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Investing in young children is the responsible thing to do. All children deserve a chance to grow into healthy, educated, and competent people, no matter where and when they were born. While parents bear most of the responsibility for raising their children, especially in the early years of life, governments also have an important role during this critical time of human capital accumulation. For example, governments can ensure that all expectant mothers and young children have access to quality health services and nutrition. They can support parents and other caregivers in providing a positive and stimulating environment for children from birth on by promoting parenting information programs, investing in direct services such as home-based visits, funding daycare centers and preschools, or providing financial incentives to access good quality programs for infants and children. This Early Childhood Development (ECD) guide presents lessons and experiences that have been useful in informing the policy debate about ECD interventions and the design of such programs across the world. Whether the user of this guide is at the initial stage of deciding whether to expand an ECD portfolio or already in the program design stage, the content offers a range of evidence- based options to inform policy and investment choices.

Mit Beginn der mitteleuropäischen Landwirtschaft im Neolithikum entstanden durch den Menschen geformte Agrarlandschaften, welche bis heute durch den Anbau von Kulturfrüchten und Grünlandwirtschaft zur Viehhaltung geprägt sind. In diesen traditionell extensiv bewirtschafteten Nutzflächen hat eine Vielzahl von Tier- und Pflanzenarten einen Lebensraum gefunden. Mit der Industrialisierung der Landwirtschaft seit der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts ging jedoch eine intensivierte Nutzung von Agrarflächen einher (insbesondere durch den Einsatz von synthetischen Dünge- und Pflanzenschutzmitteln). Dies wiederum führte zu einem Rückgang der Artenvielfalt in europäischen Agrarlandschaften innerhalb der letzten 50 bis 60 Jahre. Die Ackerbegleitflora, welche überwiegend aus konkurrenzschwachen Pflanzenarten besteht, wurde besonders negativ von den intensivierten ackerbaulichen Nutzungspraktiken beeinflusst. Der Erhalt einer reichhaltigen Ackerbegleitflora ist jedoch essenziell, da diese ein wichtiges Fundament der Nahrungskette in Agrarökosystemen darstellt (u.a. als Nahrungsquelle für viele Insekten und Agrarvögel) und somit auch wichtig für den Erhalt bedeutender Ökosystemfunktionen ist. Unterschiedliche Schutzbestrebungen, wie etwa die Einführung von Agrarumweltmaßnahmen durch die Europäische Union, konnten den fortschreitenden Verlust der Ackerbegleitflora in weiten Teilen der hauptsächlich konventionell bewirtschafteten Agrarflächen Europas bislang nicht aufhalten. Es besteht daher noch weiterer Forschungsbedarf hinsichtlich der Faktoren, welche die Ackerwildkrautdiversität in konventionell bewirtschafteten Feldern derzeit bestimmen (insbesondere unter Berücksichtigung verschiedener Kulturfrüchte und des Landschaftskontextes) und der spezifischen Maßnahmen, die der fortschreitenden Verarmung der Ackerbegleitflora effektiv entgegenwirken können. Darüber hinaus unterscheiden sich derzeit durchgeführte Erhebungen der Ackervegetation zum Teil erheblich in der zugrundeliegenden Methodik, was eine verlässliche, überregionale Bewertung des Erhaltungszustandes der Ackerbegleitflora und möglicher Effekte von Schutzmaßnahmen schwierig macht. Hierfür ist die Definition eines geeigneten Standard-Ackerwildkraut-Monitoring-Ansatzes notwendig. Basierend auf dem oben genannten Forschungsbedarf widmet sich die vorliegende Abschlussarbeit den nachfolgenden Forschungsthemen: Durch die Untersuchung von insgesamt 200 konventionell bewirtschafteten Ackerschlägen stellt Kapitel 2 den aktuellen Zustand der Ackerbegleitflora dar (Artenreichtum, Abundanz und Zusammensetzung) und überprüft, welche Faktoren (Position im Ackerschlag, angebaute Kulturfrucht, Bewirtschaftungsregime, edaphische und landschaftsbezogene Standortbedingungen) heutzutage einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Ackerwildkrautdiversität haben. Kapitel 3 vergleicht die Effekte von vier Agrarumweltmaßnahmen auf die Ackerbegleitflora innerhalb eines zwei- bis dreijährigen Untersuchungszeitraums. Die Maßnahmen wurden auf insgesamt 67 Ackerschlägen umgesetzt und umfassten i) extensiv bewirtschaftete Ackerflächen, ii) einjährige Bracheflächen, iii) alternierend bewirtschaftete, zweijährige Blühstreifen und iv) mehrjährige Blühstreifen. Vor der Umsetzung wurden alle Maßnahmen in Kooperation mit Landwirten und anderen relevanten regionalen Akteuren (z.B. Landwirtschaftsberatern, Jägern, Imkern, Wissenschaftlern, Naturschutzbehörden und -organisationen) angepasst, um ihre Wirksamkeit und Akzeptanz zu erhöhen. Basierend auf insgesamt 45 konventionell bewirtschafteten Ackerschlägen, werden in Kapitel 4 schließlich sechs etablierte oder neu entwickelte Erhebungsmethoden zur Erfassung der Ackerwildkrautdiversität hinsichtlich ihrer Effizienz (erfasste Artenzahl eines Ackerschlages und Zeitaufwand) miteinander verglichen. Die Forschungsarbeiten wurden in der überwiegend konventionell bewirtschafteten Agrarregion der Landkreise Nienburg und Diepholz (Niedersachsen, Nordwestdeutschland) von 2016 bis 2019 durchgeführt. Diese Arbeit konnte zeigen, dass die heutige Ackerwildkrautdiversität konventionell bewirtschafteter Äcker ein historisches Minimum erreicht hat. Das Feldinnere hat dabei fast keine Relevanz mehr als Lebensraum für Ackerwildkräuter (Median-Artenzahl und -Deckung: 2 Arten und 0,5 %) und nennenswerte Vorkommen sind nur am Ackerrand vorzufinden (Median-Artenzahl und -Deckung: 11 Arten und 4 %; Kapitel 2). Die bedeutendsten Faktoren, welche die heutige pflanzliche Diversität im Ackerrandbereich bestimmen, waren die Art der angebauten Kulturfrucht und das Vorhandensein angrenzender Habitate (Feldraine, Gehölzstreifen und Grabenränder). Die heutige Ackerbegleitflora ist stark verarmt und wird von wenigen weit verbreiteten Ackerwildkräutern dominiert, welche fähig sind, das intensive Management zu überdauern. Charakteristische, ehemals mit dem typischen Management der Kulturpflanzenarten oder Bodenfaktoren verbundene Ackerwildkrautgesellschaften sind nicht mehr identifizierbar. Die hier dargestellten Erkenntnisse zur Verarmung der Ackerbegleitflora sind auf einen Großteil des West- und Zentraleuropäischen Ackerlandes übertragbar. Dies zeigt den dringenden Handlungsbedarf seitens der Gemeinsamen Europäischen Agrarpolitik auf, um einer weiteren Verarmung der Ackerbegleitflora, negative Auswirkungen auf abhängige Organismengruppen und der Gefährdung bedeutender Ökosystemleistungen in Agrarlandschaften entgegenzuwirken. Dazu bedarf es der großräumigen Umsetzung von ökologisch effizienten Maßnahmen. Alle vier der im Rahmen dieser Arbeit untersuchten Agrarumweltmaßnahmen zeigten eine vergleichbar positive Wirkung auf die Ackerwildkrautartenvielfalt und -abundanz innerhalb des zwei- bis dreijährigen Untersuchungszeitraumes (Vergleich der Median-Artenzahl und -Deckung aller Maßnahmenflächen mit konventionell bewirtschafteten Ackerrändern bezogen auf den gesamten Untersuchungszeitraum: 21 vs. 9 Arten und 68,5 vs. 9,5 %; Kapitel 3). Um jedoch die Ackerwildkrautdiversität auf längere Sicht zu erhalten, ist die Anlage von extensiv bewirtschafteten Ackerflächen und einjährigen Bracheflächen geeigneter. Alle hier untersuchten Maßnahmen dürften aufgrund ihrer Anpassung an die landwirtschaftliche Praxis in modernen konventionellen Betrieben eine hohe Akzeptanz unter Landwirten aufweisen. Daher werden alle in dieser Arbeit untersuchten Maßnahmen zur Berücksichtigung in nationalen oder internationalen Agrarumweltprogrammen empfohlen. Da heute das Vorkommen vieler typischer, einst weit verbreiteter Ackerwildkräuter auf wenige Ackerflächen beschränkt ist, sollte weiterhin die Einbringung solcher Pflanzenarten über Regio-Saatgut bedacht werden, um die Ackerwildkrautdiversität auf Feldebene zu fördern und das (lokales) Aussterben seltener Arten zu verhindern. Zudem wurde während der Umsetzung der Agrarumweltmaßnahmen festgestellt, dass unterschiedliche Witterungsbedingungen in den Untersuchungsjahren zu signifikant veränderten Artenzahlen und -deckungen der Ackerbegleitflora führen können. Dies verdeutlicht, dass zur verlässlichen Evaluierung von Agrarumweltmaßnahmen ein mehrjähriges Monitoring zwingend notwendig ist. Die Wahl der angewandten Erhebungsmethodik kann hierbei einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Monitoring-Ergebnisse haben. So konnte diese Arbeit zeigen, dass die unterschiedlichen derzeit angewandten Erhebungsmethoden zur Erfassung der Ackerwildkrautdiversität zu signifikant unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen hinsichtlich des erfassten Ackerwildkraut-Artenpools in konventionell bewirtschafteten Äckern führen (Kapitel 4). Um die zukünftige Entwicklung der Ackerbegleitflora und die Effektivität von Agrarumweltmaßnahmen im größeren räumlichen und zeitlichen Kontext analysieren zu können, bedarf es daher eines einheitlichen nationalen bzw. internationalen Monitoringsystems, welches idealerweise im Rahmen der Gemeinsamen Europäischen Agrarpolitik implementiert werden sollte. Die vorliegende Arbeit konnte diesbezüglich zeigen, dass ein langgestreckter Plot von 500 × 1 m am Ackerrand eine vielversprechende Methode darstellt, um einen Großteil des Ackerwildkraut-Artenpools in konventionell bewirtschafteten Äckern (Median: 75,6 %) in einer vertretbaren Zeit erfassen zu können (Median: 20 Minuten). Diese Methode wird daher als zukünftiger Standard für das Ackerwildkraut-Monitoring auf konventionellen Ackerschlägen empfohlen. ; With the beginning of Central European agriculture in the Neolithic, man-made landscapes have been created, which are characterized by arable land cultivated with crops and grasslands needed for livestock farming. In these traditionally non-intensively farmed areas, a variety of animal and plant species have found a habitat. However, the industrialization of agriculture since the middle of the 19th century has been accompanied by an intensification of the management regime (in particular through the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides). This, in turn, has led to a strong decline in biodiversity in European agricultural landscapes within the last 50 to 60 years. The arable flora, which consists mainly of competitively weak plant species, has been particularly negatively affected by agricultural intensification. However, the maintenance of a rich arable flora is essential, as it is the basis of the food chain in agroecosystems (e.g. as a food source for many insects and farmland birds) and is therefore also crucial for the preservation of important ecosystem functions. Various conservation approaches, such as the introduction of agri-environment measures by the European Union, have not yet been able to stop the ongoing loss of the arable flora in large parts of Europe's primarily conventionally managed farmland. Thus, further research is needed with respect to the current drivers of the plant diversity in conventionally managed fields (especially considering the effect of crop type and the landscape context) and which specific measures can effectively counteract the continuing impoverishment of the arable flora. In addition, currently conducted arable plant surveys strongly vary in their methodologies, making it difficult to reliably assess the conservation status of the arable flora and possible effects of conservation measures on a supra-regional scale. Here, the definition of a suitable standard arable plant monitoring approach is needed. Based on the above-mentioned research needs, the present thesis is dedicated to the following research topics: Studying 200 conventionally managed arable fields, Chapter 2 shows the current state of the arable flora (species richness, abundance and composition) and investigates which factors (location in the field, cultivated crop, management regime, edaphic and landscape context) have a significant influence on the arable plant diversity. Chapter 3 compares four agri-environment measures with regard to their effect on the arable plant vegetation within a two- to three-year study period. The measures were implemented in 67 arable fields and included i) conservation field margins, ii) annual fallows, iii) alternately managed biennial flower strips and iv) perennial flower strips. Before implementation, all measures were adapted with the participation of farmers and other relevant regional stakeholders (e.g. agricultural advisors, hunters, beekeepers, scientists, conservation authorities and organizations) to increase their effectiveness and acceptance. Based on 45 conventionally managed fields, Chapter 4 finally compares the efficiency (number of species recorded in a field and time required) of six established or newly developed survey methods for the assessment of the arable plant diversity. The research was conducted in the predominantly conventionally managed agricultural region of the districts of Nienburg and Diepholz (Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany) from 2016 to 2019. This thesis shows that the current arable plant diversity of conventionally managed fields has reached a historical minimum. Today, the field interior is of almost no relevance as a habitat for arable plants (median species number and cover: 2 species and 0.5 %) and significant occurrences are only found in the field edge (median species number and cover: 11 species and 4 %; Chapter 2). The most important factors determining contemporary arable plant diversity in the field edge were the crop type and the presence of adjacent habitats (i.e. grass strips, hedges and ditch margins). Today's arable flora is severely impoverished and dominated by few widespread plant species, which are able to cope with the intensive management. Characteristic arable plant communities formerly associated with the specific management of crop types or soil factors are no longer detectable. The findings about the impoverishment of the arable flora presented here are transferable to a large part of Western and Central European farmland. Thus, there is an urgent need for action within the Common Agricultural Policy to counteract a further impoverishment of arable flora, related negative effects on dependent organism groups and the endangerment of important ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. This requires the implementation of ecologically efficient measures on a large scale. The four agri-environment measures investigated in this thesis showed a similar positive effect on the arable plant diversity and abundance within the two- to three-year study period (median number of species and cover across all measures and years compared to conventionally managed field edges: 21 vs. 9 species and 68.5 vs. 9.5 %; Chapter 3). However, in order to preserve the arable plant diversity in the longer term, the establishment of conservation field margins and annual fallows are more suitable. Due to their adaptation for practicability on a modern conventional farm, all agri-environmental measures tested here are expected to have a high acceptance among farmers. Thus, all measures tested are recommended for consideration in national or international agri-environment schemes. Nevertheless, since many once widespread arable plant species are nowadays restricted to few arable fields, the introduction of such plant species via seed mixtures of local provenance should be considered in order to promote arable plant diversity at field level and to prevent the (local) extinction of rare species. In addition, during the implementation of the agri-environment measures, it was found that different weather conditions in the study years can lead to significant changes in the observed arable plant species richness and cover. This supports the assumption that multi-year monitoring is absolutely necessary for a reliable evaluation of agri-environment measures. In this context, the choice of survey methodology can have a considerable influence on the monitoring results. This thesis demonstrated that the different currently applied arable plant survey methods lead to significantly different results regarding the recorded arable plant species pool of a conventionally managed field (Chapter 4). To analyze the future development of the arable flora and the effectiveness of implemented agri-environment measures in a larger spatial and temporal context, a standard national or international monitoring system is required, which should ideally be implemented within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. By capturing a large part of the arable plant species pool of a conventionally managed field (median: 75.6 %) in a reasonable time (median: 20 minutes), this thesis presented an elongated plot of 500 × 1 m at the field edge as a promising survey method, which is recommended as future standard for arable plant monitoring.

Wetlands belong to the most productive ecosystem on Earth. They provide many essential services to humans. They play an important role and possess ecosystem services, for example, in biodiversity conservation, for the hydrologic cycle, to buffer regional climate change, and for human health. Among the different types of wetlands, lakes (lacustrine wetlands) play a crucial role in maintaining global and regional water balances, natural and socio-economic resources, and habitats. Over the last decades, the lakes have gone through enormous changes derived from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Particularly, freshwater lakes are endangered through point and non-point pollutions, and such impacts are coming from agricultural runoff and industrial pollution, domestic waste, through municipal sewage, which may deteriorate the water quality and their ecological integrity. The Kolleru Lake wetland ecosystem in South India has been taken here as a case study, based on a comprehensive data analysis and modeling of Spatio-temporal variability of the pollutant loads, to achieve a better understanding of the man-environmental problems of the lake and its surrounding catchment. This is a necessary requirement for both better management of the agricultural, industrial, and water resources in the whole area and better lake protection and conservation. Kolleru Lake is the largest freshwater lake in India. It is a huge natural flood balancing reservoir and also a wildlife sanctuary. In 2002, the Ramsar Convention recognized the lake as a wetland of international importance. The lake is predominately fed by rivers. Among them, Budameru and Tammileru rivers are contributing to the lake influx substantially, plus supported by 68 minor irrigation (drainage) canals. The Kolleru Lake covers a total area of more than 90,100 hectares and holding approximately 1,350 cubic miles of freshwater. Additionally, Kolleru Lake provides drinking water to the inhabitants of the surrounded villages. The lake area up to 3' ft contour is consistent with water, while the 5' ft contour level of the Kolleru Lake belongs to the wildlife sanctuary. Further, it is mostly occupied by aquacultures followed by paddy cultivation, weed infests, and marshy land. There are many small scales to large scale industries growing steadily in order to support successful aquaculture. Before the 1970s, the lake area up to 5' ft contour was not occupied by any type of economic activity; however, the lake is saturated with water during the rainy season, and it remains dry during summer. Furthermore, it was completely free from contamination by aquaculture and agricultural activities before the 1970s. After the 1970s, the State Government had distributed the Kolleru Lake up to 5'ft contour area the poor people, migrant workers, and local inhabitants in the promise of whenever the government again needs the lake area, and they can take it back by paying compensation to them. Then farmers have started paddy cultivation in and around the lake. All bed villages in the lake region are frequently severely affected by massive flooding in connection with the submersion of paddy fields. Despite the fact that the state Government had encouraged the farmers to convert the paddy fields into fishponds by providing loans in order to overcome the floods. However, the maximum of lake area up to wildlife sanctuary is practiced by the aquaculture in the 1990s. Since 1970 until the current situation, the lake has been facing some severe environmental threats, such as degraded water quality, deteriorated aqua species and birds, and habitat losses, induced by human activities and accelerated by climate change. A major cause of the environmental problems was identified within the lake by the construction of fishponds resulted in pollution by using pesticides and waste food (exposed to bacterial diseases and infection) to enrich the fish growth. As a result, it causes biological magnification diseases, fertility, and respiratory problems to the animals, birds, and humans who live near to the lake. Thereby the ecosystem will become an inhospitable environment for those aqua species and birds. The fish ponds occupied approximately 42% of the lake area while aquaculture had encroached another 8.5%, together covering 50% of the lake region. If the human-induced debasement of the lake will continue, the lake will no longer cease to exist, and the wildlife species soon will disappear. Apart from the aquaculture tradition, the Kolleru Lake catchment is known for its intensive paddy cultivation. However, the massive application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers to agricultural lands across the catchment area is one reason for the eutrophication in Kolleru Lake. In addition to the several factors that influence the lake ecosystem, industrial pollution causes deteriorating water quality and makes them unfit for drinking water for the inhabitants of the villages around the Kolleru Lake. Both point and non-point sources issued threatens to the lake area becomes more sensitive by anthropogenic activities. The main focus of the present research was to analyze the problems related to the lake catchment and give recommendations to the government about the insight view of the land use cover and enlighten the public perception towards the lake degradation. However, sedimentation in a lake is a natural consequence of the inflow of respected tributaries, rivers, and streams. In addition to the natural influence, man-made activities like land use and others are also responsible for erosion in the catchment and the sediment transport and accumulation of the sediments in both the lower sections of the catchment and the lake basin itself, as discussed in the first research objective. Extensive use of land and the indiscriminate rise of embankments for the construction of fishponds as well as agricultural functions has resulted in widespread soil erosion in the catchment and sedimentation over the deltaic part of the Kolleru Lake catchment. In addition, the perennial rivers of Krishna and Godavari drift down to the lake about 68,000 tons/yr of sediments that coming from the whole catchments after passage from the river banks and river beds. The objective of this part was to analyze both the average annual soil loss rate and its change from the catchment and the sediment yields by using the RUSLE model both for the terrestrial part and the semi-aquatic deltaic part of the Kolleru Lake catchment for the years 1972 and 2012. The results indicated that the average annual soil loss was estimated with 13.6 t/ha/yr, classifying the Kolleru Lake Basin under a very high erosion rate category. Whereas, the average annual sediment yield was determined with 7.61 t/ha/yr. The resultant difference of the sediment balance is temporally interbedded within the terrestrial sites and within the river banks and river beds. However, this study has found that tributaries and streamlines of the catchment carry high sediment loads to the lake. This research has proved how intensive agricultural activities in wetland catchments interact with the pollution levels of the lake, causing a deteriorated water quality. Agricultural runoff (runoff from catchment areas dominated by agricultural use) is the main driving factor of accumulated non-point source pollution of the lake water, with side-effects on sediments and silts near the downstream areas of the Kolleru Lake catchment. It primarily caused eutrophication in the lake subsequently that led to proliferating the weeds. However, the second objective of the research was to estimate the tributaries' sub-basin loads and to highlight the diffuse critical sources against the village communities. For this purpose, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to model the diffuse sources in the catchment. The spatial distribution of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and total phosphorus (TP) emissions were quantified. Some sub-basins contribute more pollutant load to the lake. Alternately, the first and second BMPs (Best Management Practices) level priority areas were identified. Further, suggestions for the implementation of agricultural management practices have been provided for the crucial protection of the lake ecosystem. Consequently, the Kolleru Lake wetland ecosystem is known for its both abundant water availability as well as water scarcity. The river and streams water diverted into the agricultural lands, and still, there is a dire need for groundwater too. When the monsoon rain was weak, and after rainless summer periods, the lake falls more or less dry. Therefore there is a high demand for groundwater, which is continuously increasing. An effective way to analyze groundwater recharge and groundwater availability is a remote sensing and GIS based mapping. The theoretical concepts are involved in this objective is more useful for t further research of the link between surface emission and groundwater contamination. That is why the present research has been investigated as the third objective, the potential groundwater resources in the catchment. A simple mathematical equation was derived from the catchment hydrologic characteristics. The catchment characteristics were analyzed and based on the previous literature sources, and the thematic weight was assigned to evaluate potential groundwater zones. About 13% of the catchment area falls under poor conditions, 38% of the area falls under moderate conditions, 42% of the area falls under good conditions, and about 7% of the area is under excellent condition. These results are a contribution to future groundwater management projects and artificial recharge plans of the Kolleru Lake catchment to maintain sufficient groundwater levels. Due to the still existing lack of observed data of the tributaries, i.e., runoff, sediment, water quality parameters, nutrient load, the used methods are limited and suitable just for an estimation. Sufficient calibration and validation of the results were also limited because the access to the study area and to an onside research institute was not allowed for the Ph.D. candidate, because of its status as a Ph.D. student from Germany. Field investigations on the interaction of pollutant loads with the runoff would be advantageous for a better calculation of the pollutant load and its dynamic. Because of the limited funding capacity, it is challenging to do a field survey to control every remote sensing and GIS result of this research. That is why, without a few exceptions, this study was conducted dominantly based on remote sensing data and accessible weather and soil data. From the research results emphasized that the Kolleru Lake water level and water quality are highly degraded, respectively polluted with metals, agricultural contaminants, which makes the lake water not advisable for human consumption. The erosion and sedimentation loads are also high, and the priority management practices should be targeted already in the middle catchment region. These results give a general understanding of the pollutant levels in the lake, which should be useful for government management plans.

