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Understanding public acceptability of wildlife control methods is key to successful wildlife management. The existing literature, however, pays little attention to alien invasive species. We evaluated the acceptability of methods used to control feral pigs (Sus scrofa; trapping, hunting, fencing, and poison baiting) in Australia's Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA) across local residents of and tourists to the area, using household surveys and tourist surveys. We predicted that the level of acceptability of a control method would differ across stakeholder groups (i.e., resident, tourist) and methods considered inhumane and/or unsafe would be less supported. Local residents expressed more support for feral pig control than tourists. Both groups identified similar factors, such as humaneness, as being important, but local residents also considered effectiveness and direct social and/or economic benefits from control. We conclude that the types of stakeholder groups determine the acceptability of the methods, but factors considered important in supporting methods can be case-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women as a group may be more vulnerable to the impact of hazards, but at an individual level, they also have capacity to adapt to changing circumstances in ways that contribute to their own resilience. This paper provides examples of the ways in which some women adapt to a recurrent natural hazard to which they are exposed, in turn, providing insights on adaptive capacity at a personal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The issue of communities and their exposure to bushfire hazard is highly topical internationally. There is a perceived trend of greater exposure to bushfire risk which is exacerbated by increased levels of building in fire-prone areas or peri-urban regions. There is a need to clarify what we understand to be peri-urban regions, and how we conceptualise and describe the communities that reside in them, in order that efficient and effective services are provided. However, more questions arise for us. For example: Where are these communities located? What do we know about the people who live there? What are the implications for bushfire mitigation? Despite being problematic, locality remains important to the understanding of communities, bushfire hazard and delivery of services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents an analysis of the 1993 Australian Election Study indicating that the increase in perceptions of threat from Indonesia is primarily held by older Australians, those who hold protectionist trade views and those who are concerned about East Timor. Themes in Australia-Indonesia relations; Themes examined in the Australian Election Study.

By 2009, the Kien Giang coast, Vietnam, had experienced significant coastal erosion and mangrove degradation. Recent mitigation strategies, developed through policies, plans and mangrove planting programs have not been successful, in part because the causes of coastal erosion were not adequately identified. This paper investigates the relationship between human activities and coastal erosion in Kien Giang province. This study used mixed methods to understand the causes of coastal erosion with an emphasis on human activities. In this investigation, local communities were involved as co-investigators to explore the causes of coastal erosion in Kien Giang province. While natural factors (adverse effects of climate change and sea level rise) have been widely reported as main causes of coastal erosion, human activities initially were not recognised by local communities as significant contributors to coastal erosion and mangrove degradation. Human activities such as poor aquaculture pond construction, poor construction of new and upgraded sections of the sea dyke system, mangrove afforestation using only a single species, mangrove cutting for commercial and domestic uses, and construction of local boating channels, and the interaction of anthropogenic activities and physical processes are significant contributors to erosion. The study resulted in the awareness of the impact of community activities on the coast being improved. Knowledge gaps and necessary policy changes are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation is experiencing increasing recognition as an indispensable component of effective communication and engagement between resource users and managers in natural resource planning and management. To bridge a gap between communication, information and participation, natural resource management agencies have increasingly used the visual capability of spatial decision support tools, such as geographic information systems. Nevertheless, both participation and the use of spatial technologies have been promoted without much consideration of how particular stakeholder groups participate and use existing decision support tools. This paper analyses the current state of public participation and the extent to which spatial data and geographic information tools are used by stakeholder groups to facilitate access to information and to support communication in water quality management on the Great Barrier Reef coast. Data were collected via document analysis, participant observation at stakeholders' meeting, face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative data were coded for themes using coding analysis processes, whereas quantitative data from the surveys were analysed using standard exploratory and descriptive statistical techniques. Results reveal that reliance on the natural resource management officer, established networks and personal relationships, and provision of property-scale spatial information are important aspects of a meaningful public participation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Physical activity has been shown to decline over the course of chemotherapy in breast cancer survivors; yet it may reduce treatment-related side effects and emerging evidence indicates it may improve disease outcomes. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions may be an effective, scalable strategy to increase physical activity during treatment. However, little is known about breast cancer patients' interests and preferences for these interventions. It is important to understand patients' interests and preferences prior to development of mHealth physical activity interventions to increase their relevance and efficacy.Methods: Breast cancer survivors (n = 30) participated in a semi-structured phone interview and were asked about barriers and facilitators to physical activity during chemotherapy as well as their preferences on a range of potential mHealth intervention features. Transcribed interviews were coded and key themes were analyzed using an iterative, inductive approach.Results: Five key themes were extracted from the interviews: (1) need for education about physical activity during chemotherapy; (2) treatment side effects inhibit physical activity; (3) a structured, home-based, tech-supported program with in-person elements is most feasible; (4) need for a personalized, highly tailored intervention; and (5) importance of social support from other breast cancer survivors, friends, and family.Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors are interested in mHealth physical activity interventions during chemotherapy, but preferences for intervention content and delivery varied. Future work should engage patients and survivors in intervention development and testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) may help us better understand biopsychosocial determinants and outcomes of physical activity during chemotherapy, but may be burdensome for patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using EMA to assess activity, symptoms, and motivation among early-stage breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.Methods: Women were instructed to wear an accelerometer 24/7 (hip during day and wrist overnight). Text message prompts were sent 4 times/day concerning patient-reported symptoms and motivational factors for 10 consecutive days (3 days pre-, day of, and 6 days post-chemotherapy dose). These measures occurred at the beginning, middle, and end of a full course of chemotherapy. At study conclusion, participants reported on perceived study acceptability, burden, and reactivity.Results: Of the 75 women who consented to participate, 63 (84%) completed all 3 assessment time points. Participants responded to 86% of total text prompts and had valid accelerometer data on 82% of study days. Compliance was similar across all time points. The majority (78%) rated their study experience as positive; 100% were confident in their ability to use study technology. Reactivity varied with 27% indicating answering symptom questions did not affect how they felt and 44% and 68% indicated answering questions and wearing the accelerometer, respectively, made them want to increase activity.Conclusions: Findings indicate EMA methods are feasible for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. EMA may help us better understand the biopsychosocial processes underlying breast cancer patients' activity in the context of daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Physical activity is associated with better quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer survivors. However, it is unknown the extent to which time spent sedentary or replacing this time with active behaviors may affect QOL. Our aim was to determine the effect of substituting time between sedentary and active behaviors on QOL indicators in breast cancer survivors.Methods: An isotemporal substitution approach was used to examine the associations of reallocating time to sedentary and active behaviors measured by accelerometry with Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment-Breast (FACT-B; total, physical, social, emotional, functional well-being, and breast cancer-specific concerns) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores in a pooled analysis of breast cancer survivors (n = 753; Mage  = 56.9 ± 9.5 y) from two observational studies.Results: Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time to 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) was associated with improved FACT-B total (B = 3.0; 95% CI, 0.6-4.5), physical well-being (B = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.33-1.2), and functional well-being (B = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.03-1.2) scores. Reallocating 30 minutes of light activity to 30 minutes of MVPA was associated with improved FACT-B total (B = 2.4; 95% CI, 0.3-6.0) and physical well-being (B = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.27-1.2) scores. There was no significant substitution of time effects on HADS scores.Conclusions: Substituting sedentary time with MVPA showed the greatest range of effects across QOL indicators. These results can inform intervention development interventions and more comprehensive activity recommendations for breast cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclone Pam (March 2015) was an unprecedented event in Vanuatu forcing the simultaneous involvement of national and long-term international actors, well integrated into the national disaster governance system, as well as numerous short-term international actors, unfamiliar with the geopolitical and cultural disaster context of the country. Cooperation between these three groups of actors evolved through the three scales of bonding, bridging and linking social networking. This paper questions the different drivers and challenges within and across these scales of social networks affecting cooperation among the three different groups of actors during an emergency. Using a mixed methodology based on social network analysis, this paper utilises the case study of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu to study the strengths and weaknesses of the disaster governance system in place based on bonding and bridging social capital to conduct disaster risk management and to prepare the integration of linking social capital when external support is needed. This paper contributes to the identification of key considerations in the development of resilience-building strategies: the interactions of diverse actors to address disaster management needs and the reciprocal impacts of these interactions within and across the three different scales of social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fit2Thrive is a theory-guided physical activity promotion trial using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to test efficacy for improving physical activity of five technology-supported physical activity promotion intervention components among breast cancer survivors. This trial will recruit 256 inactive breast cancer survivors nationwide. All participants will receive the core intervention which includes a Fitbit and standard self-monitoring Fit2Thrive smartphone application which will be downloaded to their personal phone. Women will be randomized to one of 32 conditions in a factorial design involving five factors with two levels: support calls (No vs. Yes), app type (standard vs. deluxe), text messaging (No vs. Yes), online gym (No vs. Yes) and Fitbit Buddy (No vs. Yes). The proposed trial examines the effects of the components on physical activity at 12 and 24 weeks. Results will support the selection of a final package of intervention components that has been optimized to maximize physical activity and is subject to an upper limit of cost. The optimized intervention will be tested in a future trial. Fit2Thrive is the first trial to use the MOST framework to develop and test a physical activity promotion intervention in breast cancer survivors and will lead to an improved understanding of how to effectively change survivors' physical activity. These findings could result in more scalable, effective physical activity interventions for breast cancer survivors, and, ultimately, improve health and disease outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]