Societal Trends Research Articles

Social enterprises in culture and the arts: institutional trajectories of hybridisation in the Portuguese changing cultural mix

ABSTRACT Arts and culture gained multiple presence in individual and social life, with economic presence gaining relevance. We focus on social enterprises (SE) in arts and culture standing between the economic-oriented focus on arts and culture, and its socio-political and cultural roles and embeddedness. SEs are characterized by the centrality of a social mission instead of profit and participatory governance. We asked what are SEs in arts and culture and how they are influenced and aim at influencing institutional contexts. We place the research in the context of the Portuguese cultural mix. Based on five in-depth case studies of organisations oriented to the promotion of arts and culture that have social and community interventions, organisations where arts and culture are the main tools for social intervention and social welfare organisations with arts and culture projects, we describe their trajectories and organisational social, economic and governance characteristics. We argue that there is a mix of institutional entrepreneurship, public policies (and their lack) and societal trends influencing SEs pathways towards hybridisation.

Electrochemistry-Based CO2 Removal Technologies.

Unprecedented increase in atmospheric CO2 levels calls for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective technologies for CO2 removal, including both capture and conversion approaches. Current CO2 abatement is largely based on energy-intensive thermal processes with a high degree of inflexibility. In this Perspective, it is argued that future CO2 technologies will follow the general societal trend towards electrified systems. This transition is largely promoted by decreasing electricity prices, continuous expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, and breakthroughs in carbon electrotechnologies, such as electrochemically modulated amine regeneration, redox-active quinones and other species, and microbial electrosynthesis. In addition, new initiatives make electrochemical carbon capture an integrated part of Power-to-X applications, for example, by linking it to H2 production. Selected electrochemical technologies crucial for a future sustainable society are reviewed. However, significant further development of these technologies within the next decade is needed, to meet the ambitious climate goals.

Demographics and social determinants of oral health for baby boomers.

Age cohorts such as the baby boomers are influenced by historical experiences and the socio-dental events during their lifespan. These events/experiences have impacted their health behavior and consequently, their systemic and oral health. As the baby boomer population is aging, and the majority of them are retaining some of their natural teeth for longer, only fewer are becoming edentulous. This paper discusses the demographics and the social determinants of health of the early baby boomers (1945-1955), as well as the late boomers (1956-1964). We have used data from the literature to describe the events which might have impacted these cohorts' attitudes and expectations towards the utilization of health care and dental services. There are variations in the way different age groups perceive dentistry and use dental and other healthcare services, known as cohort differences. Nonetheless, because people are now keeping more of their natural teeth as they age, there is a greater demand for oral healthcare among the baby boomer generation. In order to provide specialized care that addresses their unique needs, there is a need for expanded training programs at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. A cohort is composed of numerous individuals whose attitudes and behaviors are shaped by their personal life experiences and broader societal trends. Consequently, any information about a particular cohort can only offer generalizations. As healthcare providers, it is important to be aware of the general characteristics of a cohort, but also exercise caution when applying them to individual patients. We should interpret these characteristics in light of each patient's unique circumstances.

Level of Tourist Satisfaction in the Local Beaches of Calbayog City

Beach Tourism is one of the staple sectors in the industry of tourism. Domestic and International tourists invest time and money to experience different coastal activities for pleasure and excitement. Tourism reshapes as societal trends changes in a consistent manner. Thus, it affects consumer behavior and satisfaction. Tourist satisfaction is paramount to the success of any business. This study is conducted to determine the level of tourist satisfaction on local beaches of Calbayog City in selected aspects, i.e., Accommodation, Climate, Safety, Scenery, and Water Quality. The respondents were the tourists and beach operators in Calbayog City. The study utilized the descriptive-assessment method of research to incarcerate tourists' satisfaction fully. In the processing of data, this study utilized frequency and percentage distribution to describe the profile of the respondents, mean and standard deviation, chisquare test, while one-way analysis of variance to assess the results of the study. The results of the study revealed that there was no significant difference between the profile of the respondents to the perceived level of tourist satisfaction on the local beaches of Calbayog City. Thus, the study failed to reject the null hypothesis. The study also revealed a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents to the perceived level of tourist satisfaction on the local beaches of Calbayog City. Thus, the study rejects the null hypothesis. The researchers proposed an improvement plan that will develop and promote the potential of the local beaches in Calbayog City.

Pharmacy deans, health-system executives strategize on shared challenges.

