Suchergebnisse

I. Nowadays, tropical landscapes experience large-scale land use intensification and land conversion driven by increasing demand for resourses. Due to the continuously high demand for tropical timber and politically intended step increase in palm oil production, multiple rounds of logging and subsequent conversion to oil palm plantations became a regionally wide-spread land conversion pattern in Southeast Asia. Although many tree species and some animals are highly threatened by logging, a great number of species groups, such as birds or mammals, have been shown to persist in logged forests. Accordingly, many ecosystem services, such as dung removal, seed dispersal or the activity of scavengers, are functionally maintained in logged forests. In contrast, oil palm plantations have been shown to not only dramatically alter the species composition and reduce biodiversity, but also curtail many crucial biotic and abiotic ecosystem functions. The focus of this dissertation was to investigate the response of anuran species richness and community composition to logging and conversion to oil palm plantation in northern Borneo (chapter II). I analysed the diet of various frog species and their change with habitat degradation. Furthermore, I assessed the shift in the trophic position of the anuran community as well as the response of anuran phylogenetic, dietary, and functional diversity to logging and conversion to oil palm plantations (chapter III). Finally, the resilience of the predator-prey interaction between an ant-specialist toad and its ant prey was analysed using shifts in species-level interactions (chapter IV). II. This part of the study compares the species richness, relative abundance and community composition of stream anuran assemblages among primary forests, repeatedly logged forests and oil palm plantations. I used a highly standardised sampling setup applying transect-based sampling. Surprisingly, most of the anuran species native to primary forests were able to survive in logged forest streams. In contrast, on average only one third of the forest species richness was found in oil palm plantation streams. However, a high percentage of canopy cover above the plantation streams was able to mitigate this loss substantially. This study demonstrates the high conservation value of logged forests for Southeast Asian anurans. In contrast, the conversion to oil palm plantations leads to a dramatic decline of forest species. However, they have a mainly unused potential to contribute to the protection of parts of the regional anuran biodiversity if conservation-oriented management options are implemented. III. In this part, I analysed the shifts in trophic position and multiple diversity layers of Southeast Asian stream-dependent anuran species across a gradient of disturbance from primary forest through intensively logged forest to oil palm plantation. For this purpose, I identified the diet composition of 59 anuran species by means of stomach flushing. Furthermore, I use diet composition of frog species as well as species traits to calculate dietary and functional diversity, respectively. I found that the trophic position of the entire anuran community is elevated in heavily disturbed habitats. Furthermore, species diversity, phylogenetic species variation, dietary diversity, and functional diversity were reduced. However, beyond the effect of the decreased species richness, only phylogenetic species variability and functional diversity were significantly impacted by land conversion, indicating a non-random loss of phylogenetic groups and functionally unique species. Overall, the observed changes to species interactions and functional composition suggest a greatly modified role of anurans in altered habitats and major foodweb reorganisation. Such far-reaching changes to the way species groups interact are likely to threaten local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in natural and particularly modified habitats. However, I could also show, that small-scale habitat quality, provided by riparian reserves, is able to mitigate the negative consequences of land conversion considerably. IV. Here I assess how logging of rain forest and conversion to oil palm plantations affect the populations of the ant-specialist giant river toad (Phrynoidis juxtaspera), and availability and composition of its ant prey. I measured canopy cover as an estimate for the degree of disturbance. I found that toad abundance decreased with increasing disturbance. At the same time, ant community composition was altered, and local ground-foraging ant species richness increased with disturbance. However, for a given amount of canopy cover, primary forest supported more ant species than altered habitats. Despite these changes, composition of ants consumed by toads was only weakly affected by habitat change, with the exception of the invasive yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), which was positively selected in oil palm plantations. This suggests that predator-prey interactions can be mostly maintained with habitat disturbance despite shifts in community composition, and even that some predators are capable of exploiting new prey sources in novel ecosystems. V. I could show that anuran diversity and their trophic interaction is negatively impacted by logging and in particular by conversion to oil palm plantations. From species richness and community composition, my study expanded to phylogenetic, dietary and functional diversity. Furthermore, I investigated the interaction of a particular toad species with its preferred prey (ants), on species level. This increasing degree of detail in my study provided comprehensive results, beyond the detail of many related studies. Overall, conservation of the remaining forest in Southeast Asia is urgently required to protect anuran biodiversity and their trophic interactions. ; I. Durch den stetig steigenden Bedarf an vielfältigen Ressourcen stehen heutzutage vor allem tropische Ökosysteme unter enormem Druck hin zu intensiver Landwirtschaft und der Umwandlung von natürlichen Lebensräumen. Getrieben durch die hohe Nachfrage an Tropenhölzern und dem politisch gewollten Anstieg der Palmölproduktion, etablierte sich in Südostasien eine weit verbreitete Landnutzungsumwandlung charakterisiert durch wiederkehrende Holznutzung und die anschließende Umwandlung zu Ölpalmplantagen. Manche Tiergruppen und vor allem Baumarten sind dadurch stark gefährdet. Dennoch können andere Organismengruppen wie Vögel oder Säuger auch in genutzten Wäldern überleben. Auch Ökosystemdienstleistungen, wie Kotbeseitigung oder die Aktivität von Aasfressern bleiben vielfach in genutzten Wäldern erhalten. Im Gegensatz dazu stellen Ölpalmplantagen keinen geeigneten Lebensraum für viele Tier und Pflanzenarten dar und viele Ökosystemserviceleistungen können in diesen Plantagen nicht aufrecht erhalten werden. Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Auswirkungen dieser massiven Habitatumwandlung auf die Artenzahl und die Artenzusammensetzungen von Fröschen und Kröten in Nordborneo zu untersuchen (Kapitel II). Ich untersuchte die Nahrungszusammensetzung von mehreren Froscharten und wie sich diese mit Habitatumwandlung verändert. Zusätzlich habe ich die Stellung von Fröschen in der Nahrungskette sowie ihre phylogenetische, nahrungs- und funktionelle Diversität untersucht (Kapitel III). Schließlich habe die Interaktion von Fröschen mit ihrer Beute (in diesem Fall Ameisen) auch auf Artebene untersucht (Kapitel IV). II. Dieser Teil der Arbeit vergleicht die Artenzahl, relative Häufigkeit und die Artenzusammensetzung der bachlebenden Froscharten zwischen Primärwäldern, genutzten Wäldern und Ölpalmplantagen. Dazu nahm ich die Froschbestände mit einer standardisierten Transektmethode auf. Ich fand heraus, dass die meisten Froscharten aus Primärwäldern auch in forstwirtschaftlich intensiv genutzten Wäldern überleben konnten. Im Gegensatz dazu wiesen Ölpalmplantagen nur durchschnittlich ein drittel der Froscharten aus Wäldern auf. Jedoch konnte dieser Artenschwund durch einen hohen Kronenschluss über den Plantagenbächen reduziert werden. Diese Studie belegt den hohen naturschutzfachlichen Wert von genutzten Wäldern in Südostasien und die geringe Bedeutung von Ölpalmplantagen in diesem Zusammenhang. Jedoch zeigt es auch Wege auf, wie Ölpalmplantagen naturschutzfachlich aufgewertet werden können. III. Dieser Teil der Arbeit befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen der Habitatumwandlung auf die trophischen Interaktionen und mehrere Ebenen der Froschbiodiversität. Dazu untersuchte ich die Nahrungszusammensetzung von 59 Froscharten mittels Magenspülung. Darüber hinaus nutzte ich diese Daten um die Nahrungsvielfalt zu untersuchen und Daten aus der Literatur und die funktionelle Diversität zu erfassen. Dabei fand ich heraus, dass Frösche bei zunehmender Habitatzerstörung eine höhere Stellung in der Nahrungskette einnahmen. Darüber hinaus sank die allgemeine Diversität, die phylogenetische Verwandtschaft, die Nahrungsvielfalt und die funktionelle Diversität der Frösche. Also lässt sich schließen, dass diese tiefgreifenden Veränderungen eine deutlich andere Rolle der Frösche in den umgewandelten Habitaten zur Folge hat. Solche dramatischen Eingriffe in das Nahrungsnetz können negative Auswirkungen auf die Stabilität von Ökosystemen haben, jedoch zeigt sich auch hier, dass diese durch die Erhöhung des Kronenschlusses deutlich abgemildert werden können. IV. In diesem Abschnitt befasse ich mich auf die Auswirkungen der Habitatumwandlung auf die Häufigkeit der Kröte Phrynoidis juxtaspera, ihre Beute (Ameisen), sowie die Interaktion von Räuber und Beute. Dabei fand ich heraus, dass die Kröte in ungestörten Bächen am häufigsten war und gleichzeitig mehr (und andere) Ameisenarten in Ölpalmplantagen vorkamen. Jedoch war die Artenzahl von Ameisen bei konstantem Kronenschluss in Primärwäldern immer höher als in Ölpalmplantagen. Im großen Gegensatz zu diesen Veränderungen, war die Nahrungszusammensetzung der verbleibenden Kröten in den Plantagenbächen kaum unterschiedlich im Vergleich mit Primärwaldbächen. Eine Ausnahme war ein deutlich gestiegener Anteil der invasiven Ameisenart Anoplolepis gracilipes. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Räuber-Beute Interaktion unter Umständen unverändert die Habitatumwandlung überstehen können, aber auch in gewissem Umfang neue Ressourcen erschlossen werden können. V. Mit dieser Arbeit konnte ich zeigen, dass sich die großflächige Habitatumwandlung von Wäldern hin zu Ölpalmplantagen negativ auf die Froschbiodiversität, wie auch die Räuber-Beute Interaktionen von Fröschen auswirkt. Ausgehend von Artenzahl und Artenzusammensetzung konnte ich in meiner Arbeit darüber hinaus auch die Biodiversität der Frösche auf verschiedenen Ebenen beleuchten und schließlich sogar die Räuber-Beute Interaktion auf Artebene untersuchen. Dadurch konnte ich diesen komplexen Zusammenhang in ganz besonderer Tiefe beleuchten. Insgesamt liefert diese Arbeit einen weiteren wichtigen Beleg dafür, dass Primärwälder, aber neuerdings auch immer mehr genutzte Wälder entscheidend für den Erhalt von tropischer Biodiversität sind.

