Environmental Action Research Articles

Over 25-year monitoring of the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong

AbstractBridges in service are subjected to environmental and load actions, but their status and conditions are typically unknown. Health monitoring systems have been installed on long-span bridges to monitor their loads and the associated responses in real time. Since 1997, the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong has been the world’s first of the type equipped with a long-term health monitoring system. For the first time, this study reports the first-hand field monitoring data of the bridge from 1997 to 2022. The 26-year data provide an invaluable and rare opportunity to examine the long-term characteristics of the loads, bridge responses, and their relationships, thereby enabling the assessment of the bridge’s load evolution and structural condition over time. Results show that traffic loads have remained stable after 2007, highway vehicles kept increasing until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the annual maximum deck temperature continued to increase at a rate of 0.51 °C/decade, typhoon durations increased by 2.5 h/year, and monsoon speeds decreased and became dispersed and variable. For the bridge responses, deck displacement is governed by the varying temperature. Natural frequencies in the past 26 years were almost unchanged. The overall condition of the bridge is very satisfactory. Current status and recent update of the health monitoring system are also reported. Lastly, prospects of bridge health monitoring are discussed. This study is the first to report the over one-quarter century status of a structural health monitoring system and the behavior of a long-span suspension bridge. This research provides a benchmark for many other bridge monitoring systems worldwide.

Navigating desires beyond growth: the critical role of fantasy in degrowth’s environmental politics and prefigurative ethics

ABSTRACT As a critical environmental political project, the degrowth movement contests the hegemony of economic growth. Much scholarship has sought to unpack degrowth’s proposals to reduce matter and energy throughput and to promote socio-ecological justice, democracy and wellbeing. Few studies, however, examine how the movement sustains itself. In this article, therefore, we explore the role fantasy plays in the movement’s emergence and sustenance. We draw on semi-structured interviews and officially-disseminated documents to examine the discourse of degrowth through a Critical Fantasy Studies lens, arguing that fantasies structure supporters’ desires and sustain the energy lying behind their environmental politics and actions. We suggest that the fantasy of ‘mutual dependence and care’, in particular, affectively fortifies their efforts to contest economic growth’s hegemonic norms and, in doing so, bolsters degrowth’s distributed modes of political action while also allowing its members to cultivate a prefigurative ethics of engagement.

Navigating barriers to reverse logistics adoption in circular economy: An integrated approach for sustainable development

Achievement of sustainability goals is an epic task for developing economies that still strive to fulfil their basic needs. The availability of limited resources in the developing world vis-à-vis the ever-increasing demand poses further challenges to developing economies willing to transition into circular economies. Reverse logistics (RL) can facilitate this transition towards a circular economy (CE) by maximising resource utilisation and minimising waste, contributing to sustainability goals. This paper contributes to emerging literature by analysing the development and comprehensive potential of reverse logistics as a sustainability tool. It explores the significant barriers to the adoption of reverse logistics towards a circular economy, considering long-term sustainability. In the first phase, thirteen barriers have been identified from the past academic literature. Three barriers with a defuzzification number less than the threshold limit are excluded, and the final ten barriers are then prioritised using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The findings suggest that a lack of strategic plans for returns is crucial for RL adoption towards a circular economy, followed by a lack of visibility for recycling/reuse. Organisations can increase customer satisfaction, promote environmental sustainability, and gain a competitive edge in the market by creating a strategic plan for reverse logistics. Organisations may lower costs and contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically responsible supply chain by improving visibility across the reverse logistics process. The results serve as a framework for decision-making in RL towards sustainable development. Managers and policymakers can formulate more robust and realistic decisions that align with “maximising profits,” “saving the planet,” “social concerns,” and, most importantly, “consumer concerns” in the circular economy ecosystem. Several implications are derived, leading to increased competitiveness and resilient business strategies. The novelty of this work lies in the identification of barriers to reverse logistics adoption towards a circular economy using an integrated fuzzy Delphi-DEMATEL approach, considering long-term sustainability. This approach is studied for the first time in a developing economy context, proposing social, economic, and environmental effects and actions to be taken by organisations for sustainable development.

Border Carbon Adjustments and Leakage in the Presence of Public Pollution Abatement Activities

This paper sheds light on the unidentified effects of unilateral environmental and trade actions within an international trade framework with two large open economies, transboundary pollution, and Public Pollution Abatement (PPA) activities. When private and public abatement coexists in the exporting country, stricter environmental policy by the importing one magnifies the carbon leakage effect. Pareto efficiency dictates that Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) should account not only for the difference in carbon taxes between the two countries, but also for the policy’s unintended consequences on PPA. More importantly, we argue that a conditional reduction of BCA, subject to stricter environmental policy by the country that exports the polluting good, decreases global pollution and increases countries’ welfare. Such reform strategy generates strong incentives for countries with laxer environmental policy to adopt a stricter one.

