One of the greatest enigmas in the study of Bronze Age China is the source of highly radiogenic lead discovered in the copper-based objects of the Shang period (ca. 1500-1046 BC). Although being ...relatively rare in nature, such lead contributed over half of the lead consumed across a vast area from the Yellow River to the Yangtze. Identifying its source and supply network would significantly contribute to our understanding of how China achieved the largest metal production across Eurasia. The past thirty years of research have seen various proposals for the origin of this lead, including south-western China, the middle Yangtze River valley, the Qinling and Zhongtiao mountains, and even Africa. This paper attempts to illustrate the tempero-spatial pattern of this highly radiogenic lead using the largest possible databank. Furthermore, by going beyond the bronze data and investigating lead isotopes in non-metal objects, we confirm that multiple sources of highly radiogenic lead must have been used across Chinese history. In turn, this implies the feasibility of a multi-source model for the lead in the Shang bronzes.
Development Aid, Drought, and Coping Capacity Rustad, Siri Aas; Rosvold, Elisabeth Lio; Buhaug, Halvard
Journal of development studies,
08/2020, Letnik:
56, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Climate change is a major threat to sustained economic growth and wellbeing in the Global South. To what extent does official development assistance (ODA) strengthen recipient communities' capacity ...to cope with climatic extremes? Here, we investigate whether inflow of development aid mitigates adverse health impacts of subsequent drought among children under 5 years of age, drawing on survey data of nearly 140,000 respondents across 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in combination with georeferenced data on World Bank-sponsored ODA projects and historical weather statistics. A coarsened exact matching analysis reveals little benefit of development aid on child nutritional status under normal meteorological conditions. However, among children exposed to drought, prior aid allocation is associated with significantly reduced weight loss. While the merit of ODA in facilitating long-term growth remains debated, this study finds consistent indication that multilateral development aid improves recipient communities' capacity to cope with future drought.
İçerisinde bulunduğumuz 21. yüzyıl, 2000'li yılların başında dönemin Güney Afrika Devlet Başkanı Thabo Mbeki tarafından "Afrika Yüzyılı" olarak tanımlamıştır. Afrika’nın 21. yüzyılın ikinci ...yarısından itibaren uluslararası sistem içerisinde daha etkin rol oynaması ve küresel sahnede ağırlığı giderek artan bir aktör olması beklenmektedir. Küresel aktörlerin Afrika’da yer alması, bölgesel güçlerin de Afrika üzerinde siyaset geliştirmelerine zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu bağlamda bölgesel bir güç olan İran’ın Afrika özelinde de Kuzey Afrika’daki faaliyetleri özellikle de Şiileştirme siyaseti diğer rakiplerine göre daha dikkat çekici bir şekilde ilerlemektedir. Pers İmparatorluğu’ndan miras alınan Farsi bakış açısının yanı sıra Şiilik, günümüz İran’ının jeopolitik ve jeokültürel eğitimlerini önemli derecede etkilemiş ve etkilemeye devam etmektedir. Siyasallaşmasıyla birlikte Şiilik, İran’ın milli kimliğinin oluşturulmasında ve korunmasında önemli rol oynayan faktörlerden biri belki de en önemlisi haline gelmiştir. Bu bağlamda etrafındaki diğer medeniyetlerden farklı sosyo-kültürel bir sistem oluşturan İran Şiiliği, Şah İsmail döneminden itibaren Fars milliyetçiliği ile iç içe geçerek günümüz İran’ının güvenlik ve dış politikası üzerindeki temel belirleyici haline gelmiştir. Bu bağlamda bu makalede İran’ın Kuzey Afrika’da Fas, Tunus ve Cezayir’deki dini diplomasi ve Şiileştirme faaliyetleri ele alınacaktır
Abstract
The FAM-1 genotype of
Phytophthora infestans
caused late blight in the 1840s in the US and Europe and was responsible for the Irish famine. We sampled 140 herbarium specimens collected ...between 1845 and 1991 from six continents and used 12-plex microsatellite genotyping (SSR) to identify FAM-1 and the mtDNA lineage (Herb-1/Ia) present in historic samples. FAM-1 was detected in approximately 73% of the historic specimens and was found on six continents. The US-1 genotype was found later than FAM-1 on all continents except Australia/Oceania and in only 27% of the samples. FAM-1 was the first genotype detected in almost all the former British colonies from which samples were available. The data from historic outbreak samples suggest the FAM-1 genotype was widespread, diverse, and spread to Asia and Africa from European sources. The famine lineage spread to six continents over 144 years, remained widespread and likely spread during global colonization from Europe. In contrast, modern lineages of
P. infestans
are rapidly displaced and sexual recombination occurs in some regions.
On handling urban informality in southern africa Kamete, Amin Y.