The United States is a Nation of Immigrants. A central part of the myth and narrative of the United States is based on the historical patterns and phases of various immigrant populations, their struggles, and their assimilation into the diverse culture of the United States. Each of these successive waves of immigration, however, has met with strong resistance by the existing population, a phenomenon that has persisted to the present day. This dual nature of this American narrative is reflected in the simultaneous existence of the Statue of Liberty, as a symbol of welcoming, and the ever-growing U.S.-Mexico border fence, as an adamant sign of isolation. While the immigration narrative in all its complexity is often acknowledged in theoretical terms, the practical importance of continuous immigration to the economy of the United States is treated as a separate societal issue. In fact, the United States' agricultural production depends heavily on the supply of migrant workers, almost entirely made up of immigrants. Due to the inconsistency of this work, farm owners hire immigrants who, unlike most people born in the United States, are willing to live without a permanent address, endure the physical labor, and who are in need of the opportunity, even if it is unstable. I posit that architecture can serve to expose the vital immigration, labor, and consumption processes underlying food production in the United States through a clear narrative made evident by techniques of sequence, mimesis, and composition in a functional monument containing an Immigration Advocacy Center, Community Garden, and Farmer's Market for the city of Sacramento. This project conflates programs associated with different economic groups in a way that reveals their social relationship. The Immigration Advocacy Center, Community Garden, and Farmer's Market that it houses will become vital to the city of Sacramento as a functional monument. A functional monument is a meaningful structure that can be occupied for a specific program; it describes a monument that is not viewed in the round but that a visitor is immersed in as they experience the narrative that it describes. It connects consumers of agricultural produce with the means of production, promoting an acceptance of and appreciation for the immigrant workers who support our economy. The architect has a great potential to construct meaning through the interpretation and implementation of culturally relevant stories and events, or those that have been passed down through history, and which still evoke clear images, emotions, and symbolic meaning in a given culture. The culturally sensitive architect deploys not only forms and technologies, but also symbols, which are defined as "a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract" (Oxford Dictionaries 2013). These symbols are established through stories, which are made familiar to the cultures that participate in an oral or written tradition. There are numerous architectural devices used to indicate narrative. The purpose behind expressing a narrative, whether it is to teach religion, promote a political view, to intimidate, or to encourage, often influences the way in which the narrative is conveyed; everything from the subconscious organization of a plan to the straightforward display of a symbol can indicate the presence of narrative in an architectural work. The role of narrative in architecture has existed for as long as architecture itself; since the first architect, Daedalus, created the labyrinth in Crete (Image 1) to hold the Minotaur, buildings have been a representation and reminder of the stories that inspired them (Image 2). Narratives define architecture by providing a system of associations, symbols, and deep cultural meaning by which a building can be interpreted and understood; the Hindu Bull, the Christian Cross, and the Jewish Star of David each have particular connotations specific to the cultural and religious narratives they participate in. An investigation of various scholarly interpretations of "narrative" in architecture yields a more complex and profound framework for the development of immigration and consumerism as a synthesized, contemporary American narrative. Architectural theorist and historian George Hersey explains parallels between Greek sacrificial practices and Greek ornament; how a temple's order expresses elements of ritual sequence and associated beliefs. He says, "classical ornament represented the remains or trophies of sacrifice." (Hersey 1988) In Giuseppe Terragni's Danteum, Dante's text The Divine Comedy, is embodied architecturally in a promenade, commemorated and used to symbolically reinforce Mussolini's government. Frank Lloyd Wright's synagogue, Beth Sholom, represents Mount Sinai, echoing ideas already present in the form of written tradition. The mastery and manipulation of cultural narratives and their symbolic associations are powerful tools for the architect. By constructing symbols and allegories, architectural work gains stronger cultural relevance and greater conceptual depth. The influential modern architect, theorist and teacher, O.M. Ungers describes allegory as "a dimension of controlled indirectness and double meaning" that "suggests a more deceptive and oblique language." He states that "The allegory arouses in the contemplator a response to levels of meaning and provides the designer with a tool that goes beyond pragmatic representation." Ungers describes the strength that symbols gain in a culturally and historically rich context: "While signs point to something that they represent, as words are artificial signs for ideas and thoughts, symbols are a penetration of mind and image characterized by mystery, depth, and inexhaustible interpretation. To express and visualize something abstract, transcendental or spiritual either symbols or allegories are used." (Ungers 2011) There are many culturally relevant stories in contemporary society: Biblical Parables, Greek Myth, The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, The Divine Comedy by Dante, Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Urban Legends. People are taught stories by parents, peers, religious following, and public media. These narratives work not in isolation, but form the rich tapestry of law, religion, tradition, poetry, song, and expression that comprises the diverse, yet often interconnected, oral and written cultures of the world. One of the most important cultural narratives in the United States today and throughout history is immigration in the land of opportunity. How an architectural framework manifests this narrative - whether in an impenetrable wall defining the countries border or an image of welcoming known world-wide - defines what the connotations of this narrative are and how it is considered nationally and internationally. While tall fences and intense patrolling at the U.S.-Mexico border are meant to establish security for Americans, this is inconsistent with the promise of Lady Liberty, a symbol that represents the ideals of freedom and opportunity: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-test to me. I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door!" Consumerism and immigration each define the United States in their own way, but are mostly viewed as unrelated. They are intrinsically linked, however, through the U.S. economy; thesequence from immigration to labor, transportation, and consumption form an essential American narrative. Agriculture in the United States is strongly dependent on immigration. The expression of a comprehensive narrative would promote a more just and equitable society; in this culture of consumers, the individuals who buy agricultural goods at a grocery store and the immigrant migrant workers who labor to generate the agricultural products are divided. There is a geographical and temporal split that has obfuscated the relationship between consumers and producers in the United States. Agriculture and immigration are interdependent parts of a system founded upon mutually beneficial processes that form a more complete American narrative for both immigration and consumerism. The narrative of immigration in the land of opportunity does not represent our nation fully. By comprehending the interdependence of immigration, labor, transportation and consumption, the United States will be better able to accommodate present and future immigration and its citizens will have a deeper appreciation for the immigrants and laborers that have always worked towards our nation's prosperity.

This report presents the case study of Cyprus for the IEE project "Monitoring of energy efficiency in EU 27, Norway and Croatia (Odyssee-Mure)". Firstly it provides the economic and energy background to energy efficiency and then presents an assessment of energy efficiency trends in Cyprus in the period 1995-2010. Finally the energy efficiency measures and policies are presented and evaluated. The report is based on indicators produced from the Odyssee database and the measures extracted from the Mure database both available on line. Cyprus economy has grown by 32% in the period 2000-2010, an annual increase of 2.9% in the GDP. Value added increased in all sectors except agriculture. The most important sector which is services has increased by 40% and this explains the overall economic growth. The value added of industry increased by 12.5% over the same period, and the private consumption of households increased by 38.4%. The fiscal deficit initially deteriorated from 2.3% of GDP in year 2000 to 4.1% of GDP in 2004, became a surplus in years 2007 and 2008, and then deteriorated again strongly and reached 5.3% of GDP in 2010. Cyprus has adopted the euro in 1/1/2008. The euro zone has further stimulated economic growth. The economy is mainly services driven depending heavily on tourism but also on banking services and companies operating in Cyprus using the beneficial tax and credit system. The accession of Cyprus to the EU had a negative impact on agriculture, due to the cheaper agricultural imports from other EU countries and because of the long term water shortage which the Government has not resolved yet (desalination plants are currently expanded for this purpose) but also due to the common agricultural EU policy. The expansion of the value added of industry after 2001 is attributed to the construction of buildings (foreign demand). Private consumption has increased by 38.4% which is explained by low unemployment and increase in the disposable income of households. The conclusion is that Cyprus is a services-dominated economy with good macroeconomic indicators which has managed to enter the euro zone by implementing strict policies in public finance. The Cyprus energy system is small and isolated with no interconnections and no natural gas yet. Since 1995, primary energy consumption has increased by 40% - from 1970 ktoe in 1995 to 2769 ktoe in 2010. During the same period final energy consumption has increased by 35% - from 1409 ktoe to 1909 ktoe in 2010. Oil remains the dominant energy source of final consumers (72%). The shares in the energy balance of 2010 are: transport 56% (15% aviation), 17% households, 12% tertiary, 13% industry, 2% agriculture. During the period 1995-2010 primary energy intensity has decreased by 0.9%/year. In the same period final energy intensity has also decreased by 0.9%/year. The ratio of final to primary energy intensity has decreased slightly from 72% in 1995 to 71% in 2010. This essentially stable ratio is due to the transformation sector which has a low efficiency of 32%. Renewable energy sources (RES) have started to develop due to the relevant EU directive, and now comprises about 5% of final consumption. The decrease of the energy intensities suggest that improvement in energy efficiency has taken place although structural changes have also played a major role. During the period 2000-2010 the total energy efficiency index (Odex) has improved by 13% compared with 12% of the EU 27. The reasons for the improvement is the energy efficiency improvement of the industrial sector (mainly from the installations subject to the EU Emissions Trading system – ETS) and also the contribution from the transport sector (56% of final energy consumption) which has improved its efficiency thanks to new clean and fuel efficient vehicles. The efficiency index of the industrial sector has improved by 29% in the period 2000- 2010. The improvement is attributed to the non metallic mineral branch, which is subject to ETS, but also to some other branches which implement energy saving measures. The ETS sector consumes around 70% of industrial energy consumption. The other energy consuming branch is the food/beverage sector. Between 2000 and 2010 the household sector shows improvement 23% in the global Odex and 11% in the technical Odex. Even though the quality of data in this sector is not very good we can justify the improvement after the year 2004 when Cyprus entered the EU and the measures implemented have started to create energy savings. Prior to accession no significant policies existed. The very important EU directive for the energy performance of buildings has not been implemented fully yet and therefore the large savings potential is still unexploited. The transport sector shows an improvement of 9% in the Odex in the period 2000- 2010. Since in this period passenger traffic using public transport has decreased drastically, the improvement should mainly be attributed to the penetration of new clean and fuel efficient vehicles. Until 2004 diesel fuel prices for transport were subsidised. Therefore the large engine capacity private vehicles were replaced gradually when prices were liberalised. Another factor affecting the efficiency of this sector is energy consumption of aviation (15% of total national final consumption). From the jet fuel consumption per passenger a decrease of 17% has taken place in the same time period. In Cyprus public transport is not well developed. There is no rail infrastructure or water transport. However in 2009 a new Law was enacted for the regulation and development of public transport. The entire bus fleet will be gradually replaced and increased with new and environmentally friendly vehicles together with other infrastructure. Total CO2 emissions from fuel combustion in Cyprus have increased from 4.77 Mt CO2 in 1995 to 8.4 Mt CO2 in 2010. The increase is mainly caused by the low energy efficiency of the electricity generation which is 32% in the time period and is oil based since there is no natural gas. Natural gas will not reach Cyprus before 2015. The total direct CO2 emissions from all final energy consuming sectors have increased by 18% between 1995 and 2010, from 3.6 Mt CO2 in 1995 to 4.2 MtCO2 in 2010, while they had peaked in year 2007 to 4.7 Mt CO2 and then declined as a result of the economic downturn of years 2008-2010. Cyprus has significant potential for energy savings in buildings and then in transport. Since the accession in 2004 all European policies in energy efficiency have been transposed and started to be implemented gradually. It is expected that a few more years are required until all the measures synergistically will deliver significant energy savings. In this respect the second National action plan (ESD 2006/32/EC) has been submitted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (www.mcit.gov.cy) in 2011 to the Commission with all the measures necessary for achieving a target of 10% in year 2016. The emphasis is two fold firstly to implement fully the EPBD directive, provide incentives to existing buildings for efficiency improvements and then to develop an efficient, environmentally friendly public transport system. Two more elements have occurred in the recent years which will affect drastically the energy policy in Cyprus. Firstly the major catastrophic accident of the biggest power station in Limassol in July 2011 after the explosion at a near-by naval base. The capacity was 700 MWe (50% of total). This has resulted in severe problems to cover the demand and significant increase of electricity prices. The second is that Cyprus is exploiting its economic exclusive zone (EEZ) for hydrocarbons and has completed two rounds of authorising rights in the 12 sea blocks of the EEZ. Thus far the results from the research drilling (first round of licensing from one block) have proven significant reserves of natural gas whose recovery is expected to start by 2017. The gas will be transferred to land via a pipeline with the construction also of an LNG terminal. ; Cyprus Institute of Energy

