Search results for: land governance

Authors: Sumeyra Yakar

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The idea of this research had its genesis from the writer's interest in Shi'i school and religio-political atmosphere in contemporary Iran. The research aims to identify how the past dynamics between political and legal figures and their relationship between each other affect contemporary relationship between political and religious authorities at the local and global level. It attempts to explore religio-politic Shi'i figures and their relationship with the official jurisprudence from the 15th century to the contemporary period. The mutual interaction between the opinion and acts of political figures and jurisprudential institutions enlightens the role of religious values to control the mass population. After the collapse of the Safawīd Dynasty, Shi'i believers lost their political guardian and legal independence, and the situation gave them the inspiration to create unique ideologies or political approaches to solve the governance crisis. The analysis of authoritative political figures and their scholastic contributions elucidate the connection between political powers and religious doctrines under the protection of sectarian oriented theocratic governments. Additionally, understanding the incremental influence of political (historical) Shi'i figures into religious doctrines shed lights on the chronological development of peculiar government style and authoritative hierarchy in contemporary Shi’i communities. The research as being interdisciplinary one offers to create an academic awareness between legal and political factors in Shi’i school of thought and encompasses political, religious, social, financial and cultural atmospheres of the countries in which the political figures lived. The Iranian regime enshrines the principle of vilāyāt-i faqīh (guardianship of the jurist) which enables jurists to solve the conflict between law as an ideal system, in theory, and law in practice. The paper aims to show how the religious, educational system works in harmony with the governmental authorities with the concept of vilāyāt-i faqīh in Iran and contributes to the creation of religious custom in the society. Contemporary relationship between the political figures and religious authorities in Iran will be explained by religio-legal dimensions. The methodology that will be applied by the study has been chosen in order to acquire information and deduce conclusions from the opinions of the scholars. Thus, the research method is mainly descriptive and qualitative. Three lines of description are pursued throughout the study; the explanation of political ideas belonging to the religio-political figures theoretically depending on written texts; the description of approaches adopted by contemporary Iranian and Saudi scholars relating to the legal systems (theoretically); and the explanation of the responses of governmental authorities.

Keywords: clergy (‘ulamā), guardianship of the jurist (vilāyāt-i faqīh), Iran, Shi’i figures

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Authors: Mersha Tewodros Getnet, Mengistu Ketema, Bamlaku Alemu, Girma Demilew

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The availability of forest products determines the possibilities for forest-based livelihood options. Plantation forest is a widespread economic activity in highland areas of the Amhara regional state, owing primarily to degradation and limited access to natural forests. As a result, tree plantation has become one of the rural livelihood options in the area. Therefore, given the increasing importance of smallholder plantations in highland areas of Amhara Regional States, the aim of this research was to evaluate the extent of smallholder plantations and their socio-economic impact. To address the abovementioned research, a sequential embedded mixed research design was employed. This qualitative and quantitative information was gathered from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from 385 sample households, which were chosen using a three-stage, multi-stage sampling method based on the Cochran sample size formula. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Smallholder eucalyptus plantations in the study area were discovered to be common, and they are now part of the livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. According to the PSM model's ATT results, income from selling farm forest products certainly contributes more to total household income, farm expenditure per cultivated land, and education spending than non-planter households. As a result, the government must strengthen plantation practices by prioritizing specific intervention areas while implementing measures to counteract the plantation's inequality-increasing effect through a variety of means, including progressive taxation.

Keywords: smallholder plantation, Eucalyptus, propensity score matching, average treatment effect and income

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Authors: Chiahsu Yang, Peiling Wu, Ted Ho

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From emphasizing economic development to stressing public happiness, the international community mainly hopes to be able to understand whether the quality of life for the public is becoming better. The Better Life Index (BLI) constructed by OECD uses living conditions and quality of life as starting points to cover 11 areas of life and to convey the state of the general public’s well-being. In light of the BLI framework, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of the Executive Yuan instituted the Gross National Happiness Index to understand the needs of the general public and to measure the progress of the aforementioned conditions in residents across the island. Whereas living conditions consist of income and wealth, jobs and earnings, and housing conditions, health status, work and life balance, education and skills, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environmental quality, personal security. The ICT area consists of health care, living environment, ICT-enabled communication, transportation, government, education, pleasure, purchasing, job & employment. In the wake of further science and technology development, rapid formation of information societies, and closer integration between lifestyles and information societies, the public’s well-being within information societies has indeed become a noteworthy topic. the Board of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan use the OECD’s BLI as a reference in the establishment of the Taiwan-specific ICT-Enabled Better Life Index. Using this index, the government plans to examine whether the public’s quality of life is improving as well as measure the public’s satisfaction with current digital quality of life. This understanding will enable the government to gauge the degree of influence and impact that each dimension of digital services has on digital life happiness while also serving as an important reference for promoting digital service development. The content of the ICT Enabled Better Life Index. Information and communications technology (ICT) has been affecting people’s living styles, and further impact people’s quality of life (QoL). Even studies have shown that ICT access and usage have both positive and negative impact on life satisfaction and well-beings, many governments continue to invest in e-government programs to initiate their path to information society. This research is the few attempts to link the e-government benchmark to the subjective well-being perception, and further address the gap between user’s perception and existing hard data assessment, then propose a model to trace measurement results back to the original public policy in order for policy makers to justify their future proposals.

Keywords: information and communications technology, quality of life, satisfaction, well-being

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Authors: Elizabeth Malebogo Mosepele

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Road transport has become increasingly common in the world; people rely on road networks for transportation purpose on a daily basis. However, environmental impact of roads on surrounding landscapes extends their potential effects even further. This study investigates the impact of road network on natural vegetation. The study will provide baseline knowledge regarding roadside vegetation and would be helpful in future for conservation of biodiversity along the road verges and improvements of road verges. The general hypothesis of this study is that the amount and condition of road side vegetation could be explained by road network conditions. Remote sensing techniques were used to analyze vegetation conditions. Landsat 8 OLI image was used to assess vegetation cover condition. NDVI image was generated and used as a base from which land cover classes were extracted, comprising four categories viz. healthy vegetation, degraded vegetation, bare surface, and water. The classification of the image was achieved using the supervised classification technique. Road networks were digitized from Google Earth. For observed data, transect based quadrats of 50*50 m were conducted next to road segments for vegetation assessment. Vegetation condition was related to road network, with the multinomial logistic regression confirming a significant relationship between vegetation condition and road network. The null hypothesis formulated was that 'there is no variation in vegetation condition as we move away from the road.' Analysis of vegetation condition revealed degraded vegetation within close proximity of a road segment and healthy vegetation as the distance increase away from the road. The Chi Squared value was compared with critical value of 3.84, at the significance level of 0.05 to determine the significance of relationship. Given that the Chi squared value was 395, 5004, the null hypothesis was therefore rejected; there is significant variation in vegetation the distance increases away from the road. The conclusion is that the road network plays an important role in the condition of vegetation.

