313 research outputs found
Sea Level Change in the Western James Bay Region of Subarctic Ontario: Emergent Land and Implications for Treaty No. 9
In 1905 and 1906, the Cree of the southwestern James Bay region signed Treaty No. 9 whereby they relinquished to the Canadian government their claim to the lands south of the Albany River (the northern boundary of the province of Ontario at the time). The official text of Treaty No. 9 made no mention of land submerged below water cover, and thus the Cree did not relinquish such regions at that time. By contrast, the Cree of the northwestern James Bay and southwestern Hudson Bay region who signed the 1929â30 Adhesions to Treaty No. 9 relinquished their claims to âland covered by waterâ for the area bounded on the south by the northerly limit of Treaty No. 9, as this clause was specifically included in the text of the adhesion. The issue of âland covered by waterâ is significant because the western James Bay region has been, and will continue to be, subject to sea level changes associated with ongoing adjustments due to the last ice age and modern global warming signals. In the absence of detailed maps, we used models of these processes, constrained by available geophysical and geodetic data sets, to retrodict shoreline changes and the rate of land emergence over the last two centuries within the boundaries specified by Treaty No. 9. We also project shoreline migration to the end of the 21st century within the same region. The rate of land emergence since 1905 in the area south of the Albany River is estimated as ~3.0 km2/yr. Over the next century, land will continue to emerge in this region at a mean rate of ~1.4 km2/yr. This emergent land should be a subject of consideration within any comprehensive land claim put forward by the Cree; in this regard, it will be interesting to see how the Canadian judicial system and the Comprehensive Claims Branch handle the novel issue of emergent land.En 1905 et 1906, les Cris du sud-ouest de la rĂ©gion de la baie James ont signĂ© le TraitĂ© no 9, par le biais duquel ils ont cĂ©dĂ© au gouvernement du Canada leur droit de revendication des terres au sud de la riviĂšre Albany (la limite nord de la province de lâOntario Ă lâĂ©poque). Le texte officiel du TraitĂ© no 9 ne faisait aucune mention des terres submergĂ©es sous lâeau, si bien que les Cris nâont pas renoncĂ© Ă ces rĂ©gions Ă ce moment-lĂ . En revanche, les Cris du nord-ouest de la baie James et du sud-ouest de la baie dâHudson qui ont signĂ© les adhĂ©sions au TraitĂ© no 9 (1929-1930) ont renoncĂ© Ă leurs revendications aux « terres recouvertes dâeau » dans la zone dĂ©limitĂ©e au sud par la limite nord du TraitĂ© no 9, puisque cette clause Ă©tait expressĂ©ment incluse dans le texte de lâadhĂ©sion. La question des « terres recouvertes dâeau » est importante parce que lâouest de la rĂ©gion de la baie James a Ă©tĂ© et continuera dâĂȘtre assujettie aux variations du niveau de la mer liĂ©es aux ajustements continus dĂ©coulant de la derniĂšre pĂ©riode glaciaire et des rĂ©cents signes de rĂ©chauffement planĂ©taire. En lâabsence de cartes dĂ©taillĂ©es, nous avons utilisĂ© des modĂšles de ces processus, limitĂ©s par les ensembles de donnĂ©es gĂ©ophysiques et gĂ©odĂ©siques disponibles, pour dĂ©terminer de façon rĂ©trospective les changements du littoral et le taux dâĂ©mergence des terres au cours des deux derniers siĂšcles dans les limites prĂ©cisĂ©es dans le TraitĂ© no 9. Nous faisons Ă©galement une projection de la migration du littoral jusquâĂ la fin du XXIe siĂšcle dans cette mĂȘme rĂ©gion. Le taux dâĂ©mergence des terres depuis 1905 dans la rĂ©gion au sud de la riviĂšre Albany est estimĂ© Ă ~3,0 km2/annĂ©e. Au cours du prochain siĂšcle, les terres continueront dâĂ©merger dans cette rĂ©gion au taux moyen de ~1,4 km2/annĂ©e. Ces terres Ă©mergĂ©es devraient ĂȘtre prises en compte dans toute revendication territoriale globale prĂ©sentĂ©e par les Cris. Ă cet Ă©gard, il sera intĂ©ressant de voir comment le systĂšme judiciaire canadien et la Direction gĂ©nĂ©rale des revendications globales traiteront cette nouvelle question des terres Ă©mergĂ©es
Heat flow and calculus on metric measure spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below - the compact case
We provide a quick overview of various calculus tools and of the main results
concerning the heat flow on compact metric measure spaces, with applications to
spaces with lower Ricci curvature bounds.
