scholarly journals Unintended consequences and the problem of ensuring sustainable development

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-28
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Lypov ◽  
◽  

The sources, types, and mechanisms of formation and tools for minimizing "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine are considered. "Unintended consequences" are understood as unpredictable, unintentional, indirect, and incredible consequences of actions of initiators, organizers and executors of Ukrainian reforms, which were not included in their plans but happened in reality and have have a decisive influence on the state of the national economy. The methodological basis of the study includes historical-genetic, comparative, statistical, and graphical analysis. The origins of the study of " unintended consequences" of human actions can be traced in the works of N. Machiavelli, J. B. Vico, B. Mandeville, A. Ferguson, W. Petty, A. Smith, J.-B. Sаy, K. Marx, С. Menger , W. Pareto, M. Weber, F. Hayek, and R. Merton. Prerequisites for the "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine include insufficient competence of initiators and organizers, errors in analyzing problems due to ignoring the specifics of the current situation, focus on achieving immediate results without the possibility to calculate long-term consequences of implemented measures, underestimation of the role of basic values of national culture and the impact of disclosure of predictions on the behavior of economic entities. The types of “unintended consequences” that affected the course of economic reforms in Ukraine include those that, while remaining functional for the system, rely on latent, unconscious and unplanned factors arising from latent dysfunctions. Varieties of mechanisms for the formation of "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine include the manifestation of the results of latent functions, self-realization of social beliefs and self-destructive beliefs. It is substantiated that the practice of mandatory preliminary testing at the local level on the basis of relevant information platforms makes it possible to eliminate shortcomings in advance, clarify and improve the implemented measures, determine their social effectiveness, and choose the best alternative. Conducting preliminary economic experiments avoids situations where, as a result of the reform, certain groups gain access to various types of rental income at the expense of society.

Author(s):  
Giuseppe Lisco ◽  
Vito A. Giagulli ◽  
Giovanni De Pergola ◽  
Anna De Tullio ◽  
Edoardo Guastamacchia ◽  
...  

Background: The novel pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has becoming a public health issue since March 2020 considering that more than 30 million people were found to be infected worldwide. Particularly, recent evidences suggested that men may be considered as at higher risk of poor prognosis or death once the infection occurred and concerns surfaced in regard of the risk of a possible testicular injury due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: Several data support the existence of a bivalent role of testosterone (T) in driving poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19. On one hand, this is attributable to the fact that T may facilitate SARS-CoV-2 entry in human cells by means of an enhanced expression of transmembrane serine-protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). At the same time, younger man with normal testicular function compared to women of similar age are prone to develop a blunted immune response against SARS-CoV-2, being exposed to less viral clearance and more viral shedding and systemic spread of the disease. Conversely, low levels of serum T observed in hypogonadal men predispose them to a greater background systemic inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and immune system dysfunction, hence driving harmful consequences once SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred. Finally, SARS-CoV-2, as a systemic disease, may also affect testicles with possible concerns for current and future testicular efficiency. Preliminary data suggested that SARS-CoV-2 genome is not normally found in gonads and gametes, therefore sex transmission could be excluded as a possible way to spread the COVID-19. Conclusion: Most data support a role of T as a bivalent risk factor for poor prognosis (high/normal in younger; lower in elderly) in COVID-19. However, the impact of medical treatment aimed to modify T homeostasis for improving the prognosis of affected patients is unknown in this clinical setting. In addition, testicular damage may be a harmful consequence of the infection even in case it occurred asymptomatically but no long-term evidences are currently available to confirm and quantify this phenomenon. Different authors excluded the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in sperm and oocytes, thus limiting worries about both a potential sexual and gamete-to-embryos transmission of COVID-19. Despite these evidence, long-term and well-designed studies are needed to clarify these issues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Western ◽  
Victor N. Mose ◽  
David Maitumo ◽  
Caroline Mburu

