bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Open-loop GPS signal tracking at low elevation angles from a ground-based observation site
Authors: Beyerle Georg , Zus Florian
Published: January 2017

Abstract. A 1-year data set of ground-based GPS signal observations aiming at geometric elevation angles below +2° is analysed. Within the "GLESER" measurement campaign about 2600 validated setting events were recorded by the "OpenGPS" open-loop tracking receiver at an observation site located at 52.3808° N, 13.0642° E between January and December 2014. The measurements confirm the feasibility of open-loop signal tracking down to geometric elevation angles of −1 to −1.5° extending the corresponding closed-loop tracking range by up to 1°. The study is based on the premise that observations of low-elevation events by a ground-based receiver may serve as test cases for space-based radio occultation measurements, even if the latter proceed at a significantly faster temporal scale. The results support the conclusion that the open-loop Doppler model has negligible influence on the derived carrier frequency profile for strong signal-to-noise density ratios above about 30 dB Hz. At lower signal levels, however, the OpenGPS receiver's dual-channel design, which tracks the same signal using two Doppler models differing by 10 Hz, uncovers a notable bias. The repeat patterns of the GPS orbit traces in terms of azimuth angle reveal characteristic signatures in both signal amplitude and Doppler frequency with respect to the topography close to the observation site. Mean vertical refractivity gradients, extracted from ECMWF meteorological fields, correlate weakly to moderately with observed signal amplitude fluctuations at geometric elevation angles between +1 and +2°. Results from multiple phase screen simulations support the interpretation that these fluctuations are at least partly produced by atmospheric multipath; at negative elevation angles diffraction at the ground surface seems to contribute.
Solid hydrometeor classification and riming degree estimation from pictures collected with a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera
Authors: Praz Christophe , Roulet Yves-Alain , Berne Alexis
Published: January 2017

Abstract. A new method to automatically classify solid hydrometeors based on a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) images is presented. For each individual image, the method relies on the calculation of a set of geometric and texture-based descriptors to simultaneously identify the hydrometeor type (among six predefined classes), estimate the degree of riming and detect melting snow. The classification tasks are achieved by means of a regularized multinomial logistic regression (MLR) model trained over more than 3000 MASC images manually labeled by visual inspection. In a second step, the probabilistic information provided by the MLR is weighed on the three stereoscopic views of the MASC in order to assign a unique label to each hydrometeor. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on data collected in the Swiss Alps and in Antarctica. The algorithm achieves high performance, with a hydrometeor type classification accuracy and Heidke skill score of 95 % and 0.93, respectively. The degree of riming is evaluated by introducing a riming index ranging between zero (no riming) and one (graupel), and characterized by a probable error of 5.3 %. A validation study is conducted through a comparison with an existing classification method based on two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) data and shows that the two methods are consistent.
On the response of quasi-adiabatic particles to magnetotail reconfigurations
Authors: Delcourt Dominique C. , Malova Helmi V. , Zelenyi Lev M.
Published: January 2017

Abstract. We investigate the response of quasi-adiabatic particles to dynamical reconfigurations of the magnetotail field lines. Although they travel through a sharp field reversal with a characteristic length scale smaller than their Larmor radii, these quasi-adiabatic particles experience a negligible net change in magnetic moment. We examine the robustness of such a quasi-adiabatic behavior in the presence of a large surging electric field induced by magnetic field line reconfiguration as observed during the expansion phase of substorms. We demonstrate that, although such a short-lived electric field can lead to substantial nonadiabatic heating, quasi-adiabaticity is conserved for particles with velocities larger than the peak ExB drift speed. Because of the time-varying character of the magnetic field, it is not possible to use the adiabaticity parameter κ in a straightforward manner to characterize the particle behavior. We rather consider a κ parameter that is averaged over equatorial crossings. We demonstrate that particles intercepting the field reversal in the early stage of the magnetic transition may experience significant energization and enhanced oscillating motion in the direction normal to the midplane. In contrast, particles interacting with the field reversal in the late stage of the magnetic transition experience weaker energization and slower oscillations about the midplane. We show that quasi-adiabatic particles accelerated during such events can lead to energy–time dispersion signatures at low altitudes as is observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer.
Measurements of the total ozone column using a Brewer spectrophotometer and TOMS and OMI satellite instruments over the Southern Space Observatory in Brazil
Authors: Vaz Peres Lucas , Bencherif Hassan , Mbatha Nkanyiso , Passaglia Schuch André , Toihir Abdoulwahab Mohamed , Bègue Nelson , Portafaix Thierry , Anabor Vagner , Kirsch Pinheiro Damaris , Paes Leme Neusa Maria , Bageston José Valentin , Schuch Nelson Jorge
Published: January 2017

