Environmental Standards, Management Systems and the Illusion of Progress

This paper aims to specify the conceptual and operational limits of codified environmental management systems (EMSs). Taking technical standardization as a departure-point, it is argued that key shortcomings regarding the contribution of EMSs towards environmental performance improvement (and thus ecological sustainability) can be identified: First, there are limitations to the self-regulatory framework adopted by organizations. Second, there are problems inherent within the development of EMS from prior management systems approaches, mostly based on a narrow and limited definition of quality. Third, there are errors of implementation and associated certification which compound a lack of progress in environmental improvement and progress towards sustainability. The implications of these limitations are presented and it is demonstrated that they are compounded by an appearance of progress, when in reality, little is changing. The authors point out that this failure of system based self-regulation argues for a move to performance based regime, driven if necessary by regulation

Unlocking the potential of community composting: Full project report

Community based composting schemes can make valuable contributions to the development of local infrastructure and amenities by improving soils and green spaces in addition to diverting waste from landfill. Furthermore, well managed community activities have potential for providing work and volunteering opportunities, as well as bringing people together and improving skills, knowledge and self-confidence. Considered collectively these factors may contribute to local sustainability more effectively than focusing on meeting particular waste related targets. Although there is some anecdotal and financial evidence for the growth in, and diversity of, community composting, there is very little comprehensive data that draws together the activity of the sector as a whole. This research set out to understand and assess the current and potential role of the community composting sector in achieving Defra’s waste related targets and Government’s other wider environmental and social objectives. Thus this research is timely both in terms of establishing what has been achieved in the community composting sector to-date and in terms of possibilities for future achievements

Probing the time course of facilitation and inhibition in gaze cueing of attention in an upper-limb reaching task

Previous work has revealed that social cues, such as gaze and pointed fingers, can lead to a shift in the focus of another person’s attention. Research investigating the mechanisms of these shifts of attention has typically employed detection or localization button-pressing tasks. Because in-depth analyses of the spatiotemporal characteristics of aiming movements can provide additional insights into the dynamics of the processing of stimuli, in the present study we used a reaching paradigm to further explore the processing of social cues. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants aimed to a left or right location after a nonpredictive eye gaze cue toward one of these target locations. Seven stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs), from 100 to 2,400 ms, were used. Both the temporal (reaction time, RT) and spatial (initial movement angle, IMA) characteristics of the movements were analyzed. RTs were shorter for cued (gazed-at) than for uncued targets across most SOAs. There were, however, no statistical differences in IMAs between movements to cued and uncued targets, suggesting that action planning was not affected by the gaze cue. In Experiment 3, the social cue was a finger pointing to one of the two target locations. Finger-pointing cues generated significant cueing effects in both RTs and IMAs. Overall, these results indicate that eye gaze and finger-pointing social cues are processed differently. Perception–action coupling (i.e., a tight link between the response and the social cue that is presented) might play roles in both the generation of action and the deviation of trajectories toward cued and uncued targets

Changing recycling behaviour: an evaluation of attitudes and behaviour to recycling in the Western Riverside area of London

Key to improving recycling performance in the UK is the need to more effectively engage the public and improve levels of participation. The research described in this paper combines quantitative and qualitative analysis of attitudinal and behavioural changes as part of an evaluation project to measure the impact of a multi-faceted waste awareness and education campaign in the Western Riverside Waste Authority area of central London. Analysis links attitudinal and behavioural responses to infrastructure provision and performance indicators for each area surveyed, as well as socio-demographic indicators. This paper presents the results and analysis of the attitudes, motivations and behaviours of a representative profile of households from this area of central London, in an attempt to better understand how behavioural change can be achieved and recycling targets met

Diet composition of otters (Lutra lutra L.) living on small watercourses in southwestern Hungary

The diet composition of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) was studied by spraint (faecal) analysis (n = 1,460 samples), over a two-year period, on five sections of stream and channel in the Dráva region of southwest Hungary. The primary food of otters was generally fish (range: 33.3–89.9%, biomass estimation), with amphibians of secondary importance (3.4–48.5%). Highest fish consumption was found in winter and lowest in spring. Amphibians were eaten more in spring than in winter. Mammals (range 2.0–9.3%), birds (1.1–4.1%), reptiles (up to 22.2%), crayfish (up to 1.7%) and insects (0.1–4.2%) were consumed at low levels. Trophic niche breadth did not differ significantly between areas, though the widest and lowest seasonal values differed greatly (summer B = 2.48, winter B = 1.12). Otters preyed mainly on small fish (< 100 g in weight, range 88.0–96.9% biomass) at all study areas. Eurytopic (mean 72.7%) and stagnophilic fish (mean 21.7%) were taken preferentially, with lesser consumption of reophilic species (mean 5.6%). Non-native fish were taken most often (mean 71.0%, e.g. giebel carp, brown bullhead). Our results indicate that small watercourses can play an important role as regards otter habitat and, as such, should receive more attention when assessing habitats for otter

Understanding diversity in community composting: it's all in the mix

The emergence and development of a coherent and defined community composting sector, as with the commercial composting sector, is relatively new. There is some anecdotal and funding support evidence for the growth in, and diversity of, community composting, but there is very little comprehensive data that draws together the activities of the sector as a whole. This paper starts to address that gap by presenting a summary from a national survey on the nature of the community composting sector and shows that it comprises groups and organisations involved in a diverse range of activities. It also presents findings from participatory workshops with community composting groups and their stakeholders exploring the extent to which projects contribute to individual and community change

Deprivation, class and crisis in Europe: a comparative analysis

Analysing data from an original cross-national survey conducted in 2015 in nine European democracies covering five different types of welfare regime and asking individuals a variety of questions on their deprivation during the crisis, this paper shows that there are important cross-national and cross-class inequalities in deprivation as reported by individuals in different social classes. Cross-nationally, deprivation patterns reflected the welfare regimes of the nine countries as well as the severity of the economic crisis. Working class individuals in countries that were not so deeply affected by the crisis were generally found to be worse off than middle class individuals in countries that were more deeply affected. Semi/unskilled manual classes were found to be the most deprived and class differentials were diminished but not accounted for in multilevel models including a series of controls linked to risk factors and socio-demographic position. At the macro-level, higher inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient was associated with higher levels of reported deprivation. However, cross-level interaction tests did not provide evidence that being in semi/unskilled manual occupations has a further heightened effect on reported deprivation in contexts of higher inequality or lower social spending