Selling displaced people? A multi‐method study of the public communication strategies of international refugee organisations

The world has seen a major increase in forced displacement since 2011. As a growing number of states implement restrictive refugee policies, public communication has become essential for refugee organisations. This study analysed, therefore, three international refugee organisations’ discursive strategies towards the recent Syrian crisis, as well as their production and the social context. A critical discourse analysis of international press releases (N=122) and six semi‐structured interviews with press and regional officers revealed that the observed actors largely dehumanise displaced people and subordinate them to the ‘Western self’ and state interests; displaced people hardly ever acquire their own voice. The study found that the medium characteristics of press releases and the importance of media attention result in a depersonalising humanitarian discourse. In addition, there were indications of a post‐humanitarian discourse that reproduced the humanitarian sector's ‘marketisation’. Finally, the examined organisations use the political realist cross‐issue persuasion strategy, displaying displaced people as resettlement objects.     

中国居民碘营养状况分析及对策探讨

中国是世界上碘缺乏病流行最为广泛的国家之一,但是,我国居民的平均碘营养状况属于正常范围,只是由于地理地质条件和生活水平的差异,造成居民碘营养状况极为均匀,有些地区严重缺碘,而有些地区碘营养已经过量,个别地区学相当严重因此,对于中国这样一个人口众多,幅员辽阔的国家,应针对具体情况,对缺磺地区进行补碘,最后中与国家的扶贫下策相结合,进行分类指导,提倡科学补碘。     

Indigenous people and sustainable development in Amazonas

Indigenous populations have lived for many generations in a sustainable fashion, developing knowledge about how to live in harmony with the environment. However, the sustainability of their life styles, their quality of life and the maintenance of intact ecosystems are threatened by a series of changes, including incorporation into the general fabric of society, conflict with non-indigenous migrants, expansion of indigenous populations and the globalization of national economies. This paper looks at the potential for policy to deal with these issues. In particular, it is shown that the ‘polluter pays principle’ is not appropriate for indigenous societies. The paper recommends a set of policies and shows how international cooperation in the areas of monitoring and enforcement, augmentation of demand for rain forest products and eco-certification can help indigenous groups improve their quality of life and maintain ecosystems in their current undisturbed state.     

Formal and informal material aid following the 2010 Haiti earthquake as reported by camp dwellers

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, more than two million people moved to temporary camps, most of which arose spontaneously in the days after the earthquake. This study focuses on the material assistance people in five Port‐au‐Prince camps reported receiving, noting the differences between assistance from formal aid agencies and from ‘informal’ sources such as family. Seven weeks after the earthquake, 32% of camp dwellers reported receiving no assistance whatsoever; 55% had received formal aid, typically a tent or tarpaulins; and 40% had received informal aid, usually in the form of cash transfers from family living abroad. While people were grateful for any material aid, cash was more frequently considered timely and more effective than aid‐in‐kind. Should this study be indicative of the greater displaced population, aid agencies should consider how they might make better use of cash transfers as an aid modality.     

Financing of internal displacement: excerpts from the Sri Lankan experience

This paper investigates how internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, financed their first year of displacement. We conducted extensive fieldwork in August 2007 in numerous welfare centres in Batticaloa that have received persons displaced from the Mutur divisional secretariat (DS) in the Trincomalee district. The sample was selected from the village of Sampur in Mutur DS. The displaced from Sampur are of Tamil origin and our findings reveal certain coping strategies that may be particular to this community, including the selling or mortgaging of gold jewellery to address the effects of displacement. We found that the IDPs in this region rely heavily on jewellery and other forms of savings to ensure their survival. There is also strong evidence to support the critically important coping role played by livelihoods. These coping strategies have enabled the IDP households in the present sample to live marginally above the poverty line.     

Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity in the Arctic

The Canadian Arctic is characterized by a high variation in landform types and there are complex interactions between land, water and the atmosphere which dramatically affect the distribution of biota. Biodiversity depends upon the intensity, predictability and scale of these interactions. Observations, as well as predictions of large-scale climate models which include ocean circulation, reveal an anomalous cooling of northeastern Canada in recent decades, in contrast to the overall significant increase in average annual temperature in the Northern Hemisphere. Predictions from models are necessary to forecast the change in the treeline in the 21st century which may lead to a major loss of tundra. The rate of change in vegetation in response to climate change is poorly understood. The treeline in central Canada, for example, is showing infilling with trees, and in some locations, northerly movement of the boundary. The presence of sea ice in Hudson Bay and other coastal areas is a major factor affecting interactions between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Loss of ice and therefore hunting of seals by polar bears will reduce bear and arctic fox populations within the region. In turn, this is likely to have significant effects on their herbivorous prey populations and forage plants. Further, the undersurface of sea ice is a major site for the growth of algae and marine invertebrates which in turn act as food for the marine food web. A rise in sea-level may flood coastal saltmarsh communities leading to changes in plant assemblages and a decline in foraging by geese and other consumers. The anomalous cooling in the eastern Arctic, primarily in late winter and early spring, has interrupted northern migration of breeding populations of geese and ducks and led to increased damage to vegetation in southern arctic saltmarshes as a result of foraging. It is likely that there has been a significant loss of invertebrates in those areas where the vegetation has been destroyed. Warming will have major effects on permafrost distribution and on ground-ice resulting in a major destabilization of slopes and slumping of soil, and disruption of tundra plant communities. Disruption of peat and moss surfaces lead to loss of insulation, an increase in active-layer depth and changes in drainage and plant assemblages. Increases of UV-B radiation will strongly affect vulnerable populations of both plants and animals. The indigenous peoples will face major changes in life style, edibility of food and health standards, if there is a significant warming trend. The great need is for information which is sensitive to the changes and will assist in developing an understanding of the complex interactions of the arctic biota, human populations and the physical environment.     

