The importance of dry woodlands and forests in rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation in South Africa

Indigenous forests and savannas, along with plantation forests, offer numerous benefits to rural communities and society at large. Yet, the role of forests and forestry in contributing to sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation are widely debated. However, much of the debate pertains to lessons from the humid tropics, with little consideration of the widespread dry forests and savannas. This paper considers the role of dry forest types, including savannas, using South Africa as a case example. It concludes that a large proportion of the population makes use of forests and the resources from them. These are vital components of local livelihoods, which probably prevent people from slipping into deeper poverty. Moreover, for a measurable proportion, engagement in informal forest activities, as well as the formal forestry sector, has resulted in them being able to move out of poverty. Additionally, the generally dry nature of forests in South Africa, coupled with the high unemployment rate, limit the extent of alternative locally based livelihood options, thereby magnifying the contributions from forests and forest products. The depressing effects of widespread HIV/AIDS on labour availability, economic activities and livelihoods has exacerbated peoples' dependence on forest products

Platform Liability in Copyright Enforcement

Every year, millions of dollars are invested and spent on works covered by copyright. However, in the platform economy, where most content is currently stored and viewed, copyright holders face infringements of their rights at an ever-increasing scale. While Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act serves a useful speech-protecting function, unless the United States is willing to forego copyright law and the economic interests that it protects, some effort is needed to develop an efficient mechanism of copyright enforcement for platforms. In this paper, we pull together copyright law, the law of platform liability, and the economics of enforcement to explore models of no liability, notice and takedown, strict liability, and negligence. We discuss how platform liability can encourage the creation of creative work, but may also lead to over-blocking and chilling effects. Using a formal model, we consider what mechanisms of copyright enforcement can maintain the speech protections of Section 230 while incentivizing authors to create new works

Functional structure in production networks

Production networks are integral to economic dynamics, yet dis-aggregated network data on inter-firm trade is rarely collected and often proprietary. Here we situate company-level production networks within a wider space of networks that are different in nature, but similar in local connectivity structure. Through this lens, we study a regional and a national network of inferred trade relationships reconstructed from Dutch national economic statistics and re-interpret prior empirical findings. We find that company-level production networks have so-called functional structure, as previously identified in protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Functional networks are distinctive in their over-representation of closed squares, which we quantify using an existing measure called spectral bipartivity. Shared local connectivity structure lets us ferry insights between domains. PPI networks are shaped by complementarity, rather than homophily, and we use multi-layer directed configuration models to show that this principle explains the emergence of functional structure in production networks. Companies are especially similar to their close competitors, not to their trading partners. Our findings have practical implications for the analysis of production networks and give us precise terms for the local structural features that may be key to understanding their routine function, failure, and growth.Algorithms and the Foundations of Software technolog

Netwerkanalyse biedt nieuwe inzichten voor clustergericht energiebeleid

Synergievoordelen binnen industri le clusters zijn een belangrijk uitgangspunt in het Nederlandse klimaatbeleid. Tegelijkertijd zijn deze clusters in de praktijk soms moeilijk waarneembaar. Een netwerkanalyse maakt een clustergericht industriebeleid met focus op verduurzaming mogelijk.In het kort:● Een effectief transitiebeleid vereist een beter begrip van de werking van industrieclusters.● Verduurzaming van de industrie vraagt om inzicht in de samenhang en interactie binnen industrieclusters.● Een toepassing van netwerkanalyse op het industriecluster Zeeland laat zien dat er sprake is van een functioneel netwerk.Algorithms and the Foundations of Software technolog