Environmental impact on the development of agricultural technology in China: the case of the dike-pond (‘jitang’) system of integrated agriculture-aquaculture in the Zhujiang Delta of China

The development of the environmentally conserving dike-pond system of integrated agriculture and aquaculture in the Zhujiang Delta of south China is traced to illustrate the impact of environmental changes on technological innovations. The technologies of dike building, land reclamation, pond fish culture, and crop cultivation on dikes, which were either independently developed or modified from ideas brought in by migrant farmers from northern China, represented farmers' efforts to adapt to the new characteristics of a changed environment as population pressure increased. The new technologies revealed the farmers' awareness of the need for environmental conservation. However, increased population pressure also necessitated more intensive use of the land, both in the highland and lowland regions, giving rise to inappropriate dike building and premature reclamation activities, which in turn brought about more frequent flooding in the delta region. Careless application of a new technology tended to have harmful effects on the environment. Political conditions in different periods of China's economic development have also caused changes in the dike-pond system which has to maintain high productivity and profitability. Recent advances in dike-pond system technology have focused on crop diversification and animal husbandry to match the three-dimensional characteristics of its ecological components. New agricultural technologies can be successful in China only if they can provide a balance between land use and conservation.     

Physical Effects of New Devices for Bricklayers

Bricklaying is a physically demanding job. Bricklayers frequently flex their trunk to pick up bricks and mortar and position these in a wall. The experienced workload is highest working with bricks at 0 to 50 cm from the floor. In this study the effects of 2 devices that have proven to be feasible in practice are evaluated.

The 50 cm raise due to the 2 devices is experienced as comfortable, the estimated lumbar compression force was reduced, and observations indicate likewise. It is discussed that the field experiments have many drawbacks. Nevertheless, based on this study in combination with other literature the improvements could be recommended.     

河北省进一步发展高等教育的初步探讨

河北省高等教育在全国排名榜中相对落后,与人口大省、经济大省不适应,其原因是多方面的。进一步发展高等教育对河北省实现向经济强省、文化强省跨越至关重要,为此河北省应将努力发展高等教育纳入"十二五"规划,适度扩大办学规模;加大投入;分类指导,突出重点,增强特色,推动内涵式发展;办强师资队伍及师德师风建设;鼓励高校开展科技创新。     

Forging New Directions in Science and Environmental Politics and Policy: How Can Co-operation, Deliberation and Decision be Brought Together?

Science, politics and environmental policy have for several years been encountering social and institutional as well as scientific challenges, national and international. The normative basis of all sciences is pressurised from three sides: by awareness of the public, who claims more transparency and sensibility from the scientific institutions regarding factual or possible impacts of science-based industrial progress; by the industries, which try to speed up and intensify the industrialisation of knowledge; and by the public policies, which want to see the sciences engaged in ways to mitigate unintended consequences of economic, ecological and social developments. At the same time, environmental policy is undergoing a tremendous sea change both in conceptual and practical matters. Since the Brundtland Report in 1987 and accelerated after UNCED 1992, environmental policy has been struggling to become a groundbreaking new paradigm for the capacity of resolving social and political issues as well. Any successful attempt to alter traditional institutional and mental structures in policy-making toward sustainability presupposes a renewed association of co-operation, deliberation and decision making. Results from theory of democracy, studies in science and technology, and evaluation studies in environmental policy and politics can be utilised for this context.     

The role of learning in sustainable communities of practice

This paper adds to the literature on skills for sustainable communities by examining the role and processes of learning in “communities of practice” that exist within a “grassroots association”. Interviews were conducted with participants in the communities of practice of a student group called Green Action, which engages with environmental issues in practical ways. The findings demonstrate how learning occurred in the communities of practice, how participants gained skills and knowledge for sustainable consumption, and how learning in the communities of practice appeared to help Green Action to sustain itself in the long-term. This paper could serve as a useful demonstration to others as to how to apply the theories and concepts from the literature on communities of practice when researching skills and knowledge for sustainable communities. It also has some value for grassroots associations themselves in understanding their own activities.     

