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Are we ready to transition to sustainable sheep production in New Zealand? A critical analysis from the perspectives of transition intention and sustainable tool adoption
No full textPurpose: This study aims to understand New Zealand sheep farmers’ readiness toward sustainability transition by assessing their intentions of transition and adoption of sustainability tools, with information collection considered to mediate the intention–adoption relationship.
Design/methodology/approach: Based on the data collected from a survey of New Zealand sheep farmers in 2021, the empirical analysis was developed to investigate farmers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward readiness to move toward a sustainability transition. Structural equation modeling associated with principal component analysis was used to empirically test the theory of planned behavior constructs.
Findings: The results show that pressure from the public and the sheep industry, and the perceived controls of transition drive the intention of sustainability transition; farmers with higher intention of sustainability transition are found to be more likely to adopt sustainability tools. However, there is an attitude–behavior gap, wherein positive attitudes toward sustainability transition may not lead to a higher likelihood of adopting sustainability tools. There is no evidence of the mediating role of information collection on the intention–adoption relationship, while a positive effect was found in information collection on the adoption of sustainability tools.
Practical implications: The empirical evidence indicates that policymakers need to help increase the awareness of sustainable production and help farmers overcome barriers to achieving sustainable production by finding ways to turn intentions into adoption.
Originality/value: Being the first attempt to empirically assess farmers’ readiness toward sustainability transition, the study fills the gap of limited understanding of the link between sustainability transition intention and sustainable tools adoption in sustainability transition
Does car ownership motivate tourism participation? Evidence from a developing country
No full textCar ownership and tourism participation rates are relatively lower in developing countries than in developed countries, challenging economic development equality. This research note contributes to the literature by investigating whether car ownership motivates the tourism participation of people residing in developing countries, using China as a study example. We employ a rigorous recursive bivariate probit model to estimate the 2018 China Family Panel Studies data and account for rural-urban differentials. Findings show that car ownership increases the probabilities of tourism participation among rural and urban households by 26% and 35%, respectively. We also find that car owners in rural and urban households averagely spend 4,457 and 11,065 Yuan/capita more on tourism than their counterparts without owning cars. Therefore, at least in China, policy instruments that increase car ownership would promote residents’ tourism participation, which induces a high quality of life
Busy road frontage influences on-farm adoption of visible good management practices
No full textThe agricultural sector faces increasing social pressure for its environmental impacts, potentially prompting farmers to uptake voluntary ‘good management practices’ (GMPs). While the existing literature posits that uptake of GMPs is prevalent in observable places such as along busy roads, there is a lack of quantitative empirical evidence. This study identifies whether perceived busy road frontage impacts farmers’ adoption of voluntary GMPs via a large-scale survey of dairy and sheep and beef farmers in New Zealand. We find that frontage on a busy road is associated with greater uptake of a GMP that is easily observed and recognised by the general public, but GMPs not visible from the road do not show greater uptake. We further find that the effect is amplified for dairy farmers vis-`a-vis sheep and beef farmers, consistent with the higher levels of public scrutiny of the dairy industry. We contribute to the social pressure literature by demonstrating how visible GMPs subject to scrutiny are likely to have higher uptake
A sustainable business model for commercial banks: An empirical study of APEC banks : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
No full textSustainable banking is a topic that has recently attracted the increasing interest of researchers, practitioners, consultants, non-governmental organisations, social bodies and policymakers. This attraction has grown intensively since 1987 when the United Nations officially defined the sustainability concept. It is evident that sustainable business models for banks and sustainable bank performance are two dominant areas in the current sustainable banking research. However, the results of such studies are diverse. For example, there is no consensus on banks' main dimensions of a sustainable business model. More importantly, how bank regulations, such as the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR), affect sustainability performance is still debatable and subject to future research. This study endeavours to partly fill the gap of the dearth of sustainable banking literature by examining banks in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries.
First, we propose a new sustainable business model for the banking sector based on a comprehensive sustainable banking literature review and analyse the operational content of two banks, Triodos and Westpac, as role models in sustainable banking practice. The proposed model called TIMESe comprises six dimensions: technological, institutional, management, economic, social and environmental. We use the TIMESe model to explore the sustainable banking practices of banks in APEC countries. This includes measuring, ranking and tracking the sustainability performance and investigating the impact of the new regulations from the Basel Committee, the NSFR, on bank sustainability performance.
