The Mesta-Nestos river basin in Bulgaria and Greece is a case study for transboundary decision-making support in south-eastern Europe and a show-case for the development of methodologies and information-gathering for ...The Mesta-Nestos river basin in Bulgaria and Greece is a case study for transboundary decision-making support in south-eastern Europe and a show-case for the development of methodologies and information-gathering for the integrated regional planning of water resources. Land-use conflicts in this water-scarce region cover a wide spectrum of activities like agricultural irrigation, drinking water production, diversions for industrial water, and risk of pollution from mining, to name a few examples. Measurements of the water quality were carried out in the upper basin. Results will be illustrated by the example of the environmental situation in the alpine region of the Pirin National Park as well as in the Razlog Basin with a stronger anthropogenic impact and pollution around a former uranium mine near the village of Elesnica. The social and economic development of this transboundary region is a recently established priority for mean an increase in water usage the water resources if regional the future. It will and more stress for impacts of global climate change are verified. Problem-focused management of the catchment area as a whole on the basis of proved geo-data sets is needed for the future.展开更多
The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-inc...The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-income trap when their per capita GDP reached 4,000-7,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices) as a result of long-term implemented import-oriented strategy and planned economic system. Fortunately, China adopted reform and opening-up policy beginning at a lower development phase and achieved sustained high-speed growth for more than thirty years. Currently, China has surpassed the phase which the above-mentioned countries fell into the middle-income trap. On the other side, experiences of successful runner-ups show that when per capita GDP reached II,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices), economic growth speed will present regularly "natural drop ". Without internal and external shocks, China's economy is expected to reach this level by 2015 and the potential growth rate will possibly drop significantly. In this regard, China's toughest challenges will be whether it can effectively prevent and solve the financial risks accumulated during high-speed growth and make a shift to innovation-driven growth model Time is pressing for addressing the above challenges. A fundamental change in the growth model depends on the intensification of reform, in particular, the promotion of an "participatory and facilitative reform "approach.展开更多
The Cold Eddy in the East China Sea(CEECS) is located about 150 km southwest of Cheju Island.This region experiences a complex current system under the influences of the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC),the Yellow Sea Co...The Cold Eddy in the East China Sea(CEECS) is located about 150 km southwest of Cheju Island.This region experiences a complex current system under the influences of the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC),the Yellow Sea Coastal Current(YSCC),and the northward Kuroshio residual.To identify the strength of the CEECS,a simple subsurface intensity index is developed.Because the CEECS can be traced by temperature minimum,the intensity index is determined by the difference in sea temperature averaged across cores within and surrounding the region.Based on SODA,the CEECS subsurface intensity index time series can be calculated,with which the inter-annual variation of the CEECS is analyzed.展开更多
In this article the author compares the transformation of media systems of two countries belonging to the former Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe: Albania and Poland. The aim is to highlight differences that occurred in...In this article the author compares the transformation of media systems of two countries belonging to the former Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe: Albania and Poland. The aim is to highlight differences that occurred in this process, in order to show how, albeit a similar past and the belonging to the same political and economic model until 1989. The diversity of media transition explains the existence of different national ways in which post-communism developed during the last 25 years.展开更多
Brand in terms of strategy is a way of relationships between the organization and its target groups, aimed at removing a priori existing conflict. Therefore, formation of a new socio-economic brand "Carpathians", wh...Brand in terms of strategy is a way of relationships between the organization and its target groups, aimed at removing a priori existing conflict. Therefore, formation of a new socio-economic brand "Carpathians", which joins a mountain system in the eastern part of Central Europe, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, and Austria, will help create a new image of Carpathians and implementation of programs aimed at the increase of investment activities, building confidence to domestic producers and creating programs to attract tourists to the most profitable tourist areas, in particular.展开更多
The purpose of this paper is to provide an economic overview of the costs and benefits of anti-money laundering (AML) rules. After defining and explaining the three stages of money laundering, the paper provides an ...The purpose of this paper is to provide an economic overview of the costs and benefits of anti-money laundering (AML) rules. After defining and explaining the three stages of money laundering, the paper provides an insight into the volume and development of money laundering activities in the Central and Eastern Europe. It relies on international, comparative studies outlines the impact of AML measures on banks and other financial intermediaries Conditions of reporting suspicious activity and government agencies, which use these reports to identify investigation targets, are also analysed. Moreover, the paper discusses possible reasons for the failure of AML rules to fight against the crimes and collateral damage caused by AML. These figures, which are presented in this scientific research, give an indication of how important the money laundering problem and the level of organized crime are.展开更多
