GLOBAL SYSTEMS INSTITUTE

Publications

Transnational corporations and the challenge of biosphere stewardship

Publication ID: pub.1121008422

Publication date: 16/09/2019

Keywords: Agriculture; Conservation of Natural Resources; Global; Humans

Sustainability within planetary boundaries requires concerted action by individuals, governments, civil society and private actors. For the private sector, there is concern that the power exercised by transnational corporations generates, and is even central to, global environmental change. Here, we ask under which conditions transnational corporations could either hinder or promote a global shift towards […]

Optimal package pricing in healthcare services

Publication ID: pub.1120938353

Publication date: 09/09/2019

Keywords: Fixed Price; Private Healthcare Service; Value-at-risk

Fixed pricing for healthcare services is emerging as an attractive business model for private healthcare service providers. Under fixed pricing (or flat rate) contract, the patient is charged a fixed price for the healthcare services irrespective of the actual cost incurred by the hospital. Such contracts increase the risks for the healthcare service provider, thus […]

Weaknesses in the Law Protecting the United Kingdom’s Remarkable Underwater Cultural Heritage: The Need for Modernisation and Reform

Publication ID: pub.1120970329

Publication date: 09/09/2019

Keywords: Heritage Management; Marine Management; Underwater Archaeology Policy; UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage; United Kingdom

Despite the United Kingdom (UK) having been regarded as one of the richest hotspots for underwater cultural heritage (UCH), its policy and practice regarding its protection has displayed some areas of weakness. This paper makes a case to review the legal framework and its overall administration in the UK, in order to protect and preserve […]

Climate change impacts on banana yields around the world

Publication ID: pub.1120764099

Publication date: 02/09/2019

Keywords: Bananas; Climate Change; Crop; Developing World; Exporter; Food Security; Nutrition; Producer; Risk; Global; Yields

Nutritional diversity is a key element of food security1–3. However, research on the effects of climate change on food security has, thus far, focused on the main food grains4–8, while the responses of other crops, particularly those that play an important role in the developing world, are poorly understood. Bananas are a staple food and […]

Novel clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes associated with sewage sludge and industrial waste streams revealed by functional metagenomic screening

Publication ID: pub.1120766398

Publication date: 02/09/2019

Keywords: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteria; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Genes, Bacterial; Geologic Sediments; Grassland; Industrial Waste; Metagenome; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; Rothamsted Park; Sewage; Soil Microbiology; UK

A growing body of evidence indicates that anthropogenic activities can result in increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in bacteria in natural environments. Many environmental studies have used next-generation sequencing methods to sequence the metagenome. However, this approach is limited as it does not identify divergent uncharacterized genes or demonstrate activity. Characterization of ARGs […]

The Influence of Viscoelastic Crustal Rheologies on Volcanic Ground Deformation: Insights From Models of Pressure and Volume Change

Publication ID: pub.1120004808

Publication date: 19/08/2019

Keywords: Numerical Modeling; Rheology; Unrest; Viscoelasticity; Volcanic Deformation

Inelastic rheological behavior, such as viscoelasticity, is increasingly utilized in the modeling of volcanic ground deformation, as elevated thermal regimes induced by magmatic systems may necessitate the use of a mechanical model containing a component of time‐dependent viscous behavior. For the modeling of a given amplitude and footprint of ground deformation, incorporating a viscoelastic regime […]