Strategic Role of Alumni Associations of Kazakhstan Higher Educational Institutions in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

The research aims to comprehend the strategic role of alumni associations of Kazakhstan's higher educational institutions in achieving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability initiatives. The study administered quantitative and qualitative techniques and collected the 310 respondents' opinions with the support of the questionnaire only after checking the reliability and validity using McDonald Omega and Bartlett's test of sphericity. The collected data was summarized, coded, and decoded using Microsoft Excel and R Language R Studio. The six selected hypotheses were tested by administering Cochran's Q test, and the qualitative data was analyzed using the concordance coefficient formula. The significant findings are that 88 percent of people and 83 percent of companies in Kazakhstan strictly follow environmental, social, and governance-related actions and activities. The qualitative research also proved a confident and significant positive orientation among the alumni associations on achieving sustainable development goals.

Monitoring data motivated health condition assessment of cement concrete pavements in field based on FBG sensing technology

Health condition of cement concrete pavements in field is difficult to characterize due to the random action of traffic loads and environmental variations. It is also difficult to accurately get the deformation merely based on theoretical or simulation analysis, for the heterogeneous material and complicated interfacial bonding properties of multilayered concrete pavements. Therefore, in situ health monitoring is particularly significant for structural condition assessment. To contribute this topic, improved fiber Bragg grating sensors have been designed and embedded in the two-layered pavement to measure the strain, deformation, and temperature. Deformation information of the cement concrete pavement under environmental action in about 3 years has been analyzed. Data analysis indicates that the longitudinal and transverse deformations of the pavement have behaved in nonuniform distribution, and local points suffered from the large tensile strains. The vertical measurement data declared that local interfacial micro void defects existed in the soil base and kept stable during the following 3 years. The temperature variation inside the pavement was highly correlated with the environmental temperature, and the variation amplitude was relatively smaller than the environmental temperatures, with the maximum amplitude smaller than 4°C. The load and temperature transfer principles in different layers have also been checked. Generally, the monitoring data in field from the year 2020 to year 2023 have declared that the concrete pavement has good performance to resist the combined action of traffic loads and environmental temperatures. The study can help to understand the actual structural performance of cement concrete pavements in field based on the optical fiber sensing system.

Analyzing public sentiment on sustainability: A comprehensive review and application of sentiment analysis techniques

In the contemporary context of escalating environmental concerns, understanding public sentiment toward sustainability initiatives is crucial for shaping effective policies and practices. This research explores the efficacy of sentiment analysis in mining social media data to gauge public attitudes toward sustainability efforts. This study employs a variety of machine learning and deep learning models to perform sentiment analysis utilizing a dataset comprising tweets related to human perception towards environmental sustainability. The aim is to transform unstructured social media text into structured sentiment scores. The comparative analysis includes pre-trained sentiment analysis models like VADER, TextBlob, and Flair with traditional machine learning models such as Logistic Regression, SVM, Decision Tree, Naive Bayes, Random Forest, alongside advanced deep learning techniques like LSTM and pre-trained models BERT and GPT-2. Our results reveal significant variations in model performance, underscoring the importance of selecting appropriate sentiment analysis tools that align with the nuanced domain of sustainability. The study further emphasizes the role of transparent and reproducible research practices in advancing trustworthy AI applications. By providing insights into public opinions on sustainability, this research contributes to the broader discourse on leveraging AI to foster environmental responsibility and action. This work not only illustrates the potential of sentiment analysis in understanding public discourse but also highlights the critical need for tailored approaches that consider the specificity of the sustainability context.

Exploring the effectiveness of reward-based learning strategies for second-language speech sounds.

Adults struggle to learn non-native speech categories in many experimental settings (Goto, Neuropsychologia, 9(3), 317-323 1971), but learn efficiently in a video game paradigm where non-native speech sounds have functional significance (Lim & Holt, Cognitive Science, 35(7), 1390-1405 2011). Behavioral and neural evidence from this and other paradigms point toward the involvement of reinforcement learning mechanisms in speech category learning (Harmon, Idemaru, & Kapatsinski, Cognition, 189, 76-88 2019; Lim, Fiez, & Holt, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 201811992 2019). We formalize this hypothesis computationally and implement a deep reinforcement learning network to map between environmental input and actions. Comparing to a supervised model of learning, we show that the reinforcement network closely matches aspects of human behavior in two experiments - learning of synthesized auditory noise tokens and improvement in speech sound discrimination. Both models perform comparably and the similarity in the output of each model leads us to believe that there is little inherent computational benefit to a reward-based learning mechanism. We suggest that the specific neural circuitry engaged by the paradigm and links between striatum and superior temporal areas play a critical role in effective learning.

