) vision for a commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability and to achievement of the Guiding Principles. Specifically, the Y-12 vision is to support the Environment, Safety and Health Policy and the DOE Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) while promoting overall sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Table ES.2 gives a comprehensive overview of Y-12's performance status and planned actions. B&W Y-12's Energy Management mission is to incorporate renewable energy and energy efficient technologies site-wide and to position Y-12 to meet NNSA energy requirement needs through 2025 and beyond. During FY 2011, the site formed a sustainability team (Fig. ES.1). The sustainability team provides a coordinated approach to meeting the various sustainability requirements and serves as a forum for increased communication and consistent implementation of sustainability activities at Y-12. The sustainability team serves as an information exchange mechanism to promote general awareness of sustainability information, while providing a system to document progress and to identify resources. These resources are necessary to implement activities that support the overall goals of sustainability, including reducing the use of resources and conserving energy. Additionally, the team's objectives include: (1) Foster a Y-12-wide philosophy to conserve resources; (2) Reduce the impacts of production operations in a cost-effective manner; (3) Increase materials recycling; (4) Use a minimum amount of energy and fuel; (5) Create a minimum of waste and pollution in achieving Y-12-strategic objectives; (6) Develop and implement techniques, technologies, process modifications, and programs that support sustainable acquisition; (7) Minimize the

Analysis of promising sustainable renovation concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Tommerup, Henrik M.; Svendsen, Svend

This report focuses on analyses of the most promising existing sustainable renovation concepts, i.e. full-service concepts and technical concepts, for single-family houses. As a basis for the analyses a detailed building stock analysis was carried out. Furthermore, as a basis a general working...... method for proposals on package solutions for sustainable renovation was described. The method consists of four steps, going from investigation of the house to proposal for sustainable renovation, detailed planning and commissioning after renovation. It could be used by teams of consultants...... of the building envelope and the electricity required to run the system. Positive impact on the indoor environment can be expected. Thermal comfort will be improved by insulation and air-tightness measures that will increase surface temperatures and reduce draught from e.g. badly insulated windows. A ventilation...

Potentials and limitations of footprints for gauging environmental sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurent, Alexis; Owsianiak, Mikolaj

2017-01-01

To address the sustainability challenge, a large variety of footprints, aiming at capturing specific impacts of human activities on natural environment, have emerged. But, how do they fit into our addressing of environmental sustainability? Here, we build on a critical literature review to (1......) provide an overview of existing footprints; (2) define their roles; (3) position them within the broad spectrum of known environmental problems and control variables of the planetary boundaries; and (4) argue for the need of consistent thresholds to benchmark footprint scores against absolute...

Understanding sustainable diets: a descriptive analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impact on health, food security, and environmental sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Jessica L; Fanzo, Jessica C; Cogill, Bruce

2014-07-01

The confluence of population, economic development, and environmental pressures resulting from increased globalization and industrialization reveal an increasingly resource-constrained world in which predictions point to the need to do more with less and in a "better" way. The concept of sustainable diets presents an opportunity to successfully advance commitments to sustainable development and the elimination of poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, and poor health outcomes. This study examines the determinants of sustainable diets, offers a descriptive analysis of these areas, and presents a causal model and framework from which to build. The major determinants of sustainable diets fall into 5 categories: 1) agriculture, 2) health, 3) sociocultural, 4) environmental, and 5) socioeconomic. When factors or processes are changed in 1 determinant category, such changes affect other determinant categories and, in turn, the level of "sustainability" of a diet. The complex web of determinants of sustainable diets makes it challenging for policymakers to understand the benefits and considerations for promoting, processing, and consuming such diets. To advance this work, better measurements and indicators must be developed to assess the impact of the various determinants on the sustainability of a diet and the tradeoffs associated with any recommendations aimed at increasing the sustainability of our food system. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

On methods of sustainable architectural design of bio-positive buildings in the low-rise residential development structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhogoleva Anna

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the author’s research is to determine the actual content of sustainable architectural design for suburban residential development. In accordance with the methodology of area sustainable development the traditional architectural design according to the rules and regulations is completed with additional approaches and methods. As a result, methods of bio-positive design of buildings have been studied and defined, including: the principle of planning transformations, the use of environmentally friendly, local building materials and design concepts, energy-efficient architectural design, the use of alternative energy in building operation, the design of the energy intake and accumulationsystems, the architectural and landscape design that ensures stable functioning of autonomous, sustainable biosystems on the site, non-waste functioning of architectural objects, introduction of waste disposal systems in the project.

COOPERATION AND SUSTAINABILITY CASE STUDY OF A SOCIETY OF SOCIAL SOLIDARITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graciela Carrillo González

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainability studies have been addressed from an economic, social, cultural, and environmental point of view. They have exceeded dimensions and developed mechanisms, which have involved various elements to establish cooperation and social networks. The aim of this paper is to analyze cooperation and establishment of farmers' organizations as critical factors in achieving sustainable local projects oriented to reforestation and land recovery, illustrating with the case of a triple S (Society of Social Solidarity, in the town of Zapotitlan Lagunas in the State of Oaxaca. Positive effects derived from these kinds of societies are reforestation in the area, land recovery, consolidation of social relationships and job creations. Therefore, thinking and acting locally is a condition to positively impact on the environment and add a social and economic vision can contribute to sustainability.

Environmental Performance and Financing Decisions Impact on Sustainable Financial Development of Chinese Environmental Protection Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Quan Zhang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental protection firms need to improve their ability to access financing while maintaining good economic performance under mounting environmental pressures. After the integration of trade-off and stakeholder theories, we have constructed a number of mathematical models to investigate the relationship among financing decisions, environmental performance (EP, and economic performance. Unbalanced panel data from environmental protection companies listed on Chinese stock exchanges from 2007 to 2016 were collected and analyzed. Our results have confirmed that debt financing has a significant impact on short- and long-term economic performance. Firms prefer long-term debt over short-term debt to improve their financial sustainability. Internal financing is positively related to performance because the cost of financing is lower. Environmental performance can cause extra financial burden in the short run, but will improve stakeholder relations and profitability in the long run. Our study suggests that environmental performance affects the relationship between financing decisions and economic performance. When EP initiatives are high, debt financing has a greater negative influence on short-term performance, and the effect on long-term performance is mitigated. High EP also reduces the impact of internal financing on performance.

Engineering Sustainability: A Technical Approach to Sustainability

OpenAIRE

Rosen, Marc A.

2012-01-01

Sustainability is a critically important goal for human activity and development. Sustainability in the area of engineering is of great importance to any plans for overall sustainability given 1) the pervasiveness of engineering activities in societies, 2) their importance in economic development and living standards, and 3) the significant impacts that engineering processes and systems have had, and continue to have, on the environment. Many factors that need to be considered and appropriate...

ANALISIS PENGUNGKAPAN SUSTAINABILITY REPORT PADA PERUSAHAAN NON-KEUANGAN TAHUN 2009-2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Candri Puspita Marwati

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh return on asset (ROA, likuiditas (current ratio, ukuran perusahaan (size, earning per share (EPS terhadap pengungkapan sustainability report. Sampel yang digunakan adalah perusahaan non-keuangan terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI yang menerbitkan sustainability report sesuai standar GRI pada periode 2009-2013 dan diperoleh 12 perusahaan. Teknik analisis data menggunakan uji asumsi klasik: normalitas, multikolinearitas, autokorelasi dan heterokedastisitas. Uji hipotesis menggunakan analisis regresi berganda. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ROA berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap sustainability report, current ratio tidak mempengaruhi sustainability report, size memiliki pengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap sustainability report, dan EPS memiliki pengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap sustainability report.This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of return on assets (ROA, liquidity (current ratio, firm size (size, earnings per share (EPS on the disclosure of sustainability report. Sample are corporate non-financial listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX and publishes a sustainability report according to GRI standard in the period 2009-2013 and obtained sample of 12 companies. Data were analyzed using classic assumption test: normality, multicollinearity, autocorrelation and heterokedastisitas. Hypothesis testing using multiple regression analysis. The results showed that, ROA significant positive effect on sustainability report. current ratio does not affect the sustainability report. size has a negative and significant impact on the sustainability report, and EPS has a negative and significant impact on the sustainability report.

Bioenergy for sustainable development: An African context

Science.gov (United States)

Mangoyana, Robert Blessing

This paper assesses the sustainability concerns of bioenergy systems against the prevailing and potential long term conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa with a special attention on agricultural and forestry waste, and cultivated bioenergy sources. Existing knowledge and processes about bioenergy systems are brought into a “sustainability framework” to support debate and decisions about the implementation of bioenergy systems in the region. Bioenergy systems have been recommended based on the potential to (i) meet domestic energy demand and reduce fuel importation (ii) diversify rural economies and create employment (iii) reduce poverty, and (iv) provide net energy gains and positive environmental impacts. However, biofuels will compete with food crops for land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial skills. Moreover the environmental benefits of some feedstocks are questionable. These challenges are, however, surmountable. It is concluded that biomass energy production could be an effective way to achieve sustainable development for bioenergy pathways that (i) are less land intensive, (ii) have positive net energy gains and environmental benefits, and (iii) provide local socio-economic benefits. Feasibility evaluations which put these issues into perspective are vital for sustainable application of agricultural and forest based bioenergy systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such evaluations should consider the long run potential of biofuels accounting for demographic, economic and technological changes and the related implications.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Making of a Market for ‘Sustainable Fish’

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ponte, Stefano

2012-01-01

the market for ‘sustainable fish’, but success has been accompanied by serious challenges. The MSC has so far failed to convincingly show that its certification system has positive environmental impacts, and it has marginalized Southern fisheries, especially in low-income countries. As an institutional...... solution to the global fishery crisis, the MSC seems to be better tuned to the creation of a market for ‘sustainable fish’ rather than ‘sustainable fisheries’....

Strategic Positioning for Sustainable Competitive Advantage: An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Organizational learning is increasingly being considered as one of the fundamental sources of competitive advantage within the context of strategic management. However, most literature has not clearly linked organizational learning with sustainable competitive advantage. This paper, therefore, explores and discusses the ...

Comparing the sustainability impacts of solar thermal and natural gas combined cycle for electricity production in Mexico: Accounting for decision makers' priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Serrano, Irene; Caldés, Natalia; Oltra, Christian; Sala, Roser

2017-06-01

The aim of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive sustainability assessment of the electricity generation with two alternative electricity generation technologies by estimating its economic, environmental and social impacts through the "Framework for Integrated Sustainability Assessment" (FISA). Based on a Multiregional Input Output (MRIO) model linked to a social risk database (Social Hotspot Database), the framework accounts for up to fifteen impacts across the three sustainability pillars along the supply chain of the electricity production from Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) and Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) technologies in Mexico. Except for value creation, results show larger negative impacts for NGCC, particularly in the environmental pillar. Next, these impacts are transformed into "Aggregated Sustainability Endpoints" (ASE points) as a way to support the decision making in selecting the best sustainable project. ASE points obtained are later compared to the resulting points weighted by the reported priorities of Mexican decision makers in the energy sector obtained from a questionnaire survey. The comparison shows that NGCC achieves a 1.94 times worse negative score than STE, but after incorporating decision makerś priorities, the ratio increases to 2.06 due to the relevance given to environmental impacts such as photochemical oxidants formation and climate change potential, as well as social risks like human rights risks.

Consumer Attitudes toward Sustainable Development and Risk to Brand Loyalty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel G. J. Kuchinka

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The present study reveals the importance of understanding how business decisions focused on sustainability can impact companies, due to the risks associated with brand loyalty. The relationship between brand loyalty and consumers’ environmental viewpoint is investigated, including how consumers’ brand loyalty would be impacted after environmental-based expansion decisions are announced. College students from the USA and Romania (N = 92 were asked to voluntarily participate in a survey. The Brand Loyalty Scale (BLS is used to assess brand loyalty before and after a fictitious expansion announcement was made and the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP scale is utilized to assess attitudes toward sustainability. A paired samples t-test analysis reveals a significant positive correlation between NEP scores (attitudes toward sustainability and brand loyalty. No significant differences are found in attitudes toward sustainability regarding region (Romania and USA or gender. These results indicate that individuals who generally show concern towards the environment will stay loyal to their favorite companies after sustainability is introduced. Results also indicate that the gap regarding region and gender is slowly closing in attitudes toward sustainability; individuals in developing countries are also showing a major concern toward environmental issues. Males indicate just as much concern toward the environment as females, which is confirmed by other findings in previous literature.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IMPACTS ON SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerstin Anstätt

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The goal of this article is to critically analyze the findings of the first, recently published, studies about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR impacts on Sustainable Human Development (SHD. We aim at deriving conclusions for effective CSR strategies and at identifying consequences for management and research. As CSR claims to create value for corporations and for society, we argue that the people-centered Capability Approach (CA is promising to provide neglected and much needed insights how corporate activities affect individuals and communities. Based on a survey of recent literature addressing CSR impacts on SHD, we highlight CSR potentials to improve average well-being in multiple dimensions of SHD. Moreover, we critically assess challenges and limitations of CSR as a strategy to preserve and foster SHD. For instance, studies have shown that, despite CSR-driven well-being increases, social capital, relational capabilities and collective agency may become challenged by corporate strategies. Moreover, corporate environmental impacts have been found to be less often addressed by both, companies and SHD researchers. Resulting inequality and fairness issues have been identified as causes of violence against corporations even in the presence of total well-being improvements. We conclude that companies should strategically take into account a comprehensive range of factors driving and hampering SHD to account for their whole portfolio of corporate opportunities and risks. This requires evaluating CSR impacts instead of only focusing on CSR inputs and outputs. Thereby, corporations can mitigate their risks, improve their stakeholder trust and strengthen their competitiveness.

Environmental Justice and Sustainability Impact Assessment: In Search of Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts Caused by Coal Mining in Inner Mongolia, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Liu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Chinese government adopted more specific and stringent environmental impact assessment (EIA guidelines in 2011, soon after the widespread ethnic protests against coal mining in Inner Mongolia. However, our research suggests that the root of the ethnic tension is a sustainability problem, in addition to environmental issues. In particular, the Mongolians do not feel they have benefited from the mining of their resources. Existing environmental assessment tools are inadequate to address sustainability, which is concerned with environmental protection, social justice and economic equity. Thus, it is necessary to develop a sustainability impact assessment (SIA to fill in the gap. SIA would be in theory and practice a better tool than EIA for assessing sustainability impact. However, China’s political system presents a major challenge to promoting social and economic equity. Another practical challenge for SIA is corruption which has been also responsible for the failing of EIA in assessing environmental impacts of coal mining in Inner Mongolia. Under the current political system, China should adopt the SIA while continuing its fight against corruption.

Position of the American Dietetic Association: food and nutrition professionals can implement practices to conserve natural resources and support ecological sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmon, Alison H; Gerald, Bonnie L

2007-06-01

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association to encourage environmentally responsible practices that conserve natural resources, minimize the quantity of waste generated, and support the ecological sustainability of the food system-the process of food production, transformation, distribution, access, and consumption. Registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, play various roles in the food system and work in settings where efforts to conserve can have significant effects. Natural resources that provide the foundation for the food system include biodiversity, soil, land, energy, water, and air. A food system that degrades or depletes its resource base is not sustainable. Making wise food purchases and food management decisions entails understanding the external costs of food production and foodservice and how these external costs affect food system sustainability. This position paper provides information, specific action-oriented strategies, and resources to guide registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, in food decision making and professional practice. Food and nutrition professionals also can participate in policy making at the local, state, and national levels, and can support policies that encourage the development of local sustainable food systems. Our actions today have global consequences. Conserving and protecting resources will contribute to the sustainability of the global food system now and in the future.

Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on short-term memory performance over 24 h of sustained wakefulness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Grenèche, Jérôme; Krieger, Jean; Bertrand, Frédéric; Erhardt, Christine; Maumy, Myriam; Tassi, Patricia

2013-10-01

Few studies have examined the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on short-term memory (STM) over sustained wakefulness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). We have investigated if impaired STM can be reversed by CPAP treatment in a 24-h sustained wakefulness paradigm. Our follow-up study was conducted with repeated-memory tasks within 12 OSAHS patients and 10 healthy controls who underwent three 32-h sessions, one before CPAP (T0) and the second (T3) and the third (T6), after 3 and 6 months of treatment, respectively, for OSAHS patients. Each session included one night of sleep followed by 24h of sustained wakefulness, during which both groups performed STM tasks including both digit span (DS) and Sternberg tasks. Untreated OSAHS patients had no deficit in the forward DS task measuring immediate memory but were impaired in STM, especially working memory assessed by the complex Sternberg task and the backward DS. However, only performance in the latter was improved after 6 months of CPAP treatment. Because the high level of memory scanning required high speed in information processing, persistent impairment on the complex Sternberg task may be attributable to working memory slowing, possibly enhanced by sustained wakefulness. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The economic impact of environmentally sustainable transport in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schade, B.; Rothengatter, W.

2004-01-01

The economic assessment of the Environmentally Sustainable Transportation (EST) scenarios developed throughout this paper are part of Phase 3 of the overall project, which is on social and economic assessment and on devising packages of instruments that - if implemented - would result in attaining EST. Two methods were chosen for the assessment of the scenarios: a qualitative evaluation based on a simplified cybernetic model (SCM) and a system dynamics model (SDM). In the assessment with the simplified cybernetic model, a conservative baseline has been chosen in order to start with a scenario that incorporates some pessimistic views of the industry. The aim is to show that, even in this case, an economic disaster will not occur. The System Dynamics Model ESCOT was designed to consider the ecological and technical aspects of a transition towards sustainable transportation. It is important that ESCOT considers not only first round effects but also secondary effects, which makes it a powerful instrument for the assessment of such large ecological changes. The economic assessment of environmentally sustainable scenarios shows that the departure from car and road freight oriented transport policy is far from leading to an economic collapse. The effects concerning economic indices are rather low, even though the measures proposed in the EST-80% scenario designate distinct changes compared to today's transport policy. The impacts on some economic indicators, however, are clearly negative. With an expansion of the time period for the transition in the EST-50% scenario we derived even more encouraging results than for EST-80%

A Modified Method for Evaluating Sustainable Transport Solutions Based on AHP and Dempster–Shafer Evidence Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luyuan Chen

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With the challenge of transportation environment, a large amount of attention is paid to sustainable mobility worldwide, thus bringing the problem of the evaluation of sustainable transport solutions. In this paper, a modified method based on analytical hierarchy process (AHP and Dempster–Shafer evidence theory (D-S theory is proposed for evaluating the impact of transport measures on city sustainability. AHP is adapted to determine the weight of sustainability criteria while D-S theory is used for data fusion of the sustainability assessment. A Transport Sustainability Index (TSI is presented as a primary measure to determine whether transport solutions have a positive impact on city sustainability. A case study of car-sharing is illustrated to show the efficiency of our proposed method. Our modified method has two desirable properties. One is that the BPA is generated with a new modification framework of evaluation levels, which can flexibly manage uncertain information. The other is that the modified method has excellent performance in sensitivity analysis.

Domestic food and sustainable design : a study of university student cooking and its impacts

OpenAIRE

Clear, Adrian; Hazas, Michael; Morley, Janine; Friday, Adrian; Bates, Oliver

2013-01-01

In four university student kitchens over twenty-one days, we captured participants' food preparation activity, quantified the greenhouse gas emissions and direct energy connected to the food and cooking, and talked to participants about their food practices. Grounded in this uniquely detailed micro-account, our findings inform sustainable design for cooking and eating at home and quantify the potential impacts. We outline the relation of the impacts to our participants' approaches to everyday...

Empirical Research on Influencing Factors of Sustainable Supply Chain Management—Evidence from Beijing, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jihui Wu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The traditional development mode for social and economic progress has resulted in crises and challenges; therefore, various countries have begun to actively explore sustainable development. As a developing country, China has outstanding environmental problems. However, there are not many empirical studies on the influencing factors of sustainable supply chain in domestic enterprises. Therefore, according to the manufacturing industry in China, a hypothesis model of influencing factors of sustainable supply chain management is set up. The sustainable supply chain practice is based on three dimensions: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability. The influencing factors of sustainable supply chain include internal management cognition, industry pressure, consumer pressure, and government participation. A structural equation model was used to analyze the questionnaire data of 167 enterprises in Beijing, China. The results show that internal management cognition and government participation has a direct effect on the sustainable supply chain management practice, and internal management cognition has a strong positive influence. Consumer pressure and industry pressure have a small positive impact on internal management cognition, while the effect of government participation on industry pressure is very significant.

Impact of corporate social responsibility on sustainable enterprise development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danubianu Mirela

2017-06-01

Top management endorsement and nomination of a complex CSR teamDeveloping formal company CSR policy documentsSelecting and engaging the company’s stakeholders as early as possible.Building a Project Advisory Board – useful in every modern managerial tool application should guide the progress toward CSR.An external facilitator would help solve internal conflicts.An audit of what CSR represents for the Company, what are the CSR options, e.g., promoting a “green company” profile, what would be the best impact of philanthropy and community volunteering, etc.Generate a CSR portfolio of actions, setting deadlines, responsibilities and allocating resources, establishing communication, reporting, monitoring and corrective proceduresupgrading the sustainable enterprise strategy.

Impacts of Sustained Institutional Participation in Service-Learning: Perspectives from faculty, staff and administrators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda L. Vogel

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The movement for greater civic engagement in higher education in the United States has taken hold across the core academic missions of teaching, research and service. One manifestation of this movement has been growing participation in service-learning, a teaching method grounded in community-university partnerships in which students provide services that simultaneously address community-identified concerns and meet key learning objectives. In order to assess the benefits of long-term sustained institutional involvement in service-learning, in 2007–2008 we interviewed 23 faculty members, staff and administrators from 16 academic institutions that had participated in a national demonstration program for service-learning, which ended in 1998. We found that 15 of these institutions had sustained service-learning to some degree and 12 had integrated service-learning into the curriculum, with varying degrees of institutional support. Interview participants described five main impacts of their institutions’ sustained participation in service-learning: 1 increased community engagement and community-engaged scholarship, and increased valuation of both, among participating faculty members; 2 greater capacity for community-university partnerships among academic and community partners; 3 improved community-university relations; 4 diffusion of service-learning and/or principles of community-university partnerships to other departments and schools; and 5 recruitment of students seeking community engagement opportunities. This study provides evidence that sustained institutional participation in service-learning can foster an understanding of the scholarly value of community-engaged teaching and research among participating faculty, and increase community-engaged activities at participating academic institutions. These findings suggest that funding agencies, faculty members and academic administrators can use service-learning as a strategy to foster a

Improving diet sustainability through evolution of food choices: review of epidemiological studies on the environmental impact of diets.

Science.gov (United States)

Perignon, Marlène; Vieux, Florent; Soler, Louis-Georges; Masset, Gabriel; Darmon, Nicole

2017-01-01

The Food and Agriculture Organization defines sustainable diets as nutritionally adequate, safe, healthy, culturally acceptable, economically affordable diets that have little environmental impact. This review summarizes the studies assessing, at the individual level, both the environmental impact and the nutritional quality or healthiness of self-selected diets. Reductions in meat consumption and energy intake were identified as primary factors for reducing diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. The choice of foods to replace meat, however, was crucial, with some isocaloric substitutions possibly increasing total diet greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, nutritional adequacy was rarely or only partially assessed, thereby compromising the assessment of diet sustainability. Furthermore, high nutritional quality was not necessarily associated with affordability or lower environmental impact. Hence, when identifying sustainable diets, each dimension needs to be assessed by relevant indicators. Finally, some nonvegetarian self-selected diets consumed by a substantial fraction of the population showed good compatibility with the nutritional, environmental, affordability, and acceptability dimensions. Altogether, the reviewed studies revealed the scarcity of standardized nationally representative data for food prices and environmental indicators and suggest that diet sustainability might be increased without drastic dietary changes. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute.

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability Strategies on the Financial Performance of Romanian Companies in the Context of Green Marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian Siminică

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The current research paper aims at making a comprehensive analysis of the current green marketing initiatives adopted by the top performing Romanian companies, in order to understand the determinant factors that influence their green approach and to evaluate the impact of the sustainability strategies implemented on their financial performance. The research of business sustainability strategies in 31 top performing companies in Romania is conducted by analyzing their green marketing initiatives, the ability to communicate online current and past Corporate Sustainability (CS actions (substantive action and their future commitments towards green marketing (symbolic action. The authors also analyzed the impact of companies’ dimensions on their green performance and commitment, substantiating that the size of a company is a significant influential factor. The analysis of the impact of substantive and symbolic action on the financial performance of the companies shows that there is not a significant correlation between these indicators.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE CORPORATIONS IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Gănescu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Corporate social responsibility strategies are a topic of great interest for both researchers and practitioners, and require the development of interdisciplinary approaches: economic, ethical and social. The paper analyses the social responsibility strategies employed by European automotive businesses and highlights their impact on business sustainability. From a theoretical perspective, applying the content analysis method on sustainability or social responsibility reports revealed a variety of social responsibility strategies. The utility of the research is supported by formulating a typology of social responsibility strategies, based on objectives of sustainable development and by establishing arguments concerning the impact of these strategies on automotive businesses’ sustainability in the following areas: social and societal, ecological and environmental, distribution chains and suppliers, corporate image, position in relation to competitors and financial performance.

Neuroscientists' classroom visits positively impact student attitudes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet L Fitzakerley

Full Text Available The primary recommendation of the 2010 President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report on K-12 education was to inspire more students so that they are motivated to study science. Scientists' visits to classrooms are intended to inspire learners and increase their interest in science, but verifications of this impact are largely qualitative. Our primary goal was to evaluate the impact of a longstanding Brain Awareness classroom visit program focused on increasing learners understanding of their own brains. Educational psychologists have established that neuroscience training sessions can improve academic performance and shift attitudes of students from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Our secondary goal was to determine whether short interactive Brain Awareness scientist-in-the-classroom sessions could similarly alter learners' perceptions of their own potential to learn. Teacher and student surveys were administered in 4(th-6(th grade classrooms throughout Minnesota either before or after one-hour Brain Awareness sessions that engaged students in activities related to brain function. Teachers rated the Brain Awareness program as very valuable and said that the visits stimulated students' interest in the brain and in science. Student surveys probed general attitudes towards science and their knowledge of neuroscience concepts (particularly the ability of the brain to change. Significant favorable improvements were found on 10 of 18 survey statements. Factor analyses of 4805 responses demonstrated that Brain Awareness presentations increased positive attitudes toward science and improved agreement with statements related to growth mindset. Overall effect sizes were small, consistent with the short length of the presentations. Thus, the impact of Brain Awareness presentations was positive and proportional to the efforts expended, demonstrating that short, scientist-in-the-classroom visits can make a positive contribution to

Head Impact Exposure in Junior and Adult Australian Football Players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Hecimovich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study measured and compared the frequency, magnitude, and distribution of head impacts sustained by junior and adult Australian football players, respectively, and between player positions over a season of games. Twelve junior and twelve adult players were tracked using a skin-mounted impact sensor. Head impact exposure, including frequency, magnitude, and location of impacts, was quantified using previously established methods. Over the collection period, there were no significant differences in the impact frequency between junior and adult players. However, there was a significant increase in the frequency of head impacts for midfielders in both grades once we accounted for player position. A comparable amount of head impacts in both junior and adult players has implications for Australian football regarding player safety and medical coverage as younger players sustained similar impact levels as adult players. The other implication of a higher impact profile within midfielders is that, by targeting education and prevention strategies, a decrease in the incidence of sports-related concussion may result.

The impact of shifting vantage perspective when recalling and imagining positive events.

Science.gov (United States)

Vella, Nicholas C; Moulds, Michelle L

2014-01-01

The vantage perspective from which memories are recalled influences their emotional impact. To date, however, the impact of vantage perspective on the emotions elicited by positive memories and images of positive future events has been minimally explored. We experimentally manipulated the vantage perspective from which a sample of undergraduate students (n =80) recalled positive memories and imagined positive future events. Participants who naturally recalled their positive memories from a field perspective reported decreased vividness and positive affect (i.e., happiness, optimism, hopefulness) when they were instructed to shift to an observer perspective. The same pattern of emotionality ratings was observed when participants' vantage perspective of imagined future events was manipulated. In contrast, shifting participants from observer to field perspective recall of positive memories did not result in changes in ratings of memory-related emotion, although we found an unexpected trend towards reduced vividness. For positive future events, shifting from an observer to a field perspective resulted in decreased vividness but did not lead to any changes in positive emotion. Our findings confirm that vantage perspective plays a key role in determining the emotional impact of positive memories, and demonstrate that this relationship is also evident for images of future positive events.

