TY - JOUR A1 - Franzke, Jochen T1 - Rezension zu: The Routledge handbook of international local government / edited by Richard Kerley, Joyce Liddle and Pamela T. Dunning. - London: Routledge, 2018. - 528 pp. - ISBN: 978- 11-3823-472-7, ISBN: 978-1-31530-627-8 JF - Local government studies N2 - When I took up the task of writing a review of the Routledge handbook of international local government, it occurred to me, as a member of the generation of the 1950s, that I had not even considered whether such compendiums were even necessary in times of easy internet searching. This review will look at whether that is indeed the case. Social-science handbooks naturally are very broad. This also applies to the particular handbook under review. It comprises six content-thematic parts with 33 chapters by 73 authors from 21 countries, with the UK and USA dominant. The focal points, discussed in more detail below, are local elections and local governance, local governments in different jurisdictions, the challenges of local government services, citizen engagement in local affairs, and local authorities in multi-level finance systems that shape how municipal governments ‘get and spend’ public money. These are exactly the topics actually discussed in the international community of political scientists. As a preliminary, the editors work out the theoretical-methodological foundations of the topic. They define ‘the local’ as ‘geographically defined sub-national state administrative or political divisions’ (p. 3). As next steps, they analyse the difference between government and governance, and investigate whether local government is globally important and relevant. Fortunately, they conclude that this is indeed the case. Part I of the handbook illustrates ‘substantive variations’ in the local electoral systems and ‘notable divergences in the values and assumptions of local governance among democratic countries’ (p. 23). That topic is indeed central to local authorities’ legitimacy in democratic political systems. The focus of this part of the handbook is on current research and debates around local electoral systems, the challenges of local political leadership and the councillor’s role in modern local policy. Current trends at the local level are analysed from the actors’ perspectives or from an economic point of view by comparing institutionalised differences in city managers, mayors and council members across different jurisdictions. Sections that investigate traditional leadership and local government in Pacific Island countries are of particular interest to most Western readers, because in Europe and North America we know too little about such issues in that part of the world. Part II of the handbook presents current development processes and challenges in various local government systems. The chapters are territorially oriented around nation states or sub-national regions. This part of the handbook deal with local government in the Pacific Islands, Latin America, and New Zealand and in the Caribbean. However, the rationale behind country selection is not always clear; important countries like China, India and Nigeria, just to name a few, are absent. Unfortunately, there is no summary article highlighting similarities and differences, as well as the challenges in local government, relating to the countries studied in the book. The development of local services is the focus of Part III of the handbook, however, the definition of local services remains highly controversial and their scope varies widely between the countries. From the 1980s onwards, there was a long-term trend towards the marketisation and economisation of local politics, but since the turn of the millennium, there has been a counter-trend of the return of municipalities and third sector in the fields of local public services (Wollmann 2018). The book analyses the US and Georgia as case studies for development trends, finding that local government entrepreneurship remains an important factor in promoting economic development and strengthening capacities. I was pleased to see that Part IV, the next and most extensive part of the handbook, deals with citizen engagement, because the future of local self-government across the world depends not only on top down activities by local governing elites, but above all on the commitment of the inhabitants of cities and municipalities. Practices and challenges of citizen participation in local government are analysed in inspiring case studies of mid-sized cities in Russia and the United States. The contribution on urban governance of austerity in Europe is also of particular interest. The 2008 global financial crash and the subsequent severe budgetary pressure on municipalities in many countries was a key event in the history and development of local self-government, confronting municipalities with ‘the harsh realities of political economy’ (p. 293). Several articles analyse the causes of the declining confidence of the citizens in local authorities in some countries. In contrast, the open budget tool in Brazil is as a positive