Traits of thermal sensitivity or performance are typically the focus of species distribution modelling. Among-population trait variation, trait plasticity, population connectedness and the possible ...climatic covariation thereof are seldom accounted for. Here, we examine multiple climate stress resistance traits, and the plasticity thereof, for a globally invasive agricultural pest insect, the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae). We also accounted for body size and population genetic connectivity among distinct populations from diverse bioclimatic regions across southern Africa. Desiccation resistance, starvation resistance, and critical thermal minimum (CT
) and maximum (CT
) of C. capitata varied between populations. For thermal tolerance traits, patterns of flexibility in response to thermal acclimation were suggestive of beneficial acclimation, but this was not the case for desiccation or starvation resistance. Population differences in measured traits were larger than those associated with acclimation, even though gene flow was high. Desiccation resistance was weakly but positively affected by growing degree-days. There was also a weak positive relationship between CT
and temperature seasonality, but CT
was weakly but negatively affected by the same bioclimatic variable. Our results suggest that the invasive potential of C. capitata may be supported by adaptation of tolerance traits to local bioclimatic conditions.
With Sustainable Development Goal 7, the United Nations has declared its ambition to ensure access to modern energy for all by 2030. Aside from broad appeals to differentiated responsibilities and ...'greener' technologies, however, the goal leaves significant procedural questions unaddressed. This paper argues that the basic orientation of this approach is problematic, undermining possibilities for progress toward energy justice and equitable development. First, in framing the issue of global energy distribution in broad techno-managerial terms it obscures how particular geographies of energy poverty have been shaped by critical political economic influences. Second, in privileging modern forms of energy and focusing on an end state of universal adoption, over a broader goal of eliminating energy poverty, the approach of SDG7 presents tangible hazards to many of those it seeks to benefit. Using a case study of Sierra Leonean rural cooking energy policy, we demonstrate how the underlying mentality of SDG7 feeds into existing discourses that marginalise producers and users of 'traditional' energy sources, threatening important livelihoods. With such evidence, we argue that for justice in energy policy to be realised holistically, there is a need to question how our knowledge of energy ‘problems’ have emerged to avoid epistemologically autarchic policy positions.
•Examination of the justice issues within the text of Sustainable Development Goal 7.•Investigates how fuelwood is entangled with energy justice issues in Sierra Leone.•Argues energy solutions need to shift away from simple technological fixes.•Energy policy needs to be built on a range of energy knowledges and experiences.
Although strategic management has taken root in many African organizations, much of the existing body of African management research offers little insight into the current state of knowledge and ...direction in terms of Africa finding its voice within the mainstream research. We draw on a review of the literature to develop a conceptual framework for classifying the contributions in African management research. The conceptual model captures the indigenous (intra‐Africa) and inter‐Africa dimension of macro‐strategy and organizational behavior/human resource research. The accumulated body of research indicates a sign of growing self‐confidence in African management research that must be maintained and revitalized. This article contributes to the literature by developing a unified conceptual model that captures both the indigenous and comparative dimensions of management research. A number of fruitful avenues for future research have been advanced.
•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.
Technology is disrupting bringing up a better innovation and strengthening the healthcare services. Telehealth is one of these services. Telehealth can help in times of emergency situations as well ...as reducing morbidity caused by other diseases other than coronavirus and also constraining its spread as well as sustaining the country's economic development. Although, telehealth is a disruptive innovation, this article aimed to point out why Africa and rest of the world need telehealth to structure out the management of the three phases of health crises (pre, during and post-crises) that must be address to help in economic sustainability, increase accessibility to healthcare and increase in quality of life which in turn reduces costs and easy access to healthcare services either incommunicable, non-communicable, or disastrous situations in the African region. In fighting an outbreak such as this, our study finds that the government of African nations should guarantee all health experts get fitting instruction and preparing; present telehealth accreditation for wellbeing experts; give subsidizing which satisfactorily takes care of the expense of giving telehealth; overhaul clinical models of care; bolster all partners with a viable correspondence; and finally, change the board technique while setting up frameworks to oversee telehealth benefits on a standard premise.