Sustainable consumption and marketing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dam, van Y.K.

2016-01-01

Sustainable development in global food markets is hindered by the discrepancy between positive consumer attitudes towards sustainable development or sustainability and the lack of corresponding sustainable consumption by a majority of consumers. Apparently for many (light user) consumers the

Impact of Industrialization on Environment and Sustainable Solutions - Reflections from a South Indian Region

Science.gov (United States)

Patnaik, Rasmi

2018-03-01

Industrialization has brought economic prosperity; additionally it has resulted in more population, urbanization, obvious stress on the basic life supporting systems while pushing the environmental impacts closer to the threshold limits of tolerance. With booming industrial growth and relatively low land mass, environmental sustainability is now becoming a significant deciding factor in industrial development process. Accumulating evidences constantly indicate that the transition of the existing industries into eco-industrial network through successful implementation of green approaches provides a viable solution to preserve the natural resources of the region while concurrently enhances the regional economy on a sustainable basis. It calls for an appropriate planning and integrated framework in harmony with the environment, after careful assessment of past and prevailing conditions. The empirical knowledge on affected area helps understanding the local context and developing further course of action based on ground realities. With this aim, a study was conducted on the current industrial pollution and environmental setting of Puducherry. A causal chain analysis indicated severe impacts of industrialization on local environment while highlighting its immediate and root causes. The findings form a base for suggesting sustainable solutions to curb rampant pollution in Puducherry region and similar scenarios found across the world.

Does the boat float? - The impact of teaching sustainable development in design and engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Eyto, A.; McMahon, M.; Mulder, K.F.; Wever, R.; De Werk, G.; Overschie, M.G.F.

2013-01-01

Education for sustainable development fundamentally calls for a change in the way we educate (teaching methodologies), what we teach (the curriculum and subject matter), and why we do it (learning outcomes & professional impact) (Bhamra & Dewberry, 2007). But what should this change look like in

The Drosophila Duox maturation factor is a key component of a positive feedback loop that sustains regeneration signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sumbul Jawed; Abidi, Syeda Nayab Fatima; Skinner, Andrea; Tian, Yuan; Smith-Bolton, Rachel K

2017-07-01

Regenerating tissue must initiate the signaling that drives regenerative growth, and sustain that signaling long enough for regeneration to complete. How these key signals are sustained is unclear. To gain a comprehensive view of the changes in gene expression that occur during regeneration, we performed whole-genome mRNAseq of actively regenerating tissue from damaged Drosophila wing imaginal discs. We used genetic tools to ablate the wing primordium to induce regeneration, and carried out transcriptional profiling of the regeneration blastema by fluorescently labeling and sorting the blastema cells, thus identifying differentially expressed genes. Importantly, by using genetic mutants of several of these differentially expressed genes we have confirmed that they have roles in regeneration. Using this approach, we show that high expression of the gene moladietz (mol), which encodes the Duox-maturation factor NIP, is required during regeneration to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn sustain JNK signaling during regeneration. We also show that JNK signaling upregulates mol expression, thereby activating a positive feedback signal that ensures the prolonged JNK activation required for regenerative growth. Thus, by whole-genome transcriptional profiling of regenerating tissue we have identified a positive feedback loop that regulates the extent of regenerative growth.

Understanding Sustainable Diets: A Descriptive Analysis of the Determinants and Processes That Influence Diets and Their Impact on Health, Food Security, and Environmental Sustainability123

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Jessica L.; Fanzo, Jessica C.; Cogill, Bruce

2014-01-01

The confluence of population, economic development, and environmental pressures resulting from increased globalization and industrialization reveal an increasingly resource-constrained world in which predictions point to the need to do more with less and in a “better” way. The concept of sustainable diets presents an opportunity to successfully advance commitments to sustainable development and the elimination of poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, and poor health outcomes. This study examines the determinants of sustainable diets, offers a descriptive analysis of these areas, and presents a causal model and framework from which to build. The major determinants of sustainable diets fall into 5 categories: 1) agriculture, 2) health, 3) sociocultural, 4) environmental, and 5) socioeconomic. When factors or processes are changed in 1 determinant category, such changes affect other determinant categories and, in turn, the level of “sustainability” of a diet. The complex web of determinants of sustainable diets makes it challenging for policymakers to understand the benefits and considerations for promoting, processing, and consuming such diets. To advance this work, better measurements and indicators must be developed to assess the impact of the various determinants on the sustainability of a diet and the tradeoffs associated with any recommendations aimed at increasing the sustainability of our food system. PMID:25022991

Study of Perceptions on Cultural Events’ Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adina Letiţia Negruşa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Cultural events and festivals can have a significant and important influence on the development of local communities. Their utilization of the endogenous resources of an area means that these events, most often, have a positive impact on the local economy. Quite consequentially, they may also extend the socio-cultural opportunities of local citizens. However, their utilization of time and space does raise concerns regarding environmental impact. Therefore, it is imperative that stakeholders study their net impact on a region. This present paper examines the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impact of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF. With a history of 15 editions, the festival gathers, year by year, an increasing number of people in Cluj-Napoca. The growth of the event has had unmistakable and important effects on the city. The purpose of the paper is to analyze resident participants’ perceptions on economic, socio-cultural, and environmental effects. To reach this goal, an exploratory and descriptive research was conducted. Both primary and secondary data were used in the analysis, the questionnaire being the main tool used for collecting data about participants’ perceptions. The results emphasize the positive effects at the socio-cultural level. The festival provides multiple possibilities to spend free time in a pleasant way, it sustains the development of cultural life, and it improves the educational and the cultural level of community. Moreover, the festival does not influence, in a negative manner, the moral principles of the society and it does not generate an increase in crime rate. From the economic point of view, the festival has the capacity to attract investments and additional revenues for the local government, it sustains the development of the city infrastructure, and it creates opportunities for residents to develop new economic activities. Lastly, from the environmental point of view, the

Measuring environmental sustainability in agriculture: A composite environmental impact index approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabiha, Noor-E; Salim, Ruhul; Rahman, Sanzidur; Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay

2016-01-15

The present study develops a composite environmental impact index (CEII) to evaluate the extent of environmental degradation in agriculture after successfully validating its flexibility, applicability and relevance as a tool. The CEII tool is then applied to empirically measure the extent of environmental impacts of High Yield Variety (HYV) rice cultivation in three districts of north-western Bangladesh for a single crop year (October, 2012-September, 2013). Results reveal that 27 to 69 per cent of the theoretical maximum level of environmental damage is created due to HYV rice cultivation with significant regional variations in the CEII scores, implying that policy interventions are required in environmentally critical areas in order to sustain agriculture in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CRESCIMENTO ECONÔMICO E SUSTENTABILIDADE / Economic Growth and Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilberto Montibeller-Filho

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The subject “economic growth and sustainability” refers to the relationship between economicgrowth and its positive impact on the wellbeing of the population and on the environment. It is,therefore, about economic, as well as social and environmental, sustainability, i.e. the root ofthe sustainable development paradigm. A historical review is needed for understanding theroots of the emergence of this new socio-political and scientific paradigm. It starts from themoment when the economy was mainly viewed as an evil against the environment, to the pointwhen the new sustainable development, or eco-development, is developed. Then the paperpresents the present, and most important, ways that several public and private actions attemptto develop their economic activities guided by this paradigm, emphasising the Brazilian context.

Vaccination ecosystem health check: achieving impact today and sustainability for tomorrow.

Science.gov (United States)

Saadatian-Elahi, Mitra; Bloom, David; Plotkin, Stanley; Picot, Valentina; Louis, Jacques; Watson, Michael

2017-01-01

Vaccination is a complex ecosystem with several components that interact with one another and with the environment. Today's vaccine ecosystem is defined by the pursuit of polio eradication, the drive to get as many of the new vaccines to as many people as possible and the research and development against immunologically challenging diseases. Despite these successes, vaccine ecosystem is facing keys issues with regard to supply/distribution and cost/profitability asymmetry that risk slowing its global growth. The conference "Vaccination ecosystem health check: achieving impact today and sustainability for tomorrow" held in Annecy-France (January 19-21, 2015) took stock of the health of today's vaccination ecosystem and its ability to reliably and sustainably supply high-quality vaccines while investing in tomorrow's needed innovation. Small and decreasing numbers of suppliers/manufacturing facilities; paucity of research-driven companies; regulatory pressures; market uncertainties; political prioritization; anti-vaccine movements/complacency; and technological and programmatic issues were acknowledged as the major challenges that could weaken today's vaccination ecosystem. The expert panel discussed also drivers and barriers to a sustainable vaccination ecosystem; the metrics of a vaccination ecosystem; and what should be added, removed, increased, or reduced to maintain the health of the vaccination ecosystem.

Sustainable clothing: challenges, barriers and interventions for encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviour

OpenAIRE

Harris, Fiona; Roby, Helen; Dibb, Sally

2016-01-01

Research with consumers has revealed limited awareness of the sustainability impact of clothing (Goworek et al., 2012). Semi-structured interviews conducted with a range of experts in sustainable clothing to increase understanding of the challenges for sustainable clothing revealed that a focus on sustainability alone will not drive the necessary changes in consumers’ clothing purchase, care and disposal behaviour for three reasons: (i) clothing sustainability is too complex; (ii) consumers a...

Sustainable Universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grindsted, Thomas Skou

2011-01-01

Declarations on Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE) can be viewed as a piece of international regulation. Over the past 30 years research at universities has produced convincing data to warn about deterioration of the environment, resource scarcity and the need for sustainability. This in turn....... Declarations tend to have impact on three trends. Firstly, there is emerging international consensus on the university’s role and function in relation to sustainable development; secondly, the emergence of national legislation, and thirdly, an emerging international competition to be leader in sustainable...

The theory of sustainable Tourism Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberta Tahiri

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Tourism is a phenomenon that has seen a rapid multi fold increase and growth since the middle of the twentieth century. For host communities and countries, the development of tourism has offered numerous advantages, as well as some significant challenges and difficulties. In recent decades, the awareness has been strengthened that tourism needs to be developed following the sustainable development concept. This approach eliminates or significantly decreases the negative impacts of tourism growth and sets the basis for long-term enjoyment of benefits. In the field of tourism, sustainable development translates in two important categories of considerations: conserving natural environment and resources and the biodiversity and conserving the living cultural heritage and traditions. Designing sustainable tourism development strategies should be done in cooperative efforts by the state, businesses and local communities. The strategies need to focus on maximizing the potential positive and eliminating or minimizing potential negative impacts. Impact monitoring and evaluation mechanisms need to be set up, including identification of performance indicators. When tourism growth emerges from a carefully designed and implemented strategy, tourism is documented to contribute to generating foreign exchange earnings, creating employment and income, and stimulating domestic consumption. It also brings about social and cultural development of the host communities. Researches have shown that smaller and developing countries specialized in tourism experience higher economic growth compared to countries without significant tourism industry. Contemporary economic and statistical methods ensure that the contribution of tourism in national economies can be precisely and easily measured, which in itself can be used as an indicator in assessing the impact and effects of tourism growth.

Economic impact of world mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walser, G.

2002-01-01

Mining plays a vital role in the economic development of many countries. The emerging economies are now major players in the production and availability of key commodities such as copper (70%), bauxite (40%), iron ore and precious metals. Mining also has a positive impact on the economy of many countries. Another impact of mining can be measured in terms of employment opportunities and income generation. Commercial scale mining provides employment and skills transfer to more than 2 million workers. The multiplier effect increases this benefit by a factor of between 2 and 5. The World Bank Mining Department has carried out an in-depth study on economic and social impact of mining at the community level in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Papua New Guinea and Mali. This study demonstrates that there are substantial social and economic benefits to the community. The most positive cases are related to the growth of local small- and micro-enterprise activities. However, mining remains controversial, as true sustainable development is not only a matter of financial flows. Mining has also been associated with a number of economic and social problems. As a result there are questions about the sustainability of the economic outcome of mining. The contribution of mining to sustainable development needs to be considered in terms of economic and technical viability, ecological sustainability and social equity. To achieve this, governments, mining companies and local communities must work together to address these issues. (author)

The WHS Designation—A Factor of Sustainable Tourism Growth for Romanian Rural Areas?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corneliu Iațu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The presence of World Heritage Sites has been frequently used as a mean of tourism promotion and increased attractiveness. However, previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the territorial impact of World Heritage Sites, and very few researchers discussed their impact in Eastern Europe. This paper examines how the presence of World Heritage Sites in rural localities influenced the tourism growth and sustainable development in Romania after 2000. Independent Sample t-test was used to analyse the evolution of tourism and sustainable development indicators between 2001 and 2016. The results suggest an absence of a positive effect induced by World Heritage Sites in rural areas. It seems that, by itself, the brand has not enough power to sustain tourist attractiveness if it is not endorsed by national, regional, and local initiatives. These findings lead a discussion about how certain sites managed to induce a sustained tourism growth while others failed to do so.

Tourism And Environment: Toward Promoting Sustainable Development Of Tourism: A Human Rights Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism activities in era globalization bring positive and negative impacts especially for the host countries destination. To minimize the negative impacts it is very important to always promote the sustainable development of tourism including from a human rights perspective. This paper will discuss concerning who have responsibility to promote a human rights related with sustainable development of tourism. To explore the topic in this article, Author will study both international human rights instruments and environmental convention as well as the soft law regarding the tourism sector such as the UN WTO Global Code Of Ethics. The Law No. 10 Year 2009 concerning Indonesia Tourism Law is also part of legal material studied in this paper. There are national, international legal instruments of the human rights as well as UNWTO Global Codes of Ethics which can be utilized to promote sustainable tourism through human rights perspective. It is considered that all stakeholders have responsibility to promote sustainable development of tourism.

Impact of geohazards on sustainable development of society

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blistan, P.

2015-01-01

In this paper the authors analyze environmental risk factors in Slovakia in terms of sustainable development within environmental conditions and perspectives. Geological and geomorphological conditions affecting sustainable development are analyzed. Monitoring system of the environment and the need for sustainable development is presented.

Infrastructure and automobile shifts: positioning transit to reduce life-cycle environmental impacts for urban sustainability goals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chester, Mikhail; Pincetl, Stephanie; Elizabeth, Zoe; Eisenstein, William; Matute, Juan

2013-01-01

Public transportation systems are often part of strategies to reduce urban environmental impacts from passenger transportation, yet comprehensive energy and environmental life-cycle measures, including upfront infrastructure effects and indirect and supply chain processes, are rarely considered. Using the new bus rapid transit and light rail lines in Los Angeles, near-term and long-term life-cycle impact assessments are developed, including consideration of reduced automobile travel. Energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants are assessed, as well the potential for smog and respiratory impacts. Results show that life-cycle infrastructure, vehicle, and energy production components significantly increase the footprint of each mode (by 48–100% for energy and greenhouse gases, and up to 6200% for environmental impacts), and emerging technologies and renewable electricity standards will significantly reduce impacts. Life-cycle results are identified as either local (in Los Angeles) or remote, and show how the decision to build and operate a transit system in a city produces environmental impacts far outside of geopolitical boundaries. Ensuring shifts of between 20–30% of transit riders from automobiles will result in passenger transportation greenhouse gas reductions for the city, and the larger the shift, the quicker the payback, which should be considered for time-specific environmental goals. (letter)

Infrastructure and automobile shifts: positioning transit to reduce life-cycle environmental impacts for urban sustainability goals

Science.gov (United States)

Chester, Mikhail; Pincetl, Stephanie; Elizabeth, Zoe; Eisenstein, William; Matute, Juan

2013-03-01

Public transportation systems are often part of strategies to reduce urban environmental impacts from passenger transportation, yet comprehensive energy and environmental life-cycle measures, including upfront infrastructure effects and indirect and supply chain processes, are rarely considered. Using the new bus rapid transit and light rail lines in Los Angeles, near-term and long-term life-cycle impact assessments are developed, including consideration of reduced automobile travel. Energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants are assessed, as well the potential for smog and respiratory impacts. Results show that life-cycle infrastructure, vehicle, and energy production components significantly increase the footprint of each mode (by 48-100% for energy and greenhouse gases, and up to 6200% for environmental impacts), and emerging technologies and renewable electricity standards will significantly reduce impacts. Life-cycle results are identified as either local (in Los Angeles) or remote, and show how the decision to build and operate a transit system in a city produces environmental impacts far outside of geopolitical boundaries. Ensuring shifts of between 20-30% of transit riders from automobiles will result in passenger transportation greenhouse gas reductions for the city, and the larger the shift, the quicker the payback, which should be considered for time-specific environmental goals.

Gaz de France 2006 sustainable development report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

A major European energy utility, the Gaz de France Group produces, purchases, transports, distributes and sells natural gas, electricity and related services for its residential, corporate and local government customers. this report presents the actions implemented by the group to incorporate sustainable development into its strategy. From the point of view of risks and opportunities, the group analyzes what it takes to ensure development that respects people and the environment, and it implements them in all its business lines and management systems. Content: Gaz de France, portrait of a major energy utility, highlights of 2006, challenges and strategy (defining strategy and sustainable development policy, specific risks and opportunities, activities of the Gaz de France group: challenges, impact for stakeholders, transparency and independence in governing), ranking and implementing (defining sustainable development policy: reviewing priorities, meeting all the challenges, publicizing and defending positions, increasing awareness, overseeing and monitoring results), results of the 2004-2006 sustainable development action plan, dialogue and action with stakeholders, performance assessment, performance in response to challenges: energy challenges (guaranteeing regular supplies, controlling atmospheric emissions, promoting energy conservation, developing renewable energy), industrial challenges (ensuring health and safety, limiting the overall environmental impact of group activities), social responsibility challenges (advocating corporate social responsibility, promoting human rights and fighting corruption, encouraging commitment to solidarity, promoting regional development through local initiatives, reconciling acquisitions, procurement and sustainable development, ensuring transparency in natural gas rates, providing shareholders with quality information, promoting diversity, a source of enrichment, making working conditions a performance factor), indicators and

Nigeria: Positioning Rural Economy for Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinbode Michael Okunola

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Nigeria as nation has over the years engaged in lots of developmental activities without actions which makes achievements to elude the people. Development of societies doesn’t happen in the vacuum. Thus, the adoption of Structural Adjustment Program, SAP, by Nigeria leading to the neglect of the custom periodic National Plan at a time when Nigeria had no structure for development was the beginning of journey to widened inequality and large poverty incidence, depth and severity. To close the gap between the rich and the poor, the Nigeria government had designed and implemented some programs and policies whose implementation has not solved the inherent problems. In year 2000, the world leaders subscribed to the Millennium Development Goals to ensure synergized global approach to solving the poverty menace. Programs designed in Nigeria to achieve the MDGs focused on the urban centers thereby relegating the rural areas which are responsible for the feeding of the teeming population of the urban dwellers. Farming households and the general rural communities do not have access to clean water, quality education and health facilities, good feeder roads, affordable and safe energy as well as other socioeconomic and socio-infrastructural facilities that would ensure sustainable living for the people whose contribution to the national economy cannot be overemphasized. This study therefore looks at the structural actions the Nigeria government should embarked upon to ensure that the rural dweller have access to life. As the government would be developing programs and policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals whose priority is the end poverty in all forms and everywhere by 2030, this study reveals how to position the rural economy for developmental attention from the policy makers.

Toward malaysian sustainable agriculture in 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Khorramnia, K.; Shariff, A. R. M.; Rahim, A. Abdul; Mansor, S.

2014-02-01

Sustainable agriculture should be able to meet various social goals and objectives so that it can be maintained for an indefinite period without significant negative impacts on environment and natural resources. A wide variety of agricultural activities are running in Malaysia. Maintaining high quality of agricultural products with lower environmental impacts through a sustainable economic viability and life satisfaction of farmers and community are important factors helping to meet sustainable agriculture. Human resources are playing key role in directing the community toward sustainable development. The trend of improving the human development index in Malaysia is highest in the East Asia and the Pacific, high human development countries and the world, since 2000. Precision agriculture is providing strong tools to achieve sustainable agriculture. Different types of sensors, positioning and navigation systems, GIS, software and variable rate technology are well known components of precision agriculture. Drones and robots are promising tools that enabling farmers and managers to collect information or perform particular actions in remote areas or tough conditions. According to a survey, forestry and timber, rubber production and oil palm estates are three main agricultural divisions that precision agriculture may improve the productivity in respect to area of cropland/worker. Main factors affecting the adoption of precision agriculture in Malaysia are: a) Political and legal supports, b) Decision support systems and user interfaces c) Experienced research team works d) National educational policy e) Success in commercialization of precision agriculture system.

Toward malaysian sustainable agriculture in 21st century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khorramnia, K; Shariff, A R M; Rahim, A Abdul; Mansor, S

2014-01-01

Sustainable agriculture should be able to meet various social goals and objectives so that it can be maintained for an indefinite period without significant negative impacts on environment and natural resources. A wide variety of agricultural activities are running in Malaysia. Maintaining high quality of agricultural products with lower environmental impacts through a sustainable economic viability and life satisfaction of farmers and community are important factors helping to meet sustainable agriculture. Human resources are playing key role in directing the community toward sustainable development. The trend of improving the human development index in Malaysia is highest in the East Asia and the Pacific, high human development countries and the world, since 2000. Precision agriculture is providing strong tools to achieve sustainable agriculture. Different types of sensors, positioning and navigation systems, GIS, software and variable rate technology are well known components of precision agriculture. Drones and robots are promising tools that enabling farmers and managers to collect information or perform particular actions in remote areas or tough conditions. According to a survey, forestry and timber, rubber production and oil palm estates are three main agricultural divisions that precision agriculture may improve the productivity in respect to area of cropland/worker. Main factors affecting the adoption of precision agriculture in Malaysia are: a) Political and legal supports, b) Decision support systems and user interfaces c) Experienced research team works d) National educational policy e) Success in commercialization of precision agriculture system

Do we need sustainability as a new approach in human factors and ergonomics?

Science.gov (United States)

Zink, Klaus J; Fischer, Klaus

2013-01-01

The International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee 'Human Factors and Sustainable Development' was established to contribute to a broad discourse about opportunities and risks resulting from current societal 'mega-trends' and their impacts on the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, e.g. in work systems. This paper focuses on the underlying key issues: how do the sustainability paradigm and human factors/ergonomics interplay and interact, and is sustainability necessary as a new approach for our discipline? Based on a discussion of the sustainability concept, some general principles for designing new and enhancing existent approaches of human factors and ergonomics regarding their orientation towards sustainability are proposed. The increasing profile of sustainability on the international stage presents new opportunities for human factors/ergonomics. Positioning of the sustainability paradigm within human factors/ergonomics is discussed. Approaches to incorporating sustainability in the design of work systems are considered.

Conceptualizing Sustainably Produced Food for Promotional Purposes: A Sustainable Marketing Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cecilia Solér

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Progress in transforming current food consumption and production practice in a sustainable direction is slow. Communicative, sustainable consumer policy instruments such as eco-labeling schemes have limited impact outside the green segment and within the mainstream market. This article asks how sustainably produced food can be described in order to promote such food. Based on six cases, it aims to conceptualize the common denominators of sustainable food production by drawing on recent literature on sustainable marketing and on food and sustainable development. Contradictions and implications in terms of labeling schemes, global sourcing and consumer food practice are discussed.

Reaction time, processing speed and sustained attention in schizophrenia: impact on social functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lahera, Guillermo; Ruiz, Alicia; Brañas, Antía; Vicens, María; Orozco, Arantxa

Previous studies have linked processing speed with social cognition and functioning of patients with schizophrenia. A discriminant analysis is needed to determine the different components of this neuropsychological construct. This paper analyzes the impact of processing speed, reaction time and sustained attention on social functioning. 98 outpatients between 18 and 65 with DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, with a period of 3 months of clinical stability, were recruited. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, and the following variables were measured: processing speed (Trail Making Test [TMT], symbol coding [BACS], verbal fluency), simple and elective reaction time, sustained attention, recognition of facial emotions and global functioning. Processing speed (measured only through the BACS), sustained attention (CPT) and elective reaction time (but not simple) were associated with functioning. Recognizing facial emotions (FEIT) correlated significantly with scores on measures of processing speed (BACS, Animals, TMT), sustained attention (CPT) and reaction time. The linear regression model showed a significant relationship between functioning, emotion recognition (P=.015) and processing speed (P=.029). A deficit in processing speed and facial emotion recognition are associated with worse global functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Sustainability of biomass electricity systems. An estimate of costs, macro-economic and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Broek, R

2001-01-01

Since the 1990s there has been a renewal of interest in the possibility of sustainable generating energy from biomass, an interest driven in part by the climate issue. Other motives are the search for alternatives for parts of Western agriculture and progress in the technological feasibility of efficiently producing high-quality energy from biomass. World-wide this renewed interest has led to a clear increase in research, demonstration and commercial implementation of biomass energy systems. A recent thesis concludes that biomass can contribute to all aspects of sustainability. In the context of sustainable development (often viewed as a concept having economic, social and ecological dimensions), the central question asked by this Ph.D. research is: How do biomass electricity systems compare to fossil-fuel systems and to the land-use that they may replace, in terms of costs, macro-economic and environmental impacts. This article presents a number of conclusions

Addressing Complex Societal Problems: Enabling Multiple Dimensions of Proximity to Sustain Partnerships for Collective Impact in Quebec

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nii A. Addy

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainable solutions for complex societal problems, like poverty, require informing stakeholders about progress and changes needed as they collaborate. Yet, inter-organizational collaboration researchers highlight monumental challenges in measuring seemingly intangible factors during collective impact processes. We grapple with the question: How can decision-makers coherently conceptualize and measure seemingly intangible factors to sustain partnerships for the emergence of collective impact? We conducted an inductive process case study to address this question, analyzing data from documents, observations, and interviews of 24 philanthropy leaders and multiple stakeholders in a decades-long partnership involving Canada’s largest private family foundation, government and community networks, and during which a “collective impact project” emerged in Quebec Province, Canada. The multidimensional proximity framework provided an analytical lens. During the first phase of the partnership studied, there was a lack of baseline measurement of largely qualitative factors—conceptualized as cognitive, social, and institutional proximity between stakeholders—which evaluations suggested were important for explaining which community networks successfully brought about desired outcomes. Non-measurement of these factors was a problem in providing evidence for sustained engagement of stakeholders, such as government and local businesses. We develop a multidimensional proximity model that coherently conceptualizes qualitative proximity factors, for measuring their change over time.

Malaysian Mega Science Framework: The Need for Social Impact and Sustainability Assessment

OpenAIRE

Ahmad Zainal A.; Ahmad Zulfadli

2015-01-01

This review focuses on issues surrounding wastewater management as part of the National Sustainable Development (2013-2050) under the Malaysian Mega Science Framework. In line with the national priority area of water security, this review will highlight the technical reports compiled by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) on the challenges of water resource development and wastewater management and treatment. The discussion will dwell on the social impact of pollution in water and wastewat...

MODELING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MACHINERY SECTORS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THAILAND

OpenAIRE

Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee

2016-01-01

The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to evaluate environmental impacts from the machinery sectors of Thailand, leading to more sustainable consumption and production in this sector of the economy. The factors used to calculate the forward linkage, backward linkage and real benefit included the total environmental costs. The highest total environmental cost was railway equipment need to be resolved immediately because it uses natural resources in carrying capacity, higher ...

Nuclear power in Canada : an examination of risks, impacts and sustainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winfield, M.; Jamison, A.; Wong, R.; Czajkowski, P.

2006-12-01

This study examines the environmental impacts of the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation in Canada through each of the four major stages of nuclear energy production: uranium mining and milling; uranium refining, conversion and fuel fabrication; nuclear power plant operation; and waste fuel management. It is intended to inform public debate over the future role of nuclear energy in Canada, and to facilitate comparisons of nuclear energy with other potential energy sources. The study examines waste generation, atmospheric releases, impacts on water quality and water use, and landscape and ecosystem impacts of nuclear energy production. It also examines the occupational and community health impacts of nuclear power and key long-term challenges to its sustainability, including security and weapons proliferation risks. Specific environmental impacts are examined in the context of CANDU nuclear technology, the only reactor type currently in use in Canada. The study findings likely underestimate the overall impacts of the use of nuclear energy for electricity production in Canada. This is a result of significant gaps in the publicly available information on releases of pollutants and contaminants, as well as on the fate of certain waste streams related to the nuclear industry. In addition, the study relies on what are likely conservative estimates in a number of key areas, particularly with respect to the generation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Nuclear power in Canada : an examination of risks, impacts and sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winfield, M.; Jamison, A.; Wong, R.; Czajkowski, P.

