scholarly journals Perceptions of Inequality During the Coronavirus Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ugur Yildirim
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Preferences For Redistribution ◽  
Perceptions Of Inequality ◽  
The Impact

It is known that Americans’ preferences for redistribution are generally not very elastic in relation to their perceptions of inequality. Even localized crises such as Hurricane Katrina that lay bare existing inequalities in society seem to do little to nothing in moving public opinion on this matter. However, the coronavirus pandemic presents a new opportunity for social scientists and policy experts to test whether large-scale national crises can lead to changes in people’s opinions. What is the impact of a crisis of this proportion on Americans’ attitudes towards inequality? More specifically, is there an “added value” to being informed about class inequalities in the context of the coronavirus outbreak compared to being informed about such inequalities in general terms without reference to this extraordinary event? This study answers these questions using an online experiment that manipulates the information respondents receive prior to answering survey questions. I find that receiving information about class inequalities specifically in relation to the outbreak tends to be much more effective in moving people’s opinions compared to receiving that information in a way that does not directly relate it to coronavirus. This suggests that attitudes can be moved by something as widespread and salient as the pandemic.

Hospitalization Rates Among Dialysis Patients During Hurricane Katrina

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Howard ◽  
Rebecca Zhang ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Nancy Kutner
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Dialysis Patients ◽  
Hospitalization Rates ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroductionDialysis centers struggled to maintain continuity of care for dialysis patients during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the US Gulf Coast in August 2005. However, the impact on patient health and service use is unclear.ProblemThe impact of Hurricane Katrina on hospitalization rates among dialysis patients was estimated.MethodsData from the United States Renal Data System were used to identify patients receiving dialysis from January 1, 2001 through August 29, 2005 at clinics that experienced service disruptions during Hurricane Katrina. A repeated events duration model was used with a time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator to estimate trends in hospitalization rates. Trends were estimated separately by cause: surgical hospitalizations, medical, non-renal-related hospitalizations, and renal-related hospitalizations.ResultsThe rate ratio for all-cause hospitalization associated with the time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator was 1.16 (95% CI, 1.05-1.29; P = .004). The ratios for cause-specific hospitalization were: surgery, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68-1.04; P = .11); renal-related admissions, 2.53 (95% CI, 2.09-3.06); P < .001), and medical non-renal related, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.89-1.20; P = .63). The estimated number of excess renal-related hospital admissions attributable to Katrina was 140, representing approximately three percent of dialysis patients at the affected clinics.ConclusionsHospitalization rates among dialysis patients increased in the month following the Hurricane Katrina landfall, suggesting that providers and patients were not adequately prepared for large-scale disasters.Howard D, Zhang R, Huang Y, Kutner N. Hospitalization rates among dialysis patients during Hurricane Katrina. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):1-5.

scholarly journals Modeling Confirmation Bias and Peer Pressure in Opinion Dynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longzhao Liu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Xuyang Chen ◽  
Shaoting Tang ◽  
Zhiming Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Confirmation Bias ◽  
Opinion Dynamics ◽  
Peer Pressure ◽  
Homogeneous Population ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Personal Opinion ◽  
The Impact

Confirmation bias and peer pressure are regarded as the main psychology origins of personal opinion adjustment. Each show substantial impacts on the formation of collective decisions. Nevertheless, few attempts have been made to study how the interplay between these two mechanisms affects public opinion evolution on large-scale social networks. In this paper, we propose an agent-based model of opinion dynamics which incorporates the conjugate effect of confirmation bias (characterized by the population identity scope and initiative adaptation speed) and peer pressure (described by a susceptibility threshold and passive adaptation speed). First, a counterintuitive non-monotonous phenomenon arises in the homogeneous population: the number of opinion clusters first increases and then decreases to one as the population identity scope becomes larger. We then consider heterogeneous populations where “impressionable” individuals with large susceptibility to peer pressure and “confident” individuals with small susceptibility coexist. We find that even a small fraction of impressionable individuals could help eliminate public polarization when population identity scope is relatively large. In particular, the impact of impressionable agents would be greater if these agents are hubs. More intriguingly, while impressionable individuals have randomly distributed initial opinions, most of them would finally evolve to moderates. We highlight the emergence of these “impressionable moderates” who are easily influenced, yet are important in public opinion competition, which may inspire efficient strategies in winning competitive campaigns.

Cleaning up New Orleans: The impact of a missing population on disaster debris removal

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Cook, BA
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Removal Process ◽  
Debris Removal ◽  
Rebuilding Effort ◽  
Disaster Debris ◽  
The Impact

Public participation in a disaster debris removal process is an important component to any large-scale rebuilding effort. How, then, does such an effort progress when nearly two-thirds of the affected community’s population does not come back to participate? The City of New Orleans faced just such a situation after Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic flooding that followed. The debris removal task is the largest in US history, and very few residents returned to participate in the cleanup. This article provides a further understanding of the impact that New Orleans’ missing population had on the city’s cleanup process. This article asserts that without this city’s residents (or first filters), the enormous debris removal effort in New Orleans was further slowed and complicated. The first two sections provide background and context, identifying the size and scope of the disaster, the low residential return rate, and the role of public participation in previous large-scale debris removal efforts. The next three sections focus on the disaster debris itself, identifying specific ways in which the missing population further complicated New Orleans’ cleanup efforts with regard to (a) the duration of the debris removal process, (b) the volume of debris, and (c) the contamination of debris.The final section considers various measures that emergency planners and managers can take to facilitate “participatory repopulation,” thus mitigating the complications of a missing population.

