Factors affecting female age at marriage in South Asia

In contrast to East and South-east Asia, changes in marriage patterns have played a small role in reducing fertility in South Asia. While age at marriage for women has risen, it remains early, with the exception of Sri Lanka, and change has been slow. Except in Sri Lanka, the region has shown few signs that there will be a sizable population that will never marry. South Asia's marriage patterns reflect its cultural context and lesser socio-economic change but their precise effect is not simple or always predictable. The paper examines these issues in Bangladesh, where age at marriage is very early, and Sri Lanka, where it is much later. The study areas, Dhaka city and south-western Sri Lanka, are ones of great economic and social change. A particular examination is made of the way in which changes in the arrangement of marriage affect age at marriage.     

Costs and benefits of environmental change: tourism industry's responses in Arctic Finland

ABSTRACT

Recent research has focused on the impacts of environmental change to tourism. In particular, the perceived costs of climate change have been increasingly studied. However, the relationship between costs and benefits resulting from the changing environmental conditions for the industry has been less examined. This paper identifies the locally observed changes in the natural and socio-economic environments and aims to analyse the financial costs and benefits to tourism businesses in two tourism-dependent communities in northern Finland. The specific focus is on adaptation and adaptive management in a tourist destination scale. Adaption is understood as an investment creating not only implementation costs, but potentially also benefits for tourism operations. Research materials were collected among tourism and tourism-related businesses through 41 semi-structured thematic interviews. Results indicate that the evaluated benefits of environmental change seem to exceed those of costs. This conforms to the on-going discourse of climate change–tourism relations associated with the Arctic region where both awareness and vulnerability to change are considered relatively high but the level of responses, i.e. adaptation, low. These results can help to further identify the most vulnerable sectors in tourism and assist entrepreneurs preparing for environmental and climate change. However, the paper concludes that while global environmental change, with specific adaptive management strategies, may create local short-term direct benefits for the industry, a long-term sustainability of tourism in the Arctic calls for mitigation responses to climate change.     

The Forest Service Since the National Forest Management Act

There has been considerable recent discussion and debate about change and the need for change in the United States Forest Service. A number of observers have argued that the agency has shifted its emphasis from commodity to non-commodity values of the National Forests, has become more sensitive to environmental and ecological concerns, and has become more responsive to public input. However, to date most articles on the topic of change in the Forest Service have been either theoretical and speculative in nature or have based their conclusions on attitude surveys of agency employees. So far no studies have provided “hard,” empirical evidence of change or have conducted any systematic examination of the presumed causes. This symposium attempts to fill this gap. What follows is the presentation of the analyses of a wide range of important quantitative indicators of agency change. From these analyses, we attempt to answer the following questions: Has the Forest Service indeed been changing? If so, what direction has it taken and how significant has this change been? What are the possible causes of change, and what have been the consequences for National Forest policy? What factors are likely to influence future change in the agency?     

Climate Change: How Should the World Heritage Convention Respond?

The World Heritage Convention has been considering how best to respond to the impacts of climate change. This poses a number of challenges, aside from the complexities of climate change itself. The Convention is not accustomed to addressing broad, interdisciplinary matters beyond World Heritage; it has not historically had strong links with other conventions outside UNESCO; it has relatively few resources; and climate change will result in escalating change, whereas the World Heritage Convention is based upon a presumption of relative stability and manageable change. Responding to climate change in the longer term will require a clear definition of the role of the World Heritage Convention in this area, and new types of expertise within the Convention process. This article reviews these and other issues to chart a forward path.     

Recent Hydrological Changes in the Avoca River Catchment,Victoria

Since the early 1970s the Avoca River catchment has experienced a marked increase in all discharges, particularly high magnitude ones. This results from a change in the rainfall/runoff relationship, which is probably due to rising groundwater tables. Since 1973 the frequency of flooding in the lower Avoca, Loddon and Avon-Richardson catchments has increased markedly, placing pressure on downstream flood mitigation and irrigation works, as well as contributing to the degradation of environmentally sensitive wetlands. It also has the potential to exacerbate rising groundwater/salinity problems of the lower catchments. Human interference and changes in the rainfall regime are assessed to explain the nature of the apparent change in streamflows of the Avoca River catchment.     

Canada‐United States interregional trade: quasi‐points and spatial change

Interregional trade between Canada and the United States has undergone significant change since the inception of free trade. However, the magnitude of that change for the different regions in Canada and the United States has not been properly identified because of a lack of an appropriate measure. This paper introduces the concept of a quasi‐point and employs a spatial point pattern test to measure the degree of change in the interregional trade of Canadian provinces and US states, with an emphasis of that change on Ontario. It is found that the degree of change in the interregional trade flows is related to the degree of change in the provincial tariff rates.     