학위논문(박사)--서울대학교 대학원 :의과대학 임상의과학과,2020. 2. 정희연. ; 배경 및 목적 성폭행은 여성에게서 외상후 스트레스장애(posttraumatic stress disorder, 이하 PTSD)를 일으킬 수 있는 가장 중대한 스트레스 요인으로 알려져 있다. PTSD의 발생과 만성화를 예방하기 위해서는 외상 직후 초기 단계에서 이를 조기 발견하고 치료적으로 개입하는 것이 중요하다. 본 연구는 최근 성폭행을 경험한 생존자를 대상으로, PTSD의 발생과 증상 심각도를 예측할 수 있는 심리적, 신경인지적, 신경생리학적 인자를 규명하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 다음과 같은 주요 연구가설을 설정하였다: 성폭행 이후 PTSD로 진행되는 생존자는 그렇지 않은 생존자에 비하여, 사건 직후의 시점에서 더 높은 정서적 고통감과 신경인지기능의 저하 그리고 휴지기 뇌기능의 저하를 보일 것이다. 위의 가설을 지지하는 결과와 관련한 지표는 사건 3개월 이후의 시점에서의 PTSD 발생 여부 및 증상 심각도를 유의하게 예측할 것이다. 방법 본 연구는 서울특별시 보라매병원 원내에 위치한 성폭력전문 통합지원센터와 응급실과의 연계를 통해 사건 1개월 이내에 정신건강의학과에 방문한 33명의 여성 강간 생존자의 자료를 수집하였다. 사건 1개월 이내에 모든 대상자는 급성 스트레스장애의 진단기준을 충족하였기에, 생존자 전체군은 급성 스트레스장애군이라 명명하였다. 강간 생존자에게 사건 3개월 후 임상가-평정 PTSD 척도(Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale)를 실시하여, PTSD 진단기준을 완전히 충족하는군(이하 PTSD(+); n=12)과 PTSD 진단기준을 완전히는 충족하지 않는군(이하 PTSD(-); n=14)으로 분류하였다. 대조군으로, 연령이 짝짓기 된 일생에 극단적 트라우마 경험이 단 한 번도 없는 25명의 여성 우울증대조군(주요우울장애군)과 25명의 여성 정상대조군을 모집하였다. 심리적 변인을 위해 자기보고식 우울, 불안 및 상태-특성 분노 척도를 실시하였으며, 전반적 인지기능으로 지능지수(Intelligence Quotient; 이하 IQ)를 측정하였다. 집행기능 평가를 위해 전산화된 도구를 이용하여 세트-변환(shift-shift), 계획성(planning), 공간-작업기억(spatial-working memory), 억제기능(inhibition) 과제를 실시하였다. 또한 휴지기 상태에서의 뇌파(electroencephalography; 이하 EEG) 측정을 통해 뇌기능을 살펴보았다. EEG 파라미터에는 파워 스펙트럼 밀도와 소스-수준 분석의 기능적 연결성(functional connectivity)이 포함되었다. 기능적 연결성을 확인하기 위해 디폴트 모드 네트워크(default mode network; 이하 DMN)와 관련된 곳을 관심 영역(region of interest; 이하 ROI)으로 설정한 후, 그래프 이론(graph theory)에 기반하여 네트워크의 전반적인 통합성과 효율성을 알아보는 작은-세상(small-worldness) 지표를 계산하였다. 개별 ROI에서의 기능적 연결성도 면밀히 살펴보았다. 상기 EEG 파라미터는 다음의 주파수 대역별로 산출되었다: 델타파(delta; 1.00-3.75Hz), 세타파(theta; 4.00-7.75Hz), 알파파1(8.00-9.75Hz), 알파파2(10.00-11.75Hz), 베타파1(12.00-14.75Hz), 베타파2(15.00-19.75Hz), 베타파3(20-29.75Hz), 및 감마파(30-44.75Hz). PTSD 진단을 제외한 모든 평가는 강간사건 후 1개월 이내에 실시하였고, 대조군의 경우 모집 시점에서 실시하였다. 분석은 크게 다음의 세 가지 방법으로 실시되었다: 1) 급성 스트레스장애군(강간 생존자 전체군), 우울증대조군 그리고 정상대조군의 집단 차, 2) PTSD(+)군, PTSD(-)군, 우울증대조군 그리고 정상대조군의 집단 차, 3) PTSD 발생 및 증상 심각도 예측을 위한 회귀분석. 연령과 IQ의 효과는 분석에서 조정하였다. 결과 1) 급성 스트레스장애군, 우울증대조군, 정상대조군의 집단 차 급성 스트레스장애군은 정상대조군에 비해 높은 수준의 우울, 불안, 및 상태-분노를 보고하였으며, 우울증대조군은 정상대조군보다 높은 수준의 우울 및 불안 수준을 보고하였다(Ps <.0167 = .050/3). 인지기능에서, 급성 스트레스장애군은 우울증대조군이나 정상대조군보다 세트-변환 과제에서 더 많은 오류를 보였다(Ps <.0167). 또한 그들의 공간-작업기억 능력은 정상대조군보다 저하되어 있었다(P <.0167). 뇌기능을 살펴보면, 우울증대조군은 정상대조군에 비해 증가된 베타파, 감마파 파워 스펙트럼 밀도를 보였으며(adj PMCMCs <.050), 급성 스트레스장애군은 베타파 대역에서 DMN의 기능적 연결성을 나타내는 작은-세상 정도가 감소되는 결과를 나타냈다(Ps <.0167). 2) PTSD(+)군, PTSD(-)군, 우울증대조군, 정상대조군의 집단 차 사건 직후 PTSD(+)군과 PTSD(-)군은 PTSD 증상 심각도에서 유의한 차이를 보이지 않았으나, 3개월 후에는 유의한 차이를 보였다. 우울 및 불안 수준은 임상군에 해당하는 세 집단 모두에게서 정상대조군에 비하여 상승하였으며, PTSD(+)군과 PTSD(-)군은 특성-분노도 정상대조군에 비해 높게 보고하였다(Ps <.0083 = .050/6). 하지만, PTSD(-)군은 우울증대조군에 비교하여 상대적으로 낮은 우울 정도를 보였다(P = .0035). PTSD(+)군과 우울증대조군 간에 유의한 우울 정도의 차이는 발견되지 않았다. 또한, PTSD(+)군은 PTSD(-)군과 우울증대조군보다 높은 수준의 불안을 보고하였다(Ps = .0078 및 Ps = .0033). 집행기능 영역에서는 가설과 다른 결과가 나타났다. PTSD(-)군은 다른 모든 군보다 세트-변환 과제에서 더 많은 오류를 보였으며, PTSD(+)군 보다도 그러하였다(Ps <.0001). EEG 파워 스펙트럼 밀도에서는, PTSD(+)군과 우울증대조군이 정상대조군에 비하여 증가된 베타파를 보인 데에 반해(PMCMCs <.050), PTSD(-)군은 정상대조군과 유의한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 기능적 연결성에서는, PTSD(+)군만 베타파3 대역에서 정상대조군 보다 작은-세상 정도가 감소되었다(P = .0067). ROI 대 ROI로 면밀히 살펴보았을 때에도, 두 생존자군은 다른 양상을 보였다. 특히, PTSD(+)군은 PTSD(-)군에 비하여 베타파3 대역에서 내후각피질(entorhinal cortex)과 해마방회(parahippocampal gyrus) 간, 전두극(frontal pole)과 해마방회 간, 중측두회(middle temporal gyrus)와 쐐기앞소엽(precuneus) 간 등의 영역에서 기능적 연결성이 저하되는 경향을 보였다(uncorrected Ps <.050). 반면, PTSD(-)군은 PTSD(+)군에 비해 베타파2 대역에서 전두극(frontal pole)과 문측중전두회(rostal middle frontal gyrus)를 포함하는 전두엽과 전전두엽 부분에서 뇌기능 연결성의 중심성(centrality)이 떨어지는 경향을 보였다(uncorrected Ps <.050). 3) PTSD 진행 및 증상 심각도와 관련한 예측인자 성폭행 사건 후 1개월 이내에 경험된 불안 정도와 PTSD 및 스트레스 관련 증상은 사건 3개월 이후의 PTSD 진행 및 증상 심각도를 유의하게 예측하였다(Ps <.050). 사건 직후의 베타파 파워 스펙트럼 밀도는 3개월 후의 PTSD 하위증상 심각도(재경험과 마비)를 정적으로 예측하였다. 또한 저하된 우측 내후각피질과 좌측 해마방회 간의 기능적 연결성은 이후의 PTSD 발생 및 증상 심각도를 예측하였다(odd ratio = -24.48, P = 0.0471). 마지막으로, 인지적 유연성을 측정하는 과제 상 오류 수가 많고 전전두엽 영역의 기능적 연결성이 저하될수록, 이후의 PTSD 증상 심각도는 낮게 나타났다(Ps <.050). 특히, 사건 직후에 우측 문측중전두회와 좌측 전측대상피질(anterior cingulate cortex) 간 기능적 연결성이 저하될수록, 또한 좌측 전두극의 중심성이 저하될수록 사건 3개월 후의 시점에서 PTSD로 진단될 가능성은 낮아졌다. 결론 본 연구결과에 의하면, 성폭행은 사건 직후부터 생존자의 뇌기능을 변화시키며, 이 변화 양상은 이후 PTSD 진행여부에 따라 다르게 나타나는 것으로 보인다. PTSD로 진행된 생존자의 경우, 휴지기 상태에서 EEG 베타파 파워가 증가함에 더불어, DMN의 기능적 연결성이 저하되었다. 이는 사건 직후 경험하는 우울 및 불안 수준과 관련한 것으로 사료된다. 특히, 중내측두영역과 관련한 영역에서의 기능적 연결성 저하는 이후의 PTSD 발생 및 증상 심각도와 유의한 관련을 보인 바, 향후 PTSD의 예측인자로 활용될 수 있는 가능성이 시사되었다. 반면, PTSD로 진행되지 않은 생존자의 경우에는 가설과 다른 결과가 나타났다. 이들의 전두엽 및 전전두엽 관련한 인지기능과 뇌기능 연결성은 PTSD로 진행된 생존자보다도 저하되었다. 더욱이, 전전두엽 기능이 저하될수록, 향후 PTSD로 진단될 가능성이 낮아지는 결과가 나타났다. 본 연구는 적은 수의 피험자를 대상으로 진행되었기에, 결과의 의미를 보다 명확히 규명하고 타당화하기 위해서는 미래의 추가적 연구가 필요해 보인다. 마지막으로, 본 연구 결과는 심리적 요인, 신경인지 및 뇌기능을 포함한 다각도 접근을 통하여 PTSD를 조기 발견하고, 예방하며, 치료적 개입을 실시하는 데에 도움이 될 수 있는 기틀을 마련했다는 함의를 지닌다. ; Background and Aims Sexual assault is one of the strongest stressors that might trigger posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women. Early detection of PTSD and providing therapeutic interventions at the acute stage of post-trauma might play an important role in preventing PTSD progression and chronicization. This study aimed to investigate the psychological, neurocognitive, and neurophysiological predictors of PTSD progression in survivors who experienced recent sexual assaults, focusing on rape. The following key research hypotheses were established: Survivors who develop PTSD after sexual assault would show higher emotional distress, lowered neurocognitive function, and decrease in the resting-state brain function immediately after trauma, compared to survivors who do not. Indicators related to the results supporting the above hypothesis would significantly predict PTSD developing and its symptom severity aftermath. Methods This study collected data from 33 women rape survivors who visited the department of psychiatry within one month of the incident through collaboration with the emergency room and a referral center for sexual violence located in Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University (SMG-SNU) Boramae Medical Center, Seoul. Within one month of the incident, all survivors met the diagnostic criteria for acute stress disorder; thus, the entire group of survivors was named the acute stress disorder (ASD) group. Three months after the rape, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale was used to assess the extent to which rape survivors fully (PTSD(+); n = 12) or not fully (PTSD(-); n = 14) met the PTSD criteria. Additionally, age-matched 25 female depression controls (DCs) consisting of patients with major depressive disorder and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited; they had never experienced extreme trauma in their lifetime. Self-reported depression, anxiety, and state-trait anger scales were administered for psychological variables, and IQ was measured for general cognitive function. For executive functions, this study measured set-shift, planning, spatial-working memory, and inhibition using a computerized assessment tool. Brain function was measured through electroencephalography (EEG) in the resting-state. EEG parameters included power spectral density and functional connectivity from the source-level analysis. Functional connectivity was set to the region of interest (ROI) relative to the default mode network (DMN), and then a small-worldness was calculated based on the graph theory to assess overall functional integration and efficiency. The EEG parameters were calculated for the following frequency bands: delta (1.00–3.75 Hz), theta (4.00–7.75 Hz), alpha1 (8.00–9.75 Hz), alpha2 (10.00–11.75 Hz), beta1 (12.00–14.75 Hz), beta2 (15.00–19.75 Hz), beta3 (20.00–29.75 Hz), and gamma (30.00–44.75 Hz). All evaluations were conducted within one month after rape occurrence for survivors and at the time of recruitment of the control groups, except PTSD diagnosis conducted three months after the incident for survivors. In the analysis, the effects of age and IQ were adjusted. Results 1) Group differences for the ASD, DC, and HC The ASD and DC groups showed a higher level of depression and anxiety; on the other hand, the ASD displayed a fit of higher state anger than the HC group (Ps <.0167 = .050/3). The ASD group showed more errors in the set-shift compared to the DC and HC groups (Ps <.0167). They also showed inferior spatial working memory compared to the HC group (P <.0167). In terms of brain function, the DC group showed heightened beta and gamma power compared to the HC group (PMCMCs <.050), whereas the ASD group had decreased small-worldness, indicating the functional dysconnectivity of the DMN, especially in the beta bands, compared to the HC group (Ps <.0167). 2) Group differences for the PTSD(+), PTSD(-), DC, and HC The PTSD(+) and PTSD(-) groups did not significantly differ in the severity of PTSD symptoms immediately after the incident, but showed significant differences after three months. All three clinical groups showed higher depression and anxiety compared to the HC group, and the PTSD(+) and PTSD(-) groups showed higher level of stress anger than the HC group (Ps <.0083 = .050/6). However, the PTSD(-) group had a significantly lower level of depression than the DC group (P = .0035), and the depression difference was not significant between the PTSD(+) and DC groups. Moreover, the PTSD(+) group reported a higher anxiety level than the PTSD(-) and DC groups (Ps = .0078 and Ps = .0033, respectively). In the executive function, contrary to the hypothesis, the PTSD(-) group showed more errors in the set-shift task compared to the other groups (Ps <0.0001), and especially compared to the PTSD(+) group (Ps <0.0001). For the EEG power spectrum density, the PTSD(+) and DC groups showed increased alteration in the beta bands compared to the HC group (PMCMCs <.050), whereas the PTSD(-) group did not. Regarding functional connectivity, the significantly decreased small-worldness was only found in the PTSD(+) group in beta3 compared to the HC group (P = .0067). A closer look at individual ROI revealed that the two survivor groups showed different patterns. Particularly, the PTSD(+) group tended to reduced beta3 functional connectivity in several regions including the entorhinal cortex–parahippocampal gyrus, frontal pole–parahippocampal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus–precuneus regions, compared to the PTSD(-) (uncorrected Ps <.050). Meanwhile, the PTSD(-) group showed a tendency toward lowered centrality of the functional connectivity in frontal and prefrontal regions, including the frontal pole and rostral middle frontal gyrus compared to the PTSD(+) group in the beta2 band (uncorrected Ps <.050). 3) Predictive factors associated with developing PTSD and symptom severity Anxiety and PTSD and stress-related symptoms experienced within a month of trauma significantly predicted the total and sub-symptom severity and diagnostic status of PTSD after three months of trauma (Ps <.050). The beta power spectral density immediately after the rape significantly predicted the severity of PTSD sub-symptoms, reexperience and numbing, after three months (Ps <.050). Additionally, the decrease in functional connectivity of the right entorhinal cortex–left parahippocampus gyrus predicted developing subsequent PTSD and it's symptom severity after three months (odd ratio = -24.48, P = .0471). Finally, as errors during the cognitive flexibility task increased and functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex decreased, the severity of PTSD symptoms decreased after three months (Ps <.050). Especially, decreased right rostral middle frontal gyrus–left anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity and the decreased centrality of left frontal pole immediately after trauma were significantly associated lower possibility for being diagnosed as PTSD after three months of rape (OR = 16.09, P = .0333 and OR = 63.80, P = .0417, respectively). Conclusion Sexual assault may alter survivors' brain function immediately after the incident, and the alteration patterns may differ depending on the progress of subsequent PTSD. Survivors with subsequent PTSD could show neurophysiological changes, resting-state heightened beta power and the global dysfunctional connectivity of the DMN, which might be associated with anxiety and depression. Particularly, decreased functional connectivity in medial temporal regions at the early stage of post-trauma might be associated with later developing PTSD and its symptom severity that could be candidates of predictors of PTSD. In contrast to hypothesis, survivors who would not fully progress to PTSD might show a decrease in frontal and prefrontal lobe function at an early stage after the rape. Further, the results show that the lower the prefrontal lobe function, the lesser the likelihood of being diagnosed as PTSD aftermath. The small sample size calls for future research to clarify and validate the findings of this study. Nevertheless, this study has clinical implications because it lays the foundation for early detection of PTSD, and preventive and therapeutic interventions through a multi-faceted approach, including psychological factors, neurocognitive function, and brain function. ; ABSTRACT 1 CONTENTS 7 LIST OF TABLES 8 LIST OF FIGURES 11 1. INTRODUCTION 13 2. METHODS 39 3. RESULTS 58 4. DISCUSSION 123 5. CONCLUSION 139 REFERENCES 140 APPENDIX 165 국문초록 180 ; Doctor

