Public acceptability of sustainable transport measures: A review of the literature

Increasingly, the debate on transport policy involves the challenge of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable transport is derived from the general term of sustainable development. Sustainable transportation can be considered by examining the sustainability of the transport system itself, in view of its positive and negative external effects on: the environment; public health; safety and security; land use; congestion; economic growth; and social inclusion (OECD, 2000)

Paronomastic Infinitives in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic: A Typological Approach

In the present article we aim to describe the distribution and functions of preposed and postposed paronomastic infinitives in literary and spoken varieties of North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA). In the first part, the syntax and the function(s) of constructions involving a paronomastic infinitive will be described from a typological point of view. Syntactic and functional variation of NENA paronomastic infinitives largely corresponds to what is found in other Semitic languages, as well as in many languages belonging to other families. In the second part of the article we will address the rendering of Biblical Hebrew and Classical Syriac paronomastic infinitives in NENA Bible translations and offer a survey of various constructions found in spoken varieties and in the language of early Christian Neo-Aramaic poetry

Adaptation measures in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions from Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries

Due to higher risk of climate change impacts, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are identified as the two country categories in which adaptation action is most needed. To address adaptation issues, countries submitted, under the framework of the Paris Agreement, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), a vehicle to communicate adaptation actions and needs. This study performs an analysis of adaptation measures communicated through the INDCs of 74 developing countries belonging to the SIDS and LDC groups. By looking at the measures as provided in INDCs, the study makes an assessment of communicated adaptation actions and needs from recipients’ perspective. Besides categorising the types of adaptation actions and calculating total communicated costs, an in-depth analysis of information exhaustiveness in INDCs is performed, classifying the countries depending on the degree of detail in communicated information and looking at factors connected to the provision of exhaustive information. Total communicated costs amount to USD 228 billion, of which USD 141 billion are costs for specified actions and the remainder is composed of non-specified aggregates. With only 6.5 percent of specified actions being unconditional, the greatest bulk of actions are conditional on external support. Factors influencing information exhaustiveness in INDCs have been investigated through a conceptual framework that examines the willingness and the capacity to provide information. By looking at the indicators used for the analysis, preliminary results seem to indicate that countries communicating more exhaustive information are associated with higher levels of need of adaptation action, but are also associated with lower scores in terms of institutional, economic, financial, technical and human capacity. In contrast, the results do not show correlation between information exhaustiveness and political willingness to use the INDC framework.JRC.D.6-Knowledge for Sustainable Development and Food Securit

Climate Vulnerability of the Supply-Chain: Literature and Methodological review

The increasing complexity of the present economic system and the strong interdependencies existing between production activities taking place in different world areas make modern societies vulnerable to crisis. The global supply-chain is a paradigmatic example of economic structures on which the impacts of unexpected events propagate rapidly through the system. Climate change, which affects societies all over the world, is one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of the present economic networks. During the last decades a large set of studies have been oriented to investigate the direct impacts generated on specific geographical areas or productions. However, a smaller number of analyses have been oriented to quantify the cascading economic effects generated all over the world. The great complexity of the global economic system, coupled with methodological and data gaps makes it difficult to estimate the domino effects of unexpected events. A clear understanding of the possible consequences generated all over the world is, however, a fundamental step to build socio-economic resilience and to plan effective adaptation strategies. Within this context, the main objective of the present report is to provide an overview of the main studies, methodologies and databases used to investigate the climate vulnerability of the global supply chain. This information can be useful to i) support further studies, ii) to build consistent quantification methodologies, and iii) to fill the possible data gap.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

Concepts and Metrics for Climate Change Risk and Development - Towards an index for Climate Resilient Development

