Continuidades y discontinuidades en los márgenes. Paso fronterizo Posadas-Encarnación

En este trabajo abordaremos la transformación y complejización de las trayectorias de movilidad urbana binacional entre las ciudades de Posadas (Misiones, Argentina) y Encarnación (Itapúa, Paraguay). El habitual sentido del flujo de circulación de personas y bienes sostenido en los últimos 25 años en el paso fronterizo internacional allí existente, presenta transformaciones a partir de 2012, en función de los cambios que las políticas implementadas por los gobiernos centrales de ambos países generan en esta región de frontera. En efecto, no solo se han producido cambios en la movilidad transfronteriza de bienes y servicios, sino además se ha profundizado el patrón de asentamiento metropolitano de ambas ciudades de frontera (Causarano, 2006 e IPEC, 2012). Dicha situación, nos invita a repensar en este trabajo, la noción de integración en acto, es decir, desde la perspectiva de los ciudadanos que comparten esta territorialidad de frontera, poniendo el énfasis en el control del espacio, por parte de los distintos grupos allí presentes.Fil: Cossi, Carla Antonella. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Invest.geohistoricas (i); Argentin

Sizing and Energy Management of a Hybrid Locomotive Based on Flywheel and Accumulators

The French National Railways Company (SNCF) is interested in the design of a hybrid locomotive based on various storage devices (accumulator, flywheel, and ultracapacitor) and fed by a diesel generator. This paper particularly deals with the integration of a flywheel device as a storage element with a reduced-power diesel generator and accumulators on the hybrid locomotive. First, a power flow model of energy-storage elements (flywheel and accumulator) is developed to achieve the design of the whole traction system. Then, two energy-management strategies based on a frequency approach are proposed. The first strategy led us to a bad exploitation of the flywheel, whereas the second strategy provides an optimal sizing of the storage device. Finally, a comparative study of the proposed structure with a flywheel and the existing structure of the locomotive (diesel generator, accumulators, and ultracapacitors) is presented

Armed ConAicts in Africa and War of Attrition

This article analyses as a specific war of attrition the armed conflict between a dictatorial power and the civilian population during the sharing of national wealth resulting from the exploitation of natural resources There is asymmetry of information on the minimum share of wealth expected by every party Unlike the traditional approach of war of attrition that requires a player who leaves first the competition gains nothing my approach assumes that The civilian population earns at least its minimum share of wealth expected regardless of the period where it leaves the competitio

Social perception of climate change and forms of use impact on the forests of Dogo-Kétou and Pobè in Benin

This study examined the local perception on the climate changes and how these changes combined with anthropogenic pressures generated by the forms of use of the forest resources, impact the sustainability of the forests of Pobè and Dogo-Kétou in southeast Benin. The data were collected through an investigation of 148 and 139 local populations sampled respectively in the municipalities of Pobè and Kétou in the studied area. An interview guide and a structured research questionnaire were used to collect the data which were analyzed using the software Ri386 3.5.1. The mains results revealed that more than 98% of the local population living around these forests perceive the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities are the main causes. The consequences of climate change from the social perception are diversified, such as the violent winds and the scarcity of rains. The prolonged droughts are also confirmed by 61% of local population in Kétou and 81% in Pobè. In these conditions, trees have a harder time of reproduction with a poor capacity of regeneration. The analysis of the vulnerability of these forests in relation to the use values (UV) revealed that the populations living near to Dogo-Kétou forest use so much the forest resources (UV>2.5) than those of Pobè (UV<2.5). So, moderate pressure was notified on Pobè forest. The forest of Dogo-Kétou is therefore more vulnerable than the forest of Pobè from the view of the pressures linked to the categories of uses relative to food, energy wood, service wood, non-timber forest products and medicinal use. For adaptation strategies, the local population revealed the enrichment of the forests by indigenous forest species (32% in Kétou and 19% in Pobè), the reforestation (76% in Kétou and 84% in Pobè) and the creation of private plantations (39% in Kétou and 57% in Pobè). However, the establishment of ethnobotanical family gardens, the reduction of wood consumption for energy to the detriment of domestic gas, sensitization, prayer (church and vodoun) are ways to better adapt a good resilience to climate change.Keywords: Climate change, adaptation strategies, reforestation, resilience, forests, Benin

Completeness of Digital Accessible Knowledge of Plants of Benin and Priorities for Future Inventory and Data Discovery

Discovery of and access to primary biodiversity data are critical components in informed decision-making regarding sustainable use of biological resources and conservation of biodiversity. Primary biodiversity data are increasingly available from Benin, but information about completeness of this information across the country is still lacking for most groups. This study analyzed the Digital Accessible Knowledge regarding the plants of Benin to identify gaps in both geographic and environmental dimensions. Many gaps exist in plant data for Benin, particularly in the northern most departments; central and southern Benin are better known, but some gaps remain even there. The resulting view of Beninese Digital Accessible Knowledge can guide future inventory and data discovery efforts

Small Business Manager’s Profile and Financing Constraints: The Moderate Role of Sociocultural Factors

This study first analyses the effect of SBs managers’ characteristics on the difficulties in obtaining financing. Secondly, we highlight the moderate role of sociocultural factors in this relationship. Based on the hypothesis that sociocultural factors such as solidarity, rotative tontine, and supplier proximity moderate the relationship between the manager’s profile and perceived difficulties in obtaining financing, logistic regression is realized using questionnaire survey data from a sample of Beninese SBs’ managers. Overall, the findings show that in the majority, of the SBs managers are male, older, and have a minimum education. Almost half of the respondents have benefited from the support of their family or friends (solidarity) and practice the rotative tontine. Perceived difficulties in obtaining financing are affected by age, gender, manager’s link, and experience. We also found that solidarity, rotative tontine, and supplier proximity impact significantly perceived problems in obtaining financing and these sociocultural factors moderate the relationship between managers and perceived difficulties. Overall, given the findings, we suggest that government may target and organize the informal finance