IT University of Copenhagen

In this viewpoint, we argue that developing a sustainable future for the built environment requires new relationships – among humans, between humans and organisations, and between humans and non-humans – as both a prerequisite and a powerful leverage point for sustainable change. We contend that nurturing relationships among stakeholders is fundamental to transformative change in the built environment, and that context-specific, creative, and participatory strategies are essential for building trust. We illustrate our viewpoint with examples from a New European Bauhaus project that supported such leverage points by engaging the local community and multiple actors through interventions incorporating artistic practices as well as place-based, creative, and participatory design methods. • Forming relationships are key leverage points for a sustainable built environment. • Nurturing deep leverage points can lead to transformative shifts in mindsets. • Emphasis should be on studying their formation over time through local processes and interactions. • A sustainability focus advocates for new relationships among humans and nonhumans. • Engaging through artistic, place-based, and design can impact relationships among multiple stakeholders.

Hub proteins organize large interactomes using their hub domains for protein-protein interactions. αα-hub domains are present in transcriptional regulators, such as Switch-insensitive 3A (Sin3A), an integral scaffolding protein of histone deacetylation complexes. Here, we relate αα-hub stability to function by structural and thermodynamic studies of the Sin3A-paired amphipathic helix 1 (PAH1) wt hub domain and two predicted loss-of-function variants (A126V and K155E) found in patients with the neurodevelopmental Witteveen-Kolk syndrome. For an αα-hub domain, the PAH1 domain is relatively stable with a ΔGDN of 14.1 ± 0.9 kJ mol-1, which likely compromises its adaptability in binding, thereby increasing specificity. For the two known binding partners, ten-eleven translocase 1 (Tet1) and Sin3A-associated protein 25 (SAP25), a sequence motif undergoes coupled folding and binding with Sin3A-PAH1. The SAP25 interaction shows prototypical thermodynamics for a disorder-based interaction with an enthalpy-driven interaction counteracted by an entropic penalty. In contrast, for the Tet1 interaction, there is no net contribution from entropy to binding, even when including a disordered context in the motif-containing Tet1 fragment. The variants of Sin3A-PAH1 exhibit lower affinities for both SAP25 and Tet1, with a >15-fold reduction in the affinity of PAH1-K155E for Tet1. Notably, the A126V side-chain substitution results in an increased global stability (ΔΔGDN = 6.9 kJ mol-1), representing a case of increased stability associated with loss of function. Our findings show how disease-associated Sin3A-PAH1 variants can affect global domain stability and flexibility as well as interactions with specific partner proteins, thereby contributing to the deconvolution of signal fidelity governed by folded hubs in interactions with disordered partner proteins.

Older people with dementia are frequently prescribed opioids, but little is known about adverse events associated with opioid use in this population. The aim was to investigate whether opioid use was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization in older people with dementia. Matched cohort study using Danish nationwide registries. All Danish residents (≥ 65 years) diagnosed with dementia between 2008 and 2018 were included. Individuals with opioid use in the year prior to dementia diagnosis were excluded. Exposure was first redeemed opioid prescription after dementia diagnosis. Persons exposed to opioids were matched with up to two unexposed persons on age and sex. Outcome was all-cause 180-days hospitalization. Cox proportional hazards models compared rates of hospitalization within 180 days between the exposed and unexposed and adjusted for potential confounders. Forty-two percent (31,619/75,471) of older people with dementia redeemed an opioid prescription after diagnosis. Among exposed, 7,356 (23.3%) were hospitalized within 180 days, compared with 7,618 (12.1%) of unexposed, and opioid use was associated with a 4-fold increased risk of hospitalization (fully adjusted hazard ratio: 3.86 (95% confidence interval, 3.72–4.01)), and 8-fold within the first 14 days ((7.77 (7.15–8.45)). Exposed were more often admitted due to fractures, infections, and cardiovascular events. Opioid use was associated with increased risk of hospitalization, which may be due to the opioid, the indication, or both. This observation calls for further research into potential harmful effects associated with opioid use as it can have important implications for patient safety.