2006-12-15

This study examines the environmental impacts of the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation in Canada through each of the four major stages of nuclear energy production: uranium mining and milling; uranium refining, conversion and fuel fabrication; nuclear power plant operation; and waste fuel management. It is intended to inform public debate over the future role of nuclear energy in Canada, and to facilitate comparisons of nuclear energy with other potential energy sources. The study examines waste generation, atmospheric releases, impacts on water quality and water use, and landscape and ecosystem impacts of nuclear energy production. It also examines the occupational and community health impacts of nuclear power and key long-term challenges to its sustainability, including security and weapons proliferation risks. Specific environmental impacts are examined in the context of CANDU nuclear technology, the only reactor type currently in use in Canada. The study findings likely underestimate the overall impacts of the use of nuclear energy for electricity production in Canada. This is a result of significant gaps in the publicly available information on releases of pollutants and contaminants, as well as on the fate of certain waste streams related to the nuclear industry. In addition, the study relies on what are likely conservative estimates in a number of key areas, particularly with respect to the generation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Sustainability Impact Assessment of land use policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Helming, K.; Pérez-Soba, M.; Tabbush, P.

2008-01-01

The principle of multi-functionality simultaneously considers a variety of social, economic and environmental goods and services related to land use. It is thus a key to sustainable development of land and rural areas. Land use policies seek to support the economic competitiveness and sustainable

The impact of sustainability on project management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adri Köhler; Gilbert Gilbert Silvius; Jasper van den Brink

2011-01-01

Chapter 11 in The Project as a Social System: Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Project Management. Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating ideas of sustainability in

From Customer to Stakeholder Management: Quality Managers perceptions of Sustainability and Social Responsibility concepts, motivations and impacts

OpenAIRE

Fonseca, Luis

2013-01-01

57Th EOQ Congress, Quality Renaissance - Co-creating a Viable Future" The research proves that under certain conditions: The economic, environmental and social dimensions are key to organizational sustainable success; Stakeholder satisfaction is significantly higher when a Social Responsibility program is present and it is relevant for the organizational sustainable success and competitive position, as suggested by Freeman (1984) Stakeholder Theory and in line with ISO...

Sustainable Procurement in Practice: Explaining the Degree of Sustainable Procurement from an Organisational Perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Grandia (Jolien); S.M. Groeneveld (Sandra); B.S. Kuipers (Ben); A.J. Steijn (Bram)

2013-01-01

textabstractSustainable procurement is often used to reduce negative environmental impacts related to production and consumption. Several studies in the sustainable procurement literature have identified potential drivers of and barriers to sustainable procurement, which are often organisational in

Sharing evidence of sustainable land management impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Schwilch, Gudrun; Mekdaschi Studer, Rima; Providoli, Isabelle; Liniger, Hanspeter

2015-04-01

Ensuring sustainable use of natural resources is crucial for maintaining the basis for our livelihoods. With threats from climate change, disputes over water, biodiversity loss, competing claims on land, and migration increasing worldwide, the demands for sustainable land management (SLM) practices will only increase in the future. For years already, various national and international organizations (GOs, NGOs, donors, research institutes, etc.) have been working on alternative forms of land management. And numerous land users worldwide - especially small farmers - have been testing, adapting, and refining new and better ways of managing land. All too often, however, the resulting SLM knowledge has not been sufficiently evaluated, documented and shared. Among other things, this has often prevented valuable SLM knowledge from being channelled into evidence-based decision-making processes. Indeed, proper knowledge management is crucial for SLM to reach its full potential. Since more than 20 years, the international WOCAT network documents and promotes SLM through its global platform. As a whole, the WOCAT methodology comprises tools for documenting, evaluating, and assessing the impact of SLM practices, as well as for knowledge sharing, analysis and use for decision support in the field, at the planning level, and in scaling up identified good practices. In early 2014, WOCAT's growth and ongoing improvement culminated in its being officially recognized by the UNCCD as the primary recommended database for SLM best practices. Over the years, the WOCAT network confirmed that SLM helps to prevent desertification, to increase biodiversity, enhance food security and to make people less vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change. In addition, it plays an important role in mitigating climate change through improving soil organic matter and increasing vegetation cover. In-depth assessments of SLM practices from desertification sites enabled an evaluation of

Using Social Impact Assessment to Strengthen Community Resilience in Sustainable Rural Development in Mountain Areas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Imperiale, Angelo Jonas; Vanclay, Frank

2016-01-01

Building community resilience is an important topic in the current debate about achieving positive community development outcomes from sustainable place-based policies, especially in mountain regions and less-favored areas. At the practical, grassroots level, however, it remains unclear how

Using Social Impact Assessment to Strengthen Community Resilience in Sustainable Rural Development in Mountain Areas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Imperiale, Angelo Jonas; Vanclay, Frank

Building community resilience is an important topic in the current debate about achieving positive community development outcomes from sustainable place-based policies, especially in mountain regions and less-favored areas. At the practical, grassroots level, however, it remains unclear how

Impacts of GNSS position offsets on global frame stability

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Jake; Ray, Jim

2014-05-01

Positional offsets appear in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time series for a variety of reasons. Antenna or radome changes are the most common cause for these discontinuities. Many others are from earthquakes, receiver changes, and different anthropogenic modifications at or near the stations. Some jumps appear for unknown or undocumented reasons. The accurate determination of station velocities, and therefore geophysical parameters and terrestrial reference frames, requires that positional offsets be correctly found and compensated. Williams (2003) found that undetected offsets introduce a random walk error component in individual station time series. The topic of detecting positional offsets has received considerable attention in recent years (e.g., Detection of Offsets in GPS Experiment; DOGEx), and most research groups using GNSS have adopted a combination of manual and automated methods for finding them. The removal of a positional offset is usually handled by estimating the average station position on both sides of the discontinuity, assuming a constant, continuous velocity. This is sufficient in the absence of time-correlated errors. However, GNSS time series contain systematic and power-law errors (white to random walk noise). In this paper, we aim to evaluate the impact to both individual station results and the overall stability of the global reference frame from adding increasing numbers of positional discontinuities. We use the International GNSS Service (IGS) weekly SINEX files, and iteratively insert positional offset parameters at the midpoint of each data segment. Each iteration includes a restacking of the modified SINEX files using the CATREF software from Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière (IGN) to estimate: regularized station positions, secular velocities, Earth orientation parameters, Helmert frame alignment parameters, and the empirical shifts across all positional discontinuities. A comparison of the

Long-Term Sustainable Development of Tourism in South Tyrol: An Analysis of Tourists’ Perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katia Laura Sidali

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Although sustainable tourism concepts are gaining in importance everywhere, related research is quite fragmented with many studies concentrating on environmental sustainability. Seeking to contribute to the general discussion, we first examine the perceptions of sustainability among tourists using a best–worst scaling method applied to important aspects of sustainable tourism. Our results show that experiencing nature in an intense and profound way is considered the most important aspect of sustainable tourism whereas grappling with the culture of the host region is perceived as the least important aspect of sustainable tourism in our sample. Second, we analyze if socio-demographic and/or other factors have significant implications for the propensity to increase expenditures for sustainable holiday offers. Applying a simple regression model, we can show that age has a significant and positive impact on the propensity to spend more on a sustainable holiday offer such as overnight stays in an accommodation that is carbon-neutral. Other socio-demographic variables such as gender, education, and income are not significant. Moreover, hotel stars and average expenditures per person per night are significant and have a positive effect on the propensity to spend more on carbon-neutral housing. Two simple policy implications can be drawn: (1 sustainable tourism experiences should prioritize landscape and natural beauty; and (2 sustainable tourism offers are best suited for higher-priced and/or higher starred hotels.

09 Mampholo & Botha - Impact of previously disadvantaged l…

African Journals Online (AJOL)

annaline

factors have positive and negative impact on sustainable agriculture and development. ... indigenous knowledge, lack of input, capital, marketing, information and land ..... The availability of market opportunities remains the external elements.

75 FR 18942 - FY 2010 Discretionary Sustainability Funding Opportunity; Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-13

... responsible development of domestic renewable energy, fossil fuels, advanced biofuels and nuclear energy... applicant did not receive significant funding in an earmark. iii. The project will have a positive impact on... Transit Administration (FTA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of availability of FTA environmental sustainability...

Modeling & Informatics at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated: our philosophy for sustained impact.

Science.gov (United States)

McGaughey, Georgia; Patrick Walters, W

2017-03-01

Molecular modelers and informaticians have the unique opportunity to integrate cross-functional data using a myriad of tools, methods and visuals to generate information. Using their drug discovery expertise, information is transformed to knowledge that impacts drug discovery. These insights are often times formulated locally and then applied more broadly, which influence the discovery of new medicines. This is particularly true in an organization where the members are exposed to projects throughout an organization, such as in the case of the global Modeling & Informatics group at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. From its inception, Vertex has been a leader in the development and use of computational methods for drug discovery. In this paper, we describe the Modeling & Informatics group at Vertex and the underlying philosophy, which has driven this team to sustain impact on the discovery of first-in-class transformative medicines.

The impact of corruption on the sustainable development of human capital

Science.gov (United States)

Absalyamova, Svetlana; Absalyamov, Timur; Khusnullova, Asiya; Mukhametgalieva, Chulpan

2016-08-01

The article explains the use of the human capital sustainable development index (HCSDI) to assess the quality of the reproduction of human capital. The paper provides the algorithm for calculating HCSDI and its components. Authors estimated cross-country differences of HCSDI and developed econometric model of the impact of corruption on HCSDI. The use of this model has allowed to reveal the mechanism and assess the impact of corruption on HCSDI and its components. The results of econometric analysis revealed a negative multiplier effect: an increase in the corruption of the socio-economic system of the state by 1% caused HCSDI reduce by more than 1%. The results and conclusions may be proxy-assessments of the socio-economic consequences of violations of the stability of reproduction of human capital in the conditions of the growth of corruption in the country

Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pretty, Jules; Bharucha, Zareen Pervez

2014-01-01

Background Agricultural systems are amended ecosystems with a variety of properties. Modern agroecosystems have tended towards high through-flow systems, with energy supplied by fossil fuels directed out of the system (either deliberately for harvests or accidentally through side effects). In the coming decades, resource constraints over water, soil, biodiversity and land will affect agricultural systems. Sustainable agroecosystems are those tending to have a positive impact on natural, social and human capital, while unsustainable systems feed back to deplete these assets, leaving fewer for the future. Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as a process or system where agricultural yields are increased without adverse environmental impact and without the conversion of additional non-agricultural land. The concept does not articulate or privilege any particular vision or method of agricultural production. Rather, it emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not pre-determine technologies, species mix or particular design components. The combination of the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘intensification’ is an attempt to indicate that desirable outcomes around both more food and improved environmental goods and services could be achieved by a variety of means. Nonetheless, it remains controversial to some. Scope and Conclusions This review analyses recent evidence of the impacts of SI in both developing and industrialized countries, and demonstrates that both yield and natural capital dividends can occur. The review begins with analysis of the emergence of combined agricultural–environmental systems, the environmental and social outcomes of recent agricultural revolutions, and analyses the challenges for food production this century as populations grow and consumption patterns change. Emergent criticisms are highlighted, and the positive impacts of SI on food outputs and renewable capital assets detailed. It concludes with observations on policies and

MODELING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MACHINERY SECTORS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THAILAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to evaluate environmental impacts from the machinery sectors of Thailand, leading to more sustainable consumption and production in this sector of the economy. The factors used to calculate the forward linkage, backward linkage and real benefit included the total environmental costs. The highest total environmental cost was railway equipment need to be resolved immediately because it uses natural resources in carrying capacity, higher than standard environmental cost, and contribute to low real benefit. Electric accumulator & battery, secondary special industrial machinery, motorcycle, bicycle & other carriages, and engines and turbines need to monitor closely because they are able to link to other production sectors more than other production sector do and they have high environmental cost. In order to decide the sustainable development strategy of the country, there is a need to use this research to support decision-making.

Evaluating the impacts of landscape positions and nitrogen fertilizer rates on dissolved organic carbon on switchgrass land seeded on marginally yielding cropland.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Liming; Kumar, Sandeep; Mbonimpa, Eric G; Hong, Chang Oh; Owens, Vance N; Neupane, Ram P

2016-04-15

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through leaching into the soils is another mechanism of net C loss. It plays an important role in impacting the environment and impacted by soil and crop management practices. However, little is known about the impacts of landscape positions and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates on DOC leaching in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). This experimental design included three N fertilizer rates [0 (low); 56 (medium); 112 (high) kg N ha(-1)] and three landscape positions (shoulder, backslope and footslope). Daily average DOC contents at backslope were significantly lower than that at shoulder and footslope. The DOC contents from the plots that received medium N rate were also significantly lower than the plots that received low N rates. The interactions of landscape and N rates on DOC contents were different in every year from 2009 to 2014, however, no significant consistent trend of DOC contents was observed over time. Annual average DOC contents from the plots managed with low N rate were higher than those with high N rate. These contents at the footslope were higher than that at the shoulder position. Data show that there is a moderate positive relationship between the total average DOC contents and the total average switchgrass biomass yields. Overall, the DOC contents from leachate in the switchgrass land were significantly influenced by landscape positions and N rates. The N fertilization reduced DOC leaching contents in switchgrass field. The switchgrass could retain soil and environment sustainability to some extent. These findings will assist in understanding the mechanism of changes in DOC contents with various parameters in the natural environment and crop management systems. However, use of long-term data might help to better assess the effects of above factors on DOC leaching contents and loss in the switchgrass field in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of Saudi nursing students' attitudes towards environment and sustainability in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, J P; Alshammari, F; Felicilda-Reynaldo, R F D

2018-02-09

This study aimed to investigate the predictors of Saudi nursing students' attitudes towards the environment and sustainability in health care. With rising temperature and decreasing annual rainfall, Saudi Arabia is threatened by the harmful effects of climate change on its population. In response to these threats, the Ministry of Health adapted sustainable development and environmental preservation in their National E-Health strategy. To implement these policies successfully, healthcare practitioners should be educated on how climate change could impact human health negatively. A secondary analysis of 280 questionnaires from baccalaureate nursing students of a university in Hail City, Saudi Arabia, was completed. The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale and Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey 2 (SANS-2) were used to investigate the predictors of student attitudes towards the environment and sustainable development in health care. The NEP score indicated moderate pro-environment attitudes, whereas the SANS-2 mean score showed very positive attitudes towards sustainability in health care. Learning about the environment and related issues in the nursing programme, raising climate change awareness and attending environment-related seminars and training positively influenced the environmental and sustainability attitudes of nursing students. Saudi nursing students moderately manifested pro-environment attitudes but exhibited extremely positive attitudes towards sustainability in health care. The results support the need to strengthen the education of nursing students about environmental and sustainability concepts and the inclusion of these topics in the nursing curricula. The study underscores the critical role of enriching the awareness of nursing students on environmental issues and concerns and sustainability in health care. The findings of this study can support the inclusion of course contents, which deal specifically with environmental health and

The Sweet and the Bitter: Intertwined Positive and Negative Social Impacts of a Biodiversity Offset

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cécile Bidaud

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Major developments, such as mines, will often have unavoidable environmental impacts. In such cases, investors, governments, or even a company's own standards increasingly require implementation of biodiversity offsets (investment in conservation with a measurable outcome with the aim of achieving 'no net loss' or even a 'net gain' of biodiversity. Where conservation is achieved by changing the behaviour of people directly using natural resources, the offset might be expected to have social impacts but such impacts have received very little attention. Using the case study of Ambatovy, a major nickel mine in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar and a company at the vanguard of developing biodiversity offsets, we explore local perceptions of the magnitude and distribution of impacts of the biodiversity offset project on local wellbeing. We used both qualitative (key informant interviews and focus group discussions and quantitative (household survey methods. We found that the biodiversity offsets, which comprise both conservation restrictions and development activities, influenced wellbeing in a mixture of positive and negative ways. However, overall, respondents felt that they had suffered a net cost from the biodiversity offset. It is a matter of concern that benefits from development activities do not compensate for the costs of the conservation restrictions, that those who bear the costs are not the same people as those who benefit, and that there is a mismatch in timing between the immediate restrictions and the associated development activities which take some time to deliver benefits. These issues matter both from the perspective of environmental justice, and for the long-term sustainability of the biodiversity benefits the offset is supposed to deliver.

The impact of the quality of coal mine stockpile soils on sustainable vegetation growth and productivity

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mushia, NM

2016-06-01

Full Text Available , chemical, and biological properties, limiting their capability for sustainable vegetation growth. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of stockpile soils of differing depth and quality on vegetation growth and productivity. Soils were collected...

The psychological impact of traffic injuries sustained in a road crash by bicyclists: A prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Craig, Ashley; Elbers, N.A.; Jagnoor, Jagnoor; Gopinath, Bamini; Kifley, Annette; Dinh, Michal; Pozzato, Ilaria; Ivers, Rebecca; Nicholas, Michael; Cameron, Ian

2017-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of traffic injuries in bicyclists (cyclists) in comparison to car occupants who also sustained traffic injuries. Factors predictive of elevated psychological distress were also investigated. Methods: An inception

Sustainable intensification in agriculture as a factor of achieving food security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurić Katarina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable development are at the top of the list of United Nations sustainable global development priorities after 2015. In addition to many positive effects, efforts of mankind regarding the reduction of rural poverty realized through the Green Revolution have had many negative effects, primarily related to natural resources. Irreversible devastation of land, air and water quality deterioration and jeopardizing biodiversity have been recognized as key elements of unsustainability of existing agricultural development concept. Consequently, there is a need for the adoption of a new concept of agricultural development, which will lie between intensive conventional and organic farming. The concept which has already been applied in some regions of the world and whose basic goal is to find a way to increase production with a negligible negative impact on the environment is sustainable agricultural intensification. The aim of this paper is to look at both positive and negative aspects of biotechnology development so far and point out the place and role the sustainable intensification concept should have in relation to conservation of natural resources and achievement of food security.

76 FR 37175 - FY 2011 Discretionary Sustainability Funding Opportunity Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-24

... responsible development of domestic renewable energy, fossil fuels, advanced biofuels and nuclear energy... funds have not been made available for this project. iii. The project will have a positive impact on air... Administration (FTA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of availability of FTA environmental sustainability program funds...

Virtual Environment as a Design Tool for Sustainable Residential Spaces in Light of Theory of Planned Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hebatalla Sherin Nazmy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to reveal the impact of Virtual Environment as a design tool on the interior architect's design behavior towards adopting sustainable residential interior design practices. This approach is guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a theoretical framework; the purpose as such would serve to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and its practical implementation to promote sustainable design practices. Findings revealed that Virtual Environment is anticipated to assist the interior architect in integrating the complex sustainable residential design objectives, and thus positively affect the interior architect's behavioral performance towards embracing sustainable residential design solutions.

The potential of positive deviance approach for the sustainable control of neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Ken Ing Cherng; Araki, Hitomi; Kano, Shigeyuki; Jimba, Masamine

2016-01-01

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have gained much attention in recent years due to the support from various agencies. However, the main approach to combat NTDs has been to cure rather than to prevent. As many NTD infections are closely linked with human behaviors such as hygienic practices and tradition, behavior change is also very crucial to prevent relapse or reinfection. Therefore, we would like to suggest a potential new approach-the positive deviance approach-to tackle NTDs by focusing on the preventive phase. What makes this approach unique is that the solution comes from the affected population themselves and not from the expert outsiders. Preventive chemotherapy that relies on outside aid has serious sustainability issues as reinfection is also high after the aid program has ended. Learning from the success story in Vietnam on preventing childhood malnutrition, the positive deviance approach could end the spread of NTDs once and for all by making full use of the available local solutions.

LCA and Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moltesen, Andreas; Bjørn, Anders

2018-01-01

LCA is often presented as a sustainability assessment tool. This chapter analyses the relationship between LCA and sustainability. This is done by first outlining the history of the sustainability concept, which gained momentum with the Brundtland Commission’s report ‘Our Common Future report...... is then demonstrated, and the strategy of LCA to achieving environmental protection, namely to guide the reduction of environmental impacts per delivery of a function, is explained. The attempt to broaden the scope of LCA, beyond environmental protection, by so-called life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA......) is outlined. Finally, the limitations of LCA in guiding a sustainable development are discussed....

The positive cognitive impact of aerobic fitness is associated with peripheral inflammatory and brain-derived neurotrophic biomarkers in young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Jungyun; Castelli, Darla M; Gonzalez-Lima, F

2017-10-01

There is ample evidence for supporting the positive impact of aerobic fitness on cognitive function, but little is known about the physiological mechanisms. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the positive cognitive impact of aerobic fitness is associated with inflammatory and neurotrophic peripheral biomarkers in young adults aged 18 to 29years (n=87). For the objective assessment of aerobic fitness, we measured maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) as a parametric measure of cardiorespiratory capacity. We demonstrated that young adults with the higher levels of VO 2 max performed better on computerized cognitive tasks assessing sustained attention and working memory. This positive VO 2 max-cognitive performance association existed independently of confounders (e.g., years of education, intelligence scores) but was significantly dependent on resting peripheral blood levels of inflammatory (C-reactive protein, CRP) and neurotrophic (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF) biomarkers. Statistical models showed that CRP was a mediator of the effect of VO 2 max on working memory. Further, BDNF was a moderator of the effect of VO 2 max on working memory. These mediating and moderating effects occurred in individuals with higher levels of aerobic fitness. The results suggest that higher aerobic fitness, as measured by VO 2 max, is associated with enhanced cognitive functioning and favorable resting peripheral levels of inflammatory and brain-derived neurotrophic biomarkers in young adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fur and Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjold, Else; Csaba, Fabian

2016-01-01

This paper explores the notion of deeper luxury, which insists that 'real' luxury should involve sustainable practices in the production and consumption of luxury goods. It traces historical and recent developments in the field of fur, to understand the implications, uncertainties and ambiguities...... of luxury’s confrontation with sustainability. Considering fur in relation to future standards for luxury products, we raise questions about moral problematisation and justification of luxury in terms of sustainability. We first examine the encounter of luxury with sustainability and explain...... the significance of the notion of ‘deeper luxury’. After taking stock of the impact of sustainability on luxury and various directions in which sustainable luxury is evolving, we discuss concepts of sustainable development in relation to the history of moral problematisation of luxury. This leads to the case...

Sustainable Transportation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hall, Ralph P.; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Marsden, Greg

2014-01-01

The transportation system is the backbone of economic and social progress and the means by which humans access goods and services and connect with one another. Yet, as the scale of transportation activities has grown worldwide, so too have the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts...... that relate to the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and the operation or use of the different transportation modes. The concept of sustainable transportation emerged in response to these concerns as part of the broader notion of sustainable development. Given the transportation...... sector’s significant contribution to global challenges such as climate change, it is often said that sustainable development cannot be achieved without sustainable transportation....

Large scale international bioenergy trading. How bioenergy trading can be reliazed under safe and sustainable frame conditions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm-Nielsen, Jens Bo; Kirchovas, Simas

2011-01-01

Biomass sources as Woodchips – Wood pellets, Straw – Bio pellets, animal manure, farm-by products and new cropping systems are integrated in our society’s needs. The mindset for shifting from fossil fuels based economies into sustainable energy economies already exist. Bioenergy utilization systems...... sustainability criteria. The sustainability criteria agreed internationally could be realized as a tool to secure the positive impacts of bioenergy and to foster the international trade. This study investigates the developments by national and international bodies of biomass standardization and certification...

Towards data-driven decision-making for sustainable diets in Vietnam: Identifying priority indicators through stakeholder engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Mayton, H.; Beal, T.; Rubin, J.; Sanchez, A.; Heller, M.; Hoey, L.; Khoury, C. K.; Jones, A.

2017-12-01

Globally, food systems impact and are impacted by the sustainability of environmental, societal, political, and public health factors. At the center of these systems are human diets, which vary substantially by culture and region, and have significant influence on human health, community livelihoods, climate change, and natural resources. However, rapidly growing and highly diverse lower middle-income countries like Vietnam face challenges in gathering data and defining clear policy intervention points and approaches that will provide a net-positive systemic influence across sectors. A new collaboration, Entry points to Advance Transitions towards Sustainable diets (EATS), between the University of Michigan and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) aims to identify ways that existing data and insights into the policy process can be leveraged to inform decision-making on where and how to intervene to effectively shift multiple axes of food systems to enhance the sustainability of diets. As a first step towards developing a model that other policy communities could follow, researchers aggregated and characterized approximately 50 major existing datasets on food, agriculture, and nutrition in Vietnam. They also created a conceptual framework for evaluating the sustainability of diets and for characterizing existing datasets, including eight domains and over 200 unique, measurable indicators. Figure 1 summarizes these domains and their key relationships, which forms a foundation for identifying leverage points that can positively impact multiple aspects of sustainable diets. Researchers then engaged food system stakeholders through informal interviews, surveys, and collaborative workshops to prioritize indicators and identify additional relevant data sources. Stakeholders included national government, research, NGO, and private sector representatives from across the range of identified domains. The key indicators identified by stakeholders will

Procurement of non-incremental sustainable technology innovations : entrepreneurial firms supplying the New Zealand construction industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Staal, Anne; Tookey, John

Traditionally construction industries in New Zealand and abroad have a low track record for successful sustainable innovations. This has a negative impact on private and government spending, and on quality, society and the environment. This conceptual paper posits that the construction industry

Ergonomics and design for sustainability in healthcare: ambient assisted living and the social-environmental impact of patients lifestyle.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreoni, Giuseppe; Arslan, Pelin; Costa, Fiammetta; Muschiato, Sabrina; Romero, Maximiliano

2012-01-01

This work presents considerations on Ergonomics and Design for Sustainability in the healthcare field based on research experiences of the Technology and Design for Healthcare (TeDH) research group of INDACO (Industrial design, communication, arts and fashion) department of Politecnico di Milano. In order to develop a multidisciplinary approach to design able to answer to specific user needs such as elderly in an environmental sustainable way (1) this paper shows the results we achieved concerning ergonomics and environmental impact in product development (2), the extension of this approach to interior and home design and the advantage of the application of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT can help people with special needs to make their everyday life easier and more safe, at the same time, ICT can make social-environmental impact of everyday behavior evident and can be applied to manage sustainability. The specific theme is thus to integrate ergonomics and sustainability competences in the development of Ambient Assisted Living through a Product- Service System approach. The concept of product service system has the potential to improve product performances and services, establish new relations and networks with different actors in order to satisfy user needs and apply a systems approach considering environmental, social and economic factors in the users' environment.

The Impact of Sustainable Tourism and Good Governance on Biodiversity Loss in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Din Badariah

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The importance of forest in providing the natural habitat for plants and animals; storing hundreds of billions of tons of carbon; buffering against flood and drought; stabilizing soils, influencing climate change and providing food and home for the indigenous people has led the international community to protect them from further destruction in the future. In addition, the sustainable tourism is a key source of income and employment for local communities, which, in turn, provide strong incentives to protect biodiversity. For such reasons, and given the capacity limits of environmental resources coupled with the quantitative growth of tourism, there is an urgent need for the development of tourism to take biodiversity seriously. In this study we investigate the impact of sustainable tourism and good governance indicators on biodiversity loss in Malaysia for the period 1996 to 2012. In this study we employed the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS, Dynamic OLS (DOLS and Fully-Modified OLS (FMOLS which is efficient in small sample to estimate the long-run model of biodiversity loss proxy by deforestation rates . Interestingly, our results found that good governance and sustainable tourism do contribute in mitigating biodiversity loss in Malaysia.

Impacts of flood on children and adults’ health and ways to sustainable development

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, S.; Ebenehi, I. Y.; Adaji, A.; Seow, T. W.; Chan, N. W.; Goh, K. C.; Rahim, M. H. I. Abd

2017-11-01

One of the events that will remain fresh in the minds of Kelantanese is the 2014 massive flood that occurred at the end of that year. Heavy rains fell initiating vast flooding in most areas of Kelantan leading to great destruction of livelihood of local communities. Natural hazard such as floods are not only caused by natural processes but also by human activities. The flood recorded severe fatalities, injuries and exposed many vulnerable to diseases. This paper through critical review of literature considered the long-term impact of floods on human’s health as the effects could meaningfully contribute to the worldwide burden of disease. Also, its outcomes are relentless hence need to be adequately comprehended and addressed through sustainability. This study revealed vulnerability to flood inclined ailments as psychological distress in the survivors is liable for a quota of all physical ailments. Hence, sustainable approach to flood preparedness and prevention is instantly needed. Accolades should be given to the Malaysian government for taken bold steps in that direction in recent time but success will be achieved if implementation is in compliance with sustainability agenda spelt in the New Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

The Power of One: The Impact of Family and Consumer Sciences Education on Environmental Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Nancy E.

