A literature review of connectedness to nature and its potential for environmental management

Understanding how people's relationships with nature form, how they influence personal values and attitudes, and what behavioural implications they may have could provide more insight into how connectedness to nature (CNT) can effectively contribute to environmental management goals. This paper undertakes a review of literature published over the past decade (2002e2011) on SCOPUS; and describes the current state of knowledge regarding CNT, assesses any efforts towards the spatial mapping of CNT for environmental management, and identifies measures of CNT defined in the broader literature. This review suggests that there is quite some overlap in the literature on CNT concepts, and that more effort needs to be made towards multi-disciplinary research which explores how CNT can be useful to environmental planning and conservation research on the field. It also further corroborates the need and relevance of applying more social and affective strategies to promote conservation behaviour. The main progress in CNT theory seems to have been made in the development of measurement tools, and it is clear that there is a strong convergent validity amongst the different measures due to their similarity, and functional associations. Further efforts towards the exploration of multi-dimensional measures is recommended since they consistently stand out as showing better results. The geographic visualisation of CNT constructs is another area of research that deserves attention since it can provide a unique point of view towards guiding participatory protected area planning and management.peer-reviewe

Novel system for distributed energy generation from a small scale concentrated solar power

The present work describes the realization of a modular 1-3 kWe, 3-9 kWth micro Combined Heat and Power (m-CHP) system based on innovative Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Stirling engine technology. The cogeneration of energy at distributed level is one of leading argument in large part of energy policies related to renewable energy resources and systems. This CSP m-CHP will provide electrical power, heating and cooling for single and multiple domestic dwellings and other small buildings. The developed system integrates small-scale concentrator optics with moving and tracking components, solar absorbers in the form of evacuated tube collectors, a heat transfer fluid, a Stirling engine with generator, and heating and/or cooling systems; it incorporates them into buildings in an architecturally acceptable manner, with low visual impact. Some good results have already been achieved, while developments on several technology subcomponents will be finalized through first part of 2013. Two Cer.Met. have been modelled, realized and tested. The up scaled receiver, in form of Cer.Met. coating based on TiO2 - Nb, has been confirmed an absorptance of 0.94 and emittance of 0.1 (@350°C). A second Cer.Met. coating based on SiO2 - W has demonstrated an absorptance of 0.93 and emittance of 0.09 (@350°C). A full-evacuated solar tube has been designed and realized, with absorber of 12 mm in diameter and length in 2 meters. The system is provided of a concentration ratio 12:1, and a single module is 200 cm long, 40 cm wide and 20-25 cm high. Two or more modules can be combined. The evacuated solar tube, located on the focus, has the selective absorber on a tube of 12 mm in diameter. A very thin glass mirror has been developed (< 1 mm). The overall mirror reflectivity has been measured, the verified value is 0,954. Research has proposed a high energy density, double acting Stirling engine, provided of innovative heat exchangers realized through Selective Laser Melting process. The engine is a low speed (250 RPM), high pressure (130 Bars) and compact solution able to be run at 300°C and generate 3,5 kW nominal power. The solar technology has actually entered the proof-of-concept stage. A solar plant has been installed in Malta, by Arrow Pharm company, supplying the industrial process of generated steam at 180°C and 3.5 absolute pressure. The solar collector's efficiency is close to 47% in presence of 900 W/m2 of direct solar radiation. During 2013, solar evacuated tubes with innovative Cer.Met. coating, together with new thin glass mirrors will upgrade the demonstration site, together with a new and innovative low temperature difference and high energy density Stirling. By end-2013, the system will be demonstrated, with the overall objective to achieve a minimum of 65% in solar collectors' efficiency at 300°C, and 12 - 15% of overall electrical efficiency by the Stirling cycle.peer-reviewe

