Jelena Barbir

HAW Hamburg | HAW · FTZ-NK

A living wage (LW) refers to the salary that would be sufficient to cover the costs of a decent living standard for the employee and his family in a specific place. The topic is scarcely discussed in Latin American countries, which could benefit from it since the population of these countries faces several social and economic challenges, such as po...

To shift human behaviour towards sustainability, a complete comprehension of the approaches that lead to it is required. This study aims to review potential connections between the mindfulness state and trait and changes in human behaviour toward sustainability. Using bibliometric analysis as an innovative approach in this field, combined with an e...

Each year citizens of the European Union (EU) generate 2.5 billion tonnes of waste; equating to five tonnes of waste per person per year. To ensure optimal material recovery, and to support the move towards a circular economy, proper separate collection of waste is necessary. The current trend of increasing collection rates, encouraged by EU legisl...

Introduction: Occupational therapists and physiotherapists aim to promote health, prevent various diseases and help people in their rehabilitation processes. So far, there is a paucity of understanding of the big picture of how the new paradigm of planetary health (PH) is connected to the education and practice of these professionals. Methods: This...

This paper aims to explore the mechanism by which sustainability leadership (SL) and transformational leadership (TL) contribute to implementing sustainability‐related aspects and the adoption of the SDGs by the teaching staff and whether these relationships are mediated by the higher education institutions' (HEIs) level of social innovation tenden...

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a promising biodegradable bio-based material, which is designed for a vast range of applications, depending on its composite. This study aims to verify the degradability of the PHBV-based compound under different conditions. The research group followed different methodological approaches and as...

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a promising biodegradable bio-based material, which is designed for a vast range of applications, depending on its composite. This study aims to assess the degradability of a PHBV-based compound under different conditions. The research group followed different methodological approaches and asse...

Global climate change, induced by anthropogenic causes, has severe consequences for Earth and its inhabitants. With the consequences already visible around the globe, one of them is the impact on food security. The lack of food security has serious impacts on health, especially in vulnerable populations who highly depend on a nutritious diet for a...

Plastics are used widely, and without plastic modern civilization would look very different. However, the global threat posed by the accumulation and fragmentation of the highly predominant plastic waste in the oceans, inland waters, and terrestrial environments is becoming evident. Moreover, components used in plastics, such as phthalates or bisph...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many social and economic problems in Hispanic America, a region with fragile health and economic systems and many inequalities. The pandemic has negatively influenced various aspects of life and led to changes in various habits and behaviours, including consumption. However, the extent to which the pandemic has infl...

In recent years, an increasing trend towards replacement of conventional fossil-based plastics with bio-based plastics was noticed, i.e., production of plastics partly or fully made from biomass is rapidly expanding. Currently, bio-based and biodegradable plastics have a very small market size, approximately only 1% of all plastics produced. Howeve...

Plastics are used widely, and modern civilization would have to behave differently without them. However, plastics pose a threat to sustainable life. This paper focuses on some of the provisions being made for sustainable production to date and focuses on one key sector-plastic manufacturing-where sustainable production patterns are urgently needed...

Africa is particularly affected by climate change due to its exposure to climate hazards, high vulnerability, and low adaptive capacity. Yet, Africa is also a continent rich in Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) that has a long history of informing responses to climatic variability and change. This paper explores the extent to which ILK has been...

Gender issues, and gender equality in particular, can be regarded as cross-cutting issues in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even though it is unclear how they are taken into account. This study addresses this information gap by performing an assessment of the emphasis on gender issues across all the other 16 SDGs, i...

Rivers are important ecosystems, vital to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of humans and other species. Despite their environmental, social, and economic importance, current use of rivers is unsustainable, due to a combination of solid waste and high levels of pollutants. Plastic materials are among the most predominant of such pollutants. B...

The world production of plastic exceeded 360 million tonnes in 2020 alone, a considerable amount of which is not properly disposed of. The significant pressures and damages posed by conventional plastic to human and environmental health suggest that alternatives are urgently needed. One of them is “bioplastic”, which is defined as bio-based plastic...

Plastics are used widely, and without plastic modern civilization would look very different. However, the global threat posed by the accumulation and fragmentation of the highly predominant plastic waste in the oceans, inland waters, and terrestrial environments is becoming evident. Moreover, components used in plastics, such as phthalates or bisph...

