1,720,969 research outputs found
Development of an Efficient Modelling Approach to Support Economically and Socially Acceptable Flood Risk Reduction in Coastal Cities: Can Tho City, Mekong Delta, Vietnam
No full textFlooding is one of the most frequently occurring and damaging natural disasters worldwide. Quantitative flood risk management (FRM) in the modern context demands statistically robust approaches (e.g. probabilistic) due to the need to deal with complex uncertainties. However, probabilistic estimates often involve ensemble 2D hydraulic model runs resulting in large computational costs.Additionally, modern FRM necessitates the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders via co-design sessions. This makes it necessary for the flood models, at least at a simplified level, to be understood by and accessible to non-specialists.This study was undertaken to develop a flood modelling system that can provide rapid and sufficiently accurate estimates of flood risk within a methodology that is accessible to a wider range of stakeholders for a coastal city – Can Tho city, Mekong Delta, Vietnam.A web-based hydraulic tool, Inform, was developed based on a simplified 1D model for the entire Mekong Delta, flood hazard and damage maps, and estimated flood damages for the urban centre of Can Tho city (Ninh Kieu district), containing the must-have features of a co-design tool (e.g. inbuilt input library, flexible options, easy to use, quick results, user-friendly interface). Inform provides rapid flood risk assessments with quantitative information (e.g. flood levels, flood hazard and damage maps, estimated damages) required for co-designing efforts aimed at flood risk reduction for Ninh Kieu district in the future.Hydraulic Structures and Flood Ris
SWMM5-EA – A Tool For Learning Optimization Of Urban Drainage And Sewerage Systems With Genetic Algorithms
Get PDFIn spite of the developments in the application of evolutionary algorithms in the urban water sector, it is not widely used by practitioners in their day to day work. A reason for this underutilization is the lack of accessible optimization tools. The available limited options, on the one extreme, are characterized by tools for very specific applications (e.g. pipe sizing): While these provide useful optimization applications in specific domains, they are too restrictive in the range of application. The other extreme is to `glue-together’ a general purpose EA library and other required algorithms (e.g. an urban drainage simulation model) using computer programming languages. While this approach provides flexibility to potentially implement any optimization scheme, the computer programming skills demanded from the user make it inaccessible for many. A software tool was developed to help urban water engineers to lean the application of evolutionary computing techniques is presented. A popular urban drainage network modeller is coupled with an evolutionary computing library to create an optimization system driven by an accessible graphical user interface. The system is implemented in Python language using free and open-source tools and is released under a permissive licence. The design approach results in a software-tool that does not sacrifice range of applicability while being user-friendly. The tool was tested out in a number of graduate school classes and found to be effective in helping students internalize the principals of EA and its application in urban drainage/sewerage sector
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The role of MODIS data in visualizing flood disaster information for mass media
No full textAfter its successful launch in 1999, MODIS mission has caused a revolutionary change in earth surface monitoring. Due to very high spatial, spectral, temporal resolutions, easy to use data archive, and, free data availability, MODIS data is becoming popular among researchers and general public, alike. In this paper, we introduced another timely important use of MODIS images, mass media content production to visualize flood disasters. In addition to loss of life, flood disasters often cause unbearable economic and infrastructure destructions to developing countries. Bringing effective visual contents of disasters in such locations to the media of developed world, a positive boost can be expected in the field of flood relief operations and disaster mitigation efforts. A detail case study on recent flood occurred in northeast India and Bangladesh (June 2006) is included to explain various aspects of content production for mass medi
The sensitivity of urban heat island to urban green space-A model-based study of City of Colombo, Sri Lanka
No full textUrbanization continues to trigger massive land-use land-cover change that transforms natural green environments to impermeable paved surfaces. Fast-growing cities in Asia experience increased urban temperature indicating the development of urban heat islands (UHIs) because of decreased urban green space, particularly in recent decades. This paper investigates the existence of UHIs and the impact of green areas to mitigate the impacts of UHIs in Colombo, Sri Lanka, using UrbClim, a boundary climate model that runs two classes of simulations, namely urbanization impact simulations, and greening simulations. The urbanization impact simulation results show that UHIs spread spatially with the reduction of vegetation cover, and increases the average UHI intensity. The greening simulations show that increasing green space up to 30% in urban areas can decrease the average air temperature by 0.1 °C. On the other hand, converting entire green areas into urban areas in suburban areas increases the average temperature from 27.75 °C to 27.78 °C in Colombo. This demonstrates the sensitivity of UHI to vegetation cover in both urban and suburban areas. These seemingly small changes are average grid values and may indicate much higher impacts at sub-grid levels.Hydraulic Structures and Flood Ris
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Instant flood risk modelling (Inform) tool for co-design of flood risk management strategies with stakeholders in Can Tho city, Vietnam
No full textFlood risk reduction strategies play an important role in flood risk management (FRM) and these strategies are being co-designed with the engagement of the stakeholder through multiple consultations and co-designing sessions. Effective participation of stakeholders in interactive work sessions requires fast and accurate modeling systems with a user-friendly interface, which can simulate the impact due to various flood reduction measures selected by the stakeholders and also generate outputs that can be understood by all stakeholders, especially those who are not FRM specialists. Presenting an easy-to-understand tool with easy inputs and outputs for a variety of stakeholders and at the same time providing reliable and accurate results for a range of scenarios and interventions is a challenge. Seven requirements that are essential for a user-friendly flood risk tool were used to develop an instant flood risk modeling tool. This paper presents a web-based hydraulic tool, i.e., instant flood risk model (Inform), to support FRM in the urban center of Can Tho city (Ninh Kieu district), Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Inform was developed based on (i) a simplified 1D model for the entire Mekong Delta; and (ii) flood hazard and damage maps, and estimated flood damage for Ninh Kieu district in Can Tho city obtained directly from the 1D/2D coupled model for Ninh Kieu district. Inform rapidly generates flood levels, flood hazard and damage maps, estimated damages. Pilot testing with experts confirmed that Inform qualifies as a reliable co-design tool for developing FRM strategies as it features an inbuilt input library, comprises flexible options, easy to use, produces quick results and has a user-friendly interface. With the help of an interactive web-based tool such as Inform presented here, it is possible to co-design FRM strategies for Can Tho or any other city that is subject to flood risk.Hydraulic Structures and Flood RiskUrban Desig
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