W artykule opisano spory wokół sposobów zbierania danych na temat smogu w Polsce. Ramą teoretyczną analizy są studia nad nauką i technologią, a w szczególności badania nad rolą infrastruktur, standardów i danych. W części opisowej przedstawiono rolę infrastruktury pomiarowej w kształtowaniu relacji pomiędzy różnymi podmiotami zajmujący się pomiarem jakości powietrza, a następnie zanalizowano dwa wymiary konfliktu. Pierwszy z nich dotyczy kwestii metodologicznych i związany jest z rzetelnością pomiaru. Drugi natomiast – ontologii smogu, to znaczy odmiennego ujmowania problemu zanieczyszczenia przez ekspertów i obywateli, co ma przełożenie na praktyki społeczne.

The aim of this study is to find the cost design of RC tension with varying conditions using the Artificial Neural Network. Design constraints were used to cover all reliable design parameters, such as limiting cross sectional dimensions and; their reinforcement ratio and even the beahviour of optimally designed sections. The design of the RC tension members were made using Indian and European standard specifications which were discussed. The designed tension members according to both codes satisfy the strength and serviceability criteria. While no literature is available on the optimal design of RC tension members, the cross-sectional dimensions of the tension membersfor different grades of concrete and steel, and area of formwork are considered as the variables in the present optimum design model. A design example is explained and the results are presented. It is concluded that the proposed optimum design model yields rational, reliable, and practical designs.

Przez bardzo długi okres czasu polska gospodarka odpadami opierała się głównie na składowaniu odpadów na składowiskach, co negatywnie wpływało na otaczające środowisko. Wymagania unijne wobec państw członkowskich sprawiły, że w polskim prawodawstwie dotyczącym gospodarki odpadami nastąpiła rewolucja, a samorządy stały się odpowiedzialne za stworzenie lokalnych systemów gospodarki odpadami komunalnymi, które wpłyną na osiągnięcie unijnych celów. Jednym z rozwiązań, którego podjęło się kilka gmin, jest wybudowanie i eksploatacja instalacji termicznego przekształcania odpadów komunalnych, które nie tylko wpłynęły na zmniejszenie ilości odpadów składowanych, ale wsparły lokalną energetykę poprzez wytworzenie energii elektrycznej i ciepła. Standardy emisyjne wobec instalacji produkujących energię z odpadów, podobnie jak w przypadku konwencjonalnych elektrowni i elektrociepłowni są bardzo rygorystyczne, w związku z czym prowadzony jest ciągły monitoring emitowanych zanieczyszczeń, a systemy oczyszczania gazów odlotowych opracowane są w oparciu o najlepsze dostępne techniki (BAT). W artykule przedstawiono standardy emisyjne obowiązujące spalarnie odpadów, wraz z obowiązkami w zakresie środowiska, a także kwestie związane z instalacją jako źródłem energii. Ponadto krótko scharakteryzowane zostały aktualnie funkcjonujące spalarnie odpadów komunalnych w Polsce, jak również opisano plany rozwojowe w tym zakresie w kraju.

Autor dokonuje w tekście krytycznej oceny rozwiązań prawnych regulujących kształcenie nauczycieli w Polsce. W sferze argumentacji odwołuje się do własnych doświadczeń jako członka PKA. Ich prezentacja ujawnia obszary zaniechań, nieprawidłowości a nawet patologii występujących w procesie nadawania absolwentom szkół wyższych kwalifikacji do bycia nauczycielem. Źródła istniejącego stanu rzeczy autor lokuje w niedoskonałości lub sprzecznościach dokumentów regulujących te same obszary kształcenia, a także w walce szkół wyższych o przetrwanie na rynku, co prowadzi do radykalnego obniżana jakości kształcenia. Tekst kończą postulaty dotyczące koniecznych mody3 kacji standardów kształcenia nauczycieli oraz zmian w aktach prawnych.

