Terrain-Specific: Contemporary Landscape Architecture in Canada

The Canadian landscape has typically captured a global imaginary of a pristine wild, but how might its urban designed landscapes be distinctly understood? Foregrounded by the landscape transformations accelerated by climate change, the book Innate Terrain: Canadian Landscape Architecture, edited by Professor Alissa North from the University of Toronto, highlights landscape architecture projects situated on the unique Canadian terrain. Providing further provocation on Canadian landscape architecture, Innate Terrain seeks to fill the literary gap on contemporary landscape perspectives, distinguishing Canadian landscape architecture from global practice, and particularly, its well-documented American counterpart. Landscape architecture in the Canadian context has evolved and established its own distinct identity, one imbued with national and local sensitivities. Informed by diverse environmental and cultural contexts, Canadian-designed landscapes reflect and refer to the prevailing ecosystems of Canada’s innate terrain. Contrary to the preceding International Style, landscape architecture projects in Canada have adopted the ethos of Critical Regionalism in the second half of the 20th century. Contemporary Canadian practitioners are designing landscapes that are deeply informed by their surrounding geographical context while emphasizing cultural specificity. Central to this cultural specificity, addressed by a new generation of landscape architects, is the increasing recognition of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge within the discipline. Canadian landscape architects have collaborated with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, including the keepers of this knowledge, to develop land management strategies and design landscape interventions.     

Controllable preparation of porous ZrB2–SiC ceramics via using KCl space holders

In this work, a novel and facile technique based on using KCl as space holders, along with partial sintering (at 1900 °C for 30 min), was explored to prepare porous ZrB₂–SiC ceramics with controllable pore structure, tunable compressive strength and thermal conductivity. The as-prepared porous ZrB₂–SiC samples possess high porosity of 45–67%, low average pore size of 3–7 μm, high compressive strength of 32–106 MPa, and low room temperature thermal conductivity of 13–34 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. The porosity, pore structure, compressive strength and thermal conductivity of porous ZrB₂–SiC ceramics can be tuned simply by changing KCl content and its particle size. The effect of porosity and pore structure on the thermal conductivity of as-prepared porous ZrB₂–SiC ceramics was examined and found to be consistent with the classical model for porous materials. The poring mechanism of porous ZrB₂–SiC samples via adding pore-forming agent combined with partial sintering was also preliminary illustrated.     

A novel fabrication procedure for producing high strength hydroxyapatite ceramic scaffolds with high porosity

Hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds were fabricated using the space holder method with a pressureless sintering process in a systematically developed manner at different fabrication stages to increase the strength of the scaffold at high porosity. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were used as binders and space holder agents, respectively. The physical properties of the HA scaffolds were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), linear shrinkage test, and porosity measurements. The mechanical properties of the HA scaffolds were analyzed using compressive strength measurements. The results revealed that the HA scaffold met the expected quality requirements with a compressive strength of 2.2 MPa at a porosity of 65.6% with pore sizes distributed in the range of 126–385 μm. The shrinkage of the scaffold diameter occurred by 20.27%, this diameter shrinkage predominantly to the shrinkage of the HA scaffold caused by sintering. Besides, suspect that a higher PMMA concentration causes pore size shrinkage upon sintering. The formation of pore interconnections was evidenced by SEM observations and the ‘translucent light method’ developed in this study. The results of the scaffold phase test using XRD showed that the final scaffold consisted only of the HA phase, as the PVA and PMMA phases burned out during the sintering process.     

基于控制变量参数化方法的自由漂浮空间机器人路径规划研究

针对自由漂浮空间机器人传统路径规划方法对基座卫星扰动较大的问题，提出了一种基于控制变量参数化的路径规划方法。该方法将路径规划问题转化成以基座姿态扰动最小为目标函数并满足一系列约束条件的最优控制问题，并采用控制变量参数化方法进行离散化处理，将最优控制问题转化成求解非线性规划问题，并给出了完整的理论收敛性证明，从而准确地估计出自由漂浮空间机器人末端执行器的最优路径。仿真结果表明，与传统的分解加速度方法相比，该方法得到的运动路径所引起的基座卫星姿态扰动为0.104rad，相比传统方法降低了17.53%，验证了所提路径规划方法的有效性与最优性。     

