Use of gestalt in wayfinding design and analysis of wayfinding process

The authors brought forward the definition of “Gestalt space” and indicated this kind of space can be easily cognized. Three experiments showed that “classification” and “grouping” are the human strategies to solve wayfinding problems. “Similarity” and “Legibility” of the space are advantageous to help people to complete wayfinding tasks. The designer should provide the essential “Legibility” in Gestalt space, by using some techniques such as “break” and “accession” to settle the wayfinding problem.     

Optimal facility placement and discriminatory congestion pricing in neighborhoods with different time costs

In many urban areas, time costs or wages vary between neighborhoods, but there is little wage variation within a given neighborhood. Neighborhoods are often labelled “working class,”“middle class,” or even “wealthy.” For this reason, there are many efficiency and distributional issues related to location because location largely determines access costs. Congestion also affects time costs and access. Many public policies are geared towards improving access for households in low-wage neighborhoods. Public facilities are built; some firms receive nonprofit status. In order to evaluate these policies, normative theory is needed. This paper develops theory on the optimal placement of facilities and their congestion prices in urban areas with wage variation between neighborhoods. The results show that optimal locations and prices depend on the extent of wage inequality. Received: February 2001/Accepted: September 2001     

Housing management matters: Citizenship and managerialism in the new welfare market

This paper addresses three neglected issues in the restructuring of housing policy and provision in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s: first, the relationship between welfare restructuring and management regimes; second, the nature of local variations in the impact of welfare restructuring; and third, the significance of human agency interpretations of change. The paper starts by summarizing the main features of welfare state restructuring and then considers recent manifestations of citizenship and managerialism in housing. Three competing conceptions of citizenship rights are used to examine changing notions of welfare: “market efficiency”, “institutionalized rights” and the “radical challenge” provided by social movements. A four-part typology of the main concepts and themes in the “new public management”—“efficiency”, “downsizing and decentralization”, “excellence” and “public service”—is used to present the main components of change in management regimes. The paper draws on literatures on housing management, citizenship and “the new public management” and on recent research into tenant participation, housing rights and housing advice services. Conclusions are drawn about how tensions between different conceptions of citizenship and public management are implicated with national and global influences at the local level to create particular welfare outcomes.     

"Composition" and regularisation of architectural production in contemporary China

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the “Beaux-Arts” “composition” sustained the constitution of design principles for architectural production in China in the last two decades of the twentieth century. “Composition”, a key technique of the “Beaux-Arts” system, is not a simple act of “putting elements together” into a unified whole, but also relates to an array of different “constructions” of architectural knowledge which regulate and sustain the act of design. Through analysing the structure of three “textbooks” published in the early 1980s, this paper examines three aspects of the “constructions”: the setting up of the principles for governing architectural forms, regularisation of design methods and approaches for architectural practice, and the construction of a “tradition” for the expression of “Chineseness”.     

Mechanisms of large-scale landslides in China

Large-scale landslides in western China are famous for their size, complex formation mechanism and serious destruction. Data were collected from some typical large-scale landslides in mainland China in the 20th century. A number of geo-mechanical models have been identified: the “three sections” model (sliding; tension cracking; shearing), “retaining wall collapse”, “horizontal-pushing” in horizontal strata; large-scale toppling in counter-inclined strata; the creep-bending–shearing model etc. Large-scale rock landslides are generally accompanied by sudden brittle failure of the “locking section” along the potential sliding surface. The paper discusses the importance of this “locking section” which is key to assessing slope geohazard and to the development of control/mitigation measures.     

Negatives in symmetric input–output tables: the impossible quest for the Holy Grail

In the Supply-Use (or Make-Use) input–output models, “product-technology” (PT) or “fixed-industry-sales-structure” (FISS) assumptions are more widely adopted (SNA, Eurostat) for deriving symmetric input–output tables (SIOT) than “industry-technology” or “fixed-product-sales-structure” assumptions, but generate negatives in the SIOT. A SIOT deduced from the Supply-Use model is considered as satisfactory as soon as it contains no more negatives; scholars have focused on the negatives in the SIOT and on how to remove them. However, as a SIOT may include no negatives even if there are some negatives in the inverse Supply matrix, we have completely reversed the reasoning. A counter-example demonstrates that computing the inverse Supply matrix, as imposed by PT or FISS assumptions, is mathematically a nonsense operation even when the symmetric input–output tables do not include any negative; this result is new. Hence, deriving a SIOT under PT or FISS assumption must be rejected. Three applications are provided: Austria 2000 and 2005 and USA 2007.     

