scholarly journals How Vulnerable Are American States to Wildfires? A Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment

Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Janine A. Baijnath-Rodino ◽  
Mukesh Kumar ◽  
Margarita Rivera ◽  
Khoa D. Tran ◽  
Tirtha Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Indicator Variable ◽  
American States ◽  
Indicator Variables

Quantifying livelihood vulnerability to wildland fires in the United States is challenging because of the need to systematically integrate multidimensional variables into its analysis. We aim to measure wildfire threats amongst humans and their physical and social environment by developing a framework to calculate the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) for the top 14 American states most recently exposed to wildfires. The LVI is computed by assessing each state’s contributing factors (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) to wildfire events. These contributing factors are determined through a set of indicator variables that are categorized into corresponding groups to produce an LVI framework. The framework is validated by performing a principal component analysis (PCA), ensuring that each selected indicator variable corresponds to the correct contributing factor. Our results indicate that Arizona and New Mexico experience the greatest livelihood vulnerability. In contrast, California, Florida, and Texas experience the least livelihood vulnerability. While California has one of the highest exposures and sensitivity to wildfires, results indicate that it has a relatively high adaptive capacity, in comparison to the other states, suggesting it has measures in place to withstand these vulnerabilities. These results are critical to wildfire managers, government, policymakers, and research scientists for identifying and providing better resiliency and adaptation measures to support states that are most vulnerable to wildfires.

scholarly journals A new approach to assess the impact of extreme temperature conditions on social vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The objective of this research is to develop a set of vulnerability indicators and to analyze the effect of climate factors on social vulnerability. While the main aim of the study is to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability, it also represents a novel scientific contribution in the field, as it delimits for the first time in the Romanian literature the most vulnerable areas from this point of view. This study aims to facilitate the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. By applying the principal component analysis, we have selected 45 variables and have constructed four aggregated indexes. The Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) has pointed out that the largest impact on the current vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty, the most vulnerable areas being represented by the eastern and north-western parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities' efforts should concentrate on reducing the vulnerability of these regions and preparing them to cope with- and adapt to the impact of climate change.

scholarly journals Factor Path of Constraints to Adaptive Capacity on Climate Change among IFAD-VCDP Farmers in North Central Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
H. Sallawu ◽  
J. N. Nmadu ◽  
A. A. A. Coker ◽  
U. S. Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
North Central ◽  
Farm Inputs

Aim: Adaptive capacity is the ability of the farmer to adjust his farm plans and programmes in the face of emerging risks, constraints and currently available information. In this study, the various constraints faced by International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development Programme’s farmers (IFAD-VCDP) in North Central Nigeria in adapting to climate change challenges were investigated. Study Design: A multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondents. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Benue and Niger States of Nigeria in 2018. Methodology: Data were collected from a total of 483 respondents using interview schedule and questionnaire. The data were analysed using exploratory (principal component analysis) and confirmatory (structural equation modelling) factor analysis. Results: The results of the analysis revealed the significant constraints the farmers faced in order to improve their adaptive capacity to climate change which were institutional and technical (49.45%) and climate information (26.62%) constraints, although the factors differ slightly within the two states under study. In Benue State, institutional (31.26%), personal (14.63%), land and farm inputs (12.54%) and population (11.73%) while in Niger State, public and institutional (22.34%), land and farm inputs (14.78%), and personal (10.75) were the constraints to adaptive capacity. Conclusion: These constraints make it harder to plan and implement adaptation actions by restricting the variety and effectiveness of options available to the farmers to improve their productivity and cope with the vagaries of climate change. It was therefore recommended that government and NGOs should intensify efforts on public, institutional, educational and climate policies, assist in increasing the adaptive capacity of the farmers in order to employ more adaptation measures, land governance systems should be strengthened in Nigeria to provide tenure security for all, financial institutions should help facilitate access to credit by farmers and assist in making reliable climate information accessible to all farmers.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Extreme Temperature Conditions on Social Vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8510
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

This research aims to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability by developing a set of vulnerability indicators. It delimits for the first time in Romania the most vulnerable areas from this point of view and facilitates the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. We selected 35 variables and constructed four aggregated indexes by applying the principal component analysis, and then the Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) index was derived. It pointed out that the most significant impact on the vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty. The most vulnerable areas are located in the northern and south-eastern parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities’ efforts should reduce the vulnerability of these regions and prepare them to cope with and adapt to the impact of climate change.