The paper based on the proposed integrative approach to studying music cultures of the Eastern Europe. Come to light the factors of integration promoting interference and enrichment of national musical cultures. The r...The paper based on the proposed integrative approach to studying music cultures of the Eastern Europe. Come to light the factors of integration promoting interference and enrichment of national musical cultures. The region of national composer schools actively joined in world art process in the second half of the 19th century (Czechia, Poland, and Hungary) and in the 20th century (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Macedonia) Theme of this paper is to identify the basic principles of this region. The purpose of the work, defining features of the musical cultures of the Eastern European region as a whole, also here highlights the commonality of the creative ideas of representatives of the region--Bartok, Janachek, Martinu, etc.. Method of developing is defined by their orientation to the disclosure of topic. The paper used the comparative-typological and integrated approaches and methods of analysis展开更多
Stock exchange market responses to macroeconomic fluctuations show deviations between countries in terms of direction, magnitude and duration due to the idiosyncratic characteristics of the countries. The paper empiri...Stock exchange market responses to macroeconomic fluctuations show deviations between countries in terms of direction, magnitude and duration due to the idiosyncratic characteristics of the countries. The paper empirically searches for the identification of these variations for CEECs, namely Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and also Turkey for the period of December, 1999 to December, 2009. The empirical analyses demonstrate that for each CEEC, stock exchange market responds positively to industrial production and to appreciation of local currency. Czech Republic and Hungary display negative and the rest display positive response to M1, whereas the response of stock market to CB policy rate shows mixed results for each country. Besides, foreign exchange market returns are found to be the variable with the highest significance in explaining the stock exchange market returns. These findings point out to arbitrage opportunities for investors and give insight to Monetary Policy Authorities about the Monetary Transmission Mechanisms of the countries.展开更多
This paper is concentrated on analyzing the CEE (Central and Eastern European) countries housing and lending market development in 2002-2009. These countries experienced real estate boom and bust phases during that ...This paper is concentrated on analyzing the CEE (Central and Eastern European) countries housing and lending market development in 2002-2009. These countries experienced real estate boom and bust phases during that time and the aim of this paper is to understand which of these countries have the greatest potential for housing market recovery. The study has conducted comparable analysis of these countries and their real estate and lending market. The data was collected from central banks, national statistic offices and real estate companies. The results suggest that countries with higher housing debt had stronger real estate booms and the current bust-cycle has caused much steeper decline in prices. This paper attempts to look at the CEE housing markets from the developer's or investor's point of view and may be useful for banks and other financial institutions which are related to housing market and lending.展开更多
The financial crisis has deeply affected Eastern European countries since the end of 2008. The global economic crisis put an end to a period when the region witnessed solid economic growth, high inflows of foreign inv...The financial crisis has deeply affected Eastern European countries since the end of 2008. The global economic crisis put an end to a period when the region witnessed solid economic growth, high inflows of foreign investment and a dynamic real estate sector, which was one of the main drivers of the region's economic growth (Abelson, Kaemar, & Jackofsky, 1990). The Eastern European real estate market was deeply impacted by the crisis. Investment in real estate dropped sharply due to the significant increase in risks and difficulties in financial borrowing (Bruce, 1991). Rising unemployment affected retail sales, as well as office net absorption. Take-up fell significantly in all markets: Transactions were of smaller size and demand for buildings decreased. On the supply side, vacancy increased sharply due to the high level of completions entering the market (Smith, 1992). The strong rise in vacancy rates has put pressure on rents, which dropped sharply in 2008 and in early 2009. They started to stabilize only by the end of 2009. How will the Romanian real estate market evolve? No one knows for certain. Through this work we try to get some predictions based on statistical theory and not on the lessons learned from other crises.展开更多
