Urban high-resolution fossil fuel CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions quantification and exploration of emission drivers for potential policy applications

Fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO₂) emissions are the largest driver of anthropogenic climate change. Approximately three-quarters of the world’s fossil fuels carbon dioxide emissions are generated in urban areas. We used the Hestia high resolution approach to quantify FFCO₂ for Salt Lake County, Utah, USA and demonstrate the importance of high resolution quantification to urban emissions mitigation policymaking. We focus on the residential and onroad sectors across both urbanized and urbanizing parts of the valley. Stochastic Impact by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) regression models using sociodemographic data at the census block group level shows that population, per capita income, and building age exhibit positive relationships while household size shows a negative relationship with FFCO₂ emissions. Compact development shows little effect on FFCO₂ emissions in this domain. FFCO₂ emissions in high income block groups is twice as sensitive to income than low income block groups. Emissions are four times as sensitive to household size in low-income versus high-income block groups. These results suggest that policy options targeting personal responsibility or knowledge feedback loops may be the most effective strategies. Examples include utility bill performance comparison or publicly available energy maps identifying high-emitting areas. Within the onroad sector, high emissions density (FFCO₂/km) is associated with primary roads, while high emissions intensity (FFCO₂/VMT) is associated with secondary roads. Opportunities exist for alignment of public transportation extension with remaining high emission road segments, offering a prioritization of new onroad transportation policy in Salt Lake County.     

Conceptualizing the role of consent in the definition of rape at the international criminal court: a norm transfer perspective

Over the past three decades, international criminal legal standards on sexual and gender-based violence have developed rapidly, sparking debate within feminist circles over the extent to which these developments might be relevant to domestic contexts in a process termed “norm transfer.” Indeed, non-governmental organizations and feminist scholars have called for domestic adoption of the International Criminal Court (ICC) definition of rape due to its omission of the element of the absence of consent. However, the place of consent in an international criminal definition of rape is a hotly contested topic, with disagreement as to whether rape in conflict should be considered “exceptional” or a continuation of everyday violence against women. This article provides a new lens through which to explore these questions by situating the feminist strategy of norm transfer within the complementarity-based system of the ICC. It uncovers a number of gaps within the ICC definition that raise questions not only about the status of the definition as a candidate for norm transfer but also about the robustness of the definition itself. The article concludes by considering the role of consent as an implicit element within the ICC definition and its operation as a defense.     

Individual Differences in Children's Understanding of the School

Following previous research (Buchanan-Barrow and Barrett, 1996) which investigated the developmental trends in children's understanding of the school, this paper reports a study which explored wider influences on children's thinking in an examination of individual differences within those broad trends. First, the role of socio-economic class, gender and birth-order were examined for possible relationship to the children's understanding. Second, the attitudes of children, parents and teachers towards their school were investigated in order to assess possible links with the children's thinking. Children, aged 5-11, from two primary schools, were interviewed, with separate questionnaires being completed by their parents and teachers. Although the findings suggested developmental trends associated with age, there were also clear indications of other patterns associated with all the social categories examined in this study. Furthermore, there was evidence of context-effects, with links between the children's attitudes and their understanding of the school and also between parental and children's attitudes. Given the extent and significance of the factors which emerged, children's social understanding would appear to be complex and liable to vary according to their social group memberships.