Search Results (3,554)

Amid mounting calls for socio-ecological transition, many social sciences studies have been exploring the processes of societal change. The well-known Science Technology Society studies (STS) approach focuses on the diffusion of innovation niches as an open-ended process ultimately leading to the stabilization of a new regime. Other works have suggested reversing the perspective, i.e., ‘thinking about transitions from the end’. This is a defining characteristic of system building perspectives, which are inherently goal- and sustainability-oriented. This paper presents the state of the art in the social sciences based on a review of international academic journals in English. We use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using Web of Science data collected for a period of ten years and the free software IRaMuTeQ (version 2), we have conducted statistical, similarity, and textual analyses of a corpus of 151 texts, following the PRISMA methodology. We discuss the findings of the lexicometric analysis by looking at the content of the article abstracts. While system building is not always mentioned as such, this new perspective is reflected in the literature, especially in research on the energy and food transition, in two main ways: (i) the procedural and substantive dimensions of sustainability transition are both taken into account; (ii) the issue of governance occupies a central place—involving the definition of appropriate instrument mixes and policy mixes—given the need to deal with stakeholders with diverging interests and values rather than only focusing on technological innovations. Full article

Many Japanese special needs schools have adopted the School Management Council (SMC), involving residents and other stakeholders in school management. However, its influence on disaster preparedness remains unclear. We used a cross-sectional design to clarify the relationship between SMC adoption and disaster preparedness among 537 special needs schools across Japan. Data were collected using a self-administered survey conducted between November and December 2020. Chi-square tests were carried out for each item addressing adoption and preparedness. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the overall relationship between the SMC and shelter and equipment readiness, revealing significant associations for two items: having decided the division of roles in case of disaster with the municipality’s disaster prevention department (shelter preparedness) and the presence of a stockpile warehouse on the school premises (equipment preparedness). The SMC may support three key aspects of disaster preparedness: compensating for the lack of shelter experience among school staff, strengthening support for disaster victims through local community–municipal authority collaboration, and enhancing preparedness for unforeseen events. The SMC could thus be an effective strategy for strengthening disaster preparedness in special needs schools. Full article

Effective classification and progress monitoring are central to inclusive education, ensuring that students with learning challenges receive timely and appropriate support. However, both international research and Qatari educators’ experiences reveal inconsistencies, limited resources, and a persistent gap between policy and practice. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 20 stakeholders, including teachers, school leaders, coordinators, and policymakers. Thematic analysis conducted using ATLAS.ti 25 produced six main themes: inconsistent classification; staff and resource shortages; family resistance and collaboration; policy and accommodation gaps; fragmented monitoring; and innovative, inclusive practices. Participants described over-reliance on external diagnostic reports, inconsistent eligibility criteria, limited access to specialists, overcrowded classrooms, and insufficient early screening. Disconnected tools and the lack of a centralized data system hindered monitoring. Despite these barriers, educators showed adaptability through classroom-based interventions, behavioral support, and the emerging use of digital and AI tools. Stake-holders emphasized the need for a unified national framework, systematic early screening, expanded accommodations, integrated Education Management Information System (EMIS) records, and continuous professional development with parent involvement. Findings highlight that classification and monitoring depend on governance, capacity, and data culture, underscoring the need for coordinated policy and practice to achieve equitable, sustainable inclusion in Qatar. Full article

With the rapid adoption of generative AI technologies across various sectors, it has become increasingly important to understand how these systems handle personal data. The study examines users’ awareness of the types of data collected, the risks involved, and their implications for privacy and security. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to contextualize the ethical, technical, and regulatory challenges associated with generative AI, followed by a pilot survey targeting ChatGPT users from a variety of demographics. The results of the study revealed a significant gap in users’ understanding of data practices, with many participants expressing concerns about unauthorized access to data, prolonged data retention, and a lack of transparency. Despite recognizing the benefits of ChatGPT in various applications, users expressed strong demands for greater control over their data, clearer consent mechanisms, and more transparent communication from developers. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for multi-dimensional solutions that combine technological innovation, regulatory reform, and user-centered design. Recommendations include implementing explainable AI, enhancing educational efforts, adopting privacy-by-design principles, and establishing robust governance frameworks. By addressing these challenges, developers, policymakers, and stakeholders can enhance trust, promote ethical AI deployment, and ensure that generative AI systems serve the public good while respecting individual rights and privacy. Full article

