The Resource-Infrastructure-Environment Index for Measuring Progress: An Application to Australia, Mexico and the US

The resource-infrastructure-environment (RIE) index was proposed as an alternative measure of progress which was then employed to: (1) compare the aggregate (single summary) index findings between Australia (mid-industrialised nation), Mexico (emerging economy), and the US (highly industrialised nation); and (2) compare the RIE index against the gross domestic product (GDP), human development index (HDI) and genuine savings (GS) measure. This paper builds on the previous work by assessing the seven themes and 21 dimensions which comprise the RIE index for the three aforementioned nations, as well as the associated policy implications. The results identified Australia’s strength in the human resource and infrastructure themes. For Mexico, strong contributions came from the natural and generated resource themes as well as the physical environment theme, while the US performed strongly in the infrastructure themes. The comparative results of the US and Mexico illustrated that it is possible to achieve high levels of progress without an excessive reliance on high levels of production and income

The Role and Importance of Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development of the Countries

3rd International Sustainable Buildings Symposium (ISBS) -- MAR 15-17, 2017 -- U ARAB EMIRATESWOS: 000449703500005Energy, which is needed for every aspect of life, plays a key role for the development of the countries. Countries need to use energy efficiently to be advantageous in the global competition and ensure the sustainable development. Countries using the energy efficiently succeed economically and have leading the field in the competition. The purpose of this study is to put forward to the role and importance of energy efficiency for the sustainable development of the countries. In this study, energy efficiency has been examined conceptually considering the studies in the literature and the role and importance of energy efficiency has been emphasized for the sustainable development of the countries.Emirates Natl Oil Co, Al Maktoum Fdn, Gazi Univ, British Univ, Turkish Civil Engn Counci

Health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder within the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>A comprehensive revision of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is expected to be completed in 2012. This study utilizes a broad range of improved methods for assessing burden, including closer attention to empirically derived estimates of disability. The aim of this paper is to describe how GBD health states were derived for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These will be used in deriving health state-specific disability estimates. A literature review was first conducted to settle on a parsimonious set of health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A second review was conducted to investigate the proportion of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cases experiencing these health states. These were pooled using a quality-effects model to estimate the overall proportion of cases in each state. The two schizophrenia health states were acute (predominantly positive symptoms) and residual (predominantly negative symptoms). The three bipolar disorder health states were depressive, manic, and residual. Based on estimates from six studies, 63% (38%-82%) of schizophrenia cases were in an acute state and 37% (18%-62%) were in a residual state. Another six studies were identified from which 23% (10%-39%) of bipolar disorder cases were in a manic state, 27% (11%-47%) were in a depressive state, and 50% (30%-70%) were in a residual state. This literature review revealed salient gaps in the literature that need to be addressed in future research. The pooled estimates are indicative only and more data are required to generate more definitive estimates. That said, rather than deriving burden estimates that fail to capture the changes in disability within schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the derived proportions and their wide uncertainty intervals will be used in deriving disability estimates.</p

Measuring Progress: A Comparison of the GDP, HDI, GS and the RIE

Measurement, Progress, Aggregation, Weighting,