2010-01-01

The issues related to environmental sustainability can be overwhelming. It is difficult to imagine that actions of one person could make a difference. This article addresses that perception and illustrates the impact of one person, a family and consumer sciences educator, on the lives of others and on environmental resources. Making a difference…

Green energy strategies for sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Midilli, Adnan; Dincer, Ibrahim; Ay, Murat

2006-01-01

In this study we propose some green energy strategies for sustainable development. In this regard, seven green energy strategies are taken into consideration to determine the sectoral, technological, and application impact ratios. Based on these ratios, we derive a new parameter as the green energy impact ratio. In addition, the green energy-based sustainability ratio is obtained by depending upon the green energy impact ratio, and the green energy utilization ratio that is calculated using actual energy data taken from literature. In order to verify these parameters, three cases are considered. Consequently, it can be considered that the sectoral impact ratio is more important and should be kept constant as much as possible in a green energy policy implementation. Moreover, the green energy-based sustainability ratio increases with an increase of technological, sectoral, and application impact ratios. This means that all negative effects on the industrial, technological, sectoral and social developments partially and/or completely decrease throughout the transition and utilization to and of green energy and technologies when possible sustainable energy strategies are preferred and applied. Thus, the sustainable energy strategies can make an important contribution to the economies of the countries where green energy (e.g., wind, solar, tidal, biomass) is abundantly produced. Therefore, the investment in green energy supply and progress should be encouraged by governments and other authorities for a green energy replacement of fossil fuels for more environmentally benign and sustainable future

Sustainable rural development and communicative learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Noe, Egon; Langvad, Anne-Mette

2006-01-01

Functional differentiation within society at large poses a major challenge to practising sustainable rural development. Multiplication of perspectives on sustainability calls for a theoretical position that is based on the integrity of each of the perspectives in play and for an approach that is ......Functional differentiation within society at large poses a major challenge to practising sustainable rural development. Multiplication of perspectives on sustainability calls for a theoretical position that is based on the integrity of each of the perspectives in play and for an approach...

Assessing the impact of renewable energy deployment on local sustainability: Towards a theoretical framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

del Rio, Pablo [Facultad de Ciencias Juridicas y Sociales de Toledo, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, C/Cobertizo de S. Pedro Martir s/n, Toledo-45071 (Spain); Burguillo, Mercedes [Facultad de Ciencias Economicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Alcala, Pza. de la Victoria 3, 28802 Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain)

2008-06-15

Renewable energy sources (RES) have a large potential to contribute to the sustainable development (SD) of specific territories by providing them with a wide variety of socioeconomic and environmental benefits. However, the existing literature has put much emphasis on the environmental benefits (including the reduction of global and local pollutants), while socioeconomic impacts have not received a comparable attention. These include diversification of energy supply, enhanced regional and rural development opportunities, creation of a domestic industry and employment opportunities. With the exception of the diversification and security of energy supply, these benefits have usually been mentioned, but their analysis has been too general (i.e., mostly at the national level) and a focus on the regional and, even more so, the local level, has been lacking. At most, studies provide scattered evidence of some of those regional and local benefits, but without an integrated conceptual framework to analyse them. This paper tries to make a contribution in this regard by developing an integrated theoretical framework which allows a comprehensive analysis of the impact of renewable energy on local sustainability and which can be empirically applied to identify these benefits in different territories. (author)

The sustainable development; Le developpement durable

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robreau, Y.; Porcher, P

2002-11-01

This document aims to define the sustainable development concept with a special attention for France and Israel position. The first part recalls the history of the sustainable development from the ''Man and Biosphere'' program of the UNESCO to Rio protocol. Then are described the principles of the sustainable development, the France plans and the France position at Johannesburg conference. The last part is devoted to the Israel position and a short presentation of the consequences of the greenhouse gases on the human health and the environment. (A.L.B.)

Sustainable Livestock Farming for Improving Socio-Economic Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Shamsuddoha

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is the most effective concept to improve socio-economic condition, including environment. Constructive socio-economic changes are getting priority in recent years among academia and business sector in Bangladesh. Bangladesh poultry sub-sector has long supply chains having associated with various stakeholders. In this paper, a case poultry farm was taken to examine a production process that links with socio-economic benefits. Design science method under the quantitative paradigm was chosen to develop a model for the case industry. A Simulation model was developed using simul8 software to construct the real poultry operation. The objectives of this paper are to construct a sustainable model for a case poultry industry along with socio-economic issues. Later, simulated model output will examine it through various performance indicators (KPIs to find out the impacts on socio-economic benefits. Numbers of KPIs have been briefly discussed in light of the research problem to illustrate positive effects of sustainable production.

International Conference on Sustainable Vital Technologies in Engineering and Informatics

CERN Document Server

Hassan, Maguid

2017-01-01

This book reports on cutting-edge technologies that have been fostering sustainable development in a variety of fields, including built and natural environments, structures, energy, advanced mechanical technologies as well as electronics and communication technologies. It reports on the applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Internet-of-Things, predictive maintenance, as well as modeling and control techniques to reduce the environmental impacts of buildings, enhance their environmental contribution and positively impact the social equity. The different chapters, selected on the basis of their timeliness and relevance for an audience of engineers and professionals, describe the major trends in the field of sustainable engineering research, providing them with a snapshot of current issues together with important technical information for their daily work, as well as an interesting source of new ideas for their future research. The works included in this book were selected among the contributions...

Three dimensional analysis of impacted maxillary third molars: A cone-beam computed tomographic study of the position and depth of impaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Andrade, Priscila Ferreira; Silva, Jesca Neftali Nogueira; Sotto-Maior, Bruno Sales; Devito, Karina Lopes; Assis, Neuza Maria Souza Picorelli [Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora (Brazil); Ribeiro, CleideGisele [Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences - SUPREMA, Juiz de Fora (Brazil)

2017-09-15

The classification of impacted maxillary third molars (IMTMs) facilitates interdisciplinary communication and helps estimate the degree of surgical difficulty. Thus, this study aimed to develop a 3-dimensional classification of the position and depth of impaction of IMTMs and to estimate their prevalence with respect to gender and age. This cross-sectional retrospective study analyzed images in sagittal and coronal cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) sections of 300 maxillary third molars. The proposed classification was based on 3 criteria: buccolingual position (buccal, lingual, or central), mesial-distal position (mesioangular, vertical, or distoangular), and depth of impaction (low, medium, or high). CBCT images of IMTMs were classified, and the associations of the classifications with gender and age were examined using analysis of variance with the Scheffé post-hoc test. To determine the associations among the 3 classifications, the chi-square test was used (P<.05). No significant association of the classifications with gender was observed. Age showed a significant relationship with depth of impaction (P=.0001) and mesial-distal position (P=.005). The most common positions were buccal (n=222), vertical (n=184), and low (n=124). Significant associations among the 3 tested classifications were observed. CBCT enabled the evaluation of IMTMs in a 3-dimensional format, and we developed a proposal for a new classification of the position and depth of impaction of IMTMs.

Correlation between Sustainability Education and Engineering Students' Attitudes towards Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Kuok Ho Daniel

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a sustainable development course on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of a cohort of engineering students in a university in Miri, Malaysia, towards sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaire survey was conducted among the cohort of students encompassing the…

Identification and Alignment of the Social Aspects of Sustainable Manufacturing with the Theory of Motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijoh A. Gbededo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The relevance of adopting environmentally friendly manufacturing process to economic development has been studied and established in many research. Empirical studies have also confirmed that organisations adopting green technology or clean production are benefiting from increasing economic growth and job creation. However, the studies of the benefits of social development to economic growth and manufacturing sustainability have not been adequately captured or itemised in the literature. With the aim of contributing to this research streams, this paper applied the principles of social economy and reciprocity, and the theories of motivation and social exchange to guide the integration of social aspects into sustainability analytical equations. The Herzberg two-factor theory of motivation was adopted to classify the negative and positive social impacts of the workers’ stakeholder category. Further, the approach aligns the Herzberg extrinsic factors with the negative and regulated social aspects and intrinsic factors with the positive and unregulated social aspects. This contribution provides an initial theoretical framework that will enable practitioners to capture and calculate the social impact coefficient of an organisation. The result can be used to assess the social impacts on productivity, and corporate social responsibility towards the employees. It will also provide an input for analytical or simulation models to assess the consequential effects of social aspects on other sustainability dimensions.

The impact of load shedding on gender relations in heterosexual households in Mkoba north, Gweru, Zimbabwe: Implications for sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuku Mukoni

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This study explored the impact of load shedding on gender relations in heterosexual households. 20 couples were selected through judgmental sampling that was followed by network referencing; bringing the sample to 40 participants. Study was descriptive in nature. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Study reveals that load shedding have ripple effects in the social fabric of sustainable development through its impacts on gender relations. Load shedding is proving to be reproducing and maintaining gender relations of inequality, thus holding back sustainable development. Women are deprived control of areas that traditional belongs to them like the decision and control of energy use in the household giving men more power over women. Load shedding is increasing men’s time in the public sphere while women are tied more to the private sphere. For sustainable development to be achieved, household relationships should uphold the principles of sustainable development and gender equality is one of them. Empowerment of women and men in household energy uses will aid in opening up their ‘functioning space’. An understanding and appreciation of gender equality in the household will help men and women to be influential in the larger society leading to sustainable development.

Impact significance determination-Pushing the boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, David P.

2007-01-01

Impact significance determination practice tends to be highly variable. Too often insufficient consideration is given to good practice insights. Also, impact significance determinations are frequently narrowly defined addressing, for example, only individual, negative impacts, focusing on bio-physical impacts, and not seeking to integrate either the Precautionary Principle or sustainability. This article seeks to extend the boundaries of impact significance determination practice by providing an overview of good general impact significance practices, together with stakeholder roles and potential methods for addressing significance determination challenges. Relevant thresholds, criteria, contextual considerations and support methods are also highlighted. The analysis is then extended to address how impact significance determination practices change for positive as compared with negative impacts, for cumulative as compared with individual impacts, for socio-economic as compared with bio-physical impacts, when the Precautionary Principle is integrated into the process, and when sustainability contributions drive the EIA process and related impact significance determinations. These refinements can assist EIA practitioners in ensuring that the scope and nature of impact significance determinations reflect the broadened scope of emerging EIA requirements and practices. Suggestions are included for further refining and testing of the proposed changes to impact significance determination practice

The Search for Sustainable Subsurface Habitats on Mars, and the Sampling of Impact Ejecta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Lindgren

2010-07-01

Full Text Available On Earth, the deep subsurface biosphere of both the oceanic and the continental crust is well known for surviving harsh conditions and environments characterized by high temperatures, high pressures, extreme pHs, and the absence of sunlight. The microorganisms of the terrestrial deep biosphere have an excellent capacity for adapting to changing geochemistry, as the alteration of the crust proceeds and the conditions of their habitats slowly change. Despite an almost complete isolation from surface conditions and the surface biosphere, the deep biosphere of the crustal rocks has endured over geologic time. This indicates that the deep biosphere is a self-sufficient system, independent of the global events that occur at the surface, such as impacts, glaciations, sea level fluctuations, and climate changes. With our sustainable terrestrial subsurface biosphere in mind, the subsurface on Mars has often been suggested as the most plausible place to search for fossil Martian life, or even present Martian life. Since the Martian surface is more or less sterile, subsurface settings are the only place on Mars where life could have been sustained over geologic time. To detect a deep biosphere in the Martian basement, drilling is a requirement. However, near future Mars sample return missions are limited by the mission’s payload, which excludes heavy drilling equipment and restrict the missions to only dig the topmost meter of the Martian soil. Therefore, the sampling and analysis of Martian impact ejecta has been suggested as a way of accessing the deeper Martian subsurface without using heavy drilling equipment. Impact cratering is a natural geological process capable of excavating and exposing large amounts of rock material from great depths up to the surface. Several studies of terrestrial impact deposits show the preservation of pre-impact biosignatures, such as fossilized organisms and chemical biological markers. Therefore, if the Martian

Sustainable Concrete Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sim J.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The growing concern over global warming and significant ecological changes requires sustainable development in all fields of science and technology. Concrete not only consumes huge amount of energy and natural sources, but also emits large amount of CO2, mainly due to the production of cement. It is evident that such large amount of concrete production has put significant impact on the energy, resource, environment, and ecology of the society. Hence, how to develop the concrete technology in a sustainable way has become a significant issue. In this paper, some of Korean researches for sustainable development of concrete are presented. These are sustainable strengthening for deteriorated concrete structure, sustainable reinforcement of new concrete structure, sustainable concrete using recycled aggregate and supplementary cementing materials and finally application of each technique to precast concrete.

Policy for Sustainable Entrepreneurship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Watson, Rosina; Nielsen, Kristian Roed; Wilson, Hugh N.

open innovation with SME entrepreneurs, business execs, academics and policymakers via an online crowdsourcing event with 150 participants. Through inductive analysis of 1,696 text comments, five policy domains are identified: creating awareness/skills; building networks; funding/investing; measuring......Sustainable entrepreneurship—entrepreneurship with social and ecological gains as well as economic ones—can significantly address societal and environmental challenges, however, it is not clear how policy can support it. The authors develop a policy framework for sustainable entrepreneurship, using...... impact/performance; and innovating government. Contributions to entrepreneurship policy literature include measuring impact/performance and open policy innovation for entrepreneurship policy. Contributions to sustainability policy literature include empowering individuals as entrepreneurs and not just...

Drivers militating against the pricing of sustainable construction materials: The Ghanaian quantity surveyors perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernest Kissi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Sustainability has in recent times attained much acceptance as a result of its positive impact on the environment, social and economic issues. Nevertheless, in developing countries, the price of sustainable construction materials are too high. The aim of the study was to examine drivers militating against the pricing of sustainable construction materials. Through an in-depth review of literature as well as an interview survey, questionnaire was designed and administered to practicing quantity surveyors. Data generated from the survey was analysed using Principal Component Analysis which resulted four main drivers. These included: awareness challenge (AC, sustainability measurement tools challenge (SMTC, economic challenge (EC, and information challenge (IC. The study offers useful lessons on sustainable practices that pricing experts in the construction industry can draw on when pricing.The need for this study cannot be doubted since the consciousness of such challenges will help in resolving issues associated with pricing of sustainable construction materials. Keywords: Drivers, Militating, Pricing, Sustainable construction materials, Ghanaian

The impact of climate change on natural risks in the context of sustainable development: the case of Catalonia

Science.gov (United States)

Llasat, Maria-Carmen; Queralt, Arnau

2013-04-01

The evidence of the impact of the anthropogenic activity over the climate change, as well as the consequent impacts in temperature, snow cover and sea level has been widely demonstrated (IPCC, 2007). However, the impact of climate change on natural risks is still not clear, and the degree of uncertainty is high. The main problem lays in the complexity of the factors involved in the production of natural disasters, mainly those related with the vulnerability (in the more holistic sense of the expression), that is continuously being modified. In terms of the impact of climate change on hazards, the analysis is still complicated, and this difficulty increases when meteorological hazards that combine meteorological factors with other ones (human and/or natural) are considered (i.e. floods, wet landslides, forest fires, etc.). The Advisory Council for the Sustainable Development of Catalonia (CADS) is an advisory body which gives strategic advice to the Catalan Government in the field of sustainable development. This contribution shows the main results of a recent report elaborated by the CADS that analyses the present and potential evolution of natural risks in Catalonia (NE of Iberian Peninsula) and the influence of climate change in it. The analysis is made from the point of view of sustainable development, having in mind the international approach (IPCC, 2007, 2011; UNISDR, 2009; Molin, 2009; Brauch, 2010) and with special incidence in potential problems related with security and civil protection. Conclusions identify as main problems those that will affect health (as a consequence of the increase of heat waves and temperature extremes) and water scarcity.

Global Change and Helminth Infections in Grazing Ruminants in Europe: Impacts, Trends and Sustainable Solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hubertus Hertzberg

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Infections with parasitic helminths (nematodes and trematodes represent a significant economic and welfare burden to the global ruminant livestock industry. The increasing prevalence of anthelmintic resistance means that current control programmes are costly and unsustainable in the long term. Recent changes in the epidemiology, seasonality and geographic distribution of helminth infections have been attributed to climate change. However, other changes in environment (e.g., land use and in livestock farming, such as intensification and altered management practices, will also have an impact on helminth infections. Sustainable control of helminth infections in a changing world requires detailed knowledge of these interactions. In particular, there is a need to devise new, sustainable strategies for the effective control of ruminant helminthoses in the face of global change. In this paper, we consider the impact of helminth infections in grazing ruminants, taking a European perspective, and identify scientific and applied priorities to mitigate these impacts. These include the development and deployment of efficient, high-throughput diagnostic tests to support targeted intervention, modelling of geographic and seasonal trends in infection, more thorough economic data and analysis of the impact of helminth infections and greater translation and involvement of end-users in devising and disseminating best practices. Complex changes in helminth epidemiology will require innovative solutions. By developing and using new technologies and models, the use of anthelmintics can be optimised to limit the development and spread of drug resistance and to reduce the overall economic impact of helminth infections. This will be essential to the continued productivity and profitability of livestock farming in Europe and its contribution to regional and global food security.

The Future of Pork Production in the World: Towards Sustainable, Welfare-Positive Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

McGlone, John J

2013-05-15

Among land animals, more pork is eaten in the world than any other meat. The earth holds about one billion pigs who deliver over 100 mmt of pork to people for consumption. Systems of pork production changed from a forest-based to pasture-based to dirt lots and finally into specially-designed buildings. The world pork industry is variable and complex not just in production methods but in economics and cultural value. A systematic analysis of pork industry sustainability was performed. Sustainable production methods are considered at three levels using three examples in this paper: production system, penning system and for a production practice. A sustainability matrix was provided for each example. In a comparison of indoor vs. outdoor systems, the food safety/zoonoses concerns make current outdoor systems unsustainable. The choice of keeping pregnant sows in group pens or individual crates is complex in that the outcome of a sustainability assessment leads to the conclusion that group penning is more sustainable in the EU and certain USA states, but the individual crate is currently more sustainable in other USA states, Asia and Latin America. A comparison of conventional physical castration with immunological castration shows that the less-common immunological castration method is more sustainable (for a number of reasons). This paper provides a method to assess the sustainability of production systems and practices that take into account the best available science, human perception and culture, animal welfare, the environment, food safety, worker health and safety, and economics (including the cost of production and solving world hunger). This tool can be used in countries and regions where the table values of a sustainability matrix change based on local conditions. The sustainability matrix can be used to assess current systems and predict improved systems of the future.

The Future of Pork Production in the World: Towards Sustainable, Welfare-Positive Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John J. McGlone

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Among land animals, more pork is eaten in the world than any other meat. The earth holds about one billion pigs who deliver over 100 mmt of pork to people for consumption. Systems of pork production changed from a forest-based to pasture-based to dirt lots and finally into specially-designed buildings. The world pork industry is variable and complex not just in production methods but in economics and cultural value. A systematic analysis of pork industry sustainability was performed. Sustainable production methods are considered at three levels using three examples in this paper: production system, penning system and for a production practice. A sustainability matrix was provided for each example. In a comparison of indoor vs. outdoor systems, the food safety/zoonoses concerns make current outdoor systems unsustainable. The choice of keeping pregnant sows in group pens or individual crates is complex in that the outcome of a sustainability assessment leads to the conclusion that group penning is more sustainable in the EU and certain USA states, but the individual crate is currently more sustainable in other USA states, Asia and Latin America. A comparison of conventional physical castration with immunological castration shows that the less-common immunological castration method is more sustainable (for a number of reasons. This paper provides a method to assess the sustainability of production systems and practices that take into account the best available science, human perception and culture, animal welfare, the environment, food safety, worker health and safety, and economics (including the cost of production and solving world hunger. This tool can be used in countries and regions where the table values of a sustainability matrix change based on local conditions. The sustainability matrix can be used to assess current systems and predict improved systems of the future.

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance

OpenAIRE

Eccles, Robert G; Ioannou, Ioannis; Serafeim, Georgios

2014-01-01

We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Using a matched sample of 180 US companies, we find that corporations that voluntarily adopted sustainability policies by 1993 - termed as High Sustainability companies - exhibit by 2009 distinct organizational processes compared to a matched sample of companies that adopted almost none of these policies - termed as Low Sustainability companies. The boards of directors of High Sustainability com...

The Sustainable Leadership Simulator (SLS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Thomas; Edgeman, Rick; Grewatsch, Sylvia

This conceptualization of the UN PRME-endorsed (Haertle, 2013) Sustainable Leadership Simulator (SLS) will at a minimum level of operationalization be an impactful online training simulator leveraging more sustainable behavior by individuals and organizations. Fully operationalized the SLS has...... & Ferraro, 2010). The UNGC Advanced Level has a more explicit management orientation than the GRI and integrates Best Practices in a framework for assessment of Sustainability Performance, in a manner analogous to quality management frameworks such as the EFQM Business Excellence Model that supports...... and the lack of process transparency among the most critical shortcomings. Future application of the Sustainable Leadership Simulator (SLS) offers potential for addressing these shortcomings by continuously validating the organizational impact of Best Practices and, conversely, generate data that allows...

Assessing impacts of payments for watershed services on sustainability in coupled human and natural systems

Science.gov (United States)

Heidi Asbjornsen; Alex S. Mayer; Kelly W. Jones; Theresa Selfa; Leonardo Saenz; Randall K. Kolka; Kathleen E. Halvorsen

2015-01-01

Payments for watershed services (PWS) as a policy tool for enhancing water quality and supply have gained momentum in recent years, but their ability to lead to sustainable watershed outcomes is uncertain. Consequently, the demand for effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of PWS impacts on coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) and their implications for...

Unveiling scientific communities about sustainability and innovation. A bibliometric journey around sustainable terms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franceschini, Simone; Faria, Lourenco; Jurowetzki, Roman

2016-01-01

innovation), and they concluded that such terms are mostly interchangeable. These findings surprise in light of the different positions shown in the innovation for sustainability debate. Our bibliometric analysis tracks meanings and communities associated with these four terms and indicates some overlaps......, especially between eco-innovation and environmental innovation. However, we found relevant differences of meanings and communities that reflect the different positions in the innovation for sustainability debate....

Using structural sustainability for forest health monitoring and triage: Case study of a mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonusponderosae)-impacted landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Jonathan A. Cale; Jennifer G. Klutsch; Nadir Erbilgin; Jose F. Negron; John D. Castello

2016-01-01

Heavy disturbance-induced mortality can negatively impact forest biota, functions, and services by drastically altering the forest structures that create stable environmental conditions. Disturbance impacts on forest structure can be assessed using structural sustainability - the degree of balance between living and dead portions of a tree population’s size-...

Leveraging best practices to promote health, safety, sustainability, and stewardship.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Marjorie D

2013-08-01

Strategically leveraging health and safety initiatives with sustainability and stewardship helps organizations improve profitability and positively impact team member and customer attachment to the organization. Collective efficacy enhances the triple bottom line: healthy people, healthy planet, and healthy profits. The HS(3)™ Best Practice Exchanges group demonstrated that collective efficacy can leverage the social cohesion, communication channels, and activities within workplaces to promote a healthy, sustainable work culture. This in turn (1) protects the health and safety of workers, (2) preserves the natural environment, and (3) increases attachment to the organization. Community-based participatory research using the Attach21 survey assessed the progress of these companies in their efforts to integrate health, safety, sustainability, and stewardship. Monthly Best Practice Exchanges promoted collective efficacy by providing support, encouragement, and motivation to share and adopt new ideas. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Mobilizing consumer demand for sustainable development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trijp, van J.C.M.; Fischer, A.R.H.

2011-01-01

A lot of innovation effort is aimed at increased sustainable consumption, while at the same time actual sustainable consumption is not meeting the expectations raised by the positive public attitudes towards sustainability. This is indicative of a gap between attitudes and behaviors in sustainable

Is environmental management an economically sustainable business?

Science.gov (United States)

Gotschol, Antje; De Giovanni, Pietro; Esposito Vinzi, Vincenzo

2014-11-01

This paper investigates whether environmental management is an economically sustainable business. While firms invest in green production and green supply chain activities with the primary purpose of reducing their environmental impact, the reciprocal relationships with economic performance need to be clarified. Would firms and suppliers adjust their environmental strategies if the higher economic value that environmental management generates is reinvested in greening actions? We found out that environmental management positively influences economic performance as second order (long term) target, to be reached conditioned by higher environmental performance; in addition, firms can increase their performance if they reinvest the higher economic value gained through environmental management in green practices: While investing in environmental management programs is a short term strategy, economic rewards can be obtained only with some delays. Consequently, environmental management is an economically sustainable business only for patient firms. In the evaluation of these reciprocal relationships, we discovered that green supply chain initiatives are more effective and more economically sustainable than internal actions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring the environmental impacts and sustainability of automobiles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lave, L B; Cobas Flores, E; McMichael, F C; Hendrickson, C T; Horvath, A; Joshi, S [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

1996-11-01

In the paper the following topics are discussed: - the need for public education and involvement in the decision process, - the difficulty of defining sustainability, - the occasional difference between the goals of sustainability and environmental quality, - the need for life cycle analysis to analyze the sustainability and environmental quality implications of a product, process, or material. The importance of environmental input-output analysis is stressed. This new tool can provide the life cycle information cheaply, quickly, and with much less uncertainty. Examples are presented for making an automobile, a seat out of plastic or aluminium, and an electric vehicle. (author) 4 tabs., refs.

The study of sustainability report disclosure aspects and their impact on the companies’ performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caesaria Aisyah Farisa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This research is aimed to invetigate the effect of Sustainability Report Disclosure to the Firm’s market performance. Three material aspects disclosed in the Sustainability report such as economics (EC, environmental (EN, and social aspect (SC are used as the independent variables in this research and, furthermore, the dependent variable is the market performance which is proxied by using Tobin’s Q. This researchs was conducted using mainstream positivistic quantitative methods to test the three formulated hypotheses. The samples taken were 44 observations from all listed companies in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX that reveal sustainability reports using GRI-G4 guidelines. This guideline is the latest version issued by the Global Reporting Innitiative (GRI, which can be implemented starting from 2013. The results showed that economicss, environmental, and social aspects have positively significant influence to the companies market performance. The practical implication of this research is the value given by society in term of the company image to those companies which disclosure their activities related to economics, social, and environment activities affects their company performance.

Focused process improvement events: sustainability of impact on process and performance in an academic radiology department.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Lawson, Kirk; Ally, Rosina; Chen, David; Donno, Frank; Rittberg, Steven; Rodriguez, Joan; Recht, Michael P

2015-01-01

To evaluate sustainability of impact of rapid, focused process improvement (PI) events on process and performance within an academic radiology department. Our department conducted PI during 2011 and 2012 in CT, MRI, ultrasound, breast imaging, and research billing. PI entailed participation by all stakeholders, facilitation by the department chair, collection of baseline data, meetings during several weeks, definition of performance metrics, creation of an improvement plan, and prompt implementation. We explore common themes among PI events regarding initial impact and durability of changes. We also assess performance in each area pre-PI, immediately post-PI, and at the time of the current study. All PI events achieved an immediate improvement in performance metrics, often entailing both examination volumes and on-time performance. IT-based solutions, process standardization, and redefinition of staff responsibilities were often central in these changes, and participants consistently expressed improved internal leadership and problem-solving ability. Major environmental changes commonly occurred after PI, including a natural disaster with equipment loss, a change in location or services offered, and new enterprise-wide electronic medical record system incorporating new billing and radiology informatics systems, requiring flexibility in the PI implementation plan. Only one PI team conducted regular post-PI follow-up meetings. Sustained improvement was frequently, but not universally, observed: in the long-term following initial PI, measures of examination volume showed continued progressive improvements, whereas measures of operational efficiency remained stable or occasionally declined. Focused PI is generally effective in achieving performance improvement, although a changing environment influences the sustainability of impact. Thus, continued process evaluation and ongoing workflow modifications are warranted. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology

Sustainability of nuclear energy in Mexico: comparison with other sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin-del-Campo, C.; Francois, J. L.

