Climate Change or Urbanization? Impacts on a Traditional Coffee Production System in East Africa over the Last 80 Years

Global environmental changes (GEC) such as climate change (CC) and climate variability have serious impacts in the tropics, particularly in Africa. These are compounded by changes in land use/land cover, which in turn are driven mainly by economic and population growth, and urbanization. These factors create a feedback loop, which affects ecosystems and particularly ecosystem services, for example plant-insect interactions, and by consequence agricultural productivity. We studied effects of GEC at a local level, using a traditional coffee production area in greater Nairobi, Kenya. We chose coffee, the most valuable agricultural commodity worldwide, as it generates income for 100 million people, mainly in the developing world. Using the coffee berry borer, the most serious biotic threat to global coffee production, we show how environmental changes and different production systems (shaded and sun-grown coffee) can affect the crop. We combined detailed entomological assessments with historic climate records (from 1929-2011), and spatial and demographic data, to assess GEC's impact on coffee at a local scale. Additionally, we tested the utility of an adaptation strategy that is simple and easy to implement. Our results show that while interactions between CC and migration/urbanization, with its resultant landscape modifications, create a feedback loop whereby agroecosystems such as coffee are adversely affected, bio-diverse shaded coffee proved far more resilient and productive than coffee grown in monoculture, and was significantly less harmed by its insect pest. Thus, a relatively simple strategy such as shading coffee can tremendously improve resilience of agro-ecosystems, providing small-scale farmers in Africa with an easily implemented tool to safeguard their livelihoods in a changing climate.

O potencial energético do gradiente térmico na plataforma continental do sul do brasil

O crescimento da demanda energética, prevista para a metade do século XXI, com números embasados no crescimento demográfico e de consumo dos países em desenvol- vimento, sugere a busca por fontes energéticas renováveis e de menor impacto ao meio ambiente, conforme os tratados da política internacional. Portanto, o fornecimento de energia suplementar se torna vital nas sociedades modernas e sua extensão até o mar tem se constituído uma recente preocupação do ponto de vista enérgico e ecológico. Várias formas de conversão de energia foram desenvolvidas no decorrer dos anos, com destaque para a energia dos gradientes térmicos. A Plataforma Continental Sul do Bra- sil (PSCB) possui alta variabilidade espacial e temporal nos campos de temperatura, de forma que existe a necessidade de uma análise das regiões de maior potencial energético com respeito ao gradiente vertical de temperatura. Neste estudo, foram utilizados dados do modelo OCCAM com uma grade de resolu- ção horizontal de 0, 25o e resolução vertical de 66 níveis, distribuídos ao longo de um sistema de coordenadas vertical. Foram utilizadas imagens de temperatura superfícial do mar (TSM) obtidas a partir do sensor AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Ra- diometer) de forma a realizar a validação dos dados do modelo OCCAM. A análise da média dos dados do modelo indicou um sítio energético de maior viabilidade devido oC ao padrão médio do gradiente térmico de aproximadamente 0, 17 ao longo da coluna vertical (545 m de profundidade) no oceano. Neste local, foram coletados os dados, e aplicados a um módulo de conversão de energia térmica dos oceanos que vem sendo desenvolvido na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG. A região de estudo de- monstrou possuir um local com ótimo potencial energético, onde a produção máxima de energia pode alcançar 111, 9MW , associada com um padrão variabilidade tempo- ral dominante de 12 meses. Este sítio energético demonstra maior eficiência durante o período de verão e outono ao longo dos anos e sua média para todo o período é de 94, 3MW . Neste estudo, duas correntes: Corrente do Brasil (CB) e a Contra Corrente Costeira (CCC), com águas de origem tropical e subantártica com aportes continentais, respecti- vamente, tem alta correlação com os valores dos gradientes térmicos e com os significa- tivos eventos de conversão energética. O sítio energético demonstrou alta estabilidade à sazonalidade e à gama de eventos meteorológicos e oceanográficos, de forma que pode ser qualificado como uma fonte suplementar a matriz energética do país para um futuro próximo.

