Exploring Vhavenda Indigenous Food Practices and Knowledge Contributions to Food (in)security

This chapter considers VhaVenda indigenous knowledge about foods, its production, and its consumption as a way of exploring indigenous-based solutions to food insecurity. External and internal factors contributing to food insecurity are discussed, beginning with an overview of the current state of food insecurity globally and then locally. Subsequently, the chapter discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security levels in both urban and rural settings within a single population. Specific attention is given to the rural setting of Thohoyandou Venda, drawing attention to its challenges and solution-possibilities with particular focus on subsistence farming and home gardening as aspects in VhaVenda culture. Finally, the authors provide a catalogue of indigenous food sources and agricultural practices thereby exploring local knowledge as a possible mechanism to combat food insecurity in the contemporary period.

Addressing Water Security: An Overview

For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. However, due to its wide interpretation range, the understanding of what water security is and what it encompasses can change considerably with different perspectives. By means of a review of both academic and grey literature, this paper presents an in-depth global overview of what water security means and how assessment is being carried out. These aspects are put together in the present work with the aim to facilitate access to this complex concept for academics but also policymakers and other stakeholders involved in water management and governance. Aiming to provide a groundwork for water security understanding, we examine definitions, scales of application, frequent approaches and methodologies used to study water security. We also present indicators and aspects being included in water security frameworks. A summary of important actions towards water security improvement is also presented. As a dynamic and multi-faceted concept, water security requires an equally multi-dimensional and flexible interpretation. Understanding and measuring are key to improving water security levels. Bringing attention to how climate change, environmental needs, demographics, economics and governance are linked to water security can boost impact by prompting science, policies and innovation to come together.

3D-Simulation Data-Making Trial to present and analyze Small-sized Farmlands Fields with Car-shaped Robot, ROS2, SLAM and Foxy for Real agricultural workers

In this study, we create various application systems focusing on agricultural (agri-) field data digitalization issues that will benefit traditional agri-researchers, workers, and their respective managers. We obtain three-dimensional (3D) information on agri-environments (e.g., rice fields, farmlands) via roaming robots with sensors. Robot-controlled middleware, such as robot operating systems (ROS), are often used for such robots. Thus, we selected car-shaped robot (NANO-RT1), ROS2, and the SLAM-based system. The car-shaped robot-based system operates sensor units uniformly. With this technology, we can recognize our location at an unknown place, and the robot can run. There are challenges in accurately presenting quantitative accuracy data for this type of study. We address this by providing average and standard deviation (SD) data for certain situations using five algorithms: (1) Hector-SLAM, (2) G-mapping, (3) Karto-SLAM, (4) Core-SLAM, and (5) Lago-SLAM. We believe the proposed holistic system has the potential to improve not only agri-businesses, but also agri-skills and overall security levels.

Diagnosis of Key Ecological Problems and Layout of Ecological Restoration Projects- A Case Study of the Aksu River Basin, China

The sustainable development of ecological environments is the basis of the sustainable development of inland river basins in arid areas with fragile ecological environments. The aim of our study is to diagnose the ecological problems of the Aksu River basin (ARB) and explore the ecological security pattern (ESP) and the layout and implementation path of ecological protection projects for mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands and deserts (MRFFLGD) in arid areas under different security levels. The Aksu River, the largest source of the Tarim River, was selected as the case study. The equivalent factor evaluation method (EFEM) was used to estimate the ecological service value (ESV), and the InVEST model was employed to quantify the ecological function indicators. By constructing the richness index, the ESV of the study area was measured spatially, and the ecological problems in the ARB were identified and diagnosed. Using cold/hot spot detection analysis and the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model, the ESPs at three security levels were constructed. The layout of ecological protection measures and the implementation path for MRFFLGD were studied. The results showed that the ESV of ARB showed an upwards trend from 1990 to 2018, and the three services of water conservation, waste treatment and soil formation and retention grew fastest. The value of ecosystem services in the study area in 2018 ranged from 5,390 yuan to 131,080 yuan/hm2. The high-value areas were mainly located in the oasis and the northern mountainous area, and the low-value areas were mainly located in the desert area. The ecological source areas of high, medium and low safety levels were 1806.3 km2, 3416.8 km2 and 4804.32 km2, respectively. Based on the spatial distribution of ESV in the ARB and the preliminary diagnosis of the basic ecological problems in the study area, three kinds of ecological protection engineering models, namely, conservation, natural restoration and assisted regeneration, were proposed for the four types of ecological protection zones. To provide a decision-making basis for ecological environmental management and regional sustainable development in the ARB, the optimization patterns of points (6 key ecological protection projects), lines (ecological corridors) and polygons (ecological source areas) were constructed. The results of this study can also serve as a reference for ecological environmental protection in other arid inland river basins.

The Revolt of French Soldiers Against the Failing Immigration Policy

The article is about the revolt of French soldiers against the failing immigration policy of their country. It explains its rational causes at the historical, geopolitical as well as security levels. It analyses its three main acts since 2013 until today and presents their key actors: the high level generals and politicians. These acts are presented as historical accidents. The article shows that French soldiers refuse to be silent face to face big stakes, especially on the field of defence of the Republic against the growing violence of young immigrants. The text continues with the analysis of two manifests of French soldiers from spring 2021 that evoke the threat of the civil war in France and the role of the Armed forces in such a scenario.

