Quantitative Research Performing other Worlds: lessons from sustainable agriculture in the Philippines

For those interested in ethical research, quantitative methods are often dismissed as apolitical; as unreflective exercises in ‘mere counting’. If, however, in doing research, we bring into being the very worlds we purport to describe, the question begs: what kinds of worlds might quantitative methods bring into being? Is there space for a reflexive, quantitative research agenda? In this paper, I will discuss an action-based predominantly quantitative research project that aimed to investigate the diverse impacts of sustainable agriculture on small-scale farmers in the Philippines. The study, one of the largest ever undertaken on organic rice production, was consciously designed, not merely to describe, but to perform organic agriculture differently. While most quantitative, and indeed much qualitative, research ignores its performativity, this research was intended to enact a reality of sustainable agriculture as a viable and vital alternative to mainstream, capitalist agriculture.     

Estimating agricultural production in marginal and food insecure areas in Kenya using very high resolution remotely sensed imagery

Regularly monitoring the amount of food produced in food insecure, isolated, subsistence farming areas can be used to help identify households or communities who may be in need of additional food resources. Measuring seasonal food production in developing countries, particularly at a sub-national level, is complicated by lack of data. In this study we use high resolution remotely sensed data to calculate cultivated area in two different growing areas, during two different seasons in Kenya. The results of the research support the usefulness of this approach for agricultural monitoring in the developing world and suggest that monitoring cultivated area requires attention to the specific growing characteristics of an area.     

The Value of Practice-Based Knowledge

Increasing recognition of the value of practice-based or experiential knowledge in natural resource management justifies the creation of a new category of articles in Society & Natural Resources that we are calling Practice-Based Knowledge (PBK). The rationale for focusing on PBK is due to its key role in the emergence of hybrid governance institutions across state, market, and civil society, understanding the complexity of dynamic socioecological systems, recognizing the challenges of multiple knowledge systems and context-specific practices, embracing the power of informal institutions and civic science, and engaging debates on the growing prevalence of market-oriented conservation. The goal is to provide a dedicated space within the published, peer-reviewed literature for scholars, government officials, nonprofit managers, and engaged citizens to share experiences informed by practical action. Relevant and timely practice-based insights may improve understanding and management of social and ecological processes and systems, while also offering the potential to contribute to theory.     

Ecological Modernization or Aristocratic Conservation? Exploring the Impact of Affluence on Carbon Emissions at the Local Level

Social scientists have debated how affluence impacts carbon emissions at the national level. We conduct an exploratory study at the subnational level to expose another dimension of the affluence–emissions debate. Based on the notion of aristocratic conservation, we hypothesize that affluence is positively related to carbon emissions from consumption activities but negatively related to emissions from production activities. We test these hypotheses using county-level data in the United States for the year 2002. A spatial regression analysis demonstrates that median household income is positively associated with consumption-based emissions; nevertheless, we find evidence of an environmental inequality Kuznets curve in the relationship between median household income and production-based emissions. This finding suggests that the wealthiest counties are able to displace certain types of emissions, specifically those related to energy and industrial production. We discuss the theoretical and political implications of these results.     

Hog Daddy and the Walls of Steel: Catch Shares and Ecosystem Change in the New England Groundfishery

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration implemented market-based fishery management in the New England groundfishery as catch shares, controlling aggregate harvests through tradable annual catch quotas allocated to fishing groups called sectors. Policy supporters assert that resulting markets raise conservation incentives. In compliance with the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, species assessments permit catch shares to replace more spatially and temporally specific constraints on fishing gear, time, areas, and daily harvest limits. Qualitative evidence from field interviews and participant observation questions the efficacy of catch shares. Fishing industry members observe that increased presence of large trawl vessels in previously protected areas damages fish subpopulations and benthic habitat. Regulatory bioeconomic models fail to consider these lay observations. The consequent inability of quota markets to recognize the materiality of human–environment relationships at the spatiotemporal scales of fishing activity, and to internalize associated externalities, may have devastating consequences for the fishery.     

Water Flows Toward Power: Socioecological Degradation of Lake Urmia,Iran

Water is an invaluable resource, and equitable access to it is a fundamental human right. Disenfranchised groups often lose access to water resources because their interests are not well represented by decision makers. Excluding these groups from resource management policy often results in myopic decisions that contribute to further ecosystem damage. We describe the ecological degradation of Lake Urmia in Iran, which has recently experienced increased salinity and declining water quantity. The lake is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site, and supports unique biodiversity in the region. The lake's decline is driven by the destruction of Zagros forests and the government's water policies, which diverted water to more politically connected agricultural land users, increasing social inequity and prompting more deforestation. The most straightforward restoration solution is to discontinue the diversions and allow critical inflows to recharge Lake Urmia, preserving the lake and wetlands for migratory birds, tourists, and local communities.     

工业污染与恩格尔系数的库兹涅茨分析——基于面板数据的联立方程模型

基于2000—2010年中国31个省份的工业废水排放总量、工业废气排放总量、工业固体废物排放总量三类指标,适当添加人均可支配收入解释变量。利用面板数据的联立方程个体固定效应模型分析了城镇和农村恩格尔系数分别与污染物排放量之间的环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)双向反馈作用关系。由EC-EKC-IP方程的结果表明,工业三废的排放与城镇、农村恩格尔系数之间的关系未必都符合环境库兹涅茨倒U型曲线。因此,必须协调好环境治理与经济增长两者的均衡发展,以达到降低恩格尔系数和减少工业污染的双赢目标。     

地方文化环境与大学教学科研融合发展的模式初探——基于英美若干研究型大学的经验研究

教学科研的深度融合是研究型大学的共同特点,但各个大学实现融合的模式仍存在差异。本文拟基于地方文化传统和周边产业发展需求,探索地方对大学主导功能的影响,并结合对英美典型研究性大学的案例剖析,研究不同大学教学科研融合发展的主要立足点不同的内在原因。研究显示,地方不仅为大学的发展提供资金和基础设施等方面的支持,也需要大学提供人力资本、知识创新等方面的服务,因此,大学的主导功能与地方文化经济环境密切相关,而教学科研的融合则往往立足于大学的主要功能。例如,牛津大学以人才培养为重点就深受英国传统文化的影响,哈佛在基础研究方面的卓越贡献也与其追求真理的文化传统有关,而斯坦福大学以服务产业发展促进人才培养与科研紧密融合的模式也受到实用教育理念的影响。总的看来,研究型大学都应该力促教学科研的深度融合,这是其承载文化传播和知识创造功能的基础,但就具体大学而言,很有必要适应特定地方的文化环境,探索适合的教学科研融合发展模式,而不要陷入盲目模仿的误区。     

南极半岛周边海域表层沉积物粒度分布特征及其环境指示意义

基于南极半岛周边海域表层沉积物调查以及收集的资料,并通过分析表层沉积物粒度数据研究沉积物类型和分布特征,探讨沉积物的变化规律。南极半岛周边海域的沉积物类型比较丰富,主要分为四大类:砾质、砂质、粉砂质以及泥质沉积物;根据不同的水深和地貌单元可分为陆架(或岛架)碎屑沉积物、陆坡(或岛坡)沉积物和深海沉积物。研究区沉积物属于冰海沉积物,并可划分为残副冰碛物和混合副冰碛物。沉积物的搬运介质以冰川、冰筏为主,海流对沉积物的影响较为明显,沉积物类型随地形变化而呈有规律的分布。