Some Einstein spaces and their global properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siklos, S.T.C.

1981-01-01

The global structure of a class of Einstein spaces is investigated. These spaces have algebraically special Weyl tensors and contain homogeneous hypersurfaces. It is found that they display simple examples of a variety of interesting configuration involving horizons and singularities. (author)

Global partnerships: Expanding the frontiers of space exploration education

Science.gov (United States)

MacLeish, Marlene Y.; Akinyede, Joseph O.; Goswami, Nandu; Thomson, William A.

2012-11-01

Globalization is creating an interdependent space-faring world and new opportunities for international partnerships that strengthen space knowledge development and transfer. These opportunities have been codified in the Global Exploration Strategy, which endorses the "inspirational and educational value of space exploration" [1]. Also, during the 2010 Heads of Space Agencies Summit celebrating the International Academy of Astronautics' (IAA) 50th Anniversary, space-faring nations from across the globe issued a collective call in support of robust international partnerships to expand the frontiers of space exploration and generate knowledge for improving life on Earth [2]. Educators play a unique role in this mission, developing strategic partnerships and sharing best educational practices to (1) further global understanding of the benefits of space exploration for life on Earth and (2) prepare the next generation of scientists required for the 21st Century space workforce. Educational Outreach (EO) programs use evidence-based, measurable outcomes strategies and cutting edge information technologies to transfer space-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge to new audiences; create indigenous materials with cultural resonance for emerging space societies; support teacher professional development; and contribute to workforce development initiatives that inspire and prepare new cohorts of students for space exploration careers. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) have sustained a 13-year space science education partnership dedicated to these objectives. This paper briefly describes the design and achievements of NSBRI's educational programs, with special emphasis on those initiatives' involvement with IAA and the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The IAA Commission 2 Draft Report, Space for Africa, is discussed

Creating Intentional Spaces for Sustainable Development in the Indian Trans-Himalaya: Reconceptualizing Globalization from Below

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Payal

2014-01-01

In an era of globalization, multifaceted and complex changes have increasingly interconnected geographically dispersed places. A central question of globalization studies concerns whether top-down forces of globalization are forging a global culture or whether processes of globalization from below are able to push back against homogenization by…

Space commerce in a global economy - Comparison of international approaches to commercial space

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Barbara A.; Kleber, Peter

1992-01-01

A historical perspective, current status, and comparison of national government/commercial space industry relationships in the United States and Europe are presented. It is noted that space technology has been developed and used primarily to meet the needs of civil and military government initiatives. Two future trends of space technology development include new space enterprises, and the national drive to achieve a more competitive global economic position.

Observing the Global Water Cycle from Space

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrand, P. H.

2004-01-01

This paper presents an approach to measuring all major components of the water cycle from space. Key elements of the global water cycle are discussed in terms of the storage of water-in the ocean, air, cloud and precipitation, in soil, ground water, snow and ice, and in lakes and rivers, and in terms of the global fluxes of water between these reservoirs. Approaches to measuring or otherwise evaluating the global water cycle are presented, and the limitations on known accuracy for many components of the water cycle are discussed, as are the characteristic spatial and temporal scales of the different water cycle components. Using these observational requirements for a global water cycle observing system, an approach to measuring the global water cycle from space is developed. The capabilities of various active and passive microwave instruments are discussed, as is the potential of supporting measurements from other sources. Examples of space observational systems, including TRMM/GPM precipitation measurement, cloud radars, soil moisture, sea surface salinity, temperature and humidity profiling, other measurement approaches and assimilation of the microwave and other data into interpretative computer models are discussed to develop the observational possibilities. The selection of orbits is then addressed, for orbit selection and antenna size/beamwidth considerations determine the sampling characteristics for satellite measurement systems. These considerations dictate a particular set of measurement possibilities, which are then matched to the observational sampling requirements based on the science. The results define a network of satellite instrumentation systems, many in low Earth orbit, a few in geostationary orbit, and all tied together through a sampling network that feeds the observations into a data-assimilative computer model.

Overview of global space activities in 2007/2008

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, Nicolas; Delmotte, Raphaëlle

2009-08-01

The period ranging from July 2007 to June 2008 has been marked by significant trends and issues in the space sector, particularly under the impulsion of space-faring countries. The internationalisation and globalisation of the space sector which started a few years ago have been gaining momentum as well. As a consequence, the size of the space sector has been growing, as well as the global competition for market shares.

Volunteered Geographic Information in Wikipedia

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Darren

2010-01-01

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic subset of online user-generated content. Through Geobrowsers and online mapping services, which use geovisualization and Web technologies to share and produce VGI, a global digital commons of geographic information has emerged. A notable example is Wikipedia, an online collaborative…

Super Global Projects and Environmentally Friendly Technologies Used in Space Exploration: Realities and Prospects of the Space Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Krichevsky

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The 60th anniversary of the Space Age is an important intermediate finishing point on the way of a man and the whole humanity to space. Along with the outstanding achievements, there are a number of challenges and contradictions in space exploration due to the aggravation of the global crisis on Earth, low efficiency and the backlog of space research in the transition to a new technology based reality and clean technologies. Both the international astronautics and the space exploration area nowadays face difficulties in choosing a new paradigm and a development strategy that is becoming even more complicated due to the current unstable and turbulent situation on Earth. The article reveals the optimistic scenario of further space exploration, as well as the methodological and practical aspects of new projects and technologies. The periodization of the Space Age history has been conducted. It has been also proposed a new classification of the “space” phenomenon due to concretizing the concept of “global” in the form of a three-scale structure encompassing the following levels: 1 planetary global; 2 super global; 3 universally global. The notion of “super global space exploration project” has been introduced. The concept of further space exploration is proposed, which includes four interrelated super global projects:1 Earth Protection System from Asteroid and Comet Threat; 2 Moon Exploration; 3 Mars Exploration; 4 Cosmic Humanity. Since the humanity is embarking on the practical implementation of these super global projects, it is urgent to make a transition towards a new technology based order, as well as up-to-date technologies. A couple of ecological projects and space exploration technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries have been exemplified and analyzed. It has been also worked out the list of new environmentally friendly space technologies and projects. The research makes an emphasis upon a great potential of clean and green

International Space Education Outreach: Taking Exploration to the Global Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Dreschel, T. W.; Lichtenberger, L. A.; Chetirkin, P. V.; Garner, L. C.; Barfus, J. R.; Nazarenko, V. I.

2005-01-01

With the development of the International Space Station and the need for international collaboration for returning to the moon and developing a mission to Mars, NASA has embarked on developing international educational programs related to space exploration. In addition, with the explosion of educational technology, linking students on a global basis is more easily accomplished. This technology is bringing national and international issues into the classroom, including global environmental issues, the global marketplace, and global collaboration in space. We present the successes and lessons learned concerning international educational and public outreach programs that we have been involved in for NASA as well as the importance of sustaining these international peer collaborative programs for the future generations. These programs will undoubtedly be critical in enhancing the classroom environment and will affect the achievements in and attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Role of Cis-Lunar Space in Future Global Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Bobskill, Marianne R.; Lupisella, Mark L.

2012-01-01

Cis-lunar space offers affordable near-term opportunities to help pave the way for future global human exploration of deep space, acting as a bridge between present missions and future deep space missions. While missions in cis-lunar space have value unto themselves, they can also play an important role in enabling and reducing risk for future human missions to the Moon, Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Mars, and other deep space destinations. The Cis-Lunar Destination Team of NASA's Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT) has been analyzing cis-lunar destination activities and developing notional missions (or "destination Design Reference Missions" [DRMs]) for cis-lunar locations to inform roadmap and architecture development, transportation and destination elements definition, operations, and strategic knowledge gaps. The cis-lunar domain is defined as that area of deep space under the gravitational influence of the earth-moon system. This includes a set of earth-centered orbital locations in low earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO), highly elliptical and high earth orbits (HEO), earth-moon libration or "Lagrange" points (E-ML1 through E-ML5, and in particular, E-ML1 and E-ML2), and low lunar orbit (LLO). To help explore this large possibility space, we developed a set of high level cis-lunar mission concepts in the form of a large mission tree, defined primarily by mission duration, pre-deployment, type of mission, and location. The mission tree has provided an overall analytical context and has helped in developing more detailed design reference missions that are then intended to inform capabilities, operations, and architectures. With the mission tree as context, we will describe two destination DRMs to LEO and GEO, based on present human space exploration architectural considerations, as well as our recent work on defining mission activities that could be conducted with an EML1 or EML2 facility, the latter of which will be an emphasis of this

Dinosaurs reveal the geographical signature of an evolutionary radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donovan, Ciara; Meade, Andrew; Venditti, Chris

2018-03-01

Dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems across the globe for over 100 million years and provide a classic example of an evolutionary radiation. However, little is known about how these animals radiated geographically to become globally distributed. Here, we use a biogeographical model to reconstruct the dinosaurs' ancestral locations, revealing the spatial mechanisms that underpinned this 170-million-year-long radiation. We find that dinosaurs spread rapidly initially, followed by a significant continuous and gradual reduction in their speed of movement towards the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (66 million years ago). This suggests that the predominant mode of dinosaur speciation changed through time with speciation originally largely driven by geographical isolation-when dinosaurs speciated more, they moved further. This was gradually replaced by increasing levels of sympatric speciation (species taking advantage of ecological opportunities within their existing environment) as terrestrial space became a limiting factor. Our results uncover the geographical signature of an evolutionary radiation.

Global astrometry with the space interferometry mission

Science.gov (United States)

Boden, A.; Unwin, S.; Shao, M.

1997-01-01

The prospects for global astrometric measurements with the space interferometry mission (SIM) are discussed. The SIM mission will perform four microarcsec astrometric measurements on objects as faint as 20 mag using the optical interferometry technique with a 10 m baseline. The SIM satellite will perform narrow angle astrometry and global astrometry by means of an astrometric grid. The sensitivities of the SIM global astrometric performance and the grid accuracy versus instrumental parameters and sky coverage schemes are reported on. The problems in finding suitable astrometric grid objects to support microarcsec astrometry, and related ground-based observation programs are discussed.

Global tectonics and space geodesy

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Richard G.; Stein, Seth

1992-01-01

Much of the success of plate tectonics can be attributed to the near rigidity of tectonic plates and the availability of data that describe the rates and directions of motion across narrow plate boundaries of about 1 to 60 kilometers. Nonetheless, many plate boundaries in both continental and oceanic lithosphere are not narrow but are hundreds to thousands of kilometers wide. Wide plate boundary zones cover approximately 15 percent of earth's surface area. Space geodesy, which includes very long baseline radio interferometry, satellite laser ranging, and the global positioning system, provides the accurate long-distance measurements needed to estimate the present motion across and within wide plate boundary zones. Space geodetic data show that plate velocities averaged over years are remarkably similar to velocities avaraged over millions of years.

Biosecurity and globalising economic spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Mather

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This chapter is concerned with the global regulation of animal health. Our case is a recent outbreak of avian influenza in South Africa’s ostrich industry. The analysis confirms an important theme in the emerging social sciences literature on biosecurity, i.e. the paradox of control methods that are rigid and inflexible, and diseases that are indeterminate. We also examine a second approach to the outbreak that relied on local experience and knowledge. Our chapter explores the complex ways in which globalizing economic spaces are integrated into new global regulatory regimes, with important implications for economic, social and geographical processes.

Port – FEZ bundles as spaces of global articulation: the case of Tianjin, China

OpenAIRE

James J Wang; Daniel Olivier

2006-01-01

The authors examine possible ways to enhance interdisciplinary dialogue between transport geography and economic geography, its parent discipline. In the context of emerging paradigms of global production seeking to capture the outsourcing process with developing countries, the port – free-trade zone bundle is suggested as a valid intersect between spaces of production and spaces of circulation. Such zones act as interfaces between local and global spaces: they are spaces of global articulati...

Space-time modeling of timber prices

Science.gov (United States)

Mo Zhou; Joseph Buongriorno

2006-01-01

A space-time econometric model was developed for pine sawtimber timber prices of 21 geographically contiguous regions in the southern United States. The correlations between prices in neighboring regions helped predict future prices. The impulse response analysis showed that although southern pine sawtimber markets were not globally integrated, local supply and demand...

Space Applications and Global Information Infrastructure: a Global Approach against Epidemics

Science.gov (United States)

Bastos, C. R.

2002-01-01

Brazilian space expenditures correspond to a low-middle rank among the space-faring nations. In this regard, international partnerships have opened doors for the country to take part in a wider range of projects than it would be possible if carried out on its own. Within the above framework, this paper will address a concept in which countries join efforts in pursuit of common objectives and needs in the field of health, countries whose similarities tend to make them face the same types of health problems. Exactly for this reason, such countries can get together and share the costs, risks and ultimately the benefits of their joint efforts. Infectious diseases are mankind's leading causes of death. And their agents travel around the world by the action of their vectors: insects, birds, winds, infected individuals, and others. The ways how Global Information Infrastructure and Space applications can be very helpful in the detection, identification, tracking and fighting migratory diseases will then be discussed. A concept for an international cooperative initiative is presented, addressing its composition, its implementation, the international coordination requirements, the financial and funding issues related to its implementation and sustainability, and the roles to be played by such an organization. The funding issue deserves a closer attention, since many good ideas are killed by financial problems in their early implementation stages. Finally, a conclusion drives the audience's attention towards the potential advantages of space-based assets in covering large portions of the Earth, and consequently being suitable for global initiatives for the benefit of mankind.

The limit space of a Cauchy sequence of globally hyperbolic spacetimes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noldus, Johan [Universiteit Gent, Vakgroep Wiskundige analyse, Galglaan 2, 9000 Gent (Belgium)

2004-02-21

In this second paper, I construct a limit space of a Cauchy sequence of globally hyperbolic spacetimes. In section 2, I work gradually towards a construction of the limit space. I prove that the limit space is unique up to isometry. I also show that, in general, the limit space has quite complicated causal behaviour. This work prepares the final paper in which I shall study in more detail properties of the limit space and the moduli space of (compact) globally hyperbolic spacetimes (cobordisms). As a fait divers, I give in this paper a suitable definition of dimension of a Lorentz space in agreement with the one given by Gromov in the Riemannian case. The difference in philosophy between Lorentzian and Riemannian geometry is one of relativism versus absolutism. In the latter every point distinguishes itself while in the former in general two elements get distinguished by a third, different, one.

The limit space of a Cauchy sequence of globally hyperbolic spacetimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noldus, Johan

2004-01-01

In this second paper, I construct a limit space of a Cauchy sequence of globally hyperbolic spacetimes. In section 2, I work gradually towards a construction of the limit space. I prove that the limit space is unique up to isometry. I also show that, in general, the limit space has quite complicated causal behaviour. This work prepares the final paper in which I shall study in more detail properties of the limit space and the moduli space of (compact) globally hyperbolic spacetimes (cobordisms). As a fait divers, I give in this paper a suitable definition of dimension of a Lorentz space in agreement with the one given by Gromov in the Riemannian case. The difference in philosophy between Lorentzian and Riemannian geometry is one of relativism versus absolutism. In the latter every point distinguishes itself while in the former in general two elements get distinguished by a third, different, one

[Predicting the impact of global warming on the geographical distribution pattern of Quercus variabilis in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yao; Zhang, Xing-wang; Fang, Yan-ming

2014-12-01

The geographical distribution of Quercus variabilis in China with its climate characteristics was analyzed based on DIVA-GIS which was also used to estimate the response of future potential distribution to global warming by Bioclim and Domain models. Analysis results showed the geographical distribution of Q. variabilis could be divided into 7 subregions: Henduan Mountains, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, North China, East China, Liaodong-Shandong Peninsula, Taiwan Island, and Qinling-Daba Mountains. These subregions are across 7 temperature zones, 2 moisture regions and 17 climatic subregions, including 8 climate types. The modern abundance center of Q. variabilis is Qinling, Daba and Funiu mountains. The condition of mean annual temperature 7.5-19.8 degrees C annual precipitation 471-1511 mm, is suitable for Q. variabilis. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC values), of Domain and Boiclim models were 0.910, 0.779; the former predicted that the potential regions of high suitability for Q. variabilis are Qinling, Daba, Funiu, Tongbai, and Dabie mountains, eastern and western Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, hills of southern Jiangsu and Anhui, part of the mountains in North China. Global warming might lead to the shrinking in suitable region and retreating from the south for Q. variabilis.

International Voluntary Health Networks (IVHNs). A social-geographical framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Benet; Laurie, Nina; Smith, Matt Baillie

2018-03-01

Trans-national medicine, historically associated with colonial politics, is now central to discourses of global health and development, thrust into mainstream media by catastrophic events (earthquakes, disease epidemics), and enshrined in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Volunteer human-resource is an important contributor to international health-development work. International Voluntary Health Networks (IVHNs, that connect richer and poorer countries through healthcare) are situated at a meeting-point between geographies and sociologies of health. More fully developed social-geographic understandings will illuminate this area, currently dominated by instrumental health-professional perspectives. The challenge we address is to produce a geographically and sociologically-robust conceptual framework that appropriately recognises IVHNs' potentials for valuable impacts, while also unlocking spaces of constructive critique. We examine the importance of the social in health geography, and geographical potentials in health sociology (focusing on professional knowledge construction, inequality and capital, and power), to highlight the mutual interests of these two fields in relation to IVHNs. We propose some socio-geographical theories of IVHNs that do not naturalise inequality, that understand health as a form of capital, prioritise explorations of power and ethical practice, and acknowledge the more-than-human properties of place. This sets an agenda for theoretically-supported empirical work on IVHNs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The geographical distribution of leadership in globalized clinical trials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarno Hoekman

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pharmaceutical trials are mainly initiated by sponsors and investigators in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. However, more and more patients are enrolled in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. The involvement of patients in new geographical settings raises questions about scientific and ethical integrity, especially when experience with those settings is lacking at the level of trial management. We therefore studied to what extent the geographical shift in patient enrolment is anticipated in the composition of trial management teams using the author nationalities on the primary outcome publication as an indicator of leadership. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cohort-study among 1,445 registered trials in www.clinicaltrials.gov that could be matched with a primary outcome publication using clinical trial registry numbers listed in publications. The name of the sponsor and the enrolment countries were extracted from all registrations. The author-addresses of all authors were extracted from the publications. We searched the author-address of all publications to determine whether enrolment countries and sponsors listed on registrations also appeared on a matched publication. Of all sponsors, 80.1% were listed with an author-address on the publication. Of all enrolment countries, 50.3% appeared with an author-address on the publication. The listing of enrolment countries was especially low for industry-funded trials (39.9% as compared to government (90.4% and not-for-profit funding (93.7%. We found that listing of enrolment countries in industry-funded trials was higher for traditional research locations such as the United States (98.2% and Japan (72.0% as compared to nontraditional research locations such as Poland (27.3% and Mexico (14.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite patient enrolment efforts, the involvement of researchers from nontraditional locations in trial management as measured by their contribution to

The geographical distribution of leadership in globalized clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoekman, Jarno; Frenken, Koen; de Zeeuw, Dick; Heerspink, Hiddo Lambers

2012-01-01

Pharmaceutical trials are mainly initiated by sponsors and investigators in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. However, more and more patients are enrolled in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. The involvement of patients in new geographical settings raises questions about scientific and ethical integrity, especially when experience with those settings is lacking at the level of trial management. We therefore studied to what extent the geographical shift in patient enrolment is anticipated in the composition of trial management teams using the author nationalities on the primary outcome publication as an indicator of leadership. We conducted a cohort-study among 1,445 registered trials in www.clinicaltrials.gov that could be matched with a primary outcome publication using clinical trial registry numbers listed in publications. The name of the sponsor and the enrolment countries were extracted from all registrations. The author-addresses of all authors were extracted from the publications. We searched the author-address of all publications to determine whether enrolment countries and sponsors listed on registrations also appeared on a matched publication. Of all sponsors, 80.1% were listed with an author-address on the publication. Of all enrolment countries, 50.3% appeared with an author-address on the publication. The listing of enrolment countries was especially low for industry-funded trials (39.9%) as compared to government (90.4%) and not-for-profit funding (93.7%). We found that listing of enrolment countries in industry-funded trials was higher for traditional research locations such as the United States (98.2%) and Japan (72.0%) as compared to nontraditional research locations such as Poland (27.3%) and Mexico (14.1%). Despite patient enrolment efforts, the involvement of researchers from nontraditional locations in trial management as measured by their contribution to manuscript writing is modest. This division of labor has

The Geographic Extent of Global Supply Chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Machikita, Tomohiro; Ueki, Yasushi

2012-01-01

We study the extent to which inter-firm relationships are locally concentrated and what determines firm differences in geographic proximity to domestic or foreign suppliers and customers. From micro-data on selfreported customer and supplier data of firms in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, ...

Evolution of research in health geographics through the International Journal of Health Geographics (2002-2015).

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Sandra; Laperrière, Vincent; Borderon, Marion; Padilla, Cindy; Maignant, Gilles; Oliveau, Sébastien

2016-01-20

Health geographics is a fast-developing research area. Subjects broached in scientific literature are most varied, ranging from vectorial diseases to access to healthcare, with a recent revival of themes such as the implication of health in the Smart City, or a predominantly individual-centered approach. Far beyond standard meta-analyses, the present study deliberately adopts the standpoint of questioning space in its foundations, through various authors of the International Journal of Health Geographics, a highly influential journal in that field. The idea is to find space as the common denominator in this specialized literature, as well as its relation to spatial analysis, without for all that trying to tend towards exhaustive approaches. 660 articles have being published in the journal since launch, but 359 articles were selected based on the presence of the word "Space" in either the title, or the abstract or the text over 13 years of the journal's existence. From that database, a lexical analysis (tag cloud) reveals the perception of space in literature, and shows how approaches are evolving, thus underlining that the scope of health geographics is far from narrowing.

Youth Voices on Global Citizenship: Deliberating across Canada in an Online Invited Space

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, Lynette; Pashby, Karen; Godwaldt, Terry

2017-01-01

This article examines the processes of youth engagement in an "invited space" for Canadian secondary school students. The organizers created a participatory citizenship education space in which Canadian students discussed their views and visions and developed their policy position on global citizenship and global citizenship education.…

A global conformal extension theorem for perfect fluid Bianchi space-times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luebbe, Christian; Tod, Paul

2008-01-01

A global extension theorem is established for isotropic singularities in polytropic perfect fluid Bianchi space-times. When an extension is possible, the limiting behaviour of the physical space-time near the singularity is analysed

Geographic Literacy and Moral Formation among University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bascom, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This study extends analysis of geographic literacy further by examining the relationship of geographic knowledge with the primary goal of geographic educators--cultivation of cultural understanding and moral sensitivity for global citizenry. The main aim is to examine contributors to moral formation during the university years based on a survey…

Toward a global space exploration program: A stepping stone approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrenfreund, Pascale; McKay, Chris; Rummel, John D.; Foing, Bernard H.; Neal, Clive R.; Masson-Zwaan, Tanja; Ansdell, Megan; Peter, Nicolas; Zarnecki, John; Mackwell, Steve; Perino, Maria Antionetta; Billings, Linda; Mankins, John; Race, Margaret

2012-01-01

In response to the growing importance of space exploration in future planning, the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Exploration (PEX) was chartered to provide independent scientific advice to support the development of exploration programs and to safeguard the potential scientific assets of solar system objects. In this report, PEX elaborates a stepwise approach to achieve a new level of space cooperation that can help develop world-wide capabilities in space science and exploration and support a transition that will lead to a global space exploration program. The proposed stepping stones are intended to transcend cross-cultural barriers, leading to the development of technical interfaces and shared legal frameworks and fostering coordination and cooperation on a broad front. Input for this report was drawn from expertise provided by COSPAR Associates within the international community and via the contacts they maintain in various scientific entities. The report provides a summary and synthesis of science roadmaps and recommendations for planetary exploration produced by many national and international working groups, aiming to encourage and exploit synergies among similar programs. While science and technology represent the core and, often, the drivers for space exploration, several other disciplines and their stakeholders (Earth science, space law, and others) should be more robustly interlinked and involved than they have been to date. The report argues that a shared vision is crucial to this linkage, and to providing a direction that enables new countries and stakeholders to join and engage in the overall space exploration effort. Building a basic space technology capacity within a wider range of countries, ensuring new actors in space act responsibly, and increasing public awareness and engagement are concrete steps that can provide a broader interest in space exploration, worldwide, and build a solid basis for program sustainability. By engaging

Linked Data Evolving the Web into a Global Data Space

CERN Document Server

Heath, Tom

2011-01-01

The World Wide Web has enabled the creation of a global information space comprising linked documents. As the Web becomes ever more enmeshed with our daily lives, there is a growing desire for direct access to raw data not currently available on the Web or bound up in hypertext documents. Linked Data provides a publishing paradigm in which not only documents, but also data, can be a first class citizen of the Web, thereby enabling the extension of the Web with a global data space based on open standards - the Web of Data. In this Synthesis lecture we provide readers with a detailed technical i

BETR global - A geographically-explicit global-scale multimedia contaminant fate model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacLeod, Matthew; Waldow, Harald von; Tay, Pascal; Armitage, James M.; Woehrnschimmel, Henry; Riley, William J.; McKone, Thomas E.; Hungerbuhler, Konrad

2011-01-01

We present two new software implementations of the BETR Global multimedia contaminant fate model. The model uses steady-state or non-steady-state mass-balance calculations to describe the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants using a desktop computer. The global environment is described using a database of long-term average monthly conditions on a 15 o x 15 o grid. We demonstrate BETR Global by modeling the global sources, transport, and removal of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). - Two new software implementations of the Berkeley-Trent Global Contaminant Fate Model are available. The new model software is illustrated using a case study of the global fate of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

Geographic Ontologies, Gazetteers and Multilingualism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Laurini

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Different languages imply different visions of space, so that terminologies are different in geographic ontologies. In addition to their geometric shapes, geographic features have names, sometimes different in diverse languages. In addition, the role of gazetteers, as dictionaries of place names (toponyms, is to maintain relations between place names and location. The scope of geographic information retrieval is to search for geographic information not against a database, but against the whole Internet: but the Internet stores information in different languages, and it is of paramount importance not to remain stuck to a unique language. In this paper, our first step is to clarify the links between geographic objects as computer representations of geographic features, ontologies and gazetteers designed in various languages. Then, we propose some inference rules for matching not only types, but also relations in geographic ontologies with the assistance of gazetteers.

Overview of Global Monitoring of Terrestrial Chlorophyll Fluorescence from Space

Science.gov (United States)

Guanter, Luis; Zhang, Yongguang; Kohler, Philipp; Walther, Sophia; Frankenberg, Christian; Joiner, Joanna

2016-01-01

Despite the critical importance of photosynthesis for the Earth system, understanding how it is influenced by factors such as climate variability, disturbance history, and water or nutrient availability remains a challenge because of the complex interactions and the lack of GPP measurements at various temporal and spatial scales. Space observations of the sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) electromagnetic signal emitted by plants in the 650-850nm spectral range hold the promise of providing a new view of vegetation photosynthesis on a global basis. Global retrievals of SIF from space have recently been achieved from a number of spaceborne spectrometers originally intended for atmospheric research. Despite not having been designed for land applications, such instruments have turned out to provide the necessary spectral and radiometric sensitivity for SIF retrieval from space. The first global measurements of SIF were achieved in 2011 from spectra acquired by the Japanese GOSAT mission launched in 2009. The retrieval takes advantage of the high spectral resolution provided by GOSATs Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) which allows the evaluation of the in-filling of solar Fraunhofer lines by SIF. Unfortunately, GOSAT only provides a sparse spatial sampling with individual soundings separated by several hundred kilometers. Complementary, the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) instruments onboard MetOp-A and MetOp-B enable SIF retrievals since 2007 with a continuous and global spatial coverage. GOME-2 measures in the red and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions with a spectral resolution of 0.5 nm and a pixel size of up to 40x40 km2. Most recently, another global and spatially continuous data set of SIF retrievals at 740 nm spanning the 2003-2012 time frame has been produced from ENVISATSCIAMACHY. This observational scenario has been completed by the first fluorescence data from the NASA-JPL OCO-2 mission (launched in July 2014) and the upcoming

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute's education and public outreach program: Working toward a global 21st century space exploration society

Science.gov (United States)

MacLeish, Marlene Y.; Thomson, William A.; Moreno, Nancy P.

2011-05-01

Space Exploration educators worldwide are confronting challenges and embracing opportunities to prepare students for the global 21st century workforce. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), established in 1997 through a NASA competition, is a 12-university consortium dedicated to space life science research and education. NSBRI's Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) is advancing the Institute's mission by responding to global educational challenges through activities that: provide teacher professional development; develop curricula that teach students to communicate with their peers across the globe; provide women and minority US populations with greater access to, and awareness of science careers; and promote international science education partnerships. A recent National Research Council (NRC) Space Studies Board Report, America's Future in Space: Aligning the Civil Program with National Needs, acknowledges that "a capable workforce for the 21st century is a key strategic objective for the US space program… (and that) US problems requiring best efforts to understand and resolve…are global in nature and must be addressed through mutual worldwide action". [1] This sentiment has gained new momentum through a recent National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) report, which recommends that the life of the International Space Station be extended beyond the planned 2016 termination. [2] The two principles of globalization and ISS utility have elevated NSBRI EPOP efforts to design and disseminate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational materials that prepare students for full participation in a globalized, high technology society; promote and provide teacher professional development; create research opportunities for women and underserved populations; and build international educational partnerships. This paper describes select EPOP projects and makes the case for using innovative, emerging information

Building resilience of the Global Positioning System to space weather

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Genene; Kunches, Joseph

2011-12-01

Almost every aspect of the global economy now depends on GPS. Worldwide, nations are working to create a robust Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which will provide global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services for applications such as aviation, electric power distribution, financial exchange, maritime navigation, and emergency management. The U.S. government is examining the vulnerabilities of GPS, and it is well known that space weather events, such as geomagnetic storms, contribute to errors in single-frequency GPS and are a significant factor for differential GPS. The GPS industry has lately begun to recognize that total electron content (TEC) signal delays, ionospheric scintillation, and solar radio bursts can also interfere with daily operations and that these threats grow with the approach of the next solar maximum, expected to occur in 2013. The key challenges raised by these circumstances are, first, to better understand the vulnerability of GPS technologies and services to space weather and, second, to develop policies that will build resilience and mitigate risk.

Countries of the Baltic Region in the Global Culinary Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakhmanov A. B.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Globalisation is creating a global culinary space where culinary traditions of different countries interact and compete. The author sets out to explore characteristic features of the culinary space of nine Baltic States as part of the global culinary space. The author uses empirical data on the number of restaurants serving different national cuisines in the main cities of the region. The Baltic culinary space incorporates the world’s leading cuisines (Italian, Japanese, Chinese, etc. as well as the local cuisines of the BSR countries. The world’s leading cuisines prove to be more influential in the region than the local ones. Some countries of the Baltic Sea region (Russia, Poland, Sweden, Latvia, and Denmark have culinary sovereignty, since their residents prefer national cuisines. In some other countries of the region (Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania, the public favours the world’s leading cuisines — Italian, Japanese and American — over the local ones. The non-capital Baltic cities of Poland and Germany, as well as St. Petersburg, display a greater sense of culinary patriotism than Warsaw, Berlin, and Moscow respectively. This article attempts to explore the features of the Baltic culinary space. The author considers the environmental and socio- historical factors key determinants of the countries’ cuisines.

Field theories on conformally related space-times: Some global considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candelas, P.; Dowker, J.S.

1979-01-01

The nature of the vacua appearing in the relation between the vacuum expectation value of stress tensors in conformally flat spaces is clarified. The simple but essential point is that the relevant spaces should have conformally related global Cauchy surfaces. Some commonly occurring conformally flat space-times are divided into two families according to whether they are conformally equivalent to Minkowski space or to the Rindler wedge. Expressions, some new, are obtained for the vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor for a number of illustrative cases. It is noted that thermalization relates the Green's functions of these two families

BETR Global - A geographically explicit global-scale multimedia contaminant fate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macleod, M.; Waldow, H. von; Tay, P.; Armitage, J. M.; Wohrnschimmel, H.; Riley, W.; McKone, T. E.; Hungerbuhler, K.

2011-04-01

We present two new software implementations of the BETR Global multimedia contaminant fate model. The model uses steady-state or non-steady-state mass-balance calculations to describe the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants using a desktop computer. The global environment is described using a database of long-term average monthly conditions on a 15{sup o} x 15{sup o} grid. We demonstrate BETR Global by modeling the global sources, transport, and removal of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

Space Geodesy Monitoring Mass Transport in Global Geophysical Fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Benjamin F.

2004-01-01

Mass transports occurring in the atmosphere-hydrosphere-cryosphere-solid Earth-core system (the 'global geophysical fluids') are important geophysical phenomena. They occur on all temporal and spatial scales. Examples include air mass and ocean circulations, oceanic and solid tides, hydrological water and idsnow redistribution, mantle processes such as post-glacial rebound, earthquakes and tectonic motions, and core geodynamo activities. The temporal history and spatial pattern of such mass transport are often not amenable to direct observations. Space geodesy techniques, however, have proven to be an effective tool in monitorihg certain direct consequences of the mass transport, including Earth's rotation variations, gravitational field variations, and the geocenter motion. Considerable advances have been made in recent years in observing and understanding of these geodynamic effects. This paper will use several prominent examples to illustrate the triumphs in research over the past years under a 'Moore's law' in space geodesy. New space missions and projects promise to further advance our knowledge about the global mass transports. The latter contributes to our understanding of the geophysical processes that produce and regulate the mass transports, as well as of the solid Earth's response to such changes in terms of Earth's mechanical properties.

Spaces of Global Security: Beyond Methodological Nationalism

OpenAIRE

Adamson , Fiona B.

2016-01-01

The changing political and social meanings of space under conditions of advanced globalization point to the need to analyze security – or the deployment and management of violence -- as a socio-spatial practice. This article draws attention to the “methodological nationalist” bias that has traditionally characterized mainstream security studies, and discusses its effect on how security issues are studied and conceptualized. Building on insights from political geography and sociology, the arti...

GLOBAL AND INSULAR DIMENSIONS: SPACE IN SARDINIA BLUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Chiarini

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to focus attention on the dimension of space in Sardinia Blues (Publisher Bompiani, 2008, by Flavio Soriga. This is justified by the centrality of space throughout the novel and by the title itself. The island of Sardinia is not just a mere setting, but it is most importantly the articulating and conducting thread for all the themes related to the characters’ self-identity and existential issues. The regional Sardinian space, perceived as stereotyped and folkloristic, and the global space, seen as a source of both desire and fear, are problematized by the three young self-proclaimed “pirates of the island” in their long hours of idleness. It is our intention to highlight the conflicts of this marginal insular condition, heavily contaminated by an inevitable process of change, in Soriga’s simultaneously innovative and nostalgic fragmented text, filled with songs’ extracts and languages hybrids.

"Languaging the Worker: Globalized Governmentalities in/of Language in Peripheral Spaces"

Science.gov (United States)

Dlaske, Kati; Barakos, Elisabeth; Motobayashi, Kyoko; McLaughlin, Mireille

2016-01-01

In the introduction to the special issue "Languaging the worker: globalized governmentalities in/of language in peripheral spaces", we take up the notion of governmentality as a means to interrogate the complex relationship between language, labor, power, and subjectivity in peripheral multilingual spaces. Our aim here is to argue for…

Global biomass burning. Atmospheric, climatic, and biospheric implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levine, J.S.

1991-01-01

Biomass burning is a significant source of atmospheric gases and, as such, may contribute to global climate changes. Biomass burning includes burning forests and savanna grasslands for land clearing, burning agricultural stubble and waste after harvesting, and burning biomass fuels. The chapters in this volume include the following topics: remote sensing of biomass burning from space;geographical distribution of burning; combustion products of burning in tropical, temperate and boreal ecosystems; burning as a global source of atmospheric gases and particulates; impacts of biomass burning gases and particulates on global climate; and the role of biomass burning on biodiversity and past global extinctions. A total of 1428 references are cited for the 63 chapters. Individual chapters are indexed separately for the data bases

Topological properties and global structure of space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergmann, P.G.; De Sabbata, V.

1986-01-01

This book presents information on the following topics: measurement of gravity and gauge fields using quantum mechanical probes; gravitation at spatial infinity; field theories on supermanifolds; supergravities and Kaluza-Klein theories; boundary conditions at spatial infinity; singularities - global and local aspects; matter at the horizon of the Schwarzschild black hole; introluction to string theories; cosmic censorship and the strengths of singularities; conformal quantisation in singular spacetimes; solar system tests in transition; integration and global aspects of supermanifolds; the space-time of the bimetric general relativity theory; gravitation without Lorentz invariance; a uniform static magnetic field in Kaluza-Klein theory; introduction to topological geons; and a simple model of a non-asymptotically flat Schwarzschild black hole

Integrating remote sensing, geographic information systems and global positioning system techniques with hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Jay Krishna; Singh, Sudhir Kumar; Ekanthalu, Vicky Shettigondahalli

2017-07-01

Integration of remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) are emerging research areas in the field of groundwater hydrology, resource management, environmental monitoring and during emergency response. Recent advancements in the fields of RS, GIS, GPS and higher level of computation will help in providing and handling a range of data simultaneously in a time- and cost-efficient manner. This review paper deals with hydrological modeling, uses of remote sensing and GIS in hydrological modeling, models of integrations and their need and in last the conclusion. After dealing with these issues conceptually and technically, we can develop better methods and novel approaches to handle large data sets and in a better way to communicate information related with rapidly decreasing societal resources, i.e. groundwater.

Monitoring Global Geophysical Fluids by Space Geodesy

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Benjamin F.; Dehant, V.; Gross, R. S.; Ray, R. D.; Salstein, D. A.; Watkins, M.

1999-01-01

Since its establishment on 1/1/1998 by the International Earth Rotation Service, the Coordinating Center for Monitoring Global Geophysical Fluids (MGGF) and its seven Special Bureaus have engaged in an effort to support and facilitate the understanding of the geophysical fluids in global geodynamics research. Mass transports in the atmosphere-hydrosphere-solid Earth-core system (the "global geophysical fluids") will cause the following geodynamic effects on a broad time scale: (1) variations in the solid Earth's rotation (in length-of-day and polar motion/nutation) via the conservation of angular momentum and effected by torques at the fluid-solid Earth interface; (2) changes in the global gravitational field according to Newton's gravitational law; and (3) motion in the center of mass of the solid Earth relative to that of the whole Earth ("geocenter") via the conservation of linear momentum. These minute signals have become observable by space geodetic techniques, primarily VLBI, SLR, GPS, and DORIS, with ever increasing precision/accuracy and temporal/spatial resolution. Each of the seven Special Bureaus within MGGF is responsible for calculations related to a specific Earth component or aspect -- Atmosphere, Ocean, Hydrology, Ocean Tides, Mantle, Core, and Gravity/Geocenter. Angular momenta and torques, gravitational coefficients, and geocenter shift will be computed for geophysical fluids based on global observational data, and from state-of-the-art models, some of which assimilate such data. The computed quantities, algorithm and data formats are standardized. The results are archived and made available to the scientific research community. This paper reports the status of the MGGF activities and current results.

Ring distributions leading to species formation: a global topographic analysis of geographic barriers associated with ring species.

Science.gov (United States)

Monahan, William B; Pereira, Ricardo J; Wake, David B

2012-03-12

In the mid 20th century, Ernst Mayr and Theodosius Dobzhansky championed the significance of circular overlaps or ring species as the perfect demonstration of speciation, yet in the over 50 years since, only a handful of such taxa are known. We developed a topographic model to evaluate whether the geographic barriers that favor processes leading to ring species are common or rare, and to predict where other candidate ring barriers might be found. Of the 952,147 geographic barriers identified on the planet, only about 1% are topographically similar to barriers associated with known ring taxa, with most of the likely candidates occurring in under-studied parts of the world (for example, marine environments, tropical latitudes). Predicted barriers separate into two distinct categories: (i) single cohesive barriers (barriers - formed by groups of barriers (each 184,000 to 1.7 million km2) in close geographic proximity (totaling 1.9 to 2.3 million km2) - associated with taxa that differentiate at larger spatial scales (birds: Phylloscopus trochiloides and Larus (sp. argentatus and fuscus)). When evaluated globally, we find a large number of cohesive barriers that are topographically similar to those associated with known ring taxa. Yet, compared to cohesive barriers, an order of magnitude fewer composite barriers are similar to those that favor ring divergence in species with higher dispersal. While these findings confirm that the topographic conditions that favor evolutionary processes leading to ring speciation are, in fact, rare, they also suggest that many understudied natural systems could provide valuable demonstrations of continuous divergence towards the formation of new species. Distinct advantages of the model are that it (i) requires no a priori information on the relative importance of features that define barriers, (ii) can be replicated using any kind of continuously distributed environmental variable, and (iii) generates spatially explicit hypotheses of

GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEMS (GNSS IN GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION AND APPLIED RESEARCH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Suchilin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the introduction of the newest methods of topographic surveying into the educational and scientific process, using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University. It describes the designation and use of the current reference geodetic training network for the training of students within the program of topographic practice. The basic concepts and purpose of the equipment of the geodetic class of the user segment of GNSS, both the basic location (reference stations and mobile complexes are disclosed. The technique of measuring and processing the accumulated data after field fixation (in static or kinematic modes of geographic objects and phenomena using GNSS has been given. A constantly operating network of reference stations of the faculty has been described. A full-scale example of using the GNSS complex by students of the faculty of the study area is given, the collected materials have been used for subsequent modeling (relief restoration based on the results of field measurements. Within the framework of the perspective development of the network of GNSS reference stations of the Moscow State University, the scheme of their location in the meridian direction on an ongoing basis has been shown, which will substantially expand the territorial coverage of the use of mobile GNSS complexes in geographic studies. Within the framework of the program of preservation of monuments of Russia’s cultural heritage, an example has been shown of the joint use of groundbased laser scanning techniques and a mobile GNSS complex conducted by students and teachers of leading Moscow universities and representatives of GFK Firm LLC. The result is the fixation of the geometric characteristics of the object in 1 cm steps in real coordinates, which makes it possible to carry out the necessary modeling, visualize the object in perspective form, carry out the necessary measurements, build sections

Bioethics of Universal Knowledge: How Space Science is Transforming Global Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, Kala

A new universal culture is championing the human race; never before has immersion in the cosmological environment been so clearly presented nor invited as revolutionary a sense of participatory identity to the human race. We are delving into the awareness of a complex relatedness with the expanse of spatial architectures and life that astrophysics and cosmology are revealing. History is marked by waves of interest and inquiry into the possibilities of the existence of other worlds. Since the Renaissance, building of telescopes has been pursued in their quest; now Kepler and other space missions are leading us into direct apprehension of these worlds, scattered across the cosmological landscape. This affords a unique repertoire of dimensionalities in which to re-construe our global cultural evolution and identity. Spatial education, with related social science and humanities, are facilitating the actualization of a universal culture, redefining the collective global heritage, with infinity as our home. The potential significance of space sciences to the human cognitive environment is yet to be fully ascertained. We now understand that the entire history of the universe informs each and every particle and spin of the fabric of existence. The implications of this knowledge have the power to facilitate our overcoming many social diseases such as racism, nationalism and the ideological delusions that tolerate such activities as warfare. Space sciences may help to purge the human cognitive atmosphere of those ills and ignorance that sap global resources, challenging global sustainability, from the economic to the psychosocial. Were the full implications of our united origins and destiny as a cosmic organism to be applied to how we live as a species on the Earth, there would be adequate funds for all manner of science and education such as to transform the global human and ecological landscape in ways as yet only dreamt or fictionalized. The bioethics of universal

Global forward-predicting dynamic routing for traffic concurrency space stereo multi-layer scale-free network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Wei-Hao; Zhou Bin; Liu En-Xiao; Lu Wei-Dang; Zhou Ting

2015-01-01

Many real communication networks, such as oceanic monitoring network and land environment observation network, can be described as space stereo multi-layer structure, and the traffic in these networks is concurrent. Understanding how traffic dynamics depend on these real communication networks and finding an effective routing strategy that can fit the circumstance of traffic concurrency and enhance the network performance are necessary. In this light, we propose a traffic model for space stereo multi-layer complex network and introduce two kinds of global forward-predicting dynamic routing strategies, global forward-predicting hybrid minimum queue (HMQ) routing strategy and global forward-predicting hybrid minimum degree and queue (HMDQ) routing strategy, for traffic concurrency space stereo multi-layer scale-free networks. By applying forward-predicting strategy, the proposed routing strategies achieve better performances in traffic concurrency space stereo multi-layer scale-free networks. Compared with the efficient routing strategy and global dynamic routing strategy, HMDQ and HMQ routing strategies can optimize the traffic distribution, alleviate the number of congested packets effectively and reach much higher network capacity. (paper)

Multiple sclerosis: a geographical hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlyle, I P

1997-12-01

Multiple sclerosis remains a rare neurological disease of unknown aetiology, with a unique distribution, both geographically and historically. Rare in equatorial regions, it becomes increasingly common in higher latitudes; historically, it was first clinically recognized in the early nineteenth century. A hypothesis, based on geographical reasoning, is here proposed: that the disease is the result of a specific vitamin deficiency. Different individuals suffer the deficiency in separate and often unique ways. Evidence to support the hypothesis exists in cultural considerations, in the global distribution of the disease, and in its historical prevalence.

Transnational Urban Spaces and Urban Environmental Reforms : Analyzing Beijing's Environmental Restructuring in the Light of Globalization.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Melchert Saguas Presas, L.

2004-01-01

In this era of globalization, `transnational spaces¿ are being created within urban settings, providing a direct connection between the `local¿ and the `global¿. Corporate headquarters, hotels, shopping malls, and airports are typical examples of such spaces, which while located within an urban

Black Bodies, White Rural Spaces: Disturbing Practices of Unbelonging for "Refugee" Students

Science.gov (United States)

Edgeworth, Kathryn

2015-01-01

In global times, when the forced migration of refugees from war-torn countries like Sudan impacts the demography of once ethnically homogenous schooling spaces, I consider the need to better understand the geographical making of racism. This article explores the lived experience of two newly arrived Sudanese students studying at a rural high…

Particle Control in Phase Space by Global K-Means Clustering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Jacob Trier; Lapenta, G.; Pessah, M. E.

2015-01-01

We devise and explore an iterative optimization procedure for controlling particle populations in particle-in-cell (PIC) codes via merging and splitting of computational macro-particles. Our approach, is to compute an optimal representation of the global particle phase space structure while decre...

Generalisation of geographic information cartographic modelling and applications

CERN Document Server

Mackaness, William A; Sarjakoski, L Tiina

2011-01-01

Theoretical and Applied Solutions in Multi Scale MappingUsers have come to expect instant access to up-to-date geographical information, with global coverage--presented at widely varying levels of detail, as digital and paper products; customisable data that can readily combined with other geographic information. These requirements present an immense challenge to those supporting the delivery of such services (National Mapping Agencies (NMA), Government Departments, and private business. Generalisation of Geographic Information: Cartographic Modelling and Applications provides detailed review

Global embedding of the Kerr black hole event horizon into hyperbolic 3-space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbons, G. W.; Herdeiro, C. A. R.; Rebelo, C.

2009-01-01

An explicit global and unique isometric embedding into hyperbolic 3-space, H 3 , of an axi-symmetric 2-surface with Gaussian curvature bounded below is given. In particular, this allows the embedding into H 3 of surfaces of revolution having negative, but finite, Gaussian curvature at smooth fixed points of the U(1) isometry. As an example, we exhibit the global embedding of the Kerr-Newman event horizon into H 3 , for arbitrary values of the angular momentum. For this example, considering a quotient of H 3 by the Picard group, we show that the hyperbolic embedding fits in a fundamental domain of the group up to a slightly larger value of the angular momentum than the limit for which a global embedding into Euclidean 3-space is possible. An embedding of the double-Kerr event horizon is also presented, as an example of an embedding that cannot be made global.

Gupta-Bleuler Quantization of the Maxwell Field in Globally Hyperbolic Space-Times

Science.gov (United States)

Finster, Felix; Strohmaier, Alexander

2015-08-01

We give a complete framework for the Gupta-Bleuler quantization of the free electromagnetic field on globally hyperbolic space-times. We describe one-particle structures that give rise to states satisfying the microlocal spectrum condition. The field algebras in the so-called Gupta-Bleuler representations satisfy the time-slice axiom, and the corresponding vacuum states satisfy the microlocal spectrum condition. We also give an explicit construction of ground states on ultrastatic space-times. Unlike previous constructions, our method does not require a spectral gap or the absence of zero modes. The only requirement, the absence of zero-resonance states, is shown to be stable under compact perturbations of topology and metric. Usual deformation arguments based on the time-slice axiom then lead to a construction of Gupta-Bleuler representations on a large class of globally hyperbolic space-times. As usual, the field algebra is represented on an indefinite inner product space, in which the physical states form a positive semi-definite subspace. Gauge transformations are incorporated in such a way that the field can be coupled perturbatively to a Dirac field. Our approach does not require any topological restrictions on the underlying space-time.

