Critical Level Research Articles

Effect of atmospheric density stratification on the generation of water waves by wind

The critical level instability mechanism for the generation of water waves by wind is re-examined for the situation when the atmosphere is density stratified. The density stratification is confined to the middle and upper atmosphere and then two cases are investigated. In case (A) no internal gravity waves are generated in the upper atmosphere and the effect of the density stratification is very small. In case (B) vertically propagating internal gravity waves form in the upper atmosphere and travel to infinity causing an energy loss, thus inhibiting the critical level instability in the lower atmosphere. Both cases are examined quantitatively for a logarithmic wind shear profile.

DETERMINATION OF CHANGES IN MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF METAL OF FEEDWATER PIPELINES BENDS AND “HOT” STEAM OF THE SECOND POWER UNIT OF PIVDENNOUKRAINSK NPP FOR THE SECOND 100,000 h OF OPERATION

An analysis of the results of periodic testing of hardness of metal of pipelines bends of power unit No. 2 of Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP) after ~100,000 and ~200,000 h of operation was carried out. It is shown that during the operation of feedwater and “hot” steam pipelines during the second 100,000 h of operation, the aging of the metal is observed, which is manifested in a partial, at least in their surface layers, uneven decrease in the strength of the metal. An increased rate of aging of the metal of pipeline bends is observed in areas where the metal was subjected to the greatest plastic deformation during the pipe manufacturing process (compressed and stretched sides of the bends). The critical parameter among the normalized mechanical properties of bending metal is the tensile strength, which is the first to reach a critical level when extrapolating the obtained data. While maintaining the rate of change in the mechanical properties of the metal at the level of the second 100,000 h of operation for post-project operation, the projected residual resource of metal bends of feedwater pipelines and "hot" steam is ~590,000 and ~380,000 h, respectively.

FCC twins and martensites responses of metastable dual-phase high entropy alloy to friction stir processing

Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 dual-phase high entropy alloy (DP-HEA) has good application prospects in the nuclear and automotive industries due to its strength-ductility synergistic effect. The initial volume fractions of FCC twins and HCP martensites in Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 HEA affect the relative contribution of transformation-induced plasticity and twinning-induced plasticity to the alloy's strength and ductility under loading conditions. Understanding the relationship between FCC twins and martensites is crucial during the friction stir process (FSP). In this study, the microstructure of Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 HEA as FSP condition was studied. The HCP phase in the base metal almost completely transformed into the FCC phase during FSP. Both FCC twin and HCP martensite transformations serve to alleviate strain in the FCC matrix. The initiation of FCC twin and martensite formation depends on critical stress levels at different temperatures. Higher strain and coarser grains promote more martensite formation, while finer grains and lower strain impede it, causing FCC twins to occur before HCP martensites during the cooling process of materials in the processed zone. These findings offer insights into controlling the volume fractions of twins and martensites in FSPed DP-HEA, thereby potentially enhancing the mechanical properties of DP-HEA.

Uptake and translocation of cadmium and trace metals in common rice varieties at different growth stages.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important nutritional grain for the majority of Asian countries, but it is also a major source of cadmium (Cd) accumulation. A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the Cd uptake and translocation of high Cd (IR-50) and low Cd (White Ponni) rice cultivars in Cd-contaminated soils. The findings revealed that Cd impacts on rice development and growth differed depending on rice cultivars. Soil Cd levels in the seedling stage exceeded the critical levels (3-6mgkg-1) only 5.0mgkg-1 Cd treatment for the IR-50 (7.47mgkg-1). At higher Cd treatments (1.0 and 5.0mgkg-1), morphometric characteristics and yield of grains showed a declining and increasing trend in both rice varieties, respectively. The accumulation of Cd was higher in soil and roots during seedling and tillering stages, whereas in booting and maturity stages increased in stems and leaves in IR-50 and WP rice varieties. Cd levels in rice grains above the maximum allowable limit (0.4mgkg-1) only in IR-50 (0.51mgkg-1) rice cultivar at maturity stage. The EF of Cd were classified as minor enrichment to 'moderate enrichment' in both rice cultivars. TF values exhibited > 1 in booting and maturity stages in both rice cultivars at higher Cd treatments. The study concluded that the IR-50 rice variety exhibited increased Cd intake and transported to various parts of rice plants, particularly grains. The findings indicate that WP rice cultivar is more resistant to Cd toxicity, reducing health hazards for persons who preferred the staple food rice.

