“You can't see them from sitting here”: Evaluating beach user understanding of a rip current warning sign

Rip current warning signs complement lifeguards and flags on many beaches globally to alert beach users to the danger of rip currents and to inform beach users about how to identify and avoid rip currents. Although rip current warning signs, such as the sign distributed by the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are an important part of any beach safety program, their effectiveness is unknown. Moreover, we do not know how beach users respond to or perceive the rip-current warnings represented graphically and textually. Here we report on a spatially and temporally randomized survey of 392 beach users from three heavily frequented public beaches in Texas (Galveston, Port Aransas, and Corpus Christi) at the height of the summer beach season in 2012. Beach users were asked to respond to the rip current warning sign developed in 2003–2004 by the U.S. Rip Current Task Force. Nearly half of respondents did not notice any warning sign when approaching the beach. When prompted by enumerators with the Task Force sign, 44.5% of beach users found the sign was “helpful” or “very helpful” to their ability to identify a rip current. However, more than half of beach users had difficulty translating the rip current image into a feature observable while standing or sitting on the shore. Many beach users will respond to a warning sign showing the rip current from the perspective of place, rather than the aerial view representing the ocean as space. This realization guides our specific suggestions for improving the current NOAA warning signs.     

基于地形动力学的海滩裂流安全性评价 ——以三亚大东海为例

文章基于海滩地形动力学模型建立了海滩安全性评价方法,认为低潮沙坝/裂流海滩类和沙坝类海滩出现裂流概率最大,沙坝消散类和有裂流的低潮台地类海滩裂流风险中等,没有裂流的低潮台地海滩、没有沙坝的消散海滩、超消散型、完全反射型海滩裂流风险很小。以三亚大东海为例,利用该评价方法分析了海滩溺水事故频发的原因,结果显示：1）该海滩状态以沙坝型和低潮沙坝/裂流海滩型为主,属于高风险海滩,此结论与当地救生实践吻合;2）该海滩溺水事故发生的根本原因为裂流危险性高,故容易发生溺水事故。     

Assessments of ecosystem service indicators and stakeholder's willingness to pay for selected ecosystem services in the Chure region of Nepal

The Chure region of Nepal—the area sandwiched between the hills in the north and the plains in the south—is considered an ecologically fragile, structurally weak, and highly erosion-prone region. The forest in the Chure region provides several ecosystem services to people living in the downstream areas. However, assessment and quantification of ecosystem services in this region are very limited. This study, conducted in a watershed of the Chure region of western Nepal, combined local users' perspectives with experts' opinions to identify and rank ecosystem services based on land use types, to investigate the downstream users' willingness to pay for ecosystem services, and to explore the socio-economic factors affecting their willingness to pay. The study found that forests offered the highest number of ecosystem goods and services in this area. Local people were familiar with 10 different ecosystem services provided by the watershed and ranked drinking water service at the top. The downstream beneficiaries would be willing to pay a higher amount for drinking water service than they were currently paying if the quality of the service and its sustainability were assured. The amount they were willing to pay for ecosystem services increased significantly with monthly income. The results of this study are useful for other areas in which an upstream–downstream linkage exists and the upstream communities play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem functions and the resulting supply of ecosystem services to the downstream communities.     

