Deforestation and land use changes in Western Ghats, India

We estimated changes in forest cover between 1973 and 1995 in the southern part of the Western Ghats using satellite data. The study area of approximately 40,000 km2 showed a loss of 25.6% in forest cover over 22 years. The dense forest was reduced by 19.5% and open forest decreased by 33.2%. As a consequence, degraded forest increased by 26.64%. There has been a great deal of spatial variability in the pattern of forest loss and land use change throughout the region. Our estimates of deforestation in the region for the contemporary period are the highest reported so far

The Impact of Multi-Level Governance on Energy Performance in the Current Dutch Housing Stock \ud

The housing sector is responsible for 33% of total CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. As such, large reductions in CO2 emissions can be gained by increasing the energy performance in the existing housing stock. Yet, several barriers make this difficult. Renovation investments and maintenance costs are high while badly needed norms for energy improvement are absent. Furthermore, market developments and sectoral policies reflect a complex institutional environment in which many actors are interdependent, but also lack an individual sense of urgency regarding energy consumption. In this article, we try to determine how multi-level governance in Dutch housing affects the outcomes of policies aimed at CO2-reduction in the existing housing stock. We examined two housing sectors in the Netherlands: social housing and owner occupancy. We focus on policy implementation problems in the early 2000s. It turns out that the complex multi-level environment severely impedes the realization of ambitious policy goals.\ud \u

The measurement and determinants of skill acquisition in young workers' first job

The article analyses participation in five types of training (formal on-site, formal off-site, informal co-worker training, learning by watching and learning by doing) and self-assessed skill acquisition in young Flemish workers' first job. A skill production function is estimated whereby the simultaneity of participation in the different types of training and skill acquisition is taken into account. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of informal training. Formal training participation is found to be only a fraction of total training participation. Moreover, the determinants of total training participation and skill acquisition differ from those of formal training participation. While some training types are complementary, others are clearly substitutes. Finally, most types of training generate additional skills. Nonetheless, learning by doing is found to be complementary to formal education in the production of both specific and general skills, whereas formal training serves as a substitute

Intellectual capital, organisational climate, innovation culture, and SME performance

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the three components of intellectual capital (IC) (human, structural, and relational), and contextual factors relating to organisational climate (OC) and innovation culture, together with their influence on business performance (BP). Design/methodology/approach: This empirical research is based on an online questionnaire, which collected data from a non-probability quota sample consisting of 253 Croatian SMEs. The scales for IC, OC, and innovation culture were constructed to test the relationship between these dimensions and assess the BP of the SMEs. Findings: Based on a survey on 253 SMEs in Croatia, the analysis shows that the key dimensions of IC, innovation culture, and OC are vital to a company’s success and are strongly inter-correlated. Higher BP is positively related to higher levels of both IC and innovation culture. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the research is the subjective aspect of the study. The data used in the study were self-reported where respondents in a survey gave their assessment of firm performance. Although this was necessary because of the absence of other data, it is an issue that must be taken into account when interpreting the findings in the study. Practical implications: Understanding the role of IC, OC, and innovation culture in relation to BP, particularly in former transition countries, can have important implications for managers and enterprise owners, as well as policy makers and the academic community. Social implications: The findings emphasise the important role of tacit knowledge in the innovation process, of which IC and OC are good examples. Originality/value: This empirical study brings evidence from the understudied country of Croatia. Croatia is a post-transitional country and the last accessed member of the EU, on the dividing line between a modest and a moderate innovator. This is the first empirical study conducted in Croatia that explores the association between three concepts that are typically investigated separately (IC, OC, and innovation culture)

Coalition theories: empirical evidence for dutch municipalities

The paper analyzes coalition formation in Dutch municipalities. After discussing the main features of the institutional setting, several theories are discussed, which are classified as size oriented, policy oriented and actor oriented models. A test statistic is proposed to determine the predictive power of these models. The empirical analysis shows that strategic positions as well as some of the distinguished preferences are important in the setting of Dutch municipalities. Especially, the dominant minimum number principle yields highly significant results for coalition formations in the period 1978–1986

Age and trust as moderators in the relation between procedural justice and turnover: a large-scale longitudinal study

