Is there a place for social capital in the psychology of health and place?

The field of environmental psychology is primely placed to further understanding of the way in which social capital influences or is influenced by the context and characteristics of neighbourhood environments, but has been one of the quieter voices in the cacophony of social capital discourse over the last decade. While there is increasing research interest in area and neighbourhood variations in social capital, the mechanisms and causal pathways through which physical environments, social capital and health may be related are not yet clear. More refined unpacking of the relationship between social capital and neighbourhood design, features and settings is required to identify practical intervention points for preserving, fostering and harnessing social capital within communities. Through a review of literature, this paper explores whether there is a place for social capital in the psychology of place and considers the contribution that environmental psychology and related disciplines could make to future social capital research and applications.     

系统化、自然化、经济化、人性化—城市人居环境规划方法的生态转型

讨论了城市环境问题的生态学实质,国际城市人居环境生态学研究动向,以及城市人居环境建设的生态转型方法,重点介绍了城市人居环境规划中的系统化,自然化,经济化,人性化趋势,并从观念与目标的转型,规划与设计的转型和技术与材料革新等方面探讨了城市生态建设的转型方法。     

Effects of the tsunami on fisheries and coastal livelihood: a case study of tsunami-ravaged southern Sri Lanka

Beyond the death toll, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 crippled many of the livelihood assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) available to assist those directly affected. Drawing on surveys of three villages in three districts in the south of Sri Lanka, this paper describes the livelihood asset building capacity of the fishing communities. Assessments are also made of the impact of the tsunami on coastal communities and the impact of government policy on rebuilding. A livelihood asset score was calculated for each village by comparing their strengths in capacity building. In all aspects of capital building, including human, social, financial, physical and natural capital, the fishing community in Tangalle was significantly ahead of the fishing communities in Hikkaduwa and Weligama. Experienced fishermen with better educational backgrounds had a significant influence on the capacity building of livelihood assets. Relocation and resettlement plans brought persistent uncertainty to fishermen in Hikkaduwa and Weligama and threatened to disrupt their community bonds and social networks.     

可持续发展理念下的地质环境承载力初步探讨

在环境承载力概念的基础上定义了地质环境承载力,讨论了地质环境承载力的内在涵义及特点,以城市地质环境为例,探讨了地质环境承载力评价的工作程序。     

Watershed protection: Capturing the benefits of nature's water supply services

Healthy watersheds provide valuable services to society, including the supply and purification of fresh water. Because these natural ecosystem services lie outside the traditional domain of commercial markets, they are undervalued and underprotected. With population and development pressures leading to the rapid modification of watershed lands, valuable hydrological services are being lost, which poses risks to the quality and cost of drinking water and the reliability of water supplies. Increasing the scale and scope of programmes to protect hydrological services requires policies that harmonize land uses in watersheds with the provision of these important natural services. This article summarizes key attributes of hydrological services and their economic benefits; presents a spectrum of institutional mechanisms for safeguarding those services; discusses programmes in Quito (Ecuador), Costa Rica and New York City; and offers some lessons learned and recommendations for achieving higher levels of watershed protection.     

Plan C： China＇s Development under the Scarcity of Natural Capital

The critical issue of China＇s modernization is whether it can free itself from the traditional modernization plan based on the relatively abundant natural capital, and innovatively create a developmental model of a large country under the scarcity of natural capital. This is why China is so keen on circular economy and economical use of resources. Focused on this issue, this paper summarizes the theoretical elements of the development under the scarcity of natural capital, points out that Plan C is the strategic choice for China＇s future development, emphasizes that China needs to enhance the new industrialization, new urbanization and new modernization based on the restriction of natural capital, and discusses the technological and mechanistic support required to realize the development under the scarcity of natural capital.     

Homophily and Agency: Creating Effective Sustainable Development Networks

Community networks are self-organized groupings that form for many different reasons. Some networks, connected mainly through bonding ties, are based on personal interests and relationships; others, based mainly on bridging ties, centre around broader interests. These networks form to create collective agency for engaging with social, environmental, and other issues through the concentration of social capital. The multi-scaled and evolutionary nature of sustainable development issues requires that community groups dedicated to engaging with such issues be particularly diverse, resilient, and flexible. As such, they must build a large number of bridging ties leading to external resources and limit the potential for bonding ties to impose constraining norms upon the group. Over time, however, volunteer groups tend towards a state of homophily, the tendency of groups to form from similar actors and then become more similar with time. This tendency leads to a decrease in the number of the bridging ties that help to provide group agency. Homophily must be actively recognized within community sustainable development groups if they are to remain effective over the long term. This paper suggests methods to prevent and control group homophily drawn from experience in forming small, time-limited sustainable development networks. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

人类承载力"K值"影响因素

人类承载力“K值”表示地球能承载人口的极限值。“K值”的影响因素的繁多以及相互间的联系使得“K值”确切数值的计算成为一项非常艰巨的任务。通过分析人类与自然的关系，探讨人类承载力的微观影响因素及其相互关系，从开放生态系统的性质讨论人类承载力的宏观影响因素。从而得出人类承载力受渐变和突变因素的结合控制。以此揭开承载和调控人类种群的机理并预测“K值”的可能发展趋势，达到避免计算“K值”确切数值而又能提出人口增长对策和可持续发展的指导意见的目的。     

石棉表面改性对石棉诱导人胚肺细胞产生羟基自由基的影响

为了研究用柠檬酸铝、混合稀土或亚硒酸钠预处理温石棉对石棉诱导人胚肺(HEL)细胞产生羟基自由基(·OH)的影响,笔者用不同浓度的柠檬酸铝、混合稀土或亚硒酸钠溶液浸泡温石棉1小时后,再将其与人胚肺细胞共同孵育,利用电子自旋捕获法测定反应体系中羟基自由基信号。结果显示,石棉可诱导人胚肺细胞产生羟基自由基,并且所产生的自由基信号(峰高)随石棉浓度升高而增强,呈一定的剂量依赖性。经3种化合物预处理的温石棉组人胚肺细胞所产生的自由基信号(峰高)均明显低于未处理温石棉组。上述结果表明,温石棉可诱导人胚肺细胞产生羟基自由基,但用3种化合物预处理温石棉,均可抑制温石棉诱导人胚肺细胞产生羟基自由基。     

Managing the Commons Texas Style: Wildlife Management and Ground‐Water Associations on Private Lands1

Abstract: As nearly all of Texas’ rural lands are privately owned, landowner associations for the management of white‐tailed deer and ground‐water have become increasingly popular. Deer are a common‐pool resource with transboundary characteristics, requiring landowner cooperation for effective management. Ground‐water reserves are economically important to landowners, but are governed by the “rule of capture” whereby property rights are not defined. One ground‐water association and four wildlife management associations (WMAs) were surveyed to characterize their member demographics, land use priorities, attitudes, and social capital. Members of the ground‐water cooperative were part of a much larger, more heterogeneous, and more recently formed group than members of WMAs. They also placed greater importance on utilitarian aspects of their properties, as opposed to land stewardship for conservation as practiced by members of WMAs. If ground‐water association members could be more locally organized with more frequent meetings, social capital and information sharing may be enhanced and lead to land stewardship practices for improved hydrologic functions and sustained ground‐water supply. This, coupled with pumping rules assigned by the local ground‐water district, could yield an effective strategy that is ecologically and hydrologicaly sound, and that allows rural provision of water supply to urban consumers.