Empirical study on voting power in participatory forest planning

Multicriteria decision support systems are applied in natural resource management in order to clarify the planning process for the stakeholders, to make all available information usable and all objectives manageable. Especially when the public is involved in planning, the decision support system should be easy to comprehend, transparent and fair. Social choice theory has recently been applied to group decision-making in natural resources management to accomplish these objectives. Although voting forms the basis of democracy, and is usually taken as a fair method, the influence of voters over the outcome may vary. It is also possible to vote strategically to improve the results from each stakeholder's point of view. This study examines the use of social choice theory in revealing stakeholders' preferences in participatory forest planning, and the influence of different voters on the outcome. The positional voting rules examined were approval voting and Borda count, but both rules were slightly modified for the purposes of this study. The third rule examined, cumulative rule, resembles utilitarian voting rules. The voting rules were tested in a real participatory forest planning situation in eastern Lapland, Finland. All voting rules resulted in a different joint order of importance of the criteria. Yet, the preference orders produced had also a lot in common and the criteria could be divided into three quite distinct groups according to their importance. The influence of individual voters varied between the voting rules, and in each case different voter was the most influential.     

生物质热电厂大气影响评价的研究

为确定生物质能发电环境方面的可行性,分析了生物质能发电的工艺流程,相比于火电的优缺点,并进行了生物质能热电联厂的大气环境影响评价研究。结果表明：预测评价的烟尘、SO2和NO2排放浓度分别为11,63mg／m^3、200．3mg／m^3和378．7mg／m^3,均远低于火力发电的排放值;在不同条件下、不同地点SO2和NO2的1小时、日均浓度也均远低于火力发电的浓度值。说明了生物质能发电在环境友好性方面具有明显的优势。     

Wastewater management in small- and medium-size enterprises: case studies

Wastewater management in small and medium-sized enterprises representing the chemical and food industries was investigated. The results showed that wastewater discharged from an ink-production factory was highly contaminated with organic pollutants. Anaerobic biological treatment followed by chemical coagulation using ferric chloride aided with lime proved to be very effective and produced an effluent that complied with national regulatory standard for wastewater discharge into public sewage network. Also, management of wastewater from a confectionery factory representing the food sector was carried out. Aerobic biological treatment using plastic-packed trickling filter proved to be an effective treatment method. However, application of in-plant control measures alleviated the requirement for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. The applied pollution prevention and cleaner production measures involved good housekeeping, recovery of spent chocolate, modification of floor cleaning and installation of suction devices for the removal of sugar and starch powders. All improvement measures were documented by cost/benefit analysis.     

An Evaluation of Techniques to Control Problem Bird Species on Landfill Sites

Birds feeding on landfill sites cause problems in terms of nuisance to neighbors, flight safety, a threat to public health, and affecting the day to day site operation. A number of control measures exist to deter problem species; however, research into their effectiveness across sites and for multiple species has been limited. We use a modeling approach in order to assess the effectiveness of nine techniques — pyrotechnics, hand-held distress calls, static distress calls, blank ammunition, a combination of blank and lethal use of ammunition, the use of falcons, the use of hawks, wailers and helium-filled bird-scaring kites — at deterring three commonly recorded species — the Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and the Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) — from six landfill sites across the United Kingdom. The use of distress calls, falconry, and combinations of lethal and nonlethal use of ammunition were the most effective techniques for initially deterring birds from these sites. However, when habituation is considered, there is a clear difference between techniques such as falconry, which have a lethal aspect and may act to reinforce the deterrence, and the use of techniques such as distress calls, which do not. However there are problems related to legislation and public perception when lethal techniques are used.     

燃煤电厂烟气脱硫技术综合评价研究

应用模糊数学原理和层次分析法,从经济、技术和环境三方面综合评价烟气脱硫技术,使烟气脱硫技术的选择更科学。以五种典型烟气脱硫技术为评价对象,应用该综合评价方法得出石灰石-石膏法较优的结论。     

Locating ‘power’ in wind power planning processes: the (not so) influential role of local objectors

There have been conflicting accounts of the role and influence of local opposition within planning application outcomes for wind power developments. There is an expanding literature that considers public responses to proposed renewable energy developments and much of this suggests that public opposition is a key factor in the slow growth in renewable energy capacity. However, this paper will show that local opposition groups' power over such planning processes is very limited, and in fact extends only so far as delaying an outcome. Through a thematic content analysis of objection letters to one particular proposed wind power development, the key issues raised in connection with the development will be highlighted. Subsequently, these issues will be compared with those discussed in the official report of the planning appeals process, and it will be shown that the concerns of local objectors had little influence over the eventual verdict.     

城区天然气配气站噪声的产生及防治

城区天然气配气站噪声超标已成为供气部门亟待解决的难题,文章分析了配气站噪声污染现状,指出噪声产生原因主要为天然气流动,供气量增长使设备超负荷运行等7个方面。分别针对现有配气站和新建、改扩建站场提出降噪措施,指出设备在额定范围内运行、气体流速控制、工艺改造等是噪声控制的重要手段。并对城区天然气配气站噪声治理的进一步研究提出了建议。     

河北省钢铁工业主要大气污染物减排潜力分析

通过对河北省钢铁工业存在问题的分析,得出我省钢铁行业主要大气污染物为二氧化硫和粉尘.结合我省钢铁企业的实际情况,从工程技术、政策管理等方面提出相应治理措施,并对"十一五"期间我省钢铁行业二氧化硫和粉尘减排效益进行预测.预测结果显示:采用所建议的减排措施后,我省钢铁工业二氧化硫减排量对全省"十一五"减排计划的贡献率为81.4%;粉尘可减排60%.     

日照市畜牧业生产对环境的污染及其防治措施研究

畜禽粪便中大量有机污染物污染着人们赖以生存的土壤和水体,粪尿分解产生的大量有害气体污染了大气。本文结合日照市畜牧业生产的实际,对日照市畜牧业生产对环境的污染现状进行了分析,找出了日照市畜牧业生产对环境污染产生的主要原因和存在问题,提出畜牧业生产对环境污染的防治对策。     

Evaluation of a healthcare safety climate measurement tool

Problem

Psychometrically validated measurement tools are needed to evaluate an organization's safety climate. In 2000, Gershon and colleagues published a new healthcare safety climate measurement tool to determine its relationship to safe work behavior (Gershon, R., Karkashian, C., Grosch, J., Murphy, L., Escamilla-Cejudo, A., Flanagan, P., et al. (2000). Hospital safety climate and its relationship with safe work practices and workplace exposure incidents. American Journal of Infection Control, 28, 211-21). The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Gershon tool when modified to address respiratory rather than bloodborne pathogen exposures.

Method

Medical practitioners, nurses, and nurse aides (n = 460) were surveyed using the modified Gershon tool. Data were analyzed by factor analysis and psychometric properties of the tool evaluated.

Results

Eight safety climate dimensions were extracted from 25 items (Cronbach's alpha range: 0.62 - 0.88). Factor extractions and psychometric properties were reasonably consistent with those of the Gershon tool.

Impact on Industry

The Gershon safety climate tool appears to have sufficient reliability and validity for use by healthcare decision makers as an indicator of employee perceptions of safety in their institution.