Teknolojide yaşanan gelişmelerin getirdiği inovasyon, diğer birçok sektörle birlikte sağlık sektöründe de sağlık hizmetlerinin kalitelendirilmesi konusunda kullanılmaktadır. Sağlık sektöründe uygulanan teknolojik uygulamalardan birisi de telesağlık hizmetleridir. Telesağlık hizmetleri acil durumlar başta olmak üzere diğer birçok hastalıkta ve son dönemde yaşamakta olduğumuz koronavirüs pandemisinin yayılmasını azaltmaya yönelik uygulamalar ile daha fazla gündeme gelmekte ve bu olumlu özellikleri nedeniyle de sürdürülebilir kalkınma süreçlerine önemli katkılar sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Afrika’dan başlamak üzere tüm dünyada uygulanan telesağlık hizmetlerinin pandemi öncesi, pandemi sürecinde ve pandemi sonrası dönemlerde neden telesağlık hizmetlerine etkin şekilde başvurulması gerektiğinin altını çizmektir. Gerçekten de Afrika’nın ulaşılabilen, ulaşılamayan ya da doğal afetler yaşanan birçok bölgesinde etkin, düşük maliyetli, yaşam kalitesinin yükseltilmesini hedefleyen sağlık hizmetlerine daha yüksek erişim sağlamanın yanında ekonomik sürdürülebilirliği de amaçlayan çok güçlü imkanlar sağlaması dolayısıyla telesağlık hizmetleri oldukça dikkat çekici şekilde uygulanmaktadır. Bu çerçevede bu çalışmamızda halen yaşamakta olduğumuz pandemi gibi salgınların yaşanması durumunda tüm Afrika ülkelerinden başlayarak sağlık çalışanlarının telesağlık hizmeti verme konusunda hazırlıklı olması; telesağlık hizmetlerinin tüm ülkelerde akredite olması; telesağlık hizmetlerinin etkin şekilde verilebilmesi için hükümetlerce sübvansiyonların sağlanması; klinik bakım modellerinin gözden geçirilmesi ve son olarak, standart telesağlık hizmetlerini denetlemek için tedbirler, kurallar ve regülasyonların oluşturulması süreçlerinde yönetim kurulu tekniğinin değiştirilmesi hizmetlerin kalitelenmesi açısından üzerinde durulan konular olmuştur.
In the past decade, palm oil has risen to become the most produced and consumed vegetable oil in the world. Growth of commercial plantations in Southeast Asia and recent expansions in West Africa and ...Latin America have led to a growing call for the sustainable production of palm oil, driven to a large extent by concerns over the associated impacts of deforestation and biodiversity losses. This study investigates the academic response to the calls for the sustainable production of palm oil by identifying and analysing Thomson Reuters Institute for Scientific Information indexed palm oil sustainability related publications from 2004 to 2013. The results show that the total number of publications has increased exponentially from 11 in 2004 to 713 by 2013. However, this growth is shown to be carried mainly by research within technical aspects of palm oil residue use; publications in the categories of land use & land use change, biodiversity and socio-economic aspects have increased, but the growth has been markedly slower. It is thus argued that there is currently an imbalance in research strategies since the focus towards technical topics is at odds with the major sustainability issues raised about palm oil production. To address the current imbalance in palm oil research, this study proposes a holistic framework for palm oil sustainability research with the aim of achieving multidisciplinary studies and emphasizing collaboration between industry and academia. Research sponsors and public bodies in charge of science, social science and technology research frameworks will thus benefit from improved understanding of where research and development resources can be allocated to facilitate the transition towards improved sustainability.
•Substantial increases are seen in ISI publications on palm oil sustainability.•Residue technology and use is the most published sustainability category.•Most sustainability categories are still under-researched.•There is a need for an increased multidisciplinary research approach.•Universities act as ‘anchor-institutions’ for sustainable development strategies.