A first-of-its-kind event at the 2022 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition brought together pharmacy school deans and pharmacy leaders from health systems to identify mutual challenges and discuss collaborative approaches to overcoming them. “That was the most energizing of all of the meetings I attended at the Midyear,” said Lindsey R. Kelley, associate chief of pharmacy at University of Michigan Health. During each Midyear meeting, ASHP invites the deans of the nation’s accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy to discuss societal and healthcare trends that affect pharmacy education and to identify common areas of focus. The 2022 meeting was the first time health-system executives were invited to the event. The agenda focused on collaboration between health systems and academia, pharmacy practice advancement and advocacy, and improving the workforce pipeline. Kelley said it was enlightening to discuss how the declining enrollment of student pharmacists at the nation’s schools and colleges of pharmacy affects both health systems and academia.

What Does It Take for Organizations to Adopt Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)? A Fuzzy DANP Analysis

The growing utilization of advanced technologies such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) within organizations represents change, and embracing such change begins with individual and organizational end-users who often resist newly introduced systems. Recent studies have primarily focused on identifying critical factors in educational and corporate MOOCs adoption, while the consolidation of these factors has been overlooked. With our fuzzy DEMATEL-based analytical network process (DANP) analysis, this research fills this critical gap by prioritizing the identified factors and specifying their causality to understand how these critical factors can influence the successful implementation of MOOCs training systems in the workplace. Through consensus from a panel of human resource development (HRD) experts, 20 success factors at individual, content, and organizational levels were screened. Results indicate that the individual factors are the most influential, while the content factors are influenced most by other factors under study. Results also indicate that organizational sub-factors of technical support ranked first, training on how to work with MOOCs system second, and the presence of content experts ranked third. Therefore, our study unravels the significance of ranking multi-level determinants for educators and managers who plan to embark on MOOCs to attain a competitive advantage for both the globalized economy and societal trends. We propose a paradigm for future research and practice.

Explaining Europe’s transformed electoral landscape: structure, salience, and agendas

AbstractWhat has caused the marked, cross-national, and unprecedented trends in European electoral results in the 21st century? Scholarly explanations include social structure and challenger party entrepreneurship. We argue that these electoral changes more proximally result from public issue salience, which results from societal trends and mainly affects rather than is caused by party agenda setting. We use aggregate-level panel data across 28 European countries to show that the public issue salience of three issues—unemployment, immigration, and the environment—is associated with later variation in the results of the conservative, social democrat, liberal, radical right, radical left, and green party families in theoretically expected directions, while the party system issue agenda has weaker associations. Public issue salience, in turn, is rooted in societal trends (unemployment rates, immigration rates and temperature anomalies), and, in some cases, party agenda setting. We validate our mechanism at the individual-level across 28 European countries and using UK panel data. Our findings have implications for our understanding of the agency of parties, the permanency of recent electoral changes, and how voters reconcile their social and political worlds.

Does Healthy Living Matter to Work Outcomes? Effects of Exercise and Health Conscious Identity on Employee Job Performance and Life Satisfaction

Organizational behavior and human resource management scholarship and practice is interested in positive employee outcomes. Even though research has examined a host of work factors ranging from personality and emotions to leadership and culture, it is not clear how factors outside of work such as lifestyle influence employee performance and satisfaction. We develop theory on health conscious identity as it affect important work outcomes. We draw on emerging societal trends to outline how exercise affect employee job performance and life satisfaction. We also contend that health conscious identity has positive effect on employee job performance and life satisfaction. Our study integrates facets such as media influence, pandemic effect, and recommendations from health authorities with conventional issues of employee attitude, behavior, and well-being. Data from 280 employees and 58 supervisors supported the hypothesized relationships. We discuss implications on organizational practices in the emerging work order and suggest future research directions.

Multi-omics and machine learning for the prevention and management of female reproductive health.

Females typically carry most of the burden of reproduction in mammals. In humans, this burden is exacerbated further, as the evolutionary advantage of a large and complex human brain came at a great cost of women's reproductive health. Pregnancy thus became a highly demanding phase in a woman's life cycle both physically and emotionally and therefore needs monitoring to assure an optimal outcome. Moreover, an increasing societal trend towards reproductive complications partly due to the increasing maternal age and global obesity pandemic demands closer monitoring of female reproductive health. This review first provides an overview of female reproductive biology and further explores utilization of large-scale data analysis and -omics techniques (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) towards diagnosis, prognosis, and management of female reproductive disorders. In addition, we explore machine learning approaches for predictive models towards prevention and management. Furthermore, mobile apps and wearable devices provide a promise of continuous monitoring of health. These complementary technologies can be combined towards monitoring female (fertility-related) health and detection of any early complications to provide intervention solutions. In summary, technological advances (e.g., omics and wearables) have shown a promise towards diagnosis, prognosis, and management of female reproductive disorders. Systematic integration of these technologies is needed urgently in female reproductive healthcare to be further implemented in the national healthcare systems for societal benefit.

Changing Hearts and Minds in the Equestrian World One Behaviour at a Time.

Equestrianism is currently facing a range of pressing challenges. These challenges, which are largely based on evolving attitudes to ethics and equine wellbeing, have consequences for the sport's social licence to operate. The factors that may have contributed to the current situation include overarching societal trends, specific aspects of the equestrian sector, and factors rooted in human nature. If equestrianism is to flourish, it is evident that much needs to change, not the least, human behaviour. To this end, using established behaviour change frameworks that have been scientifically validated and are rooted in practice-most notably, Michie et al.'s COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel-could be of practical value for developing and implementing equine welfare strategies. This review summarises the theoretical underpinnings of some behaviour change frameworks and provides a practical, step-by-step approach to designing an effective behaviour change intervention. A real-world example is provided through the retrospective analysis of an intervention strategy that aimed to increase the use of learning theory in (educational) veterinary practice. We contend that the incorporation of effective behaviour change interventions into any equine welfare improvement strategy may help to safeguard the future of equestrianism.

A Survey of Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Smart Cities

The emergence of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has enhanced the lives of humans and envisioned the concept of smart cities using informed actions, enhanced user interpretations and explanations, and firm decision-making processes. The XAI systems can unbox the potential of black-box AI models and describe them explicitly. The study comprehensively surveys the current and future developments in XAI technologies for smart cities. It also highlights the societal, industrial, and technological trends that initiate the drive towards XAI for smart cities. It presents the key to enabling XAI technologies for smart cities in detail. The paper also discusses the concept of XAI for smart cities, various XAI technology use cases, challenges, applications, possible alternative solutions, and current and future research enhancements. Research projects and activities, including standardization efforts toward developing XAI for smart cities, are outlined in detail. The lessons learned from state-of-the-art research are summarized, and various technical challenges are discussed to shed new light on future research possibilities. The presented study on XAI for smart cities is a first-of-its-kind, rigorous, and detailed study to assist future researchers in implementing XAI-driven systems, architectures, and applications for smart cities.

Promoting Healthy Aging in a Digital World

Background The aging of the population is a global phenomenon, with growing numbers of persons over the age of 65 years, greater diversity of aging societies, and fewer younger people available to provide care and support for older adults. At the same time, enabling technology offers new solutions for aging well, including self-management of chronic conditions, communication with family and the health care team, passive monitoring, and enriching the home and community environments. Objective This keynote address highlights the demand characteristics for healthy aging and identifies potential solutions and challenges with enabling technology. Methods This presentation is based on literature review and engagement with diverse scientific collaborators. Results Major societal trends include the following: the growth of the older population with associated increases in the prevalence of chronic conditions and functional and cognitive disability; increased demand for both health and social services; increased demands on family caregivers at a time when there are fewer caregivers available; explosion of health information and desire to self-manage chronic conditions while remaining at home; widespread workforce shortages; and escalating costs of care. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the urgency of these demands and exacerbated health needs and workforce shortages while accelerating systematic change to address emergent challenges. New solutions are required to promote health, well-being, and health equity that entail both care model redesign and deployment of enabling technology. Optimal care for the future will place the older adult at the center; assure that information is available to all for good decision-making; and deploy human resources in the most effective way possible, providing the right person at the right time for the right task. Conclusions Technology has the potential to collect and make meaningful use of everyday data to inform plans for care; engage and optimize communication among the older adult, family, and care team; and enhance function and well-being. Actualizing this future requires appropriate policy, training, and leadership. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

MaaS (Mobility as a Service) market futures explored

The term Mobility as a Service (MaaS) refers to a seamless, single interface, fully integrated and customised transport service. Whilst the technological barriers to implementing MaaS are steadily being overcome, less is known about how the MaaS eco-system might evolve. This paper unpicks the MaaS concept in light of broader societal trends to suggest how it could evolve and offers insights for practitioners and policy makers. The paper draws on relevant literature, together with discussions with stakeholders, to better understand how MaaS has emerged. It then constructs four future MaaS market scenarios and identifies implications. It is concluded that current expectations of how the MaaS concept may evolve are limited in their understanding of how the transport system could change should MaaS be adopted on a wide scale. The major challenges for policy makers will likely relate to balancing the promised benefits offered with issues such as safety (including bio-safety in our post Covid-19 world), data security and privacy, equity and the threat of dominant suppliers distorting the marketplace. Together, these insights suggest that the MaaS reality may be messy and difficult to manage, and that future transport systems might look very different to now.

