Academic literature on the topic 'High-risk activism'

This article presents a quantitative study of differential participation in low- and high-risk activism in the Danish refugee solidarity movement. Distinguishing between low- and high-risk activism, it shows the fruitfulness of combining what are often considered competing theoretical explanations related to (1) values, (2) microstructures, and (3) emotions. We analyze data from a unique survey of 1,856 respondents recruited via Facebook. The results show that low- and high-risk participation strongly correlate but are influenced by different factors. For low-risk activities, the most important factors are emotional reactions, structural availability, and predispositions in the form of basic human values. For high-risk activity, the important factors are prior history of activism and emotional reaction. Values, microstructures, and emotions interact in relation to participation in both kinds of activism, which points to promising avenues for integrating and developing the theoretical framework of differential participation and recruitment.

We report the findings of our research on differing levels of movement involvement by focusing on participation in a high-risk/cost campaign mobilized by Nicaragua Exchange, a solidarity organization in the U.S.-Central America peace movement of the 1980s. Our data confirm the importance of relational ties in high-risk activism, yet raise questions about the relevance of biographical availability and the unique functions of organizational ties. We argue that McAdam's model is an important advance in our understanding of the factors that facilitate high-risk/cost activism, yet its micro-structural approach does not sufficiently account for human agency and individual abilities to negotiate and overcome barriers to activism.

Cyberspace, the digital environment produced by the Internet and mobile phones, has become a major developmental context for young people in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ). From 2005, the phenomena of convergence and Web 2.0, enabled more cyber-activity, from more places, more often. The thesis utilised mixed methods to explore cyber-activity, and the challenges it produced. It also examined resilience; focusing on factors associated with successful resolution of distressing challenges. The first phase used eight focus groups (N = 36), as well as literature reviews, to produce a model for understanding cyber-challenge. The second phase deployed a questionnaire, based on aspects of this model, with 1,673 diverse NZ secondary school students. Cyberspace was accessed frequently (at least three or more times a week) by 98.4% of the sample. Participants reported an average of 7.29 (sd = 1.93) categories of cyber-activity annually. Activities classed as ���communicating��� and ���researching��� were most common. At least one cyber-challenge was reported by 67.5% of participants, however, only around half of them reported distress associated with a challenge. By volume, cyberbullying was the most distressing challenge reported (17.6%). Although ignoring was the most common management strategy used across six distressing challenges, it was never positively associated with resolution. On average, 38.3% of participants reported use of social support to manage distressing cyber-challenges. Significant age and gender differences highlighted aspects of adolescent development in cyberspace, for example older adolescents were more likely to report communication, banking, copyright-infringement, timemanagement problems; females reported more communication, phone-cyberbullying, distressing cyberbullying, unwanted sexual solicitation; and males reported more making new friends, dating, gaming, trading, Internetcyberbullying, cyberbullying others, sexual-content exposure, and distressing time-management problems. Logistic regression identified features associated with distressing challenge resolution. Although adult help seeking ability was associated with the resolution of four categories of cyber-challenge, actual adult support (or other social support) was not, suggesting that resiliency depends on the quality of the intervention, not its presence per se. Given the prominent place of social support as an intervention, adults (and peers) need to be equipped to better support young people to manage challenges. Cybersafety programmes should target common distressing challenges first.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment is becoming increasingly common in routine clinical practice. Consequently many individuals are likely to be identified as being at increased CVD risk and risk reducing strategies implemented with a view to preventing future CVD. There are many steps along the pathway from CVD risk assessment to the prevention of CVD events. First, CVD risk needs to be accurately estimated using an appropriate CVD risk calculator. Secondly CVD risk information needs to be effectively communicated to the individual identified as being at increased risk. Thirdly, the risk information communicated needs to be capable of motivating behaviour change and finally behaviour change needs to result in a reduction in CVD risk. The evidence base for many of these steps has yet to be fully established. Aims: The overall aims of this work were first to adapt the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Risk Engine to better display risk and achievable risk. Secondly to investigate lay perceptions of risk and to develop two interventions designed to reduce CVD risk. The two interventions were a personalised 10-year CVD risk estimate and a brief lifestyle advice intervention. Finally, the capacity of these interventions to increase physical activity and improve CVD risk factors in adults at increased CVD risk was tested. Methods: Three focus groups were held to investigate lay perceptions of risk and to inform the design of the UKPDS Risk Engine interface and a brief lifestyle advice intervention designed to motivate risk reducing behaviours. The two interventions were then tested in a 2x2 factorial randomised controlled trial. Results: The focus group results demonstrated that public interest and understanding of risk was high. In addition participants expressed clear views regarding how risk information and lifestyle advice should be presented. 194 participants at increased 10-year CVD risk (≥ 20%) were recruited from 4 Oxfordshire general practices. Neither a personalised 10-year CVD risk estimate nor a brief lifestyle advice intervention was capable of increasing physical activity or reducing estimated 10-year CVD risk in this group. Conclusions: Whilst public interest in CVD risk appeared to be high this study was unable to demonstrate that a 10-year personalised CVD risk estimate or a brief lifestyle advice intervention was able to increase physical activity in adults at increased CVD risk.

