Neo-liberal economics is built upon the claim that the freedom to pursue one's self-interest and rational choice leads to economic growth and development. Against this background neo-liberal economists and policymakers endeavoured to universalise this claim, and insistently argue that appropriate economic policies produce the same results regardless of cultural values. Accordingly, developing countries are often advised to embrace the neo-liberal economic credo for them to escape from the trap of underdevelopment. However, the economic success of South East Asia (...) on the one hand and the failure of economic development in sub-Saharan Africa on the other, are increasingly proving that the 'economic' argument cannot be taken dogmatically: self-interest and rationality do not seem to be the sufficient explanations for economic development. One other avenue to be taken seriously is the link between cultural values and economic development. After viewing the principle of self-interest against its historico-cultural background, I consider this link in the African context, and argue that, although they cannot be taken as the sole factor, people's cultural beliefs and values are crucial for economic development. Economic growth and development need to be a substantiation of a people's beliefs and values. In African value system, this substantiation could lead to what one would call 'ubuntu economy' in which the state, the markets and the people are all agents, and not patients, in the process of economic growth and development. (shrink)

The oocyte is not only the rarest and the largest cell in the body, but it also has one of the most remarkable life histories. Formed in the fetal ovary and suspended at diplotene of meiosis, it may wait for years before beginning to grow, and not until this process is complete can it resume meiosis and undergo fertilisation. Major changes in the number, morphology and distribution of cytoplasmic organelles occur during growth, and a molecular program for embryogenesis is (...) formed. Specific yolk proteins are absent and much of the RNA and some of the protein are degraded by the cleavage stage. The zona pellucida has been intensively studied, but knowledge of oocyte‐specific genes is otherwise surprisingly patchy given the significance of this cell type and the expansion of reproductive technology. Finally, it is now clear that oocytes are not mere passengers which depend on granulosa cells for nutrition and regulation but actively promote the growth and differentiation of their follicles. (shrink)

The agronomist who wants to study the nutrient and water uptake of roots needs a quantitative three-dimensional dynamic model of the structure of root systems.The model presented takes into account current knowledge about the morphogenesis of root systems. It describes the root system as a set of root axes, characterised by their orders. The morphogenetic properties of root axes differ according to their order. The axes of order 1 are directly inserted on the stem, the axes of order 2 are (...) inserted on axes of order 1, and so on. They tend to be more plagiotropec and to have less vascular bundles as the order increases. (shrink)

Because the kidney (metanephros) starts to function before completing development, its patterning and morphogenesis need to be closely integrated with its growth. This is achieved by blast cells at the kidney periphery generating new nephrons that link up to the extending collecting‐duct arborisation, while earlier‐formed and more internal nephrons are maturing and beginning to filter serum. This pattern of development requires that cell division and apoptosis be co‐ordinated in the various kidney compartments (collecting‐ducts, blast cells, metanephric mesenchyme, (...) nephrons and vascular system). The underlying regulatory networks for cell proliferation are beginning to be unravelled, mainly through expression studies, mutation analysis and experimentation in vitro. This article summarises current knowledge of kidney growth and apoptosis, and analyses some of the 80 or so ligand–receptor pairings that seem to sustain development and growth. It also points to some unanswered questions, the most intriguing being what role does apoptosis play during normal kidney development? BioEssays 24:72–82, 2002. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

The extracellular domains of several integral membrane proteins are released from the cell surface by a group of enzymes known as “sheddases” through a process called “ectodomain shedding”. Because many transmembrane growth and differentiation factors, including members of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family that play a crucial role in development, require ectodomain shedding for proper action in vivo, proteolysis is now viewed as a regulatory mechanism in the developing embryos. Two recent reports by Zhao et al. (...) provide evidence for the role of cell surface proteolysis by an ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) in the development of murine lung.(1,2) Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor‐α converting enzyme (TACE, ADAM17) by the hydroxamic acid‐based metalloprotease inhibitor (TAPI), (1) or a targeted mutation in Zn2+‐binding domain of TACE, (2) disrupts two essential epithelial functions in lung development: branching morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation. Evidence for the role of ADAMs as sheddases in development and growth factor signaling is discussed. BioEssays 24:8–12, 2002. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

