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Subject of this paper is analysis of mean, absolute maximum and absolute minimum air temperatures (on a monthly and annual scale) in order to represent certain climatic characteristics of Šumadija region (Serbia). Data from 10 meteorological stations located in this region were used in the analysis for the period 1961–2010. Based on available data it is concluded that similar climate conditions are met in the whole region and the spatial variations of air temperatures are relatively small. Mean annual air temperatures varied from 11–11.6°С in most of meteorological stations. The only exception is Belgrade where slightly higher mean annual air temperature of 12.3°С was calculated, which along with micro-location influence of this station indicates the presence of urban heat island effect. In order to determine potential air temperature changes in Šumadija region, the trends of the climatic element are examined using Mann-Kendall test and Sens slope estimation. Calculated trends of mean annual air temperatures indicate increase in almost all stations and they are statistically significant on the confidence levels from 95 to 99.9%. Contrary to the trends of mean annual air temperatures, absolute maximum air temperature trends have statistically significant increase only in six stations (at four stations confidence level is 99%, and 95% at one station and 90% at another one). Other four stations do not have statistically significant trends of absolute maximum air temperatures. Absolute minimum air temperatures do not have statistically significant trends.
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The study examines the connection between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the forest fires (the annual number of fires, the annual burned area and the average burned area per fire) in France in the period 1980–2014. In order to determine the strength of the correlation connection Pearson correlation coefficient (R) was used. Monthly, seasonal and annual values of AMO were used in calculations, and one year phase shift was performed (the values for the previous year were used). In burned area the highest values of R on the monthly level were recorded for April (-0.474) and January (-0.470), and on the seasonal level for winter (-0.459) and spring (-0.447). These values are statistically significant at the level of p≤0.01. By phase shifting the highest level of correlation was obtained for the autumn (-0.489). In the average burned area per fire on a monthly level the highest value of R was for January (-0.522), and on seasonal for winter (-0.506). By phase shifting the highest value of R was obtained for autumn (-0.522). In the number of fires the highest values were recorded by phase shifting for September (-0.382) and autumn (-0.337). All R values recorded during the study had a negative sign (the correlation is antiphase). In addition, downward trends were determined for all three examined indicators of forest fires in the researched period (1980–2014). Results of the research could be used as a basis for the long-term forecast of the risk of forest fires, and the approach used in the research could be applied for the other areas of the world. However, the more detailed research of the effects of other teleconnections are necessary.
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This paper presents the results of quantitative research into the relationship between educational level and preparedness of citizens to respond to a natural disaster caused by the flood. Starting from the local communities in Serbia that are vulnerable to flooding, 19 of them were selected randomly out of 150 municipalities and 23 cities and the city of Belgrade. In survey research conducted in 2015, which included 2,500 respondents, a test strategy in households was applied with the use of a multi-stage random sample. The research results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between educational level and the following variables: preventive measures; financial funds; engaged in the field; engaged in a reception center; visiting flooded areas; heavy rains; river level rise; and the level of preparedness, supplies in the home; radio-transistor; flashlight; shovel; hack; apparatus for firefighting; supplies in the car; first aid kit in the home and so on. On the other hand, there is no relationship with variables: media reports, information in religious community, on television, education on radio, informal education system. The research results can be used to improve citizen preparedness to respond to disasters caused by flooding. The survey set out recommendations for increasing the level of preparedness to respond in such situations with regard to the educational level of citizens.
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Nowadays, the issue of interaction between man and nature is one of the most pressing challenges. One of the aspects of this interaction, as well as one of the prior scientific directions and use of natural resources, is natural resource management. A limited amount of many resources and the limits of environmental capacity of nature raise questions of equity to the interests of different generations, which implies the need to decide on the optimal use of natural resource potential of territories currently and in the future. The complex nature of the relationships that form the structure of resources management as a complex system, dictates the need for a comprehensive approach to its study. System analysis is this type of approach. It allows holding studies of the functions of resources management and identifying problems to its development.
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The article analyzes the situation created by the presence of asylum-seekers in Bulgaria in the context of the global refugee crisis. The first part of the article examines the global dimensions of the refugee problem – the size and dynamics of the refugee flows, the main countries of origin and recipient countries. The second part presents the situation in Bulgaria from 2011 to 2017 in terms of quantitative parameters of the refugee flow and the socio-demographic profile of the asylum seekers. The subjective perceptions and assessments of the Bulgarian population about the refugee crisis are presented. The differences in opinions and attitudes in the country as a whole and near locations of refugee camps are outlined. The third part examines the problems generated by the presence of asylum seekers in the country in terms of the objective reality and the subjective perceptions and assessments. The analysis is based on statistical data provided by SAR and the results of two empirical sociological surveys conducted in December 2017, including a nationally representative survey and a survey in two areas where refugee camps are located. Information drawn from interviews with refugees is also used.
