Environmental impacts of the livestock sector are proportional to consumption levels. To assess the relative consumption of livestock animals within the diets of dogs, cats and people, this study ...examined their dietary energy needs within the US in 2020, and globally in 2018. Also studied were US pet food ingredients, and environmental sustainability indicators for plant- and animal-based foods consumed globally. Relative consumptions of average livestock animals were: US: dogs- 17.7%, cats- 2.3%, humans- 80.0%; and globally: dogs- 7.7%, cats- 1.2%, humans- 91.1%. Full transition to nutritionally-sound vegan diets would spare from slaughter the following numbers of terrestrial livestock animals annually (billions): US: dogs- 1.7, cats- 0.2, humans- 7.8, and globally: dogs- 6.0, cats- 0.9, humans- 71.3, as well as billions of aquatic animals in all dietary groups. Very large impact reductions were also associated with land and water use, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), acidifying and eutrophifying gases, and biocide use, in all dietary groups. If implemented globally, nutritionally-sound vegan diets would free up land larger than the following nations: dogs-Saudi Arabia or Mexico, cats-Japan or Germany, humans-Russia-the world's largest country-combined with India. Such diets would save freshwater volumes greater than all renewable freshwater in the following nations: dogs-Denmark, cats-Jordan, humans-Cuba. Such diets would reduce GHGs by amounts greater than all GHG emissions from following nations: dogs-South Africa or the UK, cats-Israel or New Zealand, humans-India or the entire EU. The numbers of additional people who could be fed using food energy savings associated with vegan diets exceeded the 2018 human populations of the following nations: dogs-the entire European Union, cats-France or the UK, humans-every single nation or collective region on Earth, as defined by the World Bank. All of these estimates are conservative.
Electrical load growth and the addition of renewable energy generation occur at a rate that can outpace transmission development. As a consequence, transmission lines may become constrained. To ...accommodate load growth or distributed generation connections, one option is to operate existing transmission facilities up to their actual physical capacity rather than a conservative estimate of line capacity. Dynamic thermal rating of transmission lines provides actual current-carrying capacity of overhead lines based on real-time operating conditions. Dynamic Thermal Line Rating (DTLR) approaches vary significantly from one study to another in implementation, objectives and outcomes. Existing literature has presented several methodologies for DTLR adoption. This paper provides a comprehensive study of the literature on DTLR. It presents a survey and evaluation of various DTLR technologies, DTLR equipment, challenges with DTLR deployment, real world applications, and future approaches to DTLR implementation. The presented work is organized to allow a reader to understand and compare various DTLR approaches.
•This paper provides a comprehensive review of dynamic thermal line rating.•Various DTLR devices for monitoring overhead thermal line rating are reviewed.•Potential challenges and considerations for DTLR deployment are discussed.•Several projects demonstrating DTLR technology applications are summarized.
We develop a theoretical model, grounded in exchange theory, about the process through which relationships between entrepreneurs and investors develop and influence the growth of new ventures. Our ...theory highlights the multifaceted relationships that entrepreneurs and investors share—comprising both affective and instrumental dimensions—and the bidirectional exchanges of social and financial resources that build these relationships over time. An exchange theory perspective sheds light on the emergence of different patterns of relationship development over time and how different kinds of resource exchange contribute to new venture growth, contingent on the core problems that a venture faces at a given stage of development. We discuss implications of an exchange perspective on resources and relationships in entrepreneurship for theory, research, and practice.
Grounded in a social functional perspective, this article examines the conditions under which group affect influences group functioning. Using meta-analysis, the authors leverage heterogeneity across ...39 independent studies of 2,799 groups to understand how contextual factors-group affect source (exogenous or endogenous to the group) and group life span (one-shot or ongoing)-moderate the influence of shared feelings on social integration and task performance. As predicted, results indicate that group positive affect has consistent positive effects on social integration and task performance regardless of contextual idiosyncrasies. The effects of group negative affect, on the other hand, are context-dependent. Shared negative feelings promote social integration and task performance when stemming from an exogenous source or experienced in a 1-shot group, but undermine social integration and task performance when stemming from an endogenous source or experienced in an ongoing group. The authors discuss implications of their findings and highlight directions for future theory and research on group affect.
•We reviewed factors predicted to determine attitudes towards damage causing wildlife.•Two thirds of factors were mostly not significant in explaining attitudes.•Only a quarter of factors were ...applied in more than 50% of publications.•Tangible costs and tangible benefits, were mostly not significant in explaining attitudes.•Intangible costs were the most significant category but were under represented in publications.
Biodiversity conflicts, and human–wildlife conflicts (HWC) in particular, are predicted to increase. Understanding drivers of these conflicts is a prerequisite for developing strategies to achieve conservation goals. People are a part of all HWC problems meaning social research methods are essential for finding solutions. We conducted a meta-analysis of the variables predicted to drive attitudes of people living in areas with damage causing carnivores, ungulates, elephants and primates so as to determine if common patterns of variables are present across a wide range of contexts. We categorized variables reported in publications into main and sub-categories and developed three indexes to describe relative frequency of category use, relative significance of categories and degree of accuracy between use and significance. From 45 suitable publications, 16 main categories and 17 sub-categories were identified. The majority of publications measured variables with a low likelihood of explaining drivers of HWC, or did not quantify variables of generally high utility. For example, only four categories (25%) were applied in over 50% of publications, and two thirds were mostly not significant in explaining attitudes. Tangible costs and tangible benefits thought to be the main drivers of attitudes were respectively, two and three times more non-significant than significant. Intangible costs however were the most important category to explain attitudes but was under represented in publications. Intangible benefits were mostly not important in explaining attitudes. Costs were more significant than benefits suggesting negative perceptions more strongly determine attitudes. Other important categories were exposure and experience with a species, stakeholder types and legal status of land. Socio-demographic variables commonly used in published studies such as gender, education and wealth, poorly explained attitudes. We conclude that greater conceptual clarity is urgently required to guide future attitude studies so that research can reliably inform the development of species management plans and policies.
