External Review and Options Appraisal of the Global Fund for Community Foundations

This Strategic Review and Options Appraisal was undertaken for the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF). This Report is not an evaluation of the work of the GFCF, while it nonetheless 'reviews' the work and achievements of the organisation, particularly in the light of where the organisation stands at the present time. In this sense, it is more of a 'snapshot' view of the GFCF, and the Report, recognising that the GFCF is at an important moment in its life at a time of both challenge and opportunity, then presents a set of Options for decision

Impact of earthworms on trace element solubility in contaminated mine soils amended with green waste compost

The common practice of remediating metal contaminated mine soils with compost can reduce metal mobility and promote revegetation, but the effect of introduced or colonising earthworms on metal solubility is largely unknown. We amended soils from an As/Cu (1150 mgAs kg−1 and 362 mgCu kg−1) and Pb/Zn mine (4550 mgPb kg−1 and 908 mgZn kg−1) with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% compost and then introduced Lumbricus terrestris. Porewater was sampled and soil extracted with water to determine trace element solubility, pH and soluble organic carbon. Compost reduced Cu, Pb and Zn, but increased As solubility. Earthworms decreased water soluble Cu and As but increased Pb and Zn in porewater. The effect of the earthworms decreased with increasing compost amendment. The impact of the compost and the earthworms on metal solubility is explained by their effect on pH and soluble organic carbon and the environmental chemistry of each element

Introduction. Understanding hate crime: research, policy and practice

In 2013, a group of scholars from Europe and North America came together to form the International Network for Hate Studies (INHS). The key aims of the network included bridging gaps between academics and policy makers/practitioners in the field, and "internationalizing" our understanding of hate crime generally. In the spring of 2014, INHS held its inaugural conference at the University of Sussex in Brighton, the United Kingdom. In this special edition of Criminal Justice Policy Review (CJPR), we bring together expanded versions of four of the keynote speeches from that conference. In distinct ways, each speaks to the key themes noted above, as this brief introduction will illustrate

Reducing Fuel Volatility - An Additional Benefit From Blending Bio-fuels?

Oil price volatility harms economic growth. Diversifying into different fuel types can mitigate this effect by reducing volatility in fuel prices. Producing bio-fuels may thus have additional benefits in terms of avoided damage to macro-economic growth. In this study we investigate trends and patterns in the determinants of a volatility gain in order to provide an estimate of the tendency and the size of the volatility gain in the future. The accumulated avoided loss from blending gasoline with 20 percent ethanol-fuel estimated for the US economy amounts to 795 bn. USD between 2010 and 2019 with growing tendency. An amount that should be considered in cost-benefit analysis of bio-fuels.

Effect of weathering product assemblages on Pb bioaccessibility in mine waste: implications for risk management

General assessments of orebody types and associated mine wastes with regards to their environmental signature and human health hazards are needed to help managing present and historical mine waste facilities. Bioaccessibility tests and mineralogical analysis were carried out on mine waste from a systematic sampling of mine sites from the Central Wales orefield, UK. The bioaccessible Pb widely ranged from 270 to 20300 mg/kg (mean 7250 mg/kg; median 4890 mg/kg) and the bioaccessible fraction from 4.53 % to >100 % (mean 33.2 %; median 32.2 %), with significant (p=0.001) differences among the mine sites. This implies sensitivity of bioaccessibility to site-specific conditions and suggests caution in the use of models to assess human health impacts generalised on the basis of the mineral deposit type. Mineralogical similarities of the oxidation products of primary galena provided a better control over the observed Pb bioaccessibility range. The higher Pb bioaccessibility (%) was related to samples containing cerussite, irrespective of the presence of other Pb minerals in the mineral assemblage; lower Pb bioaccessibility resulted where anglesite was the main Pb mineral phase and cerussite was absent. A solubility diagram for the various Pb minerals in the waste was derived using PHREEQC model and the experimental Pb concentration measured in the simulated gastric solution compared with the equilibrium modelling results. For samples containing cerussite, the model well predicted the soluble Pb concentrations measured in the experimental simulated gastric solution, indicative of the carbonate mineral phase control on the Pb in solution for these samples and little kinetic control on the dissolution of cerussite. On the contrary, most mine waste samples containing dominant anglesite and or plumbojarosite (no cerussite) had lower solution Pb values, falling at or below the anglesite and plumbojarosite solubility equilibrium concentrations, implying kinetic or textural factors hindering the dissolution

New insights in the origin and evolution of the old, metal-rich open cluster NGC 6791

NGC 6791 is one of the most studied open clusters, it is massive ($\sim5000\,M_{\odot}$), located at the solar circle, old ($~8\,$Gyr) and yet the most metal-rich cluster (${\rm [Fe/H]}\simeq0.4$) known in the Milky Way. By performing an orbital analysis within a Galactic model including spiral arms and a bar, we found that it is plausible that NGC 6791 formed in the inner thin disc or in the bulge, and later displaced by radial migration to its current orbit. We apply different tools to simulate NGC 6791, including direct $N$-body summation in time-varying potentials, to test its survivability when going through different Galactic environments. In order to survive the 8 Gyr journey moving on a migrating orbit, NGC 6791 must have been more massive, $M_0 \geq 5\times10^4 M_{\odot}$, when formed. We find independent confirmation of this initial mass in the stellar mass function, which is observed to be flat; this can only be explained if the average tidal field strength experienced by the cluster is stronger than what it is at its current orbit. Therefore, the birth place and journeys of NGC 6791 are imprinted in its chemical composition, in its mass loss, and in its flat stellar mass function, supporting its origin in the inner thin disc or in the bulge.Comment: 14 pages, 10 Figures, 3 Tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Children's Schooling in Developing-Country Slums: A Comparison of Egypt and India

This paper explores the implications of urban poverty for children’s educational attainment, a central measure of human capital that has a well-documented and pervasive influence on later-life demographic and labor force behavior. We compare levels of children’s schooling in Cairo and urban Egypt with those of Allahabad, India, a rapidly growing city of some 1.1 million persons in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, looking for poverty effects at both household and neighborhood levels.

Impact of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (L.) on As, Cu, Pb and Zn mobility and speciation in contaminated soils

To assess the risks that contaminated soils pose to the environment properly a greater understanding of how soil biota influence the mobility of metal(loid)s in soils is required. Lumbricus terrestris L. were incubated in three soils contaminated with As, Cu, Pb and Zn. The concentration and speciation of metal(loid)s in pore waters and the mobility and partitioning in casts were compared with earthworm-free soil. Generally the concentrations of water extractable metal(loid)s in earthworm casts were greater than in earthworm-free soil. The impact of the earthworms on concentration and speciation in pore waters was soil and metal specific and could be explained either by earthworm induced changes in soil pH or soluble organic carbon. The mobilisation of metal(loid)s in the environment by earthworm activity may allow for leaching or uptake into biota

Population, Greenspace, and Development:Conversion Patterns in the Great Lakes Region

In this brief, authors Mark Ducey, Kenneth Johnson, Ethan Belair, and Barbara Cook combine demographic, land-cover, and other spatial data to estimate the incidence and extent of conversion from greenspace (forestland, shrublands, and grasslands) to development in the Great Lakes states. They report that greenspace conversions to developed land are most common in areas where greenspace is already limited. Population density strongly influences the conversion of greenspace to development. Conversions are most likely to occur on the urban periphery and in high-amenity rural areas. This research contributes to a better understanding of the linkages between demographic and land-cover change and provides facts that can inform policy aimed at balancing development and greenspace conservation