2006-01-01

Because of the importance of energy to sustainable development of Mexico, it is necessary to develop a tool which permits to make a comparative assessment of energy alternative options. This tool must take into a count their characteristics in terms of their economic, health, environmental and social impacts, both, positive and negative, local, regional and global. This paper describes a methodology to measure the sustainability of nuclear and other different sources for electricity generation. The first step consists on the search of common indicators to be compared. These indicators take into account the great variety of economic, social, and environmental impacts to be considered in the specific Mexican country. A total of fourteen indicators were considered grouped in three dimensions: economic, environmental and social. The second step is to obtain the values of all the indicators for each of the alternative options being compared. These values must be calculated taking into account the economic and technological characteristics of the country. The third step is to utilize an aggregation method to integrate all the indicators in an overall sustainable qualification. Fuzzy Logic was applied for the aggregation of indicators and was used to make sensitive analyses. Finally this paper presents the results for the case of the Mexican power system generation. The main result of the comparison is that nuclear energy in Mexico is an option more sustainable than gas, coal, and hydroelectric. Some sensitive analyses were also made to investigate the implication of the uncertainties in the indicator's values. Coal was in all cases the least sustainable option with largest environmental impacts. Wind energy was also included in a study case, the results of this assessment comparison showed that wind option in Mexico has an overall qualification very close to nuclear option when a backup power system is not included

Sustainability and Organizational Change by Sustainable Crediting Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragoş Ilie

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that one of the therapies to achieve sustainability and organizational change in the context of current challenges in the national economies is sustainable crediting. The research method is based on a survey of 30 commercial companies from various fields of activity that have or have not implemented, at the leadership level, the concept of sustainable crediting. The data collecting and processing approach has resulted in the determination of the main economic-financial indicators for a period of 5 years, indicators used by banks in relation with the credited organizations. The main results show that companies that have implemented the sustainable crediting concept are more able to achieve sustainability in their developed activity, as well as organizational change with positive effects on their business and on the company as a whole. The concept of sustainable crediting implies the capitalization of the commercial companies, the increase of the loan portfolio quality, the achievement of the financial balance and environmental protection

Methods for specifying spatial boundaries of cities in the world: The impacts of delineation methods on city sustainability indices.

Science.gov (United States)

Uchiyama, Yuta; Mori, Koichiro

2017-08-15

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how different definitions and methods for delineating the spatial boundaries of cities have an impact on the values of city sustainability indicators. It is necessary to distinguish the inside of cities from the outside when calculating the values of sustainability indicators that assess the impacts of human activities within cities on areas beyond their boundaries. For this purpose, spatial boundaries of cities should be practically detected on the basis of a relevant definition of a city. Although no definition of a city is commonly shared among academic fields, three practical methods for identifying urban areas are available in remote sensing science. Those practical methods are based on population density, landcover, and night-time lights. These methods are correlated, but non-negligible differences exist in their determination of urban extents and urban population. Furthermore, critical and statistically significant differences in some urban environmental sustainability indicators result from the three different urban detection methods. For example, the average values of CO 2 emissions per capita and PM 10 concentration in cities with more than 1 million residents are significantly different among the definitions. When analyzing city sustainability indicators and disseminating the implication of the results, the values based on the different definitions should be simultaneously investigated. It is necessary to carefully choose a relevant definition to analyze sustainability indicators for policy making. Otherwise, ineffective and inefficient policies will be developed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Tourists’ Perceived Sustainability of Jeju Island, South Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Seong Kim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the causal relationships between international tourists’ perceived sustainability of Jeju Island, South Korea and environmentally responsible behavior, revisit intention, and positive word-of-mouth communication. Perceived sustainability was employed as a multidimensional construct comprised of economic, cultural, and environmental aspects. Data were collected from international tourists that visited Jeju Island. The results indicated that environmentally responsible behavior was influenced positively by cultural sustainability, and negatively by environmental sustainability. Revisit intention and positive word-of-mouth communication were significantly affected by the three dimensions of sustainability. Based on the findings, associated implications were suggested for sustainable destination management of Jeju Island.

Sustainability of Trade Liberalization and Antidumping: Evidence from Mexico’s Trade Liberalization toward China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Liu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available A Negative Binomial Regression Model is used to investigate the sustainability of China–Mexico trade liberalization by testing the tariff lines underpinning Mexico’s successful antidumping (AD measures against Chinese imports from 1991 to 2011. Evidence shows import tariff cutting and consumption growth have a positive impact on consumer goods but a negative impact on intermediaries. This result implies that while the Mexican government has expended considerable energy on the trade liberalization of intermediate and capital goods, the domestic consumer goods market has been protected from Chinese imports. The empirical results indicate that Mexico’s AD use for consumer goods helps to sustain trade liberalization of intermediate and capital goods under the domestic political pressures for trade opening.

Impacts of a book reading club intervention on enhancing parents' positive thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Zuway-R; Lin, Huann-shyang

2012-03-01

This study investigated the effects of participating in a book reading club on improving parents' positive interactions with children and positive thinking. A total of 85 parent volunteers were randomized into the experimental or comparison group. The Parent Questionnaire was used to measure positive thinking and interaction with children. Additionally interview results were used to triangulate and elucidate the findings. The findings revealed a positive impact on parents' positive thinking and interaction with children and that these were significant predictors of parents' positive thinking. Implications and recommendations are presented.

There Is No Such Thing as Sustainable Tourism: Re-Conceptualizing Tourism as a Tool for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianna Moscardo

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Increased global concern about sustainability has placed pressure on businesses to justify the value of their products and services beyond personal profit and to take responsibility for the negative impacts of their activities. Tourism is particularly susceptible to this pressure, given its generally poor track record in terms of negative social, cultural and environmental impacts, and the lack of compelling evidence of benefits for either the individual tourist or destination communities. While the management of tourism impacts and the relationship between tourism and sustainability have been paid considerable attention by tourism academics, there is little evidence of any significant change in tourism practice. This paper will argue that this lack of change reflects problems in the way tourism academics have conceptualized sustainable tourism. After reviewing these problems with sustainable tourism, this paper will offer an alternative framework for sustainable tourism that focuses on the concept of quality-of-life, recognizes the complexity of tourism within local and global systems, adheres to the principles of responsible tourism, and explicitly assesses the value of tourism as one tool, amongst many, for sustainability. One potential application of the framework will be demonstrated with a case study of tourism development on Magnetic Island in Australia.

Environmental sustainability of biodiesel in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geraldes Castanheira, Érica; Grisoli, Renata; Freire, Fausto; Pecora, Vanessa; Coelho, Suani Teixeira

2014-01-01

Biodiesel production in Brazil has grown from 736 m 3 in 2007 to 2.7 Mm 3 in 2012. It is an emergent bioenergy for which it is important to guarantee environmental sustainability. The objective of this article is to characterise the biodiesel production chain in Brazil, to identify potential environmental impacts and to analyse key drivers and barriers for biodiesel environmental sustainability. This article explores these aspects and focusses on the increasing demand for the main feedstocks for biodiesel production in Brazil: soybean oil and beef tallow. The impacts of land use and land-use change on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and water, as well as the energy balance, were found to be critical for the environmental sustainability assessment and development of biodiesel chains. Increasing agriculture yields, diversifying feedstocks and adopting ethyl transesterification can contribute to minimise environmental impacts. It was also found that environmental impacts could be mitigated by appropriate policies aiming at an integrated optimisation of food and bioenergy production and through agro-economic–ecological zoning, allowing adequate use of land for each purpose. Despite the limitation and weakness of some sustainability tools and initiatives, certification and zoning can play an important role in the sustainability of the emerging biodiesel production in Brazil

Does Sustainability Affect Corporate Performance and Economic Development? Evidence from the Asia-Pacific region and North America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyungbok Kim

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how sustainability influences financial returns and economic development in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, utilizing real data empirically. It is controversial that sustainable activities are related to financial performance. For clarification, we tested hypotheses analyzing sustainability index, seven stock markets, financial data such as ROI, ROIC, and ROA from eleven companies, and GDP/GNI per capita, based on the Asia-Pacific region and North America. The results indicate that both financial return for companies and economic development in the two regions are positively germane to sustainable investment. Besides, we found evidence that sustainable investment impacts economic development based on variance decomposition analysis, depending on GDP per capita between the two regions. This implication will be interesting for both practitioners and researchers regarding the measurement of sustainable performance.

Position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics: nutrition security in developing nations: sustainable food, water, and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordin, Stacia M; Boyle, Marie; Kemmer, Teresa M

2013-04-01

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that all people should have consistent access to an appropriately nutritious diet of food and water, coupled with a sanitary environment, adequate health services, and care that ensure a healthy and active life for all household members. The Academy supports policies, systems, programs, and practices that work with developing nations to achieve nutrition security and self-sufficiency while being environmentally and economically sustainable. For nations to achieve nutrition security, all people must have access to a variety of nutritious foods and potable drinking water; knowledge, resources, and skills for healthy living; prevention, treatment, and care for diseases affecting nutrition status; and safety-net systems during crisis situations, such as natural disasters or deleterious social and political systems. More than 2 billion people are micronutrient deficient; 1.5 billion people are overweight or obese; 870 million people have inadequate food energy intake; and 783 million people lack potable drinking water. Adequate nutrient intake is a concern, independent of weight status. Although this article focuses on nutritional deficiencies in developing nations, global solutions for excesses and deficiencies need to be addressed. In an effort to achieve nutrition security, lifestyles, policies, and systems (eg, food, water, health, energy, education/knowledge, and economic) contributing to sustainable resource use, environmental management, health promotion, economic stability, and positive social environments are required. Food and nutrition practitioners can get involved in promoting and implementing effective and sustainable policies, systems, programs, and practices that support individual, community, and national efforts. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Three-Dimensional Sustainability Evaluation of Jatropha Plantations in Yucatan, Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio C. Sacramento Rivero

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a unique sustainability analysis of one of the first attempts to establish a biodiesel industry in Mexico. From 2008, several companies established medium to large-sized Jatropha curcas plantations in Yucatan, hiring local peasants to carry out the agricultural work. After five years, the plantations were abandoned due to poor seed yields and a lack of key knowledge for large-scale cultivation. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, we performed a three-dimensional sustainability evaluation of the potential biodiesel production chain, which included household interviews, a socioeconomic survey, and a life-cycle assessment (LCA. We identified both negative and positive effects in the three dimensions analyzed. Socially and culturally, the local peasant families understood sustainability as their ability to preserve their traditional lifestyle, and associated environmental services with their sense of identity. They therefore considered the jatropha plantations to be positive for sustainability, since they brought income, even though some perceived damage to the natural resources of the surrounding areas. Economically, peasants’ annual household income increased by approximately $1080 USD due to the increased salaries paid by the jatropha companies. The LCA predicted large savings of greenhouse gas emissions (>50% compared to fossil diesel, but also potential negative impacts in some categories (human/ecological toxicity and eutrophication potentials associated with the use of mineral fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides applied during the cultivation stage. Biodiesel production would be potentially energetically self-sufficient, in addition to producing a 40% energy surplus. Finally, even though the sustainability indicators suggested a positive overall assessment, the reality was that the jatropha projects failed because they were predicated on unrealistically optimistic projections and poor agronomic knowledge of the

Measuring and Explaining Airport Efficiency and Sustainability: Evidence from Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Carlucci

2018-02-01

Full Text Available From an environmental point of view, it is widely recognized in economic literature that an efficient management of regional airports produces positive effects both for congestion reduction in the larger airports and for better use of existing infrastructures. Regional airports generally suffer from economic vulnerabilities because of scarcity of traffic volume; besides, their small catchment areas often determine low cash flow levels. As a result, significant problems of economic sustainability arise. In this context, airport infrastructure providers have the incentive to hide failures in their strategic decisions, justifying the low share of cost recovery through market characteristics. By means of the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis method this paper analyses overall technical, pure technical, and scale efficiency of 34 Italian airports in the period 2006–2016 in order to investigate how a number of factors impact on the efficiency and economic sustainability of regional airports. Our findings reveal that airport size, presence of low-cost carriers and cargo traffic have a significant influence on the technical and scale efficiency of Italian airports. In other words, air transport privatization and deregulation can positively affect regional airport efficiency and sustainability. This is to say that the market mechanism is a useful tool in achieving regional airport sustainability even if the empirical analysis of the effects of privatization and deregulation is recommended for evaluating such political programs.

Coupling and quantifying resilience and sustainability in facilities management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cox, Rimante Andrasiunaite; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Rode, Carsten

2015-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how to couple and quantify resilience and sustainability, where sustainability refers to not only environmental impact, but also economic and social impacts. The way a particular function of a building is provisioned may have significant repercus......Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how to couple and quantify resilience and sustainability, where sustainability refers to not only environmental impact, but also economic and social impacts. The way a particular function of a building is provisioned may have significant...... repercussions beyond just resilience. The goal is to develop a decision support tool for facilities managers. Design/methodology/approach – A risk framework is used to quantify both resilience and sustainability in monetary terms. The risk framework allows to couple resilience and sustainability, so...... that the provisioning of a particular building can be investigated with consideration of functional, environmental, economic and, possibly, social dimensions. Findings – The method of coupling and quantifying resilience and sustainability (CQRS) is illustrated with a simple example that highlights how very different...

A SIMPLE ASSESSMENT OF FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALEXANDRU LEONTE

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis has seriously impacted the economies around the world, emerging and developed alike. With interest rates at historical low levels, constrained in many cases by the zero lower bound, the emphasis is put on fiscal policy to restore the economies on the path of sustainable growth. This paper attempts to shed light on the issue of fiscal sustainability of the Romanian economy, by checking if the intertemporal fiscal constraint of the government is respected. According to the constraint, the current value of debt equals the sum of the discounted values of future government surpluses, which means that the government is not financing itself through a Ponzi scheme. I build on the econometric approach used in papers such as Hamilton and Flavin (1986, Hakkio and Rush (1991, Quintos (1995, Santos Bravo and Silvestre (2002, Bohn (2007. More specifically, I focus on the time series properties of government debt, revenue and expenditure, determining: i the order of integration for the government debt series; ii whether or not government revenue and expenditure are cointegrated. Thus I am able to evaluate the strength of the fiscal position of the Romanian economy and to see the impact of the financial crisis on this position.

A Framework of Sustainable Service Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weihua Liu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the interdisciplinary research of supply chains and sustainability has received extensive, yet gradual, attention; when compared to the rapid economic growth of the service industry, however, sustainable supply chain management has not been systematically explored yet. It has not only great theoretical significance, but also positive practical significance to provide a framework for the operation of a sustainable service supply chain from a sustainable development point of view. Based on the triple bottom line (TBL, we have analyzed related sustainable supply chain management research between 2006 and 2015, reviewed papers involving two or three bottom lines as well, and then introduced some classical frameworks for manufacturing supply chain management and service supply chain management. Afterward, by analyzing the differences between the manufacturing and service industries, we propose a framework of sustainable service supply chain management (SSSCM. Based on the impacts of sustainable development TBL on service supply chain participants, we have finally made a framework for sustainable operation facing triads service supply chain and proposed a future research agenda.

Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Mainor, Avia; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Maier, Ryan C.; Brossart, Laura; Luke, Douglas A.

2014-01-01

Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning. PMID:24456644

Environmental impact assessment (EIA): an overlooked instrument for sustainable development in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeed, Rashid; Sattar, Ayesha; Iqbal, Zafar; Imran, Muhammad; Nadeem, Raziya

2012-04-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a policy tool used for evaluating a project proposal from physical and socioeconomic environmental perspectives. Its aim is to reduce the impact of development on environment, hence, ensuring environmental sustainability. It is mandatory to submit an Environmental Impact Statement before starting a mega project as required by Environmental Protection Act of 1997 and Environmental Policy of Pakistan. Public consultation plays a key role in an EIA system, identifying the likely aspects and impacts of a development activity. This aspect has been ignored in effective enactment of environmental legislation in Pakistan. Sufficient legislative instruments are there to support EIA system in the country but the agencies responsible for the enforcement of environmental regulations have failed to do so. The current research gives an insight into the actual status of EIA system in Pakistan along with the feedback of EIA specialists and university teachers of the concerned departments. A new index has been devised on the basis of questionnaire response to work out the overall performance of EIA system in Pakistan or any other country. The weaknesses and deficiencies of each EIA stage have been worked out for Pakistan and elaborated with the help of the controversial Zero point Interchange Project in the capital city of Pakistan.

Afterschool Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilary D. Joyce

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Youth participation in quality extended learning opportunities (ELOs results in positive academic, physical, mental health, and social/emotional outcomes. Funding is essential to implementing and sustaining quality ELOs; however multiple funding barriers and challenges exist. Understanding the types of funds available for ELOs and the factors that influence sustainability is critical. Through surveys and telephone interviews of ELO providers, this descriptive study identified and examined ELO funding streams, the ways ELO providers use these funding streams, and the barriers and challenges to sustainability. ELO programs often relied on one major funding stream coupled with nutrition supports as well as in-kind resources. Barriers to sustainability included year-to-year funding, transportation costs, reducing community partnerships, and difficulty in diversifying funds. Recommendations to enhance ELO sustainability are offered, particularly in relation to overcoming the challenges to diversification of funding resources and establishing mutually supportive partnerships and collaboration.

Renewable energy and sustainable development. An impact assessment of micro and mini hydel projects in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voehringer, Max

2010-07-01

The provision of electricity by means of renewable energy is expected both to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and to have positive development effects in regions that are under-supplied with electric power, or not electrified at all. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) - a policy instrument of the global climate regime of the Kyoto protocol - takes this into account and supports renewable energy projects in developing countries. The CDM pursues two objectives: To reduce GHG emissions and to foster Sustainable Development. An area of concern for critics of the instrument, however, is that CDM projects often do not contribute to Sustainable Development and fail to reduce socio-economic disparities by neglecting to address the poor. Against this background, three CDM-financed micro and mini hydel projects in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, were examined with regard to their contribution to Sustainable Development. Ecological, social, and economic processes relating to the use of energy, and the impact of the hydel projects on them, were analysed. To include the question of equity, a special focus was given to possible differences between relatively better-off and poorer households. The processes and impacts examined can only be fully understood in the regional context of the hydel projects. The area is characterised by a high mountain environment. A welladapted system of mixed mountain agriculture, in which water and biomass resources play decisive roles, forms the economic basis of the people's livelihoods. Socially and economically, the area is subject to profound transition processes, and non-agrarian employment and income opportunities are gaining more and more importance. The empirical results of this study show that in this context the hydel projects have altogether positive Sustainable Development impacts. However, a broad range of effects can be observed of which some - especially in the social and economic dimension - are relevant for all

Carers' perceptions of the impact of home telehealth monitoring on the provision of care and sustainability of use.

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Rachael; Cartwright, Colleen; Shaw, Kelly

2015-06-01

This paper aims to report carers' perceptions of the impact of home telehealth on the provision of care and the sustainability of home telehealth use. This paper is reporting on a sample of 15 carers who were involved in the telehealth arm of a larger controlled trial. Carers primarily believed that telehealth helped to provide better care. None of the carers had organised, or planned to organise, ongoing telehealth monitoring beyond the study. The main reason given for non-sustained usage was the belief that the person they cared for no longer required, or would benefit from, the monitoring. As the person being cared for was a frail older person with multiple chronic diseases and a history of recent hospitalisation, the non-sustained usage of home telehealth by carers raises questions about what is needed to ensure sustainability of use; this requires further investigation. © 2014 AJA Inc.

Natural biotic resources in LCA: Towards an impact assessment model for sustainable supply chain management.

Science.gov (United States)

Crenna, Eleonora; Sozzo, Sara; Sala, Serenella

2018-01-20

Natural resources, biotic and abiotic, are fundamental from both the ecological and socio-economic point of view, being at the basis of life-support. However, since the demand for finite resources continues to increase, the sustainability of current production and consumption patterns is questioned both in developed and developing countries. A transition towards an economy based on biotic renewable resources (bio-economy) is considered necessary in order to support a steady provision of resources, representing an alternative to an economy based on fossil and abiotic resources. However, to ensure a sustainable use of biotic resources, there is the need of properly accounting for their use along supply chains as well as defining a robust and comprehensive impact assessment model. Since so far naturally occurring biotic resources have gained little attention in impact assessment methods, such as life cycle assessment, the aim of this study is to enable the inclusion of biotic resources in the assessment of products and supply chains. This paper puts forward a framework for biotic resources assessment, including: i) the definition of system boundaries between ecosphere and technosphere, namely between naturally occurring and man-made biotic resources; ii) a list of naturally occurring biotic resources which have a commercial value, as basis for building life cycle inventories (NOBR, e.g. wild animals, plants etc); iii) an impact pathway to identify potential impacts on both resource provision and ecosystem quality; iv) a renewability-based indicator (NOBRri) for the impact assessment of naturally occurring biotic resources, including a list of associated characterization factors. The study, building on a solid review of literature and of available statistical data, highlights and discusses the critical aspects and paradoxes related to biotic resource inclusion in LCA: from the system boundaries definition up to the resource characterization.

Energy sustainability: consumption, efficiency, and ...

Science.gov (United States)

One of the critical challenges in achieving sustainability is finding a way to meet the energy consumption needs of a growing population in the face of increasing economic prosperity and finite resources. According to ecological footprint computations, the global resource consumption began exceeding planetary supply in 1977 and by 2030, global energy demand, population, and gross domestic product are projected to greatly increase over 1977 levels. With the aim of finding sustainable energy solutions, we present a simple yet rigorous procedure for assessing and counterbalancing the relationship between energy demand, environmental impact, population, GDP, and energy efficiency. Our analyses indicated that infeasible increases in energy efficiency (over 100 %) would be required by 2030 to return to 1977 environmental impact levels and annual reductions (2 and 3 %) in energy demand resulted in physical, yet impractical requirements; hence, a combination of policy and technology approaches is needed to tackle this critical challenge. This work emphasizes the difficulty in moving toward energy sustainability and helps to frame possible solutions useful for policy and management. Based on projected energy consumption, environmental impact, human population, gross domestic product (GDP), and energy efficiency, for this study, we explore the increase in energy-use efficiency and the decrease in energy use intensity required to achieve sustainable environmental impact le

Positive and negative psychological impact after secondary exposure to politically motivated violence among body handlers and rehabilitation workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiri, Shimon; Wexler, Isaiah D; Alkalay, Yasmin; Meiner, Zeev; Kreitler, Shulamith

2008-12-01

The positive and negative psychological impact of secondary exposure to politically motivated violence was examined among body handlers and hospital rehabilitation workers, 2 groups that differed in their proximity and immediacy to violent events. Survivors of politically motivated violence served as a comparison group. Body handlers experienced high levels of positive psychological impact and traumatic stress symptoms. Levels of positive psychological impact among on-scene body handlers were higher than those experienced by rehabilitation workers. Traumatic stress symptoms predicted positive psychological impact among body handlers. These findings indicate that proximity to stressors is associated with higher levels of positive and negative psychological impact. Physical proximity is a major contributory factor to both positive and negative psychological effects of secondary exposure to trauma.

Social Sustainability and Its Indicators through a Disability Studies and an Ability Studies Lens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresa Rybchinski

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The present journal recently stated in the call for a special issue on social sustainability, “[t]hough sustainable development is said to rest on ‘three pillars’, one of these—social sustainability—has received significantly less attention than its bio-physical environmental and economic counterparts”. The current issue promises to engage the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” and the tensions between these different aspects of social sustainability. The aim of the present study is to identify the visibility of disabled people in the academic social sustainability literature, to ascertain the impact and promises of social sustainability indicators put forward in the same literature and to engage especially with the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” through disability studies and ability studies lenses. We report that disabled people are barely covered in the academic social sustainability literature; of the 5165 academic articles investigated only 26 had content related to disabled people and social sustainability. We also conclude that social sustainability indicators evident in the 1909 academic articles with the phrase “social sustainability” in the abstract mostly focused on products and did not reflect yet the goals outlined in the “development sustainability” aspect of social sustainability proposed by Vallance such as basic needs, building social capital, justice and so on. We posit that if the focus within the social sustainability discourse shifts more toward the social that an active presence of disabled people in this discourse is essential to disabled people. We showcase the utility of an ability studies lens to further the development and application of the “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability�

Life cycle considerations for improving sustainability assessments in seafood awareness campaigns.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelletier, Nathan; Tyedmers, Peter

2008-11-01

It is widely accepted that improving the sustainability of seafood production requires efforts to reverse declines in global fisheries due to overfishing and to reduce the impacts to host ecosystems from fishing and aquaculture production technologies. Reflective of on-going dialogue amongst participants in an international research project applying Life Cycle Assessment to better understand and manage global salmon production systems, we argue here that such efforts must also address the wider range of biophysical, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts stemming from the material and energetic throughput associated with these industries. This is of particular relevance given the interconnectivity of global environmental change, ocean health, and the viability of seafood production in both fisheries and aquaculture. Although the growing popularity of numerous ecolabeling, certification, and consumer education programs may be making headway in influencing Western consumer perceptions of the relative sustainability of alternative seafood products, we also posit that the efficacy of these initiatives in furthering sustainability objectives is compromised by the use of incomplete criteria. An emerging body of Life Cycle Assessment research of fisheries and aquaculture provides valuable insights into the biophysical dimensions of environmental performance in alternative seafood production and consumption systems, and should be used to inform a more holistic approach to labeling, certifying, and educating for sustainability in seafood production. More research, however, must be undertaken to develop novel techniques for incorporating other critical dimensions, in particular, socioeconomic considerations, into our sustainability decision-making.

Do school-based interventions focusing on physical activity, fitness, or fundamental movement skill competency produce a sustained impact in these outcomes in children and adolescents? A systematic review of follow-up studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Samuel K; Costigan, Sarah A; Morgan, Philip J; Lubans, David R; Stodden, David F; Salmon, Jo; Barnett, Lisa M

2014-01-01

The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether typically developing children and adolescents (aged 3-18 years) who have participated in school-based interventions have sustained outcomes in PA, fitness, and/or FMS. A systematic search of six electronic databases (CINAHL® Plus with Full Text, Ovid MEDLINE®, SPORTDiscus™, Scopus, PsycINFO® and ERIC) was conducted from 1995 to 26 July 2012. Included studies were school-based studies (including randomized controlled trials, longitudinal cohort, quasi-experimental, and experimental) that had a positive effect at post intervention in at least one variable and had a follow-up PA, fitness, or FMS assessment at least 6 months after the post-intervention assessment. Risk of bias assessment was guided by the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" statement. The search identified 14 articles, and some studies addressed multiple outcomes: 13 articles assessed PA; three assessed fitness; and two assessed FMS. No study in this review met four key methodological criteria that have been shown to influence results, i.e., clarity on the randomization process, assessor blinding, analyzing participants in their original groups, and retaining sufficient participants through the entire study. Three-quarters (ten of 13) of the studies addressing PA, reported PA behavior change maintenance. The length of follow-up ranged from 6 months to 20 years, and the degree of PA difference reported was between 3 and 14 min per day. Only one of the three studies assessing fitness reported a sustained impact, whilst both studies that assessed FMS reported maintenance of effects. It is likely that PA is a sustainable outcome from interventions in children and adolescents, and there is reasonable evidence that interventions of longer than 1 year and interventions that utilize a theoretical model or framework are effective in producing this sustained impact. It would seem probable that FMS are a sustainable

Packaging for Sustainability

CERN Document Server

Lewis, Helen; Fitzpatrick, Leanne

2012-01-01

The packaging industry is under pressure from regulators, customers and other stakeholders to improve packaging’s sustainability by reducing its environmental and societal impacts. This is a considerable challenge because of the complex interactions between products and their packaging, and the many roles that packaging plays in the supply chain. Packaging for Sustainability is a concise and readable handbook for practitioners who are trying to implement sustainability strategies for packaging. Industry case studies are used throughout the book to illustrate possible applications and scenarios. Packaging for Sustainability draws on the expertise of researchers and industry practitioners to provide information on business benefits, environmental issues and priorities, environmental evaluation tools, design for environment, marketing strategies, and challenges for the future.

Catalysis and sustainable (green) chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Centi, Gabriele; Perathoner, Siglinda [Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale ed Ingegneria dei Materiali, University of Messina, Salita Sperone 31, 98166 Messina (Italy)

2003-01-15

Catalysis is a key technology to achieve the objectives of sustainable (green) chemistry. After introducing the concepts of sustainable (green) chemistry and a brief assessment of new sustainable chemical technologies, the relationship between catalysis and sustainable (green) chemistry is discussed and illustrated via an analysis of some selected and relevant examples. Emphasis is also given to the concept of catalytic technologies for scaling-down chemical processes, in order to develop sustainable production processes which reduce the impact on the environment to an acceptable level that allows self-depuration processes of the living environment.

