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The current challenge facing the European pulp and paper industry is how to materialize the transformation to a bio-economy, as well as to realize the necessary new green innovations. The risks, costs and constraints of doing business will increase, thereby further intensifying competition, but at the same time new business opportunities will open up. This study adopts a three-round dissensus-based Delphi approach in order to explore our key research question of how the pulp and paper industry may change strategically, and what is the potential for value creation in the year 2030. According to our expert panel, the main drivers of competitiveness in 2030 will include energy and material efficiency, sustainability, as well as new innovations in products to serve customer needs better. According to the projected 2030 scenario, the pulp and paper industry will produce more diversified products, focus on higher value-added, and aim at consumer segments with higher environmental awareness. On average, 40 percent of the turnover will according to the panel come from genuinely new products. Strategic cross-sectorial partnerships will have a key role in making this big leap, while simultaneously acknowledging the changing needs of sustainability-conscious customers and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to fill data gaps concerning solutions and practices used in sustainable food systems (SFS) in higher education (HE). The development of SFS is a vital global challenge in which HE may play a significant role. Design/methodology/approach: Literature search and content analysis of found papers were performed. Additionally, the quantitative time trend of the emergence of research connected to SFS HE and the connectivity of content within the research papers about research questions were determined by regression analysis and data visualization, respectively. Findings: It is evident that SFS education in universities (higher education institutes) is emerging, and the number of research papers is rapidly increasing. In the reviewed papers, universities recognized their significant role in managing wicked problems. The motivation for developing SFS education was high, with strong ambitions. SFS in HE includes developing education in-house through trans- and multidisciplinary solutions, developing education with stakeholders and supporting student growth to become responsible professionals and citizens. Practical implications: When developing SFS education in HE both practical and theoretical research is needed. Ethical dimensions should be included in both research orientations because of the moral complexity that exists in SFS issues. Social implications: This study shows that competence in trans- and multidisciplinary working is needed. Concomitantly, the ability of cooperation between HE, business and society is vital when solving global food challenges. Also, the local tradition of food cultivation should be respected and maintained. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review on the development of SFS education in HEIs. A qualitative content analysis and data visualization were used to enrich the review.

This paper showcases relevant initiatives to address inclusive and sustainable development through the objectives of UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) towards ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. These research projects have been possible thanks to initiatives such as the global Open Educational Resources (OER) Graduate Network (GO-GN), a research network that facilitates collaborative research in the area of open education. These types of initiatives empower collaborative research proposals thanks to joint participation in working groups and seminars, which facilitate research collaborations with a clear focus, in this case, on inclusive and sustainable development. In this paper, several challenges on achieving a more inclusive and sustainable Open Education are discussed, such as the need to use accessibility metadata standards to improve the search and sharing of OERs in open repositories, the recommendation to use frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to provide inclusive design feedback, and the benefits of action-oriented Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to promote sustainability.

Both the transformation from innovation systems to innovation ecosystems and university reforms in such a context require a renewed understanding of the nature of universities and their roles in society. While the recent flourishing concepts about new models of universities suggest that the notion of an entrepreneurial university needs to be replaced by a more suitable concept to capture the unprecedented changes in universities in the societal transformation, the features of a new model of university described by these concepts can hardly fit into a consistent framework. This paper responds to this research gap by integrating both conceptual and empirical literature about the transformations or reforms of universities, mainly in the European context. Our major research findings are as follows. First, we identified characteristics of an ideal-type university in innovation ecosystems, named a sustainable entrepreneurial university (SEU), in comparison with those of an entrepreneurial university. Second, we elaborated on three emerging roles of the SEU in innovation ecosystems. Third, we found that while a transition from entrepreneurial universities to SEUs can be seen in European university reforms, the paces of the transformations vary. At the end of the paper, we discuss the scholarly and policy implications of our research findings.