To achieve Sustainable Development Goal SDG 17, which focuses on international cooperation, partnerships, will be vital. In this comment, we examine the key obstacles such as vested economic interests that will need to be overcome for the successful implementation of SDG 17.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, which began at the end of 2019, has led to a significant increase in the demand for face masks in Germany and around the globe. Since non-reusable masks are often not correctly disposed of and are not biodegradable, their increasing use harms the environment. Both the ongoing pandemic and the rising environmental...

There is an urgent need to assess European citizens’ perspective regarding their plastic consumption and to evaluate their awareness of the direct and indirect effect of plastics on human health in order to influence current behavior trends. In this study, the evaluation has been cross-related with scientific facts, with the final aim of detecting...

Over the last 50 years, conventional fossil-based plastics have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Apart from their low production costs, this is due to a number of their unique properties, including durability, strength, lightness, electrical and thermal insulation, resistance to chemicals and corrosion. The production of plastics has...

The urban environment is characterised by many pressures caused by population growth, transport (and its related emissions), and the damage to green areas. Yet, there is a variety of ecosystem services available in urban areas, which may be deployed to ameliorate the current problems and foster their sustainability. This paper reviews the role of e...

In order to optimize the lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production in greenhouses and to evaluate how a usage of mulching and covering plants with woven agrotextile affects its yields, N content, nitrate, Zn and vitamin C in lettuce leaves, a 2-yr experiment was established. In the experiments, black and white plastic foils were used for mulching befo...

Natural hazards are a result of changing climate and environmental conditions and, as such, they are inevitable. However, the scale of the negative outcomes of these natural hazards can be significantly reduced through management and adequate preparation. Therefore, integration of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policies and programs with risk manage...

Planting floral margins in agricultural landscapes has been shown to increase the abundance of pollinators in agro-ecosystems. However, to create efficient margins, it is necessary to use attractive, not weedy native plants with different blooming periods to prolong the availability of floral resources. Six native perennial plants of the Lamiaceae...

Although wild pollinators are better conserved within protected areas and natural parks, where floral diversity and shelters are available, for agricultural production it is more convenient to conserve pollinators within agricultural fields. Recently, implementation of floral margins in agricultural landscapes has been shown to increase the abundan...

1. In order to understand how habitat management influences the agricultural production, this study evaluated if vicinity of mixed (six annual herbaceous species) or mono-specific (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) floral margins can improve seed production in coriander. 2. Potted coriander plants under field conditions were used to test: 1) the contribution...

1. Habitat management, aimed to conserve pollinators in agro-ecosystems, requires selection of the most suitable floral species in terms of their attractiveness to pollinators and simplicity of agronomic management. 2. A randomized block design including twelve herbaceous plants was used to study their attractiveness to pollinators (insect visitati...

Wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC. (Brassicaceae), is one of the three cultivated rocket species, which demand and production have recently increased in Mediterranean countries where irrigation water is scarce. Besides its use as a crop, D. tenuifolia has been observed to flower for a long period and to be attractive to pollinators. In thi...

Wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia (Brassicaceae), is one of the three commercially cultivated rocket species, which demand and production has recently increased in Mediterranean countries. Besides its use as a crop, it has been recommended as a beneficial insectary plant in habitat management of agro-ecosystems due to its long flowering duration a...

Plant diversity in semi-natural habitats can offer food and shelter for beneficial insects within the agricultural fields. However, rapid expansion of intensive agricultural practices has contributed to the modification and degradation of the natural habitat of beneficial insects such as pollinators. The parallel diversity decline of pollinators an...

According to recent document produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientific predictions (Le Treut et al., 2007), climate change is expected to increase the impact of droughts and water shortages in sub-Saharan Africa, which is already significant, intensifying the need to acquaint local people with adaptation measures i...

Abstract: Over the last century, rapid expansion of intensive agricultural practices has contributed to modify and destroy the natural habitat of many species, including beneficial insects (bees and hoverflies). In order to conserve beneficial insects and improve their habitats, it is important to find out what plant species are attractive for thos...

The research took place in rural central Mozambique, within N’hambita Village, located in the buffer area of Gorongosa National Park. The focus of the study was to assess the agricultural and domestic water usage by local people. Due to the fact that women of the households are mainly responsible for the water collection and the agricultural activi...

Purpose – This paper aims to describe some trends on climate change in the Baltic Sea region, along with current and future expected actions to cope with climate change in the region. Design/methodology/approach – The elements that influence climate change in the Baltic Region countries are analysed and co‐operation efforts among the Baltic countr...