The development of the endogenous growth model rekindled interest in growth theory. In contrast to the neo-classical model, long-run endogenous growth emerged as an equilibrium outcome, reflecting the behaviour of optimizing agents in the economy. This book brings together a number of contributions in growth theory and macroeconomic dynamics, reflecting these developments and the ongoing debate over the relative merits of neo-classical and endogenous growth models. It focuses on the emergence of three important aspects: (...) First, it develops growth models that extend the underlying theory in different directions. Second, it addresses one of the concerns of the literature on growth and dynamics: the statistical properties of underlying data and the effort to ensure that growth models are consistent with empirical evidence. Third, it discusses the increasingly international focus of macrodynamics and growth theory, an inevitable consequence of the integration of the world economy. (shrink)

Corporate governance concerns, discussions and developments have been largely concerned with listed companies and situations in which there is a clear separation of ownership and control. This article examines the relevance of corporate governance to the worlds of smaller companies, family businesses and owner directors. It reports some preliminary findings of an examination of the governance of 60 unlisted SMEs based in the East of England which took place during 2005 and 2006. After assessing the value being added by the (...) directors and boards encountered and the contribution effective boards could make to the growth and development of SMEs, it considers the implications of the findings and areas for further research. (shrink)

Classical economics was oriented towards the advancement of the common interest as defined by the political institutions of the state, whereas neoclassicism is defined in a social and political vacuum. Furthermore, the former related realistically to an excess supply of labour, while the latter assumes full employment. These differences have significant implications for income distribution, accumulation, growth and development. Classical economists advocated free trade to increase domestic productivity and employment at stable or growing real wages. Contemporary globalization recreates (...) the classical surplus labour economy to reduce domestic wage levels through moving domestic production from high to low wage areas around the globe. Free trade becomes necessary so that the goods produced abroad can be imported into capital exporting countries. However, without a corresponding growth of exportables, the trade balance must be adversely affected. Furthermore, adverse changes in income distribution diminish domestic demand for goods. The policy of globalization must become self-defeating. (shrink)

The relentless exploitation of the earth's resources and technologys boundless growth are a matter of urgent concern. When did this race towards the limitless begin? The Greeks, who shaped the basis of Western thinking, lived in mortal fear of humanity's hidden hunger for the infinite and referred to it as hubris, the one true sin in their moral code. Whoever desired or possessed too much was implacably punished by nemesis, yet the Greeks themselves were to pioneer an unprecedented level (...) of ambition that began to reverse that tabu. If it is true that no culture can truly repudiate its origins, and that gods who are no longer potent can vanish but still leave behind a body of myth which coninues to live and assert itself in modernized garb, then our concern with the limits of growth reflects something more than an awareness of new technological problems - it also brings to light a psychic wound a a feeling of guilt which are infinitely more ancient. (shrink)

The H19 gene produces a non‐coding RNA, which is abundantly expressed during embryonic development and down‐regulated after birth. Although this gene was discovered over 20 years ago, its function has remained unclear. Only recently a role was identified for the non‐coding RNA and/or its microRNA partner, first as a tumour suppressor gene in mice, then as a trans‐regulator of a group of co‐expressed genes belonging to the imprinted gene network that is likely to control foetal and early postnatal (...) class='Hi'>growth in mice. The mechanisms underlying this transcriptional or post‐transcriptional regulation remain to be discovered, perhaps by identifying the protein partners of the full‐length H19 RNA or the targets of the microRNA. This first in vivo evidence of a functional role for the H19 locus provides new insights into how genomic imprinting helps to control embryonic growth. (shrink)

"Growth," a term borrowed from biology, is often used to describe change in human history. The use of such terms, however, tends to obscure the fundamental differences between historical and natural causality. Vico and Herder were among the first to make a radical distinction between our understanding of events in nature and of those in human affairs. They argued that man can make conscious decisions which make his actions different from events in the nonhuman world. Yet, they also believed (...) that human history has a purpose of its own, which man cannot alter. However, if human choice is to be truly free, then the outcome of human history cannot be entirely predetermined. Though Vico and Herder, like many other writers, attempted to merge these two notions, they failed to provide a satisfactory theory. (shrink)

A twenty‐person working group convened to discuss the ethical and policy considerations of the controversial intervention called “growth attenuation,” and if possible to develop practical guidance for health professionals. A consensus proved elusive, but most of the members did reach a compromise.

