Cla

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) is a fast-rising mantra in development practice. The USAID/Jordan Local Enterprise Support (LENS) project (2014-2019) was implemented by FHI 360, combining an emphasis on micro and small enterprises (MSEs) as drivers of economic growth with poverty reduction, a significant emphasis on the policy and regulatory environment impacting MSEs—especially home-based micro-businesses run by women— and a focus on local economic development through the lens of enterprise competitiveness. LENS aimed to build ambitious, yet grounded technical initiatives to support inclusive growth, engage in rural communities, empower women in both traditional and non- traditional sectors, engage the informal sector in the design of development strategies, and improve the regulatory climate for home-based business registration and legalization.

This report examines in detail three specific CLA “cycles”, two “major” and one “minor”, that were critical in addressing key structural and operational challenges in the first two years of the project and restructuring for success. The importance of these early corrections cannot be overstated. Like a business startup, projects can lose momentum if they fail to achieve key performance indicators (KPIs) because they lack the dynamic management or ability to pivot based on validated learning. Project success, including the ability to manage adaptively, depends significantly on choices made early in the project regarding use of evidence to support decision-making; a culture reflecting openness to ideas, emphasis on relationships and networks, and orientation towards continuous learning and improvement; and internal and external collaboration.

The future is by its very nature uncertain and unknown, and only by discussion and debate regarding how the future may develop can we adequately prepare for what may lie ahead. A collaborative scenario development process was developed with the European Construction Institute (ECI) Industry Futures Task Force. This involved investigating and debating the range of issues and factors that might impact upon the European construction industry in the next couple of decades, which resulted in the development of four future scenarios for the ...

Causal layered analysis is offered as a new futures research method. It utility is not in predicting the future but in creating transformative spaces for the creation of alternative futures. Causal layered analysis consists of four levels: the litany, social causes, discourse/worldview and myth/metaphor. The challenge is to conduct research that moves up and down these layers of analysis and thus is inclusive of different ways of knowing.

Development of sustainable water management strategies involves identifi cation of vulnerability and adaptation possibilities, followed by an effect analysis of these adaptation strategies under different possible futures. Recent scenario studies on water management were mainly ‘what-if’ assessments in one or two future situations. The future is, however, more complex and dynamic. It involves general trends and unexpected events in both the water and the social system. Moreover, the two systems interact: society responds to events and the state of the water system changes in response to management. In this paper we discuss a transdisciplinary approach. Key elements in the concept are (1) the model of pressure, state, impact and response, (2) the Perspectives method to consider uncertainties of social and natural systems and (3) the evaluation of the system using transient scenarios in which we consider time series of trends, events and interaction between the water system and society. The effect analysis is executed with an integrated assessment meta-model based on simple cause–effect relations and response curves.

Water management strategies in times of global change need to be developed within a complex and uncertain environment. Scenarios are often used to deal with uncertainty. A novel backcasting methodology has been tested in which a normative objective (e.g. adaptive water management) is backcasted within the context of exploratory scenarios that sketch four different plausible futures (Economy First, Policy Rules, Fortress Europe, and Sustainability Eventually). The main advantage of combining exploratory and normative scenarios is in the identification of robust actions: actions that are effective in the different socio-environmental contexts sketched in the exploratory scenarios. This paper has three objectives: (1) to present the methodology, focussing on its novel aspects (2) to test the methodology and evaluate its perceived success by analysing organiser and stakeholder feedback and (3) to analyse and evaluate the results, in order to study the impact of the exploratory scenarios on the backcasting results and the added value of robust actions. The methodology was successfully tested in 9 local and one regional case study in a water project water scenarios for Europe and for Neighbouring States (SCENES). Results showed that the exploratory scenarios influenced the content of the backcasts, thus making the identification of robust strategies possible. The list of robust strategies includes both technological and social/organisational strategies, highlighting the need for an integrated approach. The approach shows high potential, but as the methodology is in its infancy more research is needed, particularly in methods to facilitate and monitor information flow between exploratory scenarios and backcasts.

