Examining the effects of green attitude on the purchase intention of sustainable packaging.

Environmental deterioration over the few decades has hugely increased awareness among consumers on environmental problems. Understanding the deterioration, consumers are motivated to make a contribution to the sustainable development. The growing environmental awareness is reflected in every component of modern marketing and more specifically on packaging, as packaging (plastics) causes nearly one-third of the environmental impacts. Green packaging has emerged to be the substitute for polymeric packaging. The study examined the purchase intention of green packed products under three different constructs; environment concern, health hazards, and perceived green values of consumers. Both direct effects of the constructs and effect of the constructs mediated through green attitude was measured using structural equation modelling. SEM was used in the study to analyse the data of 468 respondents and to test the proposed model. The findings of the study confirmed that the purchase intention towards green packaging is significantly influenced by environment concern, health consciousness and perceived values of consumers about green packaging

Purchasing practice of young consumers towards green packaging: influence of value system with the mediating effect of attitude.

The problem of climate change is not just because of utilizing the resources in excess and exploiting the nature, but the preference and consumption pattern of people have got changed in recent times. This consumption pattern has led in producing such large quantities of non-eco-friendly packaging materials that is creating serious environmental issues. The packaging materials are simply thrown out and become a source of massive portion of waste. Therefore, packaging materials should be considered a core factor in a way to deliver products to consumers securely. Understanding this, the knowledge and awareness on different kinds of packaging and their impact on environment the consumption patter of consumer need to be tested exclusively among the young consumers. This study was carried out in Thoothukudi Educational district, covering the schools of five different educational blocks in the district.  Collecting 818 samples, the study aims to understand the knowledge, awareness, consumption pattern, attitude, and the values of 9th to 12th standard students. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was constructed to test the impact of Packaging Awareness (PKGA), Eco-centric Values (ECCV), Emotional Values (EMOV), and Social Values (SOCV) on the Purchase Decision (PUDE) of young consumers.  The model also tests the mediated effects of attitude on PUDE.  The study has found that the awarenesss on packaging strengthens the purchasing behaviour or the intention in young minds. The awareness on the impairments of polymeric packaging and the positve perception toward eco-friendly packaging drive the consumer intention towards green. In turn, these awarness have higher significant influence on changing the attitude of young consumers positively towards eco-friendly packaging. Hence, it is suggested that spreading awareness on the anti-environmental polymeric packaging and perceived benefits of eco-friendly packaging. Besides, emotional reactios do not significantly influence the purchase decision of them instead it is only expressed as a spur of the moment. In terms of attitude, similar to the previous studies, it was found that it strongly influences purchasing behaviour of the students and it also strongly mediat social, eco-centric values and awareness towards the purchase intention.&nbsp

Tomography of atomic number and density of materials using dual-energy imaging and the Alvarez and Macovski attenuation model

Dual-energy computed tomography and the Alvarez and Macovski [Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] transmitted intensity (AMTI) model were used in this study to estimate the maps of density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) of mineralogical samples. In this method, the attenuation coefficients are represented [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] in the form of the two most important interactions of X-rays with atoms that is, photoelectric absorption (PE) and Compton scattering (CS). This enables material discrimination as PE and CS are, respectively, dependent on the atomic number (Z) and density (ρ) of materials [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)]. Dual-energy imaging is able to identify sample materials even if the materials have similar attenuation coefficients at single-energy spectrum. We use the full model rather than applying one of several applied simplified forms [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976); Siddiqui et al., SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2004); Derzhi, U.S. patent application 13/527,660 (2012); Heismann et al., J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2073–2079 (2003); Park and Kim, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 59, 2709 (2011); Abudurexiti et al., Radiol. Phys. Technol. 3, 127–135 (2010); and Kaewkhao et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 109, 1260–1265 (2008)]. This paper describes the tomographic reconstruction of ρ and Z maps of mineralogical samples using the AMTI model. The full model requires precise knowledge of the X-ray energy spectra and calibration of PE and CS constants and exponents of atomic number and energy that were estimated based on fits to simulations and calibration measurements. The estimated ρ and Z images of the samples used in this paper yield average relative errors of 2.62% and 1.19% and maximum relative errors of 2.64% and 7.85%, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the method accounts for the beam hardening effect in density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) reconstructions to a significant extent.S.J.L., G.R.M., and A.M.K. acknowledge funding through the DigiCore consortium and the support of a linkage grant (LP150101040) from the Australian Research Council and FEI Company