Keywords: Chi squared, geographic information system, multinomial logistic regression, remote sensing, road side vegetation

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Authors: Geraldine Ambe

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Cameroon is a country in a country in Central Africa. Before the first World War, Germany colonized Cameroon, including some parts of Gabon, Chad, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic. After the war, the United Nations divided most of the colony into Britain and France. In 1960, Eastern Cameroon (‘La Republique du Cameroon’) gained its independence from France while British Southern Cameroons obtained its independence from Britain. The two entities agreed to live together as a federal state officially called the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1962, the name of the name of the country was changed from the Federal Republic of Cameroon to the United Republic of Cameroon, while the Prime Minister of Western Cameroon was moved to Yaounde. In 1984, President Paul Biya singlehandedly changed the name to the Republic of Cameroon, implying that Southern Cameroon is not recognized in the union again. From the words of Am Cohen, the two territories came together to form a federal government with one currency, one army, and one foreign policy like states in the United States of America. However, the name Republic of Cameroon (‘La Republique du Cameroun’) does not recognize BSC, and this is exactly what has been practiced: politics of exclusion and excessive centralization in Yaounde. In 2016, teachers and Lawyers started strikes to call the attention of the government on the inhalation of the English culture/people. They were greeted with guns, causing the radicalization of the youths. The civil society came together to form a union to address the issues facing the people, and the government took their leaders and sentenced them to live imprisonment. The consequence was a civil war with nobody to dialogue with. Out of Cameroon, more than half a million people from BSC have been taking dangerous trips through the air, land, and sea. In the jungles and the deserts, the snow of Europe, these people have been seen for the last 4 years. This paper will present some personalities, political fractions, and their stands of decentralization, federalism, and independence as the war continues. The paper will further look at the consequence of this crisis on migration in Central and Eastern Europe.

Keywords: British Southern Cameroons, decolonization, Second World War, dialogue, civil war, immigration

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Authors: Chuan Yang, Jing Bie, Yueh-Lung Lin, Zhong Wang

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Transportation planning is an academic integration discipline combining research and practice with the aim of mobility and accessibility improvements at both strategic-level policy-making and operational dimensions of practical planning. Transportation planning could build the linkage between traffic and social development goals, for instance, economic benefits and environmental sustainability. The transportation planning analysis and evaluation tend to apply empirical quantitative approaches with the guidance of the fundamental principles, such as efficiency, equity, safety, and sustainability. Space syntax theory has been applied in the spatial distribution of pedestrian movement or vehicle flow analysis, however rare has been written about its application in transportation planning. The correlated relationship between the variables of space syntax analysis and authentic observations have declared that the urban configurations have a significant effect on urban dynamics, for instance, land value, building density, traffic, crime. This research aims to explore the potentials of applying Space Syntax methodology to evaluate urban transportation planning through studying the effects of urban configuration on cities transportation performance. By literature review, this paper aims to discuss the effects that urban configuration with different degrees of integration and accessibility have on three elementary components of transportation planning - transportation efficiency, transportation safety, and economic agglomeration development - via intensifying and stabilising the nature movements generated by the street network. And then the potential and limits of Space Syntax theory to study the performance of urban transportation and transportation planning would be discussed in the paper. In practical terms, this research will help future research explore the effects of urban design on transportation performance, and identify which patterns of urban street networks would allow for most efficient and safe transportation performance with higher economic benefits.

Keywords: transportation planning, space syntax, economic agglomeration, transportation efficiency, transportation safety

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Authors: Muhammed Gündoğan

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Permaculture is an important source of science and experience that can ensure the integration of sustainable architecture with nature. Since the past, many applications have been applied in rural areas for generations with the principle of benefiting from the self-renewal potential of nature. This culture, which has been transferred from generation to generation with architectural disciplines, has the potential to significantly improve the sustainability of the rural area and is an important guide with its nature-based solution proposals. Şanlıurfa has arid and semi-arid climate characteristics. Although it has substantial agricultural potential, water is limited, especially in rural areas. In the region, rainwater harvesting practices such as artificial water canals and cisterns have been used for a long time. However, these solutions remained mostly at the urban scale, and their reflections at the building scale were restricted and inadequate solutions. Impermeable surfaces are required for water harvesting, but water harvesting is not possible as rural buildings are mostly surrounded by cultivated land. Therefore, existing structures are important in terms of applicability. In this context, considering the typology of Traditional Şanlıurfa Houses, the aim of the project was to create a proposal for limited potable and utility water, which is a serious problem, especially for rural buildings in Şanlıurfa. In the project proposal, roof systems that can work integrated with the structural shape of Traditional Şanlıurfa Houses, rainwater collection systems in the inner courtyard, and greywater recycling were provided. While the average precipitation amount was 453.7 kg/m3 between 1929 and 2012, this value was measured as 622.7 kg/m3 in 2012. Greywater was used to produce natural fertilizers and compost for small-scale fruit and vegetable gardens, and it was combined with the principles of Permaculture to make it a lifestyle. As a result, it has been estimated that a total of 976.4 m3 kg of water can be saved, with an annual average of 158.8 m3 of rainwater recycling and 817.6 m3 of greywater recycling within the scope of the project.

Keywords: rural, traditional residential building, permaculture, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling

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Authors: Sosina Adedayo O., Babyemi Olaniyi J.

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The location, population, and distribution pattern of sheep are severe challenges to agribusiness investment and policy formulation in the livestock industry. There is a significant disconnect between farmers' needs and the policy framework towards ameliorating the sheep production constraints. Information on the population, production, and distribution pattern of sheep remains very scanty. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to elicit information from 180 purposively selected respondents from the study area comprised of Oluyole, Ona-ara, Akinyele, Egbeda, Ido and Ibarapa East LGA. The Global Positioning Systems (GPS) of the farmers' location (distribution), and average sheep herd size (Total Livestock Unit, TLU) (population) were recorded, taking the longitude and latitude of the locations in question. The recorded GPS data of the study area were transferred into the ARC-GIS. The ARC-GIS software processed the data using the ARC-GIS model 10.0. Sheep production and distribution (TLU) ranged from 4.1 (Oluyole) to 25.0 (Ibarapa East), with Oluyole, Akinyele, Ona-ara and Egbeda having TLU of 5, 7, 8 and 20, respectively. The herd sizes were classified as less than 8 (smallholders), 9-25 (medium), 26-50 (large), and above 50 (commercial). The majority (45%) of farmers were smallholders. The FR CP (%) ranged from 5.81±0.26 (cassava leaf) to 24.91±0.91 (Amaranthus spinosus), NDF (%) ranged from 22.38±4.43 (Amaranthus spinosus) to 67.96 ± 2.58 (Althemanthe dedentata) while ME ranged from 7.88±0.24 (Althemanthe dedentata) to 10.68±0.18 (cassava leaf). The smallholders’ sheep farmers were the majority, evenly distributed across rural areas due to the availability of abundant feed resources (crop residues, tree crops, shrubs, natural pastures, and feed ingredients) coupled with a large expanse of land in the study area. Most feed resources available were below sheep protein requirement level, hence supplementation is necessary for productivity. Bio-informatics can provide relevant information for sheep production for policy framework and intervention strategies.

