Search Results (35)

Ongoing urbanization, biodiversity decline, and intensifying climate change increasingly challenge the sustainability of urban green spaces (UGS) dominated by conventional, intensively maintained lawns. Although widespread across cities worldwide, lawns are criticised for their low biodiversity value and high resource demands. This paper explores nature-based solutions (NBS) as viable alternatives for enhancing resilience and multifunctionality of urban lawns. It conceptualizes lawns as intertwined ecological, design, and socio-cultural systems, and evaluates strategies for their transformation. Building on case studies from ten Eurasian cities, a narrative literature review, and the authors’ inter- and transdisciplinary research experience, this study develops a typology of NBS alternatives, including urban species-rich meadows, semi-natural grasslands, naturalistic herbaceous perennial plantings, mixed-vegetation groundcovers, edible lawns, pictorial (annual) meadows, and rewilded lawns. Key interventions involve reduced mowing, multifunctional green spaces, adaptive management, and community engagement. Findings demonstrate that these approaches enhance biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate resilience, but their success depends on local ecological conditions, landscape design, and public perceptions of urban nature. Alternative lawn designs and maintenance practices should employ native, drought- and trampling-resistant plants and context-sensitive design configurations while respecting cultural traditions of urban greening and fostering social acceptance. The paper suggests practical recommendations and directions for future research. Full article

This paper explores the current state of the concept of transdisciplinarity at both theoretical and literary levels, with a particular focus on its development in education through a narrative review. It examines the didactic validity of this concept and its potential to contribute to sustainable education by addressing the complex challenges of the 21st century. The review identifies how transdisciplinarity enables the integration of diverse forms of knowledge and connects abstract learning with meaningful, context-based experiences for students. This perspective fosters inclusion, critical thinking, and social responsibility—competencies that appear to form a promising and increasingly supported paradigm for sustainability. A narrative review of forty-one sources was conducted across Scopus, Scielo, Dialnet, and Google Scholar, focusing on educational applications of transdisciplinarity. Furthermore, the study situates transdisciplinary education as an effective and transformative framework aligned with international educational principles such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the European Key Competences, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Full article

This study explores the role of olfaction in linking Brazilian cultural expressions with Yoruba heritages. Brazilian culture is deeply rooted in African traditions brought across the Atlantic, and this connection is evident in its foods, celebrations, and practices. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining bibliometric and historic review, fieldwork, and sensory analysis, the research reveals how distinct aromas, ranging from the scent of aromatic plants used in celebrations to culinary ingredients, act as olfactory markers of identity and collective memory in the state of Bahia and in a religious community in São Paulo. Historically, the transatlantic slave trade brought Yoruba peoples to Brazil, embedding their traditions deeply into the region’s cultural and everyday life. By documenting the shared olfactory elements between Bahian festivals such as the Lavagem do Bonfim and the practices observed within Yoruba-based cultural expressions in the Oduduwa Temple in São Paulo, the study underscores the significance of olfactory heritage to Afro-Brazilian culture and calls for greater scholarly attention to it. Recognizing smell as a dynamic conduit for history and emotion offers new insights into the survival and evolution of cultural traditions, urging further transdisciplinary research into the sensory narratives that shape our collective identities. Full article

Five centuries ago, the Gibraltar Strait was emerging as the border zone between the core and the periphery of the modern/colonial world-system—a liminal position it continues to occupy today. During this period, Muslims on the southern shore of the Strait resisted the Portuguese and Spanish imperialism which was supported by several other Western European powers as well as the Catholic Papacy. This paper examines the life of Sayyida al-Ḥurra (c. 1491–c. 1552), who played an active role in this resistance, as Governor of the city-state of Tétouan and eventually Queen of Morocco. It summarizes years of transdisciplinary research about her life, which draws upon historical sources and popular narratives, as well as fieldwork in Northern Morocco and Southern Spain. The main finding of this research is that Sayyida al-Ḥurra is an early modern Muslim decolonial exemplar who remains significant today. She embodied an alternate way of being a ruler, a warrior, a woman, and a Muslim. Remembering her life can inspire contemporary decolonial thought, since the very fact of her existence unsettles modern colonial formations of race, ethnicity, governance, war, gender, and religion. Full article

