Gender and emergent water governance: comparative overview of neoliberalized natures and gender dimensions of privatization,devolution and marketization

This article provides a critical reading of some of the gendered dimensions of emergent water governance regimes, specifically those related to the privatization, marketization and devolution of water resources management. After first providing an overview of recent nature–society contributions related to neoliberalization processes, the article comparatively evaluates insights with respect to the gender dimensions of recent shifts in water governance. I make several arguments at the intersection of relevant literatures. First, there is a need for gender theorists interested in water resources and nature–society debates to engage more with issues, theories and processes associated with neoliberalization. Second, there is a need for more attention to gender, feminist theory and approaches to inequality and socio-spatial difference in discussions of neoliberalized natures. Third, reading these literatures together reveals that there is a need to be self-reflexive and critical of elements of the gender and water literature that implicitly endorse foundational elements of the neoliberal turn in resource governance. Finally, there are particularities with respect to gender theory and politics, and water materialities that hold importance for understanding recent water governance shifts in the broader context of political and economic changes associated with neoliberalization.     

潮湿土遗址隔水防潮技术对比研究

潮湿土遗址的破坏,很大程度上是受水的影响,目前国内几个潮湿土遗址经常使用的防水隔水措施主要有:挡水墙、隔水廊道、拱券法和抽水法。经过对几种方法进行总结评价,可看出拱券法是最有效的方法。     

我国文化遗产保护科技成果转化对策研究——基于文化遗产保护科技成果供求分析

进入"十二五"后,文物保护领域面临着新的发展形势。其中,科学和技术成果转化问题受到了高度关注,成为当前文化遗产保护领域的一大热点问题。目前,由于我国文化遗产保护科技成果转化的特殊性和相关领域科技事业发展的阶段性,文化遗产保护科技供给与需求脱节,科技成果转化率不高。针对这种状况,国家应建立激励评价体制,促进文博系统内外的合作,保证科技成果的有效供给和有效需求。     

What do we need to bring about a financial crisis? A long-term look at the development of banking systems,money supply and crises 1850–2010

Financial crises are not a new phenomenon. We had them in the 18th century; there were several well-known ones in the 19th century, not to mention the crisis which started the Great Depression of the 1930s. The recurrence of financial crises in the last decades has revoked a wave of research on the topic among economic historians and economists. Still, it has been difficult for us to really understand how these crises emerge, why they have been so severe recently and why they have occurred so often in the last decades. This paper tries to explain the phenomenon by asking, how is, and how was the volume of money stock determined, and why does scarcity of money, and thus rising interest rate, not check excess borrowing and creation of speculative bubbles - and then emerging crises.     

Rainwater Tank Households: Water Savers or Water Users?

This paper provides the first published post‐installation analysis of retrofitted rainwater tanks and their effects on mains water consumption. The study aimed to determine the average mains water reductions achieved in households with recently installed rainwater tanks and compare this figure with wider community consumption. The social and cultural impacts of rainwater tank ownership were also explored to understand how rainwater is used and perceived. The results show that during the period of analysis, the drought years of 2005–2007, 7125 or 8% of Illawarra households installed a tank. Comparison of mains water consumption for two years before and after installation shows that rainwater tank households reduced their mains water consumption about the same amount (10.26%) as the wider community (10.8%). The social and cultural components reveal three main groups of households. The largest group, water users, had a desire for water autonomy and independence to continue previously enjoyed water practices that had been restricted. Among a light green group, tanks were part of a package of overtly pro‐environmental behaviours that did not necessarily change consumption patterns. A frugal group, many of whom had been raised in rural areas, were the main water savers. Perception of tank water quality was shown to be an influential determinant of how rainwater was used, particularly for connections internal to the house. This study shows that rainwater tanks have the potential to achieve significant water savings, but if water‐intensive behaviours are not modified, and rainwater tanks are not plumbed indoors, the potential of this alternative water source will not be met. Currently, rainwater tanks facilitate water users as much as water savers.     