Geografiska annaler. Series B, Human Geography/Geografiska annaler. Series B. Human geography,
March 2013, Letnik:
95, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this article I reconsider the handling of urban informality by urban planning and management systems in southern Africa. I argue that authorities have a fetish about formality and that this is ...fuelled by an obsession with urban modernity. I stress that the desired city, largely inspired by Western notions of modernity, has not been and cannot be realized. Using illustrative cases of top-down interventions, I highlight and interrogate three strategies that authorities have deployed to handle informality in an effort to create or defend the modern city. I suggest that the fetish is built upon a desire for an urban modernity based on a concept of formal order that the authorities believe cannot coexist with the "disorder" and spatial "unruliness" of informality. I question the authorities' conviction that informality is an abomination that needs to be "converted", dislocated or annihilated. I conclude that the very configuration of urban governance and socio-economic systems in the region, like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, renders informality inevitable and its eradication impossible.
flavonoidVernonia amygdalina Del) adalah salah satu tanaman obat yang berasal dari Afrika yang menyebar sampai ke Asia, termasuk Indonesia. Vernonia amygdalina Del dikenal dengan nama lokal tanaman ...Afrika. Tanaman ini secara tradisional telah dimanfaatkan sebagai obat diabetes, demam, hipertensi dan asam urat. Tujuan penelian ini adalah menentukan kadar flavonoid total ekstrak daun, kulit batang dan kayu batang tanaman Afrika. Masing-masing sampel (daun, kulit batang dan batang Afrika) diekstraksi kemudian ditentukan kandungan flavonoid totalnya. Berdasarkan hasil penentuan kadar flavonoid dari ekstrak daun, kulit batang dan batang Afrika diketahui bahwa ekstrak batang memiliki kadar flavonoid total yang paling banyak sebesar 418,15 mg QE/g ekstrak.
Energy poverty in developing regions is a major global concern, with the rural areas of South Asia, South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected. The major residential energy ...consumption in these regions is for cooking and lighting, which is basically covered with traditional biomass and fossil fuels. This situation acts as a development barrier, while implying stress on resources and the environment. Solar home systems (SHS) can play an important role in overcoming this problem. Recent technological advances and cost reductions in lithium-ion batteries favour their use in such application. Domestic electric devices with outstanding energy efficiency are becoming the standard around the globe. This paper focuses on exploiting these innovations to provide a solution for domestic energy poverty in developing regions. The layout of a SHS that integrates a lithium-ion battery-pack and is complemented with LED lamps and an energy efficient multicooker is presented. The paper assesses the SHS in contrast with existing practices under domestic energy poverty, with consideration of the learning curve. It is concluded that the cost of energy of the SHS is slightly cheaper than the business as usual case on the short term, and notably cheaper on the longer run. Furthermore, a financing scheme is proposed to overcome implementation barriers. Government support is considered, and quantified based on the SHS carbon abatement and saved fossil fuel subsidies. A substantial share of the initial investment can be covered under such scheme. This case study allows to draw general conclusions on the potential of SHS as a solution for domestic energy poverty in developing regions, on the financing gaps that hamper implementation and eventually on the required actions to overcome these.
•The state of the art of domestic energy poverty in developing regions is summarized.•A solar home system with lithium-ion battery is proposed as a solution.•The solar home system is assessed in contrast with current practices under energy poverty.•The solar home system is more cost effective and has an incremental cost advantage over time.•A financing scheme is suggested to overcome implementation barriers.
•The role of sustainability-oriented standards in global food markets is growing.•We analyze impacts of Fairtrade, Organic, and UTZ standards on coffee farmers in Uganda.•We use survey data and ...propensity score matching with multiple treatments.•Fairtrade increases living standards by 30% and reduces the prevalence and depth of poverty.•For the other two standards, no significant impacts are found.
Voluntary standards are gaining in importance in global markets for high-value foods. We analyze and compare impacts of three sustainability-oriented standards – Fairtrade, Organic, and UTZ – on the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. Using survey data and propensity score matching with multiple treatments, we find that Fairtrade certification increases household living standards by 30% and reduces the prevalence and depth of poverty. For the other two certification schemes, no significant impacts are found. Several factors that can explain differential impacts are discussed. Overly general statements about the effects of sustainability standards on smallholder livelihoods may be misleading.
The long-term forecasting of energy supply and demand is of prime importance in Africa due to the steady increase in energy requirements, the non-availability of sufficient resources, the high ...dependence on fossil-fuels to meet these requirements, and the global concerns over the energy-induced environmental issues. This paper is concerned with modelling possible future paths for Africa's energy future and the related emissions. Future energy demand is forecasted based on socio-economic variables such as gross domestic product, income per capita, population, and urbanisation.
The Long-range Energy Alternative Planning System (LEAP) modelling framework is employed to analyse and project energy demand and the related emissions under alternative strategies for the period of 2010–2040. Results of scenarios including business-as-usual (BAU) policies, moderate energy access and accelerate energy access policies, renewable energies promotion and energy efficiency policies and their environmental implications are provided.
The study provides some policy insights and identifies synergies and trade-offs relating to the potential for energy policies to promote universal energy access, enable a transition to renewable energy, and mitigate climate change for a sustainable development.
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•Possible future paths for Africa's energy future and the related emissions are modelled.•Scenarios using an adaptation of Schwartz's scenario approach, under LEAP are developed.•Under the current energy policies, the universal access to modern energy will not be met by 2030.•Policies to accelerate the changes in energy structure are required for sustainable development.•Investing in Energy efficient strategies has emerged as one of the best solution.
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