scholarly journals Twenty Key Challenges in Environmental and Resource Economics

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-750
Author(s):  
Lucas Bretschger ◽  
Karen Pittel

AbstractEconomic and ecological systems are closely interlinked at a global and a regional level, offering a broad variety of important research topics in environmental and resource economics. The successful identification of key challenges for current and future research supports development of novel theories, empirical applications, and appropriate policy designs. It allows establishing a future-oriented research agenda whose ultimate goal is an efficient, equitable, and sustainable use of natural resources. Based on a normative foundation, the paper aims to identify fundamental topics, current trends, and major research gaps to motivate further development of academic work in the field.

Author(s):  
Nadeem Faisal ◽  
Kaushik Kumar

Urbanization is creating enormous pressure for the effective utilization of the existing land with demolition of old structures for new and modern structures. The debris produced in demolition of these structures are in large amount and disposal of this waste in sustainable manner is the biggest challenge being faced today and should be considered as a resource. With the increasing waste production and public concerns regarding the environment, it is desirable to recycle these materials. If suitably processed in appropriate industrial plants, these materials can be profitably used in concrete. This chapter highlights the composition of construction and demolition waste, the necessity for its recycling, and possibilities that can be implemented for its resourceful use, further focusing on current trends in this field by elaborating various ways to use these waste from laboratory research scale to commercially available technologies around the globe. The chapter concludes with future research directions and guidelines for sustainable use of these wastes.


Author(s):  
Nadeem Faisal ◽  
Kaushik Kumar

Urbanization is creating enormous pressure for the effective utilization of the existing land with demolition of old structures for new and modern structures. The debris produced in demolition of these structures are in large amount and disposal of this waste in sustainable manner is the biggest challenge being faced today and should be considered as a resource. With the increasing waste production and public concerns regarding the environment, it is desirable to recycle these materials. If suitably processed in appropriate industrial plants, these materials can be profitably used in concrete. This chapter highlights the composition of construction and demolition waste, the necessity for its recycling, and possibilities that can be implemented for its resourceful use, further focusing on current trends in this field by elaborating various ways to use these waste from laboratory research scale to commercially available technologies around the globe. The chapter concludes with future research directions and guidelines for sustainable use of these wastes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Martina Madl ◽  
Marietta Lieb ◽  
Katharina Schieber ◽  
Tobias Hepp ◽  
Yesim Erim

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Due to the establishment of a nationwide certification system for cancer centers in Germany, the availability of psycho-oncological services for cancer patients has increased substantially. However, little is known about the specific intervention techniques that are applied during sessions in an acute care hospital, since a standardized taxonomy is lacking. With this study, we aimed at the investigation of psycho-oncological intervention techniques and the development of a comprehensive and structured taxonomy thereof. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In a stepwise procedure, a team of psycho-oncologists generated a data pool of interventions and definitions that were tested in clinical practice during a pilot phase. After an adaptation of intervention techniques, interrater reliability (IRR) was attained by rating 10 previously recorded psycho-oncological sessions. A classification of interventions into superordinate categories was performed, supported by cluster analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Between April and June 2017, 980 psycho-oncological sessions took place. The experts agreed on a total number of 22 intervention techniques. An IRR of 89% for 2 independent psycho-oncological raters was reached. The 22 techniques were classified into 5 superordinate categories. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> We developed a comprehensive and structured taxonomy of psycho-oncological intervention techniques in an acute care hospital that provides a standardized basis for systematic research and applied care. We expect our work to be continuously subjected to further development: future research should evaluate and expand our taxonomy to other contexts and care settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-285
Author(s):  
Mason D. Lancaster

This article provides an overview of metaphor theories and research on their own terms, as well as their use in Hebrew Bible (HB) studies. Though metaphor studies in the HB have become increasingly popular, they often draw upon a limited or dated subset of metaphor scholarship. The first half of this article surveys a wide variety of metaphor scholarship from the humanities (philosophical, poetic, rhetorical) and the sciences (e.g., conceptual metaphor theory), beginning with Aristotle but focusing on more recent developments. The second half overviews studies of metaphor in the HB since 1980, surveying works focused on theory and method; works focused on specific biblical books or metaphor domains; and finally noting current trends and suggesting areas for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Clare Morrison ◽  
Fran Humphries ◽  
Charles Lawson

