Future Society Research Articles

Ideological and political reform of chemical courses based on the “double carbon” target

Since President Xi Jinping made a promise to achieve carbon neutrality and carbon peak at the UN General Assembly, "double carbon" targets are gradually attracting attention. The ideological and political teaching reform of chemical engineering courses has a positive guiding effect on the improvement of students' subject quality and the development of the future society. This paper discusses the "double carbon" policy, the importance of curriculum reform, the reform of daily teaching content, the optimization of experimental teaching content and curriculum innovation. The "double carbon" concept is integrated into the curriculum to strengthen students' awareness of green and low carbon, and at the same time to cultivate professional responsibility and feelings of family and country, so as to cultivate college students who conform to the development of the times.

Aging of the Global Population as an Integral Problem of the Future

This article analyzes the process of global population aging, which has a significant impact on all areas of public life in the 21st century. The influence of the population aging process on various areas of social activity will be determined by its scale and depth, i.e. by the potential demographic structure of the future society. At the same time, the ability of modern society to cope with elevated risks associated with this process is a problematic matter. The risks and problems associated with population aging include economic recessions, pension crises, the issue of caring for the increasingly more numerous disabled and frail people, maintaining the financial savings of the elderly, the issue of ageism, and the vulnerability of the elderly during periods of crisis and pandemics, and consequently maintaining life expectancy as well as stable democracy and even world order. These risks and problems are of particular concern given that by the mid-21st century two thirds of people over the age of 65 will be living in medium and low income countries. Moreover, aging will affect even today’s poorest countries that are located in Sub-Saharan Africa with their populations that are still young as of today. In view of this, the problem of social security and healthcare for the elderly is becoming increasingly acute and requires implementing proactive measures. The problem of population aging does not get enough attention from such international organizations as the UN and WHO; in general, studies on this issue both in the public realm and in scientific discourse are limited. However, even now global aging is an extremely important problem, and we assume that it will become the most crucial problem in the future. Thus, not paying sufficient attention to it might lead to negative consequences such as societal tensions, crises and intergenerational conflicts, as well as political and social instability. In this article we approach the process from the perspective of transitioning from perceiving it as a problem to considering it as something that provides new opportunities associated with the more mature and older generation possessing worldly wisdom and experience. Today specific measures must be taken in different areas, and special long-term programs must be adopted to promote a higher health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for the older generation, as well as to combat the widespread stereotype of feeling doomed at an old age, the idea being that your life is over. Grinin et al. point out the importance of technologies, the development of which can be stimulated specifically by the process of global aging and the need to increase life expectancy. As a background for the forthcoming technological wave (which we refer to as the Cybernetic Revolution), global aging may create an acute demand for labor-conservation technologies, as well as provide a powerful stimulus for the field of medicine. Progress in the latter realm would help prolong working age and improve health-related (biological) quality of life.

Teacher preparedness and Implementation of the National Pre-Tertiary Education curriculum Framework in Ghana

Curriculum reform is a significant approach to prepare schools to be effective in meeting contemporary societal needs and imperatives. Several countries around the world, therefore, engage in curriculum reform to enable schools to prepare children with the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed in the present and future society, but implementing change following a curriculum reform is often complex. In our study, we sought to understand how teachers respond to curriculum implementation following the introduction of the national pre-tertiary education curriculum framework (NPECF) in Ghana. We employed a concurrent, nested, mixed-design strategy (embedded design) using a sample of 352 randomly selected basic school teachers from six regions in Ghana. Data from surveys and interviews reveal that teachers consider the NPECF as relevant for Ghanaian educational fortunes; however, a myriad of classroom challenges come with the implementation process. We concluded that these challenges could affect the realization of the relevance of the NPECF if schools and teachers are not well resourced. We call the attention of duty bearers to the need to provide the necessary resources for the seamless implementation of the NPECF in Ghana. For policy adjustment, we recommended and proposed improvisation as an approach for teachers to utilize and exert autonomy and independence in the design and delivery of classroom instruction to sustain the NPECF in primary schools. Again, our study calls for coordination and collaboration among parents, civic society, and individuals across political divides to remain united to provide a solid foundation for education in Ghana.

