The paper presents and examines the impact of corporate governance and ethics in particular on sustainable development of the Zimbabwean microfinance sector in the period 2009-2019.The critical microfinance institutio...The paper presents and examines the impact of corporate governance and ethics in particular on sustainable development of the Zimbabwean microfinance sector in the period 2009-2019.The critical microfinance institutions(MFIs)crisis experienced in Masvingo,Zimbabwe recently was not the first one in the world in terms of its severity.The main aim of MFIs in any economy is to serve the poor and vulnerable people of a society through providing them with soft or concessional loans,insurance coverage,and facilities for savings.The study used the descriptive qualitative design to draw research data from MFIs dotted in and around Masvingo Province for presentation,analysis,and interpretation.One of the major findings of the study was that corporate governance and ethics played an indispensable role in the growth and development of MFIs’products and services.The study also realized that good corporate governance and ethical behaviours in business practices were essential for the success of any organization and vice versa and MFIs were no exception.The study therefore concluded that poor capital formation,corporate governance and ethics,human recruitment and selection procedures and fraudulent activities or misappropriation of funds were responsible for the majority of threats faced by MFIs in Masvingo in their growth and development endeavours.Therefore the study recommended that directors of MFIs should craft policies and strategies that are corporate governance and ethics oriented in their desire to grow their business towards sustainable development in the foreseeable future.展开更多
Translation is a conversion process, which helps transform a language message into another language. In the conversion of English and Chinese, mastering and understanding some skills of translation can help us better ...Translation is a conversion process, which helps transform a language message into another language. In the conversion of English and Chinese, mastering and understanding some skills of translation can help us better grasp and understand how to transform English into Chinese. Based on the source text of Hillary Clinton's concession speech and the Chinese target text, the thesis studies the techniques of English translation and concludes the skills of translation. The purpose is to help students master a variety of English translation methods, to accumulate English communication skills and to improve the comprehensive level of English.展开更多
The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing,which has the characteristics of large size,complex structure,and thin wall.In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes,casting crack defects...The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing,which has the characteristics of large size,complex structure,and thin wall.In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes,casting crack defects are prone to occur.This leads to an increase in the scrap rate of casings,causing significant resource wastage.Additionally,the presence of cracks poses a significant safety hazard after the casings are put into service.The generation of different types of crack defects in stainless steel casings is closely related to casting stress and the high-temperature concession of the sand mold.Therefore,the types and causes of cracks in stainless steel casing products,based on their structural characteristics,were systematically analyzed.Various sand molds with different internal topology designs were printed using the 3DP technology to investigate the impact of sand mold structures on high-temperature concession.The optimal sand mold structure was used to cast casings,and the crack suppression effect was verified by analyzing its eddy current testing results.The experimental results indicate that the skeleton structure has an excellent effect on suppressing cracks in the casing.This research holds important theoretical and engineering significance in improving the quality of casing castings and reducing production costs.展开更多
Concession period is a key factor in the arrangement of a build-operate-transfer(BOT) contract. This paper proposes a stochastic concession period model for infrastructure projects under a BOT scheme, which takes into...Concession period is a key factor in the arrangement of a build-operate-transfer(BOT) contract. This paper proposes a stochastic concession period model for infrastructure projects under a BOT scheme, which takes into account the impact of risks and the risk attitudes of the private investor and the government. A hypothetical case is simulated by using the Monte Carlo simulation method to illustrate the proposed model. The results indicate that even for a project with the same estimations, the concession interval can be different and depends a lot on the risk attitudes of the private investor and the government. The proposed model provides a more reasonable concession interval based on which a specific concession period can be obtained through negotiation between the two parties.展开更多
Through reviewing development history of concession gardens in Tianjin City,features,advantages and problems of these gardens were analyzed.It was stressed that cultural context should be inherited,and features of the...Through reviewing development history of concession gardens in Tianjin City,features,advantages and problems of these gardens were analyzed.It was stressed that cultural context should be inherited,and features of the city highlighted.The gardens should be protected from the perspective of development,combined with urban green space system,integrated with cultural life of local citizens,and coordinated with contemporary architectural style of the city.In addition,plant landscapes should be enriched,and infrastructure of the gardens supplemented to properly handle the relationship between urban construction and protection of historical image,and provide reference for inheriting cultural context of the city in the urban development.展开更多
