Search Results (111)

Illegal artisanal and small-scale mining (galamsey) and climate stress jointly degrade ecosystems and livelihoods in Ghana. This paper demonstrates how community-driven governance can realign incentives toward environmental stewardship and inclusive livelihoods. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design—quantitative difference-in-differences followed by qualitative case analysis and Participatory Action Research—we evaluate a structured program combining vocational training, financial literacy, environmental stewardship, and governance alignment. We operationalize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes via transparent composite indices and triangulate survey, administrative, and focus group evidence. The study identifies conditions under which alternative livelihoods reduce participation in illegal mining, strengthen women’s economic agency, and improve adoption of climate-smart practices. Implications include practical guidance for program design (community delivery, matched incentives, oversight), policy (local climate finance and accountability mechanisms), and research (scalable indicators and rigorous impact evaluation in resource-dependent communities). Full article

This study examines the political discourse and practices of the Greek Cypriot political party ELAM and the Turkish Cypriot political party YDP within the framework of populism. The findings of the study demonstrate that ELAM frames the Greek Cypriot community as part of “Judeo-Christian civilization” and portrays this civilization as being under threat from “Islamic civilization,” including Türkiye, Turkish Cypriots, and “illegal immigrants.” YDP, in turn, conceptualizes the Turkish Cypriot community as part of “Islamic civilization” and claims that “the West”—comprising actors such as Greek Cypriots, Greece, Israel, the EU, and the USA—is waging a comprehensive campaign against “Islamic civilization.” ELAM accuses the Greek Cypriot left of acting against the interests of “Western civilization” and Hellenic Orthodox values, while YDP similarly charges the Turkish Cypriot left with acting contrary to the interests and values of the Turkish-Islamic world. Moreover, while ELAM opposes Turkish Cypriots and “illegal immigrants” benefiting from the resources of the Republic of Cyprus, the right-wing government in which YDP is a coalition partner is frequently criticized for having contributed to the deterioration of the living standards of foreign workers. ELAM adopts a sharply oppositional stance toward the expansion of LGBTIQ+ rights, whereas YDP prefers not to foreground this issue. The study concludes that the discourses of both parties largely correspond to the concept of “civilizational populism.” Full article

Calanthe aristulifera is an endangered terrestrial orchid that has historically suffered from severe illegal poaching. However, little is understood regarding population dynamics for remaining C. aristulifera populations. This study presented the first record on the size, reproduction rate, and insect visitors of C. aristulifera populations on an oceanic island from 2021 to 2025, to identify threatening factors and provide conservation implications. Throughout the study period, complete absence of fruit set of C. aristulifera was found (natural fruit set ratio: 0%). This reflects the reproductive failure as an on-going threatening factor, regardless of the yearly variations in total number of C. aristulifera individuals (198–253) and flowering rate (62.2–87.4%). The known pollinators (Eucera nipponensis and Lasioglossum occidens) were undetected near C. aristulifera populations, which coincided with complete reproductive failure. Insects like Callipora lata, Episyrphus balteatus, and Bibio tenebrosus visited to C. aristulifera flowers, but direct field and photographic observations showed no pollinia removal by such insects. Overall results highlight that conservation programs should adopt management practices to attract effective pollinators to C. aristulifera populations. Ex situ conservation may also be an option to facilitate in vitro propagation experiments, and help the remaining C. aristulifera to avoid severe reproductive constraints. Full article

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a high-value species subject to strict catch quotas and seasonal closures in the Mediterranean Sea. However, detecting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing remains challenging, particularly for small-scale activities. The aim of this study is to investigate whether citizen-reported strandings of tuna remains along Italian coasts can provide potential indirect indications of illegal fishing activities. To address this question, we collected and verified photographic records of stranded tuna remains (e.g., skulls, vertebral elements, complete specimens) reported on social networks. A similar search was conducted for two other conspicuous fishes, the ‘dusky grouper’ (Epinephelus marginatus) and the ‘greater amberjack’ (Seriola dumerili), as controls. Thirty-two strandings of tuna remains were recorded, with no records of amberjacks and only one of dusky grouper. Most strandings involved tuna heads or neurocrania, some of which showed clear mechanical cuts indicating post-capture processing. Several remains were older and degraded, suggesting long-term persistence in the sea. Overall, our results indicate that citizen-reported strandings could provide low-cost, spatially broad potential indications of discards resulting from illegal fishing activities. Wider adoption of standardised public reporting could not only engage the public in marine conservation, but also provide valuable data for policymakers tackling illegal fishing and complement traditional fisheries monitoring. Full article

