The United Nations(UN) has always been a core force in promoting global sustainable development, drawing research interest from scholars in various academic fields. The UN General Debate Corpus (UNGDC) is widely adopted in research on diplomatic affairs and economic topics, but few studies have used it to track how sustainability-related topics have changed over time. This research addresses this research gap by using keyword analysis and word collocation network methods to explore how sustainable development has been discussed in UNGDC speeches across fifty years (1972–2024). The research results show obvious thematic changes divided into four clear stages: the early stage (1972–1992) focusing on peace maintenance and institutional fairness; the post-Cold War stage (1992–2000) aiming to build global governance rules, resolve international conflicts and incorporate basic environmental concerns into global issues; the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) period (2000–2015) focusing on measurable goals for poverty elimination, public health improvement and climate protection; and the latest stage (2015–2024) featuring an integrated development model that combines climate action, public health safety and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One major research result is that global sustainability research and practice have formed a systematic thinking mode, in which discussions on climate action, SDGs and health security are closely connected with each other. This discovery of thematic integration provides a clear reference for policy makers to formulate unified policies to deal with complicated and interrelated global problems.

This study aims to synthesize global research trends and theoretical developments regarding the integration of APOS (Action, Process, Object, Schema) Theory and Computational Thinking (CT) in mathematics education over the past decade. The method used is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 18 reputable journal articles with a time span of 2016–2026. The results of the review indicate that the integration of CT and APOS is not merely a pedagogical choice, but an epistemological necessity that forms a complementary symbiosis. On the one hand, APOS provides a structured cognitive map that reveals the urgency of providing scaffolding at the Action and Process stages to prevent missing stages in students who are still stuck at the basic computational level. On the other hand, empirical findings support the implementation of the M-APOS model which is proven to significantly improve CT abilities with Cohen's d of 1.57 raises a critical reciprocal hypothesis: that the CT pillars are suspected to act as facilitators that activate the effectiveness of the transition between APOS stages. This study concludes that designing learning tools such as diagnostic instruments, modules, and digital worksheets that position CT as a cognitive entry point in the APOS traversal is an urgent priority. This adaptive instructional design is projected to transform students from mere mechanical calculators into autonomous, reflective problem solvers with systemic thinking capabilities.

Exploring the resilience potentials of a responsive team managing clinical deterioration: A systems analysis.

This research note discusses a collaborative scholarship model integrating funded research with Community Engaged Learning (CEL) between undergraduate courses at Michigan State University and Kansas State University. Cross-institutional student groups comparatively assessed national forest management issues in Southern California with those across the Midwest. Guided by CEL principles, students interacted virtually with Forest Service managers, engaged in experiential learning, and practiced leadership. This model bridged research and education and fostered professional skills and community building across institutions. Outcomes suggest that this model is adaptable for other courses. Key student outcomes include cognitive (systems thinking, forest management), affective (empathy, civic identities), and professional (communication, leadership, resilience) aspects. Key teaching outcomes include the collaborative model’s replicability and adaptability, careful strategic planning across communities and throughout the experience, successful student preparation and support on process and product, utility of student reflections for student and instructor growth, and cross-course enrichment deepening meaningful pedagogy.

ABSTRACT In an era of super-complexity, where wicked problems resist straightforward solutions and the very frameworks for producing knowledge are contested, transformative learning is not a pedagogical option but a necessity. Without the capacity for systemic, transdisciplinary thinking, learners risk being overwhelmed by information complexity, susceptible to misinformation, and unable to act meaningfully on the challenges they face. This paper argues that Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) offer a distinctive pedagogical instrument for bridging this gap: by immersing learners in nonlinear, perspective-shifting narrative experiences, IDNs can cultivate the critical literacies and systemic sensibilities that transformative learning requires. However, realising this potential demands a principled framework for design and implementation. We introduce two connected contributions: the concept of Systemic Learning IDNs, which are narrative experiences explicitly designed to support learners in exploring complex systems, and the CLASS transdisciplinary pedagogical framework, a structured model integrating systems thinking, design thinking, and interactive storytelling to guide their creation and use. Applying CLASS to two contrasting case studies, a commercial narrative simulation and a student-developed educational prototype, we demonstrate how IDNs can be designed and deployed to foster media literacy, systemic thinking, and collaborative problem-solving across disciplinary contexts. The paper offers both conceptual grounding and practical recommendations for educators seeking to implement transformative, systems-oriented learning in an increasingly complex world.

