A post‐earthquake psychopathological investigation in Armenia: methodology,summary of findings,and follow‐up

The post‐earthquake psychopathological investigation (PEPSI) was designed to probe the short‐and long‐term effects of the earthquake in northern Armenia on 7 December 1988 on survivors' mental and physical health. Four phases of this study have been conducted to date, and, overall, more than 80 per cent of a sub‐sample of 1,773 drawn from an initial cohort of 32,743 was successfully followed during 2012. This paper describes the methodology employed in the evaluation, summarises previous findings, details the current objectives, and examines the general characteristics of the sample based on the most recent follow‐up phase outcomes. Despite a significant decrease in psychopathology rates between 1990 and 2012, prevalence rates of post‐traumatic stress disorder and depression among study participants in 2012 were greater than 15 and 26 per cent, respectively. The paper also notes the strengths and limitations of the study vis‐à‐vis future research and highlights the importance and potential practical implications of similar assessments and their outcomes.     

Uncertainties in integrated assessment modelling of abatement strategies: illustrations with the ASAM model

Following the signing of the Second Sulphur Protocol in 1994 under the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, preparations are now underway for a new multi-pollutant multi-effects protocol, under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE). A number of scientific models have been used to provide policy makers involved in these preparations with sound scientific information. These include the Abatement Strategies Assessment Model (ASAM). ASAM has recently been extended to cover abatement strategies for NH₃ and NOx as well as SO₂, in order to address the amelioration of acidification and eutrophication in the ECE region. It is important to be able to demonstrate that the scientific information provided to policy makers is robust to uncertainties, and hence there is a need for a thorough sensitivity analysis. In this study ASAM is used to demonstrate a large degree of robustness of derived abatement strategies to uncertainties in critical loads, meteorological data and cost information. This is based on a comparison of strategies at the same overall abatement cost. Systematic changes in data are shown to influence model results more profoundly than random changes.     

一种用于电力通信的自适应Adhoc协议

针对电网通信的智能化监测应用需要,提出了一种用于电力通信的Adhoc自适应预约按需传输多址接入协议,该协议在接入阶段可以根据业务量动态调整接入策略;在传输阶段可以无冲突的发送分组.针对该协议的吞吐量和平均时延性能进行了仿真分析.分析结果表明：协议能提高信道利用率、降低接入时延,可用于现代电力通信网络,以上研究结果对Adhoe在电力通信的工程中应用有较好参考意义.     

An Evaluation of Qualitative Indexes of Physical Habitat Applied to Agricultural Streams in Ten U.S. States1

Hughes, Robert M., Alan T. Herlihy, and Philip R. Kaufmann, 2010. An Evaluation of Qualitative Indexes of Physical Habitat Applied to Agricultural Streams in Ten U.S. States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 792-806. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00455.x Abstract: Assessment of stream physical habitat condition is important for evaluating stream quality globally. However, the diversity of metrics and methods for assessing physical habitat condition confounds comparisons among practitioners. We surveyed 51 previously sampled stream sites (0.0-6.3 m wide) located in regions of row-crop agriculture in Oregon, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia to evaluate the comparability of four indexes of physical habitat condition relative to each other. We also compared the indexes to previously calculated indexes of fish and macroinvertebrate condition. The physical habitat indexes included the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Version 2 of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the qualitative habitat evaluation index of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the rapid bioassessment protocol of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and a qualitative physical habitat index based on USEPA quantitative physical habitat measurements. All four indexes were highly correlated with each other, but low-to-moderately correlated with biotic index scores for fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages. Moderately high correlations occurred between some macroinvertebrate biotic index scores and quantitative metrics. We conclude that additional research is needed to increase the predictive and diagnostic capabilities of qualitative physical habitat indexes.     

Using Public–Private Interplay to Climate-Proof Urban Planning? Critical Lessons from Developing a new Housing District in Karlstad,Sweden

While strengthening public–private interplay is expected to improve the climate profile of urban planning in terms of mitigation and adaptation, less is known about the practice of such new interactive modes of governing. The paper critically examines the role, benefits and limitations of extended public–private interplay in developing a new housing district in Sweden. The developer dialogue between municipal officials and property developers confirms mutual interests, shared understandings and the added value of interacting. However, the closer the dialogue comes to settling agreements, the more difficult it gets for municipal officials to steer the process and its outcomes in favor of climate proofing. Complications with adapting to the new interactive setting means that municipal officials balance between acting as facilitators and/or regulators and property developers between acting as partners, competitors and/or defenders. Refining steering-strategies for sustaining commitments and securing formal agreements are pertinent for using public–private interplay to climate-proof urban planning.     

