Search Results (118)

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents are increasingly shaping vital sectors of society, including healthcare, education, supply chains, and finance. As their influence grows, AI alignment research plays a pivotal role in ensuring these systems are trustworthy, transparent, and aligned with human values. Leveraging blockchain technology, proven over the past decade in enabling transparent, tamper-resistant distributed systems, offers significant potential to strengthen AI alignment. However, despite its potential, the current AI alignment literature has yet to systematically explore the effectiveness of blockchain in facilitating secure and ethical behavior in AI agents. While existing systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in AI alignment address various aspects of AI safety and AI alignment, this SLR specifically examines the gap at the intersection of AI alignment, blockchain, and ethics. To address this gap, this SLR explores how blockchain technology can overcome the limitations of existing AI alignment approaches. We searched for studies containing keywords from AI, blockchain, and ethics domains in the Scopus database, identifying 7110 initial records on 28 May 2024. We excluded studies which did not answer our research questions and did not discuss the thematic intersection between AI, blockchain, and ethics to a sufficient extent. The quality of the selected studies was assessed on the basis of their methodology, clarity, completeness, and transparency, resulting in a final number of 46 included studies, the majority of which were journal articles. Results were synthesized through quantitative topic analysis and qualitative analysis to identify key themes and patterns. The contributions of this paper include the following: (i) presentation of the results of an SLR conducted to identify, extract, evaluate, and synthesize studies on the symbiosis of AI alignment, blockchain, and ethics; (ii) summary and categorization of the existing benefits and challenges in incorporating blockchain for AI alignment within the context of ethics; (iii) development of a framework that will facilitate new research activities; and (iv) establishment of the state of evidence with in-depth assessment. The proposed blockchain-based AI alignment framework in this study demonstrates that integrating blockchain with AI alignment can substantially enhance robustness, promote public trust, and facilitate ethical compliance in AI systems. Full article

The UN’s “Global Agenda for Change” focused on global challenges, with the aim of improving quality of life. The focus on People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership, and Integrated Action (EU) orients its efforts towards socially needed change. Although the above perspectives, which ultimately shape the goals of sustainable development, refer in effect to the security of the functioning of societies and economies, this issue has not been sufficiently explored in the literature. Taking the above into account, this paper explains the aspect of people’s sustainable security and well-being, and also indicates the importance of determining the social competences needed for a broadly understood sustainable future, which is the main goal of this article. Considering the importance of sustainable awareness among the younger generation, who are responsible for the future modeling of the pace and direction of sustainable changes, the analysis of the literature in the practical findings was supported by qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as statistical analysis techniques using PQstat software, to ensure in-depth research. The results confirm that the studied population generally has good knowledge of the idea of sustainable development. Importantly, this population combines development in a sustainable direction with actions to strengthen people’s safety and well-being. It should be noted that the studied population is most strongly aware of the environmental pillar of sustainable development, suggesting potential to improve knowledge in this area—which is crucial for effective development towards a safe future and important for future decision-makers (the young generation). The findings can serve as a source of information for teams designing study programs and information campaigns on sustainable development in order to further strengthen social education in the studied area. Full article

South Africa’s bioeconomy strategy identifies bio-innovation as a key driver of economic growth and social development, with plant breeding playing a central role in improving food security through the development of high-yielding, resilient, and high-quality crops. However, consumer perceptions of recent advances, particularly new breeding techniques (NBTs), remain underexplored. This study examines South African consumer attitudes towards plant breeding innovations, using a mixed-methods approach. The initial focus group interviews informed the development of a structured quantitative survey examining familiarity, perceptions, and acceptance of plant breeding technologies. Consumer awareness of plant breeding principles was found to be limited, with 67–68% of respondents unfamiliar with both conventional and modern plant breeding procedures. Despite this information gap, consumers expressed conditional support for modern breeding techniques, especially when associated with actual benefits like increased nutritional value, environmental sustainability, and crop resilience. When favourable effects were outlined, support for general investment in modern breeding practices climbed from 45% to 74%. Consumer purchase decisions emphasised price, product quality, and convenience over manufacturing techniques, with sustainability ranked last among the assessed factors. Trust in the sources of food safety information varied greatly, with medical experts and scientists being ranked highly, while government sources were viewed more sceptically. The results further suggest that targeted education could improve customer confidence, as there is a significant positive association (R² = 0.938) between familiarity and acceptance. These findings emphasise the significance of open communication strategies and focused consumer education in increasing the adoption of plant breeding breakthroughs. The study offers useful insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders working on engagement strategies to facilitate the ethical growth and application of agricultural biotechnology in support of food security and quality in South Africa. This study contributes to a better understanding of South African consumers’ perceptions of plant breeding innovations and food safety. The research findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders in developing effective engagement and communication strategies that address consumer concerns and promote the adoption of products derived from diverse plant breeding technologies. Full article

