Software test and evaluation study phase I and II : survey and analysis

Issued as Final report, Project no. G-36-661 (continues G-36-636; includes A-2568

Heritage Regimes and the State

What happens when UNESCO heritage conventions are ratified by a state? How do UNESCO’s global efforts interact with preexisting local, regional and state efforts to conserve or promote culture? What new institutions emerge to address the mandate? The contributors to this volume focus on the work of translation and interpretation that ensues once heritage conventions are ratified and implemented. With seventeen case studies from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and China, the volume provides comparative evidence for the divergent heritage regimes generated in states that differ in history and political organization. The cases illustrate how UNESCO’s aspiration to honor and celebrate cultural diversity diversifies itself. The very effort to adopt a global heritage regime forces myriad adaptations to particular state and interstate modalities of building and managing heritage.What happens when UNESCO heritage conventions are ratified by a state? How do UNESCO’s global efforts interact with preexisting local, regional and state efforts to conserve or promote culture? What new institutions emerge to address the mandate? The contributors to this volume focus on the work of translation and interpretation that ensues once heritage conventions are ratified and implemented. With seventeen case studies from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and China, the volume provides comparative evidence for the divergent heritage regimes generated in states that differ in history and political organization. The cases illustrate how UNESCO’s aspiration to honor and celebrate cultural diversity diversifies itself. The very effort to adopt a global heritage regime forces myriad adaptations to particular state and interstate modalities of building and managing heritage

Heritage Regimes and the State

What happens when UNESCO heritage conventions are ratified by a state? How do UNESCO’s global efforts interact with preexisting local, regional and state efforts to conserve or promote culture? What new institutions emerge to address the mandate? The contributors to this volume focus on the work of translation and interpretation that ensues once heritage conventions are ratified and implemented. With seventeen case studies from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and China, the volume provides comparative evidence for the divergent heritage regimes generated in states that differ in history and political organization. The cases illustrate how UNESCO’s aspiration to honor and celebrate cultural diversity diversifies itself. The very effort to adopt a global heritage regime forces myriad adaptations to particular state and interstate modalities of building and managing heritage

Utilizing Value Chain Analysis to Understand the Challenges of Tomato Farmers in Ghana : A Case Study of Matsekope

