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Development studies, field description.

Our doctoral program in Development Studies focuses on ‘development,’ a central and contested concept that gained prominence after World War II, which implies progressive change towards improving economies and people’s well-being while conserving nature at local, regional, and global scales. Faculty and graduate students in the field of Development Studies study processes of social, cultural, ecological, economic, and political change, and the historical and contemporary forces that shape those dynamics. They also study the organizations and actors that engage in development-related processes and the practices, knowledge, and forms of expertise they bring to bear on their work.

An interdisciplinary field, Development Studies draws from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, economics, political science, human geography, anthropology, history, Indigenous and postcolonial studies, and the natural and technical sciences. Our doctoral students study in a range of contexts, some working directly with communities around the globe, others exploring large data sets or studying institutions as they seek to understand the complexities behind development and its impacts on people and the planet.

The program offers preparation for research, for the application of social sciences in government positions, the non-profit sector, consulting, and think tanks, and for college teaching in development studies and related fields. For the Ph.D. degree, students are expected to demonstrate (1) a thorough knowledge of social theory in development studies, with special emphasis on theories in their major concentration, (2) knowledge of previous and current research pertinent to the concentration, and (3) knowledge of multiple research methods, including qualitative and quantitative, with special emphasis on research design, data collection, and analytical techniques relevant to study in the concentration.

Students are admitted into the Ph.D. program. If they do not have a M.S. degree in Development Studies or a related discipline, they will complete a qualifying paper or M.S. thesis as part of their training.

Research and study opportunities Faculty in the field rely on a wide range of domestic and international funding to support research and graduate students. Graduate students also successfully apply for a wide range of internal and external grants for their fieldwork, such as the Wenner Gren fellowship, National Science Foundation and Fulbright fellowships.   Students and faculty members are actively conducting research around the globe, both in the United States and elsewhere. Although some doctoral dissertations are based on field-collected data, other candidates rely on rich secondary-data resources, working closely with the Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER) and the various libraries on campus. Faculty members also participate in other fields such as Natural Resources, City and Regional Planning, Anthropology, Crop and Soil Sciences, in the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and in the area studies programs for Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Several of those programs have supported dissertation research overseas. The department is also home to the  Polson Institute for Global Development , which funds assorted working group research initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.

Contact Information

Mann Library B75 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853

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  • Doctoral Program Statistics

Field Manual

Subject and degrees, development sociology.

  • Development Sociology (Ph.D.) (Ithaca)

Concentrations by Subject

  • development sociology (minor)
  • methods of social research (minor)
  • population and development
  • rural and environmental sociology
  • state, economy, and society

Victoria Beard

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; rural and environmental sociology
  • Research Interests: comparative urbanization, poverty and inequality, collective action, community development, infrastructure access, water and sanitation infrastructure

Sarah Besky

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: rural and environmental sociology; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: agrarian studies; gender and work; South Asia

Rachel Bezner Kerr

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; methods of social research; rural and environmental sociology

Parfait M Eloundou-Enyegue

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; methods of social research; population and development; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: population and development; sociology of education; demography of inequality and social change

Elias Friedman

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: Social movements, globalization, development, political sociology, work, and theory

Sarah Carissa Giroux

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: population and development
  • Research Interests: Methods of Social Research. Population and Development, Demography

Jenny Elaine Goldstein

  • Research Interests: political ecology; critical development studies; ecological history; science and technology studies; food and agriculture; Southeast Asia

Mario Herrero Acosta

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: rural and environmental sociology
  • Research Interests: Food systems, sustainability, environmental analysis, global change, scenarios, climate mitigation and adaptation, multi-scale methods for systems analysis, systems evolution and transitions, role of innovation in development

Thomas A Hirschl

  • Research Interests: social stratification; research methods and statistics; state and local demography

Tristan Ivory

  • Research Interests: International Migration Labor and Employment Relations Race and Ethnicity Social Mobility Stratification and Inequality Global and Transnational Sociology Demography Comparative and Historical Sociology Qualitative Methods Africana Studies

Neema Kudva

  • Research Interests: Community-based planning and development, Infrastructure and International planning, Social policy, Sustainability, Mobility

Lori Leonard

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: methods of social research; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: Lori Leonard has a background in public health, and her work focuses on issues in medical sociology, gender studies, and the anthropology of policy. She is interested in the ways policies, planned improvement projects, changes in the natural world, and human responses to these events shape social and cultural life
  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: methods of social research; rural and environmental sociology; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: Sustainability; food systems; spatial data science; human-environment systems

Fouad M. Makki

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; methods of social research; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: sociology of development; classical and contemporary social theory; international political economy; historical sociology of modernity

Scott J Peters

  • Research Interests: sustainable and community development; civic professionalism

Sharon L. Sassler

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; population and development
  • Research Interests: social demography; union formation (marriage, cohabitation); immigrant adaptation; racial and ethnic differentiation; young adult transitions

John W. Sipple

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; methods of social research; population and development; rural and environmental sociology
  • Research Interests: sociology of education, rural studies, inequality studies

Richard C. Stedman

  • Research Interests: linkages between social and ecological systems; natural resource and community interactions; natural resources; environmental sociology

Mildred Elaine Warner

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: community development, economic development, state and local government policy

Marina A. Welker

  • Research Interests: International development, corporations, tobacco, extractive industries, Southeast Asia

Steven A Wolf

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; rural and environmental sociology; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: environmental and natural resource sociology; environmental governance; multifunctional agricultural and forest development; institutional analysis of innovation

Wendy W. Wolford

  • Concentrations: Development Sociology: development sociology; methods of social research; rural and environmental sociology; state, economy, and society
  • Research Interests: political economy of development; social and economic geography; political ecology; land tenure; agrarian studies

John Aloysius Zinda

  • Research Interests: Environmental Sociology, Development and Globalization, Contemporary China, Rural Livelihoods, Community, Agriculture, Land Use Change, Qualitative Methods, Spatial Data Analysis, Mixed Methods

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  • What Is R&D?
  • Understanding R&D
  • Types of R&D
  • Pros and Cons
  • Considerations
  • R&D vs. Applied Research
  • Who Spends the Most?

The Bottom Line

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Research and Development (R&D) Definition, Types, and Importance

research and development studies

Investopedia / Ellen Lindner

What Is Research and Development (R&D)?

The term research and development (R&D) is used to describe a series of activities that companies undertake to innovate and introduce new products and services. R&D is often the first stage in the development process. Companies require knowledge, talent, and investment in order to further their R&D needs and goals. The purpose of research and development is generally to take new products and services to market and add to the company's bottom line .

Key Takeaways

  • Research and development represents the activities companies undertake to innovate and introduce new products and services or to improve their existing offerings.
  • R&D allows a company to stay ahead of its competition by catering to new wants or needs in the market.
  • Companies in different sectors and industries conduct R&D—pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and technology companies generally spend the most.
  • R&D is often a broad approach to exploratory advancement, while applied research is more geared towards researching a more narrow scope.
  • The accounting for treatment for R&D costs can materially impact a company's income statement and balance sheet.

Understanding Research and Development (R&D)

The concept of research and development is widely linked to innovation both in the corporate and government sectors. R&D allows a company to stay ahead of its competition. Without an R&D program, a company may not survive on its own and may have to rely on other ways to innovate such as engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or partnerships. Through R&D, companies can design new products and improve their existing offerings.

R&D is distinct from most operational activities performed by a corporation. The research and/or development is typically not performed with the expectation of immediate profit. Instead, it is expected to contribute to the long-term profitability of a company. R&D may often allow companies to secure intellectual property, including patents , copyrights, and trademarks as discoveries are made and products created.

Companies that set up and employ departments dedicated entirely to R&D commit substantial capital to the effort. They must estimate the risk-adjusted return on their R&D expenditures, which inevitably involves risk of capital. That's because there is no immediate payoff, and the return on investment (ROI) is uncertain. As more money is invested in R&D, the level of capital risk increases. Other companies may choose to outsource their R&D for a variety of reasons including size and cost.

Companies across all sectors and industries undergo R&D activities. Corporations experience growth through these improvements and the development of new goods and services. Pharmaceuticals, semiconductors , and software/technology companies tend to spend the most on R&D. In Europe, R&D is known as research and technical or technological development.

Many small and mid-sized businesses may choose to outsource their R&D efforts because they don't have the right staff in-house to meet their needs.

Types of R&D

There are several different types of R&D that exist in the corporate world and within government. The type used depends entirely on the entity undertaking it and the results can differ.

Basic Research

There are business incubators and accelerators, where corporations invest in startups and provide funding assistance and guidance to entrepreneurs in the hope that innovations will result that they can use to their benefit.

M&As and partnerships are also forms of R&D as companies join forces to take advantage of other companies' institutional knowledge and talent.

Applied Research

One R&D model is a department staffed primarily by engineers who develop new products —a task that typically involves extensive research. There is no specific goal or application in mind with this model. Instead, the research is done for the sake of research.

