Crowdsourced backend of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
-
Drought
Severe drought is a natural event that results from disruptions of the water cycle, and that, in...
-
Drug resistant bacteria
Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics when the drugs are used too often or when patients...
-
Concentration camps
The mass internment of civilians by military or police forces for indefinite periods of time and...
-
Tenosynovitis
Tenosynovitis an inflammation of the tendon sheath. Chronic tenosynovitis occurs when the... -
Engaging in riot
Participating with a minimum of 3 to 10 person (depending on the jurisdiction) in a public... -
Excessively large families
Despite the apparent advantages of many children, it is not clear that, from a strictly economic...
-
Hyperinflation
The effects of hyperinflation extend far beyond the economic field and affect all aspects of...
-
Diseases of metabolism
In the healthy individual the many metabolic activities of the body are maintained in an optimum...
-
Fragmentation of organized students
Factional fighting among students exists at all levels, from a single campus or institution to... -
Secret societies
Secret societies may be considered a danger to their community or nation. Secrecy may be partial...
-
Gallstones
The presence of stones in the gall bladder is recognized by sharp pains in the abdomen that are...
-
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) refers to diseases of the heart and the vessels running to and from...
-
Denial of right of family planning
The right of couples and individuals to freely decide the number and spacing of their children...
-
Goitre
Any dramatic enlargement of the thyroid gland is called a goitre. Goitres are often removed because... -
Neurological rage
Rage is anger that has lost its purpose and gone out of control. It has less direction and focus... -
Misuse of satellite surveillance by governments
The use of spy satellites in space and the privileged use of telecommunication channels have biased... -
National public debt
Public debt is the obligation on the part of the government, one of its agencies, or of local...
-
Socialist colonialism
Under the guise of international socialist cooperation some states dominated others militarily.... -
Scandal
Scandal arises when a member of a community, by actions or opinions goes against the commonly... -
Damp
Condensation and damp are caused by excess moisture in the air settling on cool surfaces, and is... -
Persons missing in military action
Service personnel who are missing during a military action and have not been confirmed as dead nor... -
White-collar crime
Crimes committed by businessmen, politicians and government employees are common to both developed... -
Organized crime
Organized crime are acts carried out for profit or power, by more than two people acting...
-
Polymyositis
Polymyositis (PM) has its onset anytime from childhood to late adulthood. The symptoms are weakness... -
Inappropriate modernization of agriculture
Through the industrialization of agriculture, the productivity per unit of land and per farmer...
-
Killing of plants
Tens of millions of plants are killed by and for human beings every year. They are dug up, cut...
-
Graffiti
The popular use of aerosol paint (among other tools of vandalism) as a means of defacing public...
-
Endangered species of Emoia nativitatis
The Christmas Island forest-skink was downgraded from "critically endangered" to "extinct in the...
-
Pemphigus vulgaris
Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disease and one of a group of unique, related blistering... -
Fragmentation of the international trading system
Growth and development require an increase in imports and hence in exports. Even if imports are... -
Dermatomyositis
Dermatomyositis (DM) has its onset any time from childhood to late adulthood. There is weakness of... -
Threatened coral reef ecosystems
Coral reefs are under attack by enormous numbers of starfish of the variety called 'crown-of-...
-
Experimental religion
New forms of religion (developed as a result of the inadequacy of traditional religious doctrine...
-
Inadequate dietary fibre
People with diets low in amounts of insoluble fibre have a greater risk of colon-rectal cancer.... -
Klinefelter's syndrome
Klinefelter's syndrome arises when a boy carries an XXY, rather than XY chromosome. The additional... -
Human pseudo hermaphroditism
An individual may have the malformation of having both male and female sexual characteristics. This... -
Ageism
The systematic oppression of older people by younger ones. People of advancing age are silenced by... -
Unwanted pregnancies
Family planning has often been defined simply in terms of avoiding unwanted pregnancies....
-
Diseases of the nervous system
Diseases of the human nervous system underlie a large number of symptoms of disorders, ranging from... -
Peritonitis
Peritonitis means means irritation of the abdominal lining, or peritoneum. Movement causes the... -
Disinformation
Disinformation is to communications what a diversion is to a military manoeuvre. It is information... -
Quelea
Swarms of quelea birds regularly cause considerable damage to crops of sorghum, millet, rice, and... -
Unavailability of farming land
The amount of land used for crops world-wide is increasing but at slower rates than before.... -
Dementia
The term "dementia" is used by the medical community to describe people with impaired...
-
Thyroid nodule
Thyroid nodules are lumps which commonly arise within an otherwise normal thyroid gland. They...
-
Cruelty
Cruelty is the wilful infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering, i.e. pain and...
-
Drunken driving
The presence of excessive amounts of alcohol in the blood of the driver plays a substantial role...
-
Neonatal mortality
Infant mortality is a composite index which includes deaths of infants 0-1 weeks of age, namely...
-
Medication side effects
Typical unwanted side effects of prescriptions drugs are due to excess drug doses, drug-drug...
