Search Results (107)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing (UAV-RS) has emerged as a transformative technology in high-resolution Earth observation, with widespread applications in precision agriculture, ecological monitoring, and disaster response. However, a systematic understanding of its scientific evolution and structural bottlenecks remains lacking. This study collected 4985 peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science Core Collection and conducted a comprehensive scientometric analysis using CiteSpace v.6.2.R4, Origin 2022, and Excel. We examined publication trends, country/institutional collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence clusters, and emerging research fronts. Results reveal an exponential growth in UAV-RS research since 2015, dominated by application-driven studies. Hotspots include vegetation indices, structure from motion modeling, and deep learning integration. However, foundational challenges—such as platform endurance, sensor coordination, and data standardization—remain underexplored. The global collaboration network exhibits a “strong hubs, weak bridges” pattern, limiting transnational knowledge integration. This review highlights the imbalance between surface-level innovation and deep technological maturity and calls for a paradigm shift from fragmented application responses to integrated systems development. Our findings provide strategic insights for researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies to guide the next stage of UAV-RS evolution. Full article

This study examines the added value of territorial cooperation within the LEADER approach, a key pillar of the EU’s rural development policy. Both interterritorial and transnational cooperation projects empower Local Action Groups (LAGs) to tackle common challenges through innovative and community-driven strategies. Drawing on over 3000 projects since 1994, LEADER cooperation has proven its ability to deliver tangible results—such as joint publications, pilot projects, and shared digital platforms—alongside intangible benefits like knowledge exchange, improved governance, and stronger social capital. By facilitating experiential learning and inter-organizational collaboration, cooperation enables stakeholders to work across territorial boundaries and build networks that respond to both national and transnational development issues. The interaction among diverse actors often fosters innovative responses to local and regional problems. Using a mixed-methods approach, including case studies of Italian LAGs, this research analyses the dynamics, challenges, and impacts of cooperation, with a focus on learning processes, capacity building, and long-term sustainability. Therefore, this study focuses not only on project outcomes but also on the processes and learning dynamics that generate added value through cooperation. The findings highlight how territorial cooperation promotes inclusivity, fosters cross-border dialogue, and supports the development of context-specific solutions, ultimately enhancing rural resilience and innovation. In conclusion, LEADER cooperation contributes to a more effective, participatory, and sustainable model of rural development, offering valuable insights for the broader EU cohesion policy. Full article

From the mid-Ming to early Qing dynasties, Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Yunnan achieved unexpected prominence within China’s Buddhist sacred landscape—an event of regional, national, and transnational significance. Employing an explicit comparative lens that juxtaposes Jizu with China’s core-region sacred sites like Mount Wutai and Emei, this study investigates the timing, regional dynamics, institutional mechanisms, and causal drivers behind the rapid ascent. Rejecting teleological narratives, it traces the mountain’s trajectory through four developmental phases to address critical historiographical questions: how did a peripheral Yunnan site achieve national prominence within a remarkably compressed timeframe? By what mechanisms could its sacred authority be constructed to inspire pilgrimages even across vast distances? Which historical agents and processes orchestrated these transformations, and how did the mountain’s symbolic meaning shift dynamically over time? Departing from earlier scholarship that privileges regional and secular frameworks, this work not only rebalances the emphasis on religious dimensions but also expands the analytical scope beyond regional confines to situate Mount Jizu within national and transnational frameworks. Eventually, by analyzing the structural, institutional, and agential dynamics—spanning local, imperial, and transnational dimensions—this study reveals how the mountain’s sacralization emerged from the convergence of local agency, acculturative pressures, state-building imperatives, late-Ming Buddhist revival, literati networks, and the strategic mobilization of symbolic capital. It also reveals that Mount Jizu was not a static sacred site but a dynamic arena of contestation and negotiation, where competing claims to spiritual authority and cultural identity were perpetually redefined. Full article

In trans-border data (data transferred or accessed across national jurisdictions) exchange scenarios, identity authentication mechanisms serve as critical components for ensuring data security and privacy protection, with their effectiveness directly impacting the compliance and reliability of transnational operations. However, existing identity authentication systems face multiple challenges in trans-border contexts. Firstly, the transnational transfer of identity data struggles to meet the varying data-compliance requirements across different jurisdictions. Secondly, centralized authentication architectures exhibit vulnerabilities in trust chains, where single points of failure may lead to systemic risks. Thirdly, the inefficiency of certificate verification in traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems fails to meet the real-time response demands of globalized business operations. These limitations severely constrain real-time identity verification in international business scenarios. To address these issues, this study proposes a trans-border distributed certificate-free identity authentication framework (STALE). The methodology adopts three key innovations. Firstly, it utilizes email addresses as unique user identifiers combined with a Certificateless Public Key Cryptography (CL-PKC) system for key distribution, eliminating both single-point dependency on traditional Certificate Authorities (CAs) and the key escrow issues inherent in Identity-Based Cryptography (IBC). Secondly, an enhanced Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH) key-exchange protocol is introduced, employing forward-secure session key negotiation to significantly improve communication security in trans-border network environments. Finally, a distributed identity ledger is implemented, using the FISCO BCOS blockchain, enabling decentralized storage and verification of identity information while ensuring data immutability, full traceability, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits significant advantages in authentication efficiency, communication overhead, and computational cost compared to existing solutions. Full article