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a complex conservation issue and acknowledging the human dimensions of the problem is critical. Here we propose the Wildlife Tolerance Model (WTM), a novel ...theoretical framework to identify key drivers of tolerance to living with damage-causing wildlife. The WTM proposes an outer model, where the extent to which a person experiences a species determines perceptions of costs relative to benefits of living with a species. This in turn determines tolerance. A second component, the inner model predicts eleven variables that may further drive perceptions of costs and benefits. In the current paper we test the outer model while in a forthcoming publication we test the inner model using a case study of human-baboon conflict in Cape Town, South Africa. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling we found support for the outer model. Experience explained 30% of variance in costs and benefits and 60% of tolerance was explained by perceptions of costs and benefits. Intangible costs and intangible benefits equally contributed to driving tolerance but tangible costs had no significant effect on tolerance. Separating two dimensions of experience, (i) exposure to a species explained costs more than benefits, and (ii) positive experiences explained intangible costs and benefits more than tangible costs while negative experiences equally explained costs and benefits. We discuss management implications of the findings and conclude that the WTM could be a useful diagnostic tool and theoretical framework to inform management interventions and policies to mitigate HWC.
•We present a Wildlife Tolerance Model to identify key factors driving tolerance towards animals•We tested the model using a case study of urban baboons and found support for the model•60% of tolerance towards baboons was explained by perceptions of costs and benefits.•30% of experience of baboons was explained by perceptions of costs and benefits•Intangible costs and benefits equally contributed to explaining tolerance but tangible costs had no significant effect.
This handbook presents a much-needed and comprehensive exploration of the rapidly growing fields of animal welfare and law. In recent years there has been increasing attention paid to our complex, ...multifaceted relationships with other animals, and in particular, the depth and breadth of various societal uses of animals. This has led to a reconsideration of their moral and social status, which has sometimes challenged the interests of those who use animals. In such a contested domain, sound evidence and reasoning become particularly important. Through firm commitment to such principles, this book explores the biological foundations for the moral consideration of animals and for evolving conceptualisations of animal welfare. It reviews in detail the welfare concerns associated with numerous forms of animal use. The inclusion of key recent developments such as climate change, pandemics, and antimicrobial resistance, ensures this text is among the most current in its field. The ethical implications of the various uses of animals by society are considered, and chapters provide important recommendations for reforms of practice, law, or policy. The status of animal law internationally, and in major world regions, is reviewed. Finally, the book considers human behavioural change and strategies for improving stakeholder communication and education. The handbook is essential reading for students and scholars of animal welfare, animal law and animal ethics everywhere, and for policy-makers and other professionals working in the animal welfare sector.
Recent scholarship in conservation biology has pointed to the existence of a “research‐implementation” gap and has proposed various solutions for overcoming it. Some of these solutions, such as ...evidence‐based conservation, are based on the assumption that the gap exists primarily because of a communication problem in getting reliable and needed technical information to decision makers. First, we identify conceptual weaknesses with this framing, supporting our arguments with decades of research in other fields of study. We then reconceptualize the gap as a series of crucial, productive spaces in which shared interests, value conflicts, and complex relations between scientists and publics can interact. Whereas synonyms for “gap” include words such as “chasm,” “rift,” or “breach,” the word “space” is connected with words such as “arena,” “capacity,” and “place” and points to who and what already exists in a specific context. Finally, we offer ways forward for applying this new understanding in practice.
We develop and test predictions about how demographic differences influence dyadic deference in multidisciplinary research teams, and how differential patterns of dyadic deference emerge to shape ...team-level effectiveness. We present a dual pathway model that recognizes that two distinct mechanisms— task contributions and social affinity—account for how team members' demographic attributes contribute to deference. Furthermore, we propose that the extent to which these different mechanisms are prevalent in a team has implications for the team's research productivity, with deference based on social affinity detracting from it and deference based on task contributions enhancing it. Using longitudinal data from a sample of 55 multidisciplinary research teams comprising 619 scientists, we found general support for our conceptual model. Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for multiple interpersonal mechanisms to understand the complex, multilevel nature of deference in teams.
•This study shows that the global palm oil supply chain is a complex social system.•Supply chain complexity impedes implementation of no-deforestation commitments.•Supply chain certification may help ...overcome the problems posed by complexity.•Existing certification standards require amendment to address deforestation.
In recent years, many palm oil companies have committed to eliminating deforestation activities from their operations. NGO reports and companies’ self-identified challenges indicate that barriers exist that impede the implementation of these commitments. Here we show that complexity across the extent of the palm oil supply chain poses a major barrier that hinders companies from being able to secure guaranteed no-deforestation commitments. Other barriers include the lack of consensus on definitions of deforestation, inadequate government support and persisting markets for unsustainably-produced palm oil in China and India, which undermine companies’ efforts to achieve supplier engagement and compliance. Current certification standards, meanwhile, require amendment to help overcome barriers posed by supply chain complexity. In conclusion, the existing model used to address palm oil-driven deforestation, based on NGO shaming campaigns and unilateral adoption of commitments by individual companies, is unlikely to achieve no deforestation in the current context of palm oil production and trade. Instead, a broader set of complementary mechanisms is required to overcome supply chain complexity and ensure that no-deforestation commitments can be implemented successfully.
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