The Development of eServices in an Enlarged EU:eGovernment and eHealth in Malta

In 2005, IPTS launched a project which aimed to assess the developments in eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning in the 10 New Member States at national, and at cross-country level. At that time, the 10 New Member States were Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia. A report for each country was produced, describing its government and health systems and the role played by eGovernment and eHealth within these systems. Each report then analyzes, on the basis of desk research and expert interviews, the major achievements, shortcomings, drivers and barriers in the development of eGovernment and eHealth in one of the countries in question. This analysis provides the basis for the identification and discussion of national policy options to address the major challenges and to suggest R&D issues relevant to the needs of each country ¿ in this case, Malta. In addition to national monographs, the project has delivered a synthesis report, which offers an integrated view of the developments of each application domain in the New Member States. Furthermore, a prospective report looking across and beyond the development of the eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning areas has been developed to summarize policy challenges and options for the development of eServices and the Information Society towards the goals of Lisbon and i2010.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

A literature review of connectedness to nature and its potential for environmental management

a b s t r a c t Understanding how people&apos;s relationships with nature form, how they influence personal values and attitudes, and what behavioural implications they may have could provide more insight into how connectedness to nature (CNT) can effectively contribute to environmental management goals. This paper undertakes a review of literature published over the past decade (2002e2011) on SCOPUS; and describes the current state of knowledge regarding CNT, assesses any efforts towards the spatial mapping of CNT for environmental management, and identifies measures of CNT defined in the broader literature. This review suggests that there is quite some overlap in the literature on CNT concepts, and that more effort needs to be made towards multi-disciplinary research which explores how CNT can be useful to environmental planning and conservation research on the field. It also further corroborates the need and relevance of applying more social and affective strategies to promote conservation behaviour. The main progress in CNT theory seems to have been made in the development of measurement tools, and it is clear that there is a strong convergent validity amongst the different measures due to their similarity, and functional associations. Further efforts towards the exploration of multi-dimensional measures is recommended since they consistently stand out as showing better results. The geographic visualisation of CNT constructs is another area of research that deserves attention since it can provide a unique point of view towards guiding participatory protected area planning and management. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. A substantial body of literature has been published in the social and behavioural sciences over the last three decades examining the humanenature relationship (e.g. CNT theory suggests that a relationship with the natural world directly affects people&apos;s physical, mental, and overall wellbeing due to benefits gained by increased exposure to nature and positive experiences in the natural world E-mail address: [email protected] (B. Restall). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v ie r . c o m / l o c a t e / j e n v m a n Better insight into people and their relationships with nature has the potential to enhance our ability to effectively meet conservation goals. Understanding how these relationships form, how they influence personal values and attitudes, and what behavioural implications they may have remains critical. The ability to link CNT concepts to geographically defined spaces could also potentially be useful for purposes of environmental management, and for conservation planning in particular. Given the above, this paper provides a literature review of CNT academic literature over the past decade (2001e2011), with three main objectives: a) to describe the current state of knowledge regarding CNT; b) to assess any efforts towards the spatial mapping of CNT for environmental management and c) to identify measures of CNT defined in the literature. Connectedness to nature and its relevance to environmental management Various authors have suggested that humans were in the past more physically and psychologically connected to nature than people living in industrialised nations today Klassen (2010) suggests a strong interrelatedness between ecological identity, sense of place and ecological literacy, and establishes that the degree to which these three concepts influence individuals varies from person to person. He also concludes that an individual&apos;s CNT is dependent on a variety of precursors, including &apos;prior knowledge&apos;, &apos;lived experiences&apos;, &apos;cultural background&apos;, as well as &apos;encountering and conversing with people who display their compassion, caring, and dedication for environmental concerns&apos;. Schultz (2002) also suggests that &apos;values&apos; act as a bond between all these concepts and precursors mentioned by Klassens since they underpin the relationship with the natural world, and their affective psychological and physiological responses to natural settings Schultz (2002, 2004) argues that the construct for CNT is composed of three dimensions of psychological inclusion in nature e i) a cognitive or mental representation of that self that creates an interdependence with nature; ii) an affective representation which refers to an individual&apos;s emotional bond with nature that creates a sense of intimacy and care for it; and iii) a behavioural component which refers to an individual&apos;s commitment to act in the best interest of the natural environment and protect it. However Ashmore et al. Several authors (e.g. The above &apos;eco-psychological&apos; arguments then suggest that there are significant disparities in the way individuals