Worldwide, there is a well-documented crisis for bees and other pollinators which represent a fundamental biotic capital for wild life conservation, ecosystem function, and crop production. Among all pollinators of the world, bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) constitute the major group in species number and importance, followed by hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae). The Aegean constitutes one of the world's hotspots for wild bee and other pollinator diversity including flies (mainly hover flies and bee flies), beetles, and butterflies. Despite this advantage, our present knowledge on Greek pollinators is poor, due to a lack of focused and systematic research, absence of relevant taxonomic keys, and a general lack of taxonomic experts in the country. As a result, assessments of pollinator loss cannot be carried out and the causes for the potential pollinator loss in the country remain unknown. Consequently, the desperately needed National Red Data list for pollinators cannot be compiled. This new research (2012–2015) aims to contribute to the knowledge of the pollinator diversity in Greece, the threats pollinators face, as well as the impacts these threats may have on pollination services. The research is conducted in the Aegean archipelago on >20 islands and several mainland sites in Greece and Turkey. Prime goals are: i. the assessment of bee and hover fly diversity (species, genetic); ii. their pollination services; and iii. the effects of climate change, grazing, intensive bee-keeping, fires, electromagnetic radiation on bee diversity and ecology, as well as on plant–pollinator networks. At the same time, this research contributes to the taxonomic capital in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on the creation of the first identification keys for pollinators, the training of new scientists, as well as the enrichment and further development of the Melissotheque of the Aegean, a permanent reference collection of insect pollinators established at the University of the Aegean. ; En todo el mundo hay una crisis bien documentada para las abejas y otros polinizadores los cuales representan un capital biótico fundamental para la conservación de la vida silvestre, la función de los ecosistemas, y la producción de cultivos. Entre todos los polinizadores del mundo, las abejas (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) constituyen el grupo principal en cuanto al número de especies y su importancia, seguido por los sírfidos (Diptera: Syrphidae). El Egeo constituye uno de los puntos importantes de diversidad de abejas silvestres y otros polinizadores del mundo, incluyendo moscas (principalmente sírfidos y bombílidos), escarabajos y mariposas. A pesar de esta ventaja, los conocimientos actuales sobre los polinizadores griegos son reducidos, debido a la falta de una investigación focalizada y sistemática, la ausencia de claves taxonómicas pertinentes, y una falta general de expertos en taxonomía en el país. Como resultado, no se pueden llevar a cabo evaluaciones de la pérdida de polinizadores y las causas de la pérdida potencial de polinizadores en el país siguen siendo desconocidas. En consecuencia, la imperiosamente necesitaba Lista Roja de datos para polinizadores no se puede compilar. Esta nueva investigación (2012-2015) tiene como objetivo contribuir al conocimiento de la diversidad de polinizadores en Grecia, enfrentarse a las amenazas para los polinizadores, así como investigar el impacto que estas amenazas pueden tener sobre los servicios de polinización. La investigación se llevará a cabo en el archipiélago del mar Egeo en más de 20 islas y en varios sitios del continente en Grecia y Turquía. Los principales objetivos son: i. la evaluación de la diversidad de abejas y sírfidos (especies, genética); ii. sus servicios de polinización, y iii. los efectos del cambio climático, el pastoreo, la apicultura intensiva, los incendios y las radiaciones electromagnéticas sobre la diversidad de abejas y la ecología, así como en las redes planta-polinizador. Al mismo tiempo, esta investigación contribuirá a la taxonomía en Grecia y el Mediterráneo Oriental, centrándose en primer lugar en la creación de las claves de identificación para polinizadores, la formación de nuevos científicos, así como el enriquecimiento y el desarrollo de la Melisoteca del Egeo, una colección de referencia permanente de los insectos polinizadores establecidos en la Universidad del Egeo. ; This research is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund—ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: Thales -Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.
The title of this work is: Is it legitimate to impose 100 % personal income tax? The tackled problem in this work is that as the Government creates new tax policy it also creates some uncertainty in the society because of vagueness of legal limitations to impose maximum tax burden. It creates a lot of discussion in society as people on micro economical level very vulnerable to Government's moves in changing tax policy. The actuality of this problem is that after 2008 global financial crisis the interest in society towards economical issues skyrocketed into unseen level and internet news sites were bombarded by differently economically educated people. Indeed, the changes in tax policy touches almost every person's life and there is proverbial Benjamin Franklin saying that "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes". The stability of tax policy for businesses and investors is of most importance when choosing country to invest and the acts of Government witnesses about its readiness to keep promises by creating long term stable legal business environment. In country, where is "rule of law", one thing to evaluate the Government decision to raise tax level is to question its legitimacy. Every such decision to change tax policy should be grounded in specific needs and situations. The problem is not with individual tax but with general tax level. The finding of maximum level of taxation would give more clarity to state and it's citizen relationship as such kind of vagueness is one of the most powerful "generators" of distrust towards the Government. Thus it is of fundamental importance to answer question: is it legitimate to have 100 % personal income tax? The object of this work – maximum limits of tax burden. The following tasks were set for this works: 1. To reveal the essence of tax duty. 2. To identify assumptions for existence of tax duties. 3. To identify assumptions for impossibility to exist tax duties. 4. To ground the necessity for liberal state to finance itself through tax collection. 5. To do research on historical data of heavy taxation cases. 6. To separate historical events into categories, when there were different barriers to impose maximum taxes. 7. To analyse specific legal acts of Lithuanian Republic, where the law in advance regulates some possible adverse events in the future. 5 The objective of this works is to analyse the legitimacy of unlimited raise of tax burden. As research on this question progressed, a lot of attention was devoted to revealing the essence of tax duty, the grounding of tax duty and the search for maximum tax burden limits and it's legitimacy. The objective was successfully achieved by analyzing the tax law literature, political – legal theories and theoretical and practical aspects of tax burden regulation. The research showed that the imposition of tax burden is inevitable element of society organization forms, in order to exist for such tax burden there is a need for existence both of state property and private property, the impossibility to exist for tax burden can be either in such cases when there is no private property (advocated by social anarchists) or when there is no state property (advocated by liberal anarchists) and modern liberal (modern state operating in market economy) state has both forms of property. The historical analyzes of tax policies showed, that it is common thing to raise tax burden to maximum level when there is some serious political, social, military or other kind of crisis. When there is no such crisis usually the state possibility to raise taxes is limited by famous curve of Lafevre as state cannot directly control the tax paying process and society consider heavy taxes as ungrounded and consequently opposes it. In case of serious crisis in the future the Government of Lithuania Republic can change the laws aposteriori, but already now there are some laws that apriori regulate the behaviour in possible difficult situations in the future. After the research, the conclusion can be made that the hypothesis that it is legitimate for the State to set very high level of taxation, has been confirmed with reservation, that it is applicable to situations, when there is a difficult military, political, social etc. environment.
