bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct distinction of ibuprofen and flurbiprofen enantiomers by ion mobility mass spectrometry of their ternary complexes with metal cations and cyclodextrins in the gas phase
Authors: Gu Liancheng , Wu Fangling , Yang Shutong , Xu Fuxing , Dai Xinhua , Jiang You , Fang Xiang , Yu Shaoning , Ding Chuan‐Fan
Published: April 2021

Enantiomeric drugs are widely used and play important roles in pharmaceuticals. Ion mobility spectrometry coupled with mass spectrometry technology provides a unique method for distinguishing the enantiomeric drugs, enantiomeric identification, and quantitation in the gas phase. In this study, enantiomeric molecules of ibuprofen and flurbiprofen were clearly recognized by forming host–guest complex ions using trapped ion mobility time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Ternary complex ions can be produced easily by electrospray ionization of the mixed solutions of ibuprofen, cyclodextrins, and CaCl2, LiCl, or NaCl, as well as flurbiprofen, cyclodextrins, and CaCl2. The relative contents of different chiral ibuprofens in a mixed solution were also quantitatively measured. This new method is a simple, effective, and a convenient enantioselective analysis method.
The downside of scarcity: Scarcity appeals can trigger consumer anger and brand switching intentions
Authors: Biraglia Alessandro , Usrey Bryan , Ulqinaku Aulona
Published: April 2021

Brands often use scarcity appeals to promote sales. However, there is limited research investigating how consumers react when they are unable to obtain items that are advertised using scarcity appeals in terms of limited quantity. In two studies, experimental and correlational, we show that consumers who do not get the product associated to scarcity appeals (vs. not) have higher intentions to switch to competitor brands. This effect is mediated by consumer anger. We present theoretical contributions in research on scarcity appeals and consumer emotions (i.e., anger) and we discuss managerial implications of how scarcity appeals can sometimes backfire and lead to consumers switching to other competitor brands when they fail to obtain the product advertised as limited in quantity.
Can planning prompt be a boon for impulsive customers? Moderating roles of product category and decisional procrastination
Authors: Upadhye Bilwa , Sivakumaran Bharadhwaj , Pradhan Debasis , Lyngdoh Teidorlang
Published: April 2021

Extant research in the Impulse Buying domain has predominantly focused on how it can be enhanced and has mostly benefitted marketers. This study, however, shifts the focus to consumers and how they can mitigate or reduce impulse buying. Drawing on Action Regulation Theory, we posit that planning prompts mitigates impulse buying; and that this mitigating effect is stronger for individuals with high (vis‐à‐vis low) decisional procrastination as also for vice (vis‐à‐vis virtue) products. Hypotheses were tested using two studies conducted in India. Study 1 (n = 200) was conducted using a vignette‐based experiment in a hypothetical scenario while Study 2 (n = 200) was a field experiment conducted on consumers in a mall setting. Our research advances knowledge with regard to mitigating avoidable impulse buying and adds to extant research on planning prompts. We also document key theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.
ATP8a1, an IFT27 binding partner, is dispensable for spermatogenesis and male fertility
Authors: Yap Yi T. , Li Yu H. , Li Wei , Banerjee Probal , Zhang Zhibing
Published: April 2021

Intraflagellar transport 27 (IFT27) is a key regulator for spermiogenesis and male fertility in mice. ATP8a1, a protein involved in the translocation of phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine across lipid bilayers, is the strongest binding partner of IFT27. To investigate the role of ATP8a1 in spermatogenesis and male fertility, the global Atp8a1 knockout mice were analyzed. All mutant mice were fertile, and sperm count and motility were comparable to the control mice. Examination of testis and epididymis by hematoxylin and eosin staining did not reveal major histologic defects. These observations demonstrate that ATP8a1 is not a major spermatogenesis regulator. Given that a tissue‐specific paralogue of ATP8a1, ATP8a2, is present, further studies with double‐knockout models are warranted to delineate any compensatory functions of the two proteins.
Equipment Is an Enabler for Current and Future Display Technologies
Authors: Visser Robert Jan
Published: April 2021

There is a long road from the generation of a new idea or the discovery of a new effect towards the beautiful displays you see in your cell phone, watch, or TV. The equipment industry plays an essential role in translating these new principles into large‐scale manufacturable and affordable displays.
LCD Fights Back Against OLED With MiniLED Backlight Technology
Authors: Chansin Guillaume
Published: April 2021

MiniLED technology gives LCD panels a chance to stay in the race against OLED for high‐end applications—especially in the advanced TV market. However, the cost may not always be competitive against OLED.
Single‐step calculation of susceptibility through multiple orientation sampling
Authors: Chen Lin , Cai Shuhui , van Zijl Peter C. M. , Li Xu
Published: April 2021

