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Environmental Preservation (environmental + preservation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Environmental Preservation and Second-Order Procrastination

PHILOSOPHY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2007
CHRISOULA ANDREOU
First page of article [source]

Automatic guidance of a four-wheel-steering mobile robot for accurate field operations

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 6-7 2009
Christophe Cariou
As world population growth requires an increasing level of farm production at the same time that environmental preservation is a priority, the development of new agricultural tools and methods is required. In this framework, the development of robotic devices can provide an attractive solution, particularly in the field of autonomous vehicles. Accurate automatic guidance of mobile robots in farming constitutes a challenging problem for researchers, mainly due to the low grip conditions usually found in such a context. From assisted-steering systems to agricultural robotics, numerous control algorithms have been studied to achieve high-precision path tracking and have reached an accuracy within ±10 cm, whatever the ground configuration and the path to be followed. However, most existing approaches consider classical two-wheel-steering vehicles. Unfortunately, by using such a steering system, only the lateral deviation with respect to the path to be followed can be satisfactorily controlled. Indeed, the heading of the vehicle remains dependent on the grip conditions, and crabwise motions, for example, are systematically observed on a slippery slope, leading to inaccurate field operations. To tackle this drawback, a four-wheel-steering (4WS) mobile robot is considered, enabling servo of both lateral and angular deviations with respect to a desired trajectory. The path tracking control is designed using an extended kinematic representation, allowing account to be taken online of wheel skidding, while a backstepping approach permits management of the 4WS structure. The result is an approach taking advantage of both rear and front steering actuations to fully compensate for sliding effects during path tracking. Moreover, a predictive algorithm is developed in order to address delays induced by steering actuators, compensating for transient overshoots in curves. Experimental results demonstrate that despite sliding phenomena, the mobile robot is able to automatically and accurately achieve a desired path, with lateral and angular errors, respectively, within ±10 cm and ±2 deg, whatever its shape and whatever the terrain conditions. This constitutes a promising result in efforts to define efficient tools with which to tackle tomorrow's agriculture challenge. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Environmental motivations: a classification scheme and its impact on environmental strategies and practices

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 7 2009
Antony Paulraj
Abstract Ecological deterioration has significantly changed the role of businesses in society and the way they are perceived. In fact, consumers are more aware of environmental issues and are demanding that the businesses take appropriate action in preserving the environment. Extant research suggests that stringent regulations had been instrumental to the timing and direction of many firms' responses to environmental preservation. In addition to these legislative requirements, firms also adopt ecologically responsive practices for various other reasons. Therefore, understanding the different motivations of environmental initiatives is pertinent. Additionally, it is also important to determine whether environmental strategies and practices differ significantly across firms with different motivations. With the above ambition in mind, this manuscript addresses the crucial issues related to corporate environmental strategy through the development of an empirical taxonomy of environmental motivations and the subsequent testing of any significant differences in corporate environmental strategy and green practices across the clusters. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

Property as Interorganizational Discourse: Rights in the Politics of Public Spaces

