Evaluation at the Endgame: Evaluating Sustainability and the SDGs by Moving Past Dominion and Institutional Capture

Three facts underlay this chapter. First, the human system and all our ambitions for improving the human system depend on sustainable natural systems. Second, we do not have much time. On track to fall well short of all sustainability goals, the climate and sustainability crises grow and extinction looms. Third, up to this point evaluation has shown little interest in sustainability, yet evaluation potentially addresses the very questions that are central to informing and guiding rapid adaptation of human behavior to successfully surmounting extinction.Business-as-usual evaluation will not suffice. At the endgame with extinction looming, we need an evaluation that is more nimble, keeps up with rapidly accelerating knowledge, is relentlessly use-seeking and that guides the way to joined-up approaches. The evaluation we need will systematically mainstream sustainability across all evaluations and interventions, in all evaluation criteria and standards. For this, all evaluations will always address nexus where human and natural systems join and incorporate knowledge and methods from both systems. Existing evaluation knowledge is well suited to this task, as are knowledges in biophysical sciences. We know and promote knowledge processes for integrative evaluation and are starting to shift toward the requirements for evaluation at the nexus. As this chapter shows, the anchors holding us back are political, not technical.

Innovative Evaluation Techniques for Hanok Sustainability Based on Integrative Comfort Indices

This study aims to present integrative evaluation techniques that can assess spatial comfort reflecting the unique value of a vernacular building type in Korea called Hanok. For this purpose, current evaluation indices and methods of official standards for normal building performance were analyzed through previous studies, since any certified tools for Hanok evaluation do not exist. This situation has made relevant markets to be deactivated, although Hanok has valuable meanings as the traditional architecture to be succeeded to the next generation in Korea. Accordingly, specific assessment indices were derived to evaluate the Hanok sustainability especially focused on spatial comfort by using a qualitative field surveys with combined quantitative references. Then, actual resident data were collected from a series of Hanok testbeds for specific time-points including summer and winter solstices on the lunar-year system. As a result, resident data could be employed to reveal the characteristics of comfort performance from those target specimens, and show the tendency of the Hanok comfort by suggested innovative criteria for the market as a clue for its commercial potentials. Accordingly, it was concluded that the proposed techniques and indices could be certified for the Hanok evaluation and applied to the field of associated industries to show its specific values and advantages.

Identity Crisis: An Integrative Re-Evaluation of Typhlatya Shrimp within the Karst Aquifer of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.

The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico is a carbonate platform well-known for extensive karst networks of densely stratified aquifer ecosystems. This aquifer supports diverse anchialine fauna, including species of the globally distributed atyid shrimp genus Typhlatya. Four species (T. campecheae, T. pearsei, T. dzilamensis and T. mitchelli) are endemic to the Peninsula, of which three are federally listed in Mexico. This first integrative evaluation [i.e., molecular (public and newly generated), morphological, broad geographic and type locality sampling, and environmental data] of Yucatán Typhlatya reveals considerable species identity conflict in prior phylogenetic assessments, broad species ranges and sympatry within cave systems, five genetic lineages (three known and two new to science) with the endangered T. campecheae herein classified as junior synonym of the vulnerable T. pearsei. Ancestral/divergence reconstructions support convergent evolution of a low-salinity/stenohaline ancestor of a post-Paleogene arc Yucatán+Cuba Typhlatya clade within a euryhaline/anchialine-adapted atyid clade, and secondary adaptation of the coastal-restricted euryhaline [2-37 psu] T. dzilamensis (unknown conservation status), of which the remaining four species lineages are low-salinity/stenohaline adapted found in both inland and coastal regions. This study demonstrates the need for integrative/interdisciplinary approaches when conducting biodiversity assessments in complex and poorly studied aquifers.