Political philosophy presents a static conception of childhood as a state of lack, a condition where intellectual, physical, and moral capacities are undeveloped. This view, referred to by David Kennedy as the deficit view of childhood, is problematic because it systematically disparages certain universal features of humanity—dependency and growth—and incorrectly characterizes them as features of childhood only. Thus there is a strict separation between childhood and adulthood because adults are characterized as fully autonomous agents who have reached the end (...) of their moral and cognitive development. I argue that this view is mistaken, and limits both the developmental abilities of adults and ongoing moral development within an organized state. I propose that we view dependency as a human condition. By doing so, children and adults form the kind of relationship with one another that encourages the growth and development of our moral sense in both childhood and adulthood. (shrink)

Financial market and economic growth and development trends can be regarded as an extremely complex system, and the in-depth study and prediction of this complex system has always been the focus of attention of economists and other scholars. Emotion recognition algorithm is a pattern recognition technology that integrates a number of emerging science and technology, and has good non-linear system fitting capabilities. However, using emotion recognition algorithm models to analyze and predict financial market and economic growth and (...) development trends can yield more accurate prediction results. This article first gives a detailed introduction to the existing financial development and economic growth status and development trend forecasting problems, and then gives a brief overview of the concept of emotion recognition algorithms. Then, it describes the emotion recognition methods, including statistical emotion recognition methods, mixed emotion recognition methods, and emotion recognition methods based on knowledge technology, and conducts in-depth research on the three algorithm models of statistical emotion recognition methods, they are the support vector machine algorithm model, the artificial neural network algorithm model, and the long and short-term memory network algorithm model. Finally, these three algorithm models are applied to the financial market and economic growth and development trend prediction experiments. Experimental results show that the average absolute error of the three algorithms is below 25, which verifies that the emotion recognition algorithm has good operability and feasibility for the prediction of financial market and economic growth and development trends. (shrink)

In Hong Kong, which is one of the highest GDP per capita cities in the world, the problem of poverty, particularly the housing of the poor, has been exacerbated as economic development has progressed. The received neocapitalistic view is that such poverty is an inevitable price for the economic growth which will eventually benefit everyone. In this essay, I criticize such view by examining how non-inclusive economic development in the past created barriers to inclusive economic development (...) today. Through a comprehensive analysis of the housing problem in Hong Kong, I argue that these barriers, including not only physical constraints such as ownership and the lease of lands, housing prices and public housing policies, but also an ideological constraint adopted and advocated by the rich that regards poverty as a consequence of personal laziness and stupidity rather than a failure of the government, render the promise of the neo-capitalistic equality between rich and poor very difficult if not impossible to attain. I conclude that real equality can be attained only if we regard inclusive development as a necessary component of development from the beginning rather than a remedy for noninclusive development. Keywords : Economic Growth, Inclusive Development, Hong Kong, Housing Problem. (shrink)

(1992). Growth and employment in the UK's culture industry. World Futures: Vol. 33, Culture and Development: European Experiences and Challenges A Special Research Report of the European Culture Impact Research Consortium (EUROCIRCON), pp. 165-180.

Literature on ethical behavior has paid little attention to the mechanism between macro-environmental variables and environmental performance. This study aims at constructing a model to examine the relationships which link cultural values, population growth, economic development, and environmental performance by incorporating the mediating role of education. The multiple linear regression model was employed to test the hypotheses on a 3-year-pooled sample of 51 countries. Empirical results conclude that national culture, economic development, and population growth would significantly (...) influence environmental performance directly. In addition, through the mediating effect of education, population growth and national culture would significantly affect environmental performance indirectly. These findings provide theoretical and managerial implications for constructing the mechanism of cultural values and ethical behavior in general and environmental management in particular. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to trace how a perverted understanding of the human – of human nature, growth, and well-being – came to form the foundation for classical liberal economic thought and to identify some of the negative consequences of this development. My suggestion is that, in response to the social upheaval of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries that would lead to the rise of capitalism and make possible the industrial revolution, moral philosophers applied to (...) humans and to human society mechanistic principles from the highly successful natural sciences in an effort to make sense of a social world that had ceased to make sense. Thus emerged the impoverished view of the human that lies at the foundation of mainstream economic thinking: homo economicus – the human as a rational, utility-optimizing machine, driven by unlimited desires. (shrink)

