Steep Road Research Articles

A Steep Road to Improve the Accountability of the Credit Rating Industry: the Chinese Way or the Western Way?

AbstractRegulators in the US, EU and China embarked on several episodes of reforms to improve the accountability of credit rating agencies after the Financial Crisis 2007–2008. The US reform implemented a new civil liability provision, although the new regime remains weak, largely caused by the regulator’s inability in taking a tough liability approach on powerful credit rating agencies but giving in to the economic demands of the country. In contrast, the EU’s provision is much more balanced; however, it left too much leeway to the national laws’ interpretation. The parameters of civil liability under the Chinese law largely coincide with the Western laws, although with a unique robustness by reversing the burden of proof. The recent reforms improved the accountability of credit rating agencies to some extent, nonetheless, more work is needed to give effect to these regulatory reforms with further collaboration. This paper critically analyses the robustness of the Chinese civil liability regime with the reversed burden of proof, which arguably sits uncomfortably with the Western laws. It calls for an improvement of the current civil liability regime in the US and China by adopting the EU model, which is more feasible to balance the responsibilities of key players in the financial market.

Combined Effect of the Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Lateritic Soils in the Instability of a Road Cut Slope in Rwanda

A very common hazard in Rwanda is represented by the instability of steep road cut slopes in lateritic soil. In its natural state, this material appears as a fine-grained weak and altered rock, generally in unsaturated conditions. Steep cut slopes made by this material could remain stable for a long time unless weathering weakens its mechanical behavior and heavy rainfall provokes a rapid landslide. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the microstructural, petrophysical, and geotechnical properties of lateritic soil from a road cut slope located in Kabaya (Ngororero District—Rwanda), which was recently subjected to a landslide. The mechanical properties of the material are strictly related to the geological origin and history of the deposits, their formation environment, and weathering processes. These characteristics were revealed by peculiar microstructural features (micro-texture, porosity, and degree of alteration of original mineral paragenesis). The experimental investigations included identification and classification tests, direct shear tests on saturated samples, and swelling tests. This multidisciplinary approach provided insights into the relationship between geotechnical properties and the microstructural, petrophysical, and chemical characteristics of the altered rocks. This study showed how different levels of chemical alteration operated by weathering processes, in conjunction with brittle deformation related to the tectonic history, formed in the same site two shallow rock layers with similar macro-scale features and mechanical behaviors but markedly different microstructural and chemical properties. The innovative aspect of this research suggests an integrated multidisciplinary approach to considering microstructural aspects in addition to mechanical behavior in the slope stability analyses in lateritic soil. In particular, this study demonstrates the importance of such an approach since the failure mechanism is better explained if it is based on microstructural observations instead of considering the soil shear strength parameters only. This research helped to explain the formation of the landslide failure mechanism in a specific road cut slope, which could be assumed as representative of many other similar slopes subjected to landslides in Rwanda.

The low-carbon vehicle routing problem with dynamic speed on steep roads

The low-carbon vehicle routing problem with dynamic speeds on steep roads (LCVRPDS-SR) considers the combined effects of dynamic speeds, steep roads, and loads on carbon emissions. Earlier low-carbon vehicle routing problems typically assumed that vehicles travel at a constant speed on flat roads. However, such models do not apply in urban or rural areas with steep roads. Although the subsequent studies further explored the effect of steep roads, their performance are still suboptimal since they fail to take into account the varying speeds on the terrain. This paper proposes an extended LCVRPDS-SR model that tackles dynamic speed decisions on steep roads for the low-carbon vehicle routing problem. The objective function is non-linear and considers only environmental factors. Then an improved adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm is presented, including a new speed optimization algorithm and several improved removal and insertion operators. Extensive experiments are conducted on the generated instances to verify the effectiveness of the model and algorithm and derive managerial insights. The significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is achieved when considering dynamic speeds.

