Voluntary Environmental Agreements in Developing Countries: The Colombian Experience

According to proponents, voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated with polluters sidestep weak institutions and other barriers to conventional environmental regulation in developing countries. Yet little is known about their effectiveness. We examine VAs in Colombia, a global leader in the use of these policies. We find that the main motive for using VAs has been to build capacity needed for broader environmental regulatory reform. Their additional effect on environmental performance has been questionable. These findings suggest that in developing countries, VAs may be best suited to capacity building, not environmental management per se.voluntary environmental agreement, pollution, Colombia

A 2D finite volume simulation tool to enable the assessment of combined hydrological and morphodynamical processes in mountain catchments

Nowadays, the great power of modern computers allows to develop computational models able to deal with simulations of several coupled phenomena over detailed complex topography. An efficient and properly calibrated computational model represents a useful tool to provide insight into the catchment dynamics at hydrological and geomorphological levels. In addition, it allows to develop detailed risk management and conservation plans. In this work, we present a coupled surface-groundwater distributed flow model with hydrological (rainfall and infiltration) and geomorphological (suspended and bed load sediment transport) components. The coupled model is applied to well characterized experimental catchments that are used as realistic test cases. The calibration of the water flow model response to rainfall is performed by means of the fitting to experimental outlet hydrographs of the results supplied by a coupled formulation of 2D Shallow Water Equations and 2D Darcy's law for saturated porous media connected via suitable infiltration laws. The calibration of a suspended and bed load model is also addressed by means of the fitting to experimental outlet sedigraphs. The numerical results show a good agreement between numerical and observed hydrographs and sedigraphs, significantly improving previous published simulations. Additionally, the need to repeat the simulations in the calibration processes is no longer an unapproachable problem

Fog computing pour l'intégration d'agents et de services Web dans un middleware réflexif autonome

International audienceService Oriented Architecture (SOA) has emerged as a dominant architecture for interoperability between applications, by using a weak-coupled model based on the flexibility provided by Web Services, which has led to a wide range of applications, what is known as cloud computing. On the other hand, Multi-Agent System (MAS) is widely used in the industry, because it provides an appropriate solution to complex problems, in a proactive and intelligent way. Specifically, Intelligent Environments (Smart City, Smart Classroom, Cyber Physical System, and Smart Factory, among others) obtain great benefits by using both architectures, because MAS endows intelligence to the environment, while SOA enables users to interact with cloud services, which improve the capabilities of the devices deployed in the environment. Additionally, the fog computing paradigm extends the cloud computing paradigm to be closer to the things that produce and act on the intelligent environment, allowing to deal with issues like mobility, real time, low latency, geo-localization, among other aspects. In this sense, in this article we present a middleware, which not only is capable of allowing MAS and SOA to communicate in a bidirectional and transparent way, but also, it uses the fog computing paradigm autonomously, according to the context and to the system load factor. Additionally, we analyze the performance of the incorporation of the fog-computing paradigm in our middleware and compare it with other works

Suunitterlun ja muotoilun suojaaminen muotiteollisuudessa- kaksipuolinen vertaileva analyysi ja argumentti Yhysvaltain ja Euroopan Unionin lainsäädännön harmonisaatiosta

This thesis aims to introduce the reader to the construct of the fashion industry, the historical relationship between fashion design and intellectual property (IP) frameworks, and future commercial benefits related to integrated legal legislation among international influencers such as the US and the EU. France and the UK's design legislation will be reviewed in addition to EU’s Member States protection under the Council Regulation on Community Design (EC) No 6/2002 and Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on Legal Protections of Design. In comparison to Europe and its Member States, the US’s lax intellectual Property framework will be explored, with additional focus on failed attempts at Copyright legislation reform to include fashion through the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (DPPA) and Innovative Design and Prevention Act (IDPPA). Through thorough analysis, the author aims to establish the relevant need for design legislation within the US and outline the economic and commercial profit that harmonized protection will potentially bring to the industry on a global scale. Moreover, the author intends to shed light on potential new economic theories that may affect the current legal structure and hopefully push for modernization of both the fashion industry and the laws that aim to protect it. The first chapter’s main focus is to introduce the reader to the fashion industry, and define fashion design, fashion innovation, and outline the current hierarchical structure of the industry. Chapter two intends to provide historical context fashion has played within legal rhetoric and its introduction to IP frameworks. Chapter three will introduce the foundations of fast fashion through a business analysis of France and NYC during the interwar years. Furthermore, the first fashion lobbyist attempts will be explored, through the formation of The Fashion Originator’s Guild of America (FOGA), which would later inspire modern-day activist organizations such as the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and American Apparel & Footwear Association(AAFA), which is explored in the final subchapter of Chapter three. Chapter four shall shed light on the influence of international treaties in regards to IP legislation and internationally trading countries. Moreover, the current complex issues related to lack of harmonization between the US and the EU will be exposed, and treaties that aim to provide relief to fashion’s international legal setbacks. Chapter five will introduce the US IP framework of the fashion industry, while also providing the current limitations traditional IP structure has when providing protections for the industry. Lastly, Chapter five will review modern attempts at copyright legislation, through the DPPA and IDPPA, which aimed at achieving a design law reform in the US for the fashion industry and provide a more inclusive legal structure. The fifth chapter shall be a comparative review and outline the lack of global immersion of a legal construct between the EU and the US and the potential global benefits the fashion industry shall gain from an international legal accord between the main markets related to this thesis Chapter six reviews current economic theories that have resulted from the US’s lax IP system, which includes the piracy paradox, and its controversial benefits to the fashion industry. Moreover, current economic theories such as circular economy will be highlighted as they may provide the change that fashion needs to open the grounds for design reform. Chapter seven outlines the European sector through the formation of domestic and EU legislation, and a highlighted look into Europe’s fashion capitals of France and the UK. Furthermore, EU regulatory law and directives will be defined, through the Council Regulation on Community Design (EC) No 6/2002 and Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on Legal Protections of Design. This legal rhetoric will be explored through the scope of the fashion industry, and provide context to fashion’s benefits from design legislation in the European market. Chapter eight provides a final comparison of the two main fashion sectors, with a concluding argument highlighting the benefits of potential design reform in the US, as well as for the overall harmonization between the US and Europe