bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Parental Mediation Moderate the Longitudinal Association among Bystanders and Perpetrators and Victims of Cyberbullying?
Authors: Wright Michelle F. , Wachs Sebastian
Published: November 2018

The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderation of parental mediation in the longitudinal association between being a bystander of cyberbullying and cyberbullying perpetration and cyberbullying victimization. Participants were 1067 7th and 8th graders between 12 and 15 years old (51% female) from six middle schools in predominantly middle-class neighborhoods in the Midwestern United States. Increases in being bystanders of cyberbullying was related positively to restrictive and instructive parental mediation. Restrictive parental mediation was related positively to Time 2 (T2) cyberbullying victimization, while instructive parental mediation was negatively related to T2 cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Restrictive parental mediation was a moderator in the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization. Increases in restrictive parental mediation strengthened the positive relationship between these variables. In addition, instructive mediation moderated the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization such that increases in this form of parental mediation strategy weakened the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization. The current findings indicate a need for parents to be aware of how they can impact adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying as bullies and victims. In addition, greater attention should be given to developing parental intervention programs that focus on the role of parents in helping to mitigate adolescents’ likelihood of cyberbullying involvement.
Lessons from the South: Research Collaboration as an Educational Practice
Authors: Wildemeersch Danny , Masschelein Jan
Published: November 2018

Between 1998 and 2011, we coordinated three consecutive research projects in three different provinces of Northern Vietnam. The projects aimed at improving the living conditions of various ethnic minorities in these areas. We focused on poverty alleviation, water management, and nature conservation. In all cases, there was a close collaboration between Vietnamese and Belgian researchers. The participation of the local population was an important ambition in the research. In this paper, we describe the three projects and analyze the relationships among the Belgian and Vietnamese researchers on the one hand, and between the researchers, the authorities, and the local population on the other hand. Furthermore, we examine the opportunities and obstacles to interdisciplinary and intercultural cooperation, with the help of critical theories on participation and decolonization. The three consecutive research projects can be considered as intensive learning processes for the researchers, the local communities, and the authorities. The paper begins with a fragment from the log of one of the participating researchers.
Genetic Testing by Sports Medicine Physicians in the United States: Attitudes, Experiences, and Knowledge
Authors: Taranto Eleanor , Fishman Michael , Benjamin Holly , Ross Lainie
Published: November 2018

It remains unknown whether and how sports medicine physicians currently utilize genetic testing in their clinical practice. This study sought to assess knowledge of, experience with, and attitudes towards genetic testing by sports medicine physicians in the United States (US). An email with a survey hyperlink was distributed twice to members of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) listserv in September 2016, with approximately a 10% response rate. Questions focused on knowledge of, experience with, and attitudes towards testing for different genes related to sports proficiency, injury risk, and disease risk. Few AMSSM physicians believe that genetic testing to adapt training (12%) or to choose a sport (2%) is ready for clinical adoption. Most respondents self-reported minimal knowledge about, and limited experience with, genetic testing. The main exception was screening for sickle cell trait (SCT) for which most (84%) reported moderate/significant/expert knowledge and over two-thirds had ordered testing. Although most respondents thought it appropriate to counsel and test for health conditions associated with cardiac and connective tissue disorders in the setting of a positive family history, only a minority had been asked to do so. Five or fewer respondents (2%) had been asked to test for performance-associated variants (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) II and Alpha-Actinin 3 (ACTN3)), and five or fewer (2%) would recommend changes based on the results. Our study provides a baseline of current US sports medicine physicians’ minimal experiences with, and knowledge of, genetic testing. The findings of our study indicate that sports medicine physicians require further genetics education as it relates to sports and exercise in order to be prepared to competently engage with their patients and to develop sound professional organizational policies.
The Effects of the RCS’s Application in the Value Added Tax Collecting Process on the Perception of SME Taxpayer in Korea’s Trade Activity: Transparency and Fairness in Trade
Authors: Yoon Sung Man
Published: November 2018

