Institutional quality,financial development and sustainable economic growth among lower income countries

This article postulates strong endogenous relationships in lower income countries between institutional quality, financial development and sustained economic growth. These associations were investigated using the vector-error correction model (VECM) and Granger causality method for a sample of 79 countries from 2005 to 2022. The findings show that (1) these variables reinforce each other in the short run. (2) In the long run, both institutional quality and financial development can fuel economic growth. (3) The positive effect of institutional quality on economic growth is greater than that of financial development. Policy implications of these findings are that careful attention should be paid to co-development policies to enhance the institutional quality and the financial system in these economies. Policies should also consider economic growth strategies to enable sustainable economic growth rates.     

Animal agency in wildlife conservation and management

Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human–wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human–wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species’ survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders.     

Monitoring and reporting attacks on education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia

The United Nations' Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism is charged with documenting six grave violations against children in a time of conflict, including attacks on schools. Many of these incidents, however, remain unreported across the globe. This study explores whether or not a local knowledge base of education and child protection actors in North and South Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Mogadishu, Somalia, could contribute to a more complete record of attacks on education in those areas. Hundreds of semi‐structured interviews were conducted with key informants across the three settings, and in total 432 attacks on education were documented. Purposive samples of these reports were verified and a large majority was confirmed. Local non‐governmental organisations and education institutions were most knowledgeable about these incidents, but most never reported them to a monitoring authority. The study concludes that attack surveillance and response were largely insufficient, and recommends investing in mechanisms that utilise local knowledge to address these shortcomings.     

长三角空气质量区域预报准确性评估方法研究

根据长三角空气质量区域预报工作的实际需要,对分区文字预报和落区图预报两种方式分别制定了不同的空气质量指数级别预报准确性评估方法。分区文字预报根据设定的预报准确性判定方法计算预报评分,落区图预报按区域内预报准确城市占比进行准确率统计。分区文字预报结果显示,2017年长三角区域的预报准确天数占比为62.2%,预报评分为70.2,区域预报评估效果良好。落区图预报评估结果显示,预报级别偏差具有地域性差异,安徽北部、江苏北部和江西中北部预报等级偏高,长三角中南部沿海城市预报等级偏低。该套评估方法可为区域空气质量预报偏差成因分析提供依据,为区域预报工作的改进提供定量参考。     

Environmental pollution,hydropower and nuclear energy generation before and after catastrophe: Bathtub-Weibull curve and MS-VECM methods

In this paper, the life span of hydro and nuclear energy generations and the relationship between hydro and nuclear energy generations, environmental pollution, and economic growth were investigated for Japan covering the period of 1960–2018 by employing the Bathtub-Weibull curve and Markov switching-vector error correcting (MSVEC) method, respectively. According to the Bathtub-Weibull curve analysis, a rising failure rate for nuclear energy was found, indicating that the life of nuclear energy has expired, but a decreasing failure rate for hydroelectric energy has been detected. Then two different MSVEC models were used. The MSVEC method, unlike traditional approaches, determines the relationship between variables under different regimes. The results of MSVEC methods indicate three important points. First, regime-dependent asymmetry and regime changes are crucial for policy recommendations. Second, the shocks to hydropower and nuclear energy generations cause temporary deviations from the long-run growth path in both regimes. Lastly, the increase in hydropower generation leads to a decrease in environmental pollution and an increase in GDP, and an increase in nuclear power generation increases pollution and growth in both regimes.     

Discordance between age- and size-based criteria of child passenger restraint appropriateness

Objectives: In this study, we sought to accomplish the following objectives: to (1) calculate the percentage of children considered appropriately restrained across 8 criteria of increasing restrictiveness; (2) examine agreement between age- and size-based appropriateness criteria; (3) assess for changes in the percentage of children considered appropriately restrained by the 8 criteria between 2011 (shortly after updates to U.S. guidelines) and 2015.

Methods: Data from 2 cross-sectional surveys of 928 parents of children younger than 12 years old (n = 591 in 2011, n = 337 in 2015) were analyzed in 2017. Child age, weight, and height were measured at an emergency department visit and used to determine whether the parent-reported child passenger restraint was considered appropriate according to 8 criteria. Age-based criteria were derived from Michigan law and U.S. guidelines. Weight, height, and size-based criteria were derived from typical restraints available in the United States in 2007 and 2011. The percentage appropriate restraint use was calculated for each criterion. The kappa statistic was used to measure agreement between criteria. Change in appropriateness from 2011 to 2015 was assessed with chi-square statistics.

