Closure of Disputes in Assessments of Climate Change in The Netherlands

2 greenhouse gases in assessment studies. For the cases studied, we identify variability in the assessment reports in the Netherlands during the pre-IPCC period. In the Netherlands arena, the assessments in this period can be seen as exponents of two different lines, a Netherlands line and an international line. We seek to identify what factors were decisive in the selection processes that resulted in the closure of visible disputes (visible in or across the assessment reports) for both cases. Our analysis reveals a remarkable difference in the adoption behavior of two Dutch assessment groups despite a large overlap in membership. We provide evidence that it is not the paradigmatic predisposition of the experts in the committee that was decisive for the closure of visible disputes, but it was the context in which the experts operated and the commitments they had made in each setting.     

Role of Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in Snow Leopard Conservation

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the rugged mountains in 12 countries of Central Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau. Due to poaching, decreased abundance of prey, and habitat degradation, it was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1972. Current conservation strategies, including nature reserves and incentive programs, have limited capacities to protect snow leopards. We investigated the role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in snow leopard conservation in the Sanjiangyuan region in China's Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. From 2009 to 2011, we systematically surveyed snow leopards in the Sanjiangyuan region. We used the MaxEnt model to determine the relation of their presence to environmental variables (e.g., elevation, ruggedness) and to predict snow leopard distribution. Model results showed 89,602 km² of snow leopard habitat in the Sanjiangyuan region, of which 7674 km² lay within Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve's core zones. We analyzed the spatial relation between snow leopard habitat and Buddhist monasteries and found that 46% of monasteries were located in snow leopard habitat and 90% were within 5 km of snow leopard habitat. The 336 monasteries in the Sanjiangyuan region could protect more snow leopard habitat (8342 km²) through social norms and active patrols than the nature reserve's core zones. We conducted 144 household interviews to identify local herders’ attitudes and behavior toward snow leopards and other wildlife. Most local herders claimed that they did not kill wildlife, and 42% said they did not kill wildlife because it was a sin in Buddhism. Our results indicate monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation. Monastery‐based snow leopard conservation could be extended to other Tibetan Buddhist regions that in total would encompass about 80% of the global range of snow leopards. Papel de los Monasterios Budistas Tibetanos en la Conservación del Leopardo de las Nieves     

Meta‐Analysis of the Effectiveness of Marked Wire in Reducing Avian Collisions with Power Lines

Abstract: Collisions of birds with power transmission and distribution lines have been documented for many species, and cause millions of casualties worldwide. Attempts to reduce mortality from such collisions include placing bird flight diverters (i.e., wire markers in the form of, e.g., spirals, swivels, plates, or spheres) on static and some electrified wires to increase their visibility. Although studies of the effectiveness of such devices have yielded contradictory results, the implementation of flight diverters is increasing rapidly. We reviewed the results of studies in which transmission or distribution wires were marked and conducted a meta‐analysis to examine the effectiveness of flight diverters in reducing bird mortality. We included in our meta‐analysis all studies in which researchers searched for carcasses of birds killed by a collision with wires. In those studies that also included data on flight frequency, we examined 8 covariates of effectiveness: source of data, study design, alternate design (if marked and unmarked spans were alternated in the same line), periodicity of searches for carcasses, width of the search transect, and number of species, lines, and stretches of wire searched. The presence of flight diverters was associated with a decrease in bird collisions. At unmarked lines, there were 0.21 deaths/1000 birds (n =339,830) that flew among lines or over lines. At marked lines, the mortality rate was 78% lower (n =1,060,746). Only the number of species studied had a significant influence on effect size; this was larger in studies that addressed more species. When comparing mortality at marked and unmarked lines, we recommend use of the same time intervals and habitats and standardizing the periodicity of carcass searches.     

基于认知心理学的驾驶员交通标志视认性理论分析

从认知心理的角度研究了驾驶员对交通标志的视认性,建立了基于认知心理学的驾驶员信息处理过程的概念模型,总结了影响交通标志视认性的两类因素———驾驶员因素和交通标志物理因素。提出了用知觉理论解释不同驾驶经历的驾驶员对标志识别存在的差异现象;用特征说理论解释了标志的独特性有利于驾驶员的识别;标志的信息量不宜超出驾驶员有限的注意力资源以及驾驶员的短时记忆容量限定了交通标志应该具有易读性。为改进交通标志的设计设置,探讨交通标志视认性的指标测度手段,进而为建立起客观实用的认知心理学实验方法及综合评价指标体系提供了理论基础。