SOCIAL GOALS AND EVALUATION OF RESOURCE COMMITMENTS1

ABSTRACT The field of water resources has become increasingly aware of public demands for evaluating alternative project commitments that consider environmental and social objectives in addition to traditional economic criteria. This has led to endeavors to identify the full array of social goals in Water Resources Council Special Task Force reports as well as in research funded through the Office of Water Resources Research and other agencies. It seems appropriate, however, to consider efforts already completed or currently underway in the social science disciplines, professional fields, and national commissions not affiliated with water resource interests. This report identifies and discusses major efforts to identify social goals as a logical input in evaluation procedures highlighted by Water Resources Council Special Task Force reports. The framework of the study was its contribution as background material for the Western Regional Social Goals Project funded by the Office of Water Resources Research of the Department of the Interior.     

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS IN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

Historically, the main objective of water resources development has been economic efficiency, and the technique for its evaluation has been benefit-cost analysis. Gradually other objectives have emerged, and these in order of their emergence are regional income redistribution, environmental quality and social well-being. These multi-objectives have given rise to multifarious problems, and have made the planning process much more complex than ever before. The different objectives are not mutually exclusive, and, hence, contributions to one can only be made at the expense of others. Trade-off studies between different objectives are difficult to make. It is suggested that one way to overcome this difficulty could be to design a system to perform optimally in terms of one objective, subject to a specified level of performance of the other, which in effect becomes a constraint. The paper also discusses the pros and cons of the desirability of public participation in our decision-making processes, and the necessity of developing social sciences models to aid water planning and management.     

MEASURING IMPACTS OF URBAN WATER DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACT The role of water resources in the urban economic and social environment, particularly in the inner city, has never been established to the degree necessary for making informed decisions on investments in urban waterway and shoreline improvements. The basic tools for measuring psychological and social impacts of waterway and shoreline developments in the inner city have not been fully developed and utilized to date. However, through a detailed analysis of the water resources in the urban core area of Cleveland, it appears that deliberate development of water-based recreation and other environmental resources can lead to improvement in some of the social problems of the inner city. In recreation analysis, there is currently a great gap between methodologies that are conceptually sound and those that have been applied by urban and water-resources planning agencies. New tools and methodologies can only be used successfully when public agencies are given the institutional and policy means for using them equitably in light of social needs. Present urban-water planning practices have been found to be biased against the inner city, often unintentionally.     

The Strange Career of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart

The Ringelmann smoke chart was used in the United States to assess smoke emissions in the early twentieth century. In fact, it may have been the most important method for measuring air pollution between the late 1800s and the environmental era. However, the popularity of the Ringelmann chart stood in stark contrast to its lack of precision, which smoke abatement experts recognized and discussed among themselves. However, the critique of the Ringelmann scale rarely left the circle of experts and never jeopardized its use. This article discusses the reasons for this striking phenomenon, pointing out that the Ringelmann chart had strong practical and symbolic advantages: it allowed smoke abatement to be conducted in a public and transparent way. With that, the history of the Ringelmann smoke chart is an instructive model for the social construction of measuring techniques.     

The corporate impact of addressing social issues: a financial case study of a project in Peru

Large, multinational resource development projects can affectmany aspects, including social, economic and ecological realities, in the regions where they operate. Social and environmental issues that are usually ignored in such projectsare increasingly affecting the financial future of multinationalcorporations in negative ways. In this article, we advance the argument that corporations can successfully manage these issuesand that if they choose to view these management efforts as an investment rather than an expense, they may well acquire a competitive advantage over companies that do not. We describe asa case study the Camisea natural gas and condensates developmentproject in Peru, operated by Shell Prospecting and Development Peru (SPDP). Camisea is one of the first projects anywhere inthe world to conduct a detailed analysis of key industry-relatedsocial issues and the processes, required investment and financial impact of managing them. The Camisea example supportsthe argument that addressing social and environmental concerns makes financial sense. In present value terms, the benefit ofmanaging these concerns was expected to surpass the cost investment by approximately US$50 million.     

A corporate approach to social monitoring and assessment for development in a fragile environment

The prevailing corporate trend regardingdevelopment of energy resources in the tropics emphasizesfinancial gain over long-term societal benefits. Somecorporations are beginning to find a competitive advantage linkedto proactive relations with host communities and adequateprotection of fragile ecosystems. Herein, we describe a casestudy where an international energy production company workedwith stakeholders to achieve social capital and sustainabledevelopment. The strategies aimed to strengthen local capacity toimprove social welfare and to ensure conservation and wise use ofbiodiversity. We provide examples, discuss lessons learned andmake recommendations for future development projects.     

“安全公正空间”框架在区域环境管理中的应用——以太白湖流域为例

近年兴起的“安全公正空间”（Safe and Just Operating Space）理论框架突出了环境安全上限,兼顾了社会发展主要指标的达成度,对区域环境安全和社会可持续发展具有重要意义。选择长江中下游太白湖这一典型湖泊流域,整合周边县市社会调查数据及过去近150余年来的沉积记录（包括地球化学、孢粉、硅藻等多指标）,分别从环境安全及社会基础两个方面,构建了该流域社会-生态系统安全公正空间。结果显示：目前,流域内水质、空气质量、耕地面积和水土保持这4个指标超越了环境上限,处于危险状态;清洁能源、产业创新的社会基础完成度相对较低。该框架有助于流域系统的管理和决策,同时也有利于公众理解环境上限和社会基础之间交互复杂的关系。本研究亦展示了多源环境数据,特别是古湖沼学记录,能为区域生态环境管理提供重要的长期背景资料。     

试折苔丝与嘉莉妹妹的女性形象

女性人物是中外文学作品中最瑰丽多姿的形象群体,她们不但丰富了世界文学的多彩画廊,其背后显现与揭示的社会人生的深刻与广阔,带给我们无尽的享受和思索.在新世纪之初,女性文学理论及创作再度勃兴,文学中的女性人物的塑造也格外受人关注.本文拟就哈代笔下的苔丝与德来塞笔下的嘉莉这两个形象的塑造做一比照,并就其带来的启示和引发的思考进行阐述,以飨读者.     

大型社会活动安全事故成因分析及预警组织模型构建

分析了我国大型社会活动安全事故的成因，研究了组织、环境、设备、人等因素在大型社会活动安全事故中的作用，得出了大型社会活动安全事故成因机理，在此基础上，介绍了大型社会活动安全事故预警模型的组织、监控系统，并规范了各组织的职责，最终设计了大型社会活动安全事故预警系统的工作流程。     

人员疏散时间预测与分析

由于大量火灾事故的不断发生,火灾防范和安全疏散成为一个重要的研究课题。为了探讨人员疏散规律,笔者应用排队论知识及结合“社会力”模型,并综合考虑到建筑结构特征、人员密度及个体的作用和差异,建立了人员疏散模型。通过计算机模拟确定人员疏散时间,结合实例阐述了出口宽度等建筑结构特征、人员密度与疏散时间的关系,结果表明,该模型得到的结果与实际基本相符。通过对人员疏散规律的研究,可以帮助人们优化建筑物的内部结构,特别是门宽,疏散通道的个数,从而加快紧急情况时的疏散速度,减少人员的伤亡;还可以帮助人们设计出正确的管理措施,保证大规模的群众集会时的人员的安全。