Item does not contain fulltextThe current study investigated the moderating roles of age and trust in the relation of procedural justice with turnover. It was expected that the relation between procedural justice and turnover was weaker for older workers and those with high prior trust in their leader. Older workers are better at regulating their emotions, and focus more on positive aspects of their relationships with others, and therefore react less intensely to unfair treatment. Moreover, people with high trust are more likely to attribute unfair treatment to circumstances instead of deliberate intention than people with low trust. Finally, we expected a three-way interaction between age, trust, and procedural justice in relation to turnover, where older workers with high trust would have less strong reactions than younger workers and older workers with low trust. Results from a three-wave longitudinal survey among 1,597 Dutch employees indeed revealed significant interactions between trust and procedural justice in relation to turnover. Furthermore, the three-way interaction was significant, with negative relations for younger workers, but a non-significant relation was found for older workers with low trust. Contrary to expectations, negative relations were found between procedural justice and turnover for older workers with high trust

Perception of Nuclear Energy and Coal in France and the Netherlands

This study focuses on the perception of large scale application of nuclear energy and coal in the Netherlands and France. The application of these energy-sources and the risks and benefits are judged differently by various group in society. In Europe, France has the highest density of nuclear power plants and the Netherlands has one of the lowest. In both countries scientists and social scientists completed a questionnaire assessing the perception of the large scale application of both energy sources. Furthermore, a number of variables relating to the socio cultural and political circumstances were measured. The results indicate that the French had a higher risk perception and a more negative attitude toward nuclear power than the Dutch. But they also assess the benefits of the use of nuclear power to be higher. Explanations for these differences are discussed

Residential mobility and local housing-market differences

The authors extend previous literature on variations in mobility rates across local housing markets by examining the linkage of mobility rates at the household level to the structure of local housing markets. The results suggest that residential mobility rates differ widely across local housing markets, substantiating the view that residential relocation is intimately intertwined with conditions at the local level. Local housing-market conditions also have different effects on mobility rates for renters and owner-occupiers. The results suggest that variation in residential mobility rates across housing markets can be in part explained by level of urbanization, the tenure structure, the degree of government intervention, and the size of the housing market. Remarkably, these differences in local housing markets cannot be seen to be related to housing-market features only. The results suggest that these differences can also be attributed to the behavior or attitude of households with respect to housing

The history of disaster incidents and impact in Nepal 1900-2005: ecological, geographical, and development perspectives

The people of Nepal today are exposed to perennial local disaster events and profound vulnerability to disaster. The combined efforts of government, donors, UN agencies, NGOs, and Nepalese communities are needed to avert the impacts of disaster events. Much more can be done immediately to reduce the impacts by reviewing the scope and distribution of past disaster events. This article provides an overview of Nepal’s disaster vulnerability through an analysis of the record of disaster events that occurred from 1900 to 2005. The data were generated from historical archives and divided into incidents at the district, subnational, and national levels. Statistical and Geographical Information System (GIS) analyses were carried out to generate district level disaster vulnerability maps. It is concluded that small-scale, local disasters have a greater cumulative impact in terms of casualties than large-scale, national disasters

Nanoparticle-encapsulated chlorhexidine against oral bacterial biofilms

Background: Chlorhexidine (CHX) is a widely used antimicrobial agent in dentistry. Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel mesoporous silica nanoparticle-encapsulated pure CHX (Nano-CHX), and its mechanical profile and antimicrobial properties against oral biofilms. Methodology/Principal Findings: The release of CHX from the Nano-CHX was characterized by UV/visible absorption spectroscopy. The antimicrobial properties of Nano-CHX were evaluated in both planktonic and biofilm modes of representative oral pathogenic bacteria. The Nano-CHX demonstrated potent antibacterial effects on planktonic bacteria and mono-species biofilms at the concentrations of 50-200 mu g/mL against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Enterococccus faecalis. Moreover, Nano-CHX effectively suppressed multi-species biofilms such as S. mutans, F. nucleatum, A. actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis up to 72 h. Conclusions/Significance: This pioneering study demonstrates the potent antibacterial effects of the Nano-CHX on oral biofilms, and it may be developed as a novel and promising anti-biofilm agent for clinical use.published_or_final_versio