Facilitating disaster preparedness through local radio broadcasting

The 2008 Disaster Mitigation Preparedness (DMP) study took place in Aceh province, Indonesia. It sought to help develop radio programmes and messages to increase resilience to disasters. The role of radio was evaluated during and after the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster. The study team interviewed 984 tsunami survivors from nine sub-districts of Banda Aceh, and local nongovernmental organisations convened eight focus groups around the area of Aceh Besar. Six key informant interviews were held with government disaster management agencies. The DMP survey is the first of its kind to interview a representative random sample of Banda Aceh residents. It reveals the importance of community and social networks, during disaster situations, when essential communications are down. A disaster warning information system based on a multi-media approach needs to be developed. The wider community should be involved in the planning, education and training of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar residents to facilitate appropriate personal and community survival strategies.     

Use of computed tomography imaging for quantifying coarse roots, rhizomes, peat, and particle densities in marsh soils

Computed tomography (CT) imaging has been used to describe and quantify subtidal, benthic animals such as polychaetes, amphipods, and shrimp. Here, for the first time, CT imaging is used to quantify wet mass of coarse roots, rhizomes, and peat in cores collected from organic-rich (Jamaica Bay, New York) and mineral (North Inlet, South Carolina) Spartina alterniflora soils. Image analysis software was coupled with the CT images to measure abundance and diameter of the coarse roots and rhizomes in marsh soils. Previously, examination of marsh roots and rhizomes was limited to various hand-sieving methods that were often time-consuming, tedious, and error prone. CT imaging can discern the coarse roots, rhizomes, and peat based on their varying particle densities. Calibration rods composed of materials with standard densities (i.e., air, water, colloidal silica, and glass) were used to operationally define the specific x-ray attenuations of the coarse roots, rhizomes, and peat in the marsh cores. Significant regression relationships were found between the CT-determined wet mass of the coarse roots and rhizomes and the hand-sieved dry mass of the coarse roots and rhizomes in both the organic-rich and mineral marsh soils. There was also a significant relationship between the soil percentage organic matter and the CT-determined peat particle density among organic-rich and mineral soils. In only the mineral soils, there was a significant relationship between the soil percentage organic matter and the CT-determined peat wet mass. Using CT imaging, significant positive nitrogen fertilization effects on the wet masses of the coarse roots, rhizomes, and peat, and the abundance and diameter of rhizomes were measured in the mineral soils. In contrast, a deteriorating salt marsh island in Jamaica Bay had significantly less mass of coarse roots and rhizomes at depth (10-20 cm), and a significantly lower abundance of roots and rhizomes compared with a stable marsh. However, the diameters of the rhizomes in the deteriorating marsh were significantly greater than in the stable marsh. CT imaging is a rapid approach to quantify coarse roots, rhizomes, peat, and soil particle densities in coastal wetlands, but the method is unable at this time to quantify fine roots.     

Remote analysis of biological invasion and the impact of enemy release

Escape from natural enemies is a widely held generalization for the success of exotic plants. We conducted a large-scale experiment in Hawaii (USA) to quantify impacts of ungulate removal on plant growth and performance, and to test whether elimination of an exotic generalist herbivore facilitated exotic success. Assessment of impacted and control sites before and after ungulate exclusion using airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR, time series satellite observations, and ground-based field studies over nine years indicated that removal of generalist herbivores facilitated exotic success, but the abundance of native species was unchanged. Vegetation cover <1 m in height increased in ungulate-free areas from 48.7% +/- 1.5% to 74.3% +/- 1.8% over 8.4 years, corresponding to an annualized growth rate of lambda = 1.05 +/- 0.01 yr(-1) (median +/- SD). Most of the change was attributable to exotic plant species, which increased from 24.4% +/- 1.4% to 49.1% +/- 2.0%, (lambda = 1.08 +/- 0.01 yr(-1)). Native plants experienced no significant change in cover (23.0% +/- 1.3% to 24.2% +/- 1.8%, lambda = 1.01 +/- 0.01 yr(-1)). Time series of satellite phenology were indistinguishable between the treatment and a 3.0-km2 control site for four years prior to ungulate removal, but they diverged immediately following exclusion of ungulates. Comparison of monthly EVI means before and after ungulate exclusion and between the managed and control areas indicates that EVI strongly increased in the managed area after ungulate exclusion. Field studies and airborne analyses show that the dominant invader was Senecio madagascariensis, an invasive annual forb that increased from < 0.01% to 14.7% fractional cover in ungulate-free areas (lambda = 1.89 +/- 0.34 yr(-1)), but which was nearly absent from the control site. A combination of canopy LAI, water, and fractional cover were expressed in satellite EVI time series and indicate that the invaded region maintained greenness during drought conditions. These findings demonstrate that enemy release from generalist herbivores can facilitate exotic success and suggest a plausible mechanism by which invasion occurred. They also show how novel remote-sensing technology can be integrated with conservation and management to help address exotic plant invasions.     

