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Barriers and motivations to integrating environmental performance in the BSC: A case study in health care
No full textPurpose
This study aims to explore the barriers and motivations to integrating environmental performance into balanced scorecards (BSCs).
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted a qualitative case study approach with semi-structured interviews within an Australian public health service organisation. Secondary document analysis was performed using annual reports, strategic plans and website data.
Findings
The internal barriers creating resistance to incorporating environmental performance dimensions into the BSC include the existing role of environmental disclosure, insufficient sustainability BSC knowledge, lack of BSC champion support, organisational culture and limited environmental commitment practices. Solutions revealed to support decisions to integrate environmental performance in the BSC include recruiting sustainability expertise, articulating financial motivations and recognising external pressures.
Practical implications
The findings provide suggested actions for other organisations facing similar challenges regarding integrating environmental performance into a BSC.
Social implications
In the current business environment, organisations face growing pressure to consider environmental performance in their BSCs. This study provides insights into the potential problems that prevent or delay the integration of environmental issues into BSCs.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence on how institutional and external factors influence barriers and motivations to embed environmental performance measures into a BSC. This study demonstrates how health-care organisations can effectively overcome barriers by modifying specific institutional artefacts. This is an important contribution to the body of knowledge because there is limited empirical research regarding integrating environmental issues into a public sector BSC that projects key organisational commitment indicators
Sedentary behavior and physical inactivity in the Asia-Pacific region: Current challenges and emerging concerns
No full textThis editorial sets the scene for our Special Issue on the growing problem of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity in the Asia-Pacific region. In many societies, more than 40% of the adult population and growing numbers of children are insufficiently physically active to safeguard their health. This is contributing to high rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other deleterious health outcomes across the region. The Asia-Pacific is heterogeneous and complex, with diverse social, cultural, and environmental barriers that affect intentions and opportunities for regular physical activity. Recently, the problem has been compounded by the acceleration of population aging, the worsening effects of anthropogenic climate change, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Without strong leadership, enduring funding support, and innovative interventions that cut across policy and society, we may yet be facing a century of unmitigated expansion of morbidity across the Asia-Pacific
Price stability properties and volatility analysis of precious metals: An ICSS algorithm approach
No full textThis paper investigates the price stability properties of precious metals during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis, and 2010 Eurozone Crisis. To analyse the interaction between precious metal prices and the US stock market stock performances, we use the ICSS algorithm along with the GARCH model to evaluate how the number of rapid changes in volatility of precious metals has been reduced. The results suggest gold is the most stable of the precious metals. However, silver, platinum, and palladium showed positive price correlation when the US Dow Jones market was unstable. These results imply that: (1) the correlation among stocks market returns has little to no significant impact on the price movement of precious metals, but the US Dow Jones has some influence on precious metal markets except gold, which means investors can reap this benefit from diversification; (2) investors can systematically increase their portfolio returns by going short with the gold investments with low price co-movement and long on silver, platinum, and palladium with high co-movement with stock prices
Social discount rates for regional pest management plan cost benefit analysis
No full textPresentation to Auckland City Council, 19 August, 202
Decolonising cultural environmental monitoring in Aotearoa New Zealand: emerging risks with institutionalisation and how to navigate them
No full textCultural monitoring of the environment has emerged in Aotearoa New Zealand as a mechanism to revitalise Indigenous knowledge and support Treaty-based governance. While cultural monitoring is increasingly salient in environmental policy, there is a need to proceed with awareness about how institutionalisation of cultural monitoring can modify or constrain its intent. Here, we dissect the genealogies and principles of cultural monitoring, identifying how cultural monitoring has been folded into the logic of ‘state of the environment’ reporting. By investigating three examples of cultural monitoring, we analyse how different institutional mechanisms enable and constrain the realisation of cultural monitoring's decolonising intent
Nutrient losses from global dairy production systems differ
No full textThe demand for dairy produce is growing alongside concerns about the impact of intensive dairying on water quality owing to nutrient loss. We found that nitrogen losses were greatest from all-grazed systems, but could be lowered by incorporating some housing
Seismic evaluation of flexible steel water storage tanks
No full textCylindrical steel liquid storage tanks are widely used for water supply and industrial chemicals. The seismic response of these tanks differs from buildings as it stores liquid with different hydrodynamic characteristics. Steel tanks can be exposed to severe damages during earthquakes such as elephant’s foot buckling, diamond shape buckling, roof damage and failure of anchor bolts. This research investigates the seismic behavior of flexible steel water storage tanks using an analytical method. A series of parametric analyses are conducted for a typical liquid storage tank with different geometry properties and soil conditions. The effects of storage tank height, wall thickness, and subsoil type are investigated and their effects on the seismic response of the tank are evaluated and discussed. The results indicate that the soil type (representing shear wave velocity and shear modulus of the soil) has a profound impact on the base shear, overturning moment and hoop stress in the flexible tanks
