Uncertainties and opportunities in delivering environmentally sustainable surgery:the surgeons' view

Surgery is a carbon‐heavy activity and creates a high volume of waste. Surgical teams around the world want to deliver more environmentally sustainable surgery but are unsure what to do and how to create change. There are many interventions available, but resources and time are limited. Capital investment into healthcare and engagement of senior management are challenging. However, frontline teams can change behaviours and drive wider change. Patients have a voice here too, as they would like to ensure their surgery does not harm their local community but are concerned about the effects on them when changes are made. Environmentally sustainable surgery is at the start of its journey. Surgeons need to rapidly upskill their generic knowledge base, identify which measures they can implement locally and take part in national research programmes. Surgical teams in the NHS have the chance to create a world‐leading programme that can bring change to hospitals around the world. This article provides an overview of how surgeons see the surgical team being involved in environmentally sustainable surgery

The Boy Who Grew a New Brain: Understanding this Miracle from a Neuro-Quantum Perspective

In this paper, we present a case of a boy – Noah Wall, who till today surprises the world of neuroscience with his will to grow his brain and survive. The case presented in this study sets a stepping stone in understanding the advent of the will to make a choice, from a neuro-quantum mechanics interpretation. We propose that besides our internal states of choices (neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, cell differentiation, etc.) we also relate with external states of choices (love, compassion, empathy, emotions, etc.) that contributes to its emergence. Quantum uncertainty seems to support the existence of a fundamental property based on which the universe functions; which means that even the nothing of free space has a small chance of containing something. Outcomes are not determined by prior or random events but by consciousness that gives rise to these outcomes. This provides us a lead into understanding the existence of the will and the origin of choice when we look deeper into the realms of the implausible interpretations of quantum mechanics. Free will is the ability for the mind to choose between possible outcomes. Willful power is therefore not only a psychological intervention but also a biological and quantum intervention, where we have the capacity to make choices about what direction we will take, making a change to the systematic functioning of our body

Game Theory in International Climate Change Negotiations: Why does the US plan to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and what are the consequences for countries and future climate protection?

Climate change is one of the most challenging topics to the world and has been subject to international negotiations for more than 25 years, one of the main players being the USA. Game theory, on the other hand, is a popular tool from economics, frequently used to analyze strategic situations such as international negotiations. Together, the insights from these topics can help understand why the USA’s president Donald Trump has announced to quit the Paris Agreement and which consequences this might have for the US, other countries and for the future of international climate change negotiations. In order to assess the different implications, this thesis gives some theoretical background and presents game theoretic findings on climate change negotiations. It will be found that, from a game theoretic point of view, different reasons might have caused the USA to take this decision and that there is a chance that a withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement could have some effect on the future of climate protection. However, a precise assessment would require further research on the topic

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF GLOBALIZATION

The technological development is a kind of constraint and considering this fact is vital in terms of the globalization processes studied. In the past fifty years close relations have been developed between science and technology. The other driving force is the change of the relation between consumers and the industry. The accelerating technical development of the last fifty years did not refer to national boundaries. Technology, along with the scientific development that preceded it, will not remain within the national borders, but it will disseminate and will take along the cultural background needed for its usage. Economic and political globalization is based on this process. Technology-based globalization, in its wider sense, will take place anyway. Its extent and nature depend on the economic and political methods and efforts. Fighting against technical globalization is like tilting at windmills, through which you lose the chance to ensure an appropriate place for yourself in the globalizing world

The ban on reason: Gays in the military

This thesis seeks to explain how and why President Bill Clinton\u27s 1993 attempt to drop the ban on homosexuals serving in the military was vehemently opposed by key stakeholders, even though empirical evidence strongly indicates that the ban is unwarranted and conflicts with America\u27s democratic ethos; The theoretical framework for this paper is based on Roger Cobb and Charles Elder\u27s writings on the political use of symbols. By manipulating cultural symbols, such as that of the masculine warrior, opponents of policy change forced Clinton into a compromise, the unsuccessful don\u27t ask, don\u27t tell policy. In torpedoing Clinton\u27s effort, these antagonists employed the same rhetoric that conservatives used to oppose desegregating the military during World War II; Ultimately, this thesis argues that the best chance for dropping the ban involves bold and decisive executive branch leadership that must take into account anticipated problem areas of implementation

