Currently, most regional thermal environment (RTE) studies in urban agglomerations focus on developing countries, especially China. However, there is still a lack of comparative studies on the RTEs of urban agglomerations between China and other developed countries, such as the United States. This paper used the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) agglomeration in China and Boswash (the highly urbanized area extending from Boston to Washington) in the United States as examples to investigate the differences in land development patterns, RTEs and their relationship between the agglomerations of China and America. The results showed that the land development patterns of BTH and Boswash were different, as evidenced by the spatial pattern of land development intensity (LDI) and impervious surface configuration. In terms of the RTE, the sub-high land surface temperature (LST) zones were aggregated in a large and compact patch in central and northern BTH. However, the sub-high zones of the cities in Boswash were relatively separate. Moreover, the land development pattern of Boswash showed a stronger relationship with the RTE than that of BTH did. Global Moran's I between the LDI and LST in Boswash was higher than that in BTH. In addition, the correlation between impervious surface configuration and LST in Boswash was stronger than that in BTH, and this correlation was more controlled by LDI in Boswash. This study also indicated that BTH should change the land development pattern to prevent the further expansion of aggregated sub-high LST zones and control the proximity of high LST zones in cities in central and southern BTH, however, Boswash should adopt some local heat management approaches (installing cool and green roofs and creating more green space) in the core areas to help reduce the very high temperatures in the already highly developed areas where the largest fraction of people live.

Australia’s primary production sector operates in one of the world’s most variable climates with future climate change posing a challenge to its ongoing sustainability. Recognising this, Australia has invested in understanding climate change risks to primary production with a substantial amount of research produced. Recently, focus on this research space has broadened, with interests from the financial sector and expanded scopes of works from government and industry. These expanded needs require sector- and country-wide assessments to assist with the implementation of climate strategies. We considered the applicability of the current research body for these needs by reviewing 188 peer-reviewed studies that considered the quantitative impacts of climate change on Australia’s primary industries. Our broad review includes cropping, livestock, horticulture, forestry and fisheries and biosecurity threats. This is the first such review for Australia, and no other similar country-wide review was found. We reviewed the studies through three lenses, industry diversity, geographic coverage and study comparability. Our results show that all three areas are lacking for sector- and country-wide assessments. Industry diversity was skewed towards cropping and biosecurity threats (64% of all studies) with wheat in particular a major focus (25% of all studies). Geographic coverage at a state level appeared to be evenly distributed across the country; however, when considered in conjunction with industry focus, gaps emerged. Study comparability was found to be very limited due to the use of different historical baseline periods and different impact models. We make several recommendations to assist with future research directions, being (1) co-development of a standard set of method guidelines for impact assessments, (2) filling industry and geographic knowledge gaps, and (3) improving transparency in study method descriptions. Uptake of these recommendations will improve study application and transparency enabling and enhancing responses to climate change in Australia’s primary industries.

Ghana is predominantly an agricultural country with a clear majority of its population depending partly or fully on agriculture for their livelihoods. Pork consumption in Ghana is on the increase and the livestock industry is a key sector of alternative agri-business for farmers looking for profitable business ventures and household income. The growth of Ghana's domestic piggery industry has been impeded by several constraints such as inadequate information, lack of improved breeding stock, land limitations, rising feed cost and water availability. In this research, systems models provide an understanding of the interconnectedness and relationships present within the piggery industry of Ghana. The Industry's problems were pooled together and key factors identified, whose behavior over time causes problems by developing various individual two-loop system archetypes coupled with a list of sustainable management strategies. Also, the individual variables affecting the industry were consolidated to obtain a causal loop structure and behavior-over-time graph of the piggery industry. The system archetype developed here is generic enough to explain any productivity decline and business rivalry behavior of any agribusiness industry. The proposed archetype can also help farm managers and producers to make various decisions. The system archetypes contribute effectively to understanding the root cause of challenges rather than providing quick fixes 'now' which gives rise to a much bigger problem to fix 'later'. Application of CLDs models and system archetypes can help farmers and policy makers understand the behaviour of the entire complex piggery systems that will aid in more clarity and consistency in decisions and policy objectives. This will close the gap of inadequate information both to farmers and policy makers and governance. Through the archetypes and the CLDs, it has been identified that using a systemic approach in addressing the problems could lead to the provision of adequate data and management strategies for effective decision making for improving the piggery/livestock industry.

Maize is one of the major crops in China and its yield potential has been changedsignificantly by climate change induction during last five decades. The national policy of maizeproduction sufficiency emphasizes the necessity for a more accurate estimation of yieldpotential of maize at a national level. In this paper yield potential of maize was calculated usingthe Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) model and key meteorological factors impact onyield potential across China was also analyzed. The results shows that, total yield potential ofmaize increased by 0.15 million tons/year during the past five decades due to an increase incultivated area as a result of climate change impact. The partial correlation analysis betweenmain meteorological factors and yield potential of maize at a county level showed that 47% ofthe counties of China were predominately influenced by changes in solar radiation while 16% ofcounties were predominately affected by temperature changes. In addition, each agriculturalzone showed clear spatial difference in the distribution of key impact factors. These researchfindings will not only provide scientific basis for making good use of meteorological resourcesunder climate change, but also play a vital role for the management of national maizeproduction for food security.

