Applying SDBC in the Cultural-Heritage Sector

An actual cultural-heritage-related problem is how to effectively manage the global distribution of digitized cultural and scientific information, taking into account that such a global distribution is only doable through the Internet. Hence, adequately designing software applications realizing brokerage functionality in the global space, particularly concerning digitized cultural/scientific information, is to be considered as an essential cultural-heritage-related task. However, due to its great complexity, the usage of the existing popular modelling instrumentarium seems insufficiently useful; this is mainly because the realization of a satisfactory cultural-heritage brokering requires a deep understanding and consideration of the original business reality. Inspired by this challenge, we have aimed at exploring relevant strengths of the SDBC approach which is currently being developed. SDBC’s being capable of properly aligning business process modelling and software specification, allowing for re-use and being consistent with the latest software design standards, are among the facts in support of the claim that SDBC could bring value concerning the design of cultural-heritage-related brokerage applications. Hence, in this paper we motivate and illustrate the usefulness of SDBC for the cultural-heritage sector

Designing a Cultural Heritage Sector Broker Using SDBC

Among the actual cultural-heritage-related problems is the one of effectively managing and globally distributing digitized cultural (and scientific) information. The only feasible way to realize this goal is via the Internet. Hence, a significant issue to be considered is the adequate design of software applications which to realize brokerage tasks within the global space. However, due to the great complexity of this cultural-heritage- related task (compared to other brokerage tasks successfully realized by software systems), the usage of the existing popular modeling instrumentarium seems inadequate. Hence, in this paper, an approach is presented and it is briefly discussed how the approach could be useful for building cultural heritage sector brokers

Understanding and Responding to Climate Change: An Analysis of the Sundarbans World Heritage Area

Examining the understandings of and responses to anthropogenic climate change is important to help climatically vulnerable communities enhance their resilience. Lack of climate change understanding is an obstacle to appropriate climate response. Social understandings of climate change consist of general awareness, knowledge, and risk perceptions. Responses to climate change are derived from the understandings of the members of a society about the impacts and risks of climate change. The typical strategies in response to climate change are mitigation, adaptation, and resilience building. Responding to climate change is necessary at every scale to enhance the resilience of social and ecological systems. Climate change responses driven by management agencies are often helpful for vulnerable marginal communities, but not all the management interventions contribute to resilience equally. This research addresses the highly climatically vulnerable UNESCO World Heritage Sundarbans mangrove forest area (Bangladesh and India) as the study context. The mangroves biodiversity of the Sundarbans is important for buffering climate events, as well as for forest resource collection and tourism. The existing literature about the understandings of climate change of different key stakeholder groups of the Sundarbans is very limited. The available literature informs that awareness of climate change is low in the vulnerable Sundarbans area. The effectiveness of existing response strategies, particularly for adaptation to climate change, needs to be understood in relation to the efficient use of limited resources of those developing countries. It is also unknown how the Sundarbans World Heritage helps local people to think about and act in response to climate change. To fill these knowledge gaps, the aim of this thesis is to examine the social understandings of climate change and responses of management agencies to climate change in the Bangladesh Sundarbans including how the Sundarbans World Heritage Area is managed by Bangladesh and India. In doing so, a constructivist research paradigm is adopted aligning with a relativist ontology, subjectivist epistemology and qualitative methodology to explore understandings of and responses to climate change in the Sundarbans. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 stakeholders including community people, conservation and management agencies, tourism management organisations, tourism business operators, and tourists. Thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the qualitative materials of the interview programme. A range of documents including policy papers is analysed to validate and enrich the empirical materials. The findings of this research indicate that the stakeholders of the Bangladesh Sundarbans believe that climate change is anthropogenic, they have the first-hand experience of changes in the weather system. The degree of climate risk perceptions of the stakeholders can be defined by their relative vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity. The core response to climate change in the Bangladesh Sundarbans is adaptation where sustainability depends on how the adaptation interventions contribute to resilience. In the cross-border comparative analysis, this research finds that both Bangladesh and India focus on conserving the forest ecosystem in response to climate change, but legal enforcement systems, politics, and governance systems are shaping the success of conservation management. Overall, the thesis argues that the social resilience and ecological resilience of the Sundarbans are highly related, and tourism can be utilised for resilience building in the vulnerable World Heritage area. This thesis addresses several theoretical and empirical knowledge gaps in the current literature in the context of developing nations. Firstly, it expands the theoretical components (awareness, knowledge, and risk perceptions) with related attributes of the social understandings of climate change. Secondly, it examines the effectiveness of climate adaptation functions based on their relative contribution to building resilience. Thirdly, it utilises a cross-border analysis between Bangladesh and India to critically examine the climate change management actions by the management agencies of the Sundarbans in terms of local vulnerabilities, forest biodiversity, World Heritage and tourism; and proposes three dimensions – community, forest, wildlife - of biodiversity conservation for resilience. These contributions have implications beyond the Bangladesh and Indian contexts, with application to a range of scenarios where researchers are seeking greater insights into understandings of and responses to climate change

