Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs : are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

We are grateful to all those who helped with sample collection. This includes the MEDITS survey programme (IEO Mallorca) for Mediterranean samples. Portugal mainland samples were collected under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF, PNAB). Azores specimens from the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) of the University of the Azores (UAc) were collected under the project DEMERSAIS “Monitorização das espécies demersais dos Açores” financed by the Azorean government, and the project DEECON “Unravelling population connectivity for sustainable fisheries in the Deep Sea” project approved by the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the EUROCORES programme (proposal No 06-EuroDEEP-FP-008 & SFRH-EuroDEEP/0002/2007). This study was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Oceans 2025 Strategic Research Programme Theme 6 (Science for Sustainable Marine Resources). REB was supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), BSP was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, SFRH/BPD/72351/2010 and JL was supported by The Alasdair Downes Marine Conservation Fund.

Promoción de salud para la generación de entornos saludables en un barrio vulnerable: el caso de Las Remudas, Gran Canaria

Las desigualdades sociales en salud se reflejan también en la segregación espacial de barrios que concentran desventajas estructurales generando entornos poco saludables. Este estudio describe las acciones y estrategias desarrolladas, dentro de un proceso de intervención socio-comunitaria en salud, para mejorar el entorno de un barrio desfavorecido y la percepción vecinal de las transformaciones vividas. Metodología: Se construye un estudio de caso a partir de entrevistas semiestructuradas a informantes clave. Resultado: los informantes reconocen la transformación del entorno en aspectos urbanísticos, ambientales y sociales y la importancia de su participación en ello. La apertura de nuevos comercios o la disminución de la criminalidad son indicadores objetivos de esta mejora. Conclusión: Las intervenciones de promoción de salud para mejorar el entorno deben considerar su multidimensionalidad y, por tanto, su abordaje multisectorial a través de metodologías participativas que involucren a los diversos actores sociales.

The performance of stabilized and unstabilized minestone in an aqueous environment with emphasis on its erosion resistance

Britain's sea and flood defences are becoming increasingly aged and as a consequence, more fragile and vulnerable. As the government's philosophy on resources shifts against the use of prime quarried and dredged geo-materials, the need to find alternative bulk materials to bolster Britain's prone defences becomes more pressing. One conceivable source for such a material is colliery waste or minestone. Although a plethora of erosion-abrasion studies have been carried out on soils and soil-cements, very little research has been undertaken to determine the resistance of minestone and its cement stabilized form to the effects of water erosion. The thesis reviews the current extent to which soil-cements, minestone and cement stabilized minestone (CSM) have been employed for hydraulic construction projects. A synopsis is also given on the effects of immersion on shales, mudstones and minestone, especially with regard to the phenomena of slaking. A laboratory study was undertaken featuring a selection of minestones from several British coalfields. The stability of minestone and CSM in sea water and distilled water was assessed using slaking tests and immersion monitoring and the bearing on the use of these materials for hydraulic construction is discussed. Following a review of current erosion apparatus, the erosion/abrasion test and rotating cylinder device were chosen and employed to assess the erosion resistance of minestone and CSM. Comparison was made with a sand mix designed to represent a dredged sand, the more traditional, bulk hydraulic construction material. The results of the erosion study suggest that both minestone and CSM were more resistant to erosion and abrasion than equivalently treated sand mixes. The greater resistance of minestone to the agents of erosion and abrasion is attributed to several factors including the size of the particles, a greater degree of cement bonding and the ability of the minestone aggregate to absorb, rather than transmit shock waves produced by impacting abrasive particles. Although minestone is shown to be highly unstable when subjected to cyclic changes in its moisture content, the study suggests that even in an intertidal regime where cyclic immersion does takes place, minestone will retain sufficient moisture within its fabric to prevent slaking from taking place. The slaking study reveals a close relationship between slaking susceptibility and total pore surface area as revealed by porosimetry. The immersion study shows that although the fabric of CSM is rapidly attacked in sea water, a high degree of the disruption is associated with the edges and corners of samples (ie. free surface) while the integrity of the internal fabric remains relatively intact. CSM samples were shown to be resilient when subjected to immersion in distilled water. An overall assessment of minestone and CSM would suggest that with the implementation of judicious selection and appropriate quality control they could be used as alternative materials for flood and sea defences. It is believed, that even in the harsh regime of a marine environment, CSM could be employed for temporary and sacrificial schemes.