Abstract. This paper presents 23 years (1992–2014) of quasi-continuous measurements of the total ozone column (TOC) over the Southern Space Observatory (SSO) in São Martinho da Serra, Brazil (29.26° S, 53.48° and 488 m altitude). The TOC was measured by a Brewer spectrometer, and the results are also compared to daily and monthly observations from the TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite instruments. Analyses of the main interannual modes of variability computed using the wavelet transform method were performed. A favorable agreement between the Brewer spectrophotometer and satellite datasets was found. The seasonal TOC variation is dominated by an annual cycle, with a minimum of approximately 260 DU in April and a maximum of approximately 295 DU in September. The wavelet analysis applied in the SSO TOC anomaly time series revealed that the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) modulation was the main mode of interannual variability. The comparison between the SSO TOC anomaly time series with the QBO index revealed that the two are in opposite phases.
Flooding-related increases in CO2 and N2O emissions from
a temperate coastal grassland ecosystem
Authors: Gebremichael Amanuel W. , Osborne Bruce , Orr Patrick
Published: January 2017

Abstract. Given their increasing trend in Europe, an understanding of the role that flooding events play in carbon and nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be important for improved assessments of local and regional GHG budgets. This study presents the results of an analysis of the CO2 and N2O fluxes from a coastal grassland ecosystem affected by episodic flooding that was of either a relatively short or long duration (SFS and LFS sites, respectively). Compared to the SFS, the annual CO2 and N2O emissions were 1.4 and 1.3 times higher at the LFS, respectively. Mean CO2 emissions during the period of standing water were 144 ± 18.18 and 111 ± 9.51 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1, respectively, for the LFS and SFS sites. During the growing season, when there was no standing water, the CO2 emissions were significantly larger from the LFS (244 ± 24.88 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1) than the SFS (183 ± 14.90 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1). Fluxes of N2O ranged from −0.37 to 0.65 mg N2O-N m−2 h−1 at the LFS and from −0.50 to 0.55 mg N2O-N m−2 h−1 at the SFS, with the larger emissions associated with the presence of standing water at the LFS and during the growing season at the SFS. Overall, soil temperature and moisture content were identified as the main drivers of the seasonal changes in CO2 fluxes, but neither adequately explained the variations in N2O fluxes. Analysis of total Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), microbial biomass and Q10 values, indicated that the higher CO2 emissions from the LFS were linked to the flooding-associated influx of nutrients and alterations in soil microbial populations. These results demonstrate that annual CO2 and N2O emissions can be higher in longer-term flooded sites that receive significant amounts of nutrients and where diffusional limitations due to the presence of standing water is limited to periods of the year when the temperatures are lowest.
On the forecast skill of a convection-permitting ensemble
Authors: Schellander-Gorgas Theresa , Wang Yong , Meier Florian , Weidle Florian , Wittmann Christoph , Kann Alexander
Published: January 2017

Abstract. The 2.5 km convection-permitting (CP) ensemble AROME-EPS (Applications of Research to Operations at Mesoscale – Ensemble Prediction System) is evaluated by comparison with the regional 11 km ensemble ALADIN-LAEF (Aire Limitée Adaption dynamique Développement InterNational – Limited Area Ensemble Forecasting) to show whether a benefit is provided by a CP EPS. The evaluation focuses on the abilities of the ensembles to quantitatively predict precipitation during a 3-month convective summer period over areas consisting of mountains and lowlands. The statistical verification uses surface observations and 1 km  ×  1 km precipitation analyses, and the verification scores involve state-of-the-art statistical measures for deterministic and probabilistic forecasts as well as novel spatial verification methods. The results show that the convection-permitting ensemble with higher-resolution AROME-EPS outperforms its mesoscale counterpart ALADIN-LAEF for precipitation forecasts. The positive impact is larger for the mountainous areas than for the lowlands. In particular, the diurnal precipitation cycle is improved in AROME-EPS, which leads to a significant improvement of scores at the concerned times of day (up to approximately one-third of the scored verification measure). Moreover, there are advantages for higher precipitation thresholds at small spatial scales, which are due to the improved simulation of the spatial structure of precipitation.
Factors of soil diversity in the Batumi delta (Georgia)
Authors: Turgut Bülent , Ateş Merve
Published: January 2017

