anc

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.


Full Article

anc

IOC candidate Samaranch urges European lawmakers to invest in sport as a public health policy

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 08:32:19 -0400

IOC presidential candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. has urged European lawmakers to regard investing in sport as a public health policy in his first keynote speech of a six-month Olympic leadership campaign.


Full Article

anc

Democrats for Life wins 97% of endorsed elections in rebuke to party's abortion stance

By www.washingtontimes.com
Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:46:04 -0500

Democrats for Life of America said Tuesday that 97% of its endorsed candidates won their races in last week's election, which raises the question: Is there such a thing as a pro-life Democrat?


Full Article

anc

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.
 


Full Article

anc

Non lasciate che il rancore si impossessi di voi

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:00:00 +0200

Ospito qui la lettera aperta che Marta Rovira, dirigente del partito indipendentista di sinistra catalano guidato da Junqueras, ha inviato prima di lasciare la Spagna. Continuano in questi giorni arresti di esponenti politici catalani accusati (semplifico) di tradimento verso il governo spagnolo, all’indomani del referendum di ottobre. L’ex presidente Carles Puigdemont è stato fermato in Germania. Il ‘delitto’ riguarda le opinioni politiche espresse e il fatto di aver consentito ai cittadini di esprimersi col voto. Alle successive elezioni di dicembre questi partiti, queste persone (quelle che non erano in prigione) sono state rielette dalla maggioranza dei catalani. Fin dal primo giorno, a ottobre, Marta Rovira e gli altri esponenti del governo catalano hanno chiesto che l’Europa intervenisse. Un’Europa sorda a chi viene arrestato per le sue opinioni, all’esito del voto popolare e democratico, si chiedono, che Europa è.

Invece Concita
Blog di Concita de Gregorio
 
27-03-2018
 
 
Grazie a Marta Rovira, segretaria generale di Esquerra Republicana
 
 



"Oggi prendo un cammino duro, un cammino che disgraziatamente tanti altri che ci precedono hanno dovuto prendere: il cammino dell’esilio. Non posso nascondere la profonda tristezza che sento nell’allontanarmi da tanta gente che amo. Allontanarmi da tante battaglie condivise, per tanti anni, con persone mosse da un unico obiettivo: cambiare la società dove vivono. Farla più giusta. Persone degne. Lasciare i paesaggi che mi circondano fin dall’infanzia, non poter passeggiare nella città dove vivo… Sono triste, ma molto più triste sarebbe stato vivere obbligata internamente al silenzio. Sentire la mia libertà di espressione censurata da tribunali che intimidiscono e che applicano sfacciatamente criteri politici".

"Ogni giorno, ogni ora sentivo la mia libertà limitata da minacce giudiziarie arbitrarie. Non mi sentivo libera. Non mi riconoscevo. In queste ultime settimane ho vissuto dentro una prigione interna. L’esilio sarà duro, ma è l’unica forma che ho di recuperare la mia voce politica. Di sollevarmi contro il governo del Partito Popolare, che perseguita chi vota e che castiga chi intende cambiare ciò che è prestabilito. Un governo disposto a rinunciare allo stato di diritto e alle libertà civili per i suoi obiettivi politici".

"Ho una figlia, Agnese. L’esilio mi permetterà di esserci di più come madre, e lo merita molto".

"Vi voglio dire un’ultima cosa: non lasciate che il rancore si impadronisca di voi. L’analisi di una realtà antidemocratica e profondamente ingiusta non deve cedere il passo al risentimento. Contro nessuno. Contro niente. Solo a partire dal rispetto e dall’amore verso tutti i cittadini e tutte le opinioni costruiremo cambiamenti radicali e profondi. Solo dal lavoro comune otterremo una Repubblica per tutti. Come dice Oriol Junqueras: ‘In questi giorni che verranno rimanete forti e uniti, trasformate l’indignazione in coraggio e perseveranza. La rabbia in amore. Pensate sempre agli altri, a  quello che dobbiamo ricostruire. Perseverate perché io persevererò’. Questo è quello che faremo, Oriol. Vi scrivo, ora sì,  con libertà e sincerità. Viva la libertà, la giustizia, l’uguaglianza e la fraternità. Viva una Repubblica Catalana per tutti".