The role of emotions in collective responses to in-group norm violations: the case of university’s sensitivity to the natural environment norm

The primary objective of this study was to examine the influence of perceptions of environmental in-group norm violations and the associated emotions on the level of support for environmental social movements. Particularly, we examined the association between collective action intentions and the emotions of anger, disgust, guilt, and pride elicited in response to the violation of in-group pro-environmental norms. There were 221 undergraduate participants (154 females, 62 males, 5 non-binary) studying at a Turkish state university, where preserving on-campus environment is perceived as the norm. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions in which on-campus environmental norms were violated or adopted by their peers (i.e., in-group members). Then, their perceptions of norm-violation, emotions about their peers’ on-campus environmental behaviors, and collective action intentions in improving campus’s environmental circumstances were measured. We used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized links between the study variables. Our findings revealed that participants exhibited high levels of norm violation anger, guilt, and disgust and low levels of pride when their peers were presented as polluters. Only anger and pride were found to be influential in motivating intentions for collective actions. Norm violation perception by itself was not instrumental in mobilizing individuals for the sake of the environment. When coupled with feelings of anger and pride, its association with endorsing intentions for environmental collective action became significant. The current findings shed light on the emotions associated with norm violation and their potential to foster pro-environmental collective action.

Collaborative wildlife disease outbreak investigation and response at Bells Swamp Victoria, February 2023.

In February 2023, a report of morbidity and mortality in waterbirds triggered a collaborative regional wildlife disease outbreak investigation and response, led by Parks Victoria. Triage, rehabilitation and diagnosis of sick and dead birds were undertaken by Zoos Victoria (ZV), Agriculture Victoria, Vets for Compassion, Wildlife Victoria and Melbourne Veterinary School (MVS). The field response focused on collection of sick and dead birds for wildlife welfare, for diagnosis, and to reduce environmental contamination. Botulism was suspected, based on clinical signs and lack of significant gross pathology, and this diagnosis was confirmed by PCR testing. Low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses non H5 or H7 were detected in two birds and ruled out in all in others tested. These incidental, non-clinical LPAI detections are considered part of the natural wild bird virus community in Australia. A number of elements contributed to the collaborative effort. Regional individuals had the necessary connections for reporting, collecting and transporting birds. There was rapid determination by the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) that Parks Victoria, as the land managers, should lead the response. Zoos Victoria provided capacity and expertise in wildlife triage and rehabilitation, and Agriculture Victoria, ZV and MVS were responsible for veterinary management of the response and diagnosis. Field investigation and response were conducted by Parks Victoria, Agriculture Victoria, MVS and veterinary teams from Vets for Compassion and Wildlife Victoria. Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) provided guidance and information, approved National Significant Disease Investigation Program funding and captured the event in the national wildlife health information database. Communication and media were important for community understanding of the event.

Visualizing Vocabulary: An Investigation into the Impact of Pictorial Aids on University-Level Vocabulary Learning

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an eight-session vocabulary teaching program utilizing the Oxford Picture Dictionary, focusing on specific vocabulary words related to clothing, health, emotional states, and environmental actions. The study assesses the vocabulary proficiency of 30 beginner-level (EFL) university students, aged between 19 and 21, at the University of Sulaimani. The three assessments—pre-test, mid-test, and post-test—were meticulously designed to serve as benchmarks for measuring the program's impact. Participants were immersed in consecutive sessions where vocabulary instruction was based on the Oxford Picture Dictionary. Pre-test, mid-test, and post-test scores were analyzed using the robust statistical methods of paired sample t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Several students were also interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences. According to the analysis, vocabulary proficiency increased dramatically from the pre-test to the post-test (p < 0.05). Moreover, ANOVA indicated variations in performance across the eight sessions. The findings suggest that the Oxford Picture Dictionary-based program positively influences vocabulary acquisition. Educators can use this insight to tailor language instruction, benefiting students' language proficiency.

