Framing processes in planning disputes: analysing dynamics of contention in a housing project in Hong Kong

Opposition to planned housing projects can lead to considerable delays. Hong Kong is characterized by an executive-dominant planning system, whereby the government possesses strong planning powers, while elected district councillors play an advisory role only. Curiously, planning delays are fairly common. The above paradox is analysed in this paper through examining a major dispute over public housing development in Hong Kong. This dispute involved lengthy processes of bargaining, which were vulnerable to legitimacy challenges. Councillors acted strategically by tapping into prevailing social values to frame the legitimacy of bargaining processes. Despite discontent with these informal bargaining processes, the dispute has not evolved into more radical challenges to existing governance arrangements. The paper concludes by considering how hegemonic discourses of planning efficiency may have constrained the emergence of radical contention, which adds to broader debates about the conditions which shape the trajectories and transformative prospects of contentious urban developments.     

Pittsburgh's translocal social movement: A case of the new public water

This paper contributes to the water privatization and governance literatures by examining the case of Pittsburgh where renewed efforts of water privatization have emerged after a failed private management arrangement between the local water authority and Veolia ended abruptly in 2015. We argue that, as the water authority aims to rebuild trust in the community, resident mobilization has played a key role in hindering further privatizing arrangements and has exerted influence in defining what constitutes the “new public” water in Pittsburgh, by advocating for increased transparency and accountability in governance, infrastructure improvements and protections for low-income residents.     

An e-government framework for assessing readiness for public sector e-procurement in a lower-middle income country

ABSTRACT

Governments globally are leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) growth towards improving the quality of public procurement services for socio-economic development. However, the extent of its application differs across nations. Notwithstanding the extant theoretical and empirical literature on IT for development, knowledge on how to assess readiness for adopting a full e-procurement system in the public sector of lower and lower-middle income countries (LMICs) begs for understanding. With the narrative of Ghana, we address this gap by drawing on the institutional and economic theory and the United Nations E-Government Development Index towards a holistic framework beyond the dyad of linear website functionalities and internet focus of prior e-government adoption models. Elite interviews gathered from multiple cases from Ghana’s public sector reveals the key readiness determinants for a full public sector e-procurement system. This study has significant implications for shaping the process-oriented management of government e-procurement projects towards socio-economic development in LMICs amid their complex institutional and socio-technical environments.     

公众素质、外部环境对公众再生水接受态度的影响

公众对再生水的接受态度是再生水推广的关键。构建公众素质、主观规范、信息公开、政策环境、再生水接受态度与再生水接受意愿的关系假设模型,并以356份来自西安市居民问卷作为调研对象,运用结构方程模型进行实证分析。结果表明,接受态度正向影响接受意愿,其中主观规范是影响再生水接受态度的主要因素,信息公开与公众素质是次要因素,政策环境对再生水接受态度的影响不显著。     

Short communication: Risk factors for sonographically detectable udder edema in overbagged cows at dairy shows

At dairy cow shows, the appearance of the udder is very important. To show cows at their best, udders are often presented in an overbagged state by extending milking intervals before the show. This practice represents an animal welfare issue because it is associated with behavior changes (e.g., excessive abduction and decreased eating time) and may affect the health of the animal. The aim of the current study was to determine the association between various parameters (e.g., milk yield, days in milk, milking procedures, or administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, or diuretics) and the sonographically detectable udder edema score. Data were collected from the show catalogs, by interviewing the exhibitors, by analyzing official veterinary treatment protocols and official milking data, via laboratory analysis of blood samples, and by sonographic examinations of the udders at the show. For sonographically detectable udder edema scoring, 3 scans were taken, 1 on each fore quarter and 1 incorporating both rear quarters at the level of the median suspensory ligament. For grading the scans, a scoring system of 4 grades (score 0 = no edema, 1 = slight edema, 2 = moderate edema, 3 = severe edema) was used. Data from 321 cows of different breeds were collected at 4 highly competitive Swiss dairy shows (shows A–D) between January and September 2017. To determine risk factors for sonographically detectable udder edema, data were analyzed with 2 different logistic regression models. In model 1, the odds ratios were 3.33 (milking intervals of ≥16 h vs. <14 h), 3.84 (show A vs. show C), and 7.39 (dairy breeds vs. dual-purpose breeds). Milking intervals of dairy breeds were significantly higher than those of dual-purpose breeds. In model 2, milking interval was the only significant risk factor with an odds ratio of 9.00 for milking intervals of ≥16 h. Only the milking intervals represented a relevant risk factor in both models; therefore, we concluded that the previously described sonographic udder edema scoring is a useful technique for detecting overbagged udders at dairy shows. Its routine implementation may improve cow welfare at dairy shows.     

