scholarly journals Environmental assessment of the estimated dredging volumes on the Ob River

2021 ◽  
Vol 937 (2) ◽  
pp. 022042
Author(s):  
Y Bik ◽  
M Buchelnikov ◽  
V Kofeeva
Keyword(s):  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Large River ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
River Channel ◽  
Environmental Load ◽  
Novosibirsk Reservoir ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The object of the study is the impact of dredging in the Ob riverbed on individual components of the environment, in particular, ichthyofauna. The volumes of transit and capital dredging in the river channel on the crossing sections that are difficult for navigation have been determined and substantiated. To calculate the damage, a method to determine the loss of ichthyofauna was used, taking into account the death of benthic and planktonic organisms in turbidity plumes and on the bottom areas subjected to development by dredgers and buried under dumped fills. It has been established that the greatest losses of ichthyomass will occur in the sections of the Upper Ob (up to the Novosibirsk reservoir) and the Middle Ob (up to the mouth of the Tom River), which is explained by the presence of numerous crossovers that impede navigation and require constant dredging. In the Lower Ob, the negative impact on benthos, plankton and ichthyofauna will be insignificant due to the small number of small crossovers. The volumes of dredging in the fairway required to maintain guaranteed depths and dimensions have a certain environmental load, the level of which is not critical for the ecosystems of a large river. However, when creating large-scale capital bypass channels, it can increase sharply in certain years. By reducing the load, a stable shipping lane can be created and the frequency of dredging operations at each of the crossover sections can be reduced. The advantages and disadvantages of the used damage assessment method are noted.

scholarly journals Building Damage Detection Using U-Net with Attention Mechanism from Pre- and Post-Disaster Remote Sensing Datasets

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 905
Author(s):  
Chuyi Wu ◽  
Feng Zhang ◽  
Junshi Xia ◽  
Yichen Xu ◽  
Guoqing Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Binary Classification ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Building Damage ◽  
Attention Mechanism ◽  
Large Scale Dataset ◽  
Data Program ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Disaster

The building damage status is vital to plan rescue and reconstruction after a disaster and is also hard to detect and judge its level. Most existing studies focus on binary classification, and the attention of the model is distracted. In this study, we proposed a Siamese neural network that can localize and classify damaged buildings at one time. The main parts of this network are a variety of attention U-Nets using different backbones. The attention mechanism enables the network to pay more attention to the effective features and channels, so as to reduce the impact of useless features. We train them using the xBD dataset, which is a large-scale dataset for the advancement of building damage assessment, and compare their result balanced F (F1) scores. The score demonstrates that the performance of SEresNeXt with an attention mechanism gives the best performance, with the F1 score reaching 0.787. To improve the accuracy, we fused the results and got the best overall F1 score of 0.792. To verify the transferability and robustness of the model, we selected the dataset on the Maxar Open Data Program of two recent disasters to investigate the performance. By visual comparison, the results show that our model is robust and transferable.

Not always a quick fix: The impact of employing temporary agency workers on retention in the Australian aged care workforce

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra King ◽  
Sven Svensson ◽  
Zhang Wei
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Intention To Leave ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Nurse Satisfaction ◽  
Aged Care Facilities ◽  
Care Worker ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Temporary Agency Workers

The use of external labour such as temporary agency workers in the general workforce has increased in recent decades, but comparatively little is known about their impact within the aged care workforce. This article analyses quantitative data from a census of aged care facilities and a large-scale survey of their workforce regarding the use and impact of temporary agency workers on internal workers. It demonstrates that employing temporary agency workers helps address labour shortages generally and skill shortages in particular. However, it has a negative impact on the job satisfaction of internal personal care workers – a predictor of an increase in intention to leave. In contrast, there was little impact on internal nurse satisfaction. The use of temporary agency workers could therefore create a paradox: increasing personal care worker numbers in the short term, but negatively impacting on their retention in the long term. Given the need for an expanded and sustainable aged care workforce, this finding has important implications for organisations, policy and unions.