Value Added Tax (VAT) is the largest source of global tax revenue. However, it faces issues of tax avoidance, such as the black-market and missing trader intra-community fraud. Many studies have postulated that the introduction of the Reverse Charge System (RCS) will contribute to the enhancement of transparency and fairness in trade for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that supply goods or provide services. This study analyzes SME taxpayers’ perception of transparency and fairness in trade resulting from the introduction of the RCS into the South Korean VAT system. In B2B transactions that handle gold, copper, and steel scrap, large companies often abuse their bargaining power over smaller firms by not paying VAT with their purchase or reducing the prices to equal VAT, leading to low trade transparency. When it comes to gold, copper and steel scrap trading, the imbalance in bargaining power results in one of the parties being unable to reap maximum benefits because of unfairness. SMEs with relatively weak bargaining power suffer from unfair trading practices such as price cutting and the imposition of VAT by their counterparts. Since the introduction of the RCS, however, SME taxpayers appear to believe that trade fairness has improved. This study’s findings reveal that SMEs are more likely to perceive improvement in trade transparency and fairness since the implementation of the RCS, indicating that the RCS has exerted a positive influence on SMEs. This study provides important policy implications for countries that intend to implement the RCS by offering empirical evidence of its benefits.
Reverse Logistics of Postconsumer Medicines: The Roles and Knowledge of Pharmacists in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: Aquino Simone , Antonio Spina Glauco , Leitão Zajac Maria Antonietta , Luiz Lopes Evandro
Published: November 2018

Environmental contamination due to the disposal of expired or obsolete drugs is a concern, since there is no specific Brazilian legislation, regarding disposal by the final consumer, thus reflecting the need for reverse logistics of medicines, after their consumption. The objective of this study was to survey the knowledge of pharmacists regarding their role in the reverse logistics of medicines and to understand the contribution of reverse logistics, aimed at the appropriate disposal of Group B waste, on a voluntary basis, by the population, in the municipality of São Paulo. A survey conducted through interviews with a hundred and sixty-one pharmacists demonstrated that 35% have partial knowledge of the postconsumer reverse logistics of their place of work and 16.8% have complete knowledge of the environmental harm resulting from the contamination of medicinal waste. The pharmacists also reported (10%) that there should be an educational plan for clients, and 50% of them agreed that incentives and disclosure, regarding the importance of reverse logistics for medicines, should be provided to consumers.
Key Factors to Green Building Technologies Adoption in Developing Countries: The Perspective of Chinese Designers
Authors: Wang Wei , Zhang Shoujian , Su Yikun , Deng Xinyang
Published: November 2018

Green building is deemed an effective means to realize the sustainable development of environment, economy and society in the construction industry. Green building technologies (GBTS) are important to realize green buildings. In order to make the application of GBTS be adopted and popularized effectively, it is especially important for us to gain thorough comprehension of the key problems that affect the adoption of GBTS. The target of this paper is to better understand the adoption of GBTS from the perspective of designers. This article utilizes a questionnaire to investigate Chinese architectural designers. Through establishing a structural equation model and an analysis of the survey data, the key factors influencing the adoption of GBTS by designers in the Design Company were found out. The results denote that the adoption motivation, the capability of GBTS, the knowledge structure and the defects of GBTS are the significant factors that affect designers’ adoption behaviors. However, the management support of GBTS has no significant effect on designers’ adoption behavior. The research results are helpful to improve adoption of GBTS in design units and accelerate the transformation of GBTS achievements. Additionally, they can promote the application of GBTS in the field of construction. Based on the quantitative theoretical model (the structural equation model), this paper finds out the key factors that affect the application of GBTS from the perspective of designers, enriching the theoretical methods of GBTS research and complementing the relevant literature of GBTS research. Future research will analyze the adoption behavior of GBTS from the point of other stakeholders and from the internal level of the design units.
Company Risk Management in Light of the Sustainability Transition
Authors: Schulte Jesko , Hallstedt Sophie I.
Published: November 2018

Many of the most important business and economic risks are directly linked to environmental and social issues. This includes both threats and opportunities, not only in relation to reputation, which is often mentioned in this context, but, even more importantly, in relation to innovation capability and legislative change on inevitably more and more sustainability-driven markets. It is, however, unclear through which mechanisms such sustainability risks currently affect companies and how they can be systematically identified and managed. Based on the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, this study investigates the dynamics and implications of society’s sustainability transition from a company risk management perspective. In addition, exploratory and descriptive studies were conducted at two large product innovation companies to identify current risk management practices and preconditions for sustainability integration. The results reveal that a society moving closer towards a collapse of environmental and social systems leads to increasing sustainability-related threats for unsustainable businesses and increasing opportunities for sustainable businesses. Also, risk management is found to be a promising way for maneuvering in a smart zone between being too passive and being too pro-active in relation to sustainable innovation. The study participants at the case companies were knowledgeable about risk management in general but were largely unfamiliar with risks associated with sustainability and no processes or support tools exist to work systematically with such risks. Key steps to accomplishing an integration of a strategic sustainability perspective into risk management are proposed as: (i) identifying the effects of sustainability issues on internal and external stakeholder value; (ii) actively including sustainability in objective setting and cascading objectives across the levels of the organizational hierarchy; and (iii) developing concrete support for identifying, assessing, and managing economic sustainability risks. Thereby, companies can enhance their competitiveness while providing leadership in the sustainability transition.
Understanding Perceptions of the Bioeconomy in Austria—An Explorative Case Study
Authors: Stern Tobias , Ploll Ursula , Spies Raphael , Schwarzbauer Peter , Hesser Franziska , Ranacher Lea
Published: November 2018

