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ICT for Disaster Management/ICT for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness

ICT for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness
The first important steps towards reducing disaster impact are to correctly analyse the potential risk and identify measures that can prevent, mitigate or prepare for emergencies. ICT can play a significant role in highlighting risk areas, vulnerabilities and potentially affected populations by producing geographically referenced analysis through, for example, a geographic information system (GIS). The importance of timely disaster warning in mitigating negative impacts can never be underestimated. For example, although damage to property cannot be avoided, developed countries have been able to reduce loss of life due to disasters much more effectively than their counterparts in the developing world (see Table 1). A key reason for this is the implementation of effective disaster warning systems and evacuation procedures used by the developed countries, and the absence of such measures in the developing world.

A major landslip after the earthquake in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan

Table 1: Comparison of Damage Caused by Three Recent Disasters Sources: BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk; Central Bank of Sri Lanka: http://www.cbsl.lk; http://www.pakquake.com; US National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

All the figures reported in Table 1 are rough estimates as it is impossible to have exact figures in such situations. However, Table 1 clearly shows that in the case of Hurricane Katrina, although the economic loss and damage to property were much higher, the number of deaths was remarkably less than that resulting from the Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka and the Pakistan earthquake. This is largely because in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the victims were mainly communities living below the poverty line – a factor that significantly contributed to their vulnerability – and because effective disaster warning systems were not in place. In New Orleans, official warnings were dispatched in advance and many in the affected areas were evacuated in time. In addition, the disaster management process was much better than what it had been in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, despite the heavy criticism it received.

A warning can be defined as the communication of information about a hazard or threat to a population at risk, in order for them to take appropriate actions to mitigate any potentially negative impacts on themselves, those in their care and their property (Samarajiva et al., 2005).

The occurrence of a hazard does not necessarily result in a disaster.While hazards cannot be avoided, their negative impacts can be mitigated. The goal of early public warning is to ensure to the greatest extent possible that the hazard does not become a disaster. Such warnings must be unambiguous, communicate the risks succinctly and provide necessary guidance.

The success of a warning can be measured by the actions that it causes people to take, such as evacuation or avoiding at-risk areas. In a disaster situation, there is no doubt that timely warnings allow people to take actions that save lives, reduce damage to property and minimize human suffering. To facilitate an effective warning system, there is a major need for better coordination among the early warning providers as well as those handling logistics and raising awareness about disaster preparedness and management.

While disaster warnings are meant to be a public good, they are often most effectively delivered through privately-owned communication networks and devices. There are many new communication technologies that allow warning providers not only to reach the people at risk but also to personalize their warning message to a particular situation. Opportunities are available right now to significantly reduce loss of life and potential economic hardship if disaster warning systems can be improved.

It is important to note that disaster warning is indeed a system, not a singular technology, constituting the identification, detection and risk assessment of the hazard, the accurate identification of the vulnerability of a population at risk, and finally, the communication of information about the threat to the vulnerable population in sufficient time and clarity so that they can take action to avert negative consequences. This final component underscores the importance of education and creating awareness in the population so that they may respond with the appropriate actions (Samarajiva et al., 2005).

Key Players in Disaster Warning
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) identifies several key parties that play major roles in the disaster management process, especially in disaster warning (UN/ISDR, 2006).

Communities, particularly those most vulnerable, are vital to people-centred early warning systems. Their input into system design and their ability to respond ultimately determine the extent of risk associated with natural hazards. Communities should be aware of hazards and potential negative impacts to which they are exposed and be able to take specific actions to minimize the threat of loss or damage. As such, the geographic location of a community is an essential determinant in the selection of disasters on which the system should focus their community education.For example, coastal communities need to be educated and prepared for the possibility of a tsunami, while a mountain community can be educated to respond to an early warning system for landslides.

Local governments should have considerable knowledge of the hazards to which their communities are exposed. They must be actively involved in the design and maintenance of early warning systems, and understand information received to be able to advise, instruct or engage the local population in a manner that increases their safety and reduces the potential loss of resources on which the community depends.

National governments are responsible for policies and frameworks that facilitate early warning, in addition to the technical systems necessary for the preparation and issuance of timely and effective hazard warnings for their respective countries. They should ensure that warnings and related responses are directed towards the most vulnerable populations through the design of holistic disaster response and early warning frameworks that address the specific needs of the related micro- and macro-level actors. The provision of support to local communities and local governments to develop operational capabilities is an essential function to translate early warning knowledge into risk reduction practices.

Regional institutions and organizations should provide specialized knowledge and advice in support of national efforts to develop or sustain the operational capabilities of countries that share a common geographical environment. Regional organizations are crucial to linking international capabilities to the particular needs of individual countries and in facilitating effective early warning practices among adjacent countries.

International bodies should provide support for national early warning activities and foster the exchange of data and knowledge between individual countries. Support may include the provision of advisory information, technical assistance, and policy and organizational support necessary to ensure the development and operational capabilities of national authorities or agencies responsible for early warning practice.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role in raising awareness among individuals and organizations involved in early warning and in the implementation of early warning systems, particularly at the community level. In addition, they play an important advocacy role to help ensure that early warning stays on the agenda of government policy makers.

The private sector has a diverse role to play in early warning, including developing early warning capabilities in their own organizations. The private sector is also essential as they are usually better equipped to implement ICT-based solutions. The private sector has a large untapped potential to help provide skilled services in the form of technical manpower, know-how, or donations of goods or services (in-kind and cash), especially for the communication, dissemination and response elements of early warning.

The media plays an important role in improving the disaster consciousness of the general population and in disseminating early warnings.The media can be the critical link between the agency providing the warning and the general public.

The scientific community has a critical role in providing specialized scientific and technical input to assist governments and communities in developing early warning systems. Their expertise is critical to analysing the risks communities face from natural hazards, supporting the design of scientific and systematic monitoring and warning services, fostering data exchange, translating scientific or technical information into comprehensible messages, and disseminating understandable warnings to those at risk.

Channels Used for Disaster Warning
The following are some of the media – both traditional and new – that can be effectively used for disaster warning purposes. Some may be more effective than the rest, depending on the nature of the disaster, the regions affected, the socio-economic status of the affected communities and their political architecture. However, it is not a question of one medium against another. All are means to a common goal of passing along disaster warnings as quickly and as accurately as possible. Any one or combination of the following media can be used for that purpose.

Radio and Television
Considered the most traditional electronic media used for disaster warning, radio and television have a valid use. The effectiveness of these two media is high because even in developing countries and rural environments where the tele-density is relatively low, they can be used to spread a warning quickly to a broad population.The only possible drawback of these two media is that their effectiveness is significantly reduced at night, when they are normally switched off. A study on media, perception and disaster-related behaviour in Bangladesh revealed that early, easily understandable and language-appropriate warning dissemination through radio can reduce the potential death toll of catastrophic cyclone and tidal bore. The study, conducted by the Forum for Development, Journalism and Communication Studies, recommended that relevant authorities develop innovative warning signal systems and take necessary steps to disseminate the warning in easily understood language through radio at least two days before a cyclone hits, hence mitigating the loss of lives and property every year in Bangladesh. Mohammad Sahid Ullah, the Chittagong University professor who led the study, suggests that part of the process is increasing public confidence in broadcast media since self-evacuation and the poor quality of shelters are the major causes of death (Sahid Ullah, 2003). After the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004,many radio manufacturers considered introducing new digital radio alert systems that react even if the set is switched off. In order to trigger this alarm, a special flag integrated into the received signal from a terrestrial transmitter or a satellite would be used and the set would automatically tune to the emergency broadcast channel. The only disadvantage of this system is that to introduce a new generation of receivers in analogue environment generally takes 5 to 10 years. With digital receivers, this would be somewhat easier (Dunnette, 2006).

Telephone (Fixed and Mobile)
Telephones can play an important role in warning communities about the impending danger of a disaster.There were many examples of how simple phone warnings saved many lives in South Asian countries during the 2004 tsunami. Perhaps the most famous was an incident that occurred in one small coastal village of Nallavadu in Pondicherry, India. A timely telephone call – warning about the impending tsunami – was said to have saved the village’s entire population of 3,600 inhabitants, as well as those of three neighbouring villages. Villagers of Nallavadu were involved in the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation’s Information Village Research Project. Vijayakumar, a former project volunteer, was working in Singapore and heard a tsunami alert issued there. He immediately phoned the research centre in Nallavadu, which issued an alert. His quick thinking, followed by swift and coordinated action, led to the evacuation of the four villages before the tsunami hit the coast (Subramanian, 2005). In some countries, mechanisms called ‘telephone trees’ are used to warn communities of impending dangers. An individual represents a ‘node’ in a telephone tree.When that individual receives a warning message (either through phone or by other means), s/he is supposed to make a pre-determined number of phone calls (usually four or five) to others in a pre-prepared list. This arrangement not only ensures the timely delivery of the warning message, but also ensures the minimum duplication of efforts. However, there are two drawbacks to using telephones for disaster warning. Telephone penetration in many areas is still not satisfactory – particularly in rural and coastal areas most at risk. Even with the exponential increase in the number of phones that has occurred in recent years, there are still many regions in the Asia-Pacific region, where a telephone is considered a luxury. The other drawback is the congestion of phone lines that usually occurs immediately before and during a disaster, resulting in many phone calls in that vital period that cannot be completed.