Future role and significance of space activities in reflection of global social, technological and economic trends

Science.gov (United States)

Diekmann, Andreas; Richarz, Hans.-Peter

The paper describes the interrelation of space activities and global socio-economic trends like "globalisation of markets" and "renaissance of fine arts". The interrelation reveals the economic strategic, technological and scientific dimension of space activities and their benefits to mankind. Then, the significance and perspectives of space activities in these dimensions are examined in more detail. The paper calls (1) for a more visible initiative to employ space activities to tackle urgent questions of global change and development, and (2) for a stronger impetus to secure European economic position in space sector as a key industry of the 21st century.

[Geographic data for Neotropical bats (Chiroptera)].

Science.gov (United States)

Noguera-Urbano, Elkin A; Escalante, Tania

2014-03-01

The global effort to digitize biodiversity occurrence data from collections, museums and other institutions has stimulated the development of important tools to improve the knowledge and conservation of biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) enables and opens access to biodiversity data of 321 million of records, from 379 host institutions. Neotropical bats are a highly diverse and specialized group, and the geographic information about them is increasing since few years ago, but there are a few reports about this topic. The aim of this study was to analyze the number of digital records in GBIF of Neotropical bats with distribution in 21 American countries, evaluating their nomenclatural and geographical consistence at scale of country. Moreover, we evaluated the gaps of information on 1 degrees latitude x 1 degrees longitude grids cells. There were over 1/2 million records, but 58% of them have no latitude and longitude data; and 52% full fit nomenclatural and geographic evaluation. We estimated that there are no records in 54% of the analyzed area; the principal gaps are in biodiversity hotspots like the Colombian and Brazilian Amazonia and Southern Venezuela. In conclusion, our study suggests that available data on GBIF have nomenclatural and geographic biases. GBIF data represent partially the bat species richness and the main gaps in information are in South America.

Modeling extreme "Carrington-type" space weather events using three-dimensional global MHD simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwira, Chigomezyo M.; Pulkkinen, Antti; Kuznetsova, Maria M.; Glocer, Alex

2014-06-01

There is a growing concern over possible severe societal consequences related to adverse space weather impacts on man-made technological infrastructure. In the last two decades, significant progress has been made toward the first-principles modeling of space weather events, and three-dimensional (3-D) global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models have been at the forefront of this transition, thereby playing a critical role in advancing our understanding of space weather. However, the modeling of extreme space weather events is still a major challenge even for the modern global MHD models. In this study, we introduce a specially adapted University of Michigan 3-D global MHD model for simulating extreme space weather events with a Dst footprint comparable to the Carrington superstorm of September 1859 based on the estimate by Tsurutani et. al. (2003). Results are presented for a simulation run with "very extreme" constructed/idealized solar wind boundary conditions driving the magnetosphere. In particular, we describe the reaction of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system and the associated induced geoelectric field on the ground to such extreme driving conditions. The model setup is further tested using input data for an observed space weather event of Halloween storm October 2003 to verify the MHD model consistence and to draw additional guidance for future work. This extreme space weather MHD model setup is designed specifically for practical application to the modeling of extreme geomagnetically induced electric fields, which can drive large currents in ground-based conductor systems such as power transmission grids. Therefore, our ultimate goal is to explore the level of geoelectric fields that can be induced from an assumed storm of the reported magnitude, i.e., Dst˜=-1600 nT.

How severe space weather can disrupt global supply chains

Science.gov (United States)

Schulte in den Bäumen, H.; Moran, D.; Lenzen, M.; Cairns, I.; Steenge, A.

2014-10-01

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) strong enough to create electromagnetic effects at latitudes below the auroral oval are frequent events that could soon have substantial impacts on electrical grids. Modern society's heavy reliance on these domestic and international networks increases our susceptibility to such a severe space-weather event. Using a new high-resolution model of the global economy, we simulate the economic impact of strong CMEs for three different planetary orientations. We account for the economic impacts within the countries directly affected, as well as the post-disaster economic shock in partner economies linked by international trade. For a 1989 Quebec-like event, the global economic impacts would range from USD 2.4 to 3.4 trillion over a year. Of this total economic shock, about 50% would be felt in countries outside the zone of direct impact, leading to a loss in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.9 to 5.6%. The global economic damage is of the same order as wars, extreme financial crisis and estimated for future climate change.

The Geographical Distribution of Leadership in Globalized Clinical Trials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoekman, J.; Frenken, K.; de Zeeuw, D.; Lambers-Heerspink, H.J.

2012-01-01

Background: Pharmaceutical trials are mainly initiated by sponsors and investigators in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. However, more and more patients are enrolled in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. The involvement of patients in new geographical settings raises

Modelling the sequential geographical exploitation and potential collapse of marine fisheries through economic globalization, climate change and management alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorka Merino

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Global marine fisheries production has reached a maximum and may even be declining. Underlying this trend is a well-understood sequence of development, overexploitation, depletion and in some instances collapse of individual fish stocks, a pattern that can sequentially link geographically distant populations. Ineffective governance, economic considerations and climate impacts are often responsible for this sequence, although the relative contribution of each factor is contentious. In this paper we use a global bioeconomic model to explore the synergistic effects of climate variability, economic pressures and management measures in causing or avoiding this sequence. The model shows how a combination of climate-induced variability in the underlying fish population production, particular patterns of demand for fish products and inadequate management is capable of driving the world’s fisheries into development, overexploitation, collapse and recovery phases consistent with observations. Furthermore, it demonstrates how a sequential pattern of overexploitation can emerge as an endogenous property of the interaction between regional environmental fluctuations and a globalized trade system. This situation is avoidable through adaptive management measures that ensure the sustainability of regional production systems in the face of increasing global environmental change and markets. It is concluded that global management measures are needed to ensure that global food supply from marine products is optimized while protecting long-term ecosystem services across the world’s oceans.

Y spaces and global smooth solution of fractional Navier-Stokes equations with initial value in the critical oscillation spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qixiang; Yang, Haibo

2018-04-01

For fractional Navier-Stokes equations and critical initial spaces X, one used to establish the well-posedness in the solution space which is contained in C (R+ , X). In this paper, for heat flow, we apply parameter Meyer wavelets to introduce Y spaces Y m , β where Y m , β is not contained in C (R+, B˙∞ 1 - 2 β , ∞). Consequently, for 1/2 global well-posedness of fractional Navier-Stokes equations with small initial data in all the critical oscillation spaces. The critical oscillation spaces may be any Besov-Morrey spaces (B˙p,q γ1 ,γ2 (Rn)) n or any Triebel-Lizorkin-Morrey spaces (F˙p,q γ1 ,γ2 (Rn)) n where 1 ≤ p , q ≤ ∞ , 0 ≤γ2 ≤ n/p, γ1 -γ2 = 1 - 2 β. These critical spaces include many known spaces. For example, Besov spaces, Sobolev spaces, Bloch spaces, Q-spaces, Morrey spaces and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces etc.

Reflecting on Role Play in Geographic Education: The Case of the Banana War

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz, Hilda E.

2004-01-01

Debates over the nature and extent of globalization raise many issues to be addressed in a geographic education. In this paper, I briefly review case method instruction and role-play as teaching strategies suitable for material on globalization and other geographic subject matter, and then sketch an overview of an undergraduate geography role-play…

Ring distributions leading to species formation: a global topographic analysis of geographic barriers associated with ring species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monahan William B

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the mid 20th century, Ernst Mayr and Theodosius Dobzhansky championed the significance of circular overlaps or ring species as the perfect demonstration of speciation, yet in the over 50 years since, only a handful of such taxa are known. We developed a topographic model to evaluate whether the geographic barriers that favor processes leading to ring species are common or rare, and to predict where other candidate ring barriers might be found. Results Of the 952,147 geographic barriers identified on the planet, only about 1% are topographically similar to barriers associated with known ring taxa, with most of the likely candidates occurring in under-studied parts of the world (for example, marine environments, tropical latitudes. Predicted barriers separate into two distinct categories: (i single cohesive barriers (2, associated with taxa that differentiate at smaller spatial scales (salamander: Ensatina eschscholtzii; tree: Acacia karroo; and (ii composite barriers - formed by groups of barriers (each 184,000 to 1.7 million km2 in close geographic proximity (totaling 1.9 to 2.3 million km2 - associated with taxa that differentiate at larger spatial scales (birds: Phylloscopus trochiloides and Larus (sp. argentatus and fuscus. When evaluated globally, we find a large number of cohesive barriers that are topographically similar to those associated with known ring taxa. Yet, compared to cohesive barriers, an order of magnitude fewer composite barriers are similar to those that favor ring divergence in species with higher dispersal. Conclusions While these findings confirm that the topographic conditions that favor evolutionary processes leading to ring speciation are, in fact, rare, they also suggest that many understudied natural systems could provide valuable demonstrations of continuous divergence towards the formation of new species. Distinct advantages of the model are that it (i requires no a priori information on the

Global atmospheric response to emissions from a proposed reusable space launch system

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Erik J. L.; Portmann, Robert W.; Rosenlof, Karen H.; Fahey, David W.; Daniel, John S.; Ross, Martin N.

2017-01-01

Modern reusable launch vehicle technology may allow high flight rate space transportation at low cost. Emissions associated with a hydrogen fueled reusable rocket system are modeled based on the launch requirements of developing a space-based solar power system that generates present-day global electric energy demand. Flight rates from 104 to 106 per year are simulated and sustained to a quasisteady state. For the assumed rocket engine, H2O and NOX are the primary emission products; this also includes NOX produced during reentry heating. For a base case of 105 flights per year, global stratospheric and mesospheric water vapor increase by approximately 10 and 100%, respectively. As a result, high-latitude cloudiness increases in the lower stratosphere and near the mesopause by as much as 20%. Increased water vapor also results in global effective radiative forcing of about 0.03 W/m2. NOX produced during reentry exceeds meteoritic production by more than an order of magnitude, and along with in situ stratospheric emissions, results in a 0.5% loss of the globally averaged ozone column, with column losses in the polar regions exceeding 2%.

Geographic Information Technologies as an outreach activity in geo-scientific education

Science.gov (United States)

Maman, Shimrit; Isaacson, Sivan; Blumberg, Dan G.

2016-04-01

In recent years, a decline in the rates of examinees in the academic track that were entitled to an enhanced matriculation certificate in scientific-technological education was reported in Israel. To confront this problem the Earth and Planetary Image Facility (EPIF) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev fosters interdisciplinary exploration through educational programs that make use of the facility and its equipment and enable the empowerment of the community by understanding and appreciating science and technology. This is achieved by using Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) such as remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for geo-physical sciences in activities that combine theoretical background with hands-on activities. Monitoring Earth from space by satellites, digital atlases and virtual-based positioning applications are examples for fusion of spatial information (geographic) and technology that the activity is based on. GIT opens a new chapter and a recent history of Cartography starting from the collection of spatial data to its presentation and analysis. GIS have replaced the use of classical atlas books and offer a variety of Web-based applications that provide maps and display up-to-date imagery. The purpose of this workshop is to expose teachers and students to GITs which are applicable in every classroom. The activity imparts free geographic information systems that exist in cyberspace and accessible to single users as the Israeli national GIS and Google earth, which are based on a spatial data and long term local and global satellite imagery coverage. In this paper, our "Think global-Map Local" activity is presented. The activity uses GIS and change detection technologies as means to encourage students to explore environmental issues both around the globe and close to their surroundings. The students detect changes by comparing multi temporal images of a chosen site and learn how to map the alterations and produce change

Designing carbon markets, Part II: Carbon markets in space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fankhauser, Samuel; Hepburn, Cameron

2010-01-01

This paper analyses the design of carbon markets in space (i.e., geographically). It is part of a twin set of papers that, starting from first principles, ask what an optimal global carbon market would look like by around 2030. Our focus is on firm-level cap-and-trade systems, although much of what we say would also apply to government-level trading and carbon offset schemes. We examine the 'first principles' of spatial design to maximise flexibility and to minimise costs, including key design issues in linking national and regional carbon markets together to create a global carbon market.

Euclidean scalar Green function in a higher dimensional global monopole space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezerra de Mello, E.R.

2002-01-01

We construct the explicit Euclidean scalar Green function associated with a massless field in a higher dimensional global monopole space-time, i.e., a (1+d)-space-time with d≥3 which presents a solid angle deficit. Our result is expressed in terms of an infinite sum of products of Legendre functions with Gegenbauer polynomials. Although this Green function cannot be expressed in a closed form, for the specific case where the solid angle deficit is very small, it is possible to develop the sum and obtain the Green function in a more workable expression. Having this expression it is possible to calculate the vacuum expectation value of some relevant operators. As an application of this formalism, we calculate the renormalized vacuum expectation value of the square of the scalar field, 2 (x)> Ren , and the energy-momentum tensor, μν (x)> Ren , for the global monopole space-time with spatial dimensions d=4 and d=5

A local-to-global singularity theorem for quantum field theory on curved space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radzikowski, M.J.; York Univ.

1996-01-01

We prove that if a reference two-point distribution of positive type on a time orientable curved space-time (CST) satisfies a certain condition on its wave front set (the ''class P M,g condition'') and if any other two-point distribution (i) is of positive type, (ii) has the same antisymmetric part as the reference modulo smooth function and (iii) has the same local singularity structure, then it has the same global singularity structure. In the proof we use a smoothing, positivity-preserving pseudo-differential operator the support of whose symbol is restricted to a certain conic region which depends on the wave front set of the reference state. This local-to-global theorem, together with results published elsewhere, leads to a verification of a conjecture by Kay that for quasi-free states of the Klein-Gordon quantum field on a globally hyperbolic CST, the local Hadamard condition implies the global Hadamard condition. A counterexample to the local-to-global theorem on a strip in Minkowski space is given when the class P M,g condition is not assumed. (orig.)

Space Power Theory: Controlling the Medium Without Weapons in Space

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wilkerson, Don L

2008-01-01

.... strategic space assets and the ability to negate enemy space systems is essential to U.S. space strategy in controlling the geographical environment of space, predominately in the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO...

The loss of species: mangrove extinction risk and geographic areas of global concern.

Science.gov (United States)

Polidoro, Beth A; Carpenter, Kent E; Collins, Lorna; Duke, Norman C; Ellison, Aaron M; Ellison, Joanna C; Farnsworth, Elizabeth J; Fernando, Edwino S; Kathiresan, Kandasamy; Koedam, Nico E; Livingstone, Suzanne R; Miyagi, Toyohiko; Moore, Gregg E; Ngoc Nam, Vien; Ong, Jin Eong; Primavera, Jurgenne H; Salmo, Severino G; Sanciangco, Jonnell C; Sukardjo, Sukristijono; Wang, Yamin; Yong, Jean Wan Hong

2010-04-08

Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangrove forests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquaculture and logged for timber and fuel production. Little is known about the effects of mangrove area loss on individual mangrove species and local or regional populations. To address this gap, species-specific information on global distribution, population status, life history traits, and major threats were compiled for each of the 70 known species of mangroves. Each species' probability of extinction was assessed under the Categories and Criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Eleven of the 70 mangrove species (16%) are at elevated threat of extinction. Particular areas of geographical concern include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40% of mangroves species present are threatened with extinction. Across the globe, mangrove species found primarily in the high intertidal and upstream estuarine zones, which often have specific freshwater requirements and patchy distributions, are the most threatened because they are often the first cleared for development of aquaculture and agriculture. The loss of mangrove species will have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities, especially in those areas with low mangrove diversity and high mangrove area or species loss. Several species at high risk of extinction may disappear well before the next decade if existing protective measures are not enforced.

The loss of species: mangrove extinction risk and geographic areas of global concern.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beth A Polidoro

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangrove forests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquaculture and logged for timber and fuel production. Little is known about the effects of mangrove area loss on individual mangrove species and local or regional populations. To address this gap, species-specific information on global distribution, population status, life history traits, and major threats were compiled for each of the 70 known species of mangroves. Each species' probability of extinction was assessed under the Categories and Criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Eleven of the 70 mangrove species (16% are at elevated threat of extinction. Particular areas of geographical concern include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40% of mangroves species present are threatened with extinction. Across the globe, mangrove species found primarily in the high intertidal and upstream estuarine zones, which often have specific freshwater requirements and patchy distributions, are the most threatened because they are often the first cleared for development of aquaculture and agriculture. The loss of mangrove species will have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities, especially in those areas with low mangrove diversity and high mangrove area or species loss. Several species at high risk of extinction may disappear well before the next decade if existing protective measures are not enforced.

A Global User-Driven Model for Tile Prefetching in Web Geographical Information Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Shaoming; Chong, Yanwen; Zhang, Hang; Tan, Xicheng

2017-01-01

A web geographical information system is a typical service-intensive application. Tile prefetching and cache replacement can improve cache hit ratios by proactively fetching tiles from storage and replacing the appropriate tiles from the high-speed cache buffer without waiting for a client's requests, which reduces disk latency and improves system access performance. Most popular prefetching strategies consider only the relative tile popularities to predict which tile should be prefetched or consider only a single individual user's access behavior to determine which neighbor tiles need to be prefetched. Some studies show that comprehensively considering all users' access behaviors and all tiles' relationships in the prediction process can achieve more significant improvements. Thus, this work proposes a new global user-driven model for tile prefetching and cache replacement. First, based on all users' access behaviors, a type of expression method for tile correlation is designed and implemented. Then, a conditional prefetching probability can be computed based on the proposed correlation expression mode. Thus, some tiles to be prefetched can be found by computing and comparing the conditional prefetching probability from the uncached tiles set and, similarly, some replacement tiles can be found in the cache buffer according to multi-step prefetching. Finally, some experiments are provided comparing the proposed model with other global user-driven models, other single user-driven models, and other client-side prefetching strategies. The results show that the proposed model can achieve a prefetching hit rate in approximately 10.6% ~ 110.5% higher than the compared methods.

The information metric on the moduli space of instantons with global symmetries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuel Malek

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this note we revisit Hitchin's prescription [1] of the Fisher metric as a natural measure on the moduli space of instantons that encodes the space–time symmetries of a classical field theory. Motivated by the idea of the moduli space of supersymmetric instantons as an emergent space in the sense of the gauge/gravity duality, we extend the prescription to encode also global symmetries of the underlying theory. We exemplify our construction with the instanton solution of the CPN sigma model on R2.

A systematic review of the application and utility of geographical information systems for exploring disease-disease relationships in paediatric global health research: the case of anaemia and malaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aimone, Ashley Mariko; Perumal, Nandita; Cole, Donald C

2013-01-10

Malaria and anaemia are important health problems among children globally. Iron deficiency anaemia may offer protection against malaria infection and iron supplementation may increase the risk of malaria-related hospitalization and mortality. The nature and mechanism of these relationships, however, remain largely unresolved, resulting in concern and uncertainty around policies for non-selective iron supplementation in malaria endemic areas. Use of geographical information systems (GIS) to investigate this disease-disease interaction could contribute important new information for developing safe and effective anaemia and malaria interventions. To assess the current state of knowledge we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. Our primary objective was to qualitatively assess the application and utility of geographical concepts or spatial analyses in paediatric global health research. The secondary objective was to identify geographical factors that may be associated with anaemia and malaria prevalence or incidence among children 0-5 years of age living in low- and middle-income countries. Evaluation tools for assessing the quality of geographical data could not be found in the peer-reviewed or grey literature, and thus adapted versions of the STROBE (Strengthening The Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) and GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methods were used to create reporting, and overall evidence quality scoring systems. Among the 20 included studies, we found that both malaria and anaemia were more prevalent in rural communities compared to urban areas. Geographical factors associated with malaria prevalence included regional transmission stability, and proximity to a mosquito breeding area. The prevalence of anaemia tended to vary inversely with greater or poorer access to community services such as piped water. Techniques for investigating geographic relationships ranged from

A systematic review of the application and utility of geographical information systems for exploring disease-disease relationships in paediatric global health research: the case of anaemia and malaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aimone Ashley Mariko

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Malaria and anaemia are important health problems among children globally. Iron deficiency anaemia may offer protection against malaria infection and iron supplementation may increase the risk of malaria-related hospitalization and mortality. The nature and mechanism of these relationships, however, remain largely unresolved, resulting in concern and uncertainty around policies for non-selective iron supplementation in malaria endemic areas. Use of geographical information systems (GIS to investigate this disease-disease interaction could contribute important new information for developing safe and effective anaemia and malaria interventions. To assess the current state of knowledge we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. Our primary objective was to qualitatively assess the application and utility of geographical concepts or spatial analyses in paediatric global health research. The secondary objective was to identify geographical factors that may be associated with anaemia and malaria prevalence or incidence among children 0–5 years of age living in low- and middle-income countries. Evaluation tools for assessing the quality of geographical data could not be found in the peer-reviewed or grey literature, and thus adapted versions of the STROBE (Strengthening The Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology and GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation methods were used to create reporting, and overall evidence quality scoring systems. Among the 20 included studies, we found that both malaria and anaemia were more prevalent in rural communities compared to urban areas. Geographical factors associated with malaria prevalence included regional transmission stability, and proximity to a mosquito breeding area. The prevalence of anaemia tended to vary inversely with greater or poorer access to community services such as piped water. Techniques for investigating geographic

Global risk & global challenges - Space as a game changer for socioeconomic sustainable development

Science.gov (United States)

Lehnert, Christopher; Karlsson, Evelina; Giannopapa, Christina

2017-11-01

The world's societies at the beginning of the 21st century are better off than ever before. (Gapminder, 2015) At the same time, the world is also threatened by global challenges where space as a tool has and can play a pivotal role in meeting those challenges. The challenges range from climate change, over mass unemployment, to terrorism or migration - to name but a few. Space activities have started to respond to this changing world, not only by providing a deeper understanding of our universe, but by using space as an additional sphere and sector, through which humankind can increase and secure its wealth - it is thus game changing in the way we sustain humanity's existence. This paper is meant to capture this development. In the first part, an overview is given on the risks that humankind is facing. The second part describes the way that space can be used as a tool to prevent and manage these risks. The overview in the first part is based on the examination of the most recent reports and overall strategies of key International Governmental Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations that are involved in agenda-setting, policy formulation and implementation. The second part includes an overview on current activities of the European Space Agency (ESA) that play a role in responding to these risks. To better understand ESA's activities that contain humanity's risks, a standard classification for risks management is used, which distinguishes between four components: Identification, Assessment, Management and Communication (Renn, 2005). The analysis reveals how space activities already today play a pivotal role in all four types of risk management. Space activities contribute very tangible to the management of risks through its space mission, but also in a more indirect way, as providing the technical backbone for stable and reliable cooperation in the international governance arena, and serve as crucial economic stimulator. The overall results show that space

American lay conceptions of global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kempton, W.

1990-01-01

Ethnographic interviews were conducted with Americans from all walks of life in order to understand how ordinary citizens conceptualize global climate change and make value judgments about it. Most informants had heard of the greenhouse effect, but they held fundamental misconceptions that were shared across individuals. Many of these misconceptions derive from the process of fitting a new concept, global warming, into four preexisting categories: stratospheric ozone depletion, plant photosynthesis, tropospheric pollution, and personally-experienced seasonal and geographic temperature variation. Informants readily accepted that human activities could change climate and weather patterns. Indeed, most reported they had already observed changes in weather patterns, some citing space shots or atomic bomb testing as causes. Few informants connected the greenhouse effect to energy or fuel consumption, although the connection was easily understood when explained by the interviewers

Explaining Global Women's Empowerment Using Geographic Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Grubbs, Melanie R.

2018-01-01

It is difficult for students who are just being introduced to major geographical concepts to understand how relatively free countries like India or Mali can have such high levels of human rights abuses as child brides, dowry deaths, and domestic violence. Textbooks explain it and video clips show examples, but it still seems surreal to teenagers…

Urban agriculture: a global analysis of the space constraint to meet urban vegetable demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martellozzo, F; Landry, J-S; Plouffe, D; Seufert, V; Ramankutty, N; Rowhani, P

2014-01-01

Urban agriculture (UA) has been drawing a lot of attention recently for several reasons: the majority of the world population has shifted from living in rural to urban areas; the environmental impact of agriculture is a matter of rising concern; and food insecurity, especially the accessibility of food, remains a major challenge. UA has often been proposed as a solution to some of these issues, for example by producing food in places where population density is highest, reducing transportation costs, connecting people directly to food systems and using urban areas efficiently. However, to date no study has examined how much food could actually be produced in urban areas at the global scale. Here we use a simple approach, based on different global-scale datasets, to assess to what extent UA is constrained by the existing amount of urban space. Our results suggest that UA would require roughly one third of the total global urban area to meet the global vegetable consumption of urban dwellers. This estimate does not consider how much urban area may actually be suitable and available for UA, which likely varies substantially around the world and according to the type of UA performed. Further, this global average value masks variations of more than two orders of magnitude among individual countries. The variations in the space required across countries derive mostly from variations in urban population density, and much less from variations in yields or per capita consumption. Overall, the space required is regrettably the highest where UA is most needed, i.e., in more food insecure countries. We also show that smaller urban clusters (i.e., <100 km 2 each) together represent about two thirds of the global urban extent; thus UA discourse and policies should not focus on large cities exclusively, but should also target smaller urban areas that offer the greatest potential in terms of physical space. (letters)

Formal Ontologies and Uncertainty. In Geographical Knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Caglioni

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Formal ontologies have proved to be a very useful tool to manage interoperability among data, systems and knowledge. In this paper we will show how formal ontologies can evolve from a crisp, deterministic framework (ontologies of hard knowledge to new probabilistic, fuzzy or possibilistic frameworks (ontologies of soft knowledge. This can considerably enlarge the application potential of formal ontologies in geographic analysis and planning, where soft knowledge is intrinsically linked to the complexity of the phenomena under study.  The paper briefly presents these new uncertainty-based formal ontologies. It then highlights how ontologies are formal tools to define both concepts and relations among concepts. An example from the domain of urban geography finally shows how the cause-to-effect relation between household preferences and urban sprawl can be encoded within a crisp, a probabilistic and a possibilistic ontology, respectively. The ontology formalism will also determine the kind of reasoning that can be developed from available knowledge. Uncertain ontologies can be seen as the preliminary phase of more complex uncertainty-based models. The advantages of moving to uncertainty-based models is evident: whether it is in the analysis of geographic space or in decision support for planning, reasoning on geographic space is almost always reasoning with uncertain knowledge of geographic phenomena.

Petascale Diagnostic Assessment of the Global Portfolio Rainfall Space Missions' Ability to Support Flood Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, P. M.; Chaney, N.; Herman, J. D.; Wood, E. F.; Ferringer, M. P.

2015-12-01

This research represents a multi-institutional collaboration between Cornell University, The Aerospace Corporation, and Princeton University that has completed a Petascale diagnostic assessment of the current 10 satellite missions providing rainfall observations. Our diagnostic assessment has required four core tasks: (1) formally linking high-resolution astrodynamics design and coordination of space assets with their global hydrological impacts within a Petascale "many-objective" global optimization framework, (2) developing a baseline diagnostic evaluation of a 1-degree resolution global implementation of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model to establish the required satellite observation frequencies and coverage to maintain acceptable global flood forecasts, (3) evaluating the limitations and vulnerabilities of the full suite of current satellite precipitation missions including the recently approved Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, and (4) conceptualizing the next generation spaced-based platforms for water cycle observation. Our team exploited over 100 Million hours of computing access on the 700,000+ core Blue Waters machine to radically advance our ability to discover and visualize key system tradeoffs and sensitivities. This project represents to our knowledge the first attempt to develop a 10,000 member Monte Carlo global hydrologic simulation at one degree resolution that characterizes the uncertain effects of changing the available frequencies of satellite precipitation on drought and flood forecasts. The simulation—optimization components of the work have set a theoretical baseline for the best possible frequencies and coverages for global precipitation given unlimited investment, broad international coordination in reconfiguring existing assets, and new satellite constellation design objectives informed directly by key global hydrologic forecasting requirements. Our research poses a step towards realizing the integrated

Modeling species’ realized climatic niche space and predicting their response to global warming for several western forest species with small geographic distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus V. Warwell; Gerald E. Rehfeldt; Nicholas L. Crookston

2010-01-01

The Random Forests multiple regression tree was used to develop an empirically based bioclimatic model of the presence-absence of species occupying small geographic distributions in western North America. The species assessed were subalpine larch (Larix lyallii), smooth Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica ssp. glabra...

Using The Global Positioning System For Earth Orbiter and Deep Space Network

Science.gov (United States)

Lichten, Stephen M.; Haines, Bruce J.; Young, Lawrence E.; Dunn, Charles; Srinivasan, Jeff; Sweeney, Dennis; Nandi, Sumita; Spitzmesser, Don

1994-01-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) can play a major role in supporting orbit and trajectory determination for spacecraft in a wide range of applications, including low-Earth, high-earth, and even deep space (interplanetary) tracking.

Polygons of global undersea features for geographic searches

Science.gov (United States)

Hartwell, Stephen R.; Wingfield, Dana K.; Allwardt, Alan O.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Wong, Florence L.

2018-01-01

A shapefile of 311 undersea features from all major oceans and seas has been created as an aid for retrieving georeferenced information resources. Geospatial information systems with the capability to search user-defined, polygonal geographic areas will be able to utilize this shapefile or secondary products derived from it, such as linked data based on well-known text representations of the individual polygons within the shapefile. Version 1.1 of this report also includes a linked data representation of 299 of these features and their spatial extents.

Environmental safety of the global information space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В’ячеслав Степанович Волошин

2015-03-01

Databases of full-text publications – journals, articles, monographs- are surely a means of salvation for science. There already exist a large number of such portals. Besides, advantages and disadvantages of electronic subscriptions to periodicals should certainly be considered. The former include the following most evident ones: aggregation of large data arrays, saving money on a subscription, an opportunity to work with relevant publications, thematic collections of materials, availability of records, simultaneous access of an unlimited number of users and others. Nevertheless, there are many disadvantages that make it difficult to work with full-text publications. They are the following: selective representativeness of publication numbers, complexity of keyword search, occasional presence of obsolete text formats, printed versions, possible psychological barrier, physiological incompatibility with computer equipment, fatigue caused by prolonged work on the computer. The Internet was followed by the appearance of global control networks, their aims ranging from control of a human life support to a unified control of humanity. So, the formed global information space promises the man to get access to almost any information source. Meanwhile, environmental safety of the man, his/her objective biological psyche and abilities in harmonious development are at serious risk

Virtual Spaces and Networks in Geographical Education and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Chalmers, Lex

2009-01-01

This paper relates developments in the use of Internet-based communication technologies to contemporary exchanges of geographical ideas and content. A brief history of the Internet provides the basis for a review of uses of broadband Internet in contemporary Geography. Two themes are explored: the first is the concept of virtual communities of…

Sustaining Air Force Space Systems: A Model for the Global Positioning System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Snyder, Don; Mills, Patrick; Comanor, Katherine; Roll, Jr, Charles R

2007-01-01

... and sustainment affect the performance of space systems. In this monograph, we develop a pilot framework for analyzing these and related questions in the ground segment of the Global Positioning System and recommend steps for implementing this framework...

Individual Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Space Service Volume

Science.gov (United States)

Force, Dale A.

2015-01-01

Besides providing position, navigation, and timing (PNT) to terrestrial users, GPS is currently used to provide for precision orbit determination, precise time synchronization, real-time spacecraft navigation, and three-axis control of Earth orbiting satellites. With additional Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) coming into service (GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo), it will be possible to provide these services by using other GNSS constellations. The paper, "GPS in the Space Service Volume," presented at the ION GNSS 19th International Technical Meeting in 2006 (Ref. 1), defined the Space Service Volume, and analyzed the performance of GPS out to 70,000 km. This paper will report a similar analysis of the performance of each of the additional GNSS and compare them with GPS alone. The Space Service Volume, defined as the volume between 3,000 km altitude and geosynchronous altitude, as compared with the Terrestrial Service Volume between the surface and 3,000 km. In the Terrestrial Service Volume, GNSS performance will be similar to performance on the Earth's surface. The GPS system has established signal requirements for the Space Service Volume. A separate paper presented at the conference covers the use of multiple GNSS in the Space Service Volume.

Space geodesy validation of the global lithospheric flow

Science.gov (United States)

Crespi, M.; Cuffaro, M.; Doglioni, C.; Giannone, F.; Riguzzi, F.

2007-02-01

Space geodesy data are used to verify whether plates move chaotically or rather follow a sort of tectonic mainstream. While independent lines of geological evidence support the existence of a global ordered flow of plate motions that is westerly polarized, the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) presents limitations in describing absolute plate motions relative to the mantle. For these reasons we jointly estimated a new plate motions model and three different solutions of net lithospheric rotation. Considering the six major plate boundaries and variable source depths of the main Pacific hotspots, we adapted the TRF plate kinematics by global space geodesy to absolute plate motions models with respect to the mantle. All three reconstructions confirm (i) the tectonic mainstream and (ii) the net rotation of the lithosphere. We still do not know the precise trend of this tectonic flow and the velocity of the differential rotation. However, our results show that assuming faster Pacific motions, as the asthenospheric source of the hotspots would allow, the best lithospheric net rotation estimate is 13.4 +/- 0.7 cm yr-1. This superfast solution seems in contradiction with present knowledge on the lithosphere decoupling, but it matches remarkably better with the geological constraints than those retrieved with slower Pacific motion and net rotation estimates. Assuming faster Pacific motion, it is shown that all plates move orderly `westward' along the tectonic mainstream at different velocities and the equator of the lithospheric net rotation lies inside the corresponding tectonic mainstream latitude band (~ +/-7°), defined by the 1σ confidence intervals.

Towards a Global Hub and a Network for Collaborative Advancing of Space Weather Predictive Capabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuznetsova, M. M.; Heynderickz, D.; Grande, M.; Opgenoorth, H. J.

2017-12-01

The COSPAR/ILWS roadmap on space weather published in 2015 (Advances in Space Research, 2015: DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2015.03.023) prioritizes steps to be taken to advance understanding of space environment phenomena and to improve space weather forecasting capabilities. General recommendations include development of a comprehensive space environment specification, assessment of the state of the field on a 5-yr basis, standardization of meta-data and product metrics. To facilitate progress towards roadmap goals there is a need for a global hub for collaborative space weather capabilities assessment and development that brings together research, engineering, operational, educational, and end-user communities. The COSPAR Panel on Space Weather is aiming to build upon past progress and to facilitate coordination of established and new international space weather research and development initiatives. Keys to the success include creating flexible, collaborative, inclusive environment and engaging motivated groups and individuals committed to active participation in international multi-disciplinary teams focused on topics addressing emerging needs and challenges in the rapidly growing field of space weather. Near term focus includes comprehensive assessment of the state of the field and establishing an internationally recognized process to quantify and track progress over time, development of a global network of distributed web-based resources and interconnected interactive services required for space weather research, analysis, forecasting and education.

Global Lunar Topography from the Deep Space Gateway for Science and Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Archinal, B.; Gaddis, L.; Kirk, R.; Edmundson, K.; Stone, T.; Portree, D.; Keszthelyi, L.

2018-02-01

The Deep Space Gateway, in low lunar orbit, could be used to achieve a long standing goal of lunar science, collecting stereo images in two months to make a complete, uniform, high resolution, known accuracy, global topographic model of the Moon.

Exploration of Stellarator Configuration Space with Global Search Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mynick, H.E.; Pomphrey, N.; Ethier, S.

2001-01-01

An exploration of stellarator configuration space z for quasi-axisymmetric stellarator (QAS) designs is discussed, using methods which provide a more global view of that space. To this end, we have implemented a ''differential evolution'' (DE) search algorithm in an existing stellarator optimizer, which is much less prone to become trapped in local, suboptimal minima of the cost function chi than the local search methods used previously. This search algorithm is complemented by mapping studies of chi over z aimed at gaining insight into the results of the automated searches. We find that a wide range of the attractive QAS configurations previously found fall into a small number of classes, with each class corresponding to a basin of chi(z). We develop maps on which these earlier stellarators can be placed, the relations among them seen, and understanding gained into the physics differences between them. It is also found that, while still large, the region of z space containing practically realizable QAS configurations is much smaller than earlier supposed

The Global Muon Detector Network -GMDN and the space situational awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Schuch, Nelson Jorge; Munakata, Kazuoki; Dal Lago, Alisson; Marcos Denardini, Clezio; Echer, Ezequiel; Demítrio Gonzalez Alarcon, Walter; da Silva, Marlos; Rigozo, Nivaor R.; Petry, Adriano; Kirsch Pinheiro, Damaris; Braga, Carlos Roberto; Vinicius Dias Silveira, Marcos; Ronan Coelho Stekel, Tardelli; Espindola Antunes, Cassio; Ramos Vieira, Lucas; Kemmerich, Níkolas; Kato, Chihiro; Fushishita, Akira; Fujii, Zenjirou; Bieber, John W.; Evenson, Paul; Kuwabara, Takao; Duldig, Marcus L.; Humble, John E.; Chilingarian, Ashot; Sabbah, Ismail; Jansen, Frank

Space weather forecasting is a very important tool for the space situational awareness to the space objects, the space environment and related threats and risks for manned and non-manned spacecrafts. The global network of ground based multi-directional detectors (GMDN) can be considered as one example of an important emerging Space Situational Awareness program around the world, since its requirements needs global technical, scientific and logistic collab-oration between several countries in different continents. ICMEs accompanied by a strong shock often forms a high-energy galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) depleted region behind the shock known as a Forbush decrease. The ICME arrival also causes a systematic variation in the GCR streaming (i.e. the directional anisotropy of intensity). The magnitude of the streaming is small (about 1 % or less), but its variation is relevant. Some particles from this suppressed density region traveling with about the speed of light leak into the upstream region, much faster than the approaching shock, creating the possibility of being observed at the earth, by a global net-work of ground based multi-directional detectors (GMDN), as precursory loss-cone anisotropy. Loss-cones are typically visible 4-8 hours ahead of shock arrival for shocks associated with ma-jor geomagnetic storms. A multi-directional muon detector for detection of GCR was installed in 2001, through an international cooperation between Brazil, Japan and USA, and has been in operation since then at the Southern Space Observatory -SSO/CRS/INPE -MCT, (29.4° S, 53.8° W, 480m a.s.l), Sao Martinho da Serra, RS, in southern Brazil. The detector's capability and sensitivity were upgraded in 2005. The observations conducted by this detector are used for forecasting the arrival of the geomagnetic storm and their interplanetary coronal mass ejec-tion (ICME) drivers in the near-earth geospace. The detector measures high-energy GCRs by detecting secondary muons produced from the

Global Delivery Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manning, Stephan; Larsen, Marcus M.; Bharati, Pratyush

2013-01-01

This article examines antecedents and performance implications of global delivery models (GDMs) in global business services. GDMs require geographically distributed operations to exploit both proximity to clients and time-zone spread for efficient service delivery. We propose and empirically show...

The international space station: An opportunity for industry-sponsored global education

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Cathleen E.

1999-01-01

The International Space Station provides an excellent opportunity for industry sponsorship of international space education. As a highly visible worldwide asset, the space station already commands our interest. It has captured the imagination of the world's researchers and connected the world's governments. Once operational, it can also be used to capture the dreams of the world's children and connect the world's industry through education. The space station's global heritage and ownership; its complex engineering, construction, and operation; its flexible research and technology demonstration capability; and its long duration make it the perfect educational platform. These things also make a space station education program attractive to industry. Such a program will give private industry the opportunity to sponsor space-related activities even though a particular industry may not have a research or technology-driven need for space utilization. Sponsors will benefit through public relations and goodwill, educational promotions and advertising, and the sale and marketing of related products. There is money to be made by supporting, fostering, and enabling education in space through the International Space Station. This paper will explore various ISS education program and sponsorship options and benefits, will examine early industry response to such an opportunity, and will make the case for moving forward with an ISS education program as a private sector initiative.

Exploring the Gendering of Space by Using Memory Work as a Reflexive Research Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia Bryant

2007-09-01

Full Text Available How can memory work be used as a pathway to reflect on the situatedness of the researcher and field of inquiry? The key aim of this article is to contribute to knowledge about the gendering of space developed by feminist geographers by using memory work as a reflexive research method. The authors present a brief review of feminist literature that covers the local and global symbolic meanings of spaces and the power relations within which space is experienced. From the literature they interpret themes of the interconnections between space, place, and time; sexualization of public space; and the bodily praxis of using space. Memories of gendered bodies and landscapes, movement and restricted space, and the disrupting of space allow the exploration of conceptualizations within the literature as active, situated, fragmented, and contextualized.

European regional efficiency and geographical externalities: a spatial nonparametric frontier analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ramajo, Julián; Cordero, José Manuel; Márquez, Miguel Ángel

2017-10-01

This paper analyses region-level technical efficiency in nine European countries over the 1995-2007 period. We propose the application of a nonparametric conditional frontier approach to account for the presence of heterogeneous conditions in the form of geographical externalities. Such environmental factors are beyond the control of regional authorities, but may affect the production function. Therefore, they need to be considered in the frontier estimation. Specifically, a spatial autoregressive term is included as an external conditioning factor in a robust order- m model. Thus we can test the hypothesis of non-separability (the external factor impacts both the input-output space and the distribution of efficiencies), demonstrating the existence of significant global interregional spillovers into the production process. Our findings show that geographical externalities affect both the frontier level and the probability of being more or less efficient. Specifically, the results support the fact that the spatial lag variable has an inverted U-shaped non-linear impact on the performance of regions. This finding can be interpreted as a differential effect of interregional spillovers depending on the size of the neighboring economies: positive externalities for small values, possibly related to agglomeration economies, and negative externalities for high values, indicating the possibility of production congestion. Additionally, evidence of the existence of a strong geographic pattern of European regional efficiency is reported and the levels of technical efficiency are acknowledged to have converged during the period under analysis.

Deciphering the adjustment between environment and life history in annuals: lessons from a geographically-explicit approach in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzano-Piedras, Esperanza; Marcer, Arnald; Alonso-Blanco, Carlos; Picó, F Xavier

2014-01-01

The role that different life-history traits may have in the process of adaptation caused by divergent selection can be assessed by using extensive collections of geographically-explicit populations. This is because adaptive phenotypic variation shifts gradually across space as a result of the geographic patterns of variation in environmental selective pressures. Hence, large-scale experiments are needed to identify relevant adaptive life-history traits as well as their relationships with putative selective agents. We conducted a field experiment with 279 geo-referenced accessions of the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana collected across a native region of its distribution range, the Iberian Peninsula. We quantified variation in life-history traits throughout the entire life cycle. We built a geographic information system to generate an environmental data set encompassing climate, vegetation and soil data. We analysed the spatial autocorrelation patterns of environmental variables and life-history traits, as well as the relationship between environmental and phenotypic data. Almost all environmental variables were significantly spatially autocorrelated. By contrast, only two life-history traits, seed weight and flowering time, exhibited significant spatial autocorrelation. Flowering time, and to a lower extent seed weight, were the life-history traits with the highest significant correlation coefficients with environmental factors, in particular with annual mean temperature. In general, individual fitness was higher for accessions with more vigorous seed germination, higher recruitment and later flowering times. Variation in flowering time mediated by temperature appears to be the main life-history trait by which A. thaliana adjusts its life history to the varying Iberian environmental conditions. The use of extensive geographically-explicit data sets obtained from field experiments represents a powerful approach to unravel adaptive patterns of variation. In a

Using the Global Positioning System for Earth Orbiter and Deep Space Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Lichten, Stephen M.

1994-01-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) can play a major role in supporting orbit and trajectory determination for spacecraft in a wide range of applications, including low-Earth, high-Earth, and even deep space (interplanetary) tracking. This paper summarizes recent results demonstrating these unique and far-ranging applications of GPS.

Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Development and Global Competitiveness of US Space Transportation Industry: Critical Success Factors Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Enyinda, Chris I.

2002-01-01

In response to the unrelenting call in both public and private sectors fora to reduce the high cost associated with space transportation, many innovative partially or fully RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicles) designs (X-34-37) were initiated. This call is directed at all levels of space missions including scientific, military, and commercial and all aspects of the missions such as nonrecurring development, manufacture, launch, and operations. According to Wertz, tbr over thirty years, the cost of space access has remained exceedingly high. The consensus in the popular press is that to decrease the current astronomical cost of access to space, more safer, reliable, and economically viable second generation RLVs (SGRLV) must be developed. Countries such as Brazil, India, Japan, and Israel are now gearing up to enter the global launch market with their own commercial space launch vehicles. NASA and the US space launch industry cannot afford to lag behind. Developing SGRLVs will immeasurably improve the US's space transportation capabilities by helping the US to regain the global commercial space markets while supporting the transportation capabilities of NASA's space missions, Developing the SGRLVs will provide affordable commercial space transportation that will assure the competitiveness of the US commercial space transportation industry in the 21st century. Commercial space launch systems are having difficulty obtaining financing because of the high cost and risk involved. Access to key financial markets is necessary for commercial space ventures. However, public sector programs in the form of tax incentives and credits, as well as loan guarantees are not yet available. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion and assess the critical success factors germane for RLVs development and US global competitiveness.

Effects of Global Warming on Predatory Bugs Supported by Data Across Geographic and Seasonal Climatic Gradients

Science.gov (United States)

Schuldiner-Harpaz, Tarryn; Coll, Moshe

2013-01-01

Global warming may affect species abundance and distribution, as well as temperature-dependent morphometric traits. In this study, we first used historical data to document changes in Orius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) species assemblage and individual morphometric traits over the past seven decades in Israel. We then tested whether these changes could have been temperature driven by searching for similar patterns across seasonal and geographic climatic gradients in a present survey. The historical records indicated a shift in the relative abundance of dominant Orius species; the relative abundance of O. albidipennis, a desert-adapted species, increased while that of O. laevigatus decreased in recent decades by 6 and 10–15 folds, respectively. These shifts coincided with an overall increase of up to 2.1°C in mean daily temperatures over the last 25 years in Israel. Similar trends were found in contemporary data across two other climatic gradients, seasonal and geographic; O. albidipennis dominated Orius assemblages under warm conditions. Finally, specimens collected in the present survey were significantly smaller than those from the 1980’s, corresponding to significantly smaller individuals collected now during warmer than colder seasons. Taken together, results provide strong support to the hypothesis that temperature is the most likely driver of the observed shifts in species composition and body sizes because (1) historical changes in both species assemblage and body size were associated with rising temperatures in the study region over the last few decades; and (2) similar changes were observed as a result of contemporary drivers that are associated with temperature. PMID:23805249

GLOBAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Er Kirtesh Jailia; Mrs.Manisha jailia; Er.Priyanka Jailia

2010-01-01

In this paper we are going to discuss about the concept of Global relationship management. This is an important concept because now a day the whole business community is moving globally, means the geographical boundaries are of no more concern for the business communities. The global thinking of the business communities leads to the global relationship hence it is important for them to effectively manage such global relationship so that they can achieve what they want. The main concern is ove...

Forecasting the Global Mean Sea Level, a Continuous-Time State-Space Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boldrini, Lorenzo

In this paper we propose a continuous-time, Gaussian, linear, state-space system to model the relation between global mean sea level (GMSL) and the global mean temperature (GMT), with the aim of making long-term projections for the GMSL. We provide a justification for the model specification based......) and the temperature reconstruction from Hansen et al. (2010). We compare the forecasting performance of the proposed specification to the procedures developed in Rahmstorf (2007b) and Vermeer and Rahmstorf (2009). Finally, we compute projections for the sea-level rise conditional on the 21st century SRES temperature...

Space observations for global and regional studies of the biosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Cihlar, J.; Li, Z.; Chen, J.; Sellers, P.; Hall, F.

1994-01-01

The capability to make space-based measurements of Earth at high spatial and temporal resolutions, which would not otherwise be economically or practically feasible, became available just in time to contribute to scientific understanding of the interactive processes governing the total Earth system. Such understanding has now become essential in order to take practical steps which would counteract or mitigate the pervasive impact of the growing human population on the future habitability of the Earth. The paper reviews the rationale for using space observations for studies of climate and terrestrial ecosystems at global and regional scales, as well as the requirements for such observations for studies of climate and ecosystem dynamics. The present status of these developments is reported along with initiatives under way to advance the use of satellite observations for Earth system studies. The most important contribution of space observations is the provision of physical or biophysical parameters for models representing various components of the Earth system. Examples of such parameters are given for climatic and ecosystem studies.

Tanzanian food origins and protected geographical indications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

John, Innocensia Festo; Egelyng, Henrik; Lokina, Azack

2016-01-01

As the world's population is constantly growing, food security will remain on the policy Agenda, particularly in Africa. At the same time, global food systems experience a new wave focusing on local foods and food sovereignty featuring high quality food products of verifiable geographical origin...... of food origin products in Tanzania that have potential for GI certification. The hypothesis was that there are origin products in Tanzania whose unique characteristics are linked to the area of production. Geographical indications can be useful policy instruments contributing to food security...... the diversity of supply of natural and unique quality products and so contribute to enhanced food security....