Keywords: sheep enterprise, agribusiness investment, policy, bio-informatics, ecological zone

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Authors: Hare Krishna Doley

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Drawing upon empirical data, this paper tries to examine how ethnic groups like Ahom, Moran, Motok, and Chutia creates and recreates ethnic boundaries while making claims for recognition as Scheduled Tribes (STs) under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, in the state of Assam. Underlying such claim is the distinct identity consciousness amongst these groups as they assert themselves originally as tribe drawing upon primordial elements. For them, tribal identity promises social justice and give credence to their claims of indigeneity while preserving their exclusivity within the multifarious society of Assam. Having complex inter-group relationships, these groups under study displays distinct as well as overlapping identities, which demonstrate fluidity of identities across groups while making claims for recognition. In this process, the binary of ‘us’ and ‘them’ are often constructed amongst these groups, which are in turn difficult to grasp as they share common historical linkages. This paper attempts to grapple with such complex relationships the studied groups and their assertion as distinct cultural entities while making ethnic boundaries on the basis of socio-cultural identities. Such claims also involve frequent negotiation with the Sate as well as with other ethnic groups, which further creates strife among indigenous groups for tribal identity. The paper argues that identity consciousnesses amongst groups have persisted since the introduction of resource distribution on ethnic lines; therefore, issues of exclusive ethnic identity in the state of Assam can be contextualised within the colonial and post-colonial politics of redrawing ethnic and spatial boundaries. Narrative of the ethnic leaders who are in the forefront of struggle for ST status revealed that it is not merely to secure preferential treatment, but it also encompasses entitlement to land and their socio-cultural identity as aboriginal. While noting the genesis of struggle by the ethnic associations for ST status, this paper will also delineate the interactions among ethnic groups and how the identity of tribe is being performed by them to be included in the official categories of ST.

Keywords: ethnic, identity, sixth schedule, tribe

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Authors: Yindi Zhao, Yun Zhang, Silu Xia, Lixin Wu

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The contours and areas of water surfaces, especially lakes, often change due to natural disasters and construction activities. It is an effective way to extract and update water contours from satellite images using image processing algorithms. However, to produce optimal water surface contours that are close to true boundaries is still a challenging task. This paper compares the performances of three different level set models, including the Chan-Vese (CV) model, the signed pressure force (SPF) model, and the region-scalable fitting (RSF) energy model for extracting lake contours. After experiment testing, it is indicated that the RSF model, in which a region-scalable fitting (RSF) energy functional is defined and incorporated into a variational level set formulation, is superior to CV and SPF, and it can get desirable contour lines when there are “holes” in the regions of waters, such as the islands in the lake. Therefore, the RSF model is applied to extracting lake contours from Landsat satellite images. Four temporal Landsat satellite images of the years of 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014 are used in our study. All of them were acquired in May, with the same path/row (121/036) covering Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China. Firstly, the near infrared (NIR) band is selected for water extraction. Image registration is conducted on NIR bands of different temporal images for information update, and linear stretching is also done in order to distinguish water from other land cover types. Then for the first temporal image acquired in 2000, lake contours are extracted via the RSF model with initialization of user-defined rectangles. Afterwards, using the lake contours extracted the previous temporal image as the initialized values, lake contours are updated for the current temporal image by means of the RSF model. Meanwhile, the changed and unchanged lakes are also detected. The results show that great changes have taken place in two lakes, i.e. Dalong Lake and Panan Lake, and RSF can actually extract and effectively update lake contours using multi-temporal satellite image.

Keywords: level set model, multi-temporal image, lake contour extraction, contour update

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Authors: Zhuanfang Fred Zhang, Tim C. Johnson, Yilin Fang, Chris E. Strickland

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A variety of geophysical techniques are available to image the opaque subsurface with little or no contact with the soil. It is common to conduct time-lapse surveys of different types for a given site for improved results of subsurface imaging. Regardless of the chosen survey methods, it is often a challenge to process the massive amount of survey data. The currently available software applications are generally based on the one-dimensional assumption for a desktop personal computer. Hence, they are usually incapable of imaging the three-dimensional (3D) processes/variables in the subsurface of reasonable spatial scales; the maximum amount of data that can be inverted simultaneously is often very small due to the capability limitation of personal computers. Presently, high-performance or integrating software that enables real-time integration of multi-process geophysical methods is needed. E4D-MP enables the integration and inversion of time-lapsed large-scale data surveys from geophysical methods. Using the supercomputing capability and parallel computation algorithm, E4D-MP is capable of processing data across vast spatiotemporal scales and in near real time. The main code and the modules of E4D-MP for inverting individual or combined data sets of time-lapse 3D electrical resistivity, spectral induced polarization, and gravity surveys have been developed and demonstrated for sub-surface imaging. E4D-MP provides capability of imaging the processes (e.g., liquid or gas flow, solute transport, cavity development) and subsurface properties (e.g., rock/soil density, conductivity) critical for successful control of environmental engineering related efforts such as environmental remediation, carbon sequestration, geothermal exploration, and mine land reclamation, among others.