Hoy en día, la Web se considera una herramienta importante que se puede utilizar para realizar numerosas tareas, las cuales potencian el desarrollo de la vida. Las más importantes son obtener conocimientos y aprender nuevas habilidades. Se puede utilizar una amplia variedad de dispositivos para acceder a la misma. La Web promueve un cambio considerable para las personas con discapacidad, eliminando las barreras de comunicación e interacción en comparación con los desafíos del mundo físico. Las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) permiten que las personas con discapacidad se integren mejor social y económicamente en sus comunidades. Para las personas con discapacidad, el acceso a la tecnología significa tener vidas más independientes, acceder a información y servicios. Las TIC ofrecen excelentes niveles de flexibilidad y personalización para usuarios con discapacidad. Las TIC juegan un papel fundamental en la creación de oportunidades para las personas con discapacidad en todas las etapas de la vida. Pueden usar aplicaciones para buscar profesionales, controlar su tratamiento, evaluar sus actividades terapéuticas, realizar evaluaciones de diagnóstico y ayudar a los pacientes a completar tareas de forma independiente. Con la aparición de la Web a través del internet es como que se democratiza el acceso a la información y servicios existiendo al momento millones de páginas web en las cuales se ofrece todo tipo de información y servicios. En el ámbito de la tecnología los teléfonos móviles inteligentes ahora se puede escuchar música, tomar fotos, hacer y ver videos, se tiene acceso a redes sociales y se dispone de una gran variedad de aplicaciones. De esta manera aparecen las aplicaciones móviles, que pueden haber de varios tipos nativas de cada sistema operativo, o hibridas que pueden ejecutarse en un móvil o en un navegador web, es decir la misma aplicación se puede utilizar de manera sencilla pero muy efectiva en tu teléfono inteligente, y por otro lado se puede tener esta aplicación en pantalla de un computador de escritorio o computador portátil. Las personas con discapacidad pueden lidiar con tres tipos de barreras cuando se relaciona con el entorno circundante: ambiental, actitudinal y digital. Las barreras digitales surgen cuando la tecnología no se puede cambiar a un diseño más accesible. En este contexto: ¿Se puede construir software de calidad utilizando experiencia de usuario y prototipado para desarrollar aplicaciones web y móviles para personas con discapacidad? Se plantean tres fases para dar respuesta a esta pregunta: 1. La primera fase se identifica el problema a través de un estudio exploratorio que da como resultado que en Ecuador existe una falta de uso de software en instituciones que ofrecen servicios a personas con discapacidad. 2. La segunda fase se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura en la cual se buscaba conocer cuáles eran los factores relevantes de calidad que debían tener aplicaciones web y móviles los cinco factores principales son diseño, contenido, funcionalidad, accesibilidad, usabilidad. 3. La tercera fase se refiere a la propuesta para desarrollo de Software para personas con discapacidad. Se inicia con la recopilación de aplicaciones web y móviles, la investigación de productos de software ha revelado que existe un grado de dificultad para encontrar software existente diseñado para ayudar a las personas con discapacidad a mejorar sus habilidades de aprendizaje. Se propone la creación de un catálogo prototipo inicial de software, analizando los recursos existentes y la asociación de características de discapacidad con los atributos de cada software existente diseñado para discapacidad intelectual. Se encontró que existen tres aspectos a considerar para desarrollar el catálogo: tipo de catálogo, acceso y especificaciones de la categorización. Además, es importante distinguir entre los tipos de catálogos, los sitios web propios de los desarrolladores y los sitios web de los promotores. Se debe tener en consideración el acceso al software no debe exceder los 3 a 5 clics para acceder; y que los usuarios prefieren categorizar el catálogo por tipo de discapacidad porque están familiarizados con las discapacidades de acuerdo con sus antecedentes. Para seleccionar las aplicaciones que iban a formar parte del catálogo se debía conocer su calidad, para esto se realiza una evaluación de aplicaciones web y móviles. Para autismo, síndrome de Down y la parálisis cerebral, que constituyen las discapacidades más comunes desde el punto de vista médico. En la presente tesis se evaluó la calidad de las aplicaciones web y móviles utilizando la herramienta Mobile Apps Rating Scale (MARS). Los resultados mostraron que las aplicaciones evaluadas necesitaban mejoras en personalización e interactividad. Además, se ha establecido una lista de aplicaciones basada en puntajes MARS, la cual es útil para terapeutas, padres y personas con discapacidad. Sin embargo, los 18 ítems de MARS son extensos y tediosos para terapeutas, padres de familia y personas con discapacidad por lo cual se propuso un modelo para identificar los ítems que representan los factores de calidad más relevantes. Para lo cual se realizó dos estudios: 1. El primer estudio utilizó análisis de componentes principales para identificar los factores subyacentes de calidad más relevantes. En el estudio se seleccionó y evaluó un grupo de 285 Apps en español, dirigidas a personas con discapacidad intelectual, incluyendo autismo, síndrome de Down y parálisis cerebral, que se ejecutan en diversas plataformas. Los probadores de software y un grupo especializado de profesores de personas con discapacidad formaron el equipo evaluador. Los resultados generales muestran que la estética y la funcionalidad son las categorías más adecuadas para mejorar la calidad de las aplicaciones. Este estudio contribuye al conocimiento existente sobre la mejora de la calidad de las aplicaciones para ayudar a la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidad. 2. El segundo estudio, determina los factores de calidad más relevantes de las aplicaciones para personas con discapacidad, para lo cual se utilizó el enfoque abductivo para la generación de una teoría explicativa. En primer lugar, el enfoque abductivo se refería a la descripción de los resultados, establecida por la evaluación de la calidad de las aplicaciones, utilizando la herramienta MARS. Sin embargo, debido a las restricciones de las salidas MARS, no se pudo establecer la identificación de factores críticos de calidad, lo que requirió la búsqueda de una respuesta para una nueva regla. Finalmente, la explicación del caso (último componente del enfoque abductivo) para probar la nueva hipótesis de la regla. Este problema se resolvió aplicando un nuevo modelo cuantitativo, combinando técnicas de minería de datos, que identificó los ítems de calidad más relevantes de MARS. Este estudio es un segundo intento de mejorar la herramienta MARS, con el objetivo de brindar a los especialistas datos relevantes, reduciendo los efectos del ruido, logrando mejores resultados predictivos para potenciar sus investigaciones. Además, ofrece una evaluación de calidad concisa de las aplicaciones relacionadas con la discapacidad. Con todo lo aprendido, en la recopilación de aplicaciones web y móviles, en la evaluación de estas con la herramienta MARS, se hace una propuesta de un nuevo enfoque para desarrollo de software para personas con discapacidad. En líneas generales se trata del diseño y desarrollo de un artefacto utilizando experiencia de usuario y prototipado; para lo cual se aplicó estos conceptos en dos aplicaciones: la primera aplicación es un catálogo digital para personas con discapacidad motora, a través de este catálogo las personas puedan encontrar y usar las aplicaciones de una manera fácil y rápida. La segunda aplicación es Helpdys la cual ayuda al diagnóstico y tratamiento de niños con dislexia. El catálogo digital para personas con discapacidad motora, identifico que el problema de los sitios web o catálogos es que no brindan información confiable, búsqueda fácil y acceso intuitivo a estas aplicaciones, lo que genera dificultades de acceso a la información. Para lo cual se ofreció como solución el desarrollo el catálogo usando experiencia de usuario y prototipado. El catálogo obtuvo una puntuación de calidad satisfactoria en función de la satisfacción de los usuarios finales y terapeutas a la hora de encontrar recursos tecnológicos para utilizar en sus actividades profesionales y asistenciales. Este trabajo de investigación contribuye a los interesados en desarrollar software para personas con discapacidad y animarlos a crear y diseñar sus implementaciones en base a este estudio. La aplicación Helpdys, identifico a la dislexia como un trastorno del lenguaje relativamente común que generalmente se ignora en las comunidades rurales, la cual dificulta los procesos de aprendizaje de los niños y, en algunos casos, es la causa de la deserción escolar o la violencia en las escuelas. Se desarrollo una aplicación web y móvil que contribuye al diagnóstico y tratamiento de los niños con dislexia, la aplicación ofrece juegos y actividades didácticas. Como parte del método las mejoras de la aplicación se implementaron y probaron de inmediato en la escuela "Escuela Línea Equinoccial" (Ecuador), demostrando su utilidad para su uso futuro en el sistema educativo. La aplicación puede ser una herramienta valiosa para que los niños con dislexia progresen con éxito en la escuela, aumentando su autoconfianza y, por lo tanto, ayudándoles a alcanzar su máximo potencial como adultos capaces de hacer una contribución positiva a la sociedad. De esta manera se probó el nuevo enfoque de desarrollo de software basado en experiencia de usuario y prototipado para personas con discapacidad.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to Beijing this week in the latest round of high-level diplomacy between the U.S. and China. Since the U.S.–China relationship hit new lows in late 2022 and early 2023 — thanks to incidents like then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and a Chinese spy balloon's visit to U.S. airspace — both sides have made a welcome effort to slow the slide toward crisis and conflict.This effort has focused on top leaders exchanging views through in-person meetings. Last year, Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and climate envoy John Kerry all made the trip to China. China's top diplomat Wang Yi and top economic official He Lifeng visited the United States, culminating in President Xi Jinping's trip to California to meet with President Joe Biden alongside the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November. This year, a new round of exchanges began with Yellen's trip to China several weeks ago.All this back and forth has been accompanied by attempts from both sides to show they are mindful of some of the other's concerns, such as U.S. reassurances on the One China Policy, which has maintained stability in the Taiwan Strait for decades, and Chinese support for U.S. restrictions on the production of fentanyl, the drug helping to drive America's ongoing opioid crisis. Discussions between the two militaries on crisis communications are now proceeding well after years of paralysis.Despite these promising small steps toward reviving the relationship, however, the two sides are now in danger of complacency toward the prospect of serious conflict. As the State Department signals that no new positive initiatives are on the agenda for Blinken's visit, U.S.–China diplomacy increasingly seems devoted to talks for the sake of talks, without any ambition to make progress on the deep and powerful underlying forces driving both sides toward confrontation.As my colleague Michael Swaine explains in a recent research brief, the appearance of stability between Washington and Beijing is likely a product of political expediency on both sides rather than a durable foundation for coexistence. Biden, facing a difficult reelection campaign against an opponent with a predilection for making conflict with China the center of every conversation, has made the wise calculation that maintaining calm around China will help him focus on his preferred themes. Xi Jinping, for his part, is preoccupied with economic difficulties, a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in the military, and last year's purge of several top leaders. As the wars in Ukraine and Gaza rage on, both Washington and Beijing have reason to avoid adding another international crisis to their plates.On the one hand, these short-term considerations reflect a deeper potential for alignment. The United States and China are both status-quo powers with an interest in limited reforms to the current global system. The dynamic economies of the two countries flourish when the global system is politically stable and increasingly connected. Both countries see clear diplomatic and economic benefits to supporting the Global South's hunger for development. Leaders on both sides recognize the terrible threat posed by global economic instability, large-scale forced population movements, transnational crime, pandemic disease, and the climate crisis. Because existing arrangements including the domestic institutions of both countries face these dire risks, both governments are exploring promising techniques — including industrial policy, expanded development financing, and revisions to global governance issues like business taxation and the U.N. Security Council — that could chart a path out of today's global turmoil.Instead of joining forces and coordinating their potentially complementary efforts, leaders on both sides are seeking to reconstitute domestic unity around efforts to repel the threat posed by the other. Rather than working together on a reform agenda, the United States has been rallying its alliance network to isolate China while China has been impugning U.S. conduct to gain favor in the Global South.Each country sees the initiatives of the other as a challenge to its own prospects rather than a potential contribution to a stable and prosperous world. This zero-sum hostility is increasingly institutionalized in all levels of government on both sides, devoting ever more resources to and establishing ever more careers on the proposition that success on the other side means suffering and failure on "our" side.In the last month alone, U.S. officials have attacked China's trade with Russia and prepared sanctions to punish it; blamed the problem of weak consumer demand in the global economy on Chinese "overcapacity"; added a new "minilateral" alliance network joining the United States, Japan, and the Philippines to its complement of trilateral and quadrilateral arrangements meant to hem in China militarily; and advanced legislation that now looks likely to become law that would expropriate TikTok because of its association with China.Also in the last month, China opened a WTO dispute claiming that the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden's signature climate and industrial policy bill, violates trade law and established rules that will eliminate Intel microprocessors and Microsoft software from Chinese government computers and servers. In a call with Biden, Xi said that U.S. restrictions on Chinese business are second only to Taiwan in the potential for inciting conflict — a notable escalation in the urgency of Chinese warnings.This suggests the pressures to conflict continue to build. Beijing and Washington's current mutual interest in keeping up the appearance of stability is only temporary. The fragility of the relationship leaves open the possibility that some unforeseen event could quickly push either side to change its calculus away from détente toward conflict. Even if the short-term desire on both sides to focus on domestic challenges keeps the calm for the rest of 2024, the two countries, having squandered the opportunity to move in a new direction, are at risk of entering another escalatory spiral next year.What could Washington and Beijing do if they wanted instead to seize this opportunity and confront the problems at the root of the U.S.–China conflict? In a research report last year, I argued that they should embrace "common good diplomacy," a new framework for a stable bilateral relationship. Through joint efforts to build an inclusive global system, the United States and China could create the basis for genuinely healthy forms of competition and cooperation by overcoming the structural pressures for zero-sum conflict, including the exclusionary system of global authority, weak and inequitable global economic growth, and the climate crisis.The new rapprochement routine is certainly better than a march to war — but it will not do much to avert that worst-case scenario, either. A genuine attempt at mutual understanding, recognition of shared interests, and embrace of difficult negotiations is the only path to achieving security for either country.