International cooperation in conducting procedural actions during the pre-trial investigation in the countries of the European Union and perspectives of its use in Ukraine

The article analyzes some areas of cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the European Union in the field of pre-trial investigation. Particular attention is paid to the European Arrest Warrant and its application. Ukraine aspiring to become a member of the EU must take into account all issues related to the issuance and execution of these warrants. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of more specific problems related to criminal-executive criteria for the perception of life imprisonment as subspecies of imprisonment for a certain period; systemic content ratio of general penitentiary norms, which determine the legal status of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment, and special ones, which should reproduce peculiarities of regime requirements of penitentiary institutions of different security levels (in particular, medium and maximum). It is proved that clarity, completeness and system-legal balance will be facilitated by the formal reproduction in the law of classification of all criminal-executive norms of Chapter 22 of the Criminal Executive Code (hereinafter–CEC) (based on a certain criterion) into norms of general and special significance, which in turn should be divided into the following subtypes. Moreover, the EU countries do not yet have the appropriate practice in the application of these warrants.

Towards post-quantum security for cyber-physical systems: Integrating PQC into industrial M2M communication1

The threat of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer contributes to an increasing interest in the field of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Compared to existing research efforts regarding the integration of PQC into the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, industrial communication protocols have so far been neglected. Since industrial cyber-physical systems (CPS) are typically deployed for decades, protection against such long-term threats is needed. In this work, we propose two novel solutions for the integration of post-quantum (PQ) primitives (digital signatures and key establishment) into the industrial protocol Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA): a hybrid solution combining conventional cryptography with PQC and a solution solely based on PQC. Both approaches provide mutual authentication between client and server and are realized with certificates fully compliant to the X.509 standard. We implement the two solutions and measure and evaluate their performance across three different security levels. All selected algorithms (Kyber, Dilithium, and Falcon) are candidates for standardization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We show that Falcon is a suitable option – especially – when using floating-point hardware provided by our ARM-based evaluation platform. Our proposed hybrid solution provides PQ security for early adopters but comes with additional performance and communication requirements. Our solution solely based on PQC shows superior performance across all evaluated security levels in terms of handshake duration compared to conventional OPC UA but comes at the cost of increased handshake sizes. In addition to our performance evaluation, we provide a proof of security in the symbolic model for our two PQC-based variants of OPC UA. For this proof, we use the cryptographic protocol verifier ProVerif and formally verify confidentiality and authentication properties of our quantum-resistant variants.

CURRENT STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF SHELTERS FOR PEOPLE SUFFERED FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The article analyses domestic experience in the design and construction of shelters for domestic violence victims and the possibility of new construction. The directors of Ukrainian shelters and hotline managers were interviewed. The existing shelters for mothers and children were analysed, the main architectural and planning features were determined. Domestic and foreign scientific works were analysed. The research topic is relevant due to the social need of shelters for domestic violence victims. Currently, such institutions are to be established as more and more cases of domestic violence are being recorded every day, therefore the shelter can become the «island» for protection, safety, rehabilitation and assistance. A modern shelter for people suffering from domestic violence is a conceptually new type of social housing. The main difference between shelters and crisis rooms is the time of stay, comfort and security levels. The time spent in crisis rooms is 7-10 days, in shelters - 1-3 months, if necessary, it can be 6 months. Crisis rooms are equipped with individual accommodation for each person or family in a difficult life situation and look like mini-apartments with their own bedroom, small kitchen and bathroom. In shelters, most often, it is one common room for two people, a shared kitchen-dining room and a bathroom with shower. These differences significantly affect the architectural and planning organization of each institution. The study revealed that shelters in Ukraine are usually part of other social structures, only a few operate as separate institutions. Most often they occupy one wing of a one-storey house, or one of the floors of a two-storey building. Shelters provide assistance with housing, food, recreational sites for children, legal, psychological, rehabilitative and, if necessary, medical assistance. The vast majority of shelters are located in the central part of the city. The purpose of this study is to identify the best features in the architectural and planning organization of such institutions in Ukraine.

Regional Water Resources Security Grading Evaluation Considering Both Visible and Virtual Water: A Case Study on Hubei Province, China

The security of water resources is of great importance to long-term sustainability. In order to better ensure the security of water resources, a significant link is to conduct water resources security evaluation, which should be considered from many perspectives as it involves natural reserves, social production, the efficiency of use, and environmental protection. In this paper, a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Sort (AHPSort) II-entropy weight (EW) method for regional water resources security evaluation is proposed based on the security of visible water and virtual water. Firstly, this paper takes into account the criterion of efficiency of water use in addition to two other criteria of quantity of water resources, pressure on water resources to establish a comprehensive water resources security evaluation system. Secondly, a combination method of hesitant fuzzy language judgment and entropy weight is employed to obtain the weight of each indicator. Thirdly, AHPSort II is used to classify the security levels of the evaluated regions, in which the security levels of regional water resources are divided into five levels. Furthermore, a case study on the cities of Hubei Province, China is conducted to show the applicability of the proposed method, the effectiveness, and reliability of the method are then verified by being compared with a subjective method and an objective method as well as sensitivity analysis. Finally, according to the comprehensive evaluation results, specific management suggestions for improving the water resources security in the case are put forward.

Social guarantees in Russia in the context of the concept of Social State

The paper explores the aspects of social policies in the Russian Federation and approaches the problems of social security in the context of Russia's ratification of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention. The importance of social standards in the context of labour and social security is demonstrated with further analysis of applicable Russian laws and principal international statutes establishing the minimum guarantees of social security rights. Conclusions are drawn that the legal framework of social security should be enhanced, taking into account the best practices of foreign countries. Another focus of the analysis concerns the issues of raising social security levels for certain categories of individuals by increasing the value of minimum social standards by means of statutory indexation.