Legal-water assessment as a new legal and administrative instrument of surface water protection

2021 ◽  
Vol 1(23) ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Zębek
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
Environmental Goals ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Water Assessment

The primary objective of the water protection in the Water Framework Directive No. 2000/60/ EC is to maintain and improve the water environment by achieving good water status. These provisions have been implemented into Polish legislation in the Water Law Act of 2017. These goals are achieved by the use of appropriate legal instruments as a system of water-law approvals, including a permit, notification and legal-water assessment. The subject of the analysis is water-legal assessments as a new legal and administrative instrument of water protection. The aim is to deter-mine the legal nature of water-law assessments and to indicate their role in the protection of surface waters. Obtaining this assessment is required for investments that may affect the possibility of achieving environmental goals. If the planned investment has a positive or no impact on the possibility of achieving the environmental goals, it seems that the legal-water assessment is made. In the case of a negative impact, the obligation to submit documents confirming that all measures are taken to mitigate the negative effects of the impact on the state of water bodies are imposed. In this way, the legislator strengthened the protection of waters by imposing the obligation to meet additional conditions for large-scale investments that have a negative impact on the water environment.

Evaluation of Physical and Psychosocial Well-Being of Personnel: Employees’ Self-Feeling and Presenteeism at Work

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
M. Frelih ◽  
A. Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Metallurgical Enterprise ◽  
Digital Service ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Impact

The article is devoted to the study of factors that have a negative impact on the well-being of employees in the workplace. Special attention is paid to the problem of presenteeism on the example of a large metallurgical enterprise. A review of foreign and domestic publications allows concluding that until now specialists do not have reliable and valid tools for studying the presenteeism phenomenon in organizations. The purpose of the research presented in the paper is to examine influence of the factors of the intra-organizational environment on the personnel well-being and assess the level of presenteeism at the enterprise. Empirical data were obtained by conducting a sociological survey of various categories of workers, as well as assessing the impact of presenteeism on the economic indicators of the studied enterprise. For the subsequent in-depth study of health problems in the workplace, the authors have developed a research tool based on the use of a digital service, which allows monitoring the self-feeling of employees by the self-assessment method, which determines the level of physical and psychosocial well-being of staff.

scholarly journals Climate Perspectives in the Intra–Americas Seas

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 959
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Rogert Sorí ◽  
Paulina Ordoñez ◽  
Luis Gimeno
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
The Impact

The Intra–Americas Seas region is known for its relevance to air–sea interaction processes, the contrast between large water masses and a relatively small continental area, and the occurrence of extreme events. The differing weather systems and the influence of variability at different spatio–temporal scales is a characteristic feature of the region. The impact of hydro–meteorological extreme events has played a huge importance for regional livelihood, having a mostly negative impact on socioeconomics. The frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events and droughts are often discussed in terms of their impact on economic activities and access to water. Furthermore, future climate projections suggest that warming scenarios are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme events, which poses a major threat to vulnerable communities. In a region where the economy is largely dependent on agriculture and the population is exposed to the impact of extremes, understanding the climate system is key to informed policymaking and management plans. A wealth of knowledge has been published on regional weather and climate, with a majority of studies focusing on specific components of the system. This study aims to provide an integral overview of regional weather and climate suitable for a wider community. Following the presentation of the general features of the region, a large scale is introduced outlining the main structures that affect regional climate. The most relevant climate features are briefly described, focusing on sea surface temperature, low–level circulation, and rainfall patterns. The impact of climate variability at the intra–seasonal, inter–annual, decadal, and multi–decadal scales is discussed. Climate change is considered in the regional context, based on current knowledge for natural and anthropogenic climate change. The present challenges in regional weather and climate studies have also been included in the concluding sections of this review. The overarching aim of this work is to leverage information that may be transferred efficiently to support decision–making processes and provide a solid foundation on regional weather and climate for professionals from different backgrounds.

