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France throws one last party to celebrate the Paris Olympics

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Sat, 14 Sep 2024 08:34:47 -0400

The curtain will come down on the Paris' feel-good summer with a grand parade of French athletes on the Champs Elysees on Saturday as the country throws one last party to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games.


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Chiles takes bid to have Olympic bronze medal restored to Swiss Supreme Court

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Mon, 16 Sep 2024 18:48:38 -0400

American gymnast Jordan Chiles is asking Switzerland's Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped Chiles of a bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2024 Olympics.


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Japanese figure skating star Rika Kihira to miss Grand Prix season with stress fracture in ankle

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 08:52:08 -0400

Four-time Grand Prix series medalist Rika Kihira will miss the upcoming figure skating season because of a stress fracture in her right ankle that has not fully healed, the Japanese star announced Wednesday.


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Biles' post-Olympic tour is helping give men's gymnastics a post-Olympic boost

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Wed, 09 Oct 2024 21:59:15 -0400

Simone Biles simply wanted to mix it up when the gymnastics superstar invited some of the top American men to join her post-Olympic Tour.


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Sebastian Coe says his run to be IOC president might not be such a longshot after all

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 12:28:17 -0400

He's been tough on Russia, led the charge to put prize money in the pockets of athletes and pushed for a definitive but much-derided resolution in the longstanding debate over transgender athletes.


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Russian Olympic Committee president to step down. Neutral athletes competed at Paris Games

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:47:29 -0400

The president of the suspended Russian Olympic Committee said Tuesday he plans to step down after six years in charge.


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7 charged in cyberbullying campaign targeting Paris Olympics' artistic director

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Fri, 25 Oct 2024 09:09:31 -0400

French authorities said Friday they have charged seven individuals in connection with a cyberbullying campaign targeting Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the Paris Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies.


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Olympic medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan suspended in doping investigation

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:48:17 -0400

Olympic silver medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan has been provisionally banned for suspected blood doping, track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday.


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Notre Dame marks arrival of Paris Olympics' iconic trackside bell as cathedral reopening nears

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:02:05 -0500

Paris's Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019's devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes.


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Canada Soccer Association said Olympics drone-spying scandal was not an isolated misstep

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:57:00 -0500

The Canadian Soccer Association says an independent review confirmed the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal was not an isolated misstep.


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Federal judge blocks state law ordering Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:21:45 -0500

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a state law that would require classrooms in Louisiana to post the Ten Commandments starting in January.


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Louisville residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at business

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:38:06 -0500

At least 11 employees were taken to hospitals and residents were urged to shelter in place after an apparent explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, business on Tuesday.


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British writer Samantha Harvey's novel 'Orbital' wins the Booker Prize for fiction

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:35:09 -0500

British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with "Orbital," a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station.


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Is The Lazarus Project Coming Back?

By www.scifistream.com
Published On :: Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:23:11 +0000

Season 2 of the sci-fi thriller premieres on TNT in the United States on Sunday, June 9. But there's a catch.

The post Is The Lazarus Project Coming Back? first appeared on SciFi Stream.


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Puigdemont, presidente Catalogna: faremo rispettare l'esito del referendum sull'indipendenza

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 12:00:00 +0200

La Catalogna marcia verso il referendum del 1 ottobre per l'indipendenza dalla Spagna. I gruppi separatisti hanno consegnato al Parlamento regionale la legge per la convocazione del voto, che Madrid definisce illegale e promette di fermare a tutti i costi. "Piuttosto che rinunciare al referendum mi faccio arrestare", risponde il presidente catalano Carles Puigdemont.

Mario Magarò lo ha intervistato a Barcellona –




RAI News
 
Mario Magaró
 
02-08-2017.-



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Catalogna. Gli indipendentisti ancora in carcere. La Spagna torna al Franchismo?

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:30:00 +0100

FARO DI ROMA
10-03-2018

Mario Castellano

 
Le ultime notizie dalla Catalogna riferiscono che neanche la sessione del Parlamento della Generalità programmata per lunedì prossimo eleggerà il nuovo Presidente, destinato a succedere a Puigdemont.

E’ tuttavia importante considerare la candidatura avanzata dalla maggioranza indipendentista: si tratta di Jordi Sanchez, capo di uno dei due movimenti sorti nella società civile che, affiancando i Partiti favorevoli all’autodeterminazione, sono stati protagonisti della mobilitazione popolare culminata nel referendum dello scorso 1 dicembre.

Sanchez si trova in prigione a Madrid, privato della libertà e per giunta deportato in uno Stato straniero che occupa ed opprime il suo Paese.
La sua posizione dal punto di vista penale è inoltre diversa da quella del Presidente Puigdemont, e dei suoi Ministri, sia in esilio, sia incarcerati in Spagna.

Mentre infatti questi ultimi, dal punto di vista delle Autorità di Madrid, avrebbero attentato alla integrità territoriale dello Stato, Sanchez è responsabile soltanto di un delitto di opinione, consistente nell’aver sostenuto il diritto dei Catalani all’autodeterminazione.

Permane dunque, ed anzi si aggrava, la situazione aberrante determinata dall’emissione dei mandati di cattura contro i dirigenti indipendentisti: per la prima volta dopo la Seconda Guerra Mondiale – e per quanto riguarda i Paesi Iberici dopo la fine delle dittature franchista e salazarista tra il 1974 ed il 1975 – in Europa Occidentale vengono private della libertà alcuni cittadini che non hanno commesso nessuna azione violenta, limitandosi a svolgere una attività politica considerata altrove perfettamente legale.

Anche ammesso che l’indizione del referendum, l’accoglimento dei suoi risultati e la proclamazione dell’Indipendenza risultassero degli atti legislativi ed amministrativi illegittimi, ciò non determina di per sé – in un uno Stato di Diritto – alcuna responsabilità penale a carico delle persone fisiche incorporate negli organi di un Ente Pubblico che li hanno adottati.

Per giunta, le Autorità di Madrid ritengono che tali atti non siano annullabili, bensì nulli, in quanto esorbitano – secondo la loro opinione – dall’insieme delle competenze dei soggetti di Diritto Pubblico.

Qui si rivela una contraddizione manifesta nella posizione degli organi dello Stato spagnolo: mentre un atto illegittimo produce i propri effetti fino a quando viene deciso il suo annullamento, un atto nullo non produce – per definizione – nessun effetto giuridico.

E’ naturalmente possibile che l’emanazione di un atto amministrativo determini la consumazione di un reato, ma la violazione della legge penale in tanto sussiste in quanto precisamente la situazione giuridica è stata modificata, il che però non avviene nel caso di un atto nullo.

In conclusione, dunque, delle due l’una: se l’atto emanato dagli organi della Generalità è nullo, non si può configurare nessun reato; se invece sussiste una responsabilità penale, ciò significa che l’atto ha prodotto degli effetti giuridici.

