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Discusses the importance of creativity in achieving quantum leaps of knowledge. Association of intelligence with the faculty of thought and reason; Concept of creativity; Influence of creativity on social behavior.

Taiwan highly depends on food imports and has only limited arable land available as an island. Food production is projected to decrease due to climate change, while food demand is expected to increase on account of ongoing population growth. Current agriculture practices negatively affect the environment and human health, mainly by utilizing fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. Hence, the development and optimization of innovative agriculture are necessary to address the adverse effects of conventional food production systems, such as nutrient pollution, to improve sustainability. Aquaponics, the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture, potentially serves as a sustainable food production method. It has become increasingly popular in recent years, as aquaponics can have a lower environmental impact than other agriculture types. Therefore, exploring the environmental impact of local aquaponic systems can contribute to food security in Taiwan. In this regard, the current study used the life cycle assessment (LCA) tool to evaluate the environmental impact of the production of fish and lettuce in an aquaponic farm in Yilan, Taiwan. From a cradle-to-farmgate perspective, two functional units, 1 kg fish and 1 kg lettuce, were investigated. The results were compared with literature studies on traditional agriculture, hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaculture. The LCA found that aquaponics had a higher impact in almost all categories regarding lettuce production and performed comparably to other aquaculture systems, except for showcasing higher GWP and CED. However, the analysis of environmental sustainability scenarios suggested that the environmental impact could be significantly reduced for both functional units, respectively. As shown in this study, potential reductions could be achieved by replacing fertilizer with aquaponic sludge (−23 % FWE), introducing Black Soldier Fly larvae as fish feed (−11 % MWE, −14 % LU, and − 5 % WC), and integrating a solar power system (−70 % GWP, −35 % TA & FWE, and − 16 % MWE) on the greenhouse rooftop. By implementing these sustainability measures, fish production in aquaponics would outperform most aquaculture systems considered. Therefore, aquaponics represents a promising sustainable alternative to other aquaculture systems, thus potentially contributing to Taiwan's food security. • Taiwan is increasingly facing the problem of food insecurity. • Aquaponics represents an environmentally friendly alternative for local production. • LCA highlights the potential of aquaponics in particular for fish farming. • Cooling, energy, and feed are major environmental challenges of aquaponic systems. • Solar power systems can decrease the environmental impact of aquaponics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police negotiators provide leadership and expertise in the de-escalation and resolution of critical incidents, including responding to individuals exhibiting suicidal behaviour. This study describes the frequency and characteristics of suicide-related negotiation incidents in Queensland, Australia as classified in the Queensland Police Service Negotiator Deployment Database, between 2012 and 2014. Incidents were analysed to understand the individuals involved and precipitating factors including mental health problems and intoxication with alcohol or drugs. Police negotiators were deployed to 156 suicide intervention incidents over a 3-year period, half of which occurred at a residence. The cohort had a median age of 32 years and were predominantly male (82%). Four out of five individuals appeared to have a mental health problem, and at least half were intoxicated due to drugs or alcohol. Findings highlight the importance of strong linkages between police, health and social services and the need for innovative and comprehensive, cross-agency programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power can help ensure regional energy security and also mitigate both global greenhouse gas and local air pollutant emissions, leading to co-benefits. With rapid installation of wind power equipment, it is critical to uncover the embodied emissions of greenhouse gas and air pollutants from wind power sector so that emission mitigation costs can be compared with a typical coal-fired power plant. In order to reach such a target, we conduct a life cycle analysis for wind power sector by using the Chinese inventory standards. Wind farms only release 1/40 of the total CO 2 emissions that would be produced by the coal power system for the same amount of power generation, which is equal to 97.48% of CO 2 emissions reduction. Comparing with coal power system, wind farms can also significantly reduce air pollutants (SO 2 , NO X and PM 10 ), leading to 80.38%, 57.31% and 30.91% of SO 2 , NO X and PM 10 emissions reduction, respectively. By considering both recycling and disposal, wind power system could reduce 2.74×10 4 t of CO 2 emissions, 5.65×10 4 kg of NO X emissions, 2.95×10 5 kg of SO 2 emissions and 7.97×10 4 kg of PM 10 emissions throughout its life cycle. In terms of mitigation cost, a wind farm could benefit 37.14 US$ from mitigating 1ton of CO 2 emissions. The mitigation cost rates of air pollutants were 7.94 US$/kg of SO 2 , 10.79 US$/kg of NO x , and 80.79 US$/kg of PM 10 .Our research results strongly support the development of wind power so that more environmental benefits can be gained. However, decentralized wind power developers should consider not only project locations close to the demand of electricity and wind resources, but also the convenient transportation for construction and recycling, while centralized wind power developers should focus on incorporating wind power into the grids in order to avoid wind power loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]