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine certain basic properties of soils in the Batumi delta (southwestern Georgia) to determine the relationships of studied properties and to identify differences with regards to these properties between different sampling sites in the delta that were selected based on the delta morphology. In this context, a total of 125 soil samples were collected from five different sampling sites, and the clay, silt and sand content of the samples were determined along with their mean weight diameter (MWD) values, aggregate stability (AS) values, amount of water retained under −33 (FC) and −1500 kPa (WP) pressure and organic matter (OM) content. Correlation analysis indicated that clay content and OM were positively correlated with MWD, and OM was positively correlated with AS. However, the sand content was found to be negatively correlated with MWD. In addition, clay, silt and OM content were positive correlated with FC and WP. Variance analysis results determined statistically significant differences between the sampling sites with respect to all of the evaluated properties. The active delta section of the study area was characterized by high sand content, while the lower delta plain was characterized by high OM and AS values, and the upper delta plain was characterized by high MWD values, high FC and WP moisture content levels and high clay and silt content. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the examined properties were significantly affected by the different morphological positions and usages of these different areas. These results may help with the management of agricultural lands in the Batumi delta, which has never been studied before.
In-situ GPS records of surface mass balance and ocean-induced
basal melt for Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
Authors: Shean David E. , Christianson Knut , Larson Kristine M. , Ligtenberg Stefan R.M. , Joughin Ian R. , Smith Benjamin E. , Stevens C. Max
Published: January 2017

Abstract. In the last two decades, Pine Island Glacier (PIG) experienced marked speedup, thinning, and grounding-line retreat, likely due to ice-shelf basal melt and marine ice-sheet instability. To better understand these processes, we analyzed 2008–2010 and 2012–2014 in-situ GPS records for PIG to constrain surface mass balance, firn compaction, and basal melt. We computed time series of horizontal velocity, strain rate, antenna height, surface elevation, and Lagrangian elevation change (Dh/Dt). The antenna height time series show a surface elevation increase of ~ 0.7–1.0 m/yr, which is consistent with model estimates for surface mass balance (SMB) of ~ 0.7–0.9 mwe/yr and ~ 0.7–0.8 m/yr downward velocity due to firn compaction. An abrupt ~ 0.2–0.3 m surface elevation decrease, likely due to surface melt, is observed during a period of warm atmospheric temperatures from December 2012 to January 2013. Observed Dh/Dt for all PIG shelf sites is highly linear, with trends of −1 to −4 m/yr and residuals of
Career Value Orientation of Psychology Students in Ho Chi Minh City
Authors: Nguyen Phan Hong
Published: January 2017

This paper presents the reality of career value orientation of psychology students in Ho Chi Minh City. The findings are: the career value orientation of this cohort falls in the level of ”good”. In order for students to have a stable career and good contribution to their future career, their career value orientation needs to fall in a higher degree – they need to obtain a full awareness of the economic, promotional, and moral aspects in career value orientation so that they will have proper attitude and behavior in career practice.
The Relationship between Leisure Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction in Food and Beverage Establishments
Authors: GENC Volkan , GULERTEKIN GENC Seray
Published: January 2017

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction of employees working in food and beverage establishments. The study was carried out in fine-dining restaurants in Eskisehir, Turkey, and adopted a quantitative paradigm. Eleven food and beverage establishments agreed to participate in the research, and a survey was administered to their employees. The data were obtained using the survey technique, and scales whose validity and reliability have been tested in earlier studies. A cluster sampling method was used, and a group of 156 people participated in the research. The research data were collected between March and June 2014. The results-identified a positive relationship between the leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction of employees working in food and beverage establishments. In addition, no significant differences in leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction were detected according to establishment type or gender. In line with the gained results, some suggestions were made for the executives and researchers of food and beverage establishments.
The Stedegenhet of Nordic STS
Authors: Karlstrøm Henrik , Finstad Terje
Published: January 2017

The increasing formalization of STS research networks in the Nordic countries prompts a discussion of how research and academic work in the region is constituted – what makes something ‘Nordic’ STS as opposed to just ‘regular’ STS? Similarly, the degree to which international STS theories can be translated into a Nordic institutional context is a matter of importance for assessing the type of work that is being done by Nordic STS researchers. The article provides an overview of STS-related institutions and activities in the Nordic countries, and discusses the diffusion and diffraction of STS theory acrossnational and institutional barriers.
Harry’s Code. An interview with Harry Collins
Authors: Jomisko Robert Lorenzo
Published: January 2017

While attending a conference in Budapest in May, I caught up with Harry Collins in Memento Park; an open-air museum filled several dozen statues, busts and plaques from the Communist era. According to the Hungarian architect Ákos Eleőd, who designed it, “the park is about dictatorship. And at the same time, because it can be talked about, described, built, this park is about democracy. After all, only democracy is able to give the opportunity to let us think freely about dictatorship.” In retrospect, it seemed a fitting location for the interview. As many of our readers are no doubt already aware, Collins has for at least ten years been engaged in discussions about social aspects of science and democracy. In efforts to impose what some have described as restrictions on public engagement with expertise, there are those who have labeled his proposals ‘illiberal’ and ‘undemocratic’. Others have viewed them as an attempt to ensure expertise is not lost when engaging the public in decision-making. Ever since his early works on knowledge diffusion in the 1970s, Collins has kept reinventing himself. And with an advanced grant from the European Research Council, he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Shove, Pantzar and Watson. The dynamics of social practice: everyday life and how it changes
Authors: Hyysalo Sampsa
Published: January 2017

