Consolidating Security and Development in Colombia: Lessons for Peru and Panama

Colombia's increasingly effective efforts to mitigate the power of the FARC and other illegitimately armed groups in the country can offer important lessons for the Peruvian government as it strives to prevent a resurgence of Sendero Luminoso and other illegal non-state actors. Both countries share certain particular challenges: deep economic, social, and in the case of Peru ethnic divisions, the presence of and/or the effects of violent insurgencies, a large-scale narcotics production and trafficking, and a history of weak state presence in large tracts of isolated and scarcely-populated areas. Important differences exist, however in the nature of the insurgencies in the two countries, the government response to them and the nature of government and society that affects the applicability of Colombia's experience to Peru. The security threat to Panama from drug trafficking and Colombian insurgents --often a linked phenomenon-- are in many ways different from the drug/insurgent factor in Colombia itself and in Peru, although there are similar variables. Unlike the Colombian and Peruvian cases, the security threat in Panama is not directed against the state, there are no domestic elements seeking to overthrow the government -- as the case of the FARC and Sendero Luminoso, security problems have not spilled over from rural to urban areas in Panama, and there is no ideological component at play in driving the threat. Nor is drug cultivation a major factor in Panama as it is in Colombia and Peru. The key variable that is shared among all three cases is the threat of extra-state actors controlling remote rural areas or small towns where state presence is minimal. The central lesson learned from Colombia is the need to define and then address the key problem of a "sovereignity gap," lack of legitimate state presence in many part of the country. Colombia's success in broadening the presence of the national government between 2002 and the presence is owed to many factors, including an effective national strategy, improvements in the armed forces and police, political will on the part of government for a sustained effort, citizen buy-in to the national strategy, including the resolve of the elite to pay more in taxes to bring change about, and the adoption of a sequenced approach to consolidated development in conflicted areas. Control of territory and effective state presence improved citizen security, strengthened confidence in democracy and the legitimate state, promoted economic development, and helped mitigate the effect of illegal drugs. Peru can benefit from the Colombian experience especially in terms of the importance of legitimate state authority, improved institutions, gaining the support of local citizens, and furthering development to wean communities away from drugs. State coordinated "integration" efforts in Peru as practiced in Colombia have the potential for success if properly calibrated to Peruvian reality, coordinated within government, and provided with sufficient resources. Peru's traditionally weak political institutions and lack of public confidence in the state in many areas of the country must be overcome if this effort is to be successful.

Research and University Graduate School Report; Office of Sponsored Research Administration - Fiscal Year 2007-2008

The Office of Sponsored Research Administration became The Division of Research. The Division of Research became the Office of Research and Economic Development in January 2015.

Design and development of a one-degree-of-freedom force-reflecting manual controller prototype for teleoperation

The present research is carried out from the viewpoint of primarily space applications where human lives may be in danger if they are to work under these conditions. This work proposes to develop a one-degree-of-freedom (1-DOF) force-reflecting manual controller (FRMC) prototype for teleoperation, and address the effects of time delays commonly found in space applications where the control is accomplished via the earth-based control stations. To test the FRMC, a mobile robot (PPRK) and a slider-bar were developed and integrated to the 1-DOF FRMC. The software developed in Visual Basic is able to telecontrol any platform that uses an SV203 controller through the internet and it allows the remote system to send feedback information which may be in the form of visual or force signals. Time delay experiments were conducted on the platform and the effects of time delay on the FRMC system operation have been studied and delineated.

Design and development of an enzyme-linked biosensor for detection and quantification of phosphate species

The objective of this study is to design and development of an enzyme-linked biosensor for detection and quantification of phosphate species. Various concentrations of phosphate species were tested and completed for this study. Phosphate is one of the vital nutrients for all living organisms. Phosphate compounds can be found in nature (e.g., water sediments), and they often exist in aninorganic form. The amount of phosphates in the environment strongly influences the operations of living organisms. Excess amount of phosphate in the environment causes eutrophication which in turn causes oxygen deficit for the other living organisms. Fish die and degradation of habitat in the water occurs as a result of eutrophication. In contrast, low phosphate concentration causes death of vegetation since plants utilize the inorganic phosphate for photosynthesis, respiration, and regulation of enzymes. Therefore, the phosphate quantity in lakes and rivers must be monitored. Result demonstrated that phosphate species could be detected in various organisms via enzyme-linked biosensor in this research.

