Information requirements for effective fisheries planning in Nigeria

An examination is made of the current situation regarding fisheries planning in Nigeria, identifying areas where information is required to correct existing imbalances. The artisanal fishery, industrial/commercial fishery and aquaculture sectors and requirements for a comprehensive development policy in each sector are detailed

Landa-garapen politika eta ingurumenarekiko harremana Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoan (1992-2008)

[EUS] Landa-garapeneko politikek, eremu horietako ohiko jardueren sustapena eta berregituratze sozioekonomikoa bultzatzeaz gain, lurralde-antolaketa zein ingurumen-esparru gero eta garrantzitsuagoak barneratu dituzte beren proposamenetan. Artikulu honek horixe aztertzen du, zein izan den landa-garapen politikaren ingurumentze prozesua Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoan, alegia. Basogintza eta nekazaritza-ingurumen neurriez gain, prozesu honetan arreta berezia merezi du Natura Eremu Babestuen politikak, zeina neurri handian landa-garapenekoarekin uztartu egiten den funtzionalki zein kronologikoki.

辽宁中部城市群景观动态模拟与预测研究

辽宁中部城市群是我国城镇最密集的地区之一，经过几十年快速的城市发展和工业建设，造成了严重环境污染和生态破坏，区域的景观发生了巨大的变化。本文研究辽宁中部城市群城市空间增长和景观动态，为辽宁中部城市群的科学规划和管理提供决策支持，对辽宁省生态环境与社会经济的可持续发展具有重要的意义。 本文利用3S技术、转移矩阵和景观格局指数方法对辽宁中部城市群1988-- 2004 年的城市增长和景观变化进行了综合分析，采用历史数据对城市增长和景观变化模型SLEUTH进行校正，并对历史时期的城市增长和景观变化进行模拟重建；利用ROC曲线统计、Kappa指数系列和景观格局指数对SLEUTH的模拟结果进行精度评价；在五种不同的预案下对辽宁中部城市群未来（2005-2045年）城市增长和景观动态进行模拟预测。本文得到如下结论： 1. 1988-2004年间，辽宁中部城市群的城市面积持续增长，扩展强度不断增强，1997-2000年的城市扩展强度最大，增长速度最快。城市空间格局的变化表现出阶段性的特征，1988-1997年城市面积的增长速度较慢，结构紧凑，以边缘增长和填充增长为主；1997-2004年城市面积增长较快，城市向外蔓延，城市斑块形状变得复杂，以开发区的飞地式增长和扩散增长为主。 2. 1997-2004年间，辽宁中部城市群的景观变化明显，农村居民点的面积增长最大，其次为城市；林草地的面积减少最大，其次为耕地。各景观类型中城市的增长速度最快，林草地减少的速度最快。辽宁中部城市群的城市增长和景观变化主要集中在中部的城镇密集带。城镇密集带将是未来城市群规划和管理的关键区域。辽宁中部城市群景观格局受人类活动影响增强，景观破碎化程度加大。景观中林草地和耕地的优势地位有所减弱，破碎化程度增加，斑块形状日益复杂；在城镇密集带内，耕地面积流失较大，耕地占景观面积比例减少较快，破碎化程度较大。随着城市化进程的加快和人类活动的增强，辽宁中部城市群表现出复杂的格局变化特征。 3. 1988-2004年，辽宁中部城市群城市增长的主要驱动力是社会经济发展和政策因素，其中人口和经济的高速增长、国家及区域政策导致的城市开发、生 态环境保护政策、城市规划和基础设施建设等因素是城市群城市空间快速增长的主要因素。辽宁中部城市群的景观变化受到自然和人类两大类驱动因素的共同作用。气候、水文、矿产资源等自然驱动力对城市群景观变化的影响也较大。人口增长、城市和村镇聚落增长、农业开发、经济发展、政治政策和工业化等主要的人类驱动力对辽宁中部城市群景观变化影响较大。 4. 利用ROC 曲线统计、Kappa 指数系列和景观格局指数从城市增长总体预测能力、增长数量和空间格局上对SLEUTH 模型的城市增长模拟结果进行精度评估；利用Kappa 指数系列和景观格局指数对SLEUTH的景观变化预测结果进行评价。总体上讲，SLEUTH模型对辽宁中部城市群城市增长和景观动态模拟预测具有良好的可信精度，较好地模拟了1988-2004年的城市增长和1997-2004年城市群的景观动态。 5. SLEUTH 模型效力的主要影响因素包括模型结构、城市发展特征、模型应用的时空尺度和模型输入数据的获取与误差传递等。通过修改模型参数设置、开展模型敏感性与不确定性分析等可以提高SLEUTH 模型的模拟效力，并提出城市分类标准对SLEUTH准确性的影响，通过对部分研究区的检验研究，证明城市分类标准对SLEUTH模型的校正和模拟预测结果影响较大。 6. 基于SLEUTH模型，从城市群城市空间增长、景观要素和社会经济政策等方面设计了五种城市群发展和景观变化预案，即历史趋势预案（Historical Trend, HT），区域开发政策和城市规划预案（Regional development policy and Urban planning policy, RU），生态可持续发展预案（Ecological Sustainable development，ES），两个密集增长预案（Compact Growth，CG1和CG2）等。通过预案分析，考察不同的条件下未来城市群城市空间增长和景观动态特征，研究认为密集的城市增长预案是未来辽宁中部城市群发展的较好预案，为辽宁中部城市群的规划、管理和可持续发展提供决策支持。

