Updating, Upgrading, Refining, Calibration and Implementation of Trade-Off Analysis Methodology Developed for INDOT

As part of the ongoing evolution towards integrated highway asset management, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), through SPR studies in 2004 and 2010, sponsored research that developed an overall framework for asset management. This was intended to foster decision support for alternative investments across the program areas on the basis of a broad range of performance measures and against the background of the various alternative actions or spending amounts that could be applied to the several different asset types in the different program areas. The 2010 study also developed theoretical constructs for scaling and amalgamating the different performance measures, and for analyzing the different kinds of trade-offs. The research products from the present study include this technical report which shows how theoretical underpinnings of the methodology developed for INDOT in 2010 have been updated, upgraded, and refined. The report also includes a case study that shows how the trade-off analysis framework has been calibrated using available data. Supplemental to the report is Trade-IN Version 1.0, a set of flexible and easy-to-use spreadsheets that implement the tradeoff framework. With this framework and using data at the current time or in the future, INDOT’s asset managers are placed in a better position to quantify and comprehend the relationships between budget levels and system-wide performance, the relationships between different pairs of conflicting or non-conflicting performance measures under a given budget limit, and the consequences, in terms of system-wide performance, of funding shifts across the management systems or program areas

Eesti regilaulude verbisemantika

This paper examines verbs used as parallel (synonymous) words in Estonian runo songs, the semantic structures which they reflect, and the possibilities of expressing special domains of action: motion, perception and speech acts. This is a research of Estonian semantics, based on the material which represents historical and poetic language, the age of which varies from the origin of runo songs about 2000 years ago, to the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, when the analyzed songs were written down. This material gives several possibilities to research diachronic semantics of Estonian, language with not very long literary tradition. On the other hand, in the poetic language the mental semantic structures appear more directly than in the general language, while the poetic text is further structured itself. The key poetical features determining the semantics of runo song language are alliteration and parallelism. The main unit of parallelism is a group of verses, each organized by alliteration, expressing the same or a similar situation by using the same, synonymous or analogous words which are usually in the same positions. The repetition of one idea with different words and the semantic cohesion in parallel verses may produce a result in which words that are normally non-synonymous come to be used as synonymous parallel words. Such a phenomenon has been explained as the hazing of the common word meaning: instead of words with appropriate meaning parallel verses contain words chosen for their matching sounds. My analysis indicates that there are still almost always some semantic motivation in the use of verbs in parallelism. The main units of the analysis - parallel verbs - may be defined as verbs that are used in parallel verses which describe a particular or similar action and are interchangeable with one other without impeding the meaning (although remaining connected with certain verses by virtue of alliteration and syllable structure). The main differences in the semantic structure of different action domains are those which arise due to the opposition between a human and a non-human element and the location of the language user in the environment described. In the case of motion, there is no qualitative difference between the human and non-human. Thus most of the peculiarities in that domain arise due to the speaker’s location in space: in parallelism the movements toward a deictic zero and away from it are differentiated as well as neutral motion. Motion may have a close connection to several (human) actions, thereby gaining an additional quality. Perception is a common ability among the humans and animals and here there are no qualitative differences. The nature of perception is determined by the qualities of the perceived object, and not the perceiver. But perception may also be described more generally. When there are no specific verbs for it, a superordinate concept is expressed by the subordinate verbs that are used in aggregate. The ability to speak is unique for humans, but one aspect of it - uttering sounds - humans share with the rest of the animal world. There is a qualitative difference between informative and non-informative sound and the speech acts can be divided into positive and negative. When a verb denoting a manner of speaking has a negative connotation, then the meaning of that manner will not be neutralized in parallelism as usually happens in the domains of motion and perception. The semantic analysis of parallel verbs indicates that parallelism as a poetic feature reflects clearly the structures of different semantic domains and categories, and also some older layers of the word meanings. As the verbs are more polysemous than the nominal words, in runo songs different domains of action are interweaved by several sense relations. The categories of runo song language as a sublanguage have some different boundaries than these of the general language, but the main structures of it still derive from the general language. The synonyms in the general language are mostly subordinate concepts of a basic level concept with a small difference of meaning. The runo song synonyms are basic level concepts themselves, their common concept belongs to upper level. In the use of parallel verbs there emerge several generic categories with no lexical equivalent and compound categories which open the inner structures of the concepts: the generalization is achieved without the abstract vocabulary. Besides the hierarchical relations of meaning, the selection of verbs into parallel verses is determined by the conventional relations between verbs and nouns as well as by sound associations, evoked by alliteration. Our language and thinking is structured by several associative networks - different semantic associations, polysemy nets, collocations, and also sound associations - such connections have been in the language and minds of our ancestors when they created and developed runo songs. The few cases when one can detect no semantic relationships between parallel verbs may be explained by changes in language and the weakening of the runo song tradition - as a rule, the choice of parallel words follows certain subliminal rules as the general use of language does