The threats posed by climate change are increasingly seen as a major problem for the future of nature and humanity, and significant improvements are needed to set the world on a climate change resilient path to the future. At global, regional and local level there is an increasing demand from both policy makers and the business sector for understanding relationships between the determinants of climate change risk (hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and adaptation) as well as metrics and policy options to deal with such a risk. Meeting this demand is fraught with difficulties due to the multitude of objectives/criteria to be considered as well as the interrelated nature of the determinants of climate change, which are dynamic and evolving over time. A fundamental link between development strategies, climate adaptation planning, and disaster risk reduction has been recognized, but not characterized. In this context, climate resilient development can be indicated as one of the political priorities at global level. This report reviews the main concepts and metrics used to assess and manage climate change risk within an international context, which considers climate resilient development a central issue. It analyses in depth five climate change indices aiming at measuring all or just a few components of climate change risk with a global coverage. The review highlights that there is no consensus on concepts and metrics for a climate change risk index. A joint analysis of these indices identifies a common geography of the hot spot areas for climate change risk and vulnerability. Results show a consensus on the relevance of climate change risk in developing countries. The report highlights some open questions and gaps on conceptual frameworks, metrics, and data to build an index for climate resilient development. It identifies key issues that will be addressed to build a platform towards an index for climate resilient developmentJRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

Innovation in medicine through degeneration in law? A critical perspective on the Medical Innovation Bill

The current debate surrounding the Medical Innovation Bill purports to be aimed at improving the normative framework to the extent that innovation is more likely. A closer look at the mechanisms of the proposed legislation and a more detailed assessment of the reasons given for initiating the legislative process in this instance reveal that the Bill seem to rest on a significant misunderstanding of the current law of medical negligence. This article analyses the provisions of the Bill, puts them into the wider context of medical negligence and critically reviews the utility of the proposed legislation. © The Author(s) 2014

Desenvolvimento de componentes para App Inventor e servidor para dispositivos IoT

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Sistemas de Informação.No cenário atual da sociedade, é necessário que o ensino da computação seja explorado já nos primórdios do ensino básico, tamanha sua importância. A introdução da computação utilizando dispositivos IoT torna o ensino mais lúdico e interessante para alunos da educação básica. Portanto, este trabalho tem por finalidade efetuar a pesquisa acadêmica e desenvolvimento de componentes na plataforma App Inventor, para comunicação com dispositivos IoT. No App Inventor, foi desenvolvida uma extensão que permite a comunicação com os dispositivos IoT por meio de um servidor, que recebe todas as requisições realizadas pelo App Inventor. Tal pesquisa tem por objetivo o campo educacional, ensinando a programação e suas estruturas, utilizando a programação em bloco junto a dispositivos IoT, para alunos de escolas do ensino básico. A avaliação realizada com o público-alvo, levanta indícios de que os componentes e o servidor desenvolvido são úteis para o aprendizado de computação e de princípios básicos de IoT.In the current scenario of society, it is necessary that the teaching of computing be explored already in the beginnings of basic education, for being so importat. The introduction of computing using IoT devices makes teaching more playful and interesting for students of basic education. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to perform the academic research and development of components in the App Inventor platform, for communication with IoT devices. In App Inventor, an extension was developed that allows communication with the IoT devices through a server, which receives all the requests made by App Inventor. This research aims at the educational field, teaching the programming and its structures, using block programming with IoT devices, for students of elementary schools. The evaluation conducted with the target audience raises indications that the components and the developed server are useful for learning computing and basic IoT principles

Physical, Mechanical, and Biological Properties of PMMA-Based Composite Bone Cement Containing Silver-Doped Bioactive and Antibacterial Glass Particles with Different Particles Sizes

Abstract: In the present work, antibacterial composite bone cement was designed by introducing a bioactive and antibacterial glass into a commercial formulation. The effect of glass particles’ addition on the curing parameters of the polymeric matrix was evaluated; moreover, the influence of the glass particle size on the glass dispersion, compressive and bending strength, bioactivity, and antibacterial effect was estimated. The results evidence a delay in the polymerization kinetics of the composite cement, which nevertheless complies with the requirements of the ISO standard. Morphological characterization provides evidence of good dispersion of the glass in the polymeric matrix and its exposition on the cement surface. The different glass grain sizes do not affect the composites’ bioactivity and compressive strength, while a slight reduction in bending strength was observed for samples containing glass powders with greater dimensions. The size of the glass particles also appears to have an effect on the antibacterial properties, since the composites containing larger glass particles do not produce an inhibition halo towards the S. aureus strain. The obtained results demonstrate that, by carefully tailoring the glass amount and size, a multifunctional device for artificial joint fixing, temporary prostheses, or spinal surgery can be obtained