The Knowledge Economy and Social Impact

There is not a one-size-fits-all definition of “social impact.” In fact, in a Google search for “What is social impact?” more than 400 results appear. This chapter will highlight global initiatives led by OneSight, an NGO that is utilizing new technologies to combat the vision care crisis, and CanopyLAB, a software company that has teamed up with over 120 NGOs around the world to create and provide online courses utilizing artificial intelligence.

Fiscally Responsible Businesses as a Result of COVID-19 Pandemic Shock

The COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 crisis represent impressive motivating forces for advancement, change, evolution, and improvement at a global level. The study focuses on the OECD latest developments in international tax reform work on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in the courageous attempt to promote novel global initiatives for responsible tax and to support ambitious global actions for responsible tax principles. The results show the need to establish fiscally responsible businesses as a result of COVID-19 pandemic shock, thus taking back control of countries' tax systems by putting an end to corporate tax evasion and tax havens. The findings address the importance of being in line with tax principles, encouraging responsible financial transactions and behaviors.

Measuring Self-Reported Access to Assistive Technology Using the WHO Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) Questionnaire: Protocol for a Multi-Country Study

In 2018, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on improving access to assistive technology (AT), and mandated the WHO to prepare a global report on assistive technology based on the best available evidence and international experience. As limited data on access to AT at country and global levels were available, there was a need to conduct representative population surveys in order to inform the development of the global report, national AT programs, and global initiatives. The objective of this protocol is to describe a multi-country study of access to assistive technology in six self-reported areas: use, source, payer, satisfaction, unmet need, and barriers. In collaboration with WHO Regional and Country offices, Member States, and other stakeholders, the Assistive Technology Access team in WHO coordinates the study. Data are collected through household surveys using the rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) questionnaire. Findings from the surveys will be published in the global report.

Using ecosystem risk assessment science in ecosystem restoration: a guide to applying the Red List of Ecosystems to ecosystem restoration

Recent global initiatives in ecosystem restoration offer an unprecedented opportunity to improve biodiversity conservation and human health and well-being. Ecosystems form a core component of biodiversity. They provide humans with multiple benefits – a stable climate and breathable air; water, food and materials; and protection from disaster and disease. Ecosystem restoration, as defined by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, includes a range of management interventions that aim to reduce impacts on and assist in the recovery of ecosystems that have been damaged, degraded or destroyed. This Guide promotes the application of the science of ecosystem risk assessment, which involves measuring the risk of ecosystem collapse, in ecosystem restoration. It explores how the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems and ecosystem restoration can be jointly deployed to reduce risk of ecosystem collapse.

Making Data Visible in Public Space

“Transparency” is continually set as a core value for cities as they digitalize. Global initiatives and regulations claim that transparency will be key to making smart cities ethical. Unfortunately, how exactly to achieve a transparent city is quite opaque. Current regulations often only mandate that information be made accessible in the case of personal data collection. While such standards might encourage anonymization techniques, they do not enforce that publicly collected data be made publicly visible or an issue of public concern. This paper covers three main needs for data transparency in public space. The first, why data visibility is important, sets the stage for why transparency cannot solely be based on personal as opposed to anonymous data collection as well as what counts as making data transparent. The second concern, how to make data visible onsite, addresses the issue of how to create public space that communicates its sensing capabilities without overwhelming the public. The final section, what regulations are necessary for data visibility, argues that for a transparent public space government needs to step in to regulate contextual open data sharing, data registries, signage, and data literacy education.

Curating, collecting, and cataloguing global COVID-19 datasets for the aim of predicting personalized risk

The COVID-19 data catalogue is a repository that provides a landscape view of COVID-19 studies and datasets as a putative source to enable researchers to develop personalized COVID-19 predictive risk models. The COVID-19 data catalogue currently contains over 400 studies and their relevant information collected from a wide range of global sources such as global initiatives, clinical trial repositories, publications and data repositories. Further, the curated content stored in this data catalogue is complemented by a web application, providing visualizations of these studies, including their references, relevant information such as measured variables, and the geographical locations of where these studies were performed. This resource is one of the first to capture, organize and store studies, datasets and metadata in the area of COVID-19 in a comprehensive repository. We are convinced that our work will facilitate future research and development of personalized predictive risk models of COVID-19.

The Persistence of Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water and Its Impact on Global Food Safety

Water is vital to agriculture. It is essential that the water used for the production of fresh produce commodities be safe. Microbial pathogens are able to survive for extended periods of time in water. It is critical to understand their biology and ecology in this ecosystem in order to develop better mitigation strategies for farmers who grow these food crops. In this review the prevalence, persistence and ecology of four major foodborne pathogens, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella, Campylobacter and closely related Arcobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes, in water are discussed. These pathogens have been linked to fresh produce outbreaks, some with devastating consequences, where, in a few cases, the contamination event has been traced to water used for crop production or post-harvest activities. In addition, antimicrobial resistance, methods improvements, including the role of genomics in aiding in the understanding of these pathogens, are discussed. Finally, global initiatives to improve our knowledge base of these pathogens around the world are touched upon.

Contestation and norm change in whale and elephant conservation: Non-use or sustainable use?

Elephants and whales took center stage in the environmental movements of the 1980s. As flagship species, they were the poster children of global initiatives: international ivory trading and commercial whaling were banned in the 1980s in the context of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Whaling Commission (IWC), respectively. While the conservation of both species is contested, we observe a change of existing norms in one case but not in the other: A moratorium on commercial whaling remains in place. Meanwhile, a limited shift to sustainable use regarding ivory was passed in 1997/2000. We ask why norm change occurred in one case but not the other, given their similarities. We argue that the difference can be explained by the perceived legitimacy of the claims of norm challengers using arguments of “affectedness” and the breadth of issues covered by CITES. In contrast, other factors commonly discussed in norms research do not explain this puzzle: the relative power and strategies of norm advocates and challengers, and the degree of legalization. This shows the interplay of discursive aspects and concrete institutional opportunities for norm change, even in the face of otherwise inopportune conditions.