Most of the lamb diets are based on soybean meal as the main protein source, often imported and derived from genetically modified varieties, which is not possible to use in organic meat production.

Use of faba bean to replace soybean meal as main protein source in the diet of Fabrianese lambs was investigated. Growth performance, dressing percentage, physical and chemical characteristics of longissimus thoracis and its fatty acid composition were investigated.

Twenty-four Fabrianese entire male lambs were weaned at 59±5 days of age and were divided into two homogeneous groups (n = 12), then fed for 78 days with two different experimental diets. One group received a concentrate including 242 g/kg of faba bean (FB), the other group was fed on concentrate including 160 g/kg of soybean meal (SBM).

Carcass quality, meat chemical composition and meat tenderness were not influenced by dietary treatment. The total amount of n-3 fatty acids was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in lambs fed with FB, with a consequent more favourable n-6/n-3 ratio. Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) content was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in meat obtained from lambs fed FB diet.

FB can replace SBM in concentrate mixtures for fattening lambs without adverse effects in growth performances and in carcass quality, causing a significant improvement of meat acidic profile, particularly considering n-3 fatty acids and CLA content.

Key words: Faba beans, soybean meal, meat tenderness, fatty acids, CLA

This paper highlights the importance of Software architecture in the present IT industry scenario. It  focuses on different architectural styles and their suitability in existing projects. The paper provides an overall view of the importance of Software Architecture in the present context.The intricacies involved in the design issues are also highlighted

A complex digital circuit comprises of adder as a basic unit. The performance of the circuit depends on the design of this basic adder unit. The speed of operation of a circuit is one of the important performance criteria of many digital circuits which ultimately depends on the delay of the basic adder unit. Many research works have been devoted in improving the delay of the adder circuit. In this paper we have proposed an improved carry increment adder (CIA) that improves the delay performance of the circuit. The improvement is achieved by incorporating carry look adder (CLA) in the design of CIA contrary to the previous design of CIA that employs ripple carry adder (RCA). A simulation study is carried out for comparative analysis. The coding is done in Verilog hardware description language (HDL) and the simulation is carried out in Xilinx ISE 13.1 environment.

a b s t r a c t Urban areas are expanding at a very fast rate worldwide. The task of managing urban growth has increased in both scope and complexity and has become one of the most important challenges in the 21st century. This article aims to examine the urban development and optimize spatial patterns of future urban growth allocation based on scenarios to provide a basis for urban environmental management in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. We developed an artificial neural network based urban growth allocation model for the valley. This predictive model optimizes spatial patterns of future urban growth allocation under the three scenarios, i.e., spontaneous, environment-protecting, and resources-saving. The predicted spatial patterns mirrors where and how the urban development in the valley is likely heading by 2050 and provides a crucial information on land availability for future land development projects. The results suggest that the current urban development process is in critical stage where urban and peri-urban areas will face unprecedented stress on land resources costing river and forest ecosystems and other environmentally sensitive areas by the next decade. Rural vicinities will face regional imbalance on urban growth allocations. However, there are still possibilities to improve urban environment and manage the potential land demands in the valley by enforcing the urban growth policies strictly and altering the current growth trend as revealed in the environment-protecting and resources-saving scenarios.

The future of human life in the world&#39;s river deltas depends on the success of water management. To deal with uncertainties about the future, policymakers in the Netherlands have used scenarios to develop water management strategies for the coastal zone of the Rhine-Meuse delta. In this paper we reflect on six decades of scenario use in the Netherlands, and provide recommendations for future studies. Based on two criteria, &#39;Decision robustness&#39; and &#39;Learning success&#39;, we conclude that (1) the possibilities for robust decisionmaking increased through a paradigm shift from predicting to exploring futures, but the scenario method is not yet fully exploited for decisionmaking under uncertainty; and (2) the scenarios enabled learning about possible impacts of developments and effectiveness of policy options. New scenario approaches are emerging to deal with the deep uncertainties water managers are currently facing.

