Emergy evaluation ofthe performance and sustainability
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performance evaluation 英语4A performance evaluation is a process used to measure an individual's or organization's performance against established standards or goals. It is typically used to identify areas of strength and weakness, and to provide feedback and guidance for improvement.Performance evaluations can be conducted in a variety of settings, including in the workplace, in education, and in sports. In the workplace, performance evaluations are often used to evaluate employees' job performance, to determine promotions and bonuses, and to identify areas where additional training or support may be needed.In education, performance evaluations are used to assess students' academic progress and to identify areas where they may need additional support or instruction. In sports, performance evaluations are used to evaluate athletes' performance and to identify areas where they may need to improve their skills or strategies.The process of conducting a performance evaluation typically involves setting clear performance standards or goals, collecting data or observations about the individual or organization's performance, and comparing that performance to the established standards or goals. The evaluator then provides feedback and guidance to the individual or organization, highlighting areas of strength and areas where improvement is needed.Overall, performance evaluations are an important tool for helping individuals and organizations to improve their performance and achieve their goals. By providing feedback and guidance, performance evaluations can help individuals and organizations to identify areas where they need to focus their efforts in order to achieve greater success.。
performance evaluation理工英语4 Performance EvaluationIntroductionPerformance evaluation is a crucial process in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of individuals, teams, or organizations. It involves the systematic assessment and measurement of performance against predetermined goals, objectives, and standards. This article aims to explore the concept of performance evaluation, its significance in various contexts, and the different methods used for evaluation.Defining Performance EvaluationPerformance evaluation is defined as the systematic process of assessing and reviewing an individual's or organization's performance in relation to established goals and objectives. It involves analyzing the quality, quantity, and timeliness of work, as well as the overall contribution towards achieving desired outcomes.Significance of Performance EvaluationPerformance evaluation plays a critical role in various contexts, including:1. Employee Performance Evaluation: In organizations, performance evaluation helps assess employees' job performance, identify areas for improvement, and determine reward and promotion opportunities. It provides valuable feedback and helps create a performance-driven culture.2. Team Performance Evaluation: Evaluating team performance is essential for identifying strengths and weaknesses, enhancing collaboration, and optimizing resources. It enables organizations to allocate tasks effectively, promote teamwork, and achieve collective goals.3. Organizational Performance Evaluation: Assessing the overall performance of an organization is essential for strategic planning, decision-making, and performance improvement. It helps identify areas requiring attention and enables organizations to align their objectives with key performance indicators (KPIs).Methods of Performance EvaluationThere are several methods used for performance evaluation, depending on the nature and context of evaluation:1. Rating Scales: This method involves using predefined scales to rate employees' performance against specific criteria. It provides a structured approach and simplifies the evaluation process. However, it can be subjective and may not capture the full extent of performance.2. 360-Degree Feedback: This method involves obtaining feedback from multiple sources, including supervisors, subordinates, peers, and customers. It provides a holistic view of an individual's performance and promotes a comprehensive understanding of strengths and areas for improvement.3. Objective Measurements: Objective measurements involve quantifying performance based on quantifiable data, such as sales figures, production output, or customer satisfaction ratings. This method provides a precise assessment of performance but may not capture qualitative aspects.4. Self-Assessment: Self-assessment encourages individuals to reflect on their performance and identify areas for improvement. It promotes self-awareness, accountability, and personal development. However, it may be biased and influenced by individuals' perceptions.5. Behavioral Observation: This method involves directly observing individuals' behavior in specific work-related situations. It provides valuable insights into work habits, interpersonal skills, and adherence to organizational values. However, it can be time-consuming and may not capture performance in all areas.ConclusionPerformance evaluation is a vital process for assessing and improving individual, team, and organizational performance. It helps organizations align their objectives, motivate employees, and ensure efficient resource allocation. By using appropriate evaluation methods, organizations can drive continuous improvement and achieve long-term success. It is essential for organizations to establish clear evaluation criteria, provide constructive feedback, and support employee development to maximize the benefits of performance evaluation.。
关于绩效的英语小作文英文回答:Performance, a crucial aspect of human behavior, encompasses the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of one's actions. It evaluates the extent to which an individual or organization achieves their desired goals and objectives. Performance measurement is a critical tool for understanding, improving, and optimizing outcomes.Performance Management.A comprehensive performance management system involves setting clear goals and objectives, measuring progress regularly, and providing feedback and coaching to enhance performance. Effective performance management fosters a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.Factors Influencing Performance.Numerous factors influence performance, including:Intrinsic Motivation: The internal drive that compels individuals to act without external rewards.Extrinsic Motivation: Rewards or punishments from external sources that encourage desired behavior.Cognitive Ability: The intellectual capacity to acquire knowledge, solve problems, and make decisions.Personality Traits: Stable patterns of behavior that influence how individuals respond to situations and perform tasks.Environment: The physical and social context in which performance occurs, including resources, support systems, and cultural norms.Improving Performance.Improving performance requires a multifaceted approach that addresses both individual and organizational factors. Strategies include:Goal Setting: Establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.Feedback and Coaching: Providing constructive criticism, guidance, and support to help individuals improve their performance.Training and Development: Investing in training programs and resources to enhance skills and knowledge.Performance Rewards: Recognizing and rewarding high levels of performance to incentivize desired behavior.Culture of Innovation and Learning: Fostering a workplace environment that encourages experimentation,risk-taking, and continuous growth.中文回答:绩效。
综合管理试题及答案英语一、选择题(每题2分,共20分)1. The correct spelling of the word "management" is:A) manegmentB) manegmentC) managemnetD) management答案:D2. Which of the following is not a function of management?A) PlanningB) OrganizingC) LeadingD) Innovating答案:D3. The process of setting goals and deciding on actions to achieve these goals is known as:A) OrganizingB) LeadingC) ControllingD) Planning答案:D4. Who is considered the father of scientific management?A) Henry FordB) Frederick Winslow TaylorC) Peter DruckerD) Max Weber答案:B5. What is the term used to describe the process of making things happen in an organization?A) MotivationB) CoordinationC) ExecutionD) Delegation答案:C6. In management, "span of control" refers to:A) The number of employees a manager can effectively manageB) The number of products a company producesC) The number of departments in an organizationD) The number of years a manager has been in their position答案:A7. Which of the following is a characteristic of an effective team?A) Clear communicationB) Lack of trustC) Poor leadershipD) Conflict avoidance答案:A8. What is the process of making decisions in an organization?A) PlanningB) OrganizingC) LeadingD) Decision-making答案:D9. The management concept that emphasizes the importance of employee satisfaction and motivation is known as:A) Scientific managementB) Administrative managementC) Human relations movementD) Systems theory答案:C10. In the context of management, "feedback" is:A) Information about the results of a decision or actionB) The process of setting goalsC) The process of organizing resourcesD) The process of motivating employees答案:A二、填空题(每题2分,共20分)1. The four main functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and ________.答案:controlling2. The management theory that focuses on the importance ofthe social and psychological aspects of work is known as the________ theory.答案:human relations3. A management style that involves providing employees with the freedom to make decisions is known as ________ leadership. 答案:autonomous4. The process of ensuring that activities are carried out as planned is called ________.