Social Networks of Old People in India

Summary

This article presents a comparative analysis of the available research on the social networks of older persons in India. Most of this research has been done in North Indian cities. The research foci of the available studies include network size, core networks and beyond, life course changes in networks, impacts of residency in old-age homes, gender differences, and joint and nuclear family residence. This research is discussed in terms of its policy implications. Because the research demonstrates that social networks are important for the welfare of older Indians, one can conclude that social policy that encourages the maintenance of robust networks throughout the life course may be worth pursuing. One aspect of policy is discussed. The analysis of the relationship between social network and gender suggests that current policies that can be seen as supporting gender inequality in terms of property may have a negative impact on the networks of older women.     

Economic Impact of Accelerated Cleanup on Regions Surrounding the U.S. DOE's Major Nuclear Weapons Sites

The regional economic impacts of the U.S. Department of Energy's accelerated environmental cleanup plan are estimated for the major nuclear weapons sites in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. The analysis shows that the impact falls heavily on the three relatively rural regions around the Savannah River (SC), Hanford (WA), and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (ID) sites. A less aggressive phase-down of environmental management funds and separate funds to invest in education and infrastructure in the regions helps buffer the impacts on jobs, personal income, and gross regional product. Policy options open to the federal and state and local governments are discussed.     

核恐怖主义的国际法应对

核恐怖主义威胁是非传统安全领域日趋重要的问题。为应对这一挑战,国际社会通过了一系列的决议与条约,确立了国际原子能机构的核心地位,并进行了诸多国际合作项目的有益尝试,初步建立了反核恐怖主义的国际法框架。但这一框架仍有很多有待完善之处。并且,最终解决核恐怖主义必须根除产生它的土壤,这需要经济、政治、法律合力为之。     

论我国核电事业发展空间

论文就我国核电发展空间 ,从核能资源的可持续利用 ,环境、生态的可持续发展 ,核电发展规模 ,能源结构调整与布局 ,核安全战略组成 ,到核电国产化等多方面进行论述 ,从而阐明了我国核电未来发展的指导思想     

Stigma Happens: Social Problems in the Siting of Nuclear Waste Facilities

The paper by Metz challenges the view that stigma associated with a nuclear waste repository might lead to significant economic losses to the host region. We have been invited to comment on the general issues raised by this paper. We find that much of the evidence presented in the paper consists of factual and conceptual errors and misrepresentations of the research literature. Based on our review of evidence documenting the social and economic impacts of perceived risk, we conclude that stigma is an important phenomenon that is symptomatic of fundamental problems with the way in which nuclear waste facilities are sited.     

Managing Nuclear Waste from Power Plants

National strategies to manage nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power plants are analyzed and compared. The current strategy is to try to operate a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to dispose of high-level nuclear waste underground. The main alternatives involve temporary above-ground storage at a centralized facility or next to nuclear power plants. If either of these is pursued now, the analysis assumes that a repository will be built in 2100 for waste not subsequently put to use. The analysis treats various uncertainties: whether a repository at Yucca Mountain would be licensed, possible theft and misuse of the waste, innovations in repository design and waste management, the potential availability of a cancer cure by 2100, and possible future uses of nuclear waste. The objectives used to compare alternatives include concerns for health and safety, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and direct economic costs, as well as equity concerns (geographical, intergenerational, and procedural), indirect economic costs to electricity ratepayers, federal government responsibility to manage nuclear waste, and implications of theft and misuse of nuclear waste. The analysis shows that currently building an underground repository at Yucca Mountain is inferior to other available strategies by the equivalent of $10,000 million to $50,000 million. This strongly suggests that this policy should be reconsidered. A more detailed analysis using the framework presented would help to define a new national policy to manage nuclear waste.     

Decision-Making, Time Horizons, and Risk in the Very Long-Term Perspective

Some decisions made today have far-reaching consequences as exemplified by those concerning nuclear power and spent nuclear fuel. The investigation presented here uses a decision theoretic framework in which time horizons and the discounting of negative consequences play significant roles. The results indicated wide variations in the lengths of the planning horizons judged to be adequate not only across a number of activities, including nuclear waste management, but also across groups of subjects (e.g., engineering students, retired people, and nuclear fuel experts). The paper reports typical judgments and correlations between different variables for different groups of subjects. The differences across groups reflect potential sources of conflict, depending in part on different values and different perceptions of more or less uncertain facts. Discounting functions for negative consequences in the future were also established. A range in differences in the speed of discounting were found and illustrated. Furthermore, it was found that substantial proportions in all groups regarded negative consequences related to nuclear waste as nondiscountable. When asked about the effect of time until outcome on acceptable probability of a negative outcome, many subjects used the probability concept in an incoherent way, illustrating the great difficulty in communicating small probabilities in a long-term risk context.     

美国"大规模报复战略"出台成因初探

20世纪 5 0年代美国“大规模报复战略”出台的成因首先是时代的产物 ,即冷战的产物 ;其次 ,它是由战后美国两党斗争、麦卡锡主义等诸多政治因素的压力促成 ;再次 ,也是战后美国经济发展中经济波动压力的结果 ;最后 ,美国核武器及运载系统等方面军事技术的领先 ,是其出台的技术基础。     

核威慑的四大风险及其应对

风险社会中的核威慑自身具有很大的不确定性,容易引发技术风险、信任风险、政治风险和道德风险。对立的主客思维方式、失序的国际规范、内在的逻辑矛盾以及缺失的道德责任导致了核威慑风险的产生与升级,而其中的道德责任是根本性的影响因子。面对日趋严峻的核安全形势,各国应该培植政治智慧与道德理性,强化共生意识和本体性安全,构建平等、正义的核安全合作机制,积极打造安全共同体,让参与者共享安全与和平。拥核国应该承担更大的道德责任,切实维护核不扩散体制,努力铲除核恐怖主义,稳步推进世界无核化进程。     

俄罗斯安全战略的演变与核裁军政策

俄罗斯的安全战略经历了继承、调整到逐步成熟的演变,这一演变过程也明显地反映在俄罗斯的核领域,深刻地影响了俄罗斯的核裁军政策。独立初期俄罗斯在核裁军领域对美国的巨大让步非但没有得到相应的回报,还使俄国家利益受损,国际地位进一步下降。俄安全战略的调整导致核裁军步伐放缓:从1993年到2000年的7年时间里,俄美核裁军领域未取得任何实质性进展。普京上台后俄罗斯安全战略已基本调整到位,俄核裁军也不再是为政治需要而实行的阶段性对策,而是服从于国家安全战略,服务于国家利益的一种长期、稳定的政策。未来俄罗斯核裁军政策的变化既取决于其安全战略的变化,也受到其经济发展水平的影响。