A Whole-of-Government Approach to Reducing Tropical Deforestation

Tropical forests provide critical global and local ecosystem services and habitat for many of the world’s plants and animals. Their loss threatens the sustainable economic growth and social stability of developing countries, and illegal deforestation abroad places U.S. producers at an unfair disadvantage. For these and other reasons, the United States has long been engaged in programs to reduce forest loss. This engagement has recently increased, with the new Presidential Global Climate Change Initiative including a pillar dedicated to slowing forest loss. While promising, this new funding and coordination is insufficient, with a narrow focus on climate-based development assistance. Engaging the full suite of forest policy levers in the federal government, or taking a “whole-of-government” approach, would provide greater immediate impact in preventing forest loss while building the foundations of a working landscape ethic. In this discussion paper, we explore the opportunities to expand U.S. contributions to reducing tropical deforestation through this approach. A whole-of-government approach to international deforestation consists of coordinating and focusing the programs across the federal government that could reduce the rate of tropical forest loss. It is an integrated strategy that employs existing activities and authorities of the U.S. government and directs them under an overarching goal of reducing deforestation in tropical forest countries, while continuing to support other developing-country goals, such as economic development, health, food security, and biodiversity. We identify three major areas where policy adjustments and actions by relevant authorities can have immediate and tangible impact on reducing deforestation.tropical deforestation, forest conservation, U.S. policy, REDD, reducing emissions from deforestation, whole-of-government, environment and trade, forest policy

El Milagro De Almeria, Espana: A Political Ecology of Landscape Change and Greenhouse Agriculture

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate changes in the landscape of Almería in southeastern Spain, particularly in relation to the emergence of the 80,000-acre greenhouse sector. This thesis questions why the province of Almería has the highest concentration of greenhouses in the world and determines what processes led to this industry. The research focuses on local-global scale interactions and environmental history analysis within a political ecology framework. The methods for data collection included literature review of secondary sources and four months living in Almería conducting interviews and field observations. Located in Europe’s driest desert, the greenhouses of Almería produce millions of tons of produce for European markets. Initially fueled by abundant aquifer water, years of heavy water usage have depleted the quality of the water and led to innovative methods for reducing water use and the introduction of desalination. The Almería hydropolitics associated with water usage and distribution highlight the importance of the greenhouse sector to various levels of government. Almería’s environmental history demonstrates profound climate and landscape modifications by human actions fueled by local-global exchanges for resources. Expanding on the geographer David Tout’s 1980s research on Almería greenhouses, this thesis compares current and past issues, economic and land development, and technologies within the greenhouse sector. This case study presents an opportunity for examining the processes that shaped the environmental history through local-global exchanges that are unique to Almería

Group risk-taking under various group decision schemes

This study examined individual choice behavior when it occurs in groups engaged in joint decision-making. Ninety-six subjects made binary choices between "risky" and "conservative" alternatives acting alone and acting as members of three-man groups in a series of 360 trials. The groups operated under the majority rule, unanimity, and the so-called "minimal quorum" rule. It was found that under unanimity and the minimal quorum rule there were strong pressures toward uniformity. However, individual members in these groups did not succumb to these pressures by modifying their overall choice preferences. Instead they arranged their sequences of choices so that the joint choice of all members would be congruent with their acceptable level of risk-taking. The findings also indicated that there was a slight shift toward conservatism when individuals joined groups. The results on individual risk-taking supported a parameter-free model, and the model also accommodated the present group data when some new assumptions were made about the effects of pressures toward uniformity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34182/1/0000471.pd

Problèmes de traduction posés par la siglaison dans le domaine des nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication

La siglaison est très productive dans le domaine des nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication. Ce processus cryptique contribue à l’instabilité terminologique du domaine, et pose de nombreux problèmes d’identification et de traduction aux traducteurs d’ouvrages spécialisés. Cet article examine les différents cas d’espèce, et tente d’établir un certain nombre de critères permettant au traducteur d’adopter une terminologie appropriée par rapport à l’ouvrage à traduire.Acronyms are very productive in the field of information technology. This form of encryption contributes to the terminological instability in this field, and creates several problems for technical translators insofar as they must choose between different terminologies. This article presents the different problems linked to identifying and translating acronyms, and suggests criteria allowing for the selection of an appropriate terminology with respect to the document being translated

Individual and group risk-taking in a two-choice situation

Individual and group decision making under uncertainty was explored in an attempt to determine whether individual risk preferences change under group conditions. Subjects predicted which of two differentially probable stimulus events would occur, and were paid for correct anticipations in a series of 360 trials. The expected value of the choices was held constant by varying payoff inversely with the frequency of the two events. After 180 trials, individuals either continued alone or were formed into three-man groups. Groups showed consistent and significant shifts in the conservative direction, while individuals remaining alone did not shift. The data were examined in the light of various group-decision models and in the light of other explanations of the risky-shift phenomenon. Changes in individual risk preferences were interpreted as deriving from a change in subjective utilities of outcomes which occurs in the group situation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33235/1/0000625.pd

Social facilitation and imitation in group risk-taking

The role of social facilitation and imitation in group risk-taking was explored in two experiments. The first experiment tried to determine if individual risk preferences can be changed by the mere presence of others and if these changes can account for shifts toward risk. Subjects predicted which of two differentially probable stimulus events would occur in a series of 360 trials. Expected value of the choices was held constant by varying the payoff inversely with the frequency of the two events. After 180 trials alone, subjects were put into one of four conditions, Control, Audience, Coaction, and Group. In the two social facilitation conditions, Audience and Coaction, there was an enhancement of dominant responses (i.e., conservative choices). But the Group condition showed a change in the risky direction, indicating that social facilitation processes cannot account for risky shifts. Experiment II replicated the social facilitation effects found in Experiment I, but failed to find pronounced tendencies of individuals to make their choices consistent with those of others. These weak imitation effects were found for a situation in which only knowledge of others' choices was accessible to the subject and in a situation in which both this knowledge was accessible and others were actually present. The implications of these findings for theories of risky shift were discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32828/1/0000203.pd

Group risk-taking in a two-choice situation: Replication, extension, and a model

In an attempt to determine if individual risk preferences change under group conditions, individuals and groups were observed when making binary decisions. The expected values of the outcomes were held constant while the probabilities of the two events varied across conditions. As previously, it was found that when the probabilities of the two events are .6 and .4, a conservative shift is obtained. When these probabilities are .8 and .2, however, there was a tendency for groups to shift toward risk. A two-stage parameter-free model was suggested to account for individual and group choices.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32987/1/0000371.pd

Ocular surface epithelia contain ABCG2-dependent side population cells exhibiting features associated with stem cells.

When cell populations are incubated with the DNA-binding dye Hoechst 33342 and subjected to flow cytometry analysis for Hoechst 33342 emissions, active efflux of the dye by the ABCG2/BCRP1 transporter causes certain cells to appear as a segregated cohort, known as a side population (SP). Stem cells from several tissues have been shown to possess the SP phenotype. As the lack of specific surface markers has hindered the isolation and subsequent biochemical characterization of epithelial stem cells this study sought to determine the existence of SP cells and expression of ABCG2 in the epithelia of the ocular surface and evaluate whether such SP cells had features associated with epithelial stem cells. Human and rabbit limbal-corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells were incubated with Hoechst 33342, and analyzed and sorted by flow cytometry. Sorted cells were subjected to several tests to determine whether the isolated SP cells displayed features consistent with the stem cell phenotype. Side populations amounting to \u3c1% of total cells, which were sensitive to the ABCG2-inhibitor fumitremorgin C, were found in the conjunctival and limbal epithelia, but were absent from the stem cell-free corneal epithelium. Immunohistochemistry was used to establish the spatial expression pattern of ABCG2. The antigen was detected in clusters of conjunctival and limbal epithelia basal cells but was not present in the corneal epithelium. SP cells were characterized by extremely low light side scattering and contained a high percentage of cells that: showed slow cycling prior to tissue collection; exhibited an initial delay in proliferation after culturing; and displayed clonogenic capacity and resistance to phorbol-induced differentiation; all features that are consistent with a stem cell phenotype