Geographic differences in allele frequencies of susceptibility SNPs for cardiovascular disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kullo Iftikhar J

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We hypothesized that the frequencies of risk alleles of SNPs mediating susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases differ among populations of varying geographic origin and that population-specific selection has operated on some of these variants. Methods From the database of genome-wide association studies (GWAS, we selected 36 cardiovascular phenotypes including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as related quantitative traits (eg, body mass index and plasma lipid levels. We identified 292 SNPs in 270 genes associated with a disease or trait at P -8. As part of the Human Genome-Diversity Project (HGDP, 158 (54.1% of these SNPs have been genotyped in 938 individuals belonging to 52 populations from seven geographic areas. A measure of population differentiation, FST, was calculated to quantify differences in risk allele frequencies (RAFs among populations and geographic areas. Results Large differences in RAFs were noted in populations of Africa, East Asia, America and Oceania, when compared with other geographic regions. The mean global FST (0.1042 for 158 SNPs among the populations was not significantly higher than the mean global FST of 158 autosomal SNPs randomly sampled from the HGDP database. Significantly higher global FST (P FST of 2036 putatively neutral SNPs. For four of these SNPs, additional evidence of selection was noted based on the integrated Haplotype Score. Conclusion Large differences in RAFs for a set of common SNPs that influence risk of cardiovascular disease were noted between the major world populations. Pairwise comparisons revealed RAF differences for at least eight SNPs that might be due to population-specific selection or demographic factors. These findings are relevant to a better understanding of geographic variation in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

Advanced Engineering Environments for Space Transportation System Development

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, L. Dale; Smith, Charles A.; Beveridge, James

2000-01-01

There are significant challenges facing today's launch vehicle industry. Global competition, more complex products, geographically-distributed design teams, demands for lower cost, higher reliability and safer vehicles, and the need to incorporate the latest technologies quicker, all face the developer of a space transportation system. Within NASA, multiple technology development and demonstration projects are underway toward the objectives of safe, reliable, and affordable access to space. New information technologies offer promising opportunities to develop advanced engineering environments to meet these challenges. Significant advances in the state-of-the-art of aerospace engineering practice are envisioned in the areas of engineering design and analytical tools, cost and risk tools, collaborative engineering, and high-fidelity simulations early in the development cycle. At the Marshall Space Flight Center, work has begun on development of an advanced engineering environment specifically to support the design, modeling, and analysis of space transportation systems. This paper will give an overview of the challenges of developing space transportation systems in today's environment and subsequently discuss the advanced engineering environment and its anticipated benefits.

Englishisation at a Global Space: Students and Staff Making Sense of Language Choices

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Rubió, Xavier; Cots, Josep Maria

2016-01-01

This study starts from the premise that academic mobility contributes to the development of students' plurilingual identities and that study abroad contexts aiming at becoming global spaces are particularly interesting sites to explore the individuals' discursive work to (re-)construct their plurilingual identities by reconciling their language…

Overview of some projects of SNPS for global space communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, E.; Ghitaykin, V.; Ionkin, V.; Dubinin, A.; Pyshko, A.

2001-01-01

In this presentation we focused on three variants of prospective concepts of SNPS. They are intended to solve tasks of global space communication (GSC) as nearest future tasks in space. Modern concepts of the application of power technology in space believe in using an onboard source of energy for maintenance of self-transportation of the vehicle into geostationary orbit (GSO). There are three more prospective systems as follows: gas cooled nuclear reactor with hybrid thermal engine and machine power converter; nuclear reactor cooled by liquid metal and with a thermoelectric power generating system; nuclear reactor with Li cooling and a thermionic and thermoelectric power generator on board. The choice of a concept must fit strong requirements such as: space nuclear power unit is aimed to be used in a powerful mission; space power unit must be able to maintain the dual - mode regime of vehicle operation (self - transportation and long life in geosynchronous orbit [GEO]); nuclear rector of unit must be safety and it must be designed in such a way that it will ensure minimum size of the complete system; the elements of the considered technology can be used for the creation of NPPI and with other sources of heat (for example, radioisotope); the degree of technical and technological readiness of units of the thermal and power circuit of installation is estimated to be high and is defined by a number of technological developments in air, space and nuclear branches; nuclear reactor and heat transfer equipment should work in a normal mode, which can be very reliably confirmed for other high-temperature nuclear systems. Considering these concepts we practically consider one of possible strategy of developing of complex system of nuclear power engineering. It is the strategy of step-by-step development of space engineering with real application of them in commercial, scientific and other powerful missions in the nearest and deep space. As starting point of this activity is

Geographic prediction of tuberculosis clusters in Fukuoka, Japan, using the space-time scan statistic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daisuke Onozuka; Akihito Hagihara [Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan). Department of Information Science

2007-07-01

Tuberculosis (TB) has reemerged as a global public health epidemic in recent years. Although evaluating local disease clusters leads to effective prevention and control of TB, there are few, if any, spatiotemporal comparisons for epidemic diseases. TB cases among residents in Fukuoka Prefecture between 1999 and 2004 (n = 9,119) were geocoded at the census tract level (n = 109) based on residence at the time of diagnosis. The spatial and space-time scan statistics were then used to identify clusters of census tracts with elevated proportions of TB cases. In the purely spatial analyses, the most likely clusters were in the Chikuho coal mining area (in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004), the Kita-Kyushu industrial area (in 2000), and the Fukuoka urban area (in 2001). In the space-time analysis, the most likely cluster was the Kita-Kyushu industrial area (in 2000). The north part of Fukuoka Prefecture was the most likely to have a cluster with a significantly high occurrence of TB. The spatial and space-time scan statistics are effective ways of describing circular disease clusters. Since, in reality, infectious diseases might form other cluster types, the effectiveness of the method may be limited under actual practice. The sophistication of the analytical methodology, however, is a topic for future study. 48 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Geographic prediction of tuberculosis clusters in Fukuoka, Japan, using the space-time scan statistic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Onozuka Daisuke

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB has reemerged as a global public health epidemic in recent years. Although evaluating local disease clusters leads to effective prevention and control of TB, there are few, if any, spatiotemporal comparisons for epidemic diseases. Methods TB cases among residents in Fukuoka Prefecture between 1999 and 2004 (n = 9,119 were geocoded at the census tract level (n = 109 based on residence at the time of diagnosis. The spatial and space-time scan statistics were then used to identify clusters of census tracts with elevated proportions of TB cases. Results In the purely spatial analyses, the most likely clusters were in the Chikuho coal mining area (in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, the Kita-Kyushu industrial area (in 2000, and the Fukuoka urban area (in 2001. In the space-time analysis, the most likely cluster was the Kita-Kyushu industrial area (in 2000. The north part of Fukuoka Prefecture was the most likely to have a cluster with a significantly high occurrence of TB. Conclusion The spatial and space-time scan statistics are effective ways of describing circular disease clusters. Since, in reality, infectious diseases might form other cluster types, the effectiveness of the method may be limited under actual practice. The sophistication of the analytical methodology, however, is a topic for future study.

A Two-Phase Space Resection Model for Accurate Topographic Reconstruction from Lunar Imagery with PushbroomScanners.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xuemiao; Zhang, Huaidong; Han, Guoqiang; Kwan, Kin Chung; Pang, Wai-Man; Fang, Jiaming; Zhao, Gansen

2016-04-11

Exterior orientation parameters' (EOP) estimation using space resection plays an important role in topographic reconstruction for push broom scanners. However, existing models of space resection are highly sensitive to errors in data. Unfortunately, for lunar imagery, the altitude data at the ground control points (GCPs) for space resection are error-prone. Thus, existing models fail to produce reliable EOPs. Motivated by a finding that for push broom scanners, angular rotations of EOPs can be estimated independent of the altitude data and only involving the geographic data at the GCPs, which are already provided, hence, we divide the modeling of space resection into two phases. Firstly, we estimate the angular rotations based on the reliable geographic data using our proposed mathematical model. Then, with the accurate angular rotations, the collinear equations for space resection are simplified into a linear problem, and the global optimal solution for the spatial position of EOPs can always be achieved. Moreover, a certainty term is integrated to penalize the unreliable altitude data for increasing the error tolerance. Experimental results evidence that our model can obtain more accurate EOPs and topographic maps not only for the simulated data, but also for the real data from Chang'E-1, compared to the existing space resection model.

A Two-Phase Space Resection Model for Accurate Topographic Reconstruction from Lunar Imagery with PushbroomScanners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuemiao Xu

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Exterior orientation parameters’ (EOP estimation using space resection plays an important role in topographic reconstruction for push broom scanners. However, existing models of space resection are highly sensitive to errors in data. Unfortunately, for lunar imagery, the altitude data at the ground control points (GCPs for space resection are error-prone. Thus, existing models fail to produce reliable EOPs. Motivated by a finding that for push broom scanners, angular rotations of EOPs can be estimated independent of the altitude data and only involving the geographic data at the GCPs, which are already provided, hence, we divide the modeling of space resection into two phases. Firstly, we estimate the angular rotations based on the reliable geographic data using our proposed mathematical model. Then, with the accurate angular rotations, the collinear equations for space resection are simplified into a linear problem, and the global optimal solution for the spatial position of EOPs can always be achieved. Moreover, a certainty term is integrated to penalize the unreliable altitude data for increasing the error tolerance. Experimental results evidence that our model can obtain more accurate EOPs and topographic maps not only for the simulated data, but also for the real data from Chang’E-1, compared to the existing space resection model.

The Global Geodetic Observing System: Space Geodesy Networks for the Future

Science.gov (United States)

Pearlman, Michael; Pavlis, Erricos; Ma, Chopo; Altamini, Zuheir; Noll, Carey; Stowers, David

2011-01-01

Ground-based networks of co-located space geodetic techniques (VLBI, SLR, GNSS. and DORIS) are the basis for the development and maintenance of the International Terrestrial Reference frame (ITRF), which is our metric of reference for measurements of global change, The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) has established a task to develop a strategy to design, integrate and maintain the fundamental geodetic network and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable way to satisfy the long-term requirements for the reference frame. The GGOS goal is an origin definition at 1 mm or better and a temporal stability on the order of 0.1 mm/y, with similar numbers for the scale and orientation components. These goals are based on scientific requirements to address sea level rise with confidence, but other applications are not far behind. Recent studies including one by the US National Research Council has strongly stated the need and the urgency for the fundamental space geodesy network. Simulations are underway to examining accuracies for origin, scale and orientation of the resulting ITRF based on various network designs and system performance to determine the optimal global network to achieve this goal. To date these simulations indicate that 24 - 32 co-located stations are adequate to define the reference frame and a more dense GNSS and DORIS network will be required to distribute the reference frame to users anywhere on Earth. Stations in the new global network will require geologically stable sites with good weather, established infrastructure, and local support and personnel. GGOS wil seek groups that are interested in participation. GGOS intends to issues a Call for Participation of groups that would like to contribute in the network implementation and operation. Some examples of integrated stations currently in operation or under development will be presented. We will examine necessary conditions and challenges in

Educating for Responsible Global Citizenship.

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, Christine

1987-01-01

Discusses geographical illiteracy in the United States and the problems of inadequate international awareness and poor understanding of major global issues. Examines what citizens should know, why they should care, and what people should do about the lack of global knowledge. Presents a list of 57 references dealing with global issues. (GEA)

IASM: Individualized activity space modeler

Science.gov (United States)

Hasanzadeh, Kamyar

2018-01-01

Researchers from various disciplines have long been interested in analyzing and describing human mobility patterns. Activity space (AS), defined as an area encapsulating daily human mobility and activities, has been at the center of this interest. However, given the applied nature of research in this field and the complexity that advanced geographical modeling can pose to its users, the proposed models remain simplistic and inaccurate in many cases. Individualized Activity Space Modeler (IASM) is a geographic information system (GIS) toolbox, written in Python programming language using ESRI's Arcpy module, comprising four tools aiming to facilitate the use of advanced activity space models in empirical research. IASM provides individual-based and context-sensitive tools to estimate home range distances, delineate activity spaces, and model place exposures using individualized geographical data. In this paper, we describe the design and functionality of IASM, and provide an example of how it performs on a spatial dataset collected through an online map-based survey.

OUTDOOR EDUCATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION

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ANDREA GUARAN

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the reflection on the relationship between values and methodological principles of Outdoor Education and spatial and geographical education perspectives, especially in pre-school and primary school, which relates to the age between 3 and 10 years. Outdoor Education is an educational practice that is already rooted in the philosophical thought of the 16th and the 17th centuries, from John Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and in the pedagogical thought, in particular Friedrich Fröbel, and it has now a quite stable tradition in Northern Europe countries. In Italy, however, there are still few experiences and they usually do not have a systematic and structural modality, but rather a temporarily and experimentally outdoor organization. In the first part, this paper focuses on the reasons that justify a particular attention to educational paths that favour outdoors activities, providing also a definition of outdoor education and highlighting its values. It is also essential to understand that educational programs in open spaces, such as a forest or simply the schoolyard, surely offers the possibility to learn geographical situations. Therefore, the question that arises is how to finalize the best stimulus that the spatial location guarantees for the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities about space and geography.

Using geographical and taxonomic metadata to set priorities in specimen digitization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter G. Berendsohn

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Digitizing the information carried by specimens in natural history collections is a key endeavor providing falsifiable information about past and present biodiversity on a global scale, for application in a variety of research fields far beyond the current application in biosystematics. Existing digitization efforts are driven by individual institutional necessities and are not coordinated on a global scale. This led to an over-all information resource that is patchy in taxonomic and geographic coverage as well as in quality. Digitizing all specimens is not an achievable aim at present, so that priorities need to be set. Most biodiversity studies are both taxonomically and geographically restricted, but access to non-digitized collection information is almost exclusively by taxon name. Creating a “Geotaxonomic Index” providing metadata on the number of specimens from a specific geographic region belonging to a specific higher taxonomic category may provide a means to attract the attention of researchers and governments towards relevant non-digitized holdings of the collections and set priorities for their digitization according to the needs of information users outside the taxonomic community.

The Impact of Space Commercialization on Space Agencies: the Case of NASA

Science.gov (United States)

Zervos, Vasilis

2002-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypothesis that commercialisation of space results in inefficient contracting policies by the space agencies, using the US NASA as a case study. Though commercialisation is seen by many as a way to reduce costs in space programmes, as the space industry is seen as a decreasing costs industry, this is not a problem-free process. Commercialisation of space has affected the US and European space industries and policies in two major ways. The first is that the public sector actively encourages mergers and acquisitions of major contractors, confined, however, within the geographical borders of the US and Europe. This follows largely from the perceived benefits of economies of size when competing in global commercial markets. The second is the formation of an increasing number of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in space programmes and a more `cosy' relationship between the two within a public-assistance strategic trade theoretic framework. As ESA's contracting policy of `juste retour' is marked by limited competition, the paper focuses on the case of NASA, which is expected to be more pro- competitive, to examine the impact of commercialisation. With the use of quantitative methods based on time series econometric analysis, the paper shows that NASA's contracting policy, results in increasingly less competition and more rent-favouring contracting. This is attributed to the decreasing number of major contractors in conjunction with the preferential treatment of the domestic space industry (`Buy American'). The results of the paper verify that the support of the domestic space industry in commercial and public space markets results in inefficient contracting policies, with NASA facing the conflicting tasks of a stated policy of enhancing competition and efficiency in contracting, as well as, supporting the competitiveness of the domestic space industry. The paper concludes with an analysis and assessment of solutions to this

The global geographical overlap of aflatoxin and hepatitis C: Controlling risk factors for liver cancer worldwide

Science.gov (United States)

Palliyaguru, Dushani L.; Wu, Felicia

2012-01-01

About 85% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, liver cancer) cases occur in low-income countries, where the risk factors of dietary aflatoxin exposure and chronic hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) viral infection are common. While studies have shown synergism between aflatoxin and HBV in causing HCC, much less is known about whether aflatoxin and HCV synergize similarly. From an exposure perspective, we examine whether there is a geographical overlap in populations worldwide exposed to high dietary aflatoxin levels and with high HCV prevalence. While HCV is one of the most important risk factors for HCC in high-income nations (where aflatoxin exposure is low), we find that HCV prevalence is much higher in Africa and Asia, where aflatoxin exposure is also high. However, within a given world region, there are some inconsistencies regarding exposure and cancer risk. Therefore, there is a need to control risk factors such as aflatoxin and hepatitis viruses in a cost-effective manner to prevent global HCC, while continuing to evaluate biological mechanisms by which these risk factors interact to increase HCC risk. PMID:23281740

Global Tracking Control of Quadrotor VTOL Aircraft in Three-Dimensional Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duc Khac Do

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a method to design controllers that force a quadrotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL aircraft to globally asymptotically track a reference trajectory in three-dimensional space. Motivated by the vehicle's steering practice, the roll and pitch angles are considered as immediate controls plus the total thrust force  provided by the aircraft's four rotors to control the position and yaw angle of the aircraft. The control design is based on the newly introduced one-step ahead backstepping, the standard backstepping and Lyapunov's direct methods. A combination of Euler angles and unit-quaternion for the attitude representation of the aircraft is used to obtain global tracking control results. The paper also includes a design of observers that exponentially estimate the aircraft's linear velocity vector and disturbances. Simulations illustrate the results.

Globalizing Space and Earth Science - the International Heliophysical Year Education and Outreach Program

Science.gov (United States)

Rabello-Soares, M. C.; Morrow, C.; Thompson, B. J.

2006-08-01

The International Heliophysical Year (IHY) in 2007 & 2008 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and, following its tradition of international research collaboration, will focus on the cross-disciplinary studies of universal processes in the heliosphere. The main goal of IHY Education and Outreach Program is to create more global access to exemplary resources in space and earth science education and public outreach. By taking advantage of the IHY organization with representatives in every nation and in the partnership with the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI), we aim to promote new international partnerships. Our goal is to assist in increasing the visibility and accessibility of exemplary programs and in the identification of formal or informal educational products that would be beneficial to improve the space and earth science knowledge in a given country; leaving a legacy of enhanced global access to resources and of world-wide connectivity between those engaged in education and public outreach efforts that are related to IHY science. Here we describe how to participate in the IHY Education and Outreach Program and the benefits in doing so. Emphasis will be given to the role played by developing countries; not only in selecting useful resources and helping in their translation and adaptation, but also in providing different approaches and techniques in teaching.

Global research and development budget

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Norman, C

1980-03-01

The future political and economic relationships between industrial countries and between the industrial and developing countries will be influenced by the investments now being made for research and development (R and D). There is little public understanding of this $150 billion global investment, 25 percent of which is spent on military programs, 15 percent on basic research, and nearly 10 percent on space exploration, while the most-pressing world problems are receiving relatively little attention. A breakdown of geographic distribution of research and a comparison of government expenditures for different areas of R and D reveals a situation that could be corrected. National and corporate priorities need to be revised and political and institutional barriers must give way to new international and cooperative arrangements. 3 tables, 27 references. (DCK)

Harnessing collective knowledge to create global public goods for education and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardo, Theresa M

2007-01-01

Our global interconnectedness has first been expressed in the transformation of business and entertainment, but it will have profound effects on all aspects of our lives, including education and health. Today's students are accustomed to supplying and consuming user-generated content, such as the videos of YouTube, and to using social networking applications, such as MySpace. This can be turned to their advantage in the development of work skills for the twenty-first century. Central among these skills will be the ability to work in teams that cross disciplinary, cultural, and geographic borders.

Reduction of potatos due to hydric soil erosion using space technology

Science.gov (United States)

Guyot, E. C.; Ríos, V. H.; Zelaya, D. K.; Soria, F.; Ríos, E.; Padilla, P.

The potato's crop is in the fourth ranking of economic importance in the agricultural Gross Income of Tucuman. The geographical location of its production area makes essential the handling of the hydric soil erosion problems. The purpose of this work is to improve potato crop irrigation management using space information combined with farm practice. The field measurements were carried out using Wide Area Differential Global Position Systems FUGRO OMNISTAR, total station, and double frequency Global Position Systems. The crop irrigation was pursued through scheduling irrigation's software whose input comes from satellites of the Matutinal Constellation (LandSat 7, SACC and TERRA). The preliminary results allowed reprograming the irrigation practices for the new crop's campaign in order to decrease hydric soil erosion.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki [Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)] [ERATO Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, JST, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Kim, Beom Jun, E-mail: beomjun@skku.ed [BK21 Physics Research Division and Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)] [Department of Computational Biology, School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2009-10-12

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki; Kim, Beom Jun

2009-01-01

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

Geographical imbalances and divides in the scientific production of climate change knowledge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pasgaard, Maya; Dalsgaard, Bo; Maruyama, Pietro K.

2015-01-01

Studies on scientific production of climate change knowledge show a geographical bias against the developing and more vulnerable regions of the world. If there is limited knowledge exchange between regions, this may deepen global knowledge divides and, thus, potentially hamper adaptive capacities....... Consequently, there is a need to further understand this bias, and, particularly, link it with the exchange of knowledge across borders. We use a world-wide geographical distribution of author affiliations in > 15,000 scientific climate change publications to show that (1) research production mainly takes...... are determined mainly by geographical proximity, common climates, and similar political and economic characteristics. This indicates that political-economic, social and educational-scientific initiatives targeted to enhance local research production and collaborations across geographical-climate module borders...

Globalization

OpenAIRE

F. Gerard Adams

2008-01-01

The rapid globalization of the world economy is causing fundamental changes in patterns of trade and finance. Some economists have argued that globalization has arrived and that the world is “flat†. While the geographic scope of markets has increased, the author argues that new patterns of trade and finance are a result of the discrepancies between “old†countries and “new†. As the differences are gradually wiped out, particularly if knowledge and technology spread worldwide, the t...

A Global Space Control Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-01

ASAT testing and development before significant pushback is enacted. Further, a growing body of literature suggests that space-based intelligence...management process must be the foundation of plan- ning space operations and responses. Second, we must realize that in order to conduct effective space...end state where commanders considering multiple courses of action have a sensor architecture and a tasking, collection, processing , exploitation, and

Identification Of Geographical Origin Of Coffee Before And After Roasting By Electronic Noses

Science.gov (United States)

Sberveglieri, V.; Concina, I.; Falasconi, M.; Ongo, E.; Pulvirenti, A.; Fava, P.

2011-09-01

Geographical origin traceability of food is a relevant issue for both producers' business protection and customers' rights safeguard. Differentiation of coffees on the basis of geographical origin is still a challenging issue, though possible by means of chemical techniques [1]. Between the most widely consumed beverage, coffee is a valuable one, with an aroma constituted by hundreds of volatiles [2]. Since the final global volatile composition is also determined by the cultivation climatic conditions, Electronic Noses (ENs) could be interesting candidates for distinguishing the geographical provenience by exploiting differences in chemical volatile profile. The present investigation is directed toward the characterization of green and roasted coffees samples according to their geographical origin.

Source apportionment of soil heavy metals using robust absolute principal component scores-robust geographically weighted regression (RAPCS-RGWR) receptor model.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Mingkai; Wang, Yan; Huang, Biao; Zhao, Yongcun

2018-06-01

The traditional source apportionment models, such as absolute principal component scores-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR), are usually susceptible to outliers, which may be widely present in the regional geochemical dataset. Furthermore, the models are merely built on variable space instead of geographical space and thus cannot effectively capture the local spatial characteristics of each source contributions. To overcome the limitations, a new receptor model, robust absolute principal component scores-robust geographically weighted regression (RAPCS-RGWR), was proposed based on the traditional APCS-MLR model. Then, the new method was applied to the source apportionment of soil metal elements in a region of Wuhan City, China as a case study. Evaluations revealed that: (i) RAPCS-RGWR model had better performance than APCS-MLR model in the identification of the major sources of soil metal elements, and (ii) source contributions estimated by RAPCS-RGWR model were more close to the true soil metal concentrations than that estimated by APCS-MLR model. It is shown that the proposed RAPCS-RGWR model is a more effective source apportionment method than APCS-MLR (i.e., non-robust and global model) in dealing with the regional geochemical dataset. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structured prediction for urban scene semantic segmentation with geographic contex

OpenAIRE

Volpi Michele; Ferrari Vittorio

2015-01-01

In this work we address the problem of semantic segmentation of urban remote sensing images into land cover maps. We propose to tackle this task by learning the geographic context of classes and use it to favor or discourage certain spatial configuration of label assignments. For this reason, we learn from training data two spatial priors enforcing different key aspects of the geographical space: local co-occurrence and relative location of land cover classes. We propose to embed these geogra...

Global Sales Training's Balancing Act

Science.gov (United States)

Boehle, Sarah

2010-01-01

A one-size-fits-all global sales strategy that fails to take into account the cultural, regulatory, geographic, and economic differences that exist across borders is a blueprint for failure. For training organizations tasked with educating globally dispersed sales forces, the challenge is adapting to these differences while simultaneously…

Environmental statistical modelling of mosquito vectors at different geographical scales

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cianci, D.

2015-01-01

Vector-borne diseases are infections transmitted by the bite of infected arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, midges and flies. Vector-borne diseases pose an increasingly wider threat to global public health, both in terms of people affected and their geographical spread. Mosquitoes

DEGAS: Dynamic Exascale Global Address Space Programming Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demmel, James [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2018-02-23

The Dynamic, Exascale Global Address Space programming environment (DEGAS) project will develop the next generation of programming models and runtime systems to meet the challenges of Exascale computing. The Berkeley part of the project concentrated on communication-optimal code generation to optimize speed and energy efficiency by reducing data movement. Our work developed communication lower bounds, and/or communication avoiding algorithms (that either meet the lower bound, or do much less communication than their conventional counterparts) for a variety of algorithms, including linear algebra, machine learning and genomics. The Berkeley part of the project concentrated on communication-optimal code generation to optimize speed and energy efficiency by reducing data movement. Our work developed communication lower bounds, and/or communication avoiding algorithms (that either meet the lower bound, or do much less communication than their conventional counterparts) for a variety of algorithms, including linear algebra, machine learning and genomics.

Global isolation by distance despite strong regional phylogeography in a small metazoan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mills Scott

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Small vagile eukaryotic organisms, which comprise a large proportion of the Earth's biodiversity, have traditionally been thought to lack the extent of population structuring and geographic speciation observed in larger taxa. Here we investigate the patterns of genetic diversity, amongst populations of the salt lake microscopic metazoan Brachionus plicatilis s. s. (sensu stricto (Rotifera: Monogononta on a global scale. We examine the phylogenetic relationships of geographic isolates from four continents using a 603 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene to investigate patterns of phylogeographic subdivision in this species. In addition we investigate the relationship between genetic and geographic distances on a global scale to try and reconcile the paradox between the high vagility of this species and the previously reported patterns of restricted gene flow, even over local spatial scales. Results Analysis of global sequence diversity of B. plicatilis s. s. reveals the presence of four allopatric genetic lineages: North American-Far East Asian, Western Mediterranean, Australian, and an Eastern Mediterranean lineage represented by a single isolate. Geographically orientated substructure is also apparent within the three best sampled lineages. Surprisingly, given this strong phylogeographic structure, B. plicatilis s. s. shows a significant correlation between geographic and genetic distance on a global scale ('isolation by distance' – IBD. Conclusion Despite its cosmopolitan distribution and potential for high gene flow, B. plicatilis s. s. is strongly structured at a global scale. IBD patterns have traditionally been interpreted to indicate migration-drift equilibrium, although in this system equilibrium conditions are incompatible with the observed genetic structure. Instead, we suggest the pattern may have arisen through persistent founder effects, acting in a similar fashion to geographic barriers for larger

Global isolation by distance despite strong regional phylogeography in a small metazoan

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Scott; Lunt, David H; Gómez, Africa

2007-01-01

Background Small vagile eukaryotic organisms, which comprise a large proportion of the Earth's biodiversity, have traditionally been thought to lack the extent of population structuring and geographic speciation observed in larger taxa. Here we investigate the patterns of genetic diversity, amongst populations of the salt lake microscopic metazoan Brachionus plicatilis s. s. (sensu stricto) (Rotifera: Monogononta) on a global scale. We examine the phylogenetic relationships of geographic isolates from four continents using a 603 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene to investigate patterns of phylogeographic subdivision in this species. In addition we investigate the relationship between genetic and geographic distances on a global scale to try and reconcile the paradox between the high vagility of this species and the previously reported patterns of restricted gene flow, even over local spatial scales. Results Analysis of global sequence diversity of B. plicatilis s. s. reveals the presence of four allopatric genetic lineages: North American-Far East Asian, Western Mediterranean, Australian, and an Eastern Mediterranean lineage represented by a single isolate. Geographically orientated substructure is also apparent within the three best sampled lineages. Surprisingly, given this strong phylogeographic structure, B. plicatilis s. s. shows a significant correlation between geographic and genetic distance on a global scale ('isolation by distance' – IBD). Conclusion Despite its cosmopolitan distribution and potential for high gene flow, B. plicatilis s. s. is strongly structured at a global scale. IBD patterns have traditionally been interpreted to indicate migration-drift equilibrium, although in this system equilibrium conditions are incompatible with the observed genetic structure. Instead, we suggest the pattern may have arisen through persistent founder effects, acting in a similar fashion to geographic barriers for larger organisms. Our data indicates

Global Attractivity Results for Mixed-Monotone Mappings in Partially Ordered Complete Metric Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalabušić S

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We prove fixed point theorems for mixed-monotone mappings in partially ordered complete metric spaces which satisfy a weaker contraction condition than the classical Banach contraction condition for all points that are related by given ordering. We also give a global attractivity result for all solutions of the difference equation , where satisfies mixed-monotone conditions with respect to the given ordering.

Health care globalization: a need for virtual leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, J Brian; Malvey, Donna; Fottler, Myron D

2009-01-01

As health care organizations expand and move into global markets, they face many leadership challenges, including the difficulty of leading individuals who are geographically dispersed. This article provides global managers with guidelines for leading and motivating individuals or teams from a distance while overcoming the typical challenges that "virtual leaders" and "virtual teams" face: employee isolation, confusion, language barriers, cultural differences, and technological breakdowns. Fortunately, technological advances in communications have provided various methods to accommodate geographically dispersed or "global virtual teams." Health care leaders now have the ability to lead global teams from afar by becoming "virtual leaders" with a responsibility to lead a "virtual team." Three models of globalization presented and discussed are outsourcing of health care services, medical tourism, and telerobotics. These models require global managers to lead virtually, and a positive relationship between the virtual leader and the virtual team member is vital in the success of global health care organizations.

The geographical distribution and burden of trachoma in Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L Smith

Full Text Available There remains a lack of epidemiological data on the geographical distribution of trachoma to support global mapping and scale up of interventions for the elimination of trachoma. The Global Atlas of Trachoma (GAT was launched in 2011 to address these needs and provide standardised, updated and accessible maps. This paper uses data included in the GAT to describe the geographical distribution and burden of trachoma in Africa.Data assembly used structured searches of published and unpublished literature to identify cross-sectional epidemiological data on the burden of trachoma since 1980. Survey data were abstracted into a standardised database and mapped using geographical information systems (GIS software. The characteristics of all surveys were summarized by country according to data source, time period, and survey methodology. Estimates of the current population at risk were calculated for each country and stratified by endemicity class.At the time of writing, 1342 records are included in the database representing surveys conducted between 1985 and 2012. These data were provided by direct contact with national control programmes and academic researchers (67%, peer-reviewed publications (17% and unpublished reports or theses (16%. Prevalence data on active trachoma are available in 29 of the 33 countries in Africa classified as endemic for trachoma, and 1095 (20.6% districts have representative data collected through population-based prevalence surveys. The highest prevalence of active trachoma and trichiasis remains in the Sahel area of West Africa and Savannah areas of East and Central Africa and an estimated 129.4 million people live in areas of Africa confirmed to be trachoma endemic.The Global Atlas of Trachoma provides the most contemporary and comprehensive summary of the burden of trachoma within Africa. The GAT highlights where future mapping is required and provides an important planning tool for scale-up and surveillance of trachoma

African Education and Globalization: Critical Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Abdi, Ali A., Ed.; Puplampu, Korbla P., Ed.; Dei, George J. Sefa, Ed.

2006-01-01

Containing both theoretical discussions of globalization and specific case analyses of individual African countries, this collection of essays examines the intersections of African education and globalization with multiple analytical and geographical emphases and intentions. The 11 essays critically analyze the issues from historical, cultural,…

A growing social network model in geographical space

Science.gov (United States)

Antonioni, Alberto; Tomassini, Marco

2017-09-01

In this work we propose a new model for the generation of social networks that includes their often ignored spatial aspects. The model is a growing one and links are created either taking space into account, or disregarding space and only considering the degree of target nodes. These two effects can be mixed linearly in arbitrary proportions through a parameter. We numerically show that for a given range of the combination parameter, and for given mean degree, the generated network class shares many important statistical features with those observed in actual social networks, including the spatial dependence of connections. Moreover, we show that the model provides a good qualitative fit to some measured social networks.

SCHOOL LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VIORICA BLÎNDĂ

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis and observation of the natural environment and of the social and economic one, observing phenomena, objects, beings, and geographical events are at the basis of producing geographical scientific texts. The symbols of iconotexts and cartotexts are another source of inspiration for linguistic interpretation. The linguistic creations that we selected for our study are the scientific analysis, the commentary, the characterization, the parallel, the synthesis, epitomizing and abstracting, the scientific communication, the essay, and the scientific description. The representations on maps, photos, graphics and profiles are translated into verbal or written expression in order to render geographical scientific information from diagrams and images through diverse discursive procedures. Through school linguistic creations, teachers develop their students’ observation spirit, in a written and oral form, their geographical thinking through metaphors, they develop and stimulate their students’ imagination and fantasy, their cognitive, reflexive and affective sensitivity, their abilities to express themselves, to present and argument in a scientific way according to different criteria (sufficiency, demonstrative reasoning, lineal reasoning, pros and cons, giving examples, inferential deduction through using truth tables, etc.. Trough description, students give names and define geographical objects and beings (plants, animals, and people according to their form and aspect, they explain toponyms and appellatives, they classify and make hierarchies, they define their identity through processes of differentiation, emblematizing, personification, location in time and space.

Geographic Information/GIS Institutionalization in the 50 States: Users and Coordinators (95-11)

OpenAIRE

Warnecke, Lisa

1995-01-01

This report analyzes recent information about the use and institutionalization of geographic information and related technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery and the global positioning system (GI/GIS) in the 50 state governments. The devolution of federal responsibilities and activism by state governments are increasing the role of states in GI/GIS, as well as in the nation's governance in general.  An organizational chart for each state was prepar...

Toward a community ecology of landscapes: predicting multiple predator-prey interactions across geographic space.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Oswald J; Miller, Jennifer R B; Trainor, Anne M; Abrahms, Briana

2017-09-01

Community ecology was traditionally an integrative science devoted to studying interactions between species and their abiotic environments in order to predict species' geographic distributions and abundances. Yet for philosophical and methodological reasons, it has become divided into two enterprises: one devoted to local experimentation on species interactions to predict community dynamics; the other devoted to statistical analyses of abiotic and biotic information to describe geographic distribution. Our goal here is to instigate thinking about ways to reconnect the two enterprises and thereby return to a tradition to do integrative science. We focus specifically on the community ecology of predators and prey, which is ripe for integration. This is because there is active, simultaneous interest in experimentally resolving the nature and strength of predator-prey interactions as well as explaining patterns across landscapes and seascapes. We begin by describing a conceptual theory rooted in classical analyses of non-spatial food web modules used to predict species interactions. We show how such modules can be extended to consideration of spatial context using the concept of habitat domain. Habitat domain describes the spatial extent of habitat space that predators and prey use while foraging, which differs from home range, the spatial extent used by an animal to meet all of its daily needs. This conceptual theory can be used to predict how different spatial relations of predators and prey could lead to different emergent multiple predator-prey interactions such as whether predator consumptive or non-consumptive effects should dominate, and whether intraguild predation, predator interference or predator complementarity are expected. We then review the literature on studies of large predator-prey interactions that make conclusions about the nature of multiple predator-prey interactions. This analysis reveals that while many studies provide sufficient information

Geographic thougth in Latin America: A retrospective and general balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Sergio Urquijo Torres

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper we report results of a thorough contemporary historiographic revision of published geographic research and geography research departments and centers in Latin America. The main focus was on the recognition of transnational subjects and global processes and patterns. We argue that this type of retrospective analyses allows the understanding of the what and the what for of Latin America (LAG Geography. First we describe the current situation of LAG as a social science. Second, we explain the nature of LA social processes that, in the 90s, triggered geographic change and subsequent theoretical reflection on this change in LAG and in other related social sciences. To this end, we describe how the major traditions in geographic research have influenced LAG thinking. To conclude, we suggest the major achievements that we think characterize the current situation of LAG.

Global height datum unification: a new approach in gravity potential space

Science.gov (United States)

Ardalan, A. A.; Safari, A.

2005-12-01

The problem of “global height datum unification” is solved in the gravity potential space based on: (1) high-resolution local gravity field modeling, (2) geocentric coordinates of the reference benchmark, and (3) a known value of the geoid’s potential. The high-resolution local gravity field model is derived based on a solution of the fixed-free two-boundary-value problem of the Earth’s gravity field using (a) potential difference values (from precise leveling), (b) modulus of the gravity vector (from gravimetry), (c) astronomical longitude and latitude (from geodetic astronomy and/or combination of (GNSS) Global Navigation Satellite System observations with total station measurements), (d) and satellite altimetry. Knowing the height of the reference benchmark in the national height system and its geocentric GNSS coordinates, and using the derived high-resolution local gravity field model, the gravity potential value of the zero point of the height system is computed. The difference between the derived gravity potential value of the zero point of the height system and the geoid’s potential value is computed. This potential difference gives the offset of the zero point of the height system from geoid in the “potential space”, which is transferred into “geometry space” using the transformation formula derived in this paper. The method was applied to the computation of the offset of the zero point of the Iranian height datum from the geoid’s potential value W 0=62636855.8 m2/s2. According to the geometry space computations, the height datum of Iran is 0.09 m below the geoid.

Global and Mexican analytical review of the state of the art on Ecosystem and Environmental services: A geographical approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Perevochtchikova

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The term Ecosystem Services (ES was introduced in the Rio Declaration in 1992, within a strong international movement for sustainable natural resource management. Back then, the innovative principle concerned the environmental functions that maintain life support systems. To illustrate this further, pollination, oxygen production, temperature regulation, water storage, filtering and distribution, among others, were listed and previously taken for granted until human action contested them. The first compensation schemes for Environmental Services were proposed in 1997 as one of the tools of the new environmental policy directed towards the principles of sustainable development. Since then, the topic of ES has received remarkable global response, which is reflected by the implementation of payment programs and by the development of research in many countries worldwide. This paper analyses the state of the art of the research carried out so far on ES and Environmental Services from the global and the Mexican perspectives. It is based upon the review of 1,781 scientific papers published in international peer reviewed journals between 1992 and 2012. Furthermore, the present study provides a sound geographical overview of the main ES topics studied and of the relative emission of papers per region, country or state. Results are finally presented and discussed in the light of their deficits and of the challenges ahead.

Global epidemiological trends and variations in the burden of gallbladder cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Are, Chandrakanth; Ahmad, Humera; Ravipati, Advaitaa; Croo, Darren; Clarey, Dillon; Smith, Lynette; Price, Ray R; Butte, Jean M; Gupta, Sameer; Chaturvedi, Arun; Chowdhury, Sanjib

2017-04-01

The aim of this study is to describe the trends and variations in the global burden of gallbladder cancer (GBC) with an emphasis on geographic variations and female gender. Data (2012-2030) relating to GBC was extracted from GLOBOCAN 2012 database and analyzed. The results of our study document a rising global burden of GBC with geographic and gender variations. The highest burden was noted in the WPRO region (based on WHO regions), Asia (based on continents) and India, Chile, and China (based on countries). The less developed regions of the world account for the majority of the global burden of GBC. The geographic variations are also present within individual countries such as in India and Chile. Females are afflicted at a much higher rate with GBC and this predilection is exaggerated in countries with higher incidence such as India and Chile. In females, people of certain ethnic groups and lower socio-economic standing are at a higher risk. Our study demonstrates a rising global burden of GBC with some specific data on geographic and gender-based variations which can be used to develop strategies at the global as well as the high-risk individual country level. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Combined Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Space Service Volume

Science.gov (United States)

Force, Dale A.; Miller, James J.

2013-01-01

Besides providing position, velocity, and timing (PVT) for terrestrial users, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is also being used to provide PVT information for earth orbiting satellites. In 2006, F. H. Bauer, et. al., defined the Space Service Volume in the paper GPS in the Space Service Volume , presented at ION s 19th international Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division, and looked at GPS coverage for orbiting satellites. With GLONASS already operational, and the first satellites of the Galileo and Beidou/COMPASS constellations already in orbit, it is time to look at the use of the new Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) coming into service to provide PVT information for earth orbiting satellites. This presentation extends GPS in the Space Service Volume by examining the coverage capability of combinations of the new constellations with GPS GPS was first explored as a system for refining the position, velocity, and timing of other spacecraft equipped with GPS receivers in the early eighties. Because of this, a new GPS utility developed beyond the original purpose of providing position, velocity, and timing services for land, maritime, and aerial applications. GPS signals are now received and processed by spacecraft both above and below the GPS constellation, including signals that spill over the limb of the earth. Support of GPS space applications is now part of the system plan for GPS, and support of the Space Service Volume by other GNSS providers has been proposed to the UN International Committee on GNSS (ICG). GPS has been demonstrated to provide decimeter level position accuracy in real-time for satellites in low Earth orbit (centimeter level in non-real-time applications). GPS has been proven useful for satellites in geosynchronous orbit, and also for satellites in highly elliptical orbits. Depending on how many satellites are in view, one can keep time locked to the GNSS standard, and through that to Universal Time as long as at least one

Geographic analysis of road accident severity index in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyanda, Ayodeji E

2018-05-28

Before 2030, deaths from road traffic accidents (RTAs) will surpass cerebrovascular disease, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Yet, there is little knowledge on the geographic distribution of RTA severity in Nigeria. Accident Severity Index is the proportion of deaths that result from a road accident. This study analysed the geographic pattern of RTA severity based on the data retrieved from Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The study predicted a two-year data from a historic road accident data using exponential smoothing technique. To determine spatial autocorrelation, global and local indicators of spatial association were implemented in a geographic information system. Results show significant clusters of high RTA severity among states in the northeast and the northwest of Nigeria. Hence, the findings are discussed from two perspectives: Road traffic law compliance and poor emergency response. Conclusion, the severity of RTA is high in the northern states of Nigeria, hence, RTA remains a public health concern.

TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS IN THE GLOBAL INTERACTIVE SPACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Kochkina

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The article identifies trends in the development of marketing communications in the global interactive space by analyzing the factors of their functioning and researching motivation of viral audience. It is revealed the prevalence of interactive technologies in today's information space and the growth dynamics of interactive advertising market. It is proved that favorable conditions for marketing communications' functioning forms the basis for the development of viral advertising as an effective communication tool for untraditional impact on potential customers. The popularity of social networks as a major source of viral messages is determined. The motivation of YouTube audience, which provides a resonant video viewing and retransmission, is investigated. Gender and age differences that stipulate communication affect on consumers are identified. Cyclic social consciousness is observed that demands further research of viral audience, including constructing scenarios of viral behavior.

Case-control geographic clustering for residential histories accounting for risk factors and covariates

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

Background Methods for analyzing space-time variation in risk in case-control studies typically ignore residential mobility. We develop an approach for analyzing case-control data for mobile individuals and apply it to study bladder cancer in 11 counties in southeastern Michigan. At this time data collection is incomplete and no inferences should be drawn – we analyze these data to demonstrate the novel methods. Global, local and focused clustering of residential histories for 219 cases and 437 controls is quantified using time-dependent nearest neighbor relationships. Business address histories for 268 industries that release known or suspected bladder cancer carcinogens are analyzed. A logistic model accounting for smoking, gender, age, race and education specifies the probability of being a case, and is incorporated into the cluster randomization procedures. Sensitivity of clustering to definition of the proximity metric is assessed for 1 to 75 k nearest neighbors. Results Global clustering is partly explained by the covariates but remains statistically significant at 12 of the 14 levels of k considered. After accounting for the covariates 26 Local clusters are found in Lapeer, Ingham, Oakland and Jackson counties, with the clusters in Ingham and Oakland counties appearing in 1950 and persisting to the present. Statistically significant focused clusters are found about the business address histories of 22 industries located in Oakland (19 clusters), Ingham (2) and Jackson (1) counties. Clusters in central and southeastern Oakland County appear in the 1930's and persist to the present day. Conclusion These methods provide a systematic approach for evaluating a series of increasingly realistic alternative hypotheses regarding the sources of excess risk. So long as selection of cases and controls is population-based and not geographically biased, these tools can provide insights into geographic risk factors that were not specifically assessed in the case

Case-control geographic clustering for residential histories accounting for risk factors and covariates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goovaerts Pierre

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Methods for analyzing space-time variation in risk in case-control studies typically ignore residential mobility. We develop an approach for analyzing case-control data for mobile individuals and apply it to study bladder cancer in 11 counties in southeastern Michigan. At this time data collection is incomplete and no inferences should be drawn – we analyze these data to demonstrate the novel methods. Global, local and focused clustering of residential histories for 219 cases and 437 controls is quantified using time-dependent nearest neighbor relationships. Business address histories for 268 industries that release known or suspected bladder cancer carcinogens are analyzed. A logistic model accounting for smoking, gender, age, race and education specifies the probability of being a case, and is incorporated into the cluster randomization procedures. Sensitivity of clustering to definition of the proximity metric is assessed for 1 to 75 k nearest neighbors. Results Global clustering is partly explained by the covariates but remains statistically significant at 12 of the 14 levels of k considered. After accounting for the covariates 26 Local clusters are found in Lapeer, Ingham, Oakland and Jackson counties, with the clusters in Ingham and Oakland counties appearing in 1950 and persisting to the present. Statistically significant focused clusters are found about the business address histories of 22 industries located in Oakland (19 clusters, Ingham (2 and Jackson (1 counties. Clusters in central and southeastern Oakland County appear in the 1930's and persist to the present day. Conclusion These methods provide a systematic approach for evaluating a series of increasingly realistic alternative hypotheses regarding the sources of excess risk. So long as selection of cases and controls is population-based and not geographically biased, these tools can provide insights into geographic risk factors that were not specifically

A global digital elevation model - GTOP030

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

GTOP030, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM) of the Earth, provides the flrst global coverage of moderate resolution elevation data.  The original GTOP30 data set, which was developed over a 3-year period through a collaborative effort led by the USGS, was completed in 1996 at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The collaboration involved contributions of staffing, funding, or source data from cooperators including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Nations Environment Programme Global Resource Information Database (UNEP/GRID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica (INEGI) of Mexico, the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of Japan, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research of New Zealand, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). In 1999, work was begun on an update to the GTOP030 data set. Additional data sources are being incorporated into GTOP030 with an enhanced and improved data set planned for release in 2000.

A Global Overview of Male Escort Websites.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Navin; Minichiello, Victor; Scott, John; Harrington, Taylor

2017-01-01

This article details a preliminary dataset of global male escort sites to give insight into the scale of the online market. We conducted a content analysis of 499 Web sites and also measured traffic to these sites. Our analysis examined the structural characteristics of escort services, geographical and regulatory contexts, and resilience of such services. Results suggest that most sites are independent and not affiliated to escort agencies, and the majority cater to male escorts soliciting male clients, with a number of sites for female clientele and couples. These Web sites are dispersed globally, with Asian, European, and South American countries the major hubs in the market and a small number of large multinational sites based in the United States and Europe figuring as a major presence in markets. Although still subject to high levels of regulation in many parts of the world, the data suggest that male escorting is becoming more visible in diverse cultural contexts as measured by the number of Web sites appearing in public spaces.

Model for Determining Geographical Distribution of Heat Saving Potentials in Danish Building Stock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Petrovic

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Since the global oil crisis in the 1970s, Denmark has followed a path towards energy independency by continuously improving its energy efficiency and energy conservation. Energy efficiency was mainly tackled by introducing a high number of combined heat and power plants in the system, while energy conservation was predominantly approached by implementing heat saving measures. Today, with the goal of 100% renewable energy within the power and heat sector by the year 2035, reductions in energy demand for space heating and the preparation of domestic hot water remain at the top of the agenda in Denmark. A highly detailed model for determining heat demand, possible heat savings and associated costs in the Danish building stock is presented. Both scheduled and energy-saving renovations until year 2030 have been analyzed. The highly detailed GIS-based heat atlas for Denmark is used as a container for storing data about physical properties for 2.5 million buildings in Denmark. Consequently, the results of the analysis can be represented on a single building level. Under the assumption that buildings with the most profitable heat savings are renovated first, the consequences of heat savings for the economy and energy system have been quantified and geographically referenced. The possibilities for further improvements of the model and the application to other geographical regions have been discussed.

Enabling Research without Geographical Boundaries via Collaborative Research Infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Gesing, S.