Analysis of Cosmogenic Impurities in Tellurium and Development of Tellurium Loading for the SNO+ Experiment

For the SNO+ neutrinoless double beta decay search, various backgrounds, ranging from impurities present naturally to those produced cosmogenically, must be understood and reduced. Cosmogenic backgrounds are particularly difficult to reduce as they are continually regenerated while exposed to high energy cosmic rays. To reduce these cosmogenics as much as possible the tellurium used for the neutrinoless double beta decay search will be purified underground. An analysis of the purification factors achievable for insoluble cosmogenic impurities found a reduction factor of $>$20.4 at 50\% C.L.. During the purification process the tellurium will come into contact with ultra pure water and nitric acid. These liquids both carry some cosmogenic impurities with them that could be potentially transferred to the tellurium. A conservative limit is set at $<$18 events in the SNO+ region of interest (ROI) per year as a result of contaminants from these liquids. In addition to cosmogenics brought underground, muons can produce radioactive isotopes while the tellurium is stored underground. A study on the rate at which muons produce these backgrounds finds an additional 1 event per year. In order to load the tellurium into the detector, it will be combined with 1,2-butanediol to form an organometallic complex. The complex was found to have minimal effect on the SNO+ acrylic vessel for 154 years.

Education and self-regulation of learning for gifted pupils: Systemic design and development.

Gifted pupils differ from their age-mates with respect to development potential, actual competencies, self-regulatory capabilities, and learning styles in one or more domains of competence. The question is how to design and develop education that fits and further supports such characteristics and competencies of gifted pupils. Analysis of various types of educational interventions for gifted pupils reflects positive cognitive or intellectual effects and differentiated social comparison or group-related effects on these pupils. Systemic preventive combination of such interventions could make these more effective and sustainable. The systemic design is characterised by three conditional dimensions: differentiation of learning materials and procedures, integration by and use of ICT support, and strategies to improve development and learning. The relationships to diagnostic, instructional, managerial, and systemic learning aspects are expressed in guidelines to develop or transform education. The guidelines imply the facilitation of learning arrangements that provide flexible self-regulation for gifted pupils. A three-year pilot in Dutch nursery and primary school is conducted to develop and implement the design in collaboration with teachers. The results constitute prototypes of structured competence domains and supportive software. These support the screening of entry characteristics of all four-year old pupils and assignment of adequate play and learning processes and activities throughout the school career. Gifted and other pupils are supported to work at their actual achievement or competency levels since their start in nursery school, in self-regulated learning arrangements either in or out of class. Each pupil can choose other pupils to collaborate with in small groups, at self-chosen tasks or activities, while being coached by the teacher. Formative evaluation of the school development process shows that the systemic prevention guidelines seem to improve learning and social progress of gifted pupils, including their self-regulation. Further development and implementation steps are discussed.

Field Testing and Development of Novel SHM systems at Queen’s University Belfast

Ageing and deterioration of infrastructure is a challenge facing transport authorities. In
particular, there is a need for increased bridge monitoring in order to provide adequate
maintenance and to guarantee acceptable levels of transport safety. The Intelligent
Infrastructure group at Queens University Belfast (QUB) are working on a number of aspects
of infrastructure monitoring and this paper presents summarised results from three distinct
monitoring projects carried out by this group. Firstly the findings from a project on next
generation Bridge Weight in Motion (B-WIM) are reported, this includes full scale field testing
using fibre optic strain sensors. Secondly, results from early phase testing of a computer
vision system for bridge deflection monitoring are reported on. This research seeks to exploit
recent advances in image processing technology with a view to developing contactless
bridge monitoring approaches. Considering the logistical difficulty of installing sensors on a
‘live’ bridge, contactless monitoring has some inherent advantages over conventional
contact based sensing systems. Finally the last section of the paper presents some recent
findings on drive by bridge monitoring. In practice a drive-by monitoring system will likely
require GPS to allow the response of a given bridge to be identified; this study looks at the
feasibility of using low-cost GPS sensors for this purpose, via field trials. The three topics
outlined above cover a spectrum of SHM approaches namely, wired monitoring, contactless
monitoring and drive by monitoring

Resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation

In 2014, the Third International Conference on the resilience of social-ecological systems chose the theme “resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation.” The conference aimed specifically at fostering an encounter between the experiences and thinking focused on the issue of resilience through a social and ecological system perspective, and the experiences focused on the issue of resilience through a development perspective. In this perspectives piece, we reflect on the outcomes of the meeting and document the differences and similarities between the two perspectives as discussed during the conference, and identify bridging questions designed to guide future interactions. After the conference, we read the documents (abstracts, PowerPoints) that were prepared and left in the conference database by the participants (about 600 contributions), and searched the web for associated items, such as videos, blogs, and tweets from the conference participants. All of these documents were assessed through one lens: what do they say about resilience and development? Once the perspectives were established, we examined different themes that were significantly addressed during the conference. Our analysis paves the way for new collective developments on a set of issues: (1) Who declares/assign/cares for the resilience of what, of whom? (2) What are the models of transformations and how do they combine the respective role of agency and structure? (3) What are the combinations of measurement and assessment processes? (4) At what scale should resilience be studied? Social transformations and scientific approaches are coconstructed. For the last decades, development has been conceived as a modernization process supported by scientific rationality and technical expertise. The definition of a new perspective on development goes with a negotiation on a new scientific approach. Resilience is presently at the center of this negotiation on a new science for development.

