Unjust and unsustainable: A case study of the Açu port industrial complex

Given their potential for social and ecosystem disruption along with job creation and economic stimulus, the proliferation of extremely large-scale investment projects worldwide has created a dilemma for policymakers and public authorities. Although one method of balancing the varied interests of stakeholders is to require that development projects be sustainable, the definition of this concept has become muddled and few practical frameworks for its implementation have emerged. One strategy that does exist, however, is the just sustainability framework. The present study sought to assess the just sustainability of the Açu industrial seaport megaproject in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil through the application of a questionnaire among 60 active marine artisan fishers of a nearby community. The results indicate that the megaproject was not sustainable. Furthermore, the results of the just sustainability indicators triangulated both with the study's primary fisher ethnographic data and with peer-reviewed scientific assessments of similar projects, thus confirming the potential value of the just sustainability framework for assessment and policy formulation.     

Obtaining public support for North-South climate funding: Evidence from conjoint experiments in donor countries

The adoption of the Warsaw mechanism on loss and damage has again highlighted the North-South divide in those parts of UNFCCC negotiations dealing with international climate finance. Current estimates put required funding from rich countries at 50–100 billion Euros per year to induce non-Annex I countries to take on greenhouse gas limitation commitments and to assist highly vulnerable countries. Results from survey-embedded conjoint experiments can help policy-makers anticipate opportunities and pitfalls in designing large-scale climate funding schemes. We implemented such experiments in the United States and Germany to better understand what institutional design characteristics are likely to garner more public support for climate funding among citizens in key developed countries. We find that climate funding receives more public support if it flows to efficient governments, funding decisions are made jointly by donor and recipient countries, funding is used both for mitigation and adaptation, and other donor countries contribute a large share. Contrary to what one might expect, climate change damage levels, income, and emissions in/of potential recipient countries have no significant effect on public support. These findings suggest that finance mechanisms that focus purely on compensating developing countries, without contributing to the global public good of mitigation, will find it hard to garner public support.     

Spatial spillover and the factors influencing public service supply in Sichuan province,China

This article examines the spatial characteristics of public service supply and the factors influencing such supply in cities of Sichuan Province, China using spatial-autocorrelation and spatial econometric models with statistical data in 2012. The results demonstrate that expenditures on different types of public services present different spatial autocorrelation patterns. Although the spatial differences in basic public service expenditures are relatively small, a clear fan-shaped spillover to the east can be seen in Chengdu City. Chengdu also shows high clustering of advanced public service expenditures, being a typical core-periphery pattern. Post-earthquake reconstruction expenditures are clustered in the ＂5.12 Wenchuan earthquake＂ region and spill over toward cities to the east. The efficiency of public services in the mountainous areas in western Sichuan is low and exhibits a pattern of low-low spatial autocorrelation. The efficiency of public service supply is affected by economic, social, political and geographical factors. Based on the results of this analysis, we recommend a supply strategy that incorporates different types of public services and a specialized public service supply strategy for mountainous areas. Overall public service efficiency should be enhanced by focusing on narrowing the gap in farmers＇ income among regions and accelerating urbanization. Decision-makers should consider moresupportive policies with regard to providing basic public services in mountainous areas to ensure an equalized supply of basic public services. To enhance the efficiency of advanced public service supply, additional growth pole should be encouraged and incentivized; however, investments are required to drive the development of the peripheral regions through regional economic integration. Both software and hardware types of infrastructure are required to supply services efficiently during post-disaster reconstruction.     

