45 research outputs found
Adebiyi etal: absorption of shortwave radiation by North African dust
No full textThe codes and datasets contained here are for the paper with the information below
Titled: "North African dust absorbs substantially less solar radiation than estimated by climate models and remote-sensing retrievals"
Author: Adeyemi A. Adebiyi, Yue Huang, Bjørn H. Samset and Jasper F. Kok
Please see the ReadMe.txt for additional details.
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Corresponding Authors:
Adeyemi Adebiyi
Email: [email protected];
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences,
University of California-Merced,
5200 North Lake Road Merced, CA 95343
Incentives and politics: The perverse incentives paradox: root cause of many other paradoxes; the case of the Dutch Betuweroute
No full textThe transport system in general, and, more specifically, transport infrastructure projects as part of that system, has major impacts on society. This chapter elaborates on the question as to what extent the results can be transferred to other contexts. Because of the positive decision to build, combined with a lack of understanding of the rationale and no clear and neutral assessment of the pros and cons of the line, many people felt manipulated, although on the positive side, the process also contributed to important improvements in decision-making procedures. This chapter departs from what Samset and Volden refer to as ‘the paradox of perverse incentives’: public investments with no financial obligations for the target group may cause perverse incentives and result in counterproductive projects. It also makes clear that many things went wrong, such as having no clear explanation of the problems the line was supposed to solve, or the related challenges.Transport and Logistic
Unraveling aquaculture-related stress in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) - Molecular responses and methodological insights
No full textAquaculture is a cornerstone of Norway’s food industry and offers sustainable solutions to meet the rising global demand for protein. As the sector grows, there is an increasing emphasis on fish welfare, not only for ethical reasons but also because of its importance for production outcomes. Stress is a key factor influencing welfare, as high levels of stress can translate into reduced growth, poor health, and disease outbreaks. Addressing these challenges requires a deeper understanding of aquaculture-related stress, including its causes, methods for detection, and strategies to minimize or avoid it.
This doctoral thesis investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying stress responses in Atlantic salmon, Norway’s most important aquaculture species. It explores various approaches to studying responses and potential indicators associated with farming-related stressors. Both field and laboratory studies are conducted to examine stress biomarkers at the gene and protein levels. This includes studying stress induced by operational events in a commercial setting, i.e. sea transfer and net pen cleaning, as well as early responses to infectious salmon anemia virus infection in cultured salmon cells. The research also introduces a practical and cost-effective lab method for visualizing stress responses in fish cell lines.
The findings shed light on how certain stressors affect salmon at a molecular level, and demonstrate the value of using diverse methods to unravel aquaculture-related stress. The research contributes to the ongoing understanding of the complex stress responses in Atlantic salmon, paving the way for improved farming practices, enhanced welfare, and ultimately, healthier and happier fish.
Norge er verdens største eksportør av atlantisk laks og spiller dermed en nøkkelrolle i produksjonen av bærekraftig mat globalt. I takt med at næringen vokser, legges det stadig større vekt på fiskevelferd. Stress er en viktig faktor som påvirker velferden hos oppdrettsfisk, ettersom høye stressnivåer kan føre til dårlig helse, redusert vekst og økt risiko for sykdom. Derfor er det avgjørende å utvikle en dypere forståelse av stress i oppdrettssammenheng—hva som forårsaker det, hvordan det kan måles, og hvordan det kan reduseres eller unngås.
I denne doktorgradsavhandlingen har jeg studert hvordan stress påvirker atlantisk laks på molekylært nivå. Både felt- og laboratoriestudier har blitt brukt for å undersøke potensielle stressmarkører på gen- og proteinnivå. Dette inkluderer studier av stress knyttet til operasjoner i kommersiell fiskeoppdrett (sjøoverføring og rengjøring av nøter), i tillegg til hvordan kultiverte lakseceller reagerer på infeksjoner med infeksiøs lakseanemivirus. Forskningen presenterer også en praktisk og kostnadseffektiv metode for å visualisere stressresponser i laboratoriedyrkede celler.