Nutrition-sensitive ill-health is a wicked problem that has been resistant to resolution. Systems thinking and systems-based practice (SBP) offer a more relational, contextual approach but there remains the need for an integrative framework that operationalises systems thinking in a way that is transformative. Eco-nutrition addresses this gap, conceptualising food, nutrition, health and wellbeing as products of interacting biological, environmental, sociocultural, economic and political systems. A narrative review was undertaken using meta-narrative and hermeneutic approaches to synthesise the historical evolution of ecological thinking and its application to nutrition. Databases searches, citation chaining and targeted searching identified seminal and contemporary literature. Sources were selected for conceptual relevance rather than exhaustive coverage. Eco-nutrition is articulated as an interconnected systems-within-systems approach grounded in biodiversity, temporal relationality and intergenerational dynamics. It consists of three domains: biological ecologies, tangible systems and meta-contextual domains (that include system anchors, connectors, shapers and interpreters). Eco-nutrition reframes nutrition as SBP and the behavioural expression of systems literacy. The framework illustrates how misaligned systems generate biological and sociocultural consequences that manifest as eco-health disorders across economic contexts. The framework enables practitioners to work inter-sectorally, with multiple actors and across scales: recognise how structures, policies and resource flows shape eco-health outcomes; anticipate unintended consequences; identify leverage points; and build transformative ecological, social and institutional capacities. Eco-nutrition provides a coherent, integrative approach for advancing SBP in nutrition. By identifying the capabilities required for future-ready practitioners, including cultural responsiveness, reflexivity, critical and systems thinking, ethical practice, leadership and communication, it positions nutrition professionals as accountable systems stewards aligned with the realities of the Anthropocene.

Thinking skills in transdisciplinary curriculum integration: A service-learning project in a Spanish secondary school

Mapping resilience in conflict and recovery: A systems analysis of the health sector in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (2020–2025)

ABSTRACTRationaleThe National Health Service, UK, has recently implemented a new patient safety strategy, replacing root cause analysis (RCA) incident investigation with systems‐based approaches. It is unknown if this change will optimise learning and improve care outcomes.Aims ObjectivesWe aimed to analyse safety recommendations/actions/improvements/solutions from comprehensive incident investigations by comparing those that adopted root cause analysis with systems‐based approaches.MethodThe evaluation adopted a sequential multi methods design. Reports were extracted between January 2022 and January 2023. The quality of the incident investigation was graded using a validated tool (Learning Response Review and Improvement Tool). Investigation identified solution types were organised using qualitative content analysis, adopting inductive and deductive orientations. These were then classified into system factors and the effectiveness of the solution scored. Descriptive statistics were computed to investigate differences between incident investigation type.ResultsGrading the quality of reports demonstrated that the expectations set out within the change in safety strategy were mostly being realised in practice. A total of 135 solutions were extracted from systems‐based and 57 from RCA reports, where the type of solutions identified were similar between each investigation approach. Organisational system factors were the most frequent for systems‐based whilst task system‐work factors were most frequent for RCA reports. For both investigation types, most of these solutions were deemed to fall in the least effective category: administrative controls.ConclusionThe evaluation provides important insights into how the shift to systems‐based investigations are shaping the quality of investigations and the recommendations that aim to prevent a recurrence of harm. Changing from RCA to systems‐based investigations led to more patient/carer/family involvement and systems‐focussed solutions, however weaker administrative recommendations remained prominent. Policy, practice and research need to ensure that the change in conceptual thinking and investigative orientation also contributes to improvements in learning and the development of stronger controls or barriers that prevent harm.

