Search

The 'local' as a site of peacebuilding and as a subject position has played a significant role in scholarly debates on peacebuilding and international intervention, and increasingly so in work on the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Local women are called upon to represent the conflict experience, and localisation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda is becoming part of the rhetoric around implementation. This article examines the impacts of this focus with reference to peacebuilding and women's inclusion initiatives in Iraq in locations previously held by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The article analyses three programmatic case studies situated in Ninewa, a governorate in northern Iraq. The analysis offers a four-part typology of local women participants – local women as peacebuilders, a-political (and a-sectarian), non-elite and intermediary – and uses these types to explore how the participation and presence of local women is constructed within peacebuilding programming. By introducing these types, this article makes visible the practical and conceptual impact of the focus on the 'local' on the Women, Peace and Security agenda, its implementation in post-conflict contexts, and on how local women and their contributions are perceived in Women, Peace and Security-focused peacebuilding interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the Grand Bargain, there has been increasing focus on aid localisation and partnerships between international and local aid agencies. Yet there has been less scholarly attention on how and why international agency policies and partnerships can cause unintended harm to civil society organisations and their staff. Drawing on James Scott's seminal work Seeing like a State, and interviews with Myanmar civil society organisation leaders in 2023, this article argues that international agencies often attempt to render civil society "legible" through processes of systematisation and codification. However, these processes can in turn sideline accrued experiential and contextual knowledge, or metis, which is necessary for local organisations' survival, especially in times of instability. The article highlights several instances in Myanmar where the marginalisation of this more contextual knowledge results in unintended harms. The article concludes that international agencies' acknowledgement of metis is a crucial and yet still under-recognised pillar of aid localisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What will the future be? We wonder! In this survey, we explore the gap between current research in egocentric vision and the ever-anticipated future, where wearable computing, with outward facing cameras and digital overlays, is expected to be integrated in our every day lives. To understand this gap, the article starts by envisaging the future through character-based stories, showcasing through examples the limitations of current technology. We then provide a mapping between this future and previously defined research tasks. For each task, we survey its seminal works, current state-of-the-art methodologies and available datasets, then reflect on shortcomings that limit its applicability to future research. Note that this survey focuses on software models for egocentric vision, independent of any specific hardware. The paper concludes with recommendations for areas of immediate explorations so as to unlock our path to the future always-on, personalised and life-enhancing egocentric vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimum circle circumnavigation is proposed in this paper, which is of special value in target monitoring, capturing and/or attacking. With this new pattern, our goal is to steer one agent to enclose multiple targets along a safe and minimum circular orbit with the desired tangential speed. This is achieved by a control protocol with dynamic compensators, which is also capable of avoiding collision between the agent and the multiple targets during the whole operational process. The control protocol is further extended to the scenarios of multiple agents circulating a group of targets by adding a coordination mechanism into the tangential velocity term, which allows the agents to distribute evenly on each expected circular orbit with the same or different radius. Simulations results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the autumn of 2014, with the 2013–16 West Africa Ebola epidemic spiralling out of control, the United Kingdom announced a bespoke military mission to support—and in some ways lead—numerous Ebola response functions in Sierra Leone. This study examines the nature and effect of the civil‐military relationships that subsequently developed between civilian and military Ebola response workers (ERWs). In total, 110 interviews were conducted with key involved actors, and the findings were analysed by drawing on the neo‐Durkheimian theory of organisations. This paper finds that stereotypical opposition between humanitarian and military actors helps to explain how and why there was initial cooperative and collaborative challenges. However, all actors were found to have similar hierarchical structures and operations, which explains how and why they were later able to cooperate and collaborate effectively. It also explains how and why civilian ERWs might have served to exclude and further marginalise some local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the growing demand for audio description (AD) in China, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, coupled with the persistent shortage of qualified AD scriptwriters, this article advocates for AD translation from Spanish to Chinese, a type of indirect translation, as an alternative approach to addressing this issue, potentially benefiting from localisation techniques (Jankowska et al., 2017; Remael & Vercauteren, 2010). This article presents the development of a set of guidelines for localising AD scripts from Spanish into Chinese, resulting from triangulating a corpus study comparing Chinese and Spanish ADs, interviews with Chinese AD providers, a reception study with end-users, and participant observation through a field study. Additionally, it discusses three controversial elements related to AD scriptwriting, along with four norms that guide the script writers' decision-making process, which must be considered when localising AD scripts in Chinese. It concludes with a summary of the localisation guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective vaccination governance in conflict-affected regions poses unique challenges. This study evaluates the governance of vaccination programs in northwest Syria, focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, inclusiveness, data availability, vision, transparency, accountability, and sustainability. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, and adapting Siddiqi's framework for health governance, data were collected through 14 key informant interviews (KIIs), a validating workshop, and ethnographic observations. Findings were triangulated to provide a comprehensive understanding of vaccination governance. Results: The study highlights innovative approaches used to navigate the complex health governance landscape to deliver vaccination interventions, which strengthened sub-national vaccination structures such as The Syria Immunisation Group (SIG). The analysis revealed several key themes. Effectiveness and efficiency were demonstrated through cold-chain reliability and extensive outreach activities, though formal reports lacked detailed analysis of vaccine losses and linkage between disease outbreak data and coverage statistics. Key informants and workshop participants rated the vaccination strategy positively but identified inefficiencies due to irregular funding and bureaucracy. Inclusiveness and data availability were prioritised, with outreach activities targeting vulnerable groups. However, significant gaps in demographic data and reliance on paper-based systems hindered comprehensive coverage analysis. Digitalisation efforts were noted but require further support. The SIG demonstrated a clear strategic vision supported by international organizations such as the World Health Organization, yet limited partner participation in strategic planning raised concerns about broader ownership and engagement. While the SIG was perceived as approachable, the lack of public documentation and financial disclosure limited transparency. Internal information sharing was prevalent, but public communication strategies were insufficient. Accountability and sustainability faced challenges due to a decentralized structure and reliance on diverse donors. Despite stabilizing factors such as decentralization and financial continuity, fragmented oversight and reliance on donor funding remained significant concerns. Discussion: The study highlights the complexities of vaccination governance in conflict-affected areas. Comparisons with other conflict zones underscore the importance of local organisations and international support. The SIG's role is pivotal, but its legitimacy, transparency, and inclusivity require improvement. The potential transition to early recovery in Syria poses additional challenges to SIG's sustainability and integration into national programs. Conclusion: The governance of vaccination in northwest Syria is multifaceted, involving multiple stakeholders and lacking a legitimate government. Enhancing transparency, local ownership, and participatory decision-making are crucial for improving governance. The role of international bodies is essential, emphasising the need for structured feedback mechanisms and transparent monitoring processes to ensure the program's success and sustainability. Key message: • A hybrid governance model that combines top-down and bottom-up approaches effectively improves immunisation programs in conflict settings and promotes local ownership. • In conflict settings, immunisation programmes require strong and direct intervention from the WHO with central management and coordination of the vaccine activities. • In conflict areas, when the government is a party to the conflict or has limited access to some areas, United Nations institutions must intervene to manage or support vaccine activities in partnership with local entities, regardless of notions of national sovereignty. • In Syria, the reluctance of United Nations institutions to fill the void left by the state in areas outside its control and provide vaccines led to the emergence of many diseases, including polio in 2013 and measles in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural robots have demonstrated significant potential in enhancing farm operational efficiency and reducing manual labour. However, unstructured and complex farm environments present challenges to the precise localisation and navigation of robots in real time. Furthermore, the high costs of navigation systems in agricultural robots hinder their widespread adoption in cost-sensitive agricultural sectors. This study compared two localisation methods that use the Error State Kalman Filter (ESKF) to integrate data from wheel odometry, a low-cost inertial measurement unit (IMU), a low-cost real-time kinematic global navigation satellite system (RTK-GNSS) and the LiDAR-Inertial Odometry via Smoothing and Mapping (LIO-SAM) algorithm using a low-cost IMU and RoboSense 16-channel LiDAR sensor. These two methods were tested on unstructured farm environments for the first time in this study. Experiment results show that the ESKF sensor fusion method without a LiDAR sensor could save 36% of the cost compared to the method that used the LIO-SAM algorithm while maintaining high accuracy for farming applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phrenitis is ubiquitous in ancient medicine and philosophy. Galen mentions the disease innumerable times, Patristic authors take it as a favourite allegory of human flaws, and no ancient doctor fails to diagnose it and attempt its cure. Yet the nature of this once famous disease has not been properly understood by scholars. My book provides the first full history of phrenitis. In doing so, it surveys ancient ideas about the interactions between body and soul, both in health and in disease. It also addresses ancient ideas about bodily health, mental soundness and moral 'goodness', and their heritage in contemporary psychiatry, offering a chance to reflect critically on contemporary ideas about what it means to be 'insane'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Parliaments are increasingly defined as "gendered institutions," with rules, norms, and practices that are often stubbornly resistant to gender equality initiatives. The gender sensitive parliaments' global agenda has made substantial progress in both drawing attention to the gendered nature of parliaments and in spearheading gender equality reform. While a positive trend, there remains a significant disconnect between the (global) normative framework that sets out this agenda and the realization of gender equality in national (local) parliaments. In this article, we build on previous work that begins to unpack and test the process of global norm localization through "contextualization" and "contestation." We select new sites to test these processes--Fiji and Samoa--where specific gender equality reforms have been implemented in the past 10 years, one a gender mainstreaming mandate for parliamentary committees and the other a parliamentary gender quota. The Pacific Islands region presents an important cultural context worthy of exploration: Parliaments are not only overwhelmingly male-dominated, but many are also derivative of hegemonic masculinist cultures evident in the Westminster tradition, albeit hybridized with local political traditions. We compare and contrast the process by which these reforms were developed and implemented in each country and examine the extent to which they can be considered effective mechanisms for addressing gender inequalities. We find that the extent to which these reforms are sustainable and transformative depends on