The bioeconomy provides new approaches to deal with environmental challenges by substituting fossil fuels for sustainable, renewable resources and fuels. In Europe, this process and discourse has mainly been driven from a strategic top-down level. This leads to a lack of inclusion of societal actors, which can consequently lead to reduced acceptance and engagement. Henceforth, in this study, we focus on exploring how the bioeconomy is perceived, understood and evaluated by a wider audience. Through convenience sampling, 456 interviews conducted with students, employees, farmers and pensioners living in Austria provide the database for the study. Due to the novelty of the study’s objective and the consequentially explorative research approach, qualitative and quantitative social science research methods are applied. The results indicate that the bioeconomy concept is associated with various themes and visions. These associated topics also have negative or positive implications. Furthermore, a division between two visions of the bioeconomy, a technology- and industry-driven vision and a vision defined by regional environmentalism, can be observed. The feasibility of a future bioeconomy identifies as the most critical aspect. Sustainable consumption was mentioned as an important topic of the bioeconomy by the participants, a result that could be of particular interest when creating an inclusive bioeconomy, since it calls for active involvement of consumers. The study also shows that responding farmers tend to believe that the bioeconomy will lead to more inequity.
Safety Evaluation of Absorbent Hygiene Pads: A Review on Assessment Framework and Test Methods
Authors: Bae Jihyun , Kwon Hoonjeong , Kim Jooyoun
Published: November 2018

Disposable absorbent hygiene products have evolved for superior performance, enhancing the convenience of daily lives. However, the use of disposable hygiene pads has brought safety concerns on chemical exposure, and significant efforts have been made to assess the potential risks associated with use of hygiene pads. This article intends to overview the safety assessment framework of diapers and feminine pads, which includes hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and post-market risk management. Risk assessment of various constituents are reviewed for quantification methods and conservative estimation of exposure parameters. By reviewing the up-to-date considerations in risk assessment, we aim to provide insightful discussion on safety evaluation of current versions of disposable absorbent products. More clinical testing and post-market surveillance are needed for continuous monitoring of potential health impacts of advanced products and constituents.
The Relationship between the Physical Quality of Rice and the Market Price: A Case Study in Savannakhet, Laos, Using a Bayesian Approach
Authors: Kawamura Kensuke D. , Asai Hidetoshi , Kobayashi Shintaro , Souvannasing Soukasdachanh , Sinavong Phonevilay , Inthavong Thavone
Published: November 2018

The visual characteristics of rice grains play a primary role in determining the market price, and are used for grading systems in many rice-consuming countries. Laos is a rice-consuming country in Southeast Asia, but it does not have a functioning grading system. This study investigated the relationship between the physical quality of milled rice grains and the market price based on the Bayesian approach in Savannakhet, Laos. We collected 30 rice samples and their market prices from 12 shops, including imported rice from Thailand and Vietnam. The rice samples were scanned using a Grain Scanner, and the proportion of head rice (HR, %) was determined using physical traits (length, shape, color, etc.) based on the ‘Thai standard’ grading criteria. The relationship between the HR ratios and market prices was modeled with the Bayesian approach. For Laos’s product, the market price and HR ratio were lower than those for Thailand’s product. Based on the Bayesian framework, the results of Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations indicated that (1) the market price of Thailand’s product was mostly determined by the HR ratio, but other factors, such as aroma, were also suggested, especially in high-quality rice grains; (2) Laos’s product showed a positive correlation, but other factors had a greater influence on Laos’s product than Thailand’s product; and (3) no clear relationship was found in Vietnam’s product due to the limitation of a small number of samples, which was also considered a difference in consumer needs. These results indicated that the relationship between rice quality and market price for Laos’s product was unstable compared to that for Thailand’s product. To promote a more market-oriented agricultural sector, this pilot study has been broadened to examine other factors and extended to other cities or regions in Laos.
Are Chinese Residents Willing to Recycle Express Packaging Waste? Evidence from a Bayesian Regularized Neural Network Model
Authors: Dong Feng , Hua Yifei
Published: November 2018

