Human Resources and the Resource Based View of the Firm

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has influenced the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of the RBV on the theoretical and empirical development of SHRM. It explores how the fields of strategy and SHRM are beginning to converge around a number of issues, and proposes a number of implications of this convergence

Integrating existing water and wastewater assets to reduce domestic heating emissions

A study was undertaken to explore opportunities for achieving reduced greenhouse gas emissions from UK domestic heating by using existing drinking water and wastewater assets as energy storage and recovery mechanisms, coupled with modest local renewable energy generation. The sensitivity of the solutions to future projections for domestic heating demands and climate change effects was explored. Simulations optimised the available energy supply, potential for storage, heat recovery and heat demand to minimise emissions at a scale that could be adopted in most UK towns. The approach may be able to deliver significant emissions reductions with more limited capital investment than more centralised renewable energy approaches. The results from two UK locations showed that integrated water–energy systems could theoretically reduce emissions by about 50%. Furthermore, the system could satisfy demand for about 70% of the time periods each year. Future scenarios were tested and it was found that the projected annual emissions reduction was similar across all scenarios, suggesting this would be a robust approach

Climate change and food security: health impacts in developed countries.

BACKGROUND: Anthropogenic climate change will affect global food production, with uncertain consequences for human health in developed countries. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the potential impact of climate change on food security (nutrition and food safety) and the implications for human health in developed countries. METHODS: Expert input and structured literature searches were conducted and synthesized to produce overall assessments of the likely impacts of climate change on global food production and recommendations for future research and policy changes. RESULTS: Increasing food prices may lower the nutritional quality of dietary intakes, exacerbate obesity, and amplify health inequalities. Altered conditions for food production may result in emerging pathogens, new crop and livestock species, and altered use of pesticides and veterinary medicines, and affect the main transfer mechanisms through which contaminants move from the environment into food. All these have implications for food safety and the nutritional content of food. Climate change mitigation may increase consumption of foods whose production reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Impacts may include reduced red meat consumption (with positive effects on saturated fat, but negative impacts on zinc and iron intake) and reduced winter fruit and vegetable consumption. Developed countries have complex structures in place that may be used to adapt to the food safety consequences of climate change, although their effectiveness will vary between countries, and the ability to respond to nutritional challenges is less certain. CONCLUSIONS: Climate change will have notable impacts upon nutrition and food safety in developed countries, but further research is necessary to accurately quantify these impacts. Uncertainty about future impacts, coupled with evidence that climate change may lead to more variable food quality, emphasizes the need to maintain and strengthen existing structures and policies to regulate food production, monitor food quality and safety, and respond to nutritional and safety issues that arise

Characterization of the Nairobi River catchment impact zone and occurrence of pharmaceuticals: implications for an impact zone inclusive environmental risk assessment

The largely uncontrolled release of active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs) within untreated wastewater discharged to waterbodies, associated with many rapidly urbanising centres is of growing concern owing to potential antimicrobial resistance, endocrine disruption and potential toxicity. A sampling campaign has been undertaken to assess the source, occurrence, magnitude and risk associated with APIs and other chemicals within the Nairobi/Athi river basin, in Kenya, East Africa. The catchment showed an extensive downstream impact zone estimated to extend 75 km, mostly, but not exclusively, derived from the direct discharge of untreated wastewater from the urban centre of Nairobi city. The exact extent of the downstream boundary of the Nairobi city impact zone was unclear owing to the inputs of untreated wastewater sources from the continuous urbanized areas along the river, which counteracted the natural attenuation caused by dilution and degradation. The most frequently detected APIs and chemicals were caffeine, carbamazepine, trimethoprim, nicotine, and sulfamethoxazole. Paracetamol, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim alone contributed 86% of the total amount of APIs determined along the Nairobi/Athi catchment. In addition to direct discharge of untreated domestic wastewater attributed to the informal settlements within the conurbation, other sources were linked to the industrial area in Nairobi City where drug formulation is known to occur, the Dandora landfill and veterinary medicines from upstream agriculture. It was shown that there was a possible environmental risk of API ecotoxicological effects beyond the end of the traditional impact zone defined by elevated biochemical oxygen demand concentrations; with metronidazole and sulfamethoxazole exhibiting the highest risk

Spatial and temporal considerations of implementing local renewable energy sources and decentralised heat recovery for domestic heat

A UK case study area containing over 33,000 households has been used to investigate spatial and temporal conflicts in meeting domestic heat demand through renewable electrical energy supply and low-grade decentralised heat recovery from the urban drainage network. The case study area was selected as its water infrastructure and population density were representative of the conditions experienced by the majority of the UK's urban population. The findings suggest that adopting an optimised and integrated water-energy system would lead to a 60% reduction in current carbon emissions, compared to a natural gas based system. The integrated water-energy system proposed for domestic heating showed an annual surplus of renewable energy of 716 GWh. However, a non-renewable source of energy of 114 GWh is required to deal with the intermittency of the demand and renewable energy supply. Given the renewable surplus, it would be possible to eliminate carbon emissions from domestic heating with the addition of local low efficiency inter-seasonal energy storage. Taking a broader perspective, the calculated 60% carbon emission saving is significant as the domestic housing sector contributes 15% of the UK carbon emissions. A progressive adoption of such locally based schemes throughout the country would be able to make tangible reductions to national carbon emission targets

Impacts of Climate Change on indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals from agriculture

Objective: Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens and chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. Future risks of pathogens and chemicals could therefore be very different from those of today. In this review, we assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems in the United Kingdom and discuss the subsequent effects on health impacts. Data sources: In this review, we used expert input and considered literature on climate change ; health effects resulting from exposure to pathogens and chemicals arising from agriculture ; inputs of chemicals and pathogens to agricultural systems ; and human exposure pathways for pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. Data synthesis: We established the current evidence base for health effects of chemicals and pathogens in the agricultural environment ; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical and pathogen inputs in agricultural systems ; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of different contaminant types. We combined these data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. We then developed recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage any adverse increases in risks. Conclusions: Overall, climate change is likely to increase human exposures to agricultural contaminants. The magnitude of the increases will be highly dependent on the contaminant type. Risks from many pathogens and particulate and particle-associated contaminants could increase significantly. These increases in exposure can, however, be managed for the most part through targeted research and policy changes