Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jaime Ruiz-Tagle, Ignacio Urria
Summary: Research shows that both housing conditions and household overcrowding have negative impacts on physical and mental health. However, there is limited evidence on this relationship in the low- and middle-income countries of Latin America. This study examines the association between changes in household overcrowding levels and the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Chilean households. The findings suggest that an increase in household overcrowding is associated with an increase in depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of preventive housing policies to address overcrowding.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Lu Cheng, Zhifu Mi, Yi-Ming Wei, Shidong Wang, Klaus Hubacek
Summary: The self-reported life satisfaction of China's population has not improved as expected during the economic boom, possibly due to environmental pollution. This study finds a negative correlation between air pollution and subjective well-being, with a more significant decline in well-being during hot seasons. Additionally, residents in wealthier regions are more sensitive to air pollution.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Silva Larson, Natalie Stoeckl, Mardiana E. Fachry, Muhammad Dalvi Mustafa, Imran Lapong, Agus Heri Purnomo, Michael A. Rimmer, Nicholas A. Paul
Summary: Seaweed farming in Indonesia has positive economic and social impacts on communities in South Sulawesi, leading to increased household income and life satisfaction; the industry helps to improve key well-being factors such as transportation, housing, basic needs, other needs, and education; the dominance of smallholders in Indonesia's seaweed industry highlights the importance of considering potential negative impacts of transitioning from small-scale to large-scale enterprises in future development efforts.
Article
Economics
Nicholas Gunby, Tom Coupe
Summary: This study examines the impact of weather-related home damage on subjective well-being using Australian data from 2009 to 2019. The findings suggest that there is little evidence to support a significant negative effect on subjective well-being.
ENVIRONMENTAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Bruce Tonn, Erin Rose, Michaela Marincic
Summary: This research investigates the non-energy impacts of a low-income energy efficiency program on household environmental conditions, household finances, general health, life satisfaction, and major health-related life events. The study collected data through a household survey conducted before and after weatherization, comparing a treatment group and a control group. The results show that improvements in home conditions and general health were statistically significant, indicating a positive influence of energy efficiency improvements on various aspects of low-income households.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Anam Rani, Abdul Quddoos, Muhammad Rizwan Yaseen, Sana Tabassum, Aisha Asif
Summary: The study examines the impact of social capital on households' objective well-being and subjective well-being in Pakistan, showing a positive influence on improving life quality and happiness.
SOCIAL INDICATORS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Development Studies
Jeannie Annan, Aletheia Donald, Markus Goldstein, Paula Gonzalez Martinez, Gayatri Koolwal
Summary: This study explores the impact of women's power relative to their husbands on women's health, reproductive outcomes, children's health, and children's education in 23 Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings suggest that recognizing women's power leads to better well-being outcomes for women and children. However, when women take more decision-making power for themselves, it can have positive effects on reproductive and children's health but negative effects on emotional violence.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yaojie Li, Xinlei Liu, Yatai Men, Zhihan Luo, Rui Xiong, Jianpeng Li, Hefa Cheng, Shu Tao, Guofeng Shen
Summary: Nearly three billion people still rely on traditional solid fuels, leading to potentially harmful levels of indoor CO2 exposure. A study in rural coal-use households found significantly elevated indoor CO2 concentrations, posing a variety of health risks. Efforts to reduce exposure to indoor CO2 are crucial for public health.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Coulibaly Thierry Yerema, Shunsuke Managi
Summary: This study aims to evaluate the impact of air pollution on well-being based on income levels across 30 countries, revealing that low-income individuals and those residing in highly polluted areas are more severely affected. Developing countries and countries with income inequality face a greater burden compared to developed nations and those with more equal income distribution. However, populations in highly polluted and highly productive countries are least affected by pollution.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mi Zhou, Hongxun Liu, Liqun Peng, Yue Qin, Dan Chen, Lin Zhang, Denise L. Mauzerall
Summary: This study analyzes the air-quality, health, and carbon interdependencies of different heating options in northern China, finding substantial benefits in air quality and health from clean heating options, along with increased heating costs. By 2030, heat pumps show the largest health-carbon synergies among the options analyzed, despite high capital costs, they have lower operating costs and are competitive for long-term use. Increased subsidies for heat pumps can further improve air quality and carbon mitigation in the clean heating transition.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Economics
Kelcie Ralph, Eric A. Morris, Jaekyeong Kwon
Summary: This paper investigates the travel and activity barriers faced by people with disabilities and finds that they typically pay a higher travel time price premium than those without disabilities. These premiums persist even when accounting for personal characteristics and travel mode.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART A-POLICY AND PRACTICE
(2022)
Article
Economics
Chandler Smith, Orhon Myadar, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, Maia Ingram, Arlie Adkins
Summary: This article is based on a multidisciplinary research project that aims to explore the mobility challenges faced by refugees in Tucson, Arizona after their resettlement. Through qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the article argues that mobility plays a significant role in refugees' social connections, employment attainment, and access to education opportunities. Barriers to mobility negatively impact refugees' well-being perception post-resettlement. However, the challenges are not uniformly experienced, and refugees are not passive subjects incapable of overcoming barriers. The study also reveals the resilience of the refugee community in navigating intersectional challenges related to their mobility. The implications of this study aim to inform stakeholders on better supporting refugees in navigating existing mobility and transportation challenges, as well as promoting policy change to enhance spatial mobility for all members of the Tucson community.
