Nitrogen, Threat or Benefaction? The Spectre at the Feast

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Leigh
Keyword(s):  
Natural Process ◽  
Energy Crisis ◽  
Limits To Growth ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
Club Of Rome ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Many ◽  
Potential Food ◽  
Growing Population

The world today is a very different place from what it was in about 1900. It is a very different place from what it was even in the 1960s. This is not to say that the worries and preoccupations of 1900 and the 1960s have just disappeared. Rather, they still remain, but as a consequence of the activities of the Club of Rome and the many similar organisations that have arisen since then, people are much more conscious of them. The famous energy crisis of 1973, provoked by the rapid quadrupling of the price of oil, hardly a natural process, served to push such considerations to the fore. The simple questions that were once posed (such as “How shall we feed a growing population?”) have been joined to many others. Is there a limit to population growth beyond which the potential food supply will really be exceeded? Is there a limit beyond which the perturbation of the environment by human actions will produce changes that will irretrievably damage both people and the environment? Are there really limits to growth? What can we reasonably do that will not produce disaster? This is a far cry from the Victorian and even old-fashioned capitalistic and Soviet attitudes that seemed then and still seem to assume that humans, being at the pinnacle of evolution (or, alternatively, being placed at the pinnacle of animal life by God), were free to exploit Earth and its resources as much as seemed necessary. Even to attempt to answer such questions, it is necessary to understand what the current state of Earth and the environment really are, and this is not simply a matter of looking out of the window and making a snap judgement, or even looking out of several windows over a certain period. It is necessary to do serious research and then attempt to make sound judgements. This is no trivial matter because often there is little objective guidance as to what constitutes a sound judgement. The idea that human activities are upsetting the current equilibrium between people and the environment is based upon a misconception.

scholarly journals Promoting Optimal Care in Childbirth

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 174-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Lothian
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Maternity Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural Process ◽  
World Health ◽  
Optimal Care ◽  
Normal Birth ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

In 1996, the World Health Organization set out guidelines for normal birth. Because that time birth in the United States has continued to be intervention intensive, the cesarean rate has skyrocketed and maternal mortality, although low, is rising. At the same time, research continues to provide evidence for the benefits of supporting the normal physiologic process of labor and birth and the risks of interfering with this natural process. This article reviews the current state of U.S. maternity care and discusses research and advocacy efforts that address this issue. This article describes optimal care in childbirth and introduces the Lamaze International Six Healthy Birth Practices.

Planet Earth and Humanity

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-697
Author(s):  
Herman Verstappen
Keyword(s):  
Future Generations ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Limits To Growth ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Club Of Rome ◽  
The Many ◽  
Mother Earth ◽  
Common Future

The earth, a futility in space, is the only home for all humans and, at present, the theatre of the globalization of our society. Humanity has always been wondering about the origin of our blue planet. This is rather irrelevant for everyday life however. What really matters is that all of us can live in harmony and diversity on ‘Mother Earth’ and preserve our environment for future generations. Our planet is inhabited by an amazing variety of living creatures, among which at present are 7 billion humans. This number has risen at an alarming rate for more than a century and will reach the 10 billion mark around the year 2100. But whether the earth resources can cope with the growing demands is most uncertain. What will be our common future? This global issue has been the focus of the Reports of the so-called Club of Rome,1 the Brundtland Report,2 etc, but the responses of society are as yet inadequate. Science and technology can now unravel the many subtle interrelations between geosphere, atmosphere and biosphere and monitor the worldwide growing impact of human activities on the environment.3 Earth observation from aerospace and geo-information systems have opened new vistas in this field. It is evident that there are limits to growth and that the present ‘rape of the earth’ should be stopped and a master plan for global sustainability be made. This plan should not be imposed top-down but be rooted in our free will and thus have a polycentric structure. The political agenda for globalization should not be a flywheel for economic growth but be oriented to the tripartite: sustainability–social balance–economic requirements. Can we make this happen?

scholarly journals Neonatal Screening in Europe Revisited: An ISNS Perspective on the Current State and Developments Since 2010

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
J. Gerard Loeber ◽  
Dimitris Platis ◽  
Rolf H. Zetterström ◽  
Shlomo Almashanu ◽  
François Boemer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neonatal Screening ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Combined Immunodeficiency ◽  
Current State ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Many ◽  
Made In

