Blessed are the Peacemakers: Transnational Alliance, Protective Accompaniment and the Presbyterian Church of Colombia

The purpose of this thesis was to explore how Christian networks enable strategies of transnational alliance, whereby groups in different nations strive to strengthen one another’s leverage and credibility in order to resolve conflicts and elaborate new possibilities. This research does so by analyzing the case of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC). The project examines the historical development of the IPC from the initial missionary period of the 1850s until the present. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to consider how the historical struggle to articulate autonomy and equality vis-à-vis the U.S. Presbyterians (PCUSA) and paternalist models of ecclesial relations has affected recent political strategies pursued by the IPC. Despite the paternalism of the early missionary model, changing conceptions of social transformation during the 60s contributed to a shift in relations. Over time the IPC and PCUSA negotiated relationships in which groups both acknowledge a problematic history and insist upon an ethnic of partnership and respect. Today, PCUSA groups, in concert with the IPC, collaborate on a range of transnational political strategies aimed at strengthening the IPC’s leverage in local struggles for justice and peace. A review of this case suggests that long-established Christian networks may have an advantage over other civil society groups such as NGOs in facilitating strategies of transnational alliance. Although civil society organizations often have better access to important resources needed for international advocacy initiatives, Christian networks, such as the one established between the IPC and U.S. Presbyterian communities, rely on a history of negotiating power-disparity in order to elaborate relationships based on listening and partnership. Such findings prove important not only to how we conceptualize transnational alliance but also to the ways that we think about the history and future of Christian networks.

Analysis of global compliance and implementation of the goals of international environmental treaties: A case study of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was created in 1992 to coordinate global governments to protect biological resources. The CBD has three goals: protection of biodiversity, achievement of sustainable use of biodiversity and facilitation of equitable sharing of the benefits of biological resources. The goal of protecting biological resources has remained both controversial and difficult to implement. This study focused more on the goal of biodiversity protection. The research was designed to examine how globally constructed environmental policies get adapted by national governments and then passed down to local levels where actual implementation takes place. Effectiveness of such policies depends on the extent of actual implementation at local levels. Therefore, compliance was divided and examined at three levels: global, national and local. The study then developed various criteria to measure compliance at these levels. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze compliance and implementation. The study was guided by three questions broadly examining critical factors that most influence the implementation of biodiversity protection policies at the global, national and local levels. Findings show that despite an overall biodiversity deficit of 0.9 hectares per person, global compliance with the CBD goals is currently at 35%. Compliance is lowest at local levels at 14%, it is slightly better at national level at 50%, and much better at the international level 64%. Compliance appears higher at both national and international levels because compliance here is paper work based and policy formulation. If implementation at local levels continues to produce this low compliance, overall conservation outcomes can only get worse than what it is at present. There are numerous weaknesses and capacity challenges countries are yet to address in their plans. In order to increase local level compliance, the study recommends a set of robust policies that build local capacity, incentivize local resource owners, and implement biodiversity protection programs that are akin to local needs and aspirations.^

Analysis of Global Compliance and Implementation of the Goals of International Environmental Treaties: A Case study of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was created in 1992 to coordinate global governments to protect biological resources. The CBD has three goals: protection of biodiversity, achievement of sustainable use of biodiversity and facilitation of equitable sharing of the benefits of biological resources. The goal of protecting biological resources has remained both controversial and difficult to implement. This study focused more on the goal of biodiversity protection. The research was designed to examine how globally constructed environmental policies get adapted by national governments and then passed down to local levels where actual implementation takes place. Effectiveness of such policies depends on the extent of actual implementation at local levels. Therefore, compliance was divided and examined at three levels: global, national and local. The study then developed various criteria to measure compliance at these levels. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze compliance and implementation. The study was guided by three questions broadly examining critical factors that most influence the implementation of biodiversity protection policies at the global, national and local levels. Findings show that despite an overall biodiversity deficit of 0.9 hectares per person, global compliance with the CBD goals is currently at 35%. Compliance is lowest at local levels at 14%, it is slightly better at national level at 50%, and much better at the international level 64%. Compliance appears higher at both national and international levels because compliance here is paper work based and policy formulation. If implementation at local levels continues to produce this low compliance, overall conservation outcomes can only get worse than what it is at present. There are numerous weaknesses and capacity challenges countries are yet to address in their plans. In order to increase local level compliance, the study recommends a set of robust policies that build local capacity, incentivize local resource owners, and implement biodiversity protection programs that are akin to local needs and aspirations.

A research platform for artificial neural networks with applications in pediatric epilepsy

This dissertation established a state-of-the-art programming tool for designing and training artificial neural networks (ANNs) and showed its applicability to brain research. The developed tool, called NeuralStudio, allows users without programming skills to conduct studies based on ANNs in a powerful and very user friendly interface. A series of unique features has been implemented in NeuralStudio, such as ROC analysis, cross-validation, network averaging, topology optimization, and optimization of the activation function’s slopes. It also included a Support Vector Machines module for comparison purposes. Once the tool was fully developed, it was applied to two studies in brain research. In the first study, the goal was to create and train an ANN to detect epileptic seizures from subdural EEG. This analysis involved extracting features from the spectral power in the gamma frequencies. In the second application, a unique method was devised to link EEG recordings to epileptic and nonepileptic subjects. The contribution of this method consisted of developing a descriptor matrix that can be used to represent any EEG file regarding its duration and the number of electrodes. The first study showed that the inter-electrode mean of the spectral power in the gamma frequencies and its duration above a specific threshold performs better than the other frequencies in seizure detection, exhibiting an accuracy of 95.90%, a sensitivity of 92.59%, and a specificity of 96.84%. The second study yielded that Hjorth’s parameter activity is sufficient to accurately relate EEG to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. After testing, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were all above 0.9667. Statistical tests measured the superiority of activity at over 99.99 % certainty. It was demonstrated that (1) the spectral power in the gamma frequencies is highly effective in locating seizures from EEG and (2) activity can be used to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. These two studies required high computational load and could be addressed thanks to NeuralStudio. From a medical perspective, both methods proved the merits of NeuralStudio in brain research applications. For its outstanding features, NeuralStudio has been recently awarded a patent (US patent No. 7502763).