The characterization of the world of the ancient Greek city states as relatively poor and economically static has been refuted by recent advances in Greek economic history. The Greek world grew dramatically, compared to other premodern societies, both in population and per capita consumption from the age of Homer to that of Aristotle. By the fourth century BCE the city-state ecology was densely populated, and median consumption was well above bare subsistence. Athenian income inequality can be roughly measured using income (...) and population estimates from late fourth century BCE. This paper argues that, at least in Athens, economic growth was accompanied by historically low levels of income inequality. Both economic growth and low inequality are explained by the development of citizen-centered political institutions. Growth, inequality, and institutions were important parts of the historical context in which Plato and Aristotle wrote. Attending to that context may elucidate some aspects of Greek political philosophy. (shrink)

This study maintains that China's system of economic planning tends to mitigate the trade-off between economic growth and equity that has been found to prevail in the early stages of development in most less developed countries. The analysis focuses on the Chinese leadership's attempt to improve economic efficiency by decentralizing economic management without encouraging, as a consequence, increased economic inequality among different regions. By examining the budgetary and planning process, focusing in particular on the fiscal relations between the (...) centre and the far-reaching degree of resource redistribution undertaken by the central government through its control of interprovincial and intersectoral resource transfers. Professor Lardy's analysis highlights the essential features of Chinese economic growth and relates these to the experience of both developing and Soviet-type economies. (shrink)

Development requires not only the correct specification of organs and cell types in the right places (pattern), but also the control of their size and shape (growth). Many signaling pathways control both pattern and growth and how these two are distinguished has been something of a mystery. In the fly eye, a Pax6 homolog (eyeless) controls eye specification together with several other genes. Now Dominguez et al.1 show that Notch signaling controls eye growth through a second (...) Pax6 protein (Eyegone). In mice and humans the single Pax6 gene appears to encode both specification and growth controlling proteins through alternative mRNA splicing. BioEssays 26:600–603, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The article "Protestantism: to the causes of growth and spread at an early stage of its development" by V.Shevchenko deals with the epochmaking phenomenon of Protestantism, its exceptional place, role and significance in the history of Christian progress during past five hundred years. Special attention is dedicated to disclosure of number of some reasons, which caused the appearance of Protestantism.

As previous pandemics, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has direct and indirect effects on mental health and well-being. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether meaning in life mediated the association between coronavirus suffering and satisfaction with life and whether stress-related growth moderated the mediating effect of meaning in life on the association between these variables. Stress-Related Growth Measure (SGM) was also conducted for the purpose of this study. The participants were 402 (66% women) young (...) adults who completed the Suffering Measure During COVID-19, Meaningful Living Measure, Satisfaction With Life Scale, and SGM. The results indicated that the SGM has adequate psychometric properties with unidimensional structure of stress-related growth in the face of adversity. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that coronavirus suffering directly influenced satisfaction with life as well as indirectly by its effect on meaning in life. Additionally, stress-related growth was found as a moderator in the relationship between coronavirus suffering–meaning in life and coronavirus suffering–satisfaction with life. These results suggest that meaning in life mitigates the effect of coronavirus suffering on satisfaction with life, and this mediating effect is moderated by stress-related growth in young adults. While meaning in life helps explain the relationship between coronavirus suffering and satisfaction with life, the stress-related growth functions as a protective factor against the adverse effect of coronavirus experiences. (shrink)

Previous research studies of traffic networks are mainly based on planar networks and less considered the influence of multilayer networks, which illustrate and represent different appropriate urban traffic modes. Development of rail and road networks is inseparable from the development of a prosperous urban area; thus, research on multilayer networks has scientific potential and fulfils a real need. In this paper, a framework of complex network based integrated multilayer urban growth and optimisation model is proposed, to analyse (...) the complex relationships between the traffic network structure, the population growth, and the urban land-use. The innovation of this paper is the combination of the traffic complex multilayer networks and the “Four Step Model”. With the multiobjective, multilayer network coevolution and optimisation model, a more efficient traffic network layout was generated based on different land-use, population density, and travel speed scenarios. Then, this paper has proved that the proposed CNIMUGOM can save the traffic network construction investment, reduce the travel cost, make the urban traffic network more efficient, and decrease the total traffic flow amount. This research has connected the recent complex multilayer network related study and traditional urban economic model based study. The findings of the study afford to improve the current land-use and traffic integrated models and can provide traffic network planning suggestions for urban agglomeration development. (shrink)

