Creating Defensible Space in the Wildland–Urban Interface: The Influence of Values on Perceptions and Behavior

We examined the effect that value orientation to forests and wildland fire management has on an individual’s decision to create defensible space around his or her residence in the wildland–urban interface. Using data from a mail-back questionnaire, respondents in north central Minnesota were clustered by basic value–laden beliefs toward forest and wildland fire management and compared across a number of perceptions and behaviors related to creating defensible space around residences. Value orientation groups differed in attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control toward creating defensible space. In addition, relative effects of these perceptions on intention to create defensible space differed across groups. Implications lie in (a) understanding differences in motivations and reasons for support of strategies for managing fires near the wildland–urban interface, (b) developing information designed to address the perspectives of different groups related to creating defensible space, and (c) contributing to an improved integration of land management and public concerns and interests.     

Earth stewardship: Shaping a sustainable future through interacting policy and norm shifts

Transformation toward a sustainable future requires an earth stewardship approach to shift society from its current goal of increasing material wealth to a vision of sustaining built, natural, human, and social capital—equitably distributed across society, within and among nations. Widespread concern about earth’s current trajectory and support for actions that would foster more sustainable pathways suggests potential social tipping points in public demand for an earth stewardship vision. Here, we draw on empirical studies and theory to show that movement toward a stewardship vision can be facilitated by changes in either policy incentives or social norms. Our novel contribution is to point out that both norms and incentives must change and can do so interactively. This can be facilitated through leverage points and complementarities across policy areas, based on values, system design, and agency. Potential catalysts include novel democratic institutions and engagement of non-governmental actors, such as businesses, civic leaders, and social movements as agents for redistribution of power. Because no single intervention will transform the world, a key challenge is to align actions to be synergistic, persistent, and scalable.     

《民用建筑工程室内环境污染控制规范》国家标准的部分内容值得商榷

针对《民用建筑工程室内环境污染控制规范》GB50325—2001（2006年版）中苯、总挥发性有机物的进样方法、“甲醛仲裁检测”的提法及室内环境污染物浓度限量值等问题,结合实际工作情况,进行了分析探讨,并阐述了相应的修改意见。     

YouTube,Social Norms and Perceived Salience of Climate Change in the American Mind

This online experiment explored how contextual information embedded in new media channels such as YouTube may serve as normative social cues to users. Specifically, we examined whether the number of views listed under a YouTube video about climate change would elicit inferences regarding how “others” feel about the climate issue and, consequently, might influence perceptions of issue salience. Participants in this experiment were exposed to a YouTube video about climate change using two experimental conditions, one providing a small number of views under the video and the second listing a large number of views. Results suggest that the “number of views” cue did, indeed, influence participant perceptions of the importance assigned by other Americans to the issue of climate change. Further, compared to low self-monitoring participants, high self-monitoring participants registered an increase in their own judgment of issue importance.     

环境治理的社会规范路径

环境问题的根源在于人类的行为,引导个体实施环境友好行为是环境治理的基本思路。环境社会规范会对环境行为产生重要的影响,是环境治理的重要路径。本研究在阐述社会规范的种类及其作用机制的基础上,借鉴环境社会规范激活的相关理论,阐明环境社会规范激活的影响因素及环境社会规范作用于环境行为的基本机理,分析中国环境社会规范激活存在的障碍,提出政府通过促进环境社会规范的激活来治理环境所应当采取的措施。研究结论表明,整体环境社会规范的激活水平决定着环境社会规范对环境行为的作用力,其取决于相互影响的环境描述性规范、环境命令性规范、环境个人规范的激活水平以及外部约束条件。由于受到客观物质生活条件的制约,中国环境社会规范的激活存在一些障碍,导致环境社会规范激活处于较低的水平,这些主要的障碍包括环境消极描述性规范反向作用大、环境个人规范激活水平低和行为的成本、行为的技术障碍、行为的便利性等外部因素的制约突出。在此,提出的建议是政府相关部门可以采取积极措施,通过提高环境社会规范的激活水平来达到环境治理的目标。政府相关部门可通过描述性规范信息的传递提高环境描述性规范激活水平。环境宣传教育中通过生态价值观确立、环境污染行为不利后果的明确认知、环境不利后果避免的正确归因来提高环境个人规范的激活水平。通过降低遵守环境社会规范的难度和成本消除环境社会规范激活的外部制约因素。通过完善环境立法并强化环境法的实施可有效提高环境描述性规范、环境命令性规范、环境个人规范的激活水平,从而提高整体环境社会规范的激活水平。     