Riedel shear structures reactivation may induce earthquakes through long-term steam injection: A case study of a heavy oil production field in northwestern China

Conventional heavy oil exploitation methods involve steam stimulation and flooding. An oil field in northwestern China has been producing heavy oil via steam injection for several decades. The production area has been seismically quiet until an increase in seismicity occurred several years ago. An array of 40 seismographs has been deployed between July and October 2021 to monitor seismicity and resolve the possible causes of the recent seismicity. Using an end-to-end machine-learning-based high-precision earthquake location workflow, we analyze a microseismic sequence comprised of 178 events that occurred in the study area. Numerical simulations incorporating Coulomb failure stress suggest that prolonged steam injection can reactivate faults and induce seismic events. Similarly, fluid diffusion through conduits may achieve the same effect. Analysis of the focal mechanism solutions of 21 strike-slip and thrust events with [Formula: see text] in conjunction with the background stress regime ([Formula: see text] azimuth = N15°W) reveal that the stress distribution is compatible with a left-lateral Riedel shear structure (RSS) model. Therefore, we can speculate that steam injection may induce earthquakes by reactivating preexisting RSS fault structures. To conclude, the recent seismic events could have been induced by two possible mechanisms: (1) long-term steam injection may cause the static stress level on the faults beneath the reservoir to build up to critical levels, following which a slight stress disturbance can trigger an earthquake and (2) fluid conduits may transport condensed water to basement faults, weakening the faults through fluid diffusion.

Unveiling innovation imperatives in agriculture: A data-driven framework for identifying latent needs and regional priorities

Innovation within a company, sector, or territorial context can arise from identifying specific problems or needs. Performance analysis provides valuable insights, potentially highlighting areas where innovation may be necessary. This paper outlines a methodology designed to identify latent innovation needs at regional, sectoral, and dimensional levels. This methodology is based on critical issues emerging from comparing economic, environmental, and social sustainability indicators of farms. An iterative approach is used for this purpose. Mixed matching algorithms are employed to form the comparison groups, while G-computation is used to calculate the differences. Logistic regression is adopted to calculate the propensity scores, and several generalized linear models are used to estimate the impact of regional localization. Hypothesis tests are then conducted to confirm the statistical significance of the impacts, from which criticality levels are derived. This methodology is applied to data collected by the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network, which includes over 64,000 observations from two consecutive three-year periods (2016-2018 and 2019-2021). The results highlight the existence of widespread critical issues in Italian agriculture. These problems primarily concern the efficient use of water, whose costs, relative to revenue, exceed, on average, around 40 %, and greenhouse horticulture, which shows an increased criticality level in terms of sustainability of over 50 %. From a regional perspective, Puglia in Southern Italy exhibits the most evident critical issues, with an average criticality level of 30 % that has increased over time. The emerging criticalities are analyzed in relation to the interventions introduced by the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy to verify their coherence and identify possible innovative actions that can be implemented.

Intensity Analysis Method of Acoustic Emission Signals for the Damage Monitoring of Post-Tensioned Concrete Beams.

Acoustic emission (AE) is well suited for the real-time monitoring and detection of damage in reinforced concrete structures. In this study, loading/unloading cycles up to failure were applied on three different full-scale beams, each with varying defect morphologies. An intensity analysis method was employed to assess the damage sensitivities of the defective structures under stress conditions. Specifically, the calm ratio, load ratio, severity, and historical index were identified as statistical parameters that can provide global information on the damage level. Consequently, they can be easily used as damage evolution indexes for reinforced concrete structures. Correlations between these parameters were investigated to better discriminate between their potentials and identify critical levels that might not be evident using parametric analysis. The AEI chart helps locate damaging areas, aiding focused repairs. For defected beams with broken strands, at low load, HI and SI fall in zone B (damage detected). At cycles 4 and 6, with significant deflection, they fall into a critical zone, E (severe damage). Comparing post-tensioned beams revealed defects correlating with damage susceptibility. B3 beams with diffused defects displayed high activity at higher loads. Applying a load-calm ratio chart, initial minor damage worsened progressively. Severe damage was prominent in defective B2 and B3 beams, reaching zone 3. The variation in the acquired parameters over time can then be considered as an affordable and reliable indicator of damage progression.