Agricultural supply chain finance plays a vital role in alleviating the financing constraints faced by agricultural business entities in developing countries and promoting inclusive and sustainable agricultural development. However, issues such as high operational risks, weak credit foundations, and insufficient risk safeguards among stakeholders in the agricultural supply chain have hindered its long-term stability. From the perspective of cooperative sustainability, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving agricultural enterprises, financial institutions, and farmers to explore the behavioral dynamics and evolutionary stability of their strategies. Using the Fuping mushroom supply chain as a case, Matlab-based simulation analysis reveals that the three-party strategy combinations failed to converge to an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) but instead exhibited dynamic changes characterized by non-periodic oscillations. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrates that farmers’ credit behavior is a key determinant of the sustainable operation of the supply chain financing system, while enhancing enterprises’ guarantee willingness can effectively mitigate farmers’ default risk. Moreover, stronger cooperative relationships between enterprises and farmers improve the overall resilience and stability of the system. The findings provide practical insights for building sustainable and resilient agricultural financial ecosystems, emphasizing the need to introduce third-party guarantee institutions, strengthen credit constraint systems, and design incentive mechanisms that promote long-term cooperation among stakeholders. Full article

Agriculture has been widely practiced for food production, yet food insecurity remains a critical issue, especially in Africa. Due to the significant role played by small-scale farmers, urban agriculture has been acknowledged as a viable strategy for reducing food insecurity in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This review analyzes urban household food insecurity factors through a systematic literature approach, retrieving data from various online databases. These databases include ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, UNIZULU online library, and PubAg. The search process involved the use of keywords to obtain relevant information along with the application of filters such as geographic location, publication period, language, article type, and accessibility. A total of 37 articles was included in this review after the application of the review eligibility criteria. This was achieved following PRISMA guidelines. Findings reveal a growing trend in the publication of articles on urban farming and an increasing acknowledgment of its importance by high-impact journals. It also shows various factors that determine household food insecurity, categorized as socioeconomic (11), institutional (5), and environmental factors (2). This led to the recommendation that urban government structures including policy makers and stakeholders should support food production and ensure an efficient urban food supply system. Full article

A smart city can be defined as an urban ecosystem that combines new technologies related to digitalization in infrastructure, governance models, and everyday life, as well as inclusivity and stakeholder participation for achieving effectiveness and long-term sustainability. Although many frameworks and co-creative governance approaches emphasize the importance of integrating diverse perspectives in urban innovation, the practical implementation of stakeholder engagement remains a significant challenge in the development of digital strategies. This persistent difficulty often stems from factors such as varying levels of digital literacy, power asymmetries among stakeholders, and insufficient mechanisms for meaningful participation. As a result, there is a risk that smart city initiatives may fall short of their potential to deliver inclusive and sustainable outcomes, ultimately undermining both the legitimacy and the long-term effectiveness of urban digital transformation processes. This is especially relevant in the Italian context. Indeed, despite the relevant number of papers dedicated to stakeholder engagement in smart cities, few studies have explored how municipalities implement these innovative strategies, and even fewer have within the Italian context. This research aims to fill this gap by analyzing the stakeholder engagement in Rome’s smart city strategy and the effectiveness of participatory and co-creative approaches in transforming a city into an effective smart city. The research results reveal that the experience of the Rome Smart City Lab (RSCL) creates a model of participatory governance where the stakeholders can co-create the digital innovation strategies of a municipality and where the stakeholder techniques are fully implemented. The research results provide interesting results useful for both academics and policymakers involved in the digital transformation of a smart city, since the RSCL’s approach confirms that digitalization initiatives become more effective and efficient when they are shaped by the very individuals and groups responsible for their implementation. This participatory process seems to enhance the adaptability and sustainability of digital strategies over time, ultimately contributing to the realization of truly inclusive smart cities. Full article

Background/Objectives: With global population aging, long-term care (LTC) facilities play an essential role in supporting older adults. However, residents are vulnerable to dignity loss in these institutional settings. Understanding dignity from the perspectives of residents, staff, and relatives is critical for informing person-centered care and policy. This review aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence on dignity in LTC facilities across multiple stakeholders. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Wan Fang, VIP, and CNKI) for qualitative studies published in 2010–2023. Eligible studies explored experiences of dignity among older LTC residents, staff, or relatives. Methodological quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Data were analysed through thematic synthesis, and findings were compared across stakeholder groups. Results: A total of 1948 records were identified, of which 27 qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Two themes emerged from residents’ perspectives: institutionalization and resilience in preserving dignity. From staff perspectives, three themes were identified: understaffing and workload pressures, general approaches to dignity care, and person-centered care. Relatives’ accounts highlighted two themes: uneasiness regarding indignity and ethical expectations in a caring culture. Integrating these perspectives, we propose a triangular model in which residents, staff, and relatives collaboratively sustain dignity. Conclusions: Older adults’ dignity in LTC is shaped by complex interactions among institutional conditions, caregiving practices, and family involvement. Enhancing dignity requires adequate staffing, structural support for person-centered care, and greater involvement of relatives in decision-making. The proposed triangular model offers a framework for guiding interventions, staff training, and policy reforms aimed at safeguarding dignity in LTC facilities. Full article