The demand for convenience fruits offers opportunities for farmers, vendors and processors. Currently, processing facilities in Ghana are plagued with expensive supply of raw materials and interrupted electricity supply. As a result, retailers have taken over the fresh-convenience fruit market. This paper report on the status of fresh fruit convenience markets among vendors and hawkers, and identify the challenges that they face. A market survey conducted showed that, vendors are able to generate between 45-90 Ghana Cedis as revenue from fruits sales per-day. However, vendors stock becomes more expensive as a result of fruit perishing, but they have difficulty passing on increased costs to consumers. This study revealed that 65.9% of total fruit production is wasted between farm gate and retail end. The results of this paper will help governments to improve the high ethical standards and reduce business and legal risk associated with industrial vending fruit chains.

The Qin-Ba Ecological Functional Zone is a component of China’s ecological security pattern designed to protect the regional ecosystem and maintain biodiversity. However, due to the impact of mining and urban encroachment, the plight of a sustainable ecosystem in the Qin-Ba mountainous area is deteriorating. This paper has used a remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) to examine the impacts of mining and urban encroachment on the environment in the Qin-Ba mountainous area. The results indicate that the total mined area in 2013 was 22 km2 and is predicted to escalate. Results also show that the ecosystems in Fengxian County, Shaanxi Province and Baokang County, Hubei Province were most severely affected by mining. Urbanization in the Qin-Ba mountainous area has seen an increase of 85.58 km2 in urban land use from 2010 to 2013. In addition, infrastructure development including airport construction, tourism resorts and real estate development in the Qin-Ba mountainous area has intensified environmental and biodiversity disturbances since large areas of forest have been cleared. Our results should provide insight and assistance to city planners and government officials in making informed decisions.

Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs) are designed as purposeful systems to empower communities for self development. There is a dearth on the number of empirical evaluative studies that interrogate the design of such systems; rather, focus has been on evaluating programmatic impacts. Understanding and enhancing the design of such systems is fundamental in enhancing their empowerment and emancipatory objectives. This study addresses three questions; firstly, what are the critical design factors for CCIs? Secondly, what are the potential distributive, ethical and social consequences of CCI designs? And thirdly what are the fundamental components of a framework for evaluating CCI designs? The Mhakwe CCI in Zimbabwe is used as a case study. The paper identified the critical design factors to include; enhancing interconnectivity of institutions, development actors and community; incorporating mechanisms for capacity development; enhancing collective purpose; developing measures for community empowerment; addressing power imbalances and incorporating perceived risks. Social consequences of the design impinged on the willingness to share knowledge and participation in dialogue by the affected. The paper recommends key components of a framework for evaluating CCI design to; incorporate perceptions of both the affected and the involved; view CCIs as purposeful systems; be based on boundary critique and apply multi methodological approaches. The paper ends by suggesting important factors in ensuring sustainability of CCIs and recommends the integration of sustainability factors in designing CCIs.

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU ZH-CN X-NONE The slow and low level of innovation adoption in the Australian beef industry was explored by using a systems approach. A causal loop model of innovation adoption system in the Australian beef industry was built based on various sources of literature and fieldwork findings in Queensland Australia. Further analysis of the systems model and fieldwork findings revealed the systemic structures of innovation adoption system in the Australian beef industry which underlie the complexity and dynamics of innovation adoption behaviour. To the utmost importance is this research also externalized key mental models of different actors within in the beef production system. Key conclusions drawn from the systems analysis were (1) the barriers to innovation adoption are business situation specific, barriers shifting along with the changing of business situation; (2) a lack of fully understanding the systemic structure of innovation adoption system in the Australian beef industry is common; (3) a lack of shared mental model among different key actors in the beef production system was also clearly shown which inhibits effective cooperation among them for various innovation activities; (4) using systems approaches to understand barriers to the innovation adoption in the Australian beef industry can add valuable insights to this complex issue which traditional non-system based methods are not able to achieve. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-AU;}

China is one of the countries that have been continuously experiencing negative impacts by typhoons. Typhoons cause severe damage annually, not only to the regional economy, but they are also responsible for frequent human casualties. This research comprehensively assesses the impact of typhoons across China by using the geographical information system based on time series data between 1980 and 2012. Results indicate that typhoons affected 61 % of the total landmass of China during this timeframe with a total affected area of approximately 5.91 million km 2 . In addition, some coastal regions of south-east China experienced nearly 300 typhoon landfalls. The key entities of this study that are used to assess typhoon risk across China include population, gross domestic production, road networks and land use. As a result, the vulnerabilities of each entity in the typhoon-affected region of China were calculated before leading to the regional typhoon risk indexes. Based on the range of typhoon risk indexes, the typhoon-affected areas in China were zoned into four regions with different levels of typhoon risk. This research will facilitate decision-making by policy makers on the mitigation of typhoon risks.

