Crowdsourced backend of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
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Botulism
Botulism is an acute toxic and infectious disease of the food toxaemia group, caused by anaerobic... -
Visual colour deficiencies
Colour deficiencies include colour blindness, a condition of incomplete colour vision, of which...
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Bilingual education
Use of two or more official languages within a country or regional federation, creates considerable... -
Trolley rage
Trolley rage is the term used to describe the recent development of shopper's violence that... -
Gallstones
The presence of stones in the gall bladder is recognized by sharp pains in the abdomen that are...
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Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is any act of public defiance of a law, practice or policy of authorities, if...
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Storms
An atmospheric disturbance involving perturbations of the prevailing pressure and wind fields on... -
Psychogenic fugue
Inability to recall one's past after unexpected travel from home or work. -
War
War generally denotes armed conflict. It can also mean sustained conflict, such as a cold war,...
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Civil violence
Groups of citizens, armed or unarmed, may initiate violent actions with the intent to demonstrate... -
Inadequate animal husbandry
Mismanagement of farm animals may include inadequate feeding, inadequate housing (not allowing... -
Ram-raiding
Crashing a stolen car to gain forceable entry into a shop or other premises for the purpose of... -
Inadequate education of indigenous peoples
Inadequate educational facilities result in inadequate educational achievement of indigenous...
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Fragile X syndrome
An X-linked dominant inherited disease expressing in males with the females as carriers. -
Misuse of mangroves
Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems which provide a range of valuable forest products as... -
Inappropriate use of low frequency acoustic sound
Low frequency sound propagated in water loses little of its intensity with distance. Many...
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Fevers
Fever is a natural defense mechanism of the body to certain infections. -
Conjoined twins
This phenomenon of unknown cause arises during the process of monozygotic (identical) twinning....
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Medication side effects
Typical unwanted side effects of prescriptions drugs are due to excess drug doses, drug-drug...
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Palmoplantar pustulosis
Palmoplantar pustulosis is a difficult-to-treat skin condition that resembles psoriasis. It occurs... -
Globalization of consumerism
The advent of international advertising, electronic communications and wide access to the mass...
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Environmental hazards of pharmaceutical products
Pharmaceutical drugs given to people and to domestic animals - including antibiotics, hormones,...
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Competitiveness in education
Children who wish to succeed in academe - or whose parents wish them to do so – may need to...
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Misrepresentation of information to consumers
Consumer fraud is a false or misleading representation of a material fact, whether by words or... -
Biased recall
Memories are distorted by the peak experience of any episode -- whether good or bad -- and what...
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Non-alignment
Non-alignment is a government policy of non-adherence to either of the major power blocs. To the... -
Theft of works of art
Art thefts are increasing. Apart from representing a menace to the cultural heritage, it makes... -
Segregation of poor and minority population in urban ghettos
The physical environment and social well-being of central cities depend largely on employment... -
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is one of the most common organic diseases affecting the nervous system. It...
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Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths in women women and has the highest mortality of... -
Misuse of video surveillance
In recent years, the use of video surveillance cameras (also called Closed Circuit Television, or... -
Profanity
One form of verbal obscenity is the habitual use of language with excretory and uro-genitary...
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Fear of increased autonomy
The genetic and cultural conditioning of human beings to be social animals necessarily induces...
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Business bankruptcy
Adverse economic conditions or various forms of unnatural trade competition may force otherwise...
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Dodders
Dodders are leafless parasites on stems and other parts of cultivated or wild plants. Parasites... -
Irredentism
The union of an entire ethnic group under one state. Throughout modern history, the rise of ethnic... -
Peripheral vascular disease
A narrowing or clogging of arteries in the arms or legs.
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Uncomplicated alcohol withdrawal
Cessation of prolonged drinking of alcohol or reduction in alcohol ingestion is followed by tremor... -
Headache
Headache is one of the most common ills. Most adults have experienced a headache at some point....,
Migraine
is usually a throbbing, severe pain that occurs on one side of the head. The...,Tension headaches
are a dull and more generalized pain, often affecting the entire head...,Cluster headaches
are the most excruciating, occur most often on one side of the head... -
Crimes by the state
International unlawful actions engaging the responsibility of a State towards other States or...
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Loss of decorum
With increasing age, there is a tendency for physical and mental functions to deteriorate. A less... -
Disorders of lactation
Mastitis is inflammation of the breast which causes swelling, severe aching and soreness around the... -
Environmental impacts of power stations
Electricity generation in large centralized installations, whether using fossil fuel or nuclear...
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Militarization of children
Children may be made regular combat soldiers, or forced into fighting militia or guerrilla...
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Colitis
Colitis is chronic inflammation of the large intestine, the colon. It is one of the most common... -
Dehydration
Dehydration may be said to occur whenever there is loss of water by an organism to a point below...
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Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes insipidus is due to lack or diminution of the anti-diuretic hormone normally produced by... -
Cardiomegaly
Development of abnormal volume of heart -
Radiation accidents
Nuclear or radiation accidents are occasions on which irradiation or radioactive contamination... -
Goitre
Any dramatic enlargement of the thyroid gland is called a goitre. Goitres are often removed because... -
Cultural suicide
When a people begins to ignore its own culture and neglect its language, accepting the invasion of... -
Listeriosis
Infection with microbes of the genus Listeria. Although listeriosis is primarily known...
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International insecurity
International insecurity results from the power relations of nation states. In the national sense '... -
Misperception
Indefinite knowledge or incorrect interpretation can result from defective sensation. The defect... -
Protein-energy malnutrition
Protein malnutrition is the result of many factors, including: a deficiency of calories in...
