Gasoline to Diesel Consumption Ratio: A New Socioeconomic Indicator of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in China

In recent years, gross domestic product (GDP) has grown rapidly in China, but the growth rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has begun to decline. Some scholars have put forward the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for CO2 emissions in China. This paper utilized the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 1997 to 2016 to verify the EKC hypothesis. To explore the real reasons behind the EKC, the index gasoline to diesel consumption ratio (GDCR) was introduced in this paper. The regression results showed that CO2 emissions and GDP form an inverted U-shaped curve. This means that the EKC hypothesis holds. The regression results also showed that a 1% GDCR increase was coupled with a 0.118186% or 0.114056% CO2 emission decrease with the panel fully modified ordinary least squares or panel dynamic ordinary least squares method, respectively. This means that CO2 emissions negatively correlate with GDCR. From the discussion of this paper, the growth rate reduction of CO2 emissions is caused by the economic transition in China. As changes of GDCR can, from a special perspective, reflect the economic transition, and as GDCR is negatively correlated with CO2 emissions, GDCR can sometimes be used as a new socioeconomic indicator of carbon dioxide emissions in China.

Socioeconomic Status and Physical Activity among Mothers of Young Children in an Asian City: The Mediating Role of Household Activities and Domestic Help

Mothers of preschoolers (3 to 5 years old) risk being physically inactive. This study aimed to examine associations between socioeconomic status (education, employment, income) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among mothers of preschoolers in Hong Kong. Family functioning (e.g., having a domestic helper, division of household chores and child-related activities) was explored as a potential mediator of associations between socioeconomic indicators and the mother’s self-reported MVPA. Using zero-inflated negative binomial modelling confounder-adjusted associations between socioeconomic indicators and MVPA (total effects) were estimated. Mediation analyses (joint-significance test) were also performed. Using generalized linear mixed models, intermediate pathways were identified. No significant total effects of any socioeconomic indicator on the mother’s MVPA were found. However, mediation analyses identified a complex network of inconsistent mediators partly explaining their associations via eight pathways. Also, whilst non-residents/extended family playing with the child(ren) was not associated with any socioeconomic indicator, this was negatively associated with the mother’s MVPA. A further pathway was mediated by the mother playing with her child(ren). Extended family playing with the child(ren) was inversely associated with the mother doing so. Associations between socioeconomic indicators and MVPA among preschoolers’ mothers are complex and inconsistent, requiring further investigation in diverse contexts. Encouraging active play with their preschoolers may increase mothers’ physical activity levels.

“Não passa por teu o que me pertence”. Marcas de individualização associadas a faianças do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Aracoeli, Alcácer do Sal

Founded in 1573 by Rui Salema and Catarina Sotto Mayor Salema, the Convento de Nossa Senhora de Aracoeli was located in the old house of the Order of Santiago. Extinct in 1874 it was in ruins by the renovation undertaken for the building of Pousada D. Afonso II. Following the excavation, carried out between 1993 and 1997, expressive archaeological remains were identified, including a diverse collection of Portuguese faience. The issue that is presented relates to incised motifs which the study of the faience, collected in two sites from the conventual fence, reveled. Therefore, this study uses a selected assemblage as a socioeconomic indicator, leading it to be associated with the conventual, perhaps prophylactic, daily routine of Alcácer do Sal.