scholarly journals Impact of Air-Sea Coupling on the Climate Change Signal Over The Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALBA DE LA VARA ◽  
William Cabos ◽  
Dmitry V. Sein ◽  
Claas Teichmann ◽  
Daniela Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Climate Change Signal ◽  
The North ◽  
Projected Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In this work we use a regional ocean-atmosphere coupled model (RAOCM) and its stand-alone atmospheric component to gain insight into the impact of atmosphere-ocean coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). The IP is a well suited location for this study as high-resolution models are required to realistically reproduce its current and future climate. We find that under the RCP8.5 scenario, the generalized 2-m air temperature (T2M) increase by the end of the 21st century (2070-2099) in the atmospheric-only simulation is tempered by the coupling. The impact of coupling is specially seen in summer, when the warming is stronger. Precipitation shows regionally-dependent changes in winter, whilst a drier climate is found in summer. The coupling generally reduces the magnitude of the changes. Differences in T2M and precipitation between coupled and uncoupled simulations are caused by changes in the Atlantic large-scale circulation and in the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, the differences in projected changes of T2M and precipitation with the RAOCM under the RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios are tackled. Results show that in winter and summer T2M increases less and precipitation changes are of a smaller magnitude with the RCP4.5. Whilst in summer changes present a similar regional distribution in both runs, in winter there are some differences in the NW of the IP due to differences in the North Atlantic circulation. The differences in the climate change signal from the RAOCM and the driving Global Coupled Model shows the added value of regionalization in terms of higher resolution over the land and ocean.

scholarly journals River network and hydro-geomorphology parametrization for global river routing modelling at 1/12° resolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Munier ◽  
Bertrand Decharme
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
River Network ◽  
Added Value ◽  
The Impact ◽  
River Routing

Abstract. Global scale river routing models (RRMs) are commonly used in a variety of studies, including studies on the impact of climate change on extreme flows (floods and droughts), water resources monitoring or large scale flood forecasting. Over the last two decades, the increasing number of observational datasets, mainly from satellite missions, and the increasing computing capacities, have allowed better performances of RRMs, namely by increasing their spatial resolution. The spatial resolution of a RRM corresponds to the spatial resolution of its river network, which provides flow direction of all grid cells. River networks may be derived at various spatial resolution by upscaling high resolution hydrography data. This paper presents a new global scale river network at 1/12° derived from the MERIT-Hydro dataset. The river network is generated automatically using an adaptation of the Hierarchical Dominant River Tracing (DRT) algorithm, and its quality is assessed over the 70 largest basins of the world. Although this new river network may be used for a variety of hydrology-related studies, it is here provided with a set of hydro-geomorphological parameters at the same spatial resolution. These parameters are derived during the generation of the river network and are based on the same high resolution dataset, so that the consistency between the river network and the parameters is ensured. The set of parameters includes a description of river stretches (length, slope, width, roughness, bankfull depth), floodplains (roughness, sub-grid topography) and aquifers (transmissivity, porosity, sub-grid topography). The new river network and parameters are assessed by comparing the performances of two global scale simulations with the CTRIP model, one with the current spatial resolution (1/2°) and the other with the new spatial resolution (1/12°). It is shown that CTRIP at 1/12° overall outperforms CTRIP at 1/2°, demonstrating the added value of the spatial resolution increase. The new river network and the consistent hydro-geomorphology parameters may be useful for the scientific community, especially for hydrology and hydro-geology modelling, water resources monitoring or climate studies.

Seven Decades of Disasters: A Systematic Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C. Smith ◽  
Frederick M. Burkle ◽  
Peter Aitken ◽  
Peter Leggatt
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Publication Type ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroductionThe impact of disasters and large-scale crises continues to increase around the world. To mitigate the potential disasters that confront humanity in the new millennium, an evidence-informed approach to disaster management is needed. This study provides the platform for such an evidence-informed approach by identifying peer-reviewed disaster management publications from 1947 through July 2017.MethodsPeer-reviewed disaster management publications were identified using a comprehensive search of: MEDLINE (US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, Maryland USA); CINAHL (EBSCO Information Services; Ipswich, Massachusetts USA); EMBASE (Elsevier; Amsterdam, Netherlands); PsychInfo (American Psychological Association; Washington DC, USA); and the Cochrane Library (The Cochrane Collaboration; Oxford, United Kingdom).ResultsA total of 9,433 publications were identified. The publications were overwhelmingly descriptive (74%) while 18% of publications reported the use of a quantitative methodology and eight percent used qualitative methodologies. Only eight percent of these publications were classified as being high-level evidence. The publications were published in 918 multi-disciplinary journals. The journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine; Madison, Wisconsin USA) published the greatest number of disaster-management-related publications (9%). Hurricane Katrina (2005; Gulf Coast USA) had the greatest number of disaster-specific publications, followed by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania USA). Publications reporting on the application of objective evaluation tools or frameworks were growing in number.Conclusion:The “science” of disaster management is spread across more than 900 different multi-disciplinary journals. The existing evidence-base is overwhelmingly descriptive and lacking in objective, post-disaster evaluations.SmithEC, BurkleFMJr, AitkenP, LeggattP. Seven decades of disasters: a systematic review of the literature. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(4):418–423

scholarly journals Violence and Reconciliation in Colombia: The Personal and the Contextual

