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The Neotropics are the most species-rich area of the planet. Understanding the origin and maintenance of this diversity is an important goal of ecology and evolutionary biology. Success in this endeavor relies heavily on the past work of taxonomists who have collected specimens and produced the floras and monographs that constitute the foundation for the study of plant diversity. To illustrate this, we visualize collecting efforts through time and identify the importance of past taxonomic and collection efforts in generating the bulk of specimen data that broad-scale analyses rely on today. To demonstrate the importance of taxonomy for the study of Neotropical biodiversity, we showcase selected plant groups in which in-depth taxonomic understanding has facilitated exciting evolutionary and ecological research and highlight the teams of scientists who have built on the legacy of Alwyn Gentry, one of the most prolific taxonomists of the late 20th century. We also discuss challenges faced by taxonomists, including perceived subjectivity, difficulty in measuring impact, and the need to become more interdisciplinary. We end with potential solutions going forward, including integration of taxonomists in interdisciplinary research, advocacy for continued collection efforts, increased funding for alpha taxonomic research that is performed with increasingly replicable methodology, and explicit decolonization efforts to increase inclusivity and equity in the field of taxonomy. Acknowledging the central role of taxonomy and taxonomists is essential to accurately and completely describe Neotropical biodiversity patterns in an age of unprecedented extinction risk and conservation need.

The growing awareness of colonialism’s role in global health partnerships between HICs and LMICs and the associated calls for decolonization in global health has led to discussion for a paradigm shift that would lead to new ways of engagement and partnerships, as well as an acknowledgement that colonialism, racism, sexism, and capitalism contribute to inequity. While there is general agreement among those involved in global health partnerships that the current system needs to be made more equitable, suggestions for how to address the issue of decolonization vary greatly, and moving from rhetoric to reform is complicated. Based on a comprehensive (but not exhaustive) review of the literature, there are several recurring themes that should be addressed in order for the inequities in the current system to be changed. The degree to which decolonization of global health will be successful depends on how the global health community in both the HICs and LMICs move forward to discuss these issues. Specifically, as part of a paradigm shift, attention needs to be paid to creating a more equal and equitable representation of researchers in LMICs in decision-making, leadership roles, authorship, and funding allocations. There needs to be agreement in defining basic principles of best practices for global partnership, including a universal definition of ‘decolonization of global health’; the extent to which current policies allow the perpetuation of power imbalance between HICs and LMICs; a set of principles, best practices, and models for equitable sharing of funds and institutional costs among partners; a mechanism to monitor progress prospectively the equitable sharing of credits (e.g., leadership, authorship), including a set of principles, best practices, and models; and, a mechanism to monitor progress prospectively the extent to which decolonialization will contribute to strengthening institutional capacity in the LMIC institutions.

review of book

A subspecies of Tundra Swan, the Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) has patterns of yellow areas on its bill. The schema for identifying individual bill-types includes a term which is known to be offensive, used for bills which are predominantly black. Following other movements to decolonialize and reject antiquated and offensive terms, I suggest that we rename this term going forward. Een ondersoort van de fluitzwaan Cygnus columbianus, de C. columbianus bewickii, heeft een patroon van gele vlekken op de snavel. Het schema waarmee individuele snavel-typen worden geïdentificeerd bevat een term die bekend is als aanstootgevend, gebruikt voor snavels die overwegend zwart zijn. In navolging van andere bewegingen van dekolonisatie en het afwerpen van verouderde en beledigende termen, suggereer ik dat we vooruitgaand deze term veranderen.

This theoretical article proposes a solidarity capital paradigm, a culturally rooted and affectively charged framework that enables collective resilience in contexts of crisis, inequality, and institutional absence, particularly within the Global South. The purpose of this article is to reframe dominant understandings of capital by foregrounding informal, relational, and moral infrastructures of support often overlooked in Eurocentric models. Drawing from the Indonesian tradition of Gotong Royong (mutual cooperation), the article conceptualizes solidarity capital as a moral, emotional, and practical resource embedded in horizontal social ties. Theoretically, the article synthesizes decolonial theory, the sociology of emotions, and critical social capital theory to explore how solidarity capital operates as a counter-framework to neoliberal, meritocratic, and individualistic paradigms. While not derived from empirical fieldwork, this conceptual exploration argues that solidarity capital, though often informal, culturally specific, and undervalued, functions as a vital infrastructure for survival and dignity. It provides a necessary alternative to dominant Western-centric models of education, social organization, and resilience by centering relational care, cultural obligations, and collective well-being.