数字图书馆中图像信息库的检索技术

简要介绍了基于内容的检索技术在数字图书馆中图像信息库检索方面的应用 ,着重对基于对象特征的检索技术做了一定的探讨。并给出了检索效果评价准则

Analysis of institutional arrangements and common pool resources governance: the case of Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia

Although Common Pool Resources (CPRs) make up a significant share of total income for rural households in Ethiopia and elsewhere in developing world, limited access to these resources and environmental degradation threaten local livelihoods. As a result, the issues of management, governance of CPRs and how to prevent their over-exploitation are of great importance for development policy. This study examines the current state and dynamics of CPRs and overall resource governance system of the Lake Tana sub-basin. This research employed the modified form of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. The framework integrates the concept of Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) and Interactive Governance (IG) perspectives where social actors, institutions, the politico-economic context, discourses and ecological features across governance and government levels were considered. It has been observed that overexploitation, degradation and encroachment of CPRs have increased dramatically and this threatens the sustainability of Lake Tana ecosystem. The stakeholder analysis result reveals that there are multiple stakeholders with diverse interest in and power over CPRs. The analysis of institutional arrangements reveals that the existing formal rules and regulations governing access to and control over CPRs could not be implemented and were not effective to legally bind and govern CPR user’s behavior at the operational level. The study also shows that a top-down and non-participatory policy formulation, law and decision making process overlooks the local contexts (local knowledge and informal institutions). The outcomes of examining the participation of local resource users, as an alternative to a centralized, command-and-control, and hierarchical approach to resource management and governance, have called for a fundamental shift in CPR use, management and governance to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in decision making. Therefore, establishing a multi-level stakeholder governance system as an institutional structure and process is necessary to sustain stakeholder participation in decision-making regarding CPR use, management and governance.

Ontological representation of design science research publications

A search result provided by existing digital library and web search systems typically comprises only a prioritised list of possible publications or web pages that meet the search criteria, possibly with excerpts and possibly with search terms highlighted. The research in progress reported in this poster contributes to a larger research effort to provide a readable summary of search results that synthesise relevant publications or web pages to provide results that meet four C’s: comprehensive, concise, coherent, and correct, as a more useful alternative to un-synthesised result lists. The scope of this research is limited to searching for and synthesising Design Science Research (DSR) publications that present the results of DSR, as an example problem domain.

Computational fluid dynamics: advancements in technology for modeling iron and steelmaking processes

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software technology has formed the basis of many investigations into the behavior and optimization of primary iron and steelmaking processes for the last 25+ years. The objective of this contribution is to review the progress in CFD technologies over the last decade or so and how this can be brought to bear in advancing the process analysis capability of primary ferrous operations. In particular, progress on key challenges such as compute performance, fluid-structure transformation and interaction, and increasingly complex geometries are highlighted.

Evaluation of a suitable learning style for iLearn: a personalised e-learning platform

Brusilovsky and Millan (2007) state that learning styles are typically defined as the way people prefer to learn. Learning styles and how we learn is a vast research area and many research projects (SMILE, INSPIRE, iWeaver amongst others) attempt to incorporate these learning styles into e-Learning systems. This paper describes commonly used learning styles and how they are currently being used within the area of adaptive e-Learning. This work also builds upon current research and evaluates learning styles using criteria proposed by Sampson and Karagiannidis (2004) in order to select a suitable learning methodology for the iLearn e-Learning platform. The Sampson and Karagiannidis (2004) criteria is adapted for the purpose of the research and describes the measurability, time effectiveness and descriptiveness and prescriptiveness of the specific learning style. A suitable learning style for the iLearn e-Learning platform is then proposed within the paper and finally the research briefly introduces how the chosen learning style will be used for the proposed e-Learning platform.