local contexts, local actors, and locally derived solutions. Specifically, the culturally relevant process of contesting the gender quota in Samoa constitutionally, electorally, and through the courts has localised and thereby legitimised this globally endorsed reform. By contrast, gender mainstreaming in Fiji's parliamentary committees has been little more than a "tick-a-box" exercise, having had limited engagement from the political elite under a relatively autocratic regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research from displacement contexts globally has shown that refugees actively collaborate to establish learning centres in order to address educational service gaps facing their communities, such as lack of access or low-quality education. However, much of the existing research focuses on refugee-led educational initiatives that lack national accreditation. Less is known about nationally accredited refugee-led education initiatives – independently established, funded, and managed solely by refugees, especially in refugee camps. With this study, I contribute to the understanding of this lesser-known phenomenon. I examine the conditions underlying the emergence of nationally accredited refugee-led schools in Kenya's Dadaab camps and what these schools do to improve education quality and their students' performance in national exams. I draw on six months of ethnographic research and virtual follow-ups between 2020 and 2022. In the context of the evolving localisation of humanitarian aid discourse, this study broadens insights into governance practices that yield effective service delivery, good quality education, and better results in national examinations. The case of the nationally accredited refugee-led schools in Dadaab camps teaches us that direct support to the state and refugees, rather than intermediary INGOs, can improve students' results in national exams and the quality of education overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qatar's transition from a hydrocarbon-based to a knowledge-based economy spurred the development of Education City, which houses several International Branch Campuses and one home-grown university, Hamad bin Khalifa University. Through the case study of EC, this paper seeks to improve our understanding of higher education policy borrowing and the complex process of indigenisation. Using secondary data from prior studies, it offers a discussion on the key stages and challenges in Qatar's effort to indigenise higher education and outlines areas for further research. This paper uses Phillips and Ochs four-stage Model of Policy Borrowing in Education, as a guiding conceptual model. The paper is constructed as follows: first, a discussion on international branch campuses in Education City; second, outlining the conceptual model; third, a discussion on Education City through the conceptual model; and finally, the case of the home-grown university, Hamad bin Khalifa University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods have received increased interest from the geophysical community. In these methods the solution in each grid cell is approximated as a linear combination of basis functions. Ensemble data assimilation (DA) aims to approximate the true state by combining model outputs with observations using error statistics estimated from an ensemble of model runs. Ensemble data assimilation in geophysical models faces several well‐documented issues. In this work we exploit the expansion of the solution in DG basis functions to address some of these issues. Specifically, it is investigated whether a DA–DG combination (a) mitigates the need for observation thinning, (b) reduces errors in the field's gradients, and (c) can be used to set up scale‐dependent localisation. Numerical experiments are carried out using stochastically generated ensembles of model states, with different noise properties, and with Legendre polynomials as basis functions. It is found that strong reduction in the analysis error is achieved by using DA–DG and that the benefit increases with increasing DG order. This is especially the case when small scales dominate the background error. The DA improvement in the first derivative is, on the other hand, marginal. We think this to be a counter‐effect of the power of DG to fit the observations closely, which can deteriorate the estimates of the derivatives. Applying optimal localisation to the different polynomial orders, thus exploiting their different spatial length, is beneficial: it results in a covariance matrix closer to the true covariance than the matrix obtained using traditional optimal localisation in state space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localisation is an important task and is complex in 3D WSNs in comparison to 2D. The presence of obstacles or irregular terrain makes the localisation task more challenging due to the lack of network connectivity. Few approaches proposed have considered irregular topology but for limited structures like C, H, valley, mountainous areas, etc. This paper investigates the localisation error of sensor nodes deployed in four different 3D real terrains. The network area is divided into grids and a mobile anchor node broadcasts a signal from each grid. This network division provides sufficient anchor signal to each sensor node and found that more than 95% of sensor nodes have been localised with an average localisation error of 19 m. The use of a mobile anchor node eliminates the requirement for many fixed-grounded anchor nodes. The results obtained demonstrate that the localisation error is dependent on terrain topography, grid size and UAV height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bohemistyka is the property of Instytut Filologii Slowianskiej Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between the incidence of spontaneous tumours of various origins and the localisation in dogs with sex, breed, and age factors. A total of 360 tumours with various localisation were studied pathomorphologically. Histopathologic data sets from 360 dog tissue samples were processed and statistically examined. A chi-square test of independence was conducted to examine the relationships among the various levels of the specified variables. Logistic regression models were employed for dichotomous outcomes to ascertain the influence of certain explanatory variables on the tumour types. Characteristic pathomorphological changes observed during examination of dogs with oncologic diseases were determined. The most common neoplasms were mammary tumours, accounting for 43% of the cases. The mammary gland tumours were most common in mongrel dogs (25%), with German Shepherds (17.3%), Poodles, Dachshunds, Central Asian Shepherds (6.7% each), and Rottweilers (5.7%) following. The highest frequency of these tumours appeared at 8 years of age, predominantly originating from the ductal epithelium, which represented 46.4% of all the malignant cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to characterise and determine the prevalence of band-shaped tail lesions in Holstein