Search Results (2,256)

Artificial intelligence is transforming global resource systems and reshaping the foundations of corporate governance. This paper develops the Architecture of Intelligent Governance (AIG), a hybrid governance framework that integrates AI-enabled analytical capabilities with human judgment, ethical reasoning, and strategic foresight. Drawing on evidence from energy systems, supply chains, critical mineral dependencies, agribusiness, and emerging quantum-computing infrastructures, the analysis demonstrates how AI enhances forecasting precision, strengthens transparency, and supports more adaptive decision-making in environments characterized by volatility and interdependence. At the same time, the paper introduces a criticality perspective to examine the systemic risks associated with AI, including energy intensity, technological concentration, and algorithmic opacity. These risks underscore the need for leadership models that extend beyond technical expertise to encompass interpretive judgment, ethical stewardship, cultural competence, and long-term strategic thinking. The unified leadership framework presented here positions leadership as the human anchor of intelligent governance, ensuring that AI-enabled decisions remain aligned with organizational values and societal expectations. The AIG model offers a comprehensive approach to governing AI-intensive systems, advancing a vision of corporate governance that is resilient, transparent, and oriented toward long-term sustainability. Full article

As Education for environmental resilience increasingly adopts Game-based learning (GBL) to address climate challenges, a critical ambiguity remains regarding how learning outcomes are structured. While games effectively enhance learner engagement, it is unclear whether this affective participation translates into the higher-order competency of sustainable climate resilience. To address this, this study followed PRISMA guidelines to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) of 175 studies published between 2015 and 2025. We adopted a hierarchical taxonomy to code outcomes, distinguishing between affective precursors (empathy), cognitive foundations (systems thinking), and the ultimate goal of resilience (adaptive action competence). The macro-analysis indicated that although the complexity of game simulations has risen, evaluations often remain arrested at the motivational level due to a disjunction between game affordances and instructional support. Multi-level coding further reveals that specific mechanisms, such as dynamic perturbation, spatio-temporal feedback, and resource trade-offs, provide the structural scaffolding necessary to elevate learning from shallow empathy to cognitive resilience. Based on these findings, we propose the Game–Teacher–Resilience (GTR) Framework, arguing that transformative education requires coupling specific mechanics with pedagogical intervention to bridge the gap between engagement and resilience. Full article

The growing adoption of life cycle assessment (LCA) across productive sectors has yet to be systematically examined in terms of its capacity to drive environmental transformation beyond methodological assessment. This systematic review (2018–2024) explores how LCA functions as a catalyst for environmental change in products, processes, and systems. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 657 records from Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were screened, yielding 50 high-quality studies assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool; bibliometric network analysis via VOSviewer complemented qualitative thematic synthesis. Findings reveal a shift from conventional standardized life cycle assessment methodologies toward integrated frameworks such as LCSA, incorporating regionalized characterization factors, uncertainty quantification, and digital technologies. Applications across energy, agri-food, manufacturing, construction, and waste management support SDGs 12, 13, and 9 by identifying hotspots, comparing technologies, and informing policy. However, inconsistencies in functional units, system boundaries, and impact methods, alongside limited social and economic integration, restrict cross-study comparability. The evidence indicates that LCA is evolving from an assessment tool into a deliberative decision-making infrastructure, requiring harmonized yet context-specific methodologies and robust social indicators for equitable implementation. This review offers original value by combining bibliometric and critical methodological synthesis to map how life-cycle thinking induces environmental transformation, revealing the gap between evaluative capacity and transformative implementation. Full article

This paper presents a usability evaluation of EduAbility, an Android application that supports inclusivity through assistive technology recommendations and training to pupils with disabilities, teachers, teaching assistants and parents/carers. EduAbility consists of a Recommendation System and Training Package that increases awareness of assistive technology (AT) to improve quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Following a previous usability evaluation at a higher education institution, EduAbility was subsequently developed from the qualitative feedback. A further evaluation at a secondary school and college (n = 9) are presented, where System Usability Scale (SUS) and NASA Task Load Index (TLX) quantitatively measure usability and workload, with Think Aloud providing qualitative data. The results highlight the significant potential of EduAbility to educate teachers, teaching assistants and parents/carers on AT, with the product recommendations being particularly valuable to increase awareness. Suggestions for future work are also discussed as well as the wider impacts of EduAbility on promoting the use of AT in education. Full article

