Creative Reconstruction of the Technological Society

2021 ◽  
pp. 254-276
Author(s):  
David Skrbina ◽  
Renee Kordie
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Technological Determinism ◽  
Technological Society ◽  
Human Control ◽  
Transformative Action ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Global Population

Contemporary society is on a clearly unsustainable path, and faces multiple disaster scenarios in the coming decades unless transformative action is taken in the very near future. Among the prime root causes of our present dilemma is modern technology. It has allowed the emergence of modern-day miracles of our technological society, but it has also brought an exploding global population and widespread assaults on the natural environment. In fact, all major social problems are ultimately technological problems. Furthermore, technology is expanding exponentially on several fronts, and threatens to exceed human control. The thesis of ‘technological determinism’ has a long history, but only in recent years has its effects become manifest. Under such conditions, one promising long-term solution is a slow but steady retraction of modern technology. Such a ‘creative reconstruction’ of society will allow us to maintain that which is truly valuable in life, while putting humanity and the planet on a path to real sustainability.

Demographic gaps between Syrian and the European populations: What do they suggest?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Murat Yucesahin ◽  
Ibrahim Sirkeci
Keyword(s):  
Transition Theory ◽  
World Population ◽  
Demographic Analysis ◽  
Demographic Differences ◽  
Syrian Crisis ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Syrian Population ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
Near Future

Syrian crisis resulted in at least 6.1 million externally displaced people 983,876 of whom are in Europe while the rest are in neighbouring countries in the region. Turkey, due to its geographical proximity and substantial land borders with the country, has been the most popular destination for those fleeing Syria since April 2011. Especially after 2012, a sharp increase in the number of Syrian refugees arriving in Turkey was witnessed. This has triggered an exponential growth in academic and public interest in Syrian population. Numerous reports mostly based on non-representative sample surveys have been disseminated whilst authoritative robust analyses remained absent. This study aims to fill this gap by offering a comprehensive demographic analysis of the Syrian population. We focus on the demographic differences (from 1950s to 2015) and demographic trends (from 2015 to 2100) in medium to long term, based on data from World Population Prospects (WPP). We offer a comparative picture to underline potential changes and convergences between populations in Syria, Turkey, Germany, and the United Kingdom. We frame our discussion here with reference to the demographic transition theory to help understanding the implications for movers and non-movers in receiving countries in the near future.

Future of Commodity Markets and Investments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter M. Holzhauer
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Commodity Markets ◽  
Investment Banks ◽  
Algorithmic Trading ◽  
Excess Supply ◽  
The Future ◽  
Change Concerns ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Regulatory Trends

This chapter begins with a breakdown of recent growth trends for the overall commodities market. However, the long-term future of the market will heavily depend on three pressing issues: excess supply, increased regulations, and algorithmic trading. The section on excess supply explores how traders are changing strategies to adjust to the current imbalance between supply and demand, especially in the steel industry, and how that imbalance might change in the future based on global population trends and climate change concerns. The next section examines several regulatory trends, including the dramatic exodus of some investment banks from certain segments of the commodities market followed by a section focusing on how algorithmic trading is influencing how commodities are traded. A discussion of potential scenarios for the commodities market follows. The chapter concludes by examining a few ways in which the market and commodity traders may both survive and even thrive in the future.

scholarly journals The Effect of Long-Term Low-Dose Atropine on Refractive Progression in Myopic Australian School Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1444
Author(s):  
William Myles ◽  
Catherine Dunlop ◽  
Sally A. McFadden
Keyword(s):  
Low Dose ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Eye Drops ◽  
Myopia Progression ◽  
At Risk Children ◽  
Slow Group ◽  
Blue Eyes ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Axial Growth

Myopia will affect half the global population by 2050 and is a leading cause of vision impairment. High-dose atropine slows myopia progression but with undesirable side-effects. Low-dose atropine is an alternative. We report the effects of 0.01% or 0.005% atropine eye drops on myopia progression in 13 Australian children aged between 2 and 18 years and observed for 2 years without and up to 5 years (mean 2.8 years) with treatment. Prior to treatment, myopia progression was either ‘slow’ (more positive than −0.5D/year; mean −0.19D/year) or ‘fast’ (more negative than −0.5D/year; mean −1.01D/year). Atropine reduced myopic progression rates (slow: −0.07D/year, fast: −0.25D/year, combined: before: −0.74, during: −0.18D/year, p = 0.03). Rebound occurred in 3/4 eyes that ceased atropine. Atropine halved axial growth in the ‘Slow’ group relative to an age-matched model of untreated myopes (0.098 vs. 0.196mm/year, p < 0.001) but was double that in emmetropes (0.051mm/year, p < 0.01). Atropine did not slow axial growth in ‘fast’ progressors compared to the age-matched untreated myope model (0.265 vs. 0.245mm/year, p = 0.754, Power = 0.8). Adverse effects (69% of patients) included dilated pupils (6/13) more common in children with blue eyes (5/7, p = 0.04). Low-dose atropine could not remove initial myopia offsets suggesting treatment should commence in at-risk children as young as possible.

Manipulating Environmental Commitment: A Replication and Extension

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110126
Author(s):  
Eric D. Wesselmann ◽  
Shane W. Boyd ◽  
Jordan A. Arellanes ◽  
Alexander Driskell ◽  
Matthew S. Hesson-McInnis
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Environmental Commitment

Environmental commitment, the subjective experience of dependence on the natural environment, is marked by a long-term orientation and psychological attachment towards the natural environment. The current research replicates and extends previous research on temporarily increasing environmental commitment ( Davis et al., 2009 ). We employed Davis et al.’s manipulation in two experimental studies (one laboratory, one online): we asked participants to spend time writing either about ways in which they are interdependent with the natural environment (high commitment manipulation) or unconnected with the environment (low commitment manipulation). In both studies we replicated the key finding that reflecting on one’s interdependence with the environment increases commitment. We extended the previous research by finding evidence that this commitment effect was mediated by satisfaction with one’s relationship to the environment. We did not replicate the original findings that the interdependence manipulation influences environmental behavioral intentions.

scholarly journals Correctable biliary atresia and cholangiocarcinoma: a case report of a 63-year-old patient

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Nio ◽  
Motoshi Wada ◽  
Hideyuki Sasaki ◽  
Hiromu Tanaka ◽  
Masatoshi Hashimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biliary Atresia ◽  
Liver Tumors ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Porta Hepatis ◽  
Case Presentation ◽  
Cancer Occurrence ◽  
Long Term Survivors ◽  
Near Future

Abstract Background Although cancer occurrence following surgery for biliary atresia has gradually increased, the development of cholangiocarcinoma in a native liver survivor of biliary atresia is extremely rare. Case presentation A 3-month-old female patient with the correctable type of biliary atresia underwent a cystoduodenostomy. At 16 years of age, she underwent multiple surgeries including lysis of intestinal adhesions, ileostomy, and gastrojejunostomy at another hospital. At 54 years of age, she underwent lithotomy at the porta hepatis, resection of the residual cystic bile duct with gallbladder, and hepaticojejunostomy in Roux-en-Y fashion. As she approached the age of 63, her computed tomography scan showed no liver tumors. In the following year, she developed cholangiocarcinoma at the porta hepatis and underwent chemotherapy. However, the cancer progressed, and she died before she reached the age of 64 years. Conclusions Cholangiocarcinoma is extremely rare in patients with biliary atresia. However, physicians should follow up patients with biliary atresia as closely as possible, as malignant tumors secondary to biliary atresia may increase in number in the near future because of the growing number of long-term survivors with biliary atresia.