cows. Lesions were present either as wounds or by epithelised granulation/connective tissue formations. Both types were characterised by a median localisation 7 cm from the tip of the tail, and they occurred on the dorsal aspect of the tail. From here they encircled the tail either completely or in varying degrees, and they were often present as isolated lesions (93%). The prevalence of band-shaped tail lesions was found to be 25% among 2099 cows examined in 16 Danish Holstein herds with a variation from 18 to 40% between herds. In the herds, the wound lesions and the connective tissue formations accounted for 22% and 78% of all band-shaped tail lesions, respectively. Among 458 Holstein cows examined at an abattoir the prevalence of band-shaped tail lesions was 23%, i.e. similar to the prevalence within the herds. At the abattoir the share of band-shaped wound lesions was 67% and the band-shaped connective tissue formation 33%. Associations between the occurrence of band-shaped tail lesions and parity and lack of the tail tip were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aid localisation is a decades-old endeavour recently catalysed by the 2016 Grand Bargain agreement. However, localisation's unintended effects have yet to be assessed systematically. This study typologises five unintended effects in the context of Cordaid's partnerships within the Just Future program: competition, administration, value, civic space, and climate effects. Through literature reviews and 15 key informant interviews, it finds most frequently and impactfully that localisation risks perpetuating hierarchies, as international NGOs favour partnerships with larger local NGOs that manage to meet donor requirements at the expense of community-based organisations (competition effect). In addition, it risks disproportionately increasing local administrative burdens due to donors' low risk appetite and mistrustful perceptions of local capacities (administration effect). Localisation furthermore risks diverging from certain values, such as gender-related and LGBTQ+ rights, which are a priority for many international NGOs (value effect). Recommendations focus on adaptive management and providing technical assistance to smaller local NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As crises escalate worldwide, there is an increasing demand for innovative solutions to enhance humanitarian outcomes. Within this landscape, digital health tools have emerged as promising solutions to tackle certain health challenges. The integration of digital health tools within the international humanitarian system provides an opportunity to reflect upon the system's paternalistic tendencies, driven largely by Global North organisations, that perpetuate existing inequities in the Global South, where the majority of crises occur. The Participation Revolution, a fundamental pillar of the Localisation Agenda, seeks to address these inequities by advocating for greater participation from crisis-affected people in response efforts. Despite being widely accepted as a best practice; a gap remains between the rhetoric and practice of participation in humanitarian response efforts. This study explores the extent and nature of participatory action within contemporary humanitarian digital health projects, highlighting participatory barriers and tensions and offering potential solutions to bridge the participation gap to enhance transformative change in humanitarian response efforts. Methods: Sixteen qualitative interviews were conducted with humanitarian health practitioners and experts to retrospectively explored participatory practices within their digital health projects. The interviews were structured and analysed according to the Localisation Performance Measurement Framework's participation indicators and thematically, following the Framework Method. The study was guided by the COREQ checklist for quality reporting. Results: Varied participatory formats, including focus groups and interviews, demonstrated modest progress towards participation indicators. However, the extent of influence and power held by crisis-affected people during participation remained limited in terms of breadth and depth. Participatory barriers emerged under four key themes: project processes, health evidence, technology infrastructure and the crisis context. Lessons for leveraging participatory digital health humanitarian interventions were conducting thorough pre-project assessments and maintaining engagement with crisis-affected populations throughout and after humanitarian action. Conclusion: The emerging barriers were instrumental in shaping the limited participatory reality and have implications: Failing to engage crisis-affected people risks perpetuating inequalities and causing harm. To advance the Participation Revolution for humanitarian digital health response efforts, the major participatory barriers should be addressed to improve humanitarian efficiency and digital health efficacy and uphold the rights of crisis-affected people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Visual simultaneous localisation and mapping (vSLAM) finds applications for indoor and outdoor navigation that routinely subjects it to visual complexities, particularly mirror reflections. The effect of mirror presence (time visible and its average size in the frame) was hypothesised to impact localisation and mapping performance, with systems using direct techniques expected to perform worse. Thus, a dataset, MirrEnv, of image sequences recorded in mirror environments, was collected, and used to evaluate the performance of existing representative methods. RGBD ORB-SLAM3 and BundleFusion appear to show moderate degradation of absolute trajectory error with increasing mirror duration, whilst the remaining results did not show significantly degraded localisation performance. The mesh maps generated proved to be very inaccurate, with real and virtual reflections colliding in the reconstructions. A discussion is given of the likely sources of error and robustness in mirror environments, outlining future directions for validating and improving vSLAM performance in the presence of planar mirrors. The MirrEnv dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.17035/d.2023.0292477898. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-conflict ethnographic research thrives on bodily immersion in a field site to interact and observe how conflict-affected people navigate and make sense of their world. Therefore, ethnography and distance or ethnographic distance is an oxymoron. Physical immersion in the field has the advantage of generating situated knowledge as the researcher comes to know his situation/location in the field in relation to the social location, conditions, and identities of the researched and all those involved in the knowledge production. Hence, physical presence is desirable for the study of conflict-affected populations. However, when being in the field is dangerous or impossible, the researcher can adapt without losing the key insights that physical immersion provides. COVID-19 research travel restrictions made it impossible for me to travel to Uganda, a post-conflict setting, to conduct fieldwork for my doctoral studies. I had to re-scope my original research design to conduct remote fieldwork. This raised additional ethical challenges associated with fieldwork in such settings. This article reflects on my experience collaborating with two local research assistants (RAs) to conduct remote fieldwork in Northern Uganda. First, my overall ethical responsibility was based on a commitment not to transfer all the risks to the RAs. I formulated my ethical decisions around payment, workload, and the wellbeing of the RAs. Second, remote fieldwork meant that the RAs were the brokers, interviewers, interpreters, transcribers, and translators. These expanded roles significantly impacted the knowledge production processes. To account for this, I asked the RAs to write reflexive statements to situate themselves in the research. I discussed their reflexive statements around their roles as brokers, interviewers and language translators/interpreters and how each impacted knowledge production. The analysis shows that COVID-19 accelerated the localisation of peacebuilding research and provided an opportunity to re-think issues of power relations, local capacity, and gatekeeping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partnerships between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and rights-holder organisations (RHOs) have become more common, important and impactful in the international development sector, and they have been driven by aligned agendas, mutual benefits and the pursuit of locally owned and inclusive development agendas. There are opportunities to broaden partnerships and coalitions to include climate change advocacy, adaptation and mitigation organisations given the increased focus on the links between WASH, resilience and climate change action. This article takes a first step in addressing the question: How can the experience of WASH, gender equality and climate organisation partnerships and coalitions in the Blue Pacific inform the WASH sector in its growing support of and investment in diverse partnerships in support of localism? We conducted a systematic scoping review to identify the literature on gender equality, WASH and climate change-related partnerships and coalitions in the Blue Pacific. Three key themes emerged from the systematic scoping review based on 23 studies published from 1996 to 2024. Firstly, partnerships and coalitions are part of a critical localism agenda, though care needs to be taken by potential partners and donors to understand and manage power dynamics between actors and organisations working within and across sectors. Secondly, a range of benefits and success factors have been documented on partnerships and coalitions in the Blue Pacific, including support for emerging leadership, leveraging policy outcomes, facilitating learning and the sharing of frameworks and tools between partners. Thirdly, like all parts of the community and governance ecosystem, gender dynamics and social norms inform and influence partnerships and coalitions. At the same time, partnerships are important for informing and driving gender equality and inclusion at the local and regional levels including within the WASH sector. This article is useful for local actors, donors and civil society organisations wishing to pursue the mutually beneficial goals of WASH, gender equality, climate change action and localisation in the Blue Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International development and humanitarian organisations are increasingly focused on transitioning from top-down models of practice to 'locally-led approaches' that recognise local epistemologies, capabilities and visions of change. Despite this focus, there remains limited practical guidance to support organisations making this transition. In this article, we aim to suggest ways in which Self-Determination Theory, a well-known theoretical framework in psychology and education, could be applied in the context of development and humanitarian organisations to facilitate transitions to locally-led partnerships and ways of working. We provide an overview of Self-Determination Theory and where it has been used in the development and humanitarian contexts. We propose its feasibility as a framework for transition to locally-led partnerships and approaches in these contexts and suggest specific strategies under a Self-Determination Theory framework that organisations could employ to support both international and local staff members in organisational transitions to locally-led practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores localisation in humanitarian settings as an example of sustainability and inner development. Through a case study from Syria, we discuss how localisation and remote management can lead to the mutual flourishing of individuals, communities and planetary health in the most challenging settings. Through localisation, we can rethink and reframe humanitarianism and integrate sustainability and personal development. Learning from these collaborations that highlight the importance of trust and interpersonal relations, the humanitarian and global health communities can reflect on how local individuals and communities can be further supported in their personal development and the sustainability of interventions that promote planetary health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Robot-assisted vitreoretinal surgery provides precise and consistent operations on the back of the eye. To perform this safely, knowledge of the surgical instrument's remote centre of motion (RCM) and the location of the insertion point into the eye (trocar) is required. This enables the robot to align both positions to pivot the instrument about the trocar, thus preventing any damaging lateral forces from being exerted. Methods: Building on a system developed in previous work, this study presents a trocar localisation method that uses a micro-camera mounted on a vitreoretinal surgical forceps, to track two ArUco markers attached on either side of a trocar. The trocar position is the estimated midpoint between the markers. Results: Experimental evaluation of the trocar localisation was conducted. Results showed an RMSE of 1.82 mm for the localisation of the markers and an RMSE of 1.24 mm for the trocar localisation. Conclusions: The proposed camera-based trocar localisation presents reasonable consistency and accuracy and shows improved results compared to other current methods. Optimum accuracy for this application would necessitate a 1.4 mm absolute error margin, which corresponds to the trocar's radius. The trocar localisation results are successfully found within this margin, yet the marker localisation would require further refinement to ensure consistency of localisation within the error margin. Further work will refine these position estimates and ensure the error stays consistently within this boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent policy