Results: Percentage appropriate restraint use varied from a low of 19% for higher weight limits in 2011 to a high of 91% for Michigan law in 2015. Agreement between criteria was slight to moderate. The lowest kappa was for Michigan law and higher weight limits in 2011 (κ = 0.06) and highest for U.S. guidelines and lower weight limits in 2011 (κ = 0.60). Percentage appropriate restraint use was higher in 2015 than 2011 for the following criteria: U.S. guidelines (74 vs. 58%, P < .001), lower weight (57 vs. 47%, P = .005), higher weight (25 vs. 19%, P = .03), greater height (39 vs. 26%, P < .001), and greater size (42 vs. 30%, P = .001).

Conclusions: The percentage of children considered to be using an appropriate restraint varied substantially across criteria. Aligning the definition of appropriate restraint use with current U.S. guidelines would increase consistency in reporting results from studies of child passenger safety in the United States. Potential explanations for the increased percentage of children considered appropriately restrained between 2011 and 2015 include adoption of the updated U.S. guidelines and the use of child passenger restraints with higher weight and height limits.     

Low‐concentration hydrogen peroxide decontamination for Bacillus spore contamination in buildings

Remediation and recovery efforts after a release of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores may be difficult and costly. In addition, response and recovery technologies may be focused on critical resources, leaving the small business or homeowner without remediation options. This study evaluates the efficacy of relatively low levels of hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) delivered from off‐the‐shelf equipment for the inactivation of Bacillus spores within an indoor environment. Decontamination evaluations were conducted in a house using both Bacillus atrophaeus var. globigii (Bg; as surrogates for B. anthracis) inoculated on the carpet and galvanized metal as coupons and Geobacillus stearothermophilus (Gs) as biological indicators on steel. The total decontamination time ranged from 4 to 7 days. Using the longer exposure times, low concentrations of HPV (average levels below 20 parts per million) effectively inactivated Bg and Gs spores on the materials tested. The HPV was generated with commercial humidifiers and household‐strength hydrogen peroxide solutions. The presence of home furnishings did not have a significant impact on HPV efficacy. This simple, inexpensive, and effective decontamination method could have significant utility for remediation following a B. anthracis spore release, such as following a terrorist attack.     

基于高通量分析方法的长江干流重庆段抗生素种类特征及来源初探

采用高通量分析方法对长江干流重庆段11个流域断面、2个市政污水处理厂进水和6个养殖场废水的潜在抗生素进行筛查,并结合抗生素使用调查探讨其来源。结果表明,(1)共检出83种抗生素,其中流域内检出36种,污水处理厂和养殖场废水中检出70种;磺胺间甲氧嘧啶检出率最高,在流域水体和废水的检出率分别为91%和55%,喹诺酮类是检出抗生素的主要类型;(2)长江干流重庆段下游检出抗生素数量高于上游检出抗生素;(3)有20种抗生素可能由上游携带和重庆市内排放2种方式进入流域,7种抗生素可能由上游携带入境,9种抗生素可能由重庆市内排放引入长江。     

河长制背景下流域协同治理问题探讨——基于共容利益理论

河长制是中国水环境治理的重大创新实践,其明确的责任、针对性的治理模式有效实现了水环境质量的大步提升。然而,以行政区划为基础的河长制与流域整体性治理之间依然存在着操作上的缝隙亟待解决。以流域水污染为典型对象,从共容利益的角度,讨论了上、下游河长协同治理的利益博弈结构,明确影响上、下游合作的因素,进而提出河长制背景下促进流域协同治理要从强化协同治理收益、降低交易风险、构建多方联动的协同治理网络三方面展开。     

应对气候变化法的立法探究

为了实现碳排放达峰目标和碳中和愿景,明确应对气候变化的法律地位、工作目标和法律要求,规定部门职责及温室气体排放权的法律属性与交易机制,分解工作目标并开展评价考核,彰显国家应对气候的法治决心,亟须制定综合性基础法律——应对气候变化法。该法的制定已具备充足的研究起草基础和下位法支撑,建议尽快纳入全国人大常委会立法计划,并启动《环境保护法》等相关法律的修改。本文建议,将低碳发展和碳排放达峰、碳中和等纳入立法目的,设立总则、规划与标准、气候变化减缓、气候变化适应、管理和监督、国际合作、法律责任、附则八章,合理设立规范重点。健全统一监管与部门分工负责的体制和基金筹集、市场交易、社会共治等机制,全面构建国内应对气候变化管理制度体系,部署国际协商与合作措施,设置地方政府工作目标责任,对违法行为规定罚则。