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Asdal. Politikkens natur – naturens politikk
Authors: Stokland Håkon
Published: January 2017

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Sørensen, Faulkner and Rommes. Technologies of Inclusion. Gender in the Information Society
Authors: Sørensen Siri Øyslebø
Published: January 2017

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Writing ‘naturecultures’ in Zulu Zionist healing
Authors: Flikke Rune
Published: January 2017

In this article my primary aim is to argue for an ontological and phenomenological approach to studying healing rituals within the African Independent Churches in South Africa. Through ethnographic evidence I will argue that the healing rituals are misrepresented in more traditional epistemologically tuned studies, and suggest that a better understanding is to be achieved through a focus on Latour’s ‘natures-cultures’ or Haraway’s ‘naturecultures’, thus showing how health and well-being are achieved through a creative process which continuously strive to break down any distinction of nature and culture as separate entities. I conclude by arguing that the contemporary healing rituals, which surfaced in South Africa in the mid eighteen-seventies, were a sensible and experience based reactions to the colonial contact zones of a racist Colonial regime dependent on African labor.
Writing Radical Laboratory Animal Histories
Authors: Druglitrø Tone
Published: January 2017

In recent years historians have called for a radical historicizing to broaden the perspectives, stories and actors that are usually made subjects of historical investigations. The appeals have mainly come from scholars that have been concerned with historicizing nature and human-nature relations. But what does radical historicizing entail and why do we need it? The article presents a reflexive review of current methods and perspectives in the social sciences and humanities that have affected my own engagement with the history of laboratory animals in Norway. It presents an argument for doing historiography that reflects contemporary scholarly concerns on representation. Rather than seeking to “give animals histories of their own” I propose that radical historicizing should include writing histories of the entanglement and disentanglement of humans and other things and beings. This does not then involve a shift to writing animal stories for the sake of animals, but to write stories where humans and animals are considered mutually shaped and affected by each other, and how these interactions have world-transforming effects.
Nature and texts in glass cases: The vitrine as a tool for textualizing nature
Authors: Brenna Brita
Published: January 2017

What can glass cases teach us about how nature is written or read? This article seeks to understand the work done by glass cases in Bergen Museum in Norway around 1900 specifically, and more generally how glass cases was an important tool for making natural history museums into textual media. In this article it is claimed that when we focus on how natural history museums manufacture culturally specific museum nature, it is a legacy of a reform movement that set out to “discipline” museum nature around 1900 in order to make nature legible for “everyman”. An important museum movement by the end of the nineteenth century worked to make natural museums into places were one could learn by reading, not by touching or engaging with the natural objects, qua objects. This insistence on making nature readable, it is claimed, should make us cautious about analysing natural history museums as texts.
Stealing from Bakhtin: Writing the Voices of the ”Voiceless”
Authors: Flinterud Guro
Published: January 2017

This essay investigates an approach to writing about animals within the humanities. The goal is to focus attention on animals as actors, rather than speaking on their behalf. By combining Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of speech genres with Donna Haraway’s perspectives on co-habitation between all species, I suggest that a careful attention to animals as communication partners might give us a tool to capture the contribution animals make in the creation of history and culture. Two examples will be provided to illustrate this concept: The first example is a media story about celebrity polar bear Knut. The second example is an oral account of human-animal interaction in the zoo.
Mediating the Morals of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina in Norwegian News Media
Authors: Kverndokk Kyrre
Published: January 2017

The Norwegian media responses to Hurricane Katrina were structured around three well-established sets of motifs in a globalized late modern disaster discourse: 1) The collapse of civil society, 2) Social vulnerability 2) Extreme weather and global warming. These sets of motifs portray relationships or non-relationships between natural evil and moral evil. Starting with Voltaire’s description of Candide’s arrival in Lisbon after the earthquake I discuss how an 18th century disaster discourse is echoed in contemporary media narratives. This paper explores a folkloristic and narratological approach to writing nature. I use Hurricane Katrina as a case for studying Norwegian media disaster narratives. In these narratives I am concerned with how such narratives transform disasters from being acts of nature to become issues of morale. Modern disaster narratives have more complex historical roots then often claimed. This complexity is mirrored in the media representations of Hurricane Katrina.
Assembling climate knowledge. The role of local expertise
Authors: Solli Jøran , Ryghaug Marianne
Published: January 2017

