Training on Establishing Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) in Myanmar to Improve Food Security and Resilience in Agriculture

This training on establish Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) in Myanmar was a collaborative effort of the Food Security Working Group (FSWG) and the Myanmar Program of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. This was supported in part by donors of the FSWG and the International Development Research Center-Canada through the 3-year action research project of IIRR-Myanmar in 4 CSVs. The overall goal of this training was to increase the understanding of the concepts, processes and tools in implementing of CSVs as an approach to build climate resilience among small-holder farmers, achieve nutrition security and gender equality in Myanmar. It was aimed for local NGOs and members of the Food Security Working Group (FSWG), Myanmar’s largest alliance of development organizations advocating for food security and sustainable livelihoods in Myanmar. This training was part of IIRR-Myanmar’s out-scaling pathway by engaging and building capacities of local civil societies to replicate the CSV approach as platforms to promote climate smart agriculture in Myanmar

Modelos de mortalidad a partir de datos de salud y discapacidad autopercibidos: Un informe sobre Irlanda a distintas escalas 2011-2016

Relationships between mortality and morbidity are long established within geo-spatial modelling and GIS-based analyses. While there has always been a strong associational relationship between the two measures, this has been less tested at an aggregate areal scale than one might expect. From a geographical perspective th is has been in part because access to data at meaningful spatial scales, especially for mortality, can be difficult. This paper presents newly collected data from Ireland on mortality and maps cross-sectional associations with self-reported healthand limiting long-term illness and disability conditions (LLTC) for the first time at an intermediate level geography. Data is also available for two different time-periods from administrative records and from five-yearly censuses. Mortality data was collected at a newly-created intermediate level geography (IA, n=410, averagepopulation=10,900) while the self-reported health/LLTC data was collected at a long-standing administrative scale (ED, n=3409, average population=1,350). Given there was a nested relationship between the two scales, redistricting techniques were used in GIS to enable direct comparisons. Mortality data was available for all deaths (SMR) and premature death (ASR), as well as for four different causes of death. Self-reported health was mapped in three ways; as a combined rate for poor health status; as a weighted health score and as a combined rate for LLTC. The associations were derived from correlation/regression modelling at the smaller IA scale. The results identified that the associations were statistically significant and of mixed magnitude, but had relatively low r-squared values. The associations were strongest for premature (under 75) mortality, while additional correlations for cause of death were lower again. From this, weconcluded that the self-reported health/LLTC statistics, while of some potential explanatory value, were not especially useful as predictive variable. Suggestions for improvement would be to weight the self-reported health data by age andadditionally to take into account deprivation as a second explanatory factor operating within cross-sectional work. Finally, modelling at different spatial scales might act as a useful guide for comparative analysis in Andalucía and other regions of Spain, where spatial scales may be similar in terms of size and scale.Desde hace mucho tiempo, se vienen realizando análisis geoespaciales utilizando herramientas SIG para establecer la relación entre mortalidad y morbilidad. A pesar que siempre ha existido una estrecha relación entre estas dos dimensiones, esta ha sido escasamente evaluada a escala agregada. Desde una perspectiva geográfica, esto no ha sido posible en parte debido a que el acceso a datos, tales como mortalidad, ha sido difícil para determinadas escalas espaciales. Este artículo presenta por primera vez, a un nivel geográfico intermedio, información y mapas recientes sobre mortalidad en Irlanda, asociándola de forma transversal con la salud auto-percibida, la limitación a causa de una larga enfermedad y el nivel de la discapacidad (LLTC). Los datos utilizados provienen de dos fuentes, registros administrativos y censos quinquenales y pertenecen a dos periodos diferentes temporales. Los datos de mortalidad se recopilaron en base a un nivel geográfico intermedio (IA, n = 410, población media = 10,900), mientras que los datos de salud auto-percibida/LLTC se recopilaron en base a una antigua escala administrativa (DE, n = 3409, población media = 1,350). Ante la falta de homogeneidad entre las dos escalas, se utilizaron técnicas de reordenación mediante SIG para realizar comparaciones directas. Los datos de mortalidad estaban disponibles para todas las muertes (SMR) y las muertes prematuras (ASR), para cuatro causas diferentes de mortalidad. La salud auto-percibida fue cartografiada de tres formas distintas: como una tasa combinada para el mal estado de la salud;como una puntuación ponderada de la salud y como una tasa combinada paraLLTC. Las relaciones fueron derivadas desde un modelo de correlación/ regresión a una escala más pequeña IA. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto que las relaciones eran estadísticamente significativas y de magnitud mixta, pero tenían valores r-cuadrados relativamente bajos. La relaciónfue más significativa para las muertes prematuras (menor de 75), mientras que las correlaciones relacionadas con la causa de muerte fueron bajas. A partir de esto, se llegó a la conclusión de que las estadísticas respecto a la salud auto percibida /LLTC,aunque poseen algún valor explicativo, no se pueden utilizar como variables predictores. Para mejorar los resultados enla realización de estudios transversales, se sugiere que la información sobre la salud auto-percibida se divida por grupos de edad y, además, se tengan en cuenta la deprivación como un segundo factor explicativo. Finalmente, el modelado a diferentes escalas espaciales podría servir como una guía útil para realizar análisis comparativos en Andalucía y otras regiones de España, donde las escalas espaciales pueden ser similares en términos de tamaño y escala