Development Research

This model involves a department composed of industrial scientists or researchers, all of who are tasked with applied research in technical, scientific, or industrial fields. This model facilitates the development of future products or the improvement of current products and/or operating procedures.

$42.7 billion of research and development costs later, Amazon was granted 2,244 new patents in 2020. Their patents included advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing.

Advantages and Disadvantages of R&D

There are several key benefits to research and development. It facilitates innovation, allowing companies to improve existing products and services or by letting them develop new ones to bring to the market.

Because R&D also is a key component of innovation, it requires a greater degree of skill from employees who take part. This allows companies to expand their talent pool, which often comes with special skill sets.

The advantages go beyond corporations. Consumers stand to benefit from R&D because it gives them better, high-quality products and services as well as a wider range of options. Corporations can, therefore, rely on consumers to remain loyal to their brands. It also helps drive productivity and economic growth.

Disadvantages

One of the major drawbacks to R&D is the cost. First, there is the financial expense as it requires a significant investment of cash upfront. This can include setting up a separate R&D department, hiring talent, and product and service testing, among others.

Innovation doesn't happen overnight so there is also a time factor to consider. This means that it takes a lot of time to bring products and services to market from conception to production to delivery.

Because it does take time to go from concept to product, companies stand the risk of being at the mercy of changing market trends . So what they thought may be a great seller at one time may reach the market too late and not fly off the shelves once it's ready.

Facilitates innovation

Improved or new products and services

Expands knowledge and talent pool

Increased consumer choice and brand loyalty

Economic driver

Financial investment

Shifting market trends

R&D Accounting

R&D may be beneficial to a company's bottom line, but it is considered an expense . After all, companies spend substantial amounts on research and trying to develop new products and services. As such, these expenses are often reported for accounting purposes on the income statement and do not carry long-term value.

There are certain situations where R&D costs are capitalized and reported on the balance sheet. Some examples include but are not limited to:

  • Materials, fixed assets, or other assets have alternative future uses with an estimable value and useful life.
  • Software that can be converted or applied elsewhere in the company to have a useful life beyond a specific single R&D project.
  • Indirect costs or overhead expenses allocated between projects.
  • R&D purchased from a third party that is accompanied by intangible value. That intangible asset may be recorded as a separate balance sheet asset.

R&D Considerations

Before taking on the task of research and development, it's important for companies and governments to consider some of the key factors associated with it. Some of the most notable considerations are:

  • Objectives and Outcome: One of the most important factors to consider is the intended goals of the R&D project. Is it to innovate and fill a need for certain products that aren't being sold? Or is it to make improvements on existing ones? Whatever the reason, it's always important to note that there should be some flexibility as things can change over time.
  • Timing: R&D requires a lot of time. This involves reviewing the market to see where there may be a lack of certain products and services or finding ways to improve on those that are already on the shelves.
  • Cost: R&D costs a great deal of money, especially when it comes to the upfront costs. And there may be higher costs associated with the conception and production of new products rather than updating existing ones.
  • Risks: As with any venture, R&D does come with risks. R&D doesn't come with any guarantees, no matter the time and money that goes into it. This means that companies and governments may sacrifice their ROI if the end product isn't successful.

Research and Development vs. Applied Research

Basic research is aimed at a fuller, more complete understanding of the fundamental aspects of a concept or phenomenon. This understanding is generally the first step in R&D. These activities provide a basis of information without directed applications toward products, policies, or operational processes .

Applied research entails the activities used to gain knowledge with a specific goal in mind. The activities may be to determine and develop new products, policies, or operational processes. While basic research is time-consuming, applied research is painstaking and more costly because of its detailed and complex nature.

Who Spends the Most on R&D?

Companies spend billions of dollars on R&D to produce the newest, most sought-after products. According to public company filings, these companies incurred the highest research and development spending in 2020:

  • Amazon: $42.7 billion
  • Alphabet.: $27.6 billion
  • Huawei: $22.0 billion
  • Microsoft: $19.3 billion
  • Apple: $18.8 billion
  • Samsung: $18.8 billion
  • Facebook: $18.5 billion

What Types of Activities Can Be Found in Research and Development?

Research and development activities focus on the innovation of new products or services in a company. Among the primary purposes of R&D activities is for a company to remain competitive as it produces products that advance and elevate its current product line. Since R&D typically operates on a longer-term horizon, its activities are not anticipated to generate immediate returns. However, in time, R&D projects may lead to patents, trademarks, or breakthrough discoveries with lasting benefits to the company. 

What Is an Example of Research and Development?

Alphabet allocated over $16 billion annually to R&D in 2018. Under its R&D arm X, the moonshot factory, it has developed Waymo self-driving cars. Meanwhile, Amazon has spent even more on R&D projects, with key developments in cloud computing and its cashier-less store Amazon Go. At the same time, R&D can take the approach of a merger & acquisition, where a company will leverage the talent and intel of another company to create a competitive edge. The same can be said with company investment in accelerators and incubators, whose developments it could later leverage.

Why Is Research and Development Important?

Given the rapid rate of technological advancement, R&D is important for companies to stay competitive. Specifically, R&D allows companies to create products that are difficult for their competitors to replicate. Meanwhile, R&D efforts can lead to improved productivity that helps increase margins, further creating an edge in outpacing competitors. From a broader perspective, R&D can allow a company to stay ahead of the curve, anticipating customer demands or trends.

There are many things companies can do in order to advance in their industries and the overall market. Research and development is just one way they can set themselves apart from their competition. It opens up the potential for innovation and increasing sales. But it does come with some drawbacks—the most obvious being the financial cost and the time it takes to innovate.

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Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology pp 141–150 Cite as

Design and Development Research

  • Rita C. Richey 5 &
  • James D. Klein 6  
  • First Online: 01 January 2013

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This chapter focuses on design and development research, a type of inquiry unique to the instructional design and technology field dedicated to the creation of new knowledge and the validation of existing practice. We first define this kind of research and provide an overview of its two main categories—research on products and tools and research on design and development models. Then, we concentrate on recent design and development research (DDR) by describing 11 studies published in the literature. The five product and tool studies reviewed include research on comprehensive development projects, studies of particular design and development phases, and research on tool development and use. The six model studies reviewed include research leading to new or enhanced ID models, model validation and model use research. Finally, we summarize this new work in terms of the problems it addresses, the settings and participants examined, the research methodologies employed used, and the role evaluation plays in these studies.

  • Design and development research
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  • Instructional design models

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Richey, R.C., Klein, J.D. (2014). Design and Development Research. In: Spector, J., Merrill, M., Elen, J., Bishop, M. (eds) Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_12

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  • Published: 15 February 2024

The role of early-phase trials and real-world evidence in drug development

  • Harriette G. C. Van Spall   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8370-4569 1 , 2 ,
  • Arnaud Bastien 3 ,
  • Bernard Gersh   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5605-900X 4 ,
  • Barry Greenberg 5 ,
  • Reza Mohebi 6 ,
  • James Min 7 ,
  • Karsten Strauss 8 ,
  • Steffen Thirstrup   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0903-682X 9 &
  • Faiez Zannad   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7456-1570 10  

Nature Cardiovascular Research volume  3 ,  pages 110–117 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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  • Drug development
  • Medical research
  • Preclinical research
  • Clinical trial design

Phase 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while the gold standard for treatment efficacy and safety, are not always feasible, are expensive, can be prolonged and can be limited in generalizability. Other under-recognized sources of evidence can also help advance drug development. Basic science, proof-of-concept studies and early-phase RCTs can provide evidence regarding the potential for clinical benefit. Real-world evidence generated from registries or observational datasets can provide insights into the treatment of rare diseases that often pose a challenge for trial recruitment. Pragmatic trials embedded in healthcare systems can assess the treatment effects in clinical settings among patient populations sometimes excluded from trials. This Perspective discusses potential sources of evidence that may be used to complement explanatory phase 3 RCTs and to speed the development of new cardiovascular medications. Content is derived from the 19th Global Cardiovascular Clinical Trialists meeting (December 2022), involving clinical trialists, patients, clinicians, regulators, funders and industry representatives.

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Acknowledgements

This article was generated from discussions at the 19th Global CVCT Forum held online in December 2022. The CVCT Forum is a strategic workshop for high-level dialog between clinical trialists, industry representatives, regulatory authorities and patients. The authors thank P. Lavigne and S. Portelance (unaffiliated, supported by the CVCT Forum) for contributions to writing the manuscript.

