What young people want from a sexual health website: design and development of Sexunzipped.

BACKGROUND: Sexual health education in the United Kingdom is of variable quality, typically focusing on the biological aspects of sex rather than on communication, relationships, and sexual pleasure. The Internet offers a unique opportunity to provide sexual health education to young people, since they can be difficult to engage but frequently use the Internet as a health information resource. OBJECTIVES: To explore through qualitative research young people's views on what elements of a sexual health website would be appealing and engaging, and their views on the content, design, and interactive features of the Sexunzipped intervention website. METHODS: We recruited 67 young people aged 16-22 years in London, UK. We held 21 focus groups and 6 one-to-one interviews to establish sexual health priorities, views on website look and feel, and what features of a sexual heath website would attract and engage them. Two researchers facilitated the focus groups, using a semistructured topic guide to lead the discussions and asking open questions to elicit a range of views. The discussions and interviews were audio recorded and detailed notes were made on key topics from the audio recording. Young people's views influenced design templates for the content and interactive features of Sexunzipped. RESULTS: Young people particularly wanted straightforward information on sexual pleasure, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, how to communicate with partners, how to develop skills in giving pleasure, and emotions involved in sex and relationships. Focus group participants wanted social interaction with other young people online and wanted to see themselves reflected in some way such as through images or videos. CONCLUSIONS: While it is challenging to meet all of young people's technological and design requirements, consultation with the target audience is valuable and necessary in developing an online sexual health intervention. Young people are willing to talk about sensitive issues, enjoy the discussions, and can offer key insights that influence intervention development

Exchanging emissions for biodiversity: In pursuit of an integrated solution in New Zealand

With New Zealand's recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (December 2002) we ask whether it might be possible to design a programme that reduces corporate New Zealand's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also benefitting New Zealand's biodiversity in the many cases where emissions cannot be entirely eliminated. This article describes progress since 2001 in formulating and implementing a trial of such an integrated solution. We provide a description of the framework applied to date for integrating efforts by businesses and communities in both emissions reduction and biodiversity restoration, incorporating lessons that may help us refine our model

Moving beyond “mitigation and adaptation”: examining climate change responses in New Zealand

Despite the apparent failure of international negotiations and renewed criticism of the accuracy of climate science, responses to climate change continue in households, cities, fields, and meeting rooms. Notions of “doing something about”, or “taking action on” or “mitigating and adapting” to climate change inform practices of carbon trading, restoring native forests, constructing wind turbines, insulating houses, using energy efficient light bulbs, and lobbying politicians for more or less of these actions. These expressions of agency in relation to climate change provide the focus of our enquiry. We found that relationships or social networks linked through local government are building capabilities to respond to climate change. However, the framework of “mitigation–adaptation” will need to be supplemented by a more diverse suite of mental models for making sense of climate change. Use of appropriate languages, cultural reference points, and metaphors embedded in diverse histories of climates and change will assist actors in their networked climate change responses

Reducing terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions: a human dimensions contribution

This paper describes achievements from the human dimensions research within New Zealand's 'Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Terrestrial Biosphere' programme, in three parts: (i) regional responses to climate change policy development, (ii) indigenous groups, land use and climate change, and (iii) participation in the Land Use in Rural New Zealand (LURNZ) model development. We then critically review our work, using a post-normal science framework to inform further development of this research.climate change policy; policy development; discourse analysis; econometric modelling; governance; Maori land use; mitigation; post-normal science; greenhouse gas emissions; emissions reduction; rural areas; New Zealand; indigenous groups; terrestrial biosphere.

Individual-Based Allometric Equations Accurately Measure Carbon Storage and Sequestration in Shrublands

Many studies have quantified uncertainty in forest carbon (C) storage estimation, but there is little work examining the degree of uncertainty in shrubland C storage estimates. We used field data to simulate uncertainty in carbon storage estimates from three error sources: (1) allometric biomass equations; (2) measurement errors of shrubs harvested for the allometry; and (3) measurement errors of shrubs in survey plots. We also assessed uncertainty for all possible combinations of these error sources. Allometric uncertainty had the greatest independent effect on C storage estimates for individual plots. The largest error arose when all three error sources were included in simulations (where the 95% confidence interval spanned a range equivalent to 40% of mean C storage). Mean C sequestration (1.73 Mg C ha–1 year–1) exceeded the margin of error produced by the simulated sources of uncertainty. This demonstrates that, even when the major sources of uncertainty were accounted for, we were able to detect relatively modest gains in shrubland C storage