Negotiating housing deal on a polluted day: Consequences and possible explanations

The topic of air pollution has drawn considerable attention globally. In this paper, we examine the immediate effect of air pollution on a substantial decision, that is, a housing purchase. By linking housing purchasing behavior with the air quality in Beijing, we document market participants' behaviors unexplained by rational economic theories. Our main result suggests that the transaction prices on a severely polluted day are 0.65% higher than those of the days without pollution, other things being equal. This translates into approximately 3.51 million yuan daily increase based on the average transaction volume and price on a typical day in Beijing. The heterogeneity analysis further suggests that this effect is mostly driven by non-local and low income buyers. After ruling out rational explanations, we demonstrate that our empirical results are consistent with salience theory under weak assumptions.     

“Horizontal” and “vertical” diffusion: The cumulative influence of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) on mining policy-production in New Caledonia

The scale, duration and intensity of conflicts over mineral resources vary greatly. However, they always involve, in varying proportions, the triad stakeholder model—corporation, state, community—each element of which is internally heterogeneous. Increasingly, new players are entering the scene: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environmental grassroots groups, indigenous transnational networks, international aid and development agencies. Nevertheless, conflicts and arrangements around access to and control over mineral resources can take the apparent form of dyadic relationships between companies and local communities, resulting in negotiated company-community agreements, often called “Impact and Benefit Agreements” (IBAs). In our analysis, local agreements on mineral resource governance are seen as building blocks in the production of mining policy “from below”, even though they seem at first sight to exclude the state. This paper argues that these agreements, and the negotiations surrounding them, inform debates around mining through both “horizontal diffusion” (influence on other localities facing similar situations) and “vertical diffusion” (influence on policy design and implementation at upper political and administrative levels). This diffusion may occur in a “positive” sense, effecting further change in line with the intent of the original agreement, or in a “negative” one, actually making substantive change less likely, whether at a community or policy level. We build this argument through two case studies from New Caledonia, in the south-west Pacific, where mining has long been a key issue, especially in the current context of “negotiated decolonization” launched by the 1998 Nouméa Accord.     

浅析“H31”类目在《中图法》（第五版）中的变化

逐一对比《中图法》第四版与第五版的H31（英语）类目,全面概括第五版《中图法》英语类目修改情况,并解读其修改重点,旨在帮助读者深入理解《中图法》第五版英语类目的分类变化,指导其实际运用。     

镉对黑斑蛙精巢细胞色素P450酶及谷胱甘肽转移酶活性的影响

细胞色素P450酶(CYP450)和谷胱甘肽转移酶(GST)是动物体内主要的解毒酶,在外源毒物的转化和代谢过程中具有重要作用.本文在实验条件下, 将健康性成熟黑斑蛙(Rana nigromaculata)暴露于浓度分别为0.005、0.01、0.05、0.1、0.5和1.0 mg·L^-1的Cd溶液中30 d, 采用荧光分光光度法和紫外分光光度法测定精巢组织乙氧基异酚恶唑脱乙基酶(EROD)、红霉素N-脱甲基酶 (ERND)、氨基比林-N-脱甲基醇酶(APND)和谷胱甘肽转移酶(GST)活性,探讨Cd在精巢的可能代谢过程和毒性机理.结果表明, 与对照组比较, EROD和GST酶活性在0.5和1.0 mg·L^-1 Cd处理组被显著抑制; ERND酶活性在0.01~1.0 mg·L^-1 Cd处理组均被显著抑制;而APND酶活性在各处理组响应变化不明显.结果显示, 精巢EROD、ERND和GST对Cd胁迫的敏感性高于APND, 黑斑蛙精巢中EROD、ERND和GST酶活性的响应可用来评价环境中低水平Cd的污染效应.     

改性沸石的沉积物磷钝化效果研究

通过室内模拟实验,对天然沸石及不同方法改性沸石的磷吸附性能及沉积物磷钝化效果进行了对比研究。磷吸附实验结果表明,磷吸附量大小为改性沸石Z3>改性沸石Z2>改性沸石Z1>天然沸石,35d的平均吸附量分别为832、466、168和70mg/kg。改性沸石的磷吸附量与沸石含量正相关,并随时间呈增长趋势,其中改性沸石Z3第35d的磷吸附量可达1690mg/kg。离子交换量测定结果显示,沸石经改性后促进了Ca2+的释放,同时减少了K+、Na+的释放量。沉积物磷钝化实验表明,改性沸石可有效减少沉积物TP、DRP的释放,减少释放量达80%以上。天然沸石主要通过表面吸附减少水体磷含量,其次,物理阻隔作用拓展了钝化作用的时间和空间。Al(OH)3絮凝物通过表面吸附、电中和及架桥作用可显著提高改性沸石的磷吸附量,增强沉积物磷钝化效果。     

