Search results

Based on the known positive effects of conventional hot-dip galvanizing under fire exposure and indicative results on zinc–aluminum coatings from smallscale tests, a series of tests were conducted on zinc-5% aluminum galvanized test specimens under fire loads to verify the previous positive findings under largescale boundary conditions.

The emissivity of zinc-5% aluminum galvanized surfaces applied to steel specimens was determined experimentally under real fire loads and laboratory thermal loads in accordance with the normative specifications of the standard fire curve. Both large and smallscale specimens were used in this study. The steel grade and surface conditions of the specimens were varied for both test scenarios.

Largescale tests on specimens with typical steel construction dimensions under fire loads showed that the surface emissivity of zinc-5% aluminum galvanized steel was significantly lower than that of the conventionally galvanized steel. Only minor influences from the weathering of the specimens and steel chemistry were observed. These results agree well with those obtained from smallscale tests. The design values of zinc-5% aluminum melt (Zn5Al) required for the structural fire design were proposed based on the obtained results.

The novel tests presented in this study are the first ones to study the behavior of zinc-5% aluminum galvanized largescale steel construction components under the influence of real fire exposure and their positive effect on the emissivity of steel components galvanized by this method. The results provide valuable insights and information on the behavior in the case of fire and the associated savings potential for steel construction.

This paper aims to study the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on the corrosion behavior of BC550 weathering steel in simulated marine atmospheric environment.

The effect of UV light on the corrosion behavior of BC550 weathering steel in simulated marine atmospheric environments were investigated by the corrosion weight gain experiment, in situ electrochemical noise, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction.

UV light accelerated the corrosion process of BC550 weathering steel in the simulated marine atmospheric environment during the first 168 h. The maximum influence factor of UV light was 0.32, and it was only 0.08 after 168 h of corrosion process.

As the extension of corrosion time, the thickness and density of the corrosion product layer increased, which weakened the acceleration effect of UV light.

One of the sectors most affected by the variable weather events caused by climate change and global warming is the aviation sector. Especially in aircraft accidents, weather events increasing with climate change and global warming are effective. The purpose of this study is to determine how much the change in weather conditions caused by global warming and climate changes affect the aircraft in the world between the years 2010 and 2022.

In this study, it was investigated which weather events were more effective in aircraft crashes by determining the rates of air events and aircraft crashes in aircraft crashes with a passenger capacity of 12 or more that occurred between 2010 and 2022.

It is clearly seen that increasing weather conditions with global warming and climate change increase the effect of weather conditions in aircraft crashes.

The difference of this study from other studies is the evaluation of the data of the past 12 years, in which the increasing consequences of global warming and climate change have been felt more. It also reveals the necessity of further research on the effects of weather conditions on aircraft.

The purpose of the present paper is to review studies on weather index-insurance as a tool to manage the climate change impact risk on farmers and to explore the study gaps in the currently existing literature by using a systematic literature review.

This study analyzed and reviewed the 374 articles on weather index insurance (WII) based on a systematic literature search on Web of Science and Scopus databases by using the systematic literature review method.

WII studies shifted their focus on growing and emerging areas of climate change impact risk. The finding shows that the impact of climate change risk significantly influenced the viability of WII in terms of pricing and design of WII. Therefore, the cost of WII premium increases due to the uncertainty of climate change impact that enhances the probability of losses related to insured weather risks. However, WII has emerged as a risk management tool of climate insurance for vulnerable agrarian communities. The efficacy of WII has been significantly influenced by repetitive environmental disasters and climate change phenomena.

This study will be valuable for scholars to recognize the missing and emerging themes in WII.

This study will help the policy planners to understand the influence of climate change impact on WII viability.

This study is the original work of the author. An attempt has been made in the present study to systematically examine the viability of WII for insuring the climate change risk.

This paper's purpose was to examine the impact of geomagnetic activity (GMA) on the timing and valuation of earnings information disclosed by firms every quarter.

The authors start the analyses with a sample of 112,669 client firms from 1989 to 2018. To analyze the impact of GMA on the earnings response coefficient (ERC), the authors use the three-day cumulative abnormal returns and cumulative abnormal returns for the extended post-earnings announcement window [2, 75] as the dependent variables. The authors interact unexpected earnings (UE) with the C9 Index, an index commonly used to measure GMA and study how GMA affects the pricing of new public information. To examine the effect of GMA on the timing of disclosure of earnings news, the authors regress a variant of the GMA index on the propensity to disclose bad earnings news.

The authors find significantly lower earnings response coefficients during periods of high GMA. This effect is permanent and stock prices do not correctly incorporate the implications of earnings information over time. The authors also show that managerial behavior is affected by GMA as well and the managers are more (less) likely to release bad (good) news during periods of higher activity. Finally, the authors also find that in situations where stakeholders are likely to rely on modern technology that depends minimally on humans, the adverse impact of GMA on the pricing of earnings information is mitigated.

The literature on the effect of GMA on the capital market is very limited and focuses primarily on stock returns, while the behavioral finance literature focuses on circumstances like weather, temperature and sporting outcome to study how the investors' mood affects their capital market behavior. The authors add to both the literature by investigating how GMA influences investors' and managers' behaviors in the capital market.