2016-12-01

Collaborative research infrastructures on global scale for earth and space sciences face a plethora of challenges from technical implementations to organizational aspects. Science gateways - also known as virtual research environments (VREs) or virtual laboratories - address part of such challenges by providing end-to-end solutions to aid researchers to focus on their specific research questions without the need to become acquainted with the technical details of the complex underlying infrastructures. In general, they provide a single point of entry to tools and data irrespective of organizational boundaries and thus make scientific discoveries easier and faster. The importance of science gateways has been recognized on national as well as on international level by funding bodies and by organizations. For example, the US NSF has just funded a Science Gateways Community Institute, which offers support, consultancy and open accessible software repositories for users and developers; Horizon 2020 provides funding for virtual research environments in Europe, which has led to projects such as VRE4EIC (A Europe-wide Interoperable Virtual Research Environment to Empower Multidisciplinary Research Communities and Accelerate Innovation and Collaboration); national or continental research infrastructures such as XSEDE in the USA, Nectar in Australia or EGI in Europe support the development and uptake of science gateways; the global initiatives International Coalition on Science Gateways, the RDA Virtual Research Environment Interest Group as well as the IEEE Technical Area on Science Gateways have been founded to provide global leadership on future directions for science gateways in general and facilitate awareness for science gateways. This presentation will give an overview on these projects and initiatives aiming at supporting domain researchers and developers with measures for the efficient creation of science gateways, for increasing their usability and sustainability

Peak globalization. Climate change, oil depletion and global trade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtis, Fred [Department of Economics, Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940 (United States)

2009-12-15

The global trade in goods depends upon reliable, inexpensive transportation of freight along complex and long-distance supply chains. Global warming and peak oil undermine globalization by their effects on both transportation costs and the reliable movement of freight. Countering the current geographic pattern of comparative advantage with higher transportation costs, climate change and peak oil will thus result in peak globalization, after which the volume of exports will decline as measured by ton-miles of freight. Policies designed to mitigate climate change and peak oil are very unlikely to change this result due to their late implementation, contradictory effects and insufficient magnitude. The implication is that supply chains will become shorter for most products and that production of goods will be located closer to where they are consumed. (author)

Peak globalization. Climate change, oil depletion and global trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, Fred

2009-01-01

The global trade in goods depends upon reliable, inexpensive transportation of freight along complex and long-distance supply chains. Global warming and peak oil undermine globalization by their effects on both transportation costs and the reliable movement of freight. Countering the current geographic pattern of comparative advantage with higher transportation costs, climate change and peak oil will thus result in peak globalization, after which the volume of exports will decline as measured by ton-miles of freight. Policies designed to mitigate climate change and peak oil are very unlikely to change this result due to their late implementation, contradictory effects and insufficient magnitude. The implication is that supply chains will become shorter for most products and that production of goods will be located closer to where they are consumed. (author)

Cosmoglobalistics: Interrelation of Global and Cosmic Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ursul Tatiana

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The paper develops the concept antropogeocosmizm, emanating from the fact that the main purpose of space activity in the short term is the historical use of space to solve global problems and in the long term socio-natural transition to the sustainable development of the planet. In this study based on the ideological origins and formation of a new direction and globalization, exploring the relationship of global and cosmic factors, the impact of the latter on the development of global processes and systems, the problem of space on the planet and escalating global processes in space. It is about the relationship of space and planetary processes, the transformation of the global response to space activities (and their interaction, and global development in the cosmic evolution. Taken as the position that global studies examining global processes and systems, and global processes are understood by the natural, social and socio-natural processes unfolding on planet Earth and have evolutionary significance. It is shown that global processes and issues affecting the world at large, is to some extent a manifestation of the global-space character of the contradictions associated with the expansion of spatial boundaries of human activity, including the conquest of space. Special attention is paid to the potential global catastrophes and geospatial software security. Considering the introduction of a substantive field cosmoglobalistiks natural processes, prospects globally exoplanet space research, as well as "global methodology" search for extraterrestrial intelligence. We consider the discovery of dark matter forms that give rise to a very substantial transformation attitude and stimulate the formation of global-cosmological research, which will consider mainly the global characteristics of matter, manifested in three main fragments of the Universe.

REINVENTING THE GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION IN TIMES OF CRISIS: ICT IN THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matilde Peinado Rodríguez

Full Text Available INTRODUCCTION: The objective of this work is to carry out a reflection on the changes that we have been forced to address from the teaching of the social sciences, and in particular, in the course “Didactics of Social Sciences: geographical space and its didactic treatment”, a subject which is greatly enriched with school trips and educational itineraries for which we lack economic funding, although new technologies are erected in an indispensable resource to offset, at least in part, these deficiencies. We propose to use ICT resources to bring the environment into the classroom, natural and virtual, to have their space in the process of teaching and learning in geographical discipline.

AQUARIUS: A Passive/Active Microwave Sensor to Monitor Sea Surface Salinity Globally from Space

Science.gov (United States)

LeVine, David; Lagerloef, Gary S. E.; Colomb, F. Raul; Chao, Yi

2004-01-01

Salinity is important for understanding ocean dynamics, energy exchange with the atmosphere and the global water cycle. Existing data is limited and much of the ocean has never even been sampled. Sea surface salinity can be measured remotely by satellite and a three year mission for this purpose called AquariudSAC-D has recently been selected by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program. The objective is to map the salinity field globally with a spatial resolution of 100 km and a monthly average accuracy of 0.2 psu. The mission, scheduled for launch in 2008, is a partnership of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the Argentine Comision National de Actividades Epaciales (CONAE).

Geographical baselines of sustainable planning of the regional development of Zasavje region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dušan Plut

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Geographical baselines of planning the regional development and interventions into the geographical environment derive from the premises of the concept of permanent adjusting the anthropogenic changes in the landscape to specific capacities and limitations of landscape-forming components. In the landscape-degraded region of Zasavje the improvement of environmental quality (curative measures and regional economic progress within the scope of carrying capacities and space (preventative measures are the primary, developmentaly-environmentally devised goal of developmental strategy.

Perturbative S-matrix for massive scalar fields in global de Sitter space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marolf, Donald; Srednicki, Mark; Morrison, Ian A

2013-01-01

We construct a perturbative S-matrix for interacting massive scalar fields in global de Sitter space. Our S-matrix is formulated in terms of asymptotic particle states in the far past and future, taking appropriate care for light fields whose wavefunctions decay only very slowly near the de Sitter conformal boundaries. An alternative formulation expresses this S-matrix in terms of residues of poles in analytically-continued Euclidean correlators (computed in perturbation theory), making it clear that the standard Minkowski-space result is obtained in the flat-space limit. Our S-matrix transforms properly under CPT, is invariant under the de Sitter isometries and perturbative field redefinitions, and is unitary. This unitarity implies a de Sitter version of the optical theorem. We explicitly verify these properties to second order in the coupling for a general cubic interaction, including both tree- and loop-level contributions. Contrary to other statements in the literature, we find that a particle of any positive mass may decay at tree level to any number of particles, each of arbitrary positive masses. In particular, even very light fields (in the complementary series of de Sitter representations) are not protected from tree-level decays. (paper)

Widening Geographical Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in the United States, 1969-2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gopal K. Singh, PhD

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: This study examined trends in geographical disparities in cardiovascular-disease (CVD mortality in the United States between 1969 and 2011. Methods: National vital statistics data and the National Longitudinal Mortality Study were used to estimate regional, state, and county-level disparities in CVD mortality over time. Log-linear, weighted least squares, and Cox regression were used to analyze mortality trends and differentials. Results: During 1969-2011, CVD mortality rates declined fastest in New England and Mid-Atlantic regions and slowest in the Southeast and Southwestern regions. In 1969, the mortality rate was 9% higher in the Southeast than in New England, but the differential increased to 48% in 2011. In 2011, Southeastern states, Mississippi and Alabama, had the highest CVD mortality rates, nearly twice the rates for Minnesota and Hawaii. Controlling for individual-level covariates reduced state differentials. State- and county-level differentials in CVD mortality rates widened over time as geographical disparity in CVD mortality increased by 50% between 1969 and 2011. Area deprivation, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes prevalence, urbanization, lack of health insurance, and lower access to primary medical care were all significant predictors of county-level CVD mortality rates and accounted for 52.7% of the county variance. Conclusions and Global Health Implications: Although CVD mortality has declined for all geographical areas in the United States, geographical disparity has widened over time as certain regions and states, particularly those in the South, have lagged behind in mortality reduction. Geographical disparities in CVD mortality reflect inequalities in socioeconomic conditions and behavioral risk factors. With the global CVD burden on the rise, monitoring geographical disparities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, could indicate the extent to which reductions in CVD mortality are

Global Climate Forcing from Albedo Change Caused by Large-scale Deforestation and Reforestation: Quantification and Attribution of Geographic Variation

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Tong; Williams, Christopher A.; Ghimire, Bardan; Masek, Jeffrey; Gao, Feng; Schaaf, Crystal

2017-01-01

Large-scale deforestation and reforestation have contributed substantially to historical and contemporary global climate change in part through albedo-induced radiative forcing, with meaningful implications for forest management aiming to mitigate climate change. Associated warming or cooling varies widely across the globe due to a range of factors including forest type, snow cover, and insolation, but resulting geographic variation remain spoorly described and has been largely based on model assessments. This study provides an observation-based approach to quantify local and global radiative forcings from large-scale deforestation and reforestation and further examines mechanisms that result in the spatial heterogeneity of radiative forcing. We incorporate a new spatially and temporally explicit land cover-specific albedo product derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer with a historical land use data set (Land Use Harmonization product). Spatial variation in radiative forcing was attributed to four mechanisms, including the change in snow-covered albedo, change in snow-free albedo, snow cover fraction, and incoming solar radiation. We find an albedo-only radiative forcing (RF) of -0.819 W m(exp -2) if year 2000 forests were completely deforested and converted to croplands. Albedo RF from global reforestation of present-day croplands to recover year 1700 forests is estimated to be 0.161 W m)exp -2). Snow-cover fraction is identified as the primary factor in determining the spatial variation of radiative forcing in winter, while the magnitude of the change in snow-free albedo is the primary factor determining variations in summertime RF. Findings reinforce the notion that, for conifers at the snowier high latitudes, albedo RF diminishes the warming from forest loss and the cooling from forest gain more so than for other forest types, latitudes, and climate settings.

Global-Detector; GIS- and Knowledge-based tool for a global detection of the potential for production, supply and demand

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hennen, W.H.G.J.; Daane, P.A.J.; Duijvendijk, van Kees

2017-01-01

Wageningen Economic Research has developed Global-Detector, a knowledge-based Geographic Information System that aims to detect the worldwide potential for production, demand and market strategies. At any spot in the world Global-Detector can show the values from a large amount of indicators, such

Population Pressure, Global Living Standards, and the Promise of Space Solar Power

Science.gov (United States)

Strickland, John K., Jr.

2002-01-01

uses of electricity and fuels currently covered by fossil fuels. This is a global replacement load of about 9000 gigawatts. Green theorists are divided on this issue. Some claim that ground based solar, wind, and other renewable sources will supply all the energy we need, ignoring economic costs that severely limit their use. Others would (unrealistically) require the developed countries to reduce their energy consumption per capita to a level closer to that of the developing world, thereby admitting the limitations of the "appropriate" systems they espouse. Both sides in the past have rejected as "non-appropriate" and/or "dangerous" all the chemically clean energy sources of high capacity that have been previously proposed, such as safer nuclear fission, fusion power, and space solar power. If ground based "appropriate" energy sources are not sufficient, the economic and social effects of sudden forced curtailments of fossil energy use could be drastic. This paper supports the thesis that Space Solar Power does have the potential to provide such a clean, abundant, and economical energy source. It will cover both the limitations and promise of ground based energy sources, including the difficulties of using intermittent energy sources. It will discuss whether specified levels of energy cost increases would be damaging to the world economy and whether economical ground based sources alone would have sufficient capacity. It will show how the one major problem of launch costs, (currently preventing economical implementation of Space Solar Power), has a number of quite reasonable solutions. Finally, it will consider whether Space Solar Power, along with the other major space goals of Science &Exploration, Mars Colonization, Non- terrestrial Materials Recovery and Space Tourism, could be another space "killer app" which, by creating a high demand for launch services, could force large reductions in launch costs.

Global Positioning System Energetic Particle Data: The Next Space Weather Data Revolution

Science.gov (United States)

Knipp, Delores J.; Giles, Barbara L.

2016-01-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has revolutionized the process of getting from point A to point Band so much more. A large fraction of the worlds population relies on GPS (and its counterparts from other nations) for precision timing, location, and navigation. Most GPS users are unaware that the spacecraft providing the signals they rely on are operating in a very harsh space environment the radiation belts where energetic particles trapped in Earths magnetic field dash about at nearly the speed of light. These subatomic particles relentlessly pummel GPS satellites. So by design, every GPS satellite and its sensors are radiation hardened. Each spacecraft carries particle detectors that provide health and status data to system operators. Although these data reveal much about the state of the space radiation environment, heretofore they have been available only to system operators and supporting scientists. Research scientists have long sought a policy shift to allow more general access. With the release of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan organized by the White House Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP) a sample of these data have been made available to space weather researchers. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the National Center for Environmental Information released a months worth of GPS energetic particle data from an interval of heightened space weather activity in early 2014 with the hope of stimulating integration of these data sets into the research arena. Even before the public data release GPS support scientists from LANL showed the extraordinary promise of these data.

A GOCE-only global gravity field model by the space-wise approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Migliaccio, Frederica; Reguzzoni, Mirko; Gatti, Andrea

2011-01-01

The global gravity field model computed by the spacewise approach is one of three official solutions delivered by ESA from the analysis of the GOCE data. The model consists of a set of spherical harmonic coefficients and the corresponding error covariance matrix. The main idea behind this approach...... the orbit to reduce the noise variance and correlation before gridding the data. In the first release of the space-wise approach, based on a period of about two months, some prior information coming from existing gravity field models entered into the solution especially at low degrees and low orders...... degrees; the second is an internally computed GOCE-only prior model to be used in place of the official quick-look model, thus removing the dependency on EIGEN5C especially in the polar gaps. Once the procedure to obtain a GOCE-only solution has been outlined, a new global gravity field model has been...

Space life and biomedical sciences in support of the global exploration roadmap and societal development

Science.gov (United States)

Evetts, S. N.

2014-08-01

The human exploration of space is pushing the boundaries of what is technically feasible. The space industry is preparing for the New Space era, the momentum for which will emanate from the commercial human spaceflight sector, and will be buttressed by international solar system exploration endeavours. With many distinctive technical challenges to be overcome, human spaceflight requires that numerous biological and physical systems be examined under exceptional circumstances for progress to be made. To effectively tackle such an undertaking significant intra- and international coordination and collaboration is required. Space life and biomedical science research and development (R & D) will support the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) by enabling humans to 'endure' the extreme activity that is long duration human spaceflight. In so doing the field will discover solutions to some of our most difficult human health issues, and as a consequence benefit society as a whole. This space-specific R&D will drive a significant amount of terrestrial biomedical research and as a result the international community will not only gain benefits in the form of improved healthcare in space and on Earth, but also through the growth of its science base and industry.

PlanetLab Europe as Geographically-Distributed Testbed for Software Development and Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Komosny

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we analyse the use of PlanetLab Europe for development and evaluation of geographically-oriented Internet services. PlanetLab is a global research network with the main purpose to support development of new Internet services and protocols. PlanetLab is divided into several branches; one of them is PlanetLab Europe. PlanetLab Europe consists of about 350 nodes at 150 geographically different sites. The nodes are accessible by remote login, and the users can run their software on the nodes. In the paper, we study the PlanetLab's properties that are significant for its use as a geographically distributed testbed. This includes node position accuracy, services availability and stability. We find a considerable number of location inaccuracies and a number of services that cannot be considered as reliable. Based on the results we propose a simple approach to nodes selection in testbeds for geographically-oriented Internet services development and evaluation.

Comparison of average global exposure of population induced by a macro 3G network in different geographical areas in France and Serbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yuanyuan; Varsier, Nadège; Niksic, Stevan; Kocan, Enis; Pejanovic-Djurisic, Milica; Popovic, Milica; Koprivica, Mladen; Neskovic, Aleksandar; Milinkovic, Jelena; Gati, Azeddine; Person, Christian; Wiart, Joe

2016-09-01

This article is the first thorough study of average population exposure to third generation network (3G)-induced electromagnetic fields (EMFs), from both uplink and downlink radio emissions in different countries, geographical areas, and for different wireless device usages. Indeed, previous publications in the framework of exposure to EMFs generally focused on individual exposure coming from either personal devices or base stations. Results, derived from device usage statistics collected in France and Serbia, show a strong heterogeneity of exposure, both in time, that is, the traffic distribution over 24 h was found highly variable, and space, that is, the exposure to 3G networks in France was found to be roughly two times higher than in Serbia. Such heterogeneity is further explained based on real data and network architecture. Among those results, authors show that, contrary to popular belief, exposure to 3G EMFs is dominated by uplink radio emissions, resulting from voice and data traffic, and average population EMF exposure differs from one geographical area to another, as well as from one country to another, due to the different cellular network architectures and variability of mobile usage. Bioelectromagnetics. 37:382-390, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Artisanal Fisheries Research: A Need for Globalization?

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira Júnior, José Gilmar C; Silva, Luana P S; Malhado, Ana C M; Batista, Vandick S; Fabré, Nidia N; Ladle, Richard J

2016-01-01

Given limited funds for research and widespread degradation of ecosystems, environmental scientists should geographically target their studies where they will be most effective. However, in academic areas such as conservation and natural resource management there is often a mismatch between the geographic foci of research effort/funding and research needs. The former frequently being focused in the developed world while the latter is greater in the biodiverse countries of the Global South. Here, we adopt a bibliometric approach to test this hypothesis using research on artisanal fisheries. Such fisheries occur throughout the world, but are especially prominent in developing countries where they are important for supporting local livelihoods, food security and poverty alleviation. Moreover, most artisanal fisheries in the Global South are unregulated and unmonitored and are in urgent need of science-based management to ensure future sustainability. Our results indicate that, as predicted, global research networks and centres of knowledge production are predominantly located in developed countries, indicating a global mismatch between research needs and capacity.

Reconceptualizing Cultural Globalization: Connecting the “Cultural Global” and the “Cultural Local”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Magu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Scholars generally are in agreement that the pace of globalization is rapidly accelerating. Globalization’s impact, beyond the socio-economic and political discourses, is affecting conceptions of culture and cultural studies, and changing and restructuring spaces, global, national and personal interactions and relationships. The “texts” and artifacts borne of culture—activities, events and our conception thereof are a mechanism for the propagation of culture. Simultaneously Westernization/Americanization impacts local cultures through consumerism, which obfuscates local traditions, knowledge and experiences. This research argues that culture is a dynamic, adaptive concept and practice, “borrowing” liberally from ideological and technological innovations of other cultures and integrating these borrowed aspects into the construction and modification of culture across spatial and geographical divides to ensure particular cultures’ survival. The research shows that the local affects the global, and vice versa. It selects local communication “texts” to show that cultures are not “victims” of globalization or the proliferation of mass media. Cultures actively adopt and integrate globalization’s technological artifacts. Globalization’s positive effects are dynamic and span cultural interactions and permeate structures of authority at personal, national and global levels.

Mining geographic variations of Plasmodium vivax for active surveillance: a case study in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Benyun; Tan, Qi; Zhou, Xiao-Nong; Liu, Jiming

2015-05-27

Geographic variations of an infectious disease characterize the spatial differentiation of disease incidences caused by various impact factors, such as environmental, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. Some factors may directly determine the force of infection of the disease (namely, explicit factors), while many other factors may indirectly affect the number of disease incidences via certain unmeasurable processes (namely, implicit factors). In this study, the impact of heterogeneous factors on geographic variations of Plasmodium vivax incidences is systematically investigate in Tengchong, Yunnan province, China. A space-time model that resembles a P. vivax transmission model and a hidden time-dependent process, is presented by taking into consideration both explicit and implicit factors. Specifically, the transmission model is built upon relevant demographic, environmental, and biophysical factors to describe the local infections of P. vivax. While the hidden time-dependent process is assessed by several socioeconomic factors to account for the imported cases of P. vivax. To quantitatively assess the impact of heterogeneous factors on geographic variations of P. vivax infections, a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation method is developed to estimate the model parameters by fitting the space-time model to the reported spatial-temporal disease incidences. Since there is no ground-truth information available, the performance of the MCMC method is first evaluated against a synthetic dataset. The results show that the model parameters can be well estimated using the proposed MCMC method. Then, the proposed model is applied to investigate the geographic variations of P. vivax incidences among all 18 towns in Tengchong, Yunnan province, China. Based on the geographic variations, the 18 towns can be further classify into five groups with similar socioeconomic causality for P. vivax incidences. Although this study focuses mainly on the transmission of P. vivax

Geographic information technology monitoring and mapping of coal fires in Ukraine, according to the space survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pivnyak, G.; Busygin, B.; Garkusha, I. [National Mining Univ., Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)

2010-07-01

Coal fires are a significant problem around the world, particularly in China, India, and the United States. Coal fires burn thousands of tons of coal reserves and lead to serious problems for the environment, degradation and destruction of landscape, and harm public health. Technology, such as spectrology analysis of signatures with high temperature activity can be used to calculate vegetation algorithms and soil indexes, and multispectral survey data in the thermal channels of scanners. This paper presented the perspectives of technology development in coal fires and the approach to the detection, monitoring, and quantitative estimation of coal fires by the instruments using geographic information systems. Specifically, the paper considered the use of coal fire fragment monitoring technology from data of a diachronous survey obtained by Landsat satellites, to classify dangerous coal waste banks of the Donbass Mine located in Ukraine. The paper provided a description of the study area and discussed the detection technology of temperature-active waste banks. It was concluded that geoinformation technology provides an opportunity to effectively mark mining dumps, in particular, waste banks in multispectrum space images made by Landsat satellites. 7 refs., 6 figs.

Geographic Names

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, provides...

Cultural-Linguistic Globalization in the European Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Chirimbu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Europe is a reality not only in economic and political terms mainly. The impact of globalization on contemporary European area is a contested subject in political debates, media or academically. Although occurring in the economic field with multiple meanings (the increase in economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety of goods and services transactions across borders, in linguistics, globalization illustrates a particular facet of the relationship between the dynamics and needs of society communication. The impressive contemporary transformation processes triggered by globalization can be fully understood only if read in a cultural key, only if analyzed from a cultural perspective. At the same time, the multiple transformations modify the very structure of the cultural experience and affect the way we understand culture in the modern world. Globalization is the core of modern culture and cultural practices are the core of globalization.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE F-PERCEPTORY APPROACH THROUGH MANAGEMENT OF FUZZY COMPLEX GEOGRAPHIC OBJECTS

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B. Khalfi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In the real world, data is imperfect and in various ways such as imprecision, vagueness, uncertainty, ambiguity and inconsistency. For geographic data, the fuzzy aspect is mainly manifested in time, space and the function of objects and is due to a lack of precision. Therefore, the researchers in the domain emphasize the importance of modeling data structures in GIS but also their lack of adaptation to fuzzy data. The F-Perceptory approachh manages the modeling of imperfect geographic information with UML. This management is essential to maintain faithfulness to reality and to better guide the user in his decision-making. However, this approach does not manage fuzzy complex geographic objects. The latter presents a multiple object with similar or different geographic shapes. So, in this paper, we propose to improve the F-Perceptory approach by proposing to handle fuzzy complex geographic objects modeling. In a second step, we propose its transformation to the UML modeling.

Space-time clustering characteristics of tuberculosis in China, 2005-2011.

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Fei Zhao

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: China is one of the 22 tuberculosis (TB high-burden countries in the world. As TB is a major public health problem in China, spatial analysis could be applied to detect geographic distribution of TB clusters for targeted intervention on TB epidemics. METHODS: Spatial analysis was applied for detecting TB clusters on county-based TB notification data in the national notifiable infectious disease case reporting surveillance system from 2005 to 2011. Two indicators of TB epidemic were used including new sputum smear-positive (SS+ notification rate and total TB notification rate. Global Moran's I by ArcGIS was used to assess whether TB clustering and its trend were significant. SaTScan software that used the retrospective space-time analysis and Possion probability model was utilized to identify geographic areas and time period of potential clusters with notification rates on county-level from 2005 to 2011. RESULTS: Two indicators of TB notification had presented significant spatial autocorrelation globally each year (p<0.01. Global Moran's I of total TB notification rate had positive trend as time went by (t=6.87, p<0.01. The most likely clusters of two indicators had similar spatial distribution and size in the south-central regions of China from 2006 to 2008, and the secondary clusters in two regions: northeastern China and western China. Besides, the secondary clusters of total TB notification rate had two more large clustering centers in Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Qinghai provinces and several smaller clusters in Shanxi, Henan, Hebei and Jiangsu provinces. CONCLUSION: The total TB notification cases clustered significantly in some special areas each year and the clusters trended to aggregate with time. The most-likely and secondary clusters that overlapped among two TB indicators had higher TB burden and risks of TB transmission. These were the focused geographic areas where TB control efforts should be prioritized.

Global Value Chains from a 3D Printing Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laplume, André O; Petersen, Bent; Pearce, Joshua M.

2016-01-01

This article outlines the evolution of additive manufacturing technology, culminating in 3D printing and presents a vision of how this evolution is affecting existing global value chains (GVCs) in production. In particular, we bring up questions about how this new technology can affect...... the geographic span and density of GVCs. Potentially, wider adoption of this technology has the potential to partially reverse the trend towards global specialization of production systems into elements that may be geographically dispersed and closer to the end users (localization). This leaves the question...

Global Survey on Future Trends in Human Spaceflight: the Implications for Space Tourism

Science.gov (United States)

Gurtuna, O.; Garneau, S.

2002-01-01

With the much-publicized first ever space tourist flight, of Dennis Tito, and the announcement of the second space tourist flight to take place in April 2002, it is clear that an alternative motivation for human spaceflight has emerged. Human spaceflight is no longer only about meeting the priorities of national governments and space agencies, but is also about the tangible possibility of ordinary people seeing the Earth from a previously exclusive vantage point. It is imperative that major space players look beyond the existing human spaceflight rationale to identify some of the major driving forces behind space tourism, including the evolving market potential and developments in enabling technologies. In order to determine the influence of these forces on the future of commercial human spaceflight, the responses of a Futuraspace survey on future trends in human spaceflight are analyzed and presented. The motivation of this study is to identify sought-after space destinations, explore the expected trends in enabling technologies, and understand the future role of emerging space players. The survey will reflect the opinions of respondents from around the world including North America, Europe (including Russia) and Asia. The profiles of targeted respondents from space industry, government and academia are high-level executives/managers, senior researchers, as well as former and current astronauts. The survey instrument is a questionnaire which is validated by a pilot study. The sampling method is non-probabilistic, targeting as many space experts as possible who fit our intended respondent profile. Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis methods are implemented to investigate both global and regional perceptions of future commercial trends in human spaceflight. This study is not intended to be a formal market study of the potential viability of the space tourism market. Instead, the focus is on the future trends of human spaceflight, by drawing on the

Geographic Media Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Lukinbeal, Chris

2014-01-01

While the use of media permeates geographic research and pedagogic practice, the underlying literacies that link geography and media remain uncharted. This article argues that geographic media literacy incorporates visual literacy, information technology literacy, information literacy, and media literacy. Geographic media literacy is the ability…

Comprehensive Monitoring for Heterogeneous Geographically Distributed Storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratnikova, N. [Fermilab; Karavakis, E. [CERN; Lammel, S. [Fermilab; Wildish, T. [Princeton U.

2015-12-23

Storage capacity at CMS Tier-1 and Tier-2 sites reached over 100 Petabytes in 2014, and will be substantially increased during Run 2 data taking. The allocation of storage for the individual users analysis data, which is not accounted as a centrally managed storage space, will be increased to up to 40%. For comprehensive tracking and monitoring of the storage utilization across all participating sites, CMS developed a space monitoring system, which provides a central view of the geographically dispersed heterogeneous storage systems. The first prototype was deployed at pilot sites in summer 2014, and has been substantially reworked since then. In this paper we discuss the functionality and our experience of system deployment and operation on the full CMS scale.

Elite International Schools in the Global South: Transnational Space, Class Relationalities and the "Middling" International Schoolteacher

Science.gov (United States)

Tarc, Paul; Mishra Tarc, Aparna

2015-01-01

The elite international school is a rich site for sociological inquiry in global times. In this paper, we conceptualize the international school as a transnational space of agonist social class-making given the dynamic positioning of the complement of international school actors. We position international schoolteachers in the middle of these…

Radiations in space and global environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oguti, Takasi

1994-01-01

It has been well known that the global environment of the earth is basically determined by the radiation equilibrium of the earth atmosphere system embedded in the solar radiation. However, the surface temperature of about 15 degC on average is much higher than that determined by the radiation equilibrium. This is due to the so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and others. Also the global environment has evolved by interacting with the living things on the earth, for example, tree oxygen by photosynthesis, and a small amount of ozone protecting living things from the fetal damage due to solar ultraviolet radiation. The solar radiation of short wavelength, that is, ultraviolet to X-ray influences atmospheric constituents, and the thermal structure and dynamics of the atmosphere through chemical reaction. The solar energetic particles produced by solar flares precipitate in the polar regions, and the nitric oxides are produced by auroral X-ray. Auroral activities accelerate particles in the magnetosphere. All these radiations cause significant global changes. Human activities increase greenhouse gases rapidly and cause global warming, and atmospheric chloro-fluoro-carbon (CFC) makes the ozone hole. Now, human activities must be modified to match the natural cycle of materials. (K.I.)

Representations of locally symmetric spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, M.S.

1995-09-01

Locally symmetric spaces in reference to globally and Hermitian symmetric Riemannian spaces are studied. Some relations between locally and globally symmetric spaces are exhibited. A lucid account of results on relevant spaces, motivated by fundamental problems, are formulated as theorems and propositions. (author). 10 refs

Natural Scales in Geographical Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Menezes, Telmo; Roth, Camille

2017-04-01

Human mobility is known to be distributed across several orders of magnitude of physical distances, which makes it generally difficult to endogenously find or define typical and meaningful scales. Relevant analyses, from movements to geographical partitions, seem to be relative to some ad-hoc scale, or no scale at all. Relying on geotagged data collected from photo-sharing social media, we apply community detection to movement networks constrained by increasing percentiles of the distance distribution. Using a simple parameter-free discontinuity detection algorithm, we discover clear phase transitions in the community partition space. The detection of these phases constitutes the first objective method of characterising endogenous, natural scales of human movement. Our study covers nine regions, ranging from cities to countries of various sizes and a transnational area. For all regions, the number of natural scales is remarkably low (2 or 3). Further, our results hint at scale-related behaviours rather than scale-related users. The partitions of the natural scales allow us to draw discrete multi-scale geographical boundaries, potentially capable of providing key insights in fields such as epidemiology or cultural contagion where the introduction of spatial boundaries is pivotal.

Space Commercialization

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Gary L.

2011-01-01

A robust and competitive commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space. The United States is committed to encouraging and facilitating the growth of a U.S. commercial space sector that supports U.S. needs, is globally competitive, and advances U.S. leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Energize competitive domestic industries to participate in global markets and advance the development of: satellite manufacturing; satellite-based services; space launch; terrestrial applications; and increased entrepreneurship. Purchase and use commercial space capabilities and services to the maximum practical extent Actively explore the use of inventive, nontraditional arrangements for acquiring commercial space goods and services to meet United States Government requirements, including measures such as public-private partnerships, . Refrain from conducting United States Government space activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities. Pursue potential opportunities for transferring routine, operational space functions to the commercial space sector where beneficial and cost-effective.

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS IN THE GLOBAL DENTAL MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronica BULAT

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the key trends of the market, and segments the global dental equipment and consumables market by components and into various geographic regions in way of market size. It discusses the key market drivers, main players, restraints and opportunities of the global dental equipment and consumables market.

Fuzzy modeling with spatial information for geographic problems

CERN Document Server

Petry, Frederick E; Cobb, Maria A

2005-01-01

The capabilities of modern technology are rapidly increasing, spurred on to a large extent by the tremendous advances in communications and computing. Automated vehicles and global wireless connections are some examples of these advances. In order to take advantage of such enhanced capabilities, our need to model and manipulate our knowledge of the geophysical world, using compatible representations, is also rapidly increasing. In response to this one fundamental issue of great concern in modern geographical research is how to most effectively capture the physical world around us in systems like geographical information systems (GIS). Making this task even more challenging is the fact that uncertainty plays a pervasive role in the representation, analysis and use of geospatial information. The types of uncertainty that appear in geospatial information systems are not the just simple randomness of observation, as in weather data, but are manifested in many other forms including imprecision, incompleteness and ...

Operation of a Data Acquisition, Transfer, and Storage System for the Global Space-Weather Observation Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Nagatsuma

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A system to optimize the management of global space-weather observation networks has been developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT. Named the WONM (Wide-area Observation Network Monitoring system, it enables data acquisition, transfer, and storage through connection to the NICT Science Cloud, and has been supplied to observatories for supporting space-weather forecast and research. This system provides us with easier management of data collection than our previously employed systems by means of autonomous system recovery, periodical state monitoring, and dynamic warning procedures. Operation of the WONM system is introduced in this report.

Global model structures for ∗-modules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Böhme, Benjamin

2018-01-01

We extend Schwede's work on the unstable global homotopy theory of orthogonal spaces and L-spaces to the category of ∗-modules (i.e., unstable S-modules). We prove a theorem which transports model structures and their properties from L-spaces to ∗-modules and show that the resulting global model...... structure for ∗-modules is monoidally Quillen equivalent to that of orthogonal spaces. As a consequence, there are induced Quillen equivalences between the associated model categories of monoids, which identify equivalent models for the global homotopy theory of A∞-spaces....

Book review: Mapping gendered routes and spaces in the early modern world

Science.gov (United States)

Varanka, Dalia E.

2016-01-01

This book encapsulates and extends many seminal ideas presented at the eighth “Attending to Early Modern Women” conference held at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in June 2012. Merry Wiesner-Hanks has done a masterful job editing these papers within a central theme of the interaction of spatial domains with gender-based phenomena. The fifteen chapters of this book are organized into four sections: “Framework,” discussing theoretical concepts; “Embodied Environments,” focusing on physicality; “Communities and Networks” of social patterns; and “Exchanges” across geographic space. Together, a global society shaped by gender and sexuality and intersected by race and class emerges.

Climate and Pest-Driven Geographic Shifts in Global Coffee Production: Implications for Forest Cover, Biodiversity and Carbon Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Magrach, Ainhoa; Ghazoul, Jaboury

2015-01-01

Coffee is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall, making its cultivation vulnerable to geographic shifts in response to a changing climate. This could lead to the establishment of coffee plantations in new areas and potential conflicts with other land covers including natural forest, with consequent implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services. We project areas suitable for future coffee cultivation based on several climate scenarios and expected responses of the coffee berry borer, a principle pest of coffee crops. We show that the global climatically-suitable area will suffer marked shifts from some current major centres of cultivation. Most areas will be suited to Robusta coffee, demand for which could be met without incurring forest encroachment. The cultivation of Arabica, which represents 70% of consumed coffee, can also be accommodated in the future, but only by incurring some natural forest loss. This has corresponding implications for carbon storage, and is likely to affect areas currently designated as priority areas for biodiversity. Where Arabica coffee does encroach on natural forests, we project average local losses of 35% of threatened vertebrate species. The interaction of climate and coffee berry borer greatly influences projected outcomes. PMID:26177201

Final Report from The University of Texas at Austin for DEGAS: Dynamic Global Address Space programming environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erez, Mattan

2018-02-21

The Dynamic, Exascale Global Address Space programming environment (DEGAS) project will develop the next generation of programming models and runtime systems to meet the challenges of Exascale computing. Our approach is to provide an efficient and scalable programming model that can be adapted to application needs through the use of dynamic runtime features and domain-specific languages for computational kernels. We address the following technical challenges: Programmability: Rich set of programming constructs based on a Hierarchical Partitioned Global Address Space (HPGAS) model, demonstrated in UPC++. Scalability: Hierarchical locality control, lightweight communication (extended GASNet), and ef- ficient synchronization mechanisms (Phasers). Performance Portability: Just-in-time specialization (SEJITS) for generating hardware-specific code and scheduling libraries for domain-specific adaptive runtimes (Habanero). Energy Efficiency: Communication-optimal code generation to optimize energy efficiency by re- ducing data movement. Resilience: Containment Domains for flexible, domain-specific resilience, using state capture mechanisms and lightweight, asynchronous recovery mechanisms. Interoperability: Runtime and language interoperability with MPI and OpenMP to encourage broad adoption.

Global checklist of species of Grania (Clitellata: Enchytraeidae with remarks on their geographic distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Prantoni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A checklist of all currently accepted species of Grania Southern, 1913 (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytraeidae is presented. The genus is widespread over the world and comprises 81 species described to date. Remarks on their geographical distribution, habitat, synonymies and museum catalogue numbers are provided.

A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979-2016

Science.gov (United States)

Thomason, Larry W.; Ernest, Nicholas; Millán, Luis; Rieger, Landon; Bourassa, Adam; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Manney, Gloria; Luo, Beiping; Arfeuille, Florian; Peter, Thomas

2018-03-01

We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979-2014) and we have extended it through 2016 following an identical process. GloSSAC focuses on the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) series of instruments through mid-2005, and on the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data thereafter. We also use data from other space instruments and from ground-based, air, and balloon borne instruments to fill in key gaps in the data set. The end result is a global and gap-free data set focused on aerosol extinction coefficient at 525 and 1020 nm and other parameters on an "as available" basis. For the primary data sets, we developed a new method for filling the post-Pinatubo eruption data gap for 1991-1993 based on data from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer. In addition, we developed a new method for populating wintertime high latitudes during the SAGE period employing a latitude-equivalent latitude conversion process that greatly improves the depiction of aerosol at high latitudes compared to earlier similar efforts. We report data in the troposphere only when and where it is available. This is primarily during the SAGE II period except for the most enhanced part of the Pinatubo period. It is likely that the upper troposphere during Pinatubo was greatly enhanced over non-volcanic periods and that domain remains substantially under-characterized. We note that aerosol levels during the OSIRIS/CALIPSO period in the lower stratosphere at mid- and high latitudes is routinely higher than what we observed during the SAGE II period. While this period had nearly continuous low-level volcanic activity, it

Similarity of trajectories taking into account geographic context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maike Buchin

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The movements of animals, people, and vehicles are embedded in a geographic context. This context influences the movement and may cause the formation of certain behavioral responses. Thus, it is essential to include context parameters in the study of movement and the development of movement pattern analytics. Advances in sensor technologies and positioning devices provide valuable data not only of moving agents but also of the circumstances embedding the movement in space and time. Developing knowledge discovery methods to investigate the relation between movement and its surrounding context is a major challenge in movement analysis today. In this paper we show how to integrate geographic context into the similarity analysis of movement data. For this, we discuss models for geographic context of movement data. Based on this we develop simple but efficient context-aware similarity measures for movement trajectories, which combine a spatial and a contextual distance. These are based on well-known similarity measures for trajectories, such as the Hausdorff, Fréchet, or equal time distance. We validate our approach by applying these measures to movement data of hurricanes and albatross.

Artisanal Fisheries Research: A Need for Globalization?

Science.gov (United States)

Batista, Vandick S.; Fabré, Nidia N.

2016-01-01

Given limited funds for research and widespread degradation of ecosystems, environmental scientists should geographically target their studies where they will be most effective. However, in academic areas such as conservation and natural resource management there is often a mismatch between the geographic foci of research effort/funding and research needs. The former frequently being focused in the developed world while the latter is greater in the biodiverse countries of the Global South. Here, we adopt a bibliometric approach to test this hypothesis using research on artisanal fisheries. Such fisheries occur throughout the world, but are especially prominent in developing countries where they are important for supporting local livelihoods, food security and poverty alleviation. Moreover, most artisanal fisheries in the Global South are unregulated and unmonitored and are in urgent need of science-based management to ensure future sustainability. Our results indicate that, as predicted, global research networks and centres of knowledge production are predominantly located in developed countries, indicating a global mismatch between research needs and capacity. PMID:26942936

Artisanal Fisheries Research: A Need for Globalization?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Gilmar C Oliveira Júnior

Full Text Available Given limited funds for research and widespread degradation of ecosystems, environmental scientists should geographically target their studies where they will be most effective. However, in academic areas such as conservation and natural resource management there is often a mismatch between the geographic foci of research effort/funding and research needs. The former frequently being focused in the developed world while the latter is greater in the biodiverse countries of the Global South. Here, we adopt a bibliometric approach to test this hypothesis using research on artisanal fisheries. Such fisheries occur throughout the world, but are especially prominent in developing countries where they are important for supporting local livelihoods, food security and poverty alleviation. Moreover, most artisanal fisheries in the Global South are unregulated and unmonitored and are in urgent need of science-based management to ensure future sustainability. Our results indicate that, as predicted, global research networks and centres of knowledge production are predominantly located in developed countries, indicating a global mismatch between research needs and capacity.

Global Dynamical Systems Involving Generalized -Projection Operators and Set-Valued Perturbation in Banach Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun-zhi Zou

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A new class of generalized dynamical systems involving generalized f-projection operators is introduced and studied in Banach spaces. By using the fixed-point theorem due to Nadler, the equilibrium points set of this class of generalized global dynamical systems is proved to be nonempty and closed under some suitable conditions. Moreover, the solutions set of the systems with set-valued perturbation is showed to be continuous with respect to the initial value.

Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans, not climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandom, Christopher; Faurby, Søren; Sandel, Brody; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2014-07-22

The late Quaternary megafauna extinction was a severe global-scale event. Two factors, climate change and modern humans, have received broad support as the primary drivers, but their absolute and relative importance remains controversial. To date, focus has been on the extinction chronology of individual or small groups of species, specific geographical regions or macroscale studies at very coarse geographical and taxonomic resolution, limiting the possibility of adequately testing the proposed hypotheses. We present, to our knowledge, the first global analysis of this extinction based on comprehensive country-level data on the geographical distribution of all large mammal species (more than or equal to 10 kg) that have gone globally or continentally extinct between the beginning of the Last Interglacial at 132,000 years BP and the late Holocene 1000 years BP, testing the relative roles played by glacial-interglacial climate change and humans. We show that the severity of extinction is strongly tied to hominin palaeobiogeography, with at most a weak, Eurasia-specific link to climate change. This first species-level macroscale analysis at relatively high geographical resolution provides strong support for modern humans as the primary driver of the worldwide megafauna losses during the late Quaternary.

Towards biodiversity hotspots effective for conserving mammals with small geographic ranges

Science.gov (United States)

Carrara, Rodolfo; San Blas, Germán; Agrain, Federico; Roig-Juñent, Sergio

2017-01-01

The main goal of using global biodiversity hotspots for conservation purposes is to protect taxa with small geographic ranges because these are highly vulnerable to extinction. However, the extent to what different hotspots types are effective for meeting this goal remains controversial because hotspots have been previously defined as either the richest or most threatened and richest sites in terms of total, endemic or threatened species. In this regard, the use of species richness to set conservation priorities is widely discussed because strategies focused on this diversity measure tend to miss many of the taxa with small geographic ranges. Here we use data on global terrestrial mammal distributions to show that, hotspots of total species, endemism and threat defined in terms of species richness are effective in including 27%, 29% and 11% respectively, of the taxa with small geographic ranges. Whilst, the same hotspot types defined in terms of a simple diversity index, which is a function of species richness and range-size rarity, include 68%, 44% and 90% respectively, of these taxa. In addition, we demonstrate that index hotspot types are highly efficient because they conserve 79% of mammal species (21% more species than richness hotspot types), with 59% of species shared by three hotspot types (31% more than richness hotspot types). These results suggest that selection of different diversity measures to define hotspots may strongly affect the achievement of conservation goals.

Borderland Spaces for Learning Partnership: Opportunities, Benefits and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Jennifer; Thomas, Greg; Diaz, Anita; Simm, David

2016-01-01

This paper uses case studies and secondary literature to critically examine how learning spaces inhabited by geographers might be used productively as borderland spaces for learning partnership. Borderland spaces are novel, challenging, permissive and liminal, destabilizing traditional power hierarchies. In these spaces, students gain confidence…

Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zeng; Fu, Jingying; Jiang, Dong; Lin, Gang; Dong, Donglin; Yan, Xiaoxi

2017-11-21

Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL) and the digital elevation model (DEM) both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeng Li

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL and the digital elevation model (DEM both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

Globalization and its Impacts on Women’s Rights

OpenAIRE

Galyani Moghaddam, Golnessa

2003-01-01

Globalization is a complex economic, political, cultural, and geographic process in which all aspects of our life have been affected. Globalization is one of the most important impacts of the Internet and it is happening itself. This paper begins by defining of globalization and its various aspects. Then it goes on women’s rights through human rights and addresses the proletarianization and professionalization of women in the last thirty years. At the end, the impacts of globalization on wome...

Global land ice measurements from space (GLIMS): remote sensing and GIS investigations of the Earth's cryosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Michael P.; Olsenholler, Jeffrey A.; Shroder, John F.; Barry, Roger G.; Rasup, Bruce H.; Bush, Andrew B. G.; Copland, Luke; Dwyer, John L.; Fountain, Andrew G.; Haeberli, Wilfried; Kääb, Andreas; Paul, Frank; Hall, Dorothy K.; Kargel, Jeffrey S.; Molnia, Bruce F.; Trabant, Dennis C.; Wessels, Rick L.

2004-01-01

Concerns over greenhouse‐gas forcing and global temperatures have initiated research into understanding climate forcing and associated Earth‐system responses. A significant component is the Earth's cryosphere, as glacier‐related, feedback mechanisms govern atmospheric, hydrospheric and lithospheric response. Predicting the human and natural dimensions of climate‐induced environmental change requires global, regional and local information about ice‐mass distribution, volumes, and fluctuations. The Global Land‐Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) project is specifically designed to produce and augment baseline information to facilitate glacier‐change studies. This requires addressing numerous issues, including the generation of topographic information, anisotropic‐reflectance correction of satellite imagery, data fusion and spatial analysis, and GIS‐based modeling. Field and satellite investigations indicate that many small glaciers and glaciers in temperate regions are downwasting and retreating, although detailed mapping and assessment are still required to ascertain regional and global patterns of ice‐mass variations. Such remote sensing/GIS studies, coupled with field investigations, are vital for producing baseline information on glacier changes, and improving our understanding of the complex linkages between atmospheric, lithospheric, and glaciological processes.

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls of Hyla eximia and its possible explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Tejeda, Ruth E; Méndez-Cárdenas, María Guadalupe; Islas-Villanueva, Valentina; Macías Garcia, Constantino

2014-01-01

Populations of species occupying large geographic ranges are often phenotypically diverse as a consequence of variation in selective pressures and drift. This applies to attributes involved in mate choice, particularly when both geographic range and breeding biology overlap between related species. This condition may lead to interference of mating signals, which would in turn promote reproductive character displacement (RCD). We investigated whether variation in the advertisement call of the mountain treefrog (Hyla eximia) is linked to geographic distribution with respect to major Mexican river basins (Panuco, Lerma, Balsas and Magdalena), or to coexistence with its sister (the canyon treefrog, Hyla arenicolor) or another related species (the dwarf treefrog, Tlalocohyla smithii). We also evaluated whether call divergence across the main river basins could be linked to genetic structure. We found that the multidimensional acoustic space of calls from two basins where H. eximia currently interacts with T. smithii, was different from the acoustic space of calls from H. eximia elsewhere. Individuals from these two basins were also distinguishable from the rest by both the phylogeny inferred from mitochondrial sequences, and the genetic structure inferred from nuclear markers. The discordant divergence of H. eximia advertisement calls in the two separate basins where its geographic range overlaps that of T. smithii can be interpreted as the result of two independent events of RCD, presumably as a consequence of acoustic interference in the breeding choruses, although more data are required to evaluate this possibility.

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls of Hyla eximia and its possible explanations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth E. Rodríguez-Tejeda

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Populations of species occupying large geographic ranges are often phenotypically diverse as a consequence of variation in selective pressures and drift. This applies to attributes involved in mate choice, particularly when both geographic range and breeding biology overlap between related species. This condition may lead to interference of mating signals, which would in turn promote reproductive character displacement (RCD. We investigated whether variation in the advertisement call of the mountain treefrog (Hyla eximia is linked to geographic distribution with respect to major Mexican river basins (Panuco, Lerma, Balsas and Magdalena, or to coexistence with its sister (the canyon treefrog, Hyla arenicolor or another related species (the dwarf treefrog, Tlalocohyla smithii. We also evaluated whether call divergence across the main river basins could be linked to genetic structure. We found that the multidimensional acoustic space of calls from two basins where H. eximia currently interacts with T. smithii, was different from the acoustic space of calls from H. eximia elsewhere. Individuals from these two basins were also distinguishable from the rest by both the phylogeny inferred from mitochondrial sequences, and the genetic structure inferred from nuclear markers. The discordant divergence of H. eximia advertisement calls in the two separate basins where its geographic range overlaps that of T. smithii can be interpreted as the result of two independent events of RCD, presumably as a consequence of acoustic interference in the breeding choruses, although more data are required to evaluate this possibility.

