scholarly journals Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 12-62
Author(s):  
Morten Tønnessen
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Human Ecology ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Deep Ecology ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Societal Transformation ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Development Paths ◽  
Business As Usual

This article introduces an ecosemiotic approach to the two great challenges facing humanity in the 21st century: solving an escalating environmental crisis, while also safeguarding and further improving human living conditions. An ecosemiotic framework for the study of societal transformations is presented and political and other normative aspects of what I call transformative semiotics are discussed. This envelops socio-cultural and socio-ecological developments framed in terms of umwelt theory and Deep Ecology. In the long run, developments in human ecology as reflected in our changing relations to non-humans are expressed in the umwelt trajectory of humankind. The question of how the environmental crisis can best be solved is therefore tantamount to the question about what direction the human umwelt trajectory should take in this century. I outline different plausible umwelt scenarios for human ecology in the 21st century, focused on business-as-usual, ecomodernist and Deep Ecology scenarios. In a concluding discussion on technology and sustainability, the scenario development eventually includes a distinction between flexible and inflexible development paths.

scholarly journals Fostering 21st-Century Evolutionary Reasoning: Teaching Tree Thinking to Introductory Biology Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. ar66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. Novick ◽  
Kefyn M. Catley
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Tree Thinking ◽  
Experimental Instruction ◽  
Vital Component ◽  
New Research ◽  
Business As Usual

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life (ToL) diagrams has become a vital component of science literacy in the 21st century. This article reports on the effectiveness of a research-based curriculum, including an instructional booklet, laboratory, and lectures, to teach the fundamentals of such tree thinking in an introductory biology class for science majors. We present the results of a study involving 117 undergraduates who received either our new research-based tree-thinking curriculum or business-as-usual instruction. We found greater gains in tree-thinking abilities for the experimental instruction group than for the business-as-usual group, as measured by performance on our novel assessment instrument. This was a medium size effect. These gains were observed on an unannounced test that was administered ∼5–6 weeks after the primary instruction in tree thinking. The nature of students’ postinstruction difficulties with tree thinking suggests that the critical underlying concept for acquiring expert-level competence in this area is understanding that any specific phylogenetic tree is a subset of the complete, unimaginably large ToL.

Sprawl of the COVID-19 in changing scenario: a methodology based on social interaction

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Kumar ◽  
Akshay Kumar ◽  
Farhan Mohammad Khan ◽  
Rajiv Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Mitigation Strategy ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Scheme ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Inter State

PurposeThere are several methods developed in the recent past to predict the spread of COVID-19 in different countries. However, due to changing scenarios in terms of interaction among people, none could predict the case close to the actual figures. An attempt to simulate people's interaction due to economic reopening concerning the confirmed cases at various places as per changing situation has been made. The scenario development method's base lies in the hypothesis that if there were no inter-state transportation during India's lockdown after May 24th, the number of infection cases would have started lowering down in a normalized progression.Design/methodology/approachThis study has developed three scenarios from the worst to the business-as-usual to the best in order to project the COVID-19 infections in India concerning infections observed from January 30th till May 24th, 2020, since the domestic flights became operational from May 25th, 2020, in India.FindingsBased on the observed cases till May 24th, the rise of cases is projected further in a random progression and superimposed to the normal progression. The results obtained in the three scenarios present that worst case needs complete lockdown, business-as-usual case needs regulatory lockdown and best case assures complete lockdown release by the second week of September 2020. This study suggests the preparedness and mitigation strategy for a threefold lockdown management scheme in all-inclusive.Originality/valueThe work has been done on a hypothesis which is solely original.