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Harriette G. C. Van Spall

Baim Institute for Clinical Research, Boston, MA, USA

Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USA

Arnaud Bastien

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN, USA

Bernard Gersh

Division of Cardiology, UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, USA

Barry Greenberg

Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Reza Mohebi

Cleerly, Denver, CO, USA

Olink, Uppsala, Sweden

Karsten Strauss

European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Steffen Thirstrup

Université de Lorraine, Inserm Clinical Investigation Center at Institut Lorrain du Coeur et des Vaisseaux, University Hospital of Nancy, Nancy, France

Faiez Zannad

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H.G.C.V.S. reports grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. A.B. reports employment, travel and/or meeting attendance support, and stock or stock options from Bristol Myers Squibb; and membership on the Board of Trustees (unpaid) for Coriell Medical Research Institute. J.M. reports participation on a medical advisory board for Arineta; employment (CEO) with Cleerly; and an equity interest in Cleerly. K.S. reports employment, travel and/or meeting attendance support, and stock or stock options from Olink Proteomics. F.Z. reports consulting fees from 89bio, Applied Therapeutics, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cardior Pharmaceuticals, Cellprothera, Cereno Scientific, CEVA, CVRx, Merck, Novartis, NovoNordisk, Owkin, Pfizer and Servier; honoraria for lectures from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, CEVA, CVRx, Merck and Novartis; fees for participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board from Acceleron/Merck; and equity interests in G3 Pharmaceuticals, Cereno Pharmaceuticals, Cardiorenal, Eshmoun Clinical Research and CVCT. The other authors declare no competing interests. The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the authors and may not be understood or quoted as being made on behalf of or reflecting the position of the regulatory agency/agencies or organizations with which the authors are employed or affiliated.

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Van Spall, H.G.C., Bastien, A., Gersh, B. et al. The role of early-phase trials and real-world evidence in drug development. Nat Cardiovasc Res 3 , 110–117 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-024-00420-4

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Parents Are Highly Involved in Their Adult Children’s Lives, and Fine With It

New surveys show that today’s intensive parenting has benefits, not just risks, and most young adults seem happy with it, too.

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By Claire Cain Miller

American parenting has become more involved — requiring more time, money and mental energy — not just when children are young, but well into adulthood.

The popular conception has been that this must be detrimental to children — with snowplow parents clearing obstacles and ending up with adult children who have failed to launch , still dependent upon them.

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But two new Pew Research Center surveys — of young adults 18 to 34 and of parents of children that age — tell a more nuanced story. Most parents are in fact highly involved in their grown children’s lives, it found, texting several times a week and offering advice and financial support. Yet in many ways, their relationships seem healthy and fulfilling.

Nine in 10 parents rate their relationships with their young adult children as good or excellent, and so do eight in 10 young adults, and this is consistent across income. Rather than feeling worried or disappointed about how things are going in their children’s lives, eight in 10 parents say they feel proud and hopeful.

“These parents, who are Gen X, are more willing to say, ‘Hey, this is good, I like these people, they’re interesting, they’re fun to be with,’” said Karen L. Fingerman, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies adults’ relationships with their families.

As for the adult children, she said, “You get advice from a 50-year-old with life experience who is incredibly invested in you and your success.”

Also, these close relationships don’t seem to be holding back young people from reaching certain milestones of independence. Compared with their parents as young adults in the early 1990s, they are much more likely to be in college or have a college degree, Pew found. They are somewhat more likely to have a full-time job, and their inflation-adjusted incomes are higher. (They are much less likely, though, to be married or have children.)

Experts say contemporary hyper-intensive parenting can go too far — and has only gotten more hands-on since the young adults in the survey were children. Young people say their mental health is suffering , and recent data shows they are much more likely to say this than those before them. Some researchers have sounded alarms that one driver of this is children’s lack of independence, and that overparenting can deprive children of developing skills to handle adversity.

The new data suggests that, indeed, young adults are more reliant on their parents — texting them for life advice when older generations may have figured out their problems on their own. But the effects do not seem to be wholly negative.

Professor Fingerman and her colleagues have found that close relationships between parents and grown children protected children from unhealthy behaviors, and young adults who received significant parental support were better able to cope with change and had higher satisfaction with their lives. It was a finding “we just couldn’t believe the first time,” she said, because of the assumptions about over-involved parents.

Both things can be true, said Eli Lebowitz, director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center — “that they do rely a lot on their parents, and they do get a lot of positive support from them.”

In previous research , parents often expressed ambivalence about their continued involvement in their adult children’s lives. But the Pew study suggests that has changed, Professor Fingerman said, perhaps a sign they have come to embrace it.

Among parents, seven in 10 say they are satisfied with their level of involvement in their grown child’s life. Just 7 percent say they’re too involved, and one-quarter would like even more involvement. Young adults say the same.

Adriana Goericke, from Santa Cruz, Calif., texts with her daughter, Mia, a college sophomore in Colorado, a few times a day. They share pictures of their food, workouts or funny selfies.

When her daughter asks for advice, mostly about navigating friendships and dating, her mother said she sees her role as a sounding board: “She knows I’m not going to try and run her life, but I’m always there if she needs me.”

Mia Goericke has seen friends who can’t solve problems or make small decisions on their own, but she said that’s different from asking her mother for help. “She will usually ask me what my goals are and try to understand my thinking rather than just tell me what to do,” she said. “It’s like an incredible resource I have at my fingertips.”

When baby boomers were growing up, there was a belief, rooted in the American ideal of self-sufficiency, that children should be independent after age 18. But that was in some ways an aberration, social scientists said. Before then, and again now, it has been common for members of different generations to be more interdependent.

Parents’ involvement in young adults’ lives began to grow in the 1970s. The transition to adulthood became longer , and less clear-cut: It was no longer necessarily the case that at 18 children left home for college, marriage or jobs. Parenting gradually became more intensive , as people had fewer children and invested more in their upbringings.

Cathy Perry, 66, said she has a very different relationship with her sons, 32 and 36, than she had with her parents when she was that age. They all live in the St. Louis area, and text on a family group chat several times a week. Her older son shares updates on his children, and asks for advice on his career, finances and home remodeling.

As a young adult, she lived an 11-hour drive from her parents, and calls were charged by the minute. “I feel that I have a much closer and more open relationship with my kids, where they are more free to express their opinions on things I might not agree with,” she said.

Open, emotional conversations have become more of a priority for parents, research shows : “They may be the first generation of adults who have parents who actually grew up with the mind-set of talking about this kind of stuff,” Professor Lebowitz said.

In the survey, six in 10 young adults said they still relied on their parents for emotional support, and a quarter of young adults said their parents relied on them for the same, including 44 percent of daughters who said their mothers did.

About seven in 10 parents of young adults said their children ask them for advice, especially about finances, careers, physical health and parenting (among those with children). That’s a change from when they were young — half said they rarely or never asked their parents for advice.

There were gender differences: Young adults were somewhat more likely to say they had a good relationship with their mother than their father. Young women communicated with their parents more frequently than young men.

Cultural and policy factors play a role in parents’ involvement in their grown children’s lives. In the United States , parents and children often rely on one another for child care and elder care . In many immigrant families, it is common for multiple generations to live together or support one another. And technology has made it easier to stay in regular touch.

There is also an increasing understanding that children have different needs, and decreasing stigma around helping them, said Mark McConville, a clinical psychologist in Cleveland. Consider a bright teenager with ADHD, he said. A generation ago, his potential might have been written off. Now, it’s much more likely that his parents identify the issue and find programs to support him — and as a result, that he attends college.

He said a small subset of young adults struggle with starting independent lives (the subject of his book, “ Failure to Launch : When Your Twentysomething Hasn’t Grown Up … and What to Do About It”). But overall, “this new prioritization of their relationship with their kids and attending to their kids’ needs” helps children succeed, he said.

Economic factors have changed, too. Young people are more likely than in their parents’ generation to have student debt — 43 percent do in their late 20s, compared with 28 percent when their parents were that age, Pew found — and are buying homes later, if at all .

Partly as a consequence, parents support their children financially for longer periods — one-third of young adults told Pew they were not financially independent from their parents. They are a bit more likely to live with their parents than the previous generation.

But for many families, support in the form of money or housing can be beneficial to parents, too. Of young adults living at home, three-quarters helped with expenses. One-third of young adults gave their parents financial help in the last year, particularly in low-income families.

And a majority of adult children living at home and parents in that situation said it had a positive effect on their relationship.

“There’s a two-way street going on that I think we need to acknowledge,” Professor Fingerman said. “They’re not all kids living in the basement being pampered. They’re kids having relationships with their parents that are good ones.”

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

Claire Cain Miller writes about gender, families and the future of work for The Upshot. She joined The Times in 2008 and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for public service for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues. More about Claire Cain Miller

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Active listening is an essential skill when seeking to engage any family member in conversation — teens included. Here is how to get better at it .

There are many reasons why a teen might not be opening up to you. These are the most common explanations for their silence .

Is your kid dismissing your solutions to their problems as irritating or irrelevant? It is usually because they’re not looking for you solve their problems.

Developing a healthy relationship with social media can be tricky. Here is how to talk to teens about it .

If your teen is surly or standoffish, these strategies can help you reconnect .

Are you worried that your kid might be struggling with his or her mental health? Understand the warning signs  and make sure to approach the issue with the utmost sensitivity.