Whilst high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity may protect against cardiometabolic risk factor clustering, evidence suggests these outcomes are below optimal in English youths. Adolescence is a key stage in health behaviours development, and thus represents an opportunity for interventions aiming to improve the cardiometabolic health, fitness and activity levels of this population. Recently, there has been growing interest in the efficacy of low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time efficient way of improving health and fitness outcomes in adults. Contrastingly, the effects of low-volume HIT in adolescents remains relatively unknown. The first aim of this programme therefore was to develop a novel school-based low-volume HIT intervention. The second was to determine the effectiveness of this model for improving the cardiometabolic health, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity levels of adolescents. Study one examined adolescents’ views towards high-intensity exercise, and the proposed low-volume HIT intervention. This data was used to design the novel low-volume HIT model. In Study 2, participants’ heart rate and perceived exertion responses to three prototype prescriptions of low-volume HIT, based on boxing, dance and football were examined. Here, it was indicated that these activities were capable of eliciting a high-intensity training response (~90% of maximum heart rate). Study 3 incorporated the main intervention, which examined the effect of a 10-week multi-activity low-volume HIT intervention (named Project FFAB [Fun Fast Activity Blasts]) on various health and fitness outcomes in adolescents. Here, beneficial effects were detected in the intervention participants compared to the controls for triglycerides, waist circumference, lipid accumulation product and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Study 4 assessed the fidelity of the intervention, and found that this had been largely upheld. Collectively therefore, it appears that Project FFAB represents a viable strategy for improving aspects of cardiometabolic health and physical activity levels in adolescents.