Short Message Service
Short message service (SMS) is a service available on most digital mobile phones that permits the sending of short messages (also known as ‘text messages’, ‘SMSes’, ‘texts’ or ‘txts’) between mobile phones, other handheld devices and even landline telephones. During the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster in the US, many residents of affected coastal areas were unable to make contact with relatives and friends using traditional landline phones. However, they could communicate with each other via SMS more easily when the network was functional. This is because SMS works on a different band and can be sent or received even when phone lines are congested. SMS also has another advantage over voice calls in that one message can be sent to a group simultaneously.

Cell Broadcasting
Most of today's wireless systems support a feature called cell broadcasting. A public warning message in text can be sent to the screens of all mobile devices with such capability in any group of cells of any size, ranging from one single cell (about 8 kilometres across) to the whole country if necessary. CDMA, D-AMPS, GSM and UMTS phones have this capability. There are four important points to recall about the use of cell broadcasting for emergency purposes: network infrastructure and in the phones, so there is no need to build any towers, lay any cable, write any software or replace handsets. tend to crash networks, as the London bombings in 2005 showed. Also, cell broadcasting does not cause any significant load of its own, so it would not add to congestion. across continents within a minute. by telling each neighbourhood specifically if they should evacuate or stay put.
 * There is no additional cost to implement cell broadcasting. It is already resident in most
 * It is not affected by traffic load; therefore it will be of use during a disaster, when load spikes
 * Cell broadcasting is geo-scalable, so a message can reach hundreds of millions of people
 * It is geo-specific, so that government disaster managers can avoid panic and road jamming

The only possible disadvantage to cell broadcasting is that not every user may be able to read a text message when they receive it. In many Asia-Pacific countries, a sizeable population of the phone users cannot read and understand a message sent in English.Thus, it is essential to send warning messages in local languages. However, these messages would still be inaccessible to those who cannot read, even in their own language. The Dutch Government plans to start using cell broadcasting for emergency warnings. The infrastructure is already in operation with the operators KPN, Telfort and Vodafone. It is believed to be the first multi-operator warning system in the world, based on cell broadcasting with government use (Clothier, 2005).

Satellite Radio
A satellite radio or subscription radio is a digital radio that receives signals broadcast by communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals. Satellite radio functions anywhere there is line of sight between the antenna and the satellite, given there are no major obstructions such as tunnels or buildings.Satellite radio audiences can follow a single channel regardless of location within a given range. Satellite radio can play a key role during both disaster warning and disaster recovery phases. Its key advantage is the ability to work even outside of areas not covered by normal radio channels. Satellite radios can also be of help when the transmission towers of the normal radio station are damaged in a disaster.

Table 2: Radio Communication Media Used in Disaster Warning and Management

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has identified various radio communication media that can be used in disaster-related situations (see Table 2).

Internet/Email
The role Internet, email and instant messages can play in disaster warning entirely depends on their penetration within a community and usage by professionals such as first responders, coordinating bodies, etc.While these media can play a prominent role in a developed country, where nearly half of all homes and almost all offices have Internet connections, this is not the case in the developing world. In many developing countries, less than 5 percent of the population uses the Internet and even those who are users do not use it on a regular basis. In such a situation, it is difficult to expect Internet and email to play any critical role. In spite of that drawback, many disaster-related activities are already underway within the Internet community. For example, a new proposal for using the Internet to quickly warn large numbers of people of impending emergencies is currently being drafted by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

At a 1997 international conference on ‘Harnessing the Internet for Disasters and Epidemics’, participants raised issues affecting their ability to use the Internet for improving crisis management. Concerns included the high cost of technology, a lack of content in local languages, and governmental controls on information exchange.“The most significant obstacle impeding widespread Internet usage was the widening gap between those with unlimited access and those, whose access to information and new technologies was restricted by economic, linguistic, cultural or administrative constraints”, highlights the Pan American Health Organization’s report on the conference. Without direct communication between decision-makers and without a free flow of reliable information among all involved, effective contingency planning and emergency response are at risk (Putnam, 2002).

Amateur and Community Radio
For almost a century, amateur radio (also known as ‘ham radio’) operators have assisted their communities and countries during disasters by providing reliable communications to disaster relief organizations at a moment’s notice – especially when traditional communications infrastructure breaks down. In such a situation, amateur radio operators transmit emergency messages on voice mode about the well-being of survivors and information on casualties to friends and relatives. As was evident during the Indian Ocean tsunami that destroyed electricity and communications infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, amateur radio operators were the critical link between the islands and the Indian mainland and helped in the coordination of rescue and relief operations.

Besides disseminating voice-based messages, some amateur radio operators can also transmit in digital modes that include technologies such as radio teletype, tele-printing over radio, packet radio transmission and the recent Phase Shift Keying, 31 Baud – a type of modulation. Amateur radio broadcasters are authorized to communicate on high frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF), ultra high frequency (UHF) or all three bands of the radio spectrum. They require a license from the licensing authority to ensure that only competent operators use their skills. However, depending on the country, obtaining a license can be a long process.

The most effective mode to exchange messages in an email-style is pactor using Airmail as email client and Winlink2000 as network on shortwave. A very valuable advantage is that the user can address any valid emailaddress worldwide through hf-radio and winlink. Destroyed internetinfrastructure can be bridged by this technology until a gateway (more than 150 worldwide RMS) with working internetaccess can be reached. More information about Winlink2000.

Messages can be disseminated using one or more of the available bands. HF waves travel long distances, while VHF and UHF waves travel very short distances as these are line-of-sight propagation. However, repeaters increase the communications range and temporary repeaters can be set up in an emergency so that messages can reach the nearest town or city (Acharya, 2005).

There are no well-known case studies where community radio has been successfully used for disaster warning purposes. The main reason can be because this is not a widespread media channel in many countries. Even where there are community radio systems, they operate within limited areas. Nevertheless, community radio is a medium that can be very effectively used for disaster warning purposes.The effectiveness of this medium is being tested through a disaster warning system implemented by Sarvodaya, the most widespread NGO in Sri Lanka (Daily News, 2006).

Sirens
Though not necessarily an ICT-based solution, sirens can be used in tandem with other ICT media for final, localized delivery. The strengths of each medium and the challenges in using them are summarized in Table 3.

Table 3: Comparison of Different Communication Channels Used in Disaster Warning

GIS and Remote Sensing in Disaster Management
GIS can be loosely defined as a system of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping and analysis of geographic data. Spatial features are stored in a coordinate system (latitude, longitude, state, plane, etc.) that references a particular place on the earth.Descriptive attributes in tabular form are associated with spatial features. Spatial data and associated attributes in the same coordinate system can then be layered together for mapping and analysis. GIS can be used for scientific investigations, resource management and development planning.

Remote sensing is the measurement or acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object. In practice, remote sensing is the remote utilization (as from aircraft, spacecraft, satellite or ship) of any device for gathering information about the environment. Thus, an aircraft taking photographs, earth observation and weather satellites, monitoring of a foetus in the womb via ultrasound, and space probes are all examples of remote sensing. In modern usage, the term generally refers to techniques involving the use of instruments aboard aircraft and spacecraft. As disaster management work usually involves a large number of different agencies working in different areas, the need for detailed geographical information in order to make critical decisions is high. By utilizing a GIS, agencies involved in the response can share information through databases on computer-generated maps in one location. Without this capability, disaster management workers have to access a number of department managers, their unique maps and their unique data. Most disasters do not allow time to gather these resources. GIS thus provides a mechanism to centralize and visually display critical information during an emergency. There is an obvious advantage to using a map with remote sensing or GIS inputs instead of a static geographical map. A static map is mostly analogous and is not interactive. On the other hand, a vulnerability map with GIS input provides dynamic information with cause and effect relationship. As shown in Figure 6, the visualization effect is much more effective in the latter case.

