Predicting Participation in Environmental Treaties: A World-System Analysis*

Which countries tend to sign international environmental treaties and why? This study tests the ability of quantitative cross-national political and economic analysis to predict participation in international environmental agreements over the period 1963–1987. Cross-sectional ordinary least squares regressions suggest that poor, highly indebted countries that are dependent on very few trading partners and that have repres-sive regimes are far more likely to be nonsignatories. The results suggest strategies for increasing the likelihood that nations will ratify hture environmental treaties.     

Unequal Ecological Exchange and Environmental Degradation: A Theoretical Proposition and Cross‐National Study of Deforestation, 1990–2000*

Abstract Political‐economic sociologists have long investigated the dynamics and consequences of international trade. With few exceptions, this area of inquiry ignores the possible connections between trade and environmental degradation. In contrast, environmental sociologists have made several assumptions about the environmental impacts of international trade, but the assumptions lack theoretical specificity and are thus empirically under‐investigated. Bridging these two complementary areas of macrosociology, the present study proposes and tests a structural theory of unequal ecological exchange. The theory posits that more‐developed countries externalize their consumption‐based environmental costs to less‐developed countries, which increase forms of environmental degradation within the latter. To test a key assertion of the theory, a weighted index of vertical trade is created that quantifies the relative extent to which exports are sent to more‐developed countries. Using the index, cross‐national panel analyses of deforestation, 1990–2000 are conducted to test the hypothesis that less‐developed countries with higher levels of exports sent to more‐developed countries experience greater rates of deforestation, net of other factors. Results of the analyses confirm the hypothesis, providing support for the theory of uneven ecological exchange. Additional findings correspond with other sociological studies of deforestation, particularly those that focus on the effects of rural and urban population growth as well as level of capital intensity and rate of economic development.     

More than just trees: Assessing reforestation success in tropical developing countries

Rural communities in many parts of the tropics are dependent of forests for their livelihoods and for environmental services. Forest resources in the tropics have declined rapidly over the past century and therefore many developing countries in the tropics have reforestation programs. Although reforestation is a long-term process with long-term benefits, existing evaluations of the success of these programs tends to focus on short-term establishment success indicators. This paper presents a review of reforestation assessment that highlights the need to not only consider short-term establishment success, but also longer-term growth and maturation success, environmental success and socio-economic success. In addition, we argue that reforestation assessment should not be based on success indicators alone, but should incorporate the drivers of success, which encompasses an array of biophysical, socio-economic, institutional and project characteristics. This is needed in order to understand the reasons why reforestation projects succeed or fail and therefore to design more successful projects in future. The paper presents a conceptual model for reforestation success assessment that links key groups of success indicators and drivers. This conceptual model provides the basis for a more comprehensive evaluation of reforestation success and the basis for the development of predictive systems-based assessment models. These models will be needed to better guide reforestation project planning and policy design and therefore assist rural communities in tropical developing countries to alleviate poverty and achieve a better quality of life.     

SouthNorth Materials Flow: History and Environmental Repercussions

The current literature on the relationship between income and environmental quality is dominated by a notion of an inverted 'U'-shaped curve between both variables. However, a key variable is missing in this kind of study: the extra-territorial environmental effects of national economies. International trade of raw materials may be a good proxy to estimate these 'environmental load displacement' effects. The present work tries to elucidate some patterns in the relationship between economic growth in affluent countries and the quantity of non-renewable materials imported from less-developed countries. The results indicate that a general de-linking between economic growth and Southern resource consumption is not occurring in the industrialized world. Thus, developed countries may be increasingly displacing the environmental costs associated with material throughput to poorer regions of the world.     

Impacts of domestic population dynamics and foreign wood trade on deforestation: a world-system perspective

World system theory posits that core nations control global production processes through their economic and political-military strength, while countries at the periphery remain technologically underdeveloped and operate from a position of dependency. Rapid changes such as population growth and rural encroachment have spurred environmental degradation in the intermediary semi-periphery countries. The effects of world system structure on national deforestation were investigated in a quantitative, cross-national analysis of data from 60 core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral countries. This analysis revealed that rural population growth has had a deleterious effect on forestation throughout the world system. However, the impact of general population growth has been negative only in non-core countries. As hypothesized, forest exports have resulted in ecologic devastation in the periphery of the world system, but have exerted a favorable effect for core countries where reforestation programs dominate. These findings suggest that population growth per se is not the critical factor in environmental degradation. Urged are further quantitative evaluations of the environmental impact of other international commodity trades.     