Dealing with the social phenomenon of the “skills drain”, retired workers leaving companies en masse sometimes even before the recruitment of newcomers and consequently impeding classic training through mentoring, managers are seeking innovative solutions to train new employees and ensure a satisfactory level of competencies, especially in high risk industries. This led to questions to which the present research offers solutions: How are competencies of experienced workers mobilized? How can they be accessed? How are they developed through training? And more especially in full-scale simulation, which is key to occupational training in high risk industries. The literature shows that the relationship between knowledge, know-how, skills and competencies remains unclear. A model is suggested, adapted to the present issue. It shows that competencies must be investigated in action through work activity analysis and leads to an approach to describe competencies in action, as in Le Boterf’s model (1998), which presents a relevant link between competencies and action and was tested in the field. However, its application revealed a dearth of the expected description; pre-tests led to adapt it into a new model and protocol: the Square of PErceived ACtion (SPEAC model). The protocol was used, in the line of Subjective Evidence-Based Ethnography (SEBE) methods, to structure the replay interview following the recording of the workers’ activity by subcams, miniaturized cameras mounted on spectacles (first person perspective). The resulting analysis was applied to full-scale simulation and in real operating situations for which a risk assessment protocol whilst using SEBE equipment was developed, tested and applied. It provided more relevant input data for occupational training, and showed higher performance in training than other methods (more exhaustive and less costly). In order to evaluate the impact of SPEAC-improved training on actual performance at work, the SPEAC improvement in a standard training curriculum was tested in two contexts of high risk industries (medicine and nuclear). In doing so, we tackled also the issue of resistance to innovation in training. The application of the SPEAC method to provide input data and to structure the training sessions improved significantly the work performance both at the end of the training sessions and in real operating situations. When combined with improved pedagogical methods in simulation training, the SPEAC protocol has been shown to provide substantial gains for following real operating situations, both in terms of safety (fewer subsequent complications and less pain for patients in hospital, higher levels of reliability for activities in nuclear industries) and in terms of cost (per year, potentially tens of thousands of euros could be saved in hospitals when considering one operation and several millions of euros for a nuclear power plant when all activities are taken into account). Top management now wishes to roll out the method within their professionalization program in the two institutions where the field experiments and applications were carried out. In parallel, as a theoretical perspective, developments and applications in the framework of the present research have suggested the relevance of a systemic approach of the professionalization cycle in complex socio-technical systems: the Experiential Learning Theory-based excursive cycle of the professional training process developed in this study might contribute towards modelling a systemic approach of simulation training in high risk industries providing areas for improvement and consequently higher performance.

The diploma thesis focuses on the issue of human error in risk activities. The issue is examined at a company InfoTel, spol. s r. o. offering professional services in the construction and operation of telecommunication networks. The work is divided into three parts. The first part is aimed at obtaining theoretical background serving as a starting point for the subsequent analytical part. The analytical part concentrates on the characteristics of the selected company, organizational structure and work positions. It includes the analysis of corporate processes, contemplating the human factor, its activity and associated risks. The final part of the thesis is devoted to proposals for measures, focusing on prevention of human error in risk activities, leading to improvement of economic result in the selected company.

Efforts to reduce the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and find innovative alternatives to condom use are important public health challenges. While the incidence of HIV is leveling off among some populations, it is escalating in other populations such as young African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Guided by the health belief model (HBM) and the AIDS risk reduction model (ARRM), this quantitative, cross-sectional study sought to use multiple linear regression, binary logistic regression, and Fisher's exact test to determine how perceived susceptibility, as measured by the AIDS Health Belief Scale (AHBS), and labeling of unprotected receptive anal intercourse (URAI) risk predicted the preference for prevention products and the number of self-reported sexual activities among MSM who seek sexual partners on the Internet. This study also sought to determine any ethnic differences in the preference for prevention products among these men. Due to the limited sample size (N = 19), there were no significant relationships between the independent variables (i.e., AHBS Score, URAI Risk, or ethnicity) and dependent variables (i.e., product preference or sexual activity). Moreover, covariates of age and alcohol/drug use were not significant in this study. The implications of positive social change include new insights into designing culturally-sensitive, Internet-based, HIV interventions for hard-to-reach and hidden populations that protect their privacy.

Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for major non-communicable diseases, which contribute substantially to the global burden of chronic diseases, disability and death. The burden of disability, morbidity and mortality, attributable to non-communicable diseases, is currently enormous in the developed countries and is increasingly growing in the developing countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between participation in physical activity and health risk behaviours among high school students in the Mtwara region, Tanzania. The objectives of this study were to identify the physical activity levels among high school students in Mtwara region, Tanzania, to identify health risk behaviours among the above mentioned high school students, to identify the factors that influenced them to engage in health risk behaviours and to establish the relationship between physical activity and health risk behaviours.

