The value content of agricultural technologies and their effect on rural regions and farmers

The premise of this article is that technologies are not neutral in terms of their design objectives, their scale, and the fact that they reflect the physical and social environments in which they have developed. Specific agricultural technologies, the midwestern plow, the California tomato harvester, and various biotechnologies, are evaluated in these terms and shown to have generally predictable impacts upon rural regions and farmers. Finally, the article examines a series of major threats such as climate change that require the rethinking and restructuring of agriculture along more sustainable lines, something the can be accomplished only with a conscious recognition of the non-neutrality of technologies.This article was prepared for the conference Ethical Choice in an Age of Pervasive Technology, University of Guelph, October 25–29, 1989.     

GEOSTATISTICAL ESTIMATION OF HORIZONTAL HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY FOR THE KIRKWOOD‐COHANSEY AQUIFER1

ABSTRACT: The Kirkwood‐Cohansey aquifer has been identified as a critical source for meeting existing and expected water supply needs for southern New Jersey. Several contaminated sites exist in the region; their impact on the aquifer has to be evaluated using ground water flow and transport models. Ground water modeling depends on availability of measured hydrogeologic data (e.g., hydraulic conductivity, for parameterization of the modeling runs). However, field measurements of such critical data have inadequate spatial density, and their locations are often clustered. The goal of this study was to research, compile, and geocode existing data, then use geostatistics and advanced mapping methods to develop a map of horizontal hydraulic conductivity for the Kirkwood‐Cohansey aquifer. Spatial interpolation of horizontal hydraulic conductivity measurements was performed using the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) Method implemented in the BMELib code library. This involved the integration of actual measurements with soft information on likely ranges of hydraulic conductivity at a given location to obtain estimate maps. The estimation error variance maps provide an insight into the uncertainty associated with the estimates, and indicate areas where more information on hydraulic conductivity is required.     

MODELING DRINKING WATER QUALITY VIOLATIONS WITH BAYESIAN NETWORKS1

ABSTRACT: Compliance violations at community water systems are rare but represent significant human health risks. These risks are mediated by the decision schema of human operators at water treatment facilities. However, causal uncertainty among physical and human factors involved in water quality problems complicates assessment of their probability and severity. This study uses a probabilistic Bayesian network modeling approach to explore the causes of compliance violations in a sample of water treatment systems in Pennsylvania. The model presented here is one of several created by treatment system operators during an expert elicitation process. The expert model alone predicts violations poorly, suggesting that experts make inaccurate quantitative estimates. However, Bayesian networks are capable of combining the subjective expertise of treatment system operators with the objective compliance histories of the facilities they manage, and the expert model accurately predicts violations when trained with historical compliance data. Analysis of the trained network reveals those components of the treatment process, including environmental and system characteristics as well as operator decisions, that play the greatest role in determining the likelihood of major violation types. Among operator decisions, coagulant dosing and filter backwash frequency are the most important determinants of violation likelihood.     

Environmental management systems and sustainable development

The idea of sustainable development was first brought to widespread attention as a global issue; however, it is increasingly being applied at more local levels down to that of individual companies. This raises the potential danger that sustainable development will come to be predominantly identified with the preservation of the organisation involved. A likely outcome is that management decision-making will tip the balance too far in favour of people-centred interests as against environmental interests. An initial step in preventing this is to make any bias in the balance of interests transparent to management. To do this, a model of sustainability is set up in terms that provide a context for the implementation of a quality based environmental management system such as that specified by the International Standard, ISO 14001. In response to inherent uncertainty, a precautionary approach is adopted. The implications of this model for the structuring of critical environmental management system elements are then discussed and a way to generate an indicator of bias proposed. The content of an audit, which would measure the extent to which an organisation has a management system competent to measure and monitor this bias, is also discussed and proposed as another useful indicator.     

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF MULTIPLE‐OBJECTIVE DECISION‐MAKING METHODS FOR WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: Making decisions for environmental management is a complex task due to the multiplicity and diversity of technological choices. Furthermore, the exploitation of natural resources and the preservation of the natural environment imply objectives that are often in conflict within a sustainable development paradigm. Managers and other decision makers require techniques to assist them in understanding strategic decision making. This paper illustrates the use of a multiple‐objective decision‐making methodology and an integrative geographical information system‐based decision‐making tool developed to help watershed councils prioritize and evaluate restoration activities at the watershed level. Both were developed through a multidisciplinary approach. The decision‐making tool is being applied in two watersheds of Oregon's Willamette River Basin. The results suggest that multiple‐objective methods can provide a valuable tool in analyzing complex watershed management issues.     

