Challenges of Cheap Resource Creation for Morphological Tagging

We describe the challenges of resource creation for a resource-light system for morphological tagging of fusional languages (Feldman and Hana, 2010). The constraints on resources (time, expertise, and money) introduce challenges that are not present in development of morphological tools and corpora in the usual, resource intensive way

Peak oil: will it be public health's greatest challenge?

The health of populations is determined more by the social and economic determinants of health than by changes in technology, health services or short-term policy interventions. In the near future, there is likely to be a significant shortfall in energy supply, resulting in high energy prices and a reversal of many of the aspects of globalization that are currently taken for granted. If this happens, economic recession and restructuring could have a negative impact on health, not dissimilar to that experienced by the former Soviet Union when it attempted a rapid change in its economy. There is, however, the potential, through economic planning and sustainable development, to reduce the adverse effects of this change and use this opportunity to impact on a range of diseases which are, at least in part, caused by overconsumption, inequality and loss of community

How costumers’ way of life influence the value co-creation

Purpose: This article is a contribution to the understanding of how value arises in wellestablished markets, and under which circumstances actors integrate resources from different service ecosystems to generate value. To understand this phenomenon, it is fundamental to consider which practices are performed by customers to co-create value and how they do so. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a qualitative approach, the study provides fresh empirical insight into well-established market processes of value creation. After a literature review an ethnographic approach was chosen in order to understand how co-creation processes occur in the empirical setting of an international restaurant chain. Several observations, conversations and semi-structured interviews were undertaken concerning the analysis of the topic under study. Findings: The results show that even in a well-established market, a provider must consider individual customers’ distinct needs, present in their daily practices, to be able to assist them in the value creation process. It is argued that the practice styles are the building blocks for prevailing ways of life that actors assume, according to the context in which they are, to integrate resources. Practical implications: The study includes implications for service providers of a wellfounded market for facilitating value co-creation along with customers and fulfils the need to better understand this phenomenon. Originality/Value: Recent studies call for empirical evidence on co-creation processes in mature markets, accordingly, this study brings an additional understanding on how actors, depending on the context, adopt different ways of life that require unique resources, which activate to achieve what they want, in order to establish room for co-creation.peer-reviewe

Creating green space sustainability through low-budget and upcycling strategies

Frugality is a core notion of sustainability, and responsible resource management should be prioritized in urban planning and landscape architecture. Low-budget strategies as a deliberate means of creating valuable, attractive, well-used, sociable public spaces are recognized by some influential designers using the Light, cheap, quick methodology. Unused spaces, just like objects and waste, can be creatively changed, reinvented with little resource input through a circular solution of upcycling. Case study methodology was predominantly used in the inquiry with three new parks, built after the year 2004, in Faro, Portugal. The study examined how the success rate and the current state of these public green areas correlates with the amount of financial resources invested in each of the projects. The case studies show key aspects in the building of the three spaces including: urban context, management and community participation. The success rate of a place is established based on user activity observations, user counts and questionnairesconveyed amongst both experts and local residents. Results illustrate how low-budget strategies and limited use of funds and resources can be translated into a successful project of a public greenery. Comparative studies from Warsaw and Berlin further extend the discussion to the concept of upcycling as a sustainable solution for landscape architecture.Horizon 2020, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST Action RESTORE [CA16114

Online Media: Scopes and Challenges in New Paradigm Shifts of Production Methodologies

With the new paradigm shifts in the film industry and online video content, cheap digital technology and the democratisation of the filmmaking process, filmmakers now can connect to an ‘expert’ global, niche audience with more immediacy through the internet;engaging virtual communities, utilising crowd funding support and fan-building initiatives through a variety of social media landscapes. Key themes: Purpose and prospective readers: academics and practicing scholars of new media and digital interfaces. Significance of contribution: Case study measures and outcomes of emerging production practices. Practicality and usefulness of my work: paradigm shifts in new media and production methodologies are shifting cultural mindsets and artistic practices while engaging with participatory audiences online. Implications of study and future areas of work: the implications of the work are necessary to determine methodology practices, and emerging fields of digital humanities works. Future areas are as follows: Narrative Fiction and Documentary Film; Performance; Social Media; Emerging online arts practices and how the artist works in an online, participatory environment; Online/Distance learning particularly as experienced through communications and performative practices; Digital technology and new media methodologies and communications practices.Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Traceability system for capturing, processing and providing consumer-relevant information about wood products: System solution and its economic feasibility

Current research and practice reports indicate the existence of purchase barriers concerning eco-friendly products, e.g. wood products. These can be ascribed to consumers' mistrust regarding the non-observable environmental impact of wood products. To counter the mistrust, wood products are commonly endowed with eco-labels, which may be perceived mostly as a marketing tool, therefore not fulfilling their intended purpose. Current studies have shown that providing consumers with wood product information based on traceability systems increases product trust and purchase intentions, with those information items most valued by consumers being identified as well. Based on this, the paper proposes a traceability information system for the capturing, processing, and provision of product information using examples of wood furniture. Furthermore, a cost-benefit model for the proposed solution is developed. The calculations indicate the possibility of implementing traceability at the item level based on a four-layer system architecture enabling the capture and delivery of all information valued by consumers at acceptable costs. The proposed system helps to overcome purchase barriers of eco-friendly products, increasing consumers' product trust and purchase intentions

Governing electricity in South Africa: wind, coal and power struggles

South Africa’s electricity policy is at a crossroads. Its historical dependence on cheap coal for approximately 90 per cent of its electricity generation is under threat. This paper firstly examines how the governance of South Africa’s electricity is inextricably bound up with the country’s historical dependence on cheap coal for export-oriented industry and complex political and economic legacy which has shaped its minerals-energy complex (Fine and Rustomjee 1996). Secondly it finds that despite regulatory hold-ups and departmental tensions, power dynamics in the electricity sector are shifting with the potential introduction of private renewable energy generation into the energy mix. Of this, wind is set to form the largest component. Meanwhile Eskom’s Medupi coal-fired power plant deemed as essential to the country’s generation expansion has been redefined as a ‘clean coal’ power plant following a World Bank loan of $3 billion in April 2010. The paper concludes that while vested interests in the country’s coal-based industrial trajectory are still very influential, they are simultaneously challenged with rising coal costs, imminent national electricity supply shortages and increasing tariffs, a funding crisis of the electricity utility, the demands of climate change mitigation and emerging stakeholders in renewable generation

Proceedings of the African Diaspora Conference on Sustainable Development

The authors urge the Western donor organizations to facilitate and support the take up of such more sustainable models

The political economy of decarbonisation: exploring the dynamics of South Africa’s electricity sector

South Africa’s coal-dominated electricity sector, a key feature of the country’s minerals-energy complex, is in crisis and subject to change. This offers potential opportunities for decarbonisation. Despite positive examples of decarbonisation in South Africa’s electricity sector, such as a procurement programme for renewable energy, there are structural path dependencies linked to coal-fired generation and security of supply. Decarbonisation goes far beyond what is technologically or even economically feasible, to encompass a complexity of political, social and economic factors. Meanwhile, decision-making in electricity is highly politicised and lack of transparency and power struggles in the policy sphere pose key challenges. Such power struggles are reflected in national debates over which technologies should be prioritised and the institutional arrangements that should facilitate them