Exergetic, energetic, economic and environmental evaluation of concentrated solar power plants in Libya

The PhD project addresses the potential of using concentrating solar power (CSP) plants as a viable alternative energy producing system in Libya. Exergetic, energetic, economic and environmental analyses are carried out for a particular type of CSP plants. The study, although it aims a particular type of CSP plant – 50 MW parabolic trough-CSP plant, it is sufficiently general to be applied to other configurations. The novelty of the study, in addition to modeling and analyzing the selected configuration, lies in the use of a state-of-the-art exergetic analysis combined with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The modeling and simulation of the plant is carried out in chapter three and they are conducted into two parts, namely: power cycle and solar field. The computer model developed for the analysis of the plant is based on algebraic equations describing the power cycle and the solar field. The model was solved using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software; and is designed to define the properties at each state point of the plant and then, sequentially, to determine energy, efficiency and irreversibility for each component. The developed model has the potential of using in the preliminary design of CSPs and, in particular, for the configuration of the solar field based on existing commercial plants. Moreover, it has the ability of analyzing the energetic, economic and environmental feasibility of using CSPs in different regions of the world, which is illustrated for the Libyan region in this study. The overall feasibility scenario is completed through an hourly analysis on an annual basis in chapter Four. This analysis allows the comparison of different systems and, eventually, a particular selection, and it includes both the economic and energetic components using the “greenius” software. The analysis also examined the impact of project financing and incentives on the cost of energy. The main technological finding of this analysis is higher performance and lower levelized cost of electricity (LCE) for Libya as compared to Southern Europe (Spain). Therefore, Libya has the potential of becoming attractive for the establishment of CSPs in its territory and, in this way, to facilitate the target of several European initiatives that aim to import electricity generated by renewable sources from North African and Middle East countries. The analysis is presented a brief review of the current cost of energy and the potential of reducing the cost from parabolic trough- CSP plant. Exergetic and environmental life cycle assessment analyses are conducted for the selected plant in chapter Five; the objectives are 1) to assess the environmental impact and cost, in terms of exergy of the life cycle of the plant; 2) to find out the points of weakness in terms of irreversibility of the process; and 3) to verify whether solar power plants can reduce environmental impact and the cost of electricity generation by comparing them with fossil fuel plants, in particular, Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) plant and oil thermal power plant. The analysis also targets a thermoeconomic analysis using the specific exergy costing (SPECO) method to evaluate the level of the cost caused by exergy destruction. The main technological findings are that the most important contribution impact lies with the solar field, which reports a value of 79%; and the materials with the vi highest impact are: steel (47%), molten salt (25%) and synthetic oil (21%). The “Human Health” damage category presents the highest impact (69%) followed by the “Resource” damage category (24%). In addition, the highest exergy demand is linked to the steel (47%); and there is a considerable exergetic demand related to the molten salt and synthetic oil with values of 25% and 19%, respectively. Finally, in the comparison with fossil fuel power plants (NGCC and Oil), the CSP plant presents the lowest environmental impact, while the worst environmental performance is reported to the oil power plant followed by NGCC plant. The solar field presents the largest value of cost rate, where the boiler is a component with the highest cost rate among the power cycle components. The thermal storage allows the CSP plants to overcome solar irradiation transients, to respond to electricity demand independent of weather conditions, and to extend electricity production beyond the availability of daylight. Numerical analysis of the thermal transient response of a thermocline storage tank is carried out for the charging phase. The system of equations describing the numerical model is solved by using time-implicit and space-backward finite differences and which encoded within the Matlab environment. The analysis presented the following findings: the predictions agree well with the experiments for the time evolution of the thermocline region, particularly for the regions away from the top-inlet. The deviations observed in the near-region of the inlet are most likely due to the high-level of turbulence in this region due to the localized level of mixing resulting; a simple analytical model to take into consideration this increased turbulence level was developed and it leads to some improvement of the predictions; this approach requires practically no additional computational effort and it relates the effective thermal diffusivity to the mean effective velocity of the fluid at each particular height of the system. Altogether the study indicates that the selected parabolic trough-CSP plant has the edge over alternative competing technologies for locations where DNI is high and where land usage is not an issue, such as the shoreline of Libya.