ScienceDaily

How parents can help prevent the development of ADHD symptoms

Adhd can be stemmed through specific parenting behaviours, according to study.

Parents of young children with an excitable or exuberant temperament could adapt their parenting style to help moderate their child's potential development of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to a new study co-authored by a University of Waterloo researcher.

Developmental psychologists know that temperament, parenting, and the brain's executive functions are interconnected factors in developing ADHD symptoms throughout childhood. But, the study found specific factors that predict a higher chance of ADHD symptoms, pointing to the importance of early targeted intervention.

"A collection of early traits we call exuberance in child temperament, such as high excitement, curiosity and positive responses to unfamiliar people and contexts, combined with family factors might predispose some kids to develop ADHD symptoms," said Dr. Heather Henderson, professor in developmental psychology at Waterloo and a co-author of the study.

"This work demonstrates that parents can really help break down the pathways that lead to ADHD through more directive and engaged parenting behaviours, such as guiding the child with verbal and physical cues as they encounter new situations."

While exuberance in pre-schoolers can be very positive, research shows exuberant children can also have difficulty with self-regulation and executive functions, such as working memory and flexible thinking.

Following 291 children from just four months of age to 15 years, the researchers observed child temperament and parent-child interactions at three years, assessed the child's executive functioning at four years, and analyzed parent-reported ADHD symptoms six times between ages five and 15. The study determined that temperament and parenting work together to impact a child's developing executive functions.

The findings suggest that ADHD symptoms increase throughout childhood when a child shows early exuberant temperament, low to normal executive functions, and receives less directive and engaged parenting as the young child navigates new situations.

"Symptoms of ADHD typically stabilize from ages five to nine and decrease from ages nine to 15. But for predictable cases of very young children with exuberant temperament and less directive parenting, that stabilization may not occur," Henderson said.

"More directive parenting, which is not controlling but guides the child with verbal and physical cues, can help develop the child's self-regulatory skills and prevent their ADHD symptoms from increasing."

The paper, "The Developmental Unfolding of ADHD Symptoms from Early Childhood Through Adolescence: Early Effects of Exuberant Temperament, Parenting and Executive Functioning" by Henderson, Nicole E. Lorenzo, Hong NT Bui, Kathryn A. Degnan, Jennifer M. McDermott, Nathan A. Fox, and Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, was recently published in the journal Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology .

  • ADD and ADHD
  • Child Psychology
  • Mental Health
  • Infant and Preschool Learning
  • Learning Disorders
  • Child Development
  • Educational Psychology
  • Hyperactivity
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
  • Methylphenidate
  • Adult attention-deficit disorder
  • Controversy about ADHD
  • Early childhood education
  • Child abuse
  • Intellectual giftedness

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Waterloo . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

  • Nicole E. Lorenzo, Hong N.T. Bui, Kathryn A. Degnan, Jennifer M. McDermott, Heather A. Henderson, Nathan A. Fox, Andrea Chronis-Tuscano. The Developmental Unfolding of ADHD Symptoms from Early Childhood Through Adolescence: Early Effects of Exuberant Temperament, Parenting and Executive Functioning . Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology , 2023; DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01140-2

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Article Contents

Introduction, 1 installed capacity and application of solar energy worldwide, 2 the role of solar energy in sustainable development, 3 the perspective of solar energy, 4 conclusions, conflict of interest statement.

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Solar energy technology and its roles in sustainable development

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Ali O M Maka, Jamal M Alabid, Solar energy technology and its roles in sustainable development, Clean Energy , Volume 6, Issue 3, June 2022, Pages 476–483, https://doi.org/10.1093/ce/zkac023

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Solar energy is environmentally friendly technology, a great energy supply and one of the most significant renewable and green energy sources. It plays a substantial role in achieving sustainable development energy solutions. Therefore, the massive amount of solar energy attainable daily makes it a very attractive resource for generating electricity. Both technologies, applications of concentrated solar power or solar photovoltaics, are always under continuous development to fulfil our energy needs. Hence, a large installed capacity of solar energy applications worldwide, in the same context, supports the energy sector and meets the employment market to gain sufficient development. This paper highlights solar energy applications and their role in sustainable development and considers renewable energy’s overall employment potential. Thus, it provides insights and analysis on solar energy sustainability, including environmental and economic development. Furthermore, it has identified the contributions of solar energy applications in sustainable development by providing energy needs, creating jobs opportunities and enhancing environmental protection. Finally, the perspective of solar energy technology is drawn up in the application of the energy sector and affords a vision of future development in this domain.

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With reference to the recommendations of the UN, the Climate Change Conference, COP26, was held in Glasgow , UK, in 2021. They reached an agreement through the representatives of the 197 countries, where they concurred to move towards reducing dependency on coal and fossil-fuel sources. Furthermore, the conference stated ‘the various opportunities for governments to prioritize health and equity in the international climate movement and sustainable development agenda’. Also, one of the testaments is the necessity to ‘create energy systems that protect and improve climate and health’ [ 1 , 2 ].

The Paris Climate Accords is a worldwide agreement on climate change signed in 2015, which addressed the mitigation of climate change, adaptation and finance. Consequently, the representatives of 196 countries concurred to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions [ 3 ]. The Paris Agreement is essential for present and future generations to attain a more secure and stable environment. In essence, the Paris Agreement has been about safeguarding people from such an uncertain and progressively dangerous environment and ensuring everyone can have the right to live in a healthy, pollutant-free environment without the negative impacts of climate change [ 3 , 4 ].

In recent decades, there has been an increase in demand for cleaner energy resources. Based on that, decision-makers of all countries have drawn up plans that depend on renewable sources through a long-term strategy. Thus, such plans reduce the reliance of dependence on traditional energy sources and substitute traditional energy sources with alternative energy technology. As a result, the global community is starting to shift towards utilizing sustainable energy sources and reducing dependence on traditional fossil fuels as a source of energy [ 5 , 6 ].

In 2015, the UN adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and recognized them as international legislation, which demands a global effort to end poverty, safeguard the environment and guarantee that by 2030, humanity lives in prosperity and peace. Consequently, progress needs to be balanced among economic, social and environmental sustainability models [ 7 ].

Many national and international regulations have been established to control the gas emissions and pollutants that impact the environment [ 8 ]. However, the negative effects of increased carbon in the atmosphere have grown in the last 10 years. Production and use of fossil fuels emit methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO), which are the most significant contributors to environmental emissions on our planet. Additionally, coal and oil, including gasoline, coal, oil and methane, are commonly used in energy for transport or for generating electricity. Therefore, burning these fossil fuel s is deemed the largest emitter when used for electricity generation, transport, etc. However, these energy resources are considered depleted energy sources being consumed to an unsustainable degree [ 9–11 ].

Energy is an essential need for the existence and growth of human communities. Consequently, the need for energy has increased gradually as human civilization has progressed. Additionally, in the past few decades, the rapid rise of the world’s population and its reliance on technological developments have increased energy demands. Furthermore, green technology sources play an important role in sustainably providing energy supplies, especially in mitigating climate change [ 5 , 6 , 8 ].

Currently, fossil fuels remain dominant and will continue to be the primary source of large-scale energy for the foreseeable future; however, renewable energy should play a vital role in the future of global energy. The global energy system is undergoing a movement towards more sustainable sources of energy [ 12 , 13 ].

Power generation by fossil-fuel resources has peaked, whilst solar energy is predicted to be at the vanguard of energy generation in the near future. Moreover, it is predicted that by 2050, the generation of solar energy will have increased to 48% due to economic and industrial growth [ 13 , 14 ].

In recent years, it has become increasingly obvious that the globe must decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, ideally towards net zero, if we are to fulfil the Paris Agreement’s goal to reduce global temperature increases [ 3 , 4 ]. The net-zero emissions complement the scenario of sustainable development assessment by 2050. According to the agreed scenario of sustainable development, many industrialized economies must achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. However, the net-zero emissions 2050 brought the first detailed International Energy Agency (IEA) modelling of what strategy will be required over the next 10 years to achieve net-zero carbon emissions worldwide by 2050 [ 15–17 ].

The global statistics of greenhouse gas emissions have been identified; in 2019, there was a 1% decrease in CO 2 emissions from the power industry; that figure dropped by 7% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, thus indicating a drop in coal-fired energy generation that is being squeezed by decreasing energy needs, growth of renewables and the shift away from fossil fuels. As a result, in 2020, the energy industry was expected to generate ~13 Gt CO 2 , representing ~40% of total world energy sector emissions related to CO 2 . The annual electricity generation stepped back to pre-crisis levels by 2021, although due to a changing ‘fuel mix’, the CO 2 emissions in the power sector will grow just a little before remaining roughly steady until 2030 [ 15 ].