Before considering the new concepts in cataloguing which are likely to govern bibliographic control in the future, it is important to look back at the way in which the migration of the card catalogue to a networked environment has affected the organization of libraries. In many ways, the implementation of the National Library Service (SBN) has played a decisive role in "the slow and painstaking process of standardising the catalogues, with respect to cataloguing rules and record formats", which is among the main concerns of the Italian library authorities and therefore marked as one of the objectives of a national action plan as early as 1959. The production of the tapes containing the National Bibliography records in 1975 is the first episode of some importance in the history of library automation in Italy. Used for the photomechanical processing of the bibliography in its printed version, those tapes provided data in machine readable form which could be exchanged within the framework of the Universal Bibliographic Control programme strongly endorsed by IFLA. These records were given the ANNAMARC format structure, a local variant of the MARC format in use at the Library of Congress at the time. It was Maltese who recommended the adoption of MARC on the assumption that this would facilitate the integration of the Italian agency in the international bibliographic circuit. For several years only a few libraries, if any, could benefit from the availability of the national bibliography records. Copy cataloguing was in fact not a traditional procedure in Italian libraries the way it had been since the beginning of the 20th century in North-American libraries. The success of bibliographic utilities such as OCLC, RLG, WLN and UTLAS as well as the adoption of MARC and AACR2 as standards can easily be explained with the practice of importing the records produced at the Library of Congress into the various local catalogues. Most Italian developed cataloguing systems, instead, did not even include an import-export module, making it therefore impossible for Italian librarians to consider copy cataloguing as a promising, cost-effective option. Technology is not the only explanation for such a scarcity of cooperative efforts. Other factors include the non existence of library schools and the absence of an overall coordination policy at a national level. The first task to be undertaken by the National Library Service was therefore of an educational nature: the systematic training of librarians towards the use of standard cataloguing criteria. This required the adoption of a closed, centralised architecture, which replaced the distributed model initially envisaged by Vinay and Boisset. In joining the network each library or group of libraries added its existing records to the union catalogue through successive migrations of data. As a consequence of such a process, the quality of the records became rather uneven, forcing the national library as a routine to merge the duplicates and clean up the indexes. Most important, the project led to the creation of a database consisting of over 4.5 million records, contributed day by day by a thousand libraries of all shapes and sizes. The sense of cooperation, resulting in a general refinement of the acquisitions strategies as well as in the improvement of the exploitation of existing bibliographic resources, is particularly important in view of the development of the Italian digital library, as was emphasized during the 3rd National conference of libraries held at Padua last February. Descriptive cataloguing should become a minor concern for libraries as a consequence of the improved coverage offered by the various bibliographic utilities, in conjunction with the increasing number of digital documents. This has nothing to do with the idea that digital entities will catalogue themselves and that cataloguing standards are becoming unimportant since they do not apply to web sites and the rest. Such views, according to Gorman, are "not only wrong but also noxious because, though masquerading as progressive, they are impeding progress". Instead cataloguers should aim at developing linking devices to connect packages of recorded knowledge and information, using their titles, edition statements, issuers, dates and any other known data, and adding formalized names and titles to those descriptions and to those digital entities that allow library users to retrieve and collocate those documents, and relating them to a location either physical or virtual. However, it proves difficult for most librarians to abandon a system of bibliographic control that has been so successful and to adopt an entirely new set of concepts that will take full advantage of the new digital environment. The professional debate at an international level seemed so far more concerned with improvements needed within the established framework and hardly looked in any great depth at new concepts in cataloguing which are required if one wants to benefit from the intrinsic feature of a computer which resides in the ability to "establish, coordinate and connect syntaxes of signs", as suggested by Serrai. The need for a reassessment of the foundations on which cataloguing is based appeared with great evidence in the theoretical activities leading to the publication of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records in 1998. On the one hand it was felt that many inconsistencies were caused by bibliographic representations heavily relying on ISBD, a standard which uses principles having little relevance in an electronic environment, having been defined with a concern for the printed versions of the national bibliography and the exchange of bibliographic record at an international level, rather than as a data model for the needs of the individual library catalogue. On the other hand, it is evident that because of the large size of many databases and the number of hits that most searches produce, users tend to be frustrated in attempting to use a catalogue and sometimes wonder if the complexity is really necessary, especially if compared to the apparent user-friendliness of the general web search engine. The difference, according to Ayres, is a conceptual one which is already to be found in information retrieval where two basic types of searching have become established. These are pre-coordinate and post-coordinate. Cataloguing has so far always been a pre-coordinate operation and is based on what cataloguers do at the input phase, both as regards the description and the access terms. In particular, authority control (or "entry point control" as Gorman termed it already in 1977) in its present form is expensive to set up, to maintain and to use. Nevertheless, it is the foundation stone of sound cataloguing and a key factor in information retrieval and digital resources management. Again Ayres suggests that authority control be used to provide the link rather than the preferred heading, bearing in mind that from the user's viewpoint the preferred heading is the heading that he/she searches by and that in searching he/she wants the heading that he/she has thought about to be linked to the headings that he/she has not thought about. This means that the present authority control files will become linking files and that the entire procedure will implicitly be a post-coordinate operation. A fully developed electronic catalogue should be able to function in two ways, according to the specific needs of the user, providing "intellectual" (that is, access to the contents of library resources) as well as "bibliographic" control (that is, access to the physical packages in which content appears). Eventually, catalogues should give access to cultural heritage information, not just of a bibliographic nature, which is now under distributed control, bridging the barriers to access that have been created by specific traditions of custody and documentation. The feasibility of such a vision largely depends on the capability of the system within which they are stored to interoperate with those around them, but above all it relies on the intellectual effort dedicated to build up some kind of semantic, political, human and legal interoperability, both nationally and internationally.

В этом номере журнала мы публикуем материалы дискуссии между известным социологом Б.В. Дубиным (Левада-Центр) и экономистом А.А. Аузаном (МГУ), которая состоялась 17 ноября 2011 года на экономическом факультете МГУ в рамках Диспут-клуба Ассоциации независимых центров экономического анализа. Дискуссия была посвящена обсуждению роли культурных факторов в модернизации ряда незападных стран, а также культурных особенностей нашей страны, препятствующих или, наоборот, способных быть конвертированными в конкурентные преимущества России. ; There's continuous debate in Russia, as well as in many other parts of the world, on whether cultural factors affect modernization and determine the prospects of social and economic development. In this issue of the "Universe of Russia" we publish the materials from one such debate which took place at Moscow State University on November 17th, 2011 at the instigation of Association of Independent Centres for Economic Analysis. The two leading specialists in the field of Russian sociology (B. Dubin, Levada-Centre) and institutional economics (A. Auzan, Moscow State University) discuss the role of culture in social, political and economic modernization of non-Western countries and speculate on Russia's modernization prospects in this peculiar context. Dubin openly claims that he is skeptical about the cultural argument, and in doing so he relies on vast amounts of sociological data collected by Levada-Centre in the past 20 years. These data paradoxically show that there is actually little demand for modernization among Russians, although the latter is generally regarded (also in the elites) as a certain 'good'. What this means is that people actually want the change to happen, but preferably not now and not at their own effort. Secondly, Dubin has certain objections against modernization as some 'written project'. He rather defines it as a slow and simultaneous progress in all aspects of society's being, which is, in fact, a side product of struggle for political and economic power between various elite and proto-elite groups. On the other hand, modernization is not about the change in economic or political regime, but rather a cardinal change in behavior models individual as well as collective and their regulation via certain norms and institutions. According to Dubin's claims, a modernized society is a society, which is based on autonomy, competition and solidarity. And this is, indeed, a historical know-how which has been invented by Western societies. Such societies put stronger emphasis on personal achievements rather than ascribed characteristics, and are based on functional differentiation which constantly develops and progresses, while at the same time promoting universal orientations, norms and values. And this is where Russia has, in fact, particularly serious problems. Dubin prefers to characterize current Russian society in terms of "scattered mass" or "spectators" by referring to Russians' lack of participatory behavior. I.e. that is when people observe many bad things that happen in their own country (war, crimes, corruption, terrorism, etc.), but prefer to stay away and let it go. At the same time this situation of extreme "scatteredness" produces the situation of extreme particularism in private relations. For instance, it is quite common among Russians to expect particular attitude from others (and, often, neglect the existing social rules), when they are in desperate need of something. Nevertheless, Dubin is optimistic about the future, since he also makes note of emerging and expanding self-organized (rather than state-led) social movements and public organizations. Of course, these phenomena are yet too few to be considered as a strong social force, but it would eventually grow into something bigger, enough to promote serious positive change (although via cultural or educational, rather than political revolution). In his response to Dubin's arguments A. Auzan refers to examples of contemporary societies, which are not yet modern, but are no longer traditional. Another peculiar example are the so-called "Western off-shoots" (a Western post-colonial legacy), which have actually never been traditional societies. Auzan recalls the famous Lipset modernization hypothesis, according to which at some point economic growth in every society produces enough wealthy and educated people to create a sufficient demand for political modernization. However, it's been already 52 years since this hypothesis has been numerously supported and criticized, and there's yet no single opinion about "what drives what". Auzan develops his own argument from the well-known empirical work by Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson and Yarred, who've run dozens of different regressions to show that neither economic growth, nor political modernization themselves are the necessary conditions for successful development, but there certainly is some third yet unaccounted factor. He further refers to the recent book by North, Wallis and Weingast who consider particular social institutions that historically emerge in societies and, thus, affect the course of any social change. To support his argument Auzan further demonstrates a series of GDP per capita long-term profiles for various countries based on famous A. Maddison's time rows beginning with 1820 and onto 2010. Among them he distinguishes 1) the countries of the so-called "Christian trajectory", i.e. the Western European countries which have been developing steadily but at slower paces, 2) a group of Middle Asian and North-Eastern countries which heavily depend on natural resources and, thus, are characterized by very unsteady trajectories, 3) the countries of the so-called "Confucian trajectory", which have recently entered the age of steady and quick development, i.e. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, 4) a group of South-Eastern countries, which only enter modernization, with most notable case of Malaysia, which is also a case of probably the first successful Islamic modernization. The next thing he does is overlaps this data with the data from various cross-cultural studies (i.e. Hofstede, Inglehart, Schwarts) collected for the past 40-45 years. And their findings show that both, the Confucian and Western modernizations, are associated with even changes in certain values, i.e. a shift from values of survival to secular-rational values, a decrease in power distance and an increasing individualization. By showing this, Auzan concludes that cultural change is possible and, moreover, it is the key to successful modernization. He further comments on results from their own sociological study of Russian highly skilled professionals, who work in innovative industries in Russia (Saint-Petersburg), Germany (Berlin and northern Westfalia) and USA (Maryland and New Jersey). The goal of the survey was to establish typical characteristics of Russian workers, which distinguish them from their counterparts from other countries. The results were quite striking, since almost all Russians are characterized by radical (even conflict-bearing) individualism, valuing personal achievements over career and promotion, universal qualifications, and, at the same time, complete disregard for solving routine tasks and problems. All of this, according to Auzan, is a perfect explanation to a quite common situation of complete dedication of Russians in solving complex and non-trivial problems, but at the same time their authoritarianism and lack of negotiability as managers. One of the most serious failures to account these traits for production purposes is the well-known Russian car industry, which has failed to produce a decent car for civil purposes, but at the same time successfully develops a state-of-the-art super-car "Marussia" to be sold and produced in small series. Same logic applies to everything else and, particularly, the nuclear and aerospace industries. However, the other striking result from this research is that such cultural traits can easily be changed via education. The Russians, who work for innovative industries abroad, but have, at some point, acquired Western education, were far less likely to demonstrate the above mentioned characteristics. Finally, by considering all of the above Auzan develops the layout for successful Russian modernization, first, by exploiting its current cultural advantages and, second, by gradually changing the cultural patterns via education system and, particularly, its humanitarian component. The debate has provoked an active discussion, followed by various critical arguments and supportive opinions in favor and against both positions.

The struggle to belong Dealing with diversity in 21st century urban settings. Amsterdam, 7-9 July 2011 Eye contact, clientele alignment & laissez-faire: the production of public space and neighbourhood in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Thomas Kolnberger(*) Paper presented at the International RC21 conference 2011 Session: Nr. 12 – Belonging, exclusion, public and quasi-public space (*) Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Research Unit IPSE (Identité, Politiques, Sociètes, Espace) Universität Passau, BR Deutschland Southeast Asian Studies thomas.kolnberger@uni.lu Overview Private, public or quasi-public spaces are terms that seem particularly difficult to apply to non-Western societies: as in the 'West', their boundaries are fluid and routinely transgressed, but in ways that are distinctive to the local situation and history. This paper is arguing that these concepts retain practical descriptive power, particularly for the city of Phnom Penh, a case study of demographic extremes, as nearly all her inhabitants could be classified as immigrants. In deed, the Khmer Rouge had forcefully evicted the ca. two million people-strong population of the capital in 1975, virtually erasing all 'bourgeois urbanity' during Pol Pot's Cambodian 'auto-genocide'. After the fall of the regime, the new socialist government slowly repopulated the deserted metropolis with new urban dwellers. Their social and spatial belonging needed to be set up from scratch. "Who belongs to whom" (in terms of political clientelism and patronage), "who is doing what" (regarding face-to-face control and eye contact investigation), and "who owns what" (concerning redistribution and also new original accumulation of capital) were the essential questions in this 'struggle to belong'. In this urban setting, people have been employing a mixed set of strategies for implementing 'belonging' ever since. Based on empirical surveys (mapping & interviews) and research in Cambodian and French colonial archives, this paper presents the constant negotiations of private and public space in a changing economic environment from three angles: - streets, squares, and parks as spaces of interaction: the spatial inheritance of the French colonialism in a new context - the emergence of different types of gated communities since 1975: at first by spatial inclusion strategies generating patronage networks, then by urban planning separating rich from poor - the economy of espionage and imitation of Phnom Penh's retail trade: the neighbours' curious gaze Methodology - The city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia is a case study for a `rush economic evolution´ - This paper aims in one part to highlight the role and influence of place and space for a specific process: the spatial location of business sites in a unique window of opportunity as a self-organizing process `from below´. By applying spatial analysis (GPS mapping), a specific pattern of retail agglomeration and dispersion of this `atomistic´ metropolis could be identified. The analysis is based on fieldwork investigating the use of the city's space for economic ends. 1,000 kilometres of built frontage (`streetscapes´) with 14,647 cases of land use features (e.g. shops, `pavement economy´ etc.) have been surveyed and mapped. Subsequent to this quantitative part, 100 semi-structured interviews and numerous ad hoc conversations were conducted including a dozen of expert interviews (city administration, NGO, city planners). Results and Thesis - The city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia is a case study for a `subsistence urbanization´ - Much economic geography research has focused on the importance of the social context for various transactions. 'Face-to-face contact remains central to coordination of the economy, despite the remarkable reductions in transport costs and the astonishing rise in the complexity and variety of information – verbal, visual and symbolic – which can be communicated near instantly' (Storper and Venables, 2003, p. 43 ). Visual proximity and eye-contact are particularly important in environments of imperfect information, like in Cambodia after Pol Pot. Information was scarce at this time and communication hardware rare. Thus, in Phnom Penh's initial retail business formation, an 'economy of espionage and imitation' provided the necessary information for deal-making, decisions concerning the assortments of goods, prize, and trends. The first merchants and producers were heavily dependent on visual contact 'around the corner' and close contact also proved to be beneficial to customers. This specific knowledge and information externality (an externality or transaction spillover is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices) could only be reaped by spatial agglomerations. While screening and socialization of network members and potential partners were essential for the build-up of Cambodia's original clientele-system during the gradual resettlement, visual contact became the decisive steering mechanism for the original distribution of business agglomeration or its dispersion. For a `subsistence urbanization´, the public and quasi-public space are the most important `common-pool resource´. The influx of the population into the city produced a `non-rivalrous´ and `non-excludable´ economic good by the neighbours' curious gaze. - The city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia is a case study for a `spatial club´ - From a New Institutionalism's point of view 'City's neighbourhoods – residential, industrial and commercial clusters – are like firms, nexuses of agreements and understandings about entitlements to share and pooled resources. They differ from firms in that they are spatial clusterings and in that they cluster around resources that remain to varying extents in the public domain. They are like spatial clubs. Members co-operate by various forms of informal and formal rules and agreements in order to ensure the continued supply and enhancement of shared public domain goods. Municipal government is itself a type of club, delivering collectively consumed infrastructure and regulations from a tax on its citizens, firms and visitors. Communities, in the social sense, are also clubs – delivering collectively consumed benefits such as a sense of belonging, security and culture' (Webster and Lai 2003, p. 58). This spontaneous `neighbouring´ as 'rational herding' (Banerjee 1992; Hung and Plott 2001) helped to reduce transaction costs during the initial resettlement process (and beyond). It can be described as a continuous act of self agglomeration of business, creating bazaar-type streets over the whole of the city, which specialise in specific goods and services forming thus, from a bird's view perspective, a `mental retail map´ for the inhabitants. This is one side of building neighbourhoods in Phnom Penh. The base for this laissez-faire et laissez passer behaviorism of the government in (micro)economy was the redistribution of Phnom Penh's real estate amongst trustworthy followers. A `New property Deal´ of first in, first served allocated the built environment piecemeal. In this political economy, two steps are discernable. First, a community-building process regarding the public administration. Each ministry was assigned to a certain area of the city and in a top-down process, starting from the top echelons to the simple civil servants and officials, distributed land and housing. Initially, each responsible could pick `his´ followers and could reward him/her with the allocation of living space, a social structure, which represents a spatially bond replica of the traditional clientelism and patronage-network in Cambodia. These 'strings' (ksae) formed the first neighbourhoods as a kind of `original´ gated community because each administrative unit was planned to be self-sufficient. Each 'cité' (Carrier 2007) was thus clearly demarcated. Its decisions were autonomous, too. In certain areas of Phnom Penh, remnants of this socio-politically gathered community can be found. In a second step, and with increasing immigration, secondary ksae (the mother's cousin, the friend of a friend) proliferated and the city was being `filled up´. Today, the pattern of co-residence in technically secluded areas of Phnom Penh resembles the typical economical founded example of gated communities as neighbourhoods around the world: the rich and the better off separate from the rest. The once moral economy of the civil war and initial post-conflict years is dissolving. Regulation, commodification and the government's efforts to demarcate public and private space is replacing/reducing the common good 'public space'.

