The ethical dimension in the national strategy for sustainable development

Many countries have drawn up a strategy for sustainable development in the aftermath of the 1992 United National Conference on Economic and Development the governments of almost all nations committed themselves to adopt such a strategy so as to “build upon and harmonise the various sectoral, economic, social and environmental policies and plans that are operating in the country”. The basic goals of this strategy were “to ensure socially responsible economic development while protecting the resource base and the environment for the benefit of future generations. It should be developed through the widest possible participation. It should be based on a thorough assessment of the current situation and initiatives.”.peer-reviewe

The usefulness of sustainability indicators

Indicators are quantitative information which may be used to explain changes over time, or across subjects (say across countries). In the field of economics, GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of development. The attraction of such indicators is that they can be used to represent complicated phenomena in a format which permits comparison over time, or across countries. In the case of the environment, indicators can be used to assess the extent to which, for example, pollution, is increasing or decreasing over time. Very often, a number of indicators are combined together to produce a composite index.peer-reviewe

Trauma quality indicators : internationally approved core factors for trauma management quality evaluation

Introduction Quality in medical care must be measured in order to be improved. Trauma management is part of health care, and by definition, it must be checked constantly. The only way to measure quality and outcomes is to systematically accrue data and analyze them. Material and methods A systematic revision of the literature about quality indicators in trauma associated to an international consensus conference Results An internationally approved base core set of 82 trauma quality indicators was obtained: Indicators were divided into 6 fields: prevention, structure, process, outcome, post-traumatic management, and society integrational effects. Conclusion Present trauma quality indicator core set represents the result of an international effort aiming to provide a useful tool in quality evaluation and improvement. Further improvement may only be possible through international trauma registry development. This will allow for huge international data accrual permitting to evaluate results and compare outcomes.Peer reviewe

Analytical tools for environmental management : geographical information systems

The issues pertaining to environmental management can be tackled from different perspectives, ranging from policymaking, through impact assessments to decision making exercises. Each sector can be taken as a research topic in isolation, however the main fulcrum of the process revolves around the data-management processes aimed at setting-up and maintaining information resources structures. Not exclusively anchored to the environmental management disciplines, this process nonetheless finds broad scope in this field particularly due to availability of specialized tools and user-friendly environments. This paper reviews the data management process, gives an overview of the basic data definitions, looks at the tools available and delves into the spatial scenario. The main topic of discussion revolves around Geographical Information technologies and issues related therein. Data models are investigated with particular reference to the components of spatial analysis and how datasets in any sector can be analysed through a robust querying facility. The final section looks at innovations in the area and posits examples related to the final product, that of data dissemination. Case studies on urban development, coastal inundation and air quality data interpolation are reviewed.peer-reviewe

Slow Magic: Agricultural R&D a Century after Mendel

Report produced by the CGIAR Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative on trends in public and private investment in agricultural research and development and the dramatic gap between research intensities in developing and developed countries. The title refers to the dynamic of scientific progress as a slow cumulative process rather than one led by revolutionary breakthroughs. Presented at the stakeholders' meeting of the 2001 CGIAR Annual General Meeting

Cycler adequacy and prescription data in a national cohort sample: The 1997 core indicators report

Cycler adequacy and prescription data in a national cohort sample: The 1997 core indicators report.BackgroundThe Health Care Financing Administration Peritoneal Dialysis Core Indicator Project obtains data yearly in four areas of patient care: dialysis adequacy, anemia, blood pressure, and nutrition.MethodsAdequacy and dialysis prescription data were obtained using a standardized data abstraction form from a random sample of adult U.S. peritoneal dialysis patients who were alive on December 31, 1996.ResultsFor the cohort receiving cycler dialysis, 22% were unable to meet the National Kidney Foundation Dialysis Outcome Quality Initiatives (NKF-DOQI) dialysis adequacy guidelines because they did not have at least one adequacy measure during the six-month period of observation. Thirty-six percent of patients met NKF-DOQI guidelines for weekly Kt/V urea, 33% met guidelines for weekly creatinine clearance (CCr), and 24% met guidelines for both urea and creatinine clearances. The mean weekly adequacy values were 2.24 ± 0.56 for Kt/V urea and 67.5 ± 24.4 liter/1.73m2 for CCr, and the median values were 2.20 and 62.25 liter/1.73m2, respectively. The mean prescribed 24-hour volume was 12,040 ± 3255 ml, and the median prescribed volume was 11,783ml. Only 60% of patients were prescribed at least one daytime dwell. By logistic regression analysis, risk factors for an inadequate dose of dialysis included being in the highest quartile of body surface area (odds ratio = 3.3 for CCr and 3.4 for Kt/V urea) and a duration of dialysis greater than two years (odds ratio = 4.2 for CCr and 2.1 for Kt/V urea).ConclusionThere is much room for improvement in providing an adequate dose of dialysis to cycler patients. Practitioners should be more aggressive in increasing dwell volumes, adding daytime dwells, and adjusting nighttime dwell times in order to compensate for the loss of residual renal function over time. These changes can only be accomplished if practitioners measure periodically the dose of dialysis as outlined in the NKF-DOQI guidelines