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The introduction of interdisciplinarity and industry-academia collaborations (IAC) into higher education institutions (HEIs) and curricula as tools for promoting sustainable development has been debated both in academic and non-academic contexts. While overall rising trends in the acceptance of interdisciplinarity and IAC exist, research has stressed difficulty in implementation and practices. We conducted eight focus groups at six European Universities (members of the SEA-EU alliance) and analysed the transcripts using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic approach to qualitative analysis in order to develop themes on barriers and facilitators to both conducting interdisciplinarity and IAC, as well as the inclusion of university students in interdisciplinary research. We observed that the main barriers to IR and IAC and the inclusion of students in such activities include traditional HEI structures focused on single-discipline approaches, a lack of joint platforms for IR and IAC, and academic differences (publication outcome differences, academic background). Likewise, a lack of funding (especially for early career researchers), employability (for students willing to do a research career), and a lack of validation by HEIs for researchers conducting IR and IAC are major barriers. To IDR- and IAC-related activities, a top-down approach is needed to restructure HEIs and make them more accommodating to both students and staff willing to conduct IR and IAC activities, thus refocusing them towards sustainability.

Determination of the parameters of motion of the surrounding objects, and in particular their speed, is one of the basic skills of a human being. Studies on the development of basic concepts of motion have been carried out for years, exploiting various methods and in different contexts. In our research, we analyzed the effect of school education on the understanding of the phenomenon of motion. We tried to determine its possible short- and long-term cognitive consequences. To achieve this goal, we used the survey method. Our studies show that children differentiate two specific concepts: average speed and instantaneous velocity. In the present work we present how the gender context is superimposed on the general picture. We found that the initial, genuine pre-school concept of speed is different for girls and boys. Our analysis shows also that this gender effect vanishes quickly along with the introduction of physical definitions of kinematical quantities by physics/science curricula. We discuss the methodological aspect of the statistical gender gap measure and we calculate the gender effect chance probability, p-value, to be slightly less than 0.001. The importance of the observed effect for the sustainable science teaching processes is discussed.

In consideration of the three pillars of sustainability, alongside the environment, social and economic dimensions interplay valuable insight into how society is molded and what key components should be considered. In terms of social sustainability, there are processes and framework objectives that promote wellbeing integral to the balance of people, planet, and profit. Economic practices consider the system of production, resource allocation, and distribution of goods and services with respect to demand and supply between economic agents. As a result, an economic system is a variant of the social system in which it exists. At present, the forefront of social sustainability research partially encompasses the impact economic practices have on people and society—with notable emphasis centered on the urban environment. Specific interdisciplinary analyses within the scope of sustainability, social development, competitiveness, and motivational management as well as decision making within the urban landscape are considered. This book contains nine thoroughly refereed contributions that interconnect detailed research into the two pillars reviewed.

Mining areas often experience a climate of social tension due to the potential trade-off between expected employment impact and concerns for environmental damage. We address this topic from a theoretical perspective that, unlike most empirical research, includes medium-term dynamics. We developed a two-sector dynamic model that provides a new way to identify differences among mining regions in terms of conflict risk, local development, and welfare. There are critical points in the natural-resource base of local nonmining activities and in the pollution rate of mining operations, which determine the type of dynamics and its welfare outcomes due to the opening up of the economy to mining investment. Pollution control is a sine qua non for welfare gains despite new job opportunities in the mining sector.

Climate change impacts represent threats to the population worldwide, and the health sector which is responsible for taking care of their life and health will also be impacted. While the consequences of these impacts are imminent, little or nothing has been done by the health sector at national and sub-national levels worldwide to prepare to respond to them. Therefore, health adaptation planning in regard to climate change is crucial to building climate-resilient health systems. This research aims to propose an approach containing phases and steps for developing a Health Adaptation Plan at a sub-national level. The methodology involved the collection and analysis of several guidelines and tools provided by the WHO and other relevant organisations,. This is supplemented by analysis of existing Health Adaptation Plans at national and subnational levels developed in different governmental organisations and systems worldwide since 2003. The findings included four phases and twelve steps for developing Health Adaptation Plans at subnational- level organisations in the health sector. This establishes guidance for subnational organisations within the health sector that are planning to develop a Health Adaptation Plan