Future(s) Perfect: uchronian mapping as a research and visualisation tool in the fringes of the Olympic Park

This article explores and discusses the development of a mapping tool inspired by Charles Renouvier’s philosophical novel Uchronie (l’utopie dans l’histoire) (1876). The article explains the research and design process of creating a uchronian map of a formerly empty site in Fish Island in East London and describes a participatory workshop titled ‘Hackney Wick and Fish Island: Future Perfect(s)’ (25 April 2015) that used uchronian mapping to explore past and future development imaginaries of two sites in the neighbourhood. Given a uchronian mapping template, a protocol and a dossier of planning and other documents, participants were encouraged to develop their own uchronian map of each site, and in doing so test and question the process of visualizing ‘what was supposed to happen’, ‘what actually happened’ and ‘what could have happened’. The article concludes with a reflection on uchronian mapping as a tool for researching, analysing and making visible urban alternatives.

Design Guidelines and Development Policies for an Adaptable Historic Urban Street: The Case of West Street in Quanzhou, Fujian, China

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Towards guidelines for curriculum design and development in English language teacher education in Cambodian higher education institutions

In the current Cambodian higher education sector, there is little regulation of standards in curriculum design of undergraduate degrees in English language teacher education. The researcher, in the course of his professional work in the Curriculum and Policy Office at the Department of Higher Education, has seen evidence that most universities tend to copy their curriculum from one source, the curriculum of the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Their programs fail to impose any entry standards, accepting students who pass the high school exam without any entrance examination. It is possible for a student to enter university with satisfactory scores in all subjects but English. Therefore, not many graduates are able to fulfil the professional requirements of the roles they are supposed to take. Neau (2010) claims that many Cambodian EFL teachers do not reach a high performance standard due to their low English language proficiency and poor background in teacher education. The main purpose of this study is to establish key guidelines for developing curricula for English language teacher education for all the universities across the country. It examines the content of the Bachelor‘s degree of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (B Ed in TEFL) and Bachelor‘s degree of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BA in TESOL) curricula adopted in Cambodian universities on the basis of criteria proposed in current curriculum research. It also investigates the perspectives of Cambodian EFL teachers on the areas of knowledge and skill they need in order to perform their English teaching duties in Cambodia today. The areas of knowledge and skill offered in the current curricula at Cambodian higher education institutions (HEIs), the framework of the knowledge base for EFL teacher education and general higher education, and the areas of knowledge and skill Cambodian EFL teachers perceive to be important, are compared so as to identify any gaps in the current English language teacher education curricula in the Cambodian HEIs. The existence of gaps show what domains of knowledge and skill need to be included in the English language teacher education curricula at Cambodian HEIs. These domains are those identified by previous curriculum researchers in both general and English language teacher education at tertiary level. Therefore, the present study provides useful insights into the importance of including appropriate content in English language teacher education curricula. Mixed methods are employed in this study. The course syllabi and the descriptions within the curricula in five Cambodian HEIs are analysed qualitatively based on the framework of knowledge and skills for EFL teachers, which is formed by looking at the knowledge base for second language teachers suggested by the methodologists and curriculum specialists whose work is elaborated on the review of literature. A quantitative method is applied to analyse the perspectives of 120 Cambodian EFL teachers on areas of knowledge and skills they should possess. The fieldwork was conducted between June and August, 2014. The analysis reveals that the following areas are included in the curricula at the five universities: communication skills, general knowledge, knowledge of teaching theories, teaching skills, pedagogical reasoning and decision making skills, subject matter knowledge, contextual knowledge, cognitive abilities, and knowledge of social issues. Additionally, research skills are included in three curricula while society and community involvement is in only one. Further, information and communication technology, which is outlined in the Education Strategies Plan (2006-2010), forms part of four curricula while leadership skills form part of two. This study demonstrates ultimately that most domains that are directly and indirectly related to language teaching competence are not sufficiently represented in the current curricula. On the basis of its findings, the study concludes with a set of guidelines that should inform the design and development of TESOL and TEFL curricula in Cambodia.