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A salubrious habitat, a habitat allowing for a life lived with respect for its quality, is a human right. The Treaty of Maastricht has determined the Community make a commitment regarding the preservation, the protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment, as well as the protection of the citizens' health. The Treaty of Amsterdam will engage the European Union to yet a larger extent in this field, aiming at sustainable development both at the level of the Community and worldwide. However, to achieve sustainable development, certain favourable conditions are required, and the States of the world should commit themselves to defend everything that is achieved in this respect.
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This is a translation of passages from the chapter “Le savant et l’antrophos: Anthropocène ou Oliganthropocène” from Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz’s book L’Événement Anthropocène: La Terre, l’histoire et nous, Paris: Seuil, 2016., pp. 83-118 (The Shock of the Anthropocene: The Earth, History and Us in David Fernbach’s English translation). In their groundbreaking book The Shock of the Anthropocene, Bonneuil and Fressoz discuss the relationship between science as a modern institution of organising individual life in its biological and organic dimension and social life, which is subordinated to faith in technological progress and the paradigm of infinite capital accumulation. The authors propose that the anthropocene is not only the peak and negative point of the project of modernity – a different way of thinking about science and new scientistic practices will be more than utopian visions – above all, they will be ways to maintain the diversity of life and to reverse humankind’s separation from the world.
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A.S. Byatt has expressed deep misgivings regarding the role which the human species has played in mis/shaping the natural world due to the willful blindness which guides human behaviour in this respect. In fact, Byatt has focused on the destruction of the planet caused by greedy and environmentally-unaware human beings in fictional texts such as Ragnarök: The End of the Gods (2011) or “Sea Story” (2013), as well as in critical pieces such as “Thoughts on Myth” (2011). Hence, I am particularly interested in investigating how Byatt’s texts have been shaped by environmental concerns, as expressed in both her fiction and her critical work. My reading of Byatt’s ecopoetics will therefore be set within the theoretical framework of ecocriticism. Finally, I will also examine Byatt’s argument that in a way her early fictional work was “a questioning quarrel” with her former Cambridge teacher F.R. Leavis’s, whose “vision and values” she nevertheless “inherit[s] and share[s]” (Passions of the Mind, 2) in light of Leavis’s discussion of “the organic community” as proto-ecocritical writing.
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The article deals with ecological transformations in occupied and postwar Warsaw. The September campaign, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising had the greatest impact on these transformations, but bombings, fires and combat action also contributed to the degradation of the (natural) space. In just a few years, the urban tissue underwent enormous transformations. Wróbel-Bardzik defines the (post)war ruderal landscape with its two opposing phenomena of destruction and vital processes.
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The article analyses changes in land use in municipalities near the Drava river in Slovenia between 2000 and 2018. Differences in the structure of land use are analysed between municipalities of Subalpine and Subpannonian part of Podravje, as well as trends in the changes in individual land use categories. The second part of the article analyses the most common directions of land use change.
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The Drava is a 749 km long Central European river whose source is located in northeastern Italy (South Tyrol) and flows through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. In the section between Međimurje County (also known as Muraköz megye in Hungarian) and »Darva Corner« (Baranja in Croatia), the Drava forms a natural border between Croatia and Hungary. It flows into the Danube near Almás (Aljmaš) which is adjacent to Osijek, than continues its passage towards the Black Sea. The Drava runs through five countries, interlacing the Alps with the Pannonian region. It is characterized by biodiversity, retaining some special species of flora and fauna. The river is utilized by the concerned countries for economic purposes, which has resulted in 22 hydroelectric power stations along the riverbank. Throughout history, the river has often changed its bed, however the Drava has been a Hungarian-Croatian border for thousands of years. Regarding the constant importance of freshwater - which will be of even greater precedence in the future - exploitation of transboundary rivers, their possible pollution and other issues could only be resolved by mutual agreement of both parties. Therefore, the correspondence along with the delimitation of the border, cross-border cooperation, are all subjects of international law, therefore international courts are called upon to settle disputes between countries. As the number of river litigation between neighboring countries is expected to increase in international courts, this study presents international legal regulations, as well as some of the most well-known cases before international courts, including the expected tendencies in river-related legal issues.