Through the overview of the development history of Tianjin Concession Parks, this paper analyzed the historical significance of Tianjin Concession Parks and put forward its existing problems, then summed up a series o...Through the overview of the development history of Tianjin Concession Parks, this paper analyzed the historical significance of Tianjin Concession Parks and put forward its existing problems, then summed up a series of strategies of sustainable development as follows: adhering to the Florence Charter; retaining the original form and texture of the Concession Parks; adopting a dynamic philosophy of protection and preservation; integrating with citizens' social life; supplementing and improving infrastructure facilities; and achieving environmental regeneration by planting. All these efforts are expected to contribute to making a balance between the development and construction of urban cities and the preservation of historical features, as well as provide lessons for inheriting urban history and culture in the future.展开更多
Many conflicts are reported in small islands mainly in Eastern region of Indonesia and it is needed to conflict resolution in the forest sector. The research has been conducted on forest conflict in the small island o...Many conflicts are reported in small islands mainly in Eastern region of Indonesia and it is needed to conflict resolution in the forest sector. The research has been conducted on forest conflict in the small island of Yamdena. The aims of the research were： （1） to determine the customary rights of indigenous peoples to the forest area that was claimed as theirs according to the applicable rules and regulations; （2） to study the causes of conflict between indigenous peoples and the logging company; （3） to analyze the policy in the forest resources management on the customary land. This research is qualitative and uses a case study methodology. Data collection methods used include semi-structured interviews, participant observation and focus group discussion （FGD）. The results showed that indigenous peoples whose livelihood is highly dependent on the forest were most threatened because of forest exploitation of their traditional land by the logging company. Handling of the conflict potential in the forest resources management in Yamdena island was approached through use of traditional laws, involving all the relevant parties to the conflict. The forest management either by indigenous peoples or the logging company is no longer focused on the timber harvesting but more on conservation aspects.展开更多
The purpose of this study is to explore the urban morphological aspects of cities governed by the juridical regime of emphyteusis, a recurrent situation in the northeastern part of the state of Silo Paulo, Brazil, wit...The purpose of this study is to explore the urban morphological aspects of cities governed by the juridical regime of emphyteusis, a recurrent situation in the northeastern part of the state of Silo Paulo, Brazil, with special attention to the city of Ribeirao Preto. The concession of lands to the Catholic Church was a recurring practice in Brazil during the colonial and imperial periods, when the cities were being established. As these lands were intended for the formation of patrimonial goods to show the devotion of the residents to a Catholic saint, the lands were not allowed to be commercialized. The tenure reveals a relation in which there is an owner--the landlord--who has direct control of the urban land. This owner allows another--the leaseholder--the useful domain of the land, thus giving the latter the right to use the land, the obligation to pay an annual tax and the responsibility to give the owner a percentage of the sales generated from the land. In 1845, farmers donated a tract of land to be used to glorify Silo Sebastiao. This land is now the city of Ribeirao Preto, and it is this conjuncture that defined the structure and the transformation of the original urban form of the current city.展开更多
Concession contracts in highways often include some kind of clauses （for example, a minimum traffic guarantee） that allow for better management of the business risks. The value of these clauses may be important and ...Concession contracts in highways often include some kind of clauses （for example, a minimum traffic guarantee） that allow for better management of the business risks. The value of these clauses may be important and should be added to the total value of the concession. However, in these cases, traditional valuation techniques, like the NPV （net present value） of the project, are insufficient. An alternative methodology for the valuation of highway concession is one based on the real options approach. This methodology is generally built on the assumption of the evolution of traffic volume as a GBM （geometric Brownian motion）, which is the hypothesis analyzed in this paper. First, a description of the methodology used for the analysis of the existence of unit roots （i.e., the hypothesis of non-stationarity） is provided. The Dickey-Fuller approach has been used, which is the most common test for this kind of analysis. Then this methodology is applied to perform a statistical analysis of traffic series in Spanish toll highways. For this purpose, data on the AADT （annual average daily traffic） on a set of highways have been used. The period of analysis is around thirty years in most cases. The main outcome of the research is that the hypothesis that traffic volume follows a GBM process in Spanish toll highways cannot be rejected. This result is robust, and therefore it can be used as a starting point for the application of the real options theory to assess toll highway concessions.展开更多
