International Research Center Research Articles

Reconfiguration of Agrifood Supply Chain Management in Latin America during COVID-19: A Brief Literature Review

This study aims to analyze the changes in the agrifood supply chain (AFSC) configurations in Latin America (LATAM) imposed by the markets as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper analyzes the results of mobility trends, production rates, logistics performance, and the strategies developed by managers and decision makers of the organizations of the agro-industrial sector for supply chain configurations during the early stages of the pandemic in a food-exporting region that contributes 14% of the world’s production of agricultural and fishery products. Through a literature review of reports and scientific articles on the behavior of the pandemic published by international organizations, research centers, and researchers around the AFSC in LATAM, the impacts on logistical disruptions, configuration strategies, and disruptive technologies applied in Latin American agrifood supply chains during the lockdown are identified. As a result of this reconfiguration of the AFSC, the development of short supply chains and the digitalization of supply based on electronic commerce were the most used strategies during COVID-19 in LATAM. The results of this study show that Mexico, Chile, and Brazil maintained a prominent position as leaders in the different logistics indicators for the AFSC by developing strategies that include short supply chains and the digitalization of supplies based on electronic commerce. Finally, this study also highlights the imminent need to address new research and theories on the reconfiguration of the AFSC, which allows expanding analytical capabilities in organizations to face future risks and challenges that will enable the reconfiguration of the supply chain in the face of catastrophic scenarios such as COVID-19.

A multi-site study on sex differences in cortical thickness in non-demented Parkinson’s disease

Clinical, cognitive, and atrophy characteristics depending on sex have been previously reported in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, though sex differences in cortical gray matter measures in early drug naïve patients have been described, little is known about differences in cortical thickness (CTh) as the disease advances. Our multi-site sample comprised 211 non-demented PD patients (64.45% males; mean age 65.58 ± 8.44 years old; mean disease duration 6.42 ± 5.11 years) and 86 healthy controls (50% males; mean age 65.49 ± 9.33 years old) with available T1-weighted 3 T MRI data from four international research centers. Sex differences in regional mean CTh estimations were analyzed using generalized linear models. The relation of CTh in regions showing sex differences with age, disease duration, and age of onset was examined through multiple linear regression. PD males showed thinner cortex than PD females in six frontal (bilateral caudal middle frontal, bilateral superior frontal, left precentral and right pars orbitalis), three parietal (bilateral inferior parietal and left supramarginal), and one limbic region (right posterior cingulate). In PD males, lower CTh values in nine out of ten regions were associated with longer disease duration and older age, whereas in PD females, lower CTh was associated with older age but with longer disease duration only in one region. Overall, male patients show a more widespread pattern of reduced CTh compared with female patients. Disease duration seems more relevant to explain reduced CTh in male patients, suggesting worse prognostic over time. Further studies should explore sex-specific cortical atrophy trajectories using large longitudinal multi-site data.

The search for new models for organizing regional agricultural research in the post-colonial era: Rice in West Africa

ABSTRACT The West African Rice Development Association (WARDA), created in 1971 as a regional network of rice research stations and governed by member countries, was unique within the system of international agricultural research centers that emerged in the post-colonial era. This paper reviews the actors, the actors, their motives, and the political and organizational debates involves in establishing WARDA. In particular, it traces the roles and interests of the former colonial powers, especially the French, the newly independent countries of the region, international organizations, and US foreign assistance and philanthropic agencies. Although all agreed that rice research was a priority for regional cooperation, the design of WARDA stimulated debates around centralization, governance, and funding of international research that continue until today.

The economic impact of CGIAR-related crop technologies on agricultural productivity in developing countries, 1961–2020