While enriching people’s lives, the rapid development of online shopping has posed a severe challenge to the environment. Questionnaires focusing on the intention to recycle packaging waste are designed. These questionnaires contain first-level variables such as recycling behavior attitude, recycling behavior cognition, situational factors, historical recycling behavior, and recycling behavior intention. With the collected questionnaire data, a regression analysis is first conducted on the selection of variables and the effect of variable prediction. After ensuring the validity of the variables, 15 second-level variables are extracted into eight principal components using principal component analysis. These components serve as input to a Bayesian regularized neural network. Subsequently, a three-layer (8-15-1) neural network model is constructed; the trained neural network model achieves a high degree of fit between the predicted and measured values of the test set, thus further proving the rationality of the selected variables and the neural network model. Finally, this study uses the connection weights matrix of the neural network model and the Garson formula to analyze in depth the specific impact of each second-level variable on the intention to recycle packaging waste. Note that given the particularity of packaging waste recycling behavior, the impact on social norms, recycling behavior knowledge, values, and publicity on behavioral intentions in second-level variables is different from that obtained in similar previous studies.
How Long Do Return Migrants Stay in Their Home Counties? Trends and Causes
Authors: Bai Yunli , Wang Weidong , Zhang Linxiu
Published: November 2018

Return migration is an important form of rural labor mobility in China, and it has been given growing concern recently by governments in the background of rural revitalization. However, research covering the duration of stay in migrants’ home counties, a basic question of labor mobility and a precondition for policy making, is far from enough. The aim of this paper is to analyze the period of return for these migrants based on employment history data by tracking their mobility among rural laborers from 1998 to 2015. The data was collected from a randomized, nationally representative sample of 100 rural villages in five provinces of China. We find that only 22.3 percent of migrants returned from 1998 to 2015, and most return migrants still remained in their home counties as of 2015. Using the OLS, Tobit, and Heckman sample selection models, the results show that return migrants who are old, more educated, unmarried, and with children are more likely to stay longer in their home counties. From a development perspective, return migrants are expected to play an important role in the process of rural revitalization.
Territorial Conflicts, Agency and the Strategic Appropriation of Interventions in Kenya’s Southern Drylands
Authors: Kronenburg García Angela
Published: November 2018

A number of scholars have noted that interventions, such as development programmes and climate change adaptation projects, that simplify complex social realities and thus lose sight of the relational dynamics beyond the target or beneficiary group, risk contributing to conflict. This article examines how a series of interventions in a particular dryland area in southern Kenya became embroiled in a long-running territorial conflict between the Loita Maasai (the beneficiary community) and their neighbours, the non-beneficiary Purko Maasai. Based on ethnographic research and by taking a historical perspective, it shows how Loita Maasai leaders systematically appropriated these outside interventions, used and reworked them with the strategic aim of stopping land loss to ongoing Purko encroachment. The analysis reveals two ways in which Loita leaders realized this: (a) by using interventions to stake out spatial claims to land; and (b) by capitalizing on the tendency of interventions to simplify local contexts. This article contributes to the debate on the linkages between intervention and conflict by highlighting the agency of intervention beneficiaries and showing that, through their actions, interventions may unwittingly reproduce and even aggravate existing conflicts.
Does the Polycentric Urban Region Contribute to Economic Performance? The Case of Korea
Authors: Kwon Kyusang , Seo Minho
Published: November 2018

This study aims to explore whether and to what extent two types of polycentricity, morphological and functional, affect the level of urban economic performance. In the analysis, it is found that morphological polycentricity is positively associated with the level of labor productivity whereas functional polycentricity is negatively related to it. In the context of the Korean urban system, characterized by the domination of a few cities and high levels of population density, regions which are more morphologically polycentric and functionally monocentric are likely to have higher labor productivity. These results reflect the processes of agglomeration economies and their impact on urban dynamics. This study contributes to the debates on the impacts of polycentricity on economic performance by examining this relationship in the East Asian context, not in Europe or America, and by distinguishing between effects of two types of polycentricity.
Decoupling and Driving Factors of Economic Growth and Groundwater Consumption in the Coastal Areas of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea
Authors: Qiu Lei , Huang Jingyi , Niu Wenjuan
Published: November 2018