Global Seasonality of Rotavirus Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Manish M.; Pitzer, Virginia; Alonso, Wladimir J.; Vera, David; Lopman, Ben; Tate, Jacqueline; Viboud, Cecile; Parashar, Umesh D.

2012-01-01

Background A substantial number of surveillance studies have documented rotavirus prevalence among children admitted for dehydrating diarrhea. We sought to establish global seasonal patterns of rotavirus disease before widespread vaccine introduction. Methods We reviewed studies of rotavirus detection in children with diarrhea published since 1995. We assessed potential relationships between seasonal prevalence and locality by plotting the average monthly proportion of diarrhea cases positive for rotavirus according to geography, country development, and latitude. We used linear regression to identify variables that were potentially associated with the seasonal intensity of rotavirus. Results Among a total of 99 studies representing all six geographical regions of the world, patterns of year-round disease were more evident in low- and low-middle income countries compared with upper-middle and high income countries where disease was more likely to be seasonal. The level of country development was a stronger predictor of strength of seasonality (P=0.001) than geographical location or climate. However, the observation of distinctly different seasonal patterns of rotavirus disease in some countries with similar geographical location, climate and level of development indicate that a single unifying explanation for variation in seasonality of rotavirus disease is unlikely. Conclusion While no unifying explanation emerged for varying rotavirus seasonality globally, the country income level was somewhat more predictive of the likelihood of having seasonal disease than other factors. Future evaluation of the effect of rotavirus vaccination on seasonal patterns of disease in different settings may help understand factors that drive the global seasonality of rotavirus disease. PMID:23190782

Recent human history governs global ant invasion dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Cleo Bertelsmeier; Sébastien Ollier; Andrew Liebhold; Laurent Keller

2017-01-01

Human trade and travel are breaking down biogeographic barriers, resulting in shifts in the geographical distribution of organisms, yet it remains largely unknown whether different alien species generally follow similar spatiotemporal colonization patterns and how such patterns are driven by trends in global trade. Here, we analyse the global distribution of 241 alien...

Data Transformation Functions for Expanded Search Spaces in Geographic Sample Supervised Segment Generation

OpenAIRE

Christoff Fourie; Elisabeth Schoepfer

2014-01-01

Sample supervised image analysis, in particular sample supervised segment generation, shows promise as a methodological avenue applicable within Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA). Segmentation is acknowledged as a constituent component within typically expansive image analysis processes. A general extension to the basic formulation of an empirical discrepancy measure directed segmentation algorithm parameter tuning approach is proposed. An expanded search landscape is defined, c...

Cross-cultural similarities and differences in North Americans' geographic location judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Alinda; Kerkman, Dennis D; Brown, Norman R; Stea, David; Cappello, Hector M

2005-12-01

We examined some potential causes of bias in geographic location estimates by comparing location estimates of North American cities made by Canadian, U.S., and Mexican university students. All three groups placed most Mexican cities near the equator, which implies that all three groups were influenced by shared beliefs about the locations of geographical regions relative to global reference points. However, the groups divided North America into different regions and differed in the relative accuracy of the estimates within them, which implies that there was an influence of culture-specific knowledge. The data support a category-based system of plausible reasoning, in which biases in judgments are multiply determined, and underscore the utility of the estimation paradigm as a tool in cross-cultural cognitive research.

A geographical basis for long-range dose assessment calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, H.; Hage, G.

1989-01-01

Releases of radioactive material into the atmosphere have effects that are distributed over the earth's surface. As a result, geographical information can play an important role in understanding the impact of an emergency. The Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is an emergency response organization that utilizes complex computer models to provide real-time assessments of the consequences of such releases. These models are one component of a sophisticated system that also includes data-gathering systems, data analysis techniques, and highly trained operational personnel. The products of this service are isopleths of the material concentration plotted over a base map of geographic features. The components mentioned in this paper are being added to the operation ARAC system. This will provide a means of producing fast, high-quality assessments of the consequences of major releases of radioactive material with effects extending to continental and global regions

Progress Towards a Global Understanding of Plankton Dynamics: The Global Alliance of CPR Surveys (GACS)

Science.gov (United States)

Batten, S.; Richardson, A.; Melrose, C.; Muxagata, E.; Hosie, G.; Verheye, H.; Hall, J.; Edwards, M.; Koubbi, P.; Abu-Alhaija, R.; Chiba, S.; Wilson, W.; Nagappa, R.; Takahashi, K.

2016-02-01

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) was first used in 1931 to routinely sample plankton and its continued deployment now sustains the longest-running, and spatially most extensive marine biological sampling programme in the world. Towed behind, for the most part commercial, ships it collects plankton samples from the surface waters that are subsequently analysed to provide taxonomically-resolved abundance data on a broad range of planktonic organisms from the size of coccolithophores to euphausiids. Plankton appear to integrate changes in the physical environment and by underpinning most marine food-webs, pass on this variability to higher trophic levels which have societal value. CPRs are deployed increasingly around the globe in discrete regional surveys that until recently interacted in an informal way. In 2011 the Global Alliance of CPR Surveys (GACS) was launched to bring these surveys together to collaborate more productively and address issues such as: methodological standardization, data integration, capacity building, and data analysis. Early products include a combined global database and regularly-released global marine ecological status reports. There are, of course, limitations to the exploitation of CPR data as well as the current geographic coverage. A current focus of GACS is integration of the data with models to meaningfully extrapolate across time and space. In this way the output could be used to provide more robust synoptic representations of key plankton variables. Recent years have also seen the CPR used as a platform in itself with the inclusion of additional sensors and water samplers that can sample the microplankton. The archive of samples has already been used for some molecular investigations and curation of samples is maintained for future studies. Thus the CPR is a key element of any regional to global ocean observing system of biodiversity.

Historical spaces of social psychology

OpenAIRE

Kalampalikis , Nikos; Delouvée , Sylvain; Pétard , Jean-Pierre

2006-01-01

International audience; An extensive analysis of all social psychology textbooks published, in french, between 1947 and 2001, including a history chapter, provides a rich corpus for the study of the history of social psychology. In this article we choose to study the historical spaces of social psychology, in order to show how the discipline was located in geographical, urban, institutional and collective spaces. We argue that, into this specific corpus, spaces are essentially related to some...

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBABLY-GEOGRAPHICAL FORECAST METHOD FOR DANGEROUS WEATHER PHENOMENA

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Elena S. Popova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a scheme method of probably-geographical forecast for dangerous weather phenomena. Discuss two general realization stages of this method. Emphasize that developing method is response to actual questions of modern weather forecast and it’s appropriate phenomena: forecast is carried out for specific point in space and appropriate moment of time.

A decade of global volcanic SO2 emissions measured from space

Science.gov (United States)

Carn, S. A.; Fioletov, V. E.; McLinden, C. A.; Li, C.; Krotkov, N. A.

2017-03-01

The global flux of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted by passive volcanic degassing is a key parameter that constrains the fluxes of other volcanic gases (including carbon dioxide, CO2) and toxic trace metals (e.g., mercury). It is also a required input for atmospheric chemistry and climate models, since it impacts the tropospheric burden of sulfate aerosol, a major climate-forcing species. Despite its significance, an inventory of passive volcanic degassing is very difficult to produce, due largely to the patchy spatial and temporal coverage of ground-based SO2 measurements. We report here the first volcanic SO2 emissions inventory derived from global, coincident satellite measurements, made by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite in 2005-2015. The OMI measurements permit estimation of SO2 emissions from over 90 volcanoes, including new constraints on fluxes from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Aleutian Islands, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. On average over the past decade, the volcanic SO2 sources consistently detected from space have discharged a total of ~63 kt/day SO2 during passive degassing, or ~23 ± 2 Tg/yr. We find that ~30% of the sources show significant decadal trends in SO2 emissions, with positive trends observed at multiple volcanoes in some regions including Vanuatu, southern Japan, Peru and Chile.

Probing the parameter space of HD 49933: A comparison between global and local methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creevey, O L [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Bazot, M, E-mail: orlagh@iac.es, E-mail: bazot@astro.up.pt [Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal)

2011-01-01

We present two independent methods for studying the global stellar parameter space (mass M, age, chemical composition X{sub 0}, Z{sub 0}) of HD 49933 with seismic data. Using a local minimization and an MCMC algorithm, we obtain consistent results for the determination of the stellar properties: M 1.1-1.2 M{sub sun} Age {approx} 3.0 Gyr, Z{sub 0} {approx} 0.008. A description of the error ellipses can be defined using Singular Value Decomposition techniques, and this is validated by comparing the errors with those from the MCMC method.

Standards and Specifications for Ground Processing of Space Vehicles: From an Aviation-Based Shuttle Project to Global Application

Science.gov (United States)

Ingalls, John; Cipolletti, John

2011-01-01

Proprietary or unique designs and operations are expected early in any industry's development, and often provide a competitive early market advantage. However, there comes a time when a product or industry requires standardization for the whole industry to advance...or survive. For the space industry, that time has come. Here, we will focus on standardization of ground processing for space vehicles and their ground systems. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, and emergence of a new global space race, affordability and sustainability are more important now than ever. The growing commercialization of the space industry and current global economic environment are driving greater need for efficiencies to save time and money. More RLV's (Reusable Launch Vehicles) are being developed for the gains of reusability not achievable with traditional ELV's (Expendable Launch Vehicles). More crew/passenger vehicles are also being developed. All of this calls for more attention needed for ground processing-repeatedly before launch and after landing/recovery. RLV's should provide more efficiencies than ELV's, as long as MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) is well-planned-even for the unplanned problems. NASA's Space Shuttle is a primary example of an RLV which was supposed to thrive on reusability savings with efficient ground operations, but lessons learned show that costs were (and still are) much greater than expected. International standards and specifications can provide the commonality needed to simplify design and manufacturing as well as to improve safety, quality, maintenance, and operability. There are standards organizations engaged in the space industry, but ground processing is one of the areas least addressed. Challenges are encountered due to various factors often not considered during development. Multiple vehicle elements, sites, customers, and contractors pose various functional and integration difficulties. Resulting technical publication structures

Effects of Telecoupling on Global Vegetation Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Viña, A.; Liu, J.

2016-12-01

With the ever increasing trend in telecoupling processes, such as international trade, all countries around the world are becoming more interdependent. However, the effects of this growing interdependence on vegetation (e.g., shifts in the geographic extent and distribution) remain unknown even though vegetation dynamics are crucially important for food production, carbon sequestration, provision of other ecosystem services, and biodiversity conservation. In this study we evaluate the effects of international trade on the spatio-temporal trajectories of vegetation at national and global scales, using vegetation index imagery collected over more than three decades by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite sensor series together with concurrent national and international data on international trade (and its associated movement of people, goods, services and information). The spatio-temporal trajectories of vegetation are obtained using the scale of fluctuation technique, which is based on the decomposition of the AVHRR image time series to obtain information on its spatial dependence structure over time. Similar to the correlation length, the scale of fluctuation corresponds to the range over which fluctuations in the vegetation index are spatially correlated. Results indicate that global vegetation has changed drastically over the last three decades. These changes are not uniform across space, with hotspots in active trading countries. This study not only has direct implications for understanding global vegetation dynamics, but also sheds important insights on the complexity of human-nature interactions across telecoupled systems.

Limited geographic distribution of the novel cyclovirus CyCV-VN.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Van Tan; de Jong, Menno D; Nguyen, Van Kinh; Nguyen, Vu Trung; Taylor, Walter; Wertheim, Heiman F L; van der Ende, Arie; van der Hoek, Lia; Canuti, Marta; Crusat, Martin; Sona, Soeng; Nguyen, Hanh Uyen; Giri, Abhishek; Nguyen, Thi Thuy Chinh Bkrong; Ho, Dang Trung Nghia; Farrar, Jeremy; Bryant, Juliet E; Tran, Tinh Hien; Nguyen, Van Vinh Chau; van Doorn, H Rogier

2014-02-05

A novel cyclovirus, CyCV-VN, was recently identified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with central nervous system (CNS) infections in central and southern Vietnam. To explore the geographic distribution of this novel virus, more than 600 CSF specimens from patients with suspected CNS infections in northern Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal and The Netherlands were screened for the presence of CyCV-VN but all were negative. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis between CyCV-VN and another novel cyclovirus recently identified in CSF from Malawian patients indicated that these represent distinct cycloviral species, albeit phylogenetically closely related. The data suggest that CyCV-VN has a limited geographic distribution within southern and central Vietnam. Further research is needed to determine the global distribution and diversity of cycloviruses and importantly their possible association with human disease.

The geographic diversity of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from pulmonary samples: an NTM-NET collaborative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoefsloot, W.; Ingen, J. van; Andrejak, C.; Angeby, K.; Bauriaud, R.; Bemer, P.; Beylis, N.; Boeree, M.J.; Cacho, J.; Chihota, V.; Chimara, E.; Churchyard, G.; Cias, R.; Daza, R.; Daley, C.L.; Dekhuijzen, P.N.R.; Domingo, D.; Drobniewski, F.; Esteban, J. De; Fauville-Dufaux, M.; Folkvardsen, D.B.; Gibbons, N.; Gomez-Mampaso, E.; Gonzalez, R.; Hoffmann, H.; Hsueh, P.R.; Indra, A.; Jagielski, T.; Jamieson, F.; Jankovic, M.; Jong, E. de; Keane, J.; Koh, W.J.; Lange, B. de; Leao, S.; Macedo, R.; Mannsaker, T.; Marras, T.K.; Maugein, J.; Milburn, H.J.; Mlinko, T.; Morcillo, N.; Morimoto, K.; Papaventsis, D.; Palenque, E.; Paez-Pena, M.; Piersimoni, C.; Polanova, M.; Rastogi, N.; Richter, E.; Ruiz-Serrano, M.J.; Silva, A.; Silva, M.P. da; Simsek, H.; Soolingen, D. van; Szabo, N.; Thomson, R.; Fernandez, T. Tortola; Tortoli, E.; Totten, S.E.; Tyrrell, G.; Vasankari, T.; Villar, M.; Walkiewicz, R.; Winthrop, K.L.; Wagner, D.; Trials, G. Nontuberculous

2013-01-01

A significant knowledge gap exists concerning the geographical distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation worldwide. To provide a snapshot of NTM species distribution, global partners in the NTM-Network European Trials Group (NET) framework (www.ntm-net.org), a branch of the

The Effect of Geographic Units of Analysis on Measuring Geographic Variation in Medical Services Utilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnus M. Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effect of geographic units of analysis on measuring geographic variation in medical services utilization. For this purpose, we compared geographic variations in the rates of eight major procedures in administrative units (districts and new areal units organized based on the actual health care use of the population in Korea. Methods: To compare geographic variation in geographic units of analysis, we calculated the age–sex standardized rates of eight major procedures (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, surgery after hip fracture, knee-replacement surgery, caesarean section, hysterectomy, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging scan from the National Health Insurance database in Korea for the 2013 period. Using the coefficient of variation, the extremal quotient, and the systematic component of variation, we measured geographic variation for these eight procedures in districts and new areal units. Results: Compared with districts, new areal units showed a reduction in geographic variation. Extremal quotients and inter-decile ratios for the eight procedures were lower in new areal units. While the coefficient of variation was lower for most procedures in new areal units, the pattern of change of the systematic component of variation between districts and new areal units differed among procedures. Conclusions: Geographic variation in medical service utilization could vary according to the geographic unit of analysis. To determine how geographic characteristics such as population size and number of geographic units affect geographic variation, further studies are needed.

Claim Your Space: Leadership Development as a Research Capacity Building Goal in Global Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Airhihenbuwa, Collins O; Ogedegbe, Gbenga; Iwelunmor, Juliet; Jean-Louis, Girardin; Williams, Natasha; Zizi, Freddy; Okuyemi, Kolawole

2016-04-01

As the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) rises in settings with an equally high burden of infectious diseases in the Global South, a new sense of urgency has developed around research capacity building to promote more effective and sustainable public health and health care systems. In 2010, NCDs accounted for more than 2.06 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Available evidence suggests that the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa with hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, will increase by 68% from 75 million in 2008 to 126 million in 2025. Furthermore, about 27.5 million people currently live with diabetes in Africa, and it is estimated that 49.7 million people living with diabetes will reside in Africa by 2030. It is therefore necessary to centralize leadership as a key aspect of research capacity building and strengthening in the Global South in ways that enables researchers to claim their spaces in their own locations. We believe that building capacity for transformative leadership in research will lead to the development of effective and appropriate responses to the multiple burdens of NCDs that coexist with infectious diseases in Africa and the rest of the Global South. © 2016 Society for Public Health Education.

Space Radiation Peculiarities in the Extra Vehicular Environment of the International Space Station (ISS)

Science.gov (United States)

Dachev, Tsvetan; Bankov, Nikolay; Tomov, Borislav; Matviichuk, Yury; Dimitrov, Plamen

2013-12-01

The space weather and the connected with it ionizing radiation were recognized as a one of the main health concern to the International Space Station (ISS) crew. Estimation the effects of radiation on humans in ISS requires at first order accurate knowledge of the accumulated by them absorbed dose rates, which depend of the global space radiation distribution and the local variations generated by the 3D surrounding shielding distribution. The R3DE (Radiation Risks Radiometer-Dosimeter (R3D) for the EXPOSE-E platform on the European Technological Exposure Facility (EuTEF) worked successfully outside of the European Columbus module between February 2008 and September 2009. Very similar instrument named R3DR for the EXPOSE-R platform worked outside Russian Zvezda module of ISS between March 2009 and August 2010. Both are Liulin type, Bulgarian build miniature spectrometers-dosimeters. They accumulated about 5 million measurements of the flux and absorbed dose rate with 10 seconds resolution behind less than 0.41 g cm-2 shielding, which is very similar to the Russian and American space suits [1-3] average shielding. That is why all obtained data can be interpreted as possible doses during Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) of the cosmonauts and astronauts. The paper first analyses the obtained long-term results in the different radiation environments of: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR), inner radiation belt trapped protons in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and outer radiation belt (ORB) relativistic electrons. The large data base was used for development of an empirical model for calculation of the absorbed dose rates in the extra vehicular environment of ISS at 359 km altitude. The model approximate the averaged in a grid empirical dose rate values to predict the values at required from the user geographical point, station orbit or area in geographic coordinate system. Further in the paper it is presented an intercomparison between predicted by the model dose

The Global Context of Disability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine O'Rourke - Lang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This issue of Global Education Review examines the global context of disability and how in different geographic locations, socioeconomic factors, domestic policy, and disability perspectives impact access to special education services, and the types of resources and interventions available to individuals with diverse learning needs. Practices in countries including India, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Kenya were studied and implications for meeting the special education needs for children and adults with disabilities and their families are discussed

A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979–2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. W. Thomason

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979–2014 and we have extended it through 2016 following an identical process. GloSSAC focuses on the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE series of instruments through mid-2005, and on the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO data thereafter. We also use data from other space instruments and from ground-based, air, and balloon borne instruments to fill in key gaps in the data set. The end result is a global and gap-free data set focused on aerosol extinction coefficient at 525 and 1020 nm and other parameters on an "as available" basis. For the primary data sets, we developed a new method for filling the post-Pinatubo eruption data gap for 1991–1993 based on data from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer. In addition, we developed a new method for populating wintertime high latitudes during the SAGE period employing a latitude-equivalent latitude conversion process that greatly improves the depiction of aerosol at high latitudes compared to earlier similar efforts. We report data in the troposphere only when and where it is available. This is primarily during the SAGE II period except for the most enhanced part of the Pinatubo period. It is likely that the upper troposphere during Pinatubo was greatly enhanced over non-volcanic periods and that domain remains substantially under-characterized. We note that aerosol levels during the OSIRIS/CALIPSO period in the lower stratosphere at mid- and high latitudes is routinely higher than what we observed during the SAGE II period. While this period had nearly continuous low

Geographical information systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Möller, Bernd

2004-01-01

The chapter gives an introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with particular focus on their application within environmental management.......The chapter gives an introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with particular focus on their application within environmental management....

GIDEON: a comprehensive Web-based resource for geographic medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berger Stephen A

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract GIDEON (Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network is a web-based computer program designed for decision support and informatics in the field of Geographic Medicine. The first of four interactive modules generates a ranked differential diagnosis based on patient signs, symptoms, exposure history and country of disease acquisition. Additional options include syndromic disease surveillance capability and simulation of bioterrorism scenarios. The second module accesses detailed and current information regarding the status of 338 individual diseases in each of 220 countries. Over 50,000 disease images, maps and user-designed graphs may be downloaded for use in teaching and preparation of written materials. The third module is a comprehensive source on the use of 328 anti-infective drugs and vaccines, including a listing of over 9,500 international trade names. The fourth module can be used to characterize or identify any bacterium or yeast, based on laboratory phenotype. GIDEON is an up-to-date and comprehensive resource for Geographic Medicine.

Extending the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS for longitudinal historical databases to include geographic data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Finn Hedefalk

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The Intermediate Data Structure (IDS is a standardised database structure for longitudinal historical databases. Such a common structure facilitates data sharing and comparative research. In this study, we propose an extended version of IDS, named IDS-Geo, that also includes geographic data. The geographic data that will be stored in IDS-Geo are primarily buildings and/or property units, and the purpose of these geographic data is mainly to link individuals to places in space. When we want to assign such detailed spatial locations to individuals (in times before there were any detailed house addresses available, we often have to create tailored geographic datasets. In those cases, there are benefits of storing geographic data in the same structure as the demographic data. Moreover, we propose the export of data from IDS-Geo using an eXtensible Markup Language (XML Schema. IDS-Geo is implemented in a case study using historical property units, for the period 1804 to 1913, stored in a geographically extended version of the Scanian Economic Demographic Database (SEDD. To fit into the IDS-Geo data structure, we included an object lifeline representation of all of the property units (based on the snapshot time representation of single historical maps and poll-tax registers. The case study verifies that the IDS-Geo model is capable of handling geographic data that can be linked to demographic data.

Environmental spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik Gutzon

Using the development of intergovernmental environmental cooperation in the Baltic Sea area as a concrete example, the aim of this study is to explore how the 'environment' in situations of environmental interdependence is identified and institutionalised as political-geographical objects....... 'Environmental interdependence' is to this end conceptualised as a tension between 'political spaces' of discrete state territories and 'environmental spaces' of spatially nested ecosystems. This tension between geographies of political separateness and environmental wholeness is the implicit or explicit basis...... for a large and varied literature. But in both its critical and problemsolving manifestations, this literature tends to naturalise the spatiality of environmental concerns: environmental spaces are generally taken for granted. On the suggestion that there is a subtle politics to the specification...

Microtheories for Spatial Data Infrastructures - Accounting for Diversity of Local Conceptualizations at a Global Level

Science.gov (United States)

Duce, Stephanie; Janowicz, Krzysztof

The categorization of our environment into feature types is an essential prerequisite for cartography, geographic information retrieval, routing applications, spatial decision support systems, and data sharing in general. However, there is no a priori conceptualization of the world and the creation of features and types is an act of cognition. Humans conceptualize their environment based on multiple criteria such as their cultural background, knowledge, motivation, and particularly by space and time. Sharing and making these conceptualizations explicit in a formal, unambiguous way is at the core of semantic interoperability. One way to cope with semantic heterogeneities is by standardization, i.e., by agreeing on a shared conceptualization. This bears the danger of losing local diversity. In contrast, this work proposes the use of microtheories for Spatial Data Infrastructures, such as INSPIRE, to account for the diversity of local conceptualizations while maintaining their semantic interoperability at a global level. We introduce a novel methodology to structure ontologies by spatial and temporal aspects, in our case administrative boundaries, which reflect variations in feature conceptualization. A local, bottom-up approach, based on non-standard inference, is used to compute global feature definitions which are neither too broad nor too specific. Using different conceptualizations of rivers and other geographic feature types, we demonstrate how the present approach can improve the INSPIRE data model and ease its adoption by European member states.

Web Map Services (WMS) Global Mosaic

Science.gov (United States)

Percivall, George; Plesea, Lucian

2003-01-01

The WMS Global Mosaic provides access to imagery of the global landmass using an open standard for web mapping. The seamless image is a mosaic of Landsat 7 scenes; geographically-accurate with 30 and 15 meter resolutions. By using the OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) interface, any organization can use the global mosaic as a layer in their geospatial applications. Based on a trade study, an implementation approach was chosen that extends a previously developed WMS hosting a Landsat 5 CONUS mosaic developed by JPL. The WMS Global Mosaic supports the NASA Geospatial Interoperability Office goal of providing an integrated digital representation of the Earth, widely accessible for humanity's critical decisions.

GeoTravel: Harvesting Ambient Geographic Footprints from GPS Trajectories

OpenAIRE

Liew, Li Ching; Goh, Ong Sing

2014-01-01

This study is about harvesting point of interest from GPS trajectories. Trajectories are the paths that moving objects move by follow through space in a function of time while GPS trajectories generally are point-sequences with geographic coordinates, time stamp, speed and heading. User can get information from GPS enable device. For example, user can acquire present location, search the information around them and design driving routes to a destination and thus design travel itineraries. By ...

'Read ten thousand books, walk ten thousand miles': geographical mobility and capital accumulation among Chinese scholars

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leung, M.W.H.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/28131263X

2013-01-01

International movements of scientists and researchers have become more common in the increasingly inter-connected global knowledge economy. Geographic mobility is often perceived as a key to academic excellence and career advancement by scholars, especially in advanced economies. In China, where

Global diversity patterns of freshwater fishes - potential victims of their own success

OpenAIRE

Pelayo-Villamil, P.; Guisande, C.; Vari, R. P.; Manjarres-Hernandez, A.; Garcia-Rosello, E.; Gonzalez-Dacosta, J.; Heine, J.; Vilas, L. G.; Patti, B.; Quinci, E. M.; Jimenez, L. F.; Granado-Lorencio, C.; Tedesco, Pablo; Lobo, J. M.

2015-01-01

AimTo examine the pattern and cumulative curve of descriptions of freshwater fishes world-wide, the geographical biases in the available information on that fauna, the relationship between species richness and geographical rarity of such fishes, as well as to assess the relative contributions of different environmental factors on these variables. LocationGlobal. MethodsModestR was used to summarize the geographical distribution of freshwater fish species using information available from data-...

Application of geographical information systems for the optimal location of a commercial network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicente Rodríguez

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the optimization of the geographical location of a network of points of sale, so that each retailer can have access to a potential geographic market. In addition, the authors study the importance of the distance variable in the commercial viability of a point of sale and a network of points of sale, analysing if the best location for each point (local optimum is always the best location for the whole (global optimum. Design/methodology/approach - Location-allocation models are applied using p-median algorithms and spatial competition maximization to analyse the actual journeys of 64,740 car buyers in 1240 postal codes using a geographic information system (GIS and geomarketing techniques. Findings - The models show that the pursuit of individual objectives by each concessionaire over the collective provides poorer results for the whole network of points of sale when compared to coordinated competition. The solutions provided by the models considering geographic and marketing criteria permit a reduction in the length of journeys made by the buyers. GIS allows the optimal control of market demand coverage through the collaborative strategies of the supplying retailers, in this case, car dealerships. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the joint research of geography and marketing from a theoretical and practical point of view. The main contribution is the use of information on actual buyer journeys for the optimal location of a network of points of sale. This research also contributes to the analysis of the correlation between the optimum local and optimum global locations of a commercial network and is a pioneering work in the application of these models to the automotive sector in the territorial area of the study.

Geography and global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Tim; Moon, Graham

2012-01-01

In the wake of the report of the World Health Organisation's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, Closing the gap in a generation (Marmot 2008), this invited commentary considers the scope for geographical research on global health. We reflect on current work and note future possibilities, particularly those that take a critical perspective on the interplay of globalisation, security and health.

Techniques for Representation of Regional Clusters in Geographical In-formation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana REVEIU

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides an overview of visualization techniques adapted for regional clusters presentation in Geographic Information Systems. Clusters are groups of companies and insti-tutions co-located in a specific geographic region and linked by interdependencies in providing a related group of products and services. The regional clusters can be visualized by projecting the data into two-dimensional space or using parallel coordinates. Cluster membership is usually represented by different colours or by dividing clusters into several panels of a grille display. Taking into consideration regional clusters requirements and the multilevel administrative division of the Romania’s territory, I used two cartograms: NUTS2- regions and NUTS3- counties, to illustrate the tools for regional clusters representation.

The production of places in the globalized world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivier Walther

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Books about globalization that describe a world characterized by convergence, without also assuming homogeneity, are quite rare. The Production of Places in the Globalized World (Les Lieux de la Mondialisation by geographer Denis Retaillé is one notable exception. Faced with the challenge of studying ten places in the world, the author has developed a conceptual framework that situates each in terms of their global networks and flows and demonstrates how they continue to be substantially dif...

A Milestone in Commercial Space Weather: USTAR Center for Space Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Tobiska, W.; Schunk, R. W.; Sojka, J. J.; Thompson, D. C.; Scherliess, L.; Zhu, L.; Gardner, L. C.

2009-12-01

As of 2009, Utah State University (USU) hosts a new organization to develop commercial space weather applications using funding that has been provided by the State of Utah’s Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. The USTAR Center for Space Weather (UCSW) is located on the USU campus in Logan, Utah and is developing innovative applications for mitigating adverse space weather effects in technological systems. Space weather’s effects upon the near-Earth environment are due to dynamic changes in the Sun’s photons, particles, and fields. Of the space environment domains that are affected by space weather, the ionosphere is the key region that affects communication and navigation systems. The UCSW has developed products for users of systems that are affected by space weather-driven ionospheric changes. For example, on September 1, 2009 USCW released, in conjunction with Space Environment Technologies, the world’s first real-time space weather via an iPhone app. Space WX displays the real-time, current global ionosphere total electron content along with its space weather drivers; it is available through the Apple iTunes store and is used around the planet. The Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurements (GAIM) system is now being run operationally in real-time at UCSW with the continuous ingestion of hundreds of global data streams to dramatically improve the ionosphere’s characterization. We discuss not only funding and technical advances that have led to current products but also describe the direction for UCSW that includes partnering opportunities for moving commercial space weather into fully automated specification and forecasting over the next half decade.

The global existence problem in general relativity

CERN Document Server

Andersson, L

2000-01-01

We survey some known facts and open questions concerning the global properties of 3+1 dimensional space--times containing a compact Cauchy surface. We consider space--times with an $\\ell$--dimensional Lie algebra of space--like Killing fields. For each $\\ell \\leq 3$, we give some basic results and conjectures on global existence and cosmic censorship. For the case of the 3+1 dimensional Einstein equations without symmetries, a new small data global existence result is announced.

The geographic distribution patterns of HIV-, HCV- and co-infections among drug users in a national methadone maintenance treatment program in Southwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yi-Biao; Liang, Song; Wang, Qi-Xing; Gong, Yu-Han; Nie, Shi-Jiao; Nan, Lei; Yang, Ai-Hui; Liao, Qiang; Song, Xiu-Xia; Jiang, Qing-Wu

2014-03-10

HIV-, HCV- and HIV/HCV co-infections among drug users have become a rapidly emerging global public health problem. In order to constrain the dual epidemics of HIV/AIDS and drug use, China has adopted a methadone maintenance treatment program (MMTP) since 2004. Studies of the geographic heterogeneity of HIV and HCV infections at a local scale are sparse, which has critical implications for future MMTP implementation and health policies covering both HIV and HCV prevention among drug users in China. This study aimed to characterize geographic patterns of HIV and HCV prevalence at the township level among drug users in a Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest of China. Data on demographic and clinical characteristics of all clients in the 11 MMTP clinics of the Yi Autonomous Prefecture from March 2004 to December 2012 were collected. A GIS-based geographic analysis involving geographic autocorrelation analysis and geographic scan statistics were employed to identify the geographic distribution pattern of HIV-, HCV- and co-infections among drug users. A total of 6690 MMTP clients was analyzed. The prevalence of HIV-, HCV- and co-infections were 25.2%, 30.8%, and 10.9% respectively. There were significant global and local geographic autocorrelations for HIV-, HCV-, and co-infection. The Moran's I was 0.3015, 0.3449, and 0.3155, respectively (P geographic autocorrelation analysis and the geographic scan statistical analysis showed that HIV-, HCV-, and co-infections in the prefecture exhibited significant geographic clustering at the township level. The geographic distribution pattern of each infection group was different. HIV-, HCV-, and co-infections among drug users in the Yi Autonomous Prefecture all exhibited substantial geographic heterogeneity at the township level. The geographic distribution patterns of the three groups were different. These findings imply that it may be necessary to inform or invent site-specific intervention strategies to better devote currently

THE EXPANSION OF FDI FLOWS – A MAJOR FACTOR OF GLOBALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CLAUDIA ISAC

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Globalization is the process whereby geographical distance becomes a less important factor in establishing and developing cross-border economic, political and socio-cultural relations; therefore production networks and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI flows represent the main factors that play a key role in the process of getting international and worldwide spreading. Globalization phenomenon involves a process of deepening and widening of interdependence relations between different economic entities and spheres and takes into account international trade relations, the cross-border movement of international production factors, but mostly the expansion of FDI flows, having significant positive effects on the welfare of nations or geographical areas. The impact of the global economic crisis on FDI flows is a heterogeneous one, as the effects of the depression came to light in many different ways, depending on the level of development, the geographical area or the economic field. The overall fall in global FDI flows during the crisis was accompanied by a significant shift in the traditional pattern of FDI: emerging countries well-endowed with natural resources were becoming a growing source of FDI for developed countries, due to internationalization strategies carried out by their multinational companies (MNCs. Based on recent forecasts, UNCTAD specialists estimate that global FDI will recover to its pre-crisis level in 2011, rising to $1.4-1.6 trillion, approaching its 2007 peak in 2013. However, the business environment remains volatile and MNCs are cautious rather than optimistic regarding their investment plans.

Emergence of a global science-business initiative for ocean stewardship.

Science.gov (United States)

Österblom, Henrik; Jouffray, Jean-Baptiste; Folke, Carl; Rockström, Johan

2017-08-22

The ocean represents a fundamental source of micronutrients and protein for a growing world population. Seafood is a highly traded and sought after commodity on international markets, and is critically dependent on healthy marine ecosystems. A global trend of wild stocks being overfished and in decline, as well as multiple sustainability challenges associated with a rapid growth of aquaculture, represent key concerns in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Existing efforts aimed to improve the sustainability of seafood production have generated important progress, primarily at the local and national levels, but have yet to effectively address the global challenges associated with the ocean. This study highlights the importance of transnational corporations in enabling transformative change, and thereby contributes to advancing the limited understanding of large-scale private actors within the sustainability science literature. We describe how we engaged with large seafood producers to coproduce a global science-business initiative for ocean stewardship. We suggest that this initiative is improving the prospects for transformative change by providing novel links between science and business, between wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture, and across geographical space. We argue that scientists can play an important role in facilitating change by connecting knowledge to action among global actors, while recognizing risks associated with such engagement. The methods developed through this case study contribute to identifying key competences in sustainability science and hold promises for other sectors as well.

Emergence of a global science–business initiative for ocean stewardship

Science.gov (United States)

Jouffray, Jean-Baptiste; Folke, Carl; Rockström, Johan

2017-01-01

The ocean represents a fundamental source of micronutrients and protein for a growing world population. Seafood is a highly traded and sought after commodity on international markets, and is critically dependent on healthy marine ecosystems. A global trend of wild stocks being overfished and in decline, as well as multiple sustainability challenges associated with a rapid growth of aquaculture, represent key concerns in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Existing efforts aimed to improve the sustainability of seafood production have generated important progress, primarily at the local and national levels, but have yet to effectively address the global challenges associated with the ocean. This study highlights the importance of transnational corporations in enabling transformative change, and thereby contributes to advancing the limited understanding of large-scale private actors within the sustainability science literature. We describe how we engaged with large seafood producers to coproduce a global science–business initiative for ocean stewardship. We suggest that this initiative is improving the prospects for transformative change by providing novel links between science and business, between wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture, and across geographical space. We argue that scientists can play an important role in facilitating change by connecting knowledge to action among global actors, while recognizing risks associated with such engagement. The methods developed through this case study contribute to identifying key competences in sustainability science and hold promises for other sectors as well. PMID:28784792

[The Caribbean origins of the National Public Health System in the USA: a global approach to the history of medicine and public health in Latin America].

Science.gov (United States)

Espinosa, Mariola

2015-01-01

This article defines global history in relation to the history of medicine and public health. It argues that a global approach to history opens up a space for examining the reverberations transmitted from the geographic periphery towards western regions, which have traditionally dominated modern historiography. It analyzes two medical interventions in the Caribbean in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, showing how these events had profound consequences in the USA. The successes achieved in the Caribbean in terms of yellow fever and ancylostoma control, as well as providing a model for health campaigns in the southern USA, inspired the centralization of public health in North America under the centralizing control of the federal government.

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON MACROECONOMIC POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clementina IVAN-UNGUREANU

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Globalization – the growing integration of economies and societies around the world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in some countries that were poor 20 years ago have been positive aspects of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant international opposition to concerns about increased inequality and environmental degradation. There are many definitions of globalization. One of them could be: globalization is an ecosystem in which economic potential is no longer defined or contained by political and geographic boundaries. Economic activity has no bounds in a globalized economy. A globalized world is one where goods, services, financial capital, machinery, money, workers and ideas migrate to wherever they are most valued and can work together most efficiently, flexibly and securely. Where does economic policy come into play in this world? This paper presents some aspects of globalization and the impact on the new strategy of macroeconomics policy.

From Planetary Boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space — How can the scales be bridged?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Häyhä, Tiina; Lucas, Paul L.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/272607444; van Vuuren, Detlef P.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/11522016X; Cornell, Sarah E.; Hoff, Holger

2016-01-01

The planetary boundaries framework proposes quantitative global limits to the anthropogenic perturbation of crucial Earth system processes, and thus marks out a planetary safe operating space for human activities. Yet, decisions regarding resource use and emissions are mostly made at less aggregated

Space power station. Uchu hatsuden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kudo, I. (Electrotechnical Laboratory, Tsukuba (Japan))

1993-02-20

A calculation tells that the amount of electric power the world will use in the future will require 100 to 500 power plants each with an output of 5-GW class. If this conception is true, it is beyond dispute that utilizing nuclear power will constitute a core of the power generation even though the geographical conditions are severe for nuclear power plants. It is also certain that power generation using clean solar energy will play important roles if power supply stability can be achieved. This paper describes plans to develop space solar power generation and space nuclear power generation that can supply power solving problems concerning geographical conditions and power supply stability. The space solar power generation is a system to arrest solar energy on a static orbit. According to a result of discussions in the U.S.A., the plan calls for solar cell sheets spread over the surface of a structure with a size of 5 km [times] 10 km [times] 0.5 km thick, and electric power obtained therefrom is transmitted to a rectenna with a size of 10 km [times] 13 km, a receiving antenna on the ground. The space nuclear power generation will be constructed similarly on a static orbit. Researches on space nuclear reactors have already begun. 10 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.

Characteristics of the socio-geographical factors in the Drina-Velika Morava strategic direction zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dejan Radivoj Inđić

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the assessment of the operational – geographic features of the Drina–Velikamorava strategic direction. Due to the scope of the article, a variant of the assessment of the strategic direction is presented through its socio–geographic factors, while the mathematical–geographical and physical–geographic factors, as well as the operating lines of action are not discussed. Within the socio–geographic factors, the characteristics of the population, economy and communication networks are considered. The geographic area of the direction is nationally compact and provides war mobilization of units with no particular strain. The transportation network is not fully developed which makes combat operations difficult to attackers and facilitates them for the deffenders.. There are significant technical and technological potentials in the direction of the zone, but they are not evenly distributed. After the consideration of the complex socio – geographical factors, it is  concluded that the shown strategic direction enables, without any special restrictions, a successful execution of combat operations in the long run.   Introduction The Drina–Velikamorava strategic direction of action consists of two operational lines: Semberija–Šumadija and Glasinac–Zapadnamorava. This paper presents a variant of a complex evaluation of the socio–geographic factors in the area of strategic direction. Within the socio–geographic factors in the strategic direction, the characteristics of the population, economy and communication networks are discussed.   Characteristics of the population and settlements In the geographic strategic direction, there is about 30% of the population of the Republic of Serbia. The highest population density is in major cities (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Šabac, Čačak, etc.. The space is nationally compact, and over 95% of the population are Serbs. In terms of building methods,there are the following types of

Exploring Connections Between Global Integration and Political Mobilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jackie Smith

2015-08-01

Full Text Available With the end of the Cold War, military security issues declined on the international agenda as environmental, economic, and social issues rose. As superpower con?ict faded from the international agenda, space was created for new attempts at multilateral problem-solving. How have these changes a?ected the prospects for transnational organizing? Using data from the Yearbook of International Associations this paper explores changes in the size, issue focus, geographic makeup, and organizational structure of the population of transnational social movement organizations (TSMOs in recent decades. While not the only form of transna-tional cooperation, these formal organizations provide important infrastructures for sustained transnational political work. Key ?ndings are that while the transnational social movement sector has continued to grow since the mid-20th century, its rate of growth has slowed in the 1990s. Also, human rights and environment predominate on TSMO issue-agendas, but during the 1990s more groups emphasized economic issues and adopted multi-issue organizing frames over single-issue focuses. Newer groups were more likely to be organized regionally, that is within the global North or South, which may re?ect e?orts to develop structures to better connect local settings with global networks.

Changing Places, Changing Spaces? Towards Understanding Teacher Education through Space-Time Frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Jean

2012-01-01

This article draws together theoretical ideas from studies of space/spatiality and the history of teacher education. These ideas form a theoretical framework through which to analyse the findings from a small-scale ethnographic study of the geographical relocations made by two university schools of education in England. Data collection instruments…

An assessment of the impact of tourism globalization in Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The tourism sector is one of one of the exemplars of the phenomenon of globalization. This is due to the geographical scale of the industry, increased spatial linkages between places and people from different locations. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the extent to which tourism globalization had impacted on ...

Global increase and geographic convergence in antibiotic consumption between 2000 and 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Van Boeckel, Thomas P.; Martinez, Elena M.; Pant, Suraj; Gandra, Sumanth; Levin, Simon A.; Goossens, Herman

2018-01-01

Tracking antibiotic consumption patterns over time and across countries could inform policies to optimize antibiotic prescribing and minimize antibiotic resistance, such as setting and enforcing per capita consumption targets or aiding investments in alternatives to antibiotics. In this study, we analyzed the trends and drivers of antibiotic consumption from 2000 to 2015 in 76 countries and projected total global antibiotic consumption through 2030. Between 2000 and 2015, antibiotic consumption, expressed in defined daily doses (DDD), increased 65% (21.1–34.8 billion DDDs), and the antibiotic consumption rate increased 39% (11.3–15.7 DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day). The increase was driven by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where rising consumption was correlated with gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) growth (P = 0.004). In high-income countries (HICs), although overall consumption increased modestly, DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day fell 4%, and there was no correlation with GDPPC. Of particular concern was the rapid increase in the use of last-resort compounds, both in HICs and LMICs, such as glycylcyclines, oxazolidinones, carbapenems, and polymyxins. Projections of global antibiotic consumption in 2030, assuming no policy changes, were up to 200% higher than the 42 billion DDDs estimated in 2015. Although antibiotic consumption rates in most LMICs remain lower than in HICs despite higher bacterial disease burden, consumption in LMICs is rapidly converging to rates similar to HICs. Reducing global consumption is critical for reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance, but reduction efforts must balance access limitations in LMICs and take account of local and global resistance patterns. PMID:29581252

Geographical spread of global emissions: Within-country inequalities are large and increasing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauter, Caspar; Grether, Jean-Marie; Mathys, Nicole A.

2016-01-01

In spite of the extensive literature on greenhouse gas emission inequalities at the world-wide level, most of the evidence so far has been based on country-level data. However, the within-country dimension matters for both the implementation and the policy formation of climate policies. As a preliminary step towards a better understanding of within-country inequalities, this paper measures their extent for the two major greenhouse gases, CO_2 and CH_4, over the 1970–2008 period. Using Theil-index decompositions, we show that within-country inequalities account for the bulk of global inequality, and tend to increase over the sample period, in contrast with diminishing between-country inequalities. Including differences across sectors reveals that between-sector inequalities matter more than between-country inequalities, and between-sector inequalities become the dominant source of global inequality at the end of the sample period in the CO_2 case. Finally, estimated social tensions arising from the disconnection between emissions and future damages turn out to be increasing as soon as within-country disparities are taken into account. These orders of magnitude should be kept in mind while discussing the efficiency and fairness of alternative paths in combating global warming. - Highlights: • We estimate global spatial CO_2 and CH_4 inequality using grid data for 1970–2008. • Overall spatial emission inequality is constant for CO_2 and increasing for CH_4. • Within-country inequality is rising and constitutes the main bulk of overall inequality. • An important part of within country inequality is due to differences among sectors. • The gap between emitters and victims is rising within countries.

Globalization - Different approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorica Puscaciu

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper we investigate the different approaches of the globalization phenomenon. Despite the geographical distancesm, the link between people are ever more strong on different ways and plans: from technology between political, economical, cultural world events, and many other aspects. So, the link between globalization and democracy, and its impact on the most important social and economic matters. We also surprise the impact of the internet revolution and its corolar e-commerce, and its consequences, sometimes unpredictible ones. Another annalysed problem is that of the governments trying, and sometimes succeeding to controll the money, products, peole and their ideas that freely move inside the national frontiers, thus going to slower or to stop the progress. Nevertheless, this global interraction between people also create phenomena of insecurity on different ways: terrorism, traffic of arms, drugs, economical aggresions causing the environment, and other inconvenient facts and situations.

Global Landslide Hazard Distribution

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Landslide Hazard Distribution is a 2.5 minute grid of global landslide and snow avalanche hazards based upon work of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute...

Global loss diversification in the insurance sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sheremet, O.; Lucas, A.

2009-01-01

We study the possibility for international diversification of catastrophe risk by the insurance sector. Adopting the argument that large insurance losses may be a 'globalizing factor' for the industry, we study the dependence of geographically distant insurance markets via equity returns. In

An economic analysis of space solar power and its cost competitiveness as a supplemental source of energy for space and ground markets

Science.gov (United States)

Marzwell, N. I.

2002-01-01

Economic Growth has been historically associated with nations that first made use of each new energy source. There is no doubt that Solar Power Satellites is high as a potential energy system for the future. A conceptual cost model of the economics value of space solar power (SSP) as a source of complementary power for in-space and ground applications will be discussed. Several financial analysis will be offered based on present and new technological innovations that may compete with or be complementary to present energy market suppliers depending on various institutional arrangements for government and the private sector in a Global Economy. Any of the systems based on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas, and synthetic fuels share the problem of being finite resources and are subject to ever-increasing cost as they grow ever more scarce with drastic increase in world population. Increasing world population and requirements from emerging underdeveloped countries will also increase overall demand. This paper would compare the future value of SSP with that of other terrestrial renewable energy in distinct geographic markets within the US, in developing countries, Europe, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

ROMANIA: GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOPOLITICAL POSITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciprian Beniamin Benea

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper intends to bring to the reader’s attention the importance of understanding the role education plays in creating a good geopolitical position for a state which has a good geographical position, and which is well endowed in natural resources. The case of Romania is the main focus of the paper. There is presented a peculiar strange situation of a country (Romania which is very well located from geographical point of view but which is incapable to exploit its natural endowments and special location. One reason for this situation is the fact that most people living in present Romania belong to a category named in this paper ‘individuals’. Individuals are not aware of their country’s geography and history, let alone its possible future development possibilities. They do not know the role their country could play, and living in an atomized society, they choose emigration as the easiest way to escape harsh social and economic environment. Contrary to this attitude is that of a citizen, a man conscious about his country’s potential, and which is dedicated to work hardly together with his fellows in order to promote national interests in a peaceful manner. Even there was found remnants of an ancient city close to present day Romanian territory – proves of well endowed environment – moral and psychological factors have contributed after 1990 in an crucial manner to push Romania from its civilization path back to the archaic spirit, from active urban spirit to rural mentality. In such a situation it is not uncommon for a nation to lose its means for projecting power, which could promote the value and the importance of a geographical position – transportation; rural mentality has nothing to do with modern transportation as they are technical tools with geopolitical essence for controlling space. It is a well known fact that transportation and geopolitics are closely interrelated. Furthermore, social dissolution in post communist

Methane monitoring from space

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, C.; Alpers, M.; Millet, B.; Ehret, G.; Flamant, P.

