Search results for "ASTER"
showing 10 items of 2223 documents
The role of community-based knowledge and local institutions in managing landslides on the slopes of Mount Elgon, Uganda
2015
The paper explores the degree to which community-based knowledge (CBK) and local institutions can be effective for disaster preparedness and management, based on a study carried out in Nametsi Parish, located on the slopes of Mount Elgon, in eastern Uganda. The study area has experienced innumerable landslides since 1933. Whereas a few of the landslides have not been disastrous, several others have had far-reaching effects on the livelihoods of people living in the area. This is attributed partly to the geographical setting, which makes the area difficult to access, and partly to socio-economic factors such as a high population growth rate and widespread poverty. Despite these aspects of vu…
How communities' perceptions of disasters influence disaster response: managing landslides on Mount Elgon, Uganda
2014
The aim of this paper is to assess the role of people's perception in disaster management. It is based on a study carried out along the slopes of Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda. People living in the study area have experienced a number of landslides, but the landslide in 2010 had the most far-reaching effects on community livelihoods and resulted in a major setback to development efforts in the area. Experiences of landslides have enabled the local people to develop a number of interpretations of the causes and effects of the phenomena. The study revealed that community members did not share uniform perceptions. Whereas some members advanced technical or physical explanations for the 2010 di…
The Employment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Analyzing and Mitigating Disaster Risks in Industrial Sites
2020
Effective safety procedures play a fundamental role in high-risk industrial contexts, because the occurrence of an accident can cause environmental catastrophes, severe damages to the structures, and fatal injuries to the workers. In particular, maintaining detailed and up-to-date information about potential accident areas is a crucial issue to prevent the occurrence of disasters and to safely plan the rescue process. In such contexts, periodic safety inspections are therefore performed on a regular basis, although they may expose the inspection personnel to harsh or hazardous environments. The employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in such situations can provide unprecedented opport…
Income, Sex, Pills and Relationships: An Empirical Study for Argentina
2016
We use 28 years of Argentina’s life satisfaction (LS) and happiness (HA) data to test the Easterlin Paradox and find out the actual determinants of happiness. Argentineans are happier now than in 1984, and the City of Buenos Aires leads in present rankings of happiness in Argentina. In the cross-section analysis, LS correlates with the satisfaction about the economic situation of households, but the satisfaction with family and time spent with loved ones have a higher explanatory power. When it comes to HA, high social class members do not always buy a ticket, but low class makes people sadder. Nontraditional variables – pills for mental stress and sex – were also studied.
Spanish Secondary School Students' Notions on the Causes and Consequences of Climate Change
2010
This paper is part of an extensive study of secondary school students' preconceived ideas about climate change. Here, we undertake a survey in the province of Valencia (Spain) to ascertain secondary school students' notions of the causes and consequences of climate change. Results show, among other things, that students clearly relate the misuse of motor vehicles and factory emissions to the problem. However, the obvious correlation with household energy use is not observed. The usual confusion with other environmental problems, such as the hole in the ozone layer, as described in previous studies, is also detected. Students know almost no greenhouse gases other than CO2, while the socio‐ec…
Geomaterials in green building practices: comparative characterization of commercially available clay-based plasters
2013
Three pre-mixed powdered clay-based (earthen) plasters produced in Europe and specifically designed for wall undercoating were analyzed in this paper. These materials are commercially available and successfully employed in green building practices all over the world. Their compositional and textural characteristics, as well as plastic behaviour were investigated through a multi-analytical approach: X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), polarized light microscopy (PLM), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS), scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), grain-size distribution (GSD) and semi-empirical tests (Atterberg…
Conformable eddy current array delivery
2016
The external surface of stainless steel containers used for the interim storage of nuclear material may be subject to Atmospherically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking (AISCC). The inspection of such containers poses a significant challenge due to the large quantities involved; therefore, automating the inspection process is of considerable interest. This paper reports upon a proof-of-concept project concerning the automated NDT of a set of test containers containing artificially generated AISCCs. An Eddy current array probe with a conformable padded surface from Eddyfi was used as the NDT sensor and end effector on a KUKA KR5 arc HW robot. A kinematically valid cylindrical raster scan path…
European Master in Disaster Medicine: A Pilot Project Implemented in the Framework of European Inter-University Cooperation at the European Center Fo…
2000
Online optimization of a multi-conversion-level DC home microgrid for system efficiency enhancement
2017
In this paper, an on-line management system for the optimal efficiency operation of a multi-bus DC home distribution system is proposed. The operation of the system is discussed with reference to a distribution system with two conversion stages and three voltage levels. In each of the conversion stages, three paralleled DC/DC converters are implemented. A Genetic Algorithm performs the on-line optimization of the DC network’s global efficiency, generating the optimal current sharing ratios of the concurrent power converters. The overall DC/DC conversion system including the optimization section is modelled using MATLAB/Simulink. Thanks to the implemented online algorithm, considering …
GAMS files for the multi-objective models to locate temporary distribution centers after sudden-onset disasters
2019
These are the GAMS file with some a sample dataset that model locating temporary distribution centers after sudden-onset disasters. Required input data should be changed in the front.