A pragmatic approach to evaluate alternative indicators to GDP

The serious economic crisis broken out in 2008 highly stressed the limitations of GDP used as a well-being indicator and as a predictive tool for economy. This induced the need to identify new indicators able to link the economic prosperity of a country to aspects of sustainable development and externalities, both positive and negative, in the long run. The aim of this paper is to introduce a structured approach which supports the choice or the construction of alternative indicators to GDP. The starting point is the definition of what a well-being indicator actually should represent according to the Recommendations of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Report on the measurement of economic performance and social progress. Then the paper introduces a systematic procedure for the analysis of well-being indicators. The different phases of this procedure entail the checking of indicators technical properties and their effect on the representational efficacy. Finally, some of the most representative well-being indicators drawn from the literature are compared and a detailed application example is propose

Unpacking physically active learning in education: a movement didaktikk approach in teaching?

YesThis paper explores teachers’ educational values and how they shape their judgements about physically active learning (PAL). Twenty one teachers from four primary schools in Norway participated in focus groups. By conceptualising PAL as a didaktikk approach, the findings indicated that teachers engaged with PAL in a way that reflected their professional identity and previous experiences with the curriculum. Teachers valued PAL as a way of getting to know pupils in educational situations that were different from those when sedentary. These insights illustrate how PAL, as a didaktikk approach to teaching, can shift teachers’ perceptions of pupils’ knowledge, learning, and identity formation in ways that reflect the wider purposes of education. The paper gives support to a classroom discourse that moves beyond the traditional, sedentary one-way transfer of knowledge towards a more collaborative effort for pupils’ development.This work was supported by Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills: [Grant Number 2019-1-NO01-KA203-060324]. The authors of this manuscript were supported and funded by the European Union ERASMUS+Strategic Partnership Fund as part of the Activating Classroom Teachers (ACTivate) project

Precision charging of microparticles in plasma via the Rayleigh instability for evaporating charged liquid droplets

In this paper we describe a novel method for delivering a precise, known amount of electric charge to a micron-sized solid target. Aerosolised microparticles passed through a plasma discharge will acquire significant electric charge. The fluid stability under evaporative stress is a key aspect that is core to the research. Initially stable charged aerosols subject to evaporation (i.e. a continually changing radius) may encounter the Rayleigh stability limit. This limit arises from the electrostatic and surface tension forces and determines the maximum charge a stable droplet can retain, as a function of radius. We demonstrate that even if the droplet charge is initially much less than the Rayleigh limit, the stability limit will be encountered as the droplet evaporates. The instability emission mechanism is strongly linked to the final charge deposited on the target, providing a mechanism that can be used to ensure a predictable charge deposit on a known encapsulated microparticle

Generating Sustainable Value from Open Data in a Sharing Society

Part 1: Creating ValueInternational audienceOur societies are in the midst of a paradigm shift that transforms hierarchal markets into an open and networked economy based on digital technology and information. In that context, open data is widely presumed to have a positive effect on social, environmental and economic value; however the evidence to that effect has remained scarce. Subsequently, we address the question how the use of open data can stimulate the generation of sustainable value. We argue that open data sharing and reuse can empower new ways of generating value in the sharing society. Moreover, we propose a model that describes how different mechanisms that take part within an open system generate sustainable value. These mechanisms are enabled by a number of contextual factors that provide individuals with the motivation, opportunity and ability to generate sustainable value

The political nexus between water and economics in Brazil:A critique of recent policy reforms

The reform of water policies in Brazil has involved a combination of regulatory norms and economic-incentive instruments. Nonetheless, contrary to its formal objectives, the process has largely failed to prevent widespread environmental impacts and growing spatial and sectoral conflicts. The main reason for such failures is the perverse influence of market rationality, which is particularly evident in the reorganization of the public sector, the quantification of the monetary value of water, and the payment for environmental services

The Western Australian regional forest agreement: economic rationalism and the normalisation of political closure

This article explores the constraints imposed by economic rationalism on environmental policy-making in light of Western Australia\u27s (WA) Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) experience. Data derived from interviews with WA RFA stakeholders shed light on their perceptions of the RFA process and its outcomes. The extent to which involvement of science and the public RFA management enabled is analysed. The findings point to a pervasive constrainedness of WA\u27s RFA owing to a closing of the process by the administrative decision-making structures. A dominant economic rationality is seen to have normalised and legitimised political closure, effectively excluding rationalities dissenting from an implicit economic orthodoxy. This article argues for the explication of invisible, economic constraints affecting environmental policy and for the public-cum-political negotiation of the points of closure within political processes

Mendelian randomisation study of height and body mass index as modifiers of ovarian cancer risk in 22,588 BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Height and body mass index (BMI) are associated with higher ovarian cancer risk in the general population, but whether such associations exist among BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is unknown. METHODS: We applied a Mendelian randomisation approach to examine height/BMI with ovarian cancer risk using the Consortium of Investigators for the Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) data set, comprising 14,676 BRCA1 and 7912 BRCA2 mutation carriers, with 2923 ovarian cancer cases. We created a height genetic score (height-GS) using 586 height-associated variants and a BMI genetic score (BMI-GS) using 93 BMI-associated variants. Associations were assessed using weighted Cox models. RESULTS: Observed height was not associated with ovarian cancer risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.07 per 10-cm increase in height, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94-1.23). Height-GS showed similar results (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.85-1.23). Higher BMI was significantly associated with increased risk in premenopausal women with HR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.06-1.48) and HR = 1.59 (95% CI: 1.08-2.33) per 5-kg/m(2) increase in observed and genetically determined BMI, respectively. No association was found for postmenopausal women. Interaction between menopausal status and BMI was significant (Pinteraction < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our observation of a positive association between BMI and ovarian cancer risk in premenopausal BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is consistent with findings in the general population