Food and nutrition insecurity is the result of broken systems. While addressing this problem requires holistic interventions that target complex food systems, the stakeholders addressing these issues tend to be working in silos and focused on different specific aspects of the system. Participatory group model building offers a promising approach to bringing the unique stakeholder perspectives together and identifying the systemic drivers of food and nutrition insecurity to promote a systems approach for this complex problem. This study used group model building to gain new insights into food and nutrition insecurity in Los Angeles and assess the impact of group model building workshops on stakeholder perspectives. Twenty-four multi-sector stakeholders participated in three workshops to construct a systems map (69 variables grouped into 10 constructs across three ecological levels with four overarching themes). Pre- and post-workshop surveys (N = 22 pre and N = 13 post) measured shifts in stakeholder perceptions of key food and nutrition insecurity drivers and intervention areas. Prior to the workshop, stakeholders tended to believe that individual-centric factors were the primary influences of food and nutrition insecurity. However, following the workshop, stakeholders reported that community and structural factors are the key drivers of food and nutrition insecurity.

Virtual wards (VWs) (also referred to as hospital at home (HaH)) are a key component of National Health Service (NHS) policy in England to shift acute care from hospital to community settings. While evidence suggests these models can improve patient experience and safety, delivering acute care at home redistributes responsibility for safety across clinicians, patients and carers. The concept of risk-work captures the relational and contextual practices through which clinicians, patients and their carers interpret and mitigate risks associated with clinical care. However, there is limited evidence as to how risk-work is enacted in remote care, particularly when patients and carers undertake elements of that work. We conducted a multisite ethnographic evaluation across four NHS VW services in North-West England (July 2024-February 2025). Data included 17 patient and five carer interviews, four patient observations, 43 staff interviews and 10 organisational level observations. Reflexive thematic analysis was guided by risk-work and Systems Thinking For Everyday Work as sensitising frameworks. Three inter-related dimensions of risk-work were identified. Translating risk describes how clinicians balanced protocolised guidance with tacit and relational knowledge when assessing eligibility, with decisions further shaped by workforce models. Holding risk illustrates the shared elements of risk-work, with temporal gaps in oversight, particularly out of hours and variation in workforce structures, shaping how risk-work was distributed between clinicians, patients and carers. Living with and managing uncertainty highlighted how clinicians, patients/carers navigated the unpredictability of acute illness at home. Governance structures, multidisciplinary teams and informal sense-checking provided collective safety-netting, although training and communication practices varied across sites. To our knowledge, this is the first exploration of risk-work within the context of VWs. These findings extend the previous theoretical framing of risk-work, which has focused predominantly on clinicians and in-person care. Our study demonstrates how in the context of remote acute care, risk-work is redistributed and shared with patients and carers.

Ecological literacy is not only environmental knowledge but also a critical mindset that integrates science, ethics, and action. This mixed-method analysis analyzes the ecological literacy skills of PGMI students in the science course through project-based learning (PBL). Data were collected through tests, interviews, and observations, then analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using a triangulation approach. Test results indicated strong performance on indicators of ecological knowledge, systematic thinking, ecological empathy, and critical-evaluative thinking, but only adequate performance on the action indicator. These findings align with the interviews and observations: the majority of prospective teachers possess good ecological knowledge, as evidenced by PjBL projects that use eco-friendly materials and demonstrate adequate critical thinking, yet concrete actions in the environment remain underdeveloped. The recommendations of this study are to strengthen community-based campus programs, such as environmental internships and collaborations with elementary schools, to implement concrete actions, so that ecological literacy has a tangible impact on the community and learning in elementary schools.