In East Africa 70-80 % of the population is subsistence farmers. The rural health system is often poorly equipped both with personnel and medicines, and many depend on the use of medicinal plants for their primary health care. Malaria is the single most serious cause of morbidity, mortality and poverty, partly because the parasite causing the disease, Plasmodium falciparum, has developed resistance towards the most common and affordable medicines, and the fact that a large part of the population is malnourished. In East Africa many plants are used in the treatment of malaria, but most of them are poorly investigated for effect and safety. Bark and roots of trees are often used for medicine, and some of the trees are locally threatened because of population increase and deforestation. Traditional medicine has received increased attention from governments in Tanzania and Uganda. In Tanzania laws and regulations on management of natural resources and traditional medicine, which are in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity, are now in place. However, important ecosystems for medicinal plants are heavily degraded. In Uganda laws and regulations for traditional medicine are now under debate in the government. Experiments on germination and seedling growth for two Ugandan medicinal trees, Mitragyna (Hallea) rubrostipulata and Sarcocephalus latifolius, was conducted in controlled environments. Both needed light to germinate, Mitragyna rubrostipulata had a temperature optimum at 25°C with 79 % germination, while germination for Sarcocephalus latifolius after 28 days was around 60 % for the temperatures 20-35°C. A germination field experiment failed, indicated that these species need assistance from nursery to be able to establish in degraded areas. The framework tree species method was chosen to conserve and gain more knowledge about local medicinal trees. In this method 25-40 different local woody species are raised in nursery and planted in a single event in a mixed stand. The intention is to encourage regeneration of degraded forest. We raised and planted 27 mainly indigenous woody species in three plots in April 2008, and monitored survival and growth for 13 months. Eleven species turned out to be excellent framework species, while eight others were acceptable. Some of the important medicinal trees we failed to cultivate, partly because they have become so rare that we did not find seeds. Total antioxidant activity (AOA) in 35 Ugandan fruits and vegetables were measured using the Ferro Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) method. The results showed large variation in AOA from 72.5 ± 13.5 (Syzygium cuminii seeds) to 0.09 ± 0.05 (Curcubita maxima fruit) mmol/100 g fresh weight. Antioxidant activity per serving was calculated, and the food with heighest AOA per serving were pomegranat (Punica granatum), Canarium schweinfurthii, guava (Psidium guajava), mango (Mangifera indica) and tree tomato (Cyphomandra betacea) with values from 8.91 to 3.00 mmol/serving. AOA for Ugandan mango in this study was five times higher than values found in another study of mangoes bought in Norway. In Uganda the intake of antioxidants can be relative easily increased by adding more of the fruits that are abundant in the fruiting seasons and green leafy vegetables. Raw extracts from tree medicinal plants that are used to treat malaria in Uganda were tested for antioxidant (DPPH, FRAP, Total phenols) and anti-plasmodial activity. The water extract of Mitragyna rubrostipulata showed highest anti-plasmodial activity (IC50= 1.95 μg/ml), and high antioxidant activity as well. Thirteen other extracts showed high anti-plasmodial activity ranging from 2.12 to 3.63 μg/ml (chloroquine control: IC50= 8 μg/ml). There was high correlation between the different antioxidant assays. In March – April 2009 twenty-eight traditional birth attendants and healers from Mbarara District in Western Uganda were interviewed about how they use plants to treat malaria. Altogether they used 57 different plant species from 27 families. Asteraceae was most common, with 17 species used, followed by Fabaceae (8) and Lamiaceae (5). Leaves were the most commonly used plant part, and in most cases fresh leaves were either pounded and juice squeezed out, or decoction were made for oral intake. More than 80 % of the recipes included Vernonia amygdalina, a species used for treatment of malaria all over Africa, and for which effect has been documented. ; I Øst Afrika er 70-80 % av befolkningen selvforsyningsbønder. Det lokale helsesystemet er ofte dårlig bemannet og utstyrt, og mange baserer seg på den tradisjonelle bruken av medisinplanter for å behandle vanlige sykdommer. Malaria er den viktigste enkeltårsaken til sykdom, død og fattigdom, delvis fordi parasitten som forårsaker sykdommen har utviklet resistens overfor de vanligste og rimeligste medisinene, og fordi en stor del av befolkningen er under- eller feilernært. Mange planter blir brukt til behandling av malaria, men de fleste er dårlig undersokt for effekt og sikkerhet. Bark og røtter av trær brukes ofte medisinsk, og noen trær er lokalt truet på grunn av befolkningsøkning og avskoging. I Tanzania og Uganda har den tradisjonelle medisinen fått økende oppmerksomhet fra myndighetene. Tanzania har nå lovverket på plass for forvalting av natur ressurser og praktisering av "Traditional Medicine" i samsvar med Konvensjonen om Biologisk Mangfold, mens i Uganda er fortsatt disse lovene under debatt. Viktige økosystem for medisinplanter er ødelagte. Spirings- og vekstforsøk for to medisinske trær, Sarcocephalus latifolius og Mitragyna (Hallea) rubrostipulata ble utført i kontrollerte omgivelser. Begge trengte lys for a spire, Mitragyna rubrostipulata hadde temperaturoptimum for 25°C med 79 % spiring, mens spiring for Sarcocephalus latifolius etter 28 dager var rundt 60 % for temperaturene 20-35°C. Såforsøk i felt var mislykket og tyder på at gjenetablering av disse artene i degraderte omrader er avhengig av oppal i planteskole. "The framework tree species method" ble valgt for å bevare og få bedre kjennskap til lokale medisinske trær. Denne metoden innebærer oppal og utplanting av 25-40 forskjellige treslag samtidig med den hensikt å fremme regenerering av skog. Vi plantet ut 27 hovedsakelig lokale treslag i tre felt i april 2008, og registrerte overlevelse og vekst i et år. Elleve arter viste meget god overlevelse og vekst, mens åtte flere hadde akseptabel vekst. Noen viktige medisinske trær har vi foreløpig ikke klart å oppformere, delvis fordi de har blitt så sjeldne at vi ikke klarte å finne frø. Total antioksidant aktivitet (AOA) i 35 ugandiske frukt og gøonnsaker ble malt ved hjelp av FRAP (Ferro Reducing Ability of Plasma). Resultatene vist stor variasjon i AOA fra 72,5 ± 13,5 (Syzygium cuminii fro) til 0,09 ± 0,05 (Curcubita maxima frukt) mmol/100 g fersk vekt. Antioksidant aktivitet per porsjon ble kalkulert, og de matvarene som hadde høyest AOA per porsjon var granateple (Punica granatum), Canarium schweinfurthii, guava (Psidium guajava), mango (Mangifera indica) og tretomat (Cyphomandra betacea) med verdier fra 8,91 til 3,00 mmol/porsjon. AOA for Ugandisk mango i dette forsøket var fem ganger sa høy som verdier målt i mango kjøpt i Norge. Inntak av antioksidanter kan relativt lett økes ved å innta mer av de matvarene som har høy AOA, og som mange steder er tilgjengelige i overflod i fruktsesongen. Råekstrakter fra tre medisinplanter (Mitragyna rubrostipulata, Vernonia adoensis and Zanthoxylum chalybeum), som brukes i Uganda til behandling av malaria, ble testet for antioksidant (DPPH, FRAP, Total fenoler) og anti-plasmodial aktivitet. Vi fant at vannekstraktet av Mitragyna rubrostipulata hadde høyest anti-plasmodial aktivitet (IC50= 1,95 μg/ml), samt høy antioksidant aktivitet. Tretten andre ekstrakter hadde høye anti-plasmodiale aktiviteter med verdier mellom 2,12 til 3,63 μg/ml (klorokin kontroll: IC50= 8 μg/ml). Vi fant høy korrelasjon mellom de forskjellige antioksidant-testene. I mars - april 2009 ble 28 tradisjonelle fødselshjelpere fra Mbarara distrikt i det vestlige Uganda intervjuet om hvordan de bruker planter for a behandle malaria. De brukte til sammen 57 forskjellige arter fra 23 familier. Korgplantefamilien var den vanligste, med hele 17 arter, dernest erteblomstfamilien (8) og leppeblomstfamilien (5). Blader av urtene var den vanligste plantedelen brukt, og i de fleste tilfeller ble enten friske blader knust og plantesaften presset ut, eller det ble laget avkok av ferske eller tørkede plantedeler. Over 80 % av oppskriftene innbefattet Vernonia amygdalina, som er brukt til behandling av malaria over store deler av Afrika, og hvor effekt er dokumentert.