changes to the regulation of international schooling for Chinese nationals in China have seen restrictions on curriculum, admissions and ownership. While there is evidence of the impact of these changes at the institutional level, it is not clear how recent regulation has impacted the actors at the phenomenological level. In order to address this gap, we situate recent regulation within the concept of cosmopolitan nationalism, which highlights the interplay of local and global forces and places lived experience at the forefront of analysis. We also draw on qualitative survey and in‐depth interview data with teachers from an international school in China that explored their understandings of international schooling. By analysing the teachers' understandings of international schooling, we were able to gain an insight into the impact of regulation at the level of lived experience. Overall, we found little evidence that regulation had impacted the teachers' beliefs about international schooling, suggesting either the normalisation of regulation or a lag between its implementation and internalisation. Our findings also suggested two main configurations of cosmopolitan nationalism held by the teachers. The first, which we refer to as 'cosmopolitanism with national characteristics', positions international schools as a more diverse and care‐free alternative to domestic schooling. The second configuration of cosmopolitan nationalism, which we refer to as 'nationalism with cosmopolitan characteristics', positions the nation as the foundation and cosmopolitan‐related aspects as peripheral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We model the spatial characteristics of technological knowledge flows in the UK. Using a novel and highly accurate dataset of inventor locations, we test for localisation of knowledge spillovers in citations between UK patent applications from 1982 to 2015. We apply continuous distance localisation tests separately to patent citations in 313 technologies and find that spillovers are localised in far fewer technologies and at shorter distances than previous studies have suggested. Only 30% of technologies in the UK display localisation, knowledge spillovers decay rapidly at distances between 30 and 80 km, and spillovers within technologies are twice as frequently localised as spillovers between technologies. Our results suggest that technological and geographical proximity are important determinants of knowledge spillovers in the UK and that close physical proximity is particularly relevant for industrial sectors that are more reliant on tacit knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we compile a new data set of firms in the Thai automotive industry and discuss the localisation of both automotive parts suppliers and assemblers in Thailand. We first review the factors affecting the development and location of the Thai automotive industry and examine how Thailand came up with the strategy to promote one-ton pickup trucks as the first 'product champion'. We argue that the government played a significant role in creating a 'sizable' domestic market and building the essential infrastructure, resulting in the promotion of dynamic growth and a vibrant productive capacity. Then, applying Duraton and Overman's continuous approach, this paper examines the localisation of automotive firms. Using the spatial distribution of manufacturing establishments as a benchmark, this study finds that all categories of parts suppliers were significantly localised. Moreover, it is revealed that statistically significant localisation takes place only within 150 kilometers with respect to the bilateral distances between suppliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymptotic homogenisation offers a way to efficiently analyse the mechanical behaviour of multiscale configurations. But near a multiscale boundary, the homogenisation strategy should be modified, as the underlying periodicity assumption breaks down there. In this article, we introduce a machine‐learning‐based asymptotic homogenisation and localisation scheme to formulate such boundary layer effects. To this end, we define a set of boundary layer cells, where external loading conditions are imposed on one side of the cell, and matching conditions with the interior periodic cells are imposed on the opposite side. The formulation is also extended to cover situations where the multi‐scale structure is not fully periodic, but spatially varying. Implied from the asymptotic results, neural networks can be trained to memorise the interrelationship between key local quantities, such as the magnitude of the local maximum von Mises stress, and the local mechanical and geometric features. Equipped with the trained neural networks, the online calculation for key (boundary‐localised) quantities of interest under arbitrary loading conditions is expected to be accelerated substantially. Numerical examples are further presented to show the reliability of the proposed work for boundary stress prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Periplo Sustentable is the property of Yanelli Daniela Palmas Castrejon and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studies in Contrastive Grammar / Studii de Gramatica Contrastiva is the property of Universitatea din Pitesti and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We study two models of discrete height functions , that is, models of random integer-valued functions on the vertices of a tree. First, we consider the random homomorphism model , in which neighbours must have a height difference of exactly one. The local law is uniform by definition. We prove that the height variance of this model is bounded, uniformly over all boundary conditions (both in terms of location and boundary heights). This implies a strong notion of localisation, uniformly over all extremal Gibbs measures of the system. For the second model, we consider directed trees, in which each vertex has exactly one parent and at least two children. We consider the locally uniform law on height functions which are monotone , that is, such that the height of the parent vertex is always at least the height of the child vertex. We provide a complete classification of all extremal gradient Gibbs measures, and describe exactly the localisation-delocalisation transition for this model. Typical extremal gradient Gibbs measures are localised also in this case. Localisation in both models is consistent with the observation that the Gaussian free field is localised on trees, which is an immediate consequence of transience of the random walk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China-Pakistan Transportation Corridor (CPTC) has long faced great challenges in natural disasters and sustainable development. This study develops a localised indicator evaluation system for the CPTC sustainable development. It contains 27 Tier I and 8 Tier II indicators, covering 11 sustainable development goals. Based on this evaluation system, a single-goal, multidimensional, and comprehensive evaluation of the CPTC sustainable development level is conducted for 2015, 2017 and 2020. The results show that, in terms of single goals, Xinjiang has the highest sustainable development level. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the poorest level of sustainable development. The Islamabad Capital Territory is better developed for all goals, especially in SDG5, SDG8 and SDG9. Besides these three goals, SDG6, and SDG11 are more prominent in Punjab, whereas SDG2 and SDG3 performed worst. From a multidimensional evaluation, the CPTC sustainable development level has been steadily increasing. However, the social and environmental dimensions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have experienced a 'regression'. The comprehensive evaluation results show that the level of sustainable development in all provinces of the CPTC increase, except for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study identifies CPTC sustainability issues and proposes targeted recommendations for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing backscatter communications and localisation research have been able to obtain incredibly accurate results in controlled environments. The main issue with these systems is faced in complex RF environments. This paper investigates concurrent localization and ambient radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting using backscatter communication systems for Internet of Things networks. Dynamic real-world environments introduce complexity from multipath reflection and shadowing, as well as interference from movements. A machine learning framework leveraging K-Nearest Neighbors and Random Forest classifiers creates robustness against such variability. Historically, received signal measurements construct a location fingerprint database resilient to perturbations. The Random Forest model demonstrates precise localization across customized benches with programmable shuffling of chairs outfitted with RF identification tags. Average precision accuracy exceeds 99% despite deliberate placement modifications, inducing signal fluctuations emulating mobility and clutter. Significantly, directional antennas can harvest over −3 dBm, while even omnidirectional antennas provide −10 dBm—both suitable for perpetually replenishing low-energy electronics. Consequently, the intelligent backscatter platform localizes unmodified objects to customizable precision while promoting self-sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 Agenda and its integrative and indivisible sustainable development goals (SDGs) challenge traditional ways of governing. Hence, collaboration across sectors, actors, and levels is fundamental in SDG localisation, where subnational levels (actors at regional and local levels) play key roles in forwarding societal transformation. The paper sheds light on the complexity of collaboration by exploring the early stages of developing multi‐actor collaboration for SDG implementation at a county level in Sweden. The analyses depart from interviews and observations. One of the main conclusions is that it is important to discuss the involved organisations' understanding and ambitions more in‐depth early on in such collaboration processes. To be able to do so, the actors need to have the capacity to see beyond their traditional roles. Moreover, the study indicates that leadership is essential in this context, but this leadership needs to be based on neutrality, which, in practise, is a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: This review paper highlights the key alternatives to the blue dye/radioisotope method of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). It analyses the research available on these alternative methods and their outcomes compared to the traditional techniques. Materials and Methods: This review focused on fifteen articles, of which five used indocyanine green (ICG) as a tracer, four used magnetic tracers, one used one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) and Metasin (quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction), one used the photosensitiser talaporfin sodium, one used sulphur hexafluoride gas microbubbles, one used CT-guided lymphography and two focused on general SLNB technique reviews. Results: Of the 15 papers analysed, the sentinel node detection rates were 69–100% for indocyanine green, 91.67–100% for magnetic tracers, 81% for talaporfin sodium, 9.3–55.2% for sulphur hexafluoride gas microbubbles, 90.5% for CTLG and 82.7–100% for one-step nucleic acid amplification. Conclusions: Indocyanine green fluorescence (ICG) and magnetic tracers have been proven non-inferior to traditional blue dye and isotope regarding SLNB localisation. Further studies are needed to investigate the use of these techniques in conjunction with each other and the possible use of language learning models. Dedicated studies are required to assess cost efficacy and longer-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on the problem of the pollutant source localisation in streams in other words the solution of the inverse problem of pollution spreading with in an extensive open channel network structure, i.e. in a complex system of rivers, channels and creeks in natural catchments or sewer systems in urban catchments. The design of the overall localisation procedure is based on the requirement that the entire localization system be operative and fast enough to enable quick operative interventions and help prevent the spread of pollution. The proposed model, as well as, the overall localisation procedure was calibrated and tested on a real sewer system, which represents in this case an extensive open channel network structure with free surface flow. The test results are successful and confirmed applicability of proposed localization tool in simple real conditions. However, the localisation procedure has pros and cons, which are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In September, 2014, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called for militarised assistance in response to the rapidly escalating West Africa Ebola Epidemic. Soon after, the United Kingdom deployed its military to Sierra Leone, which (among other contributions) helped to support the establishment of novel and military-led Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola) response centres throughout the country. To examine these civil-military structures and their effects, 110 semi-structured interviews with civilian and military Ebola Response Workers (ERWs) were conducted and analysed using neo-Durkheimian theory. Results: The hierarchical Ebola response centres were found to be spaces of 'conflict attenuation' for their use of 'rule-bound niches', 'neutral zones', 'co-dependence', and 'hybridity', thereby not only easing civil-military relationships (CMRel), but also increasing the efficiency of their application to Ebola response interventions. Furthermore, the hierarchical response centres were also found to be inclusive spaces that further increased efficiency through the decentralisation and localisation of these interventions