Transport and energy in developing countries

The author examines the transport energy consumption of developing countries and compares it with that of developed countries. These figures are found to suggest considerable scope for transport energy savings. Given the need for improved energy efficiency, the author moves on to consider transport in the context of the wider economy. Four broad policy approaches which can affect transport energy consumption are identified — information and training programmes, subsidies; pricing and tax policies; and administrative regulations. The author's primary conclusion is that the energy price changes of the last decade do not hold revolutionary implications for the transport sector. There remains, however, a need to improve efficiency in this sector.     

公益产品设计微探

公益产品设计近年来备受社会瞩目,其构想的价值毋庸置疑,然而,在设计中,一些思想未必成熟,各方面因素考虑不周,设计出的产品不仅难以实现公益,甚至出现南辕北辙的无奈。把握公益产品设计的正确方向,使得产品设计能够真正做到公益的效果,对于参与公益产品设计的企业和设计者而言是当务之急。     

照亮都市空间的光纤之美

光导纤维如今已广泛应用于现代社会的各个领域,它不但适用于通信、医学、传感器等科学应用领域,缤纷的都市空间更是展现光纤之美的重要舞台。本文主要介绍了西方发达国家在城市建筑照明、室内照明、景观与公共艺术照明等诸多城市空间领域光导纤维的应用情况,旨在为丰富我国的城市空间提供一些有益的参考,并由此倡导光纤照明这样一种绿色、安全、时尚的城市照明方式。进而为其将来更好地服务于现代社会,提升城市生活品质做好理论与实践两方面的充分准备。     

基于特征线匹配的城市建筑物识别方法研究

随着手机GPS位置测定、导航以及摄像功能的普及,对于移动状态下的位置定位以及都市空间建筑物实时搜索等应用功能存在日益增长的需求。介绍了图像处理方式的城市建筑物识别方法,通过对两种图像匹配算法--SIFT和Local Search的比较分析表明,构造物轮廓线及其组合是一种相对稳定的几何特征,在匹配时受图像的仿射变换、画质变化以及镜头畸变等因素干扰较小,此外,基于轮廓的图像匹配指数还能反映摄影位置的变化。因此,对Local Search进行了改进,利用实时图的建筑物的特征轮廓线与从三维数据库中提取的建筑群特征轮廓线进行匹配,然后选择匹配指数高的记录作为识别结果。结果表明基于Local Search算法的建筑物识别技术可以很好地适应移动条件下建筑物快速识别的要求。     

Assessing terrestrial wildlife populations in the Toronto and Region Area of Concern

Beneficial use impairments (BUIs) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement identify environmental issues requiring remedial action within the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). We conducted this study to support the assessment of the wildlife component of BUI 3: degradation of fish and wildlife populations. We compared bird and amphibian (frogs and toads) data from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Terrestrial Long-term Monitoring Program in the Toronto and Region AOC to an adjacent, but otherwise similar, reference watershed, Duffins Creek. Twelve of 13 targets were met within the AOC for forest bird, wetland bird, meadow bird and amphibian populations based on averages of mean annual values at sites within the AOC that were within two standard deviations of averages at sites in the Duffins Creek reference watershed between 2008 and 2017. Even though wildlife populations within the AOC were within the normal range of variability expected from a reference watershed, they were often at lower levels than within the Duffins Creek reference watershed. In addition, forest bird and amphibian populations were negatively affected by urbanization within the AOC and meadow bird indices declined. We conclude that while wildlife populations within the AOC currently meet targets for BUI 3, they continue to be negatively impacted by numerous stressors that are primarily related to past and ongoing urbanization. Thus, continued restoration of wildlife habitat and protection of existing habitat within the AOC is highly recommended.     

