Mixed oligopoly,foreign penetration,and environmental taxes

This paper examines the impact of foreign penetration on the public firm in a mixed oligopolistic market. Through the establishment of a mixed double oligopoly market, this paper analyzes how the share of foreign investment affects the environmental policy, the pollutant emission, and the social welfare under the condition of the state tax. The results show that: first, the introduction of foreign investment has some crowding-out effects on the social level of output. Second, the entry of foreign investment increases the profit of the public firm by a large margin, and the maximum profit of the private firm has been reduced. Third, the increase of foreign investment in public firm does not necessarily improve the environment.     

How can social enterprises contribute to sustainable pro-poor tourism development?

“Tourism-Assisting the Poor” has been an important approach in anti-poverty strategy. Studies suggest that the conventional tourism model fails to generate benefits for the poor and to some extent enlarges the gap between the poor and the rich, which subsequently causes more social problems. Pro-poor tourism (PPT) is regarded as an alternative model. Precisely targeted assistance to the poor is the key to initiating this model, while the institutional change and implementation mechanism are essential to run it successfully and sustainably. Social entrepreneurship focusing on social values while adopting modern business philosophy has been introduced recently as an instrument in helping disadvantage population. This paper takes the Smangus community in Taiwan as an example to explore the role of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in PPT development. It also discusses their implications for the anti-poverty practice in other regions including ethnic areas in China.     

The Anti-Fracking Movement in Ireland: Perspectives from the Media and Activists

This article explores social mobilization in the controversy over hydraulic fracturing (i.e. “fracking”) in Ireland from the perspectives of agenda setting in national and local Irish newspapers as well as framing by anti-fracking activists and journalists. We analysed all articles referencing hydraulic fracturing (and related terms) from 11 Irish national newspapers and 128 Irish local newspapers from April 2013 to April 2014, and interviewed 19 journalists, activists, and government officials affiliated with fracking issues in Ireland. Based on the analytical salience and resonance across prominent empirical themes in conjunction with theoretical insights, we conclude that social mobilization against fracking in Ireland is challenged by a frame war on the credibility of activists, diverse economic interests across national and local scales, and the need for procedural legitimacy in the contribution of science. In conclusion, this research demonstrates the importance of agenda setting and framing in structuring the capacity for social mobilization.     

公众信任及水灾风险认知的区域对比

通过在长江流域不同区域开展问卷调查(获885份样本),统计、比较公众对社会减灾能力的信任态度及水灾风险认知状况,并探讨信任与认知之间的关系。结果显示,公众对社会减灾能力基本持信任态度,信任度依次为:灾害监测预报预警>政府应急>防灾工程能力,其中下游地区公众的信任度较高。公众对于水灾的风险感知普遍偏弱,尤其是下游地区公众对发生水灾、受灾可能性的评估偏低(小于25%)。公众对于区域减灾能力的信任主要受到受灾经历(如灾情损失、灾后救援等)的影响,区域本底的灾害风险高低导致公众水灾风险认知的差异。风险较高区域(上、中游)公众更愿意采取较多的、积极的具体防减灾措施。     

利用ARIMA(自回归移动平均)模型对跑道侵入事件的分析及预测

综合运用具有相当精度的时间序列分析方法,建立美国民航运输安全中的机场跑道侵入的AR IMA(自回归移动平均)模型,克服了样本空间总是有限带来的不足,揭示出民航跑道侵入的动态变化规律,并对未来美国民航跑道侵入事故发生次数进行较准确的预测,为我国民航部门科学地制定飞行计划、人员培训、提高安全管理水平,提供可靠的依据。     

A critical review of the theory and application of social learning in participatory natural resource management processes

Social learning is increasingly cited as an essential component of sustainable natural resource management and the promotion of desirable behavioural change. This paper attempts to contribute to the current debate about social learning and public participation by reviewing the many perspectives on social learning and associated claims and benefits. Based on this analysis the paper identifies conceptual and practical weaknesses of the concept of social learning and their implications for the design of participatory processes in natural resource management.     

自然灾害的社会易损性及其影响因素研究

社会易损性是人类社会在自然灾害条件下的潜在损失,它的大小受许多因素的影响。从社会学视角出发,从人口、社会结构和社会文化三方面分析了社会易损性的影响因素,它们包括易损人群、易损职业、社会经济活动、社会组织结构、社会资本、社会保障制度、社会冲突的协调能力和灾害文化等因素。     

Fundamental insights on when social network data are most critical for conservation planning

As declines in biodiversity accelerate, there is an urgent imperative to ensure that every dollar spent on conservation counts toward species protection. Systematic conservation planning is a widely used approach to achieve this, but there is growing concern that it must better integrate the human social dimensions of conservation to be effective. Yet, fundamental insights about when social data are most critical to inform conservation planning decisions are lacking. To address this problem, we derived novel principles to guide strategic investment in social network information for systematic conservation planning. We considered the common conservation problem of identifying which social actors, in a social network, to engage with to incentivize conservation behavior that maximizes the number of species protected. We used simulations of social networks and species distributed across network nodes to identify the optimal state-dependent strategies and the value of social network information. We did this for a range of motif network structures and species distributions and applied the approach to a small-scale fishery in Kenya. The value of social network information depended strongly on both the distribution of species and social network structure. When species distributions were highly nested (i.e., when species-poor sites are subsets of species-rich sites), the value of social network information was almost always low. This suggests that information on how species are distributed across a network is critical for determining whether to invest in collecting social network data. In contrast, the value of social network information was greatest when social networks were highly centralized. Results for the small-scale fishery were consistent with the simulations. Our results suggest that strategic collection of social network data should be prioritized when species distributions are un-nested and when social networks are likely to be centralized.     

Social, not physical, infrastructure: the critical role of civil society after the 1923 Tokyo earthquake

Despite the tremendous destruction wrought by catastrophes, social science holds few quantitative assessments of explanations for the rate of recovery. This article illuminates four factors-damage, population density, human capital, and economic capital-that are thought to explain the variation in the pace of population recovery following disaster; it also explores the popular but relatively untested factor of social capital. Using time-series, cross-sectional models and propensity score matching, it tests these approaches using new data from the rebuilding of 39 neighbourhoods in Tokyo after its 1923 earthquake. Social capital, more than earthquake damage, population density, human capital, or economic capital, best predicts population recovery in post-earthquake Tokyo. These findings suggest new approaches for research on social capital and disasters as well as public policy avenues for handling catastrophes.