The current geopolitical and socioeconomic landscape creates a difficult and uncertain operating environment for farming and agri-food businesses. Technological innovation has not been suggested to be a “silver bullet” but is one of the ways organizations can seek to reduce environmental impact, deliver net zero, address the rural skills and labor deficit and produce more output from fewer resources and as a result, make space for nature. But what barriers limit this promissory narrative from delivering in practice? The purpose of the paper is to firstly explore the reported social, technical and systemic barriers to agri-technology adoption in an increasingly uncertain world and then secondly identify potential research gaps that highlight areas for future research and inform key research questions. Socio-technical and infrastructural barriers have been identified within the context of the complex hollowing out and infilling of rural communities across the world. These barriers include seventeen factors that emerge, firstly those external to the farm (economic conditions, external conditions including bureaucracy, market conditions, weather uncertainty and the narratives about farmers), those internal to the farm business (farming conditions, employee relations, general finance, technology and time pressures) and then personal factors (living conditions, personal finances, physical health, role conflict, social isolation and social pressure). Adaptive resilience strategies at personal, organizational and community levels are essential to address these barriers and to navigate agri-technology adoption in an uncertain and dynamic world.
{"title":"Innovating in an Uncertain World: Understanding the Social, Technical and Systemic Barriers to Farmers Adopting New Technologies","authors":"L. Manning","doi":"10.3390/challe15020032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15020032","url":null,"abstract":"The current geopolitical and socioeconomic landscape creates a difficult and uncertain operating environment for farming and agri-food businesses. Technological innovation has not been suggested to be a “silver bullet” but is one of the ways organizations can seek to reduce environmental impact, deliver net zero, address the rural skills and labor deficit and produce more output from fewer resources and as a result, make space for nature. But what barriers limit this promissory narrative from delivering in practice? The purpose of the paper is to firstly explore the reported social, technical and systemic barriers to agri-technology adoption in an increasingly uncertain world and then secondly identify potential research gaps that highlight areas for future research and inform key research questions. Socio-technical and infrastructural barriers have been identified within the context of the complex hollowing out and infilling of rural communities across the world. These barriers include seventeen factors that emerge, firstly those external to the farm (economic conditions, external conditions including bureaucracy, market conditions, weather uncertainty and the narratives about farmers), those internal to the farm business (farming conditions, employee relations, general finance, technology and time pressures) and then personal factors (living conditions, personal finances, physical health, role conflict, social isolation and social pressure). Adaptive resilience strategies at personal, organizational and community levels are essential to address these barriers and to navigate agri-technology adoption in an uncertain and dynamic world.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"43 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141355174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paula Regina Humbelino de Melo, P. V. Alves, V. Bourscheidt, Tatiana Souza de Camargo
The Brazilian Legal Amazon, crucial for ecosystem services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation, has declined over time in its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. In response, global policies are being developed to mitigate climate change, which has emerged as a central issue in the planetary health approach. The objective of this study was to investigate how elementary school students in a rural school in the Southern Amazonas state perceive climate change and understand its implications for the health of the planet. Understanding the phenomenon’s complexity, we conducted research with students from riverside communities in the Southern Amazon region. The data were analyzed using relative, absolute and percentage frequency tables, with a Fisher’s test applied at a 5% significance level. A significant finding was the predominant difficulty students had in accurately conceptualizing climate change, highlighting notable gaps in their understanding of these wide-ranging issues. In the context of the global climate crisis we are experiencing, the integration of concepts related to climate change in basic education becomes indispensable. This study emphasizes not only the existing knowledge gap but also the urgency of educational approaches that prepare children and young people for the challenges of mitigation, adaptation, and understanding the complexities of climate change and its planetary implications.
