Testing Home Ownership as the Cornerstone of Welfare: Lessons from East Asia for the West

In recent years, one driver behind the promotion of home ownership in Western countries has been the belief that owner-occupied housing assets provide a means to build up individual welfare security, potentially offsetting pension shortfalls in retirement. In contrast, many developed East Asian societies have both long focussed on advancing ‘asset’ or ‘property-based welfare’ systems as well as experienced the late-1990s Asian Financial Crisis which forced changes in housing and welfare practices. This paper examines how home ownership and asset-based welfare fared in these contexts and the lessons to be learned. It begins by considering the role of owner-occupied housing assets in different welfare regimes before empirically examining how asset-based welfare systems have been realized. It then considers how East Asian home ownership and asset-based welfare systems have stood-up to economic crises. The final section considers what the East Asian experiences contribute to an understanding of the housing assets–welfare relationship.     

悉尼理工大学工程和计算机系系馆 澳大利亚悉尼

<正>悉尼理工大学工程和计算机系系馆位于市区的显赫地段,旨在重新给大学城市校区注入活力,成为悉尼商务中心南端的门户。建筑本体如同一件雕塑作品,迥然和周围的传统建筑风格相异。建筑地上14层,地下4层,设有先进的演讲厅、学术办公室、会议室、学习和研究实验室、营业咖啡厅、娱乐区、停车场,并在隔壁建筑旁设计自行车停靠处。     

Climate driven release of carbon and mercury from permafrost mires increases mercury loading to sub-arctic lakes

In sub-arctic and arctic regions mercury is an element of concern for both wildlife and humans. Over thousands of years large amounts of atmospherically deposited mercury, both from natural and anthropogenic sources, have been sequestered together with carbon in northern peatlands. Many of these peatlands are currently underlain by permafrost, which controls mire stability and hydrology. With the ongoing climate change there is concern that permafrost thawing will turn large areas of these northern peatlands from carbon/mercury-sinks into much wetter carbon/mercury-sources. Here we can show that such a change in mire structure in the sub-arctic Stordalen mire in northern Sweden actually is responsible for an increased export of mercury to the adjacent lake Inre Harrsjön. We also show that sediment mercury accumulation rates during a warm period in the pre-industrial past were higher than in the 1970s when atmospheric input peaked, indicating that in areas with permafrost, climate can have an effect on mercury loading to lakes as large as anthropogenic emissions. Thawing of permafrost and the subsequent export of carbon is a widespread phenomenon, and the projection is that it will increase even more in the near future. Together with our observations from Stordalen, this makes northern peatlands into a substantial source of mercury, at risk of being released into sensitive arctic freshwater and marine systems.     

Wall and ceiling protection for heating appliances

An evaluation was made of the effects of radiant heat transfer from hot stove and chimney pipes to unprotected and protected room walls and ceilings. Pipe surface temperatures were 350° C (662° F) for normal operation, and 400–450° C (752–842° F) to simulate overfire conditions. Unprotected ceilings at 457 mm (18 in.) clearance met code recommended temperature rise limits for normal operation, but protection was needed for overfire exposures. Some protected walls allowed for clearance reductions to 76 mm (3 in.) for all exposures, while others needed at least 304 mm (12 in.) for normal and 457 mm (18 in.) for overfire exposures.Recommendations for model building code specifications for wall and ceiling protection are provided. Reference: Joseph J. Loftus and Richard D. Peacock, Wall and Ceiling Protection for Heating Appliances,Fire Technology, Vol. 21, No. 3, August 1985, p. 213.This paper is a contribution of the National Bureau of Standards and is not subject to copyright.     

