Smoggy with a Chance of Altruism: The Effects of Ozone Alerts on Outdoor Recreation and Driving in Atlanta

Metropolitan smog alerts are prominent public information campaigns designed to enhance public health and to curb driving and other emissions. Unlike many other voluntary information‐based environmental policies, air quality alerts target household behavior via forecast information about ambient concentrations rather than firm or product characteristics. This paper explores behaviors with high emissions (driving) and with high exposure (outdoor recreation) and underscores the difference between altruistic and risk aversion motivations. Behavioral impacts are identified using the threshold nature of daily air quality forecasts. A regression discontinuity (RD) design finds elderly users and exercisers tend to curtail their use of a major park following smog alerts. The RD design also reveals that households do not drive less on smog alert days. Juxtaposing high emissions behavior with high exposure behavior in the same study highlights how public forecast information may better trigger some responses and struggle to trigger others.     

Morphometry of Middle Bronze Age palstaves. Part II – spatial distribution of shapes in two typological groups,implications for production and exportation

For archaeologists, metallic artifacts are key materials to assess Middle Bronze Age production areas and cultural exchanges. Here, a set of 629 bronze palstaves excavated in northern France, belonging to Breton and Norman typological groups, was treated by (open) outline-based morphometrics with orthogonal polynomial regression. Using robust statistics developed for outlier detection, these Norman and Breton palstave outlines can be divided into two groups: those for which the shape fluctuates close to the standard shape, called “congruent” axes, and those which are far enough from this standard to be considered as “non-congruent”, although they possess most of the features of the typological group. The highest density of discovery (whether congruent and non-congruent in shape) is in the extreme east of Brittany for the Breton axes, while the Norman axes are concentrated in northern Normandy, hence the choice of names. However, the distribution of congruent and non-congruent artifacts appears to be spatially dependent for the Norman group, and to a lesser extent for the Breton group, as there are proportionally more congruent specimens inside the supposed production areas than outside. This contradicts the generally accepted archaeological scheme which hypothesizes that all axes in a group originate from the same production center, and that some items were exported from there to supply neighboring regions. Other minor production centers probably existed, copying the original model with greater shape variation.     

The new Siberia

This paper assesses relationships between Scottish ice climbing and daily weather conditions between 1961 and 1990. Synoptic air flow and instrumental climate data from Braemar and Fort Augustus were analysed in relation to first ascents of ice climbs in the Cairngorms, and on Ben Nevis and Creag Meagaidh. Lagged weather variables were calculated and stepwise logistic regression was used to estimate optimum models for both areas. Significant variables are anticyclonicity, low minimum air temperature and northerly or easterly airflow (Cairngorms, P = 0.0006); and northerly or easterly airflow, low minimum air temperature and low precipitation (Ben Nevis and Creag Meagaidh, P < 0.0001). A five‐day cold spell is optimum for Ben Nevis and Creag Meagaidh. A week with relatively little precipitation is beneficial in both areas. Air flow direction is more influential than vorticity, the optimum predictors of ice conditions using synoptic data alone are a persistent easterly component (beneficial), and a persistent southerly and westerly component (detrimental), P < 0.0001.     

Air Services at Australian Cities: Change and Inertia 2005–2010

This research analyses international and domestic air services in Australia during a six year period, 2005–2010. We place air services into their urban context by relating them to city‐based measures such as population, tourism, and producer services employment among other measures. The research takes a supply‐side approach in an assessment of international and domestic capacity at major Australian airports from the perspective of the number of seats, the nature of links, and competition. Multiple linkage analysis and the concept of effective competitors allow us to explore this perspective at greater depth. Our findings show substantial changes in international patterns, specifically favouring Melbourne, Perth, and Gold Coast. In contrast, the domestic scene is characterised by little change, an outcome we link to the underlying stability in the settlement system and the location of some major economic activities. While the results are related to our measures of urban characteristics, some special region‐specific aspects are also at work. Finally, in both the international and domestic cases we find evidence of greater airline diversity which may benefit consumers.     

The conservation and management of historic urban space

In practice, the care of historic urban space is dominated by planning professionals whose bias is towards the broad remit of the conservation of the built heritage; it remains the exception for other professions to take an active role in the protection of spatial elements of the historic townscape. Neither do these areas enjoy the same degree of statutory protection as their built counterpart, even though they may have played an equally important role in the evolution of our towns and are an integral part of the urban form. This study is the first stage of the author's on‐going research into the value of historic space within the modern urban environment and the level of protection afforded it by the planning system. The results of this pilot study are used to suggest a professional and statutory framework, based upon inter‐disciplinary co‐operation, from which the full value of townscapes may be safeguarded in the future.     

博物馆内主要污染气体的检测及其分布状况的研究

采用常用的基准方法对文物具有普遍危害性的 S0_2,NO_2、O_2 进行了测定.研究了适宜检测博物馆内大气污染状况的 TEA 纸片法.运用了 TEA 纸片法对上海博物馆内二氧化硫和二氧化氮的分布状况进行了测定研究.     

Climate change and our heritage of low carbon comfort

This paper examines the viability of maintaining a heritage of low carbon comfort as an alternative to the energy intensive comfort regime of mechanical air conditioning. In many parts of the world, the carbon footprint of buildings is increasing significantly due to the widespread adoption of air conditioning. Current trends around indoor comfort are unsustainable, and alternative, less energy intensive comfort regimes need to be maintained or cultivated. To date, studies on this topic in heritage and preservation studies have focused on the architectural designs of ‘passive cooling’. This paper seeks to expand this conceptualisation of ‘cool living heritage’ to incorporate other forms of material culture and comfort practice.     

The specifics and spatial structure of circular migration in Russia

Abstract

This article aims at distinguishing recurrent population movements within the territory of the Russian Federation between urban localities of different sizes and rural areas in connection to the processes of urbanization, suburbanization, and de-urbanization. Incomplete urbanization and the strong polarization of socio-economic space in Russia have resulted in two powerful contradictory population flows: centrifugal seasonal sub- and de-urbanization and centripetal labor migration from rural and small towns to large urban centers. The article discusses three forms of recurrent population mobility in Russia: (1) daily commuting of urban and rural inhabitants within metropolitan areas; (2) commuting to large cities and their suburbs for long-term employment intervals (weekly, monthly, etc.), (3) second-home commuting to countryside dachas. Unfinished urbanization in Russia not only attracts rural and small towns’ population to major cities but also keeps it within the latter. It slows down the real de-urbanization and induces specific dachas (second-home) suburbanization/de-urbanization, with these processes being closely interrelated. An opportunity to earn money in cities together with the impossibility of moving to major centers due to expensive housing encourages households to remain in small towns and rural areas. Meanwhile, inhabited rural localities (even ones distant from cities) attract seasonal population (dachniks).     

Assessment of Riparian Rainforest Vegetation Change in Tropical North Queensland for Management and Restoration Purposes

Changes in riparian vegetation extent in northern Queensland, Australia were assessed using aerial photographs from 1944 and 2000. Change in riparian extent was recorded as vegetation gain or loss. Changes in density were recorded as vegetation thickening. Riparian forest coverage increased by 22 ha during this time period in the Mossman River catchment. A total of 124 ha of riparian forest were gained, while 101 ha of riparian forest were lost. A further 59 ha of forest increased in density over this time period. Clearing, changes in farm management practices and natural stream channel movement have been identified as three potential causes for these changes. Areas with little or no riparian vegetation were identified and categorised into priority levels for potential revegetation efforts.