ABSTRACT The first objective of this dissertation is to identify and analyze the challenges encountered by Ghanaian tomato farmers when they cultivate and sell their crop. Set within the context of low, national productivity in the tomato sector, this dissertation focuses on a case study of the village of Matsekope, located in one of the three main tomato-producing regions in Ghana. Both the cultivation and selling processes are analyzed because they are interlinked - tomatoes are cultivated in order to be sold, while markets provide the incentive for and possibly influence cultivation practices. This research utilizes value chain analysis (VCA) - input, output, geographical destination, governance and institutions - since it allows for a detailed study about the development of a commodity from the initial stages of production or cultivation to the eventual sale on the market. By utilizing VCA, this research also addresses a second objective, which is to contribute to the current debate concerning the parameters of VCA research. In other words, to see if every process and actor from input to the end-use product ought to be included in VCA, or if rather only specific segments and actors along the chain can be analyzed. While information on input, output and the geographical destination of tomatoes proved to be integral parts to this value chain, the governance and institutions portion of the analysis (utilizing the Kaplinsky and Morris model) was key to obtaining a better understanding about how and why the value chain was operating as it was, and more specifically why farmers were encountering certain challenges. These challenges were namely obtaining access to credit, farming irrigation, input supply (tractor services) and improved cultivation practices, as well as difficult price negotiations with traders, limited access to markets, and price fluctuation throughout the season. The overall picture that evolved was a complex set of relationships between actors and their respective rules or legislation. In addition, utilization of VCA in this research also demonstrated that it can be used as an analytical framework to focus on a specific segment and set of actors within a larger value chain, and that the departing point of analysis does not necessarily have to be the global firm. Keywords: value chain analysis, governance, Ghana, farmers, tomato sectorTIIVISTELMÄ Tämän tutkielman ensimmäisenä tavoitteena on tunnistaa ja analysoida Ghanan tomaatinviljelijöiden sadon kasvattamiseen ja myyntiin liittyviä haasteita. Maan tomaatintuotannon tuottavuus on alhainen, ja sitä taustaa vasten tässä tutkielmassa keskitytään Matsekopen kylän tapaustutkimukseen. Kylä sijaitsee yhdellä Ghanan kolmesta suuresta tomaatintuotantoalueesta. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan sekä viljely- että myyntiprosessia, koska ne kytkeytyvät toisiinsa: tomaatteja viljellään myyntiin, ja toisaalta markkinat muodostavat kannustimen viljelykäytännöille ja mahdollisesti myös vaikuttavat niihin. Tutkimuksessa käytetään arvoketjuanalyysia (VCA) – panos, tuotos, maantieteellinen määränpää, hallintotapa ja instituutiot – sillä tällä menetelmällä saadaan yksityiskohtainen kuva hyödykkeen kehityksestä tuotannon tai viljelyn alkuvaiheista aina sen lopulliseen myyntiin markkinoilla. Arvoketjuanalyysin ansiosta tällä tutkimuksella edistetään myös toista tavoitetta, joka palvelee osaltaan arvoketjuanalyysin tutkimuksen parametreista parhaillaan käytävää keskustelua. Toisin sanoen tarkastellaan sitä, olisiko arvoketjuanalyysiin sisällytettävä jokainen prosessi ja toimija aina panoksesta lopputuotteeseen, vai voidaanko analysoida vain tietyt, ketjuun sijoittuvat segmentit ja toimijat. Tiedot panoksesta, tuotoksesta ja tomaattien maantieteellisestä määränpäästä osoittautuivat erottamattomaksi osaksi kyseistä arvoketjua, mutta hallintotapaa ja instuutioita koskeva analyysin osuus (käyttäen Kaplinskyn ja Morrisin mallia) avasi tien parempaan ymmärrykseen siitä kuinka ja miksi arvoketju toimi niin kuin se toimi ja etenkin miksi viljelijät kohtasivat juuri niitä haasteita kuin he kohtasivat. Nämä haasteet nimittäin koskivat luotonsaantia, kasteluviljelyä, panosten tarjontaa (traktoripalvelut) ja parempia viljelymenetelmiä sekä kauppiaiden kanssa käytäviä vaikeita hintaneuvotteluja, rajoitettua markkinoille pääsyä ja viljelykauden aikaista hintojen vaihtelua. Kokonaiskuvaksi jäi monimutkainen suhteiden verkosto toimijoiden ja heitä koskevien sääntöjen ja lainsäädännön välillä. Arvoketjuanalyysin käyttö tässä tutkimuksessa osoitti niin ikään, että analyysi soveltuu pitkähkön arvoketjun yksittäisen segmentin ja toimijajoukon analyyttiseksi viitekehykseksi ja ettei analyysin lähtökohtana tarvitse välttämättä olla maailmanlaajuisesti toimiva yhtiö. Asiasanat: arvoketjuanalyysi, hallintotapa, Ghana, maanviljelijät, tomaattien tuotant

Consequences, Opportunities and Challenges of Modern Biotechnology for Europe - The Analysis Report

Biotechnology is generally considered one of the key technologies of the 21st century, with a potentially wide range of applications in e.g. healthcare, agriculture, and industrial production processes. However, this notion has not yet been substantiated, as the diversity of sectors in which biotechnology is applied makes it difficult to investigate its actual degree of diffusion. Against this background and following a request from the European Parliament, the European Commission initiated the Biotechnology for Europe Study (Bio4EU Study). The study's objectives are to assess the contributions of modern biotechnology to the achievement of major European policy goals, and to increase public awareness and understanding of modern biotechnology.This report presents an analysis of the collected data with a view to assessing the contributions of modern biotechnology to major EU policy goals such as economic growth and job creation (Lisbon Agenda), and environmental sustainability and public health (Sustainable Development Strategy). As such, the report can be considered a background document of the Bio4EU synthesis report, which sets out the main findings of the study.JRC.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Frameshift mutations at the C-terminus of HIST1H1E result in a specific DNA hypomethylation signature

BACKGROUND: We previously associated HIST1H1E mutations causing Rahman syndrome with a specific genome-wide methylation pattern. RESULTS: Methylome analysis from peripheral blood samples of six affected subjects led us to identify a specific hypomethylated profile. This "episignature" was enriched for genes involved in neuronal system development and function. A computational classifier yielded full sensitivity and specificity in detecting subjects with Rahman syndrome. Applying this model to a cohort of undiagnosed probands allowed us to reach diagnosis in one subject. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate an epigenetic signature in subjects with Rahman syndrome that can be used to reach molecular diagnosis