The role of the Red Lists of Ecosystems in leveraging sustainability changes in Finland – perceptions of the assessors

ABSTRACT The human impact on nature has now reached a level at which the well-being of future human society is at risk. Therefore, transformative change in society is needed. Environmental assessments contribute to shaping environmental policy, potentially leveraging transformative change. Red Lists are a key information source on the state of biodiversity. Our aim was to study the Red List authors’ perceptions of how Red Lists contribute to leveraging sustainability changes. We interviewed 15 of the authors of the forest and peatland sections of the Finnish Red List of Ecosystems 2018. We used the framework of sustainability leverage points to locate sustainability changes that Red Lists have leveraged in the social part of the Finnish social-ecological system. Our results show how the assessors perceived the influence of the Red Lists at most of the leverage points, including the deepest ones, and how these influences simultaneously co-exist in several leverage points. The most prominent sustainability changes were linked with legislation and information flows, whereas current paradigms, system goals and legislation appeared to prevent Red Lists from leveraging sustainability changes in Finland. We conclude that the production and dissemination processes of Red List knowledge can make an important contribution to sustainability changes.

Polyploid GWAS reveals the basis of molecular marker development for complex breeding traits including starch content in the storage roots of sweet potato.

Given the importance of prioritizing genome-based breeding of sweet potato to enable the promotion of food and nutritional security for future human societies, here, we aimed to dissect the genetic basis of storage root starch content (SC) when associated with a complex set of breeding traits including dry matter (DM) rate, storage root fresh weight (SRFW), and anthocyanin (AN) content in a mapping population containing purple-fleshed sweet potato. A polyploid genome-wide association study (GWAS) was extensively exploited using 90,222 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from a bi-parental 204 F1 population between 'Konaishin' (having high SC but no AN) and 'Akemurasaki' (having high AN content but moderate SC). Through the comparison of polyploid GWAS on the whole set of the 204 F1, 93 high-AN-containing F1, and 111 low-AN-containing F1 populations, a total of two (consists of six SNPs), two (14 SNPs), four (eight SNPs), and nine (214 SNPs) significantly associated signals were identified for the variations of SC, DM, SRFW, and the relative AN content, respectively. Of them, a novel signal associated with SC, which was most consistent in 2019 and 2020 in both the 204 F1 and 111 low-AN-containing F1 populations, was identified in homologous group 15. The five SNP markers associated with homologous group 15 could affect SC improvement with a degree of positive effect (~4.33) and screen high-starch-containing lines with higher efficiency (~68%). In a database search of 62 genes involved in starch metabolism, five genes including enzyme genes granule-bound starch synthase I (IbGBSSI), α-amylase 1D, α-amylase 1E, and α-amylase 3, and one transporter gene ATP/ADP-transporter were located on homologous group 15. In an extensive qRT-PCR of these genes using the storage roots harvested at 2, 3, and 4 months after field transplantation in 2022, IbGBSSI, which encodes the starch synthase isozyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of amylose molecule, was most consistently elevated during starch accumulation in sweet potato. These results would enhance our understanding of the underlying genetic basis of a complex set of breeding traits in the starchy roots of sweet potato, and the molecular information, particularly for SC, would be a potential platform for molecular marker development for this trait.

Design, Analysis and Optimization of Electrical Machines and Drives for Electric Vehicles

Electrical machines are the key components in the ongoing energy transition and electrification and will be an integral part of people’s lives in a future low-carbon society [...]

Data-Driven Futuristic Scenarios: Smart Home Service Experience Foresight Based on Social Media Data

Exploring future scenarios can consider future generations and society from a long-term perspective. A Futures Triangle is an approach used for mapping future scenarios. In general, the Futures Triangle collects weak signals using qualitative research methods. However, collecting weak signals qualitatively is limited by its small data size and manual data analysis errors. To overcome those limitations, this study proposes the data-driven futuristic scenario approach. This approach analyzes a large number of social perceptions existing in social networks as weak signals via semantic network analysis. Using our proposed data-driven approach, researchers can quantitatively collect weak signals for a Futures Triangle. To verify the applicability of the proposed method, we conducted a case study on the Chinese smart home service experience. The dataset consists of 2421 posts containing the keyword “smart home experience” on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Three future scenarios were constructed using the proposed method. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology. The data-driven futuristic scenario approach has the advantage of quantitatively analyzing a large amount of stakeholder data to provide weak signals for the Futures Triangle. We suggest that the data-driven futuristic scenario approach serves as a supplementary method, combined with the traditional Futures Triangle approach, to comprehensively explore future scenarios.

Can There be a Paradigm Shift in the Indian Education System? An Analysis of Socio-Economic Challenges in Implementing National Education Policy 2020

The government of India has initiated an ambitious reform of the education system in the country with the National Education Policy 2020. This marks the third education policy post-independence, aimed at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. The latest policy promises a revamp of the Indian education structure by formalizing pre-primary schooling, promoting multidisciplinary learning, academic freedom, and creating a more comprehensive, liberal, choice-friendly, and job-oriented education system that aligns with global standards. This paper briefly examines the major changes proposed in the policy for primary education and assesses the extent to which the Indian education system can adapt to fulfil the policy recommendations, given the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the country. This study highlights the hindrances to implementing the National Education Policy 2020 in India, including socio-economic challenges, health and digital access issues. It emphasizes the need for political will, investment in infrastructure and teacher capacity building, collaborative efforts, and careful consideration of potential risks to ensure the policy’s success and avoid harm to future generations and society.

