scholarly journals Can You Pay for Peace?

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 152-175
Author(s):  
Lila Wade

Financing mechanisms are central to the operational efficacy of peace operations, yet current analysis of peacebuilding finance is atomistic, focusing on one domain, such as coordination or financing. To address the need for deeper understanding of how financing modalities affect peacebuilding outcomes, this paper identifies the trade-offs and opportunities of different financing schema across the lifespan of a peace operation. In order to parse the linkages between financing and outcomes, this paper examines: (1) control of donor funds within a transitional state; (2) budgeting for coordination and alignment; (3) promoting partnerships and participation through funding modalities; and (4) funding ‘quick impact’ projects to bridge the periods of immediate relief and long-term development. With reference to peacebuilding operations in Liberia after the 2003 Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement, this analysis highlights numerous innovations and experiments in the financing of peace operations, examining the advantages and disadvantages inherent in different approaches.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Bewuketu Dires Gardachew ◽  

After suffering significant casualties in peacekeeping operations in Africa, several powerful countries, including the U.S. and some of its western allies, exhibited reluctance to deploy their troops in Africa in significant numbers or for long periods of time. Since then many western powerful states exhibited fatigue and reduced their involvement in peace initiatives on the continent where Somalia is could be taken as one of those best cases. “Africa fatigue” by the powerful Western countries motivated and necessitated for the emergence of the “African solution to African problems” maxim. It is in this context that the AU authorized a range of peace operations, among them, AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to respond to the complex conflicts that have engulfed the continent. The objective of this study is to explore whether the approach of “African solutions to African problems” is enough to address the severe humanitarian situation of Somalia or not. The study looks at the case of Somalia for two reasons. First, Somalia has faced a prolonged civil war fuelled by intense internal conflict and exacerbated by external influences. Secondly, the AU has been playing a leading role in the resolutions of the conflicts using a multidimensional approach that involved diplomatic, mediatory and military mechanisms over a longer period of time. More importantly, the case of Somalia is chosen mainly because the case is among the glaring example of AU‟s comprehensive peace operation. Other African countries such as Burundi, Comoro Islands, Mali, Central African Republic and the like have also hosted peace support operations however; these missions were conducted for short period. Hence, examining the AU‟s relatively short-term responses presents challenges as these short-term missions may not test the capacity of African Union compared to the long-term peace operations (Somalia).


Author(s):  
Rostislav Fojtík

Abstract Distance learning and e-learning have significantly developed in recent years. It is also due to changing educational requirements, especially for adults. The article aims to show the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Examples of the 20-year use of the distance learning form of computer science describe the difficulties associated with the implementation and implementation of this form of teaching. The results of students in the full-time and distance form of teaching in the bachelor’s study of computer science are compared. Long-term findings show that distant students have significantly lower scores in the first years of study than full-time bachelor students. In the following years of study, the differences diminish, and students’ results are comparable. The article describes the possibilities of improving the quality of distance learning.


Author(s):  
Nils Johansson

AbstractA problem for a circular economy, embedded in its policies, tools, technologies and models, is that it is driven by the interests and needs of producers, rather than customers and users. This opinion paper focuses on an alternative form of governance—agreements, which thanks to their bargaining approach brings actors from across the value chain into the policy process. The purpose of this opinion paper is to uncover and analyse the potential of such agreements for a circular economy. Circular agreements aim at increasing the circulation of materials and are an emerging form of political governance within the EU. These agreements have different names, involve different actors and govern in different ways. However, circular agreements seem to work when other types of regulations fail to establish circulation. These agreements bring actors together and offer a platform for negotiating how advantages and disadvantages can be redistributed between actors in a way that is more suitable for a circular economy. However, circular agreements are dependent on other policy instruments to work and can generate a free-rider problem with uninvolved actors. The agreements may also become too detailed and long term, which leads to problem shifting and lock-ins, respectively.


Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Naciye Güliz Uğur

The extraordinary and tragic conditions that humanity has not experienced before in the modern period have become ordinary, namely, a “new normal” with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has had frightening consequences for human health and has caused one million deaths as of September 2020. On the other hand, it has set a new standard of good habits, approaches, and benefits. Due to its global and long-term impact, this unique virus has laid the groundwork for unprecedented helping and sharing behaviors between people and countries. In this study, findings are compiled from the open-ended responses of 626 individuals, all of whom live in Turkey. Within the study’s scope, individuals were asked about the unique advantages and disadvantages of the restrictions imposed under COVID-19. While the categories of economy, social distance, and health came to the fore among the harms, the strengthening of family ties, adoption of technology, and the spread of solidarity culture were mentioned among the advantages.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 6041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang ◽  
Li ◽  
Buyantuev ◽  
Bao ◽  
Zhang