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) was developed to estimate the spatial distribution of magnetic susceptibility from MR signal phase acquired using a gradient echo (GRE) sequence. The field‐to‐susceptibility inversion in QSM is known to be ill‐posed and needs numerical stabilization through either regularization or data oversampling. The calculation of susceptibility through the multiple orientation sampling (COSMOS) method uses phase data acquired at three or more head orientations to achieve a well‐conditioned field‐to‐susceptibility inversion and is often considered the gold standard for in vivo QSM. However, the conventional COSMOS approach, here named multistep COSMOS (MSCOSMOS), solves the dipole inversion from the local field derived from raw GRE phase through multiple steps of phase preprocessing. Error propagations between these consecutive phase processing steps can thus affect the final susceptibility quantification. On the other hand, recently proposed single‐step QSM (SSQSM) methods aim to solve an integrated inversion from unprocessed or total phase to mitigate such error propagations but have been limited to single orientation QSM. This study therefore aimed to test the feasibility of using single‐step COSMOS (SSCOSMOS) to jointly perform background field removal and dipole inversion with multiple orientation sampling, which could serve as a better standard for gauging SSQSM methods. We incorporated multiple spherical mean value (SMV) kernels of various radii with the dipole inversion in SSCOSMOS. QSM reconstructions with SSCOSMOS and MSCOSMOS were compared using both simulations with a numerical head phantom and in vivo human brain data. SSCOSMOS permitted integrated background removal and dipole inversion without the need to adjust any regularization parameters. In addition, with sufficiently large SMV kernels, SSCOSMOS performed consistently better than MSCOSMOS in all the tested error metrics in our simulations, giving better susceptibility quantification and smaller reconstruction error. Consistent tissue susceptibility values were obtained between SSCOSMOS and MSCOSMOS.
Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network ALK Testing Guidelines for Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in U.S. Community Medical Centers
Authors: Bernicker Eric H. , Xiao Yan , Abraham Anup , Yang Baiyu , Croix Denise A. , Redpath Stella , Engstrom-Melnyk Julia , Shah Roma , Madala Jaya , Allen Timothy C.
Published: April 2021

Background

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend biomarker testing as the first step in the management of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). We assessed anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) testing rates and factors related to underuse in community medical systems between 2012 and 2019 to understand guideline adoption.

Methods

A retrospective observational study using a nationwide electronic health record (EHR)-derived deidentified database was conducted. Patients with aNSCLC diagnosed in community medical centers from January 2012 to May 2019 were included to describe the ALK testing trend. This cohort was further restricted to patients diagnosed after 2015 to understand factors associated with testing underuse using mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

Trends for increased ALK testing rates by year were observed in both NCCN guideline-eligible patients (59.5% in 2012 to 84.1% in 2019) and -ineligible patients (15.6% to 50.8%) in a cohort of 41,728 patients. Histology type and smoking status had the greatest impact on test use. Compared with patients with nonsquamous histology and no smoking history, patients with squamous histology and no smoking history (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 7.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6–10.4), NSCLC histology not otherwise specified (NOS) with smoking history (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.8–4.2); NSCLC NOS/nonsmoker (aOR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1–3.2), and nonsquamous/smoker (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3–1.7) were less likely to be tested. Factors related to underuse also included Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, stage at initial diagnosis, and demographics.

Conclusion

This analysis of real-world data shows increasing test use by year; however, one fifth of patients eligible for ALK testing still remain untested and potentially missing therapeutic options.

Implications for Practice

Advancement in treatment of lung cancer is accompanied by an increasing number of tests that should be run to determine potential therapy options for each patient. This study assessed adoption of testing recommendations for anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements in a national database. Although test use increased over the time period studied (2012–2019), there is still room for improvement. Efforts are needed to increase test use in undertested groups, thus enabling eligible patients to benefit from novel lung cancer therapies.
Improvement of the impact resistance of natural fiber–reinforced polypropylene composites through hybridization
Authors: Várdai Róbert , Lummerstorfer Thomas , Pretschuh Claudia , Jerabek Michael , Gahleitner Markus , Bartos András , Móczó János , Anggono Juliana , Pukánszky Béla
Published: April 2021

Polypropylene (PP) hybrid composites were prepared by the combination of natural reinforcements and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers. Wood, flax, and sugar palm fibers were used to increase stiffness and strength, while PET fibers served to improve impact resistance. Interfacial adhesion was increased by using a maleated PP (MAPP) coupling agent. The hybrid composites containing 20 wt% of the natural fibers were homogenized in a twin‐screw compounder and then injection molded into standard tensile specimens. The amount of PET fibers was changed from 0 to 40 wt% in the composites. Tensile and impact testing, acoustic emission measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for the characterization of the composites as well as to follow deformation and failure processes. The results proved that the concept of using PET fibers to improve impact resistance works with all natural fibers. Local deformations, the debonding or pullout of the PET fibers, initiate the plastic deformation of the matrix, which consumes considerable energy. The fracture of PET fibers might also contribute to energy absorption. The type of natural fiber does not influence the effect; the amount of PET fibers determines fracture resistance. The improvement of interfacial adhesion by coupling increases strength and slightly improves impact resistance. The overall properties of the hybrid composites prepared are acceptable, sufficiently large stiffness and impact resistance being achieved for a large number of structural applications.
Do subjective and objective resilience measures assess unique aspects and what is their relationship to adolescent well‐being?
Authors: Sigley‐Taylor Peta , Chin Tan‐Chyuan , Vella‐Brodrick Dianne A.
Published: April 2021