In secondary geography education, developing students’ geographical thinking about World-Systems Theory remains challenging due to the abstract nature of core-periphery relations and unequal exchange. This action research examined how experiential role-play can scaffold students’ conceptual development from everyday commodity consumption toward systemic geographical thinking. Thirty-five tenth-grade students in Taiwan participated in a coffee commodity chain simulation involving differentiated roles across the Global South and the Global North. Data sources included student worksheets (n = 35), observer reports (n = 2), and classroom field notes, analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that simulated wage polarization functioned as a form of cognitive scaffolding, supporting the concretization of abstract concepts. All students mapped the coffee production chain, while 91% correctly identified spatial divisions of labour and 91% articulated unequal exchange through comparative reasoning. Beyond role enactment, students demonstrated emerging systemic critique: 40% proposed structural reforms, 34% suggested industrial upgrading, and 26% emphasized human capital development. The differentiated “Observer Reporter” role supported metacognitive reflection and facilitated system-level analysis. Overall, the study suggests that theory-informed experiential simulations grounded in everyday geographical practices can support secondary students in visualizing and critically examining mechanisms of global economic inequality.

People affected by Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) experience poor short and long-term outcomes following discharge from hospital. Attempts to improve care have recognised the complexity of the healthcare system. We applied systems methods to explore everyday work and illuminate areas important for success, challenges faced and how people adapted to these challenges. Twenty-six patients who had recently been discharged from six hospitals after an admission complicated by AKI were interviewed. Focus groups were conducted with healthcare staff across six sites in England. Using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), the activities undertaken by patients and professionals across the primary-secondary care interface were modelled and interactions examined. The Systems Thinking for Everyday Work (STEW) principles were then applied to understand how people coped with system challenges to achieve successful outcomes. Twenty-two interacting activities were identified and modelled. These formed three interlinked subsystems that underpin effective management after an admission affected by AKI: (1) generating a post-AKI plan; (2) involving patients in their care; and (3) enacting the plan following discharge. Within these, seven themes captured the key challenges. Senior oversight of discharge planning was inconsistent, and staff preparing discharge documents felt under pressure and had to make trade-offs between competing priorities. Patients reported anxiety and vulnerability and yet were expected to be active participants in their care with little evidence of education and involvement. Finally, enacting the post-AKI discharge plan in the community was complicated by inadequate communication, imperfect systems with limited capacity and tensions between short-term stability and long-term condition management. To optimise follow-up care for people affected by AKI, development of improvement strategies should focus on co-design of interventions with patients and healthcare professionals to address the inherent trade-offs at discharge and strengthen coordination across care boundaries.

Healthcare-associated infections often arise from interacting system-level factors rather than isolated events. Conventional infection prevention and control (IPC) round frequently assess risks within disciplinary silos, limiting the integration of signals across teams. To propose 'Elephant Rounds', a brief, structured multi-disciplinary huddle designed to synthesise IPC signals and support real-time systems thinking. The model incorporates cross-disciplinary inputs, structured synthesis, and agreed actions with defined ownership. A hypothetical application to an increase in central line-associated bloodstream infections illustrates the use of the model. Elephant Rounds may improve situational awareness by linking microbiology, bedside care, device management, environmental factors, and workflow issues in a single forum. The model may also strengthen interdisciplinary alignment, reduce fragmented interpretation of IPC data, and promote more coherent and timely responses to evolving infection signals. This pragmatic approach may strengthen interdisciplinary alignment, enhance situational awareness, and support more coherent IPC decision-making.