 


Full Article

anc

Symposium: Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:34:44 +0200

The EU BON project which is coordinated by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin/Germany has started on 1 December and will continue for 4.5 years. The EU BON Kickoff Meeting will be held in Berlin from 13 to 15 February 2013.

With respect to EU BON’s objectives the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" will be held prior to the EU BON Kickoff Meeting from 11 to 12 February in Berlin with high-ranking speakers. You are most welcome to attend the Symposium.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is pleased to host this international symposium and will bring together high-ranking speakers and guests from worldwide to talk and discuss about these

Major Topics:

  • What (data) policy needs
  • The future of biodiversity information: new ways for generating, managing, and integrating biodiversity data
  • How new approaches / models can link scales and disciplines
  • Broadening the base and opening up: new ways to engage the public and stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and assessments
  • Résumé / conclusions

For more details, please have a look at the programme page.

The 1st day of the Symposium and the reception will be held "under the dinosaurs" in the central exhibition hall of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.

The 2nd day will be held in the Seminaris Conference Center in the quiet south-west of Berlin. The closing of the Symposium will be celebrated as "Come together & Ice-Breaker for EU BON Kickoff Meeting" in the nearby beautiful Large Green House of the Botanic Garden Berlin.

If you want to take part, please register at the registration page.



Full Article

anc

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



Full Article

anc

A new article provides a decadal view on the importance and future of biodiversity informatics

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:06:00 +0300

A new article "A decadal view of biodiversity informatics: challenges and priorities"  published by BMC Ecology focuses on the challenges and perspectives for biodiversity informatics after a decade of development. The authors Alex Hardisty and Dave Roberts alongside 77 contributions from the biodiversity informatics community share experience and set future directions of biodiversity informatics as a tool for addressing conservation and ecological issues.

Biodiversity informatics plays a central enabling role in the research community's efforts to address scientific conservation and sustainability issues. This community consultation paper positions the role of biodiversity informatics, for the next decade, presenting the actions needed to link the various biodiversity infrastructures invisibly and to facilitate understanding that can support both business and policy-makers. The community considers the goal in biodiversity informatics to be full integration of the biodiversity research community, including citizens’ science, through a commonly-shared, sustainable e-infrastructure across all sub-disciplines that reliably serves science and society alike.

The full text of the article can be accessed here.



Full Article

anc

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/

 



Full Article

anc

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

 

 



Full Article

anc

Classical monographs re-published in advanced open access

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 15:51:00 +0300

The new Advanced Books platform of Pensoft opens new horizons for semantic book publishing
 
Easy access to legacy data collected over hundreds-of-years of exploration of nature from the convenience of people's own computers for anyone all over the world? It may sound futuristic but a brand new pilot showcases how this is possible here and now.

The new workflow demonstrates a re-publication of a volume of Flora Malesiana in a semantically enriched HTML edition available on the newly launched, Advanced Books publishing platform. The platform was demonstrated today at the EU funded pro-iBiosphere project which supported, in part, the re-publication of Flora Malesiana.
 

 
When Linnaeus was laying the foundations of taxonomy as a science in his Species Plantarum and Systema Naturae books he probably did not imagine that his methods of publication of natural history data would remain almost unchanged for more than 270 years! The bulk of the information on the living World is still closed in paper-based legacy literature, especially in fundamental regional treatises such as Flora, Fauna and Mycota series, hardly accessible for readers, despite the dramatic changes in the publishing technologies that have taken place over the last decade.

The new pilot, developed by Pensoft Publishers in a cooperation with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Plazi, and Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem (BGBM), demonstrates how a fundamental book in natural history can start a new life with Advanced Books. Re-publication of the Flora of Northumberland & Durham, published in 1838, will be the next to appear as a result of a collaboration between the Botanical Garden Meise National Botanic Garden of Belgium and Pensoft.

Flora Malesiana is a systematic account of the flora of Malesia, the plant-geographical unit spanning six countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The plant treatments are not published in a systematic order but as they come about by the scientific efforts of some 100 collaborators all over the world.