Dynamic Sustainability. Sustainability Window Analysis of Chinese Poverty-Environment Nexus Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyrki Luukkanen

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Sustainability Window is a new analysis tool for assessing the sustainability of development simultaneously in all of its three dimensions (environmental, economic, and social. The analysis method provides information of the maximum and minimum economic development that is required to maintain the direction of social and environmental development towards more sustainable targets. With the Sustainability Window method it is possible to easily analyze the sustainability using different indicators and different time periods making comparative analyses easy. The new method makes it also possible to analyze the dynamics of the sustainability and the changes over time in the width of the window. This provides a new perspective for analyzing the trends of sustainability and the impacts of underlying sustainability policies. As an illustration of the method, we have carried out an analysis of Chinese development using CO2 and SO2 emissions as indicators of the environmental dimension, number of non-poor people as an indicator of the social dimension and GDP as an indicator of the economic dimension.

Damned if you do, damned if you do not - Reduced Climate Impact vs. Sustainable Forests in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geijer, Erik; Bostedt, Goeran; Braennlund, Runar

2011-01-01

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the potential goal conflict between two of Sweden's environmental objectives: Sustainable Forests and Reduced Climate Impact - or, more precisely, the conflict between forest conservation and the supply of wood fuel. To accomplish this, we use a forest sector model that includes the suppliers and major users of roundwood. The econometric results, based on a data set that spans 40 years, show that all the own price elasticities have the expected signs. Among the three forestry products, the supply and (long-term) demand of forest fuel seems to be most sensitive to a price change. In a second step, the estimated model is used to simulate the effect of increased forest conservation - the Sustainable Forest objective - on the supply of wood fuel. If oil is used as a substitute, Swedish emissions of greenhouse gases will increase by almost 0.92 percent, which indicates a clear conflict with the Reduced Climate Impact objective. (author)

Options of electric generation and sustainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin del Campo M, C.

2004-01-01

In this paper a study on the sustainability of the main electricity generation options is presented. The study is based on a matrix of sustainability indicators developed in Switzerland. A revision of some sustainability studies performed in countries with certain energy diversity and with experience in nuclear power plants operation, is done. Studies, in general, are performed for the power plant life cycle, taking into account economic aspects, fuel prices impact on electricity generation costs, fuel reserves indicators and material consumption. Air emission, waste production and human health impact data are also presented. All the results lead to confirm that nuclear energy has a high degree of sustainability vis a vis other options based on fossil fuels and renewable. Finally some comments are presented in order to highlight the importance that nuclear energy might have in the sustainable development of Mexico. (Author)

The impact of governance modes on sustainable transport - the case of bus transport in Greater Manchester, UK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Claus Hedegaard; Gudmundsson, Henrik

2010-01-01

'Sustainable transport' has become a priority for transport planning and policy making around the world. Sustainable transport plans often promote efforts to shift passengers from private cars to other modes such as public transport. However, the actual success of such efforts is likely to depend...... on how the transport sector is organised and governed. In this paper, we study the impacts of new public management (NPM) reforms in the British local transport sector on the attraction of passengers to buses. Britain is an interesting example since high level sustainable transport policies have been...... contributions. Second, we apply theoretical notions of 'governance modes', to examine whether the strengths and failures of 'market', 'hierarchy' and 'network' governance respectively can help to explain the results we observe. We find that these concepts are particularly useful to clarify the conditions under...

Econometric Approach of the Scenarios regarding the Impact of the Consumer’s Empowerment and Companies’ Responsibility for Environment Sustainability on the Electricity Market Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia I. Lungu

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Energy is a major component of the economy, both as a sector in itself and as an input factor to all other economic activities. This sector is facing major challenges regarding increasing oil prices, severity of climate change or extremely complex implications of the global financial crisis. Organized as an empirical study, based on econometric analysis supported by a rigorous literature review, the paper studies possible correlations between the performance of electricity market, renewable resource consumption, consumers’ behaviour, the influence of economic environment and economic development. It also aims to encourage a new and wider research framework regarding the implications of economic policies’ use on consumers’ perception. The results of the study indicate that the early stage of renewable energy use and the prospect of influencing the consumer behaviour in a way to increase the market performance, through the development of strategies oriented towards sustainable energy consumption, can have a positive impact on companies’ responsibility. It is concluded that consumers’ empowerment stimulates competition, raises efficiency and rethinks companies’ strategies for environment sustainability.

Tourism Development from the Perspectives of Sustainability in Melaka State

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alam A. S. A. Ferdous

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism is an important development tool and it is considered the second largest contributor to the Malaysian economy. Even though the visitors are satisfied by the prevailing facilities, a few shortcomings need to be addressed on sustainable tourism such as the lack of knowledge on sustainable tourism in different sectors, and the neglected local communities in making decisions on sustainability. The aim of this study is to realize the relationship between three factors namely economy, environmental impacts of tourism, and community satisfaction and perceptions on tourism development in Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Malaysia. In order to observe this relationship, 735 tourists were interviewed to get the tourists’ responses. Here, the concepts on sustainable tourism development include the conservation of the environment, mitigation of pollution from tourism development, and support of local economies. Additionally, sustainable tourism is aimed at generating local employment for the community. Data from the interviews have been analysed using descriptive and simple statistical tools. It is found that the variables are suitable in this study due to the high Cronbach’s Alpha values. The study found that there are positive significant influences between the three dimensions and their perceptions on sustainability and tourism development.

Towards Sustainability-driven Innovation through Product Service Systems

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Anthony

2010-01-01

Increasing awareness of anthropogenic impacts on the planet has lead to efforts to reduce negative environmental impacts in product development for several decades. Benefits to companies who focus on sustainability initiatives have been put forth more recently, leading to many efforts to incorporate sustainability considerations in their product innovation processes. The majority of current sustainability considerations in industry constrain design space by emphasizing reduced material and en...

Entrepreneurial Leadership, Performance, and Sustainability of Micro-Enterprises in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Al Mamun

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study probed into the impact of entrepreneurial leadership dimensions (i.e., responsibility, accountability, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence on the performance and sustainability of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia, through the lens of resource-based view (RBV theory. Through the implementation of a cross-sectional design, data were randomly gathered from 403 micro-entrepreneurs whose names appeared in the list of low-income households registered under “Majlis Amanah Rakyat” Kelantan and “Majlis Agama Islam Dan Adat Istiadat” Kelantan. The quantitative data were collected during structured interview sessions held between September and December 2017. The findings of the study revealed that the aspects of responsibility, accountability, and emotional intelligence exhibited significantly positive effects on micro-enterprise performance; while accountability, analytical thinking, and micro-enterprise performance displayed a significantly positive influence on sustainability among micro-enterprises owned by low-income households in Kelantan, Malaysia. The outcomes further portrayed a significant mediating effect of micro-enterprise performance on the correlations of responsibility, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence with micro-enterprise sustainability. The outcomes of this study extend the scope of RBV theory and simultaneously enhance our understanding pertaining to leadership, performance, and sustainability interplay, particularly within the context of micro-enterprises in emerging economies. As such, it is recommended that the government of Malaysia formulate and to adopt policies that promote varied entrepreneurial-leadership-related traits among budding micro-entrepreneurs, which may not only boost sustainability performance among firms, but also encourage low-income household heads to actively engage in more entrepreneurial activities.

Review of sustainability indices and indicators: Towards a new City Sustainability Index (CSI)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Koichiro, E-mail: kmori@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo (Japan); Christodoulou, Aris, E-mail: aris.christodoulou@ucl.ac.uk [Centre for Transport Studies, University College London (United Kingdom)

2012-01-15

The purpose of this paper is to discuss conceptual requirements for a City Sustainability Index (CSI) and to review existing major sustainability indices/indicators in terms of the requirements. The following indices are reviewed: Ecological Footprint (EF), Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Dashboard of Sustainability (DS), Welfare Index, Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, City Development Index, emergy/exergy, Human Development Index (HDI), Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI), Environmental Policy Index (EPI), Living Planet Index (LPI), Environmentally-adjusted Domestic Product (EDP), Genuine Saving (GS), and some applications of composite indices or/and multivariate indicators to local or regional context as case studies. The key conceptual requirements for an adequate CSI are: (i) to consider environmental, economic and social aspects (the triple bottom line of sustainability) from the viewpoint of strong sustainability; (ii) to capture external impacts (leakage effects) of city on other areas beyond the city boundaries particularly in terms of environmental aspects; (iii) to create indices/indicators originally for the purpose of assessing city sustainability; and (iv) to be able to assess world cities in both developed and developing countries using common axes of evaluation. Based on the review, we conclude that it is necessary to create a new CSI that enables us to assess and compare cities' sustainability performance in order to understand the global impact of cities on the environment and human life as compared with their economic contribution. In the future, the CSI will be able to provide local authorities with guidance toward sustainable paths. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We derive the four key requirements for a new City Sustainability Index (CSI) system. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer First, the triple bottom line must be considered in terms of strong sustainability. Black

Review of sustainability indices and indicators: Towards a new City Sustainability Index (CSI)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Koichiro; Christodoulou, Aris

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss conceptual requirements for a City Sustainability Index (CSI) and to review existing major sustainability indices/indicators in terms of the requirements. The following indices are reviewed: Ecological Footprint (EF), Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Dashboard of Sustainability (DS), Welfare Index, Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, City Development Index, emergy/exergy, Human Development Index (HDI), Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI), Environmental Policy Index (EPI), Living Planet Index (LPI), Environmentally-adjusted Domestic Product (EDP), Genuine Saving (GS), and some applications of composite indices or/and multivariate indicators to local or regional context as case studies. The key conceptual requirements for an adequate CSI are: (i) to consider environmental, economic and social aspects (the triple bottom line of sustainability) from the viewpoint of strong sustainability; (ii) to capture external impacts (leakage effects) of city on other areas beyond the city boundaries particularly in terms of environmental aspects; (iii) to create indices/indicators originally for the purpose of assessing city sustainability; and (iv) to be able to assess world cities in both developed and developing countries using common axes of evaluation. Based on the review, we conclude that it is necessary to create a new CSI that enables us to assess and compare cities' sustainability performance in order to understand the global impact of cities on the environment and human life as compared with their economic contribution. In the future, the CSI will be able to provide local authorities with guidance toward sustainable paths. - Highlights: ► We derive the four key requirements for a new City Sustainability Index (CSI) system. ► First, the triple bottom line must be considered in terms of strong sustainability. ► Second, environmental leakage effects beyond city boundaries should

Selection of environmental sustainable fiber materials for wind turbine blades - a contra intuitive process?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birkved, M.; Corona, A. [Technical Univ. of Denmark. DTU Management Engineering, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Markussen, C.M.; Madsen, Bo [Technical Univ. of Denmark. DTU Wind Energy, Risoe Campus, Roskilde (Denmark)

2013-09-01

Over the recent decades biomaterials have been marketed successfully supported by the common perception that biomaterials and environmental sustainability de facto represents two sides of the same coin. The development of sustainable composite materials such as blades for small-scale wind turbines have thus partially been focused on the substitution of conventional fiber materials with bio-fibers. The major question is if this material substitution actually, is environmental sustainable. In order to assess a wide pallet of environmental impacts and taking into account positive and negative environmental trade-offs over the entire life-span of composite materials, life cycle assessment (LCA) can be applied. In the present case study, four different types of fibers (carbon, glass, flax and carbon/flax mixture) are compared in terms of environmental sustainability and cost. Applying one of the most recent life cycle impact assessment methods, it is demonstrated that the environmental sustainability of the mixed carbon/flax fiber based composite material is better than that of the flax fibers alone. This observation may be contra-intuitive, but is mainly caused by the fact that the bio-material resin demand is by far exceeding the resin demand of the conventional fibers, and since the environmental burden of the resin is comparable to that of the fibers, resin demand is in terms of environmental sustainability important. On the other hand is the energy demand and associated environmental impacts in relation to the production of the carbon and glass fibers considerable compared to the impacts resulting from resin production. The ideal fiber solution, in terms of environmental sustainability, is hence the fiber composition having the lowest resin demand and lowest overall energy demand. The optimum environmental solution hence turns out to be a 70:30 flax:carbon mix, thereby minimizing the use of carbon fibers and resin. On top of the environmental sustainability

Extension Sustainability Camp: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Brain, Roslynn; Upton, Sally; Tingey, Brett

2015-01-01

Sustainability Camps provide an opportunity for Extension educators to be in the forefront of sustainability outreach and to meet the growing demand for sustainability education. This article shares development, implementation, and evaluation of an Extension Sustainability Camp for youth, grades 4-6. Camp impact was measured via daily pre-and…

Environmental Impact Assessment of a Water Transfer Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pazoki

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background Reliable water supplies for drinking and agriculture are some of the objectives for the sustainable development of every country. However, constructed facilities such as dams and irrigation networks and drainage can exert positive and negative effects directly or indirectly on the environment. The environmental impact assessment is a method for identifying the positive and negative effects caused by a plan and suggests performance management best practices aimed at lessening the negative impacts and augmenting the positive ones. Objectives The present study sought to evaluate the environmental impacts of the water transfer project of the Jooban Dam in two phases of preparation and operation. Materials and Methods A checklist containing the positive, negative, short-term, and long-term effects as well as the continuation and probable occurrence of these effects was used. Results The results showed that the negative environmental and social impacts of the project outweighed the positive impacts in terms of type, number, and intensity. Conclusions Unless there are well-thought out strategies for minimizing the undesirable impact on the environment, it is not advisable that such projects be permitted.

Sustainability and Socio-Economic Impact of Tourism Development in Jakobstad - Kalajoki

OpenAIRE

Salmela, Joel; Rahman, Mohammad Mohibur

2014-01-01

Tourism is not always about business. It can also affect the society in various other ways. There are socio-economic impacts of tourism for both host community and travelers’ community. These impacts can be positive as well as negative. By upholding tourism, a certain area can become financially solvent and the host community can endorse a better lifestyle. The aim of this research was to examine the tourism situation and future prospects of the chosen touristic destinations in forms of s...

Evaluating the sustainability of co-firing in the UK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woods, Jeremy; Tipper, Richard; Brown, Gareth; Diaz-Chavez, Rocio; Lovell, Jessica; de Groot, Peter

2006-10-09

The objectives of the study were: Assess the overall carbon balance for co-firing; Investigate the other sustainability issues relating to co-firing; Assess the scope for incentivising the most sustainable forms of co-firing. The main questions to be addressed were: Is the overall carbon balance for co-firing positive? What is the difference in carbon balance between energy crops and other biomass? Are some kinds of energy crops better than others? How big a factor is transport in the carbon balance? Under what circumstances (fuel, transport, process, etc.) are the greatest benefits of co-firing in terms of carbon balance and sustainability? Are there any circumstances (as above) that could raise serious carbon balance or sustainability issues? How does the carbon balance compare between co-firing, dedicated biomass, and biomass heat? Is there any scope for encouraging the most sustainable forms of co-firing - perhaps through using existing or currently in development accreditation schemes? The report concludes that: Co-firing could be expanded to make a significant and low risk contribution to Government and EU renewable energy policy targets; Real environmental and social benefits could arise from the expansion of co-firing markets, both in the UK and in poor developing countries, given responsible development policy; There is no clear environmental or social case, for an arbitrary cap on the amount of co-firing; Co-firing could expand and enhance clean coal Carbon and Capture and Sequestration (CCS). This report focuses solely on the carbon (GHG) and broader sustainability impacts of co-firing in the UK. It does not include an economic evaluation. It provides an overview of the existing materials being used as feedstocks for co-firing and a summary life-cycle assessment of the GHG balances and sustainability (environmental and social) impacts of the provision and use of those feedstocks. A clear distinction is made between the use of residues and dedicated

Evaluating the sustainability of co-firing in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, Jeremy; Tipper, Richard; Brown, Gareth; Diaz-Chavez, Rocio; Lovell, Jessica; de Groot, Peter

2006-01-01

The objectives of the study were: Assess the overall carbon balance for co-firing; Investigate the other sustainability issues relating to co-firing; Assess the scope for incentivising the most sustainable forms of co-firing. The main questions to be addressed were: Is the overall carbon balance for co-firing positive? What is the difference in carbon balance between energy crops and other biomass? Are some kinds of energy crops better than others? How big a factor is transport in the carbon balance? Under what circumstances (fuel, transport, process, etc.) are the greatest benefits of co-firing in terms of carbon balance and sustainability? Are there any circumstances (as above) that could raise serious carbon balance or sustainability issues? How does the carbon balance compare between co-firing, dedicated biomass, and biomass heat? Is there any scope for encouraging the most sustainable forms of co-firing - perhaps through using existing or currently in development accreditation schemes? The report concludes that: Co-firing could be expanded to make a significant and low risk contribution to Government and EU renewable energy policy targets; Real environmental and social benefits could arise from the expansion of co-firing markets, both in the UK and in poor developing countries, given responsible development policy; There is no clear environmental or social case, for an arbitrary cap on the amount of co-firing; Co-firing could expand and enhance clean coal Carbon and Capture and Sequestration (CCS). This report focuses solely on the carbon (GHG) and broader sustainability impacts of co-firing in the UK. It does not include an economic evaluation. It provides an overview of the existing materials being used as feedstocks for co-firing and a summary life-cycle assessment of the GHG balances and sustainability (environmental and social) impacts of the provision and use of those feedstocks. A clear distinction is made between the use of residues and dedicated

Scalable, sustainable cost-effective surgical care: a model for safety and quality in the developing world, part III: impact and sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Alex; Restrepo, Carolina; Mackay, Don; Sherman, Randy; Varma, Ajit; Ayala, Ruben; Sarma, Hiteswar; Deshpande, Gaurav; Magee, William

2014-09-01

The Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Center (GCCCC) utilizes a high-volume, subspecialized institution to provide safe, quality, and comprehensive and cost-effective surgical care to a highly vulnerable patient population. The GCCCC utilized a diagonal model of surgical care delivery, with vertical inputs of mission-based care transitioning to investments in infrastructure and human capital to create a sustainable, local care delivery system. Over the first 2.5 years of service (May 2011-November 2013), the GCCCC made significant advances in numerous areas. Progress was meticulously documented to evaluate performance and provide transparency to stakeholders including donors, government officials, medical oversight bodies, employees, and patients. During this time period, the GCCCC provided free operations to 7,034 patients, with improved safety, outcomes, and multidisciplinary services while dramatically decreasing costs and increasing investments in the local community. The center has become a regional referral cleft center, and governments of surrounding states have contracted the GCCCC to provide care for their citizens with cleft lip and cleft palate. Additional regional and global impact is anticipated through continued investments into education and training, comprehensive services, and research and outcomes. The success of this public private partnership demonstrates the value of this model of surgical care in the developing world, and offers a blueprint for reproduction. The GCCCC experience has been consistent with previous studies demonstrating a positive volume-outcomes relationship, and provides evidence for the value of the specialty hospital model for surgical delivery in the developing world.

Sustainability Impact Assessment on the Production and Use of Different Wood and Fossil Fuels Employed for Energy Production in North Karelia, Finland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matias Pekkanen

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The utilization rate of woody biomass in eastern Finland is high and expected to increase further in the near future as set out in several regional, national and European policies and strategies. The aim of this study was to assess the sustainability impacts of changes in fuel consumption patterns. We investigated fossil and woody biomass-based energy production chains in the region of North Karelia, focusing on some economic, environmental and social indicators. Indicators were selected based on stakeholder preferences and evaluated using the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA. The analysis was based on representative values from National Forest Inventory data, scientific publications, national and regional statistics, databases, published policy targets and expert opinion. From the results it became evident that shifting from fossil to wood-based energy production implies some trade-offs. Replacing oil with woody biomass in energy production would increase the local value added remaining in the region, create employment opportunities and would reduce total GHG emissions. However, firewood, wood chips from small-diameter trees from early thinning and wood pellets have high production costs. Moreover, large greenhouse gas emission resulted from wood pellet production. The case study generated valuable reference data for future sustainability assessments and demonstrated the usefulness of ToSIA as a tool presenting existing knowledge on sustainability impacts of alternative energy supply chains to inform decision making.

3rd International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing

CERN Document Server

Howlett, Robert; Liu, Ying; Theobald, Peter

2016-01-01

This volumes consists of 59 peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-16) held in Chania, Crete Greece in April 2016. Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. SDM-16 covers a wide range of topics from sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable process and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied. The book will provide an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

Sustainability of University Technology Transfer: Mediating Effect of Inventor’s Technology Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Li

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Based on the perspective of knowledge transfer and the technology acceptance model (TAM, this paper constructs a university technology transfer sustainable development model that considers the inventor’s technology service from the perspective of the long-term cooperation of enterprise, and analyzes the mediating effect of the inventor’s technology service on university technology transfer sustainability. By using 270 questionnaires as survey data, it is found that the availability of an inventor’s technology service has a significant positive impact on the attitude tendency and practice tendency of enterprise long-term technological cooperation; enterprise technology absorption capacity and trust between a university and an enterprise also have significant influence on an inventor’s technical service availability. Therefore, the inventor’s technology service acts as a mediator in the relationship between university technology transfer sustainability and influence factors. Universities ought to establish the technology transfer model, which focuses on the inventor’s tacit knowledge transfer service, and promotes the sustainable development of the university.

Becoming more sustainable: concepts and issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pirages, D C [Maryland Univ., Dep. of Government and Politics, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, College Park, MD (United States)

1996-11-01

The automobile and associated mobility system have had a major economic and ecological impact on human societies. The industrial revolution, during which the internal combustion engine has played a major role, has shaped secular, materialistic societies and associated consumption patterns that cannot be sustained in a future world of eight billion people. Creating a more sustainable world means maximizing human satisfaction while minimizing human impact on nature. Becoming more sustainable is best envisioned as a continuing process in which constraints and possibilities change over time and space. The sustainable process raises major controversies including how to define and measure progress, how to apportion wealth among generations, and between free trade and environmental preservation. Sustainable mobility implies major changes in approaches to transportation including stressing psychological rather than physical mobility, designing speciality vehicles for emerging niches, and placing special emphasis on mass transit systems for emerging megacities. (author) 17 refs.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiping Jiang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Transformational leadership has drawn extensive attention in management research. In this field, the influence of transformational leadership on employee performance is an important branch. Recent research indicates that organizational citizenship behavior plays a mediating role between transformational leadership and employee performance. However, some of these findings contradict each other. Given the background where greater attention is being paid to transformational leadership in the construction industry, this research aims to find the degree of the influence of transformational leadership on employee sustainable performance, as well as the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior. A total of 389 questionnaires were collected from contractors and analyzed via structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that employee sustainable performance is positively influenced by transformational leadership. In addition, more than half of that influence is mediated by their organizational citizenship behavior. These findings remind project managers of the need to pay close attention to transformational leadership, to cultivate organizational citizenship behavior, and thereby to eventually improve employee’s sustainable performance.

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE : WHAT ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS THINK

OpenAIRE

SATWIKO, PRASASTO

2013-01-01

Sustainable architecture has become a hot issue lately as the impacts of climate change become more intense. Architecture educations have responded by integrating knowledge of sustainable design in their curriculum. However, in the real life, new buildings keep coming with designs that completely ignore sustainable principles. This paper discusses the results of two national competitions on sustainable architecture targeted for architecture students (conducted in 2012 and 2013). The results a...

Towards a sustainable use of primary boron. Approach to a sustainable use of primary resources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henckens, M.L.C.M.; Driessen, P.P.J.; Worrell, E.

2015-01-01

The sustainable use of raw materials does not only concern the environmental impacts of their production and consumption, but also the intergenerational distribution of access to the raw material or the services provided by that material. From this sustainability perspective, current generations

Different levels of stakeholder participation for sustainability Impact Assessment Tools - A comparative requirement analysis of four research approaches

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sieber, S.; Konig, H.; Bezlepkina, I.; Reidsma, P.

2012-01-01

In the last decade, a wide range of new modeling approaches has been developed for sustainability impact assessment. They are often based on theoretical concepts on how to cope, process and apply pre-assessments on policy and project instrument-implementation. Experiences show that few models

An Empirical Study of why our Cognition Toward Environmental Sustainability is Inconsistent with our Behavior: Policy Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, S. Ping

2016-04-01

Raising public awareness of human environmental problems has been considered an effective way to promote public participation in environmental sustainability. From the perspective individual level, such participation mainly include the willingness of adopting less consumptive lifestyles and following the principles of reuse, reduce, and recycle. However, in reality, the development of environmental sustainability falls into the "Enlightenment Fallacy," which asserts that enlightenment does not consequentially translate into meaningful reduction of pollution. We argue that environmental awareness is mainly at the level of cognition, which is built upon knowledge and facts; whereas the behaviors toward sustainability development are largely dominated by economic principles that focus on utility maximization. As such, the Enlightenment Fallacy can be explained by the "Tragedy of Commons" which occurrs in the prevailing capitalism based economic system. This is due to the sad fact assumed in modern Economics that human beings are in general self-interested with unending desires but few moral concerns. Thus, economic individuals, who seek mainly their maximal utility or benefit, will not make significant sacrifices for improving environmental sustainability, which cannot be achieved by only a few individuals. From this perspective, we argue that only those individuals who are less self-interested and have more compassion toward mankind and earth will actively participate in environmental sustainability. In this study, we examine empirically the Enlightenment Fallacy phenomenon and develop an empirical model to test the following four hypotheses concerning the inconsistency between the environmental cognition and the actual behaviors. Policy implications for promoting public participation will be suggested based on our empirical results. Hypothesis 1: Compassion (for mankind) has larger positive impacts than environmental cognition. Hypothesis 2: Social punishment and

Sustainability indicators to nuclear research centers in Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alves, Simone F.; Feliciano, Vanusa Maria D.; Barreto, Alberto A., E-mail: symonfonseca@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: vmfj@cdtn.br, E-mail: aab@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The relevance and applicability of sustainability indicators have been discussed in various international and national debates through forums, conferences, seminars and lectures. The information obtained from the use of these indicators is essential to the decision-making process, contributing to the creation of discussion channels and interaction with society; also it is useful for the design and implementation of environmental education programs, perception and risk communication. So far, at least in Brazil, existing indicators for the nuclear area are related only to power generation, as performance and safety in radioactive waste management. According to this reality we see the need to build indicators that contribute to the assessment of environmental, social, cultural, economic and institutional performance of a nuclear innovation and research institute in Brazil. This work aims to highlight, through literature review, the importance of developing sustainability indicators appropriate to nuclear research centers in Brazil, revealing how much they are strategic to measuring the sustainability of these endeavours. The main finding, after the literature review, is that this type of indicator is important not only to identify positive or negative impacts of a project focused on the research and innovation of nuclear area, but also for assessment of his commitment to the sustainable development. (author)

Sustainability indicators to nuclear research centers in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, Simone F.; Feliciano, Vanusa Maria D.; Barreto, Alberto A.

2015-01-01

The relevance and applicability of sustainability indicators have been discussed in various international and national debates through forums, conferences, seminars and lectures. The information obtained from the use of these indicators is essential to the decision-making process, contributing to the creation of discussion channels and interaction with society; also it is useful for the design and implementation of environmental education programs, perception and risk communication. So far, at least in Brazil, existing indicators for the nuclear area are related only to power generation, as performance and safety in radioactive waste management. According to this reality we see the need to build indicators that contribute to the assessment of environmental, social, cultural, economic and institutional performance of a nuclear innovation and research institute in Brazil. This work aims to highlight, through literature review, the importance of developing sustainability indicators appropriate to nuclear research centers in Brazil, revealing how much they are strategic to measuring the sustainability of these endeavours. The main finding, after the literature review, is that this type of indicator is important not only to identify positive or negative impacts of a project focused on the research and innovation of nuclear area, but also for assessment of his commitment to the sustainable development. (author)

Business Organizations’ Positive Socio-Economic Impact on Society - a Step Beyond CSR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela POPA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this article the authors argue the necessity of taking a step beyond CSR and tackling the issue of measuring the impact businesses have on society, in general. Even if CSR points out the idea that organizations have responsibilities regarding the well-being of the entire society, it has certain limitations listed in this article. Furthermore, the authors briefly present the socio-economic impact of business organizations including (1 some basic concepts, (2 the most relevant areas/fields for measuring the impact, and (3 the main advantages regarding the development and implementation of effective impact measurement practices. The general purpose of the empirical study refers to the identification of perceptions related to the Romanian business organizations’ socio-economic impact. In this regard, we set the following main objectives: (1 identifying the extent to which Romanian organizations undertake a process of measuring, assessing and managing their impacts on society, (2 analyzing clients, managers and owners’ perceptions regarding the positive impact of seven Romanian organizations’ activities, and (3 identifying the perceptional differences between clients and managers plus owners. The empirical results show that in the managers’ plus owners’ opinions the areas in which the organization’s activities always or almost always have a positive impact are: collecting and paying taxes, keeping a strict control over the costs, and fulfilling government regulations plus obeying laws. The highest differences in clients’ and managers’ plus owners’ perceptions refer to creating jobs and improving people’s personal security and the general well-being of society.