Creating a suitable and successful solution for the integration of podcasting and vidcasting in a higher education e-learning environment

A small research project is currently taking place within a department of the University of Greenwich. The project involves using current technology (Apple’s xServe, iPhones, iPod touch, Podcast Producer application and some 3rd party capture software) with the intention to provide a solution for quick and simple podcasting. This paper also aims to investigate the use of podcasting to help promote and extend the e-learning provision within the school. In short this project aims to justify the use of podcasting as a teaching and learning tool to help enhance student learning while identifying the most appropriate manner to integrate podcasting within an e-learning environment.

Identidad territorial y paisaje. Evolución morfológica de los núcleos en Castilla y León.

Este estudio intenta esclarecer las transformaciones físicas y socioeconómicas de los asentamientos rurales de la región española de Castilla y León, durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Se analiza la evolución temporal de la forma urbana a través de un Sistema de Información Geográfico (SIG), calculando unos índices métricos y comparándolos con la información demográfica histórica. Los resultados pretenden mostrar los efectos de la especialización funcional económica, causada por la integración en las jerarquías productivas globales, sobre la estructura urbana. La pérdida gradual de las características tradicionales de los pueblos castellanos, como la compacidad y la integración en el entorno, debido a la pérdida o degradación de la arquitectura popular y la construcción de nuevas edificaciones industriales, supone un riesgo para las futuras políticas de desarrollo local. Se considera necesario preservar la identidad paisajística y evitar la destrucción del patrimonio cultural para poder revitalizar estos territorios.

Short reflections on the history of African communication

This article aims to propose a chronological subdivision in the history of African communication. African communication today is one of the most important axes for implementing development strategies, sustaining education, health, and schooling programmes, and so on. However, many of these programmes fail due to a lack of or ineffective communication between international organisations, local elite and lay people. The reasons for this situation must be found in Africa’s history of communication, which has undergone radical transformations in its different phases. Using the functionalist analysis drawn up by Jakobson, this article proposes a new chronological subdivision of Africa’s history of communication, reflecting on the current contradictions in contemporary communication in Africa.

Impact of Government Intervention on Employment Change and Plant Closure in Northern Ireland, 1983-97

Harris R. and Trainor M. (2007) Impact of government intervention on employment change and plant closure in Northern Ireland, 1983-97, Regional Studies 41, 51-63. Financial assistance to manufacturing industry is an important element of the industrial development policy in Northern Ireland. This paper uses the individual plant-level records of the Annual Respondents Database (ARD) for the Northern Ireland manufacturing sector (1983-97) matched to the plant-level details of financial support provided by the Industrial Development Board to examine the effect of selective financial assistance (SFA) on employment change and plant closure. It is found that SFA concentrated on protecting existing, rather than new, enterprises in terms of employment change. Using a hazard model, it is found that the receipt of SFA significantly reduced the probability of plant closure by, on average, between 15 and 24%.

Conditional cash transfer programs and the representations of poverty in Bolivia and Peru

Bolivia and Peru adopted the same instruments of social policy —conditional cash transfer programs— to solve the same public problems under different political regimes. By means of the qualitative methodology of discourse analysis, this paper studies the representations of poverty and State made by key actors of those social programs. Underlying more differences than similarities, one demonstrates that the same social policy is linked to opposite social representations of poverty and the State role in every country. The main explanation for this is, far from being imposed by international organizations, those programs are adopted and adapted by each political regime.

Social economy and economic crisis in the basque country abstract

This article examines the socio-economic evolution of the social economy sector in the Basque Country during the 2008-2014 period of economic crisis. Data have been obtained within a framework of collaboration between university, Basque Government and private sector of the social economy. The results suggest that such entities have evolved better, both in terms of number of enterprises and employment, than the general economy of the Basque Country, while the context of public policies aimed at social economy has worsened over the years. However, in economic terms (measured through the Gross Value Added generated), they have not been able to cope with the crisis in equal conditions to the general economy. The main contribution of this research lies in that, unlike similar studies, it discusses the evolution of the whole sector of the social economy, taking as reference a broad period of the current economic crisis.