答案:monitoring5. The management principle that states that managers should focus on the most important tasks is known as the ________ principle.答案:80/206. A management technique that involves breaking down a large task into smaller, more manageable parts is known as ________. 答案:task analysis7. The process of identifying the causes of a problem and determining the best course of action to solve it is called________.答案:problem-solving8. The management concept that suggests that organizations should be structured in a way that reflects their goals and objectives is known as ________.答案:organizational design9. The process of measuring the performance of anorganization against its goals is called ________.答案:performance evaluation10. The management theory that suggests that organizations should be viewed as a whole, with each part interacting with the others, is known as ________ theory.答案:systems三、简答题(每题10分,共40分)1. Explain the difference between leadership and management.答案:Leadership is about inspiring and motivating a team to achieve a common goal, while management involves planning, organizing, and coordinating the efforts of a team to accomplish tasks efficiently.2. What is the significance of delegation in management?答案:Delegation is significant in management as it empowers employees, improves productivity, and allows managers tofocus on strategic tasks. It also helps in developing theskills of subordinates and fostering a sense ofresponsibility.3. Describe the role of communication in effective management. 答案:Effective communication is crucial in management as it ensures that information is accurately and timely conveyed, facilitates collaboration among team members, and helps in resolving conflicts. It also aids in setting clearexpectations and feedback mechanisms.4. How can a manager ensure ethical behavior in an organization?答案:A manager can ensure ethical behavior by setting a good example, establishing clear ethical guidelines, providing training on ethical practices, encouraging open communication, and implementing a system for reporting unethical behavior without fear of retaliation.。
员工合同到期部门领导评价英文回答:The evaluation of an employee's performance at the end of their contract by their department leader is anessential process in determining the employee's future prospects within the company. It provides an opportunityfor the department leader to assess the employee's contributions, skills, and overall suitability for continued employment.During the evaluation, the department leader should consider various factors such as the employee's job performance, punctuality, attendance, teamwork, and adherence to company policies and procedures. The evaluation should be fair, unbiased, and based on objective criteria to ensure an accurate assessment.If an employee has consistently met or exceeded expectations, demonstrated a strong work ethic, and madevaluable contributions to the department and company, it is likely that their contract will be renewed. The department leader should highlight the employee's achievements and positive attributes in the evaluation. This can include specific examples of successful projects, positive feedback from colleagues or clients, and any additional responsibilities the employee has taken on.On the other hand, if an employee has underperformed or failed to meet expectations, the evaluation should address these concerns. The department leader should provide constructive feedback, outlining areas for improvement and suggesting ways in which the employee can enhance their performance. If the employee's performance issues are severe and have been ongoing, it may be appropriate to not renew their contract.In conclusion, the evaluation of an employee's performance at the end of their contract is a crucial process that helps determine their future within the company. It should be conducted in a fair and objective manner, considering various factors and providingconstructive feedback.中文回答:员工合同到期后,部门领导对员工的评价是确定员工在公司未来前景的重要过程。
绩效评估的英文作文Performance evaluation is an essential part of any organization. It helps to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of employees, teams, and departments. In this essay, I will discuss various aspects of performance evaluation in a conversational manner, highlighting the importance and challenges associated with it.Picture this: you've been working hard all year,putting in extra hours, and going above and beyond to meet your targets. But how do you know if your efforts are being recognized? That's where performance evaluation comes in.It's like a report card for adults, giving you feedback on your performance and helping you identify areas for improvement.Now, let's talk about the different methods used for performance evaluation. Some companies use a traditional approach, where managers conduct annual performance reviews. They sit you down, go through a checklist of competencies,and rate you on a scale. It can be nerve-wracking, but it's an opportunity to showcase your achievements and discuss your career goals.Others prefer a more modern approach, using continuous feedback and performance management tools. This means that feedback is given in real-time, allowing for immediate course correction and improvement. It's like having a personal coach who guides you along the way, helping you stay on track and reach your full potential.However, performance evaluation is not without its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles is subjectivity. Evaluating someone's performance is a subjective process, influenced by personal biases and perceptions. What one manager considers excellent work, another might see as mediocre. It's important for organizations to have clear evaluation criteria and training for managers to minimize bias and ensure fairness.Another challenge is the fear of negative feedback. No one likes to hear that they're not meeting expectations orthat their work needs improvement. But constructive criticism is crucial for growth and development. It's important to create a culture where feedback is seen as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal attack.Moreover, performance evaluation should not be a one-way street. It's not just about managers evaluating employees; it should be a two-way conversation. Employees should also have the chance to provide feedback on their managers and the organization as a whole. This creates a sense of ownership and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.In conclusion, performance evaluation plays a vitalrole in assessing and improving individual and organizational performance. It provides valuable feedback, helps identify areas for improvement, and fosters a culture of continuous learning and growth. So, next time you receive your performance evaluation, embrace it as an opportunity to shine and take your career to new heights.。
Emergetic ternary diagrams:five examples for application inenvironmental accounting for decision-makingC.M.V.B.Almeida,F.A.Barrella,B.F.Giannetti *LaFTA e Laborato´rio de Fı´s ico-Quı´m ica Teo ´rica e Aplicada,Instituto de Cie ˆncias Exatas e Tecnologia da Universidade Paulista,R.Dr.Bacelar 1212,Cep 04026-002Sa ˜o Paulo,BrazilReceived 17February 2005;accepted 6July 2005Available online 19September 2005AbstractIn a recent paper,‘‘A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers:ternary diagrams and emergy accounting.’’[Giannetti BF,Barrella FA,Almeida CMVB.A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers:ternary diagrams and emergy accounting.J Clean Prod,in press /10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.09.002]Ternary diagrams were proposed as a graphical tool to assist emergy analysis.The graphical representation of the emergy accounting data makes it possible to compare processes and systems with and without ecosystem services,to evaluate improvements and to follow the system performance over time.The graphic tool is versatile and adaptable to represent products,processes,systems,countries,and different periods of time.The use and the versatility of ternary diagrams for assisting in performing emergy analyses are illustrated by means of five examples taken from the literature,which are presented and discussed.It is shown that emergetic ternary diagram’s properties assist the assessment of the system efficiency,its dependence upon renewable and non-renewable inputs and the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions.With the aid of ternary diagrams,details such as the interaction between systems and between systems and the environment are recognized and evaluated.Such a tool for graphical analysis allows a transparent presentation of the results and can serve as an interface between emergy scientists and decision makers,provided the meaning of each line in the diagram is carefully explained and understood.