Urban Seascaping – a multispecies marine landscape approach to rethink the current boundary between the city and the sea

Imagine a future where coastal cities evolve with marine ecologies as the sea level rises. “Urban Seascaping” is a design vision that turns the tide on traditional coastal development by asking: “How can coastal cities better integrate marine ecologies to redefine unsustainable urban growth in the face of climate change?” This visionary approach explores untapped possibilities for reimagining urban shorelines, placing the ocean’s living systems at the core of coastal life. It is about embracing and inviting the sea by spatially re-envisioning the dynamic interface between city and sea to ignite a deeper and more intuitive understanding of our neighbou

Reference conditions and threshold values for nitrate-nitrogen in New Zealand groundwaters

Management of groundwater quality is assisted by an understanding of reference conditions, which describe the concentration ranges expected for key substances in the absence of human impact. This study evaluates reference conditions for NO3–N in New Zealand groundwater based on three complementary methods: hierarchical cluster analysis, relationships to groundwater age, and regression against a measure of land-use impact. The three methods result in very similar national-scale estimates of reference conditions for NO3–N concentration in oxic, minimally impacted groundwater, with the 80th, 90th and 95th percentiles found to be 1.65 ± 0.12, 1.97 ± 0.14 and 2.32 ± 0.14 mg/l, respectively (weighted average ± 95% confidence level), in good general agreement with previous studies from New Zealand and overseas. Anoxic groundwaters were treated separately for definition of reference conditions, with the 80th and 90th percentiles of NO3–N found to be 0.04 ± 0.01 and 0.16 ± 0.01, respectively (the 95th percentile could not be estimated reliably). For both oxic and anoxic groundwater, where a site-specific investigation has not been conducted to estimate reference conditions at a local scale, we suggest that the 80th percentile is an appropriate national-scale default threshold, to match the thresholds used for surface waters under the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality

Identifying emotions in earthquake tweets

Christchurch, New Zealand experienced devastating earthquakes on September 4, 2010, and February 22, 2011, resulting in extensive infrastructural damage and leaving lasting psychological scars of fear, depression, shock, and anger among the local population. Even after thirteen years, the aftermath of these earthquakes continues to deeply affect these individuals, as they grapple with enduring emotional challenges. Social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), has emerged as a prominent platform for individuals to express their emotions, and during earthquake occurrences, people turn to Twitter to share their feelings in real-time. This study focuses on examining the emotional patterns exhibited in “earthquake tweets” posted by individuals affected by the Christchurch earthquakes between 2010 and 2019. We utilise machine learning techniques to classify these tweets into six classes of emotions of anger, fear, grateful, humour, sympathy and worry. The analysis shows a progressive increase in the percentage of tweets expressing fear and worry over the years. This finding indicates that the community continues to experience a heightened sense of fear and worry whenever earthquakes occu

The effects of a small dose of tannin supplementation on in vitro fermentation characteristics of different forages

Pastoral systems in New Zealand are under societal pressure due to their increasing negative environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementing a mixture containing hydrolysable and condensed tannins on the in vitro fermentation characteristics and gas production of three different forages, Lolium perenne, Medicago sativa, and Plantago lanceolata. Three fermentation runs of 48 h were conducted using the ANKOM gas production technique, with each pertaining to a particular forage with or without (control) tannin. Tannins were added to the fermentable substrate (i.e., forage) at a level of 0.3%. For each run, rumen fluid was collected from two fistulated Holstein Friesian × Jersey cows. The ANKOM RF gas production modules were used to monitor gas pressure and temperature every 5 min. At the end of each run, the pH of the fluid was measured, gas vials were taken for methane (CH₄) measurements and liquor samples were taken to measure volatile fatty acids (VFA) and NH₃ concentrations. The addition of tannins reduced the fractional rate of gas production for alfalfa (p ≤ 0.04) but increased it for ryegrass and plantain. There was a tendency for reduced gas production for ryegrass when tannins were added (p = 0.10). There was also a tendency for CH₄ production to reduce (p 0.05) or VFA concentrations (p > 0.05) when fermenting alfalfa. Under the condition of this study, these results may suggest that low-level tannin addition to the diet may affect rumen-fermentation pattern with a potential reduction of CH₄ production in Lolium perenne-based diets. Further research is required on the effect of low levels of tannin supplementation under ex vitro and in vivo conditions as tannin supplementation effects might be substrate-dependen

Special Olympics and serious leisure

Those who engage in serious leisure activities (such as sports) gain a sense of achievement, an increase in self esteem, stress reduction, skill acquisition, and an enhanced level of self-confidence. They also deepen their social relationships, form friendships, expand their social networks and have an enhanced social life. In addition, serious leisure participants are engaged in a ‘social world’ that has its own actors, organisations and practices (Unruh, 1979). Using social worlds as a research lens can enable us to understand the mechanisms that deliver benefits for subjective wellbeing. To date, social world theory has not been applied within the context of intellectually disabled people’s leisure experiences. Disabled people have been overlooked by leisure and event studies researchers in the past, but there is now an emerging body of work investigating their experiences. Music events (Bossey, 2020, 2024; Dinis et al., 2020; Alvarado, 2022), sporting events (dos Santos Neto et al., 2019; McGillivray et al., 2019), rural events (Sage & Flores, 2019) and arts events (Walters, 2023) have all featured. However, it is predominantly the voices of people with physical disabilities who have been heard in these studies: the experiences of people with intellectual isabilities, who are frequently subject to societal narratives of ‘no vision, no future, no contribution, a burden on others’ (Mullen & Wills, 2016, p. 6), have largely been neglected. This UK-based project addresses these gaps in our understanding, adopting social world theory as the lens through which to investigate the importance of sport as serious leisure for intellectually disabled people. Specifically, this qualitative project seeks to answer the research question, “How does participation in the social world of Special Olympics contribute to quality of life for athletes with intellectual disabilities and their wider networks?” Preliminary findings from the analysis of semi-structured interviews will be presented