A Well-Rounded Business: Improving the Circular Economy Strategy Using RESTARTer

Climate change effects rapidly impact the life of the people and all environment. As part of society, companies are the problem solver of reducing the environmental impact of human activities. Many companies through The Paris Agreement are committed to achieve the long term goal to reduce carbon emissions to limit the global temperature rise below 1.5°C. Decathlon Indonesia as part of the subsidiary of Decathlon United is also part of the commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by implementing sustainable strategies on different business operations. In its retail activities, Decathlon Indonesia implements circular economy strategies. This research focuses on one of CE strategies named Second Life which under-performs compared to the company’s ambition This research uses the Business Model RESTARTer to explore the current situation and propose the recommendation using the RESTART Framework. Recognize and Rethink are phases where authors analyze the current business model, its externalities, identify the urgency to change the business model according to the customer needs, technological and societal trends that might Decathlon. Reinvent and Reorganize phase helps companies plan new ambitions, value propositions to be tested and finally RESTART the new sustainable business model that is good for the society and profitable for the company. The result of this research identifies that key factors of the growth of sustainable sales are alignment of corporate objectives with department objectives, integration circular economy with value proposed to customer align with commercial strategy, importance of collaboration with key partners and strategic communication to increase customer awareness and at last accessibility for customer to be connected to the CE Strategy. This research shows the importance of restarting the business model of a company to be more responsible and aware about their externalities and how they can be more impactful to global issues such as climate change.

Work‐family research: A review and next steps

AbstractOur review highlights key contributions to the work‐family literature, including research published in Personnel Psychology. We review foundational key constructs (e.g., work‐family conflict), theories (e.g., boundary management), and methodology and measurement issues (e.g., episodic versus levels approaches) at the intersection of work and family. We then review select topics that move from the more micro (e.g., individual emotions and health) to the more macro (e.g., cross‐cultural) in scope. In addition, taking stock of the work‐family field's trajectory, we mapped future research directions that have been posed by researchers over the past two decades in previous narrative reviews and examine the extent that they have been heeded within the Personnel Psychology work‐family literature. We use insights from the past and from contemporary research, as well as from societal trends, to provide a set of “next generation” future research directions. Finally, we provide practical implications from the research to date.

Biodegradable plastics and their impact on fingermark detection methods

The use of plastics is extremely prevalent in society, with most individuals likely to handle several plastic items per day. It is therefore not surprising that many exhibits recovered from the scene of a crime are plastics, which are processed and examined for traces such as fingermarks. Societal trends have been pushing towards more environmentally friendly products with alternatives to traditional disposable plastics becoming increasingly available. These alternate plastics have different chemical compositions and physical properties, which may impact fingermark development for these substrates. As most detection techniques are known to be substrate-dependent, it is crucial to review current methods and procedures to examine how effective they are on new materials. The aim of this research was to assess a range of fingermark detection techniques on biodegradable plastics and provide recommendations for the preferred technique. First, the prevalence of these materials in the Australian market was evaluated. Over 40 different plastics obtained within the Sydney area were then divided into six broad categories using consumer information in combination with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy analysis. Following this, selected plastics from each category were used as substrates for the fingermark development study. In total, 6480 fingermark specimens were collected as split marks, to form 2160 fingermark comparisons. Each substrate was then developed with four fingermark detection techniques suitable for plastic substrates: cyanoacrylate (CA) fuming, vacuum metal deposition (VMD), powder suspensions (PS), and single metal deposition (SMD). SMD resulted in the most consistent development method across all tested substrates. VMD was able to successfully develop fingermarks on polyethylene-based plastics, but led to poorer results on alternative plastics, while CA fuming and PS were notably more dependent on the surface texture. This research was successful in confirming that biodegradable plastics do in fact have an impact on fingermark development techniques commonly applied on traditional plastics and recommendations have been formed to aid in operational contexts to improve the potential to recover latent fingermarks from biodegradable plastics.

An analysis of the commercialisation barriers of self-healing concrete

Interest in more sustainable construction has grown in recent years. Evidence indicates that larger societal trends and the economic climate have an impact on the transfer of new technologies in the construction sector from university to industry. The transition to sustainability and concerns regarding climate change represent pressing issues to innovate in the sector. In order to decrease CO2 emissions from cement production, strategies have been developed to reduce the environmental burdens, such as the use of smart materials. The goal is to use more durable materials. Significant research has been performed into the development of self-healing technologies for concrete as a smart material. The advantages of self-healing concrete are many and can be significant to all stakeholders, including researchers, companies and end users. In spite of the progress made by past research, the commercialisation of self-healing concrete is still in its infancy. To fulfil this need, our study examines the commercialisation of self-healing concrete as a process complicated by divergent barriers. By carrying out semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, this study generates its contribution: the development of the self-healing concrete value chain identifying the commercialisation barriers as well as the analysis of these barriers that the innovation encounters along its value chain.

