Sustainable Development of Arabian Gulf Cities: Is Artificial Intelligence Conducive to  Equitable Well-being for Users?

Purpose Within a neoliberal environment, financial vulnerability of households has become an increasing challenge and there is a requirement of financial literacy education, a necessary activity to facilitate sustainable development and well-being. However, this is seldom a mainstream discourse in social work deliberations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach First, introducing the neoliberal impact on financial well-being and capability for vulnerable households, the authors’ postulation is substantiated on a seven-point argument. The contexts of financially vulnerable households are sketched. Second, a conceptualisation of financial literacy is offered, and third, perspectives on and approaches to financial literacy as a fundamental capability are presented. This is followed by a theoretical foundation of community education as a practice model in social work to develop financial capabilities. In the fifth place, prevailing practices of Financial Capabilities Development (FCD) programmes are offered. Subsequently, the implications of a neoliberal environment for social work practice are examined. Findings The revised global definition of social work encourages the profession to understand and address the structural causes of social problems through collective interventions. As a response, it is argued that community education towards FCD of vulnerable households within a neoliberal environment should be an essential discourse in social development. Originality/value The authors reflect on the significance of FCD, highlighting its contribution towards human security and sustainable development. Although this paper draws on Southern African contexts, the discourse finds resonance in other contexts across the world.

Download Full-text

Ethics of artificial intelligence in radiology: summary of the joint European and North American multisociety statement

Insights into Imaging ◽

10.1186/s13244-019-0785-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. Raymond Geis ◽

Adrian Brady ◽

Carol C. Wu ◽

Jack Spencer ◽

Erik Ranschaert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

European Society ◽

Common Good ◽

Autonomous Systems ◽

Codes Of Ethics ◽

Well Being ◽

Imaging Informatics ◽

Financial Gain ◽

Canadian Association ◽

Ultimate Responsibility

Abstract This is a condensed summary of an international multisociety statement on ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology produced by the ACR, European Society of Radiology, RSNA, Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine, European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics, Canadian Association of Radiologists, and American Association of Physicists in Medicine. AI has great potential to increase efficiency and accuracy throughout radiology, but also carries inherent pitfalls and biases. Widespread use of AI-based intelligent and autonomous systems in radiology can increase the risk of systemic errors with high consequence, and highlights complex ethical and societal issues. Currently, there is little experience using AI for patient care in diverse clinical settings. Extensive research is needed to understand how to best deploy AI in clinical practice. This statement highlights our consensus that ethical use of AI in radiology should promote well-being, minimize harm, and ensure that the benefits and harms are distributed among stakeholders in a just manner. We believe AI should respect human rights and freedoms, including dignity and privacy. It should be designed for maximum transparency and dependability. Ultimate responsibility and accountability for AI remains with its human designers and operators for the foreseeable future. The radiology community should start now to develop codes of ethics and practice for AI which promote any use that helps patients and the common good and should block use of radiology data and algorithms for financial gain without those two attributes.

Download Full-text

Bridging Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Circular Flow of Interaction among the University, Industry, and People

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084532 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4532

Author(s):

Rumpa Roy ◽

Hesham El Marsafawy

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Well Being ◽

Prior Learning ◽

Hands On ◽

Recognition Of Prior Learning ◽

Corporate Social ◽

The University ◽

University Industry

Universities foster a collaboration with industry with their commitment towards society. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of organizations facilitate implementation of the recognition of prior learning (RPL) in higher education, while creating long-term opportunities for sustainable development. The researchers of this study come from two different disciplines, and aim to embed sustainable development strategies for transforming education by utilizing the capacity of educators and industry professionals, while also contributing to the community and economy. The researcher with a specialization in economics identified the well-being of the community and economy, and another researcher with a design and ergonomics background brought the concept of service design. Results of the conducted surveys imply that a skill gap exists in the labor market and participants from the community are interested in receiving hands on training from the industry. The researchers introduce a model focusing on the significance and implementation of RPL, allowing youth and adults to accumulate credit through non-formal and informal learning experiences. The model reflects how the university assesses the current skills and needs of the target communities, how they are communicated to industry by identifying potential areas of development, how industry responds to the needs by providing training, and how the university acknowledges prior learning and promotes potential candidates to contribute towards industry.

