Announcements

4 August 2025
Meet Us at the Work, Employment and Society Conference 2025, 8–10 September 2025, Manchester, UK


Conference: 
Work, Employment and Society Conference 2025
Organization: British Sociological Association
Date: 8–10 September 2025
Place: Manchester, UK

To advance discussions regarding the sociology of work and employment, we must better understand the underpinnings of continuities and discontinuities and their role in facing unknowns and navigating uncertainties. Furthermore, we must explore their implications for understanding relational practices, norms, established routines, arrangements, structures, dynamics and processes, including taken-for-granted assumptions and accepted grand narratives about work and employment.

The theme for the 2025 Conference is Continuities and Discontinuities in Work and Employment. The conference promises to be dynamic, informative and inspiring, and is definitely not to be missed. Our themes are deliberately broad and all-encompassing and are designed to appeal to the entire spectrum of sociologists so as to stimulate lively debate. Our speakers are at the heart of research regarding this discipline and their voices are very important. Please come along and join the finest scholars from across the globe who will be leading the debate. Policymakers will also be in attendance to hear what our speakers—those with real experience in this field—have to say.

The following open access journals will be represented:

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/work-employment-and-society-conference-2025/.

1 August 2025
Social Sciences | Interview with Editorial Board Member Prof. Emerita Patricia O’Brien

From 2009 to 2020, Prof. Emerita Patricia O’Brien was the Executive Director of the Centre for Disability Studies, affiliated with the University of Sydney, Australia. Prior to this role, she held academic appointments at Trinity College, Dublin, as the Director of the National Institute for Intellectual Disability, and the University of Auckland as Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Research. She now holds a Professor Emerita title from the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney.

Prof. O’Brien’s current research interests and publications cover individual supported living for people with high and complex needs, choice and control through individualized funding packages, diversity of housing types, advocacy, inclusive education, community participation, service design, and support. She is known for leading inclusive research initiatives, where people with intellectual disabilities are involved as co-researchers. Recently, Prof. O’Brien edited two Special Issues on inclusive research for Social Sciences (ISSN: 2076-0760), exploring how well-traveled the “inclusive research” road is. As a strong advocate for inclusive education within university settings, she initiated the uni 2 beyond program at the University of Sydney, where students with intellectual disabilities can audit courses. Three books that promote the need for value-based inclusion, both within education and communities, have been co-edited by Patricia. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Intellectual Disability (FASID) and a member of several boards, such as Achieve Australia, The Achieve Foundation, and Good Directions.

In 2023, Patricia was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to people with disability through research and education.

The following is an interview with Professor Emerita Patricia O’Brien:

Prof. Emerita Patricia O’Brien’s related Special Issues:

31 July 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #25 - 8,000 Staff Worldwide, Korea Visit, 100,000 Preprints, Malaysia Roundtable, Canada Consortium Deal

Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.

In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.


Opening Thoughts

Talent Drives Our Progress

For the first time in MDPI’s history, we now have over 8,000 colleagues across the company. I would like to take a moment to celebrate this milestone and acknowledge the driving force behind our growth and success: our people.

As the world’s leading fully open access publisher, MDPI has grown thanks to the dedication, talent, and teamwork of colleagues across the company. Already halfway through 2025, we’ve welcomed nearly 2,000 new colleagues. 

“Our achievements are also about the people behind them”

We now manage over 475 journals, with 298 receiving an Impact Factor, and hundreds more indexed in major databases, including 343 in Scopus, and 92 by PubMed. As the reach and impact of our journals continues to grow, so does the need for dedicated and qualified teams to support that growth. Thus, attracting and retaining exceptional talent remains a cornerstone of our success.

Our achievements are not just about the results of journal expansion, however: they’re about the people behind them. From our hardworking editors to our meticulous English editing and production teams – from our journal relationship specialists, public relations, marketing and communications professionals to our conference teams and the project teams behind Preprints, Scilit, SciProfiles, JAMS and more. Our success reflects the work of thousands of people showing up each day, taking pride in their work, and committed to excellence and service.

What we’re doing to support talent:

  • Investing in onboarding and training to help new colleagues feel welcomed and empowered to thrive.
  • Creating clearer career paths across all functions, from editorial to communications and beyond.
  • Launching mentorship programs and internal knowledge-sharing sessions to promote growth and collaboration.
  • Evolving our recognition and rewards programs to better celebrate your contributions.
  • Expanding our training systems and platforms.

MDPI’s in-house training department offers over 215 training courses, covering topics from editorial development to cross-cultural collaboration. In 2024 alone, we had 44 full-time trainers and 196 part-time training assistants supporting the learning and development needs of colleagues worldwide. These efforts ensure our teams are equipped with the skills and confidence to grow professionally and contribute meaningfully.

Over two-thirds of our workforce is editorial, and of our more than 5,400 editors, 87% hold a Master’s degree and 6% a PhD. Their collective contributions are central to delivering a high-quality publishing experience and supporting global academic communication.

