Dilemmas and advances in corporate social responsibility in Brazil. The work of the Ethos Institute

This article discusses the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazil from the perspective of the Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility. The Institute is a not‐for‐profit, non‐governmental organization, that has played a leading role in the Brazilian CSR effort. In Brazil, CSR initiatives have a long tradition of philanthropy, a consequence of the country's great social inequalities. The increased attention to corporate social responsibility has paralleled growing concern about sustainable development and the intensifying activities of pressure groups (consumers, customers, investors, NGOs, labour unions, the media, among others) that have been increasing since the 1990s as natural resources are progressively becoming exhausted, social tensions rising and environmental conditions deteriorating worldwide. This article identifies problems and obstacles to the growth of corporate social responsibility in Brazil, as well as advances and alternatives for CSR and towards creating conditions for the country to be internationally competitive and sustainable in the financial, social and environmental areas.     

江西野生药用植物资源

笔者通过多年调查研究,初步统计了江西药用维管植物约有2400种,隶属166科665属,并分析了各属的区系成分。根据药用植物的用途和药用价值,将它们分成5类,即中草药植物、兽用药用植物、土农药植物、观赏药用植物和珍稀濒危药用植物。分别叙述了各类药用植物的主要种类,为江西药用植物资源合理利用与保护提供了有关科学依据。     

江西省近40年来低温冻害的统计特征

本文基于江西省81个气象站建站以来近40年的年极端最低气温资料,用功率谱估计分析了江西省低温冻害的周期特性.并用历史资料拟合Gumbel分布对江西1991年底的冻害进行了分析,给出了全省各地出现柑桔冻害的可能频率.     

Analysis and application of forest fuels data

Recent advances in fire modeling permit quantitative estimations of fire behavior from quantitative inputs that describe the fuel array and conditions, such as weather and site data, under which it will burn. This paper describes the collection, analysis, and stratification of flammable forest fuels data for coniferous forest ecosystems in Montana and then illustrates the resource management application of these data in three areas: the development of the fire behavior model, a determination of the model's sensitivity to input errors as reflected by fire behavior prediction errors, and the development of a fire hazard simulator (TAROT). A new integrated stand simulator, GANDALF, is highlighted.Conclusions center on the need to integrate fire management into the land management planning decision-making process.This work was supported by a USDI National Park Service contract to Gradient Modeling, Inc., a nonprofit research foundation devoted to ecologic research and resource management applications, and by cooperative aid agreements between Gradient Modeling, Inc. and the USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (Fire in Multiple Use Management, R, D, and A Program).     

Mixed land‐use patterns and the development of spatial structure of Nigerian cities

Differences exist in the spatial structure of cities in both the developed and developing world owing to the contradistinctive nature of their urban growth processes. The structure of Nigerian cities is characterised by the preponderance of mixed land uses resulting primarily due to the organic nature of city growth and more fundamentally, owing to the dynamics of informal urban economic activities. This paper examines mixed land‐use patterns in selected Nigerian cities and appraises their relevance in the general city growth process. By suggesting principles and speculative spatial patterns expressing desirable use combinations, an attempt is made to rationalise the utility of the concept such that its environmental impact is understood and given planning resolution.     

A review of the military approach to urban environmental deterioration in Nigeria

The concern of this paper is a review of the urban environmental degradation and the current approach by the military (environmental task force) in solving the problem. It is based on the experience of a few states in Nigeria. The paper proposes a comprehensive urban planning approach which should be integrated with an awareness campaign.     

Adaptation of local building materials — a key to rapid housing development in Nigeria

There are some experts who are dealing with research on locally made materials for building in the Ministry of Housing and Works in Nigeria. It has been discovered in the Ministry that lateriate clays can be fired and used for building even two‐storey buildings depending on the firing and the pressure (Ogunbamwo, 1975). The Ministry has constructed a block of bungalows of low‐cost housing units with mud at Ikoyi, off Kingsway Road. No one will know that these houses are mud houses if not at closer inspection. Unfortunately, no effort has been made to continue or improve on this laudable adventure in Nigeria.     

江西洪涝灾害的时空分布规律

洪涝灾害是江西农业灾害的主要文种之一,也是全省农业及经济持续发展的重要制约因素之一．本文通过对全省８５个县（市）近５０ａ洪涝灾害资料的统计、对比和分析,揭示了江酉洪涝灾害的时空分布规律,为全省制定防洪减涝对策和措施提供了重要决策依据．