Exploring the administrative mechanism of China's Paired Assistance to Disaster Affected Areas programme

The Paired Assistance to Disaster Affected Areas (PADAA) programme is a mutual aid initiative with Chinese characteristics, which speeded up the process of restoring and reconstructing regions affected by the Wenchuan earthquake on 12 May 2008. 1 The PADAA is an efficient instrument for catastrophe recovery, yet it remains a mysterious mechanism to many members of disaster management communities. This paper aims to lift the veil on it by assessing its origins and evolution. It draws on the multi‐level moderated competition model to explain how the PADAA functions within the Chinese administrative system. The country's top‐down political system allows the central authority to mandate provincial and local governments from more economically developed regions to assist devastated areas with post‐disaster reconstruction. The practices of local accountability complement vertical control by giving leaders from donor regions strong incentives to accomplish assigned reconstruction tasks, resulting in intense competition between them.     

Bayesian Networks and Adaptive Management of Wildlife Habitat

Abstract: Adaptive management is an iterative process of gathering new knowledge regarding a system's behavior and monitoring the ecological consequences of management actions to improve management decisions. Although the concept originated in the 1970s, it is rarely actively incorporated into ecological restoration. Bayesian networks (BNs) are emerging as efficient ecological decision‐support tools well suited to adaptive management, but examples of their application in this capacity are few. We developed a BN within an adaptive‐management framework that focuses on managing the effects of feral grazing and prescribed burning regimes on avian diversity within woodlands of subtropical eastern Australia. We constructed the BN with baseline data to predict bird abundance as a function of habitat structure, grazing pressure, and prescribed burning. Results of sensitivity analyses suggested that grazing pressure increased the abundance of aggressive honeyeaters, which in turn had a strong negative effect on small passerines. Management interventions to reduce pressure of feral grazing and prescribed burning were then conducted, after which we collected a second set of field data to test the response of small passerines to these measures. We used these data, which incorporated ecological changes that may have resulted from the management interventions, to validate and update the BN. The network predictions of small passerine abundance under the new habitat and management conditions were very accurate. The updated BN concluded the first iteration of adaptive management and will be used in planning the next round of management interventions. The unique belief‐updating feature of BNs provides land managers with the flexibility to predict outcomes and evaluate the effectiveness of management interventions.     

When does centrality matter? Scientific productivity and the moderating role of research specialization and cross‐community ties

The present study addresses the ongoing debate concerning academic scientific productivity. Specifically, given the increasing number of collaborations in academia and the crucial role networks play in knowledge creation, we investigate the extent to which building social capital within the academic community represents a valuable resource for a scientist's knowledge‐creation process. We measure the social capital in terms of structural position within the academic collaborative network. Furthermore, we analyse the extent to which an academic scientist's research specialization and ties that cross‐community boundaries act as moderators of the aforementioned relationship. Empirical results derived from an analysis of an Italian academic community from 2001 to 2008 suggest academic scientists that build social capital by occupying central positions in the community outperform their more isolated colleagues. However, scientific productivity declines beyond a certain threshold value of centrality, hence revealing the existence of an inverted U‐shaped relationship. This relationship is negatively moderated by the extent to which an academic focuses research activities in few scientific knowledge domains, whereas it is positively moderated by the number of cross‐community ties established. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the dark side of organizational citizenship behavior

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in positive organizational scholarship in general, including positive organizational behavior (POB) in particular. This work identifies organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as a prototypical POB. Conceptualizing OCBs in this way is sensible in light of more than 30 years of research highlighting the desirable aspects of such behavior. At the same time, some researchers have raised questions about positive organizational scholarship and have called for a more balanced view of ostensibly positive behaviors. The purpose of this paper, then, is to take a more nuanced view of OCBs while highlighting the dark side of citizenship behavior. In doing so, we review conceptual and empirical work that has challenged the idea that OCBs are inherently positive. We also discuss research that seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the conditions under which OCB does more harm than good. Finally, important areas for future research and the practical realities facing scholars who seek to publish research investigating the dark side of citizenship are addressed as well. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain1

Epps, Thomas H., Daniel R. Hitchcock, Anand D. Jayakaran, Drake R. Loflin, Thomas M. Williams, and Devendra M. Amatya, 2012. Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐14. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12000 Abstract: Hydrologic monitoring was conducted in two first‐order lower coastal plain watersheds in South Carolina, United States, a region with increasing growth and land use change. Storm events over a three‐year period were analyzed for direct runoff coefficients (ROC) and the total storm response (TSR) as percent rainfall. ROC calculations utilized an empirical hydrograph separation method that partitioned total streamflow into sustained base flow and direct runoff components. ROC ratios ranged from 0 to 0.32 on the Upper Debidue Creek (UDC) watershed and 0 to 0.57 on Watershed 80 (WS80); TSR results ranged from 0 to 0.93 at UDC and 0.01 to 0.74 at WS80. Variability in event runoff generation was attributed to seasonal trends in water table elevation fluctuation as regulated by evapotranspiration. Groundwater elevation breakpoints for each watershed were identified based on antecedent water table elevation, streamflow, ROCs, and TSRs. These thresholds represent the groundwater elevation above which event runoff generation increased sharply in response to rainfall. For effective coastal land use decision making, baseline watershed hydrology must be understood to serve as a benchmark for management goals, based on both seasonal and event‐based surface and groundwater interactions.     

Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loans and Landowner Investments in Agricultural Best Management Practices in Iowa1

Arbuckle, Jr., J. Gordon, 2012. Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loans and Landowner Investments in Agricultural Best Management Practices in Iowa. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00688.x Abstract: Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan programs for water quality have traditionally funded infrastructure projects at the community, municipality, or state level. They are increasingly being used to support individual landowner adoption of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) for nonpoint source pollution abatement. In 2005, the Iowa CWSRF initiated the Local Water Protection Program (LWPP) to increase the scope, scale, and rate of agricultural BMP establishment. This research examines the effectiveness of that program through a comparison of survey data from LWPP participants and state cost‐share recipients who were eligible for loans, but did not take them. Loan recipients’ assessments of the program were overwhelmingly positive, with near‐universal satisfaction with both the loan product and process. Results of statistical analyses indicate that loan recipients invested substantially more in conservation than nonrecipients. Evidence suggests that by helping program participants to overcome financial constraints, loans are facilitating larger and accelerated investments in conservation. Although findings indicate that conservation loans can play an important role in funding conservation, loan recipients also still depend on cost‐share. Loans are not necessarily a substitute for traditional forms of conservation funding, but rather another tool that landowners and conservation professionals can employ to facilitate investments in BMPs.     

Curve Number Derivation for Watersheds Draining Two Headwater Streams in Lower Coastal Plain South Carolina,USA

The objective of this study was to assess curve number (CN) values derived for two forested headwater catchments in the Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) of South Carolina using a three‐year period of storm event rainfall and runoff data in comparison with results obtained from CN method calculations. Derived CNs from rainfall/runoff pairs ranged from 46 to 90 for the Upper Debidue Creek (UDC) watershed and from 42 to 89 for the Watershed 80 (WS80). However, runoff generation from storm events was strongly related to water table elevation, where seasonally variable evapotranspirative wet and dry moisture conditions persist. Seasonal water table fluctuation is independent of, but can be compounded by, wet conditions that occur as a result of prior storm events, further complicating flow prediction. Runoff predictions for LCP first‐order watersheds do not compare closely to measured flow under the average moisture condition normally associated with the CN method. In this study, however, results show improvement in flow predictions using CNs adjusted for antecedent runoff conditions and based on water table position. These results indicate that adaptations of CN model parameters are required for reliable flow predictions for these LCP catchments with shallow water tables. Low gradient topography and shallow water table characteristics of LCP watersheds allow for unique hydrologic conditions that must be assessed and managed differently than higher gradient watersheds.     

Improving visitor management approaches for the changing preferences and behaviours of country park visitors in Hong Kong

This study identified the changing preferences of country park visitors in Hong Kong and the potential for such changes to have further negative impacts on the ecologically sensitive areas of country parks. A questionnaire was used to collect feedback from 644 country park visitors to understand their preferences and visitation patterns. To investigate visitors’ preferences and behaviours and to develop better visitor management strategies, the survey data were compared with studies conducted 20 years ago. The results showed that the most popular nature‐based activities of 20 years ago, namely, picnicking and barbecuing, have significantly declined in popularity, while other activities, namely, nature studies and nature photography, have surged in popularity in recent years. These changes in visitor preferences have directly increased the negative impacts of visitors on country parks as they dispersed away from the high intensity recreation zones to the ecological sensitive areas. This emerging group of country park visitors has not been fully considered in the existing approach to visitor management and may irreversibly impact the ecological value of country parks. In this study, visitor management in Hong Kong's country parks was reviewed based on these research findings, and potential improvements were suggested.     

Education for sustainable development – an inter‐disciplinary pilot module for undergraduate engineers and scientists

The coming together of a number of initiatives provided a springboard for an innovative pilot programme in education for sustainable development. For some time problem‐based learning has gathered momentum as an approach to educating professionals. More recently, there has been a burgeoning interest in inter‐disciplinary approaches to the complex societal and environmental issues that face the world as a whole. At the same time, professional engineering institutions have been reflecting on appropriate approaches to the education and development of future engineers. Building on work already undertaken by some of the authors, the Royal Academy of Engineering sponsored an inter‐disciplinary pilot programme in sustainable development for undergraduate engineers and scientists in the University of Manchester. The pilot was innovative not only in its inter‐disciplinary approach to sustainable development but also in its approach to the development of the curriculum. Inter‐disciplinary exercises were designed that enabled a contextual, active, collaborative and cumulative approach to learning. The assessment was also designed to align to the learning approach. Evaluation of the pilot programme suggests that it was well received by the students, and the post‐doctoral researchers who acted as facilitators, and also that there were gains in both understanding of the issues and also in approaches to learning.     

SME application of LCA‐based carbon footprints

Following a brief introduction about the need for businesses to respond to climate change, this paper considers the development of the phrase ‘carbon footprint’. Widely used definitions are considered before the authors offer their own interpretation of how the term should be used. The paper focuses on the contribution small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make to the economy and their level of influence in stimulating change within organisations. The experience of an outreach team from the Engineering Department of a UK university is used which draws on the experience of delivering regional economic growth projects funded principally through the European Regional Development Fund. Case studies are used including the development of bespoke carbon footprints for SMEs from an initiative delivered by the outreach team. Limitations of current carbon footprints are identified based on this higher education‐industry knowledge exchange mechanism around three main themes of scope, the assessment method and conversion factors. Evidence and discussions are presented that conclude with the presentation of some solutions based on the work undertaken with SMEs and a discussion on the merits of the two principally used methodologies: life‐cycle analysis and economic input–output assessment.