Social embeddedness describes the extent to which firms are integrated into a social network in different situations and is an important concept in the entrepreneurship literature. Much of the existing research on embeddedness focuses on how entrepreneurs integrate into their host countries or the business activities of transnational entrepreneurs who operate across both their host and home countries. While a limited number of studies have examined sustainable entrepreneurs, previous studies have not sufficiently examined the nature of entrepreneurs’ social embeddedness and its effect on their sustainable entrepreneurial activities. This study seeks to understand how sustainable entrepreneurs utilize their social embeddedness when navigating business challenges. This study followed a multiple-case study approach based on data collected from in-depth inquiries into eight founders of sustainable startups in Nigeria. The findings show that sustainable entrepreneurs use social embeddedness as a strategy to navigate challenges encountered at different stages of their business. The findings make a theoretical contribution by describing how sustainable entrepreneurs use social embeddedness as a strategy to navigate business challenges in a developing country context. The findings offer implications for policymakers of emerging economies and sustainable entrepreneurship support organizations. Full article

The Women, Life, Freedom (WLF) movement in Iran represents an existentialist and humanist liberation struggle against the country’s oppressive clerical regime. Grounded in existentialist philosophy, particularly Simone de Beauvoir’s concepts of autonomy, self-realization, and the pursuit of freedom, WLF extends beyond political reform to advocate for both personal and national liberation. The movement emphasizes self-determination, bodily autonomy, and agency, rejecting imposed identities and societal constraints. With over 120 years of Iranian women’s struggles as its foundation, WLF builds on past movements, such as the One Million Signatures Campaign, which raised awareness of legal discrimination and violence against women. The movement has also been shaped by globalization and “glocal” processes, fostering cross-cultural feminist solidarity among Iranian women both inside and outside the country. These transnational feminist networks connect local, national, and global movements, strengthening advocacy efforts. A defining feature of WLF is the role of male allies. Some men, particularly as partners in solidarity, actively challenge patriarchal norms and advocate for gender equality. Their participation reflects a shared commitment to human rights, national dignity, and freedom while acknowledging the importance of gender in shaping lived experiences and struggles. Ultimately, WLF is not just a gendered struggle but a unifying force that redefines Iranian identity. By intertwining personal and societal liberation within a global framework, the movement advances a transformative vision, one that challenges oppression, reclaims agency, and aspires for a just and equitable society. Full article

This scoping review investigates the labor market challenges and coping strategies of highly skilled second-generation immigrants in Europe who, despite their educational and professional accomplishments, face persistent barriers related to ethnic, cultural, and religious identities. Synthesizing existing literature, the review examines obstacles to the economic integration of highly educated children of immigrants, highlighting both their perceptions of these barriers and the adaptive strategies they employ. A systematic search was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost to identify studies published between 2010 and 2024. The selection process followed a structured five-stage framework, including defining research questions, identifying and selecting relevant studies, charting the data, and synthesizing findings. A total of 1192 records were initially identified, with 1022 retained after duplicate removal. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 68 studies were included in the review. Findings indicate that hiring discrimination, occupational segregation, and exclusion from elite professional networks remain key barriers, particularly for those of Muslim background. Despite achieving professional success, many continue to encounter symbolic boundaries that limit career advancement. In response, second-generation professionals adopt various coping strategies, including ethnic niche formation, entrepreneurship, and transnational mobility, to navigate labor market disadvantages. Challenging traditional assimilation narratives, findings reveal that professional success does not guarantee societal acceptance, as ethnic and cultural identities continue to pose significant barriers. The review concludes by identifying key research gaps, advocating for further exploration of organizational practices that perpetuate ethnic inequalities within high-skill professions, and examining transnational mobility as a coping strategy for second-generation elites. Future research should explore how gender and ethnicity intersect to shape career trajectories for second-generation women. Additionally, expanding research beyond the predominant focus on Muslim professionals to include other religious and ethnic groups would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how identity markers influence labor market outcomes. Finally, as demographic shifts reshape European labor markets, comparative studies should assess how different institutional and cultural frameworks influence patterns of inclusion and exclusion for highly skilled second-generation professionals. Full article

