Consuming water smartly: the significance of sociocultural differences to water-saving initiatives

This article explores how strategies to encourage households to consume less water, through education and the installation of smart meters, play out in actual social worlds where the texture and complexity of households, and the individuals within them, have a tendency to be simplified to average or statistical norms. Building on research and critical analysis from earlier studies, particularly in Australia, this research set out to explore Thames Water’s smarter home initiative deploying three frames – affect, habit, and the meaning of home – for thinking through the different responses of householders to the intervention. The study revealed that differences in response to the smarter home visit were articulated across income, education, gender, age, and ethnicity – not as homogenous or fixed categories, but rather as categories which emerged through the smart metering intervention. The research concluded that demand management interventions such as the smarter home visits, conceived as a relatively simple technology-driven behavioural change strategy, are more complex and nuanced in their reception and effects, especially on the user–provider relationship, in the constitution of social differences, and in the definitions of public and private spaces and practices. Acceptance or resistance of these programmes is not knowable in advance of their dissemination. For such interventions to be successful, water companies thus need to recognise the differentiated social, cultural, and economic environments in which their strategies are enacted. A failure to do so can only limit their stated objectives of reducing household water consumption.     

Gender differences in wayfinding in virtual environments with global or local landmarks

This study assesses gender differences in wayfinding in environments with global or local landmarks by analyzing both overall and fine-grained measures of performance. Both female and male participants were required to locate targets in grid-like virtual environments with local or global landmarks. Interestingly, the results of the two overall measures did not converge: although females spent more time than males in locating targets, both genders were generally equivalent in terms of corrected travel path. Fine-grained measures account for different aspects of wayfinding behavior and provide additional information that explains the divergence in overall measures; females spent less time traveling away from the target location, a higher proportion of time not traversing, and made more rotations when stopping than males did. Rather than unequivocally supporting male superiority in wayfinding tasks, both the overall and fine-grained measures partially indicate that males and females are differentially superior when using global and local landmark information, respectively. To summarize, males moved faster than females but did not necessarily navigate the spatial surroundings more efficiently. Each gender showed different strengths related to wayfinding; these differences require the application of both overall and fine-grained measures for accurate assessment.     

长江流域不同区域间环境公平研究

以区域经济发展水平差距悬殊、环境污染差异明显的长江干流穿过的11个省份为研究对象,并将其分成东部、中部和西部3组,采用统计分析方法探讨经济发展、环境污染排放的区域差异特征。构建了环境公平指数,并分别对2000、2004和2008年3组地区的环境公平程度进行测度,通过聚类分析方法和GIS空间分析工具评价了环境公平指数的空间分布和地域差异。结果表明：长江流域东、中、西部的环境公平指数呈现明显的区域差异现象,并且随着时间的推移和经济的发展,环境公平指数的差异增大,这可能与区域产业转移有关。环境公平指数级别为东部最高,中部和西部较低。但随着西部大开发战略和中部崛起战略的实施,中西部的环境公平指数变化明显。初步认为此现象与国家西部大开发战略和中部崛起战略的实施有关。     

农村地区养老脆弱性的省际差异及其影响因素研究

不同省份农村地区资源禀赋与经济社会发展水平的差距使得其养老脆弱性也存在较大差异,对农村养老脆弱性的省际差异测度及其影响因素的识别是提升养老保障政策针对性与可操作性的关键。文章基于2014年全国农村地区公开数据,从敏感性和应对能力两个维度构建农村地区养老脆弱性评价指标体系,采用集对分析方法对我国31个省(市、区)农村地区养老脆弱性指数进行了测算,借助Arc GIS自然断点法将我国农村地区养老脆弱性划分为5个等级并对其省际差异进行空间可视化描述,在此基础上,利用障碍度模型分析了我国农村养老脆弱性的影响因素。研究发现:1我国农村地区养老脆弱性总体上处于中等区,但呈现出明显的省际差异、区域差异以及区域内部差异;2不同省份农村地区养老敏感性和养老应对能力的差异较大,且对养老脆弱性的形成产生程度不一的影响。总体上,东部省份农村养老脆弱性明显低于中西部省份;3农村地区养老脆弱性省际差异的形成受到老年抚养比、国家级贫困县数量、低保中老年人占比、农作物受灾面积和医疗保健支出占比等多种因素的影响。文章认为,在全面提升农村养老服务供给水平的基础上,进一步促进区域经济社会协调发展、强化中西部省份农村养老服务体系建设的投入力度成为降低农村养老脆弱性的关键。     

Bibliometric investigation of the integration of animal personality in conservation contexts

Consistent individual differences in behavior, commonly termed animal personality, are a widespread phenomenon across taxa that have important consequences for fitness, natural selection, and trophic interactions. Animal personality research may prove useful in several conservation contexts, but which contexts remains to be determined. We conducted a structured literature review of 654 studies identified by combining search terms for animal personality and various conservation subfields. We scored the relevance of personality and conservation issues for each study to identify which studies meaningfully integrated the 2 fields as opposed to surface-level connections or vague allusions. We found a taxonomic bias toward mammals (29% of all studies). Very few amphibian or reptile studies applied personality research to conservation issues (6% each). Climate change (21%), invasive species (15%), and captive breeding and reintroduction (13%) were the most abundant conservation subfields that occurred in our search, though a substantial proportion of these papers weakly integrated conservation and animal personality (climate change 54%, invasive species 51%, captive breeding and reintroduction 40%). Based on our results, we recommend that researchers strive for consistent and broadly applicable terminology when describing consistent behavioral differences to minimize confusion and improve the searchability of research. We identify several gaps in the literature that appear to be promising and fruitful avenues for future research, such as disease transmission as a function of sociability or exploration as a driver of space use in protected areas. Practitioners can begin informing future conservation efforts with knowledge gained from animal personality research.     