2017-11-01

Methane is one of the strongest anthropogenic greenhouse gases. It contributes by its radiative forcing significantly to the global warming. For a better understanding of climate changes, it is necessary to apply precise space-based measurement techniques in order to obtain a global view on the complex processes that control the methane concentration in the atmosphere. The MERLIN mission is a joint French-German cooperation, on a micro satellite mission for space-based measurement of spatial and temporal gradients of atmospheric methane columns on a global scale. MERLIN will be the first Integrated Path Differential Absorption LIDAR for greenhouse gas monitoring from space. In contrast to passive methane missions, the LIDAR instrument allows measurements at alllatitudes, all-seasons and during night.

A Space Operations Network Alternative: Using Globally Connected Research and Education Networks for Space-Based Science Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Bradford, Robert N.

2006-01-01

Earth based networking in support of various space agency projects has been based on leased service/circuits which has a high associated cost. This cost is almost always taken from the science side resulting in less science. This is a proposal to use Research and Education Networks (RENs) worldwide to support space flight operations in general and space-based science operations in particular. The RENs were developed to support scientific and educational endeavors. They do not provide support for general Internet traffic. The connectivity and performance of the research and education networks is superb. The connectivity at Layer 3 (IP) virtually encompasses the globe. Most third world countries and all developed countries have their own research and education networks, which are connected globally. Performance of the RENs especially in the developed countries is exceptional. Bandwidth capacity currently exists and future expansion promises that this capacity will continue. REN performance statistics has always exceeded minimum requirements for spaceflight support. Research and Education networks are more loosely managed than a corporate network but are highly managed when compared to the commodity Internet. Management of RENs on an international level is accomplished by the International Network Operations Center at Indiana University at Indianapolis. With few exceptions, each regional and national REN has its own network ops center. The acceptable use policies (AUP), although differing by country, allows any scientific program or project the use of their networks. Once in compliance with the first RENs AUP, all others will accept that specific traffic including regional and transoceanic networks. RENs can support spaceflight related scientific programs and projects. Getting the science to the researcher is obviously key to any scientific project. RENs provide a pathway to virtually any college or university in the world, as well as many governmental institutes and

Plate tectonic regulation of global marine animal diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Zaffos, Andrew; Finnegan, Seth; Peters, Shanan E.

2017-05-01

Valentine and Moores [Valentine JW, Moores EM (1970) Nature 228:657-659] hypothesized that plate tectonics regulates global biodiversity by changing the geographic arrangement of continental crust, but the data required to fully test the hypothesis were not available. Here, we use a global database of marine animal fossil occurrences and a paleogeographic reconstruction model to test the hypothesis that temporal patterns of continental fragmentation have impacted global Phanerozoic biodiversity. We find a positive correlation between global marine invertebrate genus richness and an independently derived quantitative index describing the fragmentation of continental crust during supercontinental coalescence-breakup cycles. The observed positive correlation between global biodiversity and continental fragmentation is not readily attributable to commonly cited vagaries of the fossil record, including changing quantities of marine rock or time-variable sampling effort. Because many different environmental and biotic factors may covary with changes in the geographic arrangement of continental crust, it is difficult to identify a specific causal mechanism. However, cross-correlation indicates that the state of continental fragmentation at a given time is positively correlated with the state of global biodiversity for tens of millions of years afterward. There is also evidence to suggest that continental fragmentation promotes increasing marine richness, but that coalescence alone has only a small negative or stabilizing effect. Together, these results suggest that continental fragmentation, particularly during the Mesozoic breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, has exerted a first-order control on the long-term trajectory of Phanerozoic marine animal diversity.

Globalization and democracy

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DEEPAK NAYYAR

2015-09-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe gathering momentum of globalization in the world economy has coincided with the spread of political democracy across countries. Economies have become global. But politics remains national. This essay explores the relationship between globalization and democracy, which is neither linear nor characterized by structural rigidities. It seeks to analyze how globalization might constrain degrees of freedom for nation states and space for democratic politics, and how political democracy within countries might exercise some checks and balances on markets and globalization. The essential argument is that the relationship between globalization and democracy is dialectical and does not conform to ideological caricatures.

Concepts for a global resources information system

Science.gov (United States)

Billingsley, F. C.; Urena, J. L.

1984-01-01

The objective of the Global Resources Information System (GRIS) is to establish an effective and efficient information management system to meet the data access requirements of NASA and NASA-related scientists conducting large-scale, multi-disciplinary, multi-mission scientific investigations. Using standard interfaces and operating guidelines, diverse data systems can be integrated to provide the capabilities to access and process multiple geographically dispersed data sets and to develop the necessary procedures and algorithms to derive global resource information.

Mapping the Global Potential Geographical Distribution of Black Locust (Robinia Pseudoacacia L. Using Herbarium Data and a Maximum Entropy Model

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Guoqing Li

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a tree species of high economic and ecological value, but is also considered to be highly invasive. Understanding the global potential distribution and ecological characteristics of this species is a prerequisite for its practical exploitation as a resource. Here, a maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt was used to simulate the potential distribution of this species around the world, and the dominant climatic factors affecting its distribution were selected by using a jackknife test and the regularized gain change during each iteration of the training algorithm. The results show that the MaxEnt model performs better than random, with an average test AUC value of 0.9165 (±0.0088. The coldness index, annual mean temperature and warmth index were the most important climatic factors affecting the species distribution, explaining 65.79% of the variability in the geographical distribution. Species response curves showed unimodal relationships with the annual mean temperature and warmth index, whereas there was a linear relationship with the coldness index. The dominant climatic conditions in the core of the black locust distribution are a coldness index of −9.8 °C–0 °C, an annual mean temperature of 5.8 °C–14.5 °C, a warmth index of 66 °C–168 °C and an annual precipitation of 508–1867 mm. The potential distribution of black locust is located mainly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Chile and Argentina. The predictive map of black locust, climatic thresholds and species response curves can provide globally applicable guidelines and valuable information for policymakers and planners involved in the introduction, planting and invasion control of this species around the world.

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES INFORMATION SYSTEM (GNIS) ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and associated areas, both current and historical, but not including roads and highways. The database also contains geographic names in Antarctica. The database holds the Federally recognized name of each feature and defines the location of the feature by state, county, USGS topographic map, and geographic coordinates. Other feature attributes include names or spellings other than the official name, feature designations, feature class, historical and descriptive information, and for some categories of features the geometric boundaries. The database assigns a unique feature identifier, a random number, that is a key for accessing, integrating, or reconciling GNIS data with other data sets. The GNIS is our Nation's official repository of domestic geographic feature names information.

The geosystems of complex geographical atlases

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Jovanović Jasmina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Complex geographical atlases represent geosystems of different hierarchical rank, complexity and diversity, scale and connection. They represent a set of large number of different pieces of information about geospace. Also, they contain systematized, correlative and in the apparent form represented pieces of information about space. The degree of information revealed in the atlas is precisely explained by its content structure and the form of presentation. The quality of atlas depends on the method of visualization of data and the quality of geodata. Cartographic visualization represents cognitive process. The analysis converts geospatial data into knowledge. A complex geographical atlas represents information complex of spatial - temporal coordinated database on geosystems of different complexity and territorial scope. Each geographical atlas defines a concrete geosystem. Systemic organization (structural and contextual determines its complexity and concreteness. In complex atlases, the attributes of geosystems are modeled and pieces of information are given in systematized, graphically unique form. The atlas can be considered as a database. In composing a database, semantic analysis of data is important. The result of semantic modeling is expressed in structuring of data information, in emphasizing logic connections between phenomena and processes and in defining their classes according to the degree of similarity. Accordingly, the efficiency of research of needed pieces of information in the process of the database use is enabled. An atlas map has a special power to integrate sets of geodata and present information contents in user - friendly and understandable visual and tactile way using its visual ability. Composing an atlas by systemic cartography requires the pieces of information on concrete - defined geosystems of different hierarchical level, the application of scientific methods and making of adequate number of analytical, synthetic

Exploring the Dynamics of Globalization: Supply Chain Vulnerability to Natural Disasters

Science.gov (United States)

Kalafsky, Ronald V.; Conner, Neil

2015-01-01

Global supply chains play an increasingly important role in the economy and should therefore be addressed within geography coursework, especially given concerns that geographers have not fully explored various angles of globalization. This article explores the use of an online case study on supply chains and their vulnerability to natural…

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and International Space Station (ISS) Coordination for CubeSat Deployments to Minimize Collision Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Pawloski, James H.; Aviles, Jorge; Myers, Ralph; Parris, Joshua; Corley, Bryan; Hehn, Garrett; Pascucci, Joseph

2016-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) is a joint U.S. and Japan mission to observe global precipitation, extending the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), which was launched by H-IIA from Tanegashima in Japan on February 28TH, 2014 directly into its 407km operational orbit. The International Space Station (ISS) is an international human research facility operated jointly by Russia and the USA from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston Texas. Mission priorities lowered the operating altitude of ISS from 415km to 400km in early 2105, effectively placing both vehicles into the same orbital regime. The ISS has begun a program of deployments of cost effective CubeSats from the ISS that allow testing and validation of new technologies. With a major new asset flying at the same effective altitude as the ISS, CubeSat deployments became a serious threat to GPM and therefore a significant indirect threat to the ISS. This paper describes the specific problem of collision threat to GPM and risk to ISS CubeSat deployment and the process that was implemented to keep both missions safe from collision and maximize their project goals.

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for Lousiana, Geographic NAD83, USGS (2007) [GNIS_LA_USGS_2007

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Global Software Engineering: A Software Process Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Ita; Casey, Valentine; Burton, John; McCaffery, Fergal

Our research has shown that many companies are struggling with the successful implementation of global software engineering, due to temporal, cultural and geographical distance, which causes a range of factors to come into play. For example, cultural, project managementproject management and communication difficulties continually cause problems for software engineers and project managers. While the implementation of efficient software processes can be used to improve the quality of the software product, published software process models do not cater explicitly for the recent growth in global software engineering. Our thesis is that global software engineering factors should be included in software process models to ensure their continued usefulness in global organisations. Based on extensive global software engineering research, we have developed a software process, Global Teaming, which includes specific practices and sub-practices. The purpose is to ensure that requirements for successful global software engineering are stipulated so that organisations can ensure successful implementation of global software engineering.

The Integrative Dimension of the Economic Globalization in European Space

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Daniela Mariana Alexandrache

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We believe that globalization and its socio-economic implications of the world and world economic crisis is one of the most debated issues from several years. The publication "The Economist’’ named globalization as the most used word of the century. The most relevant dimension of globalization is the economy with the more dynamic factors: technological development, the hegemony of liberal conceptions (closely linked to the triumph of the ideology of market economy and explosive development of countries or regions. Economic globalization has manifested a series of visible effects such as: the emergence of new markets and foreign trade (interconnected at global level, the appearance of: transnational companies, multilateral agreements on trade, broadening the scope of WTO, transformation of multinational companies in transnational companies and the emergence of global economic markets. Regionally, we noticed that the trendof concentration of economic activity is more pronounced and advanced in the European continent. Expanding globalization in Europe was achieved because of the fall of communism, and the neoliberal reformation which took place in Western European countries. Events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, followed by the fall of communism eradicated many political, economic, religious or cultural barriers. There were born new relations between state and market, public and private. European Union is, in our view, a regional office ofglobalization, representing the best performing integrative system in the world (by creating free trade area, customs union, common market, the Economic and Monetary Union. In terms of the European Commission,European model is a third way towards globalization, a middle path between protectionism and uncontrolled economy. To understand why the EU is an advanced approximation of globalization, perhaps a regional model of globalization, we must first understand the link between globalization and regional

Changes at the National Geographic Society

Science.gov (United States)

Schwille, Kathleen

2016-01-01

For more than 125 years, National Geographic has explored the planet, unlocking its secrets and sharing them with the world. For almost thirty of those years, National Geographic has been committed to K-12 educators and geographic education through its Network of Alliances. As National Geographic begins a new chapter, they remain committed to the…

Conceptual Model of Dynamic Geographic Environment

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Martínez-Rosales Miguel Alejandro

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In geographic environments, there are many and different types of geographic entities such as automobiles, trees, persons, buildings, storms, hurricanes, etc. These entities can be classified into two groups: geographic objects and geographic phenomena. By its nature, a geographic environment is dynamic, thus, it’s static modeling is not sufficient. Considering the dynamics of geographic environment, a new type of geographic entity called event is introduced. The primary target is a modeling of geographic environment as an event sequence, because in this case the semantic relations are much richer than in the case of static modeling. In this work, the conceptualization of this model is proposed. It is based on the idea to process each entity apart instead of processing the environment as a whole. After that, the so called history of each entity and its spatial relations to other entities are defined to describe the whole environment. The main goal is to model systems at a conceptual level that make use of spatial and temporal information, so that later it can serve as the semantic engine for such systems.

Development of SPIES (Space Intelligent Eyeing System) for smart vehicle tracing and tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Suzanah; Ariffin Osoman, Muhammad; Guan Liyong, Chua; Zulfadhli Mohd Noor, Mohd; Mohamed, Ikhwan

2016-06-01

SPIES or Space-based Intelligent Eyeing System is an intelligent technology which can be utilized for various applications such as gathering spatial information of features on Earth, tracking system for the movement of an object, tracing system to trace the history information, monitoring driving behavior, security and alarm system as an observer in real time and many more. SPIES as will be developed and supplied modularly will encourage the usage based on needs and affordability of users. SPIES are a complete system with camera, GSM, GPS/GNSS and G-Sensor modules with intelligent function and capabilities. Mainly the camera is used to capture pictures and video and sometimes with audio of an event. Its usage is not limited to normal use for nostalgic purpose but can be used as a reference for security and material of evidence when an undesirable event such as crime occurs. When integrated with space based technology of the Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS), photos and videos can be recorded together with positioning information. A product of the integration of these technologies when integrated with Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and Geographic Information System (GIS) will produce innovation in the form of information gathering methods in still picture or video with positioning information that can be conveyed in real time via the web to display location on the map hence creating an intelligent eyeing system based on space technology. The importance of providing global positioning information is a challenge but overcome by SPIES even in areas without GNSS signal reception for the purpose of continuous tracking and tracing capability

Community structure informs species geographic distributions

KAUST Repository

Montesinos-Navarro, Alicia

2018-05-23

Understanding what determines species\\' geographic distributions is crucial for assessing global change threats to biodiversity. Measuring limits on distributions is usually, and necessarily, done with data at large geographic extents and coarse spatial resolution. However, survival of individuals is determined by processes that happen at small spatial scales. The relative abundance of coexisting species (i.e. \\'community structure\\') reflects assembly processes occurring at small scales, and are often available for relatively extensive areas, so could be useful for explaining species distributions. We demonstrate that Bayesian Network Inference (BNI) can overcome several challenges to including community structure into studies of species distributions, despite having been little used to date. We hypothesized that the relative abundance of coexisting species can improve predictions of species distributions. In 1570 assemblages of 68 Mediterranean woody plant species we used BNI to incorporate community structure into Species Distribution Models (SDMs), alongside environmental information. Information on species associations improved SDM predictions of community structure and species distributions moderately, though for some habitat specialists the deviance explained increased by up to 15%. We demonstrate that most species associations (95%) were positive and occurred between species with ecologically similar traits. This suggests that SDM improvement could be because species co-occurrences are a proxy for local ecological processes. Our study shows that Bayesian Networks, when interpreted carefully, can be used to include local conditions into measurements of species\\' large-scale distributions, and this information can improve the predictions of species distributions.

Seven years of global retrieval of cloud properties using space-borne data of GOME

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L. Lelli

2012-07-01

Full Text Available We present a global and regional multi-annual (June 1996–May 2003 analysis of cloud properties (spherical cloud albedo – CA, cloud optical thickness – COT and cloud top height – CTH of optically thick (COT > 5 clouds, derived using measurements from the GOME instrument on board the ESA ERS-2 space platform. We focus on cloud top height, which is obtained from top-of-atmosphere backscattered solar light measurements in the O₂ A-band using the Semi-Analytical CloUd Retrieval Algorithm SACURA. The physical framework relies on the asymptotic equations of radiative transfer. The dataset has been validated against independent ground- and satellite-based retrievals and is aimed to support trace-gases retrievals as well as to create a robust long-term climatology together with SCIAMACHY and GOME-2 ensuing retrievals. We observed the El Niño-Southern Oscillation anomaly in the 1997–1998 record through CTH values over the Pacific Ocean. The global average CTH as derived from GOME is 5.6 ± 3.2 km, for a corresponding average COT of 19.1 ± 13.9.

Future Market Share of Space Solar Electric Power Under Open Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S. J.; Mahasenan, N.; Clarke, J. F.; Edmonds, J. A.

2002-01-01

This paper assesses the value of Space Solar Power deployed under market competition with a full suite of alternative energy technologies over the 21st century. Our approach is to analyze the future energy system under a number of different scenarios that span a wide range of possible future demographic, socio-economic, and technological developments. Scenarios both with, and without, carbon dioxide concentration stabilization policies are considered. We use the comprehensive set of scenarios created for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (Nakicenovic and Swart 2000). The focus of our analysis will be the cost of electric generation. Cost is particularly important when considering electric generation since the type of generation is, from a practical point of view, largely irrelevant to the end-user. This means that different electricity generation technologies must compete on the basis of price. It is important to note, however, that even a technology that is more expensive than average can contribute to the overall generation mix due to geographical and economic heterogeneity (Clarke and Edmonds 1993). This type of competition is a central assumption of the modeling approach used here. Our analysis suggests that, under conditions of full competition of all available technologies, Space Solar Power at 7 cents per kW-hr could comprise 5-10% of global electric generation by the end of the century, with a global total generation of 10,000 TW-hr. The generation share of Space Solar Power is limited due to competition with lower-cost nuclear, biomass, and terrestrial solar PV and wind. The imposition of a carbon constraint does not significantly increase the total amount of power generated by Space Solar Power in cases where a full range of advanced electric generation technologies are also available. Potential constraints on the availability of these other electric generation options can increase the amount of

Global trends in satellite-based emergency mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Stefan; Giulio-Tonolo, Fabio; Lyons, Josh; Kučera, Jan; Jones, Brenda; Schneiderhan, Tobias; Platzeck, Gabriel; Kaku, Kazuya; Hazarika, Manzul Kumar; Czaran, Lorant; Li, Suju; Pedersen, Wendi; James, Godstime Kadiri; Proy, Catherine; Muthike, Denis Macharia; Bequignon, Jerome; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

2016-01-01

Over the past 15 years, scientists and disaster responders have increasingly used satellite-based Earth observations for global rapid assessment of disaster situations. We review global trends in satellite rapid response and emergency mapping from 2000 to 2014, analyzing more than 1000 incidents in which satellite monitoring was used for assessing major disaster situations. We provide a synthesis of spatial patterns and temporal trends in global satellite emergency mapping efforts and show that satellite-based emergency mapping is most intensively deployed in Asia and Europe and follows well the geographic, physical, and temporal distributions of global natural disasters. We present an outlook on the future use of Earth observation technology for disaster response and mitigation by putting past and current developments into context and perspective.

Carbon emission intensity in electricity production: A global analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ang, B.W.; Su, Bin

2016-01-01

We study changes in the aggregate carbon intensity (ACI) for electricity at the global and country levels. The ACI is defined as the energy-related CO_2 emissions in electricity production divided by the electricity produced. It is a performance indicator since a decrease in its value is a desirable outcome from the environmental and climate change viewpoints. From 1990 to 2013, the ACI computed at the global level decreased only marginally. However, fairly substantial decreases were observed in many countries. This apparent anomaly arises from a geographical shift in global electricity production with countries having a high ACI increasingly taking up a larger electricity production share. It is found that globally and in most major electricity producing countries, reduction in their ACI was due mainly to improvements in the thermal efficiency of electricity generation rather than to fuel switching. Estimates of the above-mentioned effects are made using LMDI decomposition analysis. Our study reveals several challenges in reducing global CO_2 emissions from the electricity production sector although technically the reduction potential for the sector is known to be great. - Highlights: •Variations of aggregate carbon intensity (ACI) for electricity of world countries are analysed. •Main drivers of changes in ACI of major electricity producing countries are studied using index decomposition analysis. •Geographical shift in electricity production had a significant impact on global ACI. •Improvements in the thermal efficiency of generation were the main driver of reduction in ACI.

Global health-a circumpolar perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chatwood, Susan; Bjerregaard, Peter; Young, T Kue

2012-01-01

Global health should encompass circumpolar health if it is to transcend the traditional approach of the "rich North" assisting the "poor South." Although the eight Arctic states are among the world's most highly developed countries, considerable health disparities exist among regions across...... the Arctic, as well as between northern and southern regions and between indigenous and nonindigenous populations within some of these states. While sharing commonalities such as a sparse population, geographical remoteness, harsh physical environment, and underdeveloped human resources, circumpolar regions...... in the northern hemisphere have developed different health systems, strategies, and practices, some of which are relevant to middle and lower income countries. As the Arctic gains prominence as a sentinel of global issues such as climate change, the health of circumpolar populations should be part of the global...

Global Observations of the 630-nm Nightglow and Patterns of Brightness Measured by ISUAL

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Chih-Yu Chiang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the distributions and occurrence mechanisms of the global local-midnight airglow brightness through FORMOSAT-2/ISUAL satellite imaging observations. We focus on the OI 630.0 nm nightglow emission at altitudes of ~250 km along equatorial space. The database used in this study included data from 2007 to 2008 under solar minimum conditions. The data were classified into four specified types in the statistical study. We found that the occurrence of equatorial brightness was often in the vicinity of the geographic equator and mostly at equinoxes with a tendency to move toward the summer hemisphere as the season changes. Conjugate brightness occurring simultaneously on both sides of the geomagnetic equator was observed predominantly in the northern winter. Furthermore, midnight brightness appeared to have lower luminosity from May to July. We suggest that the global midnight brightness associated with the locations and seasons was the result of several effects which include the influence of the thermospheric midnight temperature maximum (MTM, summer-to-winter neutral wind, and ionospheric anomalies.

Global potential for carbon sequestration. Geographical distribution, country risk and policy implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benitez, Pablo C.; McCallum, Ian; Obersteiner, Michael; Yamagata, Yoshiki

2007-01-01

We have provided a framework for identifying least-cost sites for afforestation and reforestation and deriving carbon sequestration cost curves at a global level in a scenario of limited information. Special attention is given to country risk in developing countries and the sensitivity to spatial datasets. Our model results suggest that within 20 years and considering a carbon price of USD 50/tC, tree-planting activities could offset 1 year of global carbon emissions in the energy sector. However, if we account for country risk considerations-associated with political, economic and financial risks - carbon sequestration is reduced by approximately 60%. With respect to the geography of supply, illustrated by grid-scale maps, we find that most least-cost sites are located in regions of developing countries such as the Sub-Sahara, Southeast Brazil and Southeast Asia. (author)

A global, space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979 to 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Thomason, L. W.; Vernier, J. P.; Bourassa, A. E.; Millan, L.; Manney, G. L.

2016-12-01

Herein, we report on a global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology (GloSSAC) that has been developed to support Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) (REF to CMIP6 and ETH work). GloSSAC is most closely related to the ASAP[SPARC, 2006] and CCMI data sets and follows a similar approach used to produce those data sets. It is primarily built using space-based measurements by a number of instruments including the SAGE series, OSIRIS, CALIPSO, CLAES and HALOE. The data set is presented as monthly depictions for 80S to 80N and from at least the tropopause to 40 km. The data set consists primarily of measurements by the instruments at their native wavelength and measurement type (e.g., extinction coefficient). However, every bin in these monthly grids receives measured or indirectly inferred values for aerosol extinction coefficient at 525 and 1020 nm. Generally, bins where no data are available are filled via simple linear interpolation in time only. The exceptions are in the SAGE I/II gap from 1982 to 1984 where data from SAM II and ground-based and airborne lidar data sets are used to span the 3 years between the end of the SAGE I mission in November 1981 and the beginning of the SAGE II mission in October 1984. Ground-based lidar also supplements space-based data in the months following the Pinatubo eruption when much of the lower stratosphere is too optically opaque for occultation measurements. This data set includes total aerosol surface area density and volume estimates based on Thomason et al.[2008] though these should be interpreted as bounding values (low and high) rather than functional aerosol parameters that are generally produced from this and predecessor data sets by other parties. Unlike previous versions of this data set, GloSSAC has been permanently archived at NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center and a digital object identifier (doi) for GloSSAC is available. SPARC (2006), Assessment of Stratospheric Aerosol Properties (ASAP

Geographical National Condition and Complex System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Jiayao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The significance of studying the complex system of geographical national conditions lies in rationally expressing the complex relationships of the “resources-environment-ecology-economy-society” system. Aiming to the problems faced by the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions, including the disunity of research contents, the inconsistency of range, the uncertainty of goals, etc.the present paper conducted a range of discussions from the perspectives of concept, theory and method, and designed some solutions based on the complex system theory and coordination degree analysis methods.By analyzing the concepts of geographical national conditions, geographical national conditions survey and geographical national conditions statistical analysis, as well as investigating the relationships between theirs, the statistical contents and the analytical range of geographical national conditions are clarified and defined. This investigation also clarifies the goals of the statistical analysis by analyzing the basic characteristics of the geographical national conditions and the complex system, and the consistency between the analysis of the degree of coordination and statistical analyses. It outlines their goals, proposes a concept for the complex system of geographical national conditions, and it describes the concept. The complex system theory provides new theoretical guidance for the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions. The degree of coordination offers new approaches on how to undertake the analysis based on the measurement method and decision-making analysis scheme upon which the complex system of geographical national conditions is based. It analyzes the overall trend via the degree of coordination of the complex system on a macro level, and it determines the direction of remediation on a micro level based on the degree of coordination among various subsystems and of single systems. These results establish

Sex work in geographic perspective: a multi-disciplinary approach to mapping and understanding female sex work venues in Southwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorway, Robert; Khan, Shamshad; Chevrier, Claudyne; Huynh, Anthony; Zhang, Juying; Ma, Xiao; Blanchard, James; Yu, Nancy

2017-05-01

This paper examines the findings from an extensive geographic mapping study of female sex work venues located in the south western Chinese city of Zigong, in Sichuan province. Drawing upon the findings from quantitative research, secondary historical sources and field notes, composed during participant observation, we provide a nuanced portrait of how the operation of sex work can be conceptualised in spatial terms, where 'space' is regarded as something socially constructed and historically contingent. The sex work geographies we analyse hold important implications for prevention work conducted in the region. When the sexual practices between sex workers and their clients are viewed against a wider geographic and historical backdrop, focus shifts from the properties and intentionalities of individuals towards the kinds of spaces where sex work operates, the organisation of which are underpinned by economic forces that have given rise to the rapid proliferation of small urban spaces in contemporary China.

The Cauchy problem for space-time monopole equations in Sobolev spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Huh, Hyungjin; Yim, Jihyun

2018-04-01

We consider the initial value problem of space-time monopole equations in one space dimension with initial data in Sobolev space Hs. Observing null structures of the system, we prove local well-posedness in almost critical space. Unconditional uniqueness and global existence are proved for s ≥ 0. Moreover, we show that the H1 Sobolev norm grows at a rate of at most c exp(ct2).

The Role of Functional Interdependencies in Global Operations Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Slepniov, Dmitrij; Wæhrens, Brian Vejrum

2011-01-01

The existing studies do not adequately address the complex interplay between co-evolving production, innovation and service networks. The widening geographical and cognitive gap between these networks means that managing their interfaces in global operations context is becoming strategically...

A DBMS architecture for global change research

Science.gov (United States)

Hachem, Nabil I.; Gennert, Michael A.; Ward, Matthew O.

1993-08-01

The goal of this research is the design and development of an integrated system for the management of very large scientific databases, cartographic/geographic information processing, and exploratory scientific data analysis for global change research. The system will represent both spatial and temporal knowledge about natural and man-made entities on the eath's surface, following an object-oriented paradigm. A user will be able to derive, modify, and apply, procedures to perform operations on the data, including comparison, derivation, prediction, validation, and visualization. This work represents an effort to extend the database technology with an intrinsic class of operators, which is extensible and responds to the growing needs of scientific research. Of significance is the integration of many diverse forms of data into the database, including cartography, geography, hydrography, hypsography, images, and urban planning data. Equally important is the maintenance of metadata, that is, data about the data, such as coordinate transformation parameters, map scales, and audit trails of previous processing operations. This project will impact the fields of geographical information systems and global change research as well as the database community. It will provide an integrated database management testbed for scientific research, and a testbed for the development of analysis tools to understand and predict global change.

Development of Geographic Information Systems and their use in National Libraries of Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalya Kotelnikova

2005-04-01

Full Text Available By the end of the 20th century cartography has amassed a vast array of information on major aspects of existence, interaction and the functioning of nature and society owing to vigorous automation and computerisation. These are applied for the purpose of creating geographic information systems (GIS. The main function of geographic information systems is the storage and use of computer (electronic maps and atlases. Geographic information systems differ from each other in their territorial levels (global, national, regional, municipal and others and by their subjects (land, cadastre, ecological, sea and other maps. The geographic information system, ‘Black Sea’ is cited as an example. This is an information-based project compiled with a view to taking decisions on the protection of the resources of the basin of the Black Sea. The Black Sea GIS was developed for use by governments, scientists, the general public, NGOs and the media for the following purposes: · planning for marine environment activities and impacts on a regional scale; · public awareness through training, education, workshops, lectures and media; · scientific analysis, modelling, ecological impact assessment, science planning. The main GIS components are designed to perform the following functions: · data input; · data storage and database management; · data analysis and processing; · interaction with the user (graphical/map editing; and · data output and presentation (plotting.

A preliminary geodetic data model for geographic information systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, K. M.

2009-12-01

Our ability to gather and assimilate integrated data collections from multiple disciplines is important for earth system studies. Moreover, geosciences data collection has increased dramatically, with pervasive networks of observational stations on the ground, in the oceans, in the atmosphere and in space. Contemporary geodetic observations from several space and terrestrial technologies contribute to our knowledge of earth system processes and thus are a valuable source of high accuracy information for many global change studies. Assimilation of these geodetic observations and numerical models into models of weather, climate, oceans, hydrology, ice, and solid Earth processes is an important contribution geodesists can make to the earth science community. Clearly, the geodetic observations and models are fundamental to these contributions. ESRI wishes to provide leadership in the geodetic community to collaboratively build an open, freely available content specification that can be used by anyone to structure and manage geodetic data. This Geodetic Data Model will provide important context for all geographic information. The production of a task-specific geodetic data model involves several steps. The goal of the data model is to provide useful data structures and best practices for each step, making it easier for geodesists to organize their data and metadata in a way that will be useful in their data analyses and to their customers. Built on concepts from the successful Arc Marine data model, we introduce common geodetic data types and summarize the main thematic layers of the Geodetic Data Model. These provide a general framework for envisioning the core feature classes required to represent geodetic data in a geographic information system. Like Arc Marine, the framework is generic to allow users to build workflow or product specific geodetic data models tailored to the specific task(s) at hand. This approach allows integration of the data with other existing

Addressing Geographic Variability in the Comparative Toxicity Potential of Copper and Nickel in Soils

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Huijbregts, Mark A. J.

2013-01-01

Comparative toxicity potentials (CTP), in life cycle impact assessment also known as characterization factors (CF), of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) were calculated for a global set of 760 soils. An accessibility factor (ACF) that takes into account the role of the reactive, solid-phase metal pool...... findings stress the importance of dealing with geographic variability in the calculation of CTPs for terrestrial ecotoxicity of metals....

Global Mangrove Forests Distribution, 2000

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Mangrove Forests Distribution, 2000 data set is a compilation of the extent of mangroves forests from the Global Land Survey and the Landsat archive with...

Global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat

OpenAIRE

Crooks, Kevin R.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Theobald, David M.; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

2011-01-01

Although mammalian carnivores are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and require landscape connectivity, their global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity have not been examined. We use recently developed high-resolution habitat suitability models to conduct comparative analyses and to identify global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity for the world's terrestrial carnivores. Species with less fragmentation (i.e. more interior high-quality habitat) had larger geographical ranges...

Global Food Security Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Crop Mask 2010 Global 1 km V001

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Global Food Security Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Crop Mask Global 1 kilometer...

Global bioethics -- myth or reality?

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Søren; Williams-Jones, Bryn

2006-09-11

There has been debate on whether a global or unified field of bioethics exists. If bioethics is a unified global field, or at the very least a closely shared way of thinking, then we should expect bioethicists to behave the same way in their academic activities anywhere in the world. This paper investigates whether there is a 'global bioethics' in the sense of a unified academic community. To address this question, we study the web-linking patterns of bioethics institutions, the citation patterns of bioethics papers and the buying patterns of bioethics books. All three analyses indicate that there are geographical and institutional differences in the academic behavior of bioethicists and bioethics institutions. These exploratory studies support the position that there is no unified global field of bioethics. This is a problem if the only reason is parochialism. But these regional differences are probably of less concern if one notices that bioethics comes in many not always mutually understandable dialects.

Global power: Markets and strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poirer, J.L.

1998-01-01

The author will first present an updated view of the global power market activity, including opportunities in power generation, transmission and distribution. This will include a review of the trends in closings and transaction flowed by type of activity and geographic area. Estimates will be based on Hagler Bailly's comprehensive database on global power transactions and project announcements. The firm has also worked with dozens of global power companies since 1990. Second, the author will review trends in terms of regulatory changes, project cost trends, developers' project experiences, and financing issues. This systematic review will be the foundation for projection of future market activity (e.g., number of closing by type of project through 2000). A forecast of future greenfield and privatization activity will be provided and the key markets will be highlighted. Third, the author will present an updated view of the competition in the global power market (including the various types of competitors and changes in their respective market posture). Finally, the author will discuss the various types of strategies and business models that are followed by key global power players

Esrange Space Center, a Gate to Space

Science.gov (United States)

Widell, Ola

Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) is operating the Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden. Space operations have been performed for more than 40 years. We have a unique combination of maintaining balloon and rocket launch operations, and building payloads, providing space vehicles and service systems. Sub-orbital rocket flights with land recovery and short to long duration balloon flights up to weeks are offered. The geographical location, land recovery area and the long term experience makes Swedish Space Corporation and Esrange to an ideal gate for space activities. Stratospheric balloons are primarily used in supporting atmospheric research, validation of satellites and testing of space systems. Balloon operations have been carried out at Esrange since 1974. A large number of balloon flights are yearly launched in cooperation with CNES, France. Since 2005 NASA/CSBF and Esrange provide long duration balloon flights to North America. Flight durations up to 5 days with giant balloons (1.2 Million cubic metres) carrying heavy payload (up to 2500kg) with astronomical instruments has been performed. Balloons are also used as a crane for lifting space vehicles or parachute systems to be dropped and tested from high altitude. Many scientific groups both in US, Europe and Japan have indicated a great need of long duration balloon flights. Esrange will perform a technical polar circum balloon flight during the summer 2008 testing balloon systems and flight technique. We are also working on a permission giving us the opportunity on a circular stratospheric balloon flight around the North Pole.

A new governance space for health

Science.gov (United States)

Kickbusch, Ilona; Szabo, Martina Marianna Cassar

2014-01-01

Global health refers to ‘those health issues which transcend national boundaries and governments and call for actions on the global forces and global flows that determine the health of people’. (Kickbusch 2006) Governance in this trans-national and cross-cutting arena can be analyzed along three political spaces: global health governance, global governance for health, and governance for global health. It is argued that the management of the interface between these three political spaces of governance in the global public health domain is becoming increasingly important in order to move the global health agenda forward. Global health governance refers mainly to those institutions and processes of governance which are related to an explicit health mandate, such as the World Health Organization; global governance for health refers mainly to those institutions and processes of global governance which have a direct and indirect health impact, such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization or the Human Rights Council; governance for global health refers to the institutions and mechanisms established at the national and regional level to contribute to global health governance and/or to governance for global health – such as national global health strategies or regional strategies for global health. It can also refer to club strategies, such as agreements by a group of countries such as the BRICS. In all three political spaces, the involvement of a multitude of state and non-state actors has become the norm – that is why issues of legitimacy, accountability and transparency have moved to the fore. The transnational nature of global health will require the engagement of all actors to produce global public goods for health (GPGH) and to ensure a rules-based and reliably financed global public health domain. PMID:24560259

A new governance space for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kickbusch, Ilona; Szabo, Martina Marianna Cassar

2014-01-01

Global health refers to 'those health issues which transcend national boundaries and governments and call for actions on the global forces and global flows that determine the health of people'. (Kickbusch 2006) Governance in this trans-national and cross-cutting arena can be analyzed along three political spaces: global health governance, global governance for health, and governance for global health. It is argued that the management of the interface between these three political spaces of governance in the global public health domain is becoming increasingly important in order to move the global health agenda forward. Global health governance refers mainly to those institutions and processes of governance which are related to an explicit health mandate, such as the World Health Organization; global governance for health refers mainly to those institutions and processes of global governance which have a direct and indirect health impact, such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization or the Human Rights Council; governance for global health refers to the institutions and mechanisms established at the national and regional level to contribute to global health governance and/or to governance for global health--such as national global health strategies or regional strategies for global health. It can also refer to club strategies, such as agreements by a group of countries such as the BRICS. In all three political spaces, the involvement of a multitude of state and non-state actors has become the norm--that is why issues of legitimacy, accountability and transparency have moved to the fore. The transnational nature of global health will require the engagement of all actors to produce global public goods for health (GPGH) and to ensure a rules-based and reliably financed global public health domain.

Space Solar Patrol data and changes in weather and climate, including global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avakyan, S V; Leonov, N B; Voronin, N A; Baranova, L A; Savinov, E P

2010-01-01

In this paper, the results obtained during the execution of several ISTC projects are presented. The general aim of these projects has been the study of global changes in the environment, connected with solar activity. A brief description of the optical apparatus of the Space Solar Patrol (SSP) developed and built in the framework of the ISTC projects 385, 385.2, 1523 and 2500 is given. The SSP is intended for permanent monitoring of spectra and absolute fluxes of soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (x-ray/EUV) radiation from the full disk of the Sun which ionizes the upper atmosphere of the Earth. Permanent solar monitoring in the main part of the ionizing radiation spectra 0.8–115 (119) nm does not exist. The apparatus of the SSP was developed in the years 1996–2005 with multiyear experience of developing such apparatus in S I Vavilov State Optical Institute. The basis of this apparatus is the use of unique detectors of ionizing radiation—open secondary electron multipliers, which are 'solar blind' to near UV, visible and IR radiation from the Sun, and new methodology of these solar spectroradiometric absolute measurements. The prospects are discussed of using the SSP data for the investigation and forecast of the influence of solar variability on the weather and climate including global warming and also on the biosphere including human beings (proposal 3878)

Assess and control global change in agriculture through ecosystem models integrated in geographic information systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponti, Luigi; Gutierrez, Andrew Paul; Iannetta, Massimo

2015-01-01

ENEA has created, in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley, the Global Change Biology project that, for the first time, has made available in Europe a technology that can be It used to interpret and effectively manage change Global agriculture. The aim of the project was to provide tools to summarize, manage and analyze data Ecological on the effects of global change in agricultural systems, using traditional Mediterranean crops (Eg. Vineyards and olive) as model systems (http: // cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89728_en.html). [it

Evolution of natural history information in the 21st century – developing an integrated framework for biological and geographical data

Science.gov (United States)

Reusser, Deborah A.; Lee, Henry

2011-01-01

Threats to marine and estuarine species operate over many spatial scales, from nutrient enrichment at the watershed/estuarine scale to invasive species and climate change at regional and global scales. To help address research questions across these scales, we provide here a standardized framework for a biogeographical information system containing queriable biological data that allows extraction of information on multiple species, across a variety of spatial scales based on species distributions, natural history attributes and habitat requirements. As scientists shift from research on localized impacts on individual species to regional and global scale threats, macroecological approaches of studying multiple species over broad geographical areas are becoming increasingly important. The standardized framework described here for capturing and integrating biological and geographical data is a critical first step towards addressing these macroecological questions and we urge organizations capturing biogeoinformatics data to consider adopting this framework.

Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) is the system used by the Global Forecast System (GFS) model to place observations into a gridded model space for the...

INFRARED GLOBAL GEOSTATIONARY COMPOSITE V1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The National Center for Environmental Prediction/Aviation Weather Center Infrared Global Geostationary Composite data set contains global composite images from the...

Geographical range and local abundance of tree species in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haibao Ren

Full Text Available Most studies on the geographical distribution of species have utilized a few well-known taxa in Europe and North America, with little research in China and its wide range of climate and forest types. We assembled large datasets to quantify the geographic ranges of tree species in China and to test several biogeographic hypotheses: 1 whether locally abundant species tend to be geographically widespread; 2 whether species are more abundant towards their range-centers; and 3 how abundances are correlated between sites. Local abundances of 651 species were derived from four tree plots of 20-25 ha where all individuals ≥1 cm in stem diameter were mapped and identified taxonomically. Range sizes of these species across China were then estimated from over 460,000 geo-referenced records; a Bayesian approach was used, allowing careful measures of error of each range estimate. The log-transformed range sizes had a bell-shaped distribution with a median of 703,000 km(2, and >90% of 651 species had ranges >10(5 km(2. There was no relationship between local abundance and range size, and no evidence for species being more abundant towards their range-centers. Finally, species' abundances were positively correlated between sites. The widespread nature of most tree species in China suggests few are vulnerable to global extinction, and there is no indication of the double-peril that would result if rare species also had narrow ranges.

Verification of strontium isotopes and its possible source in Indian basmati rice for geographical authentication study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lagad, Rupali A.; Rai, Vinai K.; Singh, Sunil K.

2015-01-01

Due to globalization of food and agriculture product's market, there is increasing awareness of safety and authenticity of the food products. Consumers continuously demand the reassurance of origin and content of their foods. Hence safety and authenticity of food has been a growing analytical challenge. Basmati rice, the unique aromatic quality rice and a nature's gift to Indian sub-continent is produced and consumed on a large scale. Due to its profitable market as well as great demand overseas true Basmati rice market is facing unfair competition by unscrupulous producers for profit. Very few researches for geographical authentication are available for Indian basmati rice. Sr isotope composition of rice could be used as a geographical source indicator; however, little information is available on the possible source (lithogenic, biogenic, silicate, carbonate) of Sr in Rice or any other food stuff for tracing the geographical origin using Strontium isotopes as tracer. Hence in order to determine suitability of strontium isotopes as tracer and its possible source in rice for geographical authentication study, strontium isotope signature study of authentic Indian Basmati rice along with in situ soil and water of that region have been carried out

Spatial Associations and Network Dynamics Between the Vaccine Exemption Dicsussion in Twitter and the Corresponding Geographic Space

Science.gov (United States)

Coronado, Alejandra

Recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States have drawn attention to the phenomena of vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Hesitancy is seen through the increasing use of exemptions from state vaccine mandates and the recent use of social media for expressing opinions and perspectives related to vaccination. This research places the vaccination narrative into a geographic context and seeks to understand the relationship between vaccine refusal in physical space and the vaccine discussion in cyberspace. Vaccines have long been considered an effective means of eradicating diseases. Recently, however, California has experienced a decline in vaccination rates and an increase in vaccine exemptions. Until the passing of Senate Bill 277 (SB277) in 2015, children were allowed by California law to skip immunizations if a parent submitted a personal beliefs exemption (PBEs). Under SB277, children who are not vaccinated cannot attend school. Some children are still allowed to skip immunizations by submitting a medical exemption (PMEs) at enrollment. Other children are conditionally admitted to school on the 'condition' that they complete any remaining vaccinations when due. This research analyzed the spatial distribution of vaccine exemptions in kindergarten schools in California using the 2015-2016 school immunization data. The two methods used for analysis included Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) and choropleth maps using data aggregated by county. The results from the choropleth maps show that personal belief exemptions for public, private, and charter kindergarten schools are highly concentrated in northern and rural counties. Aggregating vaccine exemptions at the county level and normalizing by school enrollment showed that counties with high ratios of vaccine exemptions vary across public, private, and charter schools. This research also explored the diffusion networks of the vaccine exemption topic in Twitter. Twitter messages related to the

Effects of repeated simulated removal activities on feral swine movements and space use

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Justin W.; McMurtry , Dan; Blass, Chad R.; Walter, W. David; Beringer, Jeff; VerCauterren, Kurt C.

2016-01-01

Abundance and distribution of feral swine (Sus scrofa) in the USA have increased dramatically during the last 30 years. Effective measures are needed to control and eradicate feral swine populations without displacing animals over wider areas. Our objective was to investigate effects of repeated simulated removal activities on feral swine movements and space use. We analyzed location data from 21 feral swine that we fitted with Global Positioning System harnesses in southern MO, USA. Various removal activities were applied over time to eight feral swine before lethal removal, including trapped-and-released, chased with dogs, chased with hunter, and chased with helicopter. We found that core space-use areas were reduced following the first removal activity, whereas overall space-use areas and diurnal movement distances increased following the second removal activity. Mean geographic centroid shifts did not differ between pre- and post-periods for either the first or second removal activities. Our information on feral swine movements and space use precipitated by human removal activities, such as hunting, trapping, and chasing with dogs, helps fill a knowledge void and will aid wildlife managers. Strategies to optimize management are needed to reduce feral swine populations while preventing enlarged home ranges and displacing individuals, which could lead to increased disease transmission risk and human-feral swine conflict in adjacent areas.

5 CFR 536.303 - Geographic conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... after geographic conversion is the employee's existing payable rate of basic pay in effect immediately before the action. (b) Geographic conversion when a retained rate employee's official worksite is changed... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Geographic conversion. 536.303 Section...

A cloud based model to facilitate software development uutsourcing to globally distributed locations

OpenAIRE

Hashmi, Sajid Ibrahim; Richardson, Ita

2013-01-01

peer-reviewed Outsourcing is an essential part of global software development and entails software development distributed across geographical borders. More specifically, it deals with software development teams dispersed across multiple geographical locations to carry out software development activities. By means of this business model, organizations expect to benefit from enhanced corporate value through advantages such as round the clock software development, availability of skills and ...

Yearbook on space policy 2015 access to space and the evolution of space activities

CERN Document Server

Baranes, Blandina; Hulsroj, Peter; Lahcen, Arne

2017-01-01

The Yearbook on Space Policy, edited by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), is the reference publication analysing space policy developments. Each year it presents issues and trends in space policy and the space sector as a whole. Its scope is global and its perspective is European. The Yearbook also links space policy with other policy areas. It highlights specific events and issues, and provides useful insights, data and information on space activities. The first part of the Yearbook sets out a comprehensive overview of the economic, political, technological and institutional trends that have affected space activities. The second part of the Yearbook offers a more analytical perspective on the yearly ESPI theme and consists of external contributions written by professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. The third part of the Yearbook carries forward the character of the Yearbook as an archive of space activities. The Yearbook is designed for government decision-makers and agencies...

A local-global problem for linear differential equations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Put, Marius van der; Reversat, Marc

An inhomogeneous linear differential equation Ly = f over a global differential field can have a formal solution for each place without having a global solution. The vector space lgl(L) measures this phenomenon. This space is interpreted in terms of cohomology of linear algebraic groups and is

A local-global problem for linear differential equations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Put, Marius van der; Reversat, Marc

2008-01-01

An inhomogeneous linear differential equation Ly = f over a global differential field can have a formal solution for each place without having a global solution. The vector space lgl(L) measures this phenomenon. This space is interpreted in terms of cohomology of linear algebraic groups and is

Task and Progress of Iaeg-Sdgs Wggi in Monitoring Sdgs Through a `GEOGRAPHIC Location' Lens

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, W.; Chen, J.; Zhang, H. P.; Xu, K.

2018-04-01

In September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to transform the world over the next 15 years (ESDN, 2016). To meet the ambitions and demands of the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary for the global indicator framework to adequately and systematically address the issue of alternative data sources and methodologies, including geospatial information and Earth observations in the context of geographic location (UN-GGIM, 2016). For this purpose, the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicator (IAEG-SDGs) created the Working Group on Geospatial Information (IAEG-SDGs: WGGI) to give full play to the role of geospatial data in SDGs measurement and monitoring. The Working Group reviewed global indicators through a `geographic location' lens to pick out those which geospatial information can significantly support the production, and analyzed the methodological and measurements issues. This paper has discussed the progress in monitoring SDGs ever since the establishment of IAEG-SDGs: WGGI, as well as the existing problems, appropriate solutions and plans for the next stage of work.