Keywords: gravity survey, high-performance computing, sub-surface monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography

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Authors: Jun Ha Whang

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As New York City weathers a swelling 'affordability crisis' marked by rapid transformation in land development and urban culture, much of the associated scholarly debate has turned to questions of the underlying mechanisms of gentrification. Though classically approached from the point of view of urban planning, increasingly these questions have been addressed with an eye to understanding the role of cultural capital in neighborhood valuation. This paper will examine the construction of an artist-specific affordable housing development in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in order to identify and discuss several cultural parameters of gentrification. This study’s goal is not to argue that the development in question, named Art space PS 109, straightforwardly increases or decreases the rate of gentrification in Spanish Harlem, but rather to study dynamics present in the construction of Art space PS 109 as a case study considered against the broader landscape of gentrification in New York, particularly with respect to the impact of artist communities on housing supply. In the end, what Art space PS 109 most valuably offers us is a reference point for a comparative analysis of affordable housing strategies currently being pursued within municipal government. Our study of Art space PS 109 has allowed us to examine a microcosm of the city’s response and evaluate its overall strategy accordingly. As a base line, the city must aggressively pursue an affordability strategy specifically suited to the needs of each of its neighborhoods. It must also conduct this in such a way so as not to undermine its own efforts by rendering them susceptible to the exploitative involvement of real estate developers seeking to identify successive waves of trendy neighborhoods. Though Art space PS 109 offers an invaluable resource for the city’s legitimate aim of preserving its artist communities, with such a high inclusion rate of artists from outside of the community the project risks additional displacement, strongly suggesting the need for further study of the implications of sites of cultural capital for neighborhood planning.

Keywords: artist housing, displacement, east Harlem, urban planning

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Authors: Win Zaw Hein, Khin Sandar Linn, Su Su Yi Mon, Yoshitaka Goto

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The Earth ionosphere is located at the altitude of about 70 km to several 100 km from the ground, and it is composed of ions and electrons called plasma. In the ionosphere, these plasma makes delay in GPS (Global Positioning System) signals and reflect in radio waves. The delay along the signal path from the satellite to the receiver is directly proportional to the total electron content (TEC) of plasma, and this delay is the largest error factor in satellite positioning and navigation. Sounding observation from the top and bottom of the ionosphere was popular to investigate such ionospheric plasma for a long time. Recently, continuous monitoring of the TEC using networks of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) observation stations, which are basically built for land survey, has been conducted in several countries. However, in these stations, multi-frequency support receivers are installed to estimate the effect of plasma delay using their frequency dependence and the cost of multi-frequency support receivers are much higher than single frequency support GPS receiver. In this research, single frequency GPS receiver was used instead of expensive multi-frequency GNSS receivers to measure the ionospheric plasma variation such as vertical TEC distribution. In this measurement, single-frequency support ublox GPS receiver was used to probe ionospheric TEC. The location of observation was assigned at Mandalay Technological University in Myanmar. In the method, the ionospheric TEC distribution is represented by polynomial functions for latitude and longitude, and parameters of the functions are determined by least-squares fitting on pseudorange data obtained at a known location under an assumption of thin layer ionosphere. The validity of the method was evaluated by measurements obtained by the Japanese GNSS observation network called GEONET. The performance of measurement results using single-frequency of GPS receiver was compared with the results by dual-frequency measurement.

Keywords: ionosphere, global positioning system, GPS, ionospheric delay, total electron content, TEC

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Authors: Jahnu Bharadwaj

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In the third decade of the 19th century, the political landscape of the Brahmaputra valley changed at many levels. The establishment of East India Company’s authority in ‘Assam’ was complete with the Treaty of Yandaboo. The whole phenomenon of the annexation of Assam into the British Indian Empire led to several administrative reorganizations and reforms under the new regime. British colonial rule was distinguished by new systems and institutions of governance. This paper broadly looks at the historical proceedings of the introduction of the Rule of Law and a new legal structure in the region of ‘Assam’. With numerous archival data, this paper seeks to chiefly examine the trajectory of an important element in the new legal apparatus, i.e. the jury in the British criminal courts introduced in the newly annexed region. Right from the beginning of colonial legal innovations with the establishment of the panchayats and the parallel courts in Assam, the jury became an important element in the structure of the judicial system. In both civil and criminal courts, the jury was to be formed from the learned members of the ‘native’ society. In the working of the criminal court, the jury became significantly powerful and influential. The structure meant that the judge or the British authority eventually had no compulsion to obey the verdict of the jury. However, the structure also provided that the jury had a considerable say in matters of the court proceedings, and their verdict had significant weight. This study seeks to look at certain important criminal cases pertaining to the nineteenth century and the functioning of the jury in those cases. The power play at display between the British officials, judges and the members of the jury would be helpful in highlighting the important deliberations and politics that were in place in the functioning of the British criminal legal apparatus in colonial Assam. The working and the politics of the members of the jury in many cases exerted considerable influence in the court proceedings. The interesting negotiations of the British officials or judges also present us with vital insights. By reflecting on the difficulty that the British officials and judges felt with the considerable space for opinion and difference that was provided to important members of the local society, this paper seeks to locate, with evidence, the racial politics at play within the official formulations of the legal apparatus in the colonial rule in Assam. This study seeks to argue that despite the rhetorical claims of legal equality within the Empire, racial consideration and racial politics was a reality even in the making of the structure itself. This in a way helps to enrich our ideas about the racial elements at work in numerous layers sustaining the colonial regime.

Keywords: criminal courts, colonial regime, jury, race

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Authors: Agnieszka P. Regiec

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Capital companies are based on monetary capital. In the traditional model, the capital is the sum of the nominal values of all shares issued. For a few years within the European countries, the limited liability companies’ (LLC) regulations are leaning towards liberalization of the capital structure in order to provide higher degree of autonomy regarding the intra-corporate governance. Reforms were based primarily on the legal system of the USA. In the USA, the tradition of no-par shares is well-established. Thus, as a point of reference, the American legal system is being chosen. Regulations of Germany, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Finland, Poland and the USA will be taken into consideration. The analysis of the share capital is important for the development of science not only because the capital structure of the corporation has significant impact on the shareholders’ rights, but also it reflects on relationships between creditors of the company and the company itself. Multi-level comparative approach towards the problem will allow to present a wide range of the possible outcomes stemming from the novelization. The dogmatic method was applied. The analysis was based on the statutes, secondary sources and judicial awards. Both the substantive and the procedural aspects of the capital structure were considered. In Germany, as a result of the regulatory competition, typical for the EU, the structure of LLCs was reshaped. New LLC – Unternehmergesellschaft, which does not require a minimum share capital, was introduced. The minimum share capital for Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung was lowered from 25 000 to 10 000 euro. In France the capital structure of corporations was also altered. In 2003, the minimum share capital of société à responsabilité limitée (S.A.R.L.) was repealed. In 2009, the minimum share capital of société par actions simplifiée – in the “simple” version of S.A.R.L. was also changed – there is no minimum share capital required by a statute. The company has to, however, indicate a share capital without the legislator imposing the minimum value of said capital. In Netherlands the reform of the Besloten Vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid (B.V.) was planned with the following change: repeal of the minimum share capital as the answer to the need for higher degree of autonomy for shareholders. It, however, preserved shares with nominal value. In Finland the novelization of yksityinen osakeyhtiö took place in 2006 and as a result the no-par shares were introduced. Despite the fact that the statute allows shares without face value, it still requires the minimum share capital in the amount of 2 500 euro. In Poland the proposal for the restructuration of the capital structure of the LLC has been introduced. The proposal provides among others: devaluation of the capital to 1 PLN or complete liquidation of the minimum share capital, allowing the no-par shares to be issued. In conclusion: American solutions, in particular, balance sheet test and solvency test provide better protection for creditors; European no-par shares are not the same as American and the existence of share capital in Poland is crucial.

