Using a Huff-Based Model to Delineate Hospital Service Areas

Hospital service areas (HSAs) are increasingly adopted as a basic analysis unit for health care studies. The popular Dartmouth HSAs were produced more than two decades ago, and the process was far from automated. This research uses a Huff-based model automated in a geographic information systems (GIS) environment to delineate HSAs. Based on the Florida State Inpatient Database (SID) in 2011, a best-fitting distance decay function is derived from the actual travel patterns of hospitalization and then fed into the Huff model to strengthen the model's theoretical foundation in individual spatial behavior. The HSAs derived from the Huff-based model are then compared to the traditional flow-based HSAs defined by the Dartmouth method and assessed in terms of self-containment and heterogeneity of internal socioeconomic structure and urbanicity. The Huff-based model requires fewer data and is easy to implement as an automated toolkit and thus has great potential for replication in other regions to define large-scale and consistent HSAs.     

The application of an expert knowledge‐driven approach for assessing gully erosion susceptibility in the subtropical Nigerian savannah

This study assessed gully erosion susceptibility in Southern Gombe State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (1) prepare gully inventory of Southern Gombe State, (2) apply the Analytical Hierarchy Process to assess the contribution of gully erosion predisposing factors, and (3) produce a gully erosion susceptibility map of Southern Gombe State. Based on geomorphological study involving interpretation of Google Earth images and field surveys, 127 gullies were identified and 13 gully erosion predisposing factors assumed to influence gully erosion susceptibility were selected. Identified gullies were randomly split into training (89 or 70 per cent) and validation (38 or 30 per cent) datasets. The contribution of each gully erosion predisposing factor was obtained using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The results indicated that slope (0.130), stream density (0.121), and distance from stream (0.121) play crucial roles in gully erosion susceptibility. By overlaying the gully erosion susceptibility factor maps, a gully erosion susceptibility map was created. A natural break method was then used to classify gully erosion areas into relatively safe (6.04 km²), less susceptible (3332.46 km²), moderately susceptible (1811.49 km²), highly susceptible (1146.35 km²), and extremely susceptible (1726.77 km²) categories. Field verification confirmed that the map accurately classified 92.11 per cent of the validation datasets, signifying the Analytical Hierarchy Process as a reliable method for gully erosion susceptibility assessment. The created gully erosion susceptibility map can assist land planners to identify critical gully erosion areas where prevention and mitigation actions should be implemented.     

A political ecology of maladaptation: Insights from a Gramscian theory of the State

This article analyzes a political process in the aftermath of a disaster and explains why and how it led to maladaptation. Grounding Gramsci’s theory of the State on a case of post-disaster response to a fatal mudslide in the city of Sarno in Italy, this research argues that, under certain conditions, civil society and the ruling classes may coalesce to produce policies that are maladaptive. We unpack the mechanisms through which consent was reproduced in Sarno, and show how the claims of civil society were articulated and fused with the hegemonic goals of capital circulation and economic growth, reaffirming a view of government as only a provider of safety. A Gramscian treatment of the State as a process, and not as a thing, highlights that the main barrier to adaptation is not the lack of techno-managerial solutions. It is the lack of political struggle around the social reconfiguration of the logic and functions of the State.     

1970年以来中国大陆25次6.8级以上地震前态矢量异常特征研究

利用态矢量方法对中国大陆1970年以来25次6.8级以上地震进行了较为全面的分析研究, 结果表明, 19次地震前3年内态矢量出现明显异常, 其中10次地震发生前60天内态矢量有明显的变化, 只有6次地震前态矢量变化不明显。 由此认为态矢量方法对强震具有一定的中期和短临预测能力。 研究结果还表明, 相对于态矢量增量的模、 态矢量方向的改变等参量, 态矢量的模在震前的变化更为敏感, 此外, 对于相同震级的地震, 最佳扫描区域尺度大小不一, 并对这些现象进行了一定的解释。     

A two‐dimensional inverse model to identify transmissivity in an anisotropic aquifer

