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Computing and Artificial Intelligent technology has changed the ecosystem of advertising industry and social economy. Observations on social changes can help enterprises and advertisers better adapting to this pervasive computing age. This study aims to examine the lifestyles of the new urban middle class in emerging market and their attitudes towards advertising. We carried out an investigation in four Tier-1 cities in China and identified six comprehensive lifestyle factors: trendy and success-driven, "Western is best," petty bourgeoisie lifestyle, money conscious, lifestyle of health and sustainability, and pragmatic struggling lifestyle; and further segmented new urban middle-class consumers into four groups: experiencers, strivers, trendy achievers, and pragmatists. The attitudes of four lifestyle segments towards advertising have been examined. The study provides precise user portraits of the growing middle-class consumers and intra-class differences in the emerging market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six national programs—including the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), Desertification Combating Program around Beijing and Tianjin (DCBT), Shelterbelt Network Development Program (SNDP), Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Protection Program (WCNR), and Industrial Timberland Plantation Program (ITPP)—were adopted as means to achieve the Chinese Government sustainable development national policy. While the programs have made promising progress circa 10 yr at the national level, problems exist at the regional and locals levels. This article, therefore, reviews the achievements and problems associated with the programs and their implementations, and provides recommendations for the full realization of the goals of the programs. We recommend a comprehensive strategy for future activities—including promotion of sustainability science, reformation of rigid policies and regulations, adoption of sustainable forestry practices, integrated ecosystem management approach, and formation of new international collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological footprint (EF) is an accepted worldwide method for the evaluation of environmental sustainability. However, its utility is limited by the existence of a series of shortcomings in the methodology such as the only-partial inclusion of human generated wastes. To improve the ability of the footprint method to evaluate environmental sustainability, a new footprint-based indicator – the ‘Waste Absorption Footprint’ (WAF) – has been proposed. The purpose of this paper is to test this methodological approach by evaluating the sustainability of the water environment in the Taihu Lake Basin, in densely populated eastern China. Applying the WAF method indicates that anthropogenic discharges of wastes have imposed an absorption pressure on the local water system such that the local water environment is increasingly unsustainable . Furthermore, nitrogen and phosphorus are identified as more critical wastes than organic substances, while domestic discharges are shown to be more important sources compared with those from industry and agriculture, which therefore should be the focus of environmental management and pollution control initiatives. It is demonstrated that the WAF method can provide a wealth of information that can be used for reference by local water environmental management authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]