Compressed Natural Gas Bus Safety: A Quantitative Risk Assessment

This study assesses the fire safety risks associated with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle systems, comprising primarily a typical school bus and supporting fuel infrastructure. The study determines the sensitivity of the results to variations in component failure rates and consequences of fire events. The components and subsystems that contribute most to fire safety risk are determined. Finally, the results are compared to fire risks of the present generation of diesel-fueled school buses. Direct computation of the safety risks associated with diesel-powered vehicles is possible because these are mature technologies for which historical performance data are available. Because of limited experience, fatal accident data for CNG bus fleets are minimal. Therefore, this study uses the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) approach to model and predict fire safety risk of CNG buses. Generic failure data, engineering judgments, and assumptions are used in this study. This study predicts the mean fire fatality risk for typical CNG buses as approximately 0.23 fatalities per 100-million miles for all people involved, including bus passengers. The study estimates mean values of 0.16 fatalities per 100-million miles for bus passengers only. Based on historical data, diesel school bus mean fire fatality risk is 0.091 and 0.0007 per 100-million miles for all people and bus passengers, respectively. One can therefore conclude that CNG buses are more prone to fire fatality risk by 2.5 times that of diesel buses, with the bus passengers being more at risk by over two orders of magnitude. The study estimates a mean fire risk frequency of 2.2 x 10(-5) fatalities/bus per year. The 5% and 95% uncertainty bounds are 9.1 x 10(-6) and 4.0 x 10(-5), respectively. The risk result was found to be affected most by failure rates of pressure relief valves, CNG cylinders, and fuel piping.     

The residential home – what difference does it make?: Comparing the public systems of care for the elderly and disabled in two Swedish municipalities

Two municipalities in Sweden – Solna and Sigtuna – have taken part in a project (the ASIM project) aimed at developing a system for monitoring and analysing the public system of long-term care and assistance for elderly and disabled people. The two municipalities have chosen different alternatives in the question of residential homes. In Solna they have been retained and in Sigtuna they have been converted into sheltered housing. By separating the clients into different classes of dependence using the ASIM assessment, it is shown that in Solna, compared with Sigtuna, fewer of the most dependent clients are in long-term hospital care and fewer of the high-medium category are in domiciliary care. The data were used to calculate the distribution of the clients and the average dependence on the different levels of care if Solna were to apply the care pattern of Sigtuna and vice versa.     

Public Concern About Industrial Hazards

In this paper we propose adopting a noncognitive perspective for the understanding of people's anxiety or, its opposite, feelings of security about living near hazardous industrial facilities. Results of our empirical investigations among residents of a heavily industrialized area indicate that at least four qualitatively different response patterns exist: the Secure, the Accepting, the Defensive, and the Vigilant response. In this order manifest anxiety increases, which increase is shown to be a function of the assessment of the threat, of the opportunities for personal control (specific), and of hope (generalized) to bring about a better environment by one's own action. As an application of the usefulness of this typology we discuss the various explanations for the often-observed male/female difference in anxiety regarding industrial threat.     

艺海寻踪--赖少其轶事拾缀

赖少其是当代著名的国画家、版画家、书法家、诗人.作者记叙了赖老解放后为政从艺道路上的轶事.追忆了赖老与黄宾虹、傅抱石、吴湖帆、林风眠、赵朴初等的"血火之谊";记录了赖老上世纪80年代登天台、上雁荡山、访方介堪先生、游普陀、绍兴怀故人的踪迹;描述了赖老赴美访王己千、观大千画,访巴黎浏览艺术珍品的历程;最后叙述了赖老晚年"丙寅变法"、"衰年变法",走完人生道路的最后时刻.     