Civil society movement in the protection of the peat ecosystem of Meranti Islands, Riau – Indonesia

In a country’s democratic system, the existence of Civil Society Organizations is indispensable. Civil Society Organizations are sociopolitical institutions that can be used by the community to channel their goals and demands to influence or even shape government policy. In this scenario, Civil Society Organizations can be viewed in two ways, namely sectoral groups and regional groups. Both Groups aim to persuade the government to address issues of public interest in a timely manner. In addition to persuasion, civil society organizations can also carry out advocacy and even file lawsuits against the Government and companies for ecosystem damage. Regarding the issue of peat ecosystem damage, this issue has become a serious issue for the Indonesian government in the last two decades. Damage to peat ecosystems due to illegal encroachment, exploitation for the benefit of plantation companies and brutal conversions have damaged peat ecosystems in Indonesia. Cases of forest and land fires in the last two decades show that management of peat ecosystems is not carried out wisely, the majority of peatland fires occur within company concession areas and very few are due to community activities. Cases of forest and land fires are the most troubling phenomena, especially in Riau this issue even stretches to become a national and transnational issue when the impact of forest and land fires disrupts the activities of citizens of other countries (Singapore and Malaysia). This study analyzes the Meranti Islands civil society movement in protecting the peat ecosystem in the Meranti Islands, in particular, the case of damage to the Meranti Islands peat ecosystem is no longer a secret and needs serious attention from all parties. Various literature suggests that the civil society movement has become a steep road when dealing with authoritarian governments, but after Suharto, this movement has actually become a political force to influence and shape government policy. Likewise with the Meranti Islands civil society movement in efforts to protect the peat ecosystem.

Strengthening Health Literacy for Prevention and Management of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Gedangsari, Gunung Kidul

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are diseases that are often not widely detected and recognized because generally, NCDs do not cause symptoms or complaints. This has an impact on the examination of patients where NCDS are detected to have reached the final stage. The lack of citizen’s literacy regarding non-communicable diseases due to the lack of exposure to information is crucial to follow up because it has an impact on the lack of attitudes and behavior in the prevention and management of NCDs in the Gedangsari area. Access to health services is considered to be lacking because the distance to health services is quite far, plus the geographical conditions of the area and quite steep road conditions. Economic factors and the level of education of residents are also obstacles to the access of information and health services. NCDs prevention efforts are urgently needed so that the level of public health in the Gedangsari area increases. Prevention is meant through Information Communication and Education activities about NCDs to the public. This community service aims to increase public knowledge about NCDs and how to prevent and treat them. This activity was carried out by early detection of NCDs risk factors, health checks, presentation of material about NCDs general knowledge, and NCDs modality therapy. The activities carried out were evaluated through a pre-test and post-test with a questionnaire. The results of the activity showed that there was an increase in residents' knowledge regarding NCDs by 51,2% after the activity, the implementation of NCDs screening, and NCDs modality therapy. In conclusion, this community service activity can increase citizen literacy towards NCDs. It is hoped that the community will apply the preventive and therapeutic modalities that have been taught to prevent and control NCDs

Cooperative trucks and drones for rural last-mile delivery with steep roads

The cooperative delivery of trucks and drones promises considerable advantages in delivery efficiency and environmental friendliness over pure fossil fuel fleets. As the prosperity of rural B2C e-commerce grows, this study intends to explore the prospect of this cooperation mode for rural last-mile delivery by developing a green vehicle routing problem with drones that considers the presence of steep roads (GVRPD-SR). Realistic energy consumption calculations for trucks and drones that both consider the impacts of general factors and steep roads are incorporated into the GVRPD-SR model, and the objective is to minimize the total energy consumption. To solve the proposed model, an improved adaptive large neighborhood search (IALNS) algorithm is introduced, which incorporates several novel operators designed based on the characteristics of the problem. The effectiveness of the IALNS algorithm and the feasibility of the GVRPD-SR are verified through extensive computational experiments. Furthermore, a detailed sensitivity analysis is conducted on several critical parameters to derive managerial insights.