The effect of edible coating based on sodium caseinate and propyl gallate on the shelf life of minimally processed fennel during storage

This research aimed to study the effect of an active edible coating based on sodium caseinate (SC) and propyl gallate (PG) on the quality of minimally processed (MP) fennel during storage. The respiration rate (RR) of the MP fennel coated with SC of different concentrations (8 %, 10 % and 12 %) and without coating was evaluated at 10 °C to determine the best SC concentration. Thereafter, MP fennel without coating, with 8 % SC coating and with 8 % SC coating enriched with PG (0.13 mg mL−1) was evaluated for their effect on the microbial count and microbiota composition, weight loss, pH, total acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), colour, total polyphenols content and antioxidant capacity during storage (0, 7 and 15 days) at 4 °C. In addition, sensory analysis was performed to discriminate fresh samples from samples at different levels of visual quality. The results showed that 8 % SC coating decreased the RR to 20 %. During storage at 4 °C, weight loss increased up to 2% after 15 days of storage for all samples, whereas the pH, TA and TSS of MP fennels did not change significantly. The presence of the active coating affected the microbiota composition of the MP fennels, inhibiting some Enterobacteria species, thus leading to the predominance of Pseudomonas spp., which agrees with culture-based results. As the active compound has a positive impact on the total polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, in the absence of the active compound, the coating did not influence these parameters. A ΔE value of 3.7 was found to be the critical level of the quality index for MP fennels, as demonstrated difference from reference sensory test. Moreover, this research highlights that the browning process is the limiting factor for the product's shelf life.

Dynamics and control of typhoid fever in Sheno town, Ethiopia: A comprehensive nonlinear model for transmission analysis and effective intervention strategies.

This study presents a reliable mathematical model to explain the spread of typhoid fever, covering stages of susceptibility, infection, carrying, and recovery, specifically in the Sheno town community. A detailed analysis is done to ensure the solutions are positive, stay within certain limits, and are stable for both situations where the disease is absent and where it is consistently present. The Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion has been used and applied for the purpose of stability analysis. Using the next-generation matrix, we determined the intrinsic potential for disease transmission. It showing that typhoid fever is spreading actively in Sheno town, with cases above a critical level. Our findings reveal the instability of the disease-free equilibrium point alongside the stability of the endemic equilibrium point. We identified two pivotal factors for transmission of the disease: the infectious rate, representing the speed of disease transmission, and the recruitment rate, indicating the rate at which new individuals enter the susceptible population. These parameters are indispensable for devising effective control measures. It is imperative to keep these parameters below specific thresholds to maintain a basic reproduction number favorable for disease control. Additionally, the study carefully examines how different factors affect the spread of typhoid fever, giving a detailed understanding of its dynamics. At the end, this study provides valuable insights and specific strategies for managing the disease in the Sheno town community.

Association between COVID-19 Severity and Expression of Viral Nucleic Acid Sensor Genes in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Nasopharyngeal Epithelial Cells.

This study examined expression of key viral nucleic acid sensor genes MDA5, ZBP1, and AIM2 in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from 153 COVID-19 patients across a spectrum of disease severity (mild, severe, and critical) and 42 healthy controls. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify and compare sensor transcript levels. The COVID-19 cohort had a mean age of 53.6 years. All three sensor genes including MDA5 (3.2-fold), ZBP1 (5.1-fold), and AIM2 (4.7-fold) exhibited significantly higher messenger RNA expression in both nasopharyngeal and PBMC samples from infected patients compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, sensor transcript upregulation positively correlated with escalating disease severity. During early stages, ZBP1 and AIM2 transcripts were selectively elevated within the nasopharyngeal compartment, suggesting a localized antiviral response. Whereas later during critical disease stages, ZBP1 and AIM2 levels became preferentially heightened within circulating PBMCs, indicating systemic immune cell activation. By comparison, MDA5 elevation manifested within nasopharyngeal epithelial cells during both early- and late-phase infection. Intriguingly, males displayed higher ZBP1 and AIM2 expression compared with females, whereas MDA5 transcript levels were conversely higher among females. Overall, escalation of these key viral sensor genes appears closely linked to COVID-19 progression, with initial nasal mucosal upregulation transitioning to widespread blood cell activation in severe systemic disease. These patterns of sensor expression suggest frontline immunological efforts to constrain early viral invasion and combat severe late-stage COVID-19 illness through innate detection of replicating SARS-CoV-2.