The monograph examines the statement that the combination of innovation activity and corporate social responsibility should create a synergistic effect of sustainable development of the enterprise. It is shown that increasing loyalty on the part of a large number of stakeholder groups (especially employees, consumers, suppliers, etc.) and reducing the level of risk perception on the part of financial stakeholders, consumers, etc. through the emergence of a "halo" or "halo" of responsible business are extremely important for high-risk innovation activities, increase the effectiveness of project management. At the same time, a positive perception on the part of stakeholders should affect the competitiveness of the company as a whole and its economic efficiency. For students and teachers, as well as all those interested in the economy of enterprises.

Little attention has been devoted to the impact of corporate governance practices on firms’ innovative performance. This chapter reviews the literature to show that there is theoretical ambiguity. There is the argument that corporate governance and new forms of finance realign managers’ interests, with greater efficiency for all types of investments. However, some argue that innovative R&D has distinctive characteristics, like high risk and long-term horizon, that may modify the efficiency effect. The issue has generated many studies where the long tradition of positive relationships between governance and efficiency is now contrasted by some recent empirical evidence suggesting a negative relationship. The chapter argues that shareholder primacy or owner activism in corporate governance and new forms of finance represent a potential mismatch with innovation.

The incidence of morbidity and mortality related to CVD is rather low in a paediatric population. Studies investigating the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness, and cardiovascular health in children and adolescents are therefore mostly limited to CVD risk factors as outcome measures. For this reason, this chapter will focus on the association of physical activity and physical fitness with CVD risk factors in children and adolescents. These risk factors can be divided into the so-called traditional CVD risk factors; that is, lipoproteins [total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides (TG)], blood pressure, body fatness, and diabetes, and ‘new’ CVD risk factors; that is, other lipoproteins [lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), apolipoprotein (apo)B, and apoA-1], coagulation and inflammation markers [fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP)], homocysteine, and heart rate variability.

This book argues that the rampant hate-filled attacks against women online are best understood as patterned resistance to women’s political voice and visibility. This abuse and harassment coalesces into an often-unrecognized form of gender inequality that constrains women’s use of digital public spaces, much as the pervasive threat of sexual intimidation and violence constrain women’s freedom and comfort in physical public spaces. What’s more, the abuse exacerbates inequality among women, those from racial, ethnic, religious, and/or other minority groups, are disproportionately targeted. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women who have been on the receiving end of digital hate, Credible Threat shows that the onslaught of epithets and stereotypes, rape threats, and unsolicited commentary about their physical appearance and sexual desirability come at great professional, personal, and psychological costs for the women targeted—and also with underexplored societal level costs that demand attention. When effective, identity-based attacks undermine women’s contributions to public discourse, create a climate of self-censorship, and at times, push women out of digital publics altogether. Given the uneven distribution of toxicity, those women whose voices are already most underrepresented (e.g., women in male-dominated fields, those from historically undervalued groups) are particularly at risk. In the end, identity-based attacks online erode civil liberties, diminish public discourse, limit the knowledge we have to inform policy and electoral decision making, and teach all women that activism and public service are unappealing, high-risk endeavors to be avoided.

It is now recognized that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is partly a paediatric problem, i.e. the onset begins in childhood, although clinical symptoms may not become apparent until later in life. Therefore, from a primary prevention point of view, the extent to which physical activity or physical fitness in childhood may deter this process is of utmost importance. Although physical activity and CRF at a young age have not been directly linked to the incidence of CVD, evidence thus far supports cardiovascular health benefits of early higher physical activity and CRF levels on cardiometabolic risk factors like obesity, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and their maintenance throughout the course of life. By affecting these intermediary pathways, lifelong (high-intensity) physical activity may also deter the age-related decreases in CRF and related signs of premature arterial ageing.

