Climate Change and Environmental Security: For Whom the Discourse Shifts

This article explores the implications of the April 2007 United Nations Security debate on the security dimensions of a changing climate for international climate change politics. Specifically, our analysis focuses on whether and how security concerns have been addressed in past international political debates on climate change and considers whether the Security Council debate, which emphasized the threat of climate-related conflict, reflects a discursive shift. We elaborate on two general discourses on the relationship between environment and security, which we call environmental conflict and environmental security . Using content and discourse analysis, we demonstrate that both the historical climate change debate and the more recent Security Council debate have been informed by the environmental security discourse, meaning that a discursive shift has not taken place. We conclude by considering the possibility of a future discursive shift to the environmental conflict perspective and argue that such a shift would be counterproductive to the search for an effective global response to climate change.     

优质旅游有效供给因素对我国旅游产业效率的影响及区域差异

优质旅游是新时代我国旅游产业发展的必然选择。通过采用三阶段DEA模型等方法,从支撑因素、产业发展及消费需求三个维度构建优质旅游有效供给的环境变量,并采用面板数据实证分析了优质旅游有效供给因素对我国旅游产业效率的影响与区域发展差异。研究结果表明,优质旅游有效供给环境变量对我国旅游产业效率影响显著,其中支撑因素水平和旅游消费水平促进效率提升,产业发展在一定程度上抑制效率增长;目前我国优质旅游有效供给总体水平不高,且不同区域及省份之间表现出一定差异。因此,应通过进一步优化支撑要素水平、建立旅游投资总量调控及质量监督机制、制定积极的消费引导政策、缩小区域差距等,促进产业效率改进,提高优质旅游有效供给总体水平。     

The Subject Status of Procuratorate in Marine Litigation on "Public Interests Protection"

The litigations of marine natural resources ormarine ecological (environmental) damages involve two different types of litigations, and the procuratorate should be involved in the litigationsas different litigation subjects. The compensatory litigation of marine natural resource damageis the private interest litigation which relieves the private interest damage of state owned natural resources. According to The Administrative Litigation Law and The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation Cases, the procuratorate should be the supervising subject. However, the compensatory litigation of marine ecological (environmental) damage is the public interest litigation which relieves public interests, and on the basis of Marine Environment Protection Law, The Civil Procedure Law and The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation Cases, the procuratorate should be the supplementary subject. Due to the particularity of the marine litigations, the procuratoratefiles lawsuits against the marine natural resources ormarine ecological (environmental) damages, which shall apply both to The Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning Compensation for Damages of Marine Natural Resources and Ecological Environment and The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation Cases.     

跨界海洋环境损害的国家责任问题探讨

国家责任的承担似乎是跨界海洋环境损害责任追究的必然结果,但缘于就此领域国家责任承担的法理论与法实践的困扰和障碍,使得跨界海洋环境损害责任私法化趋势明显,而且以广泛国际合作为基础的针对跨界海洋环境损害风险预防机制的强化将弱化责任追究本身的重要性。     

Adipocere Formation in Subtropical Climate of Northern India: A Retrospective Study

Adipocere formation depends upon multiple environmental factors. In comparison with temperate countries, it usually develops early in the subtropical climate. We have studied a retrospective data of 31 cases with adipocere formation at Department of Forensic Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Most of the cases were recovered during the month of May to October from closed rooms at home, open grounds, open forest areas, various water sources, and riverbanks. The time duration of recovery from the time of death was from 12 h to 7 days 12 h. In 10 cases, adipocere formation was seen within 2 days, and in four male cases among them, the adipocere formed within a day. Most of the bodies showing adipocere formation within 2 days were recovered from land. These facts showed that subtropical climate having hot and humid weather promotes early adipocere formation compared to temperate climate.     

行政协议司法审查的法律适用

在遵循依法行政原则的前提下,行政协议各方约定各自的权利义务从而实现行政目的。行政协议的主体和内容的二元性,即行政性和民事性,决定了行政协议的司法审查法律适用的复合性。行政协议的司法审查应公共利益和私人权益兼顾,并力求合法性与合约性、安定性之间适当平衡。     

Measuring the impact of public perceptions on child welfare workers

The Public Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale measures how the social environment influences child welfare workers, including their job satisfaction and intent to leave. Psychometric studies have validated the scale for private child welfare workers, but there are no validation studies with public agency staff. This study fills that gap, showing stigma and respect are important constructs that also predict worker intent to leave. This research found an additional construct, blame, which was not present in private worker validation studies. The scale provides an important tool for the field as we continue to build evidence for effective recruitment and retention.     

Preferences and agreement in legislative parties: testing the causal chain

This research note focuses on two specific dimensions of legislative cohesion: the homogeneity of preferences within a party and party agreement. Although these two dimensions have often been considered as synonyms, it is argued that these two concepts refer to different realities. The authors therefore develop distinct measurements for these two concepts. The authors then examine their statistical relationship, putting to the test the widespread assumption that heterogeneous preferences increase the probability of disagreement. The authors do so by testing the effect of different measures of a member of parliament’s ideological distance to her/his party on her/his self-reported frequency of disagreement with her/his party. It is demonstrated that the causal chain linking both concepts is only verified in the case of a conscious ideological distance. The results have crucial theoretical and methodological implications for future research on party cohesion and party unity.     

论单方面石油活动在海洋划界中的意义

争端当事国的单方面石油活动要想成为海洋划界的考虑因素,必须通过其单方面石油活动证明存在临时协议、默认、明示或默示协议.由于临时协议仅具有历史意义,而明示协议在实践中又不可能出现,那么只能寄希望于默认和默示协议.主张默认或默示协议的当事国,负有很高的举证责任,而成功的先例更是寥寥无几.其他声索国在南沙群岛附近海域非法实施的单方面石油活动,一直为中国政府所反对,自然不能作为日后海洋划界的考虑因素.     

可持续发展与环境伦理探析

可持续发展理论与实践促进了环境伦理学的发展。传统意义上的环境伦理受此观念影响,从人类中心主义的环境伦理与非人类中心主义的环境伦理的分立走向人类中心主义的环境伦理、非人类中心主义环境伦理和可持续发展的环境伦理的鼎立。可持续发展观念指导下的环境伦理强调生态伦理道德和生态价值观,将环境与发展、当前利益与长远利益有机地统一起来,是环境保护唯一正确的选择。