A review of tree root conflicts with sidewalks,curbs, and roads

Literature relevant to tree root and urban infrastructure conflicts is reviewed. Although tree roots can conflict with many infrastructure elements, sidewalk and curb conflicts are the focus of this review. Construction protocols, urban soils, root growth, and causal factors (soil conditions, limited planting space, tree size, variation in root architecture, management practices, and construction materials) are discussed. Because costs related to sidewalk and curb damage are substantial, a review of research addressing repair, mitigation, prevention, and litigation costs is included. Finally, future research needs are discussed.

Potential for conflicts between trees and sidewalks/curbs is high when one or more of these factors are present: tree species that are large at maturity, fast growing trees, trees planted in restricted soil volumes, shallow top soil (hard-pan underneath top-soil), shallow foundations underneath the sidewalk (limited or no base materials), shallow irrigation, distances between the tree and sidewalk of less than 2.0–3.0 m., trees greater than 15 to 20 years old.

The results of this survey indicate that cities are spending substantial sums of money to address conflicts between street tree roots and infrastructure. It can be inferred that most of these expenditures are spent dealing with problems that already exist. However, this raises the question: How much is being spent now to ensure that conflicts are minimized in the future?

Future research should concentrate on plant factors, site design, and construction of sidewalks and curbs. Also, more knowledge is needed about interactions between root growth and management techniques, such as pruning and irrigation. Finally, there is need for studies that will assist policy-makers to efficiently allocate funds among repair, mitigation, prevention, and legal remedies.

     

论战争罪在国际刑法中的确认和特点

战争罪是与战争紧密联系的国际犯罪,指在战争或者武装冲突中严重违反战争法规或惯例规则、严重侵犯国际人道主义法的行为,被认为是应予以惩治的最严重的国际犯罪之一。第二次世界大战结束之后,通过对发动和组织战争的首要战犯进行国际刑事审判,国际社会扩充对战争罪的认识。随着前南和卢旺达国际刑事法庭的审判实践,在适用战争罪时有所突破。在综合先前的国际性法律文件的相关规定之基础上,《罗马规约》将战争罪列为国际刑事法院所管辖的核心罪行之一,并且以专门条款详细地规定关于战争罪的定义和具体表现形态。     

论土地革命时期赣南农村的社会矛盾--历史人类学视野下的中国土地革命史研究

以革命史的视野和阶级斗争的角度来看,发生在赣南等广大边界地区的土地革命运动,全然是一场阶级阵线分明的革命斗争。但是,在土地革命时期赣南地区具体的社会历史场景中,不同社会人群之间的分化与对立呈多元状态,错综复杂的社会矛盾介入土地革命运动,从而使党的革命斗争充满了复杂性,而不完全表现为单纯的阶级斗争。因此,在历史人类学的研究视野下,结合区域社会结构和社会文化因素的分析,有可能丰富和发展对中国现代土地革命运动的认识和理解。     

Patterns of Conflict About Risky Technologies

This paper examines taxonomies for classifying risks and conflicts about risky technologies. First, we describe six levels of conflict that represent various " shades of gray" between purely factual and purely value laden conflicts in technology disputes. Subsequently, we survey several recent taxonomies of risks and hazards that were at least partly intended to clarify the nature of the public conflicts about technologies and their risks. After pointing out that non-risk features frequently shape technology debates, we develop a taxonomy of the disputes themselves, based on a collection of 162 cases. Our taxonomy of technological controversies is related to the recent risk taxonomies and to the different levels of conflict. It turns out that the different technological disputes create quite different levels of conflict ranging from mainly factual (consumer products, drugs) to extremely value laden (nuclear power, genetic engineering). Depending on the type of controversy and level of conflict we suggest alternative conflict management strategies.     

