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

A practical review of adipocere: Key findings, case studies and operational considerations from crime scene to autopsy

After death, the body begins decomposition, a process that starts with the breakdown of organic matter and typically leads to the complete degradation of a body. Such a process is highly affected by (micro and macro) environmental factors of intrinsic and extrinsic nature. Adipocere is a substance formed from the decomposition of adipose tissue and represents a disruption to the typical decomposition process. Such disruption causes decomposition to slow or arrest completely, placing a body into a state of preservation, and causes complications in the estimation of the time since death (Post-Mortem Interval, PMI). While several studies have been performed on the nature, the formation and the degradation of adipocere, there is still no reliable model to assess the PMI of a body exhibiting it. Case studies are an important source to aid pathologists and investigators during a case. This review presents a summary and an update on the knowledge surrounding the chemistry and the factors affecting adipocere formation and degradation, the timing and the distribution of adipocere throughout a body, and the techniques used to investigate it. Furthermore, a table of the most important case studies involving adipocere since 1950, several images and descriptions of recent cases and operational considerations for the best practice at the crime scene and autopsy are presented to be used as a reference to facilitate forensic professionals in adipocere cases

Lodging: a major constraint to high yield and CCS in the wet and dry tropics

Quantifying the effects of lodging is important to determine how much effort should be devoted (e.g. by plant breeders) to reducing lodging and how that effort should be targeted. This paper reports the results from three experiments (1997-1999) where the growth patterns of lodged and non-lodged cane in both wet and dry tropical environments of Australia were measured. There were three different treatments; control (natural lodging), scaffolding (non-lodging) and late crop (ratooned in December). Prevention of lodging increased sugar yields by 15-35% at the final harvest in August/September. Compared with the scaffolding treatment and depending on the timing/nature/extent and number of lodging events, different amounts of stalk death were observed in the lodged control along with reductions in the dry weight accumulation and the sugar content of the remaining live stalks. A considerable amount of rat damage was also experienced in the wet tropics (1998-1999) as a consequence of lodging. In combination, all these factors translate to large losses in revenue and profit (18% to 43%) for growers in particular. Approaches to address lodging via an improved variety selection program and/or crop management practices are discussed

Yield accumulation in sugarcane under wet tropical conditions: effect of lodging and crop age

This study examined crop growth and yield accumulation over time of the variety Q158 under wet tropical conditions. There were three different treatments: control (natural lodging), scaffolding (non-lodging) and late crop (result of early ratooning in December). Compared with the scaffolding treatment, a slow-down in biomass accumulation was observed in the control treatment only, for a short time after lodging, which led to 16% less cane yield in the control treatment than in the scaffolding treatment at the September harvest. This was partially associated with lower dry weight of the stalks and partially with stalk death due to lodging. Sugar yields in the non-loding treatment were 18% to 22% higher than the control, depending on the time of harvest. This was mainly attributable to higher commercial cane sugar (CCS) concentrations in June and to higher cane yields (fresh or dry) in September. The growth rate of the late (younger) crop, which was influenced by lodging later in the season, was similar to that of the non-lodged cane crops. Cane biomass production continued in all the treatments until the final harvest in September. The crops did not experience a 'plateau' in yield accumulation, as observed in some studies under tropical conditions. This was possibly due to the warmer conditions experienced and/or the smaller size of the crops (100 t/ha) and/or the response of Q158 to the lodging experienced in this study

Influence of thickness on nanomechanical behavior of Black Diamond™ low dielectric thin films for interconnect and packaging applications

10.1007/s10854-008-9610-8Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics20174-8