Has China's coal consumption actually reached its peak? National and regional analysis considering cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity

To investigate whether China's coal consumption has actually peaked, this study tests the national and regional coal Kuznets curve (CKC) hypothesis by using a panel dataset of 30 provinces covering 2000 to 2016. To fully capture the trends of coal consumption at the national, regional, and provincial levels, this study proposes a novel regional division method based on coal dependence and economic level. Considering the potential cross-sectional dependence and slope homogeneity, the newly developed methods allowing for heterogeneous slope coefficients are employed. The whole panel and subpanel results validate the CKC hypothesis for China, and province-specific results are mixed. The subpanel results reveal that only in the coal-dependent developing region has the peak of coal consumption not been reached, and for other regions, coal consumption displays a downward trend along with gross domestic product (GDP) increases. Furthermore, the province-specific results suggest that coal consumption will continue to increase slightly in certain provinces. This study implies that to reduce coal consumption, the coal-dependent developing region and provinces with a future turning point should act with great urgency to achieve a balance of economic growth and environmental responsibility. In addition, policymakers formulating coal consumption reduction policy in China must consider the remarkable differences across regions and provinces.     

User activities and the heterogeneity of urban space:The case of Dahiyat Al Hussein park

Urban researchers have maintained a constant interest in the complexity and continuity of urban space usage. Some have applied actor–network theory (ANT) to investigate the heterogeneity of spaces and present them through the networks of their users’ activities. However, these accounts are predominantly limited in examining the extent to which these spaces may be heterogeneous when exploring such networks. This paper draws on recent ANT scholarship, which employs an ethnographic research conducted in a main park in a housing project at Dahiyat Al Hussein in Amman, Jordan. The findings describe the complex and unpredictable negotiations that occur within spaces by documenting the varieties and interrelations among user activity networks within this common and shared urban space. This research reveals the extent to which spaces, parks in this case, may be heterogeneous by unpacking their usage. The conclusions and insights assert the necessity of paying attention to design detail and creating designs that are responsive to evolving user activities.     

基于宜兴彩陶山水图案的女式针织衫设计

对宜兴彩陶装饰艺术中典型的山水图案进行分析,阐述宜兴彩陶山水图案的文化内涵。分析宜兴彩陶山水图案的审美特征,包括浓淡有序的色彩层次、抽象凝练的造型肌理、形饰一体的结构布局。以各类针织纱线为原料,采用岛精电脑横机,对女式针织衫进行款式、图案及组织结构设计。详细介绍基于宜兴彩陶山水图案元素的女式针织衫色彩、款式、图案和肌理设计应用实例。该研究为女式针织衫的设计提供了新的思路,为中国传统装饰艺术元素在服饰品中的跨界设计提供了理论与实践参考。     

Space charge region effects in bidirectional illuminated P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction photodetectors

Organic semiconductors are widely investigated for their application in photovoltaics and photodetectors. We show that the efficiency of these devices is strongly influenced by the position of the space charge region, due to unintentional doping, and wavelength-dependent absorption properties in bulk heterojunctions. Spray-coated P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction photodiodes with thicknesses up to 4.2 μm and semitransparent top contact enable the characterization of exciton generation and separation in both irradiation directions. A large difference in external quantum efficiency (EQE) is observed for top and bottom illuminated configurations and is explained by a bias dependent arrangement of the space charge region at the two contact electrodes. Numerical drift–diffusion simulations allow to get insight into first order mechanisms behind the spectral features of EQE data in highly-doped organic photodiodes.     

环境设计专业学习空间设计探析--以教室改造的参与式设计为例

学习空间的设计必须基于教育理念、学习模式、技术设施与精神氛围等因素展开,以更开放、灵活及多样化的有趣形态来吸引使用者。对于已掌握基本设计方法并具有一定设计思维的环境设计专业学生而言,设计与自身学习行为关联的学习空间,能体现"参与式设计"的特殊意义:即一方面以有着直观体验感受的熟悉空间作为训练案例来有效地整合设计能力;另一方面则通过用户与设计者身份的叠加,从使用者体验一维到对空间发展的专业预设考虑一维共同实现学习空间设计理念的更新。