{"title":"Planetary Health Education: Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Climate Change in a School in Southern Amazonas","authors":"Paula Regina Humbelino de Melo, P. V. Alves, V. Bourscheidt, Tatiana Souza de Camargo","doi":"10.3390/challe15020031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15020031","url":null,"abstract":"The Brazilian Legal Amazon, crucial for ecosystem services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation, has declined over time in its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. In response, global policies are being developed to mitigate climate change, which has emerged as a central issue in the planetary health approach. The objective of this study was to investigate how elementary school students in a rural school in the Southern Amazonas state perceive climate change and understand its implications for the health of the planet. Understanding the phenomenon’s complexity, we conducted research with students from riverside communities in the Southern Amazon region. The data were analyzed using relative, absolute and percentage frequency tables, with a Fisher’s test applied at a 5% significance level. A significant finding was the predominant difficulty students had in accurately conceptualizing climate change, highlighting notable gaps in their understanding of these wide-ranging issues. In the context of the global climate crisis we are experiencing, the integration of concepts related to climate change in basic education becomes indispensable. This study emphasizes not only the existing knowledge gap but also the urgency of educational approaches that prepare children and young people for the challenges of mitigation, adaptation, and understanding the complexities of climate change and its planetary implications.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"23 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141382067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Valesca S. M. Venhof, Carolyn Stephens, Pim Martens
Circumpolar Indigenous People, such as the Sámi, confront significant challenges stemming from environmental shifts and interrelated issues, profoundly affecting their mental health. Nonetheless, they possess invaluable knowledge and capabilities to navigate and adapt to these transformations. This review aims to investigate peer-reviewed scientific literature, exploring the nexus between environmental changes and mental well-being within the broader Circumpolar Indigenous community, with a special focus on the Sámi People. Conducting a systematic literature review with two arms, one encompassing the broader Circumpolar Indigenous population and the other focusing specifically on the Sámi, followed by thematic analysis, we delved into their experiences of environmental changes, perceptions regarding the intertwining of environmental shifts and mental well-being, and insights into protective factors and resilience-promoting elements. By engaging with Indigenous perspectives, public health initiatives can pinpoint and leverage existing strengths within Indigenous communities and families to bolster their ability to navigate environmental shifts and safeguard mental well-being. However, our review highlighted a lack of scientific investigation of ’strength-based’ factors fostering mental resilience among Indigenous populations inhabiting the Circumpolar North, such as the Sámi. Future qualitative research can address this gap, incorporating the viewpoints of individual Circumpolar Indigenous groups to explore both their distinctiveness and interconnectedness.
{"title":"Voices from the North: Exploring Sámi People’s Perspectives on Environmental Change and Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review","authors":"Valesca S. M. Venhof, Carolyn Stephens, Pim Martens","doi":"10.3390/challe15020030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15020030","url":null,"abstract":"Circumpolar Indigenous People, such as the Sámi, confront significant challenges stemming from environmental shifts and interrelated issues, profoundly affecting their mental health. Nonetheless, they possess invaluable knowledge and capabilities to navigate and adapt to these transformations. This review aims to investigate peer-reviewed scientific literature, exploring the nexus between environmental changes and mental well-being within the broader Circumpolar Indigenous community, with a special focus on the Sámi People. Conducting a systematic literature review with two arms, one encompassing the broader Circumpolar Indigenous population and the other focusing specifically on the Sámi, followed by thematic analysis, we delved into their experiences of environmental changes, perceptions regarding the intertwining of environmental shifts and mental well-being, and insights into protective factors and resilience-promoting elements. By engaging with Indigenous perspectives, public health initiatives can pinpoint and leverage existing strengths within Indigenous communities and families to bolster their ability to navigate environmental shifts and safeguard mental well-being. However, our review highlighted a lack of scientific investigation of ’strength-based’ factors fostering mental resilience among Indigenous populations inhabiting the Circumpolar North, such as the Sámi. Future qualitative research can address this gap, incorporating the viewpoints of individual Circumpolar Indigenous groups to explore both their distinctiveness and interconnectedness.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"8 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141385931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Efforts to create a sustainable future require careful and complex thinking, interdisciplinary and cross-organizational collaboration, and effective and ethical communication. However, the structural biases of digital communication technologies foster modes of thought and expression that undermine or impede these necessities. While one possible solution to this problem is digital literacy, the two prevailing paradigms of digital literacy both reproduce the myth of technological neutrality. This myth further inhibits sustainability by wrongly suggesting that digital technologies are appropriate to all communication goals and tasks. As a corrective to these models, I propose a new paradigm of digital literacy, one rooted in media ecology. The adoption of this model, I maintain, allows us to consciously co-create our social world rather than merely inhabit it.