The Steep Road to Renewal of Islamic Law through Maqasid Values

Hukum Islam secara substantif berasal dari ajaran agama Islam. Sebagai ajaran agama, hukum Islam bersumber dari Allah yang digali langsung dari al-Qur’an dan al-Sunnah. Hukum Islam ini kemudian dinilai sebagai suatu yang sakral dan tidak dapat diubah. Pikiran inilah yang kemudian menjadikan hukum Islam itu menjadi kaku bahkan statis dan pada akhirnya tidak siap menjawab berbagai persoalan, padahal hukum Islam dalam realitas kehidupan manusia menuntut terjadinya dinamisasi dan perkembangan secara terus menerus. Dinamisasi hukum Islam akan tercapai manakala terjadi dialektika antara teks dan realitas, dengan begitu selalu menemukan inovasi baru dalam rangka penemuan hukum, tujuannya agar meraih kemaslahatan. Artikel ini menggunakan studi analisis melalui penelitian pustaka berdasarkan data primer dan sekunder dengan pendekatan normatif yuridis. Hasil penelitian menujukan bahwa masih terdapat kalangan umat Islam yang menganggap kesakralan hukum Islam klasik sebagai sebuah kebenaran absolut yang tidak dapat diubah, sikap sebagian kalangan tersebut menjadikan Islam terasa asing bagi lingkungan yang melingkupinya. Keadaan semakin diperparah ketika mereka tidak menerima sepenuhnya terhadap pembaharuan hukum Islam seperti hadirnya konsep atau nilai maqashid kontemporer

The steep road to nonviral nanomedicines: Frequent challenges and culprits in designing nanoparticles for gene therapy.

The potential of therapeutically loaded nanoparticles (NPs) has been successfully demonstrated during the last decade, with NP-mediated nonviral gene delivery gathering significant attention as highlighted by the broad clinical acceptance of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. A significant barrier to progress in this emerging area is the wild variability of approaches reported in published literature regarding nanoparticle characterizations. Here, we provide a brief overview of the current status and outline important concerns regarding the need for standardized protocols to evaluate NP uptake, NP transfection efficacy, drug dose determination, and variability of nonviral gene delivery systems. Based on these concerns, we propose wide adherence to multimodal, multiparameter, and multistudy analysis of NP systems. Adoption of these proposed approaches will ensure improved transparency, provide a better basis for interlaboratory comparisons, and will simplify judging the significance of new findings in a broader context, all critical requirements for advancing the field of nonviral gene delivery.

Jagiellonian University and allied rheumatology centers across the country have launched Poland's first registry on inflammatory rheumatic diseases: How the Real World Evidence Registry in Rheumatic Diseases in Poland has finally become a fact. A long, steep road successfully completed.

Jagiellonian University and allied rheumatology centers across the country have launched Poland's first registry on inflammatory rheumatic diseases: How the Real World Evidence Registry in Rheumatic Diseases in Poland has finally become a fact. A long, steep road successfully completed.

The Steep Road to Artificial Intelligence-mediated Radiology.

HomeRadiology: Artificial IntelligenceVol. 5, No. 2 PreviousNext CommentaryThe Steep Road to Artificial Intelligence–mediated RadiologyStephan Ursprung , Ramona WoitekStephan Ursprung , Ramona WoitekAuthor AffiliationsFrom the Department of Radiology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany (S.U.); Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, England (S.U., R.W.); and Research Center Medical Image Analysis and AI (MIAAI), Danube Private University, Krems, Austria (R.W.).Address correspondence to S.U. (email: [email protected]).Stephan Ursprung Ramona WoitekPublished Online:Mar 1 2023https://doi.org/10.1148/ryai.230017MoreSectionsFull textPDF ToolsImage ViewerAdd to favoritesCiteTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked In

Tata Letak dan Penerangan Lampu Tenaga Surya pada Akses Jalan menuju Curug Ponggang