Using metabarcoding and droplet digital PCR to investigate drivers of historical shifts in cyanobacteria from six contrasting lakes
No full textThe frequency and intensity of cyanobacterial blooms is increasing worldwide. Multiple factors are implicated, most of which are anthropogenic. New Zealand provides a useful location to study the impacts of human settlement on lake ecosystems. The first humans (Polynesians) arrived about 750 years ago. Following their settlement, there were marked landscape modifications which intensified after European settlement about 150 years ago. The aims of this study were to reconstruct cyanobacterial communities in six lakes over the last 1000 years and explore key drivers of change. Cyanobacterial environmental DNA was extracted from sediment cores and analysed using metabarcoding and droplet digital PCR. Cyanobacteria, including potentially toxic or bloom forming species, were already present in these lakes prior to human arrival, however their overall abundance was low. Total cyanobacteria abundance and richness increased in all lakes after European settlement but was very pronounced in four lakes, where bloom-forming taxa became dominant. These shifts occurred concomitant with land-use change. The catchment of one deteriorated lake is only moderately modified, thus the introduction of non-native fish is posited as the key factor driving this change. The paleolimnological approach used in this study has enabled new insights into timing and potential causes of changes in cyanobacterial communities
Cryopreservation of six Symbiodiniaceae genera and assessment of fatty acid profiles in response to increased salinity treatments
No full textSymbiodiniaceae are a diverse group of dinoflagellates, the majority of which are free-living and/or associated with a variety of protists and other invertebrate hosts. Maintenance of isolated cultures is labour-intensive and expensive, and cryopreservation provides an excellent avenue for their long-term storage. We aimed to cryopreserve 15 cultured isolates from six Symbiodiniaceae genera using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the cryoprotectant agent (CPA). Under 15% DMSO, 10 isolates were successfully cryopreserved using either rapid freezing or controlled-rate freezing. Cultures that failed or had low survival, were subjected to (1) a reduction of CPA to 10%, or (2) increased salinity treatment before freezing. At 10% DMSO, three further isolates were successfully cryopreserved. At 15% DMSO there were high cell viabilities in Symbiodinium pilosum treated with 44 parts per thousand (ppt) and 54 ppt culture medium. An isolate of Fugacium sp. successfully cryopreserved after salinity treatments of 54 ppt and 64 ppt. Fatty acid (FA) analyses of S. pilosum after 54 ppt salinity treatment showed increased saturated FA levels, whereas Fugacium sp. had low poly-unsaturated FAs compared to normal salinity (34 ppt). Understanding the effects of salinity and roles of FAs in cryopreservation will help in developing protocols for these ecologically important taxa
Optimised protocol for the extraction of fish DNA from freshwater sediments
No full text1. Monitoring fish is necessary for understanding population dynamics, tracking distribution patterns and evaluating conservation efforts. Molecular techniques targeting environmental DNA (eDNA) are now considered effective methods for detecting specific species or characterising fish communities. The analysis of DNA from lake‐surface sediments (sedDNA) can provide a time‐integrated sampling approach which reduces the variability sometimes observed in water samples. However, studies of sedDNA have had varying success in detecting fish. The present study aimed to determine the most effective extraction method for recovering fish DNA from lake‐surface sediments.
2. A literature review was undertaken to identify DNA extraction methods usedpreviously on aquatic sediments targeting aquatic and terrestrial animals. Fivemethods with various modifications were tested to establish their ability to des-orb extracellular DNA. Based on these results, two methods were selected andoptimised, and the recovery of fish sedDNA characterised using droplet digi-tal PCR assays targeting eel and perch (Anguilla australis, Anguilla dieffenbachii,Perca fluviatilis). A range of sediment masses (0.25–20 g) were assessed to estab-lish the optimal amount required to accurately assess fish sedDNA.
3. The DNA extraction methods found to be most effective at recovering ex-tracellular DNA spiked into small sediment masses (0.25 g) were the DNeasyPowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit (QIAGEN), and the ABPS protocol which involvedan initial alkaline buffer extraction followed by the PowerSoil extraction kit. Forlarger sediment masses (>0.25 g) the ABPS protocol or the DNeasy PowerMaxSoil Kit (QIAGEN) with an additional ethanol DNA concentration step (PMETprotocol) yielded the highest concentrations of target genes across a range oflake sediments. Larger sediment masses (≤20 g was tested) increased the likeli-hood of detection of fish in sedDNA. Optimisation of the ABPS protocol was re-quired (65°C incubation temperature, pooling of multiple PowerSoil extractions)to overcome technical challenges related to co-precipitation of organic content in lake-surface sediments. This optimised ABPS protocol was called the “LakesABPS protocol”.
4. We recommend the use of the Lakes ABPS protocol as it is cheaper than thePMET protocol. Additionally, after the first extraction step, the process can beautomated on a DNA extraction robot, allowing for higher sample throughput.A mass of 10 g is suggested, although higher detection is achieved with moresediment, a suite of challenges, such as co-precipitation of organic content, areencountered when the amount is increased.5. This study highlights the complexity of the extraction and detection of fishsedDNA from lake sediment, especially when it has a high organic content. Wehave optimised a DNA extraction method to overcome some of these complexi-ties that can be applied to a wide range of lake sediments