The difference between indigenous knowledge and western science continues to be a central theme in the social studies of science. This paper investigates the use of climate knowledge in climate adaptation activities. The analysis is based on a case study of indigenous experts involved in practical operations dealing with risk of avalanches in an area particularly vulnerable to avalanches in northern Norway. We find that indigenous knowledge held by local area experts and western science overlap. From this we develop two lines of argument. Firstly that assemblages of climate adaptation is produced as collaborative guesswork related to coupling and negotiation of different types of knowledge in a decision context. Secondly, we discuss what such a practice means for the understanding of the relationship between climate knowledge and climate policy. By following different assemblages of climate knowledge we point to an alternative way of understanding a process of policy shaping in relation to climate adaptation: a sideways policy shaping process where what gets included or excluded and what is considered internal or external to a decision making context becomes evident.
Models in Science Communication Policy
Authors: Hetland Per
Published: January 2017

Three models of expert-public interaction in science and technology communication are central: the dissemination model (often called the deficit model), the dialogue model, and the participation model. These three models constitute a multi-model framework for studying science and technology communication and are often described along an evolutionary continuum, from dissemination to dialogue, and finally to participation. Underlying this description is an evaluation claiming that the two latter are “better” than the first. However, these three models can coexist as policy instruments, and do not exclude each other. Since 1975, concerns with public engagement over time have led to a mode that is more dialogical across the three models within science and technology communication policy in Norway. Through an active policy, sponsored hybrid forums that encourage participation have gradually been developed. In addition, social media increasingly allows for spontaneous public involvement in an increasing number of hybrid forums. Dialogue and participation thus have become crucial parts of science and technology communication and format public engagement and expertise.
Reproductive Medicine and the Life Sciences in the Contemporary Economy. A Sociomaterial Perspective
Authors: Perrotta Manuela
Published: January 2017

Alexander Styhre and Rebecka Arman. Gower 2013
On Cultures and Artscience: Interdisciplinarity and Discourses of “Twos” and “Threes” after Snow’s Two Cultures
Authors: Vaage Nora Sørensen
Published: January 2017

At least since C.P. Snow’s seminal Rede lecture The Two Cultures, the idea of a significant difference in kind between the natural sciences and the arts and humanities has been prevalent in Western culture. A gap has been perceived to exist not only in methodology and theory, but more fundamentally, in understandings and worldviews. This has resulted in a dichotomous debate both in academic and media discourses. As a reaction to this, and parallel in time, some actors have strived to achieve a ‘third culture’. This is a common attitude in the still emerging field of ‘artscience’, whose actors seek to combine the advantages and knowledges of the sciences with those of the arts and humanities. Researchers from every concerned field have contributed to the exploration of the interface between ‘art’ and ‘science’. However, I argue in this article that the very term artscience, in simply joining together the words ‘art’ and ’science’, is reenforcing an old notion of a binary opposition between these two fields.  The idea of ‘two cultures’, still implied within the image of a ‘third culture’, disguises the plurality of perceptions and approaches within and across fields. While useful in pointing out lack of communication between fields, it tends to overemphasize divisions, ignore complexities, and, in some cases, leave out important parts of the picture. I suggest that the discourse of the ‘third culture’ and the term ‘artscience’ may jointly occlude the multiple possible constellations of practitioners, roles and approaches, and may be a potential limitation to interdisciplinary collaborations.
Disability and Bureaucratic Forms of Life
Authors: Abrams Thomas
Published: January 2017

This paper employs a hybrid actor-network theory/phenomenological approach to a frequent bother in the lives of disabled persons: bureaucratic forms. I argue that these forms are key sites where disabled personhood emerges, something I examine through the lens of what philosopher Annemarie Mol calls ‘ontological politics’. To be disabled is to be entered into the bureaucratic form of life. These forms translate human existence into a categorize-able, transportable and combinable object, to be administered through ‘centers of calculation’. Combining Heidegger’s fundamental ontology with Latour’s theory of paperwork, I suggest that these forms represent disability in terms of ‘objective presence’, as a mere pre-existing thing, rather than a human way of being. I conclude with suggestions for further phenomenological research that takes embodied difference as its point of departure.
Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online.
Authors: Skjølsvold Tomas Moe , Ryghaug Marianne , Swensen Eirik Frøhaug
Published: January 2017

For years, technology optimists have hoped that the internet might serve as a vehicle for democratization. Meanwhile, many STS-scholars have called for a democratization of scientific practices through increased transparency and inclusion of lay-persons in scientific knowledge production. Many expect this to result in increased scientific quality and more legitimate knowledge claims. In this article, we explore what happens when science related communication moves online. Do climate scientists and climate ‘skeptics’ use the internet to engage lay persons in factual deliberations and debate? Does the rise of the internet as a channel of science communication herald a new, democratic scientific era? Our paper suggests that such claims should be made with caution. Instead we identify two ways that the internet is used by climate scientists. First, it is a tool to fight a cold war with climate skeptics, a dynamic which is hidden from public view. Second, it is a site of education, where ready-made packets of facts should be transported to lay-people to mitigate perceived knowledge deficits. This strategy is mimicked by climate skeptics who attempt to make their communication appear more scientific than the scientists.
Preciado. Testo junkie: sex, drugs, and biopolitics in the pharmacopornographic era
Authors: Perez Karmele Mendoza
Published: January 2017

