A Social Network Analysis of Collaborative Rangelands Governance: the case of Borana rangelands, Southern Ethiopia

Effective natural resources governance plays crucial roles in enhancing the resilience of the Socio-ecological systems (SES) in the face of prevailing environmental changes. It is recognized that the ability to adaptively respond to complex environmental change and manage SES resilience resides in the actors' networks. Network forms of governance facilitate both horizontal and vertical interconnection of actors, bring different perspectives and sources of knowledge, develop shared values and develop innovative solutions to the wicked rangeland problems. However, the structural pattern of the actors’ collaborative linkages highly influences how actors actually behave and, hence, impact the deliverance of effective governance. In view of this, by analyzing social networks (SNA), this study aims to identify the structural gaps that result in misfit in the Borana rangelands. As evident from the low level of network density obtained from quantitative SNA, there are very few horizontal and vertical interactions and linkages among actors in the Borana rangelands governance system which considerably blocks flows of knowledge, experiences and other resources indicating inability of the governance system in facilitating the solidification of shared values and joint action. The study further reveals that rangelands governance system in Borana is hampered by absence of adequate network heterogeneity and closure which in turn blocks the building of collaborative visioning and an efficient use of available resources to address complex problem. Thus, this study suggests that policy environment that can create conditions for more collaboration, strength of actors ties, development of trust and social capital and enabling the design of effective collective efforts should be put in place.

Luminescent Zn (II)-Based Nanoprobes: A Highly Symmetric Supramolecular Platform for Sensing of Biological Targets and Living Cell Imaging

Zinc (II) cation is an environmentally friendly metal, less expensive, easy to dispose of, and managed. Highly engineered symmetric systems can be built using zinc (II) atoms as the metal nodes of hybrid organic-inorganic supramolecular structures. In biological contexts, luminescent zinc-based nanoprobes are in growing demand. Specifically, they are currently employed to detect biologically and environmentally relevant analytes, in therapeutic drug delivery, and for bioimaging and diagnostic techniques monitoring aspects of cellular functions. This review will provide a systematic and consequential approach to zinc-based nanoprobes, including zinc-based MOFs and other zinc-based organized nanoparticles. A progression from detecting the biological target to the intracellular sensing/marking/carriage has been followed. A selection of significant cutting-edge articles collected in the last five years has been discussed, based on the structural pattern and sensing performance, with special notice to living cell bioimaging as the most targeted and desirable application.

Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Woody Species in Kenech Forest, Southwest Ethiopia

Understanding the structural pattern and regeneration status of tree species is an important measure taken to assess the vegetation dynamics and their destruction factors species as well as management history and ecology of the forest. This study was conducted with the objective to assess the species diversity, structure, and regeneration status of woody species in Kenech natural forest, Ethiopia. Systematic random sampling method was employed as a sampling design for the collection of vegetation data. Accordingly, 40 plots of 20 m × 20 m were laid at every 100 m along four parallel transect lines following altitudinal gradient. Any woody species of trees and shrubs with the diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥2.5 cm was measured at 1.5 m from the ground. In each sample plots, all woody species seedling, sapling, and mature woody species were counted and recorded. A total of 80 plant species categorized into 67 genera and 28 families were recorded and identified, for description and analysis of vegetation structure. Structural analysis of the Kenech natural forest revealed a density of 840 stems/ha and a total basal area of 56.8 m2/ha. About 80.36% of the individuals are found in the first two classes (2.5–10 and 10–20 cm). The general pattern of DBH class distribution of woody species in the study area revealed an inverted J shape indicating the presence of a high density of trees in the lower DBH class than in the higher. The most dominant tree species relatively with the highest importance values recorded in the area were Pouteria adolfi-friedericii, Podocarpus falcatus, Celtis africana, Mimusops kummel, Pyschotria orophila, and Olea capensis subsp. macrocarpa. Forty-two species (64.61%) were represented by both seedling and sapling class, whereas 9 species (13.84%) were not regenerating.

