878 research outputs found

    Harmonious Living: Sustainability, Ecology, and Eco-Islam in Wales

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    This thesis is an in-depth examination of Eco-Islam in Wales. Eco-Islam refers to the conceptual intersection of Islamic principles with environmental and ecological concerns. It is not necessarily a formalised movement with a centralised structure but rather a broader concept that explores the compatibility between Islamic teachings and environmental stewardship. It emphasises the idea that Islamic values and ethics can be applied to address contemporary environmental challenges. This dissertation addresses the question of the normative influence of Islamic environmental principles and their implementation within Welsh Muslim communities and Welsh society. More generally, this thesis is embedded in the academic discourse on the normative role and agency of religions in motivating their members to engage in proenvironmental behaviour. Given the urgency of the environmental crisis facing humanity, which requires a concerted effort from all sectors of society, the research question of this thesis is particularly relevant. Furthermore, despite the growing body of literature on ecology and Islam, there has been little research on the practical implementation of Islamic teachings on nature. Therefore, whilst giving a comprehensive overview of Islamic environmental ethics based on a literature review, the thesis also provides research data on the Eco-Islam movement based on fieldwork conducted in Wales. Particular attention is paid to the social and power structures that contribute to or hinder the development of a Muslim environmental movement. The study provides practical recommendations for better cooperation between faith communities and the (still) predominantly secular environmental movement, with particular attention to the challenges faced by minority communities such as the Muslim communities in Wales

    The brown algal genus Fucus : A unique insight into reproduction and the evolution of sex-biased genes

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    Doctoral thesis (PhD) - Nord University, 2023publishedVersio

    Nature trails and urban inclusion: The integration of city spaces into Sweden's long trekking trails

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    Cities have long been poorly integrated into nature trails, which are popularly associated with rural areas. Yet these trails can be seen as places of connection between the urban and the rural, constituting a mélange of cultural identities that are assembled in these places and in turn act on these places through interwoven socio-materialities. How these characteristics of place-making are assembled has implications for environmental justice, social inclusion, as well as the future of urban spaces. This thesis examines three prominent long nature trails in Sweden, which weave through its most populous cities. It undertakes comparative case study analysis of the nature of this integration, drawing upon document analysis, expert interviews, and limited participant observation. Based on empirical analysis, I argue that the integration of cities into long distance nature trails must be an active and intentional process. Analysis also shows that the relationship between cities and nature is constantly evolving which influences strategic urban planning goals and the physical pathways of these nature trails. These insights are discussed in relation to scholarship on environmental justice, public health, and the benefits of long nature trails. Overall, Sweden’s integration of city spaces into long distance trails over the past five decades has been an impressive shift to better include urban residents into outdoor activities, despite not being at the forefront of the Swedish policy agenda

    Endogenous UMIs as quantifiable reporter elements – validation studies & applications in rAAV vectorology

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    In the creation of recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors, terminal DNA elements known ITRs (inverted terminal repeats) of the direct the intracellular synthesis and packaging of nonviral DNA. The need to clonally amplify ITR sequences in one form or another thereby underlies the existence of all rAAV clinical products and research materials worldwide. Their tendency to form strong nonduplex structures raises problems. The genetic precursors to rAAV vectors – typically prokaryotic plasmids – are known to possess heterogenous ITR sequences as a result of replicational instability, the effects of which on vector yield and efficacy are unclear and have not been systematically explored. To shed much-needed light on this decades-old problem, I utilised unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) as reporter elements for different rAAV plasmid preparations, so that massively parallel sequencing could be used to analyse their DNA and RNA derivatives through the course of production and in vivo gene transfer. The range of vector potencies observed, while not calamitous, definitively erases the notion that this problem can be further overlooked. The success of this unconventional strategy proved to be an equally notable outcome, offering unprecedented insights into population kinetics, and achieving quantitative consistency between biological replicates comparable to q/dPCR measurement replicates of single samples. This triggered concerted efforts to formally investigate the capabilities of UMIs used in this fashion. The probabilistic principles underlying the technique were formalised and empirically validated, confirming precision capabilities akin if not superior to dPCR and qPCR at equivalent levels of stringency. Experiments also revealed a pattern of measurement bias with potentially adverse implications for other areas of count analysis including differential gene expression

    Multi-trophic Interactions and Long-term Volunteer Collected Data: Networks of plant-caterpillar-parasitoid interactions across time, space, and a changing climate