Deepfake technology, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL), has become one of the foremost threats to digital trust and the authenticity of information. Despite the rapid development of deepfake detection methods, the dynamic evolution of generative models continues to outpace current mitigation efforts. This highlights the pressing need for more effective and proactive deepfake prevention strategy. This study introduces a comprehensive and multifaceted deepfake prevention framework that leverages both technical and non-technical countermeasures and involves collaboration among key stakeholders in a unified structure. The proposed framework has four modules: trusted content assurance, detection and monitoring, awareness and human-in-the-loop verification, and policy, governance, and regulation. The framework uses a combination of hybrid watermarking and embedding techniques, as well as cryptographic digital signature algorithms (DSAs) and blockchain technologies, to make sure that the media is authentic, traceable, and cannot be denied. Comparative experiments were conducted in this research using both classical and post-quantum DSAs to evaluate their efficiency, resource consumption, and gas costs in blockchain operations. The results revealed that the Falcon-512 algorithm outperformed other post-quantum algorithms while consuming fewer resources and lowering gas costs, making it a preferable option for real-time, quantum-resilient deepfake prevention. The framework also employed AI-based detection models and human oversight to enhance detection accuracy and robustness. Overall, this research offers a novel, multifaceted, and governance-aware strategy for deepfake prevention. The proposed approach significantly contributes to mitigating deepfake threats and offers a practical foundation for secure and transparent digital media ecosystems. Full article

The construction industry faces significant payment processing challenges characterized by delays, disputes, and cash flow constraints affecting contractors. Traditional systems rely on fragmented, paper-based processes lacking transparency and real-time integration between project progress and financial transactions. This paper proposes a decentralized application that integrates BIM 5D capabilities with Solana blockchain technology for automated construction payment processing, called DB5D. The framework consists of several components: a web-based 3D viewer utilizing Autodesk Forge for BIM visualization, construction schedule integration from planning software, Solana blockchain programs using Program-Derived Address (PDA) and Cross-Program Invocation (CPI) for secure payment processing, and decentralized document management through InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) with Content Addressable Archives (CAR) compression. The system enables direct linkage between measurable project progress and automated payments by allowing stakeholders to extract quantities from BIM models, record construction task completion with supporting documentation, and trigger blockchain-based token transfers upon client approval. Comprehensive validation involving construction industry professionals confirms the framework’s practical viability. It demonstrates significant improvements in payment transparency, administrative efficiency, and scalability compared to existing blockchain implementations, while enabling economically feasible micro-payments throughout project lifecycles. Full article

This work presents a preliminary “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” (SWOT) analysis followed by a “Correct, Adapt, Maintain, and Explore” (CAME) analysis on wood sawdust biofuel. New designs of sawdust biofuels boilers and reactors require gathering relevant information on the main characteristics of sawdust biofuels. Optimisation algorithms require not only the numerical parameters needed to find optimal solutions but also the consideration of scenarios related to the use of this type of biofuel. This work provides complementary information to create a comprehensive framework for assessing the viability and sustainability of integrating wood sawdust into diverse energy production systems. This includes an examination of the current state of sawdust utilisation, its environmental implications, and the potential of valorising this abundant biomass resource. This review further delves into the technical aspects of converting sawdust into biofuel pellets, examining various technical processes involved in its physical analysis. The intended audience of this review encompasses researchers, mechanical designers, policymakers, and industry strategists and stakeholders interested in sustainable energy solutions and waste management strategies, providing a holistic perspective on the opportunities presented by wood sawdust as a renewable energy source. Full article

It is estimated that around 1.3 billion people, roughly 16% of the global population, live with some form of disability, which can be physical, auditory, visual, intellectual, or psychosocial (mental). To help this group overcome daily functional limitations and improve their ability to perform activities independently, Assistive Technologies (AT) are used. However, understanding the complex effects of these technologies on users’ lives poses challenges in measurement. This research aims to identify and systematise the impacts caused by AT within society, analysing the relationships among these impacts to offer a comprehensive understanding of their scope. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was carried out following the PRISMA protocol, supplemented by association rule analysis using the Apriori algorithm with Weka software. Metrics such as Support, Confidence, and Lift were used to evaluate the associations identified by the algorithm. This analysis revealed fourteen distinct types of impacts, categorised into three groups: User Quality of Life, Social and Psychosocial, and Work Environment and Productivity. The findings demonstrated consistent associations, including Autonomy → Independence, Socioeconomic Status → Social Impact, and Education → Social Impact, indicating interconnected effects of assistive devices across functional, educational, emotional, social, economic, and productivity areas. This study supports the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting the development of AT standardisation tools, guiding more inclusive public policies, and encouraging collaborative networks among stakeholders involved in AT research and development. Full article

