New openings and old problems of China's economic cooperation : global uneven development and stagnation in the Philippines

There has been a resurgence in activity by non-traditional donors (NTDs) since 2000. These flows of foreign development assistance (FDA) are a reflection of the global shift in production and income towards semi-peripheral economies, above all the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC has also adopted its “peaceful rise” and “non-interference” policies with a strong emphasis on South-South cooperation. Some even foresee these changes as opening the space for more public-investment focused development policies, with NTDs providing ready access to capital with few conditionalities. Little attention, however, has been focused how these changes are already impacting in Southeast Asia. The PRC has now become the second largest source of FDA in the Philippines, funding major rail and other infrastructure projects and this trend is set to continue. The experience so far, however, suggests that the Philippine “soggy state” – where the state lacks autonomy from elite classes and processes that hinder development processes - has meant little benefit has accrued from the availability of concessional finance. Despite the rhetoric of “non-interference” in PRC policy, there is evidence that these FDA flows may indeed be aggravating processes of social and political exclusion.

An empirical investigation of the impact of global energy transition on Nigerian oil and gas exports

18 months embargo on the thesis and check appendix for copy right materials

DESENVOLVIMENTO TERRITORIAL E SUSTENTABILIDADE NO SEMI-ÁRIDO DA BAHIA - BRASIL: ANÁLISE DAS POLÍTICAS EDUCACIONAIS E DO ENSINO AGRÍCOLA NO TERRITÓRIO DE IRECÊ

O trabalho buscou analisar a relação desenvolvimento sustentável, território e políticas educacionais. Discutiu-se a territorialidade da escola agrotécnica de Irecê, procurando compreender sua contribuição para a promoção do desenvolvimento e da sustentabilidade do território. Analisaram-se os pressupostos estruturais que deram sustentação e direcionamento ao desenvolvimento do ensino agrotécnico no Brasil e seus reflexos às racionalidades da Política Estadual de Educação para tal modalidade no Estado da Bahia. Evidenciou-se a influência dos discursos ambientalistas global e nacional à elaboração das Diretrizes Curriculares do Ensino Agrícola no Estado da Bahia na década de 1990 e os desafios, contradições e conflitos no processo de materialização dessas orientações curriculares. Desta forma, através da abordagem territorial, verificaram-se os reflexos de tais racionalidades políticas e institucionais para o território. A análise esteve calcada na dialética materialista e histórica, cuja abordagem teve um cunho qualitativo. Ficou evidente a necessidade de: articulação mais direta entre a escola agrotécnica e as políticas de desenvolvimento territorial; repensar a relação escola-comunidade, a fim de abarcar o meio rural como elemento pedagógico; e que a territorialidade da escola agrotécnica esteve historicamente atrelada a racionalização do capital do campo, cujo espaço vivido permitiu a estruturação de algumas práticas alternativas.

The Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and its Association with Quality of Life in Ambulatory Patients Receiving Radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the scored Patient-generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) tool as an outcome measure in clinical nutrition practice and determine its association with quality of life (QoL). DESIGN: A prospective 4 week study assessing the nutritional status and QoL of ambulatory patients receiving radiation therapy to the head, neck, rectal or abdominal area. SETTING: Australian radiation oncology facilities. SUBJECTS: Sixty cancer patients aged 24-85 y. INTERVENTION: Scored PG-SGA questionnaire, subjective global assessment (SGA), QoL (EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3). RESULTS: According to SGA, 65.0% (39) of subjects were well-nourished, 28.3% (17) moderately or suspected of being malnourished and 6.7% (4) severely malnourished. PG-SGA score and global QoL were correlated (r=-0.66, P<0.001) at baseline. There was a decrease in nutritional status according to PG-SGA score (P<0.001) and SGA (P<0.001); and a decrease in global QoL (P<0.001) after 4 weeks of radiotherapy. There was a linear trend for change in PG-SGA score (P<0.001) and change in global QoL (P=0.003) between those patients who improved (5%) maintained (56.7%) or deteriorated (33.3%) in nutritional status according to SGA. There was a correlation between change in PG-SGA score and change in QoL after 4 weeks of radiotherapy (r=-0.55, P<0.001). Regression analysis determined that 26% of the variation of change in QoL was explained by change in PG-SGA (P=0.001). CONCLUSION: The scored PG-SGA is a nutrition assessment tool that identifies malnutrition in ambulatory oncology patients receiving radiotherapy and can be used to predict the magnitude of change in QoL.

Reducing the global burden of depression : population level analysis of intervention cost-effectiveness in 14 world regions

International evidence on the cost and effects of interventions for reducing the global burden of depression remain scarce. Aims: To estimate the population-level cost-effectiveness of evidence-based depression interventions and their contribution towards reducing current burden. Method: Primary-care-based depression interventions were modelled at the level of whole populations in 14 epidemiological subregions of the world. Total population-level costs (in international dollars or I$) and effectiveness (disability adjusted life years (DALYs) averted) were combined to form average and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Results: Evaluated interventions have the potential to reduce the current burden of depression by 10–30%. Pharmacotherapy with older antidepressant drugs, with or without proactive collaborative care, are currently more cost-effective strategies than those using newer antidepressants, particularly in lower-income subregions. Conclusions: Even in resource-poor regions, each DALYaverted by efficient depression treatments in primary care costs less than 1 year of average per capita income, making such interventions a cost-effective use of health resources. However, current levels of burden can only be reduced significantlyif there is a substantialincrease substantial increase intreatment coverage.

Implication of global warming on air-conditioned office buildings in Australia

With the accelerated trend of global warming, the thermal behavior of existing buildings, which were typically designed based on current weather data, may not be able to cope with the future climate. This paper quantifies, through computer simulations, the increased cooling loads imposed by potential global warming and probable indoor temperature increases due to possible undersized air-conditioning system. It is found from the sample office building examined that the existing buildings would generally be able to adapt to the increasing warmth of 2030 year Low and High scenarios projections and 2070 year Low scenario projection. However, for the 2070 year High scenario, the study indicates that the existing office buildings, in all capital cities except for Hobart, will suffer from overheating problems. When the annual average temperature increase exceeds 2°C, the risk of current office buildings subjected to overheating will be significantly increased. For existing buildings which are designed with current climate condition, it is shown that there is a nearly linear correlation between the increase of average external air temperature and the increase of building cooling load. For the new buildings, in which the possible global warming has been taken into account in the design, a 28-59% increase of cooling capacity under 2070 High scenario would be required to improve the building thermal comfort level to an acceptable standard.