Drawing on anthropological approaches to morality, this paper examines the moral sources that underpin sustained socialist organizing among organizers in the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) following the 2016 presidential election. Based on narrative interviews with highly engaged NYC-DSA organizers, the analysis shows how organizers draw on two primary moral sources in their accounts of becoming political organizers, imbuing their continued political engagement with meaning. First, the paper highlights how organizers articulate moral positions that predate their political engagement, offering insight into how recollections of earlier moral concerns shape their narrated trajectories into organizing. Second, the narratives reveal the importance of the 2016 presidential election as a shared moral reference point. The analysis identifies two properties that define the “ethical affordances” of this event: in organizers’ accounts, Sanders’ campaign created a structured moral space that helped coordinate existing values, while Trump’s election infused political engagement with a sense of urgency, framing action as a moral obligation. The findings suggest that organizers’ narrative accounts of their political trajectories provide insight into processes of collective moral coordination and the formation of coherent moral frameworks that sustain ongoing activism. The study underscores the juridical and formative dimensions of morality in social movements, showing how narrative interpretation brings together a confluence of moral sources that orient continued political engagement. By illuminating the dynamic relationships among prior moral concerns, politically consequential events, and collective action, the paper advances cultural approaches to social movements by foregrounding the role of narrative moral interpretation in sustaining activism over time.

Ethiopia’s special economic zones (SEZs) sustainability practices are aimed at achieving the country's sustainable development; however, their failure has resulted in repercussions for sustainable local community development. This study analyzed the repercussions on the sustainable development of local communities resulting from the failure of SEZs' sustainability practices, focusing on three SEZs: Eastern Special Economic Zone (ESEZ), Bole Lemi Special Economic Zone (BLSEZ), and Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone (DDFTZ). The study employed a mixed research approach with an exploratory sequential design in which the qualitative phase was carried out and analyzed using content and thematic analysis, followed by the quantitative phase using descriptive analysis and a multivariate multiple linear regression. The study found that SEZs' sustainability practices negatively contributed to the local community’s sustainable development in economic, social, environmental, and peace perspectives. The multivariate multiple linear regression results show that economic sustainability practices significantly influenced social and economic development challenges, while governance sustainability practices significantly influenced the environmental sustainability and sustainable peace of local communities. To this end, it is suggested that systemic measures should improve the sustainability practices of SEZs as they minimize the negative impacts of SEZs on the local communities' sustainable development.

Boundary artefacts are shared artefacts that support collaboration by allowing different groups to interpret the same information in different ways. Software development activities benefit from them, as a single artefact can support stakeholders across different organisational boundaries. When these artefacts contain inconsistencies, such as incorrect information, practitioners’ trust in them may decrease, leading to inefficiencies in task execution. This study developed and evaluated a guideline to support the creation of boundary artefacts in software engineering contexts. We conducted a longitudinal, multi-phase study embedded in an industrial setting. The guideline was developed based on a literature review and prior findings from a previous case study and was then submitted for practitioner evaluation. A post-implementation analysis of the guideline was carried out after a period without researcher intervention. Our guideline consists of 10 principles grouped into three categories: (1) Scope: stakeholders, boundaries, and terminology; (2) Structure: artefact format, transference, granularity, and additions; and (3) Management: evaluation, ownership, governance, and integration. Practitioner evaluations suggested that these principles support the creation of reliable, predictable, and functional boundary artefacts. However, practitioners also noted challenges during use, including the time-consuming nature of the activity and difficulties in understanding the concept of boundary artefact. Overall, the guideline was well received. After the non-intervention period, it was adopted as a standard by the partner company for artefacts such as security testing, standards documentation, and requirements specifications. Adoption challenges persisted, including cultural barriers and comprehension issues. Further applications across different artefacts could clarify how the principles influence their reliability, functionality, and predictability.