Combining the fields of international trade theory, economic development, and economic growth, this text provides an advanced exposition suitable for graduate students as well as researchers at all levels. It combines mathematical rigour with an exceptional breadth of approaches, including institutions, history, and comparative economics. Existing research is exposited and evaluated, and numerous new results are included. The central themes of economic inequality, within and between nations, are discussed, as is convergence, or the reduction of inequality. Distinctive features (...) of the volume include a radical re-evaluation of the theoretical basis of the economic convergence model proposed by Barro and Sala-i-Martin, a new generalization of the standard HOS model, and a new concept, the economic environment, designed to model the effects of institutions in a more analytical and micro-founded manner is discussed. Uniquely, the real world examples included focus not only on countries participating fully in globalized trade, like China, but also those countries and regions failing to fully participate, specifically the Arab world and sub-Saharan Africa. The text concludes with a discussion of current issues in world economic governance, particularly the IMF and limitations of the Washington consensus, showing that some criticism fails to confront fundamental difficulties. (shrink)

Stress at work is a frequent subject of scientific research. In most of this, the unit of analysis has been the employee and his or her work stress. Historical, cultural and macro-contextual approaches have rarely been included in the analytical framework. In this study, we examined secular trends in scientific publications on work stress, and analysed how, over a period of 50 years, a new discursive, institutional, intellectual and subjective space has developed, in which questions related to workers’ diminished mental (...) energy became the centre of attention. Our interpretation links the occupational health debate to the broader historical and cultural processes that took place in western countries and work organizations in the period 1960–2011. Our quantitative analysis shows how the number of work stress publications rose steeply until the early 2000s and how the growth evened out and even started to decline in some data sources in the early 2010s. It would seem that work stress research is reaching its peak and that other conceptualizations in the domain of occupational health (e.g. resource-based views) are becoming more important. This historical study provides new insights regarding the nature of work stress and its links with societal changes for all those interested in the changing nature of health at work. (shrink)

This book examines how the beliefs and practices of each of the major world religions, as well as other belief systems, affect the variables that influence growth and development in the Global South. Evidence suggests that as countries develop, the influence of religion on all aspects of society declines. In stark contrast to the developed world, in the Global South, the role of religion is highly pervasive - the distinctive conclusion of this book is therefore that a lessening (...) of religiosity is a sine qua non for growth and development, including secular laws and constitutions. Offering a ground-breaking study in an area little explored in the English language, this book will satisfy an important gap in the literature on the political economy of development, sociology of religion, law, and anthropology. (shrink)

This dissertation defends an ideal of democratic citizenship inspired by John Dewey’s theory of human flourishing, or “growth.” In its emphasis on the interrelatedness of individual development and social progress, Deweyan growth orients us toward a morally substantive approach to addressing the important question of how diverse citizens can live together well. I argue, however, that Dewey’s understanding of growth as a process by which conflicting interests, beliefs, and values are integrated into a more unified whole—both (...) within the community and within the self—is inadequate to the radical pluralism characteristic of contemporary liberal democratic societies. Given the pragmatist insight into the crucial role of socialization in identity formation, the problem with conceptualizing the ideal self as an integrated unity is that, for many, the complexity and diversity of our social world presents an insuperable obstacle to sustaining a unified (or always unifying) self. Most of us have multiple “selves” forged by the various groups with whom we identify and the often incongruous roles we play in our personal, professional, and/or public lives. Hence I offer a reconstruction of Deweyan growth that accounts for persistent yet positively valued diversity, both within the self and within the community. On the view I urge, which draws on the work of neopragmatist Richard Rorty and Chicana feminist Gloria Anzaldua, divisions within the self and between citizens are not merely problems always to be overcome, but potential resources for creating a stronger, more inclusive democracy. (shrink)

