Implications of human value shift and persistence for biodiversity conservation

Large‐scale change in human values and associated behavior change is believed by some to be the ultimate solution to achieve global biodiversity conservation. Yet little is known about the dynamics of values. We contribute to this area of inquiry by examining the trajectory of values affecting views of wildlife in North America. Using data from a 19‐state study in the United States and global data from the Schwartz Value Survey, we explored questions of value persistence and change and the nature of attitudinal responses regarding wildlife conservation issues. We found support, based on subjects’ ancestry, for the supposition that domination is a prevalent American value orientation toward wildlife that has origins in European Judeo‐Christian traditions. Independent of that effect, we also found indications of change. Modernization is contributing to a shift from domination to mutualism value orientations, which is fostering attitudes less centered on human interests and seemingly more consistent with a biocentric philosophy. Our findings suggest that if value shift could be achieved in a purposeful way, then significant and widespread behavior change believed necessary for long‐term conservation success may indeed be possible. In particular, greater emphasis on mutualism values may help provide the context for more collaborative approaches to support future conservation efforts. However, given the societal forces at play, it is not at all clear that human‐engineered value shift is tenable. Instead of developing strategies aimed at altering values, it may be more productive to create strategies that recognize and work within the boundaries of existing values. Whereas values appear to be in a period of flux, it will be difficult to predict future trends without a better understanding of value formation and shift, particularly under conditions of rapid social‐ecological change.     

A pipeline of tweets: environmental movements’ use of Twitter in response to the Keystone XL pipeline

Social movements often amalgamate otherwise diffuse public political interests. In recent years, social media use has allowed both groups and individuals to engage with political issues both online and offline. How do organizations use Twitter to mobilize networked publics? To what extent do groups promote both ‘connective action’ online and traditional activism offline? How do their strategies differ according to whether they seek to promote or combat the status quo? And how do they balance encouraging and reinforcing individualized expression through group messaging? The ways pro-Keystone XL pipeline and anti-Keystone XL groups differed in their Keystone-related action on Twitter from January 2010 until October 2014 are analyzed. Boolean searching and Natural Language processing are used to analyze more than three million tweets. The results demonstrate that the frames within Twitter conversations have significant implications for how communities understand, develop, and mobilize around environmental issues.     

Urban sustainability – a segmentation study of Greater Brisbane,Australia

Setting universal goals for sustainability is problematic and may hinder the adoption of sustainable pathways as different sectors of society often have differing opinions on not just what sustainability means for them, but also what is of priority to them. This paper tests a set of psychographic, behavioural, lifestyle and social identities to segment the public on sustainability. We evaluate general knowledge, apply social-choice tools to identify public priorities, and then apply segmentation to reveal broad strata of community profiles around these choices. We discuss our findings in the context of moving beyond knowledge on sustainability and general public choices, to more nuanced messaging and engagement that respects differences in sustainability orientations. We suggest that by focusing on what matters most for different segments of society, there is potential to design effective processes to engage with people and acquire better ownership of sustainability.     

Opponents,waverers or supporters: the influence of place-attachment dimensions on local residents' acceptance of a planned biosphere reserve in Austria

A supportive attitude of residents towards protected areas is crucial for successful implementation and management, particularly in densely populated regions such as Central Europe. While previous studies have revealed that emotional and cultural drivers, as well as information level and group membership, can influence attitudes towards protected areas, the effect of place-attachment dimensions remains unclear. A postal survey among local residents (N = 460) explored factors influencing attitudes towards the Lungau (-Nockberge) Biosphere Reserve in Austria before its official recognition. Results indicated societal support throughout all socio-demographic strata. A logistic regression showed that, besides socio-demographics and information level, place attachment had a significant influence on the acceptance of the biosphere reserve. Supporters and opponents showed both high place identity and dependence, while waverers scored low on these dimensions. Results indicate that place attachment is relevant for the design of participatory processes as well as for developing management policies for biosphere reserves.     

Environmental implications of planned obsolescence and product lifetime: a literature review

The aim of this paper was to explore the implications of planned obsolescence (PO) and the associated product lifetime on the environmental impact of products. To achieve this task, a literature review was performed to assess both the historical context and recent situation of planned obsolescence. A search in scholarly journals was performed to evaluate to what extent product lifetime and PO have been discussed in the recent literature. Based on the findings, selected cases of PO are discussed and trends in the practice of limiting product lifetime are identified. Factors considered to have a significant influence on product lifetime have been identified and discussed. The discussion of case studies made it possible to establish the links between product design, manufacturing and associated impacts of lifetime. The role of the actors along the value chain is also considered to propose a business scheme, where the influences of consumer behaviour and design choices are crucial. Finally, strategies to facilitate the definition of different scenarios are given. These strategies may serve to increase the reliability of environmental assessment throughout a product life cycle.     

