scholarly journals National and sub-national estimation of benzene emission trend into atmosphere in Iran from 1990 to 2013

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansour Shamsipour ◽  
Mina Aghaei ◽  
Safa Kalteh ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Hassanvand ◽  
Kimiya Gohari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Studies ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Concentration Estimation ◽  
Benzene Concentration ◽  
Benzene Content ◽  
Insight Into

Introduction: Exposure to benzene has been associated with a range of acute and long-term adverse health effects. We aimed to estimate national and provincial level of benzene emissions from 1990 to 2013 in Iran. Materials and methods: Benzene emission was estimated through two main sources: unburned benzene content of fuel and evaporated benzene. Unburned benzene content of fuel estimated by gasoline consumption rate, kilometers traveled by non-diesel-based cars, and benzene emission factor. Evaporated benzene estimated by evaporated gasoline and volumetric percentile of benzene.               Results: The estimated provincial annual mean benzene estimation range was between 5.9 (ton) and 1590 (ton) from 1990 to 2013. Our results showed that maximum benzene emission over the past 24 years occurred in Tehran, (Mean± SD) (1147.2±308.5) (ton)), Isfahan (423.4±132) (ton)), Khorasan Razavi (410.4±122.2) (ton)) provinces, respectively. There was an upward trend in the benzene emission into atmosphere at national and subnational level from 1990 to 2007. Also a significant decrease trend is observed from 2008 to 2013. Conclusion: The findings of this study will provide an insight into the extent of emitted benzene in the atmosphere at different regions of Iran for policy makers and scientists and may be a groundwork for field studies on benzene concentration estimation.

scholarly journals Archaeology, climate, and global change in the Age of Humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (15) ◽  
pp. 8250-8253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben C. Rick ◽  
Daniel H. Sandweiss
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Political Uncertainty ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Human Ecodynamics ◽  
The Future ◽  
Shed Light

We live in an age characterized by increasing environmental, social, economic, and political uncertainty. Human societies face significant challenges, ranging from climate change to food security, biodiversity declines and extinction, and political instability. In response, scientists, policy makers, and the general public are seeking new interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approaches to evaluate and identify meaningful solutions to these global challenges. Underrecognized among these challenges is the disappearing record of past environmental change, which can be key to surviving the future. Historical sciences such as archaeology access the past to provide long-term perspectives on past human ecodynamics: the interaction between human social and cultural systems and climate and environment. Such studies shed light on how we arrived at the present day and help us search for sustainable trajectories toward the future. Here, we highlight contributions by archaeology—the study of the human past—to interdisciplinary research programs designed to evaluate current social and environmental challenges and contribute to solutions for the future. The past is a multimillennial experiment in human ecodynamics, and, together with our transdisciplinary colleagues, archaeology is well positioned to uncover the lessons of that experiment.

scholarly journals Land Use Projections Under Alternative Policies: A Transition Matrix Approach

1979 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Lindsay ◽  
Daniel L. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Land Use Policy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Accelerated Growth ◽  
Insight Into

As a result of accelerated growth during the past decade, land use change over time and its accompanying problems represents a policy area germane to New Hampshire. Accurate projections of the future pattern of land use would be helpful to decision makers responsible for land use policy. Such projections could assist policy makers either directly in formulating land use plans or indirectly in justifying the need (or lack of need) for overt land use planning. Future projections, based upon various alternative land use policy scenarios, will increase the quantitative supply of information to decision makers in a two-fold manner. First, such estimates provide an insight into the current trend in land use mix and, secondly, give an overview of what impacts various policies directly have upon land use change.

Arab-uprising: an analysis from political economy perspective

Humanomics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ataul Huq Pramanik
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Arab World ◽  
General Reader ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Cultural Components

Purpose – This paper aims at examining the past as well as the current issues responsible for the most recent Arab-uprising. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical evidence based on regression and correlation together with tabular presentations suggests that the issue of Arab-uprising can be examined from both theoretical and factual evidence. Both theoretical and empirical findings testify the extremely high interrelationships existing among the determinants and co-determinants of Arab-uprising. Based on the three most fundamental pre-requisites for living a life with satisfaction based on personal honour, dignity, voice, peace, justice and equality of opportunity, the economic, political and socio-cultural components are found to be neglected in the Arab World. The constraint of data limited the scope to use systematically available and reliable independent variables, in particular, warranted by any sophisticated empirical model. Findings – The findings will have policy directions for the policy-makers/politicians to address the serious issues involving empowerments. It is argued that the ad hoc solution based on buying the dissent of the critics using handouts is not a long-term sustainable solution to the problems. The findings are also expected to create social consciousness among those who are most concerned to see the changes in the society for betterment where every citizen can stand for his honour, dignity and voice, justice and equality. Originality/value – It is expected that the general reader can understand the issues raised in this paper, internalize the ideas and create an overall environment to redirect the policy frameworks for resolving the social problems without conflict.

