Private mobile phones and public communication drums in rural Papua New Guinea

The voice of a traditional communication drum can be heard over great distances. Yet now in Papua New Guinea (PNG) it is hearing, by phone, the voice of a loved one who has moved far away from home for work, marriage or studies that brings the greatest delight. As recently as 2007, most areas of this Pacific island nation had no form of telephony available. Apart from radio, modern communication forms have been restricted predominantly to the urban areas where only a small percentage of the people reside. Landline telephones, television, Internet, facsimile machines and so on have never reached the majority of the inhabited areas...

Identification methods of key contributing factors in crashes with high numbers of fatalities and injuries in China

Objectives In China, “serious road traffic crashes” (SRTCs) are those in which there are 10-30 fatalities, 50-100 serious injuries or a total cost of 50-100 million RMB ($US8-16m), and “particularly serious road traffic crashes” (PSRTCs) are those which are more severe or costly. Due to the large number of fatalities and injuries as well as the negative public reaction they elicit, SRTCs and PSRTCs have become great concerns to China during recent years. The aim of this study is to identify the main factors contributing to these road traffic crashes and to propose preventive measures to reduce their number. Methods 49 contributing factors of the SRTCs and PSRTCs that occurred from 2007 to 2013 were collected from the database “In-depth Investigation and Analysis System for Major Road traffic crashes” (IIASMRTC) and were analyzed through the integrated use of principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering to determine the primary and secondary groups of contributing factors. Results Speeding and overloading of passengers were the primary contributing factors, featuring in up to 66.3% and 32.6% of accidents respectively. Two secondary contributing factors were road-related: lack of or nonstandard roadside safety infrastructure, and slippery roads due to rain, snow or ice. Conclusions The current approach to SRTCs and PSRTCs is focused on the attribution of responsibility and the enforcement of regulations considered relevant to particular SRTCs and PSRTCs. It would be more effective to investigate contributing factors and characteristics of SRTCs and PSRTCs as a whole, to provide adequate information for safety interventions in regions where SRTCs and PSRTCs are more common. In addition to mandating of a driver training program and publicisation of the hazards associated with traffic violations, implementation of speed cameras, speed signs, markings and vehicle-mounted GPS are suggested to reduce speeding of passenger vehicles, while increasing regular checks by traffic police and passenger station staff, and improving transportation management to increase income of contractors and drivers are feasible measures to prevent overloading of people. Other promising measures include regular inspection of roadside safety infrastructure, and improving skid resistance on dangerous road sections in mountainous areas.

E-learning in a rural context: Alternative media and contemporary applications

This report has been written as part of the E-ruralnet –project that addresses e-learning as a means for enhancing lifelong learning opportunities in rural areas, with emphasis on SMEs, micro-enterprises, self-employed and persons seeking employment. E-ruralnet is a European network project part-funded by the European Commission in the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Transversal projects-ICT. This report aims to address two issues identified as requiring attention in the previous Observatory study: firstly, access to e-learning for rural areas that have not adequate ICT infrastructure; and secondly new learning approaches introduced through new interactive ICT tools such as web 2.0., wikis, podcasts etc. The possibility of using alternative technology in addition to computers is examined (mobile telephones, DVDs) as well as new approaches to learning (simulation, serious games). The first part of the report examines existing literature on e-learning and what e-learning is all about. Institutional users, learners and instructors/teachers are all looked at separately. We then turn to the implementation of e-learning from the organizational point of view and focus on quality issues related to e-learning. The report includes a separate chapter or e-learning from the rural perspective since most of Europe is geographically speaking rural and the population in those areas is that which could most benefit from the possibilities introduced by the e-learning development. The section titled “Alternative media”, in accordance with the project terminology, looks at standalone technology that is of particular use to rural areas without proper internet connection. It also evaluates the use of new tools and media in e-learning and takes a look at m-learning. Finally, the use of games, serious games and simulations in learning is considered. Practical examples and cases are displayed in a box to facilitate pleasant reading.