Using the TOPSIS method, we measure and rank the sustainability performance of 81 banks in 17 APEC countries from 2015 to 2020. The Bank Sustainability Index (BSI) is used to complete this objective. The index based on the TIMESe model comprises 28 quantitative indicators. The application of the BSI indicator in this study differs from sustainability indexes in previous research because we use the industry standard value as the threshold to conduct sustainability tests to check whether banks are sustainable; almost 56% of our sample banks are unsustainable. Next, we use the Relative Comparison Indicator (RCI) to track the sustainability standing of banks over time. The RCI identifies a bank’s sustainability level as stable, high, or low. From this RCI status, a bank can decide which sustainability policy to apply to maintain or improve its future sustainability performance.
Finally, we investigate the impact of the NSFR on bank sustainability performance by exploring data from 40 banks in 11 APEC countries from 2018-2020. The results show that NSFR significantly improved the sustainability performance of 82.5% of the sample banks, especially the 100% sustainable banks. Thus, we recommend applying the NSFR for a more resilient banking system nationally, regionally and globally.
This study applies the TIMESe model, the BSI, the sustainability test, the sustainable threshold and the RCI for sustainable banking management practice. These concepts and their applications can be reference points for other production and services industries
Does adoption of information and communication technology reduce objective and subjective well-being inequality? Evidence from China
No full textThe adoption of information and communication technology (ICT), such as the Internet, smartphones, and tablets, has increased markedly. The present study examines how this adoption affects objective and subjective well-being inequality, using the 2018 China Family Panel Studies data. We employ the Gini coefficient to measure objective well-being inequality indicators (income inequality and consumption inequality) and the variance to measure subjective well-being inequality indicators (happiness inequality and life-satisfaction inequality). The two-stage residual inclusion approach is utilized to address the endogeneity of ICT adoption. The results show that ICT adoption significantly lowers income and consumption inequality. The findings for subjective well-being are mixed: ICT adoption reduces happiness inequality, whereas it does not influence life-satisfaction inequality. Furthermore, income inequality does not influence subjective well-being; however, consumption inequality is positively associated with happiness inequalit
Complexation of starch and phenolic compounds during food processing and impacts on the release of phenolic compounds
No full textPhenolic compounds can form complexes with starch during food processing, which can modulate the release of phenolic compounds in the gastrointestinal tract and regulate the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. The starch–phenolic complexation is determined by the structure of starch, phenolic compounds, and the food processing conditions. In this review, the complexation between starch and phenolic compounds during (hydro)thermal and nonthermal processing is reviewed. A hypothesis on the complexation kinetics is developed to elucidate the mechanism of complexation between starch and phenolic compounds considering the reaction time and the processing conditions. The subsequent effects of complexation on the physicochemical properties of starch, including gelatinization, retrogradation, and digestion, are critically articulated. Further, the release of phenolic substances and the bioaccessibility of different types of starch–phenolics complexes are discussed. The review emphasizes that the processing-induced structural changes of starch are the major determinant modulating the extent and manner of complexation with phenolic compounds. The controlled release of complexes formed between phenolic compounds and starch in the digestive tracts can modify the functionality of starch-based foods and, thus, can be used for both the modulation of glycemic response and the targeted delivery of phenolic compounds
Soil hydraulic conductivity in the state of nonequilibrium
No full textHydraulic nonequilibrium in soil during water infiltration and drainage is a well-known phenomenon. During infiltration, water initially invades easily accessible pores before it slowly redistributes towards some state of energetic minimum. In analogy, during drainage, easily drainable pores are emptied more rapidly than those blocked by bottlenecks. The consequence is that the water content is lagging behind the water potential and both state variables do not follow a unique water retention curve as typically assumed when applying Richards equation. Current models that account for nonequilibrium allow for the required decoupling of water content and water potential; however, they do not consider the consequences for the hydraulic conductivity. In this contribution, we present a physically based approach to estimate hydraulic conductivity during nonequilibrium, which depends on both water content and water potential during nonequilibrium conditions. This approach of a dynamic hydraulic conductivity function is demonstrated for an infiltration process into relatively dry soil and for a stepwise drainage and rewetting with decreasing and increasing water fluxes (i.e., multistep flux experiment). The new approach reproduces well-known phenomena such as pressure overshoot and preferential flow across infiltration fronts using a unified concept for hydraulic conductivity. This was not possible with existing models assuming some fixed unsaturated conductivity function depending on either water content or water potential
Conceptualising surface water-groundwater exchange in braided river systems
No full textBraided rivers can provide substantial recharge to regional aquifers, with flow exchange between surface water and groundwater occurring at a range of spatial and temporal scales. However, the difficulty of measuring and modelling these complex and dynamic river systems has hampered process understanding and the upscaling necessary to quantify these fluxes. This is due to an incomplete understanding of the hydrogeological structures which control river-groundwater exchange. In this paper, we present a new conceptualisation of subsurface processes in braided rivers based on observations of the main losing reaches of three braided rivers in New Zealand. The conceptual model is based on a range of data including: lidar, bathymetry, coring, particle size distribution, groundwater, temperature monitoring, radon-222, electrical resistivity tomography, and fibre optic cables. The combined results indicate that sediments within the recently active river braidplain are distinctive, with sediments that are poorly consolidated and better sorted compared to adjacent deposits from the historical braidplain, which become successively consolidated and intermixed with flood silt deposits due to overbank flow. A distinct sedimentary unconformity, combined with the presence of geomorphologically distinct lateral boundaries, suggests that a “braidplain aquifer” forms within the active river braidplain through the process of sediment mobilisation during flood events. This braidplain aquifer concept introduces a shallow storage reservoir to the river system, which is distinct from the regional aquifer system, and mediates the exchange of flow between individual river channels and the regional aquifer. The implication of the new concept is that surface water-groundwater exchange occurs at two spatial scales. The first is hyporheic and parafluvial exchange between the river and braidplain aquifer. The second is exchange between the braidplain aquifer and regional aquifer system. Exchange at both scales is influenced by the state of hydraulic connection between the respective water bodies. This conceptualisation acknowledges braided rivers as whole “river systems”, consisting of channels, and gravel aquifer. This work has important implications for understanding how changes in river management (e.g., surface water extraction, bank modification and gravel extraction) and morphology may impact groundwater recharge, and potentially river flow, temperature attenuation, and ecological resilience during dry conditions
Utilisation of probiotics for disease management in giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii): Administration methods, antagonistic effects and immune response
No full textThe giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is a high-yielding prawn variety well-received worldwide due to its ability to adapt to freshwater culture systems. Macrobrachium rosenbergii is an alternative to shrimp typically obtained from marine and brackish aquaculture systems. However, the use of intensive culture systems can lead to disease outbreaks, particularly in larval and post-larval stages, caused by pathogenic agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeasts and protozoans. White tail disease (viral), white spot syndrome (viral) and bacterial necrosis are examples of economically significant diseases. Given the increasing antibiotic resistance of disease-causing microorganisms, probiotics have emerged as promising alternatives for disease control. Probiotics are live active microbes that are introduced into a target host in an adequate number or dose to promote its health. In the present paper, we first discuss the diseases that occur in M. rosenbergii production, followed by an in-depth discussion on probiotics. We elaborate on the common methods of probiotics administration and explain the beneficial health effects of probiotics as immunity enhancers. Moreover, we discuss the antagonistic effects of probiotics on pathogenic microorganisms. Altogether, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of disease control in M. rosenbergii aquaculture through the use of probiotics, which could enhance the sustainability of prawn culture
Comments of the AFAANZ Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee on the Proposed Standard on Assurance Engagements over GHG Emissions Disclosure
No full textThe New Zealand External Reporting Board (XRB) issued for public comment a standard on Assurance Engagements over GHG Emissions Disclosure. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee of AFAANZ prepared a submission, based on the findings reported in published research, responding to a number of the questions asked by the XRB. This technical note presents the formal submission made to the XRB