Changing trends of prostate cancer in Asia

Although Asian people have the lowest incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer in the world, these rates have risen rapidly in the past two decades in most Asian countries. Prostate cancer has become one of the leading male cancers in some Asian countries. In 2000, the age-adjusted incidence was over 10 per 100?000 men in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Israel. Although some of the increases may result from enhanced detection, much of the increased incidence may be associated with westernization of the lifestyle, with increasing obesity and increased consumption of fat. The differences in incidences between native Americans and Asian immigrants are getting smaller, reflecting a possible improvement of diagnostic efforts and changes of environmental risk factors in Asian immigrants. Nevertheless, the huge variations in incidences among ethnic groups imply that there are important genetic risk factors. The stage distributions of prostate cancer in Asian populations are still unfavorable compared to those of Western developed countries. However, a trend towards diagnosing cancer with more favorable prognosis is seen in most Asian countries. Both genetic and environmental risk factors responsible for elevated risks in Asian people are being identified, which may help to reduce prostate cancer incidence in a chemopreventive setting.     

Democracy and Grassroots Opposition in Eastern Europe: Hungary and Russia Compared

The aim of the article is to show how the extent of democracy in two Eastern European societies has a strong conditioning effect on the development of social movements. Hungary and Russia are chosen as contrasting cases. The experience of environmental movements before and after the regime change is used as an illustration of grassroots movements. It is shown that environmental movements in Hungary are more numerous and more successful than those in Russia, and that this is linked to the extent of support they have (or lack) from politicians, non-elected officials, and the media.
In Hungary, although ecological issues are not central, politicians and environmental groups mostly co-operate, whereas in Russia the relationship is either hesitant or sometimes even hostile. In both countries, however, apparatchiks are generally a lot more opposed to grassroots groups, such as environmental ones, but their weaker position in Hungary compared with Russia cancels out this effect. Finally, the media in Hungary have been sympathetic to environmental issues and they are also supportive of the environmental movements. In contrast, however, in Russia, after Yeltsin's arrival in power 'glasnost' has been largely reversed and the media have also been hostile to environmental groups. In sum, the position of the media, politicians and officials shapes the prospects for environmental movements and is an index of the differing degree of democracy in the two societies.     

Environmental Sociology in Japan and Environmental Problems in Asian Societies

This paper discusses typical aspects of environmental sociology in Japan and what characteristics can be found in Japanese environmental problems when they are viewed from their relation to environmental problems in Asian societies.
The most prominent feature of environmental sociology in Japan is that it has been mainly the sociology of environmental problems, whereas in the United States is has been mainly the sociology of the environment. The second characteristic is closely related to the first: environmental sociology in Japan has focused on the local community and the life of people and victims affected by environmental problems.
The third property would be that many studies by environmental sociologists have been accumulated by the Japanese Association for Environmental Sociology, which was set up in 1990.
The approach to the study of environmental problems in Asian societies reflects these characteristics. Views from the historical interaction between Japan and other Asian countries are essential to the study of environmental problems in Asian countries.     

Challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs

Environmental education organizations can do more to either institute evaluation or improve the quality of their evaluation. In an effort to help evaluators bridge the gap between the potential for high quality evaluation systems to improve environmental education, and the low level of evaluation in actual practice, we reviewed recent environmental education literature to reveal the challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs. The literature review identified strategies for confronting the challenges in environmental education evaluation, as well as notable opportunities for increasing the quality of evaluation in environmental education.     

Destination China: International Students in Chengdu

Based on a survey of 355 international students studying at seven universities in Chengdu, China, this article analyses the reasons for their choosing to study in China. The main methods employed are factor analysis and associated nonparametric tests. Results reveal that the quality of Chinese education and Chinese specialities are the most important reasons. In addition, personal referral sources, tuition and living costs, bilateral relations between China and home countries, and policy incentives at the destination, are also important. There are differences between students from developing and developed countries. Students from developing countries placed more emphasis on the quality of Chinese education, suggestions from relatives/friends, and geographic proximity. Those from developed countries referred more frequently to costs and policy incentives. Students who chose courses focusing on Chinese culture, society and language tended to be attracted by human interest, while students who chose courses on other subjects paid more attention to the quality and content of the teaching.     