Dropping out and diving in-An ethnography of skydiving

This thesis provides an in-depth study of the world of skydiving. Particular attention is given to the experiences of becoming and being a skydiver in order to investigate the norms, values and behaviour that typify the social world of skydiving from the inside. This qualitative investigation draws on data generated by conducting fieldwork together with a number of in-depth interviews and describes the sequence of changes that typically occur in a skydiver's moral career. By focusing attention on the social and moral experiences involved in becoming a skydiver I reveal how the neophyte undergoes a gradual process of important transitions before becoming a licensed skydiver. This developmental approach identifies and analyses how individual conceptions and experiences of skydiving change as the neophyte is gradually immersed within the skydiving community. The inquiry considers the significant changes that occur in the ways that novice and experienced skydivers account for their participation before contrasting their perceptions of fear and risk. By describing the gradual process of socialisation that occurs I also examine how entering this social world offers the neophyte a chance to construct a desirable social identity. By investigating the complex stages and social procedures that take the complete neophyte to being a licensed skydiver this research looks beyond the immediacy of excitement and analyses the shifting motivations, behaviours and experiences of those within the skydiving community

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS: JURISTIC PHENOMENON AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE

The article analyzes the characteristics of bilateral economic sanctions and embargo of food. It is proved that these categories, being positive means of an economic nature to change the economic, political and social conditions that include various types of direct restriction on trade between sovereign states. It is proved that these measures are a chance for the sectors of the national economy of the Russian Federation to take a significant share of the domestic market in terms of membership in the World Trade Organization

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS: JURISTIC PHENOMENON AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE

The article analyzes the characteristics of bilateral economic sanctions and embargo of food. It is proved that these categories, being positive means of an economic nature to change the economic, political and social conditions that include various types of direct restriction on trade between sovereign states. It is proved that these measures are a chance for the sectors of the national economy of the Russian Federation to take a significant share of the domestic market in terms of membership in the World Trade Organization

Climate Change and COP26: Are Digital Technologies and Information Management Part of the Problem or the Solution? An Editorial Reflection and Call to Action

The UN COP26 2021 conference on climate change offers the chance for world leaders to take action and make urgent and meaningful commitments to reducing emissions and limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. Whilst the political aspects and subsequent ramifications of these fundamental and critical decisions cannot be underestimated, there exists a technical perspective where digital and IS technology has a role to play in the monitoring of potential solutions, but also an integral element of climate change solutions. We explore these aspects in this editorial article, offering a comprehensive opinion based insight to a multitude of diverse viewpoints that look at the many challenges through a technology lens. It is widely recognized that technology in all its forms, is an important and integral element of the solution, but industry and wider society also view technology as being part of the problem. Increasingly, researchers are referencing the importance of responsible digitalization to eliminate the significant levels of e-waste. The reality is that technology is an integral component of the global efforts to get to net zero, however, its adoption requires pragmatic tradeoffs as we transition from current behaviors to a more climate friendly society

Low-carbon energy: a roadmap

Technologies available today, and those expected to become competitive over the next decade, will permit a rapid decarbonization of the global energy economy. New renewable energy technologies, combined with a broad suite of energy-efficiency advances, will allow global energy needs to be met without fossil fuels and by adding only minimally to the cost of energy services The world is now in the early stages of an energy revolution that over the next few decades could be as momentous as the emergence of oiland electricity-based economies a century ago. Double-digit market growth, annual capital flows of more than $100 billion, sharp declines in technology costs, and rapid progress in the sophistication and effectiveness of government policies all herald a promising new energy era. Advanced automotive, electronics, and buildings systems will allow a substantial reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, at negative costs once the savings in energy bills is accounted for. The savings from these measures can effectively pay for a significant portion of the additional cost of advanced renewable energy technologies to replace fossil fuels, including wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy. Resource estimates indicate that renewable energy is more abundant than all of the fossil fuels combined, and that well before mid-century it will be possible to run most national electricity systems with minimal fossil fuels and only 10 percent of the carbon emissions they produce today. The development of smart electricity grids, the integration of plug-in electric vehicles, and the addition of limited storage capacity will allow power to be provided without the baseload plants that are the foundation of today's electricity systems. Recent climate simulations conclude that CO2 emissions will need to peak within the next decade and decline by at least 50 to 80 percent by 2050. This challenge will be greatly complicated by the fact that China, India, and other developing countries are now rapidly developing modern energy systems. The only chance of slowing the buildup of CO2 concentrations soon enough to avoid catastrophic climate change that could take centuries to reverse is to transform the energy economies of industrial and developing countries almost simultaneously. This would have seemed nearly impossible a few years ago, but since then, the energy policies and markets of China and India have begun to change rapidly -- more rapidly than those in many industrial countries. Renewable and efficiency technologies will allow developing countries to increase their reliance on indigenous resources and reduce their dependence on expensive and unstable imported fuelsAround the world, new energy systems could become a huge engine of industrial development and job creation, opening vast new economic opportunities. Developing countries have the potential to "leapfrog" the carbon-intensive development path of the 20th century and go straight to the advanced energy systems that are possible today. Improved technology and high energy prices have created an extraordinarily favorable market for new energy systems over the past few years. But reaching a true economic tipping point will require innovative public policies and strong political leadership