Ethical Consumption, Values Convergence/Divergence and Community Development

Ethical consumption is on the rise, however little is known about the degree and the implications of the sometime conflicting sets of values held by the broad category of consumers who report consuming ethically. This paper explores convergence and divergence of ethical consumption values through a study of organic, fair trade, and local food consumers in Colorado. Using survey and focus group results, we first examine demographic and attitudinal correlates of ethical consumption. We then report evidence that while many organic, fair trade, and local food consumers converge around similar values, some Colorado consumers support only local food, while opposing the consumption of organic and fair trade products. Next, we investigate how ethical consumers who converge and diverge frame their commitment to consuming ethically. The discussion and conclusion suggest that community development planners of projects that focus on ethical consumption will need to successfully traverse issues stemming from convergence and divergence to enjoy long-term sustained success.     

A~2/O工艺在低温低浓度条件下处理效果及节能减耗研究

研究在低水温条件下,进厂污水中有机物浓度较低时(污水平均BOD5为45 mg/L左右),漳扎污水处理厂生化系统较优的运行工况。研究结果表明,在上述情况下,较优的连续运行工况为:污泥回流比为75%左右,MLSS为3 200~3 500 mg/L,生化池处的溶解氧在0.7~1.3 mg/L之间;较优的间歇运行工况为:以曝气3 h停曝3 h的方式运行,生化池处的溶解氧在3~5 mg/L之间,污泥回流比为75%左右,MLSS为3 200~3 500 mg/L。上述两种运行工况对污水中的污染物质都有较高的去除率,能成功避免污泥解絮的发生,使系统中的微生物平稳过冬;其中间歇曝气方式能达到节能减耗的目的,建议在旅游淡季时采用该方式运行。     

Natural recovery of different areas of a deserted quarry in South China

A quarry is a surface mining operated place, which produces enormous quantities of gravel, limestone, and other materials for industrial and construction applications. Restoration and revegetation of deserted quarries are becoming increasingly important. Three areas of a typical quarry in South China: terrace for crushed materials (terrace), spoiled mound, and remaining side slope, were investigated, to compare the existing plant species and to study the relationship between environmental factors and revegetation. The plant species composition of these three areas was found to differ significantly after eight years of natural recovery. The typical plant communities found over them were composed of gramineous herbs, fems, and shrubs. Soil organic matter, soil moisture, and soil bulk density were considered to be the major determining factors for vegetation succession. There existed abiotic and biotic thresholds during quarrying restoration. Suggestions had been presented that could have accelerated the process of natural recovery in quarries.     

Research on Tourism Competitiveness of Chinese Island Counties: Based on Factor and Cluster Analysis

Abstract

From the perspective of tourism competitiveness, the paper takes 12 island counties of China as the research object, and applies the method of factor analysis to study their competitiveness. The result shows that Putuo and Dinghai are more competitive while Pingtan and Nan’ao are less competitive. Finally, the 12 island counties are divided into four styles: first-class competitive county (Putuo), seond-class competitive counties (Dinghai,Yuhuan), third-class competitive counties (Chongming, Daishan, Changdao, Changhai and Shengsi), fourth-class competitive counties (Dongshan, Dongtou, Pingtan and Nan’ao) by cluster analysis. The classification of island counties is to clear their relative position, then to promote their development.     

Invasive Microstegium populations consistently outperform native range populations across diverse environments

Plant species introduced into novel ranges may become invasive due to evolutionary change, phenotypic plasticity, or other biotic or abiotic mechanisms. Evolution of introduced populations could be the result of founder effects, drift, hybridization, or adaptation to local conditions, which could enhance the invasiveness of introduced species. However, understanding whether the success of invading populations is due to genetic differences between native and introduced populations may be obscured by origin x environment interactions. That is, studies conducted under a limited set of environmental conditions may show inconsistent results if native or introduced populations are differentially adapted to specific conditions. We tested for genetic differences between native and introduced populations, and for origin x environment interactions, between native (China) and introduced (U.S.) populations of the invasive annual grass Microstegium vimineum (stiltgrass) across 22 common gardens spanning a wide range of habitats and environmental conditions. On average, introduced populations produced 46% greater biomass and had 7.4% greater survival, and outperformed native range populations in every common garden. However, we found no evidence that introduced Microstegium exhibited greater phenotypic plasticity than native populations. Biomass of Microstegium was positively correlated with light and resident community richness and biomass across the common gardens. However, these relationships were equivalent for native and introduced populations, suggesting that the greater mean performance of introduced populations is not due to unequal responses to specific environmental parameters. Our data on performance of invasive and native populations suggest that post-introduction evolutionary changes may have enhanced the invasive potential of this species. Further, the ability of Microstegium to survive and grow across the wide variety of environmental conditions demonstrates that few habitats are immune to invasion.     