This article presents the findings of a study of the spheres of urban influence with regard to all cities in China (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Province of China) in the years 1990, 2000 and 2009. An optimized gravity model with comprehensive time distance was used to carry out a detailed analysis of the spatial patterns of Chinese spheres of urban influence and the spatial characteristics of urban agglomerations. Such urban agglomerations are characterized by high density population and a developed economy, which are also considered as the national competition unit. This paper initially identifies four spatial patterns of urban agglomerations based on the spatial layout of city groups during their evolution. Some basic characteristics of urban agglomerations are outlined, including the number of cities, the size of cities and the functions of urban centers. These characteristics are examined by using statistical methods and Geographic Information System (GIS). The main findings from this research are that the development stages and structures of urban agglomerations in China vary significantly. It is also clear that the stages and evolution of spatial patterns are strongly affected and dominated by both policy and location factors.

Many small businesses suffer from inadequate management skills which can lead to poor business performance and unsustainable businesses. Research to date has focused on traditional skills such as communication, time management and people skills, yet critically many business managers have no systems thinking skills. This paper presents a framework targeted at delivering systems thinking skills to managers of small businesses utilizing some key characteristic of small business managers. The design is also based on a systems analysis and guided by both adult learning theory and teaching theory. The quality of a training framework depends on the quality of the content design and the right training delivery methods. The systems thinking skills training framework structured systems thinking knowledge into three modules in order to meet the needs of different levels of managers. The framework advocates blended training delivery methods and it also presents possible pitfalls based on training experiences. Additionally, the framework incorporates a continuous improvement process for ongoing systemic improvement.

Managers and leaders today are expected to deliver innovative solutions and policies to cope with increasing change and uncertainty. Even more challenging is the fact that the complex issues tend to transcend the jurisdictions and capacities of any single organisation or Government department. Systems thinking offers a holistic and integrative way of appreciating all the major dimensions of a complex problem, and enables the formation of effective management strategies (systemic interventions) with long lasting outcomes. This paper reports on three major systems based approaches to help current and create future managers and leaders to be equipped with new ways of thinking that are systems design-led to deal with complex problems in a systemic, integrated and collaborative fashion. These include establishing Evolutionary Learning Laboratories (ELLabs); “Starting with the Young”; and introducing systems education at tertiary level.

Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve in the northeast of China was established for its biodiversity and ecological significance. Local communities traditionally used the natural resources of the Reserve area through harvesting and hunting of forest products. With Reserve declaration, this subsistence use of resources was banned, and communities were greatly affected by the regulations but moved towards gaining income from tourism. During the past two decades tourist numbers during the summer months have grown from less than 30,000 per year in the 1980s to more than half a million in 2006. Local communities have benefited economically from the increased tourism activity, but its extreme seasonality has also brought community disruption. The extremes of Changbai precipitated provincial government action to alter governance arrangements with the purpose of facilitating orderly tourism development and environmental protection. This paper reports the success of this innovation and highlights the need for the new governance structure to plan for its transition from a development-driven agency towards a community-servicing and tourism management agency.

The experimental study on pre-treatment of the landfill leachate with treated coal ash was put forward in this paper.The results showed that after having been treated with the coal ash the concentration of COD-(Cr) and the ammonia were greatly reduced in the landfill leachate.The COD-(Cr) with concentration range from 12000 mg/L to 25000mg/L was reduced to about 3000mg/L and the ammonia with concentration range from 400 mg/L to 450 mg/L was reduced to less 70 mg/L.The indexes of Cu,Cd,Zn,Pb and Cr of treated landfill leachate were all measure up(GB8978-1996) while their original concentrations were respectively 7.0 mg/L,3.5 mg/L,3.5 mg/L,10.0 mg/L and 5.5mg/L.

Both based on the necessity and impendence situation for the treatment of landfill leachate in Dalian municipal were analyzed,and the environment pollution mechanism of landfill leachate was studied.The landfill leachate that were both in storage ponds and the new production were sampled and tested.The water quality of landfill leachate was assessed with the method of single pollution index.The results showed that the water quality of landfill leachate of Dalian municipal landfill is quite worse,especially in the heavy metal pollution.Finally,characters of landfill leachate of Dalian municipal landfill were summarized,and suggestions on the treatment of landfill leachate were proposed.

The strategy of West China Development has been put in practice for more than five years.In this paper,the eco-environmental problems were reassessed and their causes of formation were also analyzed.Then the rules for eco-environmental construction in ethnic area and the construction countermeqsures were put forward.

The study is focused on treatment process for high condensative and indegradative Ciprofloxacin pharmaceutical wastewater by combination of adsorption by active carbon,oxidation by Fenton agent and biological method.The results show that this process is applicable to pharmaceutical wastewater,the elimination rate of COD_(Cr) is up to 91.74%;the rate of BOD_5/COD_(Cr) is increased from 0.11 to 0.33,and the biochemical property is improved greatly.