In tal caso, però, l’indipendenza della Catalogna verrebbe paradossalmente riconosciuta dagli organi giurisdizionali dello Stato spagnolo.
Gli indipendentisti di Barcellona sono comunque impegnati con Madrid – come abbiamo già scritto – in un braccio di ferro che durerà molto a lungo, dando luogo ad un contenzioso giuridico che coinvolge altri Stati.

Abbiamo già scritto che la Catalogna ha vinto un’importante battaglia giudiziaria, ingaggiata nel Belgio, dove Puigdemont è riparato con una parte dei suoi Ministri dopo essere stato colpito da un mandato di cattura internazionale emesso dall’Autorità Giudiziaria spagnola.

L’esecuzione di tale atto da parte di uno Stato straniero di tale deve essere decisa dalla sua Autorità Giudiziaria, che deve semplicemente valutare se il reato imputato alla persona colpita dal mandato di cattura è considerato tale anche in base alle proprie norme.

E’ chiaro che a questo punto Puigdemont rischiava di essere estradato, non potendo in alcun caso i Giudici belgi valutare nel merito la sua asserita responsabilità penale.

Gli Avvocati fiamminghi del Presidente della Generalità, i quali non avevano nella vicenda giudiziaria soltanto un interesse professionale, ma erano anche intenzionati ad asserire la piena legalità e la piena legittimità di una eventuale dichiarazione di indipendenza delle Fiandre, hanno compiuto a questo punto una mossa vincente, consistente nel presentare domanda di asilo politico al Belgio.

L’esame di questa istanza non spetta all’Autorità Giudiziaria, bensì agli organi del Potere Esecutivo, benché l’interessato possa impugnare il suo rigetto davanti alla Giurisdizione Amministrativa.

L’asilo politico, in base alle Convenzioni Internazionali sottoscritte dal Belgio, viene concesso anche alle persone ricercate dalla Giustizia del Paese di origine se la loro condanna in sede penale, ovvero il provvedimento restrittivo della libertà personale, risultano determinati anche parzialmente da motivazioni politiche.

Per evitare che le Autorità di Bruxelles accertassero la sussistenza di tale tale situazione, la Spagna ha ritirato il mandato di cattura internazionale, non solo subendo una umiliazione in Europa, ma anche riconoscendo implicitamente che Puigdemont era un perseguitato politico.

Questo riporta il Paese iberico alla condizione in cui si trovava al tempo di Franco, quando era tenuto fuori dalla porta dell’Europa. Il cammino iniziato con la morte del “Caudillo” subisce dunque una regressione preoccupante.

Ora, con la prospettata elezione di Sanchez alla Presidenza della Generalità, i Catalani hanno intrapreso una nuova battaglia giuridica.
Se l’esponente della società civile viene scarcerato, la Spagna ammette implicitamente che egli è un Capo di Stato: ciò non significa di per sé riconoscere l’Indipendenza della Catalogna quale soggetto di Diritto Internazionale, ma si ammette che la Generalità è un soggetto membro di una Confederazione, vale a dire uno Stato.

Ammettendo il principio per cui la Spagna è una Confederazione, affermato dal Re Juan Carlos in moltissimi discorsi ufficiali, si riconosce implicitamente il diritto della Generalità di sciogliere i suoi vincoli con Madrid.

Qualora invece Sanchez fosse trattenuto in prigione, verrebbe impedita la normale attività di un soggetto di Diritto Pubblico, e in tal caso, la Spagna non potrebbe più essere considerata uno Stato di Diritto.

Dal punto di vista politico, si deve riconoscere che i Catalani stanno giocando molto bene la loro partita: in primo luogo, la dichiarazione di sovranità adottata a suo tempo dal Parlamento di Barcellona non è mai stata ritrattata, ed inoltre la Generalità tratta alla pari con la Spagna in qualità di Stato indipendente.

Che cosa succederebbe se il Presidente della Repubblica Italiana fosse trattenuto in prigione a Parigi dalle Autorità francesi?
Come minimo, si aprirebbe un contenzioso internazionale.
Si potrà obiettare che l’Italia è uno Stato indipendente, mentre la Catalogna non lo è ancora, ma è proprio questa la ragione per cui Barcellona sta deliberatamente aggravando il proprio conflitto con Madrid, sapendo che le decisioni assunte dal Belgio hanno già modificato un rapporto di forze destinato comunque ad evolvere ulteriormente.

Nel frattempo, la Generalità continua ad esercitare le competenze legislative ed amministrative che comunque la Spagna le riconosce, affermando però che la dichiarazione di Indipendenza è tuttora pienamente vigente.

Può Madrid impedire questo esercizio della sovranità?
Naturalmente non può farlo, salvo negare la vigenza della propria stessa Costituzione e dello Statuto della Generalità.

Il braccio di ferro è destinato a continuare, e noi continueremo a commentarne i vari episodi dal punto di vista giuridico.
Resta fermo comunque che la Liguria – come ha affermato solennemente con voto unanime il Consiglio Comunale di Genova – sostiene il diritto dei fratelli catalani ad esercitare l’autodeterminazione.
 


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La Germania divisa tra etica e diritto

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Thu, 29 Mar 2018 22:15:00 +0200

È giusto considerare Puigdemont alla stregua di un terrorista o di un ladro, perché di questo si tratta, consegnandolo nelle braccia di un sistema che potrebbe condannarlo a 30 anni di carcere?



CORRIERE DELLA SERA
26-03-2018
 
PAOLO VALENTINO
 
È una classica contraddizione weberiana, tra etica dei valori e etica della responsabilità, quella che si trova a fronteggiare la Germania, con l’arresto del leader catalano Puigdemont, in esecuzione di un mandato di cattura europeo emesso dalle autorità spagnole. La Repubblica federale, come tutti i Paesi della Ue, ha sottoscritto un meccanismo basato sulla reciproca fiducia, in grado di rendere più semplici le procedure di estradizione all’interno dello spazio comunitario. Come spiega oggi nell’intervista al Corriere il professor Martin Heger, il mandato di cattura europeo implica che ogni Paese si fidi dello Stato di diritto di un altro e viceversa. Per questo, quando viene emesso per una delle 32 categorie di reati gravi previste, comporta una procedura squisitamente giuridica, priva cioè di influenze politiche.

Responsabilità dei giudici dello Schleswig-Hollstein, il Land dove il leader secessionista è stato intercettato su segnalazione dei servizi spagnoli e fermato, è dunque di verificare che i reati contestati dai colleghi madrileni a Puigdemont siano compatibili con quelli previsti dal codice penale tedesco e se del caso concedere l’estradizione. È poco probabile però, secondo gli esperti, che questa venga decisa sulla base dell’accusa di ribellione, visto che il reato analogo in Germania, quello di «alto tradimento», è legato indissolubilmente alla violenza o all’incitazione alla violenza. Puigdemont non ha mai lanciato alcun appello alle armi, a meno di non considerare tale l’appello al voto. È invece più verosimile, ancorché ugualmente controverso, che l’accusa buona per estradarlo si riveli alla fine quella di appropriazione indebita di denaro pubblico, usato dall’ex presidente catalano per organizzare una consultazione considerata illegale e in violazione dell’ordine costituzionale spagnolo.
 