As we celebrate this milestone, we also aim to continue on a path of steady and sustainable growth, one that balances journal expansion with investment in people, outreach, processes, and innovation. Together, we are shaping the future of open access and academic publishing. Thank you for your hard work, your ideas, and your commitment to serving the global research community.

Let’s continue working together to create a culture where great talent grows and every colleague feels valued.

Impactful Research

Visiting South Korea: Building Connections and Supporting the MDPI Seoul Office

In July, I had the opportunity to visit our team in Seoul and engage directly with academic communities in South Korea. The visit focused on deepening MDPI’s relationships with local universities, institutions, and partners, and supporting the great work of our colleagues at the MDPI Seoul office.

Korea Association of Private University Libraries (KAPUL) Conference

A highlight of the visit was our participation in the Korea Association of Private University Libraries (KAPUL) Conference, where we presented to over 100 academic librarians. I delivered a keynote speech titled “The Evolving Publishing Landscape: Open Access and Beyond,” while my colleague Dr. Jisuk Kang (Public Affairs Specialist) shared insights in her presentation, “Inside MDPI: Editorial Practices & Research Integrity.”

Facts & Figures: South Korea

  • South Korea is MDPI’s sixth-largest publishing country by article volume (over 90,000 MDPI papers published to date).
  • In 2024, Korea ranked 16th globally by total publications, and 6th (among these top 20 countries) by citation impact.
  • 52% of Korean publications in 2024 were OA – and 73% of those were Gold OA.
  • MDPI published about 20% of all OA papers from Korea in 2024.
  • Over 2,000 active Editorial Board Members from South Korea contribute to MDPI journals, with 11 Section Editors-in-Chief.
  • We currently have 11 Institutional Open Access Program agreements and two society partnerships in Korea:
    • Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology (with MDPI journal Pharmaceutics)
    • Korean Tribology Society (with MDPI journal Coatings)

MDPI Seoul Office and the First Korea Salon

Our Seoul office serves as a regional hub for marketing, communications, and community engagement. It continues to grow in size and influence, prioritizing supporting scholar visits, conference sponsorships, and outreach events such as the recent MDPI Korea Salon.

The inaugural Salon, themed “Exploring Research Trends in Medical Publishing, Ethics, and AI,” brought together over 20 scholars and Editorial Board members serving MDPI journals.

Thank you to our guest speakers including Professors Young-Joon Surh of Seoul National University, Kwang-Sig Lee of Korea University, and Jin-Won Noh of Yonsei University who presented on the landscape of medicine in South Korea and across the globe. The Salon also included presentations from MDPI colleagues on Open Access, ethics, and how the IOAP can support researchers in this field.

“Our Seoul office continues to grow in size and influence”

Looking Ahead

MDPI is already the leading OA publisher in South Korea, yet challenges and misconceptions around OA and APCs remain. Visits like this one, along with the ongoing efforts of our Seoul office, are important to building understanding, trust, and long-term relationships with the local academic community.

A big thank-you to our colleagues in Seoul for their warm hospitality, professionalism, and energy! Our new office is well situated, staffed, and ready to grow. This visit marked an important step forward in our continued mission to support global research communities and advance Open Science.

Inside MDPI

Preprints.org Reaches 100,000 Preprints: A Major Milestone for MDPI and Open Science

In case you missed it, Preprints.org recently surpassed 100,000 preprints posted. This is a major milestone for our platform and one worth celebrating.

Preprints are a key pillar of the Open Science movement, which promotes transparency, equity, and faster knowledge-sharing through initiatives such as Open Access, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Peer Review. The benefits of Open Science extend beyond researchers, as they support funders, educators, policymakers, and the public in advancing discovery and innovation.

What is behind the 100,000 preprints milestone?

Since its launch in 2016, Preprints.org has grown into one of the world’s leading preprint platforms, now ranked fifth globally by publication volume.

More than 350,000 researchers have contributed, helping shape this dynamic and collaborative space for sharing early-stage research across all disciplines.

Read the full announcement here:
https://www.mdpi.com/about/announcements/12202

“Preprints.org has grown into one of the world’s leading preprint platforms”

Some quick facts worth noting:

  • About 56% of the preprints on Preprints.org are later published in peer-reviewed journals.
  • The platform is now indexed in Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Europe PMC, and Crossref, helping improve visibility and trust in the preprints shared.
  • Recent upgrades – including a revamped website, new features such as search subscriptions, curated reading lists, and community feedback tools (PREreview) – show our commitment to developing Preprints.org in line with researchers’ needs.

This growth and progress would not be possible without the dedication of the Preprints.org team, our Advisory Board members, screeners, and colleagues across MDPI who support the platform’s development. This milestone is a reminder of our shared mission: to accelerate scientific communication and build a more open, transparent, and inclusive research ecosystem.

I’m excited to see what’s ahead as we approach Preprints.org’s 10-year anniversary in 2026!

Coming Together for Science

Malaysia Media Roundtable: Educating on Open Access and MDPI’s Presence in Southeast Asia

At the end of June, I had the opportunity to participate in a strategic media roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, focused on raising awareness about the importance of Open Access (OA) and on MDPI’s growing presence in Southeast Asia.