scholarly journals Regional analysis of groundwater nitrate concentrations and trends in Denmark in regard to agricultural influence

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 5321-5346 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Hansen ◽  
T. Dalgaard ◽  
L. Thorling ◽  
B. Sørensen ◽  
M. Erlandsen
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Trend Analyses ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nitrate Concentrations ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
High Level

Abstract. The act of balancing between an intensive agriculture with a high potential for nitrate pollution and a~drinking water supply almost entirely based on groundwater is a challenge faced by Denmark and similar regions around the globe. Since the 1980s, regulations implemented by Danish farmers have succeeded in optimizing the N (nitrogen) management at farm level. As a result, the upward agricultural N surplus trend has been reversed, and the N surplus has reduced by 30–55 % from 1980 to 2007 depending on region. The reduction in the N surplus served to reduce the losses of N from agriculture, with documented positive effects on nature and the environment in Denmark. In groundwater, the upward trend in nitrate concentration was reversed around 1980, and a larger number of downward nitrate trends were seen in the youngest groundwater compared with the oldest groundwater. However, on average, approximately 48 % of the oxic monitored groundwater has nitrate concentrations above the groundwater and drinking water standards of 50 mg l−1. Furthermore, trend analyses show that 33 % of all the monitored groundwater has upward nitrate trends, while only 18 % of the youngest groundwater has upward nitrate trends according to data sampled from 1988–2009. A regional analysis shows a correlation between a high level of N surplus in agriculture, high concentrations of nitrate in groundwater and the largest number of downward nitrate trends in groundwater in the livestock-dense northern and western parts of Denmark compared with the south-eastern regions with lower livestock densities. These results indicate that the livestock farms dominating in northern and western parts of Denmark have achieved the largest reductions in N surpluses. Groundwater recharge age determinations allow comparison of long-term changes in N surplus in agriculture with changes in oxic groundwater quality. The presented data analysis is based on groundwater recharged from 1952–2003, but sampled from 1988–2009. Repetition of the nitrate trend analyses at five-year intervals using dating of the groundwater recharged in the coming years and a longer time series of the nitrate analyses can reveal the evolution in nitrate leaching from Danish agriculture during the past 10 yr. Similar analyses can be carried out to compare with other regions internationally.

The “Hallyu” phenomenon: Utilizing tourism destination as product placement in K-POP culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joo Hwan Seo ◽  
Bumsoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Autoregressive Model ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
Product Placement ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Tourism Demand ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Joint Plan

This article examines the effect of the Korean pop culture phenomenon also known as “Hallyu” on the inbound tourism demand of Korea. “Hallyu” products are exported throughout Asia and have been growing over the past decade. Using a Bayesian autoregressive model, we empirically investigate the product placement effects of “Hallyu” explained by the parasocial theory of previous literature utilizing inbound tourist data and show that “Hallyu” effects are also present in the overall tourism industry of Korea. The study illustrates that product placement can be a powerful marketing strategy in the tourism industry and highlights its importance for policy makers in creating a comprehensive joint plan for the development of long-term tourism.

scholarly journals Regional analysis of groundwater nitrate concentrations and trends in Denmark in regard to agricultural influence

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 3277-3286 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Hansen ◽  
T. Dalgaard ◽  
L. Thorling ◽  
B. Sørensen ◽  
M. Erlandsen
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Trend Analyses ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nitrate Concentrations ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
High Level

Abstract. The act of balancing between an intensive agriculture with a high potential for nitrate pollution and a drinking water supply almost entirely based on groundwater is a challenge faced by Denmark and similar regions around the globe. Since the 1980s, regulations implemented by Danish farmers have succeeded in optimizing the N (nitrogen) management at farm level. As a result, the upward agricultural N surplus trend has been reversed, and the N surplus has reduced by 30–55% from 1980 to 2007 depending on region. The reduction in the N surplus served to reduce the losses of N from agriculture, with documented positive effects on nature and the environment in Denmark. In groundwater, the upward trend in nitrate concentrations was reversed around 1980, and a larger number of downward nitrate trends were seen in the youngest groundwater compared with the oldest groundwater. However, on average, approximately 48% of the oxic monitored groundwater has nitrate concentrations above the groundwater and drinking water standards of 50 mg l−1. Furthermore, trend analyses show that 33% of all the monitored groundwater has upward nitrate trends, while only 18% of the youngest groundwater has upward nitrate trends according to data sampled from 1988–2009. A regional analysis shows a correlation between a high level of N surplus in agriculture, high concentrations of nitrate in groundwater and the largest number of downward nitrate trends in groundwater in the livestock-dense northern and western parts of Denmark compared with the southeastern regions with lower livestock densities. These results indicate that the livestock farms dominating in northern and western parts of Denmark have achieved the largest reductions in N surpluses. Groundwater recharge age determinations allow comparison of long-term changes in N surplus in agriculture with changes in oxic groundwater quality. The presented data analysis is based on groundwater recharged from 1952–2003, but sampled from 1988–2009. Repetition of the nitrate trend analyses at five-year intervals using dating of the groundwater recharged in the coming years and a longer time series of the nitrate analyses can reveal the evolution in nitrate leaching from Danish agriculture during the past 10 yr. Similar analyses can be carried out to compare with other regions internationally.