{"title":"Communicating for Sustainability in the Digital Age: Toward a New Paradigm of Literacy","authors":"Brian L. Ott","doi":"10.3390/challe15020029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15020029","url":null,"abstract":"Efforts to create a sustainable future require careful and complex thinking, interdisciplinary and cross-organizational collaboration, and effective and ethical communication. However, the structural biases of digital communication technologies foster modes of thought and expression that undermine or impede these necessities. While one possible solution to this problem is digital literacy, the two prevailing paradigms of digital literacy both reproduce the myth of technological neutrality. This myth further inhibits sustainability by wrongly suggesting that digital technologies are appropriate to all communication goals and tasks. As a corrective to these models, I propose a new paradigm of digital literacy, one rooted in media ecology. The adoption of this model, I maintain, allows us to consciously co-create our social world rather than merely inhabit it.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"56 47","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141269144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In an ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Health Fellow Alan C. Logan meets with thought leaders, scientists, scholars, healthcare professionals, artisans, and visionaries concerned about health at the scale of persons, places, and the planet. Here, Dr. Diana H. Fishbein responds to a set of questions posed by Challenges. For over forty years, Dr. Fishbein, a neuroscientist and criminologist by training, has been at the forefront of research examining the intersections of biological, environmental, social, and physical factors as they relate to brain development, functioning, risky behavior, and life outcomes. Within this broad-ranging career, Dr. Fishbein was among the very first to conduct a dietary intervention study (eliminating refined carbohydrate foods) examining behavioral outcomes (i.e., nutritional psychiatry). This, combined with related research endeavors and experiences, led to a wider-lens view of prevention research, a desire to understand the physiological mechanisms that explain heterogeneity in positive and/or unfavorable outcomes in prevention programs, and a dynamic career devoted to the science of prevention. Here, Dr. Fishbein reflects on her career and its many twists and turns through a range of interdisciplinary work. Shediscusses prevention science through the lens of future possibilities and the need for scientists to lean toward advocacy and supporting evidence-based policy changes. Prevention science, as Dr. Fishbein explains, is at the heart of the many interconnected challenges of our time.
挑战》顾问委员会成员、新星健康研究所研究员艾伦-洛根（Alan C. Logan）在持续进行的系列访谈中，会见了思想领袖、科学家、学者、医疗保健专业人士、工匠以及关注人类、地方和地球健康的有识之士。在这里，戴安娜-H.菲什宾博士回答了《挑战》提出的一系列问题。四十多年来，作为一名神经科学家和犯罪学家，菲什宾博士一直站在研究的最前沿，研究生物、环境、社会和物理因素的交叉，因为它们与大脑的发育、功能、危险行为和生活结果有关。在这一广泛的职业生涯中，费什宾博士是最早进行饮食干预研究（剔除精制碳水化合物食品）以检查行为结果（即营养精神病学）的人之一。这一点，再加上相关的研究工作和经验，使他对预防研究有了更广阔的视野，渴望了解解释预防计划中积极和/或不利结果异质性的生理机制，并开始了致力于预防科学的充满活力的职业生涯。在此，Fishbein 博士通过一系列跨学科工作回顾了她的职业生涯及其曲折经历。她从未来的可能性以及科学家们倾向于宣传和支持基于证据的政策变革的必要性的角度讨论了预防科学。正如 Fishbein 博士所解释的，预防科学是我们这个时代许多相互关联的挑战的核心。
{"title":"Prevention Science Can’t Wait: An Interview with Dr. Diana H. Fishbein","authors":"Alan C. Logan, Diana H. Fishbein","doi":"10.3390/challe15020018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15020018","url":null,"abstract":"In an ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Health Fellow Alan C. Logan meets with thought leaders, scientists, scholars, healthcare professionals, artisans, and visionaries concerned about health at the scale of persons, places, and the planet. Here, Dr. Diana H. Fishbein responds to a set of questions posed by Challenges. For over forty years, Dr. Fishbein, a neuroscientist and criminologist by training, has been at the forefront of research examining the intersections of biological, environmental, social, and physical factors as they relate to brain development, functioning, risky behavior, and life outcomes. Within this broad-ranging career, Dr. Fishbein was among the very first to conduct a dietary intervention study (eliminating refined carbohydrate foods) examining behavioral outcomes (i.e., nutritional psychiatry). This, combined with related research endeavors and experiences, led to a wider-lens view of prevention research, a desire to understand the physiological mechanisms that explain heterogeneity in positive and/or unfavorable outcomes in prevention programs, and a dynamic career devoted to the science of prevention. Here, Dr. Fishbein reflects on her career and its many twists and turns through a range of interdisciplinary work. Shediscusses prevention science through the lens of future possibilities and the need for scientists to lean toward advocacy and supporting evidence-based policy changes. Prevention science, as Dr. Fishbein explains, is at the heart of the many interconnected challenges of our time.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"74 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140377995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Western approach to the natural world, considering “nature” as an object of scientific scrutiny and of exploitation for economic purposes, results in a separateness and subsequent alienation from nature. The overarching aim of this paper is to emphasize the limitations and consequences of this approach, including how nature is perceived, the value attributed to nature, and the substantial denial of cultural contributions from non-Western philosophical and scientific backgrounds. We also consider the Western attempt at balancing industrial and technological endeavors, aimed at preserving ecological equilibria. In this framework, we argue that the current ever-increasing concern about sustainability cannot be decoupled from the perception of nature and natural values, whether material, aesthetic, or spiritual. Therefore, modern sustainability challenges, mainly attributable to Western overexploitation of nature and natural resources, need to be considered in the context of the limited Western paradigms, which often leave the very definition of nature unanswered. We argue that efforts to ease the anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems, leading to their degradation, cannot be uniquely bounded by Western science and its technological appendices.
