Copernicus Downstream Service Supports Nature-Based Flood Defense: Use of Sentinel Earth Observation Satellites for Coastal Needs

This is a copy of the article published in Sea-Technology Magazine, which the authors have bought the rights to redistribute.With an uncertain future that includes climate change, sea level rise and increasing coastal populations, being able to make informed policy decisions in coastal zones will be critical for ensuring the well-being of citizens, the environment and the sustainability of economic activities. Earth observation (EO) can be used to efficiently and systematically provide the key information needed to make these decisions. However, getting access to the right EO in- formation can be a complicated and costly business, limiting availability. However, the launch in April 2014 of the first Sentinel satellite from Europe’s flagship EO program, Copernicus, represents a major advance in the availability of EO data, which has great potential to benefit numerous sectors involved in marine and coastal activities. We discuss some examples of applications being developed and give an example of a new service which intends to support nature-based flood defense schemes.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 607131. All views presented are those of the authors. The EU is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.PDF, 5 pages, 20.4 M

Vertegenwoordiging en bijstand in belastingzaken: Fiscale rechtsbijstandverlening naar Nederlands recht

This study makes an inventory of several aspects of the representation and assistance in tax matters. The study is divided into two parts: the first part (part A) is about the social position of the providers of representation and assistance in tax matters in the Netherlands; the second part (part B) contains the legal analyses. In this summary I only write down some of my main conclusions. The Dutch autorities provide insufficient financial means for those who cannot afford, but are still depending on the assistance by tax consultants. This concerns mainly the group of people who have had no or very little education. There is hardly paid any attention to the representation and assistance in tax matters in the Dutch tax laws themselves. For a good understanding of the matter one should look into various laws, in particular into the Dutch Civil Code. Futhermore there is a lot of – sometimes not so clear - caselaw. We need a clarification of the relation between the rules in the tax laws and those in the Civil Code. Also should there be a more consistant use of terminology. Futhermore the – currently different - regulations regarding representation in the relation with the serveral tax autorities and in court, should be adapted to one and other. In the Netherlands there is in general no obligation for tax payers to be represented by tax lawyers. In my opinion there is no reason to chance this. An obligation to be represented for example in court, would be a barrier to the access of the judge, mainly because of the (high) costs of it. In case of a workoverload of the Dutch supreme court (‘Hoge Raad’), such could however be an exemption which justifies obligated legal representation. The main reason why there no possibility of government contibution in case of assistance by tax experts, such as tax consultants, is the lack of a statutory regulation of the profession of the tax consultant. The introduction of a statutory regulation, can however also have disadvantages, such as government intervention. That is why I do not want a statutory regulation of the profession of tax consultant as such, but rather the recognition by law of the current organisations of tax consultants. In the Netherlands tax consultants do not have the privilege of non-disclosure. In my opinion there is no good reason to refuse them this privelege, when the profession of tax consultant is legally recognized by means of the recognition by law of the current organisations of tax consultants. An exeption should be made for the situation of tax fraud. For this exeption could be linked to the recent legislation of the reporting of unusual transactions (‘Wet melding ongebruikelijke transacties’)

De structuur van de substantia compacta van de metatarsus in verband met de calcium- en fosforhuishouding bij rundvee

In 15 cattle aged from one day to fifteen years the structure and development of the metatarsus, especially compact bone, was studied. For this purpose the metatarsus was divided into 20 slices of equal thickness. The structure, growth and the reconstruction of the metatarsus were discussed.Next the relation between the calcium and phosphorus balance of cattle and the structure of the metatarsus was studied in material from 64 bulls and 327 cows. The influence was examined of age, date of calving, number of lactations, milk production, stalling period, type of soil and tuberculosis on the structure of the metatarsus.The structure of compact bone of the metatarsus of cattle was influenced by the calcium and phosphorus balance. From the microscopic structure of the metatarsus conclusions could be drawn about the adequacy of the supply of minerals. The large individual variations in bone structure made it likely, that other factors are also important

Adapting agriculture in 2050 in Flevoland; perspectives from stakeholders

Although recently more research has gone into farm level studies, little attention has been given to the variety of responses of farmers, considering their characteristics, objectives and the socio-economic, technological and political contexts (Reidsma et al, 2010). In the Agri-Adapt project we focus on farm level adaptation within an agricultural region considering the socio-economic context of 2050

Auditen op basis van Dialoog

Zorginstellingen werken in toenemende mate samen binnen het publieke domein. Er ontstaan steeds meer samenwerkingsverbanden tussen zorg en onderwijs, arbeidstoeleidingen wonen. In de praktijk blijkt dat in deze samenwerkingsverbanden de kwaliteit van de zorg en de veiligheid van de cliënt niet goed geregeld zijn.Hoe kan dit

Bad configurations for random walk in random scenery and related subshifts

Article / Letter to editorMathematisch Instituu