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-347
Author(s):  
James Meernik
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Fully Functioning

In the aftermath of war and large-scale violence, how can nations function as societies? How can people learn to live together again? Or, have the foundations of trust, civility, and predictability upon which fully functioning societies depend been irrevocably damaged? If we want to understand why reconciliation does or does not take root, we must begin by understanding the perspectives and interests of individuals. In this article, I develop such a model of individual attitudes towards reconciliation. In particular, I analyse the determinants of individual beliefs about reconciliation, with a particular emphasis on the impact of violence in Colombia. I combine survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project survey on individual attitudes regarding reconciliation with data on political violence to measure the extent to which individuals live in environments characterised by violence and how this shapes their opinions about reconciliation.

scholarly journals ARE MEASURED GROUND CONTROL POINTS STILL REQUIRED IN UAV BASED LARGE SCALE MAPPING? ASSESSING THE POSITIONAL ACCURACY OF AN RTK MULTI-ROTOR PLATFORM

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B1-2020 ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Teppati Losè ◽  
F. Chiabrando ◽  
F. Giulio Tonolo
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Ground Control ◽  
Positional Accuracy ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The estimate of External Orientation (E.O.) parameters for a block of images is a crucial step in the photogrammetric pipeline and the most demanding in terms of required time and human effort, both during the fieldwork and post-processing phases. Different researchers developed strategies to minimize the impact of this phase. Despite the achievement of good results, it was not possible until now to completely cancel the effect of this step. However, the efforts of the researchers in these years have also been devoted to the implementation of direct photogrammetry strategies, in order to almost completely automate the E.O. of the photogrammetric block. These new approaches were made possible also thanks to the latest developments of commercial UAVs, especially in terms of the installed GPS/GNSS (Global Positioning System/Global Navigation Satellite System) hardware. The aim of this manuscript is to evaluate the different perspectives and issues connected with the deployment of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) equipped with a multi-frequency GPS/GNSS receiver. Starting from the considerations mentioned above and leveraging previous works based on a fixed-wing platform, the focus of this contribution is the assessment of the real performances of an RTK multi-rotor platform addressing several questions. Is it possible to generate added-value products with centimetre 3D accuracies without measuring any ground control point? Which are the operational requirements to be taken into account in the planning phase? Are consolidated UAV mapping operational workflows already available to enable a robust direct georeferencing approach?

Capital Cost System Optimization of OTEC Power Modules

1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Horazak ◽  
T. J. Rabas
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Local Optimum ◽  
Power Module ◽  
Cost System ◽  
General Terms ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Ocean Thermal Energy ◽  
Scale Design ◽  
The Impact

Although the concepts of economic trade-off studies and optimization are well known, they are rarely used in large-scale design studies. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of a computer system optimization program for an entire power plant, the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power module. The design and cost algorithms are discussed in general terms with emphasis on how these pieces can be developed and simultaneously integrated into the system program. A comprehensive optimization routine is presented for this complex system. A procedure is presented by which the optimum system parameters can be checked to guarantee that they are the true rather than local optimum values. Finally, the impact of enhanced heat transfer surfaces is discussed, in terms of both cost and performance.

Elite opinion and defence policy: air power advocacy and British rearmament during the 1930s

1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Bialer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Air Power ◽  
Political Concern ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
Negative Role ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Much has been written about the deep fear of aerial bombardment in inter-war Britain. Particular attention has been paid to the Government awareness of that danger during the late 1930s, when the threat of war advanced from the realm of military and academic speculation to the sphere of an immediate political concern. “Air power” and the concomitant possibility of aerial bombardment, to quote Correlli Barnett, then became an “obsession”; it pervaded Cabinet debates and dominated all discussions of rearmament at every level of the British decision-making process.2 Why this should have been so, is not always made clear. The Government's sensitivity to the air danger is more often assumed than explained, and comparatively few attempts have been made to analyse the root causes which were responsible for this fear in official circles. Particularly neglected, in this context, is the impact of public opinion. Broadly speaking, public opinion is considered to have played a generally negative role, retarding the process of rearmament when not obstructing it altogether. The interplay between the public's view of the “air peril” and that of the Government is thereby minimized. This article is designed to redress that balance. It aims to examine the degree to which the British public was itself sensitive to the air danger and the extent to which its fears were communicated to the men who formulated the country's defence policy. In so doing, it will argue that public opinion acted as a catalyst, affecting official views on defence policy and — in general terms — influencing the choice of the form which rearmament was to take.

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