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The relationships between economic activity and energy use have been a matter of interest, in particular since the disruptions to energy markets in the 1970s. Input-output models provide a convenient methodology by which to identify energy-use intensities of economic sectors at a disaggregate level. Moreover, if there exist at least two compatible tables displaced temporally, it is possible to identify changes in the energy intensity of economic activity through time. The use of energy in the New Zealand economy is estimated for each of the years 1971/72 and 1981/82 by means of input-output tables. Subsequent analysis is directed at identifying the relative contributions of changes in the technological coefficients and changes in the pattern of final demand to overall change in energy intensity over the ten-years period. Results suggest that the energy intensity of economic activity in New Zealand, unlike many other industrialised nations, has increased appreciably during the decade under consideration.

Despite widespread interest in the notion of sustainability, little progress has been made towards an understanding of its social dimensions. Nonetheless, the concept of `sustainable rural communities' is embedded in popular, policy and academic discourses, where the needs of `rural communities' are usually equated with those of farm families. Our ethnographic research in Northland, New Zealand illustrates thediverse interests to be found within `rural communities'. Interviewsand participant observation were undertaken between August 1995 and July 1996 in the Mangakahia Valley. The increasing divergence in the ethnic, class and occupational makeup of the population has brought with it complexities in terms of what can be said to contribute to `sustainable rural communities'. We suggest that `sustainable rural communities' be treated as a folk category, and instead, social science discourse should resort to the broader concept of social sustainability, which will have a locally defined content, not a universal definition, but will include elements of livelihood, social participation, justice and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land degradation is one of the most critical environmental issues facing many countries today. The need to maintain productive agriculture has fuelled interest in finding more appropriate policy and management responses to environmental change, including the various forms ofland degradation. While the processes resulting in degraded land areoften natural phenomena, the term 'land degradation' is used in thispaper to refer to their anthropogenic acceleration and the consequent impacts on agricultural potential. Forms of land degradation include salinity, erosion, chemical contamination and changes in soil structure. The research reported here is concerned specifically with irrigation-induced soil salinity in Victoria, Australia. The paper is based on the hazards research paradigm developed within the social sciences. We use this paradigm to inform our inquiry into perceptions of, and responses to, the salinity hazard in a region of the state of Victoria known as the Tragowel Plains. Our investigation, based on questionnaire surveys and farm case studies, reveals a relatively high level of awareness of the salinity hazard. Adjustments to the hazard include changes in both land management and in land use. As the extent ofsuch hazards increases it is imperative that research continues witha view to better understanding these human-environment relations in the context of specific environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate conservation of biodiversity on private land remains elusive due, in part, to a failure to understand the personal circumstances and social characteristics of private landholders. Our aim was to identify those personal and social dimensions of landholders that might contribute to improved conservation policy and program design and, thereby, participation in private land conservation. We tested whether personal circumstances of landholders (e.g., lifestyle and wellbeing, information and knowledge, financial security) and social characteristics (e.g., attitudes, norms, and trust) would be important predictors of landholders' capacity and willingness to participate in biodiversity conservation programs. Forty-five participants and twenty-nine non-participants of biodiversity conservation programs in north Queensland, Australia, were surveyed to: 1) examine differences between their personal circumstances and social characteristics that may influence participation; and 2) explore whether personal circumstances and social characteristics were influenced by participation. The results revealed that, compared to participants, non-participants in conservation programs had significantly different personal circumstances and social characteristics for four of eight measured variables. Compared to participants, non-participants demonstrated a reduced capacity and willingness to participate in conservation programs. Participation did not appear to have a strong influence on participants' personal circumstances or social characteristics, and when social norms supported conservation, programs did not demonstrate additionality. Conservation policies that maintain or improve landholders' personal circumstances and that promote pro-environmental norms may result in increased participation and thereby conservation outcomes., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes a six-step process to build the leadership capacity of environmental champions. This process was developed during research involving champions in Australian water agencies. The process, like leadership, is sensitive to context. It includes gathering local information on the factors that assist particular types of champion to exert influence, and using this information to build customized capacity building tools, such as leadership development programs. The paper explains each step in the process and provides illustrative examples from research on water agency champions. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed, including the hypothesis that the process should be transferable to other work environments under certain circumstances., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Many ecosystems exist primarily, or solely, on privately owned (freehold) or managed (leasehold) land. In rural and semirural areas, local and regional government agencies are commonly responsible for encouraging landholders to conserve native vegetation and species on these private properties. Yet these agencies often lack the capacity to design and implement conservation programs tailored to rural and semirural landholdings and instead offer one program to all landholders. Landholders may elect not to participate because the program is irrelevant to their property or personal needs; consequently, vegetation-retention objectives may not be achieved. We differentiated landholders in Queensland, Australia, according to whether they derived income from the land (production landholders) or not (nonproduction landholders). We compared these two groups to identify similarities and differences that may inform the use of policy instruments (e.g., voluntary, economic, and regulatory) in conservation program design. We interviewed 45 landholders participating in three different conservation agreement programs (price-based rate [property tax] rebate; market-based tender; and voluntary, permanent covenant). Production landholders were more likely to participate in short-term programs that offered large financial incentives that applied to <25% of their property. Nonproduction landholders were more likely to participate in long-term programs that were voluntary or offered small financial incentives that applied to >75% of their property. These results may be explained by significant differences in the personal circumstances of production and nonproduction landholders (income, education, health) and differences in their norms (beliefs about how an individual is expected to act) and attitudes. Knowledge of these differences may allow for development of conservation programs that better meet the needs of landholders and thus increase participation in conservation programs and retention of native vegetation., (©2011 Society for Conservation Biology.)

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) affects patients by proliferating in the renal tubules, resulting in renal failure and concomitant urinalysis findings of blood, protein, casts, and abnormal cells in the urine. If untreated, it can spread to the lymph nodes, liver, and lungs. There is currently no proven tumor marker for RCC. The clinical case reported here describes the clinical laboratory findings in a patient with 2 common co-morbidities (metabolic syndrome and alcoholism), who was found to have metastatic renal cell carcinoma at autopsy. Understanding the clinical chemistry of metastatic carcinoma in the presence of common co-morbidities is important for earlier diagnosis and treatment of patients who are most likely to develop these conditions.

A variety of tools can be employed in support of environmental policy objectives, but achieving preferred outcomes also requires the cooperation of private landholders and others with vested interests in the land. The Land Stewardship project in the state of Victoria, Australia, is an initiative devoted to exploring the ways in which private landholders could be encouraged towards more sustainable land management. Following the view that the success of policy initiatives is contingent on effective stakeholder engagement, a component of the Land Stewardship project involved a dialogue with landholders about policy tools (e.g., regulation, economic instruments) that might be deployed to encourage improved land management practices. This paper provides an account of the views and attitudes of landholders, as revealed in a series of three workshops, which consisted of discussions about the factors influencing agriculture, participants' interpretations of sustainability, and policy methods. The focus of the paper is on what landholders believe to be the strengths and limitations of standard policy tools, and the essential requirements for these tools to deliver the best land management outcomes. One of the main findings of the project was a 'preference hierarchy' in respect of policy methods, according to which the strongest support was expressed for voluntary and education-based tools, followed by market-based instruments, with command-and-control regulation identified as a measure of 'last resort'. In the paper we reflect also on how the views and outlook of landholders should be positioned relative to other inputs in the design of policy interventions.