The c‐ros, c‐met and c‐neu genes encode receptor‐type tyrosine kinases and were originally identified because of their oncogenic potential. However, recent progress in the analysis of these receptors and their respective ligands indicate that they do not mediate exclusively mitogenic signals. Rather, they can induce cell movement, differentiation or morphogenesis of epithelial cells in culture. Interestingly, the discussed receptors are expressed in embryonal epithelia, whereas direct and indirect evidence shows that the corresponding ligands are produced in mesenchymal cells. In (...) class='Hi'>development, signals given by mesenchymal cells are major driving forces for differentiation and morphogenesis of epithelia; embryonal epithelia are generally unable to differentiate without the appropriate mesenchymal factors. The observed activities of these receptor/ligand systems in cultured cells and their expression patterns indicate that they regulate epithelial differentiation and morphogenesis also during embryogenesis and suggest thus a molecular basis for mesenchymal epithelial interactions. (shrink)

Sustainable growth is emerging as a normative concept in recent work in economics and environmental philosophy. This paper examines several kinds of growth, seeking to identify a sustainable form which could be adopted as normative for human society. The conceptions of growth expressed in standard economic theory, in the writings of John Dewey, and in population biology, each suggest particular accounts of how the lives of individuals and communities ought to be lived. I argue that, while absolute (...) sustainablity is not possible, the latter two conceptions together suggest a regulative ideal of sustainable growth which is acceptable at the social level, and which encourages the development of genuine community. (shrink)

Transplantation experiments have shown that developing metazoan organs carry intrinsic information about their size and shape. Organ and body size are also sensitive to extrinsic cues provided by the environment, such as the availability of nutrients. The genetic and molecular pathways that contribute to animal size and shape are numerous, yet how they cooperate to control growth is mysterious. The recent identification and characterization of several mutations affecting growth in Drosophila melanogaster promises to provide insights. Many of these (...) mutations affect the extrinsic control of animal size; others affect the organ‐intrinsic control of pattern and size. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of some of these mutations and their roles in growth and size control. In addition, we speculate about possible connections between the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways controlling growth and pattern. BioEssays 24:54–64, 2002. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of the linkages between inequality, development, and growth from a feminist economics perspective. More specifically, it examines connections between intergroup inequality and macroeconomic outcomes, considering various channels through which gender, growth, and development interact. Using a range of analytical methods, country studies, and levels of aggregation, the contributors argue that inequalities based on gender, race, ethnicity, and class undermine the ability of people to provision and live fully to their capabilities. (...) Authors examine the effect of macroeconomic policies and economic growth on inequalities in material resources and well-being, as well as the effects of inequality on economic growth. The volume offers specific explanations for how the macroeconomy can hinder the achievement of gender equality and in turn how gender relations in areas like education and wage gaps can have macro-level impacts. Finally, the volume offers a rich array of policy options for promoting gender equality as both an intrinsic goal and a step toward improving well-being and broadly-shared development. This book was published as a special issue of _Feminist Economics_. (shrink)

Human neoplasms develop following the progressive accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations to oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. These alterations confer a growth advantage to the cancer cell, leading to its clonal proliferation, invasion into surrounding tissues, and spread to distant organs. Genes that are altered in neoplasia affect three major biologic pathways that normally regulate cell growth and tissue homeostasis: the cell cycle, apoptosis, and differentiation. While each of these pathways can be defined by a unique set (...) of molecular events, they are not biologically separate. Rather, they function more as an integrated molecular network, and perturbations in one pathway can have profound consequences on another. Insights into what distinguishes the regulation of growth and differentiation in a normal cell versus a cancer cell have led to the development of novel anticancer therapies. BioEssays 24:83–90, 2002. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

The question that motivates this article has been a matter of dispute: Is it possible to combine perpetual economic growth and longterm environmental sustainability based on the premise that economic growth can be fully decoupled from negative environmental impacts? The article addresses this question from the position of critical realism. An empirical study focusing on the housing sector is conducted, indicating that housing stock growth and economic growth have been, at best, weakly decoupled from environmental impacts. (...) In the long run, it seems implausible that the degree of decoupling can be increased at a rate sufficient to compensate for continual growth in the volume of housing stock. A further elaboration of the topic at an ontological level leads to the conclusion that continual economic growth and long-term environmental sustainability can hardly be combined. Content Type Journal Article Category Article Pages 438-461 DOI 10.1558/jcr.v11i4.438 Authors Jin Xue, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University Journal Journal of Critical Realism Online ISSN 1572-5138 Print ISSN 1476-7430 Journal Volume Volume 11 Journal Issue Volume 11, Number 4 / 2012. (shrink)