WOS: 000319871200001 ; PubMed ID: 23198723 ; Aims: Urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) is a widely used biomarker of oxidative stress. However, variability between chromatographic and ELISA methods hampers interpretation of data, and this variability may increase should urine composition differ between individuals, leading to assay interference. Furthermore, optimal urine sampling conditions are not well defined. We performed inter-laboratory comparisons of 8-oxodG measurement between mass spectrometric-, electrochemical- and ELISA-based methods, using common within-technique calibrants to analyze 8-oxodG-spiked phosphate-buffered saline and urine samples. We also investigated human subject- and sample collection-related variables, as potential sources of variability. Results: Chromatographic assays showed high agreement across urines from different subjects, whereas ELISAs showed far more inter-laboratory variation and generally overestimated levels, compared to the chromatographic assays. Excretion rates in timed 'spot' samples showed strong correlations with 24 h excretion (the 'gold' standard) of urinary 8-oxodG (r(p) 0.67-0.90), although the associations were weaker for 8-oxodG adjusted for creatinine or specific gravity (SG). The within-individual excretion of 8-oxodG varied only moderately between days (CV 17% for 24 h excretion and 20% for first void, creatinine-corrected samples). Innovation: This is the first comprehensive study of both human and methodological factors influencing 8-oxodG measurement, providing key information for future studies with this important biomarker. Conclusion: ELISA variability is greater than chromatographic assay variability, and cannot determine absolute levels of 8-oxodG. Use of standardized calibrants greatly improves intra-technique agreement and, for the chromatographic assays, importantly allows integration of results for pooled analyses. If 24 h samples are not feasible, creatinine- or SG-adjusted first morning samples are recommended. ; ECNIS (Environmental Cancer Risk, Nutrition and Individual Susceptibility), a network of excellence operating within the European Union 6th Framework Program, Priority 5:"Food Quality and Safety" [FOOD-CT-2005-513943]; ECNIS2, a coordination and support action within the European Union FP7 Cooperation Theme 2 Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnologies; CISBO; Ingeborg; Leo Dannin Foundation; National Science Council, TaiwanNational Science Council of Taiwan [NSC 97-2314-B-040-015-MY3, NSC 100-2628-B-040-001-MY4]; US NIHUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [P30ES009089]; Instituto Carlos III division of the Government for Clinical Research [PI-10/00802, RD06/0045/0006]; Generalitat ValencianaGeneralitat Valenciana [ACOM/2012/238]; Swedish Council for Working Life and Social ResearchSwedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council for Health Working Life & Welfare (Forte); TUBITAK (Technical and Scientific Research Council of Turkey)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [108Y049]; Grant Agency of the Czech RepublicGrant Agency of the Czech Republic [P503/11/0084]; Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg; UK Medical Research Council via a People Exchange Programme Research Leader Fellowship award [G1001808/98136] ; Some of the authors of this work were partners in, and this work was partly supported by, ECNIS (Environmental Cancer Risk, Nutrition and Individual Susceptibility), a network of excellence operating within the European Union 6th Framework Program, Priority 5:"Food Quality and Safety" (Contract No. FOOD-CT-2005-513943), and also ECNIS 2 , a coordination and support action within the European Union FP7 Cooperation Theme 2 Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnologies.; P Moller and S Loft are supported by CISBO and the Ingeborg and Leo Dannin Foundation.; M-R Chao and C-W Hu acknowledge financial support from the National Science Council, Taiwan (Grants NSC 97-2314-B-040-015-MY3 and NSC 100-2628-B-040-001-MY4).; R Santella acknowledges the contribution of Qiao Wang, and support from US NIH P30ES009089.; G Saez and C Cerda acknowledge financial support from the Instituto Carlos III division of the Government for Clinical Research (Grants PI-10/00802 and RD06/0045/0006) and Grant ACOM/2012/238 from Generalitat Valenciana.; K Broberg, C Lindh, and M Hossain acknowledge financial support from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research; H Orhan and N Senduran acknowledge financial support from TUBITAK (Technical and Scientific Research Council of Turkey), grant number 108Y049.; P Rossner, Jr. and RJ Sram acknowledge support from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P503/11/0084).; L Barregard acknowledges financial support from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg.; MS Cooke acknowledges support from the UK Medical Research Council via a People Exchange Programme Research Leader Fellowship award (G1001808/98136).
Schools implement a lot of various programmes of socialization. Some of them are included into the content of training, some are included into the content of training, some are developed in extracurricular activities, in various clubs at school and outside it and etc. There are some programmes which are accomplished the whole year, the state programmes, the programmes which are supported by the institutions of local government, international and national programmes. The abundance of these programmes is often the challenge for the teachers, social pedagogues, because it is needed to agree about the chosen programmes and how to realize them at school. There are not any researches, how the programmes of socialization help the teachers and school to achieve the raised training purposes. In the research it is tried to find out the opinion of the social pedagogues and the teachers about the realization of the preventive programmes and the programmes of socialization and compare the opinions of the teachers and social pedagogues about the possibilities of realization of the programmes of socialization at schools. The purpose of the research: To analyse the realization of the programmes of socialization at schools of general education from the point of view of the teachers. The objectives of the research: 1. To analyse the scientific literature, which concerns the concept of socialization and the problems of the content of training. 2. To study the documents and the acts of law, regulating socialization, and observe the development of the national programmes of socialization. 3. To find out the opinion of social pedagogues and teachers about the possibilieties of realization of the programmes of socialization at the teachers and social pedagogues about the possibilities of realization of the programmes of socialization at schools. 4. To prepare recommendations of the suitability of the programmes of socialization in training certain common competences and life skills. Methods: For collection of the data was chosen half-structural method of the interview which includes ten questions, presented to the social pedagogues and teachers. In the research was found out that pedagogues understand the importance of the relation of child socialization and the role of school. The teachers approve of the integration of the programmes of socialization into the content of training and informal training. It is suggested to ensure the concord of the integration of the programmes of socialization into formal and informal training. It is important to know, choosing the programme of socialization, which programme school is going to realize. Respondents know a lot of preventive programmes, in which schools take part, however, they state, that the programmes are realized by separate teachers, the realized preventive programmes are lack of integrity and consistency. Implanted in Lithuania OLWEUS programme of prevention violence and bullying is considered as an example of the lasting programme of socialization. The opinions concurred with the statement that it is the most effective preventive programme nowadays. Both groups of respondents support the lasting programmes of socialization, which could last the year or more. It is suggested to include the lacking programmes of training social skills, the preventive programmes of using drugs and other harmful substances and the summer programmes of entertaining children. For successful realization of the programmes of socialization the institutions of the national level should ensure integration of the programmes of socialization into the concord of formal and informal training, to provide for financing of the specific programmes, to induce the institutions, creating similar programmes, to forsee integration of the new programmes into the entire process of training, to create the methods of the programme realization, to finance the training of the teachers. The institutions of local administration, where the programmes of socialization will be realized, should get additional financing which can be assigned for realization of the children entertaining summer programmes and training social skills and etc. Every school, which decided to take part in the programme of socialization, schould carry out n investigation for the purpose to establish the actual school problems, the opinion of parents, students and teachers, to show, which certain programme is suitable for realization at school. School administration must actively take part in realization of the programme, motivate teachers, coordinate the works of the team. The teachers, realizing the lasting programme of socialization, should work in teams, share their experience.
Schools implement a lot of various programmes of socialization. Some of them are included into the content of training, some are included into the content of training, some are developed in extracurricular activities, in various clubs at school and outside it and etc. There are some programmes which are accomplished the whole year, the state programmes, the programmes which are supported by the institutions of local government, international and national programmes. The abundance of these programmes is often the challenge for the teachers, social pedagogues, because it is needed to agree about the chosen programmes and how to realize them at school. There are not any researches, how the programmes of socialization help the teachers and school to achieve the raised training purposes. In the research it is tried to find out the opinion of the social pedagogues and the teachers about the realization of the preventive programmes and the programmes of socialization and compare the opinions of the teachers and social pedagogues about the possibilities of realization of the programmes of socialization at schools. The purpose of the research: To analyse the realization of the programmes of socialization at schools of general education from the point of view of the teachers. The objectives of the research: 1. To analyse the scientific literature, which concerns the concept of socialization and the problems of the content of training. 2. To study the documents and the acts of law, regulating socialization, and observe the development of the national programmes of socialization. 3. To find out the opinion of social pedagogues and teachers about the possibilieties of realization of the programmes of socialization at the teachers and social pedagogues about the possibilities of realization of the programmes of socialization at schools. 4. To prepare recommendations of the suitability of the programmes of socialization in training certain common competences and life skills. Methods: For collection of the data was chosen half-structural method of the interview which includes ten questions, presented to the social pedagogues and teachers. In the research was found out that pedagogues understand the importance of the relation of child socialization and the role of school. The teachers approve of the integration of the programmes of socialization into the content of training and informal training. It is suggested to ensure the concord of the integration of the programmes of socialization into formal and informal training. It is important to know, choosing the programme of socialization, which programme school is going to realize. Respondents know a lot of preventive programmes, in which schools take part, however, they state, that the programmes are realized by separate teachers, the realized preventive programmes are lack of integrity and consistency. Implanted in Lithuania OLWEUS programme of prevention violence and bullying is considered as an example of the lasting programme of socialization. The opinions concurred with the statement that it is the most effective preventive programme nowadays. Both groups of respondents support the lasting programmes of socialization, which could last the year or more. It is suggested to include the lacking programmes of training social skills, the preventive programmes of using drugs and other harmful substances and the summer programmes of entertaining children. For successful realization of the programmes of socialization the institutions of the national level should ensure integration of the programmes of socialization into the concord of formal and informal training, to provide for financing of the specific programmes, to induce the institutions, creating similar programmes, to forsee integration of the new programmes into the entire process of training, to create the methods of the programme realization, to finance the training of the teachers. The institutions of local administration, where the programmes of socialization will be realized, should get additional financing which can be assigned for realization of the children entertaining summer programmes and training social skills and etc. Every school, which decided to take part in the programme of socialization, schould carry out n investigation for the purpose to establish the actual school problems, the opinion of parents, students and teachers, to show, which certain programme is suitable for realization at school. School administration must actively take part in realization of the programme, motivate teachers, coordinate the works of the team. The teachers, realizing the lasting programme of socialization, should work in teams, share their experience.
