Search results for "Security studies"
showing 10 items of 314 documents
Informal Disaster Governance
2020
<p>Scholars and practitioners are increasingly questioning formal disaster governance (FDG) approaches as being too rigid, slow, and command-and-control driven. Too often, local realities and non-formal influences are sidelined or ignored to the extent that disaster governance can be harmed through the efforts to impose formal and/or political structures. A contrasting narrative emphasises so-called bottom-up, local, and/or participatory approaches which this article proposes to encapsulate as Informal Disaster Governance (IDG). This article theorises IDG and situates it within the long-standing albeit limited literature on the topic, paying particular attention to the literature’s fa…
Comparing in vivo data and in silico predictions for acute effects assessment of biocidal active substances and metabolites for aquatic organisms.
2020
Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the acute toxicity in aquatic organisms of one biocidal active substance and six metabolites derived from biocidal active substances and to assess the suitability of available QSAR models to predict the obtained values. We have reported the acute toxicity in sewage treatment plant (STP) microorganisms, in the freshwater microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and in Daphnia magna following OECD test methods. We have also identified in silico models for acute toxicity of these trophic levels currently available in widely recognized platforms such as VEGA and the OECD QSAR ToolBox. A total of six, four and two models have been selected fo…
Prediction of acute toxicity of phenol derivatives using multiple linear regression approach for Tetrahymena pyriformis contaminant identification in…
2016
In this article, the modeling of inhibitory grown activity against Tetrahymena pyriformis is described. The 0-2D Dragon descriptors based on structural aspects to gain some knowledge of factors influencing aquatic toxicity are mainly used. Besides, it is done by some enlarged data of phenol derivatives described for the first time and composed of 358 chemicals. It overcomes the previous datasets with about one hundred compounds. Moreover, the results of the model evaluation by the parameters in the training, prediction and validation give adequate results comparable with those of the previous works. The more influential descriptors included in the model are: X3A, MWC02, MWC10 and piPC03 wit…
Beyond the notion of security community: What role for the African regional organizations in peace and security?
2005
African regional organizations' increasing activity in security policy is usually approached through the concept of ‘security community’, which can only partially clarify their difficult situation. A multi-level governance model is suggested as a more useful approach in a situation where economic cooperation is weak, member states' principles of governance diverge, and they themselves might be part of security problems. A security community is not a necessary condition for a regional organization to play a role in the field of security. Through new intra-regional and cross-level relationships with the international community and civil society, regional organizations can become important sec…
Risk Analysis of a Fuel Storage Terminal Using HAZOP and FTA
2017
[EN] The size and complexity of industrial chemical plants, together with the nature of the products handled, means that an analysis and control of the risks involved is required. This paper presents a methodology for risk analysis in chemical and allied industries that is based on a combination of HAZard and OPerability analysis (HAZOP) and a quantitative analysis of the most relevant risks through the development of fault trees, fault tree analysis (FTA). Results from FTA allow prioritizing the preventive and corrective measures to minimize the probability of failure. An analysis of a case study is performed; it consists in the terminal for unloading chemical and petroleum products, and t…
A root cause analysis method for preventing erratic behavior in software development: PEBA
2019
Measures taken to prevent faults from being introduced or going undetected can secure development of highly reliable software systems. One such measure is analyzing root causes of recurring faults and preventing them from appearing again. Previous methods developed for this purpose have been reactive in nature and relied heavily on fault reporting mechanisms of ogranizations. Additionally, previous efforts lack a defined mechanism for innovating corrective actions. In this study, we strive to complement the existing methods by introducing a proactive and qualitative method that does not rely on fault data. During the course of the research, in addition to an extensive literature search, an …
Interactive Learning Environments (ILEs) as Effective Tools for Teaching Social Sciences
2016
Schoolteachers could enhance learning in social science courses by using teaching tools that favour a methodological approach focused on the topics' basic structure rather than on facts. An innovative system dynamics social-based ILE built with a social constructivist approach is presented here. The pedagogical futures of this ILE are then analysed. The effective impact of different instructional approaches inspired by social-based ILEs on student learning outcomes is also discussed. The ILE and the related inquiry-based instructional approach seem to help students understand fundamental concepts more easily, thus making the topic more comprehensible and helping students place the social fa…
Security framework for dynamic service-oriented IT systems
2018
The paper proposes a framework for dynamic service-oriented IT systems security. We review the context of service-oriented architecture (SOA), which constitutes a paradigm of dynamic system configuration including security constraints at the system module development stage, supporting with the domain-driven resources, carrying out routine SOA maintenance and implementing XML-compatible parsing technologies in order to improve the system performance. Likewise, we discuss the fundamental differences between security management systems with traditional centralized and monolithic architecture and service-oriented IT systems from the perspective of security-related issues. Web services security …
Metabolic response of bacteria to elevated concentrations of glyphosate-based herbicide.
2019
Abstract Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most widespread commonly used broad-spectrum herbicides that contaminate soils and waters, are toxic to bacteria, plants and animals, and have been classified as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015. Particular soil bacteria and fungi can degrade GBHs, hence, search for new GBH-degrading strains or microbial consortia, effective under specific growth conditions and local environment, seems to be a promising solution for bio-remediation of glyphosate-contaminated environment. Consequently, there is a need for rapid and informative methods to evaluate the GBH-induced changes of the meta…
Assessment of Social Services’ Disaster Risk Management: Case Finland
2017
Local actors are crucial in disaster risk management; thus, their capacities should be assessed periodically. In this study, local social services’ preparedness plans were assessed using Emergency Management Program Measurement and quantitative document analysis. The specific aim was to study how social service areas of various sizes were prepared for disasters in Finland. The results showed that disaster risk management capacity varied significantly between large and small service areas. Larger areas were better prepared for supporting management, and had better procedures to activate their response, modern public information and deeper cooperation with the private sector and the civil soc…