As a new field in the Discourse Analysis, Positive Discourse Analysis （PDA） is increasingly arousing more attention of linguistic scholars at home and abroad. However, in the field of the concession addresses, the s...As a new field in the Discourse Analysis, Positive Discourse Analysis （PDA） is increasingly arousing more attention of linguistic scholars at home and abroad. However, in the field of the concession addresses, the studies on this kind of political text are limited. The winners of presidential election always draw much attention from the world and their speeches, for example, presidential inaugural address has been a hot study topic of linguistics. Nevertheless, the losers of presidential election are always neglected by the world and the study on concession address is scarce and rare. Therefore, the meaning of study on the concession speech helps fill the gap of the discourse analysis. This thesis applies the PDA under the framework of appraisal theory to analyze five concession speeches with a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study aims to complement CDA （Critical Discourse Analysis） to emphasize positive social construction of political discourse.展开更多
This study examines the implication of household income composition on infrastructure maintenance in the residential core of Akure,Nigeria with a view to providing suggestive recommendations that will remedy identifie...This study examines the implication of household income composition on infrastructure maintenance in the residential core of Akure,Nigeria with a view to providing suggestive recommendations that will remedy identified problems in the research locale.With regards to this,an estimated of 1%research population,amounting to 425,were served with questionnaires using systematic random sampling technique with replacement.Findings revealed that residents in the study area are low income earners with larger population influenced by market proximity,low prices of staple food items and affordable but tumbledown housing.Likewise,essential facilities are in poor state owing to poor maintenance.Besides,household income induced variables considered in the study,which accounted for 75.6%of the challenges limiting routine facilities maintenance in the study area.The study recommends skill acquisition training,resource collaborative efforts and soft loans scheme to boost the income generation of residents in this locale.展开更多
In late January,as India celebrated its 77th Republic Day,the European Union's trade delegation,led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,concluded a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with New Delhi.The de...In late January,as India celebrated its 77th Republic Day,the European Union's trade delegation,led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,concluded a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with New Delhi.The deal was widely lauded in Indian official discourse,with spokespeople describing it as a breakthrough in market access,investment flows,and regulatory harmonization.EU-India negotiations had reportedly aimed to facilitate higher quotas for concessional steel exports and intrcxiuced flexibility in implementing the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism(CBAM).展开更多
A simple but illustrative survey is given on various approaches of computational intelligence with their features, applications and the mathematical tools involved, among which the simulated annealing, neural networks...A simple but illustrative survey is given on various approaches of computational intelligence with their features, applications and the mathematical tools involved, among which the simulated annealing, neural networks, genetic and evolutionary programming, self-organizing learning and adapting algorithms, hidden Markov models are recommended intensively. The common mathematical features of various computational intelligence algorithms are exploited.Finally, two common principles of concessive strategies implicated in many computational intelligence algorithms are discussed.展开更多
Steeply dipping prograding fan deltas possess high reservoir quality facies that could be excellent targets while exploring for hydrocarbons.Due to their complex stacking nature,and limited examples,delineating their ...Steeply dipping prograding fan deltas possess high reservoir quality facies that could be excellent targets while exploring for hydrocarbons.Due to their complex stacking nature,and limited examples,delineating their architectural elements is still challenging.In this paper we mainly performed sedimentary facies analysis;applying various disciplines e.g.sequence stratigraphy,seismic stratigraphy,GR-log motifs,and seismic waveform segmentation;so as to adequately depict the reservoir heterogeneity and quality of the Paleozoic Nubia clastics in West Esh El Mallaha Concession(southwest Gulf of Suez rift).Organic maturity prediction,to confirm the hydrocarbon charging from source units to reservoir intervals,was also of most importance in this study.Accordingly,1D basin model was established to define the past geologic events;subsidence,and thermal maturity;and their controls on sedimentary basin evolution and associated petroleum potential.We utilized several key-information scales;e.g.wireline logs,and seismic profiles.Linking different disciplines applied in this study points to a successful integrated reservoir characterization workflow capable of unfolding ancient environments and the associated hydrocarbon potential.The results show that Nubia Formation was built during the lowstandtransgressive phase of a 3rd order depositional sequence.It encompasses fluvio-lacustrine system with eight sedimentary facies associations;form source to sink.Fluvial channels and mouth bars,settled in subaerial and subaqueous settings respectively,represent the most significant reservoir facies in the area.Given best hydrocarbon-reservoir quality,the deltaic mouth bars ought to attract attention of further oilfield development plans and be considered while investigating similar settings.展开更多
