Lean framework for planning redesign proposals to optimise EOL environmental behaviour in WEEE products

The aim of this research was to define a sequence of actions to guide redesign propositions for electrical and electronic equipment products, which minimise negative consequences to the environment after the end of their useful life. Current practices mainly encourage the examination of individual problems as disassembly process and identification of suitable product end-of-life (EOL) treatment strategies. There also exist previous studies that try to incorporate EOL concerns in product design phase. In most cases, the main problem is the limited available EOL information because of its delayed retrieval. The proposed method focuses primarily on minimising this problem. The steps of the analysis performed include the selection of the optimal EOL treatment strategy and, afterwards, the evaluation of its results concerning the environment. In parallel, product design characteristics are grouped and examined concerning their expected significance for the environment in the EOL stage. The results from the previous stages are combined and product improvement actions are proposed for further examination in the redesign stage. The general framework used to conduct all these actions is lean thinking methodology. In the end, results concerning the application of the proposed method on a distribution transformer are presented.     

Operationalizing urban resilience through a framework for adaptive co-management and design: Five experiments in urban planning practice and policy

The emergent discourse on social-ecological resilience can be understood as a response to the rapid pace of change and severe challenges facing urban areas. This paper reports on one strand of research being carried out as part of the EU FP7 TURAS project (Transitioning to Urban Resilience and Sustainability) that aims to gain insight into the implications of social-ecological resilience thinking on urban planning practice and policy by presenting a unique, trans-disciplinary perspective that has been developed collaboratively between academic, local government and SME partners. A framework for adaptive co-management and design is introduced as a basis for the operationalisation of urban resilience, highlighting the need to actively solve problems collaboratively by exercising imagination and creativity, and presenting a new and potentially fertile source for innovation. Five experiments exploring urban planning practices relating to the framework are put forward as examples of urban resilience in practice: an online crowd-sourcing application for mapping underused spaces; an interactive timeline tool for identifying drivers of change over time; a guidance and signposting tool to help community projects overcome resource barriers; an epistemic network of citizens that exchanges knowledge and resources relating to underused spaces; and an online portal that provides visibility for community groups or projects, and facilitates horizontal networking. The paper describes each experiment, sets out the aims and theoretical contexts, records any initial findings, and reflects on the potential and limitations. Initial findings are discussed relating to the challenges of crowd-sourcing spatial or historical data, and the resource commitment required for the emerging practices. It is observed that the experiments attempt to address fundamental issues in urban planning practice and policy, and involve established and familiar activities. The paper concludes that the research provides insight into what urban resilience might mean in practice and that each experiment has the potential to make a tangible contribution to the transition to urban resilience and sustainability.     

Nonformal environmental education: a case study with farmers in a town of the South Minas Gerais state,Brazil

Brazil is a central place in the international agricultural markets and this fact has been demanding environmentally oriented agricultural practices by Brazilian farmers and professionals involved in the agricultural market chain. A concise and structured questionnaire was applied to obtain the environmental perception of a group of Brazilian farmers in a town of the south Minas Gerais state, using herbicides as the topic for a case study. A highly variable opinion about taking the environment into account when choosing the most appropriate herbicide was found. Anyway, efficacy has been indicated as the most important factor when choosing an herbicide, followed by the environment and price. The outcomes from the questionnaires, i.e. the insufficient conception and importance given to environment when choosing the herbicide, motivated the creation of a teaching-learning model for the nonformal environmental education using the concept of socio-ecological resilience. This routine puts in practice the resilience thinking currently invoked as a major tool to achieve the conservation of the socio-ecological system, as well as it is complimentary to the outcome-oriented optimization for conservation theory. For the case study about farmers and the use of herbicides, we conclude that a complex reasoning and, ultimately, pro-environmental actions can be improved after experiencing the recommended model for environmental education.     

