What to do with mushroom pickers in my forest? Policy tools from the landowners’ perspective

Wild mushroom picking is a growing recreational and commercial activity. In Spain, wild mushrooms legally belong to the landowner, who seldom benefits from trade in mushrooms or from their recreational value. Cultural aspects (tradition, picker-related harms) and economic aspects (costly forestry works, income opportunities) constitute elements of the debate on how to deal with mushroom picking. Through a survey of private forest owners in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain), this paper examines their experiences with mushroom pickers, the factors shaping their related policy preferences and their willingness to engage in mushroom reserves.The results show broad support for introducing mushroom picking norms. A regulation would allow outsider pickers to enter private land, but only under certain conditions, i.e. to comply with socio-ecological rules of the area. Among respondents who support the regulation, active land owners who report instances of picker-related harm (both tangible and intangible) tend to support the establishment of a fee system which could be reinvested into forest management. That is also the position of the respondents who perceive mushrooms as a private right, i.e. they believe to have a legitimate right to exclude outsider pickers and, eventually, to raise revenues from that asset. On the contrary, forest owners who conceive mushroom picking as a free-access activity prefer neither to regulate it nor to charge fees. The option to establish a mushroom picking reserve depends on the landholder being a fee-supporter and perceiving instances of harm. Harm, instead, is mainly determined by the perception of congestion of pickers, which in turn is determined by the mushroom productivity of their forest, their level of privacy protection and their involvement to the primary sector. These findings help policymakers to better understand the logic and sensitivities of forest owners in view of designing mushroom picking policies that can effectively solve picker-landowner conflicts.     

Tourism at Costalegre,Mexico: An ecosystem services-based exploration of current challenges and alternative futures

Tourism, as all human activities, is dependent on the natural environment and its respective ecosystem services (ES). Different user groups manage and consume these touristic ES differently, resulting in discrepancies and potential conflicts. Despite the urgency to find inclusive local approaches for sustainable development, tourism studies still analyze socio-economic and ecological impacts separately and lack integrated social–ecological approaches to improve foresight in tourism planning. Based on a growing concern regarding the future of Costalegre on the Jalisco coast of Western Mexico, we analyze through interviews, surveys, and participant observation the dependence of tourism on specific ecosystem services and conduct a scenario analysis which shows present and future implications for the social–ecological system. Furthermore, this analysis shows in detail how different scenarios change ES provision and people's livelihoods. Key findings include identifying freshwater provision and cultural ES as the most important touristic ES. At a regional scale, peasants in ejidos are the main ES stewards, whereas high-class tourism facilities constitute important local stewards. Benefits, mainly access to freshwater and the beach, are unequally distributed, provoking conflicts among different ES user groups that may escalate in the near future. Improved communication between all user groups and strengthening of key political actors seem to be the most immediate recommendations to ensure the long term sustainability of this particular region. This work may contribute to improved planning and decision-making as our ES based scenarios are a first step to integrate social–ecological knowledge into improved decision-making. At a local scale, the study reveals the most likely future development options and their social and ecological consequences. It could also serve as a baseline for informed policy making.     

科技服务业创新生态系统价值共创模式与协作机制研究

科技服务业创新生态系统价值共创模式是一种新型商业模式。为了解其价值共创的具体运行逻辑,保障价值共创的持续性,基于科技服务业创新生态系统概念、特征与要素构成,深入分析科技服务业创新生态系统价值共创模式,设计基于价值共创的科技服务业创新生态系统协作机制,为科技服务业创新生态系统实践发展提供理论指导。     

面向服务架构的科技孵化器生态系统解构与评估

从生态系统角度研究科技孵化器,为揭示孵化器与孵化环境间交互关系提供了一种新的方式,为全面提升科技孵化器系统水平提供了基础保障。但已有研究对科技孵化器生态系统生态化交互模式的细节尤其是交互结构尚未形成统一结论。针对当前研究缺口,首先以SOA（面向服务架构）概念原理、生态学和生态系统理论为基础,结合科技孵化器孵化网络知识,构建基于孵化服务的科技孵化器生态系统模型;然后,以孵化服务效率为评估核心,构建孵化服务实施约束下的科技孵化器生态系统评估框架;最后,借鉴SOA（面向服务架构）系统控制与系统治理思路,根据科技孵化器生态系统模型与评估框架结果,提出科技孵化器生态系统水平提升途径,为科技孵化器实践提供指导。     

FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE IN ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PROVISION: DOES TRUST MATTER?

