ASSEMBLY OF MAP‐BASED STREAM NARRATIVES TO FACILITATE STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: Watershed stewardship activities throughout North America have evolved into a process that requires more involvement in planning and decision making by community stakeholders. Active involvement of all stakeholders in the process of watershed stewardship is dependent on effective exchange of information among participants, and active involvement of a wide range of stakeholders from “communities of place” as well as those from “communities of interest.” We developed a map‐based stream narrative tool as a means to: (a) assemble a wealth of incompletely documented, “traditional” ecological or natural history observations for rivers or streams; and (b) promote a higher level of active involvement by community stakeholders in contributing to information‐based, watershed management. Creation of stream narratives is intended for use as a tool to actively engage local stakeholders in the development of a more comprehensive information system to improve management for multiple stewardship objectives in watersheds. Completion of map‐based stream narrative atlases provides a valuable supplement to other independent efforts to assemble observations and knowledge about land‐based natural resources covering entire watersheds. We are confident that completion of stream narrative projects will make a valuable addition to the information and decision making tools that are currently available to the public and resource agencies interested in advancing the cause of community‐based approaches to watershed and ecosystem management.     

Application of a GIS-based stream buffer generation model to environmental policy evaluation

In this article a GIS method is presented for riparian environmental buffer generation. It integrates a scientifically tested buffer width delineation model into a GIS framework. Using the generally available data sets, it determines buffer widths in terms of local physical conditions and expected effectiveness. Technical burdens of data management, computation, and result presentation are handled by the GIS. The case study in which the method was used to evaluate the stream buffer regulations in a North Carolina county demonstrates its capability as a decision support tool to facilitate environmental policy formulation and evaluation, and environmental dispute resolution.     

3S技术在财产保险防洪救灾中的应用

分析了保险业防灾减损的研究现状,阐述了3S的技术特点及其应用领域。和如何将3S技术应用于财产保险防洪救灾领域,建立财产保险防洪救灾决策支持系统。介绍了系统的整体构架及其功能特点,该系统可与保险公司业务系统紧密结合,显示直观。同时包括保险分析、灾害分析和专题图显示等多项功能。实现了多源数据的无缝集成。因而能从理论方法和关键技术上指导保险公司的防灾减损工作。切实提高保险公司的经济效益。以深圳市为示范区,该系统在应用中取得了良好效果。     

Evaluating Nonpoint Pollution Policy Using a Tightly Coupled Spatial Decision Support System

Policy makers often must rely on the cumulative impact of independent actions taken by local landowners to achieve environmental goals. The connection between policy, regulation, and local action, however, is often not well understood and, thus, the impact of proposed policies may be difficult to predict. In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of alternative policy scenarios for agricultural set aside programs (e.g., the conservation reserve program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture) in reducing nonpoint pollution. Two alternative policy scenarios are developed and analyzed; one based on the erodibility index (detachment), the other sediment yield (transport). An estimate of the cumulative impact of associated land use change on nonpoint pollution is made using the AGNPS distributed parameter watershed model. This work is completed within the Cypress Creek watershed in southern Illinois. An analysis of the resulting data suggests that the most efficacious regulatory strategy for achieving nonpoint water pollution goals depends, in part, on place-specific land use patterns. This conclusion provides a solid argument for place-based regulatory strategies.     

低周荷载下型钢混凝土柱抗剪性能智能分析

为了研究型钢混凝土短柱的抗震性能，通过21根SRC柱在低周反复荷载作用下的剪切黏结破坏试验结果，在利用灰色关联理论进行模型输入变量选择的基础上，建立了其基于改进神经网络模型的受剪承载力分析模型，进而研究了混凝土抗压强度、腹板宽度、轴压比及箍筋间距等因素对SRC柱抗剪能力的影响规律，并对SRC柱的受剪承载力进行了预测。结果表明，所提方法能够反映受剪承载力与影响因素间的非线性变化规律，可供SRC柱在低周往复荷载作用下的受剪承载力分析参考。     