The policemen in the French Concession of Shanghai were mainly composed of French,R ussian,Chinese,and Vietnamese.Through a comparative study of recruiting conditions,training courses,salaries,welfare,and job turnover...The policemen in the French Concession of Shanghai were mainly composed of French,R ussian,Chinese,and Vietnamese.Through a comparative study of recruiting conditions,training courses,salaries,welfare,and job turnover,I establish that the police were a hierarchical institution based on a differentiated treatment according to race and nationality.The French policemen stood at the top of the pyramid,with the lowest number but the most influence.The Russians were cheap white labor forces and constituted the second highest class of the police.The Vietnamese and Chinese policemen were at the bottom of the pyramid and constituted the majority of the policemen in the Concession.展开更多
Based on research on a number of judicial decisions regarding concession and Public-Private Partnership(PPP)agreements,this paper demonstrates the problems and dilemmas of China's current PPP dispute resolution me...Based on research on a number of judicial decisions regarding concession and Public-Private Partnership(PPP)agreements,this paper demonstrates the problems and dilemmas of China's current PPP dispute resolution mechanism and clarifies three fundamental issues:concessiont^PPP;concession agreement工administrative agreement;and disputes related to administrative agreements administrative disputes.On the grounds of these conclusions,the paper argues that the logical chain of China's existing PPP and concession dispute resolution mechanism is untenable.The logic of the current mechanism starts from the definition of an administrative agreement;it then classifies concession agreement as administrative agreement;and finally subjects the disputes over concession agreements to administrative litigation.Yet,this starting point is problematic because the definition of administrative agreement and the distinction between public and private law attributes are difficult to determine precisely,as they lack the necessary theoretical clarity and uniqueness.Overall,the current legal situation of PPP in China is far from being satisfactory because a statutory law on PPP is absent,the existing laws and regulations on administrative agreements are primitive,and the judicial practice has not yet established unified and clear criteria.Against this backdrop,this paper proposes a possible way out.First,we should critically reflect on the current administrative agreement and PPP agreement theory.Then,we should apply the method of legal fact research,adopt doctrinal tools of the legal relationship theory and contract construction theory,and eventually establish a multiple dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes effectively.展开更多
The petroliferous province of the Western Desert comprises several sedimentary basins with different hydrocarbon potentiality and production capability.The middle Jurassic Khatatba Formation was proved a potential sou...The petroliferous province of the Western Desert comprises several sedimentary basins with different hydrocarbon potentiality and production capability.The middle Jurassic Khatatba Formation was proved a potential source rock in some basins and active/effective in others.The current study aims to give a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the potential organic-rich intervals of the Khatatba Formation across JG and JD fields,northeast Abu Gharadig Basin(NEAG).The hydrocarbon generating capability and sourcing of the Khatatba Formation studied through organic geochemistry calibrated with well logging.However,the efficiency of some widely used plots of geochemistry is re-evaluated according to their accuracy and consistency.Forty cuttings,thirteen cores and two oil samples obtained from three wells(JG-2,JG-3 and JD-4)were evaluated.The samples revealed total organic carbon(TOC)values ranging from 1 to 9 wt%,exhibiting a good-excellent potential source rock.A single sample in the JD-4 well attained a TOC value of 21.3 wt%with a generating potential(represented by S2 parameter)exceeding 146 mgHc/g rock required a special evaluation.Most of the samples(mainly in the JD-4 well)attained a sufficient level of thermal maturity for hydrocarbon generation with a Tmax up to 449C.The vitrinite reflectance(%Ro)values(a common maturity-related indicator)acquired from the JD-4 well ranging between 0.76%and 0.92%.These values are tediously increasing with depth indicating a uniform geothermal regime.The Khatatba organofacies,with wide variety of kerogen types(I,II,II-S and II/III),contain marine organic matter with a slight terrigenous input,exhibiting anoxic-suboxic environmental conditions.Oil-source correlations define the organic-rich intervals responsible for charging the accumulated hydrocarbon in the NEAG concession.展开更多