Fin qui l’etica della responsabilità, appunto, cui difficilmente la Germania potrà sottrarsi nel rispetto delle regole europee liberamente sottoscritte e della fiducia dovuta ai partner. «La Spagna è uno Stato di diritto», ha ribadito ieri il portavoce del governo tedesco, Steffen Seibert. I valori sono un’altra cosa, specialmente per un Paese ad altissima sensibilità democratica e garantista come in ragione della sua storia è la Repubblica Federale. Forse con una punta di esagerazione, la Sueddeutsche Zeitung ha toccato il nervo scoperto di questa vicenda, definendo Puigdemont il «primo prigioniero politico» della Germania.

Sarà possibile per il governo tedesco ignorare questa semplice verità e trincerarsi dietro la procedura tecnica? È giusto considerare Puigdemont alla stregua di un terrorista o di un ladro, perché di questo si tratta, consegnandolo nelle braccia di un sistema che potrebbe condannarlo a 30 anni di carcere? «Il mandato di cattura europeo non è uno strumento per regolare questioni di politica interna con l’aiuto di pubblici ministeri stranieri», commenta Wolfgang Janisch sul giornale bavarese. Né la fiducia reciproca su cui si fonda l’intero costrutto può essere cieca, ignorando il sospetto di persecuzione politica che accompagna l’azione delle autorità centrali spagnole contro i leader del movimento catalano. Perché se è vero che la secessione catalana non è legale, né costituzionale, è difficile per la Germania come per ogni altro Paese accettare che Madrid tenti di sconfiggere un movimento di massa democratico solo con la forza o il codice penale esteso all’intero territorio comunitario grazie al mandato di cattura europeo. Quanto sia sanabile la contraddizione weberiana tra responsabilità e principi è impossibile dire. Forse non lo è. E questo pone il nuovo governo tedesco in una posizione molto complicata, tanto più alla luce degli ottimi rapporti da sempre intercorsi tra Angela Merkel e Mariano Rajoy. Il caso è già politico. I Verdi suggeriscono che Berlino promuova un negoziato tra il governo di Madrid e i leader catalani, affidando la mediazione alla Commissione europea.

Una cosa certa. Nella sua improbabilità, Puigdemont ha internazionalizzato la vicenda catalana, confermando che nella Ue non esistono più crisi locali, che ogni battito d’ali provoca ripercussioni profonde e che farebbe bene l’Europa a prenderne atto.
 


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INDIPENDENTISMO E LIBERTÀ D’ESPRESSIONE. Spagna: una questione di giustizia irrisolta e multiforme

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Sun, 13 May 2018 19:15:00 +0200

AFFARI INTERNAZIONALI
3 Maggio 2018
 
ELENA MARISOL BRANDOLINI
 
Da alcuni mesi, in Spagna la giustizia occupa la scena mediatica. È successo con la vicenda catalana, in cui il ricorso ai tribunali e alla legalità ha sostituito la politica fin dal principio. Poi si è compreso che si trattava solo della punta dell’iceberg e quello che c’era sotto è venuto a galla un po’ alla volta. Si è visto allora che la giustizia spagnola presenta vari problemi.

Sul piano della legislazione, come dimostra il recente caso della sentenza nei confronti degli uomini della ‘Manada’, autori di violenza sessuale, ma puniti per il reato di abuso, differenza prevista nel codice penale. O nella legislazione anti-terrorista, che ha così tanto ampliato il campo di applicazione per cui ora “tutto è Eta”: una rissa da bar che coinvolge due poliziotti della Guardia Civil, la canzone di un rapper, l’interruzione del transito su un’autostrada. Sul terreno dell’ordinamento, con istituti come l’Audiencia Nacional erede del tribunale franchista e quindi inesistente altrove. Su quello infine della debole separazione fra i poteri dello Stato, con una tendenza alla ‘giudiziarizzazione’ della politica e con il rischio di farne il mezzo di competizione tra i partiti della destra spagnola.

A farne le spese è la libertà d’espressione

A farne le spese è la libertà di espressione che la sezione spagnola di Amnesty International segnala essersi ridotta. Perciò la censura si allarga, rasentando il ridicolo nel sequestro di fischietti e magliette di colore giallo nella finale di calcio della Copa del Rey. A farne le spese sono le persone che rischiano il carcere, stanno per finirci o ci sono da tempo, imputate di delitti che non hanno commesso.

E’ il caso di rappers, utenti delle reti sociali, comici, militanti di movimenti. E’ il caso dei nove prigionieri politici catalani in regime di carcerazione preventiva: Oriol Junqueras, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Quim Forn, Raül Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull,  e i Jordis, Jordi Sánchez e Jordi Cuixart, leader del movimento indipendentista, in cella da oltre sei mesi per avere convocato una manifestazione sotto il dipartimento di Economia.

Contro l’indipendentismo, il giudice istruttore Llarena del Tribunal Supremo ha costruito un vero e proprio teorema accusatorio, teso a dimostrare l’uso della violenza nei fatti occorsi nell’autunno 2017, per cui 13 dei 25 imputati nella macro-causa lo sono per ribellione, delitto punito con 25-30 di carcere. La violenza, pur se non esercitata direttamente dagli accusati, sarebbe quella da questi indotta nel comportamento della polizia spagnola il giorno del referendum per farne rispettare il divieto, o quella che si sarebbe potuta determinare per la presenza intimidatoria di un grande assembramento di persone il 20 settembre. Un’imputazione per un delitto inesistente, a detta di diversi giuristi stranieri e di alcuni spagnoli; contestata da Amnesty International che critica il regime di carcerazione preventivo in cui si trovano i Jordis. Per la semplice ragione che è mancante del suo presupposto, la violenza appunto, poiché il movimento indipendentista catalano è sempre stato pacifico e di massa.

La processione dei capi d’accusa

Tanto che la giustizia spagnola starebbe meditando un’eventuale riconsiderazione di questa imputazione attribuita ad alcuni degli esiliati, fino a sostituirla con l’accusa di sedizione, che prevede pene inferiori. Questo, in attesa di riuscire a dimostrare il delitto di malversazione di fondi pubblici, di cui sono accusati tutti i componenti dell’ex-governo per il referendum. Considerando che la Generalitat aveva il bilancio controllato dal governo spagnolo fin dal 2015 e commissariato negli ultimi giorni del settembre scorso. Contraddizione che ha aperto un inedito conflitto tra il ministro del Tesoro Montoro, che deve mostrarsi commissario efficiente, e il giudice Llarena, che teme di vedere compromesso l’altro aspetto del suo impianto processuale.