Among the many sectors immediately affected by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was civil aviation. Flights to Western destinations were critically reduced and foreign leasing companies demanded that Russian airlines return their leased planes, which turned out to be almost their entire fleet. For Russia, civil aviation is a strategic industry. Many far-flung territories, including those where Russia's resources are extracted, are accessible only by air. If the sanctions were working as intended, Russia would have been severely affected. But Russia's government officials and airlines' management, with the West's silence, found ways to save the industry. It is not thriving—it underwent a structural change—but it has survived and is doing relatively well. The price of the turnaround is that civil aviation is now largely and increasingly a state-dependent industry. Industry Reliance on Western-Origin Planes Becomes a Sore PointAfter the annexation of Crimea and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over Ukraine in March 2014, virtually all key sectors of the Russian economy, including the aircraft industry, came under pressure from Western sanctions. Air transportation turned out to be almost the only industry that was practically unaffected by the sanctions. Russian carriers continued to fly international routes, while European and American airlines retained their routes over Russia (trans-Siberian and cross-polar). Russian airlines continued to operate with airplanes leased from Western companies. Aeroflot received seven new-generation Airbus A350 airplanes after 2014. This arrangement was apparently regarded favorably by both Russia and Western countries. It seemed that no matter what happened, the industry would be able to avoid sanctions pressure.Historically, Russian airlines have preferred Western airplanes since the Russian aviation industry did not produce the required number of passenger airplanes. As of February 2022, more than 80 percent of the fleet of the twenty largest Russian airlines (accounting for 97 percent of all passenger traffic) consisted of foreign-origin aircraft. According to Transportation Minister Vitaly Savelyev, the Western leasing companies demanded that Russia return 515 planes; he called this demand a "political decision." The demand to return the planes immediately jeopardized the existence of Russia's entire civil aviation industry. If Russia were to return all these planes, Russian carriers would have nothing to fly with.In this way, the availability of airplanes moved overnight from the economic realm to the political realm. Response to SanctionsRussia's airlines, having become hostage to the political situation, could not deal with the leasing issue on their own. The state decided everything for them, legislating a ban on the export of foreign-owned, leased aircraft outside Russia. The decision to "take someone else's property" (as Savelyev put it) was reached quickly and put through the Kremlin's spin machine. In Kremlin pronouncements, it was not the "special operation" in Ukraine but the sanctions that became the starting point and raison d'être for further actions by the Russian government. Ultimately, Putin accused European and American companies of deception and called the decision to retain foreign-owned planes that the lessors wanted back a correct one. Industry Survival under the Aegis of the StateAlthough the years 2022 and 2023 caused a shock to the Russian aviation industry, it managed to survive, thanks to strong financial injections from the government and the resources of the market players themselves. The answer to the most common question—How do Russian airlines continue to fly after two years under sanctions?—is simple: because they have a long history of participating in the international aviation market. Over many years of cooperation with Western partners, Russian carriers have adopted skills, procedures, technologies, and standards from other countries, cementing them as benchmarks. The main message from Russian officials is that Western sanctions have not achieved the goal they were aiming for. Neither the closure of airspace nor the ban on the operation of foreign aircraft has destroyed Russian civil aviation. But the Russian air transportation market has become even more dependent on the state than ever before. It is worth explaining why the state needs aviation. The answer is simple: in the world's largest country by area, the authorities need prompt access to strategically important facilities and resources, in particular the ample deposits of oil, gas, coal, diamonds, and other metals and the metallurgical, machine-building, oil refining, and other industrial plants scattered across the country. Russia's natural resources account for around 60 percent of Russia's GDP and, in the decade before the war, formed a strong basis for the average 27 percent of workers employed in industry.Aviation also provides access to Russia's more than 60,000 kilometers of borders with other countries and to the hinterlands; where it is estimated more than 60 percent of the territory has no other means of access. Connectivity therefore has always been of national importance.With this in mind, it is clear why the state has spent more than 650 billion rubles in two years to support the air transport industry, likely the most the state has ever spent on aviation. In 2022, a significant part of the allocated funds went toward subsidies for domestic routes, which did increase passenger traffic. Another part went toward compensation for the cost of kerosene and other war-related expenses, in particular the closure of eleven southern airports after February 24, the day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the state sharply increased its share in Aeroflot's capital, from 57 percent to almost 74 percent.In 2023 the government allocated considerably less money for subsidies and much more to buy leased Western-origin aircraft. Although the sanctions prohibited such transactions, resourceful Russian lawyers found a loophole and turned the buyout into an insurance settlement.By the end of 2023, Russia had bought 150 airplanes out of more than 500 required to be returned. Aeroflot accounted for more than half of the purchased planes. Negotiations on further "insurance settlement" of the situation around the leased aircraft are reportedly ongoing.Aeroflot, the main civil-aviation market player, including its subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines and the low-cost carrier Pobeda, is now fully subordinated to the state. The other approximately 100 carriers on the list, with a different form of ownership (Siberia, Ural Airlines, UTair), had no other options either. Having weathered many other crises in their almost thirty years of existence, they too were forced to submit to the state. The Future of the Russian Aviation Industry in the Global SystemRussian aviation, disconnected from suppliers and from experience and knowledge transfer networks, will likely survive, but increasingly as a stand-alone operation. Russia will have to say goodbye to its rich Soviet aviation heritage in the form of an established network of international routes, airport slots, trans-Siberian royalties, and high status in industry organizations. Russia, commanding a large geography in the Northern Hemisphere, cannot be completely cut out of the global transportation system. But it is impossible to imagine today when and under what circumstances international cooperation might resume.The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute.

Among the many sectors immediately affected by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was civil aviation. Flights to Western destinations were critically reduced and foreign leasing companies demanded that Russian airlines return their leased planes, which turned out to be almost their entire fleet. For Russia, civil aviation is a strategic industry. Many far-flung territories, including those where Russia's resources are extracted, are accessible only by air. If the sanctions were working as intended, Russia would have been severely affected. But Russia's government officials and airlines' management, with the West's silence, found ways to save the industry. It is not thriving—it underwent a structural change—but it has survived and is doing relatively well. The price of the turnaround is that civil aviation is now largely and increasingly a state-dependent industry. Industry Reliance on Western-Origin Planes Becomes a Sore PointAfter the annexation of Crimea and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over Ukraine in March 2014, virtually all key sectors of the Russian economy, including the aircraft industry, came under pressure from Western sanctions. Air transportation turned out to be almost the only industry that was practically unaffected by the sanctions. Russian carriers continued to fly international routes, while European and American airlines retained their routes over Russia (trans-Siberian and cross-polar). Russian airlines continued to operate with airplanes leased from Western companies. Aeroflot received seven new-generation Airbus A350 airplanes after 2014. This arrangement was apparently regarded favorably by both Russia and Western countries. It seemed that no matter what happened, the industry would be able to avoid sanctions pressure.Historically, Russian airlines have preferred Western airplanes since the Russian aviation industry did not produce the required number of passenger airplanes. As of February 2022, more than 80 percent of the fleet of the twenty largest Russian airlines (accounting for 97 percent of all passenger traffic) consisted of foreign-origin aircraft. According to Transportation Minister Vitaly Savelyev, the Western leasing companies demanded that Russia return 515 planes; he called this demand a "political decision." The demand to return the planes immediately jeopardized the existence of Russia's entire civil aviation industry. If Russia were to return all these planes, Russian carriers would have nothing to fly with.In this way, the availability of airplanes moved overnight from the economic realm to the political realm. Response to SanctionsRussia's airlines, having become hostage to the political situation, could not deal with the leasing issue on their own. The state decided everything for them, legislating a ban on the export of foreign-owned, leased aircraft outside Russia. The decision to "take someone else's property" (as Savelyev put it) was reached quickly and put through the Kremlin's spin machine. In Kremlin pronouncements, it was not the "special operation" in Ukraine but the sanctions that became the starting point and raison d'être for further actions by the Russian government. Ultimately, Putin accused European and American companies of deception and called the decision to retain foreign-owned planes that the lessors wanted back a correct one. Industry Survival under the Aegis of the StateAlthough the years 2022 and 2023 caused a shock to the Russian aviation industry, it managed to survive, thanks to strong financial injections from the government and the resources of the market players themselves. The answer to the most common question—How do Russian airlines continue to fly after two years under sanctions?—is simple: because they have a long history of participating in the international aviation market. Over many years of cooperation with Western partners, Russian carriers have adopted skills, procedures, technologies, and standards from other countries, cementing them as benchmarks. The main message from Russian officials is that Western sanctions have not achieved the goal they were aiming for. Neither the closure of airspace nor the ban on the operation of foreign aircraft has destroyed Russian civil aviation. But the Russian air transportation market has become even more dependent on the state than ever before. It is worth explaining why the state needs aviation. The answer is simple: in the world's largest country by area, the authorities need prompt access to strategically important facilities and resources, in particular the ample deposits of oil, gas, coal, diamonds, and other metals and the metallurgical, machine-building, oil refining, and other industrial plants scattered across the country. Russia's natural resources account for around 60 percent of Russia's GDP and, in the decade before the war, formed a strong basis for the average 27 percent of workers employed in industry.Aviation also provides access to Russia's more than 60,000 kilometers of borders with other countries and to the hinterlands; where it is estimated more than 60 percent of the territory has no other means of access. Connectivity therefore has always been of national importance.With this in mind, it is clear why the state has spent more than 650 billion rubles in two years to support the air transport industry, likely the most the state has ever spent on aviation. In 2022, a significant part of the allocated funds went toward subsidies for domestic routes, which did increase passenger traffic. Another part went toward compensation for the cost of kerosene and other war-related expenses, in particular the closure of eleven southern airports after February 24, the day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the state sharply increased its share in Aeroflot's capital, from 57 percent to almost 74 percent.In 2023 the government allocated considerably less money for subsidies and much more to buy leased Western-origin aircraft. Although the sanctions prohibited such transactions, resourceful Russian lawyers found a loophole and turned the buyout into an insurance settlement.By the end of 2023, Russia had bought 150 airplanes out of more than 500 required to be returned. Aeroflot accounted for more than half of the purchased planes. Negotiations on further "insurance settlement" of the situation around the leased aircraft are reportedly ongoing.Aeroflot, the main civil-aviation market player, including its subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines and the low-cost carrier Pobeda, is now fully subordinated to the state. The other approximately 100 carriers on the list, with a different form of ownership (Siberia, Ural Airlines, UTair), had no other options either. Having weathered many other crises in their almost thirty years of existence, they too were forced to submit to the state. The Future of the Russian Aviation Industry in the Global SystemRussian aviation, disconnected from suppliers and from experience and knowledge transfer networks, will likely survive, but increasingly as a stand-alone operation. Russia will have to say goodbye to its rich Soviet aviation heritage in the form of an established network of international routes, airport slots, trans-Siberian royalties, and high status in industry organizations. Russia, commanding a large geography in the Northern Hemisphere, cannot be completely cut out of the global transportation system. But it is impossible to imagine today when and under what circumstances international cooperation might resume.The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute.