This article focuses on the long-term transformation in the core urban area of Shenyang from the early Qing Dynasty to the end of World War II.Despite it uses urban development as a case study,this is not research of ...This article focuses on the long-term transformation in the core urban area of Shenyang from the early Qing Dynasty to the end of World War II.Despite it uses urban development as a case study,this is not research of urban history.Rather,the article reveals the unique path of Northeast China entering modernity through the spatial arrangement of different time periods in urban settings.The core academic inquiry is how the Manchurian frontier was incorporated into the narrative of a unified multi-ethnic community of"modern China."The article proposes that the changes in the urban configuration of Shenyang vividly reflect the diverse variations of Manchurian modernity.From being an ordinary garrison city in the Ming Dynasty to the largest city outside the Great Wall in the Qing Dynasty,and eventually becoming the most important industrial and commercial center in Northeast China and the whole country in the 20th century,the urban development of Shenyang encompasses a series of significant themes in the formation,transformation,and reshaping of modern China.One continuous phenomenon,which is a pair of seemingly contradictory dynamic trajectories,is Manchuria(or Northeast China)being continually identified as a special"frontier"and the gradual disappearance of the"marginality"of this frontier.Through the case study of the urbanization of Shenyang,the article suggests a possible theoretical framework:"de-marginalized frontier,"to understand modern Northeast China.展开更多
文摘The paper presents and examines the impact of corporate governance and ethics in particular on sustainable development of the Zimbabwean microfinance sector in the period 2009-2019.The critical microfinance institutions(MFIs)crisis experienced in Masvingo,Zimbabwe recently was not the first one in the world in terms of its severity.The main aim of MFIs in any economy is to serve the poor and vulnerable people of a society through providing them with soft or concessional loans,insurance coverage,and facilities for savings.The study used the descriptive qualitative design to draw research data from MFIs dotted in and around Masvingo Province for presentation,analysis,and interpretation.One of the major findings of the study was that corporate governance and ethics played an indispensable role in the growth and development of MFIs’products and services.The study also realized that good corporate governance and ethical behaviours in business practices were essential for the success of any organization and vice versa and MFIs were no exception.The study therefore concluded that poor capital formation,corporate governance and ethics,human recruitment and selection procedures and fraudulent activities or misappropriation of funds were responsible for the majority of threats faced by MFIs in Masvingo in their growth and development endeavours.Therefore the study recommended that directors of MFIs should craft policies and strategies that are corporate governance and ethics oriented in their desire to grow their business towards sustainable development in the foreseeable future.
文摘Translation is a conversion process, which helps transform a language message into another language. In the conversion of English and Chinese, mastering and understanding some skills of translation can help us better grasp and understand how to transform English into Chinese. Based on the source text of Hillary Clinton's concession speech and the Chinese target text, the thesis studies the techniques of English translation and concludes the skills of translation. The purpose is to help students master a variety of English translation methods, to accumulate English communication skills and to improve the comprehensive level of English.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52175352)the Xing Liao Ying Cai Project of Liaoning Province(No.XLYC2008036)the Shenyang Youth Innovation Talent Support Program(No.RC220429)。
文摘The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing,which has the characteristics of large size,complex structure,and thin wall.In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes,casting crack defects are prone to occur.This leads to an increase in the scrap rate of casings,causing significant resource wastage.Additionally,the presence of cracks poses a significant safety hazard after the casings are put into service.The generation of different types of crack defects in stainless steel casings is closely related to casting stress and the high-temperature concession of the sand mold.Therefore,the types and causes of cracks in stainless steel casing products,based on their structural characteristics,were systematically analyzed.Various sand molds with different internal topology designs were printed using the 3DP technology to investigate the impact of sand mold structures on high-temperature concession.The optimal sand mold structure was used to cast casings,and the crack suppression effect was verified by analyzing its eddy current testing results.The experimental results indicate that the skeleton structure has an excellent effect on suppressing cracks in the casing.This research holds important theoretical and engineering significance in improving the quality of casing castings and reducing production costs.
基金the Research Project Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC(No.2011-123-22)Fund of China International Contractors Association
文摘Concession period is a key factor in the arrangement of a build-operate-transfer(BOT) contract. This paper proposes a stochastic concession period model for infrastructure projects under a BOT scheme, which takes into account the impact of risks and the risk attitudes of the private investor and the government. A hypothetical case is simulated by using the Monte Carlo simulation method to illustrate the proposed model. The results indicate that even for a project with the same estimations, the concession interval can be different and depends a lot on the risk attitudes of the private investor and the government. The proposed model provides a more reasonable concession interval based on which a specific concession period can be obtained through negotiation between the two parties.