沪宁杭地区城市群发展规划探索

在全球经济一体化的背景下,世界经济中心是在一批具有重大影响的城市群区域。我国许多省市正在编制城市群规划,出现了城市群潮涌神州的新局面。然而城市群区的空间发展规划需要探索的问题不少。以沪宁杭地区为典型例证,就城市群规划的指导思想与总体思路、区域空间尺度的研究、各种要素的组合及其城市群规划深层发展等问题,进行初步的探索。在城市群区总体发展的关键要素整合方面提出了三个新观点：①城市发展与自然要素的整合;②重视区域交通要素的组织;③城市群区内经济要素流的合理化。以期引起对此问题的深入研究与实践总结。     

Technological thinking: Its impact on environmental management

A style of thinking that is variously called technological, technocentric, and technocratic dominates environmental management. However, there is growing criticism of this style of thought, leading some to conclude that, if environmental management is to progress, technological thinking needs to be supplemented by radically different ways of thinking. The intent of this article is to examine the role of technological thinking in environmental management, seeking to establish some of its limitations. It is concluded that, while technological thinking is a satisfactorytactical strategy, it has serious deficiencies when problems requirestrategic thinking.     

浅析高职高等数学教学中创新思维的培养

数学教育在培养学生创新思维方面起着重要作用。本文就目前高职高等数学教学中 存在的问题、在高职高等数学教学中培养学生的创新思维的可行性及做法作了初步探讨。     

Sustainable use of stormwater for irrigation case study: Manly Golf Course

Sustainability has become an increasingly used term, but what does it mean in terms of practice. This research will look at the harvesting of captured stormwater for the irrigation of urban playing fields and what the implications are for catchment hydrology, local community, and local council. This research aims to identify, understand and determine the catchment conditions that may hinder the stormwater quality and quantity for capture and reuse, as well as determining whether the stormwater harvesting will be sustainable. Research methods for this project will include systemic analysis in order to further investigate the assumptions being made in the study. Manly Golf Club has relied on groundwater extraction supplemented by potable supplies for irrigation, however potable supplies are no longer available. It has been proposed to provide irrigation supplies from stormwater via onsite storage and groundwater recharge. Monitored stormwater entering the Golf Course from the adjacent Cemetery Creek sub-catchment for pollutants, have indicated that it may be suitable for irrigation with treatment and may reduce problems generated by overuse of groundwater. The proposal will provide environmental benefit through reduced pollution loads being discharged directly to receiving waters and cessation of use of potable supplies by the Club. Social and economic benefits are expected to be gained and will be monitored as part of an ongoing research program.     

重大突发事件应急管理的新思考——以“4.20”雅安地震为例

为了减少重大突发事件造成的损失,以"4.20"雅安地震为例,分析了重大突发事件具有突发性强、影响范围大且后果严重、救援紧迫性强、参与主体多元化等特点。与汶川地震比较,雅安地震在救灾反应速度、救灾手段和救灾效率3个方面有比较大的进步,但也存在管理混乱、信息混乱、角色混乱等问题。在此基础上,阐述了面对重大突发事件时值得人们思考的问题,为类似事件应急管理提供参考与思路。     

Archetypes of famine and response

Famines have long been characterised by rapidly shifting dynamics: sudden price spirals, sharp increases in mortality, the media frenzy that often accompanies such spikes, the swift scaling up of aid flows, and a subsequent decline in interest. In arguing that these aspects of famine have been largely ignored in recent years due to attention to the famine process', this paper attempts to make these dynamics more explicit by applying systems thinking. It uses standard archetypes of systems thinking to explain six situations—watch, price spiral, aid magnet, media frenzy, overshoot, and peaks—that are present in many famine contexts. It illustrates their application with examples from crises in Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, and Sudan. The paper contends that the systems approach offers a tool for analysing the larger patterns in famines and for pinpointing the most appropriate responses to them, based on an awareness of the dynamics of the crises.     

垂管体制下曲靖市环境应急监测现状及发展思路

简述了曲靖市环境应急监测能力建设现状,针对曲靖市生态环境应急监测在垂改后出现的工作职能与事权划分尚未明确清晰、预警研判滞后、队伍建设弱化、人事管理体制未建立、应急监测如何进行协调与衔接等问题和短板,提出了建设我国西部示范性的“州市级特色环境应急监测基地”发展思路,追踪环境应急监测新技术发展方向,为今后在垂管体制下推进州市级环境应急监测能力发展提供借鉴。