Measurement of resilience is important within schools to support student mental health and well‐being. Resilience is defined as the healthy integration, adaptation, and positive functioning over time in response to the experience of adversity and challenge. This study explored the relationship between a subjective and objective measure of resilience and the respective predictability of psychophysical well‐being measures. A sample of 282 Year 10 students completed a subjective resilience measure (Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale) and psychological measures of well‐being. A subset of 76 students completed an objective measure of resilience (heart rate variability [HRV]). Correlational analyses revealed no significant relationship between the two measures and do not support the use of one measure as a proxy for the other. Hierarchical regression analyses illustrated the significant predictive quality of the subjective measure to psychophysical well‐being measures. The strongest relationships were reported with EPOCH subscales Optimism (r = 0.68), Happiness (r = 0.64), and Perseverance (r = 0.59). No significant relationships were found between the objective resilience measure and well‐being measures. With objective resilience showing no relationship to subjective resilience and well‐being, it is possible that HRV instead measures the capacity for resilience, rather than resilience. This study highlights the importance of defining resilience and the implications for measurement in adolescent students.
Inhibition of STAT3 prevents bone metastatic progression of prostate cancer in vivo
Authors: Thulin Malin Hagberg , Määttä Jorma , Linder Anna , Sterbova Simona , Ohlsson Claes , Damber Jan‐Erik , Widmark Anders , Persson Emma
Published: April 2021

Background

Prostate cancer (PC) metastasizes to the skeleton forming predominantly sclerotic lesions, and there is currently no cure for bone metastatic disease. The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is implicated as a metastatic driver, but its potential as therapeutic target in bone metastasis has not been investigated. In this study, we evaluated for the first time a STAT3 inhibitor, Napabucasin, as a therapeutic option for bone metastatic PC.

Methods

Effects of STAT3 inhibitors, Stattic and Napabucasin, on metastatic potential in PC cells were studied in vitro by assessment of migration capacity, self‐renewal potential, and tumorsphere formation. For evaluation of the role of STAT3 in initial skeletal establishment of PC cells as well as in progressed castration‐resistant PC (CRPC) in bone, human VCaP prostate cancer cells were inoculated in the tibia of mice which subsequently were treated with the STAT3 inhibitor Napabucasin. Bone specimens were analyzed using computed tomography (CT), immunohistochemistry, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Results

The small molecule STAT3 inhibitors Stattic and Napabucasin both effectively impaired metastatic potential of PC cells in vitro. Furthermore, treatment with Napabucasin prevented metastatic establishment in tibial bones in vivo and thereby also the tumor‐induced sclerotic bone response seen in vehicle‐treated VCaP xenografts. In addition, treatment with Napabucasin of established bone CRPC significantly decreased both tumor burden and tumor‐induced trabecular bone volume compared with effects seen in vehicle‐treated animals. Anti‐mitotic effects were confirmed by decreased Ki67 staining in Napabucasin‐treated xenografts compared with vehicle‐treated xenografts. Alterations of gene expression in the femoral bone marrow (BM) niche toward the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells and the myeloid lineage were demonstrated by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and were further reflected by a substantial increase in the number of erythrocytes in BM of Napabucasin‐treated mice. Furthermore, a unique pattern of STAT3 phosphorylation in osteoblasts/stromal cells surrounding the areas of tumor cells was demonstrated immunohistochemically in bone xenograft models using several different PC cell lines.

Conclusion

Inhibition of STAT3 activity disrupts the bone metastatic niche and targets both the skeletal establishment of PC and advanced bone metastatic CRPC in mice, suggesting STAT3 as a candidate for molecular targeted therapies of skeletal metastatic disease.
The prognostic nomogram including MRI for locally advanced prostate cancer treated by radical prostatectomy
Authors: Wang Yan , Wu Guangyu , Fan Liancheng , Pan Jiahua , Gong Yiming , Fei Xiaochen , Du Xinxing , Zhu Yinjie , Xue Wei
Published: April 2021

Objective

To establish the prognostic nomogram for locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC) patients treated by radical prostatectomy (RP) based on clinical and multiparametric‐MRI (mp‐MRI) metrics.

