Rural migration in sub-Saharan Africa: Patterns, drivers and relation to structural transformation

Sub-Saharan Africa has a long history of internal and international migratory movements. Migration patterns and dynamics from, to and between rural areas are profoundly differentiated across regions, and flows have considerably evolved over time. Yet, more recently, rural migration takes place in the unique situation of a major rural and urban demographic increase, which results in critical socio-economic and environmental challenges. In this context, intertwined migration drivers emerge and call for a better understanding of on-going dynamics. This working paper draws on a combination of literature review and data analysis, building on the results of the Atlas "Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration South of the Sahara". This mixed approach is used to propose a conceptual framework based on past, current and future drivers of migration, then to examine observed patterns of rural migration and finally to discuss drivers' characteristics and dynamics from case studies and existing datasets

Isolation and loss in Fernand Khnopff's "I Lock My Door Upon Myself"

Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Department of Art, 1982Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-76

Madagascar Étude économique et sectorielle (ESW) : Marchés agricoles à Madagascar : contraintes et opportunités. Rapport de synthèse, No. 66028

Ce rapport présente les principaux résultats et les principales conclusions de l'étude sur les marchés agricoles à Madagascar menée conjointement par la Banque Mondiale et le Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD). L'étude poursuivait quatre objectifs : (i) Pour les produits agricoles de base et groupes de produits sélectionnés, décrire la structure de la production et de la consommation, les échanges commerciaux sur les marchés nationaux et internationaux et les prix ; (ii) Pour les produits agricoles de base et groupes de produits sélectionnés, décrire les principales filières existantes en mettant en exergue la structure des marchés et leurs degrés de concentration, les agents concernés, les activités réalisées, les mécanismes de coordination et les principales sources de risques et d'incertitude ; (iii) Pour chaque grande filière identifiée, estimer les coûts et marges pour évaluer sa performance et identifier les goulots d'étranglement qui entravent sa compétitivité ; (iv) Identifier les mesures politiques et institutionnelles, concernant les différents domaines d'intervention, pour améliorer la performance des filières et accroître la compétitivité des produits cibles. (Résumé d'auteur

Conventional direction to unconventional measures: using quantitative easing to shape Eurozone fiscal capacity

Eight years after the outbreak of the crisis, the Eurozone (EZ) fiscal policy remains fragmented at the national level. This paper fills the structural gap between the monetary and fiscal dimensions of EZ economic policy by suggesting a ‘conventional’ direction to the unconventional Quantitative Easing (QE) policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). We propose an evolution for QE to tackle the shortcomings of the current ‘decentralized’ fiscal policy in the EZ. In a nutshell, we suggest a change in the composition of QE asset purchases, focusing on buying European Investment Bank (EIB) bonds that, in turn, would be used to finance real investments through the Juncker Plan programme. The rationale of our proposal is legitimised by an overview of the gloomy macroeconomic conditions of the EZ, and the situation in ongoing policies. The mechanism is described in detail, with a discussion of both its strengths and possible limitations

Vulnerable Communities in the Face of Heat: A Pilot Study on Perceptions, Behaviors, and Support Networks During Heat Events

Extreme heat is the cause of most US weather-related deaths and is a serious risk for older adults, children, and people with medical issues living in vulnerable neighborhoods. This study explored how extreme heat events affect vulnerable communities, focusing on people’s perceptions, adaptive behaviors, and social network support. Mobile ecological momentary assessment through Short Message Service was employed to collect real-time data from residents in a socioeconomically challenged urban neighborhood in Iowa. Participants responded to text messages with survey links twice daily during heat events over the summer, in which they were asked about their perceptions and behaviors. The results show the need for targeted, inclusive, and effective heat warnings and social network support to reduce heat risks and help vulnerable communities better cope with extreme heat.This is a manuscript of a proceeding published as Yao, Tian, Michael C. Dorneich, Ulrike Passe, Nicholas Schwab, Mary Losch, Caroline C. Krejci, and Jeremy Caron. "Vulnerable Communities in the Face of Heat: A Pilot Study on Perceptions, Behaviors, and Support Networks During Heat Events." In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, p. 10711813241261378. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241261378

Estimating Pine Island Ice Shelf melt rates from hydrography and an ocean circulation model

The fast flowing ice stream of the Pine Island Glacier (PIG) in West Antarctica feeds the Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS). Its flow acceleration, thinning and mass loss has been associated with changes in sub-ice shelf ocean circulation. Several recent field and remote sensing programs focused on the Pine Island Embayment and PIG to study the local circulation, water mass properties, as well as bathymetry and cavity geometry. Observations of water mass properties entering and leaving the ice-cavity of the PIIS, as well as observations within the cavity are used to estimate a horizontal map of basal melt rates for the PIIS. For this purpose a regional ocean general circulation model that includes ice-ocean interactions is fitted to observations using optimal estimation methods. Hence, the estimates combine on both observations and the dynamical information about the circulation underneath the ice-shelf as resolved by the numerical model. The control variables, that are adjusted during the estimation process, are initial conditions, open boundary conditions, vertical mixing parameters, and melt rates. Data coverage, but also the choice of bathymetry and melt-rate parameterization, affect the state estimate and the net melt rate

Southern Boundaries in Global Ocean Models: Can We Do Better?

Dense water masses form on the continental shelves around Antarctica, sink,and spread as a ma jor contributor to the overturning circulation into theglobal abyss. Global ocean circulation models often do not adequately re-solve high latitude processes due to, for example, a poor representation ofthe continental shelves and an insufficient spatial resolution. Without theseprocesses which are important for the lower part of the global overturningcirculation, the characteristics and flow of deep and bottom waters often re-main unrealistic in these models. We present two approaches to treat thesouthern boundary in global ocean models and in turn improve the hydrog-raphy of the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and theglobal circulation in those models. First, a modified Large Scale GeostrophicModel (LSG) with global data assimilation and an integration time scaleof 13 years is constrained further by hydrographic sections in the Ross andWeddell seas. These sections are obtained from an accurate regional model.Secondly, in a long (3000 years) forward integration, a global 2 degree general cir-culation model takes into account high latitude processes by restoring thesouthern boundaries at 76S in the Ross and Weddell seas to hydrographyand velocity values from the same regional model. Sensitivity experimentswith both model configurations shed light on the influence of the additionaldata in the individual basins (Ross and Weddell Sea) on a regional andglobal scale. The Weddell Sea circulation significantly affects the course ofthe Antarctic Circumpolar Current with consequences for Southern Oceanwater mass characteristics and the spreading of deep and bottom waters inthe South Atlantic. Regional changes in the Pacific sector of the SouthernOcean can be attributed to the additional data in the Ross Sea. In spiteof different physics, time scales of integration, and methods of incorporatingthe regional model data between the two global models, the effects of theadditional information are consistent in both global models