A bridge between liquids and socio-economic systems: the key role of interaction strengths

One distinctive and pervasive aspect of social systems is the fact that they comprise several kinds of agents. Thus, in order to draw parallels with physical systems one is lead to consider binary (or multi-component) compounds. Recent views about the mixing of liquids in solutions gained from neutron and X-ray scattering show these systems to have a number of similarities with socio-economic systems. It appears that such phenomena as rearrangement of bonds in a solution, gas condensation, selective evaporation of molecules can be transposed in a natural way to socio-economic phenomena. These connections provide a novel perspective for looking at social systems which we illustrate through some examples. For instance, we interpret suicide as an escape phenomenon and in order to test that interpretation we consider social systems characterized by very low levels of social interaction. For those systems suicide rates are found to be 10 to 100 times higher than in the general population. Another interesting parallel concerns the phase transition which occurs when locusts gather together to form swarms which may contain several billion insects. What hinders the thorough investigation of such cases from the standpoint of collective phenomena that we advocate is the lack or inadequacy of statistical data for, up to now, they were collected for completely different purposes. Most essential for further progress are statistics which would permit to estimate the strength of social ties and interactions. Once adequate data become available, rapid advance may be expected.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

Responding to Climate Change: The Economy and Economics - Part of the Problem and Solution

The Climate Change Starter’s Guide provides an introduction and overview for education planners and practitioners on the wide range of issues relating to climate change and climate change education, including causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as some broad political and economic principles. The aim of this guide is to serve as a starting point for mainstreaming climate change education into school curricula. It has been created to enable education planners and practitioners to understand the issues at hand, to review and analyse their relevance to particular national and local contexts, and to facilitate the development of education policies, curricula, programmes and lesson plans. The guide covers four major thematic areas: 1. the science of climate change, which explains the causes and observed changes; 2. the social and human aspects of climate change including gender, health, migration, poverty and ethics; 3. policy responses to climate change including measures for mitigation and adaptation; and 4. education approaches including education for sustainable development, disaster reduction and sustainable lifestyles. A selection of key resources in the form of publication titles or websites for further reading is provided after each of the thematic sections

Sustainable Development and Integral Ecology: The Philippine Ecological Experience

Two of the most important concepts that are related to environmental care and our present ecological situation are sustainable development and integral ecology. Pope Francis in his encyclical letter Laudato Si’ focused on these concepts and stressed the need to safeguard our environment to ensure that while we meet the needs of the present generation we also do not compromise the needs of the future generation. He proposes a development that is both sustainable and integral, a development that is authentically just and for the common good. In this paper I discuss the ideals of sustainable development and integral ecology as expounded by various scholars and from both the western and oriental perspectives and as discussed in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. The last section of the paper highlights the Philippine ecological situation to serve not as an ideal but a kind of mirror as to what is happening in a developing country like the Philippines which is situated in an area where different ecological factors converge. The Philippines has always been at the center of the many ecological crises mainly because of human and natural factors. In the end, I stress that sustainable development must be premised on integral ecology and this should be the case not only in the Philippines but in the entire planet

THE MEGACRISIS UNKNOWN TERRITORY - In Search of Conceptual and Strategic Breakthroughs

The nature of major crises has dramatically evolved over the past fewyears: Megcrises become the name of the game. The goal of this contribution is to capture the evolving notion of crisis, and to prepare new references to deal with the new crisis landscapes. The first section aims at building a renewed understanding of the emerging challenges we face – a combination of rogue events made of severity, speed, ignorance, hypercomplexity, inconceivability, and liquefaction-prone contexts that no longer guarantee the “back to normalcy” comforting rule. The second develops the components of a strategic response which includes: a seminal paradigm shift; a switch from management to leadership, and from “Command and Control” to decisive empowerment; and a whole new approach in education and training.Mega-crises, Critical Thinking, Strategic Approach

Siting nuclear power plants in California: the near-term alternatives

There are many issues presently being debated concerning the generation and utilization of electric power in California. Some are peculiar to a specific area, such as the level of air quality and how it is influenced by fossil-fuel power plants. Others are of general applicability, such as high-level waste disposal from nuclear reactors, which is of global concern. It is the purpose of this study to investigate one particular aspect of the power problem. This is the question of the relative desirability of locating nuclear power plants at sites along the California coastline or at inland locations. In this introductory section, the basic problem will be outlined, including expected growth in electrical usage, and the nature of the controversy, which lies in the allocation of limited resources. In subsequent sections, the environmental impacts of coastal and inland plant siting will be discussed in general, without reference to specific locations. Conflicting demands for limited resources (namely, the coastline area and cooling water supply) will also be explored and evaluated. Finally, with the aid of this generalized information, a comparison will be made of the siting alternatives

The Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century, volume 2

These 92 papers comprise a peer-reviewed selection of presentations by authors from NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), industry, and academia at the Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. These papers go into more technical depth than did those published from the first NASA-sponsored symposium on the topic, held in 1984. Session topics included the following: (1) design and operation of transportation systems to, in orbit around, and on the Moon; (2) lunar base site selection; (3) design, architecture, construction, and operation of lunar bases and human habitats; (4) lunar-based scientific research and experimentation in astronomy, exobiology, and lunar geology; (5) recovery and use of lunar resources; (6) environmental and human factors of and life support technology for human presence on the Moon; and (7) program management of human exploration of the Moon and space

Sustainable energy: choices, problems and opportunities

About the Book: The world's dependence on fossil fuels is widely acknowledged to be a major cause of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thus there is an urgent need to develop energy sources with lower environmental impact, with attention focusing on renewable energy sources. Concise, authoritative, up-to-date and readable, this book reviews various energy technologies, as well as taking a critical look at the political, social and economic aspects. Throughout, the emphasis is on renewable energy sources (wind, wave, solar, biomass, etc), but a discussion of fossil fuels and nuclear power is also presented. This timely book, written by recognised experts, will be welcomed by those in the energy industries as well as by policy-makers, consultants and engineers. Students and lecturers will also find the material invaluable