Linking Ecology and Economics for Ecosystem Management

This article outlines an approach, based on ecosystem services, for assessing the trade-offs inherent in managing humans embedded in ecological systems. Evaluating these trade-offs requires an understanding of the biophysical magnitudes of the changes in ecosystem services that result from human actions, and of the impact of these changes on human welfare. We summarize the state of the art of ecosystem services-based management and the information needs for applying it. Three case studies of Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites--coastal, urban, and agricultural-- illustrate the usefulness, information needs, quantification possibilities, and methods for this approach. One example of the application of this approach, with rigorously established service changes and valuations taken from the literature, is used to illustrate the potential for full economic valuation of several agricultural landscape management options, including managing for water quality, biodiversity, and crop productivity.

Water source utilization and foliar nutrient status differs between upland and flooded plant communities in wetland tree islands

Tree islands in the Everglades wetlands are centers of biodiversity and targets of restoration, yet little is known about the pattern of water source utilization by the constituent woody plant communities: upland hammocks and flooded swamp forests. Two potential water sources exist: (1) entrapped rainwater in the vadose zone of the organic soil (referred to as upland soil water), that becomes enriched in phosphorus, and (2) phosphorus-poor groundwater/surface water (referred to as regional water). Using natural stable isotope abundance as a tracer, we observed that hammock plants used upland soil water in the wet season and shifted to regional water uptake in the dry season, while swamp forest plants used regional water throughout the year. Consistent with the previously observed phosphorus concentrations of the two water sources, hammock plants had a greater annual mean foliar phosphorus concentration over swamp forest plants, thereby supporting the idea that tree island hammocks are islands of high phosphorus concentrations in the oligotrophic Everglades. Foliar nitrogen levels in swamp forest plants were higher than those of hammock plants. Linking water sources with foliar nutrient concentrations can indicate nutrient sources and periods of nutrient uptake, thereby linking hydrology with the nutrient regimes of different plant communities in wetland ecosystems. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that (1) over long periods, upland tree island communities incrementally increase their nutrient concentration by incorporating marsh nutrients through transpiration seasonally, and (2) small differences in micro-topography in a wetland ecosystem can lead to large differences in water and nutrient cycles.

Changes of Soil Biogeochemistry under Native and Exotic Plants Species

Invasive plant species are major threats to the biodiversity and ecosystem stability. The purpose of this study is to understand the impacts of invasive plants on soil nutrient cycling and ecological functions. Soil samples were collected from rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere of both native and exotic plants from three genera, Lantana, Ficus and Schinus, at Tree Tops Park in South Florida, USA. Experimental results showed that the cultivable bacterial population in the soil under Brazilian pepper (invasive Schinus) was approximately ten times greater than all other plants. Also, Brazilian pepper lived under conditions of significantly lower available phosphorus but higher phosphatase activities than other sampled sites. Moreover, the respiration rates and soil macronutrients in rhizosphere soils of exotic plants were significantly higher than those of the natives (Phosphorus, p=0.034; Total Nitrogen, p=0.0067; Total Carbon, p=0.0243). Overall, the soil biogeochemical status under invasive plants was different from those of the natives.

A Research Platform for Artificial Neural Networks with Applications in Pediatric Epilepsy

This dissertation established a state-of-the-art programming tool for designing and training artificial neural networks (ANNs) and showed its applicability to brain research. The developed tool, called NeuralStudio, allows users without programming skills to conduct studies based on ANNs in a powerful and very user friendly interface. A series of unique features has been implemented in NeuralStudio, such as ROC analysis, cross-validation, network averaging, topology optimization, and optimization of the activation function’s slopes. It also included a Support Vector Machines module for comparison purposes. Once the tool was fully developed, it was applied to two studies in brain research. In the first study, the goal was to create and train an ANN to detect epileptic seizures from subdural EEG. This analysis involved extracting features from the spectral power in the gamma frequencies. In the second application, a unique method was devised to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. The contribution of this method consisted of developing a descriptor matrix that can be used to represent any EEG file regarding its duration and the number of electrodes. The first study showed that the inter-electrode mean of the spectral power in the gamma frequencies and its duration above a specific threshold performs better than the other frequencies in seizure detection, exhibiting an accuracy of 95.90%, a sensitivity of 92.59%, and a specificity of 96.84%. The second study yielded that Hjorth’s parameter activity is sufficient to accurately relate EEG to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. After testing, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were all above 0.9667. Statistical tests measured the superiority of activity at over 99.99 % certainty. It was demonstrated that 1) the spectral power in the gamma frequencies is highly effective in locating seizures from EEG and 2) activity can be used to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. These two studies required high computational load and could be addressed thanks to NeuralStudio. From a medical perspective, both methods proved the merits of NeuralStudio in brain research applications. For its outstanding features, NeuralStudio has been recently awarded a patent (US patent No. 7502763).