Seawater intrusion has occurred in the coastal area of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea as early as the 1970s, and the situation is worsening, with rapid socioeconomic development in recent years. Substantial amounts of groundwater have been exploited to support socioeconomic activities, especially agricultural activities, causing a reduction in the groundwater level, and hence the intrusion of seawater. This issue seriously restricts the sustainable socioeconomic development of these coastal areas. To this end, this paper applied the improved Tapio decoupling theory to analyze the degree of decoupling, and the spatial difference between the economic growth and the groundwater consumption of the five provinces and cities in the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea in the period of 2003–2016. Based on the improved STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) model and panel data, we determined the driving factors of groundwater consumption in the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. The results demonstrated that the effective irrigation area of farmland should be expanded, new water-saving technology should be introduced, the crop planting structure should be readjusted, and the consumption of groundwater should be reduced. By implementing these measures, it would be possible to contain seawater intrusion in the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea.
Production-Integrated Compensation in Environmental Offsets—A Review of a German Offset Practice
Authors: Druckenbrod Catharina , Beckmann Volker
Published: November 2018

Environmental offset schemes designed to compensate for adverse development impacts are found in countries worldwide, pursuing no-net-loss policy. In Germany, a practice combining environmental improvements with farming evolved in the early 2000s, known as production-integrated compensation (PIC) (Produktionsintegrierte Kompensation). This paper provides a review of PIC, presenting origins, legal and cost aspects, as well as examples of PIC practice. PIC key challenges are the complexity of environmental improvements of agrarian habitats and the high efforts for communication among diverse actors and for designing and monitoring PIC. Benefits for nature conservation lie in the protection of strongly endangered species and an increase of acceptance of compensation measures. Positive effects for farmers are the sustaining of arable farmland and involvement in setting up land management terms. Investors profit from the increased availability of sites. However, a specific legal framework for PIC is still developing and representation of PIC in offset registries in the German States is only very small. In conclusion, targeted design, continuous monitoring, and long-term financing provided, PIC may (a) increase offset efficiency by focusing on implementation while avoiding land purchase and physical investments and (b) increase offset effectiveness by high conservation benefits and a collaborative approach towards farmers.
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lighting Systems and Road Pavements in an Italian Twin-Tube Road Tunnel
Authors: Cantisani Giuseppe , Di Mascio Paola , Moretti Laura
Published: November 2018

This work calculates and discusses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of four scenarios composed of two types of road pavements and two types of lighting systems to be built in an Italian twin-tube road tunnel. A 20-year time horizon is adopted to assess the burdens of construction and maintenance of both flexible and rigid pavements and high-pressure sodium (HPS) and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, traffic, and switching on of lamps. All considered scenarios are comparable with each other in terms of technical performances, but significantly differ regarding their environmental consequences. The geometrical and technical characteristics of the examined scenarios comply with current Italian standards for highways. In all the examined cases, LCA is carried out according to the European standard, EN 15804, and includes 19 impact categories (IC). The analysis demonstrates that the use of more reflecting surface pavement materials (i.e., concrete vs. asphalt) and more performing lighting systems (i.e., LED vs. HPS) can effectively mitigate the deleterious burdens related to road construction, maintenance, and use. For most of the examined ICs, the most environment-friendly scenario has LED lamps and concrete pavement.
Comparing the Technology Trajectories of Solar PV and Solar Water Heaters in China: Using a Patent Lens
Authors: Wang Yawei , Urban Frauke , Zhou Yuan , Chen Luyi
Published: November 2018

China invests more in renewable energy than any other countries, such as in solar energy. The traditional literature maintains that these government-supported industries are more innovative than grassroots industries such as solar or thermal, which leads to debate. This study uses mixed methods, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to compare the technology trajectories of leading solar water heater (SWH) and solar photovoltaic (PV) firms in China. It concentrates on the following three aspects: trajectories of key technologies, patent citation network, and type of collaboration. Our analyses show that technology trajectories differ significantly between leading SWH firms and PV firms in China. We find that the Chinese SWH firms are core to international knowledge networks, and are following a market-driven innovation mode. In contrast, Chinese PV firms are close to the center of the network and government-driven. Research suggests that grassroots innovation, by doing, using, and interaction (DUI), can create short-term market development models relying on China’s traditional industry model, but cannot create a long-term international leading innovation model; only integrated science, technology, innovation modes (STI), and DUI innovation modes tend to result in international leadership in innovation.
The Creation of Learning Scales for Environmental Education Based on Existing Conceptions of Learning
Authors: Otsuka Keita , Nakamura Kazuhiko W. , Hama Yasukazu , Saito Kaoru
Published: November 2018