Ponggang Village is located in Serangpanjang District, Subang Regency, West Java. There is a natural beauty in Ponggang Village that is not yet known by many people, namely Curug Ponggang with its natural beauty and soothing atmosphere. To get to Curug Ponggang, there is only one main road access. However, the problem is that there are no lighting facilities on the road access with a road length of 700 meters and a road width of 1.2 meters so that with slippery and steep road access conditions, high vigilance is needed when crossing this road, especially at night or at night. foggy. Therefore, this study aims to examine the planning for the construction of Solar Street Lighting (PJUTS) on the Ponggang Curug access road to improve the comfort and safety of road users. There are 4 alternative concepts, where one selected alternative provides a total PJUTS budget plan for 15 years. The chosen alternative concept uses a PJU lamp post with one arm using a 50W LED Solar Light Model GW8833 lamp. Based on the research that has been done, it takes as many as 22 light points with each lamp post 33 meters apart and the pole height is 3 meters. It is hoped that the construction of these lamps can improve the quality of effective and efficient lighting in Curug Ponggang

The conceptual of barrier-free access for passengers based on transit-oriented development in Greater Jakarta - Indonesia

Increased mobility in the Greater Jakarta area has brought demand for people's accessibility. Providing a barrier-free travel system needs to be supported by understanding travel needs and the characteristics of the user community. This paper aims to describe the actual condition of barrier-free availability for public transport passengers based on Transit Oriented Development, then proposes a development concept. The research was conducted at several public transport nodes in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. The data analysis method uses a qualitative descriptive analysis which explains the existing condition of the area, facilities, potential, and development plans. From observations, several locations have implemented the barrier-free principle to support the movement of all groups. Barrier-free facilities are generally found at mass public transportation stations such as Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). In contrast, at Commuter Line (CL) stations, the concept has begun to be applied, and barrier-free facilities have been provided even though the number and limited kind. When using public transportation, barrier-free facilities must be improved for all groups, including seniors, people with physical and mental limitations, and pregnant women. Persons with disabilities may experience difficulties in accessing public facilities, such as narrow sidewalks, steep roads, and incomplete pelican crossing systems. Development can refer to regulations that the government has prepared. The development of various public transport that is currently underway must be balanced with the readiness of massive barrier-free facilities. Regulators and public transport operators in Indonesia can use the development of barrier-free facilities in other countries, such as Japan.

The Recap of Indonesia G20 Presidency in Bali

An international forum is a group discussion panel that helps world leaders exchange ideas and thoughts, which will later impact a country's economic and political policies or several countries. In November 2022, there were at least two important international meetings. First, the COP27 meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on 10 November 2022, and G20 Bali Summit. Indonesia had gone through a long steep road until it could finally reach a mutual agreement at the G20 Presidency in Bali, prioritizing health, digital transformation, and energy transition. However, the meeting of the head of the G20 member state was overshadowed by a global crisis. In the closing ceremony of the Indonesia G20 Presidency, Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his delight that the G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration had been well adopted and approved. G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration resulted from the series of G20 Indonesian presidency activities. It strived to provide various best solutions for one year of leadership amid various crises and new challenges. The effect of the high-level conference or the G20 Presidency in Bali in November 2022 was surging demand for investors all around the globe. Economic uncertainty in 2023 led to the government's decision to raise funds from investors. Since the end of 2022, Jokowi repeatedly brought up the importance of investors in Indonesia to face the threat of recession in 2023. Jokowi expected that the investment climate in Indonesia would be made easier.