防止利益冲突制度建设的价值意蕴与实现路径

利益冲突与腐败有着密切联系,利益冲突是腐败的诱因,腐败是利益冲突的结果,因而防止公职人员利益冲突是源头治腐的重要途径。基于预防腐败,整合廉政制度体系,密切党群关系,克服行政伦理困境的需要,必须大力推进防止利益冲突制度建设。推动防止利益冲突由“党内法”走向“国家法”,注重配套制度的衔接与耦合,健全监督制度并加大惩治力度,开展廉政伦理教育培训,分别构成了防止利益冲突制度建设的方向、基础、抓手和保障。     

The humanitarian crisis of migration versus the crisis of humanitarianism: current dimensions and challenges for social work practice*

People who comprise today’s mass migrations are the embodiment of an increasingly hurtful planetary interconnectedness between towering inequalities and hegemonies and human lives. The humanitarian crisis has turned into a fundamental crisis of humanitarianism. The crisis of humanitarianism builds up by the state borders increasingly militarized, equipped with one manner or the other of securitization, seeking to externalize the migrating people. Further, the governments seek to institutionalize and spatially segregate the people, whilst the resident population is subjected to programmatic inciting of racism and xenophobia. Racist eurocentrism pictures the West as democratic, and migrant people as non-democratic; it does not distinguish between individuals and political regimes; does not take into consideration the emergency situations from which they flee: it is thus a form of armed humanitarianism. The Balkan countries which were part of the Balkan Refugee route have become prison countries, custodians of the EU border. They conserve the image of the dangerous Balkans and consolidate Balkanism. A complex social work response includes individual, institutional, curricular, and research levels of reflection and intervention.     

Secondary agency conflicts: A synthesis and proposed measurement model

Secondary agency conflicts typically arise when ownership and control are combined in the hands of dominant shareholders who could then seek to misappropriate returns at the expense of minority shareholders. This type of agency conflict has attracted attention from researchers for the past nearly three decades. However, efforts at measuring secondary agency conflicts have been fragmented and scattered. The absence of a coherent and valid approach to assess the scope and intensity of secondary agency conflicts has impeded progress in both empirical and conceptual development of the topic area. Based on a review of the extant body of literature, this paper develops a composite Shareholder Inequity index that measures the potential for secondary agency conflicts employing three different governance dimensions that are grounded in the agency literature: blockholder power, differential control, and the absence of board neutrality. The index is tested and validated empirically using a sample of 748 publicly listed U.S. firms. The resulting Shareholder Inequity index demonstrates high levels of validity and reliability. Future corporate governance studies can utilize this validated measure to investigate potential secondary agency conflicts more consistently and rigorously in order to strengthen organizational theory development and research.     

消解高校内部冲突张力的理论与实践

高校内部冲突是一种客观的社会存在，由冲突引发的张力具有积极的功能，但同时冲突张力对高校稳定的破坏作用也一直困扰着高校。依据西方社会冲突理论的研究成果，高校应采用多种积极有效的措施，消解过大的内部冲突张力，以维护高校的稳定和发展。     

日本中央与地方行政争议处理机制的构建、特点及启示

中央与地方争议处理机制是日本推进地方分权化改革的重要内容之一。在中央行政机关——总务省下设置国家地方纷争处理委员会是理想与现实的妥协。该机构负责处理地方公共团体就中央行政干预不服而提起的申诉。在行政体制内构建一种相对独立的争议处理机制是一种渐进式的地方分权化改革。     

Habitat use and activity patterns of urban-dwelling javelina

In Arizona, conflicts between homeowners and urban-dwelling javelina (Tayassu tajacu) continued to increase. Human-javelina conflicts often occurred when javelina responded to urban attractants and destroyed ornamental landscapes, injured pets, and frightened homeowners. This prompted initiation of a study during 1992–93 to develop recommendations to alleviate these conflicts. We captured, radio-collared, and located eight javelina from six herds to determine home ranges, habitat use, and activity patterns in Prescott, Arizona. Urban-dwelling javelina adjusted their home ranges, habitat use, and activity patterns to best use human-provided urban food, water, and cover resources. The most conspicuous of these adjustments was the increased nocturnal activity of urban-dwelling javelina to avoid human disturbances. Undeveloped land within or adjacent to Prescott provided javelina with daytime bedding areas and nighttime travel corridors. We determined that this issue was more a people problem than it was a javelina problem. Thus, strategies to resolve the conflicts must target homeowners.