Abstract Background Studies of the African savannas have used national parks to test ecological theories of natural ecosystems, including equilibrium, non-equilibrium, complex adaptive systems, and the role of top-down and bottom-up physical and biotic forces. Most such studies have excluded the impact of pastoralists in shaping grassland ecosystems and, over the last half century, the growing human impact on the world’s rangelands. The mounting human impact calls for selecting indicators and integrated monitoring methods able to track ecosystem changes and the role of natural and human agencies. Our study draws on five decades of monitoring the Amboseli landscape in southern Kenya to document the declining role of natural agencies in shaping plant ecology with rising human impact. Results We show that plant diversity and productivity have declined, biomass turnover has increased in response to a downsizing of mean plant size, and that ecological resilience has declined with the rising probability of extreme shortfalls in pasture production. The signature of rainfall and physical agencies in driving ecosystem properties has decreased sharply with growing human impact. We compare the Amboseli findings to the long-term studies of Kruger and Serengeti national parks to show that the human influence, whether by design or default, is increasingly shaping the ecology of savanna ecosystems. We look at the findings in the larger perspective of human impact on African grasslands and the world rangelands, in general, and discuss the implications for ecosystem theory and conservation policy and management. Conclusions The Amboseli study shows the value of using long-term integrated ecological monitoring to track the spatial and temporal changes in the species composition, structure, and function of rangeland ecosystems and the role of natural and human agencies in the process of change. The study echoes the widespread changes underway across African savannas and world’s rangelands, concluding that some level of ecosystem management is needed to prevent land degradation and the erosion of ecological function, services, and resilience. Despite the weak application of ecological theory to conservation management, a plant trait-based approach is shown to be useful in explaining the macroecological changes underway.


2020 ◽  
pp. 101269022097920
Author(s):  
Gareth Wiltshire ◽  
Nicola J Clarke ◽  
Cassandra Phoenix ◽  
Carl Bescoby

In the context of an increasing clinical need to better support self-managemt for people living with long-term health conditions an interest in the role of social networks has emerged. Given that sport participation often provides opportunities for social engagement, a space to explore Self-managemt at the intersection of medical sociology and the sociology of sport has opened up. This article presents findings from an exploratory qualitative study with organ transplant recipients who have participated in Transplant Games events – national and international multi-sport competitions for organ transplant recipients. Our findings illustrate how sport-based Social networks serve as resources for health-related knowledge, provide participants with additional affective support and help shape health expectations for the future. Although sport-based Social networks were seen as an overwhelmingly positive resource for our participants, it is plausible that harmful unintended consequences could arise for patients with existing Self-managemt issues. As such, it is recommended that people seeking to use sport as a tool to enhance illness Self-managemt should consider the various and powerful ways that Social networks can be impactful and anticipate the potential consequences accordingly.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110051
Author(s):  
Rashmi Gupta ◽  
Jemima Jacob ◽  
Gaurav Bansal

Psychosocial stressors and social disadvantages contribute to inequalities in opportunities and outcomes. In the current paper, we use an epidemiological perspective and highlight the role stress plays on individuals by reviewing the outcomes of major stressors such as poverty and unemployment. We further analyzed the psychological and physical cost of these stressors and their long-term impact. We examined the role of universal basic income and closely looked at income experiments that were implemented in the past, in terms of their effectiveness in enhancing the community as well as individual outcomes and propose the UBI as a tool for alleviating the impact of these stressors. At a time when a major pandemic (e.g., COVID-19) threatens economic stability and health globally, we believe the UBI is relevant now, more than ever.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade B. Jackson ◽  
Eva Feredoes ◽  
Anina N. Rich ◽  
Michael Lindner ◽  
Alexandra Woolgar

AbstractDorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is proposed to drive brain-wide focus by biasing processing in favour of task-relevant information. A longstanding debate concerns whether this is achieved through enhancing processing of relevant information and/or by inhibiting irrelevant information. To address this, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during fMRI, and tested for causal changes in information coding. Participants attended to one feature, whilst ignoring another feature, of a visual object. If dlPFC is necessary for facilitation, disruptive TMS should decrease coding of attended features. Conversely, if dlPFC is crucial for inhibition, TMS should increase coding of ignored features. Here, we show that TMS decreases coding of relevant information across frontoparietal cortex, and the impact is significantly stronger than any effect on irrelevant information, which is not statistically detectable. This provides causal evidence for a specific role of dlPFC in enhancing task-relevant representations and demonstrates the cognitive-neural insights possible with concurrent TMS-fMRI-MVPA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-203
Author(s):  
Tal Braverman-Uriel ◽  
Tal Litvak-Hirsch

The impact of sexuality on mental wellbeing in women in long-term relationships has only been partially investigated. Emphasis has been on quantitative research studies that do not capture the breadth of the field. The present study looked at how and to what extent women maintain sexual desire in long-term relationships, and how sexuality affects their mental wellbeing. The study used a qualitative narrative approach and included semi-structured interviews with approximately 20 Israeli women aged 40–55 from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and in longstanding, permanent relationships. The findings indicate significant development over the years in the perception of the role of sexuality and its impact on mental wellbeing. The path to good sexuality can and should follow women’s leadership and initiative. Such women have the desire to make an impact, willingness to make an effort, and even an actual ability to exert influence. The interviewees’ tools, strategies, insights and ways of coping can serve as models for other women seeking better sexuality in a long-term relationship.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hergarten ◽  
Thomas Kenkmann