{"title":"The Natural World in Western Thought","authors":"Mazhar Ali Jarwar, S. Dumontet, Vincenzo Pasquale","doi":"10.3390/challe15010017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15010017","url":null,"abstract":"The Western approach to the natural world, considering “nature” as an object of scientific scrutiny and of exploitation for economic purposes, results in a separateness and subsequent alienation from nature. The overarching aim of this paper is to emphasize the limitations and consequences of this approach, including how nature is perceived, the value attributed to nature, and the substantial denial of cultural contributions from non-Western philosophical and scientific backgrounds. We also consider the Western attempt at balancing industrial and technological endeavors, aimed at preserving ecological equilibria. In this framework, we argue that the current ever-increasing concern about sustainability cannot be decoupled from the perception of nature and natural values, whether material, aesthetic, or spiritual. Therefore, modern sustainability challenges, mainly attributable to Western overexploitation of nature and natural resources, need to be considered in the context of the limited Western paradigms, which often leave the very definition of nature unanswered. We argue that efforts to ease the anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems, leading to their degradation, cannot be uniquely bounded by Western science and its technological appendices.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"23 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140227170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Forests are a vital source of food, fuel, and medicine and play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Strategic and policy decisions on forest management and conservation require accurate and up-to-date information on available forest resources. Forest inventory data such as tree parameters, heights, and crown diameters must be collected and analysed to monitor forests effectively. Traditional manual techniques are slow and labour-intensive, requiring additional personnel, while existing non-contact methods are costly, computationally intensive, or less accurate. Kenya plans to increase its forest cover to 30% by 2032 and establish a national forest monitoring system. Building capacity in forest monitoring through innovative field data collection technologies is encouraged to match the pace of increase in forest cover. This study explored the applicability of low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry in a recently reforested stand in Kieni Forest, Kenya. A custom-built stereo camera was used to capture images of 251 trees in the study area from which the tree heights and crown diameters were successfully extracted quickly and with high accuracy. The results imply that stereoscopic photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method that can support the national forest monitoring system and REDD+ implementation.
{"title":"Low-Cost Non-Contact Forest Inventory: A Case Study of Kieni Forest in Kenya","authors":"Cedric Kiplimo, Ciira wa Maina, Billy Okal","doi":"10.3390/challe15010016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15010016","url":null,"abstract":"Forests are a vital source of food, fuel, and medicine and play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Strategic and policy decisions on forest management and conservation require accurate and up-to-date information on available forest resources. Forest inventory data such as tree parameters, heights, and crown diameters must be collected and analysed to monitor forests effectively. Traditional manual techniques are slow and labour-intensive, requiring additional personnel, while existing non-contact methods are costly, computationally intensive, or less accurate. Kenya plans to increase its forest cover to 30% by 2032 and establish a national forest monitoring system. Building capacity in forest monitoring through innovative field data collection technologies is encouraged to match the pace of increase in forest cover. This study explored the applicability of low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry in a recently reforested stand in Kieni Forest, Kenya. A custom-built stereo camera was used to capture images of 251 trees in the study area from which the tree heights and crown diameters were successfully extracted quickly and with high accuracy. The results imply that stereoscopic photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method that can support the national forest monitoring system and REDD+ implementation.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"16 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140234687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This scoping review examines individual and societal use cases of Bitcoin in the peer-reviewed literature. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology was used, and a comprehensive search strategy was employed using Web of Science and Engineering village databases. Articles were screened at the title and abstract and full-text levels by the authors. One author conducted data extraction to summarize the data. In total, 17 relevant articles were included in this review. Investment and savings were the most widely reported use cases at an individual level, with payments and international transfers less frequently reported in the studies. Only two studies reported on societal use cases of legal tender; however, only one country, El Salvador, executed its intention. Our study suggests that Bitcoin is being used by individuals around the world with little report of societal (e.g., country adoption) uses cases. For example, there is evidence on the internet and on a grass-roots level that Bitcoin is being used in circular economies; however, the peer-reviewed literature may not yet capture the extent and full benefits and challenges. As such, we provide ideas for future research to more comprehensively explore Bitcoin uses and its impacts on individuals and society.
