scholarly journals Working with decision-makers for resilient forests: A case study from the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 417 ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Claire Young ◽  
Mariella Marzano ◽  
Christopher P. Quine ◽  
Bianca Ambrose-Oji
Keyword(s):  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Uk

A FRAMEWORK FOR ACHIEVING ECO-EFFICIENCY IN NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

2001 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 195-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
JACQUELINE M. PETT ◽  
RITA VAN DER VORST
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Housing Developments ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
The Uk

The technologies for building environmentally sound homes are well known and have been demonstrated in numerous projects, but are yet to be adopted as standard in the UK. Local authority development plans now include "sustainability" within their principles, but this is applied mainly in the social context. One barrier to achieving sustainable new housing is the lack of a framework to combine the objectives and policies of the urban environment, environmental impacts, resource use, and the design and construction of the houses themselves. This paper describes a framework designed for use by decision-makers (i.e. housing developers and planning officers) to help them address one part of "sustainability", namely eco-efficiency. The theoretical framework is then applied to a case study. Both the development process and the application of the framework reveal interesting points to be considered in the progress towards sustainable housing.

scholarly journals Building your influence: the role of the smart sustainability leader

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Janet Haddock-Fraser ◽  
David Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Working Models ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

Anyone seeking to influence another is a potential leader.  Within higher education, determining what an institution should undertake on sustainability can be daunting.  Sustainability leaders face labyrinthine, multifaceted sub-cultures, influencers and viewpoints across staff, students, government, business and alumni all with an opinion on whether, how and in what order of priority sustainability should be taken forward.  In this paper we take on this challenge by synthesising and critically evaluating core principles and working models for influencing and leading for sustainability in higher education. We identify a series of eight challenges affecting delivery of sustainability and seek to understand how conceptual models and principles in sustainability decision-making and leadership could address these. We draw on the experience of both authors, in tandem with comments from workshop and leadership training programme participants who attended the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) Leadership Lab training in the UK, as well as reflections arising in a detailed case study from the University of Edinburgh.  We bring key insights from theory and practice for the benefits of individuals or teams seeking to influence and persuade key decision-makers to embrace the sustainability agenda.

Neither Victors nor Victims

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Whetham
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
High Street ◽  
National Survival ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Realistic Goal

Between 2007 and 2011, Wootton Bassett, a small Wiltshire town in the UK, became the focus of national attention as its residents responded to the regular repatriations of dead soldiers through its High Street. The town’s response came to symbolize the way that broader attitudes developed and changed over that period. As such, it is a fascinating case study in civil–military relations in the twenty-first century. Success may be the same as victory, but victory, at least as it has been traditionally understood, is not a realistic goal in many types of contemporary conflict. Discretionary wars—conflicts in which national survival is not an issue and even vital national interests may not be at stake—pose particular challenges for any government which does not explain why the cost being paid in blood and treasure is ‘worth it’.

The political economy of and practical policies for inclusive growth—a case study of Scotland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Houston ◽  
Georgiana Varna ◽  
Iain Docherty
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Inclusive Growth ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Inclusive Governance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Civic Institutions

Abstract The concept of ‘inclusive growth’ (IG) is discussed in a political economy framework. The article reports comparative analysis of economic and planning policy documents from Scotland, England and the UK and findings from expert workshops held in Scotland, which identify four key policy areas for ‘inclusive growth’: skills, transport and housing for young people; city-regional governance; childcare; and place-making. These policies share with the ‘Foundational Economy’ an emphasis on everyday infrastructure and services, but add an emphasis on inter-generational justice and stress the importance of community empowerment as much as re-municipalisation. Factors enabling IG policy development include: the necessary political powers; a unifying political discourse and civic institutions; and inclusive governance and participatory democracy.

scholarly journals Rain Erosion Maps for Wind Turbines Based on Geographical Locations: A Case Study in Ireland and Britain

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Pugh ◽  
M. M. Stack
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
The Uk

AbstractErosion rates of wind turbine blades are not constant, and they depend on many external factors including meteorological differences relating to global weather patterns. In order to track the degradation of the turbine blades, it is important to analyse the distribution and change in weather conditions across the country. This case study addresses rainfall in Western Europe using the UK and Ireland data to create a relationship between the erosion rate of wind turbine blades and rainfall for both countries. In order to match the appropriate erosion data to the meteorological data, 2 months of the annual rainfall were chosen, and the differences were analysed. The month of highest rain, January and month of least rain, May were selected for the study. The two variables were then combined with other data including hailstorm events and locations of wind turbine farms to create a general overview of erosion with relation to wind turbine blades.

scholarly journals Rapid, remote and responsive research during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 205979912110085
Author(s):  
Jane Richardson ◽  
Barry Godfrey ◽  
Sandra Walklate
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Recommendations