Obsidian hydration dating by infrared spectroscopy: method and calibration

Low temperature (90–190 °C) hydrothermal experiments have been conducted on seven obsidians where composition of the glass varies significantly in the concentration of structural water within the unhydrated bulk material. Infrared transmission spectroscopy was used to track the diffusion of molecular water into the glass surface as a function of time and temperature. Long-term (60–360 days) hydration sequences at 90 °C show a t^0.6 time dependence for the mass uptake of molecular water that forms the hydration layer. The structural water concentration of the unhydrated bulk obsidian is highly correlated with the pre-exponential and activation energy and may be used to estimate the Arrhenius constants. In addition, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) hydrogen profiling of Napa Glass Mountain obsidian hydrated at 90 °C reveals that the early stages of diffusion exhibit a dynamic behavior that includes a fluctuating hydrogen concentration and a changing diffusion coefficient that slows with time.     

The Role of Cross‐Scale Institutional Linkages in Common Pool Resource Management: Assessing Interstate River Compacts*

This article extends the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework's seminal research on common pool resource (CPR) management in new directions by exploring how the design principles of robust and enduring CPR management, initially proposed by Elinor Ostrom in 1990, can be used to measure and assess cross‐scale institutional linkages. This study examines data from 14 interstate river basin compacts in the western United States to identify the types of linkages established in these interstate settings, the factors that contribute to the emergence of diverse types of linkages around these shared resources, and how different types of linkages perform. Using Ostrom's CPR design principles to operationalize and measure linkages, the study shows that diverse types of cross‐scale linkages were created under the 14 interstate compacts, with linkages related to monitoring found to be particularly prevalent. The types and diversity of linkages can largely be explained by the conditions under which compacts emerged and the water management issues states jointly face. In applying the evaluative criteria operationalized by the CPR design principles, this research further shows that the monitoring and collective choice linkages created by compacts tend to be of higher quality, while enforcement and conflict resolution linkages appeared to be of the lowest quality. In addition to developing the IAD literature on CPR management, these findings offer critical insights for assessing the capacity of interstate river basin compacts in the western United States to manage shared resources successfully, as well as insights for what types of institutional investments may be needed for enhanced resource governance.     

Reflections on Ukraine's Current Economic Dilemma

A prominent specialist on economic transition in the former Soviet Union presents an overview of Ukraine's economic dilemma in the aftermath of the most recent elections in that country. The author, a former economic advisor to Ukraine's government and co-chair of the UN's Blue Ribbon Commission for Ukraine, relates his insights into the causes of three acute problems (inflation, corruption, and the lack of structural reforms). Focusing on the state of economic affairs in 2008, the paper, which includes data on economic growth and exchange rates, discusses inter alia the hryvnia's peg to the dollar and the potential consequences of rising food and commodity prices. Included in the analysis is a comparison with Russia. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E58, E60, O52, P26. 34 references.     

Photovoice Evaluated: An Appropriate Visual Methodology for Aboriginal Water Resource Research

Methodologies in human geography are rapidly evolving to include participatory approaches that incorporate other voices and knowledges. Central to these participatory methodologies is the co‐evolution of research objectives, the co‐production of knowledge, joint learning, and capacity building of all those involved. Visual methodologies that use the media of photography are gaining recognition as powerful participatory methods. In this paper, we evaluate whether photovoice is a culturally appropriate and engaging visual methodology, and consider how it can be improved to better facilitate research between non‐Aboriginal researchers and Aboriginal Australians involved in water resource management. We draw from two photovoice projects conducted in partnership with two separate Aboriginal groups in northern Australia. Photovoice methodology in this context was found to be both culturally appropriate and engaging. It facilitated genuine participatory research, empowered participants, and was easily adapted to the field situation. The methodology proved to be a powerful tool that revealed in‐depth information including Aboriginal values, knowledge, concerns, and aspirations for water resource management that may not have been captured through other participatory approaches. Photovoice methodology could be enhanced with a more defined role for the researcher as knowledge broker and as translator and communicator of research outcomes (as deemed appropriate by research participants) to policy makers.