Drivers of farmer satisfaction with small-scale irrigation systems

Climate change impacts the quantity and seasonality of rainfall, threatening Africans' ability to maintain satisfactory yields on rain-fed farms. On the semi-arid northwestern slopes of Mount Kenya, irrigation systems structured around Community Water Projects (CWPs) provide households with piped water, which helps mitigate drought impacts and enhances resilience to increasingly variable rainfall patterns. The vision of these irrigation systems is to equitably distribute water resources among CWP members both for household consumption and to maintain or improve agricultural yields. However, not all households receive equal quantities of water from their CWPs, and little is known about the impact of water provisioning on farmers' opinions or perceptions of CWP performance.In this study, we relate respondents' satisfaction with their CWPs to the quantity of water delivered. Not surprisingly, farmers who received low quantities of water from their CWPs expressed above-average rates of concern regarding drought. In contrast, satisfaction with one's CWP was unrelated to the absolute quantity of water received (log liters/minute), but it was strongly associated with relative measures of water delivery: respondents who received less water than other members of the same water project experienced high rates of dissatisfaction, as did respondents who received less water than in the past. These results suggest that Kenyan farmers may feel particularly dissatisfied—and, perhaps, particularly driven to demand improved water governance—when they perceive inadequate water delivery relative to some reference group.Because relative water quantity dictates satisfaction even after controlling for factors that can be resolved internally at the CWP level (by, for example, striving for uniformity of water flows across and within households), water project managers are limited to some degree in their ability to improve satisfaction through better governance. That said, governance actions that prevent declines in flows over time (e.g. maintaining infrastructure to reduce leaks) could ostensibly lead to meaningful improvements in member satisfaction.     

The Topographic Map and Related River Questions of the North China Plain

In the summer of 1917 severe floods inundated the city of Tientsin for several months. As far as one could see from the roofs of high buildings, the plain to the west was a vast expanse of water with numerous islands — villages on mounds — and junks sailing between them, and the sun set in a horizon of water as if it were the ocean itself. For several weeks the Tientsin inhabitants had noticed that the water on the plain stood unusually high, but it used to be inundated more or less every third or fourth summer, so no one cared particularly. The Hai Ho — the Sea River — Tientsin's navigable access to the sea — was high and flowed with an exceptionally strong current through the city. But this was needed to clean out the mud from the river's bottom, and shipping people expected good navigation conditions the next few years.     

Residential Tourism,Swimming Pools,and Water Demand in the Western Mediterranean

Many Mediterranean areas have recently witnessed a proliferation of new urban and tourist-related features following low-density residential patterns that contrast with the traditional high-density urban typologies of Mediterranean cities. The aim of this research is to investigate the links between residential tourism and water consumption through swimming pools, which constitute one key element of the new urban landscapes in the coast of Alicante (southeastern Spain). We have digitized pools in nine municipalities of coastal Alicante and calculated the average depth and estimated water losses due to evaporation. Results show that swimming pools are widely available in tourist residential enclaves but that they tend to display different characteristics according to factors such as the history of the urbanization process and relative wealth of the different areas. We have detected a clear contrast between the large individual pools of the richer northern municipalities and the smaller individual pools and community pools in the newly developed but less well-off urban enclaves of the southern coast.     

Consequences of changed water management for Aboriginal Australians in the Murrumbidgee catchment,NSW

In the Murrumbidgee catchment of the Murray-Darling Basin, wetlands, rivers and other waterscapes are important features of Country for Aboriginal peoples. The Murrumbidgee River is the most heavily regulated river system in the Murray-Darling Basin. Discussion around the use of Murrumbidgee water is framed as a conflict between sustaining rural communities and using water to support ecological values, yet the voices of Aboriginal custodians are relatively unheard in this discussion. Using culturally important wetland plants as a starting point, this paper explores the understanding and perception of some Aboriginal people in relation to their Country and water. The grief of participants as they experience the degradation of their Country was palpable. The strong message that Country should be considered in its entirety—including ecological, social and cultural aspects—contrasts with current ownership and other institutional arrangements. Improving opportunities for communities and water managers to share knowledge and information, an openness to use Aboriginal wisdom, and careful ongoing management of environmental and cultural water have the potential to achieve positive cultural and ecological outcomes in the Murrumbidgee.     