Insignamentu bislinguu ; Integrazione ; Cumpetenze prufessiunale ; Guvernanza ; Rilazione Scola-famiglie ; Curriculum ; Mutivazione ; The Paradigm of the plurilingual and intercultural education seems to bring about a fruitful answer to the break of the natural transmission of the Corsican language, to parentocracy encouraging the involvement of families and to the disillusionment of the teaching community stemming from studies in the sociology of education. Appearing as a philosophic and didactic break with the national educational tradition, the implementation of a bilingual teaching at first came to life thanks to militant teachers, putting into question the material aspect of such a teaching, but also questioning the values of the various forces. The legal elaboration, still in process today, allowed crossing a qualitative and quantitative threshold permitting considering its generalization in the nursery schools of more than four classes. The structuration of the bilingual school does not refer to a top-down model of management. Because of the democratic process which started it, it involves a type of governance shared between the territorial and national political key players, and users as well. It is thus the question of the meaning not only of Education, but also the one that the various social forces give to this new educational paradigm which is questioned: Is it about an evolution that could develop social cohesion on a long term basis and result in a Corsican cultural citizenship? Taking into account the acknowledged societal stake of the Corsican language at School, what are the new consequences of the school processes of integration and differentiation elaborated by families in the context of generalization of the bi/plurilingual education in Corsica? We make the hypothesis that the optional school offer of a bilingual education in urban zones or in schools with double courses, participate in the segregation of the public according to their ethno-social background. We led our investigation with primary school teachers, but also with families, using either a questionnaire or a semi-managed interview. The collection and the analysis of academic data allow us to present a complete state of the bilingual school as well as the stakes the key players of its governance are confronted with. Beyond the identified obstacles, it is also a matter of thinking the possible improvements in terms of efficiency and equity in the compulsory state School. Key words: Bilingual education, Integration, Professional skills, Governance, School-family relationship, Curriculum, Motivation. ; Le paradigme de l'éducation plurilingue et interculturelle semble apporter une réponse féconde à la rupture de la transmission naturelle de la langue corse, à la parentocratie encourageant la mobilisation des familles et au désenchantement enseignant révélé par les travaux de la sociologie de l'éducation. Se présentant comme une rupture philosophique et didactique avec la tradition pédagogique nationale, la mise en place d'un enseignement bilingue d'abord animée par des enseignants militants, pose certes des questions de moyens, mais elle interroge aussi les valeurs des différents acteurs. L'élaboration juridique, encore en cours aujourd'hui, a permis de franchir un seuil qualitatif et quantitatif permettant d'envisager sa généralisation dans les maternelles de plus de quatre classes. La structuration de l'Ecole bilingue ne fait pas référence à un modèle de pilotage du haut vers le bas. Par le processus démocratique qui l'a impulsée, elle met en jeu un type de gouvernance partagée entre les acteurs politiques territoriaux et nationaux, ainsi que les usagers. Le développement de l'enseignement bilingue représente-t-il une évolution susceptible de développer durablement la cohésion sociale et de déboucher sur une citoyenneté culturelle corse ? Dans l'enjeu sociétal reconnu de la langue corse à l'Ecole, quelles sont les conséquences nouvelles des processus scolaires d'intégration et de différenciation élaborés par les familles dans le contexte de généralisation de l'enseignement bi/plurilingue en Corse ? Nous émettons l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'offre scolaire facultative d'un enseignement bilingue en milieu urbain ou dans des écoles à double filière, participe à la ségrégation des publics selon leurs origines ethno-sociales. Nous avons enquêté auprès des professeurs des écoles, mais aussi auprès des familles, par questionnaire ou par entretien semi-dirigé. Le recueil et l'analyse des données académiques nous permettent de présenter un état complet de l'école bilingue ainsi que les enjeux auxquels les acteurs de sa gouvernance sont confrontés. Au-delà des obstacles identifiés, il s'agit aussi d'envisager des pistes susceptibles d'améliorer l'efficacité et l'équité de l'Ecole publique et obligatoire. Mots clés : Enseignement bilingue, Intégration, Compétences professionnelles, Gouvernance, Relations Ecole-familles, Curriculum, Motivation.
Subject of the final master's thesis is topical, because development and functioning of the common European Union monetary policy is especially important step in European integration, opening the way for final political approach of the member states. Thus a detailed study of this sphere of the European Union politics is necessary striving to cognize possibilities and challenges of the future integration processes. The last expansion in the Euro-area happened on 1 January 2009, when the euro was introduced in Slovakia. A number of the EU member states that use the currency of the European Union increased up to sixteen. Though Estonia still hasn't reached complete integration in the EMU process, yet in May 2010 European Commission officially suggested Estonia to join the Euro-area from 1 January 2011. Objective of the research is to assess Slovakia's and Estonia's economic and legal convergence. Considering the objective of the research and set tasks, stages of development of the Economic and Monetary Union in Europe are covered in the work in theoretical aspect, advantages and disadvantages of participation in the Economic and Monetary Union are highlighted; policy of the European Central Bank and other institutions of the European Union in the process of euro-area expansion is analysed; conformity of Slovakia's and Estonia's macroeconomic indices to criteria of Maastricht convergence and harmonization of the European Union Law and national law of the mentioned countries and estimation of Slovakia's benefits being in euro-area is presented as well as Estonia's preparation to join the Economic and Monetary Union. Performed dynamic analysis of Slovakia and Estonia's inflation, government budget deficit and gross debt, long-term interest rate and national currency stability level as well as analysis of the documents of the European Union, Slovakia and Estonia has revealed that Slovakia's convergence criteria have stabilized just after joining the EU and particular attention was paid to inflation reduction process. In convergence reports of 2008 published by the European Central Bank and European Commission Slovakia satisfied economic convergence criteria at least during the short period, however price stability and fiscal development durability in the long-term perspective remained unvalued. Situation in 2009 is a matter of great concern not only because of the price increase tendencies but also through unreliable management of public finances. Situation in Estonia is a bit different; however stabilisation of convergence criteria is also noticeable after joining the EU. While Slovakia has been trying to stabilize and retain convergence criteria keeping within control limits, Estonian Government spared a lot of attention towards securing stability of public finances, and this is proved by the fact that fiscal surplus and amount of gross debt of the government sector having prevailed during the period 2003 – 2008 haven't exceeded the limit of 8 per cent of GDP. However economic crisis that broke in 2008 caused overheat of Estonian economics. Inflation became uncontrolled and reached 10,6 per cent, deficit of government sector increased, simultaneously increasing the gross debt of the government sector. Thus Estonia's convergence in the long-term perspective is estimated as nondurable through macroeconomic imbalance likely to recur in future. The most important legal standards that required harmonization in Slovakia and Estonia: regulations ignoring objective, functions, independence of the National Bank of Slovakia and the Bank of Estonia. Legal preparation is necessary for smooth introduction of the euro, providing necessary procedures of the introduction of the euro. However there are still certain demerits in the law of the Bank of Estonia related to integration of the Bank of Estonia to the European System of Central Banks with respect of issuance of banknotes and collection of statistical information. Research methodology. A comparative historical method was applied describing origin, development and conception of common monetary politics of the European Union. Analysis of literature and legal documents was applied in order to ascertain the role of the ECB and institutions of the European Union in the process of euro area expansion. A data analysis method was applied in order to establish macroeconomic problems in Slovakia and Estonia. A comparative analysis method was applied while analysing and assessing economic and legal convergence in Slovakia, Estonia and euro area. A generalization method was applied to make clear whether thorough satisfaction of economic convergence criteria and legal standards has been implemented in Estonia; assessment of Slovakia's benefit in euro area is presented, and final conclusions are drawn.