Antifibrinolytics can prevent excessive bleeding during surgery and are also used to reduce established bleeding. By blocking the effects of plasmin, they prevent premature clot breakdown and enhance clot stability. The CRASH-2 trial showed that use of tranexamic acid in those with or at high risk of traumatic haemorrhage reduced mortality by 9%. Importantly for a drug that affects haemostasis, there appears to be no increased risk of either arterial or venous thromboembolism. Aprotinin while an excellent agent in reducing bleeding disproves previous assumption that reducing bleeding improves outcome, for the BART study demonstrated an increased mortality compared with tranexamic acid and EACA. It is still used occasionally in very high risk cardiac surgery patients. DDAVP (desmopressin) stimulates platelet function and is of use in patients with uraemia, although needs to be given with an antifibrinolytics, because it does also stimulate fibrinolytic activity. Off-license use of rVIIa is waning, clinical trials have as yet failed to show major benefit. Moreover, there is a high rate of arterial thrombosis after using rVIIA.

♦ Stress fractures are fractures occurring as the result of repetitive, submaximal loads, in the absence of a specific precipitating traumatic event.♦ These fractures can be subdivided into two groups on the basis of aetiology. Whereas ‘fatigue fractures’ result from the excessive repetitive (i.e. abnormal) loading of normal bone, ‘insufficiency fractures’ are fractures resulting from normal forces acting on abnormal bone.♦ Early diagnosis allows the initiation of effective treatment that can prevent prolonged pain and disability, as well as avoiding the progression to displacement or a non-union.♦ While management decisions are generally focused on activity modification, protection of weight bearing, and immobilization, there is a subset of fractures at high risk for progression to complete fracture, non-union, or delayed union. These high-risk stress fractures, including tension-side femoral neck fractures and anterior tibial cortex fractures, require aggressive treatment to prevent the sequelae of poor healing.

The need for a new approach to cardiovascular disease prevention, both secondary and primary, that is different from traditional health service provision through hospital cardiac rehabilitation services and general practice is evident. The targets set in the cardiovascular prevention guidelines for modifiable cardiovascular risk factors-smoking, diet and physical activity, weight and its distribution, blood pressure, lipids, and diabetes-are not being adequately achieved for either coronary or other vascular patients or for those at high multifactorial risk of developing CVD. There is also evidence of an increasing disparity in levels of risk between different community groups, largely attributable to social determinants of health. Community-based prevention centres provide a novel approach to reducing cardiovascular risk, in which there is shared working between professionals and the public and a shared understanding of the barriers that individuals experience in their attempts to engage in effective measures for both secondary and primary prevention.

Lifestyle factors contribute appreciably to endometrial cancer risk, with obesity accounting for over one-third of incident cases in high-income societies. Unlike cervical cancer, which is a model of viral carcinogenesis, endometrial cancer is considered a model of hormonal carcinogenesis, as use of unopposed estrogens postmenopausally and obesity are the best-established risk factors. Endometrial cancer is also the only known malignancy for which cigarette smoking has been shown to confer protection. Risk reduction conferred by current smoking, past oral contraceptive use, childbearing, and physical activity is believed to be mediated by hormones. This may also apply to the increase in risk associated with obesity, which increases peripheral production of estrogens, and with diabetes mellitus. Hence, it should be possible to prevent a substantial fraction of endometrial cancers through lifestyle modification. Pathological classification of endometrial cancer is currently evolving and studies are revealing different molecular subtypes within the same histological groups.

AbstractMaterial deprivation is a key aspect of social exclusion, and the domain of economic exclusion, for the older population. In this chapter we utilised cross-sectional data from Wave 5 (2013) of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and logistic regression analysis to assess the variation in material deprivation of the population aged 50+ across four geographic clusters of welfare regimes in Europe. We used the SHARE-based Material Deprivation Index (MDI) to assess the associations between material deprivation and socio-demographic factors (age, gender, education, economic activity status, household type, number of children, residential area, chronic diseases and limitations of daily activities, and origin). We observed a pronounced variation in material deprivation among the older population across welfare clusters, with high levels of MDI in the Eastern and Southern clusters. Living alone, having a large number of children, low education, activity limitations, and being of immigrant origin significantly increase the risk of material deprivation in older age in all clusters. The study also identified subgroups of older persons that have an increased risk of material deprivation in some but not all clusters, such as those aged 80+ and rural residents in the Southern and Eastern clusters.

