Crowdsourced backend of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
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Hunger
World hunger today is a paradox of scarcity amidst plenty. The reason so many millions in both...
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National public debt
Public debt is the obligation on the part of the government, one of its agencies, or of local...
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Inadequate fiscal policies
The growth of expenditures followed by increasing gaps in the availability of resources have... -
Cultural fragmentation
Lack of cultural integration is the disharmony between cultural heritage and national identity. It... -
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is the desire for a change of sex, usually commencing in puberty. Transsexuals may... -
Temptation
Temptation, the inducement to sin, occurs when man is confronted by a temporal good (recognized...
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Polymyositis
Polymyositis (PM) has its onset anytime from childhood to late adulthood. The symptoms are weakness... -
Androgen insensitivity syndrome
In a genetically male (XY) foetus the active intervention of male hormones (androgens) is needed to... -
Landslides
Landslide is a general term for mass movement. It implies a gradual movement rather than the more... -
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is the unfavourable product of man's actions; the major sources are heated... -
Cankers
A canker is a localized lesion or diseased area resulting in an open wound and usually on a...
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Listeriosis
Infection with microbes of the genus Listeria. Although listeriosis is primarily known...
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Indoor air pollution
For centuries people have suffered polluted and stale air inside cramped dwellings and huts. A...
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Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
The majority of patients who have violin-string adhesions of the liver have no symptoms at all.... -
Permafrost instability
Permafrost is rock and soil material that has remained below zero centigrade for two or more years... -
Cartilage disorders
Cartilage is a soft and flexible yet strong connective tissue found in the joints of the body,...
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Hurricanes
Tropical cyclones can produce intense vortices of air with winds spiralling in towards the low-...
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Disruptive religious fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism is the uncritical adherence to ancient, allegedly inspired religious...
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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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Scrapped automobiles
Abandoned vehicles cost public services millions of dollars a year for their removal, create safety... -
Late blight of potato
The organism which causes late blight of potato is Phytophthora infestans. The potato...
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Maternal mortality
"Labour" – the act of giving birth – is the most dangerous labour in the world. Outside of a...
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Shortage of natural resources
Certain of the earth's resources, such as oil and coal, are non-renewable and sooner or later...
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Environmental refugees
Although the immediate cause of of any mass movement of people may appear to be political...
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Boredom
Modern industry, through progressive automation of tasks, has created numerous highly...
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Lightning
A large discontinuous discharge is produced through the air, generally under turbulent conditions... -
Militarization of children
Children may be made regular combat soldiers, or forced into fighting militia or guerrilla...
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Sin Nombre virus
Sin Nombre virus is a causative agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which rapidly...
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Gluten intolerance
Gluten intolerance produces a wasting disease of childhood in which there is an inability to...
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Dueling
A pre-arranged regulated contest between two persons with deadly weapons with the intent of... -
Chicken pox
Chicken pox is an acute infectious disease accompanied by fever and a characteristic vesicular...
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Lichen sclerosus
Lichen sclerosis (LS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that causes substantial discomfort and... -
Brucellosis
Brucellosis is a generalized infection of worldwide occurrence. It is highly contagious, affects...
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