In March 2020, the UK Research and Innovation announced an emergency call for research to inform policy and practice responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This call implicitly and explicitly required researchers to work rapidly, remotely and responsively. In this article, we briefly review how rapid response methods developed in health research can be used in other social science fields. After outlining the literature in this area, we use the early stages of our applied research into criminal justice responses to domestic abuse during COVID-19 as a case study to illustrate some of the practical challenges we faced in responding to this rapid funding call. We review our use of and experience with remote research methods and describe how we used and adapted these methods in our research, from data gathering through to transcription and analysis. We reflect on our experiences to date of what it means to be responsive in fast-changing research situations. Finally, we make some practical recommendations for conducting applied research in a ‘nimble’ way to meet the demands of working rapidly, remotely, responsively and, most importantly, responsibly.

scholarly journals A Case Study of a Negotiated Tender within a Small-to-Medium Construction Contractor: Modelling Project Cost Variance

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
James Ellis ◽  
David John Edwards ◽  
Wellington Didibhuku Thwala ◽  
Obuks Ejohwomu ◽  
Ernest Effah Ameyaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Open Book ◽  
Competitive Tendering ◽  
Construction Contractor ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

This research explores the failure of competitively tendered projects in the UK construction industry to procure the most suited contractor(s) to conduct the works. Such work may have equal relevance for other developed nations globally. This research seeks to teach clients and their representatives that “lowest price” does not mean “best value”, by presenting a case study of a successfully negotiated tender undertaken by a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) contractor; SME studies are relatively scant in academic literature. By applying the “lessons learnt” principle, this study seeks to improve future practice through the development of a novel alternative procurement option (i.e., negotiation). A mixed philosophical stance combining interpretivism and pragmatism was used—interpretivism to critically review literature in order to form the basis of inductive research to discuss negotiation as a viable procurement route, and pragmatism to analyse perceptions of tendering and procurement. The methods used follow a three-stage waterfall process including: (1) literature review and pilot study; (2) quantitative analysis of case study data; and (3) qualitative data collection via a focus group. Our research underscores the need to advise clients and their representatives of the importance of understanding the scope of works allowed within a tender submission before discounting it based solely on price. In addition, we highlight the failings of competitive tendering, which results in increased costs and project duration once the works commence on site. These findings provide new contemporary insight into procurement and tendering in the construction industry, with emphasis on SME contractors, existing relationships, and open-book negotiation. This research illustrates the adverse effects of early cost estimates produced without first securing a true understanding of project buildability and programming. Our work concludes with a novel insight into an alternative procurement option that involves early SME contractor involvement in an open-book environment, without the need for a third-party cost control.

scholarly journals Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Hydropower Planning in the Vjosa Catchment (Greece, Albania)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1514
Author(s):  
Rebecca Peters ◽  
Jürgen Berlekamp ◽  
Ana Lucía ◽  
Vittoria Stefani ◽  
Klement Tockner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Hydropower Plants ◽  
Hydropower Planning

Mitigating climate change, while human population and economy are growing globally, requires a bold shift to renewable energy sources. Among renewables, hydropower is currently the most economic and efficient technique. However, due to a lack of impact assessments at the catchment scale in the planning process, the construction of hydropower plants (HPP) may have unexpected ecological, socioeconomic, and political ramifications in the short and in the long term. The Vjosa River, draining parts of Northern Greece and Albania, is one of the few predominantly free-flowing rivers left in Europe; at the same time its catchment is identified an important resource for future hydropower development. While current hydropower plants are located along tributaries, planned HPP would highly impact the free-flowing main stem. Taking the Vjosa catchment as a case study, the aim of this study was to develop a transferable impact assessment that ranks potential hydropower sites according to their projected impacts on a catchment scale. Therefore, we integrated established ecological, social, and economic indicators for all HPP planned in the river catchment, while considering their capacity, and developed a ranking method based on impact categories. For the Vjosa catchment, ten hydropower sites were ranked as very harmful to the environment as well as to society. A sensitivity analysis revealed that this ranking is dependent upon the selection of indicators. Small HPP showed higher cumulative impacts than large HPP, when normalized to capacity. This study empowers decision-makers to compare both the ranked impacts and the generated energy of planned dam projects at the catchment scale.

Agricultural Multifunctionality and Care Farming: Insight from the UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Paul Custance ◽  
Keith Walley ◽  
Gaynor Tate ◽  
Goksel Armagan
Keyword(s):  
Learning Material ◽  
Multifunctional Agriculture ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
International Audience ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Generic Points ◽  
Care Farming ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
Insight Into

The purpose of the article is to provide insight into care farming and the role that it may play in agriltural multifunctionality. The paper outlines three case studies of care farming in the UK to compare and contrast the roles that such organizations may play in multifunctional agriculture. Although the work has the obvious limitation of being based on case-study care farms that are based in the UK, the findings are sufficiently generic to serve as valuable learning material for those interested in the subject and located anywhere in the world. The main finding from this study is that care farming can take many different forms but still contribute to agricultural multifunctionality. The study also confirms the important roles that economic support and favourable legislation play in successful care farming. The paper concludes that care farming is a legitimate form of agricultural multifunctionality but reminds those interested in setting up or promoting care farms of the need for a supportive economic and legislative environment. The paper provides contemporary insight into the concept of care farming as a form of agricultural multifunctionality. A number of generic points are made that should be of value to an international audience of academics researching in this area as well as students studying care farming and agricultural multifunctionality, farmers considering diversifying into care farming and politicians working to create a political and economic environment that may support care farms.

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