Impacts of fuel consumption taxes on mobility patterns and CO2 emissions using a system dynamic approach

Current transport behaviour leads to increasing congestion of the infrastructure, growing dependence on fossil fuels, increasing energy demand, and growing CO2 emissions. Policies based principally on increasing system speed and in particular car speeds will lead to greater urban sprawl with increases in average trip lengths. Time saved by speed increases are traded for more distance. This trend is not sustainable in the longer term. Transport policies based just on time savings for citizens may not be the basis for our city planning strategy. The same happens with transport cost. With underpriced transport, the market undervalues land use location, which again may lead city to sprawl and could induce greater trip lengths. In this study, the efficiency of a fuel consumption or CO2 tax policy is analysed as a policy to internalise externalities of transport in a fair travel cost. Based on system dynamics theory, an integrated land use and transport model is proposed in order to assess the effects and impacts of such policy in the short, medium and long term. Different scenarios related to clean vehicles are incorporated. This model is applied to three cities Madrid, Vienna and Leeds and compares their results

CTZS Thin Films Grown by a Sequential Deposition of Precursors

A comparative study of the structural, optical and morphological properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films prepared by two different techniques was performed. One consists of sequential evaporation of the elemental metallic precursors under a flux of sulphur supplied by evaporation from an effusion cell (physical vapor deposition-PVD) and the second one is a solution-based chemical route where thin layers of CuS, SnS and ZnS are deposited sequentially by diffusion membrane- assisted chemical bath deposition techniques; the membranes are used to optimize the kinetic growth through a moderate control of the release of the metal into CBD solution by osmosis. The present comparative study is helpful to the synthesis of kesterite nanostructured thin films.Comment: Published 201

Functional Requirements-Based Automated Testing for Avionics

We propose and demonstrate a method for the reduction of testing effort in safety-critical software development using DO-178 guidance. We achieve this through the application of Bounded Model Checking (BMC) to formal low-level requirements, in order to generate tests automatically that are good enough to replace existing labor-intensive test writing procedures while maintaining independence from implementation artefacts. Given that existing manual processes are often empirical and subjective, we begin by formally defining a metric, which extends recognized best practice from code coverage analysis strategies to generate tests that adequately cover the requirements. We then formulate the automated test generation procedure and apply its prototype in case studies with industrial partners. In review, the method developed here is demonstrated to significantly reduce the human effort for the qualification of software products under DO-178 guidance

Gestión y Gobernanza en el Desarrollo Metropolitano de Toluca 2011-2018

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar los componentes de gestión metropolitana que existen en México, destacando sus características y atributos principales, sus estructuras y la forma en la operan, ello con el propósito de identificar sus alcances y limitaciones en el marco de una gestión con un enfoque de gobernanza, misma que aporta elementos para el desarrollo de propuestas que apoyen las actividades de la estructura gubernamental existente. El referente de análisis es el sistema de gestión de la Zona Metropolitana de Toluca (ZMT), considerado uno de los esquemas representativos del país en la configuración e implementación de estrategias para este ámbito, identificando atributos en lo jurídico, organizacional y en la incorporación de instrumentos de planeación y financiamiento.En el marco del desarrollo metropolitano en México, el gobierno y la sociedad han planteado diversas estrategias para gestionar las zonas metropolitanas; principalmente, se observa el reforzamiento del marco jurídico dirigido a facilitar la coordinación metropolitana; la incorporación de organismos que promueven la asociación intermunicipal; y el diseño de instrumentos que complementan el financiamiento y planeación de estrategias a esta escala. Aún con estos atributos, se observa que las metrópolis enfrentan un estado de crisis, sobre todo se percibe, la carencia de sustentabilidad en el ambiente urbano, altos niveles de segregación, exclusión y pobreza, riesgos de baja productividad y el incremento de sus problemáticas urbanas. Si se busca alcanzar altos entandares de bienestar, progreso y desarrollo, se deben dirigir, e incluso reorientar, las estrategias de gestión implementadas, lo cual se ha identificado como un factor estratégico que fortalece e incrementa los beneficios que ofrecen estos espacios

Epistolografia i Emigracja. Perspektywy badawcze. Turyn, 6–7 października 2022 r.

