• Cognition, heuristics, and biases behind environmental related behaviours

      Riva, Silvia; Chinyio, Ezekiel; Hampton, Paul (Elsevier, 2018-01-09)
      We read with great interest Matthieu Guitton and Julien Poitras published in The Lancet Planetary Health, and we would like to reinforce the importance of environmental education for health professionals.
    • Effect of seasonal programming on fetal development and longevity: links with environmental temperature.

      Flouris, Andreas D; Spiropoulos, Yiannis; Sakellariou, Giorgos J.; Koutedakis, Yiannis (Wiley, 2009)
      This study examined the effect of birth season on fetal development and longevity using two independent databases of all Greek citizens that were born (total: 516,874) or died (total: 554,101) between 1999 and 2003. We found significantly increased birth weight, gestational age, and longevity in individuals born during the autumn and winter seasons of the year. These individuals also demonstrated statistically significantly lower prevalence rates for fetal growth restriction and premature birth. Furthermore, we found that increased temperature at birth was associated with adverse effects on fetal development and longevity. In conclusion, our results show strong effects of season of birth on fetal development and longevity mediated, at least in part, by environmental temperature at time of birth.
    • Foreign Aid, Urbanization and Green Cities

      Li, Jun (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)
    • Mental health, social inclusion and the green agenda: an evaluation of a land based rehabilitation project designed to promote occupational access and inclusion of service users in North Somerset, UK.

      Stepney, Paul M.; Davis, Paul (Haworth Press, 2004)
      The current debate about social inclusion in the field of mental health reveals a tension between the political and economic objectives of social policy. The former utilises the language of citizen empowerment and rights, whilst the latter is concerned with reducing welfare dependency through labour market activation. A central question here is whether a suitable programme of therapeutic work, training and support will produce better outcomes than those predicted by either a clinical diagnostic assessment or indeed open employment in the labour market. This article evaluates a research project with mental health users designed to develop pathways towards inclusion. The principal means for achieving this was a programme of 'green' land-based activities, training and social support. The researchers employed a mixed method approach, utilising a quasi-experimental design with a hypothetical control and standardised testing. This was followed by interviews with users, staff and focus group discussion. The evaluation produced some unexpected findings; for example, it was found that no strong correlation existed between diagnosis and performance. Many users performed better than had been predicted by their diagnostic assessment. However, the reasons for this remained unclear until the qualitative interviews enabled users to give accounts of the problems they faced, explain what inclusion meant for them, and outline how the project had brought gains in confidence, motivation and self belief. The data gathered during the research derived from different epistemological positions. This can be seen as representing two ways of 'slicing the reality cake' rather than producing one complete view of mental health users reality. One construction related to how 'the system' diagnosed, processed, and 'objectively' managed them. The other was about how users' responded to their situation, utilised the opportunities available, and made 'subjective' sense of their experience.
    • Mental Health, Social inclusion and the green agenda: an evaluation of a land based rehabilitation project designed to promote occupational access and inclusion of service users in North Somerset, UK.

      Stepney, Paul M.; Davis, Paul (New York: Haworth Press, 2005)
      The current debate about social inclusion in the field of mental health reveals a tension between the political and economic objectives of social policy. The former utilises the language of citizen empowerment and rights, whilst the latter is concerned with reducing welfare dependency through labour market activation. A central question here is whether a suitable programme of therapeutic work, training and support will produce better outcomes than those predicted by either a clinical diagnostic assessment or indeed open employment in the labour market. This article evaluates a research project with mental health users designed to develop pathways towards inclusion. The principal means for achieving this was a programme of 'green' land-based activities, training and social support. The researchers employed a mixed method approach, utilising a quasi-experimental design with a hypothetical control and standardised testing. This was followed by interviews with users, staff and focus group discussion. The evaluation produced some unexpected findings; for example, it was found that no strong correlation existed between diagnosis and performance. Many users performed better than had been predicted by their diagnostic assessment. However, the reasons for this remained unclear until the qualitative interviews enabled users to give accounts of the problems they faced, explain what inclusion meant for them, and outline how the project had brought gains in confidence, motivation and self belief. The data gathered during the research derived from different epistemological positions. This can be seen as representing two ways of 'slicing the reality cake' rather than producing one complete view of mental health users reality. One construction related to how 'the system' diagnosed, processed, and 'objectively' managed them. The other was about how users' responded to their situation, utilised the opportunities available, and made 'subjective' sense of their experience.
    • The Development of a framework for sustainable housing delivery in Lagos, Nigeria