A simple plankton model for the Oregon upwelling ecosystem: Sensitivity and validation against time-series ocean data

Simple plankton models serve as useful platforms for testing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying ecosystem dynamics. A simple, one-dimensional plankton model was developed to describe the dynamics of nitrate, ammonium, two phytoplankton size-classes, meso-zooplankton, and detritus in the Oregon upwelling ecosystem. Computational simplicity was maintained by linking the biological model to a one-dimensional, cross-shelf physical model driven by the daily coastal upwelling index. The model sacrificed resolution of regional-scale and along-shore (north to south) processes and assumed that seasonal productivity is primarily driven by local cross-shelf Ekman transport of surface waters and upwelling of nutrient-rich water from depth.Our goals were to see how well a simple plankton model could capture the general temporal and spatial dynamics of the system, test system sensitivity to alternate parameter set values, and observe system response to the effective scale of potential retention mechanisms. Model performance across the central Oregon shelf was evaluated against two years (2000-2001) of chlorophyll and copepod time-series observations. While the modeled meso-zooplankton biomass was close in scale to the observed copepod biomass, phytoplankton was overestimated relative to that inferred from the observed surface chlorophyll concentration. Inshore, the system was most sensitive to the nutrient uptake kinetics of diatom-size phytoplankton and to the functional grazing response of meso-zooplankton. Meso-zooplankton was more sensitive to alternate parameter values than was phytoplankton. Reduction of meso-zooplankton cross-shelf advection rates (crudely representing behavioral retention mechanisms) reduced the scale of model error relative to the observed seasonal mean inshore copepod biomass but had little effect of the modeled meso-zooplankton biomass offshore nor upon phytoplankton biomass across the entire shelf.     

Terraced fields and Mediterranean landscape structure: An analytical case study from Antikythera, Greece

Terraces are important capital investments in a range of agricultural landscapes worldwide, typically enduring well beyond any single farming cycle and over many human generations. This paper begins by emphasising that, while human population growth may often be loosely linked to terrace construction efforts, the association is by no means a straightforward one. We then argue that the choice of which parts of the landscape to terrace is driven by a range of cultural and environmental priorities that are most usefully explored by a combination of global, local and auto-correlative modelling, as well as via simulation-based methods. The results demonstrate that surficial geology, terrain slope, pre-existing terraces and pre-existing patterns of human habitation are all important structuring features. We also consider terraces as method for soil conservation, question the uncritical use of meso-scale erosion models and argue that patterns of catastrophic soil loss are often overstated in Mediterranean contexts. However, erosion modelling can, if deployed cautiously and comparatively, nonetheless be used to explore ways in which terraces do indeed manage localised soil movement in agriculturally favoured parts of the landscape, with our results suggesting that a substantial proportion of the erosion in this regions is indeed ameliorated by such measures.     

Moving home: nest-site selection in the Red Dwarf honeybee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis florea</Emphasis>)

The Red Dwarf honeybee (Apis florea) is one of two basal species in the genus Apis. A. florea differs from the well-studied Western Hive bee (Apis mellifera) in that it nests in the open rather than in cavities. This fundamental difference in nesting biology is likely to have implications for nest-site selection, the process by which a reproductive swarm selects a new site to live in. In A. mellifera, workers show a series of characteristic behaviors that allow the swarm to select the best nest site possible. Here, we describe the behavior of individual A. florea workers during the process of nest-site selection and show that it differs from that seen in A. mellifera. We analyzed a total of 1,459 waggle dances performed by 197 scouts in five separate swarms. Our results suggest that two fundamental aspects of the behavior of A. mellifera scouts—the process of dance decay and the process of repeated nest site evaluation—do not occur in A. florea. We also found that the piping signal used by A. mellifera scouts to signal that a quorum has been reached at the chosen site, is performed by both dancing and non-dancing bees in A. florea. Thus, the piping signal appears to serve a different purpose in A. florea. Our results illustrate how differences in nesting biology affect the behavior of individual bees during the nest-site selection process.     