Researchers have identified how in some rapidly developing countries, road and aviation transportation CO2 emissions are rising faster (over time) when compared to the experiences of the USA at similar levels of economic development. While suggestive of how experiences of the rapidly developing Asia are different from those of the developed world these studies have used only one developed country for comparison, the USA, arguably a special case when it comes to transportation. To address this point this research compares (...) the road transportation CO2 experiences of rapidly developing Asian economies (Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand) with the USA and six other developed economies (Australia, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The findings confirm previous results, to wit, Asian economies demonstrate faster annual growth of CO2 emissions in comparison to the experiences of the developed world. (shrink)

Future population growth is uncertain and matters for climate policy: higher growth entails more emissions and means more people will be vulnerable to climate-related impacts. We show that how future population is valued importantly determines mitigation decisions. Using the Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy model, we explore two approaches to valuing population: a discounted version of total utilitarianism (TU), which considers total wellbeing and is standard in social cost of carbon dioxide (SCC) models, and of average utilitarianism (AU), which ignores (...) population size and sums only each time period’s discounted average wellbeing. Under both approaches, as population increases the SCC increases, but optimal peak temperature decreases. The effect is larger under TU, because it responds to the fact that a larger population means climate change hurts more people: for example, in 2025, assuming the United Nations (UN)-high rather than UN-low population scenario entails an increase in the SCC of 85% under TU vs. 5% under AU. The difference in the SCC between the two population scenarios under TU is comparable to commonly debated decisions regarding time discounting. Additionally, we estimate the avoided mitigation costs implied by plausible reductions in population growth, finding that large near-term savings ($billions annually) occur under TU; savings under AU emerge in the more distant future. These savings are larger than spending shortfalls for human development policies that may lower fertility. Finally, we show that whether lowering population growth entails overall improvements in wellbeing—rather than merely cost savings—again depends on the ethical approach to valuing population. (shrink)

This book adopted a qualitative research methodology to explore novice teachers' professional development (TPD) under the background of the New Curriculum Reform in mainland China. With a purposeful sampling strategy, in-depth semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from twelve novice primary school teachers. As the specific design of the qualitative method and research procedures have been demonstrated, this book could be the reading material for the courses such as Qualitative Research Methodology. Undergraduate and postgraduate students who would learn (...) qualitative research could be targeted as the audiences. Additionally, this book provides suggestions for pre-service and novice teachers. The study found that although TPD programs and better welfare are desirable, collegial support from seniors, internet resources and online courses, and self-reflection were more direct and effective in enhancing professional growth and reducing negative emotions developed from challenges in classroom management, workload, and accountability. This book also suggests three directions for the future development of TPD to school leaders and policymakers. First, more training on classroom management and time management is helpful as poor classroom management and excessive workload were the causes of teacher burnout. Second, more school-level mentoring is wanted because it is considered more effective than the state and individual-level opportunities of TPD. More development opportunities for teachers in rural areas are required to improve their professional competence and narrow their gap with their urban counterparts. (shrink)

This text offers a critique of a certain development in political discourses on progress, namely the “decoupling” of notions of moral from notions of technological progress. This decoupling yields fatal social, economic and ecologic consequences in practice that ultimately amount to a virtual perversion of progress. The second part of the paper reflects upon the psychosocial drivers of this dynamic. I venture that the only motive that may explain why we reproduce this dynamic even as we increasingly suffer from (...) its consequences is a compulsive avoidance of limitation, i.e. non-satisfaction of needs. Finally, I offer some tentative suggestions as to what a mature approach towards limitation would entail. (shrink)

This text offers a critique of a certain development in political discourses on progress, namely the “decoupling” of notions of moral from notions of technological progress. This decoupling yields fatal social, economic and ecologic consequences in practice that ultimately amount to a virtual perversion of progress. The second part of the paper reflects upon the psychosocial drivers of this dynamic. I venture that the only motive that may explain why we reproduce this dynamic even as we increasingly suffer from (...) its consequences is a compulsive avoidance of limitation, i.e. non-satisfaction of needs. Finally, I offer some tentative suggestions as to what a mature approach towards limitation would entail. (shrink)