The learning migration nexus: towards a conceptual understanding

Learning and identity formation are inescapable facets of the upheavals accompanying migration; movement across social space inevitably involves reflection, questioning and the need to learn new ways of being and new identities. Although migration is characterised by complexity and diversity, this paper suggests that we can identify key learning perspectives which illuminate the nexus between learning and migration. It argues for an approach which grounds learning in an understanding of socio-cultural space, and highlights the significance of policy discourses surrounding migration and integration. Within the conceptual framework suggested, the nature of learning is seen as multifaceted, and as having the potential to have both positive and negative outcomes for migrants

Information, Coordination, and the Industrialization of Countries

The industrialization process of a country is often plagued by a failure to coordinate investment decisions. Using the Global Games approach we can solve this coordination problem and eliminate the problem of multiple equilibria. We show how appropriate information provision enhances efficiency. We discuss extensions of the model and argue that subsidies may be a property of a signalling equilibrium to overcome credibility problems in information provision. In addition we point out possible problems with overreaction to public information. Furthermore, we suggest a new focus for development policy

Excitonic resonances in thin films of WSe2: From monolayer to bulk material

We present optical spectroscopy (photoluminescence and reflectance) studies of thin layers of the transition metal dichalcogenide WSe2, with thickness ranging from mono- to tetra-layer and in the bulk limit. The investigated spectra show the evolution of excitonic resonances as a function of layer thickness, due to changes in the band structure and, importantly, due to modifications of the strength of Coulomb interaction as well. The observed temperature-activated energy shift and broadening of the fundamental direct exciton are well accounted for by standard formalisms used for conventional semiconductors. A large increase of the photoluminescence yield with temperature is observed in WSe2 monolayer, indicating the existence of competing radiative channels. The observation of absorption-type resonances due to both neutral and charged excitons in WSe2 monolayer is reported and the effect of the transfer of oscillator strength from charged to neutral exciton upon increase of temperature is demonstrated.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Policy instruments in the Common Agricultural Policy

Policy changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can be explained in terms of the exhaustion and long-term contradictions of policy instruments. Changes in policy instruments have reoriented the policy without any change in formal Treaty goals. The social and economic efficacy of instruments in terms of evidence-based policy analysis was a key factor in whether they were delegitimized. The original policy instruments were generally dysfunctional, but reframing the policy in terms of a multifunctionality paradigm permitted the development of more efficacious instruments. A dynamic interaction takes place between the instruments and policy informed by the predominant discourses

Applying Real Options Thinking to Information Security in Networked Organizations

An information security strategy of an organization participating in a networked business sets out the plans for designing a variety of actions that ensure confidentiality, availability, and integrity of company’s key information assets. The actions are concerned with authentication and nonrepudiation of authorized users of these assets. We assume that the primary objective of security efforts in a company is improving and sustaining resiliency, which means security contributes to the ability of an organization to withstand discontinuities and disruptive events, to get back to its normal operating state, and to adapt to ever changing risk environments. When companies collaborating in a value web view security as a business issue, risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis techniques are necessary and explicit part of their process of resource allocation and budgeting, no matter if security spendings are treated as capital investment or operating expenditures. This paper contributes to the application of quantitative approaches to assessing risks, costs, and benefits associated with the various components making up the security strategy of a company participating in value networks. We take a risk-based approach to determining what types of security a strategy should include and how much of each type is enough. We adopt a real-options-based perspective of security and make a proposal to value the extent to which alternative components in a security strategy contribute to organizational resiliency and protect key information assets from being impeded, disrupted, or destroyed

A methodology for the conversion of tactical board games to computer assisted war games

As part of the development of the capabilities of the Command, Control and Communications (C3) Laboratory at the Naval Postgraduate School, there was a need for an in-house computer assisted tactical war game. The objective of this thesis was to satisfy that need. An anti-submarine warfare board game, UP SCOPE!, which was designed, developed and produced by Simulations Productions, Inc. of New York, was used as the model. This thesis provides an interactive computer assisted anti-submarine warfare war game called Up Scope which is written in FORTRAN. This thesis also develops a framework for any future computer adaptation of a tactical board game, details a players manual and gives full documentation of the computer programming. Program listings, a sample game and several tactical scenarios are also included.http://archive.org/details/methodologyforco00grigCaptain, United States Air ForceLieutenant Commander, Supply CorpsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited