Arctic governability : A wicked problem?

The world’s interest in the Arctic region has been rising as well as the awareness of climate change and disappearance of ice cover in the region. From being seen as a ‘frozen desert’ the Arctic region is nowadays perceived, as a place for cooperation among Arctic states and other actors, from non-Arctic states to non-governmental organizations, like WWF and Greenpeace. The governance system in the region is unique, but it is challenged at different levels and within different dimensions. The governing system in the region faces different problems, which it has to deal with. Some of problems, such as climate change, are considered to be wicked, as their definitions as well as solutions are highly dependent on views and interests of ones who are looking at them. All this affects the governing process of the Arctic, which is, in fact, a wicked problem itself. The overall aim of this work is to investigate on governing the Arctic being a wicked problem by answering following questions: 1. What are the properties of Arctic governance that make it a wicked problem? 2. What are the challenges and properties of Arctic governance, which lower governability of the region? The thesis determines wickedness of the Arctic governance and highlights properties of elements of the governance system of the region, which contribute to this wickedness

Nuclear energy, economy & ecology

Modern civilization is inconceivable without electricity. Nuclear energy is one of the main sources of energy nowadays, so it requires a comprehensive research. The nuclear power sector is the most significant in France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland - in those industrial countries where natural energy resources are insufficient. The nuclear power has a significant advantage over the social, health and environmental costs of the fossil fuel use. Nuclear energy is the most concentrated form of energy. Nuclear power plants don't require a lot of space, they don't need a large plot like a wind farm. Nuclear power stations don’t contribute to carbon emissions, so it doesn’t contribute to global warming. Nuclear power is reliable. It doesn't depend on the weather. It has proven to be cost effective almost all over the world. However, nuclear power plants are potentially dangerous objects. That’s why it’s very important to comply with all of the safety requirements. The term "safety of the nuclear plants" is closely related to different types of damage, with possible harmful consequences of the accidents at the nuclear plants

Analysis of Suomi - NPP VIIRS Vignetting Functions Based on Yaw Maneuver Data

The Suomi NPP Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) reflective bands are calibrated on-orbit via reference to regular solar observations through a solar attenuation screen (SAS) and diffusely reflected off a Spectralon (Registered Trademark) panel. The degradation of the Spectralon panel BRDF due to UV exposure is tracked via a ratioing radiometer (SDSM) which compares near simultaneous observations of the panel with direct observations of the sun (through a separate attenuation screen). On-orbit, the vignetting functions of both attenuation screens are most easily measured when the satellite performs a series of yaw maneuvers over a short period of time (thereby covering the yearly angular variation of solar observations in a couple of days). Because the SAS is fixed, only the product of the screen transmission and the panel BRDF was measured. Moreover, this product was measured by both VIIRS detectors as well as the SDSM detectors (albeit at different reflectance angles off the Spectralon panel). The SDSM screen is also fixed; in this case, the screen transmission was measured directly. Corrections for instrument drift and degradation, solar geometry, and spectral effects were taken into consideration. The resulting vignetting functions were then compared to the pre-launch measurements as well as models based on screen geometry

THE MANAGEMENT AND ITS ROLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

The management is key component in one company and it has essential role in its development, success and strategic goals. Its meaning is specially emphasized in the international business, where the only way to achieve competitive advantage and positive results is to have established, developed management team that has the necessary experience, ambitions and knowledge to fight against all risks and difficulties in the international environment. Every international business has to be able to point out and define its management strategies, vision and mission through which it can reach the plans and goals of the business, as well as the directions for achievement of those plans and goals, and of course – awareness for the cultural diversity as main precondition for creating innovative, ideological compаnies that have aspirations outside the borders of the domicile country

Soil Organic Carbon Estimation from Climate-related Features with Graph Neural Network

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, impacting climate dynamics and necessitating accurate estimation for sustainable land and agricultural management. While traditional methods of SOC estimation face resolution and accuracy challenges, recent technological solutions harness remote sensing, machine learning, and high-resolution satellite mapping. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), especially when integrated with positional encoders, can capture complex relationships between soil and climate. Using the LUCAS database, this study compared four GNN operators in the positional encoder framework. Results revealed that the PESAGE and PETransformer models outperformed others in SOC estimation, indicating their potential in capturing the complex relationship between SOC and climate features. Our findings confirm the feasibility of applications of GNN architectures in SOC prediction, establishing a framework for future explorations of this topic with more advanced GNN models