Clinical relevance of critical plasma homocysteine levels in predicting rupture risk for small and medium-sized intracranial aneurysms

Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) has been globally recognized as an independent risk factor for various neurovascular diseases. In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between critical Hcy concentration and the risk of rupture in intracranial aneurysms (IAs). This study collected data from 423 patients with both ruptured and unruptured IAs. We compared demographic data, vascular rupture risk factors, and laboratory test results between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the correlation between critical plasma Hcy levels and the risk of rupture in small to medium-sized IAs. A total of 330 cases of ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIA) and 93 cases of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) were included. Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the ruptured and unruptured groups in terms of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, plasma Hcy levels, and IA morphology (all P < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 0.504; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.279–0.911; P = 0.023), hyperlipidemia (OR 1.924; 95% CI 1.079–3.429; P = 0.027), and plasma Hcy levels (OR 1.420; 95% CI 1.277–1.578; P < 0.001) were independently associated with the rupture of small to medium-sized IAs, all with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Our study suggests that critical plasma Hcy levels are an independent risk factor for increased rupture risk in small to medium-sized intracranial aneurysms. Therefore, reducing plasma Hcy levels may be considered a valuable strategy to mitigate the risk of intracranial vascular abnormalities rupture and improve patient prognosis.

Unveiling the efficacy of ChatGPT in evaluating critical thinking skills through peer feedback analysis: Leveraging existing classification criteria

This study investigates the potential of using ChatGPT, a large language model, to assess students' critical thinking in online peer feedback. With the rapid development of technology, big language models, such as ChatGPT, have made significant progress in natural language processing in recent years and have good potential for application in teaching evaluation and feedback. However, can generative AI help educational practitioners in teaching and learning? How to accurately assess students' critical thinking using generative AI remains a challenging task. This study investigates whether ChatGPT can effectively evaluate critical thinking using established coding systems. By comparing the consistency and accuracy of manual coding with ChatGPT coding in online peer feedback texts, it clarifies how ChatGPT processes online peer feedback data and conducts assessments. Through a comprehensive analysis employing various metrics including precision, recall, F1 score, and a confusion matrix, we assess ChatGPT's performance. Additionally, we group students and analyze how ChatGPT's assessments relate to their critical thinking levels. Our findings suggest that the ChatGPT demonstrated some ability to assess higher dimensions of critical thinking, but showed limitations in assessing the more granular secondary dimensions under the higher dimensions of critical thinking. However for this kind of granular assessment will more accurately capture the level of learning critical thinking. Surprisingly, ChatGPT's evaluations are not influenced by students' critical thinking levels. This study underscores ChatGPT's potential in automating critical thinking assessment at scale, alleviating the burden on educators and enhancing understanding of critical thinking in peer feedback.

Productivity and nutritional aspects in Moringa oleifera plants fertilized with NPK in south-eastern Brazil

Moringa oleifera is an Asian tree species cultivated for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Present study was carried out during 2021 and 2022 at Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, São João Evangelista-MG, Doce River Valley, South-Eastern Brazil to determine NPK doses for Moringa and critical NPK levels in the shoot. The experimental design was a fractional factorial of the type (1/2)43, with 32 treatments set up in four blocks. The treatments represented combinations of doses of N (0, 40, 80, 160 kg/ha); P2O5 (0, 45, 90, 180 kg/ha); and K2O (0, 20, 40, 80 kg/ha). Each experimental unit was composed of four seedlings arranged in a row. Plant shoot harvests were carried out every 60 days (January, March, May, July, September and November) for two consecutive years. The data were analyzed using regression analysis, and the adjusted response surface model was: Y = b0 + b1 N + b2 N2 + b3 P + b4 P2 + b5 K + b6 K2 + b7 NP + b8 NK + b9 PK. The productivity of fresh and dry matter of the shoot of M. oleifera plants was influenced only by N doses in the first year of cultivation, when the supply of 88.7 and 85.8 kg/ha of N led to the maximum estimated productivity for fresh (10,360.3 kg/ha) and dry matter (2,84.0 kg/ha). The critical contents in the shoot were 3.23 dag/kg (N), 0.41 dag/kg (P), and 2.18 dag/kg (K), while the annual extraction by plants was 78.44 kg/ ha (N), 8.99 kg/ha (P), and 48.81 kg/ha (K).