So far, evaluation of environmental learning has evaluated only single points in time; however, accumulated learning experiences should have greater effect on learning and on environmental problems. We investigate conceptions of learning and the accumulated educational experiences they reflect in the context of environmental education, which has a unique position in education systems. We developed and conducted a systematic survey in order to create a learning scale for environmental education conceptions; participants were Japanese high school students (N = 771). Analysis found that students’ conceptions of learning consist of six orientations: (1) Environmental Recognition/Conservation Responsibility Orientation, (2) Thought Expansion/Fulfillment, (3) Certainty/Applicability Orientation, (4) Teacher-Dependent Orientation, (5) Experience-Based Physical Activity Orientation, and (6) Duty-Adjusted Orientation. Factors (1), (2), and (5), above, are considered unique to environmental learning. Factor (1) reflects the societal content of environmental conservation, which is a criterion for evaluating environmental learning. In contrast, Factors (3), (4), and (6) are general educational factors mediated by elements such as academic achievement. The scale obtained from this research will help determine learners’ views of and degree of interest in environmental learning.
Using the Network and MCA on Tourist Attractions. The Case of Aeolian Islands, Italy
Authors: Nicolosi Agata , Laganà Valentina Rosa , Cortese Lorenzo , Privitera Donatella
Published: November 2018

This study highlights the preferences and motivations of tourists for the choice of destinations to visit. Natural, cultural, gastronomic attractions, places of consumption, and identity/immaterial motivations are examined through social network analysis and validated through the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The study explores the relational variables that can explain the attractiveness of the places and the propensity to visit them. To identify the visitor profiles and the reasons behind their choices, a sample survey was carried out in Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands, interviewing tourists, residents, and people present on the island for work reasons. From the results obtained, profiles emerged with very different characteristics. They vary among those who are attentive to the identity and sustainability of the territory and appreciate the beauty of the sea to others who are attracted mainly for places of consumption and gastronomy, and finally, to people who are indifferent to the attractiveness of the place. This study contributes to the knowledge of the tourist understanding of fragile places with a strong tourist attraction and provides indications for better use of the resources present, oriented towards eco-sustainable hospitality systems and the environment. The study discusses the implications of its findings for future research and provides insights for planning tourism services.
Training Secondary Education Teachers through the Prism of Sustainability: The Case of the Universitat de València
Authors: Aznar Pilar , Calero María , Martínez-Agut María Pilar , Mayoral Olga , Ull Àngels , Vázquez-Verdera Victoria , Vilches Amparo
Published: November 2018

Designing the training of future teachers through holistic and interdisciplinary visions is vital to developing coherent contents, epistemologies, and methodologies that put Education for Sustainability into action. The research presented here analyzes the teaching guides from the curriculum for the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teaching at the Universitat de València (Spain). A collaborative study on the inclusion of sustainability in a selected sample of teaching guides was conducted from an Action/Research methodological approach. The study includes an analysis of the competences identified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and their expected contribution to the 17 SDGs in the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The results of this research point to the need to promote collaborative work across disciplines in order to engage teachers in the transition to sustainability and encourage them to participate in the research process.
A Conceptual Framework for Heuristic Progress in Exploring Management Regime Shifts in Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation of Coastal Areas
Authors: Mathevet Raphaël , Allouche Aurélien , Nicolas Laurence , Mitroi Veronica , Fabricius Christo , Guerbois Chloé , Anderies John M.
Published: November 2018

Social conflicts related to biodiversity conservation and adaptation policy to climate change in coastal areas illustrate the need to reinforce understanding of the “matters of concern” as well as the “matters of fact”. In this paper, we argue that we must rethink adaptation from a new perspective, considering that humans together function as both ecological actors and social actors. Using international examples from the UNESCO world biosphere reserve network, we show that an ontological perspective may provide a simple and compact way to think about coupled infrastructure systems and systematic formalism, allowing for understanding of the relational matrix between actors, institutions and ecosystems. We contend that our formalism responds to three challenges. First, it encompasses the different regional contexts and policies that rely on the same ontology. Second, it provides a method to relate any local adaptation plan to the conservation paradigms that originate from the ecological modernization of policies. Third, it facilitates the discovery of drivers and processes involved in adaptation and management regime shifts by highlighting the way contextual factors configure, determine the structure of the action situation of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework (IAD) (Ostrom 2005), and how it operates.
Regional Aspects of a Climate and Energy Tax Reform in Norway—Exploring Double and Multiple Dividends
Authors: Johansen Ulf , Perez-Valdes Gerardo A. , Werner Adrian Tobias
Published: November 2018

