Identifying indicators of sustainable development using the global sustainability quadrant approach

Advances in information technology and global data availability have opened the door for assessments of sustainable development at a truly macro scale. It is now fairly easy to conduct a study of sustainability using the entire planet as the unit of analysis; this is precisely what this work set out to accomplish. The study began by examining some of the best known composite indicator frameworks developed to measure sustainability at the country level today. Most of these were found to value human development factors and a clean local environment, but to gravely overlook consumption of (remote) resources in relation to nature’s capacity to renew them, a basic requirement for a sustainable state. Thus, a new measuring standard is proposed, based on the Global Sustainability Quadrant approach. In a two‐dimensional plot of nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) vs. their Ecological Footprint (EF) per capita, the Sustainability Quadrant is defined by the area where both dimensions satisfy the minimum conditions of sustainable development: an HDI score above 0.8 (considered ‘high’ human development), and an EF below the fair Earth‐share of 2.063 global hectares per person. After developing methods to identify those countries that are closest to the Quadrant in the present‐day and, most importantly, those that are moving towards it over time, the study tackled the question: what indicators of performance set these countries apart? To answer this, an analysis of raw data, covering a wide array of environmental, social, economic, and governance performance metrics, was undertaken. The analysis used country rank lists for each individual metric and compared them, using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation function, to the rank lists generated by the proximity/movement relative to the Quadrant measuring methods. The analysis yielded a list of metrics which are, with a high degree of statistical significance, associated with proximity to – and movement towards – the Quadrant; most notably: Favorable for sustainable development: use of contraception, high life expectancy, high literacy rate, and urbanization. Unfavorable for sustainable development: high GDP per capita, high language diversity, high energy consumption, and high meat consumption. A momentary gain, but a burden in the long‐run: high carbon footprint and debt. These results could serve as a solid stepping stone for the development of more reliable composite index frameworks for assessing countries’ sustainability.

Measuring firm innovativeness: towards a composite innovation index built on firm innovative posture, propensity and performance attributes. ACES Working Paper No. 12, 2008

The ability to innovate is generally accepted as a critical success factor to growth and future performance of firms. Yet, this acceptance obscures a comprehensive perspective on how firms can influence their innovation capacity and resulting performance. This paper proposes a '3P' construct of innovation measurement that simultaneously considers the Posture, Propensity and Performance related to a firm's innovation capabilities. We propose and provide empirical support showing that robust measurement of the performance implications of innovation requires the consideration of input, throughput and output factors simultaneously. Single or more limited indicators do not offer the degree of fine-tuning to a firm's innovation system that managers require. Thus, we propose the development, and future research into contingent variations, of a Composite Innovation Index (CII). We further demonstrate its use in comparing innovators and allowing managers to design a firm's innovation system.

A composite leading indicator of the inflation cycle for the Euro area

We evaluate the performance of composite leading indicators of turning points of inflation in the Euro area, constructed by combining the techniques of Fourier analysis and Kalman filters with the National Bureau of Economic Research methodology. In addition, the study compares the empirical performance of Euro Simple Sum and Divisia monetary aggregates and provides a tentative answer to the issue of whether or not the UK should join the Euro area. Our findings suggest that, first, the cyclical pattern of the different composite leading indicators very closely reflect that of the inflation cycle for the Euro area; second, the empirical performance of the Euro Divisia is better than its Simple Sum counterpart and third, the UK is better out of the Euro area. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd.

Development and testing of the Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI): A composite indicator to measure social vulnerability in the Jamaican elderly population

Over the last two decades social vulnerability has emerged as a major area of study, with increasing attention to the study of vulnerable populations. Generally, the elderly are among the most vulnerable members of any society, and widespread population aging has led to greater focus on elderly vulnerability. However, the absence of a valid and practical measure constrains the ability of policy-makers to address this issue in a comprehensive way. This study developed a composite indicator, The Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI), and used it to undertake a comparative analysis of the availability of support for elderly Jamaicans based on their access to human, material and social resources. The results of the ESVI indicated that while the elderly are more vulnerable overall, certain segments of the population appear to be at greater risk. Females had consistently lower scores than males, and the oldest-old had the highest scores of all groups of older persons. Vulnerability scores also varied according to place of residence, with more rural parishes having higher scores than their urban counterparts. These findings support the political economy framework which locates disadvantage in old age within political and ideological structures. The findings also point to the pervasiveness and persistence of gender inequality as argued by feminist theories of aging. Based on the results of the study it is clear that there is a need for policies that target specific population segments, in addition to universal policies that could make the experience of old age less challenging for the majority of older persons. Overall, the ESVI has displayed usefulness as a tool for theoretical analysis and demonstrated its potential as a policy instrument to assist decision-makers in determining where to target their efforts as they seek to address the issue of social vulnerability in old age. Data for this study came from the 2001 population and housing census of Jamaica, with multiple imputation for missing data. The index was derived from the linear aggregation of three equally weighted domains, comprised of eleven unweighted indicators which were normalized using z-scores. Indicators were selected based on theoretical relevance and data availability.

