APPLYING BIOSOLIDS: ISSUES FOR VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Corporate social responsibility: a stages framework

This article speculates whether British companies evolved more effective systems, practices, and procedures for implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental policies within the period 1994-2004. It is found out that CSR and environmental issues have become increasingly significant in large companies. This is because corporate image and reputation are often factors in the equation leading to competitive success. Benefits may not always be readily quantifiable, but the costs of reputational loss can be dramatic

The physical activity experiences of men with serious mental illness: Three short stories

Objectives: Although a considerable amount of research has explored the effects of physical activity on mental health, the voices of people with mental illness have been largely excluded from published reports. Through this study we aim to foreground service users' voices in order to shed light on the personal and subjective nature of the relationship between physical activity and serious mental illness (SMI). Methods: An interpretive case study approach was used to explore in depth the physical activity experiences of three men with SMI. Creative analytic practice was used to write three creative non-fictions which, as first-person narratives, foreground the participants' voices. Results: We present three short stories in an effort to communicate participants' personal and subjective experiences of physical activity in an accessible, engaging, and evocative manner. We hope to: (i) provide potentially motivating physical activity success stories for others who live with SMI; (ii) increase awareness among mental health professionals of the possibilities of physical activity; and (iii) provide an empathetic understanding of possibilities and problems of living with SMI which may help challenge the stigma surrounding mental illness. Conclusions: For us, the stories communicate the diversity and difference inherent in the ways men with SMI experience physical activity. We reflect on how the short story form allows these differences to be preserved and respected. We resist making further interpretations of the stories preferring instead to encourage the reader to form her or his own conclusions. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Ophthalmology of clinically normal alpacas ( Vicugna pacos ) in the United Kingdom: a cross-sectional study

Background: Alpacas are being more frequently presented to veterinarians in the UK. It is important to validate whether published normal ocular parameters are consistent with the alpaca population in the UK. Methods: Ophthalmic examinations were performed on healthy alpacas (Vicugna pacos) from three farms in East Anglia, UK. Results: On direct ophthalmoscopy of 35 alpacas, there was a 50 per cent prevalence of opacities within the lens in alpacas older than two years old (n=8/16). There was a 36.8 per cent prevalence of persistent hyaloid arteries in alpacas under two years old (n=7/19). The mean Schirmer tear test-1 value was 20.0 ±6 mm/minute (n=40). The mean intraocular pressure measured by rebound tonometry was 17.2 ±5.5 mmHg (n=46), and applanation tonometry resulted in statistically similar values (P=0.30; n=25). There was a significant variation in intraocular pressure throughout a 24-hour period (n=8). Fluorescein dye was not detected at the nostrils of any of the alpacas which underwent a Jones test to assess nasolacrimal duct patency (n=8). Conclusion: The ophthalmic findings appear largely consistent with previously published values from North America and continental Europe. Variations include the large range of measurements obtained and evidence of diurnal variation in intraocular pressure

Have applications of continuous rainfall-runoff simulation realized the vision for process-based flood frequency analysis?

Keith Beven was amongst the first to propose and demonstrate a combination of conceptual rainfall–runoff modelling and stochastically generated rainfall data in what is known as the ‘continuous simulation’ approach for flood frequency analysis. The motivations included the potential to establish better links with physical processes and to avoid restrictive assumptions inherent in existing methods applied in design flood studies. Subsequently, attempts have been made to establish continuous simulation as a routine method for flood frequency analysis, particularly in the UK. The approach has not been adopted universally, but numerous studies have benefitted from applications of continuous simulation methods. This paper asks whether industry has yet realized the vision of the pioneering research by Beven and others. It reviews the generic methodology and illustrates applications of the original vision for a more physically realistic approach to flood frequency analysis through a set of practical case studies, highlighting why continuous simulation was useful and appropriate in each case. The case studies illustrate how continuous simulation has helped to offer users of flood frequency analysis more confidence about model results by avoiding (or exposing) bad assumptions relating to catchment heterogeneity, inappropriateness of assumptions made in (UK) industrystandard design event flood estimation methods, and the representation of engineered or natural dynamic controls on flood flows. By implementing the vision for physically realistic analysis of flood frequency through continuous simulation, each of these examples illustrates how more relevant and improved information was provided for flood risk decision-making than would have been possible using standard methods. They further demonstrate that integrating engineered infrastructure into flood frequency analysis and assessment of environmental change are also significant motivations for adopting the continuous simulation approach in practic

Narrative, identity, and recovery from serious mental illness: A life history of a runner

In recent years, researchers have investigated the psychological effects of exercise for people with mental health problems, often by focusing on how exercise may alleviate symptoms of mental illness. In this article I take a different tack to explore the ways in which exercise contributed a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity to the life of one individual named Ben, a runner diagnosed with schizophrenia. Drawing on life history data, I conducted an analysis of narrative to explore the narrative types that underlie Ben's stories of mental illness and exercise. For Ben, serious mental illness profoundly disrupted a pre-existing athletic identity removing agency, continuity, and coherence from his life story. By returning to exercise several years later, Ben reclaimed his athletic identity and reinstated some degree of narrative agency, continuity, and coherence. While the relationships between narrative, identity, and mental health are undoubtedly complex, Ben's story suggests that exercise can contribute to recovery by being a personally meaningful activity which reinforces identity and sense of self

Does Strategic Alliance Matter In Managing Innovation In China?

Innovation is the route to competitive advantage for a firm. In this regard, strategic alliances, particularly international joint venture (IJV), is an effective vehicle for creating innovation capabilities. This paper attempts to explore innovation activities in IJVs between Chinese and Western companies. China is currently largely an OEM country that supplies the whole world with a wide variety of products. However it still lacks a higher level of innovation. The paper reports a qualitative study conducted at two Sino-Western IJVs about how IJVs can help Chinese companies to become innovative. China has easy access to foreign technology, but is weak in its domestic clustering of technology infrastructure. Sino-Western joint ventures are found useful in creating transferable innovation in China. The paper suggests key success factors for creating innovation capabilities through IJV formation

Changing corporate attitudes towards environmental policy

Purpose – To report findings from an updated survey of environmental policy and practice among UK organizations. To draw conclusions about the relationship between environmental concerns and organizational strategy making. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports findings from a 1999 survey of 911 UK organizations, updated by interviews conducted with participant organizations in 2004. The paper represents an extension of a ten-year longitudinal study of environmental policy and practice in UK organizations. Findings – The gap between policy formulation and implementation in the environmental area has continued to narrow, but environmental concerns appear not to have moved towards the centre of the strategy making process in many firms. Organizations are still primarily influenced by short-term rather than long-term imperatives, and although recognition of opportunity offered by the environment is increasing, organizations are still liable to adopt a reactive position, increasingly so as the size of the organization decreases. Research limitations/implications – It offers a contribution to the debate over the ongoing relationship between organizational strategy and environmental factors as a determinant of organizational strategy. It locates the debate in the wider discussion of determinants of organizational strategy. Practical implications – It highlights the complex decision-making processes facing managers in satisfying a variety of stakeholders who may be making competing demands of their organization. Originality/value – The paper offers a longitudinal review of changes to environmental policy and practice among UK organizations, providing an opportunity to explore the nature of change over a ten-year period