We investigate the potential for double or even multiple dividends arising from a climate and energy tax reform (CETR), using a regional computable general equilibrium model. Such dividends indicate if government revenues raised from energy-related environmental taxes and recycled back to households or industries through (regional) social security contributions will yield welfare gains larger than gross cost. Building on existing double dividend theory, we broaden the scope by considering both social and regional aspects of a CETR. We explore the use of household transfers and regional payroll taxes as recycling instruments and investigate to what extent wage formation on the labor market has an effect. For Norway, our results indicate that a CETR may conflict with sub-national policy goals under all assessed scenarios. In particular, this holds for income inequality. Although our analysis concerns the social, economic and environmental aims of a Norwegian policy, the approach can be generalized to, e.g., a European context.
Integrating Personal and Career Counseling to Promote Sustainable Development and Change
Authors: Maree Jacobus Gideon , Di Fabio Annamaria
Published: November 2018

This article reports on the integration of personal and career counseling to promote sustainable development and change. An explorative, descriptive, instrumental, single-case study approach was followed. Qualitative and quantitative data collection strategies were used to collect data, and an integrative career construction counseling intervention was conducted. The intervention comprised, first, elicitation of the participant’s micro- and meso-career-life stories; second, integration of these stories into a coherent macro-story, with the participant’s authorization of the narrative; and, third, co-construction by the participant and the counselor of action steps to facilitate action and forward movement. Integrating personal and career counseling helped to address the participants’ deep-seated personal needs while simultaneously addressing his career counseling needs. Longitudinal, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research is essential to determine the value and importance of integrating personal and career counseling. This study contributed to expanding the research on interventions that integrate personal and career counseling, promoting the development of sustainable career-life projects.
Factors Aggregating Ability and the Regional Differences among China’s Urban Agglomerations
Authors: Liu Chengliang , Wang Tao , Guo Qingbin
Published: November 2018

Continuous aggregation of socioeconomic factors is the key issue of sustainable development in urban agglomerations. To date, more attention has been paid to single urban agglomeration than to multiple agglomerations. In this paper, China’s 19 urban agglomerations were selected as the case study and their spatial differences in factors aggregating ability were portrayed comparatively. Firstly, the spatial pattern of urban factors aggregating ability is relatively well distributed in all China’s cases, most noticeably in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, closely followed by the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations. However, more significant differences on factors aggregating ability are noticeably seen between cities than among urban agglomerations. Meanwhile, the rank-size structure distribution of factors aggregating ability in China’s 19 cases is in line with the Zipf’s law of their urban systems, and divided into three types: Optimized, balanced, and discrete. Furthermore, the urban factors aggregation ability in one urban agglomeration is roughly negatively correlated with its primacy ratio of factors aggregating ability distribution. Lastly, urban agglomerations with higher average values of factors aggregating ability are concentrated on the three major urban agglomerations: The Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Pearl River Delta. Otherwise, high-high clusters in the three urban agglomerations are distinctly observed as well.
The Effect of Inter-Organisational Collaboration Networks on Climate Knowledge Flows and Communication to Pastoralists in Kenya
Authors: Ofoegbu Chidiebere , New Mark George , Staline Kibet
Published: November 2018

In Kenya, pastoralists have utilized natural grasslands using practices that often result in overgrazing, low productivity and low income. Such practices have caused environmental problems, which could be exacerbated by climate change. Although knowledge on practices that increase pastoralists’ capacity to adapt to climate and environmental challenges is currently available, the adoption rate remains poor. Hence, there is growing interest in understanding how cross-scale inter-organizational collaboration process either facilitates or hinders climate knowledge communications to and uptake by pastoralists. This study used network analysis to identify how inter-organizational collaborations in knowledge production and dissemination shape knowledge flow and communication to pastoralists in Kenya. A knowledge mapping workshop, key informant interviews and questionnaire surveys were used to identify the key organizations involved in the generation, brokering, and dissemination of adaptation knowledge to pastoralists. Two networks of configurations were explored: (i) relations of collaboration in knowledge production and (ii) relations of collaboration in knowledge dissemination. Measure of clustering coefficient, density, core-periphery location, and degree centrality were used to analyze the network structure and cohesion, and its influence on knowledge flow and adoption. Findings revealed a strong integration across the network with research institutes, NGOs (Non-governmental organizations), and CBOs (Community based organizations) identified as among the central actors, based on their degree centrality. Further, we observed a higher density of ties among actors in the knowledge production network than the dissemination network. The lower density of the dissemination network indicates there are not that many activities by key organizations aimed at ensuring that knowledge reaches the users, compared to activities related to knowledge generation. This also results in poor feedback processes from local pastoralists to knowledge generators and brokers. Knowledge transfer and uptake could therefore be enhanced by improving dissemination activities and feedback mechanisms in the dissemination network as a means of capturing pastoralist perspectives on the relevance, reliability, and usability of knowledge for action. Reflection and revision can be used to improve knowledge so that it is more in sync with a pastoralist context.
Assessment of Ghana’s Comparative Advantage in Maize Production and the Role of Fertilizers
Authors: Scheiterle Lilli , Birner Regina
Published: November 2018

