scholarly journals What rough beast? Synthetic biology, uncertainty, and the future of biosecurity

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 2-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gautam Mukunda ◽  
Kenneth A. Oye ◽  
Scott C. Mohr
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sources Of Uncertainty ◽  
Security Applications ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Safety Features

Synthetic biology seeks to create modular biological parts that can be assembled into useful devices, allowing the modification of biological systems with greater reliability, at lower cost, with greater speed, and by a larger pool of people than has been the case with traditional genetic engineering. We assess the offensive and defensive security implications of synthetic biology based on the insights of leading synthetic biologists into how the technology may develop, the projections of practicing biosecurity authorities on changes in the security context and potential security applications of synthetic biology, and joint appraisals of policy relevant sources of uncertainty. Synthetic biology appears to have minimal security implications in the near term, create modest offensive advantages in the medium term, and strengthen defensive capabilities against natural and engineered biological threats and enable novel potential offensive uses in the long term. To maximize defensive and minimize offensive effects of synthetic biology despite uncertainty, this essay suggests a combination of policy approaches, including community-based efforts, regulation and surveillance, further research, and the deliberate design of security and safety features into the technology.

scholarly journals Medium-Term Artificial Intelligence and Society

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth D. Baum
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
National Security ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Security Communities ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Governance Institutions

There has been extensive attention to near-term and long-term AI technology and its accompanying societal issues, but the medium-term has gone largely overlooked. This paper develops the concept of medium-term AI, evaluates its importance, and analyzes some medium-term societal issues. Medium-term AI can be important in its own right and as a topic that can bridge the sometimes acrimonious divide between those who favor attention to near-term AI and those who prefer the long-term. The paper proposes the medium-term AI hypothesis: the medium-term is important from the perspectives of those who favor attention to near-term AI as well as those who favor attention to long-term AI. The paper analyzes medium-term AI in terms of governance institutions, collective action, corporate AI development, and military/national security communities. Across portions of these four areas, some support for the medium-term AI hypothesis is found, though in some cases the matter is unclear.

TRENDS AND VARIABILITIES IN ANNUAL PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DURING 2006–2100 IN THE WEYB RIVER BASIN, ETHIOPIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950004
Author(s):  
ABDULKERIM BEDEWI SERUR
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variations ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Earth System Models

This study investigates on variabilities in annual precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature within the Weyb River basin during 2006–2100 under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6/4.5/8.5 scenarios based on predictions of three Earth System Models (GFDL-ESM2M, CanESM2, and GFDL-ESM2G). Our results showed that precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature would rise in the near term (2011–2040), the medium term (2041–2070), and the long term (2071–2100) as compared to the baseline scenario (1981–2005). The larger increments are predicted by GFDL-ESM2M than those by GFDL-ESM2G and CanESM2 in all three time periods. The variabilities of precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature are predicted to be higher under RCP8.5 scenario than those under RCP4.5 or RCP2.6 scenario in simulations of all three ESMs. Results also revealed that there would be significant spatiotemporal variations in precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature within the Weyb River basin, which implies that the basin would possibly experience droughts or floods more frequently during the 21st century.

scholarly journals Myanmar

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (88) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Investor Sentiment ◽  
Real Estate Market ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Gross Domestic Product Growth ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Near Term ◽  
True Ability

This 2019 Article IV Consultation focuses on Myanmar’s near- and medium-term challenges and policy priorities and was prepared before COVID-19 became a global pandemic and resulted in unprecedented strains in global trade, commodity and financial markets. It, therefore, does not reflect the implications of these developments and related policy priorities. These developments have greatly amplified uncertainty and could heighten downside risks around the outlook. The IMF staff is closely monitoring the situation, including related policy responses from the authorities, and will continue to work on assessing its impact in the Myanmar economy. Although long-term prospects remain favorable, near-term growth is likely to remain below potential as the correction in real estate market and continued uncertainty weighs on investor sentiment in the runup to the 2020 elections. Starting FY2020/21, bank deleveraging will further slow credit and constrain gross domestic product growth as borrower’s true ability to repay is revealed with term loans coming due and banks restructure in earnest.

Maximizing Outcomes in Group Treatment of Aphasia: Lessons Learned From a Community-Based Center

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 100-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Group Treatment ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Group Program ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Multiple Treatment ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Communication Impairments ◽  
Treatment Settings

Given the potential of long term intervention to positively influence speech/language and psychosocial domains, a treatment protocol was developed at the Stroke Comeback Center which addresses communication impairments arising from chronic aphasia. This article presents the details of this program including the group purposes and principles, the use of technology in groups, and the applicability of a group program across multiple treatment settings.