Therefore, based on the information mentioned above, the advantages of solar energy technology are a renewable and clean energy source that is plentiful, cheaper costs, less maintenance and environmentally friendly, to name but a few. The significance of this paper is to highlight solar energy applications to ensure sustainable development; thus, it is vital to researchers, engineers and customers alike. The article’s primary aim is to raise public awareness and disseminate the culture of solar energy usage in daily life, since moving forward, it is the best. The scope of this paper is as follows. Section 1 represents a summary of the introduction. Section 2 represents a summary of installed capacity and the application of solar energy worldwide. Section 3 presents the role of solar energy in the sustainable development and employment of renewable energy. Section 4 represents the perspective of solar energy. Finally, Section 5 outlines the conclusions and recommendations for future work.

1.1 Installed capacity of solar energy

The history of solar energy can be traced back to the seventh century when mirrors with solar power were used. In 1893, the photovoltaic (PV) effect was discovered; after many decades, scientists developed this technology for electricity generation [ 18 ]. Based on that, after many years of research and development from scientists worldwide, solar energy technology is classified into two key applications: solar thermal and solar PV.

PV systems convert the Sun’s energy into electricity by utilizing solar panels. These PV devices have quickly become the cheapest option for new electricity generation in numerous world locations due to their ubiquitous deployment. For example, during the period from 2010 to 2018, the cost of generating electricity by solar PV plants decreased by 77%. However, solar PV installed capacity progress expanded 100-fold between 2005 and 2018. Consequently, solar PV has emerged as a key component in the low-carbon sustainable energy system required to provide access to affordable and dependable electricity, assisting in fulfilling the Paris climate agreement and in achieving the 2030 SDG targets [ 19 ].

The installed capacity of solar energy worldwide has been rapidly increased to meet energy demands. The installed capacity of PV technology from 2010 to 2020 increased from 40 334 to 709 674 MW, whereas the installed capacity of concentrated solar power (CSP) applications, which was 1266 MW in 2010, after 10 years had increased to 6479 MW. Therefore, solar PV technology has more deployed installations than CSP applications. So, the stand-alone solar PV and large-scale grid-connected PV plants are widely used worldwide and used in space applications. Fig. 1 represents the installation of solar energy worldwide.

Installation capacity of solar energy worldwide [20].

Installation capacity of solar energy worldwide [ 20 ].

1.2 Application of solar energy

Energy can be obtained directly from the Sun—so-called solar energy. Globally, there has been growth in solar energy applications, as it can be used to generate electricity, desalinate water and generate heat, etc. The taxonomy of applications of solar energy is as follows: (i) PVs and (ii) CSP. Fig. 2 details the taxonomy of solar energy applications.

The taxonomy of solar energy applications.

The taxonomy of solar energy applications.

Solar cells are devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity; typical semiconductor materials are utilized to form a PV solar cell device. These materials’ characteristics are based on atoms with four electrons in their outer orbit or shell. Semiconductor materials are from the periodic table’s group ‘IV’ or a mixture of groups ‘IV’ and ‘II’, the latter known as ‘II–VI’ semiconductors [ 21 ]. Additionally, a periodic table mixture of elements from groups ‘III’ and ‘V’ can create ‘III–V’ materials [ 22 ].

PV devices, sometimes called solar cells, are electronic devices that convert sunlight into electrical power. PVs are also one of the rapidly growing renewable-energy technologies of today. It is therefore anticipated to play a significant role in the long-term world electricity-generating mixture moving forward.

Solar PV systems can be incorporated to supply electricity on a commercial level or installed in smaller clusters for mini-grids or individual usage. Utilizing PV modules to power mini-grids is a great way to offer electricity to those who do not live close to power-transmission lines, especially in developing countries with abundant solar energy resources. In the most recent decade, the cost of producing PV modules has dropped drastically, giving them not only accessibility but sometimes making them the least expensive energy form. PV arrays have a 30-year lifetime and come in various shades based on the type of material utilized in their production.

The most typical method for solar PV desalination technology that is used for desalinating sea or salty water is electrodialysis (ED). Therefore, solar PV modules are directly connected to the desalination process. This technique employs the direct-current electricity to remove salt from the sea or salty water.

The technology of PV–thermal (PV–T) comprises conventional solar PV modules coupled with a thermal collector mounted on the rear side of the PV module to pre-heat domestic hot water. Accordingly, this enables a larger portion of the incident solar energy on the collector to be converted into beneficial electrical and thermal energy.

A zero-energy building is a building that is designed for zero net energy emissions and emits no carbon dioxide. Building-integrated PV (BIPV) technology is coupled with solar energy sources and devices in buildings that are utilized to supply energy needs. Thus, building-integrated PVs utilizing thermal energy (BIPV/T) incorporate creative technologies such as solar cooling [ 23 ].

A PV water-pumping system is typically used to pump water in rural, isolated and desert areas. The system consists of PV modules to power a water pump to the location of water need. The water-pumping rate depends on many factors such as pumping head, solar intensity, etc.

A PV-powered cathodic protection (CP) system is designed to supply a CP system to control the corrosion of a metal surface. This technique is based on the impressive current acquired from PV solar energy systems and is utilized for burying pipelines, tanks, concrete structures, etc.

Concentrated PV (CPV) technology uses either the refractive or the reflective concentrators to increase sunlight to PV cells [ 24 , 25 ]. High-efficiency solar cells are usually used, consisting of many layers of semiconductor materials that stack on top of each other. This technology has an efficiency of >47%. In addition, the devices produce electricity and the heat can be used for other purposes [ 26 , 27 ].

For CSP systems, the solar rays are concentrated using mirrors in this application. These rays will heat a fluid, resulting in steam used to power a turbine and generate electricity. Large-scale power stations employ CSP to generate electricity. A field of mirrors typically redirect rays to a tall thin tower in a CSP power station. Thus, numerous large flat heliostats (mirrors) are used to track the Sun and concentrate its light onto a receiver in power tower systems, sometimes known as central receivers. The hot fluid could be utilized right away to produce steam or stored for later usage. Another of the great benefits of a CSP power station is that it may be built with molten salts to store heat and generate electricity outside of daylight hours.

Mirrored dishes are used in dish engine systems to focus and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver. The dish assembly tracks the Sun’s movement to capture as much solar energy as possible. The engine includes thin tubes that work outside the four-piston cylinders and it opens into the cylinders containing hydrogen or helium gas. The pistons are driven by the expanding gas. Finally, the pistons drive an electric generator by turning a crankshaft.

A further water-treatment technique, using reverse osmosis, depends on the solar-thermal and using solar concentrated power through the parabolic trough technique. The desalination employs CSP technology that utilizes hybrid integration and thermal storage allows continuous operation and is a cost-effective solution. Solar thermal can be used for domestic purposes such as a dryer. In some countries or societies, the so-called food dehydration is traditionally used to preserve some food materials such as meats, fruits and vegetables.

Sustainable energy development is defined as the development of the energy sector in terms of energy generating, distributing and utilizing that are based on sustainability rules [ 28 ]. Energy systems will significantly impact the environment in both developed and developing countries. Consequently, the global sustainable energy system must optimize efficiency and reduce emissions [ 29 ].

The sustainable development scenario is built based on the economic perspective. It also examines what activities will be required to meet shared long-term climate benefits, clean air and energy access targets. The short-term details are based on the IEA’s sustainable recovery strategy, which aims to promote economies and employment through developing a cleaner and more reliable energy infrastructure [ 15 ]. In addition, sustainable development includes utilizing renewable-energy applications, smart-grid technologies, energy security, and energy pricing, and having a sound energy policy [ 29 ].

The demand-side response can help meet the flexibility requirements in electricity systems by moving demand over time. As a result, the integration of renewable technologies for helping facilitate the peak demand is reduced, system stability is maintained, and total costs and CO 2 emissions are reduced. The demand-side response is currently used mostly in Europe and North America, where it is primarily aimed at huge commercial and industrial electricity customers [ 15 ].

International standards are an essential component of high-quality infrastructure. Establishing legislative convergence, increasing competition and supporting innovation will allow participants to take part in a global world PV market [ 30 ]. Numerous additional countries might benefit from more actively engaging in developing global solar PV standards. The leading countries in solar PV manufacturing and deployment have embraced global standards for PV systems and highly contributed to clean-energy development. Additional assistance and capacity-building to enhance quality infrastructure in developing economies might also help support wider implementation and compliance with international solar PV standards. Thus, support can bring legal requirements and frameworks into consistency and give additional impetus for the trade of secure and high-quality solar PV products [ 19 ].

Continuous trade-led dissemination of solar PV and other renewable technologies will strengthen the national infrastructure. For instance, off-grid solar energy alternatives, such as stand-alone systems and mini-grids, could be easily deployed to assist healthcare facilities in improving their degree of services and powering portable testing sites and vaccination coolers. In addition to helping in the immediate medical crisis, trade-led solar PV adoption could aid in the improving economy from the COVID-19 outbreak, not least by providing jobs in the renewable-energy sector, which are estimated to reach >40 million by 2050 [ 19 ].

The framework for energy sustainability development, by the application of solar energy, is one way to achieve that goal. With the large availability of solar energy resources for PV and CSP energy applications, we can move towards energy sustainability. Fig. 3 illustrates plans for solar energy sustainability.

Framework for solar energy applications in energy sustainability.

Framework for solar energy applications in energy sustainability.

The environmental consideration of such applications, including an aspect of the environmental conditions, operating conditions, etc., have been assessed. It is clean, friendly to the environment and also energy-saving. Moreover, this technology has no removable parts, low maintenance procedures and longevity.

Economic and social development are considered by offering job opportunities to the community and providing cheaper energy options. It can also improve people’s income; in turn, living standards will be enhanced. Therefore, energy is paramount, considered to be the most vital element of human life, society’s progress and economic development.

As efforts are made to increase the energy transition towards sustainable energy systems, it is anticipated that the next decade will see a continued booming of solar energy and all clean-energy technology. Scholars worldwide consider research and innovation to be substantial drivers to enhance the potency of such solar application technology.

2.1 Employment from renewable energy

The employment market has also boomed with the deployment of renewable-energy technology. Renewable-energy technology applications have created >12 million jobs worldwide. The solar PV application came as the pioneer, which created >3 million jobs. At the same time, while the solar thermal applications (solar heating and cooling) created >819 000 jobs, the CSP attained >31 000 jobs [ 20 ].

According to the reports, although top markets such as the USA, the EU and China had the highest investment in renewables jobs, other Asian countries have emerged as players in the solar PV panel manufacturers’ industry [ 31 ].

Solar energy employment has offered more employment than other renewable sources. For example, in the developing countries, there was a growth in employment chances in solar applications that powered ‘micro-enterprises’. Hence, it has been significant in eliminating poverty, which is considered the key goal of sustainable energy development. Therefore, solar energy plays a critical part in fulfilling the sustainability targets for a better plant and environment [ 31 , 32 ]. Fig. 4 illustrates distributions of world renewable-energy employment.

World renewable-energy employment [20].

World renewable-energy employment [ 20 ].

The world distribution of PV jobs is disseminated across the continents as follows. There was 70% employment in PV applications available in Asia, while 10% is available in North America, 10% available in South America and 10% availability in Europe. Table 1 details the top 10 countries that have relevant jobs in Asia, North America, South America and Europe.

List of the top 10 countries that created jobs in solar PV applications [ 19 , 33 ]

Solar energy investments can meet energy targets and environmental protection by reducing carbon emissions while having no detrimental influence on the country’s development [ 32 , 34 ]. In countries located in the ‘Sunbelt’, there is huge potential for solar energy, where there is a year-round abundance of solar global horizontal irradiation. Consequently, these countries, including the Middle East, Australia, North Africa, China, the USA and Southern Africa, to name a few, have a lot of potential for solar energy technology. The average yearly solar intensity is >2800 kWh/m 2 and the average daily solar intensity is >7.5 kWh/m 2 . Fig. 5 illustrates the optimum areas for global solar irradiation.

World global solar irradiation map [35].

World global solar irradiation map [ 35 ].

The distribution of solar radiation and its intensity are two important factors that influence the efficiency of solar PV technology and these two parameters vary among different countries. Therefore, it is essential to realize that some solar energy is wasted since it is not utilized. On the other hand, solar radiation is abundant in several countries, especially in developing ones, which makes it invaluable [ 36 , 37 ].

Worldwide, the PV industry has benefited recently from globalization, which has allowed huge improvements in economies of scale, while vertical integration has created strong value chains: as manufacturers source materials from an increasing number of suppliers, prices have dropped while quality has been maintained. Furthermore, the worldwide incorporated PV solar device market is growing fast, creating opportunities enabling solar energy firms to benefit from significant government help with underwriting, subsides, beneficial trading licences and training of a competent workforce, while the increased rivalry has reinforced the motivation to continue investing in research and development, both public and private [ 19 , 33 ].

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted ‘cross-border supply chains’ and those investors working in the renewable-energy sector. As a result, more diversity of solar PV supply-chain processes may be required in the future to enhance long-term flexibility versus exogenous shocks [ 19 , 33 ].

It is vital to establish a well-functioning quality infrastructure to expand the distribution of solar PV technologies beyond borders and make it easier for new enterprises to enter solar PV value chains. In addition, a strong quality infrastructure system is a significant instrument for assisting local firms in meeting the demands of trade markets. Furthermore, high-quality infrastructure can help reduce associated risks with the worldwide PV project value chain, such as underperforming, inefficient and failing goods, limiting the development, improvement and export of these technologies. Governments worldwide are, at various levels, creating quality infrastructure, including the usage of metrology i.e. the science of measurement and its application, regulations, testing procedures, accreditation, certification and market monitoring [ 33 , 38 ].

The perspective is based on a continuous process of technological advancement and learning. Its speed is determined by its deployment, which varies depending on the scenario [ 39 , 40 ]. The expense trends support policy preferences for low-carbon energy sources, particularly in increased energy-alteration scenarios. Emerging technologies are introduced and implemented as quickly as they ever have been before in energy history [ 15 , 33 ].

The CSP stations have been in use since the early 1980s and are currently found all over the world. The CSP power stations in the USA currently produce >800 MW of electricity yearly, which is sufficient to power ~500 000 houses. New CSP heat-transfer fluids being developed can function at ~1288 o C, which is greater than existing fluids, to improve the efficiency of CSP systems and, as a result, to lower the cost of energy generated using this technology. Thus, as a result, CSP is considered to have a bright future, with the ability to offer large-scale renewable energy that can supplement and soon replace traditional electricity-production technologies [ 41 ]. The DESERTEC project has drawn out the possibility of CSP in the Sahara Desert regions. When completed, this investment project will have the world’s biggest energy-generation capacity through the CSP plant, which aims to transport energy from North Africa to Europe [ 42 , 43 ].

The costs of manufacturing materials for PV devices have recently decreased, which is predicted to compensate for the requirements and increase the globe’s electricity demand [ 44 ]. Solar energy is a renewable, clean and environmentally friendly source of energy. Therefore, solar PV application techniques should be widely utilized. Although PV technology has always been under development for a variety of purposes, the fact that PV solar cells convert the radiant energy from the Sun directly into electrical power means it can be applied in space and in terrestrial applications [ 38 , 45 ].

In one way or another, the whole renewable-energy sector has a benefit over other energy industries. A long-term energy development plan needs an energy source that is inexhaustible, virtually accessible and simple to gather. The Sun rises over the horizon every day around the globe and leaves behind ~108–1018 kWh of energy; consequently, it is more than humanity will ever require to fulfil its desire for electricity [ 46 ].

The technology that converts solar radiation into electricity is well known and utilizes PV cells, which are already in use worldwide. In addition, various solar PV technologies are available today, including hybrid solar cells, inorganic solar cells and organic solar cells. So far, solar PV devices made from silicon have led the solar market; however, these PVs have certain drawbacks, such as expenditure of material, time-consuming production, etc. It is important to mention here the operational challenges of solar energy in that it does not work at night, has less output in cloudy weather and does not work in sandstorm conditions. PV battery storage is widely used to reduce the challenges to gain high reliability. Therefore, attempts have been made to find alternative materials to address these constraints. Currently, this domination is challenged by the evolution of the emerging generation of solar PV devices based on perovskite, organic and organic/inorganic hybrid materials.

This paper highlights the significance of sustainable energy development. Solar energy would help steady energy prices and give numerous social, environmental and economic benefits. This has been indicated by solar energy’s contribution to achieving sustainable development through meeting energy demands, creating jobs and protecting the environment. Hence, a paramount critical component of long-term sustainability should be investigated. Based on the current condition of fossil-fuel resources, which are deemed to be depleting energy sources, finding an innovative technique to deploy clean-energy technology is both essential and expected. Notwithstanding, solar energy has yet to reach maturity in development, especially CSP technology. Also, with growing developments in PV systems, there has been a huge rise in demand for PV technology applications all over the globe. Further work needs to be undertaken to develop energy sustainably and consider other clean energy resources. Moreover, a comprehensive experimental and validation process for such applications is required to develop cleaner energy sources to decarbonize our planet.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Miller Hall

BA in Early Childhood & Family Studies

New scholarship covers your entire education.

ECE students can apply for the new Early Learning Equity Scholarship and get all of their costs covered!

What you can earn

Credits earned, time commitment, upcoming deadline, major in early childhood education.

The Early Childhood and Family Studies (ECFS) program is designed to offer multidisciplinary and critical perspectives of early childhood development, early learning and family-centered education of young children. Through a combination of coursework and hands-on experiences in early learning settings, you will develop the necessary knowledge and skills to create inclusive and equitable learning environments and curriculum for young children.

  • ECFS supports the application of theory and research into practice by:
  • Creating equitable learning environments
  • Strategizing approaches for individualized and culturally responsive instruction
  • Writing curricula that centers children’s lived experiences and funds of knowledge
  • Engaging with colleagues in communities of practice

ECFS prepares you for a rewarding career in early childhood education. We invite you to join us as advocates for children and families!