Fostering a Dark Side: The Role of Adopting-out in Contemporary Portrayals of Abandoned or Lost Children in Star Wars

abstract: The following paper draws attention to a lesser-studied subject in Critical Adoption Studies: foster care. I argue that this lack of attentiveness towards systems of care and the experiences of fostered children mirror a societal trend in which traditional ideals of the biological family and more recent post-biological ideals in the form of adoptive practices have created an ideological construct in which foster subjectivities are seen as identity-less. That is, the two poles of "biological family" and "adoptive family" support a particular normativity centered on a nuclear family ideal which then excludes foster families/children from membership—stereotyping foster care as inherently incapable of providing children a full and meaningful life. Ultimately, this ideological system prefers adoption, presenting it as the solution to all experiences of fostered and orphaned children. And nowhere is this ideology more present than in our society's most revered cultural productions—where orphans and foster children are continuously disparaged or misrepresented. My target for analysis in this paper will be the monumental Star Wars franchise, and in particular its three main trilogies, The Skywalker Saga . I will show how its most recent trilogy (2015–2019) embodies the transition from a biocentric normativity excluding all nonbiological families, to a status quo which has normalized adoptive-family making. Alongside a traditional biological familial ideal, adoptive families are regarded as a conventional family , and are thus capable of offering otherwise down-and-out children with meaningful lives and full identities. As this new ideological structure (what I refer to below as the ideological dyad ) becomes more entrenched in our culture, little room is left for an alternative understanding for how the systemic issues associated with a system like foster care might be addressed.

The Impact of AI on Trends, Design, and Consumer Behavior

This study aims to explore the multifaceted impact of AI on trends, design innovations, and shifts in consumer behavior. It seeks to identify the main themes that characterize AI's influence across these domains, providing insights into how AI is reshaping consumer interactions, design practices, and market dynamics. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 participants from various professional backgrounds, including digital design, AI research, trend analysis, consumer psychology, and product development. Thematic analysis was employed to distill the data into coherent themes, categories, and concepts. The analysis revealed three main themes: Trends in AI Adoption and Impact, Design Innovations Enabled by AI, and Shifts in Consumer Behavior due to AI. Each theme comprises several categories with specific concepts that highlight AI's role in personalization, automation, ethical practices, sustainable solutions, user experience design, interactive and adaptive design, purchasing behavior, engagement, and consumer trust. These findings illuminate the comprehensive influence of AI, from enhancing operational efficiencies and ethical considerations to reshaping consumer purchasing decisions and engagement strategies. AI's integration into consumer markets, design processes, and societal trends presents both opportunities and challenges. This study underscores the importance of ethical considerations, consumer trust, and personalized experiences in leveraging AI's potential. By navigating these elements thoughtfully, AI can contribute positively to consumer behavior, design innovation, and market trends, fostering a more engaged, efficient, and ethically conscious future.

Early Recognition of Overweight Hyperglycaemia May Improve Clinical Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death, directly accounting for 1.5 million deaths annually worldwide. Despite several breakthrough discoveries, little progress has been made in type 2 diabetes outcomes over the past 100 years. Younger age (below 60 years), a diet high in calories and processed food, and severe obesity (body mass index >35 kg/m2) may identify reversible beta cell dysfunction. Much of the clinical presentation pertains to flooding the body's adaptive limits with overnutrition. Recognizing this as a global societal trend brought about by lifestyle changes, sedentary work, mental stress and unlimited access to calorie-dense foods is crucial. Insulin resistance and genetic abnormalities cannot account for the dramatic increase in diabetes, from only 1% five decades ago to nearly 10% today. Obesity - and not insulin resistance - is at the core of the problem. As well as hyperglycaemia, end-organ damage can also be reversed with diet and weight loss in many affected individuals. We present the evolution of our understanding and compelling reasons to reframe diabetes in the severely obese to what it really is - overweight hyperglycaemia. This may shift societal perception, governmental funding, workplace reformations and individual engagement with healthy lifestyles. The objective of this review is to better understand global trends and the potential to improve outcomes by reframing the diabetes narrative towards remission. This may shift societal perception, governmental funding, workplace reformations and individual engagement with healthy lifestyles.