Keywords: balance sheet test, limited liability company, nominal value of shares, no-par shares, share capital, solvency test

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Authors: Laura Mion

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Concepts of quality assurance and management are now part of the organizational culture of the Universities. Quality Assurance (QA) systems are, in large part, provided for by national regulatory dictates or supranational indications (such as, for example, at European level are, the ESG Guidelines "European Standard Guidelines"), but their specific definition, in terms of guiding principles, requirements and methodologies, are often delegated to the national evaluation agencies or to the autonomy of individual universities. For this reason, the experiences of implementation of QA systems in different countries and in different universities is an interesting source of information to understand how quality in universities is understood, pursued and verified. The literature often deals with the treatment of the experiences of implementation of QA systems in the individual areas in which the University's activity is carried out - teaching, research, third mission - but only rarely considers quality systems with a systemic and integrated approach, which allows to correlate subjects, actions, and performance in a virtuous circuit of continuous improvement. In particular, it is interesting to understand how to relate the results and uses of the QA in the triple distinction of university activities, identifying how one can cause the performance of the other as a function of an integrated whole and not as an exploit of specific activities or processes conceived in an abstractly atomistic way. The aim of the research is, therefore, to investigate which experiences of "integrated" QA systems are present on the international scene: starting from the experience of European countries that have long shared the Bologna Process for the creation of a European space for Higher Education (EHEA), but also considering experiences from emerging countries that use QA processes to develop their higher education systems to keep them up to date with international levels. The concept of "integration", in this research, is understood in a double meaning: i) between the different areas of activity, in particular between the didactic and research areas, and possibly with the so-called "third mission" "ii) the functional integration between those involved in quality assessment and management and the governance of the University. The paper will present the results of a systematic review conducted according with a method of an integrative review aimed at identifying best practices of quality assurance systems, in individual countries or individual universities, with a high level of integration. The analysis of the material thus obtained has made it possible to grasp common and transversal elements of QA system integration practices or particularly interesting elements and strengths of these experiences that can, therefore, be considered as winning aspects in a QA practice. The paper will present the method of analysis carried out, and the characteristics of the experiences identified, of which the structural elements will be highlighted (level of integration, areas considered, organizational levels included, etc.) and the elements for which these experiences can be considered as best practices.

Keywords: quality assurance, university, integration, country

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Authors: Raheleh Farzanmanesh, Christopher J. Weston

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Mangroves are forest ecosystems located in the inter-tidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines that provide many valuable economic and ecological benefits for millions of people, such as preventing coastal erosion, providing breeding, and feeding grounds, improving water quality, and supporting the well-being of local communities. In addition, mangroves capture and store high amounts of carbon in biomass and soils that play an important role in combating climate change. The decline in mangrove area has prompted government and private sector interest in mangrove conservation and restoration projects to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals, from reducing poverty to improving life on land. Mangrove aboveground biomass plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle, climate change mitigation and adaptation by reducing CO2 emissions. However, little information is available about the effectiveness of mangrove sustainable management on mangrove change area and aboveground biomass (AGB). Here, we proposed a method for mapping, modeling, and assessing mangrove area and AGB in two Global Environment Facility (GEF) blue forests projects based on Sentinel-2 Level 1C imagery during their conservation lifetime. The SVR regression model was used to estimate AGB in Tahiry Honko project in Madagascar and the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project (Abu Dhabi Emirates. The results showed that mangrove forests and AGB declined in the Tahiry Honko project, while in the Abu Dhabi project increased after the conservation initiative was established. The results provide important information on the impact of mangrove conservation activities and contribute to the development of remote sensing applications for mapping and assessing mangrove forests in blue carbon initiatives.

Keywords: blue carbon, mangrove forest, REDD+, aboveground biomass, Sentinel-2

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Authors: Nasir Ashraf, Sajid Rahid Ahmad, Adeel Ahmad

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Pakistan is a major tea consumer country and ranked as the third largest importer of tea worldwide. Out of all beverage consumed in Pakistan, tea is the one with most demand for which tea import is inevitable. Being an agrarian country, Pakistan should cultivate its own tea and save the millions of dollars cost from tea import. So the need is to identify the most suitable areas with favorable weather condition and suitable soils where tea can be planted. This research is conducted over District Mansehra and District Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwah Province of Pakistan where the most favorable conditions for tea cultivation already exist and National Tea Research Institute has done successful experiments to cultivate high quality tea. High tech approach is adopted to meet the objectives of this research by using the remotely sensed data i.e. Aster DEM, Landsat8 Imagery. The Remote Sensing data was processed in Erdas Imagine, Envi and further analyzed in ESRI ArcGIS spatial analyst for final results and representation of result data in map layouts. Integration of remote sensing data with GIS provided the perfect suitability analysis. The results showed that out of all study area, 13.4% area is highly suitable while 33.44% area is suitable for tea plantation. The result of this research is an impressive GIS based outcome and structured format of data for the agriculture planners and Tea growers. Identification of suitable tea growing areas by using remotely sensed data and GIS techniques is a pressing need for the country. Analysis of this research lets the planners to address variety of action plans in an economical and scientific manner which can lead tea production in Pakistan to meet demand. This geomatics based model and approach may be used to identify more areas for tea cultivation to meet our demand which we can reduce by planting our own tea, and our country can be independent in tea production.

Keywords: agrarian country, GIS, geoinformatics, suitability analysis, remote sensing

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Authors: Shivani Dolas, A. Richa Mishra

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The existence of Courtyards in India can be traced back to ‘Indus valley civilization’ and various layers of history bearing implications like socio-cultural, traditional, religious, climatic, etc., moreover serving as a breathing space in case of historical core areas. Over time, with the overlay of various historic layers within the historic urban cores and the present high density populace, the cores are getting congested day by day. In this case, courtyards may emerge out as an efficient medium to provide quality of life through livable spaces. Presently, with the growing population of the historic town of Gwalior, town in Madhya Pradesh holds remarkable essence of courtyards with its multiple concepts over time. Its scale and function varies from an imposing grand appearance in palatial form, up to functional practices as residential. Its privilege can also be drawn in urban forms, in sharing single space by multiple dwellings and in temples which can be sketched specifically in the region. Moreover, the effectiveness of courtyards has proven balance and control of micro-climate in such composite climate region. The research paper aims to underline the concept of courtyards in case of a mixed use neighborhood, Naya bazar, in Lashkar area of Gwalior, which developed during 19th century, highlighting the need of its preservation. The paper also elaborates its various implications on user-space relationship as in the present context, and growing congestion in the area, user and space relationship is seen lost. The noticeable change in the behavioral context in buildings and users can be noticed with the downfall of courtyards, isolating users with land. Also, a concern has been expressed on negligence of courtyard planning in future development, suggesting recommendations on preserving the courtyard typology as heritage.

Keywords: courtyards, Gwalior, historic settlement, heritage

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Authors: Sanjiv Kumar Soni, Chetna Janveja

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The approach of utilizing zero cost kitchen waste residues for growing suitable strains of fungi for the induction of a cocktail of hydrolytic enzymes and ethanol generation has been validated in the present study with the objective of developing an indigenous biorefinery for low cost bioethanol production with the generation of zero waste. Solid state fermentation has been carried out to evaluate the potential of various steam pretreated kitchen waste residues as substrates for the co-production of multiple carbohydrases including cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinase and amylases by a locally isolated strain of Aspergillus niger C-5. Of all the residues, potato peels induced the maximum yields of all the enzyme components corresponding to 64.0±1.92 IU of CMCase, 17.0±0.54 IU of FPase , 42.8±1.28 IU of β-glucosidase, 990.0±28.90 IU of xylanase, 53.2±2.12 IU of mannanase, 126.0±3.72 IU of pectinase, 31500.0±375.78 IU of α-amylase and 488.8±9.82 IU of glucoamylase/g dry substrate respectively. Saccharification of various kitchen refuse residues using inhouse produced crude enzyme cocktail resulted in the release of 610±10.56, 570±8.89, 435±6.54, 475±4.56, 445±4.27, 385±4.49, 370±6.89, 490±10.45 mg of total reducing sugars/g of dried potato peels, orange peels, pineapple peels, mausami peels, onion peels, banana stalks, pea pods and composite mixture respectively revealing carbohydrate conversion efficiencies in the range of 97.0-99.4%. After fermentation of released hexoses by Saccharomyces cerevisae, ethanol yields ranging from 80-262 mL/ kg of dry residues were obtained. The study has successfully evaluated the valorization of kitchen garbage, a highly biodegradable component in Municipal Solid Waste by using it as a substrate for the in-house co-production of multiple carbohydrases and employing the steam treated residues as a feed stock for bioethanol production. Such valorization of kitchen garbage may reduce the level of Municipal Solid Waste going into land-fills thus lowering the emissions of greenhouse gases. Moreover, the solid residue left after the bioconversion may be used as a biofertilizer for improving the fertility of the soils.

Keywords: kitchen waste, bioethanol, solid waste, bioconversion, waste management

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Authors: Diogo Pereira, Maria Moura, Joana Campos, João Nunes

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As the Ukraine war highlights the European Economic Area’s vulnerability and external dependence on feed and food, agriculture gains significant importance. Transformative change is necessary to reach a sustainable and resilient agricultural sector. Agriculture is an important drive for bioeconomy and the equilibrium and survival of society and rural fires resilience. The pressure of (1) water stress, (2) nutrient cycle, and (3) social demographic evolution towards 70% of the population in Urban systems and the aging of the rural population, combined with climate change, exacerbates the problem and paradigm of rural and wildfires, especially in Portugal. The Portuguese territory is characterized by (1) 28% of marginal land, (2) the soil quality of 70% of the territory not being appropriate for agricultural activity, (3) a micro smallholding, with less than 1 ha per proprietor, with mainly familiar and traditional agriculture in the North and Centre regions, and (4) having the most vulnerable areas for rural fires in these same regions. The most important difference between the South, North and Centre of Portugal, referring to rural and wildfires, is the agricultural activity, which has a higher level in the South. In Portugal, rural and wildfires represent an average annual economic loss of around 800 to 1000 million euros. The WinBio model is an agrienvironmental metabolism design, with the capacity to create a new agri-food metabolism through Agricultural Organized Areas, a privatepublic partnership. This partnership seeks to grow agricultural activity in regions with (1) abandoned territory, (2) micro smallholding, (3) water and nutrient management necessities, and (4) low agri-food literacy. It also aims to support planning and monitoring of resource use efficiency and sustainability of territories, using agriculture as a barrier for rural and wildfires in order to protect rural population.

Keywords: agricultural organized areas, residues, climate change, drought, nutrients, rural and wild fires

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Authors: Mohammad Abbas Nejad

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Tuka Sabz service production company (private shares), with more than 30 years of history, is considered as one of the first holding companies of Tuka Foulad, which takes steps in the direction of increasing service quality and customer satisfaction. Manpower supply is one of the most important activities of Tuka Sabz company, in addition to car supply services; light and heavy transportation services; management of entertainment, sports, tourism and accommodation centers; design, creation and maintenance services of land space; preparing, cooking, distributing and serving all kinds of personal and ceremonial foods; design, construction, repair and reconstruction of non-industrial buildings; industrial laundry services; public and industrial cleaning services are also among other activities of Tuka Sabz. This company has a high capacity of specialized and committed human resources as the main pillar of its success and spent most of its years of activity in Mobarakeh steel company as one of the reliable contractors in the field of automotive service contracts, green space, industrial cleaning, management cultural, recreational and tourism places, consulting, maintenance and repair of buildings and facilities, industrial laundry, management of cooking centers and personnel transportation. The final result of this article states that Tuka Sabz company is trying to get the satisfaction of three main groups of stakeholders, i.e., employees, customers, and shareholders, for this purpose, by improving the competence and competence of employees, trying to establish a system of meritocracy and respecting the human status of employees. On the one hand, the implementation of quality management and assurance to employers with the timely and favorable implementation of contracts takes a step in this direction.

Keywords: Mubarakeh steel company, Tuka Sabz company, human resources, industrial laundry services

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Authors: Iacopo Testi, Diego Pajarito, Nicoletta Roberto, Carmen Greco

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Today, a consistent segment of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this proportion will vastly increase in the next decades. Therefore, understanding the key trends in urbanization, likely to unfold over the coming years, is crucial to the implementation of sustainable urban strategies. In parallel, the daily amount of digital data produced will be expanding at an exponential rate during the following years. The analysis of various types of data sets and its derived applications have incredible potential across different crucial sectors such as healthcare, housing, transportation, energy, and education. Nevertheless, in city development, architects and urban planners appear to rely mostly on traditional and analogical techniques of data collection. This paper investigates the prospective of the data science field, appearing to be a formidable resource to assist city managers in identifying strategies to enhance the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of our urban areas. The collection of different new layers of information would definitely enhance planners' capabilities to comprehend more in-depth urban phenomena such as gentrification, land use definition, mobility, or critical infrastructural issues. Specifically, the research results correlate economic, commercial, demographic, and housing data with the purpose of defining the youth economic discomfort index. The statistical composite index provides insights regarding the economic disadvantage of citizens aged between 18 years and 29 years, and results clearly display that central urban zones and more disadvantaged than peripheral ones. The experimental set up selected the city of Rome as the testing ground of the whole investigation. The methodology aims at applying statistical and spatial analysis to construct a composite index supporting informed data-driven decisions for urban planning.