With the new platform, such scientifically important historical monographs, enriched with additional information from up-to-date external sources related to organisms' names, species treatments, information on their ecology, distribution and conservation value, morphological characters, etc., become freely usable for anyone at any place in the world.

The re-publication in advanced open access comes with the many other benefits of the digitization and markup efforts such as data extraction and collation, distribution and re-use of content, archiving of different data elements in relevant repositories and so on.

"Advanced Books will bring many outstanding scientific monographs to a new life, however the platform is not only restricted to e-publish our legacy literature." commented Prof. Lyubomir Penev, Managing Director of Pensoft. "New books are mostly welcome on the platform, joining their historical predecessors in an open, common, human- and machine-readable, data space for the benefit of future researchers and the society in general" concluded Prof. Penev.
 
Original Source:
 
de Wilde W (2014) Flora Malesiana. Series I - Seed Plants, Volume 14. Myristicaceae. Advanced Books: e1141. doi: 10.3897/ab.e1141


Full Article

anc

Article alert: Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 11:02:00 +0200

A new EU BON acknowledged paper "Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review" has been recently published in the journal Ecological Informatics.

Abstract: 

Many geospatial tools have been advocated in spatial ecology to estimate biodiversity and its changes over space and time. Such information is essential in designing effective strategies for biodiversity conservation and management. Remote sensing is one of the most powerful approaches to identify biodiversity hotspots and predict changes in species composition in reduced time and costs. This is because, with respect to field-based methods, it allows to derive complete spatial coverages of the Earth surface under study in a short period of time. Furthermore, remote sensing provides repeated coverages of field sites, thus making studies of temporal changes in biodiversity possible. In this paper we discuss, from a conceptual point of view, the potential of remote sensing in estimating biodiversity using various diversity indices, including alpha- and beta-diversity measurements.

Original Source: 

Rocchini D, Hernández-Stefanoni J L, He KS (2014) Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review. Ecological Informatics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.10.006



Full Article

anc

Aricle Alert: Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:45:00 +0200

A new paper "Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services" published in the journal Environmental Science & Policy looks at ways to motivate actions for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. The paper is a result of the EU FP7 funded project BIOMOT.

Abstract: 

This paper analyses the possibility of building a mutually supportive dynamics between internally and externally motivated behaviour for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. To this purpose a face to face survey amongst 169 key actors of 34 highly successful and prominent biodiversity arrangements in seven EU countries was conducted. The main finding of the paper is the feasibility of combining inherently intrinsically motivated behaviours (providing enjoyment, pleasure from experimentation and learning, aesthetic satisfaction) and internalized extrinsic motivations (related to the identification with the collective goals of conservation policy) through a common set of governance features. Successful initiatives that combine internal and external motivations share the following features: inclusive decision making processes, a broad monitoring by "peers" beyond the core staff of the initiatives, and a context that is supportive for the building of autonomous actor competences. These findings are in line with the psycho-sociological theory of motivation, which shows the importance of a psycho-social context leading to a subjective perception of autonomy and a sense of competence of the actors.

Original Source: 

Tom Dedeurwaerdere, Jeroen Admiraal, Almut Beringer, Flavia Bonaiuto, Lavinia Cicero, Paula Fernandez-Wulff, Janneke Hagens, Juha Hiedanpää, Paul Knights, Erica Molinario, Paolo Melindi-Ghidi, Florin Popa, Urban Šilc, Nathalie Soethe, Tiina Soininen, Jose Luis Vivero, Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services, Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 58, April 2016, Pages 1-10, ISSN 1462-9011, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.12.003



Full Article

anc

A new Biodiversity Portal for Europe to enhance access to monitoring data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 09 Jun 2016 17:45:00 +0300

Set to compile the largest biodiversity data collection for Europe to date, the EU-funded FP7 project Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) has now launched the beta-version of its European Biodiversity Portal.

Despite being a beta version, this release already addresses the main aim to offer a unique service for analysing and understanding biodiversity change in Europe. For instance, users can explore how relative abundance of species (within a larger group) changes over time by using big data mediated by GBIF. There is also a spatial browser for locating datasets in any part of the world, which may be usable for computing the EBVs for species populations.