We welcomed five Malaysian media outlets for an engaging private session that included presentations and open discussion.

I gave an overview of the benefits of Open Access, MDPI’s global developments, and our collaborations in Malaysia.

My colleague Yu Nwe Soe (Public Relations Specialist), presented on our editorial process, helping to clarify how MDPI supports authors and maintains research quality.

We were also joined by two local Editorial Board Members (EBMs) who offered first-hand insights into their experiences working with MDPI and how OA has shaped their publishing choices.

The discussion covered a range of questions from the press, from OA publishing models to editorial standards, and highlighted MDPI’s unique contribution to accelerating scientific communication in the region.

As the leading fully OA publisher, we see it as our responsibility to continue educating research communities and the broader public on the impact of OA, especially in emerging and high-growth academic markets.

Spotlight on Malaysia

Malaysia continues to rise as a regional research hub, with five universities ranked in the global top 200 and 11 subjects in the global top 50. In 2024, Malaysia ranked 2nd in Southeast Asia in total publication output, 10th in Asia, and 25th globally.

MDPI’s presence in Malaysia:

  • Over 21,000 research articles published to date from Malaysian institutions
  • More than 1,100 articles published in 2024 alone
  • In the period 2020–2024, 54% of Malaysia’s total publications were OA
  • 36 EBMs from Malaysia, across 27 MDPI journals
  • Around 100 conferences sponsored in Malaysia in the past five years
  • MDPI is hosting the 2nd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers in Kuala Lumpur (29 July- 3 August 2025)

Media Coverage & Editorial Voices

Following the roundtable, we saw positive coverage across several local outlets, with articles highlighting MDPI’s role in empowering Malaysian researchers. Notable pieces included:

Our local EBMs also shared their perspectives:

Prof. Denny Ng Kok Sum (Sunway University, EBM of MDPI journal Processes) and Prof. Lee (EBM of MDPI journal Bacteria) share their experiences with MDPI and the role Open Access plays in their publication decisions.

“We see it as our responsibility to continue educating research communities on the impact of OA”

“I didn’t want my work stuck behind a paywall.”
— Prof. Denny Ng Kok Sum, Sunway University, Processes Editorial Board Member

“Open Access opens doors for collaboration and visibility, especially in fast-developing regions like ours.”
— Prof. Lee, Bacteria Editorial Board Member

This roundtable marked another step in building trust, understanding, and collaboration in Southeast Asia. A big thank-you to the MDPI Malaysia team and all those who contributed to the event’s success.

Closing Thoughts

MDPI Signs First North American Agreement with Canadian Consortium

We are proud to announce a major milestone for MDPI Canada and an important step forward for OA in North America.

In July, our Toronto office finalized MDPI’s first North American consortium agreement with the Federal Science Libraries Network (FSLN). This is a significant achievement that strengthens our expansion in Canada and reinforces our global commitment to supporting Open Science.

This two-year agreement gives Canadian federal agencies access to MDPI’s IOAP, including discounted article processing charges for affiliated researchers across our portfolio of over 475 OA journals. It lowers barriers for Canadian scientists to share their work more openly and reach a global audience.


Ryan Siu, Institutional Partnerships Manager at MDPI.

“The Open Science landscape in Canada is rapidly evolving, with the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy set for renewal by the end of 2025. This reflects ongoing efforts to foster greater scientific transparency and accessibility at a national policy level,” says Ryan Siu, Institutional Partnerships Manager at MDPI.

“Our new agreement with FSLN represents our shared commitment to further these efforts and foster wider readership. By aligning with these initiatives, we make progress towards research that’s both inclusive and impactful, benefiting local and global communities alike.”

Participating FSLN institutions include:

  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada
  • Health Canada
  • National Research Council Canada
  • Natural Resources Canada

By partnering with some of Canada’s largest science-based agencies, we reaffirm our goal of advancing OA across continents. We look forward to developing our support for Canadian researchers and continuing to drive progress in Open Science across North America and beyond.

Stefan Tochev
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG

31 July 2025
Meet Us at the EARLI 2025, 25–29 August 2025, Graz, Austria


MDPI is pleased to announce our participation in the EARLI 2025, which will be held from 25 to 29 August 2025 in Graz, Austria.

The European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) is an international scientific association for junior and senior researchers in education. EARLI 2025 will revolve around the theme of “Realising Potentials through Education: Shaping the Minds and Brains for the Future”. The main track can be explored via the following link: https://www.earli.org/events/earli2025#section-theme.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

If you are attending EARLI 2025, we invite you to visit us at our booth. Our representatives will be available to discuss publishing opportunities, the benefits of open access, and our commitment to advancing education research.

For more information about the conference, please visit its official website:  https://www.earli.org/events/earli2025.

29 July 2025
Meet Us Virtually at the 1st International Online Conference on Social Sciences, 28–29 May 2026


We cordially invite you to attend the 1st International Online Conference on Social Sciences organized by MDPI’s Social Sciences (ISSN: 2076-0760; Impact Factor: 1.7). It will take place virtually from 28 to 29 May 2026. 