The international agricultural research centers that comprise the CGIAR got their start in the 1960s. They soon made major contributions to crop improvement in developing countries, particular in rice and wheat in Asia. Today, farmers can acquire new technologies from many sources, and evidence of whether the CGIAR continues to play an important role in crop improvement has become dated. This paper brings together an expanded set of evidence on the diffusion and productivity impact of CGIAR crop research through 2020, and breaks out these impacts by crop, region, and over time. By 2016–2020, CGIAR-related crop technologies had been adopted on at least 221 million hectares across Asia, Africa and Latin America, generating economic welfare gains of $47 billion annually. In the 2010s, technology adoption and welfare impacts were increasing by about $600 million annually, almost as much as in the 1990s. In the early days of the “Green Revolution,” these welfare impacts were largely confined to rice and wheat in Asia, but in recent decades have grown to include a larger range of crops and geographies, notably cassava and maize in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although improved crop varieties have been the main technology through which CGIAR crop centers have achieved these impacts, CGIAR-related integrated pest management and natural resource management technologies have also made significant contributions to crop productivity. In addition to raising farm income, productivity gains in staple crops have lowered food prices, thereby benefitting the whole population. This is a key reason why agricultural productivity growth, and food crop productivity growth in particular, has had greater impacts on poverty reduction in low-income countries than comparable productivity growth in other sectors.

Activist Scholarship and Borderland Feminism: Resisting Coloniality in Liminal Internationalization

Abstract: Using an international research center initiative, the purpose of this article is to illustrate how activist research can be fertile ground for academic theorization and provide a framework for those interested in activist scholarship, especially for women faculty of Latin American origins in U.S. institutions. I elaborate on how activist scholarship can resist coloniality through an example of critical internationalization work in higher education using borderland feminism as a lens. In doing so, I show the interconnections between borderland feminism, coloniality, and liminal internationalization. Finally, based on this theoretical development, I applied Davis et al.´s interpretive criteria (2019) to my activist scholarship in liminal internationalization.

A future for digital public goods for monitoring SDG indicators

Digital public goods (DPGs), if implemented with effective policies, can facilitate the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there are ongoing deliberations on how to define DPGs and assure that society can extract the maximum benefit from the growing number of digital resources. The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) sees DPGs as an important mechanism to facilitate information-driven policy and decision-making processes for the SDGs. This article presents the results of a CBAS survey of 51 respondents from around the world spanning multiple scientific fields, who shared their expert opinions on DPGs and their thoughts about challenges related to their practical implementation in supporting the SDGs. Based on the survey results, the paper presents core principles in a proposed strategy, including establishment of international standards, adherence to open science and open data principles, and scalability in monitoring SDG indicators. A community-driven strategy to develop DPGs is proposed to accelerate DPG production in service of the SDGs while adhering to the core principles identified in the survey.

Introduction to Editor in Chief

Prof. Maria Daglia obtained her PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Pavia (Italy), and is currently a full professor of food chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy and visiting professor at the International Research Center for Food Nutrition and Safety, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang China.

Decolonizing Botany: Indonesia, UNESCO, and the Making of a Global Science.

Decolonization created new opportunities for international scientific research collaboration. In Indonesia this began in the late 1940s, as Indonesian scientists and officials sought to remake the formerly colonial botanical gardens in the city of Bogor into an international research center. Indonesia sponsored the Flora Malesiana project, a flora of all of island Southeast Asia. This project was formally centered in Bogor, Indonesia, with participation from tropical botanists from around the world. The international orientation of Indonesian science led to the establishment of one of UNESCO's Field Science Co-operation Offices in Jakarta, and to a period of close collaboration between Indonesian botanists and UNESCO. This paper examines the importance of UNESCO's Humid Tropics research program, which initiallyprovided further opportunities for Indonesian botanists to participate in international scientific networks. The paper concludes by showing that the Humid Tropics program led to the slow erosion of Indonesian agency and authority over tropical botany, and the assertion of Western control and management over tropical botany research.

Activist Scholarship and Borderland Feminism: Resisting Coloniality in Liminal Internationalization

Using an international research center initiative, the purpose of this article is to illustrate how activist research can be fertile ground for academic theorization and provide a framework for those interested in activist scholarship, especially for women faculty of Latin American origins in U.S. institutions. I elaborate on how activist scholarship can resist coloniality through an example of critical internationalization work in higher education using borderland feminism as a lens. In doing so, I show the interconnections between borderland feminism, coloniality, and liminal internationalization. Finally, based on this theoretical development, I applied Davis et al.´s interpretive criteria (2019) to my activist scholarship in liminal internationalization.

