Marymount University

Safeguarding refers to specific actions that reduce the risk of abuse, neglect, and harm. It is an essential aspect of all development programming and research, but due to existing social structures and entrenched power inequalities, it is particularly important in development programming and research focused on people with disabilities. This article reflects on implementation experience relating to disability-inclusive safeguarding from the UK aid-funded Disability Inclusive Development Inclusive Futures programme. It details efforts taken to design and implement participatory safeguarding approaches and activities through partnering with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The article unpacks practical examples of inclusive safeguarding while also identifying challenges in forming equitable, proportional partnerships between international non‑governmental organisations (INGOs) and OPDs. It concludes by raising questions about how power, partnerships, sustainability, and solidarity impact on safeguarding for global actors working with locally embedded, under-resourced partners.

Every individual is the indispensable unit of the society and every individual deserve equal opportunities to excel in their lives and live a virtuous life. Same are the orphans, the important unit of the society they also deserve to enjoy the equal opportunities as the normal children enjoy. But they have to face various problems the moment they become the orphan. Their journey becomes tough. If their near relatives are economically sound and can take care of the child then he/she remains within the family and they take care of his/her education and all other necessities but he/she still craves for the love and care of parents. But if the economic condition of the near ones is not good then these children are admitted to the orphanages which take care of all the needs including education, shelter, food, cloths etc. but it has been found that orphans face various social, economic, psychological, health problems in their journey of life. The orphans of Jammu and Kashmir in particular face many problems. The present study is focused on investigating the challenges and problems faced by the orphans of Jammu and Kashmir through a systematic literature review. The google scholar database was used for the literature search. PRISMA guidelines were followed in identification and screening of the papers. Total eight papers were included in this systematic review. The results revealed that orphans of Jammu and Kashmir face various challenges and problems.

In recent years, the accuracy of ocean forecasts has significantly improved thanks to spatial altimetry. However, despite their importance, forecasting accurate currents is still a challenge. Therefore, satellite missions are proposed to provide measurements of surface velocity on a global coverage. The Ocean DYnamics and Surface Exchange with the Atmosphere (ODYSEA) mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) is currently competing for selection in the Earth System Explorers program. As part of the preliminary studies for ODYSEA, we have carried out Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) to assess the impact of assimilating these prospective observations in terms of Root Mean Square differences of the model state variables to a reference run. We focus on disentangling the impact of the ODYSEA observations from the impact of the observations provided by altimetry, on large scale, and checking the complementarity of these networks to avoid redundant information. We show that zonal velocity out of the Equator, sea surface height and surface salinity are mainly constrained by altimetry. Conversely, the meridional velocity is mainly constrained by velocity observations. Moreover, these latter observations help better prescribing both components of velocity at the Equator as well as the sea surface temperature in the Eastern Pacific. They also tend to significantly improve surface salinity in some regions where freshwater input occurs. Altimetry and surface velocity observations are complementary, and when they are assimilated together, all the model state variables are improved in all regions compared to assimilating altimetry only.

Human infants express vocal distress to signal needs to be met by a caregiver. Maternal responses to infant distress are influenced by biological constraints and shaped by cultural practices. This study used a culture learning perspective to investigate the ways immigrant mothers' responsiveness to their infants' vocal distress is modified by acculturation. Methodologically, group-level acculturation was assessed by comparing immigrant Japanese, South Korean and South American dyads with nonmigrant dyads in their respective cultures of origin (Japan, South Korea and Argentina) and destination (United States); immigrant mothers were also compared with each other. Altogether, 408 mothers and their 5½-month-old infants were videorecorded in the naturalistic setting of the home. The frequencies and odds ratios for five maternal responses to infant distress (distract, hold, nurture, speak, affection) were computed using sequential analysis and then compared. Patterns of acculturation at the group level proved to be specific to each cultural group. Comparisons among the immigrant samples revealed differences for most responses. These results support the specificity principle in acculturation for maternal responsiveness to infant distress. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mechanisms of learning from social interaction'.

This study examined socio-economic and environmental factors influencing malaria prevalence among children under five in Tanzania using data from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) 2022. A cross-sectional design was employed, analyzing 1,264 households with children under five, with malaria prevalence as the response variable and socio-economic (wealth, maternal education, marital status, sex of child) and environmental (roof material, place of residence) factors as predictors. Stepwise logistic regression showed that female children had 40% lower odds of malaria (OR=0.60, p=0.002), higher wealth reduced odds by 80% (OR=0.20, p<0.001), and primary education lowered odds by 65% (OR=0.35, p<0.001). Thatch/palm leaf roofs increased odds by 5.5 times (OR=5.50, p<0.001), and recent fever raised odds by 350% (OR=4.50, p<0.001). Rural residency (70.5%) and low maternal education (40.2% without education) were significant risk factors. Findings highlight the need for nationwide interventions, including community education and housing improvements, to support Tanzania’s National Malaria Strategic Plan 2021–2025 to malaria elimination by 2030.

