Shifting conceptions of social (in)justice in Nepal

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and situate the changing discourses of social (in)justice in the context of political transition and restructuring process that Nepal has gone through since 2006. This paper discusses the origin and development of the discourse and analyses how its meaning has changed over time. As the paper argues, the earlier discourses of social justice in Nepal can be linked to the Hindu and Buddhist notion of dharma and various other ethnic cultural traditions. After Janandolan-I in 1990, the policy and practice of social justice began to be equated with the principle of equality, which was based on the assumptions of sameness. After Janandolan-II in 2006, the public conception of social justice has shifted towards a more vocal emphasis on social equity, inclusiveness, proportionate representation and participatory decision-making. The article provides empirical manifestations of social injustices in Nepal, linking them with various discourses and traditions of justice in the early and modern historical, socio-cultural and political contexts. It is hoped that a thorough understanding of historical shifting of public conceptions of social (in)justice in Nepal will be useful in guiding the country’s future public policies towards inclusive restructuring and equitable development

Civil society participation in REDD+ and FLEGT processes:Case study analysis from Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and the Republic of Congo

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) are two initiatives with roots at an international scale that aim to influence national and local level forest governance. This paper looks to understand how the breadth and depth of participation of different types of actors, most particularly civil society, compares between these initiatives and in what ways the structure of the governance arrangement and/or the focus of commodities may influence this participation. The paper presents findings from an assessment study on the dynamics of participation of civil society actors in REDD+ and FLEGT processes in four countries of Central and Western Africa: Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and the Republic of Congo. Building on key civil society participation literature, a questionnaire tool was developed and applied in these countries. The analysis is drawn from interviews based on the questionnaire tool, some in-depth interviews and secondary research. The study finds that there is a growing recognition of civil society participation in national policy making of forest governance in the four countries, and a majority of the civil society organisations are participating in REDD+ and FLEGT processes. The quality and degree of their participation (that can range from informing to empowering) however, varies between FLEGT and REDD+ (i.e. FLEGT being more accommodative than REDD+), among a diversity of these actors and the studied countries. The difference in participation between REDD+ and FLEGT is related to the design of these two processes, the general lack of time and financial investment and the technical nature of REDD+ consultations. Moreover, FLEGT has been more inclusive and participatory right from the beginning whereas participatory spaces are generally lacking in REDD+ process, most particularly in its initial stages. As REDD+ and FLEGT processes are being consolidated in these countries and worldwide, this paper provides several avenues of interventions needed to address gaps on participation, such as strengthening participatory platforms, addressing representation deficit for community groups and focusing on capacity building of civil society actors

Blue Ridge Commons: Environmental Activism and Forest History in Western North Carolina (2012), Kathryn Newfont, The University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA.

Reviewed: Blue Ridge Commons: Environmental Activism and Forest History in Western North Carolina. By Kathryn Newfont. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 2012. xxiii + 369 pp. US$26.95 (paperback), US$ 69.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-8203-4125-5

A Website Design with the Mobile-first Approach

This thesis aims to explain the mobile first design approach in web design and development and its advantages over other prevalent approaches. In the study, the mobile web, its trends and different approaches for design and developing a mobile first web application are described and a comparison between mobile sites and mobile first sites is made. The concept of responsive web design and different grid systems are discussed as they are essential factors for responsive web design. During the project, a responsive, mobile-first sports and activity portal was built. In the portal users can browse among different sports and recreational activities and choose the ones that interest them most. Users have a choice to choose activities with respect to price, place and activity provider. A map is also embedded with the search result interface so that users can easily get into the venue. The portal can be used for the effective planning of vacation and leisure time. For service providers, it makes them easy to advertise their services. For those service providers which do not have a sufficient budget for creating and maintaining an online booking system, this portal can also be their official booking portal. Preliminarily, it is in the English language but it aims to be a multi-lingual website

Chaotic dynamics of the planet in HD 196885 AB

Depending on the planetary orbit around the host star(s), a planet could orbit either one or both stars in a binary system as S-type or P-type, respectively. We have analysed the dynamics of the S-type planetary system in HD 196885 AB with an emphasis on a planet with a higher orbital inclination relative to the binary plane. The mean exponential growth factor of nearby orbits (MEGNO) maps are used as an indicator to determine regions of periodicity and chaos for the various choices of the planet's semimajor axis, eccentricity and inclination with respect to the previously determined observational uncertainties. We have quantitatively mapped out the chaotic and quasi-periodic regions of the system's phase space which indicate a likely regime of the planet's inclination. In addition, we inspect the resonant angle to determine whether alternation between libration and circulation occurs as a consequence of Kozai oscillations, a probable mechanism that can drive the planetary orbit to a very large inclination. Also, we demonstrate the possible higher mass limit of the planet and improve upon the current dynamical model based on our analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures (Accepted for publication at MNRAS