A Social Audit Model for Agro-biotechnology Initiatives in Developing Countries: Accounting for Ethical, Social, Cultural, and Commercialization Issues

There is skepticism and resistance to innovations associated with agro-biotechnology projects, leading to the possibility of failure. The source of the skepticism is complex, but partly traceable to how local communities view genetically engineered crops, public perception on the technology’s implications, and views on the role of the private sector in public health and agriculture, especially in the developing world. We posit that a governance and management model in which ethical, social, cultural, and commercialization issues are accounted for and addressed is important in mitigating risk of project failure and improving the appropriate adoption of agro-biotechnology in sub-Saharan Africa. We introduce a social audit model, which we term Ethical, Social, Cultural and Commercialization (ESC2) auditing and which we developed based on feedback from a number of stakeholders. We lay the foundation for its importance in agro-biotechnology development projects and show how the model can be applied to projects run by Public Private Partnerships. We argue that the implementation of the audit model can help to build public trust through facilitating project accountability and transparency. The model also provides evidence on how ESC2 issues are perceived by various stakeholders, which enables project managers to effectively monitor and improve project performance. Although this model was specifically designed for agro-biotechnology initiatives, we show how it can also be applied to other development projects.There is skepticism and resistance to innovations associated with agro-biotechnology projects, leading to the possibility of failure. The source of the skepticism is complex, but partly traceable to how local communities view genetically engineered crops, public perception on the technology’s implications, and views on the role of the private sector in public health and agriculture, especially in the developing world. We posit that a governance and management model in which ethical, social, cultural, and commercialization issues are accounted for and addressed is important in mitigating risk of project failure and improving the appropriate adoption of agro-biotechnology in sub-Saharan Africa. We introduce a social audit model, which we term Ethical, Social, Cultural and Commercialization (ESC2) auditing and which we developed based on feedback from a number of stakeholders. We lay the foundation for its importance in agro-biotechnology development projects and show how the model can be applied to projects run by Public Private Partnerships. We argue that the implementation of the audit model can help to build public trust through facilitating project accountability and transparency. The model also provides evidence on how ESC2 issues are perceived by various stakeholders, which enables project managers to effectively monitor and improve project performance. Although this model was specifically designed for agro-biotechnology initiatives, we show how it can also be applied to other development projects.There is skepticism and resistance to innovations associated with agro-biotechnology projects, leading to the possibility of failure. The source of the skepticism is complex, but partly traceable to how local communities view genetically engineered crops, public perception on the technology’s implications, and views on the role of the private sector in public health and agriculture, especially in the developing world. We posit that a governance and management model in which ethical, social, cultural, and commercialization issues are accounted for and addressed is important in mitigating risk of project failure and improving the appropriate adoption of agro-biotechnology in sub-Saharan Africa. We introduce a social audit model, which we term Ethical, Social, Cultural and Commercialization (ESC2) auditing and which we developed based on feedback from a number of stakeholders. We lay the foundation for its importance in agro-biotechnology development projects and show how the model can be applied to projects run by Public Private Partnerships. We argue that the implementation of the audit model can help to build public trust through facilitating project accountability and transparency. The model also provides evidence on how ESC2 issues are perceived by various stakeholders, which enables project managers to effectively monitor and improve project performance. Although this model was specifically designed for agro-biotechnology initiatives, we show how it can also be applied to other development projects

Tele-branding in TVIII: the network as brand and the programme as brand

In the era of TVIII, characterized by deregulation, multimedia conglomeration, expansion and increased competition, branding has emerged as a central industrial practice. Focusing on the case of HBO, a particularly successful brand in TVIII, this article argues that branding can be understood not simply as a feature of television networks, but also as a characteristic of television programmes. It begins by examining how the network as brand is constructed and conveyed to the consumer through the use of logos, slogans and programmes. The role of programmes in the construction of brand identity is then complicated by examining the sale of programmes abroad, where programmes can be seen to contribute to the brand identity of more than one network. The article then goes on to examine programme merchandising, an increasingly central strategy in TVIII. Through an analysis of different merchandising strategies the article argues that programmes have come to act as brands in their own right, and demonstrates that the academic study of branding not only reveals the development of new industrial practices, but also offers a way of understanding the television programme and its consumption by viewers in a period when the texts of television are increasingly extended across a range of media platforms