Field Studies: Bringing Historical Records Down to Earth

2019 ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Emily W. B. Russell Southgate
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Remote Imaging ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ground Survey ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Over Time

There are many field techniques that take research beyond what can be found in written documents. Clues to the past are hidden in such subtle (and not so subtle) features as topographic modifications, soils, and tree trunks. Field studies search for evidence of conditions and for their resultant effects through a variety of techniques. Features may be evident from a ground survey, located precisely through GPS. Remote imaging, using a variety of techniques from simple aerial photography to lidar, reveal hidden patterns, that may then be studied on the ground. Archeological study relates the patterns found on the ground to human activities, as they have changed over time. Dendroecology interprets records left in tree rings. Some studies look at stands of different ages to study change over time, and long-term studies trace change in individual stands. In these field studies that look at the past, soil characteristics and materials hidden in the soil, such as DNA, stable isotopes and charcoal, can reveal details of past processes and species. These methods are illustrated with examples from a wide range of biomes.

scholarly journals Peripheral mobilities: looking at dormant, delegitimized and forgotten transport regimes

Tempo Social ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-85
Author(s):  
Massimo Moraglio
Keyword(s):  
Current Debate ◽  
Technological Determinism ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Electric Cars ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Environmental Failures

In the transport debate, policy makers seem to be under the spell of a technological determinism, in which innovation Tand novelty are the key concepts. Obsessed with westernised regimes and systems, the current debate misses the relevance of forgotten, peripheral and silent mobilities. In this regard, looking to those peripheral mobilities is not only important for reconstructing our memory, but can also offer tools to build socially and environmentally sustainable transport regimes. I suggest using Walter Benjamin’s Angelus Novus to address the past and future of infrastructural systems and the role of “old” regimes. This paper relies on David Edgerton’s work, but I push the argument further, claiming that an innovation-prone debate today creates the (social and environmental) failures of tomorrow. While electric cars and driver-less vehicles can be useful tools, we should consider that peripheral mobilities could better address the issue of socially and environmentally sustainable transports systems. Long-term vision can bridge the past and future of transport policies and offer hints to social science, humanity and governance.

scholarly journals THE PERFORMATIVE POWER OF IDEAS: JEFFREY ALEXANDER AS AN ICONIC INTELLECTUAL

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sociology ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Authority ◽  
Group I ◽  
Strong Program ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Intellectual Influence ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract This paper considers Jeffrey Alexander's role in the past, present and future of the strong program in cultural sociology. The central argument is that Alexander is becoming an iconic intellectual, but that the process is not yet complete. Drawing on first-hand observations gathered through my long-term affiliation with the "Alexander group", I trace the development of Alexander's social authority and intellectual influence through the establishment, institutionalization and globalization of the strong program. Descriptions of his charismatic intellectual performances provide further insight into iconization. The conclusion identifies some of the challenges that must be overcome for further theoretical development of the strong program, and the conditions that must be met for Alexander's iconization to reach completion.

Paraquat — a Review of Safety in Agricultural and Horticultural Use

1987 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.B. Hart
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Dermal Absorption ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Skin Damage ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Spray Solution ◽  
The World

1 Over the past 20 years plus that paraquat has been used throughout the world, it has enjoyed an excellent safety record when used normally and for its intended purpose. 2 Its safety record is explained by the following reasons: (i) inhalational exposure during normal use is not significant toxicologically; (ii) dermal exposure predominates during normal use; (iii) intact human skin provides a very good barrier against penetration by paraquat. 3 Its safety record has been confirmed by several field studies, which have assessed exposure and health of workers, who have used paraquat for short and longer periods of time. The unanimous conclusions of the studies is that exposure to paraquat does not result in any acute or chronic adverse health effects. 4 Minor and reversible injuries to the skin, eyes, nose and nails do occur and probably result from overexposure to the extremely irritant concentrated formulations. Most of these effects can be avoided using ordinary personal hygiene. 5 There have been a few anecdotal cases reported in the literature when dermal absorption of paraquat has genuinely occurred and led to serious health effects. In all cases prolonged exposure to concentrated paraquat solutions has been involved resulting in severe and extensive skin damage, with removal of the barrier and absorption of lethal amounts of the chemical. 6 Those cases involving exposure to concentrated paraquat solutions emphasise the need to handle such formulations, for example 'Gramoxone', with case and ensure that the spray solution is correctly made up-at a dilution of at least 1 part 'Gramoxone' to 40 parts water.

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