Stakeholder participation for sustainable waste management

Inadequate environmental sanitation in many cities is a major cause of diseases and is a drain on the economy by way of lost workdays, cost of treatment and cleanup activities. Municipal authorities and policymakers need to act fast to address this issue. Sustainable waste management provides a comprehensive inter-disciplinary framework for addressing the problems of managing urban solid waste, in the resource constrained developing countries where quality of such services are poor and costs are high often with no effective means of recovering them. Upgrading the coverage of waste management and services and increasing their efficiency is a precondition for improving the environmental quality of cities. This paper highlights the fact that the involvement and participation of all the stakeholders such as the waste generators, waste processors, formal and informal agencies, non-governmental organisations and financing institutions is a key factor for the sustainable waste management.     

Demokratischer Smog? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Zusammenhang zwischen Sozialschicht und Umweltbelastungen

For years the public and scientific debate about Environmental Justice was mostly confined to the U.S. Only recently, the question about the existence and strength of the “social gradient” of environmental pollution has entered the European debate. Earlier research simply records subjective perceptions of pollution and correlates them with indicators of social status. Objective measures of environmental quality are seldom used, and even then only in studies of small geographic areas. In contrast, the present study uses various objective measures of air pollution (nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone) and road traffic noise (day, night) and assigns them to the respondents of the Swiss Environmental Survey 2007 (N?=?3 369) using a geographic information system (GIS). The combination of objective GIS coded data with subjective measures allows for a new approach in Environmental Sociology that takes spatial context into account, which is often neglected in sociological studies. Using bivariate and multivariate statistical methods this objective data on pollution is related to indicators of social stratification such as income, education and nationality as well as the subjective perception of pollution. Subjective and objective measures of pollution are positively correlated with the interesting exception of ozone. Surprisingly, and contrary to the expectations, income is not significantly correlated with the pollutants considered and there is even a significant and positive correlation with education. In the multivariate analysis, however, a significant and negative correlation with income is observed, although this effect is fairly weak. Also, foreigners from Non-Western countries suffer from a higher burden of environmental pollution. However, in comparison to social and minority status differences in environmental impact between urban areas and the countryside are much more pronounced. We suppose that problems of environmental justice may be more accentuated in countries with a higher degree of segregation than in the Swiss population.     

Specialization Versus Diversification in EU Economies: A Challenge for Agro-Food?

Much attention has been paid to industrial differentiation versus specialization. In EU, the phenomenon of secondary production is important enough since it absorbs 6.3% of the total output at basic prices. Through the development of new symmetrical indicators, we point out the ability of economic branches to diversify, penetrate and invade others. This analysis is applied both to EU countries and to economic system branches, focusing the analysis on the challenges facing Agriculture and Food and beverage industry. We can assume that the most advanced countries belong to a post-modern or post-industrial stage of development. The only way to continue to stay on the market is to diversify production and to emphasize the search for a quality/price ratio attractive for the consumer. On the contrary, less advanced countries of Central and Eastern Europe are rather in the initial or intermediate stages of industrialization in which agriculture, crafts and traditional services still have a certain importance and, as we know, undertake more differentiated activities. What emerges is a watershed between continental and Mediterranean countries. Eastern Europe is still anchored to a traditional behavior. In synthesis we find three fundamental trends: (a) a long period continuity of those complementary activities that have always characterized agriculture; (b) the different structure of secondary production in the EU countries; (c) different barriers to entry, that explain asymmetries in the behavior of branches otherwise more or less related. Remark that these barriers may be not only physical or economical but also normative, thus introducing more differences in the behavior of different countries.     

