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This paper evaluates the Language Policy and Planning's (LPP) Methodological Rich Points (MRP) in the geographic, ethnic and linguistic composition of Afghanistan. The theoretical construct is taken from the work of Nancy H. Hornberger on MRP in LPP. The paper explores a range of primary and secondary sources, and finds that the presence of inequality, marginalization and oppression in intra-ethnic and intralanguage group relations, sharing of resources and power account for neglect of the MRP in Afghan LPP. The geographic details in conjunction with explanation of historical process of migrations and conquests explains that most of the minority language speakers are concentrated in the difficult to reach areas of Afghanistan for their safety. Further, the limiting factors of Afghan geography explains the preservation of minority languages from the effects of majority languages. The study concludes with the proposal that it would be helpful to avoid the pitfalls of the current LPP in future by giving due attention to MRP.

Distribution area and surface are both parameters of paramount importance for habitat management, monitoring and conservation. Here we present the distribution of eight zonal forest types of mainland Spain that are consistent with the Habitat Types (HT) listed in Annex I of the European Union Habitats Directive 92/43 EC. Their dominant species and HT codes are Fagus sylvatica (9120, 9130 and 9150), Quercus robur and Q. pyrenaica (9230), Q. suber (9330), Pinus uncinata (9430), P. nigra ssp. salzmannii (9530) and P. pinea (subset of 9540). These distributions are based on tesserae from the 1:50,000 Spanish Forest Map and are the result of sorting assisted by supplementary databases. The distributions are presented as vector coverages, and provide three information levels of increasing detail: geographic distribution, basic forest type and structural forest patch. Two R scripts are also included with the dataset. They implement a segmented regression approach to investigate forest fragmentation on these or other patch-like data. ; Tragsatec (Grupo Tragsa) funded this research through the following projects: Climatic Regionalization and Ecosystem Fragmentation (Contract No. 39.916) and Methods to Estimate Rates of Change of Occupied Surface of Forest and Shrubland Habitat Types within their Respective Distribution Ranges (Contract No. 38.454).

We develop a new perspective on the uncertainties affecting the predictions of coastal species distributions using patterns of genetic diversity to assess the congruence of hindcasted distribution models. We model the niche of the subtidal seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, for which previous phylogeographic findings are used to contrast hypotheses for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic coastal regions. We focus on amelioration of sampling bias, and explore the influence of other sources of uncertainty such as the number of variables, Ocean General Circulation Models (OGCMs), and thresholds used. To do that, we test geographical and environmental filtering of presences, and a species-specific weighted filter related to political boundaries for background data. Contrary to our initial hypothesis that reducing sampling bias by means of geographical, environmental or background filtering would enhance predictive power and reliability of the models, none of these approaches consistently improved performance. These counter-intuitive results might be explained by the higher relative occurrence area (ROA) inherent to linear coastal study areas in relation to terrestrial regions, which may cause worse predictions and, thus, higher variability among models. We found that the Ocean General Circulation Models (OGCMs), the threshold and, to a smaller extent, the number of variables used, conditioned greatly the variability of the predictions in both accuracy and geographic range. Despite these uncertainties, all models achieved the goal of identifying long-term persistence regions (glacial refugia) where the highest genetic diversity for Cymodocea nodosa is found nowadays. However, only the CCSM corroborated the hypothesis, raised in previous studies, of a vicariant process in shaping the species' genetic structure. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) [SFRH/BPD/85040/2012] ; Pew Foundation (USA) ; [UID/Multi/04326/2013] ...

Rarity and life history traits inform multiple dimensions of intrinsic risk to climate and environmental change and can help systematically identify at-risk species. We quantified relative geographic rarity (area of occupancy), climate niche breadth, and life history traits for 114 freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Our approach leveraged presence-only, publicly available data and traits-based inference to evaluate area of occupancy, climate sensitivity (i.e., climate niche breadth), and a Rarity and Climate Sensitivity (RCS) index of all species across multiple geographic extents, grain sizes, and data types. The RCS index was relatively stable across extents, grains, and data types, with climate sensitivity differentiating species with otherwise similar areas of occupancy. We also found that species with sensitivity-associated traits (e.g., long generation time, low fecundity) were not necessarily the same species identified as at-risk with geographical approaches (small range size, small climate niche breadth). Many multispecies assessments using coarse-scale data (e.g., entire range maps or convex-hull approaches) often focus on a single dimension of intrinsic risk; others rely on data-intensive models only applicable to a few well-studied species. What remains is a need for an approach that enables multispecies, multidimensional assessment efforts. This is particularly true at regional scales, where management needs require assessments that are intermediate to coarse- and fine-scale approaches. We demonstrate that by considering multiple dimensions of intrinsic risk to climate change (range size, climate sensitivity, and traits), site-specific locality data may offer a pathway for ensuring vulnerable, understudied species do not go overlooked in conservation. ; National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF); U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)United States Geological Survey; USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science CenterUnited States Geological Survey; U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research StationUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA)United States Forest Service ; We thank Kathryn Ronnenberg, Justin Welty and Michelle Jeffries for assisting with the reptile records. We thank Paul Scheerer of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for providing and assisting with freshwater fish records. We also thank the collaborative community effort and National Science Foundation support that makes VertNet possible, including the principal investigators, staff, Steering Committee, and individual publishers contributing to this valuable resource. Support was provided by the Land Resource Mission Area and Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

