Reaping and Sowing the News from an Arab Spring: the politicised interaction between traditional and alternative journalistic practitioners

The ‘Arab Spring’ has been discussed in the mainstream media as a ‘social media revolution’; a seismic shift away from the traditional news correspondence towards an era of citizen journalism and social media reporting. This paper reports on a preliminary analysis of the ways in which mainstream and alternative modes of journalistic practice in particular, interacted during the initial months of protest in Egypt and Libya in 2011. Using both quantitative and qualitative forms of analysis of mainstream news reports as well as social media and blogging, the paper compares the ways in which the two modes of journalistic practice collaborated to disseminate news and information about the protests. The preliminary analysis indicates that productive interactions did occur and led to changes in traditional journalistic practice, though true collaboration was hindered by the organisational constraints posed by the reporting practices of each group

State of insecurity: representations of post-September 11 insecurity by Australian governmental authorities and newspaper media

This thesis argues that a discourse of post-September 11 insecurity has continually evolved through power relations between the government and news media in Australia. Informed by Foucault’s theorisations of discourse, power and governmentality within a broader cultural studies approach, this thesis explores how governmental attempts to stabilise meaning over time have been both contested and confirmed within various Australian newspapers. The analysis will firstly illustrate that a discourse of post-September 11 insecurity has been perpetuated by Australian government attempts to establish terrorism as the primary source of insecurity and legislation and war as its appropriate response. I suggest that governmental authorities situate themes of terrorism, war and legislation within what I term ‘epistemological frameworks’, namely ‘otherness’, ‘legitimation’ and ‘exceptionalism’, to confirm and perpetuate this particular understanding of insecurity. By then working through a series of case studies I will argue that ongoing contestation of both these themes and frameworks leads to continual shifts in the meaning of insecurity. To make this argument, a textual analysis will be undertaken of both newspaper reportage and material produced by the government such as advertising campaigns and press releases. This analysis will allow me to trace the complex discursive interactions between government and media, and illustrate their negotiations of the meaning of post-September 11 insecurity over time

Water implications of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia's agricultural sector

Ethiopia is often highlighted as a country in which a lot of foreign land acquisition is occurring. The extent to which these investments also constitute significant acquisitions of water is the subject of this paper. It is apparent that water availability is a strong driver of the recent surge of investments in agricultural land globally, and in general the investments occur in countries with significant 'untapped' water resources. Ethiopia is no exception. We propose that the perception of unused and abundant water resources, as captured in dominant narratives, that drives and justifies both foreign and domestic investments, fails to reflect the more complex reality on the ground. Based on new collections of lease information and crop modelling, we estimate the potential additional water use associated with foreign investments at various scales. As a consequence of data limitations our analyses provide only crude estimates of consumptive water use and indicate a wide range of possible water consumption depending on exactly how foreign direct investment (FDI) development scenarios unfold. However, they do suggest that if all planned FDI schemes are implemented and expanded in the near future, additional water consumption is likely to be comparable with existing water use in non-FDI irrigation schemes, and a non-trivial proportion of the country's water resources will be effectively utilised by foreign entities. Hence, additional water use as well as local water scarcity ought to be strong considerations in regulating or pricing land leases. If new investments are to increase local food and water security without compromising local and downstream water availability they should be designed to improve often very low agricultural water productivity, and to safeguard access of local populations to water

Shortening of generation cycles in inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.) through embryo rescue technique

Embryo rescue techniques have been used as an approach to raise hybrids from incompatible crosses. Thesetechniques have also proved to be valuable tools for maize improvement, since they allow reducing the durationof the generation cycles for speed breeding. The aim of this study was to identify an efficient embryo rescueprotocol to evaluate the response of maize (Zea mays L.) embryo culture and compare its generation time (seedto seed) with the generation time of plants obtained by mature seed germination. To this purpose, we evaluatedthe germination efficiency, in vitro protocol efficiency, and days to flowering of three advanced maize inbred linesdeveloped at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology of Argentina. A greenhouse traditional strategywas used as control. The embryo rescue technique allowed obtaining nearly four generations per year comparedto the two generations obtained in greenhouse. All the plants obtained by the embryo rescue technique weremorphologically normal and fertile. The results confirmed the possibility of using embryo rescue strategies tosignificantly reduce the duration of the generation cycles in maize