Ó2005Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.Keywords:Emergy analysis;Emergetic ternary diagram;Graphical tool;Sustainability;Environmental indicators;Environmental accounting1.IntroductionDealing with anthropogenic systems within the environment involves consideration of many complex aspects,ranging from economic concerns,energy pro-duction/consumption and environmental benefits/dam-ages.Different methods have been developed to analyze each cited aspect,but there is no agreement on the possibility of an evaluation procedure that can unify these aspects.For these reasons,there is also a hugedifficulty to represent graphically,the results of such analyses.The analyses of most systems,especially those concerning environmental issues,require an understand-ing of the relationship between multiple dependent and independent variables.Indeed,if numerical simulation is required,one faces the problem of gaining understand-ing over a potentially large number of variables and their ranges.The use of graphical representation is a powerful technique in gaining understanding,because it permits the visualization of the relationships between and among variables.The most commonly used graphic is 2-D plotting of data.However,for most systems there are many more variables than two that must be*Corresponding author.E-mail address:biafgian@unip.br (B.F.Giannetti).0959-6526/$-see front matter Ó2005Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.07.002Journal of Cleaner Production 15(2007)63e74compared and many more possible graphical represen-tations that can be employed.Several authors proposed graphical representations for environmental issues[1e9].As the relationships between the environment and the anthropogenic systems depend upon several variables,the most commonly used plot is the multi-objective representation,which can have as many axes as needed or desired.The axes may represent a variety of parameters,which are not necessarily accounted with the same unit.Most param-eters related to environmental topics are derived from different theoretical approaches depending on different scales of time and space.For this reason,most multi-objective plots show a normalized comparison between different systems or between a given system and an ideal one(Fig.1).Emergy accounting is a methodology that analyses the relationships among components of anthropogenic systems and the resources needed to maintain these systems,while permitting the calculation of environ-mental indices[10,11].These indices are subjected to three main variables:the fractions of renewable(R), non-renewable(N)and purchased inputs(F).The accounting of these three fractions permits one to credit the carrying capacity of the environment,and provides valuable information about the development and func-tioning of economic systems within the environment. Hence,the graphical representation for emergy account-ing requires three axes.Few works that have accom-plished this are present in the literature.Bastianoni[12] considers emergy and exergy as complementary aspects of a system,the ratio of exergy to the emergyflow being indicative of the efficiency of an ecosystem in producing or maintaining its organization.Pollution is defined as an emergyflow,the increase of which corresponds to a loss in the exergy content of the system.The results are shown in a two dimensional diagram where the variation in exergy is plotted as a function of the emergy changes. Ulgiati and Brown[13]have plotted the ratios N/F Z y and R/F Z h to the economic investment F.Three-dimensional plots representing the indices ELR(envi-ronmental loading ratio),EYR(environmental yield ratio)and SI(sustainability index,or EIS environ-mental index of sustainability)against y and h,called exploit functions,were used to evaluate the amount of investment required to exploit a local renewable or non-renewable resource.The resulting surfaces allow simu-lations where the amount of inputs can be changed.Tonon et al.[14]used multi-objective representations to compare the results of energetic,exergetic,economic and emergetic evaluations.Twelve variables were nor-malized and represented in order to compare economic and environmental viewpoints(represented by the sustainability index),the thermodynamic viewpoint at the processes scale(represented by energy and exergy) and the sink side,corresponding to the emissions of the systems studied.The results are compared with those of a hypothetical process with‘‘average performance’’.Giannantoni et al.[15]proposed a four-sector diagram of benefits including emergy accounting in the sector,‘‘Benefits for the environment as a source.’’In this sector the indicators adopted include the ELR (environmental loading ratio),the EIS(or SI)and the emergy density(seJ/m2),among others.The resulting graphic representation of each sector contains9squares, which show the combination between low,medium or high environmental sustainability with low,medium or high output from the environment.The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of ternary diagrams as graphic tools to assist environmen-tal accounting and environmental decision-making based on emergy analysis,which is based on threemainvariables.Ternary diagrams are called tools instead of graphic representations because they offer not only possibilities for data interpretation,but also permit data treatment[16].The use of the properties of triangular diagrams brings additional information about the dependence of the system upon renewable and non-renewable inputs,the system efficiency and the environ-mental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions.The graphic representation of the emergy accounting data makes it possible to compare processes and systems with and without ecosystem services,to evaluate improvements and to follow the system performance over time.With the aid of ternary diagrams,aspects such as the interaction between systems and the interactions between systems and the environment can be recognized and evaluated.To illustrate the use and theflexibility of this graphical tool,five examples taken from the literature are presented and discussed.2.Methodology2.1.Emergy indicesA complete inventory of emergy analysis and emergy-based indices cannot be provided here,but complete information can be found in Refs.[10]and[11].The emergyflows represent three categories of resources:R as renewable resources,N as non-renewable resources and the inputs from the economy,F.All the three categories are fundamental for the emergy accounting and for the understanding of the system interactions with the environment.The R and Nflows are provided by the environment and are economically free,while the renewable resources can be replaced at least at the same rate as they are consumed,the non-renewable resources are depleted faster than their ability of recuperation. The economic inputs,F,are provided by the market and are related tofluxes that are accounted for by the economy.The outputs,Y,may include products, services and also emissions that are released to the environment.In this paper four indicators are employed to assist the discussion:the environmental loading ratio (ELR),the emergy yield ratio(EYR),the emergy investment ratio(EIR)and the emergy index of sustainability(EIS or SI)(Table1).2.2.Emergetic ternary diagramsThe graphic tool produces a triangular plot of three variables with constant sum[16].Most commonly,three percentages add to100or three fractions or proportions add to1.The constant sum constraint means that there are just two independent pieces of information.Hence,it is possible to plot observations in two dimensions within a triangle.Emergetic triangular plots may be named with various names,including emergetic triaxials, emergy three-element maps,emergy percentage triangles and emergy mixing triangles.The emergetic ternary diagram has three compo-nents,R,N and F.Thesefluxes are represented by an equilateral triangle;each corner represents aflux,and each side a binary system;ternary combinations are represented by points within the triangle,the relative proportions of the elements are represented by the lengths of the perpendiculars from the given point to the side of the triangle opposite the appropriate element. Hence,the‘‘composition’’of any point plotted on a ternary diagram can be determined by reading from zero along the basal line(axis)at the bottom of the diagram to100%at the vertex of the triangle.Ternary diagrams show important properties that are summarized in Table2.A complete description of the graphic tool is published in Ref.[16].Before presenting the applications of ternary dia-grams,it is important to emphasize that the discussions that support the chosen examples use the sustainability index and sustainability lines to compare and/or to classify systems.The sustainability concept is centered in human society where industrial and agricultural systems operate.On the other hand,humans tend to adjust the attention to different scales,as it is easy to manage and understand small parts of the global system defining boundaries and limits.However,this anthropocentric view sometimes hinders the understanding that the concept of a sustainable subsystem in an un-sustainable global system is fundamentally bels such as sustainable communities or sustainable products must Table1Emergy-based indicesSymbol Description Equation aEYR The emergy yield ratio(EYR)isthe ratio of the emergy of theoutput(Y),divided by the emergyof those inputs(F)to the processesthat are fed back from outsidethe systemEYR ZYZR C N C FEIR The investment ratio is the ratioof purchased inputs(F)to allemergies derived from local sourcesEIR ZFELR This index of environmental loadingis the ratio of non-renewable emergyto renewable emergyELR ZN C FSI orEISThis index aggregates the measureof yield and environmental loading.The objective function for sustainabilityis to obtain highest yield ratio at thelowest environmental loadingSI ZEYRELRZYFN C Fa The equations presented are a particular case of Eqs.