수학 교과를 위한 정보 리터러시 규준과 지표 개발 연구

Information literacy is a fundamental and essential competency to live as a citizen, who is an independent and self-directed learner, in the future society. This study, as a follow-up to Kim and Kim’s research (2022a, 2022b), explores the components of information literacy for mathematics, and develops standards and indicators of literacy. Through three rounds of modified Delphi surveys and FGI, the standards and indicators of information literacy for mathematics were stabilized, and the application to practices in schools was explored. As a result, Standards 1 through 4 of information literacy for mathematics consisted of ‘cognitive thinking skills’ and ‘using physical and symbol tools’ in the personal cognitive domain, and Standard 5 was set as ‘social communication competency’ and ‘social awareness and practice competency’ in the social domain. Sixteen indicators were presented under the corresponding standards, and the relationship between competencies and standards of information literacy in mathematics was specified. This study emphasizes the key competencies of information literacy in mathematics education that are necessary for preparing individuals for future society and provides the foundation to cultivate it in school mathematics.

Technoculture and the Propaganda: A Postmodern Reading of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake

This paper examines the role of technology in spreading propaganda through a postmodern lens, by studying Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel Oryx and Crake. Drawing from postmodern theory the paper argues that technology has become a powerful tool for propaganda dissemination and manipulation, and that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction in the media-saturated environment. Through an analysis of the novel’s depiction of a dystopian future society where technology is used to control and manipulate the masses.

The Economic Dimension of Education, Educational Inequalities and Their Role in Shaping the Democratic Citizen

In this paper we will deal with the inequalities in the field of education and the way they affect the democratic society. This is a very important issue, especially in our time, because the problem is becoming more intense due to the accelerated economic competition, globalization and the changes taking place in the social fabric of the state’s due to the migration of large parts of the population worldwide. In modern Democracy (Agamben, 2005) there is a strong criticism, which basically focuses on the fact that the modern state of Representative Democracy does not realize the goals set by the revolutions of the 19th century and his proclamations of equality and liberty. In today’s societies, education is an important parameter in the formation of the citizen, who will then play an active role in the creation of a democratic society, which will be governed by democratic principles and values. Although all citizens and stakeholders recognize the requirement for a democratic education, its realization remains a question. Within this context, the question arises whether and under what conditions today’s students can be the emancipated and critical citizens of the future society.

협동학습에 관한 교육대학원생의 인식 연구

Objectives Due to the development of technology and rapid social change, there is a need to train talents equipped with core competencies for the future society and to innovate classroom teaching. Cooperative learning is attracting attention as an effective teaching and learning methods that can replace the learning structure of traditional learning methods through many prior studies. This study aims to derive implications for the perception of cooperative learning and class innovation as an adult learner targeting graduate students of education who have experienced cooperative learning. Methods To this end, we tried to examine their perceptions through a questionnaire that asked 50 master's courses to write metaphors and describe specific reasons for selecting metaphors at K University and S University's Graduate School of Education in Seoul. The collected data categorized the answers of each area of open questions into inductive content analysis according to the metaphor category based on metaphor analysis. Results The metaphorical expression of graduate students of education regarding cooperative learning could be categorized into five types: ① responsible activities, ② interactive activities, ③ various activities, ④ challenging but meaningful process, and ⑤ lack of will to cooperate. Conclusions From the questionnaire survey, graduate students of education recognized the cooperative learning as the teaching and learning methods (various activities) that make student accept the perspectives of others through the process of solving tasks (challenging but meaningful process) based on the positive interdependence (‘interactive activities’) by cooperation each other (responsible activities). Therefore, the authors drew the following implications for class innovation. First, the need for interaction between teachers and students, second, practical support, such as the application of various teaching methods in the curriculum of graduate schools of education, are required.

STEM-based principles and strategies to cultivate students' social and emotional learning

Cultivating and developing the social-emotional abilities of students is a realistic educational requirement. Such cultivation includes the development of skills related to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationships, as well as the ability to engage in responsive decision-making, with these skills, students will be equipped with the necessary character and key abilities to adapt to future society. To better understand how Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education can contribute to social and emotional learning (SEL), this study designs a STEM course named "The Yellow Riverbank Is Beautiful—Bridge and Lanzhou". By designing and delivering the pedagogical approach of this STEM project as well as assessing the students, the study proposes the principles of STEM education to develop students' SEL. These principles include: creating contexts focusing on real-world, developing social emotions through disciplinary practices, establishing interpersonal relationships of equality and mutual support. Also proposed teaching strategies, including: creating social contexts, planning activity sequences, evaluating students' behavior.