A calm companion lowers fear in groups of dairy cows

Dairy cows are generally calm and compliant, but some management procedures can make cows fearful or stressed. Not only are fearful cattle a threat to human safety, but fear is also detrimental to animal welfare and productivity. This study aimed to test whether fear in small groups of dairy cattle could be attenuated by the presence of a calm and experienced companion. Twenty-seven dairy cows from a Swedish agricultural school participated in the study. The study included a standardized fear-eliciting stimulus, which was 3 sudden, repetitive openings of a red and white umbrella. Demonstrator cows (n = 9) were selected based on age to ensure that all demonstrators were older than the naïve test cows (n = 18). Of these 9 demonstrator cows, 6 were selected as untrained (i.e., habituated to the presence of the test person) and 3 were selected as trained demonstrators (i.e., additionally habituated to the fear-eliciting stimulus). The remaining 18 test cows comprised 6 test-cow groups of 3 cows each, which were their own controls, resulting in a crossover design; 3 groups were tested with a trained demonstrator first and then with an untrained demonstrator, and vice versa for the other 3 groups, resulting in a total of 12 trials (4 sub-treatments). Response variables were heart rate increase from baseline, behavioral reaction indicative of fear, and latency to resume feeding after exposure to the fear-eliciting stimulus. The study found a calming effect of a trained demonstrator on test cows' heart rate but not on latency to resume feeding or behavioral reaction. Post hoc analyses revealed a carryover effect on latency, indicating that test cows who were accompanied by an untrained demonstrator first had longer latencies than cows in all other sub-treatments. Adding a calm, experienced cow to groups of dairy cattle may mitigate fear and thereby improve welfare and safety.     

资源共享技术在发电设备制造行业中的应用

在对发电设备制造行业现代集成制造系统需要分析的基础上，研究发电设备制造行业资源信息在Internet环境下信息共享的解决方案和实施技术，设计了基于网络制造的资源信息模型和资源信息共享系统的体系结构，提出建立数据公共中心的方案，论述行业共享资源管理与优化配置、行业技术信息协同支持、行业信息咨询与培训服务、行业综合信息服务和共享资源维护与安全控制五项应用服务功能系统的开发技术。     

路灯自动控制器

本文介绍了一种具有抗短时强光干扰的路灯自动控制装置的组成、性能、适用范围及工作原理,并给出了电路原理图和印制板图,文中给出了元件参数选择及制作方法,具有很强的节电实用意义。     

SCM: Secure and accountable TLS certificate management

In classical public‐key infrastructure (PKI), the certificate authorities (CAs) are fully trusted, and the security of the PKI relies on the trustworthiness of the CAs. However, recent failures and compromises of CAs showed that if a CA is corrupted, fake certificates may be issued, and the security of clients will be at risk. As emerging solutions, blockchain‐ and log‐based PKI proposals potentially solved the shortcomings of the PKI, in particular, eliminating the weakest link security and providing a rapid remedy to CAs' problems. Nevertheless, log‐based PKIs are still exposed to split‐world attacks if the attacker is capable of presenting two distinct signed versions of the log to the targeted victim(s), while the blockchain‐based PKIs have scaling and high‐cost issues to be overcome. To address these problems, this paper presents a secure and accountable transport layer security (TLS) certificate management (SCM), which is a next‐generation PKI framework. It combines the two emerging architectures, introducing novel mechanisms, and makes CAs and log servers accountable to domain owners. In SCM, CA‐signed domain certificates are stored in log servers, while the management of CAs and log servers is handed over to a group of domain owners, which is conducted on the blockchain platform. Different from existing blockchain‐based PKI proposals, SCM decreases the storage cost of blockchain from several hundreds of GB to only hundreds of megabytes. Finally, we analyze the security and performance of SCM and compare SCM with previous blockchain‐ and log‐based PKI schemes.     

信息技术下基于微信公众号的大学生现代管理策略研究

高等院校为社会发展提供人才,是推动社会经济发展的重要力量。当代高校学生大多为"90后",在信息化时代的环境影响下,强调自我、追求个性以及较强的适应能力成为当前高校学生的主要特征。如今,高新技术发展迅速,网络信息等新文化对学生的思想、价值观念、行为举止等都形成潜移默化的影响,这就要求院校在督促学生提高自身自制力的同时,加强信息技术研究,以实现对学生的现代化管理。文章对此展开分析。