부여 군수리사지 유구와 유물에 관한 재검토

This report attempts to arrange the research history of the major remains and relics excavated from the Temple Site in Gunsu-ri, Buyeo, with a view to promoting inter-academy studies on the results of the excavation of the site, which dates from the Sabi Period of Baekje (538-660). Chapter II introduces the background to the discovery of the temple site in Gunsu-ri, which was the first such site to be found in Buyeo during the Japanese colonial era, and its investigation process, and then summarizes the report that was published after the excavation and investigation, the academic report published after 1945, and the database material and re-written report on the excavated relics. Chapter III describes the research results and the issues related to the remains found at the center of the temple, including the main hall and wooden pagoda sites. Regarding the main hall site, this chapter introduces the issues related to a double stylobate, a foundation stone (found between the top and bottom stylobates), and a stylobate made of roof tiles; while, regarding the wooden pagoda, it explains the importance of studying the method of “mounding” the foundation soil, and discusses the presence of a steep road (to transport stones), an underground-style foundation stone (which supported the main pillar), and the method of installing the reliquaries. In addition, it explains which kinds of building remains need to be clarified and compared to other temples in Buyeo. Chapter IV covers the research results and issues related to the major relics excavated from this site in terms of art history, archaeology, and the history of architecture. In particular, it explains the significance of two Buddhist statues found at the site, namely the Pyrophyllite Stone Seated Buddha and the Gilt-bronze Standing Bodhisattva, in terms of the history of sculpture in Korea; the importance of leaf decoration fragments made of clay; and the importance and issues related to convex roof-tiles and concave roof-tiles in terms of general roof tile studies in ancient East Asia. The temple site in Gunsu-ri exhibits the typical characteristics of a Buddhist temple that was built during the Sabi period of Baekje, and whose major remains and relics represent the universality of Baekje’s temples.

An investigation of the combined effect of rainfall and road cut on landsliding

The reduction of soil suction and consequent loss of shear strength due to infiltration is known to trigger shallow landslides during periods of concentrated rainfall. In the mountainous terrain of Nepal, the risk of shallow rainfall-induced landsliding is further exacerbated by non-engineered hillslope excavation for local roads construction. To better understand the combined effect of rainfall and road cutting on landsliding, a detailed investigation of a shallow landslide was conducted, on a site with a steep road cut that failed due to rainfall infiltration in July 2018. An integrated investigation approach was adopted, combining field and laboratory testing and field monitoring with a series of coupled hydro-mechanical analyses with the finite element code PLAXIS 2D. The field and laboratory tests were performed to characterise the subsoil condition and determine the soil parameters for the hydro-mechanical analyses. The field monitoring program was set up to obtain real-time measurements of rainfall and volumetric water content of the soil. The monitored data was used to calibrate the numerical model and assess the reliability of its predictions. Results of the numerical back-analysis suggest that the investigated landslide was triggered by rainfall infiltration causing a gradual reduction of soil suction at shallow depths of ≤1.7 m and the presence of the steep road cut promoted slope failure by allowing larger displacements to occur in the hillslope. Without the road cut, the slope was found to have ~35% greater initial factor of safety and under the landslide-triggering rainfall, the undisturbed slope was found to remain stable with ~170% greater factor of safety than that in the slope with the road cut. This indicates that the presence of a road cut increases the likelihood of landslide during rainfall and lowers the minimum level of rainfall needed for landslide initiation. Hence, rainfall-induced roadside slope failures could become more frequent and extensive if roads continue to be built by informal slope excavation, without adopting suitable interventions, some examples of which are presented in this study.

Transfer of Management Authority Policy: A Difficult Path to Educational Decentralization Effectiveness (A Case Study in Pesisir Barat Regency, Lampung Province)

The success of decentralization of education as a relationship between the central and local governments, as well as between provinces and the regency/city, can be demonstrated in at least two ways: increased public participation and improved educational quality in rural areas. On a larger scale, the effectiveness of education decentralization can be measured by the attainment of national education standards. Previously, under Regional Government Law No. 32 of 2004, the authority to administer secondary education was delegated to regency/city governments. Nonetheless, secondary education affairs are now under the provincial government's authority following the passage of Law Number 23 concerning Regional Government, which replaced Law Number 32 of 2004. Does the policy on the transfer of authority for secondary education have a beneficial effect on achieving the decentralization of education goals and, in particular, on achieving the eight national education standards? The analysis in this article demonstrates that the theoretical ideals of educational decentralization policy do not always translate into effective results in Pesisir Barat Regency. The relationship between the central government and the regions, as well as the relationship between the province and the regencies/municipalities, creates a tug of war of interest in the transfer of this authority. Starting with the complexity of the problem of providing education in Pesisir Barat Regency, there are several facts that indicate that transferring the authority to manage secondary education from the district government to the Lampung Provincial Government is a policy that is optimal for resolving problems and should have a positive impact in the form of increased participation and equitable distribution of education quality in accordance with national education standards. However, research findings indicate that strategic dimensions of national educational standards are significantly impacted. They are inconsistent with the ideals underlying the decentralization of authority goal. Finally, transferring secondary education authority is not a perfect idea or policy for the Pesisir Barat Regency (as a typology of the outermost-forward-lagging region), as there are still steep roads to effectively accomplishing its goals in this area.