A machine-learning(ML)model,the light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM),was constructed to simulate the variation in the summer(June-July-August)heatwave frequency(HWF)over eastern Europe(HWFUR)and to analyze the co...A machine-learning(ML)model,the light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM),was constructed to simulate the variation in the summer(June-July-August)heatwave frequency(HWF)over eastern Europe(HWFUR)and to analyze the contributions of various lower-boundary climate factors to the HWFUR variation.The examined lower-boundary climate factors were those that may contribute to the HWFUR variation—namely,the sea surface temperature,soil moisture,snow-cover extent,and sea-ice concentration from the simultaneous summer,preceding spring,and winter.These selected climate factors were significantly correlated to the summer HWFUR variation and were used to construct the ML model.Both the hindcast simulation of HWF EUR for the period 1981-2020 and its real-time simulation for the period 2011-2020,which used the constructed ML model,were investigated.To evaluate the contributions of the climate factors,various model experiments using different combinations of the climate factors were examined and compared.The results indicated that the LightGBM model had comparatively good performance in simulating the HWFUR variation.The sea surface temperature made more contributions to the ML model simulation than the other climate factors.Further examination showed that the best ML simulation was that which used the climate factors in the preceding winter,suggesting that the lower-boundary conditions in the preceding winter may be critical in forecasting the summer HWFUR variation.展开更多
CSP (concentrating solar power) is a commercially available renewable energy technology capable of harnessing the immense solar resource in southern Europe, the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), and else...CSP (concentrating solar power) is a commercially available renewable energy technology capable of harnessing the immense solar resource in southern Europe, the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), and elsewhere. This paper summarises the findings of a study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council which has examined the current status and development challenges of CSP, and consequently has evaluated the potential contribution of CSP in Europe and the MENA region to 2050. It identifies the actions that will be required by scientists, engineers, policy makers, politicians, business and investors alike, to enable this vast solar resource to make a major contribution to establishing a sustainable energy system. The study concludes that cost reductions of 50%-60% in CSP electricity may reasonably be expected in the next 10-15 years, enabling the technology to be cost competitive with fossil-fired power generation at some point between 2020 and 2030. Incorporation of storage delivers added value in enabling CSP to deliver dispatchable power. Incentive schemes will be needed in Europe and MENA countries to enable this point to be achieved. Such schemes should reflect the true value of electricity to the grid, effectively drive research and development, and ensure transparency of performance and cost data.展开更多
The Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains have similar spatial contexts.The elevation,latitude,and moisture gradients of both mountain ranges offer regional insight for investigating the vegetation dynamics...The Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains have similar spatial contexts.The elevation,latitude,and moisture gradients of both mountain ranges offer regional insight for investigating the vegetation dynamics in eastern Eurasia and eastern North America.We determined and compared the spatial patterns and temporal trends in the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)in the Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains using time series data from the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies 3^(rd) generation dataset from 1982 to 2013.The spatial pattern of NDVI in the Changbai Mountains exhibited fragmentation,whereas NDVI in the Appalachian Mountains decreased from south to north.The vegetation dynamics in the Changbai Mountains had an insignificant trend at the regional scale,whereas the dynamics in the Appalachian Mountains had a significant increasing trend.NDVI increased in 55% of the area of the Changbai Mountains and in 95% of the area of the Appalachian Mountains.The peak NDVI occurred one month later in the Changbai Mountains than in the Appalachian Mountains.The results revealed a significant increase in NDVI in autumn in both mountain ranges.The climatic trend in the Changbai Mountains included warming and decreased precipitation,and whereas that in the Appalachian Mountains included significant warming and increased precipitation.Positive and negative correlations existed between NDVI and temperature and precipitation,respectively,in both mountain ranges.Particularly,the spring temperature and NDVI exhibited a significant positive correlation in both mountain ranges.The results of this study suggest that human actives caused the differences in the spatial patterns of NDVI and that various characteristics of climate change and intensity of human actives dominated the differences in the NDVI trends between the Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.Additionally,the vegetation dynamics of both mountain ranges were not identical to those in previous broader-scale studies.展开更多
Geography is a kind of differential calculus in the sense that the three-dimensional, that is, the act of tangentially accessing things, is mapped on to the two-dimensional or the concrete. It is why we can say that t...Geography is a kind of differential calculus in the sense that the three-dimensional, that is, the act of tangentially accessing things, is mapped on to the two-dimensional or the concrete. It is why we can say that the East-West or Occidental versus Oriental dichotomy is so limited in its binary dualism. We could easily criticize not only Said's Orientalism, but also in turn, a critical self-defense by turning itself upon its own head. It can indeed be said that the cross or cardinal directions run four different ways and not two. "The East" is not just Far Eastern, that is, the so-called "Asian," but extends to the Far West or to California. Parts of Europe and the Dionysian are not simply limited to Central Europe and Southeastern Asia. We can see in Asia, that is, Eurasia and in North Africa, that 1-2% of non-Sub-saharan human DNA is genotypically Neanderthal in addition to being Homo Sapiens in DNA. 1 The task, it might be said, is to continually remediate binary directions and to reweave Apollo and Dionysos in Friedrich Nietzsche. We can see the limitations of Continentalism in categorizing the human.展开更多
This article explains how modern European travelers, particularly European women adventurers, described East Asia. Travel writings that are expected to be truthful are not free from travelers' own personal, cultural,...This article explains how modern European travelers, particularly European women adventurers, described East Asia. Travel writings that are expected to be truthful are not free from travelers' own personal, cultural, social, and political experiences and perceptions. At the turn of the 19th century, Europe was dominated by colonial discourse based on Western-centered textualized or imaginary knowledge of "the Orient''1. The imaginary texts affected European travelers. In turn, their travel writings helped substantiate and reinforce the texts. European women travelers, who were in a relatively disadvantageous situation at home, enjoyed going beyond the sexual boundaries imposed on them at home by using their assumed racial superiority in the Orient. However, their marginal position in Western society helped them ponder their own understanding of other peoples and cultures, of themselves, and of their home societies. This article traces not only the surface discourse of travelogues on East Asia, particularly on Korea, but also travel writers' inner worlds, focusing on differences between men and women.展开更多
For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel's Mediterrande (1949). Whatever the commercial organizations (merchants in the Roman or the Fatim...For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel's Mediterrande (1949). Whatever the commercial organizations (merchants in the Roman or the Fatimid Empires, the Hanseatic League, the Florentine Companies) were, their trade was not able to directly handle branches more than a month's sailing from their main base (in the best conditions). During the three centuries after Vasco de Gama had reached India, European trading areas dramatically expanded to the shores of Asia, and a long period of harsh competition set the East India Companies of the main European powers of the time against one another. What were the elements that allowed these companies to maintain transactions over such vast areas? And why were some of these companies far more successful than the others? A large set of secondary sources focusing on one company or on a particular aspect of trade (Chauduri, 1978; Israel, 1989; Subrahmanyan, 1993; Ames, 1996) exist, however, none of them treat their successive successes and failures. The aim of this paper is to briefly review these sources, to extract information from them and to compare the economic adaptations and innovations that allowed these companies to be the greatest of their time.展开更多
The impact on temperature and precipitation anomalies over the European continent of the different action centers of blocking events in the Euro-Atlantic sector was investigated. It was found that the position of the ...The impact on temperature and precipitation anomalies over the European continent of the different action centers of blocking events in the Euro-Atlantic sector was investigated. It was found that the position of the blocking action center in the Euro-Atlantic region seems to dominate European climates. When the center of the blocking action is in the Greenland region, there is a strong negative temperature anomaly over Central and Northern Europe, as well as a strong positive precipitation anomaly over southern Europe. However, there tends to be a strong negative temperature anomaly in the west(east) part of Europe when the center of the blocking action is shifted to the Eastern Atlantic and west Europe(east Europe). In particular, when the blocking action center is closer to the European continent, the fall in temperature becomes more evident over Central and south Europe than over other regions. Moreover, it was found that when the region where the blocking action center exists changes from the Eastern Atlantic and west Europe region to the east Europe region, the existing region of dominant positive precipitation anomalies varies from southwest Europe to southeast Europe and the Middle East.展开更多
文摘The Mesta-Nestos river basin in Bulgaria and Greece is a case study for transboundary decision-making support in south-eastern Europe and a show-case for the development of methodologies and information-gathering for the integrated regional planning of water resources. Land-use conflicts in this water-scarce region cover a wide spectrum of activities like agricultural irrigation, drinking water production, diversions for industrial water, and risk of pollution from mining, to name a few examples. Measurements of the water quality were carried out in the upper basin. Results will be illustrated by the example of the environmental situation in the alpine region of the Pirin National Park as well as in the Razlog Basin with a stronger anthropogenic impact and pollution around a former uranium mine near the village of Elesnica. The social and economic development of this transboundary region is a recently established priority for mean an increase in water usage the water resources if regional the future. It will and more stress for impacts of global climate change are verified. Problem-focused management of the catchment area as a whole on the basis of proved geo-data sets is needed for the future.
文摘The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-income trap when their per capita GDP reached 4,000-7,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices) as a result of long-term implemented import-oriented strategy and planned economic system. Fortunately, China adopted reform and opening-up policy beginning at a lower development phase and achieved sustained high-speed growth for more than thirty years. Currently, China has surpassed the phase which the above-mentioned countries fell into the middle-income trap. On the other side, experiences of successful runner-ups show that when per capita GDP reached II,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices), economic growth speed will present regularly "natural drop ". Without internal and external shocks, China's economy is expected to reach this level by 2015 and the potential growth rate will possibly drop significantly. In this regard, China's toughest challenges will be whether it can effectively prevent and solve the financial risks accumulated during high-speed growth and make a shift to innovation-driven growth model Time is pressing for addressing the above challenges. A fundamental change in the growth model depends on the intensification of reform, in particular, the promotion of an "participatory and facilitative reform "approach.
基金Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Nos. 2005CB422307, 2007CB411803)Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-08-0510)National 908 Program of China (No. 908-02-02-02)
文摘The Cold Eddy in the East China Sea(CEECS) is located about 150 km southwest of Cheju Island.This region experiences a complex current system under the influences of the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC),the Yellow Sea Coastal Current(YSCC),and the northward Kuroshio residual.To identify the strength of the CEECS,a simple subsurface intensity index is developed.Because the CEECS can be traced by temperature minimum,the intensity index is determined by the difference in sea temperature averaged across cores within and surrounding the region.Based on SODA,the CEECS subsurface intensity index time series can be calculated,with which the inter-annual variation of the CEECS is analyzed.
文摘In this article the author compares the transformation of media systems of two countries belonging to the former Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe: Albania and Poland. The aim is to highlight differences that occurred in this process, in order to show how, albeit a similar past and the belonging to the same political and economic model until 1989. The diversity of media transition explains the existence of different national ways in which post-communism developed during the last 25 years.
文摘Brand in terms of strategy is a way of relationships between the organization and its target groups, aimed at removing a priori existing conflict. Therefore, formation of a new socio-economic brand "Carpathians", which joins a mountain system in the eastern part of Central Europe, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, and Austria, will help create a new image of Carpathians and implementation of programs aimed at the increase of investment activities, building confidence to domestic producers and creating programs to attract tourists to the most profitable tourist areas, in particular.
文摘The purpose of this paper is to provide an economic overview of the costs and benefits of anti-money laundering (AML) rules. After defining and explaining the three stages of money laundering, the paper provides an insight into the volume and development of money laundering activities in the Central and Eastern Europe. It relies on international, comparative studies outlines the impact of AML measures on banks and other financial intermediaries Conditions of reporting suspicious activity and government agencies, which use these reports to identify investigation targets, are also analysed. Moreover, the paper discusses possible reasons for the failure of AML rules to fight against the crimes and collateral damage caused by AML. These figures, which are presented in this scientific research, give an indication of how important the money laundering problem and the level of organized crime are.
文摘The paper based on the proposed integrative approach to studying music cultures of the Eastern Europe. Come to light the factors of integration promoting interference and enrichment of national musical cultures. The region of national composer schools actively joined in world art process in the second half of the 19th century (Czechia, Poland, and Hungary) and in the 20th century (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Macedonia) Theme of this paper is to identify the basic principles of this region. The purpose of the work, defining features of the musical cultures of the Eastern European region as a whole, also here highlights the commonality of the creative ideas of representatives of the region--Bartok, Janachek, Martinu, etc.. Method of developing is defined by their orientation to the disclosure of topic. The paper used the comparative-typological and integrated approaches and methods of analysis
文摘Stock exchange market responses to macroeconomic fluctuations show deviations between countries in terms of direction, magnitude and duration due to the idiosyncratic characteristics of the countries. The paper empirically searches for the identification of these variations for CEECs, namely Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and also Turkey for the period of December, 1999 to December, 2009. The empirical analyses demonstrate that for each CEEC, stock exchange market responds positively to industrial production and to appreciation of local currency. Czech Republic and Hungary display negative and the rest display positive response to M1, whereas the response of stock market to CB policy rate shows mixed results for each country. Besides, foreign exchange market returns are found to be the variable with the highest significance in explaining the stock exchange market returns. These findings point out to arbitrage opportunities for investors and give insight to Monetary Policy Authorities about the Monetary Transmission Mechanisms of the countries.
文摘This paper is concentrated on analyzing the CEE (Central and Eastern European) countries housing and lending market development in 2002-2009. These countries experienced real estate boom and bust phases during that time and the aim of this paper is to understand which of these countries have the greatest potential for housing market recovery. The study has conducted comparable analysis of these countries and their real estate and lending market. The data was collected from central banks, national statistic offices and real estate companies. The results suggest that countries with higher housing debt had stronger real estate booms and the current bust-cycle has caused much steeper decline in prices. This paper attempts to look at the CEE housing markets from the developer's or investor's point of view and may be useful for banks and other financial institutions which are related to housing market and lending.
文摘The financial crisis has deeply affected Eastern European countries since the end of 2008. The global economic crisis put an end to a period when the region witnessed solid economic growth, high inflows of foreign investment and a dynamic real estate sector, which was one of the main drivers of the region's economic growth (Abelson, Kaemar, & Jackofsky, 1990). The Eastern European real estate market was deeply impacted by the crisis. Investment in real estate dropped sharply due to the significant increase in risks and difficulties in financial borrowing (Bruce, 1991). Rising unemployment affected retail sales, as well as office net absorption. Take-up fell significantly in all markets: Transactions were of smaller size and demand for buildings decreased. On the supply side, vacancy increased sharply due to the high level of completions entering the market (Smith, 1992). The strong rise in vacancy rates has put pressure on rents, which dropped sharply in 2008 and in early 2009. They started to stabilize only by the end of 2009. How will the Romanian real estate market evolve? No one knows for certain. Through this work we try to get some predictions based on statistical theory and not on the lessons learned from other crises.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China[grant number 42075050]。
文摘A machine-learning(ML)model,the light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM),was constructed to simulate the variation in the summer(June-July-August)heatwave frequency(HWF)over eastern Europe(HWFUR)and to analyze the contributions of various lower-boundary climate factors to the HWFUR variation.The examined lower-boundary climate factors were those that may contribute to the HWFUR variation—namely,the sea surface temperature,soil moisture,snow-cover extent,and sea-ice concentration from the simultaneous summer,preceding spring,and winter.These selected climate factors were significantly correlated to the summer HWFUR variation and were used to construct the ML model.Both the hindcast simulation of HWF EUR for the period 1981-2020 and its real-time simulation for the period 2011-2020,which used the constructed ML model,were investigated.To evaluate the contributions of the climate factors,various model experiments using different combinations of the climate factors were examined and compared.The results indicated that the LightGBM model had comparatively good performance in simulating the HWFUR variation.The sea surface temperature made more contributions to the ML model simulation than the other climate factors.Further examination showed that the best ML simulation was that which used the climate factors in the preceding winter,suggesting that the lower-boundary conditions in the preceding winter may be critical in forecasting the summer HWFUR variation.
文摘CSP (concentrating solar power) is a commercially available renewable energy technology capable of harnessing the immense solar resource in southern Europe, the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), and elsewhere. This paper summarises the findings of a study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council which has examined the current status and development challenges of CSP, and consequently has evaluated the potential contribution of CSP in Europe and the MENA region to 2050. It identifies the actions that will be required by scientists, engineers, policy makers, politicians, business and investors alike, to enable this vast solar resource to make a major contribution to establishing a sustainable energy system. The study concludes that cost reductions of 50%-60% in CSP electricity may reasonably be expected in the next 10-15 years, enabling the technology to be cost competitive with fossil-fired power generation at some point between 2020 and 2030. Incorporation of storage delivers added value in enabling CSP to deliver dispatchable power. Incentive schemes will be needed in Europe and MENA countries to enable this point to be achieved. Such schemes should reflect the true value of electricity to the grid, effectively drive research and development, and ensure transparency of performance and cost data.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41601438 and 41571078)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No.2412016KJ026)the Foundation of the Education Department of Jilin Province in the 13~(th) Five-Year project (Grant No. JJKH20170916KJ)
文摘The Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains have similar spatial contexts.The elevation,latitude,and moisture gradients of both mountain ranges offer regional insight for investigating the vegetation dynamics in eastern Eurasia and eastern North America.We determined and compared the spatial patterns and temporal trends in the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)in the Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains using time series data from the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies 3^(rd) generation dataset from 1982 to 2013.The spatial pattern of NDVI in the Changbai Mountains exhibited fragmentation,whereas NDVI in the Appalachian Mountains decreased from south to north.The vegetation dynamics in the Changbai Mountains had an insignificant trend at the regional scale,whereas the dynamics in the Appalachian Mountains had a significant increasing trend.NDVI increased in 55% of the area of the Changbai Mountains and in 95% of the area of the Appalachian Mountains.The peak NDVI occurred one month later in the Changbai Mountains than in the Appalachian Mountains.The results revealed a significant increase in NDVI in autumn in both mountain ranges.The climatic trend in the Changbai Mountains included warming and decreased precipitation,and whereas that in the Appalachian Mountains included significant warming and increased precipitation.Positive and negative correlations existed between NDVI and temperature and precipitation,respectively,in both mountain ranges.Particularly,the spring temperature and NDVI exhibited a significant positive correlation in both mountain ranges.The results of this study suggest that human actives caused the differences in the spatial patterns of NDVI and that various characteristics of climate change and intensity of human actives dominated the differences in the NDVI trends between the Changbai Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.Additionally,the vegetation dynamics of both mountain ranges were not identical to those in previous broader-scale studies.
文摘Geography is a kind of differential calculus in the sense that the three-dimensional, that is, the act of tangentially accessing things, is mapped on to the two-dimensional or the concrete. It is why we can say that the East-West or Occidental versus Oriental dichotomy is so limited in its binary dualism. We could easily criticize not only Said's Orientalism, but also in turn, a critical self-defense by turning itself upon its own head. It can indeed be said that the cross or cardinal directions run four different ways and not two. "The East" is not just Far Eastern, that is, the so-called "Asian," but extends to the Far West or to California. Parts of Europe and the Dionysian are not simply limited to Central Europe and Southeastern Asia. We can see in Asia, that is, Eurasia and in North Africa, that 1-2% of non-Sub-saharan human DNA is genotypically Neanderthal in addition to being Homo Sapiens in DNA. 1 The task, it might be said, is to continually remediate binary directions and to reweave Apollo and Dionysos in Friedrich Nietzsche. We can see the limitations of Continentalism in categorizing the human.
文摘This article explains how modern European travelers, particularly European women adventurers, described East Asia. Travel writings that are expected to be truthful are not free from travelers' own personal, cultural, social, and political experiences and perceptions. At the turn of the 19th century, Europe was dominated by colonial discourse based on Western-centered textualized or imaginary knowledge of "the Orient''1. The imaginary texts affected European travelers. In turn, their travel writings helped substantiate and reinforce the texts. European women travelers, who were in a relatively disadvantageous situation at home, enjoyed going beyond the sexual boundaries imposed on them at home by using their assumed racial superiority in the Orient. However, their marginal position in Western society helped them ponder their own understanding of other peoples and cultures, of themselves, and of their home societies. This article traces not only the surface discourse of travelogues on East Asia, particularly on Korea, but also travel writers' inner worlds, focusing on differences between men and women.
文摘For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel's Mediterrande (1949). Whatever the commercial organizations (merchants in the Roman or the Fatimid Empires, the Hanseatic League, the Florentine Companies) were, their trade was not able to directly handle branches more than a month's sailing from their main base (in the best conditions). During the three centuries after Vasco de Gama had reached India, European trading areas dramatically expanded to the shores of Asia, and a long period of harsh competition set the East India Companies of the main European powers of the time against one another. What were the elements that allowed these companies to maintain transactions over such vast areas? And why were some of these companies far more successful than the others? A large set of secondary sources focusing on one company or on a particular aspect of trade (Chauduri, 1978; Israel, 1989; Subrahmanyan, 1993; Ames, 1996) exist, however, none of them treat their successive successes and failures. The aim of this paper is to briefly review these sources, to extract information from them and to compare the economic adaptations and innovations that allowed these companies to be the greatest of their time.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41375067)
文摘The impact on temperature and precipitation anomalies over the European continent of the different action centers of blocking events in the Euro-Atlantic sector was investigated. It was found that the position of the blocking action center in the Euro-Atlantic region seems to dominate European climates. When the center of the blocking action is in the Greenland region, there is a strong negative temperature anomaly over Central and Northern Europe, as well as a strong positive precipitation anomaly over southern Europe. However, there tends to be a strong negative temperature anomaly in the west(east) part of Europe when the center of the blocking action is shifted to the Eastern Atlantic and west Europe(east Europe). In particular, when the blocking action center is closer to the European continent, the fall in temperature becomes more evident over Central and south Europe than over other regions. Moreover, it was found that when the region where the blocking action center exists changes from the Eastern Atlantic and west Europe region to the east Europe region, the existing region of dominant positive precipitation anomalies varies from southwest Europe to southeast Europe and the Middle East.