Land Cover and Land Use Ontology—Evolution of International Standards, Challenges, and Opportunities

Knowledge of land is of central importance to manage the impact of mankind upon the environment. The understanding and treatment of land vary greatly across different regions and communities, making the description of land highly specific to each locality. To address the larger global issues, such as world food production or climate change mitigation, one needs to have a common standardized understanding of the biosphere cover and use of land. Different governments and institutions established national systems to describe thematic content of land within their jurisdictions. These systems are all valid and tuned to address various national needs. However, their integration at regional or global levels is lacking. Integrating data from widely divergent sources to create world datasets not only requires standards, but also an approach to integrate national and regional land cover classification systems. The ISO 19144 series, developed through the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), offers a meta-language for the integration of disparate land classification systems, enhancing interoperability, data sharing, and national to global data integration and comparison. This paper provides an overview of classification system concepts, different stages for the development of standards in ISO and the status of different standards in the ISO 19144 series. It also explores the critical role of the ISO 19144 series in standardizing land cover and land use classification systems. Drawing on practical case studies, the paper underscores the series’ potential to support global sustainable development goals and lays out a path for its future development and application. Using these standards, we gain not only a tool for harmonizing land classification, but also a critical level for advancing sustainable development and environmental stewardship worldwide.

Impact assessment of multiple pressures on ecosystem services with a state and transition model: Application to Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

A significant challenge in the integration of ecosystem services into decision-making processes lies in effectively capturing the dynamics of marine socio-ecological systems, including their evolutionary pathways, equilibrium states, and tipping points. This paper explores the evolutionary trajectories of a vital marine ecosystem endemic to the Mediterranean Sea: the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, in response to various drivers of change. A state-and-transition model is employed to assess the ecosystem services provided by P. oceanica across different states defined by selected transitions, such as overfishing, fragmentation, pollution, and invasion by non-native species. To apply this model, scientific expertise is combined with field data generated using the Ecosystem-Based Quality Index to evaluate the conservation status of P. oceanica. This integrated approach allows for the representation of the ecosystem services offered by the meadows across different states, leveraging ecological data. The findings highlight the disproportionate impact on provisioning services, particularly sea urchins and commercial fish production, which suffer the most under various stressors. Notably, when these services decline to critical levels, the meadows cease to provide significant benefits. Finally, a synthesized representation is presented, merging ecological insights with monitoring data, offering a framework that is more accessible to stakeholders and decision-makers.

Impact of environmental air pollution on respiratory health and function.

Environmental air pollution presents a considerable risk to global respiratory health. If critical levels are exceeded, inhaled pollutants can lead to the development of respiratory dysfunction and provoke exacerbation in those with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease. Over 90% of the global population currently reside in areas where environmental air pollution is considered excessive-with adverse effects ranging from acute airway irritation to complex immunomodulatory alterations. This narrative review provides an up-to-date perspective concerning the impact of environmental air pollution on respiratory health and function and describes the underpinning mechanisms that contribute to the development and progression of chronic respiratory disease.

Mediating Effects in The Structural Equation Model of Malaysian Public Service Competitiveness

These days, public service performance is determined by competitiveness. Due to a prolonged period of stagnation, Malaysia's competitive performance is at a critical level. The public service is therefore under pressure to demonstrate that all policies and programs are highly valued. This study aims to determine the primary variables influencing the ability of Malaysia's public services to compete. Data were acquired through surveys completed by 373 respondents from 26 ministries. The relationships between talent management, human capital, and competitiveness were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results indicate a significant and positive relationship between talent management and competitiveness, with human capital serving as a significant partial mediator. This study highlights the direct importance of talent management for public services competitiveness and its indirect impact through human capital. These insights can assist policymakers in developing a strategic framework to keep the Malaysian public service competitive.