European aspen and hybrid aspen under changing environment : Leaf traits, growth and litter decomposition

Understanding the responses of species and ecosystems to human-induced global environmental change has become a high research priority. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate how certain environmental factors that relate to global change affect European aspen (Populus tremula), a keystone species in boreal forests, and hybrid aspen (P. tremula × P. tremuloides), cultivated in commercial plantations. The main points under consideration were the acclimatization potential of aspen through changes in leaf morphology, as well as effects on growth, leaf litter chemistry and decomposition. The thesis is based on two experiments, in which young aspen (< 1 year) were exposed either to an atmospheric pollutant [elevated ozone (O3)] or variable resource availability [water, nitrogen (N)]; and two field studies, in which mature trees (> 8 years) were growing in environments exposed to multiple environmental stress factors (roadside and urban environments). The field studies included litter decomposition experiments. The results show that young aspen, especially the native European aspen, was sensitive to O3 in terms of visible leaf injuries. Elevated O3 resulted in reduced biomass allocation to roots and accelerated leaf senescence, suggesting negative effects on growth in the long term. Water and N availability modified the frost hardening of young aspen: High N supply, especially when combined with drought, postponed the development of frost hardiness, which in turn may predispose trees to early autumn frosts. This effect was more pronounced in European aspen. The field studies showed that mature aspen acclimatized to roadside and urban environments by producing more xeromorphic leaves. Leaf morphology was also observed to vary in response to interannual climatic variation, which further indicates the ability of aspen for phenotypic plasticity. Intraspecific variation was found in several of the traits measured, although intraspecific differences in response to the abiotic factors examined were generally small throughout the studies. However, some differences between clones were found in sensitivity to O3 and the roadside environment. Aspen leaf litter decomposition was retarded in the roadside environment, but only initially. By contrast, decomposition was found to be faster in the urban than the rural environment throughout the study. The higher quality of urban litter (higher in N, lower in lignin and phenolics), as well as higher temperature, N deposition and humus pH at the urban site were factors likely to promote decay. The phenotypic plasticity combined with intraspecific variation found in the studies imply that aspen has potential for withstanding environmental changes, although some global change factors, such as rising O3 levels, may adversely affect its performance. The results also suggest that the multiple environmental changes taking place in urban areas which correspond closely with the main drivers of global change can modify ecosystem functioning by promoting litter decomposition, mediated partly by alterations in leaf litter quality.

Expediency of Penetration Ratio and Evaluation of Mean Throughput for Safety and Commercial Applications in VANETs

Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) applications are principally categorized into safety and commercial applications. Efficient traffic management for routing an emergency vehicle is of paramount importance in safety applications of VANETs. In the first case, a typical example of a high dense urban scenario is considered to demonstrate the role of penetration ratio for achieving reduced travel time between source and destination points. The major requirement for testing these VANET applications is a realistic simulation approach which would justify the results prior to actual deployment. A Traffic Simulator coupled with a Network Simulator using a feedback loop feature is apt for realistic simulation of VANETs. Thus, in this paper, we develop the safety application using traffic control interface (TraCI), which couples SUMO (traffic simulator) and NS2 (network simulator). Likewise, the mean throughput is one of the necessary performance measures for commercial applications of VANETs. In the next case, commercial applications have been considered wherein the data is transferred amongst vehicles (V2V) and between roadside infrastructure and vehicles (I2V), for which the throughput is assessed.

The effect of particle size on performance of cathode materials of Li-ion batteries

Beginning with the ‘frog-leg experiment’ by Galvani (1786), followed by the demonstrations of Volta pile by Volta (1792) and lead-acid accumulator by Plante´ (1859), several battery chemistries have been developed and realized commercially. The development of lithium-ion rechargeable battery in the early 1990s is a breakthrough in the science and technology of batteries. Owing to its high energy density and high operating voltage, the Li-ion battery has become the battery of choice for various portable applications such as note-book computers, cellular telephones, camcorders, etc. Huge efforts are underway in succeeding the development of large size batteries for electric vehicle applications. The origin of lithium-ion battery lies in the discovery that Li+-ions can reversibly be intercalated into/de-intercalated from the Van der Walls gap between graphene sheets of carbon materials at a potential close to the Li/Li+ electrode. By employing carbon as the negative electrode material in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the problems associated with metallic lithium in rechargeable lithium batteries have been mitigated. Complimentary investigations on intercalation compounds based on transition metals have resulted in establishing LiCoO2 as the promising cathode material. By employing carbon and LiCoO2, respectively, as the negative and positive electrodes in a non-aqueous lithium-salt electrolyte,a Li-ion cell with a voltage value of about 3.5 V has resulted.Subsequent to commercialization of Li-ion batteries, a number of research activities concerning various aspects of the battery components began in several laboratories across the globe. Regarding the positive electrode materials, research priorities have been to develop different kinds of active materials concerning various aspects such as safety, high capacity, low cost, high stability with long cycle-life, environmental compatibility,understanding relationships between crystallographic and electrochemical properties. The present review discusses the published literature on different positive electrode materials of Li-ion batteries, with a focus on the effect of particle size on electrochemical performance.