Figure 6: Difference Between an Ordinary (2D) Map and a Map with GIS Input

GIS-based space technology solutions have become an integral part of disaster management activities in many developed and some developing countries. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs has been implementing a Space Technology and Disaster Management Programme to support developing countries in incorporating space-based solutions in disaster management activities. The use of GIS in different phases can be illustrated as follows:

Planning
Locating and identifying potential problems is a core requirement in disaster management. GIS can be used effectively to achieve this objective. Using a GIS, it is possible to pinpoint hazard trends and start to evaluate the consequences of potential emergencies or disasters. When hazards are viewed with other map data, such as buildings, residential areas, rivers and waterways, streets, pipelines, power lines, storage facilities, forests, etc., disaster management officials can formulate mitigation, preparedness, response and possible recovery needs. Information derived from remote sensing and satellite imagery plays an important role in disaster management and crisis prevention. Their effective application depends not solely on technical specifications, but is influenced by factors such as data collection, processing and distribution, capacity building, institutional development and information sharing. Earth observation satellites could be used to view the same area over long periods of time and, as a result, make it possible to monitor environmental change, human impact and natural processes. This would facilitate scientists and planners in creating models that would simulate trends observed in the past, present and also assist with projections for the future.

Mitigation
After potential emergency situations are identified, mitigation needs can be addressed. This process involves analysing the developments in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, evaluating the damage and determining what facilities are required to be reinforced for construction or relocation purposes.Mitigation may also include implementing legislation that prevents building structures in areas prone to earthquake, flood or tsunami. Other mitigation approaches may target fire-safe roofing materials in wildfire hazard areas. Utilizing existing databases linked to geographic features in GIS makes the task of monitoring these possible.

Preparedness
During the preparedness and response phases, GIS can accurately support better response planning in areas such as determining evacuation routes or locating vulnerable infrastructure and vital lifelines, etc. It also supports logistical planning to be able to provide relief supplies by displaying previously available information on roads, bridges, airports, railway and port conditions and limitations.Apart from this, activities such as evacuee camp planning can also be done using GIS.

GIS can also provide answers to some of the questions important to disaster management officers, such as the exact location of the fire stations if a five-minute response time is expected or the number and locations of paramedic units required in a specific emergency. Based on the information provided by GIS, it is also possible to estimate what quantity of food supplies, bed space, clothes and medicine will be required at each shelter based on the number of expected evacuees. In addition, GIS can display real-time monitoring for emergency early warning. Remote weather stations can provide current weather indexes based on location and surrounding areas.Wind direction, temperature and relative humidity can be displayed by the reporting weather station. Wind information is vital in predicting the movement of a chemical cloud release or anticipating the direction of wildfire spread upon early report. Earth movements (earthquake), reservoir level at dam sights, radiation monitors, etc. can all be monitored and displayed by location in GIS. If necessary, this type of information and geographic display can be delivered over the Internet to the public.

Case Study:The Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) for South-East Asia
The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 took many Asian countries by surprise.There was virtually no warning until thousands of people suddenly found themselves in the middle of giant killer waves. In the aftermath of the tsunami, several international meetings have been held among countries in the Indian Ocean rim to concertedly address threats from similar disasters. It was agreed that arrangements for a Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia should build on existing institutions, strengthen national capacities, integrate early warning with preparedness, mitigation and response (end-to-end), and must furthermore be integrated into existing warning systems to promote a multi-hazard approach. The partner countries in this effort were Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Viet Nam. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is a non-profit organization supporting the advancement of safer communities and sustainable development through implementing programmes and projects that reduce the impact of disasters upon countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific, by:

frameworks and mechanisms, and supporting the development and implementation of government policies; experience and information; and
 * Developing and enhancing sustainable institutional disaster risk management capacities,
 * Facilitating the dissemination and exchange of disaster risk management expertise,
 * Raising awareness and enhancing disaster risk management knowledge and skills.

In March 2005, ADPC, in partnership with the Royal Thai Government and in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, organized a Regional Meeting of the above countries to assess the feasibility of implementing a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System in South-East Asia.

In April 2005, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka indicated interest in receiving similar support to enhance their national early warning capacity and capabilities. Consequently, ADPC has been working with these governments and in the Maldives to enhance emergency communication systems through an ITU-funded project. ADPC furthermore completed an assessment of Sri Lanka’s early warning systems through a separate UNDP-funded project.

The donor agencies for the implementation of TEWS are UNDP, The Danish National Development Agency and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This warning system is designed to be end-to-end, encompassing both technological components and the training of both affected and at-risk communities in preparedness and response measures. Each component is important and should be given equal development focus. The non-technical components of hazard mapping and risk assessment, risk reduction and preparedness activities, and efficient warning dissemination reaching vulnerable local coastal communities are the most challenging to develop in a comprehensive early warning system, as these involve societal dimensions.

Figure 7: Implementation Plan of the Tsunami Early Warning System

Some of the existing early warning systems in the region address recurrent hazards such as cyclones/typhoons, floods and drought. Investing in hazard monitoring and forecasting for a rare event such as a tsunami is costly in terms of capital and the required investment of human resources.

Hence, in the face of low tsunami frequency, but the prevalence of high-risk coastal zones (due to population growth and development), resources to undertake hazard monitoring and forecasting are pooled in a regional monitoring system and forecasting centre in order to provide an economically sustainable system. The technical components are comprised of a network of seismographic stations, sea-level gauges and deep-sea pressure sensors, a data-processing and tsunami forecasting centre, and communication links to regional tsunami warning centres. These are in turn linked to national disaster management and warning systems. The network will utilize relevant facilities already available in the countries (assessed by the Inter-Governmental Oceanographic Commission and in national workshops arranged by ADPC) and consider the establishment of new ones.

The network of accelerographs, to be located in islands close to the coastlines of Indonesia and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, will provide rapid estimation of the tsunamagenic potential of an earthquake. Deep-ocean pressure sensors detect the early passage of a tsunami before it reaches shallow waters and the coast. Sea-level gauges, to be strategically located close to tsunami sources and in areas that would provide sufficient lead-time for response, are essential in determining the passage of a tsunami wave following an earthquake, to monitor its progress, estimate the severity of the hazard along the coast, and provide a basis for declaring the end of a hazard. The sea-level gauge stations are designed for long-term sea-level monitoring, but are capable of monitoring tsunami and storm surges. High-frequency sea-level data will be transmitted via the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites Meteosat-5 and the Japanese Meteorological Agency’s Geostationary Meteorological Satellites, and are connected to the Global Sea-Level Observation System Core Network.

Risk assessments and training will be conducted with the relevant national authority. Utilizing satellite imagery, GIS and further applicable technologies, ADPC will support bathymetric surveys and national training workshops on risk mapping, conduct a pilot risk-mapping survey (to be replicated in other vulnerable locations by the national authorities), and support regional workshops on numerical prediction models facilitated by the acquisition of the modelling tools. Community preparedness activities are the most critical component of this system. The technological capacity of a system is obsolete without a prepared or fully aware public. Despite the dissemination of a warning, communities that lack sufficient preparedness and training in effective responses to both the warning and the event remain acutely vulnerable.

Figure 8: AlertNet Website


text:
Indian Mythology

Indian mythology is among the richest and oldest in the world, as it is closely associated with the oldest religion of the world - Hinduism. This book a humble effort to introduce most common and interesting features of the Hindu Mythology. Clearly, this book has nothing to do with Hinduism, promoting Hinduism or making any claims about Hinduism. The purpose of this book is to serve as a collection of information which will be helpful to a student of faculties like Hinduism, Indology or Hindu culture.

Table of Contents

 * /Introduction/
 * /Scriptures/
 * Epics
 * Veda
 * /Concepts/
 * Loka
 * Elements
 * /Deities/
 * Gods
 * /Scholars/
 * Rishis
 * /Legends/

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Indian Mythology


text:
ICT for Disaster Management/ICT for Disaster Response

The most difficult period of a disaster is the immediate aftermath. This period calls for prompt action within an exceptionally short period of time. In the aftermath of any disaster, a significant number of individuals will be injured and/or displaced.Many of them may still be living with the trauma they have encountered, including loss of loved ones. Affected individuals may also be without food or other essential items.They might be waiting in temporary shelters, with no idea what to do next. Some might need immediate medical attention, while the disaster aftermath environment also creates ideal breeding grounds for possible epidemics. Charged with leading the response, authorities may find themselves with limited resources and without any comprehensive plans to use them or to find more. They often need the help of a third party, which can include donors, both institutions and individuals. These institutions may have assistance to offer, but know no means in which they can provide it as they may not have any link with those who are working in the field. The following case studies illustrate how ICT can be used effectively to address such problems in the immediate post-disaster period.

Case Study 1: Sahana Disaster Management System in the Aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and Pakistani Earthquake in 2005
Sahana, a free and open source software (FOSS)-based system developed by Lanka Software Foundation, is a suite of web-based applications that provides solutions to the problems arising in a post-disaster situation. The following examples show how Sahana assisted disaster victims during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistani earthquake the following year.