Additionally, an online analytical data processing (OLAP) toolbox has been included in this release. Based on GEOSS technology, the new portal lets users harvest and simultaneously access data from several directories, including GBIF, LTER, EuMon (coming), PESI, and GEOSS sources.

Started in 2012, the five-year project EU BON has been working towards building this new European Biodiversity Portal where scattered and various information and tools are collected, highlighted and widely shared for future research.

The service will provide all interested parties with a professional database platform with a large amount of implications. For example, coordinators can receive information about related monitoring programs in different countries. Initiatives could integrate their data and compare the trends and status across different countries and regions.

"The ultimate goal of EU BON is to build a comprehensive European Biodiversity Portal that will then feed into a Global Portal currently developed by GEO BON. This initiative will provide a completely new holistic way for analyzing global trends and processes.", concludes Dr. Hannu Saarenmaa, University of Eastern Finland and Work Package leader in EU BON.

We invite everyone to test the new portal and send us their feedback and suggestions for improvements via our Feedback Form.

 



Full Article

anc

Joint forces to enhance access to biodiversity monitoring data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:11:00 +0300

EU projects EuMon and EU BON call out to monitoring programs to share data and expertise for building the European Biodiversity Portal.

Combining forces, two large scale EU projects, EuMon and EU BON, are set to compile the largest data collection on biodiversity monitoring activities in Europe to date. Using existing biodiversity data and metadata collected by the two projects, the initiative is a stepping stone in completing a comprehensive European Biodiversity Portal. The projects now call out to monitoring programs across the Old Continent and beyond, to join in, provide information about their schemes and share their expertise for the cause.

For its life span between 2004 and 2008 the project EU-wide monitoring methods and systems of surveillance for species and habitats of Community interest (EuMon) created Europe's most comprehensive metadata catalogue of biodiversity monitoring activities.

Started in 2012, the five-year project Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network(EU BON) has been working towards building a new European Biodiversity Portal where this information is collected, highlighted and widely shared for future research and applied biodiversity conservation. The beta version is now all set up and available to test here.

   

To answer knowledge gaps since the project has ended in 2008, the original EuMon monitoring meta database is being further expanded with new information on data availability and access, as well as with new remote sensing data. Previously underrepresented, the marine realm is now also included in the EuMon collection.

"Monitoring data has received a central stage in recent years, a process largely facilitated by the instalment of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). However, while knowledge about monitoring efforts is important, we still miss a large variety of available programs and biodiversity data", explains EuMon's Project Leader Prof. Dr. Klaus Henle, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ.

"We, therefore, currently aim to increase and update the number of monitoring programs in the EuMon catalogue, as the catalogue still covers less than half of all existing programs in Europe", adds EuMon Project Coordinator, Dirk Schmeller, UFZ.

In a joint initiative EuMon and EU BON are now looking to create the opportunity for monitoring program coordinators to publish their data by using the data publishing service of the EU BON portal (data embargos also possible).

The service will provide all interested parties with a professional database platform with a large amount of implications. For example, coordinators can receive information about related monitoring programs in different countries. Initiatives could integrate their data and compare the trends and status across different countries and regions. Volunteers can find contacts about schemes in their regions they may consider to join.

Using the data publishing service of EU BON will also facilitate data sharing with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

"The ultimate goal of EU BON is to build a comprehensive European Biodiversity Portal that will then feed into a Global Portal currently developed by GEO BON. This initiative will provide a completely new holistic way for analyzing global trends and processes. We invite projects from across Europe to publish their datasets via the European Biodiversity Portal and become a part of this one-of-a-kind initiative", concludes Dr. Hannu Saarenmaa, University of Eastern Finland and Work Package leader in EU BON.

How to take part:

To access the EuMon database, please visit http://eumon.ckff.si/biomat. For sharing information about your monitoring program, please register here. You will then be able to provide metadata about your scheme via a simple online questionnaire. Answering the full set of questions is desirable, but not compulsory.



