One Planet Living and the legitimacy of sustainability governance: From standardised information to regenerative systems

The past two decades have witnessed an increased use of voluntary governance instruments providing guidance on sustainability strategy and/or monitoring, rewarding users with marketable public information such as certifications, ratings, and reports, to incentivise take-up. To support trustworthy information, these instruments are typically based on standardised assessment criteria. Such standardisation has been applied across increasingly complex varied contexts, such as companies, neighbourhoods, and cities. However, recent academic literature emphasises more context-sensitive and systems-based, or ‘regenerative’, approaches, giving cause for questioning the effectiveness of standardised approaches. This thesis uses the concept of ‘legitimacy’ to evaluate instruments, based on promoting effective programmes, achieving take-up and systemic effectiveness, and providing public information that is high quality rather than reflecting positively on business-as-usual practices. Existing research finds that standardised approaches have achieved take-up at the expense of programme effectiveness and informational quality. Although research calls for alternative approaches compatible with a systems-based or regenerative perspective, there remains a shortage of empirical investigations of established instruments based on this perspective. This research addresses this need by evaluating Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework, using a practice-embedded, mixed-methods methodology. The framework is found to promote effective, participatory, and generally transparent programmes. However, the flexible, bespoke approach can provide limitations in terms of structure, resource requirements, and the integration of measurement, which can affect take-up as well as programme processes and transparency. Overall, the research provides insights into the role that voluntary instruments can play in sustainability governance across complex and varied contexts. Despite their widespread usage and ability to scale, standardised approaches have major limitations in the important matter of supporting effective programmes. OPL’s regenerative approach can support programmes effectively but has limitations particularly in relation to take-up, partly reflecting the more bespoke model, and partly reflecting the more fundamental problem of mobilising ambitious action on a voluntary basis. The question of scaling such practices remains of urgent importance

Is Twitter a Public Sphere for Online Conflicts? A Cross-Ideological and Cross-Hierarchical Look

The rise in popularity of Twitter has led to a debate on its impact on public opinions. The optimists foresee an increase in online participation and democratization due to social media's personal and interactive nature. Cyber-pessimists, on the other hand, explain how social media can lead to selective exposure and can be used as a disguise for those in power to disseminate biased information. To investigate this debate empirically, we evaluate Twitter as a public sphere using four metrics: equality, diversity, reciprocity and quality. Using these measurements, we analyze the communication patterns between individuals of different hierarchical levels and ideologies. We do this within the context of three diverse conflicts: Israel-Palestine, US Democrats-Republicans, and FC Barcelona-Real Madrid. In all cases, we collect data around a central pair of Twitter accounts representing the two main parties. Our results show in a quantitative manner that Twitter is not an ideal public sphere for democratic conversations and that hierarchical effects are part of the reason why it is not.Comment: To appear in the 6th International Conference on Social Informatics (SocInfo 2014), Barcelon

Relation between composition and vacant oxygen sites in the mixed ionicelectronic conductors La5.4W1 yMyO12 delta M Mo, Re; 0 lt; y lt; 0.2 and their mother compound La6 xWO12 delta 0.4 lt; x lt; 0.8

A detailed analysis of specimen composition, water uptake and their interrelationship in the systems La6 xWO12 amp; 948; 0.4 amp; 8804; x amp; 8804;0.8 and La6 xW1 yMyO12 amp; 948; 0 amp; 8804;y amp; 8804;0.2; M Mo, Re is presented. The three specimen series were investigated in dry and wet D2O conditions. A systematic trend in mass loss and onset temperature variation was observed in La6 xWO12 amp; 948; 0.4 amp; 8804;x amp; 8804;0.8 . Even very small amounts lt; 1 wt of secondary phases were found to notably modify the specimen s water uptake and onset temperature of mass loss. The theoretical model for vacancy concentration available was used to calculate the vacant oxygen sites starting from mass loss values determined by thermogravimetry. A discrepancy between the calculated and observed concentration of vacant oxygen sites is observed for all three systems. The effect of substitution of W by Re or Mo on the vacancy amount is explained taking into account diffraction measurements and information on the oxidation state of the substituting elements Mo and R