Editorial

Abstract

The analysis of geographical information is compared with other production processes in which a user can only accept an end-product if it meets certain quality requirements. Whereas users are responsible for defining the levels of quality they need to use the results of the analyses of geographical information systems in their work, database managers, experts and modellers could greatly assist users to achieve the quality of results they seek by formalizing information on: (1) data collection, level of resolution and quality; (2) the use of the basic analytical functions of the geographical information system; and (3) the data requirements, sensitivity and error propagation in models. These meta-data could be incorporated in a knowledge base alongside the geographical information system where, together with procedures for on-line error propagation, a user could be advised on the best way to achieve a desired aim. If the analysis showed that the original constellation of data, methods and models could not achieve the aim with the desired quality, the intelligent geographical information system would present a range of alternative strategies—better methods, more data, different data, better models, better model calibration, or better spatial resolution—and their costs by which the user's aims could reasonably be achieved.     

基于VEP实验法的江南水乡古镇游客感知意象研究——以上海枫泾古镇为例

江南水乡古镇已成为城市居民和游客回归自然、追忆乡愁的休闲旅游新标的。为获取游客对此类旅游目的地客观、真实的感知,避免游客自述性反馈的主观干扰,广泛借助格式塔心理学、凝视理论、符号学等相关理论,采用游客受雇拍摄法——邀请游客在游历过程中拍摄一系列照片,通过对照片编码和拍摄点的分析,解构游客凝视的元素、结构和空间流动,归纳游客对江南水乡古镇的感知意象特征。结果表明,游客对江南水乡古镇的感知意象呈现具有原真属性、创意属性以及功能属性的三维耦合结构。其中,最具传统江南文化表征的原真属性占据感知意象的主导,代表新式文化与传统文化融合的创意属性具有提升和开发的潜力,而带有旅游功能属性的感知意象相对最弱。从空间角度看,随着旅游活动的不断展开与深入,游客感知意象流动易在古镇入口、特色通道与景观带、园林标志物处高度聚焦、聚集。     

Constraints to effective adoption of innovative livestock production technologies in the Rift Valley (Kenya)

We surveyed small-scale farmers in the Kenyan Rift Valley province (Narok and Nakuru districts) to describe constraints to, and changes in, livestock production and to assess the extent to which farmers have adopted new technologies promoted by extension services. In the arid areas of southern Narok, farmers' main constraints were drought and disease. Farmers in Nakuru district, situated in the fertile highlands of the Rift Valley, were also affected by disease but also lacked markets and capital. Although 83% of the farmers had regular contact with extension services that provided advice on new technologies and livestock production innovations, only about half of the respondents implemented the proposed changes. Many of those who did change (38%) improved pasture/nutrition/manure management and relatively few (16%) improved their animal breeding practices. Results of a multinomial logit model revealed that, apart from the significant differences between the two districts, the nature of the advice and the expected outcomes had the strongest influence on the probability of successfully implementing changes to livestock production. The results further suggest that adoption of new technologies is limited by lack of knowledge, inadequate support and a failure to target local needs and conditions and empower livestock keepers.     

On the location of the ionospheric current systems responsible for the lunar and solar magnetic variations

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From a study of the sunspot cycle influence on the lunar ( L ) and solar ( S ) daily geomagnetic variations, Malin, Cecere & Palumbo have suggested that the electric currents responsible for these variations do not flow in the E -region as has hitherto been accepted. Indeed they suggested that the L current may even flow in the F 2 region. The consequences of such a suggestion are considered and it is shown that an L current in the F -region is highly unlikely from the dynamical point of view. The evidence for E -region currents is presented and it is suggested that the variation of E -region electron density used by Malin et al . to indicate conductivity changes in that region may not be a reliable indicator of such changes.     

