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Loneliness
No full textLoneliness has been identified as a significant global public health issue (La Placa and Morgan, 2023; Morgan and La Placa, 2024). This global concern about loneliness has been highlighted by the World Health Organization (2023a) who recently launched a new Commission on Social Connection to address the issue. Whilst in the United Kingdom and Japan, Ministers for Loneliness have been appointed, whose remits are to implement strategies to increase social connectedness. This chapter will define loneliness and discuss the impact of loneliness on health and wellbeing. The chapter's second half will then explore loneliness amongst young people across OECD countries and include a focus on loneliness interventions used globally
Collective action under repressive conditions: integration of individual, group, and structural level research, recommendations, and reflections
Get PDFSocial scientific research from different traditions on collective action under repressive conditions is fragmented across different levels of analysis. The current paper takes a first step toward remedying this fragmentation by reviewing research findings on repression and collective action and organizing them into a multilevel framework. We describe the impact of repression on antecedents of collective action at the (a) individual level (including grievances, emotions, efficacy beliefs, politicized identity, and individual differences), (b) group level (including community cohesion and norms), and (c) structural level (including political opportunities and socioecological conditions). We then present an integrative summary reflecting on the broad patterns we observed in the literature. We conclude with policy implications of this work, suggesting recommendations for activists to overcome repression, for authorities to foster pluralist political participation while maintaining stability, and for researchers to further advance knowledge on repression and collective action
Design thinking for interdisciplinary learning and global competence in higher education: an integrative framework
Get PDFPurpose: Global competence (GC) is becoming an increasingly important requirement for graduates of higher education (HE) institutions, as it helps them to be better prepared in overcoming the challenges and complexities of an interconnected world. As this requirement becomes more prevalent, this study aims to address the challenges of GC education within HE settings by proposing a conceptual framework that integrates design thinking (DT) with interdisciplinary learning (IL). This effort seeks to bridge existing opportunities within the literature and inculcate inclusive and scalable pedagogical strategies.
Methodology: An integrative literature review (ILR) of 59 peer-reviewed studies was conducted based on existing literature related to GC, IL, and DT. The framework is grounded in two established educational theories: the Intercultural Competence Model and Constructivist Learning Theory, given their alignment with the promotion of empathy, collaboration, and creativity within DT.
Findings: The review confirms that while IL enhances GC, significant barriers persist in curriculum integration and effective assessment. To address this challenge, DT offers a practical and iterative methodology to support IL by fostering empathy, collaboration, and experiential learning. The proposed ‘Integrative Framework of Design Thinking for Interdisciplinary Global Competence’ aligns each stage of the DT process (i.e., empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test) with the developmental components of GC.
Originality: This study offers a framework that positions DT as both a pedagogical method and strategic approach for advancing interdisciplinary GC across all levels of the HE ecosystem (i.e., module design, curriculum structure, institutional policy). This proposal is intended for further empirical examination, as its conceptual and non-empirical nature is duly acknowledged
Synthesizing inline security monitors for ICS using Generative AI and FormalBench
No full textIndustrial Control Systems (ICS) increasingly face cybersecurity threats due to their distributed architecture and critical role in infrastructure operations. We adopt inline security monitoring as a practical run-time verification strategy to address these risks. However, authoring formal specifications remains time-consuming and error-prone, requiring deep domain expertise. In this paper, we explore how large language models (LLMs) can support the synthesis of inline security monitors by generating Java Modeling Language (JML) specifications for distributed ICS applications. We use a water distribution system (WDS) as our testbed and FormalBench to generate prompts to guide the GPT-4o model in producing JML annotations. We then evaluate these outputs using the FormalBench framework. Our findings show that LLMs capture key security properties and generate context-aware assertions with minimal intervention, taking a first step toward automating the specification process and enhancing the security and resilience of distributed ICS environments
Tipping cascades between conflict and cooperation in climate change
Get PDFFollowing empirical research on the dynamics of conflict and cooperation under climate change, conditions, pathways, and societal responses in the climate–security nexus are analysed. Complex interactions between climate risks and conflict risks are connected to models of tipping points, compounding and cascading
risks in the context of multiple crises. System and agent models of conflict and cooperation are considered to analyse dynamic trajectories, equilibria, stability, and chaos, along with adaptive decision rules in multi-agent interaction and related tipping, cascading, networking, and transformation processes. In particular, a bi-stable tipping model is applied to study transitions between conflict and cooperation, depending on internal and external factors and on multi-layered interaction networks of agents, showing how negative forces can reduce resilience to and induce collapse of violent conflict. The case study of Lake Chad is used for illustration to bridge disciplines and demonstrate climate change as a risk multiplier from a modelling perspective. These models relate