The escalating housing crisis and the uncontrolled proliferation of informal settlements in the Global South challenge the modernist ideal of the completed architectural object. While ‘Parasitic Architecture’ is conventionally coded as an act of illegal occupation, ‘Incremental Housing’ strategies propose a controlled evolution; however, a theoretical gap exists in defining the morphological mechanics where these two concepts intersect. This study aims to bridge this gap by proposing the concept of ‘Domesticated Parasitism’. Adopting an instrumental case study model, the research analyzes the morphological evolution of the Quinta Monroy housing complex in Chile. To mitigate interpretive bias and ensure analytical objectivity, the visual reading follows a structured coding protocol that categorizes the intervention zones into three distinct layers: (1) Fixed Structural Matrix, (2) Defined Expansion Zones, and (3) User-Generated Infill. Findings from the diachronic analysis comparing the initial state with current saturation levels reveal that the host structure functions as a ‘spatial cage’ that disciplines the growth of user additions. Unlike uncontrolled urban sprawl, the visual evidence confirms that the parasitic additions strictly adhere to the vertical void geometry defined by the architect. The research concludes that the architect’s role transforms from an author of static forms to an enabler, positioning domesticated parasitism as a sustainable spatial grammar for urban densification. Full article

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) remains a critical environmental governance challenge in rural and peri-urban regions of the Global South, where service delivery gaps exacerbate illegal dumping and public health risks. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly promoted as decision-support tools to improve waste collection efficiency and environmental monitoring; however, their adoption in resource-constrained municipalities remains limited. This study investigates the institutional and policy barriers shaping GIS readiness in four rural municipalities within South Africa’s Vhembe District. Using a qualitative case-study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 municipal officials across managerial and operational levels, complemented by 399 community responses to an open-ended survey question. Thematic analysis, guided by Institutional Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), identified five interrelated themes: waste production and disposal behaviours, collection and infrastructure constraints, institutional and operational challenges, policy and standardisation gaps, and technology readiness. The findings reveal that weak service reliability, fragmented governance structures, limited human and financial capacity, and inconsistent policy enforcement collectively undermine GIS adoption, despite its high perceived usefulness among officials. The study demonstrates that the effectiveness of GIS as an environmental management tool is contingent on institutional readiness rather than technological availability alone and highlights the need for integrated reforms in service delivery, institutional capacity, and policy implementation to enable GIS-supported sustainable waste management. Full article

The prevalence of online transactions and extensive adoption of credit card payments have contributed to the escalation of credit card cyber fraud in modern society. These trends are propelled by technological advancements, which provide fraudulent actors with more opportunities. Fraudsters exploit victims’ financial vulnerabilities by obtaining illegal access to sensitive credit card information through deceptive means, such as phishing, fraudulent phone calls, and fraudulent SMS messages. This study predicts and detects potential instances of cyber fraud in credit card transactions by employing Machine Learning (ML) techniques, including Decision Tree (DT); Random Forest (RF); Logistic Regression (LR); Support Vector Machine (SVM); K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN); XGBoost; CatBoost; and sampling techniques such as Tomek Link, Synthetic Minority oversampling technique (SMOTE), Edited Nearest Neighbor (ENN), Tomek+ENN, and SMOTE+ENN. To determine the performance of the algorithms in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and ROC-AUC for credit card cyber fraud detection, we conducted a comparative analysis of the extant ML techniques. Full article

AI enhances aquatic resource management by automating species detection, optimizing feed, forecasting water quality, protecting species interactions, and strengthening the detection of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities. However, these advancements are inconsistently employed, subject to domain shifts, limited by the availability of labeled data, and poorly benchmarked across operational contexts. Recent developments in technology and applications in fisheries genetics and monitoring, precision aquaculture, management, and sensing infrastructure are summarized in this paper. We studied automated species recognition, genomic trait inference, environmental DNA metabarcoding, acoustic analysis, and trait-based population modeling in fisheries genetics and monitoring. We used digital-twin frameworks for supervised learning in feed optimization, reinforcement learning for water quality control, vision-based welfare monitoring, and harvest forecasting in aquaculture. We explored automatic identification system trajectory analysis for illicit fishing detection, global effort mapping, electronic bycatch monitoring, protected species tracking, and multi-sensor vessel surveillance in fisheries management. Acoustic echogram automation, convolutional neural network-based fish detection, edge-computing architectures, and marine-domain foundation models are foundational developments in sensing infrastructure. Implementation challenges include performance degradation across habitat and seasonal transitions, insufficient standardized multi-region datasets for rare and protected taxa, inadequate incorporation of model uncertainty into management decisions, and structural inequalities in data access and technology adoption among smallholder producers. Standardized multi-region benchmarks with rare-taxa coverage, calibrated uncertainty quantification in assessment and control systems, domain-robust energy-efficient algorithms, and privacy-preserving data partnerships are our priorities. These integrated priorities enable transition from experimental prototypes to a reliable, collaborative infrastructure for sustainable wild capture and farmed aquatic systems. Full article

The widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies has transformed the financial landscape by enabling swift, decentralised transactions. However, the pseudonymous nature of digital currencies has also fuelled illicit activities, such as money laundering. Criminals perform money laundering to access illicitly acquired funds without detection and convert illegally obtained assets into untraceable commodities, seamlessly integrated into the financial system. Although new regulatory measures have been introduced, illicit actors continue to exploit various methods, from peer-to-peer exchanges to cryptocurrency mixing services, to obscure the origins of illegal funds. This study presents a parametric analysis of these methods, examining dimensions such as duration, number of actors, contextual requirements, operational difficulty, traceability, and costs across each stage of the money laundering process: placement, layering, and integration. The analysis indicates that, while more sophisticated techniques may provide a higher degree of anonymity, they simultaneously require specialised technical expertise and meticulous planning. Consequently, there is a trade-off between the level of privacy attainable and the operational complexity inherent to each method. By systematically comparing these strategies, this analysis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of cryptocurrency-based money laundering techniques, providing insight for more effective prevention and mitigation measures for both regulatory authorities and the financial sector. Full article

This study explores the psychosocial factors that predispose young e-scooter users (18 to 24 years) to engage in illegal speeding by adopting a theory-driven approach across the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The study, based on survey data of 474 participants, and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), found that emotional regulation and internal locus of control predict speeding intention and behavior and are significantly negative (β = +0.66 and β = −0.52, respectively). Satisfactory robustness was assured by model fit indices (0.93 CFI, 0.91 TLI, 0.045 RMSEA, and 0.071 SRMR). Findings indicate that the effect of emotional regulation is more on attitude and perception of behavioral control, but the connection between self-regulation and speeding intention is mediated by internal control. The inclusion of psychosocial variables in the TPB contributes to the behavioral theory of micro-mobility contexts and the behavioral study of sustainable-mobility research to emotional and cognitive aspects of risk behavior. The policy suggestions include incorporating short emotion-management courses into rider-training applications, collaborating with scooter-sharing institutions on incentive-based safety interventions, and developing interventions that promote responsibility, self-control, and emotional sensitivity among young people. These results reiterate the fact that psychological antecedents of risky riding require attention to achieve socially and environmentally sustainable urban mobility. Full article

Environmental monitoring is the basis of environmental protection. China’s existing environmental monitoring system has been relatively perfect, but there are still data fraud and other illegal issues. Blockchain technology can well meet the requirements of environmental monitoring, but there are many obstacles in its adoption process, so this paper combines the characteristics of blockchain technology to integrate the two stakeholders of government and polluting enterprises into a unified model and introduces parameters related to smart contracts and corruption. The dynamic evolutionary game theory, combined with numerical simulation, is used to explore the behavioral decision-making characteristics and change rules of relevant stakeholders. The results show that there are stable conditions for the three strategies. Compared with the development cost of blockchain, the management cost of blockchain has a greater impact on the strategy choice of polluting enterprises because the income of polluting enterprises adopting blockchain technology can greatly affect the strategy choice of polluting enterprises, and there is a positive correlation between the income and the willingness of polluting enterprises to choose blockchain technology; only the construction cost of blockchain will cause fluctuations in the government’s strategy choice, and other factors will not have a greater impact on the government’s choice. This study provides a useful reference for promoting the adoption of blockchain technology in the field of environmental protection. Full article

