The discontinuance of low carbon digital products and services

Digital consumer innovations offer low-carbon alternatives to mainstream consumption practices. We address a lack of research on the factors influencing post-adoption decisions of discontinuance for this important class of innovations. We conducted a repeat survey with UK consumers (n = 995) in 2019 and 2020 to investigate 16 digital products and services across mobility, food, homes, and energy domains. Our survey captured temporal changes in adoption, personal and contextual characteristics, social influences, innovation experiences and perceived attributes. We also provide a unique contribution by assessing the impacts of Covid-19 on post-adoption processes. Our results indicate that discontinuance is associated with: 1) services more than products; 2) perceived functional attributes not met by experienced attributes; 3) a lack of positive social influence, including word-of-mouth; 4) a lack of social network connections to other adopters; and 5) a decline in an individual's financial situation. Covid-19 was not found to be a significant factor influencing innovation discontinuance. Findings highlight generalisable insights regarding issues that need addressing to overcome discontinuance. For example, while digital services offer low-carbon promise, continued adoption is sensitive to their strong performance attributes. There is a need for continued innovation to sustain market position relative to more familiar incumbents

Species of Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937 (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) and other nematode genera associated with insects from Pinus pinaster in Portugal

Insects associated with maritime pine, Pinus pinaster, in Portugal were collected and screened for the presence of Bursaphelenchus species. Nematodes were identified using Internal Transcribed Spacers-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (ITS-RFLP) analysis of dauer juveniles and morphological identification of adults that developed from dauer juveniles on fungal cultures or on cultures in pine wood segments at 26 C. Several associations are described: Bursaphelenchus teratospicularis and Bursaphelenchus sexdentati are associated with Orthotomicus erosus; Bursaphelenchus tusciae, B. sexdentati and/or Bursaphelenchus pinophilus with Hylurgus ligniperda and Bursaphelenchus hellenicus with Tomicus piniperda, Ips sexdentatus and H. ligniperda. An unidentified Bursaphelenchus species is vectored by Hylobius sp. The previously reported association of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus with Monochamus galloprovincialis was confirmed. The association of Bursaphelenchus leoni with Pityogenes sp. is not definitively established and needs further studies for clarification. Other nematode genera besides Bursaphelenchus were found to be associated with the insects sampled, including two different species of Ektaphelenchus, Parasitorhabditis sp., Parasitaphelenchus sp., Contortylenchus sp. and other unidentified nematodes. The Ektaphelenchus species found in O. erosus is morphologically similar to B. teratospicularis found in the same insect; adults of both the species are found in cocoon-like structures under the elytra of the insects. Introduction Approximately one third of the nematodes belonging to the order Aphelenchida Siddiqi, 1980 are associated with insects (Poinar, 1983). These nematodes establish a variety of associations with the insects, which may be described as commensalism, e.g. phoresy (to the benefit of the nematode but not affecting the insect), mutualism (both the organisms benefit) or parasitism (nematodes benefit at the expense of the insect) (Giblin-Davis, 2004). Most Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937 species are mycetophagous, feeding on fungi in the galleries of bark beetles and thu

Major agricultural changes required to mitigate phosphorus losses under climate change

Phosphorus losses from land to water will be impacted by climate change and land management for food production, with detrimental impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Here we use a unique combination of methods to evaluate the impact of projected climate change on future phosphorus transfers, and to assess what scale of agricultural change would be needed to mitigate these transfers. We combine novel high-frequency phosphorus flux data from three representative catchments across the UK, a new high-spatial resolution climate model, uncertainty estimates from an ensemble of future climate simulations, two phosphorus transfer models of contrasting complexity and a simplified representation of the potential intensification of agriculture based on expert elicitation from land managers. We show that the effect of climate change on average winter phosphorus loads (predicted increase up to 30% by 2050s) will be limited only by large-scale agricultural changes (e.g., 20–80% reduction in phosphorus inputs)

The <i>Pratylenchus penetrans</i> transcriptome as a source for the development of alternative control strategies:mining for putative genes involved in parasitism and evaluation of <i>in planta</i> RNAi