The Neglected Need for and the Effects of Sustainability in Accounting Curriculum

In 2013, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued a paper that encouraged accountants to use their expertise and skills to “help an organization link sustainability activity to strategies using accounting measures, tools, theories, and techniques” AICPA (Oct. 2013 page 6). Later that same year, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) added “diversity, sustainable development, environmental sustainability, and other emerging corporate and social responsibility issues” to its accreditation standards for accounting programs AACSB (2013). All along sustainability, accounting continued to grow in importance, as evidenced by the percentage of S&P 500 companies that issue sustainability reports, having grown from 20% in 2011 to 92% in 2020, according to Hart (2018) and the Governance and Accountability Institute, Inc. (2021). Thus, accounting programs have been called upon to, and have real world evidence of the need to, add education in sustainability accounting and reporting to their curriculums. Yet, the research conducted for this article shows that less than 11% of AACSB accredited Accountancy programs are offering even a single course that includes the words ‘Sustainability’; ‘Environmental’; Corporate Responsibility, or ‘Social Responsibility’ in its title at either the undergraduate or graduate levels, as of the spring of 2022. This 11% was an improvement from the 2% noted by Pippin et al. (2016); however, it is still a very low level. This article goes on to describe, through an analysis of students’ responses to a pre and post-course survey, how the inclusion of a sustainability accounting and reporting course in a university’s accounting curriculum fostered changes in the students’ appreciation for the different dimensions of responsibilities and opportunities they will encounter as future accounting professionals and society’s future business leaders. This article encourages other higher education institutions (HEI) to add such courses to their accounting curriculum both by showing the benefits experienced by the students and by providing information for such a course’s structure, content, and grading.

Literature review of value co-creation in education institutes: current states and future perspectives

Abstract Education has an essential place and influence on the future and current economy and society in general. Understanding the mechanisms of value co-creation in the education environment is therefore of paramount importance for improving the quality of educational services. Value co-creation focuses on the interaction with the learner with the aim of better academic performance and students’ satisfaction. This paper presents areas in which value co-creation is applied in higher education institutions and the results of its implementation, both for universities and students. Value co-creation promotes and enhances the interaction between educational institutions and students and seems to have a positive impact not only on academic performance, but also on students’ satisfaction and engagement levels. The process of value co-creation allows educational units and students to work together to optimise their experience and enhance their ability to actively participate in the educational process.

АКТУАЛЬНІСТЬ ТА СПЕЦИФІКА СУЧАСНОЇ МЕТОДОЛОГІЇ НАУКОВИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ

This article analyses the role of science and scientific research in the modern world, highlighting the importance of scientific research methodology in the development of modern science. Science, along with education, is considered to be two of the most crucial spheres in society's future. Throughout history, mankind has employed knowledge to study and organize the world. The Renaissance period is recognized as a pivotal phase in the development of science, laying the groundwork for classical natural science and serving as the basis for the emergence of social sciences, known as "humanities." In the XVIII and XIX centuries, the philosophy of science emerged, focusing on the analysis of scientific activity and the scientific process itself. Theoretical and methodological principles of science were developed, scientific theory was examined, and distinctions were made between gnoseology, logic, and the methodology of science. Within the field of science studies, it is emphasized that professional scientists adhere to specific methodological principles in their research, particularly the dialectic interaction between empirical and theoretical knowledge. Fundamental and applied research represent different levels of the scientific pursuit of truth, employing diverse methodologies consisting of rules, principles, and research methods. Modern science encompasses a multilevel concept of scientific knowledge methodology, encompassing philosophical, general scientific, and partial research methods. These methods possess unique characteristics across different disciplines and hold varying significance for their respective development. Philosophical methods are universal and abstract in nature, while general scientific methods aid in the analysis of existing practices and the current state of theory development. Commonly recognized general research methods and techniques include analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction and generalization, modelling, statistical methods, and analogy. Moreover, the interconnectedness of various scientific disciplines in contemporary times has led to the increased utilization of approaches and methods from one field in another, giving rise to intra- and interdisciplinary methods.

Monitoring the Resources and Environmental Impacts from the Precise Disassembly of E-Waste in China.

