Looking up and down: Strong collaboration is only the first step in tackling parachute science

Abstract Critiques of parachute science argue for closer collaborations among local and international scientists. Here, building on such a collaboration, we highlight further challenges when outsiders, typically working through international nongovernmental organizations, fail to respect both the governance framework within which they are working and the realities on the ground. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of observing governance structures, maintaining transparency, and responding flexibly to national and regional priorities (?looking up?), as well as stressing the need to keep a close focus on local cultural context when designing interventions such as educational programs (?looking down?). Addressing the shortcomings for conservation practice contingent on parachute science interventions requires nimble, creative, and respectful actions, which at least in the context of Tanzania, we all still struggle to put into action

Pengaruh Kualitas Pelayanan Terhadap Kepuasan Konsumen Pada Jigoku Ramen Bandung

Semakin banyaknya rumah makan maka semakin besar pula persaingan diantara rumah makan yang satu dengan rumah makan lainnya. Salah satunya adalah Jigoku Ramen. Jigoku Ramen adalah rumah makan yang bergerak dibidang ramen. Mereka melakukan kualitas pelayanan terbaik untuk memberikan kepuasan kepada pelanggannya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menguji pengaruh kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepuasan konsumen pada Jigoku Ramen Bandung. Yang mana penelitian ini melibatkan lima variabel independen dan satu variabel dependen. Kelima variabel independen yaitu tangible, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, dan assurance. Dan variabel dependen adalah kepuasan konsumen (Y). Data primer dikumpulkan melalui metode survey terhadap 100 responden dengan menggunakan pendeketan purposive sampling. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian kausal dan deskriptif dengan metode penelitian yaitu metode kuantitatif kepada 100 responden yang merupakan pengunjung dari Jigoku Ramen Bandung. Sementara teknik analisis data yang Penulis gunakan adalah Analisis Linier Berganda. Penelitian ini memiliki hasil analisis deskriptif sebesar 80,9% untuk tangible, 81,6% untuk empathy, 80,2% untuk reliability, 79,6% untuk variabel responsiveness dan sebesar 81,5% untuk variabel assurance. serta 80,8% untuk variabel kepuasan konsumen. Sehingga, hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa secara parsial dan simultan kualitas pelayanan berpengaruh terhadap kepuasan konsumen sebesar 48,7% dan sisanya sebesar 52,3% dipengaruhi oleh faktor lain yang tidak diteliti dalam penelitian ini

The naked planet Earth: Most essential pre-requisite for the origin and evolution of life

AbstractOur blue planet Earth has long been regarded to carry full of nutrients for hosting life since the birth of the planet. Here we speculate the processes that led to the birth of early life on Earth and its aftermath, finally leading to the evolution of metazoans. We evaluate: (1) the source of nutrients, (2) the chemistry of primordial ocean, (3) the initial mass of ocean, and (4) the size of planet. Among the life-building nutrients, phosphorus and potassium play a key role. Only three types of rocks can serve as an adequate source of nutrients: (a) continent-forming TTG (granite), enabling the evolution of primitive life to metazoans; (b) primordial continents carrying anorthosite with KREEP (Potassium, Rare Earth Elements, and Phosphorus) basalts, which is a key to bear life; (c) carbonatite magma, enriched in radiogenic elements such as U and Th, which can cause mutation to speed up evolution and promote the birth of new species in continental rift settings. The second important factor is ocean chemistry. The primordial ocean was extremely acidic (pH = 1–2) and enriched in halogens (Cl, F and others), S, N and metallic elements (Cd, Cu, Zn, and others), inhibiting the birth of life. Plate tectonics cleaned up these elements which interfered with RNA. Blue ocean finally appeared in the Phanerozoic with pH = 7 through extensive interaction with surface continental crust by weathering, erosion and transportation into ocean. The initial ocean mass was also important. The birth of life and aftermath of evolution was possible in the habitable zone with 3–5 km deep ocean which was able to supply sufficient nutrients. Without a huge landmass, nutrients cannot be supplied into the ocean only by ridge-hydrothermal circulation in the Hadean. Finally, the size of the planet plays a crucial role. Cooling of massive planets is less efficient than smaller ones, so that return-flow of seawater into mantle does not occur until central stars finish their main sequence. Due to the suitable size of Earth, the dawn of Phanerozoic witnessed the initiation of return-flow of seawater into the mantle, leading to the emergence of huge landmass above sea-level, and the distribution of nutrients on a global scale. Oxygen pump also played a critical role to keep high-PO2 in atmosphere since then, leading to the emergence of ozone layer and enabling animals and plants to invade the land.To satisfy the tight conditions to make the Earth habitable, the formation mechanism of primordial Earth is an important factor. At first, a ‘dry Earth’ must be made through giant impact, followed by magma ocean to float nutrient-enriched primordial continents (anorthosite + KREEP). Late bombardment from asteroid belt supplied water to make 3–5 km thick ocean, and not from icy meteorites from Kuiper belt beyond cool Jupiter. It was essential to meet the above conditions that enabled the Earth as a habitable planet with evolved life forms. The tight constraints that we evaluate for birth and evolution of life on Earth would provide important guidelines for planetary scientists hunting for life in the exo-solar planets

