Animal Killing and Postdomestic Meat Production

The act of animal killing affects the human psyche in manners that are culturally contingent. Throughout history, societal attitudes towards the taking of animal lives have mostly been based on deference and/or dominion. Postdomestic societies have evolved in fundamentally different ways. Meat production is abundant yet concealed, animals are categorized and stereotyped, and slaughter has become a highly disquieting activity. Increased awareness of postdomestic meat production systems raises a moral polemic and provokes disgust in some consumer segments. Overall, a heterogeneous set of solutions has emerged to deal with the societal upset and cognitive dissonance caused by animal slaughter. This includes the so-called carnism approach, a rise in animal welfare programs, a market demand for reassuring narratives (“story meat”), a rehabilitation of the metier of farmers and butchers, crowd butchering, neo-ritualism and home slaughter, the biotechnological exploration of “cultured meat” and “pain-free meat”, entomophagy, “meatless meat”, and the increasing proliferation of vegan and vegetarian lifestyles.     

The structure of work values: A cross cultural comparison

Several years ago a research project on work values was originated. The study strived to examine the relative importance of work value items and to analyze the structure of the domain for samples from various cultural environments. A facet definition of work values was suggested that provided guidelines for constructing the Work Values Questionnaire and the formulation of hypotheses regarding the structure of relationships among components of work values. Based on data collected from 2280 respondents in eight countries the hypotheses were tested by means of Guttman's Smallest Space Analysis. The results support the hypotheses. An empirical double-ordered conceptual system, a radex structure, was obtained in each of the samples reflecting the facets of the definition: modality of outcome — cognitive, affective and instrumental, and system - performance contingency — reward, resource. In terms of the issue of cultural differences the results indicate the presence of cultural differences in the rating of a limited number of specific values. These differences are only minor variations within a much broader pattern of structural similarity. The fact that essentially the same structure was obtained in eight independent samples lends substantial support to the definitional framework of work values suggested.     

16Mnq钢板对接焊接工艺评定

通过试验,对16Mnq钢板对接焊接工艺进行评定。     

Connected fragmented habitats facilitate stable coexistence dynamics

In this paper we endeavor to test the controversial ideas that exist about the role of fragmentation in a conservation context. In line with earlier understanding, we find that habitat fragmentation alone results in a strong detrimental effect (especially for the predator population). Connecting the fragmented habitats facilitates predator survival and hence prey survival as compared to the unconnected fragmented case. Our main result is counterintuitive: in the presence of a high quality predator, connected fragmented habitats ensure a better chance for coexistence than does even the unfragmented case. We explain why a connected fragmented habitat might thus be beneficial for the stabilization of the system, and how connections between sub-habitats are able to protect prey population from over-exploitation. In the model, habitat fragmentation is separated from the effects of habitat destruction, in order to better understand how populations react to habitat transformation.     

Studies on recycled aggregates-based concrete.

Reduced extraction of raw materials, reduced transportation cost, improved profits, reduced environmental impact and fast-depleting reserves of conventional natural aggregates has necessitated the use of recycling, in order to be able to conserve conventional natural aggregate. In this study various physical and mechanical properties of recycled concrete aggregates were examined. Recycled concrete aggregates are different from natural aggregates and concrete made from them has specific properties. The percentages of recycled concrete aggregates were varied and it was observed that properties such as compressive strength showed a decrease of up to 10% as the percentage of recycled concrete aggregates increased. Water absorption of recycled aggregates was found to be greater than natural aggregates, and this needs to be compensated during mix design.     

Impact of market reforms on future patterns of non-ferrous metal consumption of the former Soviet Union

The study examines the implications of market-oriented reforms on the prospects of non-ferrous metal use in the former USSR. Past metal consumption behaviour of the USSR is found to differ considerably from prevailing patterns of the advanced market economies. The study estimates a large 'intensity- of-use' gap across metals, which can be taken as a relatively easily mobilizable source for efficiency improvements via market reforms. Two scenarios for economic reforms are modelled, notably radical and gradual. Both are shown to cause a collapse of varying intensity in domestic metal demand lasting until the mid-1990s. For the subsequent period, a turnaround in consumption trends is projected, which is sharper under the radical reform scenario. The projected collapse of domestic demand argues for an increasing exportable surplus in the former Soviet Union for a range of non-ferrous metals, with potentially severe depressive effect on world prices.     

浅层天然气井喷对地层的损伤影响与桩基工程危害分析

针对杭州湾大桥在勘探过程中发现桥址区地层有浅层天然气分布并发生井喷这一现象,基于现场勘探时浅层气井喷特点与影响因素,认为引起井喷的主要原因是起钻抽吸作用和灌浆不及时所致。井喷是含浅层气土体的渗透比降超过其气压临界比降条件下的非饱和渗流破坏过程,对地层的影响表现为对土体的损伤和扰动,按扰动程度可分为剧烈扰动区、严重扰动区、轻微扰动区和含气层压密区。桥址区粘土层中的浅层气不会对桩基工程产生明显的危害,但砂土层中的浅层气可能会引起土体剧烈扰动显著降低桩基承载力、桩基发生不均匀沉降或桩腿下沉、桩基中产生负摩擦力和阻碍桩基础顺利施工等不利影响,应从桩基础合理选型、预先进行不扰动土体控制释放浅层气、充分考虑不利因素的安全设计,以及在施工过程中增高钻孔桩作业平台与增大泥浆比重等几方面进行灾害防治。     

Dual Objective Control of Nutrient Loading into a Lake1

ABSTRACT: The control of nutrient loading into a water body is approached from a multiobjective viewpoint. The example of phosphorus (P) loading into Lake Balaton, Hungary, is used as a case study. The element P is chosen because it appears to be the limiting factor of eutrophication in the lake considered, as in many other lakes. About one-half of P loading originates from nonpoint sources; furthermore, the mechanism is poorly known and only few observation data are available. The objective of eutrophication control is to minimize P loading, while the objective of watershed management is to maximize agricultural revenue. These two objectives often appear to be in conflict. A discrete set of alternative control methods is defined, consisting in controlling a mix of the following elements: point sources, runoff, fertilizer type and application, cropping management, erosion, and sedimentation. The system dynamics is provided by a previously developed stochastic model, whose output is an empirical prohability density function (pdf) of P-loading reflecting the control policy. A compromise solution of “satisfactum” can then be chosen as a mix of the best ranked policies.     

The interactive relationship of competitive climate and trait competitiveness with workplace attitudes,stress, and performance

There has been a considerable debate about the individual and organizational benefits of competition. Adopting a person–environment fit perspective, this research examined the influence of competition as an interaction between trait competitiveness and competitive climate. Using a sample of information technology workers, competitive climate was considered as both an individual level variable and a workgroup variable. Results show that the effect of competitive climate depended on trait competitiveness and the level at which climate was assessed for four of the outcomes assessed: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job dedication, and supervisor‐rated task performance. In general, the effect of competitive climate was more negative for individuals lower in trait competitiveness. Competitive psychological climate was associated with greater stress regardless of the level of trait competitiveness but was not directly related to self‐rated task performance. Findings suggest that managers should be cautious in encouraging competitive climate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.