Sustainable development in Africa: agriculture, trade and climate change

This repository item contains a single issue of Issues in Brief, a series of policy briefs that began publishing in 2008 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This paper is part of The Project on Food and Development, a Pardee Center program of research, publications and symposia exploring the relationship between global food policy and development in its various dimensions. The project is generously supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands. The views expressed in this paper are strictly those of the author and should not be assumed to represent the views of Boston University or the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.This paper looks at the confluence of trade, agriculture and climate change in Africa in the context of food and sustainable development. This paper is part of The Project on Food and Development, a Pardee Center program of research, publications and symposia exploring the relationship between global food policy and development in its various dimensions

In the search of holistic cycling experience : Helsinki-Hanko self-guided cycling product and a promotional blog

Tourism is one of the leading service fields in the world and the market is evolving to include important subcategories of active, nature based tourism niches. The contrary movement back to the nature is a driving force to develop new products in the field of nature tourism and companies are searching for new ways to connect with the rising customer groups in need of individual, personal and self actualizing needs. Finland has a strong potential to be the answer to the demand of carefully built experiences based on nature. The Finnish Tourism Board has invested to develop the field mentioned above. This project- oriented thesis was commissioned by Outdoors Finland and was part of Outdoors Finland South project funded by EU and done in co-operation with the Finnish Tourism Board. During the thesis process the product evolved from creating only a self-guided cycling product from Helsinki to Hanko into a promotion- al blog for the use of Outdoors Finland, based on the cycling experience done in the summer 2014. The objective of this study is to answer a question: what are the components needed to create a self- guided cycling experience using customer understanding as a base? The methods used in the thesis were literature review in the theory base and gathering information from the cycling trip as committed ob- serving. As an outcome of the thesis, a promotional blog is presented. The theory part introduces different types of tourism, concentrating on cycling tourism. The theories of customer needs are studied as creating customer based experience the understanding on customer needs and expectations is vital for company to succeed. The different experience theories give a frame- work for making memorable experiences, and from applying these theories and combining the observa- tions from the cycling trip, the components needed to create a cycling experience are found. In order to answer the study question a holistic experience triangle was created, presenting the importance of nature environment, self development and customer understanding inside the experience elements. The triangle can be used as a designing tool when building a self guided cycling experience by taking all the present- ed components into consideration in predict development phase. As a product-oriented thesis, the paper presents the process and planning of the cycling trip and as well as the writing of the promotional blog. The chosen goals for the product, the blog, were three adjectives chosen to describe the blog; inspiring, entertaining and activating, and four themes used in writing the blog entries taken from experience economy theory using the realms; Entertainment, Educational, Esthet- ic and Escapist. The blog entries captured these adjectives and themes. The final success of the blog can be measured by the amount of engagements when the texts go viral in Outdoors Finland webpage

The WTO dispute settlement system and the challenge of environment and legitimacy.

This thesis analyses the legitimacy of the WTO dispute settlement system, especially in the context of disputes involving questions concerning environmental protection. It argues that since the early 1990s, such disputes have posed important challenges to the legitimacy of the WTO. From the legal point of view, they have fuelled a lively doctrinal debate on fragmentation of international law and the role of non-WTO norms in the WTO dispute resolution mechanism. The thesis conceives legitimacy as a notion consisting of various interlinked components, including social, substantive, formal and procedural ones, and analyses the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system in light of these criteria. It shows that the compulsory but materially restricted jurisdiction of the WTO dispute settlement limits its ability to solve disputes involving non-trade interests and legal norms. The dissertation argues, however, that some of the ensuing problems could be remedied if the WTO dispute settlement system approached international environmental law in a more constructive, consistent and transparent manner. Turning to the formal and procedural elements of legitimacy, the thesis conceives the situation of the WTO dispute settlement system as a dilemma between the pressure to improve substantive legitimacy by considering environmental norms and interests, and the need to observe the limits of its judicial function. It explores tensions at the boundary between the WTO and its Member States, arguing that only limited potential exists to enhance the authority of the WTO dispute settlement through 'importing' substantive legitimacy. Finally, the dissertation highlights institutional and systemic problems arising from fragmentation of international law. Using the relationship between the WTO and the international climate change regime as an example, it concludes that the WTO dispute settlement system's legitimacy challenge involves two dimensions. Certain unexploited potential exists to improve the situation through the judicial techniques at the disposal of the WTO dispute settlement system. However, the more profound and systemic problems are incapable of solution by the WTO dispute settlement system or even by WTO negotiators alone. Instead, they would require broader international efforts