Environmental Ethics and Sustainability in Indian Thought

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 55-87
Author(s):  
Rana P. B. Singh ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Deep Ecology ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Indian Thought ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Universe

Religion (dharma) plays a vital role in the Hindu (Sanatana) quest for understanding and practicing harmony between nature and humanity that result into the formation of a cosmological awakening, i.e. 'transcending the universe.' The importance and applicability of such new consciousness is a sign in promoting global humanism in the 21st century, where environmental ethics and sustainability are the wheels of making the future more humane and peaceful. Arne Naess, who coined the term 'deep ecology' conceiving humankind as an integral part of its environment, gives credit to Gandhi. Gandhi’s contributions help to re-awaken the human spirit to self-realisation, finally leading to revelation promoting human coexistence with nature sustainably, mostly through re-interpretation of Vedantic thought. Under the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) the ideas of Gandhi are recognised as a path that makes human coexistence stronger, feasible and co-sharedness, sustainable in peace and harmony with nature. This essay presents ecospiritual contextuality and its vitality concerning a sustainable perspective in line with Gandhi's vision and way of life.

scholarly journals Towards eco-social housing in Vietnam: challenges and opportunities

2018 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Van Thuong Le ◽  
Tuan Tran ◽  
Truc Truong
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Government

Since Doi Moi (Reform) policy in 1986, Vietnam has experienced rapid urbanization and economic growth. Urbanization has resulted in increasingly high housing demand in the urban areas but this has largely unmet, especially housing for low-income people. Development of social housing for low-income and under-privileged people in cities has been seen as an urgent and important task of the government to pursue stable social and economic development. Low-income people are most vulnerable to environmental impacts and in need of energy-efficient houses to reduce their cost of living. Eco-social housing is seen as a solution to protect the natural environment as well as to boost local economy, improve living conditions particularly for low income people. Through preliminary assessments of three social buildings at three distinct regions of Vietnam, this paper found that despite many challenges, eco-social housing is a solution to Vietnam's needs in providing houses with adequate living conditions to low-income people while protecting the environment and achieving sustainable eco-social development in the long run.

scholarly journals The Ethical Experience of Nature: Aristotle and the Roots of Ecological Phenomenology

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan B. Van der Schyff
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Deep Ecology ◽  
Scientific Culture ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Moral Meaning ◽  
Ethical Experience ◽  
The Way

I demonstrate here how Aristotle's teleological conception of nature has been largely misunderstood in the scientific age and I consider what his view might offer us with regard to the environmental challenges we face in the 21st century. I suggest that in terms of coming to an ethical understanding of the creatures and things that constitute the ecosystem, Aristotle offers a welcome alternative to the rather instrumental conception of the natural world and low estimation of subjective experience our contemporary techno-scientific culture espouses. Among other things, I consider how his conception of orexis and eudaimonia (happiness or, as I prefer here, "the flourishing life") might be extended to include the eco-system itself, thus allowing us to better understand the moral meaning of nature. I conclude with a look at the way in which modern phenomenology re-addresses the fundamental Greek concern with ontology, meaning and human authenticity. I consider the ways in which phenomenology reasserts the value of direct human experience that was so important to Aristotle; and I consider how this view, and that of Deep ecology, may help us to experience nature - and all of Being for that matter - in a more authentic, meaningful and altogether ethical light.

scholarly journals PERMAINAN TRADISIONAL JAWA SEBAGAI STRATEGI PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS KEARIFAN LOKAL UNTUK MENUMBUHKAN KETERAMPILAN GLOBAL DI MI/SD

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andi Prastowo
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
21St Century Skills ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Textual Criticism ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Global Skills ◽  
High Level

The study of games in education is not new, from traditional games to modern website-based games have been done. Studies have even proved that traditional games have more proven value and benefits in the long run for education than modern games. However, the fact that the quality of education in various countries of the world is uneven, although they also know and have traditional games as part of its cultural elements. Like one of them can be seen in the quality of basic education in Indonesia, especially in the ability of thinking high level is still low. Moreover, in the 21st century students are required to have global skills of the 21st century. From this point the need to be studied about how the traditional Javanese games, as one of the greatest cultural heritages in Indonesia, can serve as a strategy to cultivate 21st century global skills for madrasah ibtidaiyah / primary school. This research is done by literature study with the method of textual criticism and external critic and then continued with synthesis. The findings of this study indicate that some traditional Javanese games are basically potential as a strategy to cultivate 21st century skills. This is not apart because the characteristics and form of some traditional Javanese game contains characteristics of 21st century skills that include critical thinking, communication, cooperation, and creativity.