Biodiversity indicators in semi-arid, agricultural Western Australia

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Abensperg-traun ◽  
G. W. Arnold ◽  
D. E. Steven ◽  
G. T. Smith ◽  
L. Atkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Beetle Species ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Indicator Variable ◽  
Plant Richness ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Semi Arid

The predicted future loss of native Australian species of plants and animals, in part as a result of adverse land management strategies, has led to attempts to identify areas of high biotic richness (numbers of species). Bioindicators are measures of the physical environment, or of a subset of the plants or animals, that best predict biotic richness. Ideally, bioindicators should aim at predicting as large a component of the plant or animal fauna as is possible at minimum cost. For two contrasting vegetation types, we examined remnant area, vegetation structural diversity, species richness of plants, lizards and terrestrial arthropods, and the relative abundance of individual arthropod species, as indicators of faunal richness, using correlation, principal component regression and stepwise regression analyses. The study was carried out in gimlet Eucalyptus salubris woodlands (29 sites) and shrublands (27 sites) in semi-arid, agricultural Western Australia. Sites varied considerably in grazing history (woodland) and in farming history (shrubland). Fauna sampled were lizards (woodland), scorpions (woodland), isopods (woodland), cockroaches (woodland), termites (woodland, shrubland), earwigs (woodland), hemipterans (shrubland), beetles (woodland, shrubland), butterflies (shrubland) and ants (woodland, shrubland). None of the indicator variables in any analyses effectively predicted total faunal richness for either vegetation type (<35% of variation in total richness explained). In correlation analyses for woodlands, vegetation structural diversity and plant richness, but no fauna variable, explained a high percentage of the variation in the richness of lizards (56% explained by richness of native plants, +ve), scorpions (48%, richness of native plants, +ve), termites (55%, vegetation structural diversity, +ve) and beetles (59%, litter, –ve). The richness of the shrubland fauna was poorly predicted by all indicator variables (<25% explained). When using the total richness and abundance of ant functional groups, the abundance of a subset of species within ant functional groups, and of termite and beetle species, in principal component regressions, various ant functional groups explained 42% each of the richness of scorpions and beetles, and eight beetle species explained 50% of termite richness. When remnant area, vegetation structural diversity and the richness of native plants in woodland were tested in step-wise regressions as indicators of total faunal richness, remnant area was the only significant indicator variable, explaining 33% of total richness. The richness of native plants and vegetation structural diversity explained a total of 76% of the pooled richness of lizards + scorpions + termites. No significant indicator variable was found by regression procedures for total richness, or for a subset, of the shrubland fauna. We argue that differences in the predictive qualities of vegetation structure and plant richness between the vegetation types was due, in part, to differences in the spatial heterogeneity of biotic richness, and possibly the scale at which structure was measured. The use of structural diversity or plant richness as predictors of faunal richness for different woodland types, or those with different disturbance histories, or in different geographic or climatic regions, should not be adopted without verification of their efficiency at predicting the richness of the local fauna.

Guns, Alcohol, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Epidemiology of Female Suicide in New Mexico

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenora Olson ◽  
Frank Huyler ◽  
Arthur W Lynch ◽  
Lynne Fullerton ◽  
Deborah Werenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Injury Death ◽  
Female Suicide ◽  
Blood Alcohol Levels ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States, and in women the second leading cause of injury death overall. Previous studies have suggested links between intimate partner violence and suicide in women. We examined female suicide deaths to identify and describe associated risk factors. We reviewed all reports from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator for female suicide deaths occurring in New Mexico from 1990 to 1994. Information abstracted included demographics, mechanism of death, presence of alcohol/drugs, clinical depression, intimate partner violence, health problems, and other variables. Annual rates were calculated based on the 1990 census. The New Mexico female suicide death rate was 8.2/100,000 persons per year (n = 313), nearly twice the U. S. rate of 4.5/100,000. Non-Hispanic whites were overrepresented compared to Hispanics and American Indians. Decedents ranged in age from 14 to 93 years (median = 43 years). Firearms accounted for 45.7% of the suicide deaths, followed by ingested poisons (29.1%), hanging (10.5%), other (7.7%), and inhaled poisons (7.0%). Intimate partner violence was documented in 5.1% of female suicide deaths; in an additional 22.1% of cases, a male intimate partner fought with or separated from the decedent immediately preceding the suicide. Nearly two-thirds (65.5%) of the decedents had alcohol or drugs present in their blood at autopsy. Among decedents who had alcohol present (34.5%), blood alcohol levels were far higher among American Indians compared to Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites (p = .01). Interpersonal conflict was documented in over 25% of cases, indicating that studies of the mortality of intimate partner violence should include victims of both suicide and homicide deaths to fully characterize the mortality patterns of intimate partner violence.