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops produced and consumed in West Africa, but yields are far under their potential and the production gap leads to growing import bills. After the structural adjustment program, fertilizer subsidies again became a popular intervention to increase yields in most African countries. Ghana introduced fertilizer subsidies in 2008, with high government expenses. This study assesses the competitiveness of Ghanaian maize production and the significance of socio-economic and management variables in determining high yields in northern Ghana. Household survey data and secondary data were applied in a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to test private and social profitability of the fertilizer subsidy policy. Additionally, a probit model is used to determine the characteristics that contribute to higher yields. The results suggest that production systems with Ghana’s above-average yields of 1.5 Mt/ha are profitable at household level and contribute to its economic growth, whereas production systems below this threshold report negative social profits and depend on government intervention. However, fertilizers did not increase the likelihood of a household to fall in the category of high-output production system, whereas the use of improved seeds and herbicides does. In conclusion, the analysis highlights the importance of additional measures, especially the use of supporting inputs as well as management practices, to increased maize productivity.
A Methodological Framework for Assessing Practicability of the Urban Space: The Survey on Conditions of Practicable Environments (SCOPE) Procedure Applied in the Case Study of Cagliari (Italy)
Authors: Garau Chiara , Annunziata Alfonso , Coni Mauro
Published: November 2018

Children’s independent activities within public spaces emerge as a fundamental condition for their development considered in the context of their needs: socialization, movement, autonomy, and enrichment of their creative, imaginative, and cognitive potential. The promotion of their independence represents a relevant issue for implementing the smart city paradigm. This paradigm calls for a methodological framework where the urban fabric’s performance is evaluated via comprehensive analytic protocols. The proposed study presents an audit tool for evaluating the quality of urban spaces in terms of their practicability by children: the Survey on Conditions of Practicable Environments (SCOPE). The practicability of this research is establishing the quality of urban spaces’ usability, and it is expressed in terms of compositional, configurational, functional, and social factors of the built environment organized within a framework articulated in seven key dimensions (connectivity, convenience, comfort, commitment, conviviality, conspicuousness, and coexistence). The introduction of the concept of practicability and of indicators incorporating the demand for a children-sensitive perspective in the project of public spaces determine the novelty of the SCOPE procedure. This methodology was applied to an area in Central Cagliari, Italy, to evaluate the usability of public spaces. The results reveal that the proposed methodology is relevant for implementing the smart city paradigm because it addresses children’s autonomy and their rights to the city by selecting and defining indicators to clarify and assess conditions of the built environment conducive to children’s autonomy and independent social activities.
Changing Consumption Patterns—Drivers and the Environmental Impact
Authors: Sharma Rasadhika , Nguyen Trung Thanh , Grote Ulrike
Published: November 2018

Economic growth coupled with population increase and globalization have engendered structural changes in consumption patterns around the world. Contingent on their composition, these changes can be demanding on natural resources and pose unsustainable challenges for the environment. The paper aims to provide a general framework to assess the link between changing consumption patterns and their environmental impact by focusing on the rising beef demand in Vietnam. It draws from secondary literature and data to find that the increased beef demand in Vietnam is mostly met domestically, but there is a major dependency on imports. Within Vietnam, the rising demand has contributed substantially to the carbon footprint and land use and raised waste disposal concerns. To understand the impact of Vietnamese beef demand at the global level, the paper looks at Australia. Carbon footprint and land use are estimated to provide a perspective on the plausible scale of environmental damage that can be ensued in the future. Changes in consumption patterns are an integral part of our world and will play a significant role in determining the sustainable future of our planet. Therefore, it is important to attain a better understanding of the theme and its possible impact on the environment.