The visual impact of development in coastal zone areas

Abstract

The focus of this paper is theoretical, as well as methodological. It reviews previous studies of visual impact and reports research by the author on people's evaluation of the appropriateness of different man‐made facilities in different coastal‐area contexts and other environments. In this study, subjects were asked to react to slides developed through the use of landscape models and experimental facilities to simulate the appearance of a building in the landscape, while systematically varying the visual relatedness between the two. Specific interest centered on the variable of congruity vs. contrast between the appearance of the building and its landscape context, manipulated by co‐varying the attributes of color and size to create a five‐point scale of contrast/obtrusiveness. The hypothesis was that judgments of appropriateness, and to a lesser extent judgments of liking, would vary inversely with level of contrast. The role of two further variables, the functional significance of the building in its setting, and the character of the setting itself, was also investigated. The author reviews methodological issues involved where subjects respond to visual stimuli for purposes of judging change in visual quality. These methodological issues include: stimulus‐selection and problems of simulation, choice of response measures, and choice of respondents, and the treatment of individual differences. The author calls for development of standardized scales and indices such as “perceptually‐relevant environmental quality indicators.”     

Motorway signals and the detection of incidents

A mathematical model of automobile trip tours is presented. Within a framework of eight common restrictions on automobile trip making, all travel behavior is assumed random and all of the ways in which tours can be arranged are assumed equally likely. Three probability distributions are derived from the model: (1) the probability that a household makes a given number of tours in a day; (2) the probability that a household makes a given number of trips in a day; and (3) the probability that a tour reaches a given number of destinations. It is shown that the model agrees with similar probability distributions generated from home‐interview data for Milwaukee.     

The dredging dilemma: Economic development and environmental protection in Oakland Harbor

Abstract

Seaport expansion often generates tensions between the national interest in efficient transport and local interests in water quality and habitat preservation. The governing American permitting system, however, establishes an extraordinarily cumbersome, legalistic, and costly method for balancing environmental and economic considerations. A case study of the Port of Oakland illustrates the tendency. For four years, plans to find an environmentally acceptable site for dredged material have been stymied by a sequence of inconclusive regulatory and judicial proceedings. Meanwhile, large container ships can enter and leave Oakland harbor only at high tide, and not fully loaded. Despite the absence of any authoritative determination concerning environmental risks, the port was compelled to accede to progressively more expensive disposal methods. Such “adversarial legalism”; is not unique to the Oakland harbor case, but recurs in other policy spheres. It stems from a governmental structure that fragments decision‐making power among many agencies, that constrains regulatory discretion with legal demands for scientific certainty, and that by allowing agency decisions to be challenged readily in court, encourages legalistic defensiveness and extortion rather than compromise. The article concludes with a discussion of the conditions under which regional planning bodies might overcome these centrifugal tendencies.     

W钢带补强隧道衬砌缺陷施工技术

以新建铁路贵阳枢纽白云至龙里北联络线龙洞堡机场隧道施工为例,详细介绍了隧道二次衬砌补强缺陷整治的原则、材料要求、方法及措施、施工工艺,重点阐述了嵌W钢带配碳纤维布整治隧道二衬缺陷的方法及工艺,对地下工程病害及缺陷整治可起到借鉴作用,对今后类似地下工程的施工具有一定的参考价值。     

砂岩隧道洞渣集料在宜巴高速公路中的应用

为探讨宜巴太阳岭砂岩洞渣用作混凝土集料的可行性,对母岩抗压饱和强度、物理化学成分、碱活性进行分析,采用简化砂、石联产工艺生产出砂岩碎石、机制砂并对其基本技术指标进行检测.研究表明,该砂岩洞渣为硬质砂岩,加工的碎石、机制砂可满足混凝土集料技术指标要求.以宜巴高速公路为依托,成功地将砂岩集料配制的混凝土应用于隧道二衬与桥梁桩基、墩柱.     

Haptic steering support for driving near the vehicle’s handling limits; skid-pad case

Current vehicle dynamic control systems from simple yaw control to high-end active steering support systems are designed to primarily actuate on the vehicle itself, rather than stimulate the driver to adapt his/her inputs for better vehicle control. The driver though dictates the vehicle’s motion, and centralizing him/her in the control loop is hypothesized to promote safety and driving pleasure. Exploring the above statement, the goal of this study is to develop and evaluate a haptic steering support when driving near the vehicle’s handling limits (Haptic Support Near the Limits; HSNL). The support aims to promote the driver’s perception of the vehicle’s behaviour and handling capacity (the vehicle’s internal model) by providing haptic (torque) cues on the steering wheel. The HSNL has been evaluated in (a) driving simulator tests and (b) tests with a vehicle (Opel Astra G/B) equipped with a variable steering feedback torque system. Drivers attempted to achieve maximum velocity while trying to retain control in a circular skid-pad. In the simulator (a) 25 subjects drove a vehicle model parameterised as the Astra on a dry skid-pad while in (b) 17 subjects drove the real Astra on a wet skid-pad. Both the driving simulator and the real vehicle tests led to the conclusion that the HSNL assisted subjects to drive closer to the designated path while achieving effectively the same speed. With the HSNL the drivers operated the tires in smaller slip angles and hence avoided saturation of the front wheels’ lateral forces and excessive understeer. Finally, the HSNL reduced their mental and physical demand.     

十载风雨 海事助推太仓古港新远航

这里,是六百多年前,郑和率船队七下西洋的起航地;这里,号称七百年前的"六国码头"、"天下第一码头"。这就是江苏太仓,位于长江三角洲冲积平原上,与崇明岛隔江相望,是长江入沪前的最后一道关口。2001年1月18日,江苏太仓海事处挂牌成立。自此,太仓海事人牢牢抓住国家加快内河航运发展,江苏     

链斗卸船机整机吊装上岸方法研究

在不能采用滚装牵引上岸的情况下,通过制定科学的工艺方案和严格施工,实现了两台链斗卸船机的整机吊装上岸就位,做到了保证施工进度和基本不影响港口正常生产.     

Road Traffic Demand Elasticity Estimates: A Review

A brief summary of road traffic‐related elasticity estimates as reported in the international literature is given. An indication of the orders of magnitude of these elasticities is outlined and the variation in estimates commonly found is emphasized. The results of previous extensive surveys are collated, but a wider scope of traffic‐related research is provided by reviewing recent work and including research that has received less attention. A variety of elasticity measures related to car travel, car ownership, freight traffic and fuel demand are reported. Based on the review, some important themes underpinning the demand for road traffic are revealed.