The term Ambient Intelligence (AmI) refers to a vision on the future of the information society where smart, electronic environment are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people and their activities (Context awareness). In an ambient intelligence world, devices work in concert to support people in carrying out their everyday life activities, tasks and rituals in an easy, natural way using information and intelligence that is hidden in the network connecting these devices. This promotes the creation of pervasive environments improving the quality of life of the occupants and enhancing the human experience. AmI stems from the convergence of three key technologies: ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication and natural interfaces. Ambient intelligent systems are heterogeneous and require an excellent cooperation between several hardware/software technologies and disciplines, including signal processing, networking and protocols, embedded systems, information management, and distributed algorithms. Since a large amount of fixed and mobile sensors embedded is deployed into the environment, the Wireless Sensor Networks is one of the most relevant enabling technologies for AmI. WSN are complex systems made up of a number of sensor nodes which can be deployed in a target area to sense physical phenomena and communicate with other nodes and base stations. These simple devices typically embed a low power computational unit (microcontrollers, FPGAs etc.), a wireless communication unit, one or more sensors and a some form of energy supply (either batteries or energy scavenger modules). WNS promises of revolutionizing the interactions between the real physical worlds and human beings. Low-cost, low-computational power, low energy consumption and small size are characteristics that must be taken into consideration when designing and dealing with WSNs. To fully exploit the potential of distributed sensing approaches, a set of challengesmust be addressed. Sensor nodes are inherently resource-constrained systems with very low power consumption and small size requirements which enables than to reduce the interference on the physical phenomena sensed and to allow easy and low-cost deployment. They have limited processing speed,storage capacity and communication bandwidth that must be efficiently used to increase the degree of local "understanding" of the observed phenomena. A particular case of sensor nodes are video sensors. This topic holds strong interest for a wide range of contexts such as military, security, robotics and most recently consumer applications. Vision sensors are extremely effective for medium to long-range sensing because vision provides rich information to human operators. However, image sensors generate a huge amount of data, whichmust be heavily processed before it is transmitted due to the scarce bandwidth capability of radio interfaces. In particular, in video-surveillance, it has been shown that source-side compression is mandatory due to limited bandwidth and delay constraints. Moreover, there is an ample opportunity for performing higher-level processing functions, such as object recognition that has the potential to drastically reduce the required bandwidth (e.g. by transmitting compressed images only when something 'interesting' is detected). The energy cost of image processing must however be carefully minimized. Imaging could play and plays an important role in sensing devices for ambient intelligence. Computer vision can for instance be used for recognising persons and objects and recognising behaviour such as illness and rioting. Having a wireless camera as a camera mote opens the way for distributed scene analysis. More eyes see more than one and a camera system that can observe a scene from multiple directions would be able to overcome occlusion problems and could describe objects in their true 3D appearance. In real-time, these approaches are a recently opened field of research. In this thesis we pay attention to the realities of hardware/software technologies and the design needed to realize systems for distributed monitoring, attempting to propose solutions on open issues and filling the gap between AmI scenarios and hardware reality. The physical implementation of an individual wireless node is constrained by three important metrics which are outlined below. Despite that the design of the sensor network and its sensor nodes is strictly application dependent, a number of constraints should almost always be considered. Among them: • Small form factor to reduce nodes intrusiveness. • Low power consumption to reduce battery size and to extend nodes lifetime. • Low cost for a widespread diffusion. These limitations typically result in the adoption of low power, low cost devices such as low powermicrocontrollers with few kilobytes of RAMand tenth of kilobytes of program memory with whomonly simple data processing algorithms can be implemented. However the overall computational power of the WNS can be very large since the network presents a high degree of parallelism that can be exploited through the adoption of ad-hoc techniques. Furthermore through the fusion of information from the dense mesh of sensors even complex phenomena can be monitored. In this dissertation we present our results in building several AmI applications suitable for a WSN implementation. The work can be divided into two main areas:Low Power Video Sensor Node and Video Processing Alghoritm and Multimodal Surveillance . Low Power Video Sensor Nodes and Video Processing Alghoritms In comparison to scalar sensors, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, velocity, and acceleration sensors, vision sensors generate much higher bandwidth data due to the two-dimensional nature of their pixel array. We have tackled all the constraints listed above and have proposed solutions to overcome the current WSNlimits for Video sensor node. We have designed and developed wireless video sensor nodes focusing on the small size and the flexibility of reuse in different applications. The video nodes target a different design point: the portability (on-board power supply, wireless communication), a scanty power budget (500mW),while still providing a prominent level of intelligence, namely sophisticated classification algorithmand high level of reconfigurability. We developed two different video sensor node: The device architecture of the first one is based on a low-cost low-power FPGA+microcontroller system-on-chip. The second one is based on ARM9 processor. Both systems designed within the above mentioned power envelope could operate in a continuous fashion with Li-Polymer battery pack and solar panel. Novel low power low cost video sensor nodes which, in contrast to sensors that just watch the world, are capable of comprehending the perceived information in order to interpret it locally, are presented. Featuring such intelligence, these nodes would be able to cope with such tasks as recognition of unattended bags in airports, persons carrying potentially dangerous objects, etc.,which normally require a human operator. Vision algorithms for object detection, acquisition like human detection with Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification and abandoned/removed object detection are implemented, described and illustrated on real world data. Multimodal surveillance: In several setup the use of wired video cameras may not be possible. For this reason building an energy efficient wireless vision network for monitoring and surveillance is one of the major efforts in the sensor network community. Energy efficiency for wireless smart camera networks is one of the major efforts in distributed monitoring and surveillance community. For this reason, building an energy efficient wireless vision network for monitoring and surveillance is one of the major efforts in the sensor network community. The Pyroelectric Infra-Red (PIR) sensors have been used to extend the lifetime of a solar-powered video sensor node by providing an energy level dependent trigger to the video camera and the wireless module. Such approach has shown to be able to extend node lifetime and possibly result in continuous operation of the node.Being low-cost, passive (thus low-power) and presenting a limited form factor, PIR sensors are well suited for WSN applications. Moreover techniques to have aggressive power management policies are essential for achieving long-termoperating on standalone distributed cameras needed to improve the power consumption. We have used an adaptive controller like Model Predictive Control (MPC) to help the system to improve the performances outperforming naive power management policies.

Fast economic growth is closely interrelated with renovation of industrial technologies. implementation of novelties and a rapid development of business innovation. Based on the European Union (EU) experience, identifying the key obstacles and opportunities for business development and growth becomes increasingly important for Lithuania. Therefore. before delving into daily business practices. the theoretical principles of innovation development need to be thoroughly discussed.The article examines an interrelation between innovation and economic competitiveness, the methodology of business innovation concept, the importance of development acceleration and financial support as well as the strategic objectives.The article offers a comparative analysis of innovation funding in Lithuania and other EU countries. Innovation survey is based on official reports of Lithuanian Department of Statistics, European Commission, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and other establishments. It is supported by research findings and reviews of different authors. Lithuanian strategies and legal acts. Methods of statistical data comparative analysis and content analysis of scientific literature and publications were also applied in the survey.After joining the European Union, one of the most important topics became raising the competitiveness of Lithuanian economy to attain the long-term objectives set out by the Lisbon Strategy. It broadly aims at making "the EU the world's most dynamic and competitive economy" by the 2010 deadline. The Lisbon Strategy is heavily based on the fast growth of quantitative and qualitative scientific research, economic potential and development of business innovation. Despite the fact that the Lithuanian economy is developing faster than on average the EU does, the backwardness of the country is obvious. One of such areas is technological and innovation development. The economy is still occupied by the conventional orientation towards technologies and markets.The survey has shown that the biggest obstacle for business innovation development is the lack of capital which is supposed to be invested into development of ground breaking, however unprofitable products and management systems, which would result in a bigger efficiency and innovativeness only in a long run. Funding of business innovation as a risktaking activity is not attractive to investors due to permanent control and opportunity costs, which are substantial even if innovation is managed at a small scale. Such widely operating innovat ion funding sources as "Angel Investors" or "Seed Capital" in Western economies are not yet present in Lithuania. In the meanwhile there are just a few risk capital funds in Lithuania, which usually show interest in big-scale projects due to the fact that the risk capital market goes through a fierce competition. Most frequently only the best project proposals receive funding, out of which just a few turn into a success and attain fast development. For example, in 2001 as little as 17% of officially operating risk capital in Europe was assigned to primary business investments. The Risk Capital Action Plan identifies six categories of obstacles, which prevent risk capital market development in Europe: fragmentation of markets; legal regulations; taxation; small presence of SME in hi-tech area; human resources, culture. Having made a review of the current situation in Lithuania and the European Union, the following sources of business innovation funding can be identified: the European Structural Funds, European Union innovation project programs; international funding corporations; investor associations; risk capital companies; mezzanine; "Angel Investors"; guarantee funds and banks.Innovation implementation in Lithuania in comparison with the EU is very different in terms of funding. According to data of the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, Research and Development (R&D) by sectors in 2003 were funded as follows: funds of business enterprises - 16.7%, government funds - 64.6%; foreign funds - 13.8%; university funds - 4.8%; private non-profit sector funds - 0.1%. Taking into account the objective of Lisbon Strategy, which implies that 2/3 of business innovation should come from the business sector aiming to attain the EU average, Lithuanian business initiative should be prompted better in these regards. Taking into account the present Lithuanian input into R&D (0.68% of GDP in 2003 and 0.76% GDP in 2004), support of Structural Funds of the current and coming periods, general economy development trends, in the National Lisbon Action Program it is admitted that Lithuania will have difficulties in allotting 3% of gross domestic expenditures, and especially from the business sector, for research and development by 2010, as it is averagely targeted in the EU. Nevertheless, the author expects that in any case, attention, joint efforts and funding of Lithuanian government institutions, business and educational organizations into R&D should be much more substantial than it is set in the Program, and they should attain no less than 2.5% of GDP and from the business sector 1.2% of GDP.While conducting PAP! (paper and pencil interviews) in Lithuanian enterprises on innovation activities, respondents were asked to indicate financial funds they use. The response rate reached 60%. Nearly all respondents have stated that companies first of all employ their own resources and profits. In several instances there were mentioned banks, stock capital and access to partner resources. Such a reserved funding shows that in fact innovation activities are quite passive in Lithuania due to the lack of financial resources. There were indicated a few most risktaking ways of projects' funding: high interest rates, trading in property (which corresponds to bank lawns or mezzanine funding), involvement of third parties into business performance, as well as high standards for productivity and profitability (which corresponds to mezzanine, risk capital or "Angel Investors" funds), stock emission and sales to third parties under condition that later on company shares will be acquired at a market price (which corresponds to risk capital and "Angel Investors" funds). Nevertheless, 53% of respondents have indicated that they don't plan any new projects as long as they haven it generated enough of needed resources. As little as two respondents would consider stock emission and credits at high interest rates. This shows that companies in Lithuania still experience a fear of taking credits, future uncertainty and a too narrow choice of financial instruments.The experience of developed economies imposes that one of the main preconditions of economical growth in Lithuania is development of future technologies and innovation. This asks for a well-coordinated system of actions to accelerate innovation; to provide necessary information, consultancy and financial support not only to scientific research organizations and the business sector, but also to establishments of education. It is important to acknowledge on the statewide scale that EU Structural Funds, which now raise big expectations, will support Lithuania to the extent as they do now on temporary basis only. For the Lithuanian economy to sustain its competitiveness in the international arena in the future. in parallel efforts should be made to develop a system of incentives for an effective risk capital market and business innovation growth. ; Spartus ekonominis augimas siejamas su gamybos technologiniu atnaujinimu, inovacijų įgyvendinimu ekonominėje ir socialinėje srityje bei spartesne inovacinio verslo plėtra. Lietuvai ypač svarbu, atsižvelgiant į sukauptą patirtį Europos Sąjungos (ES) ir kitose šalyse, pasirinkti tinkamus inovacinio verslo plėtros skatinimo būdus ilgai perspektyvai.Straipsnio tikslas - išnagrinėti svarbiausias inovacinio verslo Lietuvoje plėtros problemas ir galimybes.Svarbiausi uždaviniai: apibūdinti inovacijų ir ekonomikos konkurencingumo priklausomybę; apžvelgti inovacijų ir inovacinio verslo sampratos metodologines problemas; aptarti inovacinės plėtros skatinimo ir finansavimo svarbą bei strateginius tikslus; ES šalių kontekste pateikti Lietuvos inovacinės veiklos finansavimo būdų lyginamąją analizę; išryškinti inovacinio verslo Lietuvoje plėtros galimybių perspektyvą.Inovacinės veiklos tyrimas atliktas remiantis Lietuvos statistikos departamento duomenimis, Europos Komisijos, Ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacijos atliktų tyrimų oficialiomis ataskaitomis, įvairių autorių atliktais tyrimais, apžvalgomis bei Lietuvos strategijomis, įstatymais ir poįstatyminiais aktais. Tyrimui panaudoti mokslinės literatūros ir publikacijų ir statistikos duomenų lyginamosios analizės ir apibendrinimo metodai.

Executive summary Introduction CTA works primarily through intermediary organisations and partners (non-governmental organisations, farmers' organisations, regional organisations) to promote agriculture and rural development and to deliver its various information products and capacity building services. By partnering with these organisations, CTA seeks to increase the number of ACP organisations capable of generating and managing information and developing their own information and communication management strategies. This study is one of six country assessment studies of needs for agricultural information needs in countries emerging from prolonged conflict situations in Africa. Objectives The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture and rural development in Angola. Methodology The country profile was produced through a desktop study that relied heavily on information available on the Internet. Additional information was obtained from informants through e-mail contacts. Using the desktop study we compiled a list of key institutions to interview. This list was discussed via e-mail with CTA and informants in Angola. Informants of nine key institutions were then interviewed face-to-face. Expected results This study will provide: 1) an inventory of the status of agricultural information services, institutions and other actors and their needs as their relate to physical infrastructure, information availability and access and human capacity development; 2) an assessment of the current and / or planned interventions of the government and bi- or multilateral agencies in the field of information for agriculture and rural development; 3) an overview of the needs of potential partners for CTA activities and services in terms of building capacity for information and communication management; 4) a short-list of potential partners / beneficiaries for CTA activities and services; 5) baseline data to facilitate subsequent monitoring activities. The study will also provide a framework for CTA to develop a framework for action and fashion a strategy aimed at institutions in countries emerging from conflict situations and provide input into its 2006 – 2010 strategic plan. Findings During the civil war between UNITA and the Angolan Government that lasted until 2002, the infrastructure in Angola, especially in rural areas, was almost completely destroyed. Since 2002, up to 4.5 million displaced people were resettled in their area of origin or preference and received emergency support. About 2.2 million households (75% of the population) are engaged in subsistence agriculture. Agricultural production is still low but growing rapidly. Since 2002 the area under cultivation has increased with 50 % to 3.2 million hectare but that represents still only 5% of all arable land and Angola still imports about half of its cereal requirements. The main export crops are coffee and palm oil. Livestock numbers are also increasing rapidly since 2002. The production is concentrated in the southern provinces. Access to water is the main constraint for livestock holders in these areas. Fisheries are an important sector, providing direct employment to 35,000 people. Firewood and charcoal are an important source of income for up to 18% of the rural households and the only source of energy to almost all rural households. Timber production is concentrated in Cabinda province. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contribute 8% to the GNP. Because of the weak infrastructure and the focus on emergency projects, which spent only the minimum on obtaining information and ICM, there is limited information available about the situation in rural areas. The information that is available is fragmented and scattered in many project evaluation reports. To cope with this situation, an informal network of information exchange has developed between NGOs, GoA and bi- and multilateral agencies in Angola over the last four years. The language barrier and outdated libraries are the main obstacles encountered by organisations searching for technical information on agriculture. Limited access to mass media and weak infrastructure are the main obstacles encountered in extension activities. There is currently no national strategy on information management and none of the organisations interviewed had an organisational strategy on information management. Organisations working in the area of agriculture and rural development are now changing to development activities and this change is accompanied by some important changes in information demands. Firstly, there is an increased need for active participation in the planning and implementation of activities by the target group. Secondly, new actors are coming in, while present ones are leaving. Thirdly, it is expected that rural households in Angola will increase production above subsistence level in the near future and will be looking for opportunities to market excess production or divert resources to cash crops. Fourthly, the government is relaxing media controls, allowing freer communication between all stakeholders and a potential increase in the use of media by NGOs. Conclusions Most respondents need information on the actual situation on the ground. Existing information produced between 2002 and 2006 is scattered over many organisations and reports. This information must be consolidated in a data-base before the main implementers leave Angola. Respondents also need information about developments in thinking on food security, rural livelihoods, participatory approaches to resource management and rural development preferably in the form of reference books. Furthermore, information is needed on micro credit and support to associations. This information should be in the form of manuals and exchange visits to successful projects, preferably in Portuguese speaking and/or African countries. Finally, technical information on food crops and fisheries is needed. Respondents need capacity building in information management to increase the effectiveness of the organisation. Especially government officials requested training in the analysis of socio-economic data. Training in the design of questionnaires and in training the interviewers is also necessary. Furthermore, respondents wanted training in the use of the Internet to obtain information and in the design and development of websites, in effective writing and the development of extension materials, in the use of participatory methods and in demand driven extension. Finally, some respondents wanted training in the use of mass media, especially radio and in the production and use of audio-visual training material. Recommendations We recommend that CTA support IDA with the development of a national IMC strategy for agricultural information that will encourage a pro-poor and gender sensitive development strategy. CTA should also supports IDA, FONGA and ADRA with the establishment of an institutional ICM. This would include building a data-base with all information produced to date. Additionally CTA should support a policy for the use of mass media, especially community radio in extension programmes. Simultaneously, the most needed information will have to be made available at central level for ongoing work. Small libraries can be set up for this at IDA and FONGA. Second, a programme of capacity building is needed to enable all actors to implement the policies formulated in the first phase. This programme should be accompanied by a limited provision of resources (Internet access, increased libraries). Trained personnel musts have the resources to use their new skills to implement activities. Successful approaches used at central level can be replicated at provincial level during this stage. Care must be taken that the information system remains pro-poor and gender sensitive. Possibly, specific actions to help prevent the spread of HIV and mitigate its effects should be taken during this phase. Finally, in the long term, specific technical information will need to be supplied for specific target groups such as fish breeders and farmers specialising in niche markets. ; The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture.

Robert Fico has long been a dominant figure in Slovakia, having served as prime minister from 2006-10, 2012-18, and then 2023-present. He has upset many believers in transatlantic unity for various reasons — chiefly his opposition to the West's arming of Ukraine, which shares a 60-mile border with Slovakia. Depicting the war there as an "American-Russian conflict," Fico campaigned last year on giving Kyiv "not another bullet." Often characterized as a "pro-Kremlin" politician, he has criticized Western sanctions on Moscow.On May 15, Fico was the target of an assassination attempt. A gunman shot him five times at close range in Handlová, a small town in central Slovakia. Fico survived albeit in critical condition. The attack marked the first assassination attempt on a European prime minister in 21 years. According to Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, the alleged assailant, Juraj Cintula, was politically motivated and possibly not acting alone. The attempt occurred shortly after presidential elections, which one of Fico's allies, Peter Pellegrini, won in the second round.Political and social divisionsSlovakia's politics are extremely polarized. Among Slovaks, many staunchly support Fico while many others loathe him. There are those in the country who embrace Western-style liberalism and believe Bratislava's foreign policy should be closely aligned with its Western allies in NATO and the EU, both of which Slovakia joined in 2004. On the conservative end of the spectrum, a majority of Slovak voters support Fico's government as a defender of Slovak traditions by, for example, rejecting "gender ideology.""Each group not only holds different visions for Slovakia's future but also perceives the other's agenda as a direct threat to their way of life and values, and this is exaggerated and weaponized as a means of political capital," Zuzana Palovic, co-author of "Czechoslovakia: Behind the Iron Curtain," told RS.The murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée in 2018, the government's COVID response, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 all deepened polarization in Slovakia. Fico's government routinely criticizes the opposition for serving the Western liberal order while his opponents attack him for being too Moscow-friendly and rolling back media freedoms. Many point to Russian propaganda as a significant driver of polarization in this former Soviet satellite, which is the case in other EU member-states too.In the 2020-23 period, a number of Fico's political allies were indicted for corruption and subsequently convicted. "While some of the cases were half-baked, Fico's defense always has been that everything is just a political witch hunt—yes, he sounds like Trump here," according to Andrej Matišák, a journalist who works for the Slovak daily Pravda. "By undermining the work of policemen, prosecutors, and judges, he created another piece of the polarization puzzle," he told RS."The Slovak politicians themselves contributed to the status quo in Slovakia. Political accusations are never ending in Slovakia," said Lívia Benko, a research fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy. "The recent political landscape reveals that the number of hateful statements from politicians is on the rise," she added.The assassination attempt has exacerbated tensions within Slovak society. Outgoing President Zuzana Čaputová has emphasized the need to prevent further escalation. But her appeal thus far appears to be ignored by both sides of the political spectrum."The appeal for calmness and unity is not being respected to the extent it should be by either the polarized society, in which family members do not speak to each other over politics, nor by the coalition and opposition," Benko noted."The current political landscape in which politicians and their family members are getting threatening letters is very complex," she added. "Slovak politics are full of conspiracy theories and disinformation. This is all reflected on social media platforms."Talk of 'civil war'Following the assassination attempt, Eštok warned that the country is "on the edge of a civil war" due to the rhetoric on social media. According to Palovic, such language coming from the minister "reflects concerns about the stability and unity of Slovakia — mentally, emotionally, and socially."Matišák said Eštok's talk of civil war was understandable given the powerful emotions at that moment. But he also described it as a "very unfortunate statement.""Only the government has the means to start the civil war, and, in that case, it wouldn't even be a civil war; it would be some kind of putsch against the democratic regime in Slovakia. I don't believe that will happen, so I read the minister's words as an attempt to communicate with his own electorate to suggest that first of all the 'other side' is responsible for what happened. As I said, it is unfortunate, and he should know better," Matišák said."It's the rhetorical equivalent of firefighters starting their job by throwing a canister of gas into the fire," Matej Kandrík, a co-founder of Adapt Institute, a Bratislava-based think tank, told RS."It's both irresponsible and dangerous. Slovakia is nowhere close to a civil war. Unfortunately, [Eštok] is speaking like he is a candidate running in the election and not as a minister of the interior."The road aheadUnsurprisingly, this month's assassination attempt has clearly raised serious concerns about the trajectory of Slovakia's deep-seated societal and political divisions. What comes next will depend heavily on the government's actions, according to Benko, particularly regarding how the state may use the attack as a pretext for cracking down on the opposition and independent civil society groups and media.Doing so, on the other hand, could negatively affect its standing with the EU, an important source of financial and development assistance."The terrible shape of public finances increased the relative importance of EU funds for Slovakia. Suppose the European Commission will stay adamant about protecting the rule of law and the quality of democracy. In that case, it should prevent the most aggressive moves to solidify the power of the government," Kandrík told RS. "Still, I expect the situation to worsen for all pro-democratic actors.""In a normal country, the normal reaction would be for all political elites to lock themselves around the principles of democracy and the rule of law. However, it seems that some people in Slovakia, especially from the pro-government spectrum, are intensifying the polarization," said the Slovak journalist."I am afraid that the main aim of the majority of the players from the governing coalition is to use the current events to strengthen their grip on power [rather than] to calm down the situation. On the other hand, I very much hope I will be proved wrong."Implications for US foreign policyBack in the 1990s, when the autocratic leader Vladimir Mečiar was independent Slovakia's first prime minister, the Slovak government basically ran the country like a mafia state. In the mid-1990s, NATO delayed Slovakia's membership application due to the country's domestic issues. By 1998, then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright called Slovakia a "black hole in the center of Europe." That was only six years before it joined the transatlantic alliance and the EU.Today, Washington has much at stake in the future of Slovakia, which sits on the fault line of a divided Europe. Having militarily cooperated closely with the U.S. since 1993, Slovakia remains an important U.S. ally on NATO's eastern flank at a time of intensified hostilities between Russia and the West.Amid a period in which Fico and Hungary's Viktor Orbán increasingly align their countries with Moscow in ways that many Western policymakers believe is a thorn in the EU's side, debates over how Washington and Brussels should try to influence these "renegade EU leaders" in Bratislava and Budapest are sensitive. There is reason to consider how Western pressure on these Russia-friendly NATO and EU members has potential to backfire in ways that further erode the West's unity against Moscow.This month's attempted assassination risks manifesting in an exacerbation of Slovakia's internal tensions, as well as those between Bratislava and Brussels. This would be especially so if Fico's government pushes through initiatives that weaken the rule-of-law. Although the immediate implications of the attempt on Fico's life for Washington's interests are currently difficult to assess, instability in Slovakia could have major ramifications for U.S. foreign policy interests in this part of Europe, particularly within the context of the continent's evolving security architecture.