The effects of positive versus negative impact reflection on change in job performance and work-life conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardador, M Teresa

2014-01-01

Research on task significance and relational job design suggests that information from beneficiaries of one's work fosters perceptions of impact, and thus improved work outcomes. This paper presents results from a longitudinal field experiment examining the effect of another strategy for fostering perceptions of impact - engaging employees in regular reflection about how their work benefits others. With a sample of professionals from multiple organizations, this longitudinal study examined the effect on job performance and work-life conflict of both positive and negative impact reflection. Results show that negative impact reflection had a pronounced negative effect on job performance, but no effect on work-life conflict. Positive impact reflection had a weak positive effect on work-life conflict, but no significant effect on job performance. The direction of effects seen in the no intervention condition mirrored that of the negative impact reflection condition, suggesting a possible buffering effect for positive impact reflection. This research provides empirical and theoretical contributions to the literatures on relational job design and task significance.

Factors Influencing Arab Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability and their Inclusion in Nursing Curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Jonas Preposi; Felicilda-Reynaldo, Rhea Faye D; Alshammari, Farhan; Alquwez, Nahed; Alicante, Jerico G; Obaid, Khamees B; Rady, Hanan Ebrahim Abd El Aziz; Qtait, Mohammad; Silang, John Paul Ben T

2018-05-17

To assess the factors influencing the attitudes of Bachelor of Science in Nursing students toward climate change and environmental sustainability and the inclusion of these concepts in the nursing curricula of four Arab countries. A convenience sample of 1,059 students from four Arab countries was surveyed using the Environmental Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey-2 (SANS-2) questionnaire in this descriptive-comparative study. The majority of the respondents exhibited positive attitudes toward the five items of SANS-2, with "Environmental sustainability is an important issue for nursing" receiving the lowest mean score and "Issues about climate change should be included in the nursing curriculum" receiving the highest mean score. Saudi students had more positive attitudes toward environmental sustainability in health care compared with students from Iraq, Egypt, and the Palestinian Territories. Country of residence, type of community, and knowledge about environmental issues and their impact on health in any nursing course were significant factors that influenced attitudes toward environmental sustainability. The inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in nursing curricula in the Arab region was emphasized by the findings. Including environmental sustainability practices in nursing education will help student nurses develop critical thinking and skills in the adaptive delivery of health care, especially when resources are scarce. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Local Sustainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrizosa Umana, Julio

1998-01-01

The current polemic about the possibilities of sustainable development has led to a renovated interest for the topic of the sustainability of the communities and the local sustainability. In front of the global sustainability whose conditions have been exposed by systemic ecologists and for macro economists, the sustainability of specific places arises in the planet whose conditions are object of study of the ecology of landscapes, of the ecological economy, of the cultural anthropology, of the environmental sociology and naturally, of the integral environmentalism. In this discussion the Colombian case charges unusual interest to be one of the few countries of Latin America, where a very dense net of municipalities exists, each one with its urban helmet and with a position and some functions defined by the political constitution of the nation. This net of municipalities and of urban helmets it also constitutes net of alternative to the current macro-cephalic situation. As well as Bogota grew, in a hundred years, of less than a hundred thousand inhabitants to six million inhabitants, each one of these municipalities contains a potential of growth that depends on the characteristics of its ecological, social, economic and politic sustainability

Sustainable energy strategies for green energy supply. Paper no. IGEC-1-123

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Midilli, A.; Ay, M.; Dincer, I.

2005-01-01

The main objectives of this study are, first, to determine the sustainable energy strategies for green energy supply, and secondly, to derive the green energy recovery ratio and the sustainable green energy progress ratio, and thirdly, to investigate the effects of sustainable energy strategies on these ratios. For these purposes, 20-possible sustainable energy strategies are taken into consideration and are divided into three subgroups that are strategies on the technological impact, sectoral impact, and green energy impact in a society. Using the possible sustainable energy strategies, technological and sectoral impact ratios of green energy and also green energy activity ratio are determined and discussed in detail. Additionally, some Case studies are performed in the scope of this interesting investigation: (i) the effect of technological impact ratio on green energy recovery ratio, and sustainable green energy progress ratio, (ii) the effect of sectoral impact ratio on green energy recovery ratio, and sustainable green energy progress ratio, and (iii) the effect of green energy impact ratio on green energy recovery ratio and sustainable green energy progress ratio. It is found that sustainable green energy progress ratio increases with an increase of technological, sectoral, and green energy impact ratios. This means that all negative effects on the industrial, technological, sectoral and social developments partially and/or completely decrease throughout the transition and utilization to and of green energy and technologies when possible sustainable energy strategies are preferred and applied. Thus, the sustainable energy strategies can make an important contribution to the economies of the countries where green energy is abundantly produced. Therefore, the investment in green energy supply should be, for the future of world nations, encouraged by governments and other authoritative bodies who, for strategic reasons, wish to have a green alternative to fossil

Opportunities for public aquariums to increase the sustainability of the aquatic animal trade.

Science.gov (United States)

Tlusty, Michael F; Rhyne, Andrew L; Kaufman, Les; Hutchins, Michael; Reid, Gordon McGregor; Andrews, Chris; Boyle, Paul; Hemdal, Jay; McGilvray, Frazer; Dowd, Scott

2013-01-01

The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the same species through the same sources. End users are also similar, as many aquarium visitors are home aquarists. Here we posit that this overlap with the pet trade gives aquariums significant opportunity to increase the sustainability of the trade in aquarium fishes and invertebrates. Improving the sustainability ethos and practices of the aquatic pet trade can carry a conservation benefit in terms of less waste, and protection of intact functioning ecosystems, at the same time as maintaining its economic and educational benefits and impacts. The relationship would also move forward the goal of public aquariums to advance aquatic conservation in a broad sense. For example, many public aquariums in North America have been instrumental in working with the seafood industry to enact positive change toward increased sustainability. The actions include being good consumers themselves, providing technical knowledge, and providing educational and outreach opportunities. These same opportunities exist for public aquariums to partner with the ornamental fish trade, which will serve to improve business, create new, more ethical and more dependable sources of aquatic animals for public aquariums, and perhaps most important, possibly transform the home aquarium industry from a threat, into a positive force for aquatic conservation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sustainability and Competitiveness of Tourism

OpenAIRE

Angelkova, Tanja; Koteski, Cane; Jakovlev, Zlatko; Mitreva, Elizabeta

2011-01-01

Tourism is an activity that can have a really big impact on sustainable development. Sustainability of tourism involves extensive cooperation between tourist companies, tourist destinations and national, regional and local authorities in order to cover a broad group of challenges and at the same time to remain competitive. Opportunities for sustainable tourism development and preservation of its competitiveness, largely influenced by the quality of the environment, preserved and attractive...

Impact of body position on central and peripheral hemodynamic contributions to movement-induced hyperemia: implications for rehabilitative medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Trinity, Joel D; McDaniel, John; Venturelli, Massimo; Fjeldstad, Anette S; Ives, Stephen J; Witman, Melissa A H; Barrett-O'Keefe, Zachary; Amann, Markus; Wray, D Walter; Richardson, Russell S

2011-05-01

This study used alterations in body position to identify differences in hemodynamic responses to passive exercise. Central and peripheral hemodynamics were noninvasively measured during 2 min of passive knee extension in 14 subjects, whereas perfusion pressure (PP) was directly measured in a subset of 6 subjects. Movement-induced increases in leg blood flow (LBF) and leg vascular conductance (LVC) were more than twofold greater in the upright compared with supine positions (LBF, supine: 462 ± 6, and upright: 1,084 ± 159 ml/min, P different between positions (supine: 8 ± 1, and upright: 10 ± 1 beats/min, P = 0.22); however, the elevated HR was maintained for a longer duration when upright. Stroke volume contributed to the increase in cardiac output (CO) during the upright movement only. CO increased in both positions; however, the magnitude and duration of the CO response were greater in the upright position. Mean arterial pressure and PP were higher at baseline and throughout passive movement when upright. Thus exaggerated central hemodynamic responses characterized by an increase in stroke volume and a sustained HR response combined to yield a greater increase in CO during upright movement. This greater central response coupled with the increased PP and LVC explains the twofold greater and more sustained increase in movement-induced hyperemia in the upright compared with supine position and has clinical implications for rehabilitative medicine.

Quantification of Accelerometer Derived Impacts Associated With Competitive Games in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I College Football Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellman, Aaron D; Coad, Sam C; Goulet, Grant C; McLellan, Christopher P

2017-02-01

Wellman, AD, Coad, SC, Goulet, GC, and McLellan, CP. Quantification of accelerometer derived impacts associated with competitive games in National Collegiate Athletic Association division I college football players. J Strength Cond Res 31(2): 330-338, 2017-The aims of the present study were to (a) examine positional impact profiles of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division I college football players using global positioning system (GPS) and integrated accelerometry (IA) technology and (b) determine if positional differences in impact profiles during competition exist within offensive and defensive teams. Thirty-three NCAA division I Football Bowl Subdivision players were monitored using GPS and IA (GPSports) during 12 regular season games throughout the 2014 season. Individual player data sets (n = 294) were divided into offensive and defensive teams, and positional subgroups. The intensity, number, and distribution of impact forces experienced by players during competition were recorded. Positional differences were found for the distribution of impacts within offensive and defensive teams. Wide receivers sustained more very light and light to moderate (5-6.5 G force) impacts than other position groups, whereas the running backs were involved in more severe (>10 G force) impacts than all offensive position groups, with the exception of the quarterbacks (p ≤ 0.05). The defensive back and linebacker groups were subject to more very light (5.0-6.0 G force) impacts, and the defensive tackle group sustained more heavy and very heavy (7.1-10 G force) impacts than other defensive positions (p ≤ 0.05). Data from the present study provide novel quantification of positional impact profiles related to the physical demands of college football games and highlight the need for position-specific monitoring and training in the preparation for the impact loads experienced during NCAA division I football competition.

Shaping professional identity for sustainability. Evidence in Finnish public catering.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikkola, Minna

2009-08-01

Catering for sustainability is often presented as a legitimate perspective for caterers to promote more equitable economic development locally and across distances through food procurement, integrated with environmental protection and concern for the welfare of customers and staff. Caterers are thus seen as agents responsible for sustainable food systems within their reach. This paper explores how public caterers use their position and productive intelligence in promoting a sustainable food system within the power field of their contextual networks. This article crystallises this 'agency for sustainability' as professional identity for sustainability, the shaping of which is analysed in Finnish public catering. The paper identifies eased and positive, troubled and critical as well as delimited and distancing approaches for sustainability, with respective views and efforts for sustainable food systems. The shaping of professional identity for sustainability could serve as co-operative platform for future contextual developments towards more sustainable food systems. Such progress could result in better alignment with political guidelines for sustainability and caterers' satisfaction due to their heightened professional position reaching beyond 'kitchen walls' to construct everyday sustainability.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Non-Native Bee Species around the World.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Laura

2016-11-28

Though they are relatively understudied, non-native bees are ubiquitous and have enormous potential economic and environmental impacts. These impacts may be positive or negative, and are often unquantified. In this manuscript, I review literature on the known distribution and environmental and economic impacts of 80 species of introduced bees. The potential negative impacts of non-native bees include competition with native bees for nesting sites or floral resources, pollination of invasive weeds, co-invasion with pathogens and parasites, genetic introgression, damage to buildings, affecting the pollination of native plant species, and changing the structure of native pollination networks. The potential positive impacts of non-native bees include agricultural pollination, availability for scientific research, rescue of native species, and resilience to human-mediated disturbance and climate change. Most non-native bee species are accidentally introduced and nest in stems, twigs, and cavities in wood. In terms of number of species, the best represented families are Megachilidae and Apidae, and the best represented genus is Megachile . The best studied genera are Apis and Bombus , and most of the species in these genera were deliberately introduced for agricultural pollination. Thus, we know little about the majority of non-native bees, accidentally introduced or spreading beyond their native ranges.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Non-Native Bee Species around the World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Russo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Though they are relatively understudied, non-native bees are ubiquitous and have enormous potential economic and environmental impacts. These impacts may be positive or negative, and are often unquantified. In this manuscript, I review literature on the known distribution and environmental and economic impacts of 80 species of introduced bees. The potential negative impacts of non-native bees include competition with native bees for nesting sites or floral resources, pollination of invasive weeds, co-invasion with pathogens and parasites, genetic introgression, damage to buildings, affecting the pollination of native plant species, and changing the structure of native pollination networks. The potential positive impacts of non-native bees include agricultural pollination, availability for scientific research, rescue of native species, and resilience to human-mediated disturbance and climate change. Most non-native bee species are accidentally introduced and nest in stems, twigs, and cavities in wood. In terms of number of species, the best represented families are Megachilidae and Apidae, and the best represented genus is Megachile. The best studied genera are Apis and Bombus, and most of the species in these genera were deliberately introduced for agricultural pollination. Thus, we know little about the majority of non-native bees, accidentally introduced or spreading beyond their native ranges.

Local cultural conservation to support sustainable tourism in Kuta tourist area

Science.gov (United States)

Murni, NGN S.; Kanca, I. N.; Antara, D. M. S.

2018-01-01

Cultural conservation is very important in the tourism area to support sustainable tourism. This study uses the cultural studies approach and tourism. The specific purposes of this research are (1) to know the forms of cultural conservation conducted by the people of Kuta Traditional Village (Desa Adat Kuta), (2) to know the impact of tourism on the conservation of local culture, (3) to find out the strategy in preserving local culture for the sustainability of tourism in Kuta tourist area. The method used is qualitative interpretative method. Data collection conducted through direct observation in 13 banjar (sub-village), through in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results showed (1) the forms of cultural conservation are traditional arts such as dance, music orchestra,. Crafts, traditional song, classical barong and calonarang art performance, and local culture pancayadnya (five offerings). (2) the impact of tourism on cultural conservation is positive impacts such as increase of culture creativities, conservation of local culture, and the negative impact such as loss of culture space, decrease traditional subak, reduce fishermen, change of cultural value, and life style.(3) Strategy of Desa Adat in preserving culture by carrying out the festival annually, Kuta Cultural Art Festival (FBK) and Kuta Beach Festival (KBF).

Stabilizing Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reitan Andersen, Kirsti

The publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987 put the topic of sustainable development on the political and corporate agenda. Defining sustainable development as “a development that meets the needs of the future without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs......” (WCED, 1987, p. 43), the Report also put a positive spin on the issue of sustainability by upholding capitalist beliefs in the possibility of infinite growth in a world of finite resources. While growth has delivered benefits, however, it has done so unequally and unsustainably. This thesis focuses...... on the textile and fashion industry, one of the world’s most polluting industries and an industry to some degree notorious for leading the ‘race to the bottom’ in global labour standards. Despite being faced with increasing demands to practise sustainability, most textile and fashion companies continue to fail...

ALIANÇAS ESTRATÉGICAS PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL / Strategic alliance to sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geuda Anazile Costa Gonçalves

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deal with the evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the Regional SustainableDevelopment Strategy (RSD proposed by Banco do Brasil in the Cooperativa dasBordadeiras de Alagoa Nova, COOBAN. In this way, it was done a literature review, in additionto a data obtained from the agents involved in the process and that make part of the cooperative.As a result it can be identify that the impacts of the strategy alliance give by RSD from Bancodo Brasil, as an articulator, in the COOBAN are positives, presenting isolated problems thatcan be overcome with corrective actions from the institution involved in the process. It wassuggested; however, the adoption and implementation of strategic decisions as a course offinancial management and business, offered by SEBRAE, continue support from State Government and Prefecture in relation to the extend the participation of the craft makers infairs or conventions, also in the inspection of the cooperative management to become, truly,auto-sustainable and a drive force to the regional sustainable development, by validating therole of the Banco do Brasil as articulator.

Cultural heritage and sustainable development in SUIT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Algreen-Ussing, Gregers; Hassler, Uta; Kohler, Niklaus

2002-01-01

The position paper is composed of 18 thesis, which are presented in four groups: Cultural Heritage, Momuments and Public Space, Active Conservation and Sustainable Development.......The position paper is composed of 18 thesis, which are presented in four groups: Cultural Heritage, Momuments and Public Space, Active Conservation and Sustainable Development....

The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Improving Student Learning Outcomes of Sustainability Concepts in Transportation Engineering Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Fini, Elham H.; Awadallah, Faisal; Parast, Mahour M.; Abu-Lebdeh, Taher

2018-01-01

This paper describes an intervention to enhance students' learning by involving students in brainstorming activities about sustainability concepts and their implications in transportation engineering. The paper discusses the process of incorporating the intervention into a transportation course, as well as the impact of this intervention on…

Methodology for Monitoring Sustainable Development of Isolated Microgrids in Rural Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Rahmann

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Microgrids are a rapidly evolving and increasingly common form of local power generation used to serve the needs of both rural and urban communities. In this paper, we present a methodology to evaluate the evolution of the sustainability of stand-alone microgrids projects. The proposed methodology considers a composite sustainability index (CSI that includes both positive and negative impacts of the operation of the microgrid in a given community. The CSI is constructed along environmental, social, economic and technical dimensions of the microgrid. The sub-indexes of each dimension are aggregated into the CSI via a set of adaptive weighting factors, which indicate the relative importance of the corresponding dimension in the sustainability goals. The proposed methodology aims to be a support instrument for policy makers especially when defining sound corrective measures to guarantee the sustainability of small, isolated microgrid projects. To validate the performance of the proposed methodology, a microgrid installed in the northern part of Chile (Huatacondo has been used as a benchmarking project.

Residual coal exploitation and its impact on sustainable development of the coal industry in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yujiang; Feng, Guorui; Zhang, Min; Ren, Hongrui; Bai, Jinwen; Guo, Yuxia; Jiang, Haina; Kang, Lixun

2016-01-01

Although China owns large coal reserves, it now faces the problem of depletion of its coal resources in advance. The coal-based energy mix in China will not change in the short term, and a means of delaying the coal resources depletion is therefore urgently required. The residual coal was exploited first with a lower recovery percentage and was evaluated as commercially valuable damaged coal. This approach is in comparison to past evaluations when the residual coal was allocated as exploitation losses. Coal recovery rates, the calculation method of residual coal reserves and statistics of its mines in China were given. On this basis, a discussion concerning the impacts on the delay of China's coal depletion, development of coal exploitation and sustainable developments, as well as technologies and relevant policies, were presented. It is considered that the exploitation of residual coal can effectively delay China's coal depletion, inhibit the construction of new mines, redress the imbalance between supply and demand of coal in eastern China, improve the mining area environment and guarantee social stability. The Chinese government supports the exploitation technologies of residual coal. Hence, exploiting residual coal is of considerable importance in sustainable development of the coal industry in China. - Highlights: •Pay attention to residual coal under changing energy-mix environment in China. •Estimate residual coal reserves and investigate its exploitation mines. •Discuss impacts of residual coal exploitation on delay of coal depletion in China. •Discuss impacts on coal mining industry and residual coal exploitation technology. •Give corresponding policy prescriptions.

Assessment of the Technological Changes Impact on the Sustainability of State Security System of Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olexandr Yemelyanov

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Currently, the governments of many countries are facing with a lack of funds for financing programs for social protection of population. Among the causes of this problem, we can indicate the high unemployment rate, which, among other things, is due to implementation of labor-saving technologies. The purpose of this work is to study the impact of technological changes on the sustainability of the state social security system in Ukraine. The general approaches to the assessment of the stability of the state social security system are described. The simulation of the effect of economically efficient technological changes on the company’s income and expenses was carried out. Some patterns of such changes are established. The group of productive technological changes types is presented. The model is developed, and an indicator of the impact estimation of efficiently effective technological changes on the stability of the state social security system is proposed. The analysis of the main indicators of the state social security system functioning of Ukraine is carried out. The dynamics of indicators characterizing the labor market of Ukraine is analyzed. The influence of changes in labor productivity on costs and profits by industries of Ukraine is estimated. The evaluation of the impact of economically efficient technological changes in the industries of Ukraine on the stability of its state social security system is carried out. The different state authorities can use the obtained results for developing measures to manage the sustainability of the state social security system.

Sustainable Wearables: Wearable Technology for Enhancing the Quality of Human Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaewoon Lee

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to elicit insights about sustainable wearables by investigating recent advancements in wearable technology and their applications. Wearable technology has advanced considerably from a technical perspective, but it has stagnated due to barriers without penetrating wider society despite early positive expectations. This situation is the motivation behind the focus on studies by many research groups in recent years into wearable applications that can provide the best value from a human-oriented perspective. The expectation is that a new means to resolve the issue can be found from a viewpoint of sustainability; this is the main point of this paper. This paper first focuses on the trend of wearable technology like bodily status monitoring, multi-wearable device control, and smart networking between wearable sensors. Second, the development intention of such technology is investigated. Finally, this paper discusses about the applications of current wearable technology from the sustainable perspective, rather than detailed description of the component technologies employed in wearables. In this paper, the definition of sustainable wearables is discussed in the context of improving the quality of individual life, social impact, and social public interest; those wearable applications include the areas of wellness, healthcare, assistance for the visually impaired, disaster relief, and public safety. In the future, wearables will not be simple data trackers or fun accessories but will gain extended objectives and meanings that play a valuable role for individuals and societies. Successful and sustainable wearables will lead to positive changes for both individuals and societies overall.

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Jenny; Annandale, David; Morrison-Saunders, Angus

2004-01-01

Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many

Impact of Sustainable Cool Roof Technology on Building Energy Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Vuppuluri, Prem Kiran

Highly reflective roofing systems have been analyzed over several decades to evaluate their ability to meet sustainability goals, including reducing building energy consumption and mitigating the urban heat island. Studies have isolated and evaluated the effects of climate, surface reflectivity, and roof insulation on energy savings, thermal load mitigation and also ameliorating the urban heat island. Other sustainable roofing systems, like green-roofs and solar panels have been similarly evaluated. The motivation for the present study is twofold: the first goal is to present a method for simultaneous evaluation and inter-comparison of multiple roofing systems, and the second goal is to quantitatively evaluate the realized heating and cooling energy savings associated with a white roof system compared to the reduction in roof-top heat flux. To address the first research goal a field experiment was conducted at the International Harvester Building located in Portland, OR. Thermal data was collected for a white roof, vegetated roof, and a solar panel shaded vegetated roof, and the heat flux through these roofing systems was compared against a control patch of conventional dark roof membrane. The second research goal was accomplished using a building energy simulation program to determine the impact of roof area and roof insulation on the savings from a white roof, in both Portland and Phoenix. The ratio of cooling energy savings to roof heat flux reduction from replacing a dark roof with a white roof was 1:4 for the month of July, and 1:5 annually in Portland. The COP of the associated chillers ranges from 2.8-4.2, indicating that the ratio of cooling energy savings to heat flux reduction is not accounted for solely by the COP of the chillers. The results of the building simulation indicate that based on energy savings alone, white roofs are not an optimal choice for Portland. The benefits associated with cooling energy savings relative to a black roof are offset by

Economic and environmental packaging sustainability: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iván González Boubeta

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze the suitability of the packaging strategy of an important Spanish agro-food company, regarding to economic and environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Three different types of packaging are analyzed to obtain a diagnostic of the initial situation. In this process, cost and carbon footprint are calculated in order to measure the economic and environmental impacts, respectively. Then, a new packaging allocation logic is proposed with the aim of improving both aspects. Findings: The results show that the carbon footprint is strongly and positively affected by the cost reduction, showing the viability of a win-win relationship between both aspects. Research limitations/implications: The strength of this win-win relationship may be conditioned by the input values considered in this case study. Conversion factors used to calculate carbon footprint vary a lot among researchers, showing the need of standardization in this topic. Practical implications: Since the existence of a positive relationship between economic and environmental sustainability has been demonstrated, organizations should find this kind of situations in themselves to satisfy their own stakeholders. Originality/value: This article shows the potential of unite waste elimination with eco-friendly activities with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of companies. This paper also contributes to the knowledge of economic and environmental sustainability and reinforces theoretical aspects, paving the way for further research on these topics.

IMPACT OF ECONOMIC AND NON-ECONOMIC FACTORS ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PENSION SYSTEM IN CROATIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Vretenar Cobović

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The pension system is very important in the context of the social security of every individual or the society in which it is located. Maintaining the stability of this system is one of the fundamental problems, both for Croatia and for other EU member states. The aim of this paper is to analyse the efficiency and sustainability of the existing pension system in the Republic of Croatia and the identification of key parameters which determine its further development. The authors’ comparative analysis of the Croatian pension system with the pension systems of individual EU Member States investigates the compliance of the Croatian pension insurance with the European social model, and the impact of economic factors on the sustainability of this system. Through the survey, authors explored the impact of non-economic factors on the pension system, and received relevant information about the attitudes of stakeholders (users of the current pension system, their awareness and confidence in the system, the willingness to participate in certain forms of pension insurance (in particular those that are voluntary and expectations of the insured on the return on investment, and the threshold of satisfaction on investments in pension funds.

Academics' conceptions of teaching sustainability

OpenAIRE

Wyatt, Margaret

2017-01-01

Over the last decade a growing number of universities have committed to ensuring that sustainability is integral to higher education with the intent of preparing eco-literate graduates who can make positive contributions to the sustainability of the environment. With particular consideration for the increasingly internationalised teaching environment of many higher education institutions, this study sought to explore how academics' conceptions of teaching sustainability might d...

Win-wins in NTFP market chains? How governance impacts the sustainability of livelihoods based on Congo Basin forest products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ingram, V.J.

2012-01-01

Exploring the interrelationships between governance, poverty alleviation and sustainability impacts in the framework of market chains for non-timber forest products originating from the Congo Basin. The research focuses on how governance arrangements help or hinder access to forest resources and

Energy Sustainability and Its Impacts on Croatian Tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marinela Krstinić Nižić

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and environmental protection projects play a pivotal role in tourism. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO addresses resource management and energy use as one of the major issues. The main goal of the paper is to present the economic–financial analysis and the assessment of investment projects in the construction of a conventional mid-size hotel using fossil fuels and a mid-size hotel based on sustainable principles and renewable energy sources. Comparative analysis of conventional and energy efficient hotels is used to calculate the key financial indicators in decision making. Case study shows that the introduction of renewable energy sources meets the needs of modern guests and increases the hotel's competitiveness, while the effects of energy sustainability reflect on the environment and reduced CO2 emissions. Based on the results, the paper suggests measures for improving energy sustainability in hotels and other tourism facilities. The paper is intended for those who deal with theoretical and practical issues of energy sustainability in tourism, tourism certificates, renewable energy sources and investment costs―scientists, researchers, PhD candidates and students as a basis for further comparative studies and benchmarking. It can also be useful for a considerably wider circle of users―managers at all levels and other business decision makers, as well as proprietors, investors, and creditors.

Sustainable Soesterkwartier

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abrahams, H.; Goosen, H.; Jong, de F.; Sickmann, J.; Prins, D.

2010-01-01

The municipality of Amersfoort wants to construct an endurable and sustainable eco-town in the Soesterkwartier neighbourhood, by taking future climate change into account. The impact of climate change at the location of the proposed eco-town was studied by a literature review.

Strength training in community settings: impact of lay leaders on program access and sustainability for rural older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Washburn, Lisa T; Cornell, Carol E; Phillips, Martha; Felix, Holly; Traywick, LaVona

2014-09-01

The effect of volunteer lay leaders on availability and sustainability of strength-training programs for older adults has not been well explored. We describe implementation of the StrongWomen strength training program by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, and report on the relationship between delivery approach (agent-led, lay-led, or combination of agent- and lay-led) and program access and sustainability. All state Extension agents (n = 66) were surveyed on program implementation, continuance, and use of lay leaders. Program records were used to identify the number of trained lay leaders. Regression models were used to examine the relationship between delivery approach and group availability. Counties using lay leaders had twice as many groups as counties using only agents. There was a significant, positive relationship between the number of lay leaders and the number of groups. Counties using lay leaders were 8.3 times more likely to have continuing groups compared with counties not using lay leaders. Program continuance was significantly and positively associated with lay leader use. Lay delivery expanded access to strength training programs and increased the likelihood that programs would continue. This approach can be used to increase access to and sustainability of strength training programs, particularly in resource-constrained areas.