The paper presents some aspects of geographical view of the motivational factor tourist movements in northeastern Montenegro on example, the municipality Berane, Andrejevica and Plav. Bjelasica, high mountain range Komova, spatial zone Berane and Mountain system Prokletija providing opportunities for development of various types of mountain tourism, such as the sports and recreation, health, summer pasture, hiking, hunting, fishing … As another important group of attractive values of, appear attractive and social factors, which allow the counted among the following elements: cultural and historical monuments, cultural institutions, various cultural events ... Significant cultural and historical heritage of this part of north-eastern Montenegro, not yet adequately valorized. In order to achieve desired economic growth, change, renewal and improvement of the overall economy, it is understood and tourism, it is appropriate and adequate conception of development strategies. Assessment of the state of tourism is a prerequisite for defining the development goals, which fit into the overall vision of progress and active involvement in the immediate environment and the wider European mainstream.

Applying advanced technology for transportation research and management has been the focus of Bridgewater State's GeoGraphics Laboratory since 1994. The laboratory has attracted a broad range of students from many academic disciplines and walks of life to engage in leading edge applications of innovative hardware and software to meet the needs of our transportation systems. The GeoGraphics Lab has provided a laboratory experience for nearly two decades. Geographic technology has changed dramatically over this time. The availability of global positioning systems (GPS) on cell phones is nearly ubiquitous. The increased power and reduced cost of desktop geographic information systems (GIS) has made GIS readily available for every professional of any academic discipline. The availability of timely and useful geographic databases and imagery from government and private agencies has never been better. The ability to create near real-time location information on our transportation system over the Internet has taken customer information to a new level. This paper will share the authors' experience educating students to take advantage of these twenty first century technologies to improve their value as professionals and improve the capacity of transportation systems. It will outline some of the transportation projects over the past seventeen years that have served as an educational experience for the Bridgewater State University students, describe the institutional approach that has evolved at the Laboratory within the context of higher education, note some of the benefits to faculty and students as a result of this approach, and address some of the inherent challenges posed by non-traditional approaches to educating the transportation workforce of the future.

Climate change poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, but freshwater fishes have been largely ignored in climate change assessments. Here, we assess threats of future flow and water temperature extremes to ~11,500 riverine fish species. In a 3.2 °C warmer world (no further emission cuts after current governments' pledges for 2030), 36% of the species have over half of their present-day geographic range exposed to climatic extremes beyond current levels. Threats are largest in tropical and sub-arid regions and increases in maximum water temperature are more threatening than changes in flow extremes. In comparison, 9% of the species are projected to have more than half of their present-day geographic range threatened in a 2 °C warmer world, which further reduces to 4% of the species if warming is limited to 1.5 °C. Our results highlight the need to intensify (inter)national commitments to limit global warming if freshwater biodiversity is to be safeguarded.

Climate change poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, but freshwater fishes have been largely ignored in climate change assessments. Here, we assess threats of future flow and water temperature extremes to ~11,500 riverine fish species. In a 3.2 °C warmer world (no further emission cuts after current governments' pledges for 2030), 36% of the species have over half of their present-day geographic range exposed to climatic extremes beyond current levels. Threats are largest in tropical and sub-arid regions and increases in maximum water temperature are more threatening than changes in flow extremes. In comparison, 9% of the species are projected to have more than half of their present-day geographic range threatened in a 2 °C warmer world, which further reduces to 4% of the species if warming is limited to 1.5 °C. Our results highlight the need to intensify (inter)national commitments to limit global warming if freshwater biodiversity is to be safeguarded.