Economic, social and environmental sustainability are becoming more important in urban and territorial development policies in Europe and internationally. Recently, the United States and Europe have put forth the green deals proposing programmatic provisions for achieving territorial sustainability through the redevelopment of brownfield land into Sustainable Industrial Areas (SIAs). This opinion paper presents the benefits of the European Green Deal (EGD) policies as support for brownfield land redevelopment, SIA implementation and urban regeneration in light of the experiences of many countries in the European Union (EU). Moreover, this paper makes policy recommendations and discusses future research directions. • The European Green Deal provisions inspire the brownfield land redevelopment from a sustainable perspective. • The redevelopment of industrial area in Sustainable Industrial Area (SIA) provides economic, environmental-social benefits. • SIA experiences in Europe can provide decision-makers with guidelines for the conversion of brownfield land. • Urban regeneration actions for SIA by the European Green Deal can cover multi-dimensional areas, from small to large scale. • Using natural elements can foster sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, higher education has embraced the concept of blended teaching, the design and facilitation of online and face-to-face learning activities. As such initiatives are embedded in the formal context of an institution, educational managers and other decision makers are in search of evidence for creating sustainable conditions that facilitate and support blended teaching. In this paper, the authors present the guidelines articulated by the European Maturity Model that address such concerns. These were developed during a three-year joint effort between seven European project partners. For each guideline, background information in line with the foundations of the European Maturity Model is included, as well as examples and references to predominantly open access resources. It is hoped that the results might inspire key actors within higher education or scholars that are investigating models for continuous improvement in the field of blended teaching and education.

This study aims to review the scientific papers on Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) published between 2008 and 2020 and reveal changes in the area. This systematic review was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, a systematic review of papers on ECEfS was conducted according to the specified criteria, and all identified studies were evaluated descriptively. In the second stage, interventional research was evaluated, and their results were reviewed. It was seen that qualitative research methods were mostly preferred in the reviewed studies and most of them were conducted with children. It was determined that the most frequently discussed pillar is environmental. Moreover, the number of interventional research studies is limited. The research findings, it is thought that there is a need for future studies that use interventional, experimental and action research methods, holistically addressing pillars of sustainability

This paper reviews a framework to support the co-creation of policies to sustainably foster Open Education. The framework has been derived from a comprehensive review of public and Open Education policy documents and related literature, as well as identification and consideration of contiguous issues in the education landscape that directly impact openness and can potentially derail policies, including datafication, copyright reforms, and the unbundling of services into component parts. The open policy framework, along with a canvas and set of change cards and a dynamic grounded in the participation and co-creation standard developed by the Open Government Partnership, have been used in three workshops piloted during 2018, to facilitate co-design of Open Education policies, by discussing contexts, objectives and challenges with policymakers and advisors both at national and institutional levels, policymakers and advocates with a series of tools and advise to enable arenas to co-create open-education policies.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present and compare collective efforts of higher education institutions working through regional networks in introducing and promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) and environmental education (EE) in two most significant EU boarder regions. Efforts to support EE/ESD in higher education are usually undertaken at individual universities and, in some cases, at national level, still remaining very fragmented; therefore, the examples of University networks in the Baltic and the Mediterranean regions are of particular interest and importance. Both regions have regional conventions, protocols and strategies for the relevant seas, bringing EU and neighbouring countries of the regions together for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development (SD) within which EE and ESD are embedded. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the driving forces for the establishment, evolution and design of relevant activities of these two networks, making also a few inter-comparisons and recommendations for further improvements. Findings: Both regions, the Baltic and the Mediterranean, have multiple needs and high potential for more efficient linking of SD with higher education. Early enough it was realised that regional networking could stimulate countries and universities towards this task. Two networks were set up: the Baltic University Programme (starting already in 1991) and the Mediterranean Universities Network for SD focusing on ESD (starting in 2007). The paper reviews main activities of the networks together with lessons learned and gives directions for their future operations. Originality/value: This paper is one of the rare case studies related to higher education networking on ESD and demonstrates how networking on ESD, apart from enhancing professional development, supports also SD and promotes cooperation and peace in regions that have a history of frequently turbulent relationships.