Per entrambi i delitti la giustizia spagnola ha infatti chiesto l’estradizione degli imputati esiliati: di Carles Puigdemont, prima a Bruxelles e ora in libertà condizionata in Germania, di Clara Ponsatí in libertà condizionata nel Regno Unito, di Toni Comín in libertà condizionata a Bruxelles e di Marta Rovira rifugiatasi in Svizzera, imputati di ribellione; di Lluís Puig e Meritxell Serret a Bruxelles accusati di malversazione; mentre per Anna Gabriel non c’è richiesta di estradizione dalla Svizzera, perché imputata di disobbedienza.

Il movimento indipendentista si è sempre appellato a una mediazione europea senza successo, perché la Commissione ha continuato a sostenere che si tratta di una questione interna allo Stato spagnolo. La strategia di Puigdemont è stata quella d’internazionalizzare il conflitto, per evidenziare il carattere politico della persecuzione giudiziaria. Il suo arresto in Germania e quello successivo di altri cinque dirigenti dell’indipendentismo hanno suscitato più di una perplessità nelle opinioni pubbliche europee e sui media internazionali. Il tribunale tedesco non ha riconosciuto gli estremi di violenza per l’estradizione di Puigdemont; la giustizia britannica si è presa del tempo per esaminare le carte relative all’imputata Ponsatí; in Belgio, la giustizia sta istruendo la richiesta relativa agli altri imputati; la Svizzera ha già detto che non concederà estradizioni per ragioni politiche. E il Comitato dei Diritti Umani dell’Onu, sollecitato da Jordi Sánchez perché era stato impedito a presentarsi come candidato a president della Generalitat, raccomanda che ne siano garantiti i diritti politici. Una vicenda tutta spagnola su cui peserà il giudizio di almeno altri quattro paesi europei.
 
 


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Stellenausschreibung: Wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in für das EU BON Projekt am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:21:00 +0200

Job alert: Research assistant at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
The Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin offers a job opportunity with the EU BON project (WP1+WP2 tasks) - fluency in German is a must!
The position is set for a two-year contract with a possibility for further extensions.
More information about the position, the application process and job requirements is available below and in the document attached.
##

Zur Unterstützung der Beteiligung des MfN an EU BON ist am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt eine vorerst auf 2 Jahre befristete (mit der Option der Verlängerung)
Position eines/einer Wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiters/in mit 75% der regelmäßigen wöchentlichen Arbeitszeit Entgeltgruppe E13 TV-L Berlin zu besetzen
Aufgabengebiete:
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeit und eigenständige Durchführung spezifischer Aufgaben innerhalb des EU BON Projektes, vor allem innerhalb der Arbeitspakete 1 (Datenquellen) und 2 (Datenintegration), i.b.
- Datenrecherche und Erstellung von Übersichten für EU BON relevanter Daten- und Informationsquellen;
- Bewertung und Lückenanalyse bestehender Datenbanken und Informationssysteme zur Biodiversität;
- Harmonisierung, Aktualisierung und Koordinierung taxonomischer Referenz-Datenbanken i.b. für Europa;
- Unterstützung der Einführung und Verbesserung von Datenstandards zur Verbesserung der Integration und Interoperabilität unterschiedlicher Datenebenen
- Mitwirkung bei Erprobung neuer Datenerhebungsansätze und –verfahren, auch im Gelände
- Planung und Durchführung von Projekttreffen und -veranstaltungen
- Erstellung von Ergebnisberichten und wissenschaftlichen Präsentationen / Veröffentlichungen.

Bewerbungsschluss:  28.02.2013


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BHL-Europe is finally officially live

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:05:00 +0200

On March 18 2013 the BHL-Europe portal has gone officially live. The Biodiversity heritage library for Europe project began in 2009 and joins noteworthy European museum and botanical gardens, including some in the USA as well. The primary goal of the project was to create an indexed archival system for digitized scientific literature, and free access to this literature via a multifunctional portal (www.bhl-europe.eu).
The portal makes available 6,149 books containing one million pages from 92 content providers at the moment, but this is just the initial offering. New material is added every day, and the growth is projected to increase over time. The BHL-Europe portal (and other international sources) is linked to the Biodiversity Library Exhibition  platform, which publishes selected literature in the form of interesting themes, information and an attractive design. Thanks to the specific presentation of literature and interesting scientific items, the platform has significant educational potential.

You can access the BHL-Europe portal here: www.bhl-europe.eu
Read more about the portal on the official BHL blog:  http://bhleurope.blogspot.cz/2013/03/bhl-europe-is-finally-officially-live.html



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Research Data Alliance (RDA) is now launched

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:03:40 +0200

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) has been recently launched. Its First Plenary took place between 18-20 March, 2013 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The hot topic of the Plenary was the RDA vision towards open access data without barriers. The 3 days of meetings and working sessions brought the research data community together to contribute and set milestones for the future work of the RDA towards open access data-driven innovation. 

Over the last decade, significant investments have been made  all over the globe
for developing scientific  data infrastructures to support the work of research communities and improving shared access to data.  There is a  common understanding that solutions must be global and that the development of an integrated and interoperable data domain can only be achieved through increased global cooperation.

As "big data" emerges as an international priority, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) is a newly formed organization whose goal is to accelerate data-driven innovation world-wide through research data sharing and exchange.

At its first Plenary, the RDA was launched by sponsors from the European Commission, the U. S. Government and the Australian Government and leaders in the data community. The Plenary was used as a working meeting to accelerate discussion, Working and Interest Group interaction, and data community development.

ICSU-WDS Data Publication Charter: http://www.icsu-wds.org/working-groups/data-publication



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Make us visible! – take full advantage of the project’s social media

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:23:00 +0300

Join the online community of EU BON and create buzz around the project. Take full advantage of our social network channels to interact with stakeholders and contribute to the EU BON discussion. Get an easy access and the latest updates on news and events around the project. You are a click away from making a difference to the project’s visibility.

Like, follow or join EU BON Social Media and get involved in the community now!

Like us on Facebook
• Get the latest news in pictures and videos 
• Interact and join a community of like-minded supporters
• Find out about events and group activities
Follow us on Twitter
• Get short and up-to-the-point updates on the latest news
• Take part in live discussions during conferences and conventions
• Join and interact with a wider bioinformatics community 
Join us on Google+
• Join a growing social community 
• Get the latest project and news alongside relevant media
• Promote the project and get involved in discussions in your circles
Join us on LinkedIn
• Get in touch with professionals in the area of research 
• Contribute to discussions
• Promote your project in a professional community

 



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Job alert: Quantitative Ecologist (Postdoc) (m/f) code digit 37/2013

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:11:00 +0300

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ is now offering a position for Quantitative Ecologist (Postdoc) in their Department of Conservation Biology. The position is open to both male and female applicants and it runs for 42 months, starting latest on 01.08.2013 in Leipzig, Germany. Salary will be according to the appropriate civil service level TVÖD, salary group 13.