南极洲万达盐湖底部现代沉积物中黄铁矿物的发现及其地球化学意义

作者首次在南极洲万达盐湖底部现代沉积物中发现了自生的黄铁矿颗粒。该发现对解释万达湖还原层湖水中铁离子的垂直迁移具有重要地球化学意义。基于1.目前万达湖还原层湖水的FeS_2活度积(IAP)大于它的热动力溶度积(Ksp)2.该湖还原层湖水的pH—pE数据组落在黄铁矿的pH—pE相图中的黄铁矿相区。相图预测到现在万达湖还原层湖水有析出自生黄铁矿的可能性,而且进一步被X射线衍射分析及电镜扫描等资料证实,湖底沉积物中存在黄铁矿矿物。这样,就有力地解释了还原层湖水中铁离子浓度降低的原因—由于黄铁矿颗粒的形成而迁出了水中铁离子。     

Using Spatial Data to Explore Landholder Awareness and Concern about Dryland Salinity

This paper draws upon research in Victoria's Goulburn Broken Catchment exploring landholder responses to dryland salinity. It has been assumed that part of the explanation for limited adoption of recommended practices was that landholders were unaware of the extent of dryland salinity. Socio-economic data from a mail survey was combined in a Geographic Information System (GIS) with other layers, including the location of discharge sites and depth to saline ground water. Comparisons of expert maps and landholder identified salinity sites suggested that landholders in the upper catchment had excellent knowledge of the current extent of salinity on their property. At the same time, the expert maps failed to predict half of the saline-affected sites identified by landholders. It seems that the extensive community education effort undertaken in this region had been successful in raising salinity awareness. Our research also highlighted that most landholders were not concerned about the impacts of dryland salinity and appear to believe they can 'live with salt'. This is an important issue because the small, diffused amounts of salt exported from these properties in the upper catchment are/will have a substantial impact downstream. The research methodology and findings have important policy and management implications, and these are discussed.     

Serving the Service Sector: Gendering Regional (Un)Employment in Geelong,Australia1

This paper will briefly examine employment trends in regional Australia before focusing on one manufacturing, coastal region ‐ Geelong, Victoria –over the 1990s. It will consider the experience of a differentiated sample of women as they enter (and re‐enter) the one sphere of economic activity seen by many as the economic future of cities and regions ‐the service sector. Interviews detailed women's employment histories and experiences but despite the complexity of their multiple locations, this paper will argue that it is their disadvantaged positions as women workers that is fundamental in shaping that experience, regardless of how it is complicated by age, ethnicity or disability.     

State‐led talent return migration programme and the doubly neglected ‘Malaysian diaspora’: Whose diaspora,what citizenship,whose development?

This paper questions the assumptions of ‘diaspora’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘development’ underlying diaspora strategies targeting a specific pool of overseas Malaysian ‘talent’ migrants. I examine the Malaysian state's discursive attempts to construct a carefully contained economic ‘diaspora'—the ‘Malaysian diaspora'—through its talent return migration programme. In this process, there is a portion of the ‘Malaysian diaspora’, especially non‐bumiputeras (sons of soil), who are doubly neglected and excluded: first, from access to full and equal citizenship (which arguably contributed to their emigration in the first place); and second, from eligibility and recognition to participate in Malaysia's talent return migration programme. However, recent political activism calling for electoral reform and overseas voting rights challenges state‐constructed visions of the ‘diaspora’ and their expected roles in advancing ‘development’. This paper concludes by highlighting questions raised by the Malaysian case, linking these explicitly to how diaspora strategies—as they have been conceived, practised and contested—challenge the broader Migration and Development paradigm.     

Australian Climate,Energy and Water Policies: conflicts and synergies

Responding to the threat of climate change, conserving freshwater ecosystems and securing adequate energy and water supplies are among the greatest challenges facing modern societies. Yet recognition of the interdependencies between climate, energy and water policy—with resulting synergies and trade-offs—remains limited, leaving societies and governments alike vulnerable to the dangers of conflicted or unintended policy outcomes from sectoral decisions. In this paper, we analyse current Australian climate, energy and water policies to identify the risks of perverse outcomes between the three policy sectors. In doing so we categorise the conflicts and synergies between particular energy generation, carbon sequestration and water supply policies to improve understandings of the challenges facing decision makers in Australia and internationally. Four types of interventions are identified that would enable integration and optimisation of policies, namely: better cross-sectoral knowledge to inform decisions; the identification of technologies with co-benefits; markets with broader cross-sectoral participation (including linking water and carbon markets); and better-integrated governance institutions.     