The Critical Pedagogies Research Team (PEDACRI-ULL) participates in the Program for the Inclusion of Migrants at Risk of Social Exclusion (PIPE) 2023-1-ES01-KA220-ADU-000160578, funded by the European Union. This project aims to design, implement and promote a transnational cooperation network to enhance the skills and competencies of migrants. Its purpose is to provide an educational response aligned with the European Commission’s Pact on Migration and Asylum.. Among its objectives, the program develops tools for professionals and institutions working with migrants, fostering collaborative learning to envision a culture of peace. In this essay, we explore the Pedagogy of Hospitality through critical pedagogies and the dialogue of knowledge. We propose a model of migrant citizenship based on an interlinguistic didactic relationship that promotes intercultural coexistence, grounded in an ethic of miscegenation. Furthermore, we advocate language teaching as a universal right and argue that hospitality should not be seen as an act of generosity but as a moral duty. This perspective supports an inclusive and just education, where language serves as a bridge for integration and mutual recognition. Full article

The expansion of empires and colonial rule significantly shaped the movement of religious communities, practices, and institutions across borders. This article examines the intersections of empire, colonialism, and religious mobility with a view to exploring how colonial administrations facilitated, restricted, or co-opted religious movements for governance and control. Religious actors—such as missionaries, clerics, traders, and diasporic communities—played roles in transnational exchanges, carrying faith traditions across imperial networks while simultaneously influencing local spiritual landscapes. The study situates religious mobility within the broader framework of colonial power structures and analyzes how missionary enterprises, religious conversions, and state-sponsored religious policies were used to consolidate imperial control. It also considers how indigenous religious movements navigated, resisted, or transformed under colonial rule. The case studies include Christian missionary networks in British and French colonies, the movement of Islamic scholars across the Ottoman and Mughal empires, and the role of Buddhism in colonial southeast Asia. These examples highlight the role of religion not just as a tool of empire but as a vehicle for indigenous agency, resistance, and syncretic transformation. This article explores the transnational mobility of religious artifacts, sacred texts, and pilgrimage networks, demonstrating how colonial expansion altered religious landscapes beyond political boundaries. The study critically engages with postcolonial perspectives to interrogate how colonial legacies continue to shape contemporary religious diasporas and global faith-based movements. Full article

The contemporary restructuring of religion and secularism demands a departure from conventional post-secular analyses that remain confined within the epistemic and institutional frameworks of the nation-state. This paper develops the concept of post-secular cosmopolitanization to theorize the dissolution of the secular–religious binary as a regulatory mechanism of power, revealing how religion and secularism are co-constituted through global entanglements that transcend national boundaries. Unlike dominant conceptions of post-secularism, which assumes the continued dominance of secular and national institutions despite religious resurgence, post-secular cosmopolitanization captures the ways in which transnational religious movements, digital religious networks, and global governance structures are reshaping religious authority, secular regulation, and political sovereignty. It is shown that this transformation leads to three major consequences: (1) the erosion of the nation-state’s regulatory monopoly over religious life as alternative religious and transnational actors emerge as influential governance entities; (2) the deterritorialization and fragmentation of religious authority, undermining traditional clerical and institutional hierarchies; and (3) the blurring of religious and secular domains, where global economic, legal, and political structures increasingly integrate religious actors, norms, and ethical frameworks. These developments signal a paradigmatic shift beyond the secularization thesis and dominant conceptions of post-secularism, necessitating a reconsideration of how power, governance, and religious authority function in a world no longer structured by the nation-state’s exclusive claim to sovereignty. By analyzing these entanglements, this paper provides a theoretical framework to understand the reconfiguration of global secular and religious orders, challenging entrenched assumptions about the trajectory of modernity. Full article

Brain drain represents a critical challenge to global development, reflecting structural inequalities and tensions between mobility and rootedness. This study analyzes the determinants of skilled migration in 178 countries (2006–2022) using a regression model based on panel data, identifying six key variables: uneven economic development, the quality of public services, external intervention, voice and accountability, the rule of law, and political stability. Governance, particularly political stability and the rule of law, stands out as crucial for retaining talent, while external interventions and economic inequality exacerbate emigration. From a sociological perspective, migrants are active agents who transform transnational networks, challenging traditional notions of citizenship and belonging. Civil society organizations play a central role by facilitating sociocultural inclusion, mediating resettlement processes, and promoting brain circulation as an alternative to retention-focused models. Additionally, this study highlights the cultural and symbolic dimension of migration, revealing the impact of uprooting on communities of origin. Future research should explore how inclusive policies, digital nomadism, and remittances can reduce structural inequalities, strengthen the connection between migrants and their communities, and advance towards a sustainable and equitable mobility model. Full article

