Fostering uptake: lessons from climate change vulnerability assessments in Africa and Latin America

Findings from climate change vulnerability assessments can inform decision-makers in their evaluation of options to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Certain attributes of an assessment can improve the use or uptake of its results. The science policy literature describes three characteristics – credibility, salience, and legitimacy – as being necessary for the uptake of scientific results for decision-making. We draw from the experiences of eight climate change vulnerability assessments conducted in Africa and Latin America for USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to explore the practical application of these three characteristics to fostering uptake of the assessment results.     

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。     

猴源环孢子虫的分离与分子鉴定

采用饱和蔗糖漂浮法、改良抗酸染色法和孢子化试验首次从广东某猴场的猴粪中分离到疑似环孢子虫卵囊。为了对其进行分子鉴定,采用巢式PCR和普通PCR方法,针对环孢子虫属18SrDNA和ITS基因设计了3对引物,扩增其目的片段,并进行了序列分析。结果显示,卵囊大小为7.5～10μm,经改良抗酸染色的卵囊染色程度不一,孢子化卵囊内含2个孢子囊,每个孢子囊内含有2个子孢子。通过PCR扩增,获得的18SrDNA目的片段长712bp,测序结果表明该猴源环孢子虫18SrDNA基因与Cyclosporacolobi、狒狒环孢子虫、人环孢子虫的相似率较高,在进化树上位于同一分支。获得的ITS-1+片段长760bp,其中ITS-1序列高度特异,在GenBank中未见同源性序列。结果表明,从猴粪中分离的疑似环孢子虫卵囊应属于环孢子虫。     

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。     

鹅细小病毒vp1基因的原核表达及抗原性分析

将鹅细小病毒(GPV)H1株vp1基因从pMD18T-vp1亚克隆至原核表达载体pGEX-6P-1的多克隆位点,构建了原核表达载体pGEX-6P-vp1,将其转化感受态细胞BL21(DE3)pLysS中,经IPTG诱导,SDS-PAGE分析,结果获得了108ku的融合蛋白,该融合蛋白经亲和层析纯化并经Western-blot检测。结果表明,纯化的融合蛋白可与GPV阳性血清发生特异性反应,具有良好的抗原性。     

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。