Economic Analysis of a Data Center Virtual Power Plant Participating in Demand Response

Data centers consume a significant amount of energy from the grid, and the number of data centers are increasing at a high rate. As the amount of demand on the transmission system increases, network congestion reduces the economic efficiency of the grid and begins to risk failure. Data centers have underutilized energy resources, such as backup generators and battery storage, which can be used for demand response (DR) to benefit both the electric power system and the data center. Therefore, data center energy resources, including renewable energy, are aggregated and controlled using an energy management system (EMS) to operate as a virtual power plant (VPP). The data center as a VPP participates in a day-ahead DR program to relieve network congestion and improve market efficiency. Data centers mostly use lead-acid batteries for energy reserve in Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems that ride through power fluctuations and short term power outages. These batteries are sized according to the power requirement of the data center and the backup power duration required for reliable operation of the data center. Most of the time, these batteries remain on float charge, with seldom charging and discharging cycles. Batteries have a limited float life, where at the end of the float life, the battery is assumed dead, and require replacement. Therefore, the unused energy of the battery can be utilized by allocating a daily energy budget limit without affecting the overall float life of the battery used in data center for the purpose of DR. This is incorporated as a soft constraint in the EMS model, and the extra use of battery energy over the daily budget limit will account for the wear cost of the battery. A case study is conducted in which the data center is placed on a modified version of the IEEE 30-bus test system to evaluate the potential economic savings by participating in the DR program, coordinated by the Independent System Operator (ISO). We show that the savings of the data center operating as a VPP and participating in the DR program far outweighs the additional expense due to operating its own generators and batteries

Translating old songs: selected Estonian texts. Appendix to ‘Ilomaile. Anthology of Estonian folk songs with translations and commentary’ by Juhan Kurrik

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2666074~S1*es

WASH at work: exploring the opportunity for employers to trigger sanitation demand amongst salaried workers

This study employs a participatory action research approach in order to develop potential strategies that are aimed at stimulating and accelerating demand amongst salaried workers who are an often neglected segment of the sanitation “non-adopter” population. Few researchers to date have questioned why “Middle of the Pyramid” consumers with a regular monthly income ($4 to$50 per day) are not investing in sanitation as a priority. This paper seeks to understand how establishing a sanitation marketing activity at such a consumer’s place of work can be utilised as a point of sale to increase sanitation adoption. Critical findings from the study indicate that worksite sanitation marketing interventions are an effective tool to “trigger” salaried workers to move from non-adopters to adopters of sanitation at a household level. The research uncovers a clear opportunity for employers to establish enabling environments unblocking constraints to sanitation adoption, for example, by offering flexible payment plans

The Basilica of Ballsh where Boris, the Bulgarian Tsar was Baptized

The Basilica of Ballsh was the most important center of the late Antiquity and of the Middle Ages in the Episcopate of Gllavenica. The Basilica was a monastery church, which time after time was expanded with auxiliary facilities. The basilica was first built in the 6th century and it had 2 phases of reconstruction, in the 11th century and in 12th century. Gllavenica is mentioned during the first Norman disembarkation in the Albanian coast during the end of the 9th century. During the second Norman campaign of the years 1107-1108, the Norman noble Robert de Monteforte was killed in Gllavenica. Even while retaining the title of Duke, he was promptly buried and on his grave was placed the column of stone on which the inscription of the return of King Boris to Christianity was inscribed.Keywords: Basilica of Ballsh, Episcopate of Gllavenica, Epitaph of Gllavenica, Robert de Monteforte, King Boris