Actions to Perfect Integrating Evaluation in The Training Of Physical Education Teachers

Experience is shared in the application of actions aimed at improving the training of physical educators. It also highlights the evaluation as a substantial element in the training of the professional of physical culture at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico. It takes the evaluation as a didactic category that allows integrating all the elements of the teaching-learning process and in its application to verify the effectiveness of the training process. This paper focuses on the elaboration of didactic actions to improve the professional performance of the Physical Culture of students through evaluations in real contexts. Methodologically, collaborative research was used as a variant of participatory action research and as a case study method. As a significant result, it was possible to elaborate and apply the actions to improve the integrative evaluation, which allows evaluating the integration of all the didactic elements in terms of practical performance.

Assessment of Exercise Intolerance in Patients with Pre-Dialysis CKD with Cardiopulmonary Function Testing: Translation to Everyday Practice

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often characterized by increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and increased incidence of cardiovascular events and death. Reduced cardiovascular reserve and exercise intolerance are common in patients with CKD and are associated with adverse outcomes. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> The gold standard for identifying exercise limitation is cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). CPET provides an integrative evaluation of cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematopoietic, neuropsychological, and metabolic function during maximal or submaximal exercise. It is useful in clinical setting for differentiation of the causes of exercise intolerance, risk stratification, and assessment of response to relevant treatments. A number of recent studies have used CPET in patients with pre-dialysis CKD, aiming to assess the cardiovascular reserve of these individuals, as well as the effect of interventions such as exercise training programs on their functional capacity. This review provides an in-depth description of CPET methodology and an overview of studies that utilized CPET technology to assess cardiovascular reserve in patients with pre-dialysis CKD. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> CPET can delineate multisystem changes and offer comprehensive phenotyping of factors determining overall cardiovascular risk. Potential clinical applications of CPET in CKD patients range from objective diagnosis of exercise intolerance to preoperative and long-term risk stratification and providing intermediate endpoints for clinical trials. Future studies should delineate the association of CPET indexes, with cardiovascular and respiratory alterations and hard outcomes in CKD patients, to enhance its diagnostic and prognostic utility in this population.

Comparative analysis of sustainability assessment methods in agroecosystems

The aim of this work was to compare and analyze three different methods of the sustainability evaluation in agricultural systems, such as the Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA), the weighted Assessment of environmental impact of New Rural activities (APOIA Novo-Rural), and the indicators of sustainability in Agroecosystem (ISA). Those methods were comparied by two criteria. The first one relates to the distribution of sustainability indicators into categories (Endogenous System Operation, Endogenous Resources, Exogenous Systems Operation, and Exogenous Resources) and elements (technical, socioeconomic, natural and cultural resources). The second one involves the conceptual approaches of each method towards the concept of sustainability, objective and target audience, adoption of the systemic approach, level of stakeholder’s participation, level of adequacy, and method flexibility in different realities. The indicators set of each method, although quantitatively different, consider the diversity of elements that involve the agricultural systems. The IDEA method concentrates its indicators on the Endogenous System Operation category, while the APOIA Novo-Rural and the ISA methods concentrate their indicators on the Endogenous Resources category. The IDEA method directs the assessment to the awareness of the environmental processes that surround the agricultural activity in the property. On the other hand, in the APOIA Novo-Rural and the ISA methods, the reflective practice is fostered from impacts on the environment, and can be improved by extension actions. The main difference presented among those methods is the integrative evaluation of the indicators as well as trade-offs involved.

Social Sustainability of Compact Neighbourhoods Evidence from London and Berlin

This article revisits social sustainability of compact urban neighbourhoods based on first-hand evidence from four case studies in London and Berlin. It suggests a working definition for socially sustainable neighbourhoods, develops a tripartite integrative evaluation framework for measuring social sustainability of urban neighbourhoods, and applies it to four case studies in London and Berlin. Findings of this research are in line with some dominant arguments made in favour of social sustainability of compact urban form, but challenges some others. Research findings suggest that compact urban form is not an urban orthodoxy, but has multiple and contrasting social meanings and perceptions in different contexts and places.