A Guide to Understanding Social Science Research for Natural Scientists

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researcher's choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes. Una Guía para Entender la Investigación de Ciencias Sociales para las Ciencias Naturales Katie Moon     

The role of digital data entry in participatory environmental monitoring

Many argue that monitoring conducted exclusively by scientists is insufficient to address ongoing environmental challenges. One solution entails the use of mobile digital devices in participatory monitoring (PM) programs. But how digital data entry affects programs with varying levels of stakeholder participation, from nonscientists collecting field data to nonscientists administering every step of a monitoring program, remains unclear. We reviewed the successes, in terms of management interventions and sustainability, of 107 monitoring programs described in the literature (hereafter programs) and compared these with case studies from our PM experiences in Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greenland, and Vietnam (hereafter cases). Our literature review showed that participatory programs were less likely to use digital devices, and 2 of our 3 more participatory cases were also slow to adopt digital data entry. Programs that were participatory and used digital devices were more likely to report management actions, which was consistent with cases in Ethiopia, Greenland, and Australia. Programs engaging volunteers were more frequently reported as ongoing, but those involving digital data entry were less often sustained when data collectors were volunteers. For the Vietnamese and Canadian cases, sustainability was undermined by a mismatch in stakeholder objectives. In the Ghanaian case, complex field protocols diminished monitoring sustainability. Innovative technologies attract interest, but the foundation of effective participatory adaptive monitoring depends more on collaboratively defined questions, objectives, conceptual models, and monitoring approaches. When this foundation is built through effective partnerships, digital data entry can enable the collection of more data of higher quality. Without this foundation, or when implemented ineffectively or unnecessarily, digital data entry can be an additional expense that distracts from core monitoring objectives and undermines project sustainability. The appropriate role of digital data entry in PM likely depends more on the context in which it is used and less on the technology itself.     

Welfare states and environmental states: a comparative analysis

A framework is presented for thinking about state intervention in developed capitalist economies in two domains: social policy and environmental policy (and, within that, climate-change policy). Five drivers of welfare state development are identified, the ‘five Is’ of Industrialisation: Interests, Institutions, Ideas/Ideologies, and International Influences. Research applying this framework to the postwar development of welfare states in the OECD is summarised, distinguishing two periods: up to 1980, and from 1980 to 2008. How far this framework can contribute to understanding the rise and differential patterns of environmental governance and intervention across advanced capitalist states since 1970 is explored, before briefly comparing and contrasting the determinants of welfare states and environmental states, identifying common drivers in both domains and regime-specific drivers in each. The same framework is then applied to developments since 2008 and into the near future, sketching two potential configurations and speculating on the conditions for closer, more integrated ‘eco-welfare states’.     

中国环境科学专题文献研究

本文运用文献计量学方法,对我国环境科学10种主要期刊(1989～1991)年间总计刊载的2584篇文献所著录的全部引文及文献著者进行一次统计调查与分析研究,从中寻找出我国环境科学研究文献引文的一般规律和我国环境科学科研作者队伍的构成及分布现状。     

Mercury pollution and macrophage centres in pike (Esox lucius) tissues

From June 1993 to October 1994, studies have been carried out on the effects of mercury in the Oder River and pike tissue contamination (muscle, kidney, liver). The mean mercury contents in the sediment range from 0.03 to 1.1 mg/kg dry weight. In the pike muscle, between 0.22 and 0.85 mg/kg, on a wet weight basis, were found. The measured mercury concentrations were analysed in relation to the number of macrophage centres of the liver, spleen and kidney of the pike. Positive correlations between mercury and MC response (0.54 ≤ r ≤ 0.79, p < 0.05) were found in all of these organs. The suitability of the macrophage-centre-response as a possible bioindicator for mercury pollution is discussed in the literature. In our study, the response of MCs was found to be suitable as a biomarker for the impairment of fish health.     

电气浮含油污水处理工艺工业性试验研究

电解气浮含油污水处理工艺是一种新型的污水处理技术。基于室内试验及现场小试的研究成果,对该技术进行了放大的工业性试验研究,设计了试验流程及装置,取得了阶段性的试验结果。研究结果表明,经电气浮处理后除油率最高可达89%,悬浮固体去除率最高为73%,最低为30%;杀菌率达到99.6%~100%,达到了电气浮除油的要求。电气浮含油污水处理工艺与其他含油污水处理工艺相比,药剂投加量为常规工艺的1/3,运行电耗为0.2 kW.h/m3,总的运行费用约为常规工艺的40%~60%。研究成果为电气浮工艺在石油化工废水处理中的广泛应用奠定了基础。     

深床过滤机理及其在水处理中的应用研究与进展

深床过滤既有过滤功能,又具生物处理作用,具有良好的应用前景;本文阐述了深床过滤的最新研究动向,深床过滤过程的数学模型的构建方法,国内外利用深床过滤技术处理微污染水源水、城市生活污水及污水深度处理的实验研究状况.     

印染废水生物强化处理技术研究进展

印染废水是国内外公认的难处理的工业废水之一 ,活性污泥法是目前最常用的处理方法 ,但还存在诸多问题。在分析中 ,主要从生物强化技术、固定化微生物技术和微生物活性增加技术等方面 ,总结了废水生物处理技术强化研究进展 ,并讨论了今后的研究方向。     

USB反应器进行生物反硝化的研究现状与应用前景

综述了USB反应器进行生物反硝化的历史沿革、研究现状 ,并对其在研究中存在的问题进行了描述。最后 ,对USB反应器进行生物反硝化的应用前景作了科学的分析     

煤气化炉渣研究现状及利用技术展望

煤气化技术的应用是我国能源战略的重要一环,但同时也会产生大量的煤气化炉渣,亟需研究可批量消纳的资源化利用技术。煤炭灰分中各种矿物相在气化炉内会随温度发生变化,通过对该变化的研究和总结,描述了煤炭灰分中各种矿物相在气化炉内的物化反应过程,并指出煤炭灰分对煤气化炉渣的最终形态特点具有决定性的影响;对煤气化炉渣中残碳的组成及其变化特点的研究表明,残碳对煤气化炉渣的最终利用途径具有重要影响;此外,通过分析煤气化炉渣利用技术研究现状,指出建材化利用技术和掺烧循环流化床原料技术是目前的主流途径;最后,展望了煤气化炉渣利用技术的发展方向,并提出了煤气化炉渣用于混凝土和水泥原料以及井下回填的技术途径。