The engineering graduate of today will engage in a career which will span the middle of the twenty-first century, and beyond. They will work in a world which is increasingly more complex and uncertain than at any time before. This will require an integrated combination of technical knowledge and transferable skills and values, to a greater extent than ever before. This paper highlights the need for the contemporary engineering graduate to develop capacity to deal with increased uncertainty and complexity. It seeks to demonstrate how this can be achieved through developing key graduate attributes. These attributes may be promoted through suitable exposure to progressively more open-ended problems and activities across the programme. A number of exemplars are provided from two European chemical engineering programmes.

Efficient end-of-life solutions play an important role in developing sustainable packaging because they contribute to reducing resource wastage and environmental impact, whilst providing economic and social benefits. This paper briefly reviews current end-of-life solutions for fibre and bio-based materials for packaging in Europe. It also addresses current research in the field, as well as standardization, legislation and socio-economic aspects related to renewable packaging in Europe. This review focuses on the following groups of packaging materials: paper and board and bioplastics. With this hierarchy, recycling, organic recovery and energy recovery are analysed with regard to the processes and technologies that offer the most sustainable end-of-life options. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the experience of introducing ethical, social and environmental issues in undergraduate ICT engineering degrees at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The experience before the Bologna Process was concentrated on developing elective courses related mainly on the field of the International Development Cooperation. The integration of those topics within the current ICT engineering curricula, adapted to the European Higher Education Area framework, has significantly improved. It reaches all of our students, as the programs include compulsory courses which focus on ethical and social issues, and these topics have to be considered when carrying out the Final Year Project. A holistic and comprehensive approach is being implemented, with a broad view of professional responsibility and sustainability. Appropriate contents, teaching methodologies and assessment methods have been aligned in order to make our students' training more effective. The result is an example of both bottom-up and top-down approach. It has been positively influenced by the European Higher Education Area framework and some external recommendations. However, the significant contribution regarding motivation, drive and previous experience of the teachers involved has been essential.

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the ways educational policy is understood, taught and practiced as a training discipline at postgraduate level in the European context. We have validated its epistemological solvency through a quantitative, comparative and ethnographic study of its main features as a discipline--such as ideological and valorative component, praxis-oriented discourse or sustainable and plural normative proposals--found in a stratified sample of 20 countries, 112 universities and 170 training programmes. We also discuss the innovative and formative potential of educational policy to resolve the most contested pedagogical issues and design the educational system, specifying when, how and in which conditions it is constructed as an academic discipline. Among the findings stand out the accreditation and the assessment of the specific role of the values, actors, institutions, supranational decisions and public and curricular policies that shape up educational programmes at a European level, hence contributing to the disciplinary progress of educational policy as a pedagogical, normative, axiological and plural knowledge.

Outdoor educators are adapting practices to respond to the priorities of education for sustainability. New practices are emerging or adopted from elsewhere. In Europe, the American recreational movement of Leave No Trace (LNT) has influenced environmental education programs. LNT has been criticized for encouraging a reduction in environmental impact in wilderness areas while ignoring the more significant impacts of equipment purchase, travel, and modern lifestyles. This paper extends the critiques of LNT, suggesting that it encourages attitudes of a separation from nature. It suggests that the LNT concept is unrealistic and unhelpful in Europe, where most landscapes have experienced the impact of humans for millennia. Inspired by European approaches of human-nature relations, and at a time of need for significant environmental changes, I suggest that educational programs seeking to connect people with nature encourage people to "leave more trace" or, perhaps, to "consider their trace" instead.