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Rupali Tamuly, Pranab Mukhopadhyay
Summary: This study provides initial estimates of the impact of cumulative natural disasters on well-being in India, disaggregated by social and economic groups. The findings show that natural disasters consistently have a significant negative impact on consumption across all social and economic groups. Assets, health insurance, membership in groups, and the number of married females in the household have positive and significant effects, while conflict intensity, number of persons in the household, proportion of children in the household, and public project intensity have negative and significant effects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(2022)
Article
Business
Qunyang Du, Fangxing Zhou, Tianle Yang, Min Du
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between digital financial inclusion and household well-being in China using two databases. The findings show that digital financial inclusion is positively associated with household well-being. Mechanism analysis reveals that an increase in digital financial inclusion facilitates household financial participation and increases the probability of household well-being. Further analysis demonstrates that groups with lower education and income levels are more significantly affected by digital financial inclusion regarding household well-being. Overall, this research provides empirical evidence for the importance of expanding financial inclusion in the digital economy era in promoting social fairness and supporting the expansion of financial inclusion in emerging economies.
EMERGING MARKETS FINANCE AND TRADE
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mengsi Deng, Rongjiang Ma, Fei Lu, Yazhou Nie, Pengchao Li, Xingli Ding, Yanping Yuan, Ming Shan, Xudong Yang
Summary: The study evaluated possible clean heating solutions in Northern rural China, finding that biomass pellet heating and low ambient temperature air-to-air heat pump have the potential for dissemination.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Honor Bixby, James E. Bennett, Ayaga A. Bawah, Raphael E. Arku, Samuel K. Annim, Jacqueline D. Anum, Samilia E. Mintah, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Charles Agyei-Asabere, Brian E. Robinson, Alicia Cavanaugh, Samuel Agyei-Mensah, George Owusu, Majid Ezzati, Jill Baumgartner
Summary: Countries in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of child mortality worldwide. Urban areas tend to have lower mortality than rural areas, but these comparisons likely mask large within-city inequalities. A study conducted in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) found significant variation in under-five mortality rates among neighborhoods in 2010, ranging from 28 to 138 deaths per 1000 live births. The study also revealed correlations between neighborhood living conditions and socioeconomic factors with child mortality rates.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Marie C. Dade, Elena M. Bennett, Brian E. Robinson
Summary: This study combines property rights theory with spatial analysis to examine how property rights influence the access to ecosystem services. Using the Adirondack Park as a case study, the results show that property rights, combined with the flow of ecosystem services, determine who can receive ecosystem services and where.
ECOSYSTEMS AND PEOPLE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuxiong Chen, Siqin Feng, Zhen'ge Chang, Yakun Zhao, Jia Fu, Yijie Liu, Siqi Tang, Yitao Han, Yanbo Liu, Yuanxun Zhang, Shuyang Zhang, Zhongjie Fan
Summary: The use of household solid fuel for cooking and heating is positively associated with diabetes and fasting blood glucose levels. These findings suggest that reducing household solid fuel use may contribute to a decrease in diabetes development in China.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bi'an Zhou, Tianyi Zhao, Jian Ma, Yuanxun Zhang, Lijia Zhang, Peng Huo, Yang Zhang
Summary: The study found that VOC pollution in the suburbs of Beijing after the coal to electricity project was mainly caused by local emissions. The contribution of coal combustion to VOCs increased significantly, but the TVOCs concentration was lower than before heating. Most of the selected VOC species had carcinogenic risks above the acceptable level.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Claude A. Garcia, Sini Savilaakso, Rene W. Verburg, Natasha Stoudmann, Philip Fernbach, Steven A. Sloman, Garry D. Peterson, Miguel B. Araujo, Jean-Francois Bastin, Juergen Blaser, Laurence Boutinot, Thomas W. Crowther, Helene Dessard, Anne Dray, Scott Francisco, Jaboury Ghazoul, Laurene Feintrenie, Etienne Hainzelin, Fritz Kleinschroth, Babak Naimi, Ivan P. Novotny, Johan Oszwald, Stephan A. Pietsch, Fabien Quetier, Brian E. Robinson, Marieke Sassen, Plinio Sist, Terry Sunderland, Cedric Vermeulen, Lucienne Wilme, Sarah J. Wilson, Francisco Zorondo-Rodriguez, Patrick O. Waeber
Summary: Scholars often overlook the impact of decision-making on the Earth system, but using strategy games can increase the representation of human agency in scenario development and facilitate deliberation between diverse worldviews.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaoying Li, Jill Baumgartner, Christopher Barrington-Leigh, Sam Harper, Brian Robinson, Guofeng Shen, Talia Sternbach, Shu Tao, Xiang Zhang, Yuanxun Zhang, Ellison Carter