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Inadequate crop rotation
Without adequate crop rotation, soils become depleted, and lower crop yields result. This is... -
Cat fleas
Cat fleas are capable of transmitting plague and murine typhus to humans, though such reports...
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Decrease in ice cover
Global warming could cause the world's ice sheets and glaciers to melt with alarming results:...
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Stomatitis
Stomatitisis inflammation of the mouth, usually with sores or ulcers. The causes are many. One is... -
Ignorance of traditional herbal remedies
Between 25,000 and 75,000 flowering plant species have been used in traditional medicine throughout... -
Non-responsiveness of transnational corporations to pharmaceutical needs
Pharmaceutical transnational corporations are not responsive to the real drug needs of...
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Gangrene
Gangrene means the death of tissues due to lack of blood supply. Gas gangrene is caused when...
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Cultural stereotyping
Studies of national character were some of the earliest attempts to systematize cultural... -
Loss of civility
When the members of a society lose consideration for each other it may be exhibited by...
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Official secrecy
Data of special government interest may be considered unsuitable for public disclosure. The...
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Insecurity of employment
When employees are not certain of the security of their positions, the whole economy suffers....
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Myotubular myopathy
Myotubular myopathy is a slowly progressive, but rarely fatal, disease of voluntary muscle. Common... -
Dermatosclerosis
This form of scleroderma occurs on the face and hands, where it produces scar tissue that tightens... -
Rhinitis
Rhinitis is an inflammation of the mucosa (delicate lining of the inner body surfaces) of nasal... -
Inappropriate transport policy
Governmental policies are failing to keep pace with the growth in traffic which is adding to the...
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Sleep-wake schedule disorder
The more common sleep phase disorder is delayed sleep phase, where sleep occurs later each day. In... -
Aquatic weeds
Aquatic weeds are plants which hinder or harm man's social or economic activities. Aquatic...
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Scarring
A scar is the name applied to fibrous tissue which forms across a healed wound, ulcer, or breach of... -
Ritual pollution
A condition resulting from association with blood (menstrual, parturitional, placental, accidental... -
Lice as insect pests
Anoplura are the sucking lice that live in the hair of mammals and feed upon their blood. They are... -
Cutaneous leishmaniasis
The single or multiple lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis commonly occur on the face, arms and legs... -
Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis
The ulcers of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis may spread to the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth... -
Natural disasters
Relatively sudden and widespread disturbance of the social system and life of a community or...
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Uncontrolled dogs
Uncontrolled dogs, those with or without proper owners, may pose great threat to the bodily well...
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Underprivileged religious minorities
Religious minorities may be persecuted or discriminated against by the religious majority group,... -
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which progressive damage to the joints...
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Children in poverty
Relationships have been established between poverty and high infant mortality rates, high child...
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Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
Limb-Girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) can start appearing anywhere from late childhood to middle... -
Inadequate safeguards against fire
Many features of building construction are closely related to fire safety. Although the modern... -
Human cannibalism
Human flesh may be consumed as a food or as part of a ritual, especially in order to obtain...
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Smuggling cigarettes
Selling cigarettes directly to smugglers or to distributors known to sell to smugglers; labeling...
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Acne
A chronic skin disease, acne is due to overproduction of sebum, an oily substance, by the...
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Hyperoxaluria
Hyperoxaluria is excess excretion of oxalates (particularly calcium oxalates) in the urine.
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Routine sexual mutilation of males
While circumcision may have some health benefits, the evidence does not warrant a call for...
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Gulf War syndrome
Scientists have not been able to agree there is any such thing as "Gulf War Syndrome," the name...
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Osteogenesis imperfecta
Osteopetrosis is a condition present at birth (congenital) in which the bones are overly dense....
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LSD abuse
Regarded as an exotic drug for those seeking mind-altering experiences, lysergic acid...
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Liver diseases
Infectious hepatitis, liver cancer and alcoholic liver diseases (ADL) are major causes of morbidity... -
Parson's knee
Frequent flexing of the knee joint and pressure upon it can cause knee pain due to inflammation of... -
Klinefelter's syndrome
Klinefelter's syndrome arises when a boy carries an XXY, rather than XY chromosome. The additional... -
Lese majesty
A crime against the dignity of the king/emperor or a member of the royal/imperial family. -
Violent sports fans
Wherever team sports are played, violence among the spectators is increasing, resulting in...
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Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is considered to be the human form of "mad cow" disease (bovine... -
Unsafe sex
Unsafe sex means penetrative sex without the use of condoms.
The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential was initiated in 1972 following a collaboration between two international non-profits, the Union of International Associations (UIA) and Mankind 2000. It is the result of an ambitious effort to collect and present information on the problems humanity is confronted with, as well as the challenges such problems pose to societies' values, development strategies and concept formation.
The online version of the resource is currently undergoing significant transformation, and the publishing model is changing in exciting new ways. The main points are:
- Whilst the above NGOs remain equal copyright holders of the data, it is becoming possible for partners to re-publish any content on presentation sites under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA)
- Content of the database is being made centrally editable at edit.ewphp.org — to allow content changes on this site to propagate to any and all presentation sites
Please feel free to get in touch if you want to know more about the project, the ongoing transformation, or if you aspire to join the volunteer team as a database editor, presentation site developer or any other skill you feel might benefit the project!
News
- March 2016: An initial version of an API that allows retrieval and licensed re-use of the data is ready at demo.ewphp.org. We are currently working with selected developers, and a first public implementation of the API is taking shape as well. News about launch of both will follow soon!
- June 2015: Read the paper and presentation "Loop Mining in the Encyclopedia of World Problems" prepared for the 17th International Futures Conference "Futures Studies Tackling Wicked Problems" in Turku, Finland, 11-12. June 2015 — www.futuresconference.fi/2015