Black Rod and the Office of Usher of the Parliament Chamber

The gentleman usher of the black rod has long been acknowledged as an officer of the house of lords. Yet he was in origin an officer of the order of the Garter with no necessary connection with parliament. This note aims to throw light on the process whereby this association came about. By 1509, the house of lords had the services of an usher of the parliament chamber, a post always held in conjunction with an office in the royal household. By 1558, this post was being exercised by one of the gentlemen ushers daily waiters, who had been granted the office of black rod as an additional perquisite in 1554. From this point it became customary for the offices of black rod, daily waiter and usher of the parliament chamber to be held by one man. This association was broken in 1620, when the then usher relinquished the office of daily waiter but retained his parliamentary functions together with the office of black rod. In 1631, a decree was promulgated annexing the office of black rod to that of one of the gentlemen ushers daily waiters but it was only from 1660 that this became fully effective.     

社会—生态系统重构背景下农户适应行为及影响机理

随着全球气候变化与可持续性科学发展，适应性研究逐渐成为国际社会关注的热点。农户适应性为可持续生计研究提供了新视角。本文基于社会-生态系统重构背景，从农户视角出发，通过构建农户适应作用分析框架来探讨民勤绿洲地区农户适应行为选择及其影响因素交互效应，厘清农户适应性影响机理。研究结果表明：①以生态治理恢复、农业种植结构调整为主导的政府政策实施重构了乡村社会-生态系统，推动农户生计适应策略变化。②农户生计适应性行为以农业调整为主，被动适应行为选择较少，外出打工成为未来生计趋势。③系统外部影响因素中有效灌溉率（水资源状况）是交互作用的核心因素，左右农户生计适应选择。农户适应行为选择主要受系统内部自然资本、劳动力资本与认知水平、金融资本以及社会关系网络因素影响。④农户资本内部结构与储量的差异是适应行为选择多元化的内在动力，以生态恢复主导的政府计划性适应管理是农户适应行为选择的外在推力。生计资本及系统内外部要素交互作用的综合影响推动农户适应行为发展与变化。