饮用水源中挥发性有机物分析方法的优化和应用

采用吹扫捕集—气相色谱—质谱联用技术分析水中的24种挥发性有机物。通过优化分析条件,改善了各组份的分离效果,节省了分析时间,得到各组份检测限为0.001-0.099μg/L,相对标准偏差为2.3%-5.6%,加标回收率为91.2%-107.6%,方法具有较好的精密度、准确度和低检测限。同时对漳州市饮用水源中的24种挥发性有机物进行监测分析,结果均低于检测限。     

The impact of commodity price risk management on the profits of a company

It is well recognized that for the producing companies hedging the commodity price using financial products like forwards or futures has become an important part of the company's production process. But apart from the direct impacts of hedging on the production and hedging costs the use of financial products affects the financing of the company: hedging the volatile commodity prices leads to a reduction of the risk premium the company has to pay for its debt capital, since hedging contributes to more confidence of the investors in the redemption of the debt. In this paper we therefore analyze this dependency of hedging and financing and derive optimal hedging extents for companies in different market situations based on a long-term model. By hedging the commodity price, companies can realize a surplus in profits. Thereby, the optimal hedging extent for a monopolist is often up to 100%, whereas for companies in a polypolistic market the optimum is always less than 100%. These results are illustrated by examples for a producing company.     

Aggregates in England—Economic contribution and environmental cost of indigenous supply

Aggregates represent one of the largest material flows in the UK economy; however, the importance of these minerals in underpinning economic activity is frequently not recognised. Features such as the spatial imbalance between resources and demand centres, exacerbated by changes in demographics and public perception, are placing increased pressure on the planning system to maintain supply. This paper sets out the direct and indirect economic contributions made by the indigenous aggregates industry to the English economy through Gross Value Added and employment sustained. It describes the key role of aggregates in construction activities, assesses the links between infrastructure development and economic growth. In 2005, aggregates extraction directly contributed £810 million of Gross Value Added to the English economy. Primary aggregates are, however, extracted at a cost to the environment and this cost, based on amenity value reduction, is estimated by updating previously published contingent valuation data. Estimates for the costs associated with carbon dioxide emissions are derived from values published by the European Union and, separately, by the UK Government. These two elements combined result in an environmental cost of indigenous extraction of £445 million in 2005. Additionally, an examination of the potential for a significant increase in the level of aggregate imports into England is made and the consequences assessed. This includes an evaluation of shipping costs and port capacity, and concludes that there are significant barriers to any substantial increase in the level of aggregate imports into England. As a consequence, indigenous supply is likely to predominate into the foreseeable future.     

福州滨海地区菜地和果园土壤碳、氮、磷含量及其生态化学计量学特征

不同农业土地利用方式土壤生态化学计量学特征对于表征土壤养分供应水平具有一定的指示作用,对农田生态系统养分资源管理具有重要意义.为了揭示菜地和果园两种农业土地利用方式土壤碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)含量及其生态化学计量学特征,以福州市滨海地区菜地(芋头地、红薯地)和果园(橘树园、西瓜地、梨树园)为研究对象,对菜地和果园农业土地利用方式下土壤C、 N、 P含量及其生态化学计量特征进行测定与分析.结果表明,土壤C、 N含量基本表现为果园>菜地(P<0.05),其中橘树园土壤C含量最高(4.44 g·kg^-1),西瓜地土壤N含量最高(1.46 g·kg^-1).而土壤P含量基本表现为菜地>果园(P<0.05),其中红薯地土壤P含量最高(0.19 g·kg^-1);土壤碳氮比(C/N)、碳磷比(C/P)和氮磷比(N/P)均表现为果园>菜地(P<0.05),其中,橘树园土壤C/N(7.40)、 C/P(61.43)最高,西瓜地土壤N/P最高(10.27);不同农业土地利用方式下土壤N含量与容重和电导率...     

How have reforms fuelled the expansion of artisanal mining? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

This paper investigates whether and how World Bank mining sector reforms have fuelled the expansion of illegal artisanal mining activity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In doing so, the analysis examines three issues. First, the emerging correlation between reforms and poverty, mainly a result of increased unemployment caused by Structural Adjustment Programmes and concurrent privatisation of state-owned enterprises, is explored. Second, the possibility that reform of large-scale mining has decreased available land for peasant farming as well as legalised small-scale mining activity is discussed. Finally, the notion that the regularisation of informal mining activities has been an exceedingly bureaucratic procedure in Africa, therefore providing individuals with little incentive to operate within the legal domain, is examined. Faced with few employment prospects, a growing number of Africans are pursuing employment in the artisanal mining sector, a worrying prospect given its intimate association with environmental degradation and HIV/AIDS.