Neonatal screening (NBS) was initiated in Europe during the 1960s with the screening for phenylketonuria. The panel of screened disorders (“conditions”) then gradually expanded, with a boost in the late 1990s with the introduction of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), making it possible to screen for 40–50 conditions using a single blood spot. The most recent additions to screening programmes (screening for cystic fibrosis, severe combined immunodeficiency and spinal muscular atrophy) were assisted by or realised through the introduction of molecular technologies. For this survey, we collected data from 51 European countries. We report the developments between 2010 and 2020 and highlight the achievements reached with the progress made in this period. We also identify areas where further progress can be made, mainly by exchanging knowledge and learning from experiences in neighbouring countries. Between 2010 and 2020, most NBS programmes in geographical Europe matured considerably, both in terms of methodology (modernised) and with regard to the panel of conditions screened (expanded). These developments indicate that more collaboration in Europe through European organisations is gaining momentum. We can only accomplish the timely detection of newborn infants potentially suffering from one of the many rare diseases and take appropriate action by working together.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF CLUB OF ROME IN FORMING THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Class Discussion ◽  
Limits To Growth ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
The Future ◽  
Club Of Rome

Global problems and crises are the actual reality of our time. Their prevention, solution and reduction of their impact concerns not only the existing generation, but also the future one, due to the fact that everyone should have equal opportunities and rights to access resources. Considering the pace of development of various spheres, we see that humanity tends to deplete resources, so the idea arose to solve these problems by coordinated actions of the global community. These ideas underlie the Concept of Sustainable Development, which today is supported and implemented, especially by many states of the world. But these ideas developed even before the concept was created, in particular, within the framework of the activities of the Club of Rome. The purpose of this article is to reveal how the activities of the Club of Rome influenced the process of formation and development of the concept of sustainable development. Аor this, the methods of theoretical generalization, analysis and synthesis of information were used. The activities of the Club of Rome began thanks to Aurelio Peccei (author of «Human Qualities»), who created a non-governmental organization that became world famous for a series of reports on the pressing and global problems of humankind. In particular, the 1972 study «The Limits to Growth» by D. and D. Meadows, who described models of the world in the future and a number of recommendations on how to avoid a catastrophic development of events. The publication had great resonance and was heavily criticized, but started a world-class discussion. In particular, the Club of Rome was involved in the discussion at the UN. So, the active work of the non-governmental organization Club of Rome not only started discussions about the global crisis, but also provided a solid theoretical and empirical basis for the development of the Concept of sustainable development. Club members took an active part in the development of sustainable development at a more local level in their regions. Thus, the organization has achieved its primary goal — to attract attention to the global problems and create an action plan to resolve them.

(Arm) Wrestling with Masculinity: Television, Toughness, and the Touch of Another Man’s Hand

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 821-849 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Scott Diffrient
Keyword(s):  
Mass Communication ◽  
Roland Barthes ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Many ◽  
Compositional Logic ◽  
Visual Motif

For decades, dating back to the medium’s origins as a commercially viable form of mass communication in the postwar years, US television programs have contributed to the many paradoxes of masculinity, revealing but also obscuring the normativizing function of cultural representations through the use of generic encoding and the compositional “logic” of male (visual) dominance. One visual motif in particular—the shot of two men sitting at a table, their hands temporarily locked as part of an arm wrestling contest—is noteworthy, given the frequency of its recurrence in a variety of fictional programming ( All in the Family, The Odd Couple, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, etc.) as well as for its literal staging of masculinity as spectacle, as an object of spectatorial contemplation vis-à-vis the televisual construction of “toughness” as an inherently male attribute. If television and toughness can be said to go “hand in hand,” then the actual sight of two men joined together in a physical contest hints at the idea that intimacy is at much a part of such ritualized representations as intimidation is. Indeed, what several of the episodes discussed in this article (selected from representative television programs of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s) reveal is that a man is sometimes at his most unguarded—his most forthcoming and honest—when seated opposite another man during an arm wrestling match, a moment that is deserving of consideration as a symptomatic illustration of masculinity’s paradoxes. Inspired by the early writings of Roland Barthes, in particular the French philosopher’s essay “The World of Wrestling” (published as part of his 1957 book Mythologies), I ultimately hope to reveal how seemingly innocuous images are “invested with ideological meanings,” unwittingly revealing what they often seek to conceal.

scholarly journals Introduction

2004 ◽  
Vol 184 (S47) ◽  
pp. s53-s54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy G. Dinan
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Consensus Statement ◽  
Consensus Meeting ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Hierarchical Basis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
The Many ◽  
Glucose Abnormalities

It has been known for over a century that abnormalities of glucose metabolism are more common in those suffering from certain forms of mental illness (Kasanin, 1926), but only in the past few years has there been any serious attempt to establish the exact nature of the association. We are now in a situation where a great deal of data and opinions have surfaced in a short space of time. In order to bring this body of data into a single forum to debate its significance and – more importantly – to examine how it should influence practice, it was felt appropriate to convene a consensus meeting on diabetes and schizophrenia. The aims of the meeting were to bring a group of interested and informed clinicians and pharmacologists together to present and debate all the currently available data, opinions and practices from around the world that relate to the association between schizophrenia and glucose abnormalities. In order to do this we felt it crucial to involve experts not only in psychiatry but also in diabetology. One of the major roles of the convened group was to give some sort of hierarchical basis to the many types of data that have been published. The prime focus of the group was to agree a consensus statement that would give practising psychiatrists and diabetologists a clear message as to the current state of knowledge, beliefs and potential best practices.

