An investigation to improve community resilience using network graph analysis of infrastructure systems

PhD ThesisDisasters can have devastating effects on our communities and can cause great suffering to the people who reside within them. Critical infrastructure underpins the stable functioning of these communities and the severity of disasters is often linked to failure of these systems. Traditionally, the resilience of infrastructure systems is assessed by subjecting physically based models to a range of hazard scenarios. The problem with this approach is that it can only inform us of inadequacies in the system for the chosen scenarios, potentially leaving us vulnerable to unforeseen events. This thesis investigates whether network graph theory can be used to give us increased confidence that the system will respond well in untested scenarios by developing a framework that can identify generic system characteristics and hence describe the underlying resilience of the network. The novelty in the work presented in this thesis is that it overcomes a shortcoming in existing network graph theory by including the effects of the spatial distribution of geographically dispersed systems. To consider spatial influence, a new network generation algorithm was developed which incorporated rules that connects system components based on both their spatial distribution and topology. This algorithm was used to generate proxy networks for the European, US and China air traffic networks and demonstrated that the inclusion of this spatial component was crucial to form the highly connected hub airports observed in these networks. The networks were then tested for hazard tolerance and in the case of the European air traffic network validated using data from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. Hazard tolerance was assessed by subjecting the networks to a series of random, but spatially coherent, hazards and showed that the European air traffic network was the most vulnerable, having up to 25% more connections disrupted compared to a benchmark random network. This contradicts traditional network theory which states that these networks are resilient to random hazards. To overcome this shortcoming, two strategies were employed to improve the resilience of the network. One strategy ‘adaptively’ modified the topology (crises management) while the other ‘permanently’ modified it (hazard mitigation). When these modified networks were subjected to spatial hazards the ‘adaptive’ approach Page i produced the most resilient network, having up to 23% fewer cancelled air routes compared to the original network, for only a 5% change in airport capacity. Finally, as many infrastructure networks are flow based systems, an investigation into whether graph theory could identify vulnerabilities in these systems was conducted. The results demonstrated that by using a combination of both physically based and graph theory metrics produced the best predictive skill in identifying vulnerable nodes in the system. This research has many important implications for the owners and operators of infrastructure systems. It has demonstrated the European air traffic network to be vulnerable to spatial hazard and shown that, because many infrastructure networks possess similar properties, may therefore be equally vulnerable. It also provides a method to identify generic system vulnerabilities and strategies to reduce these. It is argued that as this research has considered generic networks it can not only increase infrastructure resilience to known threats but also to previously unidentified ones and therefore is a useful method to help protect these systems to large scale disasters and reduce the suffering for the people in the communities who rely upon them.EPSR

The mark of the Devil : medical proof in witchcraft trials.

This thesis examines the use of physical evidence to prove the identity of witches in witchcraft trials from approximately 1300 to 1650 in Western Europe. Throughout this period, trial records for accused witches and witchcraft texts include references to Devil marks. According to contemporary texts, these were physical marks on witches, which were visible to the human eye. Doctors and midwives verified these marks upon examination of the accused witch’s body. In this instance, medical proof in the courtroom verified supernatural powers. This thesis will analyze the intersection between medical and religious beliefs in the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries to evaluate the importance placed upon medical evidence by secular and ecclesiastical courts. Witch trials and holy autopsies will be examined to prove the central importance of physical evidence in determining an individual’s religious status. This thesis will bridge the study of the history of medicine, the history of the body, and the history of witchcraft in order to examine a phenomenon that crossed all three categories

Parasite Infection Mediates Trait Tradeoffs in Fundulus heteroclitus

To be successful, an animal must eat, grow, and reproduce. With limited resources, there are tradeoffs between these critical life history parameters but the direction of the tradeoffs is largely unknown in a changing environment. To determine whether environmental context affects life-history tradeoffs, I surveyed and quantified investment into reproduction, growth, and a proxy for immunity (parasitism), in the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, a common inhabitant of salt marshes in Georgia. Three salt marsh sites along coastal Georgia (Shellman Bluff, Skidaway Island, and Tybee Island) were selected using a proxy for anthropogenic disturbance (impervious surface), which also fell along a gradient in chronic stress. I measured reproductive investment, parasitism as a proxy for immunity, and fish condition. I found that parasitic infection, my proxy for immune investment, affected a fish’s investment into reproduction but that there were only differences in fish that were chronically stressed. Specifically, in stressed environments fish appeared to invest in reproduction to the detriment of immunity and body condition. However, in environments with fish that were less stressed, investment into growth, immunity, and reproduction was maintained almost equally. These data reveal how environmental context can affect important life-history tradeoffs, and suggest that though individuals may be able to reproduce in stressful conditions, they may suffer more from infectious disease

Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptomotology in Abused, Suicidal, Low-Income, African American Women: A Moderated Mediational Model

There are elevated rates of childhood maltreatment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in low-income, abused, suicidal African American women. This investigation aimed to: (1) identify the components of childhood maltreatment in this sample; (2) ascertain whether or not the constructs of childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptomatology were associated in this sample; and (3) examine if maladaptive coping mediated the childhood maltreatment-PTSD symptomatology link and if the magnitude of the mediated relationship was influenced by level of social support (i.e., moderated mediation). Specific types of childhood maltreatment generally loaded onto three components according to a principal components analysis (PCA) of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: physical-emotional abuse, sexual-emotional abuse, and neglect. Women who endorsed experiencing higher levels of two of the childhood maltreatment components (physical-emotional abuse and sexual-emotional abuse) reported higher levels of current PTSD symptomatology. However, contrary to the study hypotheses, current level of maladaptive coping did not mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and current PTSD symptomatology. Further, the addition of social support did not change this finding. Results are discussed, clinical implications are explored, and recommendations for future studies are offered

Mothers’ trauma histories and their infants’ social-emotional development

Difficulties with emotion and physiological regulation (i.e., the ability to modulate or regulate arousal and physiological experiences) in infancy have been linked to significant social-emotional problems in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Mothers play a critical role in helping their infants regulate. Often mothers’ experiences of childhood maltreatment and/or domestic violence leave them with limited emotional availability and caregiving ability. Subsequently, their infants may have difficulty learning self-regulation, which may compromise future social-emotional development. This study examined the relationships among mothers’ experiences of childhood maltreatment and adult domestic violence and their infants’ crying, feeding, and sleeping difficulties at 3 months of age. One hundred and twenty economically-disadvantaged pregnant women, aged 18 to 42 years, were recruited from the community via fliers advertising a longitudinal study about parenting. Data were collected during interviews with the women when they were in their third trimester of pregnancy and at 3 months postpartum. Results revealed that greater severity of maternal childhood maltreatment was related to greater severity of domestic violence during pregnancy; however, no significant associations were found between mothers’ severity of childhood and adulthood interpersonal trauma and infant regulation. Thus, there was no support for domestic violence as a mediator between mothers’ childhood maltreatment and infant regulation. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed unique relationships between types of childhood maltreatment and types of domestic violence and infant regulation domains. Results from this study have important clinical implications related to working with mother-infant dyads, such as in the areas of prevention and intervention programs

Alien Registration- Dunn, Sarah J. (Dexter, Penobscot County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/11389/thumbnail.jp

Interviewing Pre-school Age Victims of Child Sexual Abuse: Interviewing Methods and Disclosure Outcomes

Disclosure rates among pre-school age victims of alleged sexual abuse were related to the type of investigative interview (forensic evaluation or forensic interview) that they received following a report of abuse. Variables expected to affect the likelihood of the child making a valid disclosure of sexual abuse including the relationship of the child to the offender and the severity of the abuse were also examined. The results indicated that children who underwent a structured, one-time 30 minute forensic interview were significantly less likely to make a valid disclosure of sexual abuse than children who underwent a semi-structured, therapeutic style evaluation over the course of several weeks. The current findings do not suggest that either offender relationship or severity of abuse significantly moderate the relationship between interview type and disclosure status. Limitations of the current study and future directions are discussed

Noah and the Golden Turtle: A Selection of Stories from the East and West for the ESL Student

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Medical Care Expenditure Indexes: A Comparison of Indexes using MarketScan and Pharmetrics Data

In recent years, healthcare service utilization has undergone several shifts, having potentially important implications for the cost of medical care.