Growing attention to the proliferation of short-term medical missions (STMMs) in the Global South has increasingly taken the form of critiques of inadequately prepared volunteers, lack of community control and continuity. In response, scholars and practitioners in high-income countries have created guidelines for best practices. These have rarely incorporated the views of host community members and leaders. While research has begun to address what host countries want from STMMs, these projects have also been carried out almost exclusively by scholars from the Global North. The aims were to provide additional insights into host views in three countries that are frequent destinations for STMMs and to explore the possibility that design and direction by host country researchers would yield new perspectives. Scholars from Ghana, Uganda, and Guatemala designed and directed studies of medical staff, public officials, and patients from multiple locations around each country. Interviews and focus groups were carried out with a total of 129 people. All three studies found widespread appreciation of STMMs for providing needed medical services. In Ghana and Guatemala, language differences were cited as a major barrier, while Ugandan participants criticized volunteers' lack of skills and mismatch between their expertise and community needs. Ghanaian and Ugandan participants voiced resentment of patients' preference for white volunteers and the arrogance of some visitors. The amount of time and effort required to host was a common theme. The findings confirm the importance for STMMs of understanding the local health context and language and working collaboratively and respectfully with hosts. Direction by host country researchers enhanced the value in several ways, including access to officials and establishment of trust with interviewees.

Eukaryotic microorganisms, or “protists,” while often inconspicuous, play fundamental roles in the Earth ecosystem, ranging from primary production and nutrient cycling to interactions with human health and society. In the backdrop of accelerating climate dysregulation, alongside anthropogenic disruption of natural ecosystems, understanding changes to protist functional and ecological diversity is of critical importance. In this review, we outline why protists matter to our understanding of the global ecosystem and challenges of predicting protist species resilience and fragility to climate change. Finally, we reflect on how protistology may adapt and evolve in a present and future characterized by rapid ecological change.

Background: Processes and best practices for initiating and growing university global health programs in high-income countries (HICs) synchronously and symbiotically with partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are not abundantly described in the medical literature. In particular, programs that do not have university partners in LMICs may struggle to develop sustainable, ethical, and anticolonial community and governmental partnerships. Methods: This article reviews existing literature and describes the challenges in the contemporaneous development of university global health programs and community/governmental partners. The paper goes on to describe the creation of the Office of Global Health at Rush University in conjunction with the inception and development of its partner non-governmental organization (NGO), Community Empowerment in the Dominican Republic. The success and opportunities in the evolution of this ongoing relationship are described. Guiding principles for others attempting similar work are provided. Results: Creating these entities simultaneously promotes the establishment of relationships with equal power and authority from the inception, facilitates the creation of customized programs that capitalize on the strengths of the university and infrastructure of the partner country/community, and allows both entities to grow together in scope and impact. Challenges include identifying and nurturing like-minded university, NGO, and community/government partners; securing bilateral sustainable funding; ensuring quality of clinical services and educational/scholarly activities; and consistently promoting anticolonial practices. Conclusion: Developing university global health programs in HICs simultaneously with a partner NGO can result in mutual and commensurate growth and outcomes as well as strong and equitable relationships. This paper describes the author’s own experience at Rush University building connections with community partners and colleagues in the Dominican Republic and outlines strategies to achieve these results.

Background/Objectives: Particularly in racially and ethnically diverse countries, the necessity of providing individualized care to people seeking diet advice is increasingly recognized and embedded in practice guidelines. Some jurisdictions have a history of colonization with subjugation and marginalization of the Indigenous population, which has led to serious health inequities. One overarching strategy to reduce health inequities is to provide education through a decolonizing lens, so that graduate healthcare professionals, such as dietitians, have a better understanding of how to mitigate colonial attitudes, racism, stereotyping and other behaviours, thereby improving health equity. This review aims to summarize and evaluate educational strategies to decolonize dietetics training programs. Methods: A narrative review was conducted. Results: Professional dietetics organizations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand have incorporated Indigenous-specific outcomes into their standards of practice. Six primary research studies were reviewed, two each from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The strategies developed include reviewing curriculum content, providing experiential learning opportunities and identifying barriers to the participation of Indigenous students in dietetics programs. Lack of engagement of Indigenous persons in curriculum development, planning and evaluation of efforts is a gap that needs to be addressed. Conclusions: Meeting practice standards and closing the health equity gap for Indigenous peoples require additional research and implementation into practice.

