scholarly journals Site Protection Efforts at the AURA Observatory in Chile

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29A) ◽  
pp. 115-117
Author(s):  
R. Chris Smith ◽  
Pedro Sanhueza ◽  
Malcolm G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Education And Public Outreach

AbstractThe AURA Observatory site in northern Chile, which includes Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon, has been operational for over 50 years now, facing a variety of challenges to its long-term future. The site now hosts over 20 operational telescopes, ranging from small projects with 0.4m telescopes to the Blanco 4m, the SOAR 4.1m, and the 8m Gemini-South telescopes. In addition, we have recently begun the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) on the summit of Cerro Pachon. We summarize our efforts over the past 20-30 years to highlight the importance of site protection through education and public outreach as well as through more recent promotion of IDA certifications in the region and support for the World Heritage initiatives described by others in this conference.

scholarly journals Virus Eradication and Synthetic Biology: Changes with SARS-CoV-2?

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 569
Author(s):  
Jean-Nicolas Tournier ◽  
Joseph Kononchik
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Virus Eradication ◽  
Disease Eradication ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Significant Effort

The eradication of infectious diseases has been achieved only once in history, in 1980, with smallpox. Since 1988, significant effort has been made to eliminate poliomyelitis viruses, but eradication is still just out of reach. As the goal of viral disease eradication approaches, the ability to recreate historically eradicated viruses using synthetic biology has the potential to jeopardize the long-term sustainability of eradication. However, the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 pandemic has highlighted our ability to swiftly and resolutely respond to a potential outbreak. This virus has been synthetized faster than any other in the past and is resulting in vaccines before most attenuated candidates reach clinical trials. Here, synthetic biology has the opportunity to demonstrate its truest potential to the public and solidify a footing in the world of vaccines.

The vigorous development of data driven astronomy education and public outreach (DAEPO)

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S367) ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Chenzhou Cui ◽  
Cuilan Qiao ◽  
Dongwei Fan ◽  
Changhua Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
The Past ◽  
Education And Public Outreach ◽  
Science Educators

AbstractAstronomy education and public outreach (EPO) is one of the important part of the future development of astronomy. During the past few years, as the rapid evolution of Internet and the continuous change of policy, the breeding environment of science EPO keep improving and the number of related projects show a booming trend. EPO is no longer just a matter of to teachers and science educators but also attracted the attention of professional astronomers. Among all activates of astronomy EPO, the data driven astronomy education and public outreach (abbreviated as DAEPO) is special and important. It benefits from the development of Big Data and Internet technology and is full of flexibility and diversity. We will present the history, definition, best practices and prospective development of DAEPO for better understanding this active field.

scholarly journals Understanding Urban Growth in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region over the Past 100 Years Using Old Maps and Landsat Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 3264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Li ◽  
Zhongqiu Sun ◽  
Yafei Wang ◽  
Yuxia Wang
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Remote Sensing Images ◽  
The Past ◽  
Old Maps ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

Studying urban expansion from a longer-term perspective is of great significance to obtain an in-depth understanding of the process of urbanization. Remote sensing data are mostly selected to investigate the long-term expansion of cities. In this study, we selected the world-class urban agglomeration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) as the study area, and then discussed how to make full use of multi-source, multi-category, and multi-temporal spatial data (old maps and remote sensing images) to study long-term urbanization. Through this study, we addressed three questions: (1) How much has the urban area in BTH expanded in the past 100 years? (2) How did the urban area expand in the past century? (3) What factors or important historical events have changed the development of cities with different functions? By comprehensively using urban spatial data, such as old maps and remote sensing images, geo-referencing them, and extracting built-up area information, a long-term series of urban built-up areas in the BTH region can be obtained. Results show the following: (1) There was clear evidence of dramatic urban expansion in this area, and the total built-up area had increased by 55.585 times, from 126.181 km2 to 7013.832 km2. (2) Continuous outward expansion has always been the main trend, while the compactness of the built-up land within the city is constantly decreasing and the complexity of the city boundary is increasing. (3) Cities in BTH were mostly formed through the construction of city walls during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the expansion process was mostly highly related to important political events, traffic development, and other factors. In summary, the BTH area, similarly to China and most regions of the world, has experienced rapid urbanization and the history of such ancient cities should be further preserved with the combined use of old maps.

Discourses of Heritage and Tourism at a World Heritage Site: The Case of Hampi, India

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew LeDuc
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire World ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Town

In the town of Hampi, India, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the past remains very much alive. Devotees congregate at medieval-era temples; tourists from across India and the world marvel at the empire's fallen grandeur; and, up until quite recently, residents lived and worked in centuries-old stone mandapas (pavilions) lining both sides of the town's main street. The case of Hampi and its heritage illustrates a key question: do people have the right to live in historic monuments, particularly monuments that have been declared the patrimony not just of India, but of the entire world?

Pressing problems of the euro zone — And beyond (OR: What may break the camel’s back)

2012 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-434
Author(s):  
Jan Winiecki
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Union ◽  
Present Writer ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Euro Zone ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Simple Question

A look at the Western debate about West’s problems reveals what the present writer regards in a large measure as an irritating superficiality. Nowhere is it better visible than in the mainstream discussions about the euro zone and its problems, where most debaters glide over the fundamentals of Europe’s long-term problems and concentrate on the superficial and short-term issues. The discussions on how to “save” the euro zone strangely forget the defects in its creation, glide over the lessons to be drawn from policies pursued during the past decade, and defend the virtue of maintaining its present membership. But the problems of Europe run much deeper than the survival or collapse of the monetary union. Even if we assume that the problems of confidence the member states have in each other’s behaviour are restored and the rest of the world regains confidence in the institutions of the monetary union, the fundamental problems will remain unsolved. A clue to the real long-term problems may be found in the answer to a rather simple question. It runs as follows: “Why is the large majority of European countries indebted to such an extent that any further increase in debt to GDP ratio generates panic reactions among potential lenders?”