文摘Through reviewing development history of concession gardens in Tianjin City,features,advantages and problems of these gardens were analyzed.It was stressed that cultural context should be inherited,and features of the city highlighted.The gardens should be protected from the perspective of development,combined with urban green space system,integrated with cultural life of local citizens,and coordinated with contemporary architectural style of the city.In addition,plant landscapes should be enriched,and infrastructure of the gardens supplemented to properly handle the relationship between urban construction and protection of historical image,and provide reference for inheriting cultural context of the city in the urban development.
基金Sponsored by Art and Science Planning Foundation of Tianjin City(A12069)
文摘Through the overview of the development history of Tianjin Concession Parks, this paper analyzed the historical significance of Tianjin Concession Parks and put forward its existing problems, then summed up a series of strategies of sustainable development as follows: adhering to the Florence Charter; retaining the original form and texture of the Concession Parks; adopting a dynamic philosophy of protection and preservation; integrating with citizens' social life; supplementing and improving infrastructure facilities; and achieving environmental regeneration by planting. All these efforts are expected to contribute to making a balance between the development and construction of urban cities and the preservation of historical features, as well as provide lessons for inheriting urban history and culture in the future.
文摘Many conflicts are reported in small islands mainly in Eastern region of Indonesia and it is needed to conflict resolution in the forest sector. The research has been conducted on forest conflict in the small island of Yamdena. The aims of the research were： （1） to determine the customary rights of indigenous peoples to the forest area that was claimed as theirs according to the applicable rules and regulations; （2） to study the causes of conflict between indigenous peoples and the logging company; （3） to analyze the policy in the forest resources management on the customary land. This research is qualitative and uses a case study methodology. Data collection methods used include semi-structured interviews, participant observation and focus group discussion （FGD）. The results showed that indigenous peoples whose livelihood is highly dependent on the forest were most threatened because of forest exploitation of their traditional land by the logging company. Handling of the conflict potential in the forest resources management in Yamdena island was approached through use of traditional laws, involving all the relevant parties to the conflict. The forest management either by indigenous peoples or the logging company is no longer focused on the timber harvesting but more on conservation aspects.
文摘The purpose of this study is to explore the urban morphological aspects of cities governed by the juridical regime of emphyteusis, a recurrent situation in the northeastern part of the state of Silo Paulo, Brazil, with special attention to the city of Ribeirao Preto. The concession of lands to the Catholic Church was a recurring practice in Brazil during the colonial and imperial periods, when the cities were being established. As these lands were intended for the formation of patrimonial goods to show the devotion of the residents to a Catholic saint, the lands were not allowed to be commercialized. The tenure reveals a relation in which there is an owner--the landlord--who has direct control of the urban land. This owner allows another--the leaseholder--the useful domain of the land, thus giving the latter the right to use the land, the obligation to pay an annual tax and the responsibility to give the owner a percentage of the sales generated from the land. In 1845, farmers donated a tract of land to be used to glorify Silo Sebastiao. This land is now the city of Ribeirao Preto, and it is this conjuncture that defined the structure and the transformation of the original urban form of the current city.
文摘Concession contracts in highways often include some kind of clauses （for example, a minimum traffic guarantee） that allow for better management of the business risks. The value of these clauses may be important and should be added to the total value of the concession. However, in these cases, traditional valuation techniques, like the NPV （net present value） of the project, are insufficient. An alternative methodology for the valuation of highway concession is one based on the real options approach. This methodology is generally built on the assumption of the evolution of traffic volume as a GBM （geometric Brownian motion）, which is the hypothesis analyzed in this paper. First, a description of the methodology used for the analysis of the existence of unit roots （i.e., the hypothesis of non-stationarity） is provided. The Dickey-Fuller approach has been used, which is the most common test for this kind of analysis. Then this methodology is applied to perform a statistical analysis of traffic series in Spanish toll highways. For this purpose, data on the AADT （annual average daily traffic） on a set of highways have been used. The period of analysis is around thirty years in most cases. The main outcome of the research is that the hypothesis that traffic volume follows a GBM process in Spanish toll highways cannot be rejected. This result is robust, and therefore it can be used as a starting point for the application of the real options theory to assess toll highway concessions.
