Performance-based Seismic Risk Assessment of Urban Systems

ABSTRACT

Disaster risk mitigation has become a urgent global need. Similar to other natural hazards, earthquakes may cause significant damage on a large scale. In Europe and in other regions with dense urbanization, seismic events can heavily impact historical city centers due to the several structural fragilities. These centers are often part of the worldwide cultural heritage and their preservation is considered a strategic issue. Furthermore, earthquakes may have severe negative short-term economic effects on the impacted communities and adverse longer-term consequences for economic growth. For this reason, the development of an efficient approach for urban seismic risk assessment becomes essential. An original approach is proposed, based on performance concepts and multidisciplinary perspectives. The procedure is applied for validation to the city center of Concordia Sulla Secchia (Italy), damaged by the 2012 Pianura Padana Earthquake (PPE), comparing predicted damage scenarios with the actual post-seismic survey data.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment of historical centers at urban scale

Seismic prevention and mitigation of historical centers have gained a central position within earthquake engineering topics, particularly in areas such as Italy, Greece, and Portugal. Many historical towns in these countries have been strongly damaged, due to the high quantity of old buildings and urban structures and infrastructures. In this article, these aspects are described, modeled, and investigated in terms of structural safety, the goal being the set-up of a comprehensive strategy for seismic prevention and mitigation of a whole historical center. The proposed approach is based on two relevant parts: the first is an urban risk assessment, the second is a prioritization of retrofitting interventions so as to optimally increase urban safety.

The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is shown with reference to a complex case study, the historical center of “Montebello di Bertona”. It is initially modeled as a series/parallel system and then studied by applying seismic reliability methods. Seismic retrofitting interventions are finally prioritized.     

Masonry Italian Code-Conforming Buildings. Part 2: Nonlinear Modelling and Time-History Analysis

ABSTRACT

The unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings designed to be conforming with the Italian building code, as illustrated in the companion paper, were analyzed by performing time-history analyses on models realized using an equivalent frame approach and by adopting two different constitutive laws. Both the effect of record-to-record variability and of epistemic and aleatory uncertainties in modelling were explored. The achieved results constitute the basis for the evaluation of the risk level implicit in Italian code-conforming buildings. Two main performance conditions are considered, namely usability-preventing damage and global collapse limit states.     

Micro-level assessment of regional and local disaster impacts in tourist destinations

ABSTRACT

The tourism sector faces severe challenges due to the economic impacts from changing natural environments as seen with the increased frequency of natural disasters. Therefore, analyses of disaster impacts models are necessary for managing successful tourism recovery. Typically, disaster assessments are conducted on a countrywide level, which can lead to imbalanced recovery processes, and a distorted distribution of recovery financing or subsidies. We address the challenges of recovery using the tourism disaster management framework by Faulkner. To calculate precise damage assessments, we develop a micro-level assessment model to analyze and understand disaster impacts at the micro-level supporting tourism recovery in an affected destination. We examine economic consequences of a disaster at a small regional scale arguing recovery from a natural disaster is more difficult in individual areas because of differences in geographic location or infrastructure development. The island of Dominica is chosen as an example for the model using statistical data from the tourism sector to outline and detail the consequences of a disaster specifically for communities. The results highlight the importance of damage assessments on a small-scale level, such as communities in order to distinguish between individual regions facing severe changes for resident livelihoods and the local tourism sector. We argue that only after identifying regional impacts it is possible to apply adequate governmental subsidies and development strategies for a country's tourism sector and residents in a continuously changing environment in the hopes of mitigating future financial losses and future climate change impacts.     

A guide for the distinction of species, sex and body side in bones of sheep and goat

Morphological criteria are described that were found to be the most successful for distinguishing between skeletal fragments of adult sheep (Ovis) and goats (Capra) in the Western European, early medieval sites of Haithabu and Oldenburg in Holstein. It is emphasized that a sufficiently large sample should be observed. In addition, methods are given for distinguishing sex in the pelvis, and body side in distal metacarpus and metatarsus ends.     

Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna and sex identification of two skeletons from the Early Middle Ages necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro (Molise,Italy)

Lesions attributable to Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna (HFI) were examined in two skulls (from graves 100 and 113) from the Early Middle Ages necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro (Molise, Italy). Both skeletons were of older individuals and it was difficult to sex them using standard anthropological methods. We discuss the sex identification of the skeletons in relation to the presence of HFI, as well as the usefulness of this pathological condition as a sex marker, underlining the importance of the relationship between palaeopathological and clinical‐forensic studies. Our study is a further contribution to the case history of HFI in osteoarchaeological material. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于旅游调控规划的湖泊旅游环境评价研究——以云南高原湖泊为例

旅游环境是旅游研究的重要领域之一,而湖泊环境是湖滨开发旅游的最核心的要素之一。随着旅游业成为云南主导产业,云南高原的主要湖泊都已开发为旅游区。本文对云南高原主要湖泊的水质、噪声、大气环境、垃圾处理、旅游容量利用强度和绿化率等环境监测数据进行了定量分析,这些指标表明云南各主要湖滨旅游区的环境质量都存在一定的问题。造成目前主要湖滨旅游区生态环境质量问题的原因是多方面的,但是湖滨旅游度假区正日益成为湖泊污染的一大源头。本文通过资料对比分析,说明和验证了各主要湖泊湖滨旅游区环境效应的影响程度和范围,为湖区旅游环境的调控规划提供了基础支撑作用。     

How to Produce a Digital Story

Modern day students are said to hold a toolbox of technical knowledge, which can assist them with their undergraduate studies. The ‘net generation’ is more technologically capable than ever before and crave interactivity and image-rich environments, which has created a need for higher education institutions to diversify assessment practices. Digital stories (this refers to a collection of still images, audio and video) as a means for assessing Geography undergraduates, lend themselves well to fieldwork activities, and this paper provides practical advice and guidance to students on how to create the best digital stories for assessment.     

Capstone portfolios and geography student learning outcomes

Due to increasing demands regarding student learning outcomes and accreditation, a capstone portfolio was added to assess critical thinking and communication skills of geography majors at a large public university in the USA. The portfolio guidelines were designed to be adaptable to a flexible curriculum where about half of the requirements within the major are structured. This paper discusses the portfolio requirements and assessment rubrics developed following multiple portfolio iterations, gives guidance to instructors, and synthesizes potential benefits for students, departments and employers.     

Student-focused assessment criteria: thinking through best practice

Using results from a survey and focus groups with staff and students, I evaluate best practice for student-focused assessment criteria, including the value of specific assessment criteria, where and when students engage with criteria, the use of exemplars, how assessment criteria connect to feedback and the importance of bringing students more actively into the assessment process. I argue that we need to accept that many students are assessment motivated, and rather than work against this reality (which is rarely successful), we should instead consider how assessment can address student concerns of clarity and fairness while being more tied into learning.