The “Little Girl” and the Power of Recollection as Poetic Style in the Writings of Bing Xin

The writings of Bing Xin have drawn the interest of readers and critics worldwide for their unique nature, exclusive perspective, and emotional force. While many agree that the lyrical material of her works predominantly derives from her childhood memories, with the writer also attempting to propose a solution to China’s social problems with her philosophy of love, the aim of this essay is to undertake a deeper study on the psychological perspective of Bing Xin’s literary persona and conclude that much of the world depicted in her works is nothing else than the moderated universe as perceived by a little girl kept alive within the adult writer. The writings of Bing Xin can be regarded as epitome of this perpetual survival of the “little girl” inside the writer who exalts childhood through memories and emotional allegory as well as universal love as a possible solution to man’s problems in modern society.&nbsp

Editorial: Calculation of Passenger Car Equivalents at Roundabouts

Editorial on the Research Topic: Calculation of Passenger Car Equivalents at Roundabouts About this Research Topic: Calculation of Passenger Car Equivalents (PCEs) for heavy vehicles represents the starting point for the operational analysis of road facilities and other traffic management applications. PCEs are used to consider the presence of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream and are expressed as multiples of the effect of an average passenger car. Moreover, the highly curvilinear nature of the roundabout design, both in urban and rural environment, has significant effects on the paths that heavy vehicles would travel; as a consequence, the interaction between the physical and performance characteristics of the heavy vehicles and the geometric features of roundabouts can produce higher impacts on traffic operations than other at-grade intersections. The PCEs at roundabouts can be affected by numerous and specific factors, which include geometric and traffic properties, and other factors (e.g. location and environment, driver behaviour), the effect of which can be significant under conditions of unlimited traffic with high saturation degrees of the traffic streams. Based on these considerations, this Research Topic aims to verify the effect of geometric and traffic-related determinants on the calculation of PCEs for heavy vehicles at modern (i.e. single-lane and multi-lane roundabouts) roundabouts and alternative types of roundabouts (i.e. turbo and flower roundabouts). Since only a few studies were based on field data or have calibrated PCEs for roundabouts, academics and practitioners during the last decade have been using microscopic traffic simulation to calculate the PCEs on roundabouts. Thus, many challenges and research themes are still open for modern and alternative roundabouts, including: how to determine the PCE of different types of vehicle that reflect the actual traffic conditions in presence of motorized and non-motorized vehicles, or how to evaluate the transferability of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) recommendations for heterogeneous traffic conditions to adequately explain the traffic complexities of a mixed-traffic state, or how to optimize the working parameters of microscopic traffic simulation models in view of PCEs calculations, or how to assess the likely changes to traffic flow characteristics that may result from the introduction of new technologies for vehicles and how to assess the effects on fleet composition and level of service determinations. This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing all aspects of simulation of PCEs for modern and alternative roundabouts geared toward solving the above questions. As such, we solicit submissions of research papers dealing with themes that include, but are not limited to: • Prediction of entry lane capacity for roundabouts in heterogeneous traffic conditions and model calibration; • Estimation of capacity for roundabouts based on percentages of heavy vehicles in entering and circulating flows; • Prediction of the entry capacity based on the difference in driver’s gap acceptance behavior between cars and heavy vehicles; • Planning and designing of roundabouts under mixed-traffic flow conditions; • Case studies. https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/8991/calculation-of-passenger-car-equivalents-at-roundabout

Some remarks and experiences on higher education and sustainable development

7Education for sustainable development should be based on proper environmental management. The general objective of this study is to highlight key aspects of environmental education, with specific objectives. Inclusive education addresses the learning needs with a focus on those who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion. Ethics plays a vital role in environmental management and should be a cornerstone to raise awareness of new forms of relationship with the particular and global environment. The cosmovision of indigenous peoples should be respected, including the indissoluble union of each culture with the environment. The feminization of labor is relevant in horticulture crops, with an active role of women in the organization of work. The connections between education and the world of work are key, with preparation for new and indeterminate forms of employment, paying attention to social skills in the context of increasing globalization. University Social Responsibility (USR) implies that the University must act ethically in knowledge transfer, promoting sustainable development. Sustainable development involves new systems of thought, it requires creativity and critical thinking, and an alternative is the creation of role-playing, to lead people to thinking in different ways. It is essential that the new professionals act without static patterns, integrating interdisciplinary teams, to search for the answer to a problem, offering original and innovative alternatives

A soil quality index to evaluate the vermicompost amendments effects on soil properites

502-510The aims of this work were 1) to evaluate the changes in soil properties with the application of different amounts of vermicompost (10 and 20 Mg·ha–1), and 2) to construct a soil quality index that allows the evaluation of changes in the most sensitive soil parameters. The study was carried out in a cattle field of General Alvear, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vermicompost application showed a positive effect on most of the chemical and biological soil properties evaluated, especially with the higher dose (20 Mg·ha–1). There were slight but significant increases in electrical conductivity and soil pH with the higher dose of vermicompost. Physical soil properties were not affected by the vermicompost amend-ment. The SQI showed a significant increase of soil quality with the vermicompost dose of 20 Mg·ha–1, especially by enhancing the biochemical and biological properties