文摘As a new field in the Discourse Analysis, Positive Discourse Analysis （PDA） is increasingly arousing more attention of linguistic scholars at home and abroad. However, in the field of the concession addresses, the studies on this kind of political text are limited. The winners of presidential election always draw much attention from the world and their speeches, for example, presidential inaugural address has been a hot study topic of linguistics. Nevertheless, the losers of presidential election are always neglected by the world and the study on concession address is scarce and rare. Therefore, the meaning of study on the concession speech helps fill the gap of the discourse analysis. This thesis applies the PDA under the framework of appraisal theory to analyze five concession speeches with a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study aims to complement CDA （Critical Discourse Analysis） to emphasize positive social construction of political discourse.
文摘This study examines the implication of household income composition on infrastructure maintenance in the residential core of Akure,Nigeria with a view to providing suggestive recommendations that will remedy identified problems in the research locale.With regards to this,an estimated of 1%research population,amounting to 425,were served with questionnaires using systematic random sampling technique with replacement.Findings revealed that residents in the study area are low income earners with larger population influenced by market proximity,low prices of staple food items and affordable but tumbledown housing.Likewise,essential facilities are in poor state owing to poor maintenance.Besides,household income induced variables considered in the study,which accounted for 75.6%of the challenges limiting routine facilities maintenance in the study area.The study recommends skill acquisition training,resource collaborative efforts and soft loans scheme to boost the income generation of residents in this locale.
文摘In late January,as India celebrated its 77th Republic Day,the European Union's trade delegation,led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,concluded a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with New Delhi.The deal was widely lauded in Indian official discourse,with spokespeople describing it as a breakthrough in market access,investment flows,and regulatory harmonization.EU-India negotiations had reportedly aimed to facilitate higher quotas for concessional steel exports and intrcxiuced flexibility in implementing the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism(CBAM).
文摘A simple but illustrative survey is given on various approaches of computational intelligence with their features, applications and the mathematical tools involved, among which the simulated annealing, neural networks, genetic and evolutionary programming, self-organizing learning and adapting algorithms, hidden Markov models are recommended intensively. The common mathematical features of various computational intelligence algorithms are exploited.Finally, two common principles of concessive strategies implicated in many computational intelligence algorithms are discussed.
文摘Steeply dipping prograding fan deltas possess high reservoir quality facies that could be excellent targets while exploring for hydrocarbons.Due to their complex stacking nature,and limited examples,delineating their architectural elements is still challenging.In this paper we mainly performed sedimentary facies analysis;applying various disciplines e.g.sequence stratigraphy,seismic stratigraphy,GR-log motifs,and seismic waveform segmentation;so as to adequately depict the reservoir heterogeneity and quality of the Paleozoic Nubia clastics in West Esh El Mallaha Concession(southwest Gulf of Suez rift).Organic maturity prediction,to confirm the hydrocarbon charging from source units to reservoir intervals,was also of most importance in this study.Accordingly,1D basin model was established to define the past geologic events;subsidence,and thermal maturity;and their controls on sedimentary basin evolution and associated petroleum potential.We utilized several key-information scales;e.g.wireline logs,and seismic profiles.Linking different disciplines applied in this study points to a successful integrated reservoir characterization workflow capable of unfolding ancient environments and the associated hydrocarbon potential.The results show that Nubia Formation was built during the lowstandtransgressive phase of a 3rd order depositional sequence.It encompasses fluvio-lacustrine system with eight sedimentary facies associations;form source to sink.Fluvial channels and mouth bars,settled in subaerial and subaqueous settings respectively,represent the most significant reservoir facies in the area.Given best hydrocarbon-reservoir quality,the deltaic mouth bars ought to attract attention of further oilfield development plans and be considered while investigating similar settings.
基金The study has received the sponsor support of the China National Social Science Fund(Project No.17BDJ039).
文摘The policemen in the French Concession of Shanghai were mainly composed of French,R ussian,Chinese,and Vietnamese.Through a comparative study of recruiting conditions,training courses,salaries,welfare,and job turnover,I establish that the police were a hierarchical institution based on a differentiated treatment according to race and nationality.The French policemen stood at the top of the pyramid,with the lowest number but the most influence.The Russians were cheap white labor forces and constituted the second highest class of the police.The Vietnamese and Chinese policemen were at the bottom of the pyramid and constituted the majority of the policemen in the Concession.