This article explores the methodological framework and examines the learning and scientific outcomes of a workshop activity centred on the innovative integration of digital heritage approaches with design thinking methodologies. The workshop was developed in the Italian central Apennines and it investigated the design implications of working on heritage contexts in marginal areas using innovative digital tools, as well as the impact of this approach on the community. The activities engaged international students and professors, employed a multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and trans-scalar approach encompassing field research, data processing, dialogue, and collaborative visioning. The findings are both methodological and thematic. Methodologically, the workshop introduced a novel approach to architectural education by integrating digitalization in the design process and by fostering an urban vision that bridges research with local needs. Thematically, the outputs explore new uses for “potential spaces”, sustainable mobility, heritage-led strategies, and tourism, emphasizing community involvement. The workshop’s originality lies in its cognitive, narrative, and design processes, where digital data are part of the creative process. Despite the workshop’s compressed timeline, it successfully fostered creative thinking and practical solutions, demonstrating the value of intense, interdisciplinary collaborative visioning for heritage regeneration. The workshop’s broader implications include potential spin-offs into future community engagement and knowledge-transfer activities, highlighting its social and practical relevance. Full article

Background/Objectives: The definitions of feeding disorders of infants and young children were historically based on a dichotomic organic/non-organic vision. Since 2019, a new definition of pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) has reshaped the understanding of these disorders with a global vision. The aim of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the diagnostic criteria for general practice, both by exploring the evolution of classifications and by clearing the actual definition of PFDs and their possible treatments. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of the literature, including 36 articles about PFDs, excluding adolescents, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, pica, rumination, and specific neurodevelopmental or chronic pediatric disorders. We summarized these studies in three parts: the specific classifications for children before puberty, the current definition, and the clinical guidelines. Results: Concerning the history of the classifications, we summarized the studies of Chatoor and Kerzner and the older pediatric vision of failure to thrive. For the definition of pediatric feeding disorders, we presented this new category involving at least one out of four domains: medical, nutritional, feeding skills, or psychosocial. For the main clinical guidelines, we presented recommendations for both severe and common PFDs in each altered domain for use in daily practice. Conclusions: The new definition promotes a transdisciplinary vision of childhood feeding disorders, which considers each of the intricate domains of PFDs. Using common terminology for PFDs could help all healthcare providers, families, and researchers to better understand and address PFDs. Full article

The complexity of our life experiences and the rapid progress in science and technology clearly necessitate reflections from the humanities. The ever-growing intersection between science and society fosters the emergence of novel interdisciplinary fields of research. During the past decade, Medical Humanities arose to meet the need to unravel hidden information beyond technology-driven and fact-based medicine. In the present paper, we put forward the hypothesis that there is a similar requirement to develop Pharmaceutical Humanities as an academic discipline within pharmacy and pharmaceutical biology. Based on Thomas Kuhn’s epistemological theory on the structure of scientific revolutions, one may argue that a paradigm change for Pharmaceutical Humanities might open new levels of insight. Many complex diseases (e.g., cancer, neurological diseases, and mental disorders) remain uncurable for many patients by current pharmacotherapies, and the old beaten paths in our therapeutic thinking may at least partly have to be left behind. By taking examples from Pharmaceutical Biology, we attempt to illustrate that the transdisciplinary dialogue with the humanities is fertile ground not only for enlarging our understanding of disease-related conditions but also for exploring new ways of combatting diseases. In this context, we discuss aspects related to traditional herbal medicine, fair access and benefit sharing of indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants, post-traumatic stress syndrome, the opioid crisis, stress myocardiopathy (broken heart syndrome), and global environmental pollution with microplastics. We also explore possibilities for a narrative turn in pharmacy. The urgent need for inter- and transdisciplinary solutions to pressing health-related problems in our society may create a scholarly atmosphere for the establishment of Pharmaceutical Humanities as a fruitful terrain to respond to the current demands of both science and society. Full article