The rapid evolution of the transport industry requires a deep understanding of user preferences for emerging mobility solutions, particularly carsharing (CS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs). This study employs machine learning techniques to model transport mode choice, with a focus on traffic safety perceptions of people towards CS and privately shared autonomous vehicles (PSAVs). A stated preference (SP) survey is conducted to collect data on travel behavior, incorporating key attributes such as trip time, trip cost, waiting and walking time, privacy, cybersecurity, and surveillance concerns. Sociodemographic factors, such as income, gender, education, employment status, and trip purpose, are also examined. Three gradient boosting models—CatBoost, XGBoost, and LightGBM are applied to classify user choices. The performance of models is evaluated using accuracy, precision, and F1-score. The XGBoost demonstrates the highest accuracy (77.174%) and effectively captures the complexity of mode choice behavior. The results indicate that CS users are easily classified, while PSAV users present greater classification challenges due to variations in safety perceptions and technological acceptance. From a traffic safety perspective, the results emphasize that companionship, comfort, privacy, cybersecurity, safety in using CS and PSAVs, and surveillance significantly influence CS and PSAV acceptance, which leads to the importance of trust in adopting AVs. The findings suggest that ensuring public trust occurs through robust safety regulations and transparent data security policies. Furthermore, the envisaged benefits of shared autonomous mobility are alleviating congestion and promoting sustainability. Full article

Water security is a basic requirement of a region’s residents and also an important point of discussion worldwide. The middle route of the south-to-north water diversion project (MR-SNWDP) represents the most extensive inter-basin water allocation scheme globally. It is the major water resource for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, and its security is of great significance. In this study, 28 indicators including society, nature, and economy were selected from the water sources of the MR-SNWDP from 2000 to 2017. According to the Drivers-Pressures-States-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework principle, the entropy weight method was used for weight calculation, and the comprehensive evaluation method was used for evaluating the water security of the water sources of the MR-SNWDP. This study showed that the total loss of nonpoint source pollution (NPSP) in the water source showed a trend of slow growth, except in 2007. Over the past 18 years, the proportion of pollution from three NPSP sources, livestock, and poultry (LP) breeding industry, planting industry, and living sources, were 44.56%, 40.33%, and 15.11%, respectively. The main driving force of water security in all the areas of the water source was the total net income per capita of farmers. The main pressure was the amount of LP breeding and the amount of fertilizer application. The largest impact indicators were NPSP gray water footprint and soil erosion area, and water conservancy investment was the most effective response measure. Overall, the state of the water source safety was relatively stable, showing an overall upward trend, and it had remained at Grade III except for in 2005, 2006, and 2011. The state of water safety in all areas except Shiyan City was relatively stable, where the state of water safety had fluctuated greatly. Based on the assessment findings, implications for policy and decision-making suggestions for sustainable management of the water sources of the MR-SNWDP resources are put forward. Agricultural cultivation in water source areas should reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and accelerate the promotion of agricultural intensification. Water source areas should minimize retail livestock and poultry farming and promote ecological agriculture. The government should increase investment in water conservancy and return farmland to forests and grasslands, and at the same time strengthen the education of farmers’ awareness of environmental protection. The evaluation system of this study combined indicators such as the impact of agricultural nonpoint source pollution on water bodies, which is innovative and provides a reference for the water safety evaluation system. Full article