Catalytic Activity of LnCo0.5Ni0.5O3-Δ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd) "Positrodes" on Ceramic Protonic Electrolytes

Proton-conducting solid-oxide electrolyzers and fuel cells represent viable, intermediate-temperature green energy conversion and storage technologies. Interest in this class of materials as electrolytes stems from their high ionic conductivity and inherent advantages in the gas flow configuration over traditional solid oxide cells in which the electrolyte is an oxygen ion conductor. However, their commercial viability has been hindered, in part, by the development of corresponding single-phase electrode components with mixed proton-electron conductivity and effective catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER). This paper investigates the origin of catalytic activity in LnCo0.5Ni0.5O3-δ (Ln=La, Pr and Nd) perovskites positrodes (positive electrode) by low energy-ion scattering (LEIS) and DFT studies. LEIS results reveal that La, Pr, and Pr cations dominate the outer atomic layer, with profound implications for catalytic activity. Whereas First principle calculations were performed using the plane-wave DFT method and hybrid HSE06 functional suggest, the catalytic activity and electronic properties depend on the valence shell structure of the Ln-site cation and their redox properties.AcknowledgmentsThe authors gratefully acknowledge financial support through JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), No. 19K05672, NEDO (International collaboration work in the field of clean energy) JPNP20005, the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) sponsored by the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI),

Development, hotspots and trend directions of marine ecological compensation in China: A bibliometric-based assessment

Marine ecological compensation plays a critical role in harmonizing marine ecology protection and resource utilization, serving as the key to establishing marine ecological civilization. This study constructs a knowledge framework for China's marine ecological compensation based on current research. Utilizing the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database as the main data source and employing CiteSpace software to visualize knowledge map, it showcases the hotspots and frontiers in the field of China's marine ecological compensation research over the past two decades. In additional, the study innovatively adds international literature on this topic in the Web of Science database for comparative analysis to grasp the new trends in China's marine ecological compensation research. The results show that: China's marine ecological compensation research started later than international research, with fewer publications, and a clear policy-oriented focus in the literature output. High-frequency cited literature reflect the interdisciplinary nature of marine ecological compensation research. The research hotspots in China's marine ecological compensation primarily revolve around damage assessment, standard quantification, and regional practices. In contrast, international research centers more on aspects like "Willingness to pay", "Contingent valuation", and "Blue carbon". Since 2016, the keywords that have emerged with greater intensity in China's marine ecological compensation research include "island tourism", "ecological damage", "legal path", etc. During the precipitation period of China's marine ecological compensation research, diversified compensation standards, pre-compensation methods, island ecological compensation, and performance evaluation have emerged as research focus. During the same period, marine ecosystems with carbon sequestration potential received great attention from international literature.

Teacher Mentorship and Support in Kenya: A Desktop Review

Teacher mentorship and support programmes enable teachers to engage in ongoing professional learning and develop required competencies. This exploratory study was designed to provide baseline information on existing teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. The study sought to provide background information towards the implementation of participatory action research on the strengthening in-service teacher training (SITT) project funded by the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC). The study adopted an integrative and holistic approach that involved a review of government policy documents, circulars and reports, articles published in refereed journals and grey material to enable map existing teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. The study sought to; describe the theoretical background of teacher mentorship and to document existing in-service teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. Various in-service teacher mentorship and support programmes exist in Kenya. However, the majority of the programmes were funded and implemented by non-governmental organisations. The existing mentorship programmes were uncoordinated and lacked a follow-up mechanism, thus making them less effective.

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN LIMITING THE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON WOMEN

The impacts of hazardous events are not gender-neutral. Women are often at greater risk due to the lack of appropriate and timely information about the imminent risks as a result of the dangerous and striking spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, international organizations must address the impact of natural disasters during the pandemic. The current research aims to highlight the role of international organizations in reducing the pandemic on women, addressing the general framework of the study. Previous studies dealt with the first study (The Labor Organization: Because of the Corona pandemic, the world will lose the equivalent of 195 million full-time jobs, including 5 million in Arab countries) As for the second study (United Nations, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women), and the third study (The United Nations and the response to address the impact of the Corona virus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) on women and girls), as for the second chapter: the challenges that women face during the spread of the pandemic and the role of organizations International dealt with this chapter First: The World Health Organization and its role in supporting women in facing Covid-19 This topic also dealt with a comprehensive strategy to prevent infection Second: The International Labor Organization and its role in supporting women during the spread of Covid-19 Third: The United Nations and its role in supporting women during the pandemic Fourth: The Global Fund for Women, Fifth: The International Organization of Women for Women, Sixth: The International Agency for the Development of Women, and finally the study dealt with the most important recommendations, the most important of which are: First: Coordinated work between international organizations and governmental institutions on unifying effective efforts to serve women, especially during the pandemic Second: Focusing on serving marginalized women in areas that have witnessed a high incidence of Covid-19 and the need to work on empowering them economically, socially and healthily. This work will be coordinated with important international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization and others. Third: Concluding international agreements and treaties, in coordination and cooperation with relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Interior, Defense and Human Rights, with international organizations in order to provide full support to women survivors of violence and work on their rehabilitation. Fourth: Coordination and cooperation between international organizations and research centers affiliated with Iraqi universities, especially the Center for Women's Studies, to study the most important obstacles that hinder women's empowerment in poor areas, in which the percentage of women who lack a breadwinner, widows, and divorcees abound

