The South African Cabinet has approved the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) for implementation, targeting energy security and broader industrial growth. The plan seeks to address challenges associated with local capacity, infrastructure and investment by providing a roadmap for developing renewable energy and battery storage technologies. For investors, the …
Large magnitude earthquakes in urban environments continue to kill and injure tens to hundreds of thousands of people, inflicting lasting societal and economic disasters. Earthquake early warning (EEW) provides seconds to minutes of warning, allowing people to move to safe zones and automated slowdown and shutdown of transit and other …
This study aims to shed light on the debate about the futures of gender, by taking into account its significance in the current development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyborg technologies and robotics. Its reflections are sustained by empirical data obtained between November 2010 and January 2011, when the author engaged …
Self-consciousness would seem to be a sine qua non for moral competence in a social world. You and we are morally competent in no small part because you know what you ought to do, and we know what we ought to do. A mouse, in contrast, cannot say to itself: …
Wearable sensor technologies are essential to the realization of personalized medicine through continuously monitoring an individual’s state of health. Sampling human sweat, which is rich in physiological information, could enable non-invasive monitoring. Previously reported sweat-based and other non-invasive biosensors either can only monitor a single analyte at a time or …
This paper applies a program evaluation technique to assess the causal effect of adoption of agricultural related technologies on consumption expenditure and poverty measured by different indices. The paper is based on a cross-sectional household level data collected during 2014 from a sample of 270 households in rural India. Sensitivity …
Appreciating India's Aadhaar digital ID, this World Bank report ssays that the initiative is estimated to be saving the government about $1 billion annually by curbing corruption as it underlined that digital technologies can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation. More people around the world have access to mobile phones today …
Technology can contribute simultaneously to the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability, according to findings of the UN Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) flagship publication, the 'Industrial Development Report (IDR) 2016.' IDR 2016, titled ‘The role of technology and innovation in inclusive and sustainable industrial development,' addresses the conditions required …
Nature has created excellent technologies around us, and as such, it is the chief mentor to humans on creativity and technology development. Nature uses fibre as a building block – natural structures like wood, bamboo, bone, muscle, etc. all have fibrous structure. Fibre spinning and weaving technologies are available in …
Technology has altered the trade of wildlife products including ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, exotic birds and live apes. The Internet has boosted trafficking by lowering barriers of entry into criminal markets, facilitating communication and exchange of information, as well as reconfiguring relations among supplies, intermediaries and buyers. However, technology …
A comparative evaluation of one-stop, computerised citizen service centres in various Indian states has been carried out in this paper to assess their efficacy. It is found that the outcomes of policies related to e-governance in India are not correlated to conventional variables such as economic development. Instead the extent …
Heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is one of the most active research areas in environmental purification. Recently, research on PCO technologies-based air cleaners and building materials has been intensively conducted for indoor/outdoor air treatment. The innovative technology is dedicated to decompose gaseous pollutants using photocatalysts under illumination of UV or solar …
In Malawi, increasing demand for housing has put tremendous pressure on the building material sector, resulting in deforestation, rising costs and poor quality construction. Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln technology offers a resource efficient and financially viable option for the production of quality bricks.
The draft policy on scientific mining released by the State Planning Board proposes to encourage geomapping of mineral resources in the state and minimising of environmental damage. The new Scientific Mining Policy describes itself as a three legged stool. “Leg one is uninterrupted supply of extracted natural materials like mineral, …
The end of 2015 is the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. Governments across Asia and the Pacific have been striving to meet the Goals, particularly on reducing income poverty. Some subregions and countries have made faster progress than others, but it is clear that the MDGs have prompted …
In 2011 the Bureau of Labour and Social Affairs (BoLSA), UNICEF and a number of donors including Irish Aid initiated the Tigray Social Cash Transfer Programme (TSCTP) in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The programme aimed to reduce poverty and hunger in extremely poor and labour-constrained households.
Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Shreya Singhal Vs Union of India dated 24/03/2015 regarding Section 66A of the Information Technology Act of 2000. This batch of writ petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India raises very important and far-reaching questions relatable …
In a bid to enhance awareness of the hazards of air pollution, India’s first ‘air quality’ Mobile App, SAFAR-Air, was launched on Tuesday at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune. The application, developed by scientists at IITM, will enable citizens to check their city’s air quality in real …
Asia and the Pacific region is expected to be hit hard by the impacts of climate change. Developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are among the most vulnerable, with seven of the top ten vulnerable countries being in the region. Scaling-up of mitigation and adaptation efforts …
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is approaching eight years of implementation. Since 2006, it has offered up to 100 days per year of guaranteed public works employment to tens of millions of rural Indian households. It is intended to augment the purchasing power of the rural …
Low-cost mobile devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and personal digital assistants, which can access voice and data services, have revolutionised access to information and communication technology worldwide. These devices have a major impact on many aspects of people's lives, from business and education to health. This paper reviews the …
