Fifty years of criteria development for selecting wetlands of international importance

Author(s):  
David A. Stroud ◽  
Nick C. Davidson
2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-221
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Mastnak

Abstract. Five overlapping eras or stages can be distinguished in the evolution of music therapy. The first one refers to the historical roots and ethnological sources that have influenced modern meta-theoretical perspectives and practices. The next stage marks the heterogeneous origins of modern music therapy in the 20th century that mirror psychological positions and novel clinical ideas about the healing power of music. The subsequent heyday of music therapeutic models and schools of thought yielded an enormous variety of concepts and methods such as Nordoff–Robbins music therapy, Orff music therapy, analytic music therapy, regulatory music therapy, guided imagery and music, sound work, etc. As music therapy gained in international importance, clinical applications required research on its therapeutic efficacy. According to standards of evidence-based medicine and with regard to clearly defined diagnoses, research on music therapeutic practice was the core of the fourth stage of evolution. The current stage is characterized by the emerging epistemological dissatisfaction with the paradigmatic reductionism of evidence-based medicine and by the strong will to discover the true healing nature of music. This trend has given birth to a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary hermeneutics for novel foundations of music therapy. Epigenetics, neuroplasticity, regulatory and chronobiological sciences, quantum physical philosophies, universal harmonies, spiritual and religious views, and the cultural anthropological phenomenon of esthetics and creativity have become guiding principles. This article should not be regarded as a historical treatise but rather as an attempt to identify theoretical landmarks in the evolution of modern music therapy and to elucidate the evolution of its spirit.


Crisis ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Kelleher † ◽  
Derek Chambers ◽  
Paul Corcoran ◽  
Helen S Keeley ◽  
Eileen Williamson

The present paper examines the occurrence of matters relating to the ending of life, including active euthanasia, which is, technically speaking, illegal worldwide. Interest in this most controversial area is drawn from many varied sources, from legal and medical practitioners to religious and moral ethicists. In some countries, public interest has been mobilized into organizations that attempt to influence legislation relating to euthanasia. Despite the obvious international importance of euthanasia, very little is known about the extent of its practice, whether passive or active, voluntary or involuntary. This examination is based on questionnaires completed by 49 national representatives of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), dealing with legal and religious aspects of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, as well as suicide. A dichotomy between the law and medical practices relating to the end of life was uncovered by the results of the survey. In 12 of the 49 countries active euthanasia is said to occur while a general acceptance of passive euthanasia was reported to be widespread. Clearly, definition is crucial in making the distinction between active and passive euthanasia; otherwise, the entire concept may become distorted, and legal acceptance may become more widespread with the effect of broadening the category of individuals to whom euthanasia becomes an available option. The “slippery slope” argument is briefly considered.


Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Christoph Fischer ◽  
Dennis Krummacker ◽  
Michael Karrenbauer ◽  
Hans Dieter Schotten

The use of wireless communication systems in industrial environments is gaining international importance. The requirements, which are placed thereby on the communication systems, are manifold depending on the specific use. In the field of industrial manufacturing, however, many applications are characterized by high reliability requirements and hard real-time demands. The latter requires a time-deterministic handling of processed transmissions and therefore requires the use of Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) solutions. In this paper, we briefly describe which functionalities characterize a wireless TSN system and which approaches have already been pursued in the literature and standardization. Subsequently, we present a concept for a toolbox that allows one to combine the required functionalities into a working solution, which can be used as a guideline for software-based implementation. Additionally, since reliability of transmissions is one of the key challenges, especially in wireless communication, to achieve a performance comparable to wired systems, we provide some further design considerations to improve.


2003 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 315-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.A. Boismier ◽  
Danielle C. Schreve ◽  
Mark J. White ◽  
D.A. Robertson ◽  
A.J. Stuart ◽  
...  

In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was identified as being of national and international importance, and was subsequently excavated by the Norfolk Archaeological Unit with funding provided by English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.This report presents some of the initial results of the excavation. It sets out how the site was excavated, outlines the stratigraphic sequence for the site, and presents some provisional findings of the excavation based on the results of the assessment work carried out by project specialists and Norfolk Archaeological Unit staff.


Author(s):  
M. P. Tishakov ◽  

The relevance of the presented research is determined by insufficient knowledge from the historical and legal standpoint of conducting operational and preventive measures, such as a week (decade, month) of road safety, but at the same time their high significance and effectiveness. In this paper, on the basis of previously unknown archival documents and materials, organizational and legal measures are considered for the first in domestic practice decade of road safety in the territory of Donbass. The attention is focused on the key areas of preparation and implementation of the Decade plan by local authorities and public organizations. The nature of the preparation and implementation of the planned road safety decade plan does not lose its relevance at the present stage. Today, the road safety week has gained international importance and is being implemented with the support of the United Nations. At the regional level, as in the past, a week (decade, month) of road safety is actively being held, while the nature of the activities and their intended purpose, for the most part, have remained unchanged, but at the same time, the urgent problem is the lack of a unified procedure for carrying out these events.


1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-225
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Parr ◽  
Robert J. Haycock ◽  
Malcolm E. Smith

ABSTRACT Much of the Pembrokeshire coast and islands, together with its inshore waters, are of international importance for their breeding seabirds and wintering seaduck. Although the Sea Empress oil spill occurred before the breeding season, some 7000 oiled birds were recovered dead or alive. The impact of the oil spill on birds can be classified as follows: immediate mortality especially of more than 4500 wintering common scoter in Carmarthen Bay; sublethal effects on productivity of colonies and reduced adult survival from oil or dispersant ingestion; and chronic effects on bird populations from long-term pollution, particularly of prey. A range of monitoring and research projects are under way to investigate the impact, but it is premature to provide many results. The oil spill probably caused significant local declines in seabird colony sizes, especially of guillemot. The impact on common scoter will prove difficult to determine because of the poor quality and high variability of preincident data. Large numbers of oiled birds, particularly common scoter, were treated and subsequently released. The successful rehabilitation of such released birds is controversial; research and review results will be reported.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-131
Author(s):  
Maciej TARKOWSKI ◽  
◽  
Marcin POŁOM ◽  
Krystian PUZDRAKIEWICZ ◽  
◽  
...  

Identification of the role of the waterbus system in the development of tourism in a large coastal city – a tourist center of international importance. Cartographic materials, qualitative and quantitative data on the waterbus system, spatial development and tourist traffic were used. Quantitative temporal and spatial analyses were conducted, including GIS analyses. Service of the tourist traffic is the dominant function of the waterbus in Gdańsk. This is determined by three categories of factors: (i) the seasonal nature of the system and a low level of integration with the public transport system; (ii) low potential demand for transport services due to the fact that most of the stops are far away from large residential or work centers; (iii) proximity of most of the city’s main tourist attractions to the stops. The obtained results are helpful in programming the development of public transport systems, especially in large tourist coastal cities. The conditions of spatial development are of key importance for shaping the dominant function of the waterbus.


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