Methods

One hundred and twenty‐one patients diagnosed with LAPC were included in this study. They were all examined by mp‐MRI within one week before surgery and treated by RP (36 with RP alone, 48 with neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) and 37 with neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy (NCHT)). The biochemical progression‐free survival (bPFS) was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine prognostic factors that were related with bPFS. The prognostic nomogram was established by factors that were significant in multivariate analyses.

Results

The median bPFS had significant difference in the subgroup of treatment (RP alone: 2 [0.00–5.04] vs. NHT: 9.3 [6.746–11.854] vs. NCHT: 11.17 [0.000–25.075] months [Log rank p < .001]), the subgroup of hyperintensity within prostate in DWI (negative: 15.97 [11.202–20.731] vs. positive: 5.2 [2.952–7.448] months [Log rank p < .001]) and the subgroup of pelvic lymph node metastasis (negative: 10.2 [8.404–11.996] vs. unilateral: 4.43 [0.000–11.086] vs. Bilateral: 1.83 [0.636~3.031] [Log rank p < .001]). The method of treatment (hazards ratio [HR], 0.566; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.356–0.899; p = .016), hyperintensity within prostate in DWI (HR, 2.539; 95% CI, 1.349–4.779; p = .004) and the metastasis burden of pelvic lymph node (HR, 2.492; 95% CI, 1.645–3.777; p < .001) were identified as independent predictors with significance in multivariable Cox regression analysis. The nomogram was established based on these three factors.

Conclusion

We established a nomogram based on three significant prognosis factors including the neoadjuvant therapeutic schedule, hyperintensity within prostate in DWI and the metastasis burden of pelvic lymph nodes, which were associated with the clinical outcomes in LAPC patients after surgery.
Herbicide resistance management strategies: how do they compare with those for insecticides, fungicides and antibiotics?
Authors: Beckie Hugh J , Busi Roberto , Lopez‐Ruiz Francisco J , Umina Paul A
Published: April 2021

Herbicides are the largest category of pesticides used in global agriculture, which is reflected in the rate of increase in the number of unique cases of herbicide‐resistant weed biotypes since the late 1950s. Recommended herbicide resistance management strategies and tactics have evolved over the past 50 years through cumulative research and experience and have been regularly reviewed. Nevertheless, new perspectives may be gained by viewing current recommended strategies through the lens of insecticide, fungicide, and antibiotic resistance management. What commonalities exist and what is the basis for disparate strategies? Although pesticide and antibiotic mixtures (or combinations) are generally more effective than rotations (or alternations) in mitigating or managing resistance, the latter strategy is often employed because of greater ease of implementation and other reasons. We conclude that there are more common than different strategies for mitigating or managing pesticide and antibiotic resistance. Overall, a reduction in selection pressure for resistance evolution through diverse multi‐tactic management programmes, and disruption or mitigation of the dispersal or transmission of problematic genotypes are needed to sustain the longevity of current and future mode‐of‐action products for crop and human health protection. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Dynamic event‐triggered sliding mode security control for Markovian jump systems: Learning‐based iteration optimization method
Authors: Chen Bei , Zou Yuanyuan , Niu Yugang
Published: April 2021

This work investigates the sliding mode control (SMC) of Markovian jump systems under communication constraints subject to unavailable states and deception attack. To reduce the information communication, a dynamic event‐triggered (DET) scheme is employed to regulate the transmission of measured outputs, in which the transmitted signals may be maliciously attacked. Meanwhile, a mode estimator is utilized to estimate the unavailable system mode. Then, an asynchronous static output‐feedback SMC law is co‐designed with the DET strategy, by which the influence of deception attacks can be completely accommodated and the closed‐loop systems are ensured to be stochastically ultimate bounded. Moreover, a learning‐based iteration optimization algorithm is developed to minimize the convergence domain. Finally, the numerical simulations are given to illustrate the proposed control scheme.
Power system stability in the transition to a low carbon grid: A techno‐economic perspective on challenges and opportunities
Authors: Meegahapola Lasantha , Mancarella Pierluigi , Flynn Damian , Moreno Rodrigo
Published: April 2021

Increasing power system stability challenges are being witnessed worldwide, while transitioning toward low‐carbon grids with a high‐share of power electronic converter (PEC)‐interfaced renewable energy sources (RESs) and distributed energy resources (DERs). Concurrently, new technologies and operational strategies are being implemented or proposed to tackle these challenges. Since electricity grids are deregulated in many jurisdictions, such technologies need to be integrated within a market framework, which is often a challenge in itself due to inevitable regulatory delays in updating grid codes and market rules. It is also highly desirable to ensure that an economically feasible optimal technology mix is integrated in the power system, without imposing additional burdens on electricity consumers. This article provides a comprehensive overview of emerging power system stability challenges posed by PEC‐interfaced RES and DER, particularly related to low inertia and low system strength conditions, while also introducing new technologies that can help tackle these challenges and discussing the need for suitable techno‐economic considerations to integrate them into system and market operation. As a key point, the importance of recognizing the complexity of system services to guarantee stability in low‐carbon grids is emphasized, along with the need to carefully integrate new grid codes and market mechanisms in order to exploit the full benefits of emerging technologies in the transition toward ultra‐low carbon futures.