Assessing the accessibility of everyday products

If a product is being designed to be genuinely inclusive, then the designers need to be able to assess the level of exclusion of the product that they are working on and to identify possible areas of improvement. To be of practical use, the assessments need to be quick, consistent and repeatable. The aim of this workshop is to invite attendees to participate in the evaluation of a number of everyday objects using an assessment technique being considered by the workshop organisers. The objectives of the workshop include evaluating the effectiveness of the assessment method, evaluating the accessibility of the products being assessed and to suggest revisions to the assessment scales being used. The assessment technique is to be based on the ONS capability measures [1]. This source recognises fourteen capability scales of which seven are particularly pertinent to product evaluation, namely: motion, dexterity, reach and stretch, vision, hearing, communication, and intellectual functioning. Each of these scales ranges from 0 (fully able) through 1 (minimal impairment) to 10 (severe impairment). The attendees will be asked to rate the products on these scales. Clearly the assessed accessibility of the product depends on the assumptions made about the context of use. The attendees will be asked to clearly note the assumptions that they are making about the context in which the product is being assessed. For instance, with a hot water bottle, assumptions have to be made about the availability of hot water and these can affect the overall accessibility rating. The workshop organisers will not specify the context of use as the aim is to identify how assessors would use the assessment method in the real world. The objects being assessed will include items such as remote controls, pill bottles, food packaging, hot water bottles and mobile telephones. the attendees will be encouraged to assess two or more products in detail. Helpers will be on hand to assist and observe the assessments. The assessments will be collated and compared and feedback about the assessment method sought from the attendees. Drawing on a preliminary review of the assessment results, initial conclusions will be presented at the end of the workshop. More detailed analyses will be made available in subsequent proceedings. It is intended that the workshop will provide workshop attendees with an opportunity to perform hands-on assessment of a number everyday products and identify features which are inclusive and those that are not. It is also intended to encourage an appreciation of the capabilities to be considered when evaluating accessibility.