A Commune Called 'Che'

The Che Guevara Commune is far removed from the bustle of Venezuela's huge coastal cities. You reach it by following a steep winding road from the shores of Lake Maracaibo into La Culata National Park. Lush vegetation and tall bucare trees provide good shade for coffee and cacao, which has only begun to be farmed in recent decades in this region, due to the migration triggered by the construction of the Pan-American Highway along the lake's perimeter in the 1950s.

Peran Komunitas Gerakan Pemuda Masjid Medan Timur Dalam Penguatan Aqidah Masyarakat Islam di Desa Rante Besi, Kecamatan Gunung Sitember, Kabupaten Dairi

This article wants to explore the role played by a youth movement community at the East Medan mosque in strengthening the aqidah of the Islamic community in Rante Besi village, Gunung Sitember sub-district, Dairi district. The area, which is quite far from the city of Sidikalang, is a remote area that takes quite a long time to travel in damaged and steep road conditions. Rante Besi Village is one of the villages located in Gunung Sitember District, Dairi Regency, a village that has a variety of tribes, languages and religions that it adheres to has a Muslim population that is considered a minority, this is one of the reasons for the lack of practice of the Islamic creed and the many worship practices that are not in accordance with the Shari'a and deviations from the Islamic Aqeedah. There is one hamlet in Rente Besi Village which is expected to be a strong potential and hope for the development of Islamic Aqeedah in the midst of society because of the majority of the hamlet population. This study discusses how the role of the youth movement community of the East Medan mosque in strengthening the Aqidah of the Islamic community as a youth movement that has awareness of the development of Islam and social care which is then expected to be a magnet for generating enthusiasm for Islamic youth to use their youth for things that are good for them. positive and useful for many people.

Vehicle routing problem with steep roads

Most routing decisions assume that routing costs are modelled as a weighted sum of total distance and time traveled by delivery vehicles. However, this assumption does not apply for logistics operations in cities with significant road grades. We study an extension to the VRP model that plans vehicle routes considering the combined impact of detailed road grade information and vehicle load-weight in fuel consumption cost. We refer to this model as the VRP with Steep Roads (VRP-SR), which is formulated as an integer linear program and solved heuristically. In simulated experiments performed for a mountainous metropolitan region in Chile, we estimate operating cost reductions up to 12.4% when compared to the real cost of a plan disregarding road grade information. In addition, we obtain valuable managerial insights from our routing plans; our planned routes tend to initially use roads with relatively small grades to avoid abrupt altitude changes with a loaded vehicle. Higher altitude changes are planned after the vehicle unloads a significant fraction of its cargo. Also, we identify instances in which it is cheaper to insert an intermediate depot visit to drop off weight and split a feasible route in two subroutes to travel over mountainous areas with a lighter vehicle.

Tea Leaf Picking Tool "Apedat" With an Automatic System Controlled by DC Motor

Pagaralam is a mountainous region with chilly temperatures, many of which have been cultivated with tea and coffee plants by the locals. These tea and coffee trees flourish, making them a dependable source of revenue for the local community. Obstacles in the field include conventional equipment for picking tea leaves, which slow down the harvesting process, as well as slippery and steep road conditions. This makes it more difficult for employees to reach the leaves that need to be plucked using standard equipment. One of the ways to enhance the added value for the community (partners) in terms of agricultural yields is to develop instruments that are more practical, quick, and ergonomic, and needless human work. The procedure entails designing and introducing a tea leaf picker powered by a dc motor. Based on the findings of field experiments, technologies can be developed to accelerate and increase the quantity of harvest. The community (partners) can sense a considerable boost in efficiency and effectiveness.