This article is categorized under:

Energy Systems Economics > Economics and Policy

Energy Systems Analysis > Systems and Infrastructure

Energy and Development > Systems and Infrastructure
Structural Characterization of Cerium‐encapsulated Preyssler‐type Phosphotungstate: Additional Evidence of Ce(III) in the Cavity
Authors: Shitamatsu Kota , Kojima Tatsuhiro , Waddell Paul G. , Sugiarto  , Ooyama Haruka Egawa , Errington R. John , Sadakane Masahiro
Published: April 2021

Single‐crystal X‐ray structure analysis revealed the precise structure of a Ce‐encapsulated Preyssler‐type phosphotungstate which was first synthesized by Pope et al. Antonio et al. reported that encapsulated Ce has a 3+ oxidation state and is redox‐inactive, which is unlike other Ce‐containing phosphotungstates. Therefore, precise structural analysis about Ce position is needed. The encapsulated Ce was located in one of the side cavities, and was coordinated to one H2O molecule. The position of Ce was similar to that of Y3+ and Eu3+ in similar compounds. This result, together with the bond valence sum calculation, provides additional evidence that the oxidation state of the redox‐inactive Ce in the Preyssler‐type compound is 3+.
The Growing Gap
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

In this chapter Cilliers introduces the growing divergence in income and other indices of well-being between Africa and the Rest of the World. He touches on various aspects such as extreme poverty and Africa’s marginal role in the global economy and illustrates the challenge by comparing the divergent experiences of South Korea and Ghana in demographics and income, before moving to introduce matters relating to productivity, digitisation, agriculture and manufacturing. The chapter presents key characteristics of Africa compared to other countries and regions to 2040, defines some of the terms, introduces the International Futures forecasting platform that is used for the forecasts, and the structure of the book.
Technological Innovation and the Power of Leapfrogging
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

Technological innovation and the notion of leapfrogging are imperative to Africa’s future and will shape development on the continent in ways that are difficult to anticipate. However, the impact of the shale and tight oil revolution in the USA demonstrates the potential of new technologies to leapfrog aspects of traditional development. This is most likely in the renewable energy space provided the challenges associated with energy storage can be overcome. Already the uptake of mobile phones and the internet have brought financial services to millions and mobile telephony is at the forefront of social change in Africa. Building on the example of what is happening in Ghana that was explored in Chapter 9, this chapter models the impact of a Leapfrogging scenario.
Aid, Remittances and Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

Cilliers sheds light on the evolving global aid, investment and remittance landscape and what it means for Africa, with special attention to China’s growing presence on the continent, and compares that with others. Collectively the EU and its member states provide most aid although the USA is Africa’s largest single aid provider. Aid will remain important for low-income countries but its importance is declining in favour of a focus on the need to attract larger volumes of foreign direct investment (FDI). An External Support scenario explores the impact of heightened aid, remittances and FDI on Africa’s development trajectory.
Health
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

In this chapter Cilliers covers Africa’s unique epidemiological history from the early migration of homo sapiens to the devastation of HIV/AIDS and, more recently, the unfolding impact of COVID-19. It explains how humans’ proximity to nature, slow urbanisation and Africa’s distinct climatic conditions have led to an unusually high burden of communicable diseases, particularly the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The chapter also explains the double-burden of communicable and non-communicable disease evident in Africa. The chapter highlights the central role that infrastructural improvements and urban planning play in supporting better health outcomes and impact that poor basic infrastructure and lack of urban planning has in much of Africa. The chapter places a particular emphasis on the central role of potable water and water-borne sanitation in preventing the spread of disease. Finally, scenario analysis is used to demonstrate the relationship between health and economics.
Getting to Africa’s Demographic Dividend
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

In this chapter, Cilliers defines the demographic dividend and explains its relationship to economic growth, with a focus on the African continent. It first covers the fundamentals of the relationship between population and economics, then offers an in-depth discussion of two key concepts, the demographic transition and demographic dividend. The chapter demonstrates that sub-Saharan Africa’s high fertility rates are a drag on development rather than an advantage, as the region can only expect to enjoy a demographic dividend after mid-century. It then uses scenario analysis to demonstrate that, given the right policy conditions, Africa can accelerate population-driven economic growth by reducing its fertility rate through interventions in education, infrastructure, human capital and, most importantly, women’s empowerment.
Boosting Education
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

In this chapter Cilliers provides an overview of trends in education in Africa and compares that with progress in other regions. In addition to a review of common educational outcomes such as measuring years of schooling, he places attention on the poor quality of education and roles of gender exclusion. That is followed by a summary of future education requirements and a scenario, Boosting Education, that explores the impact of improvements in the quality and quantity of education in Africa while taking advantage of technology to promote learning outcomes and human development.
The Future of Work in Africa
Authors: Cilliers Jakkie
Published: April 2021