Topics include the Hopf-Lax semigroup and the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in
metric spaces, a new approach to differentiation and to the theory of Sobolev
spaces over metric measure spaces, the equivalence of the L^2-gradient flow of
a suitably defined "Dirichlet energy" and the Wasserstein gradient flow of the
relative entropy functional, a metric version of Brenier's Theorem, and a new
(stronger) definition of Ricci curvature bound from below for metric measure
spaces. This new notion is stable w.r.t. measured Gromov-Hausdorff convergence
and it is strictly connected with the linearity of the heat flow.Comment: To the memory of Enrico Magenes, whose exemplar life, research and
teaching shaped generations of mathematician
A wider Europe? The view from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
On the evidence of national surveys conducted between 2000 and 2006, there is a declining sense of European self-identity in the three Slavic post-Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Attitudes towards the European Union and the possibility of membership are broadly supportive, but with a substantial proportion who find it difficult to express a view, and substantial proportions are poorly informed in comparison with the general public in EU member or prospective member countries. Those who are better informed are more likely to favour EU membership and vice versa. Generally, socioeconomic characteristics (except for age and region) are relatively poor predictors of support for EU membership as compared with attitudinal variables. But âEuropeannessâ should not be seen as a given, and much will depend on whether EU member countries emphasize what is common to east and west or establish ânew dividing linesâ in place of those of the cold war
Emotional intelligence and British expatriatesâ cross-cultural adjustment in international construction projects
© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Todayâs internationalized business demands global mindset, intercultural sensitivity and the ability to skilfully negotiate through cross-cultural interactions. Therefore, the overall aim was to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of British expatriates working on International Architectural, Engineering and Construction assignments in Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent. Specifically, the causal relationship between EI and three facets of CCA i.e. work, general and interaction adjustment was explored. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was adopted. These include extensive review of existing literature, eighteen unstructured interviews, and questionnaire survey of 191 British expatriates operating in 29 different countries from the four regions under investigation. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the causal relationship between EI and CCA. Results show that EI accounted for 91, 64 and 24% of the variance in work, interaction and general adjustment respectively. Overall, the model was able to explain 60% variance in CCA, suggesting that EI competencies play a huge role in facilitating an expatriate understand and adapt to host country culture. The findings would help decision-makers (HR managers) during expatriate selection process, in understanding that along with technical skills, it is the emotional competencies that are crucial in assisting expatriates adjust to foreign way of life
Cichlid biogeography: comment and review
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72313/1/j.1467-2979.2004.00148.x.pd
Generalized reduced basis methods and n-width estimates for the approximation of the solution manifold of parametric PDEs
The set of solutions of a parameter-dependent linear partial differential equation with smooth coefficients typically forms a compact manifold in a Hilbert space. In this paper we review the generalized reduced basis method as a fast computational tool for the uniform approximation of the solution manifold. We focus on operators showing an affine parametric dependence, expressed as a linear combination of parameter-independent operators through some smooth, parameter-dependent scalar functions. In the case that the parameter-dependent operator has a dominant term in its affine expansion, one can prove the existence of exponentially convergent uniform approximation spaces for the entire solution manifold. These spaces can be constructed without any assumptions on the parametric regularity of the manifold -- only spatial regularity of the solutions is required. The exponential convergence rate is then inherited by the generalized reduced basis method. We provide a numerical example related to parametrized elliptic equations confirming the predicted convergence rate
Wholesale pricing in a small open economy
This paper addresses the empirical analysis of wholesale profit margins using data of the Dutch wholesale sector, 1986. At the heart of the analysis is the typical nature of wholesale production: wholesalers do not produce a tangible product, but offer a service capacity. This has an immediate impact on the identification, interprelation and measurement of determinants of profit variations. A model is set up to explain variations in wholesale profit margins, which is inspired by two widely applied approaches to industry pricing: the behavioural mark-up model and the marginalist price-cost model
Voting on sustainable transport: communication and governance challenges in Greater Manchester's âcongestion chargeâ referendum
In December 2008, the Greater Manchester electorate voted to reject a ÂŁ3 billion package of transport measures that would have included investment in the conurbation's bus, tram and rail networks and walking and cycling infrastructure, together with, and partially funded by, the introduction of a congestion charge. The proposals followed a successful bid to the UK Government Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). High levels of car use present challenges to cities, and the TIF bid can be seen as an attempt to address these by promoting and facilitating a modal shift. The paper reflects on the debates surrounding the proposals, which led to a referendum. In particular, it explores the challenges of communicating complex, controversial plans in a fragmented and contested political arena
Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050
Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or 40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that 13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. 1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. 2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only 1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe
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