186 research outputs found
Three new Malesian species of Mallotus section Hancea (Euphorbiaceae)
No full textOf the family Euphorbiaceae three new species of Mallotus Lour. [section Hancea (Seem.) Pax & K. Hoffm.] from Malesia are described and illustrated. Mallotus cordatifolius and M. wenzelianus from the Philippines, and M. grandistipularis from Central Sumatra, Indonesia
Keys to the taxa of Macaranga and Mallotus (Euphorbiaceae) of East Kalimantan (Indonesia)
No full textKeys mainly based on vegetative characters are given to the 27 taxa of Macaranga and 20 of Mallotus known from or reported for East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia
Soils on exposed Sunda Shelf shaped biogeographic patterns in the equatorial forests of Southeast Asia
No full textThe marked biogeographic difference between western (Malay Peninsula and Sumatra) and eastern (Borneo) Sundaland is surprising given the long time that these areas have formed a single landmass. A dispersal barrier in the form of a dry savanna corridor during glacial maxima has been proposed to explain this disparity. However, the short duration of these dry savanna conditions make it an unlikely sole cause for the biogeographic pattern. An additional explanation might be related to the coarse sandy soils of central Sundaland. To test these two nonexclusive hypotheses, we performed a floristic cluster analysis based on 111 tree inventories from Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. We then identified the indicator genera for clusters that crossed the central Sundaland biogeographic boundary and those that did not cross and tested whether drought and coarse-soil tolerance of the indicator genera differed between them. We found 11 terminal floristic clusters, 10 occurring in Borneo, 5 in Sumatra, and 3 in Peninsular Malaysia. Indicator taxa of clusters that occurred across Sundaland had significantly higher coarse-soil tolerance than did those from clusters that occurred east or west of central Sundaland. For drought tolerance, no such pattern was detected. These results strongly suggest that exposed sandy sea-bed soils acted as a dispersal barrier in central Sundaland. However, we could not confirm the presence of a savanna corridor. This finding makes it clear that proposed biogeographic explanations for plant and animal distributions within Sundaland, including possible migration routes for early humans, need to be reevaluated
Diversity interventions for a socially sustainable construction industry
No full textMajor construction sites in Australia have an above average presence of ethnic minorities. These groups and the interfaces between them require effective management in order to meet the social imperatives of sustainable design and construction. A survey of 1155 workers and 204 managers on Sydney construction sites respectively, found a significant level of normalisation of negative forms of cross cultural interaction. Yet it was also found that anti-racism programs are not currently a management priority and that they generally lack sophisticated community relations aspects. This paper presents the results of a desk-top study of leading global companies within and outside the construction sector which have won international awards and recognition for their cultural diversity strategies. A key insight is that the companies profiled see diversity as a key resource and as an opportunity rather than a risk which is best harnessed through long-term and on-going commitment of senior management. These leading companies also recognise that cultural diversity strategies operate at three levels - in terms of its relationship with its own workforce; its relationship with its clients and; its relationships with the communities in which it operates - and if properly managed it can be a source of competitive advantage
A taxonomic revision of Mallotus sections Hancea and Stylanthus (Euphorbiaceae)
No full textMallotus sections Hancea and Stylanthus from Malesia are revised. Descriptions, distribution ranges, habit drawings and keys to all the species in these two sections are provided. The diagnostic characters for the sections are discussed briefly in the section headings. Mallotus section Hancea is defined more precisely than before, resulting in the exclusion of 4 species from this section (M. brachythyrsus, M. havilandii, M. insularum (new rank) and M. miquelianus). Mallotus beccarii is synonymised with M. brachythyrsus, and M. tenuipes with M. penangensis. This section contains 12 species. In Mallotus section Stylanthus, M. oblongifolius is synonymised with M. peltatus. This section contains 6 species
Development of the sustainable building and construction products industry in Australia
No full textThis paper draws on a major study the authors conducted for the Australian Government in 2009. It focuses on the diffusion issues surrounding the uptake of sustainable building and construction products in Australia. Innovative sustainable products can minimise the environmental impact during construction, while maximising asset performance, durability and re-use. However, there are significant challenges faced by designers and clients in the selection of appropriate sustainable products in consideration of the integrated design solution, including overall energy efficiency, water conservation, maintenance and durability, low-impact use and consumption. The paper is a review of the current state of sustainable energy and material product innovations in Australia. It examines the system dynamics surrounding these innovations as well as the drivers and obstacles to their diffusion throughout the Australian construction industry. The case product types reviewed comprise: solar energy technology, small wind turbines, advanced concrete technology, and warm-mixed asphalt. The conclusions highlight the important role played by Australian governments in facilitating improved adoption rates. This applies to governments in their various roles, but particularly as clients/owners, regulators, and investors in education, training, research and development. In their role as clients/owners, the paper suggests that government can better facilitate innovation within the construction industry by adjusting specification policies to encourage the uptake of sustainable products. In the role as regulators, findings suggest governments should be encouraging the application of innovative finance options and positive end-user incentives to promote sustainable product uptake. Also, further education for project-based firms and the client/end users about the long-term financial and environmental benefits of innovative sustainable products is required. As more of the economy\u92s resources are diverted away from business-as-usual and into the use of sustainable products, some project-based firms may face short-term financial pain in re-shaping their businesses. Government policy initiatives can encourage firms make the necessary adjustments to improve innovative sustainable product diffusion throughout the industry
Patterns in species richness and composition of plant families in the Malay Archipelago
No full textDistribution patterns or the recognition of phytogeographical areas is usually based on the presence and absence of species. The taxa on which the analyses are based remain virtually anonymous. Here we want to determine which Malesian plant families (within the sample) are responsible for species richness and composition patterns. The other aim is to determine whether the different islands groups in Southeast Asia can be grouped into separate phytogeographical areas. A Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCO) showed the presence of three phytogeographical areas within Malesia: The Sunda Shelf (Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo) in the west, the Sahul Shelf (New Guinea) in the east, and all remaining central areas forming Wallacea. The latter can be divided into two parts (Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands versus the Philippines, Sulawesi and the Moluccas). Only twenty plant families (out of 164 sampled) account for most of the biodiversity on the island groups, both in total and endemic species numbers. These twenty families show a limited number of species richness patterns that are significantly associated with one or several of the detected phytogeographical areas. Only a few plant families were equally common throughout the whole Malesian region. Conservation efforts in Malesia should take this spatial distribution pattern into account in order to maximise preservation of both species diversity and complementarity
Assessing Vessel Traffic Service Operator Situation Awareness
No full textThis thesis describes my study of situation awareness assessment of Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operators. VTS operators are the traffic controllers on the water. They are responsible for a safe and efficient handling of vessel traffic. They monitor traffic, provide information on request and coordinate movement of ships in (emerging) conflict situations in harbours, rivers, and approach areas all around the world. Situation awareness is a term describing a person’s internal mental model of the current situation. Situation awareness is a concept that has been applied with success in many domains where controllers need to maintain an overview of their work. The concept of situation awareness presents new perspective for the study of VTS operator performance by investigating the mental picture of the operator. This perspective may lead to better understanding of the performance of VTS operators. The main objective of this thesis is to study how situation awareness of VTS operators can be assessed and to determine if the use and the assessment of VTS operator situation awareness leads to a better understanding of the performance of VTS operators. The thesis presents a framework for the examination of the concept situation awareness and for methods for assessing it in the context of VTS operator performance. This evaluation is based upon a literature study on situation awareness and VTS research and upon observations on VTS posts in the Netherlands. Two methods to assess situation awareness are developed. The first method, called SATEST, is derived from the SAGAT method developed by Mica Endsley and can be considered a traditional method for measuring situation awareness. This method presents a VTS scenario in an experimental setting. At unannounced, but previously specified times during these scenarios the system displays are blanked and the simulation is stopped. The operators are requested to answer a number of questions about their perception of the situation at that time, designed to reveal their situation awareness. After completion of the query, the simulation continues. SATEST was developed, tested and used in two experiments; in Rotterdam and Helsinki in the COMFORTABLE project. These experiments showed that SATEST was very useful in providing understanding of the VTS-work, the concept of situation awareness and its application in a VTS context. They also revealed the limitations of the method. It became clear in working with SATEST that the method covers situation awareness at any particular moment very well, but it is not very suitable to observe how situation awareness develops in a situation. The conclusion of the work with SATEST was that situation awareness is a useful concept in describing the work of the VTS operator, but that the method for assessing situation awareness needed more work. In the discussions of SATEST the idea grew that communication might be used to analyse when operators become aware of conflicts and when they will solve them. The second method, called PMI-P (Performance Measuring Instrument – Performance module), uses the assessment of communication to assess performance and situation awareness. Communication is scored on a PMI-P score form. This score form was constructed using the concept of Required Situation Awareness (RSA), developed in this thesis. RSA refers to the situation awareness needed to correctly handle a situation. For every event in the scenario the PMI-P score form contains information that the operator needs to communicate, and additional information that an operator may want to communicate. Communication between VTS and traffic is regarded as a direct measure of VTS operator performance and an indirect measure of situation awareness. The PMI-P score form captures the development of VTS operator situation awareness by describing all possible communications that an operator can have during the scenario run. This method was used in a project for the Rotterdam Port Authority. The results show that PMI-P is a powerful tool for assessing VTS operator performance. Understanding communication in PMI-P provides a solid handle on the assessment of VTS operator performance. This leads us to the question whether situation awareness is still needed as a concept in the assessment. The short answer to this question is yes: The required situation awareness of a situation that an operator requires has been used in the development of PMI-P to understand the scenario and to capture the required communication. Together the two methods offer a wide range of opportunities to study situation awareness of VTS operators, to study impact of new technology on VTS operator situation awareness, and to training operators.Safety ScienceTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Electrical conduction in ferromagnetic metals
No full textExperiments are reported on the electrical-conduction properties of a large number of binary and ternary alloys based on either nickel or iron. The solutes represent the elements that can be dissolved in nickel or iron at a concentration of 3 at %. At 4.2 K the resistivity, the resistivity anisotropy, the normal and the anomalous Hall effect have been measured. The results were analysed in terms of a two-current model. In this model two mutually independent currents are associated with the two possible directions of the electron spin, viz. the majority- and the minority-spin direction. For 17 solutes in nickel and 20 solutes in iron we determined the two specific residual resistivities corresponding to the two currents. The trends among the specific resistivities found can be explained in terms of existing data on magneticmoment disturbances around solute metals in the ferromagnetic matrix. It was found that a simple phenomenological description of the resistivity anisotropy in nickel- or iron-based alloys can be given in terms of the twocurrent model. It appears that the anisotropy effect is mainly due to one of the two bands, viz. the majority-spin band in nickel and the minority-spin band in iron. In nickel-based alloys the anomalous Hall effect, too, can satisfactorily be described in terms of the two-current model, taking into account the mechanisms of skew scattering and of side displacement. The skew-scattering angles and the coefficients for side displacement in the two bands were determined for different solutes in nickel. In the majority-spin band of nickel both the skew-scattering term and the side-displacement term are negative, in the minority-spin band of nickel both terms are found to be positive. The limits of validity of the two-current model were observed in a study o the normal Hall effect in nickel-based alloys. It was found that within the majority-spin band of nickel the Hall coefficient varies systematically with the mean free path of the current carriers.Applied Science
Stelling 2: Design & Construction Management
No full textManagement in the Built EnvironmentArchitecture and The Built Environmen
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