本综述研究了同行评议文献中的比特币个人和社会应用案例。采用了Arksey和O'Malley的范围综述方法，并使用了Web of Science和Engineering Village数据库的综合检索策略。作者对文章的标题、摘要和全文进行了筛选。一位作者进行了数据提取以总结数据。本综述共收录了 17 篇相关文章。在个人层面，投资和储蓄是报道最多的使用案例，而支付和国际转账在研究中报道较少。只有两篇研究报告了法定货币的社会使用案例；然而，只有一个国家，即萨尔瓦多，执行了其意图。我们的研究表明，比特币正在被世界各地的个人所使用，而关于社会（如国家采用）使用案例的报道却很少。例如，在互联网上和基层有证据表明，比特币正在循环经济中使用；然而，同行评议的文献可能还没有反映比特币的使用范围、全部好处和挑战。因此，我们为今后的研究提供了思路，以更全面地探索比特币的用途及其对个人和社会的影响。
{"title":"Bitcoin Use Cases: A Scoping Review","authors":"Emma Apatu, Poornima Goudar","doi":"10.3390/challe15010015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15010015","url":null,"abstract":"This scoping review examines individual and societal use cases of Bitcoin in the peer-reviewed literature. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology was used, and a comprehensive search strategy was employed using Web of Science and Engineering village databases. Articles were screened at the title and abstract and full-text levels by the authors. One author conducted data extraction to summarize the data. In total, 17 relevant articles were included in this review. Investment and savings were the most widely reported use cases at an individual level, with payments and international transfers less frequently reported in the studies. Only two studies reported on societal use cases of legal tender; however, only one country, El Salvador, executed its intention. Our study suggests that Bitcoin is being used by individuals around the world with little report of societal (e.g., country adoption) uses cases. For example, there is evidence on the internet and on a grass-roots level that Bitcoin is being used in circular economies; however, the peer-reviewed literature may not yet capture the extent and full benefits and challenges. As such, we provide ideas for future research to more comprehensively explore Bitcoin uses and its impacts on individuals and society.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140243860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amirhossein Nazhand, A. Durazzo, M. Lucarini, Fabrizia Guerra, A. G. Coêlho, Eliana B. Souto, D. Arcanjo, A. Santini
Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been a universal source of biologically active substances with high potential for the treatment of various diseases and disorders. For centuries, traditional communities have often relied on medicinal plants to treat health problems. Therefore, accurate information is required and knowledge about traditional medicinal plants requires evaluation, and great attention should be given to the possible integration of these plants as therapeutic agents or as complements to conventional pharmacological therapies in the healthcare system. Recently, Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill., initially used as a holistic remedy, has attracted attention from many researchers and consumers because of its multiple health-promoting effects. This growing interest prompted us to give an updated review of the botanical, geographical, historical, and therapeutic potentials of Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill. in terms of its in vitro and in vivo health effects, nutritional uses, and possible applications in line with biodiversity and sustainability concepts. This paper also presents a quantitative research analysis of the published studies related to this plant that are available in the literature. To retrieve the publications related to this plant, a bibliographic search was carried out using the Scopus database. The bibliometric data were extracted and processed using VOSviewer software (v.1.6.16, 2020). Technological possible applications in terms of patents request presented was also performed. A total of 1386 publications, from the year 1970 to the year 2021, were obtained by the literature search, and these had been collectively cited 38,805 times. The large amount of literature data available documents the interest in this plant’s use as a tool for integrating traditional holistic healing approach, e.g., using plants, herbs, and holistic remedies, into the healthcare system as supporting tools and/or therapeutic agents, which is a current worldwide challenge.
