Review of Historical Dam-Break Events and Laboratory Tests on Real Topography for the Validation of Numerical Models

Dam break inundation mapping is essential for risk management and mitigation, emergency action planning, and potential consequences assessment. To quantify flood hazard associated with dam failures, flooding variables must be predicted by efficient and robust numerical models capable to effectively cope with the computational difficulties posed by complex flows on real topographies. Validation against real-field data of historical dam-breaks is extremely useful to verify models’ capabilities and accuracy. However, such catastrophic events are rather infrequent, and available data on the breaching mechanism and downstream flooding are usually inaccurate and incomplete. Nevertheless, in some cases, real-field data collected after the event (mainly breach size, maximum water depths and flood wave arrival times at selected locations, water marks, and extent of flooded areas) are adequate to set up valuable and significant test cases, provided that all other data required to perform numerical simulations are available (mainly topographic data of the floodable area and input parameters defining the dam-break scenario). This paper provides a review of the historical dam-break events for which real-field datasets useful for validation purposes can be retrieved in the literature. The resulting real-field test cases are divided into well-documented test cases, for which extensive and complete data are already available, and cases with partial or inaccurate datasets. Type and quality of the available data are specified for each case. Finally, validation data provided by dam-break studies on physical models reproducing real topographies are presented and discussed. This review aims at helping dam-break modelers: (a) to select the most suitable real-field test cases for validating their numerical models, (b) to facilitate data access by indicating relevant bibliographic references, and (c) to identify test cases of potential interest worthy of further research

Katastrophen machen Geschichte - Umweltgeschichtliche Prozesse im Spannungsfeld von Ressourcennutzung und Extremereignis

Naturkatastrophen bedeuten nicht nur momenthafte Zerstörung, die nach erfolgtem Wiederaufbau wieder vergessen ist. Katastrophen haben häufig nachhaltige Auswirkungen auf Politik und Gesellschaft und damit auf die menschliche Geschichte. Sie führen mitunter zu Verordnungen, Institutionenbildung, Politikwechsel und gesellschaftlichem Umdenken, können aber auch Anlass zu Aufbruchstimmung und Fortschrittsoptimismus geben. Durch die aktuelle Diskussion zum globalen Klimawandel hat sich in der Öffentlichkeit ein stärkeres Bewusstsein für die gesellschaftliche Relevanz von Naturkatastrophen entwickelt. Welche Rolle extreme Ereignisse in der Geschichte gespielt haben und welche Strategien zu ihrer Bewältigung in verschiedenen Zeiten wirksam waren, bilden die zentralen Fragen des Sammelbandes. Die Autoren untersuchen neben klassischen Naturkatastrophen auch Seuchen und Schädlingskalamitäten in historischer Perspektive und widmen sich theoretischen Fragen zu deren Genese und Auswirkungen. Der vorliegende Band ist das Ergebnis eines Workshops, der von den Herausgebern im Rahmen des DFG-Graduiertenkollegs „Interdisziplinäre Umweltgeschichte“ unter dem Titel „Katastrophen machen Geschichte – Umweltgeschichtliche Prozesse im Spannungsfeld von Ressourcennutzung und Extremereignis“ am 6. und 7. Mai 2009 in Göttingen veranstaltet wurde

Design studies of infrastructural development for applications of hydrogen energy technologies

Countries around the world are trying to reduce their energy consumption, fossil fuel usage, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the International Energy Outlook 2012 released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the estimated fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards proposed for light-duty vehicles for model years 2017-2025 has an increase of 44% in fuel economy and a reduction of 34% in GHG emissions. The use of alternative fuel vehicles and renewable energy sources are, therefore, inevitable toward achieving this goal. Biogas has untapped potential as an alternative energy source. This immediately available resource would allow countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and reliance on fossil fuels. This energy source is created by the anaerobic digestion of a feedstock. Sources for feedstock include organic and inorganic wastes, agricultural wastes, animal by-products, and industrial wastes, each a renewable energy source. A fuel cell can utilize the methane present in biogas using integrated heat, power, and hydrogen systems. A study was performed on both energy flow and resource availability to ascertain not only the type but also the source of feedstock needed to run a fuel cell system continuously while maintaining maximum capacity. A hydrogen fueling infrastructure was also created for the northeastern United States. The infrastructure is to be implemented between 2013 and 2025. The design itself gives priority to customer convenience with minimal additional investments. Extensive research has been done on a generating hydrogen supply from factories and other potential sources that can satisfy the demand in that region. Several markers (e.g., population density, traffic density, legislations, and growth patterns) have driven the process of estimation of the demand. --Abstract, page iv

On the world market trajectory of 21 major book publishing companies in globalization and European studies in 100+ countries. From “Amsterdam University Press” via “Palgrave” and “Nova Science Publishers” to Transaction Publishers” by international, 19 indicator comparison

Ever since the path-breaking empirical studies by Schott (1998) world systems scholars start from the well-established assumption that world science is a single gigantic center-periphery relationship. The strategic and tactical practical conclusions for individual scholars and their agenda in the scientific periphery and the semi-periphery, to which Europe increasingly belongs, are much harder to draw than the general diagnosis. Where can scholars from outside the US attractively publish their manuscripts for the world market? How does the European Union make its point in the global scientific arena in the field of the debates about social policies and globalization? Is there a way, especially for scholars from the new member countries of the European Union, and from the newly formed “Union for the Mediterranean”, to effectively publish their works on the world market? Only three European social affairs ministries (France, Poland, Spain) afford themselves the luxury to publish their own scientific journal, while others must rely on international publishing to make their expertise heard internationally. This article tries to answer tentatively such a difficult and strategic question, and quantitatively compares the performance of Amsterdam University Press (EU); Ashgate (EU); Blackwell (EU); Cambridge UP (EU); Campus (Frankfurt/Ann Arbor) (EU); Cornell UP (USA); Edward Elgar (EU); Houghton/Mifflin (US); IOS Press (EU); Lexington (US); Monthly Review Press (US); Nova Science Publishers (US); Oxford University Press (EU); Palgrave Macmillan (EU); Praeger Publishers (EU); Routledge (EU); Rowman/Littlefield (US); Sage Publications (US); Springer-Verlag (US); St. Martin's Press (US); and Transaction Publishers (US), which in between them control a sizeable share of the social science academic book publishing market in such fields of political science as globalization or European Union studies, with up to nineteen quantitative performance criteria, ranging from market success rates on global markets both in North America as well as mainly in the Asia-Pacific and European region, comparative library presence rates at international organizations libraries, such as the European Union and the United Nations, and the quantitative impact of published titles on combined indices of peer reviewed journals and the international daily and weekly press. In addition, our study evaluates the impact of the companies’ books and journals on the literature, contained in “Google book search” and “Google scholar”, all per total company book and serials output. In terms of their ability to place books on the markets of now 100+ countries well in comparison to total production, the American companies in our sample hold an unparalleled power. The relative market leaders, which get a large percentage of their total book output to more than 50 global libraries each, are: • Lexington (US) • St. Martin's Press (US) • Rowman/Littlefield (US) • Monthly Review Press (US) • Praeger Publishers (US) • Cornell UP (US) • Ashgate (UK) • Transaction Publishers (US) • Edward Elgar (UK) • Nova Science Publishers (US) Our results, based on simple combined ranks and more sophisticated non-parametric and parametric, multivariate SPSS XV factor analytical evaluations of indicator performance are a further sign of the fact that Europe would do well to further learn from the culture of major US Universities.JEL classification: F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy; F50 – General; M3 - Marketing and Advertising; M30 - General

La Salle University Women\u27s Basketball 2003-04 Media Guide

https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/basketball_media_guides/1066/thumbnail.jp

Otterbein Towers Spring 2008

Otterbein & Technology: A special issue; Features: Special Technology Issue: Students & Today’s Technology; Campus Technology; Alumni & Technology: Then & Now; Regulars: From the; College News: Otterbein Receives Presidential Award; Sorority Sisters Take Plunge; Ed Begley Jr. Visit; 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation; Spotlight on Faculty: Assoc. Prof. Dean Johnston; Nursing Students Mentor Incarcerated Mothers; To Witt: A Story of Legacy; Choir Performs at ACDA Conference; Nationwide Gives Boost to Science Campaign; The “O” Club; ClassNotes; Milestones; Investing in Otterbein; Alumni Notes, etc.https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/towers/1018/thumbnail.jp