Academic Aeromobility in the Global Periphery

Academics are part of a small minority that are responsible for disproportionate air travel emissions. Responding to high aviation emissions requires that the complexities of academic air travel practices are understood in specific geographical and institutional contexts. This chapter addresses the work-sociology of academic aeromobility in the context of the global periphery. We report on a programme of interviews conducted prior to COVID-19 with academics at the University of Otago (Aotearoa/New Zealand), where the aeromobility practices of academics are uniquely shaped by extreme geographical distance. Our empirical contribution is presented in the four themes that emerged from our analysis: complex drivers; selective substitution; ‘Don’t weaken me!’ and assorted scalar accountabilities. We then discuss aspects of resistance to change but also avenues of opportunity to reimagine academic air travel practices, which have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically address the emergence of a post-COVID ‘new normal’ and conclude with the urgent need for collective action that is coordinated among individual academics, institutions, disciplinary associations and conference organisers. Entrenching the ‘new normal’ will be critical to resolving the unsustainable aeromobilities of academics and institutions that are globally distant.

Effective Recruitment of Engineers From Other Companies: Whether to Pull Individuals or Teams?

This study empirically analyzes effective conditions for cross-border “learning by hiring” in the electronics industry. Many previous studies have indicated that the mobility of engineers serves as a conduit for knowledge diffusion and that knowledge is more likely transferred when the geographical distance is short, that is, when the conduit is short. However, the relationship between conduit thickness and density and the knowledge spillover effect has only rarely discussed. The findings of this study suggest that it is more effective to hire multiple people simultaneously for learning by hiring from companies in other countries.

THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE WELFARE OF STREET VENDORS IN INDONESIA

This study aimed to examine how the welfare of street vendors is influenced byeducation, financial capital, geographical distance, and social networks. A mixedmethod approach that combines both quantitative and qualitative methods wasused. The results showed that the welfare of street vendors is at a low level andis simultaneously influenced by education, financial capital, geographicaldistance, and social networks with a determination value of r-square (r2) of 0.783or 78.3%. However, there is a need for further and in-depth studies on theinfluence of geographical factors and social networks on the welfare of streetvendors, especially on geographical factors with a significant influence onwelfare.

A new species of red toad, Schismaderma Smith, 1849 (Anura: Bufonidae), from central Angola

A new species of red toad, from the previously monotypic genus Schismaderma, is described. The new species was found in Malanje Province, and seems endemic to central Angola, occurring approximately 500 km west of the closest known records of Schismaderma carens. Unusual adult colouration and geographical distance to remaining S. carens populations suggested specific differentiation. In an integrative approach, we compared the red toads from central Angola with S. carens from across the entire range, including molecular data, morphology of adults and tadpoles, and male advertisement calls. Phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) and nuclear (CXCR4, RAG1) markers, retrieved the Angolan clade as monophyletic, and revealed intra-specific substructuring among the remaining Schismaderma. Genetic distances supported specific differentiation of the central Angolan material compared with other S. carens. Adults from the new Angolan species have bolder ventral patterning and smaller body size than S. carens. No obvious differences were detected between the tadpoles and the advertisement calls of the two Schismaderma species. This discovery adds to the knowledge of the herpetofauna of the Angolan Miombo woodlands, a poorly understood ecoregion, and likely more biodiverse than previously assumed. The result of past river basin dynamics in central Angola likely led to the evolution of this new species of Schismaderma.

Latvian-Brazilian Economic Relations 1918–1940

This article provides an overview of Latvian-Brazilian economic relations in the interwar period. In the interwar period, economic relations between Latvia and Brazil were mainly confined to foreign trade. Latvia declared its independence in 1918, however Latvians had been emigrating to Brazil from 1890 and establishing farming colonies. By the end of the 1930s some 8000 Latvians had settled in Brazil. Latvia’s foreign trade in relation to Brazil was regulated by the 1932 Commercial Agreement. Latvia’s main imports from Brazil in the interwar period were coffee, cocoa, hides and furs, tobacco, raw rubber, and cotton, whilst Latvia’s main exports to Brazil were fish conserves, paper, and rubber goods. In general, trade and thus economic relations were of marginal significance to both countries in the interwar period due partly to some similarities in their economic structures, but mainly because of geographical distance.

Morphologic variability of the Acer campestre L. populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Morphologic variability from 25 populations of Acer campestre L. in Bosnia and Herzegovina was analyzed. Morphometric structure of variability and between-population variability was performed based on 10 fruit-parameter characteristics and 19 leaf-parameter characteristics using multivariate statistical analysis. Results confirmed the separation of three submediterranean populations as a group in relation to other tested populations, from which the Banja Luka population is different. Measured leaf parameters were confirmed as a predominant carrier of the morphologic separation between populations. In other Acer species populations within A. monspessulanum and A. intermedium species are separated mainly by fruit and much less by leaf parameters. The southernmost submediterranean populations from Trebinje, Ljubuški, and Mostar regions have smaller leaf areas, which consequently places them within the same morphologic group; their variability is in tight connection with eco-geo-graphical factors, where the ecological distance is a much better predictor of morphological variability compared to geographical distance. The air temperature had the biggest influence on morphological variability regarding the highest in-between correlation. Achieved results may serve for the continuation of the research in other areas of Acer campestre to determine the interactive effect of ecological, geographical, climatic, and migrational factors on their morphologic population plasticity.

Fuzzy Cognitive Scenario Mapping for Causes of Cybersecurity in Telehealth Services

Hospital organizations have adopted telehealth systems to expand their services to a portion of the Brazilian population with limited access to healthcare, mainly due to the geographical distance between their communities and hospitals. The importance and usage of those services have recently increased due to the COVID-19 state-level mobility interventions. These services work with sensitive and confidential data that contain medical records, medication prescriptions, and results of diagnostic processes. Understanding how cybersecurity impacts the development of telehealth strategies is crucial for creating secure systems for daily operations. In the application reported in this article, the Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) translated the complexity of cybersecurity in telehealth services into intelligible and objective results in an expert-based cognitive map. The tool also allowed the construction of scenarios simulating the possible implications caused by common factors that affect telehealth systems. FCMs provide a better understanding of cybersecurity strategies using expert knowledge and scenario analysis, enabling the maturation of cybersecurity in telehealth services.