-
Anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis, sometimes called gallsickness, is a disease of domestic and wild animals, caused...
-
Inadequate domestic savings
It is generally agreed that the pace of economic development is associated with the growth of... -
Pesticide intoxication
All the available data indicate that acute pesticide poisoning will continue to be a cause of ill-... -
Irredentism
The union of an entire ethnic group under one state. Throughout modern history, the rise of ethnic... -
Polygamy
Polygyny is the system under which a man is married to two or more wives at the same time; it... -
Sick building syndrome
Sick building syndrome (SBS) describes a medical condition in which people in a building suffer... -
Obsession with celebrities
The intense media focus on celebrities is leading an increasing number of mentally disordered... -
Violation of rights of transsexuals
Transsexuals reject the gender assigned to them, of which they have the complete morphology and...
-
Caste system
Rigid social stratification, in which ultimate lineage or parental position or profession... -
Laguna Negra virus
Laguna Negra virus is one of the hantaviruses which cause Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)....
-
Disorders of consciousness
Disorders of consciousness include those in which the perception of external objects and spatial... -
Misuse of advertising
The arguments against advertising refer to its negative economic and social impact and centre... -
Mental depression
Depression is a disease with a specific set of symptoms, notably a persistent feeling of sadness...
-
Follicular cystic ovary disease
Normally the egg develops within a cyst-like follicle on the ovary. This follicle bursts, releases... -
Imprecation
A curse is a mere wish, wish expressed in words or actions or embodied in a material object, or an... -
Bigamy
In countries where monogamous marriage is the law, marriage to more than one wife constitutes... -
Sexual molestation of children
Sexual abuse is the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in... -
Bladder exstrophy
Bladder exstrophy, or ectopia vesica, consists of the absence of the lower abdominal...
-
Pathological gambling
Gambling can become addictive and progressive; the process become more important than the...
-
Thysanura as insect pests
Thysanura is an order of wingless insects. A major family of this order - lepismatidae - are common... -
Ineffectiveness of foreign aid
In many aid-giving countries there is a persistent suspicion that aid objectives are ill-chosen...
-
Psychogenic fugue
Inability to recall one's past after unexpected travel from home or work. -
Social injustice
Social injustice impedes growth and development, hampering or even halting improvement in living...
-
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is considered to be the human form of "mad cow" disease (bovine... -
Uterine fibroids
Also known as myoma and uterine fibroids, fibromyoma are benign (non-cancerous) tumours in the...
-
Consumption of alcohol
The use and misuse of alcohol as a beverage is complicated by the particular significance which...
-
Manic-depressive psychosis
Manic-depressive psychosis is a severe disturbance of affect (feeling or emotion) characterized by... -
Land degradation
"Land degradation" is a catchall term covering such problems as wind and water erosion, soil...
-
Uncontrolled river erosion
Soil erosion can have a number of harmful effects on watercourses and their use. It produces... -
Deportees
Deportees are those who have been deported from, or have been obliged to leave their country of...
-
Urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control or unintended leakage of urine. The...
-
Human-caused climate change
Anthropogenic change means human-induced change to nature of a natural system. Human activity is...
-
Excessive exercise
For exercise fanatics missing one day is irritating, missing more than a few days is a catastrophe... -
Locust plagues
Certain kinds of locusts such as the Red Nomadacris spp and the African Migratory...
-
Anaemia
Anaemia, sometimes known as blood deficiency, is defined as a condition in which the concentration... -
Common cold
The various viral infections of the respiratory tract referred to as colds, and their...
-
Decline of human relationship to nature
The accelerated time frames of industrialized societies separate people from the rhythms of...
-
Cricket fighting
Cricket fighting is an ancient Chinese sport which was suppressed as a symptom of decadence during... -
Unavailability of building materials
The scarcity of building materials affects development plans in other sectors, including... -
Misleading advertising
Advertisements may be framed so as to abuse the confidence of the consumer or exploit his lack of... -
Nudism
Nudism is the cult of sexually unsegregated nakedness in developed countries. It is thought to...
-
Environmental impacts of power stations
Electricity generation in large centralized installations, whether using fossil fuel or nuclear...
-
Moles
A nevus, or mole, is a common skin growth looking like a darkly pigmented spot, usually raised... -
Bibliomania
The passionate desire to handle, possess and accumulate books. This can lead to the ruination of... -
Pneumonic plague
Pneumonic plague is a highly infectious disease which can destroy a victim's lungs within hours of... -
Eichornia crassipes
The water hyacinth Eichornia crassipes is the world's worst aquatic weed. A native of...
-
Lice as insect pests
Anoplura are the sucking lice that live in the hair of mammals and feed upon their blood. They are... -
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of losing one's safe environment or the horror of being unable to escape... -
Inappropriate transport policy
Governmental policies are failing to keep pace with the growth in traffic which is adding to the...
-
Inadequate education of indigenous peoples
Inadequate educational facilities result in inadequate educational achievement of indigenous...
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