scholarly journals Reproductive science and the future of the planet

Reproduction ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 158 (3) ◽  
pp. R91-R96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jock K Findlay ◽  
Michael K Holland ◽  
Bob B M Wong
Keyword(s):  
Short Review ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Livestock Breeding ◽  
Rational Development ◽  
The Future ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Reproductive Science ◽  
Do So ◽  
Valid Information

Reproductive sciences have made major contributions to human health, livestock production and environmental management in the past and will continue to do so in future. In collaboration with other disciplines, reproductive scientists can provide scientifically valid information that will allow the rational development of policies on topics such as declining fertility in men and women, livestock breeding efficiencies, climate change, pest animal control, wildlife management and environmental influences. It is imperative that the reproductive sciences are recognised by the community and policy makers as important contributors to future health and welfare of animals, humans and the planet if these potential benefits are to be captured and utilised. Reproductive Health Australia (RHA) was launched recently to advocate for reproductive biology as a national health, economic and social priority. This short review provides a snapshot of why it is imperative that reproductive science receives the recognition that is due to it and provides examples of how it can contribute to the future of the planet.

Prospect in Special Education in Australia for the Next 10 Years

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-24
Author(s):  
Merrill Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Federal Funds ◽  
Disabled Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Regular School ◽  
State Education ◽  
Exchange Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
Do So

Because educational and special educational changes have been so great over the last decade or so in Australia it is with some trepidation that I have agreed to write about the future of Special Education in this country. Since, however, the population of Australia is relatively small and because the States and State Education departments and policy makers appear to exchange information regularly and because Special Education has benefitted greatly by the injection of Federal funds, each of the States whilst developing their individual policies has a great deal in common, although some important differences exist.Perhaps Victoria has taken the strongest position on considering the rights of all children to Special Education, noting among other things, that all children have a right to be educated in a regular school and that all children can learn and be taught. This last comment which raises the educability debate, will I believe continue to do so as we move into the end of the twentieth century. As disabled students are continually placed into regular schools it will undoubtedly lead to an ongoing discussion and debate about this issue. The question will continue to be asked whether spending seventeen or twenty five years to teach someone to feed themselves independently, to dress, to toilet and to learn to react to a variety of instructions is justified as we now debate issues like language learning and the acquisition of a word recognition vocabulary. It is proposed to discuss the future of Special Education under a variety of headings as follows.

scholarly journals Do socio-economic indicators associate with COVID-2019 cases? Findings from a Philippine study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Alipio
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Kendall Rank Correlation ◽  
Public Data ◽  
The Future ◽  
Philippine Government

Background: A wide spectrum of indicators has been postulated to associate with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-2019) cases. Among which were demographic profile, latitude, humidity, temperature, and ozone concentration. Despite obtaining significant results, there is still a dearth of research exploring other substantial determinants of Covid-2019 cases. The Philippine government is currently challenged to address issues pertaining to poverty and substinence. Empirical evidence of these studies suggests how identification of potential indicators could aid in the formulation of targeted strategies to mitigate future health problems. In this study, seven socio-economic indicators were associated with Covid-2019 cases across 17 regions in the Philippines. This is a retrospective study utilizing readily accessible public data in the analysis. Socio-economic indicators used were poverty incidence, magnitude of poor families, substinence incidence, and magnitude of substinence poor population. In addition, the income, expenditure, and savings recorded per Philippine region were taken for the analysis. A single Philippine region was the sampling unit; hence, a total of 17 regions were assessed. Covid-2019 cases as of April 7, 2020 were considered for the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Kendall rank correlation, and stepwise regression were used to determine if the seven socio-economic indicators were associated with Covid-2019 cases. Substinence incidence and income were retained for the regression model, which explained 87.2 percent of the variance in the Covid-2019 cases (R2 = .872). The results indicated that for every 1,000 PhP increase in income, there was a decrease of 3.99 Covid-2019 cases in each Philippine region. Meanwhile, for every 1.0 percent increase in substinence incidence, there was an increase of 3.34 Covid-2019 cases in each Philippine region. High income and low substinence incidence are associated with significant reductions in Covid-2019 cases across the 17 regions of the Philippines. This provides additional knowledge to policy makers and health officials in formulating targeted strategies to regions that could potentially record high number of Covid-2019 cases in the future. Early identification of these high-risk regions would warrant prompt preventive measures. Given the seasonal and recurring nature of Covid-2019 with respect to previous outbreaks, it is essential for the Philippine government to formulate directed policies and innovate programs that would decrease substinence and increase income. Concerted multi-region efforts should be made to prepare for possible infection outbreaks in the future. Additional studies could be explored in the future to capture significant changes in the socio-economic indicators.