内循环流化床烟气脱硫技术的实验研究

通过对流化床烟气脱硫吸收塔塔顶和塔底结构的改进,开发出一种新的内循环流化床烟气脱硫工艺。该工艺以60～80目细砂作为主要床料,在流化气速为2～5m/s情况下,实现了绝大部分固体颗粒在脱硫塔内的内循环,从而强化了热质传递,避免了粘壁现象。考察了各种因素对脱硫效率的影响,结果表明,绝热饱和温度差是影响脱硫效率的显著因素,颗粒浓度是保证系统稳定运行的关键因素。在Ca/S为12和颗粒浓度为10kg/m3条件下,系统能连续稳定运行,脱硫效率达90%以上。     

中国高质量发展阶段最优环境保护税率研究

中国开始实施环境保护税法的时间位于从高速增长向高质量发展过渡的时期。环境保护税法规定了大气和水污染物的税率区间,因此实际执行的税率存在优化的空间。虽然征收环境保护税是为了达成环境目标,但是该项税收同样可以服务于经济和社会目标。本文拟对环境保护税这一市场化的环境政策价格工具进行优化,从这一崭新研究视角切入,探讨协调经济与环境关系的原则,以期为实现高质量发展提供理论依据。本文的研究方法基于一个包括企业、政府和消费者的世代交替模型,各经济主体进行分散化决策。企业在生产过程中排放污染,政府向企业征收环境保护税并且治理污染,消费者的内生寿命受到污染存量和人均产出的共同影响。根据市场均衡条件,本文得到描述物质资本和污染存量动态变化的非线性差分方程,在此基础上进行解析证明和数据模拟。研究得到以下三点结论:第一,同一个环境保护税率无法同时实现经济产出最大化和社会福利最大化的目标,这意味着在高质量发展阶段政府需要抛弃以经济增长为中心的政策思路,转而以社会福利最大化为目标确定最优的环境保护税率。政府提高环境保护税率,可以实现由经济产出最大化向社会福利最大化的转变。第二,相较于最大化经济产出的税率,最大化社会福利的环境保护税率在转移路径上会造成各主要变量较小的波动,并用一定的经济产出换取更多的物质资本、更优的环境质量、更长的人均寿命、以及更高的社会福利水平,因此支持了前述政府需要以社会福利最大化为目标确定最优环境保护税率的结论。第三,最大化社会福利的环境保护税率在基准模型中的数值为1.96,但污染物的异质性会影响最优税率的数值。污染物较低的自然扩散速度、较严重的健康损害程度、较高的治理技术水平都会提高最优的环境保护税率。本文提出三点政策建议:第一,通过征收环境保护税最大化社会福利水平。第二,通过提高环境保护税率体现发展理念的转变。第三,促进医疗卫生和污染治理技术进步。     

Rapid Assessment of Population Size by Area Sampling in Disaster Situations

In the initial phase of a complex emergency, an immediate population size assessment method, based on area sampling, is vital to provide relief workers with a rapid population estimate in refugee camps. In the past decade, the method has been progressively improved; six examples are presented in this paper and questions raised about its statistical validity as well as important issues for further research. There are two stages. The first is to map the camp by registering all of its co-ordinates. In the second stage, the total camp population is estimated by counting the population living in a limited number of square blocks of known surface area, and by extrapolating average population calculated per block to the total camp surface. In six camps selected in Asia and Africa, between 1992 and 1994, population figures were estimated within one to two days. After measuring all external limits, surfaces were calculated and ranged between 121,300 and 2,770,000 square metres. In five camps, the mean average population per square was obtained using blocks 25 by 25 meters (625 m2), and for another camp with blocks 100 by 100 m2. In three camps, different population density zones were defined. Total camp populations obtained were 16,800 to 113,600. Although this method is a valuable public health tool in emergency situations, it has several limitations. Issues related to population density and number and size of blocks to be selected require further research for the method to be better validated.     

征地农民合理补偿的可能途径及可行性分析--以上海市为例

对征地农民的补偿往往被看成是征地补偿的一个部分。从而政府不得不在征地农民的合理补偿与商用成本的降低之间做出两难选择。本文认为。对征地农民的合理补偿不应局限于失地的补偿，同时应该包括其脱离农村集体经济的补偿以及其“农转非”后的市民化补助。如果某些制约征地农民补偿的制度及法律上的障碍能够及时加以消除。那么这样的一种合理补偿不仅是可行的，而且是可期待的。