The urban lab is an experimental governance approach for the co-creation of innovative solutions to urban challenges, such as climate change. However, urban lab scholarship has overlooked lab formation as a distinct process and is almost exclusively based on European cases. Therefore, little is known about the role of context conditions for lab formation in general and beyond Europe in particular. To address these gaps, this paper inductively analyses urban lab formation in five cities in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, develops a framework for the comparative analysis of lab formation challenges, and asks: What do the challenges encountered and the solutions developed during lab formation in these cities tell us about the context dependence of the urban lab approach and what are the implications for its potential beyond Europe? Comparing insights from Europe to the findings from Latin America, the paper answers these questions and identifies future research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sustainability is increasingly at the forefront of the public debate in Europe and the world. However, despite this increased interest, research seems to have partially ignored the importance of its social dimension and the issues related to social equity, people care, protection and personal development at all stages of society and, consequently, of business. Accordingly, this paper aims at investigating the "soft" dimensions of sustainability, integrating its mainstream "technical storyline" with a "human/social storyline". Design/methodology/approach: In this paper a taxonomy of the main key drivers of the soft dimension of sustainability is proposed and tested on a sample of Italian companies. Through interviews with their managers, actions and needs in terms of sustainability soft drivers are identified. Findings: The achieved results demonstrated that the case companies differently integrated the soft dimensions of sustainability within their companies. All the sample companies are aware of the role of social sustainability. According to the proposed taxonomy, the systemic drivers of soft sustainability are the main shared ones. Originality/value: The paper provides new insights into the essence of the organizational soft dimensions and their centrality in the overall achievement of sustainability for companies. It also offers managerial insights into how to effectively manage these dimensions and policy implications about the need for clearer consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Latin American Law Review is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Who cares for cultural and creative workers (CCWs)? This paper considers the impact of a declined welfare support system across European states on CCWs and investigates the role played by creative intermediaries in providing care for those employed within the sector. Building on both quantitative and qualitative data taken from a range of European creative intermediary organisations, the paper applies Joan Tronto's politicised framework of care to articulate how work undertaken by intermediaries can be understood as a form of care work. The findings highlight the range of creative intermediaries working to support CCWs across Europe and illustrates their role in conducting research on the sector in response to the lack of available robust data at a more official governance level. It explores how these organisations are filling both a welfare and knowledge gap however, that this support is ad hoc, supported by various funding models which place the intermediary organisations themselves in a precarious position. In response to this, the paper calls for investment in collaborations between higher education, policy makers and creative intermediaries to strengthen support for CCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As environmental concerns continue to arise, companies are increasingly turning to green marketing strategies and promoting green purchasing decisions to meet consumer demand for sustainable products and services. Peripheral regions, often overlooked in discussions about sustainability, have a unique opportunity to position themselves as leaders in environmentally responsible practices through green marketing strategies. This can represent an opportunity to boost economic growth while protecting the environment for future generations. This paper studies the influencers of consumer purchasing decisions in a country located in the periphery of Europe. One thousand two hundred fifty-five responses were collected. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. It was found that the decision to purchase green products seems to be influenced by factors such as environmental awareness, the perceived quality of green products, the desire to purchase them, and the prospect of a greener future. This study's key findings indicate that price awareness acts as a mediator, amplifying the influence of environmental concerns, perceived quality, willingness to purchase, future estimations, and perceived benefits on consumers' green purchasing decisions. This underscores the importance of consumers' awareness of the pricing for green products. Understanding the factors influencing green purchasing behavior in peripheral regions of Europe is crucial for businesses and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable consumption practices. The current study offers insights for promoting more sustainable consumption practices in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is a growing concern across the globe due to climate change and demands for increased economic development. This paper analyses the relationship between economic development and freshwater abstraction in order to investigate its European impact. The analysis focuses on a total of 19 European