Fifty years of organisational change in container shipping: regional shift and the role of family firms

Spectacular growth has marked the industry initiated by Malcolm McLean with the sailing of the Ideal-X in 1956. While the growth of container shipping has been typically seen in terms of technological advances, increasing vessel capacity, traffic growth, financial performance and competitiveness, it has been shaped also by organisational transformations. This paper provides an overview of the major companies that make up the container shipping industry, tracing the rapid adoption of containerisation by American carriers to its diffusion to Europe and then Asia. While several carriers belong to business conglomerates, the most dynamic in recent years have been those that are those that possess a family structure. About 12 of the present top 20 carriers are largely family controlled, including 4 out of the top 5. Unlike other capital intensive industries, where the power has shifted towards corporate governance, the container shipping industry retains a strong individualistic entrepreneurial character. At a time when North American ownership in container shipping is no more, the spirit of innovation began 50 years ago by an American visionary is still evident in the entrepreneurial dynamism of many of the industry leaders.     

Long-range aircraft as an Arctic Oceanographic platform

Synoptic basin-wide measurements of Arctic Ocean temperature and salinity are now possible with the recent development of an expendable conductivity, temperature, and depth probe for deployment from aircraft (AXCTD). Both the P-3 Orion aircraft and the C-130 aircraft are capable of long-range, low-altitude flight and are ideal for Arctic research. Expendable profilers can be quickly deployed over vast regions from aircraft and in locations with limited ship access, but have the disadvantage of measuring only the top 1000 m and of being about an order of magnitude less accurate than a CTD cast, primarily because of noisy salinity measurements and depth-fall rate errors. We explore how to conduct an ACXTD measurement program in ice-covered seas and discuss a test of these methods conducted in the Arctic Ocean's Eurasian Basin. Long-range aircraft can significantly augment the present program of Arctic research by performing large-area surveys, continuing time series with repeat measurements, and by helping target locations for more detailed and accurate shipboard measurement.     

Multiple newt threats – occurrence of Paramesotriton deloustali and P. guangxiensis in differently disturbed habitats in Vietnam including new data on the parasite-host relationships with water mites

In this study we present the results from field work in northern Vietnam regarding the occurrence of the warty newt species Paramesotriton deloustali and P. guangxiensis in disturbed and undisturbed habitats and the presence of parasitic water mites of the genus Hygrobates (sg. Lurchibates) (Acari, Hydrachnidia). We report the first evidence of mite parasitism in P. guangxiensis and analyze differences in the infestation rates between both Paramesotriton species and habitat qualities. Furthermore we present the first indication of the detrimental effects of these parasite-host interactions.Our preliminary assessment seems to support the sensitivity of P. guangxiensis to habitat disturbances, as the average number of captured newts per stream was twice as high in undisturbed habitats as in disturbed ones.Until now a very specific parasite-host association was supposed between water mite and newt species. However, our results show the first evidence of a water mite species of the subgenus Lurchibates (Hygrobates forcipifer) parasitizing more than one host species, in this case not only P. deloustali (already known) but also P. guangxiensis (new record). The overall infestation rate was 27 % for P. deloustali and 71 % for P. guangxiensis, from which 100 % and 77 % of the mite-incidence occurred in undisturbed habitats, respectively. Furthermore the parasite load of the newts was clearly higher in prime quality streams: the parasite load in undisturbed habitats was very similar between P. deloustali (19.64 mites per newt) and P. guangxiensis (20.13 mites per newt), however it was significantly lower for P. guangxiensis in disturbed habitats (8.86 mites per newt). Future research should bring more detail on these parasite host associations, especially on the effect of parasitism on the newts. Warty newts are already threatened due to their shrinking natural habitat and overharvesting. We report the first concerns that mite parasitism might be a critical additional stress factor in undisturbed habitats.     

武汉市军运会期间空气质量特征及气象条件分析

利用2019年10月1—30日湖北省及邻近地区的空气质量、气象要素监测数据和再分析资料,分析了第七届世界军人运动会(以下简称军运会)期间和前后时段空气质量变化特征及气象条件的影响.军运会管控期Ⅱ(17—28日)与过去五年(2014—2018年)同期相比颗粒物浓度下降最明显,与长沙等其他城市相比也是最低,相近时间段或相似...     

中国近代北方极端干湿事件的演变规律

Using monthly precipitation and monthly mean temperature, a surface humid index was proposed. According to the index, the distributed characteristics of extreme dryness has been fully analyzed. The results indicated that there is an obvious increasing trend of extreme dryness in the central part of northern China and northeastern China in the last 10 years, which shows a high frequency period of extreme dryness; while a low frequency period in the regions during the last 100 years. Compared with variation trend of the temperature in these regions, the region of high frequent extreme dryness is consistent with the warming trend in the same region.     

On the magnitude and direction of the anisotropy of galactic cosmic rays

The results of measuring the diurnal cosmic-ray intensity variations in the energy range 1–100 TeV are discussed. Whereas the phase of the first harmonic of the sidereal daily wave directly determines the phase (right ascension) of the cosmic-ray anisotropy vector, the amplitude and declination of the true anisotropy cannot be reconstructed directly from the amplitude of the first harmonic. However, they can be determined by invoking data on the zero harmonic. The results of some recent experiments purporting to measure the cosmic-ray anisotropy with a particularly high accuracy are shown to be interpreted erroneously.     

天山南坡科其卡尔巴契冰川消融期气候特征分析

通过分析天山南坡科其卡尔巴契冰川区的气候变化特征及其对冰川消融变化过程的影响, 研究了冰川对气候变化的响应机理及其对塔里木河水资源的影响规律.科其卡尔巴契冰川区夏季气温比较高, 基本处于正温, 日较差较小; 气温直减率较小, 平均值为0.60·℃\5(100m)-1, 冰川冷效应不明显; 对流性降水较多, 降水量的75%发生在白天; 冰川区局地环流--山谷风发育, 海拔3 900 m以上冰川受西风环流影响显著; 净辐射在7月和8月中上旬均较大, 在8月下旬后净辐射开始逐渐减小, 与冰川消融是一致的. 7月初至7月下旬是消融较强的两个时段, 冰川平均消融速率为38.66 mm·5d-1, 到8月中旬消融速率略有降低, 平均为34.79 mm·d-1, 至9月中旬降至28.83 mm·d-1.     

浅谈地质灾害治理工程项目管理及质量控制

将地质灾害治理工程项目管理及质量控制分为4个阶段：策划(可行性研究)阶段,准备阶段,施工阶段．验收审查阶段,分别阐述其管理及质量控制的重点内容。     

岩体质量对地下工程开挖效应的影响研究

以西北某大型水电站地下厂房洞室群为例．在地质调查的基础上,对洞室群围岩岩体质量进行了分析评价。而后,运用数值模拟手段研究了岩体质量不同时．洞室群开挖效应——二次应力场、位移场和破坏区的差异．较全面地讨论了岩体质量对洞室群开挖效应的影响。     

新疆雅满苏铁矿床地空高光谱异常特征及应用

正雅满苏铁矿床位处东天山成矿带,成矿地质条件优越。前人在矿床的成矿规律、地球化学、矿床类型、流体来源等方面,开展了较多科研工作(李厚民等,2014;王兴保,2005)。但在遥感地质方面的研究和应用工作还未开展。铁矿床及外围区域属准平原状丘陵地貌,基岩出露,地表蚀变信息丰富,可获取高质量的地空高光谱遥感数据,有利于发挥高光谱遥感的技术优势。