Print Media Framing of the Environmental Movement in a Canadian Forestry Debate

In a recent paper, it was suggested that one of the reasons behind the decline in public regard toward British Columbia's environmental movement was an increasingly negative portrayal of them by the print media. To investigate this suggestion, we undertook a content analysis of print media reporting of forestry and environmental activities in the province's most widely read newspaper, the Vancouver Sun, during 1993 and 1997. We hypothesized that if the print media did contribute to the decline in public regard toward the environmental movement, we would find increasingly negative coverage of the environmental movement over the periods studied. We also hypothesized that this would be accompanied by a decrease in the frequency of articles dealing with issues consistent with the agenda of the environmental movement. We were not able to provide support for our initial hypothesis, nor did we observe a decrease in coverage emphasizing the environmental issues. We did, however, observe an increase in coverage of articles emphasizing typically proindustry issues with many more articles written with a proforestry slant in 1997 than articles written in 1993. This suggests that there had been an agenda shift from environmentally oriented concerns in British Columbia to those associated with the forest industry. As an explanation for the agenda shift, we point to changes in the management and reporting philosophy at the Vancouver Sun, the emergence of an organized, proindustry counterframing strategy by the BC Forest Alliance, and the implementation of several government policies aimed at regulating the activities of the forest industry.     

Green Symbolism in the Genetic Modification Debate

The character of the current controversy over geneticallymodified (GM) agriculture, typified by protesters' use of emotivesymbolism, has been largely inspired by the Green movement'snon-governmental organizations and political parties. This articleexplores the deeper philosophical and spiritual motivations of the Greenmovement, to inquire why it is implacably opposed to GM agriculture. TheGreen movement's anti-capitalism, exemplified by the hate-symbol statusof Monsanto as the company pioneering GM crops, is viewed within thewider context of alienation in the modern era. A complex of meanings isseen in Frankenstein as the focal symbol of GM protests, includingperceptions of risk, fears of the remixing of living identities seen ingenetic engineering, and resentment at the spiritual nihilism of thereduction of life to the digital code of DNA. By contrast, RobertGoodin's Green Theory of Value, which postulates the deep psychologicalimportance of nature in locating the self in a meaningful context largerthan ourselves, can explain the power of the Green symbol of thethreatened environment, Gaia. The advent of GM agriculture seems toimply that capitalism and technology can now enframe nature itself,leaving a world devoid of natural myth or meaning, with no escape fromthe alienation and nihilism of modernity. The central question posed forprotagonists of the GM debate is whether their agenda is based on thesepowerful but mythical conceptions of the environment, or whetherpreservation of the real environment is their primary ethic.     

Energy at work: A measurement validation and linkage to unit effectiveness

We introduce the notion that the energy of individuals can manifest as a higher‐level, collective construct. To this end, we conducted four independent studies to investigate the viability and importance of the collective energy construct as assessed by a new survey instrument—the productive energy measure (PEM). Study 1 (n = 2208) included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to explore the underlying factor structure of PEM. Study 2 (n = 660) cross‐validated the same factor structure in an independent sample. In study 3, we administered the PEM to more than 5000 employees from 145 departments located in five countries. Results from measurement invariance, statistical aggregation, convergent, and discriminant‐validity assessments offered additional support for the construct validity of PEM. In terms of predictive and incremental validity, the PEM was positively associated with three collective attitudes—units' commitment to goals, the organization, and overall satisfaction. In study 4, we explored the relationship between the productive energy of firms and their overall performance. Using data from 92 firms (n = 5939_employees), we found a positive relationship between the PEM (aggregated to the firm level) and the performance of those firms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

室外风作用下竖井结构内火灾烟气运动规律研究

室外风是影响高层（超高层）建筑火灾蔓延的主要因素。通过数值模拟六个不同火灾场景温度场、能见度及CO浓度场变化过程,定量总结了不同风向、风速条件下侧向全开竖井结构内烟气运动规律。模拟结果发现,迎面风作用下,竖井内会产生较高滞止压力,中性面位置上升,上部烟气加速向竖井下部蔓延,下部烟气通过开口排出;背面风作用下,中性面位置...     

The emergence of the transition movement in Canada: success and impact through the eyes of initiative leaders

ABSTRACT

Originating in the UK in 2006, the Transition movement is oriented to local grassroots citizen-led efforts that prepare for and support a societal energy transition to a low-carbon future in response to climate change, peak oil, ecological degradation, and economic instability. Overlapping significantly with relocalization, degrowth/slow growth, local food, and related movements, and based on permaculture principles and a distributed network model, it embraces the opportunity to turn crisis into an opportunity to build more resilient, convivial, and vibrant local communities, declaring that “if it’s not fun, it’s not sustainable”. The Transition approach has spread rapidly around the world, including initiatives in over 100 communities and cities in Canada. This paper reports on the methods and results of a Canadian community-based research study aimed at understanding how and where the movement has taken root across the country, what Transition practice looks like, challenges and opportunities encountered, and lessons learned that could be applied within the movement and by others interested in the role of citizen-led initiatives for sustainability transition. Utilising a practice theory lens, drawing on an extensive web-scan of the movement’s online presence, a survey and interviews with initiative (co)founders, an e-survey of Transition members/participants, regional “structured story-dialogue” workshops, and key informant interviews, and informed by input from a Movement Advisory Group, we describe the research process and explore what success and impact mean to those most active in the movement.     

