Elaine Tweneboah Lawson, Fidelia Ohemeng, Jesse Ayivor, Melissa Leach, Linda Waldman and Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu
Bats provide many ecosystem services and have intrinsic value. They also act as host reservoirs for some viruses. Several studies have linked zoonotic diseases to bats, raising…
Abstract
Purpose
Bats provide many ecosystem services and have intrinsic value. They also act as host reservoirs for some viruses. Several studies have linked zoonotic diseases to bats, raising questions about the risks bats pose, especially to people living close to bat roosts. Through a series of case studies undertaken in three communities, the purpose of this paper is to explore the various ways in which framings and perceptions of bats can influence a potential spillover of bat-borne viruses to humans in Ghana. It assesses the social, cultural and economic factors that drive human-bat interactions and posits that understanding the socio-economic contexts in which human-bat interactions occur is key to the success of future communication strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data collection methods included participatory landscape mappings, transect walks, focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys.
Findings
Perceptions of bats vary and are influenced by personal beliefs, the perceived economic benefits derived from bats and the location of bat roosts. Activities that put people at risk include bat hunting, butchering and consumption of poorly prepared bat meat. Those who live and work close to bat roosts, and bat hunters, for example, are more at risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease spillover. Disease risk perceptions were generally low, with high levels of uncertainty, indicating the need for clearer information about personal protective practices.
Originality/value
The results of the study may well inform future risk communication strategies as well as help in developing effective responses to zoonotic disease risk, disease outbreaks and the conservation of bats in communities.
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The awareness of the environment, climate, and nature that emerged worldwide in the 1970s has paralleled the actions taken in the European Union (EU) under the United Nations. In…
Abstract
The awareness of the environment, climate, and nature that emerged worldwide in the 1970s has paralleled the actions taken in the European Union (EU) under the United Nations. In the EU, the environmental title was given a legal basis for the first time with the entry into force of the Single European Act, and action on the environment and climate change became the main priorities of the EU in all areas with the amendments in the founding treaties. This study examines environmental and climate policy in the EU and the process known as the green transition in the EU. The study consists of three sections. The first section discusses the environment and the development of climate change awareness in the world and the EU, while the second section underlines the EU's environmental and climate change approaches and policies. The third and final section highlights the development and green transition strategy adopted by the EU in 2019 and the “Green Deal” strategy paper. The study concludes that the “Green Deal” is at the heart of the so-called green transition process in the EU, that the goals sought by the Deal are very ambitious, that it is almost impossible to achieve the corresponding goals without an effective/coercive political mechanism, and that the EU is planning a green transition rather than a green transformation.
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Alicia Martín-Navarro, María Paula Lechuga Sancho and Salustiano Martínez-Fierro
This paper aims to analyse through a bibliometric study the academic literature that relates entrepreneurship to foods.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse through a bibliometric study the academic literature that relates entrepreneurship to foods.
Design/methodology/approach
A database of 1,300 papers published in the ISI Web of Science was generated. The bibliometric techniques allowed us to describe scientific literature evolution, most productive authors, institutions and countries, most relevant sources and documents, trend topics and social structure.
Findings
The results illustrate an upward trend, more accentuated in the last four years, in publishing papers relating entrepreneurship to the food industry.
Originality/value
This research is novel because although numerous articles relate the food industry to entrepreneurship, no bibliometric articles that analyse the scientific production that relates both terms have been found in the literature.
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Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Melissa Pike and Maggie J. Watson
Birds are implicated in spoiling and decay of buildings, especially through their droppings. Pigeons are considered the main culprits, and several studies have examined the…
Abstract
Purpose
Birds are implicated in spoiling and decay of buildings, especially through their droppings. Pigeons are considered the main culprits, and several studies have examined the effects and chemistry of accumulations of droppings without evidence to the exact origins of the source of the excreta. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews and summarises the state of knowledge with regard to the impact of bird excreta on buildings. It experimentally assesses the acidity of fresh pigeon excreta with different diets and examines the development of the acidity of the excreta after voiding.
Findings
Feral pigeons in urban settings are known to be fed by a range of foods. Urban food scraps-derived diets produce more acidic excreta than more natural diets such as seeds. This is a first study of its kind to examine the impact of a bird’s diet on the pH and thus the resulting (potential) decay of masonry.
Research limitations/implications
This study showed that from a management’s perspective, pigeons that subsist entirely on human provided foods will be depositing more initially acidic faeces. If faecal accumulation occurs; then, mould and other bacteria quickly alter the chemistry from acidic towards basic, but the damage may already be done.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study of its kind to examine the effects of fresh pigeon droppings of known origin and age once voided from the intestine. This allows the authors to assess the impact during the first few days.
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Melissa A. Harrington, Tomasz G. Smolinski, Andrew Lloyd and Mazen Shahin
Typical undergraduate research programs involving HBCU students have several weaknesses including the short time of the students’ involvement in the research and the variable…
Abstract
Typical undergraduate research programs involving HBCU students have several weaknesses including the short time of the students’ involvement in the research and the variable level of commitment of faculty mentors. Another issue at HBCUs is the lack of both start-up support for new faculty and external research support, which limits the quality of research projects and the pool of faculty mentors. We designed our NSF-funded undergraduate research program to be a professional development program to help faculty expand their research program and improve their mentoring skills, while at the same time involving undergraduates in research.
Faculty in STEM departments competed for Student Support Grants that provided support for research-related equipment, supplies, travel, and up to two students for one year. Faculty submitted proposals describing their research project, the role of students in the project, and their student mentoring plan. Faculty mentors could recruit their own students for the project, and both faculty mentors and students were required to commit to the research project for one year.
Outcomes of the program were very positive for both the faculty and the students. All of the involved students presented their research at conferences and several were co-authors on research publications. All but a few of the students continued working in research even after their time in the program was over. In addition, many of the supported faculty members were able to use the financial support as a springboard for successful applications for other grant programs.