Shifting Baselines: Conveying Climate Change in Popular Music

Popular music is a generation-specific zeitgeist, while music affords otherwise unobtainable engagement with environmental themes. Despite being the most widespread form of music there is a paucity of scholarship on climate change vis-à-vis popular music. In turn, this article explores how popular music may provide a soundtrack that narrates the rapidity of contemporary biophysical change. Approaches of conveying versus communicating climate change in music are considered across a spectrum of musical forms, from contemporary and historical popular music to contemporary classical music and sound art. The article applies the framework of shifting baselines to music engaged with environmental change in order to formulate a closer relationship between objective and quantitative intergenerational biophysical change and subjective and qualitative socio-cultural change. To cease losing track of such inexorable degradation, the article speculates on future musical forms that may obviate such intergenerational myopia by conveying and/or communicating the unprecedented rapidity of biophysical change.     

潮土施镍对小白菜的生物效应及其临界值研究

研究潮土施Ni对盆栽蔬菜的生态效应,并通过小白菜生物量的变化、地上部茎叶Ni质量比及土壤有效态Ni质量比来表征土壤Ni污染的毒性临界值.结果表明,潮土施Ni对蔬菜未表现出增产效应.施Ni量低于25 mg/kg,其生物产量无明显降低.随施Ni量的增加,生物产量呈显著下降,生物量变化与Ni质量比呈高度负相关.潮土施Ni增加茎叶和根系中Fe,Mn,Ca,Mg元素质量比,降低Cu,Zn元素质量比.4种性质不同的提取试剂提取的土壤有效态Ni质量比与植物Ni吸收均呈高度正相关,较好地反映了植物的危害状况,且以DTPA提取效果最佳.以生物减产量突变点为依据,确定潮土施Ni毒害临界值为:土壤全量Ni为41.86 mg/kg,有效态Ni质量比为2.55mg/kg(DTPA)和茎叶Ni质量比为22.39 mg/kg.     

进水底物浓度对蔗糖废水产酸合成PHA影响研究

混合菌群合成生物可降解塑料(PHA)成为目前研究的热点,三段式PHA合成工艺(水解产酸、产PHA菌富集、PHA合成)被广泛应用.在三段式工艺中,产PHA菌的富集非常关键,只有稳定产生PHA菌才能保障PHA合成的产量.针对产PHA菌富集系统容易出现污泥膨胀的问题,本研究考察了进水底物浓度对产PHA菌富集效率及运行稳定性的影响.在560mg·L-1、1 120 mg·L-1、1 680 mg·L-1这3组不同进水底物浓度的对比实验中,证实了COD 1 120 mg·L-1条件下富集反应器能够在较短污泥龄下稳定富集具有较高污泥浓度的高效产PHA菌,且不会发生污泥膨胀.在94 d的富集期后其批次实验最大PHA含量、PHA转化率(COD/COD)及PHA比合成速率能分别达到50%、0.714 5及0.191 2 mg·(mg·h)-1.研究还同时证实细胞内糖原水平高低与其PHA合成能力密切相关,可采用其作为富集效果的重要检测指标之一.     

When apologizing hurts: Felt transgression and restoration efforts

Apologizing is important for conflict resolution and relationship reconciliation, yet apologies often fail to restore the damaged relationship. While much research has been devoted to investigating the victims' reactions upon receiving an apology, in this paper, we adopt an apologizer-centric approach and explore the phenomenon of apologizing with no felt transgression (vis-à-vis when there is felt transgression) along with its affective and reconciliation outcomes for the apologizer. Based on Appraisal Tendency Framework, we predict that apologizing with no felt transgression will lead to reduced guilt and increased anger in the apologizer, which will result in a decreased level of their restoration efforts towards the victim. In addition, we further hypothesize about the role of organizational conflict cultures in influencing the relationship between apologizing and restoration efforts via guilt and anger. Study 1 uses a micro-narrative procedure and an inductive data analysis approach to demonstrate the varied situations and motivations of employees apologizing with (no) felt transgression, Study 2 utilizes an experimental design to examine the mediation effect, and Study 3 employs the critical incident technique to test our whole research model. Our hypotheses were largely supported across our studies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

基于SD的施工企业安全文化建设方向研究

分析了施工企业安全文化的结构,归纳了影响施工企业安全文化形成因素,论述了施工企业安全文化自然演化和强制演化路径。利用系统动力学(SD)原理,借助软件VENSIM 5.6 a对施工企业安全文化2种演化路径进行了仿真模拟。通过仿真模拟得出了影响施工企业安全文化形成的最关键的5大因素,为施工企业指明了安全文化建设方向。     

Governing Quasi-Public Network Services for adaptation to climate change

Adaptation takes place in both private and public sectors, or as an interrelation between the two, and often under the realm of public regulation. Thispaper uses the Swedish and the Norwegian electricity grid sector, as providers of a vital public good under strict public regulation, to analyse reforms' effects on adaptive capacity in this area. The paper shows that transformational changes in both sectors during the 1990s shifted both the formal organisational structure (rules and regulations), as well as the organisational culture, in the direction of economic efficiency. These two dimensions individually reduced adaptive capacity to climate change, although differently in the two countries. However, the formal structure and organisational culture also yielded substantial influence on each other. This leads to the conclusion that when designing public regulations and implementing reforms, organisational culture must be considered in the design. Also the paper contests previous findings in the literature by showing that under given conditions there exist some substitution between the two dimensions in influencing adaptive capacity, implying that both dimensions should be included when analysing adaptation since analysing them in isolation is likely to lead to wrong conclusions.     

