Conventional techniques for assessing and monitoring water quality have been primarily based either on the use of living material as “bio‐indicators” or on the employment of…
Abstract
Conventional techniques for assessing and monitoring water quality have been primarily based either on the use of living material as “bio‐indicators” or on the employment of analytical measurements to provide information about the physical and chemical status of aquatic ecosystems. The former have predominantly utilised the presence of selected species to indicate the quality of waters in which they are found, whilst the latter require an adequate understanding of the toxic effects of specific physio‐chemical phenomena in order that their ecological impacts may be fully gauged. These approaches are well established but more recently attention has turned to the use of sub‐lethal effects to give a better measure of the sensitivity of populations and individuals to environmental change. Chronic exposure to toxic compounds in freshwater may allow individuals to survive but, owing to impaired growth, altered reproductive potential or behaviour modification, the population structure and dynamics may show symptoms of exposure. This paper explores whether the evaluation of sub‐lethal effects may provide the basis of techniques which are capable of providing ecologically relevant information about pollution impacts in a cost‐effective manner.
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Nicholas J. Barnes and Paul S. Phillips
Outlines some of the benefits that can arise through partnership working between higher education institutions and other local organisations in the environment sector. Aims to…
Abstract
Outlines some of the benefits that can arise through partnership working between higher education institutions and other local organisations in the environment sector. Aims to contribute to the debate on sustainability by highlighting the capacity for partnerships to “unlock” value retained within single organisations. Argues for the need for more creativity in the ways in which HEIs interact with other organisations in the environment sector, in order to harness mutually‐advantageous opportunities. The situation in Northamptonshire (central England) is described and case studies are included to demonstrate some local successful partnership‐based projects and to highlight the wider approach. Suggests this approach can offer considerable scope for the personal development of academics and to benefit HEIs, the local communities they serve and the economies they operate within. States, in addition, that partnership working can significantly contribute to the process of sustainable management within HEIs and external organisations by promoting the effective use of human resources, information and finance for environmentally beneficial activity.
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Ruth Tennant, Cristina Goens, Jane Barlow, Crispin Day and Sarah Stewart‐Brown
There is a growing policy imperative to promote positive mental health as well as prevent the development of mental health problems in children. This paper summarises the findings…
Abstract
There is a growing policy imperative to promote positive mental health as well as prevent the development of mental health problems in children. This paper summarises the findings of published systematic reviews evaluating such interventions. A search was undertaken of ten electronic databases using a combination of medical subject headings (MeSH) and free text searches. Systematic reviews covering mental health promotion or mental illness prevention interventions aimed at infants, children or young people up to age 19 were included. Reviews of drug and alcohol prevention programmes and programmes to prevent childhood abuse and neglect were excluded because these have been the subject of recent good quality reviews of reviews. A total of 27 systematic reviews were included. These targeted a range of risk and protective factors, and a range of populations (including parents and children). While many lacked methodological rigour, overall the evidence is strongly suggestive of the effectiveness of a range of interventions in promoting positive mental well‐being, and reducing key risk factors for mental illness in children. Based on this evidence, arguments are advanced for the preferential provision of early preventive programmes.
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María Reina Santiago-Rosario and Kent McIntosh
Racial/ethnic inequities in school discipline are a widespread problem in education. A promising intervention approach is to focus on discipline decisions as an adult behavior and…
Abstract
Racial/ethnic inequities in school discipline are a widespread problem in education. A promising intervention approach is to focus on discipline decisions as an adult behavior and use data to identify situations in which discipline decisions show the greatest disparities for underserved students (e.g., Black, Latinx, Indigenous, students with disabilities). Following a three-step process educators (1) work to identify situations and/or personal states conducive to biased decision-making, (2) develop self-management routines to be used in real time when facing those moments, and (3) teach these strategies to students. By engaging in this work, educators learn to become self-aware of moments when decisions are likely influenced by personal biases known as vulnerable decision points (VDPs). VDP identification helps educators identify actions that may not align with personal values (developing educator self-awareness). Once aware of VDP characteristics, educators can map a neutralizing routine or self-management strategies that slow down decision-making and automatic responses during VDPs. This chapter describes a school-wide approach used to support educators with identification of VDPs, the development of neutralizing routines for themselves, and then teaching these strategies to students.
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Nicholas J. Ward, Jay Otto and Kari Finley
Our commitment to the goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries requires consideration of innovative traffic safety thinking. There is growing recognition that this…
Abstract
Our commitment to the goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries requires consideration of innovative traffic safety thinking. There is growing recognition that this goal requires a change in our culture as it relates to traffic safety (traffic safety culture). And yet, there is no consensus about a definition for traffic safety culture, no explicit theory-based model to predict the effect of traffic safety culture, and no practical guidance for applying these models to develop effective culture-based strategies. This chapter seeks to address these omissions from both an academic and practitioner perspective.
This chapter proposes a standard definition of traffic safety culture based on a model that integrates relevant theories of willful and intentional behavior. Importantly, a set of 10 principles are identified that provide the context and foundation from which the definition and model are derived. An understanding of these principles provides the logic and purpose for developing strategies that can transform traffic safety culture:
- (1)
Traffic crashes are a significant public health concern.
