A fig tree in a concrete jungle: fine-scale population genetic structure of the cluster fig Ficus racemosa in an urban environment

Urban Ecosystems - Urban vegetation is an essential requirement in cities for mitigating pollution, heat island effects and providing food and shelter to urban fauna. Efforts to conserve and...     

Strategic philanthropy and its challenges in India: A multiple case study of grantmaking organizations

Grantmaking organizations in the United States play an increasingly important role in philanthropic giving toward international development issues. Champions of strategic philanthropy have encouraged grantmakers to set clear goals, use evidence‐based strategies, and monitor programs. This exploratory study delves into grantmaking in one of the largest emerging economies; India. Although India is a major recipient of private philanthropy, it continues to perform below average on various socio‐economic indicators. The impact of grantmaking has been unclear. We conducted in‐depth interviews with managers and leaders (n = 9) engaged in decision‐making within U.S. based grantmaking organizations, including nonprofit intermediaries and philanthropic foundations. We examine how the concept of strategic philanthropy is operationalized by participant organizations. Although the participants acknowledge the importance of starting out with a well‐defined strategy, they also face several challenges. We identify some of these challenges, outline how they are being addressed, and discuss implications.     

Resilience and migration: Experiences of same-sex binational couples in Canada

ABSTRACT

A phenomenological research design was employed to investigate experiences of individuals in binational relationships who migrated to Canada with their partners due to discriminatory immigration laws that prevented them from remaining together legally in the United States. Participants (N = 17) were American (N = 7), British (N = 2), French (N = 2), Canadian (N = 1), Chinese (N = 1), Colombian (N = 1), Dutch (N = 1), and two with dual citizenship. This article centers on participants' experiences of resiliency throughout the migration process to Canada. Results revealed resilience in three overarching categories: building a life in Canada, re-careering in Canada, and creating social support networks. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

On the Hardness of Approximating the Min-Hack Problem

We show several hardness results for the Minimum Hacking problem, which roughly can be described as the problem of finding the best way to compromise a target node given a few initial compromised nodes in a network. We give several reductions to show that Minimum Hacking is not approximable to within where δ = 1− ^c n, for any c < 1/2. We also analyze some heuristics on this problem.