This paper examines trends in the impacts of disasters at the world scale and proposes explanations for them. It is concluded that statistics on natural hazards are questionable, in that changes in recording methods h...This paper examines trends in the impacts of disasters at the world scale and proposes explanations for them. It is concluded that statistics on natural hazards are questionable, in that changes in recording methods have artificially inflated the number of disasters and the seriousness of their impacts. Next, the paper examines the symbolic interpretation of disasters at various scales of analysis in terms of human cultures. It further applies this approach to the analysis of natural hazards using information technology methods such as GIS （Geographic Information Systems）. Returning to the global scale, deficiencies and inequalities in the world disaster relief system are considered. Thereafter, the paper investigates how global economic imbalances are thrown into sharp relief by catastrophes, with examples from the record of past earthquakes, landslides and floods. Finally, it considers the prospects for a major change in the direction of world policy on disasters and concludes that this will only occur if the international financial system is forced to adjust to a ＂super-disaster＂ event, which could possibly be seismic, volcanic or nuclear in origin.展开更多
It is necessary to change the current dynamic of growth, to assure that future generations can satisfy their needs. Sustainable development and global sustainability are two concepts that have achieved great importanc...It is necessary to change the current dynamic of growth, to assure that future generations can satisfy their needs. Sustainable development and global sustainability are two concepts that have achieved great importance in almost every sector of activity. There is a wide range of methods and models for sustainability assessment. Nevertheless, it is necessary to go beyond evaluation, looking for sustainability optimization. In spite of this, little work has been done on the latter field. The authors present here a conceptual proposal for an integrated method to optimize sustainability of engineering systems, based on the MIVES （integrated value method for evaluating sustainability） method. For a better understanding of the method, its essential steps for optimizing an energy sub-system are summarized （shell-and-tube heat exchanger）.展开更多
There are two kinds of recurrence relations for the spherical functions Pml. The first are those with the same m but different l. Thesecond are those with the same l but different m. The spheroidal functions are exten...There are two kinds of recurrence relations for the spherical functions Pml. The first are those with the same m but different l. Thesecond are those with the same l but different m. The spheroidal functions are extensions of the spherical functions. Recurrencerelations of the first kind are obtained for the spheroidal functions in recent studies. Using the shape invariance method in super-symmetric quantum mechanics, we investigate the second type of recurrence relations for the spheroidal functions. The resultsshow that the second kind of recurrence relation can not be extended to the spheroidal functions.展开更多
文摘This paper examines trends in the impacts of disasters at the world scale and proposes explanations for them. It is concluded that statistics on natural hazards are questionable, in that changes in recording methods have artificially inflated the number of disasters and the seriousness of their impacts. Next, the paper examines the symbolic interpretation of disasters at various scales of analysis in terms of human cultures. It further applies this approach to the analysis of natural hazards using information technology methods such as GIS （Geographic Information Systems）. Returning to the global scale, deficiencies and inequalities in the world disaster relief system are considered. Thereafter, the paper investigates how global economic imbalances are thrown into sharp relief by catastrophes, with examples from the record of past earthquakes, landslides and floods. Finally, it considers the prospects for a major change in the direction of world policy on disasters and concludes that this will only occur if the international financial system is forced to adjust to a ＂super-disaster＂ event, which could possibly be seismic, volcanic or nuclear in origin.
文摘It is necessary to change the current dynamic of growth, to assure that future generations can satisfy their needs. Sustainable development and global sustainability are two concepts that have achieved great importance in almost every sector of activity. There is a wide range of methods and models for sustainability assessment. Nevertheless, it is necessary to go beyond evaluation, looking for sustainability optimization. In spite of this, little work has been done on the latter field. The authors present here a conceptual proposal for an integrated method to optimize sustainability of engineering systems, based on the MIVES （integrated value method for evaluating sustainability） method. For a better understanding of the method, its essential steps for optimizing an energy sub-system are summarized （shell-and-tube heat exchanger）.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10875018)the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2010CB923200)
文摘There are two kinds of recurrence relations for the spherical functions Pml. The first are those with the same m but different l. Thesecond are those with the same l but different m. The spheroidal functions are extensions of the spherical functions. Recurrencerelations of the first kind are obtained for the spheroidal functions in recent studies. Using the shape invariance method in super-symmetric quantum mechanics, we investigate the second type of recurrence relations for the spheroidal functions. The resultsshow that the second kind of recurrence relation can not be extended to the spheroidal functions.