are attracted to nature, and disconnectedness from nature could indirectly contribute to environmental deterioration Methods Data collection protocol and search strategy This paper presents two sets of literature reviews e the first dataset based on a review of the literature undertaken using principles of Systematic Literature Review (SLRs) protocols as a guide, and the second dataset based on a less restrictive but wider search for relevant literature related specifically to measures of CNT. The SLR protocol was identified a-priori and detailed the study inclusion criteria, established a series of review questions, identified relevant studies, appraised their quality and summarised the evidence to provide an overall picture of CNT literature. The aim was to synthesize findings from recent literature in order to understand the direction CNT research is taking, while reducing the effect of the reviewers&apos; own bias, identifying gaps, and suggesting directions for further research The first step of the literature review involved systematically identifying data sources. The papers which formed our dataset were thus selected from peer reviewed literature on CNT published between January 2002 and December 2014 for the first dataset. Searches of web-based databases hosted by SciVerse (Scopus) were conducted, specifically under the categories for &quot;Life sciences&quot; (7200 journal titles) and &quot;Social sciences and humanities&quot; (5300 titles). Scopus was selected because it offers significant coverage of databases that deal with the environmental social sciences. The search terms used were &quot;connectedness to nature&quot; and &quot;nature relatedness&quot;, with papers selected for further evaluation if they contained this term within the article title, abstract and/or keywords. Other related search terms were excluded since CNT is by now established as the leading term for this construct. The use of the Scopus database inevitably means that other relevant CNT literature may have been overlooked, since it only offers literature written in English, and excludes other works published in books, dissertations, and conference proceedings or online. Nonetheless peer-reviewed research communicated through the medium of established journals remains the most reliable source for a systematic literature review that can withstand academic scrutiny, despite the above limitations. For researchers trying to identify or build a CNT measure ideal for their needs, a more complete list of available measures is needed. Consequently, in order to provide a more comprehensive literature review of measures associated with CNT, the author also undertook a Scopus search beyond the reference years; and furthermore screened the first 100 returns of &apos;grey literature&apos; from the Google search engine using the same keywords, but focussing specifically on measurement of CNT. This second dataset was used specifically to provide a more comprehensive collation of CNT measures beyond the first dataset. Only English language publications were assessed. Study inclusion criteria Each article returned by the database search had its full text reviewed if the title and/or abstract were deemed to meet any three of the following study inclusion criteria, namely: a) articles specifically dealing with the topic of connectedness to nature; b) articles containing a measure quantifying the connection to the natural world; and c) articles that attempt to map CNT. Publications were scored for the extent to which they discussed each of the three inclusion criteria listed above in the title or abstract, and when necessary in the introduction and discussion sections. Thus, whether a published article was deemed relevant was dependent on the context of the study, and its direct relevance to CNT. Consequently papers that simply mentioned CNT or simply discussed fringe aspects of underlying CNT concepts were deemed to be irrelevant to this review. All papers were assessed by the primary author to ensure consistency, with key findings then reviewed by the second author. After searching the Scopus database, the selection was narrowed down to 260 papers published between 2002 and 2014. Of these 260 sources, 170 were rejected because they did not match the study inclusion criteria mentioned above. Our final sample was comprised of 90 peer reviewed papers from forty different journals and are listed in Annex I. Coding protocol The selected 90 papers were each reviewed carefully to assess their relevance against an a-priori protocol derived following a preliminary review of all papers. We identified the following ten review variables in order to describe the papers&apos; context and methods for measuring CNT, and these variables were subsequently used to score each relevant paper accordingly. Limitations Bibliographic and academic research databases available B. Restall, E. Conrad / Journal of Environmental Management xxx (2015) 1e15 Results and discussion CNT papers published and their wider research contexts Ninety papers were found to be of direct relevance to CNT within the 13 years analysed on the Scopus database. A comparison against the coverage of other similar psychological constructs like place attachment (in the same database and over the same period) suggests that CNT is still somewhat under-represented in the Scopus literature. For instance a similar search for the term &quot;place attachment&quot; (PA) revealed 1064 potential sources which are of direct relevance to the PA literature. Out of the 90 papers reviewed, 76 papers (84%) undertook empirical research which applies CNT within specific contexts, while only 12 published papers (13%) comprised literature reviews, and only two papers were general format papers in the form of essays, reports or discussion papers. While the benefits of widespread empirical research are clear, this result also confirms there is scope for reviews of this nature. The majority of papers were standalone studies (78%) and the remaining 22% of the studies formed part of wider programmes of research e primarily looking at related health issues in connection with CNT, or else exploring the interplay between teaching and CNT. 54% of the studies received no reported funding whatsoever, and only 31% of papers received state funding, with only 4% receiving academic funding and 7% receiving NGO funding. Journals publishing about CNT Between 