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The review of: Jožica Čeh Steger, Ekokritika in literarne upodobitve narave, Maribor: Založba Litera, 2015., 349 str.
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Early childhood prevention programs, fueled by the idea of social investment, have been the focus of policy making for a few decades in Europe and the USA. Amongst these, the Sure Start program in Hungary has evolved into a nationwide service incorporated into the child welfare system. The program aims to combat social exclusion and compensate unequal opportunities related to socio-spatial inequalities through providing assistance, developmental intervention, and social activities to families. The article examines the socio-spatial consequences of the program by bringing together an analysis of the current regulatory and financial framework and the everyday working of several Sure Start houses in different parts of the country. The analysis relies on the findings of two post-doctoral research projects (NRDIO PD 112659 and Premium PD 3300405), combining sociological and anthropological fieldwork in three settlements. The study reveals that the current institutional structure is based on structural deficiencies and institutional asymmetries characterized by the disproportionate allocation of resources and obligations for Sure Start houses. This results in large differences regarding the implementation of the program in different localities, which are largely influenced by the positionality of the settlements, as well as the resources that the maintainers of the service can draw on. The article argues that in its current form the program appears to strengthen rather than alleviate socio-spatial inequalities, as it is exactly the most disadvantaged remote rural places that lack the resources that would be needed to compensate for their multiple disadvantages.
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Human, in his stay on the planet, tormented by existential anguish, goes to and forth for having food and shelter, then more food and bigger shelters, fast and then faster vehicles, good medicines and more resistant to diseases, more productive animals and plants. Man has moved beyond the natural systems that had existed in equilibrium. Aware of his power, his intelligence, human prefers to forget that the struggle for survival is a game with zero sum, one survives on the other. Economic growth has become a religion: it solves many, but not the ethical dilemmas. Dilemmas, part of them have names: Global Warming, Overpopulation, Pollution, Climate Change, Natural Resource Depletion, Loss of Biodiversity, Deforestation, Ocean Acidification, Acid Rain, Ozone Layer Depletion, Water Pollution, Urban Sprawl, Public Health, Genetic Modification of Food.
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This inductive qualitative content analysis study analyzes the themes embedded in stories about biodegradable in five online Nigeria newspapers namely the Cable, the Guardian, Leadership, Premium Times and the Punch using discourse analysis. The aim of the study was to understand and uncover the themes used by journalists when reporting about biodegradables especially in relation to its adoption as one of the solutions to the problems associated with waste management and the environment generally. Agenda setting and framing theories served as the theoretical bedrocks that grounded the study. Data was collected over a five-month period between April 1, 2019 and August 30, 3019, with the consideration of June 5 each year celebrated as World Environment Day, data from two months prior and two months after can provide context into how newspapers reported about biodegradables within the backdrop of environmental coverage. Findings produced 12 news articles which aligned with the literature about the under reportage of the environment in Nigerian newspapers. The themes uncovered were; adaptation, adverse impacts, climate change, economic, legislation, mitigation, persuasion, political and pollution themes. The prevalent themes were pollution, legislation and mitigation themes. The study recommends the need for more coverage of biodegradables bearing in mind the benefits derivable from its adoption in waste management, power generation, job creation and a sustainable development for the earth’s environment and its inhabitants.
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Discussed in the paper is the work of the Zavižan branch of the Croatian Mountaineering Society and it is based on information which was found in the Samobor Museum, where it was stored. Presented are the facts about the founding, members and activities of the branch. The dates of the branch’s meetings and the reason for the cessation of its activities are given along with the commitment of the leadership of the branch to the resolution of the problem of the maintenance of the houses on Zavižan and in the Rožanski Kukovi ridges. Sveti Juraj is located on the way to Northern Velebit and Senjsko Bilo, and therefore the establishment of the branch was significant for the hikers who visited these regions because they were able to receive information about the condition of the trails and the house on Zavižan.
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It is a widely held view among educationists that the most effective way to facilitate a holistic learning approach is to present visual, ready-to-use, practical examples. Thus, our study follows the general scope of the course “Socially responsible ecological business”, which is currently offered to master students at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU). We contend that teaching materials should be presented visually using case studies and examples. Indeed, simple guidance is one of the vital learning tools for students. Accordingly, and in line with the aims of the course, the observations and experience of differences in global culture and our inclusion of a wide range of ecological examples were central to the design of our international case study. In particular, students found the case study on ecological business both useful and applicable in the real world.
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