Societal human resources management and development

Based on a broad conceptualization of Human Resources Management and Development (HRMD) as a technical, political, and strategic field concerned to managing and developing people within and towards work context(s), this research aims to explore a potential societal role of Human Resources (HR) profession. Framed on a larger project on “New Human Resources roles”, this particular study approaches HR profession by analysing its macro-societal challenges and intervention spaces.

Growth and development of three key summer grasses in Australian cotton systems

Awnless barnyard grass, feathertop Rhodes grass, and windmill grass are important weeds in Australian cotton systems. In October 2014, an experiment was established to investigate the phenological plasticity of these species. Seed of these species were planted in a glasshouse every four weeks and each cohort grown for 6 months. A developmental response to day length was observed in barnyard grass but not in the other species. Days to maturity increased with each planting for feathertop Rhodes and windmill grass for the first six cohorts. Barnyard grass showed a similar pattern in growth for seeds planted from October to December with an increase in the onset of maturity from 51 to 58 days. However, the onset of maturity for cohorts planted between January and March decreased to between 50 and 52 days. All species had a decrease in the total number of panicles produced from the first four plantings. Feathertop Rhodes grass planted in October produced 41 panicles compared to those planted at the end of December producing 30 panicles, barnyard grass had a decrease from 99 to 47 panicles and windmill grass 37 to 15 panicles on average. By comparing the development of these key weed species over 12 months, detailed information on the phenological plasticity of these species will be obtained. This information will contribute to more informed management decisions by improving our understanding of appropriate weed control timings or herbicide rates depending on weed emergence and development.

Analysis of N-nitrosames in water using micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and development of online and offline methods of extraction and enrichment of neutral polar analytes

Evaluation of the quality of the environment is essential for human wellness as pollutants in trace amounts can cause serious health problem. Nitrosamines are a group of compounds that are considered potential carcinogens and can be found in drinking water (as disinfection byproducts), foods, beverages and cosmetics. To monitor the level of these compounds to minimize daily intakes, fast and reliable analytical techniques are required. As these compounds are relatively highly polar, extraction and enrichment from environmental samples (aqueous) are challenging. Also, the trend of analytical techniques toward the reduction of sample size and minimization of organic solvent use demands new methods of analysis. In light of fulfilling these requirements, a new method of online preconcentration tailored to an electrokinetic chromatography is introduced. In this method, electroosmotic flow (EOF) was suppressed to increase the interaction time between analyte and micellar phase, therefore the only force to mobilize the neutral analytes is the interaction of analyte with moving micelles. In absence of EOF, polarity of applied potential was switched (negative or positive) to force (anionic or cationic) micelles to move toward the detector. To avoid the excessive band broadening due to longer analysis time caused by slow moving micelles, auxiliary pressure was introduced to boost the micelle movement toward the detector using an in house designed and built apparatus. Applying the external auxiliary pressure significantly reduced the analysis times without compromising separation efficiency. Parameters, such as type of surfactants, composition of background electrolyte (BGE), type of capillary, matrix effect, organic modifiers, etc., were evaluated in optimization of the method. The enrichment factors for targeted analytes were impressive, particularly; cationic surfactants were shown to be suitable for analysis of nitrosamines due to their ability to act as hydrogen bond donors. Ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO) also showed remarkable results in term of peak shapes and number of theoretical plates. It was shown that the separation results were best when a high conductivity sample was paired with a BGE of lower conductivity. Using higher surfactant concentrations (up to 200 mM SDS) than usual (50 mM SDS) for micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) improved the sweeping. A new method for micro-extraction and enrichment of highly polar neutral analytes (N-Nitrosamines in particular) based on three-phase drop micro-extraction was introduced and its performance studied. In this method, a new device using some easy-to-find components was fabricated and its operation and application demonstrated. Compared to conventional extraction methods (liquid-liquid extraction), consumption of organic solvents and operation times were significantly lower.

Learning from the lagoon: Research in development in Solomon Islands

A major challenge for international agricultural research is to find ways to improve the nutrition and incomes of people left behind by the Green Revolution. To better address the needs of the most marginal and vulnerable people, the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) developed the research-in-development (RinD) approach. In 2012, WorldFish started to implement RinD in Solomon Islands. By building people’s capacity to analyze and address development problems, actively engaging relevant stakeholders, and linking research to these processes, RinD aims to develop an alternative approach to addressing hunger and poverty. This report describes the key principles and implementation process, and assesses the emergent outcomes of this participatory, systems-oriented and transformative research approach in Solomon Islands.