Urban dwellers’ adaptive capacity as a socio-psychological process: Insights from Lima, Peru

This study examines the adaptive capacity of urban dwellers in the face of a changing climate dealing with water insecurity. It builds on the case of Lima residents’ responses to the extreme events brought by the 2017 El Niño Costero, used here as a temporal analogue. Our novel, process-oriented approach to framing adaptive capacity integrates elements from both environmental behavior and new institutionalism literatures. Based on interviews with Lima residents, policymakers, and stakeholders as well as on a qualitative document analysis of national and city policies we identify and characterize the socio-psychological processes that are critical to understanding why individuals adopt (or not) different adaptive strategies. We show how governance and social institutions (from municipal regulations to gender roles) influenced residents’ perceived vulnerability and how this, in turn, structured their coping actions during the El Niño Costero episode. We further demonstrate that ways in which individuals deploy coping mechanisms structure their future adapting paths through practices that privilege the status quo while deferring risks in time and space. In this context, the interrelation of residents’ cognitive processes with evolving social norms lead to five strategies for dealing with climate change. The discussion reflects on the need to address institutionalized social inequalities that permeate Lima’s daily urban life in order to enhance the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable, and on the relationship between residents and authorities on the pathway to urban resilience

Desarrollo de Habilidades del Pensamiento Crítico en Estudiantes con Limitación Visual

Objetivo: Este trabajo potencia el desarrollo de habilidades del pensamiento crítico en estudiantes con limitación visual de noveno grado de la Institución Educativa Distrital la Magdalena, a través de una propuesta pedagógica de inclusión para graficar funciones afines. Método: Se implementó una investigación de tipo cualitativa, recogiéndose información a partir de la observación, dialogo y prueba diagnóstica, en estudiantes regulares y con limitación visual, con base en a los resultados se diseñaron las actividades de la propuesta. Conclusiones: El alumno con limitación visual potencia el desarrollo de estas habilidades al hacerles partícipes en el aula de clases

Banco para emulación de turbinas eólicas

En este trabajo se propone la implementación de un banco de ensayos para sistemas de generación eléctrica (generadores eléctricos, incluyendo sus controles y cargas) de uso en turbinas eólicas. Este banco de ensayos permite emular la dinámica de una turbina conectada al generador. Esto se consigue a través del control de par de una Máquina de Corriente Continua (M CQ en función de un perfil de viento predeterminado. El control de par se realiza a través de la simulación en tiempo real de la característica y de la dinámica de la turbina (incluyendo inercia, rozamiento, etc ). El objetivo de este banco es realizar ensayos de rendimiento y determinar la respuesta dinámica del control de diferentes tipos de generadores.Tema: Energía eólica, geotermia y otras energías no convencionales.Asociación Argentina de Energía Sola

Banco para emulación de turbinas eólicas

En este trabajo se propone la implementación de un banco de ensayos para sistemas de generación eléctrica (generadores eléctricos, incluyendo sus controles y cargas) de uso en turbinas eólicas. Este banco de ensayos permite emular la dinámica de una turbina conectada al generador. Esto se consigue a través del control de par de una Máquina de Corriente Continua (M CQ en función de un perfil de viento predeterminado. El control de par se realiza a través de la simulación en tiempo real de la característica y de la dinámica de la turbina (incluyendo inercia, rozamiento, etc ). El objetivo de este banco es realizar ensayos de rendimiento y determinar la respuesta dinámica del control de diferentes tipos de generadores.Tema: Energía eólica, geotermia y otras energías no convencionales.Asociación Argentina de Energía Sola

Banco para emulación de turbinas eólicas

En este trabajo se propone la implementación de un banco de ensayos para sistemas de generación eléctrica (generadores eléctricos, incluyendo sus controles y cargas) de uso en turbinas eólicas. Este banco de ensayos permite emular la dinámica de una turbina conectada al generador. Esto se consigue a través del control de par de una Máquina de Corriente Continua (M CQ en función de un perfil de viento predeterminado. El control de par se realiza a través de la simulación en tiempo real de la característica y de la dinámica de la turbina (incluyendo inercia, rozamiento, etc ). El objetivo de este banco es realizar ensayos de rendimiento y determinar la respuesta dinámica del control de diferentes tipos de generadores.Tema: Energía eólica, geotermia y otras energías no convencionales.Asociación Argentina de Energía Sola