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    The preservation of ecological complexity is an important goal for ecologists as communities respond to global change. Inherent to these efforts is the quantification and evaluation of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, including well studied metrics of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Studies on multi-trophic systems have primarily focused on taxonomic diversity, yet recent efforts have highlighted the importance of examining an underutilized biodiversity metric: interaction diversity, or the richness and abundance of the unique links connecting species. My dissertation research contributes to understanding spatial and temporal variation in the diversity of plant-caterpillar-parasitoid interactions. A central theme of my dissertation research is the use of long-term citizen science data from sites across the Americas to understand how interaction diversity changes across latitudinal, climate, disturbance, and seasonal gradients. My research in tropical forests documented the impacts of climate change. I found increases in extreme precipitation events caused reductions in interaction and species diversity with associated losses in an important ecosystem function: Biological control of herbivores by their natural enemies. In a temperate fire-adapted forest, I provided evidence for the scale-dependent nature of interaction diversity and its implications for how diversity is maintained in frequently disturbed systems. To understand spatial and temporal variation in interactions, I evaluated patterns in the beta-diversity of interactions and its components. Using this methodology, I found evidence of latitudinal patterns in the turnover of interactions, providing support that interactions are more variable in tropical than temperate regions. In the Brazilian Cerrado and Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, I found seasonal variation in interaction diversity is primarily a consequence of seasonally constant species rewiring their interactions rather than seasonal differences in species composition. Finally, an important goal for ecology is to develop effective methods that increase the public's awareness and action toward biodiversity conservation. I fielded over 300 citizen scientists on research expeditions that contribute to the collection and rearing of these long-term data and administered surveys to understand the impact of different team models. Based on these surveys, multiple team models are effective for achieving diverse objectives and corporate teams are particularly valuable for sustainability partnerships. Together, this body of research provides evidence that interaction diversity uniquely contributes to broad patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem structure. Further, novel partnerships with various citizen science team models are an effective and efficient method to engage a diverse public audience interested in the preservation of biodiversity

    Modelling Coastal Vulnerability: An integrated approach to coastal management using Earth Observation techniques in Belize

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    This thesis presents an adapted method to derive coastal vulnerability through the application of Earth Observation (EO) data in the quantification of forcing variables. A modelled assessment for vulnerability has been produced using the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) approach developed by Gornitz (1991) and enhanced using Machine learning (ML) clustering. ML has been employed to divide the coastline based on the geotechnical conditions observed to establish relative vulnerability. This has been demonstrated to alleviate bias and enhanced the scalability of the approach – especially in areas with poor data coverage – a known hinderance to the CVI approach (Koroglu et al., 2019).Belize provides a demonstrator for this novel methodology due to limited existing data coverage and the recent removal of the Mesoamerican Reef from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) List of World Heritage In Danger. A strong characterization of the coastal zone and associated pressures is paramount to support effective management and enhance resilience to ensure this status is retained.Areas of consistent vulnerability have been identified using the KMeans classifier; predominantly Caye Caulker and San Pedro. The ability to automatically scale to conditions in Belize has demonstrated disparities to vulnerability along the coastline and has provided more realistic estimates than the traditional CVI groups. Resulting vulnerability assessments have indicated that 19% of the coastline at the highest risk with a seaward distribution to high risk observed. Using data derived using Sentinel-2, this study has also increased the accuracy of existing habitat maps and enhanced survey coverage of uncharted areas.Results from this investigation have been situated within the ability to enhance community resilience through supporting regional policies. Further research should be completed to test the robust nature of this model through an application in regions with different geographic conditions and with higher resolution input datasets

    Constitutions of Value

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    Gathering an interdisciplinary range of cutting-edge scholars, this book addresses legal constitutions of value. Global value production and transnational value practices that rely on exploitation and extraction have left us with toxic commons and a damaged planet. Against this situation, the book examines law’s fundamental role in institutions of value production and valuation. Utilising pathbreaking theoretical approaches, it problematizes mainstream efforts to redeem institutions of value production by recoupling them with progressive values. Aiming beyond radical critique, the book opens up the possibility of imagining and enacting new and different value practices. This wide-ranging and accessible book will appeal to international lawyers, socio-legal scholars, those working at the intersections of law and economy and others, in politics, economics, environmental studies and elsewhere, who are concerned with rethinking our current ideas of what has value, what does not, and whether and how value may be revalued
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