Terapolva - Utopian Dreams and Urban Realities in an Ecovillage in Buenos Aires

Terapolva is a settlement geographically located within the inner city borders of Buenos Aires. Characterized as an ecovillage, its members seek away from an urban lifestyle and opt for a life in closer contact with nature. Its main practice is reciclaje (recycling) where vegetables that are to be trashed by stores in the closest urban barrio are given new purpose by being rinsed and cooked to serve the community s members and visitors. Terapolva s ideological worldview is based on The three R s : Recycle, Reutilize and Reduce. Terapolva s organizational structure draws on anarchistic principles where visible borders and officially regulated commitment is absent. Members, who call themselves aldeanos (villagers), are in theory free to come and go as they please, and the community has no legal claim to the terrain it occupies – which in fact belongs to the University College and the government of Buenos Aires. Next to Terapolva s main territory lies a state owned bioreserve with an overgrown river and a rich wildlife. Aldeanos claim themselves to be protectors of the zone, seeking to maintain the flora and fauna by removing contaminating material and keeping the area free of trash. My main question throughout this thesis is: How is community identity and individual needs connected to Terapolva s aim to be an ecovillage, and how can the place be seen as a generator of meaning and livelihood for its inhabitants? I seek to understand how a community that has a very high frequency of changing members and which lacks clear borders and regulations still manages to maintain a unity and to reproduce itself. Ideologically Terapolva is though to be an ecovillage, and there is an overall notion that Terapolva is a place very much distinguished from the rest of Buenos Aires. I investigate what kind of mechanisms exist in the creation and maintaining of boundaries, where differentiation between inside and outside are confirmed both by aldeanos themselves and groups in its near surroundings. Since the open structure and anarchistic organization allow members to operate based on voluntarism I ask how the community s common ideals and goals are kept alive and how these are reflected, or not, in the actions of the individuals and their strategies for satisfying daily needs

Impacts of extreme winter warming events on litter decomposition in a sub-Arctic heathland

Arctic climate change is expected to lead to a greater frequency of extreme winter warming events. During these events, temperatures rapidly increase to well above 0 degrees C for a number of days, which can lead to snow melt at the landscape scale, loss of insulating snow cover and warming of soils. However, upon return of cold ambient temperatures, soils can freeze deeper and may experience more freeze-thaw cycles due to the absence of a buffering snow layer. Such loss of snow cover and changes in soil temperatures may be critical for litter decomposition since a stable soil microclimate during winter (facilitated by snow cover) allows activity of soil organisms. Indeed, a substantial part of fresh litter decomposition may occur in winter. However, the impacts of extreme winter warming events on soil processes such as decomposition have never before been investigated. With this study we quantify the impacts of winter warming events on fresh litter decomposition using field simulations and lab studies. Winter warming events were simulated in sub-Arctic heathland using infrared heating lamps and soil warming cables during March (typically the period of maximum snow depth) in three consecutive years of 2007, 2008, and 2009. During the winters of 2008 and 2009, simulations were also run in January (typically a period of shallow snow cover) on separate plots. The lab study included soil cores with and without fresh litter subjected to winter-warming simulations in climate chambers. Litter decomposition of common plant species was unaffected by winter warming events simulated either in the lab (litter of Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii), or field (litter of Vaccinium vitis-idaea, and B. pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) with the exception of Vaccinium myrtillus (a common deciduous dwarf shrub) that showed less mass loss in response to winter warming events. Soil CO2 efflux measured in the lab study was (as expected) highly responsive to winter warming events but surprisingly fresh litter decomposition was not. Most fresh litter mass loss in the lab occurred during the first 3-4 weeks (simulating the period after litter fall). In contrast to past understanding, this suggests that winter decomposition of fresh litter is almost nonexistent and observations of substantial mass loss across the cold season seen here and in other studies may result from leaching in autumn, prior to the onset of "true" winter. Further, our findings surprisingly suggest that extreme winter warming events do not affect fresh litter decomposition. Crown Copyright (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Higher education and migration