Contemporary science and religion discourse (SRD) is a large field encompassing various topics, from creationism against evolution to theological anthropology and artificial intelligence, though historically, what is meant by “science” is Western science, and what is meant by “religion” is usually Christianity. Moreover, SRD has been driven mainly from the North American context. The scope of this paper will thus be more focused on Western science and North American Protestant Evangelical Christianity, which hereafter will be referred to as simply Christianity or religion. In this article, I argue that SRD often arises from conflict or intersections where such interdisciplinary dialogue is needed to better understand the topic. However, this also means that topics that seem to agree between religion and science are not discussed in SRD. It is as if the goal of SRD, consciously or unconsciously, is to attain some consensus. Topics that have achieved consensus are not worth interrogating using the interdisciplinary approach of SRD. In this article, I will raise the topic of the holy war on obesity as a case example. From the medical and scientific perspective, obesity is a significant epidemic and problem. Similarly, Christians also see obesity as a problem that their churches can help by reinforcing the need for self-control as a virtue. The alignment of the two fields leaves this subject primarily out of the radar of the academic SRD. Yet I argue here that this unholy alliance needs to be questioned because locating the solution to obesity simply on willpower to lose weight and battle gluttony is short-sighted at best, misleading perhaps, and harmful at worst. This paper calls for a transdisciplinary approach to the SRD on obesity, emphasizing the need to address the multifaceted nature of the problem, which spans physiology, psychology, sociology, economics, culture, and theology. In overlooking the complexity of the problem with its various intersectionalities, both science and religion in SRD have colonized bodies and health. Inherent within this transdisciplinary approach is the exercise of undisciplining SRD and decolonizing bodies. The concept of “undisciplining” involves re-evaluating the problem beyond mere weight loss, addressing interconnected issues such as food supply, government regulations, capitalism, discrimination, and mental health care. The narrative of gluttony as sin, the war metaphor, and the methodologies employed by both religious and scientific communities need to be deconstructed. In conclusion, recognizing the entangled system in which all are complicit, the paper advocates for a more nuanced and comprehensive approach, free from the constraints of traditional disciplinary boundaries and influenced narratives. Full article

As Vietnam navigates challenges to its animal, human, and environmental health (One Health) during rapid economic transitions, understanding local perceptions of sustainable food systems, particularly aquatic foods, is vital. This study employs a transdisciplinary, autoethnographic approach to exploring the cultural significance of aquatic food perceptions within Vietnamese communities. Data were primarily sourced through an autoethnographic triangulation method, involving detailed field diaries, vignettes, and interactive workshop data collected from local stakeholders. Our distinctive approach, involving researchers from environmental science, computer science, linguistics, political ecology, aquaculture, nutrition, human physiology, marketing, and accounting and accountability, as both participants and observers, illuminates the lived experiences that shape food perceptions within Vietnam’s specific food agro-ecosystems. By embedding aquatic food perceptions within the One Health framework, we identify key intersections between human, animal, and environmental health. Through cross-disciplinary narrative analysis, our study uncovers the social, political, economic, cultural, and linguistic dimensions surrounding aquatic food perceptions at local, regional, and national levels in Vietnam. Our study highlights the unique contribution of qualitative methods to addressing questions that hard data cannot answer in understanding perceptions of aquatic foods. The study emphasizes the need for an integrated, culturally informed, and transdisciplinary approach to addressing the complex factors influencing One Health outcomes in Vietnam. This research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable food practices and One Health initiatives, proposing culturally informed interventions aimed at enhancing ecological resilience and public health. Full article

Energy system planning has evolved from a narrow focus on engineering and supply works towards addressing more complex, multifactorial challenges. Increasingly challenged by climate change, extreme events, economic shocks, and altered supply demand patterns, the analysis of energy systems requires holistic approaches based on data-driven models, taking into account key socio-economic factors. We draw insights from reviewing the literature, indicating the need to cover the following major gaps: the shift to transdisciplinary approaches, incorporating environmental system analysis; resilient and sustainable energy designs based on flexible portfolios of renewable mixes; the integration of socio-economic aspects, economic analyses and behavioural models to ensure energy systems are not only technically sound but socially acceptable and viable; the need for stakeholder engagement considering the human angle in energy security and behavioural shifts. Responding to these pressing challenges and emerging needs, the Global Climate Hub (GCH) initiative, operating under the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, offers a conceptual framework, leveraging transdisciplinary approaches. In this Concept Paper, we present for the first time the idea of the GCH as a framework that we believe has the potential to address the modern holistic needs for energy system analysis and policymaking. By setting the conceptual/theoretical ground of our suggested approach, we aim to provide guidance for innovative combinations of cutting-edge models, socio-economic narratives, and inclusive interaction with relevant stakeholders for the development and the long-term implementation of sustainable pathways. Full article

This essay takes advantage of the current context of superdiversity to define a form of hybrid heuristics between North American anthropology and research-creation “in” the arts. In an attempt to alleviate the epistemological disaster described by Gregory Bateson as the loss of the unity of the biosphere and humanity, I position myself within a nomothetic perspective of Boasian anthropology and a postqualitative approach to research-creation. My research-creation proposes clay as an epistemic object and develops a creative methodology in the form of an experimental system that borrows from the following two types of change observable in living organisms: static and schismatic changes. The artistic activities, presented as two heuristic cycles, seek to broaden the self-reflexivity inherent in the use of clay by human groups. They provoke decentring leading to a loss of control where a new identity has to be defined. This reveals itself in terms of system thinking as the reconstruction of a new reality that is defined neither entirely by my artistic practice nor entirely by my theoretical framework derived from anthropology. It is a “place of passage” between both. It is a new identity that can be defined by the “change of change” that I call “creative anthropology”. This transdisciplinary approach introduces a “second glance” into anthropological research and opens up breaches through research-creation. It works to develop new narratives and test posthumanism in the field of my artistic practice. Full article