A multi-method approach for the assessment of composite indices and rankings

There is growing popularity in the use of composite indices and rankings for cross-organizational benchmarking. However, little attention has been paid to alternative methods and procedures for the computation of these indices and how the use of such methods may impact the resulting indices and rankings. This dissertation developed an approach for assessing composite indices and rankings based on the integration of a number of methods for aggregation, data transformation and attribute weighting involved in their computation. The integrated model developed is based on the simulation of composite indices using methods and procedures proposed in the area of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and knowledge discovery in databases (KDD). The approach developed in this dissertation was automated through an IT artifact that was designed, developed and evaluated based on the framework and guidelines of the design science paradigm of information systems research. This artifact dynamically generates multiple versions of indices and rankings by considering different methodological scenarios according to user specified parameters. The computerized implementation was done in Visual Basic for Excel 2007. Using different performance measures, the artifact produces a number of excel outputs for the comparison and assessment of the indices and rankings. In order to evaluate the efficacy of the artifact and its underlying approach, a full empirical analysis was conducted using the World Bank's Doing Business database for the year 2010, which includes ten sub-indices (each corresponding to different areas of the business environment and regulation) for 183 countries. The output results, which were obtained using 115 methodological scenarios for the assessment of this index and its ten sub-indices, indicated that the variability of the component indicators considered in each case influenced the sensitivity of the rankings to the methodological choices. Overall, the results of our multi-method assessment were consistent with the World Bank rankings except in cases where the indices involved cost indicators measured in per capita income which yielded more sensitive results. Low income level countries exhibited more sensitivity in their rankings and less agreement between the benchmark rankings and our multi-method based rankings than higher income country groups.

Community college faculty commitment to Florida performance -based funding indicators for academic programs

In 1996, the State of Florida implemented a performance-based funding program for the Associate in Arts degree offered by community colleges. Additional funds are allocated for distribution among public community colleges based on performance indicators. The indicators are comprised of 10 performance goals that refer to productivity indexed by overall degree completions as well as subgroups: special disadvantaged populations, transfers, job placements, and education acceleration. ^ This study examined the level of self-reported commitment of community college faculty to the 10 Florida performance-based funding indicators for academic programs. Also examined were the relationships between commitment and (a) self-efficacy in contributing to the achievement of the indicators and (b) personal financial reward expectation for contributing to the achievement of the indicators. The relationships between commitment and (a) gender, (b) academic rank, and (c) types of courses taught were analyzed based on secondary analyses. ^ The participants were 303 full-time faculty members of Miami-Dade Community College who taught courses taken by students pursuing the Associate in Arts degree. A questionnaire was developed to measure commitment, self-efficacy, and expectation of financial reward for each of the 10 indicators. ^ The mean composite commitment score for faculty members who responded to the survey was 4.07 in a scale of 1 to 5. Greater commitment was reported for indicators closely related to the traditional mission of community colleges (i.e., facilitating progress of special groups in earning the AA degree in preparation for transferring to a four-year university). Lower commitment was reported for indicators oriented to State priorities such as education acceleration mechanisms and job placements. Commitment was correlated with three variables: self-efficacy, expectation of financial reward, and types of courses taught. However, commitment was not related to gender and academic rank. Although a cause-effect relationship cannot be inferred from this study, the findings depict a positive relationship between faculty commitment to performance-based funding indicators and faculty self-efficacy to contribute to the achievement of the indicators. ^

Development and Testing of the Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI): A Composite Indicator to Measure Social Vulnerability in the Jamaican Elderly Population

Over the last two decades social vulnerability has emerged as a major area of study, with increasing attention to the study of vulnerable populations. Generally, the elderly are among the most vulnerable members of any society, and widespread population aging has led to greater focus on elderly vulnerability. However, the absence of a valid and practical measure constrains the ability of policy-makers to address this issue in a comprehensive way. This study developed a composite indicator, The Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI), and used it to undertake a comparative analysis of the availability of support for elderly Jamaicans based on their access to human, material and social resources. The results of the ESVI indicated that while the elderly are more vulnerable overall, certain segments of the population appear to be at greater risk. Females had consistently lower scores than males, and the oldest-old had the highest scores of all groups of older persons. Vulnerability scores also varied according to place of residence, with more rural parishes having higher scores than their urban counterparts. These findings support the political economy framework which locates disadvantage in old age within political and ideological structures. The findings also point to the pervasiveness and persistence of gender inequality as argued by feminist theories of aging. Based on the results of the study it is clear that there is a need for policies that target specific population segments, in addition to universal policies that could make the experience of old age less challenging for the majority of older persons. Overall, the ESVI has displayed usefulness as a tool for theoretical analysis and demonstrated its potential as a policy instrument to assist decision-makers in determining where to target their efforts as they seek to address the issue of social vulnerability in old age. Data for this study came from the 2001 population and housing census of Jamaica, with multiple imputation for missing data. The index was derived from the linear aggregation of three equally weighted domains, comprised of eleven unweighted indicators which were normalized using z-scores. Indicators were selected based on theoretical relevance and data availability.

Brucite Microbialites in Living Coral Skeletons: Indicators of Extreme Microenvironments in Shallow-Marine Settings

Brucite [Mg(OH)2] microbialites occur in vacated interseptal spaces of living scleractinian coral colonies (Acropora, Pocillopora, Porites) from subtidal and intertidal settings in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and subtidal Montastraea from the Florida Keys, United States. Brucite encrusts microbial filaments of endobionts (i.e., fungi, green algae, cyanobacteria) growing under organic biofilms; the brucite distribution is patchy both within interseptal spaces and within coralla. Although brucite is undersaturated in seawater, its precipitation was apparently induced in the corals by lowered pCO2 and increased pH within microenvironments protected by microbial biofilms. The occurrence of brucite in shallow-marine settings highlights the importance of microenvironments in the formation and early diagenesis of marine carbonates. Significantly, the brucite precipitates discovered in microenvironments in these corals show that early diagenetic products do not necessarily reflect ambient seawater chemistry. Errors in environmental interpretation may arise where unidentified precipitates occur in microenvironments in skeletal carbonates that are subsequently utilized as geochemical seawater proxies.