Livestock farming is currently highly questioned and is considered by society to be one of the main precursors of climate change and innumerable environmental impacts. This social concern has marked a trend in public policies in Europe, promoting strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by controlling the carbon footprint of agri-food products. However, in certain regions, the perception of the main actors in the sector about the role that livestock farming plays in this fight against climate change and how new political trends point the way toward the sustainability of agrarian systems is still uncertain. In this study, the opinions of stakeholders of the agro-livestock sector on the role that extensive livestock farming plays in the current context of the fight against climate change and the demands for public policies to facilitate the adoption of mitigation practices were examined. A participatory research process through focus groups was used in this qualitative study. Specifically, five sessions were held at the beginning of 2022; the sessions were recorded, transcribed, and anonymized for further analysis. In these sessions, projective techniques were used, such as word association and sentence completion to understand stakeholders' perceptions of the role of extensive livestock farming in climate change. Brand mapping was conducted to determine the opinion on the profitability and GHG emissions of 10 livestock systems typical of the region and of eight quality labelling systems related to sustainability. Brainstorming was carried out to assess available practices for the adaptation of livestock farms and mitigation of climate change. Finally, there was an open debate regarding the demands for public aid for the implementation of mitigation practices. The word association technique identified concepts such as ‘Equilibrium’ in extensive livestock farming and concepts such as ‘Effects’, ‘Action’ and ‘Concern’ in climate change. For the term carbon footprint, the most mentioned concept was ‘ignorance’, and for common agricultural policy, the most mentioned term was ‘injustices’. The results of the brand mapping allowed us to determine the perception of the stakeholders regarding the profitability of the different extensive farm systems and on their GHG emissions, with the most extensive and traditional ones being perceived as the lowest emitters of gases but also the least profitable. For sustainable labels, stakeholders believed that labels contribute to profitability and lower GHG emissions. Strategies to adapt to climate change and reduce the impact of farms were focused on reforestation, grazing, and soil management, adjusting the livestock stocking rate and self-production of food on farms. The best mitigating practices proposed were the maintenance of the extensive livestock farming (4.69), improvement of accesses, livestock routes and roads (4.63), making and applying compost (4.50) and the simplified administrative procedures (5.00). In the prioritization of public aids, three categories were established based on the field of action: social/organizational measures (38 votes), economic measures (44 votes) and environmental measures (22 votes). The aid related to maintaining profitability and improving marketing, followed by aid to reduce bureaucracy and direct aid to extensive livestock farming, were identified as priorities. This study offers a detailed picture of how stakeholders in the agro-livestock sector see the role that extensive livestock farming plays in the fight against climate change. The best farm management practices and priority lines of public support that policy-makers can apply have been identified in this study and emanate directly from those who receive subsidies and make the decisions in their livestock farming to ensure their implementation more successful.

This paper explores the way in which childhood is socially constructed in the context of child marriage regulation. Despite extreme social and cultural diversity, there is a core ideology in UN human rights instruments, around which official versions of childhood pivot. International law recommends setting the minimum age of marriage at 18years. This article problematizes the progressively depoliticizing effects of a seemingly neutral regulatory drive at the heart of the UN’s promotion of a standardized construction of childhood. The immediate purpose of this article is not to offer solutions to child marriage, but to bring together some elements that may form a basis for understanding the way in which conceptions of childhood are contextually constructed. My hope is that a familiarity with these social perceptions will help to explain the present struggle and resistance to apply universal rights constructions of childhood to non-western societies.

The momentum surrounding the use of data for the public good has grown over the past few years, resulting in several initiatives, and rising interest from public bodies, intergovernmental organizations, and private organizations. The potential benefits of data collaboratives (DCs) have been proved in several contexts, including health, migration, pandemics, and public transport. However, these cross-sectoral partnerships have frequently not progressed beyond the pilot level, a condition hindering their ability to generate long-term societal benefits and scale their impact. Governance models play an important role in ensuring DCs’ stability over time; however, existing models do not address this issue. Our research investigates DCs’ governance settings to determine governance dimensions’ design settings enhancing DCs’ long-term stability. The research identifies through the literature on collaborative governance and DCs seven key governance dimensions for the long-term stability of DCs. Then, through the analysis of 16 heterogeneous case studies, it outlines the optimal design configurations for each dimension. Findings make a significant contribution to academic discourse by shedding light on the governance aspects that bolster the long-term stability of DCs. Additionally, this research offers practical insights and evidence-based guidelines for practitioners, aiding in the creation and maintenance of enduring DCs.