Reference Hallucination Score for Medical Artificial Intelligence Chatbots: Development and Usability Study.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have recently gained use in medical practice by health care practitioners. Interestingly, the output of these AI chatbots was found to have varying degrees of hallucination in content and references. Such hallucinations generate doubts about their output and their implementation. The aim of our study was to propose a reference hallucination score (RHS) to evaluate the authenticity of AI chatbots' citations. Six AI chatbots were challenged with the same 10 medical prompts, requesting 10 references per prompt. The RHS is composed of 6 bibliographic items and the reference's relevance to prompts' keywords. RHS was calculated for each reference, prompt, and type of prompt (basic vs complex). The average RHS was calculated for each AI chatbot and compared across the different types of prompts and AI chatbots. Bard failed to generate any references. ChatGPT 3.5 and Bing generated the highest RHS (score=11), while Elicit and SciSpace generated the lowest RHS (score=1), and Perplexity generated a middle RHS (score=7). The highest degree of hallucination was observed for reference relevancy to the prompt keywords (308/500, 61.6%), while the lowest was for reference titles (169/500, 33.8%). ChatGPT and Bing had comparable RHS (β coefficient=-0.069; P=.32), while Perplexity had significantly lower RHS than ChatGPT (β coefficient=-0.345; P<.001). AI chatbots generally had significantly higher RHS when prompted with scenarios or complex format prompts (β coefficient=0.486; P<.001). The variation in RHS underscores the necessity for a robust reference evaluation tool to improve the authenticity of AI chatbots. Further, the variations highlight the importance of verifying their output and citations. Elicit and SciSpace had negligible hallucination, while ChatGPT and Bing had critical hallucination levels. The proposed AI chatbots' RHS could contribute to ongoing efforts to enhance AI's general reliability in medical research.

Impacts of glacial discharge on the primary production in a Greenlandic fjord

Subglacial discharge from marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland injects large volumes of freshwater and suspended sediment into adjacent fjord environments. Although the discharge itself is nutrient poor, the formation of meltwater plumes can enhance marine biological production by stimulating upwelling of nutrient-rich fjord water. Despite the importance of meltwater discharge to marine ecosystems, little is known of the quantitative impact of discharge processes on phytoplankton growth, including the effects of local plumes, fjord-wide stirring and mixing, and suspended sediments on net primary production (NPP). Here, we report simulations of Bowdoin Fjord in northwestern Greenland using coupled non-hydrostatic ocean circulation and lower-trophic level ecosystem models, developed using field data. Our findings demonstrate that subglacial discharge plays a crucial role in NPP by stirring and mixing the entire fjord water system, which has a greater effect on NPP than local plume upwelling. Sensitivity tests suggest a 20% increase in NPP under conditions of enhanced discharge anticipated in the future. However, if glacier discharge and retreat exceed critical levels, NPP is predicted to decline by 88% relative to present values. This pattern reflects the negative impact of increased sediment flux on photosynthesis and weakened fjord stirring and mixing resulting from shallower outlet depths.

A scoping review of the graduate outcome literature

Higher education (HE) policymaking is increasingly concerned with graduate outcomes. Policies often use narrow economic metrics, such as employment rates and salaries, to set strategic goals for HE and assess `value for money´. Despite this policy relevance, little attempt has been made to assess the academic literature in this area. The field’s strengths and weaknesses, areas of focus and level of criticality are unknown, leaving us unable to judge its ability to inform policy. This paper addresses this gap using a novel two-phase scoping review method. Phase 1 assesses literature that explicitly uses the term `graduate outcome´, finding a field that is largely fragmented into subfields. Phase 2 then performs a series of `top-level´ scoping reviews on each sub-field and combines them to assess the `overall´ literature. This `overall´ literature is found to share HE policy’s focus on economic graduate outcomes. While several well-developed non-economic subfields exist, such as critical thinking and lifelong learning, these are comparatively small. A limited proportion of the literature considers issues of inequality and other `critical´ topics. If research is to better inform policy in this area, it would be beneficial to develop a broader and more critical research programme.