Fostering social innovation for active ageing

Age-related loneliness is a major social issue as it is increasing alongside an upward global population trend which predicts that nearly 22% of the world population will be aged 60 years or over by 2050 (Rutherford, 2012). This ‘silver tsunami’ (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008) represents an unprecedented growth of the elderly population and is likely to exert socioeconomic pressures globally in the form of healthcare needs etc. (Dychtwald and Flower, 1989, O'Connor, 2014). Recent surveys conducted in many parts of the world such as the USA, the UK and Japan etc. reveal this plight of the elderly as many older people report feeling lonely ‘often’ (Hawkley and Cacioppo, 2007, Marsh, 2014, Kim et al., 2009). The examination of current methods and techniques aimed at combating age-related loneliness in order to recognize any ‘patterns’ (Alexander et al., 1977) reveals that the current thinking around developing such interventions predominantly adopts an incremental approach (Sharma et al., 2015). Sharma et al. highlight a gap in knowledge exemplified by the lack of radical-digital interventions, and suggest that more experimentation is required in this area to understand the strengths, or more to the point the limitations of radical-digital interventions (2015). In this paper, we recognise that the Activity Theory of Ageing (ATA) (Havighurst, 1961) provides a good foundation for developing effective radical-digital strategies for tackling loneliness amongst older adults and we highlight its potential and restraints in this area. The application of ATA looks to encourage or support older adults in remaining active beyond middle age by finding replacements for ‘lost roles’ and social positions (Diggs, 2007). Because ATA is fundamentally fixated on the individual as a unit of analysis, its desired ‘social’ applicability is naturally then, restricted. We propose that the social restraints of ATA can be eased by bringing social innovation into the equation, which by its very nature, focuses on fostering communal environments that are conducive to bottom-up innovation (Manzini and DESIS Network, 2014). We argue that this shift in focus from ‘an individual’ to ‘the society’ can potentially involve previously unengaged stakeholders in innovative and unimagined ways and provide ATA with a means to explore wider contexts. We examine both these theoretical frameworks to discuss how a hybridisation of ATA and Social Innovation can allow for a significant movement away from the dominant incremental approach to developing loneliness interventions. We call this hybrid approach Social Innovation for Active Ageing (SIFAA). Having discussed how we developed the SIFAA approach, we discuss the findings from our Action Research project where we developed a radical-digital loneliness intervention for older adults based on SIFAA. Our prototype involves getting older adults in the UK, to speak to young students in India via videoconferencing in order to help the students improve their English-speaking skills. The contributions of our paper are two-fold. Theoretically, we contribute to the extension of ATA’s and Social Innovation's capabilities by combining them together, and on a practical note, we share actionable insights from our operationalising of a SIFAA-based radical-digital loneliness intervention

Systematic review of greenhouse gas emissions for different fresh food categories

This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of greenhouse gas emissions for different food categories from life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, to enable streamline calculations that could inform dietary choice. The motivation for completing the paper was the inadequate synthesis of food greenhouse gas emissions available in the public domain. The paper reviewed 369 published studies that provided 1,718 global warming potential (GWP) values for 168 varieties of fresh produce. A meta-analysis of the LCA studies was completed for the following categories: fresh vegetables (root vegetables, brassica, leaves and stems); fresh fruits, (pepo, hesperidium, true berries, pomes, aggregates fruits and drupes); staples (grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and rice); dairy (almond/coconut milk, soy milk, dairy milk, butter and cheese); non-ruminant livestock (chicken, fish, pork); and ruminant livestock (lamb and beef). The meta-analysis indicates a clear greenhouse gas hierarchy emerging across the food categories, with grains, fruit and vegetables having the lowest impact and meat from ruminants having the highest impact. The meta-analysis presents the median, mean, standard deviation, upper and lower quartile, minimum and maximum results for each food category. The resultant data enables streamline calculations of the global warming potential of human diets, and is illustrated by a short case study of an Australian family’s weekly shop. The database is provided in the Appendix as a resource for practitioners. The paper concludes with recommendations for future LCA studies to focus upon with respect to content and approach

