Tangled Ties: Al-Shabaab and Political Volatility in Kenya

In recent years, a spate of attacks has destabilised a swathe of Kenya’s peripheral counties as well as bringing terror to its capital, Nairobi. As violent insecurity spreads, it has fomented fear and stoked ethnic and regional divisions, precipitating security crackdowns and roiling the country’s infamously tumultuous politics. These developments belie sweeping constitutional reforms that have taken place to address and prevent violence in Kenya. Since Kenya stepped up its military involvement in Somalia in 2011, ostensibly to buffer the country from violence wrought by Al-Shabaab – the Somalia-based jihadi organisation – attacks have multiplied, ranging from the September 2013 siege of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre, to village massacres, to the targeted killings of police and religious figures. Yet Kenya’s government, while widening its military engagement in Somalia, was at first slow to recognise and respond to the hand of Al-Shabaab in the country’s widening violent insecurity since the start of its Somalia military operations. This study adds to existing analyses of Kenya’s shifting political and security dynamics by examining the role of external influences on its system of violence.UK Department for International Developmen

Failing Young People? Addressing the Supply-side Bias and Individualisation in Youth Employment Programming

International development actors increasingly focus on youth employment as a key development challenge. The recognition of high rates of unemployment, underemployment and job insecurity among young people around the world has led to a plethora of youth employment interventions, as well as often problematic discourses about youth ‘dividends’ and ‘bulges’, which instrumentalise young people and paint them as security threats. This report problematises and critiques some of the currently predominant models for getting young people into work. Examining the current state of play of donor policies, the report critiques the supply-side bias built into the majority of approaches, and aims to advance an understanding of the demand-side and structural constraints. If supply-side approaches are not matched by measures to address these constraints, it argues, interventions risk adversely incorporating young people into the economy. The report also develops a critique of the overall narrow economic and individualistic approach currently adopted, building on the concept of social navigation to understand how young people’s decisions and trajectories regarding work are shaped in reality. Young people are socially embedded: their agency and aspirations are shaped by social values, positions and expectations, as well as by their social relationships and immediate political contexts. Consequently, the report argues that policies need to be de-individualised, both conceptually and practically, to better reflect the real constraints, opportunities and forces that will shape young people’s engagement with work.UK Department for International Developmen

A LADM-based temporal cadastral information system for modelling of easement rights – A case study of Turkey

Type people to land relations are dynamic and, as a consequence, the nature of land title and cadastral data is of a dynamic nature. Land title and cadastral data are core components for a lot of property applications (e.g. taxation, valuation, mortgage). Those applications require up to date, complete and reliable data–including temporal data as in use in application forms and transactions. In this paper, the modelling of Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities (RRR) is discussed with a focus on the modelling of easement rights in a case study in Turkey. Functional requirements with respect to the characteristics of easement rights are investigated based upon interviews with professional experts in the public and private sector. Then a prototype model was built based on a simple implementation of the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) RRR classes and by conforming to the national cadastral data management standards related to land registration systems. This new proposed model includes temporal cadastral attributes related to easements. This is materialised in the ‘Administrative Package’ and illustrated in the Turkey LADM country profile. We show that the LADM can be used to describe for the time dimension of cadastral information in Turkey, but that there are semantic differences, similarities and mismatches of classes and attributes between the LADM and the cadastral information system in Turkey. Proposed LADM-based model for the time dimension of cadastral information will be of immense advantage to land administrators, the governments and land users in Turkey

Responses of a native and a recent invader snail to warming and dry conditions: the case of the lower Ebro River