Comparison of Airborne Electromagnetic and Ground-based Resistivity Observations: Case Study Banda Aceh Basin

Airborne measurements are very useful to cover very large areas. Nine month after the Aceh Tsunami and Earthquake in 2004, BGR (Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources) conducted a fresh water supply exploration survey within a project called Helicopter Project Aceh (HELP ACEH). The helicopter-borne electromagnetic (HEM) device operates at five frequencies. The HEM can estimate the 1D resistivity models down to a depth of 150 m for the high electrical resistivity areas and 50 m for low electrical resistivity areas. In this paper, the airborne data of 2005 are compared with resistivity data acquired in Banda Aceh basin in 2018. The HEM output consists of 1D resistivity models derived by inversion of the processed data. These 1D resistivity models are compared with the 2D resistivity models derived from ground-based resistivity measurements. However, the 2D models on the ground are transformed into 1D resistivity models so it can be used for comparison. The transformation is conducted by averaging the resistivity values in the each layer, so every layer only has one resistivity value. Both methods are influenced by many factors. For example, resistivity on the ground is affected by local conditions. The airborne measurements are also influenced by objects that are at the surface of the ground. In some cases, the airborne resistivity models have some differences in absolute resistivity values, but they often have the same structural pattern compared with the ground-based resistivity models.

Design of a Broadband Array Pattern of Underwater Cymbal Transducers

Cymbal transducers are frequently used as an array rather than a single element because of their high quality factor and low energy conversion efficiency. When used as an array, cymbal transducers are likely to have a big change in their frequency characteristics due to the interaction with neighboring elements. In this study, we designed an array pattern of cymbal transducers to achieve a wide frequency bandwidth using this property. First, cymbal transducers with specific center frequencies were designed. Next, a 2 × 2 planar array was constructed with the designed transducers, where dielectric polarity directions of the transducers were divided into two cases (i.e., same and different). For the array, the effect of the difference in the center frequencies and the spacing between the transducers on the acoustic characteristics of the entire array was analyzed. Based on the results, the structural pattern of the array was optimized to have the maximum fractional bandwidth while maintaining the transmitting voltage response over a given requirement. The design validity was verified by making cymbal array prototypes, followed by measuring their performances and comparing them with that of the design.

ИНОВАЦИОННИ ПРОЦЕСИ В СЪВРЕМЕННАТА ГРАМАТИКА НА АНГЛИЙСКИЯ ЕЗИК (С ОГЛЕД НА ТЕХНИТЕ ВЪЗМОЖНИ ПАРАЛЕЛИ В БЪЛГАРСКИЯ ЕЗИК) / PROCESSES OF INNOVATION IN PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH GRAMMAR (IN VIEW OF THEIR POSSIBLE PARALLELS IN BULGARIAN)

The paper explores some processes of innovation in present-day English grammar in view of the typological features, the historical development and the present status of English as the language of global communication. Some innovations can be observed within the noun phrase and the verb phrase that have to do mostly with changes in the properties of nouns and verbs in relation to particular grammatical categories. The ana-lysis also focuses on a particular structural pattern of the English noun phrase consisting of a sequence of nouns joined without the use of prepositions. Within a longer time span, a number of innovations can be noticed that are related to the process of grammaticalization. Special emphasis is placed on the tendency towards implicitness and compression of the linguistic expression, which is typical of present-day English. The study also discusses innovations associated with the current status of English as a global language that have to do mostly with the expanded application of grammatical rules and the minimization of exceptions. The most general conclusion of the study highlights the continuous tendency towards the simplification of English grammar in the context of the historical development of the language as well as its present state. Keywords: language typology, innovations in language, present-day English gram-mar, noun phrase, verb phrase, grammaticalization, Global English, English-Bulgarian parallels

AFRICA IN RETROSPECT AND THE FUTURE: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF DEVIATION AND PARALLELISM IN DIOP’S AFRICA

Attention of language scholars has been shifting from the structural pattern of language to language as a functional unit given the change of interest from the form of a language to its function. This study presents a stylistic analysis of a well-known poem by David Diop “Africa” and analyses the unique role that language plays in projecting the central theme of the poem. The poem Africa is one of the poems that laments the ill treatments that Africa suffered in the hands of its colonialists, but which quickly paints a picture of hope for the continent. The researchers used foregrounding both as a stylistic theory and a method to analyse the poem so as to investigate how linguistic deviations and parallel structures are employed to project the central theme of the poem. The study revealed that both linguistic deviations and parallel structures as well as figurative expressions abound in the poem. These linguistic tools have, in no doubt, contributed immensely to the projection of the overall meaning of the poem – Africa’s past glories, present predicaments of suffering and humiliation under colonialism and the future of hope and freedom embedded in Africa’s rebirth. The study concludes that language and literary works contribute in a unified manner to expose the rots in society and then project a future of hope. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0876/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>