Stepped spillway is hydraulic structure designed to dissipate the excess in kinetic energy at the downstream of dams and can reduce the size of stilling basin at the toe of the spillway or chute. The flow on a stepped spillway is characterisedby the large aeration that can prevent or reduce the cavitation damage. The air entrainment starts where the boundary layer attains the free surface of flow; this point is called “point of inception”. Within this work the inception point is determined by using software Ansys Fluent where the volume of fluid (VOF) model is used as a tool to track the free surface thereby the turbulence closure is derived in the k – ε turbulence standard model. This research aims to find new formulas for de-scribe the variation of water depth at step edge and the positions of the inception point, at the same time the contour map ofvelocity, turbulent kinetic energy and strain rate are presented. The found numerical results agree well with experimental results like the values of computed and measured water depth at the inception point and the numerical and experimental inception point locations. Also, the dimensionless water depth profile obtained by numerical method agrees well with that of measurement. This study confirmed that the Ansys Fluent is a robust software for simulating air entrainment and explor-ing more characteristics of flow over stepped spillways.

In the paper an application of differential evolution algorithm to design digital filters with non-standard amplitude characteristics is presented. Three filters with characteristics: linearly growing, linearly falling, and non-linearly growing are designed with the use of the proposed method. The digital filters obtained using this method are stable, and their amplitude characteristics fulfill all design assumptions.

The aim of the paper is to shed light on the theoretical background of the inclusion of health in the standard of living studies, and the use of two of its specifi c measures — life expectancy at birth and body height. Hence, the article describes the idea of capabilities and functionings developed by Amartya Sen as a proposed solution to the limitations of the classic measurement of the standard of living.

The present study has been taken up to emphasize the role of the hybridization process for optimizing a given reinforced concrete (RC) frame. Although various primary techniques have been hybrid in the past with varying degree of success, the effect of hybridization of enhanced versions of standard optimization techniques has found little attention. The focus of the current study is to see if it is possible to maintain and carry the positive effects of enhanced versions of two different techniques while using their hybrid algorithms. For this purpose, enhanced versions of standard particle swarm optimization (PSO) and a standard gravitational search algorithm (GSA), were considered for optimizing an RC frame. The enhanced version of PSO involves its democratization by considering all good and bad experiences of the particles, whereas the enhanced version of the GSA is made self-adaptive by considering a specific range for certain parameters, like the gravitational constant and a set of agents with the best fitness values. The optimization process, being iterative in nature, has been coded in C++. The analysis and design procedure is based on the specifications of Indian codes. Two distinct advantages of enhanced versions of standard PSO and GSA, namely, better capability to escape from local optima and a faster convergence rate, have been tested for the hybrid algorithm. The entire formulation for optimal cost design of a frame includes the cost of beams and columns. The variables of each element of structural frame have been considered as continuous and rounded off appropriately to consider practical limitations. An example has also been considered to emphasize the validity of this optimum design procedure.

The article raised issues related to the design and execution of low-energy objects in Polish conditions. Based on the designed single-family house, adapted to the requirements of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management ("NF40" standard), the tools to assist investment decisions by investors were shown. An economic analysis and a multi-criteria analysis were performed using AHP method which had provided an answer to the question whether it is worthwhile to bear higher investment costs in order to adjust to the standards of energy-efficient buildings that fulfil a minimal energy consumption's requirements contained in Polish law. In addition, the variant of object that had optimal characteristics due to the different preferences of investors was indicated. This paper includes analysis and observations on the attempts to unify that part of the building sector, which so far is considered to be personalized, and objects in accordance with the corresponding idea are designed as "custom-made".

Hard turning is a machining process that is widely used in the precision mechanical industry. The characterization of the functional surface texture by the ISO 13565 standard holds a key role in automotive mechanics. Until now, the impact of cutting conditions during hard turning operation on the bearing area curve parameters has not been studied (ISO 13565). The three parameters R_pk , R_k and R_vk illustrate the ability of the surface texture to resist friction. In this work, the main objective is to study the impact of cutting conditions (Vc, f and ap) of the hard turning on three parameters of the bearing area curve. The statistical study based on response surface methodology (RSM), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and quadratic regression were performed to model the three output parameters and optimize the input parameters. The experimental design used in this study is the Taguchi L₂₅ orthogonal array. The results obtained show that the cutting speed has a greater effect on the bearing ratio curve (R_pk , R_k and R_vk ) parameters with a percentage contribution of 37.68%, 37.65% and 36.91%, respectively. The second significant parameter is the feed rate and the other parameter is significant only in relation to R_pk and R_k parameters.