Prior to the war in Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian interests had already been deadlocked in a heated battle. But this clash wasn't being waged on the streets of Kyiv, it was being fought on K Street in Washington D.C. The combatants donned suits, not camouflage. Their targets weren't hardened military units, they were U.S. policymakers in Congress and the executive branch. Their goal wasn't total victory, it was to win hearts, minds, and, above all, votes for their cause. This was the lobbying battle before the Ukraine war. As I documented in a Quincy Institute brief, this David vs. Goliath style battle between a small, relatively low-funded, but remarkably zealous Ukrainian lobby had largely been thwarted by a multi-million dollar lobbying and PR campaign by Russian interests. But when Russian President Vladimir Putin made the disastrous decision to invade Ukraine two years ago, this Russian influence advantage in D.C. quickly evaporated. Within a week of the war's onset, U.S. sanctions effectively decimated Russia's influence in Washington, forcing a number of top lobbying and public relations firms to sever ties with their Russian clients. Since then the Ukraine lobby has been largely unopposed in its efforts to steer U.S. foreign policies related to the war. The Ukraine lobby has helped pave the way for more than $100 billion in U.S. assistance to Ukraine and meticulously crafted the media narrative to maintain U.S. public support for Ukraine's war effort.The Ukraine Lobby Since the War BeganIn the two years since the war in Ukraine began, 46 different firms or individuals have been registered under FARA to represent Ukrainian interests. This includes lobbying heavyweights like BGR Government Affairs, Hogan Lovells, and Hill & Knowlton, as well as international public relations firms like Qorvis Communications. In total, these firms have received nearly $10.92 million from Ukrainian clients since 2022, according to FARA data compiled by OpenSecrets. Just as in the year before the war — when FARA registrants reported conducting 13,541 political activities on behalf of their Ukrainian clients — the Ukraine lobby has been working feverishly since the war began. A Quincy Institute analysis of FARA records found that, since the war began, Ukrainian interests have reported doing more than 12,000 political activities on behalf of Ukrainian interests, primarily contacting Congress, the executive branch, and media outlets. By far the busiest firm working on behalf of Ukrainian interests has been Yorktown Solutions, which has represented the Federation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry of Ukraine, the Civil Movement For a Just Ukraine, and the Primary Trade Union Organization of State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company, better known as "Energoatom."For just one of these clients — the Federation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry — Yorktown has reported doing 8,296 political activities since the war began. To put that remarkable workload in perspective, it equates to an average of more than 11 emails, phone calls, and meetings completed every day on behalf of just one client. No other foreign client registered under FARA has had more work done on their behalf in the past two years, according to a Quincy Institute analysis of FARA records.Since the war began, Yorktown hasn't hidden the fact that one of the primary objectives behind all this work is to increase U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. "We've gone from energy security to security," Daniel Vajdich, President of Yorktown Solutions, told Politico less than a month after the war began, explaining the firm's shift away from lobbying related to the Nordstream 2 pipeline and towards acquiring U.S. military assistance for Ukraine. Vajdich added that, "It is 24 hours, even when we're sleeping the phone is on, and the phone is going off, and there are phone calls from Kyiv, and there are phone calls from others here in Washington both in and out of government … We speak to the administration. We speak to Capitol Hill. We certainly speak to media as well."In addition to its Ukrainian clients, Yorktown has also been working feverishly for the Centre for a European Future, reporting more than 4,000 political activities on behalf of the Belgium based non-profit whose objectives revolve heavily around Ukraine and include, "rebuilding Ukraine," "joining NATO," and "securing compensation for the war."The Pro-Bono Push for UkraineAt just under $11 million in reported FARA spending by Ukrainian clients since the war began, the Ukraine lobby isn't funded at the level of perennial influence powerhouses in Washington, like Saudi Arabia, whose lobbying and public relations firms have received more than $70 million from the Kingdom since 2022, according to OpenSecrets. But, the actual dollar amount of spending on lobbying, public relations and the other influence efforts done on behalf of Ukrainian interests is deceptive, as many individuals, and even some of the most prominent lobbying firms in D.C., have been working for Ukraine pro-bono. In fact, of the 46 different firms and individuals that have been registered under FARA to represent Ukrainian clients, 29 have done the work for free.Working for Ukraine pro-bono became somewhat trendy in the Washington influence industry shortly after the war began. Many of the firms registered under FARA to represent Ukrainian interests for free, however, appear to have done little work on behalf of Ukrainian interests. Some reported just a handful of contacts with congressional offices on behalf of Ukraine. Another reported a "one day pro bono effort" for a Ukrainian Parliamentary Delegation to the U.S. In one infamous case, a firm registered under FARA claiming to be working pro-bono for the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations, only to deregister just days later after the ambassador publicly explained that he was not actually working with the firm. On the other hand, a number of lobbying and PR firms have done a considerable amount of work for Ukrainian interests at no charge to their clients. A Quincy Institute analysis of FARA records found that Plus Communications tops this list with nearly 3,000 political activities reported in its pro-bono work for the Ukrainian PR Army, a non-profit organization that purports to help, "global media tell the accurate story of this war through the perspectives of Ukrainian experts, authorities, and witnesses." Plus Communications' work involved pitching interviews with prominent Ukrainian officials to seemingly every mainstream U.S. media outlet, including Fox News, The Washington Post, and NPR. Another major pro-bono endeavor is being run on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Informational Policy of Ukraine, specifically in relation to the ministry's "Advantage Ukraine Initiative," which seeks to attract international investment in Ukrainian industries, with the top choice being the defense industry. Several firms are registered under FARA to support this pro-bono initiative, including Hill & Knowlton Strategies, Ogilvy Group, and Group M. The latter has reported nearly 300 emails to major media outlets, most of which were in reference to "ad materials" for Advantage Ukraine. The firm's FARA filings show these ads include slogans like, "Davos is over. The opportunities in Ukraine have just begun," and "Imagine an investment where you get applauded by shareholders AND the public?"Group M's collaborator on the Advantage Ukraine Initiative, Ogilvy Group, is also one of several firms that have been working pro-bono for Ukraine while taking money from firms that are profiting from the Ukraine war. As Eli Clifton and I previously reported for Responsible Statecraft, Hogan Lovells, BGR Government Affairs, Mercury Public Affairs, Navigators Global, and Ogilvy Group have all done pro-bono work for Ukraine interests while also lobbying on behalf of weapons makers that could profit from the war.The Ukraine Lobby TodayWhile the size of the Ukraine lobby has decreased since the early months of the war, 18 firms are still registered under FARA to represent Ukrainian interests. Most of them are still doing the work pro-bono, and many of them remain intent on shaping U.S. foreign policy to Ukraine's favor. More so than at any time since the war began though, they're having to fend off an American public which increasingly believes the U.S. is providing too much aid to Ukraine. How this tension pans out remains to be seen, but there is little doubt that the Ukraine lobby has all the ammunition it needs to continue winning the lobbying battle in Washington.

Horizon Environmental Services, Inc. (Horizon) was selected by Berg-Oliver Associates, Inc. (BOA) on behalf of the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) to conduct a cultural resources inventory and assessment for the proposed Schiel Storm Water Detention Basin Project in Harris County, Texas (HCFCD Project No. L500-09-00-E003). The proposed undertaking would consist of constructing an extensive system of storm water detention basins and other drainage control measures within an approximately 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) tract located near Hockley in northwestern Harris County. The project area generally flanks Little Cypress Creek and is bounded roughly on the west by Becker Road, on the south by Schiel Road, and on the east by Mason Road. For purposes of the cultural resources survey, the project area was assumed to consist of the entire 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) tract. The proposed undertaking is being sponsored by HCFCD, a political subdivision of the state of Texas; as such, the project would fall under the jurisdiction of the Antiquities Code of Texas. In addition, the project would require the use of federal permits issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Galveston District, under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). As such, those portions of the overall project area that fall within the federal permit area would also fall under the jurisdiction of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). As the proposed project represents a publicly sponsored undertaking, the project sponsor is required to provide the applicable regulatory agencies with an opportunity to review and comment on the project's potential to adversely affect historic properties listed on or considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under the NHPA and/or for designation as State Antiquities Landmarks (SAL) under the Antiquities Code of Texas, as appropriate. Between February 2019 and April 2020, Horizon archeologists Charles E. Bludau, Jr., Luis Gonzalez, and Amanda Kleopfer conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the project area. Jeffrey D. Owens acted as Principal Investigator, and the survey was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8700. The purpose of the survey was to locate any significant cultural resources that potentially would be impacted by the proposed undertaking. Horizon's archeologists traversed the tract and thoroughly inspected the modern ground surface for aboriginal and historic-age cultural resources. The project area consists of a vast tract that largely follows the channel of Little Cypress Creek. Areas adjacent to the creek were largely undeveloped and covered in moderately dense hardwood forests with a dense understory of shrubs, grasses, forbs, brambles, vines, and various grasses. Portions of the project area consisted of extensive cleared fields, some of which appeared to have been formerly cultivated, and most of which were in use as pastureland. Vegetation in the more open areas consisted of dense pasture grasses with isolated copses of hardwood trees. Whereas most of the project area is undeveloped and appears to be largely intact, various disturbances were observed. Several roadways traverse the project area, including State Highway (SH) 99, Bauer Road, and Mason Road, and a linear pipeline corridor passes northeast to southwest through the northern portion of the project area. An extensive sand-mining pit located immediately west of SH 99 has effectively destroyed approximately 35.8 hectares (88.5 acres) of the project area. Two large, contoured drainage channels have been constructed in the western portion of the project area that have disturbed a collective area of approximately 13.2 hectares (32.5 acres) of the project area. These drainage channels appear to be associated with a small residential subdivision located to the west of the project area off the eastern side of Becker Road that was under construction at the time of the survey. Visibility of the modern ground surface ranged from poor (<20%) in more heavily vegetated areas to excellent (80 to 100%) in cleared areas. The cultural resources survey was conducted prior to the implementation of revised archeological survey guidelines by the Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA) and Texas Historical Commission (THC) on April 17, 2020; as such, the prior guidelines of 2014 were utilized for the project. Under these guidelines, the Texas State Minimum Archeological Survey Standards (TSMASS) require a minimum of one shovel test per 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) for project areas measuring 40.9 hectares (101.0 acres) or more in size. As such, a minimum of 211 shovel tests would be required within the 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) project area. Horizon excavated a total of 633 shovel tests, thereby exceeding the TSMASS for a project area of this size. Shovel tests typically revealed sandy clay loam to sandy loam sediments overlying sandy clay. Mottling and iron staining was ubiquitous in shovel tests, suggesting that large portions of the project area are likely saturated on a seasonal or perennial basis. Extensive areas of standing water were observed over the course of the year during which the cultural resources survey was conducted. The majority of the project area is characterized by fluviomarine terraces created during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene epochs, though the terraces of Little Cypress Creek are of Holocene age. While not all shovel tests contained iron concretions, they were encountered in enough of the shovel tests to suggest that shovel testing was capable of penetrating Holoceneage sediments with the potential to contain subsurface archeological resources. It is Horizon's opinion that shovel testing was capable of fully penetrating sediments with the potential to contain archeological deposits; as such, mechanical deep testing was not utilized. One newly recorded archeological site, 41HR1241, was documented within the project area during the survey. This site consists of the remains of the 20th-century farm of Alfred William (A.W.) and Mary Kathryn Petry. Historical maps indicate the farm was in operation as early as 1920, and it appears to have been abandoned by the 1980s. Formerly, the farm was composed of a domicile, at least one large outbuilding, and several smaller outbuildings, but all of the historicage structures have been demolished. Numerous large bulldozer push piles were observed on the site that contained concrete rubble and other construction debris, and it is likely these push piles are all that remains of the historic-age buildings that once stood on the site. Currently, all that remains of the Petry farm are several abandoned vehicles, a concrete well covered over with an overturned wheelbarrow, and a low-density surface and shallow subsurface scatter of domestic debris, including clear and brown glass shards, metal wire fragments, a railroad spike, a spark plug, construction debris (primarily concrete chunks), aluminum beer cans, glass beer bottles, and some polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping. Aside from the beer bottles and cans and the PVC piping, which are clearly of modern age and date from the end of the lifecycle of the farm, most of the cultural materials observed on the farm are only generally diagnostic of the 20th century. The only standing structure remaining on the site is a modern metal garage. Site 41HR1241 has been largely destroyed, and very little remains of the Petry farm. Based on the lack of standing historic-age buildings or intact cultural features, the ephemeral character of the surficial and shallow subsurface archeological deposits, and the absence of any known historical distinction of the members of the Petry family or association of the farm with events or trends of historical importance, site 41HR1241 is recommended as ineligible for inclusion in the NRHP and for designation as an SAL. Based on the results of the survey-level investigations documented in this report, no potentially significant cultural resources would be affected by the proposed undertaking. In accordance with 36 CFR 800.4, Horizon has made a reasonable and good-faith effort to identify historic properties within the project area. No cultural resources were identified within the project area that meet the criteria for designation as SALs according to 13 TAC 26 or for inclusion in the NRHP under 36 CFR 60.4. Horizon recommends a finding of "no historic properties affected," and no further archeological work is recommended in connection with the proposed undertaking. However, human burials, both prehistoric and historic, are protected under the Texas Health and Safety Code. In the event that any human remains or burial objects are inadvertently discovered at any point during construction, use, or ongoing maintenance in the project area, even in previously surveyed areas, all work should cease immediately in the vicinity of the inadvertent discovery, and the THC should be notified immediately. Following completion of the project, project records will be prepared for permanent curation at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL).