Conference Chairs:

  • Prof. Daniel McCarthy, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK;
  • Dr. Lawrence Ho, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan.

Thetopicsofinterest:
S1. Crime, policing and justice;
S2. Aging, childhood and youth studies;
S3. Gender studies;
S4. Family studies;
S5. Society and technology.

Important dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline:
23 February 2026;
Notification of Acceptance: 23 March 2026;
Registration Deadline: 25 May 2026.

Guide for authors:

To submit your abstract, please click on the following below:
https://sciforum.net/user/submission/create/1439.

To register for the event, please click on the following below:
https://sciforum.net/event/IOCSS2026?section=#registration.

For details regarding Abstract Submission, Poster and Slide Submission, and Publication Opportunities, you may refer to the “Instructions for Authors” section: https://sciforum.net/event/IOCSS2026?section=#instructions.

For any enquiries regarding the event, please contact iocss2026@mdpi.com.

We look forward to seeing you at the 1st International Online Conference on Social Sciences!

24 July 2025
MDPI Webinar | 7th MDPI Guest Editor Club 2025, 30 July 2025


MDPI would like to invite all Guest Editors, as esteemed experts in their respective disciplines, to participate in the 7th MDPI Guest Editor Club. This forum intends to highlight exciting topics in a comprehensive yet efficient manner to allow Guest Editors from all over the world to present their experiences and discuss their achievements.

The Guest Editor Club will bring together a worldwide group of multi-disciplinary Guest Editors to present and exchange their breakthrough ideas which have been reported in MDPI’s Special Issues. We have, therefore, put together this platform to facilitate your interactions with the journal and lead you through the most important aspects of the role and what you can expect from the process of editing a Special Issue. We are pleased to provide an excellent opportunity for all our Guest Editors to propose and develop new approaches, exchange perspectives, and encourage new lines of research.

We will record the presentations, with prior consent obtained from the lecturers, and upload them to our online database. We will continue to build this database with brief introductions and summaries of topics and will open an online discussion group for each GE. We hope that this event will be of interest to you, and we welcome you to join us at this forum.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the 7th MDPI Guest Editor Club 2025. Please find below an up-to-date outline of the presenters.

Date: 30 July 2025 at 9:00 a.m. CEST 9:00 p.m. EDT 3:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 889 2623 3305

Register now for free!

Program:

Speaker/Presentation

Time in CEST

Time in CST Asia

MDPI Introduction

9:00–9:10 a.m.

3:00–3:10 p.m.

Dr. David Campbell
The Process of Designing and Implementing a Conceptually Driving Special Issue

9:10–9:30 a.m.

3:10–3:30 p.m.

Dr. Roberto Teggi
To Be a Guest Editor: Tasks and Pitfalls

9:30–9:50 a.m.

3:30–3:50 p.m.

Dr. Konstantin Zioutas
From The Dark Universe: The Harbinger of a Major Discovery to Cross-Disciplinary Footprints in Astro-Particle Physics

9:50–10:10 a.m.

3:50–4:10 p.m.

Ms. Mary O'Sullivan
Introduction to Special Issue Management

10:10–10.30 a.m.

4:10–4.30 p.m.

Q&A Session

10:30–10:55 a.m.

4:30–4:55 p.m.

Closing of Webinar

10:55–11.00 a.m.

4:55–5.00 p.m.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations using academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we will inform you when the recording is available.

Keynote Speakers:

  • Dr. David Campbell, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
  • Dr. Roberto Teggi, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy;
  • Dr. Konstantin Zioutas, University of Patras, Patras, Greece;
  • Ms. Mary O'Sullivan, Journal Relations Specialist, MDPI.

17 July 2025
Social Sciences Webinar | Restorative Justice Practices Within Higher Education and the Arts: Addressing Complex Legacies of Harm, 5 August 2025


We are excited to invite you to a webinar led by the University of New Mexico and MDPI's open access journal Social Sciences (ISSN: 2076-0760), which will provide you with guidance on how to submit manuscripts to Social Sciences that promise to have a high impact on the scholarship in your research area.

We will provide this workshop in the context of our call for papers for a Special Issue in the Social Sciences journal entitled “Restorative Justice Practices in Higher Education and the Arts: Addressing Complex Legacies of Harm”. This Special Issue is informed by restorative justice practices, the scholarship of feminist decoloniality, and the history of higher education and the arts. We will facilitate discussions on universities confronting their past within social movements for educational equity and the arts, and the agency of creators and learners who demand their rightful place.

Articles in this Special Issue examine the experiences of groups that have been marginalized in higher education and the arts. Authors argue that complex legacies of harm, such as race, culture, citizenship, state and tribal sovereignty, globalization, and disability, require both personal and institutional reflexivity to unveil multidimensional experiences of perpetrators and survivors. We aim to publish the works of those charting a way forward to move beyond acknowledgment to correcting harm in higher education and the arts. It is our hope that this authors’ webinar will support contributors in this task.