example of collaborative stakeholder engagement. Part V deals with multi-level governance. With the exception of Australia, it is all about Europe, especially the role of municipalities in the EU’s multilevel system. The authors conclude that ‘local authorities are essential for executing EU legislation, and this turn allows them to shape EU policies’ (p. 401). This part of the handbook includes the issue of local territorial reforms, which are central to local autonomy, combined with analyses of redesigning regional government and local-level Europeanisation. Subsequently, by comparing the local government systems of Southern Europe (France, Italy, Portugal and Spain), the authors underline convincingly the role of traditions, identity, legal frameworks and institutions in local government. Part VI of the book deals with the financial dimension of local self-government under the heading ‘Getting and spending’. This is indeed the ‘key source of dispute between local and central government’ (p. 467) and the crucial factor shaping true local autonomy. Meritoriously, this part also contains a chapter on the fight against corruption and unethical behaviour by public servants. Based on research linking corruption to transparency and accountability, two case studies describe how Tbilisi (Georgia) and Lviv (Ukraine) try to reduce corruption in government budgeting and procurement. Enhancing Value-For-Money audit in local government highlights another important side of local finance. An interesting comparison reveals significant differences in local government revenues in European Union member states between 2000 and 2014. Of course, even in a 530-page book, some important aspects remain underexposed. Above all, I would have liked more attention on some of the enormous future challenges facing democratic systems and with them local governments all over the world, such as digitisation (e.g. in smart cities), the integration of migrants or climate change. The international networking of municipalities should also be given greater prominence. To sum it up, The Routledge Handbook on International Local Government is indeed ‘ambitiously titled’ as the editors underline. Yet, despite my critical objections about its focus on current issues rather than future challenges, they largely fulfil this promise and their general approach has worked well. Across continents and political-administrative cultures, illustrated with many new research findings, they have created an outstanding publication focusing on the challenges and policy of local self-governmental authorities and other local stakeholders. There is a good chance that this handbook will belong in future to the social science standard works on local issues, and be included in academic political science teaching. May the publisher’s wish come true; that this book stimulates its readers to develop further research ideas. Finally, I come back to my initial question. ‘Old fashioned’ printed handbooks like these continue to make sense, even in modern digital times. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2020.1702771 SN - 0300-3930 SN - 1743-9388 VL - 46 IS - 1 SP - 163 EP - 165 PB - Routledge CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Block, Benjamin D. A1 - Denfeld, Blaize A. A1 - Stockwell, Jason D. A1 - Flaim, Giovanna A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Knoll, Lesley B. A1 - Maier, Dominique B. A1 - North, Rebecca L. A1 - Rautio, Milla A1 - Rusak, James A. A1 - Sadro, Steve A1 - Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A. A1 - Bramburger, Andrew J. A1 - Branstrator, Donn K. A1 - Salonen, Kalevi A1 - Hampton, Stephanie E. T1 - The unique methodological challenges of winter limnology JF - Limnology and Oceanography: Methods N2 - Winter is an important season for many limnological processes, which can range from biogeochemical transformations to ecological interactions. Interest in the structure and function of lake ecosystems under ice is on the rise. Although limnologists working at polar latitudes have a long history of winter work, the required knowledge to successfully sample under winter conditions is not widely available and relatively few limnologists receive formal training. In particular, the deployment and operation of equipment in below 0 degrees C temperatures pose considerable logistical and methodological challenges, as do the safety risks of sampling during the ice-covered period. Here, we consolidate information on winter lake sampling and describe effective methods to measure physical, chemical, and biological variables in and under ice. We describe variation in snow and ice conditions and discuss implications for sampling logistics and safety. We outline commonly encountered methodological challenges and make recommendations for best practices to maximize safety and efficiency when sampling through ice or deploying instruments in ice-covered lakes. Application of such practices over a broad range of ice-covered lakes will contribute to a better understanding of the factors that regulate lakes during winter and how winter conditions affect the subsequent ice-free period. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10295 SN - 1541-5856 VL - 17 IS - 1 SP - 42 EP - 57 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yamamichi, Masato A1 - Klauschies, Toni A1 - Miner, Brooks E. A1 - van Velzen, Ellen T1 - Modelling inducible defences in predator-prey interactions BT - assumptions and dynamical consequences of three distinct approaches JF - Ecology letters N2 - Inducible defences against predation are widespread in the natural world, allowing prey to economise on the costs of defence when predation risk varies over time or is spatially structured. Through interspecific interactions, inducible defences have major impacts on ecological dynamics, particularly predator-prey stability and phase lag. Researchers have developed multiple distinct approaches, each reflecting assumptions appropriate for particular ecological communities. Yet, the impact of inducible defences on ecological dynamics can be highly sensitive to the modelling approach used, making the choice of model a critical decision that affects interpretation of the dynamical consequences of inducible defences. Here, we review three existing approaches to modelling inducible defences: Switching Function, Fitness Gradient and Optimal Trait. We assess when and how the dynamical outcomes of these approaches differ from each other, from classic predator-prey dynamics and from commonly observed eco-evolutionary dynamics with evolving, but non-inducible, prey defences. We point out that the Switching Function models tend to stabilise population dynamics, and the Fitness Gradient models should be carefully used, as the difference with evolutionary dynamics is important. We discuss advantages of each approach for applications to ecological systems with particular features, with the goal of providing guidelines for future researchers to build on. KW - Adaptive dynamics KW - fitness gradient KW - inducible defence KW - optimal trait KW - phenotypic plasticity KW - predator-prey dynamics KW - reaction norm KW - switching function Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13183 SN - 1461-023X SN - 1461-0248 VL - 22 IS - 2 SP - 390 EP - 404 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Spahn, Frank A1 - Sachse, Manuel A1 - Seiss, Martin A1 - Hsu, Hsiang-Wen A1 - Kempf, Sascha A1 - Horanyi, Mihaly T1 - Circumplanetary Dust Populations JF - Space science reviews N2 - We summarize the current state of observations of circumplanetary dust populations, including both dilute and dense rings and tori around the giant planets, ejecta clouds engulfing airless moons, and rings around smaller planetary bodies throughout the Solar System. We also discuss the theoretical models that enable these observations to be understood in terms of the sources, sinks and transport of various dust populations. The dynamics and resulting transport of the particles can be quite complex, due to the fact that their motion is influenced by neutral and plasma drag, radiation pressure, and electromagnetic forcesall in addition to gravity. The relative importance of these forces depends on the environment, as well as the makeup and size of the particles. Possible dust sources include the generation of ejecta particles by impacts, active volcanoes and geysers, and the capture of exogenous particles. Possible dust sinks include collisions with moons, rings, or the central planet, erosion due to sublimation and sputtering, even ejection and escape from the circumplanetary environment. KW - Circumplanetary dust KW - Planetary rings and tori KW - Dust sources and sinks KW - Dust dynamics Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-018-0577-3 SN - 0038-6308 SN - 1572-9672 VL - 215 IS - 1 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Langhammer, Maria A1 - Thober, Jule A1 - Lange, Martin A1 - Frank, Karin A1 - Grimm, Volker T1 - Agricultural landscape generators for simulation models BT - a review of existing solutions and an outline of future directions JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog N2 - There is an increasing need for an assessment of the impacts of land use and land use change (LUCC). In this context, simulation models are valuable tools for investigating the impacts of stakeholder actions or policy decisions. Agricultural landscape generators (ALGs), which systematically and automatically generate realistic but simplified representations of land cover in agricultural landscapes, can provide the input for LUCC models. We reviewed existing ALGs in terms of their objectives, design and scope. We found eight ALGs that met our definition. They were based either on generic mathematical algorithms (pattern-based) or on representations of ecological or land use processes (process-based). Most ALGs integrate only a few landscape metrics, which limits the design of the landscape pattern and thus the range of applications. For example, only a few specific farming systems have been implemented. We conclude that existing ALGs contain useful approaches