Church-based social capital, networks and geographical scale: Katrina evacuation, relocation, and recovery in a New Orleans Vietnamese American community

This research examines the role of social capital and networks to explain the evacuation, relocation, and recovery experiences of a Vietnamese American community in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the single largest community institution, the parish church’s complex bonding and bridging social capital and networks proved particularly critical in part because of its historically based ontological security. The process of evacuation, but especially relocation and recovery, was dependent on deploying co-ethnic social capital and networks at a variety of geographical scales. Beyond the local or community scale, extra-local, regional, and national scales of social capital and networks reproduced a spatially redefined Vietnamese American community. Part of the recovery process included constructing discursive place-based collective-action frames to successfully contest a nearby landfill that in turn engendered social capital and networks crossing ethnic boundaries to include the extra-local African American community. Engaging social capital and networks beyond the local geographical scale cultivated a Vietnamese American community with an emergent post-Katrina cultural and political identity.     

Measuring the attractiveness of Dutch landscapes: Identifying national hotspots of highly valued places using Google Maps

In a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) or an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), determining the value that the general public attaches to a landscape is often problematic. To aid the inclusion of this social value in such analyses, a Google Maps-based tool, called the HotSpotMonitor (HSM), was developed. The HSM determines which natural places are highly attractive by having people mark such places on a map. The definition of attractiveness remains open to avoid having marker placement being influenced by preconceived thoughts. The number of markers an area receives is considered to indicate its social value. Six regions were selected, and from these, stratified samples were drawn (total n = 3293). Participants placed markers at three spatial levels: local, regional and national. This paper focuses on the markers at the national level. The first research question is whether the HSM can produce an accurate map of highly attractive places at a national level. The results indicated that while in principle HSM can produce such a map, the spatial representativeness of the sample is important. The region of origin of the participants influenced where they placed their markers, an effect previously termed spatial discounting. The second research question considers which qualities the participants associate with the marked places. These qualities were very similar at all three spatial levels: green, natural, presence of water and quiet were often selected out of the fourteen suggested qualities. The third, and more exploratory, research question concerns which characteristics of an area predict its attractiveness. Natural and forest areas had higher marker densities than water surfaces or all other types of land use combined. The discussion evaluates the potential of the HSM to generate input on social landscape values for CBAs and EIAs.     

海洋环境辐射质量分级方法及导出活度浓度限值初探

本研究综述了国际上海洋环境辐射质量评价方面的研究进展,结合我国海洋管理的实际需求,提出将海洋环境辐射质量分为4个级别(1～4级分别表示环境放射性水平处于本底范围、超出本底范围但无危害、所致公众辐射剂量超出限值和所致海洋生物辐射剂量超出限值),并提出了各级导出活度浓度限值的确定原则。其中,确定第1级导出活度浓度限值的依据为我国的放射性本底调查数据,采用统计分析的方法,取绝大多数本底值的上限值,作为分级阈值。确定第2级导出活度浓度限值的依据为公众辐射剂量限值、鱼类对不同核素的浓集系数、不同核素的剂量转换因子、海产品消费量等参数,原则是确保在正常摄入海产品的情况下,对公众造成的辐射剂量不超过国家标准规定的年剂量限值。确定第3级导出活度浓度限值的依据为国际上有关海洋生物发生辐射效应阈值的研究成果,原则是保护海洋生物种群不受辐射伤害。最后,本研究将根据各级的分级阈值与现行国家标准限值进行比较。本研究成果有助于国内工作在一线的海洋监测人员对常规监测数据进行评价,亦为海洋管理决策提供技术支持和参考依据。     

Recent Progresses in Comparative Planetology——Summary of the Session of Comparative Planetology at the 3rd Conference of Earth System Sciences

Comparative planetology is an interdisciplinary science between Earth sciences and astronomy. It studies physical, chemical and dynamical properties of planets and satellites and their surface characteristics, interior structures and chemistry, magnetic field, climate and possible existence of life. Although the study of comparative planetary science is at its infancy stage in China, it is very encouraging to see that 25 papers were received by the session, which is much more than what we expected. It indicates that more and more scientists are interested in this research field. These papers can be classified into three categories: solar planets, extra-solar planets, and moon explorations. Scientists from both China and oversea reported their recent results.     

Water Cycle Analysis of Social and Economic System in Tarim River Basin

Water cycle includes natural water circulation and social economic system water cycle. The concept of virtual water provides a new method and means for studying social water circulation. This paper is based on the theory of water circulation in social and economic system, using input-output analysis method quantitatively describes the Tarim River basin of social water cycle paths and analysis of water resources management in Tarim River basin sustainable development process of the key issues. The results show that the main sectors of virtual water export in the Tarim River Basin are agriculture, petroleum, natural gas and food industry. Agricultural water accounts for more than 98% of total water consumption, most of which is transferred to the food and textile industries, and the food industry export water from the agricultural sector. Shandong Province is the largest virtual water transport area in the Tarim River Basin. The main sector of virtual water input in the Tarim River Basin is the metallurgical industry. Finally, in view of the problems arising from the inter-industrial and inter-regional social water circulation in the Tarim River basin, the paper puts forward the ways and strategies of regulating agricultural and industrial water use in the Tarim River Basin.     

论地震科技信息的综合价值及发展战略

随着地震科学技术的发展，地震科技信息作为学科窗口而越来越引起人们的重视。该文在阐述地震科技信息重要性的同时，又从本学科的基础、社会的需要、领导层的决策、多学科的利用及后效作用等方面，重点探讨了地震科技信息的综合价值，提出了发展地震科技信息工作的基本思路和地震科技信息逐步社会化的远景。     

论滑坡学

滑坡学可分为理论滑坡学和应用滑坡学．前者的分支有：滑坡发生学、滑坡运动学、滑坡组构学、滑坡形态学、滑坡断代－周期学、滑坡分类学、滑坡分布学、滑坡制图学、滑坡编目学和滑坡数据库系统等．应用滑坡学含滑坡研究方法论、技术手段和滑坡防御工程等．     

材料科学和地质学的发展及前景(英文)

材料科学可定义为一门涉及化学、物理学、矿物学、地质学、冶金学和合成材料等领域的科学。“工具制造者的人类” ,主要是使用石器 ,并由此而增进了其智能的发育。燧石、石灰岩中氧化硅富集体提供了制作武器和工具的材料 ,土壤则可用于制陶业和陶瓷业。材料科学主要是由研究工业矿物演化而来 ,它与地质学的关系密切 ;合成材料以其特殊的性能满足了人们的需求。火和压力在处理天然材料的工艺发展中起着头等作用 ;金银铜铁及其它金属能用作装饰品、防御武器和制造工具。有些金属的使用显示了人类各历史时期的特点。人们后来发现某些结晶体具有特殊的性质 ,如石英的压电性、红宝石激光 ,钻石和刚玉的高硬度 (可用作磨料 ,将来仍具开发潜力 )。合成材料和在太空合成的材料具有远大前景 (如碳的同素异形体carbyne car bynoid)。在材料科学中 ,特种玻璃 ,硬而防火的陶瓷、磨料、特殊耐火材料 ,只不过是材料科学中业已开发的几种工艺矿物而已。材料科学的发展对于现代文明和解决人类当今和未来所遇到的各种问题都极其重要。与世界人口增长相关的问题 ,可以通过科学、绿色革命和生物技术 ,以及一切天然资源的合理开发来解决 ,这将有助于避免“南北对抗”。肯定地说 ,材料科学及其未来的发展 ,会有助于人类去应付