Full Article

anc

Symposium: Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:32:00 +0200

The EU BON project which is coordinated by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin/Germany has started on 1 December and will continue for 4.5 years. The EU BON Kickoff Meeting will be held in Berlin from 13 to 15 February 2013.
With respect to EU BON’s objectives the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" will be held prior to the EU BON Kickoff Meeting from 11 to 12 February in Berlin with high-ranking speakers. You are most welcome to attend the Symposium.
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is pleased to host this international symposium and will bring together high-ranking speakers and guests from worldwide to talk and discuss about these
Major Topics:
- What (data) policy needs
- The future of biodiversity information: new ways for generating, managing, and integrating biodiversity data
- How new approaches / models can link scales and disciplines
- Broadening the base and opening up: new ways to engage the public and stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and assessments
- Résumé / conclusions
For more details, please have a look at the programme page.
The 1st day of the Symposium and the reception will be held "under the dinosaurs" in the central exhibition hall of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.
The 2nd day will be held in the Seminaris Conference Center in the quiet south-west of Berlin. The closing of the Symposium will be celebrated as "Come together & Ice-Breaker for EU BON Kickoff Meeting" in the nearby beautiful Large Green House of the Botanic Garden Berlin.
If you want to take part, please register at the registration page.

 



Full Article

anc

Building Biodiversity Workflows with Taverna (Manchester, UK)

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 11:39:00 +0300

The course is a two-day hands-on training event. The course will accommodate 10-15 researchers. The program consists of introductory lectures, practical computer work, and discussions. Researchers will be contacted upon admission in order to consider their own research objectives for the course. more ...



Full Article

anc

British Ecological Society and French Ecological Society (BEsFE) joint 2014 annual meeting 9 – 12 December, France

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:49:00 +0200

The British Ecological Society and the French Ecology Society are pleased to invite you to Lille for a joint conference which will bring together for the first time ecologists of our two countries. The aim of the conference will promote exchanges and debates on major advances in scientific ecology, and strengthen cooperation between the French and British researchers of tomorrow. The meeting will be held on 9 – 12 December at the Grand Palais, Lille, France.

The British Ecological Society and French Ecological Society invite proposals for symposia sessions at their 2014 Annual Meeting. Symposia sessions at the Annual Meeting highlight some of the most important and timely science in ecology.  They provide the overarching structure and scientific focal point to the meeting.

The topics provide a showcase and forum for the discussion of key ecological questions, vision for the future and encourage integration among disciplines. As ever, timely and well organised submissions from across the breadth of ecology are welcome; however, building on the bi-national meeting and the introduction of the EU Horizon 2020 programme of research funding, we particularly encourage submissions that highlight international and EU focused topics:

•    Agro-ecology and the CAP
•    Biodiversity and ecosystem services
•    Evolutionary ecology and disease
•    Marine ecology and the EU Marine Directive
•    Freshwater ecology and the EU Water Directive
•    Horizon 2020 Tackling Societal Challenges: http://bit.ly/193Fbo3

The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2014.

The three full days of science can accommodate 18 half day symposia sessions.  Symposia proposals should include one keynote speaker allocated a 30 minute presentation and then five invited speakers, each allocated 15 minute slots.  Time devoted to synthesis and discussion is possible, but at the discretion of the organisers.  In exceptional circumstances, we will consider a full day session.

Proposers are responsible for the speakers submitting their abstracts and registrations on time.

- See more at: http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/events/current_future_meetings/2014-annual-meeting/



Full Article

anc

2nd EARSeL SIG LU/LC and NASA LCLUC joint Workshop: Advancing horizons for land cover services entering the big data era

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 15:38:00 +0200

Following the successful 1st joint Workshop with more than 150 participants from 4 continents in Berlin, 2014, the EARSeL Special Interest Group on Land Use and Land Cover (SIG LU/LC) and NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Program organize their 2nd joint workshop.
 
The Workshop will be conceptually linked with and support the objectives of the following ESA Living Planet Symposium 2016 on 9–13 May 2016, as a brainstorming preparation.
 