Funnene gir innsikt i hvordan ulike stressfaktorer påvirker laksen, og viser verdien av å bruke flere tilnærminger for å forstå stress i havbruk. Arbeidet styrker kunnskapen om stressmekanismer i atlantisk laks, med mål om å bidra til bedre oppdrettspraksis, bedre fiskevelferd og til syvende og sist: ekte gladlaks
Er diamantene renvasket?
No full textTil tross for Kimberley-prosessen kan diamanter fortsatt bidra til både borgerkriger og barnearbeid
“For the Guarantee of Law and Order”: The Armed Forces and Public Security in Brazil
No full textThe transition to democracy in Brazil came with a significant change in the role the armed forces could play for public security within the country. According to article 142 of the 1988 constitution, the armed forces could now intervene “for the guarantee of law and order” in Brazil only on the initiative of the civilian authorities. But since then, the military has been used on this basis in a growing array of situations, ranging from strikes and elections via political summits and visits by foreign dignitaries to efforts to “pacify” urban neighbourhoods. This paper examines how the constitutional mandate of the armed forces to guarantee law and order was specified in successive legislation in Brazil, and how the practice of deploying troops for policing purposes has evolved. It finds that the growing use of the military for the guarantee of law and order, while not necessarily weakening civilian control of the armed forces, still comes with significant risks for the quality of democracy. The main risk is associated with how this use of the military shapes state-society relations and may weaken the links between the elected leaders and those they represent
UN peacekeeping in the Congo: When is the job done?
No full textOn 28 May 2010, the United Nations Security Council made a critical decision on the future of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monuc) – the largest and most costly such operation in the world. The Council decided to reduce the number of peacekeepers by 2,000, and to transform Monuc into a stabilisation force, renamed Monusco.
The decision was made in a context of differences of view between the DRC government and the UN. The DRC has signalled its preference that Monuc should withdraw completely from the country by mid-2011, while the UN says that full withdrawal should be contingent on progress in the reduction of violence and restoration of state authority.
This policy brief considers and analyses these two key positions on Monuc's future. It argues that the Monuc experience offers important lessons that can contribute to a rethinking of peacekeeping operations: among them that the protection of civilians (one of Monuc’s core tasks) is a controversial and complicated topic that has been understood too narrowly; and that the UN has been over-ambitious in what Monuc can achieve and has focused too exclusively on peacekeeping.
The way forward is to reset the bar to a more realistic level, to rethink civilian protection, and to shift the focus from keeping to building peace. This approach could lay a firmer basis for enhancing the security of the Congolese people in the period ahead
Natural resource wealth, conflict, and peacebuilding
No full textWhat connections exist between natural resource wealth and violent conflict? What do such connections imply for policies to build peace in resource-rich areas? This synthesis takes stock of what social science research has to say about these questions.
In the first part, it reviews the academic literature on resource wealth and conflict. Key findings include that dependence of resource exports is more closely tied to conflict than resource abundance; that resource wealth is more important in explaining why civil wars endure than why they break out; and that resources with attributes that make them easy to extract and sell are more closely linked to civil war duration than other resources.
The second part presents policy implications of these findings as well as other research on pro-peace resource management. Recommendations relate to conflict financing, war economies, fiscal transparency, conflict-sensitive business, and revenue sharing. In concluding the debate is summed up and an agenda for research and policy is outlined
A Promising Experience: Building Peace through Community Development
No full textMainstream peacebuilding approaches tend to assume that a conflict settlement must be in place before the process of social and economic development can begin. Humanitarian rather than development aid is therefore the norm for countries emerging from conflict, even after the violence has receded. Yet a recent evaluation of a UNDP project in the Democratic Republic of Congo concludes that development can be an effective tool to build peace, even in the midst of violence. In the war-torn district of Ituri, local initiatives for community development effectively enabled a shift from violence to relative peace. This CMI Brief tells some of the stories and discusses key lessons from the Ituri peacebuilding and community development project