Spotlight: 21st Century Skills in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Petrie ◽  
Clara García-Millán ◽  
María Mercedes Mateo-Berganza Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
21St Century ◽  
21St Century Skills ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Development Bank ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Insight Into

There is a wealth of conversation around the world today on the future of the workplace and the skills required for children to thrive in that future. Without certain core abilities, even extreme knowledge or job-specific skills will not be worth much in the long run. To address these issues, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and HundrED conducted this Spotlight project with the goal of identifying and researching leading innovations that focus on 21st Century Skills in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Spotlight program was supported by J.P. Morgan. The purpose of this project is to shine a spotlight, and make globally visible, leading education innovations from Latin America and the Caribbean doing exceptional work on developing 21st Century Skills for all students, teachers, and leaders in schools today. The main aims of this Spotlight are to: Discover the leading innovations cultivating 21st century skills in students globally; understand how schools or organizations can implement these innovations; gain insight into any required social or economic conditions for these innovations to be effectively introduced into a learning context; celebrate and broadcast these innovations to help them spread to new countries. All the findings of the Spotlight in 21st Century Skills are included in this report.

scholarly journals Kenya and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Implications for China-Africa Relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 401-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sabil Farooq ◽  
Tongkai Yuan ◽  
Jiangang Zhu ◽  
Nazia Feroze
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Cultural Impact ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Maritime Silk Road ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

China remains Africa’s largest financier of infrastructure, and the Belt and Road Forum held in May 2017 estimated pledge of funds of about US$40 billion. Reportedly, projects worth much more than the pledged funds are in the planning or have been underway, making the “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” the biggest development initiative in history. China and Africa need each other in development, and the Asian giant continues to make inroads into Africa, home to minerals, oil, and other resources that help feed China’s phenomenal economic growth. This article intends to discuss the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR)” under the BRI and its socioeconomic and cultural impact on China-Africa relations, with an emphasis on China’s relationship with Kenya, a founding member of the East Africa community (EAC) that has enjoyed lasting friendship with China. It is concluded that despite the generally positive impact of Chinese economic presence in Africa over the past decades, both China and African countries have much to do to consolidate their mutually beneficial relationship and to achieve the MSR’s target of common prosperity in the long run.

The valuation of ecosystem services of the Khangain nuruu national park

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 123-131
Author(s):  
Ganzorig G ◽  
Enkh-Amgalan G ◽  
Аmartuvshin O ◽  
Densmaa Sh ◽  
Gantulga Ts
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
National Park ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Livestock Husbandry

The state protected areas (PAs) lack with financial resource, which weakens the PA management including lack of human resource and their skill development, transparent cooperations, and of equipments and vehicles for ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation activities of the PAs. Thus, research on analysing the economic value of the PAs is vital important for the decision makers and policy planners, because they have lack of understanding of benefits of investing to the PAs. In 2013, United Nations Development Programme published a book that reflects the approach of “Targeted Scenario Analysis”, which is used in our study. The Khangain Nuruu National Park (KNPA) locates in 11 soums of three provinces, namely Arkhangai, Bayankhongor and Uvurkhangai, and we analyzed economic value of the KNPA for six economic sectors (livestock husbandry, crop farming, forestry, tourism, mining and industry), and two non-economic but consumption based sectors (carbon sequestration from larch trees, and drinkable water). The economic value or the contribution to the economy of Mongolia from KNPA was about MNT 165.4 billion in 2014, and it summed up to MNT 1 trillion between 2002 and 2014. Livestock husbandry, mining and tourism sectors benefitted about two third of this value. In case of “Business As Usual-BAU” scenario takes, continuesly, in place the total economic loss would reach to MNT 1.4 trillion between 2015 and 2040, compared to “Investing in Natural Capital-INC” scenario. Hence, implementing INC in the KNPA management would save this loss. We recommend to increase the financial resources for the KNPA management, therefore the economic sectors will not diminish due to lack of ecosystem services of the PA, which would then develop the sectors in the long run sustainably.

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