PHC Production Management System Based on RFID

At present, in large precast concrete enterprises, the management over precast concrete component has been chaotic. Most enterprises take labor-intensive manual input method, which is time consuming and laborious, and error-prone. Some other slightly better enterprises choose to manage through bar-code or printing serial number manually. However, on one hand, this is also labor-intensive, on the other hand, this method is limited by external environment, making the serial number blur or even lost, and also causes a big problem on production traceability and quality accountability. Therefore, to realize the enterprise’s own rapid development and cater to the needs of the time, to achieve the automated production management has been a big problem for a modern enterprise. In order to solve the problem, inefficiency in production and traceability of the products, this thesis try to introduce RFID technology into the production of PHC tubular pile. By designing a production management system of precast concrete components, the enterprise will achieve the control of the entire production process, and realize the informatization of enterprise production management. RFID technology has been widely used in many fields like entrance control, charge management, logistics and so on. RFID technology will adopt passive RFID tag, which is waterproof, shockproof, anti-interference, so it’s suitable for the actual working environment. The tag will be bound to the precast component steel cage (the structure of the PHC tubular pile before the concrete placement), which means each PHC tubular pile will have a unique ID number. Then according to the production procedure, the precast component will be performed with a series of actions, put the steel cage into the mold, mold clamping, pouring concrete (feed), stretching, centrifugalizing, maintenance, mold removing, welding splice. In every session of the procedure, the information of the precast components can be read through a RFID reader. Using a portable smart device connected to the database, the user can check, inquire and management the production information conveniently. Also, the system can trace the production parameter and the person in charge, realize the traceability of the information. This system can overcome the disadvantages in precast components manufacturers, like inefficiency, error-prone, time consuming, labor intensity, low information relevance and so on. This system can help to improve the production management efficiency, and can produce a good economic and social benefits, so, this system has a certain practical value.

Teaching boys in neoliberal and postfeminist times: Feminization and the question of re-masculinization in the education system and policy field

This paper focuses on teaching boys, male teachers and the question of gendered pedagogies in neoliberal and postfeminist times of the proliferation of new forms of capitalism, multi-mediated technologies and the influence of globalization. It illustrates how a politics of re-masculinization and its reconstitution needs to be understood as set against changing economic and social conditions in which gender equity comes to be re-focused on boys as the ‚new disadvantaged‘. This re-framing of gender equity, it is argued, has been fuelled by both a media-inspired backlash discourse about ‚failing boys‘ and a neo-positivist emphasis on numbers derived primarily from standardized testing regimes at both global and national levels. A media-focused analysis of the proliferation of discourses about ‚failing boys‘ vis-a-vis the problem of encroaching feminization in the school system is provided to illuminate how certain truths about the influence of male teachers come to define how the terms of ensuring gender equity are delimited and reduced to a question of gendered pedagogies as grounded in sexed bodies. Historical accounts of the feminization of teaching in the North American context are also provided as a basis for building a more informed understanding of the present, particularly as it relates to the contextualization of policy articulation and enactment regarding the problem of teaching boys. In light of such historically informed and critical media analysis, it is argued that what is needed is a more informed, evidenced based policy articulation of the problem of teaching boys and a more gender sensitive reflection on the politics of masculinities in postfeminist times. (DIPF/Orig.)

