Proposal for the creation of a national network of global studies high schools

This is a proposal to seek private and public funding to create a national network of global studies high schools (GSHS). The aim of a network of GSHSs is to enlarge the leadership corps of the next generation and to equip its members to address mounting global challenges to the security, material welfare, and freedoms of the American people, the citizens of open societies everywhere, and those who are striving to join their ranks.Title VI National Resource Center Grant (P015A060066)published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe

Livelihood Diversification In Coastal and Inland Fishing Communities: Misconceptions, Evidence and Implications for Fisheries Management

This is the working paper regarding the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP). Diversification is a process by which households engage in multiple income generating activities. It is widely seen in the academic literature and international development arena as a strategy for spreading risk and reducing vulnerability. The formulation of policies promoting diversification is thus encouraged at national levels to alleviate poverty. However, such policies involve delicate choices and trade-offs between government objectives of development, e.g. intensification of agriculture and increase in agricultural outputs to satisfy export markets, versus increased household well-being and resilience to adversity through the promotion of small-scale, household-based, activities. In the context of fisheries, diversification is promoted as a means for reducing dependence on the resource, making restrictive management easier and less controversial for those affected by such measures. This often interprets diversification as job-substitution (stop fishing, do something else) rather than adding other activities to an income-portfolio. With the tendency for increasing pressure on fishery resources, it becomes ever more necessary to address in a coherent way diversification and its links with both poverty reduction and responsible fisheries. Implications of the development of alternative or complementary activities alongside a main, resource-dependent activity such as fishing, may echo those experienced by sectors such as agriculture and pastoralism. However, many characteristics of the fishing activity and of those who engage in it are particular to the sector. General poverty alleviation policies and fisheries management schemes have been found to lack the necessary differentiation and to fail to cater for the specific needs of fishing communities (Smith et al. 2005). The lack of attention -- or misplaced attention through maladapted policies -- that the sector and the communities it supports have received so far can be traced to a number of misconceptions stemming from "the old paradigm on poverty in small-scale fisheries" (Béné, 2003, p950). These assumptions include that (after Béné 2003, Allison and Ellis 2001): -- Fishing is an ingrained activity in fishing communities and fishermen will not leave fishing for cultural reasons. -- Fishermen are specialised and carry out fishing on a professional basis only. -- Fishing is a last resort activity and fishermen are unable to diversify into other income-generating activities. -- Fisheries development and development of fishing communities is not possible without increasing fishing effort. -- Livelihood diversification in fishing communities cannot go hand in hand with a sustainable natural resources management that encompasses both sustainable fisheries management and poverty alleviation. It is the aim of this paper to challenge these assumptions. Because of its linkages with resource management, looking at diversification in fishing communities involves re-exploring the issue from a different perspective than its current interpretation and most widely-encountered application to agricultural (land-based)-livelihoods. Despite the potential broad remit of this task, the objective here is to remain focused on the necessity to dispel misconceptions and show the need to formulate policies that support the engagement of fisherfolk and their families in multiple activities. By doing so, the paper shall also provide a compilation and review of available information related to diversification in fishing communities and point out the complexity of the issue of diversification in these communities. The geographical scope of the paper is global, guided by the availability of case study material, though reference to the West African experiences of the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP) is made wherever possible. Unless expressed otherwise, the terms 'fisheries' or 'fishers' make implicit reference to artisanal fisheries and the small-scale operations and modus operandi of those relying on them

An investigation of the attitudes expressed by Richmond\u27s press toward Thomas Jefferson in the Presidential elections of 1800, 1804, and 1808

This paper is an investigati on of the attitudes expressed toward Thomas Jefferson by Richmond\u27s press in the presidential elections of 1800, 1804, and 1808. Jefferson, revered and venerated today, as a controversial figure during these years and was attacked most severely by bis political opponents and defended staunchly by his political friends. This investigation covers only the newspapers of Richmond during these election years, and no attempt has been made to deal with the multitudinous tracts, pamphlets, and other circulars printed in these years. Principal reliance has been placed upon Richmond \u27s three largest and most enduring newspapers of that day. Three other newspapers of short duration have contributed some interesting information to this investigation, and although the contents of this report have been gleaned almost entirely from the editorial columns of all these papers, a few entries of human interest have been included from the advertisements and other sections. Of the three Richmond newspapers which spanned all three elections each of them was constant in the attitude which is first expressed toward Jefferson in 1800

Is the US Population Behaving Healthier?