The greenhouse gas profile of a “Hungry Planet”:quantifying the impacts of the weekly food purchases including associated packaging and food waste of three families

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted across the supply chain, while food security emerges as one of the leading challenges facing a growing global population. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can illustrate the environmental implications of food production, consumption and waste. In 2005, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio presented a photographic study in “Hungry Planet – What the World Eats” documenting what thirty families across twenty-four countries ate during the course of one week. The weekly food purchasing inventories of three of these families have been combined with LCA data to report the greenhouse gas intensity of these food purchases. The greenhouse gas emission profile including those of 128 varieties of fresh food, along with data on packaging material production and household food waste, have been used in the calculations. The paper will present the findings illustrating the contribution each component has: food, packaging and food waste; and will also discuss the implications for food packaging desig

The little book of sharing in the city

This little book tells you about research that we did as part of the Liveable Cities project, looking at sharing in cities. Through a series of conversations with researchers and workshops with citizens of Lancaster and Birmingham in 2015, we conclude that: • Cities are important hubs for sharing and they always have been • Sharing is more than just giving something to someone to use- there are a lot of factors to think about when trying to understand what sharing is! • A way of classifying sharing in cities can help make sense of all the examples of sharing and allow for easy comparisons between examples • The presence of physical and digital hubs and bridges and the need to promote sharing in different ways are incredibly important to sharing in cities • There are a multitude of resources about sharing that can be useful if you want to find out more information on the topic • Well-designed and fun exercises can get people mapping their examples of sharing in cities This book therefore not only presents our current understanding of sharing, but illustrates how cities and communities can go about understanding the sharing phenomenon in their locality