Corporate environmental responsibility and accountability:what chance in vulnerable Bangladesh?

Bangladesh has recently been enjoying significant economic growth mainly arising from an export led development strategy. However, in that process its natural environment has been degraded and become more vulnerable in geophysical terms (e.g. environmental pollution). Much of the Bangladeshi population are also vulnerable in socio-economic terms due primarily to widespread poverty. In this context we ask, albeit sceptically, whether there is any chance of holding corporations to account for their environmental responsibilities. Using the notions of vulnerability and ecological rifts we answer this question by providing evidence from published sources and a series of 32 semi-structured interviews with Bangladeshi stakeholder groups. Key findings include, inter alia, corporate reluctance to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their activities. Our interviewees discuss the possibility of a role for mandatory corporate reporting in enhancing corporate accountability and we argue that this is essential if the contradictions and irrationalities of the globalized capitalist system are to be made visible. Achieving such accountability, however, will not be easy due to a lack of political will and the prohibitive costs involved. Incurring such costs could raise the dangerous prospect of Bangladesh losing business to other, less regulated, economies.

Predictable hydrodynamic conditions explain temporal variations in the density of benthic foraging seabirds in a tidal stream environment

Tidal stream turbines could have several direct impacts upon pursuit-diving seabirds foraging within tidal stream environments (mean horizontal current speeds > 2 ms−1), including collisions and displacement. Understanding how foraging seabirds respond to temporally variable but predictable hydrodynamic conditions immediately around devices could identify when interactions between seabirds and devices are most likely to occur; information which would quantify the magnitude of potential impacts, and also facilitate the development of suitable mitigation measures. This study uses shore-based observational surveys and Finite Volume Community Ocean Model outputs to test whether temporally predictable hydrodynamic conditions (horizontal current speeds, water elevation, turbulence) influenced the density of foraging black guillemots Cepphus grylle and European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis in a tidal stream environment in Orkney, United Kingdom, during the breeding season. These species are particularly vulnerable to interactions with devices due to their tendency to exploit benthic and epi-benthic prey on or near the seabed. The density of both species decreased as a function of horizontal current speeds, whereas the density of black guillemots also decreased as a function of water elevation. These relationships could be linked to higher energetic costs of dives in particularly fast horizontal current speeds (>3 ms−1) and deeper water. Therefore, interactions between these species and moving components seem unlikely at particularly high horizontal current speeds. Combining this information, with that on the rotation rates of moving components at lower horizontal current speeds, could be used to assess collision risk in this site during breeding seasons. It is also likely that moderating any device operation during both lowest water elevation and lowest horizontal current speeds could reduce the risk of collisions for these species in this site during this season. The approaches used in this study could have useful applications within Environmental Impact Assessments, and should be considered when assessing and mitigating negative impacts from specific devices within development sites.

The extracurriculum in an input-poor environment

This paper reports on the experiences of an extracurricular program in English language learning (ELL) that was implemented in an institute of technology in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Following the guidelines set out in an impact study of the reform of curriculum change in Hong Kong (Adamson & Morris, 2000), this study takes account of the context of the particular socio-cultural and political environment in which the research program takes place. Three distinct phases emerged in the career of the extracurricular program - the establishment of the program; successful implementation; and the decline. The study identifies three key factors that shaped these phases: teacher motivation; student motivation and its various influences; and available resources (including collegial and administrative support). The findings suggest that of the key factors impacting on the ELL extracurriculum, student motivation was the most influential.