In the past few decades, some measures of population risk have improved, while others have deteriorated. Understanding the health of the population requires integrating these different trends. We compare the risk factor profile of the population in the early 1970s with that of the population in the early 2000s and consider the impact of a continuation of recent trends. Despite substantial increases in obesity in the past three decades, the overall population risk profile is healthier now than it was formerly. For the population aged 25-74, the 10 year probability of death fell from 9.8 percent in 1971-75 to 8.4 percent in 1999-2002. Among the population aged 55-74, the 10 year risk of death fell from 25.7 percent to 21.7 percent. The largest contributors to these changes were the reduction in smoking and better control of blood pressure. Increased obesity increased risk, but not by as large a quantitative amount. In the future, however, increased obesity may play a larger role than continued reductions in smoking. We estimate that a continuation of trends over the past three decades to the next three decades might offset about a third of the behavioral improvements witnessed in recent years.

Meeting the Challenges and Opportunities of Aging with Lifelong Disabilities: The Area Planning and Services Committee

Educational Objectives 1. To generate awareness of needs and capacities of aging adults with lifelong disabilities and their effect upon human services 2. To understand the challenges and opportunities facing aging adults with lifelong disabilities in accessing appropriate community supports and services. 3. To illustrate the benefits of intersystem collaboration among human services providers through the vehicle of an Area Planning and Services Committee

The effect of many sources on the genuine multiparticle correlations

We report on a study aimed to explore the dependence of the genuine multiparticle correlations on the number of sources when the influence of other possible factors during multihadron production are avoided. The analysis utilised the normalised cumulants calculated in three-dimensional phase space of the reaction ee -> Z -> hadrons using a large Monte Carlo sample. The multi-sources events were simulated by overlaying a few independent single ee annihilation events. It was found that as the number of sources increases, the cumulants do not change significantly their structure, but those of an order higher than two decrease fast in their magnitude. This reduction and its amount can be understood in terms of combinatorial considerations of source mixing which dilutes the correlations. The diminishing of the genuine correlations is consistent with recent cumulant measurements in hadron and nucleus induced reactions and should also be relevant to other dynamical correlations like the Bose-Einstein one, in ee -> WW -> hadrons and in nucleus-nucleus reactions

Human Rights and Property Rights: Strategies for Addressing Both Millennium Development Goals and Responsible Fishing in Small-Scale Fisheries in West and Central Africa

In many low and middle income countries vulnerability and social exclusion of fisherfolk are major contributors to the 'uncertain environment' in which fisheries are to be rebuilt. Rights-based approaches are seen as essential to rebuilding fisheries by reducing the uncertainty in current fishery access and ownership regimes. This paper argues that reducing uncertainty in property rights and regulatory institutions is a necessary but insufficient condition for rebuilding fisheries. When fisherfolk face so many other uncertainties, including those resulting from a lack of basic human rights, they lack the incentives and capacity to claim and defend rights to fish stocks when these are granted through, for example, co-management arrangements. With the majority of the world's fish production, fisherfolk and fish consumers all originating from low and middle-income countries, there is a need for fishery governance to maintain or enhance the contribution that fisheries make to poverty reduction by addressing fisherfolks' human rights as well as regulating their rights of access to resources. This paper also serves to introduce three contributions from the DFID/FAO Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme in West and Central Africa that indicate ways in which strengthening fisherfolk's livelihoods, human and property rights can improve fishery governance and help enhance fisheries' contribution to poverty reduction

Global Drivers and their Implications for Developing Country Fisheries

Developing country fisheries serve many functions, from feeding the poor, sustaining local communities and providing employment to generating export earnings. Yet, despite their importance, most countries have largely failed to ensure sustainable fishery systems and livelihoods for the millions of people dependent on them. Classically, management has concentrated on the fishery itself. Yet many of the challenges fisheries face are shaped by complex combinations of biophysical, social, political and economic forces. Many of these forces operate at scales beyond national level and outside the domain of fisheries. While there is usually limited scope for fisheries management to control these forces, policy makers and managers must understand them and plan for their impact. In this paper we review the drivers of change that are likely to affect fisheries over the next decade. Some of these have been considered by others in a fisheries context, but several have not. Our objective is to raise awareness of these emerging issues among researchers and policy makers. We do this in the hope that others will be stimulated to undertake further analysis and identify policy alternatives for fisheries

Fuel Consumption Prediction for a Passenger Ferry using Machine Learning and In-service Data: A Comparative Study

As the importance of eco-friendly transportation increases, providing an efficient approach for marine vessel operation is essential. Methods for status monitoring with consideration to the weather condition and forecasting with the use of in-service data from ships requires accurate and complete models for predicting the energy efficiency of a ship. The models need to effectively process all the operational data in real-time. This paper presents models that can predict fuel consumption using in-service data collected from a passenger ship. Statistical and domain-knowledge methods were used to select the proper input variables for the models. These methods prevent over-fitting, missing data, and multicollinearity while providing practical applicability. Prediction models that were investigated include multiple linear regression (MLR), decision tree approach (DT), an artificial neural network (ANN), and ensemble methods. The best predictive performance was from a model developed using the XGboost technique which is a boosting ensemble approach. \rvv{Our code is available on GitHub at \url{https://github.com/pagand/model_optimze_vessel/tree/OE} for future research.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 7 table