Multiobjective Operation of Zambezi River Reservoirs

A three-year study on the development of decision support tools for management of large international rivers was conducted by the Water Resources Project of the Environment Program at IIASA. Main focus of the study was the Zambezi river basin in Africa, which is shared by eight riparian countries. One of the many problems that those countries are facing at present in that of the operation of large reservoirs. Reservoirs are used primarily for the generation of hydroelectric power, which for some of the countries in the region is the main source of energy. Hence, efficient operation of the reservoirs is vital from the economic point of view. With the operation formulations of such reservoirs the study also attempts to incorporate directly environmental objectives. The results of the study should be of interest not only to those of the scientific community dealing with problems of reservoir operation, but also to those practicing water management in African countries

Sonic diaspora, vibrations and rhythm: thinking through the sounding of the Jamaican dancehall session

The propagation of vibrations may provide a better way of understanding diasporic spread than the conventional focus on the circulation of products (Hall 1980, Appadurai 1986, 1996, Gilroy 1993a, Brah 1996). Jamaican sound systems operate as a broadcast medium and a source of CDs, DVDs and other commercial products (Henriques 2007a). But the dancehall sound system session also propagates a broad spectrum of frequencies diffused through a range of media and activities - described as “sounding” (following Small’s 1998 concept of “musicking”). These include the material vibrations of the signature low-pitched auditory frequencies of Reggae as a bass culture (Johnson 1980), at the loudness of “sonic dominance” (Henriques 2003). Secondly a session propagates the corporeal vibrations of rituals, dance routines and bass-line “riddims” (Veal 2007). Thirdly it propagates the ethereal vibrations (Henriques 2007b), “vibes” or atmosphere of the sexually charged popular subculture by which the crowd (audience) appreciate each dancehall session as part of the Dancehall scene (Cooper 2004). The paper concludes that thinking though vibrating frequencies makes it easier to appreciate how audiences with no direct or inherited connection with a particular music genre can be energetically infected and affected - to form a sonic diaspora

IRIS: Interactive River Simulation program

Initially characteristic features of program are presented. Consequently, the use of the package in decision making processes is briefly discussed. In the following section data requirements are provided. The last section of the paper is focused on application of the program in the study on operation of multiple reservoir system of the Zambezi river in southern Africa

Interactive computer support system for the management of large rivers. The Zambezi river case study

The paper presents the basic concepts of an interactive PC-AT based software package IRIS for simulation analysis of various development planning and management policy options in large river systems. IRIS package together with multiobjective optimization was used to analyse problems of hydropower generation and operation of reservoirs in the Zambezi river basin. Problems of water management in the basin were discussed and approaches to solve formulated decision problem presented. Combined use of optimization and simulation techniques is discussed: proposed optimal solution of the problem was analysed in the framework of IRIS to detect the impact of modification of this solution on the system's performances, including secondary objectives. Finally, conclusions on the applicability of IRIS package are drawn

Automotive Emotions: Feeling the Car.

Car cultures have social, material and, above all, affective dimensions that are overlooked in current strategies to influence car-driving decisions. Car consumption is never simply about rational economic choices, but is as much about aesthetic, emotional and sensory responses to driving, as well as patterns of kinship, sociability, habitation and work. Through a close examination of the aesthetic and especially kinaesthetic dimensions of automobility, this article locates car cultures (and their associated feelings) within a broader physical/material relational setting that includes both human bodies and car bodies, and the relations between them and the spaces through which they move (or fail to move). Drawing on both the phenomenology of car use and new approaches in the sociology of emotions, it is argued that everyday car cultures are implicated in a deep context of affective and embodied relations between people, machines and spaces of mobility and dwelling in which emotions and the senses play a key part – the emotional geographies of car use. Feelings for, of and within cars (‘automotive emotions’) come to be socially and culturally generated across three scales involved in the circulations and displacements performed by cars, roads and drivers: embodied sensibilities and kinaesthetic performances; familial and sociable practices of ‘caring’ through car use; and regional and national car cultures that form around particular systems of automobility. By showing how people feel about and in cars, and how the feel of different car cultures generates habitual forms of automobilized life and different dispositions towards driving, it is argued that we will be in a better position to re-evaluate the ethical dimensions of car consumption and the moral economies of car use