Western countries have asserted since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine that they would use sanctions as a critical tool to suppress Russia's economy and sever its ability to trade with the rest of the world. They have kept their promise by continually adding to the number of sanctions as Russia's war in Ukraine has stretched into it second year.As of January 2024, the Russian Federation was subject to over 28,000 sanctions and the majority of these occurred after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Approximately 16,000 of these sanctions were imposed against individuals, while nearly 10,000 were imposed against companies and 3,200 against institutions. Additionally, there have been sectoral sanctions such as general trade embargoes on gas and oil. The EU and the U.S. have imposed most of these but countries like Japan, South Korea and Switzerland have also participated. While these sanctions intended to hamper Russia's war effort and foment domestic economic and political instability, most have not achieved these objectives. Russia has maintained its military activities in Ukraine while recent IMF forecasts predict growth of 2.6 percent in 2024 — at a time when many EU countries are heading toward recession amidst significant political uncertainty in 2024 — a pivotal election year in many Western democracies.Perhaps the greatest achievement has been reinforcing Russia's trade pivot to the East and the Global South and away from the European Union. As a result, Russia's trade turnover reached $530.2 billion in the first nine months of 2023. Exports reached $316.9 billion, while imports reached $213.3 billion. Russian exports to Asian countries reached $226.6 billion, an increase of 10.3% year on year, while imports amounted to $139.7 billion, increasing 39.5%. China accounted for $105 billion during the same time period compared to $78 billion for all of 2021. And Chinese imports of fuels were $52.7 billion in 2021 compared to $77.0 billion in the first nine months of 2023. China comprised $81.8 billion in imports to Russia (almost 40%) in the first nine months of 2023 while imports were 54.5 billion in all of 2021. During that same time, Russia's exports to India were $52 billion versus $8 billion for 2021. Indian imports of Russian fuel increased from $4 billion in all of 2021 to $46 billion during the first nine months of 2023.In contrast, Russian exports to the EU were $47 billion in the first nine months of 2023, a significant decrease from $192.8 billion in all of 2021. Russian imports from the EU sunk below $32 billion in the first nine months in 2023 from $81 billion just 21 months earlier. Fuel imports from Russia to the EU collapsed from $120 billion in 2021 to less than $27 billion in the first 9 months of 2023. Lastly, sanctions greatly reduced the share of imports from Russia from 28% in 2021 to 3% in 2023.Building a new trade frameworkThe trade numbers clearly depict the momentous redirection in Russian trade flows during the nearly two years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But they don't reflect the geopolitical activities underpinning this seismic change nor do they indicate recent initiatives that the Russian government has undertaken to solidify the direction of trade. In this respect, Russia has actively engaged in a wide array of diplomatic activities, ranging from bilateral talks with countries like India and Iran to efforts to expand the membership and geopolitical reach of the BRICS and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).Late last year, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Moscow to discuss issues concerning the usual political, defense, and cultural partnerships. They also discussed more seriously, economic cooperation issues intended to buttress the strong growth in Russia-India trade that has occurred since 2022. The focus of these economic discussions centered on logistics, particularly those related to the establishment of the North-South International Transport Corridor (INSTC). All three segments of the corridor are now functional. These include the Western route (Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran-India), the Middle route (Russia-Iran-India) and the Eastern route (Russia-Central Asia-Iran-India). Russia hopes the increased use of the corridor will improve the infrastructure in Caspian ports and the ability to improve the status of Astrakhan and Makhachkala as transport hubs. Now that the Vladivostok-Chennai Sea route or Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) is also operational, India and Russia will have a realistic opportunity to elevate economic cooperation going forward and this will only bolster bilateral relations.The corridor is beneficial to India as well, both economically and geopolitically. It reflects the Indian elite's desire for viable alternatives to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India is also confident the corridor will provide greater access to Central Asia bypassing Pakistan and continue to strengthen its economic ties with Iran and Russia. Another way that Russia is seeking to enhance regional trade is through the EEU. On December 25, EEU leaders met and signed an agreement with Iran. The agreement marked the end of two years of negotiations and will come into force after the ratification by the national parliaments. The Iran-EEU Free Trade Agreement eliminates tariffs of 87% of traded goods between the parties. It represents Iran's most extensive trade deal to date and it's an important deal for Russia as it solidifies another trade partner and underscores its leading role in the trade group and in Central Asia's economic development. Finally, in January 2024 the BRICS announced the expansion of the group by five new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The new membership will increase total BRICS GDP to $28.5 trillion or 28.1% of global output, compared to the G7 countries' 43.2% of global output. While the expansion of BRICS is notable from an economic perspective, it's more meaningful in a geopolitical context. The addition of Middle Eastern and more African countries gives the group a larger presence along key shipping and trade routes. It also increases the BRICS share of global oil production to 43% and 25% of exports. It's also important to note that BRICS accounts for 72% of global rare earth elements, which are key to high-tech weapons and consumer goods, including circuit boards and mobile phones.While many in the West only pay attention to the rhetoric about Russia's weak and collapsing economy and its economic isolation, Western policymakers need to follow closely Russia's continued initiatives in the geopolitical sphere. Russia's economic engagement may be complicated due to the joining of some difficult geopolitical realities, but the evolving framework has the potential to disrupt the traditional "rules-based global order" if not undermine it. Therefore, a policy of constructive and unrestricted engagement in trade and economic relations on a global scale needs to be a key tool of commercial diplomacy for Western policymakers going forward. This would include greater restraint from the heavy-handed sanctions policies that only reduce Western access to key goods and lead to higher global inflation, the brunt of which is borne by the middle- and lower-class consumer.

News media manufactures consent, and one way that happens is by manufacturing amnesia — burying a government's past misdeeds makes it easier to sell future ones. The catastrophic floods that Storm Daniel unleashed on Libya, which have killed as many as 10,000 people, are both a natural disaster and a human-made one. In the week following Storm Daniel, a large portion of the media coverage described "war" as a reason the country was ill-equipped to handle the catastrophe. However, media discussion of NATO's contribution to what has become Libya's forever war has been almost non-existent. NATO's intimate involvement — albeit by proxy — in the current war in Ukraine makes the omission all the more remarkable.War in contemporary Libya is traceable to February 2011, when protests against Muammar Gadhafi's government evolved into an armed conflict. In the initial days of the fighting, the U.S. media amplified claims that the Libyan air force was bombing demonstrators despite statements by top Pentagon officials that there was "no confirmation whatsoever" that such bombing was happening. Western media outlets and politicians accused Gadhafi of carrying out a systematic mass slaughter of civilians, and of intending to do more of the same, particularly as government forces advanced on rebel-held Benghazi. In this climate, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 in March 2011, which authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.NATO dubiously interpreted the resolution as granting it the right to overthrow the Libyan government. NATO forces — primarily Britain, France and the U.S. — subsequently conducted roughly 9,700 strike sorties and dropped over 7,700 precision-guided bombs during their seven-month campaign. The bombing not only assured eventual victory for the rebels — a mostly ragtag, disparate collection of local and tribal militias, Islamist fighters, and disaffected soldiers united only by their opposition to Gaddafi (whose death was facilitated by a NATO airstrike). It also killed scores of the civilians it claimed to be protecting and left Libya without a functioning government (in addition, it enabled the proliferation of tens of thousands of arms stockpiled by Gaddafi's government to insurgents throughout Libya, the Sahel, and beyond, notably in Syria).For most of the period since Gadhafi's overthrow, Libya has been afflicted by a civil war that has seen the country split between two heavily armed rival factions claiming to be the government: Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord in the west.There is no evidence that NATO bombing directly contributed to the collapse of the dams that caused the catastrophic flooding in Derna (although the war reportedly interrupted rehabilitation work by a Turkish construction company). However, it is beyond question that NATO's intervention contributed to the destruction of the Libyan state and social fabric, helping bring about years of warfare, one consequence of which has been the inability to maintain critical infrastructure. Yet this context has been all but invisible in U.S. mainstream media coverage of the recent floods, even in those reports that identified "war" as a factor that helps explain the scale of the cataclysm.I used the news database Factiva to search material published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post — arguably the three most influential national newspapers — between Sunday September 10, the day that Derna was flooded, and Saturday September 16. I searched the words "Libya" and variations on "flood," such as "flooding" and "floods," and got 67 results, the great majority of them supposedly "objective" news reports rather than op-eds., Forty of the 60 included the word "war." But only three of these also used the term "NATO," or just 7.5 percent of the content. Two additional articles contained the words "NATO," "Libya," and "flood," but not "war," instead using the word "intervention" to describe NATO's role. Thus, only five articles — or 7.4 percent — of the week's total coverage of the floods referenced NATO.Typical of the coverage in those articles when "war" was mentioned as a contributing cause of the disaster was a Post report noting that Libya was "battered by more than a decade of war and chaos, and split between rival governments, with no central authority to shore up infrastructure or draw up plans to save residents." Later, the article stated that "Oil-rich Libya has been ravaged by conflict since the fall of its longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, in 2011," again with no mention of NATO's contribution.Similarly, the Times ran a piece calling Libya "a North African nation splintered by a war, [which] was ill-prepared for the storm….[D]espite its vast oil resources, its infrastructure had been poorly maintained after more than a decade of political chaos." Regarding the events of 2011, the articles goes to note that "Libya endured 42 years of autocratic rule under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi before he was overthrown in a revolt in 2011." This account suggests that Gaddafi's ouster was strictly an internal affair and completely obscures the decisive role played by NATO's campaign on the side of the anti-government forces, creating the conditions for further instability and warfare.According to the Journal, "The natural disaster [in Libya] was decades in the making — a result of years of official neglect of two nearby dams during the authoritarian regime of Moammar Gadhafi and the political crisis and war since his ouster in a 2011 revolution." The authors highlight the role that war played in setting the stage for the floods but gloss over how the NATO intervention against the Gadhafi government helped generate societal and governmental collapse, and post- Gadhafi warfare.Of course, simply mentioning NATO doesn't necessarily mean that a news article has given readers an accurate picture of what the alliance did in Libya. For example, a Post story says Gadhafi ruled Libya until "he was killed by rebel forces during a NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising." This phrasing is ambiguous at best: it gives readers no sense of what form NATO's "back[ing]" of Libya's "Arab Spring uprising" took. An analysis by the Post's Ishaan Tharoor, which was not published in the paper's print edition, was much closer to the mark when it says that "Libya's unstable status quo" is both the result of domestic political forces in Libya and of "the intervention of outside actors. That began with the NATO-led intervention in 2011."The Times, Journal, and Post repeatedly noted the link between the flooding in Libya and armed conflict in the country. However, with very few exceptions, the publications declined to acknowledge that, in 2011, NATO opted to bomb Libya until its government was overthrown. In this regard, the papers have failed to remind their readers that NATO's intervention was part of the chain of events that led to this month's calamity. Such a reminder would seem especially pertinent today in light of NATO's much-touted reinvigoration and northern expansion owing to its growing role in supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

Treballs Finals del Màster de Planificació Territorial i Gestió Ambiental, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2020-2021. Tutor: Guillem Xavier Pons Buades ; [spa] El Corredor de Conectividad Sangay – Podocarpus (CCSP), se encuentra en la Cordillera Real Oriental del Sur del Ecuador, en cuatro provincias y dieciocho cantones, tiene una superficie de 567.097,15 hectáreas. Este es el primer corredor reconocido en base a una normativa, que permite por medio de diferentes figuras de conservación estatales, municipales y comunitarias conectar los ecosistemas a través de un corredor al Parque Nacional Sangay y al Parque Nacional Podocarpus. En este territorio existen diferentes amenazas que afectan a los ecosistemas y la biodiversidad, el cambio de cobertura del suelo de bosque nativo a tierras agropecuarias, extracción de metales y problemas entre los pobladores y las especies silvestres son los principales causantes. Para lograr una adecuada gestión de este corredor, se dispone del documento técnico "Modelo de Gestión del CCSP", en el cual se establece una estructura que involucra a los diferentes actores del territorio del corredor para juntar esfuerzos, recursos y trabajar coordinadamente en varios ejes temáticos de acción. Los Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados Municipales (GADM), son parte fundamental de la estructura de gestión del CCSP, debido a que son los que determinan la planificación, el ordenamiento y la gestión del territorio en los Planes de Desarrollo y Ordenamiento Territorial, por este motivo el Ministerio de Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica (MAATE) efectuó un proceso para que se incluya al CCSP dentro de este instrumento de planificación. En este marco se realiza el presente trabajo para dar seguimiento y continuidad a este proceso de inclusión, para ello es necesario determinar el estado de incorporación del CCSP dentro de la planificación de los municipios y vincularlos a la estructura de gestión del CCSP. Los objetivos planteados fueron identificar los Elementos Constitutivos, la estructura de gestión, el nivel de incorporación en la planificación y gestión local del CCSP y proponer una estrategia para la vinculación de los GADM a la estructura de gestión establecida en este corredor. La metodología se desarrolla en un proceso de seis Etapas, en las cuales se realiza el análisis del marco legal ecuatoriano, información técnica y cartográfica generada para los corredores de conectividad y el CCSP; se efectúa la evaluación de la incorporación del CCSP mediante una matriz multicriterio que determina el Nivel para cada municipio, se realiza un mapa de zonificación que representa geográficamente el nivel de gestión a escala general y municipal; y se propone una estrategia que permite la inclusión formal de los GADM a la gestión del CCSP. En las diferentes etapas se requiere el uso de Sistemas de Información Geográfica mediante el programa ArcGis versión 10.5. Los resultados indican que el CCSP contempla dentro de sus Elementos Constitutivos, áreas con diferentes grados de protección, en el más alto cinco áreas del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas que cubre el 13,94% de este corredor, el resto del territorio se encuentra bajo otras figuras de conservación, Remanentes de Hábitat y matriz que requieren de alternativas que permitan mantener y proteger el ecosistema y la biodiversidad. La estructura de gestión del CCSP contempla como base los Grupos de Trabajo en donde los GADM deben incluirse formalmente para trabajar en conjunto con otros actores en las líneas estratégicas de acción. De los dieciocho GADM, diez se encuentran en un Nivel Medio de gestión, y ocho en un Nivel Bajo, reflejando la necesidad de elaborar una estrategia que impulse su participación en la gestión del CCSP. La estrategia contiene cinco Fases, como culminación se incluye formalmente a los GADM como parte de algún Grupo de Trabajo de la estructura de gestión del CCSP. ; [eng] The Sangay - Podocarpus Connectivity Corridor (CCSP), is located in the Cordillera Real Oriental del Sur del Ecuador, in four provinces and eighteen cantons, it has an area of 567,097.15 hectares. This is the first corridor recognized based on a regulation, which allows through different state, municipal and community conservation figures to connect the ecosystems through a corridor to the Sangay National Park and the Podocarpus National Park. In this territory there are different threats that affect ecosystems and biodiversity, the change of land cover from native forest to agricultural lands, extraction of metals and problems between the inhabitants and wild species are the main causes. In order to achieve an adequate management of this corridor, the technical document "CCSP Management Model" is available, in which a structure is established that involves the different actors of the corridor's territory to join forces, resources and work in coordination on various axes. action themes. The Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GADM) are a fundamental part of the management structure of the CCSP, because they are what determine the planning, ordering and management of the territory in the Development Plans and Territorial Ordering, for this reason the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) carried out a process to include the CCSP within this planning instrument. In this framework, the present work is carried out to monitor and continue this inclusion process, for this it is necessary to determine the status of incorporation of the CCSP into the planning of the municipalities and link them to the management structure of the CCSP. The proposed objectives were to identify the Constituent Elements, the management structure, the level of incorporation in the planning and local management of the CCSP and to propose a strategy for linking the GADM to the management structure established in this corridor. The methodology is developed in a process of six stages, in which the analysis of the Ecuadorian legal framework, technical and cartographic information generated for the connectivity corridors and the CCSP is carried out; The evaluation of the incorporation of the CCSP is carried out by means of a multi-criteria matrix that determines the Level for each municipality; a zoning map is made that geographically represents the level of management on a general and municipal scale; and a strategy is proposed that allows the formal inclusion of the GADM in the management of the CCSP. In the different stages the use of Geographic Information Systems is required through the ArcGis version 10.5 program. The results indicate that the CCSP considers within its Constituent Elements, areas with different degrees of protection, in the highest five areas of the National System of Protected Areas that covers 13.94% of this corridor, the rest of the territory is under other conservation figures, Habitat Remnants and matrix that require alternatives that allow maintaining and protecting the ecosystem and biodiversity. The management structure of the CCSP contemplates as a basis the Working Groups where the GADM must be formally included to work together with other actors in the strategic lines of action. Of the eighteen GADMs, ten are at a Medium Level of management, and eight are at a Low Level, reflecting the need to develop a strategy that encourages their participation in the management of the CCSP. The strategy contains five Phases, as a culmination, the GADM are formally included as part of a Working Group of the CCSP management structure.