Habitable Planet Formation in Binary-Planetary Systems

Recent radial velocity observations have indicated that Jovian-type planets can exist in moderately close binary star systems. Numerical simulations of the dynamical stability of terrestrial-class planets in such environments have shown that, in addition to their giant planets, these systems can also harbor Earth-like objects. In this paper, we study the late stage of terrestrial planet formation in such binary-planetary systems, and present the results of the simulations of the formation of Earth-like bodies in their habitable zones. We consider a circumprimary disk of Moon- to Mars-sized objects and numerically integrate the orbits of these bodies at the presence of the Jovian-type planet of the system and for different values of the mass, semimajor axis, and orbital eccentricity of the secondary star. Results indicate that, Earth-like objects, with substantial amounts of water, can form in the habitable zone of the primary star. Simulations also indicate that, by transferring angular momentum from the secondary star to protoplanetary objects, the giant planet of the system plays a key role in the radial mixing of these bodies and the water contents of the final terrestrial planets. We will discuss the results of our simulation and show that the formation of habitable planets in binary-planetary systems is more probable in binaries with moderate to large perihelia.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, submitted for publicatio

Substitution of Ni for Fe in superconducting Fe0.98_{0.98}Te0.5_{0.5}Se0.5_{0.5} depresses the normal-state conductivity but not the magnetic spectral weight

We have performed systematic resistivity and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Fe$_{0.98-z}$Ni$_z$Te$_{0.5}$Se$_{0.5}$ samples to study the impact of Ni substitution on the transport properties and the low-energy ($\le$ 12 meV) magnetic excitations. It is found that, with increasing Ni doping, both the conductivity and superconductivity are gradually suppressed; in contrast, the low-energy magnetic spectral weight changes little. Comparing with the impact of Co and Cu substitution, we find that the effects on conductivity and superconductivity for the same degree of substitution grow systematically as the atomic number of the substituent deviates from that of Fe. The impact of the substituents as scattering centers appears to be greater than any contribution to carrier concentration. The fact that low-energy magnetic spectral weight is not reduced by increased electron scattering indicates that the existence of antiferromagnetic correlations does not depend on electronic states close to the Fermi energy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

On the Origin of HD149026b

The high density of the close-in extrasolar planet HD149026b suggests the presence of a huge core in the planet, which challenges planet formation theory. We first derive constraints on the amount of heavy elements and hydrogen/helium present in the planet: We find that preferred values of the core mass are between 50 and 80 M_E. We then investigate the possibility of subcritical core accretion as envisioned for Uranus and Neptune and find that the subcritical accretion scenario is unlikely in the case of HD149026b for at least two reasons: (i) Subcritical planets are such that the ratio of their core mass to their total mass is above ~0.7, in contradiction with constraints for all but the most extreme interior models of HD149026b; (ii) High accretion rates and large isolation mass required for the formation of a subcritical core of 30 M_E are possible only at specific orbital distances in a disk with a surface density of dust equal to at least 10 times that of the minimum mass solar nebula. This value climbs to 30 when considering a 50 M_E core. These facts point toward two main routes for the formation of this planet: (i) Gas accretion that is limited by a slow viscous inflow of gas in an evaporating disk; (ii) A significant modification of the composition of the planet after as accretion has stopped. These two routes are not mutually exclusive. Illustrating the second route, we show that for a wide range of impact parameters, giant impacts lead to a loss of the gas component of the planet and thus may lead to planets that are highly enriched in heavy elements. In the giant impact scenario, we expect an outer giant planet to be present. Observational studies by imaging, astrometry and long term interferometry of this system are needed to better narrow down the ensemble of possibilities.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the 10 October 2006 issue of Ap