Virtual and global teams continue to expand across sectors, offering notable opportunities to advance environmental, social, and operational sustainability. Yet, persistent challenges, trust deficits, communication barriers, coordination complexity, and cultural friction often undermine the efficiency required for sustainable distributed work. At the same time, rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping how remote collaboration is organized and supported. This research reframes the evolution of virtual teamwork through a sustainability lens, synthesizing foundational research on distributed teams (1997–2009), maturing scholarship on communication and leadership (2010–2022), and emerging studies on AI-enabled collaboration (2023–2025). The analysis highlights how AI-assisted practices can reduce the ecological footprint of teamwork by minimizing travel, optimizing resource allocation, and enabling equitable global participation. Intelligent translation, coordination, and knowledge-management systems support social sustainability by enhancing inclusion, preserving organizational knowledge, and improving cross-cultural cohesion. At the operational level, AI-driven workflow optimization enhances organizational agility and resilience, enabling teams to operate more efficiently with reduced material and temporal demands. However, the integration of advanced AI also introduces sustainability-related risks, including increased energy consumption, inequitable access, algorithmic bias, and potential erosion of cultural nuance. Overdependence on automated systems may create organizational fragility, undermining long-term resilience. Addressing these socio-technical gaps requires governance frameworks that prioritize ethical use, environmental stewardship, and equitable distribution of AI’s benefits. The review highlights practical benefits, emerging risks, and socio-technical gaps and concludes with recommendations for leaders, instructional designers, HR professionals, and project managers aiming to adopt AI responsibly while strengthening organizational agility and virtual team effectiveness.

When provided effectively and responsively in a structured setting, digital financial services like mobile money, digital payments, and more recent digital payment systems or financial technology will allow a nation to thrive and meet its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more quickly. This review paper focuses on empirical studies of the evolution, adoption and impact of digital payment systems, with a particular focus on India. It delves into the factors of technological innovations, government policies, financial technology (fintech) innovations, and the impact of the coronavirus on accelerating the adoption of digital payments. The research also examines consumer perceptions and adoption determinants, as well as major challenges including security, infrastructure and financial literacy. Emerging trends such as UPI, digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, CBDCs and buy now pay later models are addressed. The review emphasises the increasing importance of digital payments for financial inclusion, economic efficiency and sustainable digital transformation

Traditional Medicinal plants Used by Tribes In Telangana state, which is mainly occupied by tribes revealed that some medicinally important plants were used by herbal healers (ages between 54 - 80 years). In the present study, scientific name, family, vernacular name, habit and medicinal uses have been identified. Traditional Medicine studies were conducted particularly and dense forest where the tribal community inhabits. The present study of the area belonging to the tribes and we were visited, identified and gathered information on different plants used as medicine was recorded by direct observation, casual interview and taken photographs. In the present study, a number of plants which are used by tribes of Telangana State, India for treatment of skin diseases have been documented. The present study is based on the concept of “a plant for cure of a common disease”. For example a single plant was selected for common skin diseases like wounds, ring worm, itching, warts, eczema, vitilago, chicken pocks, measles and etc. Among these plants, some species like Azadirachta indica, Curcuma langa, Annona squamosa, Plumbago zeylanica, Citrus lemon, Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, Hybiscus rosasinenesis, Tridax procumbens, Lucas aspera, Ricinus communis and Mangefera indica were collected from the forest for treatment. From the present analysis plant parts are used roots, stem, bark, leaves, seeds and flowers. The present study concludes that, the used the pharmacognostic values of these plants. Such proven plant species may be used in the formulation of new drugs against different ailments. Hence, there is great need of cultivation and conservation of such plants.

Red spider mite Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker and Pritchard (Acari: Tetranychidae) poses a serious threat to successful crop production across Bangladesh. Farmers predominantly rely on chemical pesticides; however, the rapid development of resistance after repeated applications reduces their effectiveness. The aim of this laboratory study was to evaluate the efficacy of selected biopesticides as ecofriendly alternatives for managing T. macfarlanei. Four biopesticides- Celastrus angulatus 1% EW (Bio-Chamak), D-limonene 5% ML (Bio-Clean), Martin 0.5% AS (Biotrin), and Matrin (0.5%) + plant oil (K-mite) - were tested against eggs and adult females of T. macfarlanei. Female mortality was recorded at 12 hr intervals for 18 days, and egg hatchability was assessed 10 days post-treatment. The lethal concentration (LC50) values for adult females were calculated to determine relative toxicity. Results indicated that D-limonene 5% ML and C. angulatus 1% EW exhibited moderate ovicidal activity, while Martin 0.5% AS and Matrin (0.5%) + plant oil had minimal effects on egg hatchability. In contrast, Matrin (0.5%) + plant oil and Martin 0.5% AS showed strong adulticidal effects, with LC50 values of 0.16 ppm and 0.21 ppm, respectively, compared to 6.16 ppm for D-limonene 5% ML and 75.82 ppm for C. angulatus 1% EW. These findings suggest that Matrin (0.5%) + plant oil and Martin 0.5% AS are the most potent formulations against adult T. macfarlanei. In conclusion, these biopesticides, particularly Matrin (0.5%) + plant oil, could serve as promising alternatives to chemical acaricides for the sustainable management of T. macfarlanei and should be further validated in field conditions for integration into future Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs.