Drivers for Policy Agreement in Nascent Subsystems: An Application of the Advocacy Coalition Framework to Fracking Policy in Switzerland and the UK

The study of public policy deals with subsystems in which actors cooperate or compete to turn their beliefs into policy solutions. Yet, most studies concern mature subsystems in which the main actors and their allies and enemies can easily be identified. This paper tackles the challenge of studying nascent subsystems, in which actors have begun to engage in politics but are uncertain about other actors’ beliefs. Actors therefore find it relatively difficult to identify their allies and opponents. Focusing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework, we examine three main ways in which actors might agree to support the same policy design before they decide whether or not to form long‐term relationships within advocacy coalitions: they see the issue through the same lenses, they follow leaders, or they know each other from earlier cooperation. We use the case of fracking policy in Switzerland and the UK as a key example, in which actors have begun to agree with each other, but where final policy outputs were not yet defined, and long‐term relationships not yet observable. We find that, when dealing with new issues, actors strongly rely on former contacts rather than shared ideologies or leadership.     

明《天工开物》之“风吹成粉”工法初步研究

1637年(明崇祯十年)出版的《天工开物》记录了我国古代建筑石灰的消解采用\"置于风中,久自吹化成粉\"的工艺,\"用以砌墙石,则筛去石块,水调黏合\"。为复配\"风吹成粉\"工法并研究采用这种工法得到的石灰性能,实验采用传统立窑对源自浙-皖交界处原材料\"青石\"烧制而成的生石灰使用\"风吹法\"消解,并参照现代标准BS-EN-459-2015等相关检测方法进行性能研究。结果发现\"风吹法\"消解的石灰含有水硬性组分如硅酸二钙等,并具有凝结时间短、强度适中等特点。研究表明,\"风吹\"20~30天左右得到的石灰性能相当于欧洲标准的天然水硬石灰NHL1或NHL2。研究还表明,\"风吹成粉\"的石灰可以用作砌筑、修复、注浆等粘合剂,其快凝等特性非常有利于湿冷环境下的施工。若对文献、明及以前的建筑进一步考证并采取系统全面的深化研究,有望考证出我国380年前的明朝对天然水硬石灰消解及应用技术的掌握程度,并开发出融合中华传统智慧的文物建筑保护材料。     

Finite element modeling of slug tests in an aquifer with stratigraphical and structural heterogeneities

Slug interference tests using an array of multilevel active and monitoring wells permit enhanced aquifer characterization. Analyses of these field test data rely on numerical inverse models. In order to provide synthetic data sets and to have a better understanding of the flow mechanisms, we used a three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEHM) to explore the effects of idealized, stratigraphical (strata) and structural (faults) heterogeneities with low permeability values on the transient head field that is associated with slug tests in an aquifer. Firstly, we tested our model on homogeneous aquifers and the effectiveness of our modeling strategies have been validated via the excellent agreement of our modeling results with those of the semi-analytical model of Liu & Butler (1995) . In our heterogeneity investigations, we embedded vertical and horizontal zones of lower permeability into a homogenous, isotropic, and confined aquifer to represent low-permeability faults and strata respectively. A slugged interval is located at the center of the aquifer. Effects of strata thickness and permeability contrast as well as other effects associated with the offset of low-permeability strata were explored. In particular, modeling results are represented by contour maps of peak travel time and maximum head perturbation of generated hydraulic pulses. Furthermore, various phenomena, such as real-time matrix diffusion, intermittent matrix–fracture interactions, and faster pulse arrival through a longer flow trajectory, are concretely presented in the snapshots of head perturbations in the aquifer. Our finite element modeling provides useful information for understanding the behaviors of diffusive pressure propagation in an aquifer with stratigraphical and/or structural heterogeneities, and for designing hydraulic tomography to enhance aquifer characterization.     

King Bhumibol: The Symbolic “Father of Water Resources Management” and Hydraulic Development Discourse in Thailand

The present Thai monarch’s reputation in matters hydrological is an integral element of the mythology and symbolism that have characterised his reign. Royalists have carefully constructed the king as a semi-deified “Father of Thai Water Management”, “Royal Rainmaker”, wise inventor of hydraulic technology and planner of “royal initiatives” over a period of six decades. Yet, despite the links that are often drawn between water resources control, spiritual cosmology and political governance surrounding pre-modern Southeast Asian rulers, there has been surprisingly little critical scholarship undertaken on this contemporary aspect of kingship and state-making in Thailand. This paper examines the evolving discourse surrounding the monarchy and hydraulic development as a response to a perceived neglect regarding the central role of water in cementing the king’s power and legitimacy. It argues that King Bhumibol’s apparent hegemony in the national water resources governance paradigm has been an essential element underpinning the longevity and authority of his reign, partly facilitated through the workings of a network of allied strategic interests. Drawing from a range of sources, this paper makes a cautious start in addressing the subject and attempts to open up a space for further critical reflection and discussion regarding the significance of water resources control to Thailand’s royal statecraft.     

Investigation of coupled hydraulic–geomechanical processes at the KTB site: pressure‐dependent characteristics of a long‐term pump test and elastic interpretation using a geomechanical facies model

The German Continental Deep Drilling Program comprising a pilot borehole down to 4000 m and a main borehole down to 9101 m in southeast Germany (KTB) is continuing to provide a unique opportunity for the identification of important factors and processes in deep‐seated fluid and energy transfer. In situ stress conditions significantly impact flow, transport and exchange characteristics of fracture networks that dominate the permeability of crystalline reservoir rocks. In this paper, several scales of information are combined to present a fully three‐dimensional hydraulic finite element model of the principal KTB fault zones, and linked to a geomechanical model describing the alteration of the hydraulic parameters with stress changes caused by fluid extraction. The concept of geomechanical facies is introduced to define and characterize architectural elements in the subsurface system. Evaluation of a long‐term pump test in the KTB pilot hole, June 2002–July 2003, coupled with a geomechanical model gives an insight into some of the elastic and nonelastic processes controlling hydraulic transport in the basement rocks. Trends in the decline of the permeability and the degree of storage in the system could only partially be explained by elastic processes, clearly indicating the importance of nonelastic processes. A number of inelastic processes are suggested as areas for further research.     

From private initiative to public intervention in Spanish water management: the case of the Muga and Fluvià rivers (1850–1930)

During the second half of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth century, Spain, along with some other European countries, underwent a process of transition regarding water resources management. One of the most obvious transformations that occurred during this period was the increasing lead taken by the government in the building of large hydraulic structures and the subsequent decrease in the influence of private initiative in this matter. The government's aim was to exploit the water resources provided by the rivers to their full, and in particular to use the water that was destined for irrigation to maximum effect. The repeated failure of projects promoted by private companies led the government, not without problems, to enact regulations and create hydraulic plans to be put into motion by the public sector. This change in focus is the key to understanding the frenetic pace of hydraulic infrastructure construction that occurred later and which made Spain one of the world's leading nations in terms of indicators such as the number of large reservoirs in use. This article focuses on the transition from private initiative to public intervention and evaluates the main stages of this process in Spain. The cases of the basins of the Muga and Fluvià rivers, located in the extreme north-east of the Iberian Peninsula in Catalonia, are described in light of this process. This research attempts to verify that despite their modest size and their distance from the main decision-making centres, these two cases reflected the situation at the national level. This was just one of the many local effects of the transition process of water resources management in Spain, even though the results of this transformation would be neither immediate nor effective in the short term.     

Structural Assessment of Ancient Masonries before and during a Rehabilitation Process

ABSTRACT

The rehabilitation of old buildings requires detailed knowledge of the mechanical characteristics and stress state of the structural elements, which play an important role in the intervention process. In this sense, non-slightly destructive tests can estimate structural characteristics with good precision at relatively low costs. Consequently, this article presents a device, based on the flat jack technique, applied to continuous stress monitoring over time. It also focuses on the onsite determination of service stresses and its continuous monitoring in several masonry buttresses of a historic building, as well as the assessment of the structural safety before, during, and after an intervention process. A brief analysis of the research is performed, and the motivation and the methodology adopted are described. Finally, the evolution of the measurements recorded and the analysis of the results achieved are detailed. The study enabled recommendations to be made to the intervening agents that guarantee structural safety.