Explore the vast range of titles available.

To address the complex and difficult challenges that are occurring in complex social-ecological systems, a transformation toward sustainable futures is required. Understanding the characteristics and functions of leverage points (LPs), which bring about significant changes in complex systems, will greatly contribute to the various practices toward achieving sustainable futures. We conducted a detailed analysis of 15 cases of autonomous innovations emerging among vulnerable sectors in six countries to contribute to understanding the mechanisms of transformation of social-ecological systems by identifying the characteristics and functions of LPs. We found that three types of LPs with different characteristics play their roles in a multi-layered and interrelated manner in the emergence processes of autonomous innovations. These LPs contributed to the improvement of various aspects of well-being and facilitated the transformation of the social-ecological systems by enhancing the five previously proposed enabler categories. The multi-layered and interrelated functioning of LPs promotes the enhancement of various aspects of human well-being and strengthens the enabler categories. These were found to be important mechanisms for the transformation of social-ecological systems. Based on these results, we derive nine guiding principles for the conditions and mechanisms of transformation. These results indicate that a deeper study of autonomous innovation through an LP lens could make a significant contribution to solving or mitigating the wicked problems faced by humanity.

The FAIR principles have been widely cited, endorsed and adopted by a broad range of stakeholders since their publication in 2016. By intention, the 15 FAIR guiding principles do not dictate specific technological implementations, but provide for improving Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability of digital resources. This has likely contributed to the broad adoption of the FAIR principles, because individual stakeholder communities can implement their own FAIR solutions. However, it has also resulted in inconsistent interpretations that carry the risk of leading to incompatible implementations. Thus, while the FAIR principles are formulated on a high level and may be interpreted and implemented in different ways, for true interoperability we need to support convergence in implementation choices that are widely accessible and (re)-usable. We introduce the concept of to assist accelerated global participation and convergence towards accessible, robust, widespread and consistent FAIR implementations. Any self-identified stakeholder community may either to reuse solutions from existing implementations, or when they spot a gap, accept the to create the needed solution, which, ideally, can be used again by other communities in the future. Here, we provide interpretations and implementation considerations (choices and challenges) for each FAIR principle.

The Portuguese Cooperative Code allows cooperatives to set up commercial companies, subsidiaries, and acquire shares in the capital of commercial companies, provided this does not affect the autonomy of the cooperative. If through these group strategies, the cooperative aims to meet the needs of its members, we will be facing on the concept of ‘indirect mutuality’, a concept expressly admitted by the doctrine and the rules of certain jurisdictions. In these cases, the Social Economy Satellite Account should consider these commercial companies owned or participated by cooperatives as entities of the social economy. Therefore, a case-by-case analysis will be carried out to distinguish situations of indirect mutuality from situations of companization of the cooperative phenomenon.

Aims Rare earth elements (REEs) and normalized REE patterns determined in plant and soil samples represent powerful tools to trace biogeochemical processes during weathering, soil genesis and processes in the rhizosphere, and thus publications reporting REE concentrations and normalized REE patterns in soil systems and plants are rapidly increasing. Methods A normalized REE pattern allows for the recognition of anomalous concentrations of an individual REE. In the literature, anomalies are predominantly reported/focused for/on the redox-sensitive elements cerium (Ce) and europium (Eu) that can shift their oxidation state during interactions with organic and inorganic soil phases and the biological processes affecting their mobility in soil and uptake by plants. Thus positive Eu anomalies in plants are often interpreted as a consequence of reduction of Eu 3+ to Eu 2+ in the rhizosphere followed by a preferential uptake of Eu 2+ . Results Due to an analytical artefact in ICP-MS analysis, a false Eu anomaly may be reported. This can be avoided by using a barium (Ba) interference correction. We draw attention to the possibility of this problem and to being aware of its potential occurrence when Eu anomalies are reported. Conclusions We recommend (i) including information on how this potential problem was dealt with in the Materials and Methods section of articles and (ii) how to implement Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reusability (FAIR) guiding principles in that section (including data availability in an open repository).

Since the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights the relationship between human rights due diligence (HRDD) and corporate liability has been a source of legal uncertainty. In order to clarify this relationship, this article compares and contrasts civil liability provisions aiming at implementing HRDD. It explains the legal liability mechanisms in the draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights and in domestic mandatory HRDD legislation and initiatives such as the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative. It compares these developments with the emerging case law on parent company and supply chain liability for human rights abuses. It explores the potentially perverse effects that certain civil liability provisions and court decisions might have on companies’ practices. Finally, it makes recommendations for the design of effective liability mechanisms to implement HRDD.

