Ethical Tools to Support Systematic Public Deliberations about the Ethical Aspects of Agricultural Biotechnologies

This special issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics presents so-called ethical tools that are developed to support systematic public deliberations about the ethical aspects of agricultural biotechnologies. This paper firstly clarifies the intended connotations of the term “ethical tools” and argues that such tools can support liberal democracies to cope with the issues that are raised by the application of genetic modification and other modern biotechnologies in agriculture and food production. The paper secondly characterizes the societal discussion on agricultural biotechnology and defends the thesis that normative perspectives fuel this discussion, so one cannot come to grips with this discussion if one neglects these perspectives. The paper thirdly agrues that no such thing exists as “one” societal debate in which these issues should be discussed. There are several interwined debates, and different actors participate in different discourses. Some practical instruments are necessary in order to include the right issues in these debates. These instruments will be coined as “ethical tools,” since they are practical instruments that can be used (tools) in order to support debates and deliberative structures for a systematic engagement with ethical issues (hence, ethical tools). Finally, the paper clarifies the ethics of these ethical tools and presents the tools as discussed in the remainder of this special issue: 1) tools to include ethical issues in public consulation and involvement; 2) tools to support systematic reflection upon ethical issues in decision-making; and 3) tools to support explicit communication about values in the food chain.     

Reconceptualizing water management in Khorezm,Uzbekistan

The Khorezm region is located in the northwest of Uzbekistan, approximately 350 km from the current shore of the Aral Sea. It comprises a large‐scale irrigation system that conveys water from the river Amu Darya to agricultural land cropped mainly with cotton, wheat, and rice. Khorezm's water resources are vulnerable as they depend on upstream developments and are indispensable to rural livelihoods and state budgets. Since water scarcity is expected to increase in the future, sustainable water management is a necessity. Hence, the objectives of the paper are to: (1) conceptualize the distinctive features of water management in Khorezm; (2) provide an integrated analysis of water management by establishing linkages between society, technical infrastructure, and the bio‐physical environment; and (3) make policy and technology recommendations for improved water management. To conceptualize water management in Khorezm, the paper distinguishes three types of practices: formal practices, strategic practices, and discursive practices. Based on these, it presents an analysis of water management on the state water management level, the water user association level, and the farmer and field level. For each level, recommendations are given. The paper concludes that elements of integrated water resources management (IWRM) such as transparency, accountability, participation, and technical efficiency are relevant to improve water management in Khorezm, as elsewhere. In addition, it underlines the need to create legal space for agency and innovation. Technical tools such as models are increasingly important for facilitating transparency and enabling agents to access and make use of information across the management hierarchy.     

基于空间视角的资源流动内涵与构成要素的再思考

资源流动研究已成为资源科学领域新的研究视角和学科成长点,但对资源流动的理论提升、方法总结和范式探讨依然相对较少。论文从地理学的空间视角,对资源流动的内涵及构成要素进行分析。论文给出资源流动的定义,并指出,节点具有业务职能功能、效用功能及社会经济功能,空间位置和流量是节点两个突出的空间特征,不同的节点必然会形成不同的等级,未来应加强对节点功能的量化分析以及完善和发展节点分布特征及等级划分的研究方法;通道和网络具备从属和引导功能,衡量其发育程度主要根据网络的结构特征与网络节点特征,未来应探讨伴随新的交通方式而出现的新功能,系统地对通道网络进行优化分析,构建集多种运输方式为一体的多方式的资源流动通道网络优化模型,针对资源流动流量、强度以及成本等因素进行优化研究;域面是节点、通道网络的载体,根据资源流动节点吸引和辐射的范围,可以将域面划分为不同的等级,加强国际市场因素对我国资源流动域面影响的研究。同时指出,进一步从理论上探讨节点、通道、流动网络及流场的类型,在流动中所起的作用以及彼此之间的作用机制等,将是对资源流动构成要素研究的重要突破。     

An adaptive online safety assessment method for mechanical system with pre-warning function

The safety status of a dynamic mechanical system is determined by its historical, current and future states together. Therefore the safety assessment process of such system should have dynamic and diachronic characteristics, which helps to track the dynamic states of system and predict future probable danger in advance. In order to overcome the disadvantages of traditional static safety assessment approaches, the results from which are often delayed and prone to produce false alarms, an adaptive online safety assessment method is proposed in this paper, which consists of two steps. A dynamic adaptive weighting method is first introduced and an aggregation scheme based on “3-D” time perspective is further presented to integrate system’s historical, current and future safety performance in a unit framework, considering both of assessment and pre-warning functions. The proposed method is able to track and predict the safety status of system dynamically and discover the potential fault in time. Its feasibility and benefits are investigated with a field case study of gas turbine compressor system, which validates that the proposed method improves the accuracy of safety assessment in dynamic conditions, and finally helps to restrain the fault symptom by proactive maintenance successfully.     