Subject of the final master's thesis is topical, because development and functioning of the common European Union monetary policy is especially important step in European integration, opening the way for final political approach of the member states. Thus a detailed study of this sphere of the European Union politics is necessary striving to cognize possibilities and challenges of the future integration processes. The last expansion in the Euro-area happened on 1 January 2009, when the euro was introduced in Slovakia. A number of the EU member states that use the currency of the European Union increased up to sixteen. Though Estonia still hasn't reached complete integration in the EMU process, yet in May 2010 European Commission officially suggested Estonia to join the Euro-area from 1 January 2011. Objective of the research is to assess Slovakia's and Estonia's economic and legal convergence. Considering the objective of the research and set tasks, stages of development of the Economic and Monetary Union in Europe are covered in the work in theoretical aspect, advantages and disadvantages of participation in the Economic and Monetary Union are highlighted; policy of the European Central Bank and other institutions of the European Union in the process of euro-area expansion is analysed; conformity of Slovakia's and Estonia's macroeconomic indices to criteria of Maastricht convergence and harmonization of the European Union Law and national law of the mentioned countries and estimation of Slovakia's benefits being in euro-area is presented as well as Estonia's preparation to join the Economic and Monetary Union. Performed dynamic analysis of Slovakia and Estonia's inflation, government budget deficit and gross debt, long-term interest rate and national currency stability level as well as analysis of the documents of the European Union, Slovakia and Estonia has revealed that Slovakia's convergence criteria have stabilized just after joining the EU and particular attention was paid to inflation reduction process. In convergence reports of 2008 published by the European Central Bank and European Commission Slovakia satisfied economic convergence criteria at least during the short period, however price stability and fiscal development durability in the long-term perspective remained unvalued. Situation in 2009 is a matter of great concern not only because of the price increase tendencies but also through unreliable management of public finances. Situation in Estonia is a bit different; however stabilisation of convergence criteria is also noticeable after joining the EU. While Slovakia has been trying to stabilize and retain convergence criteria keeping within control limits, Estonian Government spared a lot of attention towards securing stability of public finances, and this is proved by the fact that fiscal surplus and amount of gross debt of the government sector having prevailed during the period 2003 – 2008 haven't exceeded the limit of 8 per cent of GDP. However economic crisis that broke in 2008 caused overheat of Estonian economics. Inflation became uncontrolled and reached 10,6 per cent, deficit of government sector increased, simultaneously increasing the gross debt of the government sector. Thus Estonia's convergence in the long-term perspective is estimated as nondurable through macroeconomic imbalance likely to recur in future. The most important legal standards that required harmonization in Slovakia and Estonia: regulations ignoring objective, functions, independence of the National Bank of Slovakia and the Bank of Estonia. Legal preparation is necessary for smooth introduction of the euro, providing necessary procedures of the introduction of the euro. However there are still certain demerits in the law of the Bank of Estonia related to integration of the Bank of Estonia to the European System of Central Banks with respect of issuance of banknotes and collection of statistical information. Research methodology. A comparative historical method was applied describing origin, development and conception of common monetary politics of the European Union. Analysis of literature and legal documents was applied in order to ascertain the role of the ECB and institutions of the European Union in the process of euro area expansion. A data analysis method was applied in order to establish macroeconomic problems in Slovakia and Estonia. A comparative analysis method was applied while analysing and assessing economic and legal convergence in Slovakia, Estonia and euro area. A generalization method was applied to make clear whether thorough satisfaction of economic convergence criteria and legal standards has been implemented in Estonia; assessment of Slovakia's benefit in euro area is presented, and final conclusions are drawn.
Wadi Wurayah area is located in the north of Fujairah Emirates between the towns of Khor Bidiyah Fakkan and Oman on the Gulf Coast Line in Fujairah Emirates, United Arab Emirates. It lies within a priority World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF) Global 200 Ecoregions ( ecoregion 127, Arabian Highland Woodlands and Shrublands ), a rich diversity of sheltering rare and endangered mountainous and freshwater habitats and species , and providing opportunities for the revival and sustenance of local livelihoods. However, as most of the United Arab Emirates and the region , the area is undergoing dramatic changes linked to economic diversification and promotion of tourism. The United Arab Emirates in 1999 approved the programmed of work from the UN convention of Biological Diversity ( CBD). This momentum must be used wants it or disappear. In a first move , the United Arab Emirates established the federal Environment Agency ( FEA) that produced the Environmental Law of 1999 with the role to encourage each to Emirates assess its land and coastal / marine resources, formulate plans for establishing protected areas , upgrade those that may already exist , and help implement the environment law. In early 2006, UAE created its first Ministry of Environment and Water ( MEW ), which was before the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Environmental issues and a greater role of the civil society are now higher on the agenda of the United Arab Emirates government , partner of the Emirates Wildlife Society ( EWS ), the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF) - UAE Project Office is the only international conservation NGOs operating in the UAE that plays a pioneering role in partnering with local- governmental institutions to establish win- win solutions. The United Arab Emirates is making tremendous efforts in diversification is the development of tourism. Too often tourism mass , With all of its negative environmental consequences is privileged. However, the more traditional Emirates are seeking alternatives that would preserve their environment and respect the traditional lifestyles of the local communities. This study aims to help a sustainable biosphere reserve integrating oneself local traditional and lifestyle with the conservation of biodiversity and habitat inimitable by providing a model of economical incentives unique to the region . In order to further the implementation of the Wadi Wurayah Biosphere Reserve, this study will: • Implement a set of carefully - targeted actions in Wadi Wurayah and its hinterland and therefore Fujairah Emirates. • Work to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of combining environmental protection in a sensitive area with the preservation of traditional activities. • Support the capacity building of key national and local authorities and selected partners in the Emirates of Fujairah and the UAE So that they have the awareness and skills to fully realize the aims of the study . To set out and develop options for sustainable natural resource management in the proposed Wurayah Biosphere Reserve , one of the UAE as examples of marginal dry lands , building on environmental information system was the best choice using Geographic information systems (GIS ) as a tool. This has been classified to there steps of work: Field Survey and Analysis Lab Office work. As a first step, this study used to survey this area in the light of the work done by the EWSWWF and the Fujairah Municipality, to evaluate the potential and the feasibility of the creation of a Biosphere Reserve. The traditional field survey has been carried out in three batches between January 2007 and January , 2009 for sample collection using specially tailored database forms that suit the properties and nature of the variables measured, and the database . Design The information obtained from field survey included the Landscape and their local classification and distribution , local habitats , water catchments areas , local rangeland systems and indigenous agro -ecological zones. This information in addition to the laboratory analysis has then be transformed into GIS format, and overlaid with the base maps of the study area in order to produce a georeferenced maps. Various types of maps required according the selected works related to area of study have been used as an input data for the GIS system An integrated management methodology / approach has been proposed associated with the plan of work throughout the forthcoming years. The plan of work is designed to be as consistent as possible with that of the concept of the UNESCO 's Man and Biosphere Program.
Die Publikation handelt von der Pionierzeit der "elektrischen Instrumente" im deutschsprachigen Raum. Sie beruht im Wesentlichen auf einem Forschungsauftrag des Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank (Projekt Nr. 9382), bei dem vor allem die Popularisierung dieser Instrumente im Vordergrund stand. Von den ersten Versuchen ausgehend, wird anhand von sorgfältig recherchierten Originaldokumenten die Entwicklung im untersuchten geographischen Raum vorzugsweise im Zeitintervall von 1920 bis 1945 behandelt. Nach einer kurzen Darstellung der ins 19. Jh. zurückreichenden Wurzeln beginnt die Untersuchung mit einer kritischen Wertung der Konstruktionen und deren Präsentation in den 1920er Jahren (insbesondere Jörg Mager, Lev Termen und den Reaktionen der Fachwelt und der Öffentlichkeit). Dazu kommen Konstruktionen, die zwar in dieser Zeit entstanden, jedoch erst später in Erscheinung traten: die elektro-optische und elektromagnetische Tonerzeugung. Für beide Prinzipien gibt es Beispiele in Österreich und Deutschland, die in die 1920er Jahre zurückreichen. Eine repräsentative Presseschau zeigt die unterschiedliche Auffassung der Verwertbarkeit der elektrischen Instrumente vom Standpunkt der Techniker, der Musiker und der Öffentlichkeit. Das folgende Jahrzehnt wird der politischen Entwicklung wegen in mehreren Teilen behandelt. Die ersten zwei Jahre waren vor allem von der Erfindung des Trautoniums, des Neo-Bechstein-Flügels, des Elektrochords und des Hellertions geprägt. In dieser Zeit entwickelte sich Berlin (insbesondere durch das Heinrich Hertz Institut und die Rundfunkversuchsstelle) zu einem Zentrum der "elektrischen Musik". Auch die ersten großen öffentlichen Präsentationen auf den Berliner Funkausstellungen fanden 1931 und 1932 statt. Nach 1933 veränderte sich jedoch nicht nur die politische Lage, sondern auch die kulturpolitischen Voraussetzungen für die Verwendung elektrischer Instrumente. Die politische Nähe zum NS Regime und das Wohlwollen des Propagandaministeriums spielten eine wesentliche Rolle. Die Entwicklung zeigte, dass das Trautonium, die Orgelkonstruktionen von Oskar Vierling und das Hellertion Bruno Helbergers im offiziellen Musikbetrieb weiter verwendet wurden. Vierlings "Großtonorgel" wurde bei offiziellen Anlässen eingesetzt, hingegen wurde die Entwicklung der Lichttonorgel Edwin Weltes gestoppt, weil er mit einer Jüdin verheiratet war. Oskar Salas Arbeit spielt im Spannungsfeld zwischen Technik, Politik und Musik eine wichtige Rolle. Nachdem bislang keine ausführliche Dokumentation der Arbeit Jörg Magers (der für sich eine besondere Rolle in Anspruch nahm) verfügbar war, ist diesem Thema ein eigenes Kapitel gewidmet. Einer kurzen Darstellung der Folgewirkungen nach 1945 folgt ein ausführlicher Anhang, der das ermittelte Material offenlegt: Aufführungsdaten, Tondokumente, technische Dokumentationen und über 600 Patente werden aufgelistet. Die Arbeit beruht auf umfangreichem Originalmaterial, da es sich beim Studium der Sekundärliteratur zeigte, dass viele Details auf nicht weiter nachvollziehbaren Quellen beruhen. Die Fakten sind sorgfältig in Fußnoten dokumentiert, das Buch versteht sich daher auch als grundlegende Quellensammlung für weiterführende wissenschaftliche Arbeit. ; The publication deals with the time of pioneers in building "electrical musical instruments" in German speaking countries. It is based on a research project funded by the Austrian National Bank's "Jubilaeumsfonds" (project number 9382), where the popularisation of these instruments was in focus. Starting with the first attempts the development in the respective region is examined for the time between 1920 and 1945 using carefully investigated documents. After a short description of the roots going back to the 19th century the documentation continues with a critical evaluation of the constructions and their presentation in the 1920ties (especially Joerg Mager and Lev Termen and the reaction of experts and the public). Electro-optic and electromagnetic sound generation was invented in that time as well but appeared later on. There are examples for both principles in Austria and Germany reaching back to the 1920ties. A representative survey of press reports show the different estimations of the usability of electrical musical instruments by technicians, musicians and the public. The following decade is treated in several parts due to the political development in Germany. The first two years are mainly marked by the invention of the Trautonium, the Neo-Bechstein-piano, the Elektrochord and the Hellertion. This was the time when Berlin turned out as a centre for "electrical music", especially by activities of the "Rundfunkversuchsstelle" (radio research institute) at the University of Music and the Heinrich-Hertz-Institute. The first major public presentations at the Berlin Radio Shows took place in this time as well. After the year 1933 not only the political situation changed but the cultural preconditions for the usage of electrical instruments as well. The political convergence with the NS regime and the goodwill of the "ministry of public enlightenment and propaganda" played an important role. It turned out by the following development that the Trautonium, the electric organs by Vierling and the Hellertion by Bruno Helberger were used for official occasions. Vierling's "Grosstonorgel" was used during the Olympic games, on the other hand the development of Edwin Welte's light-tone organ was stopped for he was married with a Jewish woman. The work of Oskar Sala plays an important role in the area of conflict between technology, politics and music. As no detailed documentation of the work of Joerg Mager (who claimed to be the leading person in electro-music research) is available till now, this will be discussed in a separate chapter. A short description of the consequences after 1945 is followed by a detailed appendix: data of concerts, sound recordings, technical documentations and more than 600 patents. The book is based on extensive and original material, as it turned out by studying of secondary literature that many details are based on not provable sources. The facts are carefully documented using footnotes, the book is meant as a fundamental collection of sources for further scientific research.
