"Entry Points" in Integrating Climate Risk and Adaptation Asessment into Development Planning: Reflections from Semarang and Tarakan City, Indonesia

One of the most challenging issues in adapting to the possible impact of climate change is whether government able to find and set an appropriate and balance policy between proposed adaptation actions and other development agenda; moreover about how to translate scientific findings into suitable policy. This paper aims to share experience from two cities in Indonesia which are trying to integrate the process and result of climate risk and adaptation assessment (scientific process) into the city spatial and non-spatial development planning system, i.e. Semarang City in Java Island and Tarakan City in Kalimantan Island. The experiences being shared here came from the involvement of authors in the action research for Tarakan City which aims to integrate adaptation actions to development plan and planning studio for Semarang Municipality which develops Local Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation. By far, it can be concluded that local government on both cities still not entirely sure on considering the impact of climate change, even more there are still doubts and misconception about the climate change adaptation concept itself. However, basically local governments are open and welcome the rationale for integrating climate risk and adaptation assessment into their spatial and non-spatial development plan. In addition, each city has their own way to manage the interaction between scientific and policy realm; i.e. in Semarang City through mechanism called Shared Learning Dialogue (SLD) and in Tarakan City through closed collaborative works between researcher and government officials. Both strengths and weakness of each approach will be elaborated further in this paper. Finally, this paper will offer the entry points to integrate climate change adaptation into spatial and non-spatial plan development system in Indonesia, based on reflections from both cases, as well as how it may function elsewhere

Raising and lowering operators and their factorization for generalized orthogonal polynomials of hypergeometric type on homogeneous and non-homogeneous lattice

We complete the construction of raising and lowering operators, given in a previous work, for the orthogonal polynomials of hypergeometric type on non-homogeneous lattice, and extend these operators to the generalized orthogonal polynomials, namely, those difference of orthogonal polynomials that satisfy a similar difference equation of hypergeometric type.Comment: LaTeX, 19 pages, (late submission to arXiv.org

STRATEGI ALOKASI BELANJA PEMERINTAH DAERAH UNTUK MENINGKATKAN INDEKS PENDIDIKAN DI PROVINSI BANTEN

ABSTRACTHuman development measured by Human Development Index (HDI) is composed of three components: health index, education index, and expenditure index. HDI Banten on year 2016 was ranked 8th in Indonesia, but the education index has the lowest value among the other components. Whereas education is a capital which is very important for people to achieve better welfare. This study aimed to formulate strategies to improve education index through education budget allocation in Banten Province. The analytical methods used were descriptive analysis, panel data regression analysis, SWOT analysis, and QSPM. Descriptive analysis was used to give an overview of the education condition in Banten Province. By using fixed effect model panel data regression, found that income per capita, School Enrollment Rate of high schools level, Pupil-Teacher Ratio of high schools level, and Number of high schools had positive and significant influences on education index in Banten Province. Meanwhile, based on the interview results of key respondents, by using SWOT techniques obtained six grand strategies that could improve the education index. The strategies obtained were analyzed using QSPM. The QSPM results showed the priority strategies for increasing the education index was by the policy improvement and increase in the budget allocation in the education sector.Key words: HDI, education index, SWOT, QSPMABSTRAKPembangunan manusia yang diukur melalui Indeks Pembangunan Manusia (IPM) dibentuk dari tiga komponen yakni indeks kesehatan, indeks pendidikan, dan indeks pengeluaran. IPM Banten Tahun 2016 menduduki peringkat 8 terbesar di Indonesia Namun demikian, indeks pendidikan memiliki nilai yang paling rendah di antara komponen lainnya. Padahal pendidikan merupakan salah satu modal yang sangat penting bagi seseorang untuk menuju kesejahteraan yang lebih baik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merumuskan strategi meningkatkan indeks pendidikan melalui alokasi anggaran pendidikan. di Provinsi Banten Metode analisis yang digunakan yakni analisis deskriptif, analisis regresi data panel, analisis SWOT, dan QSPM. Analisis deskriptif digunakan untuk memberikan gambaran umum pendidikan di Provinsi Banten. Sedangkan dengan menggunakan regresi data panel fixed effect model didapat hasil bahwa pendapatan perkapita, Angka Partisipasi Sekolah (APS) tingkat SMA, Rasio Murid per Guru (RMG) tingkat SMA, dan Jumlah SMA memiliki pengaruh yang positif dan signifikan terhadap indeks pendidikan di Provinsi Banten. Sementara itu berdasarkan hasil wawancara kepada responden kunci, melalui teknik SWOT diperoleh enam strategi yang dapat meningkatkan indeks pendidikan. Strategi yang didapat kemudian dianalisis menggunakan QSPM. Hasil analisis QSPM menunjukkan bahwa strategi prioritas untuk meningkatkan indeks pendidikan yakni melalui penyempurnaan kebijakan dan peningkatan alokasi anggaran di bidang pendidikan. Kata kunci: IPM, Indeks Pendidikan, SWOT, QSP