Contemporary global challenges are characterized by their complexity and cannot be adequately understood from a single disciplinary perspective, but they require knowledge and methods from multiple fields. To prepare students for their future roles as informed decision-makers, fostering interdisciplinary knowledge is essential. In this study, an interdisciplinary learning environment was developed on the topic of sustainable consumption using apple consumption, integrating the disciplines of mathematics, geography and computer science. At the end of the learning environment, students were asked to write a critical statement on whether an apple from overseas is more climate-friendly than a local apple. Written arguments of n = 52 students were analyzed to identify the types of arguments they used and the competencies they gained. Using qualitative content analysis, the data revealed that students referred to ecological, economic, and social aspects in their reasoning. Notably, the findings demonstrate that students did not limit their reasoning to the content explicitly covered in the teaching unit. They also integrated arguments derived from their everyday experiences and personal knowledge, demonstrating the interplay between formal learning and informal understanding. Therefore, this study highlights how interdisciplinary learning settings can promote critical thinking, system thinking, and decision-making in the context of sustainability education.

Safety culture is considered akey factor for sustainable patient safety. It encompasses the shared values, attitudes and behaviors of an organization in dealing with risks, errors and responsibility. In highly complex clinical systems adverse events rarely result from individual failure alone but typically arise from the interaction of structural, organizational and communicative factors. An effective safety culture therefore relies on systemic thinking, transparent communication, anonpunitive approach to errors, the active promotion of speak-up behavior and psychological safety. The discrepancy between formal procedures (work as imagined) and everyday practice (work as done) highlights that safety can only be achieved when standards are designed to reflect real-world conditions and are regularly reviewed. Tools such as checklists are effective only within an environment characterized by psychological safety. Staff surveys, feedback systems, interprofessional training and committed leadership are key levers for continuously measuring, developing and sustainably embedding safety culture. Safety culture is not aone-time initiative but an ongoing organizational development process.

ABSTRACT Addressing today's interconnected challenges requires moving beyond linear thinking. Although theoretical taxonomies of systems thinking (ST) exist, there is a need to empirically validate how these concepts manifest in academic practice. This study employs science mapping (VOSviewer tool), utilising bibliometric data from 7119 Scopus documents (1974–2024), to visualise the field's intellectual structure and evolution. We identify core problem domains (where ST is applied) and solution domains (methodologies, tools and modes of inquiry). Findings show ST applications operate on a continuum from micro‐level organisational issues to macro‐level socioecological ‘wicked problems,’ empirically validating systemic characteristics such as complexity, emergence and resilience. Correspondingly, the solution domains encompass a diverse toolkit aligned with distinct complexity types: structural and technical approaches (e.g., system dynamics, systems engineering) for analysing dynamic behaviour, and soft and critical approaches (e.g., soft systems methodology, critical systems thinking) for navigating ambiguity and power dynamics. Temporal analysis reveals a ‘renaissance of modelling,’ where quantitative tools are increasingly integrated with participatory engagement. This research offers a data‐driven map of the ST landscape, highlighting the trend toward methodological pluralism valuable for researchers and practitioners.

Background: Mathematics plays a vital role in fostering logical, analytical, and systematic thinking in the 21st century, with numeracy and self-regulated learning recognized as essential competencies in the Merdeka Curriculum. However, students’ numeracy skills and learning independence remain relatively low, particularly among Grade VIII students at SMP Negeri 1 Pekuncen. Aims: This study aims to develop a technology-integrated ethnomathematics digital comic using a hadroh music context and to evaluate its validity, practicality, and effectiveness in improving students’ numeracy skills and self-regulated learning. Method: This research employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach based on the 4D model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate). The study involved Grade VIII students in the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected through expert validation sheets, questionnaires, and numeracy tests, and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Results: The developed digital comic was categorized as valid, with material expert validation of 77.7% and media expert validation of 84%. It was also considered practical based on positive responses from teachers and students. Descriptive findings indicate improved numeracy scores and self-regulated learning in the experimental group. Inferential analysis shows that self-regulated learning improved significantly, while numeracy improvement demonstrated a positive but not statistically significant trend. Conclusion: The ethnomathematics-based digital comic integrating hadroh music is valid, practical, and has strong potential to enhance students’ learning autonomy and contextual mathematical understanding.

Business models for nature-based tourism companies: The adoption of sustainable requirements