AbstractTo understand and hence improve the positive impact of any healthcare activity, procedure or intervention, it is essential that there is an objective analysis of the activity, procedure or intervention based on predetermined standards.In the field of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, outcome analysis is the process by which the results of a transplant procedure are formally assessed. It includes a series of reviews for evaluating the effectiveness of the health care provided and for identifying the most promising therapies and transplant approaches, given the available medical evidence and healthcare resources.Outcome analysis allows the transplant team to understand the effects of their practice and improve quality. Its relevance is due to transplant involving high treatment-related risk, significant practice variations, and continual practice developments – for example, recent developments in CAR-T and IEC therapies.The main aim of this chapter is to discuss how to find outcome data and how and when to present it. This will need to be adapted to the local programme.

Activists are producers of strategic communication for social change and play a mediating role regarding (re)producing and challenging established cultural meanings. In a global context of high volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, contemporary activism needs to introduce significant innovations in current mass mobilizations. Otherwise, it falls into the risk of becoming irrelevant. Within this context, new forms of creative activism are arousing, which are linked to the contextual strategic approach to the repertoire of disruptive tactics and techniques. Strategic communication, or the intentional use of communication by organizations to promote their mission, is inevitably associated with the exercise of power in negotiations among different social actors. In this essay, we argue that the strategical communication approaches that have successfully established mass consumption as a way of life can be used to give public voice to sociopolitical contemporary activists and to increase shared global views for social change, such as the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. We do it so through a literature review on this topic, followed by a description of practical examples. Strategic communication plays a crucial role when it comes to inducing social change. Its applicability in an organizational context is relevant for activist movements as it facilitates the organization of collective action, the call for civic participation and interaction with other social and political institutions. The use of strategic approaches to communication in an organizational context, such as the management of identity, image and reputation, and the approach to political power through citizen lobby, can be ways for contemporary activist groups to better mobilize, communicate with their supporters, and seek to influence political decisions. Reflecting and planning before acting or reacting can contribute to the achievement of a voice and legitimacy to operate in the public sphere.

This chapter shows that digital abuse and harassment have cost some women their jobs, jeopardized their mental health, placed them at risk of physical violence, and damaged their reputations. When effective, these attacks undermine women’s contributions to public discourse, create a climate of self-censorship, and even press women out of digital publics altogether. And, based on the uneven distribution of abuse, those whose voices are most underrepresented (e.g., women of color) are likely to be the first pushed out. As a result, digital hostility has ramifications that extend far beyond the lives of those who are targeted. It impacts us all by eroding civil liberties, diminishing our public discourse, thinning the knowledge that informs policy and electoral decision making, and teaching all women that activism and public service are unappealing, high-risk endeavors to be avoided. In so doing, identity-based attacks online pose a credible threat to democratic health.

