580 research outputs found
Value-transforming financial, carbon and biodiversity footprint accounting
Transformative changes in our production and consumption habits are needed to
enable the sustainability transition towards carbon neutrality, no net loss of
biodiversity, and planetary well-being. Organizations are the way we humans
have organized our everyday life, and much of our negative environmental
impacts, also called carbon and biodiversity footprints, are caused by
organizations. Here we show how the financial accounts of any organization can
be exploited to develop an integrated carbon and biodiversity footprint
account. As a metric we utilize spatially explicit potential global loss of
species which, we argue, can be understood as the biodiversity equivalent, the
utility of which for biodiversity is similar to what carbon dioxide equivalent
is for climate. We provide a global Biodiversity Footprint Database that
organizations, experts and researchers can use to assess consumption-based
biodiversity footprints. We also argue that the current integration of
financial and environmental accounting is superficial, and provide a framework
for a more robust financial value-transforming accounting model. To test the
methodologies, we utilized a Finnish university as a living lab. Assigning an
offsetting cost to the footprints significantly altered the financial value of
the organization. We believe such value-transforming accounting is needed in
order to draw the attention of senior executives and investors to the negative
environmental impacts of their organizations
The effect of buffer strip width and selective logging on riparian forest microclimate
Riparian forests have cool and humid microclimates, and one aim of leaving forested buffer strips between clear-cut areas and streams is to conserve these microclimatic conditions. We used an experimental study set up of 35 streamside sites to study the impacts of buffer strip width (15 or 30 m) and selective logging within the buffer strips on summer-time air temperature, relative air humidity and canopy openness 12 years after logging. The buffer strip treatments were compared to unlogged control sites. We found that 15-meter buffer strips with or without selective logging and 30-meter buffer strips with selective logging were insufficient in maintaining temperature, relative humidity and canopy openness at similar levels than they were in control sites. In contrast, 30-meter buffer strips differed only little from control sites, although they did have significantly lower mean air humidity. Microclimatic changes were increased by southern or southwestern aspect of the clear-cut, and by logging on the opposite side of the stream. We also tested how the cover of three indicator mosses (Hylocomium splendens, Pseudobqum cinclidioides and Polytrichum commune) had changed (from pre-logging to 12 years post-logging) in relation to post-logging air temperature, relative air humidity and canopy openness. We found that each of the species responded to at least one of these physical conditions. Air humidity was the most significant variable for explaining changes in the cover of the indicator moss species, suggesting that the changes in this microclimatic component has biological impacts. We conclude that to preserve riparian microclimatic conditions and species dependent on those, buffer strips should exceed 30 m in width, and not be selectively logged. Wider buffer strips are required if the clear-cut is towards south or southwest, or if the two sides of the stream are logged at the same time or during subsequent years.Peer reviewe
Progress in patient couselling practices in Finnish community pharmacies
Access restricted by publisherObjective The aim of this study was to assess progress in patient counselling practices in Finnish community pharmacies during a national four-year program (TIPPA) from 2000–2003 promoting enhanced pharmacist–customer communication about medicines.
Method A pseudo customer method was applied. Four visits with four different scenarios were conducted in a convenience sample of 60 Finnish community pharmacies of different size and geographic location. In total there were 240 visits during each time point measured (baseline in 2000 and three annual follow-ups, n = 960). The pseudo customers presented three scenarios related to self-medication and one related to a prescription medicine with a new prescription (baseline and the second follow-up) or a repeat prescription of the same medication (the first and the third follow-up). A structured data form customised to each scenario was used to record the interaction.
Key findings Baseline scores were generally low. In two of the four scenarios (one self-medication and one prescription) a statistically significant improvement (P < 0.05) was found in total scores between the baseline and the third follow-up. Aggregation of the scores of the three self-medication scenarios did not show any change in counselling practices between the baseline and the third follow-up, measured as mean total scores (P = 0.439).