重庆市农村居民点整理潜力评价探讨

以重庆市各区、县为农村居民点整理潜力评价单元,选用农村人均超标用地面积、新增耕地系数和农村居民点闲置等评价指标,采用特尔菲法确定评价指标的权重,最后以三个评价指标的综合总分值为依据,对重庆市农村居民点整理潜力进行等级划分,为全市确定农村居民点整理的重点区域、重点项目以及时序安排提供依据。     

基于GWR模型的武汉市住宅地价影响因素研究

采用文献综述法、地统计法、GWR模型等方法,在分析武汉市2004—2011年住宅地价空间分异特征的基础上,筛选影响住宅地价表现的因素构建GWR(地理加权回归)模型,探索每一影响因素对住宅地价影响力的区位差异,以期从微观区位的角度为城市规划和房地产开发提供建议。研究表明:总体而言,武汉市住宅地价空间呈现较为明显的单中心结构,并随着到市中心距离的增加呈圈层式递减;主干道、地铁及规划管制(容积率)对武汉市住宅地价表现的影响力较大;规划管制(容积率)、主干道、生活品市场及教育资源对住宅地价的影响力具有明显的空间分异特征,即以上因素对住宅地价的影响力在不同的微观区位具有统计学意义上的明显差异。     

宅基地城乡间流转研究——基于T县城镇化的调查简

T县宅基地流转市场不活跃,交易方式单一,交易价格偏低,与大城市周边农村地区宅基地交易市场的火热场面迥异。“同心圆梯度差”现象客观存在．城郊农村与偏远农村之间的差异不容忽视,偏远农村宅基地城乡间流转的条件尚不成熟。偏远农村地区宅基地向城市居民流转的渠道不畅通,相关政策和规定的限制、农村地区基础建设落后、熟人社会的排外意识、农村居民对房宅的惜售心理构成了宅基地流转的主要障碍。宅基地的使用价值优先于财产价值,保障作用重要于融资作用,宅基地城乡间流转的必要性不充分、效率性不显著。宅基地制度改革需稳妥推进．宅基地城乡间流转应以大城市周边农村地区为试点,从城郊农村向偏远农村逐步推进。同时,要借鉴土地发展权制度,对尚未实施宅基地城乡间流转政策的农村地区的居民予以补贴。对于宅基地所具有的财产价值,主要通过放开抵押、担保、出租等与宅基地的居住保障功能较为兼容的财产收益方式给予保障。     

城市生态住区建设刍议

城市生态住区是城市生态建设的重要组成部分,它对提高居民的生活环境质量、增强居民的身心健康至关重要,具有很强的生态服务功能。该文阐述了城市生态住区的概念和特征,介绍了国内外城市生态住区的建设情况,提出生态住区应包括城市生态住区物质生态层和精神生态层的建设,认为我国住区环境建设要以“改善人居环境生活质量”为起点,营造以生态学原理为指导的生态住区建设,并最终促进住区和城市的社会发展和稳定。     

中国农村居民生活用能现状、问题与应对

农村能源转型是农村现代化的重要内容,也是当前中国能源系统转型的一个短板。回顾近四十年来中国农村能源发展取得的巨大成就,能源供应呈现多元化,清洁能源普及率稳步上升;电力基础设施质量显著提升,电价大幅下降后稳定在较低水平。揭示了农村居民生活用能存在的一些问题及原因:传统能源与现代能源并存,清洁商品能用量少;清洁能源基础设施建设难度大、运行维护资金投入少;低收入水平家庭比重高,用能能力偏弱;农户对传统能源的健康风险认知落后,对不同炉具设施的质量缺乏判断能力。进一步分析了固体燃料利用造成的健康和社会经济影响,结合中国的实际情况指出了今后的重点工作领域。     

Interprofessional collaboration between residential child care and mental care practitioners: a cross-country study in six European countries

ABSTRACT

The severe mental health problems of many of the young people living in residential settings pose a great challenge and demand on child protection and mental care (MC) services. Drawing on comparative research and debates from six European countries, this study examines demands for integrated care and interprofessional collaboration practices between residential child care (RCC) and MC. In this article, research data will be brought together from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, the UK (Scotland) and Spain. In total, 61 practitioners from RCC and MC were interviewed. Given the complexity of the residential care service context and service system differences across national contexts, the original hypothesis was that this would differentiate the collaboration practices. However, the similarity between the countries is greater than anticipated. The concluding findings are organised by matrix technique into a content-analytic summary table. The main finding was that in spite of encouragement for integrated RCC, obstacles for collaboration and lack of coordination between systems remain, often related to understanding the professional role and tasks, lack of shared knowledge, attitudes and ways of communication. One significant finding in the cross-country comparison was the evident and unrealistic expectations for the ‘other’ provider to help and care.