Extreme climate events like droughts and floods are creating urgent challenges for sectors such as Agriculture or water management. Effective adaptation requires stakeholder collaboration, supported by stakeholder analysis (SA) methods, which are still evolving in environmental management. We briefly reviewed examples of recent existing systematic evidence syntheses on SA across different domains. This highlighted several SA challenges, including the lack of transparent, common methods—particularly for climate-induced extreme events—and weak links between SA results and policy or practice. We then present a case study that illustrates these challenges and suggests ways to address them. Cooperating with a local network organisation, the Living Lab Schouwen-Duiveland (LAB), we conducted a case study on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland (NL), which is trying to adapt to drought. Applying a novel stakeholder analysis method, the “Rings of involvement”, which enables the visualisation of stakeholders’ levels of affectedness regarding the issue, we were able to identify and categorise the stakeholder network in a systematic manner. We identified stakeholder groups, such as “Implementers”, who are not yet in the network but likely hold key practical knowledge to address local-regional climate adaptation. This calls for a better institutionalisation of and a more dynamic approach to SA in the local climate change adaptation practices. Based on our case study, we suggest that future studies could explore under which conditions a network organisation (such as the LAB) acts as a dynamic platform for facilitating stakeholder knowledge co-production. Full article

This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the technological, environmental, economic, regulatory, and social dimensions shaping the development and operation of agricultural biogas plants. The paper adopts a primarily European perspective, reflecting the comparatively high share of agricultural inputs in anaerobic digestion (AD) across EU Member States, while drawing selective comparisons with global contexts to indicate where socio-geographical conditions may lead to different outcomes. It outlines core principles of the AD process and recent innovations—such as enzyme supplementation, microbial carriers, and multistage digestion systems—that enhance process efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The study emphasises substrate optimisation involving both crop- and livestock-derived materials, together with the critical management of water resources and digestate within a circular-economy framework to promote sustainability and minimise environmental risks. Economic viability, regulatory frameworks, and social dynamics are examined as key factors underpinning successful biogas implementation. The paper synthesises evidence on cost–benefit performance, investment drivers, regulatory challenges, and support mechanisms, alongside the importance of community engagement and participatory governance to mitigate land-use conflicts and ensure equitable rural development. Finally, it addresses persistent technical, institutional, environmental, and social barriers that constrain biogas deployment, underscoring the need for integrated solutions that combine technological advances with policy support and stakeholder cooperation. This analysis offers practical insights for advancing sustainable biogas use in agriculture, balancing energy production with environmental stewardship, food security, and rural equity. The review is based on literature identified in Scopus and Web of Science for 2007 to 2025 using predefined keyword sets and supplemented by EU policy and guidance documents and backward- and forward-citation searches. Full article

The 17 sustainable development goals advocated by the United Nations have played a big role in focusing the minds of policy makers in terms of sustainability issues and have also highlighted the issue of social inclusion and the need to make society more equitable. As well as referencing the sustainable development goals, attention is given to the planetary health concept as it is known to deepen our understanding of the ecological interdependence brought about by cultural, environmental and socio-economic factors, which have relevance in terms of mankind achieving the sustainable development goals. This paper addresses the following question: How can a framework to foster global partnerships leading to sustainable development be underpinned by a philosophical argument that strengthens the case for social inclusion? Consequently, a wide body of literature is reviewed, with key concepts such as collaboration being placed in context and reinforced through stakeholder theory. A philosophical discussion is entered into embracing Moore’s open question argument regarding the reliance on Intuitionism to explain how actions can be coined as immoral or moral. Such arguments are useful for raising moral issues that often end in moral disagreements, and which raise and help solve ethical problems. To effectively deal with the complexity involved, policy makers should support the use of frameworks that can be used to support and encourage social inclusion. In adopting this viewpoint, we put forward a sustainable partnership framework that provides guidance to policy makers and their advisors in terms of tackling the issue of social inclusion. In order to achieve social inclusion, policy makers need to understand the role that symbolic representation plays and how the influence of major influencers generates collaborative knowledge that is reappraised through philosophical argument. The outcome of the philosophical argument is a change in a nation’s cultural value system and the implementation of social inclusion policy. Full article