We thank the AHRC for funding this work, and Carys Swanwick for very helpful advice on the broader literature on landscape perceptions. We also thank three referees for helpful comments on a previous version.
JEM codes: Q2, N5, H4Keywords: environmental history; landscape change; national parks; landscape preferences; woodland management.
April 20081
AbstractIn this paper, we investigate whether people's knowledge of the past influences their preferences and values towards future landscape change. "Knowledge of the past" is one aspect of the information set held by individuals, and a well-established finding in economics is that changes in information can change preferences and values. The particular aspects of knowledge of the past we work with here are (i) awareness of past landuse, as represented by woodland cover and (ii) awareness of differing and sometimes contradictory literary impressions of this past landscape. The case studies used here relate to prospective changes in woodland cover in two UK national parks, the Lake District and the Trossachs. We find that people who are made aware that the landscape has changed over time, or that perceptions of the landscape have changed over time, are more likely to favour changes to the current landscape (are less likely to favour the status quo).Knowledge of the past therefore seems to have an impact on preferences for future landscapes. We also investigate the impacts on preferences of how "special", how "wild" and how "worked in" people perceive the landscapes of these two national parks to be.2
In today's global economy, assessing costs of compliance is crucial to understand how environmental regulations infl uence fi rms' behaviour and in particular their ability to compete at an international level. A three step methodology is used to conduct a comparison of Scotland's industry with the international community. The fi rst step compares environmental protection expenditures among the European Community. The second step uses the Environmental Regulatory Regime Index developed by Porter and Esty to compare regulatory quality among 71 nations. The fi nal step compares Scotland's environmental quality with the international community based on three criteria: SO 2 , PM 10 and energy effi ciency. Relative to the countries used in this research, Scotland is found to have a high quality regulatory regime, low costs of compliance for industry and a mixture of moderate to high environmental quality. Because signifi cant defi ciencies exist in the data, some uncertainties remain in the results. Published in 2007 with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Offi ce and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.
2
Structured AbstractPurpose This paper considers the development of 'Green' jobs in one region of the European Union, Scotland, where the government has sought to develop renewable and sustainable energy industries and associated employment.Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses selected secondary data and policy documents and conceptualises issues concerning employment in the renewable energy sector.Findings It analyses published data and projections on employment in renewable energy sectors, considering the reasons for the lower actual job creation. Many of the jobs in the renewable energy sector are likely to be high-skilled, so there is need to support the development of low-skilled workers and job seekers so that they can enter and progress in the industry. Similarly there is a strong gender bias in the industry which may similarly reduce the entry and retention of the best staff and inhibit social equity.
Research limitations/implicationsThe paper suggests that 'Career first' recruitment and development policies are needed which emphasize improving both productivity and the 'quality' and attractiveness of sustainable, long-term careers in the sector.
Practical implicationsIn addition to relying on general labour attraction policies and separate industry specific skills initiatives for those already in work, more attention needs to be given to developing sustainable employment with career progression for people moving into, or already in, the industry.
Originality/valueThe links between support for those moving into jobs and developing the skills of existing workers in sustainable industries have been under researched and this paper adds new conceptual developments, in terms of 'Career' first approaches and empirical analysis of employment in renewable industries in Scotland.3
Highlights
Funding for renewables has been cut across Europe in the years since the financial crisis.
Crowdfunding models share a societal ethos with proponents of investment in renewables.
Positive attitudes are shown to be widespread regarding crowdfunding's potential to support renewables.
The evidence suggests that both emotional and pragmatic (experiential) factors underpin this pattern.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.