Crowdsourced backend of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
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Filariasis
Filariasis is caused by an infection with one of the various types of filarial nematodes (round...
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Visual colour deficiencies
Colour deficiencies include colour blindness, a condition of incomplete colour vision, of which...
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Osteoarthritis
Sometimes called degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis is a result of “wear-and-tear” or...
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Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) refers to diseases of the heart and the vessels running to and from...
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Insufficient use of natural resources
The extraction and utilization of natural resources, and the making of decisions concerning...
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Denial of right of family planning
The right of couples and individuals to freely decide the number and spacing of their children...
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Abuse of state immunity
There are two different legal approaches to the state immunity: restrictive, which grants...
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Fatty liver disease
Fatty liver is simply the build-up of fat in the liver. Fat in the liver usually does not cause...
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Conjoined twins
This phenomenon of unknown cause arises during the process of monozygotic (identical) twinning....
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Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of losing one's safe environment or the horror of being unable to escape...
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Underdevelopment of countries
Underdevelopment occurs when some resources are not used to their full socio-economic potential...
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Legionnaire's disease
Caused by the legionella bacterium strain. Patients affected by Legionella pneumonia inhale the...
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Agricultural pollution
By-products and wastes from agriculture pollute water, soil, and air. The use of pesticides and...
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Scarring
A scar is the name applied to fibrous tissue which forms across a healed wound, ulcer, or breach...
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Sheep pox
Sheep pox febrile virus disease can cause heavy mortality and severe wool damage. Immunity is...
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Discrimination against indigenous populations
Discriminatory practices used against indigenous populations in matters of education, employment...
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Disease vectors
A vector is a transmitter of disease from one animal to another or to man. Most of the causal...
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Theft of vehicles
Virtually every type of vehicle, mechanical, motorized, or otherwise powered, has been and still...
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Dropsy
Dropsy is a general term for an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin, or in one or...
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Slash-and-burn farming
Fire is used extensively in the tropics for the destruction of forests. The objectives of...
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Fowlpest
An infectious disease of poultry (mainly of chickens and turkeys) and pigeons. Other domestic...
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Graffiti
The popular use of aerosol paint (among other tools of vandalism) as a means of defacing public...
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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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Loss of cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is a reflection of people's connection to their local environment, to the...
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Vandalism
Destructive actions against urban public property by minors is the most prevalent form of...
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Endangered linguistic diversity
Language is central to conceptualization of the world, its interpretation, and to the ways in...
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Toxic blue-green algae in drinking water
Common blue-green algae produce toxins which can cause gastroenteritis and skin and eye...
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Non-productive use of cattle and livestock
In most parts of eastern and southern Africa, cattle-keeping has little relation to the...
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Cancer of the bladder
Bladder tumors can develop on the lining of the bladder wall (superficial disease) or extend...
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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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Babesiosis
Babesiosis attacks cattle, causing high temperatures, constipation alternating with diarrhoea,...
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Destruction of wildlife habitats
Our limited resources are threatened by increasing pressure for land to be put to other uses...
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Pulmonary oedema
Pulmonary oedema gives symptoms of its onset in constant rattling noises proceeding from the...
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