Tear film lipid layer

The tear film covers the cornea and conjunctiva providing nutrients to the corneal cells and protecting it from the external environment. Tear film is composed of three intermixed layers. Mucous matrix covers the epithelial cells and is gradually mixed with the aqueous layer which is covered by a thin lipid layer. The lipid layer consists of both polar and nonpolar lipids. Lipids are thought to prevent the collapse of the tear film onto the ocular surface and to retard evaporation from the tears. In this study several in vitro methods were used to study the surface properties and organization of different lipid mixtures resembling those in the tear film lipid layer. Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and freefatty acids (FFA) were used as the polar lipids and cholesterol oleate (CO), triglycerides (TG), and wax esters(WE) were used as the nonpolar lipids. Langmuir film technique was used to examine the behavior of the lipid films during compressions and de-compression. Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were utilized for visualizing the films. Grazing incidence X-ray difraction was used for surface structure studies. The results of experimental studies were compared with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Custom built system was used to evaluate the evaporation retarding effect of several lipid mixtures containing wax esters. Compression isotherms showed one to two kinks in the compression curve that account for the rearrangement of the lipids in the film for all mixtures studied. Hysteresis was small meaning that these films are very stable and little, if any, solubilization of lipids into the aqueous phase takes place. All lipid films studied were more or less inhomogeneous when viewed with BAM, especially in higher surface pressures. This is most likely caused by the nonpolar lipids aggregating on the lipid film surface. This was also seen in the simulation studies where CO and TG formed circular aggregates on top of the polar lipids. Nonpolar lipids stabilized the films under high compression by arranging so that the lipid film could have a lower surface pressure than would be expected for small surface areas. However, an excess of nonpolar lipids caused the films to be more inhomogenous and to have less stable structure. Lipid mixtures that contained wax esters did not retard evaporation, which suggests that lipids' function in the tear film may have more to do with maintaining a thin tear film and preventing its collapse rather than preventing evaporation. The task of TFLL is still under debate, although it has been regarded to be the evaporation barrier, hindering the movement of water molecules out from the tear fluid. This, however has been questioned in this thesis project. Although some WEs have been shown to retard the evaporation of water, this effect is lost when different lipid species are mixed, as was done in this study where several WE species were mixed with PC, CO, and TG. No evaporation retarding effect was detected for any mixtures studied. Evaporation retarding lipid films must be very tightly packed but this is not possible for TFLL-like films because the tear film lipids must also be suitable for the environment they are in where they must adapt to fast changes in surface pressure and must also be fluid. This cannot be achieved by the films that have been shown to retard evaporation as these films are rather stiff and cannot be compressed.Kyynelneste peittää silmää ja mahdollistaa ravintoaineiden kulkeutumisen sarveiskalvon soluille sekä suojaa sitä ympäristöltä. Kyynelneste koostuu kolmesta kerroksesta. Musiinit peittävät sarveiskalvon epiteelisolut. Musiinien yllä ja niihin sekoittuneena on vesikerros, joka sisältää mm. proteiineja ja ioneja. Vesikerroksen pinnalla on ohut lipidikerros, joka koostuu sekää poolisista että poolittomista lipideistä. Lipidien tehtävän uskotaan olevan kyynelnesteen hajoamisen estäminen sekä kyynelnesteen haihtumisen hidastaminen. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä tutkittiin erilaisia kyynelnesteen lipidikalvon rakennetta muistuttavia lipidiseoksia useilla eri in vitro metodeilla. Seokset pidettiin suhteellisen yksinkertaisina, jotta voitaisiin paremmin selvittää eri komponenttien vaikutusta lipidiseosten käyttäytymiseen. Lipidiseosten rakennetta ja käyttäytymistä vesi-ilma-rajapinnalla tutkittiin Langmuir-kalvotekniikalla, jossa vesifaasin pinnalla olevan lipidikalvon pintajännitettä seuraamalla voi tutkia kalvon käyttäytymistä eri olosuhteissa. Kalvon pinnan rakennetta tutkittiin usealla eri tekniikalla ja tuloksia verrattiin tietokonesimulaatioihin, jonka avulla pystyttiin selvittämään yksittäisten molekyylien järjestäytymistä ilma-vesi-rajapinnalla. Kaikki tutkitut lipidiseokset muodostivat vakaan kalvon puskurin pinnalle. Kalvojen pintakäyttäytyminen oli hyvin samankaltaista riippumatta kalvon rakenteesta, kaikilla seoksilla näkyi kompressio-käyrissä yhdestä kahteen notkahdusta, jotka kertovat lipidien uudelleenjärjestäytymisestä kalvolla. Hystereesi oli hyvin pientä, mikä kertoo kalvojen vakaudesta ja siitä, etteivät kalvojen lipidit irrottaudu kalvosta nestefaasiin. Vaikka lipidiseosten pintakäyttäytyminen oli hyvin samankaltaista riippumatta seoksesta, löytyi melko huomattavia eroja pinnan rakenteessa Brewster angle mikroskooppia käyttäen, etenkin korkeammissa pintapaineissa. Kalvot olivat epähomogeenisiä, mikä johtuu todennäköisesti poolittomien lipidien järjestäytymisestä poolisten lipidien päälle. Sama ilmiö huomattiin myös simulaatiotuloksissa, joissa poolittomat lipidit muodostivat pyöreitä ryhmittymiä poolisten lipidien päälle. Poolittomat lipidit myös stabiloivat lipidikalvoja mahdollistaen kalvojen puristamisen suurempiin pintapaineisiin. Hyvin suuret poolittomien lipidien pitoisuudet kuitenkin lisäsivät kalvojen epähomogeenisyyttä ja epävakautta. Kyynelnesteen lipidien tehtävä on vielä epäselvä, ja vaikka sitä on pidetty kyynelnesteen haihtumisen estäjänä, on tästä hyvin vähän yksiselitteistä tutkimustietoa. Tässä työssä tutkittiin vahaestereitä sisältäviä seoksia. Vahaesterit ovat yksi kyynelnesteen lipidien yleisimmistä komponenteista ja joidenkin vahaestereiden on todettu estävän haihtumista. Tämä ei kuitenkaan pätenyt seoksiin, joita tässä työssä tutkittiin. Mikään vahaestereitä sisältävä seos ei estänyt haihtumista. Tämä kyseenalaistaakin kyynelnesteen lipidien roolin haihtumisen estäjinä ja vahvistaa roolin todennäköisemmin olevan kyynelnesteen hajoamisen estäminen ja täten kyynelnesteen stabilointi

Bisociative knowledge discovery for microarray data analysis

Peer reviewe

Hiberno-Scandinavian Transculturation : Hybridization of Vikings and Gaelic culture in Ireland between 800 and 1000AD

My master’s thesis examines the meeting of Vikings and Irish in Ireland during the early Viking age, between years 800 and 1000AD. In my thesis, I answer to the question about how the process of hybridization between these two cultures happened: How did the two different cultures react to each other, what kind of interaction was there between the two, and what was the nature of the hybrid identities developed. I use as theoretical framework Mary Pratt’s concept of contact zone, as well as Richard Roger’s theory of levels of cultural appropriation. As primary sources, I use the annals of Irish monasteries, most importantly Annals of Ulster. In research literature, I have a strong focus on archaeological studies of the era. The work is divided into two main chapters. Chapter two analyzes the interaction between the two cultures through the literary evidence and rhetoric of chronicles, as well as the alliances and marriages between the two. It also examines the conversion of Vikings to Christianity, and their relation to the Irish church. The third chapter focuses on the settlements, the Viking longports, some of which eventually developed into towns. Ireland before the Vikings was completely lacking urbanity and thus the Hiberno-Scandinavian towns that developed were a new phenomenon and focal points of hybridization. As a case study, I analyze Dublin, as it is the one with most archaeological data left, and finally I discuss in larger context the sociocultural meaning of these towns. I reach the conclusion that while there remained permanent differences between the Irish and the Vikings, the contact zones of Hiberno-Scandinavian towns developed hybrid identities that did not represent purely any of the ethnicities or cultures that they were derived from. Vikings were seen as foreigners in the eyes of the clergymen, but they were entangled in the local politics and warfare like any Irish petty kingdom. The towns, however, were independent realms and transcultural environments, where new cultural identities developed, shifted and flourished

Model experiments of the transient response to flooding of the box shaped barge

Coupling of the flooded water and ship motions was studied experimentally.Roll decay tests for one flooded compartment and transient abrupt floodingtests were performed for the box shaped barge model. The tests were conductedto obtain information on the flooding process for the developmentof numerical tools and to provide validation data. Quantitative values onthe effect of flooded water on the roll damping were obtained. Flooded waterbehaves in a different manner in undivided and divided compartments.Flooded water in divided compartment increases roll damping significantly.In undivided compartment roll damping was high at low amount of floodedwater. For higher amounts damping was of the same order as for the intactmodel. Initial flooding is a complex process where the ship and floodedwater motions are coupled. Propagation of the flooding water inside thecompartment, at a dam-break type abrupt flooding, was studied by trackingthe surface of the flooded water. Image processing algorithm was used to obtain the tracked surface. Flooded water volume and its center of gravity were estimated from the tracked surface. Different internal layouts of theflooded compartment can lead to a totally different roll response. The infloodingjet plays an important role on the response in case of the undividedcompartment. While, for a divided compartment, asymmetric flooding dueto the obstructions, causes high heel angle on the damage side.Peer reviewe