数字证书在环保行业的应用分析

目前国家环保部正在开展的国家环境信息与统计能力建设项目中,采用数字证书为业务系统提供强身份认证服务。详细论述了数字证书在环保部的应用模式,指出了今后的工作方向,同时也指出了现有应用模式的不足之处。     

The continuity of underperforming ICT projects in the public sector

There is a growing body of research on the successes and failures of information and communications technology (ICT) projects in the public sector. However, this literature has rarely addressed the question of why some projects persist and continue despite functioning poorly in several areas. In this paper, we suggest that the notions of institutional logics and status differences provide useful insights into the structure and trajectory of this type of continuity. We build our arguments through an in-depth qualitative case study of a public information and communications technology (PICT) project in India. From our findings, we develop a process model of PICT project continuity. We explain how the employment of bureaucratic posturing – a manifestation of bureaucratic logic – as a tactic by high status groups could lead to poor performance on several fronts. The paper elaborates on two levels of continuity: policy-level continuity, which in our case was enabled by the logics of decentralization and technocracy, and operational-level continuity, which was achieved when groups with contrasting status-related motivations supported the project.     

Carbon membranes from cellulose and metal loaded cellulose

The focus of this work was to find a low-cost precursor for carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes, and a simple way of producing them. In addition, several ways of modifying a carbon material are described. The modification method used in this study was metal doping of carbon. CMS membranes were formed by vacuum carbonization of cellulose and metal loaded cellulose. Metal additives include oxides of Ca, Mg, Fe(III) and Si, and nitrates of Ag, Cu and Fe(III).The carbon membrane containing Fe-nitrate has promising separation performance for the gas pairs O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄. Carbon containing nitrates of Cu or Ag show high selectivity, but reduced O₂ and CO₂ permeability compared to carbon with Fe-nitrate. Element analysis indicates that Cu migrates to the carbon surface, creating an extra layer resistance to gas transport. A silver mirror is also seen on the surface of Ag-nitrate-containing carbon. However, the Ag- and Cu-containing membranes show a high H₂ permeability. Adding metal oxides makes the carbon membranes retard the transport of easily condensable gases (e.g. CO₂). This can be exploited for enhanced H₂/CO₂ separation efficiency.     

Influence of aggregates on chloride diffusion coefficient into mortar

In order to determine the influence of aggregates on chloride ion ingress, mortar specimens were cast with different aggregate size distribution and the same aggregate volume content. One side of the specimen was in contact with alkaline solution containing sodium chloride. The process of chloride ingress is due to diffusion. The effect of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) around aggregate and of the tortuosity due to aggregates have been taken into account for interpreting the experimental data obtained. These two competing effects have been quantified by using the theory of composite materials. It appears that the diffusion coefficient varies as a function of the ITZ volume content and of the tortuosity.     

L2 disturbance attenuation for highly dissipative nonlinear spatially distributed processes via HJI approach

For many practical industrial spatially distributed processes (SDPs), their dynamics are usually described by highly dissipative nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). In this paper, we address the L₂ disturbance attenuation problem of nonlinear SDPs using the Hamilton–Jacobi–Isaacs (HJI) approach. Firstly, by collecting an ensemble of PDE states, Karhunen–Loève decomposition (KLD) is employed to compute empirical eigenfunctions (EEFs) of the SDP based on the method of snapshots. Subsequently, these EEFs together with singular perturbation (SP) technique are used to obtain a finite-dimensional slow subsystem of ordinary differential equation (ODE) that accurately describes the dominant dynamics of the PDE system. Secondly, based on the slow subsystem, the L₂ disturbance attenuation problem is reformulated and a finite-dimensional H_∞ controller is synthesized in terms of the HJI equation. Moreover, the stability and L₂-gain performance of the closed-loop PDE system are analyzed. Thirdly, since the HJI equation is a nonlinear PDE that has proven to be impossible to solve analytically, we combine the method of weighted residuals (MWR) and simultaneous policy update algorithm (SPUA) to obtain its approximate solution. Finally, the simulation studies are conducted on a nonlinear diffusion-reaction process and a temperature cooling fin of high-speed aerospace vehicle, and the achieved results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed control method.