The successful candidate will be focusing on optimizing monitoring designs at different scales under field constraints and assessinguncertainty in biodiversity trend analyses. He/She will have a PhD in an ecological discipline relevant for the research topic (e.g. population biology), excellent statistical and computing skills, a distinguished publication record, experience in international cooperation and strong interest both in theoretical and applied biodiversity conservation. Fluency in English in speech and writing is essential, some knowledge of German is of advantage.

The position will be part of the large-integrating EU-project EU BON "Building the European BiodiversityObservation Network". The overall goal of the project is to integrate and harmonize European data relevant for biodiversity monitoring and to develop prototypes for biodiversity monitoring for the global GEO BON initiative. 30 partner organisations form the EU BON consortium. Within this consortium the applicant will have the following responsibilities:
• on improving current approaches to monitoring species both from a theoretical and a practical perspective, with a focus on population processes
• link trend data to environmental drivers at different scales
• quantify uncertainty across all steps from data collection to interpretation of analysed data
• Contribute to the management of the workpackage "Link environment to biodiversity: Analyses of patterns, processes and trends"
• Contribute to the compilation of information on existing monitoring programs
• Feed results into a science-policy dialogue
• Disseminate results for scientists and applied users
 
Further Information:
Prof. Dr. Klaus Henle, Tel. ++49-(0)341-235 1270, e-mail: klaus.henle@ufz.de
 
Please send your application until 19.05.2013 under Code Digit 37/2013 to the Human Resource department of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, PO Box 500136, 04301 Leipzig, Germany, or by e-mail to application@ufz.de.
 
For further information please see the attached pdf file below.


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The 3rd BioVel newsletter is now available

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:24:00 +0300

The newest newsletter of the BioVel project is now available, offering a range of biodiversity related news, including brief coverage of the EU BON Kick-off and International Symposium Workshop in February, 2013. Among the other stories covered are:

  •  Letter from Alex Hardisty, Project Coordinator
  • Running Workflows Just Got a Whole Lot Simpler
  • Friends of BioVeL: Friendships and collaborations are also blooming! (featuring news about: LifeWatch-BioVeL cooperation;; i4Life project; Micro B3 and GENSC are now friends of BioVeL.

The newsletter also contains information about the upcoming workflows and research within the project, as well about events planned for the future.

To read the article and find out more about the news stories covered click here.

 



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San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) calls for reassessment of the importance of Impact Factor

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 17 May 2013 13:19:00 +0300

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) was initiated by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) together with a group of editors and publishers of scholarly journals after a meeting in  December 2012 during the ASCB Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The document recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scientific research are evaluated.

DORA puts into question the use of Journal Impact Factor as a main tool for assessment, and proposes the consideration of various other factors towards more sophisticated and meaningful approaches. DORA is a worldwide initiative covering all scholarly disciplines.

To read the whole declaration, please follow the link: http://am.ascb.org/dora/

 



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Handling "big data" is no small feat

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:05:00 +0300

Policy-makers and science and industry representatives are discussing how to make large amounts of Earth observation data accessible to a wider user community. To explore this idea, some 250 science, industry and policy-making representatives and national delegates from Europe, the US, Australia, China and Africa met at ESA’s ESRIN centre in Frascati, Italy last week for ESA’s first ‘Big Data from Space’ event.

Representatives from ESA and NASA opened the event together with the European Commission. European Commission Directorates-General for Enterprise and Industry, Research and Innovation and Communications Networks, Content and Technology, along with representatives from the European Environment Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Open Geospatial Consortium acted as session chairs. 

Javier de la Torre, representing the EU BON partner Vizzuality gave a presentation 'Global Deforestation through Timeme: Big Data Meets Scalable Visualizations,' which included some of the work Vizzuality is doing toward the EUBON project.

The event concluded with a strong call by all parties for the ability to handle and use big Earth observing data. This could potentially open new opportunities for research and international cooperation schemes such as programmatic and industrial coordination.

 

 



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FISHBASE and SEALIFEBASE Mirror Updates

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:33:30 +0300

ANNOUNCEMENT: The June 2013 update of the FishBase (www.fishbase.org) and SeaLifeBase (www.sealifebase.org/) websites are now available online.

FishBase Stats to date: 32500 Species, 299700 Common names, 52500 Pictures, 48700 References, 2010 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month

SealifeBase stats to date: 125800 Species, 27200 Common names, 11100 Pictures, 17800 References, 250 Collaborators

 



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FishBase and Fish Taxonomy Training Course 2014: Call for Traineeship

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:39:59 +0300

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase programme, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training programme in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

  1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
  2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes; and
  3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

The main focus of the training is on fish biodiversity data and their integration into FishBase, and on how to use and contribute data to FishBase. The context of these contributions may vary and can also include the knowledge on common names, fish ecology, fisheries statistics, aquaculture and many other areas of fish biology.

After the training, the participants should be able to make their own contribution to fish biology and continue to work on FishBase. They are encouraged to teach their newly apprehended skills to new/local users, to help in completing the database and keeping it up to date, and to spread the use of FishBase as a source of information and a fisheries tool.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium).

To apply for traineeship and for more information, go to:
http://www.africamuseum.be/research/collaborations/training/group?set_language=en&cl=en

Please note that for 2014, this course will be given in French only.

Contact: Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be)

 

 



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Advanced Open Access publishing model

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:45:00 +0300

The Biodiversity Data Journal goes beyond the basics of the Gold Open Access

There are two main modes of open access publishing – Green Open Access, where the author has the right to provide free access to the article outside the publisher's web site in a repository or on his/her own website, and Gold Open Access, where articles are available for free download directly from the publisher on the day of publication.

Opening of content and data, however does not necessarily mean "easy to discover and re-use". The Biodiversity Data Journal proposed the term "Advanced Open Access" to describe an integrated, narrative (text) and data publishing model where the main goal is to make content "re-usable" and "interoperable" for both humans and computers.

To publish effectively in open access, it is not sufficient simply to provide PDF or HTML files online. It is crucial to put these under a reuse-friendly license and to implement technologies that allow machine-readable content and data to be harvested and collated into a big data pool.

The Advanced Open Access means:

  • Free to read
  • Free to re-use, revise, remix, redistribute
  • Easy to discover and harvest
  • Content automatically summarised by aggregators
  • Data and narrative integrated to the widest extent possible
  • Human- and computer-readable formats
  • Community-based, pre- and post-publication peer-review
  • Community ownership of data
  • Free to publish or at low cost affordable by all

BDJ shortens the distance between "narrative" (text) and "data" publishing. Many data types, such as species occurrences, checklists, measurements and others, are converted into text from spreadsheets for better readability by humans. Conversely, text from an article can be downloaded as structured data or harvested by computers for further analysis.

"Open access is definitely one of the greatest steps in scientific communication comparable to the invention of the printing technology or the peer-review system. Great but not sufficient!" said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, founder of Pensoft Publishers and the Biodiversity Data Journal. "We need to switch the focus already from making content 'available for free download' to being discoverable and extractable. Such re-usability multiplies society's investment in science".