Crop Updates 2008 - Farming Systems

This session covers thirty nine papers from different authors: PLENARY 1. Developments in grain end use, Dr John de Majnik, New Grain Products, GRDC, Mr Paul Meibusch, New Farm Products and Services, GRDC, Mr Vince Logan, New Products Executive Manager, GRDC PRESENTATIONS 2. Global warming potential of wheat production in Western Australia: A life cycle assessment, Louise Barton1, Wahid Biswas2 and Daniel Carter3, 1School of Earth & Geographical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 2Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Division of Science and Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, 3Department of Agriculture and Food 3. How much fuel does your farm use for different farm operations? Nicolyn Short1, Jodie Bowling1, Glen Riethmuller1, James Fisher2 and Moin Salam1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Muresk Institute, Curtin University of Technology 4. Poor soil water storage and soil constraints are common in WA cropping soils, Stephen Davies, Jim Dixon, Dennis Van Gool and Alison Slade, Department of Agriculture and Food, Bob Gilkes, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western Australia 5. Developing potential adaptations to climate change for low rainfall farming system using economic analysis tool. STEP, Megan Abrahams, Caroline Peek, Dennis Van Gool, Daniel Gardiner and Kari-Lee Falconer, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. What soil limitations affect the profitability of claying on non-wetting sandplain soils? David Hall1, Jeremy Lemon1, Harvey Jones1, Yvette Oliver2 and Tania Butler1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2CSIRO Div Sustainable Ecology, Perth 7. Farming systems adapting to a variable climate; Two case studies, Kari-Lee Falconer, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Importance of accounting for variation in crop yield potential when making fertiliser decisions, Michael Robertson and Yvette Oliver, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Floreat 9. Soil acidity is a widespread problem across the Avon River Basin, Stephen Carr1, Chris Gazey2, David York1 and Joel Andrew1, 1Precision SoilTech, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 10. The use of soil testing kits and ion-selective electrodes for the analysis of plant available nutrients in Western Australian soils, Michael Simeoni and Bob Gilkes School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western Australia 11. Redlegged earth mite resistance and integrated strategies for their control in Western Australia, Mangano G. Peter and Micic Svetlana, Department of Agriculture and Food 12. The economics of treating soil pH (liming), Chris Gazey, Steve Davies, Dave Gartner and Adam Clune, Department of Agriculture and Food, 13. Health benefits – A future differentiator for high value grains, Matthew Morell, Theme Leader, CSIRO Food Futures Flagship 14. Carbon in Sustralian cropping soils – We need to be realistic, Alan Umbers (M Rur Sc), GRDC/DAFF Sustainable Industries Initiative Project 15. AGWEST® Bartolo bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum) − a low cost annual pasture legume for the wheat/sheep zone, Angelo Loi, Brad Nutt and Clinton Revell, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Maximising the value of point based soil sampling: Monitering trends in soil pH through time, Joel Andrew1, David York1, Stephen Carr1 and Chris Gazey2, 1Precision SoilTech, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 17. Improved crop root growth and productivity with deep ripping and deep placed lime, Stephen Davies1, Geoff Kew2*, Chris Gazey1, David Gartner1 and Adam Clune1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Earth and Geographical Sciences University of Western Australia, *Presenting author 18. The role of pastures in hosting Root Lesion Nematode (RLN, Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Ali Bhatti and Ming Pei You, Department of Agriculture and Food 19. To rip or not to rip. When does it pay? Imma Farre, Bill Bowden and Stephen Davies, Department of Agriculture and Food 20. Can yield be predicted from remotely sensed data, Henry Smolinski, Jane Speijers and John Bruce, Department of Agriculture and Food 21. Rotations for profit, David McCarthy and Gary Lang, Facey Group, Wickepin, WA 22. Rewriting rules for the new cropping economics, David Rees, Consultant, Albany 23. Reducing business risk in Binnu! – A case study, Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture and Food 24. Does improved ewe management offer grain farmers much extra profit? John Young, Farming Systems Analysis Service, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and Food, and UWA, Chris Oldham, Department of Agriculture and Food RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 25. Crop establishment and productivity with improved root zone drainage, Dr Derk Bakker, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food 26. Will wheat production in Western Australia be more risky in the future? Imma Farre and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture and Food PAPERS 27. Building farmers’ adaptive capacity to manage seasonal variability and climate change, David Beard, Department of Agriculture and Food 28. Precision placement increases crop phosphorus uptake under variable rainfall: Simulation studies, Wen Chen1 2, Richard Bell1, Bill Bowden2, Ross Brennan2, Art Diggle2 and Reg Lunt2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 29. What is the role of grain legumes on red soil farms? Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture and Food 30. Fertiliser placement influences plant growth and seed yield of grain crops at different locations of WA, Qifu Ma1, Zed Rengel1, Bill Bowden2, Ross Brennan2, Reg Lunt2 and Tim Hilder2, 1Soil Science & Plant Nutrition, University of Western Australia, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 31. A review of pest and disease occurrences for 2007, Peter Mangano and Dusty Severtson, Department of Agriculture and Food 32. Effect of stocking rates on grain yield and quality of wheat in Western Australia in 2007, Shahajahan Miyan, Sam Clune, Barb Sage and Tenielle Martin, Department of Agriculture and Food 33. Storing grain is not ‘set and forget’ management, Chris Newman, Department of Agriculture and Food 34. Improving understanding of soil plant available water capacity (PAWC): The WA soil water database (APSoil), Yvette Oliver, Neal Dalgliesh and Michael Robertson, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 35. The impact of management decisions in drought on a low rainfall northern wheatbelt farm, Caroline Peek and Andrew Blake, Department of Agriculture and Food 37. Cullen – A native pasture legume shows promise for the low-medium rainfall cropping zone, Megan Ryan, Richard Bennett, Tim Colmer, Daniel Real, Jiayin Pang, Lori Kroiss, Dion Nicol and Tammy Edmonds-Tibbett, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia and Future Farm Industries CRC 38. Climate risk management tools – useful, or just another gadget? Lisa Sherriff, Kari-Lee Falconer, Daniel Gardiner and Ron McTaggart Department of Agriculture and Food 39. Benefits of crop rotation for management of Root Lesion Nematode (RLN, Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Sean Kelly and Helen Hunter, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing Later Life Loneliness:A Systematic Literature Review of Loneliness Interventions