Green chemistry is built on twelve guiding principles intended to reduce waste, energy use, and hazardous substances in chemical manufacturing. These principles have inspired more sustainable practices, yet their implementation in real-world industrial contexts reveals significant limitations and internal contradictions. This position paper critically examines each principle’s practical challenges, with an emphasis on Principle 6 (design for energy efficiency) and its relationship to process complexity and resource intensity. Using concepts from complexity theory—notably simplexity and complixity—the analysis highlights how chemical production systems behave as complex adaptive networks, where straightforward “green” solutions can trigger emergent trade-offs. Industrial case studies from pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, and large chemical producers (e.g., BASF and Dow) illustrate successes and setbacks in applying green chemistry: catalytic routes that improve yields but rely on scarce elements, solvent recovery systems that save waste at the cost of energy and capital, and integrated processes that achieve remarkable efficiency gains while introducing control complexity. These examples underscore that the principles cannot be treated as isolated absolutes; instead, a holistic, systems-thinking approach is required. The discussion calls for expanding the Green Chemistry framework with new or revised principles that account for lifecycle complexities, adaptive process design, and socio-technical factors. By confronting the gaps between the idealized principles and industrial reality, this analysis offers insight into how green chemistry can evolve—guided by both scientific rigor and practical pragmatism—to better meet the sustainability challenges of modern chemical production. The novelty of this work resides in its systems oriented analysis of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry when applied to complex industrial processes. By integrating industrial examples with concepts from complexity theory, the manuscript clarifies limitations and trade offs that are not evident in principle based or metric focused approaches. Full article

There have been numerous attempts to examine Indigenous cultures from a scientific and evolutionary perspective. In this work, however, there has been little acknowledgment of how the study of biological evolution is changing. I examine evidence of the way Indigenous cultures think about nonhumans and examine concepts of creation and creator figures in relation to Niche Construction, a 21st century evolutionary concept that examines how organisms shape both their own environments and those of other species by studying how Natural Selection can act upon how most organisms impact the survival and existence of other species. I focus this comparison on how many Indigenous Plains cultures of North America regard wolves as being creator figures within the context of the way they experience their environments. Ecological studies revealed that in 30 years since wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone, this species has reshaped the ecology of many other species in the park ecosystem. I argue that in the belief systems of Indigenous peoples, this restructuring is tantamount to an Act of Creation, and that Indigenous Americans recognized that wolves filled both this role, as well as a role in helping Indigenous cultures adjust to the environments of North America as they arrived on this continent over the last 20,000 years. I also consider the relationship from the wolves’ perspective. This concept of creation is rooted in ecology and evolutionary biology, and does not involve supernatural anthropomorphic beings the way Western stories of creation do. Full article

The goal of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to achieve viral suppression and improve the quality of life in people living with HIV (PLWH). Targeting the determinants of self-rated health in virally suppressed PLWH could significantly contribute towards sustaining the quality of life and health gains from ART. A qualitative study was conducted to investigate the determinants of excellent self-rated health in PLWH who are virally suppressed in the Eastern Cape province. A descriptive cross-sectional study using qualitative approach was conducted among 26 consenting adults living with HIV who have achieved viral load suppression in the rural province of the Eastern Cape using in-depth interviews. Themes were generated from the qualitative data using thematic analysis in NVivo 13^®. All participants described what they perceived as excellent quality of life as mostly determined by self-system (downward counterfactual thinking and pain discounting), perceived improved health, and adherence to recommended healthy behaviours (ART, diet, physical activity, and non-use of tobacco and alcohol products). Income/financial support availability and good healthcare access emerged as indispensable prerequisites for achieving and maintaining good health or adherence to healthy behaviours. Targeting the determinants of Self-Rated Health (SRH) has the potential to greatly improve physical and mental well-being of PLWH beyond viral suppression. Interventions can be more effective by drawing from evidence generated from context-based research. Full article