This study suggested a numerical model using the Tabu search algorithm along with the Adjoint State method to identify the hydrogeological characteristics of an anisotropic groundwater aquifer. The Tabu search algorithm was applied to identify the anisotropic transmissivity components to avoid a local optimum. Then, the Adjoint State method was used to calculate the sensitivity of the parameters in order to increase the efficiency of the optimization. For an anisotropic and homogeneous aquifer, results showed that the optimal procedure presented combining the Tabu search algorithm and the Adjoint State method might successfully identify the values of the transmissivity components. If the duration of the pumping test was long enough (12‐h pumping test), the value of the transmissivity components could be optimized with type‐curve, straight‐line, and Tabu search methods, along with the Adjoint State methods. If the duration of the pumping test was short (0·5‐h pumping test), the Tabu search method, along with the Adjoint State method proposed herein, might successfully optimize the transmissivity components. For an anisotropic but heterogeneous aquifer, results showed that the suggested optimal procedure still successfully identified the values of the transmissivity components. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1.26米红外望远镜电控系统软件设计与实现

2011年,国家天文台兴隆基地1.26 m红外望远镜进行了全面升级改造。主要讲述望远镜电控系统软件的设计与实现,用于实现望远镜各种观测策略和运动方式的自动化操作。为了提高稳定性和可靠性,软件基于有限状态机原理设计,定义了望远镜的状态集和动作集,以及各个状态间的状态转换图;同时给出了望远镜常见异常及其处理方式,并在本地控制的基础上提供远程控制接口,使得望远镜可方便纳入兴隆基地望远镜集中控制系统。该软件及其设计思想可推广至我国其他中小口径望远镜。     

Small state,maritime great power? Norway’s strategies for influencing the maritime policy of the European Union

In 2007 the EU Commission published the so-called “Blue Book” aimed at developing an Integrated Maritime Policy for the Union. Even though Norway is not an EU member and is usually referred to as a small state, this article shows how the Norwegian government was able to exercise significant influence on EU maritime policy development, positioning itself as one of the key actors. Applying the negotiation theory and tracing the process as it unfolded, this analysis identifies causal relationships leading to increased influence for Norwegian actors—particularly in respect to how issues concerning the Arctic became an integrated part of the policy. The paper concludes that even though the Norwegian actors had a strategic point of departure, utilizing objective advantages to maximize their own utility, their influence may also have been due to competence and sharing of knowledge. The article relies on official documents, but is to a large extent also based on interviews with key EU Commission and Norwegian governmental representatives. On an elevated, substantive analytical level the article contributes to the “small state” research agenda and its interest in how small states in international relations might influence policy outcomes and thrive in the international community.     

中国区域治理中公私合作伙伴关系研究

以新国家空间理论视角阐释中国区域治理中公私合作伙伴关系的产生逻辑和运行机制。本文认为建构公私合作伙伴关系旨在空间修复发展资源分配不均、经济发展失衡和政府管制失灵。首先,中央政府根据行政等级、职能和区划来调整多层级政府权力关系,并依据企业产权属性推进政府和市场权力再分配以修复治理困境。其次,中央政府以行政激励促进公私合作,达成区域整体利益最优并构建资源分配秩序。同时,地方政府联盟以辖区利益最大化为导向,推动中央政府和社会资本融入地方治理。最后,多层级政府以行政命令界定公私部门责任边界,或构建公共服务体系来解决市场失灵。中国区域治理不仅是国家权力跨尺度重构以实现国家管制,也是以跨越公私边界的权力、责任与利益的相互作用构建新的区域治理体制。     

省级国土资源综合监管平台建设探讨

国土资源综合监管平台建设是国土资源信息＂十二五＂期间的重要工作,是国土资源＂一张图＂建设成果的展现形式。目前各省都在积极推进各项建设工作,但其建设的基本思路、内容和技术方法都无固定格式,是目前业界讨论与争论较多的领域,本文以重庆市国土资源综合监管平台建设实践为基础,提出作者对省级国土资源综合监管平台建设的思路、内容和技术方法的界定和思考。