Due to the dispersed distribution of e-waste and crude disassembly in traditional recycling, valuable metals are not traceable during their life cycle. Meanwhile, incomplete separation between metals and nonmetals reduces the economic value of disassembled parts, which leads to higher environmental costs for metal refining. Therefore, this study proposes a precise disassembly of e-waste to finely classify and recover metals in an environmentally friendly way. First, the macroscopic material flow of e-waste in China (source, flow, scrap, and recycling gap) was measured based on data collected by the government and 109 formal recycling enterprises. The sustainable recycling balance time points for e-waste recycling and scrap volumes were forecast by introducing an additional recycling efficiency. By 2030, the total scrap volume of e-waste is predicted to reach 133.06 million units. For precise disassembly, the main metals and their percentages from these typical e-wastes were measured based on material flow analysis combined with experimental methods. After precise disassembly, the proportion of reusable metals increases significantly. The CO2 emission of precise disassembly with the smelting process was the lowest compared with crude disassembly with smelting and ore metallurgy. The greenhouse gas for secondary metals Fe, Cu, and Al was 830.32, 1151.62, and 716.6 kg CO2/t metal, respectively. The precise disassembly of e-waste is meaningful for building a future resource sustainable society and for carbon emission reduction.

The "Battle of the Sexes": An Embodiment of Gender Conflicts in the 1970s and Influence on Equality in Sports

In 1973, 48 million Americans sat in front of their televisions to watch a tennis match known as the Battle of the Sexes [1]. By pitting a male against a female, this match attracted enormous attention as people thought it possessed an answer to their burning question, which gender is superior? Especially during a time when the prominence of gender social equality advocacy increased conflicting societal sentiments, this tennis match seemed particularly important. This research paper explores the Battle of the Sexes through the lens of second-wave feminism and athleticsspecifically, how this event encapsulates the gender conflicts and catalyzes more equality in sports. By exploring previous research and primary source documentation on the Battle of the Sexes, this paper provides a detailed account of the match and its larger implications for feminism and athletics, allowing readers to better understand the formation of current societal gender norms and expectations, thus, better able to identify current events that may shift future society. Additionally, readers will see the importance of advocacy and how a single point of advocacy can expand into a powerful network that causes change.

Examining the Potential of Marine Renewable Energy: A Net Energy Perspective

It is often claimed that marine renewable energy alone could meet the electricity demand of current and future human societies. However, such claims are based on highly uncertain estimations of the global potentials of marine renewable energy sources (including tidal, ocean currents, wave, offshore wind and salinity and thermal gradients), and do not take into account the embedded energy of current technologies. To better understand the effective potential of marine energy, we conducted a literature review of its gross, technical, economic and sustainable potentials, as well as the energy return on investment (EROI), and estimated the net energy potential. We found that all marine technologies could provide a maximum energy surplus of 57,000 TWh/yr. This figure goes down to ∼5000TWh/yr when excluding offshore wind. The previous figures do not include the contribution from ocean currents, for which no reliable estimates of global potentials and EROIs could be obtained. Due to its high upfront costs and environmental impacts and low social acceptance, no additional tidal range capacity expansion is envisioned. Similarly, the combination of a low sustainable potential and the low EROI makes the large-scale exploitation of salinity gradients unlikely with current technologies. Including all technologies, the average EROI of marine energy is ∼20, but excluding offshore wind reduces the average EROI to ∼8. While we did consider sustainability constraints for some marine energy sources, our estimation of marine net energy potential primarily relied on technical factors and did not account for economic and legal constraints. Therefore, the results presented here should be interpreted as an upper bound for the actual net energy contribution of marine energy sources to the global energy mix.

Multi-functional triboelectric nanogenerators on printed circuit board for metaverse sport interactive system

Metaverse is the society of future, which merges the physical and digital worlds by utilizing sophisticated human-machine interfaces (HMIs). In this study, a Metaverse sport interactive system based on triboelectric nanogenerators has been developed, which realizes a real-time interaction among human beings, devices, and the internet. This Metaverse sport interactive system is composed of a self-powered anaerobic power meter (APM), a wireless transmission module, personalized data analysis based on the professional Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) method, and an augmented reality (AR) application. By leveraging the WAnT method, the power (PP), mean power (MP), and fatigue index (FI) are tested, which indeed reflect the explosive power, speed endurance, and endurance. Meanwhile, the data is transmitted to the cloud via the wireless transmission module, and the users can freely explore the Metaverse through AR application. Notably, through machine learning, the professional WAnT can not only reflect the anaerobic capacity but can also be used for athlete selection. Essentially, this work puts forward a new approach to design online competitions, sport training, and athlete selection, and in general, provides a new strategy to build the Metaverse.