Design Errors: Inefficiency or Carelessness of Designer?

Design defects are experienced in many projects; the difference is only in the extent of occurrence. This technical note discusses a design error case in a building project in Nepal, where the designer made the wrong assumptions in roof treatment work for waterproofing as well as for heat insulation purposes. From the investigation of the problem, it was found that the waterproofing polymer was not applied directly over concrete slab top. Use of heavy concrete block as a heat insulation material also helped to increase the leakage problem. The problem evoked loss of prestige for project officials, the design consortium, and the contractor.     

Dragons Adrift: The New Chinese Landscape

The work of New York-based artist Nancy Wolf is preoccupied with the relationship between people and the contemporary city. Here she explains how a meeting with scholar and poet Lap Lam in Hong Kong provided much of the inspiration for her work in China, which she describes as ‘a commentary on the enormous changes in today's Chinese landscape created by Modernist architecture and urban planning’.     

Potential and bottlenecks of the carbon market: The case of a developing country,Nepal

The majority of clean development mechanism (CDM) projects are confined to a few countries. For many developing nations, entry into the carbon market, either through CDM or others, has been difficult. Thus, rationalizing CDM projects and the carbon market as a tool for sustainable development is often questioned. Many developing countries, such as Nepal, lack a quantification of CO₂ reduction potential and an assessment of bottlenecks necessary for the carbon market. In this context, this paper assesses the potential emission reductions from major sectors of Nepal and the accompanying bottlenecks of the carbon market. The analyses provide indications of the type and scale of the carbon mitigation opportunities in key sectors such as waste management, biogas utilization, promotion of electric vehicles, rice cultivation, bio-energy utilization, brick making, hydropower development and a few others. These might be helpful to decision-makers in Nepal as well as to the process of re-orienting CDM and other carbon markets to better understand the bottlenecks of developing countries.     

尼泊尔8.1级大震与中国大陆西部8级大震预测研究

自1300年以来的715 a间,中国大陆及其邻区共发生M≥8大震25次,呈现出显著的自组织有序性.特别是从1902年到2001年的100 a间,中国大陆西部地区发生3对前后间隔4 a的8级大震有序对.基于信息预测理论,在对中国大陆8级大震有序网络构建及其总结研究的基础上,补充尼泊尔3次8级大震新信息:2015年8.1级、1934年8.1级和1833年8级大震,进一步优化完善并构建8级大震二维与三维有序网络结构,并由此对未来8级大震进行预测.研究结果表明:2015年尼泊尔8.1级大震的发生,标志着新一轮8级大震活动的开始,未来数十年内大震强震将在青藏高原地区由南向北迁移发生,2022与2026年前后中国大陆西部将发生新的8级大震有序对,2029、2045年前后仍有可能发生8级大震.     

基于智能手机和Web技术的建筑震害调查系统

当前建筑震害调查以手工作业为主,效率低下。为此,论文开发了一个基于智能手机与Web技术的建筑震害调查系统。该系统由服务器端、手机端和Web端构成：在服务器端,一个面向建筑的数据库被建立,使得建筑成为信息采集和管理基本单元; 在手机端,一个信息采集程序被开发,建立了多媒体数据与建筑的关联; 在Web端,数据被进行智能解析和存储,并在GIS云平台实现可视化。系统在2015年尼泊尔地震我国西藏地区的建筑震害调查中得到了成功应用。     

Relationship between mechanisms and activities at the time of pedestrian injury and activity limitation among school adolescents in Kathmandu, Nepal

This study assessed the relationship between pedestrian activity at the time of injury, the type of vehicle involved and resulting activity limitation among school adolescents in the Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts of Nepal. A cross-sectional study of 1557 students in grades 6–8 across 14 schools was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire from August to September 2003. Twenty-three percent of adolescents reported pedestrian injuries, 38% were from urban and 21% from semi-urban areas. Adolescents were commonly injured by motorcycles and motor vehicles while crossing the road; however, while walking and playing, they were commonly injured by bicycles and motorcycles. Bicycles and motor vehicles were less likely to be involved in injury while crossing the roads and playing, respectively (p < 0.001). Activity was more likely to be limited for a longer period of time (>7 days) with injuries endured while crossing the road (p < 0.001). In urban areas, boys and girls were more likely to be injured while crossing the road and walking, respectively (p < 0.05), and both were commonly injured by motorcycles. In semi-urban areas, boys and girls were commonly injured while walking and were more likely to be injured by motorcycles and bicycles, respectively (p < 0.05). In both areas, more boys than girls were injured while playing. These findings have important implications for pedestrian safety interventions in poor countries.