Security-Autonomy-Mobility Roadmaps: Passports To Security for Youth

Taking the highway along the California coast and swinging inland into one of the state\u27s agricultural belts, the hills appear golden in the distance, spotted with gnarled oak trees. Vineyards rise up on either side of the highway, and occasionally cowboys may be seen in the distance herding grazing cattle. Yet as clouds of dust rise from the fields in this agricultural community, the idyllic scene fades dramatically in the town of Rancho Benito, a community wearing the signs of the hard economic times. This once relatively prosperous community is now a place in which many families sit down to dinner in dramatically different circumstances than just a few years ago. After the 2008 recession hit this community, gaping holes appeared in all areas of the economy. Just driving through town, one sees evidence in the strip malls of the failure of one local business after another. Local industry has felt the ravages of the new economic landscape, from a partially empty mall to burgeoning bargain stores. While not all families have endured the same kind or degree of economic insecurity, nonetheless they dwell in a community strongly affected by the Great Recession. While not all have directly felt the effects on their immediate personal circles, all community members live in an environment indelibly stamped by the recession\u27s imprint

Venture Labor, Media Work, and the Communicative Construction of Economic Value: Agendas for the Field and Critical Commentary

At the International Communication Association’s 2014 conference in Seattle, Washington, along with other panelists, Laura Robinson, Jeremy Schulz, Alice E. Marwick, Nicole S. Cohen, C. W. Anderson, Michelle Rodino-Colocino, Enda Brophy, and Gina Neff presented their work across two panels, respectively entitled “Venture Labor: Work and ‘The Good Life’” and “Laboring for the ‘Good (Part of Your) Life.’” After the conference, panelists synthesized their conclusions. Critical commentary was invited from a range of prominent international scholars: Paul Hirsch, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Ofer Sharone, Barry Wellman, Dimitrina Dimitrova, Tsahi Hayat, Guang Ying Mo, Beverly Wellman, and Antonio Casilli

Associations between Specialist Tactical Response Police Unit Selection Success and Urban Rush, along with 2.4 km and 10 km Loaded Carriage Events

Officers serving in specialist tactical response police teams are highly trained personnel who are required to carry heavy loads and perform explosive tasks. The aim of this study was to determine whether performance on a loaded explosive occupational task (urban rush) or distance-based load carriage tasks (2.4 km or 10 km) were indicative of officer success on a specialist selection course (SSC). Eighteen male police officers (mean age = 32.11 ± 5.04 years) participated in the SSC over five consecutive days. Data were categorized into Group 1 (successful applicants, n = 11) and Group 2 (unsuccessful applicants, n = 7). Independent sample t-tests were performed to determine differences between groups, along with point-biserial correlations to investigate associations between anthropometric and event performance data and course completion success. Alpha levels were set at p = 0.05 a priori. Height (p = 0.025), body weight (p = 0.007), and 2.4 km loaded performance (p = 0.013) were significantly different between groups, where being shorter (rpb(16) = −0.526, p < 0.05), lighter (rpb(16) = −0.615, p < 0.01), and faster (rpb(16) = −0.572, p < 0.05) were associated with course success. While a loaded 2.4 km event is associated with success, a ceiling effect for an explosive anaerobic task and a longer 10 km task may exist, whereby increases in performance are not associated with selection success

Integration of Direct-Write (DW) and Ultrasonic Consolidation (UC) Technologies to Create Advanced Structures with Embedded Electrical Circuitry

In many instances conductive traces are needed in small, compact and enclosed areas. However, with traditional manufacturing techniques, embedded electrical traces or antenna arrays have not been a possibility. By integrating Direct Write and Ultrasonic Consolidation technologies, electronic circuitry, antennas and other devices can be manufactured directly into a solid metal structure and subsequently completely enclosed. This can achieve a significant reduction in mass and volume of a complex electronic system without compromising performance.Mechanical Engineerin

Analysing trade-offs and synergies between SDGs for urban development, food security and poverty alleviation in rapidly changing peri-urban areas: a tool to support inclusive urban planning

Transitional peri-urban contexts are frontiers for sustainable development where land-use change involves negotiation and contestation between diverse interest groups. Multiple, complex trade-offs between outcomes emerge which have both negative and positive impacts on progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These trade-offs are often overlooked in policy and planning processes which depend on top-down expert perspectives and rely on course grain aggregate data which does not reflect complex peri-urban dynamics or the rapid pace of change. Tools are required to address this gap, integrate data from diverse perspectives and inform more inclusive planning processes. In this paper, we draw on a reinterpretation of empirical data concerned with land-use change and multiple dimensions of food security from the city of Wuhan in China to illustrate some of the complex trade-offs between SDG goals that tend to be overlooked with current planning approaches. We then describe the development of an interactive web-based tool that implements deep learning methods for fine-grained land-use classification of high-resolution remote sensing imagery and integrates this with a flexible method for rapid trade-off analysis of land-use change scenarios. The development and potential use of the tool are illustrated using data from the Wuhan case study example. This tool has the potential to support participatory planning processes by providing a platform for multiple stakeholders to explore the implications of planning decisions and land-use policies. Used alongside other planning, engagement and ecosystem service mapping tools it can help to reveal invisible trade-offs and foreground the perspectives of diverse stakeholders. This is vital for building approaches which recognise how trade-offs between the achievement of SDGs can be influenced by development interventions