On the search for mimetic patterns in environmental disclosure: an international perspective

In this paper, we assert and test the proposition that environmental disclosure (ED) is structured by institutionalised myths and that is why ED is decoupled from environmental performance and media pressures. Focusing on firms from Canada, France and Germany, findings show that ED mimetic isomorphism for different topics varies among countries and by industry sensitiveness to the environment. The results corroborate the institutional presumption that institutionalised myths vary among different contexts. Our findings also suggest that institutionalised ED structures may not reflect environmental performance, mimetic patterns being affected by environmental performance. However, the decoupling between ED mimetic isomorphism and environmental performance decrease when firms’ ED credibility is questioned by the media.     

天水市紫外吸收性气溶胶时空动态的遥感监测

采用OMI传感器的气溶胶产品,分析了2006—2015年中国西部城市天水市对流层紫外吸收性气溶胶的时空分布特征。结果表明:空间上,十年间天水市的吸收性气溶胶表现出从中部向周围依次减弱的南北向带状分布规律;季节变化呈现出秋冬季高于春夏季的规律;时间上,吸收性气溶胶指数(AI)从2006年的0.075增至2015年的0.506,年均值为0.28,年均增长率为57.5%;十年间出现2次阶段性增长和2次阶段性减小;AI年际变化与天水市地方总产值相关性为0.902,第一产业对其影响最大,第三产业影响最小。     

浅谈县级环境监测质量管理工作现状及对策

当前环保系统垂直改革稳步推进,县级环境监测质量管理工作也迎来新的机遇与挑战。从县级环境监测站质量管理工作现状着手,分析新形势下存在质量管理体系有效性缺乏、现场监测过程质量管理薄弱、质量管理意识尚待提高等问题。提出,应从加强体系建设、提高现场监测水平、强化考核培训力度等方面改进县级环境监测质量管理工作水平。     

Double Green Process: a low environmental impact method for recycling of CdTe,a-Si and CIS/CIGS thin-film photovoltaic modules

On the basis of the method for managing the end of life of CdTe photovoltaic panels previously proposed by the authors, a new method for the recycling of all types of thin-film panels (CdTe, a-Si and CIS/CIGS) has been developed and optimised under a research project founded by Enel Foundation and CRUI Foundation. The DGP process has been developed through a feasibility study carried out from three points of view: technical, environmental and economic. The process is composed by two sub-processes matched to each other, one suitable for CdTe panels (named DGPa) and the other one for a-Si and CIS/CIGS panels (DGPb). The Double Green Panel process is based mainly on mechanical treatments with a minimum use of chemicals and it is characterised by a greater level of automation and a high flexibility in production capacity. The potential environmental impacts of various configurations of the DGP process have been extensively analysed with LCA tool in order to develop an environmentally friendly process. The economic feasibility has been assessed through the Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (DCFA) method. The revenues associated to the recovery of valuable and common materials and the recycling costs have been taken into account.     

Monitoring,imperfect detection,and risk optimization of a Tasmanian devil insurance population

Most species are imperfectly detected during biological surveys, which creates uncertainty around their abundance or presence at a given location. Decision makers managing threatened or pest species are regularly faced with this uncertainty. Wildlife diseases can drive species to extinction; thus, managing species with disease is an important part of conservation. Devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is one such disease that led to the listing of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) as endangered. Managers aim to maintain devils in the wild by establishing disease‐free insurance populations at isolated sites. Often a resident DFTD‐affected population must first be removed. In a successful collaboration between decision scientists and wildlife managers, we used an accessible population model to inform monitoring decisions and facilitate the establishment of an insurance population of devils on Forestier Peninsula. We used a Bayesian catch‐effort model to estimate population size of a diseased population from removal and camera trap data. We also analyzed the costs and benefits of declaring the area disease‐free prior to reintroduction and establishment of a healthy insurance population. After the monitoring session in May–June 2015, the probability that all devils had been successfully removed was close to 1, even when we accounted for a possible introduction of a devil to the site. Given this high probability and the baseline cost of declaring population absence prematurely, we found it was not cost‐effective to carry out any additional monitoring before introducing the insurance population. Considering these results within the broader context of Tasmanian devil management, managers ultimately decided to implement an additional monitoring session before the introduction. This was a conservative decision that accounted for uncertainty in model estimates and for the broader nonmonetary costs of mistakenly declaring the area disease‐free.     