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 2 2008
Todd Norton
In this article, I extend organization and communication theory to conceptualize property as an interorganizational discourse. As an analytic of discourse's capacity to gain and defend stakeholder rights in the public domain, property discourses provide a rigorous, language-centered approach to organizational conflict over environmental spaces by conceptualizing how material,symbolic tensions play out diachronically. I ground this theoretical terrain through a discourse analysis of a decade-long conflict over public lands in the southern part of the U.S. state of Utah. The case,Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,constitutes a significant clash of politics between environmental preservation and extraction and especially what political regime ought to control roads accessing this 1.9-million-acre national monument. The analysis and interpretation indicate that property politics involve a complex interplay of symbolic and material forces among stakeholders. Conceptualized in this way property discourses provide considerable insight as many nations and societies face escalating struggles over increasingly scarce resources. Résumé La propriété comme discours interorganisationnel : les droits dans la politique des espaces publics Dans cet article, j'élargis les théories de l,organisation et de la communication pour conceptualiser la propriété comme un discours interorganisationnel. Comme élément analytique de la capacité du discours de gagner et de défendre les droits des parties prenantes dans le domaine public, les discours de propriété offrent une approche rigoureuse et centrée sur le langage pour l'analyse des conflits organisationnels à propos d,espaces environnementaux. En effet, ils permettent de conceptualiser la manière dont les tensions matérielles-symboliques ont lieu de façon diachronique. Je fonde ce terrain théorique sur l'analyse discursive d,un conflit s'étirant sur une dizaine d'années autour de terres publiques dans la partie australe de l'État américain de l,Utah. Le cas , Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GS-ENM) , consiste en une dispute politique importante autour de la préservation de l'environnement et de l,extraction et, surtout, autour de la question à savoir quel régime politique devrait pouvoir contrôler des routes donnant accès à ce monument national d'une superficie de 1,9 million d,acres. L'analyse et l,interprétation indiquent que les politiques de propriété impliquent une interaction complexe de forces symboliques et matérielles des parties prenantes. Conceptualisés de cette manière, les discours de propriété offrent un aperçu considérable alors que plusieurs nations et sociétés font face à des luttes qui s'intensifient autour de ressources de plus en plus rares. Abstract Eigentum als Diskurs zwischen Organisationen. Rechte in der Politik des öffentlichen Raums In diesem Artikel erweitere ich Organisations- und Kommunikationstheorie, um Eigentum als Diskurs zwischen Organisationen zu konzeptualisieren. Als eine Analyse der Vermögens eines Diskurses, Akteursrechte in der öffentlichen Domäne zu erlangen und zu verteidigen, bieten Diskurse zum Eigentum einen entscheidenden, sprachzentrierten Ansatz zu Organisationskonflikten bezüglich Umwelträumen, indem nämlich konzeptualisiert wird, wie material-symbolische Spannungen im Zeitverlauf zusammenspielen. Die Theorie basiert auf der Diskursanalyse eines Jahrzehnte dauernden Konflikts um öffentliches Land im Süden des US-Bundesstaates Utah. Der Fall - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GS-ENM) - bildet einen wichtigen Politikkonflikt zwischen Umweltschutz und Förderung ab , insbesondere bezüglich der Frage, welches politische Regime die Zugangsstraßen zu diesem 190 km2 großen nationalen Monuments kontrollieren soll. Die Analyse und Interpretation zeigt, dass Eigentumspolitik ein komplexes Zusammenspiel von symbolischen und materiellen Kräften von Akteuren ist. Auf diese Weise konzeptualisiert, lassen sich vor dem Hintergrund knapper werdender Ressourcen und daraus entstehenden nationalen und gesellschaftlichen Krisen wichtige Einsichten gewinnen. Resumen La Propiedad como Discurso entre las Organizaciones: Los Derechos en la Política de los Espacios Públicos En este artículo extiendo la teoría de la organización y la comunicación para conceptualizar la propiedad como un discurso entre organizaciones. Como un elemento analítico de la capacidad del discurso para ganar y defender los derechos de los interesados en el dominio público, los discursos de la propiedad proveen una aproximación rigurosa y un lenguaje centrado en el conflicto organizacional de los espacios medioambientales a través de una conceptualización de cómo las tensiones entre lo material y lo simbólico juegan un rol diacrónico. Conecto este terreno teórico a través de un análisis de una década de un discurso de conflicto sobre las tierras públicas en la parte sur del estado de Utah. El caso,Grand Staircase-Escalante Monumento Nacional (GS-ENM),constituye un enfrentamiento significativo de las políticos de preservación del medioambiente y la extracción y especialmente qué régimen político debe controlar los caminos de acceso a este monumento nacional de 1.9 millones de acres. El análisis y la interpretación indican que la política de la propiedad incluye la compleja interacción de fuerzas simbólicas y materiales entre los interesados. Conceptualizada de esta manera los discursos de la propiedad proveen de un entendimiento considerable para las muchas naciones y sociedades que enfrentan considerable disputas sobre los crecientes recursos escasos. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]