Horizon Environmental Services, Inc. (Horizon) was selected by Berg-Oliver Associates, Inc. (BOA) on behalf of the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) to conduct a cultural resources inventory and assessment for the proposed Schiel Storm Water Detention Basin Project in Harris County, Texas (HCFCD Project No. L500-09-00-E003). The proposed undertaking would consist of constructing an extensive system of storm water detention basins and other drainage control measures within an approximately 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) tract located near Hockley in northwestern Harris County. The project area generally flanks Little Cypress Creek and is bounded roughly on the west by Becker Road, on the south by Schiel Road, and on the east by Mason Road. For purposes of the cultural resources survey, the project area was assumed to consist of the entire 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) tract. The proposed undertaking is being sponsored by HCFCD, a political subdivision of the state of Texas; as such, the project would fall under the jurisdiction of the Antiquities Code of Texas. In addition, the project would require the use of federal permits issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Galveston District, under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). As such, those portions of the overall project area that fall within the federal permit area would also fall under the jurisdiction of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). As the proposed project represents a publicly sponsored undertaking, the project sponsor is required to provide the applicable regulatory agencies with an opportunity to review and comment on the project's potential to adversely affect historic properties listed on or considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under the NHPA and/or for designation as State Antiquities Landmarks (SAL) under the Antiquities Code of Texas, as appropriate. Between February 2019 and April 2020, Horizon archeologists Charles E. Bludau, Jr., Luis Gonzalez, and Amanda Kleopfer conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the project area. Jeffrey D. Owens acted as Principal Investigator, and the survey was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8700. The purpose of the survey was to locate any significant cultural resources that potentially would be impacted by the proposed undertaking. Horizon's archeologists traversed the tract and thoroughly inspected the modern ground surface for aboriginal and historic-age cultural resources. The project area consists of a vast tract that largely follows the channel of Little Cypress Creek. Areas adjacent to the creek were largely undeveloped and covered in moderately dense hardwood forests with a dense understory of shrubs, grasses, forbs, brambles, vines, and various grasses. Portions of the project area consisted of extensive cleared fields, some of which appeared to have been formerly cultivated, and most of which were in use as pastureland. Vegetation in the more open areas consisted of dense pasture grasses with isolated copses of hardwood trees. Whereas most of the project area is undeveloped and appears to be largely intact, various disturbances were observed. Several roadways traverse the project area, including State Highway (SH) 99, Bauer Road, and Mason Road, and a linear pipeline corridor passes northeast to southwest through the northern portion of the project area. An extensive sand-mining pit located immediately west of SH 99 has effectively destroyed approximately 35.8 hectares (88.5 acres) of the project area. Two large, contoured drainage channels have been constructed in the western portion of the project area that have disturbed a collective area of approximately 13.2 hectares (32.5 acres) of the project area. These drainage channels appear to be associated with a small residential subdivision located to the west of the project area off the eastern side of Becker Road that was under construction at the time of the survey. Visibility of the modern ground surface ranged from poor (<20%) in more heavily vegetated areas to excellent (80 to 100%) in cleared areas. The cultural resources survey was conducted prior to the implementation of revised archeological survey guidelines by the Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA) and Texas Historical Commission (THC) on April 17, 2020; as such, the prior guidelines of 2014 were utilized for the project. Under these guidelines, the Texas State Minimum Archeological Survey Standards (TSMASS) require a minimum of one shovel test per 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) for project areas measuring 40.9 hectares (101.0 acres) or more in size. As such, a minimum of 211 shovel tests would be required within the 335.8-hectare (829.9-acre) project area. Horizon excavated a total of 633 shovel tests, thereby exceeding the TSMASS for a project area of this size. Shovel tests typically revealed sandy clay loam to sandy loam sediments overlying sandy clay. Mottling and iron staining was ubiquitous in shovel tests, suggesting that large portions of the project area are likely saturated on a seasonal or perennial basis. Extensive areas of standing water were observed over the course of the year during which the cultural resources survey was conducted. The majority of the project area is characterized by fluviomarine terraces created during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene epochs, though the terraces of Little Cypress Creek are of Holocene age. While not all shovel tests contained iron concretions, they were encountered in enough of the shovel tests to suggest that shovel testing was capable of penetrating Holoceneage sediments with the potential to contain subsurface archeological resources. It is Horizon's opinion that shovel testing was capable of fully penetrating sediments with the potential to contain archeological deposits; as such, mechanical deep testing was not utilized. One newly recorded archeological site, 41HR1241, was documented within the project area during the survey. This site consists of the remains of the 20th-century farm of Alfred William (A.W.) and Mary Kathryn Petry. Historical maps indicate the farm was in operation as early as 1920, and it appears to have been abandoned by the 1980s. Formerly, the farm was composed of a domicile, at least one large outbuilding, and several smaller outbuildings, but all of the historicage structures have been demolished. Numerous large bulldozer push piles were observed on the site that contained concrete rubble and other construction debris, and it is likely these push piles are all that remains of the historic-age buildings that once stood on the site. Currently, all that remains of the Petry farm are several abandoned vehicles, a concrete well covered over with an overturned wheelbarrow, and a low-density surface and shallow subsurface scatter of domestic debris, including clear and brown glass shards, metal wire fragments, a railroad spike, a spark plug, construction debris (primarily concrete chunks), aluminum beer cans, glass beer bottles, and some polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping. Aside from the beer bottles and cans and the PVC piping, which are clearly of modern age and date from the end of the lifecycle of the farm, most of the cultural materials observed on the farm are only generally diagnostic of the 20th century. The only standing structure remaining on the site is a modern metal garage. Site 41HR1241 has been largely destroyed, and very little remains of the Petry farm. Based on the lack of standing historic-age buildings or intact cultural features, the ephemeral character of the surficial and shallow subsurface archeological deposits, and the absence of any known historical distinction of the members of the Petry family or association of the farm with events or trends of historical importance, site 41HR1241 is recommended as ineligible for inclusion in the NRHP and for designation as an SAL. Based on the results of the survey-level investigations documented in this report, no potentially significant cultural resources would be affected by the proposed undertaking. In accordance with 36 CFR 800.4, Horizon has made a reasonable and good-faith effort to identify historic properties within the project area. No cultural resources were identified within the project area that meet the criteria for designation as SALs according to 13 TAC 26 or for inclusion in the NRHP under 36 CFR 60.4. Horizon recommends a finding of "no historic properties affected," and no further archeological work is recommended in connection with the proposed undertaking. However, human burials, both prehistoric and historic, are protected under the Texas Health and Safety Code. In the event that any human remains or burial objects are inadvertently discovered at any point during construction, use, or ongoing maintenance in the project area, even in previously surveyed areas, all work should cease immediately in the vicinity of the inadvertent discovery, and the THC should be notified immediately. Following completion of the project, project records will be prepared for permanent curation at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL).

The presence of noise and corruption in real-world data can be inevitably caused by accidental outliers, transmission loss, or even adversarial data attacks. Unlike traditional random noise usually assume a specific distribution with low corruption ratio, the data collected from crowdsourcing or labeled by weak annotators can contain adversarial data corruption. More challenge, the adversarial data corruption can be arbitrary, unbounded and do not follow any specific distribution. In addition, in the era of data explosion, the fast-growing amount of data makes the robust models more difficult to handle large-scale data sets. This thesis focuses on the development of methods for scalable robust models under the adversarial data corruption assumptions. Four methods are proposed, including robust regression via heuristic hard-thresholding, online and distributed robust regression with adversarial noises, self-paced robust learning for leveraging clean labels in noisy data, and robust regression via online feature selection with adversarial noises. Moreover, I extended the self-paced robust learning method to its distributed version for the scalability of the proposed algorithm, named distributed self-paced learning in alternating direction method of multiplier. Last, a robust multi-factor personality prediction model is proposed to hand the correlated data noises. For the first method, existing solutions for robust regression lack rigorous recovery guarantee of regression coefficients under the adversarial data corruption with no prior knowledge of corruption ratio. The proposed contributions of our work include: (1) Propose efficient algorithms to address the robust least-square regression problem; (2) Design effective approaches to estimate the corruption ratio; (3) Provide a rigorous robustness guarantee for regression coefficient recovery; and (4) Conduct extensive experiments for performance evaluation. For the second method, existing robust learning methods typically focus on modeling the entire dataset at once; however, they may meet the bottleneck of memory and computation as more and more datasets are becoming too large to be handled integrally. The proposed contributions of our work for this task include: (1) Formulate a framework for the scalable robust least-squares regression problem; (2) Propose online and distributed algorithms to handle the adversarial corruption; (3) Provide a rigorous robustness guarantee for regression coefficient recovery; and (4) Conduct extensive experiments for performance evaluations. For the third method, leveraging the prior knowledge of clean labels in noisy data is actually a crucial issue in practice, but existing robust learning methods typically focus more on eliminating noisy data. However, the data collected by ``weak annotator" or crowd-sourcing can be too noisy for existing robust methods to train an accurate model. Moreover, existing work that utilize additional clean labels are usually designed for some specific problems such as image classification. These methods typically utilize clean labels in large-scale noisy data based on their additional domain knowledge; however, these approaches are difficult to handle extremely noisy data and relied on their domain knowledge heavily, which makes them difficult be used in more general problems. The proposed contributions of our work for this task include: (1) Formulating a framework to leverage the clean labels in noisy data; (2) Proposing a self-paced robust learning algorithm to train models under the supervision of clean labels; (3) Providing a theoretical analysis for the convergence of the proposed algorithm; and (4) Conducting extensive experiments for performance evaluations. For the fourth method, the presence of data corruption in user-generated streaming data, such as social media, motivates a new fundamental problem that learns reliable regression coefficient when features are not accessible entirely at one time. Until now, several important challenges still cannot be handled concurrently: 1) corrupted data estimation when only partial features are accessible; 2) online feature selection when data contains adversarial corruption; and 3) scaling to a massive dataset. This paper proposes a novel RObust regression algorithm via Online Feature Selection (textit{RoOFS}) that concurrently addresses all the above challenges. Specifically, the algorithm iteratively updates the regression coefficients and the uncorrupted set via a robust online feature substitution method. We also prove that our algorithm has a restricted error bound compared to the optimal solution. Extensive empirical experiments in both synthetic and real-world data sets demonstrated that the effectiveness of our new method is superior to that of existing methods in the recovery of both feature selection and regression coefficients, with very competitive efficiency. For the fifth method, existing self-paced learning approaches typically focus on modeling the entire dataset at once; however, this may introduce a bottleneck in terms of memory and computation, as today's fast-growing datasets are becoming too large to be handled integrally. The proposed contributions of our work for this task include: (1) Reformulate the self-paced problem into a distributed setting.; (2) A distributed self-paced learning algorithm based on consensus ADMM is proposed to solve the textit{SPL} problem in a distributed setting; (3) A theoretical analysis is provided for the convergence of our proposed textit{DSPL} algorithm; and (4) Extensive experiments have been conducted utilizing both synthetic and real-world data based on a robust regression task. For the last method, personality prediction in multiple factors, such as openness and agreeableness, is growing in interest especially in the context of social media, which contains massive online posts or likes that can potentially reveal an individual's personality. However, the data collected from social media inevitably contains massive amounts of noise and corruption. To address it, traditional robust methods still suffer from several important challenges, including 1) existence of correlated corruption among multiple factors, 2) difficulty in estimating the corruption ratio in multi-factor data, and 3) scalability to massive datasets. This paper proposes a novel robust multi-factor personality prediction model that concurrently addresses all the above challenges by developing a distributed robust regression algorithm. Specifically, the algorithm optimizes regression coefficients of each factor in parallel with a heuristically estimated corruption ratio and then consolidates the uncorrupted set from multiple factors in two strategies: global consensus and majority voting. We also prove that our algorithm benefits from strong guarantees in terms of convergence rates and coefficient recovery, which can be utilized as a generic framework for the multi-factor robust regression problem with correlated corruption property. Extensive experiment on synthetic and real dataset demonstrates that our algorithm is superior to those of existing methods in both effectiveness and efficiency. ; Doctor of Philosophy ; Social media has experienced a rapid growth during the past decade. Millions of users of sites such as Twitter have been generating and sharing a wide variety of content including texts, images, and other metadata. In addition, social media can be treated as a social sensor that reflects different aspects of our society. Event analytics in social media have enormous significance for applications like disease surveillance, business intelligence, and disaster management. Social media data possesses a number of important characteristics including dynamics, heterogeneity, noisiness, timeliness, big volume, and network properties. These characteristics cause various new challenges and hence invoke many interesting research topics, which will be addressed here. This dissertation focuses on the development of five novel methods for social media-based spatiotemporal event detection and forecasting. The first of these is a novel unsupervised approach for detecting the dynamic keywords of spatial events in targeted domains. This method has been deployed in a practical project for monitoring civil unrest events in several Latin American regions. The second builds on this by discovering the underlying development progress of events, jointly considering the structural contexts and spatiotemporal burstiness. The third seeks to forecast future events using social media data. The basic idea here is to search for subtle patterns in specific cities as indicators of ongoing or future events, where each pattern is defined as a burst of context features (keywords) that are relevant to a specific event. For instance, an initial expression of discontent gas price increases could actually be a potential precursor to a more general protest about government policies. Beyond social media data, in the fourth method proposed here, multiple data sources are leveraged to reflect different aspects of the society for event forecasting. This addresses several important problems, including the common phenomena that different sources may come from different geographical levels and have different available time periods. The fifth study is a novel flu forecasting method based on epidemics modeling and social media mining. A new framework is proposed to integrate prior knowledge of disease propagation mechanisms and real-time information from social media.