Engineering education is increasingly shaped by two converging developments: accelerating sustainability transitions and rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI). However, in many application-oriented undergraduate programs, sustainability learning remains fragmented, methodologically limited, and weakly connected to authentic engineering decision-making. To address this gap, this study proposes AI-SEE (Artificial Intelligence-Integrated Sustainable Engineering Education), a pedagogical framework that integrates AI across the curriculum as both a cognitive scaffold and a resource for system-level analysis. Emphasizing human–AI collaboration, AI-SEE is designed to be feasible and scalable within application-oriented higher education contexts. The framework comprises four interrelated pillars: intelligence-driven, green-empowered, responsibility-leading, and practice-integrated. Drawing on an empirical case from transportation-related programs at Nantong University, the study employs a qualitative comparative design and conducts semi-structured interviews with 144 undergraduates at the end of their eighth semester (control group n = 70; pilot group n = 74). Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis informed by constructivist grounded theory and the Gioia coding approach. The findings suggest that participation in AI-SEE is associated with differentiated patterns of sustainability consciousness. At the knowledge level, students reported more systematic and interdisciplinary understandings that extended beyond environmentally reductionist perspectives to include life-cycle thinking, social equity, and long-term considerations. At the attitudinal level, students described enhanced ethical reflexivity and evolving professional self-concepts, shifting from a focus on technical execution toward broader value-oriented roles. At the behavioral level, students reported more extensive knowledge-to-action translation across personal, academic, and career-related domains. Overall, AI-SEE provides a transferable pedagogical pathway for integrating AI into engineering education to support the development of sustainability consciousness in higher education. Full article

The growing emphasis on 21st-century competencies highlights the need to develop students’ systems thinking and problem-solving, particularly in science education, where many concepts involve complex, dynamic relationships. This study examined differences in fifth-grade students’ systems thinking performance and problem-solving perceptions associated with simulation-supported science instruction within the unit Electricity in Our Lives. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was used with two intact classes, in which the experimental group received PhET-supported instruction and a control group followed the national curriculum. Data were collected through a systems thinking test (multiple-choice and open-ended items) and a problem-solving perception scale. The results showed that, after adjusting for baseline scores, the simulation-supported group demonstrated higher posttest systems thinking scores than the control group, with a large effect size. For problem-solving perceptions, the simulation-supported group also showed higher posttest scores compared to the control group. In addition, a moderate positive correlation was observed between systems thinking performance and problem-solving perceptions. Although causal inferences are limited due to the use of two intact classes and the absence of individual-level random assignment, the findings suggest that interactive simulations may support students’ holistic reasoning and engagement in problem-solving processes. The study highlights the potential value of integrating interactive simulations into science curricula to promote deeper cognitive competencies. Full article

This integrative literature review examines how virtual reality (VR) design can transform environmental understanding by changing users from passive observers to active participants in ecological systems. We aimed to analyze the interaction strategies through which VR enables environmental awareness and to identify the most effective approaches for fostering ecological connection. Through systematic analysis of studies published between 2015 and 2025, we found that effective VR implementations share three core design mechanisms: progressive engagement that builds connection over time, a careful balance between interaction and reflection, and multisensory integration that creates believable immersive experiences. These design mechanisms, in turn, build ecological connection through three fundamental pillars: perspective-taking that generates empathy, the creation of authentic sensory experiences, and the development of network thinking to understand complex interconnections. This review contributes to the field by mapping the development of environmental VR applications, identifying successful implementation strategies, and highlighting research gaps. Our analysis provides a comprehensive interaction framework for designing more effective environmental experiences and advancing this emerging field when innovative approaches are most needed. Full article

The development of digital technologies had a profound impact on religions, bringing about resistance and adaptations of traditional, theistic systems to this new technological and mediated environment, and on the dynamics of invention and creativity, as demonstrated by the wave of new digital religious movements. Scholars’ attention has mainly been put on the modalities of Searching God on the Net. This emphasis on “traditional” religions led to overlooking another dimension, the resurgence and innovative dynamics of beliefs and practices that fall under the category of “paranormal” or “alternative” forms of thinking, believing and acting—magical, witchcraft, occult, esoteric, spirit, and “spiritual” beliefs (understood in a broad sense)—are indeed also spreading and changing by means of new digital technologies. In this regard, digital technologies are not only “religious” or “sacred”, but they are also “haunted”. Departing from a particular topic of primary importance in this field, the ghost, i.e., the different ways by which spectral forms manifests themselves in the new ecosystems of digital technologies, and the way in which technologies reshape the ghost figure, this paper intends to shed light on the logics of this less considered facet of the digital revolution: the ways it participates in a reinvention of the paranormal and a hauntology of technologies. And in parallel to the quest for God online, it is also possible to engage in virtual ghost hunting. Full article

