Does the planning system in England deliver a sustainable and resilient environment? A study of the experience of town planners

The case has been made in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes for the crucial role of the built environment in mitigating the worst excesses of a warming global climate and in protecting people through adaptation. Town planners are essential actors in delivering sustainable and resilient urbanism. Given that legislation is implemented by people, the study aimed to examine how town planners experienced and thought about the changing legislation and how they understood the concepts of ‘sustainability’ and ‘resilience’ in the built environment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 planners working in England who had at least seven years’ experience. In the analysis, we explored meanings of sustainability and of resilience, and how these concepts were seen as incorporated in legislation. Sustainability was seen by the participants as embedded in regulations but its realisation varied substantially. Tensions were evident between the three pillars of environment, society and economy. ‘Resilience’ as a concept was poorly understood and legislative support was patchy at best: while flooding features extensively in local plans, wider issues of climate impact such as overheating are not comprehensively addressed. The conclusions are that planners are often frustrated in their attempts to develop a more sustainable built environment and that the current planning system is inadequate to deliver consistently sustainable and resilient outcomes. However, alignment between sustainability goals and professional identity were also noted, offering avenues to explore beyond the institutional constraints of legislation

Identities as enabling conditions of sustainability practices in urban planning: A critical realist exploration with planners in England

The case has been made in reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the crucial role of the built environment in mitigating the worst excesses of a warming global climate. Urban planners are essential actors in delivering a sustainable built environment. Alongside macro influences such as policy, practices in urban planning are influenced by underlying mechanisms at the level of the individual. Adopting a Bhaskarian critical realist approach, in this study we examined enabling conditions of sustainability practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 planners in England with at least seven years’ experience. The analysis found evidence from the planners’ experience of tensions between the three strands of sustainability, and of practices which could be understood from theoretical perspectives of collaboration/consensus, dissensus and pursuit of specific outcomes. A professional commitment towards a better environment appeared to be a generative mechanism for sustainability practices and underlying conditions included professional identity, identity as a public sector worker, organisational and team identities, and personal commitment. Constraining conditions were found to include stakeholder and political pressure and weak policy. The findings suggest points of leverage for the professional body, local authorities and planners themselves, in order to strengthen sustainability practices and potentially lead to transformation

Impact of Microwave Irradiation Energy Levels on Molecular Rotation, Structural, Physicochemical, Proximate and Functional Properties of Potato (Ipomoea batatas) Starch

Starch isolated from potato was subjected to microwave treatment at different energy levels (200 - 800 W) to modify the functional, structural and physicochemical properties, as well as induce molecular rotation of the hydroxyl group on the starch polysaccharide. Proximate analyses revealed that moisture content reduced, while ash, protein, fat and fibre increased after modification. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra indicated a strong shift in absorption band of OH from 3441 to 3454 cm-1. Optical light microscopy revealed that starch granules were oval and spherical in shape with hyla on some of the granules. Least gelation concentration reduced following microwave treatment. Compared with the native starch, the pasting parameters of the microwave treated starches decreased, with the exception of set­back viscosity for starch modified at 800 W. Onset temperature (TO), peak temperature (TP) and conclusion temperature (TC) of gelatinization increased in microwave treated starches compared with native potato starch. Also, gelatinization enthalpy increased from 8.21 J/g in native starch to 15.39, 16.36, 17.76 and 38.06 J/g in microwave treated starches at 200, 400, 600, and 800 W, respectively. It was concluded that the energy of microwave irradiation can induce and accelerate molecular rotation of the hydroxyl group on the starch polysaccharide

Response of cucumber to timing of fertilizer application in southwest Nigeria

Publisher's version/PDFA field trial was conducted at the experimental farm of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, to determine the growth and yield response of cucumber (cv. Poinsett) to timing of fertilizer application. Fertilizer (20:10:10), at the rate of 150 kg N ha[superscript–1], was applied at: planting, 3 weeks after planting (WAP) and 6 WAP. Similarly, split applications were given at planting + 3 WAP, at planting + 6 WAP and at 3 WAP + 6 WAP. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with seven treatments (six fertilizer application treatments plus a non fertilizer control) and four replications. Means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at the 5% level of significance. In general, plants that were fertilized performed better than control plants in terms of vegetative growth and yield. A split application at 3 WAP + 6 WAP performed the best in terms of vegetative growth and fruit yield. Fertilizer applied once-over at 6 WAP was the least beneficial; application of fertilizer once-over at planting, or a split application at planting + 3 WAP, resulted in a high level of vegetative growth but lower fruit yield compared with the split application at 3 WAP + 6 WAP

Multimodal freight transportation: sustainability challenges

Due to globalization in trade, the development of multimodal cargo shipments and the related transport needs have created a range of challenges. Interestingly, sustainability of multimodal freight transportation is still subject to minor consideration, on the grounds that economic interests are frequently positioned much higher than social or environmental objectives. This proposed research plan is needed to assess whether and to what extent the multimodal freight system is achieving the results in the sustainability dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Thus, it will carry out a critical appraisal of the multimodal freight transportation sector to provide an up-to-date knowledge on the sustainability challenges and the potential solutions through doctoral research. This paper structured to present a review of existing literature on freight transportation and multimodal freight transport highlighting the sustainability concerns with multimodal freight transport systems. It also highlights the gaps in knowledge with a justification on the need to address these gaps for the system to function optimally. It also covers the methodology that would be applied and the sources of data that would be reviewed to ensure the aim and objectives are clearly addressed. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of the expected findings in the light of sustainability in multimodal freight transport to the academia, policy makers and the freight transportation industry

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)