Keywords: data science, spatial analysis, composite index, Rome, urban planning, youth economic discomfort index

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Authors: Hafiz Atif Iqbal

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It is a confirmed historical fact that Pakistan is an ideological state, and religion has played a very important and vital role in the establishment of Pakistan. This is the reason why the slogan "What does Pakistan mean is "la ilaha illa Allah" is embedded in the heart of every Muslim. This slogan became so popular in the dimensions of India that Movement of Pakistan and this slogan became inseparable, and that is why Quaid-e-Azam said: "Twenty-five percent share in Movement of Pakistan belongs to the creator of this slogan, Asghar Soudai Sialkoti." This slogan later formed the basis of the two-nation theory, whereby the Hindus and Muslims of the sub-continent were declared to be two separate and complete nations, completely different from each other in terms of their religion, affairs, dress, lifestyle, and values. In this regard, on March 23, 1940, at the historic meeting of the Muslim League in Lahore, in which the Lahore Resolution was passed, Quaid-e-Azam said: Islam and Hinduism are not just religions, but actually two different social systems. Therefore, this desire should be called a dream and a dream that Hindus and Muslims will be able to create a common nationality together. These people do not marry each other, nor do they eat at the same table. I say in a nutshell that they belong to two different civilizations, and these civilizations are based on concepts and facts that contradict each other and are against each other. Quaid-e-Azam, while addressing Peshawar in January 1948, said: "We did not demand Pakistan just to get a separate piece of land, but we wanted to get a laboratory where we can test the principles of Islam. The distinction of the concept of Islamic government should be kept in mind that the authority of obedience and loyalty in it is God Almighty, whose practical means of compliance are the rules and principles of the Holy Quran. Only the rules of the Holy Quran can determine the limits of our freedom and restrictions in the state and society. In other words, the Islamic government is the government of Quranic principles and rules. All these facts make it clear that religion has played a fundamental and important role in the establishment of Pakistan.

Keywords: la ilaha illa allah, asghar soudai sialkoti, lahore resolution, quaid-e-azam

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Authors: S. K. Kakraliya, H. S. Jat, Manish Kakraliya, P. C. Sharma, M. L. Jat

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The biggest challenge in agriculture is to produce more food for the continually increasing world population with in the limited land and water resources. Serious water deficits and reducing natural resources are some of the major threats to the agricultural sustainability in many regions of South Asia. Food and water security may be gained by bringing improvement in the crop water productivity and the amount produced per unit of water consumed. Improvement in the crop water productivity may be achieved by pursuing alternative modern agronomics approaches, which are more friendly and efficient in utilizing natural resources. Therefore, a research trial on conservation agriculture (CA) and precision water management (PWM) was conducted in 2018-19 at Karnal, India to evaluate the effect on crop productivity and irrigation in sodic soils under rice-wheat (RW) systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Eight scenarios were compared varied in the tillage, crop establishment, residue and irrigarion management i.e., {First four scenarios irrigated with flood irrigation method;Sc1-Conventional tillage (CT) without residue, Sc2-CT with residue, Sc3- Zero tillage (ZT) without residue, Sc4-ZT with residue}, and {last four scenarios irrigated with sub-surface drip irrigation method; Sc5-ZT without residue, Sc6- ZT with residue, Sc7-ZT inclusion legume without residue and Sc8- ZT inclusion legume with residue}. Results revealed that CA-flood irrigation (S3, Sc4) and CA-PWM system (Sc5, Sc6, Sc7 and Sc8) recorded about ~5% and ~15% higher wheat yield, respectively compared to Sc1. Similar, CA-PWM saved ~40% irrigation water compared to Sc1. Rice yield was not different under different scenarios in the first year (kharif 2019) but almost half irrigation water saved under CA-PWM system. Therefore, results of our study on modern agronomic practices including CA and precision water management (subsurface drip irrigation) for RW rotation would be addressed the existing and future challenges in the RW system.

Keywords: Sub-surface drip, Crop residue, Crop yield , Zero tillage

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Authors: Gholba Niranjan Dilip, Anil Kumar

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Conduct of accurate reliable mapping of oil palm plantations and census of individual palm trees is a huge challenge. This study addresses this challenge and developed an optimized solution implemented deep learning techniques on remote sensing data. The oil palm is a very important tropical crop. To improve its productivity and land management, it is imperative to have accurate census over large areas. Since, manual census is costly and prone to approximations, a methodology for automated census using panchromatic images from Cartosat-2, SkySat and World View-3 satellites is demonstrated. It is selected two different study sites in Indonesia. The customized set of training data and ground-truth data are created for this study from Cartosat-2 images. The pre-trained model of Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) Lite MobileNet V2 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) from the TensorFlow Object Detection API is subjected to transfer learning on this customized dataset. The SSD model is able to generate the bounding boxes for each oil palm and also do the counting of palms with good accuracy on the panchromatic images. The detection yielded an F-Score of 83.16 % on seven different images. The detections are buffered and dissolved to generate polygons demarcating the boundaries of the oil palm plantations. This provided the area under the plantations and also gave maps of their location, thereby completing the automated census, with a fairly high accuracy (≈100%). The trained CNN was found competent enough to detect oil palm crowns from images obtained from multiple satellite sensors and of varying temporal vintage. It helped to estimate the increase in oil palm plantations from 2014 to 2021 in the study area. The study proved that high-resolution panchromatic satellite image can successfully be used to undertake census of oil palm plantations using CNNs.

Keywords: object detection, oil palm tree census, panchromatic images, single shot multibox detector

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Authors: Giorgi Gaprindashvili

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One of the best examples, in evolution of the public procurement, from post-soviet countries are reforms carried out in Georgia, which brought them close to international standards of procurement. In Georgia, public procurement legislation started functioning in 1998. The reform has passed several stages and came in the form as it is today. It should also be noted, that countries with economy in transition, including Georgia, implemented all the reforms in public procurement based on recommendations and support of World Bank, the United Nations and other international organizations. The first law on public procurement in Georgia was adopted on December 9, 1998 which aimed regulation of the procurement process of budget-organizations, transparent and competitive environment for private companies to access state funds legally. The priorities were identified quite clearly in the wording of the law, but operation/function of this law could not be reached on its level, because of some objective and subjective reasons. The high level of corruption in all levels of governance, can be considered as a main obstacle reason and of course, it is natural, that it had direct impact on the procurement process, as well as on transparency and rational use of state funds. This circumstances were the reasons that reforms in this sphere continued, to improve procurement process, in particular, the first wave of reforms began in 2001. Public procurement agency carried out reform with World Bank with main purpose of smartening the procurement legislation and its harmonization with international treaties and agreements. Also with the support of World Bank various activities were carried out to raise awareness of participants involved in procurement system. Further major changes in the legislation were filed in May 2005, which was also directed towards the improvement and smarten of the procurement process. The third wave of the reform began in 2010, which more or less guaranteed the transparency of the procurement process, which later became the basis for the rational spending of state funds. The reform of the procurement system completely changed the procedures. Carried out reform in Georgia resulted in introducing new electronic tendering system, which benefit the transparency of the process, after this became the basis for the further development of a competitive environment, which become a prerequisite for the state rational spending. Increased number of supplier organizations participating in the procurement process resulted in reduction of the estimated cost and the actual cost from 20% up to 40%, it is quite large saving for the procuring organizations and allows them to use the freed-up funds for their other needs. Assessment of the reforms in Georgia in the field of public procurement can be concluded, that proper regulation of the sector and relevant policy may proceed to rational and transparent spending of the budget from country’s state institutions. Also, the business sector has the opportunity to work in competitive market conditions and to make a preliminary analysis, which is a prerequisite for future strategy and development.

Keywords: public administration, public procurement, reforms, transparency

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Authors: Scott Nielsen, Luca Longanesi, Chris Chuck

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Palm oil is obtained from the flesh and kernel of the fruit of oil palms and is the most productive and inexpensive oil crop. The global demand for palm oil is approximately 75 million metric tonnes, a 29% increase in global production of palm oil since 2016. This expansion of oil palm cultivation has resulted in mass deforestation, vast biodiversity destruction and increasing net greenhouse gas emissions. One possible alternative is to produce a saturated oil, similar to palm, from microbes such as oleaginous yeast. The yeasts can be cultured on sugars derived from second-generation sources and do not compete with tropical forests for land. One highly promising oleaginous yeast for this application is Metschnikowia pulcherrima. However, recent techno-economic modeling has shown that cell lysis and standard lipid extraction are major contributors to the cost of the oil. Typical cell disruption techniques to extract either single cell oils or proteins have been based around bead-beating, homogenization and acid lysis. However, these can have a detrimental effect on lipid quality and are energy-intensive. In this study, a vortex separator, which produces high sheer with minimal energy input, was investigated as a potential low energy method of lysing cells. This was compared to four more traditional methods (thermal lysis, acid lysis, alkaline lysis, and osmotic lysis). For each method, the yeast loading was also examined at 1 g/L, 10 g/L and 100 g/L. The quality of the cell disruption was measured by optical cell density, cell counting and the particle size distribution profile comparison over a 2-hour period. This study demonstrates that the vortex separator is highly effective at lysing the cells and could potentially be used as a simple apparatus for lipid recovery in an oleaginous yeast process. The further development of this technology could potentially reduce the overall cost of microbial lipids in the future.

Keywords: palm oil substitute, metschnikowia pulcherrima, cell disruption, cell lysis

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Authors: Adel A. Ghoneim

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Desalination using solar energy is an interesting option specifically at regions with abundant solar radiation since such areas normally have scarcity of clean water resources. Desalination is the procedure of eliminating dissolved minerals from seawater or brackish water to generate fresh water. In this work, a simulation program is developed to determine the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) water desalination plant powered by high concentrated photovoltaic (HCPV) panels in Kuwait climate conditions. The objective of such a photovoltaic thermal system is to accomplish a double output, i.e., co-generation of both electricity and fresh water that is applicable for rural regions with high solar irradiation. The suggested plan enables to design an RO plant that does not depend on costly batteries or additional land and significantly reduce the government costs to subsidize the water generation cost. Typical weather conditions for Kuwait is employed as input to the simulation program. The simulation program is utilized to optimize the system efficiency as well as the distillate water production. The areas and slopes of HCPV modules are varied to attain maximum yearly power production. Maximum yearly distillate production and HCPV energy generation are found to correspond to HCPV facing south with tilt of 27° (Kuwait latitude-3°). The power needed to produce 1 l of clean drinking water ranged from 2 to 8 kW h/m³, based on the salinity of the feed water and the system operating conditions. Moreover, adapting HCPV systems achieve an avoided greenhouse gases emission by about 1128 ton CO₂ annually. Present outcomes certainly illustrate environmental advantages of water desalination system powered by high concentrated photovoltaic systems in Kuwait climate conditions.

Keywords: desalination, high concentrated photovoltaic systems, reverse osmosis, solar radiation

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Authors: M. Vlahovic

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This paper presents a model of public finances, which combines three concepts: participatory budgeting, crowdfunding and blockchain technology. Participatory budgeting is defined as a process in which community members decide how to spend a part of community’s budget. Crowdfunding is a practice of funding a project by collecting small monetary contributions from a large number of people via an Internet platform. Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger that enables efficient and reliable transactions that are secure and transparent. In this hypothetical model, the government or authorities on local/regional level would set up a platform where they would propose public projects to citizens. Citizens would browse through projects and support or vote for those which they consider justified and necessary. In return, they would be entitled to a tax relief in the amount of their monetary contribution. Since the blockchain technology enables tracking of transactions, it can be used to mitigate corruption, money laundering and lack of transparency in public finances. Models of its application have already been created for e-voting, health records or land registries. By presenting a model of application of blockchain technology in public finances, this paper takes into consideration the potential of blockchain technology to disrupt governments and make processes more democratic, secure, transparent and efficient. The framework for this paper consists of multiple streams of research, including key concepts of direct democracy, public finance (especially the voluntary theory of public finance), information and communication technology, especially blockchain technology and crowdfunding. The framework defines rules of the game, basic conditions for the implementation of the model, benefits, potential problems and development perspectives. As an oversimplified map of a new form of public finances, the proposed model identifies primary factors, that influence the possibility of implementation of the model, and that could be tracked, measured and controlled in case of experimentation with the model.

Keywords: blockchain technology, distributed ledger, participatory budgeting, crowdfunding, direct democracy, internet platform, e-government, public finance

Procedia PDF Downloads 149