Validation of auditory detection response task method for assessing the attentional effects of cognitive load

Objectives: There are 3 standardized versions of the Detection Response Task (DRT), 2 using visual stimuli (remote DRT and head-mounted DRT) and one using tactile stimuli. In this article, we present a study that proposes and validates a type of auditory signal to be used as DRT stimulus and evaluate the proposed auditory version of this method by comparing it with the standardized visual and tactile version.

Methods: This was a within-subject design study performed in a driving simulator with 24 participants. Each participant performed 8 2-min-long driving sessions in which they had to perform 3 different tasks: driving, answering to DRT stimuli, and performing a cognitive task (n-back task). Presence of additional cognitive load and type of DRT stimuli were defined as independent variables. DRT response times and hit rates, n-back task performance, and pupil size were observed as dependent variables.

Results: Significant changes in pupil size for trials with a cognitive task compared to trials without showed that cognitive load was induced properly. Each DRT version showed a significant increase in response times and a decrease in hit rates for trials with a secondary cognitive task compared to trials without. Similar and significantly better results in differences in response times and hit rates were obtained for the auditory and tactile version compared to the visual version. There were no significant differences in performance rate between the trials without DRT stimuli compared to trials with and among the trials with different DRT stimuli modalities.

Conclusions: The results from this study show that the auditory DRT version, using the signal implementation suggested in this article, is sensitive to the effects of cognitive load on driver's attention and is significantly better than the remote visual and tactile version for auditory–vocal cognitive (n-back) secondary tasks.     

突发事件下多种信息交互传播的动力机制与调控策略

针对突发事件下多种信息共存情境中信息交互传播的调控问题,首先界定了该情境中“涌现→传播”过程的组成要素,建立了信息交互关系框架及其系统动力学模型;其次,通过设计和仿真基础情景,将仿真结果与案例进行对比,检验模型的模拟趋势与现实状况的一致性;最后,通过设计和仿真实验情景,考查决策者的关键可控因素对系统演化的影响。研究结果表明:官方渠道所发布信息的可信度、平均个体传播量及群体的立场认知水平,与相信和传播官方渠道信息的人数均正相关,而与相信和传播民间渠道信息的人数均负相关;对各群体数量演化影响的显著性而言,官方渠道信息的平均个体传播量最高,官方渠道信息的可信度次之,群体的立场认知水平较低。     

公路隧道施工安全风险评估方法优化研究

我国在建公路隧道工程数量增长迅速,施工安全事故时有发生,因此通过风险评估实现施工过程的风险控制就显得非常重要。在此背景下,交通运输部出台了《公路桥梁和隧道工程施工安全风险评估指南（试行）》,而在实际应用过程中,该评估指南无法完全适应多变的工程实际。针对该问题,在对隧道施工安全风险评估的各类评估方法及其适用性进行详细研究的基础上,将该评估指南与国内外其他相关成果和做法进行分析比对,指出该评估指南存在的不足之处,进一步提出相关优化与修订建议;最后,以湖南某高速公路隧道洞口坍塌事故为例,利用提出的施工前专项风险评估方法,综合运用数值模拟计算与事故后果当量估计,计算相应的风险等级,所得到的结果与实际情况更为接近,进一步说明本文所提优化方法的合理性和可操作性。     

