Can Voluntary Programs Resolve China's Environmental Crisis? An Analysis of ISO 14001 Certification in a Sample of Chinese Firms

I study the determinants of ISO 14001 certification in a sample of manufacturing firms in China as well as the effect of ISO 14001 certification on firm environmental performance. Results indicate that ISO 14001 plays an important role in signaling the firm's environmental technology to environmentally conscious customers. ISO 14001 also appears to improve firm environmental performance, even after controlling for endogeneity between performance and certification.China, ISO 14001, Environmental Management Systems, Signaling, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development,

Sight Unseen: The Digital 3D CV

No abstract available

Off-Farm Employment Opportunities and Educational Attainment in Rural China

Labor and Human Capital,

Relationships of epidermal morphology and breeding behaviors in pebble nest-building minnows (Pisces: Cyprinidae)

Abstrad The objective of this study was to determine if epidermal morphology corresponds with reproductive behavior in cyprinid fishes. Representative species of nest-building fishes (Nocomds leptocephalus, Semotilus atromeculatus, exoglossum maxillingua) and non nest-building fishes (Campostoma anomaulm and Clinostomus funduloides) were studied. Light and scanning electron microscopy were used to examine epidermal morphology and keratin distribution of skins from the snout, cheek, mandible, anterior dorso-lateral trunk, and caudal peduncle of breeding males of nest-building species and were compared to those in non nest-building cyprinid species. Previous frame-by-frame analysis of video tapes of reproductive activities of each species and literature accounts were used to identify and describe breeding behaviors. The location and structure of keratinized regions in the epidermis of these cyprinid fishes is specifies-specific. The distribution of keratin and the form in which it occurs correlates with four primary aspects of reproduction: substrate modification (nest-building or pit digging), spawning, agnostic behaviors (combat and/or aggressive displays), and ornamentation (species and sex identification)

The volcanic geology of the southern wall of the Valle Del Bove, Mount Etna, Sicily

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the C.N.A.A.The Valle del Bove is a horse-shoe shaped depression, 8km long and 5km wide, cut into the eastern flanks of Mount Etna, Sicily. In the southern cliff walls there are exposed the lavas and pyroclastics erupted by six ancient centres of activity which existed in the vicinity of the site now occupied by the Valle del Bove. The majority of these volcanics originated at a centre, Trifoglietto II, which occupied a position on the site of the southern Valle del Bove, and which was still erupting lavas at 25,000 ys BP. A reconstruction of the topography which previously existed within the Valle del Bove, is accomplished by extrapolating preserved contours on the northern and southern walls of the depression. Reconstruction of the Trifoglietto II centre shows that its summit was probably between 2500m and 2600m above present sea-level, and that it consisted of a cone constructed predominantly from pyroclastic materials, overlain on its southern and eastern flanks by lavas. A stratigraphy is constructed for the southern wall. The Trifoglietto II lavas rest unconformably upon the eroded remnants of an older centre, and are themselves overlain by the products of younger centres. All the lavas exposed in the southern wall are of alkalic affinity, and comprise a trachybasaltic suite ranging from hawaiite to benmoreite. Variation in the chemistry of most of the lavas can be explained by their differentiation at high levels in the crust, from a more basic magma of alkalibasalt/hawaiite composition. Chemical variation in the Trifoglietto II lavas, however, can best be explained as a result of generation by the partial melting of garnet-peridotite material at upper mantle depths and pressures. A study has been made of the numerous dykes exposed in the walls of the Valle del Bove., the alignments of which parallel trends which are important on Etna at the present time. It is proposed that the Valle del Bove was formed by phreatic or phreato-magmatic eruptions which destroyed the Trifoglietto II centre, some 15-17,000 ys BP, following magmatic extinction at the centre. The eruptions produced lahars which are evident to the east of the depression, and extensive air-fall ashes. Subsequent enlargement of the Valle del Bove was accomplished by fluvial erosion

Showing; not telling: modelling student feedback using peer review via Aropa, within a hybridised formative-summative framework, to improve both attainment and satisfaction.

Aims: To evaluate the success of an initiative designed to improve the quality of student feedback Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted, which blended inductive and deductive thematic analysis approaches using the model by Braun and Clarke (2006). The analysis had five stages: familiarisation, coding, thematising, thematic review, thematic naming and writing up. The staff-student research team was composed of a PhD student, two lecturers and a senior lecturer, the PI, so to ensure the integrity of the methodological approach, transcripts allocated for analysis to individual team members were then subjected to group interrogation to ensure consistency. Main findings: 1. There was overwhelming support for the addition of the formative element to the assessment regime; 2. The feedback paradigm used was found to be very helpful in improving grades from the formative to the summative stages; 3. Peer reviews via Aropa were reported as being time-consuming, yet useful in unexpected ways; 4. There were qualitative improvements in student performance; 5. Peer grading was more problematic when predicted grades did not match final grades. Conclusions: If this model of feedback were to be adopted, there would be implications for CPD across the courses and programmes in which it were to be situated. The next step for this project is for a staff-student partnership to analyse sample feedback from tutors to create a continuing professional development support pack for staff and students to enhance the quality of feedback and the use made of it by students

The Evolution of an Industrial Cluster in China

We use two rounds of surveys, in 2000 and 2008, in the Zhili Township children’s garment cluster in Zhejiang Province to examine in depth its evolution. Firm size has grown on average in terms of output and employment, and increasing divergence in firm sizes has been associated with a significant increase in specialization and outsourcing among firms in the cluster. Although initial investments have more than tripled, they remain low enough so that formal bank loans remain an insignificant source of finance. Accompanying lower entry barriers, there have been an increasing number of firms in the cluster, which have driven down profit and bid up wages, particularly since the year 2000. Facing severe competition, more firms have begun to upgrade their product quality. By the year 2007, nearly half of the sampled had established registered trademarks and nearly 20 percent had become ISO certified. Declining profit ratios to initial investment and stagnant TFP imply that the future of this industry is likely to rest on using more advanced technology and higher ratios of capital to labor, which imply increases in firm size and initial investment. Thus traditional sources of finance that do not require honest, efficient, and transparent courts are likely to fade as the need for improved legal and financial institutions become critical factor influencing China’s growth prospects.