Aquatic habitats have been highly modified by human actions that reduce their native diversity and create conditions suitable for tolerant alien species. Pomacea maculata was detected in 2009 in both the alluvial plain and the final stretch of the Ebro River. Since then, a permanent population has stabilized in the littoral area of the river where the water level fluctuates according to the river discharge. Melanopsis tricarinata is an endemic snail species highly affected by the reduction in its natural habitat. Currently, the two species do not share the same reaches in the river, but the possibility exists, as the distribution of the P. maculata is constantly increasing. This study aims to analyse the diets and to assess the responses of both snails to global change. The diet of both species was analysed in the field and their responses to water warming and dryness compared under laboratory conditions. This study includes the calculation of future river water temperatures based on air temperature projections. In addition, based on water discharge management scenarios, the study estimated the increase in dry river bed area. The diet of both snail species was similar and based on Cladophora. P. maculata better resisted high temperatures and dry conditions than M. tricarinata. The projections of water temperatures showed an increase in daily temperatures, especially in summer. The hydraulic model suggested that a relevant increase in dry river bed areas will occur. Overall, these results provide insight into the global change factors that could favour P. maculata spread in the river and the reduction in suitable habitat for M. tricarinata and will be useful for future decisions of water discharge management

Ecteinascidin-743: Evidence of Activity in Advanced, Pretreated Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Patients

Purpose. To evaluate the activity and safety of ecteinascidin (ET-743) in pretreated patients with advanced or metastatic soft tissue and bone sarcoma. Patients or subjects. Eighty-nine patients received ET-743 as a 24-hour continuous infusion at a dose of 900–1500 μg/m(2) every 3 weeks. Results. We observed one complete remission, 5 partial remissions, one minimal response, and 16 patients with a disease stabilization of 6 months or more. The objective response rate was 6.7% and the clinical benefit rate at 3 and 6 months was 37.7% and 23.4%, respectively. Responses were noted in patients with lipo-, leiomyo-, osteo-, and myogenic sarcoma, with a median duration of 9.85 months. Toxicity mainly involved an asymptomatic elevation of transaminases and neutropenia. Estimated 1- and 2-year survival rates were 39.4% and 15.8%. Median overall survival was 8.25 months. Discussion. This retrospective analysis confirms that ET-743 induces objective responses and progression arrest in a clinically relevant proportion of patients

EFFECTIVE CARTOGRAPHIC METHODS FOR ASSISTING TACTICS CHOICE AND INDOOR DEPLOYMENTS DURING BUILDING FIRES – A CASESTUDY THE DUTCH FIRE BRIGADE

Information is key for a safe deployment of the fire brigade. Incorrect judgement could lead to decreased effectivity or even casualties. Because of the risks that are posed by building complexity and modern building materials, the Dutch fire brigade is increasingly hesitant to enter the building during a building fire. While no two building fires are the same and personal judgement of the fire brigade will remain necessary, good information supply could aid the commanders in making the right choices. There are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing strategy, tactics and techniques. An effective information system should present the right and up to date information at the right moment, and it should do so in an intuitive and effective manner. Most cartography research has been done for outdoor applications; indoor cartography is in its infancy. This research aims to develop cartographic methods to aid the Dutch fire brigade during building fire deployments. Based on the requirements of the organization a novel approach is introduced: ToggleMaps. This mobile interface combines a main map pane with a reference pane, both in either 2D or 3D and with either a low or a high level of detail. This allows the user to toggle between two states: a detailed 2D overview of a separate building level with its perspective within the 3D reference map, or a more detailed 3D overview of the whole building with a simplified 2D reference map of his current building level

Cardiac anisotropy in boundary-element models for the electrocardiogram

The boundary-element method (BEM) is widely used for electrocardiogram (ECG) simulation. Its major disadvantage is its perceived inability to deal with the anisotropic electric conductivity of the myocardial interstitium, which led researchers to represent only intracellular anisotropy or neglect anisotropy altogether. We computed ECGs with a BEM model based on dipole sources that accounted for a “compound” anisotropy ratio. The ECGs were compared with those computed by a finite-difference model, in which intracellular and interstitial anisotropy could be represented without compromise. For a given set of conductivities, we always found a compound anisotropy value that led to acceptable differences between BEM and finite-difference results. In contrast, a fully isotropic model produced unacceptably large differences. A model that accounted only for intracellular anisotropy showed intermediate performance. We conclude that using a compound anisotropy ratio allows BEM-based ECG models to more accurately represent both anisotropies