Effects of dredging-related pressures on critical ecological processes for organisms other than fish or coral. Report of Theme 9 - Project 9.1 prepared for the Dredging Science Node

In November 2013 a workshop was held at CSIRO Floreat, which brought together national and international marine scientists. The workshop addressed two primary objectives: • identify the timing of critical ecological processes in tropical and temperate ecosystems with a focus on non-coral and non-fish biota (seagrass, seaweed, sponges, ascidians, bryozoans, molluscs, echinoderms, crustaceans and non-coral cnidarians); and • identify environmental windows for critical ecological processes identified in Objective 1. This will be achieved by compiling information on the timing of reproduction, release of propagules and recruitment for these organisms, as well as the temporal and spatial scales of reproduction and recruitment events. During Workshop 1 a conceptual diagram was developed to illustrate and guide the decision process behind the selection of environmental windows (EWs) (see Figure 1). The life histories of the biota investigated were then identified and listed in detailed tables with specific reference to potential effects of dredging at each life history stage..

Integrated genomics and proteomics define huntingtin CAG length-dependent networks in mice.

To gain insight into how mutant huntingtin (mHtt) CAG repeat length modifies Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis, we profiled mRNA in over 600 brain and peripheral tissue samples from HD knock-in mice with increasing CAG repeat lengths. We found repeat length-dependent transcriptional signatures to be prominent in the striatum, less so in cortex, and minimal in the liver. Coexpression network analyses revealed 13 striatal and 5 cortical modules that correlated highly with CAG length and age, and that were preserved in HD models and sometimes in patients. Top striatal modules implicated mHtt CAG length and age in graded impairment in the expression of identity genes for striatal medium spiny neurons and in dysregulation of cyclic AMP signaling, cell death and protocadherin genes. We used proteomics to confirm 790 genes and 5 striatal modules with CAG length-dependent dysregulation at the protein level, and validated 22 striatal module genes as modifiers of mHtt toxicities in vivo

Guidance framework for testing of genetically modified mosquitoes

Reproduced in accordance with the publishers guidelines "The use of content from this health information product for all non-commercial education, training and information purposes is encouraged".Commissioned by TDR and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), this framework was drafted by four different working groups (efficacy; safety; ethical, legal and social; and regulation), each of which received comments about their draft from experts in the field and the public. Genetically modified mosquitoes (GMM) engineered to be incapable of transmitting certain pathogens or able to reduce populations of similar native mosquito vectors have emerged as a promising new tool to combat vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue in the more than 100 countries where they’re endemic. The guidance framework aims to foster quality and consistency among processes for testing and regulating new genetic technologies by proposing standards of efficacy and safety testing comparable to those used for trials of other new public health tools. The framework does not represent the views of the World Health Organization (WHO) or FNIH or provide recommendations on what to do. Rather, it is a document that brings together what is known, based on current research evidence, about how best to evaluate GMM