We find that nearly 60 percent of the highly educated individuals in natural science, technology and manufacturing and health and medicine don't stay in their region of education and they have an average income that is higher than those that stay. In this paper we explore the relocation pattern of individuals assuming that they are heterogeneous in mobility and educational type. To the authors' knowledge there has not been any previous empirical research that distinguish between different categories of higher education and the factors influencing the probability to move can be divided into three. First, the income has a positive effect on the probability to move but plays only a minor role in the decision process compared to other decision factors. Second, the socio-biological factors such as age and gender are more significant in the decision process, which supports the results in earlier empirical studies. A third part of the decision process is the regional characteristics that create incentives to choose a geographical location corresponding to the individual preferences

Et aksjonsforskningsprosjekt om samarbeid mellom skole og arbeidsliv i helsearbeiderfaget

Bakgrunnen for dette prosjektet var vårt behov for utvikling av samarbeidet mellom skole og arbeidsliv, i helsearbeiderfaget. Hvordan kan vi som skole utvikle dette samarbeidet og hvordan kan arbeidslivet bidra til denne utviklingen, var spørsmål vi stilte oss. Videre var hensikten å identifisere hvordan samarbeidet kan styrkes ved hjelp av vår tilrettelegging og oppfølging av elevene. Arbeidslivet har i den forbindelse deltatt i oppgaver som tradisjonelt har vært skolens oppgaver, som for eksempel sensorer. Prosjektet er gjennomført ved hjelp av aksjonsforskning som strategi. Aksjonsforskning tilsier at vi forsker med, og ikke på. Vi har benyttet ulike metoder innen aksjonsforskning, både kritisk utopisk aksjonsforskning og pedagogisk aksjonsforskning. Ved å gjennomføre fremtidsverksted både for elever og veiledere, har vi fått ideer vi har bygget videre på i utviklingen av samarbeidet. For innhenting av data har vi benyttet dialog, logger, veiledning og refleksjoner. Vi har samlet flere elever på samme praksisplass og hatt ukentlig oppfølging av elevene i Prosjekt til fordypning i form av veiledning og refleksjoner. Vi har gjennomført veilederkurs og sensorkurs for veilederne. Eksamen i helsearbeiderfaget Vg2 blir holdt ute i praksisfeltet, med veilederne som sensorer og med pasienter, slik at situasjonen blir så autentisk som mulig. Funn i prosjektet tyder på at medbestemmelse og deltakelse øker motivasjonen for samarbeid, og motiverer deltakerne til økt kompetanse og utvikling. Denne åpenheten og tverrfagligheten har bidratt til bedre samarbeid og samhold mellom skole og arbeidsliv, og et bedre innblikk i hverandres ansvarsområde. Grunnleggende organisatoriske og strukturelle forhold både på skolen og i arbeidslivet er fundamentet for at samarbeidet skal utvikles. Prosjektet avdekker et behov for videre utvikling av samarbeidet mellom skole og arbeidsliv, til beste for eleven spesielt, og samfunnet genereltMaster i yrkespedagogik

Treffsikkerhet på ResultatEstimater : ble nøyaktigheten i analytikerens estimat på resultat pr. aksje påvirket av finanskrisen og endret analytikeren sine arbeidsmetoder og økonomiske modeller som en følge av finanskrisen?

Intensjonen bak denne oppgaven er å undersøke om finanskrisen og dens implikasjoner påvirket nøyaktigheten til aksjeanalytikernes estimater på resultat pr. aksje. Vi ønsker også å undersøke om analytikerens økonomiske modeller og arbeidsmetoder ble endret som en konsekvens av finanskrisen. Vi har delt oppgaven inn i to analyser – kvantitativ og kvalitativ. Det kvantitative datamaterialet er innhentet fra Thomson Reuters ` databasen – ThomsonOne og fra selskapenes årsrapporter. Det totale utvalget består av 4256 estimater gitt av 13 meglerhus på 136 børsnoterte selskap i perioden 2000 til 2009. Videre benyttet vi avviksmålet MAPE for å beregne differansen mellom estimatet og det faktiske resultatet. Den kvalitative analysen bygger på informasjon fra intervjuer med seks analytikere i ulike velrenommerte meglerhus. Analysene viser at gjennomsnittavviket i år 2008 og 2009 er signifikant høyere enn i de forgående årene. Gjennom analysen finner vi også stor differanse i treffsikkerheten i ulike bransjer. Videre ser vi at avviket er lavere på OBX-selskapene enn totalavviket på alle selskapene, samt en veldig svak korrelasjon mellom markedsverdi og avvik på et selskap. Når det kommer til den kvalitative analysen som omhandler eventuelle endringer i økonomiske modeller og arbeidsmetoder som en konsekvens av finanskrisen, har vi konkludert med at kun arbeidsmetoder ble endret. Dette som en følge av dårligere guiding fra selskapene, større fokus på makrobildet og mer vekt på selskapenes soliditet

