Collaborating for adaptation : findings and outcomes of a research initiative across Africa and Asia

Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) is dedicated to building the resilience of vulnerable people and their livelihoods in three types of climate change hotspots in Africa and Asia: deltas, semi-arid lands, and glacier- and snowpack-dependent river basins. This beautiful and detailed report provides results of the CARIAA initiatives’ impact on knowledge, capacity, policy and planning. CARIAA made significant contributions in five key areas to enhance the resilience of people living in climate hotspots. These are elaborated upon in the report along with links to related information. Participants from all consortia were gathered at CARIAA’s third annual learning review in Nepal.UK’s Department for International Developmen

The Not So New Turkish Woman: A Statistical Look at Women in Two Istanbul Neighborhoods

Using survey data gathered from nearly 400 women living in two Istanbul neighborhoods, this article explores issues of work, education, family and feminism. In addition to presenting the findings we argue that there is a continued gap between the ideal of the Republican woman and the actual practices of this group of Turkish women. The picture of these Turkish women that emerged from this survey is that of women still largely in the grips of an ideal born in the early days of the Turkish Republic. However, it also became clear that there also exist rifts between belief and practice in the lives of these women: they seem to believe in many facets of the Republican woman while at the same time the practices they engage in belie some aspects of this belief. Ultimately, it seems that in some respects they are in the process of constructing their own idea of a Turkish woman while at the same time some aspects of these women’s lives remain deeply bound by traditional notions of gender

Collaborer pour l’adaptation : constatations et résultats d’une initiative de recherche en Afrique et en Asie

Library has English versionUK Ai

New pathways to resilience : outcomes of the climate change adaptation in Africa research and capacity building program 2006-2012

This report draws on conclusions found in the final report and evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. It also integrates available online resources in an interactive summary, along with results from the program. The report is structured into five sections: Starting points; Foundations; Outcomes; People; Legacy. Throughout this report, links are embedded to program and project resources, with directions for delving further into its scientific findings. Internal links allow navigation from many directions. Evaluation findings indicate that the project succeeded in building a range of capacities among African researchers, communities, and organizations, but less so those of decision-makers.United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID

Solution-processed bilayer photovoltaic devices with nematic liquid crystals

The cross-linking of polymerisable liquid crystalline semiconductors is a promising approach to solution-processable, multilayer, organic photovoltaics. Here we demonstrate an organic bilayer photovoltaic with an insoluble electron-donating layer formed by cross-linking a nematic reactive mesogen. We investigate a range of perylene diimide (PDI) materials, some of which are liquid crystalline, as the overlying electron acceptor layer. We find that carrier mobility of the acceptor materials is enhanced by liquid crystallinity and that mobility limits the performance of photovoltaic devices. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Simulating Troublesome Contexts: How Multiple Roles within Ward-Based Simulations Promote Professional Nursing Competence

Nursing care is multifaceted and is practised within complex healthcare environments. Although the concept of competence itself is tenuous (Watson et al. 2002), achievement of nursing competencies remains an essential prerequisite for nurse registration in Ireland. The domains of nursing competence are: professional/ethical practice; holistic approaches to care and the integration of knowledge; organization and management of care; personal and professional development; and interpersonal relationships (An Bord Altranais 2005). At a conceptual level, these can be likened, somewhat, to threshold concepts insofar as they represent important transitions of practice and understanding. In this article, we illustrate how a ward-based simulation exercise with evolving scenarios and multiple role performances mimics ‘troublesome contexts’. We find that this exercise successfully promotes both nurse competence and understanding of threshold concepts through the embodiment of multiple identities (e.g. nurse, patient, relative, observer, etc.). Evaluations of this activity amongst a cohort of final year nursing students have consistently identified the transformative nature of this activity, particularly when acting in the ‘patient’ role. In this article, we describe the processes inherent in this simulation exercise and how the multiple layers of complexity are achieved. The very act of performing multiple identities and roles within an evolving complex environment we suggest, results in a consequential, transformed view (Meyer and Land 2003) of values, attitudes and behaviours in addition to enhancing nursing competence. Evidence of this is demonstrated in evaluations of the debriefing exercise undertaken immediately following simulation

White-light OLEDs using liquid crystal polymer networks

We have mixed nematic light-emitting liquid crystals and incorporated them as insoluble cross-linked polymer networks in a liquid crystal white-light organic light-emitting diode (LC-WOLED). The light emission is not voltage-dependent and polarized white light emission is also demonstrated. This wet-chemistry approach to WOLEDs is compatible with patterning by photolithography as well as by inkjet printing at room temperature on plastic substrates by roll-to-roll manufacturing

Resource mobilization for research : what we’ve learned

From 2011 to 2016 the Donor Partnerships Division of IDRC worked with IDRC grantees to help them increase and diversify their funding through the Resource Mobilization for Research (RMR) program. With a focus on the financial sustainability of participating grantees, the RMR program served to complement IDRC’s primary investments in research for development. Investing in organizational development enables grantees to strengthen core functions such as leadership, planning, communications, and fundraising which are connected to an organization’s transformational capacity and ability to fulfill its mandate and mission

Novel liquid crystalline organic semiconducting oligomers incorporating N-heterocyclic carbazole moieties for fluorescent OLEDs

A novel class of nematic liquid crystalline organic semiconducting oligomers incorporating N-heterocyclic carbazole moieties has been synthesised using simple and highly efficient reaction pathways. The electroluminescent colour of these novel oligomers can be varied in a controlled manner by molecular design. The values of the ionization potential and the electron affinity of these electroluminescent oligomers can also be matched by structural design to the HOMO energy level of the electron-blocking layer and the LUMO energy level of electron-transporting layer in the OLEDs to create low charge-injection barriers for electrons and holes, respectively leading to electroluminescence with an efficacy up to 4.1 cd A-1