Disentangling technological innovations: a micro-econometric analysis of their determinants

On the basis of a unique firm-level dataset from the German manufacturing sector, this paper empirically examines the determinants of environmental and non-environmental product and process innovations. The micro-econometric analysis with multivariate probit models points to an extremely high relevance of R&D activities for all technological innovation types, as well as to the relevance of a few market pull factors. The estimation results additionally reveal the importance of organisational measures for environmental product and process innovations. In this regard, not only certified environmental management systems, but also specific process- and product-related environmental organisational measures and even general organisational measures, such as the certification of a quality management system according to ISO 9001, play a crucial role. The estimation results therefore suggest the encouragement of firm-internal R&D activities and organisational measures by (environmental) policy in order to stimulate environmental technological innovations, which are able to both limit the environmental burden and contribute to the technological modernisation of the economy.     

Community energy initiatives to alleviate fuel poverty: the material politics of Energy Cafés

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations. Previous research in grassroots innovations has largely focused on conceptualising such initiatives and analysing their potential for replication and diffusion; there has been less research in the politics involved in these initiatives. We examine grassroots innovations as forms of political engagement that is different from the 1970s’ alternative technology movements. Through an analysis of community-run Energy Cafés in the United Kingdom, we argue that while present-day grassroots innovations appear less explicitly political than their predecessors, they can still represent a form of political participation. Through the analytical lens of material politics, we investigate how Energy Cafés engage in diverse – explicit and implicit, more or less conscious – forms of political engagement. In particular, their work to “demystify” clients’ energy bills can unravel into various forms of advocacy and engagement with energy technologies and practices in the home. Some Energy Café practices also make space for a needs-driven approach that acknowledges the embeddedness of energy in the household and wider society.     

Thought for Fuelling Change: A Review of Three Models for Understanding Environmentally Significant Transitions

For over a century, western economic development has depended upon the use of combustible hydrocarbons for its energy needs. The 20th century saw the prolific exploitation of fossil hydrocarbon sources (coal and oil) which are finite and exhaustible. There is a clear need for society to conserve such non-renewable resources. In addition to conservation, a wholesale switch to renewable energy sources should be seen as the first research and development priority. In the interim, moving towards a crop-based fuel economy appears to be a good alternative to provide the necessarily dramatic changes in lifestyle and mindset that would be required of consumers, for a wholesale shift away from hydrocarbon combustion. Before programs and policies designed to address the need for an interim or alternative energy and materials economy are put into place however, it is important to understand the barriers and opportunities put forth by society itself. Conventional frameworks designed to understand this type of change are of limited assistance. This paper argues that institutional thinking is a very useful tool in addressing these types of environmental problems.     

关于台站形变应变长条观测仪器的技术改造及建议

指出了台站形变、应变长条观测仪器存在的问题 ;介绍了“九五”期间对之进行的技术改造及其收效。同时 ,对“十五”在这个项目上应进行的技术改造提出了建设性意见。     

山东省煤矿安全监察创新发展探讨

山东煤矿安全监察局坚持与时俱进、创新监察,根据煤矿安全形势的新变化和新要求,积极探索监察执法的新思路、新方法,切实做到严格执法、规范执法、科学执法和廉洁执法,不断提高安全监察的针对性、灵活性和有效性,取得了理想效果。煤监机构成立十多年间,全省煤矿数量由2000年的492处降到现在的227处,全部取消乡镇以下办矿,平均单井生产能力达到70万吨,超过全国煤矿平均生产能力10倍以上;在煤炭产量增加50%的前提下,累计少死亡1200人以上,百万吨死亡率由2001年的1.53下降到2011年的0.30,其中2008、2009、2010连续三年控制在0.1以下,2012年1-6月份,发生事故4起、死亡5人,百万吨死亡率0.06,杜绝了3人以上事故,煤矿安全形势持续向好。