Achondroplasia is the most common type of skeletal dysplasia, caused by a recurrent pathogenic variant in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 ( FGFR3) . The management of achondroplasia is multifaceted, requiring the involvement of multiple specialties across the life course. There are significant unmet needs associated with achondroplasia and substantial differences in different countries with regard to delivery of care. To address these challenges the European Achondroplasia Forum (EAF), a network of senior clinicians and orthopaedic surgeons from Europe and the Middle East representative of the achondroplasia clinical community, came together with the overall aim of improving patient outcomes. The EAF developed a consensus on guiding principles of management of achondroplasia to provide a basis for developing optimal care in Europe. All members of the EAF were invited to submit suggestions for guiding principles of management, which were consolidated and then discussed during a meeting in December 2020. The group voted anonymously on the inclusion of each principle, with the requirement of a 75% majority at the first vote to pass the principle. A vote on the level of agreement was then held. A total of six guiding principles were developed, which cover management over the lifetime of a person with achondroplasia. The principles centre on the lifelong management of achondroplasia by an experienced multidisciplinary team to anticipate and manage complications, support independence, and improve quality of life. There is focus on timely referral to a physician experienced in the management of achondroplasia on suspicion of the condition, shared decision making, the goals of management, access to adaptive measures to enable those with achondroplasia to access their environment, and the importance of ongoing monitoring throughout adolescence and adulthood. All principles achieved the 75% majority required for acceptance at the first vote (range 91–100%) and a high level of agreement (range 8.5–9.6). The guiding principles of management for achondroplasia provide all healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups and policy makers involved in the management of achondroplasia with overarching considerations when developing health systems to support the management of achondroplasia.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping business customer experiences. However, the benefits of adopting GenAI are competing with the inherent shortcomings like biases and hallucinations. Therefore, to mitigate the risks of GenAI adoption, the study develops guiding principles to achieve adaptive self-regulation in the use of GenAI within business customer experiences. The theories undergirding the research are Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) of self-regulation and Cybernetics. This theoretical triangulation overlaps on how information is processed to self-regulate GenAI. Cybernetics focuses on the use of feedback (information) to effect control and maintain equilibrium. Whereas Albert Bandura’s SCT of self-regulation highlights the role of information about internal, environmental, social or collective goals and standards in influencing decision making. This decision making is informed by making observations or garnering information from self-monitoring, making a judgement and taking self-reactive measures to self-regulate. The research gap and rationale behind adaptive self-regulation is the systemic lag between the development of GenAI and the adaptive self-regulation. To this end, the high costs and elongated time periods involved in promulgation of GenAI regulatory legislation create a gap. This gap in South Africa specifically meeting the demands for adaptive legislation for GenAI business customer experience is not abating. Therefore, the principles of Cybernetics and Bandura’s SCT of self-regulation undergird this research towards developing guiding principles for adaptive self-regulation of business customer experience. Hence, the views of South African technology professionals were garnered in line with the interpretivist paradigm adopted for this research. Through an exploratory qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The findings confirmed that GenAI offers efficiency, time-saving and actionable insights, but also presents gaps, including biases, hallucinations, a lack of oversight, and privacy. Most of the participants recommended safe and trustworthy GenAI with a hybrid deployment (human involvement and oversight). No new ideas and themes emerged once saturation was reached. Saturation was attained after 21 interviews. The guiding principles that emerged from the findings were also congruent with principles from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) AI recommendations on AI. These were first adopted in 2019 and revised in 2023 and 2024 to reflect new developments.

During the last years, there has been an increasing discussion on the role of business in human rights violations and an increase in human rights litigation against companies. The result of human rights litigation has been rather disillusioning because no corporation has been found guilty and most cases have been dismissed. We argue that it may nevertheless be a useful instrument for the advancement of the business and human rights agenda. We examine the determinants of successful human rights litigation in terms of judicial, educational, and regulatory effects. This article reviews more than 40 corporate foreign direct liability cases and their effects on corporate human rights policies and conduct. The review shows that most corporations adjusted their human rights policies and adopted additional measures to cope with human rights issues during or shortly after the legal proceedings. Opening legal channels for human rights litigation may be one way for governments to incentivize firms to respect human rights. These findings have implications for the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as on our interpretation of the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kiobel v. Shell.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a tool to safeguard marine natural systems, yet their effectiveness depends on how well they are integrated into the existing socioeconomic context. Stakeholder engagement in MPA design can contribute to increasing integration. This study focuses on the co-design of an MPA between researchers, public administration, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. The proposed MPA is in Portugal and includes an area that is a hotspot for biodiversity and economic activities. This is the first MPA proposal in mainland Portugal co-designed using a participatory approach. This study highlights the steps of the zoning process and synthesizes the eight main lessons learned, useful for other cases, particularly for relatively small coastal MPAs with multiple socioeconomic activities. Three zoning proposals were developed and discussed within the participatory process. The proposals considered the best scientific and local knowledge available and were defined using ecological, socioeconomic, and shape-area guiding principles. In an iterative manner and following a participatory approach, compromises with stakeholders were achieved, and a final proposal, scientifically sound and socially accepted by most stakeholders, was delivered to the government. The final zoning plan will achieve ambitious conservation goals, including the largest fully protected area to be declared in mainland Portugal, while minimizing the impacts on the existing economic activities and promoting its sustainability. This process resulted in valuable lessons that may be applied elsewhere and guide future MPA implementation or rezoning of existing ones. These transdisciplinary and participatory processes can be time and resource-consuming but are vital for ensuring MPA effectiveness.

This paper critically investigates the implementation of the UN guiding principles on business and human rights (UNGPs) into the corporate setting through the concept of ‘translation’. In the decade since the creation of the UNGPs, little academic research has focussed specifically on the corporate implementation of human rights. Drawing on qualitative case studies of two multinational corporations—an oil and gas company and a bank—this paper unpacks how human rights are translated into the corporate context. In doing so, the paper focuses on the “resonance dilemma” translators encounter, the strategies used to make human rights understandable and palatable, and the difficulties that emerge from this process. We contend that the process of making human rights understandable and manageable can change their form and content, which may act as an obstacle to human rights realisation and corporate accountability for human rights.