In this chapter, Cilliers addresses the challenge of widespread unemployment in Africa, and how trends collectively labelled as the ‘future of work’ could unfold on the continent. It describes the differences between the ways in which Africa will likely experience the effects of automation and digitisation on the labour market, and argues that the fourth industrial revolution is less a threat to jobs in Africa than in developed economies. Nevertheless, clear action is needed. Using Ghana as an example, the chapter explores innovative approaches to expanding inclusion in the formal sector, including enabling policies for financial inclusion and increased revenue collection. In addition, it speaks to Africa’s readiness to benefit from the emergent ‘gig economy’, and other forms of labour flexibilisation.
Visualizing Urban Social–Ecological–Technological Systems
Authors: Sauter Daniel , Randhawa Jaskirat , Tomateo Claudia , McPhearson Timon
Published: April 2021

The Urban Systems Lab (USL) Dataviz Platform is an interactive web application to visualize Social, Ecological, and Technological Systems (SETS). This platform is being used to encourage participatory processes, produce new knowledge, and facilitate collaborative analysis within nine Urban Resilience to Weather-related Extremes (UREx) Sustainability Research Network cities. It allows seamless shifts across contexts, scales, and perspectives for analysis within the SETS framework. How is digital space conceptualized for urban analysis and interventions? What is the capacity for reciprocal relationships between digital and physical space? How do we visually understand urban systems and complex spatial relationships? This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the application stack and the different representational categories embedded in the Dataviz Platform. Offering a common visual language to various stakeholders, we explore new ground as we believe it has the potential to change how we think about, plan, and design our cities. (“Map devices such as a frame, scale, orientation, projection, indexing and naming reveal artificial geographies that remain unavailable to human eyes.” (Corner,.Cosgrove (ed), Mappings, Reaktion Books, London, 1999)
Social, Ecological, and Technological Strategies for Climate Adaptation
Authors: Kim Yeowon , Mannetti Lelani M. , Iwaniec David M. , Grimm Nancy B. , Berbés-Blázquez Marta , Markolf Samuel
Published: April 2021

Resilient cities are able to persist, grow, and even transform while keeping their essential identities in the face of external forces like climatechange, which threatens lives, livelihoods, and the structures and processes of the urban environment (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, How to make cities more resilient: a handbook for local government leaders. Switzerland, Geneva, 2017). Scenario development is a novel approach to visioning resilient futures for cities. As an instrument for synthesizing data and envisioning urban futures, scenarios combine diverse datasets such as biophysical models, stakeholder perspectives, and demographic information (Carpenter et al. Ecol Soc 20:10, 2015). As a tool to envision alternative futures, participatoryscenario development explores, identifies, and evaluates potential outcomes and tradeoffs associated with the management of social–ecological change, incorporating multiple stakeholder’s collaborative subjectivity (Galafassi et al. Ecol Soc 22:2, 2017). Understanding the current landscape of city planning and governance approaches is important in developing city-specific scenarios. In particular, assessing municipal planning strategies through the lens of interactive social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) provides useful insight into the dynamics and interrelationships of these coupled systems (da Silva et al. Sustain Dev 4(2):125–145, 2012). An assessment of existing municipal strategies can also be used to inform future adaptation scenarios and strategic plans addressing extreme weather events. With the scenario development process guiding stakeholders in generating goals and visions through participatory workshops, the content analysis of governance planning documents from the SETS perspective provides key insight on specific strategies that have been considered (or overlooked) in cities. In this chapter, we (a) demonstrate an approach to examine how cities define and prioritize climate adaptation strategies in their governance planning documents, (b) examine how governance strategies address current and future climate vulnerabilities as exemplified by nine cities in North and Latin America where we conducted a content analysis of municipal planning documents, and (c) suggest a codebook to explore the diverse SETS strategies proposed to address climate challenges—specifically related to extreme weather events such as heat, drought, and flooding.
Setting the Stage for Co-Production
Authors: Cook Elizabeth M. , Berbés-Blázquez Marta , Mannetti Lelani M. , Grimm Nancy B. , Iwaniec David M. , Muñoz-Erickson Tischa A.
Published: April 2021

Participatory scenario visioning aims to expose, integrate, and reconcile perspectives and expectations about a sustainable, resilient future from a variety of actors and stakeholders. This chapter considers the settings in which transdisciplinary participatory visioning takes place, highlighting lessons learned from the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN). It reflects on the benefits of engaging in the co-production process and the challenges that must be considered amid this process.
Assessing Future Resilience, Equity, and Sustainability in Scenario Planning
Authors: Berbés-Blázquez Marta , Grimm Nancy B. , Cook Elizabeth M. , Iwaniec David M. , Muñoz-Erickson Tischa A. , Hobbins Vivian , Wahl Darin
Published: April 2021

