scholarly journals NATO’s Role in Ensuring Security in the Conditions of Changes in the Global Energy Landscape

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Yaryna Turchyn ◽  
◽  
Olha Ivasechko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Critical Energy ◽  
Centers Of Excellence ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

The article identifies key problems on the path of energy security and the role of NATO in solving them. The Alliance’s position on the energy issue has been determined. The documents of the NATO summits in Bucharest in 2008, in Chicago in 2012, and the NATO 2010 Strategic Concept have been analyzed. It turned out that the Alliance has divided its role into three areas: raising awareness; protecting critical energy infrastructure and deepening energy efficiency in the military. The role of Centers of Excellence, their specialization, and goals have been investigated. The impact of hybrid wars on energy security has been also considered. The actions of the Russian Federation to deteriorate energy security through cyberattacks in order to weaken the role and defensive actions of NATO have been highlighted. It is noted that cooperation with Ukraine is a promising direction for ensuring the energy security of the Alliance. The key tasks that Ukraine faces for the stability of its energy system have been identified. It is concluded that the work of NATO occupies an important place in protecting energy security, because the Alliance managed to clearly define the directions of its activities in this area.

Mental well-being interventions in the military: The ten key principles

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001740
Author(s):  
Erin G Lawrence ◽  
N Jones ◽  
N Greenberg ◽  
N T Fear ◽  
S Wessely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
External Training ◽  
The Military ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Single Versus

Organisations including the United Kingdom Armed Forces should seek to implement mental health interventions to increase the psychological well-being of their workforce. This editorial briefly presents ten key principles that military forces should consider before implementing such interventions. These include job-focused training; evaluating interventions; the use of internal versus external training providers; the role of leaders; unit cohesion, single versus multiple session psychological interventions; not overgeneralising the applicability of interventions; the need for repeated skills practice; raising awareness and the fallibility of screening.

Factors affecting the amplitude of the τ angle in proteins: a revisitation

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 618-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Balasco ◽  
Luciana Esposito ◽  
Luigi Vitagliano
Keyword(s):  
Protein Structures ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Backbone Conformation ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Open Issues

The protein folded state is the result of the fine balance of a variety of different forces. Even minor structural perturbations may have a significant impact on the stability of these macromolecules. Studies carried out in recent decades have led to the convergent view that proteins are endowed with a flexible spine. One of the open issues related to protein local backbone geometry is the identification of the factors that influence the amplitude of the τ (N—Cα—C) angle. Here, statistical analyses performed on an updated ensemble of X-ray protein structures by dissecting the contribution of the major factors that can potentially influence the local backbone geometry of proteins are reported. The data clearly indicate that the local backbone conformation has a prominent impact on the modulation of the τ angle. Therefore, a proper assessment of the impact of the other potential factors can only be appropriately evaluated when small (φ, ψ) regions are considered. Here, it is shown that when the contribution of the backbone conformation is removed by considering small (φ, ψ) areas, an impact of secondary structure, as defined byDSSP, and/or the residue type on τ is still detectable, although to a limited extent. Indeed, distinct τ-value distributions are detected for Pro/Gly and β-branched (Ile/Val) residues. The key role of the local backbone conformation highlighted here supports the use of variable local backbone geometry in protein refinement protocols.

scholarly journals Governance and decentralized energy transitions: a comparative case study of three medium-sized cities in Sweden, Canada, and the United States.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-106
Author(s):  
Martin Boucher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Contextual Understanding ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Decentralized Energy ◽  
The Impact

 Aim: This study examines the impact of governance on decentralized energy transitions. Knowledge of how particular jurisdictions and their governance arrangements influence these transitions can help strengthen and contextualize divergent trajectories of decentralized energy transitions and—most importantly—reveal the role of geographical context in policy change. Design: This research gap is addressed in this paper by comparing the uptake of decentralized energy transitions in three cities in three different countries—Luleå (Sweden), Saskatoon (Canada), and Anchorage (United States). The jurisdictions in each city has unique governance contexts pertaining to electric utilities, regulations, public policy, and public acceptance.  By comparing these transitions, this study highlights the governance considerations for decentralized energy transitions and asks how does governance impact decentralized energy transitions in cities? To answer this question, actors within various public, private, and sectoral capacities were interviewed to provide their insights on decentralized energy transitions in each jurisdiction. Conclusion: I present five governance dimensions that impact decentralized energy transitions and explain how these factors can be included to provide a more contextual understanding of patterns of decentralized energy transitions in cities.  Originality: Much of the literature on decentralized energy and cities has focused on project and sectoral level analysis and hasn’t considered the holistic nature of the energy system transition. A particular gap that would help inform a broader understanding is the jurisdictional governance impacts of decentralization energy transitions. Implications of the Research: In practical terms, the results could be used to inform inter-jurisdictional comparisons of decentralization energy projects. Limitations of the Research: Given that there were three case studies, it is not possible to make generalizable claims from the results.  

