Geospatial Analysis of Flood Vulnerability Levels Based on Physical Characteristics and Resilience Capacity of Peri-Urban Settlements in Nigeria

Flooding is becoming a yearly reoccurring event in many communities and cities in Nigeria, leading to the destruction of properties and deaths;hence, we must take measures to either prepare for the impact or curb the occurrence. The study identified flood vulnerability levels of communities in Isoko North LGA based on physical environmental domains such as land use, elevation, and proximity to river channel (drainage) using geospatial techniques. Also, attributes that could contribute to the resilience capacity building of the communities were assessed. From the study, 73.93% of the entire area is moderately and highly vulnerable to flood, while among the communities, seventeen (17) are categorized as moderately vulnerable, and four (4) are lowly vulnerable. The overall resilience capacity of the communities indicated can build a substantial capacity towards community resilience (3.02, 0.06). However, there is a need to encourage collaboration with stakeholders to improve mitigation action and enhance various shortcomings toward resilience capacity building.

Isolating higher yielding and more stable rice genotypes in stress environments: fine-tuning a selection method using production and resilience score indices

In Asia, the rice crop sustains millions of people. However, growing demand for this crop needs to be met while simultaneously reducing its water consumption to cope with the effects of climate change. Lowland cropping systems are the most common and productive but have particularly high water requirements. High-yielding rice genotypes adapted to drier environments(such as rainfed or aerobic rice ecosystems) are needed to increase the water use efficiency of cropping. Identifying these genotypes requires fast and more accurate selection methods. It is hypothesized that applying a new quantitative selection method(the score index selection method), can usefully compare rice yield responses over different years and stress intensities to select genotypes more rapidly and efficiently. Applying the score index to previously published rice yield data for 39 genotypes grown in no-stress and two stress environments, identified three genotypes(ARB 8, IR55419-04 and ARB 7) with higher and stable yield under moderate to severe stress conditions. These genotypes are postulated to be better adapted to stress environment such as upland and aerobic environments. Importantly, the score index selection method offers improved precision than the conventional breeding selection method in identifying genotypes that are well-suited to a range of stress levels within the target environment.

Catastrophe of Power Transmission System

Power systems are critical infrastructures in the same way as gas and oil networks, water networks, transportation networks, telecommunications systems and computer systems. These complex networked systems are increasingly interdependent on each other, as the digital society matures on a global scale. A typical example of a critical infrastructure vulnerability that undergoes rising vulnerability to catastrophic failure is the power transmission network. There are several reasons for such a situation to prevail. Firstly, as witnessed in developed countries, there has been a very slow expansion of the high voltage transmission grid during recent decades due to stringent regulations put forward in response to environmental concerns. Secondly, there are the profound structural reforms that the power industry has embarked on, which are geared toward the emergence and consolidation of competitive energy markets. In the evaluation of catastrophe of the power transmission system, the most important parameter to be taken into a consideration is resilience index of electro-magnet floury. In particular, it has been taken into consideration its effect on the different fields of human interest.

Preface for the special issue on "Driver behavior,highway capacity and transportation resilience"

Transportation plays a vital role both in urban economy and usuallives, which is recognized as one of the major functions of a city, along with dwelling, work, and recreation. As an organic system, urban traffic has attracted increased attention during recent years. However, the majority of studies focused on roadways and vehicular technologies, and limited research has been conducted to address the driver characteristics and their impact. A major possible reason is the scarcity of reliable data. In fact, traditional traffic data obtained from cross-sectional detectors as well as video capture devices are not sufficient to fully capture driver behavior. Only in the recent years, with the availability of transportation-related ＂big data＂ and particu- larly the overwhelming information onboard and from road- side facilities, the impacts of driver behavior may be investigated in more detail. In general, driver behavior in microscopic level may include car-following, lane-changing, and gap acceptance models, which are believed largely to affect roadway capacity. Furthermore, safety concerns especially when drivingin an urban environment due to the interaction of different modes, also increase the complexity of quantifying the quality of service of various transportation facilities. These potential complexities in driver behavior challenge academia to develop supporting models and methods of analysis.

Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers

Agriculture is subject to high demands regarding resilience as it is an essential component of the food production chain. In the agricultural sector, there is an increasing usage of digital tools that rely on communication and energy infrastructures. Should disruption occur,such strengthened dependencies on other infrastructures increase the probability of ripple effects. Thus, there is a need to analyze the resilience of the agricultural sector with a specific focus on the effects of digitalization. This study works out resilience capacities of the interconnected technologies used in farm systems based on the experiences and opinions of farmers. Information was gathered through focus group interviews with farmers(N = 52) and a survey with participants from the agricultural sector(N =118). In particular, the focus is put on the digital tools and other information and communication technologies they use. Based on a definition of resilience capacities, we evaluate resilience regarding energy and communication demands in various types of farm systems. Especially important are the resilience aspects of modern systems’ digital communication as well as the poorly developed and nonresilient network infrastructure in rural areas that contrast with the claim for a resilient agriculture. The result is a low robustness capacity, as our analysis concludes with the risk of food production losses.