Methane Clathrates in the Solar System

We review the reservoirs of methane clathrates that may exist in the different bodies of the Solar System. Methane was formed in the interstellar medium prior to having been embedded in the protosolar nebula gas phase. This molecule was subsequently trapped in clathrates that formed from crystalline water ice during the cooling of the disk and incorporated in this form into the building blocks of comets, icy bodies, and giant planets. Methane clathrates may play an important role in the evolution of planetary atmospheres. On Earth, the production of methane in clathrates is essentially biological, and these compounds are mostly found in permafrost regions or in the sediments of continental shelves. On Mars, methane would more likely derive from hydrothermal reactions with olivine-rich material. If they do exist, martian methane clathrates would be stable only at depth in the cryosphere and sporadically release some methane into the atmosphere via mechanisms that remain to be determined. In the case of Titan, most of its methane probably originates from the protosolar nebula, where it would have been trapped in the clathrates agglomerated by the satellite's building blocks. Methane clathrates are still believed to play an important role in the present state of Titan. Their presence is invoked in the satellite's subsurface as a means of replenishing its atmosphere with methane via outgassing episodes. The internal oceans of Enceladus and Europa also provide appropriate thermodynamic conditions that allow formation of methane clathrates. In turn, these clathrates might influence the composition of these liquid reservoirs. Finally, comets and Kuiper Belt Objects might have formed from the agglomeration of clathrates and pure ices in the nebula. The methane observed in comets would then result from the destabilization of clathrate layers in the nuclei concurrent with their approach to perihelion. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations show that methane-rich clathrate layers may exist on Pluto as well. Key Words: Methane clathrate-Protosolar nebula-Terrestrial planets-Outer Solar System.

Between path dependency and contingency: new challenges for the geography of port system evolution.

Seaports play a critical role as gateways and facilitators of economic interchange and logistics processes and thus have become crucial nodes in globalised production networks andmobility systems. Both the physical port infrastructure and its operational superstructure have undergone intensive evolution processes in an effort to adapt to changing economic environments, technological advances,maritime industry expectations and institutional reforms. The results, in terms of infrastructure, operator models and the role of an individual port within the port system, vary by region, institutional and economic context. While ports have undoubtedly developed in scale to respond to the changing volumes and structures in geographies of trade (Wilmsmeier, 2015), the development of hinterland access infrastructure, regulatory systems and institutional structures have in many instances lagged behind. The resulting bottlenecks reflect deficits in the interplay between the economic system and the factors defining port development (e.g. transport demand, the structure of trade, transport services, institutional capacities, etc. cf. Cullinane and Wilmsmeier, 2011). There is a wide range of case study approaches and analyses of individual ports, but analyses from a port system perspective are less common, and those that exist are seldom critical of the dominant discourse assuming the efficiency of market competition (cf. Debrie et al., 2013). This special section aims to capture the spectrum of approaches in current geography research on port system evolution. Thus, the papers reach from the traditional spatial approach (Rodrigue and Ashar, this volume) to network analysis (Mohamed-Chérif and Ducruet, this volume) to institutional discussions (Vonck and Notteboom, this volume; Wilmsmeier and Monios, this volume). The selection of papers allows an opening of discussion and reflection on current research, necessary critical analysis of the influences on port systemevolution and,most importantly, future directions. The remainder of this editorial aims to reflect on these challenges and identify the potential for future research.

Projeto de reforço de um edifício de habitação

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização de Estruturas

Isotope and fatty acid trends along continental shelf depth gradients: Inshore versus offshore hydrological influences on benthic trophic functioning

Anthropogenic activities and land-based inputs into the sea may influence the trophic structure and functioning of coastal and continental shelf ecosystems, despite the numerous opportunities and services the latter offer to humans and wildlife. In addition, hydrological structures and physical dynamics potentially influence the sources of organic matter (e.g., terrestrial versus marine, or fresh material versus detrital material) entering marine food webs. Understanding the significance of the processes that influence marine food webs and ecosystems (e.g., terrestrial inputs, physical dynamics) is crucially important because trophic dynamics are a vital part of ecosystem integrity. This can be achieved by identifying organic matter sources that enter food webs along inshore–offshore transects. We hypothesised that regional hydrological structures over wide continental shelves directly control the benthic trophic functioning across the shelf. We investigated this issue along two transects in the northern ecosystem of the Bay of Biscay (north-eastern Atlantic). Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis (SIA) and fatty acid analysis (FAA) were conducted on different complementary ecosystem compartments that include suspended particulate organic matter (POM), sedimentary organic matter (SOM), and benthic consumers such as bivalves, large crustaceans and demersal fish. Samples were collected from inshore shallow waters (at ∼1 m in depth) to more than 200 m in depth on the offshore shelf break. Results indicated strong discrepancies in stable isotope (SI) and fatty acid (FA) compositions in the sampled compartments between inshore and offshore areas, although nitrogen SI (δ15N) and FA trends were similar along both transects. Offshore the influence of a permanently stratified area (described previously as a “cold pool”) was evident in both transects. The influence of this hydrological structure on benthic trophic functioning (i.e., on the food sources available for consumers) was especially apparent across the northern transect, due to unusual carbon isotope compositions (δ13C) in the compartments. At stations under the cold pool, SI and FA organism compositions indicated benthic trophic functioning based on a microbial food web, including a significant contribution of heterotrophic planktonic organisms and/or of SOM, notably in stations under the cold pool. On the contrary, inshore and shelf break areas were characterised by a microalgae-based food web (at least in part for the shelf break area, due to slope current and upwelling that can favour fresh primary production sinking on site). SIA and FAA were relevant and complementary tools, and consumers better medium- to long-term system integrators than POM samples, for depicting the trophic functioning and dynamics along inshore–offshore transects over continental shelves.