In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of transnational networking and developing innovative cultural routes through participatory research and creative presentations of European cultural heritage in special collections of Adriatic libraries. The purpose of the research, conducted in the framework of the course Travel Writing and Cultural Routes, was to identify collections that contain travel writing material related to the broader Euro-Mediterranean area and to enable its better visibility through the digitization and creation of new European cultural routes. The students, with the help of librarians at the University Library in Pula, explored special collections, such as the Marine Library, and proposed the creation of new cultural routes, following the itineraries of European travel writers in the Adriatic. The conducted research indicated collections and materials in heritage institutions (archives, libraries and museums) in Pula and Istria relevant to the topics of cultural routes and travel in Europe, as well as regional multicultural history. Libraries in Istria and Dalmatia have valuable collections of rare archival material related to European travels to the Adriatic. The cataloguing and digitisation of rare travel texts has the potential to raise awareness of these collections, adding to their significance for academic research and heritage-based tourism. Full article

The article examines the exhibition history of hand-painted ceramic objects from the “Fajans” factory in Włocławek and the politics of regional contextualization during the period of détente in the 1970s and 1980s. It extends both existing scholarship on transnational art history in socialist Europe and the notion of cultural diplomacy, approached here in the context of regional politics and economic frameworks. The paper highlights the peripheral networks and movements that developed in relation to the socialist cultural politics of working-class artistic engagement and artistic practice as labor. Questions of cooperation between Poland and other socialist states are of particular interest, as are the implications of détente for East Central Europe. The reconstruction of the transnational circulation of “Fajans” objects is based on a comparative analysis of international “Fajans” exhibitions, using documentation from the archives of the Faience Department of the Museum of the Kujawy and Dobrzyń Land, as well as from the archives of the city of Novi Sad. Based on the researched material and the conceptual framework of transnational art history, the article proposes a concept of regional cultural diplomacy. Full article

At the Group of Seven (G7) summit held on 13–15 June in 2024, the Group’s leaders committed to establishing a collective cyber security framework and reinforcing the work of the cyber security working group to manage the risks targeting energy systems. Likewise, oil and electricity, and natural gas rely on complex and interdependent technologies and communication networks from production to consumption. The preparedness to handle cyber security threats in the energy infrastructures among decision makers, planners, and the industry in a concerted manner signifies that cyber security is becoming more appreciated. Therefore, considering the ambition and achievement of the G7 countries towards energy and cyber sovereignty, this paper’s focus and research question aims to explore the potential existence of the cyber governance alliance in the gas subsector within the G7. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it explores the potential of the G7, the world’s seven largest advanced economies, to lead on a nascent cyber governance for risk management in the gas sector. The qualitative analysis conducted through the institutional analysis and design method examines up-to-date data involving mainly state actors. Second, by drawing on LNG, one of the world’s fastest growing energy types in the coming decades, the paper points out the need for further research on the transnational governance operating through public–private engagement to address the cyber risks to gas systems. While the paper makes an empirical contribution to the field of security governance and a practical contribution to security consulting, its limitations rely on the necessity to also conduct a quantitative enquiry, which would necessitate, among others, a review of the literature in the G7 countries, and a group of researchers from academia and practitioners to obtain a sense of the cyberspace in the energy reality. Full article

This paper examines how African immigrants living with HIV negotiate and reconstruct their productive (i.e., educational and career opportunities), sexual, and reproductive identities. We used data from a mixed-methods study to explore how stigma and social networks in which participants were embedded shaped how they understood and negotiated their role expectations and responsibilities. Participants revealed how HIV not only changed their identities and limited their sex life, partner choices, and fundamental decisions about fertility and reproduction, but also presented them with the opportunity to reinvent/reshape their lives. Our analysis revealed that the cultural discourses about illness and HIV in participant’s countries of origin, the acculturative and migratory stressors, and the competing influences and expectations from family and friends in their home and host countries shape their illness experience, and how they adjust to life with HIV. This paper builds on sociological understanding of illness experience as a social construct that shapes the ill person’s identity, role, and function in society. Specifically, the paper contributes to discourses on how (i) participants’ social location and identity (as transnational migrants adjusting to acculturative stressors associated with resettlement into a new country), (ii) cultural discourses about illness and HIV in their countries of origin, and (iii) embeddedness in transnational social networks influence health outcomes, including lived experiences with chronic illnesses and stigmatized conditions such as HIV. Full article