Summary: The Chinese government implemented a household energy transition program in northern China, which replaced coal heating stoves with electricity-powered heat pumps. This study investigated personal air pollution exposures within and between villages, as well as the impact of sociodemographic factors. The results showed that variability in pollution exposures was greater within villages, and participants using traditional stoves had the highest levels of pollution. Wealthier households tended to burn more coal, while less wealthy households used more biomass.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eric Galbraith, William Fajzel, Shirley Xu, Veronica Xia, Elena Frie, Christopher Barrington-Leigh, Victoria Reyes-Garcia
Summary: Time use studies quantify what people do over time intervals, providing important insights into societies and economies. This article proposes a new approach of constructing the human chronome by assembling multiple dimensions of time use, enabling interdisciplinary perspectives. The authors develop the Motivating-Outcome-Oriented General Activity Lexicon (MOOGAL) as a step towards this goal, showing its utility by comparing it with existing lexicons and applying it to real data. The results support the feasibility of using generalized lexicons to gain a rich interdisciplinary perspective on the human system.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Yan, Tianyi Zhao, Wei Huang, Dongqing Fang, Xin Zhang, Lijia Zhang, Peng Huo, Kang Xiao, Yuanxun Zhang, Yang Zhang
Summary: The complexation between transition metals (TMs) and water-soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) in atmospheric particles plays a role in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study found that the complexation between WSOC and Cu or Mn has a synergistic effect on ROS generation, while the complexation with Fe has a negative effect. The hydrophobic fraction of WSOC and the rate of ROS generation decrease during the complexation process. Cu-WSOC exhibits the most significant synergistic effect on ROS generation, suggesting that aromatic and polar substituents in WSOC dominate the complexation process.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaoying Li, Jill Baumgartner, Sam Harper, Xiang Zhang, Talia Sternbach, Christopher Barrington-Leigh, Collin Brehmer, Brian Robinson, Guofeng Shen, Yuanxun Zhang, Shu Tao, Ellison Carter
Summary: The COVID-19 lockdown in China reduced community air pollution, but had minimal impact on indoor air quality. Household energy choice and indoor smoking had a greater influence on indoor air quality than the lockdown.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tianyi Zhao, Yu Yan, Bian Zhou, Xuezhen Zhong, Xiaoyu Hu, Lijia Zhang, Peng Huo, Kang Xiao, Yuanxun Zhang, Yang Zhang
Summary: This study investigated the interaction between Water-Soluble Organic Compounds (WSOCs) and Transition Metals (TMs) and its impact on Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation. The results showed that the interaction between WSOCs and TMs significantly affected ROS generation, with the organic compound SRFA exhibiting a stronger ability to complex with TMs and facilitate ROS generation.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Luci Lu, Ping Li, Margaret Kalacska, Brian E. Robinson
Summary: Land rental markets are growing worldwide and contribute to efficient land utilization. However, rental contracts may hinder sustainable land management. This study used participatory mapping, household surveys, and remote sensing to investigate the relationship between land tenure and ecological outcomes. The results showed that rented land parcels had worse rangeland outcomes compared to privately held parcels. The study provides important empirical evidence and a replicable workflow for integrating earth observations and survey data.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William Fajzel, Eric D. Galbraith, Christopher Barrington-Leigh, Jacques Charmes, Elena Frie, Ian Hatton, Priscilla Le Mezo, Ron Milo, Kelton Minor, Xinbei Wan, Veronica Xia, Shirley Xu
Summary: The daily activities of 8 billion people in the world take up 24 hours a day, with most time spent on achieving direct outcomes for human minds and bodies, followed by modifying inhabited environments and the world beyond, and organizing social processes and transportation. The time spent on directly extracting materials and energy from the Earth system and dealing with waste is relatively small, indicating potential for adjusting the allocation of time to these activities.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
C. P. Barrington-Leigh, Katja Lemermeyer
Summary: We have introduced a nascent database of happiness coefficients, which synthesizes evidence on the effects of changing objective circumstances on human well-being. The abundance of data on self-reported life satisfaction from around the world, covering diverse situations and policy changes, has provided valuable insights into what constitutes a good life. Governments have increasingly taken an interest in using this research to measure progress and guide policy decisions. This paper presents a database of summary estimates for Canada, with evidence from other countries where necessary. The categorized domains include Education, Environment, Work, Finances, Health, Social Capital, and Crime. The paper also discusses the context and limitations of using a database of happiness coefficients.
JOURNAL OF HAPPINESS STUDIES
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
David Poissant, Oliver T. Coomes, Brian E. Robinson, Yoshito Takasaki, Christian Abizaid
Summary: Small-scale fisheries are important for rural communities, but little is known about the factors that influence rural people's decision to adopt a fishery-oriented livelihood. This study analyzed data from 3929 households in 235 rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon to develop models explaining engagement in fishing and the relationship between fishing livelihoods and poverty.
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGY
(2023)
