Mapping giant honey bee nests in Palawan,Philippines through a transdisciplinary approach

This article reports on a study that uses participatory mapping with indigenous Tagbanua honey hunters and gatherers to understand the spatial distribution of giant honey bees in a community forest in Palawan, Philippines. Through the use of global positioning system devices, digital cameras, and a solar home system as an electricity source, local collaborators mapped 31 bee nests from April to June 2015. This study provides a replicable long-term participatory methodology and promotes participatory learning and mutual knowledge creation. By combining applied sustainability research with local stakeholder participation, the article suggests that novel knowledge and solutions can aid sustainable rural development.     

A multidimensional approach to measuring household food security in Taraba State,Nigeria: comparing key indicators

This study used household data from Taraba State, Nigeria, to explore the advantages of using a multidimensional approach to measure food and nutrition insecurity. Adaptations of three popular food security indicators were combined in a single household questionnaire to test how well the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), and the Coping Strategies Index (CSI) complement each other. Sixty-nine per cent of households in the sample were classified as extremely food insecure, which means they are likely to resort to intensive but erosive coping strategies and lower dietary diversity. The three indicators powerfully complemented each other. This multidimensional food security measurement framework provided a more nuanced picture of the depth and breadth of food insecurity for local government areas in Taraba State. This approach can help Nigerian policy authorities overcome the information deficits that impede effective food and nutrition assistance interventions.     

Building foundations for the comparative study of state and non-state terrorism

In this article, we argue that a comparative study of state and non-state terrorism that uses the minimal foundationalist definition of terrorism as its central analytical framework offers a unique and instructive approach for answering the question: “what is terrorism?” To date, most recent comparative case study analyses of terrorism focus on ideologies, political/governance models, structural/contextual enablers, practices, organisational structures, and/or the basis of issues such as trust, belonging, and membership. We uniquely contribute to the growing literature on comparative terrorism studies by comparing and contrasting state and non-state terrorism on the basis of strategic communication vis-à-vis the preparation, execution, and outcomes of political violence (the “terrorism attack cycle”), the instrumentalisation of victims, and fear management. We argue that state and non-state terrorism are co-constituting and co-enabling phenomena, possibly best conceptualised as two bounded and coiled strands of the political violence DNA.     

Depolitization of Bureaucracy: The Case of Central and Eastern European Countries

Political parties worldwide seek to work with bureaucrats who are close to their programs, willing to cooperate, and concerted. On the other hand, there is a huge body of literature which argues that bureaucracy should be separate from politics and that it has to consist of public servants who are technically knowledgeable, expert, and also politically neutral. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe suffered from highly politicized public administrations under one-party regimes, and have struggled to separate their bureaucracies from politics since early 1990s. In view of the relation between politics and bureaucracy from the perspective of (de)politization, this paper looks into the changes that Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have gone through after the institutionalization of multi-party regimes and tries to provide some generalizations.     

垄断与歧视:中小企业的金融困境

资金是企业的血液,金融市场是企业重要的外部环境。我国目前金融业的垄断与对中小企业的融资歧视使其只能具有短期化行为,从而进一步恶化日益尖锐的劳动关系。     

牦牛舌抗菌肽基因cDNA的克隆及其在生殖系统中的表达

为了解牦牛舌抗菌肽(LAP)基因序列的特征及其在生殖系统中的表达情况,采用RT-PCR法从牦牛睾丸、附睾组织中扩增LAP基因,重组到pMD19-TSimple载体中,进行了测序和序列分析,并应用RT-PCR检测了雌性牦牛生殖系统(卵巢、输卵管、子宫、阴道等组织)中LAPmRNA的表达。结果显示,克隆的LAP基因包含一195bp的完整开放阅读框(ORF),与牛LAP基因相似性达97.9%,该ORF编码的64个氨基酸含有β-防御素特征性结构,即6个在特定位置上的保守半胱氨酸残基;LAP在牦牛生殖系统上皮组织中均有表达。推测LAP在牦牛生殖系统的先天免疫中具有重要作用。     

美国的“平安之盾”项目初探

美国自2002年开始实行保障警察安全的"平安之盾"项目,其信息支持是美国联邦调查局发布的"执法官被杀害和被袭击报告"。该项目推崇警察安全八大原则,建议把安全文化植入警察机构,从而实现警察零受伤和零被杀理念。     

日本对华援助(ODA)政策调整的原因分析

日本对华援助是在中国放弃日本战争赔款和国际形势发生重大变化、要促进中日两国和平友好相处的背景下产生的,20多年来,日本对华“援助”在中国大地的改革开放过程中,谱写了中日友好的新篇章。但是,近年来,由于国际形势和中日两国国内情况的变化,中日关系在逐步倒退。日本开始改变初衷,即对华援助从过去的以经济利益为目的转向以政治利益为目的。日本对华ODA政策作了大幅调整,“援助”金额逐渐减少,而且,日本政要多次表示对华经援“总有一天要毕业”。日本方面出现了与初衷不同的做法,给两国关系正常化带来了不利的影响。     

中药富硒酵母对闽中麻鸡肝和小肠细微结构的影响

选择1日龄闽中麻鸡396只,随机分为4组,A组饲喂玉米-豆粕型基础日粮,B组、C组、D组在基础日粮中分别添加2、3、4 g/kg的中药富硒酵母,试验为期49 d,研究了日粮中添加中药富硒酵母对闽中麻鸡肝和小肠发育的影响.于第7、21、35、49 d每组随机抽取6只鸡,采取肝和小肠各段,Bouin液固定,制作石蜡切片,光镜观察;第49 d取A组和D组的肝和空肠,25 mL/L戊二醛固定,制作超薄切片,电镜观察.结果显示,与对照组相比,试验组肝的平均质量和器官指数大多高于对照组;肝细胞线粒体增多增大,枯否氏细胞内溶酶体增多;小肠绒毛和肠腺长于A组;空肠柱状细胞的微绒毛增长.证实,基础日粮中添加中药富硒酵母能促进鸡肝和小肠的发育,改善肝细胞和小肠黏膜的细微结构.     

Contemporary Compulsory Dispersal and the Absence of Space for the Restoration of Trust

This paper investigates the issue of trust, or mistrust, specificallyin relation to single adult asylum seekers and asylum seekerfamilies compulsorily dispersed across England. It draws upondoctoral research on the social exclusion of asylum seekersas a result of dispersal and their separation from mainstreamwelfare provision due to the creation of the National AsylumSupport Service (NASS) following the Immigration and AsylumAct 1999. Trust is an ambiguous term and four forms of trustare delineated to assist conceptualizing the experience of forcedmigration: social, political, institutional and restorativetrust. This paper provides an overview of the aims and eachphase of the implementation of dispersal. It is argued thatthe dispersal system leaves little room for political or institutionaltrust to be restored and hinders the restoration of social trust.It is suggested that this lack of space for the restorationof trust has negative implications for the longer term resettlementprocess of asylum seekers who obtain refugee status. It is alsosuggested that trust is an essential component of UK governmentpolicies promoting social or community cohesion, community engagementand initiatives to combat trafficking, forced marriage and ‘honour’based violence and that mistrust of asylum seekers as a groupdirectly contradicts such policies and initiatives.