Example 1: Tracing Missing Persons
After a disaster, there are often a large number of individuals missing. It is common to find families scattered and children separated from their parents. Outside relatives and friends, especially those living overseas, naturally want to know the latest information about the condition of their loved ones. The psychological strain on children can be severe and it is essential that they be reunited with their families as soon as possible. One objective of Sahana is to assist victims in connecting with their families and friends as soon as possible. Sahana’s Missing Person Registry is an electronic version of a bulletin board of missing and found people. It can capture information not only on the people missing, but also about those who seek details about the missing, thus increasing their chance of reuniting. Even if the victims or families do not have access to this information themselves, it is quite easy for any authorized NGO or civil society group to connect to the central portal and provide that service in the areas they are working.

Example 2: Coordinating Donor Groups
In the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, there was a massive outpouring of support from international NGOs, local NGOs and community groups. There were at least 300 NGOs working on the same goals, though they used different approaches. In an environment where resources are in short supply, it is essential that response efforts should not be duplicated. Otherwise, such duplication can result in issues such as congested supply routes, competition between organizations, double vaccinations and saturation of support provided to some areas while other affected areas are neglected. Consequently, goodwill can be lost. This coordination task is too much for an authorized emergency controller to handle manually. An ICT solution can thus be the ideal solution. For instance, an electronic organization registry can help immensely. It can effectively track who is doing what, where, when and, more importantly, whether there are areas in which services are not adequate. This awareness can enable volunteers and organizations to distribute themselves evenly across affected regions. Sahana has developed such an organization registry. It keeps track of all the relief organizations and civil society groups working in the disaster region. It captures information on both the places where they are active and the range of services they are providing in each area to ensure that there is no overlap.

Example 3: Recording the Locations of Temporary Camps and Shelters
In a disaster situation, there are usually no pre-planned locations for camps and shelters. A temporary shelter or camp can be anywhere and can range in size from a large government-maintained camp to an individual house. Due to these differences, it is necessary to record the locations and populations of all camps. This is paramount to distributing aid effectively and ensuring that no affected areas are inadvertently ignored. A sub-application of the Sahana system keeps track of the location of all the camps in the region. It also records basic data on the facilities they might have and the number of people in them. If necessary it can provide a GIS view to plot the location of the camps in the affected area (De Silva, undated).

Case Study : Use of Internet in the Aftermath of the 1999 Earthquake in Turkey
On 17 August 1999, a major earthquake caught people off guard in Izmit, Turkey, resulting in 15,000 deaths. A second earthquake occurred on 12 November of the same year in Duzce, claiming 1,000 lives. In addition to these casualties, almost twice as many people were displaced as a result of both events. A total of 120,000 houses were damaged beyond repair while 50,000 houses were partially damaged. During the Izmit earthquake, telecommunications infrastructure was so extensively damaged that it was impossible to access emergency services. The use of public phones was almost impossible, while mobile phone networks were operating with reduced bandwidth. In addition, many of the microwave repeaters mounted on apartment buildings had been damaged during the quake. In this situation, Internet was the only possible medium that could connect the affected areas to the outside world. Several Internet applications were used in the post-disaster response, mainly in two key areas: coordination of aid disbursement and finding information about missing people. Due to system disruption, donors often found themselves acting as the distributors of aid as well, thus, the Internet proved a valuable resource. NGOs played a central role in the provision of discussion lists for the coordination of donations so that donors could find the most in need, identify what they were in need of, and in some cases, determine how to get there. Internet was also used to provide information regarding the whereabouts of missing family members. For example, many organizations formed ‘message lines’, which acted as a database of people found, their condition or the degree of damage to the region in which relatives lived (Zincir-Heywood & Heywood, 2000). The importance of information security and privacy can never be underestimated in ICT-based humanitarian systems. In these cases, data privacy is not just a matter of encryption, it can also be a matter of life and death. If data falls into the wrong hands, it can result in rape and sexual harassment, child and female trafficking, child soldier recruits, prostitution and even ethnic cleansing. This is especially the case when a disaster occurs in an ethno-politically volatile region, where the technology and frameworks conceptualized and implemented need to be deeply cognizant of ground realities and tensions between ethnic groups, factions and non-state actors.

Case Study 3: UNOSAT’s Role in Disaster Response During the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) provides the international community and developing countries with enhanced access to satellite imagery and GIS services. These tools are used mainly in humanitarian relief, disaster prevention and post-crisis reconstruction. UNOSAT also acquires satellite images from all commercial providers.

UNOSAT provides services on:
 * Image processing;
 * Map production;
 * Methodological guidance;
 * Technical assistance; and
 * Training.

The UNOSAT core team consists of UN fieldworkers as well as satellite imagery experts, geographers, database programmers and Internet communication specialists. This unique combination gives UNOSAT the ability to understand the needs of the users and to provide them with suitable, tailored solutions. UNOSAT has been active during many recent disasters.When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck on 26 December 2004, UNOSAT provided an immediate overview of the situation prior to triggering the International Charter Space and Major Disasters the day after. UNOSAT immediately created regional maps of potential impact and more focused maps of the areas reported to be heavily affected in the first days after the disaster. The first UNOSAT map was on-line and distributed to field users on 29 December 2004. Satellite image analyses and map production provided UN colleagues and the international humanitarian community with regional and local damage assessment maps using a wide range of satellite sensors.The Imagery Bank was on-line as of 14 January 2005 with a large amount of free satellite data obtained through the Charter and the US Government.Currently,over 670 raw satellite images and over 200,000 tsunami maps are available on its website at http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat.

Box 4: Sarvodaya.org in the Aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004

Box 5: Blogs and Tsunami Response


text:
Indian Mythology/Mahabharatha

Mahabharatha is the longest epic in the world. In the present form, it contains 1 lakh verses. It was originally called Jaya, meaning victory. By common consent its author is recognised as Vedavyasa.

The storyline
Mahabharata is centered around an epic war between cousins in a royal family for the throne. The story, told briefly, is given below: (A complete book about Mahabharata on wikibooks is planned for near future).

The story happens in the kingdom of Hastinapura. The eldest son of the late king, Dhritarashtra, is born blind, so his younger brother, Paandu, takes up the throne. But due to a curse by a scholar, or Rushi, he dies in a forest along with his second wife, Maadri. The throne is held by Dhritarashtra. Paandu's first wife, Kunti, brings their five children, Pandavas, back to the city, where they are taken care of by their great-grandfather Bhishma. Pandava brothers are: Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva. Dhritarashtra has one hundred sons, eldest of whom is Duryodhana. Dushasana is his second son. Duryodhana, is ambitious of becoming king himself. But he learns that as long as the Pandava brothers survive, he can not be made a king according to the laws. He and the strongest of the pandava brothers, Bhima, become mortal enemies.

Duryodhana forms a close friendship with a great archer, Karna. Karna is the equal of Arjuna, the younger brother of Bhima, in archery. Together with Karna, Duryodhana plans to win pandavas in war. Duryodhana's maternal uncle, Shakuni, poisons his mind and encourages him to employ devious tactics. As a result of these teachings, Duryodhana tries to kill the pandavas and kunti by setting fire to a wax house he had made for the pandavas. But the pandavas escape and live in exile for an year. At the end of the year, they come back, now having married Draupadi. All five brothers are married to the same woman, Draupadi.

Shakuni continues to poison Duryodhana's mind, and this culminates in a cheating game of dice where Yudhishtira loses everything he owns, including his kingdom, to Duryodhana. Yudhishtira plays his own brothers, himself, and his wife in the hope of winning everything back, but loses. Draupadi is humiliated and Dushasana tries to disrobe her in public, but lord Krishna intervenes and saves Draupadi. Bhima vows to kill both Duryodhana and Dushasana, while Arjuna vows to kill Karna, who had humiliated Draupadi during the dice game. As a result of their loss in the dice game, the pandavas are exiled from their kingdom for a total 13 years: 12 years of forest living and 1 year of hidden living.

At the end of 13 years, Duryodhana refuses to give back the kingdom, and takes the stance that his final aim in life is to kill the pandavas, Bhima in perticular, no matter how much harm the war might bring. This leads to the great war.

In the great war, lord Krishna becomes the charioteer of Arjuna, and helps the pandavas to win. All the great warriors of Duryodhana's side are killed one after the other, and Bhishma, who fights alongside Duryodhana, falls awaits his death amidst the raging war. On the day before the final day, Bhima kills Dushasana, and Arjuna, in what is perhaps the most famous war-story told in the history of Sanksrit literature, kills Karna. But after the war Arjuna discovers that Karna was his eldest brother, born to Kunti before marriage. Krishna reveals that he had known this all along, and had arranged Kunti to talk to Karna before the war so that Karna won't kill any of the pandavas. He himself talks Karna into not killing any of his younger brothers except Arjuna, whom Karna vows to kill, or be dead himself.