An analysis of recent demographic trends suggest that a significant reduction in infant and young-age mortality rates in low and middle-income countries, along with a continued increase in the life expectancy of older adults in high-income countries, means that people are living longer, healthier lives as compared to the past. As a result, there a surge in the share of older adults in the overall population composition is imminent. This demographic shift is unparalleled in human history, and means that the challenges that come with managing this change are likely to multiply along with the increase in ageing population. Later life loneliness is one such social issue that is increasing alongside an upward global population trend. As a society, one way that we have responded to this social challenge is through developing non pharmacological interventions such as befriending services, activity clubs, meet-ups, etc. Through a systematic literature review, this paper suggests that currently there is an underrepresentation of radical innovation, and underutilization of digital technologies in developing loneliness interventions for older adults. This paper examines intervention studies that were published in English language, within peer reviewed journals between January 2005 and December 2014 across 4 electronic databases. In addition to academic databases, interventions found in grey literature in the form of websites, blogs, and Twitter. were also included in the overall review. This approach yielded 129 interventions that were included in the study. Using a systematic approach to examining literature minimized the chance of 'cherry-picking' evidence to support any preconceived ideas. A coding strategy based on a pattern analysis approach was devised to be able to compare and contrast the loneliness interventions. Firstly, interventions were categorized on the basis of their objective to identify whether they were preventative, supportive, or remedial in nature. Secondly, depending on their scope, they were categorized as either being one-to-one, community-based, or group based. It was also ascertained whether interventions represented an improvement, an incremental innovation, a major advance or a radical departure, in comparison to the most basic form of a loneliness intervention. Finally, interventions were also assessed on the basis of the extent to which they utilized digital technologies. Individual visualizations representing the four levels of coding were created for each intervention, followed by an aggregated visual to facilitate analysis. To keep the inquiry within scope, and to present a coherent view of the findings, the analysis was primarily concerned the level of innovation, and the use of digital technologies. This analysis highlights a weak but positive correlation between the level of innovation and the use of digital technologies in designing and deploying loneliness interventions, and also emphasizes how certain existing interventions could be tweaked to enable their migration from representing incremental innovation to radical innovation for example. This analysis also points out the value of including grey literature, especially from Twitter, in systematic literature reviews to get a contemporary view of latest work in the area under investigation

A First Appraisal of Serrano

A host of legal and related issues have been posed by the recent decision in Serrano v. Priest; a selective scanning of these issues, in an attempt to ascertain their importance and likely impact, is now necessary. In Serrano the Supreme Court of California held that to the extent existing differences in spending among school districts are caused by differences in wealth, the present scheme for financing public schools in California violates federal and state equal protection guarantees. The court further held that although school finance mechanisms may differ along many dimensions, they must respect one proscription: the quality of public education, at least as measured by spending per pupil, may not be a function of wealth other than the wealth of the state as a whole. Redundancy may be helpful here. One restatement of the court\u27s holding is that Serrano requires of the state a fiscal neutrality among those agencies it creates and empowers to make different choices regarding educational spending. Another paraphrase would be that, to the extent the state allows quantities of public education to be bought by local units (whether counties, school districts, schools, or families), unit wealth must not be allowed to affect the quantity purchased. Since, as things stand, local taxable wealth per pupil is a major determinant of public school spending in almost all states, Serrano is significant; insofar as fiscal neutrality is not an elementary or unambiguous concept, the meaning of Serrano remains obscure. Speculation about its career is worthwhile if risky

Design-led decision support for regional climate adaptation

The aim of this VCCCAR-funded project was to develop future design concepts at the landscape scale, in which regions are resilient to the impacts of climate change and are capable of dealing with unforeseen climate events. It takes a new approach to climate change adaptation at the (sub) regional scale by organising and conducting design-charrettes, a design-led, intensive workshop-based approach to adaptation that addresses the complexity and uncertainty in making decisions for climate change adaptation, and includes multiple disciplines through a co-development (or co-design) approach