Anthropogenics: human influence on global and genetic homogenization of parasite populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarlenga, Dante S; Hoberg, Eric; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Mattiucci, Simonetta; Nascetti, Giuseppe

2014-12-01

The distribution, abundance, and diversity of life on Earth have been greatly shaped by human activities. This includes the geographic expansion of parasites; however, measuring the extent to which humans have influenced the dissemination and population structure of parasites has been challenging. In-depth comparisons among parasite populations extending to landscape-level processes affecting disease emergence have remained elusive. New research methods have enhanced our capacity to discern human impact, where the tools of population genetics and molecular epidemiology have begun to shed light on our historical and ongoing influence. Only since the 1990s have parasitologists coupled morphological diagnosis, long considered the basis of surveillance and biodiversity studies, with state-of-the-art tools enabling variation to be examined among, and within, parasite populations. Prior to this time, populations were characterized only by phenotypic attributes such as virulence, infectivity, host range, and geographical location. The advent of genetic/molecular methodologies (multilocus allozyme electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction-DNA [PCR-DNA] fragments analysis, DNA sequencing, DNA microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms, etc.) have transformed our abilities to reveal variation among, and within, populations at local, regional, landscape, and global scales, and thereby enhanced our understanding of the biosphere. Numerous factors can affect population structure among parasites, e.g., evolutionary and ecological history, mode of reproduction and transmission, host dispersal, and life-cycle complexity. Although such influences can vary considerably among parasite taxa, anthropogenic factors are demonstrably perturbing parasite fauna. Minimal genetic structure among many geographically distinct (isolated) populations is a hallmark of human activity, hastened by geographic introductions, environmental perturbation, and global warming. Accelerating

Globalization and regionalisation: Determinants of the transformation and the process of the integration of the geo-space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todorović Marina J.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The two processes that, basically since the emergence of the classic civilizations, determine major changes in the basic spatial structures in the world are, de facto, of antipode basic characteristics (globalization and regionalisation, but it is often the case that there are elements with traits of complementarily. They have crucial effect on development and integration of geo-spaces and many research results indicate that, depending of the stage of the development, both processes were present in the geo-space in various forms in almost all the phases of its development and that they have contributed to establishment of all the new spatial-structural relations. The subject of this analyses is, among other issues, a brief genesis of these two processes, including identification of their main starters and effects. Besides from that, there is a special attention paid to the role of the traffic as their basic element and one of the important initiators and its role in those parts of the European continent that are not yet included by these processes of crucial changes of the geo-space as the whole.

Rapid diversification in Australia and two dispersals out of Australia in the globally distributed bee genus, Hylaeus (Colletidae: Hylaeinae).

Science.gov (United States)

Kayaalp, Pelin; Schwarz, Michael P; Stevens, Mark I

2013-03-01

Hylaeus is the only globally distributed colletid bee genus, with subgeneric and species-level diversity highest in Australia. We used one mitochondrial and two nuclear genes to reconstruct a phylogeny using Bayesian analyses of this genus based on species from Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, Hawai'i, the New World and New Zealand. Our results concord with a ca. 30Mya Hylaeus crown age inferred by earlier studies, and we show that Hylaeus originated in Australia. Our phylogeny indicates only two dispersal events out of Australia, both shortly after the initial diversification of extant taxa. One of these dispersals was into New Zealand with only a minor subsequent radiation, but the second dispersal out of Australia resulted in a world-wide distribution. This second dispersal and radiation event, combined with very extensive early radiation of Hyleaus in Australia, poses a conundrum: what kinds of biogeographical and ecological factors could simultaneously drive global dispersal, yet strongly constrain further successful migrations out of Australia when geographical barriers appear to be weak? We argue that for hylaeine bees movement into new niches and enemy-free spaces may have favoured initial dispersal events, but that subsequent dispersals would not have entailed the original benefits of new niche space. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Globalization and Security

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hicks, Donald

1999-01-01

Globalization-the integration of the political, economic and cultural activities of geographically and/or nationally separated peoples-is not a discernible event or challenge, is not new, but it is...

Re-examination of globally flat space-time.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R Feldman

Full Text Available In the following, we offer a novel approach to modeling the observed effects currently attributed to the theoretical concepts of "dark energy," "dark matter," and "dark flow." Instead of assuming the existence of these theoretical concepts, we take an alternative route and choose to redefine what we consider to be inertial motion as well as what constitutes an inertial frame of reference in flat space-time. We adopt none of the features of our current cosmological models except for the requirement that special and general relativity be local approximations within our revised definition of inertial systems. Implicit in our ideas is the assumption that at "large enough" scales one can treat objects within these inertial systems as point-particles having an insignificant effect on the curvature of space-time. We then proceed under the assumption that time and space are fundamentally intertwined such that time- and spatial-translational invariance are not inherent symmetries of flat space-time (i.e., observable clock rates depend upon both relative velocity and spatial position within these inertial systems and take the geodesics of this theory in the radial Rindler chart as the proper characterization of inertial motion. With this commitment, we are able to model solely with inertial motion the observed effects expected to be the result of "dark energy," "dark matter," and "dark flow." In addition, we examine the potential observable implications of our theory in a gravitational system located within a confined region of an inertial reference frame, subsequently interpreting the Pioneer anomaly as support for our redefinition of inertial motion. As well, we extend our analysis into quantum mechanics by quantizing for a real scalar field and find a possible explanation for the asymmetry between matter and antimatter within the framework of these redefined inertial systems.

Phytoplankton global mapping from space with a support vector machine algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

de Boissieu, Florian; Menkes, Christophe; Dupouy, Cécile; Rodier, Martin; Bonnet, Sophie; Mangeas, Morgan; Frouin, Robert J.

2014-11-01

In recent years great progress has been made in global mapping of phytoplankton from space. Two main trends have emerged, the recognition of phytoplankton functional types (PFT) based on reflectance normalized to chlorophyll-a concentration, and the recognition of phytoplankton size class (PSC) based on the relationship between cell size and chlorophyll-a concentration. However, PFTs and PSCs are not decorrelated, and one approach can complement the other in a recognition task. In this paper, we explore the recognition of several dominant PFTs by combining reflectance anomalies, chlorophyll-a concentration and other environmental parameters, such as sea surface temperature and wind speed. Remote sensing pixels are labeled thanks to coincident in-situ pigment data from GeP&CO, NOMAD and MAREDAT datasets, covering various oceanographic environments. The recognition is made with a supervised Support Vector Machine classifier trained on the labeled pixels. This algorithm enables a non-linear separation of the classes in the input space and is especially adapted for small training datasets as available here. Moreover, it provides a class probability estimate, allowing one to enhance the robustness of the classification results through the choice of a minimum probability threshold. A greedy feature selection associated to a 10-fold cross-validation procedure is applied to select the most discriminative input features and evaluate the classification performance. The best classifiers are finally applied on daily remote sensing datasets (SeaWIFS, MODISA) and the resulting dominant PFT maps are compared with other studies. Several conclusions are drawn: (1) the feature selection highlights the weight of temperature, chlorophyll-a and wind speed variables in phytoplankton recognition; (2) the classifiers show good results and dominant PFT maps in agreement with phytoplankton distribution knowledge; (3) classification on MODISA data seems to perform better than on SeaWIFS data

Eco-Environment Status Evaluation and Change Analysis of Qinghai Based on National Geographic Conditions Census Data

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, M.; Zhu, M.; Wang, Y.; Xu, C.; Yang, H.

2018-04-01

As the headstream of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lantsang River, located in the hinterland of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Qinghai province is hugely significant for ecosystem as well as for ecological security and sustainable development in China. With the accomplishment of the first national geographic condition census, the frequent monitoring has begun. The classification indicators of the census and monitoring data are highly correlated with Technical Criterion for Ecosystem Status Evaluation released by Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2015. Based on three years' geographic conditions data (2014-2016), Landsat-8 images and thematic data (water resource, pollution emissions, meteorological data, soil erosion, etc.), a multi-years and high-precision eco-environment status evaluation and spatiotemporal change analysis of Qinghai province has been researched on the basis of Technical Criterion for Ecosystem Status Evaluation in this paper. Unlike the evaluation implemented by environmental protection department, the evaluation unit in this paper is town rather than county. The evaluation result shows that the eco-environment status in Qinghai is generally in a fine condition, and has significant regional differences. The eco-environment status evaluation based on national geographic conditions census and monitoring data can improve both the time and space precision. The eco-environment status with high space precise and multi-indices is a key basis for environment protection decision-making.

Global Volcano Mortality Risks and Distribution

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Volcano Mortality Risks and Distribution is a 2.5 minute grid representing global volcano mortality risks. The data set was constructed using historical...

Safeguarding fruit crops in the age of agricultural globalization

Science.gov (United States)

The expansion of fruit production and markets into new geographic areas provides novel opportunities and challenges for the agricultural and marketing industries. In today’s competitive global market environment, growers need access to the best material available in terms of genetics and plant heal...

Advances in Global Water Cycle Science Made Possible by Global Precipitation Mission (GPM)

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Eric A.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Within this decade the internationally sponsored Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) will take an important step in creating a global precipitation observing system from space. One perspective for understanding the nature of GPM is that it will be a hierarchical system of datastreams from very high caliber combined dual frequency radar/passive microwave (PMW) rain-radiometer retrievals, to high caliber PMW rain-radiometer only retrievals, and on to blends of the former datastreams with other less-high caliber PMW-based and IR-based rain retrievals. Within the context of NASA's role in global water cycle science and its own Global Water & Energy Cycle (GWEC) program, GPM is the centerpiece mission for improving our understanding of the global water cycle from a space-based measurement perspective. One of the salient problems within our current understanding of the global water and energy cycle is determining whether a change in the rate of the water cycle is accompanying changes in global temperature. As there are a number of ways in which to define a rate-change of the global water cycle, it is not entirely clear as to what constitutes such a determination, This paper presents an overview of the Global Precipitation Mission and how its datasets can be used in a set of quantitative tests within the framework of the oceanic and continental water budget equations to determine comprehensively whether substantive rate changes do accompany perturbations in global temperatures and how such rate changes manifest themselves in both water storage and water flux transport processes.

Coupled pulsating and cellular structure in the propagation of globally planar detonations in free space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Wenhu; Gao, Yang; Wang, Cheng; Law, Chung K.

2015-01-01

The globally planar detonation in free space is numerically simulated, with particular interest to understand and quantify the emergence and evolution of the one-dimensional pulsating instability and the two-dimensional cellular structure which is inherently also affected by pulsating instability. It is found that the pulsation includes three stages: rapid decay of the overdrive, approach to the Chapman-Jouguet state and emergence of weak pulsations, and the formation of strong pulsations; while evolution of the cellular structure also exhibits distinct behavior at these three stages: no cell formation, formation of small-scale, irregular cells, and formation of regular cells of a larger scale. Furthermore, the average shock pressure in the detonation front consists of fine-scale oscillations reflecting the collision dynamics of the triple-shock structure and large-scale oscillations affected by the global pulsation. The common stages of evolution between the cellular structure and the pulsating behavior, as well as the existence of shock-front pressure oscillation, suggest highly correlated mechanisms between them. Detonations with period doubling, period quadrupling, and chaotic amplitudes were also observed and studied for progressively increasing activation energies

The Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases 1 (GIVD): a new resource for vegetation science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dengler, J.; Jansen, F.; Glockler, F.; Schaminee, J.H.J.

2011-01-01

Question: How many vegetation plot observations (relevés) are available in electronic databases, how are they geographically distributed, what are their properties and how might they be discovered and located for research and application? Location: Global. Methods: We compiled the Global Index of

A coupled chemotaxis-fluid model: Global existence

KAUST Repository

Liu, Jian-Guo; Lorz, Alexander

2011-01-01

We consider a model arising from biology, consisting of chemotaxis equations coupled to viscous incompressible fluid equations through transport and external forcing. Global existence of solutions to the Cauchy problem is investigated under certain conditions. Precisely, for the chemotaxis-Navier- Stokes system in two space dimensions, we obtain global existence for large data. In three space dimensions, we prove global existence of weak solutions for the chemotaxis-Stokes system with nonlinear diffusion for the cell density.© 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A coupled chemotaxis-fluid model: Global existence

KAUST Repository

Liu, Jian-Guo

2011-09-01

We consider a model arising from biology, consisting of chemotaxis equations coupled to viscous incompressible fluid equations through transport and external forcing. Global existence of solutions to the Cauchy problem is investigated under certain conditions. Precisely, for the chemotaxis-Navier- Stokes system in two space dimensions, we obtain global existence for large data. In three space dimensions, we prove global existence of weak solutions for the chemotaxis-Stokes system with nonlinear diffusion for the cell density.© 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Oklahoma Geographic Information Retrieval System

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, W. A.

1982-01-01

The Oklahoma Geographic Information Retrieval System (OGIRS) is a highly interactive data entry, storage, manipulation, and display software system for use with geographically referenced data. Although originally developed for a project concerned with coal strip mine reclamation, OGIRS is capable of handling any geographically referenced data for a variety of natural resource management applications. A special effort has been made to integrate remotely sensed data into the information system. The timeliness and synoptic coverage of satellite data are particularly useful attributes for inclusion into the geographic information system.

Global Journal of Geological Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Global Journal of Geological Sciences is aimed at promoting research in all areas of Geological Sciences including geochemistry, geophysics, engineering geology, hydrogeology, petrology, mineralogy, geochronology, tectonics, mining, structural geology, marine geology, space science etc. Visit the Global Journal Series ...

GI+100: Long Term Preservation of Digital Geographic Information - 16 Fundamental Principles Agreed by National Mapping Agencies and State Archives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carsten Carsten Rönsdorf

2017-05-01

There are many reasons why people wish to retain access to information, though the main drivers for archiving digital geographic information include meeting legislative requirements; the short and long term exploitation of archived data for analyzing social, environmental (e.g. global climate changes and economic changes over time; as well as efficiency savings in managing superseded datasets. This paper sets out the path and describes what needs to be done now to future-proof the investment government agencies around the world have made in creating digital geographic data.

Global Health Solidarity.

Science.gov (United States)

West-Oram, Peter G N; Buyx, Alena

2017-07-01

For much of the 20th century, vulnerability to deprivations of health has often been defined by geographical and economic factors. Those in wealthy, usually 'Northern' and 'Western', parts of the world have benefited from infrastructures, and accidents of geography and climate, which insulate them from many serious threats to health. Conversely, poorer people are typically exposed to more threats to health, and have lesser access to the infrastructures needed to safeguard them against the worst consequences of such exposure. However, in recent years the increasingly globalized nature of the world's economy, society and culture, combined with anthropogenic climate change and the evolution of antibiotic resistance, has begun to shift the boundaries that previously defined the categories of person threatened by many exogenous threats to health. In doing so, these factors expose both new and forgotten similarities between persons, and highlight the need for global cooperative responses to the existential threats posed by climate change and the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. In this article, we argue that these emerging health threats, in demonstrating the similarities that exist between even distant persons, provides a catalyst for global solidarity, which justifies, and provides motivation for, the establishment of solidaristic, cooperative global health infrastructures.

Climate Science's Globally Distributed Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D. N.

2016-12-01

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is primarily funded by the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science (the Office of Biological and Environmental Research [BER] Climate Data Informatics Program and the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research Next Generation Network for Science Program), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the European Infrastructure for the European Network for Earth System Modeling (IS-ENES), and the Australian National University (ANU). Support also comes from other U.S. federal and international agencies. The federation works across multiple worldwide data centers and spans seven international network organizations to provide users with the ability to access, analyze, and visualize data using a globally federated collection of networks, computers, and software. Its architecture employs a series of geographically distributed peer nodes that are independently administered and united by common federation protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). The full ESGF infrastructure has now been adopted by multiple Earth science projects and allows access to petabytes of geophysical data, including the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP; output used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports), multiple model intercomparison projects (MIPs; endorsed by the World Climate Research Programme [WCRP]), and the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME; ESGF is included in the overarching ACME workflow process to store model output). ESGF is a successful example of integration of disparate open-source technologies into a cohesive functional system that serves the needs the global climate science community. Data served by ESGF includes not only model output but also observational data from satellites and instruments, reanalysis, and generated images.

Tensions between the local and the global: contemporary rural and teaching in rural schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizeu Clementino de Souza

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to investigate potential tensions between local and global context of contemporary ruralities, emphasizing the times, rhythms and spaces constructed from the experiences of teachers and students in the organization of the routines of rural schools. The paper presents theoretical considerations resulting from two studies in the Graduate Program in Education and Contemporary - PPGEduC / UNEB. The clipping and analysis undertaken focus on education developed in rural areas and tensions present in this context in view, discuss issues concerning the new ruralities contemporary. This discussion has as its central theme the issues of timing and the rhythm in schools with multigrade classes Island Tide that articulates with dilemmas and tensions surrounding the experience lived by teachers of geography of the city engaged in teaching in rural areas in semi-arid region of Bahia. Research has pointed to difficulties faced by rural school to consider the different temporalities that exist in rural areas in their educational processes, as well as difficulties of articulation in these contexts of learning, between the local-global dimensions through which passes the contemporary space. This movement creates stress for teachers’ work, since it complicates the relationship between the times established, standardized and rigid, with times of personal students and teachers, covering aspects such as age, life histories, movements and experiences socio-historical and geographical subjects involved in the processes of teaching and learning in rural settings in contemporary times.

Attractor of reaction-diffusion equations in Banach spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Valero

2001-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper we prove first some abstract theorems on existence of global attractors for differential inclusions generated by w-dissipative operators. Then these results are applied to reaction-diffusion equations in which the Babach space Lp is used as phase space. Finally, new results concerning the fractal dimension of the global attractor in the space L2 are obtained.

Whose global art (history?: Ancient art as global art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Colburn

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Discourse on global art or art history arguably dominates the field of art history today in terms of curriculum and research. This discourse cuts across time and space, impacting all art historical specializations, from prehistoric to contemporary, and from Africa to the Americas. Yet, the mainstream theoretical discourse on global art or art history focuses almost explicitly on contemporary and, to a lesser extent, modern art, operating from the premise that only these arts were created in an age of globalization and, thus, emphasize hybridity. This essay seeks to expand the mainstream theoretical discourse regarding global art to pre-modern examples, given that artistic exchange and hybridity dates as early as the prehistoric era all over the world and is not dependent on newer technologies. Indeed, one might argue that the study of pre-modern examples of global art could provide a powerful historical lens through which to analyze contemporary global art.

Technology-Enhanced Problem-Based Learning Methodology in Geographically Dispersed Learners of Tshwane University of Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sibitse M. Tlhapane

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Improving teaching and learning methodologies is not just a wish but rather strife for most educational institutions globally. To attain this, the Adelaide Tambo School of Nursing Science implemented a Technology-enhanced Problem-Based Learning methodology in the programme B Tech Occupational Nursing, in 2006. This is a two-year post-basic nursing program. The students are geographically dispersed and the curriculum design is the typically student-centred outcomes-based education. The research question posed by this paper is: How does technology-enhanced problem-based learning enhance student-centred learning, thinking skills, social skills and social space for learners? To answer the above question, a case study with both qualitative and quantitative data was utilised. The participants consisted of all students registered for the subject Occupational Health level 4. The sample group was chosen from willing participants from the Pretoria, eMalahleni and Polokwane learning sites, using the snowball method. This method was seen as appropriate due to the timing of the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire with both open and closed-ended questions. An analyses of the students‟ end of year examination was also done, including a comparison of performances by students on technology enhanced problem-based learning and those on problem-based learning only. The findings revealed that with Technology-enhanced Problem Based Learning (PBL, students‟ critical thinking, problem solving, and social skills improved and that social space was enhanced. This was supported by improved grades in students‟ on Technology-enhanced PBL as compared to those on PBL only.

Mutualism Disruption Threatens Global Plant Biodiversity: A Systematic Review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clare E Aslan

Full Text Available As global environmental change accelerates, biodiversity losses can disrupt interspecific interactions. Extinctions of mutualist partners can create "widow" species, which may face reduced ecological fitness. Hypothetically, such mutualism disruptions could have cascading effects on biodiversity by causing additional species coextinctions. However, the scope of this problem - the magnitude of biodiversity that may lose mutualist partners and the consequences of these losses - remains unknown.We conducted a systematic review and synthesis of data from a broad range of sources to estimate the threat posed by vertebrate extinctions to the global biodiversity of vertebrate-dispersed and -pollinated plants. Though enormous research gaps persist, our analysis identified Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and global oceanic islands as geographic regions at particular risk of disruption of these mutualisms; within these regions, percentages of plant species likely affected range from 2.1-4.5%. Widowed plants are likely to experience reproductive declines of 40-58%, potentially threatening their persistence in the context of other global change stresses.Our systematic approach demonstrates that thousands of species may be impacted by disruption in one class of mutualisms, but extinctions will likely disrupt other mutualisms, as well. Although uncertainty is high, there is evidence that mutualism disruption directly threatens significant biodiversity in some geographic regions. Conservation measures with explicit focus on mutualistic functions could be necessary to bolster populations of widowed species and maintain ecosystem functions.

"Sociedade civil global": agentes não estatais e espaço de interação na sociedade política "Global civil society": non-state agents and space of interaction in political society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Coutinho Lage

2012-06-01

Full Text Available O presente artigo visa compreender o conceito de sociedade civil global, a partir de um diálogo entre o construtivismo em Relações Internacionais e o pensador francês Michel Foucault. Dividido em três seções seguidas por uma conclusão, o texto almeja inserir-se em um espaço acadêmico de profunda contestação das bases filosóficas que permeiam as teorias convencionais nas ciências sociais e, em especial, nas Relações Internacionais. A primeira seção dedica-se à discussão acerca da sociedade civil global como espaço de interação agente-estrutura; na seção subsequente, ao conceito como um conjunto heterogêneo de agentes não estatais de escopo global. A terceira seção funde as duas partes da definição. Assim, propõem-se duas dimensões definidoras da sociedade civil global: na primeira, como espaço político; na segunda, como conjunto de agentes de características específicas. Por fim, uma breve conclusão encerra o texto - mas não a polêmica da discussão. Conclui-se que o contexto contemporâneo é marcado por uma complexidade de tal magnitude que torna urgente uma abordagem que evite oposições binárias e fronteiras ontológicas naturalizadas e reificadas, estando, assim, apta a interpretar de maneira mais adequada as relações sociais e políticas atuais.This article aims at understanding the concept of global civil society, from a dialogue between constructivism in International Relations and the French thinker Michel Foucault. Divided in three sections, followed by a conclusion, the text intends to insert itself in an academic space of a profound contestation concerning the philosophical basis of the conventional theories in the social sciences and, specially, in International Relations. The first section is dedicated to the discussion about global civil society as a space of agent-structure interaction; the next section treats the concept as a heterogeneous set of non-state agents of global scope. The

Global Multihazard Mortality Risks and Distribution

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Multihazard Mortality Risks and Distribution is a 2.5 minute grid identifying and characterizing the nature of multihazard risk at the global scale. For this...

Globalization and pollution: tele-connecting local primary PM2.5 emissions to global consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jing; Liu, Junfeng; Xu, Yuan; Guan, Dabo; Liu, Zhu; Huang, Ye; Tao, Shu

2016-11-01

Globalization pushes production and consumption to geographically diverse locations and generates a variety of sizeable opportunities and challenges. The distribution and associated effects of short-lived primary fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), a representative of local pollution, are significantly affected by the consumption through global supply chain. Tele-connection is used here to represent the link between production and consumption activity at large distances. In this study, we develop a global consumption-based primary PM 2.5 emission inventory to track primary PM 2.5 emissions embodied in the supply chain and evaluate the extent to which local PM 2.5 emissions are triggered by international trade. We further adopt consumption-based accounting and identify the global original source that produced the emissions. We find that anthropogenic PM 2.5 emissions from industrial sectors accounted for 24 Tg globally in 2007; approximately 30% (7.2 Tg) of these emissions were embodied in export of products principally from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (3.8 Tg) to developed countries. Large differences (up to 10 times) in the embodied emissions intensity between net importers and exporters greatly increased total global PM 2.5 emissions. Tele-connecting production and consumption activity provides valuable insights with respect to mitigating long-range transboundary air pollution and prompts concerted efforts aiming at more environmentally conscious globalization.

Globalization and pollution: tele-connecting local primary PM2.5 emissions to global consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jing; Xu, Yuan; Guan, Dabo; Liu, Zhu; Huang, Ye; Tao, Shu

2016-01-01

Globalization pushes production and consumption to geographically diverse locations and generates a variety of sizeable opportunities and challenges. The distribution and associated effects of short-lived primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a representative of local pollution, are significantly affected by the consumption through global supply chain. Tele-connection is used here to represent the link between production and consumption activity at large distances. In this study, we develop a global consumption-based primary PM2.5 emission inventory to track primary PM2.5 emissions embodied in the supply chain and evaluate the extent to which local PM2.5 emissions are triggered by international trade. We further adopt consumption-based accounting and identify the global original source that produced the emissions. We find that anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions from industrial sectors accounted for 24 Tg globally in 2007; approximately 30% (7.2 Tg) of these emissions were embodied in export of products principally from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (3.8 Tg) to developed countries. Large differences (up to 10 times) in the embodied emissions intensity between net importers and exporters greatly increased total global PM2.5 emissions. Tele-connecting production and consumption activity provides valuable insights with respect to mitigating long-range transboundary air pollution and prompts concerted efforts aiming at more environmentally conscious globalization. PMID:27956874

Globalization and pollution: tele-connecting local primary PM2.5 emissions to global consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jing; Liu, Junfeng; Xu, Yuan; Guan, Dabo; Liu, Zhu; Huang, Ye; Tao, Shu

2016-11-01

Globalization pushes production and consumption to geographically diverse locations and generates a variety of sizeable opportunities and challenges. The distribution and associated effects of short-lived primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a representative of local pollution, are significantly affected by the consumption through global supply chain. Tele-connection is used here to represent the link between production and consumption activity at large distances. In this study, we develop a global consumption-based primary PM2.5 emission inventory to track primary PM2.5 emissions embodied in the supply chain and evaluate the extent to which local PM2.5 emissions are triggered by international trade. We further adopt consumption-based accounting and identify the global original source that produced the emissions. We find that anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions from industrial sectors accounted for 24 Tg globally in 2007; approximately 30% (7.2 Tg) of these emissions were embodied in export of products principally from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (3.8 Tg) to developed countries. Large differences (up to 10 times) in the embodied emissions intensity between net importers and exporters greatly increased total global PM2.5 emissions. Tele-connecting production and consumption activity provides valuable insights with respect to mitigating long-range transboundary air pollution and prompts concerted efforts aiming at more environmentally conscious globalization.

Israel Marine Bio-geographic Database (ISRAMAR-BIO)

Science.gov (United States)

Greengrass, Eyal; Krivenko, Yevgeniya; Ozer, Tal; Ben Yosef, Dafna; Tom, Moshe; Gertman, Isaac

2015-04-01

The knowledge of the space/time variations of species is the basis for any ecological investigations. While historical observations containing integral concentrations of biological parameters (chlorophyll, abundance, biomass…) are organized partly in ISRAMAR Cast Database, the taxon-specific data collected in Israel has not been sufficiently organized. This has been hindered by the lack of standards, variability of methods and complexity of biological data formalization. The ISRAMAR-BIO DB was developed to store various types of historical and future available information related to marine species observations and related metadata. Currently the DB allows to store biological data acquired by the following sampling devices such as: van veer grab, box corer, sampling bottles, nets (plankton, trawls and fish), quadrates, and cameras. The DB's logical unit is information regarding a specimen (taxa name, barcode, image), related attributes (abundance, size, age, contaminants…), habitat description, sampling device and method, time and space of sampling, responsible organization and scientist, source of information (cruise, project and publication). The following standardization of specimen and attributes naming were implemented: Taxonomy according to World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS: http://www.marinespecies.org). Habitat description according to Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standards (CMECS: http://www.cmecscatalog.org) Parameter name; Unit; Device name; Developmental stage; Institution name; Country name; Marine region according to SeaDataNet Vocabularies (http://www.seadatanet.org/Standards-Software/Common-Vocabularies). This system supports two types of data submission procedures, which support the above stated data structure. The first is a downloadable excel file with drop-down fields based on the ISRAMAR-BIO vocabularies. The file is filled and uploaded online by the data contributor. Alternatively, the same dataset can be assembled by

A geographic information system applied to a malaria field study in western Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Hightower, A W; Ombok, M; Otieno, R; Odhiambo, R; Oloo, A J; Lal, A A; Nahlen, B L; Hawley, W A

1998-03-01

This paper describes use of the global positioning system (GPS) in differential mode (DGPS) to obtain highly accurate longitudes, latitudes, and altitudes of 1,169 houses, 15 schools, 40 churches, four health care centers, 48 major mosquito breeding sites, 10 borehole wells, seven shopping areas, major roads, streams, the shore of Lake Victoria, and other geographic features of interest associated with a longitudinal study of malaria in 15 villages in western Kenya. The area mapped encompassed approximately 70 km2 and included 42.0 km of roads, 54.3 km of streams, and 15.0 km of lake shore. Location data were entered into a geographic information system for map production and linkage with various databases for spatial analyses. Spatial analyses using parasitologic and entomologic data are presented as examples. Background information on DGPS is presented along with estimates of effort and expense to produce the map information.

Global Cities and Multinational Enterprise Location Strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goerzen, Anthony; Geisler Asmussen, Christian; Nielsen, Bo Bernhard

2013-01-01

We combine the concept of location derived by economic geographers with theories of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the liability of foreignness developed by international business scholars, to examine the factors that propel MNEs toward, or away from, “global cities”. We argue that three...... distinctive characteristics of global cities – global interconnectedness, cosmopolitanism, and abundance of advanced producer services – help MNEs overcome the costs of doing business abroad, and we identify the contingencies under which these characteristics combine with firm attributes to exert......- and subsidiary-level factors, including investment motives, proprietary capabilities, and business strategy. Our study provides important insights for international business scholars by shedding new light on MNE location choices and also contributes to our understanding of economic geography by examining...

Global Drought Mortality Risks and Distribution

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Drought Mortality Risks and Distribution is a 2.5 minute grid of global drought mortality risks. Gridded Population of the World, Version 3 (GPWv3) data...

Multidimensionality and Gravity in Global Trade, 1950-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Min

2010-01-01

The expansion of global trade in the post-war period is subject to various interpretations. Some stress the trade-promoting role of the novel features in the world economy; some insist on the role of traditional factors, such as geographic distance, political difference and cultural dissimilarity, in continuously depressing trade flows; others…

KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION – NEW FACTORS OF PRODUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Alina COCALIA (CRĂCIUN

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The present article has as a starting point the phenomenon of globalization, so debated worldwide today. Along this work, we have tried offer a departure point, motivated of what the phenomenon of globalization means in economical context. Thus, we debate problems of major interest like: acceptances of the word “globalization”, multiple influences exerted by globalization over the proper nations and the way in which the specific economical and geographic area is marked by the phenomenon of globalization in the same time.

Future trends in global blindness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serge Resnikoff

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this review is to discuss the available data on the prevalence and causes of global blindness, and some of the associated trends and limitations seen. A literature search was conducted using the terms "global AND blindness" and "global AND vision AND impairment", resulting in seven appropriate articles for this review. Since 1990 the estimate of global prevalence of blindness has gradually decreased when considering the best corrected visual acuity definition: 0.71% in 1990, 0.59% in 2002, and 0.55% in 2010, corresponding to a 0.73% reduction per year over the 2002-2010 period. Significant limitations were found in the comparability between the global estimates in prevalence or causes of blindness or visual impairment. These limitations arise from various factors such as uncertainties about the true cause of the impairment, the use of different definitions and methods, and the absence of data from a number of geographical areas, leading to various extrapolation methods, which in turn seriously limit comparability. Seminal to this discussion on limitations in the comparability of studies and data, is that blindness has historically been defined using best corrected visual acuity.

Globalisation and global health: issues for nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; Clark, Maria

2017-05-24

'Globalisation' is the term used to describe the increasing economic and social interdependence between countries. Shifting patterns of health and disease are associated with globalisation. Global health refers to a health issue that is not contained geographically and that single countries cannot address alone. In response to globalisation and global health issues, nurses practise in new and emerging transnational contexts. Therefore, it is important that nurses respond proactively to these changes and understand the effects of globalisation on health worldwide. This article aims to increase nurses' knowledge of, and confidence in, this important area of nursing practice.

Composing Models of Geographic Physical Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hofer, Barbara; Frank, Andrew U.

Processes are central for geographic information science; yet geographic information systems (GIS) lack capabilities to represent process related information. A prerequisite to including processes in GIS software is a general method to describe geographic processes independently of application disciplines. This paper presents such a method, namely a process description language. The vocabulary of the process description language is derived formally from mathematical models. Physical processes in geography can be described in two equivalent languages: partial differential equations or partial difference equations, where the latter can be shown graphically and used as a method for application specialists to enter their process models. The vocabulary of the process description language comprises components for describing the general behavior of prototypical geographic physical processes. These process components can be composed by basic models of geographic physical processes, which is shown by means of an example.

A national geographic framework for guiding conservation on a landscape scale

Science.gov (United States)

Millard, Michael J.; Czarnecki, Craig A.; Morton, John M.; Brandt, Laura A.; Briggs, Jennifer S.; Shipley, Frank S.; Sayre, Roger G.; Sponholtz, Pamela J.; Perkins, David; Simpkins, Darin G.; Taylor, Janith

2012-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the global conservation community, has recognized that the conservation challenges of the 21st century far exceed the responsibilities and footprint of any individual agency or program. The ecological effects of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors do not recognize geopolitical boundaries and, as such, demand a national geographic framework to provide structure for cross-jurisdictional and landscape-scale conservation strategies. In 2009, a new map of ecologically based conservation regions in which to organize capacity and implement strategic habitat conservation was developed using rapid prototyping and expert elicitation by an interagency team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey scientists and conservation professionals. Incorporating Bird Conservation Regions, Freshwater Ecoregions, and U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic unit codes, the new geographic framework provides a spatial template for building conservation capacity and focusing biological planning and conservation design efforts. The Department of Interior's Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are being organized in these new conservation regions as multi-stakeholder collaborations for improved conservation science and management.

Global bioethics – myth or reality?

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Søren; Williams-Jones, Bryn

2006-01-01

Background There has been debate on whether a global or unified field of bioethics exists. If bioethics is a unified global field, or at the very least a closely shared way of thinking, then we should expect bioethicists to behave the same way in their academic activities anywhere in the world. This paper investigates whether there is a 'global bioethics' in the sense of a unified academic community. Methods To address this question, we study the web-linking patterns of bioethics institutions, the citation patterns of bioethics papers and the buying patterns of bioethics books. Results All three analyses indicate that there are geographical and institutional differences in the academic behavior of bioethicists and bioethics institutions. Conclusion These exploratory studies support the position that there is no unified global field of bioethics. This is a problem if the only reason is parochialism. But these regional differences are probably of less concern if one notices that bioethics comes in many not always mutually understandable dialects. PMID:16965631

The Space-Time Variation of Global Crop Yields, Detecting Simultaneous Outliers and Identifying the Teleconnections with Climatic Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Najafi, E.; Devineni, N.; Pal, I.; Khanbilvardi, R.

2017-12-01

An understanding of the climate factors that influence the space-time variability of crop yields is important for food security purposes and can help us predict global food availability. In this study, we address how the crop yield trends of countries globally were related to each other during the last several decades and the main climatic variables that triggered high/low crop yields simultaneously across the world. Robust Principal Component Analysis (rPCA) is used to identify the primary modes of variation in wheat, maize, sorghum, rice, soybeans, and barley yields. Relations between these modes of variability and important climatic variables, especially anomalous sea surface temperature (SSTa), are examined from 1964 to 2010. rPCA is also used to identify simultaneous outliers in each year, i.e. systematic high/low crop yields across the globe. The results demonstrated spatiotemporal patterns of these crop yields and the climate-related events that caused them as well as the connection of outliers with weather extremes. We find that among climatic variables, SST has had the most impact on creating simultaneous crop yields variability and yield outliers in many countries. An understanding of this phenomenon can benefit global crop trade networks.

Mobile geonet: Anywhere, global and secure access to your geographic oriented information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denizot, Laurent

2001-01-01

Today, the mobile technology has set up devices and communication architectures which change the way to work and improve efficiency and interactivity. EADS Matra Systems and Information is involved into these changes and develops a generic technology, mobile geonet, which brings these new means to improve the link between people who works together. Mobile geonet is a framework to develop mobile applications with a high security level and geographic capabilities. It is based on fully networked technologies (intranet/extranet/internet). It uses common mobile devices, enhanced by localisation and communication add-ons, like GPS, GSM or satellite phones modules. All the information processed and produced by upstream activities is stored in the DB GEO database system. These can be reports, maps, satellite images, structured information, points of interest and anything else with an potential geographic component. The role of the ASP (Application Service Provider) is to integrate existing applications or provide new ones. These applications are activated whether server-side, to mine, prepare and encode data or client-side to decode, present or interact in particular means with the user. The applications and data are disseminated through an extranet server. A particular interest of distributing the client applications by the ASP is the deployment cost on all mobile and fixed terminals, which is very small, because it is automatically downloaded for each upgrade. The communication layer aims at delivering applications up to the mobile device and permits the data exchange between the mobile device and the central data repository. Different means can be used: GSM network, internet or satellite communications. The applications are adapted to the available bandwidth, especially when image parts are downloaded. The mobile device is chosen on the shelf, depending of the requirements of the application. The computer can be a very small Pocket PC or a typical portable PC. For

The economic impact of global climate change on Mediterranean rangeland ecosystems. A Space-for-Time approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleischer, Aliza; Sternberg, Marcelo

2006-01-01

Global Climate Change (GCC) can bring about changes in ecosystems and consequently in their services value. Here we show that the urban population in Israel values the green landscape of rangelands in the mesic Mediterranean climate region and is willing to pay for preserving it in light of the expected increasing aridity conditions in this region. Their valuation of the landscape is higher than that of the grazing services these rangelands provide for livestock growers. These results stem from a Time-for-Space approach with which we were able to measure changes in biomass production and rainfall at four experimental sites along an aridity gradient. (author)

Walkability and walking for transport: characterizing the built environment using space syntax.

Science.gov (United States)

Koohsari, Mohammad Javad; Owen, Neville; Cerin, Ester; Giles-Corti, Billie; Sugiyama, Takemi

2016-11-24

Neighborhood walkability has been shown to be associated with walking behavior. However, the availability of geographical data necessary to construct it remains a limitation. Building on the concept of space syntax, we propose an alternative walkability index, space syntax walkability (SSW). This study examined associations of the full walkability index and SSW with walking for transport (WT). Data were collected in 2003-2004 from 2544 adults living in 154 Census Collection Districts (CCD) in Adelaide, Australia. Participants reported past week WT frequency. Full walkability (consisting of net residential density, intersection density, land use mix, and net retail area ratio) and SSW (consisting of gross population density and a space syntax measure of street integration) were calculated for each CCD using geographic information systems and space syntax software. Generalized linear models with negative binomial variance and logarithmic link functions were employed to examine the associations of each walkability index with WT frequency, adjusting for socio-demographic variables. Two walkability indices were closely correlated (ρ = 0.76, p walkability and SSW with WT frequency were positive, with regression coefficients of 1.12 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.17) and 1.14 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.19), respectively. SSW employs readily-available geographic data, yet is comparable to full walkability in its association with WT. The concept and methods of space syntax provide a novel approach to further understanding how urban design influences walking behaviors.

Just Security and the Crisis of Global Governance

OpenAIRE

Durch, W.; Larik, J.; Ponzio, R.

2016-01-01

Pursuing security and justice jointly in global governance will be vital to human progress in the twenty-first century. Humanity lives and operates simultaneously in three spaces critical to contemporary life and governance: public, transactional and ecological. Failures in one space can cascade into others. Managing them so as to avoid such failures is an essential function of global governance. Public space is the home of governance (formal and informal) and of rights-exercising groups and ...

Louisiana State Soil Geographic, General Soil Map, Geographic NAD83, NWRC (1998) [statsgo_soils_NWRC_1998

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains vector line map information. The vector data contain selected base categories of geographic features, and characteristics of these features,...

Mapping and Modelling the Geographical Distribution and Environmental Limits of Podoconiosis in Ethiopia

OpenAIRE

Deribe, Kebede; Cano, Jorge; Newport, Melanie J.; Golding, Nick; Pullan, Rachel L.; Sime, Heven; Gebretsadik, Abeba; Assefa, Ashenafi; Kebede, Amha; Hailu, Asrat; Rebollo, Maria P.; Shafi, Oumer; Bockarie, Moses J.; Aseffa, Abraham; Hay, Simon I.

2015-01-01

Background\\ud \\ud Ethiopia is assumed to have the highest burden of podoconiosis globally, but the geographical distribution and environmental limits and correlates are yet to be fully investigated. In this paper we use data from a nationwide survey to address these issues.\\ud \\ud Methodology\\ud \\ud Our analyses are based on data arising from the integrated mapping of podoconiosis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) conducted in 2013, supplemented by data from an earlier mapping of LF in western Et...

Globalization and the Hotel Industry in Slovakia

OpenAIRE

ALENA DUBCOVÁ; JOZEF PETRIKOVIE; LUCIA ŠOLCOVÁ

2013-01-01

The development of tourism in the world and thus in Slovakia is influenced by globalization, which is one of the landmarks of the 21st century. Globalization starts when the internationalization of economic life develops in t he space across the planet. Closely related to internationalization, it enforces the strict territ orial framework that later grew into a wider world of space. The development of globali...

Geographic analysis of shigellosis in Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Deok Ryun; Ali, Mohammad; Thiem, Vu Dinh; Park, Jin-Kyung; von Seidlein, Lorenz; Clemens, John

2008-12-01

Geographic and ecological analysis may provide investigators useful ecological information for the control of shigellosis. This paper provides distribution of individual Shigella species in space, and ecological covariates for shigellosis in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Data on shigellosis in neighborhoods were used to identify ecological covariates. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used to obtain joint posterior distribution of model parameters and to construct smoothed risk maps for shigellosis. Neighborhoods with a high proportion of worshippers of traditional religion, close proximity to hospital, or close proximity to the river had increased risk for shigellosis. The ecological covariates associated with Shigella flexneri differed from the covariates for Shigella sonnei. In contrast the spatial distribution of the two species was similar. The disease maps can help identify high-risk areas of shigellosis that can be targeted for interventions. This approach may be useful for the selection of populations and the analysis of vaccine trials.

Quantifying Globalization in Social Work Research: A 10-Year Review of American Social Work Journals

Science.gov (United States)

Agbényiga, DeBrenna L.; Huang, Lihua

2014-01-01

Measured by the prevalence of journal article contributions, geographic coverage, and international collaboration, this literature review found an increasing level of globalization with respect to American social work research and contribution to the social work profession from 2000-2009. Findings suggest changes are needed in global awareness and…

Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A

2015-01-01

In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted a consistent assessment of the global forest loss in PAs and IFLs over the period 2000-2012. We used recently published global remote sensing based spatial forest cover change data, being a uniform and consistent dataset over space and time, together with global datasets on PAs' and IFLs' locations. Our analyses revealed that on a global scale 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest were lost during the study period. These forest loss rates are relatively high compared to global total forest loss of 5% for the same time period. The variation in forest losses and in protection effect was large among geographical regions and countries. In some regions the loss in protected forests exceeded 5% (e.g. in Australia and Oceania, and North America) and the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside those areas (e.g. in Mongolia and parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe). At the same time, protection was found to prevent forest loss in several countries (e.g. in South America and Southeast Asia). Globally, high area-weighted forest loss rates of protected and intact forests were associated with high gross domestic product and in the case of protected forests also with high proportions of agricultural land. Our findings reinforce the need for improved understanding of the reasons for the high forest losses in PAs and IFLs and strategies to prevent further losses.

TASK AND PROGRESS OF IAEG-SDGS: WGGI IN MONITORING SDGS THROUGH A ‘GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION’ LENS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Geng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, aiming to transform the world over the next 15 years (ESDN, 2016. To meet the ambitions and demands of the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary for the global indicator framework to adequately and systematically address the issue of alternative data sources and methodologies, including geospatial information and Earth observations in the context of geographic location (UN-GGIM, 2016. For this purpose, the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicator (IAEG-SDGs created the Working Group on Geospatial Information (IAEG-SDGs: WGGI to give full play to the role of geospatial data in SDGs measurement and monitoring. The Working Group reviewed global indicators through a ‘geographic location’ lens to pick out those which geospatial information can significantly support the production, and analyzed the methodological and measurements issues. This paper has discussed the progress in monitoring SDGs ever since the establishment of IAEG-SDGs: WGGI, as well as the existing problems, appropriate solutions and plans for the next stage of work.

Geography of Global Forest Carbon Stocks & Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Saatchi, S. S.; Yu, Y.; Xu, L.; Yang, Y.; Fore, A.; Ganguly, S.; Nemani, R. R.; Zhang, G.; Lefsky, M. A.; Sun, G.; Woodall, C. W.; Naesset, E.; Seibt, U. H.

2014-12-01

Spatially explicit distribution of carbon stocks and dynamics in global forests can greatly reduce the uncertainty in the terrestrial portion of the global carbon cycle by improving estimates of emissions and uptakes from land use activities, and help with green house gas inventory at regional and national scales. Here, we produce the first global distribution of carbon stocks in living woody biomass at ~ 100 m (1-ha) resolution for circa 2005 from a combination of satellite observations and ground inventory data. The total carbon stored in live woody biomass is estimated to be 337 PgC with 258 PgC in aboveground and 79 PgC in roots, and partitioned globally in boreal (20%), tropical evergreen (50%), temperate (12%), and woodland savanna and shrublands (15%). We use a combination of satellite observations of tree height, remote sensing data on deforestation and degradation to quantify the dynamics of these forests at the biome level globally and provide geographical distribution of carbon storage dynamics in terms sinks and sources globally.

Role of the Space Station in Private Development of Space

Science.gov (United States)

Uhran, M. L.

2002-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is well underway in the assembly process and progressing toward completion. In February 2001, the United States laboratory "Destiny" was successfully deployed and the course of space utilization, for laboratory-based research and development (R&D) purposes, entered a new era - continuous on-orbit operations. By completion, the ISS complex will include pressurized laboratory elements from Europe, Japan, Russia and the U.S., as well as external platforms which can serve as observatories and technology development test beds serviced by a Canadian robotic manipulator. The international vision for a continuously operating, full service R&D complex in the unique environment of low-Earth orbit is becoming increasingly focused. This R&D complex will offer great opportunities for economic return as the basic research program proceeds on a global scale and the competitive advantages of the microgravity and ultravacuum environments are elucidated through empirical studies. In parallel, the ISS offers a new vantage point, both as a source for viewing of Earth and the Cosmos and as the subject of view for a global population that has grown during the dawning of the space age. In this regard, the ISS is both a working laboratory and a powerful symbol for human achievement in science and technology. Each of these aspects bears consideration as we seek to develop the beneficial attributes of space and pursue innovative approaches to expanding this space complex through private investment. Ultimately, the success of the ISS will be measured by the outcome at the end of its design lifetime. Will this incredible complex be de-orbited in a fiery finale, as have previous space platforms? Will another, perhaps still larger, space station be built through global government funding? Will the ISS ownership be transferred to a global, non-government organization for refurbishment and continuation of the mission on a privately financed basis? Steps taken

Conflict, Space and Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc Schoonderbeek

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Footprint 19 focuses on the more recent roles of architecture in the contemporary spaces of conflict. Departing from a spatial understanding of geopolitical, climatological and economical conflicts, the various contributions highlight the large scale and phenomenal transitions in the physical world and in society by extrapolating, through examples, the abundance of relations that can be traced between conflict, territory and architecture. Conflict areas often prove to be fertile grounds for innovation and for the emergence of new spatial forms. The issue reports on the state of perpetual global unrest in architecture through a series of articles and case studies that highlight the consequences of conflicts in the places and spaces that we inhabit. In the introduction, these are discussed as an interlinked global reality rather than as isolated incidents. In doing so, the contemporary spaces of conflict are positioned in the context of emerging global trends, conditions, and discourses in the attempt to address their indicative symptoms while reflecting on their underlying causes.

Global value chains: Building blocks and network dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Tsekeris, Theodore

2017-12-01

The paper employs measures and tools from complex network analysis to enhance the understanding and interpretation of structural characteristics pertaining to the Global Value Chains (GVCs) during the period 1995-2011. The analysis involves the country, sector and country-sector value chain networks to identify main drivers of structural change. The results indicate significant intertemporal changes, mirroring the increased globalization in terms of network size, strength and connectivity. They also demonstrate higher clustering and increased concentration of the most influential countries and country-sectors relative to all others in the GVC network, with the geographical dimension to prevail over the sectoral dimension in the formation of value chains. The regionalization and less hierarchical organization drive country-sector production sharing, while the sectoral value chain network has become more integrated and more competitive over time. The findings suggest that the impact of country-sector policies and/or shocks may vary with the own-group and network-wide influence of each country, take place in multiple geographical scales, as GVCs have a block structure, and involve time dynamics.