The scramble for the Waste Lands: Tracking colonial legacies,counterinsurgency and international investment through the lens of land laws in Burma/Myanmar

This article traces the revenue category and legal concept of the Waste Land in Burma/Myanmar from its original application by the British colonial apparatus in the nineteenth century, to its later use in tandem with Burma Army counterinsurgent tactics starting in the 1960s, and finally to the 2012 land laws and current issues in international investment. This adaptation of colonial ideas about territorialization in the context of an ongoing civil war offers a new angle for understanding the relationship between military tactics and the political economy of conflict and counterinsurgent strategies which crucially depended on giving local militias—both government and nongovernment—high degrees of autonomy. The recent government changes, including the more civilian representation in parliament and its shift to engage with Western economies, raise questions regarding the future of the military, as well as local autonomy and the rural peasantry's access to land. As increasing numbers of international investors are poised to enter the Myanmar market, this article will revisit notions of land use and appropriation, and finally the role of the army and its changing relationship with Waste Lands.     

Managing the Smart City-State: Singapore Approaches the 21st Century1

Singapore has a remarkable reputation for its successful deployment of limited resources and for its strength and stability even during Asia's current economic crisis. Widespread recognition and attempts by other countries and cities at emulation of some of the strategies it has adopted have confirmed that Singapore has achieved longstanding aspirations for excellence in many areas. As Singapore positions itself to enter the new millennium the government's distinctive and sometimes controversial corporate management style is evidenced in its approach to such matters as growing the economy, enhancing the physical infrastructure, constraining residential segregation, and encouraging increased family size to enhance domestic labour supply. Sometimes it is the means of achieving the desired ends which attracts criticism, at others it is the goals themselves which are questioned. This paper examines some of the features of Singapore's drive to enhance its regional and global role in vastly different circumstances from those which confronted the same government at internal independence in 1959 and full independence in 1965.     

A Comparison of Moisture Scalars and Water Budget Methods to Assess Vegetation-Site Relationships

Quantification of vegetation-site relationships is often required in biogeographic research. Methods linking species to particular sites typically assess evaporative demand and soil moisture availability at the site, though methods differ in how these factors are assessed. This study compares three approaches—a water-budget approach, and field-based and map-based moisture scalars—in their ability to predict the occurrence of a single species, American beech (Fagus grandifolia), observed in 102, 0.04 ha plots in SE Ohio. Actual evapotranspiration and deficit provided results superior to field-based and map-based scalars. Map-based techniques are potentially limited at fine spatial scales, due to the large discrepancy between observed topographic variables, and those modeled with 7.5-minute elevation grids. The study concludes that a water budget approach is applicable to a wide range of studies exploring vegetation-site linkages. It has advantages of being objective in its computation, and applicable at a wide range of spatial scales. Perhaps most importantly with regard to global change research is the dynamic nature of the method: a site's classification will change concurrently with changes in climate.     

Interpreting the Civil Rights Movement: Place,Memory, and Conflict

Produced over the past decade, monuments and museums dedicated to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s have desegregated America's memorial landscape. Tracing a broad arc across the US South, the material elements of this landscape — historic markers, monuments, parks, registered buildings, and museums — present a distinct challenge to representations of an elite, white American past. This challenge, however, is offered in a distinctly gendered manner, inasmuch as the role of women in organizing and leading the movement is obscured. Further, the historical narratives concretized at these sites are mediated by conventions associated with civil rights historiography and the tourism development industry. The result is a complex, sometimes ironic landscape. Via the narratives they embed and the crowds they attract, these landscapes are co‐constitutive with contemporary politics of representing the past in the United States. This paper offers an overview of current memorial practices and representations of the Civil Rights movement found at the country's major memorial landscapes.