The development of a prototype behavioral marker system for US Navy officers of the deck

The officer of the deck (OOD) of a US Navy ship is in charge of the safe and proper operation of the ship, and accountable to the commanding officer for every event that occurs during his or her OOD watch. This paper discusses the development of a prototype behavioral marker system to evaluate, and provide feedback on, the nontechnical (cognitive, social, and personal resource) skills of OODs.An initial set of 17 categories of nontechnical skills were identified from a literature review. A focus group with four qualified OODs used the skills identified from the literature review to develop an initial taxonomy of five categories, each with two or three corresponding behavioral elements. This taxonomy was then used to classify 149 statements concerned with the nontechnical skills of OODs collected from 16 critical incident interviews. After three iterations of adaptations to the taxonomy, two independent raters were able to reach acceptable levels of reliability in using the taxonomy to classify the statements. Although further development work is required, it is suggested that the prototype behavioral marker system has implications for improving safety and performance on military and civilian ships.     

南北差异视角下个体食物浪费行为——基于大学生高校食堂就餐情境的分析

饮食习惯一直被认为是造成食物浪费的重要因素。基于对29省29所高校9192份大学生食堂就餐的实地调查问卷,从南北差异视角探讨了个体食物浪费行为的差异特征。研究表明：相对北方籍大学生,南方籍大学生浪费食物的概率更高,南方籍大学生在高校食堂就餐时食物浪费量和浪费率也高于北方籍大学生。通过中介效应模型,证实南北方主流饮食模式是引发浪费差异的关键所在。进一步匹配大学生南北方籍贯和所就读高校的南北区位,并以“南方大学生在南方高校求学”模式为基准,发现“南方大学生到北方高校求学”模式下,个体有更低的食物浪费概率、浪费量和浪费率。但“北方大学生到南方高校求学”模式下,个体没有显示出较低的食物浪费概率、食物浪费量和食物浪费率,从而稳健地证实南北方主流饮食模式是引发浪费差异的关键所在这一结论。     

木耳菌糠生物炭对阳离子染料的吸附性能研究

为了有效处理印染废水,以废弃木耳菌糠（AG）为原料,采用限氧热解法在350、550、750℃的温度下制备木耳菌糠生物炭（AGBC）,处理含有孔雀石绿（MG）、番红花红T （ST）的有色废水.考察了不同初始pH值、吸附时间、初始浓度对AGBC吸附MG、ST的影响,讨论了吸附动力学及等温吸附特性.并利用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）等技术对吸附前后的菌糠生物炭进行表征,探究吸附机理.结果表明：随着热解温度的升高,吸附剂表面的含氧官能团数量逐渐减少,而比表面积和芳香化程度逐渐增加.MG的平衡吸附量随溶液pH值的升高而增大,而ST的平衡吸附量呈现相反趋势.AGBC对MG、ST的吸附分别在8h和4h基本达到平衡.AGBC对MG的吸附过程符合准一级动力学模型与Freundlich模型,说明吸附过程以物理吸附为主;对ST的吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型与Freundlich模型,说明吸附过程以化学吸附为主.与AG350和AG550相比,AG750对MG和ST的吸附量更高,经Langmuir模型拟合,其对MG和ST的最大吸附量分别为10249.79mg/g、3353.49mg/g.吸附机理表明,AGBC对MG的吸附主要为静电引力和π-π共轭作用,对ST的吸附主要为氢键作用、π-π共轭作用以及静电引力.说明AGBC对阳离子染料具有一定的吸附潜力,是一种经济高效的吸附材料.