Date: 5 August 2025
Time: 5:00 p.m. CEST | 9:00 a.m. MDT
Webinar ID: 891 1354 5300
Webinar Secretariat:journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Webinar announcement: https://sciforum.net/event/SocialSciences-1

Register now for free!

Program:

Speaker/Presentation

Time in CEST/ MDT

Prof. Dr. Assata Zerai
Chair Introduction

5:00–5:10 p.m./ 9:00–9:10 a.m.

Prof. Dr. Teresa Neely, Ms. Mariann Skahan, Prof. Dr. Kathy L. Powers and Ms. Pamela Agoyo
Restorative Justice Practices Within Higher Education and the Arts: Addressing Complex Legacies of Harm

5:10–5:50 p.m./ 9:10–9:50 a.m.

Prof. Dr. Daniel McCarthy
Peer Review Process and the Rationale for OA

5:50–6:10 p.m./ 9:50–10:10 a.m.

Q&A Session

6:10–6:25 p.m./ 10:10–10:25 a.m.

Prof. Dr. Assata Zerai
Closing of Webinar

6:25–6:30 p.m./ 10:25–10:30 a.m.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic or institutional email addresses will be prioritized. 

Unable to attend? Feel free to still register; we will inform you when the recording is available.

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

  • Prof. Dr. Assata Zerai, Department of Sociology and Criminology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;
  • Prof. Dr. Teresa Neely, College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;
  • Ms. Mariann Skahan, Department of Anthropology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;
  • Prof. Dr. Kathy Powers, UNM Political Science, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;
  • Ms. Pamela Agoyo, Division of Student Affairs, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;
  • Prof. Dr. Daniel McCarthy, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.

Relevant Special Issue:
Restorative Justice Practices Within Higher Education and the Arts: Addressing Complex Legacies of Harm
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Assata Zerai, Prof. Dr. Teresa Neely, Dr. Kathy Powers, Ms. Mariann Skahan and Ms. Pamela Agoyo
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 October 2025

This Special Issue of Social Sciences belongs to the Section “Crime and Justice”.

17 July 2025
Social Sciences | Interview with Prof. Dr. Jill Koyama

Name: Prof. Dr. Jill Koyama
Affiliation: Division of Educational Leadership & Innovation, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Farmer Education Bldg. #402N, Arizona State University, 1050 S Forest Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Interests: refugee/(im)migrant education; ethnography; anthropology of education; critical education policy; actor-network theory

1st Edition: Special Issue: Teaching and Learning in Refugee and Migrant Communities Worldwide
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci/special_issues/64ADQHG1S0

2nd Edition: Call for Papers: "Policy and Policing: The Governance of Refugee and Migrant Education in an Age of Hostility – Second Edition"
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci/special_issues/YF7WWQ7Z91

The following is a short interview with Prof. Dr. Jill Koyama:

1. Can you share how your academic journey began and what inspired you to pursue your current field of research?
Thank you for this opportunity to talk about it. My main research areas are refugees, immigrants, education, and policy, and I think several things in my life brought me to this particular intellectual curiosity. Part of it is just my upbringing. I come from an immigrant family, and my Japanese family—part of them—were interned during the war, and I always knew that people could be treated differently and have different experiences based on language, ethnicity, and nationality. So that was always present in my thinking, but maybe not always active when I was younger.
And then I was really fortunate to work at a community college with refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam. That was my first real long-term engagement with refugees, and I realized how different they were and their experiences were from other types of migrants. I think that was my first introduction, and then after that, I just found myself seeking out ways to learn more about people who came from other places. So I think it has been a circuitous path; it wasn’t very linear. I came into academia later than most of my colleagues, and didn't go to get my doctorate until my mid-to-late 30s.

2. What emerging trends or frontiers in your field do you believe hold the most promise for advancing the area?
I think it’s quite an interesting area of scholarship, and part of doing the Special Issue was my excitement in reading some of this new scholarship. But I think two areas interest me most, or I think are most promising to change. One is the policy area; a lot more people are looking at global policy and challenging some of the assumptions about refugees and the way that they're positioned there. Many people are looking at state- and local-level policies, and so I think critical policy research can be quite potentially transformative.
The other part is looking at what refugees themselves are doing. We often look at institutions and education, but what are the refugees doing? They're doing all kinds of things despite all the challenges we put in front of them, and I think that's interesting to learn from them what they're doing. They're creating entire resource networks, they are starting businesses, they are creating day cares and after-school programs, and all kinds of things that are very community and culturally relevant and culturally based. I think that's exciting and that we could learn from them; governments could learn from that.