Transforming inequitable systems

Our curriculum is rooted in the belief that all young children and their families have the right to equitable opportunities to learn and develop in a just and culturally-thriving society. You'll have the opportunity to reflect on your identities and how they are influenced by larger power systems, encouraging critical thinking about early learning, equity, and community.

Read our equity statement

What you'll learn

In ECFS, you'll acquire a range of valuable knowledge and skills that will set you apart.

  • Critical perspectives of early childhood development and learning theories
  • How to foster positive and engaging learning environments for young children
  • Current policies and initiatives in early childhood education
  • Promote skills in language, literacy and STEM using age and developmentally appropriate practices
  • Provide individualized instruction and behavioral support
  • Partner with children, families and communities
  • Question current values, practices, and policies rooted in unjust systems
  • Create anti-bias anti-racist curricula
  • Implement culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies
  • Self-reflect on biases and socialization experiences to grow personally and professionally

After graduation

Earning your bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood & Family Studies opens doors to various exciting paths:

  • Early childhood teaching
  • Leadership roles in childcare centers and other early learning spaces
  • Social/mental health services and parent and family support programs
  • Involvement in shaping early childhood policies and initiatives
  • Graduate studies in K-12 education, speech and hearing sciences, occupational therapy, special education, psychology and more!

Want to become a PK -12 teacher? ECFS graduates do not earn a teaching certificate, but you will be prepared to apply to many of our  graduate-level programs that will support your career goals, including our  teacher preparation programs .

Let's connect

We're so excited that you're thinking about joining our undergrad program! Join our mailing list to learn about upcoming information sessions, deadlines, scholarships and more!

Join mailing list

Prospective students are welcome to schedule an admission advising appointment with our Lead Admissions & Outreach Adviser, Alejandra Baires-Ramirez, who can provide one-on-one support with:

  • Admissions process
  • Scholarships and financial aid
  • Transferring to UW

Note: If appointments are completely booked, please schedule an admission advising appointment with Ramon Concepcion.

As an ECFS student, you'll explore careers in early childhood education, and engage in courses that focus on research, curriculum, policy, language and literacy, mathematics, science, and technology. Additionally, you'll participate in extended community-based learning experiences, working directly with children in preschool classrooms or childcare centers. This unique combination of academic coursework and practical application will help you develop a comprehensive and culturally relevant understanding of child development and effective teaching strategies. As we engage in (un)learning, you will be challenged to envision systems that are more equitable and just and engage in teaching and advocacy work toward that vision. 

Our program frameworks emphasize creating engaging interactions and environments that support individualized instruction and culturally responsive anti-bias anti-racist education. This program prepares you to be an early childhood professional who understands and actively works to dismantle systems of oppression.

A minimum of 79-81  credits are needed to meet the requirements for the ECFS major. You will work with your advisor to ensure that your graduation plan includes courses required to earn your degree at UW.

Download degree requirements PDF

  • ECFS 200  Introduction to Early Childhood & Family Studies (3 credits with a grade of 2.0 or higher required)

You must also earn 2.0 in English composition course

All of the following

  • ECFS 301 Early Childhood Curriculum (5)
  • ECFS 303 Exploring the Landscape of the Early Learning Profession(3)
  • ECFS 311 Teaching from the Inside Out: Being a Resilient Educator (3)
  • ECFS 312 Positive Behavioral Support in Early Childhood (3)
  • ECFS 321 Engaging Interactions and Environments (3)
  • ECFS 400 Child Observation & Assessment (5)
  • ECFS 401 Understanding Research in ECFS (5)
  • ECFS 402 Social Policy & Young Children and Families (5)
  • ECFS 410 Language and Literacy in Preschool (5)
  • ECFS 411 Young Children’s Mathematics & Science (5)
  • EDPSY 302 Child Development and Learning (5)
  • EDPSY 406 Learning and teaching in Our Changing World (5)
  • EDUC 251 Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity (5)
  • IECMH 432 Infants & Children: Risk & Resilience (5)

One of the following (5)

  • ECFS 315 Parenting and Child Development
  • ECFS 419 Family & Community Influences on the Young Child
  • ECFS 320 Childhood in Cultural Context: Theory and Practice

One of the following (3-5)

  • EDSPE 304 Disability & Ableism in Education
  • EDSPE 414 Issues and Trends in Inclusive Early Childhood Education
  • EDSPE 427 Introduction to Applied Behavioral Analysis
  • EDSPE 435 Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • ECFS 454  Senior Project 1 (2 CR)
  • ECFS 455  Senior Project 2 (2 CR)
  • ECFS 456  Senior Project 3 (2 CR)

In addition to your ECFS credits, you'll also need the following general education credits to graduate from the UW.

  • English composition (5 credits)
  • Writing (10 credits)
  • Diversity (3-5 credits)
  • Reasoning (4-5 credits)
  • Arts & Humanities (15 credits)
  • Social Studies (15 credits)
  • Natural Sciences (15 credits)
  • Area of Inquiry (15 credits)

We believe early childhood professionals learn by applying knowledge through action, observation and reflection. ECFS students take part in Community Based Learning (CBL), a place-based education, centering learning in the physical environment, local culture, history, language, and with the people of a community.

You will have many opportunities to integrate your classroom experience into your CBL Experience. You will build on your cultural and contextual knowledge of children’s learning through real-world opportunities to apply your knowledge and skills in early learning settings.

Our students participate in two types of experiential learning:

  • Community-Based Learning Experience : Weekly time spent engaging with young children through your work or volunteering in an early learning setting is required for many courses.
  • Applied assignments: Examples of applied assignments include videos of your practice, environment or child observations, case studies, and an interview with a professional or parent. These may be completed at your Community-Based Learning Experience site.

Already working or volunteering with children in an early learning setting? You can complete the community-based learning experience at your current job! If you need support finding a setting, our CBL coordinator will help you find a place to do your community-based learning.

View the ECE Community-Based Learning Guide

It will take a minimum of 7 quarters to complete the program. To graduate from the University of Washington, you must have a minimum of 180 quarterly credits. How long it takes to graduate depends on a number of factors, including how many credits you are transferring in with and how many credits you take per quarter as an ECFS student.

Admission requirements and process

  • Starting in your sophomore year is recommended
  • Apply Mar. 1 - Apr. 15 for autumn start
  • Apply Sept. 1 - Oct. 15 for winter start

You can start the ECFS program in autumn quarter or winter quarter. For autumn quarter admission, apply March 1 - April 15. For winter quarter admission, apply September 1 - October 15. We recommend starting your application process as early as possible due to the different steps and requirements.

If you're a current UW student, it's best to begin the program during your sophomore year and no later than the autumn quarter of your junior year.

Current UW students who are ready to declare ECFS as their major are welcome to schedule an in-person or virtual advising appointment with Waleed Khan, Academic Adviser. 

  • 2.50 cumulative GPA
  • 5-credit English composition course graded 2.0 or higher

Applicants must also have completed  ECFS 200 Introduction to Early Childhood & Family Studies before starting the ECFS program. Please note:

  • You must be graded 2.0 or higher
  • The course can be in progress when you apply, but must be completed before the ECFS begins
  • Transfer students will complete ECFS 200 after joining UW

Applicants need to write and submit three essays. Each essay should be 250 words or fewer. Use the following three prompts for your essays:

  • Have you experienced, witnessed, or learned about injustices in your educational journey? Please describe. How will the ECFS Major help you understand these injustices?
  • The ECFS major focuses on the educational experiences of children from birth to age 8 and their families. Why are you interested in teaching?
  • A premise of the ECFS major is that teachers can be advocates for social change. What are some of the positive changes you would like to work toward within early education?
  • Gather all required materials
  • Begin the online application form
  • Complete all steps in application process and upload your materials
  • Submit your application

This process is only for current UW students. If you are a transfer student, follow the steps outlined in the Transferring section.

We welcome transfer students to our program! As a transfer student, you will have some additional steps and required materials to your application process. 

If you are interested in the ECFS major, be sure to select the major on your UW Admissions application. We require ECFS 200 to be completed for a student to be fully-admitted to the major. Transfer students who select the ECFS major on their UW Admissions application will have a seat in ECFS 200 held for them.

Transfer students need to submit an unofficial transcript with their ECFS application:

  • Include transcripts from all institutions you have previously attended
  • You must upload your transcript during the application process
  • Do not mail your transcript when you apply

You will be submitting TWO applications: one to join the University of Washington and one to join the ECFS program.

  • Gather all required materials for  UW admissions
  • Gather all required materials for ECFS
  • Connect with our Lead Admissions & Outreach Adviser to help you through the process

Feel confident in the process by attending  Transfer Thursday , an informational event run by the UW Office of Admissions. We also invite you to attend one of our weekly undergraduate majors and minor information sessions.