On the final day of the battle, an epic battle ensues between Bhima and Duryodhana, and finally Duryodhana falls.

The story continues to talk about pandavas rule after the war, and ends with all the eldest of the pandavas, Yudhisthira, entering the heaven alive.

title: Indian Mythology/Mahabharatha


text:
User talk:68.47.233.45

Thanks for experimenting with Wikibooks. Your test worked, and has now been removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing material in modules will normally be removed quickly. Please see the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our project. Thanks. -- Urbane   (Talk)   (Contributions)  07:28, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:68.47.233.45


text:
User talk:203.77.201.34

-- Herby talk thyme 10:29, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:203.77.201.34


text:
User talk:220.237.156.160

-- Herby talk thyme 10:29, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:220.237.156.160


text:
User:Maalves

Marius Amado-Alves

computer scientist, engineer, linguist, musician

from Portugal

title: User:Maalves


text:
Horticulture/Irrigation

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil in order ensure an adequate supply of water for plants. In crop production it is mainly used to replace missing rainfall in periods of drought, but also to protect plants against frost. Additionally irrigation helps to suppress weed growing in rice fields.

In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is sometimes referred to as dryland farming or as rain fed farming.

History of irrigation

Irrigation is an ancient practice, with archaeological evidence of irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt as far back as the 6th millennium BCE, where barley was grown in areas where the natural rainfall was insufficient to support such a crop. In the western hemisphere archaeologists have found irrigation canals in the Zana Valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru from as far back as the 4th millennium BCE. The Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and northern India (from circa 2600 BCE) also had an early canal irrigation system (from circa 2600 BCE). Large scale agriculture was practiced and an extensive network of canals was used for the purpose of irrigation. Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed, including the reservoirs built at Girnar in 3000 BCE.

There is evidence of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhet III in the twelfth dynasty (about 1800 BCE) using the natural lake of the Faiyum Oasis as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry seasons, as the lake swelled annually as caused by the annual flooding of the Nile.

The Qanats, developed in ancient Persia in about 800 BCE, are among the oldest known irrigation methods still in use today. They are now found in Asia, the middle east and north Africa. The system comprises a network of vertical wells and gently sloping tunnels driven into the sides of cliffs and steep hills to tap groundwater. The noria, a water wheel with clay pots around the rim powered by the flow of the stream (or by animals where the water source was still), was first brought into use at about this time, by Roman settlers in North Africa. By 150 BCE the pots were fitted with valves to allow smoother filling as they were forced into the water.

The irrigation works of ancient Sri Lanka, the earliest dating from about 300 BCE, in the reign of King Pandukabhaya and under continuous development for the next thousand years, were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world. In addition to underground canals, the Sinhalese were the first to build completely artificial reservoirs to store water. The system was extensively restored and further extended during the reign of King Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 CE).

The oldest known hydraulic engineers of China were Sunshu Ao (6th century BCE) of the Spring and Autumn Period and Ximen Bao (5th century BCE) of the Warring States period, both of whom worked on large irrigation projects. In the Szechwan region belonging to the State of Qin of ancient China, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built in 256 BCE to irrigate an enormous area of farmland that today still supplies water. By the 1st century AD, during the Han Dynasty, the Chinese also used chain pumps that lifted water from lower elevation to higher elevation. These were powered by manual foot pedal, hydraulic waterwheels, or rotating mechanical wheels pulled by oxen. The water was used for public works of providing water for urban residential quarters and palace gardens, but mostly for irrigation of farmland canals and channels in the fields.

In fifteenth century Korea the world's first water gauge, woo ryang gyae (Korean: 우량계), was discovered in 1441 CE. The inventor was Jang Young Sil, a Korean engineer of the Choson Dynasty, under the active direction of the King, Se Jong. It was installed in irrigation tanks as part of a nationwide system to measure and collect rainfall for agricultural applications. With this instrument, planners and farmers could make better use of the information gathered in the survey.

By the middle of the 20th century, the advent of diesel and electric motors led for the first time to systems that could pump groundwater out of major aquifers faster than it was recharged. This can lead to permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased water quality, ground subsidence, and other problems. The future of food production in such areas as the North China Plain, the Punjab, and the Great Plains of the US is threatened.

Types of irrigation
Various types of irrigation techniques differ in how the water obtained from the source is distributed within the field. In general, the goal is to supply the entire field uniformly with water, so that each plant has the amount of water it needs, neither too much nor too little.

Surface irrigation
In surface irrigation systems water moves over and across the land by simple gravity flow in order to wet it and to infiltrate into the soil. Surface irrigation can be subdivided into furrow, borderstrip or basin irrigation. It is often called flood irrigation when the irrigation results in flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, this has been the most common method of irrigating agricultural land.

Where water levels from the irrigation source permit, the levels are controlled by dikes, usually plugged by soil. This is often seen in terraced rice fields (rice paddies), where the method is used to flood or control the level of water in each distinct field. In some cases, the water is pumped, or lifted by human or animal power to the level of the land.

Localized irrigation
Localized irrigation is a system where water is distributed under low pressure through a piped network, in a pre-determined pattern, and applied as a small discharge to each plant or adjacent to it. Drip irrigation, spray or micro-sprinkler irrigation and bubbler irrigation belong to this category of irrigation methods.

Drip, or trickle irrigation
Water is delivered at or near the root zone of plants, drop by drop. This type of system can be the most water-efficient method of irrigation, if managed properly, since evaporation and runoff are minimized. In modern agriculture, drip irrigation is often combined with plastic mulch, further reducing evaporation, and is also the means of delivery of fertilizer. The process is known as fertigation.

Deep percolation, where water moves below the root zone, can occur if a drip system is operated for too long of a duration or if the delivery rate is too high. Drip irrigation methods range from very high-tech and computerized to low-tech and relatively labor-intensive. Lower water pressures are usually needed than for most other types of systems, with the exception of low energy center pivot systems and surface irrigation systems, and the system can be designed for uniformity throughout a field or for precise water delivery to individual plants in a landscape containing a mix of plant species. Although it is difficult to regulate pressure on steep slopes, pressure compensating emitters are available, so the field does not have to be level. High-tech solutions involve precisely calibrated emitters located along lines of tubing that extend from a computerized set of valves. Both pressure regulation and filtration to remove particles are important. The tubes are usually black (or buried under soil or mulch) to prevent the growth of algae and to protect the polyethylene from degradation due to ultraviolet light. But drip irrigation can also be as low-tech as a porous clay vessel sunk into the soil and occasionally filled from a hose or bucket. Subsurface drip irrigation has been used successfully on lawns, but it is more expensive than a more traditional sprinkler system. Surface drip systems are not cost-effective (or aesthetically pleasing) for lawns and golf courses. Netafim,Jain Irrigation Systems, Chapin Watermatics, Eurodrip, Plastro Irrigation Systems are major manufacturer of Drip Irrigation Systems. In the past one of the main disadvantages of the subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems, when used for turf, was the fact of having to install the plastic lines very close to each other in the ground, therefore disrupting the turfgrass area. Recent technology developments on drip installers like the drip installer at New Mexico State University Arrow Head Center, places the line underground and covers the slit leaving no soil exposed.

Sprinkler irrigation
In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as a solid-set irrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are called rotors and are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism. Rotors can be designed to rotate in a full or partial circle. Guns are similar to rotors, except that they generally operate at very high pressures of 40 to 130 lbf/in² (275 to 900 kPa) and flows of 50 to 1200 US gal/min (3 to 76 L/s), usually with nozzle diameters in the range of 0.5 to 1.9 inches (10 to 50 mm). Guns are used not only for irrigation, but also for industrial applications such as dust suppression and logging.

Sprinklers may also be mounted on moving platforms connected to the water source by a hose. Automatically moving wheeled systems known as traveling sprinklers may irrigate areas such as small farms, sports fields, parks, pastures, and cemeteries unattended. Most of these utilize a length of polyethylene tubing wound on a steel drum. As the tubing is wound on the drum powered by the irrigation water or a small gas engine, the sprinkler is pulled across the field. When the sprinkler arrives back at the reel the system shuts off. This type of system is known to most people as a "waterreel" traveling irrigation sprinkler and they are used extensively for dust suppression, irrigation, and land application of waste water. Other travelers use a flat rubber hose that is dragged along behind while the sprinkler platform is pulled by a cable. These cable-type travelers are definitely old technology and their use is limited in today's modern irrigation projects.

Center pivot irrigation
Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminum) joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the arc. These systems are common in parts of the United States where terrain is flat.

