Congestion and pollution consequences of driving-to-school trips: A case study in Beijing

Parents compete for high-quality education for their children by enrolling them in good schools. However, in a Chinese mega-city like Beijing, three factors jointly lead to the spatial separation between schools and homes: the centralized public goods provision mechanism, the historical dependency in school location, and the constrained supply of housing in downtown. Without an adequate number of school buses, this spatial separation of schools and homes triggers the numerous long-distance driving-to-school trips by private vehicle during workday morning rush hours in Beijing. We use the start and end dates of “school holiday” as exogenous repeated shocks to the aggregate traffic congestion, and employ the two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression approach to examine the congestion and pollution consequences of such driving-to-school trips in Beijing. We find that, all else being equal, workdays during school holidays have a traffic congestion index 20% lower than that of non-school-holiday workdays. Such a sharp reduction in congestion leads to a significant decrease in PM₁₀ concentration. Policymakers should lower such “extra” congestion and environmental costs via optimizing the spatial balance between school supply and demand.     

Estimation of extreme significant wave heights and the associated uncertainties: A case study using NORA10 hindcast data for the Barents Sea

The reliability of an offshore structure is dependent on its response to the extreme wave climate; therefore, an adequate knowledge of the wave climate at a location is a prerequisite during design as well as in marine operations. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the extreme wave climate in the Norwegian Sector of the Barents Sea, using wave hindcast datasets from the Norwegian Reanalysis 10 km (NORA10) database for four locations.We have considered three commonly used methods for the estimation of extreme wave heights, that is, the initial distribution method, the peak over threshold method, and the annual maxima method. The parametric bootstrap concept is considered in the estimation of the epistemic uncertainty related to sample size. The estimated 100-year significant wave heights obtained from the three methods differ, and the degree of variability in the estimates varies, depending on the dataset. The epistemic uncertainty due to sample size is wider when considering the annual maxima method.The estimates obtained from the three methods show the importance of considering different methods and their associated uncertainties when estimating extreme wave values for design. While it is difficult to single out the best method among the three, the estimated values give knowledge of the possible range of the extreme significant wave heights at the locations. Generally, the datasets considered in this study suggest that the wave climate is less harsh further north compared to the southern region of the Barents Sea. The datasets do not suggest any temporal trends in the historical significant wave heights at any of the locations.     

Public protests against the Beijing–Shenyang high-speed railway in China

With the rapid expansion of the high-speed railway infrastructure in China, conflicts arise between the interests of local citizens living along the planned tracks and the national interests of governmental authorities and project developers. This paper addresses questions of why and how Chinese citizens mobilize for and participate in protests against high-speed railway projects and to what effect. To this end, a comprehensive study was conducted on the decision-making process, public opinions, and protest actions regarding the plans and site choices for the Beijing–Shenyang high-speed railway from 2008 to 2013, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. In general, local residents are supportive of high-speed railway project construction, but they contest the closed decision-making process and the poor design and siting choices for the track by governmental authorities and companies. After four years of resident protests through formal complaints, lobbying, protest demonstrations, organizing alternative opinion polls, and discussions with authorities, citizens were partially successful in changing the siting of the track, adding protective measures (e.g., tunnels and sound screens), and saving green belts. Two conclusions can be drawn from this case study. First, regardless of the growing legal requirements, public participation in major projects in China is far from a standard practice. Final citizen participation is often preceded by serious conflict. Second, with defined good governance boundaries, there is increasing room for public participation in environmental movements, which does influence final decisions.     

“中—尼—印铁路通道”线路设计及建设可行性分析

随着我国"一带一路"倡议的推进,跨国运输通道的建设成为倡议实施的关键环节之一,而我国建设复杂地质条件下跨国基础设施的经验尚不丰富。"中—尼—印铁路通道"是一条途经尼泊尔,连接中国和印度2个大国的运输通道,基于实地考察,分析该通道建设的必要性及建成后的效益,对线路进行初步规划,并总结该通道建设的难点:铁路轨道坡度大;沿线区域地质构造复杂;周边基础设施落后,施工条件恶劣;大量深长隧道以及大跨径高桥梁;环境以及气候条件复杂。同时对沿线隧道以及桥梁的建设可行性进行分析,并给出施工建议:沿线隧道采用以TBM法为主、钻爆法为辅的施工方法;桥梁建设则因地制宜,根据不同区间的地质特点,采用相应的建设方法。     

船舶海水管系的腐蚀问题及防止措施

船舶海水管系的腐蚀问题是影响使用和维修费用的重要因素。文章针对目前海水管系腐蚀情况,主要分析了船舶管系腐蚀特点和机理,并推断了的影响腐蚀的主要因素,同时提出了几种防腐措施,可供参考。     

Prediction of Scour Depth around Offshore Pipelines in the South China Sea

Scour depth prediction of offshore pipelines is of great significance to the design and construction of the submarine pipeline projects. In this paper, based on the CFD software package FLUENT and User...     

西部公路建设与环境保护

介绍我国西部公路建设中存在的影响环境保护的几方面问题,提出如何根据各地的自然环境、生态环境、社会经济环境特点,因地制宜地解决好公路建设环境保护问题的几点建议。     

苏通大桥南塔墩承台超大体积混凝土施工温控关键技术

苏通大桥南主塔墩承台为超大体积混凝土,为防止出现温度裂缝,施工中采取了合理分层、双掺技术、内散外蓄、温度应力监测等温度控制措施,有效地控制了混凝土的最高温升和内外温差,施工后的承台质量,达到内实外美,未产生温度裂缝,并根据实际监测数据与温控理论计算进行了对比分析。     

中国与印度数学发展之对比

中国、印度是具有几千年历史的文明大国.在公元前后一千多年,数学研究皆有出色表现,其成果不少早于欧洲诸国几百年、上千年.12世纪后,由于异族入侵,印度数学衰败了.14世纪中叶,中国数学攀上研究高峰后也逐渐停滞了.两个大国近代常遭异族侵略,经过各自长期奋斗,20世纪中叶取得新生,数学发展进入新时期后,从整体上看,两个大国数学研究旗鼓相当,各有所长.但与先进国系数学发展相比差距仍大,两国规划倾力创新,期与本国经济快速发展夯实基础.     

我国现行宪法修改的特点

我国现行宪法自1982年12月颁布以来经历了1988年1、993年1、999年2、004年四次修改,宪法作为国家的根本大法,一经制定便是较具稳定性的文件,不能也不应朝令夕改.宪法的尊严性强化了它的稳定性,但随着社会政治、经济面貌的迅猛变化,就不可避免地使宪法产生某些落后于现实的地方,以至突破了宪法的承受力和能容力.因此,我国现行宪法修改有如下特点:1、宪法修改具有极强的限制性;2、宪法修改的适应性;3、宪法修改的补漏性;4、宪法修改的连续性;5、宪法修改的原则性与兼容性;6、宪法修改具有严格的程序性(不成文宪法例外);7、宪法修改的普适性.