Physical infrastructure interdependency and regional resilience index after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan

A resilience index is used to quantify preventive measures, emergency measures, and restoration measures of complex systems, such as physical infrastructures, when they are subjected to natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc. Interdependencies among these systems can generate cascading failures or amplification effects, which can also affect the restoration measures right after an extreme event and generate a reduction of the resilience index. In this article, a method is proposed to evaluate the physical infrastructure resilience of a region affected by a disaster considering infrastructure interdependency. It is illustrated using available restoration curves from the March 11 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. The weights assigned to each infrastructure, which are used to determine resilience, are evaluated using the degree of interdependency indices which are obtain by time series analysis. Results show that the weight coefficients thus obtained do not influence the resilience index significantly; however, the methodology proposed is unbiased from subjective judgment and is able to identify the critical lifelines. Furthermore, the results of the case study presented here suggest that to obtain meaningful estimation of the weight coefficients, it is necessary to consider the period range between two perturbations (e.g., main shock and aftershock). Future infrastructure disruption data (from this and other earthquakes) would be needed to generalize this finding that will allow also to quantify the changes in the restoration curves caused by the magnitude and distance of the shocks from the epicenter, as well as the intrinsic properties of the physical infrastructures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Research in Geographic Learning: A Special Task Force Report to the National Council for Geographic Education

Abstract

The videotape and other technological innovations are powerful tools for enhancing classroom learning. Teachers can fall into the trap of simply turning on the VCR while students watch with unstimulated and unchallenged minds. This article offers a technique that engages students in active, reflective thought by utilizing the National Geographic Society videotape, Connections. Using the videotape narrative prior to viewing provides students with opportunities to become critical consumers of technology.     

全球抗病毒药品贸易格局演化及其对新冠肺炎疫情防控的启示

新冠肺炎疫情大流行仍在肆虐全球。国际合作,尤其是在全球大流行时期保持医药卫生健康领域正常流通的特需药品贸易是抗击疫情的关键。然而,疫情期间越来越多的出口管制已经使得以往的全球药品贸易发生一定程度的改变,全球抗病毒药品贸易中的相互依存关系在大流行期间被刻画的更加清晰。本文通过梳理2000—2018年全球抗病毒药品贸易格局的时空演化特征,探讨了全球抗病毒药品贸易的产品结构及各国（地区）在全球抗病毒药品贸易体系中的地位变动,特别是揭示了中国与其他国家（地区）在全球抗病毒药品贸易体系中的相互依存关系。研究发现：① 产业结构上,以疫苗产品为主的全球抗病毒药品贸易体系正向以疫苗、含抗生素药品为主演化。两类药品出口都集中于欧美发达国家;中国则主要出口抗生素。② 拓扑结构上,全球抗病毒药品贸易网络是一典型的“核心-边缘”式的小世界网络。网络核心由美国逐步转向西欧国家。网络社团逐步聚拢,中国逐步脱离美国社团,向以德国、比利时为代表的西欧社团靠拢,并且在网络中的地位也越来越重要。③ 空间结构上,全球抗病毒药品进出口贸易格局逐步由分散走向集中,形成欧洲主导、美国衰落、亚洲兴起的发展态势。④ 在抗病毒药品贸易上,中国与主要发达国家（地区）间的相互依存关系逐步加深,而与“一带一路”沿线国家（地区）间的相互依存关系较低。     

Infrastructure failure interdependencies in extreme events: power outage consequences in the 1998 Ice Storm

This paper addresses the problem of interdependent failures of critical infrastructures in disasters. Disruptions to critical infrastructure systems such as electric power or transportation frequently cause major social and economic loss in disasters, both directly and through failures in one system leading to or compounding disruptions in another. Strategic approaches regarding infrastructure failures are needed to guide community mitigation and preparedness efforts. This paper defines and provides a conceptual framework for investigating infrastructure failure interdependencies (IFIs) from the standpoint of societal impacts. In order to identify empirical patterns, a unique database has been developed of IFIs observed in major electric power outage events. This paper presents analysis of this data for a major Canadian disaster, the 1998 Ice Storm that affected the northeastern region of the country. The analysis identifies IFIs due to power outage caused by the storm that are of greatest societal concern. These represent potential foci for effective, targeted pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness efforts. The framework and approach are broadly applicable across a range of natural and human-induced hazards.