2002 and 2014, 17 journals published papers specifically dealing with CNT; however, 15 of these journals only published one paper on the subject over this time span. The &apos;Journal of Environmental Psychology&apos; (JEP) published 30% of all papers (27 papers), followed by Landscape and Urban Planning (LUP) at 56% and Health &amp; Place, Ecological Economics, Journal of Environmental Management, Procedia e Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Environment and Behavior which published 3% of the papers. This result comes as no surprise since the JEP is a leading journal for academics who have a specific interest in the interrelationships between people and their physical surroundings. This implies that CNT is somewhat relegated to the psychology literature base and has limited exposure or application in other multi-disciplinary publications or academic literature, which can be a limiting factor towards the potential influence of CNT concepts in environmental policy or management decisions. Country interest in CNT For each paper we noted the institution and country where authors were based in order to give an idea of the spread of CNT research and to identify any cultural biases which may be present. All papers originated only from 25 countries, and the largest numbers of publications (27%) were written from USA institutes, followed by 17% in Australia and 8% in the UK, 7% in the Netherlands, 6% in Canada, while Germany made a modest contribution (4%). The only lower income country represented, based on the gross national income per capita and a classification of economies by the World Bank (2010e2014), was Iran; however the paper in question was written by academics in India. Overall this suggests that studies in CNT are undertaken in high-income countries, and that low-income countries are poorly represented in CNT literature. Unfortunately this bias towards high-income countries is not specific to CNT literature alone and remains prevalent in most fields of research Academic domains pursuing CNT, and their spatial focus As can be expected, the greatest proportion of papers (66%) analysed CNT purely from the psychological point of view, or looked at its application within the environmental and social psychology domain. Only 13% of papers focused on the implications of CNT on conservation, 6% on human geography, 3% on sociology along with a similar 3% on the medical sciences. Other varied disciplines like education only garnered a share of 7%of the literature. This suggests that CNT is somewhat grounded in the psychological sciences but still garners interest from various domains Our review indicates that there is a moderately varied distribution of studies across the identified spatial scales. Papers considering the relevance of CNT for &apos;Nature in general&apos; dominated the literature (29%); followed by a specific focus on &apos;Natural areas (not directly modified for human purposes)&apos; at 13%. &apos;Urban areas&apos; (12%) and &apos;Agricultural areas&apos; (11%) also were the subject of study; while &apos;Rural areas&apos;, (7%), &apos;Outdoor areas or urban parks&apos; (6%), &apos;Touristic areas&apos; (2%), and &apos;Contaminated/polluted environments&apos; (1%) garnered modest interest. &apos;Office environments&apos; received no direct CNT attention in the period reviewed and 16% of the papers had no particular spatial focus. These results indicate that research is mostly focused on understanding CNT within a generic appreciation of nature, or simply focused on the psychological implications of CNT on people, rather than being framed within specific environments. However, natural and urban areas do seem to be of direct interest in CNT, while fewer studies where applied to agricultural areas, rural areas, outdoor areas or urban parks, and touristic areas. This is possibly the result of people moving out of rural areas and relocating to coastal and urban settlements (Daily, 2001; Stakeholder involvement There is doubt that successful nature management can be designed or implemented without taking in consideration the relationship with the broader society. For instance, conserving rural landscapes has been shown to require complex coordination with many public and private stakeholders Spatial mapping of CNT constructs Spatial mapping and analysis of geographically referenced information is being used extensively in the social sciences to gain spatial perspectives that can solve complex environmental problems which are embedded in space and time If we are serious about the view that people are part of an ecosystem, then good ecosystem management should stand to gain from the mapping of social or personal meanings or value people attribute to nature; or how we view humaneenvironment relationships and the extent to which people agree or disagree on these meanings Research methods used for measuring CNT The aim of this section is to provide an overview of CNT measures mentioned or used in the wider literature to measure, quantify and categorize the human relationship with our natural environment. We review the distinctiveness of these measures as a further contribution to the theoretical understanding of connection to nature, and undertake a critical analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. Out of the papers reviewed for the first dataset, 49% actually use one or more tools to quantify CNT, and some of the studies reviewed have even developed psychometric scales of their own. Although a number of the papers reviewed or assessed numerous instruments that measure CNT, it is clear that other established CNT measurement tools were omitted since they were not published in peer-reviewed journals. Consequently a wider and less restrictive literature review beyond the SCOPUS journal and date parameters was undertaken for this section in order to create a second dataset. There is clearly substantial similarity and possible overlap between the various measures and constructs of CNT reviewed above, even though they theoretically focus on different aspects of CNT. These similarities are even acknowledged by the authors themselves in some cases. Nevertheless, these results also suggest that while the subtle statistical divergences of these measures cannot be ignored, it is evident that NR and EID show a persistent correlation with the criterion variables, and that the NR scale was consistently reliabl