Abstract. Worldwide erosion rates seem to have increased strongly since the beginning of the Quaternary, but there is still discussion about the role of glaciation as a potential driver and even whether the increase is real at all or an artefact due to losses in the long-term sedimentary record. In this study we derive estimates of average erosion rates on the time scale of some tens of million years from the terrestrial impact crater inventory. This approach is completely independent from all other methods to infer erosion rates such as river loads, preserved sediments, cosmogenic nuclides and thermochronometry. Our approach yields average erosion rates as a function of present-day topography and climate. The results confirm that topography accounts for the main part of the huge variation of erosion on Earth, but also identifies a significant systematic dependence on climate in contrast to several previous studies. We found a fivefold increase in erosional efficacy from the cold regimes to the tropical zone and that temperate and arid climates are very similar in this context. Combining our results to a worldwide mean erosion rate we found that erosion rates on the time scale of some tens of million years are at least as high as present-day rates and suggest that glaciation has a rather regional effect with a limited impact at the continental scale.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 1706-1717
Author(s):  
Krisada Sungkhamanee, Piyadhida Sungkhamanee

Investment decisions have great importance in different sectors of various countries and these decisions are the basis on which the outcomes of the investments are based. However, there might be certain factors that might lead to the incorrect long term and short term investment decisions. In this regard, the current study has been conducted with the core motive to explore the impact casted by the environment and potential factors i.e. salience and overconfidence on the long term investment decisions for accommodation business along with the moderation of a variable i.e. financial literacy. To fulfill this objective, the researcher has collected data from the investors of accommodation businesses in Thailand. The collected data has been subjected to different statistical techniques and tools for analysis purpose and the results have been obtained. The results obtained by the analysis of the collected data indicate that salience and overconfidence have significant impact on the long term investment decision. In addition, the moderating role of financial literacy has also been found as significant in the study. The results suggest that the investors of the accommodation business must consider the aspects of salience and overconfidence before taking any long term investment decision to avoid failure of the investment decision.    


Author(s):  
Jana Štrangfeldová ◽  
Štefan Hronec ◽  
Jana Hroncová Vicianová ◽  
Nikola Štefanišinová

Education is a key area, the results of which play an important role in the development of each society. The role of education focused on the inclusion of children into school groups, to prepare students to enter the labour market or continue their studies in the context of tertiary education is a sufficient argument to enable beginning to look for answers and possible solutions to the difficult question of the quality of schools. Constant pressure from the public forces them to monitor and improve the provision of public services, and continually enhance their own performance in order to achieve long-term existential security. These facts consequently require a comprehensive measurement of their performance. This opens up opportunities for applying the concept of Value For Money based on the principles of New Public Management. The purpose of the scientific study is to show the potential uses of Value for Money on the example of education. The suggestion of methodology of VFM to measure the performance in education presented in this study shows possibilities to measure, evaluate, monitor and achieve necessary and especially relevant information about the situation of education and subsequent decision-making not only for public forces, but also, it can be the suitable tool for public grammar schools themselves. The article is co-financed by the project VEGA 1/0651/17.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Esti Susanti

In recent business competition, marketing managers try to satisfying consumers and building stable-long term relationship between company and consumer. The relationship needs consumer’s trust to company. That is why marketing managers are interested in knowing the impact of trust, loyalty and corporate social responsibility (CSR) toward customer retention (repurchase intention) in order to develop the long term profitability of the company. The long term relationship with consumers results in profitability and also impacts of survival and company development. In other word, trust influences toward loyalty and consumer retention. In the same moment, it is not surprising that academicians and practitioner effort to understand trust, customer loyalty, repurchase intention and CSR. This research examines firstly, influence of customer trust toward customer loyalty. Secondly, the research examines influence of customer loyalty toward repurchase intention. Thirdly, the research examines the role of perceived CSR as a moderating variable on the influence customer trust toward customer loyalty. The packaged-drinking water Aqua is taken as the research context because the Aqua company have donated 10 litter clean water in East Indonesia for each of one litter consumer buying. The result of the research shows that perceived CSR play a strong and positive role of influencing trust toward loyalty. Otherwise, trust influences strongly toward loyalty and loyalty influences strong enough toward repurchase intention. The result is expected to give managerial benefit for Aqua Company and also theoretical development in marketing related to the moderation role of perceived CSR in the influence of trust toward loyalty and repurchase intention.


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