The Kyoto protocol: Empirical evidence of a hidden success

How effective was the Kyoto protocol? International Environmental Agreements (IEA) have been on the rise over the past four decades; however, thus far their effectiveness is controversial. In view of the conflicting results found in the related literature, this paper addresses its effectiveness by utilizing for the first time the generalized synthetic control method (GSCM) to compare the emissions of the industrialized countries with a “No- Kyoto” counterfactual scenario that represents the expected emissions in the absence of the protocol. This method facilitates a robust comparison between treated and control countries as done by Almer and Winkler (2017) and account for the multiple treated units as done by Grunewald and Martinez-Zarzoso (2016), so as to capture the collective nature of the protocol. Results show that the protocol was successful in reducing the emissions of the ratifying countries approximately by 7% below the emissions expected under a “No-Kyoto” scenario, confirming the importance of accounting for the collective nature of the agreement.     

Scarcity and conflict,key problems in water management: a Mexican case study

Water scarcity has become a key issue in water management. There are two contrasting positions regarding scarcity as a source of conflict or cooperation. Accordingly, it is worth exploring what exactly are the conditions that make water scarcity a source of conflict or cooperation. The history of water conflicts has shown that people are more likely to kill around a water hole than when conflicts grow into national or international issues. This suggests that there may be an inverse relationship between the level of violence and the scale at which the water conflict takes place. A common problem in environmental management has been the lack of effective mechanisms to handle conflict. In the majority of these cases, the main shortcoming was an inability of the parties to identify their differences. Therefore, this research explores the idea that understanding the causes of conflict from the outset, followed by an evaluation, at the local scale, of the conditions, is a necessary precondition to finding appropriate and sustainable solutions. With this background in mind, the objective of this paper is to employ a conflict assessment process in order to explore to the extent to which a collaborative dialogue among stakeholders can be an appropriate approach to conflict resolution. A case study in Mexico is employed as a testing ground.     

Building Dialogue on Complex Conservation Issues in a Conference Setting

Dialogue about complex science and society issues is important for contemporary conservation agendas. Conferences provide an appropriate space for such dialogue, but despite its recognized worth, best practices for facilitating active dialogue are still being explored. Face‐to‐face (FTF) and computer‐mediated communication (CMC) are two approaches to facilitating dialogue that have different strengths. We assessed the use of these approaches to create dialogue on cultural perspectives of conservation and biodiversity at a national ecology conference. In particular, we aimed to evaluate their potential to enhance dialogue through their integrated application. We used an interactive blog to generate CMC on participant‐sourced issues and to prime subsequent discussion in an FTF conference workshop. The quantity and quality of both CMC and FTF discussion indicated that both approaches were effective in building dialogue. Prior to the conference the blog averaged 126 views per day, and 44 different authors contributed a total of 127 comments. Twenty‐five participants subsequently participated in active FTF discussion during a 3‐h workshop. Postconference surveys confirmed that CMC had developed participants’ thinking and deepened FTF dialogue; 88% indicated specifically that CMC helped facilitate the FTF discussion. A further 83% of respondents concluded that preliminary blog discussion would be useful for facilitating dialogue at future conferences. Construcción del Diálogo sobre Problemas Complejos de Conservación en un Escenario de Conferencia     

Transdisciplinary research: understanding the stakeholder perspective

It is accepted that the effective uptake of academic research into policy and practice requires the active involvement of stakeholders. However, understanding participation from the perspectives of stakeholders remains poorly understood. We show that non-academic participants bring multiple knowledges and expertises vital to research. We demonstrate that flexibility in terms of how research is framed, conducted and in the meaning of what constitutes “success” is crucial. We argue that research needs to move towards co-produced transdisciplinary research. In doing so, research can be more representative of stakeholder interests and knowledges, and also make important contributions to academic impact.     

Motivation of Japanese companies to take environmental action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions: an econometric analysis

To analyze the motivations of Japanese companies to take environmental actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we used FY2006 research data and questioned Japanese industries regarding their reduction of GHG emissions. Empirical investigations revealed that voluntary targets set by industry organizations, government requirements, and advance responses to possible future regulations can positively influence environmental actions for GHG emission reduction; however, cost reductions and corporate social responsibility fulfillment cannot.