Location-allocation aspects of Tinbergen-Bos systems

Tinbergen-Bos Systems (TBS) operationalise L?sch's general spatial economic equilibrium model in terms of “centers” (clusters of activities) and “systems” (combinations of centers). The initial specifications are generalised to a non-discrete metric, and a method is derived to solve the resulting location-allocation problem by linear programming. Applications are presented, the conclusion being that the way is paved to handle large quasi-dynamic TBS, allowing to study the evolution of “economic landscapes”. Received: December 1997/Accepted: May 1998     

Spatial aspects of pollution control when pollutants have synergistic effects: Evidence from a differential game with asymmetric information

An asymmetric information differential game is utilized to explore the normative issue: should environmental regulations be carried out locally or centrally? Modeling localities as having superior information, or more leniency to adopt new environmental regulations, results from simulations indicate that local control Pareto dominates central control when enough synergism occurs between pollutants. In contrast to predictions made by those responsible for framing US environmental policy in the 1960s, these findings suggest an expanded future role for local governments in providing environmental protection, particularly in light of Tiebout's (1956) analysis of consumers who “vote with their feet” for their preferred basket of public services. “Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are like things Al Smith did as governor in New York.”–Franklin Roosevelt (Schlesinger, 1960, p. 520) Received: June 1997/Accepted: July 1998     

Measuring the effects of air quality regulations on “dirty” firm births: Evidence from the neo- and mature-regulatory periods

In this article, we use annual (1980–90) county-level manufacturing plant location data for New York State to examine the effects of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments on the location decisions of new pollution-intensive manufacturing plants in the “:neo-regulatory” (1980-84) and “mature-regulatory” (1985–90) phases of the Act's implementation. Our results suggest that the temporal effects of regulation vary. Whereas the location decisions of pollution intensive manufacturing firms were unaffected by the Act's regulatory restrictions in the “neo-regulatory” period, the restrictions appear to have had a significant negative impact on the location decisions of these types of firms in the Act's “mature-regulatory” phase. The diversion of new pollution intensive plants to counties with less stringent environmental regulations suggests that current US environmental regulations may be leading to a “browning process” whereby counties historically free of pollution become havens for polluters. Received: 2 April 1999 / Accepted: 18 October 1999     

Simulation of a building and its HVAC system with an equation solver: Application to benchmarking

The today-availability of powerful engineering equation solvers is opening very new possibilities in technical component modelling and in system simulation. The simulation models, the “user guide” and the “reference guide” are all included in a same file. Reliable “reference” and “simplified” models are currently available for the building zone and for most (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) HVAC components. Focus is given here on “simplified” models and on a simulation tool, called “Benchmark”. This tool should help an auditor to make the best use of the limited information usually available about actual fuel and electricity consumptions and to get a very first evaluation of the actual performances of a given HVAC system. An example of such use is presented. Another simulation tools and more information about the modelling of HVAC components will be presented in a further paper.     

Necessity of minimum floor area ratio regulation: a second-best policy

This article examines where and how to impose floor area ratio (FAR) regulations in the presence of negative externalities engendered in population density, e.g., traffic congestion and noise, using a simple static closed city model. Results indicate that FAR regulation is the second-best policy and that there is a need for “minimum FAR regulations,” in addition to the currently used “maximum FAR regulations.” Thus, the imposition of only maximum FAR regulations, a practice common in actual city planning, is concluded to be insufficient for a closed city.     

A design method for seepage barriers with allowance for the initial filtration gradient

A method is presented for calculation of the basic parameters of an anti-seepage “wall” with allowance for the initial filtration gradient of the filler material. The case of plane-radial seepage through a contour “wall” of the perfect and imperfect type, which is constructed by various modifications of the “wall-in-the-ground” method and using kinematic jet energy, is discussed. Computational analytical relationships and working equations for a number of special cases are derived in general form for the schemes under consideration. A software package, which makes it possible to make a rational projection of structural parameters of the “wall” and determine the position of the depression curve ahead of the “wall,” is developed. Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, Nos. 4–5, pp. 37–42, July–October, 1998.     