Experimental and numerical studies of reinforced concrete stair beams strengthened with steel bars and plates

The bends under sagging moments in a Reinforced Concrete Stair Beam (RCSB) in staircases may be damaged because of improper detailing design or construction; therefore, they need to be strengthened or repaired. The structural behavior of strengthened RCSBs has not been investigated adequately. This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations on the flexural strengthening of RCSBs with bends under sagging moments. Tests on RCSBs were undertaken that were strengthened by using either the Near-Surface Mounted Steel Bars (NSMSBs) or the Externally Bonded Steel Plates (EBSPs). Three steel materials were employed, including Steel Bars (SBs), Steel Sheets (SSs) and Stainless-Steel Plates (SSPs). The test program and outcomes are described in detail of six full-scale strengthened RCSBs loaded up to collapse. A finite element model is developed employing ABAQUS to simulate the performance of the tested RCSBs. It is found that the utilized strengthening techniques effectively enhance both the cracking and ultimate loads in addition to the energy absorption capacity. The agreement between simulations and experiment is good, suggesting that the model of nonlinear finite element analysis can be used with confidence to perform further parametric instigations

The Long Shadow of Sasanian Christianity: The Limits of Iraqi Islamization in the Abbasid Period

The Islamic conquest of the Sasanian Empire inaugurated, among many other transformations, the progressive Islamization of the region. The pace and mechanisms of this transformation remain poorly understood. Yet the progress of Islamization in the capital province of the Abbasid caliphate is a significant hidden variable in the study of Muslim relations with non-Muslims and the Abbasid state’s interactions with its subject populations. This paper adopts a geographical approach to Islamization, looking for differential developments in different areas within Iraq, especially the distinctions between newly founded and pre-Islamic cities, and between urban and rural society. The study compares Muslim geo-graphical sources (such as al-Balādhurī, Ibn Ḥawqal, and al-Muqaddasī) with Arabic Christian sources (including Ilyās b. ʿUbayd al-Dimashqī and ʿAmr b. Mattā). Rather than attempting a quantitative approach on such uneven data, this paper offers a contextually sensitive reading of relevant literary passages, anecdotes which often unselfconsciously reveal what each author presents as normal or unusual, not only among reports of multi-religious presence, but also the changing distributions of mosques, bishops, and monasteries. This paper argues that Islamization was slightly more rapid in southern Iraq than in the north, but as late as ca. 400/1000, substantial areas of the countryside had been only lightly influenced by Islamization. This suggests that we must explain mass Islamization by forces relevant to the period of Abbasid disintegration or later, rather than to that of Abbasid dominance as scholars have heretofore assumed

Tests and finite element modeling of concrete beams reinforced with reused steel bars

This paper presents the experimental study and finite element modeling of the flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced with reused steel bars as longitudinal reinforcements. The experimental program and results of eight reinforced concrete (RC) beams constructed with and without reused steel bars are described in detail. The replacement percentages of brand‐new bars with reused steel bars in the tested beams were 50% and 100%. The reused steel bars were coated with and without epoxy. Steel fibers with fractions of 0.5% and 1.0% of the concrete volume were added to the concrete mixes. The load‐deflection relationship, ductility index, toughness, and failure modes of the tested beams are presented and discussed. It is shown that utilizing reused steel bars decreases the ultimate load of RC beams but increases their deflection at the ultimate load compared with the control beam. Increasing the steel fiber ratio increases the ultimate load and the deflection at the ultimate load of RC beams incorporating reused steel bars. However, the zinc‐rich epoxy used to coat the reused steel bars does not affect the behavior of the beams. Three‐dimensional nonlinear finite element (FE) models of the tested beams were developed using ABAQUS and validated against the test results. The developed FE models are capable of accurately simulating the experimentally observed behavior of RC beams with reused steel bars

Central Coherence in Eating Disorders: A Synthesis of Studies Using the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test

Background: Large variability in tests and differences in scoring systems used to study central coherence in eating disorders may lead to different interpretations, inconsistent findings and between study discrepancies. This study aimed to address inconsistencies by collating data from several studies from the same research group that used the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (Rey Figure) in order to produce norms to provide benchmark data for future studies. Method: Data was collated from 984 participants in total. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, recovered Anorexia Nervosa, unaffected family members and healthy controls were compared using the Rey Figure. Results: Poor global processing was observed across all current eating disorder sub-groups and in unaffected relatives. There was no difference in performance between recovered AN and HC groups. Conclusions: This is the largest dataset reported in the literature and supports previous studies implicating poor global processing across eating disorders using the Rey Figure. It provides robust normative data useful for future studies