From Volunteering to Academic Programming: A Case Example

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (17) ◽  
pp. 7-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Gill ◽  
Sneha Bharadwaj ◽  
Nancy Quick ◽  
Sarah Wainscott ◽  
Paula Chance
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Cultural Relevance ◽  
Master's Program ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Charitable Organization ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
The University

A speech-language pathology master's program that grew out of a partnership between the University of Zambia and a U.S.-based charitable organization, Connective Link Among Special needs Programs (CLASP) International, has just been completed in Zambia. The review of this program is outlined according to the suggested principles for community-based partnerships, a framework which may help evaluate cultural relevance and sustainability in long-term volunteer efforts (Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998).

Abstract #283 Diabetes Increases Short-Term but not Long-Term Risk of Fracture: A Community-Based Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Alyssa Dufour ◽  
Setareh Williams ◽  
Richard Weiss ◽  
Elizabeth Samelson
Keyword(s):  
Short Term ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Risk Of Fracture

Aspects of the Evolution of the Romanian Tourists’ Preferences Concerning the Domestic Tourist Destinations

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Aniela Bălăcescu ◽  
Radu Șerban Zaharia
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Model ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Tourism Management ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
On Line ◽  
The One ◽  
Long Term Studies

Abstract Tourist services represent a category of services in which the inseparability of production and consumption, the inability to be storable, the immateriality, and last but not least non-durability, induces in tourism management a number of peculiarities and difficulties. Under these circumstances the development of medium-term strategies involves long-term studies regarding on the one hand the developments and characteristics of the demand, and on the other hand the tourist potential analysis at regional and local level. Although in the past 20 years there has been tremendous growth of on-line booking made by household users, the tour operators agencies as well as those with sales activity continue to offer the specific services for a large number of tourists, that number, in the case of domestic tourism, increased by 1.6 times in case of the tour operators and by 4.44 times in case of the agencies with sales activity. At the same time, there have been changes in the preferences of tourists regarding their holiday destinations in Romania. Started on these considerations, paper based on a logistic model, examines the evolution of the probabilities and scores corresponding to the way the Romanian tourists spend their holidays on the types of tourism agencies, actions and tourist areas in Romania.

The foundations of peaceful coexistence after the war ... Mosul is a model

2019 ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Omar Hashim Thanon
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Peaceful Coexistence ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Mass Displacement ◽  
The Common ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Post War ◽  
Common Destiny

Since peaceful coexistence reflects in its various aspects the concept of harmony between the members of the same society with their different national, religious and sectarian affiliations, as well as their attitudes and ideas, what brings together these are the common bonds such as land, interests and common destiny. But this coexistence is exposing for crises and instability and the theft of rights and other that destroy the communities with their different religious, national, sectarian, ethnic aspects, especially if these led to a crisis of fighting or war, which produces only destruction and mass displacement, ttherefore, the process of bridging the gap between the different parts of society in the post-war phase through a set of requirements that serve as the basis for the promotion of peaceful coexistence within the same country to consolidate civil and community peace in order to create a general framework and a coherent basis to reconstruct the community again.      Hence the premise of the research by asking about the extent of the possibility and ability of the community of religious and ethnic diversity, which has been exposed to these crises, which aimed at this diversity, basically to be able to rise and re-integrate within the same country and thus achieve civil and community peace, and Mosul is an example for that, the negative effects of the war and the accomplices of many criminal acts have given rise to hatred and fear for all, leading to the loss of livelihoods, which in the long term may have devastating social and psychological consequences.        To clarify all of this, the title of the first topic was a review of the concept and origin of peaceful coexistence. While the second topic dealt with the requirements of peaceful coexistence and social integration in Mosul, the last topic has identified the most important challenges facing the processes of coexistence and integration in Mosul. All this in order to paint a better future for the conductor at all levels in the near term at the very least to achieve the values of this peaceful coexistence, especially in the post-war period.

Planning a system of permanent sample plots for integrated long-term studies of community-based forest management

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Meilby ◽  
L Puri ◽  
M Christensen ◽  
S Rayamajhi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots ◽  
Long Term Studies

To monitor the development of four community-managed forests, networks of permanent sample plots were established in 2005 at sites in Chitwan, Kaski and Mustang Districts, Nepal. This research note documents the procedures used when preparing for establishment of the plot networks, evaluates the applied stratification of the forest on the basis of data gathered in pilot surveys conducted in the early 2005, and provides a discussion on the implications of the choices made. Key words: Community-managed forests; permanent sample plots; stratification; allocation; estimates Banko Janakari Vol.16(2) 2006 pp.3-11

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