(1)e(4), shown in the text,in the specific case where R2Z0,being R2the emergy corresponding to the contribution of environment to dilute and abate process emissions.65C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production15(2007)63e74be seen as indications of benefit contributions to the global system.By definition the SI index indicates a high environmental yield combined with a low environmental load.This index graphically represented by the sustain-ability lines indicates the contribution of each system, product or sector to the global sustainability and may, therefore,be used as an important guide to conceptual progress.3.Examples of applications of the emergetic ternary diagramThe following examples were taken from the litera-ture and were selected in order to provide an overview of the graphical tool applications.With the use of emergy analyses assisted by emergetic ternary diagrams,differ-ent types of investigations can be easily assessed.The choices were performed considering several aspects such as economic/environment interfaces(from agriculture to electricity production),different space and time scales and different approaches(comparative or tendency analysis)(Table3).3.1.Example#1:emergy evaluation of electricity production systemsThefirst example selected to illustrate the use of ternary diagrams applied to emergy accounting is based upon a case study,which evaluates six electricity production systems in Italy[17,18].The authors divided this case study into two papers.Thefirst compares six different production systems using renewable energy sources(geothermal,hydroelectric,and wind plants) and non-renewable energy sources(natural gas,oil,and Table3Criteria for the selection of the examplesExample SectorstudiedLocation Time/years Type ofanalysisRef.#1ElectricityproductionItaly1Comparative[17,18]#2Agriculture U.S.A10Tendency[13]#3Agriculture Italy1Tendency[20]#4EconomicdevelopmentTaiwan4Tendency[23]#5Agriculture Australia1Comparative[25]Table2Properties of emergetic ternary diagrams functioning as auxiliary tools for emergy analysesProperties Description Illustration Resourceflow lines Ternary combinations are represented by points within thetriangle,the relative proportions of the elements being given bythe lengths of the perpendiculars from the given point to theside of the triangle opposite the appropriate element.Theselines are parallel to the triangle sides and are very useful forcomparing the use of resources by-products or processes.Sensitivity lines Any point along the straight line joining an apex to a pointrepresents a change in the quantity of theflux associated to theapex.Any point along the line represents a condition in whichthe other twofluxes maintain in the same initial proportion.For example,the system illustrated on the right is progressivelypoorer in N,as it passes from A to B,but R and F maintain atthe same initial proportion.Symergy point When two different ternary compositions,represented by pointsA andB within the triangle,are mixed,the resultingcomposition will be represented by a point S called here‘‘symergy’’point,which lies at some point on the segment AB.Sustainability lines The graphic tool permits one to draw lines indicating constantvalues of the sustainability index.The sustainability lines departfrom the N apex in the direction of the RF side allowing thedivision of the triangle intosustainability areas,which are veryuseful to identify and compare the sustainability of productsand processes.N F 66 C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production15(2007)63e74coal thermal plants).The output/input energy ratio as well as the emergy-based emergy yield ratio (EYR)and environmental loading ratio (ELR)were used to explore and compare system performances.Generation of CO 2was accounted in order to evaluate a ratio of CO 2released to CO 2avoided,according to the fact that renewable power plants do not require a direct com-bustion and therefore,release a lower amount of CO 2than a thermal plant for the same electricity output.The second paper quantifies the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions,accounting for the environmental services required to dilute CO 2emissions of each process.In this paper the role of environmental services in disposing of chemicals that are released after electricity has been produced is explored and a method of quantitatively determining the carrying capacity is presented.Under this approach,emergy-based yield indicators may decrease drastically coupled to a parallel increase in a loading indicator,when the environmental services required for the dilution of pollutants are accounted for.As a consequence of including environmental services,a lower sustainability is calculated for each investigated process when com-pared to evaluations that do not include them.Accounting for environmental services also provides a way to evaluate the carrying capacity of the envi-ronment in relation to human dominated processes.Tables 4and 5summarize the results of both papers.Fig.2a presents the ternary diagram for six electricity production systems.It is easy to note that two distinct groups are shown in the diagram.The first group,at the top of the diagram,is composed of systems using renewable energy sources (geothermal,hydroelectric,and eolic plants).The second,at the bottom of the diagram,includes the systems using non-renewable energy sources (natural gas,oil,and coal thermal plants).The diagram also shows resource use lines.It can be observed that systems 4,5and 6(natural gas,coal and oil)are practically located on the line R Z 0.08,which indicates the use of 8%of renewable resources.As ELR may be estimated by the quantity of renewable resources employed,it can be inferred that these three systems have similar characteristics concerning the environmental impacts that they produce.The diagram also shows that all six systems are located close to the line F Z 0.16.In this way,it is useful to note that for both types of energy generation,using either renewable (geothermal,hydroelectric,and eolic plants)or non-renewable resources (thermoelectric plants),the eco-nomic investment is similar.In fact,the value of EYR is strongly tied to the quantity of purchased inputs,and all energy production systems have these indices between 4.21and 7.47[17].In the same way,it can also be readily observed that hydroelectric and geothermal plants have similar environmental loading,despite the difference in their EYR values.The use of non-renewable resources by the plants that use natural gas,coal and oil is higher than 70%of the total emergy to produce energy.Fig.2b shows the sustainability lines for the values 1and 5,along with the representation of the energy production systems.The systems using non-renewableTable 4Summary of the results from [17],the study of six electricity production systems a without considering environmental servicesEolicGeothermal Hydroelectric Thermoelectric MethaneOil Coal Emergy inputs (1018seJ)Renewable 0.72833.616.927.2312368Non-renewable 0.000 4.61 4.4526833203050Purchased 0.11310 3.2152.81130763Total emergy 0.84148.224.634847604180Emergy indices EYR 7.44 4.827.65 6.59 4.21 5.48EIR 0.160.260.150.180.310.22ELR 0.160.430.4511.7914.2610.36SI47.9511.0916.880.560.300.53aThe production scale of each plant is shown in Table 6.Table 5Summary of the results from [18],the study of four energy production systems a considering environmental servicesGeothermalThermoelectric Methane Oil Coal Emergy inputs (1018seJ)Renewable 33.627.2312368Non-renewable 4.6126833203050Purchased inputs 25.785.721601920Total emergy 63.938157905340Emergy indices EYR 2.49 4.44 2.68 2.78EIR 0.670.290.590.59ELR 0.9013.0017.5613.50SI2.760.340.150.20aThe production scale of each plant is shown in Table 6.67C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production 15(2007)63e 74resources are located below the line SI Z 1,while the systems using renewable resources are located above the line SI Z 5.As pointed out by Brown and Ulgiati [17],SI indices of less than 1appear to be indicative of processes that are un-sustainable,in the long run,while processes with long range sustainability have SI indices greater than 5.As the eolic plant,located closer to the R apex,offers very high SI value (SI y 48),the diagram makes clear that even in comparison with the hydro-electric and geothermal plants,the eolic plant has longer term sustainability.When the requirement for environmental services to effectively recycle emissions is considered,a careful analysis of the environmental area that is required to absorb,dilute and process the undesired by-products is needed [18].This area contains environmental systems and the storage of chemical and heat by-products from the production system.Environmental services required (R 2)for the dilution and abatement of emissions are assumed as the interaction of environmental systems and these emissions.The environmental services re-quired were quantified as the renewable emergy neces-sary to drive the dilution process and environmental services were accounted for the amount of air that is required to dilute the emissions.The emergy value of required environmental services,R 2,was determined and included in the index calculations,as shown in Eqs.(1)e (4),EYR ZR 1C R 2C N C FF C R 2ð1ÞEIR ZF C R 2N C R 1ð2ÞELR Z N C F C R 2R 1ð3ÞSI ZY F C R 2N C F C R 21ð4Þwhere R 1represents renewable resources and R 2,gives a measure of the environmental services for the dilution and abatement of emissions,in units of emergy.Ternary diagrams representing the systems under this approach are shown in Fig.3,for the geothermal and the thermoelectric plants.All diagrams illustrate that,as a consequence of including environmental services,a lower sustainability is obtained for each investigated process when compared to evaluations that do not include them.The requirement for environmental services to effectively recycle emissions translates into the need forNFbFig.2.Representation of six electricity production systems with the goal of presenting emergetic ternary diagrams.(a)The use of resource flow lines and (b)the use of sustainability lines.Plants:(1)eolic,(2)geothermal,(3)hydroelectric,and thermoelectric supplied by (4)methane,(5)oil and (6)coal.c a2)2)Fig.3.Representation of four electricity production systems with the goal of producing ternary diagrams,and the use of sensitivity lines,where (a)represents the geothermal plant and (b),(c)and (d)represent the thermoelectric plants,supplied by methane,oil and coal,re-spectively.Points (2),(4),(5),and (6)do not include R 2.Points (7e 10)include the environmental services to dilute and abate process emissions.68 C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production 15(2007)63e 74a suitable support area for each process.The shift of the points that represent each system on the sensitivity lines is in agreement with the equations proposed by the authors [18].Accordingly,the shift towards the bottom of the diagrams clearly indicates an increase in the environmental loading of all four systems.Ternary diagrams offer an additional possibility for emergy analysis (Figs.4and 5).Fig.4shows the symergy point,which represents the composition of all six electricity production systems,as they are presented in the papers studied [17,18].The ternary diagram shown in Fig.5includes a weighting factor considering the Italian electricity production matrix;each system was associated to a weighting factor equivalent to the production of electricity by each type of electricity production system in Italy in 2003[19].The production capacity of each plant and the percentage of each type of production in Italy are shown in Table 6.As it can be observed with the use of the ternary diagram (Fig.4),the resulting system,based upon the six electricity production systems,presents an SI Z 1.5,indicating that this set of systems is characterized with medium run sustainability,but makes sustainable contributions to the economy [17].The location of this point in the diagram also supplies information about the environmental loading of the sector (ELR Z 2.9)and of the fractions invested from renewable (%R Z 25),non-renewable (%N Z 20)and economic sources (%F Z 55).As it can be observed,the resulting system (Fig.5),associated to the six energy production systems,presents an SI Z 0.5,indicating that this set of systems is not sustainable in the long run [11].The location of this point in the diagram also supplies information about the environmental loading of the sector (ELR Z 11.3)andof the fractions invested from renewable (%R Z 8.0),non-renewable (%N Z 71.0)and economic sources (%F Z 21.0).3.2.Example #2:monitoring patterns ofsustainability in natural and man-made ecosystems The chosen paper [13]emphasizes that emergy-based indices can be usefully applied to monitor the system’s oscillations,to forecast the system’s behavior and to adopt suitable policy measures to drive it onto a more sustainable path,since monitoring past trends should help to plan future development.For this,the authors [13]introduce exploit functions,y Z N /F and h Z R /F plotted against the indices ELR,EYR and SI in order to monitor or simulate conditions where the amount of inputs is changed.The resulting three-dimensional plots were used to evaluate the amount of investment required to exploit a local renewable or non-renewable resource,providing additional information about theindices.FFig.4.Representation of the symergic point weighted by megawatt of electricity produced:(1)eolic,(2)geothermal,(3)hydroelectric and thermoelectric,(4)methane,(5)oil,and (6)coal.FFig. 5.Representation of the symergic point weighted by Italian electricity production matrix:(1)eolic,(2)geothermal,(3)hydroelec-tric and thermoelectric plants supplied by (4)methane,(5)oil,and (6)coal.Table 6Electricity production of each plant and their contribution to the Italian productionElectricity production (MW)[17]Italian production matrix (%)[19]Eolic2.50.3Geothermic 20.00.8Hydroelectric 85.027.7Thermoelectric Methane 171.0 4.5Oil 1280.033.4Coal1280.033.469C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production 15(2007)63e 74Among the examples presented in the paper,the trend of emergy indices in U.S.A corn production since 1945e1994was selected.The exploit function h as well as the SI followed over this period reveal that corn production had a very steep decrease until the end of the 1980s,then it slowed to a nearly stable level,with SI at about0.37e0.34.The N/F ratio increased until the end of the1980s and stabilized at about0.3.To introduce the data on the ternary diagram,the values of N,R and F,were calculated from the values of y,h and%R,defined as the fraction of renewable to total emergy use(Table7).The ternary diagram that represents the U.S.A corn production between1945and1994is shown in Fig.6.The decrease in the SI index can be readily noticed,as well as its stabilization after1980.The observation of the diagram brings also additional information.The resource line F Z0.6evidences that the economic investment did not change substantially over the years. The emergy yield ratio and the emergy investment were maintained at about1.6and1.5,respectively.Despite economic investments of approximately60%during the whole period,the environmental loading increased more than20%and the fraction of the renewable resources decreased from0.40to0.18,reducing the SI value approximately three times.The use of ternary diagrams allows monitoring systems over time.Unfortunately,a decreasing trend was observed in the present example,which clearly shows that the technological changes to increase pro-ductivity not always lead to the sustainability of the process.However,assessing sustainability with the use of ternary diagrams permits one to anticipate or simulate the system’s behavior according to changes in its driving forces.3.3.Example#3:importance of the Bradhyrizobium japonicum symbiosis for the sustainability ofsoybean cultivationThis paper evaluates how sustainability of a soybean crop in south Tuscany(Italy)is increased using the specific bacterial inoculation to satisfy,throughfixation, the nitrogen requirements of the crop used[20].The study of this agricultural activity and its interaction with the environment requires emergy indicators to assess not only productive and economic factors,but also envi-ronmental impact and ecological effects.Soybean cultivation was studied with two options:(1)utilization of chemical fertilizers to supply nitrogen needs as was often done in the past,and as a viable present alternative and(2)the symbiotic activity of Bradyrhizobium bacteria,given as inocula,to cover all nitrogen needs. The results of this work are compared with literature data[21,22].The values of EYR,EIR and SI shown in Table8were taken from Ref.[20]and the values of%R, %N,and%F were then calculated.Fig.7a shows the representation of the soybean cultivation with chemical fertilizers(1),which presents an SI Z1.6and with bacteria inoculation(2),SI Z2.5. The SI index for both soybean management scenarios is greater than1and is higher than those of all the other crops,except that of forage(Tuscany)(Fig.7b).The sensitivity line(S F)that passes through points1 and2shows that the main difference between both the types of soybean cultivation is due to the contribution of purchased inputs.Approximately5%of renewable and 3%of non-renewable resources composes the resources used to cultivate soybean,for both production pro-cesses.The increase in the sustainability index is due to the economic investment or the substitution of chemical fertilizer by the inoculums.Both the types of soybean cultivation have a quite low environmental impact in comparison with other Tuscan and Italian crops,which is readily noted by the location of points(1)and(2)in relation to the R apex. Table7Exploit functions,SI index,%R and relative values of N and F for U.S.A corn production(1945e1994)[13]N/F R/F SI%R%N%F 19450.040.68 1.120.400.0240.588 19500.140.65 1.020.360.0780.554 19540.180.560.830.320.1030.571 19590.240.500.700.290.1390.580 19640.280.450.610.260.1620.578 19700.290.370.480.220.1720.595 19750.370.390.500.220.2090.564 19800.320.290.350.180.1990.621 19890.300.280.340.180.1930.643 19940.230.280.340.190.1560.679N FFig.6.Ternary diagram representing U.S.A corn production(1945e 1995),where(1)1945,(2)1950,(3)1954,(4)1959,(5)1964,(6)1970, (7)1975,(8)1980,(9)1989,and(10)1994.70 C.M.V.B.Almeida et al./Journal of Cleaner Production15(2007)63e74。
效能评估英语Performance evaluation is an important process for any organization as it allows for the measurement and improvement of employee effectiveness and productivity. This evaluation often includes various methods such as feedback, goal setting, and performance appraisals. In this essay, I will discuss the importance of performance evaluation and some effective methods for conducting it.Firstly, performance evaluation provides feedback to employees, which is crucial for their growth and development. By providing constructive criticism and highlighting areas for improvement, employees can learn from their mistakes and strive to enhance their performance. Feedback also serves as a means of recognition and reward for a job well done, boosting employee morale and motivation.Secondly, performance evaluation helps in setting clear and measurable goals for employees. By defining their objectives and expectations, employees can prioritize their tasks and work towards achieving them. Setting goals also allows managers to monitor progress and provide necessary support and guidance, ensuring that employees are on track.Thirdly, performance evaluation facilitates the identification of training and development needs. By assessing employee performance, managers can identify areas where additional training or skill development is required. This can help in creating targeted training programs and workshops to bridge the skill gap and improve overall employee performance.There are several effective methods for conducting performance evaluation. One method is the 360-degree feedback, where feedback is gathered from multiple sources including peers, subordinates, and customers. This comprehensive feedback provides a holistic view of an employee's performance and helps in identifying areas for improvement. Another method is the Management by Objectives (MBO), where employees and managers jointly set goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This method ensures that employees are aligned with the organization's objectives and allows for regular monitoring of progress.Performance appraisals are also commonly used to evaluate employees' performance. This method involves reviewing an employee's performance over a specific period and assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It provides an opportunity for managers to discuss career aspirations, provide feedback, and set development plans for the future.In conclusion, performance evaluation is crucial for organizational success as it helps in measuring and improving employee effectiveness and productivity. It provides feedback, sets clear goals, and identifies training needs. By using effective methods such as 360-degree feedback, MBO, and performance appraisals, organizations can ensure a fair and comprehensive evaluation of employee performance.。
