Playgrounds: Radical Failure in the Amazon

Covering more than 8.1 million square kilometres (3.127 million square miles), the Amazon is a vast territory that has captured people's imaginations and ambitions. These range from Henry Ford's attempt in 1928 to build a rubber company town near Santarém, Brazil, to more contemporary projects that have aimed to boost and connect the continent's economy. Gary Leggett explores the failure of such totalising projects across time and asks why they might have proved inherently flawed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Questions of Taste

Charles Holland of FAT picks up the Post-Modern baton from Venturi Scott Brown and Charles Jencks and raises the neglected topic of taste. Though the way architecture is experienced by people is bound up with taste, it remains an area of discomfort for architects – tied up with awkward discussions of privilege and class. Holland shows how in FAT's Islington Square housing project the DIY taste of the residents was not only embraced, but fully accommodated. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomass availability for lignocellulosic ethanol production

The ethanol industry in North America uses starch derived from corn as its primary feedstock. In order to better understand the geographical distribution of advanced ethanol production, potential sources of lignocellulosic biomass for the process are considered. It is shown that the corn-producing regions of North America already support significant amounts of ethanol production, and that few unexploited sources of corn remain for the industry to utilize. Accessing other sources of sugar, including other types of biomass such as lignocellulosic materials, will become necessary for the industry as it expands, quite apart from the need to meet government mandates. The ability of bioconversion and thermochemical conversion to generate biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass is reviewed. The availability of lignocellulosic residues from agricultural and forestry operations is described, and the potential biofuel production associated with these residues is described. A residue-based process could greatly extend the potential of the ethanol industry to become a substantial contributor to the fuel and energy requirements of North America. It is estimated that ethanol production from residues could provide up to 13.7% of Canada’s 2009 transportation fuel demand, and up to 5.2% of the United States’ 2010 fuel demand. Utilizing lignocellulosic biomass will extend the geographic range of the biofuel industry, and increase the stability and security of this sector by reducing the impact of localized disruptions in supply. Development of a residue-based industry will help create the technologies needed to process energy crops as North America moves towards greater transportation fuel independence.     

美国食品安全教育及对中国的启示

美国食品安全教育实行全民教育,不仅有健全的法律依据,而且有多元体系的配套制度给予保障,其主管部门权责明确,根据受教育对象的不同实行分层教育,实施中职业教育特色浓厚,具有教育方式灵活、教育面广、针对性强的特点。由于缺乏明确的法律依据,中国食品安全教育存在责任主体边界模糊,责任不清晰的问题,在临时性的推进中,教育的系统性不足,导致生产者盲目逐利、消费者法律意识淡薄、监管者不作为的问题。借鉴美国的成熟经验,中国的食品安全教育应立足中国国情,确立其教育对象、原则、体系与方法,创新教育途径,形成有本国特色的食品安全教育机制。     

人力资源开发的美国模式——威廉·康明斯教授访谈录

本文是对乔治华盛顿大学威廉康明斯教授的访谈录。在访谈中,康明斯教授谈到,美国教育的核心价值是个体的持续发展,而美国人力资源发展的一个最大特点是内部整合程度、一致性程度比较低。发展的模式是一些东部州率先进行教育改革与发展实践,取得成功经验,然后其它州自愿效仿,最后都得到发展。他还就数学与科学教育问题、美国教育现代化的发展指标、美国教育科学化与民主化、中美学生的创新能力问题等,提出不少精辟的观点。     

美国冷库发展状况研究

美国和我国同属农产品生产和消费大国,其冷库行业起步于19世纪末期,经过100多年的发展,已经形成了覆盖全国的冷链物流体系。冷库作为冷链系统中的主要基础设施,是体现冷链物流发展水平的一项主要指标。本文通过研究分析美国冷库的发展历程,可以对我国冷链物流行业的发展有所借鉴和启示。     

中美大学校长队伍建设比较及其启示

通过对中美大学校长的遴选制度包括遴选程序、校长素质和角色定位等方面的比较,得出对我国大学校长队伍建设的有益启示：改革大学校长遴选制度,拓宽校长的来源渠道;注重校长培训,提高校长综合素质;明晰校长角色定位,强化校长专业职能;加强校长工作的评估和监督,把握校长工作方向,以期加快我国建设世界一流大学的步伐。     

尔湾:解读美国后大都市时代城市发展

1970年代以来,随着全球化与后福特主义的发展,美国经历了传统中心城市/城市中心衰落和新兴边缘城市兴起的过程,城市发展进入后大都市时代.大洛杉矶地区是这一转型发展的典范,尔湾则是该地区新兴边缘城市快速发展的代表.本文从后大都市时代城市转型出发,通过分析尔湾市城市发展历程和发展机制、解读新时期美国城市发展趋势与特征.     

美国购物中心室内设计的人性化设计

本文以美国爱荷华州的购物中心为例,从其服务设施,室内景观,娱乐设施和无障碍设计四个方面,分析了美国购物中心室内设计的人性化特征,旨在为我国购物中心的设计提供参考。