Research Contributions to the Social Development of Under-Served Communities
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (11 November 2023) | Viewed by 83959
Special Issue Editor
Interests: social impact of health research; gender based violence; healthy relationships and contexts; ethnic minorities and health; socioneuroscience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Different regions around the world face serious and enduring problems, ranging from natural disasters triggered by climate change to armed conflicts, famines, or economic hardship that force people to leave their countries in search for security and a better life. All of us are exposed to these problems, but under-served communities are the most vulnerable, poorly-equipped to successfully navigate these socio-economic, political, or environmental hazards. A required dimension of global social development is the advancement towards the development of these under-privileged communities. Advancing sustainably in this direction requires promoting that these citizens are both individually and collectively protagonists of their own lives. To do this, vulnerable communities not only need scientific evidence that enables this in an efficient way, but also need to have a voice in the creation of such knowledge. International research programs like Horizon Europe (European Framework for Research and Innovation) already include the co-creation of scientific knowledge by researchers and citizens as a priority. Framed in this context, this Special Issue will particularly pay attention to the analysis of the current evolution of the above-mentioned global societal challenges, discussed in the light of transformative approaches. In this sense, besides expecting analytically robust descriptions of these situations, evidence about those actions and strategies that are taking place on the ground and contributing to overcoming them by movements, organizations, governments, companies, or other types of institutions are especially welcomed.
Some of the topics to be considered are the following:
- New racism emerging in the context of COVID-19.
- Refugees and displacement in the Middle East region, challenges and opportunities for social inclusion encountered in host societies, and the case of unaccompanied refugee minors.
- Social and cultural dynamics of the sexual harassment of teenagers through the Internet and social media.
- Persisting patterns of exclusion and marginalization of the Roma people in Europe, and especially the double exclusion faced by Roma women in both women’s movements and in the scientific literature.
- Human trafficking and the strategies implemented on the ground to prevent and stop it.
- Child abuse and neglect, particularly mechanisms to identify and prevent situations within educational centers.
- Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Trends and patterns of homelessness, particularly its public health dimension.
Prof. Dr. Ramon Flecha
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- global social development
- under-served communities
- societal challenges
- social impact of research
- overcoming inequalities
- underprivileged populations.
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.