Report on "Epistolography and Emigration. Research Perspectives". Turin, October 6.–7., 2022Sprawozdanie z konferencji "Epistolografia i Emigracja. Perspektywy badawcze". Turyn, 6–7 października 2022 r

Pobyt w Archiwum Polskiego Muzeum w Rapperswilu

In this article, I supplement the history of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil (presented at the beginning of the 21st century by Anna Krochmal) with modern times. Based on my own observations and experiences, I characterize the archival resources of this institution, its staff and describe the tasks that I carried out there as an archivist during my two-month internship. I explain the specific ownership and financial structure of the Museum and the Society associated with it, and also make people aware of the extremely difficult contemporary situation of the institution.W artykule uzupełniam historię Muzeum Polskiego w Rapperswilu, przedstawioną na początku XXI wieku przez Annę Krochmal, o czasy współczesne. Bazując na własnych obserwacjach i doświadczeniach charakteryzuję zasób archiwum niniejszej instytucji, jej personel oraz opisuję zadania które tam zrealizowałem jako archiwista podczas dwumiesięcznego stażu. Wyjaśniam specyficzną strukturę własnościową i finansową Muzeum oraz związanego z nim Towarzystwa, a także uświadamiam o niezwykle trudnej współczesnej sytuacji placówki

Proces aktotwórczy w Biurze Komisarza Obwodu Kujawskiego (Naczelnika Powiatu Kujawskiego, Naczelnika Powiatu Włocławskiego) w latach 1816–1866

The purpose of this article is to present the record-keeping processes that took place in the Office of the Kuyavia Province Commissioner and then in the Office of the Head of Włocławek County. The characterization of the processes is preceded by a discussion of the organizational structure of the office. The presentation of the circulation of records is supplemented by detailed information on the dispatch of letters, previously unknown  in the literature on the subject. The record keeping processes were also accompanied by special cases handled by the office’s head himself. They were supported by strictly defined procedures, legally prescribed forms of documents and books.System polskiej kancelarii akt spraw XIX w. wprowadzony do administracji Księstwa Warszawskiego znalazł kontynuacje w Królestwie Polskim. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie procesu aktotwórczego, który dokonywał się w Biurze Komisarza Obwodu Kujawskiego, a następnie w Biurze Naczelnika Powiatu Włocławskiego. Charakterystykę procesu poprzedza omówienie struktury organizacyjnej urzędu. Przedstawienie obiegu dokumentacji zostało uzupełnione o szczegółowe informacje dotyczące ekspedycji pism, nieznane wcześniej w literaturze przedmiotu. Procesy aktotwórcze towarzyszyły również sprawom szczególnym, załatwianym przez samego zwierzchnika urzędu. Wspomagały je ściśle określone procedury, przewidziane prawem formularze dokumentów oraz ksiąg

Psychometric Issues Related to the Tinker Toy Test

An evaluation of executive functioning is a critical component of a comprehensive assessment of higher cerebral functioning. The Tinker Toy Test (TTT) was introduced in 1982. This test allows an individual to demonstrate the extent of their executive capacities by permitting them to initiate, plan, and structure a potentially complex activity and carry it out independently in an unstructured fashion and administration is simple. This is a departure from more complex and structured tests of executive function. There is a dearth of research on the TTT and this study seeks to examine some of the psychometric properties of this instrument; i.e., working time minimum, gender effects, convergent and divergent validity, and potential intellectual correlates. Participants included 10 male and 30 female student volunteers from a large university in Central Florida. Participants had no history of neurologic disease/trauma or conditions that would affect motor functioning of the upper extremities. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the WASI-II, and the TTT. A two-way mixed-design ANOVA examining TTT scores as a function of work time and gender revealed a non-significant gender main effect, F(1, 21) = .09, p = .767. The work time main effect was not significant, , F(1, 21) = .324, p = .575. A significant work time x gender interaction was observed, F(1, 21) = 4.983, p = .037. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing the TTT scores with the Matrix Reasoning subtest, r(38) = .32, p = .044, and the Similarities, r(38) = .34, p = .03, subtest on the WASI-II. Divergent validity was assessed by comparing TTT scores to the Block Design subtest of the WASI-II, r(38) = .245, p = .127. No significant correlation was found between intelligence and TTT (VCI, r(38) = -.16, p = .335; PRI, r(38) = .15, p = .344; and FSIQ, r(38) = -.02, p = .928). The data supports the continued use of the 5-minute working time minimum presented by Lezak, as this temporal index was a more accurate representation of executive functioning. This study demonstrated no association between TTT scores and intellectual functioning. The findings of this study support the validity of this underutilized test of executive functioning and its inclusion in neuropsychological test batteries