scholarly journals Le rôle des entreprises et leurs comportements sur la stabilité du système financier

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-103
Author(s):  
Farelle Yandza Ikahaud ◽  
Mohamed El Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Financial System ◽  
The State ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

Investment determines the sustainability and prosperity of an economy. The paper seeks to (1) give an overview of the roles of companies on the stability of the financial system, based on existing theoretical and empirical work; and (2) to highlight the reasons which expose them to the non-application of their duties against the State. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis using the Direct Science database was employed. The results of the analysis allowed us to study the search trend by analyzing the distribution of publications, authors, types of publications and fields of research and also showed that the themes of the study are of great scientific interest because of the surge in the number of publications on the role of companies over the last ten years averaging 76.3 per year while 1,690 were on the impact of company behaviour on the stability of the financial system.

Structural and functional analysis of reconnaissance and fire system and decomposition of its functions and subsystems

2021 ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
O. Maistrenko ◽  
O. Karavanov ◽  
A. Shcherba
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Fire Damage ◽  
Expert Group ◽  
Expert Evaluation ◽  
Military Conflicts ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

It is established that the role of reconnaissance and fire systems in the implementation of enemy fire damage in military conflicts occurring at the beginning of the XXI century. Increased  to 75%. However, it was found that the effectiveness of these systems depends on the quality of their equipment. The main factors that are often not taken into account in the acquisition are the possibility, interoperability, stability of each element, the impact of elements on the stability of each other and the functioning of the RVS as a whole. The analysis of recent research and publications has shown that as of today, the approaches to determining the composition of reconnaissance fire systems taking into account these factors are not justified. Given the above, it was decided to conduct a structural and functional analysis of the reconnaissance fire system and the decomposition of its functions and subsystems. To this end, based on the method of cluster analysis, an algorithm for combining a set of tasks performed by reconnaissance and fire systems into groups has been developed and substantiated. The method of expert evaluation was used to obtain substantiated data on the implementation of such a merger. According to the proposed algorithm, the main tasks were first identified, which involve reconnaissance and fire systems. Subsequently, an expert group was formed and the coefficient of relative competence of each member of the expert group was determined. The experts were then asked to combine the identified tasks according to their characteristics into an arbitrary number of groups. After processing the opinions of experts, 10 characteristic groups were identified. Finally, the experts were asked to combine the obtained groups in such a way that each association consisted of similar objects and the objects of different associations differed significantly. The results of the work revealed the functional interconnectedness of the tasks, processes and subsystems of the reconnaissance and fire system. It is also established that a typical reconnaissance fire system will consist of three subsystems (control, reconnaissance and fire influence), which perform specific functions for each of them.

scholarly journals Increasing sulfate levels show a differential impact on synthetic communities comprising different methanogens and a sulfate reducer

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (154) ◽  
pp. 20190129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Chen ◽  
Matthew J. Wade ◽  
Jan Dolfing ◽  
Orkun S. Soyer
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Sulfate Reducer ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Sulfate Reducers ◽  
Hydrogenotrophic Methanogens ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

Methane-producing microbial communities are of ecological and biotechnological interest. Syntrophic interactions among sulfate reducers and aceto/hydrogenotrophic and obligate hydrogenotrophic methanogens form a key component of these communities, yet, the impact of these different syntrophic routes on methane production and their stability against sulfate availability are not well understood. Here, we construct model synthetic communities using a sulfate reducer and two types of methanogens representing different methanogenesis routes. We find that tri-cultures with both routes increase methane production by almost twofold compared to co-cultures and are stable in the absence of sulfate. With increasing sulfate, system stability and productivity decreases and does so faster in communities with aceto/hydrogenotrophic methanogens despite the continued presence of acetate. We show that this is due to a shift in the metabolism of these methanogens towards co-utilization of hydrogen with acetate. These findings indicate the important role of hydrogen dynamics in the stability and productivity of syntrophic communities.

scholarly journals ‘In the interest of peace and quiet in Europe’: The military and strategic role of Dutch neutrality, 1890-1940

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63
Author(s):  
Wim Klinkert
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Security Problem ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Military ◽  
First World

The Netherlands is positioned amidst three major powers and controls the mouths of three main European rivers. Until the First World War, its choice for armed neutrality (1840-1940) seemed to be the most fitting answer to its security problem. After 1918, the Netherlands had difficulties adjusting to modern war, having decreased its defence budget substantially, and lacked a coherent political-military answer to the interwar strategic and operational challenges. Old notions of the Netherlands as a vital element of regional peace and as a country that could influence the behaviour of its large neighbours no longer fitted reality. Neutrality ceased to provide security to the country, thereby also endangering the stability in Western Europe to which the Dutch so wholeheartedly aspired.

Evaluation of Available Transfer Capability Using Transient Stability Constrained Line Flows

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
Lazarus Okechukwu Uzoechi ◽  
Satish M. Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Transient Stability ◽  
Direct Determination ◽  
Computation Time ◽  
Critical Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Electric Power System ◽  
Available Transfer Capability ◽  
Transfer Capability ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper presents a methodology to evaluate transient stability constrained available transfer capability (ATC). A linear and fast line flow–based (LFB) method was adopted to optimize the ATC values. This enabled the direct determination of the system source–sink locations. This paper formulated different market transactions considering bilateral and multilateral impacts in the stability constrained ATC. The proposed method was demonstrated on the WECC 9-bus and IEEE 39-bus systems. The critical energy performance index (CEPI) enabled the direct identification of candidates for contingency screening based on ranking. This index helped to reduce the list of credible contingencies for ATC evaluation and, therefore, the computation time. The results of the proposed ATC method are consistent with the literature and can be deployed for fast assessment of the impact of transactions in an electric power system.

Features of Forming of Profits of Commercial Banks in Terms of Coronaries

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
A. Novikov ◽  
A. Zverev ◽  
M. Mishina
Keyword(s):  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
Internal Characteristic ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Constituent Elements ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Entire Economy

A significant role of the banking system in ensuring the functioning of the entire economy, by means of organizing the movement of borrowed capital between individual industries and the implementation of financial needs is achieved only if this system, and therefore its constituent elements, are stable. In this regard, the stability of the banking system should be considered as a fundamental internal characteristic, which ensures the existence and stable development of the Bank in a market economy under the influence of external and internal factors. In 2020, commercial banks were faced with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Russian economy and the banking system in particular. At the same time, the current situation of banks ' functioning is characterized not only by the presence of a corona crisis, but also by the internal development of the system itself, which, following the uberization of the world economy, dictates to commercial banks the need to develop and implement financial technologies and form ecosystems. In these conditions, the need for commercial banks in financial resources increases, which is reflected in the increasing role of profit in the Bank's activities and development. This article focuses on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the banking system of the Russian Federation and the economy as a whole, and also identifies the features of profit formation and the specifics of the functioning of commercial banks in the coronavirus crisis period.

scholarly journals Staff perceptions on the role and value of chaplains in first responder and military settings: A scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Tunks Leach ◽  
Joanne Lewis ◽  
Tracy Levett-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
First Responder ◽  
Staff Perceptions ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Background Chaplains in first responder and military services support staff prior to, during and after critical incidents. Some studies have explored the role of chaplains in these settings predominantly in the military and from chaplains’ perspectives. However, few studies have explored the perspective of staff. This scoping review aims to map the literature on staff perceptions of the role and value of chaplains in first responder and military settings.   Method A scoping review using the Arksey & O’Malley (2003) and Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Methodology was conducted. English language peer-reviewed and grey literature in CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, ProQuest and Google Scholar from 2004-2019 was reviewed for inclusion. Records were included if they provided staff perspectives on the role and value of chaplains in first responder and military settings. The initial search identified 491 records after removal of duplicates. All titles and abstracts were then screened for relevance to the research question and 84 were selected for full-text review. Seven records were included in final review; five dissertations and two peer-reviewed articles. Five of these were from the military and two from the police. Data were extracted and thematically analysed to identify staff perceptions of the role, skills and attributes, and value of chaplains in first responder and military settings.   Results Staff understood the role of chaplain to include the provision of spiritual and pastoral care and guidance and, in the case of police, providing scene support. Staff from all of the services identified requisite skills and attributes for chaplains such as being available, approachable and engaged; counselling; maintaining confidentiality and trust; being organisationally aware; and possessing distinct personality traits and knowledge of specialty content areas. The value chaplains brought to their services emerged from chaplains being trusted as a result of being proactively available for staff, families and bystanders for formal and informal conversation; organisational belonging and awareness resulting in enhanced staff satisfaction and retention; and promoting staff physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing.   Conclusions Although military and police staff identified spiritual, psychological and social benefits to chaplains maintaining an active and visible role in their services, the small number of papers identified make generalisation of these findings to other first responder services problematic. Further research is therefore required to understand the impact of the chaplain’s role as part of the care team in first responder services.

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