Participation in postpolitical times: protesting WestConnex in Sydney, Australia

Arnstein’s work powerfully exposed the political framing work of government authorities in establishing how planners engage with the public, revealing how this tended to perpetuate rather than disrupt existing power relations. This resonates well with work on postpolitics, which argues that carefully stage-managed consultation exercises can be part of a repertoire of depoliticising techniques that allow the authorities to present their preferred plans and policies as the only ‘reasonable’ options around which a wide-ranging consensus can be built. The effect is to deny voice to those who dissent and refuse to compromise around an economic and political model that they see as broken. This article explores how governments have responded to criticism of participation by devising more sophisticated ways for ‘enhancing’ participation whilst ensuring it does not disrupt the existing distribution of power. Our research involves a case study of WestConnex, a controversial motorway being built in Sydney, Australia. Interviews were held with 25 key informants, supplemented by attending six public consultation and protest events. We also draw on a range of other material, from official documents and press releases to media coverage of WestConnex.<br/

Inclusive urbanization in the age of climate change:Key conclusions and way forward

As the majority of the people on Earth now live in urban areas, human society faces two fundamental challenges: escalating social exclusion on the one hand and increased vulnerability to changing climate, on the other. Half of the world’s population already lives in the urban areas and, by 2030, all developing countries will also become predominantly urban (UN-HABITAT, 2010). Against this backdrop, this book has shown that social exclusion is widespread in urban regions in south Asia, a scenario that is also found in other parts of the world. In addition, as has been demonstrated by various authors in this book, climate change is exacerbating exclusion. As editors of the book, we are glad to have been able to engage some of the foremost authorities in urban development and environmental policies to contribute to this book. The majority of the contributors are researchers and activists who are engaged in particular contexts—mostly South Asia—on various aspects of policy, practice and critical knowledge development. The chapters encapsulate action-verified lessons and accumulated insights, which the authors have gained through their long-standing research and engagement in the specific issues and contexts. The book has thus been able to showcase cutting-edge ideas, innovations, fundamental issues and the way forward in relation to enhancing inclusion in the rapidly urbanizing regions of the global south, with particular reference to the challenge of climate change

Whip Rule Breaches in a Major Australian Racing Jurisdiction: Welfare and Regulatory Implications

Whip use in horseracing is increasingly being questioned on ethical, animal welfare, social sustainability, and legal grounds. Despite this, there is weak evidence for whip use and its regulation by Stewards in Australia. To help address this, we characterised whip rule breaches recorded by Stewards using Stewards Reports and Race Diaries from 2013 and 2016 in New SouthWales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). There were more recorded breaches at Metropolitan (M) than Country (C) or Provincial (P) locations, and by riders of horses that finished first, second, or third than by riders of horses that finished in other positions. The most commonly recorded breaches were forehand whip use on more than five occasions before the 100-metre (m) mark (44%), and whip use that raises the jockey’s arm above shoulder height (24%). It is recommended that racing compliance data be analysed annually to inform the evidence-base for policy, education, and regulatory change, and ensure the welfare of racehorses and racing integrity

Ethnicity and media: a study of English and non-English language print media coverage of water issues in Sydney

It is critical to understand how matters relating to water are reported, or ignored, among linguistically diverse media and to understand the possible influence this may have on the conception of water issues among ethnically diverse groups. This research analysed five daily newspapers published in Sydney between 2011 and 2012 in three languages (English, Chinese and Korean) and found that water issues were presented differently by newspapers across language divides in Sydney. These differences may contribute to diverse conceptual constructions of water problems and water management among ethnically diverse communities. After allowing for the influence of other variables, this research highlights the necessity to investigate media construction of water issues in various Non-English language publications as an important approach to improving situated and place-based water awareness in an ethnically diverse city

From the Seam to the Stove: greenhouse gas assessment and the coal seam gas industry in Australia

In Australia, Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is a relatively new source of natural gas commonly advocated as a lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions alternative to coal. This study investigates how GHG emissions have been, and potentially could be, assessed within the Australian CSG industry. The research involved a document analysis of several Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and consultant reports prepared as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for major CSG projects in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (Qld). There were found to be inconsistencies in the conduct of greenhouse assessment by the CSG industry, including how complete and transparent assessments were, as well as how effectively they addressed project emission intensity and cumulative impacts. There were also found to be large inconsistencies between assessments carried out for Qld projects and those for NSW projects, likely because of differences in how assessment requirements are applied by planning bodies. This study also highlights how alternative assessment approaches, such as Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), have potential to enable a broader and more consistent understanding of emission sources that cross a range of geographical and project boundaries

Improving the understanding of psychological factors contributing to horse-related accident and injury : Context, loss of focus, cognitive errors and rigidity

While the role of the horse in riding hazards is well recognised, little attention has been paid to the role of specific theoretical psychological processes of humans in contributing to and mitigating risk. The injury, mortality or compensation claim rates for participants in the horse-racing industry, veterinary medicine and equestrian disciplines provide compelling evidence for improving risk mitigation models. There is a paucity of theoretical principles regarding the risk of injury and mortality associated with human-horse interactions. In this paper we introduce and apply the four psychological principles of context, loss of focus, global cognitive style and the application of self as the frame of reference as a potential approach for assessing and managing human-horse risks. When these principles produce errors that are combined with a rigid self-referenced point, it becomes clear how rapidly risk emerges and how other people and animals may repeatedly become at risk over time. Here, with a focus on the thoroughbred racing industry, veterinary practice and equestrian disciplines, we review the merits of contextually applied strategies, an evolving reappraisal of risk, flexibility, and focused specifics of situations that may serve to modify human behaviour and mitigate risk

Ecological Footprint Model Using the Support Vector Machine Technique

The per capita ecological footprint (EF) is one of the most widely recognized measures of environmental sustainability. It aims to quantify the Earth's biological resources required to support human activity. In this paper, we summarize relevant previous literature, and present five factors that influence per capita EF. These factors are: National gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization (independent of economic development), distribution of income (measured by the Gini coefficient), export dependence (measured by the percentage of exports to total GDP), and service intensity (measured by the percentage of service to total GDP). A new ecological footprint model based on a support vector machine (SVM), which is a machine-learning method based on the structural risk minimization principle from statistical learning theory was conducted to calculate the per capita EF of 24 nations using data from 123 nations. The calculation accuracy was measured by average absolute error and average relative error. They were 0.004883 and 0.351078% respectively. Our results demonstrate that the EF model based on SVM has good calculation performance

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission

AbstractUnderstanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission in higher education settings is important to limit spread between students, and into at-risk populations. In this study, we sequenced 482 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the University of Cambridge from 5 October to 6 December 2020. We perform a detailed phylogenetic comparison with 972 isolates from the surrounding community, complemented with epidemiological and contact tracing data, to determine transmission dynamics. We observe limited viral introductions into the university; the majority of student cases were linked to a single genetic cluster, likely following social gatherings at a venue outside the university. We identify considerable onward transmission associated with student accommodation and courses; this was effectively contained using local infection control measures and following a national lockdown. Transmission clusters were largely segregated within the university or the community. Our study highlights key determinants of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and effective interventions in a higher education setting that will inform public health policy during pandemics.</jats:p