Persistent reduction of segment growth and photosynthesis in a widespread and important sub-Arctic moss species after cessation of three years of experimental winter warming

1. Winter is a period of dormancy for plants of cold environments. However, winter climate is changing, leading to an increasing frequency of stochastic warm periods (winter warming events) and concomitant reductions in snow cover. These conditions can break dormancy for some plants and expose them to freeze-and-thaw stress. Mosses are a major component of high latitude ecosystems, yet the longer-term impacts of such winter warming events on mosses remain unknown. 2. In order to determine the longer-term legacy effects of winter warming events on mosses, we undertook a simulation of these events over three consecutive winters in a sub-Arctic dwarf shrub-dominated open woodland. The mat-forming feathermoss Hylocomium splendens (the most abundant cryptogam in this system), is one of the most widespread Arctic and boreal mosses and plays a key functional role in ecosystems. We studied the ecophysiological performance of this moss during the summers of the experimental period (2007-2009) and in the following years (2010-2013). 3. We show that the previously reported warming-induced reduction in segment growth and photosynthesis during the experimental years was persistent. Four years after the last event, photosynthesis and segment growth were still 30 and 36 % lower than control levels, which was only a slight improvement from 44 and 43 % four years earlier. Winter warming did not affect segment symmetry. During the years after the last simulated event, in both warmed and control plots, chlorophyll fluorescence and segment growth, but not net photosynthesis, increased slightly. The increases were probably driven by increased summer rainfall over the study years, highlighting the sensitivity of this moss to rainfall change. 4. Overall, the legacy effects shown here demonstrate that this widespread and important moss is likely to be significantly disadvantaged in a future sub-Arctic climate where frequent winter warming events may become the norm. Given the key importance of mosses for soil insulation, shelter and carbon sequestration in high-latitude regions, such persistent impacts may ultimately affect important ecosystem functions

Persistent reduction of segment growth and photosynthesis in a widespread and important sub-Arctic moss species after cessation of three years of experimental winter warming

1. Winter is a period of dormancy for plants of cold environments. However, winter climate is changing, leading to an increasing frequency of stochastic warm periods (winter warming events) and concomitant reductions in snow cover. These conditions can break dormancy for some plants and expose them to freeze-and-thaw stress. Mosses are a major component of high latitude ecosystems, yet the longer-term impacts of such winter warming events on mosses remain unknown. 2. In order to determine the longer-term legacy effects of winter warming events on mosses, we undertook a simulation of these events over three consecutive winters in a sub-Arctic dwarf shrub-dominated open woodland. The mat-forming feathermoss Hylocomium splendens (the most abundant cryptogam in this system), is one of the most widespread Arctic and boreal mosses and plays a key functional role in ecosystems. We studied the ecophysiological performance of this moss during the summers of the experimental period (2007-2009) and in the following years (2010-2013). 3. We show that the previously reported warming-induced reduction in segment growth and photosynthesis during the experimental years was persistent. Four years after the last event, photosynthesis and segment growth were still 30 and 36 % lower than control levels, which was only a slight improvement from 44 and 43 % four years earlier. Winter warming did not affect segment symmetry. During the years after the last simulated event, in both warmed and control plots, chlorophyll fluorescence and segment growth, but not net photosynthesis, increased slightly. The increases were probably driven by increased summer rainfall over the study years, highlighting the sensitivity of this moss to rainfall change. 4. Overall, the legacy effects shown here demonstrate that this widespread and important moss is likely to be significantly disadvantaged in a future sub-Arctic climate where frequent winter warming events may become the norm. Given the key importance of mosses for soil insulation, shelter and carbon sequestration in high-latitude regions, such persistent impacts may ultimately affect important ecosystem functions