Crowdsourced backend of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
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Engaging in riot
Participating with a minimum of 3 to 10 person (depending on the jurisdiction) in a public...
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Nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear explosions used to test new types of nuclear weapons cause pollution of the environment...
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Health hazards of electrical transmission lines
The balance of evidence points to ill health effects of high voltage power lines in adults and...
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Shortage of fresh-water
The securing of an adequate water supply has become one of the most critical problems facing...
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Chest pain
Chest pain is most often associated with diseases or damage to the major organs in the chest:...
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Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is an an umbrella term for a variety of flu-like infectious diseases produced by...
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Kidnapping
Abducting another person, or having abducted another person continues to hold them is kidnapping...
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Chicken pox
Chicken pox is an acute infectious disease accompanied by fever and a characteristic vesicular...
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Antisemitism
Antisemitism consists of hostile expressions or actions directed against the interests, legal...
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Crack
"Crack" is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride...
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Gender abortions
Amniocentesis and sex determination tests have been used to inform parents of the sex of their...
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Dwarfism
Dwarfism, or restricted growth, is usually a genetic condition resulting in short stature of a...
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Dangers of using mobile telephones
Cellular phones contain persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals; once pulverized in the...
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Dental caries
Dental caries, or cavity formation, results from the gradual deterioration of the enamel,...
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Beetles as insect pests
In the animal kingdom beetles form by far the largest major group or order. At least 250,000...
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Invasive species
Biological diversity faces many threats throughout the world. One of the major threats to native...
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Drunk driving
The presence of excessive amounts of alcohol in the blood of the driver plays a substantial role...
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Natural disasters
Relatively sudden and widespread disturbance of the social system and life of a community or...
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Hazardous wastes
Waste is hazardous which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or...
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Soil pollution
Many metals and organic substances have an affinity for organic matter or mineral particles....
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Environmental hazards of coal energy
Environmental problems caused by coal energy may be regarded in terms of various components:...
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Unsustainable harvesting rates
Biological resources include wild organisms harvested for subsistence, commerce, or recreation (...
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Unstable shifting agriculture
Shifting cultivation is a traditional method of cultivating tropical upland soils, used mainly...
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Inadequate transport infrastructure
Many countries lack integrated transportation system plans and infrastructures which would...
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Subversive activities
Subversion is closely associated with ideological conflicts in which persons acting secretly in...
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Noma
A gangrenous ulcer due to a growth of bacteria in the tissues of the mouth. The majority of...
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Disinformation
Disinformation is to communications what a diversion is to a military manoeuvre. It is...
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Consumer vulnerability
Consumers are vulnerable to practices such as: inaccurate use of weights and measures; use of...
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Struggle for existence
Response by living creatures, in the form of novel or intensified efforts, to their...
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Chronic pelvic pain
Chronic pelvic pain may derive from a variety of sources, including infection and displacement...
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Vulnerability of ecosystem niches
Degradation or destruction of large natural environments, as well as environments partially...
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Bank failure
Bank failures are common during severe depressions. Bank liquidity disappears, depositors who...
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Speeding
The speed of a vehicle should be entirely under the control of the driver. Proceeding at a speed...
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