Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energy alternatives for the replacement of traditional fossil fuels. CdTe photovoltaics (PVs) are thin-film solar cells that have the highest market share among all thin-film technologies. Previous LCA studies of CdTe PVs were based on the data from countries that have similar level of industrialization and strict environmental policies. Thus, to date, no LCA results have explored impacts of dramatic geographic diversity on environmental performance of CdTe PVs. Furthermore, few LCAs for CdTe PVs have taken uncertainty, which is an often overlooked but important aspect, into consideration. In this paper, we apply a "Cradle to Gate" LCA to two scenarios in China and the U.S. respectively and calculate the corresponding energy payback time and life cycle environmental impacts. Then, an uncertainty analysis is undertaken through Monte Carlo simulation. Both deterministic and uncertainty-based results indicate that geographic diversity can drastically change performance of CdTe PVs on environmental sustainability. However, this diversity of production locations has no correlation with other uncertain parameters. Results of uncertainty analysis indicate the influence of each parameter and provide guidance for future optimization of CdTe technology. Finally, comparison between CdTe and other PV technologies is displayed and discussed.
In order to monitor nonlinear processes, kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) has become a popular technique. Nevertheless, KPCA suffers from two major disadvantages. First, the underlying manifold structure of data is not considered in process modeling. Second, the selection of kernel function and kernel parameters is always problematic. To avoid such deficiencies, an integrating method of manifolding learning and Gaussian process is proposed in this paper, which extends the utilization of maximum variance unfolding (MVU) to online process monitoring and fault isolation. The proposed method is named as extendable MVU (EMVU), whose effectiveness is verified by the case studies on the benchmark Tennessee Eastman (TE) process.
This SpringerBrief presents a typical life-cycle of mobile data mining applications, including: data capturing and processing which determines what data to collect, how to collect these data, and how to reduce the noise in the data based on smartphone sensors feature engineering which extracts and selects features to serve as the input of algorithms based on the collected and processed data model and algorithm design In particular, this brief concentrates on the model and algorithm design aspect, and explains three challenging requirements of mobile data mining applications: energy-saving, personalization, and real-time Energy saving is a fundamental requirement of mobile applications, due to the limited battery capacity of smartphones. The authors explore the existing practices in the methodology level (e.g. by designing hierarchical models) for saving energy. Another fundamental requirement of mobile applications is personalization. Most of the existing methods tend to train generic models for all users, but the authors provide existing personalized treatments for mobile applications, as the behaviors may differ greatly from one user to another in many mobile applications. The third requirement is real-time. That is, the mobile application should return responses in a real-time manner, meanwhile balancing effectiveness and efficiency. This SpringerBrief targets data mining and machine learning researchers and practitioners working in these related fields. Advanced level students studying computer science and electrical engineering will also find this brief useful as a study guide.
This book addresses the fundamentals and practical implementations of antennas for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) In this book, the authors discuss the various aspects of GNSS antennas, including fundamentals of GNSS, design approaches for the GNSS terminal and satellite antennas, performance enhancement techniques and effects of user’s presence and surrounding environment on these antennas. In addition, the book will provide the reader with an insight into the most important aspects of the GNSS antenna technology and lay the foundations for future advancements. It also includes a number of real case studies describing the ways in which antenna design can be adapted to conform to the design constraints of practical user devices, and also the management of potential adverse interactions between the antenna and its platform. Key Features: Covers the fundamentals and practical implementations of antennas for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Describes technological advancements for GPS, Glonass, Galileo and Compass Aims to address future issues such as multipath interference, in building operation, RF interference in mobile Includes a number of real case studies to illustrate practical implementation of GNSS This book will be an invaluable guide for antenna designers, system engineers, researchers for GNSS systems and postgraduate students (antennas, satellite communication technology). R&D engineers in mobile handset manufacturers, spectrum engineers will also find this book of interest.
The Tragedy of 228: Historical Truth and Transitional Justice in Taiwan is published by Memorial Foundation of 228. The book mainly explores eight different aspects of the 228 Incident, as shown in each of its chapter title: “What Caused the Incident: A Comparison of Government and Citizen Accounts from 1947,” “International Perspectives on the Legal Status of Taiwan during and after the Incident,” “Military Deployment and Suppression during the Incident,” “Taiwan's News Media under the Impact of the Incident,” “The Roles of Local Government Heads during the Incident,” “The Roles of Intelligence Agencies during the Incident,” “Historical Explorations of the Campaign to Redress Injustices of the Incident (1987-1997),” and “Presidential Attitudes towards the Movement for Transitional Justice (1988-2019).” Through the publication of the book, the Memorial Foundation of 228 attempts to set a new milestone in the study of 228 Incident by pursuing the transitional justice in international academic communities, as well as introducing and promoting Modern Taiwanese History to the world by featuring its unique social culture, geographical surroundings, and political transformations.
Presidentialism, Violence, and the Prospect of Democracy tackles the perennial debate about whether presidentialism is associated with democratic breakdown. Yao-Yuan Yeh and Charles K. S. Wu integrate both institutional and behavioral arguments to discuss how institutional rigidity in changing executive power would stimulate citizens to adopt relatively violent means to address their grievances, leading to democratic crises. This book finds presidential democracies are more likely to encounter crises than either parliamentary or semi-presidential systems. However, once a crisis occurs, presidentialism does not trigger a higher likelihood of a breakdown. The conventional wisdom is thus only half correct.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.