The future is by its very nature uncertain and unknown, and only by discussion and debate regarding how the future may develop can we adequately prepare for what may lie ahead. A collaborative scenario development process was developed with the European Construction Institute (ECI) Industry Futures Task Force. This involved investigating and debating the range of issues and factors that might impact upon the European construction industry in the next couple of decades, which resulted in the development of four future scenarios for the ...

Social, natural and cultural systems are changing rapidly, influencing the future of Europe's fresh waters. One of the drivers shaping this future is the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Participatory scenario development is well-suited to the challenges posed by the WFD to develop a long-term view by involving stakeholders. In this paper we analyse the process and results of a series of stakeholder workshops to develop scenarios at pan-European level. Specifically, we aim at analysing the method and results of combining a backcasting methodology and exploratory scenario development process. Four exploratory scenarios (narrative storylines) were developed, in first instance based on a set of existing European scenarios. Results matched expectations; the process produced stories that are complex, integrated, and rich in detail. During the backcasting exercise, four timelines were constructed, each of which took one exploratory scenario as context. The backcasting process established a strong link with the exploratory scenarios by identifying a large number of obstacles and opportunities in the realisation of those timelines. An analysis across all backcasts yielded a list of 15 robust elements, i.e. elements that are potentially effective in all exploratory scenarios. A stakeholder questionnaire showed that overall there was a widespread satisfaction with both the process and the results. Stakeholders were satisfied with the overall methodology and the exploratory scenarios and somewhat more critical on the backcasting exercise and resulting robust strategies. Above all, we hope to have demonstrated that it is conceptually appealing, methodologically feasible, and practically useful to combine exploratory scenario development and backcasting analysis.

This paper presents an approach to Concept Analysis of structured, multivalued and incomplete data currently present in life science knowledge bases. We are concerned with tree structured objects, whose size may be variable. We focus on the composition relations be- tween attributes in the learning process. The interest of the method is the ability to take into account both structural and value parts of the ob- jects. An application on a coral knowledge base illustrates the advantages of the method.

Within large integrative scenario studies, it is often problematic to fully link narrative storylines and quantitative models. This paper demonstrates the potential use of a highly participatory scenario development framework that involves a mix of qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative methods. The assumption is that the use of semi-quantitative methods will structure the participatory output, which provides a solid base for quantification. It should further facilitate the communication between stakeholders and modellers. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps is the main semi-quantitative method and has a central place in the proposed framework. The paper provides a detailed description of its implementation in participatory workshops, also because of a lack of documented testing of its implementation. We tested Fuzzy Cognitive Maps as part of the framework in two training sessions; both gave encouraging results. Results show that the tool provides a structured, semi-quantitative understanding of the system perceptions of a group of participants. Participants perceived the method as easy to understand and easy to use in a short period of time. This supports the hypothesis that Fuzzy Cognitive Maps can be used as part of a scenario development framework and that the new framework can help to bridge the gap between storylines and models.

Recent decades have witnessed various industry-focused government reports that have urged construction stakeholders to look further ahead by focusing on future-oriented issues such as continuous performance improvement, sustainability, training, and research and development. Evidence from a recent industry workshop of senior construction managers has shown that the majority have been involved in the formulation of long-term strategic planning and decision making, but in an informal, unstructured and ad-hoc manner using ...

This paper describes implementation of radix-4 Modified Booth Multiplier and this implementation is compared with Radix-2 Booth Multiplier. Modified Booth's algorithm employs both addition and subtraction and also treats positive and negative operands uniformly. No special actions are required for negative numbers. In this Paper, we investigate the method of implementing the Parallel MAC with the smallest possible delay. Parallel MAC is frequently used in digital signal processing and video/graphics applications. A new architecture of multiplier-and accumulator (MAC) for high speed arithmetic by combining multiplication with accumulation and devising a carry-lookahead adder (CLA), the performance is improved. Modified Booth multiplication algorithm is designed using high speed adder. High speed adder is used to speed up the operation of Multiplication. Designing of this algorithm is done by using VHDL and simulated using Xilinx ISE 9.1i software has been used and implemented on FPGA xc3s50-5pq208.

