Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

Time perspective balance and team adaptation in dynamic task contexts

The concept of time perspective balance has attracted increased attention from scholars in the past decade, reflected in published evidence suggesting positive outcomes ranging from enhanced mood to life satisfaction for those individuals possessing balance among their past, present, and future time perspectives, and assumedly able to shift their time perspective to match situational demands. In this paper, we consider the notion of time perspective balance in an organizational setting within which much consequential adaptation often occurs—the team environment—and explore different configurations of time perspective balance in teams facing dynamic task contexts. Drawing from work on situational awareness, we first consider the mechanism by which time perspective balance likely influences individual adaptation in dynamic task-focused situations. Next, we postulate what types of team configurations—ones with more balanced time perspective uniformity or ones with more time perspective variety—might be more appropriate in dynamic contexts given key team conditions. We illustrate our analysis with examples from healthcare team settings and offer ideas for future research.     

面向北京冬奥会的态势感知与指挥体系研究*

为全面掌控北京冬奥会运行情况，结合冬奥会概况构建具有全局全过程态势感知能力与指挥体系的运行保障系统。系统阐述冬奥会指挥体系构建的出发点、特点和要求，分析冬奥会态势感知构建基础框架，包括所需数据类型、层级体系和态势汇总共享技术要求。研究表明:体系充分考虑冬奥会及城市运行特点，是冬奥会顺利举办的重要保障，可为冬奥会提供系统构建指导，并为未来大型活动与城市运行态势感知体系构建提供理论支持。     

珠海市民及高校学生对垃圾分类和减废的认识和参与调查比较研究

珠海市在垃圾分类和减废相关政策的执行过程中,市民的意识和参与起着至关重要的作用。本研究对珠海市民及高校学生有关垃圾分类和减废的观念和行为进行问卷调查,对垃圾分类和减废的现状和困难进行了分析、比较和探讨,并对问题的解决提出了建议。     

Evaluation of reusing alum sludge for the coagulation of industrial wastewater containing mixed anionic surfactants

A coagulation-flocculation process is typically employed to treat the industrial wastewater generated by the consumer products industry manufacturing detergents, soaps, and others. The expenditure of chemicals including coagulants and chemicals for pH adjustment is costly for treating this wastewater. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of reusing the aluminum sulfate (alum) sludge as a coagulant or as a coagulation aid so that the fresh alum dosage can be minimized or the removal e ciency can be enhanced. The experiments were conducted in a jar-test apparatus simulating the coagulation-flocculation process for simultaneous removals of organic matters, anionic surfactants, suspended solids, and turbidity. At the optimum initial pH value of 10 and the fresh alum concentration of 400 mg/L, the total suspended solids (TSS), total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD), total anionic surfactants, and turbidity removal e ciencies were 71.5%, 76.4%, 95.4%, and 98.2%, respectively. The addition of alum sludge as a coagulant alone without any fresh alum addition could significantly remove the turbidity, TCOD, and anionic surfactants. The TSS was left in the supernatants after the settling period, but would subsequently be removed by adding the fresh alum. The TSS, TCOD, and turbidity removal e ciencies were also enhanced when both the alum sludge and the fresh alum were employed. The TCOD removal e ciency over 80% has been accomplished, which has never fulfilled by using the fresh alum alone. It is concluded that the alum sludge could be reused for the treatment of industrial wastewater generated by the consumer products industry.     

Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change?

A survey-embedded experiment implemented around the time of the 2014 annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (N ≈ 1200) examined whether such summits are able to increase citizens’ awareness of climate problems. This study finds that exposure to positive or negative cues about the COP increases climate change awareness, particularly among participants who start out with a low level of awareness. Neither positive nor negative cues about the COP significantly affect people’s policy preferences. Our finding resonates with Bernard Cohen’s observation that the mass media may not often be successful in telling people what to think, but they are successful in telling readers what to think about.     

探究城市污水处理项目的环境影响评价

水作为人类赖以生存的主要能源物质,随着社会综合水平的提高,各行业对水资源的需求越是急切。而现阶段城市中大量污水给环境带来很多不利影响,环保公司针对城市污水处理不断在技术上进行突破、完善,将智能化节能技术运用到城市污水处理中,使设备、资源得到充分利用,为人们用水条件带来更加充沛、丰富的保障与支持。为有效处理城市污水,争取在城市污水处理发挥更大作用,带动城市环境可持续发展。     

Measurement of public awareness of climate change in China: based on a national survey with 4,025 samples

Just before the new round of UN climate change conference in Bonn, a survey report, named as the Climate Change in the Chinese Mind 2017, was released in Beijing. The investigation was conducted in the form of a computer-assisted telephone survey with a sample size of 4,025 samples, covering 332 prefecture-level administrative units and four municipalities in China. Urban-rural proportion and sex proportion were specially taken into account, so as to demonstrate the Chinese public awareness objectively. The investigation measures the public awareness from six aspects, which includes climate change beliefs, impacts, response, policies, actions, and the assessment of the effectiveness of climate communication. This article presents the key findings of the survey and provides further insights behind the data.     

Public participation in municipal solid waste source-separated collection in Guilin,China: status and influencing factors

Currently, China is facing critical problems regarding the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). The failure of existing pilot programs in implementing MSW source-separated collection highlights the need to analyze the factors significantly influencing public participation in this activity. To this end, a comprehensive analysis of MSW source-separated collection in Guilin, which is representative of wider areas located in inland China and with a GDP around the national average, was conducted. The research consisted of in-person interviews involving a questionnaire and theoretical analyses in terms of public perception, public awareness, public attitude, and willingness to pay. The analytical results identify the status of waste source-separated collection and influencing factors in implementation, and provides exercisable suggestions for decision makers in both China and more generally in industrializing countries to design promotion programs and education campaigns.