Establishing protected areas and promoting ecotourism are widely recognized as important pathways toward sustainable development. This study examines the development of ecotourism in oceanic island national parks by applying a systems-thinking perspective to analyze the structural feedback relationships associated with sustainability. Using the driving force–state–response (DSR) indicator framework, we construct a qualitative causal loop model to articulate the interdependencies among ecological, economic, and governance variables within island national park systems. The identified causal relationships can be organized into three principal feedback structures: one reinforcing loop and two balancing loops. These feedback structures provide a theoretically grounded interpretation of how system components may interact within the proposed conceptual framework. Although this study does not include quantitative modeling or simulation, the structural configuration highlights relational patterns among variables that may serve as a basis for subsequent empirical and computational investigation. In addition, this study uses fee-based policy as an illustrative example within the conceptual model to demonstrate how policy interventions may interact with feedback mechanisms and potentially influence park sustainability. The proposed framework provides a foundation for future research that may extend the qualitative structure into more formalized modeling approaches under alternative policy scenarios. Full article

Ensuring strategic resilience in critical infrastructures supported with a machine learning approach requires moving beyond compliance checklists and post-incident analysis toward proactive, intelligence-based approaches. This study introduces the Forensic Resilience Operational Model (FROM), a systems thinking framework designed to embed forensic intelligence into the resilience cycle of complex socio-technical systems. To quantify this integration, the study investigates the determinants of the extent to which four operational pillars (forensic readiness, anomaly detection, governance and privacy safeguards, and structured intelligence integration) affect forensic resilience, using empirical survey data from 212 cybersecurity professionals across critical infrastructure sectors. We deploy Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to investigate these relationships, and the results confirm that anomaly detection is the strongest contributor to forensic resilience, followed by structured intelligence integration and forensic readiness. Governance safeguards, while comparatively weaker, provide the necessary legitimacy and assurance of compliance. Supported with sector-specific case studies in the maritime, financial, and CERT domains, the findings highlight both the adaptability of the proposed FROM and the operational constraints encountered in real-world contexts. The study contributes to the field of systems-oriented strategic management by demonstrating that, when systematically embedded, forensic intelligence enhances adaptive capacity, supports predictive decision-making, and strengthens resilience in environments characterized by uncertainty and high complexity. Full article

Design Thinking (DT) has been widely promoted as a creative, human-centred approach for engaging students with real-world problems. Yet, research consistently shows that DT in mainstream schooling often struggles with ambiguity, superficial engagement with socio-scientific issues, weak integration of disciplinary knowledge, and epistemological tensions with school learning. In this paper, we examine whether DT can become more effective and educationally meaningful when enacted through a socio-constructionist environment using digital media as both design tools and design products. Drawing on a school-based intervention with 70 students using ChoiCo—an open-source digital authoring system for creating socio-scientific games—we analysed critical incidents of student interaction to explore how constructionist digital media mediate reasoning, collaboration, and conceptual development. Our findings show that ChoiCo supports conceptual clarity, iterative refinement, and epistemic grounding by requiring students to encode ideas into rules, thresholds, and consequences. The system’s malleability and embedded feedback align with a special socio-constructionist DT model developed through a multi-organisational European Research and Innovation Project ExtenDT2, enabling rapid prototyping and collaborative meaning-making. We argue that socio-constructionist DT offers a promising way to address long-standing shortcomings of DT in education, shifting the focus from producing polished artefacts to engaging in meaningful, iterative, and epistemically rich design activity. Implications for curriculum design, teacher practice, and the integration of constructionist digital media in DT pedagogy are discussed. Full article

It is widely accepted that preserving biodiversity requires transformative change and, perhaps foremost, demands a paradigm shift in economic scholarship. The prevailing neoclassical growth-based status quo is too often detached from nature and, as a result, ill-equipped to offer insights on how to halt biodiversity loss. This perspective paper builds on the famous cowboy–spaceman economy distinction by presenting an analogy from the natural world. Proposals from post-growth schools of economic thought on how to induce metamorphosis of the growth-based caterpillar economy are described. Thereafter, an exploration is undertaken of a butterfly economy based on three propositions: embed economics in ecosystems, in systems thinking, and in human–nature relationships. Herein, examples are provided of nature-literate economics, policy implications are discussed, and an actionable research agenda is outlined. The perspective closes by drawing on discussions from conservation sciences to inspire the design of an economic framework conducive to healthy human–nature relationships. Full article