Distributed m-CHP generation from a small scale concentrated solar power installation

The present work describes the realization of a modular 1-3 kWe, 3-9 kWth micro Combined Heat and Power (m-CHP) system based on innovative Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Stirling engine technology. The cogeneration of energy at distributed level is one of leading argument in large part of energy policies related to renewable energy resources and systems. This CSP m-CHP will provide electrical power, heating and cooling for single and multiple domestic dwellings and other small buildings. The developed system integrates small-scale concentrator optics with moving and tracking components, solar absorbers in the form of evacuated tube collectors, a heat transfer fluid, a Stirling engine with generator, and heating and/or cooling systems; it incorporates them into buildings in an architecturally acceptable manner, with low visual impact. Some good results have already been achieved, while developments on several technology subcomponents will be finalized through first part of 2013. Two Cer.Met. have been modelled, realized and tested. The up scaled receiver, in form of Cer.Met. coating based on TiO2 - Nb, has been confirmed an absorptance of 0.94 and emittance of 0.1 (@350C). A second Cer.Met. coating based on SiO2 - W has demonstrated an absorptance of 0.93 and emittance of 0.09 (@350C). A full-evacuated solar tube has been designed and realized, with absorber of 12 mm in diameter and length in 2 meters. The system is provided of a concentration ratio 12:1, and a single module is 200 cm long, 40 cm wide and 20-25 cm high. Two or more modules can be combined. The evacuated solar tube, located on the focus, has the selective absorber on a tube of 12 mm in diameter. A very thin glass mirror has been developed (< 1 mm). The overall mirror reflectivity has been measured, the verified value is 0,954. Research has proposed a high energy density, double acting Stirling engine, provided of innovative heat exchangers realized through Selective Laser Melting process. The engine is a low speed (250 RPM), high pressure (130 Bars) and compact solution able to be run at 300C and generate 3,5 kW nominal power. The solar technology has been fully proven in a demonstration site. The solar plant has been installed in Malta, by Arrow Pharm company, supplying the industrial process of generated steam at 180C and 3.5 absolute pressure in a first phase and supporting the tests of improved technologies at a second stage. The solar collector's efficiency is around 50% in presence of 900 W/m2 of direct solar radiation and at 300C. During 2013, solar evacuated tubes with innovative Cer.Met. coating, together with new thin glass mirrors has upgraded the demonstration site, together with a new and innovative low temperature difference and high energy density Stirling. By end-2013, the system has been demonstrated. At the beginning of 2014 it will be transferred to Trento for further optimization, with the overall objective to achieve a minimum of 65% in solar collectors efficiency at 300C, and 12-15% of overall electrical efficiency by the Stirling cycle. The actual work is part of a FP7 European Funded project, DIGESPOBajada New Energy, General Membrane, EcoGroup, Econetique, Energy Investment, JMV Vibro Blocks, Solar Engineering, Solar Solutions.peer-reviewe