Planetary health is an emergent transdisciplinary field, focused on understanding and addressing the interactions of climate change and human health, which offers interventional challenges given its complexity. While various articles have assessed the use of blockchain (web3) technologies in health, little consideration has been given to the potential use of web3 for addressing planetary health. A scoping review to explore the intersection of web3 and planetary health was conducted. Seven databases (Ovid Medline, Global Health, Web of Science, Scopus, Geobase, ACM Digital Library, and IEEE Xplore) were searched for peer-reviewed literature using key terms relating to planetary health and blockchain. Findings were reported narratively. A total of 3245 articles were identified and screened, with 23 articles included in the final review. The health focus of the articles included pandemics and disease outbreaks, the health of vulnerable groups, population health, health financing, research and medicines use, environmental health, and the negative impacts of blockchain mining on human health. All articles included the use of blockchain technology, with others additionally incorporating smart contracts, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The application of web3 to planetary health can be broadly categorised across data, financing, identity, medicines and devices, and research. Shared values that emerged include equity, decentralisation, transparency and trust, and managing complexity. Web3 has the potential to facilitate approaches towards planetary health, with the use of tools and applications that are underpinned by shared values. Further research, particularly primary research into blockchain for public goods and planetary health, will allow this hypothesis to be better tested. Full article

This article presents research on a creative and reflective thinking proposal conducted in the Early Childhood Education teaching degree program of the University of Valencia. The proposal was planned from a transdisciplinary perspective and combines art, technology and the Sustainable Development Goals from the 2030 Agenda. The study is linked to the Textile Cartographies international participatory project by the APECV (Association of Teachers of Expression and Visual Communication), in which 13 countries are involved. The research methodology is quantitative, using a validated questionnaire that helps evaluate the effectiveness of active transdisciplinary methodologies and art to promote reflective thinking. The total sample was composed of 117 students. The results of the questionnaire, which is structured into eight scales and a total of 48 items, reveal how activating reflective thinking leads to curiosity and surprise. This activation is driven by a transdisciplinary educational proposal which uses new technologies as a tool to create narratives and cartographies. In addition, importance is placed on cooperative group work, the contribution of ideas, and fostering creativity, giving value to experience for one’s own professional future. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic, adverse effects of climate change, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and other threats have been calling on all relevant stakeholders from varied disciplines to collaborate via the One Health approach, addressing the health of people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. This narrative review examines the need to add two more dimensions to the One Health approach: food systems and resilience, thus laying down the foundation of the Food System, One Health, and Resilience (FOR) approach. By doing so, all FOR approach elements would benefit from collaborative, multisectoral, transdisciplinary, planet-based, and system-focused efforts. Addressing more comprehensive determinants that positively impact resilience and sustainability would upgrade the One Health approach. We share some examples of academic institutions and innovation hubs that use this approach to improve access to adequate, safe, nutritious, and sustainable diets for all on our planet. We call on other FOR stakeholders, including governing institutions, to embrace the FOR approach and join the “FOR-runners”. It is suggested to widen the FOR community by including the doers, the food system’s workers, and consumers and to create the needed common grounds to drive for solutions rooted in equitable, just, locally tailored, inclusive, and sustainable solutions that withstand emergencies. Full article

Saltmarshes have the ability to not only promote biodiversity, but to put nations on the path towards climate recovery and net-zero emissions through saltmarshes’ capability to take up carbon. As the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal sets out to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, innovative solutions will need to be identified, possibly even through better preserving century-old habitats such as saltmarshes. Based on the upcoming needs from the EU, in the Spring of 2021, a workshop was held with leading Nordic saltmarsh and blue carbon scientists using the transdisciplinary methods of Systems Thinking and Bayesian Belief Networks to identify solutions that can include saltmarshes in future policy. These joint methods elicited multiple future scenarios in which data were collected on perceived notions of the value of saltmarshes and how to better govern them to ensure their longevity. The models developed in this study include human perceptions and comprehensive quantitative scenarios through their ability to define paths forward in the form of comprehensive policy recommendations. We found through scenario analysis that a major belief among the stakeholders was numerous events of change such as ‘outreach, getting salt marshes on the political agenda and forming new narratives would help to increase saltmarsh area via conservation and restoration prioritization’ would have a positive impact of saltmarshes in Nordic countries. Full article