countries, including 18 EU member states and one candidate, from 2007 to 2018. Using a panel dataset, the impact of a diverse selection of indicators of economic development (per capita GDP, the Human Development Index - HDI, water productivity and volume of international trade) on freshwater abstraction, our analysis finds that all explanatory variables are significant for cross-country variations except for international trade. To maintain scope, the analysis is limited to economic-development indicators themselves, excluding the effects of climate change and the availability of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decades have brought a growing interest in fortified heritage research, protection and reuse in Europe as a result of the demilitarisation of numerous historic defence structures occupied by armies in many countries and used as service facilities during the Cold War. There are various approaches to the conservation of fortified heritage and adaptive reuse is one of them. The values associated with a site should constitute the departure and arrival point for any type of intervention. An essential part of the process therefore should be the appropriate identification of these values to base on them contemporary actions. Fortified heritage has values similar to other forms of urban heritage but it also possesses values that are unique to this form of architecture and landscape. This paper sets out the values that should be taken into consideration when carrying out an adaptive reuse project on fortified heritage. Based on research and on international charters, as well as the writers' own experience, the paper identifies seven values and makes a distinction between two groups of values, namely: intrinsic (history, memory and identity; scientific and technical; territorial and architectural) and extrinsic (landscape and aesthetic; environmental sustainability; social and cultural; economic). While intrinsic values of fortified heritage are usually well described, less explored are the issues of extrinsic values. The paper presents two case studies, Zamość Fortress and Fort St Elmo, and considers how these values were taken into account in the respective projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic creates inefficiencies in the health-care system by having devastating consequences. It has demonstrated how inefficiencies in the health system can have a significant impact on social cohesion, economic growth and public confidence in government. The main purpose of this study is to explore the contemporary challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry in Europe. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a systematic literature review method and adopted inclusion and exclusion criteria after constructive reviews of articles from Web of Science and Scopus databases along with the ranked journals in the Chartered Association of Business Schools to search the following key terms "challenges in the European pharmaceutical industry" during the period from 2011 to 2022. The terms are set to be searched in the publications' titles, abstracts and keywords. Findings: This study reviewed 57 papers, and the systematic review revealed the vulnerability of the European pharmaceutical industry, such as the default patent system, ineffective research and development, debate on the role of alliances, low level of expertise in the European health-care system, pharmaceutical supply chain management and other issues. Research limitations/implications: This study suggests that future research may explore the challenges of multisectoral and cross-country perspectives to get a better understanding, and for the long-term sustainability of public pharmaceutical spending, new models of enhancing research investments are needed, and Europe can still play a leading role in its tradition structure within capturing innovative ideas. Practical implications: It provides new useful insights to policymakers, global leaders and managers to devise policies to achieve a performance-oriented culture in their institutions and firms. Social implications: The pharmaceutical sector has recognized the influence of social determinants of health. It moves toward sustained sound health of people to have a flourishing pharmaceutical sector. Originality/value: There is an insufficient study on the contemporary challenges of the European pharmaceutical industry. This study presents the argument that earlier studies ignored the contemporary issues facing the European pharmaceutical industry from a comprehensive and wider angle. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic is a recent occurrence, and it causes inefficiency in the health-care sector, where the pharmaceutical industry plays a crucial role; importantly, this topic is emerging and underresearched in the existing literature. There is also a lack of systematic literature review studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defined contribution pension schemes have become quite popular throughout Europe in the last 20 years. Many countries implemented reforms trying to address the growing concerns about the pension systems organized mostly as pay-as-you-go structures in the last century. Adding fully funded components into the pension insurance, governments were trying to mitigate the problems arising from the ongoing process of population aging and the resulting unfavorable demographic trends in most of the countries in Europe. These reforms were widespread in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1990's and early 2000's after the influential report1 published by the World Bank in 1994 whose recommendations became cornerstones of the changes introduced into the pension systems in the region. The objective of the current paper is to give some insight into the current place of the defined contribution pension schemes in the pension systems in different countries in Europe and their significance in the next decades. The issue is substantial, especially in the light of the continuous inflation and rising pressure on public finances. Long term sustainability of both pension systems and public finances requires reforms that further support accumulation of resources in the long term. The first part of the paper describes the current condition of defined contribution pension schemes in 9 CEE countries, the second part is dedicated to some common problems of the schemes. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future reforms. The methodology used in the paper includes descriptive and comparative analysis, deductive and inductive approach. The basic findings of the research show that defined contribution pension schemes in CEE countries are exposed to significant political risk but they must be further supported and reformed in the continuous process of building sustainable and adequate pension systems in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental competence is a category related to environmental awareness, environmental culture, environmental ethics and environmental behaviour and is a key competence. An efficient way to build a public awareness of environmental responsibility is to separate waste, a concept that is now widespread across Europe. Project work is an integrative strategy that provides opportunities for cooperation and interaction between students in the team organization of cognitive activity, realizing the connection between theoretical knowledge and practical activity of students, for conducting active training of students and effective socialization of the training, thus increasing the practical focus of the acquired knowledge and competences. The article presents results following the application of the project method as an opportunity to increase the environmental competence of junior high school students, with regards to sustainable waste management at school and in their households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition toward the circular economy of European small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is one of the focuses of the Agenda in Europe. The paper aims to evaluate if this drive should transform the SMEs and keep European production sustainable and competitive. The paper offers a comparative analysis of the circular economy SMEs shift within the 13 sectors of EU Member States, that have involved innovative SMEs and have begun to use or have long adopted smart technologies for the needs of control, effectiveness, efficiency, and environmental protection and energy aspect. The study highlights and evaluates the transition in 13 sectors with the highest SMEs performance with a major specialization in Smart Technologies. Five key points are identified and evaluated to analyze, the transition degree of every sector toward the circular economy. The research shows a heterogeneous transition with both sectors and countries during which the existence of best practices, are discovered, but cannot be transmitted to other sectors. A series of deterrents to the transition from a linear to a circular economy is composed within the SMEs sectors, specifically technical, commercial, and regulatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension systems around Europe are being reformed for several decades already. Main objectives of the reforms are to enable people to have adequate income at retirement and to ensure the system’s financial sustainability. Many European countries implemented policies aiming at diversification of financing sources of income at older age: risk-sharing between pay-as-you-go and funded pensions is expected to help in achieving social policy objectives towards pension systems. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) face even more challenges in ensuring adequate income at retirement. First, CEE countries were required to transform radically their economies in 1990s towards market economy, including old age pension systems. Second, in order to ensure diversified future old age pension income and attract more financial means to the system, introduction of funded pensions from scratch and ensuring as wide as possible coverage with funded pension schemes was of primary importance also. The paper discusses latest developments of retirement pension systems in Europe and state involvement in private pension schemes. In doing so, the focus is on the introduction of funded private pension schemes in selected CEE countries. In spite of initially chosen different paths for the reforms, inconsistent state policies towards funded pensions in the CEE countries resulted in similar outcomes of the reforms. The paper starts with discussion on main objectives of pension systems – enabling people to have adequate income at retirement and ensuring financial sustainability of the systems. Further, possibilities to achieve the objectives of pension reforms are analysed – diversification of income at retirement. Third part of the paper discusses prevailing debates on future of welfare state as such and individualisation trends within different European welfare state models. These debates and perceptions of population about responsibilities of a state for individual welfare affect direction of reforms and future shape of old age pension systems. Fourth part of the paper deals with state policies and tools that are used for encouragement of participation in supplementary pensions. Final part of the paper presents more detailed outline of the pension reforms in selected CEE countries and summarises particular challenges of their pension systems. The paper ends with a discussion on policy implications in relation to latest developments of pension systems in CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a