As the Eurozone celebrated its decade of existence in 2011, few could have predicted that the ever-deepening financial crisis would emerge. The fear with the Eurozone crisis is that with major bail outs projected and ...As the Eurozone celebrated its decade of existence in 2011, few could have predicted that the ever-deepening financial crisis would emerge. The fear with the Eurozone crisis is that with major bail outs projected and government austerity expects to affect the economy in negative terms, the economies in the Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain （PIIGS） states will decline and consumption will decrease. Being the largest trading partner of European Union （EU）, China＇s export is therefore anticipated to decline. In lesser ways, the Australian economy was also expected to feel some economic pain. The aim of this paper is to ascertain what level of economic impact the Eurozone crisis would have on both China and Australia, given that few nations in the world can aspire to remain unaffected.展开更多
This paper focuses on the problem of automatic image classification （AIC） by proposing a framework based on latent semantic analysis （LSA） and image region pairs. The novel framework employs relative spatial arran...This paper focuses on the problem of automatic image classification （AIC） by proposing a framework based on latent semantic analysis （LSA） and image region pairs. The novel framework employs relative spatial arrangements for region pairs as the primary feature to capture semantics. The significance of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to the best our knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of region pairs as well as their relative spatial information in latent semantic analysis as applied to automatic image classification. Secondly, our proposed method for using the relative spatial information of region pairs show great promise in improving image semantic classi- fication compared with the classical latent semantic analysis method and 2D string representation algorithm.展开更多
Entrepreneurship and growth are driving forces in the development of emerging economic systems. In this exploratory study we discuss emerging economies within a South-East Asia context. In particular, we expand on a p...Entrepreneurship and growth are driving forces in the development of emerging economic systems. In this exploratory study we discuss emerging economies within a South-East Asia context. In particular, we expand on a previous study on the East Asian Tiger economies, and introduce the mini-dragon economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Philippines. We explore the role of various economic indicators and indices entrepreneurship and SMEs as drivers of growth in these emerging economies. Growth factors unique to the region are also identified, and institutional and government interventions are recommended. Furthermore, we elaborate on the interdependence of the entire region on each of the mini-dragon economies. Since we have highlighted only a few of the emerging economies in the region, opportunities exist to expand the base for further study展开更多
The recent trend in light emitting diode or LED lighting applications and their claimed energy saving capabilities together with their overall attractiveness has us all convinced that they really are a greener alterna...The recent trend in light emitting diode or LED lighting applications and their claimed energy saving capabilities together with their overall attractiveness has us all convinced that they really are a greener alternative to the compact fluorescent lights or CFL. As convincing as it seems, the actual energy saving capabilities of LEDs are yet to be proven scientifically or at the least, on an empirical level when compared to CFLs. This paper tackles the issue with the use of a solar cell by evaluating the photovoltaic current and voltage generated by the solar cell subjected to each lighting system. Graphical representations are drawn and a conclusion is then reached based on the amount of power generation in the solar cells in order to determine the energy saving capabilities of each lighting system and its efficiency. From the result, it has been found that an LED is 3.7 times more power efficient than a CFL based light source of equal wattage.展开更多
The key aim of this study is to evaluate the adsorption of heavy oil from aqueous solutions with different oil contents over mesoporous silicate materials having different surfactant template contents. The meso- porou...The key aim of this study is to evaluate the adsorption of heavy oil from aqueous solutions with different oil contents over mesoporous silicate materials having different surfactant template contents. The meso- porous silicate materials have been synthesized from tetraethylorthosilicate as a silica precursor and cetyltri- methylammonium bromide as a template using the sol-gel technique. Four samples were prepared by （1） totally removing the template using the calcination process, （2） partially removing the template via ethanol extraction, （3） partially removing the template via water extraction, and （4） keeping the template as synthesized, respectively. These four samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, thermal gravimetric ana- lysis and Fourier transformed infrared. The effect of the degree of template removal of these mesoporous materials for the oil removal has been investigated. The oil removal is inversely proportional to the surfactant content in the mesoporous material, being highest for the calcined sample but lowest for the as-synthesized sample. The kinetic of oil adsorption over the calcined material has been also studied and the data obtained fit well a second-order model.展开更多
During the past decades,atomically thin,two-dimensional（2D）layered materials have attracted tremen-dous research interest on both fundamental properties and practical applications because of their extraordinary mech...During the past decades,atomically thin,two-dimensional（2D）layered materials have attracted tremen-dous research interest on both fundamental properties and practical applications because of their extraordinary mechanical,thermal,electrical and optical properties,which are distinct from their counterparts in the bulk format.Various fabrication methods,such as soft-lithography,screen-printing,colloidal-templating and chemical/dry etching have been developed to fabricate micro/ nanostructures in 2D materials.Direct laser fabrication with the advantages of unique three-dimensional（3D）processing capability,arbitrary-shape designability and high fabrication accuracy up to tens of nanometers,which is far beyond the optical diffraction limit,has been widely studied and applied in the fabrication of various micro/ nanostructures of 2D materials for functional devices.This timely review summarizes the laser-matter interaction on 2D materials and the significant advances on laser-assisted 2D materials fabrication toward diverse functional photonics,optoelectronics,and electrochemical energy storage devices.The perspectives and challenges in designing and improving laser fabricated 2D materials devices are discussed as well.展开更多
文摘As the Eurozone celebrated its decade of existence in 2011, few could have predicted that the ever-deepening financial crisis would emerge. The fear with the Eurozone crisis is that with major bail outs projected and government austerity expects to affect the economy in negative terms, the economies in the Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain （PIIGS） states will decline and consumption will decrease. Being the largest trading partner of European Union （EU）, China＇s export is therefore anticipated to decline. In lesser ways, the Australian economy was also expected to feel some economic pain. The aim of this paper is to ascertain what level of economic impact the Eurozone crisis would have on both China and Australia, given that few nations in the world can aspire to remain unaffected.
