Economic Activities Of Community Research Articles

Electrical Resistivity Tomography Investigation of Permafrost Conditions in a Thermokarst Site in Fairbanks, Alaska

<abstract> <p>The degradation of permafrost poses severe environmental threats to communities in cold regions. As near-surface permafrost warms, extensive topographic variability is prevalent in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic communities. Geologic hazards such as thermokarst are formed due to varying rates of permafrost degradation, resulting in ground subsidence. This gradual subsidence or abrupt collapse of the earth causes a danger to existing infrastructure and the economic activities of communities in cold regions. Understanding the causes of thermokarst development and its dynamics requires imaging its underground morpho-structures and characterizing the surface and subsurface controls. In this study, we conducted a two-dimensional (2D) electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey to characterize the permafrost conditions in a thermokarst prone site located in Fairbanks, Alaska. To increase the reliability in the interpretability of the ERT data, borehole data and the depth-of-investigation (DOI) methods were applied. By using the 2D and three-dimensional (3D) ERT methods, we gained valuable information on the spatial variability of transient processes, such as the movement of freezing and thawing fronts. Resistivity imaging across the site exhibited distinct variations in permafrost conditions, with both low and high resistive anomalies observed along the transects. These anomalies, representing taliks and ice wedges, were characterized by resistivity values ranging from 50 Ωm and above 700 Ωm, respectively. The results from this study showed the effectiveness of ERT to characterize permafrost conditions and thermokarst subsurface morpho-structures. The insights gained from this research contribute to a better understanding of the causes and dynamics of thermokarst, which can be instrumental for engineers in developing feasible remedial measures.</p> </abstract>

Predicting road blockage due to building damage following earthquakes

Transportation infrastructure supports the social and economic activities of communities. One of the impacts of roads’ disruption is the obstruction of emergency services (e.g., ambulance, firefighting, evacuation). Furthermore, the recovery process of a community following an extreme event (e.g., a natural hazard) depends on the functionality of the transportation infrastructure. Therefore, conducting a risk and resilience analysis of transportation infrastructure is critical to help communities minimize the initial impact of hazards and promote a rapid recovery. Current approaches model the probability of road blockage due to building damage using high-resolution optical satellite images and aerial photographs collected after past events. However, the data used by these methods are limited, and few data have been collected before 2010. Besides, data may not be available for specific regions that have not experienced recent earthquakes. Thus, a probabilistic predictive method is needed for risk and resilience analysis of roads. This paper proposes a probabilistic model using the data from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake and calibrated by Bayesian approach to predict the debris distance from undamaged buildings (e.g., the distance debris can reach from the footprint of the undamaged building). The model is then used to construct fragility curves that give the conditional probability of road blockage at a given road section for a given seismic intensity. The proposed model considers the relevant factors affecting the road blockage probability, including building types, damage level, and road characteristics. The probability of road blockage at a given road section is estimated for the four general road section types, considering buildings on only one side of the road or both sides, and with or without a raised traffic median. The probability of road blockage for an entire road is then calculated by system and parallel reliability analysis. The proposed models apply to any general urban area without the dependence on historical data from past earthquakes.

MELT BLOWING PROCESS CONDITIONS FOR NANOFIBERS OF POLYMERS FOR OIL-WATER SEPARATION IN MARINE OIL SPILLS CLEAN-UP APPLICATIONS: A SHORT REVIEW

The development of oil and gas industries has resulted in environmental issues, such as oil pollution. Oil pollution in a marine environment, poses significant threats to not only coastal marine life, but also to the social economic activities of community living in the nearby areas. The spreading of the oil could be controlled efficiently using sorbents such as nanofiber, due to its high specific surface area, high porosity, small diameter, and small pore sizes properties. Common approach to produce nanofiber is by using electrospinning technique however, this technique has low productivity and requires a post treatment for solvent removal. However, a melt blowing technique is an alternative to electrospinning as it is highly productive and does not require any solvent. The mass production of nanofiber fulfils the demand of the material during an oil spill clean-up operation. Therefore, this review discusses the influence of melt blowing process conditions such as die, polymer, air and collector, on the properties of nanofiber targeted for oil-water separation for the application of oil spill clean-up.

Pengembangan Modul Pelatihan Pembuatan Gerabah Di Desa Masbagik Timur

Research on development of training module of making pottery is very important to build new entrepreneur in increasing economic activity of society. This research and development aims to produce vessel training modules, training manuals and to explain the effectiveness of pottery-making training modules, training manuals to improve economic activities of communities in Masbagik Timur Village. Research and Development (R & D) research methods. Stages of product development, (a) preparation of training modules, (b) guide on making pottery, and (c) assessment. Data collection techniques used observation, interviews and questionnaires. Data analysis techniques, (a) validity, (b) readability, and (c) effectiveness. Module validation is done by experts and practitioners. The module trials include a limited trial of 6 communities and an expanded trial of 10 Masbagik Timur Village communities. The results showed; (1) validated products of experts and practitioners get a mean score of 2.0% (good qualification), (2) final module development training worthy of use. Average readability 3.7 (good qualification), there is practicality in using this training module with a mean of 3.6 (good qualification), effective module to use. The conclusion of the research is that the training module of pottery making and its training manual is feasible to be used to improve the economic activity of Masbagik Timur Masbagik Village community

Digital Technology and Rural Livelihood - A Study of Peasant Communities in Pru District

There are a number of ways by which access to ICT can help boost economic activities of communities in a country with the mobile phone being the most common ICT tool especially in Sub Saharan Africa. To examine the impact of digital technology on rural livelihoods in the Pru district of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, a survey of 212 peasant farmers was conducted. The probit regression results indicate that, digital technology adoption is significantly influenced by age, cost and availability of the technology. Furthermore, digital technologies contribute to the improvement of rural livelihoods by expanding and strengthening social capital, increase people’s ability to deal with emergencies and enhanced efficiency.