Measuring sustainable development - the creative economy perspective

ABSTRACT

World literature presents a variety of approaches to measuring the creative economy at global, national and regional levels, but so far not enough attention has been paid to the issue of sustainability of creative economies. Creative economies do not rely heavily on natural resources which means that their negative impact on the climate is relatively weaker than in the case of other industries. The measurement of sustainable development is an important contribution to the overall efforts in fighting the climate change. Statistical figures show that the share of the creative economy in GDP of the most developed countries is steadily increasing. Therefore, it is legitimate to analyse the sustainable development issues not only through the lenses of utilization of natural resources and environmental issues but also to look at the sustainability challenge for the creative economies. The growth of creative industries may be hindered by scarcity and improper utilization of resouces, but the main threat to the sustainability is the scarcity of intangible resources and goods such as ideas, freedom of thought, leadership, tolerance, quality of education, etc. Based on a literature review, we endeavoured to investigate the sustainability issues which are relevant specifically for the creative economy. In particular, we were interested in the role of local government in supporting the growth of creative economies. This study contributes to the literature in the sense that it provides understanding on how to assess the impact of local government on the sustainability of creative economy.     

Higher education level teaching of (master’s) programmes in sustainable development: analysis of views on prerequisites and practices based on a worldwide survey

The concept of sustainable development (SD) has highly been debated since it was presented 25 years ago, with ‘hard science’ approaches on one side and more process-oriented approaches on the other side. Academic teaching in SD has emerged in response to this in very different contexts, partly mirroring this academic debate. Some master’s programmes in SD take a strong science approach, while other programmes focus on the process of implementing sustainability projects, sometimes connected with forms of action research and teaching. In this article, we identify diverse views on the concept of SD as well as views on most relevant modes of teaching. We discuss core competencies required for sustainability professionals in their working practices and we organise them in three main clusters: Know, Interact and Be (KIB). The article presents the results of a worldwide survey, which addresses these visions on the concept of SD, the capabilities needed for ‘sustainable development professionals’ and the teaching approach needed. The analysis is based on the responses of 54 lecturers and 287 students active in 34 SD master’s programmes on all continents. The results of this worldwide survey are discussed. We observe in practice some gaps between preferences and practice. Looking at what both lecturers and students see as essential topics to address, some topics get relatively less attention (like the population issue). The identified core competencies (KIB) are supported and all addressed in practice, while the ‘Be’ competencies receive relatively less attention. Suggested consequences for academic teaching include a further matching of programmes with perceived needs and bridging the gap between the experienced teaching approaches in practice with such identified needs.     

《安全管理学》案例教学法应用研究

《安全管理学》是我国安全学科教学方案中的一门重点课程,作为一门应用性学科,课程教学中需要理论与实践相结合,才能使没有专业和工作背景的学生更好的理解相关理论和内容。在综述案例教学法内涵及优势的基础上,分析了《安全管理学》课程的实践特性及课程内容设置问题,提出安全管理学案例教学法的可行性和必要性。基于案例教学法的教学过程,结合笔者的教学实践基础,提出了安全管理学课程案例教学法的组织实施方法、过程及注意事项,并结合教学实施的实际情况,提出了提高教学效果的建议措施。     

Comparison of sensitivity analysis techniques: A case study with the rice model WARM

The considerable complexity often included in biophysical models leads to the need of specifying a large number of parameters and inputs, which are available with various levels of uncertainty. Also, models may behave counter-intuitively, particularly when there are nonlinearities in multiple input-output relationships. Quantitative knowledge of the sensitivity of models to changes in their parameters is hence a prerequisite for operational use of models. This can be achieved using sensitivity analysis (SA) via methods which differ for specific characteristics, including computational resources required to perform the analysis. Running SA on biophysical models across several contexts requires flexible and computationally efficient SA approaches, which must be able to account also for possible interactions among parameters. A number of SA experiments were performed on a crop model for the simulation of rice growth (Water Accounting Rice Model, WARM) in Northern Italy. SAs were carried out using the Morris method, three regression-based methods (Latin hypercube sampling, random and Quasi-Random, LpTau), and two methods based on variance decomposition: Extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test (E-FAST) and Sobol’, with the latter adopted as benchmark. Aboveground biomass at physiological maturity was selected as reference output to facilitate the comparison of alternative SA methods. Rankings of crop parameters (from the most to the least relevant) were generated according to sensitivity experiments using different SA methods and alternate parameterizations for each method, and calculating the top-down coefficient of concordance (TDCC) as measure of agreement between rankings. With few exceptions, significant TDCC values were obtained both for different parameterizations within each method and for the comparison of each method to the Sobol’ one. The substantial stability observed in the rankings seem to indicate that, for a crop model of average complexity such as WARM, resource intensive SA methods could not be needed to identify most relevant parameters. In fact, the simplest among the SA methods used (i.e., Morris method) produced results comparable to those obtained by methods more computationally expensive.     

Enforcement costs and regulatory reform: The agency and firm response

Influenced by models of optimal law enforcement, several authors have recently revised the work on efficient levels of regulatory control to accommodate the realities of underenforcement and imperfect compliance. However, most of these efforts have centered on either the enforcement agency or the firm and have largely ignored the decentralized nature of the enforcement process. This paper extends these results by modelling both the firm and the local agency and by incorporating detection uncertainty and concealment activity. Each model is then evaluated with respect to the alternative regulatory regimes of direct controls and emission taxes.     

An empirical investigation of returns to scale: The Welsh coal industry

This article attempts to study both returns to scale and optimal size of production. Specifically, the authors estimate a ray-homothetic production function which allows the returns to scale to vary with ouput size and input mix. The production model is estimated using data from the Welsh coal industry for the period 1961–1976. Findings showed that, first, the Welsh coal industry suffers from a level of production which is either too small or below its optimal level and, second, this discrepancy between actual and optimal production worsened over the period considered.     

Knowing, Mapping and Understanding st. Lawrence Biodiversity, with Special Emphasis on Bird Assemblages

Environment Canada and the Québec Department of the Environment, partners in the St Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan, set out to prepare a compendium of knowledge of the flora and fauna of the St Lawrence and to identify potential conservation sites. The resulting Portrait is an Internet site that presents the current knowledge base of the river's ecological and biological diversity (http://lavoieverte.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/biodiv/index.html). The Portrait provides information on over 5,000 species of flora and fauna. On the website, you will find a detailed ecological analysis of the richness, rarity and vulnerability of several broad groups of plant and animal species. Furthermore, you will find a list of species for each of the 700 survey units and a distribution map for 2,500 species recorded along the St Lawrence., in atlas form, along with a detailed conservation plan. The plan encompasses the most unique and heterogeneous landscapes of the St Lawrence, some of which have no protection at present. The Portrait provides an overview of the sites that are currently protected by public agencies and private-sector organisations and identifies new sites of interest for conserving biodiversity and protecting species at risk. This paper exposes the content of this extensive compendium on the biodiversity of the St. Lawrence. For conciseness, it presents some of the analyses conducted on birds to illustrate a few of the analytical approaches that were used. Then, the information on species richness and concentration areas for priority species of vascular plants, breeding birds and herpetofauna will serve to identify the terrestrial sites of significance for biodiversity. Finally, a similar approach having been applied to the aquatic environnement, we will conclude with a conservation plan that identifies the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the geographic sites where the most important elements of St. Lawrence biodiversity are concentrated. Our analysis of the biodiversity of the most thoroughly studied taxa of the St. Lawrence clearly shows the importance of wetlands, particularly those located at the mouths of rivers or within archipelagos or delta complexes, such as the groups of islands and channels found at both ends of the Montréal Archipelago. These aquatic landscapes are sites of intense biological production, combining in a small geographical area spawning, nursery and feeding grounds for a large number of fish species and breeding, rearing and foraging areas for aquatic birds. Variable flooding conditions, associated with seasonal flooding or daily tidal fluctuations, create a complex mosaic of wetland and aquatic habitats. Although wetlands occupy only a small area in comparison with terrestrial habitats, they support a large number of rare plant and animal species in relation to their size. At present, 10% of the vascular flora and 27% of the herpetofauna of the St. Lawrence are at risk. In the case of reptiles and amphibians, the situation is especially worrisome because nearly all of the most threatened species live in a narrow band along the river corridor. Not only is this the sector that is under the greatest pressure from human development, very little public land remains here, making it difficult to create protected areas. Increased participation by non-governmental organisations and individuals, through private stewardship arrangements, is an essential precondition for completing the network of conservation areas in this part of the St. Lawrence. Along the estuary and the Gulf, habitat integrity has not been affected as much by the expansion of Québec's human population. This is a vast territory, and sites have been identified with a view to making up for the deficiencies in the present network of protected sites in terms of representing biodiversity.     

旋转窑焊接筒体的失效分析与预防

从卧式旋转窑焊接筒体工作状态中的主要技术参数，分析和判断该系统内环缝接头产生疲劳失效的原因和部位。通过分析、计算、校核和建造失效树等方法，求出焊接筒体的失效模式，包括最小割集、失效概率和结构重要度等，从而提出预防失效的主要途径，为变厚度焊接筒体的设计为造、使用和维修提供了可借鉴的依据。     

商务英语教学中商务文化意识的培养

商务英语作为专门用途英语，蕴含着丰富的商务文化，包括不同国家的商务传统习俗，商务礼仪习惯等。商务英语教学的最终目标是培养学生在商务环境下的跨文化能力。本文强调了商务文化意识培养的重要性，通过分析商务活动中常见的商务文化冲突和母语文化负迁移导致的语用失误，探讨了教学中商务文化意识培养的策略。     

《计算机文化基础》课的教学改革设想与实践

随着计算机技术的飞速发展，高校计算机教育面临着新的形势。目前在《计算机文化基础》课程教学中存在着学生基础参差不齐、教学模式呆板和考试模式僵硬等问题，提出了相应的改革设想，并在教学实践中初见成效。