The Role of Simulation in Designing for Universal Access

Conclusion: lessons learned and tensions exposed

Towards Just and Sustainable Economies ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447327226.003.0016 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Peter North ◽

Molly Scott Cato

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Universal Access ◽

Social Economy ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Top Down ◽

Lost Decade ◽

Global North ◽

Social Economies ◽

North And South

This concluding chapter draws together lessons learned from the encounters between social economy activists and academics from Latin America and Europe which were brought together in this collection. It discusses the role of antagonism in social economies, especially in the light of austerity in Europe – and Latin America’s experiences of a lost decade. It discusses tensions between the benefits of top down, centralised, state delivered welfare, and grassroots creativity, arguing for the development of 45 degree politics that maintains the best of both conceptions, with the state maintaining universal access and sufficient resources, while grassroots actors ensure that initiatives are tailored to local needs. Finally it brings together arguments for the need for the SSE sector to develop conceptions of prosperous livelihoods providing dignity and inclusion for those currently denied a livelihood with dignity in the concept of the Anthropocene. It concludes by arguing that these conceptions can best be developed though continued dialogue between actors in the global North and South.

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Investing in Health Wisely: The Role of Needs-based Technology Assessment

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462300009107 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 673-684 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dean T. Jamison ◽

Helen Saxenian ◽

Yves Bergevin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Technology Assessment ◽

Universal Access ◽

Policy Formulation ◽

Disability Adjusted Life ◽

Life Years ◽

National Public Health ◽

The Cost ◽

Improve Health

AbstractCountries worldwide spend huge sums on health—about $1,700 billion a year, or roughly 8% of global income. But the World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health shows that these monies could be spent much more wisely, in the process doing a great deal to help the world's 1 billion poor. Essential national public health and clinical packages are proposed based on assessment of the burden of disease (measured in disability adjusted life years) and the cost-effectiveness of interventions. Governments can play a central role in improving the health of their citizens: they can foster an environment that enables households to improve health and they can also improve their own spending on health, targeting it to support universal access to essential national public health and clinical packages based on the above methods. This is a good example of the concept of needs-based technology assessment, combining the disciplines of epidemiology, economics, and policy formulation. When applied, it should lead to improved effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.

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Chinese Paper Cutting: Opportunities for Revitalisation in Contemporary Design

10.26686/wgtn.16625770.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Jieying Huang

Keyword(s):

Universal Access ◽

Folk Culture ◽

Product Packaging ◽

The Public ◽

Art Form ◽

Potential Strategy ◽

Traditional Patterns ◽

Design Case Study

As a result of globalised development and the rise of capitalism, the craft of traditional Chinese paper cutting is facing marginalisation. The loss of this craft has resulted in a loss of opportunities to share the valuable role of this art form: to bring good wishes to people. The revitalisation of paper cutting as a component of contemporary design offers a strategy to sustain the value and meaning of this craft. My research explores a potential strategy that supports the transformation of Chinese paper cutting in the contemporary context through its application in design practice. This research investigates the traditional patterns applied to Chinese paper cutting and their implication and symbolic meaning within Chinese folk culture. Through the development of a criteria-led design case study, this research aims to translate these concepts into the formation of new design outcomes applicable to product packaging. As an element of packaging design, this approach intends to take advantage of the democratisation of and universal access to this medium ensuring wide dissemination to the public. The purpose of this research is to translate traditional paper cutting into a contemporary design approach that enables the values of this special Chinese craft to prosper.

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Bringing onco-innovation to Europe’s healthcare systems: the unexploited potential of biomarker testing, real world evidence and the potential of Tumour Agnostics. The lesson from BRCA1/2 genetic testing

10.20944/preprints202008.0307.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Denis Horgan ◽

Gennaro CILIBERTO ◽

Pierfranco Conte ◽

Giuseppe CURIGLIANO ◽

Luis Seijo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Systems ◽

Real World ◽

Universal Access ◽

Personalised Medicine ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Real World Evidence ◽

Biomarker Testing ◽

Policy Alignment ◽

Prostate Cancers

Rapid and continuing advances in biomarker testing are not being matched by take-up in health systems, and this is hampering both patient care and innovation. It also risks costing health systems the opportunity to make their services more efficient and, over time, more economical. The potential that genomics has brought to biomarker testing in diagnosis, prediction and research is being realised, pre-eminently in many cancers, but also in an ever-wider range of conditions. One of the paradigmatic examples is BRCA1/2 testing in ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. Nevertheless, development is impeded by data deficiencies, and lack of policy alignment on standards, approval – and the role of real-world evidence in the process - and reimbursement. The acute nature of the problem is compellingly illustrated by the particular challenges facing the development and use of tumour agnostic therapies, where the gaps in preparedness for taking advantage of this innovative approach to cancer therapy are sharply exposed. Europe should already have in place a guarantee of universal access to a minimum suite of biomarker tests and should be planning for an optimum testing scenario with a wider range of biomarker tests integrated into a more sophisticated health system articulated around personalised medicine. Improving healthcare and winning advantages for Europe's industrial competitiveness and innovation require an appropriate policy framework – starting with an update to outdated recommendations.