文摘This paper focuses on the problem of automatic image classification （AIC） by proposing a framework based on latent semantic analysis （LSA） and image region pairs. The novel framework employs relative spatial arrangements for region pairs as the primary feature to capture semantics. The significance of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to the best our knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of region pairs as well as their relative spatial information in latent semantic analysis as applied to automatic image classification. Secondly, our proposed method for using the relative spatial information of region pairs show great promise in improving image semantic classi- fication compared with the classical latent semantic analysis method and 2D string representation algorithm.
文摘Entrepreneurship and growth are driving forces in the development of emerging economic systems. In this exploratory study we discuss emerging economies within a South-East Asia context. In particular, we expand on a previous study on the East Asian Tiger economies, and introduce the mini-dragon economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Philippines. We explore the role of various economic indicators and indices entrepreneurship and SMEs as drivers of growth in these emerging economies. Growth factors unique to the region are also identified, and institutional and government interventions are recommended. Furthermore, we elaborate on the interdependence of the entire region on each of the mini-dragon economies. Since we have highlighted only a few of the emerging economies in the region, opportunities exist to expand the base for further study
文摘The recent trend in light emitting diode or LED lighting applications and their claimed energy saving capabilities together with their overall attractiveness has us all convinced that they really are a greener alternative to the compact fluorescent lights or CFL. As convincing as it seems, the actual energy saving capabilities of LEDs are yet to be proven scientifically or at the least, on an empirical level when compared to CFLs. This paper tackles the issue with the use of a solar cell by evaluating the photovoltaic current and voltage generated by the solar cell subjected to each lighting system. Graphical representations are drawn and a conclusion is then reached based on the amount of power generation in the solar cells in order to determine the energy saving capabilities of each lighting system and its efficiency. From the result, it has been found that an LED is 3.7 times more power efficient than a CFL based light source of equal wattage.
文摘The key aim of this study is to evaluate the adsorption of heavy oil from aqueous solutions with different oil contents over mesoporous silicate materials having different surfactant template contents. The meso- porous silicate materials have been synthesized from tetraethylorthosilicate as a silica precursor and cetyltri- methylammonium bromide as a template using the sol-gel technique. Four samples were prepared by （1） totally removing the template using the calcination process, （2） partially removing the template via ethanol extraction, （3） partially removing the template via water extraction, and （4） keeping the template as synthesized, respectively. These four samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, thermal gravimetric ana- lysis and Fourier transformed infrared. The effect of the degree of template removal of these mesoporous materials for the oil removal has been investigated. The oil removal is inversely proportional to the surfactant content in the mesoporous material, being highest for the calcined sample but lowest for the as-synthesized sample. The kinetic of oil adsorption over the calcined material has been also studied and the data obtained fit well a second-order model.
文摘During the past decades,atomically thin,two-dimensional（2D）layered materials have attracted tremen-dous research interest on both fundamental properties and practical applications because of their extraordinary mechanical,thermal,electrical and optical properties,which are distinct from their counterparts in the bulk format.Various fabrication methods,such as soft-lithography,screen-printing,colloidal-templating and chemical/dry etching have been developed to fabricate micro/ nanostructures in 2D materials.Direct laser fabrication with the advantages of unique three-dimensional（3D）processing capability,arbitrary-shape designability and high fabrication accuracy up to tens of nanometers,which is far beyond the optical diffraction limit,has been widely studied and applied in the fabrication of various micro/ nanostructures of 2D materials for functional devices.This timely review summarizes the laser-matter interaction on 2D materials and the significant advances on laser-assisted 2D materials fabrication toward diverse functional photonics,optoelectronics,and electrochemical energy storage devices.The perspectives and challenges in designing and improving laser fabricated 2D materials devices are discussed as well.
