ALBERT

Description: Forests, Vol. 8, Pages 345: Towards a Theoretical Construct for Modelling Smallholders’ Forestland-Use Decisions: What Can We Learn from Agriculture and Forest Economics? Forests doi: 10.3390/f8090345 Authors: Kahlil Baker Gary Bull Kathy Baylis Richard Barichello Academic research on smallholders’ forestland-use decisions is regularly addressed in different streams of literature using different theoretical constructs that are independently incomplete. In this article, we propose a theoretical construct for modelling smallholders’ forestland-use decisions intended to serve in the guidance and operationalization of future models for quantitative analysis. Our construct is inspired by the sub-disciplines of forestry and agricultural economics with a crosscutting theme of how transaction costs drive separability between consumption and production decisions. Our results help explain why exogenous variables proposed in the existing literature are insufficient at explaining smallholders’ forestland-use decisions, and provide theoretical context for endogenizing characteristics of the household, farm and landscape. Smallholders’ forestland-use decisions are best understood in an agricultural context of competing uses for household assets and interdependent consumption and production decisions. Forest production strategies range from natural regeneration to intensive management of the forest resource to co-jointly produce market and non-market values. Due to transaction costs, decision prices are best represented by their shadow as opposed to market prices. Shadow prices are shaped by endogenous smallholder-specific preferences for leisure, non-market values, time, risk, and uncertainty. Our proposed construct is intended to provide a theoretical basis to assist modellers in the selection of variables for quantitative analysis.

Description: Early timber inventories in dry forests of the western United States offer detailed data sets that might provide historical information to guide restoration and preparation for future forests, but inventories have errors, biases, and limitations. We reviewed early documentation of errors and estimated errors by comparing inventory estimates to nearby tree-ring and plot estimates. In a case study in the Greenhorn Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, California, we studied how selection and use of evidence affects findings and compared timber-inventory, land-survey, and other early evidence about historical forests and fire. Early documents showed inventories were unreliable, often with large underestimation errors from poor visual estimates, requiring correction multipliers of 2.0–2.5. Comparing inventory estimates to tree-ring estimates, we found commonly used two-chain-wide inventories required correction multipliers of about 1.4–3.2, consistent with, but wider than the 2.0–2.5 range. These needed corrections were not applied in any study. The case study showed (1) tree-density estimates from narrower one-chain-wide inventories could be more accurate, (2) data are often available, but unused, that provide quantitative evidence about historical high-severity fires consistent with nearby historical reports, and (3) differences in forest structure between inventories and land surveys may be explained by tree growth, stand development, and especially a significant fire. Our review also documented biased placement of inventories in merchantable timber, often excluding younger forests, chaparral, and other indicators of preceding mixed/high-severity fires. We found added significant bias introduced by omitting areas burned in mixed/high-severity fires, or by missing evidence of these fires on parts of forms or associated archival materials. Use of early timber inventories could be improved by (1) avoiding use of unreliable two-chain-wide inventories or applying correction multipliers to inventory estimates, (2) completing an accuracy test of one-chain-wide inventories, (3) locating and using notes, maps, and other data about small trees and high-severity fires often available in inventory archives, or omitting conclusions about these, (4) deriving an envelope model of inference space for inventories, and (5) specifying a large area, then including all available inventory data within it, or using unbiased selection criteria. These improvements could help bring timber-inventory data into congruence with other historical sources.

Description: Forests, Vol. 8, Pages 349: Structure and Composition of a Dry Mixed-Conifer Forest in Absence of Contemporary Treatments, Southwest, USA Forests doi: 10.3390/f8090349 Authors: Douglas Cram Pradip Saud Terrell Baker Dry mixed-conifer forests in the Southwest occupy an important ecological and hydrological role in upper watersheds. In the absence of reoccurring fire and silvicultural treatments over the last 50 years, we quantified forest structure and composition on prevailing north and south aspects of a dry mixed-conifer forest in southcentral New Mexico using mixed models and ordination analysis in preparation for an experiment in ecological restoration. Results indicated overstory and midstory were dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and shade tolerant/fire intolerant white fir (Abies concolor) with interspersed mature aspen on north aspects, and Douglas-fir and Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis) on south aspects. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), which was historically co-dominant with Douglas-fir on north and south aspects, was subdominant on south aspects and almost entirely absent on north aspects. Regeneration was dominated by white fir saplings and seedlings on north aspects while ponderosa pine was completely absent. South aspect saplings and seedlings were characterized by Douglas-fir and Southwestern white pine, but almost no ponderosa pine. Ordination analysis characterized the effect of aspect on species composition. Understanding contemporary forest structure and composition is important when planning for desired future conditions that are to be achieved through ecological restoration using silvicultural techniques designed to foster resilience.