Losing yourself to AIDS, the meaning of euthanasia and assisted suicide

grantor: University of TorontoA qualitative research study was conducted with 32 people with HIV/AIDS in order to develop a theory of decision making regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide. The participants were enrollees of the HIV Ontario Observational Database (HOOD) and were contacted using a novel anonymous recruitment technique. The participants were interviewed and the audio-tapes of the interviews were transcribed and analysed using grounded theory methods in order to determine the process of decision making, factors that affect people's decisions, and the meaning of the experience of deliberating about euthanasia and assisted suicide. The resulting theory describes a process of deliberation that involves the origin of consideration about euthanasia and assisted suicide, reflection on these options, either alone or with others, formation of specific goals and the development of plans and strategies designed to realize the goals. The main factors that influence these deliberations are the individual's disintegration and loss of community. These factors give rise to a perceived loss of self, which in turn gives rise to existential suffering. Euthanasia and assisted suicide can be understood as means of limiting the loss of self. These findings suggest that decisions regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide are primarily metaphysical in nature, as opposed to ethical. The findings also challenge the appropriateness of the prevailing medical conception of euthanasia and assisted suicide that is apparent in existing policies and legislation.Ph.D

Exploring the Meaning of Recovery from Recurrent Suicide Attempts Executive Summary

A Psychosocial-Psychoeducational Intervention for Suicidal Young Adults: A Pilot Project, is a qualitative study undertaken to develop a grounded theory of successful transition from higher to lower risk of suicidal behaviour for young people with recurrent suicidal behaviour and the meaning that this transition held for clients. Participants had completed at least one cycle of the 20 week outpatient group program Psychosocial-Psychoeducational Intervention for People with Recurrent Suicide Attempts (PISA) and were between the ages of 18 yrs and 25 years at the time of their participation. . A qualitative Grounded Theory approach was used to investigate the transition away from recurrent suicide attempts. We used a criterion convenience sampling strategy (Patton, 1992). Qualitative interviews were face to face and transcribed word for word. Quantitative interviews provided an overview of symptom severity in the areas of identified deficits for people with recurrent suicide attempts. Ethics approval was obtained through St. Michael's Hospital Research Ethics Board. Sixteen young people participated in the qualitative interviews and 15 completed the quantitative measures. Participants showed improvements in all areas of previously identified deficits when compared to baseline measures completed while they were in the group. Significant changes were attained in the areas of alexithymia, depression, hopelessness, satisfaction with life, and impulsivity. A secondary analysis of the quantitative measures examining childhood maltreatment and the relationship to suicidal behaviour was completed by Hayley Eisenberg, a Master in Science candidate. Her study showed that increasing frequency of moderate to severe abuse identified by clients correlated with an earlier onset of suicidal behaviour and a greater frequency of suicidal behaviours. Transitioning from higher to lower risk of suicidal behaviour is a difficult task. Clients identified that the phenomenon of recurrent suicide attempts carries a core relationship with death that cannot be ignored. Transitioning from this relationship to developing a relationship with life/living often requires experiencing ambivalence and turning/tipping points. These seem to provide opportunities for awareness in a number of areas that the client must act on for the transition to lower of risk suicidal behaviour to occur. The transition to lower risk of suicidal behaviours is possible and it is not a linear path. Experiences of childhood maltreatment can significantly impact the pathway to safer behaviour. Our model of the transition process offers a way to understand where a client might be in the process and possible intervention points where clinicians can intervene. Each client's understanding of death is unique. It is necessary to understand what death means for the individual client. Limbo or existence is an ambivalent place for the client where they are unable to know or commit to either living or dying. Awareness comes through a variety of experience

Du côté de chez Swann (analyse morpho-syntaxique semi-automatique et statistique d'un texte littéraire)

