Perception and production of linguistic and musical rhythm by Korean and English middle school students

I examine rhythmic tendencies of Korean and Western middle school students in linguistic and abstract musical contexts using a series of speaking and clapping experiments. Results indicate a preference in both groups for beat subdivisions in small integer ratios and simple binary metric interpretations. These preferences are consistently more exaggerated in native English speaking students than in Korean students. Tempo was a significant factor in all tasks

Towards a legal definition of ecological restoration: Reviewing international, European and Member States' case law

Ecological restoration is of crucial importance to mitigate the impact of human activity on the environment and preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Therefore, the concept of restoration is at the core of international and European Union (EU) environmental policy and governance. This article seeks to shed light on this concept in international and European case law. To this end, it reviews the definition, objectives and scope of restoration according to international scientific standards. It further distinguishes restoration from other related terms such as compensation, mitigation, conservation and rehabilitation. The article then analyses judgements rendered by the International Court of Justice, the Court of Justice of the EU and EU Member States' courts pertaining to restoration. It concludes that there are wide discrepancies in the use of the term restoration by the judiciary, in particular with regard to objectives, baselines and reference conditions. In light of these conclusions, the authors support the adoption of a legal definition of restoration

Commentary on "The Perception and Cognition of Time in Balinese Music" by Andrew Clay McGraw

We review the paper by Andrew Clay McGraw, noting that it represents an interesting and valuable contribution to the study of music in cognition in its informed exploration of non-western musical perceptions. We raise a number of concerns about the methods used, and make suggestions as to how the issues that were empirically addressed in the paper might have been tackled in ways that would have enhanced the interpretability of its findings

Is It Time for Synthetic Biodiversity Conservation?

Evidence indicates that, despite some critical successes, current conservation approaches are not slowing the overall rate of biodiversity loss. The field of synthetic biology, which is capable of altering natural genomes with extremely precise editing, might offer the potential to resolve some intractable conservation problems (e.g., invasive species or pathogens). However, it is our opinion that there has been insufficient engagement by the conservation community with practitioners of synthetic biology. We contend that rapid, large-scale engagement of these two communities is urgently needed to avoid unintended and deleterious ecological consequences. To this point we describe case studies where synthetic biology is currently being applied to conservation, and we highlight the benefits to conservation biologists from engaging with this emerging technology

Genetic frontiers for conservation:An assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation

In recent years synthetic biology has emerged as a suite of techniques and technologies that enable humans to read, interpret, modify, design and manufacture DNA in order to rapidly influence the forms and functions of cells and organisms, with the potential to reach whole species and ecosystems. As synthetic biology continues to evolve, new tools emerge, novel applications are proposed, and basic research is applied. This assessment is one part of IUCN’s effort to provide recommendations and guidance regarding the potential positive and negative impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity conservation; it comprises a full assessment and a short synthesis report

Virtual Water, Water Scarcity, and International Trade Law

We are facing a fresh water crisis during this century. In less than two decades, by 2030, the requirements for fresh water are expected to exceed the currently available and accessible fresh water supplies by 40%. Many countries are expected to be water stressed later in this century; some areas of the world already are. Some people may even lack water to meet basic human needs, such as drinking, washing, and sanitation. In rural areas in certain regions, people may lack water to grow good food crops, even for their own consumption. This has major implications for the welfare of the world’s population and for the integrity and violability of ecosystems

Preface to 'Framework for Assessing and Improving Law for Sustainability: A Legal Component for a Natural Resource Governance Framework'

Achieving a sustainable future is one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Fundamental improvements in how we govern and manage our ecosystems and natural resources are needed to loosen the grip of inequity, poverty, and conflict and to enhance human well-being as well as livelihood and development opportunities, adding fuel to the vision of the United Nations Rio +20 conference in 2012. With these goals in mind, IUCN initiated development of a 'Natural Resource Governance Framework' (NRGF) to assess and improve environmental governance. NRGF is intended to provide a robust, credible approach to assessing and strengthening natural resource governance in diverse contexts. NRGF is a knowledge basket, comprising different standards, processes, relationships, capacity-building materials and tools. Its development is led by the IUCN Commission on Environmental Economic and Social Policy (CEESP). A core component of this initiative focuses on improving the effectiveness of legal aspects of natural resources governance. This report presents a first step in this process: a framework for assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of legal principles for sustainable natural resource governance. The framework provides a disciplined basis to stimulate constructive discussion about reform while respecting scientific standards of objectivity and transparency. One aim is that this component of the NRGF toolkit will further stimulate a community of practice focused on improving legal aspects of natural resource governance. IUCN has created an online platform to support this work: www.lawforsustainability.org

Introduction

Governance of natural resources poses a significant challenge to achieving sustainable development. Human consumption of resources exceeds renewable production by 1.5 times (Global Footprint Network 2015). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) indicates that (f)or more than 40 years, humanity's demand has exceeded the planet's biocapacity - the amount of biologically productive land and sea area that is available to regenerate these resources. This continuing overshoot is making it more and more difficult to meet the needs of a growing global human population, as well as to leave space for other species. Adding further complexity is that demand is not evenly distributed, with people in industrialized countries consuming resources and services at a much faster rate.1 If this continues, humanity will not be able to maintain its current level of welfare, let alone accommodate the ambitious targets for development and poverty reduction outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Managing resource use to achieve these goals will require effective governance. Governance is a system for shaping behaviour to socially useful ends, involving many participants serving various roles. Those involved in this system include government officials, legal authorities, self-governing organisations and non-government actors such as citizens, industry stakeholders, those being governed and those who are affected by governance. The actors involved in natural resource governance can also pursue objectives that are inconsistent with environmental sustainability and social justice, such as advancing harmful economic developments or socially exploitative activities