Most center pivot systems now have drops hanging from a u-shaped pipe called a gooseneck attached at the top of the pipe with sprinkler heads that are positioned a few feet (at most) above the crop, thus limiting evaporative losses. Drops can also be used with drag hoses or bubbler's that deposit the water directly on the ground between crops. The crops are planted in a circle to conform to the center pivot. This type of system is known as LEPA (Low Energy Precision Application). Originally, most center pivots were water powered. These were replaced by hydraulic systems (T-L Irrigation) and electric motor driven systems (Lindsay, Reinke, Valley, Zimmatic). Most systems today are driven by an electric motor mounted low on each span. This drives a reduction gearbox and transverse driveshafts transmit power to another reduction gearbox mounted behind each wheel. Precision controls, some with GPS location and remote computer monitoring, are now available.

Lateral move (side roll, wheel line) irrigation
A series of pipes, each with a wheel of about 1.5 m diameter permanently affixed to its midpoint and sprinklers along its length, are coupled together at one edge of a field. Water is supplied at one end using a large hose. After sufficient water has been applied, the hose is removed and the remaining assembly rotated either by hand or with a purpose-built mechanism, so that the sprinklers move 10 m across the field. The hose is reconnected. The process is repeated until the opposite edge of the field is reached. This system is less expensive to install than a center pivot, but much more labor intensive to operate, and it is limited in the amount of water it can carry. Most systems utilize 4 or 5 inch diameter aluminum pipe. One feature of a lateral move system is that it consists of sections that can be easily disconnected. They are most often used for small or oddly-shaped fields, such as those found in hilly or mountainous regions, or in regions where labor is inexpensive.

Sub-irrigation
Sub-irrigation also sometimes called seepage irrigation has been used for many years in field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone. Often those systems are located on permanent grasslands in lowlands or river valleys and combined with drainage infrastructure. A system of pumping stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or decrease the water level in a network of ditches and the control the water table thereby.

Sub-irrigation is also used in commercial greenhouse production, usually for potted plants. Water is delivered from below, absorbed upwards, and the excess collected for recycling. Typically, a solution of water and nutrients floods a container or flows through a trough for a short period of time, 10–20 minutes, and is then pumped back into a holding tank for reuse. Sub-irrigation in greenhouses requires fairly sophisticated, expensive equipment and management. Advantages are water and nutrient conservation, and labor-saving through lowered system maintenance and automation. It is similar in principle and action to subsurface drip irrigation.

Manual irrigation using buckets or watering cans
These systems have low requirements for infrastructure and technical equipment but need high labor inputs. Irrigation using watering cans is to be found for example in peri-urban agriculture around large cities in some African countries.

Sources of irrigation water
Sources of irrigation water can be groundwater extracted from springs or by using wells, surface water withdrawn from rivers, lakes or reservoirs or non-conventional sources like treated wastewater, desalinated water or drainage water. A special form of irrigation using surface water is spate irrigation, also called floodwater harvesting. In case of a flood (spate) water is diverted to normally dry river beds (wadi’s) using a network of dams, gates and channels and spread over large areas. The moisture stored in the soil will be used thereafter to grow crops. Spate irrigation areas are in particular located in semi-arid or arid, mountainous regions. While floodwater harvesting belongs to the accepted irrigation methods, rainwater harvesting is usually not considered as a form of irrigation. Rainwater harvesting is the collection of runoff water from roofs or unused land and the concentration of this water on cultivated land. Therefore this method is considered as a water concentration method.

How an in-ground irrigation system works
Most commercial and residential irrigation systems are "in ground" systems, which means that everything is buried in the ground. With the pipes, sprinklers, and irrigation valves being hidden, it makes for a cleaner, more presentable landscape without garden hoses or other items having to be moved around manually.

Water source and piping
The beginning of a sprinkler system is the water source. This is usually a tap into an existing (city) water line or a pump that pulls water out of a well or a pond. The water travels through pipes from the water source through the valves to the sprinklers. The pipes from the water source up to the irrigation valves are called "mainlines", and the lines from the valves to the sprinklers are called "lateral lines". Most piping used in irrigation systems today are HDPE and MDPE or PVC or PEX plastic pressure pipes due to their ease of installation and resistance to corrosion. After the water source, the water usually travels through a back flow prevention device. This prevents water in the irrigation lines from being pulled back into and contaminating the clean water supply.

Controllers, zones, and valves
Most Irrigation systems are divided into zones. A zone is a single Irrigation Valve and one or a group of sprinklers that are connected by pipes. Irrigation Systems are divided into zones because there is usually not enough pressure and available flow to run sprinklers for an entire yard or sports field at once. Each zone has a solenoid valve on it that is controlled via wire by an Irrigation Controller. The Irrigation Controller is either a mechanical or electrical device that signals a zone to turn on at a specific time and keeps it on for a specified amount of time. "Smart Controller" is a recent term used to describe a controller that is capable of adjusting the watering time by itself in response to current environmental conditions. The smart controller determines current conditions by means of historic weather data for the local area, a moisture sensor (water potential or water content), weather station, or a combination of these.

Sprinklers
When a zone comes on, the water flows through the lateral lines and ultimately ends up at the irrigation sprinkler heads. Most sprinklers have pipe thread inlets on the bottom of them which allows a fitting and the pipe to be attached to them. The sprinklers are usually installed with the top of the head flush with the ground surface. When the water is pressurized, the head will pop up out of the ground and water the desired area until the valve closes and shuts off that zone. Once there is no more water pressure in the lateral line, the sprinkler head will retract back into the ground.

Academic resources

 * Irrigation Science, ISSN: 1432-1319 (electronic) 0342-7188 (paper), Springer
 * Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, ISSN: 0733-9437, American Society of Civil Engineers Publications

title: Horticulture/Irrigation


text: User talk:Kadam.pavan

title: User talk:Kadam.pavan


text:
User talk:64.251.49.194

-- Herby talk thyme 14:13, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

March 2011
You cannot edit for 2 days due to your persistent vandalism. You are welcome to contribute constructively when editing privileges are restored. You may appeal this action with a reasonable argument by adding the text below. QU TalkQu 14:29, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

title: User talk:64.251.49.194


text:
Indian Mythology/Ramayana

Ramayana is the second largest Indian epic, after Mahabharatha.

Story outline
Ramayana is the story of one of the incarnations of lord Vishnu, that of Rama. Rama is born as the eldest son of the king Dasharatha, and is heir to the kingdom. During his childhood, he travels with his teacher, Vishwamitra, and learns the art of war and righthood. He marries Sita, who is depicted as the human incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. Later, when time comes for him to be the king, his step-mother intervenes and claims the throne for her son, Bharatha, who is a brother to Rama. Rama gladly gives up the throne and goes into exile for 14 years with his wife and brother Lakshmana. During his exile, the evil king of Lanka, Ravana, falls in love with Seetha, and kidnaps her. Rama and Lakshmana team up with the king of apes, Sugreeva, and storm the island of Lanka. A fierce battle ensues, in which Lakshmana kills Ravana's son, Indrajit, and in the final part, Rama kills Ravana. For generations, Hindus believe Rama as 'Purushotham', means best amongst humans.

title: Indian Mythology/Ramayana


text:
User:Paxinum/Proof styles

The square rooth of 2 is irrational theorem
The square rooth of 2 is irrational, $$ \sqrt{2} \notin \mathbb{Q} $$

Proof
This is a proof by contradiction, so we assumes that $$ \sqrt{2} \in \mathbb{Q} $$ and hence $$ \sqrt{2} = a/b $$ for some a, b that are coprime.

This implies that $$2 = \frac{a^2}{b^2}$$. Rewriting this gives $$2b^2 = a^2 \!\,$$.

Since the left-hand side of the equation is divisible by 2, then so must the right-hand side, i.e., $$2 | a^2 $$. Since 2 is prime, we must have that $$2 | a $$.

So we may substitute a with $$2a'$$, and we have that $$2b^2 = 4a^2 \!\,$$.

Dividing both sides with 2 yields $$b^2 = 2a^2 \!\,$$, and using similar arguments as above, we conclude that  $$2 | b $$.

Here we have a contradiction; we assumed that a and b were coprime, but we have that $$2 | a $$ and $$2 | b $$.

Hence, the assumption were false, and $$ \sqrt{2} $$ cannot be written as a rational number. Hence, it is irrational.

History
Some nice history about the one that first proved this theorem.

title: User:Paxinum/Proof styles


text:
User talk:68.43.6.92

I have noticed that this IP address is doing a lot of good edits to the Muggle's Guide. Thank you, and can I persuade you to get a user ID? Among other things, that allows you to edit from a number of places and have your contributions credited, and it makes it easier to talk to you if we have something we can call you. 68.43.6.92 is such a cumbersome "name", I think.