Tesis doctoral presentada para optar al grado de Doctor por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Programa de Doctorado en Análisis Económico).--2019-07-12 ; [EN] In this dissertation, I investigate the causes and consequences of economic inequality along two dimensions: early childhood development for inequality among individuals and ethnic favoritism for inequality among social groups. In three separate essays, I specifically study the consequences on child development of shocks experienced early in life on one hand, and the prevalence and determinants of ethnic favoritism around the world on the other. Chapter 1 studies the impact of conflict risk on child health and it shows that insecurity in conflict-prone areas can affect child health even in absence of immediate violence. Beyond the damage caused to direct victims of iolence, behavioral responses to insecurity can lead to major health setbacks for young children. The fear of exposure to conflict events often triggers such responses even before/without any manifestation of violence in a given area. This generates a treatment status (exposure to conflict risk) that goes beyond violence incidence. In this chapter, I investigate the impact of conflict on child health using a new metric that captures perceived insecurity at the local level through a statistical model of violence. In this model, violence is a space-time process with an unknown underlying distribution that drives the expectations of agents on the ground. Each observed event is interpreted as a random realization of this process, and its underlying distribution is estimated using adaptive kernel density estimation methods. The new measure of violence risk is then used to evaluate the impact of conflict on child health using data from Ivory Coast and Uganda. The empirical evidence suggests that conflict is a local public bad, with cohorts of children exposed to high risk of violence equally suffering major health setbacks even when the risk does not materialize in violent events around them. Chapter 2 of the thesis is joint work with Bruno Conte Leite and Lavinia Piemontese. It investigates the impact on child health of the 2004 locust plague invasion in the Sahel region of Africa. It argues that locust invasions in these agricultural economies generate first a speculative/anticipatory price effect during the plague itself followed by a local crop failure effect that could constitute a food supply shock for local markets and an income shock for farmers. Using a Difference-in-Differences identification strategy, we show that children exposed in utero to the adverse effects of locust plagues suffer major health setback. Exposed children have, on average, a Z-score 0.25 points and 0.48 points lower than non-exposed children in Mali and Senegal respectively. Children exposed to the speculative price effect suffer as much as those exposed to the crop failure effect. Finally, chapter 3 of this thesis is joint work with Hannes Mueller and studies the prevalence and determinants of ethnic favoritism around the world. It uses a dataset which codes executive power for 564 ethnic groups in 130 countries on a seven-point scale to show that ethnic groups that gain political power benefit economically. This effect holds for groups that enter government, the extensive margin, and for groups that concentrate more power onto themselves, the intensive margin. Both these effects disappear in the presence of strong political constraints on executive power. Institutional constraints are even effective in preventing favoritism when groups concentrate all power in the executive onto themselves. ; [ES] En esta disertación, investigo las causas y consecuencias de la desigualdad económica a lo largo de dos dimensiones: desarrollo infantil temprano para la desigualdad entre individuos y favoritismo étnico por la desigualdad entre los grupos sociales. En tres ensayos separados, estudio específicamente las consecuencias sobre el desarrollo infantil de las conmociones experimentadas en una etapa temprana de la vida, y la prevalencia y los determinantes del favoritismo étnico en todo el mundo, por otra. El Capítulo 1 estudia el impacto del riesgo de conflicto en la salud infantil y muestra que la inseguridad en áreas propensas a conflictos puede afectar la salud infantil incluso en ausencia de violencia inmediata. Más allá del daño causado a las víctimas directas de la violencia, las respuestas de comportamiento a la inseguridad pueden llevar a grandes contratiempos de salud para los niños pequeños. El temor a la exposición a los eventos de conflicto a menudo desencadena tales respuestas incluso antes / sin ninguna manifestación de violencia en un área determinada. Esto genera un estado de tratamiento (exposición al riesgo de conflicto) que va más allá de la incidencia de violencia. En este capítulo, investigo el impacto del conflicto en la salud infantil utilizando una nueva métrica que captura la inseguridad percibida a nivel local a través de un modelo estadístico de violencia. En este modelo, la violencia es un proceso espacio-temporal con un desconocido. Distribución subyacente que impulsa las expectativas de los agentes en el terreno. Cada observado evento se interpreta como una realización aleatoria de este proceso, y su distribución subyacente Se estima utilizando métodos de estimación de densidad de kernel adaptativos. La nueva medida del riesgo de violencia se utiliza para evaluar el impacto del conflicto en la salud infantil utilizando datos de Costa de Marfil y Uganda. La evidencia empírica sugiere que el conflicto es un mal público local, con cohortes de los niños expuestos a un alto riesgo de violencia que sufren igualmente importantes contratiempos de salud incluso cuando El riesgo no se materializa en eventos violentos a su alrededor. El capítulo 2 de la tesis es un trabajo conjunto con Bruno Conte Leite y Lavinia Piemontese. Investiga el impacto en la salud infantil de la invasión de la plaga de langosta de 2004 en la región del Sahel de África. Argumenta que las invasiones de langostas en estas economías agrícolas generan primero un efecto de precio especulativo / anticipatorio durante la plaga en sí, seguido de un efecto de falla en los cultivos locales que podría constituir un shock de suministro de alimentos para los mercados locales y un shock de ingresos para los agricultores. Usando una estrategia de identificación de Diferencias en diferencias, mostramos que los niños expuestos en el útero a los efectos adversos de las plagas de langostas sufren un importante revés para la salud. Los niños expuestos tienen, en promedio, una puntuación Z de 0.25 puntos y 0.48 puntos más bajos que los niños no expuestos en Mali y Senegal, respectivamente. Los niños expuestos al efecto del precio especulativo sufren tanto como los expuestos al efecto de fracaso de la cosecha.Finalmente, el capítulo 3 de esta tesis es un trabajo conjunto con Hannes Mueller y estudia la prevalencia y los determinantes del favoritismo étnico en todo el mundo. Utiliza un conjunto de datos que codifica el poder ejecutivo de 564 grupos étnicos en 130 países en una escala de siete puntos para mostrar que los grupos étnicos que obtienen el poder político se benefician económicamente. Este efecto se mantiene para los grupos que ingresan al gobierno, el amplio margen, y para los grupos que concentran más poder en ellos mismos, el margen intensivo. Ambos efectos desaparecen en presencia de fuertes restricciones políticas sobre el poder ejecutivo.

Cardiac arrest is an important public issue. It refers to the sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness and usually results from an electrical disturbance in the heart. More than 85% of cardiac arrests are out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA). Overall survival rates remain low in most countries but vary widely across the world (range: 2–20%). In the general population, sudden cardiac death rates range from 4 to 5 million cases per year. Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem. In 2013, it ranked as the fourth risk factor for global mortality and was estimated to cause 5,5 million deaths worldwide per year. Short-term exposure to air pollution especially with regard to fine particulate matter is increasingly associated in the literature with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A positive association can be found between fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter under 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and OHCA in several studies, though the association remains insignificant in others. With respect to PM smaller than 10 microns (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the evaluation of risk of OHCA brings out inconsistent results. The way ambient air pollution and OHCA are related is still unclear. It might involve electrical disturbances and inflammatory reactions. The aim of our study is to investigate the effect of exposure to air pollution, on an hourly and daily scale, on the incidence of OHCA in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Additional objectives were to investigate, among OHCA occurring during non-holiday periods, susceptible subgroups by sex, age, cause of the OHCA, diabetes status. The study included OHCA that occurred in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, France, in 2015. A time-stratified casecrossover study design coupled with a conditional logistic regression was primarily used to evaluate the association between OHCA and air pollutants (PM2,5, PM10, NO2, O3, SO2) measured within the hour of the arrest up to 5 days before. In all, 1039 cases were included. Most of the significant positive associations were found for PM2,5 and PM10 exposures and for OHCA during non-holiday periods. For the smallest p-value, the largest OR was : for all OHCA and within the subgroup of men, for the cumulative average twelve hours before the arrest of PM10 (OR=1,33, p<0,001 and OR=1,34, p=0,001 respectively) ; within the subgroup of age 50 to 75 years old, for the average on the day of the arrest of PM2,5 (OR=1,27, p<0,001) ; within the subgroup of arrests of cardiac cause, for the average four days before the arrest of PM2,5 (OR=1,26, p<0,001) ; within the subgroup of cases with diabetes, for the cumulative average four hours before the arrest of PM2,5 (OR=1,55, p=0,002).The findings show significant links between short-term exposure to particulate matter and OHCA during non-holiday periods, with susceptible subgroups (men, age 50 to 75 years old, OHCA of cardiac cause, and diabetics). Investigation of susceptible subgroups becomes especially important in epidemiological studies of air pollutants because of the small population-wide relative risks that are usually observed. The results of this study could encourage public authorities to implement specific policy recommendations aimed at vulnerable subgroups. ; L'arrêt cardiaque est un problème majeur de santé publique. Il se caractérise par une perte subite des fonctions cardiaques, de la respiration et de l'état de conscience et est habituellement causé par une perturbation électrique au niveau du coeur. Les arrêts cardiaques hors hôpital (ACHH) concernent plus de 85% des arrêts cardiaques. Les taux de survie, tout en restant bas, varient largement à travers le monde, de 2 à 20%. Dans la population générale, l'incidence de la mort subite par arrêt cardiaque serait estimée à 4-5 millions de cas par an. La pollution de l'air est un problème environnemental majeur pour la santé. En 2013, elle était le quatrième facteur de risque de mortalité globale et était estimée être à l'origine de 5,5 millions de décès par an à travers le monde. Dans la littérature, l'exposition à court terme à la pollution de l'air, notamment en ce qui concerne les particules en suspension, est retrouvée en association avec la morbidité et la mortalité cardiovasculaire. Plusieurs études trouvent une association positive entre les particules fines notées PM2,5 (de diamètre aérodynamique inférieur à 2,5 μm) et les arrêts cardiaques hors hôpital (ACHH) bien que l'association soit non significative dans d'autres études. En ce qui concerne les particules en suspension notées PM10 (de diamètre aérodynamique inférieur à 10 μm), le dioxyde d'azote (NO2), l'ozone (O3) et le dioxyde de soufre (SO2), l'évaluation du risque d'ACHH conduit à des résultats discordants. Les mécanismes impliqués dans la relation entre la pollution de l'air et les ACHH ne sont pas clairement connus. Ils pourraient mettre en jeu des perturbations électriques et des réactions inflammatoires. Le but de notre travail est d'étudier l'effet de l'exposition à ces différents polluants à des échelles de temps horaire et journalière sur la survenue d'ACHH dans la région Nord-Pas de Calais, France. De plus, nous nous sommes intéressés plus spécifiquement aux ACHH survenant en période scolaire avec des analyses en sous-groupes notamment par sexe, âge, cause de l'arrêt, statut diabétique, afin de pouvoir révéler des sous-groupes potentiellement plus vulnérables. L'étude a collecté les ACHH qui sont survenus dans la région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, en 2015. Une étude de cas-croisé stratifiée sur le temps couplée à une régression logistique conditionnelle a été principalement utilisée pour évaluer l'association entre les ACHH et les polluants de l'air (PM2,5, PM10, NO2, O3, SO2) mesurés dans l'heure de l'arrêt jusqu'à 5 jours avant l'arrêt. 1039 cas ont été inclus dans l'étude. La plupart des associations positives significatives ont été observées pour les expositions aux PM2,5 et PM10 et pour les ACHH en période scolaire. Pour la plus petite p-value, le plus grand OR était : pour l'ensemble des ACHH et dans le sous-groupe des hommes, pour la moyenne cumulée sur 12 heures avant l'arrêt des PM10 (OR=1,33, p<0,001 et OR=1,34, p=0,001 respectivement) ; dans le sous-groupe des âges de 50 à 75 ans, pour la moyenne le jour de l'arrêt des PM2,5 (OR=1,27, p<0,001) ; dans le sous-groupe des arrêts de cause cardiaque, pour la moyenne quatre jours avant l'arrêt des PM2,5 (OR=1,26, p<0,001) ; dans le sous-groupe des cas avec diabète, pour la moyenne cumulée sur quatre heures avant l'arrêt des PM2,5 (OR=1,55, p=0,002). Les résultats montrent des associations significatives entre les particules en suspension et les ACHH en période scolaire, avec des sous-groupes de susceptibilité (hommes, âge de 50 à 75 ans, ACHH de cause cardiaque, et les diabétiques). L'exploration de sous-groupes de vulnérabilité est d'autant plus importante dans les études épidémiologiques des polluants de l'air du fait des risques peu élevés à l'échelle de la population habituellement observés. L'ensemble de ces informations pourraient encourager les autorités publiques à émettre des politiques de recommandations spécifiques ciblées pour les sous-groupes de susceptibilité.