Introducing a multi-variate classification method: Risky driving acceptance among different heterogeneous driver sub-cultures

Introduction: Heterogeneous driving populations with many different origins are likely to have various sub-cultures that comprise of drivers with shared driver characteristics, most likely with dissimilar traffic safety cultures. An innovative methodology in traffic safety research is introduced which is beneficial for large datasets with multiple variables, making it useful for the multi-variate classification of drivers, driving attitudes and/or (risky) driving behaviours. Method: With the application of multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS), this study explores traffic safety culture in the State of Qatar using a questionnaire and investigates the similarity patterns between the questionnaire items, aiming to classify attitudes towards risky driving behaviours into themes. MDS is subsequently applied to classify drivers within a heterogeneous driving sample into sub-cultures with shared driver characteristics and different risky driving attitudes. Results: Results show that acceptance of speeding is highest among the young Arabic students and acceptance of distraction and drivers’ negligence such as phone use and not wearing a seatbelt is highest among male Arab drivers. Acceptance of extreme risk-taking like intoxicated driving and red-light running is highest among South-Asian business drivers. Conclusion: It is important and practical to understand risky behavioural habits among sub-cultures and thereby focussing on groups of drivers instead of individuals, because groups are easier to approach and drivers within sub-cultures are found to influence each other. By indicating which groups of drivers are most likely to perform specific risky driving themes, it is possible to target these groups and effectively emphasise certain subsets of risky driving behaviours during training or traffic safety education. Practical Applications: This study provides guidance for the improvement of driver education and targeted traffic safety awareness campaigns, intending to make changes to attitudes and habits within specific driver sub-cultures with the aim to improve traffic safety on the longer term.     

At the intersection of disaster risk and religion: interpretations and responses to the threat of Tsho Rolpa glacial lake

Over the last several decades, the scientific community has replaced the ‘acts of god’ explanations for disasters with a view that disasters are actually ‘acts of nature,’ and more recently, ‘acts of human behavior and decision making.’ Despite the secular orientation of contemporary disaster research, religious beliefs still govern people’s interpretations of natural events across many continents and cultures. Using a case study of a rural Sherpa community in Nepal, this paper responds to the challenge of linking religion and disaster risk in the context of a climate change-induced glacial lake outburst flood hazard. Data collection employed ethnographic techniques including participant observation and 53 interviews with community members. Results indicate that the case study community’s religious belief system influences how they interpret and respond to the glacial lake hazard, although their beliefs co-exist with more scientific interpretations of risk. Rather than being immobilised by their belief system, we found that religious aspects like rituals and prayer can enhance social cohesion and contribute to capacities for coping with fear and uncertainty in this community. We assert that religion can yield valuable resources to glacial lake risk reduction strategies, which will benefit from incorporating social-cultural factors more profoundly.     

The impact of pesticides on oxidative stress level in human organism and their activity as an endocrine disruptor

Pesticides cause serious environmental and health problems both to humans and animals. The aim of this review is to discuss selected herbicides and fungicides regarding their mode of action and their influence on basic oxidative stress parameters and endocrine disruption properties tested in selected cell cultures in vitro. Because of numerous difficulties which animal studies are subject to, cell cultures are an excellent experimental model reflecting human exposure to different pesticides through all relevant routes. This experimental model can be used to monitor aggregate and cumulative pesticide exposures.     

Highly efficient and selective removal of phosphate from wastewater of sea cucumber aquaculture for microalgae culture using a new adsorption-membrane separation-coordinated strategy

● A new adsorption-membrane separation strategy is used for phosphate removal. ● PVC/Zr-BT shows a selective adsorption ability to low-concentration phosphate. ● Low concentration of P below 0.05 mg/L was achieved in actual wastewater treatment. ● Algal biomass production served as a demonstration of phosphorus recycling. Enhanced phosphorus treatment and recovery has been continuously pursued due to the stringent wastewater discharge regulations and a phosphate supply shortage. Here, a new adsorption-membrane separation strategy was developed for rational reutilization of phosphate from sea cucumber aquaculture wastewater using a Zr-modified-bentonite filled polyvinyl chloride membrane. The as-obtained polyvinyl chloride/Zr-modified-bentonite membrane was highly permeability (940 L/(m²·h)), 1–2 times higher than those reported in other studies, and its adsorption capacity was high (20.6 mg/g) when the phosphate concentration in water was low (5 mg/L). It remained stable under various conditions, such as different pH, initial phosphate concentrations, and the presence of different ions after 24 h of adsorption in a cross-flow filtration system. The total phosphorus and phosphate removal rate reached 91.5% and 95.9%, respectively, after the membrane was used to treat sea cucumber aquaculture wastewater for 24 h and no other water quality parameters had been changed. After the purification process, the utilization of the membrane as a new source of phosphorus in the phosphorus-free f/2 medium experiments indicated the high cultivability of economic microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum FACHB-863 and 1.2 times more chlorophyll a was present than in f/2 medium. The biomass and lipid content of the microalgae in the two different media were similar. The innovative polyvinyl chloride/Zr-modified-bentonite membrane used for phosphorus removal and recovery is an important instrument to establish the groundwork for both the treatment of low concentration phosphate from wastewater as well as the reuse of enriched phosphorus in required fields.