Search results for "Environment"
showing 10 items of 28487 documents
Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover
2022
Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T19:52:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2022-03-18 Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied am…
The evolution of temperature tolerance and invasiveness in a fluctuating thermal environment
2016
The consequences of the climate change on species are still uncertain, despite of intensive research. Currently, rising temperature is not the only concern, since the climate change scenarios also predict increases in the amount of disturbances, such as storms, floods, and thermal fluctuations. Disturbances have also been shown to affect species’ evolution, for example by selecting for traits that are advantageous in fluctuating environments but are also facilitating invasiveness. In this thesis, I study the consequences of evolving in a fluctuating thermal environment by utilizing bacterial microcosms. First I tested the effects of fluctuating vs. constant temperature on the evolution of t…
Intergenerational fitness effects of the early life environment in a wild rodent
2019
The early life environment can have profound, long‐lasting effects on an individual's fitness. For example, early life quality might (a) positively associate with fitness (a silver spoon effect), (b) stimulate a predictive adaptive response (by adjusting the phenotype to the quality of the environment to maximize fitness) or (c) be obscured by subsequent plasticity. Potentially, the effects of the early life environment can persist beyond one generation, though the intergenerational plasticity on fitness traits of a subsequent generation is unclear. To study both intra‐ and intergenerational effects of the early life environment, we exposed a first generation of bank voles to two early life…
Early life of fathers affects offspring fitness in a wild rodent
2019
Intergenerational fitness effects on offspring due to the early life of the parent are well studied from the standpoint of the maternal environment, but intergenerational effects owing to the paternal early life environment are often overlooked. Nonetheless, recent laboratory studies in mammals and ecologically relevant studies in invertebrates predict that paternal effects can have a major impact on the offspring's phenotype. These non‐genetic, environment‐dependent paternal effects provide a mechanism for fathers to transmit environmental information to their offspring, and could allow rapid adaptation. We used the bank vole Myodes glareolus, a wild rodent species with no paternal care, t…
Use of peat-based sorbents for removal of arsenic compounds
2013
Abstract It is important to apply sorbent materials for purification of water from arsenic contamination due to serious arsenic pollution worldwide. We have developed new sorbents based on natural materials that provide a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative. For the first time, peat modified with iron compounds and iron humates were tested for sorption of arsenic compounds. The highest sorption capacity was found in peat modified with iron compounds. We have found that sorption of different arsenic speciation forms was strongly dependent on solution pH, reaction time and temperature. Calculations of the sorption process using thermodynamic parameters indicate the spontaneity of s…
Human dignity in the learning environment : testing a sociological paradigm for a diversity-positive milieu with school starters
2004
The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the New Economy
2004
The idea of corporate social responsibility has come to be accepted as one of the major components of business growth and sustainability. The success in the new economy comes with various challenges. Those challenges require business and their managers to think beyond traditional way of looking for short-term goals. It requires business and the people inside these behemoths to embrace a much broader perspective that is also inclusive of stakeholders. The nature of society we are living in has changed. The nature of governance has equally changed since people are now enjoying more freedom within each societal democratic tenet. This freedom has found its way in the business and into the facto…
Financialization of Eldercare in a Nordic Welfare State
2022
Abstract The increasing presence of for-profit service providers in publicly-funded eldercare has transformed care in Nordic welfare states which have a strong tradition of public care provision. Macro-level research on care policies has mainly focused on public institutions, national policies, and marketization. The financialization of eldercare has not received much scholarly attention, and existing studies mostly focus on the UK. The financialization of eldercare refers to the ways in which care is both a site of profit extraction and financial engineering. The Nordic system is relatively universal, and, with rapidly ageing demographics, there is a secured demand for eldercare services. …
Creating ‘Communities of Practice’ to Enhance Ecosocial Work : A Comparison between Finland and Australia
2022
Abstract This article reports on findings from a small qualitative study in two industrialised countries—Finland and Australia, which aimed to engage social work practitioners in ‘communities of practice’ to collaboratively explore ecosocial work practice. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, a series of workshops were established to plan, implement and evaluate ecosocial work interventions. Data were gathered using qualitative pre- and post-surveys to examine changes to practice, including similarities and differences between Finnish and Australian practitioners. Overall, results indicated that practitioner engagement in the workshops increased their capacity to implement ecosoc…