Policy interventions and grassroots initiatives: Mismatches in a relocation project in Chennai, India

This article is based on research that took place between 1998 and 2002 in a relocation project in Southern Chennai, India. About 2,640 poor urban households were relocated from the city centre to the project location on the outskirts of the city in the early 1990s. The objectives of the relocation programme, its organisation and the way it was implemented by the local government is described, as well as the role of NGOs in the area. The main focus however is on the initiatives taken by the relocatees in trying to rebuild their lives in the absence of services and employment. It will describe the nature and the direction of these initiatives, their capacity and significance, and how these initiatives are related to the other actors in the area. The extent of coordination between the different actors and an assessment of the manner in which activities could be better coordinated and matched to improve outcomes for the urban poor is discussed

Сербська книжка ХІХ століття у Львівській науковій бібліотеці ім. В. Стефаника (за матеріалами фонду відділу рідкісної книги)

UBUlink(opens in a new window)|Entitled full text(opens in a new window)|View at Publisher(opens in a new window)| In recent years the number and frequency of high-impact floods have increased and climate change effects are expected to increase flood risks even more. The European Union (EU) has recently established the Floods Directive as a framework for the assessment and management of these risks. The aim of this article is to explore factors that have hampered or stimulated the implementation process of the Floods Directive in the Netherlands, from its establishment in 2007 until January 2013. During this period, the first requirements of the Floods Directive had to be implemented, while the second and third obligations were to be in an advanced stage. Following a literature review of policy implementation theories and a content analysis of the Floods Directive, we have studied the implementation processes in the Dutch part of the Meuse and Rhine-West catchments. Perceptions of interviewees and survey respondents were used to identify influential factors. Our research shows that although the implementation process in the Netherlands is on schedule, it is iterative and complex. Various constraining and stimulating factors, affecting the implementation process, are distinguished. The article concludes with some suggestions for improving the further implementation of the Floods Directive

The tail of the contact force distribution in static granular materials

We numerically study the distribution P(f) of contact forces in frictionless bead packs, by averaging over the ensemble of all possible force network configurations. We resort to umbrella sampling to resolve the asymptotic decay of P(f) for large f, and determine P(f) down to values of order 10^{-45} for ordered and disordered systems in two and three dimensions. Our findings unambiguously show that, in the ensemble approach, the force distributions decay much faster than exponentially: P(f) ~ exp(-f^{\alpha}), with alpha \approx 2.0 for 2D systems, and alpha \approx 1.7 for 3D systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Structural Complexity of (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3 as Revealed by Raman Spectroscopy

The structural phase diagram of the Pb-free ferroelectric (Na1/2Bi1/2)1-xBaxTiO3 (NBT-BT), x<0.1, has been explored by Raman spectroscopy at temperatures from 10 to 470 K. The data provide clear evidence for a proposed temperature-independent morphotropic phase boundary at x \approx 0.055. However, there is no evidence for a structural phase transition across T \approx 370 K for x > 0.055, where bulk-property anomalies appear to signal a transition to a nonpolar or antiferroelectric phase. The results identify that the phase above 370 K shows short-range ionic displacements that are identical to those in the long-range-ordered phase below 370 K. These conclusions provide a natural interpretation of the weak piezoelectric response in this system and have important implications for the search for Pb-free piezoelectrics.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY AND EU LEGISLATION An Analysis of the Influence of the CSRD and the CSDDD on Environmental Collective Action by Companies in the Netherlands

In recent years, the role of companies in climate change mitigation has gained significant attention, yet motivating companies to undertake environmental actions remains challenging. This study examines corporate sustainability from the theoretical perspective of large-scale collective action. Within this theory, stressors counteracting opportunities for collective action and facilitators enhancing such efforts have been identified, and it has been argued that third-party intervention is needed to mitigate stressors and amplify facilitators. In the literature, the influence of EU legislation on environmental collective action by companies has so far been overlooked. This research addresses this gap by analyzing the influence of two recently adopted EU directives, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), on corporate sustainability. The study consists of two separate parts. First, through document analysis, five main ways in which the CSRD and the CSDDD address large-scale collective action are identified: standardization, transparency, communication, power and punishment, and accountability. Second, semi-structured interviews with 13 large Dutch companies explore companies’ perspectives on how these directives influence relevant stressors and facilitators of corporate environmental action. The results show that companies perceive a largely positive influence on the influence of the CSRD and the CSDDD on the themes identified from the document analysis, even though there are important limitations to the directives’ influence that need consideration. In addition, competition, legal uncertainty, resources, and personal and social norms are newly identified themes regarding the influence of the CSRD and the CSDDD on corporate sustainability

Evaluation of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention in Small Commercial Construction Firms

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) among construction workers remain high. Participatory ergonomics (PE) interventions that engage workers and employers in reducing work injury risks have shown mixed results. METHODS: Eight-six workers from seven contractors participated in a PE program. A logic model guided the process evaluation and summative evaluation of short term and intermediate impacts and long term outcomes from surveys and field records. RESULTS: Process measures showed good delivery of training, high worker engagement, and low contractor participation. Workers’ knowledge improved and workers reported changes to work practices and tools used; contractor provision of appropriate equipment was low (33%). No changes were seen in symptoms or reported physical effort. CONCLUSIONS: The PE program produced many worker-identified ergonomic solutions, but lacked needed support from contractors. Future interventions should engage higher levels of the construction organizational system to improve contractor involvement for reducing WMSD

Why do physicians lack engagement with smoking cessation treatment in their COPD patients? A multinational qualitative study

Smoking cessation is the only effective intervention to slow down the accelerated decline in lung function in smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nevertheless, physicians often do not routinely provide evidence-based smoking cessation treatment to their patients. To understand underlying reasons, we explored how physicians engage in smoking cessation treatment in their chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. In total, 21 focus group discussions were held with general practitioners and pulmonologists in seven different countries in Europe and Asia. We generated three themes, whereby some of the issues concerned smokers in general: first, ‘physicians’ frustration with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who smoke’. These frustrations interfered with the provision of evidence-based treatment and could result in this group of patients being treated unequally. Second: ‘physicians’ limited knowledge of, and negative beliefs about, smoking cessation treatment’. This hindered treating smokers effectively. Third: ‘healthcare organisational factors that influence the use of smoking cessation treatments’. Money and time issues, as well as the failure to regard smoking as a disease, influenced how physicians engaged in smoking cessation treatment. Our results indicate that there is a number of barriers to the provision of effective smoking cessation treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and smokers in general. Introducing an informative smoking cessation programme, including communication skills and ethical issues, in the vocational and postgraduate medical training may help to address these barriers. This is important in order to increase engagement with smoking cessation treatment and to improve quality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care