3. Could you share any memorable experiences or lessons learned from publishing in journals or collaborating on edited volumes?
Sure. I think you know I am near the end of my career, which is great, but I think that I’m still learning, right? I am also an editor of another journal, Anthropology and Education Quarterly Journal, and I have learned a lot about publishing as an entity: everything from buying a DOI to how our archives are kept; publishing is not just a journal. That Special Issue that you see, there are so many people and so much behind that. Revealing that process to me has been interesting, and it's made me appreciate more the way in which we're able to distribute knowledge and share it. I also think that—I joke that many Special Issues, even ones that I have worked on, are not so special, and yet what is so special about these? But then some are.
I had that experience working with Social Sciences that I wasn’t exactly sure about. You learn, you're not sure what it's going to look like. You have an idea, but you don't know what manuscripts you're going to get. You don't know who's going to contribute, and then when you start to get them and you see them completely in conversation with each other, it ends up being something much bigger. I think as a Special Issue, I feel it’s a great surprise and it's a wonderful, wonderful gift.
So I think that there's potential to learn, always to learn in publishing. I don't know what the future of publishing is. Will we have journals as we know them? We certainly don't have very many hard-copy journals anymore. Papers are published as they're accepted. It's really interesting to me the way that shifting our access to knowledge and the way that we distribute it. I do like Open Access online, I think that takes away some of the hierarchy of who gets access and who doesn't, and I think that there are opportunities to learn in every part. I like international collaborations like Social Sciences much more, because if not, we're just talking to each other; we know each other and we're just talking to each other, and that is useful for us, but not for the useful for the world.

4. What’s your cooperation experience with Social Sciences? You edited two Special Issue editions? What can you share with us about the process?
I admit I didn’t know much about Social Sciences when I was first approached. I went through and did some reading of articles and everything, and I found them to be really quite diverse, which was nice. I mean voices that I hadn't known, scholars I hadn't known, from very emergent, beginning scholars to those who are quite well known in the field. I like that mix, and I thought, “Well, I would like to do this.” I didn't know what it the Special Issue was going to look like or how the process would work, but it is probably the most streamlined, efficient process from submission to review that I've ever worked in. I was so surprised. The staff, thankfully, would have to nudge me, “there's a manuscript sitting there”, and they were constantly in communication with me. There was one piece in particular that showed the integrity of the staff. The reviews were quite mixed, and there was some ethical concern; we went back and forth maybe four times in conversation, and, to their good credit, they were very open about what I had to say and what the author had to say. In the end, the author changed a few things, and then we were able to publish it. I think it would have been easier for them, probably to just say “no, we're not gonna publish this”, and I never felt any tension in that process. Even when I didn't agree with the reviewers, it was like colleagues who just had different opinions, and that was a productive and good experience for me. That isn't always the case with other publishers; often you just get a rejection or you get these reviews and there's no synthesis of them, and then that's it and you either change things, you revise it, or you don't.
And I didn't find it was this way with Social Sciences. The authors also commented that they would revise; another group of authors had to go back and forth on a few things, and each time their changes were deeply considered. I thought that was a good model, a good process. The reviews are also quick. As the special Guest Editor, I had a lot of control over the Special Issue, for example, picking reviewers or not picking reviewers—sometimes I would defer the task to the staff. And sometimes I would choose, and I just thought, “OK, that's great.”
It didn't have to be either/or, and I got to look at a piece two to four times, which I also don't think is very common. So I had a really good experience. I was thrilled when they asked if I wanted to do a second one, more focused on policy.

5. As an experienced scholar, what advice would you give to early career researchers in your field and the social sciences navigating today’s academic landscape/scenarios?
The good thing is that you said “scenarios”, plural, because it's just a changing landscape, right? Right now, in the US, in this context, higher education is under great assault. I would love for junior scholars and emerging scholars to be just bolder than I was. I was trained very classically, very traditionally in some ways, in anthropology, and I learnt very early on how to write a journal article, and it was kind of a formula; you knew the parts that would need to be included, and I wrote that way for quite some time, and it was only later where I was able to push some of that. I see junior scholars doing that more, pushing back against theory, pushing back a great deal, thankfully, on the very colonial type of thinking, going beyond qualitative methods and bringing in more feminist theories, queer theories, and critical race theory. They are blending them in ways that I don’t think I would have been brave enough to do; I wouldn't have felt like I knew what I was saying. I still don't think I sometimes know what I'm saying, and so I encourage them, but I also encourage them to just also respect the history and respect the scholarship. So yes, you can push back, you can move beyond, you can extend, you can critique, but also still acknowledge. I think sometimes that gets lost. Social sciences is one of the places where I think it doesn't get lost as much as other fields. I do think in psychology and anthropology, they are still there, there, like our totemic ancestors, and we still reference them. Even if we critique them.
I would encourage junior faculty to keep doing that. And then think about different ways of expressing our knowledge. I love visual anthropology, and I love creative submissions. I don't do that, but I have seen great works. A friend does comics; she creates comics. I think there are a lot of ways of showing our research that isn't always an article, but it can be an article plus, maybe plus a video, plus a film, plus something.

