The West against the rest? Democracy versus autocracy promotion in Venezuela

Venezuela provides a strong test case for the weakening of democracy and the strengthening of autocracy promotion. External actors are a key part of the domestic political game: the European Union and the United States (EUUS) promote ‘democracy by coercion’ and recognised Juan Guaidó as president, whereas China, Cuba and Russia (CCR) bolster the regime of Nicolás Maduro. A comparative foreign policy analysis argues that, firstly, EUUS sanctions have resulted in strengthening CCR's autocratic leverage and linkage; and secondly, the division ‘between the West and the Rest’ has posed an additional obstacle for a transition to democracy and national reconstructio

Comparative Coastal Risk Index (CCRI): A multidisciplinary risk index for Latin America and the Caribbean

As the world's population grows to a projected 11.2 billion by 2100, the number of people living in low-lying areas exposed to coastal hazards is projected to increase. Critical infrastructure and valuable assets continue to be placed in vulnerable areas, and in recent years, millions of people have been displaced by natural hazards. Impacts from coastal hazards depend on the number of people, value of assets, and presence of critical resources in harm's way. Risks related to natural hazards are determined by a complex interaction between physical hazards, the vulnerability of a society or social-ecological system and its exposure to such hazards. Moreover, these risks are amplified by challenging socioeconomic dynamics, including poorly planned urban development, income inequality, and poverty. This study employs a combination of machine learning clustering techniques (Self Organizing Maps and K-Means) and a spatial index, to assess coastal risks in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on a comparative scale. The proposed method meets multiple objectives, including the identification of hotspots and key drivers of coastal risk, and the ability to process large-volume multidimensional and multivariate datasets, effectively reducing sixteen variables related to coastal hazards, geographic exposure, and socioeconomic vulnerability, into a single index. Our results demonstrate that in LAC, more than 500,000 people live in areas where coastal hazards, exposure (of people, assets and ecosystems) and poverty converge, creating the ideal conditions for a perfect storm. Hotspot locations of coastal risk, identified by the proposed Comparative Coastal Risk Index (CCRI), contain more than 300,00 people and include: El Oro, Ecuador; Sinaloa, Mexico; Usulutan, El Salvador; and Chiapas, Mexico. Our results provide important insights into potential adaptation alternatives that could reduce the impacts of future hazards. Effective adaptation options must not only focus on developing coastal defenses, but also on improving practices and policies related to urban development, agricultural land use, and conservation, as well as ameliorating socioeconomic conditions

REM- und TEM-Untersuchungen an epitaktischen Blechalkogenid-Schichten auf -100-PbSe-Flächen

Bleichalkogenide sind die Basismaterialien für die Herstellung von Doppelheterostrukturhalbleiterlaserdioden mittels Molekularstrahlepitaxie. Die Qualität der Waferoberflächen sowie der epitaktischen Schichten wird mit Hilfe des Elektron Channeling Pattern beurteilt. Gleichmäßigkeit und Dicke der epitaktischen Schichten werden mittels Materialkontrast festgestellt. Das Wafermaterial als auch die Grenzflächen der Epitaxieschichten werden mit hochauflösenden TEM-Untersuchungen auf Versetzungen untersucht. (IPM

PHOTOVOLTAIC INFRARED SENSOR ARRAY IN HETEROEPITAXIAL NARROW GAP LEAD-CHALCOGENIDES ON SILICON

Linear arrays of photovoltaic IR-sensors for thermal imaging applications have been fabricated for the first time in narrow gap semiconductor layers grown heteroepitaxially on Si-substrates. Heteroepitaxy was achieved using intermediate stacked CaF2-BaF2 bilayers to overcome the large lattice- and thermal expansion mismatch between Si and lead-chalcogenides. Sensors fabricated in narrow gap PbTe have ≈ 5.7 µm cut-off wavelength at 90K and quantum efficiencies around 70%. Resistance-area products are up to 500 Ωcm2 with mean value of ≈ 150 Ωcm2 for 66 element linear arrays, well above the room temperature photon background noise limit. Sensor arrays with shorter cut-off wavelength were fabricated in the same manner in epitaxial Pb1-xEuxSe on fluoride covered Si-substrates

PHOTOVOLTAIC INFRARED SENSOR ARRAY IN HETEROEPITAXIAL NARROW GAP LEAD-CHALCOGENIDES ON SILICON

Linear arrays of photovoltaic IR-sensors for thermal imaging applications have been fabricated for the first time in narrow gap semiconductor layers grown heteroepitaxially on Si-substrates. Heteroepitaxy was achieved using intermediate stacked CaF2-BaF2 bilayers to overcome the large lattice- and thermal expansion mismatch between Si and lead-chalcogenides. Sensors fabricated in narrow gap PbTe have ≈ 5.7 µm cut-off wavelength at 90K and quantum efficiencies around 70%. Resistance-area products are up to 500 Ωcm2 with mean value of ≈ 150 Ωcm2 for 66 element linear arrays, well above the room temperature photon background noise limit. Sensor arrays with shorter cut-off wavelength were fabricated in the same manner in epitaxial Pb1-xEuxSe on fluoride covered Si-substrates