Hill farming - An opinion on the future

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
G.W. Sheath
Keyword(s):  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Future ◽  
Hill Farming

This paper is not a formal review of hill farming literature. Rather, it is my view on the critical challenges and changes that we need to deal with if mixed livestock farming on hill lands is to be successful over the next 20 years. It is my hope that industry leaders, policy makers and agribusiness managers will give consideration to these views. Some people say that it is not smart to look into the rear-vision mirror, but I do not agree. Having a better understanding of the consequences of past events can help guide future decisions and changes.

Can Bitcoin be the Future of Digital Payments?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-500
Author(s):  
Andrea Valente ◽  
◽  
David Atkinson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Price Volatility ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Future ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Digital Payments ◽  
Robust Regulation ◽  
Stakeholder Acceptance

This study aimed to investigate the conditions in which Bitcoin has developed as a leading cryptocurrency and, according to Nakamoto (2008), could become an instrument for everyday payments around the world. In comparison to other digital payment solutions, Bitcoin is based on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system using “the blockchain”. This innovative technology allows for decentralised storage and movement of currency in a fully anonymous way, introducing advantageous methods for encrypted security and faster transactions (Hagiu & Beach, 2014). Scepticism regards Bitcoin’s foundation, energy consumption and price volatility, however, did not take long to arise (Holthaus, 2017). Ten years from its white paper release, Bitcoin is further supported by the same drivers which could sustain its growth as the future of digital payments (Russo, 2018). In order to investigate the key drivers and feasibility of acceptance, a London based survey was used to understand the desirability of Bitcoin as a day-to-day tool for digital payments. Additionally, this research analysed Bitcoin’s stakeholders and forecast drivers of sustainability for its application to become the future of the payment industry. A space which relies on policies that involve multiple layers of society, governments, regulators and tech-firms, all on a global scale. The findings confirmed how the increasing lack of trust of political and financial institutions, coupled with the increasing cases of data-breaches by tech-firms, encouraged over 70% of respondents to consider more decentralised and anonymous methods for their day-to-day actions; like payments. Policy makers need to cope with societies increasingly separating politically but gathering together digitally (LBS, 2017). For Bitcoin to truly establish itself as a global digital payment solution, key stakeholder acceptance must converge alongside the introduction of more robust regulation.

Asian American and Pacific Islanders Serving Institutions: The Motivations and Challenges behind Seeking a Federal Designation

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Park ◽  
Mitchell Chang
Keyword(s):  
Asian American ◽  
Pacific Islander ◽  
Pacific Islanders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Federal Support ◽  
The Future

This article examines the development of legislation to create a federal designation for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) serving institutions. Specifically, the article draws from interviews with nineteen policy makers, congressional staffers, and community advocates in order to address their motivations for establishing this designation and the related challenges that they encountered. Besides the complexities of ushering legislation through Congress, one of the major challenges highlighted includes the lack of political infrastructure for advocating Asian American issues related to education. Recommendations for the future sustainability of federal support for AAPI serving institutions are also discussed.

