Caltrans Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, District 1 - Technical Report

The following report summarizes a vulnerability assessment conducted for that portion of the State Highway System (SHS) located in Caltrans District 1. The vulnerability study had three objectives: (1) Understand the types of weather-related and longer-term climate change events that will likely occur with greater frequency and intensity in future years, (2) Conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine those Caltrans assets vulnerable to various climate-influenced natural hazards, and (3) Develop a method to prioritize candidate projects for actions that are responsive to climate change concerns, when financial resources become available

Contextualising mainstreaming of disaster resilience concepts in the construction process

Purpose: Construction industry and the built environment professions play an important role in contributing to society’s improved resilience. It is therefore important to improve their knowledge base to strengthen their capacities. This paper aims to identify gaps in the knowledge base of construction professionals that are undermining their ability to contribute to the development of a more disaster resilient society. The paper also provides a series of recommendations to key actors in the built environment on how to more effectively mainstream disaster resilience in the construction process. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports the findings of 87 stakeholder interviews with: national and local government organisations; the community; non-governmental organisations, international non-governmental organisation and other international agencies; academia and research organisations; and the private sector, which were supplemented by a comprehensive analysis of key policies related to disaster resilience and management. The findings were validated using focus group discussions that were conducted as part of six organised stakeholder workshops. Findings: The primary and secondary data generated a long list of needs and skills. Finally, the identified needs and skills were combined “like-for-like” to produce broader knowledge gaps. Some of the key knowledge gaps identified are: governance, legal frameworks and compliance; business continuity management; disaster response; contracts and procurement; resilience technologies, engineering and infrastructure; knowledge management; social and cultural awareness; sustainability and resilience; ethics and human rights; innovative financing mechanisms; multi stakeholder approach, inclusion and empowerment; post disaster project management; and multi hazard risk assessment. The study also identifies a series of recommendations to key actors in the built environment on how to more effectively mainstream disaster resilience in the construction process. The recommendations are set out in five key themes: education, policy, practice, research and cross-cutting. Research limitations/implications: This study is part of an EU funded research project that is seeking to develop innovative and timely professional education that will update the knowledge and skills of construction professionals in the industry and enable them to contribute more effectively to disaster resilience building efforts. Originality/value: The paper provides an extensive analysis of the gaps in the knowledge base of construction professionals that are undermining their ability to contribute to the development of a more disaster resilient society. Accordingly, the paper recommends major changes in construction education, research, policy and practice with respect to mainstreaming disaster resilience within the construction process

Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Hong Kong Chinese Women Presenting with Urinary Symptoms

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Deconstructing the sustainable drainage management train in terms of water quantity - preliminary results for coventry, UK

The potential water quantity benefits of various sustainable drainage system (SUDS) management trains compared to conventional pipe-based drainage systems are examined using the commercially available software WinDes® to model a site at Prior Deram Park, Coventry, UK, by investigating its response to a 1 in 100 years 30, 360, and 720 min winter rainfall event. The site is currently subject to a regeneration plan whereby the Park will be replaced with 250 houses. The housing layout was designed in ArcGIS and transferred to WinDes® and flood hydrographs of the likely outflow from each system simulated. The outputs from each system were then compared and it was found that an 88% reduction of peak flow was achieved using a SUDS management train that consisted of green roofs, porous paving, swales and dry detention ponds in comparison to pipe based drainage systems. The type of SUDS also appears critical; detention ponds can reduce peak flow by 82.9% when compared to systems without detention ponds. It is however likely that some form of flow control will be required at the outflow point as the peak runoff generated was significantly higher than acceptable values of 23 L/s for the site

Zalecenia postępowania diagnostyczno-terapeutycznego u chorych na nowotwory z bólem

Zdaniem autorów opracowanie zawiera najbardziej uzasadnione zasady postępowania diagnostyczno-terapeu­tycznego. Powinny one być jednak interpretowane w kontekście indywidualnej sytuacji klinicznej. Zalecenia nie zawsze odpowiadają bieżącym zasadom refundacji obowiązującym w Polsce. W przypadku wątpliwości należy się upewnić co do aktualnych możliwości refundacji poszczególnych procedur