The objective of this trial was to document the total fatty acids in Murrah buffaloes milk on commercial farms in Brazil. Data from forty lactating Murrah-crossbred buffaloes were collected on five commercial farms located at Sarapui and Pilar do Sul, Sao Paulo-Brazil. A field survey was done from April to November 2002. In four farms, buffaloes were fed with wet brewers grains (primary concentrate). Only one farm (Farm 4) offered pasture and corn silage. Monthly milk samples were collected and stored at -20ºC until analyzed for fatty acid composition. The fatty acids with the highest percentage in total milk fat were C 16:0 ; C 18:1c9 ; C 18:0 and C 14:0 . The average content observed in C 16:0 varied from 25.4 to 32.5%. Farm 4 (pasture plus corn silage) showed a higher C 16:0 value (32.5%). C 18:1c9 varied from 20.6 to 25.1%, C 14:0 varied from 5.9 to 8.9 % and CLA content (C 18:2c9t11 ) varied from 1.0 to 1.8%. Farm 3 presented higher average of C 18:1c9 (25.1%) and C 18:2c9t11 (1.8%), and lower average of C 14:0 (6.0%). Likewise, unsaturated fatty acids, C 18:1c9 and C 18:2c9t11 were higher on Farm 3. Probably, these results can be due to high CLA intakes derived from wet brewers grain and pasture. Long chain fatty acids varied from 34.2% (Farm 4) to 48.8% (Farm 3). In general, diets based on pasture and corn silage increased the levels of medium chain fatty acids in Murrah buffaloes milk.

Despite the expansion of the futures field and the growing importance of professionalism, less effort has been made to establish professional standards that could provide criteria for evaluating futurists’ knowledge, abilities, skills, and competencies. The Certification of Foresight Professionals 2030 project has been initiated to identify professional futurists’ qualifications. In the first step, the experiences of leading futurists are reviewed to gain an understanding of contemporary futures and foresight education that have led to academic degrees. In the next step, best practices in futures education are established for a Delphi study, along with related projections that may be conducted by an RTD system. Then, the requirements for foresight certification are determined, and a suggested procedure for certification in this field is offered. Finally, foresight competencies are organized by career level. In this sense, foresight professionalism and career levels are analyzed and categorized specifically. This study paves the way for future efforts aimed at enhancing the professionalism and certification of foresight practitioners within the 2030 horizon.

This monograph series presents case studies of approaches to complex problems which exist in human systems throughout the globe. The first issue of the monograph illustrates an approach for creating a structured understanding of the global challenges delineated by the Millennium Project and critical problems identified in the Predicament of Mankind Proposal. It concludes with a reflection on implications for New Strategic Theory and Social Mediation - Communication Theory for democratization.