Big Questions in Ecology and Evolution

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas N. Sherratt ◽  
David M. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Partial Solution ◽  
Fundamental Importance ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Text Book ◽  
Broad Audience ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Made In ◽  
Do So

Why do we age? Why cooperate? Why do so many species engage in sex? Why do the tropics have so many species? When did humans start to affect world climate? This book provides an introduction to a range of fundamental questions that have taxed evolutionary biologists and ecologists for decades. Some of the phenomena discussed are, on first reflection, simply puzzling to understand from an evolutionary perspective, whilst others have direct implications for the future of the planet. All of the questions posed have at least a partial solution, all have seen exciting breakthroughs in recent years, yet many of the explanations continue to be hotly debated. Big Questions in Ecology and Evolution is a curiosity-driven book, written in an accessible way so as to appeal to a broad audience. It is very deliberately not a formal text book, but something designed to transmit the excitement and breadth of the field by discussing a number of major questions in ecology and evolution and how they have been answered. This is a book aimed at informing and inspiring anybody with an interest in ecology and evolution. It reveals to the reader the immense scope of the field, its fundamental importance, and the exciting breakthroughs that have been made in recent years.

scholarly journals Alternatives to and Reduction of Animal Use in Biomedical Research, Education and Testing

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (1_part_1) ◽  
pp. 65-74
Author(s):  
John M. Frazier ◽  
Alan M. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Research Education ◽  
New Methods ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
The Future ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Animal Use ◽  
Do So

Biomedical endeavours can be divided into three major categories: research, education, and testing. Within the context of each of these categories, activities involving whole animals have made major contributions and will continue to do so in the future. However, with technological developments in the areas of biotechnology and computers, new methods are already reducing the use of whole animals in certain areas. This article discusses the general issues of alternatives and then focuses on the development of new approaches to toxicity testing.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-induced PPE and single-use plastic waste generation scenario

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2098082
Author(s):  
Md. Sazzadul Haque ◽  
Shafkat Sharif ◽  
Aseer Masnoon ◽  
Ebne Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Polyethylene Bags ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Disposable Plastic ◽  
Do So

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated both positive and negative effects on the environment. Major concerns over personal hygiene, mandated and ease in lockdown actions and slackening of some policy measures have led to a massive surge in the use of disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) and other single-use plastic items. This generated an enormous amount of plastic waste from both healthcare and household units, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Apart from the healthcare workers, the general public have become accustomed to using PPE. These habits are threatening the land and marine environment with immense loads of plastic waste, due to improper disposal practices across the world, especially in developing nations. Contaminated PPE has already made its way to the oceans which will inevitably produce plastic particles alongside other pathogen-driven diseases. This study provided an estimation-based approach in quantifying the amount of contaminated plastic waste that can be expected daily from the massive usage of PPE (e.g. facemasks) because of the countrywide mandated regulations on PPE usage. The situation of Bangladesh has been analysed and projections revealed that a total of 3.4 billion pieces of single-use facemask, hand sanitizer bottles, hand gloves and disposable polyethylene bags will be produced monthly, which will give rise to 472.30 t of disposable plastic waste per day. The equations provided for the quantification of waste from used single-use plastic and PPE can be used for other countries for rough estimations. Then, the discussed recommendations will help concerned authorities and policy makers to design effective response plans. Sustainable plastic waste management for the current and post-pandemic period can be imagined and acted upon.

scholarly journals Myopic Savings Behaviour of Future Polish Pensioners

Risks ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Sonia Buchholtz ◽  
Jan Gąska ◽  
Marek Góra
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Models ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Second Best ◽  
External Assistance ◽  
Old Age Poverty

Low saving rates combined with low effective retirement age herald old-age poverty. This paper examines the preferred strategies of future Polish pensioners in order to sustain the standard of living in the future. A two-step approach is used: as a first-best strategy, we explore determinants of supplementary saving with binary logistic models; as a second-best strategy, we examine alternative options with principal component analysis. Future retirees rarely accumulate long-term savings, do not use dedicated instruments, and they start to save additionally far too late. Savings are concentrated in wealthier and better educated groups. Such myopia is governed by their political stance and not by awareness of dire prospects. Second-best strategies are based on optimistic assumptions about future health (seeking for additional jobs), on the assumed generosity of acquaintances or social institutions (relying on external assistance), or on rebelling. Given the increasing political power of elder generations, balancing the interests of workers and retirees will be an increasingly difficult task for policy makers.

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