sustainable approach for addressing the language skills gap among EU citizens, which significantly hinders their mobility across the EU and their participation in education, in training, as well as in youth programmes. Our approach is based on the sustainable design of the OpenLang Network platform, which provides an open and collaborative online learning environment for language learners and teachers across Europe, and addresses the limitations of existing computer-assisted language learning approaches. The OpenLang Network platform is bringing together educators and Erasmus+ mobility participants to improve their language skills and cultural knowledge. To this end, the OpenLang Network platform offers a collection of multilingual Open Educational Resources and language learning services. The paper presents the results from the user evaluation of the platform, which has been conducted with members of its community of language teachers and learners. A mixed methods approach has been adopted in order to collect and analyse both qualitative and quantitative data from users about the sustainable design of the OpenLang Network platform, as well as to measure the user satisfaction levels of the platform's language learning services. According to the user evaluation results, the platform offers a sustainable online environment and a positive user experience for language learning. The user evaluation has also helped us identify a set of best practices and challenges associated with the long-term sustainability of an online language learning community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ankara Review of European Studies (ARES) / Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi (AAÇD) is the property of Ankara University European Union Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper presents the emerging topics of the international debate for safe mobility in urban areas with an innovative interpretation. This is the bibliometric mapping of the most recurrent concepts (keywords) of almost 80 scientific publications. The paper framework moves from the issue of the sustainability of cities and through a mobility lens. In Europe by 2030 cities have to become climateneutral and some main urban strategy to achieve this result is focused on transport and mobility sectors. The interpretation of the bibliometric mapping results leads to highlighting the shortcomings of some topics within the scientific debate. The Qualiquantitaive Data Analysis was applied to set the interdependency among research fields and better understand the interrelation among the different topics. The key concepts of don't emerge clearly as an object of research and they will be included in future reflections about the transformative capacity of the city through sustainability and in the development of city strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart Specialization policy, Europe's place-based innovation policy, is transitioning into an innovation policy for sustainability inspired by academic debate and the urgency of societal challenges. The implications in terms of policy design remain underexplored. This paper studies the policy implications of this transition on the design of monitoring indicators. First, a theoretical framework based on the literature is created. Then, monitoring indicators used in the first policy phase are summarized into categories and themes through inductive and deductive document analysis. The indicators' strengths and limitations are discussed. By highlighting how monitoring indicators need to adjust to the policy transition, this paper contributes to the literature on innovation policy and Smart Specialization. It also provides guidance to policymakers by developing a framework on indicator design and providing practical recommendations on aspects that need to be considered, captured, and analysed through the indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ageing European population is driving the demand for age-friendly communities that support older individuals' health and well-being. As communities navigate this transition, Transition Design emerges as a promising approach for addressing complex social and environmental challenges. This study explores the potential of Transition Design to create age-friendly communities in Europe. Drawing on examples from several European countries, this paper describes the key principles of Transition Design and how they can be applied to the development of age-friendly communities. This article highlights the importance of participatory processes in involving older people and other stakeholders in the design process, and discusses the role of technology in creating more accessible and inclusive environments. It also considers some of the challenges of implementing a transition design approach in a European context. In conclusion, this study asserts that Transition Design offers a promising approach for creating sustainable, inclusive, and responsive age-friendly communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2015, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world committed to phasing out from all its products and processes worldwide any substances declared by the European Chemicals Agency to be of very high concern. Since then, extended practical experience was gained in the phasing out of substances of concern. Results: We report in detail on a company-wide programme to phase out substances of concern, the challenges of and the approaches to the phase-out. The paper provides concrete ideas of how to address the legitimate urge to remove substances of concern from economic activities in a holistic way, taking into account the broad diversity of aspects of sustainability. The present paper also reviews the regulatory and societal environment in which substances of concern are being