The neuropathological confirmation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) remains the gold standard for a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nowadays, the in vivo diagnosis of AD is greatly aided by both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and positron emission tomography (PET) biomarkers. Although highly accurate, their broad implementation is restricted by high cost, limited accessibility and invasiveness. We recently developed a high-performance, ultrasensitive immunoassay for the quantification of tau phosphorylated at threonine-181 (p-tau181) in plasma, which identifies AD pathophysiology with high accuracy. However, it remains unclear whether plasma p-tau181, measured years before the death, can predict the eventual neuropathological confirmation of AD, and successfully discriminates AD from non-AD dementia pathologies. We studied a unique cohort of 115 individuals with longitudinal blood collections with clinical evaluation at 8, 4 and 2 years prior to neuropathological assessment at death. The results demonstrate that plasma p-tau181 associates better with AD neuropathology and Braak staging than a clinical diagnosis 8 years before post-mortem. Moreover, while all patients had a diagnosis of AD dementia during life, plasma p-tau181 proved to discriminate AD from non-AD pathologies with high accuracy (AUC = 97.4%, 95% CI = 94.1-100%) even 8 years before death. Additionally, the longitudinal trajectory of plasma p-tau181 was assessed in all patients. We found that the main increases in plasma p-tau181 occurred between 8 and 4 years prior to death in patients with AD neuropathology and later plateauing. In contrast, non-AD pathologies and controls exhibited minor, albeit significant, increases in p-tau181 up until death. Overall, our study demonstrates that plasma p-tau181 is highly predictive and specific of AD neuropathology years before post-mortem examination. These data add further support for the use of plasma p-tau181 to aid clinical management in primary care and recruitment for clinical trials. ; Open access funding provided by University of Gothenburg. This study represents independent research partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. Tissue samples were supplied by The London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank, which receives funding from the UK Medical Research Council and as part of the Brains for Dementia Research programme, jointly funded by Alzheimer's Research UK and the Alzheimer's Society. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. TKK holds a postdoctoral fellowship from the BrightFocus Foundation (#A2020812F), and was further supported by the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (Alzheimerfonden; #AF-930627), the Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden; #FO2020-0240), the Swedish Dementia Foundation (Demensförbundet), the Agneta Prytz-Folkes and Gösta Folkes Foundation, Gamla Tjänarinnor, the Aina (Ann) Wallströms and Mary-Ann Sjöbloms Foundation, the Gun and Bertil Stohnes Foundation, and the Anna Lisa and Brother Björnsson's Foundation. MSC received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie action grant agreement no. 752310, and currently receives funding from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/00155) and from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Juan de la Cierva Programme grant IJC2018-037478-I). AH is funded by Research Centre for Mental Health and Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia. KB holds the Torsten Söderberg Professorship in Medicine and is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation, and the Swedish Brain Foundation. AH is funded by Research Centre for Mental Health and Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia. KB holds the Torsten Söderberg Professorship in Medicine and is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation, and the Swedish Brain Foundation. KB holds the Torsten Söderberg Professorship in Medicine at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and is supported by the Swedish Research Council (#2017-00915), the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (#AF-742881), Hjärnfonden, Sweden (#FO2017-0243), and a grant (#ALFGBG-715986) from the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the County Councils, the ALF-agreement. NJA is supported by the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (Alzheimerfonden), the Swedish Dementia Foundation (Demensförbundet), and Hjärnfonden, Sweden.
The research carried out concerned the relationships between the development of technologies and the history of Matera's cultural landscape. Key elements are the concepts of " cultural landscape " understood as a space in continuous construction that changes with the changing of the individual, collective, social and cultural relationships of the inhabitants of the territory, of "cultural inhabitant", that is a citizen producing culture more than a user, and vision of " future as an open place " in the sense of maximum usability and sharing of all human, material and immaterial productions through the use of technologies. In the light of the investigation it was found that Matera, a territory with a predominantly agricultural vocation, historically the site of complex social relations, has created a traditional rural society in which the concept of neighborhood as well as a spatial connotation also had the symbolic connotation of sharing knowledge and practices, relationships, but most of the inclusivity and sustainability. The use of 5G technology, of which Matera is the site of experimentation, is generating important cultural transformations; what in the past was in Matera the neighborhood community, now becomes a virtual community, where the sharing of knowledge and practices, beliefs and values, including the use and management of cultural heritage, takes place through the network with the use of applications that promote accessibility and sustainability. For future scenarios it can be assumed, according to this historical anthropological forecast, that in technology, with its extreme pervasiveness, will facilitate an even easier access to historic sites and pa cultural heritage, in harmony with the preservation of cultural heritage and to encourage the dissemination of cultural content for one of their own wider fruition. Matera, as well as Basilicata and many Mediterranean areas has got a wide agricultural landscape which is deeply linked to its culture and inhabitants. So the focus of this research is also the employment of digital technologies for sustainable agriculture. In agricultural field it is necessary to link the increasing of production to sustainability and environmental protection policies – according to the protection of the natural heritage by reducing fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, as well as protecting forest resources from further tillage - without forgetting the dangerous phenomenon of depopulation of rural areas and management criticalities resulting from sudden climate change. The strong spatial and temporal variability that characterizes any agro-ecosystem has determined the need to identify new tools and strategies to achieve an efficient and effective management of agricultural lands. To do this it is necessary to have techniques and technologies capable of detecting the lack of homogeneity and, later, of applying the cultural inputs within the plot in a variable way. The innovations connected to the world of agriculture so can be traced back to 3 fundamental themes • Information collection and management • Analysis of information in a decision-making perspective • Operations automation All of these fields can be better developed thanks to the most important technological trend of the moment, the 5G systems. They are born from the possibility of connecting objects and devices, even the most "unthinkable" ones. From sensors to monitor crop characteristics, to automatic guides, to drones useful for different purposes, from defense to land mapping. With the technological endowment, available nowadays, the Internet of Things (IoT) realizes the connection between the physical objects, sensors and actuators and the connecting roads represented by the Internet. So according to the continuous technological evolution, associated to the new EU and national regulations it has been developed a new management and business system: Precision Agriculture. In the most modern conformations, in perfect correspondence with the various emerging needs, the AdP is closely linked to geo-referencing systems, a process that allows you to permanently associate geographic coordinates with geometric-spatial information of various kinds and to new technologies as GIS, remote sensing and GPS. Even modern agricultural machines are equipped with digital technology and are able to recognize the environment in which they operate. Thanks to the monitoring by means of proximal and remote sensors, satellites, sensors on the machines, we are able to equip ourselves with software tools for storing geolocalized and vectored data, which allow us to have a spatial and punctual knowledge of the situation in the field. The Variable rateo, for exemple, based on maps and sensors can manage the variability generated by the environment in which the cultivation takes place applying chemical, mechanical and biological inputs in a strategic and diversified way combined to different methodologies with variable distribution (or variable rate). Today the use of drones (UAVS) is also gaining more and more space and importance in the field of agriculture at all stages of production. The drone is therefore a device capable of mechanizing every stage of cultivation, eliminating the cost of human error and helping to maximize earnings and return on investment. GIS technology is also a fundamental technology useful to characterize the specific environment of development of the plant and its vegetative state and it is the common denominator of other components related to geospatial technologies, such as remote sensing and GPS. The GIS Technologies give us the opportunity to manage a considerable amount of data related to the territory by placing them in relation to each other in order to allow to detect phenomena that otherwise could not be highlighted. WebGIS for exemple, is a platform that is also characterized by the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) but whose functionalities are based on network technologies (WEB/Internet). The Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) software is used to process and analyze hyperspectral and/or infrared geospatial images. It is used for remote sensing and for analyzing images. ENVI brings together a series of scientific algorithms for image processing, many of which are contained in an automated wizard-based approach that guide users through complex tasks. The use of different spectral acquisition bands can be employed to identify more the types of soil or in general the substance or chemical element of interest or to detect their characteristic spectral signature discriminating it from the others.
Der Arbeitstitel von Wendy Hui Kyong Chuns Updating to Remain the Same. Habitual New Media (2016) lautete Imagined Networks. Warum der Netzwerkbegriff nicht im Buchtitel aufscheint, jedoch eine Schlüsselrolle im formalen wie argumentativen Aufbau einnimmt, wird in der Lektüre nachvollziehbar. Schließlich möchte Chun unter Bezugnahme auf Jean-Luc Nancy ein Netzwerk mobilisieren, das außerhalb sauberer Verbindungslinien und Knotenpunkte eine (medialisierte) Gemeinschaft herzustellen vermag und plädiert, digitale Öffentlichkeitsräume zu imaginieren, die die 'Verletzlichkeit' ihrer UserInnen dereinst nicht sanktionieren. Wie lange können die 'Neuen Medien' noch mit dem Begriff 'neu' attribuiert werden? Ebenfalls: sollte anstatt 'Sozialer Medien' nicht treffender von 'Asozialen Medien' gesprochen werden? Diese und ähnliche Fragestellungen tauchen im (deutschsprachigen) journalistischen Kontext wie auch in Kommentar- und Forenspalten immer wieder auf – gerne als spitzfindige Beobachtung oder milde Empörung geäußert. Chun, obgleich sie diese Fragen selbst nicht stellt, hat darauf interessante Antworten parat, denn ihre Untersuchungen der Neuen Medien und insbesondere der Sozialen Medien zielen methodisch wie inhaltlich auf Verlagerungen und Durchkreuzungen jener theoretischen Rahmungen (und imaginierten Netzwerke) ab, die derart reduktive Pointen erst ermöglichen. Dabei kommt einer Konnotation besonderes Gewicht zu, die in der Übersetzung von 'Social Media' zu Sozialen Medien oftmals verloren geht: Geselligkeit. Zunächst steigt Chun jedoch im Vorwort mit dem vergnügt-schaurigen Titel "The Wonderful Creepiness of New Media"über Gemeinplätze ein: Die Neuen Medien sorgen deshalb für faszinierenden Grusel, da sie umkämpfte Grenzziehungen – wie etwa banal/revolutionär, Öffentlichkeit/Privatheit, Tratsch/politische Rede, ephemer/dauerhaft – verunklart oder gar invertiert haben. Das konnten sie wiederum deshalb, da sie "leaky", also durchlässig sind. Und ihre konstitutive Durchlässigkeit, ein zentraler Begriff bei Chun, macht sie "creepy" (es fällt auf, dass Chun von creepy und nicht von queer spricht). Ebenso hat sich die kollektive Konzeptualisierung und Visualisierung des Internets ebenso wie seiner Verheißungen und Potentiale paradigmatisch verändert. Der utopisch-ideelle Cyberspace der 1990er und das Imaginarium einer vermeintlich egalitären, da anonymen, elektronischen frontier (vgl. S.104–111) ist in den 2010er Jahren dem Internet als reguliertem Überwachungsraum, als Netzwerk von Erfassungssystemen und privatisierten Räumen der Sozialen Medien gewichen, allesamt dem Diktat der Transparenz unterliegend. "[W]hy did we ever imagine the Internet – which is, at its base, a control protocol – to be an anonymous space of freedom? Why are network devices described as personal, when they are so chatty and promiscuous? Further, given the ephemerality of digital information, how has electronic memory become conflated with storage?" (S.X) Diese rhetorischen Fragen bilden die Ausgangsbasis für Chun, die ihre Thesen anhand von drei Leitbegriffen entfaltet: 'Netzwerk' ('Network'), 'Gewohnheit' ('Habit') und 'Gemeinschaft' ('Collective'). Gewohnheit, Bewohnen ("inhabit") und benachbarte Begriffe – wie jene der Eingewöhnung, der Gepflogenheit, der Regel oder des gewohnheitsmäßigen Tuns – werden in signifikanter Weise mit der 'Krise' in konstitutive Verbindung gebracht. Damit verlagern sie die Frage nach dem 'Neuen' der Neuen Medien hin zur Frage nach Alltäglichkeit und Wiederholbarkeit. Chun erörtert, was dem Bewusstsein oder der bewussten Handlung entschwindet und zur zweiten Natur wird. Dies beinhaltet aber auch die techno-philosophischen Implikationen des Updates: Wenn digitale Informationen um (aktualisiert) erhalten zu bleiben, gelöscht werden müssen, Speichern also immer auch Löschen bedeutet, haftet somit den gespeicherten Informationen etwas Untotes an. Hierin – Neue Medien nicht vorrangig als viral, disruptiv und instantan sondern in Abhängigkeit des Habituellen zu begreifen – liegt die erste bedeutsame strategische Wende in Chuns Theorie der Neuen Medien. Die zweite erfolgt via Substitution durch homophone Nachbarschaft: 'NYOU Media' ersetzt 'New Media'. Obschon Chun den Begriff an manchen Stellen schlicht als Sprachspiel einsetzt, erweitert und aktualisiert dieser jedoch grundlegend die Unterscheidung zwischen Massen- und Neuen Medien. Wird doch das massenmedial generierte 'Wir' wie auch das immer an der Schwelle zur Obsoleszenz positionierte 'Neue' von einem dividuellen, im Sinne Jean-Luc Nancys singular-pluralen 'YOU'/'Du' (oder einem Homonym der englischen Sprache geschuldet: 'Ihr') abgelöst – einem networked You (NYOU) also. Updating to Remain the Same entfaltet auf nur knapp 174 Seiten Fließtext – begleitet von zahlreichen, großflächigen Illustrationen und Visualisierungen – eine sehr dichte Programmatik. Die Autorin verknüpft in erzählerischer wie prägnanter Prosa divergente Positionen aus Neurobiologie, Programmiersprachen und Kulturwissenschaften. Viele ihrer leitenden Gedanken begegnen den LeserInnen mehr als nur einmal und sind außerdem oftmals fettgedruckt hervorgehoben (dieser Schriftsatzwechsel kann sowohl erleichternd als auch irritierend wahrgenommen werden). Es scheint, dass Chun auch textstrategisch eine Methodik entwickelt, die mit Habitualisierung und wiedergängerischen Momenten arbeitet und die Gedankengänge als Feedbackschleifen immer wieder neu überschreibt, aktualisiert und revidiert. Das Buch ist in zwei Abschnitte gegliedert "Part I: Imagined Networks, Glocal Collections"und"Part II: Privately Public: The Internet's Perverse Subjects". Da Chun mit Updating to Remain the Same mehrere Texte bündelt, die bereits in anderen Zusammenhängen erschienen sind, besteht das Buch aus disparaten Teilen, die teils nur lose mittels der Begriffe Network, Habit und Collective verbunden sind. Dieser Umstand macht es manchmal schwierig, den roten Faden zu halten. Im ersten Buchteil erörtert Chun, wie der Netzwerkbegriff zum "defining concept of our epoch" (S.25) wurde. Er hat die sich immer weiter ausdifferenzierenden Wissens- und Machtbereiche der hochtechnologisierten und globalisierten Postmoderne in ein skalierbares Bezugssystem gesetzt und eine Erfassungsmethodik angeboten: Abstrakta und Entitäten durch vielschichtige Verbindungslinien aneinander zu knüpfen und dadurch ihre Beziehung zu visualisieren. Obgleich Chun unterschiedliche Netzwerktheorien bespricht, hält sie fest, dass diese alle einer Transparenzlogik verhaftet sind: Die Sichtbarmachung des Unsichtbaren wird als Schlüssel zur Ermächtigung begriffen (vgl. S.43). Da die Methodik des präzisen Beschreibens das durch sie habhaft gewordene Phänomen immer auch mit hervorbringt, operiert die Netzwerkanalyse als capturing system – eine von Chuns vielen Brückenschlägen zu Big Data. Ebenfalls sieht die Autorin nicht als Erste Netzwerkanalysen der neoliberalen Ideologie zuspielend: die Gesellschaft weicht dem lose zusammenhängenden Kollektiv, d.h. soziopolitische Aktanten eines Netzwerks mögen zwar nur in ihrer Beziehung zueinander (= ihren Gewohnheiten!) gedacht werden, sind aber dennoch immer als Individuen visualisiert bzw. erfasst. Sie sind somit auch immer einzeln adressierbar und können haftbar gemacht werden. Was dies für die UserInnen (die YOUs) der Social Media Plattformen bedeutet, führt Chun in Part II aus. Updating to Remain the Same kann leicht als Fatalismus verstanden werden und ein kulturpessimistisches Szenario evozieren – das imperative Update hat doch nur zur Folge in permanenter Selbstoptimierung auf der Stelle zu treten. In Kapitel "Part I/ 2. Habit + Crisis = Update"weist Chun diese Assoziation zwar nicht ganz von der Hand, jedoch werden die einzelnen Termini einer solchen Gleichung im Kontext divergierender Ansätze erörtert. Es ist die Gewohnheit, die Chun dabei insbesondere interessiert und die sie im Kontext unterschiedlicher Theoriebildungen (etwa jene Félix Ravaissons) und Definitionen erörtert. Updating to remain the Same ließe sich etwa auch mit Gilles Deleuze als "the Habit of saying I" (S.6) begreifen. Big Data – das Zusammenspiel staatlicher und privatwirtschaftlicher Erfassungssysteme – bildet die Gewohnheiten der UserInnen ab und ermöglicht prognostische Aussagen – das Habituelle als Information. Alltagshandlungen als zweite Natur bespricht Chun aber auch kritisch in Abhängigkeit von Zeitlichkeiten und Erinnerung/Gedächtnis. Ideologie