This paper defines the term “graffiti” and outlines the origins of this concept. The terminological arrangement allowed for the subject of this research, i.e., illegal graffiti, to be situated in reality, i.e., an urban space. It was assumed that the existence of the tag was associated with a disturbance of spatial order and had an impact on safety in a space. This, in turn, is related to whether the principles of sustainable development in the social dimension are applied. This paper makes reference to theories of security in a space (the “broken windows” theory and the strategy of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, CPTED) and shows the problem of illegal graffiti against the background of these theories. A new research aspect of the occurrence of illegal graffiti (scribbles and tags) within urban space is the features that determine its emergence in a spatial dimension. The aim of the analyses in this paper is to obtain information on which geospatial features are generators of illegal graffiti. The research field was limited to the space of one city—Olsztyn—with the assumption that the proposed research methodology would be useful for the spaces of other cities. The research methodology consists of several steps: firstly, we determined a list of features in the surroundings of illegal graffiti using direct interviews, and secondly, we analyzed the frequency of occurrence of these features in the researched locations in space. The next step was to standardize the obtained results using the quotient transformation method with respect to a reference point, where the reference point is the sum of all observations. After that, we assigned ranks for standardized results. The last stage involved an analysis using the GRA type of grey systems to obtain a sequence of strengths of relationships. This sequence allowed us to determine which of the features adopted for analysis have the greatest impact on the creation of illegal graffiti in a space. As indicated by the strength of the relationship, in the analyses conducted, geospatial features such as poor sidewalk condition and neglected greenery have the greatest impact on the occurrence of illegal graffiti. Other features that influence the occurrence of illegal graffiti in a given space include a lack of visibility from neighboring windows and the proximity of a two-way street. It can be assumed that these features are generators of illegal graffiti in the studied area and space. The poor condition of the facade has the least impact on the possibility of illegal graffiti occurring in a given space. Full article

Preventing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—which depletes fishery resources—is a critical task in international fisheries governance. Many countries operate vessel monitoring systems (VMS) and electronic reporting systems (ERS) to track their fishing vessels, while regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) are actively considering the adoption of electronic monitoring systems (EMS). Although ERS and EMS share the same operational goals, differences in their concepts and functions lead to technical and institutional limitations when implemented separately. This study presents a conceptual design of an intelligent electronic monitoring and reporting (I-EMR) system model, which integrates the strengths of both systems to address these limitations and provides a framework for efficient operation. The necessity for the prompt and proactive adoption of such systems is reinforced by recent analyses of global IUU fishing trends, which indicate that IUU activities are not decreasing despite existing monitoring efforts. While empirical validation is beyond the scope of this study, the conceptual framework aims to support transparent management of fishery resources, facilitate real-time monitoring of fishing activities, and serve as a foundation for future pilot testing and operational deployment. Full article

Mass spectrometric (MS) fingerprinting coupled with chemometrics for the detection of plants in plant mixtures is sparsely researched. This paper aims to check its value for herbal adulteration concerning plants with slimming as an indication. Moreover, it is among the first to exploit the full three-dimensional dataset (i.e., time × intensity × mass) obtained with liquid chromatography hyphenated with MS for herbal fingerprinting purposes. The MS parameters were optimized to achieve highly specific fingerprints. Trituration’s (total 55), blanks (total 11) and reference plants were injected in the MS system to generate the dataset. The dataset was complex and humongous, necessitating the application of compression techniques. After compression, Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was performed to generate models validated for accuracy using cross-validation and an external test set. Confusion matrices were constructed to provide insight into the modeling predictions. A complimentary evaluation between data obtained using a previously developed Diode Array Detection (DAD) method and the MS data was performed by data fusion techniques and newly generated models. The fused dataset models were comparable to MS models. For ease of application, MS modeling was deemed to be superior. The future market studies would adopt MS modeling as the preferred choice. A proof of concept was carried out on 10 real-life samples obtained from illegal sources. The results indicated the need for stronger monitoring of (illegal) plant food supplements entering the market, especially via the internet. Full article

Ship seismic wave signals represent one of the most critical physical field characteristics of vessels. To achieve the high-precision detection of ship seismic wave field signals in marine environments, an underwater seismic wave signal detection system was designed. The system adopts a three-stage architecture consisting of watertight instrument housing, a communication circuit, and a buoy to realize high-capacity real-time data transmissions. The host computer performs the collaborative optimization of multi-modal hardware architecture and adaptive signal processing algorithms, enabling the detection of ship targets in oceanic environments. Through verification in a water tank and sea trials, the system successfully measured seismic wave signals. An improved ALE-LOFAR (Adaptive Line Enhancer–Low-Frequency Analysis) joint framework, combined with DEMON (Demodulation of Envelope Modulation) demodulation technology, was proposed to conduct the spectral feature analysis of ship seismic wave signals, yielding the low-frequency signal characteristics of vessels. This scheme provides an important method for the covert monitoring of shallow-sea targets, providing early warnings of illegal fishing and ensuring underwater security. Full article