An international study to explore the feasibility of collecting standardised outcome data for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: recommendations for an international clinical research registry.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a persistent pain condition with low prevalence. Multi-centre collaborative research is needed to attain sufficient sample sizes for meaningful studies. This international observational study: (1) tested the feasibility and acceptability of collecting outcome data using an agreed core measurement set (2) tested and refined an electronic data management system to collect and manage the data. Adults with CRPS, meeting the Budapest diagnostic clinical criteria, were recruited to the study from 7 international research centres. After informed consent, a questionnaire comprising the core set outcome measures was completed: on paper at baseline (T1), and at 3 or 6 months (T2) using a paper or e-version. Participants and clinicians provided feedback on the data collection process. Clinicians completed the CRPS severity score at T1 and optionally, at T2. Ethical approval was obtained at each international centre. Ninety-eight adults were recruited (female n=66; mean age 46.6 years, range 19-89), of whom 32% chose to receive the T2 questionnaire in an electronic format. Fifty-five participants completed both T1 and T2. Eighteen participants and nine clinicians provided feedback on their data collection experience. This study confirmed the questionnaire core outcome data are feasible and practicable to collect in clinical practice. The electronic data management system provided a robust means of collecting and managing the data across an international population. The findings have informed the final data collection tools and processes which will comprise the first international, clinical research registry and data bank for CRPS.

The Role of Management Science in Forming Next Era Semantics

AbstractThe author has previously in a social system theoretical perspective outlined a position for engaged scholarship in bridging the gulf between theorizing and practice. Partaking as “midwives” for shared semantics in a polycentric network was analyzed as one role for engaged scholars to assist. This paper, however, argues that for a shared semantic reservoir for “next era” leadership and management to form, one more layer of reflection is needed: how to manage “backwards” from the future. The paper also addresses geographic inclusion/exclusion, which seems to be reinforced as digitalization and abstract knowledge are gaining ground, even though bits and abstract knowledge should easily be detached from spatial limitations. Research programs targeting “grand challenges” and “grand solutions” is defined by megaprojects defined and financed by large foundations or other large-scale actors, and well-connected international research centers and research networks are needed to influence this agenda-setting. The paper argues that forming regional polycentric networks (including scientific research scholars) may to a greater extend bridge the global agendas with local and regional issues to not be excluded in a transition process.

تأثير مراكز الأبحاث في المفاوضات السياسيّة بشأن حل الصراعات والنزاعات المفاوضات الفلسطينيّة-الإسرائيليّة أنموذجًا

The study aims to shed light on the impact of research centers on political negotiations related to resolving conflicts, with a focus on their influential role in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. The study dealt with practical examples of influential roles played by international, regional, Palestinian and Israeli research centers in those negotiations, and suggested a practical vision for establishing a research center specialized in negotiation affairs, to serve the Palestinian issue and its resistance project. The study used the descriptive analytical approach. The study's results: that research centers play an important role in negotiations to resolve the conflict, and that Western and Israeli centers have a major role in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and influencing their results, and the role of Arab and Palestinian centers was characterized by weakness in playing such roles. The study recommended: The need to improve and pay attention to what the research centers produce, and to open effective channels between the Palestinian centers with each other, and with other Arab and international centers, in order to support the Palestinian issue in all international forums.