智能交通与中国的交通安全

在交通运输中 ,安全是最重要的因素。近年来 ,中国交通运输事业的快速发展 ,给人民的生活带来诸多便利 ,但当前的交通安全状况却不容乐观 ,交通事故频繁发生 ,事故死亡人数逐年上升。智能交通系统是一个高科技集成系统 ,它综合运用各种高新技术于整个交通管理系统之中 ,可以系统、全面、高效地提高交通运输的安全性。笔者研究了我国的交通安全问题 ,尤其是公路交通安全问题 ,阐明了如何应用智能交通系统 ,有效地减少交通事故 ,改善交通安全状况 ;指出了我国发展智能交通对于改善交通安全 ,解决交通安全问题的重要意义并展望了我国发展智能交通的前景     

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: A CRITIQUE AND A CHALLENGE1

ABSTRACT: Computer-based models together with their interactive interfaces are typically called decision support systems. DSSs are interactive computer-based information providers. The common objective of all DSSs, regardless of the frameworks, methodologies, or techniques used, is to provide timely information that supports human decision makers - at whatever level of decision making. The informational needs of the decision making process are the key considerations that motivate the development of DSSs. The growth of DSS development and use has been substantial. In spite of this impressive growth, computer-aided decision support systems can still be improved and made more useful to those they are intended to support. Researchers and practitioners, and indeed the computer industry, continue to identify ways of doing this. This paper reviews some of these needs and opportunities by focusing on the process of successful DDS development and implementation. The paper outlines an approach and some guidelines for developing DSSs. The approach emphasizes and requires considerable interaction between the DSS developers (analysts) and the DSS users (decision makers). This interaction and feedback is required throughout the entire DSS building, testing and evaluation (debugging), and implementation processes. The paper concludes by identifying some research needs and opportunities affecting DSS development and effective use.     

THE LEVEE LOVE AFFAIR: A STORMY RELATIONSHIP?1

ABSTRACT: A history of flood control in the United States shows an undying affair with levees. This love affair, however, was put severely to the test by the record flooding in the summer of 1993. About 70 percent of levees in the upper Midwest failed during this time, leading to extensive damage to both farmland and urban areas. Consequently, there were repeated calls to re-assess the nation's floodplain management policies. The report of the Intera-gency Floodplain Management Review Committee is one outcome of this and it forms the basis of this commentary on levees. In many respects, levees are effective flood control measures, being relatively cheap to implement and easy to build. At the same time, levees have negative impacts, affecting the hydrological regime both up and down stream, and often exacerbating flooding in other places. Furthermore, technical weaknesses in design, planning, construction, and maintenance have all contributed to levee failures. While the report recommends changes in floodplain management to address some of these issues, it is difficult to see how these will materialize given the current political, economic, and social climate.     

Water-quality effectiveness of a detention/wetland treatment system and its effect on an urban lake

A newly installed combined detention/wetland stormwater treatment facility upstream from Lake McCarrons, Roseville, Minnesota, was monitored for 21 months to evaluate its effectiveness and the response of the lake to decreased phosphorus loads. The treatment facility consists of a 1.0-ha detention pond that discharges into a series of six constructed wetland “chambers.” Data from snowmelt and rainfall events are presented for several pollutants. Results show good reductions for most pollutants. Discussion on the facets of the system's operation are presented. Data from the lake show very little change in its water quality from three years prior to restoration (1984–1986) to three years following restoration (1987–1989): the lake's phosphorus and chlorophyll has actually increased.     

Feasibility of geographic information systems approach for natural resource management

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology is altering the work environment for planning and decision-making tasks. This article is an account of a resource application that make use of the GIS technology. It provides some cost estimates and reasons for the fairly slow development toward an integrated resource data base for environmental planning and management. It tries to identify some of the constraints of such an integrated data-base approach toward environmental assessment.