瑞典来自农业的食品品质特性对消费者支付意愿的影响

本文采用让受访问者做选择题的办法,研究来自农业的食品品质特性与消费者支付意愿的关系,目前这些食品在瑞典还没有销售.数据是通过大规模的邮件调查获得的,同时用一个随机参数的Logit模型来估计.我们的结果表明:同一产品和相同特性,消费者的支付意愿均存在差异.不同产品间为品质特性排序时也是这样.而且,我们还发现可能以转基因作物作为饲料的动物食品市场上表现不力.最后,我们的结论支持被称作"cheap-talk"的研究方法能有效地减小选择试验地的外在误差.在食品行业中,我们的结论对产品差别化战略的构建和对食品政策的形成等方面十分有用.     

Socioeconomic characteristics of suitable wolf habitat in Sweden

Large carnivores are ecologically important, but their behaviour frequently put them in conflict with humans. I suggest that a spatial co-occurrence of suitable habitat and relatively poor socioeconomic conditions in rural areas may contribute to inflated human–carnivore conflict. Here, I test if there is potential for such an explanation for the human–wolf conflict in Sweden, a conflict that is arguably not congruent with the costs and damages imposed by the wolf population. I found negative correlations between wolf habitat suitability within Swedish municipalities and indicators of their relative socioeconomic conditions. I argue that geographic socioeconomic inequality may contribute to the Swedish human-wolf conflict, partly by the use of wolves as symbols for socioeconomic dissent and partly by using them as scapegoats for socioeconomic conditions. Therefore, regional policies aimed at alleviating geographic socioeconomic inequities may create a more favourable environment for solving the human-wolf conflict in Sweden.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-021-01524-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Predation risk and the territory value of cover: an experimental study

In an experiment on territorial brown trout (Salmo trutta), we addressed the novel hypothesis that protective cover increases the value of a territory in relation to the perceived level of predation risk. We predicted that territory holders should invest more resources defending territories with cover than territories without cover, and that defence should increase as predation risk increases. First, trout were allowed to establish ownership in territories with or without overhead cover. Second, predation risk was manipulated by simulating aerial predator attacks in half of the territories of each type, whereupon the preference for cover was estimated. Third, owners of the four types of territories were staged in dyadic contests against size-matched intruders. Territory owners showed a preference for cover, which increased further after simulated predator attacks. In subsequent contests, conflicts over territories with cover were settled faster than conflicts over territories without cover, which may suggest that the value of cover increases the motivational asymmetry between owner and intruder. Consistent with our hypothesis, owners of territories with cover were much more aggressive if they had been subjected to predator attacks the day before the conflict. These results suggest that territory owners are able to estimate the value of protective cover in response to variation in the level of predation risk in the habitat.Communicated by J. Krause     

Transport of plutonium in surface and sub-surface waters from the Arctic shelf to the North Pole via the Lomonosov Ridge

New data on the levels and long-range transport of plutonium in the Arctic Ocean, recorded in the course of two expeditions to this zone in 1994 and 1996, are discussed in this paper. Specifically, approximately 100 plutonium measurements in surface and sub-surface water sampled at 58 separate stations throughout the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian Seas, as well as along latitudinal transects across the Lomonosov Ridge, are reported and interpreted in terms of the circulation pathways responsible for the transport of this element from the North Atlantic to the Arctic Shelf and into the Arctic interior. In addition, the behaviour of plutonium in its transit through the vast Arctic shelf seas to open waters under extreme environmental conditions is discussed in terms of the partitioning of plutonium between filtered (<0.45 microm) seawater and suspended particulate, and its association with colloidal matter. Finally, limited evidence of the presence of a colloidal plutonium component in Arctic waters subject to direct riverine input is adduced.     

Perspectives on Local Environmental Security, Exemplified by a Rural South African Village

This paper analyzes the human–nature interaction in a village in rural South Africa. It discusses preconditions, perceptions, and consequences of natural resource use, and places these findings into a regional and historical context. Applying an interdisciplinary perspective, the study uses interviews, questionnaires, remote sensing, and participatory mapping to analyze land cover changes and local perceptions of the environment. The study area is located in a former homeland (Transkei), a setting where well-recorded conflicts in the human–nature sphere have previously been triggered by population pressure, apartheid policies, and other historical, political, and social reasons. A small-scale and subjective conceptualization of environmental security is used as an approach to analyze local livelihood strategies in a selected village. The results indicate that the environment is not the highest priority in local survival strategies. Instead, formal and informal jobs and governmental grants are the most important security strategies. There are thus no major conflicts resulting from the interaction between the local population and the natural resources in this specific area. Explanations to this pattern can partly be found in historical contexts, which include apartheid policies, re-localizations, and a system of migrant labor. The study also suggests that general truths about a region such as Transkei might be misleading in specific localities. For relevant and successful environmental management and development planning however, it is crucial that decision-makers be able to get a clear picture of local situations and adjust their plans accordingly.     

Long-term study of 99Tc in the marine environment on the Swedish west coast

The activity concentration of (99)Tc in brown seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus and Fucus serratus) and seawater were analysed in samples collected in 1991, 1995 and 2001 at several stations along the Swedish west coast. In addition to these locations, a well-defined site (S?rdal, 56.76 degrees N, 12.63 degrees E) was included with (99)Tc activity concentration data in seaweed from 1967 to 2000. Over the years, the major source of (99)Tc in the coastal waters of western Sweden has been the radioactive liquid discharge from the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Sellafield (UK) transported via ocean currents in the North Sea. The (99)Tc activity concentration in seaweed at the S?rdal site increased from approximately 30 Bq kg(-1) up to 230 Bq kg(-1) (dry weight) between 1997 and 2000 due to the Sellafield EARP (Enhanced Actinide Removal Plant) discharges in 1995-1996, yielding an approximate transport time of 4-5 years between the Irish Sea and the Kattegat. Due to the very sharp gradient in (99)Tc concentration between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, (99)Tc is presently one of the best transit tracers for the recent ventilation events in the Baltic Sea.     

Does the energy labelling system for domestic tumble dryers serve its purpose?

Tumble dryers sold on the market today are labelled according to their energy efficiency. This labelling system has primarily two purposes: to guide buyers to a product with low energy use, lower cost and lower environmental impact and to encourage producers to develop even more energy-efficient products. Tumble dryers are optimized for their maximum capacity, which is used as the standard load for determining the energy label. Three different tumble dryers have been tested with different drying loads. Results indicate that all the tested tumble dryers have significantly lower energy efficiency when drying small loads. In order to encourage the development of tumble dryers with high energy efficiency at drying loads used in ordinary households, the standards for the energy labelling system should be revised.     

Inferences about causes and consequences of behavior of leaders and subordinates

This study addresses spontaneous inferences about causes and consequences of performance‐related behavior of leaders and subordinates. Respondents (leaders and subordinates) completed sentences describing the behavior of leaders or subordinates. It was expected that behavior of leaders induces more causal analysis because it can more strongly affect others. This hypothesis was confirmed, suggesting that position labels can trigger control motivation. It was also found that leader behavior induced more inferences about the consequences for the environment than for the actor, supporting the assumption that leaders are seen as persons who affect their environment. In addition, the data indicate that subordinate respondents made more inferences about causes as well as consequences than leaders did, and have a more positive view of others. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.