基于互联网公交调度管理系统的设计与实现

随着国民经济的发展和城市化进程的推进,城市交通问题日益凸显。在当今数字城市和智慧城市建设的浪潮下,通过互联网和现代IT技术实现城市公交系统的高效管理,提高公共交通的运营效率和社会服务水平,符合现代化大城市发展的必然要求。从设计与实现角度,本文对基于互联网的公交调度管理系统的组成与功能进行了详细介绍。     

Cool dudes: The denial of climate change among conservative white males in the United States

We examine whether conservative white males are more likely than are other adults in the U.S. general public to endorse climate change denial. We draw theoretical and analytical guidance from the identity-protective cognition thesis explaining the white male effect and from recent political psychology scholarship documenting the heightened system-justification tendencies of political conservatives. We utilize public opinion data from ten Gallup surveys from 2001 to 2010, focusing specifically on five indicators of climate change denial. We find that conservative white males are significantly more likely than are other Americans to endorse denialist views on all five items, and that these differences are even greater for those conservative white males who self-report understanding global warming very well. Furthermore, the results of our multivariate logistic regression models reveal that the conservative white male effect remains significant when controlling for the direct effects of political ideology, race, and gender as well as the effects of nine control variables. We thus conclude that the unique views of conservative white males contribute significantly to the high level of climate change denial in the United States.     

Lights, camera … action? Altered attitudes and behaviour in response to the climate change film The Age of Stupid

The film The Age of Stupid depicts the world in 2055 devastated by climate change, combining this with documentary footage which illustrates many facets of the problems of climate change and fossil-fuel dependency. This study investigates the effects of the film on UK viewers’ attitudes and behaviour through a three-stage survey. Analysis of changes in attitudes focussed particularly on respondents’ concern about climate change, motivation to act, fear about the potential for catastrophe, beliefs about responsibility for action, and sense of agency. The film increased concern about climate change, motivation to act, and viewers’ sense of agency, although these effects had not persisted 10-14 weeks after seeing it. It was also successful in promoting some mitigation actions and behavioural change, although respondents reported barriers to further action, such as limited options for improving home energy efficiency among those in rented accommodation. However, filmgoers were atypical of the general public in that they exhibited very high levels of concern about climate change, knowledge about how to reduce their carbon emissions, and contact with organisations campaigning about climate change, before they saw the film. The paper considers how these factors may have enabled viewers to respond to the film as they did, as well as policy implications for those seeking to develop effective climate change communications.     

Public engagement with carbon and climate change: To what extent is the public ‘carbon capable’?

The relevance of climate change for society seems indisputable: scientific evidence points to a significant human contribution in causing climate change, and impacts which will increasingly affect human welfare. In order to meet national and international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, there is an urgent need to understand and enable societal engagement in mitigation. Yet recent research indicates that this involvement is currently limited: although awareness of climate change is widespread, understanding and behavioral engagement are far lower. Proposals for mitigative ‘personal carbon budgets’ imply a need for public understanding of the causes and consequences of carbon emissions, as well as the ability to reduce emissions. However, little has been done to consider the situated meanings of carbon and energy in everyday life and decisions. This paper builds on the concept of ‘carbon capability’, a term which captures the contextual meanings associated with carbon and individuals’ abilities and motivations to reduce emissions. We present empirical findings from a UK survey of public engagement with climate change and carbon capability, focusing on both individual and institutional dimensions. These findings highlight the diverse public understandings about ‘carbon’, encompassing technical, social, and moral discourses; and provide further evidence for the environmental value-action gap in relation to adoption of low-carbon lifestyles. Implications of these findings for promoting public engagement with climate change and carbon capability are discussed.     

从山西地震谣传事件看地方政府的公关危机

根据2010年初发生在山西省的地震谣言事件,分析了在此次事件中存在的公关危机处理问题,并提出相应的危机处理建议.     

广州城市快速公交干道网络设计

结合广州市天河路的案例分析,借助交通标准化和规模效益原理,利用地理信息系统的空间分析手段,尝试重新设计运量大、速度快、时效强的快速城市公共交通干线网络,提出建设广州城市一路一线快速公交网络模式的构想。认为一路一线的城市公共交通网络,既利于公交车辆的统一调配,提高道路使用效率,也便于按需发车,缩短等车时间,使整个城市公共交通的运营从真正意义上做到方便快捷。     

关于建立基础测绘公益性服务机制的探讨

为更好地发挥基础测绘的公益性服务功能 ,特别是为领导决策机关和宏观管理、行政管理服务 ,需要建立基础测绘公益性服务机制 ,并完善基础地理信息数据的提供和使用政策