0272 BINAURAL BEATS AT SLOW FREQUENCIES LESS THAN 1 HZ MAY INDUCE SLOW-WAVE SLEEP FASTER

Abstract Introduction Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon when two sounds with a certain frequency difference are transmitted simultaneously to each ear, one perceives a beat with a frequency exactly equal to that frequency difference. Previous studies have shown that binaural beats synchronize neural oscillations and induce related brain states and behaviors. One previous study showed that listening to binaural beats at 1 Hz during naps increased the duration of slow-wave sleep. However, the effect of binaural beats in the slow frequency range (< 1 Hz) on sleep is poorly understood. Methods We hypothesized that 0.25 Hz-binaural beats could synchronize slow neural oscillations and thus enhance slow-wave sleep by shortening its latency and lengthening its duration. Twelve healthy subjects (six females, 25.3 ± 2.6 years) were included in this study. The experiment consisted of four 90-minute afternoon naps, including a sham condition (no acoustic stimulation) and three binaural-beat conditions (0 Hz, 0.25 Hz, 1 Hz) with a 250 Hz carrier tone. Participants were not informed of these conditions. Auditory stimuli were delivered through headphones and continued throughout the 90-minute nap. Results The results showed that the binaural-beat condition at 0.25 Hz had shorter latencies for both N2 and N3 than the sham stimulus condition. Conclusion This study suggests that binaural beats at slow frequencies, such as 0.25 Hz, may induce slow-wave sleep faster in healthy individuals. Support (if any) KYOCERA Corporation, Japan, AMED (Grants No. JP21zf0127005), and World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan.

0220 SLEEP DEPRIVATION ENHANCES THETA FLUCTUATIONS IN TIME PERCEPTION

Abstract Introduction Sleep deprivation can impair time perception. In a sleep-deprived state, time tends to be overestimated. In addition, sleep deprivation can affect circadian fluctuations in time perception. Time perception may also fluctuate at rhythms other than circadian rhythms, such as theta frequency. Previous studies have shown that perceived time can fluctuate at theta frequencies and that such fluctuations are a function of the cue-to-target interval for the response. However, whether sleep deprivation affects theta fluctuations in time perception is unknown. Methods In this study, we compared a sleep deprivation condition with a normal sleep condition that served as an experimental control. In both conditions, participants (N=24, 13 females, mean age 25.6±3.5 years) were asked to complete a task to generate 3 seconds of time by pressing a key before and after sleep or sleep deprivation time (23:00 to 8:00). The interval between the clue (cueing that a response signal will appear) and the response signal (requiring 3 seconds to be generated as soon as possible) was designed to range from 0.25 to 1.05 seconds in steps of 1/30th of a second. Results As a result, similar to previous studies, an overestimation of time was observed in the case of sleep deprivation. In addition, stronger fluctuations in time perception were found at low theta frequencies (4.4 to 4.8 Hz) in the case of sleep deprivation. Conclusion This study suggests that cognitive abilities such as time perception fluctuate at different rhythms, and sleep deprivation may affect these fluctuations. These fluctuations may be associated with instability of brain states and functions (e.g., attention) due to sleep deprivation. Further studies are needed to elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms. Support (if any) JSPS Foreign Researcher Scholarship, JSPS KAKENHI (Grants No. JP17K19639), AMED (Grants No. JP21zf0127005), and World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan.

Report Failure in Applied Research and Social Program Evaluation: An Invitation to Epistemic Integrity

From a critical community psychology approach, this article seeks to visibilize social interventions that exhibit failings, thus exerting epistemic violence, by critically analyzing a microfinance project executed in India by an emblematic international research center of the Global North. Through fieldwork and interviews, we identified four shortcomings of the intervention: issues affecting the participants, implementation problems, limited effects of the project, and dissatisfaction with the intervention. This case illustrates how the prioritization of research objectives to the detriment of a proper implementation of the underlying social interventions constitutes epistemic violence as well as academic and epistemic extractivism. Based on this information, we intend to advance an expanded notion of epistemic violence, going beyond data analysis and taking into account the conditions of knowledge production in applied research, exemplified by a social program evaluation and their consequences for participants. This approach allows us to visibilize the importance of report failure and propose the concept of epistemic integrity, which is aimed at generating socially relevant knowledge while democratizing said knowledge, encouraging power redistribution, and promoting social justice. Regarding applied research, we discuss specific considerations for epistemic integrity.

On the Politics of Viruses and Visibility

On the Politics of Viruses and Visibility