Abstract This study investigates the decolonization process among nascent entrepreneurs from formerly colonized nations, operating within underprivileged areas of developed countries. Through a two-year ethnographic inquiry involving entrepreneurs from former French African Colonies and Departments conducting business in the Metropole, the paper recounts their journey from being subject to attempts at recolonization to achieving decolonization. Using colonialist theory and the approach of entrepreneurship as a practice, it explores how entrepreneurs resisted efforts by incubators to impose colonial ideologies, ultimately embracing their own entrepreneurial practices. Three distinct decolonization processes emerge from this analysis. This paper contributes to colonialist theory in three key ways. Firstly, it proposes a methodological framework for identifying signs of colonialism and decolonization through the observation of entrepreneurial practices. Secondly, it extends the applicability of colonialist theory beyond traditional Global South contexts, demonstrating its relevance within immigrant communities from former colonies. Lastly, it clarifies the concept of decolonization, emphasizing the adoption of entrepreneurial practices reflective of individual choice and agency rather than mere rejection of colonialist norms. Resumo Este estudo investiga o processo de descolonização entre empreendedores nascentes de nações anteriormente colonizadas, que operam em áreas desfavorecidas de países desenvolvidos. Através de uma investigação etnográfica de dois anos envolvendo empreendedores de antigas colônias e departamentos africanos franceses que conduzem negócios na Metrópole, o estudo relata sua jornada desde serem alvo de tentativas de recolonização até alcançarem a descolonização. Utilizando a teoria colonialista e a abordagem do empreendedorismo como prática, explora como os empreendedores resistiram aos esforços dos incubadores para impor ideologias, abraçando, por fim, suas próprias práticas empreendedoras. Três processos distintos de descolonização emergem desta análise. Este artigo contribui para a teoria colonialista de três maneiras principais. Em primeiro lugar, propõe um quadro metodológico para identificar sinais de colonialismo e descolonização por meio da observação de práticas empreendedoras. Em segundo lugar, amplia a aplicabilidade da teoria colonialista para além dos contextos tradicionais do Sul Global, demonstrando sua relevância nas comunidades de imigrantes das antigas colônias. Por último, esclarece o conceito de descolonização, enfatizando a adoção de práticas empreendedoras que reflitam escolhas e autonomia individuais, em vez de uma mera rejeição das normas colonialistas. Resumen Esta investigación se enfoca en el proceso de descolonización entre nuevos empresarios de naciones anteriormente colonizadas que operan en áreas desfavorecidas de países desarrollados. A lo largo de un periodo de dos años, se realizó un estudio etnográfico que involucró a empresarios provenientes de antiguas colonias y departamentos africanos franceses que llevaban a cabo actividades comerciales en el territorio metropolitano de Francia. El artículo detalla la transición desde los intentos de ser colonizados nuevamente hasta lograr la descolonización. Utilizando la teoría colonialista y el enfoque del emprendimiento como práctica, se examina cómo los empresarios resistieron a las tentativas de las incubadoras de imponer ideologías coloniales hasta que, finalmente, desarrollaron sus propias prácticas empresariales. De este análisis surgen tres procesos de descolonización distintos. Este artículo contribuye a la teoría colonialista de tres maneras clave. En primer lugar, propone un marco metodológico para identificar signos de colonización y descolonización a través de la observación de prácticas empresariales. En segundo lugar, expande la aplicación de la teoría colonialista, evidenciando su relevancia también en las comunidades de inmigrantes de antiguas colonias. Por último, aclara el concepto de descolonización, enfatizando la adopción de prácticas empresariales que reflejen la elección y acción individual, en lugar de simplemente contraponerse a las normativas coloniales.