Meanwhile, please stop correcting "Defence" to "Defense". We have chosen to use the British spelling throughout the Muggle's Guide. Chazz (talk) 17:04, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:68.43.6.92


text:
Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Germination testing

The purpose of a "rag doll" test is to determine the percentage of seeds in a given lot that will successfully germinate. This information can then used for calculating seeding rates.

A simple way to get an idea of the actual field germination prior to planting is to conduct a “ragdoll” test. A “ragdoll” consists of a rolled tube of moistened paper containing the seeds to be tested for germination, placed in plastic bag and stored in a warm place for several days. seedlings are counted as they germinate and are removed, giving the percentage of actual germination.

To conduct a ragdoll test, moisten a brown paper hand towel and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Do not use a "soft" paper towel as are typically found in a home kitchen - seeds can send roots and tops through these complicating the count. Excess water in the towel will cut off oxygen and ruin the test.

Spread the paper towel out on a flat surface, count out 100 seeds and place them in a line (diagonally works well) across the towel. Roll the towel up and place it in a plastic bag. Seal the bag, and place it in a warm place, such as on the top of a refrigerator. A temperature of is ideal.

After four days, remove the towel from the plastic bag, unroll it, and count and remove any seeds that have germinated. Roll the towel back up, return it to the plastic bag, reseal, and return it to the top of the refrigerator.

After three or four more days, repeat the count. The total number of seeds from both counts will equal the germination rate, assuming 100 seeds were used. If a different number of seeds were used, you can calculate the germination rate as follows:

$$Germination\ Rate = \frac{Germinated\ Seeds}{Germinated\ Seeds + Ungerminated\ Seeds} \times 100$$

| /Overlapping requirements


text:
Category:Book:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Overlapping requirements

This category contains modules that are not intended to stand alone, but rather, are included as part of multiple honors. There are many honors that have very similar if not exactly the same requirements, such as Seeds - Advanced and Gardening, both of which require germination testing. Capturing such answers in a single place ensures that all honors with such a requirement can be updated simultaneously.

Click on any module listed here and then find the "what links here" link on the left to see which honors include that module. This may help you find that as you work on one honor, you may be meeting requirements of another, giving you a head start on it.


text:
MINC/Tutorials/Programming01

The MINC version of hello world.
Any introduction to a programming language worth its salt will start with a hello world example. MINC, of course, is not its own programming language; it is a C library. So this tutorial will assume some basic knowledge of C, and will guide the reader through opening and reading MINC volumes and then move on to more advanced topics, discussing some of the peculiarities of the MINC file format along the way.

All code examples will work with the MINC library version 2.x (tested on 2.0.13). There are two other libraries for accessing data in MINC files: the MINC version 1.x library, and volume_io. The vast majority of currently existing code uses either of those two; MINC2 is a new library recently introduced. One important difference is that MINC2 can only read version 2.x files; older files have to be converted using the mincconvert command.

The code will be split up and commented upon in pieces for all these tutorials. The unadulterated source code can be found at the end of each tutorial.

The code compiles in the following way (assuming that the minc-toolkit-v2 is installed in /opt/minc/1.9.15):

gcc -g -o minc2_tutorial1 -I /opt/minc/1.9.15/include -L /opt/minc/1.9.15/lib -lminc2 -lhdf5 -lniftiio -lznz -lz -lm -ldl -lrt -lnetcdf minc2_tutorial1.c

Hello World
So on to the hello world example. Here we open a MINC2 volume and get the value of the first voxel.

The include files - only minc2.h is needed for getting all the minc2 functionality.

The data types: the only non-standard one here is mihandle_t, a struct which will be needed by almost all minc2 functions that need to do something or other on a minc2 volume.

And here is the first minc2 command: miopen_volume, which you guessed it, opens a minc2 volume specified by a C string, an indicator of whether the file should be open for reading or writing (reading in this case), and the address of the mihandle_t struct which, if the operation succeeded, will then hold important information about the volume.

Now we get the first voxel, specified by volume coordinates 0,0,0. We are just looking at three-dimensional volumes here, so we created an unsigned long array of three elements, and assigned them all to be 0. We then call the miget_real_value function, specifying the volume handle to get the voxel from, the location (the unsigned long array), the number of dimensions in the file, and the address of the double to which to assign the voxel value. And then we print it to the terminal.

And that was it - the first and quite simple MINC2 program, really just needing two library calls: opening the volume and getting the voxel.

title: MINC/Tutorials/Programming01


text:
Technology Supported Learning & Retention/Program Standard 16

Program Standard 16: Using Technology to Support Student Learning

http://www.btsasacramento.org/pdf/QSTAND.pdf

Each participating teacher builds upon the knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired during preliminary preparation for the delivery of comprehensive, specialized use of appropriate computer-based technology to facilitate the teaching and learning processes. Each participating teacher is a fluent, critical user of technology, able to provide a relevant education and to prepare his/her students to be life-long learners in an information-based, interactive society. Each participating teacher makes appropriate and efficient use of software applications and related media to access and evaluate information, analyze and solve problems, and communicate ideas in order to maximize the instructional process. This use of technology supports teaching and learning regardless of individual learning style, socioeconomic background, culture, ethnicity, or geographic location. Each participating teacher integrates these technology-related tools into the educational experience of students, including those with special needs.

Standard 16: Using Technology to Support Student Learning
 * Standard 16a: Communicate using electronic media
 * Standard 16b: Collaborate using electronic and other tools
 * Standard 16c: Curriculum-aligned electronic learning resources
 * Standard 16d: Lessons to develop lifelong learning skills
 * Standard 16e: Technology to teach curriculum and learning skills
 * Standard 16f: Computers for analysis, assessment and feedback

These are K-12 credentialing requirements. The Technology Enhanced Instruction course was initially designed for community college faculty based on the best practices for higher education. Reviewing the Standard 16 requirements against the objectives and curriculum for Technology Enhanced Instruction, it became clear that the overall practices and concepts are closely aligned and each can benefit from the important elements of the other.

Implementation and demonstration of these standards is required for K-12 teaching credentialing. Although there is no longer an equivalent requirement for higher education (13-14) instruction, faculty can extend their instructional practices knowledge and professional development through reference to these standards. To that end, the following is a list of the standards and some examples of how participants might apply and demonstrate their use.

Program Standard 16: Using Technology to Support Student Learning

 * a. Communications through a variety of media - email, discussion forums, chat
 * b. Communications with other professionals using a variety of methods - forums, collaboration
 * c. Uses technology resources: classroom, library - web references, graphics, images, audio, video
 * d. Students develop information literacy and problem solving - assignments, discussion forums
 * e. Technology in lessons - lesson plan, profile of pratice, framework, unit design
 * f. Application of data to inform students learning to their parents - electronic grading, grading reports
 * g. Reflects and monitors the results of using technology in instruction / student assessment - observation, data analysis, reflection


text:
Category:Book:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Transcluded Modules

The modules are transcluded in one or more chapters in the Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book.


text:
User:Whiteknight/categorize.js

var cg = { version:  2.05, textspan: "WKCGSpan", editspan: "WKCGFormSpanEdit", statspan: "WKCGStatSpan", formspan: "WKCGFormSpan" } cg.tags = ""; cg.notes = ""; cg.subjects = new Array( ["opt",                     "Computing"],  ["Software (general)",      "Computer software"],  ["Programming Language",    "Programming language"],  ["Business Software",       "Computer software"],  ["Computer Science",        "Computer science"],  ["Operating Systems",       "Computer software"],  ["Computer Graphics",       "Computer science"],  ["Information Technology",  "Information technology"],  ["Meta Languages",          "Domain-specific languages"],  ["opt",                     "Engineering"],  ["Engineering (general)",   "Engineering"],  ["Electrical Engineering",  "Electrical Engineering"],  ["Computer Engineering",    "Computer Engineering"],  ["Elec / Comp Engineering", "Electrical Engineering|Computer Engineering"],  ["Mechanical Engineering",  "Mechanical Engineering"],  ["Civil Engineering",       "Civil Engineering"],  ["Chemical Engineering",    "Chemical Engineering"], ["opt",                    "Science and Technology"], ["Science (general)",      "Science"], ["Physics",                "Physics"], ["Medicine",               "Health science"], ["Technology",             "Technology"], ["Biology",                "Biology"], ["Life Science",           "Life Science"], ["Mathematics",            "Mathematics"], ["Chemistry",              "Chemistry"], ["Earth Sciences",         "Earth Sciences"], ["Environmental Science",  "Environmental Science"], ["opt",                    "Arts and Humanities"], ["Art",                    "Arts"], ["Music",                  "Music"], ["Architecture",           "Architecture"], ["Education",              "Education"], ["Languages",              "Languages"], ["English and Literature", "Language and literature"], ["Philosophy",             "Philosophy"], ["Psychology",             "Social Sciences"], ["Religion",               "Religion"], ["Geography",              "Humanities"], ["opt",                    "Social sciences"], ["History (general)",      "History"], ["History (usa)",          "History"], ["Business and Economics", "Business and economics"], ["Law",                    "Law"], ["Social Science",         "Social sciences"], ["Agriculture",            "Social sciences"], ["Political Science",      "Political Science"], ["Military Science",       "Military science"], ["Naval Science",          "Naval science"], ["opt",                    "Miscellaneous"], ["Games and Athletics",    "Games and athletics"], ["How To",                 "How-tos"], ["Study Guides",           "Study guides"], ["Help",                   "Help"], ["Misc",                   "Miscellaneous"] );

