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Cavalier Perspective has previously been described as merely a pictorial technique of spatial representation within the history of Chinese painting. It is a common belief that this unique visual system is capable of providing an experience of three-dimensional spatial perception in both representational art and actual space, in a manner similar to technique of foreshortening and perspective in post-renaissance western art. However, as Chinese ancient artists have a different understanding of geometry and philosophy, it is difficult to either define the origin and nature of the technique itself or to identify which particular visual phenomena it is intended to communicate, when artists transform three-dimensional space into two-dimensional surface information. The thesis begins by presenting an iconological analysis of the Chinese visual representation of space, in order to develop this visual study into a psychological analysis of the perception of three-dimensional form. To redefine Cavalier Perspective, it is necessary to firstly conduct a historical survey based on available visual evidence of both architecture and landscape representation. In both cases, the represented objects are transformed into flattened forms; and a psychological consequence thus appears involving the loss of a sense of depth in vision, which consequently contributes to the psychology of visual perception. To reassemble, and thus reactivate a similar perception in the representation of space, Chinese ancient artists are also believed to have created specific visual schemes to help reconstitute the perception of depth; thus rendering pictorial space perceptible. Cavalier Perspective is seen as just such a perceptual system. Consequently, the theoretical part of the thesis conducts an iconological study by elaborating a hierarchy of form, technique, and scheme in the history of Chinese spatial representation. After that, a theoretical association is formulated between iconology and visual perception, in which visual techniques are identified as potential cues to indicate depth. The translation between visual technique and depth cue appears so compulsive for both modem scholars and ancient artists that, to a certain extent, the progress of the visual arts could be described as the discovery of techniques for presenting depth through purposive patterns of form. Symbolic images are therefore seen to have their concrete formal basis established upon both pictorial idea and, more importantly, the psychology of visual perception. The thesis aspires to challenge CP by means of this formal analysis. Whether it belongs to a simple technique or a sophisticated visual scheme of ancient Chinese artists; the representational space of geometry; the making of visual perception by means of technical implements; and the bodily experience in actual space, are all shown to be indispensible parts of the present research. A concluding case study of the Chinese landscape garden gives a further demonstration that the pictorial ideas and visual techniques that once contributed to the iconological and psychological understanding of Chinese painting have also delivered an idealised form of spatial perception within the garden - where the sense of depth is firstly eliminated, and then artistically reconstituted. In this way, the nature of cavalier perspective will therefore have been explored on two levels - in the form of both spatial representation and bodily perception in actual space.

Abstract: Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), powered by renewable electricity sources, is an attractive approach to mitigating CO2 emissions and to storing intermittent renewable energy in the form of high-value carbon-neutral fuels. Among the various CO2RR products, CO, as an important feedstock for Fischer-Tropsch process, is the most kinetically accessible product. However, the sluggish kinetics for initial CO2 activation and the inevitable competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in aqueous electrolytes lead to the insufficient selectivity and energy efficiency of CO production. Although noble metals, such as Au, Ag and Pt, have been recognized as the most efficient catalysts for CO production, their low abundances and the associated high costs hinder their large-scale applications. Therefore, it is highly imperative to develop inexpensive electrocatalysts capable of efficiently promoting CO2RR to CO with high selectivity. Among the possible candidate non-noble metals, Zn holds the promise as a potential alternative to noble metals due to its earth-abundance and intrinsic selectivity for CO production. Hence, hexagonal Zn nanoplates (H-Zn-NPs) enclosed by Zn(100) and Zn(002) facets were synthesized and studied for their feasibility to catalyze CO2RR. Compared with the similarly sized Zn nanoparticles (S-Zn-NPs), the H-Zn-NPs exhibited remarkably enhanced current density, together with an improved CO Faradaic efficiency (FE) of over 85% in a wide potential window. Theoretical calculations revealed that the exposed Zn(100) facets and edge sites on H-Zn-NPs were energetically favorable for CO2RR to CO, which directly results in the enhanced CO2RR performance. Recently, CdCO3 was found to possess high CO selectivity because of the strong binding affinity with CO2. However, the reported current density (< 1 mA cm‒2) is far from being satisfactory. Therefore, CdCO3 nanoparticles decorated carbon nanofibers (CdCO3-CNFs) were synthesized to boost CO2RR by a strong catalyst-support interaction. As expected, the obtained CdCO3-CNFs displayed a high FE of 93.4% and a good partial current density (~10 mA cm‒2) at a potential of ‒0.83 V. Moreover, the local pH effect on CO2RR was investigated based on the in-situ synthesis of CdCO3 from porous CdO nanosheets, which would release OHˉ at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Compared with the pre-synthesized CdCO3 having similar morphology, the in-situ grown CdCO3 exhibited considerably increased FEs of CO in a wide potential range and achieved the maximum value of 99.2% at a potential of −0.86 V. The enhancement in CO selectivity was demonstrated to benefit from the higher local pH at the catalyst surface which significantly promoted CO2RR while inhibiting HER. This work provides new insights into the design strategy for cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts for CO2RR to CO.

Abstract: Over the past few decades, internationalization of higher education has become a key focus for universities in measuring excellence and innovation. As such, one of the most visible dimensions of internationalization is expanding partnerships with universities around the world. As the outcome of an increasingly globalized economy, the internationalization of higher education has been manifested at various levels including the emergence of international for-profit providers, and the changing position of emerging economies like China. This study investigated how China chose to embrace the internationalization of higher education by developing international branch campuses as partnerships with foreign institutions. The purpose of this study was to explore the rationales and approaches in China’s efforts to strategically internationalize its higher education sector through collaboration, with a specific focus on the international branch campuses in China. International branch campuses reveal the intersection of a state’s social and economic priorities, with higher education institutions as the focal point. In this study I used a qualitative research methodology by applying a case study approach that focuses on four international branch campuses: University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai, and Duke Kunshan University (DKU). Participants included senior university administrators, government officials, faculty members, and researchers in the topic area. The analysis of the findings involved developing an initial conceptual framework drawing on key political and economic ideas of neoliberal globalization, Socialist Market Economy, and the Post-Confucian Model of higher education. Six key themes emerged from the data analysis: understanding of academic freedom, issue of educational sovereignty, concept of nation building, demand for quality assurance, discussion on knowledge exchange, and interpretation of internationalization. Based on these key findings, I revised the conceptual framework to better account for how internationalization, as manifested in Chinese higher education, is the driver to reconcile some of the tensions between best practices found in foreign higher education and Chinese higher education. International branch campuses in China are an emerging model of hybridization and the manifestation of China’s effort to reconcile such tensions. I also developed a policy framework for international collaboration, which is comprised of three components that represent a reciprocal approach to internationalization. This study is a timely investigation of international higher education policies and practices in China. The findings not only reveal China’s changing stance on the world higher education stage, but also have significant theoretical and policy implications for foreign institutions considering similar joint education ventures.

A key problem in robotics application on high-precision tasks, such as assembly tasks, is how to make robots operate reliably in the presence of uncertainties (such as mechanical, control, and sensor uncertainties). Since there is no general and unconditional solution for the problem; the uncertainty handling for robot assembly must be a dynamic process involving sensory information and general knowledge of contacts among the parts being assembled, and its success can only be guaranteed if certain constraints on the nominal design parameters, tolerances, and sensor error parameters are enforced. Based on the above belief, this dissertation introduces a replanning approach towards uncertainty handling by presenting a task-independent replanning strategy, using knowledge of contact and sensory data, and showing how eventual success of a task can be guaranteed in spite of certain class of sensor, control and manufacturing imperfections if certain design and motion constraints are satisfied.