that can be used for specific purposes, but ideally generic modular ALGs are developed that can be used for a wide range of scenarios, regions and model types. We have compiled features of such generic ALGs and propose a possible software architecture. Considerable joint efforts are required to develop such generic ALGs, but the benefits in terms of a better understanding and development of more efficient agricultural policies would be high. KW - Agricultural landscape KW - Field pattern KW - Agricultural landscape generator KW - Landscape simulator KW - Neutral landscape model KW - Process-based model Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.12.010 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 393 SP - 135 EP - 151 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Filacchione, Gianrico A1 - Groussin, Olivier A1 - Herny, Clemence A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Mottola, Stefano A1 - Oklay, Nilda A1 - Pommerol, Antoine A1 - Wright, Ian A1 - Yoldi, Zurine A1 - Ciarniello, Mauro A1 - Moroz, Lyuba A1 - Raponi, Andrea T1 - Comet 67P/CG Nucleus Composition and Comparison to Other Comets JF - Space science reviews N2 - We review our current knowledge of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko nucleus composition as inferred from measurements made by remote sensing and in-situ instruments aboard Rosetta orbiter and Philae lander. Spectrophotometric properties (albedos, color indexes and Hapke parameters) of 67P/CG derived by Rosetta are discussed in the context of other comets previously explored by space missions. Composed of an assemblage made of ices, organic materials and minerals, cometary nuclei exhibit very dark and red surfaces which can be described by means of spectrophotometric quantities and reproduced with laboratory measurements. The presence of surface water and carbon dioxide ices was found by Rosetta to occur at localized sites where the activity driven by solar input, gaseous condensation or exposure of pristine inner layers can maintain these species on the surface. Apart from these specific areas, 67P/CG’s surface appears remarkably uniform in composition with a predominance of organic materials and minerals. The organic compounds contain abundant hydroxyl group and a refractory macromolecular material bearing aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The mineral components are compatible with a mixture of silicates and fine-grained opaques, including Fe-sulfides, like troilite and pyrrhotite, and ammoniated salts. In the vicinity of the perihelion several active phenomena, including the erosion of surface layers, the localized activity in cliffs, fractures and pits, the collapse of overhangs and walls, the transfer and redeposition of dust, cause the evolution of the different regions of the nucleus by inducing color, composition and texture changes. KW - Comets KW - Composition KW - Ices KW - Organic matter KW - Minerals Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-019-0580-3 SN - 0038-6308 SN - 1572-9672 VL - 215 IS - 19 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rawel, Harshadrai Manilal A1 - Huschek, Gerd A1 - Sagu Tchewonpi, Sorel A1 - Homann, Thomas T1 - Cocoa Bean Proteins-Characterization, Changes and Modifications due to Ripening and Post-Harvest Processing JF - Nutrients N2 - The protein fractions of cocoa have been implicated influencing both the bioactive potential and sensory properties of cocoa and cocoa products. The objective of the present review is to show the impact of different stages of cultivation and processing with regard to the changes induced in the protein fractions. Special focus has been laid on the major seed storage proteins throughout the different stages of processing. The study starts with classical introduction of the extraction and the characterization methods used, while addressing classification approaches of cocoa proteins evolved during the timeline. The changes in protein composition during ripening and maturation of cocoa seeds, together with the possible modifications during the post-harvest processing (fermentation, drying, and roasting), have been documented. Finally, the bioactive potential arising directly or indirectly from cocoa proteins has been elucidated. The state of the art suggests that exploration of other potentially bioactive components in cocoa needs to be undertaken, while considering the complexity of reaction products occurring during the roasting phase of the post-harvest processing. Finally, the utilization of partially processed cocoa beans (e.g., fermented, conciliatory thermal treatment) can be recommended, providing a large reservoir of bioactive potentials arising from the protein components that could be instrumented in functionalizing foods. KW - cocoa processing KW - cocoa proteins KW - classification KW - extraction and characterization methods KW - fermentation-related enzymes KW - bioactive peptides KW - heath potentials KW - protein-phenol interactions Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020428 SN - 2072-6643 VL - 11 