2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1723-1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Barredo ◽  
D. Saurí ◽  
M. C. Llasat

Abstract. Economic impacts from floods have been increasing over recent decades, a fact often attributed to a changing climate. On the other hand, there is now a significant body of scientific scholarship all pointing towards increasing concentrations and values of assets as the principle cause of the increasing cost of natural disasters. This holds true for a variety of perils and across different jurisdictions. With this in mind, this paper examines the time history of insured losses from floods in Spain between 1971 and 2008. It assesses whether any discernible residual signal remains after adjusting the data for the increase in the number and value of insured assets over this period of time. Data on insured losses from floods were sourced from Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS). Although a public institution, CCS compensates homeowners for the damage produced by floods, and thus plays a role similar to that of a private insurance company. Insured losses were adjusted using two proxy measures: first, changes in the total amount of annual surcharges (premiums) paid by customers to CCS, and secondly, changes in the total value of dwellings per year. The adjusted data reveals no significant trend over the period 1971–2008 and serves again to confirm that at this juncture, societal influences remain the prime factors driving insured and economic losses from natural disasters.


Author(s):  
S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed

Abstract: This paper examines the empirical relationship between natural disasters and FDI in 14 South and South-East Asian countries, 7 from South Asia, are Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the rest 7 from South East Asian countries, these are Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam taking panel data from 2000-2011. The two key variables are used in the analysis, foreign direct investment is the dependent variable; the total net inflows of FDI as a percentage of GDP is taken. The second key variable indicates natural disasters, the independent variable. Fixed effects model and Heteroskedasticity-Autocorrelation-Consistent (HAC) standard error are employed to estimate lagged and immediate impact of natural disaster on FDI. The empirical results show that natural disasters have a negative and statistically significant impact on FDI with two years of lag. The results indicate that post disasters management matters for attracting FDI inflow. Post disasters recovery systems and relevant policies should be able to improve the confidence of foreign investors and attractiveness of affected areas by establishing reliable and strong infrastructures and institutions. This would guide the policymakers for better fiscal decisions, mainstreaming the economic impacts of natural disasters in long-term economic planning for attracting FDI inflows and preparedness aftermath of natural disasters. Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Natural disasters; Panel data; Fixed effects model; HAC standard error


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malini Ratnasingam ◽  
Lee Ellis

Background. Nearly all of the research on sex differences in mass media utilization has been based on samples from the United States and a few other Western countries. Aim. The present study examines sex differences in mass media utilization in four Asian countries (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore). Methods. College students self-reported the frequency with which they accessed the following five mass media outlets: television dramas, televised news and documentaries, music, newspapers and magazines, and the Internet. Results. Two significant sex differences were found when participants from the four countries were considered as a whole: Women watched television dramas more than did men; and in Japan, female students listened to music more than did their male counterparts. Limitations. A wider array of mass media outlets could have been explored. Conclusions. Findings were largely consistent with results from studies conducted elsewhere in the world, particularly regarding sex differences in television drama viewing. A neurohormonal evolutionary explanation is offered for the basic findings.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Sacchi ◽  
Paolo Riva ◽  
Marco Brambilla

Anthropomorphization is the tendency to ascribe humanlike features and mental states, such as free will and consciousness, to nonhuman beings or inanimate agents. Two studies investigated the consequences of the anthropomorphization of nature on people’s willingness to help victims of natural disasters. Study 1 (N = 96) showed that the humanization of nature correlated negatively with willingness to help natural disaster victims. Study 2 (N = 52) tested for causality, showing that the anthropomorphization of nature reduced participants’ intentions to help the victims. Overall, our findings suggest that humanizing nature undermines the tendency to support victims of natural disasters.


2020 ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
Vontas Alfenny Nahan ◽  
Audrius Bagdanavicius ◽  
Andrew McMullan

In this study a new multi-generation system which generates power (electricity), thermal energy (heating and cooling) and ash for agricultural needs has been developed and analysed. The system consists of a Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (BIGCC) and an absorption chiller system. The system generates about 3.4 MW electricity, 4.9 MW of heat, 88 kW of cooling and 90 kg/h of ash. The multi-generation system has been modelled using Cycle Tempo and EES. Energy, exergy and exergoeconomic analysis of this system had been conducted and exergy costs have been calculated. The exergoeconomic study shows that gasifier, combustor, and Heat Recovery Steam Generator are the main components where the total cost rates are the highest. Exergoeconomic variables such as relative cost difference (r) and exergoeconomic factor (f) have also been calculated. Exergoeconomic factor of evaporator, combustor and condenser are 1.3%, 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively, which is considered very low, indicates that the capital cost rates are much lower than the exergy destruction cost rates. It implies that the improvement of these components could be achieved by increasing the capital investment. The exergy cost of electricity produced in the gas turbine and steam turbine is 0.1050 £/kWh and 0.1627 £/kWh, respectively. The cost of ash is 0.0031 £/kg. In some Asian countries, such as Indonesia, ash could be used as fertilizer for agriculture. Heat exergy cost is 0.0619 £/kWh for gasifier and 0.3972 £/kWh for condenser in the BIGCC system. In the AC system, the exergy cost of the heat in the condenser and absorber is about 0.2956 £/kWh and 0.5636 £/kWh, respectively. The exergy cost of cooling in the AC system is 0.4706 £/kWh. This study shows that exergoeconomic analysis is powerful tool for assessing the costs of products.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Amril Mutoi Siregar

Indonesia is a country located in the equator, which has beautiful natural. It has a mountainous constellation, beaches and wider oceans than land, so that Indonesia has extraordinary natural beauty assets compared to other countries. Behind the beauty of natural it turns out that it has many potential natural disasters in almost all provinces in Indonesia, in the form of landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, Mount Meletus and others. The problem is that the government must have accurate data to deal with disasters throughout the province, where disaster data can be in categories or groups of regions into very vulnerable, medium, and low disaster areas. It is often found when a disaster occurs, many found that the distribution of long-term assistance because the stock for disaster-prone areas is not well available. In the study, it will be proposed to group disaster-prone areas throughout the province in Indonesia using the k-means algorithm. The expected results can group all regions that are very prone to disasters. Thus, the results can be Province West java, central java very vulnerable categories, provinces Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, east Java and North Sulawesi in the medium category, provinces Bengkulu, Lampung, Riau Island, Babel, DIY, Bali, West Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, west Papua including of rare categories. With the results obtained in this study, the government can map disaster-prone areas as well as prepare emergency response assistance quickly. In order to reduce the death toll and it is important to improve the services of disaster victims. With accurate data can provide prompt and appropriate assistance for victims of natural disasters.


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