6. Looking ahead, what research questions or methodological innovations do you think will define the next decade in your field?
Well, I don’t know. I'll give you the anthropology answer. This is the anthropology answer: it depends.
It's like the default. It depends. I hope there will be fewer people in academia leading the research in my field and many more refugees and migrants and community organizations saying “we need to know this”, “can you come help design the study?”,  instead of us saying “we'd like to know more about you”. This way, I hope, will lead to a greater collaboration. Some people might call it participatory action. But something that is driven by the communities and people that it will mostly affect, that's what I'd like to see. I can't even imagine some of the research that's going to be done because I think about AI and enhanced learning, and some of that, which I find exciting. I don't use it very much, and that's another thing. Social Sciences was the only one that ever asked me if I used AI in any way. I think that’s a good question; I thought everyone should ask that, right? It's not bad, but we should all be talking about that, like “here's the way I used it.” I think that will become more prevalent. I can only imagine doing all kinds of research where you're not actually at the place, maybe not in the country, which would be odd for me as an ethnographer, it would be odd not to go.
But I can imagine that happening. And I know in our country, for the foreseeable future, there'll be less government-sponsored research. So, who's going to sponsor this research, and what is going to be their commitment and ethical concern, and will there be financial gain? I think those are all questions that we're going to be grappling with as governments step back from their support of research.

14 July 2025
Interview with Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu—Section Editor-in-Chief of Section “Family Studies” in Social Sciences

In this issue, Social Sciences (ISSN: 2076-0760) is honored to feature Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu, Section Editor-in-Chief of the journal. In this conversation, Prof. Dr. Shu shares her unique experiences as a woman in the academic ecosystem, emphasizes the importance of confidence and empowerment for women in both personal and professional realms, and offers profound insights into academic research.

Name: Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu
Affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of California, Davis, USA

Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Davis. She holds an MS in computer science and a PhD in sociology from the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on how two major contemporary forces—marketization and globalization—affect gender inequality, well-being, and gendered patterns in family, marriage, sexuality, and attitudes. She uses data science approaches to conduct country-specific (China, the U.S., and the U.K.) and cross-national analyses. She is the author of Knowledge Discovery in the Social Sciences: A Data Mining Approach (University of California Press) and Chinese Marriages in Transition: From Patriarchy to New Familism (Rutgers University Press). Her work has appeared in leading journals, such as Social Forces, Social Science Research, Sociology of Education, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Science & Medicine, Social Science Quarterly, Sex Roles, Journal of Happiness Studies, Chinese Sociological Review, and Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. She has served as Chair of the Asia and Asian America Section of the American Sociological Association, President of the International Chinese Sociological Association, and Director of East Asian Studies at UC Davis.

The following is an interview with Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu:

1. The past three International Women’s Day themes have shifted from “Embrace Equity” to “Encourage Inclusion” and, most recently, “Accelerate Progress.” How do you interpret these changes?
This evolution is a very positive development. It not only reflects the growing global awareness of gender equality but also marks a transition from advocacy to action. Increasingly, women are assuming critical roles in various fields. In academia, we can pay closer attention to key areas such as the distribution of research resources and gender diversity in editorial boards, all of which are crucial for fostering structural changes toward greater equity.

2. As a scholar with deep academic roots in computer science, linguistics, and sociology, how did you initially decide to pursue social science research? How did you gradually build your own independent research direction over your academic career?
My academic journey is the result of both historical context and personal interest. In the 1990s, I went to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in sociology. Though I had been steered into the humanities during high school, my school provided strong training in mathematics, which sparked my interest in statistics and computer science. During my doctoral studies, I took a theoretical statistics course in the statistics department and realized the potential of integrating computer science and statistics into sociological research. This prompted me to take additional courses in computer science, such as programming in C/C++, numerical analysis, graph theory, computer networks, and the theory of artificial intelligence.
Over time, I foresaw the enormous potential of applying computer technologies—especially AI—to sociology for data mining and model development. At that time, very few researchers were working in this field. But with the advancement of technology, especially AI and big data, interdisciplinary research has become a mainstream trend. The growing interest and recognition of this field validate its forward-looking nature and great potential.

3. What strategies do you think young female scholars should adopt to accelerate the process of achieving academic independence?
Many female scholars tend to underestimate themselves and place limits on their self-perception, whereas men often display greater self-confidence in self-assessment. In reality, I have seen many outstanding women in academia. My advice is for female scholars to believe in themselves more, be bold in showcasing their abilities, and have the courage and determination to overcome external doubts—even from family members—who may underestimate their potential.
The academic path is a long one. It requires perseverance, self-belief, and a genuine passion for research. Stay committed to your field of interest, work diligently and deeply, and continue to develop yourself. Only then can you make your voice heard and your influence felt in academia.

4. Over the past two decades, what notable positive changes have you observed in academic support and opportunities for women, especially in research? What unique strengths do female researchers bring to academic leadership?
Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of women in academia, particularly in research. However, many women still hesitate when it comes to pursuing leadership roles. I encourage women scholars to actively seek leadership opportunities and to demonstrate their leadership skills.
Although administrative and service work demands time and energy, it also provides the chance to shape academic directions, influence personnel decisions, and expand one’s professional horizons. Female scholars often excel in adaptability, multitasking, and innovative thinking, especially in balancing work and life. These qualities are unique strengths in the research arena.