In this study, historical surface solar radiation (1850–2005) and future photovoltaic power output (2006–2100) are analyzed to investigate the spatial distribution and long-term variation in global ...solar energy based on the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models and the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) database. The results show that global mean surface solar radiation significantly decreased by 0.014 W m−2 year−1 in 1850–2005. According to the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC5), surface solar radiation significantly decreased by 3.42 W m−2 year−1 in 1951–1992 and increased by 4.75 W m−2 year−1 in 1993–2005. Global dimming and brightening were observed before and after the 1990s, respectively. The transition of surface solar radiation from dimming to brightening in Europe and the southeastern United States was detected in the 1980s. Stations in Northeast China, Japan, Southeast Africa, the Middle East, and the west coast of India all showed renewed decreasing trends after the 1990s. The direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic aerosols and cloudiness in different periods and regions were the main causes of the changes. To better understand the utilization of global solar energy, global potential photovoltaic power outputs were estimated in future scenarios with an empirical model. Significant increases in potential photovoltaic power are expected in East Asia, Europe, Central Africa and Central America in 2006–2100. The largest increase is expected in central China, where increases are occurring at 3 kWh m−2 year−1. Significantly decreasing potential photovoltaic power is observed in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Australia. The greatest decrease is observed in the Tibetan Plateau area (approximately −3.0 kWh m−2 year−1 in 2006–2100). With respect to the global distribution of potential photovoltaic power output, large quantities of photovoltaic power are distributed in the northern and southern parts of Africa, the Middle East, the Tibetan Plateau area, the west coasts of North and South America and most of Australia. The yearly mean sum photovoltaic power in these regions is larger than 2000 kW h m−2. Due to the long-term decreasing photovoltaic power (0.67 kWh m−2 year−1) expected worldwide in 2006–2100, effective and rational utilization of solar energy is of great importance.
Annual PV power for 34 CMIP5 model mean and MIRCO5 in historical experiments, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. Display omitted
•Global mean Surface downwelling shortwave radiation decreased during 1850–2005.•The predicted global mean potential photovoltaic power will decrease from 2006 to 2100.•High photovoltaic power is located in North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Australia.•Photovoltaic power in East Asia, Europe, Central Africa and America will increase in future.
There has been a growing interest in jatropha- and sugarcane-based biofuels across Sub-Sahara Africa. Biofuel expansion in the region reflects policy concerns related to energy security, poverty ...alleviation and economic development. However, biofuels have also been linked to numerous environmental and socioeconomic impacts such as GHG emissions, water availability/pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, poverty alleviation, energy security, loss of access to land and food security to name just a few. Yet there is (a) an insufficient understanding of these impacts (and their synergies) in Sub-Sahara Africa, and (b) a lack of policies that could regulate the biofuel sector and ensure its viability while at the same time preventing its negative impact. The aim of this literature review is to synthesize the current knowledge about biofuel impacts in Africa and to identify priority policy areas that should be targeted for enhancing biofuel sustainability in the continent. The findings of this review indicate that biofuel impacts can be positive or negative depending on several factors such as the feedstock, the environmental/socio-economic context of biofuel production, and the policy instruments in place during biofuel production, use and trade. In most cases there are significant trade-offs but at least part of the negative impacts can be mitigated through careful planning. The incomplete and piecemeal understanding of these trade-offs combined with agronomic, institutional and market failures are currently the most important barriers for the viability and sustainability of biofuel investments in the continent.
While it is commonly believed that democracy influences public service provision, comparably few studies have assessed how recent democratisation in developing countries has impacted tangible public ...service outcomes for economically deprived population shares. Using panel data from 46 sub-Saharan African countries between 1990 and 2010 as well as qualitative country case examples from Ghana, Swaziland, Uganda, Senegal and Rwanda, this paper examines considerable and growing rural electrification variations in terms of political, economic and demographic variables. The analyses suggest that democracy is strongly associated with rural electrification increases and rural versus urban electrification inequality decreases in sub-Saharan Africa. This result is robust to a variety of political, economic and demographic control variables as well as different econometric modelling assumptions. The paper further presents novel multi-variant evidence supporting that contested elections with strong oppositions as well as effective policy implementing institutions may act as intervening institutional mechanisms that explain a part of democracy's association with rural electricity provision. Higher income per capita, national savings and population densities may further foster rural electrification, while high foreign aid shares of GDP and rural population percentages may pose challenges to access equality.
•Democracy helps to understand sub-Saharan African rural electrification variations.•Democracy is furthermore associated with decreasing electrification inequality.•Strong oppositions and effective institutions may be intervening mechanisms.•Favourable economic and demographic factors seem to foster rural electrification.
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