Conclusions Some improvements were found in pharmacists' counselling performance in relation to customers' requests for advice about nasal products and also when prescription scenarios were presented. However, pharmacists' counselling rates were low in relation to a repeat prescription or when a request was made to buy a specific medicine. Further attention needs to be paid to the latter two types of consultation
Shape coexistence at the proton drip-line: First identification of excited states in 180Pb
Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus, 180Pb, have been
identified for the first time using the JUROGAM II array in conjunction with
the RITU recoil separator at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of
Jyvaskyla. This study lies at the limit of what is presently achievable with
in-beam spectroscopy, with an estimated cross-section of only 10 nb for the
92Mo(90Zr,2n)180Pb reaction. A continuation of the trend observed in 182Pb and
184Pb is seen, where the prolate minimum continues to rise beyond the N=104
mid-shell with respect to the spherical ground state. Beyond mean-field
calculations are in reasonable correspondence with the trends deduced from
experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
First observation of excited states in 173Hg
The neutron-deficient nucleus 173Hg has been studied following
fusion-evaporation reactions. The observation of gamma rays decaying from
excited states are reported for the first time and a tentative level scheme is
proposed. The proposed level scheme is discussed within the context of the
systematics of neighbouring neutron-deficient Hg nuclei. In addition to the
gamma-ray spectroscopy, the alpha decay of this nucleus has been measured
yielding superior precision to earlier measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Search for Fingerprints of Tetrahedral Symmetry in
Theoretical predictions suggest the presence of tetrahedral symmetry as an
explanation for the vanishing intra-band E2-transitions at the bottom of the
odd-spin negative parity band in . The present study reports on
experiment performed to address this phenomenon. It allowed to determine the
intra-band E2 transitions and branching ratios B(E2)/B(E1) of two of the
negative-parity bands in .Comment: presented by Q.T. Doan at XLII Zakopane School of Physics: Breaking
Frontiers: Submicron Structures in Physics and Biology, May 2008. 5 pages,
minor corrections. To be published in the proceeding
Sources of pro-cyclicality in east Asian financial systems
Procyclicality is a normal feature of economic systems, but financial sector
weaknesses can exacerbate it sufficiently to pose a threat to macroeconomic and financial
stability. These include shortcomings in bank risk management and governance, in
supervision and in terms of dependence on volatile sources of funds. The paper tests
econometrically for the importance of such features leading to pro-cyclicality in the financial
systems of 11 East Asian countries. This analysis makes it possible to identify specific policy
measures for East Asian countries that could limit the extent to which financial systems
exacerbate pro-cyclicality
Julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjälki
Hanke käynnistyi kesäkuussa 2023 Jyväskylän yliopiston Resurssiviisausyhteisön (JYU.Wisdom), Ympäristöministeriön, Hansel Oy:n ja Valtiokonttorin yhteistyönä. Tavoitteena hankkeessa oli tuottaa laajempi tietopohja julkisten hankintojen ekologisista vaikutuksista JYU.Wisdomissa kehitetyllä luontojalanjäljen laskentamenetelmällä. Luontojalanjälkeä mitataan osuutena kaikista maailman lajeista, joka todennäköisesti häviää maailmanlaajuisesti (potentially disappeared fraction of species globally) eli niin sanottuna luontoekvivalenttina (biodiversity equivalent, BDe).
Julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjälki oli 26 171 nBDe vuonna 2021 ja 25 048 vuonna 2022. Suurin luontojalanjälki vuonna 2022 aiheutui rakentamis- ja kunnossapitopalveluista (20 %), rakennusten energian kulutuksesta (14 %), sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluista (10 %) sekä lääkkeistä ja hoitotarvikkeista (10 %). Hankintojen luontohaittaintensiteettiin (BDe/€) ja määrään (€) perustuvan analyysin mukaan merkittävin potentiaali luontojalanjäljen pienentämiseen on rakentamis- ja kunnossapitopalveluissa, lääkkeissä ja hoitotarvikkeissa, rakennusten energian kulutuksessa sekä ravitsemus- ja majoituspalveluissa. Raportti osoittaa, että hiili- ja luontojalanjälkiä pystytään tarkastelemaan rinnakkain. Systemaattisen seurannan avulla voidaan kehittää mitattavia tavoitteita jalanjälkien pienentämiseksi. Julkinen sektori voi merkittävänä toimijana näyttää suuntaa hankintojen luontojalanjäljen seurannassa ja pienentämisessä
Julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjälki
Julkisten hankintojen ekologiset tavoitteet -hanke käynnistyi kesäkuussa 2023 Jyväskylän yliopiston Resurssiviisausyhteisön (JYU.Wisdom), Ympäristöministeriön, Hansel Oy:n ja Valtiokonttorin yhteistyönä. Jyväskylän yliopiston tavoitteena hankkeessa oli tuottaa laajempi tietopohja julkisten hankintojen ekologisista vaikutuksista JYU.Wisdomissa kehitetyllä luontojalanjäljen laskentamenetelmällä. Luontojalanjälkeä mitataan osuutena kaikista maailman lajeista, joka todennäköisesti häviää maailmanlaajuisesti (potentially disappeared fraction of species globally) eli niin sanottuna luontoekvivalenttina (biodiversity equivalent, BDe).
Julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjälki oli 33 039 nBDe vuonna 2021 ja 32 390 nBDe vuonna 2022. Suurin luontojalanjälki vuonna 2022 aiheutui sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluista (30 %), rakentamis- ja kunnossapitopalveluista (16 %), rakennusten energian kulutuksesta (11 %) sekä lääkkeistä ja hoitotarvikkeista (8 %). Hankintojen luontohaittaintensiteettiin (BDe/€) ja määrään (€) perustuvan analyysin mukaan merkittävin potentiaali luontojalanjäljen pienentämiseen on rakentamis- ja kunnossapitopalveluissa, lääkkeissä ja hoitotarvikkeissa, rakennusten energian kulutuksessa sekä ravitsemus- ja majoituspalveluissa. Mallinnuksen mukaan, julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjäljestä keskimäärin yli 90 % kohdistui maantieteellisesti Suomen rajojen ulkopuolelle. Suomen julkisten hankintojen luontojalanjäljen laskenta viitoittaa tietä suomalaisen yhteiskunnan kestävyysmurrokselle. Raportti osoittaa, että hiili- ja luontojalanjälkiä pystytään tarkastelemaan rinnakkain. Systemaattisen seurannan avulla voidaan kehittää mitattavia tavoitteita jalanjälkien pienentämiseksi. Julkinen sektori voi merkittävänä toimijana näyttää suuntaa sekä Suomessa että kansainvälisesti hankintojen luontojalanjäljen seurannassa ja pienentämisessä.Tämän version korvaa uusi, muutettu aineisto osoitteessa https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-361-371-3
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