中国清洁发展机制法律制度探讨

根据《京都议定书》关于清洁发展机制(Clean Development Mechanism,CDM)的目标、设立条件、步骤和监管制度的规定,指出了中国在实施清洁发展机制中所获得的环境、社会和经济方面的巨大利益,同时,也分析了目前中国实施清洁发展机制在项目发展规模、潜在项目识别、额外行证明、CER法律权属界定、项目签发等方面存在的问题。文章结合国际社会清洁发展制度的趋势走向,预测在今后相当长的时期内清洁发展机制仍将作为全球温室气体减排的有效制度而存在,并将对CDM宗旨重新定位和完善CDM项目具体实施制度。还根据国际形势变化,对2012年后中国清洁发展机制的法律制度建设提出了具体的建议:应尽快出台一部能源基本法,使得包括清洁能源机制在内的应对气候变化的措施能够有法可依。立法中应重点确立能源可持续发展原则,具体规定CDM项目适格标准、改变传统一元所有权模式,明确CER法律权属和所有权、完善CDM项目监管制度,以限制CDM项目单纯追求经济效益的危险性、加强CDM服务行业规范,提高CER签发率。     

Actual and perceived social norms of children’s road crossing behavior

This study compared the actual and perceived social norms regarding road crossing behaviors, and aimed at uncovering a misperception of group norms. The basic notion underlying the study was that if children perceived the behaviors and attitudes of their friends regarding road crossing as more negative than they actually are, this might lead the children to adopt riskier behavior when crossing the road. The participants were comprised of 123 elementary school children (ages from 6 to 13; 78 boys - 65% and 42 girls - 35%) from Beitar-Ilit, a religious city in Israel. A questionnaire especially constructed for the study was administered to the participants. A t-test yielded a significant difference between the child’s own attitudes score and the perceived peers’ attitudes score. On average, children perceive their friends’ attitudes with regard to road crossing behaviors as being more negative compared to their own attitudes. A second t-test yielded a significant difference between the child’s own behavior score and the perceived peers’ behavior score. Children perceived the road crossing behavior of their friends as riskier relative to their own crossing behavior. A regression test revealed that the variables, perceived peers’ attitudes and perceived peers’ behaviors, contributed significantly to the explained variance: the more risky the perceived peers’ attitudes and behaviors with regard to road crossing, the more risky the child’s own behavior when crossing the road. It is hoped that an interventional educational program based on positive norms in the social group will encourage children to exhibit safe behavior in the roads.     

关于三峡库区藻类监测方法的探讨

本文通过对三峡库区巫山段支流＂水华＂监测中发现用现有监测技术规范监测藻类有很多局限性探讨了建立三峡库区藻类监测技术规范的必要性和紧迫性。     

国际环境政策体制评估研究

从政策体制的认知、规范、管制、对象的行为调整和资源环境效应等方面对六个国际环境政策体制进行了初步评估.结果表明臭氧保护和欧洲大气污染防治政策取得了积极成效,国际海洋渔业和种子资源保育政策取得了一定的进展,而气候变化和生物多样性政策迄今停滞不前.因此,为推动国际环境政策体制的发展和优化,至少应深化资源环境问题及其解决方案的认识,强化国际社会的共识,综合运用适宜的管制措施并实践环境治理理念.     

Women's invisible work in disaster contexts: gender norms in speech on women's work after a forest fire in Sweden

The aim of this study is to investigate what women do in disaster situations and how both men and women perceive and discuss the work of women. These patterns were evidenced in the stories that were told following the largest forest fire in the modern history of Sweden in July 2014. The study is based on 31 retrospective interviews with volunteers involved in combating the forest fire and concentrates on stories about the supportive work of women during this disaster. The results indicate that women were praised when they followed traditional norms but were denigrated when they performed what were viewed as male-coded tasks. The stories reveal norms concerning what a woman is and is not by focusing on women's age and clothing and by directly and indirectly questioning their abilities and authority. The norms are also rendered visible by the positive attention that women receive while describing doing what is expected of them.