We are experiencing the effects of the triple planetary crisis—climate change, loss of nature, and pollution—aggravated by plastic pollution. Despite widespread global awareness of the adverse effects of plastic pollution, its ongoing increase remains persistent, with an annual increase in plastic consumption and incorrect disposal contributing to this serious problem. In 2022, 175 nations agreed to begin negotiations by the end of 2024 on a binding international agreement to control the life cycle of plastics, including preventing marine pollution. To ensure the efficacy of the Global Plastics Treaty for mitigating plastic pollution, the extensive participation of researchers is imperative. The literature focuses on efforts in line with ongoing negotiations. In this study, a systematic review of the Global Plastics Treaty was conducted. The analyzed literature mainly focuses on the adverse effects of plastic pollution, legislation, governance, and the economy. The resulting comprehensive overview of the subject can support ongoing negotiations and guide future research about the Global Plastics Treaty.

Much of West Africa (and particularly the Sahel) may be once falling again under military government. This essay asks what, if anything, historians of Africa can contribute to an understanding of this phenomenon. I argue that writing the history and understanding the memory of military government will entail a renewed approach to political history and social theory. It will also entail confronting — just as so many citizens are currently doing — the peculiar failures of democracy in Africa's neoliberal era.

Since its establishment in 2014, Data for Policy (https://dataforpolicy.org) has emerged as a prominent global community promoting interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaborations in the realm of data-driven innovation for governance and policymaking. This report presents an overview of the community’s evolution from 2014 to 2023 and introduces its six-area framework, which provides a comprehensive mapping of the data for policy research landscape. The framework is based on extensive consultations with key stakeholders involved in the international committees of the annual Data for Policy conference series and the open-access journal Data & Policy (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/data-and-policy), published by Cambridge University Press. By presenting this inclusive framework, along with the guiding principles and future outlook for the community, this report serves as a vital foundation for continued research and innovation in the field of data for policy.

Quantum computers hold significant promise for peaceful applications, but one of the more immediate potential applications is breaking of public key encryption technologies. This poses significant risks to the information security of global digital infrastructure in a broader sense. At the same time, the development of quantum computing is a quintessentially scientific undertaking. There is a tension in the scientific freedom required to develop these technologies, and the measures to mitigate the risks associated with quantum computers. Policy for resolving this tension must be in line with the human right to science, read together with the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression. In this article, I apply these rights to the development of quantum computing to provide guidance for government policy on quantum computing. I conclude that states must create the conditions for scientific research to flourish, even if this research may carry significant societal risks. This applies also to research and development of quantum technologies. In the context of quantum computing, this primarily means investing in the development and uptake of alternative encryption technologies which are resistant to attacks by quantum computers. It also means regulating the use of these technologies for applications which are undesirable.

Cet article porte sur les effets et les contraintes posés par la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les mécanismes de la gouvernance dans le système fédéral canadien. Pour ce faire, nous empruntons un cadre analytique bien spécifique, que nous faisons découler expressément des réflexions de la Cour suprême du Canada dans son Renvoi relatif à la sécession du Québec. Nous nous intéressons ainsi aux quatre principes sous-jacents à la Constitution canadienne identifiés par la Cour – soit le fédéralisme, la démocratie, le constitutionnalisme et la primauté du droit, de même que la protection des minorités – et à leur respect (ou non-respect) en temps de crise. Nous posons la question suivante : dans quelle mesure l’esprit de ces quatre principes constitutionnels fondamentaux a-t-il été respecté par les acteurs clés du système de gouvernance au Canada alors qu’ils étaient confrontés à la pandémie de COVID-19?

Institutional Development Awards for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) networks, funded by NIH/NIGMS, aim to advance CTR infrastructure to address historically unmet state and regional health needs. Success depends on the response to actionable feedback to IDeA-CTR leadership from network partners and governance groups through annual surveys, interviews, and governance body recommendations. The Great Plains IDeA-CTR applied internal formative meta-evaluation to evaluate dispositions of 172 governance recommendations from 2017 to 2021. Results provided insights to improve the classification and quality of recommendations, credibility of evaluation processes, responsiveness to recommendations, and communications and governance in a complex CTR network comprising multiple coalitions.