The Relative Effects of Logistics, Coordination and Human Resource on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Mission Performance

Most studies on humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) missions suggest that the quality of logistics, coordination and human resource management will affect their performance. However, studies in developing countries are mainly conceptual and lack the necessary empirical evidence to support these contentions. The current paper thereby aimed to fill this knowledge gap by statistically examining the effects of the abovementioned factors on such missions. Focusing on the Malaysian army due to its extensive experience in HADR operations, the paper opted for a quantitative approach to allow for a more objective analysis of the issues. The results show that there are other potential determinants of mission success which deserve due attention in future studies. They also suggest that human resource is not easily measured as a construct, and that this limitation in methodology must be overcome to derive more accurate conclusions regarding its effect on HADR mission performance.&nbsp

Global ocean storage of anthropogenic carbon

48 páginas, 7 figuras, 7 tablas. -- S. Kathiwala ... et al.-- Proyecto CarbochangeThe global ocean is a significant sink for anthropogenic carbon (Cant), absorbing roughly a third of human CO2 emitted over the industrial period. Robust estimates of the magnitude and variability of the storage and distribution of Cant in the ocean are therefore important for understanding the human impact on climate. In this synthesis we review observational and model-based estimates of the storage and transport of Cant in the ocean. We pay particular attention to the uncertainties and potential biases inherent in different inference schemes. On a global scale, three data based estimates of the distribution and inventory of Cant are now available. While the inventories are found to agree within their uncertainty, there are considerable differences in the spatial distribution. We also present a review of the progress made in the application of inverse and data-assimilation techniques which combine ocean interior estimates of Cant with numerical ocean circulation models. Such methods are especially useful for estimating the air-sea flux and interior transport of Cant, quantities that are otherwise difficult to observe directly. However, the results are found to be highly dependent on modeled circulation, with the spread due to different ocean models at least as large as that from the different observational methods used to estimate Cant. Our review also highlights the importance of repeat measurements of hydrographic and biogeochemical parameters to estimate the storage of Cant on decadal timescales in the presence of the variability in circulation that is neglected by other approaches. Data-based Cant estimates provide important constraints on ocean forward models, which exhibit both broad similarities and regional errors relative to the observational fields. A compilation of inventories of Cant gives us a "best" estimate of the global ocean inventory of anthropogenic carbon in 2010 of 155 Pg C with an uncertainty of ±20%. This estimate includes a broad range of values suggesting that a combination of approaches is necessary in order to achieve a robust quantification of the ocean sink of anthropogenic CO2.Peer reviewe

Limno-biologi Perairan Musi Bagian Hulu di Provinsi Bengkulu dan Sumatera Selatan

Study on limno-biological aspect of the upper part of Musi river Basin was conducted in June, September, and December 1997. The objective of this study was to find out the characteristics of limno-biology of the upper Musi river as important factors for fishery management in the catchment area. Purposive sampling method by selecting 3 (three) research stations was applied in this study. Result showed that the range of water quality value such as temperature, water current, pH, dissolve oxygen, carbondioxide, alkalinity, hardness, conductivity varied in the range of 23-28°C, 0,40-0,80 m/second, 7,3-8,0 units, 8,26-10,58 mg/L, 3,09-6,18 mg/L, 33,62 mg/L, 60-112 mg/L and 28-43 umhos/cm, respectively. The abundance of benthic organism varied from 24 to 69 individu/m2 consisting of insect, gastropoda, amphiphoda and nematode. Drift organism were consisted of 5 groups i.e phytoplankton, zooplankton, fragment of insecta, crustaceae and plant fragments. Thirthy eight species derived from 11 families were caught during the study. There was abundancy tha their distribution was affected by the altitude. The number fish species was descreasing with increasing in the altitudes

Scaling Behavior of Ricci Curvature at Short Distance near Two Dimensions

We study the renormalization of the Ricci curvature as an example of generally covariant operators in quantum gravity near two dimensions. We find that it scales with a definite scaling dimension at short distance. The Ricci curvature singularity at the big bang can be viewed as such a scaling phenomenon. The problem of the spacetime singularity may be resolved by the scale invariance of the spacetime at short distance.Comment: 9pages, LaTe

The Influence of Celebrity Endorser Donna Agnesia on Buavitas Television Advertising Towards Consumer Perceptions in Pekanbaru

The purpose of this research was to determine the influence of using celebrity endorser Donna Agnesia on Buavitas television advertising towards consumer perceptions in Pekanbaru. The population in this research are all consumer of Buavita products in Pekanbaru. The number of samples conducted by using Hair et al with 108 people respondents using purposive random sampling technique. Data analysis methodused is descriptive and quantitative methods using multiple linear regression analysis by SPSS version 18.0. From the results of simultaneous testing (F test), indicating that all independent variables studied, namely credibility, attractiveness and suitability of the celebrity endorser Donna Agnesia jointly have a very strong and significant influence towards consumer perceptions of Buavita products in Pekanbaru. Partial regression test (t test) indicates that the attractiveness variables have a dominant influence towards consumer perceptions of Buavita products in Pekanbaru.Keywords: Celebrity endorser, credibility, attractiveness, suitability, consumer perceptio