Handbook on Climate Change and Disaster Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices

This handbook was developed to help governmental and non-governmental agencies involved in safe water delivery, sanitation hygiene at local level, union and ward disaster management committees, to enhance their respective capacities to cope with climate change and disaster risks. It considers the rural context of Bangladesh and provides field-level workers and practitioners practical ideas about water supply, sanitation and hygiene practices in the context of climate change and disaster risk

The ethics of forgetting in an age of pervasive computing

In this paper, we examine the potential of pervasive computing to create widespread sousveillance, that will complement surveillance, through the development of lifelogs; socio-spatial archives that document every action, every event, every conversation, and every material expression of an individual’s life. Examining lifelog projects and artistic critiques of sousveillance we detail the projected mechanics of life-logging and explore their potential implications. We suggest, given that lifelogs have the potential to convert exterior generated oligopticons to an interior panopticon, that an ethics of forgetting needs to be developed and built into the development of life-logging technologies. Rather than seeing forgetting as a weakness or a fallibility we argue that it is an emancipatory process that will free pervasive computing from burdensome and pernicious disciplinary effects

Gorilla journal : nr. 40 / journal of Berggorilla- & Regenwald-Direkthilfe

Att kommunicera rummets varierande funktion genom 3D-visualiseringar är ett examensarbete i informationsdesign med inriktning rumslig gestaltning. Uppdraget kommer från Husmuttern AB som arbetar med huskoncept som sedan ska leda till produktion av modulhus. Syftet med arbetet har varit att studera hur en 3D-modell bör utformas för att kommunicera ett rums varierande funktion. Detta för att veta hur jag ska visualisera en undervisningssal i ett modulhus. För att arbeta fram en 3D-modell som uppfyller dessa krav krävs det att studera kommunikation mellan parter, bildens egenskaper, rummets form och färg, detta med stöd i litteratur, forskning och användartester. Därefter kunde en modell arbetas fram som kunde kommunicera en undervisningssal i ett modulhus. Genom användartesterna visade det sig att det är bra med en modell som fokuserar på modulhusets grund men också att ha med inredning för att visa funktionen. Det resulterade i en modell som innehöll husgrunden på en halva och realistisk inredning på den andra halvan men i samma modell. Genom litteratur och tidigare forskning blev resultatet för visualiseringar att det är ofta som 3D-modeller används. I utformningen bör detaljer uteslutas och verklighetstrogna vyer undvikas. Fokus bör ligga på det väsentliga då det annars blir för mycket att ta in för betraktaren och budskapet går förlorat, samt att verklighetstrogna skisser upplevs som färdigutvecklade. Det resulterade i en skissartad modell med avskalad inredning för att visa rummets funktion. Att kommunicera rummets varierande funktion genom 3D-visualiseringar is a thesis in information design with orientation in spatial design. The assignment comes from the company Husmuttern AB who work with house concept that will lead to production of module housing. The purpose has been to study how a 3D- visualisation should be formed to communicate rooms varying functions. All this so that I will know how to visualize a classroom in a module housing. To be able to come up with a 3D-model that have this quality it was requires to study communication between two parties, properties of the image, shape and color of the room, with the help of literature, previous research and user tests. Then it was possible to come up with a model that could communicate a classroom constructed in module. Through the user tests it was shown to be preferable with a model that focuses on the basic units of the module housing but that also has some realistic decor to show some function. All this resulted in a model which includes the basic units of the module on one half and realistic décor on the other half in the same model. Thanks to literature and previous research the result for visualization was that it is common to use 3D-modells. In the modeling details and realistic views should be avoid. The focus should be on the essential or it will be too much for the viewer to take in and the message gets lost, but also that to realistic models were considered to be fully complete. All this resulted in a sketchy model with a small amount of décor to show the rooms function

Exploring the eco-attitudes and buying behaviour of Facebook users

Eco-friendly consumers’ attitudes are becoming increasingly frequent, recent research indicating that pro-environmental purchase behaviour not only lower costs on the long term, but also enhance business stakeholders’ and consumers’ confidence in high added value products and services. This paper undertakes an interdisciplinary research on how social media (i.e. Facebook) can influence users’ perceptions and buying behaviour related to five categories of ecological products and services (eco-food, eco-tourism, eco-housing, eco-textiles and eco-beauty & cosmetics). This research investigates how ecological products and services could gain popularity and overpass the identified purchasing barriers (e.g. high prices, low awareness, low availability) via superior integration in consumers’ daily experiences with Facebook. The research findings indicate that Facebook represents an effective and innovative environment that could build the necessary links between green attitudes and consumers’ hearts and minds

Natural hazards and disaster management in Pakistan

The present study explains the various concepts used in disaster management. The concepts explained include: Disaster, Hazard, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk and Disaster Management Cycle. In addition to the terminologies, the study also seeks to explain various types of disasters. It also gives a detail of various disasters occurred in Pakistan as well their management and mitigation strategies. The paper also discusses disaster management policy at national level as well as disaster management and national plans in Pakistan

Forests and climate change: adaptation and mitigation

ETFRN news No. 50: Forests and Climate Change: adaptation and mitigation. This newsletter contains interesting materials for those who think about the question how to proceed with forests and climate change after Copenhagen, with or without an agreement. Here below are presented some observations from this newsletter: • Adaptation and mitigation are separate issues in the climate discussions, but in forest practice they are two sides of the same coin. • We need forest management directed at the realization of different objectives at the same time, we do not need pure ‘carbon forests’. Not addressing ‘people’ and ‘planet’ considerations is increasingly seen – by both the public and private sector – as a business risk. • Not all countries will be able to comply with REDD rules in the short term. The voluntary carbon market will remain important. • REDD is an opportunity and a risk for local communities. Risks should be made transparent, and open and equal participation by communities in design and decision-making should be promoted • REDD and other forest-based climate change mitigation measures are likely to be low-cost and effective in the short to medium term. Some stakeholders fear that forests may become a too-cheap mitigation option and corrupt the overall climate agreement. In most calculations, however, the costs of developing, operating and managing the institutional system required to produce credible and sustainable forest carbon credits are not internalized in forest carbon prices. If they were, forest carbon prices would become much higher and more realistic. • The role of forests must be clarified and articulated in National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs). At present most political attention and financing is focused on REDD, and, in general, on climate mitigation. Only recently has the concern for the role of forests in adaptation gained ground; this emanates from the growing recognition that climate change will happen anyway. Moreover, climate change will affect the most vulnerable ecosystems and poorer regions. • There is a clear need for harmonization and coherence in the certification market (SFM, and carbon, fair trade etc.). Certification is not necessarily the only credible basis for payment. As illustrated in this issue, mutual trust can be an alternative, particularly for small-scale initiatives that cannot afford the high transaction costs of certification