Human-triggered earthquakes and their impacts on human security

A comprehensive understanding of earthquake risks in urbanized regions requires an accurate assessment of both urban vulnerabilities and earthquake hazards. Socioeconomic risks associated with human-triggered earthquakes are often misconstrued and receive little scientific, legal, and public attention. However, more than 200 damaging earthquakes, associated with industrialization and urbanization, were documented since the 20th century. This type of geohazard has impacts on human security on a regional and national level. For example, the 1989 Newcastle earthquake caused 13 deaths and US$3.5 billion damage (in 1989). The monetary loss was equivalent to 3.4 percent of Australia’s national income (GDI) or 80 percent of Australia’s GDI per capita growth of the same year. This article provides an overview of global statistics of human-triggered earthquakes. It describes how geomechanical pollution due to large-scale geoengineering activities can advance the clock of earthquakes or trigger new seismic events. Lastly, defense-oriented strategies and tactics are described, including risk mitigation measures such as urban planning adaptations and seismic hazard mapping

From the mountains to the prairies : the banking environment in the Tenth Federal Reserve District

The Tenth Federal Reserve District consists of many types of markets within which District institutions operate. Since conditions in the District environment can vary from dynamic to slow-growing, these markets offer both challenge and opportunity that financial institutions must understand to be successful. But what is the level of change in the District environment and how might that change be materializing? This article considers the environment within the Tenth District and discernible trends within that environment. We highlight the major factors that influence bank behavior and condition, including demographic, economic and structural conditions and trends. The 2000 census information is used in conjunction with that of prior census surveys to describe where the District is today and from where it has evolved demographically. Economic data, including gross state product information, allows us to report the shifts in industrial focus for various markets and the District as a whole. The article also considers changes in the industry and describes how banking consolidation has evolved within the District. Finally, the article looks at potential future trends, to shed light on emerging environmental factors of which District banks may take into account in their planning process.Federal Reserve District, 10th

Political Business Cycles and Monetary Policy Revisited – An Application of a Two-Dimensional Asymmetric Taylor Reaction Function

This paper uses two-dimensional asymmetric Taylor reaction functions for 16 OECD-countries to account for different reactions to the inflation rate and output by central banks before or after an election of the fiscal authorities in the respective country. Important for such an investigation is not only the period before or after an election takes place but also whether the inflation rate and output are below or above their target or potential value because this information shows whether the central bank systematically deviates from the Taylor rule. Using a Panel-GMM we observe that in the OECD-countries there are political business cycles in monetary policy with respect to the inflation and output response. However, the supporting time horizon differs between both exogenous indicators and state of variables.Political business cycle; monetary policy; Taylor rule; asymmetries; Panel- GMM

Long-Range GL(n) Integrable Spin Chains and Plane-Wave Matrix Theory

Quantum spin chains arise naturally from perturbative large-N field theories and matrix models. The Hamiltonian of such a model is a long-range deformation of nearest-neighbor type interactions. Here, we study the most general long-range integrable spin chain with spins transforming in the fundamental representation of gl(n). We derive the Hamiltonian and the corresponding asymptotic Bethe ansatz at the leading four perturbative orders with several free parameters. Furthermore, we propose Bethe equations for all orders and identify the moduli of the integrable system. We finally apply our results to plane-wave matrix theory and show that the Hamiltonian in a closed sector is not of this form and therefore not integrable beyond the first perturbative order. This also implies that the complete model is not integrable.Comment: 22 pages, v2: reference adde

Computation of the Chiral Anomaly in the Bulk Quantization

The bulk quantization method is used for regularizing a conventional four dimensional theory of massless fermions coupled to an external non-Abelian gauge field and for subsequently evaluating the associated Ward identity. As a result one obtains the well-known chiral anomaly.Comment: 19 page

THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE NEXT FARM BILL DEBATE

Farm Bill, Policy, Trade, Food, Nutrition, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q17, Q18,

Long-term impacts of tropical storms and earthquakes on human population growth in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Since the 18th century, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have experienced similar natural forces, including earthquakes and tropical storms. These countries are two of the most prone of all Latin American and Caribbean countries to natural hazards events, while Haiti seems to be more vulnerable to natural forces. This article discusses to what extent geohazards have shaped both nation's demographic developments. The data show that neither atmospheric nor seismic forces that directly hit the territory of Haiti have significantly affected the country's population growth rates and spatial population densities. Conversely, since the 1950s more people were exposed to atmospheric hazards, in particular, in regions which historically experienced higher storm frequencies