论南岭东段钨多金属矿找矿方向

南岭东段是世界著名的钨多金属矿集中区,是由独特的地质环境构成多种类型的钨矿集中分布区。本文在探讨南岭东段地区钨多金属矿成矿特征、矿床类型、成矿系列及其分布规律的基础上,提出该区钨矿主攻矿床类型为石英脉型、破碎带—石英脉复合型、石英脉—岩体(蚀变花岗岩型和斑岩型)复合型。主攻找矿靶区为:湘赣相邻的桂东—汝城—遂川—崇义交界地区、湘粤相邻的九峰—西坑地区、赣南崇犹余地区、粤北瑶梅师地区、赣南青塘—银坑地区、赣南崎山地区、赣南三南地区、粤北九连山地区。以期为该区新一轮钨锡多金属矿资源调查提供重要理论和实践指导。     

The Indian perspective of utilizing fly ash in phytoremediation, phytomanagement and biomass production

Coal-based power generation is a principal source of electricity in India and many other countries. About 15–30% of the total amount of residue generated during coal combustion is fly ash (FA). FA is generally alkaline in nature and contains many toxic metals like Cr, Pb, Hg, As and Cd along with many essential elements like S, B, Ca, Na, Fe, Zn, Mn and P. Dumped FA contaminates the biosphere by mobilization of its fine particles and hazardous metals. Despite the negative environmental impact of FA, coal continues to be a major source of power production in India and therefore FA disposal is a major environmental issue. To overcome this problem, FA dumping sites have been started as a potential resource for biomass production of tree species. Phytoremediation is a strategy that uses plants to degrade, stabilize, and remove contaminants from soils, water and waste FA. Phytomanagement of FA is based on the plants' root systems, high biomass, woody nature, native nature, and resistance to pH, salinity, and toxic metals. Recently Indian researchers mostly from the National Botanical Research Institute have been working on phytoremediation and revegetation of FA dykes, inoculation of bacterial strains for reducing FA stress and biomass production from FA dykes. Many international researchers have worked on reclamation, revegetation and utilization of FA. FA utilization saves resources, mainly land (topsoil), water, coal, limestone and chemical fertilizer. Safe utilization of FA is a major concern around the world and regulatory bodies are enforcing stringent rules for the proper management of FA. This article summarizes various viable avenues in India for FA utilization and environmental management.     

Practicalities of participation in urban IWRM: Perspectives of wastewater management in two cities in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

As the demand for water in cities increases, the quantity of wastewater being produced is growing at a phenomenal rate. If resources are to be managed effectively, a new paradigm is required for urban wastewater management. This paper reviews the initial findings of a participatory action planning process for managing wastewater for agricultural use. It finds that such processes need considerable facilitation, capacity building and knowledge sharing, but that if a plan can be devised that meets the needs of the stakeholders, even if some compromise is required, then certain stakeholders are likely to take responsibility for specific aspects. This may not meet the entire integrated water resources management (IWRM) vision of the plan but provided the plan is developed in such a way that incremental implementation will be beneficial then this will produce some success and may stimulate further cooperation.     

The consequences of (not) seeing eye-to-eye about the past: The role of supervisor–team fit in past temporal focus for supervisors' leadership behavior

This study seeks to advance our understanding of the leadership consequences that may ensue when supervisors and their teams have similar versus differing orientations toward the past. Integrating a leader–team fit perspective with functional leadership theory, we cast incongruence between supervisor and team past temporal focus as a key antecedent of supervisors' active (i.e., task-oriented and relationship-oriented) and passive (i.e., laissez-faire) leadership behaviors toward the team. We tested our hypotheses in a team-level study that included a field sample of 84 supervisors and their teams using polynomial regression and response surface analyses. Results illustrated that supervisors demonstrated more task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership when supervisors' and their team's past temporal focus were incongruent rather than aligned. Furthermore, in situations of supervisor–team congruence, supervisors engaged in less task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership and more laissez-faire leadership with higher (rather than lower) levels of supervisor and team past temporal focus. In sum, these findings support a complex (mis)fit model such that supervisors' attention to the past may hinder their productive leadership behaviors in some team contexts but not in others. Hence, this research advances a novel, multiple-stakeholder perspective on the role of both supervisors' and their team's past temporal focus for important leadership behaviors.     

中国电力系统低碳转型的路径探析——基于社会技术转型思路

社会技术转型的多层视角(MLP)是转型理论的最新进展,它认为转型是由三个层面——微观层的技术利基,中观层的社会技术体制和宏观层的大环境——相互作用引起的一个非线性的演化过程。该思路通过分析技术和社会因素之间的互动关系,寻求理解社会技术体制的长期变化。本文以MLP为分析思路,研究我国电力系统现行体制已经发生的动态变化;并从短期,中期和长期三个时间维度,对我国低碳电力系统转型路径提出一个概念性的分析框架。短期的转变路径,延续和发展现有体制结构和治理模式,通过体制内行为主体有意识地调整创新活动和发展的方向,来解决体制内部矛盾和压力,实现政府2020年的减排目标和可再生能源目标。中期的重构路径,基本实现电源结构实质性改变,火力发电比例逐步下降,可再生能源发电对其主导地位形成冲击和挑战,电力系统呈现百花齐放百家争鸣之势态。长期的重置路径通过新的低碳能源技术创新的质的突破和飞跃,实现高煤高碳的电力体系由新的低碳体制取代这一长期目标。本文从理论和方法上丰富了目前我国低碳转型的讨论,对政策制定者和相关的行为主体也可提供一种有益的参考。     

污水处理厂未来建造模式的选择及其措施探讨——立足于财政、财务角度的分析

面对城镇污水处理"十二五"规划目标,结合我国污水处理厂在规模、运行方式、组织方式以及经济效益方面的实际情况,从政府财政和污水处理厂财务角度进行污水处理厂未来建造模式的选择,并提出相关管理部门的相应措施,对于我国现阶段污水处理行业的进一步发展具有重要的指导意义。