Yield of screening for atrial fibrillation in primary care with a hand-held, single-lead electrocardiogram device during influenza vaccination

Aims To assess the yield of screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) with a hand-held single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) device during influenza vaccination in primary care in the Netherlands. Methods and results We used the MyDiagnostick to screen for AF in persons who participated in influenza vaccination sessions of ten Dutch primary care practices. In case of suspected AF detection by the stick, the recorded 1-min ECG registrations were analysed by a cardiologist. We scrutinized electronic medical files of the general practitioners to obtain information about the cases screened. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the relation between patient characteristics and a new screen-detected diagnosis of AF. In total, 3269 persons were screened for AF during the influenza vaccination sessions of 10 general practitioner practices. As a result, 37 (1.1%) new cases of AF were detected. Prior transient ischeamic attack or stroke (OR 6.05; 95%CI 1.93-19.0), and age (OR 1.09 per year; 95% CI 1.05-1.14) were independent predictors for such newly screen-detected AF. Of the 37 screen-detected AF cases, 2.7% had a CHA2DS2-VASc of 0, 18.9% a score of 1, and 78.4% a score of 2 or more. The majority needed oral anticoagulant therapy. Conclusions Screening seems feasible with an easy to use single-lead, hand-held ECG device with automatic AF detection during influenza vaccination in primary care and results in a '1-day' yield of 1.1% new cases of AF. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT02006524

Does studying abroad help academic achievement?

Studying abroad as part of a degree has become commonplace for many students in European and other developed countries. Universities actively promote opportunities as part of internationalization strategies. Whilst research has looked into the ‘abroad’ aspect of study abroad, there is less literature on the ‘study’ aspect, and in particular, the effects that the period has on academic achievement. This article provides evidence that studying abroad has a beneficial effect on overall academic achievement. The article compares the final degree grades of students at Sheffield Law School (UK) who participated in a year studying abroad, with those who did not. Interviews with students across the period deepen the qualitative dimension to the research by exploring how students felt about their academic experience. Whilst few students opt to go abroad for the purposes of improving grades, most feel that the additional confidence and maturity, alongside deeper knowledge of their subject and a break in the pattern of their studies, contributes to their higher achievement

Internet-based psychoeducation for bipolar disorder: a qualitative analysis of feasibility, acceptability and impact

<p>Background: In a recent exploratory randomised trial we found that a novel, internet-based psychoeducation programme for bipolar disorder (Beating Bipolar) was relatively easy to deliver and had a modest effect on psychological quality of life. We sought to explore the experiences of participants with respect to feasibility, acceptability and impact of Beating Bipolar.</p> <p>Methods: Participants were invited to take part in a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis techniques were employed; to explore and describe participants’ experiences, the data were analysed for emerging themes which were identified and coded.</p> <p>Results: The programme was feasible to deliver and acceptable to participants where they felt comfortable using a computer. It was found to impact upon insight into illness, health behaviour, personal routines and positive attitudes towards medication. Many participants regarded the programme as likely to be most beneficial for those recently diagnosed.</p> <p>Conclusions: An online psychoeducation package for bipolar disorder, such as Beating Bipolar, is feasible and acceptable to patients, has a positive impact on self-management behaviours and may be particularly suited to early intervention. Alternative (non-internet) formats should also be made available to patients.</p&gt

Using observed incidence to calibrate the transmission level of a mathematical model for Plasmodium vivax dynamics including case management and importation

In this work, we present a simple and flexible model for Plasmodium vivax dynamics which can be easily combined with routinely collected data on local and imported case counts to quantify transmission intensity and simulate control strategies. This model extends the model from White et al. (2016) by including case management interventions targeting liver-stage or blood-stage parasites, as well as imported infections. The endemic steady state of the model is used to derive a relationship between the observed incidence and the transmission rate in order to calculate reproduction numbers and simulate intervention scenarios. To illustrate its potential applications, the model is used to calculate local reproduction numbers in Panama and identify areas of sustained malaria transmission that should be targeted by control interventions