{"title":"Beneficial Properties and Sustainable Use of a Traditional Medicinal Plant: Griffonia simplicifolia","authors":"Amirhossein Nazhand, A. Durazzo, M. Lucarini, Fabrizia Guerra, A. G. Coêlho, Eliana B. Souto, D. Arcanjo, A. Santini","doi":"10.3390/challe15010014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15010014","url":null,"abstract":"Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been a universal source of biologically active substances with high potential for the treatment of various diseases and disorders. For centuries, traditional communities have often relied on medicinal plants to treat health problems. Therefore, accurate information is required and knowledge about traditional medicinal plants requires evaluation, and great attention should be given to the possible integration of these plants as therapeutic agents or as complements to conventional pharmacological therapies in the healthcare system. Recently, Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill., initially used as a holistic remedy, has attracted attention from many researchers and consumers because of its multiple health-promoting effects. This growing interest prompted us to give an updated review of the botanical, geographical, historical, and therapeutic potentials of Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill. in terms of its in vitro and in vivo health effects, nutritional uses, and possible applications in line with biodiversity and sustainability concepts. This paper also presents a quantitative research analysis of the published studies related to this plant that are available in the literature. To retrieve the publications related to this plant, a bibliographic search was carried out using the Scopus database. The bibliometric data were extracted and processed using VOSviewer software (v.1.6.16, 2020). Technological possible applications in terms of patents request presented was also performed. A total of 1386 publications, from the year 1970 to the year 2021, were obtained by the literature search, and these had been collectively cited 38,805 times. The large amount of literature data available documents the interest in this plant’s use as a tool for integrating traditional holistic healing approach, e.g., using plants, herbs, and holistic remedies, into the healthcare system as supporting tools and/or therapeutic agents, which is a current worldwide challenge.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"29 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140250891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In 2016, a localisation agenda was set across the international aid industry with the understanding that humanitarian interventions need to be led by local actors and local communities. Despite international agreements, the localisation efforts are largely failing. This paper demonstrates the challenges that prevent effective collaboration between international humanitarian agencies and crisis-affected communities. It draws on evaluation reports to highlight an inability to learn lessons or follow recommendations from previous crises. Based on the authors’ experiences, we present a novel framework for effectively collaborating with crisis-affected communities. The Communities Framework provides a pathway to establishing effective community collaboration and locally owned and led humanitarian interventions. The importance of local leadership, trust building, and local context are at the heart of the framework. In light of the need for a more localised and decolonial humanitarian response, this framework supports humanitarian actors and the affected communities in moving from a charity-led approach to one of mutual aid. The paper draws on alternative notions of compassion from the Global South of contemporary humanitarian interventions as a philosophical foundation for the framework. Caring for others and the world is central to implementing an appropriate and effective humanitarian response. There remains a largely unexplored scope regarding the outcome of resolving crises when both humanitarian actors and affected communities work as equal partners and how that will shape modern humanitarianism as we understand it today.
{"title":"A Framework for Effective Collaboration with Crisis-Affected Communities","authors":"Jo Rose, Claudia Milena Adler","doi":"10.3390/challe15010013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/challe15010013","url":null,"abstract":"In 2016, a localisation agenda was set across the international aid industry with the understanding that humanitarian interventions need to be led by local actors and local communities. Despite international agreements, the localisation efforts are largely failing. This paper demonstrates the challenges that prevent effective collaboration between international humanitarian agencies and crisis-affected communities. It draws on evaluation reports to highlight an inability to learn lessons or follow recommendations from previous crises. Based on the authors’ experiences, we present a novel framework for effectively collaborating with crisis-affected communities. The Communities Framework provides a pathway to establishing effective community collaboration and locally owned and led humanitarian interventions. The importance of local leadership, trust building, and local context are at the heart of the framework. In light of the need for a more localised and decolonial humanitarian response, this framework supports humanitarian actors and the affected communities in moving from a charity-led approach to one of mutual aid. The paper draws on alternative notions of compassion from the Global South of contemporary humanitarian interventions as a philosophical foundation for the framework. Caring for others and the world is central to implementing an appropriate and effective humanitarian response. There remains a largely unexplored scope regarding the outcome of resolving crises when both humanitarian actors and affected communities work as equal partners and how that will shape modern humanitarianism as we understand it today.","PeriodicalId":503175,"journal":{"name":"Challenges","volume":"187 S508","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140256054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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