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Understanding Controversies in Urban Climate Change Adaptation. A case study of the role of homeowners in the process of climate change adaptation in Copenhagen
Authors: Baron Nina , Petersen Lars Kjerulf
Published: January 2017

This article explores the controversies that exist in urban climate change adaptation and how these controversies influence the role of homeowners in urban adaptation planning.  A concrete ‘Sustainable Urban Drainages System’ (SUDS) project in a housing cooperative in Copenhagen has been used as a case study, thereby investigating multiple understandings of urban climate change adaptation. Several different perspectives are identified with regard to what are and what will become the main climate problems in the urban environment as well as what are considered to be the best responses to these problems. Building on the actor-network inspired theory of ‘urban green assemblages’ we argue that at least three different assemblages can be identified in urban climate change adaptation. Each assemblage constitutes and connects problems and responses differently and thereby involve homeowners in different ways. As climate change is a problem of unknown character and outcome in the future, we argue that it can be problematic if one way of constituting urban climate change adaptation becomes dominant, in which case some climate problems and adaptation options may become less influential, even though the enrolment of these could contribute to a more resilient city. Furthermore, the case study from Copenhagen also shows that the influence and involvement of homeowners might be reduced if the conception of future climate problems becomes too restricted. The result would be that the potential benefits of involving urban citizens in defining and responding to problems related to climate change would be lost.
Introduction: Engaging environments
Authors: Kall Ann-Sofie , Reinertsen Hilde
Published: January 2017

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What is at stake? Practices of linking actors, issues and scales in environmental politics.
Authors: Soneryd Linda
Published: January 2017

Efforts to include a broader set of actors, knowledges and values in environmental decision-making have been promoted as a key remedy to technocratic decision-making and environmental degradation, and as instrumental for better decisions and democratic empowerment. Yet, such inclusive efforts yield uncertain results and entail various theoretical and practical problems, not least when environmental problems are increasingly complex and transgress political-geographic boundaries. We therefore need to take a step back from the normative presupposition that public involvement will enhance environmental governance with a more agnostic approach to its outcomes in terms of legitimate actors and issues: How are alliances created between issues and actors in relation to specific problems? How are stakes recognized as legitimate and tied to specific groups of actors and scales? What is the relation between governments’ inclusive approaches and visions of socio-technical progress and alternative socio-technical imaginaries of the future? This paper will discuss the contributions in this special issue in relation to these questions. The examples brought up by the authors can all be seen as practices in which legitimate participants and stakes are made real and with various scaling effects and possible futures as a result.
On the local constitution of global futures. Science and democratic engagement in a decentred world.
Authors: Irwin Alan
Published: January 2017

This essay focuses on the relationship between public engagement with science and larger discussions of globalized and decentred democracy. In particular, it asks whether public engagement on very specific issues and in the form of carefully-planned exercises should be seen as a distraction (or irrelevance) with regard to the democratic process or else as an enhancement and invigoration of it. It will be argued that we cannot tackle these issues of engagement and democracy without considering the wider challenges of governing what are very often globalized, socio-culturally complex and generally-wicked problems. There is a tendency for engagement initiatives to operate at the regional or national levels. But what happens when the issues are presented as crossing borders and boundaries, and when the traditional centres of power seem sidelined by the expressed requirement for ‘global’ governance? Going further, issues of science and technology governance often involve a special concern with the future or, more specifically, the multiple futures suggested by science, technology and innovation and their relationship to our sense of the present. I will suggest that the heterogeneous practices of scientific governance represent both a challenge when it comes to issues such as climate change and global food security but also an important focus for STS scholarship. Finally, and in the spirit of more grounded conclusions, I suggest six ‘red blooded’ principles for public engagement which can at least get us started in addressing these issues.
"I Will Write a Letter and Change the World". The Knowledge Base Kick-Starting Norway’s Rainforest Initiative
Authors: Hermansen Erlend Andre Tveiten
Published: January 2017