环境监测点位“组合校验码”编码模型及编码管理系统设计

分析了环境监测点位编码管理中存在的问题,提出科学合理的编码应该是具有科学性、唯一性、稳定性、简明性、规范性、可扩展性等特点。设计了一种简单"组合校验码"模型来适应不同环境要素类型的环境监测工作需要。同时,设计了一套覆盖各层级环境监测机构,各种环境要素类型,适应市场化监测服务,满足不同点位管控类别的编码管理系统来支撑"组合校验码"模型的使用,通过该系统可以有效解决环境监测数据集成程度低、共享困难等问题。     

植物内重金属的赋存形态及分布特征分析方法研究进展

植物内重金属分析不仅有助于阐述重金属迁移转化规律,揭示植物修复机理,也是监测评价大气、水及土壤环境重金属污染状况的重要依据。研究针对植物样品中重金属赋存形态及分布特征的分析方法进行综述,分别介绍了其原理、优缺点及应用。提出制定统一高效的分析检测方法,深化植物内重金属的赋存形态及分布特征与环境相关性的研究以及建立数据共享平台是植物样品重金属信息分析方法的未来发展方向。     

Improving pedestrian safety using combined HOG and Haar partial detection in mobile systems

Objective: The objective of this study is to develop a novel algorithm on a mobile system that can warn drivers about the possibility of a collision with a pedestrian. The constraints of the algorithm are near-real-time detection speed and a good detection rate.

Method: Histogram of gradients (HOG)-based detection is widely used in pedestrian safety applications; however, it has low detection speed for real-time systems. Hence, it has no direct usage for mobile systems. In order to achieve near-real-time detection speed, partial Haar transform predetections are applied to an image before HOG detection. The partial and HOG detections are merged and a score-based confidence level is defined for the final detection phase. In this way, the outcome is prioritized and different warning levels can be issued to warn the driver before a possible pedestrian collision.

Results: The proposed algorithm provides an increase in detection speed (from 46 to 76 fps) and detection rate (from 80 to 91%) with respect to HOG-based pedestrian detection. It also improves confidence of the results by multidetection merging and score assignment to detections.

Conclusions: Performance improvement of the algorithm is compared with respect to state-of-the-art detectors/algorithms. Based on the detection rate and detection speed performance, it can be concluded that the proposed algorithm is suitable to be used for mobile systems to warn drivers about the possibility of collision with a pedestrian.     

Usage of polystyrene disposable food dishes in the lightweight concrete making

The increasing use and subsequent accumulation of polystyrene containers has triggered a substantial environmental problem. This study investigated using varied percentages of solid waste polystyrene disposable food dishes in the production of lightweight concrete samples with 350 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³) of cement and a density of 1,300 kg/m³. The polystyrene disposable dishes were ground into beads of 0–3 millimeters (mm) and 3–6 mm in size. First, the characteristics of Type II Portland cement, polystyrene, and aggregates were examined. The following characteristics of concrete using ASTM International and British Standards Institution standards were tested: slump, compressive strength, ability to resist chloride ion penetration, and resistance of concrete to rapid freezing and thawing cycles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy analytical techniques were also used. The slump of samples varied between 40 and 70 mm and was not dependent on either the polystyrene percentage or the size of the polystyrene beads in the concrete samples (p‐value > .05). The compressive strength of the concrete samples after 90 days of curing, and using different percentages of polystyrene, varied between 96 and 113 kilograms per square centimeter (kg/cm²). The resistance of the samples to the freezing and thawing cycle and chloride ion penetration were affected unfavorably by the presence of the polystyrene. The SEM technique indicated that concrete samples containing 15% and 25% polystyrene had denser crystals and less void than concrete samples with 40% and 55% polystyrene.     

Effects of release pressure on the transportation characteristics in pipeline and the diffusion behaviors in enclosure space of typical gas extinguishing agent

Reducing the release pressure of fire extinguishing systems can decrease potential safety hazards in large transport airplanes. To explore whether reducing the release pressure can achieve the release effect required by the airworthiness standards or not, the transportation characteristics in the pipeline and diffusion behaviors in the enclosure space of a typical fire extinguishing agent (Halon 1301) were investigated under five release pressures in the present study. The effects of the release pressure on the degree of superheat, injection duration, jet structure, and concentration distribution of Halon 1301 were analyzed. The results show that both of the degree of superheat and the injection duration decrease with an increase in the release pressure. The supplement of bubble expansion in the fire extinguishing agent can slow down the pressure decrease in the vessel. Both of the maximum and mean values of the pipeline differential pressure increase with an increase in release pressure. The maximum value of the jet angle decreases linearly with the increase in release pressure, and the jet deflects upward owing to the effects of buoyancy. The maximum concentration value decreases with an increase in the distance from the nozzle. The maximum concentration values in the near field from the nozzle increase with an increase in the release pressure. Under five release pressures, the concentration and holding time (duration above 6% volume concentration) of Halon 1301 on the centerline of the jet meet the requirements of airworthiness provisions.