The New York Post, a New York City daily, ran a sensational headline on the front page of its April 12, 2000, issue: “Breast Cancer Hot Spots”. The news story reported that statistics and maps of breast cancer rates just released by New York State health authorities showed unusually high rates of breast cancer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, as well as on Long Island and several other areas in New York City and upstate. These high rates were described by the state authorities as “not likely due to chance.” The residents of the Upper East Side, one of the most affluent areas of the city, were understandably alarmed. One woman interviewed was considering whether to move elsewhere, but had not yet decided. A second demanded that the two major party candidates for the U.S. Senate state their positions on the high rate. A third noted that there were no obvious sources of pollution in the neighborhood, no pesticide spraying or toxic waste dumps, that could explain why the breast cancer rate was high. Many people believe that breast cancer is caused by toxic agents in the environment. Victims of breast cancer we have met at sessions of support groups have described vividly the pains and discomfort of chemotherapy, radiation, and radical surgery; the nagging anxiety about a possible recurrence, the sense of disfigurement, of mutilation; the ignorance and insensitivity of many of the so-far healthy; the strengthening or weakening of bonds to those close to them: husbands, sons, daughters, parents, who either grow in understanding and compassion or fall short. But there is one common thread that runs through their stories: each of them feels there must be a reason why she, at this particular point in her life, should have gotten this terrible disease. Why me? Lucia D., in her late thirties, remembers that as a child of eight or nine growing up in Panama she and other children used to run after the truck that periodically sprayed DDT in their neighborhood and dance around in the spray. She is convinced that this childhood exposure is the reason she has breast cancer at such an early age.

High pressure hydrogenation cracking unit is the core equipment system in the aromatic plant, which is subjected simultaneously to the action of hydrogen and high pressure and high temperature. In this paper, quantitative analysis method of RBI was carried out by Orbit-Onshore software, which was developed by DNV corporation. In API 581, the risk situation for a certain equipment unit were classified into four grades, such as low risk grade and medium risk grade and medium-high risk grade and high grade, which is expressed as risk matrix. The whole risk distribution of 553 equipment and piping items was obtained, and in which the hydrocracking reactors and the reactor effluent air coolers are belong to ‘medium-high risk’ grade. Based on the RBI results, an optimum inspection plan was developed by the author to reduce the risk level for the hydrogenation cracking unit. It is concluded that the optimum inspection plan was completely satisfied with the engineering specification of the aromatic plant, after the validation of the inspection activity in 2004.

During decommissioning of nuclear facilities, it is generally thought that the risk is relatively low after high activity inventory such as the spent fuel is removed. However, dismantlement works may be carried out with non-multiple barriers with a non-regular process depending mainly on human activities. Moreover, fire or gas incidents caused by conventional industry methods may lead to accidents with radioactivity release. This means more attention is necessary for safer dismantlement especially for nuclear reactors with high activity. Therefore, utilization of risk information based on risk assessment of the decommissioning was proposed. A method of risk assessment for decommissioning was developed and applied for the dismantlement of typical reactor facilities and nuclear fuel facilities (a uranium enrichment plant and a reprocessing plant). The results show that the consequences of such troubles are low, but their occurrences are still not negligible. This fact is supported by past trouble cases. Taking into account of the risk assessment results, a methodology to secure the safety of decommissioning was proposed. It consists of four steps i.e. 1) risk-informed approach, 2) graded approach, 3) phased approach and 4) layered approach and the results can be reflected to the management and regulation. The regulation means are for example, review of the decommissioning plan or the fitness-for-safety, the periodic safety inspections and usual monitoring. The methodology can evaluate the risk level of decommissioning more objectively and enable reasonable regulation based on the risk level. This leads to the appropriate distribution of resources with safety enhancement.

Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity in female adolescents is a global health problem. It is may caused by the adoption of a Western lifestyle (decrease in physical activity and an increase in the consumption of energy-dense food, high in fats and refined sugar). The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of physical activity on the incidence of obesity in female adolescents. Subjects and Method: This was meta-analysis and systematic review. The study was conducted by collecting articles from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct databases, published from 2002 to 2020. Keywords were searched using the terms “physical activity” OR “physical fitness” AND obesity AND “cross sectional” AND girls OR adolescent. The study subject was female adolescents. The intervention was low physical activity with comparison high physical activity. The study outcome was obesity. Collected articles were screened using PRISMA flowchart. The quantitative data were analyzed by Revman 5.3. Results: 6 studies from China, New York, Netherlands, Korea, Taiwan, and United States, reported that low physical activity increased the risk of obesity in female adolescents (aOR= 1.74; 95% CI= 1.11 to 2.72; p= 0.010). Conclusion: Low physical activity increased the risk of obesity in female adolescents. Keywords: obesity, physical activity, female adolescents Correspondence: Putri Isriyatil Jannah. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: putriisriyatil@gmail.com. Mobile: 089634956745.