Adaptability, Transformation and Complex Changes in Namibia and Tanzania: Resilience and Innovation System Development in Local Communities

This thesis is a research about the recent complex spatial changes in Namibia and Tanzania and local communities’ capacity to cope with, adapt to and transform the unpredictability engaged to these processes. I scrutinise the concept of resilience and its potential application to explaining the development of local communities in Southern Africa when facing various social, economic and environmental changes. My research is based on three distinct but overlapping research questions: what are the main spatial changes and their impact on the study areas in Namibia and Tanzania? What are the adaptation, transformation and resilience processes of the studied local communities in Namibia and Tanzania? How are innovation systems developed, and what is their impact on the resilience of the studied local communities in Namibia and Tanzania? I use four ethnographic case studies concerning environmental change, global tourism and innovation system development in Namibia and Tanzania, as well as mixed-methodological approaches, to study these issues. The results of my empirical investigation demonstrate that the spatial changes in the localities within Namibia and Tanzania are unique, loose assemblages, a result of the complex, multisided, relational and evolutional development of human and non-human elements that do not necessarily have linear causalities. Several changes co-exist and are interconnected though uncertain and unstructured and, together with the multiple stressors related to poverty, have made communities more vulnerable to different changes. The communities’ adaptation and transformation measures have been mostly reactive, based on contingency and post hoc learning. Despite various anticipation techniques, coping measures, adaptive learning and self-organisation processes occurring in the localities, the local communities are constrained by their uneven power relationships within the larger assemblages. Thus, communities’ own opportunities to increase their resilience are limited without changing the relations in these multiform entities. Therefore, larger cooperation models are needed, like an innovation system, based on the interactions of different actors to foster cooperation, which require collaboration among and input from a diverse set of stakeholders to combine different sources of knowledge, innovation and learning. Accordingly, both Namibia and Tanzania are developing an innovation system as their key policy to foster transformation towards knowledge-based societies. Finally, the development of an innovation system needs novel bottom-up approaches to increase the resilience of local communities and embed it into local communities. Therefore, innovation policies in Namibia have emphasised the role of indigenous knowledge, and Tanzania has established the Living Lab network.

Geological Evolution of Coastal and Marine Environments off the Campania Continental Shelf Through Marine Geological Mapping - The Example of the Cilento Promontory

The geological evolution of coastal and marine environments offshore the Cilento Promontory through marine geological mapping is discussed here. The marine geological map n. 502 “Agropoli,” located offshore the Cilento Promontory (southern Italy), is described and put in regional geologic setting. The study area covers water depths ranging between 30 and 200 m isobaths. The geologic map has been constructed in the frame of a research program financed by the National Geological Survey of Italy (CARG Project), finalized to the construction of an up-to-date cartography of the Campania region. Geological and geophysical data on the continental shelf and slope offshore the southern Campania region have been acquired in an area bounded northward by the Gulf of Salerno and southward by the Gulf of Policastro. A high-resolution multibeam bathymetry has permitted the construction of a digital elevation model (DEM). Sidescan sonar profiles have also been collected and interpreted, and their merging with bathymetric data has allowed for the realization of the base for the marine geologic cartography. The calibration of geophysical data has been attempted through sea-bottom samples. The morpho-structures and the seismic sequences overlying the outcrops of acoustic basement reported in the cartographic representation have been studied in detail using single-channel seismics. The interpretation of seismic profiles has been a support for the reconstruction of the stratigraphic and structural setting of the Quaternary continental shelf successions and the outcrops of rocky acoustic basement in correspondence to the Licosa Cape morphostructural high. These areas result from the seaward prolongation of the stratigraphic and structural units, widely cropping out in the surrounding emerged sector of the Cilento Promontory. The cartographic approach is based on the recognition of laterally coeval depositional systems, interpreted in the frame of system tracts of the Late Quaternary depositional sequence.

