Green and Sustainable Commercial Property Supply in Malaysia and Nigeria

The aim of this study is to identify the predictive factors and variables that motivate decisions to supply sustainable or green commercial properties, and to apply discriminant analysis technique to assess if there are significant differences in perception between real estate developers in Malaysia and Nigeria based on the identified variables. The result revealed a significant discriminant function differentiating the two countries based on their perception of the variables. The motivational components and attributes were found to be in favor of Malaysia. The Wilks' lambda F‐test and the standardized discriminant function coefficients, showed that there were significant differences between developers in both countries as assessed by the life‐cycle cost motivations, green policies and certification, market strategy, developers expected rate of return, green tax incentive, and available green skills. However, the variables with the most predictive power in accounting for the differences were found to be within the measures of life‐cycle, cost‐saving motivations.     

生计脆弱性研究热点与前沿的可视化

以Web of science核心数据库中1991~2015年间收录主题为“livelihood vulnerability”的文献为基础,应用可视化分析软件CiteSpace Ⅲ,采取关键词共现分析、文献共被引分析、突现词分析等方法对生计脆弱性研究现状进行可视化分析。研究发现：① 生计脆弱性研究文献呈现逐年上升趋势,主要分布在生态、环境和管理等学科领域;美、英、澳、加、德5国及东英格兰大学、哥本哈根大学、麦吉尔大学、利兹大学、萨塞克斯大学等研究机构具有较强的研究实力。② Ellis F、Smit B、Adger W N、Kelly P M、Davies S和Turner B L等学者及其代表作是生计脆弱性研究的知识基础。③ 饥荒、社会生态系统、生计策略、贫困、减贫等是生计脆弱性的研究热点与前沿领域。     

The impact of Hurricane Katrina on urban growth in Louisiana: an analysis using data mining and simulation approaches

ABSTRACT

Understanding human dynamics after a major disaster is important to the region’s sustainable development. This study utilized land cover data to examine how Hurricane Katrina has affected the urban growth pattern in the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana. The study analyzed land cover changes from non-urban to urban in three metropolitan areas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans-Metairie, and Hammond, for two time periods, pre-Katrina (2001–2006) and post-Katrina (2006–2010). The study first applied a focal filter to extract continuous urban areas from the scattered urban pixels in the original remote sensing images. Statistical analyses were applied to develop initial functions between urban growth probability and several driving factors. A genetic algorithm was then used to calibrate the transition function, and cellular automata simulation based on the transition function was conducted to evaluate future urban growth patterns with and without the impact of Hurricane Katrina. The results show that elevation has become a much more important factor after Hurricane Katrina, and urban growth has shifted to higher elevation regions. The elevation most probable for new urban growth increased from 10.84 to 11.90 meters. Moreover, simulated future urban growth in this region indicates a decentralized trend, with more growth occurring in more distant regions with higher elevation. In the New Orleans metropolitan area, urban growth will continue to spill across Lake Pontchartrain to the satellite towns that are more than 50 minutes away by driving from the city center.     

Scientists’ views on economic growth versus the environment: a questionnaire survey among economists and non-economists

The academic debate on economic growth, the environment and prosperity has continued for many decades now. In 2015, we conducted an online survey of researchers’ views on various aspects of this debate, such as the compatibility of global GDP growth with the 2 °C climate policy target, and the timing and factors of (never-)ending growth. The 814 respondents have a wide range of backgrounds, including growth theory, general economics, environmental economics, ecological economics, environmental social sciences, and natural sciences. The two main aims are: (1) to provide an overview of agreements and disagreements across research fields, and (2) to understand why opinions differ. The survey results indicate substantial disagreement across research fields on almost every posed question. Environmental problems are most frequently mentioned as a very important factor contributing to an end of economic growth. Furthermore, we find that researchers are more skeptical about growth in the context of a concrete problem like the compatibility with the 2 °C climate target than when considering environmental problems more generally. Many respondents suggest ideology, values and worldviews as important reasons for disagreement. This is supported by the statistical analysis, showing that researchers’ political orientation is consistently correlated with views on growth.     

Urbanization on the Mongolian Plateau after economic reform: Changes and causes

In response to changes in human and natural environments over the past three decades, transitional countries have experienced dramatic urbanization. In the context of socioeconomic and biophysical changes, our knowledge on these urbanization processes remains limited. Here, we used the Mongolian Plateau (i.e., Inner Mongolia (IM) and Mongolia (MG)) as a testbed and applied the coupled natural and human (CNH) concept to understand the processes and causes of urbanization. We selected six cities on the Mongolian Plateau, classified their urban built-up areas using Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) from 1990 through 2015, and examined the driving forces of urbanization (i.e., economy, social goods, and environmental variables) through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). We found that the spatial characteristics of urbanization in IM and MG have both similarities and differences. The cities in IM and MG have experienced rapid urban expansion, with urban areas increasing by 4.36 times and 3.12 times, respectively, since 1990. Cities in IM, however, were less dense and more sprawling whereas cities in MG were linearly aggregated. We also found through PLS-SEM that multiple driving forces affected urbanization in IM and MG during the transitional period. Results (path coef.) demonstrated that economic development (0.559) is a major driver for urbanization in IM, whereas social goods (0.646) and economic development (0.433) strongly influence urbanization in MG. These differences are likely due to the divergent governmental roles in urban development and in infrastructure/social support, as well as the differing economic structures in IM and MG.     