 

###
 

Additional information:

The Biodiversity Data Journal is designed by Pensoft Publishers and was funded in part by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7) project ViBRANT.

Source: Smith V, Georgiev T, Stoev P, Biserkov J, Miller J, Livermore L, Baker E, Mietchen D, Couvreur T, Mueller G, Dikow T, Helgen K, Frank J, Agosti D, Roberts D, Penev L (2013) Beyond dead trees: integrating the scientific process in the Biodiversity Data Journal. Biodiversity Data Journal 1: e995. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.1.e995

 

 



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Next-generation global e-infrastructure for taxon names registry

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 17:55:00 +0200

Zookeys, the first zoological journal to introduce automatic registration in ZooBank

The latest issue of ZooKeys - no. 346 - has been automatically registered in ZooBank on its day of publication last Friday. This marks the successful deployment of an automated registration-to-publication pipeline for taxonomic names for animals. The innovative workflow was jointly funded by the EU FP7 funded project pro-iBiosphere and a U.S. National Science Foundation project to develop the Global Names Architecture (DBI-1062441).

The process of post-publication recording and indexing of species names has a long tradition, in some cases dating as far back as the middle of 19th century. But now in the 21st century with the advance of modern technologies and the opportunity to publish taxonomic novelties online, the process of post-publication recording brought into focus the concept of automated pre-publication registration.

Why is this important? The proportion of 'turbo-taxonomic' papers describing hundreds of new species increases. Registration of hundreds of new species is an issue, however it is even more important that the final publication data of the pre-registered names are reported back to ZooBank on the day of publication.

Launched as an open access peer reviewed journal in 2008, to coincide and adopt from inception the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature changes for electronic publications, ZooKeys was the first journal to provide a mandatory in-house registration in ZooBank. Since 2008, it has contributed about one third of all names currently registered in ZooBank. With the adoption of the automated ZooBank registration, ZooKeys continues its mission to set novel trends in biodiversity publishing.

Implementation of automated workflows and invention of XML-based tools will facilitate the process of publication and dissemination of biodiversity information. It will pave the way for unification and streamlining the registration process, even more to building the next-generation e-infrastructure for a common global taxon names registry. Within the pro-iBiosphere project and in cooperation with Plazi that have created the TaxPub XML schema, an automated registration workflow for plants has already been established between the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) and the PhytoKeys journal, to be applied soon also for fungi between Index Fungorum and the journal MycoKeys.



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Job Alert: Part-time Research Assistant, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:00:00 +0200

The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) in the University of Oxford is seeking to appoint a Research Assistant to join the existing research team on two EU funded research projects.

The role will require the development and application of methodologies for undertaking systematic literature reviews, quantitative analysis of model outputs, contribution to the writing of research papers, organisation of workshops and large meetings, and the performance of other duties necessary for the successful completion of both the IMPRESSIONS and OPENNESS projects

You will have a Masters or equivalent in an environmental discipline and strong quantitative skills. You must have the ability to undertake systematic literature reviews and synthesise findings and assist in the management of large research projects. Excellent organisational and writing skills are essential.

This is a part-time (50% FTE) post and is available for 24 months.

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Wednesday 18 December 2013.

You can find more information and apply here.

 



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Job Alert: Postdoctoral Research Assistant, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:14:00 +0200

The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) in the University of Oxford is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Assistant to join the existing research team on two EU funded research projects: IMPRESSIONS and OPENNESS.

The role will require the development of a range of methodological and modelling approaches, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed techniques, to address a number of environmental science challenges in the contexts of operationalising ecosystem services and investigating cross-sectoral climate change impacts and vulnerabilities. The post provides the opportunity for a researcher with skills in programming, GIS and statistics to develop innovative solutions in research areas critical to ensuring the resilience of our future environment and to expand the modelling capability of the ECI team.

You will have a PhD in a discipline relevant to modelling or environmental sciences and a background in programming and modelling. You will have experience of using Geographical Information Systems and a strong grounding in statistics and/or operational research. Excellent communication skills both written and oral are essential. You will be self-motivated, with the ability to work independently.

This post is available for 24 months in the first instance.

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Wednesday 18 December 2013. It is intended that interviews will be held during the week beginning 13 January 2014.

For more information and to apply for this position, click here.

 

 

 



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EUBrazilOpenBio final newsletter is now available

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 13:33:00 +0200

The final EUBrazilOpenBio newsletter for November 2013 is now available. The  newsletter presents the final press release showcasing the main results of 2 year collaborative work, namely: the innovative, web-based working environment designed to serve biodiversity scenarios; the new version of the Catalogue of Life cross-mapping tool developed in the i4Life project; the provision of the Ecological Niche Modelling tool as a service through the openModeller extended web service, and its application in collaboration with BioVeL; the EUBrazilOpenBio Joint Action Plan.

This newsletter highlights:

  • EUBrazilOpenBio Joint Action Plan - drawing on policy strategies, analysing  current progress in contributing to international targets and defining actions for future collaborative research. It defines common actions with the aim of contributing to relevant Aichi Targets in the years ahead.
  • EGI federatec use case on ecology - Over the last two years, BioVeL and EUBrazilOpenBio have joined forces to make openModeller ready for cloud deployment. Work within the EGI Federated Cloud Task Force has led to considerable success in enabling the openModeller service on the EGI Federated Cloud.
  • EUBrazilOpenBio results - EUBrazilOpenBio Technical developments, training materials and sessions, publications and papers, media spotlights and policy results all collected in one page.
  • A vision from the Experts - "The Crossmapper itself is a great tool, and an ideal way to identify errors and updates". Dr Christina Flann is one of the experts providing their vision on EUBrazilOpenBio story.

You can find an online version of the final EUBrazilOpenBio newsletter here.

 



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European Commission launches pilot to open up publicly funded research data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 17:59:00 +0200

Today, 16/12/2013,  the European Commission announced the launch of a new Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020, to ensure that valuable information produced by researchers in many EU-funded projects will be shared freely. Researchers in projects participating in the pilot are asked to make the underlying data needed to validate the results presented in scientific publications and other scientific information available for use by other researchers, innovative industries and citizens. This will lead to better and more efficient science and improved transparency for citizens and society. It will also contribute to economic growth through open innovation. For 2014-2015, topic areas participating in the Open Research Data Pilot will receive funding of around €3 billion.

The Commission recognises that research data is as important as publications. It therefore announced in 2012 that it would experiment with open access to research data (see IP/12/790). The Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020 does for scientific information what the Open Data Strategy does for public sector information: it aims to improve and maximise access to and re-use of research data generated by projects for the benefit of society and the economy.

The Pilot involves key areas of Horizon 2020:

  • Future and Emerging Technologies

  • Research infrastructures – part e-Infrastructures

  • Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Information and Communication Technologies

  • Societal Challenge: Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy – part Smart cities and communities

  • Societal Challenge: Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw materials – with the exception of topics in the area of raw materials

  • Societal Challenge: Europe in a changing world – inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies

  • Science with and for Society

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said "We know that sharing and re-using research data holds huge potential for science, society and the economy. This Pilot is an opportunity to see how different disciplines share data in practice and to understand remaining obstacles."

Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "This pilot is part of our commitment to openness in Horizon 2020. I look forward to seeing the first results, which will be used to help set the course for the future."

Projects may opt out of the pilot to allow for the protection of intellectual property or personal data; in view of security concerns; or should the main objective of their research be compromised by making data openly accessible.

The Pilot will give the Commission a better understanding of what supporting infrastructure is needed and of the impact of limiting factors such as security, privacy or data protection or other reasons for projects opting out of sharing. It will also contribute insights in how best to create incentives for researchers to manage and share their research data.

The Pilot will be monitored throughout Horizon 2020 with a view to developing future Commission policy and EU research funding programmes.



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A new generation database to help ecological research on marine organisms

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:55:00 +0200

Ecosystem functioning, or the role which organisms play in an ecosystem, is becoming increasingly important in marine ecological and conservation. To facilitate such studies an international team of scientists lead by S. Faulwetter from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HMRC) present the Polytraitsdatabase that aims to provide re-usable, and accessible data on marine bristle worms. The paper describing the new database was published in the innovative Biodiversity Data Journal, a pioneer in the publication of integrated biological data.

Benthic organisms participate in a number of biological processes in world water basins. Their functional diversity is an important community property demonstrating the role organisms have in the ecosystem and helping to understand how the community reacts to environmental changes. Polychaetes, or bristle worms, are marine worms famous for their peculiar shapes and often vivid coloration. More than 10,000 species are described in the class worldwide, most of which living in the shelf zone of the seas and oceans, burrowing in the sediment or swimming among the plankton.

At present, the Polytraits database contains almost 20,000 records on morphological, behavioural and reproductive characteristics of more than 1,000 species, all referenced by literature sources. All data on these engaging organisms can be freely accessed through the project website in different ways and formats, both human-readable and machine-readable. The new database presents a rich and easy to use collection, which cover morphological, reproductive and behavioural characteristics of polychaetes, as well as information on environmental preferences in an attempt to facilitate ecological research and conservation studies.

The researchers also provide a leading-edge approach to accessing, integrating and re-using the data. Through programming interfaces, the life-cycle information is automatically integrated into the Polychaetes Scratchpads, together with other data on polychaetes. Scratchpads are easy to use, adaptable, and provide powerful tools for managing biodiversity data. This taxon-centric virtual research environment allows browsing the taxonomic classification and retrieving various kinds of relevant information for each taxon, among which are also the collected biological traits.

Furthermore, the data are also accessible through Encyclopedia of Life's TraitBank which currently features over 3 million records related to more than 250 attributes for 272,720 taxa, including the Polytraits data. TraitBank serves as a provider for aggregated species trait data. All data uploaded there are archived and integrated with trait information from other sources to address issues of standardization of scientific data. This is the first complex database for marine organisms to be published in such an innovative way and demonstrates yet another example of collaboration between the data publisher Pensoft and Encyclopedia of Life.

 



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GEO issues a revised work plan 2012-2015

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 11:59:00 +0200

Following the GEO-X Plenary in Geneva earlier this year (15-16 January 2014), GEO now issues Revision 3 of the GEO 2012-2015 Work Plan incorporating comments from the meeting. The new work plan is available through the GEO Work Plan Information Management system.

The GEO Work Plan provides the agreed framework for implementing the GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan (2005-2015). It is a living document that is updated annually. The 2012-2015 Work Plan has been designed to meet the 2015 GEOSS Strategic Targets. As a result, the tasks of the Work Plan correspond to outcomes identified as being necessary to meet the Strategic Targets.

The highlighted actions in the revised work plan are as follows:

The GEO Work Plan provides a flexible action-oriented framework for developing new projects within and across areas, and coordinating strategies and investments. Benefits and opportunities include inter-alia: fostering networking and partnerships (new contacts and collaborations); launching regional and/or global initiatives (e.g. GEO BON, GEOGLAM); providing access to data (making more data available); enlarging user-bases (users grow in numbers and diversity); developing and maintaining capacity (participants build on complementarity); increasing visibility and high-level support (e.g. through the GEO Website, Newsletter, Plenary, Ministerial); and leveraging funding for activities (funding mechanisms value contributions to GEOSS implementation, like the European 7th Framework Programme).



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FishBase and SeaLifeBase Mirror Updates

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 07:12:33 +0200

ANNOUNCEMENT: The February 2014 update of the FishBase (www.fishbase.us and www.fishbase.ca) and SeaLifeBase (www.sealifebase.ca) websites are now available online.

FishBase stats to date: (32700 Species, 302900 Common names, 53600 Pictures, 49700 References, 2100 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month)

SeaLifeBase stats to date: (126000 Species, 27300 Common names, 11900 Pictures, 18200 References, 250 Collaborators)

 

 



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SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN Newsletter Issue 1: a project for more sustainable research cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:48:00 +0200

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN project aiming at establishing a more sustainable and integrated research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN region in the areas of climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials has now published its first project newsletter.

This first issue of the SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN Newsletter contains information about the outcomes from the first project Networking and Cluster Session that took place on 23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as features a news item about the forthcoming sessions scheduled for 28 Match 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. More can be found in the Newsletter available here.

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN coordinating action will focus on climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials issues and will aim to enhance collaboration between researchers in the EU and the ASEAN region. Addressing these issues in a coherent way is vital for sustainable development that leads to economic prosperity, social cohesion and environmental integrity. Both regions have developed innovative ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to climate change, improve resource efficiency and manage raw materials.



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Issue 72 of the CBD Technical Series: Earth observation for biodiversity monitoring

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:58:00 +0200

Issue 72 of the CBD Technical Series is now out focusing on "EARTH OBSERVATION FOR BIODIVERSITY MONITORING : A review of current approaches and future opportunities for tracking progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets". The issue shows how earth observation technologies can and should fit into systems for biodiversity monitoring, as well as demonstrates how these approaches could further improve relevant indicators for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. It illustrates a clear track from observations done by remote sensing platforms through Essential Biodiversity Variables to biodiversity indicators and ultimately to the assessment of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and ultimately in support of evidence-based decision making. EU BON is also featured in this report.

The goal of the CBD Technical Series is to contribute to the dissemination of up-to-date and accurate information on selected topics that are important for the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the equitable sharing of its benefits. A large and growing body of evidence has clearly established the need to disseminate synthesis publications relevant to CBD objectives and selected reports presented at CBD meetings.

The CBD Technical Series is intended to:

  • Foster scientific and technical cooperation;
  • Improve communication between the Convention and the scientific community;
  • Increase awareness of current biodiversity-related problems and concerns; and
  • Facilitate widespread and effective use of the growing body of scientific and technical information on conserving and using biological diversity.

The full report is available here.