In the absence of strong international agreements, many municipal governments are leading efforts to build resilience to climate change in general and to extreme weather events in particular. However, it is notoriously difficult to guide and activate processes of change in complex adaptive systems such as cities. Participatory scenario planning with city professionals and members of civil society provides an opportunity to coproduce positive visions of the future. Yet, not all visions are created equal. In this chapter, we introduce the Resilience, Equity, and Sustainability Qualitative (RESQ) assessment tool that we have applied to compare positive scenario visions for cities in the USA and Latin America. We use the tool to examine the visions of the two desert cities in the UrbanResilience to Extreme Events Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN), which are Hermosillo (Mexico) and Phoenix (United States).
IOs and Climate Change: Toward Global Eco-Social Policy
Authors: Lakeman Silvana
Published: April 2021

In the twenty-first century, climate change poses a major challenge to the work of IOs. This chapter contextualizes the historical shift from more compartmentalized understandings of climate change at the IO level, toward the current understanding of climate change as a pervasive threat to social policy across various issue areas. Fueled by ongoing discourse surrounding the Sustainable Development Agenda at the United Nations, a multiplicity of IOs are framing social policy issues in relation to climate change that may have traditionally been viewed as largely separate. The cross-cutting nature of the issue for IOs is highlighted, and as illustrated via an exploration of climate insurance as a social policy tool, climate change has led to compelling developments regarding the archetypal roles of IOs as actors of soft governance, raising questions for the future of IOs in the context of climate change and social policy engagement.
Water as Global Social Policy—International Organizations, Resource Scarcity, and Environmental Security
Authors: Schmidt Jeremy J.
Published: April 2021

Water is an important area of global social policy. This chapter provides historical context for understanding how international organizations developed a distinctly global orientation to water policy alongside the emergence of global hydrology in the mid-twentieth century. Subsequently, international organizations linked concerns over water scarcity to integrated approaches to resource management. As human impacts on the global water system accelerated into the twenty-first century, international organizations influenced the shift from concerns over resource scarcity to those over environmental security. Water security is now central to how international organizations frame and respond to risks affecting interconnected environmental and economic systems.
International Organizations and the Architecture of Arguments in Global Social Governance
Authors: Martens Kerstin , Niemann Dennis , Kaasch Alexandra
Published: April 2021

The concluding chapter resumes the arguments made in the introduction to this volume. It summarizes the empirical findings of the individual contributions and highlights prevailing cross-cutting issues and themes. It also depicts further and future avenues of research resulting from this volume. Overall, it becomes evident that International organizations (IOs) have been part of the architecture of arguments in global social governance for a long time. They have been populating diverse social fields in which they more often cooperate or coexist in issue-related or individual regional niches than contest each other. However, they often share a field with other actors, too. IOs have also proven strong in exercising soft governance as the broadcasters of new ideas. Thus, they have cognitive authority over their specific field. However, birth characteristics, such as membership rules or the design of decision-taking, as well as path-dependencies influence IO activities and discourses.
International Organizations’ Involvement in Youth Unemployment as a Global Policy Field, and the Global Financial Crisis
Authors: Fergusson Ross
Published: April 2021

To date, global social policy has afforded minimal attention to the ways International Organizations (IOs) have responded to youth unemployment as an important and distinctive policy field. This chapter redresses this gap in the literature by means of a critical analysis of the governance capacities of the key IOs (particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank (WB)), toward developing a wider understanding of modes of global social governance. The chapter establishes the historical context of multiple IOs’ engagements in this policy field. It focuses on the evolving relationships between the ILO and the WB and their construction of, and withdrawal from, partnerships that variously facilitated and limited the pursuit of their respective strategies and goals for alleviating youth unemployment. Focusing on the ILO’s and the WB’s policy discourses, the chapter traces the trajectories of joint partnerships that were dissolved, and of externally facing partnerships that better reflect distinctive ILO and WB priorities.
International Organizations and Global Labor Standards
Authors: Römer Friederike , Henninger Jakob , Le Thuy Dung
Published: April 2021

This chapter compares how three International and two regional Organizations, namely the ILO, the WTO, and the World Bank, as well as ASEAN and Mercosur, approach the global governance of labor standards. Defining ‘labor standards’ is notoriously difficult. We therefore use Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (FACB) rights as a benchmark to assess the positions taken by the five regional organizations. We argue that two main discourses have been pursued in the global debate, a ‘social’ discourse, and a ‘neoliberal’ discourse. We find that organizations whose intrinsic features allow for an institutionalized representation of workers’ interests pursue variations of the social discourse, whereas a neoliberal position predominates in organizations where this representation is lacking. This is true both at the international and regional level. Moreover, we show that the coexistence of these two conflicting discourses has led to contestation, but also to exchange and cooperation. We furthermore outline to what extent the two discourses have changed over time. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of future challenges for the global governance of labor standards.
Global Discourses, Regional Framings and Individual Showcasing: Analyzing the World of Education IOs
Authors: Niemann Dennis , Martens Kerstin
Published: April 2021