The quality of sustainability: Agroecological partnerships and the geographic branding of California winegrapes

Quality and sustainability are both socially constructed, ambiguous terms, but they have not been heretofore linked in the rural studies literature. The “quality turn” has received particular attention from researchers for its potential to organize linkages among various forces in agrofood systems, providing more income to producers by appealing to affluent, reflexive consumers. A distinct line of rural research has attended to the challenge of agro-environmental pollution and regulation, but this research trajectory has been subsumed under the broader paradigm of sustainability. This article seeks to contribute to discussions about quality in the agrofood sector by analyzing the potential of fusing rural resource protection practices with place-based marketing of enhanced quality, drawing from an empirical study of the California winegrape industry. In several California commodities, agroecological partnerships are becoming the chief vehicle for extending sustainable agricultural practices. California's winegrape farmers have undertaken more partnerships to greater effect than those of any other US crop, and they are now discursively linking their sustainable farming practices, environmental quality, and wine quality. This marks a new linkage of two heretofore discrete social imaginaries. This article argues that “quality” is a term that can conceptually link increasing consumer demand for differentiated product taste with increasing regulatory pressure for environmental protection. Synergistic benefits from such a linkage have the potential to strengthen rural development initiatives. Making progress toward sustainability requires collective action on the part of producers, and in some commodities, may mesh well with efforts to enhance foodstuff quality.     

Benchmarking to the world's best in mathematics. Quality control in curriculum and instruction among the top performers in the TIMSS

This article describes the education quality control systems (for mathematics) used by those countries that performed best on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Enforced quality control measures are defined as "decision points"--where adherence to the curriculum and instruction system can be reinforced. Most decision points involve stakes for the student, teacher, or school. They involve potential consequences for failure to adhere to the system and to follow the program at a reasonable pace. Generally, countries with more decision points perform better on the TIMSS. When the number of decision points and TIMSS test scores are adjusted for country wealth, the relationship between the degree of (enforced) quality control and student achievement appears to be positive and exponential. CONCLUSION: The more (enforced) quality control measures employed in an education system, the greater is students' academic achievement.     

Downshifting: An Exploration of Motivations,Quality of Life,and Environmental Practices

“Downshifting,” reducing work hours, thereby income, to increase leisure time, offers a possible individual‐level solution to the stress many experience from long working hours and work intensification. Recently, some have argued that an increase in leisure time with a reduction in income might also foster pro‐environmental lifestyles as has been demonstrated for the “voluntary simplicity” movement. Quantitative research on the relationship between downshifting and quality of life is scant, with equivocal results, and studies of the relationship between downshifting and environmental lifestyles are even more rare. Survey data from a western Canadian city reveal nonsignificant impacts of downshifting on two measures of quality of life (subjective well‐being and satisfaction with time use) as well as on sustainable transportation practices. However, downshifting is significantly associated with sustainable household practices. In order for downshifting to have more widespread positive effects, further structural changes in broader domains such as work culture, urban design, and support for families will be required.     

税收、租金与治理:理论与检验

发展中国家和转型国家普遍面临着如何提高治理水平的难题。本文从财政社会学这一独特视角出发,研究了国家的财政收入汲取方式对治理水平的影响。作者首先梳理了财政社会学中存在的一个隐含的理论假设:只有税收国家才能实现好的国家治理。然后,运用非洲国家的面板数据,对这一假设进行了检验。研究发现,财政社会学的这一理论假设是成立的。一个国家税收国家的特征越强,其治理质量就越高;反之,税收国家的特征越弱,或者租金国家的特征越强,其治理质量就越低。这一发现对发展中国家包括中国的国家建设有着重要启示。     

The use of macroinvertebrates and algae as indicators of riparian ecosystem services in the Mexican Basin: a morpho-functional approach

Urban Ecosystems - Peri-urban rivers have been subjected to poor environmental management, especially in developing countries, due to urban expansion and channel transformation in the context of a...     

The Institutional Challenge of the ACP/EU Economic Partnership Agreements

The Economic Partnership Agreements between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union should serve as an opportunity to accelerate ACP global and regional trade integration and as an important tool for development and the eradication of poverty. There are, however, a number of preconditions. This article argues that institutional quality plays a key role in successful trade liberalisation. In fact, only countries with high‐quality institutions, partly in the form of good government regulation, are likely to benefit from trade. Unfortunately, the vast majority of African countries have excessive regulation that hinders them from taking advantage of trade. The necessary reforms to resolve this problem pose significant challenges, implying major risks for these countries in the EPA process.     

The Differences Between Chinese and Western Dietetic Culture

Each country has its own culture, including food culture. In order to promote the communication between Chinese and western countries, we must work hard in the cultural aspects. Chinese and western dietetic cultures both have merits and shortcomings. We hope that by the means of comparison, people will learn from the other's strong points to offset their weakness, so as to provide more food of high quality for human, and therefore make progress in human society.