沈阳城市森林生态系统健康与管理研究

本文系统研究了沈阳城市森林的布局与结构、城市森林功能、城市森林病虫害发生与树木健康状况和城市自然资源与社会经济状况等指标对沈阳城市森林生态系统健康与管理的影响。同时一，采用2种生态系统健康评价方法对沈阳城市森林生态系统健康状况进行了评价，并提出了沈阳城市森林生态系统健康管理的对策。研究结果如下：1、截至2004年末，沈阳城市森林植被覆盖率已经达到35％，城市森林林地分布基本合理，但需要进一步加强道路林地、居住区林地和城郊大面积生态林建设。2、沈阳城市森林以乔木为主，乔灌株数比为1.7：1，乔灌的覆盖度比约为7:1。3、沈阳城市森林不同类型林地中植物组成不同。公园林地中有74个属，137个种（变种）；庭院林地中有53个属，104个种（变种）；居住区林地中有45个属，81个种（变种）；道路林地中有43个属，94个种（变种）；运河风景林地中有75个属，142个种（变种）；棋盘山风景林地中有48个属，118个种（变种）。4、公园林地、庭院林地、居住区林地、道路林地和运河风景林地的Shannon一Wiener多样性指数分别为2.78、3.05、3.15、3.18和3.18，均匀度指数分别为0.56、0.66、0.72、0.70和0.64。除了棋盘山风景林地外，沈阳城市森林中栽植总量超过乔木总量5％的乔木树种有7个属，分别为李、柳树、杨树、桧柏、榆树、槐树和银杏，7种树木总量达到了全部乔木总量的82.09％；栽植总量超过灌木总量5％的灌木树种也有7个属，分别为水腊、丁香、李属，小聚、玫瑰、忍冬和连翘，7个属灌木总量达到了全部灌木总量的87.92％。5、公园林地、庭院林地、道路林地和防护林地中OBH＜20cm、20cm＜DBH＜60cm和DBH＞60cm树木的比例分别为：57.9％、40.0％、2.1％，49.2％、47.8％、3.0％，65.3％、33.1％、1.6％和64.6％、34.9％、0.5％，表明沈阳城市森林树木的规格总体上偏小。6、经样方调查和CITYgreen模型计算，沈阳城市森林的生态效益约2.0亿USD／yr.。公园林地、庭院林地和风景林地的景观指标相对较高；道路林地和居住区林地的景观效果一般；防护林地的景观效果较差。7、目前已经发现的沈阳城市森林病害约600余种，虫害约700余种，其中杨树主要病虫害39种，柳树的主要病虫害有33种，榆树和槐树的主要病虫害均为，1种。杨柳树腐烂病、光肩星天牛、天幕毛虫、桃红颈天牛和美国白蛾等是近10年来沈阳城市森林中普遍发生和造成严重危害的主要病虫害。沈阳城市森林主要树木的平均健康指数为2.68，处于一般健康状态。8、沈阳城市森林的土壤和水资源状况均不利于树木的健康生长，沈阳的社会经济发展也有待于进一步提高。9、经过生物指示物法（光肩星天牛为生物指示物）、专家权重法、公众问卷调查和对比研究，沈阳城市森林生态系统总体上处于亚健康状态。10、通过对沈阳城市森林资源、管理状况的调查研究和健康状况的评价，本文提出了沈阳城市森林生态系统健康管理的对策，包括合理规划沈阳城市森林林地布局，增加道路林地、居住区林地和城郊林地的面积和植被覆盖率；调整树木种类组成，避免单一或少数树种的大量栽植，提高生物多样性水平；保护大树和古树；增加城市森林管理资金的投入；应用先进技术，采取科学的病虫害防治和植物养护方法，促进树木的健康生长等。This project systematically studied the urban forest ecosystem health and management in Shenyang. The study explored factors, such as urban forest structure, distribution, pests, aesthetic value, ecological benefit, natural resources and socieo-economic status, that affecting the urban forest ecosystem health and management. Two methods were used to evaluate the ecosystem health. This project also proposed Shenyang's urban forest ecosystem health management strategies. The research results can be summarized as follows: 1. As of the end of 2004, urban forest coverage in Shenyang is about 35%, and is in relatively even patch distribution pattern. However, the street trees and roadside forest patches, residential block forest patches should be enhanced. 2. Trees are the major component of the Shenyang s urban forest, followed by shrubs. The quantity ratio of tree to shrub is about 1.7:1, and the coverage ratio of trees to shrub is about 7:1. 3. Species composition varies by location. There are 74 genera, 137 species (including varieties) in the public parks; 53 genera, 104 species (and var.) in the green spaces of the institution (including school), factory, and company; 45 genera, 81 species (var.) in residential blocks; 43 genera, 94 species (var.) in streets and roadside forest patches; 75 genera, 142 species (var.) in the Canal landscape forest patches; 48 genera, 118 species (var.) in the Qipan Mountain recreation forest. 4. The Shannon-Woener indices varies in parks, in institution, factory, and company yards, in streets and roadside forest patches, in residential blocks.there are 2.78, 3.05, 3.18, 3.15, 3.18, respectively; and the evenness indices are 0.56, 0.66, 0.70, 0.72, 0.64, respectively. Besides the Qipan Mountain forest patches, trees of 7 genera, Prunus spp., Salix spp., Populus spp., Sabina spp., Ulmus spp., Robinia spp. and Ginkgo biloba are of more than 5% the total urban trees, respectively. In fact, trees from these 7 genera are about 82% of all trees in Shenyang's urban forests. In terms of shrubs, species of 7 genera, Ligustrum spp., Syringa spp., Prunus spp., Berberis spp., Rosa spp., Lonicera spp., and Forsythia spp. are more than 5% the total urban shrubs, respectively. 88% of all the shrubs in Shenyang s urban forest are from these 7 genera. 5. The diameter class of DBH<20cm, 20cm60cm of trees in parks, in institution, factory, and company yards, in in streets and roadside forests, and in protective forests are 57.9%, 40.0%, 2.1%; 49.2%, 47.8%, 3.0%; 65.3%, 33.1%, 1.6%; and 64.6%, 34.9%, 0.5%, respectively. The result indicated that the DBH is relatively small in Shenyang s urban forests. 6. Using random plots sampling and CITYgreen model calculation, the ecological benefit of Shenyang's urban is about 0.2 billion US dollars per year. The aesthetic value of parks, institution and company yards, and scenary forest patches is relative high; however, the aesthetic value of protective forest patches is low. 7. There are more than 600 types of diseases and more than 700 kinds of insects in Shenyang's urban forest. Among them, Populus spp., Salix spp., Ulmus spp. and Robinia spp., are attached mainly by 39, 33, 11, and 11, difference types of pests respectively. The rot disease of the Populus spp. and Salix spp., and the insects such as, Anoplophora glabripennis, Malacosoma neustria, Aromia bungii, and Hyphantria cunea are major pests in Shenyang s urban forest for the past 10 years. The trees health condition is relatively poor by having the average health index of 2.68 for major species. 8. The urban soil and water resource are not favorable to tree's growth in Shenyang, and so is the socieo-economic status. 9. Through using bio-indicator, professional and public evaluation, and comparision with other urban forests, it can be concluded that the status of Shenyang s urban forest is not very healthy in general. 10. To improve the urban forest ecosystem health in Shenyang, a better urban forest design need to be implemented to enhance the area and vegetation coverage of the street and roadside forests, the residential block forests, and the surburb forest Species biodiversity need to be enhanced by adjust the species composition of urban forest trees to reduce the single or several tree species populations and to plant more varieties. A better fundings for urban forest health management need to be budgeted. Advanced technologies in tree care and scientific measures to control pests need to be adopted to prove better care for plants and to keep trees grow healthfully.

