The impact of landfill management approaches on methane emissions.

This article reports on how management approaches influence methane emissions from landfills. The project team created various landfill operational scenarios for different regions of the planet with respect to waste composition, organic waste reduction and landfill gas recovery timing. These scenarios were modelled by applying a basic gas generation model according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations. In general, the IPCC's recommended modelling parameters and default values were used. Based on the modelling undertaken, two options stand out as being the most effective methane mitigation measures in a wide range of conditions throughout the world: (a) early gas recovery and (b) reduction of the amount of biodegradable organic waste accepted in a landfill. It is noted that reduction of organic input to any given landfill can take many years to realize. Moreover, suitable alternative processing or disposal options for the organic waste can be unaffordable for a significant percentage of the planet's population. Although effective, organic waste reduction cannot therefore be the only landfill methane mitigation measure. Early landfill gas recovery can be very effective by applying basic technologies that can be deployed relatively quickly, and at modest cost. Policymakers and regulators from around the globe can significantly reduce adverse environmental impacts from landfill gas emissions by stimulating both the early capture and flaring and/or energy recovery of landfill gas and programmes to reduce the inflow of organic waste into landfills.

Developing dimensions for a multicomponent multidisciplinary approach to obesity management: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There have been consistent recommendations for multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches for obesity management. However, there is no clear agreement on the components, disciplines or processes to be considered within such an approach. In this study, we explored multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches through an examination of knowledge, skills, beliefs, and recommendations of stakeholders involved in obesity management. These stakeholders included researchers, practitioners, educators, and patients. METHODS: We used qualitative action research methods, including convergent interviewing and observation, to assist the process of inquiry. RESULTS: The consensus was that a multicomponent and multidisciplinary approach should be based on four central meta-components (patient, practitioner, process, and environmental factors), and specific components of these factors were identified. Psychologists, dieticians, exercise physiologists and general practitioners were nominated as key practitioners to be included. CONCLUSIONS: A complex condition like obesity requires that multiple components be addressed, and that both patients and multiple disciplines are involved in developing solutions. Implementing cycles of continuous improvement to deal with complexity, instead of trying to control for it, offers an effective way to deal with complex, changing multisystem problems like obesity.

Interview study of the effects of paediatric traumatic brain injury on memory.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on children's day-to-day memory functioning. RESEARCH DESIGN: A qualitative, interview-based procedure. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Thirteen parents of children and adolescents with TBI were interviewed for 2 hours. Data from 12 of the interviews were analysed using content analysis, which involved transcribing notes, sorting information into categories, identifying similarities or differences among the categories and isolating meaningful trends. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Over half of the children experienced explicit (past recall) and prospective memory (future intentions) loss, but few experienced implicit memory (e.g. procedural) loss. Further, parents utilized their own interventions in minimizing their children's memory disabilities. CONCLUSION: Memory loss is common and can impact on everyday living, but is selective in the types of memory affected. Follow-ups are recommended to assess quantitatively, the so-far, little-known effects of paediatric TBI on prospective memory and to examine more closely parent interventions to assess their wider applicability in TBI rehabilitation.