After submitting your enrollment deposit to the university, admitted transfer students will attend the required Transfer Advising & Orientation hosted by UW First Year Programs . This is a chance for you to meet with an ECFS adviser and create a plan to successfully complete the course and internship requirements.

Costs and funding

We are a tuition-based program. Estimated tuition rates are based on your residency:

  • Estimated cost for Washington state residents: $12,643 per year
  • Estimated cost for out-of-state students: $41,997 per year

Estimates are subject to change due and may differ due to course load and summer quarter enrollment. Estimates include some fees such as building fee, technology fee, U-Pass, etc. Fees such as textbooks are not included.

View the UW tuition dashboard → Visit the Office of Planning & Budgeting →

It is highly recommended that students in the program complete the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) application. These applications are necessary for various forms of financial aid, including scholarships and loans.

Early Learning Equity Scholarship

Undergraduate general scholarship, program faculty.

Jamie Cho

Lynn Dietrich

Nancy Hertzog

Nancy Hertzog

Katherine Lewis

Katherine Lewis

Brinda Jegatheesan

Brinda India Jegatheesan

gail joseph

Gail E. Joseph

Jodi Burrus

Jodi Burrus Newman

Soojin Oh Park

Soojin Oh Park

Holly Schindler

Holly Schindler

Program staff.

Camille Lemire

Camille Lemire

Photo not available

Alejandra Baires-Ramirez

Ramon concepcion.

Ruth Ayodeji

Ruth O. Ayodeji

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Waleed Khan

  • International edition
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Picture of lung cancer appearing red on a medical scan like an X-ray

Drug offers ‘wonderful’ breakthrough in treatment of asbestos-linked cancer

Medicine used alongside chemotherapy in trials quadrupled three-year survival rates for mesothelioma

Scientists have developed a drug to treat mesothelioma, a notoriously hard-to-treat cancer linked to asbestos, in the biggest breakthrough in two decades.

Thousands of people are diagnosed with the disease globally every year, which tends to develop in the lungs and is mainly caused by exposure to asbestos at work . It is aggressive and deadly, and has one of the world’s worst cancer survival rates.

Now scientists are hailing the “truly wonderful” arrival of a new therapy, which they say should offer fresh hope to those with the disease and their families.

In an international trial spanning five countries, led by Queen Mary University of London, a new drug that cuts off the tumour’s food supply quadrupled three-year survival rates. The results were published in the journal JAMA Oncology .

“This trial has changed the lives of people with mesothelioma, allowing us to live longer,” said one of the patients who benefited from the drug. The 80-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, won compensation from his former employer after being exposed to asbestos in a factory in the 1970s.

He was given four months to live, but thanks to the trial is still alive five years later. “I have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren now – I wouldn’t want to miss all that,” he said.

The breakthrough is significant, experts say, because mesothelioma has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer. The new drug, ADI-PEG20 (pegargiminase), is the first of its kind to be successfully combined with chemotherapy in 20 years.

The trial involved patients from the UK, US, Australia, Italy and Taiwan, and was led by Prof Peter Szlosarek at Queen Mary. Each received chemotherapy every three weeks for up to six cycles. Half were also given injections of new drug, while the other half received a placebo for two years.

Among the patients included in the final analysis were 249 people with pleural mesothelioma – when the disease affects the lining of the lungs. They had an average age of 70.

The study, known as the ATOMIC-meso trial, was conducted at 43 centres in the five countries between 2017 and 2021. Those who received pegargiminase and chemotherapy survived for an average of 9.3 months, compared with 7.7 months for those who had the placebo and chemotherapy, according to the results published in JAMA Oncology.

The average “progression-free survival” was 6.2 months with pegargiminase-chemotherapy, compared with 5.6 months among patients who had the placebo and chemotherapy.

“In this pivotal, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial in 249 patients with pleural mesothelioma, pegargiminase-chemotherapy increased significantly the median overall survival by 1.6 months and quadrupled the survival at 36 months compared to placebo-chemotherapy,” the authors wrote.

“Pegargiminase-based chemotherapy was well tolerated with no new safety signals.”

The breakthrough follows two decades of work by Szlosarek, after his original discovery that mesothelioma cells lack a protein called ASS1, which enables cells to manufacture the amino acid arginine.

This knowledge was used to develop the drug. ADI-PEG20 works by depleting arginine levels in the bloodstream. For tumour cells that cannot manufacture their own arginine, this means their growth is thwarted.

“It’s truly wonderful to see the research into the arginine starvation of cancer cells come to fruition,” said Szlosarek. “This discovery is something I have been driving from its earliest stages in the lab, with a new treatment, ADI-PEG20, now improving patient lives affected by mesothelioma.”

Dr Tayyaba Jiwani of Cancer Research UK, which funded the research alongside the biotechnology company Polaris Group, said: “This study shows the power of discovery research which allows us to dig deep into the biology of mesothelioma to uncover vulnerabilities that we can now target with ADI-PEG20.”

Liz Darlison, chief executive of the charity Mesothelioma UK, said: “The UK mesothelioma community, including doctors, nurses, patients and families living with mesothelioma, are extremely proud of ATOMIC. It offers another much-needed treatment option and, above all, hope to those living with mesothelioma.

“We look forward to seeing this treatment become available as a standard option to all patients in the future.”

  • Cancer research
  • Medical research
  • Queen Mary, University of London

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    Scope. Development Studies Research ( DSR) is a Routledge journal dedicated to furthering debates in development studies. The journal provides a valuable platform for academics and practitioners to present their research on development issues to as broad an audience as possible. All DSR papers are published Open Access.

  17. List of issues Development Studies Research

    Volume 8 2021. Volume 7 2020. Volume 6 2019. Volume 5 2018. Volume 4 2017. Volume 3 2016. Volume 2 2015. Volume 1 2014. Browse the list of issues and latest articles from Development Studies Research.

  18. What's the Latest Research in Development Economics? A Roundup from

    Source: This map draws on a sample of 139 studies from the NEUDC 2022 conference. Studies that covered more than three countries (often broad global or regional analyses) were excluded. Researchers draw on a wide range of empirical methods. Nearly a third of studies reported on the results of a randomized controlled trial (43 studies).

  19. PSW Study Shows Fuel Treatments Improve Wildfire Outcomes

    Pacific Southwest Research Station Ecologist Eric Knapp, Forester Martin Ritchie and other scientists, initiated studies at the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area in the late 1990s. At that time, white fir and incense cedar filled the site, crowding out pine trees. One of the researchers' goals was to restore a more open pine-dominated forest, which originally graced this area a century ago.

  20. (PDF) Research And Development

    Ibrahim Arpaci. Purpose-The main purpose of this paper is to identify the technological innovation process, stakeholders of the process, sources of innovation, driving forces of innovation, and ...

  21. Cleveland Clinic-Led Study Discovers Link between High Levels of Niacin

    Higher circulating levels of 4PY were strongly associated with development of heart attack, stroke and other adverse cardiac events in large-scale clinical studies. The researchers also showed in preclinical studies that 4PY directly triggers vascular inflammation which damages blood vessels and can lead to atherosclerosis over time.

  22. The role of early-phase trials and real-world evidence in drug development

    The EMA offers scientific advice to support the qualification of innovative development methods for a specific intended use in research and pharmaceutical development (see https://bit.ly/48mpC0p ...

  23. Parents Are Highly Involved in Their Adult Children's Lives, and Fine

    In previous research, parents often expressed ambivalence about their continued involvement in their adult children's lives. But the Pew study suggests that has changed, Professor Fingerman said ...

  24. How parents can help prevent the development of ADHD symptoms

    How parents can help prevent the development of ADHD symptoms ADHD can be stemmed through specific parenting behaviours, according to study Date: February 15, 2024 Source: University of Waterloo ...

  25. Solar energy technology and its roles in sustainable development

    3 The perspective of solar energy. Solar energy investments can meet energy targets and environmental protection by reducing carbon emissions while having no detrimental influence on the country's development [32, 34].In countries located in the 'Sunbelt', there is huge potential for solar energy, where there is a year-round abundance of solar global horizontal irradiation.

  26. BA in Early Childhood & Family Studies

    The Early Childhood and Family Studies (ECFS) program is designed to offer multidisciplinary and critical perspectives of early childhood development, early learning and family-centered education of young children. Through a combination of coursework and hands-on experiences in early learning settings, you will develop the necessary knowledge ...

  27. Development Studies Research Aims & Scope

    Development Studies Research ( DSR) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that provides a platform to further debates on development studies and development issues. DSR is intended for both academics and practitioners, including policymakers. It aims to examine issues in all areas of development and across the globe - with a particular ...

  28. Drug offers 'wonderful' breakthrough in treatment of asbestos-linked

    Dr Tayyaba Jiwani of Cancer Research UK, which funded the research alongside the biotechnology company Polaris Group, said: "This study shows the power of discovery research which allows us to ...