Optimization of flocculation process and continuous filtration for sea water primary treatment filtration to reduce SDI for entree to reverse osmosis system

Today , Providing drinking water and process water is one of the major problems in most countries ; the surface water often need to be treated to achieve necessary quality, and in this way, technological and also financial difficulties cause great restrictions in operating the treatment units. Although water supply by simple and cheap systems has been one of the important objectives in most scientific and research centers in the world, still a great percent of population in developing countries, especially in rural areas, don't benefit well quality water. One of the big and available sources for providing acceptable water is sea water. There are two ways to treat sea water first evaporation and second reverse osmosis system. Nowadays R.O system has been used for desalination because of low budget price and easily to operate and maintenance. The sea water should be pretreated before R.O plants, because there is some difficulties in raw sea water that can decrease yield point of membranes in R.O system. The subject of this research may be useful in this way, and we hope to be able to achieve complete success in design and construction of useful pretreatment systems for R.O plant. One of the most important units in the sea water pretreatment plant is filtration, the conventional method for filtration is pressurized sand filters, and the subject of this research is about new filtration which is called continuous back wash sand filtration (CBWSF). The CBWSF designed and tested in this research may be used more economically with less difficulty. It consists two main parts first shell body and second central part comprising of airlift pump, raw water feeding pipe, air supply hose, backwash chamber and sand washer as well as inlet and outlet connections. The CBWSF is a continuously operating filter, i.e. the filter does not have to be taken out of operation for backwashing or cleaning. Inlet water is fed through the sand bed while the sand bed is moving downwards. The water gets filtered while the sand becomes dirty. Simultaneously, the dirty sand is cleaned in the sand washer and the suspended solids are discharged in backwash water. We analyze the behavior of CBWSF in pretreatment of sea water instead of pressurized sand filter. There is one important factor which is not suitable for R.O membranes, it is bio-fouling. This factor is defined by Silt Density Index (SDI).measured by SDI. In this research has been focused on decreasing of SDI and NTU. Based on this goal, the prototype of pretreatment had been designed and manufactured to test. The system design was done mainly by using the design fundamentals of CBWSF. The automatic backwash sand filter can be used in small and also big water supply schemes. In big water treatment plants, the units of filters perform the filtration and backwash stages separately, and in small treatment plants, the unit is usually compacted to achieve less energy consumption. The analysis of the system showed that it may be used feasibly for water treating, especially for limited population. The construction is rapid, simple and economic, and its performance is high enough because no mobile mechanical part is used in it, so it may be proposed as an effective method to improve the water quality and consequently the hygiene level in the remote places of the country.

Establishing continental sovereignty in Africa: risk and opportunity in financial integration - lessons for Africa from a legal perspective