Emergy evaluation of the performance and sustainability of three agricultural systems with different scales and managementJay F.Martin a,*,Stewart A.W.Diemont a,Erick Powell b,Michele Stanton c,Samuel Levy-Tacher da Ecological Engineering Group,Department of Food,Agricultural&Biological Engineering,Ohio State University,590Woody Hayes Dr.,Columbus,OH43210,USAb Department of Food,Agricultural&Biological Engineering,Ohio State University,USAc Department of Horticulture and Crop Science,Ohio State University,2001Fyffe Court,Columbus OH43210,USAd El Colegio De La Frontera Sur,Division of Conservation and Biodiversity,Department of Ecology and Terrestrial Systems,Carretera Panamericana y Perife´rico Sur,Barrio de Marı´a Auxiliadora,San Cristo´bal de Las Casas,Chiapas,MexicoReceived9January2005;received in revised form5December2005;accepted20December2005AbstractEmergy analysis was used to analyze three agricultural systems to compare and contrast resource use,productivity,environmental impact, and overall sustainability.Emergy analysis was appropriate for this task because of its ability to transform different types of inputs to a common form(solar energy equivalents)to allow meaningful comparisons across the three systems.The systems analyzed were conventional corn(Zea mays L.)production in Kansas,USA,blackberry(Rubus rubus Watson)production in Ohio,USA,and a Lacandon polycultural rotation system in Chiapas,Mexico.Despite these different systems and diverse inputs,emergy allowed the quantification and comparison of flows for each system on a common basis.This allowed system-level conclusions and demonstrated the utility of emergy analysis when evaluating agricultural systems.The greatest inputs of emergy across the three systems were for fertilization and irrigation of the corn system. These two inputs accounted for95%of the purchased emergy input to the corn system.The indigenous system was most reliant on renewable resources,and therefore,had the lowest level of environmental loading.The sustainability index for the three systems ranged from0.06for the corn system,to0.65for the blackberry system,to115.98for the indigenous system.The respective energy and emergy yield for each system were2.6E9J haÀ1yearÀ1and3.57E15sej haÀ1yearÀ1for the indigenous system,3.71E10J haÀ1yearÀ1and8.59E15sej haÀ1yearÀ1for the blackberry system,and1.40E11J haÀ1yearÀ1and1.30E16sej haÀ1yearÀ1for the corn system.While the indigenous system has the highest level of sustainability,its energy yield was14times less than the blackberry system,and53times less than the corn system.The results confirm the need for food production systems with large yields that are more dependent on renewable energies.#2006Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.Keywords:Resource use;Production;Environmental impact;Corn;Maize;Blackberry;Lacandon Maya1.IntroductionAn important challenge facing the world is how to feed an increasing population with decreasing energy supplies and finite environmental resources.To meet this challenge the sustainability of agricultural methods must be evaluated to determine those with greater yields relative to their resource use and environmental degradation.Processes using larger percentages of renewable energy need to be identified because they are likely to be more sustainable than those using a larger percentage of non-renewable energy(Lefroy and Rydberg,2003;Martin,2002).Therefore,to increase agricultural sustainability the trend of increasing production with greater non-renewable inputs,which characterized the Green Revolution(Ko et al.,1998),should be ended./locate/ageeAgriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx(2006)xxx–xxx*Corresponding author.Tel.:+16142476133;fax:+16142929448.E-mail address:martin.1130@(J.F.Martin).0167-8809/$–see front matter#2006Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.agee.2005.12.016AGEE-2744;No of Pages13Additionally,adverse environmental consequences of food production,such as soil erosion and declining water tables,must be reduced to insure that future production is not jeopardized (Pimentel et al.,1995).Agriculture operates at the interface between nature and the human economy and combines natural resources and economic inputs to produce food.Typically,high quality,non-renewable energies from the human economy are utilized to capture and concentrate lower quality,renewable energies.Intensive agricultural methods rely more on resources purchased from the economy,while less intensive and indigenous methods typically rely more on natural inputs.Because most types of agriculture depend on a combination of natural and economic inputs,it is necessary to account for both in equivalent terms when comparing the resource use of agricultural methods (Campbell,1998).While the value of economic contributions is routinely quantified by economic analyses,such approaches often underestimate environmental contributions to production systems.If environmental inputs are not properly accounted for relative to economic inputs,optimum use of resources may not be achieved,and management decisions will be based on incomplete analyses (Ulgiati et al.,1994).For example,Faeth et al.(1991)analyzed the net income of a Pennsylvania,USA soybean–corn farm with and without natural resource accounting.A net annual income of US$200ha À1without accounting for natural resources was reduced to US$137.5ha À1when the degradation of natural resources was included,largely in the form of soil erosion.Studies of this type highlight the need for integrated approaches to quantify economic and environmental inputs,to select sustainable systems to meet future needs (Lefroy and Rydberg,2003).Emergy analysis,which evaluates system components on a common unit basis,is a promising tool to evaluate resource use and production of agricultural methods.Emergy analysis is a form of energy analysis that quantifies values of natural and economic resources to quantify the value of large-scale environmental support to the human economy (Odum,1988).It is viewed a ‘donor-side’evaluation approach because it values items based on energetic inputs as opposed to consumer preferences.Solar emergy is used to determine the value of environmental and human work within a system on a common basis:the equivalent solar energy required to produce each service or product.The fundamental assump-tion of emergy analysis is that the contribution of a resource is proportional to the available energy of one kind required to produce the resource (Brown and Herendeen,1996).The solar emergy of products and services is calculated by multiplying units of energy (i.e.joules of oil)by emergy per energy ratios (transformities),units of mass (i.e.grams of corn)by emergy per mass ratios (specific emergy),and dollars by emergy per unit ing this technique,natural and economic contributions required to produce agricultural yields can be quantified and compared on a common basis of solar emergy-joules (emjoules).Emergyanalysis has been used in a similar capacity to quantify economic and environmental inputs to water projects on the Mississippi and Mekong rivers (Martin,2002;Brown and McClanahan,1996),and to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural methods in Australia (Lefroy and Rydberg,2003),Sweden (Rydberg and Jansen,2002),Italy (Ulgiati et al.,1994),and China (Hong-fang et al.,2003).The goal of this study was to compare three different agricultural systems with regard to their resource use,productivity,environmental impact,and overall sustain-ability.The three systems were corn (Zea mays L.)production in Kansas,United States,blackberry (Rubus Rubus Watson)production in Ohio,United States,and polyculture production in Chiapas,Mexico.These systems included a highly productive,conventional United States farm (Kansas corn),a family run ‘‘pick your own’’fruit cultivation (Ohio blackberry),and a subsistence-based indigenous swidden system (Chiapas polyculture).2.Methods 2.1.Site descriptionsThe study site for the corn analysis was 89ha of a furrow irrigated family owned farm located in Republic County,Kansas,USA (3984902800N 09783705600W).The corn production was rotated on a three-year cycle with sorghum.While this analysis focused only on corn production for one year,the benefits of crop rotation were accounted for by reduced annual rates of fertilizer,herbicide,and insecticide application.The blackberry farm consisted of 0.11ha in which blackberries grew with 1.3m spacing in rows that were 3.3m apart to allow for tractor access.Located near,Columbus,Ohio,USA (3985704000N 