Nova Reader - Subject

An integrated approach of Ecological Footprint (EF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in human ecology: A base for planning toward sustainability

2021-04-16T00:00

Environmental challenges to natural resources have been attributed to human behavior and traditional agricultural production techniques. Natural resource degradation in agriculture has always been a prime concern in agro ecological research and sustainability analysis. There are many techniques for assessing environmental performance; one of which, ecological footprint (EF), assesses human pressure on the environment and natural resources. The main purpose of this study was calculation of ecological indices including biocapacity (BC) and EF of rural areas of Fars province of Iran. The study was accomplished using survey and structured interviews consisting of three main questionnaires in two different steps. Different agricultural stakeholders, including farmers (for the first step) as well as the policymakers, extension managers and authorities (for the second step) were interviewed. Based on multi-stage stratified random sampling, 50 villages and 423 farmers were selected. Face validity and reliability of the questionnaires were assessed by a panel of specialists as well as conducting a pilot study, respectively. The paradigmatic perspectives of agricultural policy makers and managers (22 individuals) were also analyzed using another specific questionnaire by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings revealed that most of the studied villages faced a critical environmental condition due to the results of ecological indicator which was calculated in the study. According to the four main components of human ecology (POET model) including Population, Organization, Environment and Technology, village groups that differed in terms of sustainability level also showed significantly differences due to population, social participation, use of green technologies and attitude towards diverse environmental management paradigms. The causal model also revealed that population, green technology, social participation and attitude toward frontier economics, which were in accordance with the elements of human ecology model, were the main factors affecting the ecological index. Finally, AHP results determined the dominant economic perspectives of agricultural authorities. A paradigm shift toward the comprehensive paradigm of eco-development plus consideration of the results of the ecological indicator calculation as the base of agricultural planning at the local level were recommended.

Prediction of implementing ISO 14031 guidelines using a multilayer perceptron neural network approach

2021-01-06T00:00

The purpose of this study was to model the link between the implementation of ISO 14031 and ISO 14001. This study connects ISO 14031’s guidelines as independent variables to a dependent variable expressed by the ISO 14001 certification situation of industrial organizations based on the judgments of environmental managers in Saudi Arabia. Applying the quantitative approach using a survey with 596 responses from organizations functioning in 30 economic activities, a multi-layered neural network was trained to examine the relationship between standards and predict whether the organization is ISO 14001 certified in addition to testing the developed network on a group of collected cases. The results demonstrated the ability of the network to classify the organization’s certification status by 94.00% according to the training sample and its ability to predict 91.00% of the test sample, with an overall prediction efficiency of 91.30%. This work provides insights and adds to the environmental performance evaluation literature providing a neural network model based on ISO 14031 guidelines that can be extended to include other international standards such as ISO 9001. This study supports the merging of ISO 14001 with ISO 14031 into a binding standard.

The Interconnected Arctic — UArctic Congress 2016

2015-06-14T00:00

This open access book presents the most current research results and knowledge from five multidisciplinary themes: Vulnerability of Arctic Environments, Vulnerability of Arctic Societies, Local and Traditional Knowledge, Building Long-term Human Capacity, New Markets for the Arctic, including tourism and safety. The themes are those discussed at the first ever UArctic Congress Science Section, St. Petersburg, Russia, September 2016. The book looks at the Arctic from a holistic perspective; how the environment (both marine and terrestrial) and communities can adapt and manage the changes due to climate change. The chapters provide examples of the state-of-the-art research, bringing together both scientific and local knowledge to form a comprehensive and cohesive volume.

Bioeconomy

2017-12-10T18:30

This book defines the new field of "Bioeconomy" as the sustainable and innovative use of biomass and biological knowledge to provide food, feed, industrial products, bioenergy and ecological services. The chapters highlight the importance of bioeconomy-related concepts in public, scientific, and political discourse. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the authors outline the dimensions of the bioeconomy as a means of achieving sustainability. The authors are ideally situated to elaborate on the diverse aspects of the bioeconomy. They have acquired in-depth experience of interdisciplinary research through the university’s focus on “Bioeconomy”, its contribution to the Bioeconomy Research Program of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, and its participation in the German Bioeconomy Council. With the number of bioeconomy-related projects at European universitiesrising, this book will provide graduate students and researchers with background information on the bioeconomy. It will familiarize scientific readers with bioeconomy-related terms and give scientific background for economists, agronomists and natural scientists alike.