The pandemic forced educators to shift abruptly to distance learning, also referred to as e-learning education. Educational institutions integrated new educational tools and online platforms. Several schools, colleges, and universities began incorporating online laboratories in different fields of education, such as engineering, information technology, physics, and chemistry. Online laboratories may take the form of virtual laboratories, software-based simulations available via the Internet, or remote labs, which involve accessing physical equipment online. Adopting remote laboratories as a substitute for conventional hands-on labs has raised concerns regarding the safety and security of both the remote lab stations and the Online Laboratory Management Systems (OLMSs). Design patterns and architectures need to be developed to attain security by design in remote laboratories. Before these can be developed, software architects and developers must understand the domain and existing and proposed solutions. This paper presents an extensive literature review of safety and security concerns related to remote laboratories and an overview of the industry, national and multinational standards, and legal requirements and regulations that need to be considered in building secure and safe Online Laboratory Management Systems. This analysis provides a taxonomy and classification of published standards as well as security and safety problems and possible solutions that can facilitate the documentation of best practices, and implemented solutions to produce security by design for remote laboratories and OLMSs. Full article

Based on the interpretation of the identified risk biases from a narrative perspective, this paper studies the biases in safety and security risk management of chemical-related academic laboratories from four parts: risk identification, risk assessment, risk control and continuous monitoring. Mainly systematic error, inclusion of risk events, cognitive factors, model/algorithmic and social/interpersonal during risk management are discussed. The bias related to uncertain risk events, which is the most common and easily ignored during risk management, mainly including the imbalance between safety risk management and security risk management. Therefore, while protecting the laboratory from unintentional and unpremeditated safety risks within the system, it is also critical to protect the system from external, deliberate and premeditated security risks. This research paper is expected to spur and promote more discussion and the best practices in laboratory risk management among researchers, educators, managers and other stakeholders for handling biases in the risk management of chemical-related academic laboratories. Full article

Campus safety is an essential prerequisite for the development of the education system, as it directly impacts the security of life and property for a significant number of students and faculty members. In recent years, the safety of primary and secondary schools has garnered considerable attention from policymakers and architects, necessitating rational design methods to develop effective strategies that optimize the campus environment. This study utilizes algorithmic simulations, spatial analysis, and statistical methods to examine the relationships between the layouts of buildings, public space morphology, and campus safety. This study analysed 53 schools, which are mainly located in urban areas of China, and variations in their design that were generated through computational modelling. It revealed that, while the architectural layout has a relatively limited direct impact on the safety of school public spaces, the shape and scale of these spaces can significantly enhance their safety performance by allowing for improved natural surveillance. The findings of this study underscore the critical importance of controlling the form and configuration of buildings and public spaces in school design, providing a robust foundation for safety-oriented campus planning. Full article

Drug safety is crucial in healthcare, ensuring the secure and effective administration of medications to protect patient welfare. Drug and medication safety is a major concern among Saudi healthcare providers, with numerous studies outlining the incidence of medication errors and the need for enhanced safety standards. This review will examine the existing level of drug-related safety in Saudi Arabia, categorizing the areas for improvement and highlighting concepts to improve safety practices. The overview discusses the history and evolution of pharmaceutical safety procedures, the present regulatory framework, major stakeholders, and the types and origins of prescription errors. It also examines the role of healthcare personnel and the use of technology and patient education in promoting pharmaceutical safety. The data reveal that the rate of pharmaceutical errors in Saudi hospitals is shockingly high, ranging from 13 to 56 per 100 medication orders, highlighting the urgent need for effective medication safety standards. Despite the formation of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and the National Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety Centre, issues such as poor understanding among healthcare providers and the need for more effective reporting methods remain a challenge. The evaluation highlights the deficiencies in ongoing education, such as real-world case scenarios and related trainings, inadequate incorporation of skills in assessment methods, and deficiency in standardized protocols for error reporting. To address these gaps, it is proposed to implement structured competency-based training, simulation exercises must be preferred for periodic skill assessments, and a safe reporting culture should be encouraged for the sake of transparency and learning from errors. We recognize the use of technology, such as electronic health records and computerized physician order input systems, as an important technique for improving medication safety. Future directions include creating national guidelines, establishing a centralized pharmaceutical error reporting system, and fostering a safety culture inside healthcare organizations. By addressing these obstacles and capitalizing on the opportunities indicated, we may improve pharmaceutical safety and, ultimately, patient care and outcomes in Saudi Arabia. Full article