Project for recycle bubble wrap, used plastic and patchwork into sitting pillows: Environmental education efforts

Waste, a byproduct of human activity, can cause environmental pollution if released without proper processing. It can accumulate in piles, disturbing natural beauty and emitting unpleasant odors. The aim of this research is to from the students to care about the environment by learning with the Bubble Wrap Recycling Project, Used Plastic and Patchwork. The method of this project is a structured experiment. Common waste includes bubble wrap, plastic, and rags from the convection industry. A student project in an environmental science course involved recycling these materials into sitting pillows. Three variants were tested: 10% bubble wrap, 10% plastic waste, 80% patchwork, 15% bubble wrap, 15% plastic waste, 70% rags, and 20% bubble wrap, 20% plastic waste, 60% rags. The pillow's comfort was measured using a Linkert scale of 1-5. The results showed that the pillow measures 40cm. Recycling is a way to promote environmental care and awareness. Cooperation from educational agents, such as supervisors, leaders, and lecturers, is needed to increase students' environmental awareness. This includes examples of good environmental actions in daily routines, such as disposing of waste and implementing 3R practices.

Ecocritical Study: Dwelling Aspect Portrayed in Richard Powers the Overstory

This study aims to explore the human-nature relationship and its environmental impact in Richard Powers’s The Overstory through Greg Garrad’s ecocritical framework, with a particular focus on the concept of Dwelling. Garrad’s theory distinguishes between Georgic, which represents a damaging interaction with nature, and Ecological Indian, which embodies a nurturing approach. This research examines how the novel portrays these contrasting relationships, illustrating how the characters’ connections with nature either contribute to environmental harm or foster preservation. By analyzing the novel through Garrad’s theoretical lens, the study reveals how Powers’s characters confront and mitigate the adverse effects of individuals and corporations on the environment, showcasing the intricate dynamics of human-nature interactions in the context of environmental stewardship. The analysis highlights how the novel’s narrative strategies and character arcs emphasize the critical role of empathy and ecological consciousness in addressing environmental challenges. Furthermore, it underscores the potential for literature to inspire real-world environmental action by reflecting on the complexities of human engagement with the natural world. Through this exploration, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how literary works can shape and influence environmental attitudes and behaviors.

The five levels of sustainability in European football: mapping the sustainability approaches of UEFA’s member national associations

ABSTRACT With increasing interest being drawn to sustainability development in sport, and UEFA’s recent sustainability strategy being introduced as a roadmap and pressure level for football organisations’ sustainability efforts to intensify, the implementation of sustainability policy is becoming key for football’s sustainable development. In this study, through the lens of institutional theory and isomorphism, we focused on the under-studied recipients of said strategy, the UEFA’s member national associations (NAs), to capture the existing sustainability efforts within them, as they are reported on their official communications, and thus the backdrop to which the strategy was introduced and is being promoted. Qualitative document analysis was conducted on all official communications (website, national strategies, press releases) of all UEFA’s NAs. Through this, five levels of sustainability in European football were identified, capturing patterns in the existence of social and environmental sustainability actions and strategies among UEFA’s NAs. The five levels of sustainability in European football presented allow for a better understanding of the full spectrum of sustainability in football to be depicted, while acknowledging potentially overlooked nuances in the existence of not only actions but also strategies to guide organisations in their sustainability efforts, and illustrating the gradual progression from no sustainability to more sophisticated social and environmental sustainability in football.

“We never even touched plants this way”: school gardens as an embodied context for motivating environmental actions

A critical objective of environmental education (EE) is sustained and active care for the natural world. Numerous studies point to the inadequacy of information-centered pedagogies in motivating such ecologically responsive action. The primacy of action in effectively addressing environmental issues calls for conceptions of EE that emphasize the conative and affective domains of the human mind. While recent research studies have recognized the significance of affective approaches in EE, the role of sensory and embodied engagements, which ground such affective encounters, are relatively less understood. Based on a year-long facilitation of a school terrace-garden in a metropolitan city, we outline how situated and embodied interactions can foster an understanding of diverse ecological practices, and thus a different way of being with the natural world. The study indicates that multi-modal sensorimotor experiences, and the possibility of sharing these with others, motivate children to expand their sphere of environmental activities beyond the site of learning. Specifically, students extended their care-based interactions with the garden to their communities and broader ecological issues. These findings indicate that integrative forms of situated and embodied interactions with the living world can provide the generative force to learn, act, care, and live in ways that encourage ecological flourishing.