scholarly journals Effects of hydraulic engineering restoration measures on invasive gobies in a large river (Danube, Austria)

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ramler ◽  
Hubert Keckeis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Round Goby ◽  
Direct Methods ◽  
Large River ◽  
Invasive Species Control ◽  
General Decline ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Restoration Measures

Abstract Invasive gobies can have severe detrimental effects on local fish communities, however, direct methods for population control are often insufficient (i.e. fishing) or not feasible (i.e. poisoning). Indirect methods, such as habitat modifications in the course of restoration programs, appear promising but are poorly studied. In this study, we investigate the effects of different restoration measures on the abundance and occurrence of non-native gobies in the main stem of a free-flowing section of the Danube and attempt to disentangle these measures from general large-scale trends by applying a Before-After-Control-Impact design. We found three invasive goby species (racer, bighead, and round goby) in the sampling area, partly with very high abundances. Four to six years after the installation, the measures had negative (riprap removal), neutral (side arm reconnection), or positive (groyne field adaptations) effects on goby abundances. We conclude that the impact of the measures depends on the type of intervention, is species-specific, and is largely related to substrate composition. Independent from the effect of the measures, abundances of bighead and round goby dropped in the project and reference sections after the pre-survey. This general decline probably indicates a stabilization phase of the goby populations on a lower level, but may also be influenced by a major flood event. Nevertheless, our results indicate a high potential of shoreline modifications for invasive species control, calling for considering and incorporating them in river restoration programs.

scholarly journals Experimental illumination of natural habitat—an experimental set-up to assess the direct and indirect ecological consequences of artificial light of different spectral composition

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1667) ◽  
pp. 20140129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamiel Spoelstra ◽  
Roy H. A. van Grunsven ◽  
Maurice Donners ◽  
Phillip Gienapp ◽  
Martinus E. Huigens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

Artificial night-time illumination of natural habitats has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Generally, studies that assess the impact of artificial light on various species in the wild make use of existing illumination and are therefore correlative. Moreover, studies mostly focus on short-term consequences at the individual level, rather than long-term consequences at the population and community level—thereby ignoring possible unknown cascading effects in ecosystems. The recent change to LED lighting has opened up the exciting possibility to use light with a custom spectral composition, thereby potentially reducing the negative impact of artificial light. We describe here a large-scale, ecosystem-wide study where we experimentally illuminate forest-edge habitat with different spectral composition, replicated eight times. Monitoring of species is being performed according to rigid protocols, in part using a citizen-science-based approach, and automated where possible. Simultaneously, we specifically look at alterations in behaviour, such as changes in activity, and daily and seasonal timing. In our set-up, we have so far observed that experimental lights facilitate foraging activity of pipistrelle bats, suppress activity of wood mice and have effects on birds at the community level, which vary with spectral composition. Thus far, we have not observed effects on moth populations, but these and many other effects may surface only after a longer period of time.

scholarly journals THE MAIN APPROACHES TO ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF NON-TARIFF MEASURES ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
R. G. Volkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Terms Of Trade ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Trade Regulation ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Index Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Country Effect

The article deals with analysis of the main approaches to assessing non-tariff measures of government foreign trade regulation on foreign trade indicators. The article lists the factors which make it difficult to solve the problem: diversity of non-tariff measures, their using not only at the border but also within the country, effect uncertainty and frequent lack of quantification of such measures. It is also noted that non-tariff measures effects are usually determined by assessing changes in volumes and terms of trade with various methods. The frequency analysis method defines the coverage of imported goods by non-tariff measures as a share in the volume of imports or in the number of commodity items. The price gap assessment method defines the changes in the in-country prices under the influence of non-tariff measures. Survey method allows to obtain various estimates of these measures effects from business, index analysis method – to calculate index assessments of non-tariff measures effects, including based on survey data. Econometric method estimates the qualitative effects of non-tariff measures, including changes in the volume of exports or imports. The article considers each of these methods with the highlighting of their advantages and disadvantages.