      Olagunju, Olatunji A. (2014-11)
      There is an estimated 16 million housing units shortfall in Nigeria and the government cannot meet the housing needs of Nigerians because of budgetary constraints and other competing needs. It is important to note that the leaders have failed on numerous occasions to tackle the key challenges associated with a lack of infrastructure development. The emphasis has been placed on the individual homeowners fulfilling all their own requirements. The aim of this research is to develop a framework that will aid sustainable housing delivery in Lagos one of the most challenged areas of Nigeria. A clearer picture of the housing environment in Lagos was documented based on critical literature reviews, analysis of the reasons why there is a deficiency in housing and its infrastructure delivery. The aim of the researcher was following the identification of the challenges to draw up a framework that would assist the relevant stakeholders namely the householders, developers and government in overcoming these and delivering further sustainable housing. The research was completed using a mixed method including qualitative and quantitative means of acquiring necessary information in the form of a detailed literature review followed by a questionnaire survey of 500 household respondents. A total of 496 sets of data were collected through the questionnaire survey and analysed using SPSS, Excel and selected statistical methods. Validation of the framework was done using focus group discussions with stakeholders. Interviews with key housing and government personnel were also held including an analysis of 5 case studies. The key findings are that 1) the market economy approach along with flexible, efficient economic instruments are key factors in enabling the construction industry to positively respond to sustainable development in terms of resource efficiencies and environmental protection in a developing economy like Nigeria. 2) The social and political barriers cannot be overcome without a meeting of wills amongst the stakeholders. 3) There needs to be transparency and the desire to achieve the objective so the monitors will be effective to counteract dissatisfied individuals that will come out of the bureaucratic woodwork. 4) There needs to be an urban redesign driven by stakeholders keen to see government policy align with sustainable housing objectives. Key recommendations from this research are that: 1) The government should partner with the private sector to provide enough homes for Nigerians. 2) The government should henceforth concentrate in outlining good policy framework for the sector providing much needed infrastructural and financial support that will encourage sustainability and systematic development of housing in the country. The framework developed in this research is envisaged to be contributory in road mapping the way and identifying key attributes and strategy for delivering sustainable housing in Lagos, Nigeria. Keywords: Sustainable housing, environment, government policy, urban redesign, framework
    • Towards the reformation of Abu Dhabi to be an environmentally sustainable city

      Heesom, David; Al Kaabi, Saif (University of Wolverhampton, 2011)
      Abu Dhabi, the Capital City of United Arab Emirates, evolved through various stages since its formation. However, unlike other Golf cities, policy makers, planners, and designers sought to guide its growth and development towards a sustainable responsive city. Sustainability has become a central theme of policy and practice, and the design of the built environment is playing a major role towards this. Abu Dhabi developed the World renowned City of Masdar, as a model of sustainable development and design, and established the Estidama Rating System to enforce specific sustainable applications. This aim of this study is to examine the cost-effectiveness of shifting the development of Abu Dhabi from a conventional approach to a sustainable one. In particular, it sought to determine whether vernacular design and architecture could help to address the quest for a sustainable city. The methodology adopted for this research was based on quantitative and qualitative approaches. Three buildings were selected to determine the cost-effectiveness of the proposed sustainable solutions. 1. Masdar building was studied to represent what is classified as a sustainable prototype. 2. Educational Building of Abu Dhabi Police Academy, which has an open courtyard at the centre of the building, represents a vernacular design. 3. Administrative Building of Abu Dhabi Police Academy, which has a closed atrium in the centre without any skylight, represents a conventional building design. The research involved an environmental investigation of power consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, indoor and outdoor temperature, indoor and outdoor relative humidity, and levels of indoor carbon dioxide. Monitors were installed in the three prototype buildings for a period of time, and the results of the readings were compared and analysed. In addition, a questionnaire survey was used to determine the impact of the three buildings on sustainable lifestyles and attitudes. Ninety users of the three buildings responded to the questionnaire. Their responses were also compared and analysed. The results of the monitoring of the thermal performance, power consumption and carbon dioxide levels indoors confirmed that most indoor temperature readings were similar due to the use of air-conditioning in the three buildings. However, cooler temperatures were recorded in similar rates in the alleyways of Masdar and in the courtyard of the Police Academy Educational building. In some cases, courtyard spaces in the Educational Building in the Police Academy recorded even lower temperatures than those of Masdar. These readings were much higher than those of the outdoor exposed temperature, whether in Masdar or in the Police Academy outdoor spaces. Considering that the cost per square meter of the Masdar prototype was almost the double of the other prototypes, these findings challenged the cost-effectiveness of the prevailing Masdar City approach. The results also highlighted the importance of the architectural heritage of Abu Dhabi to address the sustainability agenda, including its implications on planning and building regulations. The findings of the questionnaire survey revealed that there were no significant differences between user responses of Masdar and the Police Academy buildings. These also questioned the cost effectiveness of the Masdar prototype. However, the results also confirmed that the lack of awareness of the sustainability agenda for the users of the three buildings, thus highlighting the wider implications on the sustainability agenda.