and daily decision making, albeit for mostly privileged groups and in limited ways. Conclusions: This demonstrates how hierarchy and localisation can (and perhaps should) go hand-in-hand during future public health emergency responses as a strategy for more robustly including typically marginalised local actors, while also improving necessary efficiency—in other words, an 'inclusive hierarchical coordination' that is both operationally viable and an ethical imperative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments across the Arabian Gulf aim to reduce their dependence on expatriates by implementing localisation policies. Building on institutional and legitimacy theories, we seek to advance our understanding of the effects of such policies on multinational enterprises (MNEs). We used data from 157 MNEs operating in Saudi Arabia and found the indigenisation of the human resource management (HRM) function is closely correlated with the level of workforce localisation: key factors empowering localisation, defined as recruitment and training practices geared towards the needs of locals, include the demographics and role of the HRM Director. Theoretically, we contribute to the literature on institutionalism and legitimacy by revealing how various institutional forces influence the process of selection and transfer of HRM practices to adapt to the institutional environment of a given context. Our research also shows that if MNEs follow government recommendations, develop links with local educational institutions to target suitable job candidates, and adapt to shortages in local skills and competencies by investing in the training and development of local workers, they will be more likely to achieve success in workforce localisation and legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the experience of Vietnamese game companies in operating and localising online games in Vietnam. The findings were retrieved by analysing the interview results with leaders and experts of notable game companies in Vietnam who know profoundly and broadly about the industry. The main themes include the operational flow of the industry and the localisation process. The analysis reveals that another factor that can be added to the value chain in the current intra-Asian market is Vietnam since this country has deeply engaged with the process of producing and distributing online games. Their operational procedure and localising process also display some distinctive patterns that are analysed in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the past two decades, in response to a growing awareness of the impacts of humanitarian crises on mental health and psychosocial well-being, leading UN agencies and international aid organisations have developed a comprehensive framework for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). In more recent years, aid workers have further begun to consider religious life as a central factor in mental health and psychosocial well-being, viewing "faith" as an important, but often neglected, component of empowering and "locally appropriate" MHPSS. However, the attempt to deliver "faith-sensitive" MHPSS across the highly pluralistic settings of international humanitarian intervention has entailed protracted ethical and practical challenges. In this article, we argue that these challenges may be usefully understood in terms of three areas of concern: the lack of evidence on effective interventions; the risk of reproducing problematic power dynamics between MHPSS providers and receivers; and the challenge of articulating a cross-culturally relevant paradigm of "faith-sensitivity" comprehensible across a wide range of religiously diverse settings. This article contributes to these challenges by drawing on the field of professional spiritual care to suggest areas of potential contribution and interdisciplinary dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim and Objectives: To study various methods to identify and localise, ease or difficulty in grafting, complications, morbidity and mortality in Intramyocardial coronaries Materials and methods: This is a retrospective observational study for a period of 5 years, at Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, in patients who are undergoing CABG and have been found to have an intramyocardial coronary vessel. The study protocol was approved by the Hospital Ethics committee. Various techniques to localize the intramyocardial LAD and outcomes of the procedure were studied in 50 cases. Results: In the present study, most patients were in the range of 51-55 years (30%) and 61-65 years (22%) and were male(76%). Majority of cases had the Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD) which was intramyocardial in nature (88%) while Ramus Intermedius was intramyocardial in the rest (12%).The intramyocardial coronary was identified by Vein sign (n=23, 46%) and Tracing (n= 19, 38%) in majority of the cases. The Groove sign was employed in (n=6, 12%) cases whereas Probe method was used in (n=2, 4%) cases. The time taken by Groove, tracing & Vein methods compared to the Probe method was statistically significant (0.002, 0.00, 0.00). The cross-clamp time and pump time for all methods were comparable. The prevalence of intramyocardial coronaries in this study was 13%. Conclusion: It maybe concluded that, intramyocardial coronaries can be grafted like any other epicardial coronary once localisation is achieved. Our proposed algorithm can serve as a guide as any one technique for LAD exposure is not ideal as every case requires an individual approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the construction sector's contribution to the climate crisis and exacerbation of social inequalities, we explore sustainable alternatives in building construction, informed by the illustrative case study of the Polycare construction system. First, through a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, we show that the ecological footprint of circularity-oriented buildings based on polymer concrete is significantly lower than that of conventional cement concrete buildings. Despite the drawbacks of polymer concrete, its high-performance properties and the possibility to integrate secondary materials in its recipe can result in a reduced carbon footprint. When coupled with design-embedded modularity that facilitates circular processes (e.g., the disassembly and reuse of building components), buildings similar to those in the case study demonstrate potential for transitioning towards comprehensive sustainable building practices. Further, we discuss how this sustainability potential could be enhanced, drawing from interviews with Polycare's stakeholders and key literature findings. In this direction, we provide a set of proposals anchored in the argument that threefold "circularity, localisation, and openness" is vital for sustainable and affordable alternatives, with openness being a crucial element for fostering innovation, adaptability, and scalability in building processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]