In September 2007 two Norwegian NGOs wrote a letter to leading Norwegian politicians urging them to establish a climate initiative for protecting rainforests. Two months later, at the United Nations climate summit in Bali, Norway committed to donate three billion NOK annually to prevent tropical deforestation, making Norway the leading global donor in what has become the REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). This article provides a detailed analysis of the making of the rainforest initiative, placing particular emphasis on the knowledge base of the initiative, most notably a decisive letter. Close contact with policy makers in the process ensured legitimacy and credibility for the proposal. Important for the initiative’s rapid progression was that it came in the middle of the run-up to the negotiations of a cross-political climate settlement in the Norwegian Parliament. The rainforest initiative became one of the hottest proposals in the climate policy ‘bidding war’ between the government and the opposition. All these events must be seen against the background of 2007 being a year when public concern and media coverage about climate issues peaked. Politicians were under pressure to act, and the rainforest proposal’s perfect fit with the Norwegian climate mitigation main approach of pursuing large-scale cost-effective emission cutbacks abroad made it pass swiftly through the governmental machinery. In conclusion, the article suggests the metaphor of the perfect storm to explain how the NGOs exploited a situation which made the rainforest initiative an indispensable part of Norway’s climate policy.
Vitenskap, teknologi og samfunn. En introduksjon til STS
Authors: Druglitrø Tone
Published: January 2017

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Authoring Participation
Authors: Papazu Irina
Published: January 2017

Samsø, Denmark's Renewable Energy Island since 1997, is world renowned for being self-sufficient in renewable energy and for having achieved energy self-sufficiency and CO2 neutrality through successful processes of public participation. In this article I seek to show how these processes of public participation so central to the Renewable Energy Island project can be better understood as instances of material participation motivated first and foremost by a concern for the future of the island as a 'liveable' community; a community in which jobs and institutions are not constantly threatening to disappear. By turning to material participation, a concept inspired by Noortje Marres and Jennifer Gabrys, the efforts put into Samsø’s energy transformation by the islanders are given specificity. While much literature on public participation foregrounds public meetings and other spaces for deliberation and debate, material participation locates participation in everyday practice and work. On Samsø, the islanders’ participation was not an add-on to the project, it was an indispensable resource in itself. Building on extensive fieldwork I analyse how the islanders came to invest their time and resources in the Renewable Energy Island project, highlighting how, by materializing energy in concrete, local projects, energy and climate change-related projects can gain community-strengthening potentialities reaching beyond goals of energy self-sufficiency.
Ureta. Assembling Policy. Transantiago, Human Device, and the Dream of a World-Class Society.
Authors: Suboticki Ivana
Published: January 2017

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Public Communication of Technological Change: Modest and Less Modest Witnesses
Authors: Hetland Per
Published: January 2017

When journalists popularize a highly topical new technology, such as the Internet, they situate their popularization within technological expectations; when researchers popularize it, they situate their popularization within both a retrospective and prospective understanding of technological change. Following this, journalists are inclined to appeal to emotionally involved users or pioneers, and researchers are inclined to appeal to responsible citizens. Hence, journalists immodestly dramatize the future by boosting a new technology or turning its risks into threats, while researchers acting as “modest witnesses” pour oil in troubled waters, indicating skepticism about the journalistic approach. Consequently, the technology popularization field is structured in two dimensions: from public appreciation of technology via public engagement to critical understanding of technology in public, and from expectation-based argumentation to research-based argumentation.
Agency and climate change: a quantitative-structuralist approach to the assignment of moral agency in mitigation
Authors: Thorstensen Erik
Published: January 2017

This article uses the IPCC Working Group III’s latest report on mitigation of climate change as its material. The ambition is to investigate how the IPCC assigns moral agency to non-experts. For this, the article analyzes whether the terms “citizens”, “stakeholders”, “the public” and “laypeople” are presented as barriers to, drivers for or neutral towards mitigation measures. The “public” stand out in the IPCC report as a much larger barrier to mitigation than the other groups. This article relates these finding to work conducted by Brian Wynne (1991) and Mike Michael (2009) regarding perception of the public by scientific assessments. This article documents that the IPCC Working Group III tends to replicate stereotypes of the public from such scientific assessments.
Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced
Authors: Bergschöld Jenny Melind
Published: January 2017

This article presents a case study of a vehicle route problem solver in the context of homecare work. Vehicle route problem solvers are technologies that calculate geographically rational driving routes. Primarily framed as tools for financial control, they have been tested in homecare services with good results under controlled circumstances. However, they have not been studied as part of users’ everyday work after implementation. The case study shows how, through processes of domestication, the vehicle route problem solver becomes unable to provide homecare workers with ‘optimal’ driving routes. Additionally, it shows how this ‘malfunction’ renders it understood as inconsequential to the very activities it was designed to support which ultimately leads to its removal from driving route production processes. The results highlight the importance of carefully studying how vehicle route problem solvers and other technologies interact with the everyday lives of those who are meant to benefit from them.
Emergent Ecologies.
Authors: Thygaard-Nielsen Trine My
Published: January 2017