- (2)
Most traffic crashes are caused by human behavior, not the roadway, vehicle, or environment (e.g., weather).
- (3)
Human behavior is influenced by beliefs.
- (4)
Beliefs develop based on experience (actual and vicarious) and socialization.
- (5)
Socialization is the process whereby an individual develops beliefs which align with the culture of a group with which the individual identifies (social identity).
- (6)
Individuals can form an identity with many different groups in their social environment, each with a different degree of bonding.
- (7)
A stronger bond results in greater conformity and motivation to abide with the group culture.
- (8)
The shared beliefs of a group that affect behaviors related to traffic safety are called traffic safety culture.
- (9)
The traffic safety culture of a group emerges from actions taken by stakeholders across the social ecology.
- (10)
Traffic safety culture strategies increase actions by stakeholders across the social ecology to improve traffic safety culture among various groups.
Traffic crashes are a significant public health concern.
Most traffic crashes are caused by human behavior, not the roadway, vehicle, or environment (e.g., weather).
Human behavior is influenced by beliefs.
Beliefs develop based on experience (actual and vicarious) and socialization.
Socialization is the process whereby an individual develops beliefs which align with the culture of a group with which the individual identifies (social identity).
Individuals can form an identity with many different groups in their social environment, each with a different degree of bonding.
A stronger bond results in greater conformity and motivation to abide with the group culture.
The shared beliefs of a group that affect behaviors related to traffic safety are called traffic safety culture.
The traffic safety culture of a group emerges from actions taken by stakeholders across the social ecology.
Traffic safety culture strategies increase actions by stakeholders across the social ecology to improve traffic safety culture among various groups.
For the academic, these principles can also serve as hypotheses that can be explored to expand our knowledge about traffic safety culture. For the practitioner, these principles represent the basic logic and impetus for transforming traffic safety culture. By effectively communicating these principles and their connecting logic, we can express the importance of traffic safety culture and the need for supporting resources with other stakeholders.
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Nicholas Kavish and Brian Boutwell
Criminology has produced more than a century of informative research on the social correlates of criminal behavior. Recently, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has…
Abstract
Purpose
Criminology has produced more than a century of informative research on the social correlates of criminal behavior. Recently, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has begun to apply evolutionary principles, particularly from life history theory (LHT), to the study of crime. As this body of research continues to grow, it is important that work in this area synthesizes evolutionary principles with the decades of sociological research on the correlates of crime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The current paper reviews the brief history of research applying life history concepts to criminology, providing an overview of the underlying framework, exploring examples of empirically testable and tested hypotheses that have been derived from the theory, discussing cautions and criticisms of life history research, and discussing how this area of research can be further integrated with existing theory.
Findings
A growing body of research has, with relative consistency, associated indicators of a faster life history strategy with aggression and violence in humans and across the animal kingdom. Research into these associations is still vulnerable to genetic confounding and more research with genetically sensitive designs is needed. The use of hypotheses informed by evolutionary insight and tested with genetically sensitive designs provides the best option for understanding how environmental factors can have an impact on violent and criminal behavior.
Originality/value
The current paper provides an updated review of the growing application of LHT to the study of human behavior and acknowledges criticisms and areas of concern that need to be considered when forming hypotheses for research.
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Matthew J. Spaniol and Nicholas J. Rowland
Scenarios are cognitive aids for thinking about the future in a sustained and disciplined manner. Because scenarios must be facilitated, scenarios must be considered in the…
Abstract
Scenarios are cognitive aids for thinking about the future in a sustained and disciplined manner. Because scenarios must be facilitated, scenarios must be considered in the context of their practice. In the strategic management literature, there has been a considerable conversation on the practical difference between “hot” and “cold” cognition. Thinking in this conventional literature demonstrates how the facilitators of scenario planning workshops establish and channel the productive cognition of their clients away from hot cognition and toward cold cognition. But how? As a thought experiment, we examine whether the sociological concept of “emotional labor” helps explain the cognition management of clients by facilitators during scenario planning. We end by considering how a deeper practical understanding of emotional labor might help facilitators identify mechanisms and adapt their tools to better manage the cognitive-affective dimensions of scenario planning in practice.
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It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields…
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It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new…
Abstract
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new constitution, it is the first in which all the sections will be actively engaged. From a membership of eight hundred in 1927 we are, in 1930, within measurable distance of a membership of three thousand; and, although we have not reached that figure by a few hundreds—and those few will be the most difficult to obtain quickly—this is a really memorable achievement. There are certain necessary results of the Association's expansion. In the former days it was possible for every member, if he desired, to attend all the meetings; today parallel meetings are necessary in order to represent all interests, and members must make a selection amongst the good things offered. Large meetings are not entirely desirable; discussion of any effective sort is impossible in them; and the speakers are usually those who always speak, and who possess more nerve than the rest of us. This does not mean that they are not worth a hearing. Nevertheless, seeing that at least 1,000 will be at Cambridge, small sectional meetings in which no one who has anything to say need be afraid of saying it, are an ideal to which we are forced by the growth of our numbers.