5. As we wrap up this interview, do you have any additional thoughts you would like to share with MDPI readers to promote gender equality and the growth of the academic community?
I hope that all academic professionals maintain a sense of purity and passion for research. To young women scholars, especially, my advice is to keep your curiosity, courage, and original aspirations alive. The academic journey is full of challenges, but the greatest motivation comes from within—from the excitement of tackling complex problems and the deep desire to understand the world—not from external rewards such as money or fame, which are ultimately unsustainable.
It is this inner drive that sustains our long-term dedication to research, year after year, and enables us to overcome obstacles. The most valuable reward is the new, deeper understanding of human behavior and social patterns that we gain along the way. I also encourage everyone to explore widely, develop diverse skill sets, stay forward-looking, and harness the strengths of interdisciplinary approaches to stay ahead of the times.

Looking Ahead
As Social Sciences enters its second decade of publication, we are deeply grateful to our readers, authors, Editorial Board Members, reviewers, and editors for their contributions to the journal’s growth. We hope to see more women engage in academic research and contribute to the scholarly community. We look forward to your continued support, guidance, and collaboration in the future development of Social Sciences.

Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us. We are also grateful for her support and advice regarding the development of the journal. We wish her continued health and success in her academic endeavors in the coming year.

Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu (first from the left) with journal staff at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting.

About the Section
Family Studies” is one of 12 thematic Sections of the journal Social Sciences. The Section is currently supported by an Editorial Board of nine renowned scholars from around the world, including Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Shu from the University of California, Davis; Prof. Dr. Morten Blekesaune from the University of Agder, Norway; Prof. Dr. Nancy Luke from Pennsylvania State University; and Dr. Steven Sheldon from Johns Hopkins University. As of June 2025, the Section has published 155 papers.

11 July 2025
World Population Day—“Empowering Young People to Create the Families They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World”, 11 July 2025


World Population Day is an annual event, observed on 11 July every year, aiming to raise awareness of global population issues. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on 11 July 1987, the approximate date on which the world’s population reached five billion people. World Population Day aims to increase people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health, and human rights.

The theme of World Population Day 2025 is “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world”. Global fertility rates are falling, prompting warnings about “population collapse”. But the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s State of World Population report shows that the real issue is a lack of reproductive agency—many people, especially young people, are unable to have the children they want. World Population Day 2025 highlights this challenge, focusing on the largest-ever generation of young people.

In celebration of this day, we invite you to explore a curation of insightful articles, journals, and Special Issues across various fields, including sociology, economics, human resources, and humanities. By sharing these findings, we call for ensuring that young have the rights, tools, and opportunities to shape their futures.

 

The Marriage Behavior of the Greek Population from 1991 to 2021: A Study Through Gross Nuptiality Tables
by Vasilis S. Gavalas
Genealogy 2025, 9(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy9020032

Indian “Boarding School” and Chinese “Bachelor Society”: Forced Isolation, Cultural Identity Erasure, and Literary Resilience in American Ethnic Literatures
by Li Song
Humanities 2025, 14(4), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14040068

Forecasting Daily Activity Plans of a Synthetic Population in an Upcoming District
by Rachid Belaroussi and Younes Delhoum
Forecasting 2024, 6(2), 378-403; https://doi.org/10.3390/forecast6020021

Notes toward a Demographic History of the Jews
by Sergio DellaPergola
Genealogy 2024, 8(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8010002

Creating Sustainable Climate Change Havens for Migrating Populations in the United States and Other Global Sites
by Elizabeth C. Hirschman
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(12), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120663

World Population Growth: A Once and Future Global Concern
by Karl-Erik Norrman
World 2023, 4(4), 684-697; https://doi.org/10.3390/world4040043

Demographic Delusions: World Population Growth Is Exceeding Most Projections and Jeopardising Scenarios for Sustainable Futures
by Jane N. O’Sullivan
World 2023, 4(3), 545-568; https://doi.org/10.3390/world4030034

What If Moms Quiet Quit? The Role of Maternity Leave Policy in Working Mothers’ Quiet Quitting Behaviors
by Tingting Zhang and Chloe Rodrigue
Merits 2023, 3(1), 186-205; https://doi.org/10.3390/merits3010012

Does Civic Engagement Support Relational and Mental Health of Urban Population?
by Michal Hrivnák, Peter Moritz, Katarína Melichová and Soňa Bellérová
Societies 2023, 13(2), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13020046

The Construction of the “Older Worker”
by Hannes Zacher and Cort W. Rudolph
Merits 2023, 3(1), 115-130; https://doi.org/10.3390/merits3010007

Population Studies and Human Health Inequalities from a Socio-Demographic Perspective

Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Peter Curson

Deadline for submissions: 31 October 2025

Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Human Resource Management: Policies and Practices

Guest Editor: Dr. Natália Teixeira

Deadline for submissions: 20 December 2025 

The Transition to Sustainable Health and Development: Economic, Policy and Society

Guest Editors: Dr. Wang-Kin Chiu and Prof. Dr. Hon-Ming Lam

Deadline for submissions: 30 December 2025

The Well-Being of Socially Vulnerable Groups in the Unsteadiness During Social Movements

Guest Editors: Dr. Alexis Cloquell-Lozano and Dr. Carlos Novella-García

Deadline for submissions: 31 January 2026

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