职业足球比赛期间球场周边扒窃犯罪的空间分布特征研究

现阶段,关于足球比赛等体育活动影响周边区域犯罪风险的研究主要关注于一般性验证,而缺少对比赛期间不同时间范围内犯罪风险的态势分析及相关空间影响因素的研究。本文以英国伯明翰市的维拉公园球场为例开展实证研究,对2005—2009年赛季的104场职业足球比赛在比赛日和对照日、开赛前和开赛后等不同时间范围内球场周边3 km区域内发生的扒窃类案件的空间分布特征进行了分析,并利用负二项回归模型研究了相应案件的空间影响要素。结果表明：维拉公园球场周边区域内比赛日期间的扒窃案件发案量要明显高于对照日,而在具体的时间分布上,比赛日开赛时间前2小时到开赛后1小时内发生的扒窃案件显著偏多,并且案件在比赛日和对照日、比赛日的开赛前和开赛后期间的空间分布特征明显不同;回归分析结果显示,比赛日期间餐饮消费类场所的扒窃案件风险较为突出,且高于对照日,而对照日期间的扒窃案件风险则主要集中于休闲娱乐等常规性犯罪热点场所;在比赛日的开赛前,扒窃案件风险主要分布于一些人群聚集的公共场所,而在开赛后则主要集中于餐饮类场所,且随着比赛的开始扒窃案件的风险有转移的趋势。本研究对开展基于大数据分析的大型体育活动的犯罪风险精准防控具有一定的指导意义。     

THE FALL LINE: A PHYSIOGRAPHIC‐FOREST VEGETATION BOUNDARY*

ABSTRACT. The range boundaries for many tree species in the southeastern United States correspond to the Fall Line that separates the Coastal Plain from the Appalachian Highlands. Trees in the Coastal Plain with northern range boundaries corresponding to the Fall Line occur exclusively in alluvial valleys created by lateral channel migration. These species grow mostly on lower bottomland sites characterized by a high water table, soils that are often saturated, and low annual water fluctuation. In contrast to the Coastal Plain, the southern Appalachian Highlands are occupied mostly by bedrock streams that have few sites suitable for the regeneration of these species. The Fall Line is also an approximate southern boundary for trees common in the southern Appalachians that typically occur on either dry, rocky ridgetops or in narrow stream valleys, habitats that are uncommon on the relatively flat Coastal Plain. The ranges for many trees in eastern North America are controlled by large‐scale climatic patterns. Tree species with range boundaries corresponding to the Fall Line, however, are not approaching their physiological limits caused by progressively harsher climatic conditions or by competition. Instead, the Fall Line represents the approximate boundary of habitats suitable for regeneration.     

Laboratory Comparison of Crushed Aggregate and Recycled Pavement Material With and Without High Carbon Fly Ash

In-place recycling of asphalt pavement materials is a sustainable rehabilitation method. Existing hot-mix asphalt (HMA) layer is pulverized and blended with some or the entire base course and possibly some subgrade to form a broadly graded material referred to as recycled pavement material (RPM). The RPM is then compacted as the new base course and overlaid by a new layer of HMA. In some occasions, additives are added to increase the strength of RPM base course, such as cement, emulsion, fly ash. It is plausible to utilize high calcium high carbon fly ash, as the high level of carbon prevents fly ash from being used in concrete. A series of laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of these materials, including crushed aggregate, untreated RPM, and treated RPM with high carbon fly ash. The tests included compaction, California Bearing Ratio, resilient modulus, and unconfined compressive strength for treated RPM. The engineering properties of these materials were compared.     

Placing modern droughts in historical context in the Ohio Valley using tree-rings

The temporal variability and severity of pre-instrument record summer droughts in the Ohio River Valley (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, USA) are not well understood. This study attempts to help fill this gap in Ohio Valley drought knowledge by using tree-ring chronologies from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to reconstruct summer (June through August) PDSI. We found that recent meteorological droughts of 1988 and 2012 are not unusual in the context of those reconstructed for the interval of 1680–2012. Droughts prior to 1895 (when the instrument-based record began) were more severe and lasted, on average, 1.5 times longer than those after 1895. The North American Drought Atlas represents droughts well for this region, but we found that drought severity was not homogeneous across the three sites. This indicates drought in the Ohio River Valley should be examined at a sub-regional level and suggests a need for a finer spatial representation of tree-ring chronologies in the Ohio Valley. Given the context of historical drought variability, the reconstructions suggest this region should be prepared for droughts that may be more severe and longer lasting than those recently observed.     

Palaeoecology of well-preserved coral communities in a siliciclastic environment from the Late Pleistocene (MIS 7), Kish Island, Persian Gulf (Iran): the development of low-relief reef frameworks (biostromes) in increasingly restricted environments

Major changes in community structure and depositional relief of high-latitude coral communities in the southern Persian Gulf between marine isotope stage (MIS) 7 and the present day suggest that the area has become increasingly restricted. Corals and bivalves from outcrops on Kish Island, Iran, were identified in order to interpret the Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironmental setting. U/Th disequilibrium dating was used to constrain the ages of the stratigraphic units. During MIS 7, two coral-bearing sequences were deposited on what is now Kish Island. The lower sequence is dated as MIS 7.5 and changes laterally from an assemblage dominated by Cyphastrea sp. and Platygyra daedalea in the west to one characterized by branching Montipora in the east. By contrast, the upper sequence, dated as MIS 7.1, transitions from an assemblage dominated by platy Montipora in the west to a diverse assemblage of Platygyra and other faviids in the east. The assemblages of both sequences are within a marl matrix and bounded by thin lithified mollusc-rich layers. Corals and bivalves indicate that the sequences were deposited on gentle slopes in sheltered environments less than 20 m deep. The MIS 7 deposits may be classified as coral carpets or biostromes that developed a low-relief framework. During MIS 5, coral communities were no longer framework building and are now limited to an Acropora-rich layer of coral rubble that covers large parts of the island, and two small incipient reefs with sparse faviids. Similarities between the MIS 5 and modern nearshore coral communities suggest that the environmental conditions during MIS 5 were comparable to those of today. The late Pleistocene coral carpets and non-framework coral communities of the southern Persian Gulf may serve as models for coral biostromes in the fossil record, which formed under restricted environmental conditions such as elevated terrigenous input, high turbidity, and strong seasonal changes in temperature and/or salinity.