Production and the application of anaerobic granular sludge produced by landfill

Sludge granulation is considered to be the most critical parameter governing successful operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket and expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors. Pre-granulated seeding sludge could greatly reduce the required start-up time. Two lab-scale and a pilot-scale EGSB reactors were operated to treat Shaoxing Wastewater Treatment Plant containing wastewater from real engineering printing and dyeing with high pH and sulfate concentration. The microbiological structure and the particle size distribution in aerobic excess sludge, sanitary landfill sludge digested for one year, and the granular sludge of EGSB reactor after 400 d of operation were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and sieves. The lab-scale EGSB reactor seeded with anaerobic sludge after digestion for one year in landfill showed obviously better total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency than one seeded with aerobic excess sludge after cation polyacrylamide flocculation-concentration and dehydration. The TCOD removed was 470.8 mg/L in pilot scale EGSB reactor at short hydraulic retention time of 15 h. SEM of sludge granules showed that the microbiological structure of the sludge from different sources showed some differences. SEM demonstrated that Methanobacterium sp. was present in the granules of pilot-scale EGSB and the granular sludge produced by landfill contained a mixture of anaerobic/anoxic organisms in abundance. The particle size distribution in EGSB demonstrated that using anaerobic granular sludge produced by sanitary landfill as the seeding granular sludge was feasible.     

山东省耕地变化动态平衡研究

山东省耕地资源总量虽在近几年相对增加,但总体仍呈下降趋势,且人均耕地面积下降速度更快,耕地资源状况不容乐观。目前全省各地市耕地总量变化的动态平衡程度不一,德州市是耕地资源动态平衡相对最好的地市,其次为青岛、枣庄和泰安市,莱芜市耕地资源动态平衡状况较差。利用主成分分析方法的计算结果表明,经济活动、社会人口和农业科技发展水平等因素为影响山东省耕地数量变化的主要驱动因子;在以上研究的基础上,预测了山东省人口承载力和2010年粮食短缺情况。     

珠江三角洲耕地资源变化区域差异及对策

本文从耕地资源数量和质量分析珠江三角洲１９９０～１９９７年耕地资源变化及其区域差异：以珠江口、伶仃洋为中心,由内向外耕地减少速率逐渐下降、耕地质量逐渐提高。指出珠江三角洲耕地减少的主要原因是农业用地内部调整和非农建设占用,最后,针对各市不同情况提出对策和措施。     

气相色谱-质谱法测定硝基苯类化合物的曲线选择

采用四极杆质谱和离子阱质谱,分别测定硝基苯类化合物,进行曲线的拟合。对结果详细分析并探讨2种质谱仪在分析硝基苯类化合物时的异同。结果表明,二次曲线比一次曲线更加适用,离子阱质谱的线性全面优于四极杆质谱。     

Source profiles of particulate organic matters emitted from cereal straw burnings

Cereal straw is one of the most abundant biomass burned in China but its contribution to fine particulates is not adequately understood. In this study, three main kinds of cereal straws were collected from five grain producing areas in China. Fine particulate matters （PMzs） from the cereal straws subjected to control burnings, both under smoldering and flaming status, were sampled by using a custom made dilution chamber and sampling system in the laboratory. Element carbon （EC） and organic carbon （OC） was analyzed. 141 compounds of organic matters were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrum （GC-MS）. Source profiles of particulate organic matters emitted from cereal straw burnings were obtained. The results indicated that organic matters contribute a large fraction in fine particulate matters. Levoglucosan had the highest contributions with averagely 4.5% in mass of fine particulates and can be considered as the tracer of biomass burnings. Methyloxylated phenols from lignin degradation also had high concentrations in PM2.5, and contained approximately equal amounts of guaiacyl and syringyl compounds. 13-Sitostrol also made up relatively a large fraction of PMz5 compared with the other sterols （0.18%-0.63% of the total fine particle mass）. Normal alkanes, PAHs, fatty acids, as well as normal alkanols had relatively lower concentrations compared with the compounds mentioned above. Carbon preference index （CPI） of normal alkanes and alkanoic acids showed characteristics of biogenic fuel burnings. Burning status significantly influenced the formations of EC and PAHs. The differences between the emission profiles of straw and wood combustions were displayed by the fingerprint compounds, which may be used to identify the contributions between wood and straw burnings in source apportionment researches.