The goal of this paper is to document the pedagogic impacts of the remote learning strategy used by an state department of education in Brazil during the pandemic. We found that dropout risk increased by 365% under remote learning. While risk increased with local disease activity, most of it can be attributed directly to the absence of in-person classes: we estimate that dropout risk increased by no less than 247% across the State, even at the low end of the distribution of per capita Covid-19 cases. Average standardized test scores decreased by 0.32 standard deviation, as if students had only learned 27.5% of the in-person equivalent under remote learning. Learning losses did not systematically increase with local disease activity, attesting that they are in fact the outcome of remote learning, rather than a consequence of other health or economic impacts of Covid-19. Authorizing schools to partially reopen for in-person classes increased high-school students test scores by 20% relative to the control group.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.

The U.S. national parks have experienced significant climate-change impacts and rapid, on-going changes are expected to continue. Despite the significant climate-change vulnerabilities facing parks, relatively few parks have conducted comprehensive climate-change vulnerability assessments, defined as assessments that synthesize vulnerability information from a wide range of sources, identify key climate-change impacts, and prioritize vulnerable park resources (Michalak et al. In review). In recognition that funding and planning capacity is limited, this project was initiated to identify geographies, parks, and issues that are high priorities for conducting climate-change vulnerability assessments (CCVA) and strategies to efficiently address the need for CCVAs across all U.S. National Park Service (NPS) park units (hereafter “parks”) and all resources. To help identify priority geographies and issues, we quantitatively assessed the relative magnitude of vulnerability factors potentially affecting park resources and values. We identified multiple vulnerability factors (e.g., temperature change, wildfire potential, number of at-risk species, etc.) and sought existing datasets that could be developed into indicators of these factors. To be included in the study, datasets had to be spatially explicit or already summarized for individual parks and provide consistent data for at least all parks within the contiguous U.S. (CONUS). The need for consistent data across such a large geographic extent limited the number of datasets that could be included, excluded some important drivers of climate-change vulnerability, and prevented adequate evaluation of some geographies. The lack of adequately-scaled data for many key vulnerability factors, such as freshwater flooding risks and increased storm activity, highlights the need for both data development and more detailed vulnerability assessments at local to regional scales where data for these factors may be available. In addition, most of the available data at this scale were related to climate-change exposures, with relatively little data available for factors associated with climate-change sensitivity or adaptive capacity. In particular, we lacked consistent data on the distribution or abundance of cultural resources or accessible data on infrastructure across all parks. We identified resource types, geographies, and critical vulnerability factors that lacked data for NPS’ consideration in addressing data gaps. Forty-seven indicators met our criteria, and these were combined into 21 climate-change vulnerability factors. Twenty-seven indicators representing 12 vulnerability factors addressed climate-change exposure (i.e., projected changes in climate conditions and impacts). A smaller number of indictors measured sensitivity (12 indicators representing 5 vulnerability factors). The sensitivity indicators often measured park or landscape characteristics which may make resources more or less responsive to climate changes (e.g., current air quality) as opposed to directly representing the sensitivity of specific resources within the park (e.g., a particular rare species or type of historical structure). Finally, 6 indicators representing 4 vulnerability factors measured external adaptive capacity for living resources (i.e., characteristics of the park and/or surrounding landscape which may facilitate or impede species adaptation to climate changes). We identified indicators relevant to three resource groups: terrestrial living, aquatic living (including living cultural resources such as culturally significant landscapes, plant, or animal species) and non-living resources (including infrastructure and non-living cultural resources such as historic buildings or archeological sites). We created separate indicator lists for each of these resource groups and analyzed them separately. To identify priority geographies within CONUS,...