A Bibliography of Alaskan Literature, 1724-1924

"The publication of Judge James Wickersham's Bibliography of Alaskan Literature may well be considerd a notable event.

You can’t see the woods for the trees: invasive acer negundo L. in urban riparian forests harms biodiversity and limits recreation activity

Public access to high quality green environments has become a key issue for city managers and a matter of environmental justice. Urban pressures on ecosystem remnants may act to favor the expansion of some invasive species in cities. Whilst the negative impacts of invasive species on ecosystem function is well documented, little is known about how invasive species influence the use of green space by people. Here, we examined one of the few remnants of urban riparian forests in Europe, the Vistula river valley in Warsaw, which has recently become an attractive recreation site. Despite their high ecological value, the poplar and willow forests have been increasingly taken over by the invasive tree species Acer negundo. We examined the status of the invasion process and the relationship between recreational ecosystem services and the characteristics of the tree stands—tree species, tree density, and age and NDVI values. We found the willow forest to be more susceptible to invasion by A. negundo than the poplar forest, which was revealed in significantly higher share of the maple individuals and their greater volume per unit area. Ash-leaved maples also prevailed in numbers in younger stands (<10 years) than in older ones. The presence of A. negundo affected biodiversity, resulting in decreased undergrowth density and biodiversity expressed in number of species. The use intensity by the public, assessed on the basis of soil compaction of existing informal tracks, as revealed by GLM analysis, was related to volume of invasive maple and distance from the main track. This study highlights the need to integrate invasive species management into green infrastructure planning and management

Biokinetics and dosimetry of commonly used radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostic nuclear medicine – a review

Purpose The impact on patients’ health of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine diagnostics has not until now been evaluated systematically in a European context. Therefore, as part of the EU-funded Project PEDDOSE. NET (www.peddose.net), we review and summarize the current knowledge on biokinetics and dosimetry of commonly used diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. Methods A detailed literature search on published biokinetic and dosimetric data was performed mostly via PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). In principle the criteria for inclusion of data followed the EANM Dosimetry Committee guidance document on good clinical reporting. Results Data on dosimetry and biokinetics can be difficult to find, are scattered in various journals and, especially in paediatric nuclear medicine, are very scarce. The data collection and calculation methods vary with respect to the time-points, bladder voiding, dose assessment after the last data point and the way the effective dose was calculated. In many studies the number of subjects included for obtaining biokinetic and dosimetry data was fewer than ten, and some of the biokinetic data were acquired more than 20 years ago. Conclusion It would be of interest to generate new data on biokinetics and dosimetry in diagnostic nuclear medicine using state-of-the-art equipment and more uniform dosimetry protocols. For easier public access to dosimetry data for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, a database containing these data should be created and maintained

Dombey and son

xlvii, 889 tr. ; 22 cm

Political violence in Zimbabwe's land seizure era

This thesis explores political violence in Zimbabwe's Land Seizure Era (LSE), the period from February 2000 to March 2008 when agents, operating at the behest of the government, began violently seizing commercial farms across the country. These large- scale and extra-legal seizures targeted unarmed workers and farmers on all of the 4,300 commercial farms in Zimbabwe, in one of the most violent and transformative events since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. What motivated the Zimbabwean state to target the nation's dominant industry? To shed light on this primary research question, this thesis relies upon three unique data sets. First, 21,491 incidents of violence and intimidation across Zimbabwe were coded; these incidents were then depicted month-by-month on 92 geographical maps, forming a quantitative mapping data set giving insights into longitudinal violence proliferation. Second, 110 qualitative interviews were conducted of workers, farmers, and state agents, including senior politicians and state security agents. Third, a quantitative survey was undertaken of 1,442 farmers, 34% of farmers operating in year 2000. There are five major research findings, underscored by Mancur Olson's roving and stationary bandit concepts. First, despite ZANU-PF protestations to the contrary, the government never intended large-scale, extra-legal farm seizures. The limited small- scale seizures that were planned after February 2000 went out of control. To conceal its loss of control, the government claimed that large-scale takeovers were planned. Second, Mugabe was opposed to large-scale takeovers, and initially sought to protect farmers from invaders - as he had been doing since independence. Third, ZANU-PF never intended for the LSE to be a land reform event, despite their claims to the contrary; the LSE was always primarily a political event. Fourth, extensive and punitive violence was deployed by agents against unarmed farm workers and farmers to accomplish two key LSE objectives: the suppression of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, and to evict the farmers and seize farm assets before competitors took them. Fifth, agents were far more concerned with the financial objective of stripping farms of valuable assets, than undertaking the espoused nationalist objective of seizing farm land. This research has two major implications for Zimbabwe and southern Africa. Evidence strongly demonstrates ZANU-PF's reliance on severe authoritarian strategies to retain power and eliminate present and future political opposition. For nations seeking to undertake a broad land reform programme, the Zimbabwe case demonstrates the serious political, economic, and social consequences of interfering with critical industries for the sake of political expediency.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo