What we can learn from Donald Trump’s campaign reboot

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been one of the most unusual in US history, with the New York billionaire acting and commenting in a way that no presidential contenders have done in the past. And yet, even Trump’s juggernaut of a campaign found itself in the doldrums this spring after its poor showing in the Wisconsin primary vote. Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry write that in the wake of this crisis, the Trump campaign was able to revitalize itself via a major reboot which saw it hire new campaign experts and redirect its energies towards strategies which were ultimately successful

Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Arab SMEs

Statistics show that SMEs represent 90% of total companies in the vast majority of economies worldwide and provide 40-80% of total job opportunities in addition to contributing largely to GDPs of many countries. For example, SMEs constitute more than 99%1 of all non-agricultural private enterprises in Egypt and account for nearly three-quarters of new employment generation. for Kuwait, this sector constitutes approximately 90% of the private workforce, including labor and imported an estimated 45% of the labor force, employment and national rates of less than 1%, in Lebanon, more than 95% of the total enterprises, contribute about 90% of the jobs. In the UAE , small and medium enterprises accounted about 94.3% of the economic projects in the country, and employs about 62% of the workforce and contributes around 75% of the GDP of the state. In addition, they account for 96% of the GDP in Yemen in 2005, and about 77%, 59%, 25% in Algeria, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, respectively, during the same year.It is often argued that the Governments should promote SMEs because of their greater economic benefits compared to the large firms in terms of job creation, efficiency and growth.Following are the major driving force to strengthen SMEs in the Arab countries: (1) SMEs are the important vehicle in terms of employments and poverty alleviation. SME employs a large share of the labour force in many Arab countries. (2) SMEs make significant contributions to the national economy of the country; and Can be a tool to accelerate the growth of exports. (3) SMEs foster an entrepreneurial culture and make the economy more resilient to the global fluctuations. The aim of this research is to study enhancing the competitiveness of Arab small and medium enterprises

Assessing progress towards meeting major international objectives related to nature and nature's contributions to people

In recognition of the importance of nature, its contributions to people and role in underpinning sustainable development, governments adopted a Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020 through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) containing 20 "Aichi Biodiversity Targets" and integrated many of these into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted through the United Nations in 2015. Additional multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) target particular aspects of nature (e.g., Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; Convention on Migratory Species), drivers of biodiversity loss (e.g., Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), or responses (e.g., World Heritage Convention). These various MEAs provide complementary fora in which governments strive to coordinate efforts to reduce the loss and degradation of nature, and to promote sustainable development. In this chapter, we assess, through a systematic review process and quantitative analysis of indicators, progress towards the 20 Aichi Targets under the Strategic Plan (and each of the 54 elements or components of these targets), targets under the SDGs that are relevant to nature and nature's contributions to people (NCP), and the goals and targets of six other MEAs. We consider the relationships between the SDGs, nature and the contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) to achieving the various targets and goals, the impact of progress or lack of it on IPLCs, the reasons for variation in progress, implications for a new Strategic Plan for Biodiversity beyond 2020, and key knowledge gaps.For the 44 SDG targets assessed, including targets for poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, oceans and land (Goals 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 15), findings suggest that current negative trends in nature will substantially undermine progress to 22 SDG targets and result in insufficient progress to meet 13 additional targets (i.e. 80 per cent (35 out of 44) of the assessed targets) {3.3.2.1; 3.3.2.2}(established but incomplete). Across terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems, current negative trends in nature and its contributions will hamper SDG progress, with especially poor progress expected towards targets on water security, water quality, ocean pollution and acidification. Trends in nature's contributions relevant to extreme event vulnerability, resource access, small-scale food production, and urban and agricultural sustainability are negative and insufficient for achieving relevant targets under SDGs 1, 2, 3, and 11. This has negative consequences for both the rural and urban poor who are also directly reliant on declining resources for consumption and income generation {3.3.2.2}. For a further 9 targets evaluated in SDGs 1, 3 and 11 a lack of knowledge on how nature contributes to targets (4 targets) or gaps in data with which to assess trends in nature (5 targets) prevented their assessment.Fil: Butchart, Stuart. London Metropolitan University; Reino UnidoFil: Miloslavich, Patricia. University of Western Australia; AustraliaFil: Reyers, Belinda. No especifíca;Fil: Galetto, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Subramanian, Suneetha M.. No especifíca;Fil: Adams, Cristina. No especifíca;Fil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: McElwee, Pamela. No especifíca;Fil: Meretsky, Vicky J.. No especifíca;Fil: Morsello, Carla. No especifíca;Fil: Nel, Jeanne. No especifíca;Fil: Lynn Newberry, Teresa. No especifíca;Fil: Pacheco, Diego. No especifíca;Fil: Pyhala, Aili. No especifíca;Fil: Rossi Heras, Sergio. No especifíca;Fil: Roy, Joyashree. No especifíca;Fil: Ruiz-Mallén, Isabel. No especifíca;Fil: Salpeteur, Matthieu. No especifíca;Fil: Santos-Martin, Fernando. No especifíca;Fil: Saylor. Kirk. No especifíca;Fil: Schaffartzik, Anke. No especifíca;Fil: Sitas, Nadia. No especifíca;Fil: Speranza, Ifejika. No especifíca;Fil: Suich, Helen. No especifíca;Fil: Tittensor, Derek. No especifíca;Fil: Carignano, Patricia. No especifíca;Fil: Tsioumani, Elsa. No especifíca;Fil: Whitmee, Sarah. No especifíca;Fil: Wilson, Sarah. No especifíca;Fil: Wyndham, Felice. No especifíca;Fil: Zorondo-Rodriguez, Francisco. No especifíca

From Brazilian ethanol to global green energy: How divergent perceptions of social and environmental impact shape the commodification of biofuel

Brazilian biofuel producers seek to tap into global markets for sustainable energies, but in order to do so, they must meet the social and environmental criteria mandated by the governments of countries where those markets are located. In response, ethanol executives have joined energy experts, government officials, and activists in Brazil and abroad to produce an environmental and social production standard, which is to be implemented by refinery managers. How these stakeholders with different understandings of morally responsible production create and implement standards will determine whether ethanol is successful as a major export and how its socio-environmental impacts are distributed. The author used ethnographic methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis to explore the dynamic relationship between actors defining and implementing ethanol standards, describing the knowledge labor and work practices that constitute this emergent green energy commodity chain. Fieldwork was conducted in São Paulo among professionals involved in creating ethanol sustainability standards and at a production site in a sugarcane expansion region where sustainable management techniques standards were being put into practice. The research revealed that the work of creating transnational commodity chains requires commensurability in legal and technical as well as ethical criteria for acceptable production, ultimately connecting disparate spaces into a unified assemblage of circulation. This commensurability necessarily entails leaving out alternative means of identifying and managing potential production impacts, a dynamic that creates a constant potential for the proliferation of unaddressed risks for stakeholders in the supply chain, possibly affecting the financial viability of the businesses as well. This is reinforced by the systematic characteristic of contemporary forms of sustainability management, which have the effect of reducing individual judgment and awareness of some of the extended impacts of biofuel production. The author concludes with recommendations on how to use a framework of cultural difference for identifying areas in which these risks could emerge, and preemptively mitigating them before they become unmanageable

Data and code for: Feedbacks among electric vehicle adoption, charging, and the cost and installation of rooftop solar

These data and code can be used to reproduce the results described in the paper: "Feedbacks among electric vehicle adoption, charging, and the cost and installation of rooftop solar" that is published in Nature Energy. The data file is EV_Table_0702.xls. The remaining files are RATS files that are used to generate the statistical output. The statistical software RATS is needed to run statistical analyses.Identifying feedback loops in consumer behaviors is important to develop policies to accentuate desired behavior. Here, we use Granger causality to provide empirical evidence for feedback loops among four important components of a low-carbon economy. One loop includes the cost of installing rooftop solar (Cost) and the installation of rooftop solar (PV); this loop is likely generated by learning by doing and reductions in the levelized cost of electricity. The second includes the purchase of electric vehicles (EV) and the installation of rooftop solar that is likely created by environmental complementarity. Finally, we address whether installing charging stations enhances the purchase of electric vehicles and vice versa; surprisingly, there is no evidence for a causal relation in either direction. Together, these results suggest ways to modify existing policy in ways that could trigger the Cost ↔PV ↔EV feedback loops and accelerate the transition to carbon free technologies

Signatures of n ->pi* interactions in proteins

The folding of proteins is directed by a variety of interactions, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatics, van der Waals' interactions, and the hydrophobic effect. We have argued previously that an n→π* interaction between carbonyl groups be added to this list. In an n→π* interaction, the lone pair (n) of one carbonyl oxygen overlaps with the π* antibonding orbital of another carbonyl group. The tendency of backbone carbonyl groups in proteins to engage in this interaction has consequences for the structures of folded proteins that we unveil herein. First, we employ density functional theory to demonstrate that the n→π* interaction causes the carbonyl carbon to deviate from planarity. Then, we detect this signature of the n→π* interaction in high-resolution structures of proteins. Finally, we demonstrate through natural population analysis that the n→π* interaction causes polarization of the electron density in carbonyl groups and detect that polarization in the electron density map of cholesterol oxidase, further validating the existence of n→π* interactions. We conclude that the n→π* interaction is operative in folded proteins

Interplay of Hydrogen Bonds and n ->pi* Interactions in Proteins

Protein structures are stabilized by multiple weak interactions, including the hydrophobic effect, hydrogen bonds, electrostatic effects, and van der Waals’ interactions. Among these interactions, the hydrogen bond is distinct in having its origins in electron delocalization. Recently, another type of electron delocalization, the n→π* interaction between carbonyl groups, has been shown to play a role in stabilizing protein structure. Here, we examine the interplay between hydrogen bonding and n→π* interactions. To address this issue, we used data available from high-resolution protein crystal structures to interrogate asparagine side-chain oxygen atoms that are both acceptors of a hydrogen bond and donors of an n→π* interaction. Then, we employed Natural Bond Orbital analysis to determine the relative energetic contributions of the hydrogen bonds and n→π* interactions in these systems. We find that an n→π* interaction is worth ~5–25% of a hydrogen bond and that stronger hydrogen bonds tend to attenuate or obscure n→π* interactions. Conversely, weaker hydrogen bonds correlate with stronger n→π* interactions and the demixing of the orbitals occupied by the oxygen lone pairs. Thus, these two interactions conspire to stabilize local backbone–side-chain contacts, which argues for the inclusion of n→π* interactions in the inventory of non-covalent forces that contribute to protein stability and, thus, forcefields for biomolecular modeling