What should be the focus of ‘behaviour change’: Individuals or society?

This article discusses the contemporary notion of ‘behaviour change’ and how it is causing divisions between those disciplines and practitioners who use approaches that are grounded in individualist worldviews, and those who are led by approaches that emphasise the importance of social realms. By likening this dichotomy to the problem in physics of wave-particle duality with respect to light, it is argued that both views may hold some truth, and that neither approach is likely to be adequate for fully addressing the problems at hand. However, given the choice of two alternate means of understanding behaviour and trying to bring about change in the world, it is necessary to consider which approach is best suited to achieving results on the scale demanded by the environmental and public health challenges we face, and whether the individualistic approaches that currently seem hegemonic pose undue risks to achieving our desired aims

Investigation of direct solar-to-microwave energy conversion techniques

Identification of alternative methods of producing microwave energy from solar radiation for purposes of directing power to the Earth from space is investigated. Specifically, methods of conversion of optical radiation into microwave radiation by the most direct means are investigated. Approaches based on demonstrated device functioning and basic phenomenologies are developed. There is no system concept developed, that is competitive with current baseline concepts. The most direct methods of conversion appear to require an initial step of production of coherent laser radiation. Other methods generally require production of electron streams for use in solid-state or cavity-oscillator systems. Further development is suggested to be worthwhile for suggested devices and on concepts utilizing a free-electron stream for the intraspace station power transport mechanism

On the estimation of temporal mileage rates

Peer reviewedPostprin

An independent review of monitoring measures undertaken in Neath Port Talbot in respect of particulate matter (PM10)

The purpose of this Executive Summary is not to provide a comprehensive summation of all the observations and conclusions identified during this study but rather provide a synopsis of the main findings of this independent review. The points raised in this Executive Summary are supported by in-depth discussion and data analysis in the main document and therefore the reader should not draw any conclusions without reading the main document in detail.The Air Quality Management Resource Centre (AQMRC), University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) was appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government following a competitive tendering process to undertake a project entitled ‘An Independent Review of Monitoring Measures Undertaken in Neath Port Talbot in Respect of Particulate Matter (PM10) - Contract Number RPP0001/2009’. Within the Tender Specification prepared by the Welsh Assembly Government, clear project aims have been highlighted as follows:- Provide an independent amalgamation and review of the monitoring, modelling, source apportionment and atmospheric particle characterisation work undertaken in respect of PM10 pollution in the Neath Port Talbot area since 2000;- Draw upon the projects undertaken by, and experiences of, relevant stakeholders including Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC), contracted consultants, WAG, the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), the Port Talbot Steelworks site operators and several university researchers;- Provide advice to WAG on further measures to pinpoint sources of particulate matter within the area; and- Assist the Welsh Minister’s understanding of the issues and implementation of actions in the affected area to ensure that concentrations of PM10 attain the air quality standards as set out in the Air Quality Standards (Wales) Regulations 2007.Following the Environment Act 1995 all local authorities have a statutory duty to review and assess air quality within their administrative area. NPTCBC have undertaken their review and assessment duties since the commencement of Round 1 in 1998. In Round 1 the Council identified an exceedence of the PM10 24-hour air quality objective and the Taibach Margam Air Quality Management Area for PM10 (24-hour objective) was declared on the 1st of July 2000.Subsequently, as required by the Environment Act 1995, NPTCBC undertook a Stage 4 / Further Assessment of air quality in which their source apportionmentstudy identified the Port Talbot Steelworks as the primary source of PM10 emissions. As required by the legislation NPTCBC has developed the Taibach Margam Air Quality Management Area (PM10) Air Quality Action Plan (NPTCBC AQAP) in collaboration with various stakeholders including the site operators and Environment Agency Wales (EAW) and has subsequently continued with their statutory Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) duties. A synopsis of all the key conclusions and recommendations from this study are provided below and they have been categorised according to the primary objectives of the project tender specifications as outlined in Section 2.1

Developing an index of vulnerability to motor fuel price increases in England

As the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain, this paper develops a method to assess which areas of England would be most vulnerable to future motor fuel price increases. Building on previous research, we define and operationalise three dimensions of vulnerability: exposure (the cost burden of motor fuel), sensitivity (income) and adaptive capacity (accessibility with modes alternative to the car). We exploit unique data sets available in England, including the ‘MOT’ vehicle inspection data and DfT Accessibility Statistics. This allows us to map vulnerability to fuel price increases at a spatially disaggregated level (Lower-layer Super Output Areas), taking into account motor-fuel expenditure for all travel purposes, and the ability of households to shift to other modes of travel. This is an advancement on the ‘oil vulnerability’ indices developed in previous international research

Progress with air quality management in the 60 years since the UK clean air act, 1956. Lessons, failures, challenges and opportunities

© 2016 WIT Press, www.witpress.com. This paper explores the challenges, opportunities and progress made with managing air quality since the United Kingdom parliament passed the Clean Air Act, 1956. It seeks to identify the factors contributing to successful management of air quality and the factors that have acted, or continue to do so, as barriers to progress. The public health catastrophe of the 1952 London Smog created the political momentum for the 1956 Act to be passed. The nature of the contemporary air pollution challenge is reviewed in terms of the public health burden, the economic cost and the governmental response. The contemporary response is considered inadequate for the scale and intensity of the problem

Policy disconnect: A critical review of UK air quality policy in relation to EU and LAQM responsibilities over the last 20 years

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This paper critically reviews United Kingdom (UK) air quality policy in relation to European and Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) responsibilities over the last 20 years. The arguments articulated in this paper highlight the gulf between national and local air quality management in the UK, including differences in legislation, legal responsibilities, scales of operation, monitoring and modelling requirements, exceedence reporting and action planning. It is argued that local authorities cannot be held responsible for the UK's failure to achieve the European Union (EU) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values due to fundamental differences between local government responsibilities under LAQM and the UK compliance assessment reporting to the EU. Furthermore, unambitious and counterproductive national policies and the failure of EU light-duty vehicle type approval tests and Euro standards to reduce real-world emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the main reasons for continued NO2 limit value exceedences. This failure of EU and national air quality policies has effectively undermined local authority action to improve local air quality, resulting in delays in achieving the standards, wasted resources at local and national levels, and, ultimately, unnecessary loss of life and increased morbidity in the UK population. This paper concludes that the current emphasis that the UK government is placing on implementation of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) to achieve the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) (AAQD), and avoid substantial fines imposed by the European Court of Justice (CJEU), is flawed. Based on the arguments presented in this paper, a series of recommendations is proposed for the European Union, the UK government, devolved administrations and local authorities

Financial implications of car ownership and use: A distributional analysis based on observed spatial variance considering income and domestic energy costs

This paper presents a new perspective on assessing the financial impacts of private car usage in England and Wales using novel datasets to explore implications of motoring costs (principally Vehicle Excise Duty and road fuel costs) for households as part of the overall costs of their energy budget. Using data from an enhanced version of the Department for Transport ‘MOT’ vehicle test record database, combined with data on domestic gas and electricity consumption from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change), patterns of car usage and consequent energy consumption are investigated, and the costs of Vehicle Excise Duty and road fuel examined as a proportion of total expenditure on household direct energy consumption. Through the use of these new datasets it is possible to analyse how these vary spatially and in relation to levels of median income. The findings indicate that motoring costs are strongly regressive, with lower income areas, especially in rural locations, spending around twice as much of their income on motoring costs as the highest income areas

A critical review of the robustness of the UK government’s air quality plan and expected compliance dates

Globally, poor air quality is the most significant environmental health concern. Across Europe, 400,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in 2012, whilst in the UK over 50,000 deaths per year are due to a combination of gaseous and particulate matter air pollution. The deadline for achieving the EU limit value for NO2 was the 1st of January 2010, yet the UK remains non-compliant in 38 of 43 zones and agglomerations. As a consequence, in April 2015, the government was ordered by the UK Supreme Court to draw up new air quality plans to achieve the EU limit values in the shortest time possible. In response the UK government consulted on a draft national air quality plan, which estimated compliance with the EU Air Quality Directive by 2020 in all zones and agglomerations except London (compliance by 2025). The plan introduces the concept of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) to address the non-compliant zones but overall has significant weaknesses in many zones and agglomerations and compliance by 2020 (and 2025 in London) is considered to be overly optimistic. The plan’s predictive models use vehicle emission factors that are not considered representative of actual driving conditions, and transparency in the data underlying vehicle fleet turnover calculations is lacking. The suitability of CAZ as a cornerstone of the plan is of particular concern. This contribution examines new evidence that challenges the robustness of the UK government’s air quality plan. If air quality within the UK is to improve within the shortest time possible, significant improvements in the analysis and proposed solutions will be required

Validation of a commercially available indirect assay for SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies using a pseudotyped virus assay.

Objectives To assess whether a commercially available CE-IVD, ELISA-based surrogate neutralisation assay (cPass, Genscript) provides a genuine measure of SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation by human sera, and further to establish whether measuring responses against the RBD of S was a diagnostically useful proxy for responses against the whole S protein. Methods Serum samples from 30 patients were assayed for anti-NP responses, for ‘neutralisation’ by the surrogate neutralisation assay and for neutralisation by SARS-CoV-2 S pseudotyped virus assays utilising two target cell lines. Correlation between assays was measured using linear regression. Results The responses observed within the surrogate neutralisation assay demonstrated an extremely strong, highly significant positive correlation with those observed in both pseudotyped virus assays. Conclusions The tested ELISA-based surrogate assay provides an immunologically useful measure of functional immune responses in a much quicker and highly automatable fashion. It also reinforces that detection of anti-RBD neutralising antibodies alone is a powerful measure of the capacity to neutralise viral infection