Notre thèse s'inscrit dans une problématique centrale du LASELDI : l'analyse automatique des corpus littéraires. Nous avons étiqueté chaque unité linguistique (mots simples et mots composés) du texte "Du côté de chez Swann" de Marcel Proust en utilisant deux outils mis à notre disposition : le système INTEX et le programme DIATAG. Nous avons conçu une chaîne de traitements afin de construire un corpus totalement étiqueté et désambiguïsé, dont les étiquettes sont suffisamment riches. Nous avons associé ensuite à chaque unité linguistique, son lemme, une catégorie morpho-syntaxique, et une information flexionnelle. Les différents types d'ambiguïtés lexicales sont résolus soit semi-automatiquement (par les dictionnaires prioritaires et les grammaires locales), soit manuellement pour résoudre les ambiguïtés complexes. Nous détaillons ensuite toute la chaîne des traitements effectués : le pré-traitement du texte; la création des ressources lexicales nécessaires et la construction des grammaires locales de désambiguïsation. Un programme interactif a servi à gérer les ambiguïtés résiduelles. Ces différents traitements ont permis d'étiqueter les 170 710 mots du texte et de présenter un étiquetage de qualité (qui a été évalué). Nous avons enfin proposé une application en construisant une grammaire des groupes nominaux et en classant les phrases du corpus selon leur structure. Nous proposons enfin une analyse thématique en utilisant des méthodes de la statistique textuelle. Les analyses factorielles qui résultent de ce traitement (innovantes dans la mesure où elles s'appuient sur des occurrences désambiguïsées) nous ont permis de valider certaines analyses intuitives sur le thème du temps.Our laboratory team the (LASELDI, of the University of Franche-Comté) works with automatic analysis of literary corpora. We labelled each linguistic unit (we consider 2 kinds of units: simple words and compound words) from the Proust's text "Du côté de chez Swann", by using two tools which were available to us : the Intex system and the DIATAG program. We designed a processing data sequence in order to build a corpus that is completely tagged (and disambiguated) whose labels are sufficiently rich. Then we associated to each linguistic unit its lemma, a morpho-syntactic category, and a flexional information. The different types of lexical ambiguities are solved either semi-automatically (by the main dictionaries and the local grammars) or manually to resolve complex ambiguities. Then we detailed the entire processing data sequences: pre-processing of the text, the creation of necessary lexical resources, and the construction of local grammar of disambiguation. An interactive program was used to manage residual ambiguities. These various processing data have allowed the tagging of 170 170 words of a text and presented a quality tagging (which was evaluated). We finally presented an application by creating a grammar of nouns groups and classifying the sentences of the corpora according to their structures. In the end, we propose a thematic analysis by using the methods of textual statistic. The factorial analyses which are a result of this processing data, (innovating in the sense that they are based on disambiguated occurrences) allowed us to validate certain intuitive analysis on the topic of time.BESANCON-BU Lettres (250562101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Effects of dredging on critical ecological processes for marine invertebrates, seagrasses and macroalgae, and the potential for management with environmental windows using Western Australia as a case study

Dredging can have significant impacts on benthic marine organisms through mechanisms such as sedimentation and reduction in light availability as a result of increased suspension of sediments. Phototrophic marine organisms and those with limited mobility are particularly at risk from the effects of dredging. The potential impacts of dredging on benthic species depend on biological processes including feeding mechanism, mobility, life history characteristics (LHCs), stage of development and environmental conditions. Environmental windows (EWs) are a management technique in which dredging activities are permitted during specific periods throughout the year; avoiding periods of increased vulnerability for particular organisms in specific locations. In this review we identify these critical ecological processes for temperate and tropical marine benthic organisms; and examine if EWs could be used to mitigate dredging impacts using Western Australia (WA) as a case study. We examined LHCs for a range of marine taxa and identified, where possible, their vulnerability to dredging. Large gaps in knowledge exist for the timing of LHCs for major species of marine invertebrates, seagrasses and macroalgae, increasing uncertainty around their vulnerability to an increase in suspended sediments or light attenuation. We conclude that there is currently insufficient scientific basis to justify the adoption of generic EWs for dredging operations in WA for any group of organisms other than corals and possibly for temperate seagrasses. This is due to; 1) the temporal and spatial variation in the timing of known critical life history stages of different species; and 2) our current level of knowledge and understanding of the critical life history stages and characteristics for most taxa and for most areas being largely inadequate to justify any meaningful EW selection. As such, we suggest that EWs are only considered on a case-by-case basis to protect ecologically or economically important species for which sufficient location-specific information is available, with consideration of probable exposures associated with a given mode of dredging