08285905600W),the family owners have successfully allowed customers to self-harvest the produce.Traditional Lacandon Maya agroecosystems of Chiapas,Mexico (1684503000N,9183000W)cycle through three stages of production starting with the milpa (field crop stage),progressing to the acahual (bush stage),and then to the forest,before returning to the milpa.Each farmer typically divides their total area into milpas,acahuals and forests of different ages.Natural ecological succession drives the conversion between field stages (McGee,2002,p.82;Nations and Nigh,1980).Polyculture is used in each field stage with as many as 60different plant species producing resources.By directing natural succession through the control of seed banks and plantings and using resources from all stages during this progress,the Lacandon are able to reap benefits from their fields without inputs of seeds,fertilizer,herbicides,and pesticide (Levy,2000).For this analysis a total area of 12ha was analyzed that contained 2ha of milpa and 10ha divided between acahual and forest plots.J.F .Martin et al./Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx (2006)xxx–xxx2The three systems represent a wide range of spatial scale and socio-economic settings that affect resource use and sustainability.The corn and blackberry systems are char-acterized by high labor costs compared to the indigenous system,and the need to make an economic profit.The high cost of labor provides an incentive to invest in equipment,such as tractors,and materials,such as herbicides,that can be utilized with little labor.For instance,herbicides are a method of weed control that reduce labor inputs compared to manual weed removal employed in the indigenous system.This strategy allows the corn farmers to crop a large area with little labor input.The blackberry system confronts high labor costs by producing a high-value crop and having consumers harvest the product.Because the operation is located near a metropolitan area,this strategy is successful.Currently,in the subsistence system there are low opportunity costs for labor.This allows farmers,and other family members to devote large amounts of time to their agricultural systems as opposed to US farmers.However,the area of these systems is limited by the amount of land a farmer and family members can ernment subsidies are another socio-economic factor that affect the corn and indigenous systems ernment payments in the event of crop failure,give the farmer the security of a minimal return in the event of crop failure.This ‘insurance’facilitates corn monocultures,and maximizes yields.With no government payments in the event of crop failures,the indigenous system must hedge against possible crop failure with a multi-species system.The result for the indigenous system is lower yields,but decreased chances of complete crop failure.Because the indigenous system is a subsistence system,there is no need to produce an economic product,which also favors multicropping as opposed to maximizing yields and economic profits.2.2.Fundamental terms of emergy analysis (Brown and Ulgiati,2004)Emergy :The available energy (exergy)of one kind that is used in the transformations directly and indirectly to make a product or service.Emergy is measured in emjoules.Sunlight,fuel,electricity,and human service and all other resource flows can be put on a common basis by expressing them in the emjoules of solar energy required to produce them,which is expressed as solar emjoules (sej).While other units,such as coal emjoules,were used in the past,recent emergy studies track resource flows in solar emjoules.Transformity :The ratio of emergy input to available energy (exergy)output.For example,the solar transfor-mity of wood is 4000solar emjoules per joule (sej J À1)because 4000solar emjoules of environmental inputs were required to generate a joule of wood.The solar transformity of sunlight absorbed by the earth is defined as 1sej J À1.Transformities have been calculated for a wide variety of resources,commodities,and renewable energies,and can be found in past publications (e.g.,Odum,1996,pp.304–311),and a series of emergy folios (Brandt-Williams,2002;Kangas,2002;Brown and Bardi,2001;Odum,2000;Odum et al.,2000).Specific emergy :The emergy per unit mass output.This is usually expressed as solar emergy per gram (sej g À1).Emergy per unit money :The emergy supporting the generation of one unit of economic product (expressed as currency).The average emergy/money ratio sej US$À1)can be calculated by dividing the total emergy use of an economy by its gross economic product (e.g.,GDP).Empower:The flow of emergy per unit of time.Emergy flows are usually expressed in units of solar empower (i.e.sej year À1).To compare the empower of different areas this quantity can be divided by area to calculate empower per area (i.e.sej year À1ha À1).2.3.Emergy analysisAggregated system diagrams (Fig.1)illustrate the main components and interactions for each of the agricultural methods.Tables 1–3denote the specific input flows that comprise the renewable resources,non-renewable resources,and purchased resources identified for each system in Fig.1.Non-renewable resources may include soil,groundwater,and any other environmental resources not replaced within an annual cycle.Examples of purchased resources include fuel,electricity,fertilizer,irrigation water,chemicals,machinery,and labor.After quantifying annual inputs to each system in raw units (joules,grams,dollars),these values were multiplied by transformities to calculate the quantity of solar emjoules required for each input (Tables 1–3).To make these flows easily comparable,the last column of Tables 1–3was normalized for area and quantified these values in solar emjoules per hectare per year (sej ha À1year À1).The transformities used in this study include labor and services required to produce economic goods.The transformities for each product do not include inputs required for harvest and transport,and represent the amount of inputs required to generate a harvestable product on the farm.Additional explanation is required for the irrigation inputs and labor transformities used in Table 1.Because the groundwater withdrawal rate for the blackberry system,10.1cm year À1,was well below the recharge rate of the aquifer,irrigation water was included as a renewable resource.In contrast,the withdrawal rate for the corn system,38.1cm year À1,was well above the recharge rate of the aquifer,and therefore,irrigation water was included as a non-renewable resource.In both the corn and blackberry systems,electricity that was needed to extract water from the aquifer was included as a purchased bor was a necessary input to all three systems.The transformity of labor is dependent on the amount of emergy needed to support the bor in more developed countries and by more educated laborers,will have greater transformities than labor in less developed nations and by less educatedJ.F .Martin et al./Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx (2006)xxx–xxx3laborers.These differences were reflected in the transfor-mities used to quantify the amount of solar emjoules needed to support the labor for each system.The corn system laborers had college educations,which corresponded to a transformity of8.80E12sej hÀ1(Table1;Ortega,2000). High school students provided most of the labor in the blackberry system,which corresponded to a transformity of 1.12E12sej hÀ1(Table1;Ortega,2000).The labor in the Lacandon polycultural system was provided by a50-year-old farmer.The age of the farmer resulted in a labor transformity(6.99E12sej hÀ1;Guillen-Trujillo,1998) greater than that for the blackberry system,but less than that for the corn system.The percentage of renewable and non-renewable emergy supporting labor in each of the systems(Ulgiati et al.,1994) was determined based on previous studies.In Sweden and Italy,two countries with living standards similar to the United States,87%and90%,respectively,of the emergy supporting labor was due to non-renewable sources (Panzieri et al.,2002;Rydberg and Jansen,2002). Following the Swedish study,87%of the emergy supporting labor was assumed to be non-renewable,and13%was assumed to be renewable for both systems in the United States.The non-renewable and renewable percentages of emergy supporting labor were23%and77%,respectively, for the indigenous system in Lacanja,Chiapas,Mexico. Guillen-Trujillo(1998)calculated these percentages for agricultural households in Frontera Corozal,Chiapas, which is located near Lacanja.Emergy indices(Hong-fang et al.,2003;Brown and McClanahan,1996;Table4)were calculated by aggregating data from Tables1–3.These Indices,which relateflows from the economy toflows of the environment,were used to compare net yields and environmental loading,and to identify more sustainable agricultural methods.The fraction renewable index(Table4)quantified the reliance of each system on renewable energies.The emergy yield ratio (Table4)compared units of exported emergy with emergy invested.For agriculture,an investment of emergy from the economy is made in order to capture renewable emergy from the environment.This ratio quantifies the effectiveness of non-renewable resources to capture renewable resources. The environmental loading ratio(Table2)is the ratio of purchased and non-renewable resources to renewable resources.It may also be considered a ratio of emergy under human control(non-renewable local inputs and purchased inputs)and free,renewable emergy.It is an indicator of the pressure of agricultural systems on the environment and may be considered a measure of ecosystem stress due to agricultural production(Ulgiata and Brown, 1998).It should be pointed out that portions of the ecosystem stress may occur to regions