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to human, animal, and public health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the beef sector is vital to food security and livelihoods. We conducted a scoping review to explore the determinants and impacts of AMR within the beef value chain in SSA, highlighting the challenges and progress in mitigating AMR risks in livestock production. This review identifies key factors contributing to AMR, including the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials, inadequate veterinary oversight, and weak regulatory frameworks. These practices are prevalent across various stages of the beef value chain, from farm to slaughterhouse, and are exacerbated by informal markets and insufficient infrastructure. Our findings also highlight the role of environmental factors, such as contamination of feed, water, and manure, in the spread of resistant pathogens. Additionally, gaps in AMR surveillance, education, and enforcement limit effective control measures in the region. While efforts to combat AMR have gained momentum in some countries, including the development of national action plans and surveillance systems, substantial challenges remain. These include poor adherence to antimicrobial guidelines, insufficient veterinary training, and the lack of integration between sectors. There is a need for targeted research to better understand antimicrobial misuse, socio-economic drivers, and the environmental pathways of AMR, as well as the need for stronger regulatory frameworks and cross-border cooperation. Addressing these challenges will be essential to safeguarding food safety, public health, and the sustainability of the beef industry in SSA. Full article

Background/Objectives: Large language models (LLMs) have shown significant potential to transform various aspects of healthcare. This review aims to explore the current applications, challenges, and future prospects of LLMs in medical education, clinical decision support, and healthcare administration. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, examining the applications of LLMs across the three key domains. The analysis included their performance, challenges, and advancements, with a focus on techniques like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Results: In medical education, LLMs show promise as virtual patients, personalized tutors, and tools for generating study materials. Some models have outperformed junior trainees in specific medical knowledge assessments. Concerning clinical decision support, LLMs exhibit potential in diagnostic assistance, treatment recommendations, and medical knowledge retrieval, though performance varies across specialties and tasks. In healthcare administration, LLMs effectively automate tasks like clinical note summarization, data extraction, and report generation, potentially reducing administrative burdens on healthcare professionals. Despite their promise, challenges persist, including hallucination mitigation, addressing biases, and ensuring patient privacy and data security. Conclusions: LLMs have transformative potential in medicine but require careful integration into healthcare settings. Ethical considerations, regulatory challenges, and interdisciplinary collaboration between AI developers and healthcare professionals are essential. Future advancements in LLM performance and reliability through techniques such as RAG, fine-tuning, and reinforcement learning will be critical to ensuring patient safety and improving healthcare delivery. Full article

To ensure food safety and support sustainable development of agriculture, it is critical to accelerate the transition of agricultural production methods and develop green agriculture. This study employs the Probit model with survey data gathered from households growing rice in 13 cities in Jiangsu Province, China, to investigate how social security affects green agricultural technology adoption. Key findings from the study include the following: (1) Social security significantly promotes farmers’ green agricultural technology adoption. (2) Social security promotes green agricultural technology adoption by alleviating farmers’ credit constraints. (3) Farmers with higher education levels are more impacted by social security than farmers with lower education levels. (4) The impact of social security is more positively significant for young and middle-aged farmers than for older groups. (5) Risk-averse farmers are more inclined to acquire social security and receive a more significant boost. These findings provide micro-evidence for improving China’s rural social security mechanisms and ensuring agricultural ecosystem security. Full article

