Psychosocial impacts of hydraulic fracturing in Lancashire England

This thesis seeks to determine the psychosocial impact of hydraulic fracturing in Lancashire using the revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R). No research has been done in the UK on the community impacts of fracking concerning its social impacts in the form of psychosocial stress and community disruption, and cohesion. Data for the research were obtained through a purely quantitative approach. Survey questionnaires were administered in communities within 1 mile of the Preston-New-Road fracking site operated by Cuadrilla Mining Resources. The Preston-New-Road site is in Preston, Lancashire. It is in Poulton-le-Fylde in the Warton and Westby ward. Consistent with the survey research approach, this research adopted the cross-sectional approach of data collection. This approach is used to determine the prevailing characteristics of a population at a certain point in time. The survey questionnaires were mailed to respondents with a stamped envelope for return to the researcher. The postage package included an introductory letter, questionnaire, and a self-addressed post-paid return envelope. This study followed standard protocols for quantitative data analysis. Concepts of social capital, perception of recreancy, and community attachment, as well as the revised impact of event scale, were used to determine the initial categories or themes guiding the analysis of the empirical data. Bivariate analysis was used to check the significance of these three variables. The perception of recreancy indicative scale was significant with the IES-R scales, intrusion subscales, avoidance subscales, and the hyperarousal subscales. These findings indicate that as the perception of recreancy increases, psychosocial stress related to hydraulic fracturing would also increase. These research findings have both theoretical and policy implications. Theoretically, the use of the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and IES-R in natural resource extraction is very limited, and this research expands the literature in this regard. Practically, this thesis confirms that stress is indeed related to hydraulic fracturing. To deal with the stress associated with hydraulic fracturing or other mining activities, policymakers should consider the issue of trust. Measures should be put in place to ensure local residents have trust in the oil and gas companies operating in their communities

Environmental awareness perception of senior high school students in Ghana, the case of the Bolgatanga Municipality

This research examines environmental awareness perception among senior high school students in Ghana using socio-demographic indicators and the Environmental Awareness and Active Participation Scale. The research topic hinges on the notion that the attainment of the environmental components of sustainable development depends largely on the youth who are the future generation, and the custodians of the earth. Data for the research were obtained through a quantitative approach. Survey questionnaires were distributed to the three senior high schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The findings of this research show a high score on the Environmental Awareness and Activive Participation scale. This is an indication of the high environmental awareness perception of students via the educational system and by the media. The results also show that the major socio-demographic factor that influences the environmental awareness perception in senior high school students is their mothers’ level of occupation. This finding has both theoretical and practical implications

Shale Gas Development and Community Distress: Evidence from England

This research examines psychosocial stress associated with shale gas development through the narratives of residents and the Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R). We carried out our research in three of England’s communities impacted by shale gas development. To gather data, we conducted qualitative interviews and engaged in participant observation in all three communities and conducted a quantitative survey of residents. From our qualitative interviews it was apparent that the residents we spoke with experienced significant levels of stress associated with shale gas development in each community. Importantly, residents reported that stress was not only a reaction to development, but a consequence of interacting with industry and decision makers. Our quantitative findings suggest that a significant portion of residents 14.1 living near the shale gas sites reported high levels of stress (i.e., scoring 24 or more points) even while the mean IES-R score of residents living around the site is relatively low (i.e., 9.6; 95 CI 7.5–11.7). We conclude that the experiences, of the three English communities, reported in the qualitative interviews and quantitative survey are consistent with the reports of stress in the United States for those residents who live in shale gas communities. We therefore suggest that psychosocial stress is an important negative externality, which needs to be taken seriously by local planning officers and local planning committees when considering exploration and development permits for shale gas

Noise and mental health

This is an original dataset for research on noise pollution and psychosocial stress in Ghana</p

Does oil and gas development increase crime within UK local authorities?

There is a renewed interest in expanding domestic oil and gas development in the United Kingdom (UK). However, the potential social consequences of this expansion are still unknown. The current study assesses whether the number of spudded oil and gas wells are correlated with violent and property crime rates within 69 local authorities between 2004 and 2015 (n=828). Fixed effects regression analyses indicate that wells are positively correlated with violent crime rates. That is, each additional well is associated with a 1.5% increase in violent crime. When the analysis is limited to those local authorities that have constructed the most wells, the correlation between wells and crime increases as the boomtown literature might suggest. In particular, each additional well is associated with a 4.9% increase in violent crime and a 4.9% increase in property crime. We conclude by pointing out that this study stands as the first to empirically examine the relationship between oil and gas development and crime within UK local authorities over time and suggest that results have important implications for crime, social disorganisation and environmental justice

Environmental awareness perception of senior high school students in Ghana, the case of the Bolgatanga Municipality

This research examines environmental awareness perception among senior high school students in Ghana using socio-demographic indicators and the Environmental Awareness and Active Participation Scale. The research topic hinges on the notion that the attainment of the environmental components of sustainable development depends largely on the youth who are the future generation, and the custodians of the earth. Data for the research were obtained through a quantitative approach. Survey questionnaires were distributed to the three senior high schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The findings of this research show a high score on the Environmental Awareness and Activive Participation scale. This is an indication of the high environmental awareness perception of students via the educational system and by the media. The results also show that the major socio-demographic factor that influences the environmental awareness perception in senior high school students is their mothers’ level of occupation. This finding has both theoretical and practical implications