Governance for Drought Resilience: Land and Water Drought Management in Europe

Climate Change Management and Policy; Water Policy/Water Governance/Water Managemen

Interim research assessment 2003-2005 - Computer Science

This report primarily serves as a source of information for the 2007 Interim Research Assessment Committee for Computer Science at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The report also provides information for others interested in our research activities

Wind energy, territory and environmental justice on the northeast coast of Brazil

The main motivation for undertaking this research was to observe a contradiction concerning the model under which the wind power is being implemented in Brazil. On the one hand, investments are growing, prices for wind power production are decreasing, a chain of industries and services is emerging in Brazil to supply wind farms, the percentage of renewable energy sources on the country´s energy mix is growing and, finally, national Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are being reduced. This means a positive framework considering the economic and ecological dimensions on a national scale. On the other hand, this model has been criticized when it concerns the northeast coast of Brazil – the area where the most investments are concentrated. In this area affected communities, academics, public prosecutors, etc. have highlighted: 1) a disregard for environmental laws; 2) the transfer of negative impacts to inhabitants without appropriate compensations; 3) disrespect for social rights; and 4) disrespect for the territories of traditional populations (Alcântara 2009; Brown 2011; Comissão Pastoral da Terra 2014; Diario do Nordeste 2010; Francisco 2012; Lima 2009; Meireles 2011; Pachioni 2013; Portal do Mar 2012; Rede Brasileira de Justiça Ambiental 2014). Based on the theoretical approaches of political ecology, environmental justice, and the governmentality of the environment I try to analyze the relationship relationship between unequal power relations and the unequal distribution of costs and benefits of wind farms on the northeast coast of Brazil - focusing on the concept of territory.Die brasilianische Regierung investiert seit 2002 zunehmend in ein zentralisiertes Model für die Produktion von Windenergie. Als Haupziele sind zu nennen: 1) Die Steigerung der Energieversorgung um das ökonomische Wachstum zu sichern 2) Die Erhöhung des Anteils der erneuerbaren Energiquellen, gemäß der globalen Umwelt-Agenda, im nationalen Energiemix. Auf der einen Seite profitieren Investoren von Großkrediten, die nationale Zulieferindustrie wächst und die Preise der Windenergie werden immer wettbewerbsfähiger. Auf anderen Seite zeigen die Forschungen und soziale Bewegungen, dass dieses Model oft zu Umweltkonflikten und Umweltungerechtigkeit führt. Basierend auf den theoretischen Ansätzen der politischen Ökologie, der Umweltgerechtigkeit und der “governmentality” der Umwelt, stellet sich die Frage in wie weit die aktuelle politische Förderung der Windenergie zur nachhaltigen Entwiklung beiträgt. Auf Grundlage einer mehr-Ebenen und multidimensionalen Perspektive, versuche ich zu untersuchen in wie weit ungleiche Machtbeziehungen zwischen den beteiligten Interessensgruppen zu umweltungerechtichkeiten bei der Installierug von Windparks in Brasilien führen können.