With rapid urbanization, the spatial layout and functional characteristics of urban facilities have a strong correlation with the spatial distribution of criminal activities. Using Changsha City as a case study, this research analyzes 2023 urban crime data, Point of Interest (POI) data, and socioeconomic data. The Multi-scale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model and clustering analysis are applied to examine how different types of urban facilities influence the spatial heterogeneity of crimes and propose tailored urban planning recommendations and crime prevention strategies. The findings reveal the following: (1) The spatial distribution of crimes in Changsha’s central urban area demonstrates significant spatial heterogeneity. Property crimes dominate in frequency and spatial distribution, primarily clustering around commercial hubs and transport nodes, while violent crimes are more common in scenic areas and open spaces with high pedestrian flow. (2) The impact of built facilities on crime exhibits spatial variability. Facilities such as Financial Services Facilities (FSF) and Shopping facilities (SHF) significantly contribute to property crime in core urban areas, while Scientific, educational, and cultural facilities (SEC) suppress crime in university towns. Scenic spots and facilities (SPF) are associated with violent crimes near scenic site entrances and transport hubs. (3) Facility resource allocation and preventive strategies should be optimized based on dominant factors in different areas to enhance security management efficiency through precise and differentiated planning, fostering sustainable urban safety systems. This study provides insights into the spatial patterns of crime distribution and its dominant factors from the perspective of urban facilities, offering a scientific basis for improving urban crime management and facility planning. Full article

Introduction: Child trafficking is a clear violation of human rights, robbing minors of their fundamental entitlements. These encompass the right to personal identity, familial bonds, cultural heritage, access to healthcare and proper nourishment, education, freedom of speech, and the assurance of safety and security. Children and young people, given their inherent vulnerability and limited access to support networks, frequently struggle to safeguard themselves effectively. This predicament presents traffickers with opportunities to exploit and manipulate them. Therefore, it is essential for professionals across various sectors—including education, healthcare, protective and social services, as well as the justice system—to undergo comprehensive training and be integrated into a robust social protection system. This preparation should equip them to conduct screenings, accurately assess needs, and adhere to international guidelines when addressing cases of child trafficking. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the child-centered anti-trafficking approaches employed by Italy and Turkey, situated along migration pathways in the Mediterranean region and experiencing significant regular and irregular migration flows in recent years. Both nations fall within the classification of southern European welfare regimes. Methodology: This research specifically delves into the social protection policies aimed at children and young victims established by these two countries. Carried out between 1 February 2020 and 20 May 2021, this study employed a semi-structured interview approach, conducting qualitative in-depth interviews in both Italy and Turkey. This research targeted experts from various disciplines engaged in combating human trafficking in both countries, with a total sample size of 46 participants, comprising 15 experts from Italy and 31 from Turkey. Grounded theory formed the basis of the study, with data analyzed using the MAXQDA 2020 Pro Analytics program, employing a multidisciplinary and empowerment approach. Results: The analysis yielded 2942 codes, 17 sub-themes, and four main themes. The study identified four main themes: (i) characteristics of child victims and vulnerable child groups, (ii) services provided to at-risk groups and child trafficking victims within the current national counter-trafficking framework, (iii) challenges encountered in delivering services to children and young individuals, and (iv) recommendations for establishing an effective and child-centered protection system. Discussion and Conclusion: It is imperative to ensure that victims of child trafficking have access to comprehensive social protection measures. It has been noted that both Italy and Turkey offer various services to victims of child trafficking, including in-kind and -cash social assistance, free legal aid, shelter services, access to education and healthcare, as well as prevention, awareness, and advocacy programs. However, there are also differences between the two countries in certain aspects. Recommendations aimed at addressing these differences can be developed by adhering to the minimum standards outlined in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Full article

This study reviews the applications of big data (BD) and blockchain technology in modern food testing and explores their impact on educational reform. The first part highlights the critical role of BD in ensuring food safety across the supply chain, discussing various data collection methods, such as national and international food safety databases, while addressing the challenges related to data storage and real-time information retrieval. Additionally, blockchain technology has been explored for its ability to enhance transparency, traceability, and security in the food-testing process by creating immutable records of testing data, ensuring data integrity, and reducing the risk of tampering or fraud. The second part focuses on the influence of BD and blockchain on educational reform, particularly within food science curricula. BD enables data-driven curriculum design, supporting personalized learning and more effective educational outcomes, while blockchain ensures transparency in course management and credentials. This study advocates integrating these technologies into curriculum reform to enhance both the efficiency and quality of education. Full article