Modelling the mitigation of a hydrogen deflagration in a nuclear waste silo ullage with water fog

During the decommissioning of certain legacy nuclear waste storage plants it is possible that significant releases of hydrogen gas could occur. Such an event could result in the formation of a flammable mixture within the silo ullage and, hence, the potential risk of ignition and deflagration occurring, threatening the structural integrity of the silo. Very fine water mist fogs have been suggested as a possible method of mitigating the overpressure rise, should a hydrogen–air deflagration occur. In the work presented here, the FLACS CFD code has been used to predict the potential explosion overpressure reduction that might be achieved using water fog mitigation for a range of scenarios where a hydrogen–air mixture, of a pre-specified concentration (containing 800 L of hydrogen), uniformly fills a volume located in a model silo ullage space, and is ignited giving rise to a vented deflagration. The simulation results suggest that water fog could significantly reduce the peak explosion overpressure, in a silo ullage, for lower concentration hydrogen–air mixtures up to 20%, but would require very high fog densities to be achieved to mitigate 30% hydrogen–air mixtures.     

Mechanical Equipment Injuries in Small Manufacturing Businesses. Knowledge,Behavioral, and Management Issues

This paper presents findings from an extensive study intofactors that impact upon the high rate of injuries due to mechanical equipment, especially in small manufacturing firms. Issues relating to knowledge of health and safety issues and to management practices have been shown to be extremely important with regards to safety in smaii businesses. Knowledge and awareness of hazards were found to be relatively low and few respondents, especially managers, had received adequate safety training. Managers did not regard the identification and control of risks as a priority. Workplaces generally lacked effective safety management procedures such as safety rules and regulations, procedures for recording and learning from accidents, and clearly defined responsibilities for safety. Some issues requiring further investigation, and some recommendations for improving safety in small businesses, are presented.     

Measures of health,fitness, and functional movement among firefighter recruits

Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between various health and fitness measures and Functional Movement Screen? (FMS?) scores among 78 firefighter recruits. Methods. Relationships between FMS? scores and age, body mass index (BMI), sit and reach (S&R) distance, estimated maximal aerobic capacity (V˙_O2max), estimated one-repetition maximum squat (1RM-Squat_max), and plank endurance (%Plank_max) were examined. Results. Total FMS? scores were significantly correlated with BMI (r?=??0.231, p?=?0.042), estimated 1RM-Squat_max (r?=?0.302, p?=?0.007), and %Plank_max (r?=?0.320, p?=?0.004). Multiple regression analyses indicated that this combination of predictors significantly predicted (F(3, 74)?=?5.043, p?=?0.003) Total FMS? score outcomes and accounted for 17% of the total variance (R²?=?0.170). In addition, logistic regression analyses indicated that estimated 1RM-Squat_max also significantly predicted (χ²?=?6.662, df?=?1, p?=?0.010) FMS? group membership (≤14 or ≥15). Conclusion. These results suggest that the health and fitness measures of obesity (BMI), bilateral lower extremity strength (estimated 1RM-Squat_max), and core muscular endurance (%Plank_max) are significantly associated with functional movement patterns among firefighter recruits. Consequently, injury prevention programs implemented among firefighter recruits should target these aspects of health and fitness.     

Issues in extractive resource taxation: A review of research methods and models

This paper provides a conceptual overview of economists′ attempts to learn about the effects of taxes on extractive resources. The emphasis is on research methods and techniques, with no attempt to provide a comprehensive tabulation of previous empirical results or policy conclusions regarding preferred tax instruments or systems. We argue, in fact, that the nature of such conclusions largely depends on, and is limited by, the researcher′s choice of modeling framework. Many alternative frameworks and approaches have been developed in the literature. Our goal is to describe the differences among them and to note their strengths and limitations.