scholarly journals impact of Covid-19 on chicken broiler farm business in Malang Regency

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-19
Author(s):  
Sutraning Nurahmi ◽  
Lili Zalizar
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Broiler Meat ◽  
Food Ingredients ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Broiler Farm ◽  
The Government ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
The Impact

The contagious COVID-19 spreads rapidly worldwide. The pandemic poses risks to multiple sectors of the world economy, including the agricultural and livestock sectors. Despite the economic potential of the broiler farm business, indicated by its increasing broiler population, production, and public consumption, the large-scale social restrictions imposed by the government as an effort to mitigate the pandemic spread has decreased the demand for and supply of broiler meat. This current study is aimed at obtaining an overview of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on the broiler farm business in Malang Regency. The data of this qualitative descriptive study were collected by means of interviews, personal documentation, and other supporting documents. Sampling was carried out using a stratified random sampling technique as the broiler population was non-homogenous and stratified.The broiler population was divided into two groups: 1) less than 5,000 heads broiler-population; and 2) more than 5,000 heads broiler-population. The study results showed that the negative impact caused by the pandemic on the broiler farm business include declines in the broiler meat selling prices, farmers’ income, and broiler population. The decline in selling prices is caused by the broiler supply demand imbalance and changes in the public consumption patterns during the pandemic, favouring food ingredients with longer durability. The farmers’ income decline occurs as a result of the dropping price of live broilers combined with the extra costs that the farmers have to spend to keep the business operating during the pandemic. Finally, the decline in broiler population takes place because of chick-in cancellation to suppress excess supply at the following harvest period. The broiler population restriction controls are conducted in order to regulate prices at the consumer level.

The impact of sanctions on the resolution of international business disputes: maintaining the status quo or looking for alternative jurisdictions?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 144-167
Author(s):  
Saglar Ochirova ◽  
Vladislav Starzhenetskiy
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Choice Of Law ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Status ◽  
Domestic Jurisdiction ◽  
Legislative Amendments ◽  
The Impact

The negative impact of the economic sanctions is not limited to the sphere of substantive law; it also extends to issues related to dispute resolution. Trying to achieve a fair resolution of disputes sanctioned persons may face many obstacles literally at every stage of the proceedings, starting with problems related to payment of arbitration fees, searching for counsels and arbitrators who are often reluctant to taking corresponding sanctions risks, and ending with the stage of enforcement of a judgment or an arbitral award. Under these conditions, the conduct of court or arbitration proceedings, if theoretically possible, in practice will be associated with substantial organizational difficulties, delays in consideration of a case and significant additional costs. In this regard the authors, based on the foreign and Russian experience, analyze advantages and disadvantages of various options for resolving the disputes involving sanctioned persons, including maintaining the former procedure for resolving disputes, transferring disputes to a neutral or domestic jurisdictions, as well as the latest legislative amendments, namely provisions of the Russian Arbitrazh Procedure Code expanding the exclusive jurisdiction of Russian arbitrazh (commercial) courts which have entered into force in June 2020. Maintaining the status quo between parties to a dispute provides a high degree of legal certainty but does not take into account the potentially serious breach of sanctioned persons’ rights. While the transfer of dispute resolution to the domestic jurisdiction allows the latter to ensure the protection of their rights, but, in turn, carries the risks of violating the existing balance in relations between the parties, refusal to recognize and enforce a future judgement in foreign jurisdictions and etc. Given the impossibility to foresee in advance the extension of restrictive measures to parties of a contract and character of such measures, perhaps the optimal solution could be the so-called cascade arbitration clauses, providing for variability of actions in certain cases, in particular: 1) choice of alternative forum; 2) establishing additional requirements for the neutrality of arbitrators; 3) waiver of the parties to submit disputes to jurisdictions that cannot provide equal and impartial resolution of the dispute in new circumstances. In addition, the parties are strongly encouraged to carefully consider the choice of law provisions, including choice of law applicable to the arbitration agreement.

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