Estimating the extent and structure of trade in horticultural orchids via social media

The wildlife trade is a lucrative industry involving thousands of animal and plant species. The increasing use of the internet for both legal and illegal wildlife trade is well documented, but there is evidence that trade may be emerging on new online technologies such as social media. Using the orchid trade as a case study, we conducted the first systematic survey of wildlife trade on an international social‐media website. We focused on themed forums (groups), where people with similar interests can interact by uploading images or text (posts) that are visible to other group members. We used social‐network analysis to examine the ties between 150 of these orchid‐themed groups to determine the structure of the network. We found 4 communities of closely linked groups based around shared language. Most trade occurred in a community that consisted of English‐speaking and Southeast Asian groups. In addition to the network analysis, we randomly sampled 30 groups from the whole network to assess the prevalence of trade in cultivated and wild plants. Of 55,805 posts recorded over 12 weeks, 8.9% contained plants for sale, and 22–46% of these posts pertained to wild‐collected orchids. Although total numbers of posts about trade were relatively small, the large proportion of posts advertising wild orchids for sale supports calls for better monitoring of social media for trade in wild‐collected plants.     

美国煤矿安全管理发展的研究与分析

为借鉴发达国家在煤矿安全管理的成功经验和失败教训,尽快提高我国煤矿的安全管理水平,采用数量统计和归纳总结等方法,分析美国煤矿安全生产水平与其社会政治、经济、法制、文化、科技、装备等的关系,讨论美国在不同社会发展阶段的社会政治经济特征;根据不同发展阶段的社会生态类型、安全诉求和安全观念对煤矿安全的影响,总结归纳美国由煤矿安全事故高发期向事故快速稳定下降期转变所采取的不同的煤矿安全管理策略。提出煤矿安全发展过程具有明显的阶段性特点,指出在由农业社会向工业化社会发展阶段,事故快速上升是必然的过程,通过完善法律法规等办法可加快煤矿安全向稳定好转的方向发展。     

煤工尘肺患者生存质量与家庭功能和社会支持的关系研究

为了解煤工尘肺患者的生存质量的现状及其与家庭功能和社会支持之间的关系,采用SF-36量表、家庭功能评定量表和社会支持评定量表对212名煤工尘肺患者进行问卷调查。单因素分析显示,煤工尘肺患者在SF-36量表的躯体疼痛、总体健康、活力、情感职能、精神健康5个维度的得分与对照组的差异有统计学意义（p〈0.05）。生存质量得分与家庭功能得分呈负相关,生存质量得分与社会支持得分呈正相关。以生存质量得分为因变量,以家庭功能和社会支持的分量表得分为自变量进行多元逐步回归分析显示,生存质量的影响因素为社会支持利用度、家庭功能的总的功能、情感介入、社会支持的客观支持和问题解决。研究结果表明,煤工尘肺患者生存质量较低,与其家庭功能和社会支持有密切关系,需要从家庭功能和社会支持采取综合措施,提高煤工尘肺患者的生存质量。     

中国农业污染防控的制度约束研究

中国作为世界上最大的发展中国家,正经历着越发严重的农业污染问题;对农业污染防控的制度性约束因素进行深入分析,是实现有效污染防控的前提,具有积极的理论和现实意义。对中国农业污染防控的制度约束分析研究表明：农业污染及其防控涉及的利益主体关系及相关制度设计,对各利益主体形成了污染防控负激励,加重了农业污染;城乡＂二元＂结构及其衍生的一系列体制问题,导致＂三农＂在农业环境治理、农村公共物品提供等方面被严重边缘化,进而直接制约了农业污染防控;此外,高度分散的小规模农户经营模式也不利于农业污染防控。最后,针对中国农业污染防控的制度性约束因素,提出了有针对性的农业污染防控政策建议。     

大连市水资源与社会经济协调发展研究

选取大连2001-2008年的水资源利用和社会经济发展数据,引用协调发展度模型进行分析.评价结果表明,大连水资源与社会经济的协调度性由严重失调衰退向中级失调衰退发展,与大连的实际发展情况相符.对大连水资源与社会经济发展不协调的原因进行分析,为今后加大水利工程投资力度,优化用水结构,提高用水效率,实现水资源与社会经济的协调发展提供依据.