Paving the pathways towards sustainable future? A critical review of STI policy roadmaps as policy instruments enabling sustainability transitions

Roadmaps and roadmapping techniques receive increasing attention in the Science, Technology and Innovation policy community, notably for the development of strategies and policies to address societal challenges and ambitious goals such as the SDGs. STI policy roadmaps are used to evoke future visions, align actor expectations and formulate, document, plan and implement public policies for long-term, ambitious sustainability goals. As a sophisticated strategic planning process, roadmapping seems appropriate for policy support aiming to foster sustainability transitions. Nevertheless, there is little research on the role and limitations of roadmaps as a policy instrument to support innovation for sustainability transitions. This paper critically assesses selected national and international policy and sectoral roadmaps that focus on technology areas and societal challenges relevant to sustainability and energy transitions. The assessment of the objectives, design features and embeddedness of roadmaps in policy processes shows that current policy roadmaps have several shortfalls. The paper outlines knowledge gaps and research priorities to understand how such limitations might be overcome and draws tentative lessons for future applications of roadmaps as policy instruments for sustainability transitions

Mapping regional vulnerability in Europe’s energy transition: development and application of an indicator to assess declining employment in four carbon-intensive industries

Europe’s transition to an energy system compatible with limiting global heating to 1.5 °C will require radical changes in energy systems. While this will create substantial new growth industries in clean technologies, some currently important economic activities will decline. The impacts of that transition will not be the same for all regions. We map the economic vulnerability of European regions to ambitious decarbonisation scenarios in terms of employment losses in four carbon-intensive industries. To do so, we develop a composite vulnerability indicator that combines each region’s share of employment in those high-carbon industries with other dimensions of vulnerability and resilience. We then explore how regional patterns of vulnerability are influenced by the technology pathway to 2050, using four scenarios modelled using the European PRIMES model. We show that economic vulnerability to the low-carbon transition is regionally concentrated, with some regions combining high employment shares in industries expected to decline with weak adaptive capacity and high pre-existing unemployment. We also show that there is little variation in regional vulnerability arising from different transition pathways. All scenarios compatible with 1.5 °C involve large declines in all high-carbon sectors we analyse, and as a result, scenario variation does not lead to large variation in relative vulnerability of regions. The results highlight regions that may be in need of additional policy support to diversify their economies and achieve a just transition

Performance of LV vacuum contactors with condensed composite multicomponent contacts

Paper presents and discusses the investigated results of LV vacuum contactors with contacts made of selected condensed composite materials under both rated and short circuit conditions of operation.Представлено та обговорюються результати дослідження низьковольтних вакуумних контакторів із контактами, виготовленими з вибраних конденсованих композитів за умов комутаційних випробувань при експлуатації нормальних та коротких ланцюгів.Представлены и обсуждаются результаты исследования низковольтных вакуумных контакторов с контактами, изготовленными из выбранных конденсированных композитов при коммутационных испытаниях в условиях работы нормальных и коротких цепей

A family outbreak of tinea capitis due to Trichophyton violaceum in Michigan. Its control with griseofulvin

An outbreak of tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton violaceum in five siblings of a family of eight in Michigan and its control with griseofulvin are described.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43276/1/11046_2005_Article_BF02145740.pd

The Resource Nexus and Resource Efficiency: What a Nexus Perspective Adds to the Story

This chapter addresses the resource nexus, a concept that has recently become quite popular. It is often framed as a water-energy-food nexus and discussed at international organisations, within infrastructure planning units and among actors on the ground concerned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The chapter seeks to clarify a common understanding of what the concept entails and proposes an augmented five-node nexus, which includes materials and land. We define the nexus as a set of context-specific interlinkages between critical natural resources used as inputs into socio-economic systems of provision. Furthermore, we discuss how the nexus fits into the narratives of resource efficiency and eco-innovation. The chapter argues in favour of the complementary strengths of both and gives an outlook on governance options

Forearmed and Deceived: Diagnosis?

A 58-year-old male with a four-year history of noninsulin dependent diabetes presented in early January 1999 with a two-week history of progressive right fore arm swelling, pain, and limitation of wrist and elbow movement unassociated with recognized trauma. He had been febrile in the three days before the evaluation, despite having been on an anti-inflammatory medication for approximately one week. Progressive clinical worsening in association with a markedly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate prompted referral to an infectious diseases consultant regarding the possibility of osteomyelitis