Future river flows and flood extent in the Upper Niger and Inner Niger Delta: GCM-related uncertainty using the CMIP5 ensemble

A semi-distributed hydrological model of the Upper Niger and the Inner Niger Delta is used to investigate the RCP 4.5 scenario for 41 CMIP5 GCMs in the 2050s and 2080s. In percentage terms, the range of change in precipitation is around four times as large as for potential evapotranspiration, which increases for most GCMs over most sub-catchments. Almost equal numbers of sub-catchment–GCM combinations experience positive and negative precipitation change. River discharge changes are equally uncertain. Inter-GCM range in mean discharge exceeds that of precipitation by three times in percentage terms. Declining seasonal flooding within the Inner Delta is dominant; 78 and 68% of GCMs project declines in October and November for the 2050s and 2080s, respectively. The 10- and 90-percentile changes in mean annual peak inundation range from −6136 km 2 (−43%) to +987 km 2 (+7%) for the 2050s and −6176 km 2 (−43%) to +1165 km 2 (+8.2%) for the 2080s

GCM-related uncertainty for river flows and inundation under climate change: the Inner Niger Delta

A semi-distributed hydrological model of the Niger River above and including the Inner Delta is developed. GCM-related uncertainty in climate change impacts are investigated using seven GCMs for a 2°C increase in global mean temperature, the hypothesised threshold of “dangerous” climate change. Declines in precipitation predominate, although some GCMs project increases for some sub-catchments, whilst PET increases for all scenarios. Inter-GCM uncertainty in projected precipitation is three to five times that of PET. With the exception of one GCM (HadGEM1), which projects a very small increase (3.9%), river inflows to the Delta decline. There is considerable uncertainty in the magnitude of these reductions, ranging from 0.8% (HadCM3) to 52.7% (IPSL). Whilst flood extent for HadGEM1 increases (mean annual peak +1405 km2/+10.2%), for other GCMs it declines. These declines range from almost negligible changes to a 7903 km2 (57.3%) reduction in the mean annual peak

Leaves of High Yielding Perennial Ryegrass Contain Less Aggregated Rubisco Than S23

Breeding diploid perennial ryegrass for improved dry matter yield under nitrogen-limiting conditions has reduced the nitrogen (N) concentration of the herbage (Wilkins et al., 2003). Reduced N concentration in the ruminant diet is one potential way to reduce losses of N to the environment by reducing the amount of N that animals excrete. The underlying physiological basis of this increased N-use efficiency in ryegrass was investigated

Leaves of High Yielding Perennial Ryegrass Contain Less Aggregated Rubisco than S23

Breeding diploid perennial ryegrass for improved dry matter yield under nitrogen-limiting conditions has reduced the nitrogen (N) concentration of the herbage (Wilkins et al., 2003). Reduced N concentration in the ruminant diet is one potential way to reduce losses of N to the environment by reducing the amount of N that animals excrete. The underlying physiological basis of this increased N-use efficiency in ryegrass was investigated

Project ACORN final report

Project ACORN was funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee for eighteen months under the “Electronic Short Loan Collection” strand of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) programme. During the course of the project period it met all of its initial aims and objectives, listed below, as well as setting for itself, and meeting, many more. The Project has taken dissemination very seriously and has published over 35 reports and documents on its web site, in addition to writing a large number of journal articles and giving many papers and presentations. As the written report output of the Project has been so full, this Final Report can only serve to summarise the key findings of those reports, and direct the reader to the full reports for more detailed information