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hudson, Paul A1 - Botzen, W. J. Wouter A1 - Poussin, Jennifer A1 - Aerts, Jeroen C. J. H. T1 - Impacts of flooding and flood preparedness on subjective well-being BT - a monetisation of the tangible and intangible impacts JF - Journal of Happiness Studies N2 - Flood disasters severely impact human subjective well-being (SWB). Nevertheless, few studies have examined the influence of flood events on individual well-being and how such impacts may be limited by flood protection measures. This study estimates the long term impacts on individual subjective well-being of flood experiences, individual subjective flood risk perceptions, and household flood preparedness decisions. These effects are monetised and placed in context through a comparison with impacts of other adverse events on well-being. We collected data from households in flood-prone areas in France. The results indicate that experiencing a flood has a large negative impact on subjective well-being that is incompletely attenuated over time. Moreover, individuals do not need to be directly affected by floods to suffer SWB losses since subjective well-being is lower for those who expect their flood risk to increase or who have seen a neighbour being flooded. Floodplain inhabitants who prepared for flooding by elevating their home have a higher subjective well-being. A monetisation of the aforementioned well-being impacts shows that a flood requires Euro150,000 in immediate compensation to attenuate SWB losses. The decomposition of the monetised impacts of flood experience into tangible losses and intangible effects on SWB shows that intangible effects are about twice as large as the tangible direct monetary flood losses. Investments in flood protection infrastructure may be under funded if the intangible SWB benefits of flood protection are not taken into account. KW - Flooding KW - Subjective well-being KW - Intangible losses KW - Tangible losses KW - Climate change KW - Adaptation KW - Climate change adaptation Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9916-4 SN - 1389-4978 SN - 1573-7780 VL - 20 IS - 2 SP - 665 EP - 682 PB - Springer Science CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kühne, Katharina A1 - Gianelli, Claudia T1 - Is Embodied Cognition Bilingual? BT - current evidence and perspectives of the embodied cognition approach to bilingual language processing JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Accumulating behavioral and neurophysiological evidence supports the idea of language being grounded in sensorimotor processes, with indications of a functional role of motor, sensory and emotional systems in processing both concrete and abstract linguistic concepts. However, most of the available studies focused on native language speakers (L1), with only a limited number of investigations testing embodied language processing in the case of a second language (L2). In this paper we review the available evidence on embodied effects in L2 and discuss their possible integration into existing models of linguistic processing in L1 and L2. Finally, we discuss possible avenues for future research towards an integrated model of L1 and L2 sensorimotor and emotional grounding. KW - embodied language KW - grounding KW - sensorimotor KW - native language KW - second language Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00108 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dai, Xiaolin A1 - Böker, Alexander A1 - Glebe, Ulrich T1 - Broadening the scope of sortagging JF - RSC Advances N2 - Sortases are enzymes occurring in the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria. Sortase A (SrtA), the best studied sortase class, plays a key role in anchoring surface proteins with the recognition sequence LPXTG covalently to oligoglycine units of the bacterial cell wall. This unique transpeptidase activity renders SrtA attractive for various purposes and motivated researchers to study multiple in vivo and in vitro ligations in the last decades. This ligation technique is known as sortase-mediated ligation (SML) or sortagging and developed to a frequently used method in basic research. The advantages are manifold: extremely high substrate specificity, simple access to substrates and enzyme, robust nature and easy handling of sortase A. In addition to the ligation of two proteins or peptides, early studies already included at least one artificial (peptide equipped) substrate into sortagging reactions - which demonstrates the versatility and broad applicability of SML. Thus, SML is not only a biology-related technique, but has found prominence as a major interdisciplinary research tool. In this review, we provide an overview about the use of sortase A in interdisciplinary research, mainly for protein modification, synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates and immobilization of proteins on surfaces. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra06705h SN - 2046-2069 VL - 9 IS - 9 SP - 4700 EP - 4721 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER -