Current status of Korea Long-Term Ecological Research (KLTER) Network activities compared with the framework activities of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Networks of the United States and China

Ecological disturbances at Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites are often the result of extreme meteorological events. Among the events of significance are tropical storms, including hurricanes, and extratropical cyclones. Extratropical storms are low-pressure systems of the middle and high latitudes with their attendant cold and warm fronts. These fronts are associated with strong, horizontal thermal gradients in surface temperatures, strong winds, and a vigorous jet stream aloft. These storms and their attendant fronts generate most of the annual precipitation in the continental United States and provide the lifting mechanisms for thunderstorms that, on occasion, spawn tornadoes. Off the United States West and East Coasts, extratropical storms generate winds, wind waves, wind tides, and long-shore currents that rework coastal sediments, alter landscape morphology, and change the regional patterns of coastal erosion and accretion (Dolan et al. 1988). Although extratropical storms do not match hurricanes in either precipitation intensity or in the strength of the winds generated, they are much larger in size and have a more extensive geographic impact. On occasion, extratropical storms will intensify at an extraordinary rate of 1 millibar (mb) per hour for 24 hours or more. Such storms are classed as “bomb” and are comparable to hurricanes. Extratropical storms occur in all months of the year but are most frequent and more intense in winter when the north-south temperature contrast is large and dynamic support for storm intensification from the stronger jet stream aloft is great. In this chapter, we will explore the history of storminess for those LTER sites in the continental United States at which more than a century of data on storms and their storm tracks are readily available. Specifically, we will look at the record of changes in storminess at both the regional and national scales. During the 1990s, significant storms along the U.S. West Coast and droughts and fires in Florida in an El Niño year led to a hypothesis that El Niño and La Niña conditions were associated with a modulation in the frequency of storms. In addition, it has been suggested that the frequency of El Niño and La Niña events and, by inference, storminess, has increased during the past century.

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Speech-Language Pathology in the Peace Corps: Necessity and Sustainability

Perspectives on Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders ◽

10.1044/gics2.1.11 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 11-18

Author(s):

Melissa A. Pierce

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Special Education ◽

Peace Corps ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

The United States ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Language Pathology

In countries other than the United States, the study and practice of speech-language pathology is little known or nonexistent. Recognition of professionals in the field is minimal. Speech-language pathologists in countries where speech-language pathology is a widely recognized and respected profession often seek to share their expertise in places where little support is available for individuals with communication disorders. The Peace Corps offers a unique, long-term volunteer opportunity to people with a variety of backgrounds, including speech-language pathologists. Though Peace Corps programs do not specifically focus on speech-language pathology, many are easily adapted to the profession because they support populations of people with disabilities. This article describes how the needs of local children with communication disorders are readily addressed by a Special Education Peace Corps volunteer.

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Mafias on the Move

10.23943/princeton/9780691128559.001.0001 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Federico Varese

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New York ◽

Organized Crime ◽

The United States ◽

The West ◽

Market Expansion ◽

The North ◽

Economic Transformations ◽

At Will

Organized crime is spreading like a global virus as mobs take advantage of open borders to establish local franchises at will. That at least is the fear, inspired by stories of Russian mobsters in New York, Chinese triads in London, and Italian mafias throughout the West. As this book explains, the truth is more complicated. The author has spent years researching mafia groups in Italy, Russia, the United States, and China, and argues that mafiosi often find themselves abroad against their will, rather than through a strategic plan to colonize new territories. Once there, they do not always succeed in establishing themselves. The book spells out the conditions that lead to their long-term success, namely sudden market expansion that is neither exploited by local rivals nor blocked by authorities. Ultimately the inability of the state to govern economic transformations gives mafias their opportunity. In a series of matched comparisons, the book charts the attempts of the Calabrese 'Ndrangheta to move to the north of Italy, and shows how the Sicilian mafia expanded to early twentieth-century New York, but failed around the same time to find a niche in Argentina. The book explains why the Russian mafia failed to penetrate Rome but succeeded in Hungary. A pioneering chapter on China examines the challenges that triads from Taiwan and Hong Kong find in branching out to the mainland. This book is both a compelling read and a sober assessment of the risks posed by globalization and immigration for the spread of mafias.

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