According to the early transposition of the EU directives by the Italian government, this paper presents some of the outcomes of the qualitative-led applied research titled Community Energy Map, aimed at identifying the main operational models and organisational frameworks put in place for the development of renewable energy communities (RECs). In this respect, the article discusses a threefold subdivision of organisational models to implement RECs: public lead, pluralist, and community energy builders’ model. Furthermore, the paper illustrates in detail three of the nine case studies dedicated to recently launched RECs, conducted through qualitative fieldworks, to investigate the social and local implications generated by these community-led initiatives. The article stresses the relevance of both the local scale and community-led initiatives in the pathway towards a fair and just energy transition, by discussing how RECs define new organisational models of distributed energy systems.

Sustainable interdisciplinarity focuses on human–nature relations and a multitude of contemporary overlapping research between society and the environment. A variety of disciplines have played a large part in better understanding sustainable development since its high-profile emergence approximately a quarter century ago. At present, the forefront of sustainability research is an array of methods, techniques, and growing knowledge-base that considers past, present, and future pathways. Specific multi-disciplinary concentrations within the scope of societal changes, urban landscape transformations, international environmental comparative studies as well as key theories and dynamics relating to sustainable performance are explored. Specializations in complex sustainability issues address international governance arrangements, rules, and organizations—both public and private—within the scope of four themes: sustainability, human geography, environment, and interdisciplinary societal studies. This book contains eleven thoroughly refereed contributions concerning pressing issues that interlink sustainable interdisciplinarity with the presented themes in respect of the human–nature interface.

Caribbean islands, like other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are at the center of the vulnerability debate as current climatic trends predict elevated sea levels and increased frequency of storms, leading to significant challenges for local communities. Caribbean islanders have been exposed to climatic challenges since the initial occupation of the archipelago between five to eight thousand years ago. They have been continually confronted with severe droughts, tropical cyclones, extreme wave events, sea-level changes, and the accompanying impacts. The various phenomena have stimulated island residents both to anticipate and respond to such events, adapting their lifestyles and socio-cultural and political structures and ties across the region over time. In this article, we innovatively combine archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data with longitudinal coastal-erosion data and ethnographic data to further develop and promote sustainable local strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and increasingly frequent and violent weather events on small-island settings. To find proxies, we first look into the region’s pre-colonial archaeological record. Second, we delve into predictive modeling and the current and future climatic challenges for heritage sites and local coastal communities, as well as related collaborative heritage mitigation efforts. Third, we discuss the contribution of traditional knowledge practices to climate change adaptation. The results show how the long-term perspective and multidisciplinary approach adopted here may lead to realistic solutions to seemingly intractable problems. They also reveal how collaborative projects involving all stakeholders on an equal basis in all phases of research have become a top priority in climate change mitigation and heritage safeguarding.

The article presents the results of research on the impact of the transformation of Poland’s energy mix on the country’s energy security. Since energy security is a very complex problem, the impact of the transformation has been verified in three aspects, i.e., greenhouse gas emissions; energy availability in terms of its quantity, sufficient to meet the needs of citizens; and energy prices. The MANOVA model was used in the research. The model allowed us to examine the relationship between the share of coal in the energy mix and the above-mentioned factors. The MANOVA model allowed us to determine the influence of one explanatory variable on several response variables. The results obtained enabled the verification of the adequacy of the changes that have been made in the energy mix over the last 10 years. As is shown, the factor that is related to changes in the share of coal in the energy mix is the energy surplus, while a relationship between both prices and emission levels and the changes in the share of coal in the energy mix has not been established. Furthermore, a simulation was carried out, which showed that the correlation between price, emissions, and the share in the mix was obtained only by reducing 2017–2020 emissions by an average of 6% and prices by 17%.