Description: This study explored mid-adolescents’ views and experiences of socio-ecological influences on their drinking practices in order to help inform the development of interventions to reduce alcohol-related risk. We conducted 31 in-depth interviews with young people aged 13–17 in North East England. Verbatim interview transcripts and field notes were coded systematically and analysed thematically, following the principles of constant comparison. We adopted Bourdieu’s idea of social game-playing and elements of his conceptual toolkit (particularly habitus, capital and field) during analysis. Analysis yielded three intersecting themes: (1) ‘drinking etiquette’: conveying taste and disgust; (2) ‘playing the drinking game’: demonstrating cultural competency; (3) ‘hidden habitus’—the role of alcohol marketing. Our work demonstrates that there is a nexus of influential factors which come together to help shape and reinforce mid-adolescents’ behaviour, norms and values in relation to alcohol consumption. Drinking practices are not just formed by friendships and family traditions, these are also subject to wider cultural shaping including by the alcohol industry which can encourage brand identification, and gear specific products to add ‘distinction’. However young people are not inactive players and they use aspects of capital and social games to help cement their identity and present themselves in particular ways which in turn are influenced by age, gender and social status. Guided by promising work in the tobacco field, interventions which focus on critical awareness of the framing of alcohol products by key stakeholders, such as policymakers, commercial industry and public health professionals, and by wider society may facilitate behaviour change among young people.

Description: IJERPH, Vol. 14, Pages 847: Smoke-Free Recovery from Trauma Surgery: A Pilot Trial of an Online Smoking Cessation Program for Orthopaedic Trauma Patients International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph14080847 Authors: Sam McCrabb Amanda Baker John Attia Zsolt Balogh Natalie Lott Justine Naylor Ian Harris Christopher Doran Johnson George Luke Wolfenden Eliza Skelton Billie Bonevski Smoking increases the risk of complications associated with orthopaedic trauma surgery, however delivery of care is low. Online interventions may provide needed smoking cessation care and promote abstinence. This study aims to examine the engagement, acceptability, and retention of an online smoking cessation program (Smoke-Free Recovery; SFR) among a sample of orthopaedic trauma patients, as well as themes around the smoking cessation process. A pilot study of SFR with 31 orthopaedic trauma patients admitted to a public hospital in New South Wales, Australia took place. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted following hospital discharge. Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used. Engagement was high with 28 participants accessing SFR during admission. Twenty individuals completed follow-up phone calls. Program acceptability was rated favourably. After discharge, changes in smoking habits were noted, with program retention low. Themes on program use included: lack of time or need for additional support; computer illiteracy or technology issues; feeling unready or too stressed to quit; or feeling they had reached the boundary of what could be learnt from the program. This study highlights the difficulties faced by patients following hospital admission, the lack of follow-up support received, and the need for consumer testing prior to roll out. Continuing to develop interventions to promote hospital-initiated cessation attempts that continue post-discharge should be a priority.

Description: IJERPH, Vol. 14, Pages 1144: Health-Related Quality of Life and Function after Paediatric Injuries in India: A Longitudinal Study International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101144 Authors: Jagnoor Jagnoor Shankar Prinja Aliki Christou Jannah Baker Belinda Gabbe Rebecca Ivers Paediatric injuries can lead to long-term functional impairment and reduced health-related quality of life, and are a growing public health issue in India. To date, however, the burden has been poorly characterized. This study assessed the impact of non-fatal injuries on health-related quality of life in a prospective cohort study of 373 children admitted to three hospitals in Chandigarh and Haryana states in India. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and King’s Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI) were administered at baseline (pre-injury) and at 1, 2, 4, and 12 months post-injury by telephone interview. Follow-up at all-time points was completed for 277 (77%) of all living participants. Less than one percent reported ongoing disability at 4 months, and no disability was reported at 12 months. PedsQL physical health scores were below healthy child norms (83.4) at 1 month in the cohort for ages 8–12 years and 13–16 years. Although injuries are prevalent, ongoing impact on functioning and disability from most childhood injuries at 12 months was reported to be low. The results raise questions about reliability of generic, Western-centric tools in low- and middle-income settings, and highlight the need for local context-specific tools.

Description: Integrating uncertainty into public energy research and development decisions Nature Energy, Published online: 9 May 2017; doi:10.1038/nenergy.2017.71 Publically funded energy technology research is critical for a successful low–carbon energy transition, but future uncertainty means decision–making is difficult. This Review explores the role of expert elicitations, integrated assessment models and decision frameworks in informing energy technology policy.