Effects of demand estimates on the evaluation and optimality of service centre locations

Public service systems, such as emergency health care, police or fire brigades, are critical for day-to-day functioning of the society. To design and operate these systems efficiently much data needs to be collected and properly utilised. Here, we use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to model the demand points (DPs), which approximate the geographical location of customers, and the road network, which is used to access or distribute services. We consider all inhabitants as customers, and therefore to estimate the demand, we use the available population grids. People are changing their location in the course of the day and thus the demand for services is changing accordingly. In this paper, we investigate how the used demand estimate affects the optimal design of a public service system. We calculate and compare efficient designs corresponding to two demand models, a night-time demand model when the majority of inhabitants rest at home and the demand model derived from the 24-hour average of the population density. We propose a simple measure to quantify the differences between population grids and we estimate how the size of differences affects the optimal structure of a public service system. Our analyses reveal that the efficiency of the service system is not only dependent on the placement strategy, but an inappropriate demand model has significant effects when designing a system as well as when evaluating its efficiency.     

Measuring,mapping and quantifying the effects of trust and informal communication on transboundary collaboration in the Great Lakes fisheries policy network

Ecosystem-based management of fisheries and other transboundary natural resources require a number of organizations across jurisdictions to exchange knowledge, coordinate policy goals and engage in collaborative activities. Trust, as part of social capital, is considered a key mechanism facilitating the coordination of such inter-organizational policy networks. However, our understanding of multi-dimensional trust as a theoretical construct and an operational variable in environmental and natural resource management has remained largely untested. This paper presents an empirical assessment of trust and communication measures applied to the North American Great Lakes fisheries policy network. Using a scale-based method developed for this purpose, we quantify the prevalence of different dimensions of trust and in/formal communication in the network and their differentiated impacts on decision-making and goal consensus. Our analysis reveals that calculation-based ‘rational trust’ is important for aligning mutual goals, but relationship-based ‘affinitive trust’ is most significant for influencing decision-making. Informal communication was also found to be a strong predictor of how effectively formal communication will influence decision-making, confirming the “priming” role of informal interactions in formal inter-agency dealings. The results also show the buffering and interactive functions of these components in strengthening institutional resilience, with procedural trust undergirding the system to compensate for a lack of well-developed relationships. Overall, this study provides evidence to suggest that informal communication and multi-dimensional trust constitute a crucial element for improving collaboration and reducing conflict in the networked governance of transboundary natural resource systems.     

Designation of marine protected areas in Belgium: A legal and ecological success?

In Belgium a long process (1999–2005) led to the designation of several marine protected areas (MPAs). In order to analyse the designation process, the ‘policy arrangement approach’ was used as an analytical tool. Attention was given to four dimensions (actors and coalitions, arguments, rules and resources). Particular attention was paid to the switch from an authoritative to a more deliberated policy style in reaction to conflicts with stakeholders. This switch in policy style contributed to a successful legal designation, but does not guarantee the best protection of marine biodiversity. This case study linked science (setting ecological goals) to policy (analysis of a policy process) and led to some more general conclusions on the designation of MPAs and the role of participation in this process.     

地理信息公共服务平台的用户分类及服务分类

地理信息技术的发展经历了集中式、模块化、组件化的过程,目前正向地理信息的Web服务方向发展。传统的集中式地理信息系统中,功能的分类决定了用户的分类;而在地理信息服务的架构中,用户的分类导致服务的分类及其与用户分类的映射。本文从地理信息服务的架构出发,分析并提出了面向服务的地理信息公共服务的用户群分类与对应的服务分类,为地理信息公共服务平台的构建和地理信息服务资源的有效组织和整合提供理论依据。     

辽宁海洋生态补偿机制创新与实践路径探讨

辽宁海洋生态补偿研究文献甚少,直面主要课题是机制创新。文章基于公共物品理论、外部性理论、生态价值理论、环境正义理论和可持续发展理论,遵循行为明确性原则、科学性原则、协商性原则、可操作性原则和动态性原则,依照海洋生态系统服务功能、海洋资源资产服务功能、海洋生态系统损害评估、海洋生态系统损失评估报告、海洋生态系统补偿与受偿主体确定、海洋生态系统补偿金额确定、海洋生态系统补偿执行、海洋生态系统补偿监控、海洋生态系统补偿评估与终结等运作程序创建了海洋生态补偿机制。进而,从提升社会公众认知、明确生态补偿制度、完善生态补偿机制、选定价值评估方法和评估生态补偿效益维度,探讨了海洋生态补偿实践路径。     

地震信息融媒体公共服务研究

地震信息传播已进入实时、全面、多维的公共服务时代，单一媒体地震信息服务已无法满足政府、社会公众和地震行业需求，地震信息向融媒体公共服务模式发展。本文对地震信息内容服务需求及特点、地震媒体平台功能特色、融合式媒体信息服务模式等进行分析，对地震信息融媒体公共服务进行研究，旨在提高地震信息服务效率与用户满意度，促进地震信息化建设科学、健康发展。     

基于GIS的土地利用规划公众参与研究

在介绍公众参与在土地利用规划中的地位、作用、方式的基础上,提出将GIS应用于土地利用规划公众参与,提出了GIS辅助土地利用规划公众参与的主要功能,对照国内外GIS应用探讨了GIS辅助土地利用规划公众参与的模式,结合土地利用规划各阶段公众参与的特点提出的GIS辅助土地利用规划公众参与的框架。     

对临汾人工影响天气工作的调研报告

人工增雨防雹是直接为工农业生产服务的公益性事业,有利于促进草木植被生长,可有效地扑救森林、草场火灾,是保护和改善生态环境的重要措施;可以减轻大气污染程度,改善空气质量,有益于人们的身心健康;可以缓解工业、农业和人民生活用水供需矛盾,促进社会经济可持续发展。分析表明,凡是降水量明显偏少的年份,粮食大都减产;年降雨量多的年份,粮食大都增产。这表明,人工增雨消雹对于经济建设和社会发展尤其是对农业生产有着重要的意义。     

The creative reconstruction of the Internet: Google and the privatization of cyberspace and DigiPlace

The Internet has often been portrayed as the ultimate leveler of information where existing hierarchies of power and privilege are undermined by meritocracy. Some websites and functions are, however, more equal than others. In particular, search engines such as Google have been a key means to construct meaning out of disorder. This ordering (or enclosing of the Internet commons), however, comes at a cost as a location within the top 10 Google search results, marks the boundary (albeit a fluid one) between the core and the periphery of the Internet. The recent incorporation of spatial elements into the Google indexing raises fresh and geographically relevant concerns. This article focuses on the construction, access and use of Google derived rankings to deploy geo-referenced information in the physical environment and the way this melding of code and place affects how people interact with place. Using the theoretical concept of DigiPlace this article analyzes how Google Maps and Google Earth are structured and shape what appears (and what does not) in cyberspace and DigiPlace. Of particular concern are the implications of a private corporation controlling this new space.