Download Full-text

Sustained sustainable development actions of China from 1986 to 2020

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-87376-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bingsheng Liu ◽

Tao Wang ◽

Jiaming Zhang ◽

Xiaoming Wang ◽

Yuan Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Local Governments ◽

Local Development ◽

Well Being ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Development Goals ◽

Development Levels ◽

The Right ◽

Resource Conditions

AbstractAchieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a long-term task, which puts forward high requirements on the sustainability of related policies and actions. Using the text analysis method, we analyze the China National Sustainable Communities (CNSCs) policy implemented over 30 years and its effects on achieving SDGs. We find that the national government needs to understand the scope of sustainable development more comprehensively, the sustained actions can produce positive effects under the right goals. The SDGs selection of local governments is affected by local development levels and resource conditions, regions with better economic foundations tend to focus on SDGs on human well-being, regions with weaker foundations show priority to basic SDGs on the economic development, infrastructures and industrialization.

Download Full-text

Worker Perspectives on Incorporating Artificial Intelligence into Office Workspaces: Implications for the Future of Office Work

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041690 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1690

Author(s):

Yoko E. Fukumura ◽

Julie McLaughlin Gray ◽

Gale M. Lucas ◽

Burcin Becerik-Gerber ◽

Shawn C. Roll

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Work Performance ◽

Well Being ◽

Office Worker ◽

Office Work ◽

Worker Performance ◽

Workplace Environments ◽

Learning Capabilities ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Group Interviews

Workplace environments have a significant impact on worker performance, health, and well-being. With machine learning capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) can be developed to automate individualized adjustments to work environments (e.g., lighting, temperature) and to facilitate healthier worker behaviors (e.g., posture). Worker perspectives on incorporating AI into office workspaces are largely unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore office workers’ views on including AI in their office workspace. Six focus group interviews with a total of 45 participants were conducted. Interview questions were designed to generate discussion on benefits, challenges, and pragmatic considerations for incorporating AI into office settings. Sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an iterative approach. Two primary constructs emerged. First, participants shared perspectives related to preferences and concerns regarding communication and interactions with the technology. Second, numerous conversations highlighted the dualistic nature of a system that collects large amounts of data; that is, the potential benefits for behavior change to improve health and the pitfalls of trust and privacy. Across both constructs, there was an overarching discussion related to the intersections of AI with the complexity of work performance. Numerous thoughts were shared relative to future AI solutions that could enhance the office workplace. This study’s findings indicate that the acceptability of AI in the workplace is complex and dependent upon the benefits outweighing the potential detriments. Office worker needs are complex and diverse, and AI systems should aim to accommodate individual needs.

Download Full-text

An appraisal of interlinkages between macro-economic indicators of economic well-being and the sustainable development goals

Ecological Economics ◽

10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.106996 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 184 ◽

pp. 106996

Author(s):

David Cook ◽

Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Well Being ◽

Economic Indicators ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals ◽

Economic Well Being

Download Full-text

Bibliometric Analysis of SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 Studies from India and Connection to Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147555 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7555

Author(s):

Raghu Raman ◽

Ricardo Vinuesa ◽

Prema Nedungadi

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Bibliometric Analysis ◽

Data Access ◽

Well Being ◽

Good Health ◽

The United States ◽

Social Sciences And Humanities ◽

Semantic Associations ◽

Number Of Publications

India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of COVID-19 publications accounting for 6.7% of the total. About 60% of the COVID-19 publications in the year 2020 are from United States, China, UK, Italy, and India. We present a bibliometric analysis of the publication trends and citation structure along with the identification of major research clusters. By performing network analysis of authors, citations, institutions, keywords, and countries, we explore semantic associations by applying visualization techniques. Our study shows lead taken by the United States, China, UK, Italy, India in COVID-19 research may be attributed to the high prevalence of COVID-19 cases in those countries witnessing the first outbreak and also due to having access to COVID-19 data, access to labs for experimental trials, immediate funding, and overall support from the govt. agencies. A large number of publications and citations from India are due to co-authored publications with countries like the United States, UK, China, and Saudi Arabia. Findings show health sciences have the highest number of publications and citations, while physical sciences and social sciences and humanities counts were low. A large proportion of publications fall into the open-access category. With India as the focus, by comparing three major pandemics—SARS, MERS, COVID-19—from a bibliometrics perspective, we observe much broader involvement of authors from multiple countries for COVID-19 studies when compared to SARS and MERS. Finally, by applying bibliometric indicators, we see an increasing number of sustainable development-related studies from the COVID-19 domain, particularly concerning the topic of good health and well-being. This study allows for a deeper understanding of how the scholarly community from a populous country like India pursued research in the midst of a major pandemic which resulted in the closure of scientific institutions for an extended time.

Download Full-text

Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons

Paladyn Journal of Behavioral Robotics ◽

10.1515/pjbr-2020-0009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 228-232

Author(s):

Adamantios Koumpis ◽

Thomas Gees

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Older People ◽

Older Persons ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Deep Roots ◽

Value System ◽

Sex Robots ◽

Per Se ◽

Sex Toys

AbstractIn this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.

Download Full-text