Ecosystem service provision in agriculture may require cooperation between farmers. Trust fosters cooperation in many economic and social interactions and is important to the success of traditional agricultural cooperatives. Little is known about how trust affects farmers’ willingness to cooperate to provide an ecosystem service, what types of trust are most important, and under what conditions trust may matter. In this study, we present results of a survey of Missouri crop farmers exploring the role trust plays in farmers’ stated willingness to cooperate to control pests. We find that most farmers say they are willing to cooperate, and most farmers are willing to trust others. However, we find little evidence that trust positively influences farmers’ willingness to cooperate to control pests. Instead, we find that trust may only matter under certain conditions, such as when participants’ farms are dissimilar, and that other determinants, such as the perceived benefit of cooperation and environmental concern, are more important than trust to farmers who are contemplating cooperation to control pests.     

Millennium Development Goal shortfalls in Zimbabwe: Analysing the impact of access to water and sanitation on early childhood morbidity

ABSTRACT

An Africana feminist framework is presented that considers the ways in which inequality resulting from a historical legacy of political conflict and other dimensions intersect to impact upon the accomplishment of Millennium Development Goals with regards to environmental sustainability and child malnutrition in Zimbabwe. Demographic and Health Surveys are analysed from 1988 to 2011 to examine whether differential access to water and sanitation is predicted by ethnic differences in Zimbabwe, and is predictive of chronic malnutrition. Safe water and sanitation are in short supply, and logistic regression analyses provide evidence that residents in Shona and Ndebele-dominated provinces generally have better access to these resources. Uneven distribution of these development resources has a deleterious impact on early childhood nutrition. This work elicits results that give rise to child health-related policy recommendations that may inform post-2015 discussions of Sustainable Development Goals, namely that within-country ethnic differences must be taken into account.     

有限理性视角下知识产权质押贷款风险形成、评估与检验

创新型企业面临的信贷配给等融资约束已为经验研究所证实。中国政府为解决该问题,制定了知识产权质押贷款融资等政策并在实施后取得了阶段性效果,但后续的贷款风险正在形成和积累。借助有限理性理论解释知识产权质押贷款风险的形成机理是一种新尝试。同时,运用中国早期专利质押贷款试点数据,基于有限理性理论对知识产权质押贷款风险进行评估与检验。研究结果能够为检验、完善和改进中国知识产权质押融资政策提供经验依据。     

Multiple student learning objectives in basic business statistics: Strategies,assessment, and recommendations

The basic business statistics course is ideal for incorporating multiple objectives related to program learning goals common at most business schools. Along with quantitative reasoning skills, activities are described that allow the measurement of student outcomes related to oral communication and ethics. Strategies include the hidden curriculum approach, term projects involving real data, class presentations, and an emphasis on the ethical use of statistics. These approaches are implemented across multiple sections over multiple semesters, illustrating the untapped potential of this course for achieving multiple learning goals as well as how results can be used to refine assessment methods and improve instruction.     

Developing and assessing critical thinking skills in marketing students: The power of making explicit problem-solving processes

Applied research is a course that has been taught to develop and effectively assess critical thinking skills in marketing students. A modified version of the problem-solving model using explicit problem-solving processes is employed in the design of course material and delivery. Assessment data support students’ ability to critically think at both lower and higher levels. Assignments include creative and timely experiential exercises to reinforce important marketing concepts, encourage student interest, and develop critical thinking skills.     

Vulnerability assessment of water resources to climate change in Chinese cities

Climate change is an inevitable trend,which challenges security of water resources in China,especially in cities.Assessing vulnerability of water resource to climate change in cities has important role for policy makers. The paper constructs a vulnerability function,including exposure,sensitivity and adaptive capacity,according to the vulnerability concept proposed by IPCC,establishes an assessment indicators system of water resources to climate change in cities,and analyzes vulnerability features of Chinese cites based on 655 cities＇data in 2006.The vulnerability assessment results show that there are distinctive differences among all the cities,between east,central and west cities,between ordinary,big and mega cities,while there is no statistical significant difference between north and south cities.Based on the research,the paper suggests that strategic emphasis should focus on the central cities and ordinary cities