Education is commonly heralded as one of the key policies for fostering future progress and well-being. Hence, education policy can be conceptualized as a social policy as it enables individuals to acquire skills for living an independent and fulfilled life while also providing states with a toolkit to stimulate economic growth and social cohesion. In this chapter, we first map the population of education International Organizations (IOs) to describe the organizational field in which the social policy discourse in the sub-area of education takes place. The assessment of what types of IOs deal with education is summarized in a typology to identify different clusters of IOs and provide accounts of both their characteristics and the different niches they have populated in the organizational field of education policy. Second, the ideas IOs hold regarding education are analyzed and it is shown how the discourse on education has developed over time within the population of IOs.
IOs’ Role in Global Social Governance: Family Policy
Authors: Mahon Rianne
Published: April 2021

This chapter focuses on family policy as an object of global social governance. From the 1990s to 2008, the family policy field was bifurcated. One part, focused on family norms in the North, followed the shift from the male breadwinner to the adult earner family with its work-family tensions. Here the main IOs were the ILO and the OECD. The second part focused on the South and policies targeting children in poor families. Although UNICEF clearly played an important role on the ground here, it was the World Bank that took the lead in elaborating and disseminating the core ideas. Since the 2008 crisis, the field has come together through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which simultaneously address both North and South. The dominant discourse is ‘inclusive growth’, challenged by the more critical discourse on the ‘care economy’.
Introduction: Operationalisation of Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia
Authors: Uesugi Yuji
Published: April 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview, main objectives, key arguments and the significance of the study. This book is a result of collective efforts by those who are interested in advancing the discourse on hybrid peacebuilding in Asia in two aspects. First, by drawing on a diverse array of relevant theoretical perspectives gained from the discussion on complexity, identity and feminism, it aims to operationalise hybrid peacebuilding theory from various perspectives of Asia, which was designed to serve as a descriptive lens to elucidate the dynamic and interactive nature of the process of hybridisation. This attempt is concurrently administered by a critical effort to refine the typology of the ‘local mid-space gatekeepers’ proposed in Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia (Uesugi 2020). Second, by investing empirically the mechanism of hybridisation in the peacebuilding process in Cambodia and Mindanao, it seeks to demonstrate, without falling into the pitfalls of binary, how mid-space actors in these settings served or failed to serve as bridges to close cleavages in the conflict-affected society. These in-depth empirical findings are complemented by another set of case studies which focuses on two leading peacebuilding actors in Asia, China and Japan, to illustrate the need to expand the horizons of the research on hybrid peacebuilding to include the impact of non-Western approaches on the practice of peacebuilding.
A Brief Sketch of Hybrid Peacebuilding
Authors: Uesugi Yuji , Deekeling Anna , Ingstedt Anton
Published: April 2021

This opening literature review connects hybrid calls and criticisms to the development of peacebuilding debates at large. First, it briefly presents some of peacebuilding’s ontological aspects, as they may be found both in academia and practice. With such a contrasting framework at hand, the following section explains some core arguments in the existing literature in favour of adopting hybrid peacebuilding. Lastly, voices are raised to show how hybridity has been criticised both within its own circles and by others. Showcasing the various aspects of peacebuilding, and hybridity specifically, this chapter sets the stage for a new set of discussions in the subsequent chapters.
Bridging Gaps: From a Descriptive to a Practical Mid-Space Actor Typology?
Authors: Deekeling Anna , Simangan Dahlia
Published: April 2021

The concept of hybridity sheds light on the complexity of conflict settings. It helps to analyse the participation of all parties and actors involved and entangled in a social network of normative and political power, while avoiding theoretical binaries that over-simplify the process of post-conflict peacebuilding. What lacks, however, is a practical application of hybridity in peacebuilding that actively engages with bottom/local or grassroots, top/national and international actors through mediation in the mid-space to create sustainable peace. Given this practical shortcoming of hybridity, this chapter examines mid-space actors as gatekeepers and their capacities to enable dialogue among opposing parties. The aim is to offer insights for the international community, as outside intervenors, in promoting the bridge-building potentialities of gatekeepers. Specifically, externally led efforts to engage with the specific skill sets of mid-space local actors are explored. It is argued in this chapter that such engagement provides a favourable environment for sustaining peace by overcoming power struggles in and around the mid-space.
Methodischer Zugang
Authors: Schwarting Rena
Published: April 2021

Die Brauchbarkeit eines theoretischen Zugangs bemisst sich nicht nur an seiner Allgemeinheit und Auflösungsstärke beim Beschreiben sozialer Phänomene, sondern auch an seiner Übersetzbarkeit in ein methodisch instruktives Forschungsdesign.