URban Biotopes of Aotearoa New Zealand (URBANZ) (I): composition and diversity of temperate urban lawns in Christchurch

Christchurch urban lawns are dominated by non-native grasses and forbs. However, we document considerable plant diversity; the total number of species encountered in our 327 sampled lawns was 127, although 80 species occurred in <2% of lawns. Seven distinct lawn communities were identified by Two-Way INdicator SPecies ANalysis using occurrence of 47 species that occurred in > 2% of lawns. Our ability to explain variation in species composition was surprisingly good and indicates intensity of lawn maintenance such as frequency of mowing, irrigation, fertiliser, and herbicide use and whether clippings are removed or not plays the major role. Species richness significantly declines with an increase in total area of contiguous lawn, leaf litter cover, the presence of grass clippings, and on loamy soil. Hence, park lawns with coarser management had lower species richness than residential lawns. Native species were more prevalent in well tended residential lawns, where more frequent mowing and removal of clippings or litter build-up diminishes shoot competition or shading. There is tremendous potential for more native species in New Zealand lawns which would contribute substantially to the conservation of endangered lowland herbaceous flora.     

Determinants of domestic waste input use in urban agriculture lowland systems in Africa: The case of Yaoundé in Cameroon

This paper suggests policy actions for safe urban and peri-urban agriculture and domestic waste recycling in urban lowland areas of Africa, in particular, in lowland areas of the capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé. We identify the explanatory variables of recycling domestic waste and their use in three selected lowland areas. Data were collected between August and September 2005 among 126 farmers. Results show that the factors contributing to the adoption of recycled fresh and decomposed kitchen waste are: vegetable production, the distance between the house and its crop field and the use of livestock waste. The factors contributing to the adoption of recycled livestock wastes are the age of the farmers, the distance between the house and its crop field, the educational level of farmers and land size. Young farmers are more likely to adopt recycled livestock wastes, and short distances between houses and crop fields are more likely to contribute to the adoption of both recycled kitchen waste and recycled livestock wastes. In this context, the implementation of transfer stations for domestic waste, inside or next to lowland areas, appears to be an adequate solution of transport and sanitary constraints faced both by farmers and municipalities in Africa.     

Experiences of Urban Environmental Conditions in Socially and Economically Diverse Neighborhoods

Environmental conditions can vary widely in urban areas. Temperature, green space, air quality, and other parameters may have different patterns among and within cities. These conditions may also be experienced and perceived by residents in different ways, with implications for community development and social justice in the context of environmental change. This study examines in-depth interviews (N = 20) with residents from socially and economically diverse neighborhoods to understand this variability at a more meaningful scale than typically examined in the literature. Implications for social work, community development, and multidisciplinary efforts in the pressing area of environmental change are discussed.     

“十七年”与“文革”时期的城市工业题材创作——兼谈沪、京、津等地工人作家群

关于当代中国的工业化想象,与中国城市现代化进程的现代性普遍价值,与大工业的、技术主义的谱系均密切相关。在"十七年"和"文革"时期,中国城市特性由中国当代社会主义工业化进程所规定,引发了城市工业题材的创作热潮。这一情形,与当时社会主义政治"意识形态"高度结合,形成同构关系。作品中工业与技术作为对生活各领域的主导逻辑,与政治属性结合,人的工业生产属性与社会的工业化逻辑被极大凸现。政治意义与伦理意义,都被"技术化"或"生产化"了。由于"工业题材"创作是一种政治体制,也产生了中国当代文学中特殊的"工人作家群"。     

统筹城乡发展中的人口政策研究述评

认真研究统筹城乡发展中的人口政策问题对统筹城乡发展和统筹解决人口问题都具有非常重要的意义。统筹城乡发展中的人口政策研究涉及到了统筹解决城乡人口数量、素质、结构、分布的协调发展问题．包括了人口与计划生育、人力资源开发与教育、社会保障、就业与劳动保障等方面的内容。目前较多成果集中在人口政策对统筹城乡发展的重要性、意义、作用路径与方式等方面。未来还需要在对人口政策体系进行调研的基础上进行全面系统地研究。文章最后提出了系统研究统筹城乡发展中的人口政策内容。     

