Assessing Optimal CO2 Abatement Policies for the Kyoto Protocol: A Genetic Algorithms Approach

In 1997, the third Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change was held. Commitments were set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. Several models have been developed in order to analyze CO2 abatement policies. These models should be categorized as global models considering the wide scale of global warming. Some of those models, however, analyze the policies on a one-country basis and models of global content divide the world into certain regions. It is meaningless to implement the same policies to a region. A multi-country model is preferable to such models. Thus, we have constructed a macroeconometric model linked with an energy model to assess CO2 abatement policies applying genetic algorithms to quantify the optimal policy in favor of the Kyoto Protocol. In this paper, the case of Japan is presented with the intent to analyze optimal policy in a multi-country context.

Assessing Optimal CO2 Abatement Policies for the Kyoto Protocol: A Genetic Algorithms Approach

In 1997, the third Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change was held. Commitments were set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. Several models have been developed in order to analyze CO2 abatement policies. These models should be categorized as global models considering the wide scale of global warming. Some of those models, however, analyze the policies on a one-country basis and models of global content divide the world into certain regions. It is meaningless to implement the same policies to a region. A multi-country model is preferable to such models. Thus, we have constructed a macroeconometric model linked with an energy model to assess CO2 abatement policies applying genetic algorithms to quantify the optimal policy in favor of the Kyoto Protocol. In this paper, the case of Japan is presented with the intent to analyze optimal policy in a multi-country context

An Empirical Analysis on Optimal Macroeconomic Policy Coordination in EMU Countries

known as the European Monetary Union (EMU). As a result, the Euro Area’s monetar

The Effect of Transportation System on the Economic Growth of the Japanese Economy 1965-2000:using nine region inter-regional IO model

Japan had experienced rapid economic growth since 1960. We can point out that the establishment of better and high-speed transportation was one of the crucial factors for the growth. Hence,„ÄÄthis paper„ÄÄexamines historically the impact of the high-speed transport infrastructure developments on Japan's economic growth by employing an inter-regional input-output model for Japanese„ÄÄeconomy„ÄÄcovering„ÄÄnine„ÄÄregions. This model is based on the IO„ÄÄtables from 1965 to 2000 in constant prices (nine regions and eight„ÄÄsectors ) and determines sectoral output and sectoral price simultaneously. For this purpose, evaluation of transport development is quite important. This paper develops an index of transportation evaluation which focuses on the balance between the time-cost and the fare of any high speed transportation. Incorporating this index in the inter-regional input-output model, the„ÄÄpaper analyzes the effects of transport infrastructure development. As a result, this„ÄÄpaper found positive relationship between the Japan economic growth and the development of transport system (particularly highway system),„ÄÄand also found problems associated with economic disparities among regions: i.e., centralization (concentration of people and goods) and decentralization occurred in core and local regions, respectively

Generation of polarization entanglement from spatially-correlated photons in spontaneous parametric down-conversion

We propose a novel scheme to generate polarization entanglement from spatially-correlated photon pairs. We experimentally realized a scheme by means of a spatial correlation effect in a spontaneous parametric down-conversion and a modified Michelson interferometer. The scheme we propose in this paper can be interpreted as a conversion process from spatial correlation to polarization entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

KUIS students\u27 development and changes of foreign language motivation, aptitude, and proficiency

研究助成による研究報

(-)-Magellanine、(+)-Magellaninone及び(+)-Paniculatineの立体選択的全合成

取得学位：博士(薬学），学位授与番号：博甲第1033号，学位授与年月日：平成20年3月22

Seismic performance of group pile foundation with ground improvement during liquefaction

A pile foundation with ground improvement under the footing is a composite foundation with the objectives of enhancing the seismic performance and rationalizing the substructure by combining the pile foundation with ground improvement. Although the effectiveness of this method has been confirmed in previous studies for application to soft grounds, the applicability of this method to liquefiable grounds has yet to be fully investigated. In this study, therefore, centrifuge model tests and finite element analyses were conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this method and to ascertain the improvement in strength (stiffness) when the method is applied to a liquefiable ground. Firstly, in order to investigate the effect of an improved ground on the behavior of the pile foundation during liquefaction, dynamic centrifuge model tests were conducted for three cases with different strengths of the improved ground. Then, three-dimensional soil–water coupled finite element analyses of the centrifuge model experiments were performed to validate the applicability of the analytical method. After that, parametric studies, in which the strength of the improved ground and the input ground motion were changed, were conducted using the same analytical model. The results confirmed that the horizontal displacement of the pile heads was reduced by the improved ground even in the liquefiable ground, and that the effect of this reduction was more remarkable in cases of high stiffness of the improved ground. Furthermore, it was possible to reduce the bending moments at the pile heads by applying the ground improvement. However, since the bending moment at the boundary between the improved ground and the natural ground became the local maximum, there was an optimum stiffness of the ground improvement at which the maximum bending moment of the piles was reduced. This is because improving the ground around the pile heads has the same effect as extending the footing. It was thus concluded that the behavior of the pile foundation is similar to that of a composite foundation comprised of a caisson and group piles

Neural Basis of Psychological Growth following Adverse Experiences: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

Over the past decade, research on the aftereffects of stressful or traumatic events has emphasized the negative outcomes from these experiences. However, the positive outcomes deriving from adversity are increasingly being examined, and such positive changes are described as posttraumatic growth (PTG). To investigate the relationship between basal whole-brain functional connectivity and PTG, we employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and analyzed the neural networks using independent component analysis in a sample of 33 healthy controls. Correlations were calculated between the network connectivity strength and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) score. There were positive associations between the PTGI scores and brain activation in the rostral prefrontal cortex and superior parietal lobule (SPL) within the left central executive network (CEN) (respectively, r = 0.41, p < 0.001; r = 0.49, p < 0.001). Individuals with higher psychological growth following adverse experiences had stronger activation in prospective or working memory areas within the executive function network than did individuals with lower psychological growth (r = 0.40, p < 0.001). Moreover, we found that individuals with higher PTG demonstrated stronger connectivity between the SPL and supramarginal gyrus (SMG). The SMG is one of the brain regions associated with the ability to reason about the mental states of others, otherwise known as mentalizing. These findings suggest that individuals with higher psychological growth may have stronger functional connectivity between memory functions within the CEN and social functioning in the SMG, and that their better sociality may result from using more memory for mentalizing during their daily social interactions