[L’innovazione in architettura e nel progetto urbano.].
Nel mondo delle scienze tecnologiche, l’idea di innovare l’architettura a partire dalla sua forme e consistenza materiale, si basa sul convincimento - di natura deterministica - che la percezione di uno stato di disagio ed inadeguatezza, rispetto a mutate condizioni ambientali, spinga le società umane a ricercare forme organizzative più soddisfacenti e idonee a garantirne il benessere. In tale visione, l’innovazione si attua in modo organizzato, secondo filiere e processi produttivi che determinano un profondo impatto culturale e strutturale nel dominio delle scienze umane e dell’architettura nella fattispecie.
Sul versante opposto, gli studiosi dell’arte sono propensi ad individuare precisi capisaldi logico-filosofici tendenti a negare il concetto di progresso nella vita delle forme rivendicandone, per l’appunto, la piena autonomia, sino al rischio dell’auto-referenzialità. Si individua, piuttosto la
tendenza alla variazione basata sulla libertà combinatoria e sulla creazione di codici regolatori interni. Loro scopo è la creazione di equilibri nelle nuove composizioni, col ricorso a figure elementari e loro riproducibilità – nel linguaggio tradizionale classico – o a tecnologie digitali, nella ricerca di inusitate sperimentazioni formali e spaziali. In ambo i casi il processo di produzione di nuove forme funzionali presuppone la circolarità di temi, col riuso di stilemi e morfemi esistenti ma diversamente combinati tra loro.
[Ipotesi di ricerca]: -- In tale quadro di riferimenti relazionali, si fonda la riflessione odierna: - individuare i meccanismi che presiedono alla formazione del concetto di innovazione, in grado di imprimere – in momenti di crisi – azioni ed assetti di significativa discontinuità rispetto agli equilibri preesistenti; - verificare se nella teoria della progettazione architettonica e urbana, l’innovazione sia o meno in grado di prefigurare vie d’uscita rispetto ad attuali situazioni – di marcata conflittualità sociale e asfissia culturale - in cui si dibattono le discipline progettuali.; - analizzare i casi in cui il ricorso a prefigurazioni spinte nel futuro prossimo e remoto - si basino su conoscenze consolidate o in via di sviluppo; - valutare se la postulazione di ordini possibili a prescindere dal dominio di conoscenze strutturate in forma logica, consenta di ottenere o meno significativi risultati in ambito progettuale;
[Tesi:] Il saggio propone - attraverso la presentazione di progetti e manifestazioni variamente collocati nell’ arco degli ultimi 100 anni - alcune tra le più originali idee che stanno alla base del concetto di innovazione in rapporto alla tradizione, ovvero, focalizzare quali siano le questioni, di natura funzionale e sostanziale, che individuano i caratteri di “progresso” nel progetto architettonico e urbano.

Ability to understand the future holds the key to sustained competitive advantage. The key question is how to embed this ability into the strategic management skill-sets of companies using appropriate tools, techniques and processes, and involving the appropriate stakeholders. Futures methodology literature suggests that scenario planning is a powerful technique for looking at the future that is rarely used in construction. An implementation framework for company scenario planning is proposed derived from relevant parts of the ...

Background: The healthy properties of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) such as weight loss, reducing cardiovascular risk factors and inflammation have been reported. The trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomer is related to increasing insulin resistance, but the effects of cis-9, trans-11 isomer is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of CLA with and without Vitamin E on body weight, body composition, glycemic index, inflammatory and coagulation factors, lipid profile, serum leptin and adiponectin, malondialdehyde (MDA), and blood pressure in type2 diabetes.

This document is the first in a series of guidance instructions given to participating college students to commence a futures studies exercise. The exercise was a requirement of my 100-level introductory course to futures studies and foresight, briefly described as follows. "EOSET-105" (Earth Observing Space Endurance Team Mission 105)  was a scenario planning exercise motivated by a fictional space mission.  Within the exercise, the crew of EOSET-105 expected to fly aboard a specially built Earth-orbiting space station for a full year as the first in a 20 year series of year-long EOSET missions. The EOSET-105 "crew members" (i.e., students) were told they had two primary objectives. First, to observe Earth's ecosystems and to recognize & report possible changes, anomalies, and new insights. Second, to conduct long duration spaceflight (LDSF) research on crew dynamics, and physical and mental health during its year on orbit.

This Minnesota animal health vision document is the culmination of more than a year of research and disciplined examination of the world that is evolving to determine how Minnesota’s industry will be impacted by these changes. It is the first paper of its kind that examines six primary bioscience-based industries individually and simultaneously, so that overlapping opportunities can be identified and leveraged. It is intended to help Minnesota decision makers in all sectors involved in the bioscience-based economy. Through the detailed Strategic Flexibility process that has been adopted, information will be made available to leadership so more clear, confident and coordinated decisions about elements of our state’s economic strategy can be made, and our communities’ participation in these industries enhanced. The process is not intended to pick "winners" or "losers" but to make investments that provide Minnesota with the strongest possible infrastructure to help our companies compete now, and in the future, in the industries of their choosing. The goal of this process is to focus on ensuring that Minnesota remains a strong global leader in the animal health industry and helps to shape the industry’s future.