scholarly journals Rural Poverty and Land Degradation: A Review of the Current State of Knowledge

1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (4II) ◽  
pp. 1053-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohail Jehangir Malik ◽  
Hina Nazli
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Resource Degradation ◽  
The World ◽  
Short And Long Term

By highlighting the lack of rigorous evidence and calling for a greater understanding of the interaction of the two processes, a recent study [Nelson et al. (1997)] has called into question the strong perception that poverty is both a consequence as well as a cause of resource degradation.1 This perception which is widely held is strongly evident in the writings of the multilateral development agencies such as the World Bank (1990) and IFAD (1992) and exists despite extensive reviews which indicate that the short- and long-term implications of land degradation are not very clear [see Scherr and Yadav (1995)]. Similarly, while knowledge about poverty is expanding rapidly, thanks in large parts to the massive international focus and resources brought to bear on its understanding in the past ten.........................

scholarly journals Aurora Pețan (România), Cetățile dacice din Munții Orăștiei. Probleme actuale și perspective / Th e Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains. Current issues and perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-149
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Poor State ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The World ◽  
A Site ◽  
Site Manager

The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains are a series of six monuments dating back to the period of the Dacian Kingdom (1st century BC – beginning of the 2nd century AD) and located in Transylvania. They have been included into the World Heritage List since 1999. Unfortunately, at present only one of them has a site manager. The issues that all six are facing are highly difficult: they have a poor state of conservation, they are being affected by vandalism and poaching (even if at a lower level than in the past), and they are not promoted. There is a complex bundle of factors that has brought them into this situation. Some of them will be discussed in this paper, in order to identify the main causes and to provide room for reflection and finding solutions.

Technical Fixes, Technological Solutions

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pool
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Hazardous Wastes ◽  
Technological Disaster ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Underlying Theme

The past couple of decades have been a confusing, frustrating period for engineers. With their creations making the world an ever richer, healthier, more comfortable place, it should have been a time of triumph and congratulation for them. Instead, it has been an era of discontent. Even as people have come to rely on technology more and more, they have liked it less. They distrust the machines that are supposedly their servants. Sometimes they fear them. And they worry about the sort of world they are leaving to their children. Engineers, too, have begun to wonder if something is wrong. It is not simply that the public doesn’t love them. They can live with that. But some of the long-term costs of technology have been higher than anyone expected: air and water pollution, hazardous wastes, the threat to the Earth’s ozone layer, the possibility of global warming. And the drumbeat of sudden technological disaster over the past twenty years is enough to give anyone pause: Three Mile Island, Bhopal, the Challenger, Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez, the downing of a commercial airliner by a missile from the U.S.S. Vincennes. Is it time to rethink our approach to technology? Some engineers believe that it is. In one specialty after another, a few prophets have emerged who argue for doing things in a fundamentally new way. And surprisingly, although these visionaries have focused on problems and concerns unique to their own particular areas of engineering, a single underlying theme appears in their messages again and again: Engineers should pay more attention to the larger world in which their devices will function, and they should consciously take that world into account in their designs. Although this may sound like a simple, even a self-evident, bit of advice, it is actually quite a revolutionary one for engineering. Traditionally, engineers have aimed at perfecting their machines as machines. This can be seen in the traditional measures of machines: how fast they are, how much they can produce, the quality of their output, how easy they are to use, how much they cost, how long they last.

The contribution of countries and world regions in global CO2 emissions as an indicator of changes in the global geo-ecological panorama

2019 ◽  
pp. 120-129
Author(s):  
D. L. Lopatnikov
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Anthropogenic Co2 ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The World ◽  
The Many ◽  
Long Term Trend

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are currently considered by the UN and other authoritative international organizations engaged in monitoring changes in the Earth’s biogeosphere as one of the main indicators of the global environmental situation. According to the official Doctrine of Sustainable Development, anthropogenic CO2 emissions are one of the main causes of global warming. The article examines the dynamics of CO2 emissions by countries and regions of the world from the 1970s to the 2010s. The correlation between the volume of CO2 emissions and changes in the overall territorial distribution of the world economy has been demonstrated. Over the past fifty years, the geography of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by countries and macro-regions of the world has changed dramatically. The share of the most economically developed countries in the volume of CO2 emissions has decreased. The main epicenter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions has shifted to the countries belonging to the semi-periphery of the world. The movement of the main foci of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on the world map reflects qualitative shifts in the global geoecological panorama over the past fifty years. The dynamics and spatial transformation of anthropogenic CO2 emissions is an illustration of the long-term trend of the change from negative to positive through the cycle of multidirectional shifts of one of the many ecologically significant processes on Earth.

Human Progress — And Collapse?

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 441-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang E. Kasper
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Recent Book ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structural Flexibility ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Disintegration ◽  
The World ◽  
Development Institutions

Against the human experience of long-term stagnation and misery, the record of growing prosperity over the past two centuries, and in particular the last fifty years, is astounding. Economic growth owes much to the mobilisation of resources and structural flexibility, but this depends on the ‘software of economic development’ – institutions, which change slowly. Now, old fears and growth-impeding policies are being justified on environmental grounds. One example is Jared Diamond's recent book ‘Collapse’, which discusses the possibility of a swift descent of the world into social disintegration. To anyone familiar with long-term economic history and the theory of growth, the book is pure millennial pessimism. It could become self-fulfilling if environmentalist doomsayers win the political argument with the doers — the engineers, entrepreneurs and economists.

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