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政治エリートの一部か，政治エリートへの抗議者か―政治不信の時代のチリにおける学生運動への信頼に関する分析―
Get PDFPJa/33/Aj11application/pdfZAJ202409_005今日世界各国で蔓延する政治不信のなかで，不信の対象たる政党と結びついてきた中間団体の弱体化が指摘されている。本稿では政治不信が広がるチリを事例として，今なお重要な中間団体であり続けている学生運動を分析対象とし，政治不信は学生運動の不信に結びついているのか否かを検証する。学生運動は，歴史的には政党青年部を通じて政党政治と結びつく政治エリートの一部という側面を持つ。他方で，今日では既成政党と距離を置き政権に対して抗議行動を行う政治エリートへの抗議者の側面も持つ。分析の結果，政党政治への不信は一貫して学生運動への不信と結びつく一方で，学生運動が政権と激しく対立するときには，政権不支持が学生運動への信頼と結びつくことが明らかとなった。この結果は，学生運動もまた他の中間団体と同様に政治不信とともに弱体化する一方で，抗議行動を通じて政治不信を自らの信頼につなげ弱体化を止めうることも示唆している。journal articl
Content Moderation by Social Media Intermediaries - Examining Short Termism during the Ukraine Crisis
No full textSocial Media platforms have long been accused of differential content moderation practices, both by Governments and their users. The Russia-Ukraine war brought this issue to the forefront, where moderation decisions of major technology platforms like Twitter, Meta are being scrutinized, and accused of restricting freedom of speech, moderating legitimate or propaganda incorrectly, and promoting violent content in breach of their own policies.
This paper analyzes the moderation decisions of major technology platforms in non-war era, and during the Ukraine crisis, the power dynamics that influenced these decisions, and the short-termism of their Ukraine response strategy which deviated from their purported mission statements. It concludes with examining the social and long-term impact of this decision, and briefly explores if an alternative could have caused long-term impact towards free flow of legitimate information, had the platforms applied their hidden power in regulatory engagements to follow their mission statements, as described.Author's Origina
Burnt Earth: Whisky Landscapes of a Post-Peat Scotland
No full textPeat is a uniquely carbon-rich soil type, and the bogs where it is found globally sequester twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. It is also a traditional component of whisky production on the Scottish island of Islay, where smoke from peat-fueled fires imbues grain with a distinct flavor and terroir. Islay and whisky are inextricably linked, but today the island is scarred by trenches where peat has been industrially extracted for global consumption. This thesis explores the remediation of Islay’s destroyed bogland through paludicultural test plots, experimentally growing media for use in the whisky industry and beyond. Exploring the tension between historic preservation and ecological restoration, Islay serves as a case study in adapting cultural practices to address a climate in crisis
New Insights into Aerosol Properties, Perturbations, and Radiative Effects in the Stratosphere and Upper Troposphere
No full textThe interactions between atmospheric aerosols and radiation represent one of the largest uncertainties in our scientific understanding of climate change. Aerosols in the stratosphere and upper troposphere (S/UT), above approximately 7 km from the Earth’s surface, play a critical role in modulating global radiative balance by scattering and absorbing radiation, and by affecting the lifecycle of ice clouds. Stratospheric aerosols have been suggested to contribute to ~21% of the total aerosol direct radiative forcing since 1850. Furthermore, they affect the protective ozone layer directly by modulating heterogeneous reaction rates of halogen activation and N2O5 hydrolysis and indirectly via more uncertain radiative impacts on temperature and dynamics. This thesis delves into novel insights regarding the microphysical, chemical, and optical properties of S/UT aerosols, which are essential for understanding their radiative and chemical effects. Despite significant advances, important questions remain about these properties, especially in light of intermittent aerosol perturbations from volcanic eruptions and severe wildfire/biomass burning events.