to realities on the ground, where governance approaches and community behaviour can either lower or raise barriers to climate-induced conflict, exemplified by forced migration and militant forces lowering barriers and chances for cooperation. Adaptive and anticipative governance (AAG) based on integrative research and agency are discussed to prevent and contain climate-induced tipping to violent conflict and induce positive tipping towards cooperative solutions and synergies, e.g. through civil conflict transformation (CCT), environmental peacebuilding, and forward-looking policies for Earth system stability
Designing the future of care with seldom-listened-to people
Get PDFDesigning the future of care with seldom-listened-to people: a co-created report based on 10 health projects from Heriot Watt University, University of Greenwich, Edgehill University, University of the Highlands and Islands Inverness, University of Kent, University of Liverpool, Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Strathclyde Glasgow & Teesside University. This co-created Arts & Humanities report brings together insights from academics, practitioners, and community partners to explore how care systems can be redesigned with the involvement of seldom-listened-to people. The report highlights lived experiences, structural inequalities, and barriers within current care models, and proposes more inclusive, participatory approaches to future care design. Spanning themes of accessibility, autonomy, and social justice, it emphasises the importance of creative, collaborative methods in shaping equitable care services
Quantum machine learning for drug discovery: taxonomy, research challenges, and the road ahead
No full textThe recent pandemic outbreak has posed significant challenges for medical research, particularly in drug discovery. Machine learning (ML) has become increasingly prevalent in various stages of drug discovery, aiming to support the advancement of new drug research while reducing time and cost investments. Furthermore, the emergence of quantum computing and quantum machine learning (QML) represents a significant advancement in this field, offering the ability to tackle the complex processes involved in drug discovery. This review provides a comprehensive perspective, comparing advanced QML to classical ML in drug discovery applications including drug design, virtual screening, and ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) and toxicity prediction. Additionally, we summarize the current applications of QML algorithms to real-world data sets utilized in clinical research and drug discovery
The Defence of Duress: inconsistent International Criminal Court rulings and National Law guidance
Get PDFThis article explores how national law principles can address inconsistencies in the application of the defence of duress at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Rome Statute is the first to codify this defence, but its application remains challenging. In Ongwen, both the Trial and Appeal Chambers rejected the defence due to a lack of imminent death or serious harm. Conversely, in Ag Mahmoud, Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua found the defence applicable, criticising its narrow interpretation in Ongwen. A restrictive interpretation risks rendering the defence meaningless, while an overly broad one could undermine the ICC's goal of avoiding impunity. Ongwen and Ag Mahmoud are examined, highlighting inconsistencies in interpreting the defence of duress. Drawing on general principles from selected legal systems, the article proposes an approach to balance accountability for serious crimes with a meaningful use of this defence by the ICC
A call for universities to educate students on the needs of people with disabilities
No full textIn this chapter it is argued that universities need to educate students on the importance of accessibility. Background research on the situation in the UK for tourism, hospitality and events management undergraduate degrees (all related to cultural routes) found that only 14% of universities in their programme content mentioned accessibility. Based on such a low percentage of universities even mentioning accessibility within their teaching, the value of incorporating the needs of people with a disability is discussed. Ideas are presented as to how universities could be doing more in terms of responsibly teaching their students to consider the needs of people with disabilities when developing the content for their modules. Arguments are presented in relation to social responsibility, student employability and the financial and social value of investing in accessible practice. From researching examples of good practice in teaching accessibility, which have predominantly advanced in information technology (IT), a positive move forward is examined. Ideas presented for teaching accessibility include incorporating it into already-established sustainability principles, explaining the importance of universal design, simulation games and working with people with disabilities. The chapter ends with a call for a greater understanding of why accessibility is not considered a component of a degree programme
Multi-user oriented data sharing scheme for Internet of Medical Things based on dual cryptography mechanism
Get PDFEncrypted sharing of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) data is essential for facilitating collaboration, safeguarding patient privacy, and advancing clinical research. However, existing encryption schemes face numerous challenges in multi-user environments. Traditional proxy re-encryption requires exclusive ciphertext for each user, which is evidently unsuitable for IoMT's multi-user scenarios. Meanwhile, attribute-based encryption provides flexible data access control, but its complex computations and high resource demands limit its use in large-scale IoMT environments. Additionally, challenges like single-point failure and redundant backups emerge in ciphertext storage. To address these challenges, we propose a dual-cryptography mechanism integrating enhanced proxy re-encryption and attribute-based encryption. Our scheme enables unified ciphertext access for authorized users while applying attribute encryption exclusively to small data keys. To mitigate potential data loss from storage server failures, we propose a decentralized ciphertext storage and recovery mechanism with verifiable secret sharing. Furthermore, we implement decentralized ciphertext storage using verifiable secret sharing, ensuring recoverability from server failures. Formal analysis proves confidentiality under the random oracle model. Experimental results demonstrate high security strength, computational efficiency, and robustness. The solution prevents single-point failures, resists collusion attacks, and maintains traceability through blockchain-integrated audit trails
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