Ecosystem services management should often expect to deal with non-linearities due to trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services (ES). Therefore, it is important to analyze long-term trends in ES development and utilization to understand their responses to climate change and intensification of human activities. In this paper, the region of Uxin in Inner Mongolia, China, was chosen as a case study area to describe the spatial distribution and trends of 5 ES indicators. Changes in relationships between ES and driving forces of dynamics of ES relationships were analyzed for the period 1979–2016 using a stepwise regression. We found that: the magnitude and directions in ES relationships changed during this extended period; those changes are influenced by climate factors, land use change, technological progress, and population growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 108110
Author(s):  
Lindsey S. Roberts ◽  
Abigail B. Feuka ◽  
Erin Muths ◽  
Bennett M. Hardy ◽  
Larissa L. Bailey

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
Igor M. Ageev ◽  
Yuri M. Rybin

The advantages and disadvantages of infrared and electrochemical gas analyzers for carbon dioxide CO2 are described. The possibility of using conductometric sensors with distilled water for monitoring the CO2 content in the air has been investigated. Two identical measuring systems were manufactured, each containing two open-type conductometric cells, a matching device and a personal computer. With the help of these complexes, experiments were carried out on the simultaneous measurement of the CO2 content in the air in two places (a laboratory room and a building in a forest, located at a distance of 15 km from each other) with deliberately different daily dynamics of the CO2 level change. A special experiment was carried out, which made it possible to obtain an estimate of the inertia of conductometric cells and a conversion factor for the values of CO2 content into standard units of measurement. It is shown that the daily dynamics of changes in the electrical conductivity of distilled water in open cells corresponds to the expected dynamics of changes in the CO2 content in the rooms where the measurements were carried out. The operability of the measuring complex and the possibility of creating on its basis a device for long-term monitoring of the CO2 content in the air mixture of gases has been confirmed. The principal high selectivity of the measuring complex to CO2 in relation to other gases of the atmosphere has been established.


The early and long-term development of promising young athletes is a decisive factor in being internationally competitive in top-level sports. Among the multitude of talent criteria suggested in the literature, motivation plays a prominent role in the area of psychological characteristics. It is recognised in practice and research as a relevant criterion for performance development across all sports. This article provides an overview of the current state of talent research in the field of motivation. First, the most common theories of motivation in competitive sports are described, then different measurement methods and their advantages and disadvantages as well as the predictive value of motivation for athletic performance are discussed. Finally, implications for practice are suggested. It can be summarised that motivation in sport is conceptualised and operationalised in different ways and that the decision for the right measurement instrument depends on the goal of the assessment. To get a comprehensive picture of an athlete’s motivational status, it is useful to assess several aspects of motivation through different methods.


2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1950) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward R. Ivimey-Cook ◽  
Kris Sales ◽  
Hanne Carlsson ◽  
Simone Immler ◽  
Tracey Chapman ◽  
...  

Dietary restriction (DR) increases lifespan in a broad variety of organisms and improves health in humans. However, long-term transgenerational consequences of dietary interventions are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of DR by temporary fasting (TF) on mortality risk, age-specific reproduction and fitness across three generations of descendants in Caenorhabditis elegans . We show that while TF robustly reduces mortality risk and improves late-life reproduction of the individuals subject to TF (P 0 ), it has a wide range of both positive and negative effects on their descendants (F 1 –F 3 ). Remarkably, great-grandparental exposure to TF in early life reduces fitness and increases mortality risk of F 3 descendants to such an extent that TF no longer promotes a lifespan extension. These findings reveal that transgenerational trade-offs accompany the instant benefits of DR, underscoring the need to consider fitness of future generations in pursuit of healthy ageing.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Ciaramelli ◽  
Flavia De Luca ◽  
Donna Kwan ◽  
Jenkin N. Y. Mok ◽  
Francesca Bianconi ◽  
...  

Intertemporal choices require trade-offs between short-term and long-term outcomes. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) damage causes steep discounting of future rewards (delay discounting; DD) and impoverished episodic future thinking (EFT). The role of vmPFC in reward valuation, EFT, and their interaction during intertemporal choice is still unclear. Here, twelve patients with lesions to vmPFC and forty-one healthy controls chose between smallerimmediate and larger-delayed rewards while we manipulated reward magnitude and the availability of EFT cues. In the EFT condition, participants imagined personal events to occur at the delays associated with the larger-delayed rewards. We found that DD was steeper in vmPFC patients compared to controls, and not modulated by reward magnitude. However, EFT cues downregulated DD in vmPFC patients as well as controls. These findings indicate that vmPFC integrity is critical for the valuation of (future) rewards, but not to instill EFT in intertemporal choice.


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