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Despatch from the field: New species discovery, description and data sharing in less than 30 days

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 16:35:00 +0200

Researchers and the public can now have immediate access to data underlying discovery of new species of life on Earth, under a new streamlined system linking taxonomic research with open data publication.

The partnership paves the way for unlocking and preserving a wealth of 'small data' backing up research conclusions, which often become lost within a few years of an article's publication in an academic journal.

In the first example of the new collaboration in action, the Biodiversity Data Journal carries a peer-reviewed description of a new species of spider discovered during a field course in Borneo just one month ago. At the same time, the data showing location of the spider's occurrence in nature are automatically harvested by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and richer data such as images and the species description are exported to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).

This contrasts with an average 'shelf life' of twenty-one years between field discovery of a new species and its formal description and naming, according to a recent study in Current Biology.

A group of scientists and students discovered the new species of spider during a field course in Borneo, supervised by Jeremy Miller and Menno Schilthuizen from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The species was described and submitted online from the field to the Biodiversity Data Journal through a satellite internet connection, along with the underlying data . The manuscript was peer-reviewed and published within two weeks of submission. On the day of publication, GBIF and EOL have harvested and included the data in their respective platforms.

The new workflow established between GBIF, EOL and Pensoft Publishers' Biodiversity Data Journal, with the support of the Swiss NGO Plazi, automatically exports treatment and occurrence data into a Darwin Core Archive, a standard format used by GBIF and other networks to share data from many different sources. This means GBIF can extract these data on the day of the article's publication, making them immediately available to science and the public through its portal and web services, further enriching the biodiversity data already freely accessible through the GBIF network. Similarly, the information and multimedia resources become accessible via EOL's species pages.

One of the main purposes of the partnership is to ensure that such data remain accessible for future use in research. A recent study published in Current Biology found that 80 % of scientific data are lost in less than 10 years following their creation.

Donald Hobern, GBIF's Executive Secretary, commented: "A great volume of extremely important information about the world's species is effectively inaccessible, scattered across thousands of small datasets carefully curated by taxonomic researchers. I find it very exciting that this new workflow will help preserve these 'small data' and make them immediately available for re-use through our networks."

"Re-use of data published on paper or in PDF format is a huge challenge in all branches of science", said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, managing director of Pensoft and founder of the Biodiversity Data Journal. "This problem has been tackled firstly by our partners from Plazi who created a workflow to extract data from legacy literature and submit it to GBIF. The workflow currently launched by GBIF, EOL and the Biodiversity Data Journal radically shortens the way from publication of data to their sharing and re-use and makes the whole process cost efficient", added Prof. Penev.

The elaboration of the workflow from BDJ and Plazi to GBIF through Darwin Core Archive was supported by the EU-funded project EU BON (Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network, grant No 308454). The basic concept has been initially discussed and outlined in the course of the pro-iBiosphere project (Coordination and policy development in preparation for a European Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management System, addressing Acquisition, Curation, Synthesis, Interoperability and Dissemination, grant No 312848).

Original source:

Miller J, Schilthuizen M, Burmester J, van der Graaf L, Merckx V, Jocqué M, Kessler P, Fayle T, Breeschoten T, Broeren R, Bouman R, Chua W, Feijen F, Fermont T, Groen K, Groen M, Kil N, de Laat H, Moerland M, Moncoquet C, Panjang E, Philip A, Roca-Eriksen R, Rooduijn B, van Santen M, Swakman V, Evans M, Evans L, Love K, Joscelyne S, Tober A, Wilson H, Ambu L, Goossens B (2014) Dispatch from the field: ecology of micro web-building spiders with description of a new species. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1076. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1076



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FISHBASE APRIL 2014 MIRROR UPDATES

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:46:52 +0300

The April 2014 mirror updates of FishBase (www.fishbase.ca and www.fishbase.us); are now available online.

FishBase stats to date: ( 32800 Species, 303100 Common names, 53900 Pictures,
50200 References, 2110 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month )

 

 

 

 

 



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Job Alert: PhD Position in Visualization of Biodiversity Data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:18:00 +0300

The Heinz-Nixdorf-Chair for Distributed Information Systems at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Germany) invites applications for a fully funded PhD student position in Biodiversity Data Visualization for the data management project of the Biodiversity Exploratories (BE) Priority Program.

Deadline for application: 2nd, May 2014

Start date: June 2014 or later

What this is about

The data management project provides the platform for data storage and information exchange for the projects of the DFG Priority Program "Biodiversity Exploratories". Examples of the thematic focus of the projects include botany, forestry, soil, animal, fluxes, modeling, and remote sensing. This diversity is reflected in the format, structure, and semantics of their data which we manage.

Tasks in this project will be centered on the investigation and development of novel visualization methods and user-friendly tools for exploration, search and discovery, quality assurance and integration of the heterogeneous, large volume biodiversity data.  Overall, the study should contribute to the science of visualization for big-data-driven biodiversity research.

More information on the requirements, conditions and how to apply find in the official job offer attached below.

 



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Group on Earth Observations Launches Worldwide Competition ‘Aim is to Turn Data into Decisions’

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 15 May 2014 14:11:00 +0300

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) just launched the GEO Appathon 2014, a global competition to develop mobile "apps" to help people make smarter decisions about the environment. (www.geoappathon.org) Competitors from more than 15 countries – and growing – are competing for $20,000 in prizes being offered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

GEO is a voluntary partnership of governments and organizations that envisions "a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations and information." GEO membership includes 89 nations and the European Commission, and 77 Participating Organizations comprised of international bodies with a mandate in Earth observations.

GEO Appathon 2014 is designed to create new, exciting and easy-to-use Apps using Earth observation data available through GEO’s Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). GEOSS is a unique, web-based clearinghouse that provides access to more than 65 million data records from archives spread across the globe. (www.geoportal.org)

"GEO Appathon 2014 is one of the critical next steps in the evolution of GEOSS to create mechanisms to readily convert data into information and tools for decision makers across society," stated Barbara J. Ryan, Secretariat Director of GEO. "The Appathon is an important leap forward in unleashing the power of Earth observations."

Apps will focus on addressing environmental and societal challenges facing decision leaders and individual citizens in developing countries across nine essential areas: agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water and weather.

"Access to better information, in the hands of people who can use it every day, is a major step forward. This appathon goes beyond the open data movement. The aim is to turn data into decisions," said Carrie Stokes, Director of USAID’s GeoCenter.

In addition to USAID, partners in the GEO Appathon include Esri, European Space Agency, Geospatial Media, GISCloud, Microsoft, National Research Council of Italy, and Open Geospatial Consortium.

Participation in the GEO Appathon is open to any non-commercial entity, individual or team from any background in any country. Apps can be created for any of the main operating systems, as well as open source platforms, and can be designed for any type of portable device. All Apps will be judged and the top winners will receive a cash prize and a year-long GEO network endorsement and publicity for the App. Registration for the GEO
Appathon remains open through July 31st. Qualifying Apps must be received by August 31, 2 014.


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