基于上海案例的大都市旅游容量及承载力研究

都市旅游容量和承载力问题是事关都市旅游可持续发展、和谐旅游环境建设的重大战略性命题。上海都市旅游发展跨入了由数量扩张向质量提升的重要转型发展期。面临警旅游容量问题的严峻挑战。都市旅游容量管理与调控是一项社会系统工程。实施旅游容量管理与调控不是剥夺或限制公民进入都市旅游和体验的权利。而是根据这种区域的极限容量阀值。疏导进入大都市的旅游流。使之保持警一种合理的、持续的容量态势发展，维系整个区域发展的可持续性。为此。要创新都市旅游容量与承载力管理的制度安排。通过都市旅游产品转型与创新、基础设施技术升级和扩能、都市旅游布局空间战略调整、区域协调与联动、实施旅游可持续指标行动等举措，进一步释放都市旅游容量及承载力潜力，缓解都市中心城区容量压力。促进都市旅游可持续发展。     

基于FTA-SVM的车辆发动机故障识别方法

发动机结构日益复杂,其故障具有多样性和频发性的特点,收集大量故障样本存在很多实施障碍。为了提高车辆发动机的故障识别的效率和准确性,提出了一种新的结合故障树(FTA)和支持向量机(SVM)各自特点,从故障模式分析到故障类型识别的FTA-SVM故障识别方法。首先利用故障树在复杂系统故障模式分析中的优势,找出系统的故障模式,建立故障树模型,通过对故障树模型中各故障事件的分析,采集与故障事件状态相关的数据,建立数据与故障树底事件的映射模型,最后利用支持向量机在小样本数据处理中的优势,进行故障类型的识别。以发动机的失火故障为例建立了发动机失火故障树模型及故障数据与故障模式映射模型,验证了FTA-SVM方法的有效性和适用性。     

Implementing SDG 15: Can large‐scale public programs help deliver biodiversity conservation,restoration and management,while assisting human development?

Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the proposed SDG 15 promotes activities that, inter alia, “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems”. An important potential contribution in achieving SDG 15 is through public programmes designed to jointly promote human development through poverty alleviation and improvement of human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation/management/restoration. An analysis of twenty public programmes with such joint objectives yielded twelve lessons learned. In addition to financial commitments, government and intergovernmental agency input for such public programmes includes ensuring political will and appropriate legal frameworks. Local communities and civil society provide input through traditional and indigenous ecological knowledge and stewardship. Appropriate shared inputs in development and the implementation of such public programmes, with communication between local community, broader civil society, the scientific community and governments will result in: better use and management of biodiversity; alleviation of poverty; security of livelihoods and better governance systems. The Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity provides an ideal framework when planning and implementing new programmes. Application of the lessons learned to new public programmes will ensure that the answer to the question posed in the title is an emphatic “Yes”, and assist with the achievement of SDG 15.     

The role of situation awareness in accidents of large-scale technological systems

In the last two decades, several serious accidents at large-scale technological systems that have had grave consequences, such as that at Bhopal, have primarily been attributed to human error. However, further investigations have revealed that humans are not the primary cause of these accidents, but have inherited the problems and difficulties of working with complex systems created by engineers. The operators have to comprehend malfunctions in real time, respond quickly, and make rapid decisions to return operational units to normal conditions, but under these circumstances, the mental workload of operators rises sharply, and a mental workload that is too high increases the rate of error. Therefore, cognivitive human features such as situation awareness (SA)—one of the most important prerequisite for decision-making—should be considered and analyzed appropriately. This paper applys the SA Error Taxonomy methodology to analyze the role of SA in three different accidents: (1) A runaway chemical reaction at Institute, West Virginia killing two employees, injuring eight people, and requiring the evacuation of more than 40,000 residents adjacent to the facility, (2) The ignition of a vapor cloud at Bellwood, Illinois that killed one person, injured two employees, and caused significant business interruption, and (3) An explosion at Ontario, California injuring four workers and caused extensive damage to the facility. In addition, the paper presents certain requirements for cognitive operator support system development and operator training under abnormal situations to promote operators’ SA in the process industry.