The Interplay of Public/Private and Agent/Victim Dualism in Sustainable Living Practice: Indonesia’s Case

An examination of sustainable living practices through the lens of ecofeminism is the subject of this article. In this article, sustainable living practices refers to the actual implementation of environmentalism ideas in everyday situation. The selection of this subject is deemed significant due to the prevailing trend in environmental literature to associate it as pro-environmental behaviour that, unlike environmental activism, exclusively with the uppermiddle class, thereby rendering it feeble, apolitical, and inconsequential. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between pro-environmental behaviour and environmental action and activism by examining sustainable living practices through the lens of gender. Departing from Ecofeminism, it attempts to incorporate insights from relevant literature to enhance the discussion. Availing from exploratory field observations, this study uses Indonesia as a case studies. The study found that, in addition to the availability of social media and spiritualfactors, there are educational orientation that, related to cultural and religious aspects, bridges private/public elements as well as agents/victims division in Ecofeminism discourse. The transformation of the movement’s character from individualist to collectivist is influenced by global political dynamics, as well as showing the moral and spiritual orientation of this movement. Keywords: sustainable living practice, ecofeminism, environmental care, pro-environmental behaviour, environmental activism

Linear and nonlinear time-series methodologies for bridge condition assessment: A literature review

Railway bridges are essential components of any transportation system and are typically subjected to several environmental and operational actions that can cause damage. Furthermore, they are not easily replaced, and their failure can have catastrophic consequences. Considering the expected lifespan of bridges, it is essential to guarantee their adequate serviceability and safety. In this scenario, emerges the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), which allows the early identification of damage before it becomes critical. Damage identification is usually performed by the comparison between the damaged and undamaged responses obtained from monitoring data. Among the several features extracted from the responses, the time-series models exhibit a better performance, capability of early damage detection, and may also be applied within online damage detection strategies using unsupervised machine learning frameworks. In this paper, a review of advanced time-series methodologies for damage detection is presented. Initially, several time-series models often used in SHM are described, such as Autoregressive Models (AR), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). Later, the framework where these models are usually applied is also detailed, including the latest upgrades and most relevant results. Finally, the conclusions summarize and elucidate the current perspectives and research gaps on the time-series models.

Green Skepticism? How Do Chinese College Students Feel about Green Retrofitting of College Sports Stadiums?

This paper examined the factors influencing Chinese college students’ psychological perceptions of green retrofitting of college sports stadiums. It focused on the roles of green skepticism, future rational cognition, and future perceptual cognition. A total of 551 college students from five universities in Xi’an were tested. The results indicated that college students’ green skepticism, future rational cognition, future perceptual cognition, and psychological perceptions of green retrofitting of college sports stadiums were at a moderate level and that green skepticism had a significant and negative influence on college students’ psychological perceptions of green retrofitting of college sports stadiums. Green skepticism was a significant negative predictor of environmental values (β = −0.183, p < 0.001), natural empathy (β = −0.164, p < 0.001), and moral elevation (β = −0.187, p < 0.001). In addition, future rational cognition and future perceptual cognition served as parallel mediators in the college students’ psychological perceptions of green retrofitting of stadiums. It is notable that the mediating effect of future rational cognition was greater than that of future perceptual cognition. The findings indicate that resolving green skepticism and enhancing transparency and trust are crucial for enhancing college students’ psychological perceptions and the behavioral benefits of green retrofitting of college sports stadiums. Furthermore, the facilitating effect of future rational cognition and future perceptual cognition assists college students in making more rational and ethical decisions and in garnering broad support for environmental actions.

The movement toward environmental action in social work fields

ABSTRACT The authors’ purpose is to support the theoretical foundation for active engagement in environmental issues in the field of social work. The concept of this article is that environmental understanding can be integrated to shift the focus and training of social workers. A call to action is described for practitioners to change their respective fields and the way pre-service professionals are trained with the goal of creating an environmentally sustainable future.

Sweden’s conflicting green leadership in the European Union

ABSTRACT This article examines the nuanced dynamics of green leadership within the European Union (EU), focusing on Sweden. Sweden has long been heralded as an exemplar of environmental and climate leadership within the European Union as well as a frontrunner in the adoption of green policies, notably in the realms of bioenergy and biofuels. However, its leadership stance has come under scrutiny due to the inherent conflicts within green initiatives, often referred to as ‘green-green dilemmas’ that arise when environmental actions, despite their sustainable intentions, clash over competing interests. Drawing on a variety of sources we delve into the complexities surrounding Sweden's green leadership. The article highlights how Sweden’s enthusiastic endorsement of bioenergy and biofuels, integral to its climate action strategy, has sparked debates and raised questions about Sweden´s perceived green leadership within the European Union. Sweden's approach to navigating these conflicts, alongside its efforts to negotiate and balance economic interests with environmental ambitions, offers a compelling insight into the challenges of maintaining green leadership in the face of conflicting green agendas.