专业化、多样化与产业结构减贫效应的动态异质表现研究

新一轮扶贫攻坚阶段,贫困地区实现可持续减贫的关键不在于现有经济增长模式下如何提高转移支付的精度和效率,而在于真正改变贫困地区的经济发展理念,从盯住经济总量增长转向用减贫目标统领经济发展。产业结构与贫困减缓的关系影响着贫困地区产业发展的政策制定,但既往研究对何种产业结构更有助于贫困减缓没有形成共识。本文基于产业专业化和多样化视角,分析了专业化、多样化影响贫困减缓的理论机制,并利用2004—2014年中国省级面板数据,对专业化、相关多样化、不相关多样化与FGT贫困指数的关系进行了门限回归和稳健性检验。检验结果确认了产业结构减贫效应的动态异质表现:专业化的减贫效应在产品生命周期的初始和发展阶段趋于增强,并且经济密度更小、距离技术前沿更远的地区,专业化的减贫效果更显著;多样化的减贫绩效低于专业化,且相关多样化的减贫效应高于不相关多样化。细分产业来看,第三产业相关多样化比其他多样化结构更具减贫效果。贫困地区在减贫的产业结构选择上,首要目标是改善专业化程度,其次是在多样化的既定前提下,谋求相关多样化,尤其是第三产业的相关多样化。专业化和相关多样化对不同贫困群体的影响也存在差别,既往产业结构更有利于贫困线附近群体的贫困减缓,而对深度贫困群体的溢出不足。因此,在塑造合宜减贫产业结构,改善低技能劳动力需求的同时,还应辅以改善深度贫困人口劳动力供给的政策,改善其自我发展能力和经济机会,从而增强从益贫产业结构中获益的能力。     

基于云模型的太湖流域农村水环境承载力动态变化特征分析——以太湖流域镇江区域为例

农村水环境承载力的定量估算及其动态变化特征研究有助于了解农村地区水资源供需平衡和水环境质量状况,为新农村建设规划和水环境可持续发展提供科学依据。本文以太湖流域镇江区域为研究对象,结合云模型改进模糊综合评价法,构建农村水环境承载力的PSR分析框架和评估指标体系,并结合雷达图、云模型发生器分析其动态变化特征及影响因素。结果表明:云模型能够较好地表征农村水环境承载力的变化特征;农村水环境承载力对太湖流域镇江区域的工农业废水排放、供水总量和治水投入的要求更高;2010~2014年太湖流域镇江区域农村水环境承载力基本保持稳中上升的趋势,但总体处于弱承载状态,且丹阳丹徒润州京口。     

中部3省城市建设用地功能时空演化特征

定量识别区域城市建设用地功能演化特征与模式,是推进可持续城市建设用地开发利用与管理、助力新型城镇化等国家战略的重要基础。从人口承载、生产与消费、公共服务3个方面构建了城市建设用地功能评价指标体系与模型,以地级市为研究单元探究了2000~2014年期间我国中部3省多尺度城市建设用地功能演化特征与模式。研究结果表明:(1)中部3省城市建设用地人口承载、生产与消费、公共服务和综合功能总体呈改善趋势,但演化过程复杂;(2)不同尺度尤其是城市群地区城市建设用地功能演化特征差异明显。沿长江和城市群地区城市建设用地功能演化强度高,但城市群地区空间异质性较强;(3)城市建设用地功能演化以复合型演化模式为主,演化格局复杂。其中,城市建设用地人口承载功能演化模式类型最多,且局部地区呈衰退型演化格局;城市建设用地生产与消费、公共服务功能和综合功能演化模式类型相对较少,且大多集中连片分布,武汉城市建设用地综合功能加速改善型演化特征显著。如何深入探究城市建设用地功能演化模式形成机理,并系统制定多级城市建设用地可持续利用管理策略,是实现我国新型城镇化和"美丽中国梦"等战略的重要任务。     

Patterns of preference and practice: bridging actors in wildfire response networks in the American Northwest

The roles of bridging actors in emergency response networks can be important to disaster response outcomes. This paper is based on an evaluation of wildfire preparedness and response networks in 21 large‐scale wildfire events in the wildland—urban interface near national forests in the American Northwest. The study investigated how key individuals in responder networks anticipated seeking out specific people in perceived bridging roles prior to the occurrence of wildfires, and then captured who in fact assumed these roles during actual large‐scale events. It examines two plausible, but contradictory, bodies of theory—similarity and dissimilarity—that suggest who people might seek out as bridgers and who they would really go to during a disaster. Roughly one‐half of all pre‐fire nominations were consistent with similarity. Yet, while similarity is a reliable indicator of how people expect to organise, it does not hold up for how they organise during the real incident.     

