Ranked set sample design for environmental investigations

Ranked set sampling can provide an efficient basis for estimating parameters of environmental variables, particularly when sampling costs are intrinsically high. Various ranked set estimators are considered for the population mean and contrasted in terms of their efficiencies and useful- ness, with special concern for sample design considerations. Specifically, we consider the effects of the form of the underlying random variable, optimisation of efficiency and how to allocate sampling effort for best effect (e.g. one large sample or several smaller ones of the same total size). The various prospects are explored for two important positively skew random variables (lognormal and extreme value) and explicit results are given for these cases. Whilst it turns out that the best approach is to use the largest possible single sample and the optimal ranked set best linear estimator (ranked set BLUE), we find some interesting qualitatively different conclusions for the two skew distributions     

Sex allocation and local mate competition in Old World non-pollinating fig wasps

The populations of many species are structured such that mating is not random and occurs between members of local patches. When patches are founded by a single female and all matings occur between siblings, brothers may compete with each other for matings with their sisters. This local mate competition (LMC) selects for a female-biased sex ratio, especially in species where females have control over offspring sex, as in the parasitic Hymenoptera. Two factors are predicted to decrease the degree of female bias: (1) an increase in the number of foundress females in the patch and (2) an increase in the fraction of individuals mating after dispersal from the natal patch. Pollinating fig wasps are well known as classic examples of species where all matings occur in the local patch. We studied non-pollinating fig wasps, which are more diverse than the pollinating fig wasps and also provide natural experimental groups of species with different male morphologies that are linked to different mating structures. In this group of wasps, species with wingless males mate in the local patch (i.e. the fig fruit) while winged male species mate after dispersal. Species with both kinds of male have a mixture of local and non-local mating. Data from 44 species show that sex ratios (defined as the proportion of males) are in accordance with theoretical predictions: wingless male species<wing-dimorphic male species<winged male species. These results are also supported by a formal comparative analysis that controls for phylogeny. The foundress number is difficult to estimate directly for non-pollinating fig wasps but a robust indirect method leads to the prediction that foundress number, and hence sex ratio, should increase with the proportion of patches occupied in a crop. This result is supported strongly across 19 species with wingless males, but not across 8 species with winged males. The mean sex ratios for species with winged males are not significantly different from 0.5, and the absence of the correlation observed across species with wingless males may reflect weak selection to adjust the sex ratio in species whose population mating structure tends not to be subdivided. The same relationship is also predicted to occur within species if individual females adjust their sex ratios facultatively. This final prediction was not supported by data from a wingless male species, a male wing-dimorphic species or a winged male species. Received: 27 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 11 January 1999 / Accepted: 16 January 1999     

Stress and team performance: principles and challenges for intelligent decision aids

Advances in computer technology and artificial intelligence are providing powerful capabilities for developing intelligent decision aids (IDAs) to support operating teams in managing complex systems. Early system designs, which acted as independent computer advisors, constrained human decision making, were brittle and encountered problems of user acceptance. As a result, there has been a shift towards making IDAs more cooperative in assisting users to make decisions under stress. Although there is a growing body of research on how to design IDAs as collaborate team players, this article provides additional insights by focusing on the competencies manifested by efficient teams in adapting to stress. To this extent, a survey of how teams adapt their decision-making strategies, cooperation patterns and team structure has provided a good basis for proposing design principles for collaborative IDAs. The article concludes with some challenges for further developments in information technology and research needs in the area of teamwork under stress.     

Tracking Chinese newspaper coverage of elephant ivory through topic modeling

Mass media worldwide has contributed to increasing awareness of the illegal wildlife trade and its significant impact on wildlife conservation. We used mass media coverage as a proxy for macro-level public opinion to analyze the media framing of elephant ivory in 6394 Chinese newspaper articles published from 2000 to 2021 and thus determine the effects of wildlife policies on public opinion. We focused on 2 events: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) approval of China as a trading partner in the purchase and import of ivory stockpiles from Africa in July 2008 and the Chinese government's announcement of a domestic ivory ban in December 2016. Using latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling, we identified 8 topics about elephant ivory and grouped them into 3 frames: ivory arts and culture, ivory crimes, and elephant conservation. Over the last 2 decades, topics related to ivory crimes remained the most prevalent in news articles. Topics about ivory arts and culture showed a significant shift in media salience before and after the 2 events (from 0.44 to 0.19 and from 0.08 to 0.15, respectively, p < 0.05), whereas the other 2 frames did not change significantly. Contrary to popular belief, our results indicated that Chinese macro-level public opinion on ivory had become more negative following the CITES approval of ivory importation and less negative after the ivory ban announcement, at least for certain periods. The relationship between mass media, public opinion, and wildlife trade policies is complex and requires further examination of the sociopolitical dynamics that influence media narratives. Our results showed the value of topic modeling in monitoring and assessing media representations of wildlife issues in the era of big data. Conservationists should remain vigilant of mass media coverage and collaborate with media practitioners to produce comprehensive narratives on wildlife issues if resources permit.     