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An Evaluation of ICT Policy Developments in Botswana

Handbook of Research on Information Communication Technology Policy ◽

10.4018/978-1-61520-847-0.ch001 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Segomotso Masegonyana Keakopa ◽

Kelvin Joseph Bwalya

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Policy Development ◽

Universal Access ◽

Public Awareness ◽

The Public ◽

Playing Field ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

The Government ◽

Ict Policy

This chapter provides an evaluation of ICT policy developments in Botswana. In particular, it highlights major advancements in areas of national ICT policy development and its implementation in the country. The country’s National ICT policy, Maitlamo, has been a significant factor in driving ICTs in the country. The chapter asserts that opportunities in ICT development in the country are evidenced by not only implementation of the policy but further by greater investment of financial resources by the government and the role of the private sector. Further, the chapter argues that while implementation of the national ICT policy has brought achievements in liberalisation and expansion of public services in rural areas, there are still a number of challenges to address if universal access has to be achieved. Among these are unavailability of ICT services in rural areas, high costs of the technology and the lack of public awareness on the use of technology. Proposals made at the end of the chapter call for the government to speed implementation of ICT policy, form stronger partnerships with the public sector and further balance the role of BTC vis a vis other players so that the playing field is leveled.

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A Retrospective Analysis of Energy Access with a Focus on the Role of Mini-Grids

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12051793 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 1793 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alexandros Korkovelos ◽

Hisham Zerriffi ◽

Mark Howells ◽

Morgan Bazilian ◽

H-Holger Rogner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Power Systems ◽

Universal Access ◽

Scale Up ◽

Third Party ◽

Small Scale ◽

Energy Access ◽

Early Stages ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 is a key part of the Agenda for Sustainable Development, and has its own Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 7.1. This is because electricity services are required for almost all aspects of a modern economy, from the cooling of vaccines to irrigation pumping, to manufacturing and running a business. The achievement of SDG 7.1 will require a thoughtful mix of policy, finance, and technology to be designed and implemented at scale. Yet, the pressing need for an electrification ramp-up is not unprecedented. Many countries (now considered “industrialized”) faced similar challenges about a century ago. Although the existing literature covers a great deal of power systems evolution, there is a gap around the specific role and impact of small, isolated power systems in the early stages of electricity uptake. In this paper, we provide insights based on the review of the historical electrification efforts in four (now middle and high-income) countries. The drivers and context of electrification efforts in early stages are described. Those focus particularly on the role of dispersed, small-scale generation systems (mini-grids). Our analysis shows that electrification follows four loosely defined phases, namely: pilot projects, technological roll-out, economic expansion, and social scale-up. We report a selection of historical mistakes and advances that offer lessons of striking importance for today´s energy access efforts, particularly in regards to the development of mini-grids. We find that today, as historically, multi-stakeholder (e.g., planners, regulators, developers, investors, third party actors) collaboration is key and can help build locally adaptable, economically sustainable and community compatible mini-grids that can accelerate—and lower the societal costs of—universal access to electricity.

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Balancing ‘flexibility’ and ‘employability’: The changing role of general studies in the Finnish and Swedish VET curricula of the 1990s and 2010s

European Educational Research Journal ◽

10.1177/1474904119830508 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 314-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mattias Nylund ◽

Maarit Virolainen

Keyword(s):

Universal Access ◽

Vocational Education And Training ◽

General Level ◽

Access To Higher Education ◽

Upper Secondary ◽

Vocational Tasks ◽

General Studies ◽

Changing Role ◽

And Training

This article analyses and compares the evolving role of general subjects in the curricula of initial upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) in Finland and Sweden during the 1990s and 2010s. The research illustrates how Bernstein’s concept of ‘pedagogic code’ supports comparative studies on principles guiding changes to curricula and how the role of general studies in VET has been redefined. The findings show that while a principle of ‘market relevance’ has been central to VET over the decades since the 1990s, it has been subject to varying interpretations. The shifts in interpretations have guided the organisation of VET in these two countries in different directions, including the role of general subjects within the curriculum. On a general level, the countries share some key similarities. Both countries emphasised lifelong learning and a broadening of VET in the 1990s, based on a core principle of ‘flexibility’. In the 2010s, the earlier promotion of flexibility and universal access to higher education was superseded by a stronger focus on employability and entrepreneurship in addition to students’ command of more specific vocational tasks.

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Underrepresented groups in WaSH – the overlooked role of chemical toxicants in water and health

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2019.059 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 786-793 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Joshua P. Kearns ◽

Matthew J. Bentley ◽

Poorva Mokashi ◽

Jennifer H. Redmon ◽

Keith Levine

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Organic Contaminants ◽

Universal Access ◽

Chemical Pollution ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Sanitation And Hygiene ◽

Conference Presentations ◽

Development Goals ◽

Poster Presentations

Abstract The anthropogenic release of chemicals from industry, agriculture and the breakdown of consumer wastes constitute a major threat to water resources and public health. Pollution is severe and increasing in the developing world where chemical substances are produced, used, and disposed of in an unregulated manner. The global public health consequences of chemical pollution are comparable to or greater than those of widespread infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. However, chemicals have so far been neglected by the WaSH sector. Here, we report the results of a systematic review of the Journal of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Development (2011–2018) and oral/poster presentations given at the UNC Water & Health Conference (2010–2018). The review enumerated studies that focused on water quality and treatment from a chemical perspective, highlighting in particular organic contaminants of emerging concern. Organic chemicals were addressed in only 2% of journal articles and fewer than 0.7% of conference presentations. Geogenic contaminants arsenic and fluoride were only addressed in 2–3% of articles and presentations. The review concludes that a rapid, major effort to address toxic chemicals in WaSH is necessary to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals for universal access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030.

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