scholarly journals The Analysis of the International Climate Change on Environmental Justice

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Wu Xueqin ◽  
Chengping .
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Limits To Growth ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Environment And Development ◽  
Club Of Rome

Since the Club of Rome published "Limits to Growth" in 1972, the environmental problems have caused the attention of people around the world and become a global issue. The international community has also organized special meetings to promote the study of environmental issues. One of the most important meetings is the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held every year since 1972. The most important issue is on how to deal with climate change, which has become an international mainstream issue. From the perspective of the environmental justice, the following is a brief analysis of the negotiations on international climate changes, based on the opportunities of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit, the 2010 Cancun Summit and the 2011 South Africa Bender Climate Summit.

“All in a Garden Green”: Shakespeare's Staging of Garden Imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252
Author(s):  
Deborah Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Audience Interaction ◽  
The Many ◽  
Green World

This essay draws attention to the surprising lack of scholarship on the staging of garden scenes in Shakespeare's oeuvre. In particular, it explores how garden scenes promote collaborative acts of audience agency and present new renditions of the familiar early modern contrast between the public and the private. Too often the mention of Shakespeare's gardens calls to mind literal rather than literary interpretations: the work of garden enthusiasts like Henry Ellacombe, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, and Caroline Spurgeon, who present their copious gatherings of plant and flower references as proof that Shakespeare was a garden lover, or the many “Shakespeare Gardens” around the world, bringing to life such lists of plant references. This essay instead seeks to locate Shakespeare's garden imagery within a literary tradition more complex than these literalizations of Shakespeare's “flowers” would suggest. To stage a garden during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries signified much more than a personal affinity for the green world; it served as a way of engaging time-honored literary comparisons between poetic forms, methods of audience interaction, and types of media. Through its metaphoric evocation of the commonplace tradition, in which flowers double as textual cuttings to be picked, revised, judged, and displayed, the staged garden offered a way to dramatize the tensions produced by creative practices involving collaborative composition and audience agency.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD MARKET OF SERVICES IN TURBULENCE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larysa Nosach ◽  
◽  
Victoria Morgun ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
World Market ◽  
Global Dimension ◽  
Trade In Services ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World

The author's research of the current state and features of the development of the world market for services in conditions of turbulence of world processes was carried; the world leaders of the service sector in the global dimension and leaders of the most dynamic articles of service categories were identified; the share of world exports of services by countries by the level of their economic development was justified; weaknesses in the assessment of indicators of international trade in services were identified; the research is based on UNCTAD statistics.

PERILAKU PEDAGANG MUSLIM DALAM TINJAUAN ETIKA BISNIS ISLAM (KASUS DI PASAR LOAK JAGALAN KEDIRI)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alwi Musa Muzaiyin
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
The World ◽  
Goods Market ◽  
Islamic Business Ethics ◽  
New Goods ◽  
The Many ◽  
Used Goods ◽  
The City

Trade is a form of business that is run by many people around the world, ranging from trading various kinds of daily necessities or primary needs, to selling the need for luxury goods for human satisfaction. For that, to overcome the many needs of life, they try to outsmart them buy products that are useful, economical and efficient. One of the markets they aim at is the second-hand market or the so-called trashy market. As for a trader at a trashy market, they aim to sell in the used goods market with a variety of reasons. These reasons include; first, because it is indeed to fulfill their needs. Second, the capital needed to trade at trashy markets is much smaller than opening a business where the products come from new goods. Third, used goods are easily available and easily sold to buyer. Here the researcher will discuss the behavior of Muslim traders in a review of Islamic business ethics (the case in the Jagalan Kediri Trashy Market). Kediri Jagalan Trashy Market is central to the sale of used goods in the city of Kediri. Where every day there are more than 300 used merchants who trade in the market. The focus of this research is how the behavior of Muslim traders in the Jagalan Kediri Trashy Market in general. Then, from the large number of traders, of course not all traders have behavior in accordance with Islamic business ethics, as well as traders who are in accordance with the rules of Islamic business ethics. This study aims to determine how the behavior of Muslim traders in the Jagalan Kediri Trashy Market in buying and selling transactions and to find out how the behavior of Muslim traders in the Jagalan Kediri Trashy Market in reviewing Islamic business ethics. Key Words: Trade, loak market, Islamic business

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