This thesis identifies and defines the new African sovereignty. It establishes a modern sovereignty in Africa hatched from the changing nature of sovereignty in which countries come together at various levels or grades of partial surrender of national sovereignty in order to work closer together for their mutual advantage and benefit. To this end, the narrative zooms in on the central issues within the realms of money matters whereby a new model of monetary sovereignty and monetary solutions is designed in an attempt to ease the recurring tensions and challenges of modern national sovereignty in the continent of Africa. As such, this discussion will offer a historical journey through the constitution of sovereignty, to the birth of the nation state and international public law. It develops the theory of the changing nature of sovereignty within the modern state and opens new lines of inquiry for Africa. In this regard, it draws from juxtaposing and mixing elements of regional and global financial integration as well as retaining national financial sovereignty features to form this new design which I dub continental sovereignty. At its core, the thesis will deal with the legal aspects that stem from the co-mingling of legal systems of nation states and communities at the regional and global levels within the context of financial integration. The argument is that the rule of law remains sacrosanct in monetary management. Effective financial integration is the result of properly structured and managed legal frameworks with robust laws and institutions whether at a national, regional or global level. However, the thesis reveals that in order to avoid undermining the progress of Africa’s financial integration project, any solution for Africa must be immersed within a broader global solution where development issues are addressed and resolved and Africa can form a more central part in all relevant international discussion fora. The work will expound these issues by applying them within a regional and global context, with the state of affairs in Africa forming the nucleus. This application consequently presents the six key themes of the thesis which will be considered therein. They are: a.) regional advantage: which exploits the possibilities of deeper and further financial integration between smaller communal arrangements; b.) regional risk and exposure: the extent to which this deeper form of financial integration can spiral out of control if effected too quickly and too ambitiously; c.) global advantage: which considers the merits of global financial integration and the influence exerted by financial laws on the global financial architecture; d.) global risk and exposure: which considers the challenges of global financial integration especially within the background of the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2008; e.) African challenge: which considers the extent to which this analysis impacts the African economic and financial integration agenda; and f.) development challenge: which examines the extent to which global development issues impact the African solution (continental sovereignty) and the need for any solution for the continent to be roped into a broader global solution within which Africa can form an important part. Even though the thesis requests an optimistic undertone on the progress made so far, it unearths the African problem of multiple national sovereignty and multiple overlapping regional sovereignty constituted as the ‘spaghetti bowl’ dilemma. As such, the unique contribution to knowledge on financial integration in Africa can be echoed in these words: Africa‘s financial integration agenda has had little success in authenticating a systematic and dependable legal framework for monetary management. Efforts made have been incomplete, substandard, and not carefully followed through particularly reflected in the impuissant nature of the judicial enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the thesis argues that, any meaningful answer to the problems dogging the continent is inter alia deeply entrenched within a new form of cooperative monetary sovereignty. In other words, the thesis does not prescribe the creation of new laws; rather it advocates the effective enforcement of existing laws.

"Last-Mile" preparation for a potential disaster - Interdisciplinary approach towards tsunami early warning and an evacuation information system for the coastal city of Padang, Indonesia

Extreme natural events, like e.g. tsunamis or earthquakes, regularly lead to catastrophes with dramatic consequences. In recent years natural disasters caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of economic activity and loss of billions of dollars worth of property and thus revealed considerable deficits hindering their effective management: Needs for stakeholders, decision-makers as well as for persons concerned include systematic risk identification and evaluation, a way to assess countermeasures, awareness raising and decision support systems to be employed before, during and after crisis situations. The overall goal of this study focuses on interdisciplinary integration of various scientific disciplines to contribute to a tsunami early warning information system. In comparison to most studies our focus is on high-end geometric and thematic analysis to meet the requirements of smallscale, heterogeneous and complex coastal urban systems. Data, methods and results from engineering, remote sensing and social sciences are interlinked and provide comprehensive information for disaster risk assessment, management and reduction. In detail, we combine inundation modeling, urban morphology analysis, population assessment, socioeconomic analysis of the population and evacuation modeling. The interdisciplinary results eventually lead to recommendations for mitigation strategies in the fields of spatial planning or coping capacity. © Author(s) 2009.

SQMS – A prototype for a supplier quality management system

Within the supply chain, the customer does not simply buy parts or services from suppliers, but also buys supplier capabilities, which results in quality products and services. Having a tool that handles the Inspection as well as the Nonconformance, Complaint, Corrective Action and Concession processes is key to successfully track the supplier performance. Taking as a case study a Supplier Quality Management (SQM) currently in operation in an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for automotive industry, this paper presents a platform to support a Supplier Quality Management System (SQMS), that fits the technical specification ISO/TS 16949 requirements. This prototype is composed by a web platform and a mobile App, having flexibility and mobility as key main characteristics.