A narratological analysis of spatial elements in The Metamorphosis

This paper discusses about the significance of space in the expression of the main themes in Kafka＇s novel The Metamorphosis. By applying Bal＇s basic narratology concepts on space, 2 spatial elements are analyzed in the paper： the contrast of inside and outside, as well as the ＂filling in＂ of space, both of which serve to express human beings＇ isolation and desertion in an indifferent society.

The key spatial elements and high-density development of urban peninsula:A discussion on the relationship between core and cape

Urban peninsulas are an important category with distinctive geographical characteristics in the history of human settlements.Despite their time-honored development,abundant cultural accumulation,and developed water transportation,a considerable number of world-famous urban peninsulas demonstrate a remarkable feature of high-density development because of their limited space for expansion.Based on the in-depth analysis of the connotation and features of urban peninsulas,this study summarizes five basic elements concerning the space of urban peninsulas,namely,capes,boundaries,networks,nodes,and cores.On the basis of these five elements,different high-density developmental modes of urban peninsulas are construed to provide a reference model for the location,density control,and urban structure of high-rise building clusters in peninsulas and further reveal the significance and value of high-rise buildings in shaping the special urban form of peninsulas.

An Artificial Neural Network-Based Response Surface Method for Reliability Analyses of c-φ Slopes with Spatially Variable Soil

This paper presents an artificial neural network（ANN）-based response surface method that can be used to predict the failure probability of c-φslopes with spatially variable soil.In this method,the Latin hypercube sampling technique is adopted to generate input datasets for establishing an ANN model;the random finite element method is then utilized to calculate the corresponding output datasets considering the spatial variability of soil properties;and finally,an ANN model is trained to construct the response surface of failure probability and obtain an approximate function that incorporates the relevant variables.The results of the illustrated example indicate that the proposed method provides credible and accurate estimations of failure probability.As a result,the obtained approximate function can be used as an alternative to the specific analysis process in c-φslope reliability analyses.

Analysis of Tibetan Cities and Towns in Sichuan——A Case Study of Traditional Tibetan Settlements in Gengqing Town, Dege County

Tibetan area is a region consisting of different nationalities and cultures,it has special settlement forms.Dege is a historic and cultural center of Kangba area,local architecture has profound cultural background,it is an important representative of traditional Tibetan buildings in Sichuan.This paper explored the forms of Tibetan forms and architectural spaces,summarized architectural features of Tibetan folk dwellings in Sichuan,and studied formation and evolution of traditional settlements in Gengqing Town in an all-around way.

A new beam element for analyzing geometrical and physical nonlinearity

Based on Timoshenko＇s beam theory and Vlasov＇s thin-walled member theory, a new model of spatial thin-walled beam element is developed for analyzing geometrical and physical nonlinearity, which incorporates an interior node and independent interpolations of bending angles and warp and takes diversified factors into consideration, such as traverse shear deformation, torsional shear deformation and their coupling, coupling of flexure and torsion, and the second shear stress. The geometrical nonlinear strain is formulated in updated Lagarange （UL） and the corresponding stiffness matrix is derived. The perfectly plastic model is used to account for physical nonlinearity, and the yield rule of von Mises and incremental relationship of Prandtle-Reuss are adopted. Elastoplastic stiffness matrix is obtained by numerical integration based on the finite segment method, and a finite element program is compiled. Numerical examples manifest that the proposed model is accurate and feasible in the analysis of thin-walled structures.

SIMULATION OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CLIMATIC ELEMENTS IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS

In this paper,an effective method of simulating the spatial distribution of climatic elements in mountainous areas by using the semi-empirical theory is presented.As an example,the spatial distributions of temperature, vapor pressure,relative humidity,wind speed and precipitation in the Jianyang region and the Shaxi basin of Fujian Province are computed with this method,and the simulated results are in good agreement with the observations.

Integrating eye-movement analysis and the semantic differential method to analyze the visual effect of a traditional commercial block in Hefei, China

Eye-movement analysis was adopted to evaluate the visual perception of Chinese traditional commercial blocks,and the Chenghuangmiao block in Hefei,China,was selected as a typical case.Eye-movement data from 40 respondents viewing 14 sample pictures were recorded.The spatial elements of the sample pictures,including landmarks and commercial brands,were further extracted to analyze the visual characteristics of spatial elements and the factors that affect the respondents’perceptions of those elements.Then,the semantic differential method was used to analyze the relationship between visual preferences and psychological perceptions of spatial elements.Seventeen pairs of opposing adjectives were selected to score the intrinsic properties and visitors,feelings of spaces.The software SPSS 22.0 was used to analyze these data.Results showed that distinctive spatial elements,such as street corridors,Ma Tau Walls,and various landmarks,were the most visually attractive.In addition,the location of a given element within a picture was an important factor affecting eye movements.On this basis,strategies for improving spatial-visual effects are proposed.The strategies include emphasizing the visual characteristics of different spatial elements,considering the overall layout of spatial elements,and creating diversified spaces based on different spatial categories.