Sustainability Impact of Nanomaterial Enhanced Lithium Ion Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Ganter, Matthew

Energy storage devices are becoming an integral part of sustainable energy technology adoption, particularly, in alternative transportation (electric vehicles) and renewable energy technologies (solar and wind which are intermittent). The most prevalent technology exhibiting near-term impact are lithium ion batteries, especially in portable consumer electronics and initial electric vehicle models like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. However, new technologies need to consider the full life-cycle impacts from material production and use phase performance to the end-of-life management (EOL). This dissertation investigates the impacts of nanomaterials in lithium ion batteries throughout the life cycle and develops strategies to improve each step in the process. The embodied energy of laser vaporization synthesis and purification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was calculated to determine the environmental impact of the novel nanomaterial at beginning of life. CNTs were integrated into lithium ion battery electrodes as conductive additives, current collectors, and active material supports to increase power, energy, and thermal stability in the use phase. A method was developed to uniformly distribute CNT conductive additives in composites. Cathode composites with CNT additives had significant rate improvements (3x the capacity at a 10C rate) and higher thermal stability (40% reduction in exothermic energy released upon overcharge). Similar trends were also measured with CNTs in anode composites. Advanced free-standing anodes incorporating CNTs with high capacity silicon and germanium were measured to have high capacities where surface area reduction improved coulombic efficiencies and thermal stability. A thermal stability plot was developed that compares the safety of traditional composites with free-standing electrodes, relating the results to thermal conductivity and surface area effects. The EOL management of nanomaterials in lithium ion batteries was studied and a novel

The Role of Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Development: Multidimensional Indicators as Decision-Making Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Nocca

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The concept of sustainable development has been the main topic of many international conferences. Although many discussions are related to the role of cultural heritage in sustainable development, they develop only on theoretical level. The answer to the main question, that is if the cultural landscape can play a role in sustainable development, could be positive only if we are able to produce empirical evidence about its contribution to improve economic, social, and environmental productivity of the city. It is necessary to produce empirical evidence to demonstrate that cultural heritage conservation/valorization is an investment and not a cost. To date, there are few researches about the indicators that are able to support the relationship between cultural heritage conservation/regeneration and sustainable development. This paper intends to go beyond this limit and approach this issue in operational terms. It is focused on the role that cultural heritage can play in the sustainable development framework. An assessment framework that is able to capture the multidimensional benefits of cultural landscape conservation/valorization is proposed here starting from the analysis of 40 case studies of culture-led regeneration projects. A matrix of multidimensional indicators (divided into nine categories about the impacts produced by these 40 cultural heritage conservation/valorization projects and its critical analysis is here proposed, mainly focusing the attention on the double relationship between the tourism sector and climate change. Although the analyses often refer to sustainability, it is not concretely addressed because there is an imbalance among the dimensions: in most cases, only the economic component is highlighted, leaving out the social and environmental dimensions. Furthermore, the impacts related to cultural-led projects are mainly interpreted in terms of tourism and real estate impacts.

Minerals sustainability, emerging economies, the developing world and the ‘truth’ behind the rhetoric

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petterson, Michael G.

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the principles and applications of sustainable development as applied to minerals (sustainable minerals. The key pillars of sustainable minerals are well known and include economic, community, environmental, and political considerations. The ideal solution is one that finds a balance between community benefit, economic development, profit, and minimal negative environmental and political impacts. This is, of course, fine in theory but in the ‘real world’ difficult to achieve. From a geoscience perspective this paper argues that non-private sector geoscientists have a crucial role to play in developing the sustainable minerals paradigm to an intellectually mature and usable form. The geoscience approach includes re-interpreting the rich legacy of geoscience data and acquisition of new data (geological mapping, 3 and 4D modelling, geophysical and geo­chemical information and contextualizing this information with socio-economic and environmental data (e.g. ethnicity, social mix, wealth indicators, environmental sensitivity indicators to assist with strategic and localized decision-making, maximizing benefits, and minimizing adverse impacts. This approach also involves modelling the full lifecycle of minerals, mines, mineral commodities, and mineral-bearing land in an attempt to quantify benefits and disbenefits of mineral extraction. One crucial key element of a sustainable minerals approach is a mix between ‘hard’ science and social science and genuine inclusion and consultation with stakeholders, especially impacted communities. As geoscientists we are in a position to explain clearly the benefits of mineral development to society and the disbenefits of ‘nimbyism’ (e.g. exporting problems to countries less able to manage mineral extraction and promote a ‘custodianship’ ethos of mineral development that is the only way to realizing the key principle of sustainability, i.e. leaving the planet in a state that our

Shared and disorder-specific task-positive and default mode network dysfunctions during sustained attention in paediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and obsessive/compulsive disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke J. Norman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD and obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD share problems with sustained attention, and are proposed to share deficits in switching between default mode and task positive networks. The aim of this study was to investigate shared and disorder-specific brain activation abnormalities during sustained attention in the two disorders. Twenty boys with ADHD, 20 boys with OCD and 20 age-matched healthy controls aged between 12 and 18 years completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI version of a parametrically modulated sustained attention task with a progressively increasing sustained attention load. Performance and brain activation were compared between groups. Only ADHD patients were impaired in performance. Group by sustained attention load interaction effects showed that OCD patients had disorder-specific middle anterior cingulate underactivation relative to controls and ADHD patients, while ADHD patients showed disorder-specific underactivation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex/dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (IFG. ADHD and OCD patients shared left insula/ventral IFG underactivation and increased activation in posterior default mode network relative to controls, but had disorder-specific overactivation in anterior default mode regions, in dorsal anterior cingulate for ADHD and in anterior ventromedial prefrontal cortex for OCD. In sum, ADHD and OCD patients showed mostly disorder-specific patterns of brain abnormalities in both task positive salience/ventral attention networks with lateral frontal deficits in ADHD and middle ACC deficits in OCD, as well as in their deactivation patterns in medial frontal DMN regions. The findings suggest that attention performance in the two disorders is underpinned by disorder-specific activation patterns.

Growth, Development and Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina-Virginia Dragulanescu

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Describing the relationship of interdependence through the materials balance, will be argued how the economy is a subset of the environment and the environment the natural limit to any economic initiative, or the limits imposed by the laws of thermodynamics. The theoretical debate moves, then, from the concept of growth to that of development, understood this in its three dimensions: economic, social, environmental. Bring the different environmental positions in four versions of sustainability, with the gained awareness that it’s “a spectrum of overlapping sustainability positions from very weak to very strong”.

Impact of knee support and shape of tabletop on rectum and prostate position

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenbakkers, Roel J. H. M.; Duppen, Joop C.; Betgen, Anja; Lotz, Heidi Th; Remeijer, Peter; Fitton, Isabelle; Nowak, Peter J. C. M.; van Herk, Marcel; Rasch, Coen R. N.

2004-01-01

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of different tabletops with or without a knee support on the position of the rectum, prostate, and bulb of the penis; and to evaluate the effect of these patient-positioning devices on treatment planning. METHODS AND MATERIALS: For 10 male volunteers, five MRI scans

On the sustainability of aquaponics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Konig

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Aquaponics is an evolving closed-system food production technology that integrates recirculating aquaculture with hydroponics. In this paper we give a brief literature overview of the sustainability aspects of aquaponics by discussing its social, environmental, and economic impacts in different potential settings. The technology might be applied to commercial or community based urban food production, industrial scale production in rural areas, small scale farming in developing countries or as systems for education and decoration inside buildings. We conclude that due to the different potential applications and settings for installing the technology, sustainability impacts need to be considered separately and that due the complexity within markets, value chains, communities, urban and rural infrastructure  and policy settings, further research and data acquisition is needed to be able to assess all sustainability aspects.

Towards sustainability assessment follow-up

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus, E-mail: a.morrison-saunders@murdoch.edu.au [Murdoch University (Australia); North-West University (South Africa); Pope, Jenny, E-mail: jenny@integral-sustainability.net [North-West University (South Africa); Integral Sustainability (Australia); Curtin University (Australia); Bond, Alan, E-mail: alan.bond@uea.ac.uk [North-West University (South Africa); University of East Anglia (United Kingdom); Retief, Francois, E-mail: francois.retief@nwu.ac.za [North-West University (South Africa)

2014-02-15

This paper conceptualises what sustainability assessment follow-up might entail for three models of sustainability assessment: EIA-driven integrated assessment, objectives-led integrated assessment and the contribution to sustainability model. The first two are characterised by proponent monitoring and evaluation of individual impacts and indicators while the latter takes a holistic view based around focused sustainability criteria relevant to the context. The implications of three sustainability challenges on follow-up are also examined: contested time horizons and value changes, trade-offs, and interdisciplinarity. We conclude that in order to meet these challenges some form of adaptive follow-up is necessary and that the contribution to sustainability approach is the best approach. -- Highlights: • We explore sustainability follow-up for three different sustainability models. • Long-time frames require adaptive follow-up and are a key follow-up challenge. • Other key challenges include interdisciplinarity, and trade-offs. • Sustainability follow-up should be a direction of travel and not an outcome. • Only the follow-up for contribution to sustainability model addresses sustainability challenges sufficiently.

Towards sustainability assessment follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus; Pope, Jenny; Bond, Alan; Retief, Francois

2014-01-01

This paper conceptualises what sustainability assessment follow-up might entail for three models of sustainability assessment: EIA-driven integrated assessment, objectives-led integrated assessment and the contribution to sustainability model. The first two are characterised by proponent monitoring and evaluation of individual impacts and indicators while the latter takes a holistic view based around focused sustainability criteria relevant to the context. The implications of three sustainability challenges on follow-up are also examined: contested time horizons and value changes, trade-offs, and interdisciplinarity. We conclude that in order to meet these challenges some form of adaptive follow-up is necessary and that the contribution to sustainability approach is the best approach. -- Highlights: • We explore sustainability follow-up for three different sustainability models. • Long-time frames require adaptive follow-up and are a key follow-up challenge. • Other key challenges include interdisciplinarity, and trade-offs. • Sustainability follow-up should be a direction of travel and not an outcome. • Only the follow-up for contribution to sustainability model addresses sustainability challenges sufficiently

Organising Sustainability Competencies through Quality Management: Integration or Specialisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanajah Siva

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A significant step in integrating environmental sustainability into daily operations is through product development. One way to achieve such integration of environmental considerations into product development is by relating sustainability competencies to practices of Quality Management. However, practices seem to vary for how competencies within environmental sustainability are organised in order to make sustainability more actionable. This study explores two ways of organising sustainability competencies in product development: integration and specialisation. The organisation of sustainability competency is illustrated through two cases; one case in which sustainability is integrated with the quality management competency, and the other in which a new competency focusing on sustainability has been added as a separate function in product development. It is suggested that the organisation of sustainability competency influences the extent of environmental impact. Further, trade-offs, such as material source versus weight may not be exploited when sustainability is integrated as one area of responsibility for another specialty competency, suggesting a lack of sufficient competency within environmental sustainability to recognise potential trade-offs between—for example—quality and environmental impact.

A New Approach for Assessing Aquifer Sustainability and the Impact of Proposed Management Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, J. J., Jr.; Whittemore, D. O.; Wilson, B. B.

2015-12-01

Aquifers are under stress worldwide as a result of large imbalances between inflows and outflows. These imbalances are particularly severe in aquifers in semi-arid regions that are heavily pumped for irrigation, such as the High Plains aquifer (HPA) in the United States. The water resources community has responded by placing an increasing emphasis on more sustainable management plans. To aid in the formulation of such plans, we have developed a simple, water-balance-based approach for rapid assessment of the impact of proposed management actions and the prospects for aquifer sustainability. This theoretically sound approach is particularly well suited for assessing the short- to medium-term (years to a few decades) response to management actions in seasonably pumped aquifers. The net inflow (capture) term of the aquifer water balance can also be directly calculated from water-level and water-use data with this approach. Application to the data-rich portion of the HPA in the state of Kansas reveals that practically achievable reductions in annual pumping would have a large impact. For example, a 22% reduction in average annual water use would have stabilized areally averaged water levels across northwest Kansas from 1996 to 2013 because of larger-than-expected and near-constant net inflows. Whether this is a short-term phenomenon or a path to long-term sustainability, however, has yet to be determined. Water resources managers are often in a quandary about the most effective use of scarce funds for data collection in support of aquifer assessment and management activities. This work demonstrates that a strong emphasis should be placed on collection of reliable water-use data; greater resources devoted to direct measurement of pumping will yield deeper insights into an aquifer's future. The Kansas HPA is similar to many other regional aquifers supporting critically needed agricultural production, so this approach should prove of value far beyond the borders of Kansas.

Sustainability considerations for electricity generation from biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, Annette; Strezov, Vladimir; Evans, Tim J.

2010-01-01

The sustainability of electricity generation from biomass has been assessed in this work according to the key indicators of price, efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, availability, limitations, land use, water use and social impacts. Biomass produced electricity generally provides favourable price, efficiency, emissions, availability and limitations but often has unfavorably high land and water usage as well as social impacts. The type and growing location of the biomass source are paramount to its sustainability. Hardy crops grown on unused or marginal land and waste products are more sustainable than dedicated energy crops grown on food producing land using high rates of fertilisers. (author)

Sustainable development of Russian regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. D. Kuz’menkova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development of administrative-territorial units (ATU refers to the main directions of Russian Federation state policy to ensure the security of the national economy to meet the vital needs of people and the preservation of such a possibility for the future generations. The article describes and analyzes the factors that have the most significant impact on the level of ATE development. The dynamics of the gross output of agriculture in Russia and its critical evaluation are presents. It was revealed that the development of the region is the basis of the national economy security. At present, the concept of “sustainable development” in Russia is relevant and the role of regions in the sustainable development of the Russian Federation is constantly increasing. Stability of self-financing of the regional economy is achieved through conducting effective fiscal, financial, credit, tax and price policy, establishment of equal inter-budgetary relations with the federal center, the development of the securities market, increasing the volume of exports. Conducted research allowed: to identify the main factors influencing the sustainable development of Russia regions. The reasons for the backlog of economy of the Smolensk region of the nationwide growth rate and direction of their elimination are examined. Formation of the forecast of domestic agriculture development in the period up to 2020 should be based on the priority position of the industry in the agricultural sector, which is determined by its decisive role in meeting the population’s needs for basic food products. Prospective volumes of production of major agricultural products are based on the need to meet the challenges provided by the Russian Federation Government Decree.

Sustainable Supply Chain Based on News Articles and Sustainability Reports: Text Mining with Leximancer and DICTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongwook Kim

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to explore sustainable supply chain management (SSCM trends, and firms’ strategic positioning and execution with regard to sustainability in the textile and apparel industry based on news articles and sustainability reports. Further analysis of the rhetoric in Chief executive officer (CEO letters within sustainability reports is used to determine firms’ resoluteness, positive entailments, sharing of values, perception of reality, and sustainability strategy and execution feasibility. Computer-based content analysis is used for this research: Leximancer is applied for text analysis, while dictionary-based text mining program DICTION and SPSS are used for rhetorical analysis. Overall, contents similar to the literature on environmental, social, and economic aspects of the triple bottom line (TBL are observed, however, topics such as regulation, green incentives, and international standards are not readily observed. Furthmore, ethical issues, sustainable production, quality, and customer roles are emphasized in texts analyzed. The CEO letter analysis indicates that listed firms show relatively low realism and high commonality, while North American firms exhibit relatively high commonality, and Europe firms show relatively high realism. The results will serve as a baseline for providing academia guidelines in SSCM research, and provide an opportunity for businesses to complement their sustainability strategies and executions.

Athletic Trainers' Attitudes and Perceptions of Environmental Sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Potteiger, Kelly; Pitney, William A; Cappaert, Thomas A; Wolfe, Angela

2017-12-01

  Environmental sustainability efforts are becoming a critical concern in health care. However, little is known regarding how athletic trainers feel about the environment or what can be done to reduce the environmental impact of the practice of athletic training.   To examine athletic trainers' attitudes toward and perceptions of factors related to environmental sustainability.   Sequential, mixed methods using a survey, focus groups, and personal interviews.   Field study.   Four hundred forty-two individuals completed the survey. Sixteen participated in the qualitative portion.   Quantitative results from the Athletic Training Environmental Impact Survey included data from a 5-point Likert scale (1 = lowest rating and 5 = highest rating). Descriptive statistics and 1-way analyses of variance were used to describe perceptions and determine differences in mean opinion, National Athletic Trainers' Association district, and use of green techniques. Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively.   The mean score for opinion of the environment was 3.30 ± 0.52. A difference was found between opinion and National Athletic Trainers' Association district ( F 9, 429 = 2.43, P = .01). A Bonferroni post hoc analysis identified this difference ( P = .03) between members of District 2 (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) and District 9 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee). An inductive analysis resulted in 3 emergent themes: (1) barriers to using green techniques, (2) motivators for using green techniques, and (3) solutions to overcoming the barriers. The information gleaned from participants in the qualitative portion of the study can be useful for clinicians wishing to implement basic conservation efforts in their practice settings and may guide future sustainability projects.   Overall, participants reported a positive opinion of environmental sustainability topics related to athletic

Impact of socioeconomic position and distance on mental health care utilization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Packness, Aake; Waldorff, Frans Boch; Christensen, René dePont

2017-01-01

Purpose: To determine the impact of socioeconomic position (SEP) and distance to provider on outpatient mental health care utilization among incident users of antidepressants. Method: A nationwide register-based cohort study of 50,374 person-years. Results: Persons in low SEP were more likely...

Sustainability Impact Assessment of two forest-based bioenergy production systems related to mitigation and adaption to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Gartzia-Bengoetxea, Nahia; Arias-González, Ander; Tuomasjukka, Diana

2016-04-01

New forest management strategies are necessary to resist and adapt to Climate Change (CC) and to maintain ecosystem functions such as forest productivity, water storage and biomass production. The increased use of forest-based biomass for energy generation as well as the application of combustion or pyrolysis co-products such as ash or biochar back into forest soils is being suggested as a CC mitigation and adaptation strategy while trying to fulfil the targets of both: (i) Europe 2020 growth strategy in relation to CC and energy sustainability and (ii) EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy. The energy stored in harvested biomass can be released through combustion and used for energy generation to enable national energy security (reduced oil dependence) and the substitution of fossil fuel by renewable biomass can decrease the emission of greenhouse gases.In the end, the wood-ash produced in the process can return to the forest soil to replace the nutrients exported by harvesting. Another way to use biomass in this green circular framework is to pyrolyse it. Pyrolysis of the biomass produce a carbon-rich product (biochar) that can increase carbon sequestration in the soils and liquid and gas co-products of biomass pyrolysis can be used for energy generation or other fuel use thereby offsetting fossil fuel consumption and so avoiding greenhouse gas emissions. Both biomass based energy systems differ in the amount of energy produced, in the co-product (biochar or wood ash) returned to the field, and in societal impacts they have. The Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) was used for modelling both energy production systems. ToSIA integrates several different methods, and allows a quantification and objective comparison of economic, environmental and social impacts in a sustainability impact assessment for different decision alternatives/scenarios. We will interpret the results in order to support the bioenergy planning in temperate forests under the

Sustainable Business Models through Service Design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prendeville, S.M.; Bocken, N.M.P.

2017-01-01

In the face of growing sustainability challenges, pressure on businesses to decouple environmental impacts from growth is mounting. New sustainable business models can be a systemic driver for change in industry and the wider business innovation literature suggests that strategic design approaches

Investigating mass customization and sustainability compatibilities ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the relationships between sustainability and mass customization in the business field. First a literature review investigates their enablers. This section ends with empirical conclusions about the impact of mass customization on sustainability highlighting some complementarities between these two ...

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIC FACTOR IN THE ENERGY INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CÎRNU Doru

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We propose to conceive an environmental strategy intended to integrate harmoniously Gorj energy industry with principles of sustainable development. The sustainable development complies trinomial: ecological-economic-social. In our view, sustainable development, requires clean water and unpolluted air, land consolidated rejuvenated forests, biodiversity and protected nature reserves, churches and monasteries secular admired by visitors, welcoming places entered in the natural and cultural harmony. It is also necessary to reduce the pressure generated by socio-economic factors on the environment and the principles of sustainable development. The quality of life in urban and rural areas show extreme differences compared to European standards. For efficiency, we addressed the modeling method by designing a model valid for all thermoelectric power plants based on fossil fuels, allowing simultaneously, so adding value and environmental protection. The general objective that we propose for the environment, natural resources and patrimony, is related to the prevention of climate change by limiting the emission of toxic gases and their adverse effects on the environment The achievement of strategic objectives and implementation of proposals submitted, we consider that would have a double impact, on the one side, to protect the environment and the quality of life and, on the other side a positive influence on economic and social level.

Nanotechnology for sustainability: what does nanotechnology offer to address complex sustainability problems?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiek, Arnim, E-mail: arnim.wiek@asu.edu; Foley, Rider W. [Arizona State University, School of Sustainability (United States); Guston, David H. [Arizona State University, Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (United States)

2012-09-15

Nanotechnology is widely associated with the promise of positively contributing to sustainability. However, this view often focuses on end-of-pipe applications, for instance, for water purification or energy efficiency, and relies on a narrow concept of sustainability. Approaching sustainability problems and solution options from a comprehensive and systemic perspective instead may yield quite different conclusions about the contribution of nanotechnology to sustainability. This study conceptualizes sustainability problems as complex constellations with several potential intervention points and amenable to different solution options. The study presents results from interdisciplinary workshops and literature reviews that appraise the contribution of the selected nanotechnologies to mitigate such problems. The study focuses exemplarily on the urban context to make the appraisals tangible and relevant. The solution potential of nanotechnology is explored not only for well-known urban sustainability problems such as water contamination and energy use but also for less obvious ones such as childhood obesity. Results indicate not only potentials but also limitations of nanotechnology's contribution to sustainability and can inform anticipatory governance of nanotechnology in general, and in the urban context in particular.

Nanotechnology for sustainability: what does nanotechnology offer to address complex sustainability problems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiek, Arnim; Foley, Rider W.; Guston, David H.

2012-01-01

Nanotechnology is widely associated with the promise of positively contributing to sustainability. However, this view often focuses on end-of-pipe applications, for instance, for water purification or energy efficiency, and relies on a narrow concept of sustainability. Approaching sustainability problems and solution options from a comprehensive and systemic perspective instead may yield quite different conclusions about the contribution of nanotechnology to sustainability. This study conceptualizes sustainability problems as complex constellations with several potential intervention points and amenable to different solution options. The study presents results from interdisciplinary workshops and literature reviews that appraise the contribution of the selected nanotechnologies to mitigate such problems. The study focuses exemplarily on the urban context to make the appraisals tangible and relevant. The solution potential of nanotechnology is explored not only for well-known urban sustainability problems such as water contamination and energy use but also for less obvious ones such as childhood obesity. Results indicate not only potentials but also limitations of nanotechnology’s contribution to sustainability and can inform anticipatory governance of nanotechnology in general, and in the urban context in particular.

Determinants and Sustainability of House Prices: The Case of Shanghai, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gao Lu Zou

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Recent housing policies include measures for home purchase control and shanty town redevelopment. This study proposes sustainable pricing, in that the long-run equilibrium price is determined by the fundamentals of house prices. We argue that changes in CPI might have led to rapidly growing house prices and rather high price levels. We investigate the long-run or short-run impacts of new commodity housing completions, transacted square meters of commodity housing, and CPI for house prices in Shanghai. We adopt monthly data for the period of 2005–2010. We test for unit roots using both the ADF and PP techniques and structural breaks using both the Zivot-Andrews (Model B and Perron (Model C methods. Considering Cheung-Lai and Reinsel–Ahn finite-sample corrections, the results suggest a long-run equilibrium. Housing completions negatively impact house prices in the short run. A positive volume-price relationship is suggested. Housing sales affect house prices in the short run but not vice versa. Hence, the empirical evidence supports the search model. In addition, CPI is strongly exogenous with respect to the long-run relationship and thus is a long-term determinant of house prices. CPI also positively and drastically influences house prices in the short run. Therefore, a reduction in inflation rate could stabilize house prices, increasing the chances of sustainable prices in the future.

Wrapping Our Brains around Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Ann Curran

2009-03-01

Full Text Available As many of us begin to embrace the concept of sustainability, we realize that it is not simply something that we ‘do.’ Rather, sustainability is a destination that we aspire to reach with the selection of the sustainable pathways that we choose as we proceed along the journey. We are embarking on a new journey with the creation of Sustainability, an on-line, open access journal. As stated on the journal’s website, Sustainability is an international and cross-disciplinary scholarly journal of environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability of human beings, which provides an advanced forum for studies that are related to sustainability and sustainable development. To genuinely wrap our brains around the impact that our actions have on the sustainability of our planet, we must first understand something of the big picture and have a firm grasp of the terminology. To help further clarify the elusive term ‘sustainability,’ without attempting to provide an exact definition, this paper outlines various, inter-related concepts and basic practices and approaches that are being used in the name of sustainability, including: traditional end-of-pipe control strategies, life cycle, environmental sustainability, urban sustainability, industrial ecology, business sustainability, sustainable supply chain systems, sustainability indicators and metrics, green chemistry and green engineering, design for the environment, sustainable buildings, eco-tourism, and renewable and sustainable energy and fuels.

Residents’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Tourism Development in a Historical-Cultural Village: Influence of Perceived Impacts, Sense of Place and Tourism Development Potential

OpenAIRE

He Zhu; Jiaming Liu; Zongcai Wei; Weiheng Li; Lei Wang

2017-01-01

This study aims to assess the residents’ support for sustainable tourism development in a destination that is in the initial tourism development stage. Residents’ perception of sustainable tourism development potential, sense of place, perceived tourism impacts, and tourism development support were involved in this study. A total of 331 completed questionnaire surveys were collected in Luozhou, a historical-cultural village in China. The empirical data were analyzed using a structural equatio...

The inherent dangers of using computable general equilibrium models as a single integrated modelling framework for sustainability impact assessment. A critical note on Boehringer and Loeschel (2006)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scrieciu, S. Serban

2007-01-01

The search for methods of assessment that best evaluate and integrate the trade-offs and interactions between the economic, environmental and social components of development has been receiving a new impetus due to the requirement that sustainability concerns be incorporated into the policy formulation process. A paper forthcoming in Ecological Economics (Boehringer, C., Loeschel, A., in press. Computable general equilibrium models for sustainability impact assessment: status quo and prospects, Ecological Economics.) claims that Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models may potentially represent the much needed 'back-bone' tool to carry out reliable integrated quantitative Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIAs). While acknowledging the usefulness of CGE models for some dimensions of SIA, this commentary questions the legitimacy of employing this particular economic modelling tool as a single integrating modelling framework for a comprehensive evaluation of the multi-dimensional, dynamic and complex interactions between policy and sustainability. It discusses several inherent dangers associated with the advocated prospects for the CGE modelling approach to contribute to comprehensive and reliable sustainability impact assessments. The paper warns that this reductionist viewpoint may seriously infringe upon the basic values underpinning the SIA process, namely a transparent, heterogeneous, balanced, inter-disciplinary, consultative and participatory take to policy evaluation and building of the evidence-base. (author)

CDM sustainable development impacts developed for the UNEP project 'CD4CDM'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olhoff, Anne; Markandya, Anil; Halsnaes, Kirsten; Taylor, Tim

2004-07-01

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an innovative cooperative mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol, is designed with the dual aim of assisting developing countries in achieving sustainable development (SD) and of assisting industrialised countries in achieving compliance with their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction commitments. The SD dimension is not merely a requirement of the CDM; it should be seen as a main driver for developing country interest in participating in CDM projects. This is so, since apart from GHG emission reductions CDM projects will have a number of impacts in the host countries, including impacts on economic and social development and on the local environment. Furthermore, the selecting of the SD criteria and the assessment of the SD impacts are sovereign matters of the host countries in the current operationalisation of the Kyoto Protocol. National authorities can thus use the SD dimension to evaluate key linkages between national development goals and CDM projects, with the aim of selecting and designing CDM projects so that they create and maximise synergies with local development goals. (au)

Assessment of the contribution of sustainability indicators to sustainable development: a novel approach using fuzzy set theory