The root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans is considered one of the most economically important species within the genus. Host range studies have shown that nearly 400 plant species can be parasitized by this species. To obtain insight into the transcriptome of this migratory plant-parasitic nematode, we used Illumina mRNA sequencing analysis of a mixed population, as well as nematode reads detected in infected soybean roots 3 and 7 days after nematode infection. Over 140 million paired end reads were obtained for this species, and de novo assembly resulted in a total of 23,715 transcripts. Homology searches showed significant hit matches to 58% of the total number of transcripts using different protein and EST databases. In general, the transcriptome of P. penetrans follows common features reported for other root lesion nematode species. We also explored the efficacy of RNAi, delivered from the host, as a strategy to control P. penetrans, by targeted knock-down of selected nematode genes. Different comparisons were performed to identify putative nematode genes with a role in parasitism, resulting in the identification of transcripts with similarities to other nematode parasitism genes. Focusing on the predicted nematode secreted proteins found in this transcriptome, we observed specific members to be up-regulated at the early time points of infection. In the present study, we observed an enrichment of predicted secreted proteins along the early time points of parasitism by this species, with a significant number being pioneer candidate genes. A representative set of genes examined using RT-PCR confirms their expression during the host infection. The expression patterns of the different candidate genes raise the possibility that they might be involved in critical steps of P. penetrans parasitism. This analysis sheds light on the transcriptional changes that accompany plant infection by P. penetrans, and will aid in identifying potential gene targets for selection and use to design effective control strategies against root lesion nematodes

Using word clouds to present farmers' perceptions of advisory services on pollution mitigation measures

Advice delivery is one mechanism that can be used to encourage the uptake of water pollution mitigation measures amongst the farming community, but determining who is best placed to effectively provide advice and increase adoption creates a challenge for policy-makers. Through in-depth interviews, this research investigates the perspectives of both farmers and farm advisers on the delivery of water pollution mitigation advice in three agriculturally contrasting areas of England. A novel approach using word clouds as a visual comparative tool for qualitative data is presented to demonstrate a transferable method for disseminating research findings to a wider audience outside of academia. Results from the interviews indicate differences across the regions, and that contrasts exist between farmers and advisers' perceptions. This suggests it is important to assess both perspectives when designing effective advice delivery mechanisms and for policy-makers to consider who is most appropriate to effectively deliver farm advice

Social networks and communication behaviour underlying smart home adoption in the UK

Consumer-facing digital innovations with the potential to reduce carbon emissions often exist in small market niches and their impact has been limited thus far. Using the established Diffusion of Innovations theory which considers interpersonal communication amongst social networks to be a vital mechanism for exchanging information, we conducted an online survey in the UK to investigate the social networks and communication behaviours of adopters and non-adopters of three different energy saving smart home technologies. Applying social network analysis and statistically testing hypotheses, our results reveal the potential social barriers to the diffusion of information, with social network structure and characteristics creating obstacles. This research provides necessary insights into real early adopters, confirms the importance of focussing research on the often-neglected social elements of diffusion theory and helps identify marketing strategies and policy actions using social mechanisms to accelerate a low carbon transition

The roles of farm advisors in the uptake of measures for the mitigation of diffuse water pollution

Governments face increasing pressure to implement effective policy to reduce diffuse water pollution from agriculture (DWPA). Various strategies and combinations of policy mechanisms have been adopted by different countries to change farmer behaviours with varying degrees of success. This paper focuses on the use of advice delivery to farmers as a mechanism to encourage uptake of DWPA mitigation measures on farms in England.Farm advisory services in England have dramatically changed over recent years, with concerns that the sector has become fragmented due to many organisations and businesses offering advice. This paper studies the role of various farm advisors and organisations providing one-to-one advice by interviewing 81 farm advisors in three agriculturally contrasting regions of England: East Anglia, the North West and South West. Objectives were to assess: which DWPA mitigation measures are being recommended by different advisors? How do recommendations differ between sources of advice and is there any conflict? And which mechanisms do advisors use to influence uptake of advice?Results from the interviews indicate that the advice delivered and the mechanisms used to influence uptake of advice vary between organisations and some advisors do indeed have particular roles within the farm advisory sector. Policy makers therefore need to consider not only what mitigation measures should be encouraged, but also which organisations and advisors are best placed to deliver on the ground advice to farmers. There is also scope to incorporate understandings of farm advice provision into catchment management plans to aid effectiveness of future agri-environmental policy

The discontinuance of low carbon digital products and services

Digital consumer innovations offer low-carbon alternatives to mainstream consumption practices. We address a lack of research on the factors influencing post-adoption decisions of discontinuance for this important class of innovations. We conducted a repeat survey with UK consumers (n = 995) in 2019 and 2020 to investigate 16 digital products and services across mobility, food, homes, and energy domains. Our survey captured temporal changes in adoption, personal and contextual characteristics, social influences, innovation experiences and perceived attributes. We also provide a unique contribution by assessing the impacts of Covid-19 on post-adoption processes. Our results indicate that discontinuance is associated with: 1) services more than products; 2) perceived functional attributes not met by experienced attributes; 3) a lack of positive social influence, including word-of-mouth; 4) a lack of social network connections to other adopters; and 5) a decline in an individual's financial situation. Covid-19 was not found to be a significant factor influencing innovation discontinuance. Findings highlight generalisable insights regarding issues that need addressing to overcome discontinuance. For example, while digital services offer low-carbon promise, continued adoption is sensitive to their strong performance attributes. There is a need for continued innovation to sustain market position relative to more familiar incumbents.</p