Community Interests and Indicator System Success

Testing the validity of indicator systems is a task almost always left to the scientific community, in standard practice and in keeping with the quest for objectivity prevalent in politics and in society as a whole. This paper calls for a reinvigorated agenda within indicators research to question this practice and develop alternative methodologies to test the validity, legitimacy and impacts of indicator systems. The assumptions of objectivity are not realistic in contemporary policy contexts. As a result, the scientific community is not the only community with a stake in assessing an indicator system; it is perhaps not even the most important one. Four other community types with distinct interests in the design, use and impacts of indicator systems are identified. First is the community of elected officials, whose positions of power make their perspective important and unique; second is the community of engaged publics, whose stake is made clear by the principles of participatory and deliberative democracy; third are communities of cultural difference; and fourth are professional communities. The unique relationship each of these communities has with indicator systems, and thus the tests and challenges offered by each to the practice of indicators, is discussed through a case study of a public participation process for the development of a new set of regional sustainability indicators in Vancouver, Canada. The evidence suggests new research questions for scholars in policy and indicators studies who seek to better understand paths and barriers to implementation and impact in indicators practice, as well as lessons for other local indicators practices.

大学和中学毕业生人数与就业的相关性研究

利用多元回归分析方法。分阶段验证了1980-2007年大学和中学毕业生人数与我国城镇就业之间的相关关系。结果表明,在1980--1994年和1995--2007年阶段,大学毕业生人数与城镇就业之间均呈现出显著正相关关系;中学毕业生人数与就业在第一阶段不相关,在第二阶段呈现出正相关关系,而且中学毕业生增长率提高带来的就业增长率提高幅度远远大于大学毕业生增长率提高带来的结果。因此。建议通过普及12年义务教育的方式扩大中学教育规模,逐渐改变教育结构,为产业结构升级准备人才。     

包头师范学院贫困大学生心理健康与心理防御机制的相关研究

贫困大学生的心理健康问题已经受到越来越多人的关注。经检测包头师范学院贫困大学生心理健康水平显著低于非贫困大学生,贫困大学生和非贫困大学生都较多使用成熟的防御机制和中间型防御机制,较少使用不成熟的防御机制;不成熟的防御机制与焦虑、人际敏感、强迫症状、躯体化呈正相关。为了提高贫困大学生的心理健康水平,应加大对他们的心理教育。     

Sustainable Housing in the Urban Context: International Sustainable Development Indicator Sets and Housing

Housing, an essential aspect of quality of life, is also significant for sustainable development (SD). All of the major international statements on SD refer to housing or settlement strategies. However, indicator sets derived from these statements often fail to include good indicators of sustainable housing. This article outlines the conceptualisation of SD and housing from the international statements. It proceeds by describing the international indicator sets which have been constructed based on these policy statements. International organisations such as the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) have all produced indicator sets. However, this article contends that housing is an underdeveloped indicator and calls for more attention to be paid to the importance of aspects of housing for SD and the measurement of progress towards it via social indicators.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach for Assessment of Urban Renewal Proposals

The problem of urban decay in Hong Kong is getting worse recently; therefore, the importance of urban renewal in improving the physical environment conditions and the living standards of the citizens is widely recognized in the territory. However, it is not an easy task for the Hong Kong Government to prepare welcome urban renewal proposals because the citizens, professionals and other concerned parties have their own expectations which are difficult to be addressed all at the same time. Although it is impossible to satisfy all stakeholders concerning urban renewal, it is preferable to have proposals conforming to the interests of the majority and beneficial to the present and future generations. This paper adopts the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to work out the most sustainable design proposal for an area undergoing urban renewal. AHP is a robust multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method for solving social, governmental and corporate decision problems. Since there is a lack of published papers demonstrating a systematic and effective way for urban renewal proposal assessment, this paper attempts to fill this gap with the help of AHP.