Countries are increasingly using access and benefit sharing (ABS) as a legal mechanism to support the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s biological diversity. ABS regulates collection and/or use of genetic resources/traditional knowledge and sharing benefits from their use with the provider. The purpose of this review is to assess the trends, biases and gaps of ABS literature using a regional comparative approach about the key topics of concern between each region. It analyses four key topic groupings: (1) implementation of international, regional and national ABS policy and law; (2) intellectual property and ABS; (3) traditional knowledge; and (4) research, development and commercialisation. Findings included gaps in: (1) analysing effectiveness of national level implementation; (2) addressing apparent conflicts between support for intellectual property promoting exclusivity for traditional knowledge and challenges to intellectual property exclusivity for patents; (3) examining traditional knowledge of local communities (in contrast to Indigenous Peoples); and (4) lack of practical examples that quantify benefit sharing from research and commercialisation outcomes. We conclude that future research addressing the identified gaps and biases can promote more informed understanding among stakeholders about the ABS concept and whether it is capable of delivering concrete biological conservation, sustainable use and equity outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micaela Reich ◽  
Lydia P. Buki

AbstractCancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and is expected to remain a public health concern for years to come. Within Latin America, Uruguay has the highest colorectal cancer rates. Heeding past calls to action, in this article we provide a critical assessment of colorectal cancer needs and opportunities in Uruguay with a focus on developing a roadmap for future action. First, we provide an overview of risk factors, screening procedures and guidelines, and screening rates. Next, we provide an overview of psychosocial factors that influence colorectal cancer screening, with the goal of providing guidance for future behavioral health promotion initiatives in Uruguay. In this effort, we present four conceptual models that may be used for interventions: the ecological systems theory, informed decision-making, the health beliefs model, and the health literacy model. Subsequently, we propose using an integrated model based on the ecological systems theory and health literacy model to develop national, local, and community-based interventions to increase screening rates and lower the colorectal cancer burden in Uruguay. We close the paper with a summary and implications section, including recommendations for future research programs focused on the assessment of factors that influence screening.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7304
Author(s):  
Shang Gao ◽  
Fanchen Meng ◽  
Zhouyang Gu ◽  
Zhiyuan Liu ◽  
Muhammad Farrukh

Academic interest in ESG has grown significantly in recent years. Nevertheless, bibliometric and visualization research on this topic is still insufficient. This study aims to conduct publication metrics on the literature connected with ESG and attempt to give a research agenda for future research. In this study, we used data from the Scopus database. Various bibliometric techniques, such as bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence analysis, were combined with assorted themes to present an overview. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study that analyses the bibliographic data on ESG fields; this study is a unique contribution to the literature. This study also provides an overview of the trends and trajectories with a visual and schematic frame for the research of this topic. This may help researchers understand the current trends and future research directions, and enable future authors to conduct their studies more effectively.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 651-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Xie ◽  
Ning Kong ◽  
Sydney Skaggs ◽  
Anbo Yang

Contextual factors have received increased attention in understanding the challenges and difficulties in translating career education and career guidance services from Western societies to non-Western societies, many of which are undertaking a shift from a socialist and collectivistic system to a more individualistic one. In this article, using China as an example, we discussed the contextual factors in different ecological systems, such as economical, educational, and sociocultural, and how they may facilitate or impede youth career education in a transitioning society. We reviewed a career education program in a Chinese senior middle school to illustrate such impacts. Additionally, we proposed strategies for further development of youth career education in China as well as in other countries with similar transitions. We introduced a framework of a diversified concept of career and several context-resonant career development theories to be considered in guiding youth career education programs in these transitioning societies.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e031187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Jose Santana ◽  
Sandra Zelinsky ◽  
Sadia Ahmed ◽  
Chelsea Doktorchik ◽  
Matthew James ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe overall goal of this study is to identify priorities for cardiovascular (CV) health research that are important to patients and clinician-researchers. We brought together a group of CV patients and clinician-researchers new to patient-oriented research (POR), to build a multidisciplinary POR team and form an advisory committee for the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.DesignThis qualitative POR used a participatory health research paradigm to work with participants in eliciting their priorities. Therefore, participants were involved in priority setting, and analysis of findings. Participants also developed a plan for continued engagement to support POR in CV health research.SettingLibin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada.ParticipantsA total of 23 participants, including patients and family caregivers (n=12) and clinician-researchers (n=11).ResultsParticipants identified barriers and facilitators to POR in CV health (lack of awareness of POR and poor understanding on the role of patients) and 10 research priorities for improving CV health. The CV health research priorities include: (1) CV disease prediction and prevention, (2) access to CV care, (3) communication with providers, (4) use of eHealth technology, (5) patient experiences in healthcare, (6) patient engagement, (7) transitions and continuity of CV care, (8) integrated CV care, (9) development of structures for patient-to-patient support and (10) research on rare heart diseases.ConclusionsIn this study, research priorities were identified by patients and clinician-researchers working together to improve CV health. Future research programme and projects will be developed to address these priorities. A key output of this study is the creation of the patient advisory council that will provide support and will work with clinician-researchers to improve CV health.


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