This is a book review of Emergent Ecologies by Eben Kirksey, published by Duke University Press, Durham and London. 2015
Improvement in Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Iron Deficiency Anaemia among Iron-Deficient Female Adolescents after Nutritional Educational Intervention
Authors: Jalambo Marwan O. , Sharif Razinah , Naser Ihab A. , Karim Norimah A.
Published: January 2017

Anaemia and iron deficiency are very common worldwide among female adolescents. There is a dearth of literature concerning the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). The magnitude of anaemia as a health problem is enormous and can be engaged by increasing awareness and the promotion of correct attitudes and practices. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention in iron deficiency anaemia on the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among iron-deficient female adolescents in the Gaza Strip. In this intervention study, 89 female adolescents aged 15–19 were recruited and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both of the groups received iron supplementation (ferrous fumarate 200 mg) weekly for three months. The intervention group attended nutrition education sessions for 3 months, while the control group did not. The two groups completed KAP questionnaires at baseline and after six months. The nutrition education intervention consisted of lectures, presentations, interactive discussions using posters, and the distribution of information booklets and brochures about proper nutrition, and was conducted for three months. KAP and overall scores before and after the intervention were compared using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test, as the scores did not show normal distribution. Our findings revealed that overall, the female adolescents’ knowledge improved significantly after a nutrition education intervention, as the percentage of good knowledge (≥50 %) was 22.7% pre-nutrition educational intervention, and increased to 90.9% post intervention (p <0.001) in the intervention group. Attitude and practice also improved from 36.4% and 54.5% at pre-test to 75.5 % and 75.5% (p <0.001 and p <0.002) at post-test, respectively. Nutrition education intervention has an impact on improving knowledge, attitude and practices of iron-deficient female adolescents compared with control. The nutrition programme should be adopted and integrated into comprehensive intervention programmes to target IDA among adolescents at various levels in Palestine.
Genetic Tools for the Conservation of Wild Asian Elephants
Authors: Kongrit Chalita
Published: January 2017

The distribution of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has been limited to the remaining discontinuous forests, mainly in the South and Southeast Asia. A global number of wild Asian elephants have been declining due to habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and anthropogenic disturbance. Acquiring information of wild populations is important for effective conservation and management plan. This article reviews the applications of noninvasive genetic method as a tool for studying wild Asian elephants. Noninvasive genetic method has been introduced to the field of wildlife conservation for more than two decades. The method provides reliable information of a population and facilitates investigation of genetic effects on small and fragmented populations. Various DNA markers for the Asian elephant, those include mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite DNA, and sex determination markers, have been developed and used to study wild elephant populations across the distribution range. Most of the studies revealed the issues of low genetic diversity in the small populations and interruption of gene flow among the fragmented populations. Tracking of ivory poaching has not yet been done in the Asian elephant. It could be carried out if a reference genetic database of the natural populations is available. Noninvasive genetic method has been proved to be a promising tool for conservation of the wild Asian elephants. Transboundary collaboration would give hope for a successful long-term conservation of this charismatic species in their natural habitats.
Examination of the Relationship between Organizational Stress and Employee Performance: A Research on Staff Working on Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports
Authors: Goksel Ali Gurel , Caz Cagdas , Yazici Omer Faruk , Ikizler Huseyin Can
Published: January 2017

The purpose of this research is to study the relation between the level of organizational stress at the staff of the Youth Services and Sports Provincial Directorate and their performance. The study group of research, Istanbul province in the Uskudar district officials operating in the Youth Services and Sports Provincial Directorate constitute a total of 96 staff, including 36 women and 60 men. In this research, “Job Strain Questionnaire Scale” that was developed firstly by Theorell et al. (1988) and adapted to Turkish by Yildirim et al. (2011) together with “Employee Performance Scale” that was developed by Kirkman and Rosen (1999) and adapted to Turkish by Col (2008) were used to collect data. In the evaluation of data as statistical analyzes; descriptive statistics, for independent groups t-test, one way analysis of variance (Anova) and Pearson Correlation test was used to determine the relationship between the dependent variables. As a result of the research; participants’ employee performance showed significant differences according to marital status variables, there were no significant differences for organizational stress. In addition, there were no significant relationships between employee performance and organizational stress of the employees were determined.
Some Problems of Feedback Control Strategies and It’s Treatment
Authors: Aziz Maysoon M. , AL-Azzawi Saad Fawzi
Published: January 2017

This paper extends and improves the feedback control strategies. In detailed, the ordinary feedback, dislocated feedback, speed feedback and enhancing feedback control for a several dynamical systems are discussed here. It is noticed that there some problems by these strategies. For this reason, this Letter proposes a novel approach for treating these problems. The results obtained in this paper show that the strategies with positive feedback coefficients can be controlled in two cases and failed in another two cases. Theoretical and numerical simulations are given to illustrate and verify the results.