Climate change perceptions and responses in Scotland's ski industry

The negative impacts of climate change for the ski industry have been well documented. However, research has largely focused on key ski markets in North America and Continental Europe. The study presented in this paper addresses climate change perceptions and responses in the more marginal ski destination of Scotland. Using a qualitative, interpretivist methodology, this paper contributes through a local-scale, single-site study of a ski area where technical adaptations are not utilised and which therefore relies on business responses to climate change. Findings suggest that while local weather is perceived to be a large and unmanageable risk to the industry, and a downward trend is identified in terms of snow reliability, these risks are not perceived to be connected to the wider anthropogenic climate change discourse. Waiting for knowledge to increase before taking adaptive action appears to be the most popular business strategy; however, autonomous adaptation is taking place in the form of business diversification, which mitigates against risks including, but not limited to, climate change. This paper concludes that experiences and perceptions of climate change will be highly localised and as a result so too will adaptive behaviours. Marginal ski destinations such as Scotland will be facing a range of non-climatic impacts which will contribute to their contextual vulnerability to climate change and capacity to adapt.     

Climate change and security: examining China's challenges in a warming world

The environment is increasingly affected by global climate change. While the causes of climate change are generated across the globe, the impacts of climate change will be highly variable at the local level. An increased scientific understanding of the potential impacts that climate change may have within China has raised new concern among China's leaders. Given that China's domestic realities inform its international policy choices, understanding how climate change may affect its population and natural resources is critical to global climate stabilization efforts. This article examines how the impacts of climate change on China, and China's response, will drive security challenges domestically, as well as in the greater Asian region and around the world. It shows that the impact of climate change on China will be significant and may have sizable adverse economic implications, particularly on vulnerable east coast economic centers. Water scarcity is a problem that already challenges China's leadership and one that will be exacerbated under projected climate impacts. In addition, the country faces the risk of international retaliation should it fail to undertake serious greenhouse gas mitigation actions. Yet China is not without options, and is already well poised to become a leader in the low-carbon technology revolution.     

Six decades of ethnic minority population change in China

ABSTRACT

China’s 55 non-Han ethnic minority groups were at least in part politically and institutionally ‘invented’ by China’s ethnic classification project, and also through the effects of the system of continuous population census. This paper investigates population change of the non-Han ethnic minorities (NHEMs) over the past six decades. The number of NHEMs as a whole tripled from 1953 to 2010. However, growth has differed among individual groups and in different time periods. The population of some groups has fluctuated while that of others has grown steadily, regardless of the size of the groups. As a whole, since 2000 the growth rate of NHEMs has been lower than that of the Han Chinese, and the population of 13 NHEM groups has begun to decline. A growing number of people belonging to ethnic minorities have switched their ethnic identities to Han. This has especially been the case for NHEM youth. The change in ethnic minority populations has been influenced by dynamic interactions among demographic factors, ethnic identification as well as political, economic and policy changes.     

Financial Deregulation in Japan

This article examines the process of financial deregulation in Japan and asks: what are the prospects for future reform of Japan's financial sector? In the past, reform of Japan's financial sector has been slow and incremental as various vested interests, including political interests, negotiated specific compromise outcomes rather than sweeping changes. This article argues that, in spite of recently announced reforms, change will continue to be gradual and piecemeal because the institutional structures which in the past worked against any rapid response to pressures for change are still in place.     

干旱区流域下游绿洲环境变化及其成因分析——以甘肃省河西地区石羊河流域下游民勤县为例

本文主要根据社会调查结果资料分析了甘肃省河西地区石羊河流域下游民勤县的环境变化趋势及其成因,认为中国西部干旱区各流域下游几乎都存在环境恶化趋势。20世纪50年代以来,该地区地下水位迅速下降,沙漠化、土壤盐渍化、植被衰退过程加快,农业生产受到很大影响。造成环境变化的人文原因主要是全流域人口增长过快所引致的耕地扩张所造成的农业用水需求无节制的增长,导致中上游截留下游淡水资源,使得下游地下水利用规模逐年扩张引致地下水位快速下降和水质迅速恶化。后者又导致盐渍化过程加剧以及农业产量的急剧下降。农业产量下降又成为盲目开垦荒地的主导因素之一。这些都导致了植被衰退和破坏,共同造成了生态环境的灾难性突变。     

Policy change and network termination: The role of farm groups in agricultural policy making in Australia

As the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2004, it is timely to reflect on the role of farm groups in agricultural policy making in Australia and revisit the policy changes of the 1970s which provided a major impetus for the NFF's formation. Agricultural policy is often presented as the classic case of policy developed by tight policy communities characterised by stability, shared ideology and limited membership. There has been much debate in the literature about the value of the concept of policy communities in explaining policy development processes and policy change. This article suggests that the combination of ideological and institutional change, particularly in the presence of looser policy networks, can disrupt policy making and lead to network termination resulting in policy change.     

A systematic review of climate change education: giving children and young people a ‘voice’ and a ‘hand’ in redressing climate change

ABSTRACT

The reality of anthropogenic climate change has been established ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ by leading scientists worldwide. Applying a systematic literature review process, we analysed existing literature from 1993 to 2014 regarding climate change education for children and young people, with the aim of identifying key areas for further research. While a number of studies have indicated that young people’s understandings of climate change are generally limited, erroneous and highly influenced by mass media, other studies suggest that didactic approaches to climate change education have been largely ineffectual in affecting students’ attitudes and behaviour. The review identifies the need for participatory, interdisciplinary, creative, and affect-driven approaches to climate change education, which to date have been largely missing from the literature. In conclusion, we call for the development of new forms of climate change education that directly involve young people in responding to the scientific, social, ethical, and political complexities of climate change.     