文摘Based on research on a number of judicial decisions regarding concession and Public-Private Partnership(PPP)agreements,this paper demonstrates the problems and dilemmas of China's current PPP dispute resolution mechanism and clarifies three fundamental issues:concessiont^PPP;concession agreement工administrative agreement;and disputes related to administrative agreements administrative disputes.On the grounds of these conclusions,the paper argues that the logical chain of China's existing PPP and concession dispute resolution mechanism is untenable.The logic of the current mechanism starts from the definition of an administrative agreement;it then classifies concession agreement as administrative agreement;and finally subjects the disputes over concession agreements to administrative litigation.Yet,this starting point is problematic because the definition of administrative agreement and the distinction between public and private law attributes are difficult to determine precisely,as they lack the necessary theoretical clarity and uniqueness.Overall,the current legal situation of PPP in China is far from being satisfactory because a statutory law on PPP is absent,the existing laws and regulations on administrative agreements are primitive,and the judicial practice has not yet established unified and clear criteria.Against this backdrop,this paper proposes a possible way out.First,we should critically reflect on the current administrative agreement and PPP agreement theory.Then,we should apply the method of legal fact research,adopt doctrinal tools of the legal relationship theory and contract construction theory,and eventually establish a multiple dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes effectively.
文摘The petroliferous province of the Western Desert comprises several sedimentary basins with different hydrocarbon potentiality and production capability.The middle Jurassic Khatatba Formation was proved a potential source rock in some basins and active/effective in others.The current study aims to give a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the potential organic-rich intervals of the Khatatba Formation across JG and JD fields,northeast Abu Gharadig Basin(NEAG).The hydrocarbon generating capability and sourcing of the Khatatba Formation studied through organic geochemistry calibrated with well logging.However,the efficiency of some widely used plots of geochemistry is re-evaluated according to their accuracy and consistency.Forty cuttings,thirteen cores and two oil samples obtained from three wells(JG-2,JG-3 and JD-4)were evaluated.The samples revealed total organic carbon(TOC)values ranging from 1 to 9 wt%,exhibiting a good-excellent potential source rock.A single sample in the JD-4 well attained a TOC value of 21.3 wt%with a generating potential(represented by S2 parameter)exceeding 146 mgHc/g rock required a special evaluation.Most of the samples(mainly in the JD-4 well)attained a sufficient level of thermal maturity for hydrocarbon generation with a Tmax up to 449C.The vitrinite reflectance(%Ro)values(a common maturity-related indicator)acquired from the JD-4 well ranging between 0.76%and 0.92%.These values are tediously increasing with depth indicating a uniform geothermal regime.The Khatatba organofacies,with wide variety of kerogen types(I,II,II-S and II/III),contain marine organic matter with a slight terrigenous input,exhibiting anoxic-suboxic environmental conditions.Oil-source correlations define the organic-rich intervals responsible for charging the accumulated hydrocarbon in the NEAG concession.
文摘This article focuses on the long-term transformation in the core urban area of Shenyang from the early Qing Dynasty to the end of World War II.Despite it uses urban development as a case study,this is not research of urban history.Rather,the article reveals the unique path of Northeast China entering modernity through the spatial arrangement of different time periods in urban settings.The core academic inquiry is how the Manchurian frontier was incorporated into the narrative of a unified multi-ethnic community of"modern China."The article proposes that the changes in the urban configuration of Shenyang vividly reflect the diverse variations of Manchurian modernity.From being an ordinary garrison city in the Ming Dynasty to the largest city outside the Great Wall in the Qing Dynasty,and eventually becoming the most important industrial and commercial center in Northeast China and the whole country in the 20th century,the urban development of Shenyang encompasses a series of significant themes in the formation,transformation,and reshaping of modern China.One continuous phenomenon,which is a pair of seemingly contradictory dynamic trajectories,is Manchuria(or Northeast China)being continually identified as a special"frontier"and the gradual disappearance of the"marginality"of this frontier.Through the case study of the urbanization of Shenyang,the article suggests a possible theoretical framework:"de-marginalized frontier,"to understand modern Northeast China.
