Green economic development in Lao PDR : a Sustainability Window analysis of Green Growth Productivity and the Efficiency Gap

A novel 'Sustainability Window' (SuWi) approach is applied for simultaneous analysis of the pillars of sustainable development; social, environmental and economic, of Lao PDR. This new method employs a variety of indicators for a comprehensive and holistic analysis of sustainable development and green inclusive economy. The analysis is grounded in the assumption that economic development is required for social development, but that simultaneously development needs to be guarded or limited to protect the environment that underpins it. As all three dimensions of sustainable development are interlinked, a comprehensive analysis requires an analytical approach that is simultaneous. The analyses provide information on minimum levels of economic development that are needed to fulfil social sustainability criteria, in tandem with the maximum economic development that avoids breaching environmental sustainability criteria. If actual economic growth lies between these minima and maxima, we can interpret that development is more sustainable with respect to the relationships embodied by the selected social and environmental indicators. The main source of data is the database of the Sustainable Society Index (SSI) developed by the Sustainable Society Foundation (SSF). The indicators used by SSI have been chosen for the Sustainability Window analysis as they can be used to assess both 'weak' and 'strong' interpretations of sustainability. Weak sustainability is defined operationally as no increase in the environmental or carbon emissions intensity of the economy, while strong sustainability is defined as no increase in absolute emissions. Further, a novel Environmental Efficiency Gap analysis has been included in the Sustainability Window. This provides information about the necessary improvement in GDP production efficiency with respect to environmental emissions. Sustainability Window combined with Environmental Efficiency Gap analysis, provides critical knowledge for planners and decision makers. It provides strategic indications of how to aim for social and environmental sustainability through economic investment and growth targets. These new methods can be used in transdisciplinary research of sustainable development and can also assist in national and regional comparisons. In the case of Lao PDR, the analysis needs to be broadened for more fundamental understanding of the gaps and weaknesses. SuWi can be used to assess the sustainable development needed to address the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The SuWi does not provide direct policy recommendations as such, but helps to inform decision makers about the direction of development pathways towards these key goals. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Diagnostic Impact of Repeated Expert Review & Long‐Term Follow‐Up in Determining Etiology of Idiopathic Cardiac Arrest

Background: Recognizing the etiology of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has an enormous impact on the management of victims and their immediate families. A significant proportion of SCA survivors with a structurally normal heart are not offered a diagnosis and there is no clear consensus on the type and duration of follow‐up. We aimed to assess the utility of a multidisciplinary approach in optimizing diagnosis of cardiac arrest etiology during follow‐up. Methods and Results: We retrospectively assessed 327 consecutive SCA survivors (mean age 61.9±16.2 years, 80% men) who underwent secondary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillators between May 2015 and November 2018. The initial diagnosis was recorded at the time of admission and follow‐up diagnosis was deduced from subsequent clinic records, investigations, and outcomes of multidisciplinary team meetings. Structural heart disease accounted for 282 (86%) of SCAs. Forty‐five (14%) patients had a structurally normal heart and underwent comprehensive testing and follow‐up (mean duration 93±52 weeks). On initial evaluation, 14/45 (31%) of these received a diagnosis, rising to 29/45 (64%) with serial reviews during follow‐up. Discussion in multidisciplinary team meetings and imaging reassessment accounted for 47% of new diagnoses. No additional diagnoses were made beyond 96 weeks. Nineteen (5.8%) fatalities occurred in the entire cohort, exclusively in patients with structural heart disease. Conclusions: Systematic comprehensive testing combined with multidisciplinary expert team review of SCA survivors without structural heart disease improves the yield and time to diagnosis compared with previously published studies. This approach has positive implications in the management of SCA survivors and their families

Low noise amplication of an optically carried microwave signal: application to atom interferometry

In this paper, we report a new scheme to amplify a microwave signal carried on a laser light at $\lambda$=852nm. The amplification is done via a semiconductor tapered amplifier and this scheme is used to drive stimulated Raman transitions in an atom interferometer. Sideband generation in the amplifier, due to self-phase and amplitude modulation, is investigated and characterized. We also demonstrate that the amplifier does not induce any significant phase-noise on the beating signal. Finally, the degradation of the performances of the interferometer due to the amplification process is shown to be negligible

Personalizuoto mokymo(si) koncepcijos taikymas universitetinėse studijose: kaip tai veikia?

Personalised learning embraces the elements of mutual ownership by learners and teachers, flexible content, tools and learning environments, targeted support, and data-driven reflection and decision making. The current study utilises a mix of instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) and deductive thematic analysis (Braun, Clarke & Terry, 2015; Terry et al., 2017) methods to explore the accounts of students of two teacher education study programmes at Vilnius University. The programmes were innovated to include practices of personalised learning in line with the framework developed by partners of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project INTERPEARL (Innovative Teacher Education through Personalised Learning). The results yielded three major themes which capture the successes and setbacks the students face, namely, personalisation in vivo: facilitation of growth as a would-be teacher; personalisation not manifest: what does not work; and personalisation in the making: the dos and don’ts.Personalizuotą mokymą(si) sudaro keturi pagrindiniai principai: 1) abipusė mokytojo ir besimokančiojo atsakomybė; 2) lankstus turinys, priemonės ir mokymosi aplinka; 3) tikslingas mokymas(is); bei 4) duomenimis grindžiami sprendimai ir refleksija. Šiame tyrime taikant instrumentinės atvejo studijos (Stake, 1995) ir dedukcinės teminės analizės (Braun, Clarke & Terry, 2015; Terry ir kt., 2017) metodus buvo tiriamos dviejų Vilniaus universiteto mokytojų rengimo studijų programų studentų savistatos apie mokymo(si) personalizavimo patirtis studijų metu. Programos buvo atnaujintos įtraukiant į jas inovatyvias personalizuoto mokymo(si) praktikas pagal „Erasmus+’ strateginių partnerysčių projekto „Inovatyvus mokytojų ugdymas taikant personalizuotą mokymą(si)’ (angl. Innovative Teacher Education through Personalised Learning (INTERPEARL) partnerių sukurtas gaires. Rezultatai atskleidė tris pagrindines temas, kurios atspindi sėkmingas ir nesėkmingas studentų patirtis: personalizavimas in vivo: būsimojo mokytojo augimo skatinimas; kai personalizavimo nėra: kas neveikia; ir personalizavimo tapsmas: ką daryti, o ko ne

Nonpharmacologic Management of Orthostatic Hypotension in Older People : A Systematic Review. The SENATOR ONTOP Series

The research leading to these results was supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 305930 (SENATOR project). The sponsor did not play any role in the study design, methods, data collection and analysis, and preparation of the article.Peer reviewedPostprin

Industrial constructions of publics and public knowledge: a qualitative investigation of practice in the UK chemicals industry

This is a post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - © 2007 by SAGE PublicationsWhile the rhetoric of public engagement is increasingly commonplace within industry, there has been little research that examines how lay knowledge is conceptualized and whether it is really used within companies. Using the chemicals sector as an example, this paper explores how companies conceive of publics and "public knowledge," and how this relates to modes of engagement/communication with them. Drawing on qualitative empirical research in four companies, we demonstrate that the public for industry are primarily conceived as "consumers" and "neighbours," having concerns that should be allayed rather than as groups with knowledge meriting engagement. We conclude by highlighting the dissonance between current advocacy of engagement and the discourses and practices prevalent within industry, and highlight the need for more realistic strategies for industry/public engagement.Funding was received from the ESRC Science in Society Programme