outside the area of analysis.An example is phosphate fertilizer,which causes ecosystem stress at the mining site before being used on a distant farm.The emergy sustainability index(Table4)was calculated as the ratio of the emergy yield ratio to the environmental loading ratio,and measures the production of a system relative to the environmental pressure(Ulgiata and Brown,1998).To analyze the effects of variations in transformities and input quantities,a sensitivity analysis was performed that quantified the effects of varying the yearly emergy inputs (thefinal column in Tables1–3).Because the yearly emergy input is the product of the transformity and yearly input, varying the yearly emergy tests the sensitivity of the results to variations of both transformities and yearly inputs.As suggested in modeling texts(Odum and Odum,2000,p. 142),the effect of doubling and halving the yearly emergy values upon the indices was quantified.J.F.Martin et al./Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx(2006)xxx–xxx4Fig.1.Summary diagrams of the emergyflows in the three agriculturalsystems:(a)corn,(b)blackberry and(c)indigenous polyculture.All emergyflows are1014sej haÀ1yearÀ1.The letters R,N,F,and Y correspond to thecalculation of indices in Table4.3.Results3.1.Renewable resourcesDue to the contribution of groundwater,the blackberry system had the greatest input of renewable resources (2.66E15sej ha À1year À1,Table 4).The Lacandon poly-cultural system had the second greatest amount of renewable emergy inputs per hectare (3.23E15sej ha À1year À1,Table 4).This was because this system had the greatest amount of annual rainfall (2.5m year À1)which accounted for 2.25E15sej ha À1year À1(Table 3;Fig.1).For all three study sites,the rain input was the largest of the climatological renewable emergy sources (Tables 1–3;Fig.1),and was taken to represent the total climatological renewable flows.This was done to avoid double counting,because all the climatological renewable energy flows are by-products of coupled processes (Lefroy and Rydberg,2003;Odum,1996,pp.51–52).Therefore,the total renewable input for the corn system was 6.56E14sej ha À1year À1,respectively (Table 4).Seeds were included as a renewable input for the polycultural system (Table 3).This was because the seeds for the fallow fields are contributed by adjacent forested areas,and because theLacandon produce the seeds for cultivated crops from previous years’harvests.3.2.Non-renewable resourcesNon-renewable resources used in the form of soil erosion (5.0kg ha À1year À1;NRCS,2000)totaled 2.16E14sej ha À1year À1(Table 1)for the corn system.The polycultural system had a soil erosion rate of 7tons ha À1year À1for the milpa areas.The acahual and forest areas have dense cover and a detritus layer that effectively eliminates soil erosion.The total loss from the system of 14tons of soil per year resulted in an input of non-renewable resources of 4.58E13sej ha À1year À1(Table 3).Because no appreciable soil erosion occurs in the blackberry system,non-renewable inputs were assumed to be zero.3.3.Purchased resourcesAcross the three systems the largest inputs in this category were irrigation water,fertilizer,fuel,and labor.The greatest input into any of the systems was the irrigation water needed for corn production (Fig.1).The large amount of emergy associated with this flow was due to both theJ.F .Martin et al./Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx (2006)xxx–xxx5Table 1Emergy contributed by each flow in the corn system (89ha)was calculated by multiplying the units per year entering each system by its respective transformity NumberItemValue(unit year À1)Transformity (sej unit À1)Emergy (sej year À1)Emergy(sej ha À1year À1)Renewable resources 1Sunlight (j year À1) 3.95E+15 1.00E+00 3.95E+15 4.44E+132Wind (j year À1) 2.66E+13 1.50E+03 3.99E+16 4.49E+143Rain (j year À1)3.18E+12 1.82E+04 5.79E+16 6.50E+144Labor (renew)(h year À1)4.40E+028.80E+125.03E+14 5.66E+12Total renewable 5.84E+166.56E+14Non-renewable resources 5Soil (j year À1)3.07E+116.25E+041.92E+162.16E+14Total non-renewable 1.92E+16 2.16E+14Purchased resources 6Diesel fuel (j year À1) 1.71E+11 6.60E+04 1.13E+16 1.27E+147Electricity (j year À13.02E+10 2.00E+05 6.04E+15 6.79E+138Nitrogen (g year À1) 1.80E+07 2.41E+104.34E+17 4.87E+159Phosphorus (g year À1) 3.49E+06 2.20E+107.68E+168.63E+1410Sulfur (g year À1)9.98E+059.13E+079.11E+13 1.02E+1211Irrigation water (gal year À1)8.96E+07 5.84E+09 5.23E+17 5.88E+1512Seeds (j year À1) 2.56E+10 3.64E+059.32E+15 1.05E+1413Herbicide (g year À1)8.73E+04 1.48E+10 1.29E+15 1.45E+1314Insecticide (g year À1) 6.09E+05 1.48E+109.01E+15 1.01E+1415Machinery (US$year À1)4.40E+03 1.37E+12 6.03E+15 6.77E+1316Labor (non-renew)(h year À1)4.40E+028.80E+123.37E+15 3.78E+13Total purchased 1.08E+181.21E+16Exported items (Y)17Feed corn8.38E+05kg year À19.42E+03kg ha À11.25E+13J year À11.40E+11J ha À1Transformity references for respective row number:2.Odum,1996,3.Odum,1996,4.Ortega,2003,5.Ulgiati et al.,1994,6.Odum,1996,7.Ulgiati et al.,1994,8.Brandt-Williams,2002,9.Brandt-Williams,2002,10.Odum et al.,2000,11.Buenfil,2000,12.Trujillo,1998,13.Brandt-Williams,2002,14.Brandt-Williams,2002,15.Odum,1996,16.Ortega,2003.amount of water used (0.38m year À1)and the transformity of this resource (5.84E9sej gal À1,Table 1).This input accounted for 48%of the purchased inputs to the corn system.The second and third greatest purchased inputs of emergy to the corn system were due to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (4.87E15and 8.63E14sej ha À1year À1,Table 1),which accounted for 40%and 7%,respectively,of the total purchased resources.All other purchased inputs to the corn system accounted for 1%or less of the total purchased inputs (Table 1).The emergy associated with purchased inputs to the blackberry system was more evenly distributed between different inputs compared to the corn system.In the blackberry system four purchased inputs contributed 10%or more of the total emergy for purchased resources.Gasoline,used for mowing and pruning,was the greatest purchased input and represented 34%of the total purchased inputs (2.00E15sej ha À1year À1,Table 2).The next largest purchased input was the non-renewable emergy contributing to labor,which accounted for 22%of the purchased inputs (Table 2).Nitrogen fertilizer and tools respectively accounted for 23%and 10%of the purchased resources.All other purchased resources accounted for 5%or less of the total emergy of purchased resources.The polyculture system had only two purchased resources:labor and supplies.The amount of labor,2180h year À1,was an order of magnitude greater for this system than the other systems.However,the relatively low percentage of non-renewable resources supporting labor (23%)resulted in a lower input of non-renewable emergy for labor compared to the blackberry system.The non-renewable resources support-ing labor were an order of magnitude greater for the indigenous system compared to the corn system due to the greater number of hours worked in the indigenous system (Tables 1and 3).The emergy contributed by supplies,which included machetes and axes,was more than two orders of magnitude less than the labor input (Table 3).Due to the large emergy inputs from irrigation water and nitrogen fertilizer,the emergy for purchased resources per hectare was greatest for the corn system(1.21E16sej ha À1year À1,Table 4).The blackberry system had the second greatest input of purchased resources at 5.93E15sej ha À1year À1,or 49%of the corn purchased resources (Table 4).The polyculture system had the lowest input of purchased resources at 2.93E14sej ha À1year À1,or 1%of the corn system (Table 4).3.4.Yields and transformitiesThe emergy assigned to the yield from the corn system,calculated by totalling renewable,non-renewable,and purchased inputs,was 1.30E16sej ha À1year À1(Table 4).The corn yield from the system was 9.42E3kg ha À1year À1or 1.40E11J ha À1year À1(Table 1)which resulted in a transformity of 9.30E4sej J À1(Table 4).The blackberry yield from the system was 1.43E4kg ha À1year À1orJ.F .Martin et al./Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment xxx (2006)xxx–xxx6Table 2Emergy contributed by each flow in the blackberry system (0.11ha)was calculated by multiplying the units per year entering each system by its respective transformity NumberItemValue(unit year À1)Transformity (sej unit À1)Emergy (sej year À1)Emergy(sej ha À1year À1)Renewable resources 1Sunlight (j year À1) 4.88E+12 1.00E+00 4.88E+12 4.44E+132Wind,KE (j year À1) 1.47E+09 1.50E+03 2.20E+12 2.00E+133Rain (j year À1)5.40E+09 1.82E+049.83E+138.93E+144Labor (renew)(h year À1) 1.49E+02 1.12E+12 2.17E+13 1.97E+145Irrigation water (gal year À1)2.95E+045.84E+091.72E+14 1.57E+15Total renewable2.92E+14 2.66E+15Purchased resources 6Irrigation electricity (gal year À1) 2.95E+04 1.20E+093.54E+13 3.22E+147Gasoline (j year À1) 1.98E+09 1.11E+05 2.20E+14 2.00E+158Herbicides (g year À1)4.26E+02 1.48E+10 6.30E+125.73E+139Insecticides (g year À1) 1.49E+03 1.48E+10 2.21E+13 2.00E+1410Fungicides (g year À1)2.95E+02 1.48E+10 4.37E+123.97E+1311Pheromone traps (g year À1) 1.41E+03 3.20E+094.51E+12 4.10E+1312Fertilizer (N)(g year À1) 6.24E+03 2.41E+10 1.50E+14 1.37E+1513Tools9.58E+03 6.70E+09 6.42E+13 5.84E+1414Labor (non-renew)(h year À1)1.49E+021.12E+121.45E+14 1.32E+15Total purchased 6.52E+145.93E+15Exported items (Y)15Blackberries1.57E+03kg year À1 1.43E+04kg ha À14.08E+09J year À13.71E+10J ha À1Transformity references for respective row number:2.Odum,1996,3.Odum,1996,4.Ortega,2003,5.Buenfil,2000,6.Buenfil,2000,7.Brandt-Williams,2002,8.Brandt-Williams,2002,9.Brandt-Williams,2002,10.Brandt-Williams,2002,11.Brown and Bardi,2001,12.Brandt-Williams,2002,13.Panzieri et al.,2002,14.Ortega,2002.。