Continue to blame it on the rain? Conceptualization of drought and failure of food systems in the Greater Horn of Africa

Food insecurity continues to be prevalent in parts of Africa. In December 2015, there were approximately 21.6 million food insecure people in the Horn and East Africa. Climate change is likely to exacerbate current volatility of agricultural production and lead to further food insecurity. Whilst the academic literature has acknowledged the complexity of food insecurity and systems, it is not clear to what extent this has been translated into practice. We argue that there is a tendency to explain complex failures of food systems as ‘droughts’, with insufficient attention paid to other drivers. We analyse humanitarian documents and climate outlook statements in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia and assess how these are reflected in the humanitarian responses to food insecurity in the region by analysing the financing of humanitarian operations. Our findings indicate that the continued evolution in understanding the complex causes of food insecurity and attempts to move away from emergency relief to a more sophisticated approach has not translated into an observable change in humanitarian responses. The reasons behind this persistence of short-term relief, which is being justified with reference to climatic factors, mainly drought, would warrant further research into the decision-making process that triggers humanitarian responses.

List of abbreviations: ACF: Action Contre le Faim; DCM: Drought Cycle Management; DEC: Disaster Emergency Committee; ECHO: European Commission Humanitarian Office; EU: European Union; EWS: Early Warning System; FAO: Food and Agricultural Organization; FEWSNET: Famine Early Warning System Network; FSNAU: Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit; FTS: Financial Tracking Service; GHACOF: Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum; GIEWS: Global Information and Early Warning System; IASC: Inter Agency Standing Committee; ICPAC: IGAD Climate Application and Prediction Centre; IFRC: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; IGAD: Inter-Governmental Authority on Development; IPCC: International Panel for Climate Change; LEWS: Livestock Early Warning System; ODI: Overseas Development Initiative; PASDEP: Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to Eradicate Poverty; PSNP: Productive Safety Net Programme; UNDRO: United Nations Disaster Relief Office; UNISDR: United Nations International; UN OCHA: United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; USAID: United States Agency for International Development; WFP: World Food Programme     

Reducing carbon emissions in Portugal: the relative roles of fossil fuel prices,energy efficiency,and carbon taxation

We assess the role of fossil fuel prices, energy efficiency, and carbon taxation in achieving climate policy goals using a dynamic general-equilibrium model of the Portuguese economy. Given the forecasts for international fossil fuel prices, improving energy efficiency and implementing a new carbon tax have significantly different economic and budgetary effects. Greater energy efficiency reduces emissions and has a positive economic effect, but increases public and foreign debt. A carbon tax reduces emissions at a cost for the economy, but leads to positive effects on public and foreign debt. Thus, it is important to pursue both strategies. We estimate that under the reference-price scenario, a steady energy efficiency gain of 2%–2.5% per year and a carbon tax of at least 35 € per tCO₂ are needed to achieve the stated goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 by an amount equivalent to 40% of the emissions in 1990. These views were fully integrated in a proposal presented by the Commission for Environmental Tax Reform to the Portuguese Government in September 2014, and then discussed in Parliament in November 2014, before enacting a new carbon tax on 1 January 2015.     

Triple-objective optimal sizing based on dynamic strategy for an islanded hybrid energy microgrid

A triple-objective optimal sizing method based on a dynamic strategy is presented for an islanded hybrid energy microgrid, consisting of wind turbine, solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage system and diesel generator. The dynamic strategy is given based on a dynamic complementary coordination between two different master-slave control modes for maximum renewable energy utilization. Combined with the proposed strategy, NSGA-II-based optimization program is applied to the sizing optimization problem with triple different objectives including the minimization of annualized system cost, the minimization of loss of power supply probability and the maximization of utilization ratio of renewable energy generation. The sizing results and the proposed strategy are both compared and analyzed to validate the proposed method in a real case of an islanded hybrid energy microgrid on Dong’ao Island, China.