香烟燃烧过程有害元素气固分配比实验研究

在香烟燃烧过程中会有部分元素残留在灰相,另一部分元素随气相迁移进入大气和吸烟者呼吸道,本文借助稳定残留在烟灰中的元素K为桥梁,估算了三种品牌香烟中8个有害元素在香烟燃烧过程中随气相迁移和残留在灰相中的分配比例。Hg、Cd、As、Se是其中容易进入气相的元素,迁移比例为Hg89.40%、Cd73.92%、As67.12%、Se61.68%,Pb、Be、Ni、Cr则容易残留在烟灰中,迁移比例为Pb44.53%、Be23.90%、Ni19.60%、Cr19.56%。不同品牌的香烟中元素含量和元素的迁移状况虽有不同,但元素总体表现一致。考虑元素在香烟中的赋存量和迁移进入气相的比例后,Pb、Cd是燃烧过程中释放量较大的元素。     

垃圾填埋腾发覆盖系统渗沥控制试验和数值模拟

垃圾填埋场腾发覆盖系统(ET Landfill Cover)是由单一土层和植被构成的简易、低成本、无需管理的生态渗沥控制系统,该系统利用覆盖土层储蓄降水、依靠植物的蒸腾和土壤蒸发消耗土壤水,从而实现渗沥污染控制.通过在武汉大学灌溉排水与水环境综合试验场开展裸土覆盖和5组腾发覆盖的渗沥控制对比试验,并对这6个试验处理进行水量平衡分析,结果发现其中60 cm厚度壤土层和灌木构成的腾发覆盖系统渗沥控制效果比较好,但是试验过程也发现60 cm厚度土层储水能力不足以完全阻止雨量充沛季节形成渗沥液,在旱季也不能向灌木提供充足水分,而是需要灌溉来维持灌木正常生长.因此采用Hydrus 2D软件对不同土层厚度腾发覆盖系统的渗沥控制效果进行数值模拟,结果表明,在武汉地区采用120～140 cm厚度壤土层和灌木构成的腾发覆盖系统是确保渗沥控制效果的经济合理方案.     

道路常亮型LED补光灯对驾驶人员的视觉影响

为研究道路常亮型LED补光灯对安全驾驶的影响,通过实测道路现场光照数据构建室内眼动实验,分析不同照度下被试者瞳孔大小的变化和视觉感受变化特征,为道路常亮型LED补光灯的照度设置提供依据。结果表明:道路常亮型LED补光灯光照强度变化对驾驶人员视觉有影响,光照强度从100×10-1 lx变化到700×10-1 lx时,被试者瞳孔逐渐缩小,但能看得清目标;光照强度从700×10-1 lx变化到1 700×10-1 lx时,被试者瞳孔进一步缩小,瞳孔缩小至约3.5 mm时开始看不清楚目标。为减小道路常亮型LED补光灯对驾驶人员的视觉影响,道路常亮型LED补光灯的照度应该设置在700×10-1 lx以下。     

中非铜矿带造山带特征演化模式

本文对中非铜矿带造山带基本地质构造特征进行了分析,阐述了其大地构造演化模式,认为造山带的加丹加超群标准地层剖面由4个群组成,分别为罗安群、木瓦夏群、下昆代隆古群和上昆代隆古群,底部沉积岩时代为8.8亿年,其中以5.5~5.6亿年的卢菲利造山运动产生大规模北东向逆推作用为主要造山事件,并认为裂谷拉张与陆陆碰撞为本区大地构造演化的基本模式。     

深井受限空间内作业人员的眼动特征研究

为探索能反映深井受限空间对作业者影响程度的眼动指标,为井下行为安全管理提供依据,将20名眼动指标相近的成员随机分为A,B两组,分别在普通环境中和高温深井环境中开展实验,以文献摘要为刺激材料,运用Tobii X2-30眼动仪进行眼动测量,运用单因素多元方差分析及多重比较法分析眼动数据。发现注视点总数、总注视时间、眼跳次数和总眼跳时间指标的差异有显著性,B组值大于A组;注视点平均注视时间、平均眨眼时间、平均瞳孔直径和总眼跳时间占比等指标无显著差异;两组被试的注视轨迹变化显著,因此 对井下人员的生理信息采集应当注重5个关键的眼动指标。