In multi-organisational contexts, scenario building has been used to engage stakeholders in a critical discussion on issues of mutual importance, and to gain their support with regards to possible future responses. A review of existing literature suggests that much has been written regarding the process of scenario development and the benefits of the process, but the detailed analysis of scenario building outcomes, which encompass a large number of issues and their complex interconnections, has not been made explicit for studying and enhancing understanding of a complex societal problem. This paper presents a systematic method for analysing such complex outcomes in order to facilitate reflective thinking on important issues within the wider context for policy development. The method was employed in a series of participative scenario development workshops, which yielded several causal maps around the theme of construction industry skills. A collective map merging the individual subje...

"The purpose of this study was to identify skill needs for the emerging agrifood nanotechnology sector and to determine how agricultural education can contribute to human resource and workforce development for this sector.  As nanotechnology continues to advance in food and agriculture, there is the need for pragmatic decisions as to how to prepare the workforce. This mixed methods study incorporated disparate fields of systems and complexity theories; nanoscience and nanotechnology; science policy; agricultural education; human resource development and workforce education.  The study followed a four-step process involving different methods and approaches. The first phase involved a comprehensive systematic evidence review (SER) and analysis of the literature.  This phase of the study also helped to identify key experts and formulate questions for the in-depth and semi-structured interviews and also quantitative survey instruments. A comprehensive stakeholder analysis was done using primary data obtained from experts.

The second phase of the study used multi-criteria approaches for value elicitation (which included qualitative and quantitative data) from key stakeholders and experts to identify current and future skill needs in the agrifood nanotechnology sector. The third phase of the study included quantitative analysis, Qualitative Systems Analysis (QSA) and Strategic Flexibility Analysis (SFA) of evidence from the literature review and the multi-criteria value elicitation of experts and stakeholders. The final phase of the study created a generic systems model from the quantitative analysis, QSA and SFA to describe holistically the current and future skill needs for agrifood nanotechnology workers as well as how educational practice and policy can meet these needs.

The main conclusions from this study are that: (1) future shortages and skills gaps in agrifood nanotechnology are expected to increase but at the same time there is still quite a lot of uncertainty about future developments and impacts of nanotechnology in the agrifood sector  to accurately determine future demand and supply of agrifood nanoskilled workforce. (2) Extra demands in high qualified workers with a background in sciences and engineering (PhD, MSc) will be needed. (3) STEM education at the K-12 levels is even more important than ever and that K-12 nanotechnology programs should be a seamless part of the overall STEM initiative. And most importantly STEM education should not be devoid of employability skills. (4) In addition to various types of technical skills that come with advances in any technology, and thus nanotechnology, employability skills and competencies such as problem solving and ability to work in an interdisciplinary context are considered very important.
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Ability to understand the future holds the key to sustained competitive advantage. The key question is how to embed this ability into the strategic management skill-sets of companies using appropriate tools, techniques and processes, and involving the appropriate stakeholders. Futures methodology literature suggests that scenario planning is a powerful technique for looking at the future that is rarely used in construction. An implementation framework for company scenario planning is proposed derived from relevant parts of the literature and evolved through a series of interactions with industry. The framework emphasises that the awareness of external factors and industry scenarios, and the extent of stakeholder engagement throughout the process will determine the overall efficacy of scenario planning. Benefits will accrue from having a common understanding of alternative futures by explicitly capturing perceived future events, drivers and pathways in scenario mapping exercises. This should place companies in a better position to navigate their future and deal with potential threats and opportunities.

This paper explores how the history–futures interface can inform a set of concrete adaptation options to climate change for stakeholders in South East Queensland, Australia. It is based on research undertaken as part of the Commonwealth funded South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative (SEQ-CARI) that profiled 33 historical case studies to identify common themes in the ways societies responded to stress. The case studies are intended to provide a context for thinking about adaptive capacity with stakeholders in the ...