AbstractAchieving US state and municipal benchmarks to end the HIV epidemic and promote health equity requires access to comprehensive HIV care. However, this care may not be geographically accessible for all people living with HIV (PLHIV). We estimated county‐level drive time and suboptimal geographic accessibility to HIV care across the contiguous US, assessing regional and urban–rural differences. We integrated publicly available data from four federal databases to identify and geocode sites providing comprehensive HIV care in 2015, defined as the co‐located provision of core HIV medical care and support services. Leveraging street network, US Census and HIV surveillance data (2014), we used geographic analysis to estimate the fastest one‐way drive time between the population‐weighted county centroid and the nearest site providing HIV care for counties reporting at least five diagnosed HIV cases. We summarized HIV care sites, county‐level drive time, population‐weighted drive time and suboptimal geographic accessibility to HIV care, by US region and county rurality (2013). Geographic accessibility to HIV care was suboptimal if drive time was >30 min, a common threshold for primary care accessibility in the general US population. Tests of statistical significance were not performed, since the analysis is population‐based. We identified 671 HIV care sites across the US, with 95% in urban counties. Nationwide, the median county‐level drive time to HIV care is 69 min (interquartile range (IQR) 66 min). The median county‐level drive time to HIV care for rural counties (90 min, IQR 61) is over twice that of urban counties (40 min, IQR 48), with the greatest urban–rural differences in the West. Nationally, population‐weighted drive time, an approximation of individual‐level drive time, is over five times longer in rural counties than in urban counties. Geographic access to HIV care is suboptimal for over 170,000 people diagnosed with HIV (19%), with over half of these individuals from the South and disproportionately the rural South. Nationally, approximately 80,000 (9%) drive over an hour to receive HIV care. Suboptimal geographic accessibility to HIV care is an important structural barrier in the US, particularly for rural residents living with HIV in the South and West. Targeted policies and interventions to address this challenge should become a priority.

There are three key drivers of the biodiversity crisis: (1) the well known existing threats to biodiversity such as habitat loss, invasive pest species and resource exploitation; (2) direct effects of climate-change, such as on coastal and high elevation

Objectives: To compare patient-reported social determinants of health (SDOH) to the Brokamp Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and evaluate the association of patient-reported SDOH and ADI with mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).Design: Prospective cohort.Setting: Academic medical center.Participants: Adults with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and/or acute exacerbation of heart failure (HF) hospitalized between 2011 and 2015.Methods: Patient-reported SDOH included: income range, education, health insurance, and household size. ADI was calculated using census tract level variables of poverty, median income, high school completion, lack of health insurance, assisted income, and vacant housing.Primary outcome: All-cause mortality, up to 5 years follow-up.Results: The sample was 60% male, 84% White, and 93% insured; mean patient-reported household income was $48,000 (SD $34,000). ADI components were significantly associated with corresponding patient-report­ed variables. In age, sex, and race adjusted Cox regression models, ADI was associated with mortality for ACS (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06, 1.42), but not HF (HR 1.09, 95% CI .99, 1.21). Mortality models for ACS improved with consideration of social determinants data (C-statistics: base demographic model=.612; ADI added=.644; patient-reported SDOH added=.675; both ADI and patient-reported SDOH added=.689). HF mortality models improved only slightly (C-statistics: .600, .602, .617, .620, respectively).Conclusions: The Brokamp ADI is associated with mortality in hospitalized patients with CVD. In the absence of available patient-reported data, hospitals could implement the Brokamp ADI as an approximation for patient-reported data to enhance risk stratification of patients with CVD. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(1):9-22; doi:10.18865/ed.31.1.9

Christianity is not becoming a global religion--it has always been one. Vince Bantu surveys the geographic range of the early church's history, investigating the historical roots of the Western cultural captivity of the church and the concurrent development of diverse expressions of Christianity across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

"Christianity is not becoming a global religion-it has always been one. Vince Bantu surveys the geographic range of the early church's history, investigating the historical roots of the Western cultural captivity of the church and the concurrent development of diverse expressions of Christianity across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia"--

Tropical fruit flies are considered among the most economically important invasive species detected in temperate areas of the United States and the European Union. Detections often trigger quarantine and eradication programs that are conducted without a holistic understanding of the threat posed. Weather-driven physiologically-based demographic models are used to estimate the geographic range, relative abundance, and threat posed by four tropical tephritid fruit flies (Mediterranean fruit fly, melon fly, oriental fruit fly, and Mexican fruit fly) in North and Central America, and the European-Mediterranean region under extant and climate change weather (RCP8.5 and A1B scenarios). Most temperate areas under tropical fruit fly propagule pressure have not been suitable for establishment, but suitability is predicted to increase in some areas with climate change. To meet this ongoing challenge, investments are needed to collect sound biological data to develop mechanistic models to predict the geographic range and relative abundance of these and other invasive species, and to put eradication policies on a scientific basis.

The main goal of the article is to describe the short-term impacts of reported new cases and deaths of the COVID-19 disease on hotels&rsquo ; performances in the nine major Polish urban hotel markets: Krakó ; w, Warszawa, Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Lublin, Łó ; dź, Katowice, and Sopot. Time range of the analysis covers the period from January 5, 2020 (the beginning of the very first week when the COVID-19 cases were evidenced) to March 14, 2020 (the initial phase of lockdown was introduced by the Polish government). Various geographical contexts of the COVID-19 impacts are considered: national, European, and global. Generalized method of moments was applied to investigate the influence of reported COVID-19 cases (deaths) on both occupancy and revenue per available room. The results show that the most significant, negative impact of the pandemic on hotel performances is confirmed at the European level of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the negative influence of national cases of COVID-19 is more significant in less internationalized (or less-populated) urban destinations. Thus, the hotel industry (especially in the most internationalized, biggest Polish cities) might be recovered only when issues of the COVID-19 epidemic will be solved at the European level.