The Democratization Process and Popular Participation in Africa: Emerging Realities and the Challenges Ahead

Many observers have judged the recent wave of democratization in Africa as an unstoppable process and have overemphasized the role of external factors in inducing this change. This article argues that the quality of change has been fragile and defective in many respects, and draws attention to the susceptibility of the process of democratic transition to reversals. It goes on to underscore the importance of internal forces in bringing about change and in ensuring the sustainability of democracy in Africa. The tasks that lie ahead for civil society in Africa and the role of the international community and political conditionality of aid in this context are then debated.     

Calendars Tell History: Social Rhythm and Social Change in Rural Pakistan

Time is an important element of social organization. The temporal models such as the calendar provide social rhythm by regulating various activities. The changing ways of managing time are indicative of social change. This paper presents the changing use of different calendars in Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District, Pakistan. Three calendars are used in most parts of the Punjab to varying degrees for various purposes. These are Bikrami, Islamic Hijri and Gregorian calendars. Each of these calendars has a specific history of use. This paper highlights that people choose between various alternatives in the course of history and the changing use of calendars tells the story of change and continuity in culture and people's attitude towards modern technology and social change.     

Modeling Discontinuous Change in Retailing Systems: Extensions of the Harris-Wilson Framework With Results From a Simulated Urban Retailing System

This paper provides a test of an extension to the Harris-Wilson (1978) model for examining discontinuous change in retailing systems. While the Harris-Wilson model has been used almost exclusively to examine discontinuous change in the size of retail outlets, Fotheringham (1985) and Fotheringham and Knudsen (1986b) have recently shown it can be extended to model discontinuous change in the size and the relative location of retail outlets. Here, we present a test of this extension in a simulated urban retailing system. We also consider in more depth the supply side of the Harris-Wilson framework and show how discontinuous changes between non-zero equilibria can be modeled. Until now this has been impossible due to the previously restricted nature of the model. The generalization presented and examined here also allows an investigation of the trade-off between the size and the location of retail outlets and of the effects of different types of consumer shopping behavior.     

新中国妇女地位的历史巨变

新中国废除了一切歧视、压迫妇女的法律,并赋予女子同男子平等的法律地位,妇女的地位发生了翻天覆地的变化,主要表现为:妇女的政治地位明显提高;妇女获得了经济独立权;妇女受教育水平不断提高;妇女的婚姻家庭地位明显提高;妇女的特殊权益受到保护。虽然受社会发展水平的制约和旧观念的影响,中国妇女的状况还有许多不尽如人意的地方,我们仍然相信未来中国妇女的地位将会更上一层楼。     

Establishing political priority for regulatory interventions in waste management in Australia

ABSTRACT

This paper establishes a multi theory framework to help explain factors and conditions promoting a political priority for policy change. The framework’s analytical utility is illustrated through its application to a case study of waste management in Australia. A lack of political momentum to prioritise regulatory interventions has contributed to uncoordinated responses by the Australian federal and state governments resulting in unsustainable approaches to waste management. Lessons are derived from the analysis that provide insights into the potential for establishing political priority for policy change from uncoordinated voluntary schemes to more coordinated regulatory approaches.     

"近五百年来中国社会结构变迁"国际学术讨论会综述

近500年特别是19世纪以来,中国社会结构处于急遽的历史变动进程之中,探寻转型与变动中的中国社会结构及其内在奥秘自然成为社会史学研究的重要课题与方向。由南开大学中国社会史研究中心暨历史学院共同主办的“近五百年来中国社会结构变迁”国际学术讨论会即围绕近500年来中国社会结构的历史变动主题,在社会结构的特征及其变迁、经济发展与社会结构变动、社会阶级阶层结构、社会流动与社会分层、城市社会结构、国家与社会结构变动等方面进行了深入研讨,力图再现500年来中国社会结构变迁的历史图景,并为当代中国社会结构转型提供历史借鉴。     

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment,University of Aberdeen

ABSTRACT

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Aberdeen can be traced back to pollen-analytical (palynological) and geomorphological collaborations in the early 1970s. The research has generally been nested within Quaternary science and it features strong interdisciplinary links with archaeology, chronostratigraphy, climate change and ecology more generally. The pollen-based emphasis has been augmented by multi-proxy approaches including plant macro- and microfossils, geochemistry and pedology. There has always been techniques- and methodologically-orientated output and the chronological focus has spanned especially the period from the Lateglacial through to the present. With an emphasis upon research since the year 2000, the account is structured around such themes as environmental change in Scotland and the rest of the British Isles, human-environment interactions in the North Atlantic region, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, atmospheric pollution and metals in prehistory, and carbon sequestration and chronologies. A final section looks briefly and selectively at future research.