Coal resources, new air quality standards,and sustainability

According to the National Research Council’s Committee on Earth Resources the stated goal of the “sustainability” paradigm is that the economic activity that maintains current well-being not make future generations worse off, either through environmental degradation or resource depletion. Coal is not “running out” in the United States but the effects of economic deregulation of electricity generation, new air quality standards (Phase II of the 1990 Clear Air Act Amendments), and continued restructuring of the coal mining industry will likely stretch lowsulfur coal supplies in the next decade. The paper discusses these forces and then presents summary coal quality data in the form of grade-cumulative tonnage relationships for major U.S. producing areas to show where future low-sulfur coal supplies are likely to come from. The final section considers the potential magnitude of additional demand for low-sulfur coal, alternative compliance strategies, and implications in terms of maintaining economic efficiency and in terms of the “sustainability paradigm.”     

减船转产背景下沿海渔户生计脆弱性变化及其影响因素——基于浙江省舟山市转产渔户的调查

在构建减船转产背景下沿海渔户生计脆弱性理论分析框架的基础上,以浙江省舟山市转产渔户为研究对象,应用模糊综合评价法比较分析了不同生计方式、不同转产时期下转产渔户生计脆弱性的变化,并实证检验了影响转产渔户生计脆弱性变化的具体因素。研究表明：① 虽然转产后的渔户生计暴露性水平下降,但生计敏感性程度提高且适应能力出现显著下降,最终使转产渔户的生计脆弱性水平上升,总体生计状态表现出恶化趋势;② 不同生计方式下的转产渔户生计脆弱性变化存在差异,其中转产后从事休闲渔业的渔户生计脆弱性水平下降,其余4种生计方式下的转产渔户生计脆弱性水平均有所上升;③ 2个不同转产时期下的渔户生计脆弱性水平均上升,但2015年以前转产的渔户生计脆弱性水平增加幅度更小;④ 受教育程度、减船转产补贴、转产转业时间以及是否参加过转产技能培训对生计脆弱性变化具有显著的负向影响,其中减船转产补贴对生计脆弱性变化的影响最小。     

Negotiating Expectations in the Field: Gatekeepers, Research Fatigue and Cultural Biases

This paper considers disjunctures between my expectations and experience of doing dissertation fieldwork, which I conducted in Benin between the autumns of 1997 and 1998. The research examined the nature of women's livelihood strategies and their associated outcomes in terms of material well‐being. I now believe that my feminist worldview, and my growing exhaustion as the project progressed, resulted in my minimising the importance of key aspects of fieldwork in an African context. Specifically, I downplayed the importance of negotiating with male “gatekeepers” in gaining access to the women with whom I wanted to work. While most of the time I was able to manage this well enough, one day, in particular, stands out as a time when I handled these negotiations very poorly. This paper compares the experiences of that day with another much more productive and fruitful one to examine how and why expectations and experience can diverge. A consideration of some of the issues that resulted in the “lost day” might prove instructive for other researchers.     

Kut (informal rotating credit) in the livelihood strategies of urban households in Penang, Malaysia

The importance of social capital in both rural and urban communities is an often-published topic. By representing the operation of social capital networks, this paper explores the persistence of informal rotating credit in the livelihoods of low-income, urban households in Penang, Malaysia. It highlights the function of such credit and the ways in which it benefits poor women and their households. This paper suggests that informal credit reduces the probability of being poor, and the returns to household investment in social capital are higher for the poor than for the population at large. The downside of such social capital is also discussed. The paper concludes that informal credit is enhanced in the urban settings due to the increase in income opportunities, especially for women.     

Spatio-temporal variations in the diversity and abundance of commercially important Decapoda and Stomatopoda in subtropical Hong Kong waters

In subtropical Hong Kong, western waters (WW) are strongly influenced by the freshwater input from the Pearl River estuary, especially during summer monsoon, whereas eastern waters (EW) are predominantly influenced by oceanic currents throughout the year. Such hydrographical differences may lead to spatio-temporal differences in biodiversity of benthic communities. This study investigated the diversity and abundance of commercially important decapods and stomatopods in EW (i.e. Tolo Harbour and Channel) and WW (i.e. Tuen Mun and Lantau Island) of Hong Kong using monthly trawl surveys (August 2003–May 2005). In total, 22 decapod and nine stomatopod species were recorded. The penaeid Metapenaeopsis sp. and stomatopod Oratosquillina interrupta were the most abundant and dominant crustaceans in EW and WW, respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that WW supported significantly higher abundance, biomass and diversity of crustaceans than EW, although there were significant between-site and within-site variations in community structure. Higher abundance and biomass of crustaceans were recorded in summer than winter. Such spatio-temporal variations could be explained by differences in the hydrography, environmental conditions and anthropogenic impacts between the two areas. Temporal patterns in the abundance–biomass comparison curves and negative W-statistics suggest that the communities have been highly disturbed in both areas, probably due to anthropogenic activities such as bottom trawling and marine pollution.