Systematic review of tools to measure outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder

Background: The needs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are complex and this is reflected in the number and diversity of outcomes assessed and measurement tools used to collect evidence about children's progress. Relevant outcomes include improvement in core ASD impairments, such as communication, social awareness, sensory sensitivities and repetitiveness, skills such as social functioning and play, participation outcomes such as social inclusion, and parent and family impact. Objectives: To examine the measurement properties of tools used to measure progress and outcomes in children with ASD up to the age of 6 years. To identify outcome areas regarded as important by people with ASD and parents. Methods: The MeASURe (Measurement in Autism Spectrum disorder Under Review) research collaboration included ASD experts and review methodologists. We undertook systematic review of tools used in ASD early intervention and observational studies from 1992 to 2013, systematic review, using the COSMIN checklist (Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments) of papers addressing the measurement properties of identified tools in children with ASD, and synthesis of evidence and gaps. The review design and process was informed throughout by consultation with stakeholders including parents, young people with ASD, clinicians and researchers. Results: The conceptual framework developed for the review was drawn from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, including the domains 'Impairments', 'Activity Level Indicators', 'Participation', and 'Family Measures'. In review 1, 10,154 papers were sifted - 3091 by full text - and data extracted from 184, in total, 131 tools were identified, excluding observational coding, study-specific measures and those not in English. In review 2, 2665 papers were sifted and data concerning measurement properties of 57 (43%) tools were extracted from 128 papers. Evidence for the measurement properties of the reviewed tools was combined with information about their accessibility and presentation. Twelve tools were identified as having the strongest supporting evidence, the majority measuring autism characteristics and problem behaviour. The patchy evidence and limited scope of outcomes measured mean these tools do not constitute a 'recommended battery' for use. In particular,there is little evidence that the identified tools would be good at detecting change in intervention studies. The obvious gaps in available outcome measurement include well-being and participation outcomes for children, and family quality-of-life outcomes, domains particularly valued by our informants (young people with ASD and parents). Conclusions: This is the first systematic review of the quality and appropriateness of tools designed to monitor progress and outcomes of young children with ASD. Although it was not possible to recommend fully robust tools at this stage, the review consolidates what is known about the field and will act as a benchmark for future developments. With input from parents and other stakeholders, recommendations are made about priority targets for research. Future work: Priorities include development of a tool to measure child quality of life in ASD, and validation of a potential primary outcome tool for trials of early social communication intervention. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42012002223. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme

Assessment of stakeholder perceptions towards Malta’s land-based wind energy plans

This research paper sets out primarily to build on research literature about stakeholder perceptions (including levels of acceptance) of wind farm projects in Malta. It collects critical new information for Malta about the perspectives and considerations of stakeholders with different interests, and their relationship towards wind power policy making, planning and decision making in respect to the planned onshore wind farm at Wied Rini in Bahrija. This is expected to provide reliable benchmarking data and knowledge that can inform environmental decision-making and stakeholder involvement, while identifying possible ways to assist mediation and reduce conflict. Field research was conducted using Q methodology in order to systematically compare patterns in stakeholder views according to cultural types, and their energy/environmental priorities within spatial planning. Results indicate clearly that in most cases same issues are looked at significantly differently by the various stakeholders, with four major discourses standing out but indicating rather polar views. This implies that local concerns need to be heeded very carefully, whether they are deemed ‘legitimate’ or not. Due to the many uncertainties dominating the project, science alone is not sufficient to provide peace of mind and scientific arguments can often be used in stakeholder quibbling or lead to further controversy. Similarly any attempts to subdue objectors or manipulate community engagement to reach a forced approval of the project can be counterproductive, and will result in longer and more painful public confrontations. Public perception across most of the discourses are characterised by mistrust and constant doubts for the motives of politicians, and a lot of effort needs to be directed towards establishing a level of trust between the different stakeholders and local agencies. However one of the most important calls made by the prevalent discourses is towards expanding and improving community participation in the way the wind project plans are planned and authorized. Of course the implication is that this requires adequate information campaigns and possibly an institutional capacity re-think that empowers constructive public involvement in the burden sharing, with the understanding that this will lead to better decision making and less public opposition