The ghosts of mammals past: biological and geographical patterns of global mammalian extinction across the Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Turvey, Samuel T; Fritz, Susanne A

2011-09-12

Although the recent historical period is usually treated as a temporal base-line for understanding patterns of mammal extinction, mammalian biodiversity loss has also taken place throughout the Late Quaternary. We explore the spatial, taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns of 241 mammal species extinctions known to have occurred during the Holocene up to the present day. To assess whether our understanding of mammalian threat processes has been affected by excluding these taxa, we incorporate extinct species data into analyses of the impact of body mass on extinction risk. We find that Holocene extinctions have been phylogenetically and spatially concentrated in specific taxa and geographical regions, which are often not congruent with those disproportionately at risk today. Large-bodied mammals have also been more extinction-prone in most geographical regions across the Holocene. Our data support the extinction filter hypothesis, whereby regional faunas from which susceptible species have already become extinct now appear less threatened; they may also suggest that different processes are responsible for driving past and present extinctions. We also find overall incompleteness and inter-regional biases in extinction data from the recent fossil record. Although direct use of fossil data in future projections of extinction risk is therefore not straightforward, insights into extinction processes from the Holocene record are still useful in understanding mammalian threat.

Trends in space activities in 2014: The significance of the space activities of governments

Science.gov (United States)

Paikowsky, Deganit; Baram, Gil; Ben-Israel, Isaac

2016-01-01

This article addresses the principal events of 2014 in the field of space activities, and extrapolates from them the primary trends that can be identified in governmental space activities. In 2014, global space activities centered on two vectors. The first was geopolitical, and the second relates to the matrix between increasing commercial space activities and traditional governmental space activities. In light of these two vectors, the article outlines and analyzes trends of space exploration, human spaceflights, industry and technology, cooperation versus self-reliance, and space security and sustainability. It also reviews the space activities of the leading space-faring nations.

Institutional patterns in the Austrian space sector

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Annie; Burg, Elco van; Giannopapa, Christina

2018-01-01

This paper employs the institutional logics perspective to understand how space policies and regulations influences entrepreneurship and innovation. We conducted interviews with entrepreneurs, ESA policy makers and governmental representatives in Austria and identified six prevailing institutional practices: geographical return, the SME-initiatives, the national support pattern, the size pattern, the consortium pattern and the experience pattern. Together, these patterns make up the semi-governmental logic of the space sector. We find that space actors adhere to these patterns to earn legitimacy, which is a condition for support and access to resources. This study adds to our understanding in the consequences of policies and contributes to the design of new space policies and programmes.

Situative Space Tracking within Smart Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Surie, Dipak; Jäckel, Florian; Janlert, Lars-Erik

2010-01-01

This paper describes our efforts in modeling and tracking a human agent’s situation based on his/her possibilities to perceive and act upon objects (both physical and virtual) within smart environments. A Situative Space Model is proposed. WLAN signal-strength-based situative space tracking syste......-laboratory smart home environment where a global precision of 83.4% and a global recall of 88.6% were obtained.......This paper describes our efforts in modeling and tracking a human agent’s situation based on his/her possibilities to perceive and act upon objects (both physical and virtual) within smart environments. A Situative Space Model is proposed. WLAN signal-strength-based situative space tracking system...

Determinants of Dentists' Geographic Distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Beazoglou, Tryfon J.; And Others

1992-01-01

A model for explaining the geographic distribution of dentists' practice locations is presented and applied to particular market areas in Connecticut. Results show geographic distribution is significantly related to a few key variables, including demography, disposable income, and housing prices. Implications for helping students make practice…

Geographical patterns of the standing and active human gut microbiome in health and IBD.

Science.gov (United States)

Rehman, Ateequr; Rausch, Philipp; Wang, Jun; Skieceviciene, Jurgita; Kiudelis, Gediminas; Bhagalia, Ketan; Amarapurkar, Deepak; Kupcinskas, Limas; Schreiber, Stefan; Rosenstiel, Philip; Baines, John F; Ott, Stephan

2016-02-01

A global increase of IBD has been reported, especially in countries that previously had low incidence rates. Also, the knowledge of the human gut microbiome is steadily increasing, however, limited information regarding its variation on a global scale is available. In the light of the microbial involvement in IBDs, we aimed to (1) identify shared and distinct IBD-associated mucosal microbiota patterns from different geographical regions including Europe (Germany, Lithuania) and South Asia (India) and (2) determine whether profiling based on 16S rRNA transcripts provides additional resolution, both of which may hold important clinical relevance. In this study, we analyse a set of 89 mucosal biopsies sampled from individuals of German, Lithuanian and Indian origins, using bacterial community profiling of a roughly equal number of healthy controls, patients with Crohn's disease and UC from each location, and analyse 16S rDNA and rRNA as proxies for standing and active microbial community structure, respectively. We find pronounced population-specific as well as general disease patterns in the major phyla and patterns of diversity, which differ between the standing and active communities. The geographical origin of samples dominates the patterns of β diversity with locally restricted disease clusters and more pronounced effects in the active microbial communities. However, two genera belonging to the Clostridium leptum subgroup, Faecalibacteria and Papillibacter, display consistent patterns with respect to disease status and may thus serve as reliable 'microbiomarkers'. These analyses reveal important interactions of patients' geographical origin and disease in the interpretation of disease-associated changes in microbial communities and highlight the added value of analysing communities on both the 16S rRNA gene (DNA) and transcript (RNA) level. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go

Considering World History as a Space for Developing Global Citizenship Competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, Brian; Harris, Lauren McArthur

2013-01-01

This article addresses how we might teach for global citizenship in world history classrooms. Despite the name, secondary world history courses in the United States have not consistently focused on global interconnections, multiple perspectives, and inquiry into global issues. We explore why this might be, as well as suggest specific learning…

Global integration of the Schrödinger equation within the wave operator formalism: the role of the effective Hamiltonian in multidimensional active spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jolicard, Georges; Viennot, David; Leclerc, Arnaud; Killingbeck, John P

2016-01-01

A global solution of the Schrödinger equation, obtained recently within the wave operator formalism for explicitly time-dependent Hamiltonians (Leclerc and Jolicard 2015 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 48 225205), is generalized to take into account the case of multidimensional active spaces. An iterative algorithm is derived to obtain the Fourier series of the evolution operator issuing from a given multidimensional active subspace and then the effective Hamiltonian corresponding to the model space is computed and analysed as a measure of the cyclic character of the dynamics. Studies of the laser controlled dynamics of diatomic models clearly show that a multidimensional active space is required if the wavefunction escapes too far from the initial subspace. A suitable choice of the multidimensional active space, including the initial and target states, increases the cyclic character and avoids divergences occuring when one-dimensional active spaces are used. The method is also proven to be efficient in describing dissipative processes such as photodissociation. (paper)

Genetic characterization of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) breeding and hybrid lines with different geographic origins.

Science.gov (United States)

Furdui, Emilia M; Mărghitaş, Liviu A; Dezmirean, Daniel S; Paşca, Ioan; Pop, Iulia F; Erler, Silvio; Schlüns, Ellen A

2014-01-01

The domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori L. comprises a large number of geographical breeds and hybrid lines. Knowing the genetic structure of those may provide information to improve the conservation of commercial lines by estimating inbreeding over generations and the consequences of excessive use of those lineages. Here, we analyzed the genetic diversity of seven breeds and eight hybrid lines from Eastern Europe and Asia using highly polymorphic microsatellites markers to determine its genetical impact on their use in global breeding programs. No consistent pattern of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found for most breed and hybrids; and the absence of a linkage disequilibrium also suggests that the strains are in equilibrium. A principal coordinate analysis revealed a clear separation of two silkworm breeds from the rest: one (IBV) originated from India and the other one (RG90) from Romania/Japan. The tendency of the other breeds from different geographic origins to cluster together in a general mix might be due to similar selection pressures (climate and anthropogenic factors) in different geographic locations. Phylogenetic analyses grouped the different silkworm breeds but not the hybrids according to their geographic origin and confirmed the pattern found in the principal coordinate analysis. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

Modeling the recovery and degradation of mangroves at the global scale

Science.gov (United States)

Lagomasino, D.; Fatoyinbo, T.; Lee, S. K.; Feliciano, E. A.; Trettin, C.

2017-12-01

Forest growth and reforestation rates are crucial information for sustainable forest management practices and decision-making for restoration projects. There has been a recent increase in mangrove blue carbon restoration projects because of their extremely high carbon density, globally can reach over 1000 Mg ha-1 of carbon. If ecosystem projects do plan to facilitate mangrove restoration or deter land cover changes as a climate change mitigation strategy or in other carbon inventory strategies, unbiased field inventories need to become the norm. It is known that mangrove carbon can be extremely high in certain geographic settings, but that is not the case for many other regions. Remotely sensed canopy height has recently been incorporated into mangrove field inventories which provides an unbiased, readily accessible, and spatially-explicit model that was used to stratify the inventory design into discrete height classes. Combining the forest canopy height distribution captured from space and the field inventory data, biomass and carbon density were determined for each height class. Here, we present mangrove vertical growth rates and global carbon stock changes modeled through the combination of remotely sensed land cover change and canopy height class models using Landsat-derived vegetation index anomalies and synthetic aperture radar interferometry, respectively. Average growth rates ( 1-1.5m yr-1) were determined for four mangrove forests in the Zambezi, Rufiji, Ganges, and Mekong Deltas. An average global net productivity (9-10 Mg C ha-1 yr-1) was then derived using the four sites which represent young, fast-growing mangrove forests. Global mangrove carbon change was calculated using the average productivity estimates and land cover change from 2000 to 2015. Losses were categorized based on canopy height derived biomass classes in 2000 using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, while gained carbon stocks were assessed by using the study-derived mean

The role of extreme orbits in the global organization of periodic regions in parameter space for one dimensional maps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Diogo Ricardo da, E-mail: diogo_cost@hotmail.com [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Hansen, Matheus [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Instituto de Física, Univ. São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, 05314-970, São Paulo – SP (Brazil); Guarise, Gustavo [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Medrano-T, Rene O. [Departamento de Ciências Exatas e da Terra, UNIFESP – Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua São Nicolau, 210, Centro, 09913-030, Diadema, SP (Brazil); Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Leonel, Edson D. [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste (Italy)

2016-04-22

We show that extreme orbits, trajectories that connect local maximum and minimum values of one dimensional maps, play a major role in the parameter space of dissipative systems dictating the organization for the windows of periodicity, hence producing sets of shrimp-like structures. Here we solve three fundamental problems regarding the distribution of these sets and give: (i) their precise localization in the parameter space, even for sets of very high periods; (ii) their local and global distributions along cascades; and (iii) the association of these cascades to complicate sets of periodicity. The extreme orbits are proved to be a powerful indicator to investigate the organization of windows of periodicity in parameter planes. As applications of the theory, we obtain some results for the circle map and perturbed logistic map. The formalism presented here can be extended to many other different nonlinear and dissipative systems. - Highlights: • Extreme orbits and the organization of periodic regions in parameter space. • One-dimensional dissipative mappings. • The circle map and also a time perturbed logistic map were studied.

The role of extreme orbits in the global organization of periodic regions in parameter space for one dimensional maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Diogo Ricardo da; Hansen, Matheus; Guarise, Gustavo; Medrano-T, Rene O.; Leonel, Edson D.

2016-01-01

We show that extreme orbits, trajectories that connect local maximum and minimum values of one dimensional maps, play a major role in the parameter space of dissipative systems dictating the organization for the windows of periodicity, hence producing sets of shrimp-like structures. Here we solve three fundamental problems regarding the distribution of these sets and give: (i) their precise localization in the parameter space, even for sets of very high periods; (ii) their local and global distributions along cascades; and (iii) the association of these cascades to complicate sets of periodicity. The extreme orbits are proved to be a powerful indicator to investigate the organization of windows of periodicity in parameter planes. As applications of the theory, we obtain some results for the circle map and perturbed logistic map. The formalism presented here can be extended to many other different nonlinear and dissipative systems. - Highlights: • Extreme orbits and the organization of periodic regions in parameter space. • One-dimensional dissipative mappings. • The circle map and also a time perturbed logistic map were studied.

Space Solar Patrol data and changes in weather and climate, including global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Avakyan, S. V.; Baranova, L. A.; Leonov, N. B.; Savinov, E. P.; Voronin, N. A.

2010-08-01

In this paper, the results obtained during the execution of several ISTC projects are presented. The general aim of these projects has been the study of global changes in the environment, connected with solar activity. A brief description of the optical apparatus of the Space Solar Patrol (SSP) developed and built in the framework of the ISTC projects 385, 385.2, 1523 and 2500 is given. The SSP is intended for permanent monitoring of spectra and absolute fluxes of soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (x-ray/EUV) radiation from the full disk of the Sun which ionizes the upper atmosphere of the Earth. Permanent solar monitoring in the main part of the ionizing radiation spectra 0.8-115 (119) nm does not exist. The apparatus of the SSP was developed in the years 1996-2005 with multiyear experience of developing such apparatus in S I Vavilov State Optical Institute. The basis of this apparatus is the use of unique detectors of ionizing radiation—open secondary electron multipliers, which are 'solar blind' to near UV, visible and IR radiation from the Sun, and new methodology of these solar spectroradiometric absolute measurements. The prospects are discussed of using the SSP data for the investigation and forecast of the influence of solar variability on the weather and climate including global warming and also on the biosphere including human beings (proposal 3878). This article was originally submitted for inclusion with the papers from the 9th International Symposium on Measurement Science and Intelligent Instruments (ISMTII-2009), published in the May 2010 issue.

Prediction Schemes to Enhance the Routing Process in Geographical GPSR Ad Hoc Protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raed Saqour

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Geographical routing protocols have received a serious attention due to more advantages they have in comparison to the conventional routing protocols. They require information about the physical position of nodes needed to be available. Commonly, each node determines its own position through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS or some other type of positioning service. Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR protocol, which is one of geographical routing protocols, limits the forwarding decision of the packet based on the node's own position, the destination's position and the position of the forwarding node's neighbors. Location information has some inaccuracy depending on the localization system and the environment exists in. This paper aims to study the impact of mobility metrics (beacon interval, and node speed on introducing location information error in GPSR protocol using different mobility models. The effect of these metrics is identified in GPSR as Neighbor Break Link (NBL problem. Based on simulation analysis, mobility prediction schemes are proposed to migrate the observed problem.

Developing a spatial-temporal method for the geographic investigation of shoeprint evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ge; Elmes, Gregory; Walnoha, Mike; Chen, Xiannian

2009-01-01

This article examines the potential of a spatial-temporal method for analysis of forensic shoeprint data. The large volume of shoeprint evidence recovered at crime scenes results in varied success in matching a print to a known shoe type and subsequently linking sets of matched prints to suspected offenders. Unlike DNA and fingerprint data, a major challenge is to reduce the uncertainty in linking sets of matched shoeprints to a suspected serial offender. Shoeprint data for 2004 were imported from the Greater London Metropolitan Area Bigfoot database into a geographic information system, and a spatial-temporal algorithm developed for this project. The results show that by using distance and time constraints interactively, the number of candidate shoeprints that can implicate one or few suspects can be substantially reduced. It concludes that the use of space-time and other ancillary information within a geographic information system can be quite helpful for forensic investigation.

Global biogeochemical provinces of the mesopelagic zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reygondeau, Gabriel; Guidi, Lionel; Beaugrand, Gregory

2018-01-01

Aim: Following the biogeographical approach implemented by Longhurst for the epipelagic layer, we propose here to identify a biogeochemical 3-D partition for the mesopelagic layer. The resulting partition characterizes the main deep environmental biotopes and their vertical boundaries on a global...... scale, which can be used as a geographical and ecological framework for conservation biology, ecosystem-based management and for the design of oceanographic investigations. Location: The global ocean. Methods: Based on the most comprehensive environmental climatology available to date, which is both...... of the mesopelagic layer. Results: First, we show via numerical interpretation that the vertical division of the pelagic zone varies and, hence, is not constant throughout the global ocean. Indeed, a latitudinal gradient is found between the epipelagic-mesopelagic and mesopelagic-bathypelagic vertical limits. Second...

DISRUPTING SHOCKS IN POSTWAR GLOBAL ECONOMIC EXPANSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dumitru FILIPEANU

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The coherence of the global economic system, created by its upswing in the first postwar decades, started to crumble in the ’70s. The destabilizing shocks affected the entire world, but in an uneven manner, in different geographical areas and at different times, being felt most acutely, with devastating economic and social effects, in Third World countries. Although the developed countries were affected as well, they always had means to combat or to diminish the adverse effects of the crises, leading to "gentler" consequences. This paper focuses on four main aspects in postwar global economic expansion, namely: the ’70s – the international monetary crisis and the oil shocks; the foreign debt crisis; the Latin American debt crisis, the Asian financial crises and the current global crisis.

Pan-Africanism Caught in the Crossfire of Identity and Globalization

African Journals Online (AJOL)

international economic system; and (b) how this structure has changed.1 The basic claim is ... into the new world economic conditions than other countries. At ... the geographical extension of economic activity across national boundaries, that is ...... of capital and the global fragmentation and decentralization of accumulation ...

The spatial distribution of known predictors of autism spectrum disorders impacts geographic variability in prevalence in central North Carolina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoffman Kate

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD remain largely unknown and widely debated; however, evidence increasingly points to the importance of environmental exposures. A growing number of studies use geographic variability in ASD prevalence or exposure patterns to investigate the association between environmental factors and ASD. However, differences in the geographic distribution of established risk and predictive factors for ASD, such as maternal education or age, can interfere with investigations of ASD etiology. We evaluated geographic variability in the prevalence of ASD in central North Carolina and the impact of spatial confounding by known risk and predictive factors. Methods Children meeting a standardized case definition for ASD at 8 years of age were identified through records-based surveillance for 8 counties biennially from 2002 to 2008 (n=532. Vital records were used to identify the underlying cohort (15% random sample of children born in the same years as children with an ASD, n=11,034, and to obtain birth addresses. We used generalized additive models (GAMs to estimate the prevalence of ASD across the region by smoothing latitude and longitude. GAMs, unlike methods used in previous spatial analyses of ASD, allow for extensive adjustment of individual-level risk factors (e.g. maternal age and education when evaluating spatial variability of disease prevalence. Results Unadjusted maps revealed geographic variation in surveillance-recognized ASD. Children born in certain regions of the study area were up to 1.27 times as likely to be recognized as having ASD compared to children born in the study area as a whole (prevalence ratio (PR range across the study area 0.57-1.27; global P=0.003. However, geographic gradients of ASD prevalence were attenuated after adjusting for spatial confounders (adjusted PR range 0.72-1.12 across the study area; global P=0.052. Conclusions In these data, spatial variation of ASD

Global Man-made Impervious Surface (GMIS) Dataset From Landsat

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Man-made Impervious Surface (GMIS) Dataset From Landsat consists of global estimates of fractional impervious cover derived from the Global Land Survey...

Marketing Management: Monitoring the International Environment Factors Using Global Maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Štěpán Kala

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the issue of the global marketing environment in line with the factors determining its external conditions. The aim is to specify the marketing-environment indicators in the international context and interpret the use of geographical maps illustratively documenting the differences of particular parameters in various parts of the global market. The research-results help update the theoretical framework of global environment factors. These data are also important for practice. Many enterprises consider the question of optimising their sources and directing their goals towards the opportunities available thanks to global markets. The global environment mapping is thereby an important basis for the marketing activities whose implementation across national boundaries is going to be mainly influenced by peculiarities of the environment involving foreign markets and their changes.

A barcode of organellar genome polymorphisms identifies the geographic origin of Plasmodium falciparum strains

KAUST Repository

Preston, Mark D.

2014-06-13

Malaria is a major public health problem that is actively being addressed in a global eradication campaign. Increased population mobility through international air travel has elevated the risk of re-introducing parasites to elimination areas and dispersing drug-resistant parasites to new regions. A simple genetic marker that quickly and accurately identifies the geographic origin of infections would be a valuable public health tool for locating the source of imported outbreaks. Here we analyse the mitochondrion and apicoplast genomes of 711 Plasmodium falciparum isolates from 14 countries, and find evidence that they are non-recombining and co-inherited. The high degree of linkage produces a panel of relatively few single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that is geographically informative. We design a 23-SNP barcode that is highly predictive (?92%) and easily adapted to aid case management in the field and survey parasite migration worldwide. 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

A barcode of organellar genome polymorphisms identifies the geographic origin of Plasmodium falciparum strains

KAUST Repository

Preston, Mark D.; Campino, Susana; Assefa, Samuel A.; Echeverry, Diego F.; Ocholla, Harold; Amambua-Ngwa, Alfred; Stewart, Lindsay B.; Conway, David J.; Borrmann, Steffen; Michon, Pascal; Zongo, Issaka; Oué draogo, Jean-Bosco; Djimde, Abdoulaye A.; Doumbo, Ogobara K.; Nosten, Francois; Pain, Arnab; Bousema, Teun; Drakeley, Chris J.; Fairhurst, Rick M.; Sutherland, Colin J.; Roper, Cally; Clark, Taane G.

2014-01-01

Malaria is a major public health problem that is actively being addressed in a global eradication campaign. Increased population mobility through international air travel has elevated the risk of re-introducing parasites to elimination areas and dispersing drug-resistant parasites to new regions. A simple genetic marker that quickly and accurately identifies the geographic origin of infections would be a valuable public health tool for locating the source of imported outbreaks. Here we analyse the mitochondrion and apicoplast genomes of 711 Plasmodium falciparum isolates from 14 countries, and find evidence that they are non-recombining and co-inherited. The high degree of linkage produces a panel of relatively few single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that is geographically informative. We design a 23-SNP barcode that is highly predictive (?92%) and easily adapted to aid case management in the field and survey parasite migration worldwide. 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Ecologizando edifícios transnacionais: entre fluxos globais e espaços locais Greening transnational buildings: in-between global flows and local spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Melchert Saguas Presas

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Este artigo desenvolve uma perspectiva teórico-metodológica para analisar e melhor compreender a atual dinâmica de reestruturação ambiental das cidades metropolitanas, argumentando que com a globalização espaços urbanos transnacionais estão surgindo - incluindo sedes corporativas de empresas e bancos multinacionais, cadeias de hotéis, restaurantes e lojas internacionais, aeroportos, etc. - e estabelecendo uma conexão entre o 'local' e o 'global' dentro de ambientes urbanos. Seguindo a tradição dos estudos sobre modernização ecológica, este artigo explora como a gestão ambiental urbana deixa de ser definida apenas por atores e políticas locais nesses espaços transnacionais, uma vez que atores e políticas emergentes no espaço de fluxos globais também a influenciam. Após conceituar o atual contexto de gestão ambiental urbana à luz dessa interface local-global, exploramos 12 estudos de casos empíricos sobre a interseção entre estratégias ambientais corporativas das empresas ABN-AMRO, ING, Andersen e IBM e políticas ambientais urbanas de três cidades globais: Amsterdã, São Paulo e Beijing. Na conclusão, o artigo aprimora o modelo conceitual proposto sobre a dinâmica das reformas ambientais urbanas e sobre a inadequação de conceituá-las como resultado apenas de processos políticos locais.This article develops a theoretic-methodological perspective to analyse and better understand the current dynamics of environmental restructuring in metropolitan cities, arguing that with globalization transnational urban spaces are emerging - such as corporate headquarters of multinational firms and banks, international hotel, restaurant, and shop chains, airports, etc. - and establishing a connection between the 'local' and the 'global' within urban settings. Following the tradition of ecological modernization studies, this article explores how urban environmental management is no longer only defined by local actors and

Space development and space science together, an historic opportunity

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, P. T.

2016-11-01

The national space programs have an historic opportunity to help solve the global-scale economic and environmental problems of Earth while becoming more effective at science through the use of space resources. Space programs will be more cost-effective when they work to establish a supply chain in space, mining and manufacturing then replicating the assets of the supply chain so it grows to larger capacity. This has become achievable because of advances in robotics and artificial intelligence. It is roughly estimated that developing a lunar outpost that relies upon and also develops the supply chain will cost about 1/3 or less of the existing annual budgets of the national space programs. It will require a sustained commitment of several decades to complete, during which time science and exploration become increasingly effective. At the end, this space industry will capable of addressing global-scale challenges including limited resources, clean energy, economic development, and preservation of the environment. Other potential solutions, including nuclear fusion and terrestrial renewable energy sources, do not address the root problem of our limited globe and there are real questions whether they will be inadequate or too late. While industry in space likewise cannot provide perfect assurance, it is uniquely able to solve the root problem, and it gives us an important chance that we should grasp. What makes this such an historic opportunity is that the space-based solution is obtainable as a side-benefit of doing space science and exploration within their existing budgets. Thinking pragmatically, it may take some time for policymakers to agree that setting up a complete supply chain is an achievable goal, so this paper describes a strategy of incremental progress. The most crucial part of this strategy is establishing a water economy by mining on the Moon and asteroids to manufacture rocket propellant. Technologies that support a water economy will play an

A contribution of geography to the landscape evaluation and space ordering

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Klaus Wolf

1997-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the significance of contemporaij social geography for the landscape evalution and space ordering. Exposed is the geographical approach in triangle: description-explanation-application.

Global Landslide Total Economic Loss Risk Deciles

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Landslide Total Economic Loss Risk Deciles is a 2.5 minute grid of global landslide total economic loss risks. A process of spatially allocating Gross...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Structures

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Systemic determinants of modern gravitational processes in the geo-economic space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoryana Lutsyshyn

2015-12-01

Full Text Available From the compositional point of view, research on this topic has revealed two main directions: (1 an analysis of global development asymmetry that has activated gravitational processes in geo-economic space; and (2 a direction that focuses on the profound study of the causes for heterogeneity in geo-economic space and divergence in global development under the influence of gravitational factors of nature on the endogenousexogenous axis. Systemic determinants of gravitational processes are revealed in geo- economic space and the asymmetry of global activate ravitional processes in geo-economic space are observed, and methodological interconnectedness coinfluence of two complementary determinants of global development – convergence and divergence and the contradiction between them are examined, which at the same time underlie the inevitable internal contradictions of the process, creating conditions for further configuration of the «new globalization community», which is built on the principles of nonlinear dynamics and logic gravitational processes in geo-economic space.Taking into account the relevant uncertainties, the attention is focused on the isolation of several myths around which the debate that has important methodological significance in the context of the current global inter-system transformations is held. Geostrategic matrix divergence of global development is produced,which is based on techniques which incorporated cluster analysisthat are built on linguistic variables and integrated analysis of the key trends of country and global development geostrategic position of Ukraine in geo-economic space in the projection on the issues of global inter-system transformations isoutlined .It is proved that the level of gravity load increases in the deepening of the global asymmetries , and that the current global transformation is not yet complete, and polycentric new architecture geospace is not formed. In the near future we should

An online spaced-education game for global continuing medical education: a randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerfoot, B Price; Baker, Harley

2012-07-01

To assess the efficacy of a "spaced-education" game as a method of continuing medical education (CME) among physicians across the globe. The efficacy of educational games for the CME has yet to be established. We created a novel online educational game by incorporating game mechanics into "spaced education" (SE), an evidence-based method of online CME. This 34-week randomized trial enrolled practicing urologists across the globe. The SE game consisted of 40 validated multiple-choice questions and explanations on urology clinical guidelines. Enrollees were randomized to 2 cohorts: cohort A physicians were sent 2 questions via an automated e-mail system every 2 days, and cohort B physicians were sent 4 questions every 4 days. Adaptive game mechanics re-sent the questions in 12 or 24 days if answered incorrectly and correctly, respectively. Questions expired if not answered on time (appointment dynamic). Physicians retired questions by answering each correctly twice-in-a-row (progression dynamic). Competition was fostered by posting relative performance among physicians. Main outcome measures were baseline scores (percentage of questions answered correctly upon initial presentation) and completion scores (percentage of questions retired). A total of 1470 physicians from 63 countries enrolled. Median baseline score was 48% (interquartile range [IQR] 17) and, in multivariate analyses, was found to vary significantly by region (Cohen dmax = 0.31, P = 0.001) and age (dmax = 0.41, P games. An online SE game can substantially improve guidelines knowledge and is a well-accepted method of global CME delivery.

EARTH FROM SPACE

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Table of contents. EARTH FROM SPACE · Slide 2 · Earth System · Slide 4 · Global water cycle · Slide 6 · Slide 7 · Direct Observations of Recent Climate Change · Slide 9 · Slide 10 · Snow cover and Arctic sea ice are decreasing · Polar Melting & Global Heat Transport · Antarctica: Melting and Thickening · Slide 14 · Slide 15.

Illuminating Spaces in the Classroom with Qualitative GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Battista, Geoffrey A.; Manaugh, Kevin

2018-01-01

As social and postmodern ontologies continue to shape our definition of space, undergraduate instructors have struggled to incorporate these paradigms in the geography classroom. Recent research suggests that practical applications using field work, qualitative research, and geographic information science can augment students' understanding of…

A systematic review of global publication trends regarding long-term outcomes of ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgkins, Paul; Arnold, L Eugene; Shaw, Monica; Caci, Hervé; Kahle, Jennifer; Woods, Alisa G; Young, Susan

2011-01-01

There is increased global recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a serious medical condition with long-term consequences. Although originally conceived of as a childhood disorder, ADHD is being increasingly recognized in adults. Individual geographic regions may have specific interests and objectives for the study of ADHD. A systematic review of long-term outcomes (LTOs) in ADHD was conducted to evaluate research on ADHD LTOs on a global scale. Studies that were at least 2 years in duration were examined. A total of 351 studies were identified in the final analysis. We identified nine outcomes of interest and classified studies by specific geographical regions, age groups studied and study design by region and over time. Published studies of LTOs in ADHD have increased in all geographical regions over the past three decades, with a peak number of 42 publications in 2008. This rise in publications on ADHD LTOs may reflect a rise in global interest and recognition of consequences and impairment associated with ADHD. Although many world regions have published on ADHD LTOs, the majority of studies have emerged from the US and Canada, followed by Europe. While investigators in the US and Canada were predominantly interested in drug addiction as a LTO, European researchers were more interested in antisocial behavior, and Eastern Asian investigators focused on both of these LTOs as well as self-esteem. Geographical differences in the focus of ADHD LTO studies may reflect regional variations in cultural values. Proportionally fewer prospective longitudinal studies and proportionally more retrospective and cross-sectional studies have been published in more recent decades. Finally, more studies focusing on ADHD in adolescents and adults have been conducted in recent years, and particularly adolescents in Eastern Asia. These changes in basic study design may reflect an increase in the recognition that ADHD is a lifetime chronic disorder. This

A Systematic Review of Global Publication Trends Regarding Long-Term Outcomes of ADHD

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgkins, Paul; Arnold, L. Eugene; Shaw, Monica; Caci, Hervé; Kahle, Jennifer; Woods, Alisa G; Young, Susan

2012-01-01

There is increased global recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a serious medical condition with long-term consequences. Although originally conceived of as a childhood disorder, ADHD is being increasingly recognized in adults. Individual geographic regions may have specific interests and objectives for the study of ADHD. A systematic review of long-term outcomes (LTOs) in ADHD was conducted to evaluate research on ADHD LTOs on a global scale. Studies that were at least 2 years in duration were examined. A total of 351 studies were identified in the final analysis. We identified nine outcomes of interest and classified studies by specific geographical regions, age groups studied and study design by region and over time. Published studies of LTOs in ADHD have increased in all geographical regions over the past three decades, with a peak number of 42 publications in 2008. This rise in publications on ADHD LTOs may reflect a rise in global interest and recognition of consequences and impairment associated with ADHD. Although many world regions have published on ADHD LTOs, the majority of studies have emerged from the US and Canada, followed by Europe. While investigators in the US and Canada were predominantly interested in drug addiction as a LTO, European researchers were more interested in antisocial behavior, and Eastern Asian investigators focused on both of these LTOs as well as self-esteem. Geographical differences in the focus of ADHD LTO studies may reflect regional variations in cultural values. Proportionally fewer prospective longitudinal studies and proportionally more retrospective and cross-sectional studies have been published in more recent decades. Finally, more studies focusing on ADHD in adolescents and adults have been conducted in recent years, and particularly adolescents in Eastern Asia. These changes in basic study design may reflect an increase in the recognition that ADHD is a lifetime chronic disorder. This

The evolution of cooperation on geographical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yixiao; Wang, Yi; Sheng, Jichuan

2017-11-01

We study evolutionary public goods game on geographical networks, i.e., complex networks which are located on a geographical plane. The geographical feature effects in two ways: In one way, the geographically-induced network structure influences the overall evolutionary dynamics, and, in the other way, the geographical length of an edge influences the cost when the two players at the two ends interact. For the latter effect, we design a new cost function of cooperators, which simply assumes that the longer the distance between two players, the higher cost the cooperator(s) of them have to pay. In this study, network substrates are generated by a previous spatial network model with a cost-benefit parameter controlling the network topology. Our simulations show that the greatest promotion of cooperation is achieved in the intermediate regime of the parameter, in which empirical estimates of various railway networks fall. Further, we investigate how the distribution of edges' geographical costs influences the evolutionary dynamics and consider three patterns of the distribution: an approximately-equal distribution, a diverse distribution, and a polarized distribution. For normal geographical networks which are generated using intermediate values of the cost-benefit parameter, a diverse distribution hinders the evolution of cooperation, whereas a polarized distribution lowers the threshold value of the amplification factor for cooperation in public goods game. These results are helpful for understanding the evolution of cooperation on real-world geographical networks.

The global pattern of urbanization and economic growth: evidence from the last three decades.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mingxing; Zhang, Hua; Liu, Weidong; Zhang, Wenzhong

2014-01-01

The relationship between urbanization and economic growth has been perplexing. In this paper, we identify the pattern of global change and the correlation of urbanization and economic growth, using cross-sectional, panel estimation and geographic information systems (GIS) methods. The analysis has been carried out on a global geographical scale, while the timescale of the study spans the last 30 years. The data shows that urbanization levels have changed substantially during these three decades. Empirical findings from cross-sectional data and panel data support the general notion of close links between urbanization levels and GDP per capita. However, we also present significant evidence that there is no correlation between urbanization speed and economic growth rate at the global level. Hence, we conclude that a given country cannot obtain the expected economic benefits from accelerated urbanization, especially if it takes the form of government-led urbanization. In addition, only when all facets are taken into consideration can we fully assess the urbanization process.

The global pattern of urbanization and economic growth: evidence from the last three decades.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingxing Chen

Full Text Available The relationship between urbanization and economic growth has been perplexing. In this paper, we identify the pattern of global change and the correlation of urbanization and economic growth, using cross-sectional, panel estimation and geographic information systems (GIS methods. The analysis has been carried out on a global geographical scale, while the timescale of the study spans the last 30 years. The data shows that urbanization levels have changed substantially during these three decades. Empirical findings from cross-sectional data and panel data support the general notion of close links between urbanization levels and GDP per capita. However, we also present significant evidence that there is no correlation between urbanization speed and economic growth rate at the global level. Hence, we conclude that a given country cannot obtain the expected economic benefits from accelerated urbanization, especially if it takes the form of government-led urbanization. In addition, only when all facets are taken into consideration can we fully assess the urbanization process.

Scale-free correlations in the geographical spreading of obesity

Science.gov (United States)

Gallos, Lazaros; Barttfeld, Pablo; Havlin, Shlomo; Sigman, Mariano; Makse, Hernan

2012-02-01

Obesity levels have been universally increasing. A crucial problem is to determine the influence of global and local drivers behind the obesity epidemic, to properly guide effective policies. Despite the numerous factors that affect the obesity evolution, we show a remarkable regularity expressed in a predictable pattern of spatial long-range correlations in the geographical spreading of obesity. We study the spatial clustering of obesity and a number of related health and economic indicators, and we use statistical physics methods to characterize the growth of the resulting clusters. The resulting scaling exponents allow us to broadly classify these indicators into two separate universality classes, weakly or strongly correlated. Weak correlations are found in generic human activity such as population distribution and the growth of the whole economy. Strong correlations are recovered, among others, for obesity, diabetes, and the food industry sectors associated with food consumption. Obesity turns out to be a global problem where local details are of little importance. The long-range correlations suggest influence that extends to large scales, hinting that the physical model of obesity clustering can be mapped to a long-range correlated percolation process.

Geographical differences in food allergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartra, Joan; García-Moral, Alba; Enrique, Ernesto

2016-06-01

Food allergy represents a health problem worldwide and leads to life-threatening reactions and even impairs quality of life. Epidemiological data during the past decades is very heterogeneous because of the use of different diagnostic procedures, and most studies have only been performed in specific geographical areas. The aim of this article is to review the available data on the geographical distribution of food allergies at the food source and molecular level and to link food allergy patterns to the aeroallergen influence in each area. Systematic reviews, meta-analysis, studies performed within the EuroPrevall Project and EAACI position papers regarding food allergy were analysed. The prevalence of food allergy sensitization differs between geographical areas, probably as a consequence of differences among populations, their habits and the influence of the cross-reactivity of aeroallergens and other sources of allergens. Geographical differences in food allergy are clearly evident at the allergenic molecular level, which seems to be directly influenced by the aeroallergens of each region and associated with specific clinical patterns.

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Wasileva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The geography includes rich, diverse and comprehensive themes that give us an understanding of our changing environment and interconnected world. It includes the study of the physical environment and resources; cultures, economies and societies; people and places; and global development and civic participation. As a subject, geography is particularly valuable because it provides information for exploring contemporary issues from a different perspective. This geographical information affects us all at work and in our daily lives and helps us make informed decisions that shape our future. All these facts result in a wide discussion on many topical issues in contemporary geography didactics. Subjects of research are the new geography and economics curriculum as well as construction of modern learning process. The paper presents briefly some of the current trends and key issues of geodidactics. As central notions we consider and analyze the training/educational goals, geography curriculum, target groups and environment of geography training, training methods as well as the information sources used in geography education. We adhere that all the above-mentioned finds its reflection in planning, analysis and assessment of education and thus in its quality and effectiveness.

Global Drought Total Economic Loss Risk Deciles

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Drought Total Economic Loss Risk Deciles is a 2.5 minute grid of global drought total economic loss risks. A process of spatially allocating Gross Domestic...

Regional Extinctions and Quaternary Shifts in the Geographic Range of Lestodelphys halli, the Southernmost Living Marsupial: Clues for Its Conservation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anahí E Formoso

Full Text Available The Patagonian opossum (Lestodelphys halli, the southernmost living marsupial, inhabits dry and open environments, mainly in the Patagonian steppe (between ~32 °S and ~49 °S. Its rich fossil record shows its occurrence further north in Central Argentina during the Quaternary. The paleoenvironmental meaning of the past distribution of L. halli has been mostly addressed in a subjective framework without an explicit connection with the climatic "space" currently occupied by this animal. Here, we assessed the potential distribution of this species and the changes occurred in its geographic range during late Pleistocene-Holocene times and linked the results obtained with conservation issues. To this end, we generated three potential distribution models with fossil records and three with current ones, using MaxEnt software. These models showed a decrease in the suitable habitat conditions for the species, highlighting a range shift from Central-Eastern to South-Western Argentina. Our results support that the presence of L. halli in the Pampean region during the Pleistocene-Holocene can be related to precipitation and temperature variables and that its current presence in Patagonia is more related to temperature and dominant soils. The models obtained suggest that the species has been experiencing a reduction in its geographic range since the middle Holocene, a process that is in accordance with a general increase in moisture and temperature in Central Argentina. Considering the findings of our work and the future scenario of global warming projected for Patagonia, we might expect a harsh impact on the distribution range of this opossum in the near future.

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) L-6

Science.gov (United States)

Neeck, Steven P.; Kakar, Ramesh K.; Azarbarzin, Ardeshir A.; Hou, Arthur Y.

2013-10-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission will advance the measurement of global precipitation, making possible high spatial resolution precipitation measurements. GPM will provide the first opportunity to calibrate measurements of global precipitation across tropical, mid-latitude, and polar regions. The GPM mission has the following scientific objectives: (1) Advance precipitation measurement capability from space through combined use of active and passive remote-sensing techniques; (2) Advance understanding of global water/energy cycle variability and fresh water availability; (3) Improve climate prediction by providing the foundation for better understanding of surface water fluxes, soil moisture storage, cloud/precipitation microphysics and latent heat release in the Earth's atmosphere; (4) Advance Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) skills through more accurate and frequent measurements of instantaneous rain rates; and (5) Improve high impact natural hazard (flood/drought, landslide, and hurricane hazard) prediction capabilities. The GPM mission centers on the deployment of a Core Observatory carrying an advanced radar / radiometer system to measure precipitation from space and serve as a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational satellites. GPM, jointly led with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), involves a partnership with other international space agencies including the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and others. The GPM Core Observatory is currently being prepared for shipment to Japan for launch. Launch is scheduled for February 2014 from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center on an H-IIA 202 launch vehicle.

Community Coordinated Modeling Center: A Powerful Resource in Space Science and Space Weather Education

Science.gov (United States)

Chulaki, A.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Rastaetter, L.; MacNeice, P. J.; Shim, J. S.; Pulkkinen, A. A.; Taktakishvili, A.; Mays, M. L.; Mendoza, A. M. M.; Zheng, Y.; Mullinix, R.; Collado-Vega, Y. M.; Maddox, M. M.; Pembroke, A. D.; Wiegand, C.

2015-12-01

Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) is a NASA affiliated interagency partnership with the primary goal of aiding the transition of modern space science models into space weather forecasting while supporting space science research. Additionally, over the past ten years it has established itself as a global space science education resource supporting undergraduate and graduate education and research, and spreading space weather awareness worldwide. A unique combination of assets, capabilities and close ties to the scientific and educational communities enable this small group to serve as a hub for raising generations of young space scientists and engineers. CCMC resources are publicly available online, providing unprecedented global access to the largest collection of modern space science models (developed by the international research community). CCMC has revolutionized the way simulations are utilized in classrooms settings, student projects, and scientific labs and serves hundreds of educators, students and researchers every year. Another major CCMC asset is an expert space weather prototyping team primarily serving NASA's interplanetary space weather needs. Capitalizing on its unrivaled capabilities and experiences, the team provides in-depth space weather training to students and professionals worldwide, and offers an amazing opportunity for undergraduates to engage in real-time space weather monitoring, analysis, forecasting and research. In-house development of state-of-the-art space weather tools and applications provides exciting opportunities to students majoring in computer science and computer engineering fields to intern with the software engineers at the CCMC while also learning about the space weather from the NASA scientists.

Anthropogenic Space Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Gombosi, T. I.; Baker, D. N.; Balogh, A.; Erickson, P. J.; Huba, J. D.; Lanzerotti, L. J.

2017-11-01

Anthropogenic effects on the space environment started in the late 19th century and reached their peak in the 1960s when high-altitude nuclear explosions were carried out by the USA and the Soviet Union. These explosions created artificial radiation belts near Earth that resulted in major damages to several satellites. Another, unexpected impact of the high-altitude nuclear tests was the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can have devastating effects over a large geographic area (as large as the continental United States). Other anthropogenic impacts on the space environment include chemical release experiments, high-frequency wave heating of the ionosphere and the interaction of VLF waves with the radiation belts. This paper reviews the fundamental physical process behind these phenomena and discusses the observations of their impacts.

Assessing Pedestrian Accessibility to Green Space Using Gis

OpenAIRE

Tudor MORAR; Radu RADOSLAV; Luiza Cecilia SPIRIDON; Lidia PĂCURAR

2014-01-01

This paper aims at comparing the parameter of green space per capita currently requested by the Romanian legislation to accessible green space per capita. The comparison is undertaken through a Geographic Information System methodology that uses publicly available data to evaluate actual population numbers with pedestrian access to parks and green squares. Using the city of Timișoara as a case study, population is divided into three main groups according to neigh borhood type in order to inve...

Global Cities, Ownership Structures, and Location Choice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geisler Asmussen, Christian; Nielsen, Bo Bernhard; Goerzen, Anthony

2018-01-01

Purpose: In this paper, we develop a more nuanced view of subnational location choice with a particular focus on global cities. We argue that multinational firms may use global cities to establish bridgeheads—subsidiaries at intermediate levels of the ownership chain that enable further internati......Purpose: In this paper, we develop a more nuanced view of subnational location choice with a particular focus on global cities. We argue that multinational firms may use global cities to establish bridgeheads—subsidiaries at intermediate levels of the ownership chain that enable further...... of these investments are associated with micro-location choices in a host country. Findings: We find that there are substantial differences between the types, roles, activities, and geographic origins of the firms locating in different areas, and in the ownership structures spanning them. We propose that this has...... managerial and theoretical implications which may be understood based on an organizing framework describing a tradeoff between the pursuit of global connectivity and local density on the one hand, and cost control on the other. Research limitations/implications: Empirical work on foreign location choices...

A Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) for synthesising high-frequency sensor data for validation of deterministic ecological models

Science.gov (United States)

David, Hamilton P; Carey, Cayelan C.; Arvola, Lauri; Arzberger, Peter; Brewer, Carol A.; Cole, Jon J; Gaiser, Evelyn; Hanson, Paul C.; Ibelings, Bas W; Jennings, Eleanor; Kratz, Tim K; Lin, Fang-Pang; McBride, Christopher G.; de Motta Marques, David; Muraoka, Kohji; Nishri, Ami; Qin, Boqiang; Read, Jordan S.; Rose, Kevin C.; Ryder, Elizabeth; Weathers, Kathleen C.; Zhu, Guangwei; Trolle, Dennis; Brookes, Justin D

2014-01-01

A Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON; www.gleon.org) has formed to provide a coordinated response to the need for scientific understanding of lake processes, utilising technological advances available from autonomous sensors. The organisation embraces a grassroots approach to engage researchers from varying disciplines, sites spanning geographic and ecological gradients, and novel sensor and cyberinfrastructure to synthesise high-frequency lake data at scales ranging from local to global. The high-frequency data provide a platform to rigorously validate process- based ecological models because model simulation time steps are better aligned with sensor measurements than with lower-frequency, manual samples. Two case studies from Trout Bog, Wisconsin, USA, and Lake Rotoehu, North Island, New Zealand, are presented to demonstrate that in the past, ecological model outputs (e.g., temperature, chlorophyll) have been relatively poorly validated based on a limited number of directly comparable measurements, both in time and space. The case studies demonstrate some of the difficulties of mapping sensor measurements directly to model state variable outputs as well as the opportunities to use deviations between sensor measurements and model simulations to better inform process understanding. Well-validated ecological models provide a mechanism to extrapolate high-frequency sensor data in space and time, thereby potentially creating a fully 3-dimensional simulation of key variables of interest.

To assess and control global change in agriculture through ecosystem models integrated into geographic information systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponti, L.; Iannetta, M.; Gutierrez, A.P.

2015-01-01

The transfer of ENEA PBDM (physiologically based demographic models) GIS technology, represents an opportunity to address global change in agriculture on an ecological basis in a local context, be able to provide European governmental agencies the necessary scientific basis for developing effective policies for adaptation to global change, including climate change [it

The Spatial and Temporal Layers of Global History

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schulz-Forberg, Hagen

2013-01-01

Recent debates on global history have challenged the understanding of history beyond the nation-state. Simultaneously, they search for non-Eurocentric approaches. This has repercussions on the relation between historical space and time in both historical interpretation and in research design....... This article reflects on the possibilities of a global conceptual history by expanding Reinhart Koselleck’s theory of temporal layers (Zeitschichten) into global spaces. To this end, it introduces the notion of spatial layers (Raumschichten). First, historicisation and its relation to and interaction...... with spatialisation and temporalisation is pondered; then, the impact of global spatial and temporal complexities on comparative and conceptual history is considered, before, thirdly, a framework of three tensions of global history – normative, temporal and spatial – is introduced as a way to concretely unfold...

Study on Global GIS architecture and its key technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Chengqi; Guan, Li; Lv, Xuefeng

2010-11-01

Global GIS (G2IS) is a system, which supports the huge data process and the global direct manipulation on global grid based on spheroid or ellipsoid surface. Based on global subdivision grid (GSG), Global GIS architecture is presented in this paper, taking advantage of computer cluster theory, the space-time integration technology and the virtual reality technology. Global GIS system architecture is composed of five layers, including data storage layer, data representation layer, network and cluster layer, data management layer and data application layer. Thereinto, it is designed that functions of four-level protocol framework and three-layer data management pattern of Global GIS based on organization, management and publication of spatial information in this architecture. Three kinds of core supportive technologies, which are computer cluster theory, the space-time integration technology and the virtual reality technology, and its application pattern in the Global GIS are introduced in detail. The primary ideas of Global GIS in this paper will be an important development tendency of GIS.

Maintenance of time and frequency in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Space Network using the Global Positioning System

Science.gov (United States)

Clements, P. A.; Borutzki, S. E.; Kirk, A.

1984-01-01

The Deep Space Network (DSN), managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA, must maintain time and frequency within specified limits in order to accurately track the spacecraft engaged in deep space exploration. Various methods are used to coordinate the clocks among the three tracking complexes. These methods include Loran-C, TV Line 10, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), and the Global Positioning System (GPS). Calculations are made to obtain frequency offsets and Allan variances. These data are analyzed and used to monitor the performance of the hydrogen masers that provide the reference frequencies for the DSN Frequency and Timing System (DFT). Areas of discussion are: (1) a brief history of the GPS timing receivers in the DSN, (2) a description of the data and information flow, (3) data on the performance of the DSN master clocks and GPS measurement system, and (4) a description of hydrogen maser frequency steering using these data.

Process of globalization and basic traits of Serbian national character