Purpose This article examines how “neutrality” has been challenged in the research literature on libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) over the past ca. 25 years. The concept of neutrality shapes our expectations of LAMs as crucial institutions in modern liberal Western democracies, which have played a key role in shaping both our identities and our options for agency as individuals and as a society. Design/methodology/approach The analysis involves 20–30 articles in each domain (libraries, archives and museums). The articles have been examined using both AI and close readings. The primary empirical material consists of Anglo-American LAM research. The chosen timespan covers a period of significant change driven by increased digitalization, the climate crisis, rising migration and the emergence of new radical political movements. Findings Although some in the library research associate neutrality with intellectual freedom, the prevailing view, including among archive and museum scholars, dismisses neutrality as a myth that conceals underlying power dynamics. The rejection of neutrality has accompanied new professional ideals such as activism, community engagement and social justice. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive study to show that neutrality is a debated idea in recent research. While the critique of neutrality is a common concern across the LAM literature, responses to it – especially from the perspectives of social justice and activism – vary in both focus and approach.

Geoscientists often solve inverse problems to estimate values of parameters of interest given relevant data sets. Bayesian inference solves these problems by combining probability distributions that describe uncertainties in both observations and unknown parameters, and we require that the solution provides unbiased uncertainty estimates in order to inform evidence- or risk-based decisions. It has been known for over a century that employing different, but equivalent parametrisations of the same information can yield conditional probabilities that are mathematically inconsistent, a property referred to as the BK-inconsistency. Recently this inconsistency was shown to invalidate the solutions to physical problems found using several well-established methods of Bayesian inference. This talk explores the extent to which this inconsistency affects solutions to common geophysical problems. We demonstrate that changes in parametrisations result in inconsistent conditional prior probability densities, even though they represent exactly the same prior information. These inconsistent prior distributions can change Bayesian posterior solutions dramatically across various geoscientific problems including seismic impedance inversion, surface wave dispersion inversion, and travel time tomography, using real and synthetic data. Significantly different posterior statistics are obtained, including for maximum a posteriori (MAP) solutions, mean estimates, standard deviations, and full posterior distributions. Given that deterministic inversion is often equivalent to finding the MAP solution to specific Bayesian problems (the mathematical equations to be solved are identical), the BK-inconsistency also results in inconsistent solutions to deterministic inverse problems. Indeed, we show that solutions can potentially be designed, simply by changing the parametrisation. This study highlights that a careful rethinking of Bayesian inference and deterministic inversion may be required in physical problems, and we present one possible consistent method of solution.

Abstract. Extratropical windstorms pose a major hazard in Northern Europe, with damage primarily arising from the combined effects of high sustained near-surface winds and extreme gusts. While future changes in mid-latitude storms are expected under climate warming, the implications for wind-related impacts remain uncertain. In this study, we investigate the response of thermodynamic warming to an intense historical storm using Storm Anatol, which severely affected Denmark on 3 December 1999, as a representative case. The storm is simulated using the convection-permitting numerical weather prediction model HARMONIE-AROME within a pseudo-global warming framework. Uniform temperature perturbations are applied throughout the atmosphere, sea surface, and skin layers, while specific humidity is adjusted to maintain relative humidity. Changes in wind speed, gusts, and the spatial and temporal extent of damaging wind conditions are analysed across a range of warming scenarios. To quantify integrated wind exposure, we employ a new cumulative metric applicable to both wind speed and gust diagnostics, referred to as the Cumulative Wind Exposure Index. The simulations show a systematic intensification of near-surface wind and gust speeds with increasing temperature, accompanied by an expansion in the spatial footprint and duration of extreme wind conditions. The cumulative wind exposure increases markedly in the warmer scenarios relative to the historical simulation. When interpreted in the context of established wind–damage relationships, these changes imply substantially enhanced potential for wind-related impacts. Overall, the results demonstrate that thermodynamic warming alone can significantly amplify windstorm exposure, highlighting the importance of considering compound wind characteristics, when assessing future wind hazards and their impacts in Northern Europe.