Sectoral impacts on the diversity of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and their associated ecosystem service of biocontrol

This thesis aimed to provide an understanding of how human-induced changes in the economic sectors of agriculture and transport affect carabid diversity, potential carabidmediated biocontrol and predator-pest interactions. The research involved both observational and manipulative laboratory and field-based studies. Observational research consisted of two large-scale investigations of (1) the impact of Miscanthus and oilseed rape production (n=45) and (2) the impact of horticultural and ecological based landscaping of roadside verges (n=64). This research is the first record of carabid diversity, potential biocontrol and community assemblage with respect to bioenergy crop production and roadside landscaping in an Irish context and it is also an important addition to the limited knowledge of carabid populations in these ecosystems internationally. Manipulative work involved the examination of the role predator identity, diversity and biomass play in the suppression of pollen beetle larvae (an economically damaging insect pest of oilseed rape in Europe), using a novel experimental design called ‘simplex’. To complement this research, an additional field study on the impact of low and high oilseed rape pesticide management on carabid species richness and abundance, and crop yield, was also conducted. This research is a great contribution to the existing understanding of what constitutes the important components of predator biodiversity and expands the knowledge of the usefulness of carabid predators in the context of pollen beetle larvae control. In particular, the work shows that the abundance or biomass of beetles has an effect that is far larger than the effect of diversity on the capacity of beetles to consume prey. In turn, the field study showed that pesticide applications had little impact on yield, or carabid richness, but that carabid abundance/biomass declined drastically. The work provides compelling evidence that management practices erode the useful components of biodiversity that are essential for the delivery of biocontrol services.

A navigation and object location device for the blind

Gemstone Team Vision

Spatial variability of air pollution in the vicinity of a permanent monitoring station in central Paris

The strong spatial and temporal variability of traffic-related air pollution detected at roadside locations in a number of European cities has raised the question of how representative the site and time period of air quality measurements actually can be. To address this question, a 7-month sampling campaign was carried out on a major road axis (Avenue Leclerc) leading to a very busy intersection (Place Basch) in central Paris, covering the surroundings of a permanent air quality monitoring station. This station has recorded the highest CO and NOx concentrations during recent years in the region of Paris. Diffusive BTX samplers as well as a mobile monitoring unit equipped with real-time CO, NOx and O3 analysers and meteorological instruments were used to reveal the small-scale pollution gradients and their temporal trends near the permanent monitoring station. The diffusive measurements provided 7-day averages of benzene, toluene, xylene and other hydrocarbons at different heights above the ground and distances from the kerb covering summer and winter periods. Relevant traffic and meteorological data were also obtained on an hourly basis. Furthermore, three semiempirical dispersion models (STREET-SRI, OSPM and AEOLIUS) were tested for an asymmetric canyon location in Av. Leclerc. The analysis of this comprehensive data set has helped to assess the representativeness of air quality monitoring information.

An estimate of the global emissions of methyl bromide from automobile exhausts

An estimate of the annual global methyl bromide (CH3Br) emissions from automobile exhausts has been determined by extrapolating the results of a field study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK). A strong linear correlation was observed between the CH3Br and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations of roadside air in three cities. This correlation and knowledge of the UK CO emissions was used to estimate the source strength of CH3Br from automobile exhausts in the UK (0.04 ktonnes yr−1). Further extrapolations lead to a value of 1.5 ktonnes yr−1 (with an upper limit of 3.0 ktonnes yr−1) of CH3Br released globally to the atmosphere from automobile exhausts.