A primary focus of this thesis lies in unraveling the diverse chemical composition and morphology of S/UT aerosols and its influence on their optical properties, consequently affecting radiative forcing. Contrary to the traditional assumption that stratospheric aerosols are predominantly composed of sulfate, observations and recent modeling studies indicate that organic matter may constitute a substantial portion (5-60%) of the particle mass in the lower stratosphere. The implications of these organic components are not fully understood but could lead to substantial revisions in our comprehension of the stratosphere’s climate influence. This thesis begins by exploring the composition dependence of stratospheric aerosol radiative forcing, particularly examining the sensitivity to the intrinsic optical property (i.e., refractive index) of organics and their mixing states with sulfates. Using long-term balloon-borne aerosol measurement records and radiative transfer calculations, this work revealed that organics may have significant impacts (up to a 100% change) on stratospheric aerosol shortwave radiative forcing during periods of minimal to moderate volcanic activity (Chapter 1). However, data on the refractive index of stratospheric organic aerosols is scarce. To bridge this gap, laboratory measurements of the refractive index of organic aerosols were conducted, alongside the development of a semiempirical model that predicts the refractive index of organic aerosol from its widely measured oxygen-to-carbon and hydrogen-to-carbon elemental ratios (Chapter 2). These efforts help better constrain the optical properties of organic-containing stratospheric aerosols.
The second focus of this thesis involves in situ sampling and measurements of aerosols in the S/UT. During the NASA DCOTSS (ER-2 aircraft) and NOAA SABRE (WB-57 aircraft) missions, I developed and deployed two aircraft instruments to: 1) measure S/UT aerosol concentration and size distribution across a range of 140-2,500 nm in diameter, and 2) collect S/UT aerosol samples for offline chemical composition and morphology analysis (Chapter 3). My work yielded a valuable dataset of aerosol concentration, size distribution, composition, and morphology up to 22 km over North America. This dataset is essential for characterizing the baseline state of S/UT aerosols and discerning the effects of volcanic and wildfire perturbations.
Notably, volcanic plumes from La Soufrière eruptions in April 2021 were sampled repeatedly in the stratosphere, enabling detailed analysis of aerosol concentration and size distribution within these volcanic plumes and their spatiotemporal evolutions in the stratosphere. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that volcanic eruptions lead to increased aerosol size—evidenced by the aftermath of massive events like the 1991 Pinatubo eruption—my findings from the 2021 La Soufrière eruption indicate a decrease in aerosol effective diameter within the midlatitude lower stratosphere due to a significant increase in small particles ( 400 nm). This suggests a nuanced impact of relatively smaller yet more frequent eruptions. The radiative and ozone impacts of these volcanic plumes were further examined using the SOCOL-AERv2 aerosol-chemistry-climate model (Chapter 4).
Additionally, encounters with wildfire smoke from a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) event were recorded in the UT. These pyroCb smoke aerosols show a distinct large size mode (500-600 nm diameter) and a high concentration of biomass burning organics. The radiative effects of these large smoke aerosols were assessed using radiative transfer calculations. Subsequent offline analysis of the S/UT aerosol samples unveiled the prevalence of organic-containing particles, particularly those originating from biomass burning sources, in the summer stratosphere. These particles were predominantly complex mixtures of inorganic and organic substances, occasionally intermingled with black carbon (Chapter 5).
My Ph.D. work integrates fieldwork, laboratory experiments, instrumentation, and computational modeling to delve into the properties, perturbations, and radiative effects of aerosols in the S/UT. This multifaceted approach aids in quantifying the climate and chemical impacts of S/UT aerosols and underscores the imperative to increase our understanding of organic and biomass burning aerosols in this region
The Effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War on Moral and Civic Values
No full textI study the effect of the Russo-Ukrainian War on moral, social, and civic values by comparing survey data which I collected in Ukraine in November 2022 with data on the same survey questions gathered in previous waves of World Values Survey. I find a significant rise in “rational” or broadly socially liberal values, and a very large rise in civic and social values like belief in democracy and social activity. These findings are out of line with prior studies showing a rise in conservatism following wars but in line with a literature showing a growth in pro-social ingroup behaviour. I also survey respondents on their specific experience in the war, (e.g. an experience of being wounded vs. a seperate experience of losing their job). Similar results hold for a broad increase in the intensity of violence experienced but those who have only experienced economic impacts of the conflict, such as job loss, see a rise in conservatism and lower interest in civil society. I also see a diminished East-West regional divide. These results suggest that Ukrainian civil society is experiencing growing popular support and a increased pro-liberalism sentiment