The purpose of this work was to study the effect of different wood surface preparations on the wetting and adhesion of coating.

In this research, six different chemical preparations to evaluate the photostability and properties of wood coating. Also, the effect of the same wood treatments on the properties of the coating, i.e. wetting, adhesion and the permeability of two types of coatings, was investigated.

As a result, benzoyl chloride and chromic acid were found to be the most effective photostabilizing preparations. Solvent-based polyurethane was more compatible with the prepared wood surfaces compared with water-based alkyd coatings.

Chemical modifications of wood surfaces affected the wetting of various coatings.

Various surface properties could be changed using preparation that affects important coating properties.

Unfortunately, the properties of transparent wood coatings used outdoors disappear through the early years of use, essentially due to the wood substrate’s photodegradation.

Wood is a widespread substrate because of its comfortable handling, availability, proper cost of preparation and its good mechanical strength because of its density. Architects and designers tend to use wood in the construction of green buildings. However, this material is disposed to weathering while using outdoors and it should be solved.

This chapter analyzes the link between the digital divide, infrastructure regulation, and disaster planning and relief through a case study of the flood in San Jose, California triggered by the Anderson dam’s overtopping in February 2017 and an examination of communication failures during the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, California. This chapter theorizes that regulatory decisions construct social and disaster vulnerability. Rooted in the Whole Community approach to disaster planning and relief espoused by the United Nations and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this chapter calls for leadership to end the digital divide. It highlights the imperative of understanding community information needs and argues for linking strategies to close the digital divide with infrastructure and emergency planning. As the Internet’s integration into society increases, the digital divide diminishes access to societal resources including disaster aid, and exacerbates wildfire, flood, pandemic, and other risks. To mitigate climate change, climate-induced disaster, protect access to social services and the economy, and safeguard democracy, it argues for digital inclusion strategies as a centerpiece of community-centered infrastructure regulation and disaster relief.

The authors investigate the effect of weather and mobility on the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The authors first estimate the effective reproduction number (Rt) as a proxy of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and then study the relationship between the latter and weather and mobility in a panel data framework. The authors use US daily infections data between February and September of 2020 at the county level.

The authors find that lower temperatures are associated with a higher Rt, and this effect is greater at temperatures below 0°C. In addition, mobility reductions related to certain types of locations (retail and recreation, transit stations and workplaces) are effective at reducing Rt, but it is an increase in the time spent in parks that most helps reduce the spread of the pandemic.

The estimates imply that a 20°C fall in temperature from summer to winter would increase Rt by +0.35, which can be the difference between a well-controlled evolution and explosive behavior of the spread of the virus. Applying these coefficients estimated with US county data to aggregate series from other countries helps explain the resurgence of the pandemic in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter of 2020. The results show that mobility reduction and social distance are best policies to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak. This strong policy lesson will help facing similar outbreaks in the future.

This study aims to identify an automated machine learning algorithm with high accuracy that sport practitioners can use to identify the specific factors for predicting Major League Baseball (MLB) attendance. Furthermore, by predicting spectators for each league (American League and National League) and division in MLB, the authors will identify the specific factors that increase accuracy, discuss them and provide implications for marketing strategies for academics and practitioners in sport.

This study used six years of daily MLB game data (2014–2019). All data were collected as predictors, such as game performance, weather and unemployment rate. Also, the attendance rate was obtained as an observation variable. The Random Forest, Lasso regression models and XGBoost were used to build the prediction model, and the analysis was conducted using Python 3.7.

The RMSE value was 0.14, and the R2 was 0.62 as a consequence of fine-tuning the tuning parameters of the XGBoost model, which had the best performance in forecasting the attendance rate. The most influential variables in the model are “Rank” of 0.247 and “Day of the week”, “Home team” and “Day/Night game” were shown as influential variables in order. The result was shown that the “Unemployment rate”, as a macroeconomic factor, has a value of 0.06 and weather factors were a total value of 0.147.

This research highlights unemployment rate as a determinant affecting MLB game attendance rates. Beyond contextual elements such as climate, the findings of this study underscore the significance of economic factors, particularly unemployment rates, necessitating further investigation into these factors to gain a more comprehensive understanding of game attendance.

Robotics and automation are successful in construction, health and safety, but costs and expertise hinder their use in developing nations. This study examined mobile apps as a more accessible and affordable alternative.

This descriptive study explored the use of mobile apps in construction, health and safety management. It used a literature review to identify their availability, accessibility, and capabilities. The study consisted of four five stages: searching for relevant apps, selecting them based on versatility, examining their specific functions, removing untested apps and discussing their functions based on empirical studies.

A comprehensive literature review identified 35 mobile apps that are relevant to health and safety management during construction. After rigorous analysis, eight apps were selected for further study based on their relevance, user friendliness and compliance with safety standards. These apps collectively serve 28 distinct functions, including first-aid training and administration, safety compliance and danger awareness, safety education and training, hazard detection and warnings.

This study suggests that mobile apps can provide a cost-effective and readily accessible alternative to robotics and automation in health and safety management in construction. Further research is needed to accurately assess the efficacy of these apps in real-world conditions.

This study explored the use of apps in health and safety management, highlighting their diverse capabilities and providing a framework for project managers, contractors and safety officers to select suitable apps.