Diaphragm wall-soil-cap interaction in rectangular-closeddiaphragm-wall bridge foundations

Rectangular-closed-diaphragm-wall foundation is a new type of bridge foundation. Diaphragm wallsoil-cap interaction was studied using a model test. It was observed that the distribution of soil resistance under the cap is not homogeneous. The soil resistance in the corner under the cap is larger than that in the border; and that in the center is the smallest. The distribution of soil resistance under the cap will be more uniform, if the sectional area of soil core is enlarged within a certain range. Due to the existence of cap, there is a “weakening effect” in inner shaft resistance of the upper wall segments, and there is “enhancement effect” in the lower wall segments and in toe resistance. The load shearing percentage of soil resistance under the cap is 10%–20%. It is unreasonable to ignore the effects of the cap and the soil resistance under the cap in bearing capacity calculations. __________ Translated from China Civil Engineering Journal, 2007, 40(8): 67–73 [译自: 土木工程学报]     

Sources of fluctuations in regional growth

This paper re-examines the role of employment and population growth in regional development. Previous studies have found evidence for both the “chicken and the egg”: both demand-side employment shocks and supply-side population shocks have been found to influence regional growth. Using recent developments in causality testing for pooled samples, this study also finds evidence of bivariate causality, but support for the “people follow jobs” approach to regional development is marked by results that are more consistent and more often statistically significant. Impulse response functions also sustain this point. Received: May 1999/Accepted: April 2000     

Polyurethane foam: Some studies relating to its behavior in fires

According to one test, polyurethane foam is “self-extinguishing,” while another classifies it as a “surface of rapid flame spread.” The author has found that its burning rate is sensitive to the applied heat flux and suggests that the fire resistance of polyurethane foam be assessed in tests using more realistic heat flux levels. Note: This paper is Crown Copyright 1971.     

Is human capital accumulation a self-propelling process? Comparing educational attainment levels of movers and stayers

The paper aims at understanding changes in the distribution and accumulation of intellectual capital. It compares the educational profiles of in-migrants and non-migrants across a sample of 303 U.S. counties and tests a stock-flow model that poses that a well-educated population stock attracts a well-educated migrant flow. The results suggest that newcomers are better educated than the resident population, and the education gap is most pronounced for newcomers from other states. The results further suggest that the educational status of newcomers (“in-migrants”) is positively related to the educational status of the resident population (“stayers”), thus implying a further agglomeration of human capital across space. However, for interstate migrants the effect is context-dependent, playing a greater role in urban settings and diminishing in more rural settings.     

An evaluation of the effects of various parameter weights on typical meteorological years used for building energy simulation

In this paper, we evaluate the influence of different parameter weights in creating “typical year” weather data following the typical meteorological year (TMY) methodology, by studying two sets of 3600 alternate weather files created using different parameter weights for Beijing (China) and New York City (USA). A “typical year” weather file consists of twelve distinctive months, each considered typical for that month of the year. Such a typical month, named “typical meteorological month (TMM),” is commonly identified by using a certain combination of parameter weights, such as 4:4:4:12, for dry bulb temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation as in the TMY weather files developed by US National Climate Data Center (NCDC), or 4:4:2:10 in the newer TMY2 and TMY3 weather files developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In this study, we investigate the influence of varying the parameter weights on the TMMs and the resultant new TMY weather files (nTMY). We found that the distribution of new 3600 TMMs tend to cluster within one or a few years for each month, and that the probabilities are very high for significant overlap between the new TMMs and the original TMMs chosen using the TMY/TMY2 weighting. Compared to the TMM data in TMY, the deviations of air temperatures and solar radiation values of the new TMMs and nTMYs derived from the 20-year weather data are less than 10% for both Beijing and New York. This confirms that the creation of “typical year” weather data is not very sensitive to the weighting of the different weather parameters, and that most nTMYs created and evaluated in this study are empirically close to the TMY data intended for use of simulating building energy consumption.     

Evolution, interaction and welfare An introduction

A jubilee often triggers backward-oriented reflections, sometimes nostalgic. A jubilee can also be used as an excuse for looking forward. This special issue is composed in honour of ?ke E. Andersson, delayed in the sense that the anniversary (60 years) dates back to 1996. The contributions to this volume have also gone through a maturing process in the form of reviews and revisions. The contributions are organised in three thematic groups. The themes appear in the sequence “Evolution”, “Welfare”, and “Interaction”.     

Field test and evaluation of residential sprinkler systems: Part III

A series of full-scale fire tests utilizing prototype “quick-response” sprinklers was conducted in a two-story residence in Los Angeles, CA, and a mobile home in Charlotte, NC. A prime objective of the program was to test the performance of alternative sprinkler designs to “control” the development of fire in single-family dwellings and mobile homes. Part of the mobile home test series focused on a study of the comparative activation times of sprinklers and smoke detectors installed in the same areas under a variety of test conditions. The results of that phase of the test program are given here. National Fire Protection Association REFERENCE: Cote, arthur E., “Field Test and Evaluation of Residential Sprinkler Systems”, Fire Technology, Vol. 20, No. 2, May 1984, p. 41. Mr. Cote is Assistant Vice President (Engineering & Technical Services) for the NFPA. He served as project manager for the test series insofar as the NFPA had overall management responsibilities for the program.