Child and Adolescent Suicide Deaths in New Mexico, 1990-1994

Crisis ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
DD Werenko ◽  
LM Olson ◽  
L Fullerton-Gleason ◽  
AW Lynch ◽  
RE Zumwalt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Adolescent Suicide ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Medical Examiner ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Youth Activity

The suicide death rate in New Mexico is consistently higher than the national rate. Among adolescents, suicide is the third leading cause of death nationally, but in New Mexico it is the second leading cause of death. This study describes the pattern of adolescent suicide deaths in New Mexico. We conducted a retrospective review of all medical examiner autopsies for adolescent suicides (ages 20 years and younger) in New Mexico from 1990-1994. Records were reviewed for demographics and possible contributing factors such as depression, previous attempts, and alcohol and drug use. We identified 184 suicide deaths among children and adolescents ages 9-20 years for an overall rate of 12.9 per 100,000. Our rates for ages 5-9 years (0.2), 10-14 years (3.8), and 15-19 years (22.3) are over twice the U.S. rates. Suicide deaths resulted primarily from firearms (67%), hanging (16%), poisoning (6%), inhalation (4%), and other methods (7%). Method varied by ethnicity (p = .01) and gender (p = .03); males and non-Hispanic Whites were overrepresented among firearm deaths. Firearm ownership was known in 60 (48%) of the firearm deaths. Of these, 53% of the firearms belonged to a family member, 25% to the decedent, and 22% to a friend. Over one-third of decedents (41%) experienced mental disorders, primarily depressed mood and clinical depression. Previous suicide attempts were noted for 15% of the decedents. Some 50% of the decedents had alcohol or drugs present at the time of death; among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 74% had drugs or alcohol present (p = .003). Targeted interventions are needed to reduce adolescent suicide in New Mexico. We suggest raising awareness about acute and chronic contributing factors to suicide; training physicians to look for behavioral manifestations of depression; and involving physicians, teachers, and youth activity leaders in efforts to limit firearm accessibility, such as advising parents to remove firearms from their households.

REVISITING CONTEMPORARY HOMESCHOOLING: THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Zamir
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
American States ◽  
At Home

The term “homeschooling” denotes the process of educating, instructing, and tutoring children by parents at home instead of having this done by professional teachers in formal settings. Although regulation and court rulings vary from one state to another, homeschooling is legal in all fifty American states. Contrary to the growing tendency of parents in the United States to move toward homeschooling in 1999-2012, the rate of homeschooling and the population of those educated in this manner appear to have leveled off in 2012–2016. This paper aims to explain both phenomena and asks whether a trend is at hand.

Mass School Shootings in the United States: A Novel Root Cause Analysis Using Lay Press Reports

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (13) ◽  
pp. 1423-1428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris A. Rees ◽  
Lois K. Lee ◽  
Eric W. Fleegler ◽  
Rebekah Mannix
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Root Cause Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Shootings ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Cause Analysis ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Root Cause

School shootings comprise a small proportion of childhood deaths from firearms; however, these shootings receive a disproportionately large share of media attention. We conducted a root cause analysis of 2 recent school shootings in the United States using lay press reports. We reviewed 1760 and analyzed 282 articles from the 10 most trusted news sources. We identified 356 factors associated with the school shootings. Policy-level factors, including a paucity of adequate legislation controlling firearm purchase and ownership, were the most common contributing factors to school shootings. Mental illness was a commonly cited person-level factor, and access to firearms in the home and availability of large-capacity firearms were commonly cited environmental factors. Novel approaches, including root cause analyses using lay media, can identify factors contributing to mass shootings. The policy, person, and environmental factors associated with these school shootings should be addressed as part of a multipronged effort to prevent future mass shootings.

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