Monsanto’s Biotechnology Politics: Discourses of Legitimation

Since the first product became commercially available in 1995, biotechnology has become the fastest growing crop technology, dominating large shares of the global agricultural market. The development of biotechnology, however, has given rise to questions regarding human and ecological safety, culminating in local and global political battles. While researchers interested in biotech politics have focused on areas such as media framing, social movements, and campaign work, less attention has been paid to how the industry has historically promoted and legitimized this swift proliferation. In this study, we conduct a discourse analysis of documents available on live and archived websites to discern the legitimation strategies employed by one important corporate actor, Monsanto. Findings show that for nearly two decades, Monsanto consistently employed discursive resources that concealed details about actors and action, reflected trends among experts in global sustainability discourse, and reshaped narratives to promote itself, products, and biotechnology in general.     

Rested,friendly, and engaged: The role of daily positive collegial interactions at work

This diary study examined within‐person effects of positive work and off‐work experiences on daily work engagement. Assessing the gain cycle assumption of conservation of resources theory, we investigated the relationship of nighttime recovery experiences and subsequent resources including elevated sleep quality and morning positive affect; the relationship of morning positive affect with positive collegial interactions and subsequent work engagement; and the relationship of work engagement with nighttime recovery experiences. Sixty‐nine employees completed 3 daily questionnaires over 5 consecutive working days. Multilevel analyses revealed that sleep quality positively predicted morning positive affect, which in turn predicted work engagement directly and also indirectly through having positive interactions with colleagues. Work engagement positively predicted nighttime recovery experiences, whereas nighttime recovery experiences were not related to sleep quality or morning positive affect the next day. Overall, on days after a good night's sleep, individuals feel more positive, bring this positivity to their workplace, reach out to their workplace colleagues, and are in turn more likely to be engaged in their work. Additionally, on days when individuals experience higher levels of positive collegial interactions at work and in turn higher work engagement, they are likely to enjoy better recovery experiences.     

Effects of payments for ecosystem services on wildlife habitat recovery

Conflicts between local people's livelihoods and conservation have led to many unsuccessful conservation efforts and have stimulated debates on policies that might simultaneously promote sustainable management of protected areas and improve the living conditions of local people. Many government‐sponsored payments‐for‐ecosystem‐services (PES) schemes have been implemented around the world. However, few empirical assessments of their effectiveness have been conducted, and even fewer assessments have directly measured their effects on ecosystem services. We conducted an empirical and spatially explicit assessment of the conservation effectiveness of one of the world's largest PES programs through the use of a long‐term empirical data set, a satellite‐based habitat model, and spatial autoregressive analyses on direct measures of change in an ecosystem service (i.e., the provision of wildlife species habitat). Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat improved in Wolong Nature Reserve of China after the implementation of the Natural Forest Conservation Program. The improvement was more pronounced in areas monitored by local residents than those monitored by the local government, but only when a higher payment was provided. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of a PES program depends on who receives the payment and on whether the payment provides sufficient incentives. As engagement of local residents has not been incorporated in many conservation strategies elsewhere in China or around the world, our results also suggest that using an incentive‐based strategy as a complement to command‐and‐control, community‐ and norm‐based strategies may help achieve greater conservation effectiveness and provide a potential solution for the park versus people conflict.     

The effects of adaptation measures on hurricane induced property losses: Which FEMA investments have the highest returns?

This paper evaluates the relative effectiveness of FEMA expenditures on hurricane induced property losses. We find that spending on FEMA ex-ante mitigation and planning projects leads to greater reductions in property losses than spending on ex-post adaptation programs – specifically, a one percent increase in annual spending on ex-ante risk reduction and warning projects reduces damages by 0.21 percent while a one percent increase in ex-post recovery and clean-up spending reduces damages by 0.12. Although both types of program spending are effective, we find the marginal return from spending on programs that target long-term mitigation and risk management to be almost twice that of spending on ex-post recovery programs. With the predicted increases in the frequency and severity of North Atlantic hurricanes in the future, our findings suggest there are important potential gains that could be realized from the further diversification of FEMA spending across project categories.     

西安市建筑垃圾渣土资源再利用研究

建筑垃圾渣土作为"建筑副产品",已造成严重的城市环境问题。通过对西安市建筑垃圾渣土的现场调查及工程再利用,借鉴发达国家及国内省市建筑垃圾渣土的成功管理经验和资源再利用的成功范例,提出了西安建筑垃圾资源再利用的对策建议,对"十三五"期间减少已有建筑垃圾的存量并遏制增量和建设西安森林城市具有参考意义。     

"十三五"期间地方社会发展领域科技发展思路研究

"十三五"时期,围绕安徽省资源环境领域科技创新紧迫需求.安徽省应重点在矿产资源绿色高效开发利用、水资源高效利用、地理信息产业、水污染防治、大气污染防治、土壤污染防治、生态环境治理、再生资源综合利用、环保装备等领域实施科技攻关.通过完善普惠性创新支持政策、增加多元化科技创新投入、加大公共产品供给、加强适应新常态的社会发展科技治理体系建设等途径,切实增强社会发展领域自主创新能力.     

矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护战略研究

本文在收集大量数据资料基础上,阐述了我国矿产资源特征与开发现状,论述了我国主要矿山地质环境问题及其危害,深刻剖析了产生诸多矿山地质环境问题的根源,提出了矿产资源可持续开发利用与矿山环境保护的对策建议。为促进矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护协调发展提供参考。     

中水回用与效益分析

当前我国水资源供需矛盾日益加剧,实现中水利用是节约水资源的一条有效途径.通过分析中水水源、MBR处理技术及中水用途,结合一个高校实例,进行经济效益分析,并对建设中水回用系统的可行性进行论证.经计算可得效益费用比达到2.38,经济效益是非常明显的,具有实际的参考价值.中水回用不仅节约了水资源而且也产生了明显的经济效益,是城市发展的趋势.     

老挝铁矿资源与成矿预测

经资料整理与实地调研:老挝已发现铁矿床(点)42处。重要矿床为万象省(P.Vientiane)万荣(Vangviang)铁矿、川圹省(P.Xiangkhouang)富诺安(Phou.Nhouan)铁矿、万象省(P.Vientiane)帕莱(Pha Lek)铁矿、甘蒙省(P.Khammouan)班农洛(Ban Nonglao)铁矿。重要矿床的矿体呈似层状、脉状产出,矿石质量较好,矿床属接触交代矿床、热液矿床。据地层条件、岩浆岩条件、构造条件、铁矿床(点)的分布情况,老挝划分出琅勃拉邦(Louangphabang)、孟佩(Muang Pek)、桑怒(Xam-Nua)3个成矿预测区。     

炼油企业恶臭污染源现状分析与控制对策

对炼油企业恶臭污染源现状进行调查和分析,提出相应的控制对策,对目前存在的环保问题,提出整改措施.