Heavy metals in aquatic plants,clams, and sediments from the Chesapeake Bay,U.S.A. implications for waterfowl

Dry weight concentrations of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc were measured in clams, submerged aquatic macrophytes and sediments from several locations in the Chesapeake Bay region. Clam species included Macoma balthica, Mya arenaria, and Rangia cuneata; plant taxa included Najas spp., Potamogeton spp., Ruppia maritima, Vallisneria americana, and Zostera marina. Cadmium and lead concentrations were generally greater in whole plants than in soft tissues of clams, while the reverse was true for zinc; no marked trend was observed in copper concentrations. These results suggest that the changes occurring in the food habits of some Chesapeake Bay waterfowl towards increased clam utilization as a result of declining submerged plant abundances is not increasing ingestion of the nonessential metals cadmium and lead. Highest lead, copper and zinc concentrations were observed in sediments from the Patapsco River, which is probably due to the proximity of Baltimore Harbor. Highest cadmium concentrations were observed in sediments in the Port Tobacco River, a tributary of the Potomac River. These observations were generally consistent with high concentrations of the respective metal(s) in biota from these locations. Concentrations of the four metals in sediments were highly correlated to organic matter content.     

Kinetic characterisation of an enriched Nitrospira culture with comparison to Nitrobacter

Nitrospira and Nitrobacter are nitrite-oxidising bacteria commonly identified in nitrogen removal wastewater treatment plants. Little is known about the growth parameters of Nitrospira or the effects of environmental conditions or inhibitory compounds on Nitrospira activity. These bacterial properties were investigated using an enriched Nitrospira culture and an enriched Nitrobacter culture or Nitrobacter literature values. Compared to Nitrobacter, Nitrospira was found to have a comparable optimal pH range (8.0-8.3); similar normalised activity-temperature relationship (0.44e(0.055(T-15))) for temperatures between 15 and 30 degrees C and a similar oxygen half-saturation constant, K(O) (0.54+/-0.14 mgL(-1)). The major differences identified were that Nitrospira had a lower nitrite half-saturation constant, K(S) (0.9+/-0.07 mgNO(2)-NL(-1)); lower inhibition threshold concentrations for free ammonia (between 0.04 and 0.08 mg NH(3)-NL(-1)) and free nitrous acid (less than 0.03 mg HNO(2)-NL(-1)) and a higher yield (0.15+/-0.04 g VSS g N(-1)). Therefore, Nitrospira is more likely to dominate nitrite oxidation under conditions with low ammonium and nitrite concentrations, which would provide an advantage to them due to their lower K(S) value while avoiding any free ammonia or free nitrous acid inhibition.     

Dilemmas of Representation in Post-apartheid Durban

This paper aims to provide a sketch of the ways in which ‘formal’ institutions of democratic representation worked in practice in Durban/eThekwini in the 2000-2004 period. In so doing, it assesses how the representation of eThekwini’s citizens functioned at both the ward and metropolitan levels. After outlining the formation of the new metropolitan political arena, we consider the relationships amongst political parties at Metro and Ward levels, and, in particular, explore some contextually specific forms of democratic practice which emerged through the interaction of proportional representation and ward representation over time. The election of councillors as such does not resolve a series of dilemmas concerning how to institutionalise democratic representation within a racially diverse, spatially divided, and rapidly changing metropolitan area. Electoral-representative aspects of a urban democratisation are not a straightforward ‘formal’ framework alongside which other processes of democratic discussion, mobilisation and contestation can be easily situated.

Statistisch begründete Festigkeitskennwerte genieteter Bauteile – statische Festigkeit und Wöhlerlinienkatalog

Statistically founded strength values of riveted members – static strength and fatigue life classification of constructional details. The assessment of the load‐carrying capacity and of the remain‐ing fatigue life of existing railway and road bridges has gained an increasingly significant role over the last years. Thus, the problem of determining adequate strength values of riveted members of older steel bridges once again arose during the elaboration of the ONR 24008 specification. In the course of a research project initiated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), results of static and fatigue tests carried out on riveted members were evaluated statistically. With regard to fatigue test data, a classification of riveted details with consideration of different constructional details proved to be sensible and to lead to more consistent S‐N design curves. Tables containing static strength values and a catalogue of S‐N design curves based on constructional detail classifications represent the result of the research project.