‘Afro-Ghanaian influences in Ghanaian paintings’

Easel painting is a foreign art form whose materials and techniques were introduced by the Europeans into the Gold Coast, now Ghana, in the first decades of the twentieth century during the period of European modern art. Since its introduction as an academic discipline, concepts identified as Ghanaian have been incorporated into it. Hence there is the need for scholarly debate on this subject to define a framework for a discourse on the histories and receptions of Ghanaian painting. This article discusses Ghanaian easel painting by examining some African and non-African voices in the discourse on modern and contemporary African art, its early teaching methods and philosophy, and their impact on modern and post-colonial painters. To what degree did early instructors succeed in their insistence on students incorporating Ghanaian aesthetics and principles in their studies, and what impact has this had on subsequent painters

Iridium oxide supported on graphitized carbon for use as reversal tolerant anodes in pem fuel cells

One way in which potential reversal occurs in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) is when the H2 supply is insufficient to meet the load requirements of the cell. During cell voltage reversal, carbon oxidation and water electrolysis occur at the anode to maintain the supply of protons and electrons to the cathode. These reactions are nonspontaneous and consume energy from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), causing irreversible damage through carbon corrosion. A material-based approach to prevent or reduce damage to the anode during cell reversal is to include an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst which will decrease the overpotential for water electrolysis. The addition of the OER catalyst to generate a reversal tolerant anode (RTA) will therefore decrease the occurrence of the carbon corrosion at cell potentials below -1.2 V. Due to the harsh conditions of fuel cell operation, the OER catalyst needs to provide both high activity and durability. Studies have shown that among the noble metal electrocatalysts, iridium (Ir) in its oxide form is among the highest for OER activity in acidic media. McCrory et al., (2013) also found that of all their tested metal oxide systems, IrOx was the most stable in acidic solutions. IrOx is an efficient catalyst for the OER but the use of pure IrOx is limited due to high costs and low surface area in its crystalline form. Several studies have therefore focused on supporting the IrOx on various materials to increase surface area and stability. Ideal catalyst supports used in electrochemical cells need to have a porous nanostructure and high electronic conductivity for electron transfer through the external circuit. Carbon remains the preferred commercial support due to its low costs, however, it undergoes corrosion under certain conditions during operation. Graphitized carbon supports have been gaining more attention due to their corrosion resistance and superior electrical conductivity. The aim of this study is therefore to use graphitized carbon supported iridium oxide to generate reversal tolerant anodes in an MEA. The IrOx supported graphitized carbon catalyst was synthesized using a microwave assisted polyol deposition technique. The supported catalyst was characterized using XRD, TEM, TGA, XPS and EDX analysis. The nanoparticles were well dispersed over the graphitised support and in the range of 4-10 nm. XPS analysis showed that the main oxidation states of Iridium were Ir3+ and Ir4+ which are proven to be the main states responsible for the OER. After comparison with commercial catalysts, it was found to have a good balance between activity and durability having an activity of 0.141 A/mg Ir towards the OER. The supported IrOx was included in the anode of an MEA at two different loadings (0.1 mg Ir /cm2 (1:1 Pt/Ir) and 0.06 mg Ir/cm2 (1:0.06 Pt/Ir)). The results showed that the addition of the OER did not compromise the performance of the MEA under normal operating conditions. Furthermore, the MEAs generated proved reversal tolerant capabilities by withstanding multiple, prolonged periods of fuel starvation by maintaining the cell potential in the water electrolysis potential range. The effects of fuel starvation were found to increase the ohmic resistance of the cell, possibly due to membrane dehydration and ionomer degradation. After testing, the MEAs were also characterised using XPS, SEM, cyclic voltammetry to determine the physical changes that occur during these events