1. IntroductionStone adze blades are so ubiquitous in the Pacific that they have always been central to the work of archaeologists. Polynesian adze heads were often viewed as convenient "cultural fossils" displaying stylistic features that could be used as chronological markers (e.g. Davidson 1984; Duff 1977; Suggs 1961) or to infer inter-island relationships (Duff 1960; Emory 1968; Sinoto 1970). The typological approach developed throughout the 20th century thus proved useful for understanding the archaeological diversity in the Pacific. Yet, it rarely took into account the environmental or technical contexts involved in the production of these artefacts. A broader technological turn began in the 1970's (Cleghorn 1982; 1986; Leach 1980; 1984), which has led to better understanding of the technical and economic dimensions involved in Polynesian stone tool production.In this paper, I propose an integrated method to the study of stone tool technology and socio-economic evolution in Polynesian chiefdoms. My approach draws on the 'research program' which was set up by a group of French anthropologists (Cresswell 1976; Lemonnier 1983; 1986) to emphasize the systemic and multi-scalar dimensions of technical activities and to identify the fundamental role of techniques and production activities in the performance and evolution of societies. The work presented here was conducted during my PhD research, and therefore represents a first step in a wider research program that will be address with the dynamics of stone tool production at the inter-site scale, in different Polynesian islands. 2. Background and MethodologyAs a first step, each rock material was assigned a specific geological feature using a set of different geochemical analyses (Hermann et al. 2012; 2016). I used these results, combined with macroscopic identification of each artefacts, to track the spatial distribution of production processes ("chaînes opératoires") within two sites dating from the early 13th to the late 15th century AD and considered as part of the same "technical transect" (Coupaye 2015) on the northern coast of Tupua'i island (Austral archipelago, French Polynesia). Both sites were discovered within the main pre-Contact district of the island, named Toerauetoru (Aitken 1930: 31-32): the Tanataetea site consists of a quarry and several workshops where basanite prisms have been quarried and transformed in great quantity, and the Atiahara site is a domestic occupation involving small thatched houses known from the ethnographical period as 'arepota'ata (Hermann et al. 2016). I propose a thorough description of technological patterns in the making of adze heads in these two sites, not only through the description of finished products, but also through the identification of other artefacts including discarded preforms, roughouts, and other flake wastes, each representing combined sets of gestures constitutive of each sequence in the overall process of production. For every sequence, I investigated four main parameters interacting with one another: the nature of the raw material selected and its physical properties (fine or coarse-grained, natural flaws, etc.), the individual involved (including the inherited and acquired know-how, the technical traditions, economic choices, etc.), the tools and techniques performed (physical actions, mechanical procedures, etc.), and the spatial-temporal dimension of the process (concentrated in one site or segmented in space). These intrinsic properties are subject to change in different processes, however in this case they could be described through direct macroscopic observations, and interpreted thanks to experimental tests previously performed with the help of archaeologist and experimenter Florent Le Mené. The extrinsic properties of production processes are eventually be inferred. This last step of the analysis regarding the scarcity or uneven distribution of resources, the social environment, and the social status of craftsmen, provides the greatest insight into the evolution of the traditional Polynesian chiefdoms. 3. Results In East Polynesian islands stone adzes were produced by both specialists and non-specialists; the assemblages from Tupua'i show very clear differences in terms of technical skills, production intensity, and formal standards of the finished products, as an example of this technical split. While the craftsmen working in the Tanataetea workshops were producing big, standardised adzes with fine knapping techniques and were displaying anticipation as well as good risk management skills; the stone knappers of the domestic site at Atiahara only managed to produce only small flake adzes and appear to have maintained and recycled adzes produced elsewhere (including in the Tanataetea workshops). They therefore did not display any skills involving adapted percussion techniques or reaction facing flaking accidents, such as hinging or plunging fractures.At a diachronic level, the technological investigation suggests a significant evolution in the organisation of stone adze production in Tupua'i during the 14th century AD, with an increase of specialised production, as visible in the Tanataetea workshops, towards other sites from the same local chiefdom. The limited distribution of good-quality material in non-specialised sites like the domestic occupations of Atiahara also implies an increase in political control over key resources. 4. Discussion and conclusionThe general development of craft specialisation in the limited context of Tupua'i echoes previous observations from other parts of Polynesia (Cleghorn 1982; 1986; Leach 1993; Winterhoff 2007), and further reinforce the hypothesis of a strong correlation between technical specialisation and social complexity (Brun et al. 2006). This interpretation also fits the view of an increasing hierarchy among Polynesian chiefdoms where social and religious elites took control over different groups of specialists during the first half of the second millennium AD (Kirch 1984). I propose that the emerging view in the evolution of Polynesian craft production can also be explained in Sahlins' terms of the "inflexion of the domestic mode of production" (Sahlins 1976). This model predicts that the intensification of production in traditional chiefdoms is driven by new economic choices prioritising centralisation and collaboration between households. Therefore, I propose that a heuristic approach of viewing material culture through the technological approach of chaînes opératoires is a promising method for investigating these patterns on the longue durée and across different Polynesian regions. ; La lame d'herminette en pierre, élément ubiquiste des cultures matérielles polynésiennes, a toujours été utilisée pour établir une périodisation des séquences culturelles pré-européennes. Bien que cette approche ait permis d'aborder la diversité des traditions culturelles et de définir une typo-chronologie des occupations pré-européennes dans la région, très peu de travaux ont pris en compte les aspects techno-économiques liés à la production de cet outillage. Cet article concerne la production des herminettes en Polynésie centre-orientale dans la première moitié du deuxième millénaire de notre ère, et se base sur les avancées théoriques et méthodologiques développées au sein de l'école française de l'anthropologie des techniques (aussi connue comme "technologie culturelle"). En nous basant sur l'analyse de plusieurs chaînes opératoires de production des lames d'herminette dans l'île de Tupua'i (Archipel des Australes, Polynésie Française), nous mettons en évidence des stratégies et des choix relativement complexes liés à la variabilité technique et l'organisation spatiale des chaines opératoires mises en œuvre, l'accès aux matières premières de qualité (en l'occurrence les basaltes à grains fins) et la présence d'artisans spécialisés.Enfin, nous traitons du rôle joué par le phénomène de spécialisation artisanale dans l'évolution des anciennes chefferies polynésiennes et proposons de considérer l'investigation approfondie des systèmes techniques comme un moyen efficace pour mettre en évidence des indices de la complexité sociale.

Society, the state, and the law – these are the three interrelated interacting institutions. From the society comes the initiative for the foundation of the state. The society may be strongly motivated in this process or it may follow the dream of independence intuitively. The state then creates the legal system for organization of the society and the existence of the state. Active representatives of the society who participate in the foundation, formation and strengthening of the state make an integral part of this process. These are representatives of different occupations – clergymen, writers, cultural figures, lawyers, etc. The aim of this research is to study the contribution of the lawyers of Latgale to the foundation of the Republic of Latvia and its development until 1940. Literature that covers three fields has been used in the research. First of all, this is the literature on the most important historical facts of Latvia and Latgale about the period of the First Free Republic of Latvia, finding the most active people who participated in these events. Secondly, literature about the 1917 Latgale Congress is analysed in the study, considering its significance in the foundation of the State and summarising its participants. Thirdly, literature about lives of these participants was studied, analysing their origin, relation to legal education and assessing the contribution of the representatives of Latgale justice system to the foundation and development of the State until 1940. The following research methods are used in the study: analytical, historical and systemic methods. The National Awakening of Latgale is traditionally associated with the period from 1904 until 1917, that is, from the lifting of the printing ban until Latgale Congress in Rēzekne on May 9 and 10, 1917. However, the supported opinion that the Awakening of Latgale has been already initiated between the 60s and the 80s of the 19th century is expressed more and more convincingly. In this period considerable activities of the Latgalian spirit are felt that led to freedom from the status of the Inflanty of the Vitebsk Governorate and to acquiring the name of Latgale. Thus, two representatives of the Latgale system of justice are to be mentioned in this period – Gustavs Manteifelis and Pīters Miglinīks. The lawyers of Latgale made a significant contribution to the foundation and formation of the Republic of Latvia. At the 1917 Latgale Congress, the Provisional Land Council of Latgale was formed that together with the Provisional Land Councils of Vidzeme and Courland worked in the Latvian Provisional National Council, promoting the foundation of the Republic of Latvia. The lawyers of Latgale also participated in this congress and were elected to the Provisional Land Council of Latgale (for example, Jānis Grišāns, Antons Laizāns, Pāvils Laizāns, Juris Pabērzs), as well as worked in the government of the Republic of Latvia – holding high official positions (for example, J. Pabērzs (Minister of Justice, Minister of Social Welfare), Pauls Mincs (Minister of Labour), Antons Rancāns (Minister of Transportation)), and achieving notable success in their professional activities (for example, A. Laizāns, J. Grišāns, Broņislavs Trubiņš, etc.), thus strengthening the Republic of Latvia. Despite the limited financial, social and other opportunities of the people of Latgale at the time, a relatively large number (12 people) of legal representatives made a significant contribution to the foundation of the State. The lawyers of Latgale generally came from farmers' families; this fact only testifies to their fighting spirit. Access to legal education was relatively difficult because the nearest educational institutions that offered it were the University of Saint Petersburg, the University of Moscow and the University of Tartu. And only at the end of the period under study, such education was offered at the University of Latvia. Still, the representatives of Latgale obtained academic legal education, even at the Master's degree level. In one exceptional case, legal skills were self-taught (P. Miglinīks), besides, to an excellent level. This is confirmed by the achievements of this lawyer of Latgale in practical activity and the contribution to the formation of the State. The origins of Latgale lawyers of the period under study covered practically the whole of Latgale, because their places of birth were in the districts of Rēzekne, Daugavpils, and Ludza. Even though some of them left for work in Rīga, some of them stayed in Latgale; still, regardless of the place of residence, the connection with Latgale was not lost, but contribution to the formation of the state was made. The activity of the lawyers of Latgale in the period under study was diverse in its content, wide in its range, and directed at a common aim. Firstly, through their professional activity they provided legal services, being, for example, lawyers, notaries, legal advisors; as well as provided legal aid to society, for instance, translating the Russian law into the Latgalian language, representing in court pro bono. Secondly, the lawyers of Latgale held high official positions, for example, there were three ministers among them, as well as members of parliament, state controllers, and judges. Thirdly, they also actively performed public activity, for example, joining societies (including professional societies), participating in publication of newspapers and other printed matter, being writers, poets, and songwriters. The activity of the lawyers of Latgale covered not only the national scale of Latvia, but high achievements were made at the international level both in social (G. Manteifelis) and professional (P. Mincs) activity. Furthermore, they worked as jurists, for example, P. Mincs, whose work was published again in the modern times. The work of all lawyers of Latgale was directed at a common aim – state under the rule of law – by promoting its foundation and strengthening the newly formed State. The significant contribution of the lawyers of Latgale to the interest of the State is also confirmed by the high awards received. Firstly, for the contribution to the benefit of the Republic of Latvia, national awards were received, such as the Order of the Three Stars, The Cross of Recognition, Lāčplēsis Military Order, and the Cross of Merit of Aizsargi. Secondly, for achievements on the international level, high awards of other states were received such as the Hungarian Order of Merit, the Russian Cross of Saint George, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, an honorary diploma of the Leipzig museum, thus with honour representing the name of Latvia abroad. The contribution of the lawyers of Latgale is significant – in the implementation of the National Awakening of Latgale, in the foundation of the Republic of Latvia, in the development and strengthening of the Republic of Latvia. These historical events significant to the Republic of Latvia occurred with active involvement of the lawyers of Latgale and their important contribution.