als kennzeichnende Vorstellung einer Gesellschaft von sich selbst lässt sich ebenfalls über ihre automatisierten und unbewussten Handlungen verstehen – das ideologische Moment des Habituellen. Wenn von digitalen Technologien (computer/smartphone/wearables) als Speichermedien oder 'personal' gesprochen wird, so verdecken jene Begriffe die eigentlichen operativen Vorgänge. Denn die Neuen Medien sind grundsätzlich leaky (durchlässig) und promiscuous (promiskuitiv). Smartphones und andere personal devices empfangen und versenden permanent Datenpakete, sie teilen sich also ständig mit – sie sind gesellig. Die mediale Berichterstattung über Neue Medien/Social Media ist demnach vorrangig von Enthüllungen offener Geheimnisse geprägt. Wichtiger als verwundert zu fragen, warum etwa Wikileaks überhaupt der Status einer zeitgeschichtlichen Zäsur zugeschrieben wurde, ist es Chun jedoch der Frage nachzugehen, was die konstitutive Durchlässigkeit digitaler Technologien für Gemeinschaftsbildungen in, mit und durch Soziale Medien bedeutet: Sowohl in ihrer positiven Dimension, sich über anteilnehmende Zugehörigkeit zu definieren (love), wie in ihrer negativen, sich über gemeinsame Ächtung zu definieren (hate) – naturgemäß kommt es hier zu einem Zirkelschluss. Chun geht es im zweiten Teil hauptsächlich darum darzulegen, wie NYOU Media öffentliche und private Räume invertiert haben und warum es notwendig ist, gegen die vorherrschende Dialektik der Transparenz anzutreten. Denn diese hat zur Folge, dass die Operationen der digitalen Technologien (ihre leakiness) unsichtbar gemacht werden und die Userin für ihr attestiertes (Fehl)Verhalten (ihre leaks, z.B. ein Nacktfoto) individuell verantwortlich gemacht wird – YOUs never forget. Chun gendert die Userin, da gerade an dieser die vermeintliche Sicherheit einer überholten und ohnehin ideologisch fragwürdigen Privacy in ihrer sanktionierenden Gewalt offenbart wird: Scham und Schande. Daher positioniert sich die Autorin auch klar gegen eine 'Epistemologie des Outings' (vgl. S. 135–165) und optiert mit Bezug auf Nancys inoperabler Gemeinschaft für ein Recht auf Öffentlichkeit. Wenn Chun die Verletzlichkeit der UserInnen zum gemeinschaftsbildenden Potential erhebt, befindet sie sich durchaus in Nachbarschaft zu Judith Butler. Unklar bleibt, ob Chun für eine neue Ethik plädiert, die sie aus einem technischen a priori ableitet (leakiness) oder ob sie mit ihrer Theorie der Neuen Medien eine politische Forderung stützen möchte. In jedem Fall bildet Updating to Remain the Same den letzten Teil von Chuns Trilogie eines transformativen Ablöseprozesses: "[H]ow Computers ermerged as a form of mass media to end mass media by replacing the mass with the new, the we with the YOU" (S.18).
Finnish government has set an ambitious goal of reaching 50% share of renewable energies by year 2030. To reach this goal several structural changes and new strategies are required. One possible solution is the initiation of bioeconomy program. This thesis work focuses on the implementation of bioeconomy in the North of Finland by reviewing the challenges and opportunities involved in it. The goal is to perform a preliminary technological and economic assessment of a co-digestion plant located in Sodankylä, thus contributing to its bioeconomy strategy. The RECENT project is introduced in the introduction, as this work is closely connected to it. In the theoretical part, the North of Finland, its natural resources and critical infrastructure are introduced. Issues related to bioeconomy realization, climate change's effect on water services, and municipality's challenges in northern conditions, are reviewed. Three different biomass utilization methods that are possible in northern conditions are discussed in depth. It was found out that there is great potential for bioeconomy utilization in Northern Finland. There is a lot of biomass available and organic waste unused. At the same time, there are difficulties on their implementation. Few difficulties to overcome are long distances, lack of employees, diminishing population, and doubts regarded to economic sustainability of bioeconomy. One way to speed up the implementation of a new energy system is to use energy assessment tools. Three different tools were reviewed and it was found out that the best tool to use was RETScreen. It is designed to assess single energy systems and was used also to assess the co-digestion plant in Sodankylä. In the experimental part, the municipality of Sodankylä is introduced and the preliminary assessment for the co-digester is performed. All the data for assessing the co-digestion plant were obtained from the municipality itself and from literature. Upgrading the wastewater treatment plant to biogas plant would be profitable if the biomethane generated sold at a price of 1,22 €/kg. Gate fee for bio-waste should be 50 €/m³. The payback period varied between 8 years to 29 years, depending on method and biomethane price used. The amount of biomethane that could be theoretically produced with 4 different feedstocks was 203 250 m³. Based on its energy content, it is sufficient to replace the petrol consumption of 150 cars. RETScreen assessment gave 15 000 m³ lower result. A dry, mesophilic reactor with a capacity of 500 m³ was regarded as a possible solution. Establishing the separate bio-waste collection in the municipality's center area and practical issues related to the whole biogas plant were discussed also. According to the results, co-digester in Sodankylä is technologically and economically possible to realize. However, several assumptions had to be made. For example, an investment support of 25% is assumed in every calculation and the investment cost for the digester and biogas refinery is based on literature. Also, it is technically challenging to handle feedstocks that are not available throughout the year. The purpose is to produce biogas at a steady rate, but it is challenging, if the reactor is fed with different kinds of raw materials seasonally. The load and the process conditions should be kept stable as possible to ensure high biogas gain. Although the results are positive, more research is recommended to be done to ensure the profitability of the investment. Special attention should be given to the reactor model. This thesis work demonstrates that it is technologically and economically sustainable to realize the bioeconomy in North of Finland. The biogas plant system introduced in the work could be duplicated to other similar territories. The work was done as a part of RECENT (Renewable Community Empowerment in Northern Territories) project. ; Suomen hallitus on asettanut kunnianhimoisen tavoitteen nostaa uusiutuvan energian osuus 50 %:in vuoteen 2030 mennessä. Tämän tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi tarvitaan uusia strategioita ja rakenteellisia uudistuksia. Eräs mahdollinen ratkaisu on käynnissä oleva biotalousohjelma. Tämä diplomityö keskittyy biotalouden toteuttamiseen Pohjois-Suomessa sen haasteita ja mahdollisuuksia arvioiden. Tavoitteena on selvittää Sodankylään suunniteltavan yhteismädätyslaitoksen teknis-taloudellinen potentiaali edistäen siten paikallisen biotalousohjelman toteutumista. RECENT -projekti esitellään johdannossa, sillä tämä työ liittyy vahvasti kyseiseen projektiin. Pohjois-Suomen alue, sen luonnonvarat ja kriittinen infrastruktuuri ovat esitelty teoriaosuudessa. Lisäksi tarkastellaan asioita liittyen biotalouden toteutumiseen, ilmastonmuutoksen vaikutukseen vesihuollossa ja kuntien haasteisiin pohjoisissa olosuhteissa. Työssä on kuvattu tarkemmin kolme eri tapaa hyödyntää biomassoja kyseisellä alueella. Teoriaosuudesta käy ilmi, että Pohjois-Suomessa on suuri potentiaali biotalouden hyödyntämiselle, koska biomassaa ja orgaanista jätettä on saatavilla paljon. Ongelmina ovat kuitenkin pitkät välimatkat, pula työntekijöistä, vähenevä väestömäärä ja epäilyt liittyen biotalouden kannattavuuteen. Energiapotentiaalin arvioimiseen käytetyt työkalut ovat yksi tapa nopeuttaa uusien energiasysteemien käyttöönottoa. Työssä käytiin kolme eri työkalua läpi ja saatiin selville, että tarkastelluista työkaluista RETScreen oli potentiaalisin. Se on kehitetty arvioimaan yksittäisiä energiasysteemejä ja sitä käytetään myös Sodankylän yhteismädättämön arvioinnissa. Kokeellinen osuus käsittelee Sodankylän kuntaa ja yhteismädätyslaitoksen kannattavuutta. Laitoksen arvioimiseen tarvittu data saatiin kunnalta ja kirjallisuudesta. Jätevesilaitoksen päivittäminen yhteismädättämöksi on kannattavaa, mikäli tuotettu biokaasu myytäisiin hintaan 1,22 €/kg. Porttimaksu olisi 50 €/m³ biojätteelle. Takaisinmaksuaika, riippuen laskutavasta ja biokaasun hinnoittelusta, vaihteli 8 ja 29 vuoden välillä. Laskennallisesti, neljästä eri syötemateriaalista voitaisiin saada 203 250 m³ metaanikaasua. Energiasisällöltään se riittäisi korvaamaan noin 150 auton bensiinin kulutuksen. RETScreen arviointi antoi noin 15 000 m³ pienemmän arvion metaanikaasun määrästä. Mahdollinen reaktorityyppi olisi tilavuudeltaan 500 m³ ja prosessina mesofiilinen kuivaprosessi. Myös biojätteen erilliskeräyksen järjestämistä kunnan taajama-alueella ja käytännön asioiden järjestämistä biokaasulaitoksella pohdittiin. Tulosten mukaan yhteismädättämön rakentaminen Sodankylään on teknis-taloudellisesti mahdollista. Kuitenkin useita oletuksia täytyi tehdä, esimerkiksi investointitueksi oletetaan 25 % ja reaktorin sekä biokaasun puhdistuslaitteiston hinnat perustuvat kirjallisuuden keskiarvoihin. On myös teknisesti haastavaa käsitellä jätteitä, jotka ovat kausittaisesti saatavilla. Tarkoituksena olisi tuottaa tasaisesti biokaasua, mutta se on haasteellista, jos reaktoriin syötetään erilaista materiaalia riippuen vuodenajasta. Prosessiolosuhteiden ja kuormituksen pitäisi pysyä tasaisena, jotta biokaasulle saataisiin suuri saanti. Vaikka saadut tulokset ovat positiivisia, enemmän tutkimusta kaivattaisiin investoinnin kannattavuuden varmistamiseksi. Erityistä huomiota tulisi antaa reaktorimallille. Tämä diplomityö osoittaa, että biotalous on teknis-taloudellisesti kestävä toteuttaa Suomen pohjoisissa osissa. Työssä esitelty biokaasulaitoskonsepti olisi monistettavissa samankaltaisille alueille. Työ tehtiin osana RECENT (Renewable Community Empowerment in Northern Territories) -projektia.
AbstractSpectrum of Disease Burden in Urban Informal Settlements of BrazilbyRobert Eugene SnyderDoctor of Philosophy in EpidemiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Lee W. Riley, ChairThere are more than one billion urban informal slum residents worldwide, comprising almost one-third of the global urban population. Slums are characterized by their abundance of risk factors for communicable and non-communicable diseases. Some of these include poor water and sanitation infrastructure, in addition to poor structural housing quality, overcrowding and insecure residential status (i.e. lack of land tenure). Residents of these communities shoulder a greater burden of biologic, spatial and social health determinants of disease and their corresponding disease outcomes than residents of the same city who do not live in slums. Due to systematic disenfranchisement and the complicated logistics involved in studying these populations, our knowledge about their health conditions and determinants of disease occurrence is sparse. This dissertation describes three approaches to begin to address this gap in knowledge.Chapter 1 sets the tone for this dissertation by describing the concept of slums and lays out the evidence for the disproportionate burden of disease borne by slum residents. While not being representative of all slums worldwide - Brazil is now considered an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank– the country's slums serve as an important case study. Brazil has a relatively robust healthcare system, a functional democracy, and an active research sector, all of which facilitate the collection and comparison of data inside and outside of the country's slums. Estimates of Brazil's slum population range from 11,425,644 (6% of the total population) in the 2010 Brazilian Census (the official government estimate) to 45.7 million (28%) estimated by the United Nations Human Settlements Program. In 2010, the Brazilian government carried out a census with the goal of systematically enumerating and describing the physical and demographic characteristics of the country's slums, coining the technical term aglomerados subnormais (AGSN) to describe slums.Perhaps the most recognizable of all slums in Brazil are the favelas of Rio de Janeiro; these architecturally colorful and culturally vibrant communities accentuate the city's magnificent physical geography and beauty. Unfortunately, due to their precarious physical location, the quasi-legal land tenure of slum residents, the blatant political corruption, and the persistently poor implementation of the national healthcare system (in 2010 approximately 50% of Rio de Janeiro's population had access to the Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS), these communities' residents suffer from stark health inequalities. Chapter 2 uses the 2010 Census to describe the spatial distribution of social determinants of health in Rio de Janeiro. The findings from this analysis highlight differences in age, income, and access to electricity, sanitation, water, and solid waste disposal throughout the city, and point to the possibility that differences in these characteristics contribute to an inequitable distribution of disease between the city's slum and non-slum areas.Chapter 3 delves more deeply into these inequalities. Given our group's previously published evidence suggesting that the burden of tuberculosis is greater among residents of Rio de Janeiro's slums than among residents of non-slum areas, we seek to fulfill a principle public health axiom: that we must seek and apply solutions to improve the health of populations. Chapter 3 evaluates the effectiveness of the directly observed treatment (DOT) program for tuberculosis treatment outcomes among TB cases inside and outside of Rio de Janeiro's slums. Using the Brazilian Notifiable Disease System, Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN), we compare treatment outcomes between TB cases on DOT in AGSN and non-AGSN census tracts. While we found that DOT coverage was low inside and outside of AGSNs, we report that DOT had a greater impact on the cure rate for TB cases in AGSN areas compared to TB cases in non-AGSN areas.Chapter 4 shifts the lens to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and to a different city, Salvador, where thirty-three percent of the population lives in slums. We compare the burden of several NCD (i.e. diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia) and the prevalence of risk factors (i.e. overweight, obesity and smoking) in a convenience sample of residents of Pau da Lima, an urban slum, with residents of the entire city as captured in a telephone survey. This telephone survey is an annual landline-based survey undertaken by the Brazilian Ministry of Health with the express purpose of monitoring the prevalences of NCD and NCD risk factors in Brazil's capital cities. We age- and sex- standardized the prevalences of these conditions and risk factors and compared them between these two populations. We found that the age- and sex-adjusted prevalences of diabetes mellitus, smoking, being overweight/obese, and being obese, were higher among residents of Pau da Lima than in residents of the entire city of Salvador. A striking finding was that women living in slums suffered a disproportionate burden of being overweight or obese, and men in slums smoked at almost twice the frequency as men in the city as a whole.While these observational studies and analyses do not provide causal evidence for a link between slum residence and adverse health outcomes, they provide preliminary data in support of the hypothesis that residents of slums in several major Brazilian cities have unique social and spatial determinants of health, and subsequently distinct disease profiles, compared to residents of non-slum neighborhoods in the same city.Because of poor access to healthcare and a host of other slum-specific obstacles, slum residents rarely appear in official disease or mortality estimates. Consequently, slum-specific analyses such as those presented in this dissertation that describe the burden of disease among slum residents can be used to design policies aimed at mitigating the inequitable distribution of disease in these communities, also serving as a baseline to evaluate the impact of these policies on the health of this population. The findings from this dissertation should be used to encourage further epidemiologic analyses of slum populations, not only in Brazil, but also among slum populations of megacities elsewhere in the world.