Hosting distinguished keynote speakers and poster presentations, the Workshop will discuss the latest advancements and upcoming challenges in Land Cover and Land Use Monitoring for the Environment, Food security, Energy, Health and Security. More information in the conference brochure.
 


Full Article

anc

Repost of Vancouver: Three gems from Iran and India

By www.davidbordwell.net
Published On :: Sun, 26 May 2024 16:59:42 +0000

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs (2020). Since David’s death, this blog has not been updated. I do, however, plan to occasionally re-post old entries if they become relevant to current events in the world of film. I also hope to post new entries as the inspiration strikes me. This entry deals with Mohammad Rasoulof’s […]


Full Article

anc

Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:30:32 +0200


Full Article

anc

Towards a Reflexive Turn in the Governance of Global Environmental Expertise

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:31:58 +0300


Full Article

anc

Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 10:31:25 +0200



Full Article

anc

The importance of open data for invasive alien species research, policy and management

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:35:56 +0200



Full Article

anc

A regionally informed abundance index for supporting integrative analyses across butterfly monitoring schemes

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 26 Nov 2015 09:29:35 +0200



Full Article

anc

Fauna Europaea: Annelida – Hirudinea, incl. Acanthobdellea and Branchiobdellea

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 02 Dec 2015 15:04:35 +0200


Full Article

anc

Assessing relative variable importance across different spatial scales: a two-dimensional wavelet analysis

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 15:12:09 +0300


Full Article

anc

Evaluating the reliability of species distribution models with an indirect measure of bird reproductive performance

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 24 Apr 2017 11:48:08 +0300


Full Article

anc

Cross-realm assessment of climate change impacts on species’ abundance trends

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 09 May 2017 12:18:43 +0300


Full Article

anc

Anthropogenic stress alters community concordance at the river-riparian interface

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 09 May 2017 15:12:27 +0300


Full Article

anc

The long-term ecological research (LTER) network: Relevance, current status, future perspective and examples from marine, freshwater and terrestrial long-term observation

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 09 May 2017 15:45:53 +0300


Full Article

anc

How to predict fine resolution occupancy from coarse occupancy data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 09:50:13 +0300



Full Article

anc

Watch: Is pet insurance worth it?

By www.boston.com
Published On :: Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:49:49 +0000

Boston Globe's senior assistant business editor Andy Rosen unpacks the dollars and cents to help you decide if it’s an essential safety net, or unnecessary expense.

The post Watch: Is pet insurance worth it? appeared first on Boston.com.


Full Article

anc

My Chemical Romance returns with ‘The Black Parade’ tour, featuring a stop at Fenway

By www.boston.com
Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:50:49 +0000

The tour kicks off July 11 in Seattle, concluding on Sept. 13 in Tampa, Florida. It hits San Francisco; Los Angeles; Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Toronto; Chicago; and Boston.

The post My Chemical Romance returns with ‘The Black Parade’ tour, featuring a stop at Fenway appeared first on Boston.com.


Full Article

anc

Dance Lessons

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 09 Dec 2017 01:00:00 +0000

It’s the beat that drives the bugaloo and mambo. Ayana Contreras travels to Cuba to understand the clave.

Plus, we go beneath a motorway flyover in Rio de Janeiro, where US hip-hop from the 1990s gets re-imagined every Saturday night; we meet a 9-year-old boy who is preserving his family’s Cambodian history through dance; South African superstar Johnny Clegg tells us how he helped form an interracial dance troupe during apartheid; and we remember Johnny Hallyday, “the French Elvis Presley”.

(Image: Dancers at the weekly Saturday night charme dance in Madureira, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's North Zone. Credit: Catherine Osborn)


Full Article

anc

Oath of allegiance

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 01 Jun 2019 01:30:00 +0000

The United States census gets underway next year and the Trump administration wants to ask everyone if they're a US citizen. Critics say the question will discourage some immigrants from participating and lead to an inaccurate census. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter later this month. Also, a same-sex married couple has two sons ; one gets US citizenship while his brother does not; immigrants in New York find it harder to win asylum; a Russian grandmother becomes a US citizen; and a Brazilian-born musician took the oath of allegiance a year ago and now calls Texas home.