cg._form = null; cg.getForm = function { if(cg._form == null) cg.createForm; return cg._form; } cg.bookName = ""; cg.getBookName = function { cg.bookName = cg._booknameB.value; return cg.bookName; }

cg.makeOptgroup = function (parent, i) { for(i < cg.subjects.length; i++) { if(cg.subjects[i][0] == "opt") return i - 1; else { parent.appendChild(wk.makeElement("option", {value:i}, cg.subjects[i][0])); } }  return i; }

cg.makeSubjectSelect = function(num, multi) { var s = (num == null)?(1):(num); cg._subjectB = wk.makeElement("select", {id:"WKCGSubjectB", size:s, name:"WKCGSubjectB"}); if(multi) { cg._subjectB.multiple = true; } for(i = 0; i < cg.subjects.length; i++) { if(cg.subjects[i][0] == "opt") { var node = wk.makeElement("optgroup", {label:cg.subjects[i][1]}); i = cg.makeOptgroup(node, i + 1); cg._subjectB.appendChild(node); } else { var node = wk.makeElement("option", {value:i}, subjects[i][0]); cg._subjectB.appendChild(node); } }  return cg._subjectB; }

cg.writeCats = function (subject, bookname) { var temp = "{" + "{Subject|" + subject[1] + "}}\n"; if(bookname == "") temp += "{" + "{Alphabetical}}\n"; else temp += "{" + "{Alphabetical|" + bookname.substr(0, 1) + "}}"; return temp; }

cg.createForm = function { var div = wk.spanText(cg.formspan, ""); if(div == null) return; cg._displayB = wk.makeButton("WKCGDisplayB",   "Display",    cg.display); cg._editB = wk.makeButton("WKCGEditB",         "Edit",       cg.edit); cg._booknameB = wk.makeInput("WKCGBookNameB", "") cg._form = wk.makeElement("form", {name:"WKCGFormB", method:"GET"}, [   cg._booknameB,    " ",    cg.makeSubjectSelect,    wk.makeButton("WKCGCategorizeB", "Categorize", cg.categorize),    " ",    cg._displayB,    cg._editB,    wk.makeButton("WKCGClearB",      "Clear",      cg.clear)  ]); wk.toggleDisable(cg._displayB, true); wk.toggleDisable(cg._editB, true); div.appendChild(cg._form); } if(typeof wk == 'object' && wk.testVersion(2.40)) { addOnloadHook(cg.createForm); }

cg.clear = function { wk.toggleDisable(cg._displayB, true); wk.toggleDisable(cg._editB,   true); wk.spanText(cg.textspan, ""); wk.spanText(cg.statspan, ""); }

cg.categorize = function { cg.clear; alert("a"); cg.getBookName; alert("b"); var form = cg.getForm; var select = cg._subjectB; var index = select.options[select.selectedIndex].value; var subject = cg.subjects[index]; alert("c"); cg.tags = cg.writeCats(subject, cg.bookName); cg.notes = "Notes: " + "These are the templates necessary to categorize your book as being \"" +    "" + subject[0] + "\""; cg.notes = cg.notes + ""; alert("d"); wk.toggleDisable(cg._displayB, false); wk.toggleDisable(cg._editB, false); wk.spanText(cg.statspan, "Created categories for " +   ((cg.bookName == "")?("Unknown Book"):(wk.wikiLinkText(cg.bookName))) +    ". Click Display to see the created category templates. " +    "Click Edit to display an edit window and save changes."); alert("e"); }

cg.display = function { wk.spanText(cg.textspan,    " "); if(cg.getBookName == "") { wk.spanText(cg.statspan,      "These are the categorization templates for your book. " +      "Copy and Paste these templates into your book."); } else { wk.spanText(cg.statspan,      "These are the categorization templates for " +      wk.wikiLinkText(cg.bookName) +      ". Copy and Paste these templates into your book, or click " +      "Edit to display an edit window and save these changes."); } }

cg.edit = function { if(cg.getBookName == "") { setSpanText(cg.statspan, "You must enter a valid book name to Edit"); return; } wk.spanText(cg.statspan, "Loading edit window..."); wk.loadEditPage(cg.bookName, function(xml) {   var editform = wk.showEditWindow(xml, cg.textspan);    var temp = editform.text.value;    if(temp.length < 20) {      wk.spanText(cg.statspan, "The page " +        wk.wikiLinkText(cg.bookName) +        " does not exist or is not a proper book table of contents (TOC). " + "You should only categorize proper book pages or " + "TOCs. Double-check the spelling of the title, if the page is supposed " + "to exist. If the book does not yet exist, create it first with Whiteknight's " + wk.wikiLinkText("User:Whiteknight/Book Designer Gadget", "Book Designer Gadget") + ".");     wk.spanText(cg.textspan, "");      return;    }    editform.summary.value = cg.bookName +       ": Autocategorizing using Whiteknight's Categorization Gadget";    temp = temp.replace(/\{\{cleanup-link\}\}\n*/gi, "");    temp = temp.replace(/\{\{(alphabetical|DDC|LOC|Shelf)([^\}])*\}\}/gi, "");    temp = temp.replace(/\{\{(software|programming language|business software|computer science|operating systems|computer graphics)\}\}/gi, "");    temp = temp.replace(/\n\n\n+/g, "\n\n");    editform.text.value = temp + "\n" + cg.tags;    wk.spanText(cg.statspan, "You are editing the text for " +     wk.wikiLinkText(cg.bookName) +      ". The categorization templates have been appended to the end of the page. " + "Make sure that the text is correct, and then click Save Page." ); }); }

cg.createForm2 = function { var div = document.getElementById(cg.editspan); if(div == null) return; wk.toggleDisplay(div, "block"); cg.bookName = div.innerHTML; cg._booknameB = wk.makeElement("input", {type:"hidden", id:"WKCGBookNameB", value:cg.bookName}) cg._form = wk.makeElement("form", {name:"WKCGFormB", method:"GET"}, [   cg._booknameB,    cg.makeSubjectSelect,    wk.makeButton("WKCGCategorizeB", "Categorize", cg.categorize2)  ]); div.appendChild(cg._form); } if(typeof wk == "object" && wk.testVersion(2.40)) { addOnloadHook(cg.createForm2); }

cg.categorize2 = function { cg.getBookName; var select = cg._subjectB; var index = select.options[select.selectedIndex].value; tags = cg.writeCats(cg.subjects[index], cg.bookName); var editwin = document.getElementById("wpTextbox1"); if(editwin) { var temp = editwin.value; temp = temp.replace(/\{\{(Alphabetical|DDC|LOC|UDC|Shelf|Subject)([^\}])*\}\}/gi, ""); temp = temp.replace(/\{\{(software|programming language|business software|computer science|operating systems|computer graphics|engineering)\}\}/gi, ""); temp = temp.replace(/\n\n\n+/g, "\n\n"); editwin.value = temp + "\n" + tags; } }

cg.returnAllSelected = function { var subjects = cg._subjectB; var opts = new Array; for(var i = 0; i < subjects.options.length; i++) { if(subjects.options[i].selected) { var index = subjects.options[i].value; opts.push(cg.subjects[index][1]); } }  return opts; }

cg.getItemIndex = function (item) { for(var i = 0; i < cg.subjects.length; i++) { if(cg.subjects[i][0] == 'opt') continue; if(cg.subjects[i][0] == item) return i;   if(cg.subjects[i][1] == item) return i;  } return 0; }

cg.setItemSelected = function(value) { for(var i = 0; i < cg._subjectB.options.length; i++) { if(cg._subjectB.options[i].value == value) { cg._subjectB.options[i].selected = true; return i;   } } return 0; }

cg.setSelected = function(opts) { var subjects = cg._subjectB; var index = 0; for(var i = 0; i < opts.length; i++) { if(typeof opts[i] == 'string') { index = cg.getItemIndex(opts[i]); } else { index = opts[i]; }        cg.setItemSelected(index); } }

title: User:Whiteknight/categorize.js