公平和效率维度下中国省际碳权分配原则分析

区域碳权分配原则决定了中国省际碳减排的压力,也是激励各地区转向清洁能源及减排技术创新的基础。本文运用非径向方向性距离函数(NDDF)测算了2011-2014年中国省际全要素碳排放效率(TFC)与技术差距比(CTGR),以分析各地区基于效率最优的碳减排潜力(CRC),进而确定中国区域碳权分配原则。结果表明,各地区减排潜力呈现出与经济发展水平相似的空间分布特征;"十二五"期间海南与安徽两地已处于减排的前沿面,但单一的公平原则挫伤了其持续减排的积极性,而其它低效率省市短时间内无法通过技术效率提升减排能力;无论是单一的公平原则还是单一的效率原则均无法保证各地区碳减排的合理性、稳定性与持久性;而兼顾公平与效率的原则在增加绝对碳排放效率的同时,减少了地区差异。公平与效率原则的动态混合机制更符合中国省际碳减排现状,初期应遵循"公平优先,兼顾效率",随着经济企稳,应转向"效率优先,兼顾公平"。     

环境资源市场配置在浙江省的实践与探索

全面总结了浙江省污染物排放总量管理和市场配置环境资源试点的主要实践措施(包括创新构建总量管理和激励制度、全面构建市场配置环境资源制度、探索建立协同管理和交易机制和深入推进监管执法机制建设)和实施成效(包括市场倒逼污染减排、促进经济转型升级、市场拓宽融资渠道、提升环境管理水平和增强生态环境保护意识),提出了完善环境资源市场配置模式总体设想,为全面推进中国环境资源市场配置实践提供借鉴。     

市场机制引入对城镇新增建设用地配置效率的影响

市场机制引入是否可以提高城镇新增建设用地配置效率优化城镇新增建设用地配置体系是学界和政界关注的热点问题。本文以实施"地票"交易政策,尝试引入市场机制配置城镇新增建设用地的重庆市为典型区域,结合理论分析与实证检验,通过构建以Logit模型为基础的"地票"指标流转模型,利用重庆市2008—2012年38个区县的"地票"交易数据,定量分析"地票"指标市场化流转行为及其关键影响因素,从而探究市场机制引入对城镇新增建设用地配置效率的影响。研究结果表明,重庆市各区县城镇建设用地边际产出与区域"地票"指标的流入行为存在正向的作用关系,而与"地票"指标的流出行为存在负向的作用关系。在市场机制的作用下,市场上的"地票"指标主要由城镇建设用地边际产出较低的区域提供,而"地票"指标最终流入了城镇建设用地边际产出相对较高的区域,从而拉平了区域之间城镇建设用地边际产出,一定程度上提高了城镇新增建设用地配置效率。为此,认为伴随着"地票"交易政策的实施,重庆市逐步形成了一种计划配置为主、市场配置为辅的混合型城镇新增建设用地配置体系,这种配置体系极大地增加了指标供给的弹性并优化了指标的配置效率。因此,我国应积极尝试在现有城镇新增建设用地配置体系中引入市场机制,引导地方政府从"增量"、"计划"的用地理念逐步向"存量"和"市场"的用地理念过渡,最终形成以区域资源禀赋和实际需求为导向的城镇新增建设用地配置体系。     

Assessing equity and sustainability of water allocation in Colombia

Based on the national database of 28,104 water rights (concessions) granted in Colombia, this paper presents an analysis of how the principles of equity and sustainability are reflected in water allocation. Concessions appear to be an exclusionary mechanism since only a minority of small water users have concessions and the distribution of water volumes among those who have them is extremely inequitable. The 2009 Gini coefficient calculated for water concessions granted for agriculture was 0.90 compared with the rural land Gini of 0.88 (both indicators grouping holdings under the same entity). More than half of the Colombian departments have a higher Gini coefficient for water than for land, suggesting that water rights are at least as unequally distributed as land, in one of the most inequitable countries in Latin America. Water allocated to domestic, agriculture and hydropower use indicates a lack of consistency of water allocation criteria across regions. The volumetric and administrative attributes of water allocation in Colombia do not account for environmental flows or the concerns of marginalised groups of society that have limited access to the mechanism. Water allocation as a technical task, with limited transparency and secluded from public scrutiny, does not contribute to the solution of increasing water-related conflicts.     

The social context of childcare practices and child malnutrition in Niger's recent food crisis

In 2004–05, Niger suffered a food crisis during which global attention focused on high levels of acute malnutrition among children. In response, decentralised emergency nutrition programmes were introduced into much of southern Niger. Child malnutrition, however, is a chronic problem and its links with food production and household food security are complex. This qualitative, anthropological study investigates pathways by which children are rendered vulnerable in the context of a nutritional 'emergency'. It focuses on household-level decisions that determine resource allocation and childcare practices in order to explain why practices apparently detrimental to children's health persist. Risk aversion, the need to maintain self-identity and status, and constrained decision making result in a failure to invest extra necessary resources ingrowth-faltering children. Understanding and responding to the social context of child malnutrition will help humanitarian workers to integrate their efforts more effectively with longer-term development programmes aimed at improving livelihood security.     

底质营养盐对菹草生长及养分分配的影响

在野外池塘中,利用3种不同营养状况的底质研究底质营养盐对菹草生长及养分分配的影响,结果表明：沉水植物菹草面对底质营养盐的胁迫出现了急性的生理生化反应,在生长初期叶片总的可溶性糖含量在肥沃的底质上高于贫营养底质上;根、茎、叶和石芽各构件都具有异速生长现象,并且表现规律不一样;菹草的根冠比随底质营养盐的不同而变化;随着营养条件对菹草生长胁迫加重,根、冠的异速生长愈明显,同时石芽的N∶P和C∶N比率显著受底质营养盐的影响,而菹草叶片和茎N∶P和C∶N比率不受底质肥力的影响,这些响应将改变石芽第2年的命运和影响种群的维持;在胁迫生境下,菹草首先分配资源到无性繁殖体--石芽上以便维持种群的延续,以回避策略应对底质营养盐胁迫。