Management problems in the pregnant diabetic

1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
FA Van Assche
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Pathological Condition ◽  
Metabolic Adaptation ◽  
Medical Complication ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Insulin Dependent ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Pregnant Diabetic

Major progress has been made in the knowledge and management of diabetes and pregnancy. However diabetes in pregnancy remains an important medical complication, with implications for mother and child in both the short and the long term. There are still controversies concerning the diagnostic criteria of gestational diabetes and concerning the best strategry for the treatment of this disorder. There is even less agreement about whether gestational diabetes is a pathological condition. The perinatal mortality in gestational diabetes has recently become as low as that in the general population. This has led to the conclusion that gestational diabetes is no more than a variant of metabolic adaptation during pregnancy. However, fetal hyperinsulinism is present in gestational diabetes, resulting in macrosomia, neonatal complications and most probably long term consequences. Improvements in the care of the preexisting insulin-dependent pregnant diabetic have been achieved but further progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms and in preventing and treating the disease are important goals for the near future.

Long-term dynamic modeling of global population and built-up area in a spatially explicit way: HYDE 3.1

The Holocene ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Klein Goldewijk ◽  
Arthur Beusen ◽  
Peter Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Modeling ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Global Population

scholarly journals Acute graft-versus-host disease: a bench-to-bedside update

Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shernan G. Holtan ◽  
Marcelo Pasquini ◽  
Daniel J. Weisdorf
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecules ◽  
Graft Versus Host Disease ◽  
Host Disease ◽  
Multiple Modalities ◽  
Graft Versus Host ◽  
The Past ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Acute Graft

Abstract Over the past 5 years, many novel approaches to early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have been translated from the bench to the bedside. In this review, we highlight recent discoveries in the context of current aGVHD care. The most significant innovations that have already reached the clinic are prophylaxis strategies based upon a refinement of our understanding of key sensors, effectors, suppressors of the immune alloreactive response, and the resultant tissue damage from the aGVHD inflammatory cascade. In the near future, aGVHD prevention and treatment will likely involve multiple modalities, including small molecules regulating immunologic checkpoints, enhancement of suppressor cytokines and cellular subsets, modulation of the microbiota, graft manipulation, and other donor-based prophylaxis strategies. Despite long-term efforts, major challenges in treatment of established aGVHD still remain. Resolution of inflammation and facilitation of rapid immune reconstitution in those with only a limited response to corticosteroids is a research arena that remains rife with opportunity and urgent clinical need.

Traditional Ritual, Water Conservation, and Islamic Thought

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-145
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fathi Royyani ◽  
Abdul Syukur
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Sustainable Living ◽  
The People ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Anthropological Approach ◽  
Symbolic Practices

Traditional ritual is a kind of expression of art and culture as well as a form of human appreciation of nature, gained through long term and perpetual processes. Traditional ritual thus can thus be regarded as traditional wisdom. Kawin Cai is one of the traditional rituals in Kuningan society derived from inter religious views. Through this ritual we could tell that the people respect their natural environment for sustainable living. Nonetheless, most of the symbolic practices in the ritual are no longer understood by the people, so that anthropological approach is needed to interpret them.

Advances in the Management of Parkinsons Disease

1976 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Replacement Therapy ◽  
Term Treatment ◽  
Parkinsons Disease ◽  
Complex Time ◽  
Optimum Dosage ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
Near Future

The treatment of Parkinson's disease today is complex, time-consuming, but rewarding. The introduction of levodopa has not cured the disease, but has provided the most powerful therapy available yet. Its use is limited by side effects and careful titration to optimum dosage, often in combination with other drugs, is required. Despite best therapy, some patients never respond, and others begin to lose benefit after some years of therapy. New problems, such as the ‘on-off’ effect have appeared with long-term treatment, and require careful adjustment of dosage. As with any replacement therapy, a balance between sub-optimal benefit and side effects has to be discovered and maintained by careful and frequent review. New approaches to treatment may offer further improvement in the near future.

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