Understanding plastic packaging: The co-evolution of materials and society

In recent years, the environmental problems associated with plastics have become a matter of global concern. Current responses seek to replace plastics with other materials, however it is not yet clear that these alternatives will deliver improved environmental outcomes. There remains an urgent need for more nuanced understandings of plastics, their role in society, and their environmental impacts. Drawing on social science perspectives that emphasise the co-evolution of materials and society, this paper outlines a socio-technical approach to plastics and social change. In this view, plastics are understood in terms of the networks and relations of which they are part – highlighting the limitations of both technological solutions and the blanket condemnation of particular materials. The analysis focuses specifically on plastic packaging, exploring the interplay of technological innovation and consumer practices to better account for processes of change. Our arguments are advanced through reference to three case studies: the launch of a ‘roast in the bag’ chicken by a food retailer, the switch to compostable packaging by a potato crisps (chips) brand, and the refilling of plastic bottles by a cosmetics company. Particular attention is paid to the relationships between commercial, environmental and regulatory concerns. To conclude, we consider implications of the approach presented here for transdisciplinary and policy debates about the problems associated with single-use plastics.     

Functional composition, but not richness, affected the performance of sessile suspension-feeding assemblages

The efficiency by which communities capture limiting resources may be related to the number of species or functional types competing therein. This is because species use different resources (i.e. complementarity effect) or because species-rich communities include species with extreme functional traits (positive selection effect). We conducted two manipulative studies to separate the effects of functional richness and functional identity on the feeding efficiency (i.e. filtration rate) of suspension-feeding invertebrates growing on vertical surfaces. In addition, one experiment tested whether the density of organisms influences the effect of functional diversity. Monocultures and complete mixtures of functional types were fed with a solution of microalgae of different sizes (6 μm–40 μm). Experiments conducted at two locations, Helgoland and Plymouth, showed that functional identity had far larger effects on filtration rate than richness. Mixtures did not outperform the average monoculture or the best-performing monoculture and this pattern was independent on density. The high efficiency of one of the functional types in consuming most microalgae could have minimised the resource complementarity. The loss or gain of particular species may therefore have a stronger impact on the functioning of epibenthic communities than richness per se.     

沿海城市滨海旅游业消费环境优劣势比较分析及对策研究——以东海区八大城市为例

对选取的东海区8个沿海城市的滨海旅游业消费环境不同年度、不同城市进行纵向和横向的比较是沿海城市滨海旅游业发展重要的研究,文章从自然消费环境、经济消费环境、社会消费环境、生态消费环境以及政治消费环境5个视角,运用统计学的方法对东海区8个沿海城市2014—2016年滨海旅游业消费环境状况进行比较分析。结果显示,(1)上海的经济和社会消费环境较强,自然和生态消费环境较弱,尤其空气质量和城市绿化率需要改善。(2)福州、泉州和厦门自然消费环境较有优势,有较为庞大的海域资源。(3)宁波和温州整体状况较良。(4)连云港和南通整体情况较差。(5)沿海城市之间既有竞争,还有合作,两者是相辅相成、互惠互利的。(6)考虑到东海区沿海城市地理位置优越,有发展国际、国内贸易地域及政策上的优势,建议加快完善东海区沿海城市旅游消费环境基础设施建设,重点加大对交通基础设施的投入力度。     

Auswertung langzeitlicher Meßreihen zur aeroben Abbauleistung der Uferpassage einer Wassergewinnungsanlage am Niederrhein

Evaluation of Long-term Measurements Concerning the Aerobic Degradation Performance of the Subsoil Passage of a Water Catchment at the Lower Rhine The magnitude of the biodegradation of organics during bank filtration was investigated and exemplary quantified at a drinking water catchment in the lower river Rhine area. The catchment is situated at an undercut slope where the Rhine has a steady flow. The observed segment of the quarternary aquifer was free of iron and manganese and showed even under anaerobic conditions no heterotrophic denitrification. This facilitated the assignment and the balance of oxygen consumption and the determination of inorganic carbon due to the metabolic activity of heterotrophic organisms. In particular the progressive curve of the base neutralization capacity up to pH 8.2 of the bank filtered water proved to be a good measure for the biological activity in the river bottom. In the months from summer to autumn there was an increased biological activity. The observed oxygen consumptions could be attributed to the biodegradation of dissolved organic matter by 35 to 45% only. Obviously the particulate organic matter after the rise in temperature during summer takes part in a substantial manner considered little until now. Today the Rhine is regarded as a largely rehabilitated river with respect to oxygen consuming pollutions. The observations demonstrate, that in such flowing waters the particulate organic matter, which should mainly consist of withered organisms, may have a dominant influence on the concentration of oxygen in the bank-filtered water in summertimes.     

西藏东巧北尕苍见岛弧的厘定及地质意义

在班公错—怒江小洋盆内晚侏罗世存在向南的俯冲已被许多学者所证实,近期在班—怒带中部的东巧蛇绿岩带北侧发现一套晚侏罗世火山岩——尕苍见(组)火山岩,该套火山岩以内部变形微弱而明显有别于东巧蛇绿岩带,其地球化学特点反映具有岛弧性质,并具有初期为拉斑玄武质-钙碱性岩浆喷发,尔后以钙碱性火山活动为主,至晚期岛弧演化成熟,发生岛弧橄榄安粗质火山喷发活动,并伴有富Nb岛弧玄武岩产出。证明在班怒小洋盆内晚期也曾存在向北的俯冲作用。这一发现对完整重溯班—怒带构造演化和构建青藏高原大地构造格局具有重要意义。     

The role of consumption and globalization in a cultural industry: The case of flamenco

The rise of cultural industries is in part facilitated by the rise of leisure and entertainment in the advanced industrialized economies. This article explores one such example, taking ‘ethnic’ art, flamenco, and examining the role of consumption in shaping flamenco, both as an art form and as an industry. The global reach of the flamenco industry is assessed by focusing on two major markets, Japan and the United States. It suggests the presence of a geographic paradox in contemporary cultural industries, which, on the one hand, points to the need to retain their place-based identity, and on the other hand, indicates the need for regional cultures to establish links to export markets for their survival. It also shows that contemporary cultural change is not a unilateral process of the global invading the local. Rather, it is a process of consumers interpreting, appropriating, and adopting a cultural commodity in their own terms.     

Wardrobe matter: the sorting, displacement and circulation of women's clothing

This paper develops a reading of the wardrobe which emphasises the wardrobe's location within the consumption practices of tidying, sorting and the displacement of clothing. Its emphasis is on the circulation of clothing matter and the transience of clothing consumption, not––as recent accounts have stressed––the accumulation, collection and wearing of clothing. Using primarily the example of maternity wear, the paper outlines how clothing matter circulates amongst and between women (between siblings, between friends and amongst neighbours and acquaintances) and accounts for this practice. It argues that maternity wear circulation is both an embodied divestment/recovery ritual and about the making of mothers, through its appeal to thrift, sacrifice and making-do. The paper concludes by reflecting on the significance of the absence of maternity wear from women's wardrobes and by suggesting that wardrobes need to be thought of not just as containers of memory, but as temporary holding places in the lives of clothes, and as pivotally positioned as a fulcrum for clothing movement, between wearing, storage and displacement.     

中国食物问题及其对策初探

经过十年改革,我国的食物生产有了明显增长,人民的营养水平得到较大提高。但是人均占有土地继续减少和人民消费需求不断增长的趋势,使我国的食物供应面临严峻的挑战。本文从确立适合国情的食物消费结构、扩大食物生产的途径以及合理组织食物贸易三个方面探讨了应该采取的主要对策。