phased out. The paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion of how to improve the chemicals policy in Europe and beyond. Conclusions: Phasing out substances of concern, substance selection for new products and processes, and the avoidance of regrettable substitutions while maintaining the pace of genuine innovation will stay a major challenge for our industry in the years ahead whereby not only toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards have to be considered in the selection and deselection of substances, but also other sustainability criteria characterising the entire life cycle will play an increasingly important role. Legislators and industry need to pay more attention to how this is implemented while avoiding slowing down innovation, making essential products unnecessarily more expensive, and further pushing material production out of highly regulated countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population abundance of birds is an important way to gauge the sustainability and health of the environment. However, several factors influence their distribution and density in different habitats. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and updated outlook on bird population dynamics in Europe in the past 40 years. With the use of Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs), we analyzed the data available from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) on abundance indexes collected throughout Europe from 1980 to 2019 and explored the driving forces behind our observed changes for each habitat type. We also apply GAMMs to model the overall changes in abundance indices of eight bird species that showed the highest variations (i.e., Locustella fluviatilis, Locustella naevia, Alcedo atthis, Bombycilla garrulus, Tetrax tetrax, Tringa totanus, Anthus campestris and Larus ridibundus). It was noted that the general abundance of birds decreased, with farmland birds suffering the biggest decline. Forest bird species population abundance was found to be quite varied; specialist species decreased as compared to generalists, which generally increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper foregrounds the use of "Living Labs" as instruments for the delivery of just low carbon transformations. Living Labs are commonly understood as stakeholder-centred, iterative and open-innovation ecosystems that involve multiple forms of co-creation and engagement among different actors in a given territory. Over a period of three years, thanks to a unique pan-European action research study, three such Labs were set up in different locations in Europe -- a large North-western European city (Manchester, England), a mid-sized mountainous town in South-eastern Europe (Metsovo, Greece) and a series of rural settlements in Central Europe (Nyírbátor, Hungary). Working closely with local residents and relevant organisational stakeholders, the research teams that led the Labs undertook multiple low-carbon interventions in the homes of low-income residents, while continuously monitoring the broader impacts of intermediation practices on energy equity and sustainability across three consecutive cycles of activity. We present and discuss the results of these activities, so as to uncover the impacts of Living Labs on energy poverty both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was written by a group of European researchers believing that now is the right time to frame the Space Weather and Space Climate discipline in Europe for future years. It is devoted to openly discussing the organisation and sustainability of the European Space Weather community and its assets in the (near) future. More specifically, we suggest that the European Space Weather community lacks a uniting organisation to help the community to sustain and develop the successful efforts made thus far. Our aim is not to draw a complete and exhaustive panorama of Space Weather throughout the world, nor even throughout Europe. It is not a new white paper on the science and applications: there exist many (e.g. Tsurutani BT et al. 2020. Nonlinear Processes Geophys 27(1): 75-119); nor another roadmap: several important have been published recently (e.g. Schrijver CJ et al. 2015. Adv Space Res 55(12): 27452807; Opgenoorth HJ et al. 2019. J Space Weather Space Clim 9: A37). Our aim is to question our practices and organisation in front of several changes that have occurred in the recent years and to set the ground to provide coordinated answers to these questions being posed in Europe, and to make these answers discussed throughout the world. This group was assembled first through a series of sessions devoted to the sustainability of Space Weather research during the European Space Weather Week (ESWW) series of meetings, specifically: ESWW 14 (2017), ESWW 15 (2018), and ESWW 16 (2019). It then grew from discussions and personal contacts. The authors do not pretend to identify the full range of opinions in Europe, although they do come from 13 different European countries with a large span of ages (around half are below the age of 40 years old at the time of writing) with a good gender balance ending with a diverse mix of young and motivated scientists and senior people who have played a role in shaping the Space Weather community in Europe. The questions and the propositions to organise Space Weather in Europe in the future result from their discussions through these meetings and through remote meetings during the pandemic. We wish to share them with all those who consider themselves as members of the European Space Weather community and/or are interested in its future and to propose actions. We do this, bearing in mind that Europe plays a key international role in Space Weather which extends beyond the ESA and EU/EC geographic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]