The portrayal of disaster in Western fine art

This paper surveys the depiction of disaster in Western art over the centuries. Emphasis is placed on the Italian tradition, as Italy is a country that has a rich experience of both artistic developments and disasters and has provided inspiration to artists from other countries. The survey begins with Classical art and continues with the Mediaeval fresco tradition. The vision of disaster was expanded when naturalism was introduced into art during the Renaissance. Whereas earthquakes had been a prime motivation for artistic representations in the Mediaeval period, during the Baroque volcanic eruptions seem to have been more popular, especially given the remarkable artistic output around Mount Vesuvius in the 18th century. Marine painters concentrated on storm and shipwreck, but often with delineations of extreme atmospheric phenomena. In the 19th century John Martin and others painted the Apocalypse. In the 20th century, Expressionism favoured lively depictions of natural hazards and so, surprisingly, did certain forms of metaphysical abstraction. Disaster has been seen in Western fine art in six ways: as spectacle, as allegory (through Classical mythology or Biblical drama), as a votive instrument of atonement, as a visual commemoration of an extreme event, and as a dramatization of a metaphysical proposition.     

Stock market and deterrence effect: A mid-run analysis of major environmental and non-environmental accidents

We analyze the stock market reaction to 161 major environmental and non-environmental accidents, reported on the front page of the New York Times for half a century. To determine if the market induces a real deterrence effect, we extend the event windows up to one year. On average, the market reacts negatively and enduringly to the announcement of an accident. However, this average effect is largely driven by the airline industry and by government interventions. The estimated average compounded abnormal return following environmental accidents does not differ from zero after one year. This does not exclude, in severe events affecting large firms, huge losses in equity value, but the significant negative cumulative abnormal returns estimated immediately after an environmental accident in previous studies do not persist. Our results suggest that in a market driven by institutional investors, the deterrence effect is likely to be weak.     

Food loss rates at the food retail,influencing factors and reasons as a basis for waste prevention measures

This paper quantifies food loss rates for fruit & vegetables, dairy products and bread & pastry as well as donations to social services. In addition potential influencing factors and reasons for food losses are investigated in order to provide a basis for the development of waste prevention measures. Detailed data from 612 retail outlets all over Austria, which covered the period of one year, were analysed and sorting analyses of discarded food were carried out in a small sample of retail outlets. Food loss amounts to 1.3% of the sales of dairy products, 2.8% for bread & pastry and 4.2% for fruit & vegetables. Returned bread amounts to additional 9.7% of the sales of bread & pastry. The food loss rates are similar to the results of previous publications. At present, 7% of the food loss is donated to social services, 38% of retail outlets do not donate any articles at all. Food loss rates are declining with increasing sales areas, increasing numbers of purchases per year and increasing sales of the retail outlet, but explain only 33% or less of the variation of food loss rates. Large differences between retail outlets of comparable structure indicate potential for reduction. More than a quarter of discarded food articles did not show any flaws besides the expiration of the best before or sell-by date. Waste prevention approaches should focus on avoiding returns, transfer of best practices, information and education of employees and customers as well as strengthening the donation to social services.     

关于灾害系统的若干问题

本文简述了灾害系统的某些基本概念,提出了灾害学系统划分的基本原则,讨论了灾害系统的一些重要特征。指出灾害系统是一个非常复杂的大系统,它不仅是一个随着时间演化的开放系统,而且具有非线性、不确知性、不确定性和社会性。灾害系统的分析、综合和广义模型化是当前的重要课题。     

地震前兆资料减灾信息的综合开发

近一、二十年建立起来的地震前兆观测台网,不仅为地震预测预报提供了大量科学数据,而且蕴藏着丰富的减灾信息,有待我们去开发。综合观测、综合分析和综合预报是防灾减灾的必由之路。     

减轻自然灾害系统工程初议

本文用大量数据阐述了我国主要自然灾害所面临的严峻形势;进而分析了减轻自然灾害的可能性和必要性;并从系统科学和综合研究的角度出发,提出了减轻自然灾害系统工程的任务和内容。     

关于长江水资源保护问题

通过具体的数据资料说明了目前长江水资源已遭受污染的情况,分析了长江主要被污染的河段及其污染的特性,提出了治理长江污染的原则,在此基础上提出了保护长江的策略:建立、健全水资源保护法规,加强监督管理;紧密结合流域规划和经济发展规划,制订和实施流域及重点地区的水资源保护和污染防治规划;控制岸边污染;预测污染负荷并制订预防对策;加强监测以及时发现问题;开展水资源保护重大课题的科研工作。     

我国城市建筑抗震防灾的工程对策

我国大部分经济发达的大中城市均处于地震区。这些地区人口稠密,建筑物集中,在地震中房屋严重破坏或倒塌是造成人员伤亡和财产损失的直接原因。因此,有效提高我国城市建筑物抗御地震的能力,减少震害。具有重要的社会和经济意义。本文从设计和施工两个方面。就我国城市建筑抗震的工程对策,进行了一些探讨。     

Looking through the postdisaster policy window

Policy windows are transitory opportunities during which the likelihood of adopting new policy or legislative proposals is greater than usual. Accepted wisdom has held that natural disasters serve as focusing events that generate policy windows in their wake. This paper highlights the need for a more circumscribed understanding of when and where policy windows occur based on the experiences of three US regional planning organizations: a hand-picked commission of community leaders, a council of governments, and a special-purpose substate organization. The first operated in the San Francisco Bay Area of California following the Loma Prieta earthquake (October 1989), and the other two in South Carolina's Atlantic coastal plain after Hurricane Hugo (September 1989). The analysis concludes that natural disasters did not transform the agenda or mission of these entities. Policy windows were neither automatic outcomes of focusing events nor did they ensure the adoption of pertinent policy within the organizations investigated. Several conditions are minimally necessary for using policy windows to bring about hazard mitigation: comprehensive institutional conceptualization of hazards management, institutional strength and flexibility, and well-placed, effective policy entrepreneurs.     

城市的发展与火灾防治

随着经济的快速增长，火灾将会成为一个突出的灾害问题。作为经济发展中心的城市，火灾危险因素大大增加，因此，在城市的发展和改造过程中，应当同时抓好防火安全保障体系的建设，大力发展消防科技，并应加强防火安全教育，以便把火灾危害减少到最低限度