Claiming the right to the city: The politics of urban reform coalitions in Lagos

This paper examines how grassroots coalitions mobilize for the right to the city, the politics they encounter and the extent to which their actions result in urban reforms benefiting marginalized communities. The paper invokes a discourse on the right to the city as the mobilizing frame for grassroots social movement encounters against exclusionary development and displacement. Drawing on interviews and documents, we situate this discourse within two case studies of forced eviction in Lagos, Nigeria. To ground the investigation and highlight the tactics and politics of coalitions, the paper applies the conceptual framework of the invited–invented space of encounter. Our findings reveal that state-led neoliberal urban restructuring and spatial displacement in Lagos have triggered grassroots movements and the formation of coalitions, which, depending on the politics encountered, have both enhanced and constrained the struggle for transformative urban reforms that enable the right to the city for marginalized communities

The effect of treating farm dairy effluent with varying rates of poly-ferric sulphate on reducing phosphorus leaching through simulated pipe-drain systems

The application of farm dairy effluent (FDE) to land is a significant source of phosphorus entering waterways. Studies have shown that treating FDE with 250 mg Fe/L poly-ferric sulphate (PFS) reduced phosphorus (P) leaching, however it remains unknown if this can be achieved at lower rates of PFS. This study investigated the efficacy of three PFS rates (250, 167, and 83 mg Fe/L) to treat effluent and reduce P leaching compared to untreated FDE, relative to background leaching levels (given as the ‘leaching loss factor’). The application of PFS 250 and PFS 167 proved equally effective, reducing the dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) leaching loss factor by 111.1% and 107.8%, respectively. The total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) leaching loss factor reductions from the PFS 250 and PFS 167 were 115.5% and 112.9%, respectively, and the total phosphorus (TP) leaching loss factor reductions were 85.0% and 90.7%, respectively. Reductions greater than 100% indicate that treatments reduced leaching losses to levels below those of the control. The PFS 83 reduced the DRP and TDP leaching loss factors by 80.6% and 80.2%, respectively. This suggests that P leaching can be significantly reduced using a lower rate of PFS than previously reported

Climate governance and carbon transparency: Evidence from nonfinancial firms

Purpose: The Asia-Pacific region faces high stakeholder pressures because of its significant carbon emissions and vulnerability to climate change impacts. In this context, integrating climate concerns into corporate governance has the potential to enhance corporate sustainability commitment and address climate concerns from various stakeholder groups. This study examines the determinants of corporate carbon transparency from the perspective of climate governance among Asia-Pacific nonfinancial firms as well as the role of stakeholder pressures in shaping this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of 5,391 firm-year observations from 2016 to 2021, this study uses an ordinal logistic model to analyze how climate governance affects firm carbon transparency, measured by the Carbon Disclosure Project score. This study also uses a lead-lag approach and Heckman’s two-stage method to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns. Findings: Climate governance has a significant positive impact on the level of carbon transparency. Specifically, climate governance mechanisms, including the existence of a sustainability committee, climate risk awareness and environmental, social and governance-related incentives, can promote the level of carbon transparency in Asia-Pacific non-financial firms. Further analysis reveals that stakeholder pressures influence this relationship, with a stronger positive effect observed for firms listed on foreign exchanges and those operating in countries with civil law systems. Originality/value: This study contributes to the growing body of research on how climate governance may encourage more transparent carbon disclosure in Asia-Pacific nonfinancial firms. These insights can help investors, managers and policymakers promote a more sustainable and environmentally responsible business landscape in the region

Alleviating multidimensional energy poverty and energy unaffordability in rural areas: the role of renting-out land

Renting-out land allows rural farmers to receive rent and reallocate household labor from farm work to more rewarding off-farm activities, leading to income generation and potentially reducing rural energy poverty. However, sparse literature focuses on investigating this association. This study addresses the gap by exploring four waves (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018) of data collected by the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We use two dichotomous variables, multidimensional energy poverty (MEP) and energy unaffordability, to capture energy poverty and consider a dichotomous variable representing whether farmers rent out their land as the key explanatory variable. The recursive bivariate probit model estimates the impact of renting-out land on energy poverty. We also investigate the association between renting-out land size and rural energy poverty. The conditional mixed process model captures the left-censored nature of renting-out land size, addresses its endogeneity issues, and regresses its impacts on MEP and energy unaffordability. Our results show that promoting farmers' renting-out land and enlarging the renting-out land size are promising strategies to alleviate rural energy poverty. In particular, renting-out land significantly decreases the odds of being MEP and energy unaffordability by 12.6% and 22.0%, respectively. In addition, one more unit of land (i.e. mu) rented out can reduce the incidence of MEP and energy unaffordability by 17.3% and 15.3%, respectively. Our findings inspire stakeholders to realize their pursuit of rural energy poverty reduction. Political instruments should be manifested as promoting the adoption and the scale of renting-out land

Infrastructural, performative and feral: Understanding agri-environmental data relations in Aotearoa New Zealand

In agri-environmental decision-making, data are essential to defining problems and informing solutions. Nevertheless, it is important to consider not only how data can be used but also what data does in agri-environmental contexts. We argue that the liveliness of data relations can be explored by attending to their infrastructural, performative and feral qualities. Taking digital agriculture and climate change adaptation as examples, we also consider how these interconnected theses could be applied. This critical approach to data relations and their generative effects will help avoid unintended consequences and shape alternative agri-environmental future