(Image: Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)


Full Article

anc

The allegiance edition

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 21 Dec 2019 02:30:00 +0000

Susan Rice, National Security Advisor and UN ambassador during the Obama administration, joins us to talk about impeachment, Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine, and the enduring legacy of Benghazi. Also, we look into President Trump’s latest executive order, which relies on a controversial definition of anti-Semitism; and there’s been a surge in applications for US citizenship ahead of elections in 2020 but wait times are getting longer and longer.

(Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice speaks at the J Street 2018 National Conference in Washington, DC. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)


Full Article

anc

Power balance

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 11 Jan 2020 02:30:00 +0000

Retired US Army General David Petraeus has vast military and intelligence experience in the Middle East. He led US troops during some of the most critical years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, with the assasination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, General Petraeus has some thoughts about the significance of this action.

Also, after its initial retaliation for the killing of general Soleimani, Iran still has other options, like cyber-attacks against US targets; we’ll also take a look at how governments around the world use internet shutdowns to control the free flow of information; next, like with Iran, US-North Korea relations are also tense, but how did we get to this point?; and our own Rupa Shenoy looks back at a decade of protests around the world.

(Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran. Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)


Full Article

anc

Allegiance

By www.allaboutworship.com
Published On :: Tue, 05 Jun 2018 15:42:53 -0500

I have always been a person who enjoys sports.  I grew up in northern Indiana, which is 30 minutes from Chicago, so we gave ourselves the right to root for a team from Chicago or one from Indiana.  Because of that my favorite teams were the Bulls, the Colts, and the Cubs. To me Michael Jordan is the GOAT, Peyton Manning is one of the GOAT and the Cubs, well until last year they were the lovable losers.  I know I just lost some of you because you would completely disagree with my selection of teams and players. Some of you would quote statistics and others would just spout opinions but we would probably end up agreeing to disagree.

I have a couple hats and jerseys of my favorite teams that I love to wear around town knowing that guys are going to let me know of their approval and sometimes disapproval of my choice of team.  If I’m wearing a certain team's apparel the guys assume that is where my allegiance lies.

To a certain extent, worship can work similar to a jersey.  When we worship we are making an outward declaration of where our loyalty lies. The world is watching us in times of stress, trials and difficult situations to know who has our allegiance.  Have you ever heard anyone ask the question, “How can you still believe in God with all the bad stuff that has happened to you?” The reason they ask that question is that most people change allegiances whenever things don’t go their way.  They like to treat God as a genie and if He does not pop out and answer their wishes then they will go find someone who will obey their commands. Worship indicates that you believe God is who he says He is no matter what the situation says about Him.  

This does not mean that everyone who sings a song or says something good about God has given Him their allegiance.  God is wanting you to do more than just wear the jersey, He wants you in the game. When Jesus came on the scene and ran into the Pharisees, he basically called them out as guys who were wearing the jerseys but they were all talk and no action.

“These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.” Matthew 15:9 (MSG)

You know the type of person Jesus is talking about... the one who wears the jersey and is constantly using language like “we” lost the game and “we” need to step it up next game.  They make it sound like they were actually out on the field and had something to do with the final outcome of the game. They wear the jersey, slap on a hat and let everyone know where their allegiance lies but in the end, they are just an armchair quarterback.  They know the players, the stats and all the language but they have never been out on the field.

Let's not be that type of person.  No more armchair worshipers trying to act like we are in the game but we are just going through the motions with no heart.  True worship reveals an allegiance when you backup your words with actions. I refuse to be a person who sings about heaven on Sunday but lives like hell on Monday.  I want to live a life of worship that screams to those around me that my allegiance is to Jesus and I will never change my mind.



Full Article

anc

Balancing alternative medicine with traditional medicine, Why some people don’t get COVID symptoms, Gluten-free Chicken Stir Fry

By www.wpr.org
Published On :: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 13:58:47 +0000

This week Zorba and Karl discuss how doctors should balance traditional and alternative medicine, and they examine new research that explains why some people don’t experience COVID symptoms. Plus, they […]


Full Article